Race, Brunch, Repeat

Lavender Bay Stairs - lucky I'm going with gravity here

Boardwalk to the bridge

I extended my excursion by running underneath the bridge and ascending the hill grass on the east side. Again these views are hard to beat.

Under the bridge from Milsons Point

Didn't want to be any later to work so regrettably finished up by cross the bridge to work

Run summary - 10km at 5:30 min/km, ave HR = 125bpm

Got a call late morning call from MC for some 1km reps at lunch around the Cove. He missed the Thursday HuRTS 8x1km so default response was 'sure why not'.

Just us two down at Opera House gates to do 8x1km off 5 min cycles at 3:45ish pace. I attached the heart rate monitor and also recalled my HR in the past has peaked at 180bpm in races.

First 7 reps at a comfortable 3:40ish (my marathon pace) - HR peaks at 150-155bpm but in hot weather. It eases back to 85-90 on the 1 min breaks...terrible effort.

Splits (from MC's call-out) - 4 at 3:45, then 3:40, 3:35 and finally 3:10.

Had to leave MC behind on the last rep but got the HR up to 173 bpm... much better! Finished with a 5 min warm-down. Positive is legs felt great, first bit of quality this week. Negative is the knowledge that it will take sustained 3:05 min/km pace intervals to get HR to high 170 bpm.

8x1km intervals - heart rate sub-par

Session summary - 10km all up at 3:58 min/km, ave HR = 141bpm
Today goes back to basics ... Run hard sessions harder, and easy sessions easier. 

Also thanks to Tucks, Charlie and Jimmy Matthews for some good Blue Mountains trial ideas.

Run-wise, sadly all to report was an easy 8km into the city from Artarmon at 5:30 min/km pace. Legs feeling flat again.

Glad I missed the HuRTS 8x1km session. Temperature at the upper end of 'acceptable' and I doubt it would have been fun.

Early evening I headed down to Lane Cove Pool to replace the lack of run mileage. 750m warmup, followed by a pyramid intervals: 50/100/150/200/150/100/50 with 50m recoveries. Covered 2.2km in total and hips felt great after. Session sounds technical but I'm a crap swimmer so it is all slow.

Also I realsied I've double booked myself for Saturday morning. Promised the misses to go hiking in the Blue Mountains on Saturday morning - clashes with Sydney Striders.

Classic conundrum ... 'happy wife or one final PB for 2014". As I sit here typing I get a glare from Lorie... my PB ambitions will need to wait.

Also I want some advice on the best trail runs around Wentworth Falls. I refuse to walk. I'd imagine Charlie, Tucks or Fats would be experts here.

I'm a big advocate of good nutrition and generally stick to unrocessed foods with quality protein and lots of good fats. I really don't restrict carbs but focus on starchy vegetables or wholegrains.

My post long run smoothie is simple, healthy and tasty.

Banana cocoa almond smoothie

Banana Cocoa  Almond Smoothie
- 2 Frozen Ripe Bananas
- 1 1/2 Cups Vanilla Almond Milk
- 2 Tbsp Almond Spread (I use MiLA's)
- 2 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder

Combine all ingredients into a blender and drink immediately.

It's highly nutritious, simple to make and provides a good mix of carbs, protein and quality fat.

Nutritional information:
- protein 13g
- fat 23g
- saturated 2g
- carbs 69g
- sugar 30g
- calories 494

Disclaimer - this is a double serving size, so if you're not on a 3,000+ calorie diet, maybe share it with a loved one or make it a meal.

Variations you say?
- more protein - greek yogurt or protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)
- more fibre, good fats and protein - chia or flax seeds
- more sweetness - dates or honey

Small group of around 10 at the HuRTS mid-week MLR.

Group split straight down the middle instantly - Enda, Crossy were way too aggressive for a 'recovery' run. I stuck with MC and two Jonathans: a South Africa bloke and another seasoned ultra runner who spent the first 4km giving me the run down on the best trail ultras around.

Some pretty good ideas - Six Foot, North Face, Kep (over the ditch), Mt Solitary and a few others I can't quite remember. It has got me thinking, I'd like to do two next year.

