Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Uncooperative weather

Sun - 120 mins, 24k's @ 5:08mins/km

Started off at 7:30am for another heat acclimatisation run but it a cool breeze throughout and strong wind the last 5k's put paid to that.

Tues - 8 x 1min, 30JR, 4 x grass hills


A carbon copy of last Tuesday's sessions, unable to match Nic in the first half but finishing strong to almost match him in the second half.

Wed - 90 mins, 20k's @ 4:26's


Green Bridge loop with Glenda in cool fresh conditions just after an early morning shower. Pace was solid from about 2k's onward.

Friday, November 21, 2008







St Kilda - At 15k - settling down for the grind ahead, thanks for the drink, Benno!


Brighton - At 23k - Into the wind now


St Kilda - 33k - And a good day to you to, Sir!


Finish - At last, its over. Onward and upwards!

Wild week!

A wild week of storms and heavy rain in Brisbane but training continues unabated:

Tues - 2/1/2 with 30JR x 2, 3 min


Spent the session chasing Nic D who has improved in leaps and bounds the last few months. Through the steady rain He steadily pulled away from me in the first set but I was able to limit the damage in the last two sets. Nice to have someone a fair distance in front of me so I have a target to chase as I work my way back to top speed and beyond.

Wed 90mins - 19k's @ 4:38mins/km

Green Bridge loop with Glenda.

Thurs - 2 x 4 min, 1x 2k

A rare appearance at Thursday speedwork due to a couple of drinks planned at the cricket. Ended up being a bit of a debacle. Shaw Rd along Kedron Brook was flooded, so I had to turn back and drive down Sandgate Rd. ICB was flooded, so I diverted to the city. I was 200m away from making it to the session when I saw Pat send the Group on their first four minute rep. I stretched, did strides and waited for the guys to return before joining in from the second rep. Went ok for the first two minutes but ordinary after that. Finished off with a woeful 2k rep by myself in 7:14 where my watch fell off with 200m to go and I stopped to pick it up. Forgettable session.

Fri - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:14 mins/km
Another heat acclimatisation session.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Back in business

Tues - 8 x 1min, 15WR, 3 x 30 on/off + 3 hills on grass

Eased into session and finished quite strongly - good to blow out the cobwebs and run fast for the first time in five weeks.

Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:03's

Thurs - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:08's

Fri - 2 x 3 min, 30SR, 6 min return, 3 x GC Hi
ll

Pysched myself up to go as hard as I could for as long as I could to shock my system back into getting used to running fast. Went to the lead and was pushed by newbie and 9:48 time triallist Ryan the whole way. Finished up in New Farm around 20 metres short of where I last did this session. Battled back home in 6:11. Buggered after that and struggled through three hill reps. Satisfying session.

Sun - 115 mins, 23k's @ 5:08 mins/km

Started at 8am and battled through the heat approaching 30 degrees at 10am. First heat acclimatisation session ahead of Kurrawa to Duranbah 2 x 25k relay on December 14th. I have the return leg this year as Slash and I attempt to defend our title in the male teams category. It feels good to say that - "attempt to defend our title......"

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Auckland and Singapore

Have pulled up exceptionally well from the Marathon, doing four easy runs most weeks since then. Mileage was 33, 41, 46 and then 35k's per week. During this time, I took my first overseas trip to Auckland for three nights, then off to Singapore for five nights and back to Auckland for five nights with a one night trip to Rotorua sandwiched in there. Some running highlights included:

- Running up to the top of Auckland's Mt Eden volcano - not unlike Mt Cootha in terms of elevation, but shorter.

- Getting up at 2:30 am for the flight to Singapore and then squeezing in an easy 20 minutes in the carpark at Auckland International at 4am whilst waiting for the plane. Better to run before a 10 hour flight than after. It was predicatbly cold and windy and I managed to put my foot into the only water filled pothole in the carpark!

- Running in Singapore was inconvenient at times with lots of stoppages at busy intersections in the first and last 15 minutes of each run. I was staying at Chinatown and had to run down to Clarke Quay and the waterfront to get clear running. Usually came across a few runners.

- Did a Sunday long run in Rotorua when it was about 12 degrees. Got to run through the local park on a boardwalk that took me right over the hot thermal springs and the hot steam was a very pleasant way to warm up!

A highlight of the trip came when I won a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne on the the flight home from Singapore. As I was flying a special charter flight, the cabin crew put on a competition.

To enter the compeition - you had to write of a funny or interesting experience during your stay in Singapore or a unique item you purchased shopping and the winners were selected and read out by cabin crew: My true story was as follows:

"On the last day of my Singapore stay, I decided I had just enough time to venture north to the Kranji War Cemetery just before dusk. Upon arriving I was the only person in the cemetery and spent nearly half an hour wandering the immaculately maintained graves and reflecting upon the sacrifice of the men who lay beneath me. My stroll was interrupted by the clanging sound of the curator shutting the tall spike tipped wrought iron cemetery gates. 'No worries, I thought - that's just to stop cars driving in at night and Lonely Planet says the cemetery is open 24hrs.' It was nearly pitch black when I finally made my way back towards the entrance. A brief pang of alarm gripped me as I reached the entrance and could not find a pedestrian opening through the six foot fence that surrounded the grounds........ I was locked in a cemetery in the dark all alone with the brave souls of 4500 men!!! Bereft of other options, I scaled the six foot fence and made my way back to the city - Phew!!"