VPSSA Western XC Championships

I took today off so I could attend the Primary School Region XC Champs at the Brimbank Park, lots of kids from my younger squad where racing, only a few not there. To progress to the States you need to finish in the top 6. Natalie (1st), Mia (2nd), Alexie (3rd), Chantelle (5th), Teagan (7th), Chelsea (12-15); all were in the 10 year old race, so 4 in the same race progressed. Next were Bailey (10th), Ben (14th), Thomas (20th) in the boy's 10 year race. I knew kids in the 11 year old race, but none in my squad. The final races were the 12/13 boys & girls, previous years none of these kids had made the top 20 before, Claire (5th - WOW), Elysse (14th) & Zac (14th). A few other kids should have been there but two missed their school race and two go to schools who do not participate in the VPSSA competition and choose to do NO external PE.

Great results and four of the kids in the 10 year race will be in the same category next year... So five kids will progress to the VPSSA Primary Schools and the rest of my squad will concentrate on the VLAA Region & State Champs, which will suit ages much better. A good day's races.
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Track training for the group tonight, those who raced will do some laps, strides and stretching. More to follow later...

I jogged five easy laps chatting individually with a few of the kids who didn't progress, talking about the coming months and where to for them. I did some strides, 2 laps during the sessions and then 6x110m strides.


Finished the night with a 60 min pilates session, I really noticed that I was able to hold a lot of the strength poses a lot better tonight, maybe the running is starting to make my legs a tad stronger. :-)

The Tan in the morning & a few laps of the track in the evening

This morning I was meeting a friend on the Tan at 6:30 for a run/walk lap, I got into the city just before 6am, so I jogged a lap of the Tan first and then the second with Tania. Afterwards we did some tri dips, step ups x 3, then maximum push ups.
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The track tonight, Jo (6x800), Steph (5x800) & Pierre (5x1000), I set their sessions and joined them with like athletes runners except Jo. I started with 4 laps of the infield, then some admin stuff with some parents. Then I jogged a few laps with Steph (12) then after chatting with her I joined a few of the guys for a bunch of laps before stopping to drop some clothes. I ended up re-joining with Cookie & Adrian and jogging around in Lane 7 & 8 for a few more.

A few laps with those doing cool downs, all up 15 laps + the in field.

A short ride & an easy session in Wyndham Park

Early morning in the gym and straight onto the stationary bike for 15 minutes at an average of 19mph, purpose to roll the legs over to warm them up and try to get rid of any stiffness from the weekend.

Overall the short ride was easy and a good idea, after finishing I jumped onto a mat and stretched my legs for 15 minutes.
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This evening I had the younger group at Wyndham Park, starting with 1.2km w/up along the river, stretching, a few even paced strides (8x75m) on a gravel path, then 2x900m loops on a gravel path. No time of any many meaning for me. The session was a lap hard 'ish' but steady, 3 min break and then off again but the second lap was to be faster. I started with the kids and sat mid pack for the first 200m, then moved through the group until the 500m mark where I stood and encouraged the kids and then very fast to get to the front so I could call the time out. The second lap, the kids all started approximately 3 min after they had finished. Out of the 14 kids tonight, 10 finished approx 10 sec faster and the other 4 finished with 2 sec either side of their first lap. We all then went for a 8 min slow jog as a group.

Ferny Creek

Last night I went to dinner in Hawthorn and enjoyed a great meal at 'The Base Camp', Nepalese cuisine and for the first time I had goat and quite enjoyed it.


This morning myself & Jo made our way for a late start (after 9am) at Ferny Creek, Jo's first visit. 70 minutes of enjoyable soft trails, a few hills but nothing major, still building the kms slowly.

A good weekend of easy running, for the next four weeks the plan is just run, build the legs and then maybe in one month maybe some rep work.

Little Aths and a Wes Aths Club run

Today started with picking C & D up for their race today at Werribee Sth on the beach, wow it was a tad cool... 5 degrees at 8.30am. This course is generally a little tough but is probably the 3rd hardest for WLAC, but the Wyndham Council have made some changes and have increased the sand area and removed a lot of the grass. The 1k course had approx 150-200m on grass and some of the sand was quite soft.

I decided I would run a few laps today of the course, so when the group walked the course I jogged it and I told the organiser that I thought this course was now the toughest! I ran another lap as the 'rabbit' for the U6-8 race, then I ran another lap when the U9-10 race were walking to the start for their 1500m race, then I ran another 2 whilst other races were in progress without getting in the way. All up 5km predominantly on sand, but all easy.
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This arvo the Club pack run was at the You Yangs, but as many of us are regulars, we decided to start in a different spot, so we started at the Big Rock car park, which meant we would be running in different areas. A few different groups of paces and abilities, I decided to take Michelle and Jo around Big Rock and then towards the front of the park which is much flatter. We started at a fairly casual pace and strolled along trails and a few soft dirts, around the 16 min mark I picked up the pace for 8-10 min and told Mich to continue on a the same pace and then turn when we did and Jo cam e along for the increase in pace. All up approx 43 min run for the girls, I felt the need to do an extra lap of the rock to get my stride, so 48 for me.

Victoria Gardens and a lap of the Tan

I arrive 20 minutes early for my run with Clare, so I took off for a 15 min run around Vic Gardens and some other close by park lands before moving back through the Botanical Gardens nearing Govt Dve, just as she parked.

Then a lap of the Tan with lots of chatting, I've clocked many k's with Clare, but this was the first run in many months.

The purpose of today's run was to get back to some consistancy. My eating is starting to improve and whilst I have no idea of my weight, I can say with some confidence that some of my work pants are starting to feel a little more comfortable, thankfully!

Tready & a gym session

This morning in the gym, starting with 2k on the bike and then 2k on the treadmill, before moving over to the machines. We started with knee raises and lat pull downs, then upright rowing & shoulder press, then lunges with weights & squats on the Smith machine before moving to the mats.

On the mats we did 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of push ups & table top crunches with no rest, then we walked a lap of the basketball court, then side leg raises and oblique crunches (15, 12, 10) and then a few laps of the court again. All up a nice set with the legs feeling very much worked and the tummy & bum crying out for help.
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A game of indoor football at lunchtime which I played about 20 minutes of, knee held up and the rest of the body too. I am aware of my knee, I have been told that the area that is slightlly uncomfortable when I push on it is the cartlidge region...
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Tonight at the track, I took three girls for their session, 3 laps, strides, 10 min of stair work and then 6x600 in 110 sec per 400 with 90 sec recovery, then 3 laps on the grass infield to cool down. Nothing for me, just coaching.

A morning stroll along the Yarra & coaching the juniors in the evening

This morning I parked my car in Wells St behind work and ran from there, the intent of todays run was to run 30-40 min, depending on how it all felt etc. According to MapMyRun it was just over 6km and I ran for 32min, nothing special, but a run to feel how the knee & achilles felt after a few days of running.

I wore skins and a T, but I didn't really need the Skins, calm conditions.
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Tonight at the track with the young ones, only 11 tonight, lots of strength work & drills, I selected three évenish teams of four (yes me included), it was repeats of 400m at pace in a relay format, therefore the recovery was waiting for the other kids. Of course I changed the rules as the session went, with varying age groups you need flexibility. The race (so the kids called it), ended (18 min) with one team winning by 75m, myself as the last runner of team 3 started 200m behind the team 2 Captain (Michelle) and about 80m behind an 11 year old, I past her near the 200 mark and then continued hard until the water jump, but I knew I couldn't catch Mich, so I slowed up and waited for Monique to help encourage her and like most kids she found that little bit extra in the final 40m. Much to the disgust of my team members WE came last (strategically of course). But as I said across the line, WE ARE ALL WINNERS, because they had a GREAT session! With warm ups & drills and 4x400m, I did approx 9k today.

Achilles is GOOD, the knee...I'm aware of some discomfort, but nothing that slows me down (just fitness).

A morning lap of the Tan & at the track in the evening

This morning I meet a friend from work on the Tan at 6:30, she has never done a lap of the Tan so today was her day! We walked briskly and ran short intermediate periods for an entire lap. Once we finished we did push ups, step ups onto a park bench and then tri dips, 60 sec rest and then repeated. We then did 30 sec side plank, 60 sec front plank, 30 sec side plank, then a 60 sec break and then repeated.
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Tonight at the track with the boys as per normal, chatted with a few athletes and set their sessions. A bit of chit chat with a couple of parents and then I jumped into lane 3 and jogged three laps (avg 2:10 pace) before Cookie caught me and he told me he was going to jog a lap and walk a lap, sounded good to me and this meant I would have company, after 30 minutes we stopped.

A quick chat with Jo, Teagan & Claire, then parents and then back to Hoppers to drop the boys off and then home.
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WOW, note to my Blog: I finally made 300km for the year... :-( I'm not happy really, 300k is what I was hoping to run in January, not by the 20th of May!!!

Werribee South training and on local roads

5pm this evening I met my young group, the clouds were everywhere, dark & looming, the drizzle or rain was on the way, so we started right on 5pm. Tonight was to be the test for exactly how my knee is, it feels ok, I can prod and find a spot, but I can hop on it with no probs, so I'm running! We started with a 6 minute warm up, 3 minutes away and then 3 min back, then some gentle stretching and chatting and congratulating the 11 runners from yesterday.

Today's group, I was missing about 6 regulars but I had a new 11 year old girl and the return of a 12 year old boy and Michelle (15) returned to the Monday session, I'm very happy to see the young teens mixing it up with the 8-12 year old kids, it keeps my over fast boys in control (a little).

