Easy 5ks

Showers about tonight and was rained on during this run.
Very windy 40k breeze blowing. 16 degrees.

Ran 5ks in a time of 23:05.

Not real quick, but very windy didn't help.

Hill Reps 6ks

15 reps up the 200m hill in 45-55 seconds.

Recovery back down in 60-70 seconds.

Legs felt like crap so stopped at 15.

Had a 30knot easterly breeze blowing straight into my face for each rep.
Humid night about 16 degrees. No Rain or showers fell.

Mid Week Hilly Long Run 19ks

Spotted a break in the weather so decided to do my midweek run today.
And the forecast for tomorrow is rain. So much better to do a long run tonight.

Ran from Randwick up to Bondi Junction and then down to Rose Bay shops.
Then ran up Heartbreak Hill and back down to Bondi Junction and back home.

Had a couple of showers running up to heartbreak hill. Just light ones.
And then a fairly heavy one on the way back.
The roads were very wet so shoes are a mess.

Ran 19.01ks in a time of 1:30:38. Average pace of 4:46 per klm.

Easy 10ks

Started out late at 7:15 pm. Temp was 16 degrees. The showers had stopped for what seemed a while so I headed out.

Ran around Centennial Park up to Oxford St, then down to Fox Studios.
I then ran up to the Footy Stadium and then back down Anzac Pde to home.

Total was 10ks in a time of 45:10. Average pace of 4:31 per klm.

Ran a bit hard for a recovery run but felt good anyway.

Kembla Joggers Half Marathon 21.1ks PB

Its a new PB of 87:16. Old PB was 89:51 set at Bendigo in Vic and equalled at SMH Half last month.

The race was held at Dapto just South of Wollongong. About 90ks from my place.
Drove down through pouring rain which was really heavy. No way was I running in this rain.

The rain cleared off when I got to the start. We had about 60 starters for the race.
I was told the course only has a few hills between 8-12ks.

Close to the truth. There were a few hills getting to this point and some on the way back as well.
Started out ok and ran through the 3k split in 12:25. I only took my stopwatch instead of the Polar unit. The showers started falling lightly at about the 5k point. They gradually got heavier as the race progressed.

I ran most of the race with a KJ guy called Andrew who had done the Forster full in April.
My split at the 11k almost at the end of the hills was 47:01. Appeared to be holding my pace quite well. But the rain was getting heavier.

I eventually left Andrew and another guy who I have forgotten at about the 15k mark to chase two guys ahead.
I went passed the two of them with about a k to go.
Finished in a new PB of 87:16. And I came in 14th out of about 60.
A PB by 2:35. I also managed to do the last 10.1ks in 40:15. Excellent.

The run was well organised with 4 drink stations on the course.
Of which there was a 15k and an 18k. Right when you need the fluid.
Thanks to all the organisers and Kembla Joggers for the race.

Male winner did 75:40 and female 89:27.
The male record of 72:xx was run when the hilly road between 8-12ks was unsealed dirt.
I met Run 2 Become on the course as he was doing drinks and at the end.
Definitely worth a shot as a PB course. All on sealed roads and mostly car free except the Princes Hway 500m section.

Rest Day

It's been raining since I got home from work.
So I'm not running. Have a lap of the bay early tomorrow in the dark.
Should be fun with the footpath being ripped up.

Wet 4 x 1k Reps

Got out in a hurry to get started as rain had already fallen and more was due.
A cold and windy 9 degrees when I started tonight.

Reps were 4:02(not warmed up), 3:55, 3:50, 3:42.

The rain commenced to fall as I started the last one.
Tried to sprint home before I got wet. Too late hit about half way and got drenched.

Had to forget about the last two as it was too heavy to run in.
All done with a 2min walk recovery.

Heartbreak Hill Mid Week 19ks

A cold and windy 15 degrees when I started at 6:45 pm.

Ran from Randwick up to Bondi Junction and then down to Rose Bay shops.
I then ran up Heart Break Hill and back down Old South Head Rd again to Bondi Junction.
And then back home. Lots of hills in this run including the big C2S one.

Ran 19.04ks in a time of 1:29:15. Average pace of 4:41 per klm.

Very happy with this run. Intentionally tried to push the run faster.

Hill Reps 8ks

20 up the 200m hill.

20 back down as recovery.

Up in 50-55 seconds. Recovery back down in 65-70 seconds.

Legs feel pretty good. Very windy tonight. Westerly blowing.

Easy Monday 13ks

Ran out after work. A bit windy about 17 degrees when I started.
Legs felt good even after the hard hills of yesterdays race.

Ran 13ks in 1:01:30. Average pace of 4:43 per klm.

Nice and relaxed pace on a course that includes hills, grass, sand, tar and concrete to run on.

Mini-Mosmarathon 10ks

After having a cold since Tuesday and still with flem in the lungs I knew I was going to struggle with the hills on this course.
A little rain at the start but that was all for the race duration.

I had a good start and went through the 2k in 8:02 and was at the 5k in 20:10.
Still feeling ok at that stage. With the second half having more hills I knew a sub 40 was way out of the question though. And my legs felt tired.

