Wednesday 29 June 2016

TT pacin plus modified Monas

Pretty pumped for the first session back. Core hit out before the warm up was characteristically tough, but I enjoy that ab burn. 

New shoes felt great, perhaps a touch lighter and less bulky than my old adidas boosts. Hit the track for the first time in a while pacing Rossi around for a 1500m with JB, Jasper and Will. 

1:57 for the 700, nice job by JB out the front, before Will and Jasper took over. Rossi ended up running 4:14. Followed up with a modified Monas session with Jasper. Did well on the longer reps, but struggled with the speed. 10.3km all up. Good stuff. I love running. 

Tuesday 28 June 2016

Shoppin

Went shopping with Mum today after a large night last night. Cashed in on some much needed clothes, while nursing a headache.

Ran solo at Caulfield in the evening. 9.6km in 44 mins. Nice run although too much to drink the night before had me stomach hurting most of the way around.

Monday 27 June 2016

Slowly

6km on Sunday feeling okay, then 8.5km Monday not feeling the best. Still pretty coughy and stuffed up. I'll run again probably run again today. Keen to get back to my consistent schedule I had going. 

Friday 24 June 2016

Wheezy

Woke up feeling okay and a lot better after my daily dose of bix. Thought about running but still a touch coughy, so hopefully I feel good as tomorrow after a decent sleep. 

Watched the regional cross country. Run Mck did really well, with May pulling a huge 4th place. Will killed it as usual, going to the front from the start, keeping on pulling ahead throughout the entire race. Good run from him. 

God I miss this show.

Missing running so much. Went to the Mizuno shop with Sammy, Claire and Trev to pick up on some huge deals. Normally it's only sponsored athletes allowed into the store, but Trev got us a free pass. Cashed in on 2 pairs of shoes, the Wave inspires and Wave sayonaras, a pair of trackies, a hat for Mum and a shirt for Dad, all for the same price as one pair of shoes. Elite. Here's some photos.



Happy Birthday Dad, he asked for this cake. Trust.


Wednesday 22 June 2016

Sick

Come down a bit sick over the last two days, it's on my chest so too scared to get out running for fear of making it worse. 

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Squad

Easy tonight at Caulfield with JB, Will, Jasper and Sammy. Cold enough for beanie and gloves for myself. Glad I did as the headwind was vicious along the back stretch. 10.4km in just over 48 mins so really nothing too arduous. Some strides with Sam afterwards. Felt good. 

Think the plan is a 3km time trial to pace someone for a good time tomorrow night at training. Not sure if I'll get involved as I'm scared of the track. I might do the first half or something and finish off with a session on the outside. 

Monday 20 June 2016

Back on the build

Felt awesome after an unusual day off yesterday. Pretty lazy day as I'm on holidays now, so was looking forward to training all day. 

Faster warm up than usual and some strong strides in trackies with the squad before finding out the session was 6 X 400m, 4 X 200m with the same jog recovery. 

I think Will was cooked after his race so I ran with him for the session. JB pulled out a huge effort. Recoveries were solid, but nothing spectacular, reps were real good though especially for the outside. 

Times went: 72, 71, 70, 73, 70, 71, 32, 31, 34, 33

Was gonna do the 3 laps cool down, but my left foot was feeling pretty tender in the arch so left it at 2. 12.2km all up, I need some new shoes.

Off the the mizuno shop on Friday with Sammy and maybe JB for some elite specials apparently so I'll probably cash in on quite a bit of kit then. 

Here's a classic one of myself, Sammy and Declan after the race on Saturday. And here's one of the greatest photos ever taken. God I love Eminem, how cool is that album cover.


Saturday 18 June 2016

Resting up

Took a rest day today, I reckon I needed a day to recover after yesterday. Pretty sore and very tight this morning, but loosened up now. Went to strength, which wasn't too terrible, although the core section was tough.

Bundoora All Schools 2016 State champs

The big race finally came along after a few days of stressing that I tapered too much. 

Had some toast this morning. I now have found a tradition in subbing out the usual weetbix for toast on race day, as the bix do have a high fibre content, not ideal for an 8km slog in the early arvo. 