Tonight I used the grassy hills and the sand to mix it up with short sharp hills and then long angled runs downhill, moving fast, LOTS of heavy breathing...good. We then finished off with a 4 min cool down jog and some stretching, 15 sec per stretch, which kids DO NOT LIKE..
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Once home I watched Neighbours (yes I know, but I've grown up with it), I did 2 min planks during the ads and then out the door at 7pm for a 15 min run on the roads, my first run on the road in a LONG time! (not really sure how long) Afterwards, I stretched inside and then showered and had a quick light dinner.
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And for those readers who have seen my growing body lately, I am happy to report that my pants today didn't feel as tight today, thank fuck for that, I knew refusing to buy bigger clothes would eventually work (I hope).
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The team and individual results are up for Sandown, eleven guys under 30 minutes! Wes Aths had two podium finishes, one gold and one bronze! We also won the U14 wmn & men U16, good solid results in other junior age groups. 6th in wmn Div 2, and the men had great results with all three teams finishing in the top 4. After three rounds the men & wmn U20 teams are first and second, 'the U16 men are also in the top 3, the four men teams are winning Div 6, 3rd in Div 3, 5th in Div 5, with the DIv 7 team in the middle of a BIG pack of 20 teams. GREAT results

Racing.....not me, just those I coach

A busy weekend of racing, but limited running for me, so I will have to continue to run through others, thankfully I love coaching...

The day started with picking C & D up, pouring rain...and cold (7 degrees), by the time we arrived it was just raining (not hard). WLAC normally have an average of 95 runners, we were down to approx mid 60's but all 26 kids I coach we there! :-)

Lots of great efforts on the Riverbend course, whilst this is an easy flat course, I jogged the course with a few of the kids and I actually found the footing very slippery and hard to push off and feel powerful.
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A trip to Sandown for the Vic 10k Road Championships, the trip there was rain rain and more rain with my temperature guage showing 6 degrees for the entire trip. Wes Aths had 50ish runners today, starting with the juniors 3k race, with the U16 boys leading the pack including a Wes Aths boy who finished 3rd and then the second pack involved a couple of U18 & U20 girls and one U14 girl from Wes Aths. It is amazing watching little girls, we had 3 U14 girls finish before our first U20 girl (& she finished in the top 5 of the U20 race).

After the junior race, we got all of the U20 men & Open men & women to the start line, I helped collect jackets, dropped them back in the grand stand and then walked the course in reverse to give encouragement etc. Sadly our Club were missing three of our fastest men and a few more who would break 40, but we still managed nearly 30 runners. With a handful of the guys in the 34s and another 4 or so in the 35s, it was a good day, but COLD (5 degrees according to my car when I left). Congrats to Troopy for another win!!!
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A few weeks ago I suggested to my Little Aths sqauad to consider running at the Bacchus Marsh Open Day, eleven kids & their parents also thought it was a good idea, a different course and some different competition. I got to run around a bit, watching races from the middle of the course and also jogging it with various kids at varying times, all up easily over 5km and the knee was ok (not great, just ok).

Eleven kids raced (other Werribee kids too) from my group, with four finishing with podiums finishes, but all raced VERY well and to be honest the run of the day went to a 4th place finisher, he beat two boys from Geelong who finished in the top 10 at State XC last year, last year B finished 22nd.

A good but COLD weekend!

PT style circuit

In the gym at 6:30am, T was already there on the tready, a quick check of her speed, incline and length of time, of course I upped the incline up 1 and increase the speed froma 7kph walk to 8.5kph for 5 min. Whilst she was completing her tready work I jumped on a bike for 7 minutes.

We then interchanged between exercise stations for 15 minutes before moving downstairs onto the basketball floor where we did a lot of lunges, squats broken up with some short runs and then 10 min of core work.


So lots of leg & ab work which I could feel the effects of the previous days.

No physical stuff for me today

I woke this morning to an improved knee, still slightly swollen and still an issue, BUT a lot better than yesterday.


Coaching this evening at the track, I used today as a strength session with minimal running (kind of), first they started off with a 3 lap warm up in lane 8 (normally 2), then double the amount of strides, before we started on drills and then lunges, squats and then 10 min of stair work before moving onto some criss cross work on the infield, then a game. Just a few trots for me here & there, enough to know there is improvement, but I am still INJURED. :-(

I even had to say no to Clare for a morning trot around the Tan tmrw. :-(

A circuit indoors and a very sore knee

I met a friend on the Tan at 6:30am and told her that I didn't think I could run the PT session on the Tan as my leg was very sore and moving was difficult, so I suggested we go the gym at work and do our session on the basketball court in the gym. I put her on the tready and I rode the stationary bike for 3 minutes, before moving over to the tready and increasing her incline and pace into a trotting pace. Every couple of minutes I made small changes to her tready either pace or incline or both.

Then on the court, the set included some jogging, push ups, lunges, squats, jumping on HJ bag (not me), crunches, planks, step ups and of course more running (minimal for me).


As the day went on my knee became sorer and sorer & also quite swollen.
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At the track tonight for coaching, the four girls (Jo, Claire, Steph & Michelle) did either 4/5 x 800m (110sec per 400) with a 90 sec recovery and Pierre did 5x1k reps with another group 90 sec per 400m with a 60 sec recovery.

I had a quick chat with Bel (physio), showed her my knee, she said that the affected area was inside and in the cartilage area, but was either a major bump or a slight aggravation, she didn't think it was too serious, but it is swollen and slightly uncomfortable and hard to move when first getting up.

WHY

Today I noticed that my knee felt like it had done more work than it really had, meaning there was some discomfort, but the feeling was similar to a BIG week, but of course I haven't had a big week this year.

I met my squad at 5pm at Riverbend, 27 kids and a few parents running too, we started off with 850m w/up, all was good, no discomfort. We then did some stretching and then jogged about 500m to my starting point. 6x1min on, 20 sec off before then running along various river trails, crossing the river etc a couple of times. Finished with some stretching and then 2x1 min planks for the group (too much for some of the kids, but 6 did both sets perfectly).

As I was cooling down I noticed the discomfort was returning and by the time I got home my knee was swollen and uncomfortable, not sore, but uncomfortable....iced and elevation.
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Western Aths AGM tonight, for the fifth year I have been nominated (& accepted) the role of Secretary, we have a new President who is a great choice for our Club (Burkie).

A weekend of trips to Mt Macedon & the You Yangs

Out the door this morning just after 8am, I took the boys to the local flower seller and they chose some posies etc for their mum. I dropped them there and then waited for Jo and we went to the You Yangs for a 9k run. Jo's third run back and within 100m I had to ask her to slow down as she was going way faster than I was ready for... first off we completed a 5.7km loop in 29:30, a short drink and then back along a dirt trail, approx 3.2km.

All up a good run, a comfortable pace, which worked a decent sweat and got the legs rolling over.
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No running on Saturday at Mt Macedon, but my Club had our first trip to Mt Macedon, which looked a great area, the car park is at an elevation of 1000m and was entirely covered in cloud much to the surprise and delight of my sons. The three boys ran around playing soldier games and thought it was fun to be only 50m away from me and knowing that I couldn't see them the majority of the time due to the cloud.

A few walks with the boys and a couple of parents whilst lots were running some new unknown paths. The boys were very excited to find a koala in a small bush gum tree only 1m off the ground.

A BBQ to finish off a nice afternoon.

Circuit & indoor football

This morning I ran a couple of kms and powered walk around the Botanical Gardens, finishing off with loads of lunges, squats, push ups, crunches, sit ups and finishing off with various planks, T (lady from work who I am helping with PT sessions) found it hard, I also found that my legs were fairly tired from the amount of lunges I had done throughout the week and also a few kms than previous. :-) all good!


Lunch today I played approx 15-20 minutes of the indoor football, 2 - 2, a draw was a better result that losing.

A few laps and pilates

I arrived at the track at 4:50 and I started with four laps until a few of the kids arrived, I ended up jogging another 5 laps with various kids, all laps in lane 7/8. The only other activity for me during the 60 min coaching session was some demonstrations of drills and strength exercises.

7:30pm, 60 minutes of pilates (normal session), arguably the toughest session ever for me. Some new planks were introduced as well as some other touch (tough) exercises.

Circuit in the Botanical Gardens & a few laps at the track

This morning I was on the Tan at 6:30am with a lady from work I am helping gain some fitness, running on/off for 15 minutes, from the roundabout at Govt Dve upto the bottom of Anderson St where I saw Em with her training group, I said hi but obviously she wasn't aware of me running past. From there I got back to the Pillars and we went up and down the hill, first time doing sets of push ups every 30m and the second time lunges.

Then running along some dirt paths or power walking from park bench to park bench, stopping for 10 step ups and 10 tricep dips. We eventually stopped near Govt Drive and did 30 sec of oblique plank/plank/oblique plank x 2.
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Tonight at the track with C, D & K, I was able to jog 8 laps of slow running with breaks in between for admin purposes and to chat with a couple of athletes re their session.

5-6km's worth for the day.

A short gym visit and some running at Riverbend

Maximum 15 minutes in the gym, 5 min on bike and then some core work, I decided I wanted to get some Wes Aths work done prior to work, so at my desk by 7:15am.
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Tonight I was meeting my younger squad at the Riverbend Reserve, but I organised Connor so he could do his homework in the car whilst I jogged around for 15 minutes by myself, which allowed me to check the river crossings and also wearing my Garmin meant I could measure the warm up track (850m).

Once the majority of the kids were there I took the group for a warm up around that loop and back to the BBQ area just in case of late arrivals, which there were. Progressively the group has been getting bigger, 25 kids tonight, 2 mums & 1 dad. The best thing tonight was many of the new kids are 11 & 12 which has meant the front pack is growing! :-)

Tonight I had the kids run at pace for 40 sec, then float for 20 sec x 6, we then rest and then jogged up to Shaws Rd bridge, crossed the river and then back along the river paths, back over the river at the Ford and then back to the BBQs. Tonight Teagan wore the Garmin, 5.6km from the warm up.

So for me just over 9km tonight, by far the furthest I have run in quite awhile which felt ok, but I did notice that I was tiring near the end of the session (but don't worry the kids didn't notice, they were BUGGERED).
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Little Aths AGM tonight, I nominated and was accepted for Education & Development and the On Track Coordinator, I've decided and informed the Committee that this will be my last year looking after the On Trackers.

Not much running

Busy day on Sat, Little Aths XC in the morning, AV Rd 2 at Warragul (1h 45m away), act as the Team Manager for 40-45 athletes, drive back home and then Western Aths Presentation Night.

