Strange house, strange suburb out in the middle of Melbourne West. Hopped outside the house and found myself wondering through Sanctuary Lakes. A 30km plus LR was the plan and it was somewhat pleasantly slow going. Weaved through Laverton, saw some industrial factories and then circled around Altona as the kms ticked over. Pace was a cosy 5 min/km. Found a nice cycle...
With a 7am flight to Melb plus a full day and early evening of much dreaded Melbourne CBD shopping, I knew fitting in a run would be tough. Chose a dreaded pre 6am window to knock out what I could. Out at 5:20am, looked at the watch and decided the 1k to the Bay Run, the 7k loop then 1k back would be...
Fairly uneventful day running wise as I recover from yesterday's effort. The default is always to jog to work and today's 7km was no different. At lunch, I headed out with Brendan northwards towards Blue's Point and Ball's Head Reserve. Lots of hills but thankfully the pace was ridiculously slow. It's good training with a semi-injured runner; for recoveries that is. Strange nose...
For the first time since SMH, I rolled out of best and legs felt fresh. Back of my mind I wanted to do some speed (today or maybe Saturday). Kicked off the am with 8km jog to work at 5:30 pace. For breakfast I revisited Bowery Lane at Wintergarden. The pulled pork hash was just fantastic. Extra egg and mushrooms is a must....
This head cold continues to persist and is perhaps creeping down to the chest. Hence last few days have been particularly easy, even relative to my usual schedule. Not too fussed however, as there is no real motivation to race in the short-term. A recap as follows: Monday - joined the HuRTS from Macquarie, but decided to create my own stragglers group that...
Veggie Patch Diner is a disrupter in the chorizo bacon-infested waters of the Sydney brunch scene. Swap bacon-for-broccoli and you'll get an equally tasty and satisfying feed. True upside is jaw-dropping appreciation of edible plant-life and a fighting chance to be heart-attack free before 50! Veggie Patch Diner, Paddington Almost every item incites drooling; so much so a beverage is needed. A single blend...
It's the return of the LR and I was a little concerned my head cold would dampen the enthusiasm. Ventured out before 6am very slowly and proceeded through Newtown and Waterloo towards the Kiosk. Pleasantly surprised to find company at Centennial in Birchy and Sonya. Another 6 guys were running 4:30s, so us three became the stragglers at a more-than-welcome 5:00 min pace....
Friday - Commute More easy miles as I continue to wait for the residual soreness from last week to ease. 7km over the Anzac Bridge in pouring rain at the crack of dawn was a good start. Too lazy to run at lunch and I'm continuing to feel under the weather from this head cold. Nonetheless I chanced my luck running home via...
Bowery Lane challenges the stigma with CBD cafes; great coffee, forgettable food. I kill two birds with one stone on a work-related meeting with MC; few other males are my match (and more) in food passion. Is it career suicide for an individual in a suit to order chai tea with a splash of soy milk? Not sure but this was perfect for my...
Joined up with Brendan for more plodding at my go-to 5:30 pace. BW's slowly getting back from injury so happy to keep these type runs easy. The course took us over the Bridge north. A little discontinuous heading out to Cremorne Point but the views make it worthwhile. 13km all up in 1:05. Also finally got sent that photo the other week with...
Some 5.30s with Conway starting from the usual Macquarie Street down to Garden Island and Rushcutters. Road crossings a touch frustrating but once you get to Centennial it's great. I really started to tire in the last 2km. So much so I couldn't hold 530 pace. Could be the sore throat. 15km all up. Some 5.30s with Conway starting from the usual Macquarie...
Monday Expected to pull up worse but actually Monday came round and I was fresher-than-normal. Strange. Hence I joined Conway plus 3 others for some 5:30s around Hickson. Fairly standard 'filler' for me these days and we covered 12km. Saw Brendan, Renee and a few others along the way. Embarassed to see a photo of me (in a bad state) on p3 of...
At its core, Bootsdarling is a killer coffee barista stapled to a two-man shoebox kitchen operation. The sweet spot is food complex enough to differentiate, yet simple enough that each element has a purpose. Chic interior design, chalkboard drinks menu Given the location is 50m from Taylor Square, 'alternative is in' and so soy flat white is my beverage. Soy flat white -...
