So it has come to this....with five months of ill health behind me, its now time for desperate measures! Pills, drastic hygiene improvements and sensible eating have not delivered results and its time to confront some stark realities and see how much I am really committed to my running career. Starting Monday(two days ago), I will not consume alcohol until I have successfully strung together 12 weeks of training without getting ill and without missing sessions. This means that if I get sick 10 weeks from now and miss some sessions, then I start all over again, perish the thought!
Why this option? CR's Vat Man has to take most of the credit - He suffered similar probs last year and put aside his love of a drink to hop on the wagon, where he has remained for four months. His payday came two weeks ago with a low 79 in the SMH Half and right now, I'd kill for that time! Thanks for the recent advice and encouragement, Vat. I owe you a mineral water :)
Obviously, there is no guarantee that this period of sobriety will deliver results, but regardless its a sensible thing to do and at the very least, I'll get some interesting feedback on how my body reacts that I will enter into my trusty logbook.
I have taken a month off drinking annually for the past five years, so I've proven to myself that I can do this and there is no question that I will succeed. Besides, I've always had it in my mind to drastically reduce or eliminate my drinking when I got closer to elite status. I guess you could say that fate has intervened and fast tracked my committment to sacrificing the good life for my running.
Well, here we go!! Another journey begins......
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
PCRG 3KTT
3KTT - 12:30, 3k WU, 2k WD
In cold early morning conditions that quickly became superb running conditions once we warmed up, a host of Pat Carrollers smashed their PB's this morning. Gees, there was some quick running out there. I stuck to my plan of building my speed up slowly over the next 8 weeks and just cruised along at 4:10 pace and did it pretty comfortably, despite some remnants of my cough still present. I spend a good deal of time yelling at team mates and stopped 300m from home to help Chelle home to a PB. Gees, watching Chelle hurting and giving it everything she had, whilst trying to hold herself together was like being a kid who is grounded and not allowed to eat ice cream, watching someone else do just that. I miss the HURT!!!!
Still, there was some consolation back at the Group recovery session. I must have yelled a bit this morning cos' I was voted the recipient of the Group Award and selected a double Gold Pass to BCC Cinema's. Thanks to those who voted for me!!!
The boys trip and the day off I had on Monday allowed me to do some deep thinking about my running and the direction I will take - stay tuned for a major announcement tomorrow.
Km's this week - 8
Km's this month - 116
Km's this year - 460
In cold early morning conditions that quickly became superb running conditions once we warmed up, a host of Pat Carrollers smashed their PB's this morning. Gees, there was some quick running out there. I stuck to my plan of building my speed up slowly over the next 8 weeks and just cruised along at 4:10 pace and did it pretty comfortably, despite some remnants of my cough still present. I spend a good deal of time yelling at team mates and stopped 300m from home to help Chelle home to a PB. Gees, watching Chelle hurting and giving it everything she had, whilst trying to hold herself together was like being a kid who is grounded and not allowed to eat ice cream, watching someone else do just that. I miss the HURT!!!!
Still, there was some consolation back at the Group recovery session. I must have yelled a bit this morning cos' I was voted the recipient of the Group Award and selected a double Gold Pass to BCC Cinema's. Thanks to those who voted for me!!!
The boys trip and the day off I had on Monday allowed me to do some deep thinking about my running and the direction I will take - stay tuned for a major announcement tomorrow.
Km's this week - 8
Km's this month - 116
Km's this year - 460
Boys trip!
Last Wednesday saw me turn 31(shit!) and also marked the first day of the long awaited trip away with the boys. There was myself, Lacho(back home for two weeks from writing a novel and working in the UK), RooBoy and Big Fella, all of whom I met on the first day of Grade 8 at De La Salle College in 1988.The Big Fella drove to 1770 on Wednesday and fortunately only stalled the RV five times. We arrived exactly 236 years to the day Captain Cook landed there.
Wednesday night saw us watch the State of Origin(F$%@%!) at nearby Agnes Water Tavern, then on Thursday morning, after we ditched a vague plan of driving to Airlie Beach, RooBoy drove us to Yeppoon and after lunch at the we pooled our funds to charter a 35 foot cruiser, the Prince Regal.
