43 degrees here in Melbourne & 2007 Wrap Up

OMG!!! At 8:30 it was still in the mid 20's, so I could have run, but with a few k's in the legs over the past few days and some not so nice chaffing marks from some very sweaty shorts (jocks) as a result of yesterdays run I decided I would rest today!

So really no need to blog a run today, but I will post to let the blogging world know it is fucking hot here in Melbourne and we have a stack more days predicted of 37 in the next 7 days with a few cool changes of 30 thrown in...

Many of the blogs I read, have already posted their thoughts for 2007 and their goals for 2008, bur I am not ready yet, but some the following are some immediate thoughts:

* it hasn't been a great running year
* a few niggles have prevented good running
* a medical issue has prevented good running
* some laziness has prevented good running
* BUT I have still enjoyed my running, which is very important
* I have VERY much enjoyed my introduction to coaching teenagers & adults and I thank those athletes for allowing me to help them, especially Clare as she was the first person over the age of 16 who entrusted their entire program to me!

So overall, whilst slightly disappointed with my overall running performance, I am aware that there are valid reasons, but as I said above I have still enjoyed my running and especially enjoyed my coaching and I hope that I can continue to help those who have who want and those who's parents have picked me to help their children. Clare, Jo, Roz, Tegan (not so much now), Adam K (only for his speed sessions), Pierre, Scott, Michelle; (Little Aths kids --->), Connor, Teagan, Bailey, Beau, Jack, Emma, Jake, Courtney, Demi, Brooke and of course all 46 Under 6 kiddies. There are others, but those mentioned have been the consistant runners who I have helped throughout 2007, there are others who I chatted to and helped a bit (I think).
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2007 Monthly Kilometres:
January - 310
February - 328
March - 178
April - 278
May - 272
June - 290
July - 277
August - 299
September - 226
October - 247
November - 191
December - 120

Total - 2922km
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2007 Personal Bests:
TBA
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2007 Racing Highlights:
TBA
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Thank you all for reading and posting and I hope to catch you all in 2008.

The normal Sun morning with some fellow Western Aths members

Yep another trip to the You Yangs, but being on holidays and only 20ish minutes away with soooo many different paths and soft trails it beats the roads & pavements.

With Burkie away in Hawaii, I wasn't able to change the run time (as a couple of the guys had suggested) as a few of his girls are more than happy to use me as their 'stand in coach'. Today we had three teenager girls, me, Mel, Adrian, Luke & Matilda (Mel's dog) as we took off along the Branding Yard Trail which is the inner loop, 5.6km. The younger girls dropped off just after 2k and we continued on, not too fast, the first loop in just over 30 minutes. A quick stop to hydrate and a quick chat to the parents and then the we (less teenagers) made our way up GCD with a nice sharp hill to wake our legs.

After a few side tracks we made away into the MTB area and then into the Quarry area up a BIG hill and then further up onto 'no tree hill' where we did a bit of sight seeing (you can see a LONG way) and then back down and back in the direction of our starting location. The majority of the run we ran together but every hill we would separate, Luke leading, then Adrian, me & Mel and the dog somewhere in between. All up for Mel & I, we ran 17.6km in 1h 41m, a very enjoyable run with only a few walks to save my achilles and two times due to lack of fitness.


Legs feel good now after a some gentle stretching and then an ice bath, much to Cam's amusement who arrived at my flat just as I was getting in for my second 5 min period and heard me making some very strange noises.... anyway, afterwards I had an enjoyable lunch with Cam.

A tad warm!!! Even at 8am

Firstly Day 3 of the cricket was excellent and as Em mentioned the MCC sells 'heavy' beer and so does the Cricketers Arms at 9.45am and the Royal Hotel has some good entertainment during the lunch break and after the match too... So basically I am trying to state the obvious, I was VERY drunk when I got home at midnight!!!

Yesterday I promised Jo I would run with her for her LR as she was thinking of swapping her Sat & Sun sessions around due to 'hen's night'. Hmmm running with a BIG hang over is not my idea of fun, but a promise is a promise. Jo met me at my place and then I took us out to the YY, we arrived about 8:15 and it was HOT HOT HOT, 31 degrees already and the sun had a real bite to it. Taking into consideration the need for water and toilets, I worked out a course in my head, but this would involve a few trips up a very steep path up to the Turntable carpark...I knew this would not be popular.

The intended session was 90 minutes of running, but the conditions were not ideal. We started on the Branding Yard Trail which was nice as we were under tree cover for the first 3.7km. The last 400m includes a very steep path upto the carpark, Jo struggled and walked a part of the path, I also had to walk as I was very much looking forward to the toilets. After a toilet stop and drink we ran along Rockwell Dve, a few rolling hills, I took the opportunity to talk running form along here but basically I just got to listen to Jo tell me about how she needed a drink, she didn't like my hills and she didn't think I was a very nice person anymore :-)

We walked a few times, esp up some of the hills, then with approx 2k before our next drink stop we went down the Saddleback hill (very steep, hoping Jo posts the elevation piccy) and then back onto the Branding Trail and we both appreciated the shade of the trees. Back up the hill for Turntable, I jogged ahead and tried to test my fitness, I didn't make it (about 80%) and Jo struggled waslking. We both enjoyed the water stop and when I came out of the toilets I found a very wet Jo, I think she had a bath in the basin :-)

Back down the hill, and then finished the Branding Trail (clockwise) and got back to the car, not 90 minutes, too hot, all up just over 11km. As I said to Jo, it was very hot and today was not ideal, but its a tick in calendar and a few hills in the legs, walking or running it was tough work!

Today: drink water, drink water and maybe a bit more again, currently it is 39 degrees (3pm).



Thanks for the pic Jo, I really should start using my Garmin's capabilities more. I wanted the graph to show the other coaches some of our running courses. Western Aths have four distance coaches; but I am the only one who is still running, so I get to experience the hills and the courses that we send our athletes on. Some of the courses both Burkie & John ride their bikes, but in the YY some areas you would need to be a very accomplished rider. The hill from the 6k area is approx 900m long and has an elevation change of over 100m, I'm rapt I can know show this hill to the other guys. The hill uptp the Turntable carpark can be seen at the 3.5km area and then again at 8k where we went up and then back down.

Early morning stroll

Sometimes even on holidays you have to set your alarm, I'm off to the cricket today, a mate of mine is a MCC member and I have been lucky enough to get a guest pass with him. So we are meeting at the Cricketers Arms at 10am and public transport is on order, so up at 6am so I could be out the door running by 6:15ish.

Just a very easy 5k run from home, 24:50, a short stretch of my lower legs and hamstrings and then a short post here. :-)

A mid week trip to the You Yangs

Last night I sent a text to 10 Club mates to see who was up for a trip to the YY in the morning, lots of no thanks due to work and a few none answers. I wanted to run for 60 minutes and didn't want to run the roads so I stuck with my idea and arrived at Toynes Rd at 8:30am.

I waited a few minutes, just in case and then took off, about 700m later I realised I had left my Garmin in the car, so I turned around back to the car, chucked on the Garmin and back onto the Branding Loop upto Turntable. Up the BIG hill I walked, protecting my achilles (even though there was no discomfort) and in the big picture I am probably not fit enough to run 60 minutes with big hills.

After a toilet break at Turntable I made my way along the rolling hills along Rockford and then down a big hill, back onto Branding and back to the car. A quick drink and then along Great Circle Drive for a few minutes, then I followed a dirt trail onto some grass until I got to the fence and then I turned back along the 'Greyhound track' back to the car. 10.3km + 1.4km


I spent the majority of the day with the 3 younger boys at the park, skate park and walking 20 min one way for Subway and then back (Kaelan was in a pusher). Only a few abrasions from the skate park; a bike crash and a scooter crash, but both loved it. Then I took them back home and made them return their mum's house back to a house and not look like a 'Toys R Us' tornado aftermath before Julie returned from sales shopping.

I went to the track and jogged 2 laps and stretched for ages whilst chatting to Burkie about his squad, as he is leaving on a jet plane at 2am on his way to Hawaii for Narelle's wedding.

End of the day, I'm not really sure what is wrong...but I can't feel my achilles at ALL! I noticed today that it appears I am not going to make 3000km for the first time in 3 years... :-(

Boxing Day casual run

Out the door in the morning, from my drive way I ran along Mossfiel Rd about 1km on the side of the road in the bike lane and then onto the grass on the 'flood plains' (well that's what I call them). I ran on the grass crossing roads, past Hoppers Secondary (Ads work location), past Belbridge PS (Clare's hubbys work location) and then a little further on until hitting 20 minutes. I then walked for 60 sec in the same direction and then turned with the intent on making it back the entire way in 20 minutes.

An enjoyable pace with some awareness of my achilles in the early stages, but nothing too bad actually. Back home in 20:05, pretty happy with that pacing and then after walking to cool down for 5 min I did some basic stretching for 5-10 minutes.


I spent the day walking and browsing for a few hours and surprisingly my achilles was really happy today. :-)

Mon, Christmas Eve

Yep, finally I did it, I found some time and energy and I ran the 5.3km gentle loop at the You Yangs with Jo nice and gentle, I was aware of my achilles, but nothing to be concerned about.

We ran the course in just over 29 min and I am hoping to get the elevation graph off Jo for historical for the other coaches, we use this course for many of the juniors within our squads and for some of the older athletes we use it as a nice warm track, today it was my 'return' track and just a few easy k's for Jo (who delivered a Christmas pressie wooohoooo)




I had a physio appt with Bel at 1:30pm, she said she could definetely feel an improvement in the heel area but where the calf and achilles joined was very tight and highly recommended a full leg massage (which I am overdue for).


Evening run & stretch, a few of Burkie's group were doing a light session tonight, so I joined Luke who is preparing himself for the Vic U23 Champs over the steeples, so twice a week he is doing 30 minutes of hurdle drills and stair work. I joined Luke for his 2.5k w/up and then I did a few minutes of drills and then 20 min of stretching whilst watching the hurdle drills. And before the comments start re a doubling up day after no running for nearly three weeks,....I wouldn't call just over 8k very excessive and all of the running was very casual.

