350m Reps

Today was one of the toughest sessions I have done in a long while. It was Tom, Haftu, Nick, Duggie, Ryan, Jackson and I training tonight. 20 360m reps up and down a hill. The hill goes on for about 100m so the rep starts about 250m in front of the hill. We do one rep up the hill then one rep down the hill. We had a 30s recovery at the bottom of the hill and 90s at the top.We did 2.5km warm up then got into the session. We started with an up the hill rep and did it in 75s. The 2nd rep which was down the hil we did in 1:08. We steadily got faster as the session went on. Getting around the 1:10 mark for up the hill and about 1:06 for the down hill. For the majority of the session. At around the 12th rep mark I tried sitting in the middle of the pack towards the hill then pushing hard up the hill. It worked well and I finished first on a couple of the reps. After that it was really hurting and I pushed hard and stuck with the pack. On the last rep I was really hurting. I decided I would put it all out there and go for it. I set off really quick and kept it up until 50m to go. The lactic really hit me then and I slowed a bit. Ryan and Haftu caught me, but I still managed to run 58s. So really stoked. Tough tough session, about 11km all up.

20 Minutes Hard

Pretty hot today, did a hard 20 minutes. Ended up doing 5.75km went through 5 km in 17:45 so really happy. Feeling pretty sore afterwards though so not as good. Doing a tough session tommorow so hope I'm feeling better.

3k, 2k, 1k + Speed Work

Yesterday went to running club for training and after 2.5km warm up we got into the session. It was Haftu, Ryan, Tom, Julian, Jasper, duggie and Dean training. First was 3km. Felt pretty good on this rep stayingup with Tom and Haftu. We did it in 10:21. Next was the 2km. I led the first km, but it was windy and I think it took its toll. I dropped back about 10s and finished the rep in 6:45. Then the 1km. I dropped off at the start, but held my position and slowly caught up with Dean. Then surprised myself with quite a large kick and came home in 3:04. Pretty happy with that last rep as I thought I had broken on the 2km. The training is obviously helping. Next we did 3 70m sprints on the track which felt strange. I found myself struggling to slow down after each rep and afterwards my legs felt like jelly. Anyway, great session, about 10km in all.

All Schools Victoria Championships

So this weekend was the big weekend. I was racing in the 1500m on Saturday and the 3000m on Sunday. The track was Lakeside Stadium next to Albert Park, a really nice track. Chris and I were running together in both races and the 1500m was up first on Saturday afternoon. After waiting in the call room for 20 minutes the officials called us out on to the track for some last minute strides before the event. We started and I sat back just wanting to run a Pb on not wanting to go too hard in the first km. I was feeling pretty good and I kept the strong pace up and we went through the first km in 3:02. My goal was to go through a bit faster but I pushed on through the next 100m. I saw Chris drop off the front pack and slow down a lot and I overtook him on the back straight. He spurred me on and I ended up with a 8 second Pb of 4:36 so really happy finishing 10th overall. Chris injured his Achilles which has been bothering him for a few months. He was feeling a bit better on Sunday, but decided not to run in the 3k. The next day was the 3km in the morning. At the start I just sat in last place. I didn't want to go out too hard again. Went through the first km in 3:10 and was feeling good. The second km is normally when I loose most of my time so I tried to push it a bit and ended up overtaking 4 people. I kept working and all of a sudden it was the last lap. Immediately someone went past me and I tried to stick with him. He was 10m ahead at 100m to go and I pushed on. I didn't catch him, but I ran 9:49 so a 14 second Pb finishing 14th and I am very happy with that.

Taper session

Today went up to running club to do a Taper session before the big races this weekend. We did a 1k, a 600m and a 300m. Felt pretty good and started off with the 1km in 2:52. Really stoked with that a Pb for me. Then did the 600m rep in 1:36. On the 300 the wind had picked up and ended up running 46s. So alright on the last rep not the best, however I felt like I should've pushed harder with 200 to go. About 5.6km in all.

Easy 6km

So Monday was my rest day and yesterday was meant to be a training session but it got cancelled because of the weather. Today just did an easy 6km with Chris while Haftu tapered for his race on Friday. We all have All-schools races this weekend. I am racing with Chris on the Saturday(1500m) and the Sunday(3000m). Looking forward to it especially the 1500 as I haven't done a 1500m race without having a race before on the same day in over a year, so hoping to run a pb. We are just having a bit of a taper week before the races.

