Clown

Marathon plans

2011-11-20T17:38:00.002+08:00

Got my marathon mojo back and signed up for Berlin next year- so pumped for that already, Oktoberfest is on at the same time and we'll pop up to Munich straight after the run. Canberra has been pencilled in for April so my running focus is on at that present.

On the running front, I've been having issues with my hammie and butt which is referred pain from the back. As a result all speedwork, tempo runs and MP are off the agenda for the time being and the focus is on building the km's. Doing lots of stretching, using foam roller and going to physio so hopefully will be on top of it soon.

Last 3 weeks have been 107, 127 and 143 averaging between mid 4.30's and low 4.40's for the week and am feeling nice and fit but not fast. I'm enjoying the mid week runs of around 25k and the Sunday runs which are back up to 32k and these are my main runs in this phase of the program.

Great to see Epi do a 5k pb and Bman is going from strength to strength in his training for Houston

Cruising along

2011-10-23T18:35:00.004+08:00

It's been awhile since my last post so decided it's about time to post again.

Running has been going well and clocking up reasonable km's- the last two weeks have seen a bit of a spike again with both around the 145km mark all of which has been at an easy pace. It seems that this is when I run my best with lots of quantity.

On the race front, I've done a couple of pb's on weeks with good mileage with 5km at Lake Gwelup in 17:47 on a 130km plus week including an interval session and Freo Half of 1:20:08 was done on a 90km week which also included a Mona Fartlek record and a tempo run.

There has been quite a bit of work done on the glute activation front and the physio is very happy with progress in this area. The next step is to work on some glute mass, especially on the left side which hopefully in turn will assist with the left hammie and give me some speed in some of the shorter distances.

Its really good to see a number of the guys having recently done Marathons with Sling and TB doing Melb and Simon E doing Berlin. Also great to see Biscuitman clocking up some decent km's and going great guns in his quest for Houston in Jan.

Boston Marathon 2011

2011-04-20T20:15:00.002+08:00

2:48:04 5 minute pb

First Half 1:22:32 Second Half 1:25:32.

First of all, it was a privilege to be involved in the fastest ever marathon to date, those guys are just absolutely incredible.

Well I'm very happy with my run, I was hoping to go sub 2:50, top 500 and had my eyes on the 2:48:47, the magical 4 minute pace for us mere mortals and all were achieved. Pretty well everything went to plan, only thing I may have been able to do better on the day is the hydration side but I'm not well known for being good at that.

Craig and i caught the yellow buses down to Hopkington on a cold morning, we arrived and quickly found a place on the grass near the toliets and took turns going and having a bit of a chat as the time passed quickly. Took my tablets, applied cream to the legs and then made our way to drop of our bags and begin the walk down to the start line. We parted ways and wished each other the best of luck.

Being in corral 2 was pretty awesome as I had an uninterrupted view of the elites making their way down the path to the starting line with Ryan Hall high fiving a whole lot of people and generous clapping and shouting out being a part of it.

We started and I was wearing my beanie and gloves as it was still cold at this point, my shins ached for the first 3km downhill but managed to get a reasonable start and noticed after running for about 5km I was feeling warm and sweating a bit so discarded both beanie and gloves. I had a drink at about the 5 mile mark and concentrated on doing around the 3:55 mark as I wanted to get a little time in the bank for later on which I was able to do. The left hammy which is always a bit dodgey was sore around this time but luckily stayed the same for the rest of the race.

Just continued churning out the kms as planned and before I knew it we were at the college with the screaming and kissing girls, I got to see this a bit closer this year as last year I had a wee on the other side of the road and couldn't be bothered crossing the road. Managed to go through the half in a small hm pb and happy that I was on track for what I was after.

The hills of Newton came along and I had another drink and a couple of snakes. The plan was to keep an even effort and make sure that I didn't lose too much of the time banked away which I was able to do. I was passing quite a few people and the odd one was passing me. I did some quick calcs in my head at the 30k mark and figured if I could do 4:06 for the rest of the race, then a high 2:48 would be achieved.

There wasn't so much fanfare at the top of Heatbreak hill but I'd figured we'd reached the top based on the km on the garmin and the fact that we'd started going downhill. I can't remember exactly but I think not long after that some of the Boston Celtics cheerleaders were there- now these should be the kissing girls :).

Had a couple more snakes and drinks- not too successful with the drinks, more ended on my face than in my mouth and then concentrated on keeping the kms fairly even with the odd one going just over the 4:00 mark.

Calves started getting sore around the 36 km mark but I kept telling myself that it wasn't far to go and I was on track and it did the trick as the pace stayed steady and kept passing people and a couple passed me.

Turned the corner and the little uphill bit before turning into Boylston and then made my way to the finish and was very happy to have my name called out, raised the fist and yelled as I passed the line, just a shame I couldn't go 5 seconds faster as I would have had a 2:47.

Got quite a few photos taken after the finish line as I was pretty pumped and happy to be hamming it up for the camera, hopefully at least a couple of these may turn out.

Unfortunately Craig had his quads cramping badly so it didn't go to plan for him but I'm sure his next marathon will be a pearler. It was nice catching up with family and Craig's family for dinner that night.

Congrats to david bryant for doing sub 3 in his first attempt, awesome.

Still a bit sore in the legs and will do some cross training and walking for a few days before starting running probably when we get to LA.

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T11:20:00.003+08:00

Wishing everyone a happy new year and I hope you all have a great 2011.

Not much to report on the running front other than clocking up a few km's. The last 3weeks have been 114,113 and 140 this week with me introducing doubles, most of the running has been in the 4:30-4:50 min/km range with an interval session thrown in each week at around 5k pace.Today Biscuitman and I did a 30k run at 4:36 pace early to avoid the heat.

Looking forward to going over to Singas and catching up with Sling and we'll get in a couple of runs whilst over there.

Building the base

2010-12-12T20:00:00.003+08:00

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.

Deepwater 7.5k race.

2010-11-28T20:41:00.002+08:00

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

Broken little toe

2010-11-14T15:56:00.003+08:00

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.

Big congrats

2010-11-09T09:23:00.003+08:00

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

Pain in the butt

2010-10-31T17:38:00.003+08:00

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.

Boston Calling

2010-10-24T18:34:00.004+08:00

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.

Melbourne Finishing Photos

2010-10-17T14:14:00.008+08:00

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.

Melbourne Marathon 2010

2010-10-12T08:29:00.005+08:00

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.

Magpies were awesome

2010-10-03T11:32:00.003+08:00

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.

Fantsatic weather

2010-09-26T21:18:00.003+08:00

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.

Taper time

2010-09-19T18:39:00.008+08:00

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.

In for the long run

2010-09-12T15:08:00.004+08:00

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.

Another week gone

2010-09-05T19:37:00.006+08:00

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.

Record week

2010-08-29T13:36:00.003+08:00

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.

8 weeks to go

2010-08-15T17:15:00.003+08:00

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.

9 weeks to go

2010-08-08T15:02:00.002+08:00

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.

Perth Masters Half

2010-08-01T14:28:00.004+08:00

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.

Laying the foundation

2010-07-11T11:41:00.003+08:00

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.

Massive Congratulations

2010-07-05T06:55:00.002+08:00

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

Plotting out the rest of the year

2010-06-27T17:19:00.003+08:00

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.

Perth Marathon

2010-06-20T18:13:00.007+08:00

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

Fall at work

2010-06-15T18:12:00.002+08:00

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.

1 week to go

2010-06-13T12:57:00.004+08:00

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.

Time to taper

2010-06-06T10:31:00.003+08:00

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.

Challenge 10k

2010-05-30T12:27:00.006+08:00

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.

Another week goes by

2010-05-23T18:36:00.003+08:00

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

5 weeks to Perth

2010-05-16T14:11:00.005+08:00

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.

Back in town

2010-05-09T09:43:00.005+08:00

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.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-05-03T00:43:00.002+08:00

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

Post Boston

2010-04-26T07:44:00.001+08:00

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.

Boston 2010

2010-04-20T17:31:00.007+08:00

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.

Quick Post

2010-04-11T18:02:00.002+08:00

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.

Let the taper begin

2010-04-04T12:05:00.004+08:00

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.

3 weeks to go

2010-03-29T09:23:00.004+08:00

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.

That's ridiculous

2010-03-22T15:47:00.003+08:00

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.

Bald Eagle

2010-03-14T20:31:00.004+08:00

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.

Happy with that

2010-03-07T18:16:00.003+08:00

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

Time to get Boston specific

2010-03-01T19:25:00.004+08:00

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.

Super Sunday

2010-02-21T18:40:00.003+08:00

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.

Point Walter 5k

2010-02-14T18:51:00.007+08:00

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.

Need to start getting the long runs in

2010-02-07T13:11:00.007+08:00

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?

Giddyup

2010-01-31T14:02:00.003+08:00

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.

Going with the flow

2010-01-25T08:02:00.003+08:00

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.

Better week

2010-01-17T19:19:00.004+08:00

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.

Time to step things up a notch

2010-01-10T19:30:00.002+08:00

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.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T13:40:00.003+08:00

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.

Encouraging signs

2009-12-27T17:46:00.003+08:00

Some encouraging signs on the running front this week as I started to feel a lot better which allowed me to run every day of the week.

Week in Summary 58.25km@4:42

Mon 7.5k@4:36
Tues 8.25k@4:50 Recovery Run
Wed 6k@4:33 incl hills of the Avenues
Thurs 6k@4:37
Fri 8.25k@4:32 incl 5k@4:20-Prob Tempo Pace for me at this stage??
Sat 6.25k@4:47 incl hills
Sun 16k@4:49 in Kings Park with Epi- 2 laps. Breathing was heavy today, although felt better in that regard the longer the run went. Some stretch breaks along the way as adductor/groin a bit sore. This will be the type of course that will become a regular in the leadup to Boston, hopefully next week I can do 3 laps.