Pace was an uncomfortable 4:40 min/km. I really don't like base building at faster than 5 min/km. No point unless it's a structured workout. Run took us around Hickson wharves before circling Darling Harbour and Pyrmont. Good, flat run with views of Balmain East across the water. Saying that, I did not enjoy today and was happy to throw the towel in at 14km. Mild foot pains and tight hips - really should NOT be happening on such an easy week.

Small aside - I've now dusted off the foam roller and putting it to use. Cycling is really causing issues to the ITB and my experience has been (i) swimming helps, (ii) rolling helps even more. .

Grid foam roller - answer to  ITB issues

Next two days will be even easier... priority is consolidate on last 3 weeks of training and ensure I am OK for Saturday.

Two options at the HuRTS run today:
- 2x20min at between 10kmand half marathon pace - my choice
- 5km time trial - sharpen up for JP Morgan 12 November

It was a good way to split a large group up. This is an easy week and I was happy loitering in the middle-of-the-pack. Most of the fast guys were out of sight out of mind doing the 5km TT.

Held a very cruisy 4:10 pace on the way out and had a catch up with  Biggsy (back from a cascade of injuries this year) and also passed a tired looking Sonya (feeling the impact of a 40km morning ride). Turnaround was at the Hyatt, where the 5km group added some critical mass for the return at 4 min pace. Will admit by the end, felt a little sheepish not having pushed myself.

Barts and Tommy were trying to rope me into the 5km time trial tomorrow evening. No-go for me - want to stay fresher for Striders on Saturday. Small aside - I'm told the HuRTS rule is 'no taper allowed for Striders'. It depends what you call a taper but I'll run every day till then.

Run summary - 12km at 4:15 min/km pace, but that has 2km easy.

Earlier in the morning I joined Matt for an easy cycle into the city. Bike has not been serviced since I reassembled it post re-location back from Perth. It cries for a service every time I change gears.

Giant Defy 3 - needs some TLC

Finished the evening with touch footy. Pretty disappointing effort down 5-1 against a weak team. I did more than my fair share of running.

Planning an MLR with MC tomorrow, not sure what course he has in mind.

There's a great cafe culture along Crows Nest and according to Urbanspoon, St Malo Bakery is amongst the top picks.

It's a recipe for success - award winning, buzzing with locals, Parisian-feel, dimly lit wooden fit-outs, outdoor pavement seating and freshly baked goods on display.

St Malo Bakery front - very inviting

Disclaimer - I was pretty hungry post a 30km run with the Sydney Striders. My friendly brunch partner (aka Lorie, or wife) took position on tables along the main pavement.

Eager wife waiting for a feed

Menu ticks most boxes: granola, pancakes, egg-variations and lots of breads. Two other choices catching my eye were french toast and baked eggs (a great breakfast yardstick). With the hot weather, I choice a chose a pearl-barley and vegetable salad.

Usually I'm a big fan of alternative grain salads. Texture is king and the chewiness of pearl-barley complemented the crunch of cherry tomatoes, carrots and celery. Good news ends there. The dish was completely tasteless and I lost interest within two spoonfuls. They really need an interesting dressing (e.g. pesto).

Healthy option - pearl barley and vegetable salad - $9.50

Peering over at the wife's dish (corn fritters and bacon), I was baffled. Where was the rest of it? Fritters tasted like fritters, bacon tasted like bacon - any man, his dog and his (or her) kitchen can get these right. The real let-down was a lack of eggs or signature bread to add.

Corn fritters and bacon  - $16

If you think the dishes were bad, sadly the service was worse. Our waitress had no interest in interacting, did not clean other tables and mumbled when we asked where to find water, pepper or whether to order from her or the counter.

Before leaving, we were desparate for a positive, and found it in the raspberry chocolate brownie.

Raspberry chocolate vs. chocolate brownie - easy choice

Within 5 minutes of the car trip, sounds of intense pleasure caught my attention and I saw my wife burying her face in the brownie (or what was left of it). All I got was some crumbs, but it was good.

Day 1 of recovery week starting with a short cycle to work - uneventful and I much prefer running.

Joined up with Jono Low at Hickson wharves during lunch for an easy recovery. Ended up crossing paths with 15 or so HuRTS runners at the turnaround point (7.5km into their run). He's been talking up a run plan of 90-100km within 2 weeks. Off a 30km base, I guess he think's the 10% rule is add 10% per day...good luck to that.