Drinks at my place afterwards, in bed about 2:30ish. A quiet day on Sunday. No exercise.

The team results from XCR08 Rd 2 are on the AV web site, Wes Aths won the wmn U20 events and men Div 6, 2nd in U20 men with a few other good placings and a surprising result was 2nd for the Div 2 wmn, originally we were listed as 3rd which was great. :-)

Coaching session & a small month of running

But more k's than February, which was easy! Tonight I had my young squad at the track and two 15 year old girls joined us to. On arrival I jogged 1 lap with Michelle (15) and on the second grabbed one of the 12 year old girls and eventually as kids arrived some jumped on and others jumped off after 3 laps, I ended up doing 10 easy laps.

Some strides on the grass with the kids and then I did some of the strengthen drills with the kids. Tonight the kids did 5x300m at varying paces, I did three of these reps at a comfortable pace coaching on the run, which the kids tell me they like.

I finished off with 2 easy laps with the fastest 2 kids and after the youngest ones left I jogged another two laps whilst watching Michelle & Melissa finish their final rep. So all up well over 6k which my achilles felt good afterwards.


Pilates at 7:30pm.

Just coaching

No running tonight, just a coaching session for four 12/13 years old girls, 5x600m in 2m 45s (55 sec per 200m) with a 2-2.30 min break. Easy reps, with lots of talk re form, running tall, relaxed arms and shoulders.

I also grabbed a couple of Burkie's girls for some strength & core work afterwards.

Short time in the gym and a run around Wyndham Park

Well I went to work early to go to the gym for 45 min or so, but I decided whilst driving in, that I would prefer to get some work done, so I only spent 25 min in the gym, 10 min on the bike and then 15 min of stretching and core work.
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Tonight I put my Garmin on one of the 'lead' kids in my group, I was interested to see how far the kids approx run in my Mon session, 5.2km. Probably 5/6 of the kids would have run that far and then a few would have been approx 1km less and then a couple of even younger ones would have been low to mid 3kms. With me jogging predominantly at the front of the pack except for a few hill repeats I would have run about 4.8km. Tonight we jogged for 6 min to warm up, stretching and then a lap at medium pace to show them exactly where I wanted them to go, 2 min break and then they were to run the lap at a pace that they could repeat after a 3 min break. A couple of the younger kids I told them to jog slowly 2 min in one direction with one of the mums and then return. The older and faster kids all ran slightly faster on their second lap, which was great and a lot better than I expected and it wasn't because they were going slow the first time. :-) Very happy with the pacing.

We then finished off with some hill work, short repeats which I did 4 of and then for the final two I watched, protecting my heel, but also coaching technique.

I was impressed tonight, when we arrived there was a light shower and when we left it started to rain, but whilst training, NO rain. But I was impressed even with the ordinary weather conditions (cold & wet) I had 11 kids and two mums tonight.
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Western Aths Committee tonight, the final preps for our 'late' Presentation Night this Saturday and also the final meeting prior to the AGM and we need to discuss that our President is moving on and we need some new blood on the Committee.
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RIP LCPL Jason Marks

You Yangs....yes me

This morning I meet Club mates at Toynes Rd and ran around the Branding Yard Trail (5.7km), I started with one of the new guys, Andrew, after 8 min I told him he should move on and catch up to the other guys and I walked for 30 sec and then jumped onto the back of a small pack with Bel & Mel and 2 others.

I stayed with them and completed the run in 28:01, the pace was ok and I wasn't worried by my achilles, just fitness. It wasn't hard, but I was aware that I was breathing harder than I normally would at this pace. Three hours later my heel feels good and I'm happy... This was my first run with adults in more than 2 months, so it was nice to have adult style conversation whilst running.


I went to dinner last night with a girl who I have been hanging out for awhile, I suppose as dinner was with her brother, nephew and their partners at her brothers house, this must mean that maybe we are more than just hanging out. And she has now met all four of my boys, so for the one or two people that haven't worked it out already...you should ask Jo.. ;-)

ANZAC Day

Dawn Service, gun-fire breaky and then a day of just wondering around and doing stuff.

No running, no physical stuff at all, except walking.

A day off from work

Sometimes you just have to enjoy being a Public Servant and flexible working hours that allow us to be reimbursed OT with time off... (flex leave). With more than 20 hours owing, I asked for today off so I could watch the Hoppers District PS XC Champs. With the first race at 12:15pm, I started the day with an important sleep in...an appointment with some hot wax (years later and it still hurts...) and then a swim. I'm not 100% sure if swimming is in the program yet, but I only swam 750m (breast stroke & free style), so I'm sure I will survive.

I then sat in a coffee shop for 60 minutes reading the paper and drinking nice coffee before going to the XC course. I met the school group and then after a few minutes it felt like a normal XC race, lots of kids spotting me and parents too. So a few bits of advise to a few kids and jogging around with many kids, which gets strange looks from some teachers (who is this guy sort of looks...understandably). But by the end of the day I was approached by 2 other schools.

The only disappointing aspect of today is that Connor could have progressed to Zones today (top 6 go through), but at the school's race a feww weeks ago he had a 'brain snap' and decided he wouldn't race and stood on the start line for 10 minutes before he decided he would become normal again. One of his friends, Jarrad, who finishes within metre of him at Little Aths over 1500m finished 3rd today in the 2k race. :-(


Today's racing was great, Mia finished 2nd in the 10 year 2k race, but was 5th last at the 400m mark, happy to see a controlled start. Claire & Alysse were in the 12 year old race (Grade 6) and finished 1st and 3rd, with Kaitlyn (who I coached up to 1 month ago) in 2nd. A couple of younger kids who raced up ages (meaning they are 8 or 9) did really well with top 10 finishes but not good enough to progress, but they have another year or two in this age group, so they were great performances!

The St Peters kids did really well, in the big picture my four sessions with the kids wouldn't have helped a lot, excluding Claire (more than 12 months), but with 6 kids progressing through and three winners, Claire, Ben & Lexie (teachers daughter), the school were very happy with finishing 2nd out of 12 competing schools.
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Training tonight was at the track, with nearly all of my kids having raced in the past two days I thought I would give them a different session. One lap of the complex (900m) and one lap of the track, then some dynamic stretching and then some leg strengthening exercises, jumping, hopping, bounding and skipping. Then a few strides on the jav run up and onto the grass. Then for a change I set up a circuit, crunches, squats, push ups, lunges, burpees & planks with 20m runs in between each station, a lap of the circuit took approx 3 minutes. Finished off with some games.
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Like this evening I nearly forgot to mention my pilates, done & dusted. Its great for core, but a NEED more cardio...oh and to eat & drink less :-|

F.all running and too lazy to go to the gym today

Slept in and didn't get to the gym, so at my desk at 8am...

I confirmed the time and location of the Hoppers Crossing PS District XC Champs today and confirmed my attendance with Pauline. As well as the school team I have four kids at other schools representing their school, I expect all four of them to make it through and a handful of the St Peters kids.

Today the Werribee District PS Champs were being run near Presidents Park/Riverbend Park, Teagan, Natalie & Chantelle were all in the same race. Going on summer form Natalie would prob follow Teagan but both would be following Sarah C (not in my squad), but obviously the easy running on Mondays and the sharper stuff on Wed have been helping. Teagan won for the first time, Nat second and Chantelle 4th, who ran up an age so she could progress to Zones, a bit of a gamble which paid off. I got a phone call from Chantelle's dad with a description of the race, it sounded very exciting. So the formula is working and I'm sure with Zones at the end of May I can get them a lot fitter and running smarter before School Champs and then State Little Aths Champs.
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I went down to the track with my 3 boys as I thought Michelle & Michele were coming down for a track session; but both rang after 5pm and told me they couldn't make it. I watched of the young girls who have left me to go to Burkie due to friendships (fine with me, but still a little sad of course), chatted a bit with some Club mates and then took the boys home for dinner (meat balls & spagh), their mum was attending a meeting regarding Connor's upcoming Eucharist
(and here's me thinking that it was a communion, but Connor wants me to call it Eucharist)... :-)

Appt at OPSMC & a coaching session at Wyndham Park with some running

3pm appointment at OPSMC, to be honest I was worried that Karen would be saying I had gone backwards, but that wasn't the case, she listened to what I had done (& yes I was 100% honest) and my explanation of how it felt etc. So up on the table, a check and some prodding and then a session of shockwave, overall she is very happy and even though I am more aware of my achilles she believes it feels better and reminded me that I am off the anti-flam tabs.

Plan for next two weeks (next appt), no change to my running schedule, all easy, all on grass/dirt, short runs only and no more than 3 in a week. But the difference is I have a heel raising/lowering regime to follow for the 2 week period.

After my appt I picked up Connor & little Teagan and made my way to Wyndham Park for my training session with the youngens. I gave all of the mums & dads my training plan & timetable for the U12 and younger kids for the next 2 months, they were impressed, a plan. Today was our first visit to Wyndham Park for 2008, many of the kids just assumed we would run the course, but thats not my intent at all. We ran along the dirt trails, crossed the river, jogged around Chrinside Oval (home of the Werribee Tigers, VFL team), with a few onlookers from the footy guys. Its funny, I take all of these trails for granted, but the kids were like wow.... With a few hills thrown in here and there, a few minutes of fartlek work and some jogging recoveries, I was able to keep 14 young kids fairly quiet tonight... :-) A couple of the kids were seperated from the main group in the second half, they are racing in PS District XC races this week, so I had them running on the flat paths whilst the others were going up and down some short sharp hills. The only concern was Stu did these too...according to my Garmin 3.5k for Stu.
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AV results are in and Wes Aths are very happy, four teams in the top 3 and heaps in the top half and best of all, I confirmed recruitment for another two ladies who are 43 min ish 10k runners today and also another guy who is a consistant 38 min runner, all three are 'spewing' they missed the first race! Results here

BIG SMILES

AV Officials, Administrator's & Club of the Year Award

No run today, I did considering going to the You Yangs for a Club run and complete the 5.6km loop, but thankfully I thought about it a bit more and decided breaky was more important and a smarter decision for my achilles.
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Today as the Western Aths Secretary and Clare (Registrar), attended the AV Awards Function in Camberwell as our Club attendees. The Awards function is predominantly to recognise the great dedicated work that the officials and administrators put in to the sport of athletics here in Victoria. There were some Certificates of Recognition for officials who have served the sport for 60, 50, 40 & 20 years. Also some guests were introduced and interviewed, Madeleine Pape, Sean Wroe & two time olympian, Ray Weinberg, which was great listening to the aspirations and preparations for their olympic games preparations and then Ray's stories of 2 OG and and third as a Team Manager and Coach. Also a 30 min show from Greg Champion, which was GREAT & VERY funny!

