Time to take a break

I'm spent! Tried an easy run this morning, but it just wasn't right. Going to take a week of complete rest, then slowly rebuild. Can't remember the last time I have taken more than two or three days of complete rest. It will hopefully do me the world of good, so I can come back better and stronger.

Saturday - Rest needed....

Should have listened to my body. After a subpar session on Thursday, on top of a couple of poor race performances in recent weeks - today was the final nail in the coffin; pulling out of Parkrun! Warming up with Scotty, I felt heavy and lethargic. Stubbornly put it down to 'heavy legs' which is not too unusual for me on a Saturday morning. But after a few strides, I knew that Parkrun was going to be a struggle. A first kilometer in 3'07 feeling comfortable and control suddenly gave way to running out of spark just meters into the second kilometer. Scotty and another guy started opening up a gap and I couldn't respond. The pace started slowing a lot, falling to low 4's at the start of the third kilometer. Decided to begin the recovery process early by crossing the bridge and finishing early. Stood around with the volunteers as we all cheered Scotty home for a sensational 15:50. Made even more remarkable by essentially running solo, and into a headwind for the final stretch. A slow trot back home for at least something this morning. I've been in this situation far too many times before, so I really should know what to do. I think the plan is to completely rest tomorrow, followed by an easier week next week. I probably need to evaluate my double runs - after all, my best run to date was the 2015 Gold Coast Half Marathon which was run on daily single runs. Sometimes less is more.

Thursday - 2km (5' rest), 3 x 1km (off 3' rest), (5' rest), 5 x 200m (off 1' rest) (am)

That was brutal, depressing, yet enlightening. Couldn't get any starters (have no idea what Dicky we doing???), so solo I was. Tossed up whether to run the session at Passmore (650m loop), Graham Reserve (400m grass) - but location won the day - the beachfront is hard to beat. Started at Manly LSC for the first rep. Went hard - knowing I had plenty of rest between the first and second rep. This is where looking at the clock is depressing. 6:22! But this is honestly where I am at at the moment. I've got the aerobic endurance, I have the general speed - where I am severely lacking is the aerobic power. In other words, I am red-lining way too early on in races these days. And this session certainly highlighted that. The good news is that this could be the solution. Anyway, the 1km reps went 3:05, 3:11, 3:08. The legs were like burning concrete during these - that feeling where your mind is telling you to run faster but the body won't respond (that feeling of helplessness). The 200's highlighted that the general speed is not the issue - 33, 32, 33, 32, 33 seconds. A nice and easy 5km cooldown. I'm absolutely shattered now. I've got some serious work to do between now and Melbourne - my saving grace is the length of the race being 21.1km.

8km easy this afternoon in the (unpredicted) light drizzle along the beachfront. 5:02's.

Wednesday - 20km easy + strides

A very slow and steady 20km all along the beachfront and Nolan's this morning. Joined Justin for the first half (he had aleady run 11km or so before he joined me). Really felt the lingering fatigue from yesterday and Sunday. But as usual, felt better after finishing off with some strides. 4:57's.

Tuesday - Mona Fartlek (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

Today was always going to be tough, backing up from Sunday's race. Pre-session predictions were for a much slower than usual Mona fartlek. And I definitely felt it! Warming up felt ok, but as soon as we started the session, the legs were still heavy. I was lucky to have Scotty there, as I don't know if I would have pulled through the session solo this morning. In the end, we were just shy of four laps of The Spit Loop - about 6.19km. This was much better than expected. Happy days! Quite cold out there, and a bit of a headwind in places. A nice and easy cooldown for about 15km all up. Just happy to get through it to be honest. Planning for another easy run later today.

An easy 8km around the streets of Randwick. 5:00's.

Monday - 16km easy + strides

Out by myself this morning for an easy three laps plus a kilometer along the beachfront. Felt quite good, apart from soreness in the hamstrings. This was most noticeable during the strides at the end, with the first one being run a fair bit slower. 4:49's.

