Quads sore and calves shot to bits. Did an easy run last night up with all the guys trying to recover from Saturday. Did 5 strides as well on the grass to mix it up.
Went for another easy this morning by myself and I'm still so sore. I'll have to do some serious rolling today. 10km all up both times.
Tuesday 30 June 2015
Monday 29 June 2015
Albert Park XCR 15 10km
Early start yesterday morning to get to Albert park early so Sophie could warm up for her 3km road race. I warmed up, doing 2km with some of the Glenhuntly guys while she was racing. Didn't feel the calf which was great, but I was still sceptical about how I would go because of this week's minimal running. Sophie ran 11:25 for the 3km which I think she was happy with.
The start line was a bit of a mess with the Div 1 and 2 men and women being given access to the front line although the Div 2 most of the U/20's are faster than Div 2's. I lined up with Will and JB, the gun went and it was really compacted. I stayed on the tail of Will while he weaved himself through the crowds. Felt really easy and the watch gave me a 3:16 first km. The plan was to go out with everyone then reel it in so I didn't go out too fast. Kept the pace easy and the watch gave me another 3:16 and then a 3:20 odd. Bit nervous now as I had gone out too quickly, just staying with Will and JB. I settled back into a rhythm of around 3:30's at around km 5 which what I was meant to do after km 1.
Split through 5km in around 16:45 on this flat course and headed out for my second lap. Passed a few guys here who were pretty good so I felt pretty solid. Will and JB were ahead of me now but after km 6, the fast start caught up to me. Dragging myself along, my breathing was really fast but I focused on my form. Each time someone went by I stuck with them for as long as I could and I felt like this really helped.
3:35 - 3:40 was the pace now and coming into 2km to go, I was really hurting. Lost focus here and more and more people came by. Into the stadium for the last 300m I told myself to hold my place. Did so until 20m to go when I got outdone by some speed demon. Absolutely finished on the line with a time of 34:51 so first time breaking 35 mins! 50s PB so stoked with that after this week of inconsistency. Definitely went out too fast, so I'll keep that in mind for my next longer race. Will ran incredibly in a time of 33:39 and he's only in year 10. JB was at about 34 flat, big Sammy Toll managed a 33:07 and Beau was mid 33's with Will as well.
I think I was 19th in U/20 and I'm still bottom age so good stuff. Both calf's are stupidly sore now so I'll jog this evening to hopefully stretch them out a bit.
Here's a classic snap of me on the line attempting to fend off even more speed demons.
The start line was a bit of a mess with the Div 1 and 2 men and women being given access to the front line although the Div 2 most of the U/20's are faster than Div 2's. I lined up with Will and JB, the gun went and it was really compacted. I stayed on the tail of Will while he weaved himself through the crowds. Felt really easy and the watch gave me a 3:16 first km. The plan was to go out with everyone then reel it in so I didn't go out too fast. Kept the pace easy and the watch gave me another 3:16 and then a 3:20 odd. Bit nervous now as I had gone out too quickly, just staying with Will and JB. I settled back into a rhythm of around 3:30's at around km 5 which what I was meant to do after km 1.
Split through 5km in around 16:45 on this flat course and headed out for my second lap. Passed a few guys here who were pretty good so I felt pretty solid. Will and JB were ahead of me now but after km 6, the fast start caught up to me. Dragging myself along, my breathing was really fast but I focused on my form. Each time someone went by I stuck with them for as long as I could and I felt like this really helped.
3:35 - 3:40 was the pace now and coming into 2km to go, I was really hurting. Lost focus here and more and more people came by. Into the stadium for the last 300m I told myself to hold my place. Did so until 20m to go when I got outdone by some speed demon. Absolutely finished on the line with a time of 34:51 so first time breaking 35 mins! 50s PB so stoked with that after this week of inconsistency. Definitely went out too fast, so I'll keep that in mind for my next longer race. Will ran incredibly in a time of 33:39 and he's only in year 10. JB was at about 34 flat, big Sammy Toll managed a 33:07 and Beau was mid 33's with Will as well.
I think I was 19th in U/20 and I'm still bottom age so good stuff. Both calf's are stupidly sore now so I'll jog this evening to hopefully stretch them out a bit.
Here's a classic snap of me on the line attempting to fend off even more speed demons.
