Simple Pleasures

Run, 5K in 23:51, a new PB at the Coolrunning Bay Challenge
Run, 3.5K slow jog back to the start.

A simple, satisfying day. Started with a well paced 5K PB at the Coolrunning Bay Run Challenge. Sarted as the only person in the 24 minute group, went through the first K in 4:40, second in 9:28, and had trouble finding the other K markers. I went OK with the 3K one, because I saw the inaccurate official marker, so I knew I was on target. At about 21 minutes I figured I'd missed the 4K marker, and started looking for the blue and gold Coolrunning gear. Finished in 23:51, a 54 second PB which was pleasing because it was well paced.

Chatted with a few people at the finish and on the way back. Good to make the acquaintance of Johnny Dark, Lone Wolf and a very chuffed Professor - 19:59:59 is a great way to break the twenty minute barrier; I was impressed.

Back at the start I ate Bernie G & Blue Dog's pancakes to, well, excess. I managed to meet Lorna (The Owl) amidst this Homer Simpsonesque performance and headed home with a full stomach and the demons of my last Bay Run 5K run exercised and then excorcised.

I spent the afternoon having a leisurely picnic with Fiona at Lane Cove National Park. Top day for it: sun shining without burning as we ate our lunch, and then a leisurely stroll around the park.

A PB, a couple of good feeds and good company. A day of simple pleasures.

Big coupla days

Wed AM, Run: 1K warm up, 8x500m efforts, 250m jog intervals.
Wed PM, Swim: 1600m, 50m pool.
Thu AM, Run: 10K in 56:52 Avg HR 144.

Wednesdays intervals were at the Regatta centre in Penrith again - a convenient place to have them with a physio appointment straight afterwards. The physio was happy with my knee and ITB and doesn't want to see me for three weeks.

After physio I worked in a warehouse for the rest of the day stacking boxes.

The swim was slow laps. I took several breaks because I was a bit tired.

Started today with a 10K flat run. The HR was low, but I did feel I was getting a little puffed.

I was stacking boxes again today, and tonight I feel utterly stuffed. Tomorrow is a rest day, and I have lined up some consultancy work, so no physical stuff! Thgis should bleave me well rested for a 5K PB at the bay on Saturday morning.

Ye olde mountain bike

Tue PM - Ride, 32K in 90 minutes. MTB.

I took the road bike to the repair shop with the pedal problems, and received the requisite "oooh, probably not today mate". This left me with ascheduled afternoon ride, and only the dodgy old mountain bike to ride on.

So out for a slow ride around the triathlon club race route three times. My quads stung a bit, and it seemed to take an eternity, but it's done.

I have a busy few days planned (casual work!) for the rest of the week. This will test my capacity to keep the training up once I get myself a job.

14.3K Long Run

Sun AM - 14.3K Run, 1:21:27 AHR:148. Slightly puffed.
Mon PM - 5K Run, No HRM, no watch.

Sunday's long run was the reintroduction of an old favourite course - a loop through South Windsor, into Richmond via Blacktown Rd, and back into Windsor via Windsor St/Richmond Rd. 15K less warmup/warmdown walking. I kept my heartrate below 155 until the last kilometre, which is a constant hill back into Windsor. With this in mind I was stoked with the time - well below 6min/Ks. The knee hurt a bit afterwards, but nothing like the pain after last week's long run.

Sunday night I saw Mark Seymour and James Reyne do an acoustic show at Rooty Hill RSL. I was never a big fan of either when they were in their respective bands, but I do enjoy a bit of their work now. These guys were awesome. Mark Seymour is an incredibly powerful singer and James Reyne is a brilliant showman (and a great live singer). A top night out.

This morning I went into the city with Fiona to watch the march and caught up with my father-in-law, who is a Vietnam veteran, at the pub afterwards.

Keeping the "unplugged" theme of the previous night going, I went out for an "unplugged" 5K easy run this afternoon. No watch, no HRM, no MP3. Just me and the road... and the traffic ... and the other Westies.

Tri club Ride

Ride, 50K in 2 hours, No stats but felt hard.

There was a huge turnout at the tri club ride this week, but only one group. I felt it was fast, but luckily we had to stop a couple of times, so I got a couple of breathers.

The first of these delays occurred when my newly installed bike computer came loose from it's holder, so I have no stats for you. It felt bloody fast to me. Perfect autumn ride, a bit chilly at first and a bit sunny towards the end, but just beautiful for most of the ride.