Friday morning saw a chilly dawn but the day quickly turned into a mild one. We let out some line upon exiting the Marina and trolled unsuccessfully on the 7.3 nautical mile, 90min journey to the truely beautiful Great Keppel Island where we anchored off a reef. It wasn't long before we dropped our lines over the side of the boat with beers nestled in our hands as the sun bathed us with its warmth. I was by far the most inexperienced fisherman on board (only second time fishing) and was only using a 5-6kg rod with prawns for bait whereas the other boys where using bigger rods with anchovies and squid for bait. The fishing started well when I quickly reeled in two foot long Moses Perch followed by a Happy Moment(very poisonous and your hands will be in agony for hours if you touch them - hence the ironic name!) and some small spotted codfish which were thrown back. Problems arose later when we decided to move another position on the other side of the Island. The anchor was stubbornly resisting our attempts to raise it and the process of manouevering the cruiser in all directions led to the rope securing a tinnie to the cruiser unravelling a couple of metres from where we had tied it and then getting caught in the propeller. Having been cut adrift, the tinnie quickly drifted away and Lacho had to quickly dive in and then swim after it!! We then had to double check that the anchor was secure before before we drifted onto the reef, fifty metres to port. RooBoy sardonically commented that he could almost hear the newsreader say 'In other news today, four drunken sailors were rescued by the Coast Guard after running aground on a reef off Great Keppel Island"!!!! The other three boys then spent 30 mins diving under the boat to cut the rope loose from the propeller whilst yours truly, a poor swimmer and without his contact lenses remained aboard. The rope successfully removed, we then found a hot spot anchoring above a school of Whiptail and I easily reeled in around 15 in about an hour, throwing them all back in. All up, we caught around 40 fish and I contributed half of that but only the two Moses Perch were good for eating. It was a most fabulous day out on the water and the drama should ensure that we have plenty of talking points for years to come! I can also now brag like a veteran fisherman! Saturday morning, we perused some travel brochures and decided to drive to Lake Monduran near Gin Gin - (about 40k west of Bundaberg where we trolled and fished unsuccessfully that afternoon and the next morning before I drove the RV home on Sunday. After nine days without running and with my cough slowly fading away, I strapped on the Brooks Glycerin 4's on Sunday morning and went for an easy 10k run around the quiet country roads and beautiful countryside where Qld's most famous Bushranger, the Wild Scotchman was caught in 1866. The lake and the dam where frequently visible throughout my run and provided a magnificent backdrop to the scenery. With the early morning mist, hanging above the lake and surrounds, it was pretty similar to the Warwick Half Marathon, only hillier. So, a great trip was had with my oldest mates and lots of stories were told and retold, card games were played and laughs were had over beers of which we enjoyed quite a few. You know, even after being mates with someone for 18 years, its possible to discover new things about them on a trip away like this - I'm still in shock at the discovery that the Big Fella, a real man's man uses moisturiser twice a day!!
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 108
Km's this year - 452
Wednesday night saw us watch the State of Origin(F$%@%!) at nearby Agnes Water Tavern, then on Thursday morning, after we ditched a vague plan of driving to Airlie Beach, RooBoy drove us to Yeppoon and after lunch at the we pooled our funds to charter a 35 foot cruiser, the Prince Regal.
