Rainy efforts under Story Bridge

1k/500/1k/500/1k/2min 45SR - 3:12,96,3:15,94,3:20 - Avg 3:14:25 mins/km

It was raining steadily when the session started and got heavier as it went on. It was a lot of fun out there albeit a little slippery costing me some speed. Happy to get through the session only three seconds off my PB average.

Great shot from Pat attached that gives you an idea of the conditions.

Mixed feelings after 10k Season Opener

Easter Egg 10k - 37:05(PB)

Mixed feelings after last Friday's 10k in 37:05 - Yes it was a 49 sec PB on a course that was probably 100-200m long suggesting an adjusted time of around 36:30 but on training form I should have done better. I really botched the pacing early in the race going 3:36,3:48,3:34 and 3:44 to start the race. No other splits available due to incorrect km markers. I was a bit too over confident in my pacing ability when Pete H went past me at around 1500, I was thinking to myself - 'Gees - Pete's taking it out hard today' rather than 'Wake up - you're going too slow'. By the 4k, team-mates, Glenda and David J were well over 200m in front of me and I finally started working my way into the race picking up some of the fast starters and then working my way past Ian Kent and Matt Carrick. I then found myself in no man's land running alone with David J and female second place getter Roxie Schmidt about 150m in front of me. I ate a little bit into the deficit but didn't feel as strong as I would have liked to be and couldn't find another gear. The good thing was that my running economy felt smooth and controlled for much of the race and even when I was tiring and thought I was slowing down a lot, the final time indicates I didn't slow down much.

In hindsight, while my pacing at Time Trials and in training is good, it was the first time in nine months that I had done ANY running in the 3:30-3:40 range and I should have been more respectful of the challenge of getting the pacing right. I should have also paid more attention to some of my rivals in front of me who on form I should be beating and not let them get too far away from me.

Looking forward to the next 10k already.

PCRG - 3KTT

Sun 2nd March 130 mins, 25k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Easy long run in cool conditions along the River by myself. After four years had my first sighting of Pat on the River in his Kayak. The showoff paddled powerfully across the River from the other side through the wake of a CityCat to pull alongside me for a chat.

Tues 3rd March - PCRG 3KTT - 9:43 (3:16, 3:17, 3:09)

Decided to experiment with new tactics for this one aiming for a negative split. Held myself back in the first k and let Nic go to the front to do all the work. I trailed Nic to the 1800 and was five metres behind at that stage. I then made my move, accelerating to position right behind Nic then attacking the hill behind the boatshed. I went past Nic and he was unable to respond to my surge as I pulled away quickly. I flew down the other side of the hill running like it was my last 200m. I was buggered with 600m to go but my competitive instincts did not want to relinquish the lead and I was also determined to make amends for Friday's disappointing 1k efforts. And so I did, crossing the line in 9:43 for my second fastest time ever. It was a very pleasing run and a stark reminder that battling through the pain barrier in the last k is so often a mental challenge. Experiences like that give you confidence to set sail for home early!

Wed 4 March - 90 mins, 19k's @ 4:33 mins/km

Green Bridge loop with Glenda and Andy - great run.

Thurs 5th March - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Fri 6th March - 6 x 2 mins, 30 JR
Tough session by myself at Limestone Park, Ipswich. Pleased that I was able to focus mentally and keep the pace honest.

Sun 9th March - 130 mins, 25k's @ about 5:10 mins/km
Good depletion run - saw Pat on kayak again

Tues 11th March - 15 mins hills/fartlek
A great initiative by Pat this morning putting motivational comments on little signs on the course eg 'Attack the hill', 'My legs are steel springs', 'I feel strong', 'I love hills', 'I hate Pat'. Worked hard with Nic throughout for a sensational session and the endorphins were well and truly flowing shortly afterwards when Pat took the above photo of me :)

Wed 12th March - 90 mins, 20k's @ 4:16 mins/km
A very brisk Green Bridge loop this morning with Aidan H joining us for the first time to ensure the pace was honest. The sheer bloody mindedness of Glenda as the Canberra Marathon looms also kept things ticking over. Great to have Pete and Beth along also

Brisbane Running Groups 3k Challenge

Above - Home stretch of BRG 3k Challenge


Due to a house renovation that has taken over my life, but not my training which has been going strongly because it comes before the reno. I've neglected the blog lately but lets get back into it.