After the awards for the top male & female officials were handed out, they moved to the Club awards, the Administrator was given to a guy from Diamond Vally and the Club of the Year Award was given to Western Athletics!!! :-)

Very excited to receive this award in amongst 60 AV Clubs, a nice Certificate and $1000 to the CLub to be used for a project, yet to be decided. Not much more to say!

Round 1 for Werribee LAC XC & Round 1 for the AV XCR08 Series

Little Aths, C & D had their first race for the season and Declan was up first, U7 1000m race which is a combined U6, 7 & 8 boys & girls, I ran as the 'rabbit', a nice way to run 800m and then stop and give encouragement for the final part. Declan ran a PB and happily ran the entire distance. Connor ran in the second race, U9 & 10s in the 1500m, this was Connor's first in this distance, 8 boys in his age group and he finished 4th and ran really well.

The kids I coach dominated the U8, 9, 10 & 11s, but the boys in U10 & 11 age group aren't with me, excluding those boys, my squad had 1st to 5th and all ran very well.
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Round One of the AV XCR08 Series, at Jells Park, below is the map & elevation of the 3km course:




No running for me, but my job today was VERY busy (but I love it), I was the Team Manager for the Western Aths teams and to explain how different this was to previous years, last year we had our most teams; 7, this year we paid for 20 teams, 9 Open & 11 underage teams. WOW!!! One of our U14 boys was withdrawn on the day, but 19 teams hit the start line; Men Div 3, 5, 6, 7 (2 teams), U20 (2), U16 (2) and U14; Women Div 2, 3 & 4 (2), U20, U18, U16 & U14 (2). But not only lots of teams, but lots of new members, so basically a lot of confused looks... :-)

Lots of good runs, we are still waiting for official results and with so amny teams it was hard to keep up with results, but a win to our U16 men and second for U20 men & U14 women and we think a lot of the other teams finished 3-6, which is great results. Relays are hard to win, especially when some teams have the like of Craig Mottram and Lee Troop...

Check out the You Tube video that AV have posted, I have only watch a part of it and blogger doesn't like it, but Aths TV Rd One is here.

Official Results to follow....I know that Men's Div 1 was won by Geelong Region and the women's was Knox AC, Western Aths won the U16 men's... :-)

Training of the PS XC team

This morning there were 28 kids for the training session at the Wetlands, I took the 10-12 year olds and the 9 younger ones went with the PE teacher, Pauline. A bit of a buss after this mornings session, Pauline told me that because I coach one of the Grade 6 girls, Clare who is the fastest girl at the school and the kids from Tue were talking about it at school how good I was (so I'm told) and others wanted to be involved with Clare's coach. All a bit over the top, but still its always good for the ego.... :-)

Pauline wanted the kids to run the race course today, so we started off with a 750m warm up to the starting line and I then got them to do some gentle stretching, some dynamic and some static. I then took the kids around the course, we ran it in a fartlek style, changing paces and jogging on the spot allowing the slower kids to catch up, we continued this for 3k. Then a chat with all of the kids about an invite to Presidents Park on Sat and an invite for a light session after school on Monday at Wyndham Park, with their race on Wednesday.


My running, all up just over 4km's worth, probably too much, comfortable pace and I was easily setting the pace for these kids but in hindsight I can feel my achilles a bit, either because of doing too much or because I have stopped the pills etc...

Sunglasses...

Just 20 minutes in the gym this morning, I never really got into the swing of it, so I 'cracked' it and left. I really should have stayed longer, especially as I couldn't do pilates today :-(


Tonight at the track with my squad of juniors, strengthening work, then lots of strides on the grass with lots of form correction and then finish off with 5x200m. No running for me tonight with the kids as I can feel my achilles, I'm not sure if that is because I am off the anti-flams or if I have done a tad more than I should have....but I've done f.all but maybe its just shit!
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A question, if you drive on the freeway into the sun each morning, can someone please tell me why many drivers try to use their hand to shield their eyes, why can't they just fucking wear sunglasses, its not hard and maybe then they could drive like real drivers or maybe they could use public transport and leave the roads clear for normal people..

The ups & downs

A great start to the day, I met the PE teacher at the car park in the Glen Orden Wetlands car park and by 7:35am we had 14 kids, not bad considering they had only one days notice. The kids ranged from grade 4-6, I knew 6 of the kids, which made it easier for me, especially as the fastest girl is coached by me so most of the others were excited to have the same coach, according to the PE teacher (who is the partner of a Wes Aths runner, small world). The wetlands was chosen as this is where the Hoppers PS XC Region race is, so I got a quick brief of where the courses will be run then off we went. 1km later I stopped the group and we did some stretching before taking off again, with Pauline (teacher) as the 'tail end Charlie' (Army term). We ran for approx 500m at a steady pace and then I picked up the pace for 500m before slowing down, this was great, already I knew who was here because they could run and not because there was no competition at the school; don't get me wrong I don't mean they had to be next to me, I did take age into consideration, etc.

After a few more pace increases we all settled into a nice relaxing run. Hmmmm, I ran 4.8km according to my Garmin, the kids did a bit more than me, as I stopped to watch a few pace increases so I could watch form etc, then they slowly jogged back to me as a group. The hmmm is because I'm not suppose to be running 5k and most of the kids were surprised when I told them approx how far they had run...They were most impressed, gee I hope I didn't 'kill' anyone... (I think not, kids are very resilient).

Then home, ate breaky whilst icing a part of my body that I am kind of over mentioning.....then dropped C & D at school....then off to work, arriving at 9am, maybe all of the bad traffic had gone, 35 min.... :-)
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Today I received an email from AV, the list of teams that are competing this w/e...wow Western Aths have one more team competing than any other Club in the whole State....more than the BIG clubs of Glenhuntly, Knox, Box Hill or the combines of Ballarat City or Geelong Region, it is hard to explain how proud I was when I seen this, so much work from a group of dedicated administrators, coaches and athletes, we all have created a great friendly Club!!!
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No training tonight as I'm broken and most of my athletes I coach either trained last night, this morning, are injured, working, sick or just not interested today... I still went to the track to hand over a few Club Membership forms I had collected and gave them to Clare (Registrar).

Unofficially my coaching mentor is Burkie, I know that and others close to me probably do too, I hold Peter in such high regards! I believe that I am slightly more aggressive in my approach, but I am also sure that I have picked up some of his conservative approach to the overall training package of an athlete. So I listen & learn as much as I can from a Level 4 coach who has been in the sport for more than 50 years and more importantly is just a really nice guy and a friend! A few weeks ago over dinner we were discussing how a 13 year old boy had moved on to another coach, we discussed how both of us have predominantly females in our squads and how we think this may have been a contributing factor, strange how this has happened. But I digress, Burkie was telling me how he gets upset when athletes move on to other coaches or even more so if they quit the sport, its not a business for Peter it is his passion (my words), I wasn't able to convey any worthwhile thoughts as this hadn't happened to me yet, but I knew eventually it would. I now think I know what he meant. Changing circumstances, different priorities means I don't fit in anymore, many hours of helping/coaching and friendship sometimes seem to 'move on' without you really realising, I now understand what Burkie means.

The ups and downs of life in just one day, the highs of being asked to take on a group and the lows of thinking that you are no longer wanted as a coach.

What a great trip to work....

Well when you can't run much you have to make up headings that bring a smile to my face. Like many morning sin the past month or so, I left home just after 6am and I pulled into my car park in Southbank at 6:29am, OMG, I drove the entire way at the speed limit (well maybe slightly above, but I can't say that as too many 'boys in blue' read my blog....), excluding Sundays I cannot remember doing this trip under 30 minutes. Small things amuse some people!

In the gym for 45 minutes, chest, back, arms and some core work with 10 min of punching the shit out of the big bag with light gloves.


Training tonight at Presidents Park for my group, we started just after 5pm, 18 runners tonight. I sent the two teenager girls off into the distance for 35 minutes, with the instructions of 20 min very casual pace and 15 minutes of off & on hard pace involving small hills. The younger ones jogged 800m and then we stop and do some exercises and light stretching, then for 10 min we jog, go hard, dawdle, jog, up & down hills and walk. Then we jogged along the river for 5 min before stopping near the Shaws Rd bridge and completing four hill repeats before jogging back, with a couple of the very energetic kids hammering themselves back with a competitive 800m sprint home, you just have to love how 9 year old boys MUST be the 10 & 11 year old girls!!!

Once back all of us did lunges, squats, crunches and then we finished off with a 2 min plank contest and an intro to a 20 sec oblique plank. Funnily the best front plank person was Teagan, a 10 year old, in perfect position the entire 2 min, but not the same when doing the oblique plank.

No exercise but a meeting to arrange the Wes Aths XC teams for the first race in the XCR08 Series

The boys stayed all weekend, so breaky at home, we all watched the SImpson's Movie for the thousand'th' time, then into the city so I could fix a job at work for 30 minutes, then lunch at Albert Park and then some time on the playground, chasing ducks, swans etc and wlaking around the parks before taking the boys home.

Tonight four of us met to put the final touches onto the teams for the first race of the XCR08 Series, I really wished it wasn't a relay, it would make it so much easier. But WOW, 19 teams involving 63 athletes! Four years ago we didn't have had that many members, including T&F atheltes + XC athletes.

