25km - made up of 21.1km, then 4km warmdown. 87:56 for the half mara (4:10s), approx 18:00 for 4km (4:30s), from my house to the Bay Run, 2 laps, and return.
Longest run I've done in almost a year. I know that makes me sound soft, but over that time I've been focussing on shorter stuff and haven't raced anything over 10km. So the "long" runs weren't very long. Headed to the Bay, but left the car at home and ran the approx 5km there. Great afternoon to be out and about, and quite a crowd out at the Bay, even at 3pm.
Was pleased with pacing and effort today - around 4:12s for the first 10km or so (had 5 identical 4:12s in a row, followed by 4:11, 4:10 - gotta love pancake flat traffic free courses), then picked it up in the second half to average 4:10s overall, slightly quicker than the goal for today.
Had a quiet last couple of days running wise as was up in Queensland for a funeral, followed by a big weekend out which included catching up with my brother and going to a Broncos match - so at least my legs were fresh for today. Felt a bit different doing the Sunday long run on a Monday though. Plan is to increase the long runs by a few kms each week over the next few weeks and see how I feel, before getting ahead of myself with any marathon plans. A couple a people have encouraged me to do it, a good mate has warned against it and told me to stick to the track. I'll decide after seeing how I'm going.
On the home reno front (I'm not doing it as a result of all these home reno shows on TV, swear I'm not..), prior to heading out for my run I installed a stack of gutter guard, then sealed the pavers that were laid a few weeks back. So a productive day on a few fronts
Bay Run half mara
Warmdown from half mara
Monday 18 July 2011
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Cold hills
10km 43:02 (4:18s) - 4km w'up (16:18), 6 x 185m steep hill sprints, 4km w'down (16:34)
Friggin freezing day today. I love how the news report drag out the "record low temperatures" line every time it gets cold, then the next line sneaks in the big caveat, tonight was "coldest July day in 8 years". So its not a record, as 8 years ago it was colder, plus there were probably hundreds of colder July days prior to that. A bit like some runners who have "this year PB", "this decade", a "post injury PB" etc etc. You have one PB, so get out and try and beat it. Rant over.
Today started with my monthly massage from Easy Tiger - he sorted out my perpetually tight lower back and also one or two other niggles I've recently picked up. Felt good enough after that to head down late in the afternoon to my steepest local hill - Livingstone Road in South Marrickville, just next to the Cooks River, Marrickville Golf Course and a big Eggball (AFL) oval. The hill's not overly long - 185m to the top - but its steep. Rises over 20m in the185m, so its a decent hitout. Didn't know how many I'd manage, so decided I'd just run them hard til I got the wobbles pretty badly and couldn't look out for cars/driveways etc. Hadn't run this hill for awhile, forgot how tough it was to sustain speed. Managed 6 reps - 50s, 50, 50, 49, 47, 45 - which is ok but not earth shattering. Probably should have done the first couple a bit quicker, will do next time.
Fast(ish) warm up and down alongside the Cook River made for a short but effective session. Just hope the hills haven't undone Tiger's hardwork. He's busy crosstraining the house down at the moment while injured, so I dont think he could fit me in for another massage if I needed one. Plus I probably couldn't afford another at the moment, being a stay at home Dad for awhile with no income :)
Livingstone Road hill sprint reps
Friggin freezing day today. I love how the news report drag out the "record low temperatures" line every time it gets cold, then the next line sneaks in the big caveat, tonight was "coldest July day in 8 years". So its not a record, as 8 years ago it was colder, plus there were probably hundreds of colder July days prior to that. A bit like some runners who have "this year PB", "this decade", a "post injury PB" etc etc. You have one PB, so get out and try and beat it. Rant over.
