Tourist Trot STaR 36ks

My intention this morning was to do the Striders Tourist Trot STaR as it starts near my house. So I ran a long way over to the start in Centennial Park adding a k and a half before the start. I then ran the course which goes for a loop around the park and then heads down to Edgecliff, Rushcutters Bay and up to the Cross. You then go through the city to Kent St and head towards the Bridge, over the bridge and around Blues Pt and Luna Park before arriving back at the bridge. Back over and then through Circular Quay and the Opera House.
When I got to the Botanic Gardens the gates had been locked so had to find another around to get to Woolloomooloo. Eventually got there via the Domain and then ran down to Garden Island and back up through the Cross and finally back to the start. I then did a loop of the park to do some extra kilometres for the morning.

All up I ran 36.2ks in 3:04:01. Average pace of 5:05 per klm.

Straight after that I headed up to my surf club for the races.
The swim was pretty short today as it was low tide. But the surf was really choppy and the waves were not breaking that well. The legs didn't want to kick too much after the morning long run. The run was a struggle as my legs were very dead and not responding to my badgering to run faster.
A few beers and a BBQ fixed everything.

Happy New Year!

Mona Fartlek

My version which includes the 2x2min reps at the start to make the total 28 minutes.
Ran it late this afternoon as I had a bit to do at work in the morning plus a BBQ lunch at the parents house.

Ran from my place up to the SFS and back. An all flat tar surface.

I ran 6.8ks in the 28mins. Average pace of 4:07 per klm. A bit slower than the last time I did this. But I'm not doing much speed work at the moment.

Centennial Cross Country 13ks

A quiet run in Centennial Park tonight around the grass trail. Not many people about, must have been the afternoon thunderstorm that scared them off. The dirt/sand was soft underfoot and the park smelt great after the rain. A fair bit of water around.

I ran 13.1ks in 1:09:48. Average pace of 5:19 per klm. Very easy!

Medium Long Run 22ks

I did a lap of the Centennial Park running track and then ran out down to the Racecourse and up and around the SCG and SFS and then repeated it.
A long loop to repeat but pretty flat and not too hard on the legs. Pretty windy with the North Easterly breeze still blowing.

I ran 22.77ks in 1:43:43. Average pace of 4:33 per klm. Hard work holding that pace. Hopefully it will get easier.

Yacht Club Classic 8ks

Later in the afternoon I had to go and get a bus off the crew of the Yacht Maximus that was sailing in the Sydney to Hobart today.
So I ran down to Rushcutters bay to get the bus and drive it back to work. I then ran home from work.
It was 4.8ks in 24:15 from home to the CYC. Average pace of 5:03 per klm.
And then 3.5ks in 17:19 to run from work to home. Average pace of 4:56 per klm.

Didn't really feel like having to run these after the BBQ and beers at lunch. Had to do it though.
Now I am very tired and burnt from all that I've done today. Time for an early night I think.

Surf Club Swim, Board Paddle and Run

After doing my run around Whale Beach I had my surf club events to go in. What started as a Westerly became a very stiff Easterly breeze during the middle of our races. And the water was cold.
The swim was a really long today in a 16 degree ocean. I went in the board paddle as it seemed like a good idea at the time. Until the wind came up and we had to paddle straight into the wind chop.
The run went much better than Sunday when I ended up coming second today.

And a BBQ and beers on the back lawn on Boxing Day after the races, how good is that.

Whale Beach Run 7ks

I was up at my Surf Club this morning so went for a run around one of the runs we used to do years ago when we were doing training. Pretty hilly and the cars get really close as there isn't much room. We basically run from Palm Beach down to the golf club and then back towards Avalon via the Pittwater side and go up over to Whale Beach via Surf Rd hill and then run back along the Surfside to the club.

All up 7.2ks in 30:23. Average pace of 4:13 per klm.

Christmas around the bay 7ks

Met Johnny Dark, Action, Vurt, Aunty K, Dazza K, Chonky, Sparkie, Bernie G, Razor and Kit for a lap of the bay this morning at 5:30am. No walkers around this morning.
A very casual lap with reindeer horns in attendance and JD in a Santa hat.
Forgot to restart my watch after getting a drink, but Bernie had it as 39:50 for the 7ks.
A nice pace for a recovery run.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Surf Club Swim and Run

After finishing at Quarry Rd it was a dash down to my Surf Club to do their races at 11am. Pretty flat surf meant a long swim and a mean shore dump which was full of seaweed. Should have stayed away. Nah!
The run was a struggle as the tide was up and we had no hard sand to run on. Oh well. Beers and a BBQ lunch followed which was excellent.

