Always look on the brighter side of life......

Tues - 40 mins, 8k's @ 4:50 mins/km

Wed - 130 mins, 27k's @ about 4:45 mins/km

Well, its been a lousy couple of days for me to continue my run of bad luck since the Brissy Half Marathon but I'm pleased to say that I bounced back this morning. The run of bad luck started on Friday night when I was rushing to place a four game multi bet with my bookmaker before the Broncos game. I meant to bet $10 but accidentally bet $110! I emailed my bookmaker asking for the bet to be amended and then rushed off to the game only to get home and see my email still sitting in the outbox! The bet lost..... On Sunday, I decided to do my long run on Monday morning to allow my soleus muscle extra recovery from Bruno's bashing and also to avoid running in a sleep deprived state after watching the mighty Aussies go three in a row in the World Cup Final - you beauty!! I started to get a sinking feeling on Sunday night when I could feel myself coming down with a cold and you guessed it - I was in no shape to run on Monday morning. I went into the office but was struggling and left after six hours only to return home to a broken refrigerator!! What could I do but shrug my shoulders and be thankful for what I do have. Thank God for the beer fridge in the gym that now houses the contents of the now deceased fridge!! If anyone knows how I can get a really good deal on a new fridge then drop me a line.

Tuesday was spent resting at home and I started to feel better around 3pm so went for an easy 40 minute run which ended up featuring surprisingly comfortable 4:50's.

Now, most of you know that I'm a stickler for sticking to my program, but after missing yesterday's time trial plus Sunday's long run and coupled with wanting to have a good solid run to erase the bitter taste of the Brisbane Half failure, I decided that if I felt good after my scheduled 90 minute run this morning, I would continue on to do 2hr 10 minutes which I feel makes up for missing the time trial, is long enough to be considered a decent long run but not long enough to knock me around too much before my 2hr 50 min run scheduled for Sunday which I may even delay till Monday for more recovery time.

I joined my regular Wed fortnight running companions, Glenda, Mel and Beth at 5:30am - no idea where the boys were. Enjoying the cool conditions and feeling strong, I rolled along comfortably for the first few k's. The pace really picked up once we got to the Regatta and we were doing close to 4:30's at a comfortable talking pace - a pace which was maintained on the way out to UQ, over the Green Bridge, up and down Highgate Hill and then along Riverside Drive before finishing the run, still feeling great. I had a quick pit stop at my car for water and a few soft lollies and then set out for another 40 minutes with a Story Bridge loop. A little bit of fatigue set in over the last 20 minutes but I never felt like needing a GU and am stoked with the run. Its easily my best long run of the campaign so far and I can't believe that I was able to bounce back from a 36 hour cold so quickly! Life's good!!

A week of woe

Tues - 50 mins, 10 k's @ 4:52 mins/km
Wed 70 mins, 14k's @ 4:54 mins/km
Thurs - Injury enforced rest
Fri - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:10 mins/km

After a couple of days early in the week beating myself up over Sunday's dismal performance, I finally accepted that something wasn't quite right on the day and my best efforts couldn't change that. I was under the pump from the second k which felt harder than it should have and I started to leak time steadily from the 7k. So this one goes into the dustbin. I've also learnt that I might be able to get away with a few hiccups prior to a 5 or 10k race and run well, but not prior to a half Marathon. In future, if this Half Marathon was a goal race such as Noosa, I would pull out, but if it was a key lead up race to a Marathon, I would still do it if I couldn't switch to another half.

More pressing problems arose on Wedneday when I succumbed to pain in the Achilles 70 minutes into a 90 min run. I tried stretching the Achilles about 4 or 5 times and then resumed my run but on each occasion the pain returned so I had to make a forlorn 3k walk back to my car including walking along the road shoulder of the Gateway Arterial as cars whizzed by at 100k's an hour. I texted Bruno when I got home and he was kind enough to take the time to recommend doing 20 min ice on and off followed by 10 minutes application of a heat pack, repeating as much as I can.

I rested on Thursday as I still had discomfort, particularly when walking down steps, but I had recovered sufficiently to do an easy 50 mins on the tready on Friday. Upon visiting Bruno for my regular rub on Friday, Bruno diagnosed the problem as a very tight soleus muscle -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soleus_muscle - considerably less serious than an achilles problem which was the first good news I had all week. Bruno proceeded to give the offending muscle an almighty bashing in what was one of the most painful rubs I've had in two years, but it did the trick as most of the tightness has since gone away.

