Recovery Run - 6k's @ 5-5:15 mins/km
I felt slightly fluey Wednesday night and walked into Fitness First and immediately felt a little chilled by the aircon. Resolving not to do anything stupid, considering my most recent shin problems coincided with a virus, I kept a close eye on the HR. I was 6-8 bpm higher than normal through the first 4k's so eased of the gas and ended the session at 5:15 pace for the last 2k's cutting the session to 6k's from the planned 8k's. When my HR after a final 2 min walking recovery was 8bpm higher than Tuesday, I knew I had made the right call. The Skins socks felt great though!! I believe that Intraining has only just started stocking them and I was the first purchaser or one of the first. Wonder how long it will be before I see others wearing them? I'll be telling them all about how good they are!!
Despite the reduction to my run, I felt fine the rest of the day and spent about five hours cutting down three trees in my backyard - a great workout that ended with my backyard a sea of cut branches that would fill about five industrial skips! My neighbour behind my back fence, Mick had asked if I would mind cutting them down as most of the leaves were falling on his place and the branches were drooping everywhere. As I had intended to get rid of them at some stage, I agreed. Mick shared the workload with me, will pay for half of the green waste disposal and half of the replacement shrubs I will plant - too bad not all neighbours are as amicable and understanding!!
Km's this week - 13
Km's this month - 110
Km's this year - 223
Friday, March 31, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday - 'Skins' socks - a positive start
7k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Hit the gym this evening in the midst of the the evening crowd and strolled confidently through the crowd wearing my brand new black knee high Skins socks. I'm a runner damnit!!! And we runners are supposed to look different from the meatheads pumping iron and the obese shedding kilos!! I did notice with perverse amusement that the socks did indeed attract several double takes and lingering glances!
Anyway, despite forgetting to bring tape for my ankles, I had a great run and it was very noticeable that the Skins held the calf muscles nice and snuggly in place - whether this assists my shins splints in the long term remains to be seen, but it seems to work for Eloise Wellings, so fingers crossed.
Pulled up well and its now been three weeks since the shins really bothered me. All going well, I'll be doing over 50k's by May and pushing the speed up a little bit.
Life's good!!
Hit the gym this evening in the midst of the the evening crowd and strolled confidently through the crowd wearing my brand new black knee high Skins socks. I'm a runner damnit!!! And we runners are supposed to look different from the meatheads pumping iron and the obese shedding kilos!! I did notice with perverse amusement that the socks did indeed attract several double takes and lingering glances!
Anyway, despite forgetting to bring tape for my ankles, I had a great run and it was very noticeable that the Skins held the calf muscles nice and snuggly in place - whether this assists my shins splints in the long term remains to be seen, but it seems to work for Eloise Wellings, so fingers crossed.
Pulled up well and its now been three weeks since the shins really bothered me. All going well, I'll be doing over 50k's by May and pushing the speed up a little bit.
Life's good!!
Monday, March 27, 2006
Great weekend at Mooloolaba!!
Thursday - 7k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Friday - 4k's @ 5:00mins/km
Saturday - 1ok's @ 5:00mins/km
Contrary to concern that my lack of posting in recent days could be due to another breakdown(Thanks for your kind thoughts, Jodie!) I'm in fact in great shape after getting away to Mooloolaba for a few days.
After an easy 4k's on the tready Friday AM, MJ and I dropped my Mum of at Brisbane International for her own 7 day getaway to Bangkok and Hong Kong. But as there were no big races to watch in Bangkok this week, MJ and I jumped into her Honda Accord Euro and cruised up the coast at midday on Friday. Courtesy of the generosity of USM Events extended to Run For Your Life contributers, we checked into the Aegean at the southern end of the Espalande for the first of our two nights complimentary stay. It wasn't long before I found myself at the starting line of the Asics Mooloolaba 5k Twilight Run. Unfortunately, instead of awaiting the starters horn from behind the starting line with a surge of adrenalin coursing through my veins, I was standing right next to the starter and MC, Coach Pat, with my stopwatch, clipboard and pen all poised! The race itself was no contest with occassional Pat Carroller, Al Stevenson too classy for the field in his last hitout before the World Cross Country Champs. Nevertheless, there was lots to report on and I won't have any writers block when putting my race report together for this event!