I coached for my old school team and everyone ran well, which was good to see. Will had an excellent hit out, despite minimal training, front running for 4km, changing the race completely and putting major pressure on the chase pack. Despite getting reeled in, he came away with a huge 4th place and a sturdy spot on Team Vic. 

Our phat builds at the finish line.

Jasper also smashed it with a huge run, coming 19th and also qualifying. 

I warmed up with Sammy, a 3km jog, nervous as. 2 nervous pisses later, I'm on  the start line and we're off. Focused on a slow start, let lots of people flow past me and stuck with Declan. Pretty hill course, lots of ups and downs, especially out the back, there is a particularly steep section. 

Hung with Declan until just past the steep downhill section after a hill taking us up to the highest point in the park. Flew down the hill, the km split 3:06 here so rolling along nicely. Made a by of a move up the steep hill here picking off 3 or 4 people and moving up the field. Continued to do this for the remainder of the first 4km lap. 

Started to feel the pinch up the last steep little incline. Real soft turf here but managed to get up it alright. Back towards the start marking 1 lap in just under 14:00. Surged up the hill onto the shoulder of the next guy ahead of me, all of a sudden felt magical and jumped by quickly before it went away. Down the back once again before the hill had me hurting. 

Grinding hard here to catch a bloke on the hill but I had just about had it. 2km left and I was hurting. A long, shallow downhill gave me my bounce back and I really went for it, 400m to go I was knackered and trying to fight off the kickers around me early. One got by with 200 to go, but I couldn't do anything I was so done. Crossed the line in 28:32 in 26th place, absolutely stoked, cutting a minute off last year's time for the same course! 

Disappointed to be 1 place off the national reserve cutoff, I would genuinely give anything to be on that team. Over the moon though with my run. 

Sammy ended up coming 10th in U20, I think he was satisfied but not stoked with his race. He'll kill nationals for sure. Leading out the race, I think he made sure his nemesis, the infamous Aaron Brown, couldn't even see the baby blue singlet well ahead.

JB and Matty both cruised around in the open race. JB genuinely laughed everytime I saw him. Here's another photo.


Might take a rest day tomorrow, I'll feel a bit guilty, but I've got a feeling I might avoid injury in the near future for a bit of extra recovery now. I'll go to strength just to make sure. 



Friday 17 June 2016

Last effort

Very very easy 2.2km around the local grass oval this morning. Then 4 quick strides to finish off the taper for the week. 

Still really nervous tomorrow. 

Wednesday 15 June 2016

Nervous

Haven't been this nervous 3 days out from a race in a very long time. The infamous Bundoora park. Must've run there a good 8 times in my cardio time. 

8km for my build. It's state champs so the national team is decided at this one for cross country. I don't have any expectations, just hoping to run well. Really gonna focus and going out strong and steady and not too fast. Don't want to die here, an even split would be ideal. 

Tonight was training, suiting the taper Lesley had us doing 100m on, 100m off. Everyone was on the track, except myself, sticking to my promise. Ran strongly and felt good for 2.4km. Never lost my breath, feeling good. 8.4km all up. The plan is to take tomorrow off, before doing a short, easy run plus some quick strides on Friday the day before the race, then seeing how to go. First time I've ever really tried to taper down properly so I'm trying to find what works for me. 

I'm so bloody nervous and I don't know why. Here's some more photos of Warby.

The whole crew after Monas on Monday.

Walk in the Redwood forest. Mum and Dad joined us for that one, they're on the right.

Don't we all. Pretty pumped for this one.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

Droppin

8km last night at Caulfield racecourse with Jasper, Declan and Sam. Averaged spot on 5 min/kms. Nice and easy after a big weekend.

Monday 13 June 2016

Warburton 2016

So the training weekend at Warby went very well. I love training camps, they're just so good, just running and chilling is amazing.

