Wednesday Green Bridge loop

90 mins, 21k's. 18.4k loop in 78:03 @ 4:14 mins/km

Excitement is clearly mounting at the Gold Coast looms - there would have been about 20 PCRG runners at the Ship Inn at 5:30am this morning joining various groups for their midweek MLR. And it was a tad chilly too - I pulled on the $1 Coles cotton gloves for the first time this year!!

Andy and Glenda joined me this morning and after easing into the run, Andy really ramped up the pace as he kicks off his Gold Coast campaign after recovering from Port Macquarie Ironman. Gees he was keen this morning and Glenda was similarly frisky. As is usually the case I relaxed and settled into a rhythm right behind them. Felt comfortable for the first 50 minutes but the breaths were a little more frequent in the last half hour as the pace ever so steadliy was increased. Andy really kicked home the last k at sub 4 min pace but I reined in the competitive instincts and continued to cruise along at the same pace. It was no surprise that we took 31 seconds of our precious course record of 78:34 set when Andy was away. Perhaps I should not have let him know this :) Pulled up quite well.

PCRG 3KTT

Fri - 60 mins - 12k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Easy recovery jog - ran into Langy half way through and finished off the run with him.

Sun AM - 130 mins - 26k's @ 5:10mins/km
Sun PM - 30 mins - k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Tues - 3KTT - 9:46 (3:11, 3:18, 3:16)

The plan this morning was to try and run even 3:12's and really work the second k to make up for time lost at the turnaround. I was fast asleep when Pat sent the large field on its way and lost maybe two metres at the start. As such, I probably wasn't as relaxed as I like to be in the first 300-400m. Matt C, Matt R and myself led the way early (the three Matt's!!!) Just nine days after I duelled with Matt C over the closing stages of the Brisbane Half, here we were going at it again!! There was quite a bit of jostle early on and Matt C and I bumped into each other on about five occasions as we went through the first k in 3:11. Following my plan of working the second k, I really pushed it here and was able to ease a few strides ahead in front. It was a cold morning and noticeably colder once we got to the exposed sections past the Boatshed - note to self (gloves and proper singlet next time instead of tri singlet!). Reached marshal Gaz at the halfway in 4:45 and lost the usual 2-3 seconds turning around. Continued working hard to the 2k mark and was bitterly disappointed to see a 3:18 split but calculated that I could still pull out a PB if I hammered out a 3:09 closing k. Fired up at this point and dropped Matt C for good, covering the next 500m in about 96 seconds with a PB still possible. Alas, I faded then, particularly up the slight incline next to the Hanson factory.

So, I've now built a rock solid base of sub 10's in the last six months as follows:
- Dec 9:48
- Jan 9:40 (PB)
- Feb 9:48
- Mar 9:43 (2nd fastest time)
- April 9:52
- April 9:46 (3rd fastest time)

But if I don't dip under that 9:40 PB soon, I'm going to get start getting a tad frustrated!! I don't plan to change my training - I'll just relax, look after my body and wait for the improvement to come to me.

A good recovery

Tues PM - 60 mins, 12k's @ about 5:20 mins/km
Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:15 mins/km
Thurs - 50 mins,10k's @ 5:10 mins/km

Am pleased with my recovery from the half so far. The worst of the DOMS hung around for a day and half starting Monday morning and mostly fading away by Tuesday lunchtime. I wore the long Skins almost non stop for four days after the race and have had three gentle recovery jogs.

All is good - the rest of the week is a recovery week with no speedwork. And then its into the deep end with a 3KTT on Tuesday!!

Brisbane Half Marathon 80:32 (PB)

Brisbane Half Marathon 80:32 (PB) 12-14th out of about 600-700

Race morning dawned with ideal conditions - cool and overcast with the hint of a little rain. I eased my way through a 2k warmup and then lined up at the start line with Wednesday run partner, Beth. The plan was to run 3:50's and break 81 with a 'B' goal of 82. In the back of my mind, there was the thought of breaking 80 if everything came together. The goal may seem a tad conservative to some as MacMillans Calculator says I can run a 77:55 half based on my 3k time but I was comfortable with my goal, particularly as this was only the second half I've ever raced! Yes, it seems like I've been around long enough to have 10 halves under my belt by now but alas that's not the case.

