Wed - Midweek long run - 40mins, 8k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Thurs - 2 x 1k with 90 SR - 3:30, 3:25, 4k WU, 4k WD
After a seriously boring run on the tready yesterday it was a relief to get out to Kedron Brook for some solo 1k efforts this morning. The first effort was spot on 3:30 as I concentrated on an even stride and cadence throughout. Although I went a touch too fast in the second rep with a 3:25, it was a pleasing workout completed just before the heavens opened. I then enjoyed a very pleasant 4k warm down run through torrential rain back to my car and I was quickly soaked to the skin. Gees, I love a good run in the rain! Upon arriving back at the car, it was less than pleasant to discover that all three towels I keep in the back had been removed for a long overdue washing......
For most of the part, my body is in reasonable shape at the moment. My right PF still needs a lot of work and my left PF still has a 1cm spot where scar tissue seems to be forming and I have to keep massaging it. The shins have a mild ache once or twice a week but nothing dramatic. All is on track for another threshold effort race in the BRR 10k in a few weeks when Langy and I will pace Gerard to sub 40. Then perhaps a full comeback to racing in the BRR 5k Champs in October. So you could say all is quiet on the Western front at the moment.
Km's this week - 28
Km's this month - 242
Km's this year - 1106
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Noosa Half photos
Ok, here we have photos of me just after the start of the Noosa Half and again at halfway after having just gone around the hairpin turn.
500's at speedwork
8 x 500 avg 1:41:5 with avg 33 secs SR, 3k WU, 3k WD
Woke up to the beautiful sight of a rainy morning - unfortunately not drought busting rain. It seems however that many of my team mates didn't agree with me with that it was a beautiful day and about a third of the Group were missing! Those absentees missed a great session with the rain abating by the time the warm up started.
Yours truly had a shocking start with my energy tank running on empty early in the reps. Despite a large bowl of porridge for breakfast, I was starving and in need of a good feed. Whilst I had a large and nutritious stir fry for dinner last night washed down with a quarter piece of Sara Lee Bavarian cheesecake, that feed only served to make up for my small lunch rather than stock up my energy stores for training. I've put a reminder in my mobile to eat a decent lunch and dinner every Monday from now on. Fortunately, I got a second wind halfway through the session and was able to finish it off nicely. We did 500's under the Story Bridge in a session that was dominated by Glenda and Slash followed by Pete and Aza with a small gap to yours truly and Jamie. Pat had said that we could choose our own recovery times and Glenda and Slash decided about 40 seconds was appropriate and naturally the rest of the A-Team took off every time they. As a result, I averaged just a 33 second standing recovery with a low of 29 seconds before the last rep. With the exception of a 1:46 effort on the seventh rep, my efforts were nice and consistent in the low 1:40's and there was a bit in the tank as I was taking care not to run too much faster than 3:30 pace. Slash finished off the session with a barnstorming last rep in the low to mid 80's, narrowly ahead of Jamie.
Naturally, Gold Coast Hill was next and Glenda and I lead the recovery back to the Hill and then gunned it all the way to the top, well ahead of most others. At the top, I asked Glenda 'do we have to do one or two?' and her wordless response was to start jogging back to the bottom of the hill and the two of us were the only ones to tackle that insansely steep hill behind All Hallows for a second time. After that, I was sucking in the big ones but managed to croak out to Glenda '4:10's back to the Ship Inn?' and the two of us then pulled away from the rest of the Group with a Marathon pace warm down back to the Ship Inn to complete a very satisfying session, particularly given my poor start. Observing my team mates, it was clear that Ally had a great session averaging around 1:54's in a PB for this session - well done Mate! Melbourne is looking good for you! Elsewhere, Tesso convincingly toweled Clairie and it was nice to see after Clairie has spend much of the year in front of Tess! Perhaps now that Clairie is a year older its a case of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and Tesso will give Clairie something to chase for a while - he he he he. No doubt Clairie will take offence to this post and we'll see some spirited duels between the dynamic duo in coming weeks!
It was lucky we didn't have a full group in one respect this morning because a construction worker stole four Up and Go's from our table at the Ship Inn when Sue had her back turned for a moment. I'm really upset I didn't get to see this! As I was telling Ally, Its always been a fantasy of mine to catch a thief trying to outrun me, make a classic tackle on him, 'accidentally' bash his head on the ground when restraining him and then make a citizen's arrest! Oh well, maybe next time.
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 224
Km's this year - 1088
Woke up to the beautiful sight of a rainy morning - unfortunately not drought busting rain. It seems however that many of my team mates didn't agree with me with that it was a beautiful day and about a third of the Group were missing! Those absentees missed a great session with the rain abating by the time the warm up started.
Yours truly had a shocking start with my energy tank running on empty early in the reps. Despite a large bowl of porridge for breakfast, I was starving and in need of a good feed. Whilst I had a large and nutritious stir fry for dinner last night washed down with a quarter piece of Sara Lee Bavarian cheesecake, that feed only served to make up for my small lunch rather than stock up my energy stores for training. I've put a reminder in my mobile to eat a decent lunch and dinner every Monday from now on. Fortunately, I got a second wind halfway through the session and was able to finish it off nicely. We did 500's under the Story Bridge in a session that was dominated by Glenda and Slash followed by Pete and Aza with a small gap to yours truly and Jamie. Pat had said that we could choose our own recovery times and Glenda and Slash decided about 40 seconds was appropriate and naturally the rest of the A-Team took off every time they. As a result, I averaged just a 33 second standing recovery with a low of 29 seconds before the last rep. With the exception of a 1:46 effort on the seventh rep, my efforts were nice and consistent in the low 1:40's and there was a bit in the tank as I was taking care not to run too much faster than 3:30 pace. Slash finished off the session with a barnstorming last rep in the low to mid 80's, narrowly ahead of Jamie.
