Stu's running & coaching runners...

Another rainy Saturday & wet Sunday

2010-11-14T23:33:00.003+11:00

No Little Aths or big Aths on Saturday due to the 25mm of rain throughout the day.... :(

Lots of texts & FB to the squad, lots did home exercise sessions. And most managed a 45 minute on Sunday morning or afternoon (depending).

I actually found myself a little bit more tired than I expected, probably recovering from my first week of 5/6 days of running...

2010 to date

2010-11-11T22:17:00.004+11:00

Hmmm maybe....

Coaching 25+ runners of various ages, the first half of the year was going ok, but in Jun/Jul I tore my hip lumbrum, strain my TFL and was suffering hip bursitis as a combination the left glute was weak.

Mid to early October I returned to jogging and now starting to do a little more & my body is sore (good, but sore).

Coaching is great and I'm really enjoying it on all levels, obviously very satisfying to have some quite good runners, three State Champions (Alexie, Jo & Teagan), a couple who are regular national level athletes & a couple just missing out. Loving it and hope to continue helping those who choose me. :)

In the car tmrw for 10 hours

2009-08-27T22:29:00.004+10:00

Off to Nowra tomorrow as a passenger, going up with a fmily of one of the favourites for the U16 girls race. Amy is going up with the team, but I am travelling with her parents and her younger brother Liam.

Today was a short work day, tidying up loose ends and handing over outstanding tasks to my assistant to have finished by Wed.

At the track early and jogged five laps with a bunch of older teenager boys and then jogged 2 laps with Maddy from my Squad, we then did approx 15 minutes of drills, then 4 80m strides and then I asked Maddy to do 3 accelerations.

Tonight's session was progressive 10x200m with a walk back recovery, our first rep was suppose to be 41.5, but was low 40's. We then concentrated on getting every 2nd rep quicker which happened. After 5 reps I added 2 minutes to our recovery, then back to the walk back recoery for the final 5. The 8th rep was 33.7; so the added challenge was to call the time before the rep, but it had to be faster, I went first and predicted 32.8, we went through in 32.7 sec, Maddy suggested 31 something, I smiled and reminded her we had done 9 reps already so she decided 32.5 ... off we went, we both knew we needed to attack and hold, but with 30m to go I knew she was gone and I strode away; 32.2 for me and low 33s for Maddy. But I am in NO doubt she will kick my butt in a one race set but I still have the endurance...and she is only 13, but she will run 28 and maybe lower, I will not!!!

I finished off with 2 slow laps of the infield with Maddy and then 4 laps with Luke chatting about stuff. Off home to pack my bags!

Lexie's last session prior to the Nationals

2009-08-26T22:15:00.002+10:00

I decided to change my set for Lexie tonight due to the wind, yes it could be argued that she may have to run in those conditions - true, and others may argue that it will make you stronger - true but not required.

So 4x300m fast with 4 minutes rest was the set after a casual w/up and longer than normal cool down and then a one lap walking cool down listening to the Coach.
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Nothing for me today, started work early so I could fit in an Insurance Assessor but that was cancelled and I ended up being stuck with the boss working on a proposed restructure plan for hours...yep that horrible word, but reductions in staff always occur with a Labour Government, we knew it when they were voted in, we all said they will increase the Defence acquisitions but as always reduce the spend on recruitment and current staff. So I arrived at the track with minutes to spare, no time to change and then off to a meeting with the Brimbank Council, gotta love being a Club President....

I leave for Nowra early Friday morning.

My house key...

2009-08-24T20:48:00.004+10:00

Hmmm...Jo will love this post! Mister organised, Mister I always put things back in their place, Mister I'm nearly always right', stuffed up this morning....

Jo and I ran together yesterday, I carried our house key in my shorts, when we got home my shorts went into the wash basket (because I am organised and clean up after myself), then showered, then Jo and I went out for dinner. Once home I say aloud, "I must get my key out of my shorts before I forget"....

Once inside I sit down and watch the ladies WC marathon (well done Lisa Jane W - 18th and a PB), then off to bed and up at 3am to watch the great Bekele win another WC Gold medal (25th) and lots of other stuff and then back into bed at 5.15am.

I decide I'll go to work when I wake (gotta love flexible working hours). Finally out of bed, showered and dressed out the door in my car at 8.45am...'shit, I've forgotten my mobile, I'll just go inside and get my phone....hmmm...fuck where is my key!!! ""red faced blushing""
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So a late start and an early finish so I could go via Hawthorn to pick up Jo's key (as she has parent - teacher interviews until late tonight) and then off to Werribee for a run and a session at Wyndham Park with my juniors.

I arrived with time to get 40 minutes in before meeting the kids, off I go, out of the car park over the river bridge and BANG here comes the rain to go with the strong wind...fuck, why do we do it? Anyway a recovery run is on order but after a few k's running in driving rain some speed is required to stay warm. The first 3k were 5:28 / 5:11 / 5:03, then the rain was getting harder and I decided I wanted to run 8k in very much 40 minutes so I sped up, the next 4 were 5:03 / 4:40 / 4:43 / 4:50 and the final km I slowed a tad for 5:19, done and back as the majority are arriving. I was soaked (it rained for 6k worth) and I was very muddy as I do not dodge mud or puddles and I have a flicking action. 8k done!

Off with 8 kids, our last Wyndham Park session, Lexie's last Mon set prior to the Nationals, the plan - warm up, strides and drills at the Werribee Tigers football ground (Chrinside Oval (BarterCard Oval)) then back to our starting point and 2 sets (1 viewing at jogging pace and then 2 fast) of a 800m hilly grass course.

I jogged the first lap and then the first 300m of each fast set and then a 1.2km cool down, so all up 12.8km today.

My longer run in the evening

2009-08-23T20:23:00.003+10:00

After watching the WC men's marathon (good viewing) during the evening and then getting up at 3am to watch the WC until 5.30am I was very happy I wasn't running Sunday morning, so the decision to run in the evening with Jo after dropping the boys back at home was the right one for me!

5pm start to our run; the plan was to run together for 75ish minutes and then I may continue on for 15-30 minutes. As all Melbournites know, it is bloody windy at the moment and but it wasn't cold, actually excluding the wind it was still 18-19 degrees when we started. Our run was along Skeleton creek and then following the Altona Foreshore Trail which as I said to Jo, the trail is as boring as bat shit! But 13.9km was achieved in an average of 5.35ish, not sure, I forgot to ask Jo when we finished.

I decided that was enough for me, with a lot of the run on very uneven ground or concrete paths my legs had enough for the day.

Note to me: Wow, I've already hit the 200kms for the month, this is looking like the biggest month of 2009 for me. :-)

A couple laps of the Tan

2009-08-21T21:59:00.000+10:00

The weekend may be lacking in running so I decided an easy Friday run (like days gone by) may be a good idea, on the Tan just after 7.15am with no watch and the only intention was to run two laps of the Tan, not fast, no time, just run.

And that's what I did!

Gym & 400m reps

2009-08-20T22:27:00.002+10:00

In the gym and on the bike as per normal, 15 minutes nice and easy just rolling the legs over and enjoying. Then I sat on the fit ball for 10 minutes or so, doing 'stuff' and then on the mats finishing my 35 minutes in the gym.
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At the track for a set of 8x400m, no preconceived times at the moment, run by feel and then stick. I started with three laps with David, Luke & Cam (wow Cam is at the track), then a toilet stop and a quick chat with Maddie about her 'schools knockout' 400m last week (67.4, a PB), then another lap with the David & Luke.

Then a few drills with Maddie and then into my 4x100m strides before getting all of the group together, 9 in total including a few from Burkie and Jo still to arrive. The wind when we entered the front straight was not nice, but over the session it did ease, but was always present.

83.1, 82.6, 82.8 & 82.6
83.5, 82.8, 84.1 & 83.0
90 seconds between reps and 3 minutes between sets

Happy with the set, consistent and not a killer, but very solid! I finished up with 4 laps with Luke & David and then once dressed Jo finished up and I joined her for 3 laps.

An early run

2009-08-19T21:03:00.002+10:00

To get a real run in today I need to do it in the morning as tonight's track session for the juniors didn't fit my program, so I parked on the Tan at 6.05am ... I really need to enjoy sleeping more. Paid my parking meter and off I went in T & shorts and the first 5 minutes I am looking at others with jealous eyes as they were wearing tights or jackets but within 5 minutes I was fine.

I started on the Tan, the first 1k was just done in 5.20 pace, a little bit stiff, sore & tired but moving and starting to pick up the pace to just under 5 minute pace before getting to the bottom of Anderson St, I then ran to the top and then turned went back down over to the river and ran on the grass/dirt back to my starting point. I then ran paths in and out of the gardens just for a constant change of scenery and this also keeps my pace honest and I don't get rapt up in checking my time each 250m as time on my feet was the only important factor.

I ran for 45 minutes before returning to my car, then stretching my calves using the gutter and then 20 push ups, 60 sec plank, 20 sec push ups and 60 sec plank, then finished off with some glute and hamstring stretches.
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At the track tonight with my squad I jogged three laps with various kids, 2x60m strides for me and a 950m cool down with the entire squad.

Gym & track

2009-08-18T21:05:00.006+10:00

This morning started in the gym at 6.20am, staying there for an enjoyable 40 minutes, 15 minutes on the bike just rolling the legs over and then standing cable cross overs & oblique lifts, then 3x15 lunges and 15 minutes of ab & core strength work.
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A great night at the track, not cold and no wind to speak of, just the most gentle breeze. After giving Jo & Elyse their session and organising Teagan I started with 3 casual laps on the track before joining Teagan for some gentle drills and then leaving her with a few more I started my 4x100m strides with David & a few others on the last 2.

The plan for me was 6x800m in 3.05-10 with a 90 sec recovery, with more concentration on the time of the rep than the recovery. With a group of 6 to start with I dropped in behind David and concentrated on relaxing and a slight lean forward. Times were:

3.06 (96 sec recovery)

3.05 (101 sec recovery)

3.06 (2 min)

3.07 (2m 10s)

3.04 (2m 12s)

3.03

I finished off with 2 laps on the track and 1 on the grass for my cool down. Another enjoyable set and quite satisfied after the weekends runs.

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Last night at the World Championships the men's 10000m race was won by the great Bekele! Dave McNeil (left) finished an admirable 24th in low 29s. The picture says a lot to me, this young man is months older than my son, Cameron, I have watched Dave race for nearly 10 years and to see him in this condition is sad, but I hope he, his coach, his loved ones, his friends and all lovers of distance running are so proud! Have a look at him, he did NOT leave any behind, he gave his all for himself and for his Australian uniform! Well done Dave!!

Bolt ran a WR 9.58 overnight, I ran longer than that today!

2009-08-17T21:43:00.003+10:00

My legs were a tad tired today, the left calf a tad tightish, but overall a good feeling as it was an overall good run with good friends and if I get the chance I'll do it again this upcoming weekend, but it may be a little difficult with the boys staying over.

Today I enjoyed a 7k easy run around the Wyndham Park and then enjoyed some good dynamic stretching with my juniors and then some static stretching after their session. (At the moment the Mon & Wed sets are totally directed at Lexie, let me say, she is moving right now...)

A little bit of wind at the YY

2009-08-16T20:29:00.004+10:00

The plan was 2 hours today, myself & David and Luke tagged along for a very casual run. For the Melb readers you will already know how windy this morning was!!! OMG it was so windy...

We started our run along Greyhound track in light drizzle for the first 15 minutes and lots of side wind, even David thought it was cold today. A stop near the front gate for a toilet stop and then off to Big Rock, just past there we were reminded how windy it was, up a slight hill into a HEAD wind and I was starting to suffer on every rise, even though we were averaging 5.30 pace at the time.

The next few k's were a constant rise which I dropped off the pack by 10-15m or so, but was able to catch up on the flats or down hills. After 60 minutes I was surprised how my legs felt, but we continued on and I got in 1h 50m, about 19.5k for the morning. A few k's this weekend, well more than normal for me.