The faster but not fitter I get, the more these type of races hurt. My best attempt at a taper was 135km last week (with 2x nasty tempo treadmill runs) then 65k over Mon-Sat. So just like the Aldi chicken on sale I ate the night before, there was serious questions over leg freshness. Morning started off with a Central drop off (thanks...
Little to report aside from easing up on the kms. On Thursday I joined Brendan for some 6 min/km type running down Hickson Wharves. Initial plan was 8km, but he succesfully convinced me to extend the run down to Farm Cove. Turned out to be a hefty 12km run. Felt good nonetheless. Last run till Sunday. Looking forward to the race. No expectations...
Three days into my 10km recovery style sessions in preparation for SMH half on Sunday. Convinced Wooey to skip Corporate Cup and join me for some easy 5:30s around Farm Cove then Garden Island. Little to report. 11.5km in 60 min. Cycled to and from work in the horrible cold. Until I invest in some cycling winter clothing, I'll have to rely on...
Monday wharves Joined Wooey for an easy 8km starting at CQ and circling Hickson wharves before making the return. Briefly linked up with the HURTS crew of 10ish towards the end but I but it short. This was a planned recovery so the pace was 5.30s. Successfully threw in 2 sets of 25 push ups Tuesday Farm Cove A repeat recovery but this...
Hard to say no to a lazy Sunday Centennial long run with the crew. Rolled out of bed meaning to jog to the Kiosk for 7am start. First few kms via Stanmore and Newtown nice an easy 5:30s. Plan was 8km to Centennial, 10km with the group then a plod home. As I was 5 min late, I went the reverse and then...
Rest today, at least from running. The quads have taken a real beating from the double treadmills amongst about 50km covered the two days prior. The two 30 min sessions at 3:10 min/km, plus last weekend's 10k race has given a much needed speed injection into my routine. Of course I knew an easy spin would be more sensible. Rode down to Centennial...
My second 'shift' was at 6:30am. So I turned up at MP 10 min before only to be told by Paul Birch that bad news - last 4 need to do 9.4km each to get to 400km in 24 hours. Quentin did an impressive 9.7km just before, so from there on out I resigned myself to the discomfort of 19km/h on a treadmill....
The HuRTS are currently battling it out in a 24 hour treadmill run to support Outrun Cancer. All about raising funds/awareness for the connection between BMI, activity, diet and cancer. The setup is in Martin Place running from 8:30am today. My two sessions of 30 min were locked in weeks ago (10:30am Thursday, 6:30am Friday). The goal is for us to do 2:20...
Wednesday - Wharves Joined by Wooey for some 6 min/km type recovery. Standard course from CQ, circling Hickson wharves. We then shot down DH and around a few more piers in Pyrmont. Felt great as I finished up - 12km. Add that to the 6km jog in makes 18km for the day. Thursday - Garden Island Scheduled to meet Conway at the usual...
What makes a post-run, 4-egg generously seasoned omelette with a tantalising dribble of smoked fish on top so special? Make-able at home and best enjoyed on the couch in track pants. This is why I left Brown Sugar mildly disappointed - restaurant prices for DIY comfort food. My stomach was satisfied, my card balance was not. Today's lesson is beware the devil in...
So I've been scolded by Coach Conway for going out too slow in my latest 10km race. The 3:18s I did over km 1, 2 and 3 are a cop-out and strategically unsound. Sound advice albeit from the winner of 2014 underperformer of the year. One to dwell on for my next race I suppose. Today was 6km into work, followed by a...
Pretty happy with how I pulled up from yesterday. Decided against a Centennial style 30km run knowing the 4:40 pace would be quite aggressive. A pending brunch catch up with my sister meant this was a good chance to run the Gladesville bridge over to my old joint in Artarmon. Taking the mantra 'no such thing as too slow' a touch too far,...
Flat legs, no real taper and lots of pork from last night's Filo banquet. The 7:45am is not too bad, but waiting 30 min in the registration line leaves me with minimal warm-up. This is a dead flat course with a double 5km loop and a 300m track finish. Being such a fast course, it's no surprise to see HuRTS runners out in...