Long Run

This morning did an easy 12km. Really hot and quite windy today. Got some blisters at about halfway also which was a pain. Did it in about 58 minutes so no worries there. Rest day tomorrow as  running club training has been moved to Tuesdays and Thursdays. Got All-Schools races next weekend so looking forward to that as well.

Update

Just a bit of an update here, on Friday I did a hard 6km, but I didn't get a time as my watch kept on playing up which was a pain. Really hot and really windy though, we are getting into Summer. Today I did a Gurshler Fartlek session which is (each rep fast) 30s, 45s, 60s, 90s, 2mins, 3mins then back down again, between each rep is a 1 minute recovery. I was doing it by myself which felt a bit strange as there was nobody to compete with. Quite hot again this morning but I felt pretty good. The second 3 minute rep was tough but I pushed through. Made me feel a lot better doing some hard fartlek after that despondent session on Wednesday. About 9km all up, feeling happy.

Awful Kenyan

Today decided to train with Nick straight after school. The wind today was by far the worse wind I have ever trained in. I felt pretty bad from the start and managed 4 reps before packing it in. Not good.

1200's

Yesterday did some 1200m reps with the group. I was still feeling a bit sore from the 10km race the day before so I decided to take it a bit easy. Did the 4 reps all in 3:59 so feeling pretty happy as I felt like I was cruising. This training is definitely making an impact as 2 months ago was struggling to do 4 minutes for the 1200m. About 8.5km in all.

Melbourne Marathon 10km

Our Internet has been pretty dodgy recently so I that is why I haven't posted about this race sooner.  So yesterday I had a 10km race which was part of the Melbourne Marathon Festival. In my last 10km race I ran 39:11. In that one I think I went out too fast and paid for it in the last km's. This time I decided to start at 3:45's and see how I went from there. The start was a bit of a nightmare as my watch played up right as I crossed the start line. I fixed that by about 20m into the race and set off at 3:45's. I went through the first km in 3:48 and the second in 3:45. I then settled in with a guy who I thought was going about the same pace as me. He was going to slow though and I went through the third in 3:58. I surged on and ahead and got back on track taking the next k out in 3:40. I was feeling good flying through the 5km mark with a 3:43. I then caught up to a guy who I had run the park run near a week earlier. I stuck with him up until the 8.5km mark where there was quite a large hill. I slowed down a bit up the hill but accelerated down the other side over takin the park run guy. I went through the 9th in 3:51, but I kept pushing. The course had a great finish ending up inside the MCG. I  pushed around the outside and end up with a time of 38:08. Really happy as I beat my PB by a minute. Great run an looking forward to doing the same race next year.

Regional Athletics

Yesterday had my regional athletics 3km and 1500m race. The 3k was first and I started off great went through the first k in 3:15. Then I think I lost concentration, I slowed down without realizing it and I couldn't make up the time in the last km. I ended up running exactly the same time as my last race 10:03. I had the 1500 in the afternoon but wasn't feeling particularly confident. They leaders went off quick and I decided to hang back and conserve my energy. I slowly worked my way back up to the leaders with a bit of a surge from the 800m to go mark. Passed the guy who beat me in districts and ended up running 4:43. Happy as I had just run 3km. Also quite confident that I can run 4:30 at all schools if I keep up the training. Today went to watch Chris and Haftu race. Haftu ran 2:08 for 800m and Chris ran 4:14 for 1500. Fantastic races from both of them.

Fantastic Session

Today went to running club after school. Ate some cereal after school and while we were doing the 2.5km warm up I wasn't feeling great. I was going to taper as I have a race on Friday, but nobody else was tapering so I just decided to join in with the other fellas. They were doing Kenyan Fartlek( 2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy) on the first rep Chris was flying ahead. I stayed with the group and on the second rep I stuck with Chris. On the third I just stuck with the main pack while Haftu went ahead with Chris. On the 4th rep I decided I would stick with the group for 1 minute then surge ahead to catch Chris and Haftu. Worked well and I was feeling great. After 6 reps I had a break as I was meant to be doing an easier session. After 5 minutes we then started the 1 minute reps. I was still feeling good and so I led the pack for 3 reps before pushing really hard on the 4th and ended up about 20m in front of the others. Really good session, about 11.1km in all.

Easy 8km

Today really hot, but not windy which is a good thing. I was dehydrated, but I didn't realise until halfway through the run. I didn't have any lactic and I was breathing hard, but my legs felt week and my stomach was cramping. I ended up running 34 minutes for 8.5km( 4:00's)so I was happy with that. Got some water in slowly after the run and have been sipping it all afternoon.

