Vaucluse Variation STaR 27ks

Off to a close Striders training run this morning. Starts at Vaucluse and goes through Rose Bay, Double Bay, Edgecliff, Woollahra, Bondi, Waverley, Bronte, Tamarama, Nth Bondi, Dover Heights, The Gap, Watsons Bay and back to Vaucluse.
The run is very hilly and has a lot of stairs from the 15k mark onwards. So, not real good for training actually. But great views of the ocean from Bronte to Watsons Bay and then up the harbour towards the Bridge.
Cut the run a little bit short at the end and did 27.5ks in 2:19:05. Average pace of 5:05 per klm.

Good to catch up with a few post Six Foot Striders and I saw Amjan and Fats' new baby.

RB Harriers 4k X-C

Headed down to Pagewood mid afternoon for a run with the Randwick Botany Harriers. A 2k grass course with a couple of steep hills around Mutch park.
Caught up with Fossil, Grandpa and a couple of other Striders before the start.

Took off too quick at the start and lost my breath, which meant basically feeling like crap for 4ks.

Got around the course in one piece with my dodgy heel getting some relief from the soft grass surface.
Finished with 16:52 for the 4k. My program had me doing 10k easy today but a short race will do me.

3x2.5k @ marathon pace

Did a 2k warmup before starting. Ran a flat course down to Fox Studios and back.

Reps were: 9:57, 9:51, 10:01. All done at Marathon pace.

All done with a 3 min jog recovery in between.

Felt easier tonight to hold that pace without breathing too hard to do it. Something must be working.
Did a 2k cool dow after finishing.

MLR 16ks

Felt really warm when I started out but was only 22 degrees at 7:30pm. Maybe it was all in the head. Ran around the SCG, SFS and Fox Studios plus a few of the local hills in Randwick.

Ran 16ks in 1:15.47. Average pace of 4:44 per klm. Felt very easy even with my sore heel effecting my gait.

4x1k Reps + 6x200m Reps

A bit windy, a bit humid and a bit wet. A nice track session at Kensington tonight. Ok it was really hard due to the conditions.
Did a 2k warmup to start with and then half a dozen strides.

Reps were: 3:29, 3:26, 3:28, 3:28. All done with a 100 second walk recovery.

Then did 33.2, 33.0, 33.7, 33.5, 33.1, 34.2. All done with a 200m Jog recovery.

Did a 2k cool down to finish. Plenty of water on the track tonight.

Easter Egg Run 40ks

Couldn't find the Easter Bunny this morning but there were a few honey bunnies in the park. I love a run around Centennial park in the morning.
Did basically the same 10k loop three times to see how my pacing was doing. It turned out almost the same each lap I did. In the end I did an out and back 5ks and then tried to run the last 5ks at race pace. I was close to it but it was very tough.
The weather was nice and cool for once. Got a go Striders from someone this morning, no idea who it was.

Finished with 40.4ks in 3:06.14. Average pace of 4:36 per klm. Now that is more like the pace I need for a training run. I'm happy. Now for some taper.

Happy Easter everyone. I'm loaded up with a 3 hour easter lunch. Very good!

An Eye on the Green 10ks

Ran around the outside fence of Centennial Park on the grass down to Fox Studios and back.

Ran 10.2ks in 50:02. Average pace of 4:54 per klm.

Nice conditions in the park with no humidity and a cold southerly blowing. A bit of water in places might slow up the race on Monday in the park.

Mona Fartlek in the wind

Sounds dirty. Pretty windy tonight as the Southerly was coming through. A week possibly of showers, can't wait.
Ran down to Fox Studios and back. Legs felt pretty heavy and the wind wasn't helping either.

Ran 5.3ks in the 20 minutes. Average pace of 3:46 per klm.

MLR 19ks

A mostly flat run around Centennial Park, Moore Park, SFS and SCG. Really humid again. Can't wait for the Southerly to come through tomorrow with some rain and hopefully cooler weather.

Total was 19ks in 1:27.07. Average pace of 4:35 per klm.

Tempo 5ks + Hills

Did a 2k warmup before starting. Ran around to Fox Studios which is pretty flat. Ran 5ks in 19:55. Still getting hard to keep this pace up, especially with the humidity and wind tonight. I felt like I had to push it hard to do it rather than have the pace feel easy.

After that did 10 x 200m hill reps. Up in about 50-55 secs and down in around a minute.