Naturally, Gold Coast Hill was next and Glenda and I lead the recovery back to the Hill and then gunned it all the way to the top, well ahead of most others. At the top, I asked Glenda 'do we have to do one or two?' and her wordless response was to start jogging back to the bottom of the hill and the two of us were the only ones to tackle that insansely steep hill behind All Hallows for a second time. After that, I was sucking in the big ones but managed to croak out to Glenda '4:10's back to the Ship Inn?' and the two of us then pulled away from the rest of the Group with a Marathon pace warm down back to the Ship Inn to complete a very satisfying session, particularly given my poor start. Observing my team mates, it was clear that Ally had a great session averaging around 1:54's in a PB for this session - well done Mate! Melbourne is looking good for you! Elsewhere, Tesso convincingly toweled Clairie and it was nice to see after Clairie has spend much of the year in front of Tess! Perhaps now that Clairie is a year older its a case of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and Tesso will give Clairie something to chase for a while - he he he he. No doubt Clairie will take offence to this post and we'll see some spirited duels between the dynamic duo in coming weeks!
It was lucky we didn't have a full group in one respect this morning because a construction worker stole four Up and Go's from our table at the Ship Inn when Sue had her back turned for a moment. I'm really upset I didn't get to see this! As I was telling Ally, Its always been a fantasy of mine to catch a thief trying to outrun me, make a classic tackle on him, 'accidentally' bash his head on the ground when restraining him and then make a citizen's arrest! Oh well, maybe next time.
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 224
Km's this year - 1088
Monday, August 28, 2006
Sunday - The new Matty
Fri 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Sun 14k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Things have been chaotic at work lately so I was in the office on my day off on Friday. Instead of a whole day in which to do some writing, I was up to 11.30pm on Friday night desperately putting together my R4YL Noosa Half race report before the Sat AM deadline. So if the report is not up to my usual standards, you'll know why!!
After five hours sleep, I was back in the office on Saturday morning and by Saturday evening I felt like I had the symptoms of a mild cold but I was so groggy from tiredness, I couldn't really tell. MJ and I went to Hannah B's party and whilst the old Matty would have unwinded with 7-8 beers, the new Matty doesn't drink whenever there is even a hint of a cold/flu on the horizon. Instead he made several trips to the kitchen to drink water out of a plastic wine glass!
After seven hours sleep, I woke up still exhausted on Sunday morning and with deep regret(yes, really Clairie!) decided to go back to sleep for three hours instead of going to the Brisbane Roadrunners 14k Champs and Clairies Birthday Breakfast. When I woke after 10hrs sleep, I still wasn't feeling 100%. Fortunately, its a recovery week on my program and only 18k was scheduled but I cut that back to 14k which I managed ok.
Went to RooBoy's place in the arvo to watch the Broncos pack give Parra a nice touch up and again did not drink considering I still felt like a cold was coming on. Yes, that's the new Matty for you!
Km's this week - 50
Km's this month - 214
Km's this year - 1078
Sun 14k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Things have been chaotic at work lately so I was in the office on my day off on Friday. Instead of a whole day in which to do some writing, I was up to 11.30pm on Friday night desperately putting together my R4YL Noosa Half race report before the Sat AM deadline. So if the report is not up to my usual standards, you'll know why!!
After five hours sleep, I was back in the office on Saturday morning and by Saturday evening I felt like I had the symptoms of a mild cold but I was so groggy from tiredness, I couldn't really tell. MJ and I went to Hannah B's party and whilst the old Matty would have unwinded with 7-8 beers, the new Matty doesn't drink whenever there is even a hint of a cold/flu on the horizon. Instead he made several trips to the kitchen to drink water out of a plastic wine glass!
After seven hours sleep, I woke up still exhausted on Sunday morning and with deep regret(yes, really Clairie!) decided to go back to sleep for three hours instead of going to the Brisbane Roadrunners 14k Champs and Clairies Birthday Breakfast. When I woke after 10hrs sleep, I still wasn't feeling 100%. Fortunately, its a recovery week on my program and only 18k was scheduled but I cut that back to 14k which I managed ok.
Went to RooBoy's place in the arvo to watch the Broncos pack give Parra a nice touch up and again did not drink considering I still felt like a cold was coming on. Yes, that's the new Matty for you!
Km's this week - 50
Km's this month - 214
Km's this year - 1078
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Recovery mode
Tues - 10k Recovery Run at 5:00's
Wed - 6k Midweek Long Run at 5:00's
Thurs - 4min, 2min, 4min, 2min, 4min with JR and SR, 3k WU, 3k WD
Monday saw me walking gingerly with significant DOMS in the quads and glutes. On Tuesday morning, I didn't go to speedwork as the session was on the grass at the Botanic Gardens and I still avoid grass at the moment. It was just as well as I was incapable of running at speed and instead did my impersonation of the Cliffy Young shuffle with a 10k recovery run along Kedron Brook. Yesterday, I was as Fitness First doing a comfortable 6k's on the tready as I continue the process of building my Wednesday midweek long run up to 18k's at the rate of 2k's per week.
This morning with the legs almost back to their normal selves, we did a session of longer reps through the Gardens alternating jogging and standing recoveries. I settled into a nice pace in the vincity of 3:30's at the back of the A-Team with Andy, Glenda, Aza, Langy and Jamie motoring along in front of me.
The shins have pulled up about as well as I expected them to this week. There is no discomfort whatsoever when running or following a run. Occasionally there may be a 'pang' of discomfort that flickers through the bone for a second or two late in the day but these a few and far between.
I'll continue the recovery theme this week with an easy 10k tomorrow and a reduced Sunday long run of 18k at the Brisbane Road Runners 14k Champs.
After 87 days without a drink, three days longer than my plan of 12 weeks on the wagon, I'll finally enjoy a quiet drink tonight!!!!
Km's this week - 26
Km's this month - 190
Km's this year - 1054
Consecutive alcohol free days - 87
Wed - 6k Midweek Long Run at 5:00's
Thurs - 4min, 2min, 4min, 2min, 4min with JR and SR, 3k WU, 3k WD
Monday saw me walking gingerly with significant DOMS in the quads and glutes. On Tuesday morning, I didn't go to speedwork as the session was on the grass at the Botanic Gardens and I still avoid grass at the moment. It was just as well as I was incapable of running at speed and instead did my impersonation of the Cliffy Young shuffle with a 10k recovery run along Kedron Brook. Yesterday, I was as Fitness First doing a comfortable 6k's on the tready as I continue the process of building my Wednesday midweek long run up to 18k's at the rate of 2k's per week.
