Sunday, December 12, 2010

Building the base

Last couple of weeks since my last blog have resulted in weeks of 109k@4:25 and 109.15k@4:35. Also passed 4000km for the year which I'm pretty happy with.

Weeks have comprised of intervals, medium long run, a long run and then 1 week had an 8k tempo@3:52 and the other had a fartlek session of 5.8k@3:48.

The plan is to continue in the same way for the rest of December and then use the months of Jan-Apr for marathon specific training for Boston with a couple of shorter races thrown in.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Deepwater 7.5k race.

27:18

Came 7th in a pretty strong field with Epi and B’man finishing 8th and 9th respectively, so it was good for all of us to get a top ten finish, well done guys. The Baugh boys both ran really well finishing 1st and 4th respectively.


Race was underway and Epi and B’man skipped to a little lead and then I caught up with Simon at approx 500m and then we passed Epi at approx a km. Simon and I then continued to run together until approx 2.5km which was under the Mt Henry Bridge when I went a little in front. From then on I was running on my own with the guy in front of me a fair way in front. Thought there would be a nice tailwind behind us after we’d gone over Canning highway but that was not to be and so the last 1.5km or so was a bit of a slog as there was a bit of a crosswind but still managed 3:40’s.


What I’m really happy with is that the toe was fine and I managed to race with no bandages or patt strap which is the first time in a number of years. The DS Trainers were great to run in again.


I’m going to claim a 5k pb based on garmin today of 17:46 :).

Week in Summary 80k@4:17, last week 66.4k@4:36

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Broken little toe

Broke my little toe on Mon afternoon after accidently kicking it, got an x-ray on Wed and then stopped running for a few days before going for a 40 minute run-8.7k this afternoon. Thanks Epi for your help re the toe and the advise from the specialist.

Week in Summary 28.8km running 141.4km cycling

Toe felt pretty good on today's run, there was some mild discomfort but things are looking good. Other good news is when I have run I haven't worn either my pattstraps or bandages for adductors so really happy with progress on the leg exercises I'm doing.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Big congrats

Main reason for post is to pass on big congrats to Epi and Sugar for doing big pb's in the 10k and Marathon respectively and to Biscuitman for doing a great 5k at PWC, great work guys

It was great to go down to Coker Park to see the John Gilmour race, only saw the tailend of the over 40 minute run with TB flying home and then watched and cheered Epi for his 10k pb. It was nice to see Roberto Busi break 30:30 for the 10k and seeing Gerry, Cody and a ferw of the other guys run really well.

Last Week in summary 87.93k@4:28

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pain in the butt

Butt was quite sore this week as a result of some new glute exercises I've been given. Other than that and a couple of my normal niggles running is going well and I've started doing some speedwork again.

Week in Summary 85.43k@4:24

Mon 6.61k@4:32

Tues 13.2k@4:09 incl Intervals with JK'S group. Session was 3*800m with 2 min recoveries, 3*400m with 1 min recoveries and 3*200m with 30 sec recoveries.

800m-2:38,2:37,2:37
400m-1:12,1:12,1:14
200m 0:35,0:35,0:33

Pretty happy with effort as pretty controlled throughout. It was good catching up with David Bryant, who impressively cracked the 10min barrier for his 3k race the week before, well done mate.

Wed 6.3k@4:45 Butt was really sore, noticed it in the cooldown from Intervals the night before.

Thurs 17k@4:28 Ran with Biscuitman. The butt was sill pretty sore so didn't do our intended tempo session, instead did 8k @4:15 as the quicker bit. Biscuitman ran the last 2k in 3:36's which was really good especially due to the really windy conditions.

Fri 9k@4:25

Sat 13k@4:11 incl 8k@4:04 which included 8*400m pickups at approx 3:45 pace at start of every km for 8k.

Sun 20.32k@4:25 90 minute run with Epi. Good catching up for run, 1st time in ages. Ran from Matilda Bay and did the Bridges loop and then back to Matilda Bay. Butt and adductor a bit sore in the run, but other than that feeling pretty good.

Good luck to everyone doing races this week, Sugar doing NY, Biscuitman doing PWC 5k and Epi doing 10k John Gilmour, I'll count his laps. Provided conditions are good for each, I expect all to do pb's, go for it guys.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Boston Calling

I was one of the lucky ones who managed to register for Boton, it sold out in 8 hours, last year it took 2 months. Agree with Epi and Sugar that they need to look at the qualifying times to keep it a prestigious event. I'm very happy on the other hand of the increased interest in running which is shown not only overseas but also in local marathons where there are record number of participants.

Week in Summary 71.4k@4:25

Ran every day this week and limited Mon, Wed and Fri running to 30 minutes on a hilly course through the streets of Inglewood and Mt Lawley.

Mon 6.45k@4:39

Tues 10k@4:32

Wed 6.75k@4:26

Thurs 10.35k@4:20 45 minute run

Fri 7.05k@4:15

Sat 13.6k@4:24 1 hour run

Sun 17.2k@4:21 1hour 15 minute run

I'm feeling ready for a bit of quicker stuff so if I get the chance will pop down to JK's session on Tuesday.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Melbourne Finishing Photos

A couple of photos of my finish at Melb, I ended up buying the Digital Super Pack and the DVD.









A great week for runners with the gutsy efforts of the Aussies in the Marathon and in particular that of Michael Shelley. Epi and I were lucky enough in 2008 at the Canberra Marathon Festival to see him blitz the 10k.

Also was lucky enough to go to the Craig Mottram Breakfast put on by The Running Centre. Craig gave a good insight into running and keeping it all in perspective and I took away a couple of valid pointers. The Running Centre has done a great job of giving us access to some world class athletes this year in Monas and now Mottram. I am forever grateful and have certainly learnt a lot from these experiences.

Quick update on my running

43.1k@4:44

Legs and Body feeling pretty good after Melb and ran 5 days, all easy and the highlight was doing a 10k run with Widi including around the tan.

Next couple of weeks will all be easy running and then I'll look at introducing some speedwork into the equation with the aim of trying to do a 5k pb in November at the Pen run. My physio was talking about a strengthening program post Melb which will include some swimming, so I'll touch base with her hopefully this week to look at putting that into play.

Tomorrow I register for Boston, hopefully I'll get a place in the first corral.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Melbourne Marathon 2010

2:53:17

A pb of 6 minutes, so very happy with run, perfect conditions for running.

First Half 1:25:20, second half 1:27:57. Although I had the half only at 20.9k

By Garmin it was 1:26:10, 1:27:07 splits.

Finished 115th out of 5026.

At the 10.55k Mark Position 158
21.1k mark Position 144
42.2k mark Position 115


7k splits- not that I used these whilst running.

28:15
28:46
28:47
28:53
28:55
28:52








Race report

Hardly slept the night before and sat on the loo for much of the morning as the stomach had been playing up with some bad diarrhoea, I said to Trace as I left, don't be too shocked if I'm back in awhile. So I left the room and got to Fitzroy Gardens which was few hundred metres from the hotel and had to go to the loo again and then made it to the start.

Unfortunately I was late to the preferred start and didn't get to hear Ron Barassi or anything else and then panicked when they said there was 30 secs to go and I was at the back of the field. I jumped the fence and then ran along the footpath and got as close to the front as I could and then with 5 seconds to go I jumped the fence again and got settled and then it was time to go.

Settled into a pretty good rhythm early and the km's just went by, I took a full bottle of powerade with me and drunk at regular intervals, I also had some snake lollies with me. The stomach was more of a discomfort than anything and I just focused on being as relaxed as possible and it did the trick. I passed geoffa at around the 7k mark which was around the time we entered into Albert Park and then sat in a group of runners for the next 7k and saw Big Kev in the distance. It was around this time that I lost the group as they'd stopped for drinks and the focus was to now on the fact that we were running along the beach and a very flat portion of the course, St Kilda, Port Melbourne etc.

The km's continued to fly by and I passed Big Kev at 16k and he said he was going quite well and then started chatting to a guy and he was from Perth, Ronald Pang and was aiming for around 2:50. We ran together until the 25k mark, when unfortunately he struggled a bit with the calves and had to drop off a bit. It was not long after this that there was a turnaround point and we were now running toward the runners behind us. I finished my powerade at this point and took a couple of snakes, although these gave me a bit of a stitch, but other than a little bit of leg soreness I was in pretty good shape.

I had a bit of a chat to a guy not long after this and started to do some mental arithmetic to get a guage on what was required for sub 2:55, sub 3 etc. Continued running at th 4:07-4:08 mark and saw Tommy Hafey walking across the road with a paper in his hand and yelled out to him and he smiled and yelled out keep going mate, that pumped me up and the next couple of km, I had a big smile on my face. Had a cup of powerade at the next drink station and then just continued churning out the km's and before I knew it, we were now seeing the half marathoners coming out of Albert Park. We had our own lane for a while along St Kilda road and that was good, before we then merged and it became chaos.

The next couple of km's involved me dodging and weaving and yelling out Marathoners coming through and most people obliged to try and get out of the way. We then separated and I had another drink and a couple of snakes but once again, they caused a little stitch, so I decided I didn't need anything else for the rest of the race. We were now at 37k and the hilliest part of the course came up, although it wasn't that bad at all, I was feeling in good shape bar a little soreness which you'd expect and pretty confident that a sub 2:55 was on its way.