Little Aths XC and a fun day with the boys

The day started with a fun run for WLAC, just a 1km race and registrations for the XC season, both C & D raced and then spent 30 minutes at the adventure park. This morning I spent chatting with many of the kids from my squad and a couple of other interested parents. I have also confirmed with the PE teacher of one of the local PS, they have asked me to coach their school XC team, twice a week for 2 weeks and further if the kids progress, 2 of those kids are already in my squad.
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This afternoon I spent four hours at Fed Square at the an exhibition, Games On, what a hoot of a day, playing games like Space Invaders, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Halo and many other great games from past & present.
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This evening I went to visit Jo, most who have read my blog or her's will know that she had an accident whilst running a few days ago, but now an infection has taken hold and she wasn't sounding happy and was stuck at home, so.....I took her out for dinner with my three boys, what an experience for a single lady... :-)

Its all good and those TW ppl are amazing!

No exercise today, a conference in the city and I picked up the boys for the weekend. But I am happy to report no ill effects from yesterdays activities....thankfully!

This morning I couldn't feel my achilles, but I got my voltaren gel and massaged it quite aggressively and there was no pain.. :-)
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Last night myself & Burkie sat down to try and work out the teams for the first AV Relays next Sat, we have lots of new members and those coming back, so we checked with Clare our Registrar and started picking available runners. For anyone who knows Western Aths well will be surprised or jealous of our success, it appears we will have a minimum of 10 underage teams and eight open teams (4 men & women), this will involve 52 athletes, when I first joined the Club 6 years ago we only had 40 members and that was including the T&F athletes... I can't describe how rapt the experienced campaigners are!!!
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I finally got to my desk just after 1pm and the first thing I did was check the Trailwalker website...wow Clarkey's team was winning and went on and won they did!!! 100km under 12 hours and beat 2nd by more than 1 hour!!! The Girls (Em, Jay, Michelle & Corrie) were in 78th/667 teams, what a great effort. A couple of hours later 4pm ish, they were 130th but as I type (10:11pm) they are listed as 72nd with less than 35k to go!!! Well done Girls... I have sent 2 texts, I'll send another later!

No running for a few days

The last few days I have run a few kms, a have done LOADS of lunges & squats and some other exercise, trying to get back into the swing of it. This morning I woke up with a little bit of feeling in my quads, but everything else was fine, abs & back good after pilates.

Today I played 20 minutes of indoor football (soccer), I probably shouldn't have, but I did. The Captain is away and as VC I was happy to organise, but meetings, trips away etc etc, meant we were very short and so I played the second half of the game. So I iced afterwards!!!
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Tonight Western Aths had a our registration night, many have registered already, but tonight was a success and we have 50 already registered and considering 5 years ago we didn't have 50 for an entire season, it looks really good and there are still more to come for the XCR08 Series. WOW. Five years ago we used to have 5-8 open men compete 1-3 open women and 5-10 underage athletes, this weekend we will have approx 52 running and that is with 5-8 regulars missing through injury, work or overseas races (a tri & the Boston Marathon). This is looking like the best year for Western Aths, something a few of us have been working towards for three years to have this many competing.
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Only a couple training tonight, but away from my track, but sadly Jo has rang me informing that she has had a fall....(no laughter), many stitches into her knee joint and probably no running for 7-10 days..... she will be very :-(

Gym, coaching & pilates

I started the day in the gym, loads of light weights with minimal breaks for 30 minutes and then onto a 'fit ball' for 15 min with some weights and core work.
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Presidents Park this evening, only 9 kids (14-10 age group)this evening, we started just after 5pm, the two oldest were sent for an easy 30 min run, I asked them to run and chat and every time they hit a small hill to run hard and then cruise. The younger kids ran easy for 7 min, stretched, ran easy again, some hill work, some more easy running and then 3-4 min hard. The entire group then finished off with push ups, lunges, squats, lunges, squats, planks for 45 sec, rest, plank 45 sec. I probably ran 3k tonight on grass and dirt, but no hills for my achilles.
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Pilates tonight, probably the hardest pilates I have ever done, 12 in the class tonight but Narz really used myself and another lady as examples to others and we did extra as demo's and also were pushed to do the hardest level each time. In hindsight, I really enjoyed it!

A circuit in the park

For the past five months I have been helping and encouraging a girl at work, an attractive 27 year unfit lady who whilst slim is not fit. She hasn't done any physical stuff since leaving school, but she has a slight build etc. Over the past few months she has been going to the gym and doing stuff, asking questions and taking on advice. About 6 weeks ago she mentioned she was struggling, bored...I suggested that she should introduce a little more cardio and to find someone to train with every so often. But it never happen as she went on holidays to Thailand, but since returning we have been discussing circuit style sessions and some aggressive walking (with short runs, of course I can't help it...).

This morning I needed to be at work to open the safe very early for a project and then myself & Tania went and did 10 minutes of fast walking outside (she normally uses the tready), then a bunch of exercises, lunges, jumping jacks, squats, planks, short dashes, crunches, push ups with walking and running to break it up. She found some of it very hard, but really enjoyed it and has never done anything like it before.
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Training at the track tonight, Clare did a light session and Michelle had her first track session for her winter preparation, 5x800 at a comfy pace, I'm hoping this might be the year that Mich makes some inroads through consistency.

This mornings lunges and maybe yesterdays trot have left 'some' feeling in my quads, OMG, how can this be, so little work....but a step in the right direction.

Gym in the morn & coaching at Pres Park in the evening

This morning I arrived in the gym at 6:30, the bloody bike is STILL broken, made some strong suggestive remarks to the dude who does f.all in the office. Instead of worrying too much about it, I went into the gym hall, grabbed some light boxing training gloves and did 15 minutes on the bags (trying to stay off my toes, which is hard). I got a good sweat up and then went back into the weight/cardio room and used various machines concentrating on back (upper & lower), shoulders and deltoids. The I did a bunch of ball work, some with weights and other core based. After 45 minutes I left feeling satisfied.
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This afternoon I went to Presidents Park in Werribee, it is a big piece of grass land adjoining the river, an adventure park, skate park, baseball stadiums etc. This afternoon was the return for my younger brigade, but tonight I also tried to get some of the older teenagers too and a couple of ladies (Jo & a new lady Michele). Jo, Michele, Melissa & Aliesha went with Scott for a 40 min run, Scott moved away after 5 minutes, he was the only local so I asked him to be the 'tour guide'.

With nearly 20 kids of various ages and also abilities, we took off running in various directions, but generally in the direction of the river, once there we stopped for 5 minutes to do some basic stretches and chat about what I wanted in the river area. The river has tracks in many directions with lots of little hills etc. I had the kids running fartlek style in the river area, they had lots of fun with the sharp ups and downs, kids find hard stuff fun!!!

Once we returned after 21 minutes of running (them not me, I only did 2kms worth) and 5 minutes of walking, I gave the kids an introduction to squats, lunges & the plank.
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To leave my blog today on a positive note; today at 3pm I had a short appt with Karen at OPSMC for my shockwave therapy. In between her appts I get squeezed in, I go straight into the treatment room and we chat along the hallway, shoes & sock off and straight onto the table ready for treatment. Today for the first time in 3 weeks Karen got her thumb into my achilles, hmmmmm, its not hurting, she pushes harder and more manipulation, still doesn't hurt....WOW. She makes a comment, "this is the best I have felt this tendon feel", so a little more aggressive manipulation. Very happy, me because I can't remember work like that not hurting (prob more than 6 months) and I suppose Karen because the SW therapy is working. So I receive my SW and then into her office (so she can write the bill and we discuss the coming weeks:

Keep taking the strong tabs until Sunday night, I am allowed to run 2-3km x 2 per week on grass with my kids group (she knows I coach), next week skip the SW and also stick with the couple of runs and no tabs (be prepared for some stiffness she suggested). Return in a fortnight, another hit of SW and then re-assess. The talk of surgery has gone from 70% to 10% or less!!! VERY HAPPY.

Let me say; finally, fucking finally!

Words for Stu: caution...control...smile!

Gym, Little Aths Presentation Night

Friday morning in the gym I started on the rowing machine for 12 boring minutes whilst waiting for the one & only bike that is working to become free (can't complain too much, its not like I pay). Then onto the bike and I rode for 30 minutes at a constant 25kph before I had to hop off for someone else (20 min limit). I then did some upper & lower back work with free weights, then squats on the Smith Machine & a bunch of lunges with some hand held weights.


Sat night I was the MC for my son's Little Aths Centre which was a good night. I have my squad recommencing on Monday night so the evening gave me the opportunity to chat with the parents (making sure we are on the same wave length) and also a couple of the 13-15 years and a couple of other kids who I thought would suit my squad and also benifit from some training & coaching.


I miss running

No runs, so not many posts...

Since my last post I haven't run (of course) but I have watched a few others runs. Last Sunday I was an volunteer official for Run for the Kids, I started as a guide in the short event in the green zone, my role was to answer any question and help move the participants upto the start line when the 14.14k event had moved out of the way. Then I went to the finish line for the longer event, my first job was to write the names, numbers & time of the top 10 men & women and then help out on the finish line with the swiping paddles. All finished about 11:30am and then I went to Albert Park to meet up with my Club mates who had all ran...

Monday afternoon I had my shockwave appointment at OPSMC, not much to report, 2nd dose of SW theraphy, chatted to Karen about the WXC race (she was the sports physician for the Aust Team in Kenya and this year she is off to the OG).

A few gym sessions, pilates and a birthday, thats about it!

Yawn

Pilates & then day after

Last night I had pilates, I was noticeably quiet and after 30 minutes I was asked what was wrong (I am normally the only guy in the class & generally quite talkative). A quick explanation (my pilates instructor, Narelle, is a VERY good runner who has been injured since making the Vic XC team last year), ohhh, sorry to hear.

The pilates class was enjoyable, the last few weeks I have noticed I can get into some of the more difficult poses easier, I am also finding myself a lot more flexible and by the end of the session I am getting closer to placing my forehead on my knees when doing hamstring work etc. And Narelle mentioned to me that she noticed I am a lot further advanced than one month ago. Well at least something is improving...
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This morning was a PAINFUL trip into the city, 80 minutes due to an accident on the Westgate Bridge, so my session in the gym was greatly reduced as I had a meeting at 8:30am. SO just 15 minutes in the gym, probably not really worth it, but mentally I needed it.