Bridge Run - 6th in 29:47

While I was initially disappointed with the result, upon reflection it wasn't too bad. Finished 6th in 29:47 - didn't get chicked either. Went out hard and hung with Scott and the other guy for the first kilometer over the bridge. However, the pace was just beyond my limit, so I was dropped. Held onto fourth for the next few kilometers before two young guys came past at the end of Macquarie St. Then it was a matter of survival and ensuring that Vic didn't 'chick' me. Got to the finish line in one piece. Congratulated Scotty, had a quick chat to Rachel, before Erika and I slowly jogged back to my car at Neutral Bay. My initial disappointment was overcome when looking more closely at the results once I got home. The fact that Scotty was so far in front was more or less down to him having an absolutely phenomenal run - holding 3:10's!!! I kind of wish the race was an extra kilometer as I would have loved to have seen him join Tom as the second sub-32 runner this year. He will surely do that in Melbourne if all goes to plan. My average pace was 3:21's, which is roughly 33:30 10k pace. And in all honesty, I'm happy with that at this point in time, given that two weeks ago I was far slower than that. The frustrating thing I guess is comparing the pace to what I was running pre-injury. But I simply need to stay consistent and I am sure the results will come. Eating more, taking my recovery seriously (by slowing down on the non-session runs), and racing more will help me get there. Keen to start doing some more ParkRun's - especially if I can get Scotty and Tom down there (although I won't be pushing them at the very moment). Might try and do this next weekend. The other good news is that I am hungry to keep racing, which is a massive change in mindset to my previous fear of it. I've got nothing to loose and much to gain. Well done to everyone else out there this morning, especially to those who ran the half and full marathon. Great PB's by Burkey, Darren and Renee in the half! I heard that Burkey cried as well! Sounds like he didn't bother Tom (pacing the 80 minute pack) with thousands of questions throughout the race.

Friday - 15km easy

Out for a Friday run this morning, my usual day for sleeping in. Will do that tomorrow instead. Bumped into Richard at Shelly Beach before running into Justin about a kilometer later. So had some company for the next 5-6km. Mostly kept it along the beachfront, myself doing my best to hold the other two back. Ran the final 5km solo, keeping it ridiculously slow and easy. 15km in 5:05's. no strides today.

Thursday - Quarters (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

Another one of my previous staple sessions (although I did subtly steal it from a gentleman called Robert). Met Scotty at The Spit nice and early and ready to go. Mapped out the 4.8km course, and simply set the watch for 75 second efforts with 45 second floats (as my GPS doesn't read properly at all around The Spit Loop). Scotty, as always, was strong during the efforts, so I had to do my bit by contributing during the floats. We worked extremely well off each other, getting around the three laps + 90m (4.8km) in 15:17. So roughly 3:11's. Which seems great - strong and solid without completely killing ourselves. Was tempted to finish off with some 200's, but Scotty talked some sense into me. After all, the session itself - although short - is very intense. Plus we are both racing on Sunday. So a nice and easy 5km cooldown instead. Between 14-15km all up. Now I'm tossing up between steel cut oats or shredded wheat???

Shredded wheat it was! And I would have to say that it is my favourite so far! An easy 8km before a late lunch around Manly. 5:04's.

Wednesday - 20km easy + strides

Managed a slight sleep in this morning, having agreed to meet Justin outside North Steyne SLSC at 6:50am. Woke up about half an hour earlier, so snuck in an easy 2.5km before meeting. However, Justin was not to be seen. A few minutes went by before excepting that I would be running solo this morning. Ran to Shelly Beach, then on the way back bumped into Justin. Saved! We headed nice and easy to Nolan's, Passmore, the golf course, back to Shelly Beach, then the lagoon and home. A nice and easy 20km (although I was dragging the chain holding Justin back) in 4:52's. Finished with strides in Pine Lane. The success of nostalgia yesterday wins with WeetBix making an encore for breakfast today.

Tuesday - 5 x Mile Repeats (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

Met with Scotty down at The Spit for 5 x mile efforts. Each lap is 1.57km, so we just added an extra 30m at the end of each lap. 2 minutes standing rest. Hadn't done this one since the end of last year, but both times I did it I blew up massively. So, with a more mature head upon my (massive) shoulders, I took a much more conservative approach. Scott and I shared the work, probably with him doing slightly more than me overall. Times were extremely consistent: 5:06.6, 5:01.6, 5:01.8, 4:59.9, and 5:00.9; averaging 5:02.16, 3:08 min/km pace. And like the last few weeks, finished the session tired but not exhausted. Happy to get this one done, as it's always a tough one. A nice and easy 5km cooldown for over 17km all up. On the breakfast scene, I went cold on Gwen Jorgensen's Oats with Eggs (apparently it works) and have gone back with some nostalgia in the form of WeetBix. 6 with heaps of yogurt, milk and fruit. And I mean 'heaps.'

An easy 8km around the (boring) Randwick loop. Super easy. 5:02's averaging 110 beats per minute. The heart rate monitor seems to be fine during the easy runs.

Monday - 16km easy + strides

An easy three-and-a-bit laps of the beachfront this morning. Another glorious day, even wore my sunglasses. Stupid heart rate monitor continues to play up. 4:56's. Finished with some strides. Salted caramel oats for breakfast this morning - should be interesting!