A bitter disappointment

Brisbane Half Marathon 85:52, 29th out of about 650

Without a doubt, Sunday morning was the most disappointing moment of the last three years for me. I promised much and delivered little. The second k felt harder than it should have and I was under the pump at that point and started leaking time from 7k onward.

Right now, I've got the shits with myself and will post a reasoned post mortem once I've calmed down enough for an analytical self-assessment.

Less than 48 hours to go!

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

Was a little late getting to bed last night. To relax before going to sleep, I decided to watch 30 minutes of the 1957 classic, 12 Angry Men on DVD, but couldn't turn it off and ended up watching the whole thing. If you haven't seen this insightful look at prejudices in the jury room and the responsibility of those charged with delivering a verdict, then do yourself a favour and watch it!

Did an easy 40 mins on the tready at the gym this morning. Endured a slight headache during the run possibly brought on by the sudden increase in sugar intake coming off the detox. The headache was not helped by the Spin class leader making a bigger racket than Clairie could muster on a good day.

Body is feeling ok and I'm looking forward to the race. Have been mentally preparing myself to take the race out nice and controlled and then really upping the ante with 5 or 6k's to go. I've really gotta hammer it in those last 5-6k's and rocket to the line!! C'mon!!!

Brisbane Half - Target Sub 83

Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 4:50 mins/km
Thurs - 30 secs on/off

Yesterday's midweek taper run with Glenda, Mel, Beth and Azza was marred by a major bonk at the 20 minute mark as we crossed the Story Bridge as nine days of detoxing finally took its toll on my energy levels. I had to slow down to a walk for a few minutes and have some water but I recovered quickly enough and was able to keep up with the others when we met up again.

This morning, we were in the Gardens for a session of 30 on, 30 offs and with the Brissy Half a few days a way and the legs just a little tired, I just took it easy for most of the session running at 70-80% intensity for the surges and jogging easily for the rest of the time. Got the HR up with two surges at top speed in the middle of the session.

Pat has set me an A goal of sub 83 and a B goal of sub 84. I think the A goal is a fair reflection of where I'm at right now. So the plan is to be sensible the first k and then settle into 3:56 pace just in front of Glenda leading her 84 min pace group. I'll churn out these splits to the 16k and if I'm feeling strong at this point, then I'll try and bring home the last 5k's at 3:45 pace to dip under 82 minutes. Can't wait!

The training picks up.....

Wed - 90 mins - 18k's @ 4:55 mins/km
Thurs - 50 mins - 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Fri - 5/4/4 min with 45 SR, 8 hill repeats
Sun - 120 mins, 24k's @ about 5:00 mins/km
Tues 8 x 1min, 30 JR

Its been a pretty solid week of training and the detox has been going well. With the Gold Coast looming, my life is becoming even more discplined and the detox has helped kick start that.
Wednesday was a cruisey 90 min run by myself along Kedron Brook. Nice to slip under 5 min pace again after the ITB and then health issues over the last month. I followed that up with an easy session on the tready on Thursday. Friday's speedwork session was tough. I had hoped to emulate my strong performance from Tuesday, but after leading the group through the first rep, I bonked with a lack of energy and could only battle honestly for the rest of the session without ever reaching top sped. David and Mike R in particular turned in sensational sessions! Sunday's long run dropped back to two hours as I went into taper mode for the Brissy Half. Its funny to be starting a two hour run and thinking to yourself - 'this won't take too long.' I got through the run nicely enough. Bumped into Scotty Brittain towards the end and we ran together for a few k's at about 4:15's and had a chat. Its always an inspiration to run with an athlete who is an Australian rep and see how comfortably they do it.