Fri 22 - BRG 3k - 10:14 5th/200

This was run at 6pm on a course about 100-150m long in temps of 27.4 deg with a humidity of 70% = a relative temp of 30 degrees - lovely! Being flat strap all day labouring on the house and then being caught in traffic driving to the CBD, I didn't play the race over in my mind a few hundred times beforehand like I normally would. I felt ok right from the start and after 400m was running smoothly enough, tacked onto the back of the lead pack including Aidan Hobbs, David Sweeney and James Bayliss. At this point I thought 'hang on - these blokes are doing sub 3 min pace - better back of a tad or risk blowing up'. I eased off ever so slightly and found myself in 6th at the head of the chase pack. At the 1000, I was alone having worked ahead of the chase pack and was now steadily reeling in 5th place which I did at the 1500. By the 2k I was starting to become conscious of my body overheating in a big way and my form was starting to flag. Nevertheless, I battled away tring to run down fourth place James Bayliss but could only narrow down his 30m lead ever so slightly. Pretty happy to improve six places on my 11th position last year.

Sun - 120 mins, 24k's @ 5:03's

Tues - 6 x 1 min, 4 x 30 secs
Worked solidly

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

Thurs - 4 x 1k, 2x 500m, 45SR, 3:04, 3:10, 3:14, 3:30, blowout
On record pace averaging 3:09:33 for the first three reps and then blew up spectacularly. The legs were as dead as doornail and had nothing in them and I physically and mentally folded like a pack of cards. The times for the 500m efforts are too embarassing to list in this blog. No doubt, I'm still getting over last Friday's gutbusting race in the heat but am very disappointed that I didn't battle on stronger over the final stages - clearly it was my worse session in four months despite opening the proceedings with my fastest k ever. I can't wait to make amends.

Fri 40 mins, 8k's @ about 5:10 mins/km
Tired

Wet PCRG 3KTT

PCRG 3KTT - 9:48 (3:10,3:18,3:19)

Heavy rain greeted us for the warm up prior to the TT and although the rain eased off somewhat before the start, it was still very wet with lots of puddles to negotiate.

The trend of the past few time trials continued with Nic and I clearing out from the field after a few hundred metres. I was hoping to go through 1k in 3:07 so was disappointed to see a 3:10 on my watch as I raced past the marker behind the boatshed with Nic running alongside me. Things got interesting here with Nic putting in a couple of little surges, moving past me in the process. I covered each surge and responded in kind!! Despite Nic and I pushing each other on, the second k was reached in 3:18. I started to struggle shortly after the two k marker but dug deep to surge ahead of Nic one last time, hoping that he was feeling worse than I and I could drop him. Alas, that was not the case and at the 2300, Nic surged ahead of me for good. I battled along the rest of the way home, managing a small kick in the last 50m but didn't quite have the zip there today and just missed my B goal of 9:47 or better. In hindsight, I was lucky to have Nic out there today as our duel probably enabled me to run 10 seconds better than would have alone.

Still, I clocked my equal second fastest time ever and stretched my streak of sub 10min TT's to four. That'll do this time.

Continued improvement

Fri 25 - 3,2,1mins 30 JR - 30 on/off back to start

Sun 27 - AM - 120 mins, 24k's @ about 5:10's
Sun 27 - PM - 30 mins, 6k's @ about 5:10's

Tues 29 - 6 x 1min, 4 x 30sec
High quality session - worked hard.

Wed 30 - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10's
Shorter run for my reduced volume recovery week.

Thurs 31 - 40 mins, 8k's @ about 5:10's

Fri 1k/500/1k/500/1k/2min with 45SR - 3:05,96,3:15,99,3:11 - Avg 3:11:50 per km
Terrific session commencing with my fastest ever one k split and holding good form under considerable intensity the rest of the way. Very pleased that I was able to record a strong final 1k effort - got a great boost from Craig R saying 'Go Matt' about 300m from home and I was subsequently able to find another 2-3 seconds after that.

Sun - 90 mins, 18k's @ 5:01 mins/km- Easy run starting in torrential rain. No afternoon run due to the recovery week.

Six sessions a week

Sun 13 - AM - 120mins, 24k's @ 5:07's
Sun 13 - PM - 30mins, 6k's @ about 5:10's

Finally, after the green light from Coach Pat, I added a sixth weekly session to my training. My body has been in pretty good shape for 18 months now, my running technique is finely tuned and quite efficient and my body is screaming out for more work!! The spirit was willing to do this three years ago but the body probably wasn't ready - lets hope my patience will be rewarded. The theory behind the Sunday twilight run is that the body will have a rest day on Monday and still have two rest days a week to recover. The morning run was cruisey and I made an effort to eat and drink all the right things during the day. Really enjoyed my easy twilight run and the legs felt great!