Sunday - Long Run

Another cracking morning out there, spring is well and truly in bloom. Met Hamish, Richard, Ben, Scott & Justin at the pool. Toby joined us at Dee Why as we ran a nice and leisurely pace towards Narrabeen. Really noticed the fatigue when we approached any form of incline, which was to be expected after yesterday. Ben and Hamish turned early (both racing the full and half next Sunday, respectively), and Justin took off after 10k as he had planned out 20km at marathon pace (ouch)! I was very happy to hide in the small pack and let the others lead and set the pace. A few times Hamish and Richard started gapping Scotty and myself, both of us more than happy to let them go. Toby peeled off at Dee Why so Richard was back with us for the final few kilometers. I did the calculations on Strava and figured I needed 28.6km this morning to get 140km on the dot for the week. So finished 100m past Barts' favourite (The Trobodour). 4:26's. Really happy to have gotten through a week of a new approach to the easier runs - I reckon it has helped immensely. Looking forward to sticking with this now. But not as excited as more experimental homemade breakfasts - going for sweet potato porridge this morning. If it half as good as yesterday's French toast, I will be more than satisfied.

Saturday - 10 x 400m hill repeats (quick jog back down recovery) (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

It's been a while since I have done this one, so it was made all the easier with Scotty showing up. A longer than usual warm-up in some light drizzle up to North Head and down to Collins Flat. Can't believe how much better I am feeling by backing off the pace of my 'non-session' runs throughout the week. The session is essentially a 30 minute hilly tempo run. Thinking of it as that changed the way I approached the session. Previously I would look at it as 10 seperate efforts, but given the recovery between reps is more of a 'float' (i.e. it's still hard), treating it as a tempo makes more sense (and as it turned out, more comfortable and more consistent). The first few reps Scotty and I shared the work evenly. But about the fourth rep, I was hanging on during the uphills, but trying to maintain a consistent pace coming down. The eighth hill hurt - Scotty made me go to the front, and it honestly felt like I was running with concrete shoes. The final two were simply all about survival - I felt like a sitting duck running up, but luckily Scott felt the same. Managed to get it done in 29:56, with Scotty just over 30. A bloody solid session, and happy with the effort. Not my fastest, but definitely not my slowest. Similarly to during the week, I pushed 90-95%, going very hard but saving a tiny bit in reserve (I didn't need to collapse at the end). My new GPS really doesn't like loops, reading very short at 7.8km (Scott ran the exact same session and got 8.19km). And the heart-rate has been playing up for the last few sessions. What is it with Garmin - they are fantastic when they work, which unfortunately isn't very often. Perhaps the new Apple iWatch (now with a GPS) might be the way to go! A nice and easy 5km cooldown for about 18km all up. Now time for some homemade French toast on my homemade teff bread! Did I mention it was homemade?

An easy 8km along the beachfront this afternoon. 4:58's at 114 beats per minute.

Thursday - 5 x 1200m (off 3 minutes) (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

Bloody stoked to have Quentin join me this morning! Was dreading a solo version of this session! Haven't done this one in a while, but when you get it right, it is a great session. The longer rests mean that you can really push the pace in the efforts. And that we did. Although not as fast as what I have done previously, it wasn't far off. The best thing was that we were both consistent for all five reps, and similarly to Tuesday - I didn't want to collapse at the end of the session. I've learnt to push 90-95% in the sessions nowadays, and hold that extra bit in reserve for race day (although I am yet to show that in recent times). Anyway, did the efforts along the beachfront - a slight headwind running north (as shown by the times). 3:44.8, 3:38.9, 3:46.6, 3:42.6 and 3:45.8 - averaging 3:43.7. That is 3:06 pace. A nice and easy cooldown chatting to Quentin about drug cheats and the Olympics. Just over 16km all up. I'll get another run in this afternoon. On another note, I felt amazingly better having run much easier during my non-session runs this week. I think I am onto something here!

A ridiculously easy 8km along the beachfront this afternoon. 5:08's averaging 109 beats per minute! Bludging!!!

Wednesday - 20km easy + strides

Had a small crew today in Erika, Macca and Justin. Kept it local, and kept it super easy (I did anyway). Ran to Nolan's, then to Shelly, then to Fairlight, back to Shelly, the lagoon and back home. Really enjoying the change in pace, and feeling much better throughout the day. 20km in 4:48's. Finished with strides as usual in Pine Lane.

Tuesday - Mona Fartlek (am) + 8km recovery (pm)

Deviated from the program this morning as I had a training partner in Scotty for the session. We agreed on Mona fartlek (I still had psychological scars). This was eased by completing the session at The Spit instead of North Head. Another cracking morning down there! Really happy with the effort - probably my most consistent pacing throughout that session. Scotty was great at pushing the pace during the efforts, and I was there to keep us both honest during the floats. The remarkable thing was that I felt in control throughout the whole session - a stark contrast to what I used to go through back in the day! I didn't even need to collapse at the end - which was a first. 6.21km (3:13's) all up (a whole 10m further than last week - although it was different structure to the session). The GPS read the 1.57km lap 100m short, hence why distance and the pace reads much slower on Strava (glad to that off my chest)! But today felt easier - which is great. A mostly solo 5km cooldown for just shy of 16km all up.  A great way to start the day!