Continued to pass a few people and had one or two pass me, there was a guy at 39k that was in pretty bad shape and myself and the guys I was just passing yelled out to a spectator to get someone to help him. We then merged with the half marathoners again around Fed Square and went through the same issue with me yelling out for people to give way to the Marathoners. We then parted ways with a few hundred metres and then ran along the road underneath the tunnel into the G and then the last few hundred metres to the finish line. Raised my fist as I crossed the finish line and was very happy with a very even paced run. The last 2.2k even though was chaos was run in just under 4:00 pace so was nice to finish like that.

At the finish it was a shambles, got herded like cattle to the underneath area, collected my medal, grabbed a water as there was no powerade and grabbed a banana and an apple. I couldn't find Trace or the rest of the crew and so walked back to the hotel and then phoned Trace, she'd seen me finish but only just.

TB ran but unfort his attemps at pb were thwarted by his calf, next time mate. Sling's injury unfort forced him out, I'm looking forward to seeing him up and firing for 2011 marathons.

Caught up with Tace, Widi and my support team at the hotel lobby and then we headed down for a drink at Transport where we saw TB and then we had a nice dinner at Rockpool that night.

Thanks to everyone for their support and well wishes, much appreciated.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Magpies were awesome

Awesome display by Collingwood in the grand final yesterday, you may not like them but jeez their tackling pressure was incredible and they thoroughly deserved their win.

So on that note, I'm thinking of wearing white and black for the Melbourne Marathon and hoping that it will rub off and I'll finish the only Marathon that I did a DNF last year.

Week in Summary 70.12k@4:21

Limited myself to 5 days running this week and had some physio sessions including acupuncture and a massage. The adductors,hips and back have been giving me a little grief but nothing too bad.

Tues 14.26k@4:12 incl some 250m* 8 at quicker than mp.

Wed 8.8k@4:32

Thurs 15.4@4:12 incl 3*1600m@3:33- 5:40,5:38,5:46. Ran with Biscuitman and did the normal 1600m session on a humid warm morning, 10 days out from marathon with 2 minute recoveries@5:00. Ran a bit quicker than corresponding run just before Perth Marathon, so happy with pace and effort. Last 1600m was a little tough and was slower than the other two, partly because of sore adductor, but mostly because it was just tough, had a little bit left in the tank at the end.

Sat 10.56k@4:21 incl 4k at approx MP.

Sun 21.1k@4:28 Last easy long run before Marathon incl last couple of km at approx MP. Still a bit sore in the normal places but felt better overall ie breathing wise, rhythm etc, the longer the run went. Tightened up a bit in the legs in the last 5km or so but overall pretty happy with the run.

I turn 40 tomorrow but the celebrations will have to wait till next Sunday pm. I'll probably set out at 1.26-1.28 first Half and then hopefully be feeling pretty good at that stage and see how we go from there. I'll wear my ds racers and make a conscious effort to ensure that I take in enough fluids and lollies during the race.

Next weeks running up to Sunday will be very easy and total around 30-35km with 4k of Marathon Pace on Wed. I also have two physio sessions and a massage booked to keep on top of everything.

Best of luck to Sling in the HM and TB in the Full. Looking forward to catching up with you both over there.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Fantsatic weather

What a great time of the year to be in Perth, the weather has been fantastic. Spent part of the day today down the beach with the dogs in Mandurah.

Week in Summary 90.71k@4:27

Pretty good week of running with energy levels increasing and so a better week of running all round. Adductor, Quad attachment and Hips are all a bit sore but nothing I haven't encountered before, so with a couple of easier weeks leading up to Melb, hopefully will freshen up nicely for the race.

Blood test came back with most things pretty good, although ferritin levels of 38 are quite low. Will look at addressing this after Melbourne.

Mon 8.22k@4:22

Tues 10k@4:36

Wed 9.1k@4:23

Thurs 16.72k@4:09 Run with Biscuitman on the normal Pen course incl 8k@4:00 for faster than MP effort.

Fri 10k@4:41 Incl some hills. Also had a good massage by physio.

Sat 26.67k@4:30 Easy long run with Biscuitman practicing some race day routines. Hip and Quad attachment sore from 14.5 km which made the going a little tough but good practice just in case it happens on Marathon day, was similar to what occurred at Boston.

Sun 10k@4:31 incl last km at quicker than MP.

Next week will aim to run around 65km and have a physio session and a massage booked. Key sessions include 1600m efforts on Thurs and Long run of around half Marathon on weekend at approx 4:30-4:40 pace.

It's a shame to see Sling not doing the marathon, however think he's made the right decision to go down to the half. Hopefully Epi is still running and I believe TB is on track.


Great grand final yesterday, now looking forward to the replay.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Taper time

Struggled a bit this week on occasions with a dodgy stomach, headaches and feeling nauseous. As a result, most of the running was easy and I went to the doctor on Thurs. Off to provide stool sample tomorrow as well as having a blood test for fbc,iron,b12,folate.lipids and hdl.



Week in Summary Running 80.22k@4:35 Cycling 63.5k

Mon 5k@4:43

Tues 9k@4:26

Wed 10.61k@4:15
6.68k@4:30

Thurs 12.16k@4:56

Fri 13.57k@4:34

Sat 15.2k@4:36

Sun 8k@4:39 Bike 63.5k. Wanted to run for between 90 minutes and 2 hours, however had to rush home to go to the loo. Ended up doing just over 2 hours on the exercise bike with a couple of quick loo stops.

Hopefully stomach is on the improve and I can have a couple of quality sessions next week incl a reasonably easy paced long run.


Saw a great WAFL Grand final on the tv, hopefully the AFL gf is a good one, although it looks like the black and whites will win that one as well.

Hope Sling, Epi and TB are all overcoming their different obstacles at present and that they'll we'll all finish on the G in 3 weeks time.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

In for the long run

Thanks guys for the advice re my question last week and after much deliberation, I ended up deciding to do a long run with faster finish, as opposed to doing a 10k race this weekend.


Had some good sessions including some intervals, tempo and long run with faster finish.


Week in Summary 112k@4:25

Mon 8.5k@4:42 40 minute easy run

Tues 17k@4:26 Main part of run was 5* 3 min at approx 5km pace with 2 min recoveries.

25 minute warmup 5.36k@4:40
5*3min with 2 min recoveries. Averaged 3:35 pace for the 3minutes(835m), averaged 4:47(417m) pace for the recoveries. Ran on the grass on the oval and conditions were quite windy and struggled to get into a proper rhythm as a result. The into the breeze was quite tough and nearly lost my hat on more than one occasion.
5.38km@4:45 cooldown.


Wed 10.55k@4:16

Thurs 18.35k@4:08 incl Tempo of 10.45k@3:55.Warmup of 20 minutes- 3.3k@4:33 including catching up with Biscuitman who was running 1k intervals.

Tempo of 41 minutes along the Penninsula course 10.45k@3:55 Struggled in the first 5k and averaged 3:58, incl a 4:04 second km. Turned things around in the 2nd 5k averaging 3:52, just started feeling better the longer the run went and this may have been in part to concentrating on 1 km at a time.
Cooldown of 20 minutes 4.55k@4:24


Fri 13.1k@4:40

Sat 31.5k@4:19 incl 12k@ 3:59 from 17k to 29k, last 4k at 3:55 and then 2.5k cooldown.

Long run with biscuitman that included running through Burswood, Ascot, Maylands, East Perth and South Perth.
The aim of this run was to finish strongly and also practice some race day things. Got up at 3.30 and had some bread and jam, as well as half a powerade. I then got up at 6.25 and had the rest of the powerade, a berocca and then met up with Simon for the run. Had a couple of very brief toilet stops at the 6k and 17k mark, prob drunk too much just before the run and used some gel bursts again and powerade, both worked well. Also ran in my ds racers again, my marathon shoe and these felt great.

At the 17k mark, it was time to do a fast finish 12k and we set off at a bit quicker than MP. We ran together for approx 7k and I was feeling pretty strong, whilst Simon was struggling a bit with his foot, so I pushed the pace a little harder just to see how I would go and managed to do the 12k in just under 48 minutes, last 4km were at 3:55 pace.

Pretty happy with finish, a good 2.5km cooldown topped off a good morning.

Sun 13k@4:40


4 weeks to go to Melbourne, I'm hoping for another 100k + week next week and then I'll start my taper.

Hope Sling and TB'S injuries are on the improve.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Another week gone

Another solid week of training with legs holding up pretty well, other than the odd twinge in the adductor, itb and calf.

Was able to get some quicker stuff in, tempo, medium long run and long run. I also passed 500kms for the month of August which is the first time I've ever exceeded 500kms in a calendar month-ended up doing 518.5kms.

Week in Summary 131.66k@4:27

Mon 19.03k@4:44 Two recovery runs, am 11.4k pm 7.03k.

Tues 14.5k@4:10 incl 8*250 pickups @3:36 and 4.5k@4:06 approx MP to finish run.

Wed 13k@4:14 incl Mona Fartlek of 5.27k @3:47.

Thurs 25k@4:25 Medium long run with Biscuitman around Burswood, Maylands and South Perth. We just cruised along with plenty of chat along the way, was suprises how quick we went.

Fri 8.62k@4:38

Sat 14.43k@4:09 incl 8k tempo @3:50

Sun 37.08k@4:35 2hr 50 min long run. Woke up with the tummy feeling very unsettled, had a couple of green teas to try and settle the tummy a bit, it helped a bit.

Long run included a number of toilet stops including stopping at home for a few minutes at the 16k mark. Tummy settled properly at about the 25km of the run and the last few kms were a lot more pleasant. Tried to simulate the Melbourne Marathon as much as possible by including some hills from the 32km mark and ran in my first pair of DS Racers.