A trip to OPSMC

A few morning sessions in the gym on the bike and the rowing machine with some weights to finish the session off, 50 min yesterday & 45 minutes today. A tad more detail; yesterday on the bike for 35 minutes sitting on 75rpm, which ended up with a good sweat, not a bad set. Then onto the rowing machine for 20 minutes. This was my first time ever on a row machine so I just cruised and ended up with a sweat, but nothing special. Finished off with some weigths, upright rowing, shoulder press, bi & tri curls.

This morning again on the bike, I started with an easy 3 miles (not sure why the gym's bike is in imperial measurements) and then selected the road race program at an average of 80rpm for 5 miles (not a constant pace), I struggled more than I would have liked, but I did achieve the end result.
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This afternoon I had my appt at OPSMC, 3:20pm and got in at 4pm....oh well. Straight away the x-rays were put up on the lighted screen and I was shown some spots in my ankle from previous injures and then show the calcification on the heel and some other stuff (too much info). Next the scan; lots of calcification especially in the insertion, lack of blood in the area, still fluid in the heel and also a bit higher up, etc etc. So a quick round up of the x-ray & scan and then Karen read the report, basically she had already stated everything plus more before reading the report.

Options, shockwave theraphy or things that are stuck onto the heel that are used for heart probs or something like that (I've heard of it before), but there are side affects and Karen isn't sold on that treatment. I asked the question, so what would have been the treatment before shockwave theraphy, Karen said; surgery, straight away! So....I will have shockwave theraphy once a week for the next few weeks and see how that goes. Still NO running, no water running, minimal use of the achilles (ie. walking is it but not walking for exercise).

If this doesn't work then surgery will be next. One of the scans shows blood flow in the region, mine was nearly non existant. Of course $$$$ are coming out of my wallet much quicker than I prefer. :(

So, another 3-4 weeks of no running, so the start of the AV XCR08 Series is NOT going to happen for me, first race is the 6k XC relays on 19 Apr.

Easter.....

So still no running to talk about, but I have started writing a plan for the coming month/s, now I just need the sports physician to agree....

No matter what is said on Wednesday, I need to do something re my training.

It is official, I am putting extra kgs where Stu DOES NOT want them and I can NO longer use the I'm not running excuse!!!

Good Friday

The start of Easter is suppose to be the four days where I normally run lots and lots, but not this year.... :( I'm still not running, since my last post I spent a fair amount of time of a stationary bike doing intervals' and also once a week 20-25km at 18-20mph.

Last weekend I went to Bendigo for the Vic Little Aths State T&F Champs as an official for two days and to try and watch some of my athletes events. Overall nine kids competed and seven achieved PBs and one resulting in a silver medal in the U10 60m hurdles, well done Mia. Two VERY hot days, 38 & 39 degrees with a warm wind on the Sunday and just lots of heat that was sapping energy from all.

This week, lots of paid work & volunteer work, a couple of gym sessions, a pilates class and scans & x-rays. I have my results from the scans, but it is at work and there was LOTS of big words, calcification was a regular one. I'll post the words next Tue, as I have my next appt at OPSMC on Wed.

Vic Overage Champs & WLAC Open Day

A busy weekend, no running, but lots of running & watching the results of my coaching over the past months.

The Overage Champs resulted in Bronze in the 400m with a 2 + sec PB and a high 2:34 Gold in the 800m. The 800m is the GREAT one, tactically it sounds like it was a great one (I missed it due to Little Aths) and considering Jo didn't believe she could run under 2:40 one month ago and to say she was 'shitting' herself after Christmas is an UNDERSTATEMENT and thinking she could run under 2:45!!!


Another plus for the O/Age Champs, was a lady, Michele, asked me a few weeks ago if she could join my squad and also join Wes Aths, I watched her compete on the weekend in a O30 100m race (which was as a result of a bet with a friend), next year the 1500 - 5000m will be the approach.
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Eleven kids competing today, lots of Open Day medals & lots of PBs too. Lots of sun time for me and I feel like it will be an early night to bed after a couple of 'cold ales'. I was really happy with some of the runs in very hot conditions and not just the PBs and or medals, but the ability to hold their form all the way to the line and to try to the best of their abilities!. A BIG :-)

My visit to Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre

Today I visited OPSMC and seen Karen, a Sports Physician. Background, watch me walk, watch me do a few activities and then had a detailed look at my achilles and calf.

Zero pain in the calf, soleus or the typical achilles tendon region, all of the pain is very isolated on the heel. So one of two things, Achilles Tendon Bursitis or achilles tendonitis. Of course it could be both, so off for some scans & x-rays to determine which way to move ahead. I got the feeling that Karen is thinking more towards Bursitis. So, NO running for two MORE weeks, onto prescription antiflams (Naprosyn 500) twice a day, no swimming, no water running. Bike riding (on the set only) and swimming with a thing in between the legs to stop the use of the feet.

So for me, bike in the gym, gym work & pilates.


Whilst at OPSMC today I ran into Sally, she was the pod I did the achilles study with last year at Melb Uni, a small world.

NO posts for over a week, but NO running to report

This week has included a couple of gym sessions and four nights of coaching, as well three meetings, of and some paid work too.... But no running, I have my appointment at OPSMC today at 1pm, so I am hoping to get some guidance in which direction I need to go.
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Last weekend I went to Albury to act as one of the Chief Officials for VLAA's State Multi Championships and also I had three young athletes competing on the Saturday. The events; 80m hurdles, 100m, long jump, discus & 800m. A good experience for the kids and also me as a coach, great results, 7th, 8th & 14th.

Tan & gym

A bit cool this morning and some light drizzle to contend with, but I strolled around the Tan in 21:20 minutes, not very fast but it was a run. Achilles was so so, but not too bad, trying to find the return back to regular running and I have decided that I will not run around the track more than once a week, trying to stay away from the firm 'red' surface.

After my lap I went to the gym and did 2 sets 20 reps of upright rows, shoulder press and arm curls and then I did 2 sets of butterflys on the fitball & cross overs on a machine.

I then did 10 min of stretching.
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Off to Albury tmrw afternoon, three kids from my squad are competing at the State Little Aths Multi Event Championships and I am acting as a Chief Official on the Sat & Sun. It should be good a good weekend and a good experience for all three who are doing their first State Multi event.

Bike, track & pilates

This morning I went to the gym and jumped on the stationary bike, the set up is in miles and lbs??? I decided to pick the 'road race' program today, I selected 80rpm for 10 miles at varying pace. The first 5-6 miles I thought I had selected to easy of a session, but then the sweat and some effort was required to finish off. 80rpm averaged around 19-20mph. I then finished off with some cross overs and good morning lifts.
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At the track tonight for Little Aths general training, on arrival I jogged 3 laps in lane 3 and then set up the HJ for Melissa & Mia, then set up the hurdles and then jogged 2 laps with Melissa. I did some drills before the kids started to arrive and then did a few with them too.
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Pilates tonight, a little tougher than last week, but enjoyable.

Gym, coaching and a small track session...

Gym this morning for 45 minutes, I really gave the shoulders and chest a bashing today, a lot of the work on a fitball which was the first time this year, so this helps work the core group too. A good session, maybe too much upper body, but the final 10 min was squats & lunges.
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At the track tonight with Melissa & Melanie, both U14 girls who are both new to training, both very responsive and willing to learn. Both girls did 5x300 and 2x150m. Melanie trained with one of Burkie's girls and then did some hurdle drills for the first time ever under Burkie's guidance, whilst Melissa arrived later, she is preparing for States HJ and an Open Day 800m, so she did a heap of drills first and then the set of reps.

I also did a small session myself, 3 laps with Blair (U18 boy) and then 2 laps with Cookie (O45, but VERY quick 2:01 800). Then I did lots of drills in my Frees, heel skips, marching, high knee skips, extended leg drags and bummies, all felt good. I then moved onto the edge of the infield (throwers in the middle) and did 6x100m strides and Cliff Young shuffle back before turning and going again, probably 1500m pace. The infield was wet from the sprinklers, so lots of mud up my back. Burkie had one of his 800m girls doing VERY fast 500m reps with LONG breaks, so I joined her for the first 200m (33 sec), I was rapt, as the pace felt good, achievable, but enough, I did 3 reps. I then shuffled around on the infield watching Melissa do her reps and chatted with her during her recoveries.

Overall a good night and my hip feels GOOD and the achilles was manageable.

Just gym, coaching, short run & a committee meeting

And a little bit of paid work throughout the day as well as all of the above...

In the gym just after 6:30am for 50 minutes of weights, an all round sort of a session, no cardio machines or fit ball just free weights & the Smith Machine.


Monday nights I have a group of 15 kids, U8-11, my younger little aths kids I refer to them as. After training, I took three of them for a walking lap to chat about the State Multi's and how I see their days going for them, they are not champions, but I do think between them, two may get top 10 finishers, which will be great.


As soon as I walked in the door, I put on a singlet & shorts and went for an easy 20 minutes. Home, some core work & then stretching and shower, a quick bite to eat and then off to a Wes Aths Committee meeting. As Secretary I had a few things to organise before we started, but sadly I'm not really sure if I am going around for another year (AGM in May), maybe its time for someone else to step up, will wait & see as I think the President is stepping down and maybe its not right for both to move on. I enjoy it, but I have been Secretary for 4 1/2 seasons and maybe someone else could bring some new concepts & enthusiasm. I do find that my dogmatic attitude is rarely agreed upon and doesn't always suit the conservative attitude that the Committee generally displays.

You Yangs and a w/e of watching racing at OP

Sat morning was my last round of Little Aths for the season (still have State Multi's, Werribee Open Day & State T&F), so I said my good byes to the On Trackers and their parents. After Little A's I took C & D out for lunch, a short play at the skate park and then took them home.

Then off to OP with Scott & Pierre, they were competing in the 4x400 race and on Sun in the 4x200 & 4x800. By the end of the weekend they both won their first state medals and Western Aths had their best weekend ever, re medals.