Tues 15 - 12mins of 30secs on/off then 2 mins
Wet and slippery session in Botanic Gardens. Not at peak but honest.

Wed 16 - 90mins, 18k's @ 5:12 mins/km
Tired and sluggish.

Thurs 17 - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10mins/km

Fri 18 - 2 x 3 mins, 1 x 6 mins, 3 x GC Hill.
Worked hard outbound. Legs lacked a little zip when returning in 6:13.

Sun 20 - AM - 120 mins, 24k's @ about 5:10 mins/km
Sun 20 - PM - 30 mins, 6k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Tues 22 - 15 mins hills
Very sluggish during and after warm up but went hard from the word go and managed to force myself to do the session on muscle memory. Not surprisingly, I felt great afterwards.

Wed 23 - 90mins, 18k's @ 4:59 mins/km
Had to dodge two BCC choppers spraying for mosquitos in the Boondall Wetlands. Real hot dog pilots pulling of all sorts of moves.

Thurs 24 - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:15 mins/km

PCRG - 3KTT - PB

Friday - 4 x 1k inc 50m float, 60SR, 2 x 500 - 3:08, 3:11, 3:16, 3:20 - Avg 3:13:75, 105, 96

I had a conversation with Andy C a few months ago when we discussed running sub 10min 3KTT's. In the course of the conversation, Andy said something along the lines of "10 minutes - that just 3:20's". So, in wet conditions under the Story Bridge, I kept telling myself - 'Not just 3:20's.' The result was my fastest ever kilometre to open the proceedings and I went on to slash six seconds from my previous best average of 3:19:75. Felt strong and smooth accelerating and held my form quite well throughout with the exception of the first 500m rep when I was buggered.

Sunday - 60mins, 12k's @ about 4:50 mins/km

Had BRRC duty and it was 8am before I was able to start my run and I was joined by Aidan Hobbs. An hour into the run I was cooking, big time very hot conditions. A mental battle took place with the tough side saying 'Keep going' and the sensible side saying 'You're training for speed at the moment. Rest up for a fast 3KTT on Tuesday and switch next week's recovery week to this week.' The sensible side won the battle.

Tuesday - 3KTT - 9:40 (PB) 3:08, 3:16, 3:15

Slept in by 20 minutes and it was only Adam venturing downstairs to see where I was that got me out of bed! A rushed prep and I was on my way, parking at the Suncorp Piazza to save time but slashing over 500m from the warm up in the process. Didn't feel great on the starting line but wasn't concerned as I had done the hard work last week and have performed well previously when not feeling too flash. Took the first 300m in my usual controlled fashion before picking up the pace considerably. Nic D was the only one who went with me. Concentrated hard on not having any flat spots and keep the legs turning over quickly and went through 1k in 3:08. The hurt started early today - around the 500m mark!! Was determined not to let up in the middle stages and kept the foot down, hitting Gary manning the turnaround in 4:46 and on pace for a big PB. Going through 2k, I had dropped Nic and was going to have to do the last k all alone. Clairie was jogging with Billy in the pram along this stretch and I concentrated on going past her as fast as I could to see if I could give her windburn :) Clairie's cheers ensured I didn't slacken off and with a PB in a bag at the 2500m, the only question was, how a big a PB. I really hammered the last stretch through the carpark and definitely picked up at least a second or two hear on the way to an eight second PB. Am pretty stoked with the time but already thinking about 9:30 territory. Macmillan's calculator now has me running 16:51 for 5k, 35:01 for 10k, 77:40 for the half and a 2:44 Marathon. A very nice confidence booster.

Wednesday - 90mins, 18k's @ 4:59mins/km

Legs very tired this morning as I cruised along the Kedron Brook. And that wasn't all. By the early afternoon, I was exhausted and every fibre of my being was crying out for rest. Fortunately, as I was on leave today, I was able to do just that :)

Good finish to the year

Sun 30/12 - 120mins, 24k's @ about 5:10mins/km

Took it easy with speedwork scheduled next day

Mon 31/12 - 8 x 500m, Avg 93:25 with 45 SR
Really hammered it today and as I was on track to smash my PB of 8 x 500's at 94:75 on 60SR, I took the rare step of doing my own thing at the end of the session doing two more 500's whilst the rest of the Group finished off with a 1k effort.

