6x1k Reps, with a PB thrown in

I guess I can still count a 1k rep as a PB. I did have 5 others with it and it wasn't a one off event.

Down to the Bay Run with a very humid air and a slight hint of a breeze.
Did a 1k warmup down to the CR1k marker, and then started.

Reps were 3:32, 3:35, 3:38, 3:37, 3:39, 3:37. All done with a 2 minute standing recovery.
Did a 1k cool down back to the car again.

The PB was the first rep. Old 1k PB of 3:35 was 5 weeks ago at the same place.
Ok I'm not feeling as crap in the body as I thought. Just my head.

Easy 55 Minutes

Legs needed an extra day to recover from the half on Sunday so just ran around on the grass in Centennial Park. Woke up a couple of possums and bats while doing so.

Had a bit of a shower late on the run. Not very heavy as the trees seemed to block the rain from hitting me.

Ran 10.5ks in 55:20. Average pace of 5:16 per klm.

Recovery Run 12.3ks

Into Centennial Park with it pretty windy tonight.
Legs feeling pretty sore after the half yesterday so stuck to the grass most of the way.

Ran 12.3ks in 67:37. Average pace of 5:29 per klm. Took it very easy tonight.

Bit of a pain having the time on my watch at the lake half which I started and stopped by the gun and the finish line read 86:43 and then get given officially 86:57.
I guess the wheel chair guy at the start meant they took time off. We were told it would be 1 min, but that obviously was wrong.

Oh well, must run faster at Sydney Half then.

And Tesso the Striders all time lists only use the race websites gun times as PB's.
All fair I think, just get up the front and push hard for the PB.

Ripped off

Well according to my watch which I started as the gun went and since I stood right at the front of the lake half marathon I assumed that would be close to my time.

How stupid can I be. I've just been ripped off 14 seconds from my PB in the official results.

So new PB is 86:57 apparently. Lucky I had a few seconds up my sleeve.

Lake Macquarie Half Marathon PB-86:43

Well 14 months of leg pain and head frustration over the same thing has finally come to fruition today as I knocked off my Half Marathon PB.
The old PB was set in June 2005 at the Kembla Joggers Half Marathon. For anyone that hasn't run that course it rates as hard for hills as the SMH Half.

The course up at Lake Macquarie on the NSW central coast was rumoured to be flat. Well it would be if it didn't have a couple of hills that go for a 1.5k's that you get to run 4 times as it is a 5k out and back course.

The start was pretty cool but soon heated up later with a bit of wind off the lake in the last 5ks coming back as well.
I started ok with the 1st k of 3:50 and then getting to 5k in 19:59, but from then on the bleeding of time per k started and I knew I was struggling to keep my goal of 4/min ks.
Ran through the 10k in 40:30 and then finished in 86:43 for a 33 second PB.

Met some new CR's up at the race including Louie de fly, the mule, poppy and kazads.
Plus saw Tuttle, Queen Bee, Luke Skyrunner, Mrs Skyrunner, Psychoma and Redback doing the races. There was about 400 doing the half with at least double that in the 10.5k race.

Two PB's in 2 weeks. Got to love that. Next up the 10k PB on Saturday at North Head.
Thanks for everyone's encouragement recently.

Easy Run-35 Minutes

A very wild night in the wind with a bit of rain falling, but hardly touching the ground.

Ran 6.6ks in the 35 minutes. Took it very easy.

Did a lap around Centennial Park on the grass for this run.

For Tesso: My car does have a TV and also a temp guage that gives the outside temp, hence the 18 degrees.

Timbrell Park Reps 10x500m

Down to Timbrell Park to do these reps. Ran along the section from the 1k marker back to the 500m point. Very well lit with the street lights.

Reps were 1:48, 1:48, 1:49, 1:47, 1:47, 1:45, 1:46, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45.
All done off a 60 second recovery. Reps felt really good. Had a 1k warmup and cool down.

The air was a bit humid and the car said 18 degrees when I started. Nice.

Hard 50 minutes

A pretty flat run with the only hill right at the start as I ran up towards the Uni of NSW, but then there is a long downhill after that towards Anzac Pde.
I then ran down Anzac Pde until getting to the Maroubra shops and turning around and coming back almost the same way except going up Anzac Pde further until getting to Moore Park and going down Alison Rd to home.