Sunday morning I ran approx 6km at the You Yangs on the Branding Yard Trail, starting with a couple of teenager girls who are also returning from injury and then moving off by myself. The pace was good and the niggling achilles disappeared after 8 min or so. Enjoyable!!

Gym & physio

In the gym for 45 minutes, today I did lots of exercises, quicker than normal, lighter than normal and with reps of 20 with very short breaks. I actually worked up a real good sweat and really enjoyed the session.


This arvo I visited my physio to chat about what next with my achilles, all of the pain is very much on the heel, very isolated. So a recommendation and I'm off to OP Sports Med to see Karen. $$$$$$$$$ that I really don't have, but I would like to be able to run.

World Athletic Tour at Olympic Park

I had the day off today to do 'stuff'... so I took advantage of sleeping and waking feeling re-freshed, just over 9 hours - WOW. I went for a 15 min easy run, very aware of my achilles which is why the run wasn't 30 minutes as planned. Once back home I stretched concentrating on legs & lower back. I was pleasantly surprised that my abs were fine after yesterdays pilates as I found the final 10-15 min quite hard.
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Off to the track for coaching in the evening and then off to Olympic Park with a couple of the teenagers from the Club. I arrived at OP at 6:45pm and immediately noticed that one of the concepts that seemed to work very well last night was inviting Little Aths kids in uniform for free if accompanied with an adult and the adult paid only $10 instead of $16.50, thankfully I came with one Little Aths. 7pm was the first race; women's sprint hurdles which had a girl who had grown up with Western Aths and was competing against international athletes for the first time, she finished 6th and was very excited afterwards. As the night went on the crowd grew and grew, just under 10,000 spectators according to the Herald Sun and the competition got better and better.

Highlights for me were many, the sprint - yes but it was all over so quickly, but he was fast! You gotta love Tamsyn (well I do), and Jeremy Wariner was VERY IMPRESSIVE. The men's 800m & 1500m were both great races, Georgie ran a brave race but the international girl was always going to pass her, Donna was strong over the steeples too. And then the 5000m race...it was great to see Collis, Toby, Liam & Toomz, I have watched these four young men for the past 5-7 years grow into great runners, Liam & Toby are both one year older than my son, so I have seen them hundreds of times. Of course one of my fav's, Troopy was there suporting Australian aths as always, no chance of turning his legs over quick enough to cause any problems with the front runners, but always do so well. And Buster was GREAT!!!

Gym work, some laps of the track & then pilates

A similar day in the gym, 10 minutes on the bike, then some back, chest and arms work with some core work and finished off with stretching. At the moment I am visiting the gym to try and tone up and start moving some of the soft spots on my body (handles etc), with pilates & some core work in the gym I hope it is starting. Whilst I can only run minimal I need to be doing something, so I try to make the gym work light, but high reps with minimal breaks.


This arvo I arrived for Little Aths General Training, set up and then jogged 3 laps of the track, 2 with Adrian, then 10 minutes later I jogged 2 laps with Melissa who I had organised some HJ work to assist with her prep for States. I took her through some drills and strides and then we grabbed all of the kids (who had warmed up with 2 laps) and did some stretching.


Pilates...just over a hour tonight, lots of good stuff, but OMG the last 15 min was tought, I reckon my abs will be quite sore tmrw.

Gym and some track time

Back in the gym at 6am, bike for 10 min, then some chest, shoulders, arms and core, all very low weights and lots of reps.


In the evening before going to the Vic Milers meet at Sandringham I ran 3 laps of the track in lane 8 and then did 15 minutes of drills, in particular ones working the hip flexor.

Then I set a session for 2 teenager girls I coach before leaving for the VMC meet with Pierre & Scott who were chasing times in 800m & 1500m races, as well Jo was meeting us there too, also chasing a goal time in her 800m. Another hot day and evening and at 7pm it was still 35 degrees with a slight northerly. Pierre chasing 2:05 missed, he looked very tired and seriously affected from a lot of aussie rules training, Jo raced in the first women's race which she had to follow a group of 2:15 runners, but she sucked it up and worked hard and ran a 3.8 sec PB. Final runner was Scott who wanted 4:30, but he looked out of sorts and never got close.

30 minute run - WOW

In the gym in the morning, chest, back and core for 40 minutes.

In the arvo I finished early and was able to get to the track at 4:10, so I took off on the Fed Trail, 15 minutes out. I made sure I took it easy, first it was my first 30 minute run since tearing my hip flexor and it was 35 degrees and the sun was bright and hot. The trip back was not pretty and I felt stronger on the right side, which is a strange sensation, no pain, but I'm not fit and the extra k's are making it even tougher.

On the trip back I crossed a km marker so I concentrated on my pace, 1km later 4:55, hmmmm, well I suppose at least I know I can run under 5 min pace, but it wasn't great.

I then jogged a couple of laps with my younger squad and then did 15 minutes of stretching with them. An easy session for them, lots of chatting about their w/e and just 4x200 at their 800m pace with a walking recovery and then some more stretching.

A BIG weekend of athletics

Hot hot hot and loads of sun and about 20 applications of sunscreen on Sat & Sun and thankfully no sunburn. Sat I started with a 15 min run and 15 min of stretching & rehab exercises. Then I spent the day at Corio for Little Aths Region Champs until 12pm and then dropped Connor back home (he ran a PB in his 200m but didn't progress to States) and then made my way to Doncaster for the Shield Final. Western Aths had 5 teams compete throughout the day, the underage teams from 9am to 2.30pm and the Open Divisions from 3pm to 7pm and the temperature got up to 34 in Corio and it felt hotter in the arvo at Doncaster.

The day was a good one as a coach and not as good as an athlete. Most of the kids I coach made finals and more than 75% automatically qualified for State Champs. As an athlete my Club had a vacancy in the 400m Div 3 team which I would have been eligible but couldn't help out, so I helped out throughout the day. In Div 2 we were missing many sprinters, sadly one sat at home because he didn't want to compete because he thought we had no chance so he wanted to concentrate on the individual side. Sounds harsh, but true! The Div 2 team finished 3rd and the Div 3 team 6th.
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Sunday started with a 20 min run on the roads from home and then off to Corio for Day 2 of Region Champs, Connor's 400m was at 9am, again he ran a great PB, 3.4 seconds but not fast enough to progress, but we knew that before arrival, it was for fun and the experience. The rest of my day as a coach was great and a learning day, lots of kids raced really well, the highlight of the day was a 14 year girl who ran an 18 sec PB in her 1500m and qualified for States for the first time. But the learning part was spending time with her after fainting 15 min after her race and then looking after her and then ensuring she was cleared by First Aid and then she competed in the 300mH 3 hours later and also qualified for States. :)

Lots of PBs in some very hot conditions, peaking at 36 today.

Just a short one

I started at 9am today and I REALLY enjoyed the sleep in, deliberately no alarm set and I woke right on 8am, WOW, felt great. Did 9-5:30 today and then stopped in at C, D & K's place to look after them for 90 min or so whilst Julie did a few things.

I then went for a 20 min jog, 10 min from home and then back, on roads. All felt good, no pain, but no speed either, but they be as a result of the excess that is being carried around these days.

Achilles - fine, considering I had 3 weeks of NO running in Jan and minimal in Nov & Dec, why is it still a problem, I am trying to get an appt with my physio to point me in the next direction.

Hip flexor - felt fine, no pain and no real discomfort, but I can tell it is still weak.
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So much racing happening at the moment, but sadly not for me as an athlete, just as a coach. Little Aths Region Champs for 16 athletes over 2 days and my Club has 5 teams competing in the State Club Championships and 2 of them are the men's teams which I would normally be involved in as an athlete and not as a 'stand in'Team Manager. As well I have organised for 3 athletes to compete in 800/1500m races in the Vic Milers comp at Sandringham on Tuesday evening.

http://www.vicmilers.coolrunning.com.au/

The aftermath & some morning stretching

Thankfully my achilles felt fine this morning???? Gym this morning and on the bike for 10 minutes, 10 minutes of core work and 10 min of leg stretching.


Coaching tonight, another new 14 year old girl in my group, Melanie. My running tonight was, I jogged 3 laps chatting with a Mich about her upcoming Region Champs & general stuff and 1 lap with Melanie & a girl from Burkie's squad.

Gym and some track time

In the gym before 7am, starting on the Freerunner for 12 minutes before I 'decided I wasn't in the mood for 'pretend' running. So I did 15 min of back and chest & then some core work, before finishing with 10 minutes of stretching.
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I left work early (3pm) for an appointment in Werribee, which meant I got to the track at 4:20pm, which gave me the opportunity to do some kind of a session. Plan w/up, drills, strides & 2x200m fast, c/down.

I started with 4 laps of the track on the dirt as my right achilles was sore, then some basic stretching before starting 15 min + of drills; marching, high knee skipping (doubles & singles), heel to bum (single & doubles) and then 5x60m strides were I tried to build the pace. I then walked 300m and stopped at the 200m start. The intent was to see how fast I could go and to test if I could fill an emergency spot in the Shield Final on Saturday if required (most likely required in 400m &/or 3000m). I started and I knew I was in trouble on the first step where I realised I didn't have the strength to power off the left...and stumbled out...still trying to go fast I struggled into the wind and the lack of fitness and power, crossed the line in 35.6. The intensity felt equivalent to a 30sec run... :-( I then walked 200m and took off again, this time starting with the opposite leg (which was better), but sadly everything else resembled the first rep, 36.2! Decision: no Shield Final for Stuart

Whilst I was disappointed, I wasn't surprised, but fuck (yes fuck) my achilles was very sore!!! Why, how, why, I have done f.all running, why is this still an issue. Ice and anti-inflams fixed the problem.

Gym, stretching & coaching

I got into the city nice and early today and was kind of thinking of going for a run, but decided I would skip the run and do some work in the gym, but minimal weights.