I will run tomorrow (I hope)...

Thanks everyone for your concern via email, posts here and in person or on the phone! No dates, but the op will occur in the first or second week of January 2008 and it has to happen.

My achilles is on the improve, well it has to be, I haven't run for over 2 weeks and have had a couple of physio sessions. Bel (physio) believes there is improvement and we will see what occurs in the next week (appt on Monday). I was given the go ahead to run on a flat soft surface on Thursday, but I was too busy to find the 30 minutes to spare. Today (Fri) I looked after the boys instead of them going to holiday care and I've cracked a beer waiting for my weekend guests from Warnambool. So hopefully David & I will find the time to go for a run.

Isn't the rain here in Melbourne great, yes I know its a bugger for running, but....we all know we need it!


For many who are regular readers may know that this was my first year of coaching (excluding U6 & 7 children) which has been a learning and rewarding experience which I tend to note on another blog (which is private), but I wanted to post here a public thank you to those who have asked for my help and allowed me to help them with their personal goals! And of course a BIG thanks for all of the pressies! :)

No running but..., appointments nearly confirmed

No running still, heel is improving, loads of anti-inflams, double dose 4 times a day. Last night I was invited to help at the Zatopek meet with the Vic Little Aths (VLAA), as an On Track Coordinator and as a friend of the PR Officer and also the Competition Manager. The concept was to get 50-60 VLAA kids in to do some activities with a Leader and an Elite athlete, then some relays and fill in the 'nothing' part of the meet. This meant the mum & dads would pay to enter and maybe stay to watch some of the elite races, a great idea. Of course whilst the kids have fun, I also had the pleasure of completing the activities with Sarah Jamieson. Of course I had a good chat with Sarah about whats happening lately, she just had a cortisone injection in her hamstring and lower back to get the hammie going again, she was a bit proppy and taking it very easy.

On Wednesday I had some hospital appointments, sadly one of the side affect of the medication is that I can feel very off colour the day after (strangely not the day of the injection), but it comes and goes, generally. Most of Thu arvo I wasn't feeling the best, but I promised I would help and the two girls are friends and I wanted to stick to my promise. Whilst I managed to complete the session and help out with the kids sadly I missed the proper events as I wasn't feeling well and needed to sleep. For those who know me well will know me in bed at 9pm means, NOT FEELING VERY GOOD.

Anyway, for those who care and are wondering re tests tests tests, I have been TOLD I need to have another lump of tissue removed as the specialist doesn't like its location and wants it out within the next 3 weeks. Date and location to be confirmed next week. For those who don't know where the offending tissue is, lets just say the doc joked and told me, maybe you might like to go Brazilian.

Just stuff...which involves very little running :-(

Played a game of football yesterday, warmed up and the entire time I was very aware of my achilles, so I told the Captain I would play in goals or miss the game (as I had a meeting & could only play the first half). So goalie it was, half time 1-1, but eventually we lost.

I didn't train at the track, coached only. Pierre 4x1000m, Michelle 2x600/2x400/2x200 with Lexie, so a quick session for her and then Clare 300/200/150 x 2.
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Day off today to sort out some issues which are sorted and will be fixed in January, hair cut and off to see my physio, achilles, of course.

I'm sure I could run if I really want to, but I know it will mean limping and having my heel feel like a knife is stuck in there for a few hours, so more rest and I suspect an anti-inflam course will commence tonight.
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Evening notes: A visit to Belinda (club mate, sometimes training partner & physio) confirmed a highly inflamed achilles tendon, esp in the attachment, thickened and tender. To be honest I didn't realise how sore I was in the higher part of the achilles until Bel worked (massaged) the entire region. Thankfully my training plans for the next three weeks works with Bel's suggestions. No spikes, limited speed work, limited racing and some more visits to see Bel, back onto an aggressive anti-inflam program. Plan for next few days, limited running over the next few days, Sat racing - no spikes, no 400m or shorter. My plan for the next few weeks is no speed work and increase the easy running to put some k's into the legs, but be VERY aware of my achilles. IF it doesn't respond the way I want then Bel will possibly refer me to someone who specialises so I can get it under control before it becomes chronic.

11km at the You Yangs on a Sunday morning

First run in a few days, no limping but still aware of a spot or two in my heel etc. With Christmas parties and a few athletes and coaches in Sydney for the All School Champs the numbers were down a little.

Not a bad morning for a run, but some more sun would have been better than the morning clouds and haze. Myself, Adrian & Ross started off with three teenager girls for a few hundred metres before the girls moved onto the Branding Yard Trail (5.60km) and the guys stayed on the Branding Yard Rd (5.35km). Ross dropped off just after 4.5km, my & Adrian made it back to the cars, re hydrated and then as Adrian could feel the early days of a cold and my achilles is still playing up we decided the small rolling hills would be better than the big hills in the back of the park.

Finished the Trail after a nice chat for 11km with Adrian about everything from nothing to something :) A nice Sunday morning stroll, as it was a tad short for the last 4k we picked up the pace and sat on 13.5-14kph. The rest of my day was quiet, the paper, some washing and watching some movies and some grocery shopping.

No running, just coaching.

Not feeling the best today and I still had a slight limp and lots of discomfort in my right achilles, so a few days off may help.

Tonight, none of my athletes were at training but I was busy; mine all had valid reasons but with Burkie in Sydney at the National All School Champs I took his group. The older distance runners doing 800s, younger distance group 600s and some faster middle distance teenage girls doing 200s. The heat, the hot wind and the coaching took my mind off my own training... :-)

A run in Port Melb along the beach

An easy 30 minutes this morning along past Beaconsville, the Tassie ferry etc. Sadly my right achilles was causing some discomfort and Clare mentioned that I appeared to have a slight limp, finally after 10 min it seemed to improve and I was able to run freely.

Cruisy pace and probably the biggest benefit was the recovery and being able to stretch out the sore bits...


Coaching of Little Aths meant I jogged two laps and then a lap of drills etc, but I was VERY aware of how sore my achilles was and after this light 'stuff' I was again limping. Time to do something about this, off to see Belinda (physio).. :(

Lunchtime soccer game & evening track racing

A game of outdoor at lunch time, I played midfield for the first half and goalie for the second half to protect my energy levels a little. My second game as Captain (I'm actually VC, but standing in) seen us finish with a draw, 1-1. So my record is now 1 win, 1 draw & 0 loses.

Tonight was our first evening meet for the season, my first race of interest was the 800m at 7:40 ish. I started in lane 7 tonight sharing with a club mate (Adrian), once we crossed over I was in 8th out of 10 and sat there until the front straight where I past a younger teenager, 74 sec for the first lap which was about what I wanted to hear. I past 3 on the back straight and then was past by John (KSB) in the front straight and finished in mid 2:27, which is still fairly average for me, but it was a season best and I crossed 5th. OMG, my right achilles was VERY sore afterwards, it DOES not like my spikes , which resulted in a limp for 5 min!

I changed my concentration to some coaching, my cool down and then organising the relays (4x400) for the two men's teams. Next for me was the 1500, I was only half wanting to do this, my knees and ankles were sore (as well my achilles) but I wanted to ensure that we had 6 men to run, so I thought I'll cruise 5:20ish and one of the 19 year old boys wanted to cruise too. I was in the 3rd heat with a big field, I took off at a very comfy pace with Darren next to me telling me this was the slowest he had every raced (didn't care), the first 400 time was called, 87, shit that was slow, I've run faster in a 3k. Oh well wasn't fussed, Darren slightly increased the pace and I just sat next to him, 85 (I was 12 sec behind last week), at the 1k Darren moved slightly ahead and I thought I may as well follow him and I started passing ppl, which was cool and surprisingly finished in 5:11, which was my second fastest for the season and only 5 sec behind last week.

Finished off with a cool down, coaching and watching relays.

A spare 30 minutes

Home after Relay training, people who cannot (and shouldn't) organise just should not be coordinators, I just got sooooooooooooo frustrated at Relay training I just had to leave as soon as my boys had finished.

With a Little Aths Committee meeting at a local restaurant (celebrating the end of the year) in 60 minutes I thought I needed to 'cool' down so I took off for a 25 min run from home, just over 5km and then 5 min of stretching. (Dinner was great and i totally ignored the person who I mentioned above)

Another YY trip

Just over 10k this morning, warm one and tired from yesterday and with a night meet on Tue evening I decided that 10k ish would be suffice. Not much more to say really! :-)

AV Shield comp @ Newport

Wow another month has gone and what a SHIT month it was, not even 200kms and with no actual injuries! Oh well, I know why and things may improve and of course if I look down I can see that a gut is starting to show, SOOOOOOOO I better do something.. :-)

A normal Sat morning with Little Aths which I finished at 11:30 and had Subway with C & D. Went home to get my gear together, I actually would have liked to have a sleep but I knew I needed/wanted to run today. Yesterday's work Christmas function had taken its toll, not alcohol related but just tired, I only had 6-8 beers last night, but arriving home after being awake all night, I knew this would probably cause some probs... :-)


I raced the 800m and 3000m today, the 800m started ok, but then I realised I am still NO WHERE near where I would like to be, 71 & 78 = an ordinary high 2:28 or low 2:29. SHIT. According to a few watchers, it looks like I worked to hard at the 250m mark to try and get closer to the front pack (I was in no man's land), I ended up fairly average.

I ran the 3000m race with the expectations I could maintain 95 sec laps, but it didn't happen and I ran a slow 12:08. Not much to write up.

Probably the best part of the day was my warm ups & cool downs and being able tochat to friends! And second best was watching athletes who I coach, and most of them got it pretty right today!!!

