30th April - Easy morning

Mrs C got me up and going this morning which was appreciated, since I've been tending to take the easier (lazier) path to night time running....

Figured I would just roll around for about 40odd mins today. Took in a nice gentle downhill warm-up, then decended into the valley of mist....how cool, and how cold....its been a while since the fingers were chilly.

Got to just about 5km and then stopped for 90sec for a bit of a loosener stretch. Again, I was faced with some gentle reminders. Again, I am sure the problem is now just inflamation management, as the pain / problem is certainly not getting worse.

Homeward bound via a couple of nice hills just to get the heart pumping. Felt crap on the 2nd last one, but fought to the top. Snapped into gear for the final hill and moved much better.

All up, a tad over 8.2km, 38.30min running. A nice easy start to the day.

April has been my best month for the year, running 12 times.
Approx total distance 177km, approx ave pace 4m40s.

Ummm....I think I just figured out my issue with the niggle, its a long time since I got anywhere near those kind of numbers, but I honestly didn't ever feel like I was pushing the boundaries....
At least I am still running and managing the small problem.

I was hoping to gear up for an assult on my 10km pb at Sandown, but now we are travelling to Sydney for a wedding & also a meeting for my latest business opportunity investigations (I'd love to say more but this is not the right place....sorry)

28th April - Gently Gently....in my own kinda way

With the knee still just gently reminding me that things are not 100% I delayed my next run until this morning. If I get through today with no change in pain, then I'll run again tomorrow night. With just over a week from GTR, there is no point trying to push the boundaries.

In order to avoid a hilly course, I drove to Lillydale Lake, then after about 1/4 lap, I left the lake to run into the Lakeside Estate.....the hilly Lakeside Estate :? I know I know, its a sickness....
Anyway, there was really only 2 long climbs, then I knew it would be out of my system.

After the success of the midway stretch last run, I did the same today after about 30min. As I was stretching, I realised I used to do this during my last injury comeback. Then after the stretch I realised how much freer the legs are after a mid run stretch, and if I wasn't watching the watch so much normally I might do it regularly.....mental note, when its just a training run, its OK to stop and stretch, since it feels great in the second half!!

At this point I was in the wetlands, which unfortunately are pretty dry in the top end, so headed back to the Lake. I knew I'd tested the leg in the hills, now it was time to test the leg under pace pressure.

Once back on the lake trail, its a 2.5km loop, the plan was to see if I could hold sub 4min pace. I resisted the urge to take splits and push based on times, so I just ran with effort.
It felt good early, but the second half was a bit of a struggle, I'm sure the pace dropped a little there.
1 lap down in 9m32s (3m48s/km), I think it might be a pb, but I've not often time trialled the lake.
After a 38m warm-up at 4m45s including hills, I was happy with this result, knowing that I could have backed off by 28s and still made my goal.

Overall distance about 11km with 49min of running. Pretty happy with that.

Knee: no pain when running, just gentle reminders every now and then. Post run, no change. So I'll keep stretching, rubbing, anti inflam this week.







Shoes: Perseus

25th April - Running Scared

Before I begin, it is worth noting that I am watching the Cricket World Cup Semi-final. Australia is bowling, and after 5.3 overs Sth Africa are 2-12. I'll update any key events if they occur while I'm posting, kind of like a live time capsule.

After the weekends back to back runs, there was a little pain on the outside of my left knee. Immediately recognised the start of the dreaded ITB inflamation. So got onto the stretching and self massage and anti-inflams.
**Aust just missed a run-out chance - batsman was miles out**
Since then I have had a slight tenderness but not pain as such. I've delayed the next run to allow maximum rest and settle down period.
Tonight was the crunch moment, so I did everything I normally do before a run - not.... I was literally running scared, not sure what I would discover when I started to move along. It was a very tentative start, with every little thing seeming like the pending doom that injury breeds.

But after a while it all seemed to be going nicely, no pain or discomfort. Even the first serious hill was trouble free.

Tonights course was a hybrid of my local hilly course, since I was running without a watch, it was all about covering ground without problem. Rather than the 3 large hills tonight I added 2 more for 5 hills.
**Tait just removed the dangerous deVilliers, big nick to Gilchrist. 3-26**
Probably not an ideal choice for a testing run, but be assured if things weren't right I'd have gone home....

