Day kicked off with a high-intensity session at Bowery Lane, my go-to CBD cafe. A dose of perfectly poached eggs, avo and salmon plus picked kale left me in a good place. So good my chances of a lunch run were in serious doubt. My order was the Tuscan Eggs - beetroot makes this special. Good move adding the extras... the dish price...
Rushcutters on Thursdays continues to amass a huge following. Maybe 35 blokes, a sole girl in Greta showing up. I no longer recognise half the faces. Full set was 8x800m on 4 min cycles, presumably between 5k and 10k pace. Upfront was Tom, Crossy and even the Frenchman Jerome. Still cautious over my fragile legs (and state of mind), I completed 6,...
Linked up with Wongy for another easy 10km around Farm Cove and Garden Island at bang on 6 min/km. Noticed on finishing I felt looser and less sore than yesterday. Body goes through 3 days DOMS post-mara before the healing kicks in. Same thing happened after 6FT and GC this year. It'll be a slow 3-4 week recovery to full health. C2S is...
More of the same soreness today and had trouble keeping the food down last night! This tells me I need to take it easy. No go for the 45 min progressive tempo. Largely wanted to get some blood flow back into the legs. First 4km with Irishman Dave Kane around Farm Cove to CQ before we split paths. A good chat about his...
I do expect C2S in 2 weeks is now a write-off. Legs are certainly well acquainted with the beating of a marathon – this time it’s the knees, quads and hammys. With no red-flag niggles, I joined the HuRTS contingent for an active recovery. The 5 min/km was too fast. First 5km was 6:30s with Brendan (also recovering) then the last 4km with...
Being a little star-stuck seeing a Kenyan marathoner at the notoriously 'boring' M7 Marathon, I wanted a photo. It took 42.2k of chasing before he stopped. I initially wanted to run this but chose Gold Coast (3 weeks ago) instead. Changed my mind on Friday and signed up 20 hours before the gun. Still feeling the quad hangover of GC so expectations were...
My brunch-translation of 'wholefoods' is calorie-light, wallet-heavy guilt-free eating. Venus Wholefoods (VW) conforms perfectly. Stepping in, a shoe-box size food counter sits inside a sleek industrial fit-out. Staple this to a boutique clothing store that sells $400 jeans. The set-up is best translated as a haven for sub-30 year old diners, wearing skinny jeans whilst sipping a 3/4 soy latte. Initially pre-prepared elements (in containers...
Passive turned active recovery day. Reason is a late call-out from Brendan, not to mention cracking Spring-like temperatures. 5km at 6 min/km around Farm Cove, before turning back at Mrs Mac Chair. Saw the likes of Tom, J Bowe, and Jeet each doing their own 'thing'. Finished with a flurry of 6x100m strides on the grass near the Opera House gates. There were...
AM: wanted to ride but my simple rule is to avoid the saddle when the ground is wet. Easy 6km in the rain at 6 min/km. Lunch: Joined Brendan for some basic gate to gate intervals around Farm Cove. 5 x 850m at a slower-than-marathon pace. I largely let BW take the lead. The 3:40s felt much harder, suggesting my legs still need...
Joined a 10-strong crew headed by Timmy en route to Heartbreak Hill. I really wanted the company but never intended to finish the 17km. Found myself loitering at the back with Gleeson, noting the rest pushing on sub 5 min pace. Decided a 5km out to Double Bay and return would suffice. Mini detour around Garden Island saw me over the 10k goal....
Cracking Spring-like weather saw a huge turnout for the 8x5min intervals at the Opera House Gates. This is a good session for 10k/21k training. No sign of Tom meant CT and Barts led each rep. I'm still sticking to my easy week. In effect, I eased my way through 5 reps before any real fatigue kicked in. Found good company in JFen, Fats,...
Legs still not 100% so I've decided to hold back the intensity and mileage this week. Likely something I should have done after GCAM. Lucky Richard W had similar thoughts for a recovery at lunch. We headed around the wharves for a 6km recovery (6 min/km) with 8x100m strides to finish. This was a carbon copy of the runs I did in the...
My lasting memory of a talking potato is a support role in Toy Story - the first and worst Pixar-Disney movie. Mad Spuds Cafe does no favours to my irrational fear of animated spuds. The claim is a 'quality, nutritious and healthy' brunch and the solid reviews suggest a no-frills, hip-friendly feed. Waitress points me to Vegan Stack ... not as 'healthy' as one...
First thought upon waking was yep, the I've beat some honesty into the legs. Decided to lower the mileage today. Off I went to Petersham for an easy 9km with Molly. Is there a positive to come out of 9km in 59 min at 6:34 min/km? Note the negative split. I'll take that. Week has been a good mix of base and speed....
