10 x 400m

Another chilly night. I'm needing a faster warm up as it gets colder otherwise the first rep is so average. Felt so good though to be honestly, just one of those days I felt smooth, fast and easy. Did some strides, got amped up and started off on the track. Each with a 400m jog recovery between.

First rep felt so hard I was questioning how I was gonna get through. After 3 things slotted into place and I could focus on pushing rather than getting up to speed.

69.4, 66.8, 67.1, 65.5, 65.5, 65.0, 64.9, 63.5, 64.5, 62.2

Over the moon at the end, although felt like I was going to be sick after the 9th. Liam put down an insane 56s last rep, I honestly don't get how he does it. Unreal.

Jogged the cooldown with Will, talking all things MCK based for 14.8km all up. Writing this now, just got hit with the most messed up cramp in my hammie. Genuinely terrified to move my leg atm, that hurt so much. Means I worked hard though so I'm secretly stoked.

Career path

On the ride yesterday and saw a cafe advertising for staff, so called them up and asked if I could drop my resume off. 75% sure the woman called me honey bunny on the phone so I'm hoping I'm locked in.

Anyway ride was good, 50km done and dusted in 1:37. Headwind was seriously cold on the way home. No double weather only got worse.

Accelerashe

The Lesley favourite back out for XC season. Still feeling it a bit from Saturday afternoon despite the rest day on Sunday.

How it works is 400m solid, 200m jog, 200m threshold, 200m fast, 200m jog. Works perfectly on the 1200m loop. 400s were all uphill and between 74 and 78 and the quick 200s were between 33 and 35.

Really nothing special but just glad to get it done. Ended up doing 6 laps of that for 14.4km all up.

Cruden Farm 2017

First 10 miler so I was extremely unsure to say the least. Jogged around a bit with Eamonn before, chucking the spikes on and got to the start line. 4 laps of 4km each.

Very busy start but the pace was nice and steady just how I wanted. Got myself a bit of breathing room and started reeling in those who went out too quick. Hit 4km feeling very comfy. The course was genuinely fantastic though. Pretty undulating, lots of corners but also plenty of straight sections where you could go for it a bit. Bit of a river jump and well which grew and grew after hundreds of people had gone through it. We were the last race of the day as well so it was a disaster on the 4th lap. First time through I copped the mud halfway up the shin on the left leg which was real strange with one leg feeling heavy and the other bouncy.

I was switching the lead with a guy from box hill I think between 4km and 10km. Went through halfway feeling strong, but fast, like I still had a fair bit left. Split 10km in 37:21 and upped the effort a bit and dropped my shadow. Effort went up, but the pace was similar. Really went for it with 4 to go and managed to catch a load of people hurting in the last quarter. Same foot muddy 4 times in a row. Must've moved up 10 to 15 places in the last section. Crossed the finish line with Chris W in sight, but didn't have him in the end.

Turns out the course was only well short which was a touch unfortunate, I was hoping for a proper 10 miles. Ended up running 56:29 for 15.2 (3:43s) and came 70th. Crossed the line feeling absolutely knackered, but I reckon I could've been hurting a bit more from a quicker pace earlier on. Maybe I'll push a bit harder in the middle sections next time but I didn't go above 3:47s the whole way round so real consistent which I'm stoked with. Lessons learned though, furthest I've ever raced.

Tried a cool down, but everything was so so sore. Just jogged out 600m and called it a day, 17.2 all up.

Sunday today and was going to ride but the weather was so poor, decided I'd earned a rest day so stayed inside. Looking forward to training real hard the next few weeks, myself and Jasp have big plans for the Warburton time trial this year.

Morning

Set the alarm for 6:45 and wasn't able to drag my build out of bed until 7:30. I'm pathetic it's okay I know I'm well aware. 10km averaging 4:34s. I was still feeling it from the night before and the hayfever wasn't cooperating so felt harder than it was. Finished off with a couple of strides, last run before the weekend.