Good to get another long run in. Wasn’t the perfect long run due to the stops and the tummy,as I would also have liked to have done a faster finish today, however considering everything, I’m more than happy with the run.



I am 5 weeks out from Melb Marathon and haven’t done a fast finish long run, which I think I should do at some stage. I’ve done 4 30k + runs in this programme with a couple more 25k+ runs. I still have 2 or 3 30k+ runs still planned depending on the following.


I’d be interested in people thoughts on the following for next weekend and what I should do.

The options are
a) Do a 10k race and do faster finish 30k + run, the following weekend ie 3 weeks out.
b) Do a 10k race and don’t worry about a fast finish long run.
c) Don’t do the 10k race and do a fast finish long run 4 weeks out.

Thanks guys


At present I’m leaning towards option A.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Record week

Ran 141 km this week, with only one run done at quicker than MP. This was done intentionally as I was still suffering slightly from the tummy virus I had late last week and I decided to drop the intensity.

Opted out of doing the City to surf Half as it was starting at 9 and if I had have run it and then run back to Perth, I wouldn't have got home till nearly 12 which didn't suit the plans.


Quick spiel on last week 90.6k@4:29

Highlights included

8k@3:42 tempo to 10k pace, closer to the latter with biscuitman, who broke his 8k pb in the process. This was run on the usual Penn course and was part of a 20k run for me.

Intervals of 1.25k@3:36 with 2:30 recoveries@4:45 pace on the local oval.

14.1k@4:14 incl 8k@4:04, quicker than MP.

Lowlight I couldn't do my long run due to tummy virus.



This week 141k@4:42

Mon 10.5k@4:46

Tues 16.25k@4:37

Wed am 14.1k@4:41 incl 1* Mt yokine Hill course

pm 8.4k@4:45

Thurs 25.13k@4:47 2 hour run around Ascot,Maylands.Burswood and South Perth.

Fri 14.5k@4:50 incl 1* Mt Yokine course

Sat 16.5k@4:12 incl 10k@3:56 incl last k at 3:40. Ran on a warm afternoon and just wanted to run quicker than 4 min km, so happy with effort.

Sun 35.62k@4:49 incl 6* Mt Yokine Hill course. Broke my record of 5* from 2 weeks ago, was very determined to get a really good long run after missing out on long run last week. Had a powerade and a packet of powerade lemon gel drops(packet contains about 45g of carbs). Quite like the taste of these, so will continue to use them in my longer runs and possibly the marathon. Right calf was slightly sore going up the Yokine Hill but other than that, the legs were great. Continuous run except for a couple of loo stops and the tightening of a shoe lace, Very happy with run.

Next week will go back to some quicker stuff with plans of doing some intervals, tempo,mp and then a long run which may be done on the flat with a faster finish.


Hopefully all of the guys had a good City to Surf run.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

8 weeks to go

Week in Summary 118.6k@4:28

Good solid week of training including Intervals,MP,Tempo and long run. Would like to get in a few more weeks similar to this one.

Mon 13.13k@4:34

Tues 17.14k@4:18 Main part of session was 5*1km with 2 min recovery jogs. Happy with pace and effort.

Warmup and cooldown included some hills.

Warmup 3.5km@4:37

Main part 7.09km@3:55 incl

5*1000m at 3:34 pace average(3:35,3:33,3:34,3:34,3:33).

2 min recoveries @4:47 pace, distances covered 422,415,422,414,417.

Cooldown 6.55km@4:35


Wed 8.5k@4:42

Thurs 21.6k@4:21 incl 11.2k@4:05, approx MP. Was supposed to run Tempo with Biscuitman but right calf was a little sore and legs had little power, so resorted to running at MP. Biscuitman ran well and did his at 3:53's or thereabouts. Warmup 3.4@4:46, cooldown 7k@4:37

Fri 12.5k@4:07 incl 8k@3:51 tempo. Main part of session was 8k@ tempo pace which I ran in my yellow canaries(brooks st2) on a stunning morning, right calf was still a bit tender but a lot better than yesterday. Ran the last km a bit quicker, but other than splits were very even, happy with effort.

warmup 2k@4:40
tempo 8k@3:51 km splits-3:53,3:52,3:53,3:53,3:53,3:52,3:52,3:41.
cooldown 2.5k@4:32

Sat 13.41k@4:37

Sun 32.32k@4:38 2 hr 30 min long run incl 5* MT Yokine Hill Course, which I’m sure is the most I’ve ever done beating a couple of 4* in the past. Good solid long run and a good finish to the week.

Had one powerade along the way and weighed myself before and after the run and had lost 2.2 kgs. Had some choc milk afterwards as a reward for a good long run.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

9 weeks to go

Week in Summary 101.15km@4:32

Mon 9km@4:50

Tues 15km@4:20
Session comprised a warmup, 5*3 min at approx 5k pace with 2 min recoveries and cooldown. Used garmin workout option for the times.
3.21km @ 4:35 warmup

6.38km @3.55
Harder efforts were 833,823,857,826,839m ie 3:35 pace.

Recoveries were 436,452,447,431,433 ie 4:32 pace

5.41km@ 4:41 cooldown

Wed 10k@4:45

Thurs 13.04km@4:36

Fri 14.07km@4:22 Incl 8*250m reps between 48 and 52 secs at the start of every km from km 3 through to 10.

Sat 25km@4:28
Run with Biscuitman from Narrows Bridge to City Beach and back along the City to Surf course. Brief stop at halfway mark for toilet stop. Saw David Bryant on the way back coaching a few runners for City to Surf.

Good to get some hills in, second half was a little quicker than first half, mainly due to first couple of km’s being a little slower. Other than that a very even paced comfortable effort with plenty of conversation along the way. It was good to run this with someone, ceratinly made the time fly by as did the hills.

Sun 15.04k@4:39 Hilly session in Mount Lawley.

Pretty happy with week, unfort couldn't do tempo session with Biscuitman Thurs, but happy to get in two sessions with hills, interval session and reps.

Wooden spoon for Eagles, some blame the umps but I certainly don't, feeble effort. Should have tanked last year to get another high pick. Will be interesting to see what their policy is this year re trading/drafting and whether they trade pick 4, interesting times.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Perth Masters Half

1:22:37

Perth Masters Half came 2nd.
Absolutely ecstatic with result, 3.5 minute pb and on no taper for this week, although last week was low due to illness. Didn't really know what to expect today as I'd also done a MP Run yesterday and my initial plans all week had been to do a hilly run Sat and treat today as a training run. Yesterdays plans were thwarted by waking up with a cracking headache and eventually got out mid afternoon and did a 8.5k run at MP.

Perfect conditions for running this morning, so I just thought I'd run how I felt.

Did a 4.5k warmup @4:23 and then an 8k cooldown at 4:40, so a nice way to do a long run :).

Felt very controlled and comfortable throughout the race, splits were very even. The guy who came 1st did high 1:19’s and Bjorn and Chris Maher did 1:24 something.

After the initial start I quickly ended up in a pack of 4 including Bjorn and Chris up until 6k when I surged up a hill and from there on, i was running on my own. Good practice with the drinks, I didn't take my own and ensured that I stopped at every station and had some water, I stopped and gulped. Didn't use any gu's although I did have a couple of gu lollies from Coles before I left home, they are a lemon flavour and tasted quite nice, so I may use these from now on. Pity there wasn’t someone with me for the race as I’m sure we could have then pushed each other a bit harder.

Was briefly tempted to stop at 10.55 as it was a 2 lap course and claim the glory of 1st but glad I continued. Very well organised race with accurate markings and it was great to have every km marked.

Ran in my fastwitch and once again loved them and tempted to buy another pair and run in them for the marathon, we’ll see.

Week in Summary 106.27k@4:21

Mon 10.62k@4:42

Tues Mona Fartlek session of 5.27k@3:47. 3.2k warmup @4:31, 5.58k@4:34. Total all up of 14.05k. Equalled my Mona Fartlek from 2 weeks ago.

Wed 9.35k@4:48

Thurs 20.1k @4:21 incl 4.6k@4:39, 8k@3:54 tempo, 7.5k@4:40 cooldown. Tempo run with Biscuitman, although he took off and I saw him in the distance for most of the run.

Fri 10k@4:33

Sat 8.5k@4:07

Sun 33.65k@4:09

Previous weeks with no blogging incl 82k@4:28, last week was 52k@4:37 primarily made up of running Fri, Sat and Sun as I'd been crook all week from my Melb trip after watching a few games of footy incl Eagles beat Bombers.

Epi, hope you're feeling better and will be back running soon.

Prob will do Perth Half next weekend. Now about to watch the derby, unfort another loss is on the way.

Oh and I've registered for Melb Marathon which is 10 weeks away, not long now.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Laying the foundation

Good solid week of training where I ran every day despite some yucky conditions. Structure followed during the week is pretty much my plan for the assault on Melb with Tempo runs, Medium Long runs and Long runs increasing gradually week by week. My official training for Melb begins w/c 18th July and is a 12 week plan.

Week in summary 80.6k@4:28

Mon 8.72k@4:35 40 minute run.

Tues 8.59k@4:04 and incl 4k@3:50 being the first attempt of some quicker stuff since Perth. Km splits got quicker km by km with the last of the 4km quicker section in 3:41, felt very controlled.

Wed 8k@4:30

Thurs 15k@4:27 Medium Long Run incl some hills.

Fri 10k@4:28

Sat 10k@4:18 incl 4k@3:59. Wanted to run some 4:00 km's, only did 4 due to adductor being a little niggly.