Saturday 27 June 2015
Update
To give you a bit of a recap, trained on Thursday, did a 10 minute threshy followed by 2 x 1200m efforts. I was meant to do 3 but the calf started hurting after the second so I gave it a miss just in case. Didn't run yesterday and I doubt I will today so we'll see how the race goes tomorrow. Times were pretty quality on Thursday so I think the fitness is still there. Calf is feeling really good since Friday morning so hopefully I'm over that hurdle. I reckon it was the quick jump in from one week to another. I'll try and easy back into it next week so the same thing doesn't happen again.
Wednesday 24 June 2015
Testing
Jogged just over 3km this afternoon in just under 15 mins to test out the calf. Still a bit sore but it's also definitely on the mend. I'll run properly tomorrow and I'll do some core and glute work in the meantime to make up for it.
Tuesday 23 June 2015
Sketchy as
So the calf kept up its soreness so didn't run tonight as I didn't want to push it before the weekend. Fair I reckon as the past 3 days have been pretty filled with strain on the poor calf. Hopefully I'll do an easy run tomorrow and train on Thursday. Been icing it all evening.
Monday 22 June 2015
Tough stuff
Tonight was with Lesley's squad as it's Monday and ended up training pretty well. Freezing again, pretty thankful for the running gloves. We were doing 6 x 400m with 400m jog recovery and 4 x 200m with 200m jog recovery. Started off with Will while Jack and Beau stormed off. Managed to stay with Will until the fifth four when he started to pull away, I always forget quickly how much it hurts but I feel now like I can push harder to stay with him. The middle stage of the race is what counts.
Times went : 400's- 1:13, 1:11, 1:11, 1:16, 1:13, 1:18. The jog recovery between made it much harder to run faster during the reps so that's where the time suffered.
200's- 38s, 37s, 30s, 33s- these were unsure as the distances were different for each so I think I would have hit around 35/36 for each except the last one which was faster.
Next time going to try even harder to hold on and hopefully the mix of starting off hard and dying sessions with the more conservative Thursday sessions will help because of the variety. 12.2km tonight. Saturday will be interesting. I have a suspicion that I might do fairly well compared to other people my age as I've done more then your average number of 10km races so I'm hoping the experience will help. The goal is sub 35 so we'll see what I can manage.
Bit worried about my left calf as it's a bit tight, but Stacy said get the spiky ball and roller onto it and it should loosen.
Times went : 400's- 1:13, 1:11, 1:11, 1:16, 1:13, 1:18. The jog recovery between made it much harder to run faster during the reps so that's where the time suffered.
200's- 38s, 37s, 30s, 33s- these were unsure as the distances were different for each so I think I would have hit around 35/36 for each except the last one which was faster.
Next time going to try even harder to hold on and hopefully the mix of starting off hard and dying sessions with the more conservative Thursday sessions will help because of the variety. 12.2km tonight. Saturday will be interesting. I have a suspicion that I might do fairly well compared to other people my age as I've done more then your average number of 10km races so I'm hoping the experience will help. The goal is sub 35 so we'll see what I can manage.
Bit worried about my left calf as it's a bit tight, but Stacy said get the spiky ball and roller onto it and it should loosen.
Sunday 21 June 2015
More and more hills
Early start yesterday morning to catch a ride with Will up to jells park for the hill session. Jogged to the hill for a warm up before listening to Trevor tell everyone to take the recovery's easy, but you can guess what happened from then.
Loads of people there but I started strong and stayed with the leaders on the first one but they raced the recovery. I'm probably just jealous to be honest that I can't keep up. Decided that next session I'm going to run it like them and see how long I can hold on for.
Times went : 1:08, 1:09, 1:12, 1:12, 1:10, 1:12, 1:10, 1:12.
Recovery average was probably around 1:52. Pretty consistent which I'm stoked with but good to be running hills again. Started doing some exercises the physio gave me for glute strength and injury prevention. I can do about 25 calf raises on each leg but Stacy reckons I should be doing well over 30 in order to maintain form over longer races. Some of the glute work is harder than I thought it would be which shows that my legs aren't the strongest.
Went down to Ferny creek this morning for the long run and what a relief it was to be back running in the forest. The air is genuinely so much fresher. Pretty chilly so the hands got a bit numb so I'll bring some gloves next time. Started off Jb, Sam, Beau, other Jack, Simon, some other sporty devils and I. Started off mainly downhill which wasn't a good sign before we hit the first hill.
I hung onto Sam and other Jack and kept the pace steady, continued onto a flat section before ascending for much longer this time up to Grants picnic ground. About 7k in at this point we stopped for a toilet break. Beau, Jb, Simon and other devils went back to the starting point from here to make sure they didn't miss the Rob Clarke memoir ceremony. We continued on as Sam reckoned we could pump out some more k's and still get back. I was game so we took a side loop up another hill where I was doubting how long I could last. Pretty sore now but after another hill we hit a steady downhill slope during which I got my breath back and eased into it.
