Aths NSW Novice 10k

The Athletics NSW Novice race was run down at Ramsgate as per the norm for the last 70 years. This year was the 100th year of the male novice race. The women apparently only became Novice's in the 70's.

The race was two big laps of 3k and then 2 small laps of 2k on mostly grass, dirt and sand. A bit of mud this year but nothing really bad. Legs still don't have much pace and I do hate the course even withput hills.

Time was 42:01 for the 10k which probably wasn't anyway as the Garmin said 9.85k. So I ran even worse.
State 10k road on sunday will be much better.

Tom was 3rd overall so he is now banned from Novice. And in the teams the Striders A team was 1st. The B, C and D teams in the males were all actually 1st but I think they only count down to A and B?

ES Marks 8x400m Reps

Not as many people at the track as on Tuesday night but still good numbers for me to chase around.
Did a 2k warmup before starting and a 2k cool down afterwards.

Reps were 74, 78, 76, 76, 77, 79, 76, 77. All done with a 200m walk/jog recovery. Probably more walking than jogging though.
Finish with a 200m rep in 31 seconds which wasn't fun.

MLR 13KS

Very windy today. I ran from work late morning up to Centennial Park. I had intended to run in the park but the lineup of cars and people had the place looking like a zoo so I stayed around the outside fence.

Plenty of people going to the Roosters V Dragons match at the SFS as well getting in the way down Anzac Pde. After that it was back to work for a short run as the legs didn't feel like doing much.

Total was 13.1ks in 1:03:40. Average pace of 4:51 per klm.

ES Marks 5x1k Reps

Pretty windy around the track tonight. Lots of people running including about 100 from Spot Andersons Bondifit squads.
Did a 2k warmup and a 2k cool down after finishing.

Reps were 3:35, 3:50, 3:41, 3:40, 3:37. All done with a 200m walk recovery. Legs felt really heavy which I guess is reasonable after doing a 50k race 9 days ago.

Canberra 50k- 3:52:51

My 50k PB had been niggling at me since 2007 when I discovered that Action had a time only 1 sec faster than my PB. If I had checked in 2007 before the race I might have run a bit faster doing the last 7.8ks.

I only decided in January that I would enter the 50k at Canberra. With limited training due to work and an achilles injury I entered the 50k getting a seeded start in the process with my name on the bib. First time ever.

I started the race with only 4 runs over 30ks which is not ideal for a marathon let alone an extra 20% afterwards. The conditions were good on the day and I thought I might be able to run another sub 3hr marathon as well. But that went out the window early when I realised my endurance wasn't up to scratch.

I went through the marathon in 3:12:37 which wasn't too bad as my last one in Sydney 2011 had been 3:31 in the heat finishing in 134th spot. I kept going to the first drinks table on the ultra which is just up the hill from the finish. I questioned at that point why had I entered the 50k. I figured then I couldn't DNF with my name on the bib so kept going.
The Ultra is always fun as going along the bike path everyone yells out to each other to keep going even if we don't know each other. A special club!

I finished in 3:52:51 for 14th overall. Just missed the PB. The worst part is that the time of Action's I wanted to beat was set in the 45-49 age group so he will still be ahead of me. Bugger.
Great to see everyone in Canberra again. Including Ewen, Ray James, Colin, Kanser and Timmy.
Thanks for the support.
Just realised that I have run Canberra 4 times entering the Ultra 3 times. I must be mental.

9ks with 5k at Marathon Pace

Along Manly beach front in the southerly. Nice wind but the pollen in the air isn't helping my breathing this week.

9ks total with 5ks at Marathon Pace of 21 mins. Easy. Just have to get through the 50k now.

Homebush Hustle STaR 16ks

Playing 7am host this morning with mainly the MTG for company with Horrie leading the group for their last run together before Canberra.

We started in Concord and ran over to the Olympic site and down to Homebush wharf. Then back up to the Sydney super dome/acer arena/allphones arena before heading along the Striders Homebush 10k course to the sandpit. We had to jump the fence as it was blocked off for the horses to play on for the Easter Show. From there it was through the Bicentennial Park mangroves and back along the road to finish at Concord.

Slow pace due to playing 7am host but it did get faster the last 4ks. Total was 16.37ks in 1:32:54. Average pace of 5:40 per klm.
Nice morning for a run with Easter eggs from the host afterwards. Happy Easter!

40mins in Centennial Park

The running track was so busy that I took to the dirt track inside of the horse track for a run today. Even that had plenty of people out running.

Total was 8.5ks in 40:39.

Hope so Ewen.

ES Marks Track 2k,1.6k,1.2k,800m,400m

Legs didn't feel good from the word go tonight. A long day at work and hurting my back as well didn't help.
Reps were 7:30(2k), 5:50(1.6k), 4:24(1.2k), 2:45(800m), 1:17(400m). All done with a 400m walk recovery except between the 800 and 400 where I only did 200m recovery.

Speed was 3:45/k, 3:38/k, 3:40/k, 3:26/k, 3:12/k. Could have been faster but I was buggered.

Did a 2k warmup and a 2k cool down after finishing.

One Hour

Ran for an hour along Manly beach front and up to Manly Golf Club and did a couple of laps around the club which is just over 2.5ks per loop. After that it was back home again along the beach.
Good seeing conditions with the almost full moon tonight. Pretty windy and humid though.

Total was 12.75ks in 1hr. Average pace of 4:42 per klm.

ES Marks Track 6x1k Reps, 1x200m Rep

Did a 2k warmup and a 2k cool down after finishing.
Had a massive head ache hit me during the 1st rep which really knocked me around during the rest of them. I ended up needing more than the 2mins recovery I was going to use and pushed it out to 2:30 recovery.

Reps were 3:33, 3:28, 3:35, 3:32, 3:34, 3:32. Then a 200m rep in 30 secs to finish.

Don't know where the headache came from as I felt fine before starting. Maybe due to not doing anything fast since November?

Tourist Trot STaR 25ks

Started just outside Centennial Park near the horse gates, ran into the park and did half a lap and up and out via the Woollahra gates. From there it was down to Edgecliff and along Rushcutters Bay up and over the Kings Cross tunnel to William St. That hill seems a lot steeper from that side than City 2 Surf.

Then it was into the city past St Marys Cathedral and down to the bridge via Kent St. Over the bridge to Milsons Point where I decided to do the short cut and come straight back over the bridge on my own. Then it was through the Rocks via Argyle Cut and past the MCA, Circular Quay, Opera House, Botanical Gardens where I sang a few Arias for the opera fans.

After that it was past Harrys where I stopped in for a pie floater. From there it was past the Naval yards and up the hill to Kings Cross(stinking of stale beer as per usual), through Paddington and past the SFS and SCG to the finish. All up 25.3ks in 2:00:35. Average pace of 4:45 per klm. Had to do a loop of Robertson Rd to make up the two hours as I was a bit short at the end.

P.S Kanser and Timmy were spied scurrying past the group at the finish. Seems they were afraid of the pace of Skippy Heyden, Fats and JB. Very soft boys.