And no it is not because I have been absent from blogland for 3 months.
I have been in Vic for the past 2 1/2 months and whilst I was down there I received an email from my mate who was going to be relay partner for kurrawa. He said in the email that he was unable to go now as he has just been told that he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan.
I thought okay no worries I will give it a miss as I hadn't had much time to train anyway. Anyway only three weeks ago I receive another email from the same person saying that he's back and is not being deployed and that he is keen to give Kurrawa a crack again this year.
Shit!
I had dropped my bundle weeks ago and have only been doing enough training to keep the ticker from ceasing up.
I arrived home last week and 3 days after I returned I ended up catching a viral thingy that caused me almost 5 days of grief, to an extent that I was sent home from work.
Therefore my training has been pretty much this week only with 3 runs under the belt that have been above 10k. Yesterday I ran for an 1hr covering 13.5k which was my last one before the big race.
My partner has been training pretty consistantly for the past few months and is hoping he can go under 1.50 for the 25k. Myself on the other will again let the team down and will be glad to just finish. Fortunately it is my turn to do the 1st leg so the heat wont affect me as much this year.
It will be interesting and I think I will be one sorry customer come 7am or thereabouts Sunday morning. If anyone can send me some fitness it will be appreciated :)
Peace out!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
King of the Hill........Well Almost!
Month - 18k
YTD - 603.5k
Yesterday was the annual King of the Hill race at work. We have the pleasure of having a rather large and nasty hill on the barracks called Mount Enoggera that many sadistic trainers conduct physical training up.
There was not much hype or build up for the race as many are being deployed overseas but when our unit arrived at the start there were at least 200 people all keen to run. Well that's a lie but the numbers aren't.
I have been fairly consistant with my training since arriving home from Victoria but still 5 weeks of training is not much to bank a good result on.
I had my doubts as to how I was going to go, and with the signs of the flu coming on I knew it was going to be tough.
The race began and I got a good position and set off with the early leaders, the pace was nothing to begin with but slowly increased which was still comfortable. The distance was 4.1k which was about 1-1.5 k of undulating terrain followed by the ascent of Mt Enoggera.
By the time we reach the begining of the climb there was 4 of us which then quickly turned to 3. The leader of the small pack slowly made his move early it wasn't anything major but something I wasn't keen on countering this early.
I slowly but surely made my way up the first but steepest section to be now in 2nd position. There was still a long way to go and I didn't want to burn out too early. I tried keeping the gap to the leader below 50m which also started putting more distance between myslef and the 3rd placed runner.
About 3/4 into the climb it really gets tough not as steep as the first section but by this stage it sure feels alot tougher. I wasn't running real quick but the leader wasn't going that good either. I decided to have a breather and started walking, or rather power walking. This was still hard going but I was able to catch my breath a little. It wouldn't have been anymore than 30 secs but the 3rd placed runner caught back up to me.
At this stage I knew what we had left and the fact that the guy that was next to me had to run all the way so far just to stay in touch left me feeling pretty good. I came to the conclusion that first place was not going to happen today but I certainly wanted 2nd place. As soon as he reached me and overtook me that was my que to begin running again. The rest done wonders and I had a second wind, I overtook him and settled into a quicker pace than what I had been doing.
I could now see the tower that is at the top of the hill along with the wiches hats and marshalls lining the finishing shute. It was about 500m to go and I stepped up the pace. My legs were burning and my lungs were screaming for me to stop. I dug deep and was putting quite a big gap between myslef and 3rd place. I must of broken his spirit and he had slowed considerably. I gained quite abit of time on the last section on the leader aswell but he had established the winning margin earlier in the race.
I crossed the line in 2nd place in a time of 20.03 with first place posting 19.50. I am unsure of the 3rd place time as I was having trouble standing and breathing at that stage.
