Saturday - 2 x laps of the white fence tempo + 2 x (3 x 150m hills, jog recovery) (am) + 40 minutes recovery (pm)

Back to Centennial Park this morning, and a good turn-up. A lap of the white fence for the warm-up, followed by some strides. Then straight into a 2 lap tempo of the white fence, same as two weeks ago, anticlockwise (i.e. the slow way around that under reads the distance). Really happy with the effort, as I didn't really pay attention to the watch and ran on feel. Keith and Matt ran off into the distance, but I held my own. Each lap was run at 11:51/2, finishing in 23:42 - nine seconds quicker than a fortnight earlier. 3:17 min/km pace, so not too bad on a tricky and uneven course. We then crossed the road and finished off with some hill sprints. A lap of the white fence cool-down for just under 18km all up. Another 40 minutes planned before lunch.

Got out before lunch. Another 40 minutes in the bank. 8.71km at 4:36's.

Friday - 40 minutes easy + hill strides

Devastated! Had to forgo my traditional Friday rest and sleep in day! 40 minutes easy was on the plan, on top of what has already been a massive week! Went out and shuffled towards the lagoon, before syncing up with Justin on the way back past North Steyne. Turning around at Shelly, Darren joined us. Back to Queenscliff, then to Raglan St for hill strides. Nice and slow, holding 4:39's. 8.61km. 101.6km since Monday according to Strava. Still got two runs tomorrow and a long one on Sunday!

Thursday - 6 x 1km (4:30 cycle), 5:30 rest, 1km hard (am) + 40 minutes recovery (pm)

The good news is that I didn't get 'caught out' by this session. I was wise enough (for once) to recognise that the typical rest period had been reduced by 30 seconds. This may not sound like much, but it totally changes the dynamics of the entire session (typically we run these off a 5 minute cycle). Psychologically, I didn't even consider the final rep until I got to that point - I simply focused on getting through the 6 efforts as consistently as possible. I was joined by Darren, Justin and Ben. We met at Manly LSC and ran these in the bike lane up to North Steyne for the odds, back to Manly for the evens. Once again, I didn't look at my pace once until the conclusion of the session. I solely thought about the effort I was putting in - going hard, but keeping it controlled. Just imagined I had Tom next to me to help set the pace. In the end, I was once again consistent - 3:08, 3:08, 3:04, 3:05, 3:06, and 3:05. Quite happy with that (we always want to run faster), especially considering the reduced rest period. At this point Justin and Ben finished up (the former really dug deep, which is great to see)! After a 5:30 rest and chat, Darren and I were off for the final rep. It felt ok with the extra rest between six and seven, but still in no way 'fresh.' Similarly, had no idea of the pace I was holding until I finished. Ended up with 3:04. Not super amazingly fast, but after the previous set I was satisfied. Anyway, I couldn't really stand after this, so I definitely dug deep. Darren got across the line in 3:26, which was essentially the average he held for his previous six reps. A nice easy 5km cooldown along the beachfront for just over 17km all up. Once again, another amazing sunrise!

An easy 8km along the beachfront again tonight. Amazing weather. 8.63km in 4:38's. No rest day tomorrow!!!

Wednesday - 80 minutes easy + hill strides

Had the luxury of a mild sleep in this morning. Met Ben and Clive (Darren was MIA) at North Steyne SLSC at 5:50am. Got anoth spectacular sunrise as we ran up to North Head. Really took it extra easy this morning, as my legs and body were still recovering from yesterday's runs. Got back and headed to the lagoon entrance before finishing the last bit solo to Raglan St. 4:36's for 17.39km. Finished off as always with some hill strides, feeling better than when I started - which is always the plan.

Tuesday - 79 minutes continuous (15 easy, 22 fartlek, 5 easy, 22 effort, 15 easy) (am) + 40 minutes recovery (pm)

This is probably my most dreaded session. To make matters worse, Gary switched the order - doing the fartlek followed by the effort. A cruisy 15 minute warm-up before meeting Darren at Queenscliff SLSC ready to kick off the first part. The fartlek was 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minute efforts with 1 minute floats. I tried to keep the efforts around 3:15's, with the floats just under 3:50's. To my surprise, this went quite fast, and I managed to get out 6.61km for the entire 22 minutes - averaging 3:19's. Couldn't really believe this, as it felt like I was holding back with the knowledge I was going to have to do an encore set very soon after. It was true though, as I finished the effort at the top of the first little hill past Manly LSC on the way to Shelly Beach - exactly where I finished last time on the initial 22 minute effort (and I really went for it that day)! I turned around and caught up with Darren for the 5 minutes of easy jogging between sets. He was determined to keep both parts consistent, as he apparently blew up big time last time out. Commenced the 22 minute effort about 250m before having to turn at Shelly Beach. Decided to run this one purely on feel, with the average pace starting around 3:21's, slowing to a 3:23 by the end; 6.5km. This was hard, but by absolutely no means all out. I reckon I could have pushed a second or two per kilometer quicker, but might not have pulled up so well - especially as I think I will end up close to 160km this week. Need to play it smart. Really happy with the consistency between the two sets (3:19, 3:23 vs. 3:19, 3:27 last time out). A nice and easy 15 minute cooldown for 21.3km continuous, holding 3:43's for the entire session. A lovely way to start the day.

I felt surprisingly great this afternoon for my 40 minutes easy. Really bouncy and springy - much better than last Tuesday afternoon. Managed 8.88km at 4:30 pace. Just over 30km for the day!

Anzac Day - 75 minutes easy + hill strides

A nice sleep in until 6:50am this morning, a real treat for a Monday morning. It was a beautiful morning, crisp, clear with a moderate offshore south-westerly wind - making for amazing surf. Went out solo, kind of making up the route as I went along. Started off by heading towards Nolan's, then a lap of the golf course, before heading along the beachfront then heading to the wharf on my way to the start of the MSW. Then back to Raglan St for some hill strides. Nice and comfortable, 16.63km at 4:31's.

Sunday long run - 2 hours

I actually wore a shirt this morning, that's how cold it was! Well, that is how cold I thought it was when I got up. Truth is that is wasn't too bad - just getting soft as I get older. I met Ben, Scott, and Darren at the pool for a 6:15am kick-off. Picked up Toby at Dee Why as per usual. Felt amazingly good this morning, which was truly surprising after the long tempo yesterday. However, at about 17km I really started to notice the legs, and energy levels took a dip. The last 30 minutes from the lake back were simply just about getting home. Could have actually pushed it harder if I really needed to, but I actually now trust my body a lot more and knew that any faster was going to serve no benefits whatsoever. Scotty and I finished with a solid 27.95km, at 4:18's. So a solid weekend of running, on top of a relatively small week in terms of mileage - but a lot of pure speed. Just under 125km for the week. Next week looks intimidating!