Lots of up and down footpaths and traffic lights to slow me down. Very hard to keep a rythym going on this run. But it is mostly flat which is why I ran this way.

Ran 11.6ks in the 50 mins. Average pace of 4:18 per klm. A warm 19 degrees when I started with a bit of a breeze blowing.

Feeling good for Sunday's half marathon.

Edit: Goal for the half is 84:25 exactly 4min ks or beat Blue Dogs PB of 85:37 if not. Flat course.

Faster Recovery Run 10ks

Into Centennial Park for this yet again. No bats were hurt in the process.

Ran 10ks in 49:07. Average pace of 4:54 per klm.

Legs still felt pretty stiff from Sundays long run so decided to take it easy again.

Recovery Run 12ks

A warm humid night as I ran into Centennial Park waking the bats up.
Ran around the grass trail up to Oxford St and then down to Anzac Pde and back again.

Just a slow recovery run doing 12.2ks in 1:08:02. Average pace of 5:34 per klm.

Legs felt pretty sore after the long run yesterday, hopefully they will get some action back into them for the half on Sunday.

Vaucluse Variation STaR 28.7ks

One of the four Striders STaR's that start in the Eastern Suburbs. The others being Clovelly Canter, Tourist Trot and Bondi Lifesaver.
Started in a park at Vaucluse with a very fresh breeze blowing at 6am when I arrived.
The run goes down Heartbreak Hill to Rose Bay, through Rose Bay to Double Bay up an over the hill at Edgecliff and half down to Rushcutters Bay but then we turn and run up through Bondi Junction and Waverley.
We then run down into Bronte and run along the cliff back through Glamourama and Bondi.
Then go up Military Rd and along to the coast to the Macquarie lighthouse and past the gap(thinking of jumping at this point as the legs were shot), and down past Doyles for some fish and chips at Watto Bay.
We then run back through the hoi polloi of Vaucluse and back to the park. Rated an H3 on the striders hill factor out of 5. The worst part is there are steps every where up and down. Kills the rythym and the legs.

Plenty of CR's about Fats, Amjan, Springer, Grandpa, Sportman, Leftie, Will, Roses, 26miles, Silverfox, Virtual and the out of retirement Don Juan.

Ran 28.7ks in 2hrs 35mins. Had a little deviation at Double Bay as I ran off for a toilet and had to catch up the group which took me half an hour.
Average pace of 5:24 per klm. Not too bad considering the hills and stairs and my lack of endurance fitness recently.
Lake Macquarie Half next Sunday. Hunting for sub 4min/ks.

6x1k Reps

A warm 21 degrees at 7:30pm when I started tonight.

My nancy boy legs were being used to good effect around the bay run tonight.

Reps were 3:37, 3:39, 3:41, 3:41, 3:39, 3:43. All done with a 2min standing recovery.

Pretty slow actually. I guess it doesn't help when I had a massage this afternoon.

Did a 1k warmup and a 1k cool down before and after the session.

A massage by Easy Tiger

Tiger said "you are the biggest nancy boy client I have, and you can put that in your blog"

So I did.

Hamstring seems to be getting better after the massage, a bit hard to tell until I start running.
Apparently I'm getting more loose during the massage. Must be the whale's mating music.

1k Reps later tonight.

A Quick One Hour

I was intending to run this as a Half Marathon Pace Run but upon starting I discovered a very nasty 20knot N/E seabreeze blowing. Well that certainly wasn't going to help when I had to run into it for about 2 and half ks of the loop I was doing.

Instead ran for an hour covering 14.1 ks in that time. Average pace of 4:15 per klm.

Legs felt pretty sore in the hamstring and hip areas. Massage tomorrow.

Mona Fartlek

Extended out to 28mins by me.
Down to the bay to do this one after the afternoon hail storm.

Ran 6.72ks in the 28 minutes. Average pace of 4:10 per klm. Not bad considering the race on Sunday.

Did a 1k warmup and a 1k cool down before and after the session. Hamstring hurt a bit, but what's unusual about that. Couldn't spot a Cool Runner tonight.