Back pass Grants, and then onto the road before cutting through the forest onto another road hill. Struggled here because of the belly beginning to hurt, before hitting another hill back up to our car park. They dropped me, but as they edged away I thought I still had stuff left and closed the gap considerably up the hill. Only had about 10m on me in the end which was great to see. Next time I'll definitely be with them the whole way.
Ran it back up to Trevor giving his speech about Ron Clarke before a few other ex Olympians added in as well. It was next to the place where a famous photo of Ron was taken. He wrote a book which I'll try and read called "The Unforgiving Minute" about his athletics career.
I ran with Sam back up to our car park to hit 1:30:35 all up during which we completed 19.5km bringing up 71.4 for the week. Longest for a while after a spell of only hitting around 60 and I'm feeling pretty tired but good. All the hills this weekend have got me pretty tired, but feeling great as you always do after a ferny session.
Albert Park 10km road race next weekend so should be a quick one.
Loads of people there but I started strong and stayed with the leaders on the first one but they raced the recovery. I'm probably just jealous to be honest that I can't keep up. Decided that next session I'm going to run it like them and see how long I can hold on for.
Times went : 1:08, 1:09, 1:12, 1:12, 1:10, 1:12, 1:10, 1:12.
Recovery average was probably around 1:52. Pretty consistent which I'm stoked with but good to be running hills again. Started doing some exercises the physio gave me for glute strength and injury prevention. I can do about 25 calf raises on each leg but Stacy reckons I should be doing well over 30 in order to maintain form over longer races. Some of the glute work is harder than I thought it would be which shows that my legs aren't the strongest.
Went down to Ferny creek this morning for the long run and what a relief it was to be back running in the forest. The air is genuinely so much fresher. Pretty chilly so the hands got a bit numb so I'll bring some gloves next time. Started off Jb, Sam, Beau, other Jack, Simon, some other sporty devils and I. Started off mainly downhill which wasn't a good sign before we hit the first hill.
I hung onto Sam and other Jack and kept the pace steady, continued onto a flat section before ascending for much longer this time up to Grants picnic ground. About 7k in at this point we stopped for a toilet break. Beau, Jb, Simon and other devils went back to the starting point from here to make sure they didn't miss the Rob Clarke memoir ceremony. We continued on as Sam reckoned we could pump out some more k's and still get back. I was game so we took a side loop up another hill where I was doubting how long I could last. Pretty sore now but after another hill we hit a steady downhill slope during which I got my breath back and eased into it.
Back pass Grants, and then onto the road before cutting through the forest onto another road hill. Struggled here because of the belly beginning to hurt, before hitting another hill back up to our car park. They dropped me, but as they edged away I thought I still had stuff left and closed the gap considerably up the hill. Only had about 10m on me in the end which was great to see. Next time I'll definitely be with them the whole way.
Ran it back up to Trevor giving his speech about Ron Clarke before a few other ex Olympians added in as well. It was next to the place where a famous photo of Ron was taken. He wrote a book which I'll try and read called "The Unforgiving Minute" about his athletics career.
I ran with Sam back up to our car park to hit 1:30:35 all up during which we completed 19.5km bringing up 71.4 for the week. Longest for a while after a spell of only hitting around 60 and I'm feeling pretty tired but good. All the hills this weekend have got me pretty tired, but feeling great as you always do after a ferny session.
Albert Park 10km road race next weekend so should be a quick one.
Thursday 18 June 2015
The ones that count
Bitterly cold tonight, wind had a bite as well so the motivation levels were lacking. Rocked up anyway and found out that Haftu was tapering and Tom wasn't making an appearance so training solo was on the cards for me. Warmed up with Haffie who has hit some outstanding form recently, coming second for his age at the all schools cross country last Saturday.
My session was 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes hard with 1 minute jog between each. Only goal was to make sure I did 1.2km on the 4 minute rep and keep everything else solid which I managed. On the second 2 minute effort, I really struggled into the wind but overall happy with my performance.
10.8km all up, going to the physio tomorrow as Stacy, the physio who came to Warburton with us, sent me some exercises for injury prevention and turns out I can't do any of them. Decided that I should probably get onto that as injured is not good. Also I reckon, I'll build up strength through my whole body which will keep me strong during races, making sure my form stays steady. Should be good.
