Spin only before race

Thursday, June 30, 2005
I have the Striders 10km race on Saturday morning and accordingly have commenced my mini taper. So in the week leading up to a race my last run is always Tuesday, I spin on Wednesday and Thursday (tempo spins 1 min easy, 1 min hard for 45 mins), rest on Friday to be fresh on Saturday. Don't ask me if I'm doing the right thing or not, but the few days off always seems to iron out the niggles and the spinning keeps me fresh. This month's Striders is back at Homebush (Olympic Park) which is a pretty flat track. So if I'm having a good day (and it's not too windy and rainy) I might just give that PB a crack. Stay tuned sports fans. ;) Mood: ---> :)

Ruthven Street hill reps

Tuesday, June 28, 2005
2km warm up | 8 x 300m hills | 2km warm down Boy was that tough. It was drizzling from the start and my legs were hurting. Stiff hammys & calves, a sore middle toe - I could go on. Anyway I ran my warm up like a cripple (lucky it was dark) and then after the first two reps this little voice was telling me to go home. I recalled reading Heather Turland's tips recently on the C2S website. She spoke of mental toughness and heartbreak hill. She said you should visualize a door slamming every time you have a negative thought. OK then. SLAM ! I stopped and stretched some more and headed back up the hill. I always try to keep an even pace for the entire hill and try and run each rep with the same intensity. SLAM ! SLAM ! SLAM ! SLAM ! The hills weren't hard work at all really. It was that mental barrier coming down the hills in the rain with that voice saying "Maaaaate, go home. You've done enough" that made it hard. Grrr. SLAM ! With two more to go it started to really rain hard. My shirt was heavy with rain and my socks were squishy. "Go home fool!" that bloody little voice said. I recalled that Nike Ad with the fat lady singing, where the cyclist gritted his teeth and rode through her image ? SLAM ! SLAM ! After all that I actually finished feeling OK. I wasn't as stiff and sore as I was at the start. When I got home I spent a good 20 mins stretching out everything and anything from the hips down. They say that hill sessions build core strength. I'm not sure if my core is feeling any stronger at the moment. We'll just have to wait and see how much juice I have in the tank when I hit the top of the hill at Vaucluse in August. Mood: ---> :D

Sunday (t)raining.

Sunday, June 26, 2005
14km | Moderate | 78:05 I ran 2 x 7km loops of Queens/Centennial Parks this afternoon and stuck mainly to the grass. That is I transferred to the path when the grass often turned into slush or mud. It was blue skys for the first 6km and then heavens opened and it poured down for the last 8km. Not that bothers me, running in the rain to me is one of life's real pleasures. I was feeling pretty fresh and decided that I would push myself pretty hard today and ran at a relaxed but moderate pace. My split for the first 7km was 40:02 and the second 7km 38:05. Very happy with that on a mildly hilly course. Its all looking pretty good for my sub 75:00 C2S goal in 6 or so weeks time. No injuries to report. Shhh.... Mood: ---> :D

North Bondi loop

Friday, June 24, 2005
10.5km | Moderate | 57:34 I did my usual run down to the beach and back at about 8.30pm last night. Earlier on there was lots of rain, thunder & lightening about which seemed to pass quickly up the coast. I set off in light drizzle dressed in tights, long sleeve dri-fit, spray jacket & skull cap. I was feeling a bit of tightness in both the calves & hammys again for the first 2/3 kms but then they seemed to settle down. It was like I was the only one about last night. Bondi Beach was deserted. Cafes were empty. Just me the stupid runner I guess. On my way up the long haul of Bondi Road my hammys started to hurt again. It got the point were I had to stop and stretch at a bus shelter near the Royal Hotel. Maybe I need a hamstring transplant ? No, maybe I should be dedicated enough to work on them every day ? Yes, I think the latter is the answer. Mood: ---> :D

Winter Blog Renovation

Thursday, June 23, 2005
Brr. Cold in here, hmm ? (you will only see "it" if you have Internet Explorer. It doesn't seem to work in Firefox) Mood: ---> :)

CoolRunning Messageboards: Race Warmup

Wednesday, June 22, 2005
This thread on CoolRunning talks about a pre race warm up. CR Easy Tiger has a 90 minute warm up. *eek*. That sure beats my 20 mins of socialising and a 5 second jog on the spot. LOL :) CoolRunning Messageboards: Race Warmup: "Myrtle, for injury prevention i can get away with a 10min jog and 20min stretching. You'll think i'm nuts, but if i really want to race well i need 90min for my warm up-20min jog, 20min stretch, then i like to relax for 20min(don't ask me why, i just like it) 5x100m strides with jog recovery, more stretching, then drills if longer races/plyometrics if middle distance or sprints, then finish with sprints and block starts if required." Mood:---> :)