Wed 2/1 - 90mins, 18k's @ 4:57mins/km
Beaut run in the rain

Thurs 3/1 - 50mins, 10k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Post Kurrawa report

I walked into the kitchen at work on Monday morning after Kurrawa chortling at how well I had pulled up from a hard 25k only to reach down into the fridge to get some milk and pull a back muscle resulting in intesnse spasms. I left the office an hour later to go home and lie on a heat pack. Fortunately, Bruno saw me at the end of this day for an emergency rub and was able to relieve the problem. This is about the fourth or fifth time I have had exactly the same problem which was originally sustained trying to bowl a cricket ball at 140kmh three years ago. I seem to relapse every six months.

Fortunately, I pulled up better on Tuesday morning and was able to do an easy 45minutes running with the group at PCRG. The rest of the week was a recovery week with no fast running - which I had planned anyway. 65k's all up.

Tues 18 - 1min and 30 sec efforts with 30SR
Spent the annual PCRG Christmas session dressed in festive gear and duking it out with Andy for a solid session.

Wed 19 - 90mins, 18k's @ 5:03 mins/km
Late run on empty stomach starting 9:10am. Finished at 10:45 with no real hunger pangs to speak off. Really happy with how my body is taking to this fat burning caper.

Thurs 20 - 2 x 3 min with 30SR, 6 min, 4 x half GC Hills, 2 x full GC Hills
Went out hard and really asked some questions of myself, trying not to save energy for the 6 mins back. On the run back, I managed to run down the immediate runners in front of me and arrive back in a pleasing 6:03. Didn't have much left for the hill reps but did them all.

Fri - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:15 mins/km
Easy session on tready.

Happy hunting ground

PHOTO - The chase pack at Kurrawa around the 7-8k mark - Myself, Beth, Pete in white singlet and Natasha Keim(rear)

Wed - 19k's @ 5:00mins/km
Did Green Bridge loop by myself

Thurs - 10k's @ 5:10mins/km - treadmill

Fri - 2/1/30 secs with 30JR x 2, 2min, 3 min
Worked strongly in Gardens with Andy C and i driving each other hard the whole way.

Sun - Kurrawa - 25k's in about 1:41:55 avg 4:05 mins/km - 5k splits- 20:28, 20:40, 20:00, 20:00, 20:50
The alarm went off at 2:40am after 5 hours sleep and before I knew it, I had picked up Slash and we were at Kurrawa at 4:40am. I went for an easy 1k warmup and was ready to go come gun time. Despite a lack of endurance training lately and a few missed long runs, I was quietly confident I could better last years time given a well judged run. I settled into 6th place running alongside my Wednesday running group partner, Beth with Pete and a few others in close attendance. I was feeling strong and relaxed but taking care to keep plenty of energy in reserve. I made a little surge at the steps leading to the 5k mark and broke up the chase pack for the first time, but I didn't push home the advantage, letting the others work a bit catching up to me. As the 10k approached, Beth and I upped the pace clearing out from the pack and we worked strongly together until I moved ahead going over the Currumbin Bridge to move into fourth place overall. Coming off the bridge I was overtaken by leading Australian ultra runner, David Eadie who was doing the 50k solo and looking in great shape. I decided to go with him and moved out of my comfort zone to do so - I only had 10k's to go and I'll be damned if I let a solo runner beat me!! David and I worked well together over the next 5k's keeping the pace ticking over and overtaking one of the Bayliss boys who had gone out with Jason Geraghty and blown up in the process. Just after the 20k I accepted my last drink from Slash who had done a great job of crewing me and told him to go to Duranbah and get ready. No sooner than I had said this, I started to feel the pinch. It felt like I was slowing down to 5:00 pace but I kept telling myself that it was getting hot and everyone else would be hurting also and just to keep pushing for one more k and see how I felt at the end of it. This continued till Burleigh where I got hampered by pedestrian traffic in the markets and was outsmarted by Eadie, who pinched a 20 metre break on me by running on the grass. I tried hard to bridge the gap but he was too strong and before I knew it I had reached the big hill at Duranbah. I worked up the hill strongly and then hammered it down the other side making up some ground to Eadie before tagging Slash to end my run in about 1:41:55, maybe a tad over 1:42. I had the wobbles for about 10 minutes afterwards with the last five k's taking a lot out of me but I was very happy to run a controlled but hard 25k on a light endurance base in a time that would have given me a half marathon PB and on a tough course too!!! I was fourth overall to Duranbah and the first team runner to arrive.