Jono was intent on a painfully slow 5:15 pace, so by the time we left the wharves (3km on the return), a 300m gap emerged to a 15-strong HuRTS group clocking 4:40s. Jono dropped off at Hyatt leaving myself and Ray (who was also a straggler) to chase. Not ideal for a recovery but 2.5km at an uncomfortable 4 min pace was enough. We caught them on the Cove and the pace backed off.

Finished the last 3km with Ray, MC, James and two others. Group of 15 had shrunk to 5 by that stage. Frankly I was glad it was over after 12km. Leg's didn't feel great at all - niggles everywhere, lingering weekend fatigue and stinking hot weather.

My ITB really started tightening up on the ride home. I battled huge cross-winds, legs that felt like leg, and dust in the eyes the whole way. Did NOT enjoy.

As planned I headed down to Lane Cove for 2km easy freestyle in the evening. It's like magic on tight hips, really loosens them up instantly.

Daily summary - double cycle commute (or 18km), 12km run at 5 min/km pace, 2km swim.

Considering doing just 20min of the HuRTS session tomorrow. Will see how I feel.

Woke to find a completely new set of legs than yesterday. Plan B (swim) changed to Plan A and I met the 6:20am Striders group at Willoughby Park for the 'Willoughby Winder'. Three others formed the 6:20am group including HuRTS regular Bruce Lambert (Lambo), Jess (3:13 at GC) and pommy  Mike (2:58 Melb).

We set out into the rolling hills of Castle Cove and quickly understood the warning at the start 'this course is hilly'. It's scenic as you track the waterline southwards from Castle Cove towards Northbridge. There's a good mix of really hilly roads, semi-technical trails and yes, hills. Course map ends resembles a lobster... 
The other three are in good shape and kept a solid 4:40 pace on the flats. Hills and trails were a lot slower. New discovery was 15km into the run . 'The Tor Walk' in Castlecrag is a serious heart-health hazard. Strava segment shown below. I'd like to return with fresh legs and take the CR.

Tor Walk Ascent - 18 degrees over 400m

Lambo and I left the other two at Northbridge to return early (he looked pretty comfortable the whole way). I was intent on a 34km and added 7km on the return home. I picked-up to marathon pace in the last 2kms - splits were sub-4 min/km. With the heat really picking up, I ended up motionless in the backyard pool.

Run summary - 34km at 5 min/km pace. 720m elevation gain.

Wiloughby 'lobster' Winder - avoid if you hate hills

As per last week, I joined Lorie for a 3km recovery in the evening finishing with a 3min plank. 6:30min/km pace has never felt so hard.

Quick aside - she bought me a RoadID band shown below. If you become roadkill, think of it as a 'dog tag for runners' - name, contact details (of owner/emergency contact). Must be something wrong with the camera - where is the rest of  my arm bulk?

Road ID - 'call this # if your find this Asian guy on the ground'

Weekly summary - 160km, 1 quality work-out, 1 swim and almost no cycling. Glad to finish off another heavy week. It's never easy holding 100km+ and last weeks have been tough.

Weekly summary - 100 miles!

Time for a few weeks rest. Striders 10km and JP Morgan 5.6km is upcoming. I'll look to shake the niggles and turn up fresh.

No I sadly did not have pancakes today.

Morning run was out in the Kellyville area. If you love sprawling, monotonous suburbia with pancake flat paths, this is the place for you. I ended wandering around lost through Rouse Hill Cemetery, The Ponds and Quaker's Hill. Ridiculous that half these properties were full of sheep 3 years ago.

I do consider Saturday's an occasional semi-quality day. This means a progressive MLR moving to tempo, or an MLR with 1km surges. Today I battled to hold 5 min pace and felt not urge to push. It was much more satisfying to simply enjoy the scenery.

Stumbling next to swamps at 6am

I even stopped to stretch in a kid's playground, spotted a slide and gave it a go. Embarrassingly it's designed for someone 4 ft tall and I ended up flat on my back.

Pancake flats of the west

By 20km I was certainly ready to throw in the towel. Temperature had really started to pick-up along with very sticky humidity. I noticed some soreness in the upper left foot again, similar to where it was two weeks ago.

Run summary: 20km at 5:15 min/km pace. Really no elevation change.

How do I feel? Well I can admit accumulated fatigue from three big weeks. Circling back to Charlie D's advice, 'it's time for a cut-back week'. Tomorrow maybe no long-run, but substitute swim instead. Plan is to freshen up for next week's Striders 10km at Lane Cove. It's a hilly course but that suits my style.