The next morning saw me on the beach to watch the Mooloolaba 1000 Ocean Swim with the boys from Northies - Rooboy and Matt - also holidaying up the coast for the Tri. MJ and Jay then joined us for lunch at Bellissimo's on the Espalande - it was very touristy and enjoyable to eat lunch at a roadside cafe with the Espalande closed to traffic and triathletes and holidaymakers taking over the Espalande! MJ and I then worked off lunch by going for a 10k run along the Espalande at our respective paces, runing into Coach Pat watching the surfers on the beach taking on the generous swells whipped up from Cyclone Wati hovering off Fraser Island. At the height of the tri weekend, this is a great run if you don't mind dodging pedestrians and cyclists - very scenic and full of atmosphere! And the shins didn't give me any grief at all! As soon as the run and the obligatory shower were done with, it was off to the VIP Marquee again courtesy of our friends at USM Events where we watched the cycling criterium from the best seats in the house. I must confess that in our 45 min stay, I made a handful of trips to the courtesy fridge to sample some Coronas - reporting is thirsty work, you know ;-)
After watching Buster Mottram's agonising fall in the Men's 150om Final at the Comm Games, MJ and I went to an Italian restaurant Amphora's for dinner. I had what started out as a delicious duck risotto, but I had to retire hurt three quarters of the way through the meal as it was just too filling - those Italians don't mind their olive oil!!
Up early the next morning to cheer on the likes of Jan, Tori, Ruthie, Scott B and Steve G in the age group triathlon before we headed back to Brissy. The end of a great weekend? No way! MJ and I then headed off to the Paddo where we met Clairie and Al and took them to Suncorp Stadium to watch the Broncos throw off some shaky early season form and cane the Eels 30-10!!! Met us with Tesso and Gary M in the Members Lounge at half time. Tesso got lost trying to find us - but as far as I can tell, did not do an impromptu tempo run to make up for the lost time ;-)
Just a great weekend - really looking forward to training with vigour this week after the welcome freshen up!
Friday - 4k's @ 5:00mins/km
Saturday - 1ok's @ 5:00mins/km
Contrary to concern that my lack of posting in recent days could be due to another breakdown(Thanks for your kind thoughts, Jodie!) I'm in fact in great shape after getting away to Mooloolaba for a few days.
After an easy 4k's on the tready Friday AM, MJ and I dropped my Mum of at Brisbane International for her own 7 day getaway to Bangkok and Hong Kong. But as there were no big races to watch in Bangkok this week, MJ and I jumped into her Honda Accord Euro and cruised up the coast at midday on Friday. Courtesy of the generosity of USM Events extended to Run For Your Life contributers, we checked into the Aegean at the southern end of the Espalande for the first of our two nights complimentary stay. It wasn't long before I found myself at the starting line of the Asics Mooloolaba 5k Twilight Run. Unfortunately, instead of awaiting the starters horn from behind the starting line with a surge of adrenalin coursing through my veins, I was standing right next to the starter and MC, Coach Pat, with my stopwatch, clipboard and pen all poised! The race itself was no contest with occassional Pat Carroller, Al Stevenson too classy for the field in his last hitout before the World Cross Country Champs. Nevertheless, there was lots to report on and I won't have any writers block when putting my race report together for this event!
The next morning saw me on the beach to watch the Mooloolaba 1000 Ocean Swim with the boys from Northies - Rooboy and Matt - also holidaying up the coast for the Tri. MJ and Jay then joined us for lunch at Bellissimo's on the Espalande - it was very touristy and enjoyable to eat lunch at a roadside cafe with the Espalande closed to traffic and triathletes and holidaymakers taking over the Espalande! MJ and I then worked off lunch by going for a 10k run along the Espalande at our respective paces, runing into Coach Pat watching the surfers on the beach taking on the generous swells whipped up from Cyclone Wati hovering off Fraser Island. At the height of the tri weekend, this is a great run if you don't mind dodging pedestrians and cyclists - very scenic and full of atmosphere! And the shins didn't give me any grief at all! As soon as the run and the obligatory shower were done with, it was off to the VIP Marquee again courtesy of our friends at USM Events where we watched the cycling criterium from the best seats in the house. I must confess that in our 45 min stay, I made a handful of trips to the courtesy fridge to sample some Coronas - reporting is thirsty work, you know ;-)
After watching Buster Mottram's agonising fall in the Men's 150om Final at the Comm Games, MJ and I went to an Italian restaurant Amphora's for dinner. I had what started out as a delicious duck risotto, but I had to retire hurt three quarters of the way through the meal as it was just too filling - those Italians don't mind their olive oil!!
