Catch up time

Yes Stu Mac its been a while since I last posted and I did neglect to write about Coliban!!! So here goes...

Off to Melbourne on July 4 for the Coliban Relays. A team event over about 45kms consisting of 6 runners competing over varying distances and terrain. I had the pleasure of running the 3rd leg for our team and despite only arriving at the transition area 90 seconds prior to starting I was pretty happy with my effort. 8.4kms in 29:00 over a testing course with no warm up, yep I'll take that one. Overall we finished 3rd which was one of many placings the club achieved for the day.

After Coliban I took a week off running. It had got to the point where I was only running because I felt I HAD to as opposed to running because I wanted to. A break was definitely in order.

The timing of the break wasnt great considering we had the Launceston Ten this morning (34:55) and next week is the Tassie XC Champs. The Ten this morning was OK. I wasnt expecting to run much quicker than 35 given the last few weeks running/not running. I did feel as though I could have maintained that pace for a while longer but a couple of times when I tried to pick it up there was nothing in the tank.

So, here I am back running 30 minutes a day and getting some enjoyment out of it. Again.

Still feeling flat

Well, I thought by now I would be over the bug but Im not, and ITS PISSING ME OFF.

I headed out with the guys yesterday morning to do a session (10/20) figuring I could just skip the 10 minute effort and tempo the 20 minute effort. WRONG. I wore the HRM monitor and even during the warm up my HR was in the tempo range. Not good.
I ended up just cruising for 70 minutes and taking side streets to keep ahead of the guys doing the heard work. By the end of the run I was actually starting tom feel OK.

Long run today and rather than go for 2 hours I decided 90 minutes would suffice. I pulled the pin at 80.

Hopefully it clears up soon cos I wanna start running without a cough and not feeling flat.

Bloody Flu

Well unfortunately I am not immune to the Flu. On a positive note it did mean a few days off work, the down side though was a few days off training.

Robyn said the other night that every time a race gets close (Coliban Relays Saturday week) I get sick. I had never taken much notice but thinking about it, she is right. Of course she is, she is NEVER wrong. ;-)

So, first run back tonight was an easy 40 minutes. It didnt feel anywhere near as bad as I thought it would but it did feel like I hadnt run for a while!!! I wont do any sessions for the rest of this week other than a tempo run on Saturday. Next week will be a full weeks training, somewhere between 100 - 110ks including Saturdays race.

In 2 weeks (July 19) is the 2009 edition of the Launceston 10. I am very much looking forward to this years event. Hopefully Steve Moneghetti is successful in his attempt at a World Record for his age group. Shame I wont get to see it as I will still be a few minutes away from finishing. Not too many I hope!!!

Time will tell.

A long weekend

Spent the long weekend in Melbourne catching up with the crew over there. A good weekend with visits to Werribee Open Range Zoo and the Melbourne Aquarium, both of which in my opinion are overrated!!!

Did my 2 hour run yesterday up in the Dandenongs and must say it was a nice reminder of how tough it is up there. Not to mention the fact that it was very wet and muddy!

Managed to make the return trip with some extra baggage in the way off 3 new pair of Sauconys. That should see me thru til about October me thinks.

Just under 4 weeks now until Coliban Relays. That means 7 or 8 more long runs and who knows how many kms under the belt. Still not sure whether or not I will back off but I guess a decision will be made closer to the day. Launceston 10 is only 2 weeks after Coliban and State XC is another week after that. Decisions decisions. Hopefully I can turn the form around and get in some good performances.

Great photo of Kerryn Mc Cann and Jenny Gillard in the Herald Sun during the week for the launch of the Melbourne Marathon. I have the pleasure of training with Jen and I hope she pulls off a win come October 11th.

Training with Tucks

Had the pleasure of training with World Champs marathon rep Mark Tucker yesterday. The big guy was in town for the launch of this years Launceston 10 and given that he was here for the day an opportunity arose for us to train with him.