Really enjoyed the run, and will probably run the course again. Overall g-maps has it at about 13.5km and the clock check showed 65min, so given the 2min rest and stretch at about halfway it was not a bad run given the no effort mode I was in.

Post run, I did a good stretch. The slight soreness in the knee has returned, but given no pain during running I believe that I've caught the ITB problem early enough...
**McGrath takes his 2nd wicket to go to the top of the wicket takers list in a single World Cup, another catch to Gilchrist, Prince out for a duck. South Africa in big trouble at 4-27.
Next ball - Oh Ah McGrath is on a hattrick. Boucher gone. Hayden an easy catch in slips. 5-27. In case you weren't sure, no running test till the next ball is bowled.....
A 'courageous' leave (according to Flemming) by Kemp. McGrath you champion!!(even though no hattrick)**

....so just need to manage the inflamation - I hope.
As everyone knows my running schedule is not hectic so plenty of rest and recovery time.

**Tait - robbed of a wicket - Bucknor missed an inside edge from Gibbs, should have been 6 down and game over, but now we wait to see if it was a costly blunder from the umpire**

Still a little nervous, but equally hopeful of no real interruption to my Puffing Billy prep.

**South Africa 5-41 after 12.2 overs, in need of a miracle or an Australian implosion**



Shoes: Zoom Elite (nearing retirement)

21st April - Long 2hrs

After a late one finishing at nearly 10pm last night, I knew a run this morning at 7am would be on tired legs.

But, at the same time I figured this would be good for me in the long term.

I planned on doing a loop we've run before that takes in Croydon and Bayswater, Heathmont and Ringwood. This route is approx 20km so I needed to add a bit. So with an extension from Croydon North and via Mooroolbark.

Deliberately taking it easy, the pace was very gentle and it felt good to be on the road with a long run ahead.

Once at about an hour, I started to figure that my extension was too far, so began planning a shortened version back to the car. It all worked out well. I stopped twice for 45s for water.

Back at the car after 2hr2min56s, so running time 2hr1m28s.
According to G-maps it was just shy of 26km, so average running pace of 4m42s.
Happy with the run.

Now, a little weary and....... a little sore in the left knee. Not a new niggle today, but definitely something that will flare if not watched. No doubt it is ITB issues, so I'm on the stretching, massaging, anti-inflam path right now. Its not painful, just niggly, but needs attention now to ensure it gets better and not worse.


Happy with the way things are going at the moment, just need a little tender care for a few days.





Shoes: Vomero

20th April - Another late one

Even though it was a day off, I couldn't take advantage of the morning, so my run was again put off till the evening.

Left the house planning on about an hour on the road, so took a course that is normally 45-50 mins and added some extra.

Rolling along at an effortless pace, then it dawned on me that the pace was not effortless and slow, but effortless and quickish, so I tried to dial it back a fair bit.

Didn't work, as even the hills were just a piece of ground to be covered.

Finished 14km in 65mins, ave pace 4m38s.

I'd also planned on getting to the bottom of a shoe problem. My Pegasus TC had been worn a few times when my calves got sore, so was worried there was a connection. Since these were meant to be my new race shoes, I was a worried runner.
Tonight was aimed to prove or disprove. The result is it seems purely co-incidence, as there was no problem with my calves at all!!

New Hobby

I realised that I have not yet shared my latest addition to my home:

"Fish"

After a 12 month E-bay search mission, I finally found (and won) the fish tank that I was looking for. To give some idea, new large tank costs somewhere in the range of $1000+ to get set-up and operational.

I was lucky to get mine, complete and ready to go - including some fish - for $275!!

We have had a 'practice' Gold fish tank for quite a while, so we knew most of what was needed, but I quickly discovered that a large tropical tank was a different situation altogether.

For those that love to Google things, we started out with 4 types of fish: Clown Loach x 1, Neon Tetra x 3, Guppie x 11 & Angel x 1 (possibly Koi Angel)

After a little while I felt the need to get more fish, particularly since we had lasted a little while without killing any. So we went for the Neon Tetras based on the advice that they have a really nice schooling habit and usually hang out together in a big group. So instantly our fish family grew to 30 (including the 4 Gold Fish).