My session was 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes hard with 1 minute jog between each. Only goal was to make sure I did 1.2km on the 4 minute rep and keep everything else solid which I managed. On the second 2 minute effort, I really struggled into the wind but overall happy with my performance.
10.8km all up, going to the physio tomorrow as Stacy, the physio who came to Warburton with us, sent me some exercises for injury prevention and turns out I can't do any of them. Decided that I should probably get onto that as injured is not good. Also I reckon, I'll build up strength through my whole body which will keep me strong during races, making sure my form stays steady. Should be good.
Wednesday 17 June 2015
More easy
11km in 52 something to get the last bit of fatigue out of the legs from the weekend. Although the stomach wasn't a fan, the last km was probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
So trying to do some glute work after the run tonight and mum thought thatmy strength there is pitiful and she suggested that I give the physio a ring to build up some strength. I have a feeling it might be pretty valuable so the school holidays will be prime time for it.
So trying to do some glute work after the run tonight and mum thought thatmy strength there is pitiful and she suggested that I give the physio a ring to build up some strength. I have a feeling it might be pretty valuable so the school holidays will be prime time for it.
Tuesday 16 June 2015
Regional Cross Country 2015
So after being berated by my Grandfather for providing too little information about cross country racing, I have decided to make a change. Yesterday was the regional race and I was still feeling Saturday's run so really wasn't expecting anything special. Course was made up of a 2km and a 3km lap, there was only the one small hill in both of them. I was up against Sam from districts and yesterdays DIY hydrotherapy sesh, Lochie Lyness who got me by a solid minute on Saturday, Peter Dutton who I often compete against, I normally come out on top, Vaughn Smith who's up and down but a truly great bloke and 2 other guys whose names I'm unaware of but one is better and one is worse than me.
Felt really slow to start but ended up being fairly consistent the whole way through when I looked at my splits afterwards. First 2km, was mainly taken up by figuring out where we have to go as it is a given at regionals that many people are shouting many different instructions at the same time. It was a front pack of seven of us but I could feel fatigue creeping in. I took the lead after 2km, keeping the same pace, but then positions were shuffled around once more. Then the guy who's better than me, whose name I don't know broke away. I stayed with the pack, but increased my pace dropping some guys behind me. It was Sam, Vaughn and I up the hill as Sam slowly edged his way up to the leader. Then Lyness got himself back with Vaughn and I, taking the lead stretching out slightly. Vaughn then put the foot down and I was stuck with Lyness. Around the football field for the second lap and I injected the pace slowly the pull myself onto Vaughn's shoulder leaving Lyness behind. 450 to go and Vaughn goes again and I can't hold him.
Onto the track for the last 400 and I'm tying up. I should've hammered harder but the fatigue got to me. Lyness got me with 100m to go and I settled for fifth. Solid run although nothing amazing. Definitely need to push harder in the last km's, accept it's going to hurt for the joy of a good run. 8km for the day including cool downs and the likes. Sammy took the victory which was good to see.
Today just did 10km in 45:02. Training has been mixed up and Cheyne switched back to training on Tuesday Thursdays instead of Monday Wednesdays and I can't make the Tuesday sessions. Sorted it though, I'll train with the guys I went to Warburton with on Monday's (Sam, Will, Beau, JB) and Thursdays will be with Cheyne (Tom, Haftu, Jasper) . Hopefully it'll work out.
Felt really slow to start but ended up being fairly consistent the whole way through when I looked at my splits afterwards. First 2km, was mainly taken up by figuring out where we have to go as it is a given at regionals that many people are shouting many different instructions at the same time. It was a front pack of seven of us but I could feel fatigue creeping in. I took the lead after 2km, keeping the same pace, but then positions were shuffled around once more. Then the guy who's better than me, whose name I don't know broke away. I stayed with the pack, but increased my pace dropping some guys behind me. It was Sam, Vaughn and I up the hill as Sam slowly edged his way up to the leader. Then Lyness got himself back with Vaughn and I, taking the lead stretching out slightly. Vaughn then put the foot down and I was stuck with Lyness. Around the football field for the second lap and I injected the pace slowly the pull myself onto Vaughn's shoulder leaving Lyness behind. 450 to go and Vaughn goes again and I can't hold him.
Onto the track for the last 400 and I'm tying up. I should've hammered harder but the fatigue got to me. Lyness got me with 100m to go and I settled for fifth. Solid run although nothing amazing. Definitely need to push harder in the last km's, accept it's going to hurt for the joy of a good run. 8km for the day including cool downs and the likes. Sammy took the victory which was good to see.