Brisbane Ranges and a windy night!

2009-08-15T21:58:00.008+10:00

Today many Western Aths runners ventured out to Brisbane Ranges, a nice place to run. Cam and I worked out our first visit to this area was 9 years ago, and I mentioned to the girls I was running with that they were only 4 years old when I first ran here....

Smaller numbers than normal, the over 18 Wes Aths girls were enjoying a retreat at Daylesford, massages, facials and loads of champagne I suspect. I took the younger girls, the majority from my Squad, we strolled along the 9k rolling hill course using Loop Track as our home, then once returning back to the SP I took Elyse and myself for an extra 2.8km, running about 11.5k in 5.30ish pace for the trip.

A nice run, a tad rocky, but a few nice little hills to test the body, but I didn't test it too much as I am running 2 hours tmrw at the YY with David. I noticed the actual start elevation is a lot higher than other runs that I do.

Tonight I have very much enjoyed watching the am Day One session of the World Aths Champs on SBS2 and sitting inside listening to the 120kph winds that are hitting Melbourne tonight!!! All of the 'quality' runners have made it through the 100m heats, Donna McF ran a SB in the 3k steeple and our SP men missed out... not a great start for the Flame, but nice to watch aths without having to worry about swimming and other stupid sports (except for trying to watch Melb Victory & the Sydney Swans at the same time) ....

Why is my boss such a DH?

2009-08-13T22:10:00.003+10:00

No gym today as I stayed home to watch Australia smash Ireland in a football match, 3-0, go Timmy Cahill, 2 great goals!!!

My heading, short & sweet, I am a very organised person, my Outlook calendar and task list controls my day, week & month! But not others, meetings are and can be the my slow death .... as my organisation's Business Manager I get invited to a lot of meetings, just in case and because every one wants the HR point of view. Well every time I attend my Director's meetings they go way over time, I mean way over and today was just too much for me! A 60 minute meeting/briefing that I walked out of at the 110 minute mark as I was late for another appointment and he just doesn't understand....anyway I want to talk running!
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Indoor football semi finals today, 4th Vs 5th, winner stays, loser leaves ... half time 3 all, a great game and that's the way it stayed, close and tight. When the 5 minute to go call was made it was 6 all, the 1 minute call - still 6 all, but .... (there's always a but ...), sadly a goal was scored in the final 2/3 seconds and then the final whistle ... we lost and are out of the competition!
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Due to the heading, I left work early as my mood was not harmonious for the work environment, which was compounded with the soccer match, so I did what any Public Servant with more than 12 hours in his flex credit, I left EARLY. Home early, did some housework and then went to the track early so I could do my session and then point & coach.

My session started with 5 laps of the grass infield, then I started some simple/little impact drills for 10 minutes or so. Burkie arrived and was surprised to see me prior to 4:30pm on the track already, he had a 13 year old Sudanese boy who has just joined Burkie's group, 'Boa' (not sure of spelling or pronunciation), I have trained with him once before (5x4 min efforts). Burkie asked what I was upto and I knew I would be happy for some company, so 6x800m in 3m 5s ish with a 2 min recovery, so Boa quickly warmed up and joined in and completed 4x100m strides with me, grateful for the company as I knew I might struggle with the slight wind that seemed to be building but to be honest others do help to keep me honest.

Off we went, Boa is a typical African runner, relaxed action and wants to run faster than he should, BUT he is young enough to accept guidance and he stuck with me, but I could feel his surges...whilst he had some issues, he did the 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 6th rep, my times were:

3.03
3.03
3.01
3.02
3.07
3.08

Ohhhh I was gone and I so wanted to drop out at the 600m mark during the last two reps, but I knew I was going to have company on the last rep so that helped keep me going ... but I was happy that it was done. I finished off with 2 easy laps and then coaching.

Skeleton Creek and coaching

2009-08-12T21:35:00.004+10:00

I organised for Mark (dad of one of the girls who I coach) to come and check out the issue that is known as Stu & Jo's master bedroom early this arvo, after he left I decided to take advantage of being home with f.all to do at 3pm so I got changed and made my way out the door with my running clothes on.

I strolled towards Sanctuary Lakes, coolish, but not dark, not raining and not too windy, so a nice change! I strolled probably 5 min ish pace for 25 min and then turned back and got home in 24.m 18s. Then some static stretching, a quick shower and then changed to go to training via picking up Connor who is making a small return to running to get some general fitness in preparation for the Relays and aths season.

At the track with the kids I jogged 1.2k and then did a few drills and strides and I set the pace on the first 200m on some speedy reps of 3x800m. I jogged the 800m cool down as well.

Note: I clicked over 1500km for the year today.

Just a track session in the wet

2009-08-11T20:51:00.002+10:00

No gym, not full of energy, sniffling for a week, tickly throat etc etc is starting to become very annoying and so I opted for an extra 30 minutes in bed and no gym session.

For those here in Melbourne will know that it became very dark about 2pm and with it lots of rain! And that stayed for a few hours and made everything very wet even the inside of master bedroom...not sure what's the go, but Jo and I have very wet carpet and the offending wall is very damp....fuk. I am NOT 'a handy man', but I know people, so a call to one of the parents of my squad and an appointment has been made for 2pm tmrw...

Training tonight was 5x3 min efforts with a 2 minute float, a solid workout at 4.05ish pace for the four of the reps and the final rep I completed the 800m in 3:10 which is under 4 minute pace.

For the second session in a row, after cooling down I feel more tightness in the meaty part of the hamstring, I better concentrate on my warm ups and cool down stretching and maybe even organise a massage (well overdue)...

A longer run today

2009-08-10T20:24:00.002+10:00

No running on Sunday as I had the boys and I didn't want to get up when it was really dark, why....because I didn't want to!

I attended a conference at RAAF Williams (Laverton) which is only a few minutes away from home, it finished before 3pm, a quick shop for a dinner party tonight with David & Nic and then off to Werribee for a run prior to training.

From Wyndham Park I strolled along the river at LR pace, after 15 minutes I picked up the pace a tad and was probably hanging around 5 min pace, once at Riverbend I decided I needed to make my way over to President's Park to use the public toilets. Then back towards Riverbend over the Ford and then running on the grass near the path I picked up the pace to 4:30ish for 15 minutes before returning back to 5 min + pace. I got back to Wyndham Park at 4:20, so I did a lap via Chrinside Oval and then returned at 4:32pm with 65 minutes of running.

A quick chat with the mums and then off with the kids for 15 minutes of running at a similar pace to what I had already been doing, then we stopped at a park and played follow the leader for 3x5 min (different leaders), jumping over rocks, park benches, over BBQ, over fences, under fences etc...just lots of running with some fun thrown in.

Then push ups, crunches, sit ups, more push ups and planks (front & side).

The very first Swan to play 300

2009-08-09T23:43:00.004+10:00

Well done Michael O'Loughlin....

just Magic

XCR'09 Series, Round Eight, Sandown Road Relays

2009-08-08T23:07:00.003+10:00

The day started with WLAC Presentations for the XC Season, lots of smiling kids!!!

Then off to Sandown for the Relays, as a Team Manager I'm not a fan, but I know it is popular. The previous five years remind me of some good runs, I am very aware that this year will not be faster than any of these below:

2008 - DNS, sick, diagnosed with influenza
2007 - 25.07
2006 - 24.53
2005 - 24.50
2004 - 26.16

I know I raced in 2003 and maybe 2002 but I didn't find those results easily. Looking at my results in 2008 I was probably in high 27s or low 28 form, so whilst my 2009 result of 27:10 is one of my worst as 2003 would have been slower I suspect.

I ran the final leg in the Div 5 team, going through the first lap in 13.22 and the second lap was 13.48. As per normal at Sandown, we had wind in our face along the back straight up the incline, the only unusual aspect of the day was the actual temperature was pretty good, probably 16-18 degrees.

Club wise our teams were ok ish, the top men & wmn in Div 2 were below our actual wants and hopes, div 4 men did really well finishing 2nd, div 5 men 8th/16, U14 men 3rd, wmn Div 3 & 4 the bottom half, U16 & 14 women managed 3rd with weakened teams.

Coaching; Jo ran another strong race, 47 sec PB and both Claire & Elyse ran strong legs.

Gym, soccer & fastish 200m reps

2009-08-06T22:48:00.002+10:00

Only 40 minutes in the gym this morning (6.30am) and a game of indoor football at 1pm (we won 4-1).

Tonight my program had 3 sets of (7x200m) with a 100m float but as I would have been by myself and also a very strong wind I decided I would join the girls and run some faster 200m reps with a walk back recovery. A new girl joined my older group, Maddie 14, I already coach her younger brother who is a handy distance runner (11th at States); Maddie has trained with the other group but will suit the Tue/Thu group, girls 13-15 who have similar pace to Jo and myself and will make the transition to senior aths.

The reps were a little fast and I gave the job to others to lead but they just couldn't get the pacing right, so I stuck at the front and lead them in, I did manage to run one from the back and go past, but that was a tad quick (32.8).

36.2 / 37.3 / 34.7 / 36.3 / 32.8
36.1 / 36.5 / 36.6 / 36.4 / 33.4

The walk back breaks were between 1.55-2.03 and I added an extra 45 sec between sets.

Normal cool down and then dinner to farewell Dave (the Yank) who has been visiting on a College 'thingy' that had him visit our fine lands for 4 months or so. The Club are giving him a signed Club singlet, a bottle of Club wine & an Aussie Olympic top that was arranged through AA.

Gym & a track workout with the juniors

2009-08-05T22:31:00.000+10:00

50 minutes in the gym and a track set of 6x500m in 2 min with the juniors, I sat in lane 2 or 3 encouraging the group, with half stopping at 400m and the 2nd group going through to 500m (with some dropping off on the final 50m).

I nice even paced workout for me. Straight from training to a Vic Health meeting at the COuncil Offices, held in conjunction with the Sports Med Assoc, another President's meeting...

4 minute reps at the track

2009-08-04T22:03:00.002+10:00

In the gym at 6.20am, bike, lunges, upright rowing, cable cross overs, incline sit ups, single leg squats, planks and a few other bits & pieces, just over 50 minutes.

Tonight I ran 5 x 4 minute reps with a 2 minute shuffle/float at the track with a few of Burkie's junior boys and one girl (who I knew would pull out as she is fast but very soft).

first rep was controlled, approx 980m with a 30 sec shuffle/90 sec float
again controlled, again approx 980m with a 30 sec shuffle/90 sec float
controlled but working harder, approx 970m, 30 sec walk/90 sec float
working, approx 975m, 60 sec float/60 sec float
the final rep was to be 1k (no matter the time), I told the boys I wanted to hit 96 and to stick on it and we did, crossing the 1k in 3:57. I was happy

3 laps in reverse to cool down.

Wyndham Park

2009-08-03T21:28:00.002+10:00

I managed to get 20 minutes of easy running before I met up with the junior group and then another 15 minutes of gentle running before rolling around a little faster over a 1.2km course I set up on undulating and changing terrain.

I run parts of the course a couple more times whilst the group ran hard with 2 min breaks between reps, finishing off with another 7 minutes of easy running.

A slow Sunday

2009-08-02T21:12:00.002+10:00

Arriving at the You Yangs by myself (Jo stayed home coughing & spluttering), I could have easily too...but I was just tired, my legs felt ok, but I felt tired...

I rolled around with a Bel, Loren, Luke & myself for an easy 11km of relaxed running, Luke & Belinda continued on for another 30 minutes, 11 was enough for me.

XCR'09 Series, Round Seven, 10 Mile XC Champs

2009-08-01T20:20:00.002+10:00

A busy day, starting at Eastern Gardens at 8.45am. I had volunteered Western Aths to assist with the marking of the XC course and the set up of the admin area etc and our Club were paid a nice sum.