Mark and I actually went to the same school in Geelong, Newcomb High. He was 4 years below me so I didnt expect him to remember me and was very surprised when he said "I thought it was you" when we were introduced. We spent most of the day then reminiscing about all our old teachers etc. Some laughs were had, very funny stories told, and some VERY juicy gossip passed on. Its amazing what some teachers get up to at times........... I will say no more.

He also gave me some tips on the Coliban relay course. Most importantly he told me which legs to avoid running if I can help it ;-)

I dropped Mark off at the airport for his flight home and he invited me to train with him when next in Melbourne. It will need to be an easy run cos I got no hope of keeping up if hes doing a session!!

In a big announcement at yesterdays launch, Kim Gillard has secured a World Record attempt in the race. Steve Moneghetti will be having a crack at the WR for his Age Group. Cant wait for that one.

Training this week has been good. 2 long runs completed and a solid hit out yesterday with Tucks. Focus now is on picking up the mileage heading into the 2nd half of the year which will include at least one half marathon, possibly 2.

City to Casino

Spent the weekend down south in Hobart for the City to Casino. This is Hobart's biggest Fun Run with just over 2000 competitors. Last year I ran the 7km but this year I stepped up for the 11km event.

Unfortunately things didnt go to plan. I was hoping to run around 37 minutes and place top 5 or 6. I crossed the line in 38:30 and was about 14th. This along with last weeks ordinary 5km means my last 2 races have been shockers. The worst part is I cant explain why.

Its about 6 weeks until my next race so I have time to go back and fix some things. No doubt tomorrows easy run with Kim will be somewhat of a debrief and planning session.

The 2009 Launceston Ten will be launched next Saturday and both Peter Brett and Dave Evans will be in attendance. I might even pick their brains a little. Why wouldnt you??

We have a winner!!

Headed off to Beaconsfield yesterday for the Anzac Day Fun Run over 8k.

I was hoping a few more "hitters" would be there but unfortunately all the pre race talk was just that, talk.

There was only myself and John Claridge toeing the line with about 100 others of varying abilities. Johnno is no slouch and I knew that it would be a tough day out. Having run a 73min Half Marathon last year I figured that he would be tough over the last few km, having said that an 8k is a lot different to 21.1km.

Not knowing how much speed Johnno has I decided that I needed to get rid of him before half way is possible. Just before the 2km mark I could no longer hear his breathing or footsteps. Shortly after that the road went up hill and I decided that I had to work extra hard just to be sure he had gone and wasnt coming back.

At the 4km turn around I had 20s but was starting to hurt. I tried to shout out some encouragement as he went past but I was breathing way too hard for anything remotely sounding like English. Johnno on the other hand had plenty to say. Shit, hes feeling better than me. Luckily I had enough of a break to hang on and take a win.

The finish chute was about 2 metres wide and there was a photographer from the local paper standing smack bang in the middle about 2ft past the line. Given that I didnt see her amongst the officials I nearly gave her a VERY close up!!!! Hopefully it makes for a good shot!!!!!!

Nice cruisy 2 hours this morning in the rain with the boys to finish off a good week.

Flying Mona

Had the pleasure of doing Mona Fartlek tonight. I used to look forward to doing this one but for some reason it has become one of my least favourites. The one I hate the most is Km reps but thats another story.

When we do Mona we travel out and back, turning at the 10 minute mark and then trying to make it back to the start point prior to the 20 minutes finishing. Each time we aim to go further out and still make it back. Its not a PB unless you actually make it back so theres no point going all out in the first 10 minutes and then blowing up.

Tonight I got further out than ever before, just short of the 3km mark. I think the fact I ran the first 500m in 94s had something to do with that!!! On the way back I was seriously hurting and thinking I wasnt going to make it back. I didnt. However I only missed it by about 5m. All up about 5.9kms in 20:01. Pretty happy with that one!!

WOW Long time no post!