I am pretty pleased with how I ran considering the lack of training and to further add to my confidence the winner is the current Australian Defence Force 1/2 marathon champion and runner up for the Marathon posting a time at last years GC Marathon of 2.44.
Admitedly he has been injured and is just strating to get back into training but I am still pretty chuffed to be close to his level at my current fitness level aswell.
YTD - 603.5k
Yesterday was the annual King of the Hill race at work. We have the pleasure of having a rather large and nasty hill on the barracks called Mount Enoggera that many sadistic trainers conduct physical training up.
There was not much hype or build up for the race as many are being deployed overseas but when our unit arrived at the start there were at least 200 people all keen to run. Well that's a lie but the numbers aren't.
I have been fairly consistant with my training since arriving home from Victoria but still 5 weeks of training is not much to bank a good result on.
I had my doubts as to how I was going to go, and with the signs of the flu coming on I knew it was going to be tough.
The race began and I got a good position and set off with the early leaders, the pace was nothing to begin with but slowly increased which was still comfortable. The distance was 4.1k which was about 1-1.5 k of undulating terrain followed by the ascent of Mt Enoggera.
By the time we reach the begining of the climb there was 4 of us which then quickly turned to 3. The leader of the small pack slowly made his move early it wasn't anything major but something I wasn't keen on countering this early.
I slowly but surely made my way up the first but steepest section to be now in 2nd position. There was still a long way to go and I didn't want to burn out too early. I tried keeping the gap to the leader below 50m which also started putting more distance between myslef and the 3rd placed runner.
About 3/4 into the climb it really gets tough not as steep as the first section but by this stage it sure feels alot tougher. I wasn't running real quick but the leader wasn't going that good either. I decided to have a breather and started walking, or rather power walking. This was still hard going but I was able to catch my breath a little. It wouldn't have been anymore than 30 secs but the 3rd placed runner caught back up to me.
At this stage I knew what we had left and the fact that the guy that was next to me had to run all the way so far just to stay in touch left me feeling pretty good. I came to the conclusion that first place was not going to happen today but I certainly wanted 2nd place. As soon as he reached me and overtook me that was my que to begin running again. The rest done wonders and I had a second wind, I overtook him and settled into a quicker pace than what I had been doing.
I could now see the tower that is at the top of the hill along with the wiches hats and marshalls lining the finishing shute. It was about 500m to go and I stepped up the pace. My legs were burning and my lungs were screaming for me to stop. I dug deep and was putting quite a big gap between myslef and 3rd place. I must of broken his spirit and he had slowed considerably. I gained quite abit of time on the last section on the leader aswell but he had established the winning margin earlier in the race.
I crossed the line in 2nd place in a time of 20.03 with first place posting 19.50. I am unsure of the 3rd place time as I was having trouble standing and breathing at that stage.
I am pretty pleased with how I ran considering the lack of training and to further add to my confidence the winner is the current Australian Defence Force 1/2 marathon champion and runner up for the Marathon posting a time at last years GC Marathon of 2.44.
Admitedly he has been injured and is just strating to get back into training but I am still pretty chuffed to be close to his level at my current fitness level aswell.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Group Interval Session
Month - 7k
YTD - 592.5k
I ventured down to the track Thursday night to take part in the track session conducted by the Run Inn. I haven't been for a while and it was good to see some of the usuals along with some new people still training hard.
Whilst the fellas that usually take the session weren't there one of the regulars received a text message of what the session should be and gave us a good workout. The night consisted of a 1200, 1000, 800, 600, and 400m reps with about 2 mins jog recovery between them all.
Although I found it a tough session my recovery was pretty good which enabled me to post similar times to what I normally did when I was training abit more. The night panned out like this;
1200m - 3.56
1000m - 3.19
800m - 2.40
600m - 2.02
400m - 1.13
Today - I have just returned from a jog with the pram. Sam is beginning to like this alot more, and as soon as he sees the pram he gets excited and starts to climb in. It was just a regular neighbourhood jaunt probably around 4.45 pace for approx 35 mins.