Major variety

Exactly the same session as last week, except under Trev's watchful eye. Felt good but weird I dunno how to describe it.  Once I got running fast, everything slotted into place. Distinctly better than last week which is great to see. I don't know if that's improvement or maybe just learning how to run that individual session. Either way looks good on paper.

48.5, 50.1, 49.2, 48.9, 49.9, 49.3, 49.5, 49.3, 50.0, 49.0, 48.6, 46.5

12km all up. Pretty nervous about this week's race. 16km cross country, furthest I've ever raced. The plan of trying to feel fast, but strong at halfway has been working this season so I'll stick to it. 8km in though gahd, if I negative split it'll be a christmas miracle.

Beaut

Such good weather on Monday so took a longer walk home from the bus stop to enjoy it. I can feel myself becoming old already. Training that night was 2 x (800,600,400,200) with 400m jog between the big reps and 200m after the smaller one.

Trained okay, but hayfever was throwing a tantrum and the legs weren't 100% after the long run. 

2:29, 1:49, 73, 31

2:30, 1:55, 77, 31

Looks real rough in the second set and it was. Definitely wasn't fully firing here, but it was made worse by the fact that the places where we did the reps changed between sets as we were on the outside 1200m loop, meaning we copped the hill a lot more in the back half. 

Just 2 laps cool down for 12.6km all up. 

Decided Tuesday was gonna be an easier day. Hit the gym with Katie and ended up doing 30 mins on the spin bike, followed by 2km jogging on the treadmill and finishing off with some core. Kept the pace changing on the bike, did 5 x 2 mins hard, 2 mins easy, but the hard was definitely more like threshold. 

Training tonight should be good, I just gotta get down more than my fair share of anti-histamines. 

No charge

Felt good this and the splits showed it. Fastest I've got around to 8k and 13k on the loop but then the watch died so I had no idea of the time. Definitely felt the early pace towards to end though, couldn't get going up the last couple of hills. 19.3km, I was keen to get it to 1 hour 40, but no watch meant that I stuck to what I knew. 

Reckon I'll have one last hard session tomorrow before taking the middle of the week a bit easier. Haven't had an easier week in a while and I'll need it to race this 16km cross country and just to let everything recover. No doubles or triples, but I'll keep the intensity high so I don't feel flat. 

67.5km for the week. 

Hills and

Warm up felt okay. Didn't feel tired but my legs were a bit sore so I'll try back off a bit next week before the race. Not a big crew this morning so basically myself and Liam training together. Gahd that guy has so much speed it's a sick joke. 

1:08, 1:10, 1:08, 1:10, 1:09, 1:10, 1:10, 1:07 

22:26 all up as well, great hit out. Felt okay after standing around for 10 so jumped in the Threshold with Chris and Anna. Did 2km in 6:59 so definitely on the faster side of threshold, but I felt so strong not going to lie. 

3:26 and then a 3:33 a good 30s faster than the last time I did it. Very slow cool down afterwards I was a genuinely shattered. 12.6km all up, stoked with that, Ferny creek tomorrow morning. 

Bit of a mess

Friday was planning on just an easy ride. Got 8km in and my back wheel blew up. Don't even know what happened but the tire was partly torn off the wheel. I managed to stay on but it was a shaky last 20m as I slowed up. Got home and did a 2km jog to make up for it at about 4:45s.

Sinking 3s

Out for a sporty little ride just before lunchies. 16km averaging just over 31. Got home hung the bike up and nearly fell over blood sugar felt so low. Got in and grabbed some food before heading out in the evening for the normal easy run. As I'm keen to keep two days on the bike, decided a mid-week long run wouldn't be a bad idea to start doing. Plan was to go to 15km, but ended up doing just over 13.2 at 4:38 pace. 

I'll build up slowly over the next few weeks, but it'll probably be around normal next Thursday as Cruden Farm is well on the way. Finished off with some real quick 60m strides with Sam and Jasp. Speed isn't too shabby these days. 

