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.

RIP Kerryn

As most of you no doubt already now, Kerryn Mc Cann lost her battle with Cancer today. Kerryns sister Jenny is married to my Coach Kim Gillard so even though I only met Kerryn on one occasion, tears have been shed.

The day I met Kerryn was the day of the launch here in Launceston of the 2008 Launceston Ten. Mona, Troopy and Kerryn were all in attendance to launch the event and afterwards we met back at Kim and Jennys place for a run. After the run I asked Troopy and Mona to sign some things for me but I didnt have anything for Kerryn to sign. The only magazine I could find with anything about Kerryn was an edition of Runners World. Given that the article was about Kerryns Cancer fight, I didnt feel as though I could ask her to sign it for me. A few months later, while searching thru a box in the garage, I found an edition of Run For Your Life with a full page pull out poster of Kerryn crossing the line in Melbourne at the Comm Games. Where was that when I met her???????

Kim and Jenny had to rush to Sydney last week so we knew that things werent good then. Mark Jackson (training partner and work colleague) told me just before lunch today that she had passed away and the rest of the day was a bit of a waste work wise.

The usual group run will take place tonight, minus the Gillards obviously, but I am sure there will only be one topic of conversation.

RIP Kerryn. I just wish that I had half the courage you had.

Run the Ridge

A solid effort last night in the Run the Ridge race. A tick over 33 minutes on a hilly course that was all off road.

Dave Thomas won the race in 30:30 and was never challenged. A group of us stuck together for about 5km fighting for 2nd spot before we lost a couple. Then there were 4. About 2km to go we split and it was every man for himself. I dropped back to 4th before making my way back to the shoulder of Matt Guy in 3rd. The race finished uphill and I was in no mood for an uphill sprint so I knew that I had to drop him before we got there. About a km to go I surged a little and got a gap which was enough to drop Matty. It wasnt however, enough to catch Pat Smith in 2nd. Both Pat and mat are 17 years old and running VERY well. With Mark Jackson taking 5th spot, it meant that Kim Gillard coached the first 5 placegetters. Theres more on Kim below!!!!

Ex Commonwealth Games 10k rep, Peter Brett, finished in 7th spot. Is that a scalp???? I'll take it but they guy is a gun and a good bloke as well.

Struggled thru 90 minutes this morning and was glad when it was over. It did however end another week of 100kms plus. Bring on Cadbury.

I arrived home from work this week to find the latest copy of Run For Your life in the letterbox. I mentioned in a previous post that Kim seems to get his photo in every edition so the first thing I did was turn to the "Race Reports" section. Guess what? On page 90, Adelaide City to Bay there he is. Off to the left, blue singlet, number 6.

Given that it is a small photo I thought that was acceptable, that is until I turned the page to Burnie Ten. Sitting mid pack, resplendent in his red and green Reeboks, seemingly smiling, is the man himself. Ryan Gregson looks as though he is struggling, and Kimbo is loving every minute of it. He did say the joy was short lived though!!! If only I could keep up with him then I might get my mug in a magazine!!!