Lunges, lots of! Squats with dumbells - lots, crunches - lots, push ups and work on the fitball and then 15 minutes of stretching, esp hamstring, lower back, glutes and hip flexor.
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Track coaching tonight, I had six runners tonight from my group and I also looked after Burkie's group (10-15) too as he couldn't get to the track until after 6pm. With most of the juniors competing in the Shield Final or the Little Aths Regions this weekend most were just having a short sharp hit out.

A tready run & a gym session

In the gym nice and early, even though the weather was great outside, I wanted a very controlled run this morning. Starting on the tready for 500m at 7.5kph walking and setting the incline to 1.0 then I increased the pace to 10kph for 500m and then every 500m I increased the pace by 0.5kph finishing with 3.5km of running, managing the sub 5 min pace for a short period.

After the tready I jumped on the 'freerunner' machine and did 10 minutes of work there too before doing some upper & lower back strength work, some lunges and then finishing of with some core on a fitball and then the mats.
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Coaching tonight with my younger group, I ran a few laps before they arrived and did 15 minutes of drills trying to improve the strength and speed of the left leg.

State Open & U20 T&F and Youth State Relay Champs

C, D & K visited this weekend, Little Aths on Sat morning and then I spent a couple of hours at Olympic Park on Sat & Sun watching U20 800m heats (Pierre) and then a couple of relays (Michelle).

The boys enjoyed themselves, running around with other kids and K was fussed over by nearly every female under the age of 16, life is easy when you are not 2 years old, people feed you, carry you everywhere and of course just good old general fussing. :)




At the Champs I moved to near the starting area for the U16 4x400m relay, Michelle was starting so me & the three boys moved from the back straight. Tim Crosbie was laying in the infield (50m), I gave him a wave and he pointed his camera, this was the result, me & Kaelan.

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Western Aths had a great weekend, lots of socialising, lots of medals, lots of PBs and lots of barrier broken between squads, an excellent weekend.
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No running (except for a lap of OP with Pierre) but loads of walking up & down the stairs at OP and no probs.

My first lap of the Tan for 2008

A slow lap but a lap! I met up with Clare this morning just after 6:30am, I warned Clare that I was unsure if I could run the entire lap, slightly worried about Anderson St and just slightly worried.

We started just down from Govt Dve, slowly and the first 5 minutes I was actually more aware of my right achilles than my hip flexor. To be honest I am not happy with the achilles, in the past month I have done f.all running and the achilles is still an issue...grrrr!

We passed the Pillars (1k) and the achilles was as much of an issue and I could feel the hip flexor, but nothing to worry about, just aware. At the Anderson St cnr we stopped for a quick drink of water and then continued on, happily the hill was fine at this pace (which was exactly what I wanted).

Overall the run was good, 24 minutes for a trip around the Tan, very comfortable with only a slight pulling sensation. Stretched for approx 10 minutes and then walked to work and iced the hip flexor for 10 minutes whilst reading emails before showering.
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Physio at 5:30pm, he was very happy with the improvement and did lots of pushing & prodding. He said to me, "rightio Stu, you are an aths coach, tell me what you would set for an athlete with your injury for the next 14 days", he listened and then said excellent" and don't forget the exercises and the stretching everyday, that's your program", no more appointments. :)

Gym cardio session

In the gym this morning at 7:15 for a 45 min session. Overall feel, tired from not enough sleep (my fault), a few tender spots in the rib & stomach region (good pain), hip flexor feels ok to good, the spot on my heel is still there (which isn't good considering the amount of time off from running) and overall I could feel the effects of some work over the past few days.

So I started on the x-trainer again (planned for the tready but none were available), fat burner program again but this time level 20 for 10 minutes. Either the effects of yesterday or just because it was 5 levels harder I was more aware that I was working, but the hip flexor is NOT affected at all on this machine so I worked through the mind. Then I jumped onto a bike and did 10 minutes and worked up a good sweat, again this felt good.

After 20 minutes of cardio I did 10 minutes of weights, upright rowing, light bench press, shoulder press and then some lunges with 10kg weights. Then a few minutes on the fitball and then some crunches (PCAs) that we did last night at pilates and very quickly I discovered some very worked muscles.... all good!

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At the track tonight, coaching only. I have organised with one of the throwing coaches to do some sessions with a few of the 9/10/11 year kids (Teagan, Bailey, Demi & Maddie) who are throwing discus at Regions and/or State multi's. It is really strange watching a bunch of little kids throw after Andrew (qualified for World Juniors in 2 events). Two of them have been doing one session a week for a month and their improvements are quite dramatic. Michelle did 4 very fast 200m runs and then some work with her team for State Relays (this weekend), Scott suffered (with NO complaints) the strong winds and did 6x800 in 85 sec laps with 1 min recovery and Clare did 12x200m. Not at the track, but Jo had to do her speed set in the pool tonight due to back & achilles issues, (1x600, 2x400, 2x300 & 4x200), so no distance but high intencity for the set times.

Gym, coaching & pilates

In the gym just after 7am today and straight onto the x-trainer machine and ran for 10 minutes on the fat burner program level 15/20). I was very happy with how I felt afterwards, just a light sweat starting to show. Then some shoulders, arms, chest and upper back exercise with light weights and reps of 20 with groups of 3 exercises and then a second set before before onto another 3 ex in the same style. Then some fit ball ex and then 10 min of running drills on the basketball floor.
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Little Aths General Training, I jogged 2 laps with the kids who know how to control their pace and then a third lap with drills on the move. Tonight, I had assistants doing discus, hurdles, triple & running with me, 12 kids came with me.

Afterwards I jogged 2 laps with some of the 13-15 year old girls.
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Pilates at 7:30pm with Narz, a good session of core, relaxing the hips, hamstring work and stretching. A nice sweat during some of the latter exercises.

Gym, coaching on Mon & a small run & coaching on Tue

Monday morning after a shit drive into the city I finally arrived at the gym at 7:30am, 8 minutes on the x-trainer thingy which was comfortable and a good way to warm up. After that I did 15 minutes of áll round light weights'and then 5 min or so of core work (crunches, planks & a machine). Then off to work and felt good for the session.

Monday nights I have a young group that I coach, ranging from 9-12 years old, some would say too young to be doing structured training, but honestly it is fairly easy and if it is hard, we are only talking 5-10 minutes. Each session starts with a 2 lap w/up, then some gentle dynamic stretching, some static stretching, 10 min of drills (which is more educational than hard work), then some strides. Then we have approx 10 minutes of work (this week 5x150m in small groups, which was the hardest session in the last month) and then a game.

Within the group I have 6 kids who are running 800m within the range of 2:50-3:05, so tonight I asked Michelle (15) to help with pacing their reps. This group worked just that little bit harder than the others, with slightly shorter breaks and one extra rep. With two weeks before the Region Champs, I thought it was time to just push them just that little bit extra.
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After the session finished I did 10 minutes of drills (as per the physio advice), the intent is to get the left leg to start working slightly faster and of course stronger.
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Tue morning; I hit the Tan just after 7am for my first run (well more of a run than the previous couple). Starting at the bollards near Govt Dve, I walked for 2 minutes to get the blood moving and then jogged for 5 minutes, taking me just past the Pillars. I then walked for 1 minute and then jogged for 5 minutes again, this time I ended up going up Anderson St for 1 min, so I took it easy (gees I felt SLOW, but I wanted to be cautious on the up). I decided to play it safe and walked up up to the corner before then jogging back to the start point using 2 min running, 1 min walking. All up I felt comfortable (I was sweating, don't get me wrong), no pain, little awareness of my hip flexor).

I finished with 8-10 minutes of stretching on the grass, lower & upper legs, hips and lower back. Felt good all day!
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Tue nights I have my older group to coach (I normally train with the boys), but I wasn't training and either were the boys, Scott working, Pierre homework and texted asking for a session he could do locally. Michelle homework and opted for a 30 min run from home with 10 min hard. Clare working late & Roz yet to return, I thought I was only going to have the new girl, Melissa only. But I ended up with another Claire (12) and Teagan came to the track looking for a session too. I grouped Melissa & Claire with some of Burkie's girls (10x200m @ 800m pace) and I looked after them for Burkie and Teagan I asked her to jog 4 laps and then do a 20 min throwing session and then wait for one of Burkie's 15 year old girls and do 15 min of jumping drills.

A nice night.

You Yangs

I picked up Michelle and we arrived at the You Yangs at 8:20, Michelle was running the 6k course and my physio advised session (from Friday) was 20 minutes of 30 sec running/walking, then walk for 10 minutes, then if I felt good I could continue the 30 second on/off thing for another 10 minutes.

So with more than 20 runners getting ready I took off first and made my along the Branding Yard Trail sticking with the program set. Thankfully today was A LOT easier than last Thu, but I stuck with the plan and didn't let my desire to do 'proper'running to take over. All up I did the course in 39:45.

Once back at the car, I did some quad, hamstring and hip flexor stretching. Once home I iced and then had some breaky.

North West Metro Region 'Shield' Club Championships

The North West Region Finals were held on Sat 02 Feb 08 at Aberfeldie, Western Aths had six teams competing, all with a good chance of winning a Premiership or finishing runners up. The first & second teams in the Finals Competition win the right to progress to the Shield Final at Doncaster on 16 Feb 08, where the Champion Clubs of Victoria will be decided.

Even with many open athletes not available due to work, other sporting commitments and injures we were able to fill most positions in the teams. And the underage teams were completely filled excluding 1 position in the steeple and all of the PV positions.

Preliminary Results:

Premiers in Men Div 2, Women U16 & Men U16
Runners Up in Men Div 3 & Women U18
Third in Men U18

Congratulations to all of the competing athletes and a big thanks to the volunteers who helped with our 8 officials and the Team Managers.
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A very sunny day, about 26-28 degrees with little wind and the heat started to take its toll in the latter part of the day. I managed the two men's teams and tried to watch as many races that involved four athletes I coach; Michelle won the U16 2000m Steeple, Scott ran in various events but his best race was the 3000m where he ran 10:20, Pierre competed in the 3k also which isn't his normal distance and in turn it hurt his 400m race and Jo ran 2 SB times in the 800m & 400m.