Race, Brunch, Repeat

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 blew out. Terrible value but 8/10 taste because I rarely eat beetroot at breakfast.




Upper East Side - salmon, avo on eggs upgraded by a radish mascapone. Too fancy for me. Better off with the basics. 7/10.



Waddled away with limited expectations of a lunch run.

But then Conway calls and drags me out to Centennial Park in cracking weather. Took a few kms to loosen up. Glad I did. Legs finished up in a fresher state than yesterday. Achilles pain is gone.

Turned into a mini MLR at 15km at 5:15 min/km.

Looking forward to Striders tomorrow. I'll be the 45 min pacer.

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.  

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 basically a write-off.

My Tom Tom is seeing a few issues after 2 years (buttons, frost inside class, syncing to phone). Thus I've upgraded to the Cardio version with an in-built heart rate monitor. DC Rainmaker says it is good and I believe him. Love my gadgets, and his time no permission sought from the wife.

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 past Irish rivalry with Enda. Found a 2nd leg of company in Conway (post his warm-down). This added another 4km out to Hyatt.

Good to see the squad around the Opera House on return. Fair to say most are peaking for C2S.

9km all up in 52 min. 

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 Conway, Tom, Tim and Nathan circling the Hickson wharves.

9.5km all up in 55 min.

I’ll keep the single-run, active recovery routine up for awhile.

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 low.

Told myself before - 'its a semi-hard' training run. No issues if I bonk and walk. Thus no warm-up.



What a boring course - basically an undulating bike track. Start at the athletics track, 10k south then return, 10k north then return. Great views of sheep and cars.


Start-line has a Kenyan (Tom) and ultra runner Brendan Davies. These two fire off at sub 3:30 pace. I'm all alone at 3:50s and conceding defeat all before 10km.

Little to report but my strategy on the hills. Surge the ascent, extend the strides and ease the heart on the descent. 13km turnaround comes fast and with Tom and Davies so far ahead, I'm looking at the bronze. Plan is to run by feel and don't check the watch. The rhythm starts to build slowly.

Davies starts visually growing at 15km. I figure he's a strong finisher so too early to get excited.

Half-way comes in 77:25. Gap is 40m and he looks back. I see fear, surge to close the gap and rejoice is this small victory. 20km to go.

Once again, very bored. I start to dodge the 10km runners and later, the half marathoners. David Byrne is storming home in the half. Later I see Brendan Wong looking way too happy wearing a balloon as the 1.45 pacer (opposite direction) ....

The Venus Bowl - Quinoa, kale, avocado, kimchi, boiled egg and tarmari seeds - $18.50

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 some sunbathers nearby. Not going to lie ...  with my lethargic legs, I was tempted.

7km all up. So far the lightest week on record (ex-GC taper). My legs need the rest.

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 further rest.

Covered 4.3km over the 5 sets at 3:50 min/km. 1km splits: 4:00, 3:55, 3:45, 3:47 and 3:35 (300m).

With the warm-up and warm-down, this was 8km total.

14km for the day. Will probably rest tomorrow.

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.

11.6km in 63 min. Legs neither feel fresh nor flat. Hard to get a gauge at such a slow pace.

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, Macca, Lambert and a few other 34-36 min 10km runners.

Covered 7.2km in the 25 min (90s rest) at 3:29 min/km.

Splits by 1km were: 3:37, 3:35, 3:19, 3:29, 3:21, 3:25 3:33.

Used the 6th rep to warm-down at 4 min/km, before heading back to the office. Can certainly feel lingering fatigue that reinforces the need to recover this week.

11km all up for the day.

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.

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 would think.

Vegan Stack - Potato & lentil patty, avocado, tofu, Boston beans, corn bread, grilled tomato,roasted quinoa - $16

Various elements do not complement. A stingy avo serving frustrates me, as does the lack of quinoa. My response is to dethrone the green villain with a stolen poached egg (from dish #2).