Friday morning saw a chilly dawn but the day quickly turned into a mild one. We let out some line upon exiting the Marina and trolled unsuccessfully on the 7.3 nautical mile, 90min journey to the truely beautiful Great Keppel Island where we anchored off a reef. It wasn't long before we dropped our lines over the side of the boat with beers nestled in our hands as the sun bathed us with its warmth. I was by far the most inexperienced fisherman on board (only second time fishing) and was only using a 5-6kg rod with prawns for bait whereas the other boys where using bigger rods with anchovies and squid for bait. The fishing started well when I quickly reeled in two foot long Moses Perch followed by a Happy Moment(very poisonous and your hands will be in agony for hours if you touch them - hence the ironic name!) and some small spotted codfish which were thrown back. Problems arose later when we decided to move another position on the other side of the Island. The anchor was stubbornly resisting our attempts to raise it and the process of manouevering the cruiser in all directions led to the rope securing a tinnie to the cruiser unravelling a couple of metres from where we had tied it and then getting caught in the propeller. Having been cut adrift, the tinnie quickly drifted away and Lacho had to quickly dive in and then swim after it!! We then had to double check that the anchor was secure before before we drifted onto the reef, fifty metres to port. RooBoy sardonically commented that he could almost hear the newsreader say 'In other news today, four drunken sailors were rescued by the Coast Guard after running aground on a reef off Great Keppel Island"!!!! The other three boys then spent 30 mins diving under the boat to cut the rope loose from the propeller whilst yours truly, a poor swimmer and without his contact lenses remained aboard. The rope successfully removed, we then found a hot spot anchoring above a school of Whiptail and I easily reeled in around 15 in about an hour, throwing them all back in. All up, we caught around 40 fish and I contributed half of that but only the two Moses Perch were good for eating. It was a most fabulous day out on the water and the drama should ensure that we have plenty of talking points for years to come! I can also now brag like a veteran fisherman! Saturday morning, we perused some travel brochures and decided to drive to Lake Monduran near Gin Gin - (about 40k west of Bundaberg where we trolled and fished unsuccessfully that afternoon and the next morning before I drove the RV home on Sunday. After nine days without running and with my cough slowly fading away, I strapped on the Brooks Glycerin 4's on Sunday morning and went for an easy 10k run around the quiet country roads and beautiful countryside where Qld's most famous Bushranger, the Wild Scotchman was caught in 1866. The lake and the dam where frequently visible throughout my run and provided a magnificent backdrop to the scenery. With the early morning mist, hanging above the lake and surrounds, it was pretty similar to the Warwick Half Marathon, only hillier. So, a great trip was had with my oldest mates and lots of stories were told and retold, card games were played and laughs were had over beers of which we enjoyed quite a few. You know, even after being mates with someone for 18 years, its possible to discover new things about them on a trip away like this - I'm still in shock at the discovery that the Big Fella, a real man's man uses moisturiser twice a day!!
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 108
Km's this year - 452
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
A new low
What would have been an otherwise enjoyable weekend in Warwick for the Pentath Run on the Weekend was spoilt somewhat by yet another cold that I picked up. Unlike others this year, his one featured a bad cough, a heavily blocked and runny nose whilst my body was devoid of any energy. There was lots of sleeping over the weekend in between reporting on the five races for R4YL. As I write on Tuesday night, the cold is only just going away. I made a highly ambitious attempt to go for a run at midday today but threw in the towel after 200m as the body was simply not ready for it yet - a brisk 30 minute walk in glorious sunshine was no consolation.
A glance through my logbook when I got home told the depressing story - this was my ninth(9th) seperate cold/virus/illness that I have contracted in the five months to date this year, leading to a total of 23 days of missed training.....Right now, I don't know where to go next - if I get sick again in the next month or two, desperate measures will be called for such as a detox or naturopath visit.
In the meantime, I'm about to leave for a long awaited RV road trip with three of my oldest mates, Lacho, RooBoy and Big Fella who I've known since we were placed in the first day of grade 8 together at De La Salle College in 1988. Its been organised for Lacho's return to the country after some time in the UK and should be special. We leave at 8 on Wednesday morning and drive non stop to Seventeen Seventy(1770) where we will watch the State of Origin at a pub(Go Maroons!!!!) The rest of the trip will be spontaneous and we could end up doing things like deep sea fishing charters or partying at Airlie Beach!!!
Orginally, I was going to fit in the trip activities around all my training, but now I'm doing the opposite. I'm gonna get smashed. Will let the pressure valve of training blow off and get stuck back into it with a vengeance from next Tuesday.
May blog briefly from an internet cafe in Paradise! Have a good week everyone - I will!!!
PS - Don't read the Mooloolaba 5k Race Report in the latest R4YL. The editor got a little careless and their a quite a few mistakes in there! Not my fault!!
A glance through my logbook when I got home told the depressing story - this was my ninth(9th) seperate cold/virus/illness that I have contracted in the five months to date this year, leading to a total of 23 days of missed training.....Right now, I don't know where to go next - if I get sick again in the next month or two, desperate measures will be called for such as a detox or naturopath visit.
In the meantime, I'm about to leave for a long awaited RV road trip with three of my oldest mates, Lacho, RooBoy and Big Fella who I've known since we were placed in the first day of grade 8 together at De La Salle College in 1988. Its been organised for Lacho's return to the country after some time in the UK and should be special. We leave at 8 on Wednesday morning and drive non stop to Seventeen Seventy(1770) where we will watch the State of Origin at a pub(Go Maroons!!!!) The rest of the trip will be spontaneous and we could end up doing things like deep sea fishing charters or partying at Airlie Beach!!!
