I'm Back

It goes without saying that it has been a while since I last posted, yep, too long. However, I do have a valid excuse(I think so anyway!!).

I mentioned in my last post that I was pissing blood. Well, an Ultrasound showed an abnormality with my Left Kidney. The Doctor told me it could be one of 2 things. One was nothing to worry about and the other was most likely CANCER. FUCK!!!!!

He recommended I have a CT Scan just to be sure. If negative then all is good, if positive to Cancer then the Kidney has to go. The chances of survival are 90% + but it has to go.

Thankfully, no Cancer. I did however lose 4kgs, not that I could afford to!!

So, now I am back running about an hour a day and looking forward to some races. Given that I missed the Burnie 10 due to the little episode then I need another race in order to release some energy. Therefore Run The Ridge 10km on November 29 is it. 10km all off road thru Vineyards sounds like fun to me!!!

I am also looking to run the Cadbury Half Marathon in Hobart on January 4th next year. I havent nutted out the details with Kim yet but it sounds like a good idea. I have decided that the Track is not for me anymore. I had planned on trying to run sub 9 for the Steeplechase but then again maybe not. Theres probably only 2 chances to do it and both of those dont fit in to my schedule. Zatopek is too close now given that I have been unwell, and Sydney GP is on during my Honeymoon next year!!!!!

Headed to Burnie on Sunday to watch the Burnie 10 and watching Ryan Gregson win was awesome. 4 guys made the last left hand turn with 600m (all uphill) to go and Gregson ran away from them. Ben St Lawrence chased but to no avail. Marty Dent and Clint Perret sprinted for 3rd place with Dent getting up. A warm and windy day but enjoyable none the less.

We have the running joke in our group regarding Kim Gillard and the number of times he gets his photo in R4YL magazine or the local paper. On Monday there he was again, a nice big shot of him crossing the finish line in 11th place. Needless to say he copped it Monday night out running. You can see him on page 78 of the most recent R4YL at the start of the City to Surf between Marty Dent and Michael Shelley. He pops up in every addition.

Anyway this post has been rather long and I need to go for a run!!

Dodgy Kidneys

A week or so ago during my 90 minute Wednesday run I stopped for a pee. Nothing unusual here, most of us have done it from time to time. The only difference this time was the colour.......BLOOD RED. Faaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrkkkkk.

When I got home (had to finish the run 1st of course) I phoned the Doctor. He said to see how it goes over night then if it continues go to the Hospital.

Next morning was all clear. Lovely. That is until after my session that afternoon when it all went funny once again.

Off to the Hospital for tests and more tests and as yet I still dont know whats going on. I have been pricked and poked, scanned and xrayed yet still dont know what the issue is. All I know is that I have a Macroscopic Haematuria, which basically translates to blood in the urine. The Antibiotics have cleared up the colour but the test keep saying that there are still traces of blood present.

I have another load of tests tomorrow and a kidney scan on Wednesday. I havent been allowed to run for over a week and its killing me. I would almost sacrifice a Kidney right now just to go for a run!!!

Needless to say Burnie Ten is off the agenda. Bugga, was kind of looking forward to that one!!

Stay tuned for an update later in the week, and hopefully a run report!

Golfing with the Greats

Had the pleasure of playing golf today with 2 of Australia's best distance runners, Kim Gillard and Peter Brett. Despite the howling wind blowing off Bass Strait, an awesome day was had with the obligatory sledging and boyish banter flying thick and fast.

Yours truly took the honours by 1 shot from Kim.

Given that we headed to the Golf Course straight after our long run (2hrs) it was a very long day. By the last hole I had definitely had enough and could not wait to sit down and relax. Coffee was good too!!!!!!

Robbie and Jack have been in Melbourne since Thursday and return home tomorrow. One thing is for sure, they wont be flying Tiger Airways again. After arriving at the airport in plenty of time for their 11am flight last Thursday, they were told that there was a delay.........until 3:45pm. Not a happy camper.

The Darrell Lea Dads Bag full of Licorice that I received last Sunday has well and truly gone. Pity, it was quite yummy. Good for the digestive system too.

Training has gone well this week. 110kms all up. Ran a 10/20 session yesterday. A 10/20 is 10 minutes hard followed by 10 minutes easy, then 20 minutes hard. I have adapted this session to be a 3km followed by a 6km. Rep times were 10:09 followed by 20:39 with the last 3km in 10:06. Tough session.

Struggled big time today in the last 45 minutes. At one stage I turned to Kim and asked "is this what the last part of a Marathon feels like?" Kims reply, which was accompanied by a huge smile, was "nah, worse". Thanks mate, made me feel heaps better given that I am thinking of running the Gold Coast Marathon next July!! Cant wait now.

800 in 8

National XC was 8 weeks before Burnie 10. Given my showing at Nats and the reasons for it I decided that in 8 weeks I MUST run 800kms minimum in order for a decent showing @ Burnie. So far so good. The last 2 weeks have both been 100+ kms. More importantly, the sessions that I was neglecting previously such as tempo runs are now a priority.

It also helps that my Wednesday run is now 90 minutes and I am back doing a long run on Sunday of 2 hours in the hills.