Sun 20.3k@4:40 Longest run since Perth incl 2* MT Yokine hill. Intentionally went slower today and made conscious effort to drink every 2km to take in more fluids. Quicker last couple of kms at under MP to simulate fast finish run.

Things are going well, rib is still a bit sore and the adductor niggly on occasions but other than that, very happy with recovery from Perth and looking forward to the challenges ahead.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Massive Congratulations

Massive congratulations to Biscuitman on his 2:55(4 minute pb) at GC Marathon and to David Bryant on his sub 1:22 in the half. I was stoked when I saw your results online. Fantastic effort and really well deserved guys, makes all those cold mornings running worth while.

Quickly onto my running for the week.

Missed Mon and Tues due to virus and then ran the remaining 5 days.

Week in Summary 51.2k@4:20

Wed 8.08k@4:19
Thurs 8.92k@4:29
Fri 8.1k@4:19
Sat 10k@4:09
Sun 16.1k@4:2

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Plotting out the rest of the year

Took it pretty easy on the running front this week as my attention turned to working out what I was going to do for the rest of the year.


Planned races
Asics Run for Gold 5 or 10k
City to Surf 12km Dash for Cash
Perth Half Marathon
Melbourne Marathon

Running for the week 3 runs 28.55km@4:33

Thurs 1 hour run 12.72k@4:43
Fri 30 minute run 6.7k@4:28
Sat 40 minute run 9.13k@4:22

Legs are feeling really good after a few days off, the quads in particular were sore until Thurs, ribs are still pretty sore.

Will gradually ease back into the running over the next couple of weeks with a plan of between 40 and 50kms for the week coming.

Bought the digital photos of the finish at Perth last week which are shown on the side panel of my blog, really happy with how they turned out and showed how happy I was at the finish line.

Congrats to Sling on his win in Singas, well done mate and to Sugar or his fine showing at King of the Mountain.

Best of luck to Biscuitman in Marathon at Gold Coast and to Dave Bryant in the half, really looking forward to seeing how you guys go.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Perth Marathon

2:59:14 Interim Result- Have finally done the sub 3, in my 8th Marathon , thought I was cursed after my fall earlier in the week and may not do it, ribs are still pretty sore now.

Luckily I hung around for a bit after the race as they'd lost the people's names of 10 race numbers and I was one of them, so had to go and give my details, wouldn't have been cool with the name of unknown number on the race results.

Looking forward to seeing Sling do his sub 3 at Melbourne.

Only a quick post as there may be a bit of rambling and it will be disjointed in places. How do I feel, sense of relief and was very pumped when I ran through the gates of WAMC and savoured the moment by getting a good couple of photo shots, there was no sprint, just a lot of yelling and a fist pump, didn't care about time as long as it was under 3. I don't think there would have been too many happier finishers.

1st half 1:28, 2nd half 1:31.

Apparently I won my age group and will get another medal and an asics bag, so pretty happy with that. Also first person over the line with the longer shorts, should win a car for that.

Not sure what my plans are from here re Marathons,Epi and I spoke about it this arvo re times etc, although it may be nice to continue doing PB's, this is my 8th consecutive one, I may do C2S with him, def do Melb with Sling and trace is talking about me doing Boston again, we'll just wait and see. I think there is a bit of improvement left in me, but not sure as to whether that is the direction I'll follow at this point in time.

Felt pretty controlled throughout the race, which was nice, aerobically felt really good, just ribs, quads, whole race (think I tightened my bandages too tight) and calves in the last 3k were sore. Got passed by a couple of guys at 30k mark and then passed a few in the last 10k or so, without being passed. Legs feeling a lot better now after a massage and a walk this arvo.

Didn't drink much today, only about 600ml when they handed me my drinks, left them at every station but didn't want to lose any time looking for them and had no snakes or gu chomps, something maybe I need to work on in the future.

Thanks to SG for today, much appreciated mate and also in no particular order to Epi, Sling,TB, Homo, Biscuitman and Sugar for their ongoing support.

Congrats to Strands Team for winning relay, Biscuitman, Sugar and Simon E, awesome effort. Also congrats to Attitude for his awesome 2.37 and 2nd place in his debut Marathon.

Awesome effort by Epi doing 3.11 on limited training, glad to hear the leg is a lot better, to Gunner for a 3.19 after being crook and to TB for doing another Perth Marathon and his trademark start and finish.

Will prob take a week or so off, then ease back into it, cutting my half and 10k times may be on the agenda over the coming months, as well as some track work with the guys in the summer months.

Looking forward to seeing how Biscuitman goes in the Marathon and David Bryant in the half at Gold Coast, good luck guys.

Over and out, a sore but very happy clown

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Fall at work

First of all, many thanks for the best wishes in my previous post.

Today, i fell down the stairs, being the supremely coordinated person that I am, just ask Epi from the Everest trip. I landed on my ribs, which are pretty painful at present, I've cracked these twice before. I'm just hoping that it is just the trauma of the initial blow and nothing else and that tomorrow i'll be fine. Have taken some voltaren tablets and praying that everything will be fine. It couldn't have happened at a worse time than race week when paranoia sets in, I've been looking out the window to make sure the KGB aren't following me :).

Anyway hopefully its all fine, if you read this, please send out a little prayer. Update tomorrow.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

1 week to go

Week in Summary 75k@4:22



Mon 13.66@4:23
Wed 8.73k@4:34
Thurs 17k @4:14 incl 3*1600m @3:34 with 400m recoveries, 6k all up @3:48 pace.
Fri 9.25k@4:19
Sat 10k@4:21
Sun 16.36k@4:23

Hip and Adductor are both playing up a bit but hopefully with a bit of rest and a massage next Friday ,I'll be in good condition for Sunday, at least a lot better than the Eagles.

Easy week next week with between 30-35k pre marathon. Need to be disciplined in my pacing next Sunday and not go out too quick and hopefully guys like Big Kev and Jockster can drag me along later on in the race. Will probably provide my own drinks again, take some gu chomps and snakes with me and may wear the old style bandage which I’ve successfully worn over the last couple of days without it slipping too much.

Good luck to everyone.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Time to taper

Only 2 weeks to Perth, so now my official taper begins. Nothing really exciting to report from the running front, other than its been a solid week of training, hamstring that was playing up earlier in the week has progressively got better each day.

Week in summary 101.4k@4:21

Mon 1 hour run 13.6k@4:24

Tues 11.4k@4:36

Wed 8.1k@4:19

Thurs 18k@4:18 Was meant to be a tempo run with Biscuitman and Simon E, howver hammy was a little sore, so instead took the opportunity to do 8k@4:10 after warmup and then good cooldown with Biscuitman and Simon E. Biscuitman impressively did a 8k pb, so well done, looking good for GC.

Fri 10k@4:08

Sat 30.3k@4:22 Long run with Biscuitman, a little quicker than i was intending with perth only a couple of weeks ago but we seemed to cruise and hover around this pace the whole way. Also ran with Sandgroper for the first 5k of our run but he wasn't feel too great so turned around, hope you're feeling better soon. Ran in my DS Racers which felt great and try some gu chomps which weren't fantastic but were more palatable than gu's for me, may take a pack with me for Perth as well as some snakes.


Sun 10k@4:12


Congrats to TB and Kathryn on birth of their second bub, glad to hear all is well.

Congrats to Sling on a 10k pb on a training run, well done mate, sets you up nicely for your marathon training.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Challenge 10k

Challenge fun run 10k -36:43, ran in my K-Swiss.

Absolutely stoked to be honest, first 10k in over 2 years and a 2:16 pb. I had a had a bit of a head cold during the week but popping the vitamins and lemsips did the trick as I woke up feeling pretty good on a perfect morning for running.

Garmin splits as follows


1st 5k-18:12 (3:38,3:35,3:37,3:41,3:41)
2nd 5k-18:30(3:46,3:42,3:45,3:41,3:36)

Quick spiel below.

Settled into a pretty good rhythm and ran with a couple of guys, saw Jon Pendse and first girl(emily loughan or something similar) about 20m ahead of me at the 3k mark and David Bryant about 40m in front. Passed Jon and Emily about 4k and then just continued at the same sort of pace as the other two guys and myself seemed to take turns in going into the lead. Caught David about 7k and he then passed me about 8k as did one of the guys I’d kind of been running with. Saw that there was a def chance of sub 37 and passed both David and the other guy at about 9.5k as we came into Challenge stadium and then sped up a bit and then held onto to beat both by a few seconds.

Good catching up with a couple of guys from the Mona Camp after the run. David’s running GC Half so he should have a great time and do a great time,he was also very happy to do a pb by a few seconds. Also caught up with Scott who ran with his girlfriend and he is thinking of trying to do a sub 3 marathon at Perth so we’ll prob run together.

Very happy.

Week in Summary 82.27km@4:15

Mon 9.07k@4:24 40 minute run

Tues 10.24k@4:23 45 minute run

Wed 13.36k incl 3.2k@4:11 warmup, 5.6k@3:49 600m fast with 90 sec recovery jogs *6, fast bits average of 2:04 ie 3:28 pace and recovery jogs at 4:30 pace. 4.56km@4:23 cooldown. Struggled a bit with the quicker parts in windy conditions with a bit of rain.

Thurs 22k@4:23 Solid Medium long run with Biscuitman, both had to stop at different points for a loo stop, also woke up with a bit of a head cold. Had good conversation along the way talking about Boston,GC and Perth. A couple of mm of rain fell during the run, luckily got back to the car just before it pelted down.

Fri 8k@4:18 Felt a bit ordinary all day

Sat 5k@4:23 Mid afternoon run after afternoon nap and sleep in, felt average all day with a headache and blocked ears but felt a lot better after my run, maybe I'd had running withdrawal symptons :).