Orginally, I was going to fit in the trip activities around all my training, but now I'm doing the opposite. I'm gonna get smashed. Will let the pressure valve of training blow off and get stuck back into it with a vengeance from next Tuesday.
May blog briefly from an internet cafe in Paradise! Have a good week everyone - I will!!!
PS - Don't read the Mooloolaba 5k Race Report in the latest R4YL. The editor got a little careless and their a quite a few mistakes in there! Not my fault!!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Race against time
Surprise, surprise!
The distant shin discomfort I felt yesterday has again proven itself an early warning sign of an impending cold - this time involving a sore throat and a heavily running nose. The cold struck with a vengeance late last night and the left shin is giving me plenty of grief at the moment. This cold takes my tally to about 8-9 such ailments I have incurred so far this year. Bloody ridiculous and with no answer in sight.
I'm off to Warwick in an hour and will be spending the day drinking water, eating oranges and apples and popping pills. With a blast of icy cold fresh country air and some luck, I might just be recovered by tomorrow morning.
The distant shin discomfort I felt yesterday has again proven itself an early warning sign of an impending cold - this time involving a sore throat and a heavily running nose. The cold struck with a vengeance late last night and the left shin is giving me plenty of grief at the moment. This cold takes my tally to about 8-9 such ailments I have incurred so far this year. Bloody ridiculous and with no answer in sight.
I'm off to Warwick in an hour and will be spending the day drinking water, eating oranges and apples and popping pills. With a blast of icy cold fresh country air and some luck, I might just be recovered by tomorrow morning.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Pill popper
3k WU, 2x 1k @ 4:10 mins/km, 4k WD
Got through my sternest speedwork test on the treadmill since late last year with only a few seconds of faint shin discomfort here and there. The HR peaked at 169 and the breathing felt good.
Feeling a ad fluey so have wolfed down a few vitamin c's and am drinking plenty of water. As per CoolRunner 'Vat-Man's' advice a few days ago, I've added Echinacea to the list of supplements I consume daily - it now reads like this:
After breakfast
- 1 x Blackmores sustained 8hr release multivitamin
- 1 x Blackmores Bio-Ace antioxidant
- 1 x Blackmores Echinacea
After dinner
- 1 x Blackmores Echinacea
- 3 x Blackmores Fish Oil 1000
* Blackmores Vitamin C whenever I feel fluey.
Cathy Freeman reportedly spent $4000 on vitamins in the three months prior to Sydney 2000. At this rate, it won't be long before I catch her.
Km's this week - 60
Km's this month -98
Km's this year - 442
Got through my sternest speedwork test on the treadmill since late last year with only a few seconds of faint shin discomfort here and there. The HR peaked at 169 and the breathing felt good.
Feeling a ad fluey so have wolfed down a few vitamin c's and am drinking plenty of water. As per CoolRunner 'Vat-Man's' advice a few days ago, I've added Echinacea to the list of supplements I consume daily - it now reads like this:
After breakfast
- 1 x Blackmores sustained 8hr release multivitamin
- 1 x Blackmores Bio-Ace antioxidant
- 1 x Blackmores Echinacea
After dinner
- 1 x Blackmores Echinacea
- 3 x Blackmores Fish Oil 1000
* Blackmores Vitamin C whenever I feel fluey.
Cathy Freeman reportedly spent $4000 on vitamins in the three months prior to Sydney 2000. At this rate, it won't be long before I catch her.
Km's this week - 60
Km's this month -98
Km's this year - 442
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Tuesday speedwork
15 mins Fartlek with 3k WU & WD
As planned, I upped the tempo a little at speedwork running in the vincity of 4:10 pace today. Its tough to pace yourself at this particular session in the Gardens with no k markers to guide you so I just concentrated on staying 20-50 metres adrift of Robbie L with Robbie pulling away from me on the faster efforts and I making up ground on the recovery efforts. I felt strong and controlled out there and Langy noticed afterwards that I looked upright and strong so that was pleasing.