Harder sessions have been going well also. I did an hour at tempo yesterday thru Trevallyn Forest which included some solid climbs and a track session last Tuesday that consisted of a km @ sub 3mins followed by rep 400's in 66 - 67 with the last in 63, all off about a minute. I did this session in spikes and had no problems at all in regards to soreness afterwards.

Fathers Day today and upon returning from my long run I was greeted with a huge brekky of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. Just what the body needs after 2 hours in the hills!!!! Am I complaining???? HELL NO. It should be a regular occurence on a Sunday I say.

I got a Subscription to R4YL and a Darrell Lea Dads Bag so whos a happy runner????

Awesome effort by the Western Aths runners at todays Vic Half Marathon Champs. By the sound of it a few Premierships have come our way. Our way??? Yep, the way things are going with Aths Tas I may soon be registered in Victoria once more. I sent them a nice little email over a week ago and do you think I have a reply?? Shit no, that would be too easy wouldnt it? If anyone wants to read it I am happy to email it to you.

A major overhaul is required at AT and the sooner the better. Can I do a better job? Mr Magoo could do a better job me thinks, as do a lot of others. I just found out that our selection trials for the Pacific Schools Games are being held AFTER the closing date for PSG entries!!!! FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK ME.

Too many clowns and not enough circuses.

Enough for now, I can feel my blood pressure rising.

Nats

Well, cant say I was rapt with the effort. Although the course didnt look that tough, the hills really got to me.

In the end theres not much I can do about it. The last 5 weeks training has been up and down. I had 2 weeks off with an Achilles problem and then the last 3 weeks have been a struggle to find any rythym.

My times was 6 seconds off what I predicted before hand, yet my place wasnt even close. I guess you cant have your cake and eat it too.

Had some "discussions" with Aths Tas regarding the non existance of uniforms and the poor fitting of the ones that were available. Some interesting comments made by our Team Manager who said that "even the Olympic team have uniforms that dont fit". Is that not the biggest load of frogshit you have ever heard??

When our Team Manager discovered that I didnt have a uniform, he asked what I was planning to wear. When I replied "red Saucony singlet" his response was, "do you think thats appropriate?" I wont publish my response.

Aths Tas have some serious issues that need to be dealt with. Priorities are all wrong for a start. The refuse to pay the "All Schools Levy" which meant that any Tassie All Schools competitor was not eligible for a medal if they placed in the top 3. That being the case, why spend thousands of dollars running the "Tas All Schools Champs" when really its just a waste of time. All the Tassie kids running at Nats were really just there for the hell of it because if they had won (we had one top 3 place getter) they would have got no recognition for it!!! BIZARRE.

The best part is that AT made all the parents pay the All Schools Levy as part of their entry fee yet AT arent a member of the All Schools. So where does this money go????? Hmmmm..... one wonders.

Enough AT bashing for now, Im sure there will be more to come.

Count Down to Nats

A week to go until the mud flies!!!

The last few weeks I have been feeling pretty flat and havent really done a session that I have been happy with. I guess since the Launceston 10 when I started having Achilles problems, training hasnt been as solid as I would have liked. 2 weeks off with the Achilles and then the last 2 weeks of feeling tired and sluggish.

Still, the Nats are a week away and a lot can happen. Hopefully some improvement.

I emailed Aths Tas earlier this week about getting a State Uniform and I am yet to get any response. I requested that one be sent ASAP so that if it didnt fit I could send it back for a different size, but no love has come my way. I guess the Saucony kit might get a run after all.

I fly to Melbourne on Thursday afternoon and then on to Geelong on Friday morning. 3 of us all booked flights seperately for Thursday and all ended up on the same flight!!

My little man Jack turned 2 last weekend and we had a house full of kids with bellies full of sugar!!! Still, it was a good day and my little boy is growing up very quickly.

Dilemmas and Decisions

Got an email from Athletics Tasmania today regarding the National XC Champs. Their dilemma is that they have 7 guys available to run Nats and only need 6 to fill a team. No problem really as Kim Gillard wants to run as an "individual" competitor in order for someone younger to get a guernsey. Awesome, it means that I will get a run as a Tassie representative.

I have now represented Victoria and will soon represent Tasmania.

My dilemmas are as follows.

I wanted to enter as an individual competitor, hence the reason I did not nominate as being available for selection. The reason for this is simple. Saucony have been very good to me and I wanted to wear the Saucony kit at Nats. However, by accepting to run on the State team, I lose the right to wear anything Saucony except for shoes and socks.

What to do????

I guess I could compromise by getting the Tassie uniform and then getting a Saucony logo attached!!!!!! Sneaky but I cant see anywhere that says it cant be done.

My 2nd dilemma is this. My Achilles is now fully recovered thanks to an awesome Massage Therapist with "Magic Hands". After 90 minutes of intense pain (she found knots in the knots) I am pain free. So, to wear spikes or not to wear spikes??

Given that my spikes have a fairly large heal, which I have modified to make higher, I am leaning towards wearing them. I guess a final decision will be made upon seeing the course and the condition its in. After 8 or 9 races prior to ours it should be soft enough to warrant spikes. I definitely cant see it being rock hard so we will wait and see.