Today just did 10km in 45:02. Training has been mixed up and Cheyne switched back to training on Tuesday Thursdays instead of Monday Wednesdays and I can't make the Tuesday sessions. Sorted it though, I'll train with the guys I went to Warburton with on Monday's (Sam, Will, Beau, JB) and Thursdays will be with Cheyne (Tom, Haftu, Jasper) . Hopefully it'll work out.
Sunday 14 June 2015
Best and worst idea
Drove up to the beach this morning to meet Sam and Will for a jog along a beach path that I'd never seen before. Easy for tomorrow race as the quads were and still are pretty tight. Stopped for a drink on the way back and Will came up with the solution of standing in the sea for 15 minutes to help recovery. So we did that and it was pretty cold but if you embraced the iciness, you could survive. Probably did me some good though and we'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Saturday 13 June 2015
2015 Vic All Schools
So drove up to Bundoora this morning to watch Sophie's race, where she ran really well, 15:41 for just under 4km. Watched Will, Sam and Haftu all come within seconds of each other over 6km which was great to see.
Jogged around the park for 1500m before doing some drills, queuing for the toilets and putting on spikes. Got over to the start line and heard the marshal say 5 mins until the gun. Did a few more sprints to keep the heart rate up, then lined up and off we went. Fast start like every race these days but I kept it steady. The plan was a conservative first lap so I didn't blow up and I'm definitely glad I went that route. 8k is the furthest I've raced cross country so I didn't really know what to expect.
First 1500m steadily winds up a hill before reaching the highest point in the park. Feeling good here with some guys all around me, but I was still nervous about going hard too early. We ten went over the back of the hill on a fairly steep incline. I think I must've let loose a bit here as my watch split 3:09 second km. I had to look 3 times.
Didn't know the course at all which was probably a mistake but after reaching the bottom of the hill, we turned 45 degrees and started up another. This one was steeper than the first with bumps in it changing the gradient all the time so just tried to stay strong. Still feeling solid, before hitting a flat section leading up into yet another hill. Focusing on the guys around me, a few from general competition and one bloke who normally beats me by a fair amount is right on my tail.
Up this third hill before turning again into shallow downhill slope which was a appreciated. Stretched out down here to make up some time, but then hit the bottom, sharp turn into a steep short hill. Starting to feel it a bit here, over a crest and down to complete the first lap. Still have, the good guy, a guy in my region who I normally beat, and another random near me. The goal was to work hard on the second lap and I did making my way through 4 places. I passed JB from Warburton up the first hill on the second lap, only learned after the race he went out way too hard, blew up and had to drop out.
Really feeling it now, just working to get to the top of the steep downhill. Here I went past the good guy, but the guy in my region went by both of us. He got away from me here, maybe I should've followed him but I didn't have the legs at this point. Continued down and around, the second hill really killed me, I struggled up it my quads on fire. Turned once more, Chris on the sideline here said everyone was really hurting now and that I just have to open up my stride and keep the cadence strong. Did just that and I felt myself working up closer to people ahead. Then it got me on the final steep, sharp section. Dad said I've got to give it everything from here and people were gaining behind me. Finished strong and luckily no one caught me.
Time was 29:31 for an unforgiving course. Average a touch over 3:40's I think. Happy with that though, I couldn't have gone any faster. Even now, quads feel like they're about to give way. Another race on Monday though so we'll see what I can do. 11.8 all up for today.
Jogged around the park for 1500m before doing some drills, queuing for the toilets and putting on spikes. Got over to the start line and heard the marshal say 5 mins until the gun. Did a few more sprints to keep the heart rate up, then lined up and off we went. Fast start like every race these days but I kept it steady. The plan was a conservative first lap so I didn't blow up and I'm definitely glad I went that route. 8k is the furthest I've raced cross country so I didn't really know what to expect.
First 1500m steadily winds up a hill before reaching the highest point in the park. Feeling good here with some guys all around me, but I was still nervous about going hard too early. We ten went over the back of the hill on a fairly steep incline. I think I must've let loose a bit here as my watch split 3:09 second km. I had to look 3 times.
Didn't know the course at all which was probably a mistake but after reaching the bottom of the hill, we turned 45 degrees and started up another. This one was steeper than the first with bumps in it changing the gradient all the time so just tried to stay strong. Still feeling solid, before hitting a flat section leading up into yet another hill. Focusing on the guys around me, a few from general competition and one bloke who normally beats me by a fair amount is right on my tail.