Beans worth the cost? No - these legumes lacked the kiss of spice.

Certain similarities to Heinz beans albeit some bean size variations. I rejoice seeing a large one then realise they taste the same. Portion is 50% of a 400g can, so where did the rest go?

Next up is a signature, evidenced by the name.

Mad Pan Brekkie - boston beans, pork sausage, hash brown and a poached egg - $16

Consider this a cross between chorizo baked eggs and an IKEA big breakfast. Notably two ugly looking sausage logs sitting on yes, the remaining 50% of the beans.

Hash brown, sausage and beans is best left to the Swedish furniture experts.

A standard conclusion to a good baked eggs is a bread wipe-down of the sauce ...With stale bread, the only wiping is the tears from my cheeks.

At least the flat white tasted OK. I may have detected a hint of potato in the coffee blend.



Both harsh and generous in my scores:

- Food - 5/10 - lacked of freshness and technique. Not particularly tasty nor healthy.
- Value - 8/10 - I like the pricing. Good calorie to dollar ratio.
- Other - 5/10 - lightning service, alarmingly like fast-food.
- Overall - 5.5/10 - expectations not met.

Departing sentiment is one of dismay. The culprit is blind hope rather than a misrepresented menu. The 7 day wait till my next brunch will be a painful one indeed.

Wife came away a lot happier than I, shown below. I credit this to the pork sausage.

Preference to show wife's face noting the cafe score.

Will I be returning?
No.

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.

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 made them complacent.

Felt pretty flat until 5km circling the Bay Run. Happy with how the legs warmed up as I crossed North via Gladesville Bridge and up into Lane Cove.

Any elevation I surged (4 min/km) and the flats/downhill I eased back. Counted maybe 5 ascents (Gladesville, Lane Cove Road, River Road etc) before my quads started to turn to rubber.

Eased the pace back in the last few kms as the watch ticked over 90m. Called it a day at my folk's place in Artarmon, by which point a huge DIY omelette was consumed. Better than Bowery Lane.

25km all up in 2:09 at 5:09 min/km. A tidy 500m odd elevation. 

Good views per shots below...

Bay Run at 6:15am
 

Gladesville Bridge at 6:45am...

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 similar route.

13.5km in 65 min at around 6 min/km. We walked the stairs! These 10-15km type recoveries at 6 min/km are quickly becoming a great filler.

Looking forward to a Saturday LR tomorrow along the C2S course.

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 share a Cuban, cigar or food. A double order is made each with two sides.

Cuban Omelette - pulled pork, pineapple salsa with roasted mushrooms and smashed avo - $18 + $8

Serving sizes implies RIP to five baby chickens and a hunk of a very fat pig's leg. This is good.

I grapple with the supreme promise of succulent pulled pork versus the $18 price tag (for an omelette).

Hope is short lived - two bites and the heart flat-lines. My mouth fails to detect signs of life. The biggest disappointment is cubes of non-caramelised fat. No texture, no bite, no excitement.

Cuban Omelette - pulled pork,

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 largely a warm-up. Ran with Brendan at the back for each, who in turn is training on a cracked rib!

Front guys led by Barts stayed on a faster cycle. Rep #3 came around (no break for me) and I attached onto Tom/JFen for #3 and #4 as they set out.

The pace pick-up from 4:15s to 3:30s was a rude awakening to my quads. Certainly I felt quad and lung fatigue by the end. The good type of fatigue.

Pacing splits over each 2k was:

Rep #1 – 4:35s
Rep #2 - 4:20s
Rep #3 – 3:25s
Rep #4 – 3:20s (felt easier than #3)

Overall a good early test-out. Intention is to ease back into the quality and allow the legs to slowly recover.

Grabbed Lambert for an easy 2.5km warm-down around Opera House.

11km all up.

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. A good crowd.

With three bloggers in attendance, there is bound to be some ugly banter. I stand by my view ... food is more exciting than reading a training log.