Today, I was pretty determined going to speedwork and had tried to eat as much as I can yesterday so I would have the energy to sustain myself throughout the session. I started off strongly and led the Group through each of the first three outbound reps on two ocassions being comfortably clear of James, Glenda and Chris. On those three return reps, I tried to catch up to the pack and was rapt to catch up to most of them on each ocassion. That was as good as it gets and represents one of the best training sessions I've done in the last few months. Unfortunately, the fuel light came on after that and I could only battle on with the pack for the last two reps and Pat's surprise(not!) extra rep. A two minute jog at the end of the session enabled me to recover before I charged up Gold Coast Hill twice, really maxing myself out on the second effort and nearly doing a Farne Sang. I was so gutted, my body was like jelly and I could only walk back down the hill and followed that with a slow jog back to the Ship Inn as opposed to my normal brisk warm down. That was a top session and I'm very pleased - there's no doubt in my mind that I could have maintained top speed throughout had I had my usual GU kick beforehand. All in all, a great session - Glenda did not miss a beat after returning from Hobart with three Masters gold medals, James showed his usual turn of foot after returning from a break, Chris was speedy and David and Mike R were also outstanding.

Detox? What detox?

Tues - 15 mins sprints, 3k WU, 3k WD

Less than 30 hours into my detox, I felt like death warmed up when I awoke this morning. I struggled to get ready, I struggled on the warm up and I struggled on the strides and then listened to Pat detail today's session in the Botanic Gardens where we had to sprint two sides of a square and jog the other two sides. I struggled jogging over the the starting point and then friggin took off like a madman, clearing out to an early lead ahead of a depleted A-Team. I figured that I might as well shock my system with some fast running and try and hold on as long as I could. Five minutes into the session, I was about 10 metres clear of the chase pack and telling myself that most of those chasing me had done a hard 10k race on Friday and I would be soft If I let them catch me. Spurred on by those thoughts, I ran even harder clearing out to a 20-30m lead by the time Pat stopped the session early after 12:30mins. After a 30 second break Pat set us a one minute out and back, half of it across the grass. The loss of momentum cost me and I only plodded with the pack for the last rep. Gees, it was tough at the recovery breakfast as I ignored the Up N Go's, PB drinks, poppers, Chicos and Snakes and tucked into Pineapple, Watermelon, cashews and water. A small consolation came when I one a PCRG backpark barely 20 seconds after telling Tess 'I never win anything!'.

Tess asked what am I eating during the detox? A typical day will go like this:

Breakfast:
- 2 large bowls of porridge with honey
- piece of fruit or two

Morning Tea
- Rye cruskits with natural salt free peanut butter
- piece of fruit

Lunch
- Leftovers from dinner

Afternoon Tea
- Rye cruskits with natural salt free peanut butter
- 3 raw carrots (sob!)

Dinner
- BBQ grilled chicken breast spiced wtih paprika, oregano, mixed herbs(or BBQ'd rump) along with mashed potato, brocolli, cauliflower.

Desert
- Piece of fruit or two

Treading water

Fri - sick - rest
Sun - 160 mins, 32k's @ about 5:05 mins/km

Well, as I flagged on Thursday, I ended up pulling out of the Easter Egg 10k Race. I felt terrible on Thursday night and there was little improvement on Friday morning. Either, I still hadn't shaken my cold or more likely, I had picked up another one. Once Pat reiterated to me that a race should be an all or nothing affair, it wasn't a hard decision to pull out. I contemplated a very easy 90 mins to replace missing the race, but decided to rest up for Sunday's long run. I'm already behind on my prep for the Brisbane Half and can ill afford to miss a critical long run.

Sunday dawned and once I had overcome a number of obstacles (a 20 min sleep in, spilt porridge, a flat battery on my Timex Ironman watch, an itchy singlet and taping my left plantar fasciitis too tight) I was on my way. I did a anti-clockwise Green Bridge loop, stopping for a quick chat with Tess at the Regatta. Once that was out of the way, I settled into a fair rhythm, running much faster than my dawdle last week, but still slower than my usual relaxed pace. Stopped at the car after the loop and ate a handful of lollies for energy, before finishing off with a 40 min loop out to the Riverwalk running at a nice pace and hoping like hell that I could get through the run without a GU. Very happy to report that I didn't need a GU and have pulled up well so far. I feel like I've been treading water for the last two weeks without gaining speed or fitness so hopefully I can can put together a decent two weeks leading into the Brisbane Half so I can put in a half decent effort in that race.

MJ and I started a 10 day detox today. Frankly, it'll be a pain in the arse, having to buy more expensive food and to spend more time preparing meals but if last years detox is any indication, my health will benefit for 6-9 months afterward. Its a pretty basic detox - no wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, salt and try to avoid preservatives. Wish me luck!!