Of course volunteering our Club means I need to find volunteers, which sometimes can be tough, but thankfully I did find sufficient numbers, but if course I was one. The day involved following a dotted white line (nearly every 10m or so), we then placed flags either side over a 4k & 3k course. I was then asked to run the course (with flags in hand) and look at the course as a runner and place move flags where ever I thought was not 100%... then setting marquees and then trotting the course with the course referee and again placing flags. All up, the course and admin area was ready to 'roll' at 12.10pm (first race 1pm). Then I put on my 'team manager' hat on and started preps for the Western Aths teams, then the coaching hat and running through the course and the race with my 2 U14 girls (Claire & Elyse).

A great run by Elyse, 11th her equal highest placing (wow), but most of my time was spent with Claire who due to a cold really struggled and I was really close to asking her to DNF, but as she was going in the direction of the finish line I decided against it, she finished probably 5 minutes slower than normal over a 4k course.

Next up was Jo, who started a very controlled race and then came home really strong and yet again showed a few girls who should beat her that a controlled race is the ONLY way to race!

With my race starting at 2.30pm I decided I would have a sit down around 2pm for the first time since 8.45... by now I knew we had 2 runners withdraw and we would only have one team and 3 emergencies, me being one of them.

So I'm standing on the start line, already feeling tired both mentally & in the legs, not really enjoying XC and knowing I will not finish in the first team, but I start... But I am fairly sure 8k will be enough but I'll check on others throughout the race (its that sort of course). I ran two even laps within 15 seconds of each other, but I was NOT enjoying myself and I knew that 8 other Wes Aths runners (we needed 6) were still rolling about and I was already 4 minutes behind 8th so .... yep I pulled out at the 8k marker and I DID NOT care how much 'stick' I got from others, I was buggered!

July's Running Stats

2009-07-31T19:56:00.002+10:00

July km's - 210km (250km in Jul 08)

YTD - 1397km

Injuries - nothing to report

Excuses - A busy month that I happily put the running concerns of others ahead of my own.

Races - XCR'09 Rd 5 Coliban Ekiden 5.1km road & Rd 6 State XC, neither well ran, but better than last year.

Upcoming - XCR Series, Geelong 16km XC & Sandown 6.2km Road Relay

Goals - Continue on with regular running because I enjoy it, not for any real goal or purpose.

Ouch...

2009-07-30T22:18:00.003+10:00

In the gym for 45 minutes, nothing out of the normal, light session, bike and some very light weights after 20 minutes of pilates.
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The past few weeks I have allowed a tooth get sorer and sorer until now its basically impossible to eat on the left hand side or drink anything really cold or hot, you get the idea... A trip to the dentist to help him pay for his kids school fees.... minutes after leaving I knew that was a well spent $200.... thank goodness the ouch has gone!

No running today, a good evening to have dental work, it rained a lot, but I still spent 75 minutes wandering around the track, chatting with Squad members in between reps, it was good to watch form.

Gym, soccer & a bit of easy track running

2009-07-29T21:55:00.002+10:00

Doubling up sessions is normal, but this tripling is becoming a regular for me. Gym in the morning, but know I had a few things on I decided 20 minutes on the bike riding easy and then planks (1 min front, side, front side x 4) with 30 sec rest between sets was my morning session.

Indoor football at lunch, we had one reserve, 1 all at half time, but then a 'white-wash', we won 9-2 (I scored twice).

A lot of my Little Aths juniors are resting up for a few weeks, but six are continuing on helping out as a small squad to work with Lexie in her preparations for the National XC on the 29th of Aug. A few of the kids are comfortably faster with a superior endurance fitness and then a couple are of similar pace, everyone is older. Lexie arrived with the sniffles, so a small change to the session, the majority would run 400m reps with floats while Lexie & 2 others followed and pulled out at 300m and walked, we (yep I cruised in lane 2/3) continued to the 400m marker and turned and floated back , picked up Lexie and crew and then jogged to the line and off we went again, 8 reps all in 98-100 sec.

Warm up, cool down & the session of cruisy running, with 10 minutes of leg stretching.

5x4 min efforts at the track

2009-07-28T21:34:00.000+10:00

In the gym for 45 minutes, bike for 8 min easy, upright rowing, standing oblique lifts, shoulder press, lunges, squats, incline sit ups, forearm curls and planks.
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Due to popular demand I moved my Tuesday session to the track for the next couple of weeks, away from Skeleton Creek, the girls ran 5x3 min with a 2 min float and I ran (by myself) 5x4 min efforts, with a desire to hit 1k, but it was windy and cold and I wasn't able to.

Most of my reps were approx 960-70m, but I felt the floats were a lot better than other weeks, they actually were close to floats and not shuffles, especially the last 1 minute. For the final rep I decided I would run through until hitting the 1km mark (4.12), not so good, but it was very windy.

I finished off with 3 slow laps chatting with others for my cool down, run in reverse.

An easy one along Werribee River

2009-07-27T21:24:00.003+10:00

A big day yesterday and even I felt tired, a build up of stress and then the relief, I feel like I ran. I know I did run about a lot yesterday, but overall I feel tired for the obvious reason.

So an easy run along the river starting & finishing at Wyndham Park, just over 6.5km in 31 minutes, then 20 minutes of easy running with my Little Aths Squad and then 25 minutes of stretching.

Vic Little Aths XC Champs

2009-07-26T18:27:00.002+10:00

Move State Champs, again at Bundoora, it has been a busy week or so! 16 kids from my Squad ran today, busy busy busy, lots of easy running chatting with kids, talking strategies, c]alming some down, geeing some up and a few cool downs and lots of running from location to location for the best viewing...

Friday was a BIG day and so was today, whilst not the same overall standard, but still the very best Little Aths kids were here today. The first race of the day involved Lexie and I knew she would do very well as the girls who beat her on Fri were in an older age group, she started the race and sat exactly where I asked her too, for the first 1km she sat in 5th immediately behind the leaders and 50m from the top of Mt Cooper she made her move and no-one could go with her and she won by 25m, in 48 hours I now coach a State rep and a Little Aths State Champ, a great way to start the day. The final race of the day was a silver medal for Brooklyn and in between there were lots of other great runs! A couple of others managed top 10's and many in the teens, a very succesful day for the group!

A big :-) , very proud of the kids and very happy that it appears that the winter program worked quite well!

Victorian Primary & State Secondary XC Champs

2009-07-24T17:42:00.002+10:00

Another day at Bundoora Park! I took today off to watch and support a few of my athletes, the Primary Schools was the BIG one, National Selection Trials. Today my Squad runners were Courtney, Lexie, Chantelle, Ash & Aliesha, Aliesha being the only runner in the State Secondaries.

Big crowds today, really big crowds...doesn't anyone work? Every race for U15 down had over 100 runners and the 16, 17 & 18-20 races all had about 70, so really big fields. My day started with L, C & C, we all jogged the 2k & 3k course working on the strategies for each runner.

To shorten my 'post', a very long day at Bundoora in cool windy weather ended up being a VERY exciting day. First race, the 10 year old girls, Lexie & Chantelle which was a great race, watching both girls respectively passing many runners in the final km as a result of their superior fitness which resulted in Lexie finishing 4th and qualifying for the National XC Champs at the end of Aug in Nowra and Chantelle finishing 13th!!!

Wow, I coach an athlete who has qualified via four qualifications races and has finished the 4th fastest 10 year old in Victoria, WOW. :-)

Not taking anything from the other girls but today will be the day I remember as the very first athlete who I have coached to a National Championships.

A long day on my feet and lots of running, but lots of smiles. :-)

Track pyramid session

2009-07-23T21:48:00.002+10:00

In the gym as per normal in the early morning and off to the track in the evening to roll around with David and the girls from my Squad would complete a reduce session prior to their State XC Champs and Jo was excited as she was starting her intro to faster sets in prep for the World Masters in October.

Chatting via email David and I agree we would copy a set we did late last month, 600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600 with 90 sec recovery, we both hoped we would maintain our pace a little better and also run a touch faster. After some chatting with my squad members myself & David warmed up, Loren & Blair (Burkie's squad) joined us, which was good for both of us as Loren is more my pace and Blair is faster than David but is under strict instructions to slow down.

Even with the wind tonight I was confident I could run the first half faster, but of course I needed more consistent times and also faster and that is what I achieved (last months times):

My reps were:

600m - 2.20 (2.22)
800m - 3.11 (3.12)
1000m - 3.59 (4.02)
1200m - 4.50 (4.56)
1000m - 4.02 (4.10)
800m - 3.13 (3.18)
600m - 2.19 (2.23)

Finishing with 3 laps to cool down, both David and I were very happy as we knew the wind was tougher than last time and we both smacked our last month's set (he was ahead of me) and I thanked Loren as she was sitting a step behind me and keeping me honest, as I was of her.

Gym, soccer, running

2009-07-22T20:26:00.002+10:00

In the gym at 6:15am for 50 minutes, as per normal starting on the bike, 10 minutes today. Then some light bench press, shoulder press, oblique lifts, 3x15 lunges, 3x60 sec front planks, 3x15 single leg side lift raises before starting a day of sitting at a desk....

Lunchtime soccer, easy win and I even scored (its been awhile).

I managed a 30 minute run along the Fed Trail prior to my coaching session, easy pace. I also jogged three laps with the kids prior to their final track session prior to the Vic Primary (Fri) & VLAA (Sun) XC Champs.

Ballan Holden/Skeleton Creek

2009-07-21T21:19:00.002+10:00

In the gym this morning at 6:20am, I spent 20 minutes on a bike, easy pace, then some upper & lower back free weight exercises bolstered with incline sit ups. Then some lunges & planks before stretching my legs for 10 min or so.

Tonight a light session for the girls (Jo ran from home), they have a big weekend of racing so we started with a 8 min easy run along a dirt trail that follows the normal path in amongst the tree line (we should have used this for all of our w/ups along here). Then 3x3 minute efforts with 2 min of shuffling, 2 of the reps into the wind and then turning around and enjoying the final effort with a tail wind, then a longer than normal easy jog back to our starting point.

Finishing off with 10 minutes of stretching on the grass. Probably the last visit to Ballan for awhile.

Gym and Wyndham Park

2009-07-20T21:51:00.003+10:00

My day started in the gym at 6:20am, on the bike for an easy 3 mile (silly imperial measurements) then 30 minutes of pilates before some cable cross overs, push ups, planks and lunges etc, an enjoyable 50 minutes.

This arvo I ran for 25 minutes along the Werribee River before joining with my junior group and running with them for another 15 minutes before moving into a coaching role and finishing off with a 1.5k cool down.

My run this arvo it took about 15 minutes before the legs started to work.
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Subtle changes starting to happen with Jo's program now, she has been invited to compete at the World Masters in a <160 years (must be over 30) 4x400m relay Victorian team. Some slightly shorter endurance reps (but faster) and 2 gym sessions per week is the start, but once you read her blog I'm sure it will not sound as nice or enough... :-) I also have a few other girls who are starting to return to consistant training who are looking forward to some 400m training.

A long run at the YY

2009-07-19T21:34:00.002+10:00

8:30am at Toynes Rd, my legs feel ok, better than I expected. The majority of my group and Burkie's all make our way along the Branding Yard Rd as one BIG group, myself, David T, Luke & David S chatting at the back, comfortably sitting at the back behind the ladies & juniors. After 3k or so, we move to the front and sit there without really increasing the pace. Jo and a couple of others move off the road onto Branding Yard Trail and we continue on towards GCD, passing a few who went in the other direction.

The four of us cross GCD and move onto Greyhound Track and make our way back to Toynes Rd for a drink stop and then we go along GCD and up the first of many hills. We ventured into the Stockyards area and with a bit too much talking I take us in the wrong direction and we end up running a trail that was out of the way, slightly hillier than I really wanted and it also took us over the 90 minutes planned.