This morning with the legs almost back to their normal selves, we did a session of longer reps through the Gardens alternating jogging and standing recoveries. I settled into a nice pace in the vincity of 3:30's at the back of the A-Team with Andy, Glenda, Aza, Langy and Jamie motoring along in front of me.
The shins have pulled up about as well as I expected them to this week. There is no discomfort whatsoever when running or following a run. Occasionally there may be a 'pang' of discomfort that flickers through the bone for a second or two late in the day but these a few and far between.
I'll continue the recovery theme this week with an easy 10k tomorrow and a reduced Sunday long run of 18k at the Brisbane Road Runners 14k Champs.
After 87 days without a drink, three days longer than my plan of 12 weeks on the wagon, I'll finally enjoy a quiet drink tonight!!!!
Km's this week - 26
Km's this month - 190
Km's this year - 1054
Consecutive alcohol free days - 87
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sunday - Noosa Half Marathon
Half Marathon - 86:49 - PB, 59th out of 966, 1k WU, 1k WD
Well, what a fabulous weekend it was! My good fortune started on Friday night when the Broncos smashed the Doggies 30-0. Just as importantly, the Broncos win assured me of winning a 'Double up' footy tipping comp that I'm in. My two closest rivals attempted to double up their current points tally by tipping the Doggies and went back to 0 points on the ladder after the Doggies bit the dust leaving yours truly in an unassailable position to claim the $500 winner take all prize!! You beauty!
MJ and I drove up Noosa at 5:30am on Saturday morning so I could cover the Viridian Vertical race for R4YL. Had a good chat with Steve Moneghetti whilst we were waiting for the runners to finish. MJ and I then went to the Eumundi markets for a while before spending the rest of the day taking it easy at the Glen Eden Resort, Peregian Beach. My luck continued when I won $175 on the horses so I had a grin from ear to ear! MJ and I rounded out the day with a quiet meal together at the Peregian Beach SLSC.
Race day dawned fine and cool and I got to the starting line in good order, albeit with my stomach churning a little with a large bowl of porridge and a litre of Enervit. After an easy 1k warmup, I did some strides with Langy and exhanged greetings with just about everyone on the starting line - who I knew. The plan was to run at threshold pace, about 95% effort, between 4:05's and 4:08's and Jonesy would be running with me offering us the opportunity to run as a team.
The race started perfectly, with Jonesy and I keeping the brakes on as we went through the first two k a little over goal pace whilst countless overenthusiastic rabbits overtook us. Jonesy and I then quickly found a rhythm running the next 7k's between 4:03 and 4:08. We were taking it in turns to draft each other each other whereupon one of us would go to the front every kilometre or two and the other would take a sit slightly behind and usually to one side to escape the light cross winds from the Noosa River. I had expected to keep quiet and conserve my energies for the duration of the race but I was cruising along comfortably and feeling a million dollars! As such I couldn't resist keeping up a steady stream of chatter with Jonesy whilst also firing up my team mates on the other side of the road when we passed by each other. I could feel myself losing a little bit of energy at the 8-9k so took the precaution of consuming a GU that I had in my pocket shortly before we reached the halfway mark and ran strongly through the cheers of the crowd and MJ.
By now, Jonesy and I had built up an unspoken trust that the man in front could reel off the required splits and the man drafting could relax and not worry about his pace for the duration of his stint behind. I even got used to the sweat from Jonesy's long hair bouncing off his shoulders into my path!! The momentum carried us to 13k where we had a slight hiccup posting a 4:14 split(possibly a 'long' k'). Here, I had my first bad patch of an otherwise trouble free run - I felt fatigues and momentarily doubted that I could keep up with Jonesy. However, I told myself to tough it out and I would come good soon enough and 500m later, I was back to my usual self and Jonesy and I remedied the damage with 4:01 and 4:03 splits. The 17th k saw another 4:15 fadeout before we powered home steadily with 4:01, 4:02, 4:02 and 4:02. By this stage, my chatter had replaced by slightly heavier breathing and I concentrated on maintaining good form in the run to the line. Jonesy seemed to grow another leg as we went past the 20k mark and pulled nearly 10m away from me. Reminding myself of my pre race plan not too flog myself unneccesarily with a 3:30 pace finishing kick, I let Jonesy go but soon caught up as I powered strongly up the incline to the final bridge. I got my voice back and told Jonesy "Lets go through the line together, but no holding hands - not that there's anything wrong with that!" And so we stopped the clock together in 86:49, comfortably beating my old Half Marathon PB of 87:55 when I ran at goal Marathon pace in the 2004 Qld Half. I was very, very pleased with my run and will elaborate further in the coming days. Thanks for the experience Jonesy - you're a legend!
There is no rest for the wicked and two minutes after crossing the line, I was back out on the course, running towards the 1k marker with a notebook in hand and bottle of Enervit in the other so I could take the splits for the 10k race. Any excuse for a warm down run!! The rest of the morning was great as I spent time chatting with all the winners and in particular enjoyed a great five minute chat with Dual Commonwealth Marathon Gold Medallist Kerryn McCann. She was a lovely lady and great conversationist. I got all the material I needed for my R4YL article but in hindsight, I neglected my own recover a little so will have to be more selfish in future.
Finished off a great weekend with a shift at work and then arrived home utterly exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was a 15 minutes recovery in the freezing cold pool, a self massage of both my plantar fasciitis and pull on my long Skins - but I did all bloody three of them!!!