Moved my usual Sunday LR forward purely out of sheer enjoyment for running. Had to drag myself to the North Shore all before 9am so the HuRTS C2S run was a no-go. Coming off a solid 5 days of mileage with two 'quality' sessions, I'm pretty buggered. Not enough though to stop me from punishing the quads with some hills. Gold Coast has...
Wongy was looking for some lunch company and I was happy to oblige. In fact, Tucks popped out of the bush at Farm Cove for 3km of the run. He casually mentioned a 9th place effort at Western States 100 mile race just over 2 weeks ago. Wow. All round a relaxed and uneventful miles as we headed across Rushcutters and returned a...
Bowery Lane is one of few safe havens where a pork-for-breakfast fiend can rejoice. It has been my top CBD pick (8/10). I'm here motivated by a newfound disregard for heart-health plus an upgraded winter menu. These guys serve a seriously mean chai tea. Soy milk on the side ... you must. My counterpart (MC) and I converge the Cuban omelette. Two blokes can't...
4x2km reps at Hickson Road, a tried and tested session. Tough ask backing up after Heartbreak Hill (yesterday). Course change to note was start at Hyatt, 1km out then 1km back with 90s rest. Rinse and repeat (4 reps). Horrid weather is never enough to deter the Thursday crowd nowadays. Still too early to do the full set. Rep #1 and #2 were...
The challenge was laid out in email form from Timmy L - 5km to the base of Heartbreak Hill, a 2km surge then 5km return. Caught in two minds here. C2S just 4 weeks away and no hill training vs 10 days after a marathon. Legs feel OK so I joined Tom, Timmy, Jerome, Mike G, JW and Crossy starting at Macquarie Street....
I continue to focus on patiently rebuilding the base. Today I banked 2 runs at 5:30 min/km. In this case it's a good way to run 20km and still feel very fresh the next day. Pre-work - 10km from Lilyfield to Enmore, then back through Ultimo to CQ all before work. Barely felt like a run. Post-work - No lunch run due to...
Conway is back from his Thailand trip and noticeably larger around the shoulders. Must be all that cross-training and no running. Anyway, the three of us including Sammy J headed out to Centennial at lunch - a diversion from my usual HuRTS run. Frankly I'm a little sick of the 4:30 min/km pace the Monday guys revert to. Too fast for my tired...
7 days after a 42.2km is still too early for a traditional LR. I just wanted to fill some time before a brunch date. Initial 5km jog via Chippendale and I make a snap decision to check out the Sydney Harbour 10km at The Rocks. I knew the HuRTS gang would be out in force. Also I may run this in 2016 -...
John Smith Cafe is what happens when Sydney sees a goat population outbreak combined with a kitchen that I suspect is well equipped to milk mammals. Goat cheese aside, JS almost makes you forget being served classic staples, albeit presented majestically. Still there is considerable value in fresh produce, poached eggs and some naughty cakes. Today a $50 race fee saved on a 'bandit'...
Per my GC marathon taper, Molly has enjoyed a 2 week break and perhaps put on some (healthy) off-season weight. So it was back to the Saturday routine. I struggled to get out the door post yesterday massage but loosened up quickly. Took her for a tidy 12km around the Bay Run with a few oval laps and other detours. Cold front coming...
OK I admit the niggles have emerged some 4 days later. Felt 7/10 on Monday and come Friday I feel 5.5/10. It's the little things - sore knee caps, tightness in ITB and tenderness under the left arch that all suggest an easy week or two is sensible. I called in an emergency massage after work. Run wise the plan is keep the...
Perhaps its the DOMS slowing my recovery but the legs feel no better than Monday. I'm keeping the recovery runs to 9km. Jogged to CQ to meet BW before we set out around Farm Cove and down past Harry's then Garden Island. The plan was for some easy laps of Rushcutters Oval and we found a good 20-strong HuRTS crew well into the...
Planned 9km recovery with Renee on the usual route down to Hickson Wharves. Spent half the run hearing about her rookie tactical errors from a weekend bike race. R's lesson learnt is - when your team mate tries to attack, don't follow and drag the peleton along. Even I know that from watching The Tour.... no doubt she'll improve with experience. I cut...
Monday - UQ One last day in Brisbane. I woke up and my legs seem to have forgotten the GCAM beating. Felt fresher than a usual training week. I took my chances with a recovery around UQ at 5:30 min/km. No regrets. Felt like magic and only logic stopped me from undertaking a few strides. Tuesday - HuRTS 2x20 min at recovery pace...
Maiden GCAM and a new level of suffering. This is the magic shot post my best race to date. In hindsight, my key ingredients for a 2:30 marathon: - 100km weekly base with speed and a 21.1km turn up race - 10-12 day taper, 6km/day with strides - Dead flat course, good conditions and F&F support - No early 'warm-up' pace. Attack early...