Thu 29 Nov 07, fartlek & track session

I started my day at the Tan about 6:20am, I jogged for nearly 2 minutes on the grass whilst waiting for Clare to arrive. Once with Clare I took her for a fartlek style session which was along the river doing timed efforts with breaks, 6x40 sec, 2x30 & 2x20 and then a normal c/down etc. A good session.


Tonight I am off to the Premier League meet at OP and taking 3 athletes to compete in the Shield Steeple which has been included, so I organised with a couple to meet me at 4:40 to start our w/up. 2km w/up and then 6x60m strides with Cam & Justin then into the session of 6x300m, for me in 53 sec with a 2 min recovery and they were doing 48-50sec. My splits were 53, 53, 53, 53, 55 & 56, yep the 53 was a tad too far into the 'bad style' of training. ;-) Finished off with a cool down which involved walking 300 and then 4 laps on the outside of the track.


Premier League was good fun, just worrying about others races and the two boys did really well and Michelle looked very tired, so a re-think about her racing (Little Aths & AV), placing more restrictions on her (for her own good). For me Pierre was the surprised packet, steepling very well and only finishing 12 sec behind Troy, he is more of a 4/8 runner. Scott (17th b.day on Wed) ran really well and in his first attempt at the high steeple running 6:55 for 2k.



The 2 U18 boys checking out the girls low steeple..

Wed 28 Nov 07, three years out of the Army

And sadly I couldn't celebrate it with a run, some blood & wee tests this morning after fasting and then back again for another wee test after drinking some 'stuff' at 1pm and then finally some food. No comments please re; are you alright etc, they are a part of a program I am involved in, nothing more, I only mention so I can remember for my training regime as generally I feel tired after the injections but I'm off that program for a few months.

So no run today, excluding a few laps with the little kids at Little Aths general training.

Tue 27 Nov 07, football @ lunch & a few reps @ the track

At work very early (6:40ish) so I could get lots done today and fit in my game of soccer at lunch, which we won 2-1 with no reserves and it was very warm too. As per normal with soccer, all of the goals were in the first half and the second half was about us keeping our lead and them just going for anything. Five games for us, we have scored 3 goals and had only 3 goals scored against us with 2 wins. So a good work out and LOTS of sweat!!!


I arived at the track just after 5pm, the flies (anyone in parts of Melb would understand - [plague proportions), so bloody annoying, thousands and it was wamr & bloody windy, so a shit night at the VU track!

With many of the boys racing on Thu night at OP in steeplechase races we had them complete only 2x600m reps in the horrible wind and then they did some steeple work on the grass. A couple of us (3 - Cam, Zac & me) continued on, I only did 5 reps and Cma & Zac went on for 6 reps. The wind meant we slowed the reps down to 94-5 per 400, the first rep was WAY faster than that, bloody hell following juniors sometimes can be a chore! ;-)

Anyway, my reps were too fast on the first rep and then the next 3 were perfect 95 sec per 400 and then my final was a couple of seconds faster. Then for the first time I jumped the high steeple, every other time I had attempted the higher steeple I had baulked, so I was happy, the mind is a very powerful thing! Due to the bigger numbers within my Club, and hopefully two teams in the finals I will struggle to find a place, so the steeple could be my only way of being involved, so ... maybe in the new year, I'll wait and see.

A few laps of the track to cool down. A long day, work, health & friends, it doesn't always go to plan, a concerned day which I can't so anything about. :-(

Mon 26 Nov 07, Albert Park

In the city area at 6:30 for my morning run, today I decided from the Barracks I would run to Albert Park, complete a lap and then do a few back streets to add in another km or so, depending on how I felt.

The first km or so were fairly casual, running out the stiffness from yesterday and then getting into some half decent pace (4:40ish), running along the lake I discovered that I went the wrong way today, (I was going clockwise), toilet required... by the time I got up the top end (St Kilda end) I had to slow back down to 5 min + pace and then when feeling ok, I increased back until I needed to slow down again.

Finally back at the Bob Jane Stadium end and a visit to the toilets I was able to get back int a faster pace. Once back up on Kings Way I decided I would run a few of the back streets so I could extend my run up to a min of 35 min. Did that, back at the Barracks in 33:30 so I added a lap of the Barracks wall, which is just under 1km. All up just over 8.5km.

Sun 25 Nov 07, 90 minutes at the You Yangs

I arrived at the You Yangs in our normal meeting place, only males today were me & Cookie and then a bunch of junior girls. Just before we were taking off, Buster Mottram arrived by himself. A quick hello and he helped Burkie get his bike over the fence then finally one of the girls asked me who is the really tall skinny guy, I told the three girls and they became VERY excited, we told them to go and say hello, within seconds they were over there and Buster ended helping one of the girls fix her HRM monitor. :-)

Today I wanted to run between 75-90 minutes, Cookie & I ran the Branding Yard Rd loop (5.35k), hydrated and I dropped my singlet, then we made our way along GCD and took the first turn off which is a 9 min deviation from GCD, about 3 minutes off the beaten track. Once back on GCD we had to go up a hill and then we turned off and went towards the Stockyard area. Cookie suggested we make our way up the Quarry Rd which involves a long grinding hill, which I thought it was about time I seen where that path goes that I see Troopy run up regularly. Whilst we were jogging, Cookie pointed out a big hill with two boulders on it (Buster told us later 'No Tree Hill') and he was telling me that he would like to camp there so he could check out the city lights at night. Yep...once up the Quarry Rd hill Cookie pointed to our right, No Tree Hill is right next to us, so off we went, up the grass (no track) to the top, I had to walk up the last 50-70m, it was very tough to walk it. Once at the top the views made the whole trip very much worth it, 62 minutes so far. After checking out the view, we could see the shooting range, the Holden testing ground (I didn't know it existed here) and of course the Geelong beach and the city. We then returned back to the Stockyards area, then following the No. 1 MTB track up the hill back to GCD. Whilst back on GCD making our way back to our starting spot we were passed by Buster who was cruising along for his 1h 45m run. We arrived back at Toynes Rd on 90:50 (I stopped my watch when sight seeing) off running and a little bit of walking up the BIG hill. A really satisfying run, the hills tested me and I'm sure I will feel them tmrw, but a worthwhile trip.

Buster too had finished up, so myself & Cookie chatted with Craig about his plans before the OG, I also wondered about his racing here which he said a couple of Telstra A Series before taking off for the World Cross. We chatted about the CG and his experience and yes we asked about 'that fall'. Cookie even had his digi camera in his car, Cookie asked if it was ok, so a pic of me & Craig will be coming!

A nice guy who was happy to talk about running with two guys for nearly 15 minutes, distance runners just seem to like talking about running! :-) Oh...and btw Em...no I didn't pass on your mobile number, sorry!



Geees I'm looking a little tired & concerned, maybe worried about me not looking great for my photo.... :-)

Sat 24 Nov 07, Shield Comp Round 5 @ Aberfeldie

A beautiful day for track racing, very sunny, mid 20's, little to no wind. The races that were possibilities for me were the 1500m, 5000, relay & 400m, not all, but some combination, the 1500m was a definite.

Allocated to the 3rd heat of the 1500m, 4:45-5:15 race. I knew I hadn't been racing very well but I hoped I could get sub 5:10 today so I had to do the right thing and put myself in the correct race. Starting wide on the line and moved over once clear, felt settled and in a decent rhythm by the time I was in the front straight. First lap in 80 sec, second lap also 80, then 82, 4:02-3 when passing the line, by this stage I was just hanging on and hoping I could finish, 150m to go was becoming ordinary but this was a lot better than my 2 other races crossing in exactly 5:06.00 (11th/12). Hopefully this means 5 min is nearby.

Western Aths have 2 men's teams which means for a full team we need 6 for short races (1500 and less) and four for longer races (3000, 5000 & steeple), today I found 3 volunteers quickly and it I was prepared to fill the 4th spot, but thankfully one of U20 boys said he wanted to put a few k's in the legs of controlled running, so I happily decided I would do some time calling for the 5 & 3k races and then run the 400m.

Lots of the fast guys missing today and many others going home early meant only 3 of us avail & willing to run the final race of the day, 400m and we were the guys hoping to fill the Div 2 team, oh well some some Div 2 guys (heats 6, 7 & 8). I was in heat 7, lane 4 and hoping to run 65ish. Using blocks for the second time (now compulsory for all laned races) and providing some humour for those on the sidelines I managed to get out of the blocks and start off ok. Half way down the back straight I realised I was coming last, wtf, but I was confident the Coburg guy in lane 3 was going way to fast (which proved correct). On the bend I started to catch a few and passed a couple in the straight because they were blowing up, not me getting faster, 5th in 63.6, the winner in 60.0X, finally a half decent race.

With a few w/ups, a few strides, 2 races and some cool downs ended up with a few kms run and leaving the track the happiest for this season, BUT still a long way to go.

Thu 22 Nov 07, morning fartlek

Today was suppose to be a double up, starting with a gentle fartlek session in and around the Botanical Gardens, warm up & cool down all included just over 40 minutes. Warmer than expected, a nice session and once back in the barracks I stretched for 10 minutes.

The evening was suppose to be a speed session at the track with the boys, but a personal issue kept me away until after 6pm, when I just got to check up how Michlle, Scoot & Pierre went for the night.

Wed 21 Nov 07, a day of rest!

Today was a planned rest day and what a well planned rest day! I normally run on Wed mornings and it was pouring rain and cool. But to be honest it rained all day, so I was very happy that it was in my plan to rest!

No Little Aths General Training tonight either due to the rain, so I was even home before 6pm...WOW.


Tmrw, a light fartlek for the morning and a fast track session in the evening (hopefully I'll miss the showers tmrw).

Tue 20 Nov 07, lunchtime soccer and hill repeats at the YY

A game of outdoor soccer today, we lost 3-1. Lots of running in very hot conditions, a good sweat and hit out for me.