After getting over the wobbles and taking forever to find the car, I caught up to Slash 35mins into his run and began crewing. Slash was soon overtaken by Jess Kirley who assumed the overall team lead and the mixed team lead but we were still the leading male team with no rivals in sight. Over the next 15k's the gutsy Slash defied a throat infection and a total lack of endurance training to stagger home in 28 degree heat with yours truly giving him and earful the whole way!! We were third to return to Kurrawa behind the amazing Eadie who put a lot of team runners to shame and Jess and Natasha Keim who took out the mixed team title. Despite being 12 minutes slower than last year, Slash and I improved on our third placing to take out the first placed male team from in a time that was 35 minutes slower than Christian Cobbold and Shane George did last year. Just goes to show anything can happen if you turn up on the day. I was expecting that we would come about fifth and was truly shocked to get the category 'W'.

Pulled up very well - Kurrawa again being a happy hunting ground for me.

PCRG 3KTT

Gees, time is going quickly as it doesn't seem that long since I updated. For the first time in four years, I skipped my Sunday long runs in the previous fortnight thanks to my good mate RooBoy's Buck's weekend followed by his wedding the following weekend at which I was a groomsman and MJ a bridesmaid. Those two weekends were the first weekends in four years when I have not done a long run or race for a reason other than injury, illness or recovery from surgery. Both events were sensational and it wasn't just the alcohol that did me in. A combination of go carting, the bungee bullet, tennis and ten pin bowling during the buck's weekend saw me throw my hips out. The resulting imbalance then lead to a tight left hamstring which fortunately was well treated by Bruno and then Shane. Fortunately, I was back on track this week.

Tues - 2/1/2 with 30JR. 30SR. Repeat. 30secs on/off for 3:30.
Was absolutely flying at this session in my first run after Bruno's massage and also fresh from two and a half days without a run.

Wed - 90mins, 18k's @ 5:02's
Easy run with the left hammy tight again.

Thurs - 4 x 1k with 60 SR. 3:19, 3:19, 3:33, 3:20.
Ran within myself whilst wearing the long skins as the left hammy is still tight.

Fri - 50mins, 10k's @ 5:02's

Sun - 120mins, 24k's @ about 5:10's

Tues - PCRG 3KTT 3:14, 3:17, 3:16 - 9:48 EQUAL PB
The left hammy finally came good over the last couple of days and there were not going to be any excuses at this mornings TT. I turned up wanting to run sub 10 - I am determined that I'm going to run sub 10 every time I step out for a TT now and establish a platform there so that when a good day comes along, I can run sub 9:40. After my usual conservative 400m opening, I ramped up the pace, Nic D joined me and we moved clear of the field. Went through 1k two seconds slower than the 3:12 I was hoping for and instead of continuing onto the footpath we rejoined Riverside Drive - it was nice to be running on the wide open bitumen here and Nic and I running side by side kept pushing each other, keeping the pace honest. The 1000-1500m section passed in about 95 seconds so the new course may have been a tad short there. Nic was running fantastically and starting to pull away from me but every time he got 2-3m ahead, i managed to bridge the gap back to him. Nic finally got away for good around the 2500m mark and my legs just weren't fresh enough to go with him. Still - after my fastest ever 2k split, I knew that I was going to run close to a PB so I concentrated hard on holding my form and managed to hammer it over the last 50m to equal my PB with a 9:48. Am very happy to clock that time given that I've missed two of my last three long runs and have drunk enough over the last fortnight to sink a battleship. My brother Adam who has joined the group for a hitout each Tuesday ran a sensational 10:17 debut - there could be some fun sibling rivalry down the track if he were to get serious and improve further.

Momentum stalled

After 10 days of very strong training, my momentum has been stalled by a cold that has cost me my Sunday long run and Tuesday speedwork. The worst is almost over and I'll try an easy run tomorrow morning.

I've had an uninterrupted 12-14 weeks of solid training since the laser eye surgery and all going well, I'll be back to my best very quickly.

PCRG - 3KTT

PCRG 3KTT - 9:55 (3:12,3:21, 3:21)

A brutal week of training preceded this mornings time trial. Last Tuesday, it was 8x 500m on 30 sec standing recoveries. I hope to beat my best average of 94:75 per rep which was set on 1 min recoveries and was on track for five reps before fading over the last three reps to average 96 seconds. Finished off that session with 1k in 3:36.