Doubtful starter for Easter Egg 10k

Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 4:50 mins/km
Thurs - 40 mins, 8k's @ 5:05 mins/km

I'm still having trouble completely shaking off the remnants of my flu last week and now seemed to have picked up a runny nose and watery eyes. The DOMS from Tuesday's time trial still hasn't gone away confirming that my body is currently less than 100% - lets call it about 80%. I got through my last two training sessions well enough and my legs can handle the slower staff just fine at the moment, but I don't yet have the strength for fast running and barring a massive improvement over the next 15 hours, I'm resigned to being a late scratching for the Easter Egg 10k tomorrow morning.

I emailed Pat this morning and he reiterated that the race should be an all or nothing affair for me and quite frankly I agree. I don't really see the point in fronting up at less than 100% and running a gutsy 38 or 39 minutes necessitating a couple of days recovery when I could do an easy 90 minute run instead and continue get over the cold and improve my endurance leading up to the Coast.It helps that I know I already have the 10k speed and the pain threshold to run a Sub-3 Marathon and I don't need to run the Easter 10k to prove that to myself. Its endurance I need and I'm sure I'll get that in the next 13 weeks.
Should be an intersting morning tomorrow assessing my condition when I get up.

Recovery continues

FRI - 2 x 1500m @ 6:25, 6:28, 1 x 2k @ 8:48, 3k WU, 3k WD
SAT - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10 pace
SUN - 160 mins, 31k's @ about 5:10 pace
TUES - 3k TT - 10:49

FRIDAY - Went along to speedwork and carefully eased my weak legs and body through the session at 4:10-4:20 pace. It was funny to be doing it easy cardio wise with the legs unable to do what I would have liked them to do.

SATURDAY - Normally a rest day, I did an easy recovery run to make up for my missed runs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

SUNDAY - There was a little trepidation lining up for the second longest run of my life with my legs still weak from the cold. As such, I started off from the Ship Inn with a clockwise Green Bridge loop to avoid Langy and Glenda running elsewhere in the city. I didn't want to be tempted into joining them or have Glenda say 'you need to toughen up, Matt' when I wouldn't be able to run at their pace. My decision proved to be a wise one as I gingerly covered the loop in 97 minutes, well over the 86 minutes we normally do on our Wednesday group run - in fact after 20 minutes, I wondered whether I would be able to complete the run. I then refueled at the car with some jelly beans to go with the GU I had taken at the 45 min mark and then did a loop out to Orleigh Park and back. Surprisingly, I started to feel stronger and was able to finish off the last hour in the vincity of 5:00 min pace. Very satisfying to get it done on minimal(for me!!) fuel and finish with a growling stomach.

TUESDAY - For the second month in a row, the time trial came a week after I had experienced a hiccup in my program. Last month, I was bothered by the ITB, which incidentally is no longer a concern and today, it was a question of how much have my legs improved in the last 48 hours? I had an ambitious(bloody hopeful) plan to ease into the TT with an easy 3:25 opening k before coming home with 3:17's for a 9:59. The opening k went to plan with a 3:26. I then hit the gas and raced past 10 blokes in the next 200m but at the 1400m mark, my legs turned to jelly and it was soon apparent that there was not going to be a sub 10 today. I finished it off with a honest but controlled second half taking care not to flog myself and set back my recovery ahead of Friday's race.

Frustratingly slow recovery

Thurs - 37 mins, 7k's @ about 5:15 mins/km

I was hoping to be back on the road yesterday morning for a recovery run and then do an easy 90 min midweek long run this morning. Alas, it was not to be as I've taken longer to recover from the cold than expected. I finally got out this morning and did a slow 7k's with two 3-5 min walking breaks in the middle of it. The cardio system is fine - my body is still very weak. A disappointing morning concluded ironically with a bird flying overhead and dropping shit on the peak of my cap as I walked forlornly back to my car.

Am hoping that I can recover enough to produce a half decent effort at speedwork tomorrow morning, especially with a time trial looming. That's two months in a row where I've had a hiccup in the week prior to the time trial! All going well, I'll do speedwork tomorrow along with an easy 50 minutes on Sat AM and Sunday's 2hr 40 mins to give me 55k's for the week. I'm resigned to the possibility that the ITB probs and now this hiccup will cost me a little bit of time in the Brisbane Half Marathon but fortunately won't cost me in the longer run to the Gold Coast.