Today started with my monthly massage from Easy Tiger - he sorted out my perpetually tight lower back and also one or two other niggles I've recently picked up. Felt good enough after that to head down late in the afternoon to my steepest local hill - Livingstone Road in South Marrickville, just next to the Cooks River, Marrickville Golf Course and a big Eggball (AFL) oval. The hill's not overly long - 185m to the top - but its steep. Rises over 20m in the185m, so its a decent hitout. Didn't know how many I'd manage, so decided I'd just run them hard til I got the wobbles pretty badly and couldn't look out for cars/driveways etc. Hadn't run this hill for awhile, forgot how tough it was to sustain speed. Managed 6 reps - 50s, 50, 50, 49, 47, 45 - which is ok but not earth shattering. Probably should have done the first couple a bit quicker, will do next time.
Fast(ish) warm up and down alongside the Cook River made for a short but effective session. Just hope the hills haven't undone Tiger's hardwork. He's busy crosstraining the house down at the moment while injured, so I dont think he could fit me in for another massage if I needed one. Plus I probably couldn't afford another at the moment, being a stay at home Dad for awhile with no income :)
Livingstone Road hill sprint reps
Monday 11 July 2011
Still runnin'
14km Bay Run 56:41 (4:03s)
About a week since my last blog post - and almost a week since my last decent run. Couple of nothing short runs in between - none worth blogging about - plus was caught up for a few days doing some serious work around the house. Well, serious for a skinny ass runner with no upper body strength. Had my front and backyards returfed, so had a lot of prep work to do for it before the real guys came in to lay the turf. Digging, rock moving, concrete splitting etc etc...
Then once the turf was put in, from nowhere I grew a greenthumb and decided to build garden beds with the rocks etc. Looks a lot better now, but hard work. Some good strength work for my legs, but not necessarily my runner/Accountant arms. One or two mornings I struggled to lift my arms above my head. And for once I'm praying for some rain - none for weeks, I've now exhausted my 5,000L rainwater tank, so am onto the mains supply to ensure this stuff doesn't die on me. My poor dog is freaking out wondering where all the water jets and sprays in the backyard have come from.
Today's run felt really good - hadnt been out to Bay for a couple of weeks, and great afternoon weather. Planned to run it in 4:15s, and was on target after 1km, but felt great so just rolled them out, one of those days where it felt easy. I was probably more pleased with the consistent laps, every km was between 4:00 and 4:05, with the last 3 a little quicker, to average 4:03s. Love running on traffic free courses, no annoying cyclists today either.
I want to get back to some longer weekend runs soon, to see where I'm at, given Sydney Marathon is less than 10 weeks away. Not 100% if I'll do it yet, will see how the next couple of weeks pan out - just keen to run one while I have a bit more time to train. 6 years since my last road mara (couple of 6 Foot Tracks in between though), only downside will be it will delay my track season start this year.
Hopefully this week will have less gardening and more running. Heading up to Qld on Friday for a funeral (good family friend), so will catch up with my family, and maybe sneak in a run along the river on Saturday.
14km Bay Run incl extras
About a week since my last blog post - and almost a week since my last decent run. Couple of nothing short runs in between - none worth blogging about - plus was caught up for a few days doing some serious work around the house. Well, serious for a skinny ass runner with no upper body strength. Had my front and backyards returfed, so had a lot of prep work to do for it before the real guys came in to lay the turf. Digging, rock moving, concrete splitting etc etc...
Then once the turf was put in, from nowhere I grew a greenthumb and decided to build garden beds with the rocks etc. Looks a lot better now, but hard work. Some good strength work for my legs, but not necessarily my runner/Accountant arms. One or two mornings I struggled to lift my arms above my head. And for once I'm praying for some rain - none for weeks, I've now exhausted my 5,000L rainwater tank, so am onto the mains supply to ensure this stuff doesn't die on me. My poor dog is freaking out wondering where all the water jets and sprays in the backyard have come from.
New front yard - wonder if my wife will notice the mini football pitch I asked them to incorporate...