According to David's Garmin we ran just over 18k with some good hills, my time was 1h 45m 46s, an enjoyable run, but the hills did work me and the final 10 min or so I was ready to be in my car... ;-)

XCR'09 Series, Round Six, State XC Champs

2009-07-18T21:04:00.000+10:00

A long windy cool day at Bundoora Park, with Aths Vic combining for the third year with the Secondary All Schools XC Champs, I had two U14 girls racing in their first All Schools XC, their race was schedule first at 10am.

Arriving at 9am, I jogged a lap with both girls, chatting about the race and just other stuff too to help deviate their minds. Both girls ran very well, finishing 28th & 29th respectively.

My run involved a 2k warm up and then a plan of survival and patience, as I knew I am no where near my form of 49:30 from a few years ago, but hopefully I would beat the 58:30 from 2008.

With the wind still hitting Mt Cooper it was going to be a tough day, the gun goes and I try my best to settle into a comfortable pace, nearly a km into the race I noticed I was the last member for my Club??? Why so...hmmm...sticking to the pace I think is correct for me I went through the first km 13.48 but I was catching Ian and eventually did about 500m later.

I am fairly happy with how I approached this race, whilst not being a fan of XC really, especially whilst as unfit as I am and noting I had walked a little in the other two XC races, I managed to work the hills and coast the downhills and mentally worked the course.

My splits: 13.48, 14.11, 14.16 & 14.12 = 56.28. Not the best, but 2 minutes better than last year.

Just over 17km of running today.

Gym only

2009-07-17T20:27:00.003+10:00

45 minutes in the gym this morning, 10k easy on the bike and then some stretching, using my pilates band. Racing tmrw, Rd 6 of the XCR'09 Series, the State XC at Bundoora, a lovely 12km...

Tmrw I have two girls running in the Secondary All Schools State XC Champs, both Elyse & Claire are running in the first race at 10am, then Jo in the AV State Champs at 1:45 and then my race is at 2.30pm, it will be a long day.

200's

2009-07-16T22:36:00.002+10:00

No gym today, I had the pleasure of attending a briefing for Defence Security Officers, whilst the topics covered were broad and slightly boring the best aspect of the day was I only had to travel 5 minutes from my front door to the briefing location at RAAF Base Williams (Laverton).
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I arrived at the track at 4.30pm, I then drilled Claire for 15 minutes and finished off with some single leg squats; watching her strides today, I think I am starting to see some improvements in her leg stride.

Then 3 laps to warm up, 4x100m strides and then into 3 sets of 7x200m with a 100m float. A beautiful still night with minimal cloud cover but I could feel the cool night approaching. 21x200m...who comes with these sessions....shite its me... :)

41.4 / 43.7 / 41.6 / 42.1 / 43.1 / 43.1 / 42.7
42.2 / 42.9 / 42.5 / 43.4 / 42.5 / 42.7 / 43.1
43.1 / 42.7 / 42.8 / 43.1 / 43.2 / 41.9 / 42.4

The shuffles (still not a real float) were generally between 45-50 sec and 2 min between sets, the third set all of the shuffles were between 42-44, the difference was the third set was only myself & David (with Jo for 2).

Only 2 lap cool down, I was cold and ready to go home.. Just short of 8k for the night.

Gym & indoor football x 2

2009-07-16T13:45:00.000+10:00

In the gym at 6:15am, I sat on the bike at 72rpm average for just over 20 minutes, then some lower back & oblique strengthening work, chest & oblique, squats & calf raises on Smith Machine also f.planks, then slow lunges and then finishing off with planks (2 min front, 30 sec each side, 1 min front - rest for 60 sec and then do again - rest for 60 sec then do again but reducing 2 min to 1 min). Ouch.......

A game of indoor football, with the finals nearing and we need to be in the top 5, currently we are 5th but we played 6th today, but thankfully we had a win, 3-1. Phewww

Prior to training my junior group (16 tonight) I managed to get 30 minutes of easy running along the Fed Trail towards Werribee.

Gym & Ballan Holden set

2009-07-14T21:44:00.003+10:00

In the gym with no training partners today, they both slept in....slackers. I rode a cruisy 10k on the bike and then ran 5k @ 12kph with 0 incline, then a some chest and back strength work before 2 min of front plank, then 30 sec each side, 2nd set was 90 sec front & 30 sec sides and third and final was 60 sec front with 30 sec side.
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Ballan Holden tonight with eight others, 1/2 the group were only doing three efforts and the rest four, but they changed on the road. For me, I did my four with a walk & float whilst regrouping the squad, overall they felt fairly quick but controlled and consistent.

Tonight was good having David there too, it meant I had someone to pace off and keep me honest, thanks mate..

Wyndham Park

2009-07-13T21:03:00.003+10:00

First day at work today, 7am (why - who really knows why so early), OMG how many emails can one person receive during a week away from work with his Out Of Office thingy on???

One of the advantages of getting to work earlyish and really not giving a shit about the world and or the first day back, I was out the door at 3.30pm and running at 3.55pm, in the god damn pouring rain, it was bloody sunny at 2.30pm???? grrr & :-(

I fastish pace to try and keep me warmer than I really was...it rained the entire time I ran, 33 minutes. Once back at my car the rain changed to light drizzle and then as the kids were hoping out of the car it stopped...why now, why not before?

Tonight's set for the kids was running, running with more running along the paths along the river in the direction of the freeway, after 3k's we stopped and did some gentle stretching and then we went further on and increased the pace on each rise, then a few hill repeats before turning back. Very minimal recoveries and lots of running, funnily some of the kids who normally do very well during the WP sessions found this quite hard but the kids who run the harder and longer Tue sets were fine.

With the shorter Sunday run I found this quite nice to get in 13-14k on a Monday.
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Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time, http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100_alltime/countdown/cd_01.htm was announced on the weekend, with more than 1/2 million votes it does give a true indication. I voted, http://stumac.blogspot.com/2009/06/rip-mj.html and a few of my votes made it into the top 100 and like many others I voted number one for Nirvana's ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

Whilst I didn't vote for many of the top 10, unlike many I can see and understand how a demographic system works...one of comments that has really created a lot of discussion; NO women singing originals in the top 100??? I look in my CD collection, I have stacks of ladies, Bjork, Missy Higgins, Kylie, Sarah Blasko, Madonna and some ladies singing Neil & Tim Finn to name a few and many of these ladies have sang some of my favourites, but obviously not my top 10 it seems!

So why is this so??? To be honest I have no idea, what about you?

Riverbend run

2009-07-12T22:39:00.003+10:00

No YY run this weekend, with my three younger boys still here and very average weather overnight and possibly in the morning, I decided that to organise breaky at the YY for the boys whilst I ran would be too hard. Already a few weren't coming as they had other commitments, so I rang those who were planning to run and suggested a sleep in and we would meet at Riverbend at 1.30pm, they were happy to do this, many thanks girls.

So a 45 minute easy run along the dirt paths following the Werribee River upto Wyndham Park and then back on the other side. A nice solid paced run.

A few 800m reps

2009-07-09T22:19:00.002+10:00

Tonight after a 3 lap warm up around the track, then a few drills, skipping, high knees and butt kicks before joining others and running 4x100m strides.

6x800m with some of the girls joining on the final 300m (but faster), I was happy with my times:

3.09, 3.07, 3.08, 3.08, 3.07 & 2.59

The last rep I ran the first lap approx 1.5 sec faster, I then concentrated on holding that pace instead of dropping off, when the girls went past me near the 200m mark I decided I would follow them, then with 100m to go I pulled wide and went past them and finished strongly, with a smile.

I then finished with four laps to cool down with David & Adrian. A nice set, 2 months ago I would not have achieved those times with that intensity. :)

Skeleton Creek set

2009-07-07T22:06:00.003+10:00

Happy 22nd birthday Cam!

Normally today's session would be at Ballan Holden but with the boys here I have moved the session to mine & Jo's place, some of the mums have volunteered to look after the boys, so we set up afternoon tea for them and off we went as we are only 3 houses from Skeleton Creek.

So basically no change to the normal session, just a different starting location with some new views for the group. We started off with 7/8 minute w/up, then some gentle stretching and then into 5x4 min efforts.

A good set which I thought I felt fairly good. The kids seemed to enjoy the change in location.

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We complain about training in the rain, check out this video, Usain Bolt, 19.59sec for 200m in those conditions???? Freak....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl0-LTPuA2E

Five days away from work

2009-07-06T21:53:00.000+10:00

I've taken this week off to spend time with my three youngest boys during the school holidays, which generally means less running and more spending of money, as three boys do like to 'suck a $$$s'... :)

This afternoon my squad were at Wyndham Park, Jo looked after K and the the two older boys came with me to hang out at the park whilst I ran my session. I managed to get a few k's of easy running in and the squad ran a few hard hilly reps, plus some easy running too.

XCR'09 Series, Round Five, Coliban Ekiden Relay

2009-07-04T19:56:00.006+10:00

A favourite event for Western Athletics, a very big social ocassion which has approx 40 members stay over night and a few extras for dinner at one of the locals...

The race is a five or six person relay from Harcourt to the Bendigo Athletics Track. Western Aths had eight teams, four men & ladies teams, involving 41 members and our first experience competing in Men Div 2 which involved 6 runners, one racing a 10k leg (an out & back tough undulating leg).

My job was 'three fold'; Team Manager for all 8 teams, coach for four of the runners and runner in the men's Div 5 team (our third ranked men's team). Once I had completed and handed in all of the paperwork, attended a TM meeting and then passed on all of the relevant info to our runners, coaches & parents we were off; get 33 runners to their starting location and I stayed to watch the start of all of the Divisions over a 30 minute period.

I was allocated the final leg in our Div 5 team, this team has suffered the numbers game in previous rounds (not enough runners to field a regular team) and sadly we are nearing the bottom of the ladder, but today we were secretly hoping for a top 3 finish and we thought we had the team to do it, but of course the opposition have their say too....

I was waiting for Cookie at the change over and I knew he would run a good leg; Cookie is 47 and still capable of a 2 min 800m and he is a tough racer. Over the day it had become apparent that the Bendigo 1st team was going to SMASH us and Eureka (2) had also come with a quick team too, they both flew through the change over and via mobile phone calls and some quick calculations we were 8-10 minutes behind these two. So has Cookie caught and past third??? Sadly no, third placed Box Hill go through the change over 2 min 34 sec ahead of my start! Damn it and knowing that they more than likely do not have a 25 min runner bringing them home I would have to run and just hold onto my 4th spot and that I did.

My run went ok, I worked fairly hard to start with and then settled for a 500m or so, then with the knowledge that there was only 1k left of the incline I increased my intensity until I could get over the highest point and then make my trip home along the road, 21:36 (2007 - 20:22) ....hmmm, not too bad, but I have run it better! BTW, I did close in on 3rd, his 2m34s lead was reduced to 58 sec, but honestly I didn't have 58 seconds in me.

This photo is obviously not a favorite, but it shows I was having a hard hit out...the actual photo was taken by Aths Vic and posted on the AV web site. The photo was taken as I hit the track with approx 280m to go.

Club Results:

Men Div 2 - 3rd, Div 4 - 2nd, Div 5 - 4th, Div 7 - 6th

Women Div 2 - 3rd, Div 3 - 2nd, Div 4 - 2nd & 4th

A very good day for Western Athletics, one win would have been great, but overall 5 teams on the podium, you can't complain about that!!! :-)

Just the gym today

2009-07-03T19:37:00.004+10:00

In the gym about 6.20am, I jumped on the bike for 20 minutes, during this time Tania arrived and joined alongside and rode for 10 minutes. Then on the tready for 12 minutes sitting on a very casual pace which T found much harder than myself. Then back on the bike for 8 minutes, I cruised at 80rpm whilst T did surges.

Then some squats on the Smith Machine and some unweighted lunges before a set of planks (60/30/60/30 x 2).
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Club racing tmrw, XCR'09 Rd 5 the Coliban Ekiden Relay, I just scrapped into the Div 5 team (I would have preferred to be in our Div 7 team) and therefore I am running the final 5.1km leg which is a fairly flat leg, starting with a rise in the first 2k then a gradual down for the final 3k.