Up early the next morning to cheer on the likes of Jan, Tori, Ruthie, Scott B and Steve G in the age group triathlon before we headed back to Brissy. The end of a great weekend? No way! MJ and I then headed off to the Paddo where we met Clairie and Al and took them to Suncorp Stadium to watch the Broncos throw off some shaky early season form and cane the Eels 30-10!!! Met us with Tesso and Gary M in the Members Lounge at half time. Tesso got lost trying to find us - but as far as I can tell, did not do an impromptu tempo run to make up for the lost time ;-)
Just a great weekend - really looking forward to training with vigour this week after the welcome freshen up!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Tuesday - Its all happening
9k’s – 6k’s @ 5:00 mins/km, 3k’s @ 4:30 mins/km
Ventured into the City for my fortnightly speedwork session with the PCRG and got through that ok – the hill leading up to All Hallows was a blast and I’m looking forward to tackling it fully fit!
The afternoon saw my go out to UQ to see Ash for some gait analysis and glute firing drills. Ash was pleased with my progress and I’ve definitely come a long way since I first saw him. It was good to break out into a full sprint on the UQ track and I’ve gotta say that my stride feels a lot better at 3:20 pace than 5:00 pace and the film of my gait confirmed that. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that I should do all my running at 3:20 pace! The pro and cons that came out of the session were:
PROS
Overstriding continues to be reduced and at full speed and 4:15 speed, I was landing the feet close to the correct spot under me, reducing stress on the shins.
Pronation is now virtually non existent with the orthotics in.
Glute firing drills are slowly increasing my capacity to run with a good stride.
CONS
My hips and upper body continue to frequently buckle at impact, even when landing the feet in the correct position.
When striding out and with my feet in the air, my feet are flopping all over the place before impact. They can actually flop to the left and then right in the air in the quarter second between lift off and impact! Whilst the feet not pronating at impact, they occasionally land in awkward positions and contribute to a stride that is overall unefficient.
Overstriding continues to be a bit of a problem at 5:00 min pace putting stess on the shins.
Wrapped up the day with a Brisbane Marathon Sponsors function at the Regatta where I represtented Run For Your Life. Ended up talking to the Regatta GM, Andrew Ford for about 20 minutes on coporate functions and the brewery wars before I escaped and hung out with Clairie, Rick and Clare G for a while. Managed to convince Qld Athletics to get off their arese and contribute to R4YL so it was a productive night and the free beers didn’t hurt either!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 76
Km's this year - 189
Ventured into the City for my fortnightly speedwork session with the PCRG and got through that ok – the hill leading up to All Hallows was a blast and I’m looking forward to tackling it fully fit!
The afternoon saw my go out to UQ to see Ash for some gait analysis and glute firing drills. Ash was pleased with my progress and I’ve definitely come a long way since I first saw him. It was good to break out into a full sprint on the UQ track and I’ve gotta say that my stride feels a lot better at 3:20 pace than 5:00 pace and the film of my gait confirmed that. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that I should do all my running at 3:20 pace! The pro and cons that came out of the session were:
PROS
Overstriding continues to be reduced and at full speed and 4:15 speed, I was landing the feet close to the correct spot under me, reducing stress on the shins.
Pronation is now virtually non existent with the orthotics in.
Glute firing drills are slowly increasing my capacity to run with a good stride.
CONS
My hips and upper body continue to frequently buckle at impact, even when landing the feet in the correct position.
When striding out and with my feet in the air, my feet are flopping all over the place before impact. They can actually flop to the left and then right in the air in the quarter second between lift off and impact! Whilst the feet not pronating at impact, they occasionally land in awkward positions and contribute to a stride that is overall unefficient.
Overstriding continues to be a bit of a problem at 5:00 min pace putting stess on the shins.
Wrapped up the day with a Brisbane Marathon Sponsors function at the Regatta where I represtented Run For Your Life. Ended up talking to the Regatta GM, Andrew Ford for about 20 minutes on coporate functions and the brewery wars before I escaped and hung out with Clairie, Rick and Clare G for a while. Managed to convince Qld Athletics to get off their arese and contribute to R4YL so it was a productive night and the free beers didn’t hurt either!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 76
Km's this year - 189
Monday, March 20, 2006
Sunday - Great run!!