Today's run felt really good - hadnt been out to Bay for a couple of weeks, and great afternoon weather. Planned to run it in 4:15s, and was on target after 1km, but felt great so just rolled them out, one of those days where it felt easy. I was probably more pleased with the consistent laps, every km was between 4:00 and 4:05, with the last 3 a little quicker, to average 4:03s. Love running on traffic free courses, no annoying cyclists today either.
I want to get back to some longer weekend runs soon, to see where I'm at, given Sydney Marathon is less than 10 weeks away. Not 100% if I'll do it yet, will see how the next couple of weeks pan out - just keen to run one while I have a bit more time to train. 6 years since my last road mara (couple of 6 Foot Tracks in between though), only downside will be it will delay my track season start this year.
Hopefully this week will have less gardening and more running. Heading up to Qld on Friday for a funeral (good family friend), so will catch up with my family, and maybe sneak in a run along the river on Saturday.
14km Bay Run incl extras
Monday 4 July 2011
Marrickville dark streets
10km easy 42:08 (4:12s)
Complete opposite scenery wise of yesterday's run - 10km around the cold dark streets of Marrickville on a Monday night. At least there were no people to dodge. A bit of a nothing run, only memorable part was while doing a few laps of the path that circles Henson Park (where the mighty Newtown Jets play), I raced a dog for at least 200m. Well, not really raced, but he chased me, snapped at my heels a few times, but I think he was annoyed I kept going and picked up the pace a bit. Some sort of fat boxer cross called Max, he got me a few times lightly, but the thick Adidas tights I was wearing did the trick. Actually his owner should have thanked me, as they both got a decent run out of it (the owner chasing yelling out the dog's name).
Legs felt very stiff today after yesterday afternoon's long run. Must be getting old..
Pain in the Domain fartlek tomorrow, although a new set of tradies is arriving at my house tomorrow for some work, so will have to play it by ear (all those reno shows - which I don't mind - always warn against absenting yourself if you can avoid it, otherwise you can come home to find out the wrong wall has been knocked down etc)
Marrickville streets
Complete opposite scenery wise of yesterday's run - 10km around the cold dark streets of Marrickville on a Monday night. At least there were no people to dodge. A bit of a nothing run, only memorable part was while doing a few laps of the path that circles Henson Park (where the mighty Newtown Jets play), I raced a dog for at least 200m. Well, not really raced, but he chased me, snapped at my heels a few times, but I think he was annoyed I kept going and picked up the pace a bit. Some sort of fat boxer cross called Max, he got me a few times lightly, but the thick Adidas tights I was wearing did the trick. Actually his owner should have thanked me, as they both got a decent run out of it (the owner chasing yelling out the dog's name).
Legs felt very stiff today after yesterday afternoon's long run. Must be getting old..
Pain in the Domain fartlek tomorrow, although a new set of tradies is arriving at my house tomorrow for some work, so will have to play it by ear (all those reno shows - which I don't mind - always warn against absenting yourself if you can avoid it, otherwise you can come home to find out the wrong wall has been knocked down etc)
Marrickville streets
Sunday 3 July 2011
Waterfront half marathon
Friday 10km of hill circuit Marrickville 45:20 (4:32s)
Sunday 21.1km long run Waterfront Pyrmont to Mrs Macquarie's Chair and return 1:30:57 (4:18s with a slow first 4km)
Have to be a shortish blog post today, as its the boss' (wife's) birthday today, and I've already snuck out for a 90 minute run, so better not spend too long blogging about it...Felt good today - hadn't run since Friday which didn't hurt. The only thing that did hurt a bit was my stomach as I set off for the run at 2.30pm after a family birthday lunch. Started it slowly in Pyrmont, as was running the first 4km with a friend visiting from Melbourne - ran those 4km in 5:01s, which I think is quicker than his last 5km race, so he was going well.
