Sunday Long(ish) Run - 26kmin

Slightly shorter this week for the long run, in light of a solid 4 week training cycle (which included the SMH Half Marathon in the middle of it), along with timing it for the upcoming monthly Sydney Striders 10km race next Saturday at North Head. Slightly overcast with occasional drizzle made for substandard conditions, but little wind made it more bearable. All up, probably just over 26km in a time of approximately 1 hour and 47 minutes.Probably felt about the same speed as last Sunday, which was encouraging. A few minor tweaks this coming week training-wise, but the first half will be as per normal.

Saturday morning - 6km Time Trial at Centennial Park

Back with the squad for my favourite session of the week! It was that time of the month for the dreaded 6km time trial. I had actually managed to avoid this specific session since January, as it managed to fall on the same day as the Sydney Striders monthly 10km race from February onwards. I actually felt flat during the warm-up - the two solid weeks of continuous training since the SMH half had really taken its toll. Nevertheless, I pushed through the strides and made sure I was warmed up and raring to go. To my surprise, I got around in a great time (for me) of 19:12, averaging 3:11min/km pace. Funnily enough, I got through the 5km mark at 15:52, and was tempted to stop as this was a new personal best for me over the shorter distance. It was again good to have both Keith and Matt to chase this morning, although I was only really super close for the first half of the first of 6 laps. A steady 4km cool down with a few of the others rounded off a nice morning, and a great way to kick off the weekend.

Easy Friday 10km

10km very easy this morning. Felt the legs today after another solid week of training - racking up 127km.

Thursday session - Deek's quarters

It took some soul searching to just get out of bed this morning, let alone complete a hard qualit session - such was my low level of motivation upon my alarm sounding. I remembered that 'consistency' is the key factor that all the greats commonly refer to when asked what traits differentiate them from their mere mortal compatriots (I am nowhere near this level, okay - but it's nice to use them as inspiration). In the end, I'm stoked I got out there, as I had another great session - setting a new benchmark of 15'27 for the 4.8km session, averaging 3'13 min/km. Another 9.2km cool down back home for a rounded 17km session. A bit warmer this morning - why do the beautiful days always strike when I am stuck inside working all day!

Wednesday medium long run (20km)

Another 20km steady this morning, typical Wednesday morning. Laps along the promenade between Queenscliff and Shelly Beach. Saw Tom, Macca, and Justin (twice actually, both running and then backing up quickly for a coffee with the family) early on. Would have loved to have joined them, but too early for me these days. Held a solid sub 4:00 min/km pace, each lap actually getting progressively quicker with no actual change in effort. Another beautiful morning, 12 degrees Celsius with a mild north-westerly off-shore wind. Apparently the ocean is still a balmy 21 degrees Celsius - I think that I might take the burea's word on that!

Tuesday session - Mona Fartlek

Bloody freezing this morning (well, by Sydney standards anyway)! Not too sure what happened, but my GPS was under-reading the distance ran this morning. In essence, I finished the session in the same place as last week, but according to my Garmin the total distance was 6.09km - 50m shy of last week's total despite starting and finishing at the same location. The marvels of modern technology. Nevertheless, felt ok this morning (nothing special, but not flat either). Cooled down back to North Steyne for a grand total of 17km.

Monday morning 15km steady

Nothing too exciting to report. Just 3 loops of the Queenscliff to Shelly Beach circuit, rounding up to 15km in approximately 57 minutes. Probably a bit too fast for a steady/recovery run.

Sunday long run (30km)

Back to a proper long run today after a few weeks of modified versions following a few key races. 30km felt longer than usual - it's amazing how quickly you adjust to a shortened 24km. Nevertheless, I used the opportunity to get out there and constantly think about my technique for the entire duration. In all honesty, the effort felt easier than usual. This was quite surprising, as I got back in just shy of two hours. Previously when I have pushed the long run quite a bit harder, I've gotten in about two to three minutes slower than this - so something positive is definitively happening. Ran past the start line of the Manly Scenic Fun Run - it didn't really look like many starters were taking the line compared to previous years. Looking forward to putting my feet up today - no clients, no PhD submissions, and best of all - the Monaco Grand Prix (and yes, Channel 10 are broadcasting it live)!