Club predictions; Men Div 2 - 2nd-4th, Men Div 4 -top 3, Men Div 5 - top 3 & Men Div 7 - top 5 (depends on how many Bendigo teams there are). Wmn Div 2 - top 3, Wmn Div 3 - top 2, Wmn Div 4 - top 2, second Wmn Div 4 - hopefully not last

At the track for some 300m reps, not 400m??

2009-07-02T19:18:00.002+10:00

In the gym this morning, back, chest and core was the order of the day but before I knew it I had been in the gym for 60 minutes, shit, better get to work... :-) Oh well the best part of the day has gone, now I have to sit at a desk!....

At the track by 4.30pm for some one on one work with one of the teenagers as I am trying to correct her stride pattern and foot placement. I jogged two laps and then demonstrated some drills and exercises.

5pm I started my warm up, 4 laps of the track followed by some gentle dynamic stretching and 4x100m strides. I decided with the strong wind and an upcoming race I changed the 400m reps to 300m reps, slightly faster but not HOT.

Myself & David did 10 reps with a 100m shuffle in between reps (2 sets of 5). I followed David but was happy with my times and how I felt, excluding the first 61sec the rest were between 62.5 & 63.2 seconds and I always felt in control, yay.

Finished off with 4 laps to cool down.

A new financial year....who cares really

2009-07-01T18:59:00.002+10:00

Not me...

In the gym this morning, 10k on the bike at a steady pace, then 5k on the treadmill at 13kph which was comfortable, then back on the bike for 5k. I finished off with some planks, 2 min front and 30 sec each side x 2.

PM, only minimal running with my junior squad, I jogged 4 laps whilst the kids were warming up, then a few drills, but I mainly watch, then 2x100m strides and I watched the other two. Whilst the kids ran 400 or 600m reps I jogged from the 200m marker back to the start finish line calling out times and a few instructions, you know the sort - calm down, relax your shoulders, drive your arms, slow bloody down....those sort....

June's Running Stat's

2009-06-30T23:45:00.002+10:00

June km's - 223km

YTD - 1185km

Injuries - nothing to report, most of the niggles are less niggling, kind of.

Excuses - A cold & busy busy busy, but I happily put the running concerns of others ahead of my own.

Races - XCR'09 Rd 4 Lake Wendouree 15km road race and Rd 5 Coliban Ekiden 5.1km road, neither very well ran, but I ran!

Upcoming - XCR'09 Rd 6 State XC Champs @ Bundoora, 12km

Goals - Continue on with regular running and with 3-4 weeks to go until State XC Champs I will be busy with coaching.

Summary - A third month of 200+ kms, but not as many as I would have liked, but a cold threw me about for a couple of weeks. Running because I enjoy it, not for any real goal or purpose.

Ballan Holden set

2009-06-30T18:22:00.000+10:00

4pm arrived and so did the DARK clouds and wind, 4.15pm it started raining, HARD and it got darker and darker. 4.30pm the text messages are being sent, is training on??? Is it??? 4.40pm the calls are coming, but by this time the rain has stopped in Point Cook, but not Werribee, yet???

I sent my reply, "I will be at training, I'll see you there!" :-)

4:58pm, lots of little heads start peering out of cars, it is cold, it is dark, but the wind is dying off and the rain has basically stopped, just some light drizzle. I suggested that those with spray jackets keep them on and off we go along the Fed Trail, 8 min warm up.

As a treat and a congrats for those who were braving some horrible conditions, I cancelled the 5x4 min efforts and changed them with 2 minute surges, but at the same time I cancelled the shuffle and changed it to a float, so the surges had to be controlled.

All up just over 8k of a good solid session with only some light drizzle, its amazing how the weather can change within 60 minutes.

Wyndham Park set for my junior group

2009-06-29T18:03:00.002+10:00

Even though some times some of the older ones run here too, this session is primarily for the Little Aths squad, running around a park, lots of grass and dirt paths with loads of variations etc.

Once a month we have a TT, we have a course which the fastest run has been 2:59, I have never measured the track (probably should), they run it 3 times. The first lap is cruising together checking out that there are no surprises (fallen branches etc), then a 3 min break (drinks & minor clothing changes), the 2nd lap is flat out in a clockwise direction, then 5-6 min break, then the third lap is flat out in the opposite direction!

Today to spice it up I picked two Captains and they picked teams, this was my way of ensuring no matter how far back you are, you still go fast as your team mates are cheering you on!

Some good runs by the kids, no change to the fastest time of 2:59, but it was very pleasing to see how many were within 2 seconds of their first lap and one of the boys managed 3:01 & 3:00

For me, just 5 easy k's

You Yangs, of course

2009-06-28T17:50:00.002+10:00

Of course I went to the YY, they are 20ish minutes down the road, nice soft trails, undulations, BIG hills to and some flat.

I took 5 'young ens' for a 6.1km course, whilst Jo, Claire & Elyse ran for 60 minutes within other groups. After I finished with the young ones, I turned and ran the same run, but in reverse, so 12.2km for me today.

A run at Bundoora Park

2009-06-27T17:15:00.002+10:00

My Squad consists of athletes who are Primary School kids, Secondary School teenagers, one young adult attending Uni (not training much) and a handful of adults who compete with Aths Vic; so everyone within the Squad will compete in upcoming State XC Championships, this year they will all be run at Bundoora Park.

Starting with the All School Secondary's, Aths Vic U20 & Open Champs (National Trials) then the Primary School Champs and finishing with the Vic Little Aths I thought it would be a good idea to have a familiarity training run on the approximate course.

We meet in the car park at 9:30am, a quick chat about the course and then we jogged the 2k course, stopping a couple of times to point out aspects of the course that I thought we very important and some strategies that I wanted them to use. Some gentle stretches, change of shoes for some and then two hard fast laps with a short break in between, finished with a 1.5k cool down.

Worth while session, hard work and for many a good opportunity to visit the course for only the first or second time.

RIP MJ & my Triple J Hottest 100 of all time

2009-06-26T22:04:00.004+10:00

Like most other persons my age (42), I too have bought and listened to Michael Jackson, cassettes were for me back in the 80's and early 90's. I have Thriller, a Jackson Five Live, Black & White and some other old cassette.

The saddest aspect of today's news for me was I wasn't surprised!

I can't get the video to load, but for many reasons this is the song that I will always remember: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqo17o2a1w

Why...., I'm not sure, but an amazing voice for such a young man (maybe 13), of course I don't mind his other stuff too, but Ben was for me.

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In no particular order and to be honest there are songs that I probably forgot, but all of these songs are in my collection and I have listened to this year and many years before!

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit - for me this was always going to make my top 10 and I WILL be very surprised if this one is not in the Top 10 of all time, its a classic!

Silverchair - Tomorrow -The Chair, my favorite Australian band, and this started it for me!

Michael Jackson - Ben - see above

Radiohead - Creep - Classic for me and I reckon this is a definite Top 15

Prince - Purple Rain - I could not tell you how many times I listened to this song and the entire record, the LP is a big favorite

Regurgitator - Polyester Girl - my second favorite Australian band

Eminem - The Real Slim Shady - This is one I heard so many times with my oldest song that I ended up loving it too and to be honest I have five of Marshall's CDs

Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun - Classic!!!

Midnight Oil - Us Forces - This and song always got me thinking

Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK - my mum would hate that I still like this song and band, she HATED everything about the Pistols

A pyramid set

2009-06-25T22:31:00.003+10:00

For myself & David, we did 600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600 with approx 90 sec recovery. I was aiming for 4 minute pace and to start with I felt I was slightly ahead, but I wasn't really, but I felt ok.

The girls (Jo, Claire & Celeste) were set 800/1000/1200/1000/800, but all 3 struggled today for various reasons and basically sat with 800m reps, which was fine.

My reps were:

600m - 2.22
800m - 3.12
1000m - 4.02
1200m - 4.56
1000m - 4.10
800m - 3.18
600m - 2.23

Looking above I did lose my pace, but it was a good set and I'm happy - that's all that matters.

A lap of the Tan & indoor football

2009-06-24T22:11:00.001+10:00

Indoor football at lunch, so just prior to the game I left work for a long lunch, a lap of the Tan in 18:30 and then a game of indoor soccer (4 all)>

No evening training for me today, just coaching my juniors.

5x4 min efforts

2009-06-23T23:06:00.002+10:00

My normal Tuesday session along the Federation Trail (Skeleton Creek), not too cold, but the dark skies are closing in and we 'just' know they are probably going to drop some rain.

Only seven of us tonight in the group and we are all tired ish as a result of our weekend racing. We started with a 5 min easy jog before stopping for some simple dynamic stretching before starting off for our first 4 minute effort.

Five x four minute efforts with a 60 sec walk, 90 sec shuffle which on the third & fourth ended up being the opposite. For me, the first rep was my hardest, my legs felt ok but breathing was difficult but the 2nd and onwards were much improved and I felt stronger as the set went on.

Tonight my Club had their first summer meeting, as President I attended to listen to the wrap up of the previous season and helped with some of the planning for the upcoming season.

Still not completely healthy

2009-06-22T23:20:00.001+10:00

Still coughing & spluttering but I feel ok, but I have had enough of this cough...

Just an easy 5k run before meeting up with my squad and taking them on a 3k w/up and with some running of a course I set up and then the cool down, just over 10k for the evening.

You Yangs & Eastern Gardens

2009-06-21T22:45:00.002+10:00

An easy run with a few at the YY, just a recovery run, just over 6km of dirt trails before making my way to Eastern Gardens in Geelong for the Western Region VLAA XC Champs. Due to some blundering and politics this seasons Regions are not a trial for the State Champs....too long and too political to even both trying to explain here, but basically I asked some members to race here and others to give it a miss.

I jogged so more kms at Geelong today, watching races, warming up with some of my athletes and cooling down others. Some great results; three gold (Brooklyn, Chelsea & Lexie), two silver (Harley & Chantelle), 4th to Thomas, Demi, Claire and 5th placings to Courtney, Bailey, Teagan and Victoria finished 6th passing 4 persons in the final 30m (probably the best finish of the day, Persistence - a virtue I ask the kids to consider).

Very noticeable to me and a few others, was that all of my squad finished strongly, looking very fit and composed.

XCR'09 Series, Round Four, Lake Wendouree (Ballarat)

2009-06-20T22:06:00.000+10:00

My Little Aths kids raced at the Altona Basketball Reserve today, a hilly course, I strolled a round for a few easy kms with some of the kids whilst they were warming up or cooling down, nothing too fast.
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Then myself and Jo drove to Ballarat for Rd 4 of the Aths Vic 10 race series, funnily a Regional race, but this trip took less time than Jells (Rd 1) or Lardner (Rd 2). Today's race, a 15km flat road race around an empty Lake Wendouree (approximate 6k loops).

After organising my few Team Manager duties I went for a chat with Claire & Elyse both racing in the U14 5km race, I trotted with them to their starting line and then back. Both girls ran great races and finished in the Vic top 10 for the first time...yay and Claire ran a 3m 5 sec PB and Elyse ran her first 5k race.

A quick chat and I was off for my run...the plan was to run at a pace faster than my LR pace, but not to slow, but not to fast that I suffered too much, especially with this cold that consists of a cough every 10 min or so and a sniffle which is VERY annoying....

I started right near the very back of the pack (which I discovered today was the biggest open men's race since 1989 and the biggest 115k for wmn ever for AV), I was even starting behind Jo (but not for long....).

I started very comfy, chatting etc; 4.39, 4.41 & 4.45 for the first 3k, finally I have stopped coughing and my breathing was starting to become more comfortable, thankfully. I settled in with an Oakleigh lady and a South Melbourne old fella and until 14k these two were within 2m for the entire run.