Backed it up with an hour of strength. Really tough as always, pretty tired right now Friday morning, but I'll just get a little ride done early this afternoon. Hills tomorrow. 

Rolling and 300s

On the bike yesterday. Got into it after 10k or so. Ended up averaging 32 on a very still day not much wind at all. 50km, no double and a decent nap was just what I needed to be honest.

Woke up early and got down to the high school for a bit of cross country coaching. Amazed me how many rocked up I was expecting a max of 10 and ended up with a minimum of 30 easy. They're demolishing the year 12 centre at the high school as well as a lot of memories at the moment. Gahd if those walls could speak they'd have some stories to tell.

Nice night at training. Track based once again which I swear is weird. Lesley normally loves the longer sessions at this time of year. This one was brutal though, 12 x 300m with 100m jog recovery which took us just over a minute each time. Didn't think it'd be too bad but when I hit number 8 and 9 it got really tough.

I tired to do some high knees in the recovery after the 8th just to try and stretch out a bit. Couldn't get them anywhere near hip height the lactic was so heavy.

48.8, 50.7, 48.8, 50.6, 49.3, 48.9, 49.2, 50.5, 50.2, 50.6, 51.7, 49.5

Some solid times I reckon, but I've never done it before so I couldn't say. Jasper had a ripper session, I was barely hanging on. I don't think he went over 50 seconds the whole way round. 12km all up.

2/3

Not a great turnout at training so the vibe was pretty low. I was feeling alright in the morning but just got sorer all day. Felt really fit heart rate was so slow even after the strides, which probably wasn't ideal thinking about it now, really tired after a big weekend running wise. Started the session planning on just getting through, but the competitive drive that normally gets me up and about just wasn't there. 

JB was as sick as a dog as well poor guy. Ended up doing 4 out of the 6 x 600m session Lesley had going for us on the outside. Ran real solidly to be fair, but keen to take it easy for the next 48 hours. 

1:48, 1:48, 1:49, 1:47

8.4km all up. Back at it Wednesday night and on the bike tomorrow. Felt weird cutting it halfway, the body definitely needed it, but 6 months ago I wouldn't have even considered stopping. Not sure whether its good or bad. It'll keep me uninjured that's for sure and that's real important and after that Wandin performance and last week's training I'm feeling faster than ever. Locked in the Melbourne half marathon in October, I reckon a reasonable goal would be to get my build across the finish line, but Lesley has other ideas... 

Rats

Pretty large night last night for Eamonn's Birthday, got in about 3am, decided Ferny was a no go so met up with Sam and Katie for a long run at the beach at like 9. 

Sam got away about 8km in. Went to 50 mins to get an hour 40 all up. Run was so quick not going to lie I would've been happy with it even if I was 100%. Kept it around 4:30s on the way out before hitting about 4:10s on the way home. Katie kept the pace honest I was hurting from 15k onwards. Ended up with 22.6 in all in 1:39 dead. Absolutely shot to bits right now, getting up the stairs is a big ask. We'll see how it goes tomorrow about training, I might jump on the bike if I'm not feeling it. 76 all up for the week, only 5 days pounding the pavement as well. 

Wandin 2017

Easily the toughest course in the world. 3 major hills, log jumps and kangaroo crossings, this is the real deal. Plan was to feel good after the first lap and try to bring it home strong. Didn't really happen but I was happy with the result in the end. 8km race.

Went off strong but not too strong. Started feeling a bit lactic just before the last hill on the first lap but kept the cadence high and worked my way forward. Duking it out here with 3 or 4 of the same guys. Don't really remember what happened from 4-6km but fairly sure I ended up losing to all of them. Hit the second climb on the second lap and absolutely lost the plot. It is an insane hill, a good 400m long top to bottom but only gets properly steep the last 200m. Everyone around me was hurting, so despite feeling like I'd hit a wall, I reckon I was going okay.