Anyway, the first 6km to the base was easy. Tim bolted earlier, I followed and surged the 1.5km ascent at 3:50 min/pace, putting my heart rate and quads to test. Got to Kincoppal-Rose Bay before turning. Aside from Tim/Jerome, the others kept it easy. It was all over soon and there were few signs of fatigue. A good sign.

Joined Jerome and Crossy on the return back to the city. Pace eased back to 5 min/km. I counted 6x where we almost became roadkill.

17km all up in 83 min - 4:50s average pace.

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.

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 old legs.

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.

Lewis, Lambert, Jeet, Steve

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' at the Sydney Harbour 10km is reinvested in brunch.



Frustrated to see Alexandria incumbents picking at food in dire fear of actually eating. No wonder they are so skinny. Long wait is abated by a free lemon cake! Acceptably moist and certainly 'lemony'. For me, too sugary but it's all upside off a low base.

Vanilla lemon cake

Avo on toast with chilli jam - the signature and a magnificent one indeed...

Avocado salsa, goats cheese with sweet chilli on sourdough plus poached egg - $14 + $3

Tough ask to differentiate an avo-on-toast. I don't pay for this pleasure yet I'm not angry in the aftermath. Sweet chilli works the sweet tooth in all of us.

Nonetheless, I now hate goats - complete domination in the cheese. Dairy tolerance is high for an Asian, but not that high. Balance is thrown off.

The added poached eggs is clever, but the yolk river gives way to a translucent egg white. Failed execution.



Next up is a dietary feel-good attempt. Add the house cured trout, which to my surprise is in mush-form.  

Beetroot, cucumber, tomato, goats cheese and red onion salad with smoke cured trout - $14 + $3

I'm always annoyed by fancy dressing - note the thin balsamic circle. Trout tastes mild but I take pleasure in working through multiples of vegetables. Too much time spent looking, too little time lining the stomach. The 10 min taken to eat this leaves me hungrier.



Goats wins again. Cheese too strong.  Not the dish for a winter's day.

An above-the-pack, below-the-lead brunch:

- Food - 7/10 - differentiates by presentation and many elements. Fresh and vibrant.
- Value - 8/10 - mid teens pricing, good portions. Can't fault this.
- Other - 8/10 -  feel-at-home experience, staff genuinely good people.
- Overall - 7.5/10 - a 'back to basics' that does not break the bank.

One more shot of the avo-on-toast. Devil is in the detail.



I liken JS to Something for Jess or Cornersmith in the produce-on-toast niche. Unlike competitors, JS does not hide behind stingy portions. No doubt they source repeat clientele from value-focused Government housing residents nearby.

Will I be returning?
If I yearn for a fresh and simple feed, yes. Not if there is a wait.

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 and the visibility was near zero.

12km in 1:10. Please don't work out the pace ...

Good luck to everyone running Harbour 9.8km tomorrow!

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 runs short and slow. I joined a small crew at lunch with guess appearances from John Bowe, Lambert and Frenchman Jerome. Got the run-down from J on French cooking as we circled Hickson wharves at 5 min/km. The run and food topic left me craving a good meal; brunch is on the cards Sunday.

11km all up in 55 min. 17km for the day with the 6km commute.

None other than GC half marathon star Lewis was to sort my knots/niggles out on the table. Excellent physio and a guy that has the pointiest elbows in the game. I was writhing in pain for 60 minutes. How I get out of bed tomorrow is anyone's guess. Loved it.

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 6x1km intervals. Good to see Timmy, heart-on-sleeve leading the charge.

Joined in the festivities barefoot and caught up with Enda and Andy; both taking it easy. Embarrassed to get some pats on the back for my Sunday effort! Jogged back with Charlie, BW, Enda and Andy. Seems my left knee feels a little sore.

9km all up in 55 min.

Also got home, opened the mail to a nice reminder the C2S is 4 weeks away.