9k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Had a fantastic end to a weekend that saw me spend about 22 hours in the office due to leave and illness at work. Started my Sunday watching the Commonwealth marathons on the tv next to my desk and work and geees, wasn’t I urging the amazing Kerryn McCann home in those thrilling finishing stages whilst showing a complete lack of consideration for my work colleagues! They should have been watching the race anyway!!
Planned toget to Fitness First at noon for my run, but it was not until 4:15 pm that I finally made it to the tready adorned in a pair of chocolate brown business socks after I had forgotten my Thorlos…..hhhhmmm – not a good look. But I couldn’t care less as I got through my best run in a month, 45 mins of hardly any shin discomfort whilst the fitness was much improved also! Fantastic stuff! The HR data will be useless though as the HR shot up every time Kerryn’s Marathon win was replayed on the tv’s.
Lets hope I can continue the momentum as I bump my mileage up to 30k’s for this week. That’s 9k at Pat’s on Tuesday, 7 on Thurs, 4 on Friday and 10 next Sunday. Bring it on!
Km's this week - 27
Km's this month - 67
Km's this year - 180
Had a fantastic end to a weekend that saw me spend about 22 hours in the office due to leave and illness at work. Started my Sunday watching the Commonwealth marathons on the tv next to my desk and work and geees, wasn’t I urging the amazing Kerryn McCann home in those thrilling finishing stages whilst showing a complete lack of consideration for my work colleagues! They should have been watching the race anyway!!
Planned toget to Fitness First at noon for my run, but it was not until 4:15 pm that I finally made it to the tready adorned in a pair of chocolate brown business socks after I had forgotten my Thorlos…..hhhhmmm – not a good look. But I couldn’t care less as I got through my best run in a month, 45 mins of hardly any shin discomfort whilst the fitness was much improved also! Fantastic stuff! The HR data will be useless though as the HR shot up every time Kerryn’s Marathon win was replayed on the tv’s.
Lets hope I can continue the momentum as I bump my mileage up to 30k’s for this week. That’s 9k at Pat’s on Tuesday, 7 on Thurs, 4 on Friday and 10 next Sunday. Bring it on!
Km's this week - 27
Km's this month - 67
Km's this year - 180
Friday, March 17, 2006
On go the Skins.....
5k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Its been a few months now since I started wearing long Skins as a recovery aid - mainly when sleeping the night after a run. However, due to the Skins being itchy when my legs are in motion, I had not yet got around to doing a recovery run in them. Today I did just that and the 5k's I clocked up on the tready this morning featured the usual mild discomfort, that the Skins didn't alleviate. I won't be writing off the Skins as a option for running in but will now trial long socks as worn by Eloise Wellings. http://www.athletics.org.au/athletes/profiles/photos.cfm?ObjectID=469
These long socks are claimed to reduce calf issues they follow the theory that centers around the belief that if you contain the calf muscle in a sock then the only stress it is exposed to is the actual forward propulsion. They believe that when the calf is not contained in a sock it does extra work such as the muscle flapping which could potentially create extra stress for the shins. http://www.oxysox.com/media.htm
Gees, I would be quite a sight if I ended up having to wearand race in these socks for the remainder of my career!!! Long white socks, white headband - I could be the most recognisable runner in races around town!!
Km's this week - 18
Km's this month - 58
Km's this year - 171
Its been a few months now since I started wearing long Skins as a recovery aid - mainly when sleeping the night after a run. However, due to the Skins being itchy when my legs are in motion, I had not yet got around to doing a recovery run in them. Today I did just that and the 5k's I clocked up on the tready this morning featured the usual mild discomfort, that the Skins didn't alleviate. I won't be writing off the Skins as a option for running in but will now trial long socks as worn by Eloise Wellings. http://www.athletics.org.au/athletes/profiles/photos.cfm?ObjectID=469
These long socks are claimed to reduce calf issues they follow the theory that centers around the belief that if you contain the calf muscle in a sock then the only stress it is exposed to is the actual forward propulsion. They believe that when the calf is not contained in a sock it does extra work such as the muscle flapping which could potentially create extra stress for the shins. http://www.oxysox.com/media.htm
Gees, I would be quite a sight if I ended up having to wearand race in these socks for the remainder of my career!!! Long white socks, white headband - I could be the most recognisable runner in races around town!!