All in all a very satisfactory week,felt pretty good after todays longer run and next week hope for some further progress, things are on track.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Like a Lobster in the Sun

2009-12-20T14:40:00.003+08:00

Went and saw the Doctor on Monday afternoon as a result of the stomach issues continuing and he believes I have Inflamed Intestines. I've been prescribed 2 different antibiotics and his analogy was that my energy levels are similar to what a lobster would feel after being frazzled in the sun and to take it very easy on the running side.

I'm due to go and get my repeats this afternoon so hopefully within the next week I'll start getting back to normal, at least I now know why I've been feeling as I have.

Onto the running side, I've run 27kms@4:53 on 4 runs ans am happy just getting out and plodding along when I feel up to it. I also made a trip to the Pod whilst the running isn't a priority and he is very happy with how things are going and how I'm landing although he is making a couple of adjustments to the orthotics which may assist with the adductor issue.

Congrats to all who did 6 inch today in pretty tough conditions.

This will more than likely be my last post before Christmas so wishing all and respective families a Merry Christmas.

The 2 P's

2009-12-13T12:43:00.003+08:00

Patience and being Positive are 2 things that runners need and thats exactly what I'll be relying on as I gradually increase my running over the next few weeks. I've worked out that I need about a solid 13-15 weeks inclusive of taper to have a chance of a good marathon, which gives me 3 to 5 weeks to build my base.

Week in Summary 34k@4:53

Mon 10k@4:45
Tues 13k@4:53
Wed 8k@5:00
Sun 3k@5:00

Started the week strongly, however wasn't feeling well from Thurs to Sat, tummy still playing up and no energy so took some time off running.

The adductor/groin area was was quite sore this morning so decided to call it quits early on in the run, more precautionary than anything I hope and with it being 30 deg at 8am, I didn't need too many reasons :). Taking it easy for the rest of the day with some icing,compression and TENS machine and hopefully tomorrow I can go for an easy jog.

The foot is feeling a lot better and today I feel the best I have since I've got back from Nepal, so things are def on the up. Hopefully a couple of visits to the Physio will assist with the adductor and I'll be on my way.

If all goes to plan, next week I hope to do approx 50-60k with a long run of 15-20k.

Kudos to those esp Gunner that ran Busselton last week in very hot conditions.

Best of luck to Epi(if he is running) and TB in their 6 inch run next Sun, starting at 4.30 will mean they'll miss most of the heat. I may even pop down and do the 11k run and offer support, I'll see how the week goes and whether we have other committments before deciding.

Passed the 3000km mark for the year

2009-12-06T16:25:00.006+08:00

Still battling the virus and stomach issues I've had since returning from Nepal so have kept the running to a minimum. My foot and groin are still both a bit tentative, so I expect progress for the next few weeks to be gradual as opposed to coming out all guns blazing as I get used to my life as a runner again. The plan is to use the exercise bike a fair bit in conjunction with easy and tempo runs to get in the number of hours required to keep my fitness levels reasonably high.

Running for the week 17.5km@4:45 3 runs

Highlight of the week was passing the 3000km mark for the year, 3rd year running.

Unfort there will be no 6 inch race for me this year as I'm just not up to it at this point, hopefully next year will be the year.

May pop down and do the City Beach Race next week as a tempo run, prob 4:30 pace at the moment.

Epi, been talking to a couple of guys who have done Mera Peak and they say it is awesome and well worth doing, I'm already looking forward to doing the next Himalayan Trek.

Great holiday

2009-11-29T17:47:00.007+08:00

A couple of photos from the trip including the gang at Everest Base Camp including myself,Epi and his dad and one of me at Kala Patthar with Everest in the background.

Had a great holiday in Nepal with the highlights being the trip to Everest Base Camp 5364m and the trip to Kala Patthar 5545m. The trip to base camp was highlighted by it snowing and we spent about 1/2 an hour there having lunch and taking photos, Epi was crazy enough to take his shirt off with a couple of others, pity some girls didn't do the same. One thing that came to mind on the day was just how desolate the landscape was and how it looked like the moons surface.

The next day we travelled to Kala Patthar on a perfect day and the views were just phenomenal, no photos could ever do it justice, we had Everest 8850m,Lhotse 8516m,Nupste 7864m and Ama Dablam 6814m as part of the background and it was just amazing.

I felt very lucky to be given the opportunity to vist the Himalayas and would definitely look at doing again in the future. What amazed me was at how much peace the people are and also how hard they work, porters were carrying huge amounts of weight up the mountains with smiles on their faces. Also, watch out for the crazy traffic in Kathmandu.

Running 18.5kms 3 runs @4:50

Onto the running front, I ran for the first time in 6 weeks this week but unfortunately ended up with a virus and spent most of the week in bed. I've now decided to try and build up slowly with no speedwork or hillwork and will concentrate on getting time into my legs before moving onto the next phase. December will be a month of building up a solid base before the proper assault for Boston, btw Bostons entries are closed so I'm glad I got in reasonably early.

Best of luck to Sling for his Half in Singas and hope Biscuitmans ITB is on the improve.

Eagles should have picked Jetta in the draft, although Sheppard has good genes. Greatt to see Mitch Marsh batting well for WA, should be playing for Aust in the very near future.

Pumped

2009-10-25T19:13:00.004+08:00

Off next week on our trip to Nepal, caught up with Epi, his dad and Jeff for a get together to go through things and make sure we're all prepared, everyone is very excited.

Haven't run since Melb and I haven't missed it to be honest, I think I'm so pumped about our trip that nothing else matters. I'm really enjoying the hiking and can potentially see some huge benefits to my running and may post Nepal include it in my training regime. The foot is still a bit sore and Epi had a quick look today but it is has been improving everyday,so happy with that.

Have done a number of hour plus walks in the boots and with backpack fully loaded culminating in a couple of decent weekend walks . Yesterday I did 5 * Mt Yokine Hill yesterday, the hill is about 700m long with a 50m increase in altitude with the steepest point being a 22 deg gradient near the top. Today I walked from Mount Street to the Kokoda Trail and then did 8* Kokoda in under 40 minutes and then walked back to Mount Strett and did 4 * Mount Street. Kokoda is a lot harder than both Mount Yokine and Mount St, Trace mentione it is harder than Jacobs Ladder as she did 1 with me before doing her standard 10 Jacobs Ladder.

I registered for Boston this week so hopefully will get accepted whilst I'm away and then that is the next big goal, although I may look at doing 6 inch in Dec if all goes well.

May not post again before we go, so if not, I hope all is well with others and the running continues to go well, hopefully Biscuitman can recover quickly from his ITB issues.

Taking it easy

2009-10-18T19:06:00.004+08:00

No running this week as foot is still sore and won't run until I can walk pain free, at least the swelling has subsided significantly. Walked about 3kms in my boots for Nepal today and they felt good, this week will start walking a few hills with the pack just to get used to what lies ahead.

The only other exercise I've been doing this week is walking the dogs and using the Wii Active for upper body which I've enjoyed, the legs have certainly been thankful for the rest.

Enjoyed the rest of the time in Melb by having a couple of nice wins at the casino, eating really well(have put on 3kgs) and seeing Jersey Boys which was great, may see the show in the US when we're there.

Been having a bit of think about training strategy for Boston, I think I'll use an 18week program and may use a combo of Pfitzinger and Higdon in my approach, which will include more Intervals and Tempo Runs than I've done before. I will also try and do a lot more races than in previous Marathon attempts to build some confidence and reduce the nerves on the big day. Intend on registering for Boston this week and working out full itinerary, hoping to spend about a week in Atlanta as part of my taper.

Haven't seen the results for Rotto yet, but hoping Biscuitman had a great Marathon and Sugar another good 10k.

Pulled out at 12k

2009-10-12T08:04:00.009+08:00

Only got time to quickly post but pulled out at 12k due to a foot injury that I felt on Friday for the first time. It came on fully at 10k and I continued for a couple of km but was getting progressively worse, was averaging 4:11's at the time (based on Garmin).

Km's Times 4:12,4:10,4:05,4:10,4:10,4:10,4:09,4:08,4:12,4:12,4:16,4:20

Inspirational speech beforehand by Deek and then we were away on a perfect running morning. Got into a good rhythm although adductor was annoying from the start but was manageable, the foot was causing more concern. The sub 3 hour pacer flew by me at 3km, not sure how they ended up going but he was doing approx 4:00's. Ended up running in a group which included a couple of Female state reps for Vic and NSW

Made the agonising decision to pull out after trying to run a couple of kms from 10-12k and hoping it would improve but instead was getting worse. A bit disappointed but know it's the right decision and have been limping quite badly since the race. Interestingly, both legs and feet have been quite swollen since arriving in Melb, maybe from extra carboloading :)

Great catching up with Sling for a couple of yak beers, congrats on the pb in the half. Also quickly caught up with TB, congrats on finishing your tenth Marathon, well done.

Maybe when the stars align and body is injury free the sub 3 may beckon,in the meantime I'll take at least a weeks rest and then may do some jogging before Nepal. Once back from there I may focus on some smaller races in the leadup to Boston.

Carbo Loading:Time to pig out

2009-10-07T17:36:00.002+08:00

The following diet is suitable for a 70kg athlete aiming to carbohydrate load:

Breakfast:3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 11/2 cups of reduced fat milk
1 medium banana
250ml orange juice

Snack toasted muffin with honey
500ml sports drink

Lunch 2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) with filling as desired
200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt
375ml can of soft drink

Snack banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana and honey
cereal bar

Dinner 1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta
3 slices of garlic bread
2 glasses of cordial

Late Snack toasted muffin and jam
500ml sports drink
This sample plan provides ~ 14,800 kJ, 630 g carbohydrate, 125 g protein and 60 g fat.

Full details of article found here http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_and_training2/carbohydrate_loading

Forecast for Sunday
Mostly sunny. Winds north to northeasterly averaging up to 25 km/h tending northerly 25 to 35 km/h during the morning.

Adductor Strain

2009-10-06T18:10:00.004+08:00

What would Marathon week be without a bit of drama to put you on the edge?

Went to the physio today who confirmed that I've strained my adductor again, although I don't think it's as bad as last time. An hour later after opening of the hips,massage and use of the machine, it feels quite a bit better. There was also a bit of work done to strip down the peroneals as they were also quite tender.