Hard 1kers and 400's

Not feeling the best tonight, but I heard we were in for a hard session. We did a 1km rep, with 1 minute recovery, then a 400m 3 times. I was running with Haftu and Tom. First 1k was in 3:01 and I was feeling ok, then the 400 and I did it in 67s. Next 1km did it in 3:10 and by this time I wasn't feeling great. Next 400 was in 70s. Again wasn't feeling it. Next 1km I just broke, I ran a 3:15. Haftu ended up running a 2:55. Great session from Haftu. Me, I just want to focus on beating some PB's now. I'll try and put in some hard work in now. Looking forward to racing soon.

10km easy

Today just did an easy 10km. Decided to try and run with an ipod, but it ran out of charge at the 3km mark, bit of a pain as I had to carry it the rest of the way. Did it in 40:14 so quite pleased as I wasn't working too hard.

5km and Mile race

Yesterday morning had a 5km parkrun race. These parkruns are in parks all over the world and they are growing bigger and bigger all the time. They are completely free and I suggest you have a look into them as they are a great way to get involved with the local running scene. Anyway really windy yesterday morning and I woke up and wasn't really feeling it. Didn't have time to warm up either but it wasn't a big deal. going well until I hit the wind, slowed down a bit and ended up running 18:51. Pretty disappointed, however the conditions took a toll on the time. Later that afternoon, had a Glen Huntley Athletics Club open day. Just a bit of fun. The club was divided into four teams and members competed in different events. I ran in the mile race and ran 5:21. Again disappointed, but it was still incredibly windy. Hopefully the wind dies off soon. I have 5 races coming up soon. I am racing in the Regional Athletics(3km and 1500m), the Melbourne Marathon 10km and then the All Schools Athletics (3km and 1500m). Looking forward to racing soon as now I have a bit of experience, I can race more tactically and faster.

Hot Friday

Yesterday had a rest day and today did a 4km out and back. It was really hot today, the hottest it has been all winter. Also a bit windy though not as windy as Wednesday. On the way out(the easy 4km) felt pretty good and did it in 16:32. On the way back the wind was in my face, but I still managed to run 13:53. Happy enough, 8km in all.

Big Kenyan Session

Today went up to running club at 8 in the morning. It was just me and Chris today as we wanted to watch Haftu race after we had trained. We decided to do a Kenyan Fartlek session, so after a 2.5km warm up we got into it. We were running around the outside of a big grass oval for a bit of a change so that was good. Kenyan Fartlek is a group of 2 minutes hard then 2 minutes jog reps then a group of 1 minutes hard then 1 minute jog. We did 8 reps of the 2 minute groups(32minutes) then 10 reps of the 1 minute groups(20 minutes). Started off and felt good, we took it in turns to lead each rep. The wind, however, was disgraceful. 120km per hour gusts The fifth 2 minute rep felt tough, but I pushed through and the next 3 felt solid. After a 4 minute break we started the 1's.  Felt good again, but occasionally we went into the wind for a whole 1 minute which was tough going. Finished the session and did a cool down. About 15.5km in all.

Easy 8km

Today did an easy 8km with a couple of mates. It was Connor, Bryan, Matt and I and again the weather was awful. It was very windy and also raining when we started, but by the end the sun was shining. Talked for the first 4km before picking up the pace a bit. At the 5.5km mark. Bryan dropped out because of a sore knee and groin. He walked back to our finish point while the 3 of us continued running for the last 2.5km. On the last km Connor and I picked up the pace a bit and had a sprint race to the end. I finished in 35:03, good run, really enjoyed running with some mates.

Windy 400's

Yesterday went up to running club in the morning as it is school holidays at the moment. It was only Nick, Liam and I as the rest of the club had done 1200m reps earlier in the morning. Liam is a new member who is a 100m sprinter and runs it in 11.5s. We started with a 2.5km warm up before getting into the session. This week has had some pretty terrible weather and yesterday it was the windiest I have ever run in. We were doing the 400's around a 1200m track. The first one was up a hill and into the wind which was pretty killer. Nick took the lead and we ended up doing it in 69s. The rest of the times were: 70s, 68s, 75s, 65s, 70s, 65s, 66s. Pretty happy with the session, Nick I think, deserves a special mention as he managed the last rep in 59s. About 5.7km in all + a 5km bike ride.