Was informed by one of the marshalls at about the 7k that I was 50th. Yeehah.

Managed to swap a few times up and down the rest of the 3ks with the two guys behind me.
I was passed with about 500metres to go by a different runner. But then I thought I saw Blue Dog ahead so kicked into top speed and sprinted the last 200m and cruised past the runner in front to get back 50th. The photo should be good Striders top with CR cap.
Checked the results I was 47th. I was only joking about blue dog he didn't run.

Finished in 41:58 on my watch. Crap time but lots of hills and a cold doesn't help.

Winner was Scott Westcott beating his own race record from last year.

Centennial Park Easy Run 4.5ks

Out at 7:30 currently 9 degrees. Hands are very cold. No running gloves.

First run since getting my cold during the week.
Just wanted to do a light run and see how my lungs would handle it.

Only did one lap around Centennial Park track plus the run to and from.

Did 4.52ks in 21:19. Average pace of 4:42 per klm.

Lungs felt ok. Coughing up a fair bit of flem, which is good. Clear them out.

Race looks ok for tomorrow. Mini Mosmarathon.
I know expensive $35(chipped) for a 10k but I went to the primary school so I'm supporting it!

Cold day 2

Damn Tilbury hotel. Let's move the drinks Mister G.
To say... the Brewhouse.
Cold is getting better. Should be ok to run the 10k race on Sunday morning.
Still having trouble breathing.

Cold

No running. Feel too sick. I can't breath and have no balance.
Ahhhh!

Midweek Long Run 18.65ks

Out about 6:45 pm. Temp of 19 degrees. Is this winter in Sydney?

Ran from home up to Vaucluse via old South Head Rd and back down New South Head Rd.

In the process doing heartbreak hill in reverse. Next week I may change and do it from then on to C2S up the hill.

Ran 18.65ks in 1:30:14. Average pace of 4:50 per klm.
Hard hilly run. Quite happy with the pace.

Queens Birthday Recovery Run 8ks

Woke up very late 11:30. I guess I needed the sleep after getting to bed at 3am.

Ran up to Centennial Park and discovered the Zoo had moved.
Couldn't swing a cat in the place, and the ranger actually shut one gate because there were too many cars in there.

Ran 8ks in a time of 40:35. Average pace of 5:04 per klm.
Just ran a couple of laps around the bitumen running track plus the run to and from my place.

Bobbin Head Revisited STaR 30.14ks

Up to Wahroonga this morning with the start from a bus stop.
I did mean to start with the 6:10 group but due to a toilet queue I missed that so headed off with the 6:20 mob. Or as I call it running with the guns.
Group included Vespa, Vat_Man, Silver Fox, Suzanne Kelly, Barry Rutter and Steve Bodnar.

I was hurting after 10ks with us being at 48:20 at this point. But we had run a lot of hills already. Vespa, Vat and I decided we would do our own short version of the course.

This entailed following the course map all the way out and then heading down Bobbin Head Rd until we reached the Boathouse at the bottom. At this point it was 16.61 ks on my watch.
Coming down the road there are some steep hills which we go down thankfully.
Reaching here we could see our breath so it was cold, and fog still hung in the valley.

We took the crumbling sandstone stairs behind the boathouse back up to a service trail to run the 4 or 5ks back to Bobbin Head Rd. Fell once going up one of the hills.
We then proceeded back up Bobbin Head until meeting Burns Rd and turning for home.
I did an extra lap of the park to finish with 30.14ks in a time of 2:27:00. Average pace of 4:52 per klm.

I felt I was struggling all the way with the pace we were running. I thought I was holding Vespa and Vat_Man up so thanks guys for staying with me.

Stayed a while for a chat and then gave Amjan a lift back to the city. Thanks for the company.
Note for me: Must do more hill work.

East Met Cross Country 7.5k

My first cross country race.

The rain arrived about an hour before the race start of 2:30 pm. Made the course a little tricky in parts especially on the downhill corners. The race was held at Sydney Park in Tempe.

The course is 2.5ks in length so three laps was the race total.
It has three very big hills each lap in it. So it is a good leg workout.

Was informed by Blue Dog that I was not to sit and kick on him today.
Fair enough so I kept my distance around the first lap doing 9:23 for the 2.5k. On that pace I was destined for a 5k PB on a hilly course. Way too fast first lap.
The second lap was a huge blowout doing 10:17. With Blue Dog only 8 seconds behind. Time was 19:40 at the 5k.

I managed to hold the third lap better and finished with a 10:02 and a total on my watch of 29:42. Blue dog was 30:10. Couldn't handle the pace hey?
The goal was to do sub 30mins for the 7.5k. So very happy with that.

Finished with a 2k something cool down run with Vat_Man around the park.
The race was run by the Randwick Botany Harriers club.
The race was won by Sean Williams with Keith Bateman in 2nd place. And Vespa was first female home in the 5k. The first female was Cindy King in the 7.5k

The field included Vat_Man, Blue Dog, Bernie G, Vespa, Amjan, Kit.
With Mister G making an appearance on the top of the 3rd hill as I went past on the 2nd lap.