I'll go for an easy 8k tomorrow and hopefully on Thurs before flying, can run a few at MP. In the meantime I have a massage booked in for tomorrow, plenty of rest and the TENS Machine will get a bit of a workout.

Hopefully won't impact on performance too much and has confirmed that I'll be wearing the short skins which will assist due to the compression component.

Weather for Melb is looking ok, 9 and 22 now with winds up to 40km. Hopefully very still on the way out and then we can run with the wind on the way back, I can hardly wait to finish in the mighty stadium.

Found an interesting article posted on Coolrunning re Carbo Loading, will post it tomorrow.

Mixed Bag

2009-10-04T16:20:00.003+08:00

This week was limited to just over 51k of running due to virus and niggles in particular the adductor and peroneus which have flared up. My main concen at present is the adductor which is quite sore, however with limited running next week and some massage and work with the TENS hopefully all will be right to go for next Sunday. Good news is that it is better to happen this week than next and I'm well rested.

Week in Summary 51.2k@4:35 Cycling 1 hour

Tues 13k@4:22 incl 8*100m strides.Felt comfortable but had the peroneus and adductor become sore on 2nd last 100m stride. Also came down ill that night

Wed Sick

Thurs am Acupunture on butt and peroneus, still felt flat.

pm 8.55k@4:47 Easy run, still not feeling too well, took a couple of stops and had a chuck.

Fri pm 1 hour easy cycling 28k

Sat am 8.5k@4:25 Still a bit under the weather, was sick again whilst running but feeling a lot more energised.

Sun am 21.2k@4:43 Treated as a dress rehearsal for next week. Got up at 4 and has some brekkie, went back to sleep for a while and up and runnning at 7am on a fantastic morning. Ran with some powerade and snakes and just cruised along from home, Maylands Loop and then back home. Stopped a couple of times for some quick stretching on the adductor and took it very easy on the slight inclines on the course.

Looking forward to running next week, not sure where I'm placed at the moment as I felt a lot more confident going into Perth. Distance travelled in the 9 weeks leading up to Perth was a bit more and the pace about 10 seconds per km quicker than this leadup.

Anyway plan is to go out in around 1.28-1.29 and hopefully not blow up too much, looking forward to finishing at the "G" and hopefuly another PB. Weather at this stage is looking promising Min 7 and Max 22.

Hopefully will catch up with both Sling and TB whilst over in Melb, good luck guys.

2 weeks to go

2009-09-28T16:53:00.004+08:00

Reasonable week with highlight being the running on AK (New Perry Lakes Stadium) on Tues with Epi,Bisciutitman and TB. Had some acupunture Thurs on the back and butt and deep tissue massage Fri.

Week in Summary 84k@4:38

Tues am 8.6k@4:40

Tues pm 11.7k all up including Warmup 3.4k@4:28, Cooldown 4.1k@4:44
Intervals of 5*600m in 2.08's ie @3:32pace with 90 sec recoveries 4*300m@4:41.

Met up with TB,Epi and Biscuitman to run on the new track and it was absolutely sensational to run on. The aim of my session was to do 5*600 at 5k pace, ran them a bit quicker and was happy with effort for the session, could have done more more but was disciplined in sticking to the program for this one. Some very impressive running by Biscuitman and Epi saw them do their Yasso 800's in approx 2:40, looks good for Rotto Biscuitman and for Epi to do big PB at Freo 10k if he decides to do. TB did a mixture of running and looks on track to do a decent PB for Melb.

Wed 8.4k@4:46

Thurs 12.4k incl 9.2k@4:28 including some quicker bursts of 200m @5k pace
3.2k@4:41 cooldown

Fri 5k@4:44

Sat 10k@4:39 Quick run before the footy, congrats to Geelong on a great win.

Sun pm 28k@4:45 Last long run, normally do a 30k run 3 weeks out but couldn't be bothered doing another 2k as I'd already reached home. Quite sore in the usual areas but other than that pretty happy with a well controlled and relaxed run.

Also managed to do some Nepal shopping before the run, really looking forward to this trip, just want to get Melb done and then the excitement of this trip will really sink in.

Will prob head down to AK Thurs arvo to do 3*1600m intervals, if anyone is interested in joining me, just call out.

Freo Half Marathon-Good Dress Rehearsal

2009-09-20T17:02:00.004+08:00

Went into todays half not knowing what to expect as I'd hurt my sciatic nerve last Sunday and had been having electric sort of pains running down my leg all week. A physio session and deep tissue massage helped a bit but was very cautious on trying to predict a time before the race.

Anyway was absolutely stoked to run 1:26 flat with some assistance from Craig who kindly paced me,much appreciated. Other than a 20 second stop from a quick coughing fit at half way, must have been the body rebelling about doing a 2 lap course :) and some discomfort from the leg, I couldn't be happier. Practiced drinking on the run as well as walking through a couple of drink station, think this will be the strategy for Melb.

The pace was quite quick from the start and we ran through 10k by Garmin in 39:19, 2nd 10k 41:16. The wind did pick up a bit in the second half and I felt a bit for the slower runners who were copping it a bit more later in the run when I was doing my cooldown.

5k splits-19:36,19:43,20:35,20:41 all up 21.3k.

Week in Summary 69k@4:24

Wed 8.05k@4:23

Thurs 10k@4:37

Fri 12k@4:28 Progression run 4k@4:45,4k@4:30,2k@4:15,2k@4:00

Sat 8.6k@4:39

Sun 30.65k incl warmup 4k@4:30,21.3k@4:02,5.35k@4:53

Great seeing a few of the guys out there and all seemed to be pretty happy with their times, well done to Gunner who looked like he was crusing, thanks TB for handing out the drinks.

Next week I have a physio session Tues and then deep tissue massage Fri,so hopefully we can see some more improvement, hopefully can run around 80km as the taper officially begins.

Congrats to the mighty Bulldogs on a win in the WAFL GF, capped off a great day. Commiserations to Biscuitman re Western Bulldogs, can't see the Saints beating the Cats who were awesome last night.

Signing out a very happy Clown

Tough week

2009-09-13T15:09:00.005+08:00

Been a bit of a tough week both from the work front and also the running with me reinjuring the extensor on my right leg that ultimately caused the missing of the Canberra Marathon earlier in the year. Luckily I noticed the signs earlier on this time and hopefully by easing back on the load and speed will be of great assistance.

Week in Summary Running :92k@4:39 7h9 min Cycling 1h10 min.

Tues pm Physio session and then 9k@4:34. Injured my leg here when running 1 Yasso 800m at Yokine Reserve this time. I've decided this place is a curse for me as for some reason I always struggle no matter what I'm doing there and it is now on the banned list.

Wed pm 10k@4:48

Thurs pm 14.5k@4:39 Had a bit of a shocker at work and this reminded me why I love running so much, what a great stress release it is. Conditions were not pleasant but I seemed to thrive out there

Fri am 8k@4:33 pm Cycling

Sat pm 14.5k@4:34

Sun am 36k@4:42 Quite an enjoyable morning for running with hardly any rain or wind to speak of, yay. Ran from Matilda Bay and included the Maylands Loop again which I really enjoy running. Extensor was quite uncomfortable for the first 25k and then the usual suspects the piriformis and hamstings came into play and they were sore. Took a few stretch breaks along the way to try and free up the legs and very happy when I finished. Actually walked the last 1.5k to the car instead of making it a 37.5k run. Happy that the pace was pretty even throughout and finished feeling very fresh apart from the aching legs, so a positive sign there.

Have a physio session Tues and Deep tissue massage Friday so will def get a lot of work done on the problem areas. This week is supposed to be an easy week in the leadup to Freo Half but if the legs feel ok, tempted to do the Yasso session I missed, will prob run about 50kms leading up to Sunday.

Will be interested to see how Freo Half goes next Sunday, will def test the drinking from cups and may also reintroduce the stretching at some of the stations as I'll definitely be employing this tactic at Melb. Have three soft targets as I'm really not sure where I'm placed sub 1.26 very happy, sub 1:27 happy, sub 1.28 a pass, anything more than 1.28 and I'll be as happy as I was seeing Collingwood win last night.

On a side note Boston plans are nearly finalised for next year, Nepal is less than 2 months away and Melb is now only 4 weeks away, I think I better start to panic.

Spring in the step

2009-09-06T19:17:00.002+08:00

This time last week was feeling very flat and struggling a bit, I ended up taking two days off of running Mon and Tues due to bad headaches continuing. Wed I woke up feeling great and really refreshed and the rest of the week continued in the same way.

Week in Summary 95.1k @4:34

Wed am 11.3k@4:46 Easy

pm 16.45km incl Yasso 800's 8*800m in 2:55 with 2:55 Recovery Jog between (550m) and warmup of 3.2km and cooldown of 3km. Was hoping to do 10* by unfortunately the lights at the oval I was running on never came on and so I had to settle for the 8 as I could barely see at the end. A much more successful foray than when I last ran with Epi back in January. Was very happy at the end of the session and confident that next time I can do 10* at same pace or quicker.

Thurs pm 10.55km@4:48 Easy

Fri am 7.33km@4:38

pm Tempo run of 11.27km@4:07 on slightly undulating course with cooldown and warmup 18km all up.

Sat am 10.37@4:53 Recovery/Easy

Sun pm 21.1km @4:24 Progression run on slightly undulating course, pace. 1st 7k@4:36,2nd7k@4:25,3rd 7k@4:13. Didn't have time to do Long run so instead decided to get in some quality running and did a Progression run with some at MP pace, felt great at the end and did my last km in 3.45 and felt great.

Very happy with how the week turned out, although I did deviate from my plan. Next week I'm planning on running everyday and will do another Yasso session as long as weather permits and will ensure I get a long run in on Sunday. Plans are still to run Freo Half in a fortnights time with a mini taper and practice the drinking on the run, would be very happy with a sub 1.26.

6 weeks to go

2009-08-30T18:29:00.004+08:00

First of all a big congrats to Epi on doing sub 3 at City to Surf Marathon, fantastic effort. Looks as though Biscuitman and Sugar also did very well in their 12k runs, well done.

