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.