I have been chatting with Burkie and suggesting that we take our groups away from the track every so often to break the routine and to include some controlled hill repeats. With juniors that means a lack of cars but we coordinated it so everyone met at the track and then with a few cars taxi ed all to Toynes Rd. Sixteen made the trip, as per normal I trained with the guys and Ash joined in for some of the reps. The group had Adam C, Luke, Cam, Blair, Scott, Pierre and me, a 10 minute w/up and then 8x40 sec reps up the hill with a jogging recovery, then 5x40 sec downhill (not as steep).

A good session, we probably could have done more, but both Burkie & I decided some caution would be smart, just in case it turned out to be too much. We then finished off with a 10 min cool down.

A successful night which both myself and Burkie have decided should happen more often. I will be wanting at least my squad of males to do 10x60 sec with 5x45 sec downhill. Clare, Roz & Michelle would do 6-8 reps.

Mon 19 Nov 07, S2F training group

Western Metro Regional Little Aths Relay Champs were yesterday, my role was as the U9 boys coach and on the day I was asked to look after the mixed U9 teams too, 10 teams all up and heats and finals, so lots of races. Overall I predicted 3 teams would make it through to States, happily 2 have made it, U9 boys medley (100, 100, 200 & 400) and a mixed 4x200, the other team finished 3rd and could progress on time, but I think not. A fun day and some nervous times for various reasons, but I think the 8 boys had a good time. For readers who are not aware of Little Aths, U9s is the first year of Championship racing, so it was all new! I gave the boys the night off, so I decided to take advantage and catch up with some old friends.


A quick email to Sal (for anyone who has run with S2F will know Sal), she would be there so I decided it would be a nice way to get a few kms in and catch up and say hi to a few faces. I jumped in with the 8k group, according to Garmins around me, 7.9km in 37:10. With a 1.5km jog and a 1k jog back to my car, it was a nice way to get 10k in for the day. Running in view of the Nylex Clock, showed 32 degrees tonight at 6:30pm.

Sat 17 Nov 07, Little Aths & Seniors in the arvo

Warm, nice, warm to hot, raining & cooling down, humid, very humid and hot...yep... just another day in Melbourne!!! That's how the day of morning & afternoon athletics went for me!

Little Aths was good, the On Trackers had a good day and the kids I coach/mentor ran well and lots of other kids I chat to, had good ones too. Most of the morning the temp was 23-25 degrees, nice with minimal wind. 11ish some clouds came across and we had a few drops of rain, but nothing major.

I dropped C & D back with there mum, went home changed and picked up Scott who I coach, off to Coburg. My car said 22 degrees, and it rained off and on for the majority of the trip with the temp dropping to 18 on arrival, I wondered if I had enough clothes. Within 20 minutes no rain..cool no wind and nice temp, but we all know Melbourne can change, within 20 minutes humidity kicked in and then by 3pm it was 32 degrees!!! And the sun was hot and steamy!

I warmed up for 15 minutes, I ran an ordinary 800m (2:29), cool down of 12 minutes and then watched and coached. Not really running at the moment for reasons known to me, maybe the season can improve, but it will take a lot of work for it to get anywhere decent, I suspect I am way behind some of my training partners (girls) from a few years ago. But overall I'm happy where I am at to some degree, it could be worse and I'm enjoying the coaching so... I'm happy as I told my uncle on Saturday.

Thu 15 Nov 07, a morning run in Fawkner Park

I arrived at Fawkner Park just before 6:30am, the plan was to take Clare for a fartlek session and then run a set in the evening if I felt ok. As Clare was running a tad late I jogged on the grass for 15 minutes. Once with Clare we did a w/up, some dynamic stretching and then some strides and a light session.


A busy day at work after my Canberra trip and not feeling like a session in the evening, I just concentrated on some coaching and no 2nd session for me.

Mon 12 Nov 07, 2 laps of the Tan

On the Tan this morning, two casual laps, nothing special, nothing bad, just ticking the run off the calendar and putting a few casual k's in the legs. First lap 18:32 and second lap 18:29 nice pacing, I only looked at my watch 3 times, when I first started to ensure it was going, after one lap and then when I finished. Slightly impressed.

Back to the Barracks, did 2 x 1 min planks (30 sec rest in between) and then 1 min each side of oblique plank and then another 1 min plank.


Leave for Canberra on the 7pm flight, staying at the Rydges, so I'll get a run in tmrw morning and Wed morning, no trips and hope to catch up with one of my best friends who I love dearly!!!

Sun 11 Nov 07, You Yangs & Little Aths Relay meet

An important day for all Australians who care about our democracy & freedom, Remembrance Day which was noted at the Relay meet.


This morning my plan was to be at the You Yangs at 7:30am as I had a busy morning planned. A quick check of Weatherzone before I left, expected 26 degrees with a foggy start and it was 15 degrees already. A quick check outside, very sunny, not sure where the fog is, well I found out soon enough! Driving to the YY I noticed that my outside temp guage was dropping and then when in sight of the YY I noticed some fog, so I stopped and used my phone to take a photo. When we started it was 10 degrees, but a lot warmer when we finished.



On arrival at Toynes Rd, Cookie was already there and so was the fog!!! Myself, Cookie & Shane (from Coburg AC) ran for 10 minutes in the fog before we were in brillant sunshine with NO wind, beautiful. All up 15.1km of rolling hills in 78 minutes for me with a few walking breaks up the big hills, as my legs didn't want to play the game today. We started at 32m elevation and I noted a couple of times in the 200m area, but the majority of the time we cruised between low 100 - 175m. A good run, the other guys had to wait for me at the top of some of the sharp hills.


From 10am - 1pm I was at VU as the U9 boys relay coach, we had a practise meet before Regional Champs, a good idea.

Probably no posts for a few days as I am away in Canberra until Wed evening.

Thu 08 Nov 07, morning hills

This morning I did some hills in & around the Botanical Gardens/Tan. Starting on the Tan and running along the Tan until the Swan St bridge and then along the Yarra until nearing Morrell bridge, turning after a few stretches and then doing some rolling strides back to the Pillars.

Up and down some stairs, then along the grass on a diagonal direction, then straight ahead and then straight ahead but shorter and then diagonal (to the left) but shorter and flatter. Lots of shorter reps, good pace, which got the legs working! A 1k jog back and then 8-10 min of stretching on the grass.


At lunch I went to the gym for 25 minutes, upper back, chest and arms with some core work (not much).


Coaching in the evening & morning (on the run).

Wed 07 Nov 07, a morning run

On the Tan just before 6am, running along the Tan, the Yarra and then up Anderson St until getting to Domain Rd and then running along a grass trail, back onto the Tan and then I jogged around the parks near Govt Dve waiting for my 6:30 running partner.

Once together we ran the reverse of what I had done earlier, but once on the river we ran upto Fed Square and then over Princes Bridge into the parks and then back onto the Tan. All up, 11.8km for the morning.


Today I attended the funeral of my friend Liz in Bentleigh, a nice service at the Anglican Church. A few of us came back to the city and visited PJ's in Southbank, a favorite for Liz as they have cider on tap, so a pint each and then a few VLS for me.

People are like stain-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Tue 06 Nov 07, track training, am & pm

I started the day accompanying Clare when she did her session in the morning, 1.2k w/up including drills etc, then some strides and then I did 2.4km or reps with Clare and then a short cool down. A nice start to the day which allows me to get a few extra kms in without too much stress, then some stretching afterwards. Achilles is doing ok, but then that might be because of the BIG anti-inflams. :-)



All dressed up after a long day, the jacket was off and I don't wear a tie often, so I thought a self camera shot was worthy..


PM session....

I got to the track just before 4pm with Michelle who I coach. I ran a couple of laps with Michelle and then watched her do some steeples for 10 minutes before getting her to stop, so she had some energy for her 15x200m.

As bloody normal, the wind was shocking this arvo! And everyone in the group were WAY faster than me, so I knew that 8x800 was going to be a solo effort, well...following others. Adrian, Luke & Adam and me!!!

After two 800s I changed my set to 400s, sitting in front of the group trying to protect them from the wind a bit and then peeling off around the 300m mark and running through for 400m.

Splits:
3:06 (74 sec recovery)
3:06 (75 sec)
81
82
82
83
84 (done!)

I was buggered and the wind was hard work, thankfully I wasn't the only one struggling, even Luke (who can run low 15's for 5k)! I finished off with a 3 lap c/down with Adrian and then I strolled around for a couple of laps with some of Burkie's younger girls.

Mon 05 Nov 07, a couple of laps of the Tan

Hit the Tan nice and early, two laps 18:02 & 17:14, a beautiful morning here in Melbourne, very sunny and no wind! How different a few hours later when it was cloudy and cool.

And by the time I arrived at the VU Complex for Little Aths Relay training, it was cool and VERY windy and very tough for the U9 boys who are allocated a small area and had to contend with a head wind! Well at least it kept them a little quiet.

Sun 04 Nov 07, an arvo LR

No early run this morning as the boys stayed over and thankfully...it was pissing down at 8:30am here in the west and it would have been raining the entire run!


The boys left here 3:30ish after watching Transformers on DVD (excellent movie) and I had arranged a running partner for the arvo but that fell through as they had a smashing headache and were in bed sleeping trying to make it all go away... hmmm an arvo run, its cold and very overcast... minds games a playing, but thankfully whilst I was dialing my friend I was also taking my jeans off and starting to get ready. After getting off the phone I started to let the mind wander and was thinking maybe not, BUT thankfully I got the skins on and a T etc. But then once outside I discovered it was raining!!! Now I don't mind running in the rain, but I hate starting in the rain, shit...the mind games are starting again...so I stood in the rain and tied my shoes, right I'm wet, I may as well run!!!

The first 20 minutes was in constant rain and into a head or cross wind, yuk, another pet hate! I made my way to the Fed Trail and ran along there until hitting 40 minutes and then turned around and came back in 39:30, generally sitting near the 5 min pace, just over 16km.