Evening update - did a short 2km barefoot recovery before jumping into the backyard pool.

Almonds and coconut equal to my weight - not cut out for this

Wednesday

The legs can't get through much more mid week than some basic mileage; today was no different. Did a back to back recovery starting with 9km into work.

Had a lunch meeting so it was a no-go for the group run. Substituted this by running back home. It was well rewarded by the weather and views. Didn't stop the watch so may I can use that as an excuse for the slower than 5:30 pace.

Daily summary - 17km recovery.

Bridge views of Cremorne

Thursday

Stepped out today a lot fresher. Walked to the shed to retrieve the bike (to ride to work), stretched the quads and made the split decision to run instead. I did want to save some fuel in the tank for lunch it was really just a jog to work of 9km.

Briefly joined some of the HuRTS runners across the domain as they set out for the not-so-fun 10x400m. Chose to join MC for an easy MLR 'strictly at 5 min pace'. He's a good substitute for a 'race pace' simulator on a GPS watch and the whole run was bang on 5 min pace.

The route took us past Garden Island and through Rushcutters Bay before heading south along Ocean ave - by far the most unpleasant section. It's a small price to pay for one lap of a tranquil Centennial Park at lunch. Legs felt better and better the longer into the run I got.

Run summary - 15.5km at 5:36 min/km, which when added to the morning makes 24km for the day.

Experiencing some ITB tightness which will need a good stretch out in the pool in coming days. Also according to MC, sports massages are mandatory. Need to try it out soon.

Dose Espresso ... the epitomy of the lower North Shore. A blend between posh and hipster, suited to young familes. Is this the next great find?

I was tipped off they do the best coffee around. Lorie and I however are not coffee people. I turned up for brunch off the back of a 30km morning run, looking for an honest, well-priced and generous feed.

Rustic, open table courtyard ... translation 'I live on the North Shore and love it'

The counter has a great range of pre-prepared sandwiches, salads and a mix of decadent carb/butter-laden goodies. The breakfast menu is not out-of-this-world; an assortment of toasts with spreads, porridge (or variations), egg dishes and a salad.

Being a bean-fan, my eyes were drawn to chickpeas and red beans on soughdough toast with a double poached egg. At $17, I was expecting a pretty hearty meal.

Sadly what I received was two nicely toasted but thin slices dipped in a child-size bowl of watery beans (in tomato sauce). Dish lacked size, seasoning and spice not to mention the bread does not absorb flavour well if the sauce base is too watery. Not sure why the lemon is there, nor why they felt it necessary to slather the dish in sour-cream. Who puts sour-cream with tomato beans?

The salsa-looking substance sung a nice red colour. That's the nicest thing I can say about that.

Mixed beans with poached eggs - $17

While I sulked about my lost $17 (imagine how many cheap eats that is worth in Hunter Arcade), Lorie picked away at her Yallah eggs. No idea what the name means but there is clearly a Middle-Eastern theme at play.

Dish one-liner - toasted turkish bread with poorly seasoned scrambled egg plus two dips of hummus and tzatziki. Add the some olives and a rocket leaf and call it a house special.

I ended up nibbling sadly on the last two turkish bread pieces. Lorie wasn't too keen on the dish either, and this is coming from a woman with very low (food) standards.

Yallah eggs - $15

I was too deflated to try 'the best coffee in Sydney' and did not stick around. Amazing how a place like this can be so popular. Chatswood and Willoughby fundamentally lack quality brunch venues - real heartbreak.

Won't be returning here again. I'd rather go to Bakers Delight, buy some bread, microwave some eggs and eat breakfast in bed in my PJs.

Food - 4/10 - poorly seasoned, uninteresting menu. Where's the baked eggs?
Value - 3/10 - servings much too small for the price.
Other - 5/10 - nice, quaint little setting and good for families. Service nothing special.
Overall - 4/10 - conceptual points for the hypothetically amazing coffee.

Hey, at least Lorie seemed happy to spend some quality time - that's worth its weight in gold.

Happy wife, happy life

Usual 9km run commute in this morning. Very slow recovery, enabling legs to loosen up ahead of the HuRTS lunch session.