Up this third hill before turning again into shallow downhill slope which was a appreciated. Stretched out down here to make up some time, but then hit the bottom, sharp turn into a steep short hill. Starting to feel it a bit here, over a crest and down to complete the first lap. Still have, the good guy, a guy in my region who I normally beat, and another random near me. The goal was to work hard on the second lap and I did making my way through 4 places. I passed JB from Warburton up the first hill on the second lap, only learned after the race he went out way too hard, blew up and had to drop out.
Really feeling it now, just working to get to the top of the steep downhill. Here I went past the good guy, but the guy in my region went by both of us. He got away from me here, maybe I should've followed him but I didn't have the legs at this point. Continued down and around, the second hill really killed me, I struggled up it my quads on fire. Turned once more, Chris on the sideline here said everyone was really hurting now and that I just have to open up my stride and keep the cadence strong. Did just that and I felt myself working up closer to people ahead. Then it got me on the final steep, sharp section. Dad said I've got to give it everything from here and people were gaining behind me. Finished strong and luckily no one caught me.
Time was 29:31 for an unforgiving course. Average a touch over 3:40's I think. Happy with that though, I couldn't have gone any faster. Even now, quads feel like they're about to give way. Another race on Monday though so we'll see what I can do. 11.8 all up for today.
Thursday 11 June 2015
Feeling good
Just an easy 6km around the streets of McKinnon after grabbing a school racing top from school. A fraction over 28 minutes and felt relatively strong. Unsure about fitness because of the inconsistent training the past month but I'll just do my best.
Wednesday 10 June 2015
Trying
So went up to running club tonight but my squad wasn't training so jumped in with the guys I went to Warburton with. After a speedy warm up the session was 6 x 1 minute easy, 1 minute hard and 4 x 30s easy, 30s hard. I was meant to do 6 30's but I was struggling from the weekends mileage so I was told to stop because of the race on Saturday.
Training with Will and only just managed to hold on before I was given the red light. Pretty tough to be fair so hope I'm alright for Saturday. It's 8km and seriously hilly so the plan is to take the first 4km easy so I don't die like at Jells. I'll focus on form and staying strong before attempting to negative split the second lap.
Chatting to Will on the cool down and he reckons consistent Saturday hills and Ferny long runs are what have let him hit such good form and he offered me some lifts so definitely going to start that after this weekends abundance of races. The next stage of the cross country is on Monday so hopefully I can haul my way through that after Saturday's monster. 10km all up for this evening.
Training with Will and only just managed to hold on before I was given the red light. Pretty tough to be fair so hope I'm alright for Saturday. It's 8km and seriously hilly so the plan is to take the first 4km easy so I don't die like at Jells. I'll focus on form and staying strong before attempting to negative split the second lap.
Chatting to Will on the cool down and he reckons consistent Saturday hills and Ferny long runs are what have let him hit such good form and he offered me some lifts so definitely going to start that after this weekends abundance of races. The next stage of the cross country is on Monday so hopefully I can haul my way through that after Saturday's monster. 10km all up for this evening.
Photo's from Warburton
Above: warm up for the time trial with Beau and Simon. Below: Bit of a squad photo.
Below: Cool down up another hill.
More warm up for the time trial.
After the time trial.
During the Fartlek on the Monday
Tuesday 9 June 2015
Hunters Warburton Training Camp 2015
Apologies for the long wait but the internet has been really poor recently so haven't been able to post. Had a great weekend in Warburton though and I'll get some pictures up soon.
So arrived on the Friday night, freezing cold and muddy before getting in some dinner, bit of a chat with everyone and heading off to bed. Plan was 8:30 run on the Saturday morning and that's what happened.
Met everyone on the porch before jogging to the Aqueduct, but jogging probably wasn't fairly put. Had only just woken up so still a bit dazed about a km of warm up later we hit a hill that seemed to never end. All up it was a k long and definitely got the blood pumping and took it out of the legs. Waited for everyone at the top before running along the aqueduct to the starting line of a 3km time trial that we were running for the Saturday session.
Did a few strides then Trev shouted go and so we all went. Really quick start as per usual with these guys. Head wasn't in the right place though so dropped off after around 1km, great little track to run on albeit very wet and muddy. About a car widths wide, it stretches for miles through the forested hills and its pretty perfect for training. Hit the turn around cone and must've lost 5 seconds trying to navigate my way around it. Jb, Beau and Sam continued widening the gap while another jack stuck on my tail. Kept hammering but I was struggling with a km left. Did my best to finish strong and managed to hold off Jack behind me. Ended up with 9:42 on a muddy path so a solid start.