Race Splits
1-5k 6-10k 11-15k 16-20k Final
4.11 - 4.07 - 4.05 - 4.03 - 4.02
4.10 - 4.08 - 4.06 - 4.15 - 0.24
4.07 - 4.08 - 4.07 - 4.01 - 86.49
4.07 - 4.08 - 4.14 - 4.02
4.03 - 4.03 - 4.01 - 4.02
20.39- 41.25 -62.02 - 82.27
Km's this week - 53
Km's this month - 164
Km's this year - 1028
Consecutive alcohol free days - 84
Well, what a fabulous weekend it was! My good fortune started on Friday night when the Broncos smashed the Doggies 30-0. Just as importantly, the Broncos win assured me of winning a 'Double up' footy tipping comp that I'm in. My two closest rivals attempted to double up their current points tally by tipping the Doggies and went back to 0 points on the ladder after the Doggies bit the dust leaving yours truly in an unassailable position to claim the $500 winner take all prize!! You beauty!
MJ and I drove up Noosa at 5:30am on Saturday morning so I could cover the Viridian Vertical race for R4YL. Had a good chat with Steve Moneghetti whilst we were waiting for the runners to finish. MJ and I then went to the Eumundi markets for a while before spending the rest of the day taking it easy at the Glen Eden Resort, Peregian Beach. My luck continued when I won $175 on the horses so I had a grin from ear to ear! MJ and I rounded out the day with a quiet meal together at the Peregian Beach SLSC.
Race day dawned fine and cool and I got to the starting line in good order, albeit with my stomach churning a little with a large bowl of porridge and a litre of Enervit. After an easy 1k warmup, I did some strides with Langy and exhanged greetings with just about everyone on the starting line - who I knew. The plan was to run at threshold pace, about 95% effort, between 4:05's and 4:08's and Jonesy would be running with me offering us the opportunity to run as a team.
The race started perfectly, with Jonesy and I keeping the brakes on as we went through the first two k a little over goal pace whilst countless overenthusiastic rabbits overtook us. Jonesy and I then quickly found a rhythm running the next 7k's between 4:03 and 4:08. We were taking it in turns to draft each other each other whereupon one of us would go to the front every kilometre or two and the other would take a sit slightly behind and usually to one side to escape the light cross winds from the Noosa River. I had expected to keep quiet and conserve my energies for the duration of the race but I was cruising along comfortably and feeling a million dollars! As such I couldn't resist keeping up a steady stream of chatter with Jonesy whilst also firing up my team mates on the other side of the road when we passed by each other. I could feel myself losing a little bit of energy at the 8-9k so took the precaution of consuming a GU that I had in my pocket shortly before we reached the halfway mark and ran strongly through the cheers of the crowd and MJ.
By now, Jonesy and I had built up an unspoken trust that the man in front could reel off the required splits and the man drafting could relax and not worry about his pace for the duration of his stint behind. I even got used to the sweat from Jonesy's long hair bouncing off his shoulders into my path!! The momentum carried us to 13k where we had a slight hiccup posting a 4:14 split(possibly a 'long' k'). Here, I had my first bad patch of an otherwise trouble free run - I felt fatigues and momentarily doubted that I could keep up with Jonesy. However, I told myself to tough it out and I would come good soon enough and 500m later, I was back to my usual self and Jonesy and I remedied the damage with 4:01 and 4:03 splits. The 17th k saw another 4:15 fadeout before we powered home steadily with 4:01, 4:02, 4:02 and 4:02. By this stage, my chatter had replaced by slightly heavier breathing and I concentrated on maintaining good form in the run to the line. Jonesy seemed to grow another leg as we went past the 20k mark and pulled nearly 10m away from me. Reminding myself of my pre race plan not too flog myself unneccesarily with a 3:30 pace finishing kick, I let Jonesy go but soon caught up as I powered strongly up the incline to the final bridge. I got my voice back and told Jonesy "Lets go through the line together, but no holding hands - not that there's anything wrong with that!" And so we stopped the clock together in 86:49, comfortably beating my old Half Marathon PB of 87:55 when I ran at goal Marathon pace in the 2004 Qld Half. I was very, very pleased with my run and will elaborate further in the coming days. Thanks for the experience Jonesy - you're a legend!
There is no rest for the wicked and two minutes after crossing the line, I was back out on the course, running towards the 1k marker with a notebook in hand and bottle of Enervit in the other so I could take the splits for the 10k race. Any excuse for a warm down run!! The rest of the morning was great as I spent time chatting with all the winners and in particular enjoyed a great five minute chat with Dual Commonwealth Marathon Gold Medallist Kerryn McCann. She was a lovely lady and great conversationist. I got all the material I needed for my R4YL article but in hindsight, I neglected my own recover a little so will have to be more selfish in future.
Finished off a great weekend with a shift at work and then arrived home utterly exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was a 15 minutes recovery in the freezing cold pool, a self massage of both my plantar fasciitis and pull on my long Skins - but I did all bloody three of them!!!
Race Splits
1-5k 6-10k 11-15k 16-20k Final
4.11 - 4.07 - 4.05 - 4.03 - 4.02
4.10 - 4.08 - 4.06 - 4.15 - 0.24
4.07 - 4.08 - 4.07 - 4.01 - 86.49
4.07 - 4.08 - 4.14 - 4.02
4.03 - 4.03 - 4.01 - 4.02
20.39- 41.25 -62.02 - 82.27
Km's this week - 53
Km's this month - 164
Km's this year - 1028
Consecutive alcohol free days - 84
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tempo run with Langy
Wed - 20 minutes easy - 4k's @ about 5:00 mins/km
Thurs - 4k's at race pace - 3:55, 4:10, 4:08, 4:04 - 3k WU, 3k WD
The body has held up ok so far this week after the dramas earlier in the week. The right plantar fasciitis is looking more and more like the tear that afflicted my left PF. Thankfully, there is no sign of 'classic' PF.
Yesterday, I did an easy twenty minutes along the river at Newstead before work. I would have done 6k's as part of my plan to build the midweek run back up to 18k, but I want to freshen up for the Noosa Half.