Km's this week - 18
Km's this month - 58
Km's this year - 171
Thursday, March 16, 2006
When in doubt......move forward!!!
7k's at 5:00 mins/km
Another solid run in the bank. Not entirely a discomfort free run as far as the shins are concerned , but by no means worrying. Interestingly, the HR was at least five beats per minute higher this morning, presumably due to the consumption of four beers last night. As I start to get more HR data, some interesting patterns are emerging that should help my training in future when I'm back to full mileage and focusing on a race.
One thing that I've really been thinking about a lot lately is that if and when the condition of my shins deteriorates again, I will not automatically take at least a week off - I've already done that ten times and whilst I won't say it hasn't worked, it certainly hasn't achieved a great deal. In future, I will be more willing to flirt with that 'inflexsion point' that is the line dividing shin splints from a stress fracture. This is not to say that I will do anything reckless. By all means I will miss a session if I have to or reduce it, but I will then go all out in the rehab between that session and the next session in order to keep my training up. To often, when in doubt with my shins, I have taken a step back. Now I'm gonna take a leaf out of Langy's book and "when in doubt....MOVE FORWARD!!!"
Km's this week - 13
Km's this month - 53
Km's this year - 166
Another solid run in the bank. Not entirely a discomfort free run as far as the shins are concerned , but by no means worrying. Interestingly, the HR was at least five beats per minute higher this morning, presumably due to the consumption of four beers last night. As I start to get more HR data, some interesting patterns are emerging that should help my training in future when I'm back to full mileage and focusing on a race.
One thing that I've really been thinking about a lot lately is that if and when the condition of my shins deteriorates again, I will not automatically take at least a week off - I've already done that ten times and whilst I won't say it hasn't worked, it certainly hasn't achieved a great deal. In future, I will be more willing to flirt with that 'inflexsion point' that is the line dividing shin splints from a stress fracture. This is not to say that I will do anything reckless. By all means I will miss a session if I have to or reduce it, but I will then go all out in the rehab between that session and the next session in order to keep my training up. To often, when in doubt with my shins, I have taken a step back. Now I'm gonna take a leaf out of Langy's book and "when in doubt....MOVE FORWARD!!!"
Km's this week - 13
Km's this month - 53
Km's this year - 166
Tuesday
6k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Hit the Fitness First tready on my way home from work and enjoyed a cruisey run.
Km's this week - 6
Km's this month - 46
Km's this year - 159
Hit the Fitness First tready on my way home from work and enjoyed a cruisey run.
Km's this week - 6
Km's this month - 46
Km's this year - 159
Monday, March 13, 2006
Sunday - Bribie Tri Race 4
7k's @ 5:00mins/km
Northies maintained our unbeaten record over the sprint distance of 750/20/5 by winning the final leg of the Bribie Tri this AM. RooBoy took advantage of a strong current covering 750m in less than 8 minutes and was second the whole way, putting in his best swim for Northies in two years - top stuff Mate!! Despite being second out of the water, RooBoy lost two places and a few seconds on the 150 m run back into transition. Matt then took over on the bike leg with a fourth placing that put daylight between us and the next male team. With yours truly still taking it easy, I got my brother Adam to run for Northies for the second time and he set out for his 5k leg with the Male teams championship in the bag but the added challenge of making sure that the leading mixed team did not beat us. No worries, Adam ran down the leading mixed team with a k to go on his way to 18:51 - a huge effort coming off a flu and a disrupted preparation. Inspirational stuff!!
I then raced straight to FF to put in 7k's with the legs going ok and then it was back to SportsCentre for the traditional BBQ prior to the Broncos season opener. Unfortunately, the results was a shocker and the Broncs are set to take a while to get out of the blocks this year - still, better to start slow, than finish slow!
Km's this week - 24
Km's this month - 41
Km's this year - 153
Northies maintained our unbeaten record over the sprint distance of 750/20/5 by winning the final leg of the Bribie Tri this AM. RooBoy took advantage of a strong current covering 750m in less than 8 minutes and was second the whole way, putting in his best swim for Northies in two years - top stuff Mate!! Despite being second out of the water, RooBoy lost two places and a few seconds on the 150 m run back into transition. Matt then took over on the bike leg with a fourth placing that put daylight between us and the next male team. With yours truly still taking it easy, I got my brother Adam to run for Northies for the second time and he set out for his 5k leg with the Male teams championship in the bag but the added challenge of making sure that the leading mixed team did not beat us. No worries, Adam ran down the leading mixed team with a k to go on his way to 18:51 - a huge effort coming off a flu and a disrupted preparation. Inspirational stuff!!