Now I'm stuffed after doing some Christmas shopping this afternoon during the thunderstorm.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you all drive safe and Santa brings you what you want, and the family remains well. Cheers.

Edit: I came fourth in the run after all that.

Quarry Rd 30ks

Up early to the Quarry Rd start at Hornsby. Met up with about a dozen runners at the start and we wondered where Horrie and Belinda were. Late, with Horrie sporting a limp and not running.

Headed off down the track in spitting rain which during the morning became progressively heavier but not torrential. I intended to do two laps of the course and ended up running a lap and a half with Sportsman. Had to walk a few of the hills, but not too many as I had to keep up with Sportsman.
After doing the two laps I headed back down the track to the first concreted hill past the bridge and then turned around.
My splits were 1st lap: 69:48, 2nd lap: 70:42. Which meant 2:20:30 after the two laps.
Adding on the extra bit I did, I ended up running 30ks in 2:47:06. Average pace of 5:34 per klm.
Good effort with the steep hills on the Road. Legs felt excellent, must be the recent long hill reps that are starting to kick in. Had to head off to my surf club for some races later in the morning.

Thanks to 2P and Horrie for organising. Those ants at the finish were a menace.

Centennial Cross Country 10ks

A lap of the outside fence of Centennial Park and then a lap around the grass near the horse track. Very windy over here with the afternoon sea breeze.
The run was all on grass and sand/dirt. Very easy.

I ran 10.61ks in 55:08. Average pace of 5:11 per klm.
The legs are starting to feel better the longer the week goes. I'll see how much I can smash them on Quarry Rd on Sunday in the rain.

Marathon Pace Run 15ks

Four laps of Centennial Park tonight on the tar running track plus a bit extra to make the 15ks.

Very windy but no showers fell during the run, which was good. Not many people about. Must have been the grey sky and strong wind made them all stay indoors.

Ran 15ks in 62:59. Average pace of 4:11 per klm. Didn't quite turn out as fast as I wanted. The wind was a killer to run in to.

Easy 10ks

Well the legs still feel a bit sore from the weekend, so I decided to not push a speed session with my history of stress fractures.
I ran into Centennial park with a light drizzle falling and a southerly blowing. I ran around the grass trail giving the legs a rest.

I ran 10.5ks in 57:13. Average pace of 5:26 per klm. Received the Canberra Marathon entry in the mail. So I better get cracking and do some more training.

Recovery Run 10.5ks

The Calves were both feeling very sore today and really didn't want to work. My right hip is also sore and has me getting up from my chair like an old man. Enough about the body.

A very windy North Easter blowing greeted me as I headed in to Centennial Park tonight for a run. Very slow considering the legs. Really did not feel like running and the wind made it worse.

Anyway it was 10.5ks in 1:01:39. Average pace of 5:52 per klm.

Surf Club Swim and Run

Straight after the Striders STaR I was off to my surf club for our races.
The water was fantastic. A bit foamy but great to swim in.

Got a fairly short swim out of the way and then had the run. Not great as the legs just didn't want to work after doing the STaR this morning.

Anyway a BBQ and beers for lunch followed. So I'm happy.

Tourist Trot STaR 29ks

A Striders training run so close to home, I couldn't miss it. Jogged the 1.5ks over to the start and went off with a very small 6:20 group of four of us which picked up 2 more late starters of Silver Fox and Jonathan Worswick(six ft veteran) while inside Centennial Park.
We start near Fox Studios and do a lap of the park and then head up and out of the Woollahra gates down Ocean St to Edgecliff. We then run up New South Head to the Cross and down along William St. You then run up past St Marys Cathedral and down King St all the way to Kent St.
From there it is down to the Rocks and up over the bridge, and then a loop around Blues Pt and Luna Park and back over the Bridge again. Then around the Quay, Opera House, Botanic Gardens, Boy Charlton Pool, Harrys, Garden Island and back up through the middle of the Cross. Then it is back to the start via Oxford st, Victoria Barracks, past the SFS and SCG to finish at the Lang Rd gates of Centennial Park.

All up I ran 28.7ks in 2:16:12. Average pace of 4:44 per klm. The pace was pretty quick for me from the start. But happy to get through it. Ran back through the park with Virtual who was going to a SWEAT BBQ Brunch.

Track 3000m-25 Second PB

Today was the NSW Club Championships out at Homebush. The Striders didn't have anyone running except Keith Bateman(CR Bright shoes) and myself.
I was to run the 800m with Guzzo being the A runner and myself the B runner. That was changed on Friday when Royworlds pulled out of the 3000m B race. So I jumped in. Guzzo ended up not doing the 800m. Keith ran the 3000m A race before mine and ran 9:11. Only 1 second off his National 50+ record. It was pretty windy but he was disappointed to miss it.