Speed Session 4x1k Reps

Temp of 18 degrees and humidity of 82%.

Ran 4 x 1k reps with a 90 second walk recovery.

Reps were pretty crap 3:55, 3:53, 3:58, 3:52.

I wanted them faster, but the hip is still sore and the air was so heavy.

Mid Week Hilly Run 13ks

Hard, Dark and Hilly.
Started out at 7:30 pm temp was 17 degrees and 82% humidity.

Ran from my place near the racecourse up towards Clovelly beach and then turned and ran along Carrington Rd down to Bondi Junction.
I then ran down old south head Rd to Curlewis St and headed to Bondi Beach.
Turned around after doing two blocks of Campbell Pde and ran back home.

The bad hills are from the racecourse up to Carrington Rd and then the Old South Head Rd hill from the beach up to Bondi Junction.

Ran 13ks in a time of 1:01:51. Pace of 4:45 per klm.

Very happy with that. I still have a sore hip which stops me stretching right out at times.

Rest Day

Home very late from work about 7:15.
Probably should not have run Monday as my hip was sore and my legs felt like crap from Sunday.
So today due to work I am not running.

Recovery Run 12.2ks

Started about 6.30pm with a temp of 17 degrees but quite humid and no breeze.

Ran around the outside of Centennial Park down to Anzac Pde via Oxford St. The usual run I do for this. Surface is some concrete but it has a lot of sand and grass to help the legs.

Ran 12.2ks in a time of 1:08.58. Average of 5.39 per klm.

Legs felt very stiff after the hard run yesterday and the hip is still sore, so just took the run slow.

Striders STaR-Davidson Recreation-29.14ks

On arrival at Lindfield oval we were greeted by the prospect of an extra two ks being added by the host to the course. It was 27ks originally.

Started with the 6:10 group and from about 2ks it quickly split with a group roaring off in the distance. Clearly not sticking to the 5:30/k pace.

The group left included Professor, Truckie, Auntie K and Brian Ogilvy.
We basically stayed together most of the way till the last bush section.
We did see a boat catch on fire in middle harbour, which of course the Prof wanted to put out.

The run is an H4 so has heaps of hills and about 8ks of bush of which the last 6 are on a narrow rocky bush track with many ups and downs. Very enjoyable this section as you run along Middle Harbour and it was quite cool.
I ended up finishing with the Professor and had the ks as 29.14 in a time of 3:00:20.
Did I say we had hills. My slowest ever Long run. Over 6min ks.
I didn't want to push hard anyway as I hurt my hip Thursday and probably should not have run.

Next saturday I will be doing my first cross country race. The race is part of the East Metropolitan series and is at Sydney Park at Alexandria. 3 x 2.5ks of a hilly course. Should be fun.

Striders Lane Cove 10k race PB 39:48

Have not done much training since the SMH Half 2 weeks ago. So I was expecting to struggle for endurance during the race. I did feel like this happened anyway even if I did PB.

The plan was to do sub 40mins again so that worked. Beat the old PB by 6 seconds.
I actually hurt my left hip on the bone on Thursday night doing intervals. Damn pot holes.

The day dawned cold and foggy. Could Action see Blue Dog in the mist? Time would tell.
Started just in front of MPHaz the 40min pacer. Ran consistently even splits, I was 7:50 at the 2k and 15:50 at the 4k and hit the 5k at 20:10 after doing scribblys hill and before the turnaround hill.
6k was 24:05. At this point MPHaz caught up and I thought I was going to get mown down by the train. He ran ahead a bit but I managed to keep pushing to only have Marty about 10 metres ahead most of the way to the finish.
7k split was 28:02, 8k 32:05 9k 36:10 and then a quicker 3:38 to finish with 39:48 and a PB.

Thanks to MPHaz to keeping me on the pace the last 4ks. He let me pass him at the rangers hut entrance.
Blue Dog was ahead all race but couldn't quite peg back the lead I let him have up Scribblys.
About 70metres and 11 seconds.
Hope to push down to 39:30 at Homebush next month. A much flatter course.

Speed Session 6x1k reps

Back to home turf doing the usual 1k along Alison Rd and the side of the bus lane.
Worked out from my old measurement of the course that I was doing about 910 metres.
Fixed that up tonight. Re-recording my distance with the Polar Unit.

Did 6x1k with a 90 second walk recovery between each.

3:50, 3:51, 3:55, 3:55, 3:50, 3:50.

Very consistent reps. It was cold at the start but I am warmed up within 500m of starting so don't feel the cold.

I run in only shorts and a short sleeve training top. I am considering getting a Striders long sleeve this weekend.

Hill Reps 8ks

Back to my old hill for some hard work.

20 Reps up the 200metre hill in times of 50-55 seconds.

20 back down in 65-70 seconds as recovery.

Legs feel quite good. Hopefully will help me tackle Lane Cove on Saturday.