The beauty of the Guppy is that it is a livebearer, and our fat little mummy fish had 5 little fishies (frye). Unfortunately, they didn't last long and only 1 remains, but I am hopeful of this one making it!!!

The missing babies made me think it was time to get some hiding places for the future babies. The obvious choice was for some plants - and they are good for the water quality too.

Of course, going to the fish shop leads to all kinds of temptation, so with the plants I also came home with more fish......

I'd heard that Clowns like company and given ours was solo (and had been for over 5yrs with original owner) I bought 2 new Clowns, much smaller but very cool.

I had also been advised to keep the Guppy gene pool mixed, so got 2 guppies in a different colour to the originals. (note: bad move, these were gone within 3 days....)

If you have had a fish tank you know about the problem with algae, so I sought some 'cleaners', and found the Siamese Flying Fox loves to each algae, so I got 4 of those. They are brilliant, they eat all day, and only eat the algae off everything!!

So our fish family is now:
Clown Loach x 3
Angel x 1
Neon Tetra x 12 (lost one)
Siamese Flying Fox x 4
Guppy x 11 (optimist is including the baby...)
Gold Fish x 4 (different tank)



Here is a before and after photo: (There are fish in there....trust me on that)
It looks so much better in real life....

Did you figure out which picture had something that didn't belong???

In case you were not sure, my little one hates the camera.....

17th April - Did you know....

....that I get very bored running on my own, so if I don't do something to keep me occupied it drives me nuts. Which is probably why I do work harder or do crazy type things in training, and rarely get through an entire run at an easy pace when solo. Groups runs are really good for me, but they have been few and far between.

Another night run, but not as late, out the door at 8.10pm. The plan (ha, like I ever have a plan), was to just cruise around for 40odd mins on as flat a course as I could find in Chirnside, after the hard hill run on Sunday night it was best to dial it down. Well the easy cruise lasted about 9min, when on the second lap (reverse direction) of the flat loop I noticed that without trying I was into a quickish tempo and already looking for the interesting part of the run.

So rather than fight off boredom, I headed over to our little 650m circle road, its a good place for reps, not quite flat but probably equal gentle up down. Arrived at the 20min mark, and figured I would try a 3 lap Kenyan (ie faster and faster reps). So without stopping I hit the following splits.

Lap 1 - 2m39s (4m05s/km)
Lap 2 - 2m26s (3m45s/km)
Lap 3 - 2m19s (3m34s/km)

Overall: 1.95km @ 3m48s/km average

Pretty happy with the pace and the effort, only required to really concentrate in the last 150m of the final rep.

Then in keeping with the 'hills after speed' that worked so well last time (not), I went to my 1km hill trial......I quickly knew the legs were tired and heavy, so my last effort of 4m22s was not under threat, so I just kept moving with effort to see what a 'tired' rep would be. I was pleasantly surprised that the clock stopped at 4m35s. A good sign for GTR, if I can keep all my uphill splits in the 4m30-4m40s then it could be a good day for me.

Very slow and gentle run home (slightly downhill) to stop at 40m09s.....a perfectly timed run :)

15th April - Chirnside GTR Course

Did you know that there is a GTR course in Chirnside Park???

With 3 good climbs, and plenty of other uphill bits, probably not as many good long downhill sections, but close enough. This is my 'test' course, in preparation for the GTR.
Trust me when I say, that you really need to be sure you want to run it before taking it on.

My plan of delaying dinner till after my run failed when my lovely wife had already put the steak on to cook......so instead I delayed the run for 3hrs after eating, so I didn't get out the door till 10pm.

It was a nice night to be out, the air was warm and reasonably still. I saw a bit of wild life tonight, a big scary possum (it must have been given how much I jumped), an owl, a couple of dogs, the common Outer East bogan, and the very rare courteous driver......given how much they slowed down, I'm not so sure if it was courtesy or disbelief.....