Continuing on with my trend of running the non-sessions easier. It's actually really enjoyable, and feels great (once you can have the discipline and confidence to waddle). 8km around the Randwick Loop holding 5:03's (my slowest recorded Strava run of all time - and this includes warm-ups and cool-downs). The heart rate averaged a very sleepy 115 beats.

Monday - 16km easy + strides

After Hoey dedicated his Saturday session to me, I decided to repay the honour by dedicating this morning's run in his name. Simply, it was 16km along the beachfront - but at a super nice and relaxed pace. 4:52's holding 120 beats per minute. This actually took discipline - I'm not used to running at that sort of pace, but I can definitely see the benefits. This might be the start of something new! Anyway, an absolutely glorious morning - hence why I didn't bother leaving the beachfront (why would you)! Finished up with some strides in Pine Lane.

Sunday - Long Run

Quite a big turnout this morning with 10 of us heading out for the traditional Sunday long run. The pace was very conservative given that we had all raced yesterday. A beautiful morning to be out with friends taking in the best part of the day. Ran slightly beyond the two hour mark as Tom, Craig and myself went to The Trobodour (and we are still waiting for Macca to show up). 28.53km in 4:30's. Now time to out the feet up and enjoy a nice and relaxing Sunday!

Striders 10km North Head (am) + 40 minutes easy (pm)

Not the time I was after, but a solid session nonetheless. Felt a bit flat warming-up, but at least it was better weather than yesterday. A solid turnout this morning, with more than usual due to the last minute cancellation of the Coastal Classic. Lined up with the others and before we knew it we were off and racing. Tom, Scotty and Robin got out fast, and I just stuck on the back of them for the first few kilometers. However, after the third kilometer I couldn't stay there any longer (well, I could have but wouldn't have finished the race) so I was off the back. Pretty lonely for the next few kilometers until John Binfield and Dave Criniti came past at about 6km. I was pretty spent at this stage, so didn't even really stay with them. At this stage I was simply in survival mode - making sure that I completed the distance was key. Surprisingly, I was able to wheel Dave back in at the 9km mark, and started making inroads on John, but ran out of time in the end. Settled with 5th place in a relatively slow 34:16. Slowest time up there in a long time, but was happy to know that just about everyone else had the same sluggish times (except Scotty, who had a blinder finishing just behind Tom in 32:50-something). It was pretty windy (which sounds like a good excuse anyway). Joined the others for a nice and easy 5km cooldown cheering on the others as they made their way to the finish line. So overall, disappointed with the time - but I definitely pushed it effort wise (as shown by the heart rate monitor). Just got keep on pushing through and get some more races (and perhaps some ParkRun's) under the belt. Just under 20km's all up. Joined everyone at The Emporium post-race for a debrief.

40 minutes easy this afternoon along the beachfront. 8.55km in 4:41's.

Friday - 30 minutes easy

My body doesn't know how to run on a Friday. Forced myself out of bed for an easy 30 minutes in the rain. And I mean really 'easy' - or 'slow.' 6.25km in 4:48's.

Thursday - 10 x 1 minute (off 30 seconds), 5 x 1 minute (off 60 seconds), 5 x 1 minute (off 90 seconds)

The first day of spring got off to a blinding start. Couldn't convince anyone to join me for my session this morning, but decided to still get up early to meet the others at 6am outside North Steyne SLSX warmed up to commence our respective sessions. Darren, Richard and Ben all stuck to the 20 minute fartlek that I ran on Tuesday, while I ran the one-minute efforts in the bike lane. Like always, it was tough. But psychologically, the session got easier. The first 10 reps were the worse, as the 30-second rest periods went far too quick. Ranged between 0.32-0.33km for each rep (four of the former, six of the latter). Things improved beyond the tenth rep with a doubling of the rest period. Here is was able to run between 0.33-0.34km. Then the final five reps, 90-seconds rest felt as if I was indulging (although the actual efforts still hurt like crazy). 0.34-0.35km, so slightly faster as the session and the rest periods increased. Averaged 3:00 min/km pace for all 20 reps. A very long-term goal would be to hold that pace for a 5km race. That seems near impossible at this point in time. Ben hung around and joined me for a cool-down. Just under 18km all up. No double today, but I've got a run tomorrow morning instead. Don't know if that is better or worse (I'd say the latter if the forecast is right)!