My 5km splits were pleasing, whilst not fast I achieved exactly what I wanted, I continued to get stronger as the run went on:

23.47
23.40
23.24
1h 10m 51s

With my last 2km run in 4.36 & 4.34 which were my fastest ratings for the run, quite happy considering fitness and illness. To be honest I couldn't have asked for more in the cold windy conditions with a cold that has lasted 7 days so far, (3.5 days off work) and a very average fitness.

Happy birthday Declan

2009-06-19T21:52:00.002+10:00

Eight years old today!

No running today, another day off from work, but it meant I could pick Declan up from school and take him out for a birthday donut & thickshake.

Still coughing!

2009-06-18T21:31:00.003+10:00

A Business Planning session and then being a part of the Executive Group that relays info to the Business Unit (Defence White Paper and the Capability Report etc etc), blah blah blah

But a good lunch followed in the Victoria Barracks Officer's Mess for 60 persons... and yep I coughed the majority of the day....and I must have done it enough to annoy the boss as his parting words to me were, "well done today Stu, see you on Monday without the cough...".
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Training at the track tonight, nice and light, for two reasons; my cold and a 15km effort on Saturday (XCR'09 Rd 4).

15-20x200m reps (45/46 sec) with a 100m float in about the same time. As David was not racing this w/e he did 6x800 and Jo had school commitments, so it was me and my teenage girls who follow me about (lol).

18x200m was decided upon (by me) after a few reps.

45.4, 45.1, 45.9, 44.5, 46.1, 46.4, 45.8, 45.6, 46.0 (the 100m floats were approx the same time)
2 min standing recovery
45.4, 44.9, 45.2, 45.9, 44.7, 45.2, 44.7, 44.8, 44.3

An easy 4 lap cool down, seemed an easy night....yay (even with a cold)

Here's a couple of good looking persons in my life....

Australia Vs Japan

2009-06-17T23:19:00.004+10:00

In the gym nice and early today for 45 minutes, 10k on the bike, some bench press and then crunches on the fit ball and then 10 minutes of planks.
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No running for me tonight, a quick session of 6x400m reps with 200m floats for the kids and then a quick exit for me so I could drive back into the city, but this time to the MCG.

The pic above was taken from my seat, row H right on the line in the members, good seat but SO COLD tonight. Well Tim Cahill, 2 goals............as Connor says, "superstar......."

Yep diagnosed; the common cold

2009-06-16T12:23:00.000+10:00

Off to work today, but no gym set. At my desk by 7am and I knew I wasn't going to be here all day as I knew I was not overly healthy, throat, stuffy head etc.

Doctor's appt at 12:50pm, no temp and a quick listen to my symptoms and chest etc and a sticky in my throat, common cold is confirmed. Keep the water up, rest a bit and keep using the Codral Cold & Flu tabs.
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Tonight at Wyndham Park, 15 minute easy running around the park and then strides and drills on Chrinside Oval, finally with my jacket on I started to sweat. Once back at WP, I set out a course throughout the hills and trails that took 2 min for the faster kids, I jogged the course when placing my cones and then the first lap to set the pace and reinforce the course, with 16 kids at training there was a big line following.

All up with w/up, c/d and a few reps, 7km for me.

A cold is on the way...

2009-06-14T12:02:00.003+10:00

Sat night I knew I was starting to feel a tad below par, tickle in the throat and sneezing and a runny nose, but not enough to stop me, but I'm smart enough to know I need to ease up a tad.

This morning's run at the You Yangs, I organised with one of the mum's to pick kids up along the route, this would allow me to get a few hills into the legs of even the younger ones and not have to worry about getting them back to the start. I had three girls with me starting on GCD and Jo, Claire & Elyse started on Greyhound and they would cross over on a trail (approx 400m longer). Eventually that group with Loren caught up along Branding Yard Rd just before jumping onto Branding Yard trail which goes up a steep hill to Turntable, my first drop off point (for 2).

A quick re-group and then along Rockwell, which has a lot of rolling hills, very little flat. After approx 15 minutes we hit GCD again where I dropped Courtney off with her mum who was waiting. Then up a VERY steep hill for 100m and then onto a MTB track which followed a goat track, rocks, steps, rolling hills for 1-1.5km. I was enjoying running with Elyse, Claire & Jo, but it was becoming very obvious that Jo was struggling BIG time, thankfully Courtney's mum hadn't passed us and I was able to get Jo into the car and taken back, myself & the 2 girls continued on.

The next part of the course was a snaking dirt trail through the bush up to the car park at the entrance to the Stockyards (MTB area). I must admit this is a really nice course, very enjoyable, nice views, nice hills, nice variety etc. 73 minutes today, the longest run for the two 13 year old girls.

Once home Jo was out of it most of the day and I sniffled alot and coughed a fair bit.

Brisbane Ranges

2009-06-13T23:29:00.002+10:00

Early this morning I jogged just over 2km with 6 U13 & U14 kids this morning chatting about today's WLAC race and also using the group for some peer group pressure with Harley, for some reason he had decided he wasn't good enough to compete in the VLAA State titles on 24 Jul...I got my way!
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A cold day in Melbourne today, at 1pm when I picked Blair up it was 9 degrees and we were off to the Brisbane Ranges, which historically have been a cold & wet training location in previous years.

The Vic Park web site:

Little more than an hour's drive from Melbourne takes you to the state's richest wildflower habitat. Set in a low range of mountains dissected by rocky gullies, the unusual geology of Brisbane Ranges National Park has preserved plants that have long since vanished from the region, together with a correspondingly diverse bird population and the greatest density of koalas in Victoria.

Eventually we are ready to start just after 2pm, running from the Boar Gully Picnic Ground along Camp Track which takes us out of a Gully.

A group of 12 of varying abilities etc, four of the guys who were running 2 hours had already left whilst we were organising the teenager girls (for those with girls will understand what I mean)...

After 10 minutes half of the group were planning on a run with 2x5 min tempo sets, whilst myself and a few others were just after a 50-65 minute run. An enjoyable run, lots of general chit chat with young ladies (Bec & Loren) from other coaching groups and myself & young Claire having a very social time whilst getting some time on our legs over dirt trails with some hills thrown in for good measure.

Once back at the Picnic Ground (50 minutes) with Claire, I made a call that I was going out for another 15 minutes on a different trail, Blair (17) came for the stroll. Like every time I have been to Brisbane Ranges I have seen a koala or 2, today was no different; in the dying minutes of my extra run I saw 2 little koalas up high. No rain today, just a few light drops, but very cold, so the social BBQ on the open plate was short for myself and my car load.

The photo's are from my Club's web site, I just thought my Blog needed some colour.... :-)

Pilates in the morning

2009-06-12T19:10:00.002+10:00

In the gym with Tania who I like to torture in the mornings, today I decided a pilates session was the 'call' for today. Whilst I have no pilates quals I have done loads of Pilate mat classes, so I used that experience to take Tania through 50 minutes of pilates pain.

A typical warm up of roll downs and sidewards stretching and lower back, concentrating on core & breathing, then onto legs. The names escape me but we did two leg & stability exercises and then a step away from pilates and some lunges were introduced. Then working on getting the spine working with the core and then some pilates tri push ups and then some purely ab core work.

Planks, one of my favourites and we worked them today, 60 sec front, 15 sec break, then 60 sec front, 15 sec break, 45 sec front, 15 sec break & 45 sec front. 30 sec break, then 30 sec oblique turn over with NO touching, 30 sec other side and then 60 sec front...ouch, 30 sec break and then 30 sec oblique each side and 60 sec front, I just managed the last 60 sec, JUST.

400m reps again

2009-06-11T21:26:00.004+10:00

In the gym, 10k on the bike, then upright rowing & oblique lifts, shoulder press & crunches on the fit ball, butterfly & incline sit ups, bicep curls & crunches on the ball again, lunges & incline sit ups and then finish off with side leg raises mixed in with crunches.
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The track set for my group, JoANNE & myself was the same as last week, 10x400m in 96 sec with a 200m float. I sat on the outside of lane 1, sometimes in lane 2 hitting 94/95 with 2 x96 sec reps, a nice solid set, including a 3 lap w/up, 4x100m strides and 2 easy laps to c/down.

Reps (200m shuffles)
93.8 (86)
95.1 (84)
96.4 (87)
95.8 (84)
94.7 (2m 20s) - a standing break, long by 20 sec

94.2 (94) (50m walk, 150m shuffle)
96.8 (95)
95.2 (102) - a quick chat with my 8x rep runners
95.7 (96)
94.07

Western Zone XC Champs @ Brimbank

2009-06-10T22:59:00.002+10:00

It poured over night and all morning and it was cold this morning. I took today off using my annual leave so I could support 9 kids from my Squad, on arrival at Brimbank at 9:20am it was 7 degrees with light drizzle, hmmm fun fun fun.

Five Zones competed today in seperate races, which each Zone having 6 races (10 years, 11 years & 12/13 years as at 31 Dec), the first 4 qualify for the Vic State Primary School XC Champs to be held on 24 Jul at Bundoora. My niece has already qualified via the Shepparton Regions, so I have booked a coffee with my youngest sister, Rebecca.

Cold, wet and muddy is the only way to describe today, muddy & wet, have I already mentioned how wet & muddy it was??? As well as warming up my squad I also helped with the Werribee District PS, always good to help out the schools and advertise who I am etc. The first race was the 10 year old girls, 4 runners from my group, Lexie the favourite, last year she finished 2nd in this race and this year she is 10 so she was hear to show her dominance which she did by winning by more than 100m and comfortable is the only way to describe her race. Chantelle run it exactly the way I asked, easy first 500m and then work through the pack, which she did and finished 4th and Demi (this age group next year) finished 10th after falling on the start line and Victoria (recovering from the flu) finished 11th which was great as she is not a XC runner but a very good 400m runner. A great result and a nice way to start the day with 2 qualifiers.

The very next race had Thomas who run a great strong race finishing 2nd, following the VLAA 800m silver medalist. (3 qualifiers) A break, more rain and OMG it was getting colder! Then the 11 year old girls with Chelsea (recovering from influenza), Teagan and Courtney. This race was always going to be dominated from the Werribee LAC kids we had the talent here and the first 8 kids all compete at WLAC. Courtney ran a blinder from the front and never allowed anyone else into the race, the fast pace at the start killed Teagan (12th) and sadly Chelsea who I expected to finish in the first 3 couldn't sustain her race pace after 8 days of suffering a nasty hit of the flu and was still suffering, but between mum & dad and my athlete & coach we decided to give it a go, she finished 6th but outside of the qualifiers.

The final race for me was Scottie in the older boys race, a very strong sprinter who I have improved his endurance greatly, winter for him is footy (VC of his team) and when he can he trains with me and today he finished 9th, 6 spots higher than previous years.

A very satisfying day, with four kids qualifying for the State Primary Champs.
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Training tonight had low attendance, just a group of Year 7 kids, faster 400m reps which I did with them in the bloody rain! 4 laps to w/up, 4x100m strides, 5x400m in lane 3 in 90 sec and then 2 lap cool down. It rained for probably 80% of the night.

Another cold wet day in Melbourne

2009-06-09T22:22:00.003+10:00

I know we need the rain, here in Melbourne we need it a lot, the reservoirs are very low, still below 30% nothing like our norther states of Aust, but I still would prefer that all rain falls whilst I am asleep!!!

Wet & cold this afternoon, even hail in parts of Melbourne this arvo. I was only expecting 5 at Ballan Holden tonight, myself & Jo and then Harley (14), Claire (very nearly 13) and Elyse (13), but all 3 kids had school sporting commitments and they were all very cold & wet from playing in the hail, so I told them all via mobs that they should enjoy a hot shower and a night off!

So, I thought this meant I could stay home and enjoy a quiet one at home, but Jo reminded me that we could still manage a run....hmm I know she is right but... whilst getting ready it starts pouring rain, for goodness sakes. Thankfully with some time wasting I manage to walk outside at the right time, its cold but NO rain. SKIN tights and short sleeve top under my running T and with a hat I was comfy to run. 45 minutes was the plan with Jo, along the creek pathways we went, after 8 minutes or so we picked up the pace for 2 min at a fast tempo pace.

