Tuesday - 15 km steady

My run of improving form continues. A solo run along the Shelly-Fairlight loop, seeing Darren twice along the way - it looked like he was really pushing it. I kept the pace comfortable and steady the whole way, continuously ignoring the urge to push harder (probably didn’t help that I needed to go to the toilet from about the halfway mark onwards). Averaged 4:07’s, so I’m quite happy with this sudden and unexplained improvement.

Sunday - 24 km

Well, if yesterday I felt good, then today I felt amazing! I have no words to explain what is happening at the moment - it’s like I’ve just returned to sea level following an intense few weeks up in the Himalayas. The only thing I’ve done differently over these past two days is that I’ve eaten some papaya after listening to a podcast about rheumatoid arthritis, and how the interviewee swore by it to help alleviate his flare-ups. Whatever it is, I’m certainly sold. I couldn’t fathom anymore laps of the beachfront trying to dodge people and dogs, so decided to run along Pittwater Rd instead (and that’s saying something) all the way to Collaroy (10 km) before turning back and running home. I felt really strong the entire way, so much so that the original planned 20 km was not going to be enough to keep me satisfied, so I ran to Shelly Beach and back, finishing with 24 km at 4:17’s. The intensity was very comfortable the entire way - I could have definitely pushed a lot harder if I wanted to. And I could have maybe gone another 4 km on top of that as well. Nevertheless, I’m extremely satisfied with that, and hopefully I can continue to improve each day after two months of absolute misery.

Saturday - 15 km easy

That was the best run I’ve had in a long time. The breathing was still not right, but I felt for the first times in a while that I could actually put some power down with each stride. Out along the Shelly-Fairlight loop, finishing with 4:21’s. Fingers crossed that today is a sign of things to come.

Thursday - 15 km easy

Solo this morning, and once again it was a real struggle. I just felt like I was gasping for air the whole way out and back along the Shelly-Fairlight loop. Hopefully I’ll get some answers soon. 4:40’s.

Wednesday - 15 km easy

I really struggled this morning, so was extremely grateful for the company of Ben, Ian, Chris and Justin to help pull me through. Just stayed along the beachfront for a few laps. 4:48’s.

Tuesday - 15 km easy

Out for another solo Shelly-Fairlight, seeing Ben early on during his cool-down. Felt average - nothing great, but not horrible either. 4:37’s.

Sunday - 20 km easy

Back to reality today after feeling quite good yesterday. Still, I dragged myself out of bed for three-and-a-bit laps along the beachfront. Very warm and still conditions. 4:46’s, so at least there’s some progress from last Sunday.

Saturday - 15 km easy

It was like as if someone flicked a switch halfway through my run this morning, as I went from laboured breathing to feeling really strong. The splits reflect this, running around 4:40-4:50’s to 4:10-4:20’s, and feeling good in doing so. I cannot explain this at all, but I’m certainly not complaining. Bumped into Darren with 3.5 km to go, so ran the final bit along the beachfront up to the lagoon and back with some good company. 4:36’s.

Thursday - 15 km easy

Felt a bit worse this morning compared to the last two days. Luckily I bumped into Ben early on, so I ran and chatted with him for the first 8 km or so. Then it was just a lap of the golf course before finishing back along the beachfront. 4:44’s at 139 bpm.

Wednesday - 15 km easy + hill sprints

Same as yesterday, but one second per kilometre faster and one beat per minute lower. 4:37’s at 142 bpm. Another marvellous morning out there. Finished with some hill sprints - these, like the strength work, have not been compromised.

Tuesday - 15 km easy

A slight improvement today, which is very encouraging. So much so, I had the confidence to run the Shelly-Fairlight loop as I was certain that I’d make the 15 km today. Kept the pace nice and relaxed, finishing with 4:38’s at 143 bpm. Stunning morning.

Sunday - 20 km easy

An easy 3 laps along the beachfront solo this morning, although I saw lots of familiar faces. Wasn’t sure how far I’d run, hence why I stayed local. Quite happy to make it to 20 km in the end, not a bad effort given my current state. Nice and slow, finishing with 5:05’s at 138 bpm.

Saturday - 15 km easy

An easy 15 km around Manly this morning, bumping into Ben within the first few hundred metres, meaning I had company for the next 10 km or so. A lovely morning, just happy to be out there. 4:45’s at 145 bpm.

Wednesday - 15 km easy + hill sprints

I was really on struggle street this morning, but at least I wasn’t alone. I ended up bumping into and running with Ian and Sam - the latter feeling much the same as myself. Having the company certainly helped us both get through it. Just sore from yesterday, which I guess is understandable. 15 km in 4:46’s at 140 bpm. Finished off with hill sprints - these actually felt great, and I can see some noticeable improvement from the last few weeks, which is encouraging.

Tuesday - 5 x 1 km (off 3’)

My confidence was extremely low today after a few days of feeling terrible, so the fact that I even showed up was a bonus. I met Dave at the track at 6 am for a repeat of last week's session. My plan was to drop the level of perceived effort slightly, as I was still mentally scarred from last week. In the end, the intensity was slightly easier, and the reps were slightly faster - 3:17, 3:22, 3:26, 3:28 and 3:27. So all-in-all, a somewhat positive session - faster than last week, but still some way to go to get back to peak fitness. Hopefully a drop in volume of strength training will leave me a bit more refreshed for the speedwork. Glad Dave was there this morning, as I don’t know if I would have done it without him there. But as always, really glad I got through it this morning. That should set me up well now moving forward over that hurdle. With a warm-up and cool-down, I got about 14 km all up.

Saturday - 16 km with middle 20’ at threshold

I went into today’s session with very tired legs following a very hard week of training. Thought that this would be a better option than parkrun, as this way I could control the effort to better degree. Pretty ordinary pace-wise, only managing 5.46 km at 3:40’s (175 bpm) for the 20 minute effort, but I’m just happy to get through it and set a fresh marker to improve on I nthe following weeks. The 16 km felt like a long way.

Thursday - 4 x (90”, [60” jog], 60”, [30” jog], 30”) (off 2’)

Same session as last Thursday, but slightly quicker this week - despite a cold. Ran these in the bike lane parallel to the beach, starting out the front of Manly LSC. Distances were 490 m, 320 m, 160 m, 480 m, 310 m, 160 m, 470 m, 300 m, 150 m, 460 m, 310 m and 160 m. Averaged 3:09.25, 3:14.25, and 3:11’s for the 90, 60 and 30 second efforts, respectively (averaging 3:11’s for the the entire session). So three seconds per kilometre faster than last week, a solid improvement (but I’ve still got some way to go). Cooled down along the beachfront at probably the slowest pace I’ve ever run for just over 13 km all up.

Wednesday - 15 km easy + hill sprints

An easy 15 kms on very tired legs. I had Ben for company the entire way, with brief appearances by Ian, Erika and Darren along the way. Just ran the usual Shelly-Fairlight loop. 4:47’s at 141 bpm, before finishing off with some hill sprints at Queenscliff headland.

Tuesday - 5 x 1 km (off 3’)

That was brutal this morning. Met Dave at the track at 6am for some 1 km reps. Did these differently than usual, with the emphasis on quality over quantity - evident by the smaller than usual number of reps, and the generous 3 minutes rest between reps. But believe me, this doesn’t make it any easier at all. In fact, this was the hardest session that I’ve done in a long time. Pace was nothing special by any means, but the effort was well and truly there. Times were 3:18, 3:24, 3:26, 3:28 and 3:28. Got to get these back down to low 3’s in the future, but hopefully sessions like these will help that happen. A slow cool-down for just under 13 km all up.