On another note, I have been religious in watching the athletics and on some nights I have struggled to sit up, however it has been a great championship and I am disappointed that it is almost over. It was a great win this morning by Nathan Deakes and I can't wait for Mottrams race. There has been many highlights and I agree with Ewen, the 10000m race was one of the best I have seen in a while.
That's all for now until next time...........
YTD - 592.5k
I ventured down to the track Thursday night to take part in the track session conducted by the Run Inn. I haven't been for a while and it was good to see some of the usuals along with some new people still training hard.
Whilst the fellas that usually take the session weren't there one of the regulars received a text message of what the session should be and gave us a good workout. The night consisted of a 1200, 1000, 800, 600, and 400m reps with about 2 mins jog recovery between them all.
Although I found it a tough session my recovery was pretty good which enabled me to post similar times to what I normally did when I was training abit more. The night panned out like this;
1200m - 3.56
1000m - 3.19
800m - 2.40
600m - 2.02
400m - 1.13
Today - I have just returned from a jog with the pram. Sam is beginning to like this alot more, and as soon as he sees the pram he gets excited and starts to climb in. It was just a regular neighbourhood jaunt probably around 4.45 pace for approx 35 mins.
On another note, I have been religious in watching the athletics and on some nights I have struggled to sit up, however it has been a great championship and I am disappointed that it is almost over. It was a great win this morning by Nathan Deakes and I can't wait for Mottrams race. There has been many highlights and I agree with Ewen, the 10000m race was one of the best I have seen in a while.
That's all for now until next time...........
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Heading off again!
Month - 37k
YTD - 578.5k
Apart from work PT I didn't do too much last week. With work being quite busy and the good downpours Brisbane has received it was a good oportunity to make the most of the ending winter season and do nothing apart from lounging around.
Although I have enjoyed the lazy few weeks I got the guilts and on Saturday headed out for a run . I have noticed that my fitness during the PT sessions at work is poor so I really need to get my act together. I took Sam in his pram for 4k and each dog on a 2k run. In total 8k @ 5min/k pace.
Sunday I had to work but had today off. I headed to the local grass track which is about 2k away. I used that as a warm up and then came up with an short interval session. I completed a 1k, 800m, 600m, and 400m reps before heading home using the 2k as the cool down. The reps were run at 3.20 - 3.30/k pace with a lap recovery between the longer reps and 200m between the two shorter ones.
Felt pretty uncomfortable but it was something I needed.
At this stage I am heading back down to Wodonga in October with the first weekend being the Melbourne Marathon weekend. I am thinking on doing the half, taking it alot easier than usual. I am putting off entering at the moment just in case the course gets cancelled however if it doesn't I will be there.
Thats all for now, time to assume the position in front of the telly for the athletics.
YTD - 578.5k
Apart from work PT I didn't do too much last week. With work being quite busy and the good downpours Brisbane has received it was a good oportunity to make the most of the ending winter season and do nothing apart from lounging around.
Although I have enjoyed the lazy few weeks I got the guilts and on Saturday headed out for a run . I have noticed that my fitness during the PT sessions at work is poor so I really need to get my act together. I took Sam in his pram for 4k and each dog on a 2k run. In total 8k @ 5min/k pace.
Sunday I had to work but had today off. I headed to the local grass track which is about 2k away. I used that as a warm up and then came up with an short interval session. I completed a 1k, 800m, 600m, and 400m reps before heading home using the 2k as the cool down. The reps were run at 3.20 - 3.30/k pace with a lap recovery between the longer reps and 200m between the two shorter ones.
Felt pretty uncomfortable but it was something I needed.
At this stage I am heading back down to Wodonga in October with the first weekend being the Melbourne Marathon weekend. I am thinking on doing the half, taking it alot easier than usual. I am putting off entering at the moment just in case the course gets cancelled however if it doesn't I will be there.