I was smoothly away and stayed out of trouble during the mad dash into the Stanley Street tunnel to clock a 3:49 for the first k, running with Beth. After the disaster of my very slow second k in the Easter Egg 10k when I relaxed far too much, I made a conscious effort to 'work' the second k and a 3:45 was the result. After a 3:40 third k, I let Beth go on ahead of me and settled into a comfortable rhythm.

The middle stages of the race saw some consistent pacing and I was very pleased to churn out consistent splits between 3:46 to 3:53 from 3k to 15k with only a 3:58k out of place. It was fantastic to get a lot of support and ‘Go Matt’s’ from PCRG team mates and Tesso out on the course. As I was in the zone and did not want to waste one iota of energy I felt bad that I could only raise a hand slightly in acknowledgement. During this time, I was only overtaken by one bloke from Athletics North. At the 14k I rejoined Beth and we were soon in the company of Mark Jackson, a 2:27 Marathoner making a comeback of sorts. Marathon placegetter Tom Dover was hanging off the back of the pack with another Marathoner. I was feeling strong and had to resist the temptation to pick up the pace a little and stick to my race plan of working home strongly once I reached the QUT hill entering the Botanic Gardens.

Time passed quickly and soon I was surging up the hill into the Gardens. I passed the bloke from Athletics North and was grateful for the support of Matt Reid on his bike. At the 18k mark, the next target was PCRG team mate, Matt Carrick and I set myself the challenge of making up the 150m gap to him. I ran strongly through the Gardens and didn’t think that any of the pack behind me would be able to keep up so was surprised when Mark Jackson eased past me at the exit. Digging deep, I immediately retook the lead and surged up the Goodwill Bridge making big inroads into Matt’s lead. I worked the downhill side of the Goodwill Bridge quickly but as always automatically mindful of not over striding.

At the 20k mark I went past Matt and was by now beginning to feel the strain in a big way. My legs were getting fatigued, my breathing was in gasps and my stomach was churning uncomfortably. I peered through the pedestrians and supporters along the Clem Jones Promenade looking for another target and was surprised to see female leader and 2006 Noosa Tri Champ, Felicity Abram 100m in front of me. After being controversially left out of the Olympic Tri team last week, I had expected Felicity to take her frustrations out on the course with a 76 or 77. As I rapidly gained on Felicity I calculated that at my current rate of progress, I would overtake her in the finishing chute. Uh oh, not good at all for I ran the risk of being labeled a ‘Desperate Bloke”!!! So, I took the only option that seemed to make sense – I gunned it even harder!! Fortunately I managed to get past Felicity with 200m to go and was surprised to find one last enticing target in front of me – my nemesis, Jimmy Bayliss from Intraining. I had just failed to run down Jimmy in the Brisbane Running Groups 3k Challenge when 5th but did have the satisfaction of giving him windburn at the 19k mark of the Kurrrawa 25k Relays last year. I was getting delirious by now and could feel bile exiting my stomach and rising up towards my throat. Jimmy heard my footsteps and lifted his pace entering the chute. I kept the pressure on all the way down the chute in case he faltered but alas it was not to be. Nevertheless, it was an extremely satisfying moment to run through the finish and time seemed to slow down as I glanced up at the clock to see 80:32 on it. The satisfaction lasted all of two seconds before I staggered over to the grass and regurgitated the remaining contents of my stomach for my third career post race spew!!

Obviously, it was a very satisfying race for me and in particular, I was pleased with my controlled pacing and discipline to stick to my race plan. Not letting anyone overtake me and running down a few rivals in the closing stages were also a highlight.

All up it was a fantastic morning and it was great to see some super performances from team mates David and Cassie in the Marathon and Pete and Sarah in the half just to name a few of many. It was also great to go out to the 36k mark of the marathon during my 15 minute warm down. At that point, the Moroccan defending champion led my occasional running partner, Aidan Hobbs by 200m but was looking over his shoulder repeatedly. I urged Aidan to never, never give up as anything could happen and it was great to see him finish all over the top of the Champ for a memorable 2:43 debut Marathon victory

SPLITS
1-5 – 3:49, 3:45, 3:40, 3:47, 3:47 – 18:50
6-10 – 3:46, 3:46, 3:50, 3:53, 3:52 – 19:08
11-15 – 3:50, 3:58, 3:53, 3:49, 3:53 – 19:25
16-20 – 3:55, 3:51, 3:52, 3:48, 3:48 – 19:14
21 – 3:36

PHOTOS
- 1st photo courtesy of Phil Wain of PB Photographics at 11k on Coro Drive
- 2nd photo is a great shot from team mate Mike R of myself, Mark Jackson and Beth at 16k with Tom Dover hanging off the back. Very pleased with the strength and control of my running gait this late in the race

Taper week for Brisbane Half

Tues - 20 min hills fartlek

Last hard session before the Brisbane Half and I really put in - see photo above. The jogging recoveries on this session are quite long and enable you to really hammer it on the hill and the other sprint area in the Botanic Gardens.

Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:11 mins/km

Gentle taper jog on the Kedron Brook running out some stiffness and soreness from a physio session with Shane at the Gabba the previous day.

Thurs - 2 x 4 mins, 30SR. 3 x 2min, 30JR back

I don't really like the last speedwork session before a big race that I'm tapering for. Mentally I am in two minds as to how hard to go. Today, I ran about 3:40 pace for most of the way only hammering it for one minute during the first two minute rep. Felt strong and fit throughout.

That's better!!

Fri - 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 3min, 1 x Hill rep - 45SR

Quite a pleasing session doing the hard yards up front by myself throughout. Lots of us were shattered after the penultimate 5 min rep and I was pleased with how I maintained my speed and form on the last rep.

Sun AM - 110 mins - 22k's @ 4:58mins/km

Solid Kedron Brook run cut 10 minutes short as I was late for a Sprinkling.

Sun PM - 40 mins - 8k's @ 5:15 mins/km

Gingerly eased through this run along the Brisbane River adding 10 minutes to make up for this mornings shortfall.

Update time

Still trying to get back into the daily blog updates - not quite there yet :)

Wed 2nd - 90 mins, 18k's @ about 4:45's along Brisbane River with Glenda
Thurs 3rd - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10's easy
Fri 4th - 2 x 4min, 30SR, 2min, 3min - Legs tired but worked hard with Brisbane Half in mind
Sun 6th AM - 130 mins, 26k's @ about 5:05's
Sun 6th PM - 30 mins, 6 k's @ about 5:10's
Tues 8th - 4 x 1min, 30JR, 30 on/off back, 2:30min, 2 x GC Hill - Although am running well, I don't quite seem to have the zip of 4-6 weeks ago. Can't wait to get it back.
Wed 9th - 90 mins, 19k's @ 4:48mins/km. Green Bridge loop with Beth.
Thurs 10th - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:09 mins/km

PCRG - 3KTT

PCRG 3KTT - 9:52 (3:13,3:21,3:17)

After the recent racing and the 1k efforts last Friday, the legs were lacking a bit of zip. Nic D was also absent so I ended up having to do the hard yards by myself up front. I just concentrated on maintaining good form throughout and my cardio fitness was good enough to ensure that I continued my streak of sub 10's. Although, some distance off my PB, I'm happy nevertheless as I have consolidated a base between 9:40-9:52 that will set me up nicely for a crack at sub 9:30 in the near future.

Mooloolaba Tri 10k Run Leg

10k - 37:36 (10th out of 515) - 3:33,3:53,3:52,3:48,3:47,3:48,3:45,3:34,3:52,3:56

Northies got together at Mooloolaba on Sunday for our only Tri of the season. Neither RooBoy, nor Matt were fit so we just did it for fun. RooBoy opened proceedings with a 28:30 swim and 256th place and Matt was on the bike for around 72 minutes in 85th place. My plan was to go around in Half Marathon pace of 3:50's with a view to assisting my preparation for the Brisbane Half in 3 weeks time. I could have run a gutbuster and maybe jagged a small PB on the tough course in warm conditions but both Pat and I felt I'd get more out of a Half Marathon pace effort this time and save the fast 10k for the Victorian 10k Road Champs at Sandown on May 17th.

Mooloolaba was typically warm when I started my run at 9:15am but it was beautiful day and the cool seabreeze meant it wasn't as hard as previous years. I went out a tad too fast but settled into a comfortable pace afterwards. I felt good for a long way, was running in controlled fashion and was did not become fatigued until I crested Alexandra Hill for the third and final time. I was well under my goal of 38:20 at that stage so just cruised to the finish line to bring Northies home in 34th place in 2:17:45. Very pleased with the run and it was nice to crack the Top 10 running at less than top speed. Time will tell whether I can hold the pace for another 11k's on a flatter course in cooler conditions.