Saturday morning threshold at Centennial Park

Was instructed to reduce the planned 10-12km threshold to 8km this morning by coach Sean Williams - and with him standing watching me complete each 1km lap, it was impossible to sneak an extra 2 laps in. Nevertheless, it is wise advise, especially considering that I bounced straight back into training following the half marathon last Sunday. Felt not too bad today, held a steady 3:17 min/km pace for 26:12 minutes which felt comfortably hard. Potentially could have held the same pace for another 2km, but then it would have taken its toll over the next few days. Pretty muddy and slushy out there today following the down pour yesterday - so definitely not world record conditions. Got in about a 6km cool down, bring the session to approximately 18km. Great to see Matt Hudson back there this morning, and fantastic to be out there training with Ben St Lawrence - especially on the back of qualifying for Rion next year. Such a privilege to be out there training amongst them!

Easy Friday

10km easy this morning in the pouring rain. Surf was absolutely beautiful to watch down the southern corner of Manly Beach though! Sat around 4:00min/km pace (no watch though, but based on feel).

Thursday morning - Deek's quarters

My legs definitely weren't up for a session this morning. They really protested in the final kilometer of the warm-up to North Head (which, by the way, is all uphill). Nevertheless, I took the same attitude as per Tuesday in not worrying about pace per se today, and just simply get the session done on tired legs. Got through it in the end, in a time of 15:35 - only 2 seconds off my best for that session, so very satisfied! 9.2km cool down back to North Steyne, rounding up for a 17km session. Easy day tomorrow, followed by a return to Centennial Park on Saturday morning - looking forward to the latter.

Wednesday morning 20km steady

Finally starting to feel the residual soreness from Sunday's half marathon kick in. 20km in around 77 minutes this morning, equating to 4 laps of Queenscliff to Shelly Beach and return.

Tuesday morning session - Mona Fartlek

No holding back - straight back into it! Was somewhat indecisive as to whether or not a Mona Fartlek session would be a good idea 2 days after a half marathon, but convinced myself to just run on feel, ignoring the watch (until the conclusion of the session of course). I probably noticed some residual fatigue by the back half of the session, but nevertheless completed the 20 minute session setting a new personal record of 6.14km - 20 meters further than the massive record I set last week! Averaged 3:15 min/km, so very satisfied and somewhat surprised. Proceeded to cool down over the 8km run back to North Steyne, averaging 4:03 min/km - again, not meaning to hold this pace, it just felt comfortable! Decided against traveling down to Launceston in 4 weeks for the Launceston 10. Instead I will now focus my attention towards the Gold Coast Half Marathon on July 5, followed a week later by the Sydney Harbour 10km (arguably the fastest and flattest - and debatably shortest - 10km road course out there - although this didn't seem to help me one bit last year)!

Monday morning run - 15km steady

Got out of bed this morning anticipating not being able to walk. To my surprise, it was the total opposite. I felt completely normal, like as if I had just had a recovery run yesterday. Went out and got a solid steady 15km in the bag feeling great, comfortably holding sub-4:00 min/km for the duration of the run. Strange - perhaps I will regret this tomorrow morning?

SMH Half Marathon

Didn't know what to expect today? The only reason I stopped racing half marathons and focused on the 10km in recent years was due to the discrepancies in my times. I set my half marathon PB of mid-74 minutes back in 2011, but was only just scraping under 35 for the 10km. In other words, the people who I was hanging onto in the greater distance were killing me over the shorter race. I figured the way to drop my half marathon time was to reduce my 10km time. Furthermore, I absolutely hated the shorter race, as I felt that the red line between aerobic and anaerobic threshold would be crossed more often than not!

Having had the race of my life two weeks prior at the Sydney 10, I honestly had no idea what to expect. My coach Sean Williams put the task to me of a sub-72 minute half, but I just laughed it off! No way! I thought that sub-73 would be a great effort. Nevertheless, curiosity once again got the better of me, and I calculated that in order to achieve Sean's ambitious target, I would need to hold 3:24 min/km - in other words, put two 34 minute 10km runs back-to-back, then repeat for a final 1.1km. Given the undulating nature of the SMH course, I didn't like my chances. Furthermore, considering that just over two weeks ago my 10km PB was fractionally below 34 minutes, it seemed mission impossible.