Arrived Friday night and found out that I was sharing a room with Eamonn, Jasper, Sammy and JB so genuinely ideal. Couldn't have been a better set up. Arrived too late to run and Friday was my rest day anyway so too easy. Quality hit out at Balderdash, I was in tears by the end of it, it was pretty funny. 

Warm up started at 8:40, not sure if you remember from last year, but the warm up is just over 3km with a monster hill in it so you're very warm by the end of it. Freezing in the morning so I actually rated the hill, it warms you up properly for sure and if you take it easy, you're feeling good at the top. Then a light jog along the aqueduct to the start of the 3km time trial.

Really learned that quick starts are a weak point of mine, I really have to start thinking before I rush off blindly. First km was a bit fast and died a touch after that, however the conditions were pretty harsh. Raining, muddy and windy so not conducive to fast times. 

I ran 10:04, so not happy at all with that but that's alright. Also rumours the course was longer than last year? I'm hoping so. I think our group wanted me to record their times to remember from last year so here we go. Sammy - 9:07, JB - 9:33, Jasper - 10:17, Eamonn - ??. 

Then did 4 X 1 minute with 1 minute jog to get the session up to roughly 20 minutes. First one was the longest minute of my life. Then jogged back to the house for weetbix for 12.2km all up.

Chilled, played some B-Ball, and cards for the rest of the day, as we all foolishly forgot the consoles this year. Won't happen again I'm sure. 

Then a strength session with Anna, a bit easier that normal as we did an un-overloaded session for the new starters. Still plenty tough though. Only a few did the second run, excluding myself as I became injured shortly after Warby last year, probably because of the large mileage that I wasn't used to, over a short period of time, so kept it to 1 per day. 

JB was encouraged often to do so, but didn't rate the idea himself. 

Lots of dinner that night which was great, everyone puts in to create a hefty buffet.

The following morning was the long run. Started out with JB, Jasper and Eamonn and ended up with Cassy, David (new guy) and JB. Started from the house and made our way down to the town and along the river. Then back up the single massive hill to the Aqueduct. 

Started out slowly up the hill and ended up smashing it, felt great. That's where the group split up. Final 11km was spent cruising not along the aqueduct, genuinely fantastic chatting with our little group, admiring the views and getting in the clean air which is so phresh in the forest. Hitting 4:35s for that last bit. 21km exactly in 1:38:44. One of the best runs of the year I'd say. 

80.8km for the week! Biggest in a long time, will taper down for the race next Saturday. 

This morning felt early after hoyting some exploding airbags in the room next door, bit of revenge after their antics the previous night. Genuinely classic as 6 of the 7 went off. 

Bit of a chat with TV and Lesley on Sunday night too. Was told to keep doing what I'm doing and so I shall. They seemed confident that goals will be reached if I keep this consistency. They also told me just to focus on my running instead of comparing myself to others al of the time. That should give me some confidence. 

Anyway, Monday morning was Monas, back up the warm up hill to the Aqueduct. Felt very strong despite the chilly weather, ran with JB, he got away on the reps, but he slowed so we could recover together. Rossi and Harlem (?) caught us but we stayed with them, before jasper hauled us in with his speed on the 30s and 15s and I just managed to stay in touch. Great run. 13.5km all up after an extended cool down.

All in all, absolutely loved the trip, had a ripper time and got me pumped for falls creek again at the end of the year. Here are some photos, some more might get posted tonight so I'll get them in tomorrow's blog. OG just won Anaheim, good news to come home to. 

Myself in the 3k.

Cooling down in the rain, from back to front, Sam, Jasper, Eamonn and me. 
Strength - I love trackies so much these days, I'm gonna get so many sporty clothes in the holidays. 

Bix.

Thursday 9 June 2016

Running alone isn't as good

11km in 53:43 pretty late tonight after considering going tomorrow morning instead. 

Leave for Warby tomorrow arvo, should be a damn good weekend. 

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Distance Monas

Off time on Monday and off distance last night. We were all hoping for a small session, but unfortunately it was not to be. 2 X 600m, 4 X 400m, 4 X 200m, 4 X 100m with the same amount of jog recovery as rep distance, except for the 600s which were 400m recovery. 