This morning, Langy and I went out to the Nundah Criterium at 6:30am. After the warm up, we stretched and then did some strides before commencing our 4k Noosa Half pace tempo run. Langy's was targetting 3:55's and I was targetting 4:05-4:08's. I felt a little tired and stiff in the first k as Langy slowly pulled away from me, but I felt much better the last three k's and it was a timely reminder that if you can concentrate and battle through difficult patches of a race, you're a good chance of feeling better eventually. I went out a little too fast with a 3:55 but was pleased to come home in 4:10, 4:08 and 4:04 considering I haven't done that pace for a while. If anyone sees Langy in the next few days, don't ask him about his pacing because it was all over the shop and he's cranky :)
Km's this week - 25
Km's this month - 136
Km's this year - 1000
Consecutive alcohol free days - 81
Thurs - 4k's at race pace - 3:55, 4:10, 4:08, 4:04 - 3k WU, 3k WD
The body has held up ok so far this week after the dramas earlier in the week. The right plantar fasciitis is looking more and more like the tear that afflicted my left PF. Thankfully, there is no sign of 'classic' PF.
Yesterday, I did an easy twenty minutes along the river at Newstead before work. I would have done 6k's as part of my plan to build the midweek run back up to 18k, but I want to freshen up for the Noosa Half.
This morning, Langy and I went out to the Nundah Criterium at 6:30am. After the warm up, we stretched and then did some strides before commencing our 4k Noosa Half pace tempo run. Langy's was targetting 3:55's and I was targetting 4:05-4:08's. I felt a little tired and stiff in the first k as Langy slowly pulled away from me, but I felt much better the last three k's and it was a timely reminder that if you can concentrate and battle through difficult patches of a race, you're a good chance of feeling better eventually. I went out a little too fast with a 3:55 but was pleased to come home in 4:10, 4:08 and 4:04 considering I haven't done that pace for a while. If anyone sees Langy in the next few days, don't ask him about his pacing because it was all over the shop and he's cranky :)
Km's this week - 25
Km's this month - 136
Km's this year - 1000
Consecutive alcohol free days - 81
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A crock or what?
2 x 2k @ 6:53, 6:52 1k @ 3:35 3k WU, 3k WD
It was with a fair degree of trepidation that I arrived at training this morning. My right plantar fasciitis got worse yesterday and I suspect that it had a microscopic tear from running backwards at the Gold Coast Half, that finally tore open five weeks later. Like its almost recovered counterpart on my left foot, it was firmly taped. Add to the mix the fact that I was very lethargic and tired yesterday and my back was playing up like it does for a few days every six months. I was also hungry!
Nevertheless, I tucked myself in behind Langy and Luke on the first rep and watched Glenda accelerate into the distance ahead of us. She was going so far I had to yell 'Hey Glenda, we're not doing 500's!' I was pleasantly surprised that my body held together as I completed the first rep holding my position behind the leaders with only Slash showing off his turn of foot by swooping past me late as I clocked 6:53 on a course Langy reckons is three seconds per k short. The second rep began similarly until I pulled level with Langy and Glenda at the 400 and motored past them whilst maintaining a steady cadence. Going down the incline after the turnaround, Glenda hung around for a while before dropping off. Going into the second k of the rep I was reminding myself not to go faster than 3:30 pace and to maintain a controlled stride. By this stage, i had cleared out to a lead of almost 10 metres and I was wondering when Langy and Glenda were going to stop playing games and catch up to me, but it never happened as I finished with a controlled rep of 6:52 only being pipped at the post by Luke putting in a gut busting finishing kick. I try not to race it training now and was pleased I resisted the temptation to match Luke's kick. The A-Team was always going to be well ahead of me in the last rep over the shorter 1k which I did in 3:35 as the fatigue started to kick in.
All in all, I was very pleased with the session considering the problems I brought to it. In the leadup to last years Noosa 5k when I was fitter and running at closer at sub 3:20 pace, I busted a gut to average 6:57 for three reps of 2k. Fast forward a year and my more economical and efficient running gait enabled me to record similar times despite not being as fit and not extended myself as much as I could have. Nice!
Km's this week - 11
Km's this month - 122
Km's this year - 986
Consecutive alcohol free days - 79
It was with a fair degree of trepidation that I arrived at training this morning. My right plantar fasciitis got worse yesterday and I suspect that it had a microscopic tear from running backwards at the Gold Coast Half, that finally tore open five weeks later. Like its almost recovered counterpart on my left foot, it was firmly taped. Add to the mix the fact that I was very lethargic and tired yesterday and my back was playing up like it does for a few days every six months. I was also hungry!
Nevertheless, I tucked myself in behind Langy and Luke on the first rep and watched Glenda accelerate into the distance ahead of us. She was going so far I had to yell 'Hey Glenda, we're not doing 500's!' I was pleasantly surprised that my body held together as I completed the first rep holding my position behind the leaders with only Slash showing off his turn of foot by swooping past me late as I clocked 6:53 on a course Langy reckons is three seconds per k short. The second rep began similarly until I pulled level with Langy and Glenda at the 400 and motored past them whilst maintaining a steady cadence. Going down the incline after the turnaround, Glenda hung around for a while before dropping off. Going into the second k of the rep I was reminding myself not to go faster than 3:30 pace and to maintain a controlled stride. By this stage, i had cleared out to a lead of almost 10 metres and I was wondering when Langy and Glenda were going to stop playing games and catch up to me, but it never happened as I finished with a controlled rep of 6:52 only being pipped at the post by Luke putting in a gut busting finishing kick. I try not to race it training now and was pleased I resisted the temptation to match Luke's kick. The A-Team was always going to be well ahead of me in the last rep over the shorter 1k which I did in 3:35 as the fatigue started to kick in.
All in all, I was very pleased with the session considering the problems I brought to it. In the leadup to last years Noosa 5k when I was fitter and running at closer at sub 3:20 pace, I busted a gut to average 6:57 for three reps of 2k. Fast forward a year and my more economical and efficient running gait enabled me to record similar times despite not being as fit and not extended myself as much as I could have. Nice!
Km's this week - 11
Km's this month - 122
Km's this year - 986
Consecutive alcohol free days - 79
Monday, August 14, 2006
Sunday - Brisbane Road Runners 10 Mile
115 mins, 24k's @ 4:44 mins/km
I woke up at 5:20am and spent thirteen minutes still in bed contemplating whether I should stick with my original plan and do my Sunday long run at West End in the Brisbane Road Road Runners 10 Mile race or get an extra hour of sleep and do my normal Sunday long run. In the end, getting an earlier start to the day won out.