Craig (my neighbour/mentor/owner of my borrowed bike) has lent me a pair oproper pedals for cleated shoes. I already had the shoes, so this afternoon I tried to put them on. I did OK with one pedal, but I had stuffed the thread on the other one. I'll have to get someone more mechanically minded than myself to fix it for me.

A bit of everything

Thu AM: Ride, 25K in 1:10, slow and steady.
Thu PM: Swim, 2000m in 1:00, Continuous slow swimming in a 50m pool.
Fri AM: Run, 8K in 45 min. Ave HR 145.

Thursdays ride was a catchup on the one I should've done on Wednesday. Just a token effort, really.

I wanted to get my big swim in a 50m pool, so since I worked in Lewisham yesterday I dropped in at the Olympic pool at Homebush Bay and pushed out 2K in the competition pool (the one they used during the Olympics. Felt shitty at first, but I got into it.

It was hard to get going for the run this morning (not surprising backing up after a two-session day), but I pushed out 8K without too much bother.

Track Intervals

Run 6.6K in 45 minutes. 800m Warm Up, 8 x 400m Efforts, 200m Jog intervals, 1200m warm down

For the first time in ages I missed a workout due to weather this morning. 40K of riding in the rain just didn't float my boat.

I was down for intervals in the afternoon, and being in the Silverwater area at the time I headed for the Olympic Athletics centre and did my session on the track. This is the first time I have done an interval session on an athletic track, and I loved it. I have no lap watch, but the times were a bit like:

1:46
1:50
1:50
1:48
1:51
1:50
1:48
1:45

So the pace was consistent and I felt reasonably stuffed by the end of it. The knee is travelling along well - no niggles and no pain later.

Oh, I forgot to Mention...

Mon AM Swim 1000m, 10*50m Sprints, Felt Sluggish.
Mon PM Run 5K in 28:15. Enjoyable

It was only after I read Horrie's kind comments yesterday that I realised I had failed to mention that my knee ached solidly for about four hours after Sunday's PB. It didn't bother me at all during the run, but started as soon as I stopped.

No such hasssles on Monday - in fading light I covered 5K of paths through the bush. The object of this run is more or less to gently reintroduce my body to the concept of running on consecutive days.

I spent today's rest day working in a warehouse, so it aint much of a rest day. With a ride planned for tomorrow morning and speedwork in the afternoon, I could be a bit tired come tomorrow night.

SMC 10K - Finally, a new PB!

Run: 10K in 52:59, SMC. Four minute PB.

Finally, my 57 minute 10K PB is history. This has been my first attempt at 10K in over a year.

The temperature was 16.3 and the humidity was apparently 97%, but it didn't feel that bad to me. With the memory of the Coolrunning challenge debacle fresh in my mind, I deliberately made sure I wasn't panting for the first half of the race. Did the first K in 5:08, and was pretty happy.

At the 5K turnaround I was doing OK at 26:11. From there I must have slowed a bit, because even though I put the foot down a bit at 9K and ramped it up a bit more when I saw the finish line I finished in 22:59. I'm happy with this. I had hoped for 52:00, but it's been so long since I've run the distance, that was just a guess. I don't think I could have done a lot better - as it was I felt the vomit hit the back of the throat towards the end.

Chatted with a few Coolrunners after the race, which was great. Heard a number of first hand Canberra stories. I wanna do another marathon!

I couldn't pace my way out of a wet paper bag

AM - Run, 8.4K in 46:15, avg HR 158. Tough. Felt sluggish.
PM - Swim, 1000m with 400m of sprints. Tougher.

The morning run was supposed to be at normal training pace. Even with the HRM telling me I was going too hard and just feeling crappy, I pushed myself too damn hard. I should be training at 6 min Ks, not 5.5. This is more a tempo run pace.

Hopefully with a rest day tomorrow I should be right for a 10K PB on Sunday, because I feel stuffed right now. The excellent news is that on my last two runs I didn't even think about my knee. It's coming good I tells ya!

In the afternoon I swam. The plan was to do a 200m warm up, 600m of sprints and a 200m warm down. I did 3 50m sprints, 2 100m sprints and the body just said "no". So I waited a bit, did one final lungbusting 50m sprint and did a feeble 400m warm down, and I even had to take a break in the middle of that.