Just some C2S trivia:
My position in 2004(last race) was 1676th place with a time of 62:52.

Position for this year was 751st with a time of 58:05.

Geez the legs felt good tonight

Should have run harder yesterday at C2S, the legs feel great. I guess it was only 14ks and not a 30k long run so there is a bit of a difference.

Into Centennial Park with a warm breeze blowing, and only disturbed a couple of bats. I thought they would have been tired after doing C2S yesterday. I'm sure Batman would have run.

Any it was a run up to Oxford St and then down to Fox Studios and along Anzac Pde and back. Nearly all grass and dirt. Ran 12.2ks in 65:16. Average pace of 5:20 per klm.

City 2 Surf PB= 58:05

It's been a hard road back from missing last years race with one Stress fracture just before and then getting another one in February this year.
I'm so relieved to get this race out of the way. I know it is only a 14k race and who keeps tabs on a 14k PB? Really missed doing the race last year especially when I was in good form just before it.
Race day started early meeting Johnny Dark, Tesso, Blue Dog and Bernie G in a dark alley outside the Sydney Water building trying to send our bags to Bondi in the truck. Made our way to the start line by 7am for the long wait till the 9:30 start. The usual tricks were pulled by people as I was right on the rope I had people get out in front of me before the start to 'stretch' and then not go back.
The race start was very easy, lots of space to run in and I still managed to pass people on William St who clearly should not have been at the front of the A1 start. Saw Fats, Coaster and Don Juan going down the first hill.

Ran with Minersrun, Shell, Pod Runner, Spiderman and Strider Jo Cowan for different parts of the race. I was at the 5k in 20:25. Which seemed to be accurate. The 6k was 24:25 and the dodgy '7k' in 30:30. I don't think I was that slow up the hill.
Passed the 10k in 42:45 and then flew to the finish to run 58:05. With a 15:20 last 4ks.
Love the 'negative split' 7k 30:30/27:35. The 2004 'negative split' was 33:00/29:52.

A PB of 4:47 from 2004, and finally the chance to update the PB's on my blog.
A nice after race softies and chat at the Striders 'tent'. Thanks to the new striders for setting up.
Then it was off to the Bondi Hotel for the hard drinks and more catching up with CR's and Striders. Beat Blue Dog by 8 minutes.

Next race is Lake Macquarie Half in 2 weeks with a crack at the sub 4min ks.

.Weapon of Choice

Asics DS Racers.
Racing Red! Yeehah.

Easy Run-35 Minutes

A very easy run into Centennial Park tonight. Hamstring still hurting when I run.
Woke up Batfink. He was not happy.

Ran 6.8ks in the 35 minutes. Average pace of 5:08 per klm. Easy run, nothing too hard.

Looking forward to Sunday even if I don't run well. Just hated when I missed it last year.

Centennial Park Run 12ks

An easy run into Centennial Park as the legs were pretty sore.
Ran around the grass trail up to Oxford St and then down to Anzac Pde and back again.

Ran 12.6ks in the 65 minutes. Average pace of 5:09 per klm.

Right hamstring still feels sore. Right hip was a bit sore until I warmed up after a few k's and then the pain disappeared. I think there is a right hand side pattern emerging here.

5k Time Trial + 4x1k Reps

With the howling wind around the bay tonight it really wasn't a great time to try for any fast stuff. But it just has to be done today as Bondi awaits on Sunday.

Started at the CR0 marker where else to do the 5k.
Went through the 1st k in 3:50. Thats the downhill rep. 2nd k came up in 7:43. 3rd k in 11:35. 4th k in 15:25. To finish in 19:20. Close to the PB but no cigar. I'll probably have another shot when it is not as windy. Had a 10 minute recovery before starting the 1k reps.

Then did 4x1k Reps running back to the 1k marker and then did a 1k cooldown.
Reps were 3:48, 3:46, 3:41, 3:43. All done with a 2 minute standing recovery.

Now just some easy runs until the Park St brekkie.

The getting of Wisdom

Actually the loss of wisdom as the wisdom tooth was pulled this afternoon.
Had a little abcess below the tooth.
Better to take the pain now than later when it became too bad.