Ruthven Street hill reps

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
2km warm up| 8x300m, jog back recovery |2km warm down Considering I missed my Sunday run, it wasn't surprising that I was jumping out of my skin tonight. Running in tights, long sleeve dri-fit and my skull cap I was galloping up those hills like a man possessed. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but I'm almost positive that my last rep was as strong as the first. Are you supposed to time them ? No injuries to speak of apart from slight tenderness in the shin splints, which seem to have migrated north to about 6 inches below the knee. Very odd. Happy with that anyway ! Mood: ---> :D

Lost Weekend

Monday, June 20, 2005
Well things just don't turn out the way you want sometimes. I ventured out on Saturday morning for a quick interval session. Sounds very professional doesn't it ? ;). I did a quick lap around Queens Park to warm up and then ran the park on the diagonal which gave me 800m on the grass from tree to tree. I did 8 of those at 5km pace and headed home. That was OK. My long run was scheduled for Sunday. I was going to run 14km on the grass, but one thing lead to another...sigh. Family commitments meant that it got pushed back from morning run, to lunch run, to afternoon run and then to an after dinner run. After all that, it still didn't happen. Grrr. Everything happens for a reason - right ? So I was probably being protected from putting my foot in a wombat hole or from being hit by lightening or from that angry goose in Centennial Park who was carefully plotting my demise. I guess on the upside, I'm feeling pretty fresh :) ! Mood: :)

CoolRunning Messageboards: Cool Running Bloggers

Friday, June 17, 2005
CoolRunning Messageboards: Cool Running Bloggers: "Congrats to Blogger Virtual Runner (Brendan) with his 10:45:14 finish at Comrades. [Cool]"

Bondi Brrrr

10km | Easy Whilst I wore my watch last night, it only works when you remember to turn it on. Anyway, I ran the North Bondi out and back last night and I guess it took about an hour. I initially walked outside just in shorts and a T and then hurried back upstairs to change into tights and longsleeve dri-fit. Brrr. I felt OK for the first 3 or 4 km and then as I was running downhill to the beach (Bondi Road) my hammys and shins started to ache. So much so that when I got to the Icebergs, I had to stop and stretch. When I got home to the warm house I spent 20 mins stretching. At the moment I am following the routine in the Hal Hingdon site here. For some reason when I did the quadriceps stretch on the bench... ...my shoulder blade holding my ankle got a bad cramp. Yeowch. Old age again I guess... Mood: ---> :)

500 km !

Tuesday, June 14, 2005
I updated my Longrun spreadsheet this morning and see that the 7km yesterday took me to 501km since January 1st. Whilst some people do that in a month, it represents a small milestone for me in a year that has been punctuated by injuries. Hopefully by the time I rack up 1,000km later this year I will be able to report that it was without the need of ice, anti-inflamatories and physiotherapy... Mood: ---> :)

Holiday Monday

Monday, June 13, 2005
7km | Easy | 39:12 With not much time on my hands this morning, I zipped out early for a single lap of Centennial & Queens Parks at sunrise. I was so sore in the hammys that I had to stop twice to stretch. If my hamstrings were as flexable as my calves, I'd be running like a gazelle I reckon. Instead I'm hobbling about like a cripple. Time to get serious with the daily hammy stetching I think. After that we spent the whole day down at Bondi Beach. Lunch on the balcony overlooking the beach at Nth Bondi RSL with the family was great. A very civilised way to spend the day. Mood: ---> :D

What's all that wet stuff ?

Saturday, June 11, 2005
10.39km | Easy | 56:40 Very happy to see the rain today and I hear from a mate in Dubbo that its raining buckets up there. So whoever did the rain dance, you did good. Please keep it up. I love running in the rain (wind is another story) and ran in Centennial Park on the soft grass track inside that walking track. Not much action to report inside the park on a rainy Saturday so it was just me, an official looking soccer match in the Brazillian Field and the ducks. I wore my new Supernova Trails and boy do I now handle well in the wet ! They felt really good second time around and I'm pleased that I have them now for grass runs and my future off-road races. As my goal races in 2005/06 include Nail Can, Woodford to Glenbrook, Sutherland Half and possibly the Shoalhaven King of the Mountain and Bilpin to Wilson, they'll come in handy. I'm guessing that because I will use them on soft surfaces only they will last much longer than a road shoe ? I finished fresh with no real leg issues to speak of (no sooky winge today) and plan to do it all again on Monday. Mood: ---> :D

Nth Bondi Trot

Thursday, June 09, 2005
10.2km | Easy | 57:09 Still bloody sore even though I stretched last night. Anyway, I wasn't going to let that get on top of me so ventured up to Bondi Junction then down Bondi Road to the Beach and along to North Bondi Surf Club, then back again. Slow but steady was all I could manage with fairy steps up the long hill climb of Bondi Road. I stretched for 20 mins afterwards which seemed to loosen me up a tad. Mood: ---> :)

Recovery

Wednesday, June 08, 2005
8km | Easy | 49:05 I ran down to Bronte Beach then up to Bondi Junction and home last night. Its a very undulating course with the trek up Bronte Road from the beach straight up for about 1.5/2kms. I figure its a good short training run for the C2S and aim to do it regularly between now and the race. I also christened my new Adidas Supernova Trail shoes (yes I know I wasn't running on a trail but I couldn't resist) that arrived from the USA yesterday (Ebay $45 delivered). They felt OK with the orthotics, but perhaps a bit tight. I should have used thin socks rather than Thurlows until the orthotics settle into the sole. Will do that on Sunday. As usual I was feeling very stiff and sore after the Striders race on Saturday, even though I stretched on both Sunday and Monday. You get that when you an old man I guess. ;) Mood: ---> :)

Race Calendar

Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Just so I don't get slack in the next 3 months I've entered both the City to Surf (14 August, 2005) and the Blackmores Half Marathon (11 September, 2005) on-line last night. OK, time to get serious about this training thing I reckon. Lose a few more kgs and time to learn about intervals, tempos, 3/1 longruns, LSDs and fart-licks (or whatever they are called). That C2S time of 94:11 is my softest PB by far. We need to take 20 minutes off that baby at least. Otherwise - not happy Jan ! Mood: ---> :D

Toe Update # 2

Monday, June 06, 2005
Well the festy toe was complaining big time after the Striders Race. Red and sore all around. It looked like it was either inflamed because of the pounding from the race or infection city. I rang a family friend for some advice. It was either that or wait until Monday and see Andy the Pod (if I could get in). Frank is a 77 year old Oz/Hungarian Plastic Surgeon (retired) who learned his trade in "the war". Don't know which one maybe WWII ? I should ask next time. Anyway, he told me to put some hyrdogen peroxide on it and gave me a bottle with a little in the bottom and an eye dropper. Frank said that it wont hurt and if there is any infection it will froth up all white - and it did. Apparantly it decomposes into pure water. I used it twice on Sunday and this morning and now there is zero inflamation or pain. Cool stuff. I'm a now a H2O2 advocate ! Check this out if your interested. Mood: ---> :D

Striders 10km Lane Cove

Saturday, June 04, 2005
10Km | Race | 48:48 PB A very unexpected PB today. I arrived today at Lane Cove feeling pretty crappy really. It was cold and I hadn't trained or ran at 10km pace since may last Striders race in March. To top it all off I rolled over on my ankle near the weir walking up to the start. Yeah, what a clutz. Luckily it only affected lateral movement so it didn't really have any effect on my stride. I ran the first 4km with the 50 minute pacer and then moved away and caught up with CoolRunner Li'l Elf. We ran at about 5:00/km pace until about 7km when Elf asked me what my PB was (49:30) and suggested that we should have a crack at it. At 8km mark we were still at 5:02/km pace and Elf told me to go for it, so I found an extra gear and lunged up the last hill. I wasn't really aware of my time as I turned the last corner just before the weir. Out of the blue came Elf from behind with a "come on Gronk" as she passed me sprinting to the line. With that we both ran hard across the weir for a hollywood finish (chest out, arms back). :) Li'l Elf, I owe you BIG TIME for my PB ! My splits were:- 4:54 4:42 5:03 4:52 5:42 5km 25:15 4:56 5:03 4:56 5:03 3:34 10km 48:48 official Striders time. I know that the last km seems way too fast, but thats what my Timex Bodylink GPS gizmo says. It might have something to do with the event distance. It says it was 9.800 km (I actually stopped my watch just after the finish at 49 flat, so no way did I stop it 200m short). Weird huh ? No injuries to report, apart from the dodgy big toe and a slight ligament strain on the ankle. They'll be right in a day or two. Mood: ---> :D

Deeeeep Tissue Massage

Thursday, June 02, 2005
I had my first sports massage today with Verity at Jackie's Sports Massage. I now know what it would be like to be eaten alive by a bear. Yeeeooowch ! Verity was amazed how rock hard all of my leg muscles were and worked hard on my calves, hammies and quads. I was being tough on the outside, meanwhile screaming on the inside. Apparantly I shouldn't run tonight to allow things to settle down. I will stretch and relax then. I plan to run the Striders 10km on Saturday, so I will go for a 5km stroll on Friday night. Mood: ----> :)