An interesting web site, I have always felt that some ppl only see the bad parts of the internet: Snopes.com

Sat 3 Nov 07, shit racing

A relaxing morning with C, D & K, as there was no Little Aths today I took the older 2 for haircuts, then we had coffee/hot choc and wondered around Rebel and a few other stores. Today was the 3 boys first visit to senior aths for this T&F season.
With support from friends I was able to warm up, cool down and race. C & D just ran around and played with a couple of boys similar age and come back when they want something. K being the youngest, 20 months, got fussed over a fair bit and played with a lot of the younger girls and a few of the months.

Today I wanted to run the 800 & 400 and was hoping for some improvement, but I knew that at the end of my 3 week block, my lack of fitness and other stuff that any changes would be small, well how WRONG was I.

800m, in the 6th heat, 2:20-30 group. Now I know how to run a 73/4 lap, then why did I run very low 69 for my first lap!!! FUCK! And I knew I was in trouble but I tried to just continue on and see what happens, well 2:33 happened! SHIT! Made sure I didn't dwell on it, I think I am starting to get some fitness, I know I mucked up the first lap and I am not fit enough to run 2 laps at that pace and I know with meds & some lack of work over the past few months I am a few kg heavier. So off for a cool down after checking on the 3 boys.

A couple of hours hanging around watching some of my squad race and muck around with the boys I ran a 400m, well lets just say that the race was SO BAD, that it was slower than my first lap of the 800... again FUCK

Thu 01 Nov 07, a fast track session

My day started in the gym for a 30 min session, nothing special, some back, shoulders, core & some stretching.

Plan; a short & fast session for me and the boys tonight as well Ash was to join in for the 500, 300 & 100. The rest of us were running 500/400/300/200/100, with 2m 30s recovery.

We started off with a 2km warm up around the Complex, then some basic stretches and 6x50m strides fairly quick with slow jog backs. Eight of us in the group, some a little bit faster, but this was going to be fast and tougher than our normal Thu session. The wind was up when we first started and it started to subside throughout the session, the plan was to hit 85-88 for the 500, I was aiming 90, but the wind made it tough.

My splits: 94, 73, 55, 33, 15.6

A fast set which was good to do something a little different, we walked it off and then I jogged 2km to try and run the legs out. Sat down on the infield to stretch glutes, groin & hamstring whilst watching Clare's set.

October 2007, Running Statistics

October km's: 247 (last year 290)

Year to Date: 2673 (last year 2610)

Niggles/injury: R.achilles annoying but manageable.

Excuses: Not fit, need to lose a few kgs, but it is starting to improve (I think).

Oct Races: One 800m & two 1500m races, both very average.

Oct Races: A handful of track races, nothing else.

Upcoming Goals: Find where my fitness went???

General thoughts: Enjoying my coaching and hopefully a few of the athletes will experience a good summer with a solid winter base which has gone very well. My running will hopefully start to improve, have just finished a 3 week block, an easier week for the first week of Nov and then another 3 week block.

Wed 31 Oct 07, the end of a month

I'll do my end of the month wrap up in a day or so, not really in the mood.

I started my day with 8.5km, about 4k on the grass around Fawkner Park and the rest on a few local roads, St Kilda Rd, Walsh St & Anderson. The majority of the run was at an average of 13.5kph. A good sweat, not as easy as I would have liked, but getting there. Whilst running up Anderson St I briefly chatted with Eat Em (first time I have seen him in MANY months). Finished up with two 1 min planks and one 45 sec oblique planks each side and then some leg stretching.


After my shower just as I arrived at my desk I was informed that Liz had passed away peacefully in the early hours, the cancer had moved into her brain. Just one week ago she was a young lady who was happy because the breast cancer was nearly gone and now her loved ones and friends will be without her great smile. RIP Liz.



Cancer Council of Australia

Tue 30 Oct 07, lots of stuff

This morning I had a later start at work than normal, as Clare needed to do her session in the morning I took the advantage of some easier k's and did the session with her, 600/600/500/500/400 as well a w/up & c/down, with drills, strides and stretching.


This morning when I arrived at work I was given some very sad news, one of the ladies in the Finance Section has been fighting breast cancer and cancer in other parts of her body. For the past few months it has been going well for Liz and as a small work group we helped her celebrate last Monday the finalisation of her recovery from her final cheomo. She was to start a 5 week stint of radiotherapy, but she was happy and believed that things were starting to look better. Sadly she was admitted to hospital last Thu and today we were told the cancer has moved into her brain and she is not expected to make the week. Very sad!


At lunch today I played in the first round of the outdoor soccer comp. The games are 20 min halves, 7 a side on a pitch that is approx 70-75% of a normal pitch. A tough game today, we lost 3 - 0, with 6 players, tough work and of course I ran & ran & ran! In the final 5 min of the 2nd half I was buggered and was worried I may have worked to hard for tonight's session.


Tonight myself & Burkie have been worried that some of the group I run with, may be working too hard to stick with the group, with more than 9 of us I was able to split us into 2 groups for tonight's session, this was important even for 2 of the fast ones as they look tired. SO 6x800, one group just under 3 min and the other 3:06 with 1 min recovery. Of course I was in the second group, which was important today.

Splits:
3:08
3:04
3:06
3:09
3:06
3:07

We walked 300m, changed shoes and then four laps in the outside lanes and then whilst chatting and watching others I stretched and then stayed for a Club Coaches meeting.

Mon 29 Oct 07, Albert Park & an evening stroll

This morning I ran from Victoria Barracks (work) down St Kilda Rd and then over to Albert Park Lake. I realised I hadn't run there for many months and it wasn't windy this morning, so it worked well.

I jogged there probably 5 min ish pace, then when I got to the 0km marker I picked up the pace, running 4:30 pace for 3km, but it wasn't as comfy as I would have liked so I slowed down to 4:40-45 pace and completed the 5k circuit, then doubled back and ran back to work. Probably 8-8.5km. Once back in the Barracks, I did 1 min plank, 45 sec each side of oblique plank and then 1 min plank, easier that last week and then 5 min of stretching.

I jogged a couple of slow laps with all of the relay kids when they were doing their w/ups.

After I jogged 5k with Clare, which was a nice way for me to run out any soreness from the w/e and did another few minutes of lower leg stretching and best of all I didn't have to cook and enjoyed dinner at Clare & Simon's.

Some sad news: A guy I meet throught the Melbourne Midday Milers has been seriously injured... "Last Thursday morning on the way back to the office following a trial building emergency evacuation Chris was struck by a car at the intersection of Spring St and Collins St. At this point the known extent of injuries to Chris include a fractured skull and sternum and a neck fracture, but no spinal cord damage. Chris is in Royal Melbourne Hospital and has undergone several operations and remains in an induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit. There is no official prognosis as yet, but as of 10:00am this morning he is in a stable condition."

Sun 28 Oct 07, the recovery run

8.30am at Toynes Rd, a good pack of Western Aths runners of various ages and abilities. We all took off together along the Branding Yard Rd, after 5 minutes we had splits into two groups, four guys & 2 girls in the front group. For the first 5.5km we sat on an average of 5:30 pace. We stopped at our cars and re hydrated and then took off along Great Circle Dve turning off (7.6km) and running around the quarry and then back to Toynes Rd, 13.3km for the morning in 71:55.

Warm morning, which eventually seen all of the guys spend some time topless and enjoying the warmth and thankfully fairly well protected from the wind within the trees at the YY's. Both myself and Adrian were fairly tired from yesterdays racing.


When I got home I did my 2x1 min planks and 2x45 sec oblique planks and then nearly 10 minutes of stretching.

Sat 27 Oct 07, Shield Rd 2

Little Aths this morning, a warm morning which I think affected my running for the day. It was 29 degrees at 11:45am and by 1.30pm when I arrived at Newport for my aths it was 30 degrees.

For whatever reason the 'meet' was running way behind, very annoying and not very normal, but the 1500m races started 52 minutes after the scheduled 2:05pm start, not very good.

I started my day with chatting with the athletes I coach and get a feel for what they were going to run; Clare maybe a 200m and some field events; Pierre wanted to do HJ & TJ as well as the 200, 1500 & 400; Scott wanted to run the 1500 & 5000 and Michelle some field and the 200 & 400. My plan was the 1500 & 400 but I got convinced to change and run the 5k....(not pretty)

All of the U16, 18 & open age 1500 runners went for a 10 min warm up along the waters edge in Williamstown, and before my race I did 3x50m strides to get the legs going again. I was in the 5:15 heat and knowing the field I suspected I would finish in the top 5, I started the first lap sitting generally 5/6th, 81 seconds, moving into 4th I sat immediately behind George from Willi AC, whilst I thought the 2nd lap was good, it was in 85 (too slow) and the 3rd in 86 and the final over 60, finishing in a slow 5:17, strange as I actually thought I raced better this week, oh well. After I got my spikes off I jogged 2 slow laps.

Somehow whilst helping to organise the relays I got grabbed by the 3 & 5km runners and told I needed to fill the 4th spot in the open men's team...

I don't have the best history of racing in heat or when I'm not totally convinced, but in hindsight I also wasn't hydrated well enough for a 5000m race. I didn't finish and withdrew with 6 complete laps to go, I was very hot, bothered and I noticed that the sweat was now very minimal, so I pulled out. Run laps: 95, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102 and the last 200 in 47.

I eventually ran for 5 minutes with Bel & Mel who completed the 5k.

Thu 25 Oct 07, gym & faster track stuff

Gym early this morning, light weights, morning glorys with oblique lifts, then some upright rowing and mil press, then some shoulder raises and arm curls, all very light with reps of 3x20. then some crunches many & varied. With my return to the core work I am aware of my mid section, not lots of pain, just aware, so a nice return. Note: during my cool down at the track tonight I chatted with Bel (physio), I mentioned that I was returning back to some core work, and we discussed some hints for some exercises that I want to include next week.


