Friday 28 February 2014

Kenyan Fartlek

Kenyan session yesterday at running club and after a mile of warm up we got into it. It was just Haftu, Jasper, Ciara and I training. I'm the only one not going to Nationals so a bit jealous, but Cheyne seems to think next year is the year for everyone. To tell you all about the guys and girls going from my club here it is. Haftu is in the U16 age group although he is bottom age of that category which means he will be racing kids almost a year older than him. He moved to Australia from Ethiopa about 3 years ago and improved his running amazingly. He's been training with Cheyne for about 2 years and has a pb for 3000m of 9:25. He was pretty disappointed with his time at Victoria Juniors and really wants to race well at Nationals. Jasper is in the U15 age group, but is top age. He is racing both the 1500m and 3000m at nationals as he has run qualifying times for both. Big contender for a top 3 place in Australia with a huge win in the 3000m at Vics. Ciara is in the U15 age group as well, but is a 400m and 800m runner with some unbelievable pb's. 58s for 400m and 2:16 for 800m. Another big contender for a top 3 place as she won the victori title for 400m. Chris is same age as me and Cheyne's first runner to join the squad. He is going to Nationals for 3000m and hopes to run sub 9 minutes for this race. His pb at the moment is 9:09. Nationals are this month now so we are all hoping for some good times. So back to the session. Kenyan Fartlek is 2 minutes easy, 2 minutes hard and we did this 6 times, then 1 minute easy, 1 minute hard 6 times again. Haftu and I rotated the lead while Jasper and Ciara sat on behind. Felt really good going quite quickly at around 3:05 pace. We kept this up until the 4th rep when Jasper went harder as he was doing 4 reps instead of 6 like Haftu and I. We stuck with him, but it took a bit more out of us. Hurting now but we kept pushing in not letting the pace dip below 3:06 pace for the last 2. 5 minute break before getting into the 1's. Slow on the first one at about 3:18 pace before stepping it back up to sub 3:05. Pushed harder as you are working half the time, managing to go sub 3 minute pace for a few reps. We continued to rotate the lead hurting a lot more, but we pulled through going at around 2:45 pace for the last rep. Really good session, feeling great about training more. Haftu was stoked as well, with pace and distance. 11.3km all up, good stuff.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

3km out and back

Today had a swimming day at school so it was a bit of a laugh. Did 3k out and back. The easy 3km was really easy in 17:28. Then stepped it up to 10:25 in the harder rep. Twisty, turny and quite hilly course so the time wasn't too bad. 6km all up and looking forward to big session tomorrow at running club.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Back in Business

So back to running club tonight to get back into the quicker stuff. We did 1200's. It was Haftu, Chris, Nick and I training but we were all doing different amounts of reps and different types. We started together doing a normal 1200 a bit slower. Aiming for 4:05, we ended up doing 3:57. No worries though we kept going for the next one a bit faster going 3:56. As I am now starting to train for cross country I have to do more reps, slower and less recovery, while Haftu and Chris both are going to national 3000m so they have to do less but quicker. Because of this, they went out faster while Nick and I, settled back. We ended up running a 3:53. Felt not the best there and on the last one needed a dump 600m to go so took a toll on the time. 3:52 it was, so pretty disappointed, felt like I had the legs for going sub 3:45 but the need of a shit always makes everything a struggle. Next rep, we did a tabata so 20s hard, 10s easy. Felt ok, all in all good to get back into the quicker stuff. 11km all up including warm up and cool down.

Sunday 23 February 2014

Last day of the easy week

So the easy week turned out to be not so easy as the big distances made up for the intensity. Did 13km in 1:01:35 today for the longer Sunday run before going off to a Soccer practice for an hour and a half. Feeling pretty sore now as I copped a few knees to the thigh. Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow although the run felt really easy, cruising along in around 4:30's. 63km this week so more km's than usual. Lots of the group are now training for national track so the next few weeks should be pretty tough. Cross country season is coming up soon so I'll start getting into a hard pre-season so I can run some good times.

Saturday 22 February 2014

More long and easy

Another long and easy run today with the fellas from running club, we ran for 1 hour 7 minutes but it was really slow. Off to ferny creek tomorrow so should be good.

Friday 21 February 2014

More Easy Stuff

Today met up at where running club is with Chris and Bryan who is a mate from school training for the cross country season. We did 12km in 1:02:30, nice and easy. Feeling in really good form at the moment I wasn't out of breath or hurting yesterday after completing a distance a year ago I wouldn't of even considered running. We are off to Ferny Creek this weekend to run a long way in the forest and to try and conquer that monster of a hill. Also going to try out for a soccer team immediately after Ferny with a few mates so should be a laugh,

Wednesday 19 February 2014

6km with the thunder

Really poured down tonight when I went out for an easy 6. First time I have heard thunder in months, but it's good after the heat. 30:40 was the time. Hope we get back into the hard stuff soon, don't want to lose anything.

