Vic XC Relays

Thankfully the Weather Bureau got it wrong again as the predicted rain stayed away making the conditions ideal.

I ran the 2nd leg for our team and went out hard in the first lap and payed for it in the 2nd. Good part was I didnt pay for it as much as I thought I would. Ran the first lap in 10:25 and 2nd in 11:00. Very happy with the time considering it was an undulating course and it was my first race for the season.



Robbie was there taking happy snaps of the event. I asked her not to take any pics of the 2nd lap as I knew it wouldnt be pretty!!! Luckily she didnt listen and they turned out alright. Maybe she was a Photographer in a previous life!




Flying to Tassie tonight so this is my last Blog for a while.

Catchya.

Hill Session

Airlie St Sth Yarra, the site of many sessions involving pain.

6 Reps yesterday morning, only going half way up the hill but flat out with a walk down recovery. Felt good. Hills are one of my favourite sessions. The goal was to concentrate on getting the legs down quickly and using the arms the drive forward. I think I succeeded!

In between reps, Gruff and I were talking about the 1976 Olympic 1500m. He had to run 3:37 in the first round just to get thru to the second round. Awesome effort when you consider Round 1 was his first race since leaving Australia. They didnt get a chance to run overseas prior to the Games so it was straight to Montreal and into it.

Theres not many Aussie runners who have EVER run 3:37 let alone run it just to make the next round of major championship. I guess theres only one guy in Australia at the moment who could run that quick at will. Take a bow Craig Mottram.

I was pretty tired at the end of the session and almost fell asleep in the backyard at home in the afternoon. Had to drag myself out of my comfy chair about 4pm to go for another run. This time just an easy 6km to stretch the legs.

Woke up this morning feeling pretty good after a VERY good nights sleep. Easy run this arvo and same again tomorrow. Will throw in some strides tomorrow to roll the legs over before the XC relays on Saturday. Forecast is for rain on Saturday, cant say I like that idea. I guess the conditions will be the same for everyone.

Im running the 2nd leg for our team of 5. Hopefully I will have some others around me when I take off. The plan is to go hard on the first 3km lap and then hang on for the 2nd lap.

See how it goes.

2nd Day Syndrome

In my last Post on Sunday I wrote that I didnt pull up as bad as I thought after the Track session on Saturday. I TAKE THAT BACK!!!!.

2nd Day Syndrome has won again. You do a hard session and then wake up the next morning thinking that you have pulled up well and then BAM! the 2nd day you can hardly move.

When I got out of bed yesterday morning I could hardly walk. My Quads, Hamstrings and Calves were all tied in knots.

I did an easy 25 minute run last night and felt heaps better after it but I am still a little sore in the calves right now. Another easy run tonight and then a quick session tomorrow.

Had a look at the course for Saturday Cross Country Relays and there is not one flat bit of ground the whole way. The hills arent huge but it just goes up and down constantly.

Looking forward to a few days off before the weekend. Some time with the family, some training to be done, legs to be waxed etc etc.

Will catch up with a few people prior to the weekend and then I fly out Saturday night. I will return on Mothers Day weekend for my Cousins engagement party on the Saturday night. Sunday morning is the Vic 15km Road Champs at Latrobe University and then of course its Mother Day also. I guess I better take Jacko shopping to buy something for his Mum. Maybe he can just give me a list and I will do it myself!!!!!!!

Wait and see.

Silly Mistakes

I have been Asthmatic for as long as I have been breathing yet occasionally I still forget to take Ventolin before a run. This was the case this morning. Had planned to do an hour with Gruffy but got half way to his place and realised I had forgotten to bring my puffer. It was too late to go back so I ventured on.

Ended up getting out 40 minutes when I thought I wouldnt get much more than 10 or 15 before I had trouble breathing.

Other than that it felt pretty good. I pulled up a little sore from yesterdays track session but not as bad as I feared.

A nice cold bath when I got home should help relieve weary legs and prepare them for another week ahead.

This time next week I will be in Launceston and cruising around the Gorge on my long run for the week.

Next Saturday is the Vic XC Relay Champs and my first official race for Western Aths. Given my change in location living wise it will be the first of only a few for them this year. The next looks like being the Vic 15km Road Champs on Mothers Day. After that Im not too sure. One thing I am sure about is my membership staying with them. The club has a good feel about it as I have mentioned in a previous post and I will do what I can to help them win a premiership.