Week in Summary 108.5km@4:42

Feeling very tired at the moment and have felt flat for a couple of days. Unfort didn't run City to Surf Half this morning as I wasn't feeling well after getting to sleep at 1 and waking at 4 with a shocking headache, took some tablets and went back to sleep.

Overall I'll rate the week as maybe a pass, I got the kms in that I wanted to albeit, artificially with a lot of stops in my Sun pm run. Also did my Intervals, however didn't manage to get in the no of Marathon km's that was required.

Tues 10km@5:09 Recovery

Wed am 8.05km@4:58 Recovery

pm 5.5km warmup @4:52

Intervals 5*1200@3:48 on the oval ie 4:35's with 2:20-2:30 Recoveries (450m jog@5:20).

First Intervals session for months and other than sore right calf pulled up pretty well. About 5-10 secs slower than I need to get these to, but not a bad effort. Not sure how quick I should do the Recoveries but seemed to get onto the next one well, so must be about right.

pm 4.75km@5:07 Cooldown

Thurs pm 21.5k@4:50 Medium Long run

Fri 10k incl 6k@4:25

Sat 9k@4:43

Sun am 10.2km @4:16 pace including 4k@3:55 from Scarborough to see Epi finish his Marathon, big break before heading back to Scarborough.

pm 21.3km including 12k@MP with big breaks in cooldown.

I have to trust my training and stay positive, even though I'm doing a lot more easy type runs and recovery runs . My month of Aug at 434kms is my second highest ever behind May at 465km, although about 10 secs slower,

Unfort the Ipod died this afternoon before my run, so will have to buy another one as I've been relying on running with my music lately. Will prob take a rest day again tomorrow to recharge the batteries and hopefully be back on track to put in around the same no of kms again next week but with a long run on Sat instead of Sun.

7 weeks to go

2009-08-23T17:35:00.003+08:00

Another good week of running, didn't quite hit my target of 110k due to not feeling well Friday, however overall very happy as all other targets met.

Week in Summary 103.5k@4:40

Mon Upperbody, Legs and Core Workout.

Tues 15k@4:28 Varied workout which is one that I've ignored for a while but one that I really enjoy.
incl 1.8k warmup
8k@4:22 ran first 200m of each km at approx 3:48 pace and then 4.30 pace or therabouts for the remainder 800m of each km.
3k@4:15
2.2k cooldown .

Wed 22k@4:49 Medium Long Run but for some reason really struggled.

Thurs 8k@5:07 Recovery run
Upperbody and Core

Sat am 16.6k incl 3.2k warmup
10k@4:06 tempo
3.4k cooldown
pm 9.2k@4:51 Easy

Sun 32.5k@4:39 incl running with Craig for last few km of Marathon course.

Will def runC2S Half next with Henry on no taper, just going to go and enjoy the run, practice the drinking strategy and take in some of the sights,may get stuck behind some and then power away at the finish :). I think a PW is more likely rather than a PB but not really too fussed. May even run the last few km with Epi if we hang around and can get on the Marathon course

Best of luck to everyone in their respective races, hope Epi can crack the sub 3 and TB can do a good Marathon. Also to Biscuitman and Sugar if he decides to do the 12k, they should blitz the course.

Next weeks plan calls for 108k running with some Intervals of 5*1200m@5k pace with 2.5 minutes jog in between, will be interesting to see how it goes as I haven't run at that pace in a long time.

No discussion re footy or cricket, all I'll say on the sporting front is go the Bolt.

Good dress rehearsal for Melbourne

2009-08-16T14:57:00.002+08:00

Running in the rain and wind this week was a good test for running in Melbourne and I really enjoyed it, most evenings I was a lone figure out there.

Week in Summary 122km@4:44

Mon 20km@4:47
Legs and Stomach Strengthening

Tues 16.1k@4:37 3:15 Marathon Pace run and felt great
Upperbody and Stomach Exercises

Wed 16.3k@4:29 Buoyed by yesterdays run I decided to run a few km's at MP. Felt a slight twinge in the adductor, so used a recovery run of 2km in the middle so as not to push too hard.
1.8k warmup@4:40
8k@4:16 MP
2K@4:56 Recovery
2k@$:15 MP
2.5K@4:58 Cooldown

Thurs Physio session
8.05k@4:52
Legs and Stomach

Fri 19.06k incl 14.06k(1/3 Mrathon) at 4:26 Perth Marathon pace
5k@4:56 Cooldown
Deep tissue masage

Sat 8.5k@4:48 Second run in 2140's, found them a lot better than last time.

Sun 34k@4:55 Long run on my own on a humid morning,humidity ranged from 83 to 95% on the duration of the run with a little rain. Ran from home today and did a different route that included the Maylands Loop which I very much enjoyed. Still strugging with the adductor on the hilly parts but it is def on the improve which is promising. Ran well within myself and at the exact pace that I'd set out to do, so very happy with run.

Next weeks plan is to run around 110km as I move into the Lactate Threshold and Endurance Phase of the Program. I'll also continue with the strengthening exercises as I believe they are making a big difference and also have a physio session booked for Thurs

Still undecided re City to Surf, will make a decision by this time next week as to the plan. I'm still leaning towards a very slow half, taking it very easy on the hills and then run back to Perth to make it into a long run with no taper to occur at all.

Next proper race will be Freo Half in Sept and will try and give that a decent crack.

Great to see Danny Green have knock out his opponent in the 5th round, will we ever get to see a rematch with Mundine? I think it is becoming more and more unlikely unless Mundine is prepared to put on some weight and move up in divisions.

Loved watching the athletics last night and seeing the Bolt and his training partner Bailey cruise and joke in their race. I'm hoping all the big guns will make the final and then see Bolt blow them way in a 9.50 something.

The plodmaster

2009-08-09T19:11:00.004+08:00

Pretty happy with how I ran all week, although unfort missed doing my long run today as I've been in bed most of the day, feeling a bit off colour. I'm hoping to make up for the loss of km's by doing an extra medium long run this week.

The emphasis at present is very much on the endurance phase of the program and making most of my runs fairly easy efforts. The adductor/groin area is still a bit dodgey, however may be a blessing in disguise as it ensures I don't try and run too fast.

Week in Summary 71k@4:45

Mon Leg Strengthening and stretching

Tues 14.5k@$:45
Upperbody,stomach strengthening and stretching

Wed 15.5k@4:43

Thurs 20k@4:48
Legs

Fri 8k@4:57 Recovery run. Tried 2140's, not sure I like them as much as the 2130's, shins a bit sore afterwards.

Sat 13k@4:36
Upperbody and Stomach

Still unsure as what my plans are re City to Surf. Will keep on plugging away on my program and believe I'm about 4-6 weeks away from being back in Pre Perth form, hopefully I can peak at the right time.

Watched the last bit of Sydney City to Surf and was very happy to see Michael Shelley win. Epi and I saw him win Canberra 10k last year and he seems to be going from strength to strength.

Great win by the Eagles and then the Dockers today, the two WA teams are really shaping the way the 8 will pan out.

Also, great to see the Aussies on the brink of levelling the Ashes. I was cursing after the first ball of the test when Billy gave Strauss not out when plumb in front and I thought here we go again. Great to see Clark back and bowling well, Johnson finding some form and seeing North get another century. Kudos to Watson for his 3rd 50 on the trot, certainly doing better than I thought he would. Lets hope Hussey can get out of his slump shortly.

Playing it Safe

2009-08-02T18:05:00.004+08:00

Pulled out of the half marathon at the halfway mark of a 2 lap course after feeling a twinge again in the groin/adductor area, more precautionary than anything, more on run shortly.

Week in Summary 87.1k@4:38

Mon 7k@4:51

Tues 14k@4:23 incl 10k@MP

Wed 18.6k@4:50

Thurs 5k@4:54

Fri 13.4k@4:36

Sat 8k@4:41

Sun 21.1k@4:30 Started the Masters Half on a different course than I was expecting with the course being a 2 lap course. We commenced from Burswood through to Causeway, along the bridge and then back under, past the WACA to East Perth and then down to Barwon Park in Maylands and then back to Windan Bridge, under the bridge and then back to Burswood.

Felt comfortable running through 7k @4:09 and thought a couple of minute pb was on the way, however a slight uphill section and maybe pushing it a bit caused a twinge, so I backed right off and ran through 10.55k in 44:45 or thereabouts. Was unsure as to whether to do the second lap, so played it safe and decided to run purely on the flat and so ran to the Narrows and back at my new long run pace of approx 4:45 km and just enjoy the fantastic morning.

Positives from the run is that I got in some more MP running and a bit of practice out of drinking on the run out of the cups and I ended up doing the 21.1k in under 1h35.

Also did a couple of days of resistance training focusing on upper body,lower body and core with plenty of stretching included.

Have a couple of physio sessions booked for Mon and Thurs which is perfect and have spent a bit of time with the TENS Machine on today, so hopefully things are under control and another decent week should eventuate. I was planning on doing some intervals this week but I'll put that on hold for a couple of weeks and just concentrate on keeping the km's up.

Registered for Melb Marathon on Friday so pretty happy with that , my main dilemna at present now is what to do with City to Surf and whether doing the hills is a good idea as I'm a little gunshy at present, lets see how the next couple of weeks pan out.

The English weather is driving me crazy re the cricket as is Rudi's umpiring and the stupid Aussie selectors. I still think Clark should have come in for Hauritz and dumping Hughes was a disgrace, although I'm glad that North kept his place. Jeez the English bowled well, hopefully Hilfenhaus can get the ball to swing in a similar manner.

Damn Essendon, they always screw us over and tanked so the Eagles won today, now no Priority Pick :(

Happy Camper

2009-07-26T16:59:00.003+08:00

Had a better week than expected and was very happy with medium long run today. Still avoiding hills and speedwork and having to stretch a bit during my runs but adductor is recovering nicely. Have another physio session booked for Wednesday so hopefully we can do a bit more work on the back and adductor and then can start focusing on Piriformis and Core.