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 it short on the return at CQ. 9km covered at 5:20 min/km. Feel OK but no better than yesterday.

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
Surprised by the lack of DOMS and I jogged to the pillars with Charlie and Wooey for the 2x20 min tempo at lunch. Several of the GC half finishers turned up (Jeet, Barts, Lambert, CT) but none of the full distance survivors ex-myself.

Had zero interest risking injury and foxed at the back with Wooey and Asian Gareth. I was dropped at CQ with my 5 min/km clearly inadequate for a tempo. During the 3 min in between break, I jogged to the Hyatt and turned back the same way. I pressed on at 4:45 min/km and picked it up to 4:15s once Renee came flying back at Mrs Mac chair. Returned with an easy negative split and felt great!

11km all up at 5 min/km.

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 and run an even split

GCAM was diarised in May and I had eyes on the 2:35 PB, loosely 3:40 pace. Day kicks off with a 70m drive from Brisbane. Lorie and my folks are in company and I'm nervous en route to the start line...



It's 20 min in the cold, spent chatting to Tom, Craig and Biggsy. I'm also wondering how Biggsy will fare dragging that frame 42.2km...



7:20am, gun goes and I form a small group at 3:35 pace. Before long, 3 fall into my slipstream taking turns to heel clip me. Enough is enough and a sustained surge has me solo at 10km.

Burleigh turnaround (16km) approaches and my 3:30s feels 'easy'. Rhythm is good. The elites are on the return and I enjoy the spectacle of Africans being chased by Japanese.

Next move has me hunting a fractured group, some 45s ahead led by none other than HuRTS #1 (or #2 to Barts) Tom Highnam. He's motoring at low 3:30s and my moving target over 16km to 23km. Not to be fazed, I persist despite the risk of a late stage bonk. Clock reads 74:32 at half way. Dare I think about a 2:30 marathon?

Race starts here and at 23km, Tom slows and I bridge the gap. He looks tired, beckons me on and I never look back. There is now no one in sight and I'm starting to hurt. Around McIntosh Island (27km) my mind is wandering as I run straight, hear a shout and realise I've missed a bend. The extra 30m run, a 120 degree turn loses me 10-15s. Idiot course marshal!

Mentally and physically, it all takes a dive. Unrelenting pace, heat and dehydration is very demotivating. Back through start zone at 31km and I feed off cheers from Lorie/folks, share a hi-five with Jeet/Sonya/Gus and decline a diet coke offer from Barts at 33km.

Gus takes a good shot of me sleeping on the job, just before my mental low point.



The rest is really a blur. I tend to lift my chin when I fatigue and today there was 6km of trying to self-correct this posture. With this new crippled state my pace settles at 3:38 min/km and a Japanese girl (#2) steamrolls me with 2km to go. There goes the sub 2:30. Final bend has JFen screaming '50s to sub-2:30'. Despite a final effort, it is too late.


2:30:14, 23rd place. Over a 5 min PB vs Perth 2014. 

Splits show the pace drop at 30km. At least every km banked today was sub 3:40 min/km.




I catch up with the half finishers (Jeet, LJ, Bruce) then Macca, Andy, Sonya et al to get the update. In the half we have Barts, Lewis and Eloise running 21.km in a ridiculous low 70 min  time. A hat trick of PBs to Enda, Jeet and Gus whilst Lambert goes out too hard and fades.

Full distance more mixed. Tom misses the 2:30 but like Andy and Mike L, run PBs. Tough day at the office for Biggsy (3:06), Sonya (3:14) and Birchy (3:16). Heat induced no doubt. From Perth happy to see Hamish and Simon both hitting 3:24 type PBs. Expected more from Hamo.

Run of the day? 
Barts and Lewis. Noting the PB efforts, I give them the benefit of the doubt being 'chicked' by Eloise.

Can't be happier with the result. My thanks to the family, HuRTS contingent and Perth parkrunners for the support. Looking forward to City 2 Surf in August!