I was in the B race with Lachlan Chisholm next to me. He DNF'd after about 4 laps. Time trial maybe. Mohammad was in the stand and took splits for Keith and myself during our races.
The splits were for 200m and then each 400m.
37:66, 85, 87:62, 85:16, 87:86, 89:14, 86:75, 73:65.
Klm splits in 3:30(3:30), 7:08(3:38), 10:32(3:24).
The whole field raced off and I was left trailing alone in last place for most of the race until Chisholm lapped me about the 4th lap and I passed my first runner.
My first lap was in 77 seconds which was 4 seconds faster than the 1st lap last 3000m race. I felt fine though and was very happy to come round the 1k with a 3:30 on the clock. The 2nd k wasn't as good as I felt I had gone too quick in the 1st which showed when I did 3:38. Keith yelled out the whole race should hurt so I pulled my finger out after that and ran 89, 86 and a 73 to finish. The last k was done in 3:24 which is a klm PB by 3 seconds for me. Can I claim that?

The 73 second last lap is explained by me chasing the 3rd last runner who I had talked to before the race. I passed him with about 250m to go and thought I had him when I wound the clock up but with about 70m to go I heard him come back so had to go into a flat out sprint. He beat me by 1 100th of a second. Should have stuck the chest out better. The little bugger was 15.

Final time was 10:32:84. Average pace of 3:31 per klm. A 25 second PB. The old time was 10:57:90 from the State 3000m titles last month. And as you can see I didn't run the 800m. Now I think I'll have a better crack at the 5000m titles next month. Sydney Track Classic at Homebush Jan 13th. Should be a cracking night as it is an A series meet as well.
Thanks to everyone for your help and support.

14x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off

Ran into Centennial Park and did a lap of the tar track. Ran into Mohammad half way through the session.
The circuit is 3.7ks and I did 14 of the 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off to complete the lap.

So basically 3.7ks in 14 mins. Average pace of 3:47 per klm. I do usually sprint the 30 seconds on which explains how I manage to do a pace that quick.

Pretty windy in the park tonight and very humid.

Just watched the highlights of the Port Macquarie Ironman and did see Queen B doing her bow at the end of her race. She had the CR tri top on.

McKay Oval 7x200m Reps

While running my first rep I was on the other side of the oval when someone picked up one of my running shoes that I left where I started. I was running in spikes so the left the other ones on the grass. By the time I ran over the would be thief decided to take off leaving my shoes behind. Maybe they weren't his size. Mongrel!

Anyway tonight was a few reps on grass in the spikes so I might not embarass the Striders and Guz too much in the 800m on Saturday.
Reps were 32.5, 32.1, 32.3, 32.3, 32.5, 32.8, 33.0. All done with a full walk recovery of about 230m. Strange oval.
Did a 1k warmup and a 1k cool down after the session.
Last time the reps were between 34.2-35.4. So basically 2 seconds quicker per 200m rep.

Timbrell Park Reps 10x500m

I found out yesterday that I was running in the Club Champs for the Striders this Saturday. I'm running an 800m as the B runner with Glenn Guzzo as the A for obvious reasons.

The legs really didn't feel like running fast tonight after doing 26ks on Sunday afternoon.

My reps were 1:42, 1:41, 1:41, 1:41, 1:39, 1:43, 1;39, 1:45, 1:41, 1:43. All done with a 60 second walk recovery. I had a 1.2k warmup before the session and a 1.2k cooldown after.

No rain at all just a bit of southerly wind blowing.

My guess for my 800m time is 2:50. I figure if I can run a 3:30 1k I could do a 2:50 800m. I guess if I'm chasing a heap of faster runners I might go faster.

What a Cracker

What a cracker of a thunderstorm tonight. Started off around the trail in Centennial Park and lasted about ten minutes before the rain came in.
It was brilliant, lightning, thunder, strong wind and pelting rain. Only lasted about 20 minutes but it was excellent to run in. I think I was the only nutter I saw out running. The shoes are now coated in mud.

It was in fact a recovery run. Legs felt great inspite of yesterdays 26ks.
I ran 7.05ks in 38:23. Average pace of 5:26 per klm.

And apparently the results for the Central Coast Half say that I only ran 84:40. So no sub 4min/half. I'll get it next time.

Hangover Horror 26ks

After eventually getting out of bed at midday with a dirty hangover I missed both the Striders STaR this morning and the club awards. A big afternoon and night on Saturday lead me to getting to bed at midnight and sleeping with the light on. Not a good look the face this morning.