After that, I ran off for the rest of the run, into the city hugging the harbour all the way, running all the wharves etc. Had clocked up 14km by the time I got to Andrew Boy Charlton Pool at the back of Mrs Macquarie's Chair, and didn't have to cross one road in those 14km. Did however have to dodge a million tourists and Sunday late lunchers in Darling Harbour/Cockle Bay/King St Wharf. My fault for going out so late, but man some people walk some unpredictable lines....I did well to come away with no collisions.
Picked up the pace after I turned, and came back a slightly shorter way. Aim was to do 24km, however was running out of time before we had to leave, so did a neat 21.1km instead. Average was 4:18, however excluding the first 4km, 'twas 4:09s, which is almost exactly what I was aiming for. So a decent run, but I don't recommend running 21.1 not long after eating a massive restaurant lunch...
49km for the week - down a bit on usual
Waterfront half mara
Sunday 21.1km long run Waterfront Pyrmont to Mrs Macquarie's Chair and return 1:30:57 (4:18s with a slow first 4km)
Have to be a shortish blog post today, as its the boss' (wife's) birthday today, and I've already snuck out for a 90 minute run, so better not spend too long blogging about it...Felt good today - hadn't run since Friday which didn't hurt. The only thing that did hurt a bit was my stomach as I set off for the run at 2.30pm after a family birthday lunch. Started it slowly in Pyrmont, as was running the first 4km with a friend visiting from Melbourne - ran those 4km in 5:01s, which I think is quicker than his last 5km race, so he was going well.
After that, I ran off for the rest of the run, into the city hugging the harbour all the way, running all the wharves etc. Had clocked up 14km by the time I got to Andrew Boy Charlton Pool at the back of Mrs Macquarie's Chair, and didn't have to cross one road in those 14km. Did however have to dodge a million tourists and Sunday late lunchers in Darling Harbour/Cockle Bay/King St Wharf. My fault for going out so late, but man some people walk some unpredictable lines....I did well to come away with no collisions.
Picked up the pace after I turned, and came back a slightly shorter way. Aim was to do 24km, however was running out of time before we had to leave, so did a neat 21.1km instead. Average was 4:18, however excluding the first 4km, 'twas 4:09s, which is almost exactly what I was aiming for. So a decent run, but I don't recommend running 21.1 not long after eating a massive restaurant lunch...
49km for the week - down a bit on usual
Waterfront half mara
Thursday 30 June 2011
Restaurant bookings
8km easy Annandale/Camperdown 35:01 (4:21s)
Wednesday was a bit of a nothing day for running - didn't push the pace or distance as back still not 100% plus groin is still feeling very iffy after Dragons training. I know that one sentence makes me sound like an injury whinger and also a bit dodgy given the known bad behaviour of NRL players, but it’s true. Amazing what changing your running from everything in a dead straight line can do to the body.
So a short one today, just rolled through the kms. This did however give me some time to organise things for my wife's birthday this weekend. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute - always seems to involve racing around from store to store, and snooty restaurant staff informing me that "we've been fully booked for weeks you know..." I hope I can get in somewhere decent, as I can't cook, and I don't think cheap Thai (especially when we live in Newtown/Enmore) or Subway will cut it on her big day...
Easy Annandale/Camperdown
Wednesday was a bit of a nothing day for running - didn't push the pace or distance as back still not 100% plus groin is still feeling very iffy after Dragons training. I know that one sentence makes me sound like an injury whinger and also a bit dodgy given the known bad behaviour of NRL players, but it’s true. Amazing what changing your running from everything in a dead straight line can do to the body.
So a short one today, just rolled through the kms. This did however give me some time to organise things for my wife's birthday this weekend. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute - always seems to involve racing around from store to store, and snooty restaurant staff informing me that "we've been fully booked for weeks you know..." I hope I can get in somewhere decent, as I can't cook, and I don't think cheap Thai (especially when we live in Newtown/Enmore) or Subway will cut it on her big day...