A whole lotta Homebush Bay

Ride, 55K in 2:10 Avg Speed 25.3

I was in Homebush Bay first thing this morning and spent a couple of hours just riding around the Olympic Park. Not an interesting ride by any stretch of the imagination, but there are bike lanes everywhere, so it's safe. It's mostly flat, so I was surprised that I was really starting to struggled towards the end of the ride with fatigue. I guess I have done three hard days in row and I haven't had a rest day for over a week. Next one is due on Saturday before I attempt to erase the embarrassing 10K PB on Sunday.

Intervals at the Regatta Centre

Run, 1K warm up, 7 * 500m efforts, 250m jog intervals, 1.5K Warm Down

6:30AM at the regatta centre. My vague recollection of the effort times is something like:

2:12
2:24
2:20
2:23
2:18
2:24
2:07

I was aiming at 2:20-2:25, so I deliberately slowed down after the first one. Decided to gun it on the last one and did the last 100m fast in an attempt to use all of the petrol.

Went straight to the physio, who is very happy with progress, but he still managed to make me howl in pain. At least i convinced him to let me leave it a fortnight until the next visit.

Luckylegs, if you read this, I'm still thinking of you. Hope you are doing OK.

Following the Black Line

Swim, 2500m, 1:15. 25m pool, continuous swimming.

100 laps of continuous swimming in the 25m pool (the outdoor pool at Windsor has been closed for the winter). This is the longest swimming session I have ever done. I feel OK now, but I am wondering at the wisdom of this session when I plan to do intervals tomorrow morning.

Could be messy.

Lovely Lonely Rides

Ride, 39K 90min Avge Speed 26.1. Felt Great.

I am starting to really like cycling on my own.

I find when I can spin at my own pace without having to worry about any other bugger, I just settle into it comfortably and enjoy myself. Today I reeled off 39K that just felt great. I had already decided to take my long ride solo on Thursday to leave Saturday as a rest day, and I'm glad about it.

Now, if only I could enjoy the swimming a bit more.

That pesky knee

Sun: Run 12K in 71:15 Ave HR 148. Knee hurt afterwards.

Great morning for a run. The physio told me to take it up to 12K, which I did. My 12K local course is hillyfor 2K, flat for about 6K and really hilly for the last 4K. I felt good for the entire run - my breathing wasn't as laboured as my last run even though the speed mas about the same, and although the knee niggled a bit, it held up during the run. I finished it in 71:15, just a shade over 10kph.

My knee started to feel a bit ordinary soon after I stopped running. I walk the last 500m home, and it got progressively worse as I walked home. A couple of hours later it was quite painful to walk on (only whilst walking, but after a bit of extra stretching it calmed down. It feels OK now, but still far from perfect.

While participation has been a little taxing today, it is a much better day for support: Enjoyed watching a big Rabbitohs win with a Knights fan, and have been eagerly reading Canberra Marathon race reports.

Puff ... Tee ... Puff ... Shirt ... Puff .... Weather!

Thu: Swim Squad, Oasis in Windsor. 2.2K, really worked the arms..

Fri: Run, 8K in 48 minutes. Loop to Bligh Park Avge HR app. 153. Laboured Breathing.

Sat Ride, 50K in 1:50 with tri club. Avge speed 26.8

I have decided to blog in a new format. I'll summarise my workouts into one line each, as above. Below this will be any extra comments about the workouts. After this I will write any of the extra non-workout stuff. I hope this gives any readers the chance to jump off when they feel like it.

The ride this morning was great. I finally had my bike computer working, and I have got faster in the meantime. I'm still getting dropped, but not by as much and not as often. One emarrassing moment - one of the guys had a silly grin on his face whilst riding next to me as he put out a pointed finger. He was indicating to turn right, but it looked to me like he wanted his finger pulled. When it comes down to it, I am just a peurile little boy with a penchant for fart jokes.

I hope you noticed that I can now provide average speed on my new bike computer. Be impressed, dammit. That feature cost me an extra ten bucks!

The run on Friday was a bit tough. It was right on my new training pace, but it is patently obvious that I am not fit enough to reel off plenty of miles at this pace. The problem is that I will lose form if I go any slower. My physio wants me running at a minimum of this pace. Hopefully my speed and endurance training will get me to the point where this pace is achieved more easily.

A good test I failed is the my mp3 player threw up The Lucksmiths song "T-Shirt Weather" about two thirds in, and I only sang along with the first verse, and feebly at that. I'll know I'm running at a comfortable pace when my running version of "T-Shirt Weather" is scaring small children and making dogs howl.

And this segues nicely into last nights activities: I went and saw The Lucksmiths at the Annandale Hotel. Unfortunately I couldn't convince anyone to go with me, but I had a great time. They always deliver a great show.

