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.