I deliberately took it out slowly to ensure the distance was covered in one piece, so the first 4.2km - 19m17s, this includes the first decent hill.
From here there is a bit of up and down, till you get the 2 largest climbs, almost one on top of the other. 4.7km - 20m35s, 8.9km in 39m52s.
With the big climbs out of the way, I used some downhill to build a bit of pace and rhythm in the final section. There are 3 hills but only 1 mildly steep and long. Once over that one, I tried to push to the end. With the mind games coming, this was not so easy.
4.4km - 18m22s, to finish the 13.3km course in 58m15s.

Overall an average pace of 4m23s / km, so not too bad, I was only looking at the watch for the splits, but I had hoped I could slip into the 57m but not to be.
Happy that the toughest middle section was at 4m23s pace, and the final effort section at 4m10s despite the hills involved.

Feeling pretty confident that I can beat last years time of 56m20s on race day, but I can't help but be aware that this time last year I was well and truly into marathon mode and doing some very long runs. This year I've only gone over 80mins twice.

Off to sleep now...suitably cooled and rested.

13th April - Speed Reps

With a view to keeping things varied and interesting, and also to avoid getting caught in a 'one pace' trap, I headed down to Kimberly Reserve for another dose of speed work.

It's just over 2km to get there and its all downhill, so a nice easy warm-up.
Once at the reserve, there is a 1.1km gravel path loop. The plan was to run hard for 3/4 or about 750m, then slow recovery to start of next lap. In my mind I wanted to run 6, but was happy to adjust that based on feel.

The first effort section is purely to get a base time to work off, so not at full pace, but putting a bit of edge onto the run. Then every effort after that is used as a comparison. Obviously as time goes by the effort required to maintain the same pace increases with fatigue.

My splits looked like this:

2.35 (2.26 recovery)
2.37 (2.17)
2.38 (2.20)
2.39 (2.07)
2.34 (2.33) - reverse direction
2.44 (2.13) - switched off mentally and effort, used as a guide to 'no thought' pace.
2.36 - back in original direction and concentrated for last rep.

Overall I was happy with the splits, comparable or perhaps a couple of seconds quicker than past efforts.

As for the trip home, unfortunately it is all uphill, which after a hard session is less than ideal, and today it became literally painful as my calves objected to having to work during fast work, then again just to get home again.... so with a couple of hundred metres to go, I followed my own advice (for once) and pulled the pin to walk the rest of the way home. Something I've never done before, but today it was the right thing to do.

Total distance: Approx 12km
Total time: 55min



Shoes: Pegasus TC

10th Apr - Pram on the Lake

To briefly explain...... I realised that I wasn't recording anything about my running other than which days I went, so I figured here was as good as anywhere. Nothing fancy, no regular tallys etc, just a record to look back on when I want to.
Also, it will keep me honest to ensure I have something to write about.

Today was a day off, the eldest boy had a 'playdate' so I was left at home with number 2. So rather than risk missing a run, we packed the pram with necessary stuff and off we went.

Knowing that the family were in Mt Evelyn, I planned a run to finish at Lillydale Lake so I could get picked up from there, as I didn't want to have to push the pram back up the hill to home.....

I've run with the pram a few times, but never on hilly terrain. Uphills are typically tough, but also the downhill, due to balance and the fear of tripping and losing control. So from now on, only flat ground for the pram running expeditions. Fortunately we were out of the hills withing the first 15mins.

Got part of the way to the Lake and realised that I hadn't started my watch.....bugger. So with no other option I just had to run with an approx time.

Once at the lake I did my usual loops and twists including the wetlands. Towards the end of the run - guessing about 45-50mins in. I did a final lap of the lake, so figured I would do some splits to get an idea of pace. By this stage I had guessed that things had slowed considerably. So I was pleased when the first split was 4.40, so from this I guessed that I hadn't dropped below 5min pace for the entire run!! Second split was 4.20 for a 9min final 2km (obviously I pushed a little in the 2nd one...).

So given the load and imbalance of the pram running, I was happy to cover the 11km under an hour, and for the pace to be respectable.



Shoes: Pegasus

8th April - Rye Run

With an overnight stay in Rye with family, I was keen to get in a run in a new location. Given my tendancy to extreme familiar course boredom, this is a golden chance for me.

Up just before 7am, long enough to get brekky for number 1 son, and be out the door ab 7.10am. Probably 10min later than ideal, since I wanted to be back by 8am (I was on pancake duty).