Week in Summary Run 75.5k@4:39
Bike 30 minutes
Cardio work total 6h 22min

Mon 8.5k@4:48

Tues 30 min bike
Upperbody work

Wed 10k@4:37

Thurs 13k@4:40

Fri 10k@4:44

Sat 9k@4:37
Upperbody work

Sun 25k@4:35 Medium Long run with Craig on a cool morning, although I didn't notice the cold as much as I thought I would. Fairly even pace throughout and took a few stretch breaks and walked up the hills. Was my longest and quickest run since Perth so was very happy when I finished, things looking good. Craig impressively ran over 30k and looked as though he was cruising.

Also doing quite a bit of stretching each day and really focusing on problem areas.

Watched proably the worst football game I have ever seen yesterday, I hope the teams were tanking as I honestly believe some WAFL reserve teams could beat that rubbish. A couple of postives from the Eagles was at least our two best players didn't play and Houlihan had a good game. TB, You can gloat but not a game you should be proud of.

Have changed my mind on Sydney and am instead looking at doing Melbourne Marathon on Oct 11 . This gives me 3 more weeks and 11 weeks today until the race, so hopefully I can get a similar number of kms in my legs in the last 10 weeks as I did leading into Perth. Hopefully Sling and TB can give me a quick rundown on hills etc on the course, have a course desc but doesn't show gradient that I can see. Looking forward to finishing on the "G".

This week I'm hoping to increase my km's to around 80-85km and will do Half Marathon at Burswood Park on Sunday at 8am, not expecting anything special, as slowly build and will be happy with anything under 1.35.

Comeon Aussies, lets win that 3rd Test.

Commenced Running

2009-07-19T17:18:00.002+08:00

Decided to give running a go yesterday as I got a bit sick of riding the exercise bike and am quite happy with progress, although still a bit tender. Have a couple more physio sessions booked tomorrow and Wednesday so hopefully progress continues.

Cardio Work 4h20min

Mon 40 mins Bike
Wed 40 mins Bike
Thurs 60 mins Bike
Fri 60 Mins Bike
Sat 6k run @5:00
Sun 7k run @4:50

Been doing some upper body work, core strengthening exercises and lots of new stretching exercises.

Hopefully next week can do betweeen 50-70k of running as I slowly build up, all at 4:40 pace or slower and all on the flat.

On the sporting front, great time of the year with the Ashes, footy and cycling being on, lots of channel switching occurring.

Hopefully the Aussies can pull their fingers out in the Second Test, history is against them though so batting well against the new ball is imperative. Would be nice to see Hughes in full flight and then the others dig in.

The footy is not pleasant to watch at present, can the Eagles finally beat the Dockers next week?, I have my doubts but hopefully we can as I'm sick of losing to them. Also don't think the Saints will win the Premiership,have a feeling it may be the year of the Dog, would be nice to see the Bullies win.

Would love to see Lance win the Tour again, what an impressive result that would be. Been a strange week on the tour with not a lot happening in the movements at the top of the leaderboard in general lassificationbut I have a feeling its about to heat up in a big way. Comeon Lance.

Still no running :(

2009-07-15T20:16:00.002+08:00

Went to physio again today and was advised that I can't run until at least Monday, which is my next visit, hopefully will be given better news then. If I'm not given the all clear then she'll send me to a sports med doctor to do ultrasound etc.

A lot of work today was on my lower back which she said is a mess, I think she mentioned L1 and L5 and could be a big reason for the issues with groin and piriformis. I've been given a number of exercises and will be diligent in ensuring I do these to fix any issues that I have.

In the meantime, more time on the exercise bike,maybe I can pretend I'm racing Lance Armstrong.

Bring on the next test match, hopefully we can win that one. I still think Punter made a big mistake bowling Hauritz and North at the end, Hilfenhaus should have been given a go as he would have made them play every ball.

Sydney still very much on the radar

2009-07-12T17:52:00.002+08:00

Groin is improving quickly, so I'm hoping that the physio will give me the all clear Wed to start running again as opposed to initial diagnosis of 2 weeks rest.

Exercise for the week

Tues Bike 30 mins
Wed 4.25k run@5:15, 12:30 bike
Thurs Bike 45mins
Fri Bike 50 mins
Sat Bike 30 mins
Sun Bike 1h15 mins

Still working towards doing Sydney Marathon and banking on the fact that I tend to do my 2nd marathon for the year faster than the first. Sydney is a lot hillier than Perth so will end up going back to the tried and tested West Perth to City Beach course including Bold Park in the following weeks.

I've had a bit of thought about my training for Sydney and am looking at changing a few things
1) Make recovery runs a lot slower
2) Medium long runs at MP.
3) Some speedwork, once every couple of weeks.
4) More hillwork.
5) Couple of half Marathons to get into the groove of racing,drinking on the run from cups etc

I believe these are things I need to target in order to make Sydney a successful Marathon.

Planned races are WA Masters 1/2 Marathon on 2 Aug on flat course
City to Surf 1/2 on 30 Aug on hilly course

No running for a couple of weeks

2009-07-10T17:03:00.003+08:00

Went to physio, prognosis was groin strain and not to run for a couple of weeks. I'm relying on my supernatural recuperative powers to be out there sooner :), next visit is on Wed and there will then be some focus on groin as well as lower back.

Thanks Sugar and Biscuitman on your comments, maybe a blessing in disguise to stop me from rushing back too quickly.

In the meantime, more cycling and light stretching, I'm hoping to be back to 100km per week by 2nd week of August.

Physio booked in

2009-07-09T16:48:00.004+08:00

Off to the physio tomorrow and pretty sure I have an adductor strain from Sundays marathon as the pain is not isolated to the one spot and radiates down the leg. Tried running yesterday and it was not enjoyable at all, not sure how I ran 28k with it on Sunday, must have been the adrenaline and the focus.

Been icing,using the tens machine, so I'm doing everything right to get it sorted. Very frustrating as I'm hanging out to run but at least I can get on the exercise bike.

Week so far

Tues Bike 30 mins
Wed 4.25k run@5:15, 12:30 bike
Thurs Bike 45mins

Perth Marathon 2009

2009-07-05T16:24:00.009+08:00

3:07:20

Didn't quite live up to expectations on another glorious Perth morning.

Unfortunately tweaked my groin at the 14k mark, came from nowhere, old injury and then soldiered on over the last 28.2k to finish in 3.07.20. Everytime I tried to speed up, the pain intensified quite a bit and so much of the second half was run in disappointing 4:40km's as I tried to ensure a pb and Boston Qualifier. What it does do is reinforce how cherished a sub 3 would be.

Positives from the race was that I did 2 pb's 1:29:20 in the half(I know that's pathetic) but haven't raced it properly for over 2 years and a pb in the Marathon. Was also happy that I gutsed it out and finished my 6th Marathon and finished feeling pretty fresh. Also qualified for Boston next year so will def look at doing

Quick Race Report

Half 1:29:20
2nd Half 1:38:00

Ran with Epi up to 14k, 10k was hit in 42:00 straight and was feeling great, 20k was hit in 85:00, had to slow down and the half in 89:20. From there the rest of the race was a lot slower, although I still managed to reel in a few runners over the last few km's.

My one and only gripe today is of the drink stations, I know they're are volunteers but I put my drinks at every station bar the first 2 and was only given 2, which was realy frustrating. The rest I had to search for and at the 34k station, the 2nd female passed me and ended up beating me by a few seconds, maybe I need to rethink my drink strategy. Please don't take me the wrong way, I am thankful to the WAMC for a great event.

Congrats to Epi and Sling who both did pb's and 3.04's at Perth and Gold Coast respectively and to Homo for doing a 3.31. Nice meeting Gunner who did a 3.09 and TB finished with a 4.41 after streaking the field over the first couple of hundred metres. Well done to the Biscuit boys who finsihed 3rd in relay in 2.53 and to the CSG team who came in in 4.53.

I'm a bit sore at present but other that feeling great, having tomorrow off as a leave day so will just veg out a bit and then start some easy running prob on Wed.

So where does that leave me re Marathons? At this rate I'll need to do another 3 before doing sub 3. I've already spoken to Trace this arvo about doing Sydney in September and she is all for it and if that's the case will do the C2S Half as a buildup. Now just need to convice Epi to do the same.

Trip to the physio will be booked and hopefully can get some exercises to do to fix a couple of the problem areas which will boost my chances of another pb. I'm sure some pilates and core strengthening will be on the agenda. Should be able to start jogging again within a couple of days but will take it nice and slow for awhile.

Thanks to everyone who have been supportive in the comments on my blog.

Onwards and Upwards from here and I'm going to stay positive as these things happen for a reason and will be sweeter when the goals are finally achieved.

It's all over red rover

2009-07-03T11:46:00.004+08:00

Well at least the training is. Done 25km for the week including 5km on Wed at MP and an easy run of 8km today @ 4:33. Now it's time to sit back and relax, have a massage this afternoon and then a catchup pasta dinner tonight with Craig and Henry.

Been very relaxed this week, although Trace reckons I don't suffer too badly from taper craziness.Full on carbo loading from now on, bring on Sunday.

My Bib No is 487, sounds as though there is a pretty good turnout which is great news.

A bit of rambling

2009-06-28T18:11:00.003+08:00

Pretty happy with effort this week as part of the taper with all days other than today having portions of running at MP or quicker. Had a bit of a scare on Wed when I felt pain in the area which caused me to miss Canberra, plenty of work with the tens machine, icing and tiger balm have kept it under control.

Week in Summary 60.2k@4:23

Tues 10.1k incl 1k@4:28 warmup,7.1k@4:13,2k@4:38 cooldown

Wed 8k incl 1k@4:23,6k@4:00,1k@4:16

Thus 8k incl 1k@4:33,5k@4:16,2k@4:35

Fri 10k incl 1k@4:27,9k@4:09

Sat 8.1k incl 6.11k@4:16,2k@4:23

Sun 16k@4:46 Easy run with Craig and Henry along part of the Marathon course.

Great to see Nic Natanui's last quarter for the Eagles, unbelievable and nice to get another win on the board.

On a separate note, one of the guys that I used to work at when we were named Power Business Systems is now worth 100m, unbelievable, I knew he'd done well but that's insane. Even when Trace and I win Lotto next week, 90m, we'll still be behind :).