Intervals

I wanted to do some intervals at the regatta centre this morning, but when I got there at 7:00 the tracks had been closed for the schools triathlon championships, so I went to a nearby oval (the one just ouside Penrith Stadium).

I ran a warm up lap, did seven effort laps with half lap jogging/plodding intervals and a three lap warm down. Fourteen laps. I suspect the oval was a bit more than 400m in circumference - the efforts all took about 2:09, and it felt a lot like the 4:45min/K pace I was doing last week.

I just had time to nick back to the regatta centre for a shower before physio at 9:00. he worked my back and the ITB, and he has noticed improvement (woo-hoo!).

Just Bloody Marvellous

I had a job interview this morning. Ten minutes in we were just going through the motions - both sides had figured out I wasn't right for the job. The train ride home was a bit depressing as I thought about the situation.

I had a couple of calls from agencies during the afternoon, and I had a few things to think about by mid afternoon. What better way to spend 90 minutes thinking than out on the bike (except for running - but I'm not up to 90 minutes yet). I fitted the new bike computer I had had bought, but broke it in the process, so I just got out and hit the road. I suspect todays ride was about 37K, and it just all came together. Pedalled solidly, felt confident and fast and I just enjoyed it. I know this post follows a familiar theme, but I find that a good workout turns a rotten day into a decent one frequently.

I took a couple of phone calls during the ride, so I don't really know how long I was riding for, and because of the computer mishap, I don't know how far it was (37K is pretty fair - it was a 32K ride with a little bit tacked on).

I'm seeing The Lucksmiths on Friday night. This is my favourite band. Despite the fact I have seen them umpteen times before I am starting to get excited. Can't wait.

Recovery Run and Short, Sharp Swim

Decided to try a run with the dogs this morning. They cooperate OK on the run, but the young one (Beth) get a bit excited near other dogs, and the old one (Tali) usually defecates at least twice on a walk or run.

Today they were OK. The usual walking loop is a 3.5K loop through Windsor. We took this route. 2.5K in we have the local oval, so I tied the dogs to the fence and set off for four laps. Towards the end of the second lap I looked over to where the dogs were and didn't see them. I thought they were in a blind spot, but this quickly became not possible. Looking around the oval I saw them gleefully playing in the middle. They were both still on the double lead I walk them with, so although my knot had failed they were unable to seperate and unable to get into too much trouble. I did the laps a little quicker than standard training pace, but not much.

They both came to the conclusion that it would be pretty cool to run with me anyway, so I picked up the lead at the end of the four laps and the three of us trotted home.

The rain started within minutes of the start of the run, but I like that. It's a bit difficult to get motivated to go out in the rain, but if it starts when I am out there it is great.

This afternoon I hit the pool for a swimming sprint session:

200m warm up
4 * 50m sprints, 1 min rests
200m as hard as I could
2 * 100m sprints 90 sec rests
200m cool down

Absolutely stuffed by the end of it.

A different runner

Today I ran the 10.4K loop course that I used as one of my key training runs pre-marathon. This is a bit of a landmark, because it's the first time since September that I have been able to use one of these courses, and I can happily announce I ran this course as a different, faster runner. Using the HRM to make sure I didn't over exert myself, I probably pushed myself a little harder than pre injury (an average HR of 148 as opposed to 145), but previously it would take me 68-70 minutes to complete this course. Today, at training pace and exertion, it took 1:00:17.

My running training has been based around getting my speed up, and this is confirmation that the effort has not been wasted.

The plan will be to start working on my 10K PB for the next few months, my half marathon PB in the back half of the year and I'm looking at making the Canberra marathon my key race in 2006, aiming at sub 4 hours.

Hobnobbing with Olympians

Friday's rest day was a bit depressing. The pain in my knee did not abate - and having that sort of patella femeral pain that I have only had during running previously really worried me.

I has apprehensive about this mornings ride with the tri club, but the knee felt great this morning, and felt great during the ride.

There were only four of us, and I got dropped of a third of the way through. One of the guys came back to help me catcch up with the other two. Although I had said G'day to him before, I had never really spoken to Lochsley before, but we chatted for about half an hour after this. I had overheard him talking about high jump, and when I asked I found out that he had represented Australia at the 1992 Olympics, coming 16th in the high jump.

I held on pretty well after we caught up, and I felt pretty good about that, because the pace was pretty hot.

Spent the rest of the day at a BBQ on a beautiful Sydney Autumn day. Good company, good beer, vegetarian sausages. Nice.