Sun 10k challenge and 4.6k@4:29 combo of warmup and cooldown.I'm tempted to go for a slow afternoon run but may just watch footy all arvo, Eagles are looking pretty poor again, even though only 2 goals down.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Another week goes by

Another pretty solid week of training with 6 days of running and 1 day of cycling


Week in Summary Running 95.85k@4:24, Cycling 33k

Mon 10k@4:18

Tues 13.22k incl 3.5k@4:27 warmup, 5.31k@3:45, 4.41k@4:32 cooldown. Main part of session was 20 minutes faster alternating with 3 minutes fast,2 min recoveries *4. Faster bits were run at 3:30 pace.

Wed 10k@4:15

Thurs 20k@4:31 Medium long run in the arvo incl hills with temp ranging from 26 at the start to 22 at the end. Struggled a bit with this run and stopped at 12km for a few sips of powearade and to do a couple of work things. Very happy to finish, right calf was giving a bit of grief.

Fri 40 minute run in the evening 9.27k@4:18.

Sat 1 hour on the exercise bike, 33km. Pretty average weather all day and in the end decided to be a wimp and ride inside instead whilst watching a movie.

Sun 33.36k@4:29. 2 hour 30 minute long run incl a few hills but mostly on the flat. Stopped for 3 minutes at 20.5km to grab another powerade and had a gel. Drank 2 powerades for a run which is a lot for me and very happy with the run, nice little confidence booster as I felt a lot better in this run than i did on Thurs and last Sundays run.

Had another two sessions of massage, one with the physio and one with my massage lady, got another two planned for this week.

Next week I will drop the km's a bit as I'm still looking at doing Challenge fun Run 10km, not sure what time to expect for that one as I don't think its the quickest course, would have been nice if it was Lake Monger.

Some very good results in HBF Run by Sugar and Biscuitman, well done guys.
Another great win by the Dockers, another disappointing by the Eagles

Sunday, May 16, 2010

5 weeks to Perth

Another solid week of training, only 5 weeks to go until Perth.

Week in Summary 101.3km @4:21

Mon 9.23km@4:20 40 minute run.

Tues Mona Fartlek session incl 3.2km@4:22 warmup, 5.24@3:49 Mona Fartlek and then 4.46km@4:29 cooldown. First run in K-Swiss and they felt great, very happy with session.

Wed 9.02km@4:26 40 minute run

Thurs 11.27km@4:26 50 minute run. Stopeed early as left hip was giving me grief.

Fri 18.77km@4:22 Medium Long Run

Sat 14k incl Tempo to Race pace run of 8km. 2.5km@4:22 warmup, 8k@3:41 close to race pace, 3.5km@4:33 cooldown. Ran in K-Swiss again and once again very impressed. Managed to break my 5km race pb in this run in the process, 1st 4km-14:45, 2nd 4km-14:43. Extremely happy with evenness of run, slowest km 3:42, quickest 3:40.

Sun 26.12km@4:35 2 hour long run incl some hills. Pretty tired at the end, was a bit silly though in that I only took and consumed 200ml of water for the whole run. Bit of a mental battle for some of the run coming down from yesterdays high but glad I got through it, just had a couple of stops to tighten up bandages etc.

Had a couple of maintenance sessions with physio and deep tissue lady , left hip still playing up a bit and have a couple of sessions booked for most weeks leading up to Perth.

Good to see that Gunner and Attitude are running Perth, hopefully see you out there on the course. Here's hoping that both Epi and Homo have started hitting the pavements.

Epi and Sling, in answer to your queries re K-Swiss which I'm sure you know from reading the above, I love them and tempted to run some of my races in them, we'll see.

Bought 3 pairs of Asics 2130's from Jim Kidd for 99.95 each. These are my favourite everyday training shoe, bought them in 12.5 which is half a size larger than I normally have as they didn't have any size 12's. I wish they'd just keep on making this model.

Next week I hope to do a few more km's than week just gone but will try and slow down some of my runs.

Go the Aussies in the cricket and good to see the Eagles strangle the life out of the Dees.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Back in town

Week in Summary 77k@4:21

Ran a bit quicker than I was planning this week but other than being a little sore in a couple of areas feeling pretty good.

Tues 9.4k@4:15 Hopped off of the plane and a couple of hours later ran at equivalent to MP. Meant to be a shakeout run as we'd been on the plan for over 20 hours but felt good so upped the ante a bit.

Wed 14k@4:30 incl 1* Mt Yokine Hill, hip quite sore at the end Also had a deep tissue massage concentraing on hip,piriformis and adductors. Massage lady thought my hip playing up was dur to very tight Piriformis and TFL.

Thurs 10k@4:34 Easy Run

Fri 10k@4:09 incl 8k@4:05

Sat 13k@4:15 incl 10k@4:06, also approx .6k in the arvo before footy trying out new shoes.

Sun 20k@4:23 Medium Long Run, logest run since Boston.Very even paced run first 10k in 43.55, 2nd 10k in 43.47, diff being first km of run which was a bit slower. Butt and Left Hammy quite sore by the end. Included 3* Shortened version of Yokine Reserve.

On the shoe front, bought some shoes for Training/Tempo runs. Ended up going the K-Swiss Konas, tough decision between those and The New Balance 905, K-Swiss felt great and looked slightly better on the treadmill analysis. Also tried on the Saucony Glide, however these felt very much like the Asics 2140's, too narrow in the foot for my liking. Unfort there were no DS Trainers in my size but hopefully the K-Swiss will do the trick and I'll take them for a spin on Tues.

Congrats to the Dockers on another fine win, they're certainly playing a lot better than I thought they were capable of. Eagles played pretty poor but managed a win, still think their game plan sucks but who knows over time they may get to confuse their opponents.

Next week if all goes to plan, will go back to doing Monas Fartlek on Tues, Medium Long Run Thurs, tempo run Sat and Long Run Sunday. Have a physio session booked for Monday and Deep Tissue for Friday, so hopefully can stay on top of things.

Race plans-prob Challenge 10k and Perth Marathon, 50/50 on HBF Run, may be better doing long run instead.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Viva Las Vegas

Had a great trip and have enjoyed the last week in LA and Vegas, leave Vegas tonight and will be home on Tues. This week has included a trip to Disneyland,Helicopter ride to Grand Canyon, seeing Seinfeld and Chuck Myer both who were very funny and seeing the water show La Reve.

Week in Summary 67.26km@4:32

Mon 6.6km@4:32 Easy run in LA on treadmill

Tues 12.7km@4:43 Hour run on treadmill.

Wed 8.56km@4:40 40 minute run along streets of LA seeing some unbelievable mansions and including running along Sunset boulevard and Chevy cHASE Crescent.

Thurs 9k@4:28 40 minute run similar to yesterday

Fri 6.8km@4:24 30 minute run in vegas including part of the strip.

Sat 10.1km@4:27 45 minute run in Vegas

Sun 13,5k@4:26 Hour run in vegas


Got to run in some very interesting places and things are going well. Left hip is still playing up a bit but other than that legs are feeling pretty good. Next week will prob be similar in km's with 5 or 6 days of running, all at fairly easy pace, hopefully will have a 16-20km long run

Monday, April 26, 2010

Post Boston

Recovered pretty well from Boston and have enjoyed our time in Washington and Atlanta, off to LA tomorrow for a few days and then off to Vegas.

Week in Summary 46.05k 3h35 minutes.

Wed 8.05km 40 minute run around Washington including taking in the Washington Monument and US Capitol. Sightseeing included the Holocaust Museum which was very emotional and NASA which was very interesting.

Thurs 8.5km 40 minute run, same route as yesterday but went a little further, took camera with me and grabbed some pretty cool photos. Sightseeing included the National Museum, War Memorial and Washington Museum.

Fri 10.1km 45 minute run, last run in Washington, ran around the Memorial and saw some of the US army running around there, doing there chants etc. Flew to Atlanta.

Sat 6.5km 30 minute run. Quick run around Suburban Atlanta. Weather was shocking today, thunderstorms and lightening but ended up finding a small window of opportunity and got a quick run in. Had a great dinner with quite a few vodkas and ended up on stage as a result of wearing my Boston Jacket as the singer had also run the Marathon on Monday, apparently he used to sing for Earth, Wind and Fire.

Sun 12.9km 1 hour run through the forest, very enjoyable run. Sightseeing included The Aquarium and World of Coke, you could sample 60 different types of drink from all the different regions of the world. They were rather sickly after a while, the brother in law tried all of them.

Have recovered really well, the quads, left hip and calves were sore for a couple of days, esp the quads with the stairs. A couple of massages, use of the stick, the recovery skins have all played a part in the recovery process. It also appears as though my sinuses which have been playing up on and off for the whole trip are on the improve which may be a result of the warmer weather and the increased use of sudafed.

Looking forward to the rest of our trip and will try and do around 50-60km this week, with the plan to then try and steadily increase the kms in the leadup to Perth.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Boston 2010

Wow what an experience, the atmosphere was just incredible the whole way around and the Bostonians should be congratulated for their hospitality and enthusiasm. Simon had said how great it was but until you do it yourself you just can't apprecite how great it is.

Previous week ran around 45km with some in New York and a couple of easy runs in Boston.


Boston Marathon

Took the yellow school bus out to Hopkington at 6 am, sounded like schoolkids with all the chatter on board with everyone very excited. Arrived at the school about 7 and then straight to the loo, had a bagel, settled down on one of the benches with Craig, chatted as we had our drinks and took turns in lining up for the portaloos. It was cold, so much so that my feet were aching, last time that happened was in Nepal and everyone was rugged up to the max, as it turned out I ended up running with beanie and gloves on for the whole race.