Thats all for now, time to assume the position in front of the telly for the athletics.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Nice to be back!
Month - 17k
YTD - 563.5k
I arrived home almost two weeks days ago leaving probably the most boring place in this country. I can't believe I actually lived there for almost three years and didn't go insane. It probably didn't help that I had no car, no TV and living in a room with 3 other blokes. Certainly not the ideal situation to be in, anyway Im back and loving the 'normal' weather again.
Wodonga is situated about 70k from Falls creek in Vic, so as you can imagine it is quite chilly. The combination of the weather and the amount of after hours study, my training was almost non existant.
In the 4 weeks I was away for I managed 2 x 5k runs and a 7k jaunt. I did have plans to run at Noosa this weekend but I have decided to forget about it this year.
Since I have been back I have ran 3 times ranging from a 2.4k run completing it in 8.40 which I was very suprised with, with the others around 6 -7 k.
Last week our workshop headed for a day at Mt Warning, a nice track of about 8.8k in total. The last section is very steep which has a chain rail to help you up to the look out. The scenery fom the top is awesome where you can see Brunswick Heads and Cape Byron.
On the return leg a couple of us decided to run back down as walking takes too long and there was a BBQ waiting for us. To be honest I wish I hadn't run down as that and the follow day PT session took it's toll on my knees. To much downhill running on very little exercise lately has caused my right knee the one I had an operation on to be a little sore.
I also just found out that I may have to return to Victoria for another course, hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will get confirmation about this so I can organise my life and more importantly some running events :-) This time it is two months however the weather should be alot better in Oct-Dec for some training in prepartion for my only race I have penciled in for the remainder of the year, Kurruwa.
I am also due for posting at the end of the year and just found out if the Army was transferring me to another place or keeping me here. I asked to stay for another stint in Brisbane which they kindly gave me. I am now staying to Jan 2010 which the family is very happy about.
That's about it, I have been reading and catching up on the goss however I haven't commented yet. Good luck to those running this weekend.
Until next time...
YTD - 563.5k
I arrived home almost two weeks days ago leaving probably the most boring place in this country. I can't believe I actually lived there for almost three years and didn't go insane. It probably didn't help that I had no car, no TV and living in a room with 3 other blokes. Certainly not the ideal situation to be in, anyway Im back and loving the 'normal' weather again.
Wodonga is situated about 70k from Falls creek in Vic, so as you can imagine it is quite chilly. The combination of the weather and the amount of after hours study, my training was almost non existant.
In the 4 weeks I was away for I managed 2 x 5k runs and a 7k jaunt. I did have plans to run at Noosa this weekend but I have decided to forget about it this year.
Since I have been back I have ran 3 times ranging from a 2.4k run completing it in 8.40 which I was very suprised with, with the others around 6 -7 k.
Last week our workshop headed for a day at Mt Warning, a nice track of about 8.8k in total. The last section is very steep which has a chain rail to help you up to the look out. The scenery fom the top is awesome where you can see Brunswick Heads and Cape Byron.
On the return leg a couple of us decided to run back down as walking takes too long and there was a BBQ waiting for us. To be honest I wish I hadn't run down as that and the follow day PT session took it's toll on my knees. To much downhill running on very little exercise lately has caused my right knee the one I had an operation on to be a little sore.
I also just found out that I may have to return to Victoria for another course, hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will get confirmation about this so I can organise my life and more importantly some running events :-) This time it is two months however the weather should be alot better in Oct-Dec for some training in prepartion for my only race I have penciled in for the remainder of the year, Kurruwa.
I am also due for posting at the end of the year and just found out if the Army was transferring me to another place or keeping me here. I asked to stay for another stint in Brisbane which they kindly gave me. I am now staying to Jan 2010 which the family is very happy about.
That's about it, I have been reading and catching up on the goss however I haven't commented yet. Good luck to those running this weekend.
Until next time...
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