Getting the k's up

Yesterday went for a 12km with Chris continuing into the easy week. Really hot yesterday made it harder, but we stopped off at Macca's for a free cup of water.  Time was 1:01:28, so a solid pace the whole way around.

Monday 17 February 2014

Start of the easy week

So, easy week this week after the race and I started with an easy 4.7km. Time was 20:33 so probably a bit faster than I should have, but I was feeling good. Quite warm today, but not too bad.

Sunday 16 February 2014

Victoria Junior Championships - 3000m

So this morning the second and final race for me in the Vic Juniors. Did a warm up with Chris who was running in the same race. Started off solid with all the field together. Felt so easy because of all the people running together. Got myself into a nice position on the inside of the first lane. We went through the 1st km in 3:09, right on target for me. The field started to split so I had choice to go with the leaders or stay with the back group. I went past the back group, but wasn't able to get on the back of the leaders again. Kept on going and went through the second km in 3:11. Then I slowed, but so did everyone behind me. I was nervous about killing myself which was very foolish since it was the last kilometre. Started to hurt, but I didn't push which I should've. Came through for the last lap and picked up the pace again. Someone came round me, but I hung on and took him back with 200 to go. He got me again at 100, but I pulled him back with 25 to go. Ended up running 9:40 so another 9 second Pb. Pretty happy but, he thing I learned from this race is to keep pushing hard in that final km because that is where I lost all my time. Good to get a Pb, but there is always room for improvement. Good also to get some more race experience. The same mistakes will not be made again.

Friday 14 February 2014

Victoria Junior Championships - 1500m

Today was the my first race of the Vic Juniors so been pretty nervous all day. School was a bit of a struggle because of that, but I survived. Warmed up with Chris who was in the same race as me, so good to have some support. Started off strong, first 400m in 67s. I had just been dropped by the lead pack along with a few others, and I think this is where I made my mistake. I let them go and didn't stick on them. I was scared of going too hard too soon so I held back a bit. Went through the km in 2:57. Tried to push harder the last 400m and got a bit of speed. Didn't quite catch the others, but I felt I had the ability. Finished in 4:27 so a 9s pb for me. Happy with this time and really stoked going under 4:30, but I feel I can do a couple of seconds better. Realised actually how much I love this sport now, I actually am so pumped for my race on Sunday. Winner ran 3:55, second 4 flat and third 4:03. Some very good athletes in our age group, Cheyne reckons our age group is the strongest around for a long time now...

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Last Taper

So last taper tonight at running club before the big races. Cheyne told us to take it easy tonight, to not push it too hard. The 1km we did in 3:02. Solid, we were going at around 3:07 pace until about 200m to go when we realised it was probably a bit slow. Bit of a kick the last 200m but I stayed up the front. 600m, again we were told to go a bit slower, we did it in 1:35 no worries. Felt pretty good. The last rep before states was the 300m,  accidently ran a Pb. Wasn't ready when we started and found myself in lane 2 within the first 100m. And I was behind the barriers blocking 1 and 2. Went back inside behind Haftu and Stayed behind him for the rest of the rep. Ended up running 42s which was strange because I didn't even kick. Good though to give me a bit of confidence. Practiced some race starts with Haftu and Chris then cycled off home. 4.8km in all.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Tabata + Speed

Running club tonight, did 3 x 1200m of Tabata. Tabata is 10s easy, 20s hard, but it isn't too tough. Still easing the workload down. Chris, Haftu, Jasper and I did the longer stuff while Declan and Ryan did some 400's and 200's. Chris led the first lap. Felt pretty good, not too tired. Haftu led the second and I led the third. All good stuff, bit of a sprint finish the last 100m of all the reps so a good taper. We then did a 150m with Ryan and Declan, but I didn't record a time. Then some more of the 300m float, 100m sprint for a bit of speedwork. Good session all round felt pretty good. 5.75km all up.

Monday 10 February 2014

2km out and back with mates

Today, Monday, so back at school, double maths in the afternoon, bit of a rough call. Anyway got some mates from the 24/7 team to go for a run after school. 2km out and back is where you run 2km really easy then 2km really hard. Ended up doing 2.5km easy then 2km hard but no worries. 2.5km in 12:35, feeling pretty good. Bit of a pause then the fast one. Pretty windy again , but went through the first kilometre in 3:06. Then pushed again harder and didn't look at my watch until the end. Managed to run 6:14. So happy with this time, I could've never done this before. Still felt I had a lot in the tank as I kicked hard home. Now really looking forward to my race, I think this training is paying off. 4.5km all up.