While my mysterious run of several colds in the first half of last year seems to be behind me, I'm still wary of a repeat and will take every precaution to avoid a recurrence. After three or four consecutive years of getting a flu jab, I'm toying with the idea of not getting one this year. Its also been almost 10 months since my first detox last year that produced a good run of health afterward. As such, I'm leaning towards doing a 10 day detox right after the Easter Egg 10k next Friday - I just need to work out how to get through a long run without GU!! Nuts and sultanas, anyone?

Sunday setback

Fri - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:00 mins/km
Sun - 50 mins, 10k's @ about 5:10 mins/km

Headed up to Mooloolaba on Friday afternoon, by myself unfortunately as MJ was away with work. Covered the Twilight 5k race for R4YL and then did an easy 50 mins along the beach path from my unit at Alexandra Heads into Mooloolaba before turning around and running up to Maroochydoore.

Sunday morning was a significant setback. With a 2hr 40 min run scheduled, I set off from the Ship Inn at 5:45am before running into Pete, Jonesy and Mel. I decided to join them for a little while and after 10 minutes was struggling to keep up, eventually losing sight of them at the Story Bridge. I slowly ran back to the car and took a five minute break and tried to refuel but to no avail. It took an enormous effort for me to run at 5:30 pace and I was clearly coming down with a cold so I pulled the plug. Running at 5:30 pace for another 110 minutes at close to max HR is a sure fire way to wipe myself out for a week.

I went to work and could feel my condition deteriorating on an hourly basis as the cold took hold. Fortunately, its the type of cold that has completely stripped my body of energy with my muscles achey and my joints creaky. There is no sore throat, runny nose or respiratory issues, so hopefully I'll get over this quickly with the help of extra vitamins, plenty of water and a dairy free diet over the next 24 hours.

Quality sessions

Wed - 90 mins, 18k's @ about 4:45 mins/km
Thurs - 4min, 30 SR, 4 mins, 30 SR, 8 mins

Wed - Did the Green Bridge Loop with Glenda and Mel whilst Langy. It was an ominous sign for Mel and I that Glenda had already done 40 mins of her run by the time we departed the Ship Inn at 5:45am. Sure enough, Glenda upped the tempo after we had been going for ten minutes and it was a brisk pace all the way along Coro Drive out to UQ. Glenda headed home after reaching UQ but Mel and I maintained a decent pace all the way back to the Ship Inn. This was the first time I've completed this run without a GU which must surely be a good sign. Admittedly, three bananas before my run helped.

Saw Shane Lemcke at Gabba for my eight weekly preventative physio and he was happy with my conditions. Jabbed five needles into my ITB in a variation of acupuncture to help loosen up the little remaining tightness.

Thurs - A top session at West End this morning. The first four minute effort saw Glenda and I open up a five metre break on the rest of the pack as we went through 1k in 3:24. I finished the second four minute rep ahead of Glenda and Langy reaching Orleigh Park with a narrow lead. On the return 8 minute leg back to our starting point, Glenda showed why Langy has bestowed her with the nickname 'Jets' with a strong effort that really gapped me with only Langy able to keep anywhere near her. I struggled as the legs turned rubbery early in the rep, perhaps the effects of Sunday's 10k race? But I was happy to be able to dig deep and bring it home strongly in the last k in 3:30.

Got a massage from Bruno tonight and the body feels great. All is in pretty good nick and I'm looking forward to the next two weeks of training before the Easter Egg 10k.

Recovery mode

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

Easy recovery run on the tready at the gym. Getting my once a week treadmill session out of the way early this week. Body feels good. Back to speedwork on Friday.