Starting this week, my Thursday session will see me doing some quicker work on the treadmill, starting with two 1k's at 4:10 and then building my Thursday session back up to the normal 4-5k's of quicker work over the next few weeks.
All is going fairly well at the moment.
Km's this week - 51
Km's this month - 89
Km's this year - 433
As planned, I upped the tempo a little at speedwork running in the vincity of 4:10 pace today. Its tough to pace yourself at this particular session in the Gardens with no k markers to guide you so I just concentrated on staying 20-50 metres adrift of Robbie L with Robbie pulling away from me on the faster efforts and I making up ground on the recovery efforts. I felt strong and controlled out there and Langy noticed afterwards that I looked upright and strong so that was pleasing.
Starting this week, my Thursday session will see me doing some quicker work on the treadmill, starting with two 1k's at 4:10 and then building my Thursday session back up to the normal 4-5k's of quicker work over the next few weeks.
All is going fairly well at the moment.
Km's this week - 51
Km's this month - 89
Km's this year - 433
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Longest run in 2006
90 mins, 18k @ 5:00 mins/km
You beauty!! Today, I cruised through a troublefree 18k on the tready just after lunch. The longest run to date this year saw the shins behave themselves and my only complaint was that my neck got a little stiff in the last 10 minutes. Possibly it was unaccustomed to the length of time I spent running upright or perhaps I was running just a touch too stiffly as I concentrated hard on good form.
A very pleased Matty then did the usual 20 minutes in a garbage bin of icy cold water and the legs have since pulled up fantastic. Really looking forward to covering the Half Marathon distance at Warwick on Saturday and also picking up the pace at speedwork. Starting Tuesday, I will be doing 4:10 pace at speedwork and then increasing the speed 5 seconds per week. All going well, in eight weeks, I'll be running around 3:30 pace at speedwork and that might just set me up for a possible comeback race at the Noosa Half.
Km's this week - 41
Km's this month - 79
Km's this year -423
You beauty!! Today, I cruised through a troublefree 18k on the tready just after lunch. The longest run to date this year saw the shins behave themselves and my only complaint was that my neck got a little stiff in the last 10 minutes. Possibly it was unaccustomed to the length of time I spent running upright or perhaps I was running just a touch too stiffly as I concentrated hard on good form.
A very pleased Matty then did the usual 20 minutes in a garbage bin of icy cold water and the legs have since pulled up fantastic. Really looking forward to covering the Half Marathon distance at Warwick on Saturday and also picking up the pace at speedwork. Starting Tuesday, I will be doing 4:10 pace at speedwork and then increasing the speed 5 seconds per week. All going well, in eight weeks, I'll be running around 3:30 pace at speedwork and that might just set me up for a possible comeback race at the Noosa Half.
Km's this week - 41
Km's this month - 79
Km's this year -423
Friday, May 12, 2006
97% recovered(not 97% fat free!!)
7k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Feeling about 97% recovered now. Nice recovery run - although the tready at Fitness First is starting to get seriously boring!
My next one percenter is to add Blackmores Omega-3 Fish Oil tablets to my daily diet, to overcome my aversion to seafood. It'll be interesting to see if a regular intake reduces the number of flu's and colds I've been getting.
Km's this week - 23
Km's this month - 61
Km's this year - 405
Feeling about 97% recovered now. Nice recovery run - although the tready at Fitness First is starting to get seriously boring!
My next one percenter is to add Blackmores Omega-3 Fish Oil tablets to my daily diet, to overcome my aversion to seafood. It'll be interesting to see if a regular intake reduces the number of flu's and colds I've been getting.
Km's this week - 23
Km's this month - 61
Km's this year - 405
Thursday, May 11, 2006
I keep persisting..
10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
In a rare moment for me, hit the tready this morning, totally lacking motivation and distracted by other issues. A normal run sees me fantasising about all sorts of great running moments(and hopefully glorious victories!) that await me, but that didn't happen today. Nevertheless, there was never any question that I would front up at Fitness First and get the required k's done and I duly did just that. I'm still only 95% following the bout of ill health late last week but fortunately, the shins got through unscathed with the help of the now standard 20 minutes in a garbage bin of icy water back home after the run.
Tomorrow is another day...