I had Dale the marathoner on my should, I think is goal for Gold Coast is around 2:50. Due to this, the recoveries were really fast and the reps, especially the shorter ones suffered a touch. 

Times went: 1:56, 2:00, 1:12, 1:12, 1:16(hill), 1;14, 34, 35, 37, 35, didn't time the 1s

Had a car pull out and cut me off, completely oblivious of the runners, I gave his boot a whack on my way past after having to stop to let him through. So frustrating. 13.7km all up, feeling well exercised now. Cooled down with Sam and Dale. 

Monday 6 June 2016

Monas and easy

Monas last night, pretty chilly on the ride there so kept the trackies on during the warm up. Best decision ever, felt really loose and unrestricted during the session once I took them off. 

Trained with Jasper, although I got away on the longer reps, he's pretty speedy and kept me honest on the 15s and 30s. Session was 2 X 90, 4 X 60, 4 X 30 and 4 X 15 with the same jog recovery as hard effort. Really pushed hard and trained well. Covered 5.4km in 19:45, I can normally only manage 5.2. 

Felt great afterwards as a bit of rain started to come in so did 3 laps cool down for 12.6km all up. 

Finished my first exam today which was held at Caulfield racecourse so I just brought my kit and went straight away afterwards. Quite windy and wet which wasn't ideal but there you go. Did 10.3km in 46.22 plus 5 strides. Strides felt so weird as I couldn't get the leg turnover high because of soaked shoes and muddy turf. Good run though. 

Saturday 4 June 2016

Mistyfied

Felt pretty shocking last night so I was considering pulling the plug. Woke up feeling good though so made the drive through the thick mist to Ferny creek. 

Only Sam, Eamon, some other dude and myself on the trails this morning. Apparently yesterday's 15km race was closer to 16km so everyone died and pulled up really sore. 

19.4km 1 hour 34 or so. Solid going, ran into Chris Hibbert from my old squad down there. Apparently he's been doing a lot of speed work for 8s instead of the distance stuff. 76.1km for the week.

Warburton training camp next weekend so I'm pretty pumped for that. I went on it last year some of you may remember the  blog posts. Should be really good. May keep it to single runs instead of double sessions, I don't want to get injured before Bundoora state champs the following weekend. I'll taper down for that one. 

Friday 3 June 2016

3km, 8 X 1 minute

With everyone off a Ballarat this morning and no one at hills, I decided to ditch the early wake up and train at DMK at a more reasonable hour. 

Rainy when I woke up, so procrastinated a bit waiting for it to clear. Eventually decided to just go. 3.4km warm up before a 3km threshold thing. Felt pretty average, dehydrated as but oh well. 3km in 10:10ish. A decent effort but it would've been nice to go under 10. 

Then a water break before doing 8 X 1 minute fast, 1 minute jog recovery. Not much to say about that other than I struggled. I'm keen to get better at those sessions, not sure why I always have a rough time on them. Recoveries were the slowest they've been in a long time, but it was good to be running. 13km all up, tired now. 

Thursday 2 June 2016

Solo

First easy Thursday by myself in a good a while tonight. Off to Fat Bob's burgers later (apparently best burgs in Melb) with Cor and Nath so I'll go ham on a carb based feed. So had to miss strength too, got a quick session by myself done. 

Calf raises, weighted lunges, squat jumps and glute holds. Struggled badly on the glute holds so might give them a go a bit more consistently. 11.2km in 51:44, used Mum's watch because mine was out of charge. The watch had genuinely zero clue what it was doing and had me at a km less than the genuine distance. Carn Garmin, you're better than that. 

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Global running day

Shocking hit out for the greatest day of the year. Dragged my build out the door into the cold for 3.6km warm up followed by 5 strides before just running easy to get myself to 10km. 

Core session was brutal. Such a grind running solo, just general fatigue and a few niggles. Tight hammies, hip flexors and ITB. Easy again tomorrow. Everyone is racing on Saturday, but in thinking I'll just do a session on my own. Can't get to strength tomorrow either, so I'll have to improvise for that too.