I then raced straight to FF to put in 7k's with the legs going ok and then it was back to SportsCentre for the traditional BBQ prior to the Broncos season opener. Unfortunately, the results was a shocker and the Broncs are set to take a while to get out of the blocks this year - still, better to start slow, than finish slow!
Km's this week - 24
Km's this month - 41
Km's this year - 153
Friday - Easy 4k's
4k's @ 5:00min/km
Easy recovery run.
Km's this week - 17
Km's this month - 34
Km's this year - 146
Easy recovery run.
Km's this week - 17
Km's this month - 34
Km's this year - 146
Friday, March 10, 2006
Thursday - 5k's
5k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Did an easy 5k's on the tready. All is well - running is improving as is the HR. Core strengthening is going excellent as are glute firing ex's and foot strengthening ex's. Whilst I had earlier planned to quickly increase my weekly mileage to 36k's before implementing the no more than 10% increase per week rule, I am not implementing the rule starting at 21 k's for last week. It'll take me 11 weeks to get back to 70k at this rate.
Km's this week - 13
Km's this month - 30
Km's this year - 142
Did an easy 5k's on the tready. All is well - running is improving as is the HR. Core strengthening is going excellent as are glute firing ex's and foot strengthening ex's. Whilst I had earlier planned to quickly increase my weekly mileage to 36k's before implementing the no more than 10% increase per week rule, I am not implementing the rule starting at 21 k's for last week. It'll take me 11 weeks to get back to 70k at this rate.
Km's this week - 13
Km's this month - 30
Km's this year - 142
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Pat Carroll Running Group - 3K TT
3K TT 13:20, 3k warm up, 2k warm down
Made my first appearance at Pats' since the Christmas run last year - gees, its been a while!! With the low grade virus hopefully banished forever and my mileage slowly increasing, I should be able to resume my fortnightly sessions at Pat's whilst I continue to do 90% of my running on the tready. All going well, I will upgrade to weekly sessions around May. It was good to catch up with everyone and see that the Group has grown by about 20 people in my absence. I was so busy talking with people that I completely forgot to stretch both before and after the session, so will do it in the office as soon as I finish writing this!
I rocked up at the session with the intention of running the same 5 min k's that I've been doing for the last few weeks at the gym. But on the warm up, Pat was sledging me about running so slowly and by the time I got to the starting line, I had changed my mind and decided to run 14 mins for the 3k's, just to see how it felt. 400m into the TT, with Tesso and Tori just in front of me pacing a sub 13:30 bus, I decided to help them out with the pacing and upgraded my target to sub 13:30 and did it easily. The shins felt good today and there was little discomfort during or after the run. If I feel similarly good after my next non tready run in a fortnight, whilst feeling some discomfort on the tready, I might consider ceasing or reducing treadmill running for a while, just to see if it makes a difference.
Anyway, whilst I was cruising along this morning, I had plenty of time to cheer everyone on - stacks of PB's were run out there today - too many to mention(but I should mention Clairie and Ally - well done gals!!!) A special mention to Gary M who ran a mighty 3k's trimming two seconds off the existing Group record - from 9:29 to 9:27. Unfortunately for Gary, he can't claim the record as it had already been broken 39 secs ealier by virgin PCRG time trialler, former National 1500m Champion Al Stevenson!!! Al is representing Australia at the World Cross Country Champs early in April and it'll be great if he can come along to the occasional session or TT and add some class and speed to the Group. The only downside is that its gonna take me a while to break Al's new Group record of 8:50 and he could potentially lower it to the low 8 minute mark if he decides to get serious!!!
I better get over these shin probs quick smart........
Km's this week - 8
Km's this month - 25
Km's this year - 137
Made my first appearance at Pats' since the Christmas run last year - gees, its been a while!! With the low grade virus hopefully banished forever and my mileage slowly increasing, I should be able to resume my fortnightly sessions at Pat's whilst I continue to do 90% of my running on the tready. All going well, I will upgrade to weekly sessions around May. It was good to catch up with everyone and see that the Group has grown by about 20 people in my absence. I was so busy talking with people that I completely forgot to stretch both before and after the session, so will do it in the office as soon as I finish writing this!