Moving forward, following an accidental increase in size of pizza for dinner last night (half salmon, half zorba large pizza from Alimento at Collaroy Beach last night) I was absolutely full of energy (and felt about 10kg heavier) on the start line. The gun went off and I stuck to my race plan of holding 3:24 for 21.1. Got through the first 10km in 33:51 feeling surprisingly comfortable. Was in about 13th position at this stage, but in a pack with three others. It wasn't until about the 15km mark that the Kiwi gentleman and myself were able to clear the other two who cracked, and then we both worked together to reel in the front competitors one-by-one. It was a phenomenal feeling running past a few guys that I have never even dreamt of beating before. Within the final 2km, we were sitting 5th and 6th respectively. My GPS went mental after the tall Sydney buildings rendered the signal weak, so wasn't entirely sure what pace we were holding. Got to the 20km flag, looked at my watch which read 68 minutes (not sure of the seconds, as the good old Garmin excludes this valuable information once you surpass one hour - well, it does in the specific display settings that I had used). It honestly wasn't until this point that I really actually had to dig deep, as the thought of a sub-72 minute run flirted with my mind. My fellow Kiwi competitor sensed the same blood, and like that we both simultaneously picked up the pace, our respiratory rates now finally going into overdrive. A few nasty little hills on the way back from Mrs. Macquaire's chair were luckily not enough to put a dent into our ambitions - hitting the line with no time to spare for a super stoked 6th place outright - but more importantly a 1:11:59 half marathon time. I was in disbelief! I still am.

Star of the race however was a tie between two others - Tom Highnam, who finished an amazing forth place in a time of 1:11:13 - a new PB for him, bettering his Gold Coast time (which apparently is a much faster, straighter, and flatter course)! The man is flying, especially on the back of his 32:07 two weeks earlier at the Sydney 10. Rhett Gibson, a fellow runner from Sean Williams' squad put in an amazing run to cross in 75:02 - that's a huge effort considering he was aiming for somewhere between 76-77 minutes (which in all honesty sounded probable pre-race)! He will no doubt be around myself in the not too distant future. It would have been interesting to see what Brad Bannister would have run, given the form he is currently displaying - but unfortunately he succumbed to his niggling right-sided anterior compartment symptoms that have been dogging him over the past two weeks. An unusual injury that one, I'm not convinced that it is entirely mechanical in nature.

It's been an unbelievable two weeks of racing for me, and I owe the gratitude to two people in particular. Sean Williams firstly for all his amazing input as the worlds greatest coach! And Keith Bateman, the man who first came to me in October last year trying not to offend me by telling me that my running technique was absolutely rubbish. I am sure that the recent tweaks over the last 4 weeks have made a substantial difference. And, as mentioned to him post-race, it's the first time post-race that the only part of my body that is slightly sore are my calf muscles - which is a great sign.

These results have thrown up a number of future races that I wasn't previously considering. Not too sure if I will, but I might now look into flying down to Tasmania for the Launceston 10 in four weeks. I will have to see if any others are thinking the same from around here, and potentially make a good weekend out of it (never been to Tassie). Nevertheless, the Gold Coast 21.1 is now looking likely on the first Sunday of July, followed by the Sydney Harbour 10km seven days later (or the Sydney Harbour 9.6 as quoted by a number of the Manly runners due to the dubious GPS measurements and the massive PB's thrown up by just about every competitor crossing the line)!

Easy Friday

10km very easy this morning. No idea as to what pace I ran, I was too busy watching the surf - after a good solid week of strong off shore winds, the ground swell has finally hit the coast. Way too cold for me to jump in post run though! No running tomorrow, saving myself for Sunday!

Thursday session - I hate tapering!!!

Tapering sounds so much easier than the reality. When you are in the middle of a solid training cycle, the idea of a taper sounds like paradise. When presented with the opportunity to do so, however, it is hell - psychologically that is! You start to second guess yourself - should I do the full session? Should I reduce the intensity? If I go too hard today, will I pay for it on race day? If I don't go hard enough today, will I feel undercooked in a few days time? All of these thoughts are part and parcel of my typical taper period. Today's session was a modified Deek's Quarters - 8 x 200m with a 100m float. I ran up to North Head debating the pros and cons of sticking to this session, or completing the full session as per normal. The former won out in the end, and probably with good reason. I think that the doubt in my mind would have subconsciously held me back in the full session, so the modified was probably the way to go. Still a tough little session, albeit still easier than usual (thanks to the shorter duration). Ran home at the end to bring myself a total of approximately 10-11km. The plan is for an easy 10km tomorrow, along with a massage - then nothing until Sunday. Rest, rest, and more rest! Harder than it sounds!