Then did an 8km cool down through the woods which I enjoyed for 14k all up for that first run. Had some breaky of 9 vitabrits , not a bad effort to be fair and played some basketball and a bit of soccer in the afternoon. Then at 4:30 got the skins on as the temperature dropped drastically and got out for a jog. Just 6k in around 30 mins but got that 20km mark for Saturday which was great to see.
Dinner then we had talks from Sonia o' Sullivan who runs for Glenhuntly as well. She came second in the 5k at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in 14:41 so she definitely knew what she was talking about. Also apparently has a pb of 8:21 for 3k so fairly mental. Great to listen to her and really inspired me to attempt to break the 9 minute barrier on the track next season. Then Stacy talked about injury prevention which was interesting and she just sent me through some exercises that'll hopefully keep me in action.
A bit of poorly played pool before bed but definitely saw some improvement there over the 3 days. Same time start again for long run day. Started off with almost everyone but groups split off and went separate ways. Pretty chilly again so I had on a light jumper which was great up until 8km when we hit another hill. 2km long and an ambiguous ending made me pretty unsure about how hard to run early. Ended up stopping halfway to take the jumper off and tying it around my waist made me feel like a Tarahumara with a cape.
Hit the aqueduct trail once more and at 10.5km, Sam and I turned around to head back along the forest path to home. Fantastic running through the forest, the air is so much nicer than my normal long runs next to a road and definitely motivated me to try and get back up to Ferny while I'm in Melbourne. Picked up the pace along the flats and we were rolling along at around 4:10's for the last 8 or 9 km. Felt great to be running like that.
Ended up with 20.5km on the watch so longest I've ever run continuously in 1 hour 33. Didn't do a second run because didn't want to overdo it either. Although Jb, Jack and Beau did 2 hours which to be fair I thought was a bit much considering their age. Went to a pub in the afternoon where Trevor, at 77 years of age, got on the beers and got some photo's with some bikies.
Monday morning was fartlek day along the aqueduct once more. It was mono's which are new to me but apparently named after Steve Monoghetti so they've got to be alright. 2 x 90s, 4 x 60s, 4 x 30s, 4 x 15s with the same amount of recovery as work. Started off strong but as always with these guys they murder the recovery so I just can't keep up. Lead the first rep and hit 90s, I slow to a reasonable recovery pace and they all genuinely fly past me like we're still in the fast bit. I went with them to start and they were running 3:50's recovery pace. It's just a bit silly but they are pretty fit so maybe I'm in the wrong. Anyway ended up dropping off during the 1 minute efforts and never got back in touch, done in by the end. Did a cool down with Trev which was good to see. He finished the cool down with a 100m kick and he could definitely still move.
13.7km all up for Monday and 53.7 in 3 days so pretty happy to have done that. I'm going to now go and do some exercises so I don't get injured.
So arrived on the Friday night, freezing cold and muddy before getting in some dinner, bit of a chat with everyone and heading off to bed. Plan was 8:30 run on the Saturday morning and that's what happened.
Met everyone on the porch before jogging to the Aqueduct, but jogging probably wasn't fairly put. Had only just woken up so still a bit dazed about a km of warm up later we hit a hill that seemed to never end. All up it was a k long and definitely got the blood pumping and took it out of the legs. Waited for everyone at the top before running along the aqueduct to the starting line of a 3km time trial that we were running for the Saturday session.
Did a few strides then Trev shouted go and so we all went. Really quick start as per usual with these guys. Head wasn't in the right place though so dropped off after around 1km, great little track to run on albeit very wet and muddy. About a car widths wide, it stretches for miles through the forested hills and its pretty perfect for training. Hit the turn around cone and must've lost 5 seconds trying to navigate my way around it. Jb, Beau and Sam continued widening the gap while another jack stuck on my tail. Kept hammering but I was struggling with a km left. Did my best to finish strong and managed to hold off Jack behind me. Ended up with 9:42 on a muddy path so a solid start.
Then did an 8km cool down through the woods which I enjoyed for 14k all up for that first run. Had some breaky of 9 vitabrits , not a bad effort to be fair and played some basketball and a bit of soccer in the afternoon. Then at 4:30 got the skins on as the temperature dropped drastically and got out for a jog. Just 6k in around 30 mins but got that 20km mark for Saturday which was great to see.