Best of luck to Widi doing Gold Coast, should see another pb on the cards and to Sugar and Biscuiman in their relay team, hopefully you can't catch Epi and I though. Lets hope that Epi, Homo,TB and I can all do pb's at Perth next week as well.

Plan for next week is to run 3 days for a total of 20-25k and then run a good Marathon on Sunday.

2 weeks to go

2009-06-21T18:32:00.003+08:00

Wasn't feeling quite right this week, headaches and dodgey tummy plagued a number of my runs, all seemed a lot harder than they should have been. Only ran 5 days this week, combination of not wanting to run too much in my old orthotics and didn't want to overdo it due to the above.

Week in Summary 71.36k@4:23

Tues 8k@4:32

Wed 10k@4:29 Second run in old orthotics, legs were feeling sore all over, incl shins which I haven't had problems with for a couple of months. No more running in old orthotics!.

Fri 9k inc 1k@4:16 MP Warmup ,5k@4:00,3k@4:34 cooldown. Had a chuck after the 5k @4:00.

Sat 13k incl 1.83k@4:32 warmup, 8k@3:56, 3.2k@4:31 cooldown. Was meant to be a tempo run but seemed harder, once again had a chuck.

Sun am 18k@4:26, caught up with Craig and ran 12k together and watched part of the Perth half, good to see Henry and Jon out there doing well. Wasn't feeling the greatest so instead of doing my normal ritual of 30k run, 2 weeks out, split the 30k into 2 runs

1pm run 13.33k@4:30. 1 hour run, to make up for this mornings dismal effort.

Also congrats to Trace for getting up to running 7km straight now, my estimates are they are at approx 6:45 pace. She'll be ready to run for an hour straight soon and then 10km.

Anyway, I survived the week and can be thankful that I was able to run most days, unlike Epi who had a scare re swine flu, hopefully he gets the all clear early next week.

Next week will be approx 60k with longest run of 15k or thereabouts next Sun at easy pace. Rest of the week will hopefully be quite quick with a lot at MP or quicker.

Have I gone mad?

2009-06-14T17:34:00.006+08:00

This week the focus was on getting some km's into the legs after a lower week last week. I'm just hoping that today's running (44km in total)doesn't take me over the edge, I'm feeling pretty good at present other than the calves being a bit sore.

Week in Summary - 135k@4:28-Record week.

Year to Date Total -1759km's at 4:36

Last 7 weeks 710km@4:31

Mon 20k@4:30 Including a few hills. Struggled a bit today and took a few breaks on the way.

Tues 20.25k@4:41 Lots of hills, very up and down course and very happy with run.

Wed 11k@4:34

Thurs 12k@4:26 Includede a couple of km's at MP.

Fri 14k including 10k@4:13, 4k@4:34 cooldown. Quick deep tissue massage in my lunch break which helped my calves no end

Sat 13.75k@4:23

Sun am 35k@4:24 Caught up with Craig at 6.45 after he had already done 8k on another stunning morning, min temp was 3 degrees but it didn't feel that cold. Proceeded to then run at 3h5min Marathon pace for nearly all of the run. Quick stretch break at 19k and 28k, piriformis quite tight. Left Craig at 30.5k and ran back to the car. Felt really good throughout the run with only the tightness being an issue. Craig ran an impressive 39k and even included a couple of km's at 4.05's, no wonder I'm the underdog.

pm 9k@4:34 Easy run in the arvo and passed the 7.2k at 32:40 meaning that I'd done a Marathon for the day in 3:07:10, pb of 2 minutes :).

Did some quick patchup work on my orthotics this afternoon but they really need some refurbishment, so looks as though a visit to the pod is in order. Hopefully, I can get them back within a day or so, so may take a rest day early on in the week,will wait and see as I know I'll be tempted to tempt fate and run with my old orthotics in.

Next week will hopefully do around 80km's as the taper commences with some quicker stuff thrown in.

On another note, looks as though I'm off to Everest in Nov which is something I've wanted to do since I was about 6, with Craig,his dad and maybe one other so something to look forward to along with seeing Nic Natanui step up for the Eagles.

4 weeks to go

2009-06-07T18:28:00.004+08:00

Had a lower km week as a result of only running 6 days this week, broke a run of 37 consecutive days and no long run. Seems to be the lower km week that I always seem to have to have, this week has been for a variety of reasons, so may be a good omen. Week coming up I hope to make amends by putting in some decent km's including 2 long runs.

Week in Summary 65.5km@4:20

Mon 8.05k@4:29

Tues 8.45k@4:21 including last 4k@MP

Wed no run due to work commitments and weather

Thurs 12.67k incl 2.86km@4:26 warmup,5k@4:00,4.81k@4:26 cooldown

Fri 12k@4:24

Sat 9k@4:20 incl first 5k@MP

Sun Turned up to do Lake Monger 10k and missed the start, time got away from me as I went for 3k warmup, saw Craig on the way and quick loo stop.

Decided to at least do some quicker running so set out at approx 10k pace(believe I can go pretty close to sub 38 at the moment) and did 3.33k@3:45 pace and was feeling quite comfortable. Stopped there as I was becoming increasingly frustrated at paths being blocked by runners 4 wide and pedestrians not keeping to their side of the path, I can just imagine how Sling feels.

Total 15.33k incl Warmup 3k@4:20,10K pace-3.33k@3:45, 9k@4:26.

So where does this leave me in my Marathon prep? I've done 4 30k runs in the last 6 weeks and hope to do another 3 before taper. My km's and pace have been significantly better than previous Marathon attempts. The one area I've fallen down on though is lack of medium long runs, although these have never been a major part of any other campaigns. I still think a PB should be on the cards, can I push that sub 3 hour, in 4 weeks we will know.

Record Month

2009-05-31T18:55:00.004+08:00

Did a record no of km's for a Calendar Month with 465kms@4:31 average pace for the month of May. Have also now passed last years ytd total to end of May, so pretty happy with how things are going at present.

Week in Summary 90.15kms@4:26

Was plagued with some back and neck problems this week which resulted in some shocking headaches and no long run on Sunday. My deep tissue massage ended up concentrating nearly fully on back and neck as opposed to my legs. My massage lady has suggested some acupuncture be done, so I'll keep that in mind, if anyone can suggest a good acupunturist, if there is such a word, can you please let me know.

The focus this week was getting in some MP km's or faster and the pleasing thing was I did 4 days totalling about 43km at MP or faster, although I was hoping Sundays run was going to consist of about 20-25km at that pace. As a result of only being able to run late on Sunday afternoon and with bad lighting,only 14km was achieved at that pace, but seemed pretty easy.

Mon 10.55k@4:46

Tues 15.05k incl 2.05k@4:35 warmup, 10k@4:12, cooldown 3k@4:43

Wed 13.63k incl 1k warmup@4:40, 9k@4:13, 3.63k@4:47

Thurs 6.82k@4:41 Only ran late in the day, to try and free myself up a bit . Had shocking headaches most of the day and worked from home.

Fri 10k@4:16

Sat 15k@4:30

Sun 19.08k@4:20 incl 5k@4:32 warmup and 14.08k@4:15 Woke up Sunday with sore back and headaches, took some tablets and went back to bed. Felt better as the day went on and went for a run late arvo, MP achieved for the last hour.

Now I'm in a quandry, do I do Lake Monger 10k and go for a pb or do I get that larger run in at MP next Sunday?. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Drop in Intensity

2009-05-24T17:00:00.004+08:00

Head cold and slight thigh strain earlier in the week made me back off on the intensity this week as I aimed to keep the weekly kms reasonably high. The weather Thurs-Sat was not conducive to running particularly quick as was quite windy, showery and surfaces nice and slippery, running was very even throughout the week. Very happy with efforts.

Week in Summary 106.5k@4:36

Mon 9k@4:46 Easy run

Tues 12.1k@4:36 Easy run

Wed 13k@4:41 Easy run

Thurs 7.15k@4:28 Was still working at 3am, so pm run done with laps around the oval with 5k@MP

Fri 14.25k@4:31 Laps around the oval with 6K@MP

Sat 14.5k@4:33 Must remember body glide for the nipples, forgot and it poured down, ouch.

Sun 36.5k@4:35 Long run with Craig. Pretty even running throughout with very quick stretch break at 19k and 30k marks. Piriformis was sore from early on today and ITB bit sore from 28-30k, patt strap put on and instantly solved. Left Craig at 31k mark and thought I may struggle mentally, but a different route and some music made the last 5.5k fly by and felt great in those last few k's and at the finish. Was tempted to push onto 40k but as the car was there decided to stop.

Another 100km week planned with greater emphasis on MP , maybe a tempo or interval run thrown in as well.

Week 1 of Lactate Threshold and Endurance Phase

2009-05-17T14:09:00.003+08:00

Another fantastic week for running in Perth, weather has been just stunning, although next week rain is forecast for 5 of the 7 days.

Week in Summary 108k@4:27

Mon 8.06k@4:27

Tues pm 18.2k Medium long run which included first 12k@4:26 and last 6.2k@4:34. Stopped for quick drink at 12k and decided to slow things down a bit, mindful that I had some tempo running and MP running for later in the week.

Wed am 6.5k@4:51 Recovery run

Thurs 15.3k Tempo run which included 2.8k@4:31 warmup, 9k@4:00 Tempo and 3.5k@4:42 cooldown. Did stop a couple of times during tempo for about 10 seconds or so as the mind wandered prob due to me doing the same route 3 times, pretty happy with effort

Fri am 6.5k@4:41 Recovery run

Fri pm 10k with some at MP or quicker 1.8k@4:31 warmup, 6k@4:12, 2.2k@4:31 cooldown. Also had a 1/2 hour deep tissue massage during my lunch break.

Sat 11k@4:31

Sun Long run on a perfect morning with Craig 32.5k@4:26, who ran really well especially considering his ankle. Extremely happy with run, both of us seemed to be cruising. Never had a bad patch and legs felt great, 5k done at MP or quicker between 22k and 27k. Stop at 19k due to forced toilet break. Would be very happy if Perth can put on a morning like that for 5 July.

