Sunday, February 28, 2010

Paying Penance

A dozen beers last night. Ouch.

My window to attempt a run was lunchtime. It was quite warm (30 degrees). This was going to be ugly.

Drove to LCNP and shuffled along. Was tracking really slowly, just under 5 minute kms. Went through 10km in 48 something and wasn't feeling great. I was originally planning an hour and a half but revised that down pretty early doors (within the first km). Did another 6km loop, slower still, and called it a day. All up 16km in 1:18:14. Not pleasant.

Didn't learn my lesson from last week. In fact I seem to have gotten worse...

So time to say 3 hail marys and 3 our fathers and move on.

All up 86.6km for the week. A good interval session and time trial in there. Will sharpen up next week and maybe have a rest day or 2 (haven't had a rest day all year). Then race on Saturday.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Deja Vu

4 beers last night so no issues this morning. Headed down to LCNP first thing for my time trial. Was hoping for another improvement.

Usual warm-up for 5.4km. Felt really good. The weather was cooler than I was used to, the knee felt good, in fact I didn't really have an excuse on hand.

At the top I did a bit of stretching and then dropped the hammer. First checkpoint (1.6km) was 5:06 so 1 second up on last week. Then with 2km to go I was 8:18 (?), then with 1km to go I was 11:40 (same as last week). A quick last km of 3:09 saw me home in 14:49 (3:12 per km pace). A 4 second improvement basically all in the last km.

That was pleasing. That's 3 improvements in my PB in the last 3 weeks. Time to carry this form into my next 10km race one week today at North Head. Hoping for a big sub 34.

A couple of km warm down so a total of 12km.

Heading out tonight with a few mates for some beers. Could be a big one...

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Friday Easy

The usual 10km to turn the legs over.

Time 43:47.

Thursday Intervals

Am - 5km slow in the gym in 24:54.

Pm - out to SOPAC for some km reps. Started with a 4km warm-up. Then changed into my spikes and did a further lap before the session (4 x 1km with 400m recovery).

Times were: 3:02, 3:00, 3:00, 2:59 (average of 2:20 each recovery).

Felt pretty good but was always behind my target of running them in 3 flat. So I found myself upping the pace after the first 400m or so to get them in on target. Much less recovery than when I did this same session 3 weeks ago.

Finished with a 4km warm-down and some stretching. All up 18.6km for the day.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Midweek

10km in the gym in 43:49.

Nothing else to report.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tempo Tuesday

10km tempo run in 37:48.

Felt pretty easy. Knee behaving itself.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Happy Mondays

Treadmill for 10km easy in 43:48. Felt a lot better today. Hopefully no lasting damage done.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday

A late night - in bed at 2am 8 beers to the good. Got up at 8am not feeling great. My running window was the morning so after 2 cups of strong coffee I was out the door.

Back to LCNP. I was planning to run for 1hr30 and thought I may be able to get over 20km in. Started running and that thought went quickly out of the window. I felt awful from go to whoa and was really struggling. The heat, lack of sleep, too much booze, etc, not a good combination.

Went through 10km in 46:35 and was hoping I might come good after that. But no, I felt worse. The next 10km were a real slog. Left knee started hurting. Battled on and finished the 20km in 1:34:21. So the second 10km was covered in 47:46. The worst run of the year. What a difference a day makes...

So that's 91.8km for the week. The biggest so far of the year. A good week despite today's effort. There is a lesson to be learnt here for sure.

Ps, the band were great.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Saturday

More time trialling. I had to run at lunchtime which meant it was going to be hot but I wasn't going to use that as an excuse.

So back to my time trial course at LCNP. A 5.6km warm-up in 25:20 which felt like really hard work. I don't think the humidity was too bad but it must have been close to 30 degrees. Anyway, did a bit of stretching and went for it.

Attacked the first part of the course, went through my first checkpoint in 5:07 so 12 seconds up on last week. Then it was a case of maintaining the effort for the final 3km. With 2km to go I was still up on schedule. The last checkpoint I was 11:40 so with a quick last km I was going to break 15 minutes. Didn't feel great and was pleased to see the end in 14:53. An 11 second improvement on last week (3:13/km for the 4.632km).

Basically all the improvement was in the first 1.6km. The last section of the course was covered in 9:46 which was 1 second slower than last week. With cooler conditions there must still be some more improvement to come.

Did a 3.2km warm-down so all up 13.2km. Pleased with that. Another PB.

Off to see British Sea Power tonight. A few beers probably.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Friday

Another 10km easy in the gym.

Time 43:49.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thursday

Am - 5km in the gym in 24:55 and 15 minutes on the bike.

Pm - was planning to head out to SOPAC but realised that wasn't a good idea as the first AC/DC concert was on and traffic would be murder. So decided to run my intervals in the newly resurfaced LCNP.

After a 4km warm-up, I lined up for some 400's. I was planning 3 sets of 4, with 1 minute walking recovery between efforts, and a 400m slow jog between sets.

I'm not sure the 400m is spot on but should be pretty close (I've used it before - see Sep 17th, 2009). My times were:

1. 71/67/66/67
2. 68/68/68/69
3. 71/67/68/65

All up the session took 27:49 for 5.6km.

A 4km warm-down. Left knee a little sore. Running quick in my racing flats will do that.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wednesday

More easy stuff.

10km in 43:45.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tuesday

Tempo run of 10km in 37:39.

Felt really easy today. Knee seemed to be really good. Don't seem to get many days like this.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Monday

A very easy 10km in the gym.

Time 43:49.