Dinner then we had talks from Sonia o' Sullivan who runs for Glenhuntly as well. She came second in the 5k at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in 14:41 so she definitely knew what she was talking about. Also apparently has a pb of 8:21 for 3k so fairly mental. Great to listen to her and really inspired me to attempt to break the 9 minute barrier on the track next season. Then Stacy talked about injury prevention which was interesting and she just sent me through some exercises that'll hopefully keep me in action.
A bit of poorly played pool before bed but definitely saw some improvement there over the 3 days. Same time start again for long run day. Started off with almost everyone but groups split off and went separate ways. Pretty chilly again so I had on a light jumper which was great up until 8km when we hit another hill. 2km long and an ambiguous ending made me pretty unsure about how hard to run early. Ended up stopping halfway to take the jumper off and tying it around my waist made me feel like a Tarahumara with a cape.
Hit the aqueduct trail once more and at 10.5km, Sam and I turned around to head back along the forest path to home. Fantastic running through the forest, the air is so much nicer than my normal long runs next to a road and definitely motivated me to try and get back up to Ferny while I'm in Melbourne. Picked up the pace along the flats and we were rolling along at around 4:10's for the last 8 or 9 km. Felt great to be running like that.
Ended up with 20.5km on the watch so longest I've ever run continuously in 1 hour 33. Didn't do a second run because didn't want to overdo it either. Although Jb, Jack and Beau did 2 hours which to be fair I thought was a bit much considering their age. Went to a pub in the afternoon where Trevor, at 77 years of age, got on the beers and got some photo's with some bikies.
Monday morning was fartlek day along the aqueduct once more. It was mono's which are new to me but apparently named after Steve Monoghetti so they've got to be alright. 2 x 90s, 4 x 60s, 4 x 30s, 4 x 15s with the same amount of recovery as work. Started off strong but as always with these guys they murder the recovery so I just can't keep up. Lead the first rep and hit 90s, I slow to a reasonable recovery pace and they all genuinely fly past me like we're still in the fast bit. I went with them to start and they were running 3:50's recovery pace. It's just a bit silly but they are pretty fit so maybe I'm in the wrong. Anyway ended up dropping off during the 1 minute efforts and never got back in touch, done in by the end. Did a cool down with Trev which was good to see. He finished the cool down with a 100m kick and he could definitely still move.
13.7km all up for Monday and 53.7 in 3 days so pretty happy to have done that. I'm going to now go and do some exercises so I don't get injured.
Friday 5 June 2015
Getting started
Did 10km on the treadmill yesterday at 4:37 pace. Calves a bit sore but I'm feeling good. About to head up to Warburton now so should be a great weekend.
Wednesday 3 June 2015
Addicted
Well I reckon I got withdrawals from running these past 3 days. The lack of cardio got to my head but back on my feet now. Tonight's session was create your own fartlek followed by some 300's on the track. Luke, Jasper, Tom and I tonight for a relieving workout. Luke's been around for a while and does mainly 800's and plays a lot of footy. His goal is sub 1:53 at the end of the year and if he does this, St. Kilda have given him the green light and will draft him in 2016. A lot on Shermo's plate but apparently for one of Luke's last 3's tonight he hit 38s so I'd back him to do it.
So the idea of make your own fartlek was: 2 x 2.4km of fartlek, but during the recoveries each person took a turn saying where we were going to start and finish the rep. First one went down well in 9:05 for the 2.4 worth of hard efforts and jog recoveries. Next one was a little tougher. I was coughing up all sorts due to the last few days of antigen fighting. Finished pretty knackered but got some water before the 3's.
Times were: 48s, 47s, 47s, 46s, 44s.
Last one was slower than normal but the first few felt easy. Lot's of time on the outside loop has done aerobic capacity wonders but the turnover struggled. 11.1 all up, stoked that I got that done.
This got me man, this really got me.
So the idea of make your own fartlek was: 2 x 2.4km of fartlek, but during the recoveries each person took a turn saying where we were going to start and finish the rep. First one went down well in 9:05 for the 2.4 worth of hard efforts and jog recoveries. Next one was a little tougher. I was coughing up all sorts due to the last few days of antigen fighting. Finished pretty knackered but got some water before the 3's.
Times were: 48s, 47s, 47s, 46s, 44s.
Last one was slower than normal but the first few felt easy. Lot's of time on the outside loop has done aerobic capacity wonders but the turnover struggled. 11.1 all up, stoked that I got that done.
This got me man, this really got me.
Monday 1 June 2015
Unbelievable
So came down sick again yesterday so didn't run yesterday and won't run today. Actually a joke, considering I was sick 2 weeks ago. So frustrating, but hopefully will recover soon and use the weekend to make up for it.
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