Very happy with progress, the last 3 weeks of 30k long runs at controlled efforts after big weeks for me have been very pleasing. Hoping to get in another 2 decent weeks before end of May before easy week leading up to Lake Monger 10k. One of the Sunday runs to get up to 36km and the other to have 15-20km at MP.

Solid week

2009-05-10T19:14:00.002+08:00

Another solid week of running this week with most boxes being ticked, although still need to somehow get a medium long run in during the middle of the week. A couple of earlier starts at work this week made this not possible.

Week in Summary 101.1k@4:34

Mon am 8.05k@4:37

Tues am 8.05k@4:46
pm Tempo run including 1.82k@4:42 warmup, 8k tempo@3:59, 2.5k@4:48 cooldown. Pretty happy with pace and felt great afterwards, need to push these up to about 12k over the next few weeks.

Wed am 10.12k@4:44

Thurs am 8k including 6k@4:16MP

Fri am 13.6k@4:30

Sat am 10.55k@4:35

Sun am 30.4k@4:37 Long run from home to UWA and back, would have liked to have done more but with Mothers Day and footy commitments had to cut it short. Intentionally made it a bit slower this week and very happy with how I pulled up, legs feel great, piriformis a lot better than last week, so things looking promising.

Next week will be fairly similar but would like to extend long run and get a medium long run in if possible.

Loving this time of the year

2009-05-03T17:23:00.003+08:00

What a great time of the year to be in Perth, weather been fantastic and with temps ranging in max from 27-30, how can you go wrong? Mornings starting to get slightly cooler but still ideal for running.

Week in Summary 104k@4:36

Ran doubles a couple of days. Need to get more motivated and get up at 5am if I'm to do medium long runs through the week, running these at night not an option at present.

Tues am 11k@4:41
pm 12.15k@4:56 Went down to Perry Lakes for a change of scenery and then proceeded to do an hour run at very easy pace.

Wed am 10.15k@4:55

Thurs am 11.27k@4:36

Fri am 11k@4:32 included 200-250m at quicker than MP at start of each km from km 2 to mix it up a bit.
pm 8.07k@4:15 MP average including middle 4k@4:04

Sat am 10.34k@4:32

Sun am 30k@4:29 Long run with Craig, pretty even running throughout with slowest km for the run being 4:37. Felt good throughout and legs felt great other than the Piriformis which tightened up and was quite sore from 24k onward but good to simulate latter stages of Marathon. Was tempted to go for a pm run but instead took the dogs on long walk with Trace.

Hoping for another 100km week this week.

Much better week

2009-04-26T15:13:00.003+08:00

Achieved my goal of this week of running every day and have started loving running in the mornings again. The right leg pain has gone and the ribs have improved a lot, so things are looking good.

One thing I need to work on though is pace, every session I went quicker than what I was planning, happy though to get in a few MP km's which is a big focus for me leading into Perth.

Week In Summary 72.28k@4:28

Mon pm 7k@4:25
Tues am 8k@4:21 incl last 3k @MP
Wed am 13.15k@4:33 1 hour run
Thurs am 10k@4:43 Recovery run
Fri am 12k incl first 10k@4:20 with last 6k@4:13, slightly quicker than MP. 2K cooldown.
Sat am 8.06k@4:24
Sun am 14.07k@4:22, 1/3 Marathon done at 3.05 pace. Normally would have done a longer run today but because of other commitments, got out for a quick run.

Will look at trying to do 2 runs of 25k+ this week to make up for lack of long run this week, so a big week should be on the cards.

Pretty cruisy week

2009-04-19T21:43:00.003+08:00

Ran 4 times for the week and been taking it pretty easy. Ribs still quite sore as is the right leg from the fall last week.

Week in Summary 28k with longest run of 10.5km today. I probably should have run 128km after all the chocolate I've been eating.

Aim for this week is to try and run every day and slowly buildup the mileage, hoping to be back to peak mileage of 110km within 3 to 4 weeks.

Made the decision this week on my interstate marathon and the winner is Sydney to be done on 20 Sept, which means Perth City to Surf marathon is unlikely, will either do the half as part of a long run or the 12km dash to the beach. This gives me enough time after Perth to give me a decent crack at my 2nd marathon for the year.

Cracked rib/ribs

2009-04-14T18:26:00.002+08:00

Went to the doctor today who diagnosed me with having cracked either a rib or a couple of ribs. Been prescribed some panadeine forte and advised that it could take 4-6 weeks to heal properly and that I should probably cycle as opposed to run.

Then I spoke with Epi who advised that I couldn't do any more damage by running but to take it easy, so decided to go for a very quick pm run. Result: painful but not too bad, so will take it easy with no intervals or tempo runs at this stage. Right knee still quite sore but nothing a bit of ice won't fix.

Will be happy with a 50-60km week this week, thanks Epi for the advice.

Had a fall

2009-04-12T16:22:00.005+08:00

Running Thurs night, fell over just before getting home, my left ribs/chest and right knee copped the brunt of it and am still sore today. Trace wanted me to go to the Doctor Sat but held off hoping for some improvement on the weekend, however will go Tues if the pain persists as getting up,sneezing and coughing has been very painful.

The thing that is annoying was that I ran a couple of hundred metres more than I was planning on doing and fell within a couple of hundred metres from home, doh. It would have been pretty funny to have seen though, seeing me trip and then being sprawled across the island on Beaufort Street.

Week in Summary 32.5km

Tues pm Intervals Whistle Type Session 15 sec hard,15 sec slow,15 sec hard,15 sec slow,30 sec hard,30 sec slow,1 minute hard. All up 3 minutes running with 2 min break *5.
All sessions ran around the 860m mark and finished in the top 4 with the first guy way out in front. Found the session pretty easy and comfortably could have done another 1 or 2.

Good to see TB come along and give them a go, I'm sure he'll start attending them on a more regular basis.

Wed am 9.5km@4:41 Recovery

Thurs pm 12.5km@4:20

Hoping for a speedy recovery as not an ideal start to my training plan for Perth and would like to get a couple of decent weeks in before end of April.

All the very best to Epi for his sub 3 attempt at Canberra, should be a shoe in and to Sugar,Sas and Biscuitman in their attempts at Boston, all should well and truly meet their goals.

Good weekend

2009-04-05T19:04:00.002+08:00

Happy with effort put in on the weekend after a pretty easy week. Also, great win by the Eagles.

Week in Summary 74.2k@4:30

Tues pm Interval Session- 10.1km all up, including 10*400m(although course was a bit shorter with 75 sec recoveries. Averaged equivalent to 78 sec for 400m so pretty happy with effort.

Wed am Easy run 11.2k@4:45
pm Upper body weights and stomach exercises

Thurs pm 9k@4:35

Sat am 13.5k@4:28 Incl some hills, ran last 4k@MP

Sun am Long run 30.5k@4:30 Incl 24k run with Craig, had a longish break at the 5k mark of the Bridges as we watched the runners doing the bridges. Ran a few k at MP or quicker coming back along Kwinana Freeway as well as just slower than MP for 4k on my own to start off with. Lower legs felt great, hammies sore as a result of piriformis around the 24k mark, which some quick stretching fixed. Very happy with run, 6th 30k + run for the year.

All the work being done on the lower legs has started to pay off, along with my switch to the Supernovas and ASICS 2130's, so things are looking good. Now just a matter of becoming more disciplined in the mornings and run then as I start week 1 of my training program. I am looking at following the Advanced Marathoning plan for 70 miles or less with a bit of tweaking.

Building up

2009-03-29T16:06:00.003+08:00

Spent the week working in Kalgoorlie and enjoyed running with one of my work colleagues most days. Legs feeling really good, although normal piriformis pain in long run.

Week in Summary 73.3k@4:34

Mon pm 10.25k@4:35 5 laps of course around hotel.

Tues pm Intervals 10.55k including 3k@4:33 warmup, 3.5k@4:57 cooldown.
9*300m with 150m recovery jogs, no rest. All up 4.05k@3:49. Run at Oval on quite thick grass which made running a little difficult,happy with effort in warm conditions. 300's run in 1min, 150's all in approx 40 sec. Very impressed with effort from Boyd who managed 8 of the 300's with his rest after rep 5. He really enjoyed the session and may start coming down to Perry Lakes Intervals.

Wed pm 6.55k@4:34 30 minute run after work.
Upper Body session with resistance bands and push ups.

Thurs pm 10k@4:29 Ran with Boyd and included a couple of Marathon pace km's with last km run at 4:00.

Sat pm 4.63k@4:19 20 minute run.

Sun am 31.2k@4:41 Long run with Craig. Very happy with first long run in a number of weeks, first 16km run in 4:32, slowed down to 4:50's for the last few km due to running in the wind and feeling tight in the hip and piriformis. Great catching up with Craig who is running extremely well and looks set for Canberra. Aerobically felt great and lower legs were great, very encouraging signs.

Next week will push up the km's a bit and hope to do WAMC Intervals Tuesday with a tempo session thrown in Friday and long run Sunday

Watch out Arnie

2009-03-22T17:30:00.005+09:00

Included some weights in my program this week, so am all pumped up and thinking of going in some body building comps.

Now being serious, was extremely happy with my running this week and believe that things have turned the corner, not only from the leg soreness but also the mental side, although I'm sure they go hand in hand. The km's weren't high but the quality of a couple of the runs was very pleasing.

Week in Summary 50.7k@4:28

Mon am 5k@4:40 Easy type run
pm upper body weights and abs

Tues am 10k@4:37 Canberra 2008 Pace
pm leg weights and boxing

Thurs pm 14.07k@4:22 incl 2k warmup@4:28,8k mp@4:15,4.07k cooldown @4:35
Very happy with this session that included a quicker pace warmup and then marathon pace on a undulating course. Found the pace a lot easier than I was expecting and was pretty chuffed at the end of the session that included a quicker pace cooldown as well.