BRRC 10k - 37:54 PB

Fri - 40 mins, 8k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Sun - BRRC 10k in 37:54, 2k WU, 4k WD
- Splits 3:48, 3:51, 3:52, 3:51, 3:47, 3:48, 3:53, 3:44, 3:44, 3:31



The alarm went off at 5am on Sunday morning and I rose out of bed nursing a slight headache, but decided against a Panadol, figuring (correctly) I'd be alright after a warm up. Got to West End a fraction late and had to settle for a two k warm up instead of my usual three k's. Before I knew it, I was doing some strides in front of the field and it was time to start the race. The 5 and 10k race fields started together and were quite thin on depth with the BRRC also holding its Half Marathon championship.
Coach Pat had advised me to run a controlled race with seven 3:50's before hammering it home to get close to 38:10 and trim some time off my soft 38:22 PB. Its still early in my campaign, I've only been doing my full 70k weeks for four months and only resumed twice weekly speedwork a fortnight ago so the goal was a strong hitout with a view to building momentum towards the Gold Coast rather than peaking now. In that sense, I was not unlike a Bart Cummings stayer stepping out first up over 1400m in the Memsie Stakes on the way to the Melbourne Cup!

The opening stretch of the race saw one bloke bolt well clear early leading me to presume that he was doing the 5k. I settled into second looking at my watch and then ahead to the 1k mark continuously to ensure that I was on the right pace. Some alarm at the 600m mark when Robbie L passed me and I thought to myself 'Gees - he's taking it out bloody hard for a 10k race', not contemplating that he might in fact be doing the 5k. It amazing how the IQ drops 20 or 30 points when you are running hard! I went through 1k almost spot on in 3:48 and then overtook Robbie shortly after. I settled into a nice rhythm over the next four k's reeling off splits of 3:51, 3:52, 3:51 and 3:47 and going through 5k in 19:10. As I started the second loop, I noticed that the bloke in front of me was recovering after winning the 5k race confirming me as the 10k race leader.

At the next turnaround, I calculated that the second place 10k runner was 70-80m behind me and he looked to be working hard. I was confident I had him covered and just to let him think that I was doing it easy, I gave him a long stare as we passed on opposite sides of the road with my face cool and impassive. In reality, I was starting to have to work a little bit harder at this point with the ITB gently starting to make its presence felt and I knew that I was not going to be flying home with the three sub 3:35's I had hoped for. I maintained my pace until the 7k mark when I put the foot down. Unfortunately, the response was sluggish despite the assistance of the downhill behind the boatshed and I clocked a 3:44. I noticed Adrian and Ross doing the Half Marathon together in 4:12's a couple of hundred metres ahead of me at this point and set myself the challenge of running them down. The ninth k was a strong effort in 3:44. Even though the split was no faster than the previous one, I tackled the incline near the milk factory and a slight headwind on Montague Road. Adrian and Ross started to loom closer and I really hammered it over the last 600m overtaking my targets with 100m to go and then watched the finish clock tick towards 38 minutes in the lung busting finish, but not before I stopped it in 37:54 after a 3:31 final split. That equates to a 28 second PB in my first 10k since the 2004 Nike 10k. I didn't quite do a 'Farne Sang' but still needed to sit down for a few minutes to recover, which was indicative of my effort over the last k.

My impatient side is a little bit disappointed that I am not yet running the 35-36 minutes that I know I'm capable of soon, but my sensible side reasoned that I'm barely half fit and that the faster times will come after I complete the six 2 hr 40 min plus runs on my program over the next few months, not to mention continuing to do speedwork twice per week. Am quitely satisfied with the run and would have been a lot more satisfied had I ran sub 3:40's for the eighth and ninth k's. On the positive side, the body has pulled up very well since the race and I feel that I could easily do a hard speedwork session tomorrow. Alas, I'll miss the Countdown to Gold Coast launch to do an easy 50 minutes instead. Already looking forward to the Easter Egg 10 k in three weeks!!

* Image courtesy of Phil Wain of pbphotographics.com.au

Speedwork improvements

Tues - 2/1/2 mins with 30JR, 30SR, Repeat, 4 mins
Wed - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:00 mins/km
Thurs - 5/4/5/4 mins with 45SR

All the big guns such as Andy, James, Jason, Langy and Glenda were absent this morning so it was yours truly who took the lead followed by Mike R with a gap to the rest of the pack. Now I know what Andy goes through! It was a bit tough being alone out front and setting the pace myself without anyone to chase and not even the toughest opponent of all - the clock, to judge myself by. I put in a solid session considering my tough long run on Sunday and there were some signs that I'm starting to put some good form together.

Wednesday saw me do an easy 50 min run on the tready rather than the usual 80 mins as I'm tapering for the BRRC 10k this Sunday.