Anyway I waited until 4pm before going out for a run. Mixed up the run with a lap of Centennial Park around the grass/dirt trail. I then headed from there up to Waverley and then on to Bondi Junction, Rose Bay and up Heartbreak Hill. Turned up there and ran back down Old South Head Rd until getting to Royal Sydney Golf Club where I met the same rd I came down from Bondi Junction. I then ran back up the hill and then back through Waverley to my house again.

All up 26.2ks in 2:11:57. Average pace of 5:02 per klm. Not bad considering the hills in this run plus the slow trail around Centennial Park. Plus the stomach wasn't too flash with the hangover.

Summer Twilight Series 5k

Down to the bay run for a 5k/10k organised by Colin.
I tracked Easy Tiger, Tux and Colin all the way around the bay, never managing to catch them. Tux ran back for the 10k.

My splits for the 5k were 3:37, 7:25, 11:17, 15:04, 19:01.
Equal to the track 5000m from 2 weeks ago, and only 7 seconds off the PB.
Pretty happy considering I have not done any short speed stuff in the last few weeks.

Finished up running back the 5k with Horrie to the start again. Then had a long chat mostly about Six Foot with Johnny Dark, Colin, Horrie and Tux.

Centennial Cross Country

A couple of laps of Centennial Park on the dirt track around the outside fence tonight. Lots of people out as the Moonlight Cinema started tonight I think.

Ran 14.5ks in 1:14:23. Average pace of 5:07 per klm. Pretty windy with the Sea breeze blowing hard.

Might try Colin's setup 5k or 10k around the Bay tomorrow night. Probably the 5k as the 10k is all uphill into the wind on the way back.

For anyone wondering I will be doing Six Foot easy as it is not my focus even though I do have a blog about it. I am considering doing the 50k at Canberra so Six Foot will be good for that training.

Marathon Pace Run 11ks

Ok I know its early to be doing this one, considering the next road one is at Canberra in April.
I did 3 laps of the running track in Centennial Park. Really windy tonight it was hard work when I had to run into it. A strong North-Easter blowing waiting for the Southerly to come through late tonight.

My splits were 14:46(3:57/k), 14:42(3:56/k), 15:10(4:03/k).
I knew after that last one blewout that I should stop. The total was 11.2ks in 44:38. Average pace of 3:59 per klm.

And yes I'll admit the Goal Marathon Pace for Canberra maybe 4 min ks. But don't get too excited, as I just want to get under 3 hours first.

Saw Guz and Knoxy running around the park. They were going faster than me while cruising around on the grass. What talent!

Recovery Run 7ks

Ran into Centennial Park a bit late tonight. Started at 7:30pm.
The bats were coming into feed on the fig trees and the full moon was rising.
A bit windy, but nothing like yesterday.

Ran 7.3ks in 40:30. Average pace of 5:32 per klm. Legs felt pretty sore after yesterday's race. Quite happy to be running on the grass again.

Central Coast Half Marathon

Sub 4 minute k's baby!
An early start, meaning up at 3:30am for the drive up to The Entrance. Arrived at 6am to a very short reg line. Which about 10 minutes later ballooned into a 20min line. The Organisers were a bit overwhelmed. So much that the race didn't start until 7:25 instead of 7am. We didn't exactly start in the correct spot, probably about 50metres ahead of the line. I guess you can call the course a bit short then. Showers and wind all during the race which didn't let up until just near the finish. How unusual.

Had a good start and got into the correct pace from the start. The lack of klm markers that you could see didn't help the pacing.They were spray painted on the grass next to the bike path. The 4.5k mark was when the 9k fun run turned around which came up in 16:53. Other splits that I recalled were 8k 31:43, 9k 35:43, 13k 51:45, 18k 72:12, 20k 80:00.
The course was basically dead flat but very wet from the rain which made it hard hurdling puddles or plowing straight through some. I was very happy to still keep my pacing even through the race without any noticeable bad k's at all.

The finish was a hard sprint into the wind for the last klm to finish in 84:12. Well if it is 50metres short I guess you could add on 10 seconds and I'm still under the 4min/k pace.
It was great to get all the support from CR's out on the course and before and after the race. I nearly ended up in the water at the end as the legs were pretty wobbly and the finish area is a bit narrow.

Thanks for everyone's support this year. It has been hard work trying to get back to the form I had last year before the 2 stressies. Now to work on my slack 10k and Marathon times.

P.S Can't tell you about the date just yet.

Midnight in the garden of Good and Evil-7ks

After a date on Wednesday night and then end of month stuff Thursday night I finally got to run tonight.
Actually went out for a run at 10pm and it was 30 degrees and humid. Man it was hard work.

Just ran very easy to turn the legs over. Felt like I was never going to get out to run before the race on Sunday.

Ran 7.5ks in 34:50. Average pace of 4:38 per klm. Just ran from home up to Oxford St via the Busway and back again.