I was absolutely suffering in the last km, but managed to pull an okay last 300m to the finish. Ended up with 71st place and a 30:38 on the watch. Really happy with that not going to lie. Checked the result from the 4k last year and turns out I ran 15:33 for just the single lap and I would've split close to 15 flat on the two lapper. Not sure how that works but I'll take it. 3:41s apparently although everyone's watch had the course at 300m long but who knows. Cooled down with Eamonn running the course backwards. 13.6km all up.

Same again

Was thinking about having a rest day but I was getting too jumpy so went for a ride. 16km averaging 30 just like friday last week. Good ride but too many trucks on the road early afternoon.

Alright

Just a run last night with the guys around the normal Thursday night loop. Ended up with 11.2km in 53:37 so just under 4:50s. Finished off with 5 fast 60m strides with Jasp before stretching off everything. Calves are still a bit sore from Wednesday so a major roll this arvo is on the cards.

Track is back but not really

With the race on Sat everyone rocked up to training thinking it was gonna be an easy day. I was tired 45 mins before so had a little nap and wasn't feeling spectacular. Found out the session was 10 x 400m w/300m jog for myself, Jasper, Liam and Jase while Sam was to get through 400m of recovery in the same time so we could all start the rep together.

Ended up having an insane session. After training on the outside for so long, you forget how much fitness you build as the rep times aren't flattering. No idea how I managed this.


68, 68, 66, 65, 66, 66, 65, 66, 65, 62

Started off comfortable each time before winding in up in the last 250. Felt amazing closing strong. The jog recoveries were real slow though so at least 2 mins for each one but over the moon with that. 13.7km all up for the session I'm gonna have to have a serious roll for the next couple of days I hope I'm not too sore.

Rotation

On the bike yesterday for 50km.  Averaged just over 33 for the first 45k, felt great the whole time, one of my fastest rides ever for sure. Hit some heavy traffic coming back up North road through so that wasn't ideal. Then did a core set which hurt so much as it always does. Rolled and stretched in the evening and made sure everything was still working. It was, although my hamstrings are so tender because of the fast finish Monday night. About to roll some more now.

Monday Monas

The whole world knows the drill by now, I was hoping for 6 x 1km but it wasn't to be. Trained with Jasp, Liam, and the orienteering guy who's sub 35, 10km based. Found myself out the front on most of the longer reps which was great to see and ended up finishing really strong as well so I had a great session.

1:50, 1:51

70, 66, 70, 69

29, 30, 33, 27

Didn't time the 1s but they felt fast. 600s were both uphill as well so I reckon the effort equivalent was well below 3 min/km pace considering that'd be a 1:48. All on the outside loop as well so all things considering I'm running faster than ever before. 14.8km all up, don't think I'm gonna double ride this week because of the race on Saturday, but I'll still get 50k done this arvo, maybe more if I'm feeling okay at 40.

Ferny

19.3km in 1:35. I was pretty keen to get 1:40 on the watch, but it was absolutely pouring down at the end and I just wanted to get warm. Great run, really enjoyed it, despite the cold. Hills were tough but not gonna lie felt really strong on all of them. I reckon this cycling is doing me wonders. 71 flat for the week and 112 on the bike.

Easy Friday and Tradish Sat

On the bike friday morning. I was feeling okay, but I was glad I took an easier day as I've done a fair bit this week. 16km untimed but I reckon I averaged high 28s. Decided to spin the whole way round so kept the RPM's high and stopped the legs feeling heavy.

Got home and had a major stretch and roll.

This morning was hills. Warmed up with JB and apparently it was pretty fast although I didn't time it. Felt shocking on the first but was okay after the heart rate got up properly. Had Jason on my shoulder for the first 6 and that really helped me keep them fast. With a 2 flat 800 to his name he's insanely quick for a 16 yr old, but I think he struggles with the longer stuff.

