Monday - 40 minutes + hill strides

Short but sweet this morning. Another cracking day ahead (it must be a Monday). Solo, but not an issue this morning. The council looks as if they have finally finished fixing underneath the Queenscliff Bridge following the East Coast Low just over two months ago. The unbelievable thing is, after running through it this morning, the tiny bit of damage that was done there during the storm. I small piece of concrete was all that was replaced, a job that would have taken a few hours to fix! Anyway, 9.08km in 4:24's. Finished off with some hill strides for about 10km total.

Sunday - 90 minutes

Not a massive turnout this morning - just Macca, Ben - with Toby joining in at Dee Why. Macca set the pace early, but it soon became apparent that he had already run 10km before he joined us - hence he was warmed up. The good thing with Macca starting early was that I had company upon turning around at the 45 minute mark. Got just past the fire station at Narrabeen. A nice comfortable pace the whole way, finishing with 20.7km in 4:21's. 134 beats per minute. Just over 117km for the week, so much shorter than last week's 150. Another shorter this coming week, dreading next Sunday.

Saturday - 2 x hill loop, 1 x white fence

It was a case of less is more this morning. We all knew that the volume of this morning's sessions would be reduced from the previous few weeks with the C2S pending. Two hill loops, or more like 3/4 loops, as we were told to jog the downhill portion instead of attacking at as per previously. Another impressive turnout this morning; I hung in the second group with Alex and Hamish - the latter who was flying after having a few weeks easy following a 100 mile race! Endurance was certainly still there. Anyway, stayed with both Alex and Hamish for the first lap, before dropping them on the second. 6'33 and 6'31 for each 1.89km loop, so consistent. We all regathered prior to starting the lap of the white fence. Was weary of Hamish, and thought my best chance was to drop him early and try to hang on. I managed the first part, but he was too strong over the final kilometer, edging past me. I took a quick glance behind to ensure that Alex wasn't planning on doing the same - I was safe. To my surprise, I ran a 11'56 for the 3.56km lap - not super quick, but again was never going to be with the muddy surface from all the rain. Alex was about 15 seconds behind, still running strong as well.  So a nice little confidence booster leading into Sunday week - I need that after a few weeks of subpar paces at training. A nice and easy cooldown with Nick and Jules, mainly talking restaurants- it appears that they know their stuff as well! No double today. Around 17.5km all up.

Thursday - Tempo & Hills (Encore) (am) + 40 minutes easy (pm)

Stoked to have Quentin join me this morning. Similarly to Burkey on Monday night, I got the message just before 10am last night for a starter this morning. With the forecasted weather, all the extra motivation was required! Largely managed to avoid the pouring rain, although we did get some by brief showers throughout. But the wind - that was next level stuff! Made even worse by running on the coast. Similar session to last Thursday (when Quentin last joined me), except the tempo effort was 10 instead of 15 minutes. To add some variety into the mix, I decided to reverse the session - doing the tempo first. Started at Manly LSC, headed south to Queenscliff, then return. Going down was gold, felt super strong and fast. But knowing what was ahead was scary. Turned at Queensie, and my worst fears were realised. It felt like a brick wall - the wind that is, with nails - the nails being little bullets of rain. Couldn't care less about the pace at this point - just wanted to get back towards Manly LSC and out of the wind. Pushed through it, getting out 2.96km in 3:23's. Not fast by any means, but really happy with the effort - as it was hard but controlled the whole way. The heart rate confirms it, maxing out steadily at 173 beats per minute. Quentin was about 40-50m behind. We regathered and headed towards Darley Rd. Same as last week, 1 x 4 minute hill followed by 6 x 1 minute hills. To make things more complicated, the first minute of the long hill was a hard run, along with the recoveries after the first and forth minute of the 1 minute hills. Really felt the legs 'lactate' after the third hill. Luckily Quentin was the same, although he was much stronger on the hills this week in comparison to last week. All up about 40 seconds quicker all up than last week, which was a nice way to finish up (20:19 vs. 20:56). A 5km cooldown, literally avoiding the next downpour by seconds. Very lucky. Looks like the weather may be clearing as the day progresses, so will hopefully stay dry for the afternoon double. 17km all up this morning.

Actually had a starter for my afternoon run - that's a first. Bumped into Ben this morning at Pure Wholefoods, so we agreed to meet at North Steyne SLSC at midday. An easy 40 minutes around the local area, 8.8km in 4:33's. Just under 26km for the day. A much welcomed rest day tomorrow!

Wednesday - 80 minutes + strides

Not much sleep last night, after getting home from work late (dinner at 10pm), so was tempted to sleep in this morning and run solo. Thought better of it and decided to join Justin at 6am, sacrificing the sleep for some company. Definitely the right decision, as the conditions were ordinary. Extremely windy with intermittent downpours - at least it wasn't cold. Ran up to North Head, before heading back to Queenscliff, then jumping on some bike track that I had never been on that would have taken us next to Burnt Bridge deviation and up to Seaforth Junction (didn't get that far). Nice and comfortable, not pushing it at all. 17.3km in 4:38's. Concluded with some strides up and down Pine Lane for an extra kilometer.

Tuesday - 2km effort, 5 minutes rest, 10 x 300m (2:00 cycle) (am) + 40 minutes easy (pm)

A proper speed session this morning, and it's just what I need. Was stressing yesterday as it looked like I was going to be solo again, but Burkey came to the rescue at the last minute. It also gave me a 15 minute sleep in, which was an added bonus. A 20 minute warmup before we met at Manly LSC ready to start the first effort. 2km hard - and it was bloody hard! Tried to keep it controlled the whole way - which the splits don't suggest that I did. However, I would disagree, as the first kilometer appeared too fast, whilst the second kilometer appeared too slow (3:02 and 3:15 respectively). However, an average of 3:09 seemed spot on, finishing in just over 6:18. Not too bad for that course along the beachfront, even better when I ran from the front (Burkey is a speed demon, hence his emergence in the second half of the session). A well deserved 5 minute rest prior to commencing the 300's. These were much worse than anticipated! The mindset is much more relaxed going into these, especially as on paper they are much shorter. But trust me, once you commence these, they are tough! Burkey was flying, and essentially led the first 6 or 7. The endurance kicked in (or kicked out for home, depending on how you read it) for the last few. But overall, consistent. The times add more weight to my theory of dead zones in terms of GPS readings along the beachfront, with the northern reps (odds) consistently a second or two slower than the southern reps (evens); 52, 51, 52, 50, 52, 49, 51, 50, 50, 48. Overall, a really tough, albeit fun, session. Unlike anything I have really done before. Looking forward to introducing more of these types of speed sessions into my program, as I feel I have lots to improve in this area - especially the all out middle distance efforts (1-3km). A nice and easy 5km cooldown for 15.4km all up. Supposedly that is the last of the dry spell! An easy 40 minutes is planned for this afternoon.

Managed to mostly avoid the rain this afternoon. Out for an easy 40 minutes around the Randwick loop. It appears the heart rate monitor is reading my cadence as my heart rate - which was supposedly 177 beats per minute (which, happened to be my cadence). Will have to look into that one. Felt good though, despite feeling sore walking around this morning after the session. 8.85km in 4:31's. Just over 24km for the day.

Monday - 40 minutes + hill strides

Nice and short this morning. Was tempted to run longer, but thought better of it. The whole point of easier days/weeks is to allow the body to absorb all the previous training completed - and adapt. Besides, I was pretty exhausted after a massive weekend and all of last week. Stuck along the beachfront. 9.05km in 4:25's. Then to Raglan St for some hill strides. 10km to start the week.