I decided this week I would join the boys and do my speed work with the group, the last few weeks the boys have been doing 500/400/300/300/200/200/150/100 starting with 100 sec for the 500 and getting slightly faster with each rep. I gave the boys the choice of that session or 6x400m at approx their 1500 pace, I was surprised they chose the 400 reps. As we were aiming for 75 sec per lap with a 2 min break, I knew this was faster than my 1500 pace and I would struggle, but I wanted to do this (why I'm not sure). The group tonight had five tonight, we started with 4 lap warm up in lane 8, some stretching and then 5x60m strides.

Reps:
74.2
74.3
76.2
77.4
78.4
79.8

Only the first 2 reps was I with the entire group, they got all of their reps under 74, the 3rd & 4th were 71&2 and the 5th & 6th were 70 & 68, too fast YES, but they are young and male! I struggled, lots of latic but I got the boys to go a few seconds after me for the final 2 reps, which gave me some thing to chase in the straight, instead of being miles behind. We finished off with a 2 lap cool down together, then Scott & I did another lap and then I did 2 with Bel. Tough session, lots of stretching afterwards whilst watching Clare's session.

Wed 24 Oct 07, morning run

This morning I hit the Tan at 6:05am and ran towards the Yarra crossing at the Pillars, with a quick stop for a call of nature I then continued along the river upto Punt Rd, over the bridge and ran around Gosch's Paddock, enjoying some time on the grass before turning after 17 minutes and making my way back to my car so I could meet up with Clare.

This morning I took Clare through various parks Queen Victoria Gardens, Alexandra Gardens both near St Kilda Rd and then crossing Princes Bridge and running along the Yarra until reaching the Swan St bridge. We stopped a couple of times for some lower leg stretching and then finishing up at our cars parked near Government Dve on the Tan.

Some stretching and 2 x 1 min Planks and 30 sec each side on Oblique Planks. Just over 1 hour of running, felt ok, but I can tell that the legs are heavy and the core work is starting to take its toll.

Tue 23 Oct 07, gym & a track session

Yep I am actually trying to get back into the swing of it and get strong & fit so I can run fast this season, so I went to the gym, only for 30 minutes. I started off with a little bit of general w/up and stretching, then a light barbell and a 35 dumbell I did a combination of standing exercises using shoulders, chest and back then oblique lifts with the dumbell. I did various exercises with the barbell until 15 min. The I moved over to the mats and did 10 minute of core work, plank, oblique plank, crunches, oblique crunches and then a couple of other exercises then finished off with 5 minutes of leg stretches, glutes, hip flexor, hamstrings.

Tonight I started with a 2k w/up around the VU complex with the group and then some basic stretches. The session for me, Adam K, Blair, Daniel & Pierre was 5 x 1000m in approx 3:50-55 with a 60-75 sec recovery. We started our first rep at the 200m marker, as per normal we shared the leading for the first few reps and for the latter the fitter & stronger leads us through the breeze along the back straight. I struggled a bit and the third rep I pulled out after 600m feeling quite fatigued and the final rep I only did 800m which I think was my 'head' playing mind games.

The groups rep times were: 3:59, 3:52, 3:54, 3:59 & 3:43, the bold reps were the ones I didn't complete, overall I felt heavy in the legs but I think it was more in my head than anything else.

We finished off with 2 laps to cool down.

Mon 22 Oct 07, morning run in the city

21 degrees at 6:30am in Melbourne is rather unusual and low teens by lunchtime..strange day. This morning I was on the Tan just after 6:30am, wearing my HRM I ran gently for 3km at 4:55-5 min pace and with my HR only getting up to 148 when I ran the final 150m along Anderson St, the majority of the time my HR was 140-145bpm.

Excluding the first km I ran from the Pillars upto the 1k marker and back to the Pillars for ease of the session. My next 3km were run in 4 min 30 sec (158bpm) and then 4:02 & 3:58 with my HR sitting in the 165-168 area. I then finished off with 2k in 5:05 & 5:15 to finish off.

The on the grass at work, the Plank for 1 min, Oblique Plank each side for 30 sec, Plank 1 min and then Oblique Plank for 20 sec each side. This wasn't as easy as it used to be. Finished off with 5 min of leg stretching as my legs were feeling quiet heavy today & tired.

Sun 21 Oct 07, You Yangs

Toynes Rd, YY at 8:30am and it was already warming up, 24 degrees and we knew it was going to continue to rise, so a group of 6 we decided we would start with a small 6km loop so we could stop for a quick drink and drop the juniors back at the start point.

Back at the start point in 29:50, stop and had a drink and the ladies got caps on before we started off again. No without the juniors we started chatting about where we would go now, we all agreed that the MTB area was out of the question as 3 of us did not want too many BIG hills today due to racing or one still in recovery from the marathon. Myself & Cookie decided we would go up one hill upto the Turntable area and the ladies decided they would stick with the small rolling hills.

The big hill is 800+m and it killed me today, I think I walked more than I jogged and walking was bloody hard too. All up for the morning 75 minutes and according to my car it was 31 degrees when I finished, but it was very enjoyable, warmth without too much sun (lots of clouds). Today was the first run for the season where the singlet eventually came off.. hmmm I think I better lose 1-5 kgs... ;-)

Sat 20 Oct 07, first round of the AV Shield Comp

A morning of Little Aths which went 'way' longer than it should (IMHO), then leaving Hoppers just after 1pm I made the trek over to the Coburg Aths track, intending on running in the 800m and making myself available for 4x400m relay.

I arrived about 30 min before the schedule start time, so I dropped my keys and went for a 12 min w/up along the Merri Creek once back whilst stretching I chatted with some of the new teenagers in the Club and found some 'buddys' to show them how things work for the field events. With a few of the boys I coach we all made our way to the 800m starting line. My intent was to run a 'solid' 800m, not kill myself but not totally bludge, aim 2:30. I got missed on being allocated in the 2:30 heat and ended up in the 2:35 heat in lane 8 (oh well), I ran the bend like a repeat and tried to remain very controlled, 10 runners, at the cross over I was sitting 10th and this is where I sat for the majority of the race until the final 80m and crossed 8th in 2:29.61, happy with that, wasn't totally blown away, but was hurting. If I had raced 100% I reckon maybe 2:25, so not very fit at the moment. 10 min cool down.

I wasn't required for either of our men's relay teams (3rd emergency), so I was convinced by the Team Manager that I could help out by running the 1500, I agreed for the team points that I would, hmmmm, why .... aim 5:20.

First lap in 83 & second lap in 84, so all was looking good for a nice paced 5:20, with 14 in the race I was sitting 2nd last for the majority of the race and for the 2nd & 3rd lap I was sitting directly behind 2 guys, but with 250 to go, they moved away and I just continued on, 5:12.5, very happy with that but honestly I didn't have too much more in me. Finished off with a 15 min stroll along a dirt trail along the creek with a group of 5 Western Aths distance runners.

Whilst both races were quite ordinary, I walked away happy as I raced to my current fitness and I'm fairly comfortable that within 4 weeks 5 min 1500s will return and sub 2:20 for the 800. A few k's in the book with some solid racing. :-)

You Tube and the election

No run today to gibber about, but whilst reading blogs I discovered a good rapping film clip on Ewen's blog and I wanted to show it here too, its not overly political it has a go at both sides, I thought it was done quite well:

Thu 18 Oct 07, Airlie St repeats in the morning

Just before 7am I jogged from work along the Tan, past Anderson St, turned up Walsh and then left and walked from the corner until arriving at the infamous Airlie St. I did some basic stretching after my 9 min warm up jog.

For those who have not had the pleasure of Airlie St, it is a quiet residential street which is slightly steeper than Anderson St, a nice quiet spot for hill repeats.


View Larger Map

Starting at the first light pole and running at good pace up a strong hill upto the T intersection, the intent was for hard even splits, in sets of 4, run to the top, turn and walk for 30 sec then jog, after 4 reps to walk the entire way back and then return to the 30 sec walk & then jog.

Reps (recovery):
54.7 (1.38)
58.1 (1.31)
59.7 (1.36)
61.1 (2.09)
58.2 (1.44)
1.01 (2.10)
59.2 (2.06)
1.00 Then walked for 2 min and then jogged back onto Domain Rd and back to St Kilda Rd until I arrived at the Barracks in 11 minutes.

Nice morning, sunny, only breezy and about 14 degrees when I started. The hill was tough work today,, really hard for the final 20m, but I'm happy I completed the session, a tad longer recoveries than planned, but, its ok.

Wed 17 Oct 07, a run along the Yarra

I got into the city on the Tan just after 6:40am, I jogged from work to the 3k marker on the Tan and jogged gently to the 2k marker, 5:05 which fitted into my plan, then I turned back and hit the 2k marker in 4:50, from then on each time I had a measurement I was sitting on 4:40 pace.

I ran past the Pillars and then crossed over to the dirt path along the Yarra, running upto Chapel/Church St, crossed the bridge and ran back up to Fed Square and then along St Kilda Rd back to work

Finished off with 10 min of stretching on the grass in the Barracks. Cool morning, T shirt & long Skins.


Little Aths General training tonight, a couple of laps and then I took the boys for some accelerations on the bend. Tonight I took the discus group.... yuk, but with only 3 coaches and more than 60 kids all together I had no choice as I had promised a throw tonight.

Tue 16 Oct 07, track session, 25 x 200m

Surprise, surprise, it was cool today and bloody windy at the VU track, so annoying! I arrived just a few minutes after 5pm and a few of the younger guys had already started and they prefer to do their w/up on the track where I and the other older guys prefer the dirt trail, softer. Myself, Adam & Cookie did 3 laps of the complex and then we joined in with Daniel, Pierre, Troy & Blair (another new teenager boy, excellent). We did 5x60m strides with the wind at our back, excellent, all concentration on form.

With the strong winds in Melbourne today (well at least in the West) we cancelled our 800s and went for a 200m endurance session, 25x400m in 43ish seconds with a jogging recovery, we crossed the infield but had to go the long way to dodge the throwers chucking hammers and discuss more than 50m (bugger those really good throwers) :-) .

