6 x 3 mins + more

Felt okay last night, but nothing special after a big few weeks. Looking forward to tapering down for the race next week. Trained with Will doing 6 x 3 mins with 1 minute jog in between.

Felt really strong on the first 4 reps running really well, but then last week caught up with me and I was hurting on the fifth. Told myself to toughen up and came home strong on the 6th which was good to see. Ended getting through 6.2km in 23 mins which wasn't too bad. 

Then onto the track for 6 x 100m on 100m off with JB and Sam. Toilet troubles here but managed to get through it albeit feeling sorry for myself, the hard sections ended up being fast so all good. 

3.6 cool down for 14.6km all up. Thank god it wasn't distance monas for a third Monday in a row. 

So the races coming up are the Vic Milers 3000m next Thursday and Vic Champs 5000m exactly one week later. Looking forward to racing in the new spikes and hopefully running some PBs. 

Muggy

Real humid yesterday morning at Ferny creek, but I felt way looser which I was thankful for. Pretty quick through Potato patch making up a lot of time after a slow start. Ditched the shirt as it was sticking to me like a wetsuit. Finished with the extra loop, not pushing the last steep little hill as I was pretty sore here. 1:32:53 for the 19.3.

86.2km for the week, my biggest ever. I'll try not to go too overboard coming up to some big races less than 2 weeks away now, but consistency is nice. Organising Falls creek at the moment, looking forward to it more and more.

Strength was good as, although I didn't rate the pushups.

Saturday solo

Couldn't do the 1500m this afternoon because of work and decided against hills as I'm sure I'll do that session next week, so headed down the DMAC for a session that I made up.

First part was a 5km threshold. Warmed up, couple of quick strides then got it done. Felt really strong and relaxed throughout, although the tight calves are bothering me now. Ended up running 18:48. Just did laps of the outside loop, doing that hill 4 times was a pain. Really happy with how strong I felt.

Then moved onto 5 x 1 min hard, 1 min easy. 3rd one was a bit casual but other than that, all good. recoveries were a bit slow though which was disappointing. I was going to do 300s on the track but little aths was on so I didn't want to get in the way.

Cooled down pretty knackered for 12.8km all together.

Sore friday

Calves are still really tight from Wednesday's session in spikes. Just 4.8km on grass at 4:40 pace this morning. Nice and easy, need to stretch right off this afternoon.

Broken easy

Went into work to collect my wages for last week and my boss had pre-made me a chai latte. I don't even drink lattes so no idea where he got that from. Felt rude turning it down, and didn't think about the consequences until half an hour later when I started the Thursday easy run with the boys.

After too many bathroom breaks, I eventually got myself through 11.3km at 4:45 pace. Strength was okay, but not as hard as last. Didn't go too hard on the single leg to double leg long jumps as I was worried about my stomach attempting to exit my body.

Hyped

Got pretty pumped for this one as Lesley gave us the session on Monday night. Nice night, although a touch windy on the home straight. Got the old spikes out as well as I don't want to wreck the new ones in training.

All the reps had a 200m jog recovery to accompany them. I should've jumped on the guys going with a faster recovery, but I'll make sure that I'm right there next Wednesday. Some of the lead group ditched the 4th 400 and walked across just to make sure they were at the front during the 2s which was a touch irritating, so I wouldn't have thought I'll be resorting to that.

4 x 400 - 66, 65, 65, 65 (reeled in the guys running too fast in the easy sections here which was a damn good feeling)

4 x 200 - 30, 29, 29, 30 (wanted to hit 29 on that last one, but I was knackered by this point)

400 - 67 (really felt the headwind here along the home stretch, but stoked that I managed that time)

Absolutely finished after this. That last 4 is so hard after the shorter stuff, you wonder how you'll get through double the distance. Cooled down with Will for 11.6km all up.

Back at Caulfield!

Met up with Sam this morning at the racecourse for an easy jog, but still had heavy legs from last night's run. Really windy along the back straight so kept with Sam for 2 laps before letting him go, deciding to cruise the final 7km as I was pretty tired.

 Got another lap done before ditching the shoes and going barefoot, As soon as I did that everything looked up, managed to find a strong rhythm feeling light without the Mizunos. The 2.3km loop of pristine racecourse grass is pretty perfect. Ended up going 11.8km in 54:35 (4:38s). Finished off with 5 fast strides feeling 10 times better than I did at the start, still without shoes. Easy ride home with the wind behind me.

More monas

Not feeling too hot last night, session was the same as last Monday, distance monas. Caught in no mans land right off the rip and training hard by yourself is always tough so not too surprised. All done on the outside tan loop with the hill falling in the middle of too many of the hard efforts.

600s - 1:51, 1:55

400s - 74, 70, 75, 75

200s - 31, 33, 35, 34

Didn't time the 100s. Session was a bit strange as although I wasn't feeling too bouncy, finished the whole thing 50s faster than last week so pros and cons I guess. Cooled down with Will for 14.8km all up.