However, the delay ensured that I missed the start of the race by two minutes - not that I was concerned about missing it! Wearing my new Brooks Glycerin 4's for the second time, I rolled along comfortably until around 14k's when my right plantar fasciitis (the good one that I did not tear at the GC Half) started to ache and cause considerable discomfort. I pulled over at the Pauls Milk Factory where Rent Bouy and Eddie were marshalling, took of my shoes and spent about two minutes self massaging it. That did the trick. I then finished the race and immediately did another 8k's. With just one k left the right PF started to ache uncomfortably again. I'm not sure what is wrong with it nor what caused the problem(surely not the new shoes albeit half a size smaller?). Nonehteless, I'm confident that I can keep the situation under control. I taped up the right foot last night and that should ensure that I can walk and run without discomfort until I fix the problem. Buys shares in sports tape companies - thanks to me, they'll report record profits this year.
Am looking forward to the Noosa Half on Sunday when Jonesy and I plan to run a good solid 86 minute tempo run.
Km's this week - 58
Km's this month - 111
Km's this year - 976
Consecutive alcohol free days - 77
I woke up at 5:20am and spent thirteen minutes still in bed contemplating whether I should stick with my original plan and do my Sunday long run at West End in the Brisbane Road Road Runners 10 Mile race or get an extra hour of sleep and do my normal Sunday long run. In the end, getting an earlier start to the day won out.
However, the delay ensured that I missed the start of the race by two minutes - not that I was concerned about missing it! Wearing my new Brooks Glycerin 4's for the second time, I rolled along comfortably until around 14k's when my right plantar fasciitis (the good one that I did not tear at the GC Half) started to ache and cause considerable discomfort. I pulled over at the Pauls Milk Factory where Rent Bouy and Eddie were marshalling, took of my shoes and spent about two minutes self massaging it. That did the trick. I then finished the race and immediately did another 8k's. With just one k left the right PF started to ache uncomfortably again. I'm not sure what is wrong with it nor what caused the problem(surely not the new shoes albeit half a size smaller?). Nonehteless, I'm confident that I can keep the situation under control. I taped up the right foot last night and that should ensure that I can walk and run without discomfort until I fix the problem. Buys shares in sports tape companies - thanks to me, they'll report record profits this year.
Am looking forward to the Noosa Half on Sunday when Jonesy and I plan to run a good solid 86 minute tempo run.
Km's this week - 58
Km's this month - 111
Km's this year - 976
Consecutive alcohol free days - 77
Friday, August 11, 2006
New shoes!
Thurs - 4 x 500 @ 1:45's 4k WU, 4k WD
Fri - 50mins, 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Went out to Intraining on Wednesday night with a mission to buy a pair of neutral runners from Langy. With two pairs of Brook's Glycerins recently retired and 520k's on the other one, it was high time to add another pair to the rotation. I went through the entire range of neutrals that Langy brought out for me and whilst the Mizuno's were impressive and felt highly promising, I took the conservative option and went with the latest model Brook's Glycerin 4's. I love the Brooks - they seem made for my feet! I also decided to try dropping down a size from US 11.5 to US 11. To cut a long story short, several shop assistants have told me that the 11.5's fit me ok and the memories of my feet swelling up and pushing against the toebox in the last 7k's of my 2004 Gold Coast Marathon are still fresh which is while I have been reluctant to try the size 11 for quite some time. It seems to me that my feet are borderline too small for the 11.5's and perhaps borderline too big for the 11's. However, now is a good time to see how it goes.
My first run in the new Brooks went very well during a tready speedwork session yesterday - it'll be interesting to see how they go during Sunday's long run which I will do at BRR during and after the 10 Miler. I followed up yesterday's run with an easy and uneventful 50 minutes this morning.
The Plantar Fasciitis continue to recover well - the tear has healed all the way down to the heel with only a 1-2cm stretch still providing discomfort, but only when I give it its daily four minute self massage.
Km's this week - 34
Km's this month - 87
Km's this year - 952
Consecutive alcohol free days - 75
Fri - 50mins, 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Went out to Intraining on Wednesday night with a mission to buy a pair of neutral runners from Langy. With two pairs of Brook's Glycerins recently retired and 520k's on the other one, it was high time to add another pair to the rotation. I went through the entire range of neutrals that Langy brought out for me and whilst the Mizuno's were impressive and felt highly promising, I took the conservative option and went with the latest model Brook's Glycerin 4's. I love the Brooks - they seem made for my feet! I also decided to try dropping down a size from US 11.5 to US 11. To cut a long story short, several shop assistants have told me that the 11.5's fit me ok and the memories of my feet swelling up and pushing against the toebox in the last 7k's of my 2004 Gold Coast Marathon are still fresh which is while I have been reluctant to try the size 11 for quite some time. It seems to me that my feet are borderline too small for the 11.5's and perhaps borderline too big for the 11's. However, now is a good time to see how it goes.
My first run in the new Brooks went very well during a tready speedwork session yesterday - it'll be interesting to see how they go during Sunday's long run which I will do at BRR during and after the 10 Miler. I followed up yesterday's run with an easy and uneventful 50 minutes this morning.
The Plantar Fasciitis continue to recover well - the tear has healed all the way down to the heel with only a 1-2cm stretch still providing discomfort, but only when I give it its daily four minute self massage.
Km's this week - 34
Km's this month - 87
Km's this year - 952
Consecutive alcohol free days - 75
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Wednesday midweek long run resumes
20 mins, 4k's @ approx 5:00's
Did an easy 20 mins this morning from my place through the back streets to the Kedron Wavell RSL and back again. This was my first Wed midweek long run since March 2005, although its obviously not a long run yet! I plan to bump up the distance of this run by 2k's per week until I'm up to 18k's.
In March 2005 my comeback from my shin splints was at one of its lowest points and I made the decision at that time to reduce my runs from five to four times per week. Prior to breaking down for the first time in late November 2004, I was doing two 18k midweek long runs in each four week block of my program along with 14 or 16k's another week and 10-12k's in the recovery week. Looking forward to getting back into it again!