14 x 3min is outright the hardest session on offer. Also the HuRTS turnout is now ridiculous at 60+. This makes it almost dangerous on Tuesdays between the two stone gates, particularly with the Pain in the Domain groups. Case in point, got a nasty shoulder in an early rep.

Two options were offered - do 10 x 3min at 90% or 14 x 3min at 80%.  14 reps is psychologically brutal and 10 reps for me means 3:10 pace. With heavy legs, I landed on a 'Goldilocks' 12 reps at 85%.

This left me stranded for most of the run between the front (Tommy, Barts, Fats, Quentin, Timmy on rep 1 only) at at least 3:15 pace, and the main pack probably at 3:30 pace. Quads felt like bricks, but legs loosened up and actually the final 12th rep felt the easier. Full credit to the final 6 including Renee that endured the full 14; I calculate a 90% attrition rate based on the 60 starting.

I don't set the watch for individual splits, but I maintained between 3:15 and 3:25 pace. Happy with the effort. Run summary with warm-up and warm-down was 13.6km at 3:46 min/km pace. I also put the HRM on for the first time in a long time. Peak was 166 bpm which I think is too low. In 2012 I recall it was as high as 178 at the end of a 10k race.

Run snapshot

I also noticed MC did a Houdini after 4 reps, having just lectured everyone on the right pacing. Spoke to him in the afternoon to prod for an explanation - hamstring strain from 10x400m last week. Sounds like he needs to stay away from red-zone intervals.

Finished off the day (and legs) with a cycle home plus the usual touch footy game. Played the full game and helped the team get its maiden victory (by scoring) ...10 games into the season.

Daily run summary - 9km recovery plus 14km quality speed. Quads suffering but all else OK.

Saved some fuel in the tank by cycling into work and almost got blown over by a few gusts of wind around North Sydney. The true icing on the cake was on the bridge - passed by a 50yr old woman on a mountain bike in sandles. A few at work have recently suggested that I give a half IM a go - my response is why bother if I'm the only one left on the course after the bike.

Good turnout from HuRTS at lunch with the usual regulars including MC, Tommy, Renee, Tucks, Clarkey, Bruce and a few others. Got a good recap of the Willoughby 10k from Bruce plus free parenting advice. Advice noted and translated - 'having a kid equals 10min handicap over 42km'.

Separately, some real interest in the MiLA's spreads business Lorie has started - great news! Thanks to everyone on that.

Also I still don't understand how 4:30 pace is 'recovery'. It took 5km for the legs to wake up, but by the time we hit Hickson road I was OK. For one man, the run turned into a 15km steeplechase - he hurdled a 1.3m boom gate just after the 7.5km turnaround. Incredible athleticism.

Run summary - 16km at 4:36 min/km pace. Legs felt better and better the farther I got.

Decided not to ride home. Weather simply too suspect.

Tomorrow's 14x3min HuRTS session is a brutal one. The attrition rate is huge and most will drop off after 8 or 9 in my view.

Wooey at the start line.

City view from the North Side

Random park in Lane Cove -

Run summary - 34km in 3:00 hours at 5:17 min/km pace. Almost 700m of elevation! I did this one on no water, no breakfast and no mid-run nutrition.

Importantly the map reminds me of rotund mouse. The return from Artarmon to Longueville makes a great tail.

Run map - an overweight mouse??

Evening update - Lorie decided to dust off the runners and wanted company. She planned a 4km, but added 2km after I explained why running 148km for a week was tragic. I used the following analogy - 'Let's say you have 15 tops to iron and you get to the last one and leave the left sleeve creased. How would you feel? Would you be happy leaving it? - this worked like a charm. We ironed that final 2km sleeve together and I got to 150km. Even ran into my sister-in-law at the park and ended up pushing the nephew and wife on the swings.

Uncle and husband duties in the playground

Looking at the weekly log, it's been the heaviest week since July. Better yet, my fatigue feels mostly muscular rather than anything suspect.

Weekly run summary

Weekly summary - 150km running with one speed session and lots of hills, 1 hr cycle commuting, 2.5km swim. Fatigue score - let's say 7 out of 10.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Slept like a rock and woke to quads that also felt like one. Did what any sane person would do and headed out for a sneaky run in crisp weather.

Fairly heavy week, some hip tightness so I pondered '3km run to Lane Cove Pool, 2km freestyle plus 3km return jog'. Fail to plan or plan to fail.... who knows.