On Wednesday I did the Green Bridge loop with Andy C and gees, he was feeling good. We normally do the 18.4k's in about 86 minutes but Andy dragged me around in 78:48!!!! That's about 4:15-4:18 pace and it was pleasing to put in a solid marathon pace effort on an empty stomach.

Was very tired the next morning and eased my way through a 50 min tready session in 5:15's.

Friday, it was 2 x 3 min efforts from the Story Bridge to New Farm with a 6 min effort on the way back and two reps of Gold Coast Hill - worked solidly.

With Slash's 40th Birthday Party on Saturday night, I took the rare step of doing my long run on Sat AM. I figured an extra day to freshen up for the TT would be a bonus!! I started a little too late, particularly given I only had a small meal the night before and bonked the last 25 minutes, slowling to a shuffle. A very slow long run for me at about 5:15's but got some good fat burning benefits out of it.

This morning, despite my freshen up, I felt terrible. The legs were like jelly, my mouth was dry and I was having a few negative thoughts. I just told myself to get through the first 400m and take things from there. Got to 400m in about 4th place and felt terrible so I thought maybe if I upped the tempo, the muscle memory would kick in and I would feel better. I went to the lead at the 900 and went through 1k in 3:12. Didn't feel much better going through the second k in 3:21 but knew that I had a sub 10 in the bag at that point. I worked strongly up the hill behing the boatshed and then tried to find another gear, but it wasn't there. Nic went past me at the 2300m but I managed to keep plugging away for another 3:21 and a 9:55 - my second fastest time ever. I am stoked - we can't feel good on every run and I'm very pleased that I was able to hang in there and get the best out of myself on a day when I wasn't at my peak. I would like to consistently run sub 10 at my time trials from now on and to run 9:55 when not being 100% is very pleasing and gives me confidence that I will be able to run sub 10's regularly from here on giving myself a platform to improve further over time.

2nd career victory

Tues - 2/1/2mins x 3

It was a long time coming but my habit of arriving just in time for speedwork finally bit me on the arse when I was three minutes late for this session. Didn't feel that great going straight into the session after a 20min warm up without even a breather but worked ok.

Wed - 90mins, 18k's @ 4:58mins km

Thurs - 30 mins, 6k's @ 5:10 mins/km

Fri - 4 x 2min with 30 JR, 30SR then 30 secs on/off back to start

Top session - didn't have anyone to chase on the outbound leg but was fairly strong mentally and able to keep the foot to the floor.

Sun - BRRC 5k - 1st in 17:48 - 3:41, 3:34, 3:34, 3:34, 3:26

After a 10 min warm up, I lined up in a small field hoping to improve further on my recent 17:26PB. There were no rabbits bolting to an early lead and I found myself in front after a few hundred metres. I relaxed and concentrated on finding my rhythm and not going too fast. Alas, I was a little too relaxed and recorded a slow 3:41 opening split. I tried to up the pace a little, but the legs felt tired from Friday's hard session and massage and I was a little dehydrated. Nevertheless, I had opened up a comfortable lead and MJ had taken the trouble to get out of bed early to come down and watch me so there was no way I could slacken off!! I ran solidly with three consecutive 3:34 splits and dug deep to up the tempo in the last k finishing off the proceedings with a 3:26. Contrary to the photo link here (100m from finish line) courtesy of Phil Wain at pbphotographics.com.au I'm not usually such a grumblebum ;-)

http://www.pbphotographics.com.au/BRRC_2007/Pages/21_10_2007.html#34

Am quite satisfied to chalk up another 'W' and run my third fastest time ever despite not feeling on top of my game. Gees, its gonna be fun to do 5000m on the track in the future, tapered and wearing racing flats!!

Still going strong

Sun 7th - 120mins, 24k's @ 5:00mins/km

Tues - 30secs on/off for 12 mins then 3mins hard
Andy C once again showed that he is a deadset freak by hurtling to the front just 9 days after his Half Ironman Tri. I went with him for a little while, fell of the pace before coming back at the 10min mark and finishing off the last two minutes and the final three minute effort very strongly.

Wed - 90mins, 18k's @ 5:05 mins/km

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

Fri - 4mins, 30JR, 2mins, 30SR, Repeat, 2mins

I slept in by 20 mins and it was a frantic rush to get ready. The Group was long gone by the time I got to the Ship Inn and I probably did better than 4:30pace running to the Story Bridge, getting there just as strides commmenced. It didn't hurt me as I went out hard before easing off slightly on the floating Riverwalk as a passing City Cat gently rocked it. Regained the momentum coming off the Riverwalk and ran out the first half strongly. Felt a million dollars on the way back finishing several seconds ahead of my outbound time and kept at it nicely on the final 2 min surprise rep.