Brushing advice aside (so unlike me), I headed for the beach / foreshore trail. If it was no good I had a fall back plan, but the trail was very runable so I stuck with it. Until I took a wrong turn and ended up on the sand, then the rock pools, so I quickly scurried up a rock bank in search of the trail.
Here I ended up in the carpark, so figured I'd follow some streets. Eventually I found Old Melbourne road, so I upped the pace and followed the bike path, a good surface but a bit up and down. 25min then turnaround. Google earth figured about 5km, but with the trail not being straight, I suspect it was longer.

On the return leg I bascially followed the same path, but was able to avoid the beach, but this meant a longer 'soft sand' section. So I also avoided the last part of the trail and kept on the bitumen for a faster finish. Back in 23min, then a 2 min slow jog cool down.

I'll log 10km but probably more, as I know the pace was sub 4.30's for much of the run.

A great way to start the day, and thoroughly enjoyed the new scenery.

Shoes: Zoom Vomero

April 6th - Chirnside to Mt Evelyn

With the littlest one down for a sleep I was given the chance to get out the door, while the others were happy watching The Incredibles and surfing E-bay.

I had in the back of my mind taking a course that I had run previously with Rob (Rogo), which goes from Lillydale Lake to Mt Evelyn via David Rd then Haig Rd. But I also didn't want to take the normal route to get to the lake. So instead I took a pathway via the Mooroolbark Hills and Hull Rd to Lakeview Estate.

This course takes in some decent hills, but the worst of it is right towards the end in the trail to Mt Evelyn. By this time I was feeling very slow. I got to the water tap at Mt Evelyn in 46min. I guessed it was about 9km, but Google Earth suggests 10km, so it was quicker that I thought.

But, 46min out was longer than I planned, so after a quickish downhill to Old Gippsland Rd, I took it easy for the rest of the trip home. Again via the Lake.

The chosen hill to get home was the main Hwy. This was the first time I had run this one, as I usually take back roads. 8min to run the 1.6km hill so 5min pace on a long hill after 80min of running was pretty satisfying.

All up it was 85min and 18.5km on a tough course in warmish conditions, so pretty happy with the outing.



Shoes: Zoom Elites (2)

April 4th - Chirny Hills

Determined to shake myself out of the blah blahs I have for running at the moment, I decided that I HAD to run tonight.

Out the door at 9.50pm.
I plotted a new course from home, but deliberately ensured there were some good hills in the mix. I also worked to ensure that I didn't push the pace at all. To begin I was using short steps and a quickish cadence and that worked to help keep everything nice and easy.

The idea was to just get through the run without pressing the hills or pushing the pace. The allowance I had was that the downhills could be fast. All I wanted to do was to feel comfortable moving around hilly terrain without real effort.

Towards the end I took on the hill that runs up Maroondah Hwy from Edwards Rd to Country Club Dr, Google Earth has it at 1km - UPHILL. So this will be my new time-trial section. Tonight in a comfortable but building pace, it was a 4.22 split.

Overall a 9.2km course covered in under 44min, so a nice gentle hilly run. Thoroughly enjoyable!!



Shoes: Perseus

March 31st - solo then group

With the final Run for the Kids training run being a simple slow lap of the Tan, I figured I would do the right thing by myself and get in early enough for a longer and tougher run.

Out of the car at 7.15 gave me 75min till I had to be back.
The plan was for 37.5min out and back, along the way I figured a 39min out would put some pressure on me to come home faster.

From the top of Anderson St, I went to the river and went West, with the plan to go towards Docklands and past Telstra Dome, since I had never gone that far in that direction.
My problem began when I pushed the pace too much racing the row boats..... so once that was set I was moving well the the entire 'out' leg.

Upon finding the Capital Trail signs I followed that.
Getting close to half way, and I was not looking forward to the return leg, since I had gone out far too hard. So I began plotting a return leg, via the city.

At 39min (approx 9km) I hit Racecourse Rd, and so began my journey back. I got to Royal Park, then Melbourne Uni (??), and I was in familiar territory. To the city - Swanston St and the river then back to the Tan.

All up about 17-17.5km in 73min. A good hard workout for sure.

Then a very gentle Tan lap with the group for a 21km day!!


Shoes: Pegasus TC