Km's this week - 16
Km's this month - 54
Km's this year - 398
In a rare moment for me, hit the tready this morning, totally lacking motivation and distracted by other issues. A normal run sees me fantasising about all sorts of great running moments(and hopefully glorious victories!) that await me, but that didn't happen today. Nevertheless, there was never any question that I would front up at Fitness First and get the required k's done and I duly did just that. I'm still only 95% following the bout of ill health late last week but fortunately, the shins got through unscathed with the help of the now standard 20 minutes in a garbage bin of icy water back home after the run.
Tomorrow is another day...
Km's this week - 16
Km's this month - 54
Km's this year - 398
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Post sickness run
6k's @ 5:15 mins/km
Felt about 95% this morning so dropped into Fitness First for an easy 30 minutes on my way to work. The body felt a tad weak at times and I concentrated hard on maintaining good form to reduce the chances of shin problems. Fortunately, I got through the session with a bare minimum of shin discomfort which I had anticipated anyway and went to work a relieved man. Am still on track to do 42k's this week and continue my mileage buildup despite the hiccup on Sunday.
Km's this week - 6
Km's this month - 44
Km's this year - 388
Felt about 95% this morning so dropped into Fitness First for an easy 30 minutes on my way to work. The body felt a tad weak at times and I concentrated hard on maintaining good form to reduce the chances of shin problems. Fortunately, I got through the session with a bare minimum of shin discomfort which I had anticipated anyway and went to work a relieved man. Am still on track to do 42k's this week and continue my mileage buildup despite the hiccup on Sunday.
Km's this week - 6
Km's this month - 44
Km's this year - 388
Monday, May 08, 2006
Incident packed weekend
Sat - 6k's @ 5:o0 mins per km
Sun - 15k's @ 5:00 mins per km
Well, it was a incident packed weekend to say the least. Thursday night and Friday, I was struggling with a low grade cold and didn't accomplish anything of note, but came good by Friday night when I went out to Suncorp Stadium to watch the mighty Kangaroos put the Kiwis in their rightful place. I was tempted to do my Friday recovery run just before the game but decided to wait until Saturday morning instead. One of the good things about only running four times a week is that you can more easily make up a missed run than would be the case if you were running five or six times a week and not having to worry about violating the cardinal rule 'Tho shalt not try and make up for a missed run.' The tready run on Saturday was a breeze as was Sunday's 15k tready effort, my longest run this year - you beauty!! There was no shin discomfort whatsoever and I'm optimistic that the tide has turned. I have weekly mileage of 42 and 47k's planned the next fortnight including 18 and 21k long runs so that will tell me a lot about where I'm at.
However, things turned a little pear shaped around 7:30pm last night when I clutched my sides, staggered into the bathroom and severely dented the Doulton as I unceremoniously regurgitated my dinner and post run recovery food. Gees, I was a crook little boy for a while and am taking today off work to recover after sleeping 12 hours last night and having another three hour nap today. Not sure what caused the food poisoning(?) but possibly it was the milk in my post run cereal that had gone off after accidentally being left in one of my fridges that is only running at half power. I'm hopeful that my body will recover from the 15k's ok considering it hardly had any time to digest the recovery food. Its moments like these when your tempted to go to the hospital and say 'I'm a runner, would you mind feeding me intravenously so I can get the recovery nutrients I need.'
Four illnesses in the last four weeks........gees, this has gotta stop soon!!!!
Km's this week - 38
Km's this month - 38
Km's this year - 382
Sun - 15k's @ 5:00 mins per km
Well, it was a incident packed weekend to say the least. Thursday night and Friday, I was struggling with a low grade cold and didn't accomplish anything of note, but came good by Friday night when I went out to Suncorp Stadium to watch the mighty Kangaroos put the Kiwis in their rightful place. I was tempted to do my Friday recovery run just before the game but decided to wait until Saturday morning instead. One of the good things about only running four times a week is that you can more easily make up a missed run than would be the case if you were running five or six times a week and not having to worry about violating the cardinal rule 'Tho shalt not try and make up for a missed run.' The tready run on Saturday was a breeze as was Sunday's 15k tready effort, my longest run this year - you beauty!! There was no shin discomfort whatsoever and I'm optimistic that the tide has turned. I have weekly mileage of 42 and 47k's planned the next fortnight including 18 and 21k long runs so that will tell me a lot about where I'm at.