Within 45 min, I found myself shirtless on Roseville golf course dodging golf balls hit by a bunch of seniors - baffling. Turns out I wandered into the rolling hills of East Roseville for an unplanned MLR.

Got a little lost but otherwise had a great time. Run path looks more like a drawing from a fat kid armed with a crayon.

Is this guy lost?

Felt I battled the whole way despite the slow pace. Ended the run with a laughable attempt swimming in my 10m pool for 10 min.

Run summary: 18km at 5:26 min/km, 260m elevation change.

I've also committed to at least one swim per week. I find its the best way to alleviate ITB issues, which plagued me last year. Lorie was out in the afternoon so I headed to Lane Cove and knocked out an easy 2.5km freestyle. Felt much better almost instantly.

Look forward to LR Sunday, will look to join the Striders STAR run (12 bridges).

Secret to a self-induced heart attack - hill reps

Possibly had the best sleep in recent memory and opened the eyes 45 minutes late. This, along with the first clear day this week forced me onto the bike to work. Great, crisp morning and I attached the hills on a short 25 min ride. 9km all up.

Headed out at lunch to join the HuRTS crew. Warm-up was 3km from Art Gallery to Reg Bartley Oval. Legs feeling great and there was a temptation to join the 10x400m intervals. Chose to go the sensible approach and took to the hills of Double Bay with Charlie a reasonably relaxed pace.

After another few kms of twists, turns and stairs I rejoined the squad in the final few reps back at the oval. Did 3x400m surges to get the legs turning over and caught up with Ray in the process. Capitalised on the good weather and lack of niggles by joining MC for an extended warm-down around Mrs Macquarie's Chair and the Opera House.

Run summary - 14.5km at 5:10 min/km. Don't focus too much on the pace, stop-starts due to stairs etc. Happy with some quality, (1.2km at 3:20 min/km), reasonable elevation change (300m) but probably still light enough be semi-recovery.

Other highlight was discovering Loftus Street - nasty 300m incline from Rushcutters Bay. Will need to return for hill training at some point.

Finished the day off with a very easy 30 min ride back home. DST makes a world of difference.

'Ride by' shot from the Harbour Bridge

Ride to Work Set-up at Milson's Point.... free food

Second straight day running northwards to work, this time through St Leonards and down Pacific Highway. Kept the pace very relaxed at 5:30 min/km pace and covered just short of 9km, all before 7am.

Running through The Rocks

I now always prioritise Tuesday lunch HuRTS sessions, which are quality workouts for anything between 10km and marathon.  Unfortunately with a 1pm lunch meet, I missed out on the 4x10 min intervals. Rather, I strung together a somewhat 'poor man's' progressive tempo. 5 min easy, 20 min 'slow but progressive', 10 min 'threshold' and final 10 min 'wind back' to Marathon pace.

The 10 min threshold was the first set of the HuRTS session, so I got a brief chance to catch up with MC and crazy few back from Melbourne marathon after 2 days! Tried to stick behind a bloke running alone out front at faster than 3:15 min/km pace - unbelievable. Later found out he's got a 31 min 10km time.

Splits peaked at around my 10km pace. Last 10 min was more motivated by getting to my meeting rather than extending the tempo from 35 to 45 min.

Run summary - 12km at 4:05 min/km.

Semi-planned 45min tempo

Legs were pretty wrecked by the evening. Still managed to not-entirely embarrass myself in our evening touch footy game down at Artarmon oval. Basically it is 30 min of stop-start sprinting.

Game low-light was not losing 0-9, but being side-stepped (then out sprinted) by a guy best described by the following: top-heavy, pot-belly, min 100kg, but skinny legs that offered incredible burst acceleration.

As an aside, well done to all those that raced Melbourne. Some incredibly strong times. From what I heard three sub 2:40s and multiple sub 3 hour efforts.

Pain gauge up to 7. Niggle in the right knee, sore left arch.

I've had a quick think about the training plan, assuming no injury:

5 weekdays totaling 70-75km:

• 3 commute runs to work and return (say 3x16km)
• 1 speed session (say 12-14km) - HuRTS
• Optional MLR or base miles (say 10-15km) 

Weekends to add another 35-40km:

• Saturday MLR (15km+) or second speed session (10km)
• Sunday LR (25km+)

This would put weekly mileage around 105-115km with a reasonable amount of quality. Key is also to ensure hills feature in recovery + LRs. Tuesday HuRTs can always be substituted for Thursday.