Well its official, I have now registered with Western Athletics once again. Hopefully I can get in a few races and help the boys head toward Division 1.

I cant believe its been almost a month since my last post. Time has flown and not much has happened. Training is going well and I am looking forward to the City to Casino in Hobart on May 17. Last year I ran the 7km event but this year I will have a crack at the 11km.

I headed to Heritage Forest this arvo to run the LAC 7km Handicap but left somewhat peeved. The races are due to start at 1pm every Saturday. Today they were to hold the AGM at 12:45, prior to the 1pm start. I headed off for my warm up at 12:45, thinking that with my handicap I would be off and running at about 1:20. When I got back at 1:15 and saw that the AGM had not yet started I was rather pissed off. I knew that this meant the race would not begin for at least half an hour and I would need to either keep moving or warm up once again. Upon speaking to the club President as to why there was a delay and getting an answer that in my opinion wasnt satisfactory, I decided I would pull the pin and run home instead. So all up, 70 minutes easy and no workout.

If a race is advertised to start at a certain time then lets get it going. If people cant register before the advertised start time then stiff shit. A 10 or 15 minute delay isnt so bad but 40 minutes is not good enough. Of the 3 LAC races this year, 2 have started late. The first one was an hour late!!! Im not the only one who was disappointed today as a few people were vocal in their thoughts.

An easy 2 hours tomorrow (can a 2hr run be easy?????) and hopefully it wont be a chilly morning. We have had a few of those recently and I cant say Im liking it too much.

Is it just me or has this post been one big whinge????

Handicap Season

Launceston Athletic Clubs winter season starts on Saturday at Riverside pool. Given that I don't want to venture too far from what our program says, I plan to incorporate the 5km into my tempo run. So, I will run from home and then race the 5k. The trip from home should take about 45 minutes so no doubt the 5k will hurt a little ;-)

On top of that, not only is it a Handicap event but its 4 laps of a 1.25km loop. By the time I get going, the front markers will have already completed their 1st lap. So not only do I have to catch them, I then have to gain another lap as well.

Ran some 1k reps last night with young Patty. Patty is running a 5000m on Friday night out at the track and is aiming to run around 15:40ish solo. Therefore his aim last night was to run 3 x 1k @ 3:08 with 90s recovery. Unfortunately, I had to do 6. Pretty easy session for Patty considering he normally reps in around 3min. His times were 3:07, 3:08 & 3:06. Now he just needs to put it into a race. He is capable but is yet to discover it for himself. He can comfortably run reps at 3min pace (2:40 flat out) but struggles to run to that standard in a race situation. At the moment he is more of a time trialler than racer but his time will come.

The new Saucony kit arrived recently and looks very good. I thought last years was hot but its get better in '09.

Consolidating

A solid week this week with the only hiccup being yesterdays session being skipped in favour of an easy run. I made the mistake of not taking my Ventolin inhaler with me and as a result couldnt manage much more than a jog without difficulty breathing. Silly mistake but what can you do?

I have started back in the gym trying to get a bit of upper body strength happening. Hopefully it will help towards the end of races to maintain form a little more. I plan on running some more XC races this year than in the past year or so and this can only help.

The next 8 weeks will be just sticking to the program and building up a solid base before running the City to Casino on May 17 in Hobart. Last year I ran the 7k event but this year I think I will step up and run the 11km.

I spent some time earlier today looking at the AV calendar and airfares trying to tee up some races in Vic over Winter. Things look promising in this department. Would love to come back and run some relays. Running isnt much of a team sport but I have always found the relays to be a bit of fun.

Will definitely be running the Half at Burnley. A group of us will be coming over and using it as a hitout prior to the Melbourne Marathon in October. Should be a good day out.

Robyn ran a Womens 5k race this morning and pushed jacko the whole way in his pram. The event was to raise money for breast cancer and all competitors wore a pink t-shirt. It was an awesome sight to see just over 2000 ladies cruising the streets of Launceston in pink. The only problem was trying to find Robbie after the race. Its not easy looking for a blonde in a pink t-shirt amongst that crowd!!!!