This morning, Pat pulled a swifty, switching from a planned 30 sec on/off session to a 5/4/5/4 session in the Gardens with recoveries of around 45 seconds. Glenda and I ran the first rep together hard but controlled with a new teenage fella, Pete, Mike R and Jonesy in pursuit. In the second rep, I upped the tempo leading the way on the outbound leg but failing to catch up to most of my targets on the return leg. The ITB was making its presence felt occasionally, but I'm becoming more confident in my ability to manage the problem and was going fast on the downhill albeit taking care not to overstride. The third rep was a bit of a struggle and Glenda was about 10m clear of me throughout as she showed no ill effects from her 36:32 on the track on Monday night. As I recovered prior to the fourth leg, I reminded myself that I had a 10k race on Sunday and this was my last opportunity to run fast and hard prior to that. I ventured well out of my comfort zone and took the lead and pushed the pace to try and extend it from the one minute mark. After turning around I was about 10m behind Glenda and 20-30m behind the likes of Mike, Pete and Jonesy. My first thoughts were 'You've had a great session so far - it would be a fair accomplishment to match pace with those in front of you on the way back.' Then I thought 'No - If I'm going to run a good race on Sunday, then I need to catch them!' So I dug deep and caught up to and overtook Glenda and then charged up the hill leading to QUT to be right behind Pete and Mike. I sprinted to the finish line and then staggered to a halt only to look up and see everyone else still running!! Pat had pulled another swifty and extended the finish line 100m taking in another hill in the process!! Gritting my teeth, I set off after Pete and Mike again and just managed to catch them at the new finish line where I did a 'Farne Sang' collapse!! Suffice is to say that except for the third rep fade, it was a great session and I'm quite pleased with my endurance at the moment. Bring on Sunday!!

Sunday scorcher

Fri - 6 x 2 min with 30sec JR
Sun - 140 mins, 28k's @ about 5:10's

Yesterday turned out to be the hottest day of the year according to the Courier Mail this morning. I had to drive into South Bank late on Saturday night to pick MJ and Tara B up from Chelle's Hen's Party so not wanting to lose too much sleep, I ended up starting my run from Nundah Criterium at 6:35am instead of the planned 6:00am. It was 22 degrees and 96% humidity at 6:30am so it was no wonder I made a sluggish start. By the time I stopped to stretch at 4k, I just wanted to lie on the bitumen and go back to sleep. But I persisted and concentrated on remaining relaxed and not going too fast. I was really conscious of not flogging myself in the heat and needing a week to recover and as such, was rolling along at around 5:10 pace. It was a relief to hit Nudgee Beach and catch some shade and after a few loops there, I headed back but not before taking my first GU after 85 minutes. I took another GU after 105 minutes and despite the temp increasing to 29 degrees (apparent temp 33deg) I felt much better after the GU's and without consciously trying, I stretched out a little to come home in 4:55's for the last 5k. Either that, or I just wanted to finish! Body temp was very high after finishing, but I did all the right things recovery wise and am looking forward to my first 10k race in a long time at BRRC on Sunday.

Friday - Did 6x 2min with 30 JR by myself in the arvo at Kedron Brook and was quite pleased with my session. ITB probs recently have prevented me from unleashing the shackles and going faster than the January-February limit of 3:25 pace but I really gunned it at the Brook. The start was tough going into the wind and I covered the first k in 3:47. On the sixth rep, I gave it everything I had and sprinted for two and a half minutes to the 4k mark, reaching it in 15:02. Am pretty pleased to run 51 seconds outside my 4k PB with five jogging recoveries thrown in and some windy conditions to endure. Looking forward to taking my speedwork to the next level from this week on.

PCRG 3KTT - DNF

Tues - 3k TT - DNF - 2k in 6:48 with 3:17, 3:31 splits
Wed - 80 mins, 16k's @ about 4:50 mins/km
Thurs 50 mins, 10k's @ 4:53 mins/km

Well, my streak of six consecutive faster times at the monthly TT is over. 1800m into the trial, I felt the ITB starting to niggle and made an instinctive decision to step off the course after 2k in 6:48 when I was on track to run around 10:05-10.10. The first k had been promising and I was feeling good, but my legs started to feel the fatigue from Sunday afternoon's long run in the second k. I think the ITB flared up speeding down the downhill stretch behind the boatshed. The macho little man who yells into my right ear was digusted, telling that quitting was gutless and soft. The other little man whispering his voice of reason into my left ear was telling me 'Good move. No point in aggravating the injury further with another downhill to come. When you're on the start line of the Gold Coast Marathon and look back at the March TT, the difference between a hard 2k and a hard 3k is non-existent whereas taking time off to recover from an injury would have you worried if you had done the necessary work.' The latter little man makes sense to me.