Did a 2k cool down after finishing.

Easy 12ks

Ran around Centennial Park down to Anzac Pde and back. Stayed mostly on the grass.
Ran 12.2ks in 1:02.07. Average pace of 5:05 per klm.

Just did some searching appears Young Action has been living off a 20 year old runners glory from the 1992 race also called Stephen Jackson. Obviously the Striders stats guru does not know about it.
Apologies to Blue Dog's Mum. Your son smashed Action. Excellent.
I did see Action DNF'd in 1991 at Six Foot and then didn't run until 2001.

Sunday in the Park 39ks

Due to some work issues yet again I couldn't get out to SMC to run the 30k or to do the Striders STaR at Putney.
Went out late morning for part of my run today. Due to my heel still hurting I ran around mostly on the grass in Centennial Park. Stayed under the tree cover as it was pretty warm as well.
Ran 16ks in 1:15.55. Average pace of 4:44 per klm. Not bad on the grass and sand in the park.
Had to have lunch with the parents so couldn't do what I wanted so will have to run later.

2nd part of the day. Not as warm in the sun as earlier with the sun going down. The sea breeze was pretty strong though. 30ks an hour apparently. Did a few different loops around Centennial Park on the grass. Total was 23.2 ks in 1:52.08. Average pace of 4:50 per klm.
Seems a lot harder to run fast on the grass and sand. But it sure helps on keeping the sore heal a bit happier.
Total for the day was 39.2ks in 3:08.3. Average pace of 4:47 per klm. Seems I'm getting slower in my long runs the closer I get to Canberra which is a worry for me.

Blacktown Track 3000m

My first visit to the track out at Blacktown. Forgot I needed my passport to get there from the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Maybe I should have stayed home.

10:54.2. 3:28, 3:43, 3:40. A bit out of whack due to me taking the lap times and not the officials. It was 29 degrees when the race started and finished and I was dry in the mouth from the first 2 laps. Most people ran slower than normal.
My heel reminded me it was sore every 2nd step. I was considering stepping off the track it was so painful, but kept on going.
Glad the track season is over. Doing laps doesn't appeal to me that much.

ES Marks 10x400m Reps

22 degrees and 79% humidity. Ran on the track at Kensington tonight, plenty of people around enjoying the warmth. Did a 2k warmup and then did half a dozen strides before starting.

Reps were: 77, 75, 75, 75, 75, 76, 77, 76. All done with a 70 sec. walk recovery. I know the recovery is a bit too long.

Did a 2k cool down after finishing.

Yep I admit my mum rang little bluey but he was out of range so she left a message saying he should have run faster like her son flake would have to beat Action's PB. Maybe next year Dog you'll get out of the kennel earlier in the morning.

MLR 18ks

Ran around Centennial Park on the grass tonight as my heel was hurting a fair bit. So run was slower than I wanted. Still 23 degrees and 74% humidity as well.

Ran 18.74ks in 1:34.19. Average pace of 5:02 per klm.

I think I'll be faster than that in the 1st K Ewen. Depends on the other runners and the heat I guess. The race is at 4:30pm at Blacktown so somewhere in the 30's could be the temp.
Thanks Steve, just couldn't do the training for six foot this year.

Attn Blue Dog's Mum: Your son phoned me from the finish line of Six Foot gloating about his great finishing time. He told me he ran with a broken leg, a sprained bum, a fractured skull and malnutrition. But he said he could have run faster just wasn't his year.

ES Marks 6x1k Reps

Couldn't quite match the HuRT squad for intensity or for talent. So I took my hack of talent around to the track at Kensington.
22 degrees and 74% humidity with the sea breeze still blowing pretty strong.
Did a 2k warmup and half a dozen strides before starting.

Reps were 3:27, 3:23, 3:26, 3:28, 3:25, 3:26. All done with a 100 second walk recovery.

Did a 2k cool down after finishing.

Easy 12k

Had a run around the outside of Centennial Park down to Fox Studios, along Anzac Pde and back. Almost all on grass. Legs felt good.

12ks in 59:02. Average pace of 4:55 per klm.
Yes, I was missing doing Six Foot yesterday. I loved the race last year it was good fun.

Canberra 50k is ultra enough for me.

Centennial Park 37ks

Couldn't run in the morning due to work, so it was out late this afternoon in the not nice humidity and the afternoon sun. Felt very drained running today.