Sunday 9 February 2014

More Speed

This morning went to running club. There are extra sessions this week because of the Vic Juniors. Today started off with 1.2km warm up then did a 1200m rep quickly. Haftu, Chris and I doing the longer stuff while the others did a quick 600m. Unbelievable wind this morning creating bush fire havoc all over Victoria. The worst day for fires in 5 years apparently. Really harsh start to the 1200 then with the wind right against us. Went through 600m in 2 minutes flat. Wind was to the side of us after that and we really kicked home, running a 3:38. 10 second pb for me but I have never actually done a 1200 as fast as I can. I recovered quickly though and was fine a minute after.  The rep didn't feel really hard it was just the wind. Incredible. Happy with the time because a 10 second pb in a hurricane is a 10 second pb in a hurricane, so not too bad. The weather conditions for the weekends races look good so hopefully I'll run a pb in both events. We then did 4 x 100m sprints with a 300m float recovery which was a bit of a laugh. Good speed training though. 5.2km all up.

Saturday 8 February 2014

Easy Saturday

So the plan is tomorrow for there to be lots of running club sessions this week coming into Vic Juniors. The first one is tomorrow so that means easy run today. 10.3km in 52.18, it's meant to be really hot again today and it already was by the time I left. No wind which was a plus. Felt alright, no worries.

Friday 7 February 2014

More Taper

Vic juniors next week so I think Cheyne is trying to ease up the training before the big races. So 1km, 600m then 300m like last week. Incredibly hot again so the 1km was a struggle. Wasn't feeling it yesterday, but the 1km felt strange. 2:50 but it felt like I could've gone faster. Just wasn't feeling it. Next rep, the 600, I ran a pb of 1:29. Then the 300m which was 43s, and I had a lactic headache after. Just felt strange. Not actually a bad session. 4.3km in all.

Thursday 6 February 2014

Easy 5km

Yesterday did an easy 5km in 24:28. Really hot and windy again which was pain because it makes it harder than it needs to be. Really hoping this weather lightens up soon...

Tuesday 4 February 2014

We're Stegglers for Quality

Today running club. First things first, windiest conditions I have ever trained in. It was actually a joke. So, we were doing 1km, 60s recovery, 200m quick, 4 minutes recovery. I thought it was going to be easier than it was to be honest. The wind and the speed that we did the session made pushed us all over the line. It was quite warm also 28 degrees. It all contributed. Started off solid in 3:11 for the k then 32s for the 200m. Felt really good then. Everyone seemed to be alright after the longer recovery. I led Haftu, Jasper and Chris in the 1km and we got 3:03. Happy with this time, but I was starting to hurt, pushed again on the 200 pulling 30s. Next km Chris went out quick and I stuck with him until about 400m to go when he and Haftu pulled away. Kept pushing against the wind and managed to get 2:57. Stoked with this time going under 3 minutes for the last 1km. 60s recovery then the 200. Again Chris goes out quick I do my best to stay with him. Managed to go past him in the last 100 but he stayed on my tail. 27s again so happy. Quality training tonight, 6km all up. Feeling good about Vic juniors in 2 weeks.

Monday 3 February 2014

More of the same

Last 2 periods at school today were cancelled because the teacher didn't rock up. Pretty solid as double maths would've been a struggle. Went for a run instead, easy 8.3km in 40:29. Really windy. but nice and cool outside, unexpected change.

Sunday 2 February 2014

Long Sunday

Stupidly hot today with the temperature hitting 41 degrees this afternoon. Got up early and went for 13.75km before the heat started. A good run this morning, not sore from the race yesterday which is a plus. Time was 1 hour 4 minutes. No worries there. Ran it in flats to get used to them for road racing. Looking forward to training Tuesday, doing some more tough stuff.

Saturday 1 February 2014

Shield Meet

So today was the first race back from France. Shield meets are every weekend and this was the first one I have ever been to. All the clubs in the area race at Shield with all ages and abilities so the first heats are often unbelievably quick. So anyway, really hot today 38 degrees at the time of my race, but it went well. I was racing with Haftu and Jasper, but Declan and Chris were running for pacing. They had however just run a 400m and 800m race themselves. They dropped out after the first km which we went through in 3:10. The heat got to me in the second km coming in in 3:20. Hurting by now, but the final k was the slowest in just under 3:30. So around 10 minutes, plus or minus 2 seconds. Heat made it tough today even Haftu was feeling it. So, happy with the time considering the heat. Big race in 2 weeks so going to try and run a Pb. Going to again try to push hard in training in order to do this.