Around 9.15 we were told to start making our way to the buses to drop off our bags and craig and i went our separate ways, wishing each other all the best. Another loo stop and then walked down to the starting corrals with the excitement building all the time, the national anthem was played, the fighter jets came overhead and it was ready to begin. interestingly i didn't have any real pre race nerves, i think the excitement was just to great and then we were on our way.

Race time 3:02:32 5 minute pb.

5k-20:28
10k-41:11
15k-1:01:58
20k-1:24:14 Loo stop in this 5km
HALF-1:28:44
25k-1:45:30 hip started playing up
30k-2:07:58
35k-2:30:37
40k-2:52:51
42.2k-3:02:32

Got into a good rhythm early and the km's cruised by, did lots of hand slaps to the spectators who were very enthusiastic in their support, one thing I didn't get around to doing was getting my name or anything Aussie on the shirt but anyone with a name on their shirt got even more encouragement.

First half on the race, felt really good, my main concern was that i needed to go to the loo from about the 3km mark despite having been 4 times before the race, cold weather and my bladder don't go well together. Eventually gave in and at around the 18.5km stopped off, went and also put back on my patt strap which had fallen off early on, so had one of my bandages but i didn't want to waste any more time so I just held onto it. Based on km splits, this cost me about 1m 30s. Settled back into a rhythm once I got back running, unfortunately I didn't get to handslap or smooch the girls at the college as they were on the right and my pitstop had been on the left so watched proceedings with amusement and went through the half way mark at 1:28:44, did some quick calcs and was confident that sub 3 was still well and truly achievable. I'd had about 3 drinks at this stage, few sips in the cup and quite a bit on my face :).

Around the 23km-24km mark, my left hip that had been playing up earlier in the week in New York and which flared up again on Saturday started hurting again and made me slow down a bit, maybe the nurofen i'd taken before the race had lost its effect. The hills not that they were much came into play and it became a bit of a grind. I felt myself drifting into 4.30 splits as even though it was painful, it was manageable, however when I tried to speed up, the pain increased significantly so I eased back to the 4:30's.

Heartbreak Hill came and went, not much to report on there other than it wasn't much of a hill and I kept on thinking to myself there must be more but there were huge cheers as we reached the top. A number of people had started walking and i wonder whether that was more a mental barrier than anything else. Realised around this point that i needed to speed up a bit to get to sub 3, so tried for a few hundred metres but once again, it was too painful so eased back. Did some more calcs to see what I could do if I kept at the 4:30 pace as well as what I needed to do for a pb and then went into auto pilot determined to finish and do a decent pb.

Had a snake, only had the one for the day and a couple of drinks at the drink stations, walked through these and made sure I had the full drink and was on my way. Passed a lot of people over the last 8 or so km and only got passed by a few and was happy to come around the corner into the last straight at exactly 3 hours. The last few hundred metres seemed to take forever as the finish line seemed like an optical illusion and was very happy to finish and still in tact.

Found Craig fairly quickly who ran very impressively for a 3.01 especially considering his knee issues and little running over the last few weeks, so a very big congrats to him. Then found the girls who were ecstatic to see us in one piece, had some photos taken, Trace had bought an Aussie Cape with her and wrapped it around me and then we limped back to the hotel.

Physically felt pretty good after the race , i've been lucky in that I always seem to feel pretty good after the run, other than the obvious sore legs and a couple of blisters, ran in the Asics DS racers and they were great, will run future races in these for sure.

Trace and I caught up with Craig and Tiff last night for a few drinks and Chinese and had a great time, hope you guys have a great rest of your holiday.


So overall pretty happy with yesterdays effort, prob 8/10 and wouldn't change how I ran the race, I don't feel as though i went out too fast, even though times may indicate otherwise as I didn't run out of steam. It would have been nice to have cracked sub 3, it's just a pity that the loo stop and sore hip cost me any chance of doing that but at least I'm heading in the right direction. I'll start running in the next couple of days and then plan my next Marathon, will it be Perth, Gold Coast or Melbourne, lets see how the training goes before making a decision, I'm just a little wary of how close the first two are.

Had a great time In New York and Boston, off to Washington in a few hours and then Atlanta,Los Angeles and Las Vegas, should have a great time in each and will get at least a couple of runs in each place.

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes and support.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Quick Post

Eased off on the training this week and only ran 4 days. Better to take it a little easy I say and focus more on quality of the run.

Week in Summary 60k@4:25

Mon Rest


Tues 14k@4:21 incl some MP running and fast finish.

Wed Migraine, had Day off work and slept all day.

Thurs 18k@4:13 incl last Speedwork which included 4*1600m @3:40 pace with 400m recoveries @ 5.00 pace, 8km covered in 31.08, later realised I was only meant to do 3*. Cooldown with Simon.

Fri 10k@4:38

Sat 18k@4:32 incl 2* Mt Yokine Hill Course. Last longer type run and wanted to get some specific hillwork in, ran in Asics DS Racers and have decided to run Boston in these.

Sun No running, left packing till last minute and was hoping to sneak in a run but didn't eventuate.

Congrats to Biscuitman and Sugar on their runs today.

Great effort by Dockers to beat Geelong, thought about tipping them all week but decided to tip the Cats. Dismal effort by Eagles, nothing more to say on that.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Let the taper begin

Only 2 weeks to go now until Boston and it is all getting very exciting. Received my race info in the mail, bib number is 4355. Time to take it a bit easier next week and wind down the kms, also have a physio and massage session booked.

Happy Easter everyone.

Week in Summary 94k@4:26

Mon 40 minute easy run 8.7k@4:35

Tues Rest day as finished last from work.

Wed am 10.7k@4:12 Quicker than MP, felt pretty comfortable.

pm 11k@4:21 Incl 5*600m @ 5k pace with 400m jogs. Struggled a bit with the tummy on this one, it was sore and I felt like throwing up. May have been because I ate too closely to running.

Thurs am 16.1k@4:26 Run with Biscuitman, adductor quite sore and had to stop for a couple of stretches.

Thurs pm Massage did world of wonders at physio. Work done on hips,quads and adductor.

Fri am 40 min easy 8.51k@4:42 Legs felt great after physio session. Measured Heartrate at 116 bpm immediately after finishing.

Sat Midday run to get used to running in the heat of the day. 12k@4:05 incl 8k@3:50 guestimate of between tempo and race pace,km splits were 4.03,3.56,3.54,3.50,3.51,3.50,3.49,3.34. Ran in DS Racers, felt fantastic.

Sun 27k@4:36 Last long run before Boston, done again in Saucony Fasttwitch. Ran first 3k with Craig who hopefully will be ok to run Boston, hope the leg improves. Pretty well just cruised all the way around, a couple of very quick stops to tighten bandage and that was it.Very windy on the way back on the South Perth side, Narrows and on the way back to Matilda Bay. Lucky the Bridges race wasn't today may have wrecked some havoc on the times.

Did a record month in March of 485km beating my previous mark of 465 in May 2009 and also passed the 1000km mark for the year.

Congrats to Sugar and TB on their efforts at Masters and to Gerry who finished 6th in Bridges, well done.

Weather ranges for Boston this week, min between 8 and 12, max between 21 and 24.

Monday, March 29, 2010

3 weeks to go

Three weeks until the big race.

Week in Summary Running 120.3km@4:31, Cycling 40 min.

Mon pm 40 min Cycle

Tues am 11.35km@4:24 incl last 3.35km@4:15 or quicker.
pm 12.15km incl Mona Fartlek of 5.14km@3:53

Wed am 8.53km@4:41 40 min easy am run.
pm 8.5km@4:48

Thurs am 20k@4:35 Medium Long run

Fri pm 13.5k@4:27 1 hour run

Sat pm 14k incl 8k@3:52 in Saucony Fasttwitch 4's. Pretty windy conditions and happy with effort, last km in 3:38, effort somewhere between tempo and race pace.

Sun am 32.27km@4:39 2hr 30min long run incl 4* Mt Yokine Hill. Stopped at home at 26.5km for gel. Ran in Sauconys again and other than a couple of little blisters, the shoes felt great.

Prob will do another reasonable week this week and then start the taper.

Went to the Running Centre Saturday and bought some racing shoes for Boston, Saucony Fasttwitch 4 and Asics DS Racers. I'll probably wear the Sauconys in the race, however will give the DS Racers a trial this weekend. Also bought some 2150's which I ran in this morning and they feel fantastic.

Monday, March 22, 2010

That's ridiculous

Very enjoyable weekend at Nanga, Epi's blog says it all so won't really add anything else to it, learnt heaps and had a great time and met some great people. Many thanks to Raf for organising it and all the guest speakers gave some valuable tips. Running with Mona was definitely a running highlight and something I'll never forget.

Topped off the weekend with Fish and Chips Sun night which would have been deemed ridiculous.




Running for the week 111.5km@4m43s

Tues pm 13.2km @4m33 Hour Run

Wed am Easy 8.4km @4m47

Wed pm 10.55km@4m23 Included some 500m quick,500m slow *6

Thurs am 18km@ 4m36 Easy run with BMAN, great morning for run.

Fri am 8.55km@ 4m41 Easy run

Fri pm 8.7km@ 5m18 Recovery run with Mona Group

Sat am 4.15km@ 5m10 Warmup for Mona Fartlek

Sat am 5km@ 4m Mona Fartlek

Sat am 3.75km@ 5m19 Cooldown

Sat pm 10.6km@ 4m52 Recovery run at Nanga.