This is my 200th blog post - how time flies!
Km's this week - 14
Km's this month - 67
Km's this year - 932
Consecutive alcohol free days - 73
Did an easy 20 mins this morning from my place through the back streets to the Kedron Wavell RSL and back again. This was my first Wed midweek long run since March 2005, although its obviously not a long run yet! I plan to bump up the distance of this run by 2k's per week until I'm up to 18k's.
In March 2005 my comeback from my shin splints was at one of its lowest points and I made the decision at that time to reduce my runs from five to four times per week. Prior to breaking down for the first time in late November 2004, I was doing two 18k midweek long runs in each four week block of my program along with 14 or 16k's another week and 10-12k's in the recovery week. Looking forward to getting back into it again!
This is my 200th blog post - how time flies!
Km's this week - 14
Km's this month - 67
Km's this year - 932
Consecutive alcohol free days - 73
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
An unusual preparation
12 min Fartlek, 2 x Gold Coast Hill, 3k WU, 3k WD.
An unusual preparation for speedwork last night saw me attend a soup cooking class with MJ! We went to the Black Pearl Epicure in the Valley where Michelen starred chef Bruno Loubet. Gees, some of those dames were positively salivating in the great man's presence! Didn't they know there was a real fast runner amongst them :) Anyway, the evening was enjoyable enough for some one who has never even seen a cooking show on tv so there were a few eye openers and tips picked up. This confession should not be taken to read that yours truly can't cook! I can cook damn well, thank you. Just ask MJ!
Fartlek was on the menu at speedwork this morning - 1min fast, 30 jog, 30 fast, 30 jog, 15 fast. In great conditions Andy and Glenda led the way for most of the session with yours truly trying to stay a distance behind them that would have me going at around my desired 3:30 pace. I felt I did that pretty well and didn't go too fast. However, for the second Tuesday in a row, my legs fatigued pretty quickly. They are taking some time to adjust to the backup from my Sunday Long Runs as I've only done about 5-6 20k+ Sunday Long Runs so far this year and all of them have been in the last 5-6 weeks. Nevertheless, I concentrated on maintaining good form and saw out the 12 minute session strongly enough. No time for a breather as Pat then sent us up Gold Coast Hill which I did twice, pushing myself very hard in the process. My team mates then had the a rare glimpse of me bent over, hands on knees, sucking in the big ones. Its something they'll get used to over the next few months as I continue to work hard. Only Luke overtook me on GC Hill and I resisted the temptation to go with him. Wrapped up the session by going for a steady warm down at 4:10-4:20 pace with Mike R back to the Ship Inn. Legs have pulled up well so far!
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 63
Km's this year - 928
Consecutive alcohol free days - 72
An unusual preparation for speedwork last night saw me attend a soup cooking class with MJ! We went to the Black Pearl Epicure in the Valley where Michelen starred chef Bruno Loubet. Gees, some of those dames were positively salivating in the great man's presence! Didn't they know there was a real fast runner amongst them :) Anyway, the evening was enjoyable enough for some one who has never even seen a cooking show on tv so there were a few eye openers and tips picked up. This confession should not be taken to read that yours truly can't cook! I can cook damn well, thank you. Just ask MJ!
Fartlek was on the menu at speedwork this morning - 1min fast, 30 jog, 30 fast, 30 jog, 15 fast. In great conditions Andy and Glenda led the way for most of the session with yours truly trying to stay a distance behind them that would have me going at around my desired 3:30 pace. I felt I did that pretty well and didn't go too fast. However, for the second Tuesday in a row, my legs fatigued pretty quickly. They are taking some time to adjust to the backup from my Sunday Long Runs as I've only done about 5-6 20k+ Sunday Long Runs so far this year and all of them have been in the last 5-6 weeks. Nevertheless, I concentrated on maintaining good form and saw out the 12 minute session strongly enough. No time for a breather as Pat then sent us up Gold Coast Hill which I did twice, pushing myself very hard in the process. My team mates then had the a rare glimpse of me bent over, hands on knees, sucking in the big ones. Its something they'll get used to over the next few months as I continue to work hard. Only Luke overtook me on GC Hill and I resisted the temptation to go with him. Wrapped up the session by going for a steady warm down at 4:10-4:20 pace with Mike R back to the Ship Inn. Legs have pulled up well so far!
Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 63
Km's this year - 928
Consecutive alcohol free days - 72
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Bridge to Brisbane
Fri - 2 x 1k @ 3:31 and 3:21, 4k WU, 4k WD.
Sun - 125 mins, 24k's @ 4:40-5:20 pace
Friday saw me give Fitness First the flick again and head out to Kedron Brook late that afternoon after a day of rare procrastination. After an easy warm up, I clocked a steady 3:31 before getting carried away and clocking 3:21 for my second and last rep. Gees, my running stride felt a lot smoother and more economical when I last hit that speed and there is plenty more where it came from!!
Today saw me contest my 3rd consecutive annual Bridge to Brisbane. This race is a good fun day out but is unlikely to reach the iconic status of the City to Surf for a while yet. An early 4:30am start was required to ensure that I could eat two large bowls of porridge, drive to New Farm, park, catch the Intraining bus to the Gateway Bridge and collect my Official Pacers singlet and pink balloons from Coach Pat - before a 7am gun. There was some concern that being a 65 min pacer for 12k and averaging 5:20's would be a little too slow for me and lead to injury. However, a very slow first k with some walking up the Bridge in all the traffic ensured that I was able to roll along at a more respectable 5:10 pace for most of the way with team mate Steve G and I going through in 64:55 after stopping 500m out with 2 minutes in the bank. As always, pacing was good fun, but I got the impression that the once a year runners didn't appreciate or understand the service like Gold Coast, Brisbane or Noosa participants do.
Following the race, I took over 90 minutes to run my remaining 60 minutes for the day. In between, I did a warm down run with recent Qld X Country Champ and GC 10 winner, Michael Shelley all the whilst interviewing him for R4YL.He moves along nicely and was warming down at around 4:20 pace. I also chatted with Peter Nowill and the 4.5 k winner and was able to get a good feel for how the races unfolded and that will complement my race report which will be mostly based on what I see when watching the Ch9 coverage of the event next weekend. I pulled up nicely after all that. Bring on next week!