Back home after 46 minutes of running, with 6x2 minutes of faster efforts, a nice solid set.

My youngest sisters b.day today, 35 and I even managed to remember to ring her today, I am improving with age... :)

Vic Primary Zone XC Champs tmrw, first 4 qual for States, sadly due to the real influenza issues a few who should make it through have to miss the day. :-( Running tmrw: Lexie, Chantelle, Demi, Thomas, Courtney, Chelsea, Tegan, Victoria, Scottie

Queens B.Day Public Holiday

2009-06-08T22:04:00.002+10:00

I drop the boys home at 4pm and then made my way to Wyndham Park, cold & wet (which is Melb at the moment), I jogged for 15 minutes before grabbing the kids in the car park and then took them off for a 6 min jog around the park so any late comers could be picked up on our passing at the starting point.

We then ran along the river and through some local streets before making our way to the river again and then over to Chrinside Oval (home of the VFL Werribee Tigers), once on the oval we enjoyed 6 lots of strides on the wing and a few laps on the boundary before making our way back to the Wyndham Park.

All up just short of 7km for me and then watching drills & strides on a tan style path and then 5 minutes of stretching.

You Yangs MTB area

2009-06-07T21:31:00.000+10:00

This weekend my boys stayed over but I wanted hills to be a part of my program for Elyse, Claire, Bailey, Jo & myself, I would have like a couple of others too, but they were away or the trip may have been too much, so I took the safe option with them.

I asked Claire & Elyse's mums if they could entertain my three boys whilst I took the girls for a trip on a part of the park that they had never been too. So I organised a picnic breaky for my boys which they thought was a cool idea. So from Toynes Rd Burkie's group went one way, a few others went a slightly different way and my group went the hard way.

The run is great, but the first 2km are a bit tough and if I could we should have jogged an easy 2k prior but the distance & toughness was already an issue. From Toynes we ran anti clockwise and made our way into the Stockyards, which goes via the Vic MTB course and up into the area where Ned Kelly with Heath Ledger was filmed etc, some of the trails are very testing.

According to Jo's Garmin the course was just over 8.6km in 55 minutes, how slow is that, don't get me wrong, Bailey & Aliesha struggled so we where having to wait a few times or they would still be lost in some random area of the park.

I would like to do a few more hills next week, but I'll have all of my youngsters back, so it may be a logistical nightmare, but I may try...the benefit may be worth it all. But not the same course.

Finally....

2009-06-05T21:10:00.002+10:00

Prior to my gym set I decided to run a lap of the Tan and after a quick check of my training log I have finally run a 1000km for 2009, a lot early than last year (mid August).

A lap of the Tan in 18 minutes something and then into the gym for a 40 minute session of all round stuff and YES I did a plank or two and my entire body was SHAKING!

400m reps

2009-06-04T20:47:00.002+10:00

Gym at 6:20am, varied exercises all in combination with planks, bench press & plank, lunge & plank, biceps & plank, etc etc. 50 minutes later I wasn't really enjoying my 'so-called' smart plan....
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Track session tonight, what a lovely coach I am, I gave them choices:

10x400m with 200m float
800/1000/1200/1000/800m @ 96 sec per lap with 90 sec recovery
4x1200 @ 96 sec per lap with 90 sec recovery

Guess which one was picked and DON'T cheat and read Jo's Blog...

A good set sitting on the ouside on Lane 1 and to be honest I thought I could have kept going. With 4 laps to warm up, 4x100m strides and 3 laps to cool down.

Tan, gym, indoor football & coaching

2009-06-03T20:04:00.002+10:00

As well as all above I even managed 8 hours paid work...

I arrived on the Tan at 6:15am and took off for a lap of the Tan before my gym session with Tania. Today in the gym we did a bit of chest & back before I started my torture of planks for myself, Tania and 3 others. 30 sec front, 30 sec oblique, 30 sec front, 30 sec oblique, 60 sec front then a 60 sec break and do it all over again x 2. By the end there were only 2 of us left, Tania (my regular gym partner) dropped out and told me I could stick my planks with only 20 seconds to go.... :-) but as Jo says to me, lots of ppl get upset with me at times, but they always come back.

Indoor football today, tough game, we lost 5-4 (it was 4 all at half time). This was our first loss in 6 weeks, we are still 3rd in the 10 team comp, with finals nearing.

Training tonight, I jogged 3 laps and I ran diagonally from the 200m to 400m many times, calling out times and instructions, whilst my squad did 1000/1000/800/600/400/200.

Reps along Fed Trail

2009-06-02T19:50:00.002+10:00

Back in the gym this morning; a couple of chest exercises, mixed with oblique lifts, then some bicep & tricep mixed with incline sit ups then lunges & squats mixed with 1 min planks.
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My squad meet as per normal at Ballan Holden, less a couple; 1 girl's family have been quarantined due to swine flu and two others down with the real influenza and 1 with the common cold, but there were still eight of us. We started off with a 6 min warm up, then some light stretching and then into the times efforts, 5x4 minutes with 2 min recovery. The first two recoveries were 30 sec walk then 90 sec shuffle, but the walk increased on the next breaks, but not the overall break, that remained at 2 minutes.

My 5 reps felt good and due to my inability to read a watch properly I got 2:30 into a 6th rep before pulling alongside the leading group and discovering my mistake. And if you are wondering why I was not with the lead group, I had been leading them, but I shuffle back to the last person and check on them prior to taking off again...

A good set tonight, solid!

First day of winter....

2009-06-01T14:43:00.002+10:00

Well I decided not to get out of bed at 5:30am for the first day of winter and I skipped the gym and made my way to work, leaving at 6:30am.
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This evening I got in 35 min of steady pace running along the Werribee River before going out for a 10 min stroll with the kids for their warm up before then predominantly standing and pointing (coaching), I did run one lap of my hilly course that I wanted them to run 5 times and I jogged the cool down of 5 minutes.

So dark at 5:45pm....

May's running stat's

2009-05-31T23:59:00.002+10:00

More running this month than any other this year...

May km's - 244km

YTD - 962km

Injuries - nothing to report, most of the niggles are less niggling

Excuses - busy busy busy and I happily put the running concerns of others ahead of my own.

Races - XCR'09 Rd 2 Warragul 8km XC and Rd 3 Sandown 10k road, neither very well raced, but I ran!

Upcoming - XCR'09 Rd 4 Lake Wendouree 15km road race

Goals - Continue on with regular running and with 6 weeks to go until State XC Champs I will be busy with coaching.

Summary - May was the most kms this year so at least I continue to get a few extra kms in, but again in the BIG picture still minimal in the 'bank', but a 2nd over 200km.

You Yangs

2009-05-31T22:38:00.002+10:00

62 minutes of running at the YY, easy running, nothing special. Legs felt ok, why wouldn't they...I really should have run a bit better yesterday everyone else was talking about how sore they were, not me... :(

A good day, an enjoyable run, a nice breaky, some grocery shopping, some house work, some shopping with Jo and some general bumming around.

XCR'09 Series, Round Three, SKINS Sandown 10km Classic

2009-05-30T21:30:00.002+10:00

The day started at Cobbledicks Ford for Little Aths racing, a good days racing, some of my squad are really flying and as a group are really dominating their races. One particular girl, Lexie, a little 8 year old girl easily beats all of the U8, 9 & 10 girls and is only beaten by 2 of my U10 boys. Harley is an U14 boys who I would really like to see start racing with AV, he wins every open race too easily, he needs the comp but due to family stuff he can't make the Sat arvo comp, but I think I'll get him in four weeks for one race and one other, that may be enough prior to the VLAA State XC Champs.
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Arriving nice and early so I can get my Team Manager duties out of the way and then put on my coaching hat and go for a settling warm up with 2 of my U14 girls, once their race commenced I continued on for my 10 minute w/up (15 min all up), to be honest I felt ok during this period and on the line I thought 43ish minutes was possible, worse case 44.

Today I started mid pack and settled into my preferred pace quickly going through the first km marker in 4:25, I slightly increased the next and went through in 4:22, followed by 4:23. After 3k I thought I was going along ok, not too fast but ok (for my current fitness etc). For the first 3k I was very aware that a lady from my Club was sitting on my shoulder or just behind, Mel was working and breathing a tad harder than she probably should have been. Just after the 3k marker a few Club supporters cheered myself on, & Mel & Bec & Loren & Jo....ohhh so I am the wind break, a quick look over my shoulder and there was half of the Wes Aths women team within 10-15m tagging along for the ride :-) and so they should have been using the BIG guy who was running approx their pace!

The next 2k were ok, but a tad harder but sitting approx 4:30 area, on the back straight 5k area Bec moved alongside and then after 200m or so moved slightly ahead, I past the 6k marker and thought well this is the half way marker (pain wise and effort wise). A few hundred metres later into the straight I heard some familiar foot steps, Jo was right alongside me...my first thought was, yes she is running well, second thought was FUCK she is easily going to beat me and this of course is when the bad thoughts started.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not fussed at all being beaten by Jo or anyone else, but I am not running well in my fitness but MOST of all in my head, as a GENERAL rule I am not a TOUGH runner, I am a front runner I could never be a VAL Pro runner where I need to chase the slower person...and this has been an issue for a few years.

I knew I was starting to slow, not just in my mind, when Jo pulled alongside, so the coaches hat came on and a quick few words of encouragement and then the instructions Jo didn't want a that time, "move up onto Bec who was 5m ahead, grab onto that small pack, leave me now" and off she went. I struggled up the straight past all of the Club cheer squad etc and once around the bend (7k) I walked for 5m, why....who the fuck knows, but I did and I did a few other times in the next 2 km...all of the walking breaks were very short, but they were there and they should not have been and really they were NOT required.

The final 1.2km were run well considering and I passed probably 15 or more in the final straight, and why wouldn't I??? I should not have been running past these runners, I shouldn't have been there! 45:46 A PW by a long way, but I'll get over it.

Lots of thinking to do, why, how etc, will I bother, will I not etc. But overall I enjoy running and I love the team concept, so I'll probably continue on and just suck it up and hope to get fitter and just 'roll along'.

Gym and a L O N G shitty 'Planning Conference

2009-05-29T21:14:00.000+10:00

In the gym at 6:20am, OMG this early morning stuff is getting easier.... I started on the tready for an easy 2k and then an easy 2k on the bike. Myself & my training partner then did some incline bench press, incline flys, shoulder press, biceps curls mixed with some incline crunches, then crunches on the ball and finished with 3x1 min planks.

Today's work day commenced at the Novotel St Kilda at 8am and I walked out the front door at 6:15pm...then back to work for 30 minutes before making the trek home...I've had better days.

Some 200m reps during winter is always nice!

2009-05-28T21:43:00.003+10:00

This morning out of bed just before 5am to watch the Champions League, whilst the result was not what I was hoping for, I sadly believe that the best team on the day won the game, deservedly.

I watched the game until 6am (we were losing 1 - nil), then a quickish trip into the city, jogged to the gym and took control of the big TV, straight onto ESPN, shit United are two down and the final 10 minutes we didn't look like we were going to score... :(

Whilst in the gym, 5 minutes on the bike and 5 min on the tready before some deep squats followed by lunges, then cable cross overs, bicep & tricep work, bench inclined sit ups, fit ball & med ball core work followed up with crunches.
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Tonight at the track, a couple of outer lane laps followed by 4x100m strides and then into 20x200m in 44/45 sec pace with a 100m walk in approx 60 sec, a nice steady set prior to a 10k road race on Saturday.

3:45 felt very easy, yes only 200m efforts, but nice and easy was how they all felt, with myself & David leading the pack we chatted nearly the entire session. Finished off with a 3 lap cool down.
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Last night the Man Mundine won again, but I ask the female readers, what do you think of Sonny Bill Williams body, if you don't like tatts then please ignore the sleeve, but OMG I was watching the highlights of his fight lasdt night, I would be running so fast and far away, he is 'built'!!!