Easy day tomorrow and then pick it up mid week.

Caio for now.

On the Track

Did my first Track session today at Glenhuntly. I have raced on the track recently but not trained there.

Ran some 150s with a 250 jog recovery between each. I know Im gunna suffer tomorrow when my calves, achilles and hamstrings tie themselves in knots. Still, it was good to get out in the rain and run around. I must admit the session felt a lot better than I anticipated it would. Certainly got the legs down a lot quicker than I expected.

Off to a Trivia Night tonight, should be a bit of fun. Lets hope the people asking the questions actually have the correct answers. The last one I went to the people organising the show had no idea.

Long run tomorrow morning with Gruffy and Lex so hopefully will get rid of the soreness from todays efforts.

All up its been a good week training wise, some consistency is starting to creep back into my training which can only be a good thing.

Cya.

Kick in the Arse

Whats this? 2 entries in one day!!!!!

I will start by saying that nothing you read below is intended with any sarcasm whatsoever.

On Thursday April 12,I wrote some things here that in hindsight were very unnecessary and very out of line.

As a result I have edited that particular post and removed those comments.

At no time did I mention any names, whether it be a person or company.

However, those that I wrote about have since read the entry and expressed their displeasure.

I use this Blog for 2 purposes, firstly to keep those of you who read this up to date with the happenings of my running and secondly and a place to get things off my chest.

I have long had a habit of saying what I am thinking instead of thinking about what I am saying. This was a perfect example.

After a long and constructive conversation with the person referred to I can honestly say that my opinion HAS changed. When I received a message on my phone requesting I call this person back I must admit I expected it to be rather tense conversation. How wrong was I? I guess when you expect the worse you can only ever be pleasantly surprised. It seems that we agree on a lot of things and that whilst work needs to be done, it is underway.

This person has an extremely tough job ahead of him and I wish him all the best.

Whilst the majority of you who read this have no idea what I am talking about, that is somewhat irrelevant given that someone who reads has been offended.
Like I said, that post has been edited so no point trying to go back and find it, cos it aint there.

Again, I reiterate that no sarcasm has been used or intended in this post.

Over and out.

Dinner with Gruff

Had dinner last night with Gruffy. Chatted about numerous things including running & football. Both of us are Geelong supporters and have suffered through Geelongs inconsistencies for far too long.

On the running side of things my first task when I get to Launceston is to familiarise myself to the new surroundings find some places to train. Will need to find some places to run 2km reps, 500m reps and somewhere to do a run of about 20 minutes at tempo. The 5km loop I currently use at Brimbank Park for my tempo runs is OK but has this bad arse hill between 2 & 3km that gets me everytime. Its probably too steep to be trying to do a tempo run on but I guess you make do with what you have available. My 2km reps and 500m reps are normally done around the Tan.

There will be no shortage of hills in Launceston. In fact it will be hard trying to find anywhere to run that is flat. The upside of that is hills will become my friend.

Just over a week now until the XC Relays and I am very much looking forward to it. Will get on the track this weekend to get the legs ticking over and remind the legs of what its like to wear spikes! Its been a while and I know that my calves and Achilles will suffer later on. No pain no gain right?

Had an easy run this morning and felt good. Wont be running tonight as Robbie is out for the evening and I am in charge of babysitting duties. Come to think of it I think Jack will be in charge!!!!! He is fast becoming the boss at our place. Robbie bought him a T Shirt that says "Actually, yes, the world DOES revolve around me" and he has another one that says "Im kind of important around here" and its spot on. HE IS THE MAN.




Chat later.

2km Reps

Every now and then you do a session that boosts your confidence a more than others. That was the case last night at the Tan. The session went as follows: 2 x 2km with 2km rec.

Given the interuptions to my training over the last month or so, I wasnt too sure how I would go. I just wanted to get the session done and then improve on it next time.

1st rep was 6:33 with an average HR of 176 (91% max) and then the 2nd was also 6:33 with an ave HR of 178 (92% max). The conficence gained in this session comes from the fact that at the 1km mark of the 2nd rep I was 6 seconds slower than at the same point in the 1st rep. Its nice to know that I have that pick up available even though I have done nothing to develop this.