More rain

After the last couple of rainy days, ferny creek was particularly muddy this morning. Felt like we were rolling along nicely, but the mud slowed us right up. Ended up with 1:35:03 for the 19.3km loop so solid going.

Strength this arvo involved a couple of drills leading into strides and I feel like it loosened me up, however hips and hip flexors are really sore. 83km exactly all up for the week.

Improvised hills

Got down to Jells Park yesterday morning for a hill session, but due to 8 hours of straight rain the day before, the recovery loop was completely flooded so we had to find a different hill.

This one was between 550 and 600m long, on asphalt and not as steep. Started to pour down about 2 reps in and the path up the hill became the river bed for the Yarra number 2. Genuinely spent more time navigating the oncoming current than pushing myself, but somehow got it done. Planned on only doing 6, but finished and felt like I could do more, so shot off for one more rep and glad I did.

Somehow my shoelace came undone 3 times during the session which was mildly infuriating and which numb fingers due to the downpour, tying them back up was way too difficult.

1:54, 1:55, 1:57, 1:57, 1:59, 1:58, 1:56

Okay session, not really able to tell how I went but it seemed more threshold based as the conditions made it hard to run fast. Reckon it would be great workout if the rain held off. Weather stayed sour all day so went to Runners World to get some new spikes as mine are in a sorry state. I think they're a few years old but I rate the retro spikes. Got them really cheap for that reason too as the 2016 equivalent were $200! For real though, all spikes these days are a bit of paper strapped to a plastic sole, sick joke.

Friday

Woke up early planning to go for a ride, but the wind was insane and it's always worse down beach road. So basically I wussed out, but got out for a real easy run instead. 3.5km in 17 mins so very cruisy. 

4 x 60m strides to follow and got swooped by a magpie on the first one. I had no idea what was going on that magpie pulled that surprise attack like he'd done it before. Kept eyes on him while a finished off the strides. Tight calves now, need another stretch. 

Fatigued

Still feeling the track session from the night before gahd despite getting down a hefty amount of dark chocolate for the magnesium. 11.2km with JB and Sam in 52:05. Chris Allen jumped in for the first half but then did his own thing before meeting us at strength.

5 x 60m strides afterwards. Felt very slow twitch based, but might've been because they were into the headwind. 

Strength afterwards was really tough. 1 leg bridges went up to 12. Had a good stretch afterwards. Can't race on Saturday because I've got work, I reckon I'll do hills instead. 

4 x 400m, 6 x 200m

Didn't realise it would be as hard as it was. 200m jog between all reps. Hung in there for the 400's but couldn't hold the recovery pace in the 2's.

Times went:
 65, 65, 66, 67
 30, 30, 30, 30, 29, 29

Not sure how I got through it, but it was way better than last week! Felt like my form is coming back. 12km all up with a slow cool down. looking like a decent squad will be down for tomorows easy and strength.

Monash with JB

Met up with Jack at 11 in our lunch break. Took a bit of a detour and ended up misjudging it slightly. 11.5km in 4:47s, tired after yesterday so I was glad the pace wasn't on today. Finished off with 2 strides. Had some lunch with Jack and Denyan so very cardio based, before heading off to a 3 hour bio lab in which I won a plant. 

Plant plus mum

Distance Monas

Knackered last night rocking up to training. I was feeling great at 3 but by the time 5 came around and I was staring down the barrel of a 7.6km session, I just wasn't in the mood.

Warm up was slow and strides had me breathing hard, told myself to just not think about it and just get it done. After a slow start, I got into it and ended up going okay.

2 x 600m, 4 x 400m, 4 x 200m, 4 x 100m with same jog recovery between each except for the 6's which had 400 jog.

Trained with Liam and Beau so good company when things got tough. Really slow start, but gathered momentum. Times went:

1;55, 1;57

71, 70, 74 (uphill), 70

33, 32, 32, 30

Didn't time the 100s, but they were pretty sporty. Struggled up the hill on the cooldown, but pulled my build through 3 laps. 14.8km all together, good start to the week.

Duo long run

Just Jasper and myself up at ferny yesterday morning due to the majority of glenhuntly manning the 7km mark drinks station at the Melbourne marathon. Travelled a bit unsure up until the first hill, but from then on felt amazing. Really strong on the flat with the hills feeling flatter than usual, it was like I became fitter overnight! 19.3km in 1:33:05. First time rigs out this season, although the weather deteriorated throughout the day, lucky we ran when we did.

79km for the week. Strength in the afternoon was okay although I was pretty tight. Core wasn't as difficult as usual although those side planks had me wishing for it to finish.

Shield rd 2 + Threshold

1500m was on the cards early afternoon yesterday. Up at Casey fields and extremely windy. Safe to say one of the windiest conditions I've even run in. Warmed up with the Glenhuntly guys. Myself, Jasper, Sam and Liam were in heat 1. Jogged around 2.5km before putting on spikes and doing strides into the wind. It was so windy that I decided to tuck my singlet in because it was getting blown off during the strides.