Sun - 120mins, 24k's @ about 5:05mins/km

Finally - a 3K TT PB!!

Its half time of the World Cup quarter final between the Wallabies and those stinking poms and my first chance to update the blog on what has been a crazy week!!

Fri - 2 x 2k 6:48 and 6:53

A solid session - pleasing to clock good times with the legs still a little fatigued

Sat - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Sun - 120 mins, 24k's @ about 5:00 mins/km

Tues - 3k TT - 9:48 PB - 3:16, 3:22, 3:09

Fronted up for the TT confident that I had a massive chance of breaking my PB set on a much easier course on Melbourne Cup Day in 2004. As is the norm for me in time trials these days, I went through the first 400m or so in third gear at about 3:25 pace and felt very comfortable. But by this point Matt C was almost 30m clear of me in the lead and I picked up the pace to move into 2nd. The first k passed in 3:16 and then the usual mental battle to maintain the pace in the second k began. I was able to remain strong, especially through the turnaround and went through the second k in 3:22 with Matt now just 2om in front of me. It was a gusty effort from Matt as he had run 2:53 in the Sydney Marathon nine days prior and I knew he must be hurting bad by now and I was a good chance of running him down. I floored it at this point and really attacked the hill behind the boatshed followed by the subsequent downhill. I reeled in the 20m to Matt in about 300m and went straight past him. Matt tried to go with me for about 100m but I kept the foot firmly down and reached the 500m split in just 92 seconds. 'Gees' I thought 'It'd be a shame to waste this split by slowing down over the last 500m'. I felt a million dollars over the next few hundred metres running smoothly and powerfully - it was a sensational feeling!!! Only in the last 150m did my form begin to flag from fatigue but I had enough momentum to cross the line in 9:48 after recording my fastest kilometre ever in the last k - faster than I'd ever gone in 4 x 1k efforts! Naturally I was on a massive high after that - you can't beat the feeling!

Wed - 90 mins, 18k's @ 5:03 mins/km

Thurs - 50mins, 10k's @ 5:15 mins/km on tready

Fri - 2min/1min/30 secs with 30JR x 3 - worked strongly throughout

A breakthrough performance?

BRRC 25th Anniversary 5k - 2nd out of 70 in 17:28 (PB) 3:28, 3:35, 3:31, 3:29, 3:22

Fronted up for another 5k on Sunday, this time at West End for the BRRC 25th Anniversary race. I was hoping to run 3:33's for as long as I good and hopefully slip under my 17:45 PB if it all came together. Andy Clowes went straight to the front and David Patten tried to go with him whilst I let them go ahead, settling into third place. At the 800m, local Masters legend, Ronnie Peters loomed alongside and then moved past me. I let him go without hesitation as he is a 33-34 minute 10k runner and a few classes above me on his day.

The first k was fairly well timed in 3:28 and shortly afterward, I moved past David into third. The second k passed in 3:35 (it took in the hill behind the boatshed) and the third in 3:31 and I was feeling pretty good. Andy was about 50m in front with Ronnie 25m behind in second and a further 25m to me in third. I knew I was a huge chance of a PB so made sure I worked strongly up the incline around the milk factory so I wouldn't lose any time and was stunned to see Ronnie just 10m in front of me after rounding the bend. I instinctively thought 'Hey, I'm a chance of getting second here!' Over the next 400m I steadily worked my way up to Ronnie's heels and as soon as I caught up to him, I surged, putting a three metre gap on him. However, the surge took a lot out of me. I could feel myself tiring and my cadence started to lose rhythm and Ronnie quickly took the opportunity to surge past me less than a hundred metres later. Ronnie was unable to break clear of me however and this gave me the confidence to have another go and as we turned right off Montague Road I surged again. With the finish line drawing closer, I felt much stronger this time and was able to maintain the momentum after the surge. I sneaked a rare glance over the shoulder shortly afterward and saw Ronnie about 10m adrift. A quick look at the watch confirmed that I only had 90 seconds to the finish line. "I can do this!" I thought about the brutal speedwork sessions we had done on Tuesday and Thursday and it gave me confidence that I had the toughness and speed to hammer it home over the finishing stretch.