1:10, 1:09, 1:09, 1:09, 1:09, 1:08, 1:10, 1:08 were my times and 22:44 all up, stoked with that. Luckily managed to escape Jase. Cooled down with the main group for 12.1km all up. Knackered now keen for a snooze.

triple collat

Woke up feeling like I'd just done 10 400s the night before. Considered hopping downstairs for brekky but chucked the kit on and got out for a ride.

Managed the 30km Charman road loop in 58:30. Pretty still day, but it was freezing again. Heard the weather is nice in Queensland, don't know if anyone can confirm?? Felt really strong on that ride, all solo as well. Then met up with JB, Jase, Sammy and Simon for the regular Thursday evening easy run. Ended up with 11.2km in 50:30, about 4:30 pace. Great run, again felt really strong which surprised me a bit as I thought the legs would be shaky from the ride. Did 3 x 60m strides to finish off.

Then did the majority of Anna's strength session. Haven't done it for a while so I reckon I'll be pretty sore tomorrow, but hopefully it's not too bad. Skipped the ab stuff as I've done more than my fair share of that recently and couldn't face the 8 minute combo of planks and side planks.

Ran into Chris Hibbert on the way out so had a chat with him. Had a reminisce on sessions gone by, but hopefully will catch up for a run with him soon. Got home and smashed down dinner and half a block of chocolate convincing myself the magnesium will help the legs tomorrow.

Traffic

Had a genuinely great chat with JB out the back on the warm up and during the strides. really chilly again although the sun was out which was nice. Option was 12 x 300 on the track or 10 x 400m on the outside. Chose the latter because I still gotta watch the shin. With JB on the inside, Chris W not training and Jasper and Will having raced today, I trained with the Div 1 girls. Kept the recoveries slow, but kept the reps quicker than last week when we did the same thing. 

75, 74, 69, 72, 71, 68, 72, 71, 67, 70

After warming up properly after the first rep, I thought I was on for all sub 72. Gawd end of the second one though car pulled out in front of me without looking, genuinely oblivious. Would've been at least 71 as well I was rolling along nicely. 

15.2km all up, great run, knackered now. 

Cats and

Weather has just cracked it recently, no regard for us used to the heat. Bitterly cold in the morning with a tailwind on the way out to Mordy and a headwind on the return. Absolutely brutal especially after the session the night before. Got through it and felt good afterwards. Just had a really bad day Tuesday, miserable all day. The content at university is so dry and the shocking pay at the Pizza place is making it seem not worth it anymore. 

Highlight was definitely the second ride despite catching the back end of the storm passing through. 16 extra km averaging about 31.5, So 66k all up for the day, the puncture came good.

Cheh

Weather was looking pretty sour leading up to it, but it held off until the cool down which was ideal. Warmed up with the boys, genuinely laughed the whole way round Will had me in tears. Got some strides done, although they weren't too quick, had that all too familiar post-ferny feeling, but it went away after a few.

Lesley had us all confused so no one knew how many 800s or the recovery distance, but that's just part of the package down at DMAC. Decided on 5 and 400m jog in the end, but started at the top of the hill, the focus was on getting them done quicker. That meant the recovery pace was a touch less fierce than usual which is always nice to see. 

For starters, definitely had one too many smashed avos on toast for lunchies so was feeling a bit heavy as you do. Wind was somehow in our face the whole way round despite the sharp turn 400m in. Kept the warm up shirt on for the first, but ditched it once I found a rhythm. Trained with Jasper, Will, JB and a couple of the young guns who were doing one less rep. 

2:30, 2:28, 2:27, 2:32, 2:31

Last couple were seriously tough, thinking I was gonna have sub 2:30 in the bank for the 5, but didn't happen in the end. Amazing how similar Jasp and I are at the moment, he agreed to a fifth rep so I led the first half, he kicked home nice and strong, but I was done. Thankful I didn't have to get it done solo though. 

13.2km all up with an easy cool down. Talking about the difference in pace between the track and outside with Jasp, on a still day we reckon 4 seconds per 400m on the flat section when working hard but it really depends. Just fixed that puncture for the 300th time in 4 days, probably won't hold lets be honest.