Wednesday saw me in town for the fortnightly midweek long run with my group. Glenda and Mel joined me to run a loop out to New Farm Park. It was a pleasant run in cool, rainy conditions and the ITB didn't bother me at all, although I took extreme care on the downhills, falling a little behind the girls and then gradually picking the pace up to catch them again. Even better, the Bullets went 2-1 up in the Grand Final series with an amazing win at Boondall - my throat is still sore from cheering the boys on and giving the refs a gobful.

Thursday, I did an easy 50 minutes late in the arvo before a rub from Bruno who was pleased with the improvement in the ITB. I just have to maintain the self masage/heat pack therapy I have been giving it and of course, avoid or at least take it easy on downhills.

Gettting it done....

Sun - 140 mins, 28k's @ 5:05 mins/km

Scheduling this Sunday long run got a little tricky. I had to cover the International Women's Day Classic for R4YL which might turn out to have been a waste of time as their appeared to be little attempt to record the top ten placegetters and their times. Starting my run at 4:20am in order to finish by the start of the race was out of question because I got hiome from taking Hiro to the Reds at 10:30pm and would have got little sleep. Starting my run at 7:30am after the race would have seen me finish in 30 degree heat at 10am so I ruled that option out.

A 5pm run in the cool twilight was out of question because the Bullets were on live at 6:40pm so instead, I decided to start the run at 3:30pm. The first hour was quite warm but I was rolling along the Kedron Brook fairly enough taking care not to go too fast and take it out of me for Tuesday's 3kTT. The middle section went quite comfortably although I did bonk in the last 20 minutes and needed to take a GU with 15 minutes to go to help get me home. A fair effort.

A tough week

Wed - 80 mins, 16k's @ 5:10 mins/km
Thurs - 50 mins, 10k's @ 5:10 mins/km
Fri - 2 x 1k @ 3:20, 5 min SR, 3:17, 4k WU, 3k WD

Wednesday was a torrid day. Eased through the midweek long run as slow as I dared. The ITB was not painful or uncomfortable, but I could feel it. More than anything, it was not knowing if I was doing damage or not. Clearly I was distracted as I left for work in a hurry after my run and then had to make the 25 min round trip back home after I couldn't remember if I had turned the stove hotplates off or not!! An ideal way to start what is my busiest working day of the month. Then I had to try and calm the rage inside me and concentrate on work after I found out that Shitness First had direct debited $210 from my account since I ended my one year gym membership there. Got home absolutely exhausted at 7pm and then started putting together my Dusk to Dawn race report for R4YL as the deadline was that very night!! So if its a bad one, you know why :). Best part of the day was ducking out to see Bruno (bless his cotton socks) after he finished his day. Bruno put together a plan to fix my ITB issues which in short is:
1. Self massage ITB with base of hand for 10 mins each night then immediately put on a heat pack for 20 minutes
2. After each run press, sit on something high enough to allow you legs to dangle and then press thumb firmly into areas of the ITB whilst kicking the affected leg gently outwards.

Thursday was a relaxing day at home after the non stop events of Wednesday. Did an easy 50 mins on the tready after lunch and could hardly feel the ITB - beauty!!!

This morning, I decided against going to speedwork with the PCRG as it was scheduled for under the Story Bridge and I did not want to risk that short high speed down hill run that comes after the 500m turnaround. I'm pretty sure that is what caused the ITB to flare up at Tuesday's session. So, I went out to the Kedron Brook just wanting to turn the legs over quickly ahead of Tuesday's 3k TT. I ran 3:20, had a five minute standing recovery and then ran 3:17. Didn't feel the ITB at all decided not to push my luck and call it a day at that point. Hopefully, another four days of following Bruno's instructions will have me close to 100% for the 3K TT. Its all good again!!