Sun am 20.6km@ 4m46 Medium long run in Hills at Nanga, good tough solid workout.


Pretty happy with how things are going, a couple of good physio sessions did the world of good as did wearing a bandage. 4 weeks to go until the big race and 3 weeks to go until we're in NY, things are getting exciting.

Finally congrats to Sling on his PB at Seoul but I'll let him tell his story.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Bald Eagle

Not long to go now before Boston, things going pretty well although I reinjured the adductor during the week, which made the Darlington Hills today pretty tough.

Week in Summary 101k@4:36

Mon 10.6k@4:43 50 min run

Tues 14k incl Intervals, The session was was 2 min on, 1 minute jog x 2, 1 min on, 1 min jog x 2, 30 sec on, 30 sec jog x 2. Four minute break and then repeat the set. Ran approx 3k each set so happy with effort.

Wed 8.43k@4:43 40 min run.

Thurs 15.04k@4:26 Run with Biscuitman on a great morning. Adductor quite sore at end.

Fri 10.25k@4:52 50 min run, adductor very sore and stopped for a couple of stretch breaks. Deep tissue massage alleviated a lot of the pain, along with self treatment with TENS Machine

Sat 10.75k@4:43 Adductor felt a lot better after bandaging, more self treatment with TENS Machine

Sun Darlington Half 1:30:48

Tough run this morning. Adductor really sore from approx 2.5km even though bandaged and going up the hills wasn't fun. Finished well with the downhills portion being a lot easier on the legs, passed about 5 runners in the last half with a couple passed in the last 500m. Treated as a training run which had some good psychological benefits, also walked through all drink stations, one day I'll perfect the drinking out of the cup on the run :).

Warmup and Cooldown 2.4k

Sun pm 8.34k@4:47 40 min easy run. Normal Sun pm run on the flat, leg bandaged and felt good.

Overall things are looking pretty good, if I can get my leg sorted, even better. Have a physio session booked for tomorrow and will avoid any hillwork if possible for a couple of weeks. Don't want to decrease my training volume and would like to if possible get in another 3 or 4 weeks of approx 100 km per week. Looking forward to the Mona camp, should be awesome.

Congrats to Epi(1:25:5X) and Biscuitman(1:27:4x) for their runs today, well done.

Good luck to Sling on his sub 3 attempt at Seoul, go for gold son.

On another note, got the head shaved during the week and it's not that bad, just need to wear a cap if it's hot. Thanks to some generous donations I've raised nearly $2500 and with a couple more still to come may nearly get to $3000, very happy with that.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Happy with that

Good solid week which was boosted by 2 long runs, weather was much more conducive to running this week.

Week in Summary Running 121.5k@4:43 Exercise Bike 65 mins.

Mon 36k as mentioned in previous post, comprising of am and pm runs.

Tues pm Excercise Bike 20 mins

Wed pm 13.5k@4:41 including 6*500m down hill repeats at 3.40 pace. Very enjoyable session run on Bold Park Hill that Epi and I used. Warmup from Floreat to City Beach and then up and down 500m hill, followed by cooldown. Good Boston Specific workout which focused on quicker downhill running, legs felt good.

Thurs pm 1 hour easy run 12.5k@4:46

Fri pm 1 hour at 4:32, good run at quicker than 3.15 MP run.

Sat am 14.05k incl 8.05k tempo run at 4.05. Slightly strained back during tempo run

Sun am 32.2k@4:44 Long run with Epi from Kings Park through Bold Park to Scarborough, up Hale Road and back to Kings Park. Felt a bit of pain in adductor from Hale Road and subsequent hills but other than that very happy with run, felt pretty fresh at end.

Sun pm Exercise Bike 45 mins. Was tempted to go for a run but decided instead to watch a show I taped, so got on the bike.


Good progress is occurring, 3 key workouts all achieved. Darlington Half next week, won't really taper so not sure what to expect, I want to keep the momentum gained over the last couple of weeks for a few more if possible.


On a separate note I'm shaving my head for Leukaemia on Thurs so if anyone would like to donate, it would be much appreciated, details are below.

I’ve set up a CSG team to take part in the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave 2010. The funds we raise will help the Leukaemia Foundation to provide practical care and support to patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders.


http://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/ Team is CSG, you can sponsor either the team member eg me or the team. Cheers

Monday, March 1, 2010

Time to get Boston specific

Whoa that was one hot week and I ended up running mostly after work when it was nice and hot.

Week in Summary 65.5km@4:40

Mon Exercise Bike 20 mins easy

Tues 13km incl Intervals of 200m,400m,200m with 100m jogs between reps * 5 with 3 min breaks between sets. Averaged 40 sec for 200m and 85 for the 400's.

Wed 8.25@4:50 40 mins easy

Thurs 13k incl failed attempt of Tempo with Biscuitman. Combination of foot being sore and struggling in general led me to pull back at approx 4.5km and jog back.

Fri 8.35km@4:48 Ran in approx 35 deg heat and struggled.

Sat 12.6km incl 8k@4:06 tempo. After faild attemp Thurs morning, ran a lot better this morning and happy with effort.

Sun 10.25km @4:52 Hills in 35 deg heat.

Mon am 27.75km@4:49 with Craig incl hills of Kings Park and 10km along river. Stuggled with hammies form 17-19km. Quick stretch made them feel a a lot better and then upped the ante for a few km to just over MP. Stuggled once we stopped at the uni and from there it was jog,walk for the next 4km. Even though I struggled after the MP running I'm glad it was done as it was a bit of a reality check as to where I'm placed at present.

Mon pm 8.25km@4:55 Another hot run in 36 deg heat but this time ran with a drink. Got me up to 36km for the day, legs felt good so happy with days efforts.

Last 7 days 101.5km, so things are getting there.

This week I will try and get in some specific Boston workouts. Tomorrow arvo provided legs are ok will involve downhill repeats, Thurs am will involve MP running as opposed to Tempo and hopefully a couple of hill sessions will be included for the week. I'm hoping that the next 4 weeks will bring some further progress and make another BQ a reality.

Congrats to the Dockers on a win on the siren and to TB for his 6 hour run on the weekend, not sure how you do it, more than 10 laps would do my head in.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Super Sunday

Ran 43km today incl 33k this morning and 10k recovery run this afternoon. Unfortunately the rest of the week was fairly mediocre due to an unexpected and very rushed trip to Sydney due to work. Long hours and staying in a very dodgey area on the Hume Highway made running near on impossible.

Week in Summary 72.6km@4:44

Tues 9k@4:35 Missed Intervals due to work

Wed 6.5k@4:55 Easy run before flight to Sydney

Sat 14.1k@4:25 incl 10k@4:15

Sun am 33k@4:45 Long run from Matilda Bay , ran about 25k with Epi who is running really well after his knee injury. Started off quite quickly and had to intentionally slow down a bit as we wanted to make sure we covered the 30k+ run as that was the sole purpose of the run. Quick stop at 18k for drink fillup, really struggled between 23-25k due to hammies and groin being sore. Quick stretch at 25k really helped and allowed me to run the last 8k with only a bit of discomfort. Great running with Epi again and made the run a whole lot easier than if I'd gone solo.

pm 10k@5:06 Bit sore to start off with but overall pretty happy with the day as it unfolded. Have the long skins on at present for some recovery.


Would love to get in a decent week next week, fingers crossed.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Point Walter 5k

Ran 18.26 today which is a 17 sec pb and a nice little confidence booster and nice start to the racing year, more on that later.

Week in Summary 71.6k@4:39 Weight 71.0kg

Put on the weight that I lost last week bar 200g, naughty naughty.

Tues 13k including Intervals and 5.2k warmup,2.8k cooldown

Session was 600* 4 with 90 sec break 2:07,2:05,2:09,2:09
then 400* 4 with 90 sec break 1:24,1:21,1:20,1:22
then 200* 4 with 30 sec break 41,40,38,40 did an extra in 36

Very happy with session as I felt it very controlled and felt as though I could have done at least couple more 200m splits.

Wed 40 min easy 8.2@4:52

Thurs 17.5k@4:39 Incl warmup and cooldown. Ran with Biscuitman from Burswood along normal Penninsula Route and back. Very humid morning with humidity around 90 and was covered in sweat by the finish, very glad to have a smoothie straight after the run.

Fri 8.3k@4:57 Easy run on hunmid morning, humidity was 96 but a bit cooler than yesterday. Had a deep tissue massage concentrating on the legs which was good.

Sat 20 min easy run 4.1k@4:52 6 pm run when I took the canaries out for a spin the Brooks ST2. Before the run was still undecided on which race to run at Point Walter. Decision was made after the run as the canaries felt good.

Sun am 1.3k warmup @ 4:29

5k@3:41 Point Walter Run finished 9th, Splits were 3:39,3:39,3:43,3:43,3:41.

Very well organised race with km splits spot on, although I'm not sure on the dodgey timekeeper :), glad to hear his running is progressing well even though his knee was a bit sore today

2 aims before the race was to try and pb and keep Biscuitman in sight if I could and managed both so very happy. Got off to my usual slow start over the first couple of hundred metres by getting stuck behind some slow people even though I was in the 2nd row and then having to do a lot of dodging and weaving, something I need to work on in the future. The rest of the race was pretty even running as the splits show, with Biscuitman just ahead of me all race. Didn't have the fast finish today but not too bothered as a pb is a pb.

5K Cooldown @4:55 with Biscuitman and Sandgroper who did about 2k. Congrats to both who ran very well today and did great times 18.21 and 17.57 respectively.