However, things turned a little pear shaped around 7:30pm last night when I clutched my sides, staggered into the bathroom and severely dented the Doulton as I unceremoniously regurgitated my dinner and post run recovery food. Gees, I was a crook little boy for a while and am taking today off work to recover after sleeping 12 hours last night and having another three hour nap today. Not sure what caused the food poisoning(?) but possibly it was the milk in my post run cereal that had gone off after accidentally being left in one of my fridges that is only running at half power. I'm hopeful that my body will recover from the 15k's ok considering it hardly had any time to digest the recovery food. Its moments like these when your tempted to go to the hospital and say 'I'm a runner, would you mind feeding me intravenously so I can get the recovery nutrients I need.'
Four illnesses in the last four weeks........gees, this has gotta stop soon!!!!
Km's this week - 38
Km's this month - 38
Km's this year - 382
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Slept like a baby, had the brain of a baby...
8k's @ 5:00 mins/km
The ingredients:
- A long and busy week at work
- R4YL unexpectedly asking on Tuesday arvo if I could write up a Brisbane Marathon Festival report over night (850 words in 5 hours!)
- Frantic but successful negotiations to adjust my home loan to a split loan with half fixed/half variable just before the interest rate increase announcement
The result:
Matty slept like a baby for 9.5 hours last night. Started the day well with a trouble free 8k run but the week had obviously taken its toll and I was pretty lethargic all day and just being lazy around the house. It was probably ironic then that I ended my day by driving all the way out to UQ to cover the UQ Milers Classic for R4YL. The only problem was that the meet isn't on till tomorrow night :-(
Km's this week - 17
Km's this month - 17
Km's this year - 361
The ingredients:
- A long and busy week at work
- R4YL unexpectedly asking on Tuesday arvo if I could write up a Brisbane Marathon Festival report over night (850 words in 5 hours!)
- Frantic but successful negotiations to adjust my home loan to a split loan with half fixed/half variable just before the interest rate increase announcement
The result:
Matty slept like a baby for 9.5 hours last night. Started the day well with a trouble free 8k run but the week had obviously taken its toll and I was pretty lethargic all day and just being lazy around the house. It was probably ironic then that I ended my day by driving all the way out to UQ to cover the UQ Milers Classic for R4YL. The only problem was that the meet isn't on till tomorrow night :-(
Km's this week - 17
Km's this month - 17
Km's this year - 361
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Starting to feel like a runner again...
Friday - 6k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Sunday - 13k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Tuesday - 9k's including 15 mins of fartlek
The running has come along exceptionally well the last few days with hardly any discomfort in the shins for my last three runs. More importantly, my health has been exceptional. Sunday's run came after a great morning in town for the Brisbane Marathon. A big event like this always inspires me and makes me want to get back out there, especially when my fellow shin splints suffer Jodie wins her second race in a row! Nine months after my last race and last PB in the Noosa 5k, the fire still burns strong. I can't wait to get back and feel the hurt from a hard race.
Took another step forward when attending speedwork this morning. I will now be doing speedwork with the PCRG every Tuesday as opposed to every fortnight as has been the case so far this year.
I know I shouldn't be looking too far ahad and should be concentrating simply on stringing together consistent mileage of more than 50k's a week but nevertheless I need something bigger to aspire to and am putting together a plan to go sub 3 in the Melbourne Marathon. Will reveal all shortly!!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 9
Km's this year - 353
Sunday - 13k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Tuesday - 9k's including 15 mins of fartlek
The running has come along exceptionally well the last few days with hardly any discomfort in the shins for my last three runs. More importantly, my health has been exceptional. Sunday's run came after a great morning in town for the Brisbane Marathon. A big event like this always inspires me and makes me want to get back out there, especially when my fellow shin splints suffer Jodie wins her second race in a row! Nine months after my last race and last PB in the Noosa 5k, the fire still burns strong. I can't wait to get back and feel the hurt from a hard race.
Took another step forward when attending speedwork this morning. I will now be doing speedwork with the PCRG every Tuesday as opposed to every fortnight as has been the case so far this year.
I know I shouldn't be looking too far ahad and should be concentrating simply on stringing together consistent mileage of more than 50k's a week but nevertheless I need something bigger to aspire to and am putting together a plan to go sub 3 in the Melbourne Marathon. Will reveal all shortly!!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 9
Km's this year - 353
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