As you can see from the HR I was pushing a little. My max HR is 193 so to sit in the high 170's for 6 minutes shows Im not moving too badly.

Of course with more training under the belt I will cover this distance a lot quicker but at the same intensity.

Pulled up very well this morning with no soreness of note.

Will do an easy 8 - 10 km tonight just to stretch the legs.

Back into It

Feeling a lot better now after having a sore throat for most of last week. Might have got rid of it sooner had I not continued to run nearly everyday!!

Still having problems with a nasty stitch that will not go away. I have tried everything that I can think of to avoid it but to no avail. Different breathing techniques, eating and drinking at various times prior to training and nothing seems to work. The weird part is I only get it when I am cruising. Whenever I pick up the pace and my breathing starts to get heavy it is nowhere to be found. So do I just run flat out everytime I pull on my runners?????

Did an easy 20 minutes this morning before work and will head to the Tan tonite and run some 2km reps. 2 x 2km with 2km recovery is on the menu. Wont be going all out, just trying to stay relaxed and in control but at the same time not bludging either.

Got an email from Saucony this morning. They are looking for some photos to put in their next Catalogue. Looks like I'm gunna need to hire a make up artist!!!

See how we go.

Easy Weekend

Had a fairly easy weekend. Didnt run yesterday as I am still trying to rid myself of this throat infection.

The move to Tassie is coming along nicely. Had a quote today from a removalist and I nearly fell of my chair!! $3200 he said. This guy was supposed to be doing us a "good deal" because he knows Robbies Dad! I wonder what it costs nromally!!!!

Had a chat to the "supercoach" Gruffy yesterday about going to Tasmania. I was a bit afraid that it would mean that we can no longer work together. We are having dinner on Wednesday night to nut out a few things but he thinks we can make it work. I will have to get myself a Hurdles coach when I get there but other than that Gruff will still be in control of the running side of things.

Getting a new Coach would have been a pain in the butt. I have known Gruff for about 14 years now and he knows me very well. Probably too well!! Importantly, I also know him and what he expects of me. Learning how a new coach operates and getting to know them would take time. Im not getting any younger here.

It doesnt worry me that Gruff wont be there to oversee each session because I know I will do the work. Results will show if I dont. I just need to report back to him the details of whats been done and wait for feedback. Communication will be vital. I have started up an Online Training Diary so that Gruffy can log in and see the details ie: times, distances and HR's and how I felt generally.

I cant wait to start cruising around the Gorge in Launceston. Sensational place to run and no doubt I will discover new places along the way also.

Picking up my new Polar RS200 HRM from Frredom Machine in Prahran today. I no longer ride for the boys but they still look after me. Maybe a "Freedy" logo needs to be placed on my running shorts. Will look into that one me thinks.

Anyway enough said for now.

Sad News

They say that only the good die young and today I found that out for myself.

TFM Mechanic extraordinaire, Mal Hill, lost his son over the Easter break in an accident. He fought on for a couple of days but lost his fight on Easter Monday. RIP Bro. Our hearts go out to Mal, Alex and family.

Didnt run today as I have been battling a throat infection all week. I am hoping that a day off will help it settle down a little.

Off to Brimbank Park tomorrow for another 5km hit out. I hope its a lot better than last weeks effort. Could it get much worse? Goal is sub 19 this time. 19 minutes is still not that crash hot but given the toughness of the course and my fitness at the moment its a start.

Tried to look up the Winter Calender for Athletics Tasmania yesterday and its still not posted so I dont know whats coming up and when. The only race I know of so far is the Tamar 10 on July 22 which is the day after the Vic 12km XC Champs which I was hoping to fly back for but wont be now.

See how things pan out.

Over and out.

Tan Run

Ran an east 2 laps of the Tan last night in around 31 minutes and felt very good. Picked it up over the last 2km and finished off in 6:37 feeling as though I had a bit left in the tank.

Meeting up with Chris Newman (aka Cuddles) from the Freedom Machine bike shop for brekky tomorrow. The big fella has looked after me quite well over the last 2 years or so with my bike gear. Cant say I repaid the faith all that well. Didnt exactly win any races wearing the Green & Black, and spent more time gobbing off at morons behind the wheel of cars who have a total disregard for cyclists!!

