Back in the Groove

Hiya,

Had a good session last night at Brimbank Park. Ran 2 x 2km reps with a 2km jog recovery.

I wore my Heart Rate Monitor in order to get a better idea of the layout of the course. My Polar HRM gives me an altitude reading and allows me to download an Altitude Profile on to my laptop.

I knew it was mainly uphill towards the end but didnt realise it climbed 30 metres over the last 800 metres!!! Ouch!

First rep was 7:01 with and Ave HR of 172. 2nd was 6:57 with an Ave HR of 175.

Last time I did this session at Brimbank I ran 7:15 & 7:17 so I was rapt with the improvement.

It was also the first time I have done 2km reps and run the second one faster than the first.

An easy day on Thursday obviously helped here.

Anyway, the hill session was just an off day and things are now back in good working order.

Catchya

Hills

Last night was my first hill session on the path to sub 9.

The place? Airlie St Sth Yarra. 230 metres long and a constant gradient.

I cant say that it was the best session I have done as I was not feeling as chirpy as I have been in the past coupe of weeks. Even doing a lap of the Tan as a warm up was a struggle.

I have already written it off as a bad day and put it down to being tired and a little dehydrated.

When I spoke to Crouchy he basically said that if I had felt that bad during the Warm Up it may have been a good idea to skip the session and just run easy. Aaaahhh the benefits of having a Coach, someone who can see the things that you yourself have missed. As soon as he said it I thought "now why didnt I think of that?" I guess I am too busy trying to establish a pattern in my training to think of the little things like that. However, no point flogging yourself if your only doing more harm than good. Better to rest of until another day.

Already today I am on my 2nd 1.5 ltr bottle of water, and plan to polish off at least another one this afternoon.

Doing an easy run tonight at Brimbank Park and hopefully tomorrow will stretch the legs with a quicker session.

Also spoke to Crouchy about the Steeplechase at last weekends Telstra A Series in Sydney. The top 3 Steeplechasers in OZ were there so a fast time was guaranteed. Youcef Abdi ran 8:22, Marty Dent ran 8:24 and Pete Nowill ran 8:30. After the first 2 laps Pete was already 30 metres off the pace. Just goes to show how important the first km is in this event. The fact that he managed to ran 8:30 pretty much solo says heaps about this guy. Thats an awesome run by yourself.

Once I finish gaining a base of fitness to work on then I will have to start training the way I intend to race. That is running reps with the first one being flat out and the rest just trying to hang on. This is the way I will have to run a Steeple. Set it all up in the first km when I have guys around me and then hang on until the end. If I train that way then I should race that way. Crouchy says we are creatures of habit, and I have never had reason to doubt him.

See you soon.

See ya soon.

Dedication

Ok, so I bet you thought that this entry was all about commitment etc yeah?

WRONG!

Today my little man Jack is being Christened, or Dedicated.

Robbie has put a lot of time and effort into today and I can only hope it all goes well. One thing is for sure, once its over she might sleep a little better. Sometimes I think shes not happy unless there is something to stress about!! I guess thats the difference between her and I. I am a little more laid back, sometimes maybe a little too laid back.

Anyway, I was up nice and early (5:30) to do my hour run at Brimbank Park this morning. I normally head into the City to run with Gruffy but he is in Sydney this weekend for the Telstra A Series so I am flying solo.

There were a number of reasons for the early start, one was to beat the heat as its supposed to reach 38 today. Another was to beat the snakes, I was hoping to run before they dragged themselves from their slumber, and of course the most important reason of all..... we had to pick up Jacks cake first thing. Hmmmmm Chocolate!

I got an email from Saucony during the week requesting an update to my Personal Details and target races for 2007. They also mentioned that we will be receiving some more goodies in early March. I like presents!!

I have 11 races between now and Christmas. The last in December is the one I am looking forward to the most. The 3000m Steeplechase at the Zatopek meet. In 2006 it was a 2 horse race between Pete Nowill and Marty Dent. Both guys represented Australia at the Comm Games last year. This race is where I expect to break 9 minutes for the first time.

How many more sleeps???? Who knows, Maths was never my strong point.

Anyway, I am outta here, I got a Dedication to get ready for.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi there, and welcome!

I have embarked on a journey to run a sub 9 minute 3000m Steeplechase. Why?

Because I can.

I will endeavour to keep you all updated in regards to progress both in training and races, and keep you informed of the latest happenings.

With the support of my Coach, former Australian 1500m Record holder and 1976 Olympian Graham Crouch, my Sponsors Saucony, my lovely lady Robyn and little man Jack, I will be spending the winter of 07, building a base of fitness in which to launch a successful Summer 07 08 Track Season.

I am currently working on base fitness with a lot of easy runs and 2 or 3 quicker sessions per week just concentrating on rhythm and staying relaxed. Its too early yet to be going all out and risking injury.

At this stage my target races include Zatopek in December 07, Vic Champs in Feb 08 and Nationals in March 08.

So come along for the ride and see where the track takes us.

Thanks for reading.