I rocked up at the session with the intention of running the same 5 min k's that I've been doing for the last few weeks at the gym. But on the warm up, Pat was sledging me about running so slowly and by the time I got to the starting line, I had changed my mind and decided to run 14 mins for the 3k's, just to see how it felt. 400m into the TT, with Tesso and Tori just in front of me pacing a sub 13:30 bus, I decided to help them out with the pacing and upgraded my target to sub 13:30 and did it easily. The shins felt good today and there was little discomfort during or after the run. If I feel similarly good after my next non tready run in a fortnight, whilst feeling some discomfort on the tready, I might consider ceasing or reducing treadmill running for a while, just to see if it makes a difference.
Anyway, whilst I was cruising along this morning, I had plenty of time to cheer everyone on - stacks of PB's were run out there today - too many to mention(but I should mention Clairie and Ally - well done gals!!!) A special mention to Gary M who ran a mighty 3k's trimming two seconds off the existing Group record - from 9:29 to 9:27. Unfortunately for Gary, he can't claim the record as it had already been broken 39 secs ealier by virgin PCRG time trialler, former National 1500m Champion Al Stevenson!!! Al is representing Australia at the World Cross Country Champs early in April and it'll be great if he can come along to the occasional session or TT and add some class and speed to the Group. The only downside is that its gonna take me a while to break Al's new Group record of 8:50 and he could potentially lower it to the low 8 minute mark if he decides to get serious!!!
I better get over these shin probs quick smart........
Km's this week - 8
Km's this month - 25
Km's this year - 137
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Sunday 'long' run
Sunday Long Run - 35 mins, 7k @ 5:00 mins/km
An early wakeup call this morning and for the first time I was required to take an umbrella to a race with me, this time, the International Women's Day 5k in Brisbane with the Gold Coast's Jessica Gilfillan winning from Clare Geraghty. Again, gloomy and drizzling conditions prevailed, making it hard for me to jot notes on my clipboard, record splits on my Timex and hold the bloody umbrella against the stiff wind!! Still, I did my duty and another possible R4YL report waits, if the organisers can provide me with the official finishing details and some photographs.
Following a shift at work, hit FF on the way home for 35 mins on the tready. Interestingly a pattern had developed the last few runs, whereupon, I have little shin discomfort whilst running, fairly significant discomfort for five minutes after I stop running and then little or no discomfort after that. It clearly differs from my usual pattern of shin probs and all the detail has been noted in my log book. Will be interesting to see how I fare with my next few runs. On the postive side, the HR improved significantly today, down to 152-155 for most of the later stages of my reps. Still a long way of where I used to be, but a positive gain.
Life's good.....sensational even!!
Km's this week - 21
Km's this month - 17
Km's this year - 129
An early wakeup call this morning and for the first time I was required to take an umbrella to a race with me, this time, the International Women's Day 5k in Brisbane with the Gold Coast's Jessica Gilfillan winning from Clare Geraghty. Again, gloomy and drizzling conditions prevailed, making it hard for me to jot notes on my clipboard, record splits on my Timex and hold the bloody umbrella against the stiff wind!! Still, I did my duty and another possible R4YL report waits, if the organisers can provide me with the official finishing details and some photographs.
Following a shift at work, hit FF on the way home for 35 mins on the tready. Interestingly a pattern had developed the last few runs, whereupon, I have little shin discomfort whilst running, fairly significant discomfort for five minutes after I stop running and then little or no discomfort after that. It clearly differs from my usual pattern of shin probs and all the detail has been noted in my log book. Will be interesting to see how I fare with my next few runs. On the postive side, the HR improved significantly today, down to 152-155 for most of the later stages of my reps. Still a long way of where I used to be, but a positive gain.
Life's good.....sensational even!!
Km's this week - 21
Km's this month - 17
Km's this year - 129
Friday - Telstra A-Series Brisbane(no, I wasn't racing!)
Friday Recovery Run , 2 x 10 mins @ 5:00 mins/km with 2 min WR
Knocked out a 4 k recovery run this arvo along with 50 mins of core strength work - the body is definitely starting to feel stronger and the virus is closer to becoming a distant memory.