The watch I wore tonight has only 27 laps so I don't have any record of all 25 reps and recoveries, here are the final 14 reps:

41.3, 44.1, 42.8, 43.4, 43.3, 43.3, 44.6, 43.7, 42.8, 43.9, 41.5, 41.4, 42.1, 39.8

The first 11 reps were all between 41-43 sec, the recoveries were on average between 63 - 70ish seconds, some were slower due to waiting for other groups to pass. A really good session, with a good size group, we shared the lead and worked well together. Finished off with a 200m walking cool down and then 3 laps in the outside lanes.

Mon 15 Oct 07, a few days of doing f.all running

Today I was going to run in the morning, but K was sick so Julie asked me to take C to school in the city, I was going to run at lunchtime, but... i got 'side tracked' and missed it. So after work I went to the track slightly early for relay training and ran 5 laps before a few U10s, Connor & 1 U11 I coach joined me, so we ran 2 more laps, then a 3rd which involved dynamic actions and some drills. Then I took Teagan & Sarah (U10s) for some accelerations and then we did 10 minutes of standing starts, so a short sharp coaching session, both of the girls enjoyed the individual coaching and thanked me (always nice). Then I took the warm ups for all of the Relay teams, probably 60+ kids, 2 laps and then some dynamic stretching and then some gentle strides finished with 2 40m accelerations. All up I managed 10 laps, so some sort of a run...


Sun: Hmmmm, not feeling the best, skipped the morning run, no pity... self inflicted and seriously not well! Finally started moving 1:30ish, had something to eat, watched Stoner win the Aussie GP, slept again and then finally went for a slow jog about 5pm and slow it had to be, I was not capable of much faster than 6 min per km pace. Finished off the weekend and day at a dinner for Western Aths Winter Teams.


Sat: Connor's 9th birthday, so I went to his place before Little Aths and gave him a pair of Roller Blades, I watched him open a few presents before leaving and arriving at the track to coordinate starting block training for the U12s and a few U13 kids. A long morning at Little Aths, then to Connor's birthday party at a Rolling Skate Rink in Laverton for 3 hours. Intended to go for a run once home, but got side tracked and then ....


Fri: I was going to run in the morning, but I slept in until 7:30, so I took my gear for a lunchtime run, but a meeting got in the way. I then finished work early for an appt, which didn't go very well and just wasn't in the mood...run gone.

Thu 11 Oct 07, Indoor football and a short track session

Today the Indoor soccer team I play in made the Plate Final (the final for the bottom half of the competition). 10 teams in the comp, 4 into the finals and the bottom 6 play off in a lose and your out comp for the Plate and we made it. On Tuesday I noticed that our Captain & VC were away with work, so I thought I would contact the organisers to find out what was happening, luckily I did, we were on in 2 hours, luckily I found 5 players and play we did...winners are grinners, 5-3 our favour and I was lucky enough to have my foot in the right spot twice... :-)


I arrived at the track nice and early, I am trying to get my session in early so I can watch and coach on Thursday nights, but maybe I might need to join in for the company and for the push along. This arvo I did 6x400 with 2 min break, I should have done x8, but ...

A 3k warm up, 4x60m strides and some dynamic stretching then into my session.
Splits:79.1, 80.4, 78.9, 78.8, 79.3 & 78.5 all with 1:50-2 min recovery. Really I should have done the final 2 reps, but...I woossed (sp) out! I finished off with a 3 lap cool down with a few of the boys who were arriving at 5pm.

Wed 10 Oct 07, an early morning run & some 'bad' news

On the Tan early, I started near Government Dve, jogged for 5 min back towards the 2km marker, once there I turned and ran clockwise at a faster pace, a lap of the Tan in 16:30, and then I slowed back to approx 4:40 pace for 8 min.

At 6:45am I meet up with a friend on the Tan and we then ran from there, around the Tan, river, Gosch's Paddock, river and back to the cars on the Tan, about 33 minutes. All up 11ish kms.


In the evening I took Little Aths General Training, with a few laps warm up and then some accelerations I was able to run out a few sore spots, which was good.

The bad news:

Myf is on the move...

Why, it can't be, she can't leave the J's, I can't listen to Triple M, but (there's always a but), she will move back to Melbourne and she is still without a boyfriend.. hmmmm ;-)

Tue 09 Oct 07, 6x800 reps

Started tonight with a lap of the complex by myself, then I picked up Cookie (back from China) and Justin, then on the third I convinced Michelle to join us too, then some gentle stretching and 5x50m strides with a slow shuffle back.

After our strides I chatted with Michelle about her session and convinced her to get her the girls to start their strides. Myself, Cookie, Justin & Troy then made our way up to the s/f line, the plan was 6x800m in 3m 05s with a 60 sec recovery. Troy was going to do 600m reps as this was his first track session after his footy season.

Reps:
3:05
3:03
3:05
3:02
3:02
3:02

All of the recoveries were between 60-65 sec, some were longer waiting for others to finish their rep and not wanting to get in the way. After the reps, I walked 200m and then jogged 3 laps of the track in lane 8.

Solid session and about 9.5km for the night.

Mon 08 Oct 07, running laps to get some k's in...

I was all ready to leave home just after 6am for a run, but cirrcumstances changed and I needed to change my plans. So tonight I picked up Connor from his city school at 3:30pm and we went to the track. Connor had relay training at 5:30om, so we got there early, he played with his soccer ball with some other kids that arrived early and I ran some easy paced laps.

I started off with 3 gentle laps (2 min per lap) and I then did some stretching and then jogged a lap with Connor. I then ran 10 laps in lane 3, 4 & 5 (alternating each lap to break the boredom), most of the laps were run in 1m 45s ish...

I stopped after 10 laps, a quick chat with Burkie and then ran 5 more laps in 110 in lane 5. I then did some drills and strides for 15 minutes.

Finally a session, I was hoping to run 10k this morning, but you can only do what you can do! :-)

Sun 07 Oct 07, a tired run

The boys visited this weekend, so no running, but an enjoyable weekend. Sat was the second rego day for WLAC, so we spent a few hours there doing stuff. We visited a friend to help her put some 'snake eyes' contact lenses in and she had Harry Potter 1,2 & 3, so as I had never seen, that was our Sat 'late' evening TV viewing, much to the boys (6 & 9) delight.

So a late start to Sun (8.30, well late for them), no spectating of the MM. WLAC first round today, both C & D had 60m hurdles, LJ, 70m & 200m and I ran the On Track Program and then helped with a few 70m races and then was one of the officials for the 400s.


I intended on going for a 75-90 min run after Little Aths, but a late finish and just feeling tired, I only managed 40 minutes.

Thu 04 Oct 07, an early track session

Today I started work before 7am, so I left early (3:30ish)and I took the opportunity to do my track session early so I could better watch & coach. I got to the track and it was WINDY (so annoying, because by 5:30 the wind was nearly gone), I started off with 2 laps of the Complex and then finished with a lap of the track.

Some dynamic stretching involving swinging leg ex's, then sideways stepping and criss cross on the track followed by drills; marching, skipping, high knee skipping, bummies & then 4x50m strides, all up 22 min before attempting, 5x400m x 2 @ 82 sec with 45 sec recovery between reps & 2 minbetween sets....

Well the session didn't really go to plan, it was a tad windy for that pace and to be honest during this transition period I'm not ready for that intensity and I'm not fit enough. After my first rep I amended my expectations to 85 sec per lap.

Splits: 82.1, 85.1, 85.2, 85.1 & 85.0 (all recoveries 45 sec), 2 min break; 85.3, 86.5, 87.2, (now swapping to 200m), 41.3, 41.3, 42.9 & 42.8

And to say that the 200m reps were any good would be a lie, I was struggling and probably should have finished up. I did my cool down of 4 laps with some of Burkie's early starters (they were w/up).


I then sat back and watched & directed (I do that better ;-) )

Wed 03 Oct 07, my last S2F training run as a Run Leader

I started with a gentle 6.5km run this morning, along the Tan, Yarra, around the G and then back over to the Tan. Sat in the park afterwards stretching, so tight especially in my hips and hamstrings, I need to start stretching more, not just my calfs & achilles.


A game of indoor football during my lunch break, an easy win, 9-2 (even I scored a couple). Not to hard of a game, but a nice little work out.


Tonight I jogged to Fed Square for my final gig as a Run Leader for S2F. I am finishing up as I have committed myself to running the General Training for Werribee Little Aths on Wednesday nights and also I am over the RL gig, whilst the freebies are good and a little bit of pay for running, I have found myself bored with missing out on consistency with the runners, (different faces each week) and annoyed with those who are there to run fast which makes my job harder. Anyway, nearly 2 years and many good memories, so I'll leave it there!

Tonight's run was just over 10k, averaging below 5 min pace, which wasn't the plan, afterwards I walked back to my car.

Tue 02 Oct 07, a track session

Well I survived my trip to Sydney and I took some photo's on my mob, just views from the room etc. I was lucky enough to stay 5 min from the Coogee Pub just off Arden St and only 1 street away from the beach..WOW, gees I could live there, well if someone wants to pay my rent etc!! One of the guys I was with, his company owns a three bedroom 3 story apartment with some VERY nice views! As per normal when guys go away with no real concerns, we drank too much, but thankfully I survived, no bruises and no other probs!



9am Sun morning from the balcony.



This shows the street and of course the great views!


The visit to Sydney started as my two mates are Storm fans so they organised a few tickets and i was able to go for the fun. RL is not my cup of tea, much prefer Aussie Rules, soccer & Rugby, then probably netball & hockey etc, so you can see RL is way down the order, but a weekend with mates, is WAY more important. I was surprised to see only 80,000 at the ground and I was surprised even though the media said no-one was barracking for Manly, I think they forgot to go the game, more than 80% were wearing maroon. Anyway we watched the AFL & the NRL, all I can say is, thank god for an exciting game between Scotland & Italy, because the other codes were; yawn....