Politics

I had intended to run the State Champs 5k yesterday but 2 things conspired against me.

Firstly, a bout of Gastro early last week. The 2nd was some good old fashioned bureaucracy.

Apparently as my AT rego had lapsed I had to re register in order to compete. I refused to pay $135 to register for the summer season (in Tas you can register separately for each season, ie: winter or summer) only to have it then expire on March 31!!!!!

I fail to see why I couldnt run as an unregistered athlete and be ineligible for the State Title, yet still run.

I guess it just confirms my theory that athletics in Tasmania is going nowhere fast.

The only thing stopping me from registering with Aths Vic at the moment is the fact I may only be able to run 2 or 3 winter races and the same over summer. With rego about $180, it equates to about $30 a race.

See how we go.

On track

Went to the track tonight to do our monthly track session. All of our quicker sessions are done on bike paths etc but this one is for the track. It is 10 x 400 w/ 200m rec.

Average times tonight were 70.5 which I was very happy with considering I was running solo. Even better when you take into account my 90 minute run last night!!

I wanted to use tonights session to decide whether or not to run the State 5000m Champs in Hobart next weekend. I am still undecided and entries close tomorrow. Will speak to Kim and see what he reckons.

Had Tuesday off this week, felt very tired and had a sore throat so wanted to make sure it didnt get any worse. One day off just in case is better than a week off with the flu me thinks!!

Off to a committee meeting tonight for Riverside Aths Club. Cant wait!!!!!! The club is struggling big time and we are trying to help out. They have about $800 in the bank and are going nowhere fast. We secured a new sponsor who gave us $500 and when I told the current committee about it they said "what are we supposed to do with it?" I can feel a change in the wind. With that attitude, the current committee needs to go.

Tempo tempo tempo

The boys and I cruised thru our tempo run this morning. We do this run every second Saturday.

The last 3 times I have done it I have improved each time. Today I ran 44:43 for the 12.1km with an AHR of 170. Last time I ran 46:00 @ 173bpm. Things are improving!!

The whole loop is 15.2km long but the first 3.1km is used as the warm up. At the bottom of a nice steep hill (500m long) we start the tempo section. The tempo is 12.1km and has a few undulations early but the last 5km is flat.

Kim joined us this morning and showed that even though he has had some time off with injury, he is still running well. He got away from us thru the middle part, then stopped to answer the call of nature, and flew past us not long after. It was a bit flattening to come around a corner and not see him up ahead only to turn around and see him chasing!!!!! When he went past there was no way I could get on.

Off to the Track this arvo to watch the State Champs. Aths Tas have decided to hold them over 2 weekends. This week in Launceston and 2 weeks time in Hobart. I have no idea of the theory behind this but it seems silly to me. Athletics is struggling in Tas and a lot of events have been scratched due to insufficient entries. There is no U/18 or U/20 mens 1500, instead the 2 or 3 who entered these races will all run in the open race.

Given that a lot of events wont be held, is it necessary to have the Champs over 2 weekends and 4 days????????

The Honeymoon is over!

So, here I am back in sunny Tasmania after an awesome "family holiday/honeymoon" on the Gold Coast.

The Wedding was magic. I guess when you arrive at your wedding in 2 Helicopters, things are off to a great start!!!


The day remains a bit of a blur but Im sure when we receive the DVD some memories will be jogged.

Running is going OK I guess. Struggling a little with a lower back problem at the moment that I wish would just bugga off!

I am toying with the idea of running the "Run for the Kids" in Melbourne but things will need to improve pretty soon for that to happen.

A stinker of a week

Well its been pretty bloody hot here on the South Island. I never thought I would see the day were it hit 40 degrees but I now have........ TWICE. You know its hot when, at 6am, you are out running topless!!