Gym, indoor football & coaching session

2009-05-27T23:26:00.002+10:00

Minimal running today, just over 2k on the treadmill. Gym set and a great win in my teams indoor soccer game, 4-1.

No running tonight with my Squad, too busy and I told the group today was about form form and form and looking comfortable but moving quickly.

Gym & Ballan Holden set

2009-05-26T23:08:00.002+10:00

Chest, shoulders, lunges, squats and core - 50 minutes, to start the day.

Tonight's set along the Fed Trail was a 8 min run and then 4x4 minute efforts with 2:30 min recovery, a slightly shorter timed recovery and only 60 sec of walking and the remaining time floating at 6 min pace (according to Jo's Garmin).

I felt strong and easily could have done another 2 sets, maybe it is true, I am getting fitter and it is time to build this up now. Shuffle back for the cool down.

A few days off from running

2009-05-25T22:55:00.003+10:00

A few days off for me, but not my squad, with Little Aths races, training pack runs and organising long running partners they all got out and I spent a good weekend with the boys, even though I did nearly stick their DS consoles 'where the sun don't shine'.

I even slacked off this morning and didn't go to the gym for my bike ride... :(

This evening I managed to squeeze into a steady 42 minutes along the Werribee river starting and finishing at Wyndham Park, then I picked up my squad and strode another 41 minutes with the kids in a different direction, the only difference was the pouring rain for the last 25 minutes.

Today I clicked over 200k for the month and 900k for the year, sadly my 2nd biggest month for the year, but it is going forward. yay

Tonight was my first Club Committee meeting as the President and having to run the meeting, etc.

A late start for work

2009-05-22T22:45:00.002+10:00

Taking advantage of flexible working hours, I organised with my boss to get to work between 11am-12 noon, I took the morning off to go out to Bundoora to watch three girls I coach compete in their XC Champs representing their school in Year level races.

After crawling out of bed at the respectable time of 7am, I decided I could go for a light stroll as running this weekend will be minimal with my boys staying over etc.. So I went and ran a 5km course I have measured along Skeleton Creek.

Racing was very good, 3 top ten finishes, 4th & 6th in the Year 7 race and 7th in the Year 8 race. Claire (4th) ran a GREAT race and was very close to 3rd, a girl she has never beaten before, but all ran very well, but Claire's was a standout.

Gym & a track workout

2009-05-21T22:31:00.002+10:00

45 minutes in the gym with Tania, we did 20 minutes on the bike at a steady pace followed by some upper back and core (planks planks & more planks), gotta love planks.

At the track tonight for a pyramid set for my squad, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m at 96 sec per lap (4 min pace). With 3 of the girls competing in the the Co-Educational Secondary XC Champs (no idea what that means) at Bundoora on Friday morning I gave them a night of 10x100m strides with some drills and stretching. This meant a smaller group than normal, 5 or 6, with Jo missing the 1k reps due to school aths training prior to the set. Myself and David jogged just over 2k to warm up and then 4x100m strides, ready to go.

A few weeks ago I could not have done this set as well as I did today, whilst we missed the first rep and ran 4:04 the rest were right on and I was very happy in how I felt, I basically felt in control and this shows that I am getting fitter (finally), but still a long way off where I would like to be, but....I am improving.

Three lap cool down in the outer lanes.

Tan, gym & coaching

2009-05-20T22:27:00.002+10:00

An easy lap of the Tan and then into the gym with 3 from work for 45 minutes, chest back & core.

I jogged 2km with a few of the teenage girls today and I ran the 4x100m strides and then stood and coached.

Just 6k today.

Gym session & Ballan Holden set

2009-05-19T21:12:00.002+10:00

45 minutes in the gym today, a fairly normal set for me, an all round hit out.
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Ballan Holden tonight, a couple of newbies tonight, Harley (14) and Scott (nearly 12), brothers, both will benefit a lot from this session in 4-6 weeks, more so Harley as he is the distance runner and Scott 200-400m runner who plays footy during the winter and runs XC for the fitness.

We started with a 7 min warm up and then into 4x5 min with 90 sec walk & 90 sec shuffle. Before the session I was worried that I was going to crash & burn tonight, but happily I felt fairly strong and held an even pace.

Overall a boring session to talk about, running along a bike path, but the kind of solid set I am building my winter season around, but after Sandown it will be time to change it up a bit, by reducing the recovery, I bet that will not be popular, thankfully I'm not after a popularity award.

Werribee River run

2009-05-18T20:55:00.002+10:00

Yawn, yawn & more yawning. Today I had to sit through a 5 + hour briefing regarding the White Paper and how it affects my agency as we are the Defence Acquisition agency and the Reform Program that we need to undertake so the Government can strip us bare so they can then buy buy & buy and look good...are you bored yet, well I was and by the time the briefing finished I was in such a blah mood that I decided I would use some time owing.

I arrived at Wyndham Park at 3:59 and off I started running along the dirt trail in the direction of Riverbend Park, my legs were very heavy and after 15 minutes I was still strolling with heavy legs! Once at Riverbend I crossed the river via the dam wall and started my run back via Presidents Park and then back onto the trail. Nearing Wyndham Park I made a detour towards Chrinside Oval and then ran down Watton St (main st), back to my start point in 48 minutes. I noticed Harley (14) had arrived, so I grabbed him and we took off for a run, 9:30 minutes = 57 minutes.

Then off for a 16 min stroll with my squad and then lots of pointing/coaching, a good Monday run, not to hard, not to slow etc.

Guess where I ran today?

2009-05-17T21:38:00.003+10:00

96 minutes of running today, up & down was the call of the day and struggling as well. I started off nice and relaxed organising my first 65 minutes with Blair, we followed the group and after a 5 minutes we started to move up through the group and then continued on. The first 3.5km was a nice comfortable pace but then Blair and I left the others and we moved up to Turntable, fuk my legs were not happy, once at the top I found Blair jogging around a short 350m circuit then off along the rolling hills of Rockwell.

We followed yesterday's run, past Saddleback and onto the MTB trail alongside GCD, once at the Stockyards carpark we then followed GCD back to Toynes, 66 minutes. I then chatted with an injured tri guy who ran with us last winter and then I took off for 30 minutes with Belinda.

A tough but enjoyable run today, followed by a good cooked breaky and then a bit of shopping with Jo. May of my juniors ran today at the Bacchus Marsh XC Open Day, five podiums resulting in two course records.

Club Pack Run

2009-05-16T20:42:00.002+10:00

Friday morning was in the gym for an all round set, predominantly chest, back & core, but other major groups were visited too.

Our Club Pack runs move about the place and this week the run was scheduled for the You Yangs, yes some of us visit the YY weekly, so we ensure that we select a trail that is visited by only a few and not often. We started at Big Rock and today I decided where the majority would go (yes I can be a bit bossy or at least very persuasive), but I also coached 4 of the group and I also know a lot of the trails in comparison to others.

I suggested a 50 minute course which could be extended by those who were doing their long runs upto 60/70/75/90 and two of the U20 boys did just over 100 minutes. The first 20 minutes of the run really hurt a few, constant hills until I got them onto a new MTB trail which follows GCD for 2km and then moves into the bush and snakes its way to the Stockyards (home of the State MTB course). We arrived at the turn around spot in 28 minutes and then split into smaller packs, I turned with a couple of ladies and some of the girls I coach and from here my run turned 'pear shaped', I needed to take on a 'carer's role' with an un-named person I coach, we had turned and were running down a steepish hill and this person had dropped to 15m off the back of the pack, I turned and gave some encouragement and saw a strained expression. To cut a long story short, the person said to me they had 'pooed themselves', the poor bugger. SO we walked back to the starting point, I'm not sure how bad it was, but they didn't want to run, so we didn't, gees I was cold when we got back to the parents.

So not exactly what I wanted, but as a coach I am prepared to make sacrifices, I did manage nearly 6km of hilly running.

Just the gym today

2009-05-14T20:22:00.001+10:00

A very sore foot today meant no running, I had scheduled a light morning stroll and a track session in the evening, but I was limping, so the gym for me.

Instead of just completing a weights set, I split my 45 minutes between the bike, the stepper (yuk) and the FreeRunner machine. The bike was tough work, an interval session; then onto the stepper, whilst my HR was displaying 132bpm most of the time it was my legs that were screaming a lot after 7 minutes and then onto the FreeRunner which was just like running but with no impact and was enjoyable sitting in the mid 140bpm.

Then 10 min of an ab workout involving crunches and then planks.

Gym, indoor football & coaching session

2009-05-13T20:54:00.003+10:00

In the gym for 50-55 min, chest, shoulders, upper back, arms & core.

Indoor football at lunch, another good win, 5-3. We are now 4th on the ladder (out of 12) and starting to get close to finals.

Training at the track tonight for my squad, I stood and coached, a few sore spots, so I decided to rest up.

The regular Tuesday set

2009-05-12T21:59:00.002+10:00

I started the day on the Tan, 2km of easy running with one of the ladies from work, including some hopping, jumping, step ups, push ups, lunges and some planks.

This evening I jogged for 8 minutes before meeting up with my squad, then 8 minutes with them before stopping for some easy stretching, then 4x4 min of efforts 1km, 1km, 1km & 1.1km, very happy with the consistency. This is the first time I have worn Jo's Garmin for this session, I wondered if I was hitting 1k in the 4 min and I had two 13 year old girls only a couple of steps behind me, I suspect in the coming months of their good days and my not so good I think I will have some side company!

Finished off with a 1.8km cool down.

A Monday....again

2009-05-11T23:12:00.002+10:00

Work.......hmmm nothing else need be said!

I started early, so I could enjoy 35-40 minutes prior to meeting my Squad at Wyndham Park. I started my run through the park, after 5 minutes I picked up my pace so I could keep my HRM showing 145ish and that is where I sat for the 30 minutes, 145-152bpm. My run was an exploring run and re-visiting some of the loops I take the kids over.

Once back at my car a quick change from my singlet into a T and I grabbed my jacket. A few minutes after 5pm, I took the group off for a 20 minute run, I took them along a few of the trails I had explored today and then we ran down Watton St (Werribee's main shopping strip), much to the surprise of many late shoppers seeing a group of 20 kids running and talking (screaming too).

For me I only ran two hill reps to set the pace and a 8 minute cool down. A good evening of running, a nice back up to a busy weekend of running.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:54:00.004+10:00

I tend to be a shit son and tend to forget birthdays etc, BUT Mother's Day I'm fairly good and this year I even sent a card and a small present. My mum doesn't see me or my boys a lot, I have such a busy life the 3-3.5 hour return drive (Murchison) just doesn't fit into my lifestyle a lot...I can hear many shaking their heads, but that is me! And to make matters worse, I'm not very good with the phone either! Whilst again I didn't visit mum (she was busy trekking around Beechworth for the day), I did manage to send a small present, the present was a CD of photo's made into a Windows Media movie with music etc, lots of photo's from my mobile etc, ala like below.

Last night I dropped my boys back at home with Julie just before 9pm so they could spend the day with their mum, this meant I could enjoy my long run in the morning. Jo & I picked David T up for our trek to the YY, with it being MD, I only had the only girl who is old enough to stroll along with the adults, she enjoyed 9.1km with us before we dropped her and a couple of other 13-15 year old girls back at Toynes Rd. Then a smaller group continued on, Jo moved in a different direction after 11.5km and then I was next to drop off the pack after 85 minutes.

Throughout the first 10k of the run we sat on an average of 5:25, my HRM was nearly identical to DT's, I seemed to be happily sitting 135ish for most of the trip. But around the 13k mark I noticed I was sitting mid to high 140's, the legs were starting to complain, so that was when I decided to call it a day.

Quads and the glute are a touch tired, but the calves and hammies are all good. :-)