Ran around Randwick, then up and around the SFS, SCG and Fox Studios. Did that three times and then did a lap of Centennial Park. I was intending to do more klms today but didn't feel too good, so stopped.

Ran 37.6ks in 2:54.50. Average pace of 4:38 per klm. A few more hills in this run compared to last week. I'll be glad to get back running a Striders STaR early morning next week, heaps cooler.

Centennial Park 10ks

Went for a run a run late in the afternoon around Centennial Park. Just ran over to Fox Studios and back via Oxford St. Nearly all on grass.
Bumped into Don Juan and Gronk while I was running.

Total was 10.3ks in 48:08. Average pace of 4:40 per klm.

Managed to avoid all of the mugs at the festival on at the racecourse today.

Tempo + Hills + Tempo

Did a 2k warmup in the windy Southerly blowing. It was getting pretty humid and the sky wasn't looking too flash either.

Ran 2.5k in 9:55. Average pace of 3:58 per klm. Well that was the easy part.

Jogged over to hill nearby which isn't that steep. The rise is about 10m from top to bottom. It does go up for 300m though so was good for the purpose. Did 6 reps of the hill and had the rain start to come during the middle of the reps.

Ran the 2.5k back home again in 10:03. Average pace of 4:01 per klm. The rain started to bucket as I was running back home.
Did a 2k cool down after the session.
Probably couldn't do those reps if I did the recovery shorter Tom. The 3000m is next weekend at Blacktown Ewen. SMC have a 5k the next morning. Not sure I'll be up for the 5k though.

Long Reps 4x2.5k

Still pretty warm when I went out running. Fairly flat course around Centennial and Moore Parks. Was really pushed to do these any faster.

Reps were 9:05(3:38/k), 8:58(3:35/k), 9:04(3:37/k), 9:10(3:40/k). All done with a 5 min walk recovery.

MLR 15ks

Still 21 degrees at 8pm tonight when I went for a run. Ran around Centennial Park, Moore Park, SFS and the SCG again. I threw a few more hills in around the Queens Park start of the run just for fun which made it a bit slower.

Did 15.25ks in 1:13.25. Average pace of 4:48 per klm.

Recovery Run 7ks

A run around Centennial Park late tonight. Just stuck to the grass around the outside fence.

Ran 7.1ks in 39:22. Average pace of 5:32 per klm.

Centennial Park 36ks

I awoke this morning with pain in my heel while intending to do the Striders Balmain Bungle STaR. While walking around the house it didn't get any better, so I headed for ice therapy and then went back to bed. Must have trod on a rock or something during the race yesterday. Although I do remember slamming into the last speed hump pretty hard with my heal when I was heading for the finish.

Finally headed out about 5pm for a run around Centennial Park. Did a few different loops around the park. It was nice and cool with the breeze. Great to run in.

Total was 35.7ks in 2:41.12. Average pace of 4:30 per klm. I guess it helps to run fast when you do it on a predominantly flat course.

Thanks Ewen. I know I have the speed over 3ks. Might have a run at SMC this month. Running with Easy Tiger might get me to run faster.

Striders 10k North Head = PB

Great conditions for the race this morning. Nice and cool at 15 degrees with a bit of wind getting up in the 2nd 5k for me.
Was shocked off the start at how many people running fast there were ahead of me. In the end I was beaten by 61 people and I ran 37:43. Seems the sharp end has caught word of the quickness of this course.
Set off from the start relatively easy, doing 3:45 for the 1st k. Was having a few battles with the female Truscott in-laws during most of the race. Ended up JT beat me and I beat Greta.

Came through the 5k in 18:49. Close to the pace I wanted, but feeling mentally like I wouldn't be able to keep it up. Surprised myself to keep pushing back out to the turnaround loop at 7.5k.
Had a few runners pass me back up the hill and then tried to take them back on the 1500m run back to the finish. Wasn't successful at all, but at least no one else passed me.
Ran 18:54 for the 2nd 5k, so pretty close to even splitting the course.

The washup was:

A new PB of 37:43. A PB by 23 seconds. My old PB was 38:06. Striders have a 38:10 for me from a different race in June last year.
My first 10k PB since June last year at the West Met 10k at Silverwater.
A course PB of 1:05 from the September race pre Sydney Marathon last year.

Glad to finally knock off that PB. Now I feel I can run faster.
Thanks for everyones comments.