Jasper got out hard the first 100m, I pushed through a few people and got myself onto the inside of lane 1. Felt a bit uncomfortable on the first lap but 500m in I felt great. Found myself towards the back so pushed up and got onto Sam's shoulder but then the wind hit down the back straight and I lost all sorts of ground. It was truly unbelievable, I was getting blown all over the track. Running through a genuine wall. Felt strong coming into the last lap and moved up again. 

250m to go, straight into the wind and Liam tried to come by, but unfortunately clipped my heels and I stumbled. He got 5 metres on me in less than a second as I lost all momentum. Brought it home as fast as I could although I tightened right up. Need to work on staying relaxed in those final stages. 

Ended up running 4:32 so not too shabby considering the conditions. If more things went to plan I really reckon I could've been right up there.

Then switched to flats and did a threshold with the boys on the trails surrounding Casey fields. 4km in 15:03 so 3:46s, pretty happy with that in the wind. I was hurting a bit by the end.

Finished with 3 strides on the track with Sam plus a 4km cool down. 12.5km all up, great workout.

Solo cycle

15km on the bike this morning. Took it easier than normal as I was pretty tired after last nights strength. Looking forward to the race tomorrow. 

Squaad

Myself, JB, Jasp and Sam around for an easy run tonight. 11.2km in 52 minutes or so. 4 x 60m strides to follow were pretty quick. Strength as well afterwards, managed to do 10 clap push ups in a row. Not sure where that came from. Nice stretch off afterwards, didn't realise how tight I was. 

Confusion

Training tonight started off feeling really sore in the quads and hammies but loosened up after the warm up. Session was 4 x 400m with 90s jog and 4 x 200m with 200 jog. 

Everyone was confused by the 90s joy recovery as we were in lane 3 on the track so no one knew where to start and finish. At one point everyone turned around which made things even worse. I got frustrated that the session wasn't clear so just got it done. Wasn't in a great head space but there you go. 

Times went: 

69, 69, 67, 68

33, 30, 32, 29

Felt the fitness lacking on the 2s. Looking forward to getting it back. 11.2km all up. Went out tonight but didn't want to drink so stayed on the mock tails and social waters.

To and from DMAC

Just ran to DMAC, 4 laps then home again for 10.8km all up yesterday morning. Finished with 4 x 60m strides although couldn't stretch out on the road. Got Sammy down to Jasper's for his first shift, should make working a bit easier with another mate around. 

Feeling pretty sore at the moment so we'll see how tonight't training goes. Legs aren't used to the kms all of a sudden. 

It feels good to be back

First session back! I was pumped all day to come back to training. Melbourne has suffered from a spell of windy days this week and today was no exception. Brutal down the back of DMAC. Acceleration session tonight. Just managed to hang onto Jasper which I was pretty stoked about.

Acceleration session is 200m hard, 200m easy, 200m 5km pace, 200m 3km pace, 200m hard, 200m easy. 5 laps meant 6km all up and we got it done in 22:23. Last 200m hard was into the wind so we rotated the lead. Felt myself tying up in the last few sections and muscles felt a bit weak after a couple of weeks of minimal training.

5 x 80m strides to finish off. Managed to hold it together which I'm stoked about. I'm just happy to be back training hard. 13.6km all up.

Shield Rd 1 plus back at ferny creek

Jumped in the 5000m yesterday feeling much better than I have been. Pretty hot out on the track so got out real slow to make sure everything was in working order. It was, so brought it home strong to end up running 17:23. Hardly a stellar performance, but I'm stoked to see that I could run that after a sketchy few weeks of training while feeling within myself! 11km all up.

Early start this morning and after not enough food the night before felt really average. Battled up the last couple of hills with JB, Stacey and Mahoney. No strength this arvo as I'm wrecked atm! I'll be back for sure next week. 16.5km all up.

Hayfever

So turns out its all just a rough case of hayfever now. So I'm on the antihistamines heavy at the moment, seeing the doctor on Monday so hopefully I get something else to combat it as well. Apparently its the worst hayfever season in Australia for years.

Went for a run Thursday night with JB and Sam. We ended up running fairly solidly at around 4:15s which I was fine with after a week of inactivity. Strength followed, where we received a new set for the next 4 weeks.

Cycled solo yesterday arvo for 15km. Not sure how fast, need to get that computer on my bike fixed up. Track season has started and the first race is this afternoon and we have races for the next 4 weeks. I'm feeling really unfit so I'm going to attempt to race myself back into shape.

gahd

11.1km in 52 mins yesterday, but felt like I couldn't breathe again. I was running by myself so I might have been overthinking it as I had no one to talk to. Reckon I'll just keep it really easy until I'm off the antibiotics, then just start from scratch again. Just want to get training properly again.