Trying to get in a routine of:

Monday easy 10km (gym)
Tuesday tempo 10km (gym)
Wednesday easy 10km (gym)
Thursday intervals (SOPAC)
Friday easy 10km (gym)
Saturday race/time trial
Sunday long run

Lots of treadmill running in there (4 days). Seems to be okay for easy runs.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Sunday Longish

Ran with Palms from my place to the entrance to Bobbin Head. We did 5 minutes or so up this trail then turned round and retraced our footprints back to Pymble.

By the time we got back to my place we had been running 1hr 15. Matt pulled the pin and I added on an extra loop at the end so all up 1hr 34 and approx 20km. Not run at a quick pace, probably around the 4:40/km mark.

Did not feel great at any point on this run. The humidity was awful, sweating buckets. We bumped into Nick Bromley on Bobbin Head Road. He must be a local.

All up 88.4km for the week. Lots of liquids required to rehydrate after this mornings sweat fest.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Saturday Time Trial

I decided to run my LCNP time trial course (just over 4.6km - top gate to bottom gate as per the Striders course). I think the technical term for this is a threshold run.

Did the usual warm-up of 5.4km. I was confident of running well, but the humidity was a killer. By the time I reached the top of the course I was not feeling great. Low on energy and sweating profusely. It took me close to 26 minutes to run this section so not far off 5 minute clicks. I took a few minutes to stretch at the top, then decided to just go for it. I seem to have developed a knack for running well after feeling awful in the warm-up so this was maybe a good sign.

Was running quite strongly, the course does feel a few seconds quicker now that it has been fully resurfaced. The road is now very smooth, pothole free, and will probably attract a few more cyclists - but I digress. I reached the 3km to go marker in 5:19 so I knew that to beat my PB of 15:15 I would have to run sub 10 for the last 3km. Struggled up the last hill as per the norm but with 1km I was 11:56 and a quick last km saw me home in 15:04. An 11 second PB (and 9:45 for the last 3km). I think this section is a shade over 4.6km so that equates to 3:15 per km but I will concede the course is very much downhill so will flatter your time.

Very pleased with that. I'm sure I could go a good bit quicker without the humidity and heat (it was probably 27 degrees so not ideal running weather). This was a real confidence booster. Sub 15 is just around the corner.

Celebrated in the evening with a 6 pack of Coopers. Long run tomorrow with Palms.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Friday

Another easy 10km in the gym.

Time 43:50.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Thursday Double Bubble

Went to the gym in the morning to take Conor to creche and did a very easy 4km run in 20 minutes. I then did a bit of cycling to help free the legs up.

In the evening I went out to Olympic park for some intervals. After a 4km warm-up, I did 5 x 800s with 400 jog recovery. The recovery time was about 2:20 each interval.

My times were 2:23/2:22/2:22/2:22/2:21

Very happy with that (all at sub 3 minute km pace). That's a good sign that I'm in pretty good nick. A did 2km as a warm-down then some stretching.

Looking back, the 10km time last week was a little slower than expected but times in general were slow. I think the humidity had a lot to do with that. I'm now of the opinion that I'm in sub 34 shape given better conditions. That's getting close to my 10km road PB...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Easy Wednesday

10km in the gym in 43:47.

Left knee about 80% now. No problems running but does get a bit sore every now and then. I'm trying some self massage on my left calf and soleus to help things along. Seems to be working okay.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Tuesday Tempo

10km tempo run in the gym. Time 37:41 which is as fast as it gets as the treadmills don't go any quicker!

A good sweat and I often attract a few funny looks from some of the other gym users.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Monday Easy

10km easy in the gym in 43:51.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Welcome Back. Long Time Between Drinks.

Lots have happened in the past few months. Here is a quick summation:

1. Decided to move to Ireland
2. Sold Sydney apartment
3. Bought house in Galway
4. Flights booked May 18th.
5. New baby due March 19th.
6. Still running but sore left knee will not subside...

So with the impending move, and not looking to work until we get the family to Ireland, I've decided to have a solid effort on the running front for the first half of 2010. Since October I've been putting in the kms, but have been sadly lacking on the speedwork front. Interval sessions have been very few and far between. Despite that, I am pleased to report that there is still life in the old dog.

Lets start off with my races post marathon:

Oct 25th Wahroonga San Run for Life 10km - finished 3rd in 35:47
Nov 3rd Mingara 3km - 9:25
Nov 7th Striders Lane Cove 10km - finished 5th in 34:19
Nov 14th Homebush State 3km - 9:05
Dec 1st Mingara 3km - 9:21
Jan 28th Homebush State 5km - 15:54 (3 second PB)
Feb 6th Striders Homebush 10km - finished 4th in 34:33 (best Striders finishing position)

Basically, my speedwork has been racing apart from some token interval sessions the last couple of weeks. So still running well and with some speedwork I will soon be hitting my straps.

Race schedule will be the Striders 10km races each month, plus a few 3km races where I can fit them in. The main goal being the Sydney half on May 16th two days before we fly home. Would like to run a PB in my last race in the Southern hemisphere.

Over Christmas the focus was on building up some base fitness. I ran pretty much every day for close to 40 days. Nothing quick, just steady 4 min to 4:30 min per km pace. Averaging about 75 kms per week.

Going forwards I will attempt to get one track session in per week. I'll mix up the efforts between 400s, 800s, kms, etc, and try to reduce the recovery as I get fitter. It's hard work doing these by yourself - I need to find a few training partners to rattle through these sessions with.

Today I ran 20km in 1hr 23 in LCNP. Pretty quick pace (4:08/km) but felt quite easy. Just one of those runs where everything feels good. So that's a total of 84km for the week.