Fri am 11.3k@4:39 Easy type run

Sun am 10.33k@4:07 incl 3k warmup @4:15, 5k@3:49 and 2.33k@4:37
Ran in my 2130's I bought yesterday which felt great. Just felt in the zone today and so decided to push myself a bit on this one. Ran the first 3k@marathon pace and then with no break ran my quickest ever training run of 5k in 19.05 on a slightly undulating course, finished up with 2.33k cooldown. Could of pushed the 5k a bit quicker but once again very happy.

Congrats to Epi on a huge HM PB, looks good for Canberra.

It seems as though all the work on the leg is starting to pay off as well as wearing the long skins after running, and the bonus is I haven't lost any speed at all. Much happier running in the Supernova's and 2130's so far, so will stick with these and my old control's for shorter runs. Hoping to add a long run into my program on Sunday of this week as I start to increase the km's.

Massive week

2009-03-15T15:51:00.006+09:00

After pulling out of Canberra, I now have an airline voucher credit to use before the end of the year, so may do the Sydney or Melb Marathons later in the year, depends on what happens re Perth City to Surf Marathon and whether I do or not.

Week in Summary 15.55k@4:35

Had a nasty cold early in the week that stopped me from considering running which was a blessing as I may have been tempted to go for a run even though I was supposed to rest(I'm not a good patient). Still lingering at the moment but def on the improve.

Sat 10.55k @4:34 Ran in my Adidas Supernova Sequences and ran a lot quicker than I planned, was very happy with how the legs felt, still a bit of pain in the achilles and shin but certainly a lot better. Have decided not to run in the cursed pair of Adistar Control which I think caused the injury to start off with.

Sun 5k@4:35 Quick run on the grass whilst Trace ran around Yokine Reserve. Legs felt pretty good again,interestingly the left leg is more sore than the right, which was the one causing me most grief before, mixed the pace up a bit incl some at MP and quicker.

Aiming to run a bit more this week, I know it's hard to believe that I could and may even be tempted to do Darlington Half if things go well, probably wishful thinking. If I do run it,will treat it as a long run and aim to do around 1.40, so certainly not trying to race.

Out of Canberra

2009-03-07T15:50:00.004+09:00

Pulled out of Canberra after going to the Podiatrist yesterday and being advised to ease right back. I have some issues with my Extensor Digitorum Longus(hopefully spelt right) which is inflamed and very tight and the use of acupuncture produced a number of very decent spasms, also got some nice ones out of the calves.

The end result is that it is causing my feet to slap,especially the right one and the gait analysis on treadmill was awful. This then puts a lot of extra strain on the achilles and shins as a result of the gait change to accommodate. Will continue to go along to get needling once or twice a week and been given some exercises to do to assist.

I've been very lucky over the last couple of years with injuries, so this is a minor setback . I can now for the next few weeks, either rest completely or go out when I want and just take it easy and get back to enjoying running. Maybe I'll even take up Henry on his offer to go swimming and get some video analysis of the stroke, that is if they can do that after swimming about 2 metres :).

Looking forward to reading the guys blogs leading up to and including their respective Marathons and seeing some significant pb's, especially from Epi. My focus will now turn to Perth which is great as Trace will now be there to see me do sub 3.

Visit to the Podiatrist

2009-03-04T21:16:00.002+09:00

Been in a fair bit of pain this week as the injury flared up again, seems to start getting better around the 5-6k mark but its tough getting to that point. Still been taking the Nurofen and applying Volatern a number of times each day and I know this needs to stop pretty soon as I've been taking for a number of weeks. Also know rest is best but Canberra isn't far away,still thinking positive.

Anyway booked in for a quick visit to the Podiatrist who taped up the feet and advised that the orthotics were shot, so he's quickly getting them fixed. Got another session booked Friday where he can have a good look at everything and do some massaging before my long Cliff Young shuffle on Saturday.

Progress Continues

2009-03-01T17:03:00.005+09:00

Just as a batsman, sometimes struggles towards the ton, the same applied to me this week with a battle in the 70's,80's and 90's. Great thing is the legs were pretty good for the week.

Week in Summary 102.22k@4:44

Mon am Recovery run 8k@5:00

Tues am Easy run in leadup to Intervals 7k@4:50

Tues pm Intervals 8.7k all up incl warmup of 2.1k@4:45,cooldown of 3k@5:00
Fairly easy session of only 3.6k in total, which was fantastic as I didn't want to push it to hard with leg, leg was quite sore early on but improved the further the session went on. Ran comfortably within myself and the session comprised 3.6k@3:20.

Can't remember exactly the recoveries but didn't take the 30 sec recovery between the 200's.
800m 168 sec
400 79 sec
400 75 sec
600 122 sec
600 122 sec
400 79 sec
200 36 sec
200 38 sec

Wed pm Easy 8.1k@4:56

Thurs No run, migraine in the arvo from back and shoulder.

Fri am :Massage that did wonders to the back,shoulder and legs.

11am Tempo Style run 12k@4:14 incl 2k warmup @4:24, 4k@3:58,1k@4:45,2k@3:54 and then cooldown of 3k@4:32. Pretty happy with run, although I know the need to increase the length of the harder efforts, pretty quick warmup and cooldown.

3pm run 9k@4:41 Bit quicker than planned considering the break but felt pretty good.

Sat 7am run : 7.3k@5:00 Struggled a bit with this one, came down from the high of yesterdays run and legs a bit sore.

6pm run : 7.4k@4:53 Felt a lot better than this mornings run and ran in the rain, which got a bit heavy at times, very enjoyable run.

Sun 7am run :27.6k@4:49 Humid morning with temps ranging from 24-27.5 deg with humidity bewteen 54 and 65. Ran around the river with Craig but just really struggled the whole way, the breathing felt out of whack but the legs felt good. Craig took off and did some impressive bursts at Marathon pace and then we met back at the cars where we grabbed another drink and then ran the last 3k together. Stopped and took about a 200m walk break at the 21k mark and was very happy when finished, need to take some TUP pills (Toughen Up Princess).

4 pm run 6.65k@4:53 Hot afternoon with temp ranging at 32 deg with humidity at 45.Wanted to get in some extra km's as a result of this mornings run and felt better than I did this morning. Ran with the skins ice top on and cap, still sweated like a pig but happy with how I'm feeling.

So overall pretty happy with the week as there have been a lot of positives but still probably a couple of weeks away from getting back to pre injury form. The next couple of weeks focus is turning the double runs per day into one longer run, I think this will do me the world of good from an endurance perspective. There will also be Intervals on Tuesdays and some running done at Marathon Pace.

Going well so far

2009-02-22T13:00:00.000+09:00

Aim for this week was to get in some decent km's and being careful not to push it too hard, so no intervals or tempo runs.

Week in Summary 91.2k@4:46

Mon pm- 8.4km@4:52 Easy run around my normal route through Inglewood and along Alexander Drive etc. Shin was great, a little soreness in the achilles from the long ride yesterday. Enjoyed getting out for a run.

Tues pm-12.6km@4:47 Normal route but included lap of Yokine Reserve as well as a bit of an additional run through Inglewood. Bit quicker than yesterday, a little soreness in the shin up to about 5k but running on the grass through the reserve certainly helped and finished feeling fine.

Wed pm 9k@4:40 Normal route but added another 600m, achilles a bit sore but shin going well. Once again a bit quicker as pace is slowly building.

Thurs am 8.5k@4:49 Got up and went for a morning run and remembered how good it was to run first thing, light breeze made things very enjoyable. Best the legs have felt so far which is great.

Thurs pm 6.5k@4:36 Was planning to go further but struggled and so decided to call it quits early, Heart Rate was going nuts. Ran at approx 3:15 Marathon pace.

Fri Rest day as I was unwell.

Sat am 11k@4:48 Quite a warm morning with temp getting up to about 31 deg during my run. Legs quite sore for the first 5-6k but some stretching and walking helped and I continued on the way, happy with finish.

Sun am 35.2k@4:45 Long run. First long run in 4 weeks. Started from home and met up with Craig at around the 10k mark at South Perth, averaging 4:45 pace. We then ran from where I came from and went past Burswood, Windan Bridge through East Perth and then along the Swan to the Swan Brewery,left Craig at this stage and headed back, the pace had been slightly increased and was at 21.3k at 4:43.

Struggled a bit from 25k on my way back and took a couple of walk and stretch breaks, finished well but was stuffed at the end. Very happy to get this run out of the way as I went into it with a bit of trepidation, legs were still sore but held up pretty well. Looking back at last year this was more than 4 minutes quicker than our 35k run on the same day, although I have a sneaky suspicion that this may have included parts of Bold Park and Hale Road.

May go for a recovery run this afternoon, will just wait and see.

Next weeks plan is to increase the km's and hopefully do Intervals, a reasonable tempo run and some marathon pace kms with Craig in long run On Sunday.

On the bike

2009-02-15T16:36:00.004+09:00

My leg unfortunately worsened since my last blog and so my training has been done done on the Exercise Bike since Tuesday. With a bit of luck my cardio is still on track and will still allow a decent attempt at Canberra. I was hoping to try and duplicate where possible my running with appropriate training on the bike, so a big week on the bike occurred.

I removed my entry from earlier in the week and replaced with this one, thanks Sugar and Epi re comments, bonus of the time spent on the bike is that I've lost some weight nearly a kg in a week.

Week in Summary Run 9k Bike 265.3k Exercise Time 9h34min

Mon pm Run 6k@5:00 along the streets
Tues pm Run 3k@4:55 at Yokine Reserve, leg very sore and so called it quits.
Bike 20.5k in 45 min
Wed pm Bike 43.5 k in 90 min
Thurs pm Bike 46k in 90 min
Fri pm Tempo style Bike Ride 40km total incl 7.5k warmup, 25k tempo in 43 min, 7.5k cooldown.
Sat pm 30k Recovery ride in 64min
Sun pm 85k300m in 165 min. Long style bike ride, would have gone for longer but had other committments.

Congrats to Epi on a huge pb in the 10k this morning, really well deserved and puts you in a great place re doing sub 3 at Canberra. I still have high hopes of doing the same, so the next few weeks are crucial.

If all goes to plan this week will start running early in the week and will take it easy re pace with tempo and intervals to be done on the bike, would love to be able to do long run on Sunday.