Luckily I have had to start work at 10am for the last 2 weeks and because I havent been finishing until around 7pm, I have been training early on in the day. Otherwise I would have done bugger all!!!

The last 2 weeks have been solid training wise with both weeks being 110kms plus. Sessions have been strong and I guess that comes with consistency. Rolled out 2hrs and 7 minutes this morning in the hills and felt good. More importantly I recovered enough to chase Jack and Hunter Gillard around at the park at lunchtime. I think Hunter is definitely gunna be a gun runner like his parents if thats whats he decides to get into. The kid has way too much energy and is always asking "Do you wanna race?" He's no slouch when he takes off either.

Heading off to the Gold Coast next Sunday for 10 days (Honeymoon) and plan on running everyday whilst there. The resort we are staying in has a Gym so I may do some sessions on the treadmill so that I can stick to the program a little easier. Might hard to do 1km reps when you dont have a course mapped out, but the tready will help.

Next race is the Nile 10 Mile on Feb 22. Its 4 days after we get back from Goldy so hoping to run a solid time. Wont make any predictions but expecting a good one.

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

Well its been 20 days since I last posted and not a lot has happened.

Training is back to normal in terms of mileage. Im back following our "base program" which is basically a 4 week cycle that repeats over and over. I would post it here but it may confuse some and it may also be a little too large to put in one post.

My right knee has been pretty sore for the last 8 weeks or so. At first I thought it was just tendonitis but I had a few days off just prior to Xmas and it didnt get any better as I would expect if it were a tendon problem. I am now leaning towards the Cartilage in the knee being worn. My physio is currently away in Malaysia so until he gets back I will just grin and bear it. Its not sore enough to cause a limp but it does get sore after a run and even more so when going down hill. Robbie said I should avoid hills for a while. Anyone who has ever been to Launceston knows that this is not possible!!!!! And I have no intention of doing laps around the track just to avoid some discomfort. If I couldnt handle some discomfort then I wouldnt run would I???

Robbie and I get married in just under 2 weeks. Feb 7 is the big day followed by 10 days on the Gold Coast visiting numerous theme parks. I dont know who will enjoy them more, me or Jack!!!

I am trying to run everyday this year and hopefully I can get out the minimum 35 minutes everyday whilst up north. Wont be too concerned if I dont, it is our Honeymoon afterall!!

Cadbury Half Marathon

Well it has been run and won.

Whilst my time (76:20) and place (6th) were a little worse than I was hoping for, I am content knowing that on the day there is nothing more I could have done. I surged, covered surges and finished absolutely spent with cramp in both legs.

The plan was to go out at 3:30/km and hit 10km in 35 minutes. From there it was a matter of seeing how I felt and running accordingly.

Known splits were:

1km: 3:26
2km: 7:04
3km: 10:38
4km: 13:58
5km: 17:44
10km: 35:24
12km: 42:30 (I ran 42:06 @ Nat XC)

I spent the first 5k sitting about 30m off the back of the lead group which contained 9 guys. I toyed with the idea of making up the 30m and sitting in the group but decided to hang back and pick them off as they popped. The theory was that passing people would give me a lift each time so I hung back. Luckily it worked.

Just before the 10km mark I found myself in 5th spot feeling strong but knowing there was still plenty of work to do. Not long afterwards, I started to tighten up thru the hamstrings and calves and wasnt sure how far away the wall was!!!

Just after 15km, I was caught by another runner and we battled out to the finish. He finally got away in the last mile and put 30 seconds into me!!! We had both thrown in surges to try and get away during the last 5k, but to no avail. When he gapped me I gambled on being able to get him on the last hill and drop him going over the top with about 500m to go. Wrong!

Still, I enjoyed the run and despite the soreness afterwards and cant wait until next time.

The focus now is Run for the Kids on April 5. Before that however there is a little thing called a Wedding followed by the obligatory Honeymoon. Feb 7, is the big day and Gold Coast is the honeymoon destination.