Every fibre of my being was in agony but I kept the pedal firmly down and charged home like a man possessed. A glance at the finishing clock 50m from the line ensured I kept up the momentum right to the end to dip under 17:30 for a 17 second PB. I was exultant after passing the line. More important than the PB was the opportunity for a fair dinkum head to head match race with a quality runner as we both fought it out for a placing. These opportunities don't come along very often and it was a huge confidence boost for me to accept the challenge and come out on top in the duel. Gees - it had shades of Deek taking on Juma Ikangaa down Coronation Drive in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games if you don't mind me saying so :) Theres a lot to be said for racing these lower class races sometimes so runners such as myself have the opportunity to fight it out for a placing rather than finishing 20 places back where you are really running against the clock more than anything. I spoke to Ronnie afterward and asked him if he was just doing a time trial or something but he was adamant he was having a fair dinkum crack at it. I guess he must be coming off a flu or injury as I would normally be eating his dust but as Mona said after the Noosa Half - if you toe the starting line, you're fair game.

All things considered, I would have to say that it was my best ever performance to date, especially considering it came after a week of intense training that left me quite sore. Am looking forward to running some much quicker 5k's later on when I race on the track, taper and wear racing flats.

Here's a link to a shot of me at the 1800:

http://www.pbphotographics.com.au/BRRC/Pages/23_09_2007.html#37

and hammering it in the last 50 m:

http://www.pbphotographics.com.au/BRRC/Pages/23_09_2007.html#82

XXXX powered 5k race

Sun - River Run 5k, 8th out of 250, 17:49

After sinking something in the vincity of 15 beers at the Big Fella's engagement party on Friday night, I lined up in the River Run on Sunday morning looking for a solid hitout - call it a 5k Time Trial if you like. I wanted to do 3:33 pace and perhaps slip under my 17:45 PB if it all came together. I settled into about 12th place early where I stayed till the 2k, just running nice and controlled. As the rabbits started to come back to me I remained strong and moved into eighth place by 4k and just worked home steadily from there. The run felt like a low 18 minute effort so the course may have been a tad short.

Tues - 5 x 1min, 10 x 30 sec with 30 JR

Really asked some questions of myself at this morning session and answered them convincingly. I was no more than 1o metres from Andy C in the lead for the whole session and it was clearly my best session in a month. Absolutely flogged myself on the two sprints around the carpark clocking 35 and then 36 seconds.

Wed - 90 mins, 18.4 k's @ about 4:56 mins/km

Yesterday's gutbuster coupled with an hour spent wielding a sledgehammer to smash up concrete at my place left me sore and sorry for the mid week run. Doing the Green Bridge loop with Mike and Tenzing, I battled my way through the run which was done at a significantly slower than usual pace with Mike dragging me along all the way. I could not possibly have gone any faster. I was so sore and tired that whilst in Ipswich later that morning, I had a 20 minute nap in the car at 9am!

Thurs - 2 x 3 min, 1 x 6 min, 2 x Gold Coast Hill

Spent as much time as possible wearing the Skins yesterday as well as doing an extra cold water wading recovery to give me every chance to back up for today's session. I started off well, struggled a little on the Riverwalk but worked home strongly over the last two minutes and put the finishing touches on with strong efforts up Gold Coast Hill. The legs were still somewhat sore, but I got the most out of what I had this morning.

"No comment"

Sun - 90 mins, 18k's @ about 5:00 mins/km

Volunteered at the Intraining Women's Classic helping to set up the course and observed the proceedings for R4YL. Then battled around the CBD for 90 mins, trimming 30 mins from the usual two hours for the recovery week. Not the best long run, but its done.

Tues - 15 mins of hills

The monthly hill session on the grass in the Botanic Gardens this morning. I improved further on last week and am starting to catch up to those I was running with before the Gold Coast, having already caught up with some. As usual, Glenda and I began our cooldown run immediately after the hard efforts finished and as such, led everyone back to the Ship Inn. Coming off the Goodwill Bridge we were ambushed by an armada of television cameras. As I still had 10 minutes to go for my cooldown, I only offered a brisk 'No comment'. After rolling down to the Cultural Forecourt, I returned to the Ship Inn to discover that the media were actually there to interview Premier in waiting, Anna Bligh :)

Finished off the morning by setting a new PB of 50 Tess-Ups - adding two to my previous PB of 48. For the uninititated, 'Tess-Ups' are actually push ups in honour of our old mate, Tess who introduced the concept!!