Following the run, I headed out to QEII for Athletics Australia's Telstra A-Series meet held in gloomy conditions with constant drizzling ran more akin to Melbourne than Brisbane. Using my media accreditation from AA, I gained access to the Media Room and made myself comfortable whilst the early events were in progress. Peter Meares proved himself useful by raiding the kitchen and obtaining dinner for the media contingent so I tucked into chicken, ham, salad and potatoes washed down with Musashi spring water, a plentiful supply of which was available in the Media Room. I think I can get used to these perks ;-) Introduced myself to Courier Mail journo Paul Malone and had a bit of a chat whilst big name such as Linford Christie socialised nearby.
Despite the wet conditions, it was a fair night of athletics and I got some content from the 800 and 1500m races that may form the basis of a half page R4YL article if its required. I also got brushed off by an Aussie Commonwealth games rep disappointed in their performance and not in a talking mood - that' s journalism!!! It was a fun night and a learning experience.
Km's this week - 14
Km's this month - 10
Km's this year - 122
Knocked out a 4 k recovery run this arvo along with 50 mins of core strength work - the body is definitely starting to feel stronger and the virus is closer to becoming a distant memory.
Following the run, I headed out to QEII for Athletics Australia's Telstra A-Series meet held in gloomy conditions with constant drizzling ran more akin to Melbourne than Brisbane. Using my media accreditation from AA, I gained access to the Media Room and made myself comfortable whilst the early events were in progress. Peter Meares proved himself useful by raiding the kitchen and obtaining dinner for the media contingent so I tucked into chicken, ham, salad and potatoes washed down with Musashi spring water, a plentiful supply of which was available in the Media Room. I think I can get used to these perks ;-) Introduced myself to Courier Mail journo Paul Malone and had a bit of a chat whilst big name such as Linford Christie socialised nearby.
Despite the wet conditions, it was a fair night of athletics and I got some content from the 800 and 1500m races that may form the basis of a half page R4YL article if its required. I also got brushed off by an Aussie Commonwealth games rep disappointed in their performance and not in a talking mood - that' s journalism!!! It was a fun night and a learning experience.
Km's this week - 14
Km's this month - 10
Km's this year - 122
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Another easy run
25 mins @ 5:02 mins/km with two 2 min WR's
Hit the tready this morning feeling positive. Except for feeling a little fluey on Monday morning, I've felt no signs of the dreaded low grade virus this week. Had a solid 40 mins of core strength work last night adding some of the exercises Aza showed me on Saturday along with some glute firing exercises - it was all good! Rolled along this morning fairly comfortably - some minor discomfort in the lower right tibia towards the end of the session.
Planning to do 21k's this week, 2 hours of core strength and 40 mins of glute firing ex's. Hopefully I can build on that in the coming well. The length of time I've taken to recover from this virus has well and truly sunk my GC Marathon aspirations for 2006. The reality is that I've done less mileage this year than Tesso did in one night at Caboolture!! I am now aiming simply to build my mileage back up to 70km's a week and string some consistent training together. We'll go from there.
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 5
Km's this year - 118
Hit the tready this morning feeling positive. Except for feeling a little fluey on Monday morning, I've felt no signs of the dreaded low grade virus this week. Had a solid 40 mins of core strength work last night adding some of the exercises Aza showed me on Saturday along with some glute firing exercises - it was all good! Rolled along this morning fairly comfortably - some minor discomfort in the lower right tibia towards the end of the session.
Planning to do 21k's this week, 2 hours of core strength and 40 mins of glute firing ex's. Hopefully I can build on that in the coming well. The length of time I've taken to recover from this virus has well and truly sunk my GC Marathon aspirations for 2006. The reality is that I've done less mileage this year than Tesso did in one night at Caboolture!! I am now aiming simply to build my mileage back up to 70km's a week and string some consistent training together. We'll go from there.
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 5
Km's this year - 118
Tuesday - Easy run
25 mins @ 5:05 mins/km with three 2 min WR's
Hit Fitness First on my way home from work on Tuesday and eased my way through the run, getting home just in time to watch Game 3 of the NBL Finals and the Tigers end the reign of the cheating and whinging King$.
Km's this week - 5
Km's this month - 44
Km's this year - 113
Hit Fitness First on my way home from work on Tuesday and eased my way through the run, getting home just in time to watch Game 3 of the NBL Finals and the Tigers end the reign of the cheating and whinging King$.
Km's this week - 5
Km's this month - 44
Km's this year - 113
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