Easy Annandale/Camperdown
Tuesday 28 June 2011
St George Dragons training - snapped in half
Monday - no run, lower back very iffy after weekend running
Tuesday - 10km easy in Stanmore/Marrickville 43:41 (4:22s)
Not a lot of running the past two days as a dodgy lower back problem I get on and off came on after my Sunday trail run. Not a major problem, something that cost me a few $ at the physio last year, so I know how to deal with it now.
But the most intense session I've done this week wasn't a straight run, but today with the St George Dragons NRL team. No joke, it was a competition win from one of their sponsors, consisted of a couple of hours at the Kogarah home ground for a tour, viewing of video session, Q&A with coaches (alas, not Wayne Bennett) and a couple of players, then taking part in a couple of short touch footy based games. Also scored a Dragons jersey - I lucked out by getting the away strip, other winners got the home Red V strip.
I'm not a Dragons fan, but love NRL, and it was an amazing day. Especially as it was the day after the Dragons had played, so the high tech video session was an eye opener. Also was very interesting how much they monitor their players during training sessions - on all days other than recovery days (which this was), each player wears a GPS unit monitoring their speed, balance (via an accelerometer) for possible onset of injuries, and overall distance covered. This is all viewed in real time in a room at the top of the grandstand by an IT staffmember who relays messages back to the coaches that "player x is slackening off/getting fatigued this session, he's down to an average of only 5 m/s, call him out" etc. I had scary thoughts of if this was ever cheap enough to apply to running training sessions, especially someone monitoring some of my lazy "middle" reps...
The short touch footy style attack and defence games we then got to take part in were good fun, mainly things like 6 v 6 with a defender dropping off each touch (not tackle). No way in hell was I taking part if it was anything other than touch, they would have broken me in half. Even the little guys were all big units, and no doubt had a laugh later at the skinny runner and other wannabes joining in. Couple of pics below - none once we left the sheds and out onto the field however.
Hips and groin feeling a bit sore from all the sideways movement now, think I might call the club and ask if one of their masseurs can come and visit me for a follow up :)
Tuesday - 10km easy in Stanmore/Marrickville 43:41 (4:22s)
Not a lot of running the past two days as a dodgy lower back problem I get on and off came on after my Sunday trail run. Not a major problem, something that cost me a few $ at the physio last year, so I know how to deal with it now.
But the most intense session I've done this week wasn't a straight run, but today with the St George Dragons NRL team. No joke, it was a competition win from one of their sponsors, consisted of a couple of hours at the Kogarah home ground for a tour, viewing of video session, Q&A with coaches (alas, not Wayne Bennett) and a couple of players, then taking part in a couple of short touch footy based games. Also scored a Dragons jersey - I lucked out by getting the away strip, other winners got the home Red V strip.
I'm not a Dragons fan, but love NRL, and it was an amazing day. Especially as it was the day after the Dragons had played, so the high tech video session was an eye opener. Also was very interesting how much they monitor their players during training sessions - on all days other than recovery days (which this was), each player wears a GPS unit monitoring their speed, balance (via an accelerometer) for possible onset of injuries, and overall distance covered. This is all viewed in real time in a room at the top of the grandstand by an IT staffmember who relays messages back to the coaches that "player x is slackening off/getting fatigued this session, he's down to an average of only 5 m/s, call him out" etc. I had scary thoughts of if this was ever cheap enough to apply to running training sessions, especially someone monitoring some of my lazy "middle" reps...
The short touch footy style attack and defence games we then got to take part in were good fun, mainly things like 6 v 6 with a defender dropping off each touch (not tackle). No way in hell was I taking part if it was anything other than touch, they would have broken me in half. Even the little guys were all big units, and no doubt had a laugh later at the skinny runner and other wannabes joining in. Couple of pics below - none once we left the sheds and out onto the field however.
Hips and groin feeling a bit sore from all the sideways movement now, think I might call the club and ask if one of their masseurs can come and visit me for a follow up :)
I got the away strip - bummer
Not a lot of "stars" at today's recovery session - most are in NSW Origin camp
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