Wednesday morning run - gradually backing off

15km steady this morning along the promenade from Queenscliff to Shelly Beach. 5km shorter than usual for a Wednesday morning, with the pending SMH Half Marathon looming on Sunday morning. Felt better each lap this morning, running the distance in approximately 57 minutes.

Tuesday morning run - Mona Fartlek

I felt like I was on drugs this morning! Whether it was EPO, a blood transfusion, or human growth hormone - I felt amazing!!! And this was just getting out of bed. Running is a funny sport - it is actually rare to get days like these, so I will attempt to recollect everything that I did yesterday and replicate it again - especially for Sunday morning. Nevertheless, hit a big session PB of 6.12km for the Mona Fartlek this morning, averaging 3:16 min/km. Even felt great on the 7.88km cool down. I will probably pay for this in the next day or two though - watch this space! Saw fellow Manly runners Justin Bromley and Tom Highnam on the way home - both of who will also be preparing for the SMH half marathon on Sunday.

Another Monday morning

15km along the promenade between Queenscliff and Shelly Beach. Held roughly 3:50 min/km the entire way, but actually felt better than usual for a Monday morning - perhaps cutting the long run 6km short yesterday played a hand in that. Will contemplate doing a Mona Fartlek tomorrow morning depending on how I feel. It's always a fine line between doing a quality session the week leading into a bigger race - sometimes it pays massive dividends, other times it comes back to bite you! It's a roll of the dice really

Sunday Long Run

Started to taper this morning by reducing my long run by 6km down to 24km in light of the SMH Half Marathon next Sunday morning. Felt half decent, more so in the back half of the run though. Perhaps a slight headwind on the way out contributed to this somewhat. Got out early to avoid the Mothers Day crowds. About 97 minutes all up, equating to just over 4:00 min/km pace - probably slightly too fast. Oh well, an easier week ahead will counteract that.

Saturday session - 4 x 2km on the 9:00 minute cycle at CP

Back with the squad at Centennial Park this morning for the 4 x 2km reps, on a 9:00 minute cycle. Great turn out this morning as well! Had another solid session chasing little Keith Macpherson (he is still a fare way in front), and being pushed solidly by Brad Bannister. However, both left me stranded for the fourth and final rep, pulling the pin after the third. My times were quite consistent at 6:21, 6:13, 6:14 and 6:21 (the first felt the hardest, and the last the loneliest)! White fence for the warm up, and 4 laps of Moore Park for the cool down led to 16km all up - excluding the recovery jogs between repetitions. Last solid hit out prior to the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon next Sunday - the longest race I will have raced since 2012!

Friday easy run (10km)

Easy Friday today, 10km just under 4:00 min/km pace. Beautiful conditions, sunny, cold and an offshore breeze. Again, just focusing on slightly increasing my cadence - trying to condition myself to adapt to a slightly higher turnover than previously. Capped off a solid week of training with a 10km PB last weekend, followed up by two session personal records on both Tuesday and Thursday morning. Looking forward to returning back to Centennial Park with Sean Williams tomorrow morning for some 2km reps.

Thursday morning session - Deek's Quarters

11 degrees Celsius meant 'world record conditions' were on the cards this morning. Always a solid session this one - short but bloody tough!!! Personal best for this morning with a time of 15:34, averaging 3:15 min/km (I actually matched this time a few weeks prior, but have essentially rendered that one invalid as I stopped to dry reach between the third and forth repetition). A solid 9.2km cool down back home led to a grand total of 17km all up. Now off to university to teach our future doctors all about the nerves in the lower limbs!

Wednesday morning medium long run

20km this morning - 4 laps of the Queenscliff to Shelly Beach loop. Probably ran too fast, realising when I got back that I averaged around 3:50 min/km! I should perhaps start wearing the Garmin on my 'recovery' days to ensure they stay within the realms of 'recovery.'

Tuesday morning session - another Mona Fartlek

Still a bit sore and stiff from Saturday, but the endorphins are still just hanging in there! Felt ordinary warming up on the way to North Head, but actually started strong once the session began. All up, a PB for the session with a distance of 6.07km, averaging just below 3:18 min/km pace. A solid 8km cool down back to North Steyne via Queenscliff rounded up a solid 17km session. Great to see some sunshine once again!