It really wasn't painful as they put three needles into your mouth first.
Then get a pair of pliers that my mechanic would love to own and pull the bugger out.

So today is a rest day as apparently an elevated heart rate from any exercise would make the hole in my gum bleed. So I'll do the 1k reps tomorrow night.

Anyone fainted yet?

And Miners I have an extra 4kgs of weight over last year at this time so why waste extra on shoes. So the racing flats will get their longest workout from me in a race. Previous was 11k at Sutherland to Surf a couple of weeks ago.

One Hour Around the Park

Feeling tired, crappy and with an old filling giving me the s&*ts.
I ran around the outside of Centennial Park staying on the grass mostly.

Ran 11.2ks in the hour.

Just noticed as well while inspecting my running shoes that I need to buy another pair of racing flats. Looks like the tread is wearing off on the bottom. Need to get them before Sunday.

Hamstring was still a bit sore tonight.

Centennial Park 15ks

After a night at the Rugby I slept in till midday. Luxury, pure luxury.

I finally got out for a run about 1:30 pm so headed into Centennial Park to do a few laps of the dirt trail around the outside of the park.
Ran 15.2ks in 1:20:38. Average pace of 5:18 per klm. Very slow today.
The hamstring was giving me grief all during the run. Hope it can hold together till 10:30am Sunday. That's after I have finished C2S.

Saw Amjan and Fats in the park doing some Cross Training.

Aths NSW Road Relays 4klms

Gave the CR demi-god of sex Don Juan a lift down to the gong for the Road Relays.
A pretty flat 2k course around the beach front of Wollongongs flagstaff point.
And doing 2 laps of that.
The Striders B team is coming 1st in the Winter teams comp at present.
So the the mad guz called on the guns of Vat, Blue Dog and Don Juan. Somehow that also included me.

No showers fell during our race but we had to put up with a pretty stiff 15knot breeze on the course with not much protection from it.
Vat went first and crossed in 14:07 and passed to me and much to my surprise I ran 15:20 according to official results.
I passed onto Blue Dog who ran 15:06 and then Don Juan finished it off. Not sure of his time.
The team was 5th B team.

Ver happy with my time of 15:20 for the 4ks. Basically held my 1k rep training pace for 4ks.
Excellent! The day was well organised by the Kembla Joggers. Be back next year to go faster.

6x1k Reps

With the hammie still refusing to play ball I ran around the bay run for these reps anyway.
There was a bit of rain about as the path was wet when I started and then I finished the cool down in a shower.
Did a 1k warmup and I stretched the legs pretty well before I started. The cool down was done a bit quick as I ran back to my car with the shower getting heavier.

Reps were 3:36, 3:39, 3:37, 3:39, 3:41, 3:43. All done with a 2min stumble recovery.

Felt the hamstring from the first step and it does stop me from stretching out in my stride properly. Hence I am probably changing my running style a fair bit to compensate the pain.

A massage by Easy Tiger

As my right hamstring has been giving me grief for a week I decided I should try and get a massage to sort it out.
Well apparently every muscle was tight, so the tiger says.

Lots of work on my calves, hamstrings, and back.

Have some exercises to do to try and fix the hamstring problem. Not serious, just very annoying.

I have been told that walking from the car to the start line of a race does not constitute a warmup. Bugger! Can't be slack anymore.

And I'm not running tonight as I need to rest the hammie a bit more.

Mona Fartlek + Hill Reps

Well back down to the Bay Run again, the scene of last Sunday's debacle.
I guess it is right what they say. Some days are like diamonds and some days are like coal.
Sunday was Coal and today was a Diamond.

With Hamstring still hurting I decided to tackle a flake modified version of the Mona Fartlek.
Mine is 28mins instead of the standard 20mins.
Started from the CR 4k marker and worked my way back around the bay to past the 1k marker and then turned at the 14minute point. Ran back to the start and managed to do 6.8ks in the 28mins. Average pace of 4:07 per klm. Best yet! Can't work that out.

Spotted Shell, Guz and Fats working out around various parts of the Bay tonight.

As I had parked at Lilyfield to do the Fartlek I decided to do some hill reps as well.
Did 10 reps of Lilyfield Rd hill, and then went home.