Circling back to today's runs, I did battle some serious early morning leg stiffness. Let's join the dots - more-than-normal cycling (say 20% contribution), 30km Sunday LR with hills (70% contribution), old-age (10% contribution).

Weather was great in the morning - 8km recovery across the bridge. I show this because by late afternoon, sky was pitch black with thunderstorms.

View from the Bridge!

Pondered whether to run at lunch or back home after work. Made the right call in joining AMB and Wooey (both from work) for an easy out and back 10km. Run started at the Rocks, circled Mrs Macquarie's Chair before heading out to Garden Island. Covered 10km at 5:15 min/km pace. Leg's felt a lot better than from the morning

Happy I skipped the run home, because by that time it was absolutely bucketing.

Daily summary - 18km, all at easy pace. Legs stiff, some mild soreness under right knee cap (standard niggle, expect this to disappear)

12 October a day to remember:

• 2012 - crossed my first marathon (Melbourne) in 2:51
• 2013 -  nervously waiting at the aisle 
• 2014 - happy 1 year anniversary to my better half! 

Got out for an early morning LR, half of which not alone. Some low hanging clouds at Artarmon oval made a pretty interesting shot.

Artarmon Oval 6am

Joined up with Matt after 3km - very impressed he turned up having done a 4x2km session yesterday afternoon. Pace was pretty relaxed at 5 min/km heading out for a planned 13km to Cremorne Point (Charlie from work showed me this course), Got lost along the way, had to head back early as Matt had to take care of the kids. He's pushing me to commit to 6 foot next year in my current shape.

Quality of the LR was good, with rolling hills and intermittent surges. Matt dropped off after 1 hour leaving me with another hour at the same pace to complete the run. Initial goal was around 22km, but legs felt better and better. I seemed to recover from stomach cramps around 15km, and clocked 30km to make it home just in time for church.

The map below says the following - 'this guy has no idea where he's going'

Where am I going???

Run summary - 30km in 2:27 at 4:54 min/km. 310m elevation gain. 
Ave HR = 122bpm, max HR = 151bpm.  It's something I have not focused on since 2012, but that average is c.10 bpm lower than similar runs in the last. May I need to push harder?

Second part of the day was doing my best to spoil Lorie - poor girl has now put up with me for 12 months. Took her out to brunch at About Life - 520 Miller Street, Cammaray. It sits on the north side of the main strip.

Celebratory brunch at About Life, Cammaray

Review is in a separate post.

Also fit in an hour of tennis in the afternoon. Went down in a set 6-4 to Matt. A close game nonetheless. The serve was not as rusty as I anticipated, but I expect sore shoulders tomorrow.

Some runners after Sunday long runs swear by chocolate milk, protein shakes or recovery bars. What do I do? I go brunching.

Lorie and I ventured out to About Life in Cammaray for our 1 year anniversary. Its a blended wholefoods grocer and cafe that sits on the north side of Miller street.

Celebratory brunch at About Life, Cammaray

Being a seasoned 'bruncher' that looks for taste, value and honesty above all else; what did I think?

Menu is fairly narrow, ranges $12-19 mains and has a variety of healthy options (egg variations, crazy smoothies, quinoa dishes).

I chose the smoked salmon and kale omelette, a blackboard special. Serving was generous, just the right amount of seasoning. Nonetheless, I am a touch insulted by the name 'superfood omelette' - think just a hearty omelette with some shredded kale and a few pieces of smoked salmon.

It just highlights the level of over-saturation of the word 'superfood' in today's food talk. Coming back to the dish, it's OK but still something I could whip up similar at home.

Superfood omelette - smoked salmon and kale - $15.50

Dish of the day goes to Lorie's choice - paleo breakfast with sweet potato frittata/hash and poached eggs. I got the classic food envy watching her bury her face in the sweet potato. I loved the crunchy texture of the hash which is a good balance to the oozing egg yolk.

Paleo Breakfast - $15.90

Biggest gripe was smoothies with over 10 ingredients and prices that made my eyes bleed. Charging $16.50 for a 'superfood' smoothie is like asking me to give up running - not going to happen. Scores as follows: