Race, Brunch, Repeat

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. Almost 2 laps of the usual 10km loop, chatting away and commenting how long, slow runs are the way to go. Dropped off at Anzac Parade to head back home.

Lo and behold I instantly crossed paths with the Striders STAR run (30km course). Thus my return back via Blackwattle Bay was also blessed with company. Didn't recognise anyone and got a bit bored of the 5:30 pace. Nonetheless a great morning out.

36km in 3:10. Longest run since Six Foot Track.

130km all up for the week, no speed given I'm recovering from the half. Hope my headache clears for the week ahead. Running seems to help.

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 Pyrmont Wharves. Got to Blackwattle before the rain set in. Added 9km before I simply wanted to get home, dry out and eat dinner.

16km all up for the day, all in pouring rain

Saturday - Five Dock
Much better in the legs this morning. Planned a single Bay Run loop but kept changing my mind at every intersection in the Haberfield area. Found myself in Five Dock then later around the Drummoyne area. Turned into a tidy 15km recovery taking 1:15. Pretty slow as you can see.

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 George Gregan... seemed a pretty good guy.

Shot with George Gregan at Circular Quay one lunchtime

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.

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 the AFR chasing after two girls in the SMH.

Added another 7 km in the evening running home. Hence 20km for the day.

In other news I've bought some Altra The Ones. Zero drop but good cushion, wide toebox. So far so good. Will order multiples if they stand the rigours of a few weeks mileage. $60 a bargain.

Altra The One

Tuesday
It's all about base rebuilding and today was no different. Felt some delayed fatigue when I woke. Thus jumped on the saddle for a loop around the Bay Run before heading to work. Bike lock dropped out of my pouch ... disaster.

Skipped my 'favourite' 14x3 min in favour of a 1 hour recovery with Brendan at lunch. Started at CQ, tracked the water down to Garden Island. Then headed back to Farm Cove seeing some dedicated souls battling out the session. Doubt many lasted the full 14.

Extended the run to hit 12km bang on before hanging up the shoes.

Rode the bike home in the wet

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 - $3.50

Best $3.50 beverage I've ever had aside from a half price Boost Juice. Aromatic, smooth and creamy. I was too dehydrated from the SMH Half Marathon to notice the heart artwork.

Zucchini, corn and ricotta fritters with trout and poached egg - $22

Cafe fritters are so predictable, so the question is why is this different?

Beached whale trout

First thought is that of a beached whale. Look at how the trout is lifelessly slumped across the fritter embankment. This proves both a pitiful and perversely arousing visual.

Initial mouth has me defeated. Delicately shaved zucchini delivers a soft, stringy texture you'd never get from a flour base. Add a creamy dimension from the ricotta and a pesto moat and this is deadly. I was so taken aback I almost forgot to pop the yolk on top ... almost.

Excellent yolk seepage into the fritters

The trout was tackled separately and I rejoiced in rescuing the whale by dismantling the flaky flesh, piece by piece. The final reward was a crispy skin. Critical. Such a simple yet tasty dish with every element having a purpose.

Unusual choice for Lorie in a pasta special for brunch. Rules are made to be broken. Having been told this is lunch only, I explained to the nice waiter the missus is carb loading (for the 30m walk back to the car).

Mediterranean pasta with salsa verde, olives, capers and sun-dried tomatoes - $12

Flavour wise it's a very solid effort and comparable to a good mid-range Italian kitchen (e.g. Fratelli). Can't fault the quality produce, al dente pasta and sauce-pasta coverage. Mini mushrooms worked like a charm.

If you (i) crave pesto, and (ii) love value, then this is the dish for you. A surprise outperformance with 'good food good price' being the obvious pull.

A sincere performance from two guys so space constrained with a score to match:
- Food - 8.5/10 - simple, tasty yet innovative enough to avert the DIY-risk.
- Value - 7.5/10 - wide spread. Low teens cheap up to north of $20 not-cheap. Portions acceptable.
- Other - 7/10 - nailed the coffee but lukewarm service quality and shoebox setting.
- Overall - 8/10 - start at 7.5 upgraded by 0.5pts for coffee. Near faultless execution of a comfort-style yet innovative items.

Bootsdarling, Darlinghurst

My view is this sits perilously close to must-try status. Memorable enough but not life changing. If you live close, it's a great option.

Will I be returning?
Yes, but very dish specific. Green Duk eggs and if they offer, baked eggs.

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 Lorie) then a 2km jog to stone Pillars. Shared a quick chat with Quentin before toeing the start.

Having a race strategy is hard with only a 82 min half PB benchmark not to mention being a slow starter. I agree to stick with Eloise, figuring she'd run a clinical 73.XX for the win.

A long long countdown. Announcer loves his own voice. 10, 9 .... 3, 2, 1 and finally the gun goes. Shooting down Macquarie is a frenzy as anyone can keep 3:20s.

Startline outside St Mary's Cathedral

Crowd thins out by 2km, 10-odd group forms. There's a bit of cross-female eye-balling amongst the top 3 girls that is just funny to watch.  A fourth guy has a pony tail so in effect, 40% female group. Wow.

I now understand how to run the SMH - hit the first 10km hard, cruise to 16km then throttle the hills in the last 6km.

Even high 3:20s pace is a rude shock to my legs. Though I like to ease into my rhythm, too much time is lost.

Quads fatigue first and fast. We hit the wind heading south on Hickson and doubt is already creeping in. We all share pacing but it's hard enough not being dropped!

There I am feeling worse and worse spinning around lonely Pyrmont. Big kick seeing Christine + baby Lincoln cheering at 8km. Group thins out to 5 and I mention to Eloise that our 10k split is 34:40. A bit slow?

Half-way - 36:35. Doubting if I can hold this again.

Hickson northbound is where you feed off the cheers with the outbound runners.

I'm THAT Asian guy tucked behind the lead woman chasing a policman on a bike. Flat turf plus tailwind equals cruise mode? Not so. I'm starting to think about brunch and my form falters as a result.

We smell blood seeing a few stragglers into the Cahill tunnel. This is after some very lukewarm 15km and 16km splits... 3:36, 3:45.

Here comes Macquarie street ascent after 17km. The climb turns out to be a non-event. Before long I see a tiring Neil and reel him in around the Mrs Mac Chair bend. Surprisingly my core group of four does not fracture until the climb at 20km past the Gallery.

Finally that Aldi chicken leg digests and the stomach pain eases. Here's my chance not to get chicked! A quick surge drops Eloise, then a 2nd surge near the Stone Pillars has two soldiers defeated.

Final bend comes, I see Charlie cheering at the corner. Baffling as I saw him in Pyrmont 10km... did he DNF or turn Kenyan for the last 13km?

Sprinting into the finish, I look at the clock with 15m to go in horror.

1:12:57 ....bugger!

73:01 and 13th place. Tidy 9 min PB on 2012. Should have dive bombed for a sub-73. There's always next year.
The finish is pretty empty but there's a few (Tom, Barts, Lewis) getting comfortable with the cameras.

From the left - Neil, Lewis, Tom, myself

My PB-inspired excitement is overwhelmed by a persistently weak stomach. This means I can only exchange a few sweaty handshakes before taking the bus-of-shame home with Lorie.

Stoked with my effort, the pacing was bang on. Today was a true exercise in pain management. They say listen to the body:
- quads told me from 6km that I'm over-raced and not fully recovered/tapered.
- stomach pleads with me to no longer try 40% off Aldi meat as a pre-race meal.

I look at my splits showing a tidy mini negative split:
- First half - 36:33
- Second half - 36:27

Some call outs:
- Run of the day goes to Tommy H with a huge PB of 71:13 ... never though it possible.
- Lewis sneaking under 72 and Barts seemly unhappy with a 72:15 ...
- Andy sub 75 min and Macca not far behind.
- Lambert another PB at 78 min.

Lucky I had the benefit of running with the lead girl. This kept me very honest.

Loitering around the drinks stand

The aftermath involved an excellent brunch at Darlinghurst which remedied my stomach issues. Maybe I was just hungry?

Going to put the feet up for a few weeks (from racing). Not sure what's next on the cards.

Here's the detailed split below.

Run splits

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 this time.

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 self generated body heat....it's a real incentive to add some upper body mass.

Legs starting to freshen up. A good sign obviously and tomorrow will be similar. I plan to rest on Friday and do strides on Sunday.