Km's this week - 53
Km's this month - 53
Km's this year - 918
Consecutive alcohol free days - 70
Sun - 125 mins, 24k's @ 4:40-5:20 pace
Friday saw me give Fitness First the flick again and head out to Kedron Brook late that afternoon after a day of rare procrastination. After an easy warm up, I clocked a steady 3:31 before getting carried away and clocking 3:21 for my second and last rep. Gees, my running stride felt a lot smoother and more economical when I last hit that speed and there is plenty more where it came from!!
Today saw me contest my 3rd consecutive annual Bridge to Brisbane. This race is a good fun day out but is unlikely to reach the iconic status of the City to Surf for a while yet. An early 4:30am start was required to ensure that I could eat two large bowls of porridge, drive to New Farm, park, catch the Intraining bus to the Gateway Bridge and collect my Official Pacers singlet and pink balloons from Coach Pat - before a 7am gun. There was some concern that being a 65 min pacer for 12k and averaging 5:20's would be a little too slow for me and lead to injury. However, a very slow first k with some walking up the Bridge in all the traffic ensured that I was able to roll along at a more respectable 5:10 pace for most of the way with team mate Steve G and I going through in 64:55 after stopping 500m out with 2 minutes in the bank. As always, pacing was good fun, but I got the impression that the once a year runners didn't appreciate or understand the service like Gold Coast, Brisbane or Noosa participants do.
Following the race, I took over 90 minutes to run my remaining 60 minutes for the day. In between, I did a warm down run with recent Qld X Country Champ and GC 10 winner, Michael Shelley all the whilst interviewing him for R4YL.He moves along nicely and was warming down at around 4:20 pace. I also chatted with Peter Nowill and the 4.5 k winner and was able to get a good feel for how the races unfolded and that will complement my race report which will be mostly based on what I see when watching the Ch9 coverage of the event next weekend. I pulled up nicely after all that. Bring on next week!
Km's this week - 53
Km's this month - 53
Km's this year - 918
Consecutive alcohol free days - 70
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Easy Thursday run
50 mins, 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
There was the occasional 'pang' in the shins on Tuesday arvo and yesterday, no doubt a legacy of the long run followed by a fairly hard effort in the time trial. Coupled with not eating enough yesterday during a busy day at work, I did an easy 10k's this morning on the tready. Will do speedwork on the tready tomorrow.
Am spending the day sprucing up my house prior to a visit by a International Student Homestay company tomorrow morning. They'll assess the suitabiility of my house and yours truly for hosting international students. Have already told the company to find me some runners if my application is successful!!
Km's this week - 19
Km's this month - 19
Km's this year - 884
Consecutive alcohol free days - 67
There was the occasional 'pang' in the shins on Tuesday arvo and yesterday, no doubt a legacy of the long run followed by a fairly hard effort in the time trial. Coupled with not eating enough yesterday during a busy day at work, I did an easy 10k's this morning on the tready. Will do speedwork on the tready tomorrow.
Am spending the day sprucing up my house prior to a visit by a International Student Homestay company tomorrow morning. They'll assess the suitabiility of my house and yours truly for hosting international students. Have already told the company to find me some runners if my application is successful!!
Km's this week - 19
Km's this month - 19
Km's this year - 884
Consecutive alcohol free days - 67
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
PCRG 3K TT
3KTT 10:46 (3:29, 3:43, 3:33)
The legs felt a touch fatigued this morning after my most demanding Sunday long run in quite some time and the warm up didn't loosen them as much as I would have liked. I said to Gerard prior to the start that whilst I would not be busting a gut and running faster than 3:30's, I would try and drag him along to sub 10:45 if I felt good in the last k. The big field set off with the usual excitement at the start and I settled in pretty well, but it was clear early on that whilst the legs were serviceable, they were lacking a little zip. Some drama at the 1.5k turnaround with the marker getting lost and several people turning too late or in some cases, too early. At this time I had settled in five metres behind Gerard and Jonesy was right behind me and the three of us probably lost around five seconds going too far. Heading back up the short incline opposite the booat sheds, I powered strongly up and started to feel really good so I 'flicked the switch' an accelerated the five metres to Gerard. I then ran the last 900m very strongly and still had the breath to do a fair bit of yelling whilst running 3:33 for the last k and only just running out of time to help drag Gerard home under his sub 10:45 goal.
I felt very satisfied afterward, particularly given that I only ran at around 85% effort on tired legs whilst doing a lot of yelling on last k and yet I was still able to run 10:46. The magical Sub 10 min barrier is not very far away at all!!!!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 9
Km's this year - 874
Consecutive alcohol free days - 65
The legs felt a touch fatigued this morning after my most demanding Sunday long run in quite some time and the warm up didn't loosen them as much as I would have liked. I said to Gerard prior to the start that whilst I would not be busting a gut and running faster than 3:30's, I would try and drag him along to sub 10:45 if I felt good in the last k. The big field set off with the usual excitement at the start and I settled in pretty well, but it was clear early on that whilst the legs were serviceable, they were lacking a little zip. Some drama at the 1.5k turnaround with the marker getting lost and several people turning too late or in some cases, too early. At this time I had settled in five metres behind Gerard and Jonesy was right behind me and the three of us probably lost around five seconds going too far. Heading back up the short incline opposite the booat sheds, I powered strongly up and started to feel really good so I 'flicked the switch' an accelerated the five metres to Gerard. I then ran the last 900m very strongly and still had the breath to do a fair bit of yelling whilst running 3:33 for the last k and only just running out of time to help drag Gerard home under his sub 10:45 goal.
I felt very satisfied afterward, particularly given that I only ran at around 85% effort on tired legs whilst doing a lot of yelling on last k and yet I was still able to run 10:46. The magical Sub 10 min barrier is not very far away at all!!!!
Km's this week - 9
Km's this month - 9
Km's this year - 874
Consecutive alcohol free days - 65
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