Monday morning recovery

I surprisingly felt quite good today, especially once I started running. 3 laps of Queenscliff to Shelly Beach and return, 15km all up. Probably ran it too fast, ending in approximately 57 minutes. Really just focused on the things that Keith Bateman and myself have been working on to optimise my technique. Reverted back to the Saucony A6 Racers - I love these shoes with there 4mm heel-to-toe offset. However, they could make them more sturdy, as they fall apart after a few hundred km's.

Sunday Long Run

Woke up slightly later than planned so missed my opportunity to run with the Manly crew. Bloody sore from yesterday's race - but in a very happy satisfied way. Had some amazing Lebanese food last night, although I don't think it agreed with me, having to make two unplanned toilet stops along the way. Then vomiting at the 27km mark really topped off a long, slow slog in the dull conditions this morning. At least it didn't rain. Got 30km in the bag though, nothing to be to disappointed with. Didn't have time to enjoy my regular Sunday morning coffee at Pure Wholefoods as I had to rush off over to the East for work - couldn't negotiate a later starting time as my clients had a very important boxing match to view!

Sydney 10 - Sub 33!!!

Finally felt ok upon waking this morning, the first time in over a week. By all sounds of it, the rain had subsided - but for how long was the question? Got out to Homebush, spent about 30 anxious minutes lining up to register (there was a massive que), but thankfully the organisers let common sense prevail and adjusted the starting time by 15 minutes to an 8am gun time. I actually took my warm-up seriously this morning, and got in some really solid strides - much longer than normal as well! The race plan was to go out and try and sit with the leading female runners - Gwen Jorgensen from the USA, and Eloise Wellings from Australia (as they ran mid and high 32's last year respectively). Given that my goal was 33 minutes flat, I reasoned that if I could keep them in site (especially Eloise), then I may be in with a chance. The other key for my strategy to work well was to NOT go out too hard (which I am infamous for doing so)!

The gun went off and, as usual, I probably went a bit harder than planned - purely so I didn't get stampeded on though. Got through the first km quicker than planned - 3:04. Found Eloise and her pacer, and just sat with them - confident that their pacing would see myself hit a low 33 10km. Went through the 5km mark setting a new PB of 15:59 - which made me slightly concerned. The pack of runners ahead started to disintegrate from about 7km onwards, so we started peeling them off one by one. At 8km, I was in a world of pain. A good strategy that I find helps is to visualise where this would be on my normal run - the thought of Manly to Queenscliff SLSC made it slightly easier. A nasty hill at the 9km mark and entrance into the stadium ripped my soul apart, but given that I was on for sub-33 even if I had have jogged the final 400m lap of the track, I was relaxed. Crossed the line in the official time of 32:48 - a massive 51 second PB (and the single biggest chunk I have ever taken off a 10km PB, so very satisfied)!

A big thank-you to Sean Williams and Keith Bateman, who have helped me immensely over the past 6 months with coaching and technique respectively! Also a massive congratulations to everyone else out there today, PB's or no PB's - it was a great event all around! I'm going to savour this one for some time, as cracking 32 minutes for 10km is a whole other level - one that I am not entirely sure is genetically possible for myself to achieve!

Lastly, a massive congratulations to Barry Carey on absolutely smashing his previous 10km time by more than 2 minutes, running an impressive 35:15! At that rate of progression, he will be one to watch out for in the not too distant future!

Thursday run - paranoid!!!

Woke up this morning feeling like I had been run over by a bus! Well, that would be partially due to the fact that my massage therapist Phil White inflicted his elbows into me yesterday (this, by the way, is a good thing - in a saddistic manner)! The plan was to run roughly 10km at an easy pace, with some 200m efforts interspersed along the way. Unfortunately my body protested the latter, so it was a slow 10km run (or 'shuffle' - 'run' being an obvious overstatement). I know from experience that running the day after a deep tissue massage is never comfortable, but that didn't stop the doubts creeping into my head regarding my form leading up to Saturday. I guess I just have to have faith in my program! I plan to run an easy 30 minutes tomorrow, but will reassess when I wake up tomorrow - the forecast is not looking friendly, so it may be another sleep in (twice in one week - what's going on)!