Sun pm 9.2k@4:53 Easy run, legs felt really good.

Overall a pretty solid week which finished on a nice high. Next weeks aim is to increase the kms significantly and hopefully do a 30km+ long run.

Loved going to the footy Fri and seeing Nic Nat blitz, I just hope the Eagles can keep a lid on expectations for him and the team for the season.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Need to start getting the long runs in

Another pretty solid week of running although a bit disappointed with my long run due to my hammies screaming from the start and not easing up. Also lost 1.4kg for the week so well on my way to 67kg mark aimed for Boston.

Week in Summary 76.1km@4:41 Weight 69.8kg

Tues 12km incl 10km@4:24 2k@4:46

Wed 8.05k@4:57. Also another vist to the physio who has given me some more exercises to do and avoid doing hills for a few weeks.

Thurs 15.5km incl Tempo run of 8km@4:04 with Biscuitman along the Penninsula course. Splits were 4:04,4:04,4:09,4:05,4:12,4:02,4:03,3:51. More controlled effort than last week and a very enjoyable run, glad to see the progress is continuing on these type of runs.

Fri 8.55km@4:40

Sat 12km@4:42

Sun 20km@4:53 Ran from Matilda Bay. Hammies were very sore from the start and as a result this was a real struggle today. Humidity was 93 at the start and I went through the powerade in 12km. Plenty of walking and stretch breaks along the way to try and stretch out the hammies but to no avail. At least I wasn't tired after the run at all :).

Bit disillusioned after todays run, I feel as though I'm starting to tick a lot of the boxes but I need to start getting some proper long runs in. Not sure why I was so sore today, maybe from doing more exercises and only having a 12 hour break between runs may have played a part. I'll just have to stay positive and trust that things will come together, I'll give this week 8/10.

Off to the footy Friday night to see the Eagles play Essendon with the guys, looking forward to seeing some of the younger guys play. Bit worried that the West is building the Eagles up to much for this year, I'd be happy if they can sneak into the 8.

The dilemma on the running front is what to do for Point Walter, should I try and do a fast 5km next week or do the 16km as a tempo style run?

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Giddyup

This weeks title is as a result of a good week of running and that Trace and I will be seeing Jerry Seinfeld when we're in Vegas, hanging out for that show.

Week in Summary 5 days running 70k@4:46 Weight 71.2kgs

Tues 10k@4:27 incl 6k@4:28 minute break then 2k@3:47(3:55,3:40),cooldown. Felt pretty good in my 6k progression run and decided to test the waters with 2k of quicker stuff. Pleasantly surprised to be able to clock up a 3:40 for the last km after a fairly good progression run.

Wed 8k@5:00

Thurs 14.5k@4:29 including 8k tempo run @4:09. Met up with Biscuitman and ran the Penninsula Run at tempo pace, splits were 4:06,4:18,4:09,4:11,4:08,4:14,4:12,3:56. A lot better effort than last time and happy with effort. Really enjoying these Thursday am runs, over the coming weeks will aim to get these down to under 4:00 per km and then increase the distance of the tempo portion.

Sat 1 hour run 12.5k@4:46 Bit of a struggle today, felt a bit sore and tired, may have been from my deep tissue massage the day before. Very glad when run finished, walked the dogs with Trace and treated myself to some pancakes.

Sun Long Run 25k@5:00 Went back to the good old West Perth to City Beach, along West Coast Highway and back route including Bold Park and Hale Road. Happy to have got up Hale Road without stopping which was the main aim of the run along with getting some time into the legs. Left knee a bit sore after Hale Road and hammies a bit sore, but other than that very happy with run.

Overall a very pleasing week, got in some quicker stuff and managed to get a tempo and long run in.

Race plans : Point Walter 14th Feb, haven't decided on whether to do 16k or 5k yet.
: Darlington Half Marathon in March
: Bridges Fun Run ???
: Boston Marathon in April
: Gold Coast Marathon in July??? Not sure whether I'll do Perth this year and may opt for Gold Coast instead, will see how it all goes.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Going with the flow

Came down Fri evening with a bad case of gastro , this was unfortunate as it meant we missed out on the chance of a long weekend in Mandurah and no running. Starting to feel a bit better now so hopefully will be to go for a light run later on this afternoon.

Week in Summary 40k@4:42

Tues 10k total incl Intervals-5*800m with 2min 30 sec break, 2:50,2:49,2:50,2:55,2:57. Pretty happy with effort in tough conditions 34deg with no wind, happy to do all under 3:00 and prob could have managed one more at that pace.

Wed 8.5k@4:58

Thurs 13k@4:40 Fantastic morning for running and ran with Biscuitman from WAMC to Maylands and back and then along to South Perth. Nice relaxed run and happy with effort.

Fri 8.5k@4:40

I'm booked in for Steve Moneghetti's training camp in March down at Dwellingup which will be covering a whole range of long distance topics and am very excited to be able to attend, should give great insight to how the champs prepare and train.

12 weeks to Boston, have no firm goal at this stage due to lack of running and will just take it as it comes. I would like to think that sub 3.15 is a possibilty if I can get a few decent weeks in and 4 or 5 30k+ runs.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Better week

Pretty happy with efforts this week with some Intervals,Tempo Run and Medium Long run being the highlights.

Week in Summary 73.5km@4:43

Mon 8.05k@4:34

Tues 9k incl 4k Intervals Went down to WAMC Intervals and was pleasantly surprised with my efforts and showed what a benefit it is to be able to run in a group.

Pyramid Session 200,400,600,800,800,600,400,200. Break of 30 sec after 200,60 sec after 400,90 sec after 600,120 sec after 800.

Times were 38,81,129,176,178,132,84,38.

Wed 6k@5:04

Thurs 12k incl 4k tempo @4:11 Ran with Biscuitman from WAMC Clubrooms to Maylands. Enjoyable run as we had a decent chat along the way talking cricket,Boston etc. Was struggling with the pace a bit at the 4k mark(halfway) so jogged back whilst Biscuitman impressively continued at same pace and managed to negatively split. Hope to do this session each week and hopefully be up to 8k at this pace in the next couple of weeks.

Fri 8k@4:46

Sat 10k incl 5k tempo @4:13 Wanted to make up for only doing 4k at this pace on Thurs, so managed to run the 5km I was aiming for in this run. The effort today was a lot easier than Thursday's so happy with effort.

Sun 20k@4:52 Ran from home, along the Bridges and Back.Longest run since early Oct and happy with effort. Took a couple of stretch and walk breaks along the way from the 12km mark as I was quite sore in the left calf and hammies. Temperature at the start was 24 deg and by the time I'd finished it had reached 30. Tough running into the wind especially over the Narrows, 1st 10k @4:48, 2nd 10k@4:58.

This week showed me that I haven't lost much of my speed but I have a lot of work to do re tempo and long runs. Hopefully over the coming weeks these will become a lot easier as I up the km's and work on the mental and endurance side of things.


Good to hear that Epi's surgery went well, so hopefully the recovery will be just as good and he'll be up and running in the next few weeks.



Had another trip to the Sports Physio, have been given some more exercises to do. Next visit in 3 weeks time where he'll give me some running drills and teach me how to run properly.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Time to step things up a notch

Another reasonable week of training, although I skipped the longer run this morning in favour of a ride on the exercise bike so that I could catch up on some shows I've taped.

Week in Summary Running 41k@4:48 46k bike-90 min

Tues 7k Failed attempt at Intervals in 34 deg heat. Wanted to do 3*800m in approx 3:00 with 2 min recoveries. Did 1*800m and 1*500m and gave up.

Wed 8k incl 3*800m in 3:05 with 2 min walk recoveries. Disgusted at yesterdays effort, I was up at 5am to do Intervals. Managed to complete them but a bit slower than what I'd have liked but shows how much work I need to do, left hip was quite sore and slowed me a little.

Thurs 8k @4:44
Fri 8k@ 4:41
Sat 10k@5:00 Hills
Sun 46k bike ride

Went to the sports physio who has given me some exercises to do, he mentions that my glutes don't get used much when I run and hence some of the issues I have with hammies,peroneals etc. Got another session this Wed so hopefully we can make some real progress there over the next few weeks.

Hopefully Epi can recover from his knee injury quickly and be up and running very soon.

This week I hope to get the km's up to around the 70km and am looking at going to Intervals on Tues at Alderbury, hopefully a few km's at MP and a reasonable long run will top things off.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy New Year

Happy New Years to everyone and I wish you and your families a great 2010.

This weeks focus was running on some hillier courses after reviewing Boston Course, the thing that I'm amazed at is the downwards portions of the course especially at the start and near the finish. Will have to practice hill repeats both upward and downwards at faster than MP in the coming weeks

Week in Summary 54km@4:52

Mon 6.5km@4:53 Hills Ascent 128m Descent 119m
Tues 8km@4:43 Perry Lakes Ascent 128m Descent 127m.
Wed 10.25km@4:55 Ascent 230m Descent 213m
Thurs 7.25km@4:56 Ascent 125m Descent 130m
Sat 8.05km@4:38 Ascent 147m Descent 161m
Sun 14km@5:02 Kings Park Ascent 284m Descent 330m

Overall reasonably happy with the week but a bit disappointed with this mornings run, I was hoping to do more but a combination of left hip being sore, may be too many hills for the week and lack of mental toughness made me finish early.

Next week I plan on doing some kms at MP, some more hill work and hopefully a better Sun run. I have finally made an appointment with my sports physio as opposed to normal physio, so hopefully he can assist in a couple of areas that need attention.