Cuddles is the dude on the left in the pic, I am on the right. You will have to excuse Rustys shoulder. Rusty took this picover his shoulder while we were climbing Falls Creek. He obviously had more energy than Cuddles and I.

Anyway, I'm bored now.

Cya

Operation Tasmania all go

Well its official. As of April 30th I will be a resident of Tasmania. Launceston to be exact.

Looking forward to a new start and new opportunities.

Not looking forward to the cold weather however!!

I officially resigned from Athlegen yesterday and now the unknown awaits.

Robbie is busy trying to organise removalists to get our stuff to Tassie and she has her sister Jo and best mate Karen on the job looking for somewhere to live.

Rent is just as expensive there as it is here, but you get more for your money in Melbourne.

Ran another easy 6km last night and again felt pretty good. Will try and increase distance and start mixing up the tempo from now on.

Looking forward to the Vic XC Relay Champs @ Jells Park on the 28th of April. Will be interesting to see how it goes.

Cheers

Easter Monday

Gotta say theres nothing like a long weekend.

Checked out the Stawell Gift on TV this arvo and saw some familiar faces in the Mens 800m. Corey Lawson who was and maybe still is a VFL Boundary Umpire took out a win, and AFL Boundary extraordinaire the "Big Chiz" Allan Cook finished 3rd. A good effort by the boys.

You gotta admire Cooky, in his early 40's and still mixing it with the young blokes.
I remember driving to Albury a few years back with the big man and between his place in Hoppers Crossing and our destination he managed to put a VERY big hole in a slab of VB!!!! Another awesome effort by Cooky. Luckily I was the designated driver at the time.

Did an easy 6km today with some strides thrown in for good measure. Felt pretty good considering that I woke up this morning with a sore throat and shocking head ache.

It was also the first time in a couple of weeks that I finished without getting a stitch. VERY happy about that!

Brimbank Park

I gotta say that Brimbank Park in Keilor is one of my favourite places to run. Theres a nice mix of soft trails and bike paths to cruise around on. The only down side, or up side if you're a sadist is the number of hills. You cant run more than a kilometre without having to go skyward.

We used to run our School Cross Country Zone Champs here and I always ran well. In 1993 (Year 12) I finished 3rd before going on to finish 5th at the State Champs.

I did a 5km Time Trial here this morning and STRUGGLED big time. I felt great for the first km then it was all over. The first hill was the begginning of the end.

19 minutes and 44 seconds later the pain had all but gone as finally I reached the finish. Even my arms had gone lactic!!!! Oh well, at least I can only improve!

I will make this a regular Saturday session in order to try and boost my strength endurance capabilities. It should help once the winter racing season starts.

My average HR for the run was 178 and my max was 188.

One positive to come out if this session was the non appearance of the dreaded stitch that I have been battling lately. It made an appearance during the warm up but I had no problems during the actual effort.

I pulled up sore in the right Soleous but I will put that down to the fact it was my first hit out for a few weeks and I wore flats for the first time in a while also.

Easy hour tomorrow to get some miles in the legs.

Operation Tasmania

I have recovered well from R4K.

Have run everyday since and the only problem so far is that I keep getting a stitch after 10 or 15 minutes of easy running. I have tried various breathing techniques and nothing seems to work.

I got out an easy 35 minutes at Brimbank Park last night and had to stop twice due to the stitch. Very frustrating.

I have been offered a job in Tasmania and once a few things are sorted out we will have a better idea as to whether or not it is a goer.

They want me to start in about 2 weeks so clock is ticking.

The down side is a pay cut but that was to be expected.

My next race was to be the Great Train Race on the 6th May but that wont happen if I'm in Tassie.

Cheers

Run for the Kids

Decided I would make the effort and cruise around the R4TK course with 25000+ other people who also sacrificed a sleep in.

Had hoped to jog around in between 65 and 70 minutes but finished in 61:30. Pretty good considering I never really felt as though I was running that fast.

Good to see Troopy have a win.

Was pretty knackered yesterday arvo and spent the day lounging around home.

Ran an easy 20 minutes this morning and apart from some soreness in my Hamstrings all seems to be OK.

Rest of the week will consist of easy stuff and then Saturday will see a return to some faster sessions.

Cheers