The view from where I sat at the NRL Grand Final



And the team I provided some support for was Melbourne


That's right, a running thread... a track session...

2km warm up and then some light dynamic stretching and then followed byy 5x50m strides on the grass whilst waiting for a large group completing a 2k time trial. Four of us tonight training together, 6x800m in 3:05 with a 60 sec recovery.

Splits:
3:04
3:03
3:03
3:03
3:04
2:58

We walked 300m and then a couple of us finished off with a 2k cool down, which was good. Whilst my times are faster than last week (same set) it was a much tougher session, a little bit more wind, but I think it had more to do with my w/e activities. :-)

September 2007, Running Statistics

September km's: 226 (last year 240)

Year to Date: 2426 (last year 2356)

Niggles/injury: Throughout the month, infected r.foot caused 5 days of no running. R.achilles attachment is still annoying but manageable.

Excuses: Kms down from where I would like because of infected foot and a few days of partying!

Sep Races: State HM Champs 9 Sep & Tan Relays 22 Sep, both average.

Oct Races: none planned

Upcoming Goals: to run faster, smarter & better

General thoughts: Minimal racing after the Winter Series. Enjoying my coaching and hopefully a few of the athletes will experience a good summer with a solid winter base which has gone very well.

Sat 29 Sep 07, last run for the month

Up early, I'm off to Sydney for a BOYS weekend of too much drinking! I hit the roads just before 6:30am for a solid 12k run, coolish morning, but little wind and some nice sunshine!

I hope I don't end up in hospital or the lock up over the weekend... :-)

Fri 28 Sep 07, a short run

I spent the majority of the day at the Melb Show as a volunteer with VLAA, OMG it was cold & WINDY!!! What a shocker!

I got home just after 4pm and I went for an easy 30 min stroll as running may not be on the agenda over the weekend, with a trip to Sydney with some mates for a drinking weekend.... and these two guys CAN drink and will make me look very much an amateur!

Thu 27 Sep 07, fartlek in the morning

This morning I arrived on the Tan at 6:30ish, an easyish fartlek session and some gentle running in and around the Tan & the Botanical Gardens. I jogged for 5 minutes before meeting a friend and then we jogged on the Tan to the bottom of Anderson St near the Morrell Bridge before stopping to do some light stretching and then some rolling strides.

I found a flat pathway where we did 4x30 sec efforts at my 800m pace with a 15 sec walk, then jog. Second set was 4x30 sec efforts at approx 600m pace with the same recovery and then 2x20 sec at approx 400 pace, then a gentle jog to a set of stairs where I did some quick steps up the stairs, followed by a gentle jog back.

Probably 6k for the morning. I arrived at the track in the evening about 5:20pm, was really windy and I decided I would concentrate on coaching and not worry about fighting the wind!

Wed 26 Sep 07, a short tempo run

I worked at the Melb Show today with the Vic Little Aths starting races on a grass 33m 6 lane track for five hours, a little bit of fun which the kids enjoy, doing the same on Friday.

After a little walk around the Show I decided a short visit to the gym at the RAAF Base on the way home, just 30 min of core work and some lower back stuff to break the core work.


I drove to Riverbend at 5pm, I took off for a 6 min warm up along the river and then picked the pace up for 20 minutes and tried to run with my HR between 158-162bpm, I was surprised that I was a little more tired than expected and I thought I wasn't going as fast as I expected. I then ran 40 min at a gentle pace to finish of the session. Stretching afterwards, calf, achilles, hammies & ITB (totally forgot quads). Approx 12km for the evening

Tue 25 Sep 07, track session

Tonight I started with a 2k warm up and some light stretching before joining a couple of 16 year olds for a set of 6x800m in 3:10 with 60 sec recovery. I then finished off with a 2k cool down too.

Splits:
3:12 (first 200m had the extra 2 sec)
3:07
3:09
3:09
3:09
3:04

We finshed off with a 300m walk before going off for the cool down, a good solid session, not to hard but with my current fitness probably the right pace. 9k for the evening.

Mon 24 Sep 07, just a light jog

My legs were tired today, I can feel tired quads, a combination of a BIG weekend, racing and training. No real probs, I am aware of my r.achilles, but not a problem, no other probs from the 'silly' events that I do not normally do and will not until 2008 Club Pentathlon Day :-)


I arrived at the track to help out with Relay Training and was asked to take over the coaching of the U9 boys relay team, the Team Manager suggested that she could manage the team and since I wasn't helping any teams I could coach the boys, a handful of 8 boys.

I agreed and then went and ran 3 laps to get my legs going whilst the kids were still congregating. I then took the all of the age groups for 2 laps and then some basic drills and dynamic stretching before handing them over to their Team Managers.

All up 2k of easy running.

Sun 23 Sep 07, YY run & Club Pentathlon

I started the day at the end of Toynes Rd at the You Yangs for a run with Adrian (already been running for 50 min prior), Bel, Mel and myself, there were others but they were running in a different group. We ran the Branding Loop Rd (5.4km), with it starting to warm up we stopped for a drink and then continued along GCD and ran the Stockyard route. A tough 10.5k run, some big long hills and some very steep downs and ups, just not as long. The final 2km Adrian and I ran back about 13kph. A good run which we all enjoyed, 16km for the morning.

This afternoon Western Aths had our Annual Pentathlon, a fun day where we encourage participation, fun and encourage the finalisation of our registrations for the Summer Season. The events, my performances and limited comments. LJ, this was the danger event, the most likely for me to get injured and I should have stuck with a 3-5 step run up and jump, but I mucked around and tried to stride through, luckily no injury probs, excluding a jarred knee for 30 min or so - result very shit. I have thrown 32m two seasons ago but as my technique relies on my ability to throw and NO jav ability I decided I would stick with a 5 step run up Jav - 20m something, 200m - 30.2sec, Discus - I have NO idea how to do this event so I just chucked it like a Little Aths kids and encouraged the call of 1, 2, 3 - 19m something , 800m - it was very windy and I knew I was tired sore from yesterday and this morning and I was VERY lacking in speed so I decided to cruise, 2:35, I did have a go in the final 150m but the weekend was a LONG one and there was no kick.

A fun day, which I found myself to be very tired and I fell asleep just after 11pm and missed the Rugby :-(

Sat 22 Sep 07, Tan Relays, Rd 10 of the Winter Series

19 degrees, perfect blue skies and hardly any wind, beautiful day for running! Today was the final race of the 10 race AV Winter Series. Team goals today were to run as fast as possible (of course) but to enjoy our Club comaradrie and to introduce two new members to the Club.

As the Team Manager I selected myself in the Div 7 team (slowest male) and I ran the last leg, not the best run today, slower than the previous two years...15:15

1k splits: 3:54, 4:11, 3:57, just not fast enough and sadly I was passed by a young Box Hill runner with 1.5km to go and we finished 4th. The Div 6 team finished 2nd for the day, but we were announced as the Div 6 Premiers (more than 40 points ahead of 2nd). Our Div 3 team were hoping that we could finish ahead of Sandringham as they were 2 points behind us in 5th spot for the season, but we were finished 7th and Sandy 4th, so we have finished 5th out of 14 teams in our first year. I'm unsure where our two women teams finished, but the majority of the ladies were all very happy.

So with a w/up lap, race lap and a cool down = 10km for the day.



Western Aths runners at the Tan for the last race of the Winter Series



Receiving the Premiership on behalf of many runners who have helped us win the Div 6 Premiership :-)

Thu 20 Sep 07, Indoor football & an easy jog in the evening

Today I went for a 15 min run prior to indoor football and then we played a game with 3 reserves, another win and two more an we will be in the finals. I even managed to score a goal today! :-)


Once I arrived at the track I ran 5 laps around the outside lanes and on the grass , dodging the plovers. I then stopped and did some static stretching. I then ran 3 laps with Justin (15) and then three laps with Bel. I wasn't in the mood for a session today and I thought a few laps would be more than enough. Tonight I had three runners coming to the track and I wanted to pay them a bit of attention as Scott & Michelle were joining our Club and had also agreed to race in the Tan Relays on Sat. I then ran two laps of the complex with Scott and then stood around and watched their session.

All up for the day, not including the game of soccer: 9k of gentle running

Wed 19 Sep 07, S2F run

I ran down to Fed Square (1k) and then me, Rupert & Rob took a group of 20 or so for a 12km run, along the 10k Mara event and then we added 2km along the Yarra across from Southbank and then back. Most of the run at 5:30-45 pace.

Then Rupert & I jogged back, 14k for the evening.

Tue 18 Sep 07, an easy track session

Plovers were very BAD! I ran to warm up for 10 minutes, then some stretching and then 10 minutes of drills, marching, high knees, bummies, step overs & then finishing off with strides.

Tonight's set: 800m (2:55), 600m (2:11), 400m (1:27), 300m (59s), 200 (36.3), approx 150m (23.1)

Three lap cool down and then 3 lap cool down later on with Sarah.

Mon 17 Sep 07, relay coaching (kind of) & a short run

I took the very large group of WLAC kids who came to the track for relay training, I took them for an all up 10 min w/up which included two laps of the track, some dynamic stretching and then some 50m strides, then over to their team managers. Wasn't really required to do much else from then on, I helped with a few pointers but that was it, so I'm not really sure of my involvement from here, which I and a couple of others found to be quite strange. Oh well


Here in Vic, U9's is the first age group that kids can run relays at Region & State level, so I have been asking Connor if he wanted to be involved, and surprisingly yesterday he asked what time I was picking him up for relay training. I told him befoe we arrived, that he needed to commit as this was a team event and there would be others relying on him as he should be the 3rd or 4th runner picked or will lead the second team. He was telling me on the way home that he really enjoyed himself, which was great to hear.


After dropping Connor at home I parked at my place and then went for an easy 30 minute run and then stretched for 15 minutes.