Saturday
Maiden Sydney Striders 6ft training run through Lane Cove National Park. I've been told of mythical trails through LCNP but never explored. Absolutely no regrets I joined a very large contingent of Striders.

I did detour about 10km via Epping Road before the the start (Delhi Road entrance). Initial pace was easy but I settled into the front group of 6 where the pace incrementally quickened.

Setting off on the run

On road, I'd very easily cover these guys. On trails, it is quite the opposite and particularly on technical sections (loose rocks, large steps) I struggled to keep pace. Clearly a lot to work on for me: stronger stabilisation muscles, faster cadence, stronger quads and better concentration.

Our lead over-shot the loop by 2km and we had to turn-around. It worked out well as we finished with the broader group, making the run 14km. Some solid splits, with flatter sections at 4:30 min/km pace. I plodded back up Fullers Road and inadvertently made this my long run for the weekend.

I will look to return to these trails and exposure further northwards.

Run summary - 30km at 5:30 min/km pace of which 14km on trails.

Sunday
Picture perfect weather. Joined Matt for a 'recovery' run down to the bottom of Northbridge. I kept a fairly metronomic 5min/km down Sailors Bay Road. There's a great 2km stretch of trails that starts near the gold course and circles the water to Tunks Park.

Matt was visibly frustrated the whole run with my slow plodding. Legs felt flat from yesterday and I had no motivation to surge. He dropped me on trails, then again on the ascent to Cammeray from the Stone Bridge. Nonetheless, great run covering 17km at 5:20min/km pace.

Update - jumped on an afternoon flight to Hobart, checked out the Aquatic Centre and did 45 min easy freestyle just to loosen the legs up.

Overall a good close to a heavy week of running. Feel great, loving the mix of speed, trails and swimming. Better yet no niggles.

Weekly summary - 150km

Happy Sunday!