7km | Race | 30:57 PB Week 9 of 11 The Bay Run was my first ever "fun run" back in 2004, so this morning was a nostalgic return for me. After a not perfect pre-race preparation (2 pies and a couple of beers at the footy last night and getting home late) so I arrived at Leichhardt this morning not feeling particularly confident. McMillan Running reckoned that I should run it in about 32:xx based on my 10km time so that was my broad goal. I met up with CRs Superflake, Professor, FPT and John Dawlings for a pre-race chat before I set off for a amble type warm up. At the gun I took off at a reasonable pace and watched half the field pass me in the first KM. No females in our race due to a staggered start meant that I had to enjoy the water views rather than my usual preferred type of sight seeing. ;) I felt pretty crappy for the first few KMs but settled into a decent rhythm by the time we got to Drummoyne Rowers. I think I managed to hold that rhythm pretty well for the rest of the race. My splits were: 4:13 1km 4:34 4:24 4:20 4:17 21:50 5km 4:09 4:27 7km 0:29 30:57 7.116km In 2004 I ran the race in 46:xx, so today's result means that I ran a 16 minute PB. LOL. No complaints here and am looking forward to the challenge of the Sydney Striders Lane Cove 10km next Saturday as my last race before the C2S. I have no niggles - today. Mood: --->

18.68km | LSD | 107:23 Week 9 of 11 With the Bay Run on Sunday and Striders Lane Cove the following Saturday, opportunities to squeeze in hilly runs for the C2S and a long run for the Blackmores 1/2M in September were getting slim. So I decided that the best solution was to kill two birds with one stone - LSD over the C2S course (or part thereof). I usually do my long runs on the weekend early in the morning after a good sleep and a light breakfast. This time around I was running at 8.30pm after 11 hours in the office and a belly full of dinner. So it was an odd feeling but at the same time I was excited. I ran through Woollahra and Double Bay at a nice pace and was trying to visualize the 60,000 punters running with me and the band on the roof of the Golden Sheaf Hotel. Gee the C2S is so much fun. We are so lucky to have a race like that in our city. The short climb to Rose Bay was easy and before I knew it I was climbing Heartbreak Hill. It's seriously not that bad, not as bad as I remember anyway. I actually found Military Road through Dover Heights to be much harder. Yes at the top of HBH there is still 7kms to go and many short hard hills to negotiate. I got down to the south end of Campbell Parade (approx. 14km) in about 73 mins, which I was pretty happy with considering that I was running at a (quickish) LSD pace. Still, the thought of shaving 8 minutes of that to achieve my goal of 65:xx seems near impossible, but hey, what's the point of having an easy goal. Right ? The climb up Bondi Road was a real bitch. Its 2kms up and up and up and frankly I was pretty tired and didn't want to be there. I crawled home in 107 something and am pretty happy with that effort. On the upside that run is waaaay harder that anything that Blackmores can dish up so I am content that with a few more of those between now and September I'll be in good shape. I have no niggles - today. Mood: --->

5km | Moderate Week 9 of 11 Lately my joints have been a bit creaky and I decided last night on the way home that it might be a sign that the shoes need replacing. My Longrun spreadsheet noted that my shoe mileage on the 2100's had tipped over the 500km mark and now records the total in red. So assuming that it indicates a warning by the author, I broke out a new par of 2110's that I had waiting in the cupboard. I ducked out last night in the new shoes for a quick spin and found them nice and comfy. My knees were still a bit wonky this morning but I guess that the effects of new shoes will not show immediately. As I missed out on the Sutherland to Surf last Sunday, I have decided to run the Bay Run this weekend. I'm thinking I need some racing between now and the C2S, so the Bay Run and Striders Lane Cove next month will do me good methinks. Because of the Bay Run, I will do my LSD tonight and will head out for a 90/120 min run through the hills of Coogee, Clovelly & Bronte etc. Mood: --->

Week 9 of 11 The arrival of my red bib (sub 75:00 group) for next months City to Surf is a proud achievement for me and makes me feel like a real runner for the first time. At the same time I now have the fear of failing to deliver a real runners time ! Eeek ! So this thread on Cool Running calling for punters to declare their goal time got me thinking. What is a realistic time for this fat bastard ? I decided to use three methods to achieve my goal time. The first is to use Ewen's famous City to Surf Calculator. So based on my 10km PB, Ewen seems to think that I can crawl around in 64:42. The second method was to plonk my Sydney Striders Lane Cove course PB into my pace calculator (on this page, bottom right) and see what that pace over 14km works out to be. This method suggests a 65:20 result. The third was a guestimate result based on AndrewT's legendary Predictor Tables. With my 100 minute finish in the SMH 1/2M, Andrew suggests that I should run 64/65:xx. So allowing for the usual crowd sh!t fight at the start, I'm shooting for a 65:xx result this year. To be honest that seems way too fast for me, but I guess the stats don't lie. Time to lose some more weight and get serious me thinks. Mood: --->

11km | easy/time trial Week 9 of 11 In the absence of a solid hit out at the Sutherland to Surf, I headed over early to Centennial Park with the aim of doing at least something at 10km race pace. After one lap of the walking path (3.5km) as a warm up, I ran the next lap at an guestimated 10km pace. I ran pretty hard and was joined by a few greyhounds along the way who both stopped for a chat and then moved away from me as if I was standing still. Buggers, I was blowing big time and they were jogging I think. Anyway I finished the 3.5km lap in 15:40 which for me is about 10km PB race pace. So whilst that is no substitute for 11km at Sutherland, at least I know I can still run at that pace. I wish I could bang out intervals like many Bloggers, but I just don't have the mojo to keep running hard without the adrenaline of a race or having someone to chase. After the first lap at pace I had contemplated doing another after a standing rest but, well, it didn't happen. Maybe now that I'm not really carrying any injuries I should start trying to do intervals during the week to help on my speed. Meh, we'll see. I managed an easy final lap of the walking path after that before heading home for breakfast I did get a "G'day Gronk" shout once or twice by a CR on a bike but couldn't quite make out who it was as he scooted past in the clearing fog. So - G'day right back at cha CR ! By the way, the St Charles Waverley U8's lost their major semi-final yesterday (the reason why I wasn't running S2S). Jackson played a great hookers game and tackled his little heart out, only to get pipped by a try in the last seconds. :( Mood: --->

Message forwarded by BlogThis via Mozilla Firefox: Sutherland To Surf 2006 - CoolRunning Messageboards: "The good news is that St Charles Waverley U8's defeated the Coogee Wombats (40 all on a countback after extra time) this afternoon on the hallowed turf of Redfern Oval. The bad news is that the major semi final is at 9.30am Sunday so I am a DNS for the S2S in the morning. Have a great race everyone ! "

8km | Easy Week 8 of 11 Boredom made me search out a new route for a midweek run so I headed out towards Randwick then down to Coogee and return. The homeward leg provided a nice rollercoaster run up and down the hills of Carrington Road into Bondi Junction. I ran without GPS so I had no real idea how far I had run and just plodded away. I like it that way at times. Whilst I wouldn't say that my pace was fast, it would at least be best described as solid, which was all I was looking for in the lead up to Sunday's Sutherland to Surf. I do not have any niggles - today. ================================ FAT FRIDAY ! Weight @ 01/01/06: 83.0kg Weight last week: 75.7kg Weight this week: 75.5kg Comment: Not much happening but at least its a downward trend. Actually this is lowest I have been now for over 15 years ! ================================ Mood: --->

7km | Easy Week 9 of 11 ...blow a dog off a chain is what my Dad would say. For one reason or another I didn't get out the door until 10.00pm last night. The late time together with the driving rain and gale force winds made me question my sanity, something that my wife no longer does. She gave up ages ago. ;) I ran quite quick despite the conditions and scooted around the outside fence track of Centennial Park in good time. Niggles I hear you ask ? I do not have any niggles - today. Mood: --->

Week 9 of 11 Like last year I will be running The 2006 City to Surf for Bear Cottage. It's easy to do: you get your friends, family and work collegues to sponsor you over the 14km course. If you raise more than $100.00 you will get a t-shirt (last year it was a nice sky blue sponsored dri-fit shirt) which gets you entry into the Bear Cottage tent. Lots of nice munchies there for re-fuelling. To be part of a really great thing, follow the link above. Come on Bloggers - do it for the kids !

17km | LSD | 90:00 (approx) Week 8 of 11 Blkbox and I ran the Striders Clovelly Canter (actually our version is slightly longer at 17km) early this morning. The cloud cover kept the temp in double figures and the rain was a bearable drizzle. Blkbox was out to run at a decent pace after his chest problems over the past weeks. The good news is that he did that more and we were able to run the hilly beaches course at a reasonable clip without any dramas. Personally I'm pretty content with my running at the moment and can report only the odd niggle here and there. I'll have a quiet run tomorrow and a quiet week leading into the Sutherland to Surf on Sunday. Very much looking forward to running a fast flatish course for a change. Mood: --->

Friday 14th July, 2006 Week 8 of 11 FAT FRIDAY ! Weight @ 01/01/06: 83.0kg Weight 7/7/06: 76.5kg Weight this week: 75.7kg Comment: Phew, I'm back to where I was at the beginning of June. If I can get down to 75 by C2S I will be happy. Mood: ---> Thursday 13th July, 2006 Week 8 of 11 10km | Easy I was feeling a tad dehydrated yesterday afternoon, and tried to down as much water as possible to stay of a headache. By the time I got home, it had subsided somewhat, but I still felt dry in the mouth and had an ache in the head. I dressed in tights, gloves and anything else i could find to keep me warm and headed down to Bondi Beach. Gee it was cold and windy down there and the layers of clothing did little to stop the cold. Surprisingly, all niggles were absent after a few KMs and I ran with ease up and down the hilly course. Whilst still at an easy pace, I managed to run freely and even ramped up the pace on the long haul hill climb of Bondi Road on the way home. Very happy chappy. Mood: ---> Wednesday 12th July, 2006 Week 8 of 11 7km | Easy On what must have been the coldest night this year, I headed out after dinner with the ain of finding some soft surface. So I opted for the outside fence run of Centennial Park which is by and large grass except for the stretch along Darley Road down to Randwick Racecourse. I had to stop and stretch a few times to ease the pain in my right calf and left quad. That gave it temporary relief for about 10 mins before I had to stop and do it again. By the end of the run I was feeling OK, but decided to take Voltaren for a day or two when I got home to see if it helped the cause any. Mood: ---> Tuesday 11th July, 2006 Week 8 of 11 5km | Easy I headed out on Tuesday night somewhat effected by the DOMS after the weekend runs. To be honest I ran at a really reduced pace - almost an amble because of the residual pain in the legs. I really must train more on soft surfaces. You would think I would learn after all this time. Mood: --->

9km | easy Week 7 of 11 My son Jackson is 7 years old and lately has been asking to go running with me. So last Sunday and yesterday I took him for a lap of Queens Park. Last week we did a walk/run routine around the perimeter and yesterday did the same only Jackson ran most of the 2km lap. He's very proud of himself and I suggested that he could do the Australia Day 4km in January. He seemed pretty suprised at that but is keen to try for it anyway. Fingers crossed that he stays motivated and can achieve his goal. I'm not the sort of Dad who pushes his son, but if he is keen then I will help him get there. After that I ran the 7km grass course of Queens/Centennial Parks at bludge pace. I purposely took it easy and it was the first time I had ran two days in a row for many months, so I didn't want to pull up sore and need to take a few days off. Thankfully it ended up OK and I finished feeling pretty good. Mood: --->

16km | 92:16 | Easy Week 7 of 11 I met CR Blkbox at 7.00am for a run into the City this morning and to be honest I wasn't feeling particularly flash after only 4/5 hours sleep. Thankfully my niggles had taken a backseat this morning and I was able to run comfortably at conversation pace without any real effort. Blkbox was hamstrung with a chest complaint which meant that we had a bit of a stop start run, but I didn't mind. I'm never the one to knock back a little rest here and there. We finished in pretty good shape and I enjoyed the run and the company. I'm feeling so good right now I might even head out Sunday for a afternoon run. Gee, two days in a row hasn't happened for many months. Fingers crossed I pull up OK in the morning. Mood: --->

5km | soft sand Week 7 of 11 I've done some stupid things in my life, but last night was right up there with the best of them. So with the niggles getting better I decided that it was a good time to head back to the sand of Bondi for a few laps. This would have to be the first time in about 12 weeks. So I drove down at about 8.00pm to find a deserted Bondi Beach. I hopped out of the car and after a few stretches hit the sand barefoot. I reckon I went about 10m before I could stand it no more. The sand was f@#*^#g freezing !!! It was no better than running on snow. Doh ! So off I went back home (groan) to get my shoes as it was the only way that I could manage a run. I did eventually get back down there (after some teasing by the Bride) and trudged through the sand. Running in shoes was hard to get used to compared to barefoot and it took me a while to adjust. Soon I found some sort of rhythm and I finished 5 laps (just) before my quads turned to jelly. Pretty happy with it all. ======================= FAT FRIDAY ! Weight @ 01/01/06: 83.0kg Weight 2/6/06: 75.7kg Weight this week: 76.5kg Comment: Yes I've been a baaad boy over the last month! Time to trim down for the C2S. ======================= Mood: --->

5km | Recovery Week 7 of 11 I zipped out last night after dinner for a quick 5km. My pesky achilles has been replaced by a pesky calf and even peskier hamstring niggle. No real drama and nothing that some stretching and massage won't resolve. I ran at recovery pace (aka bludge pace) and ambled home hardly puffed. The program gets a rest tonight because of SoO3 (Carn the Bloooooooooooos). I entered the Sutherland to Surf today which is on in about 2 weeks. It sounds like a fun race (11kms) with plenty of local support. Hopefully I will get my A1 start at C2S confirmed soon as well . Also entered the Blackmores 1/2M which is on in September. Very much looking forward to it all ! Mood: --->

10km | 45:50 | Race Week 6 of 11 CoolBlogger BlkBox picked me up this morning and the first thing I said to him when I hopped in his car was that I was not going to out hard today and that a solid 50:00 run was all that I was after. I hadn't run at all this week since my run on Tuesday because of my achilles niggle and chose to spin instead. I got up early this morning and massaged my pesky achilles with Voltaren gel and made myself a double shot expresso for that extra special zip. At the gun BlkBox and I set off with the other two hundred odd runners at a brisk pace. I said at the time that with the absence of any pacers this race that I may find myself going out way too hard in the first KM or two. Yep, by time we hit the 1km marker we had gone through at 4:31. Oops too fast again. Anyway I was feeling pretty good and I'm a sucker for pushing myself in any race, so I tried to keep it up as smooth as I could. My splits for the race were:- 4:31 4:37 4:31 4:36 4:39 5km 22:56 4:31 4:42 4:35 4:32 4:32 10km 45:50 Very happy with the result considering that its on the back of inconsistant training, the odd niggle and the flu. Great to also meet CR PortRunner and also CRs Ellie80 and Will who both made their Striders debut this morning. Mood: --->