Thursday stamina set - 79 minutes continuous (15 easy, 22 effort, 5 easy, 22 fartlek, 15 easy) (am) + 30 minutes recovery (pm)

I was actually dreading this session. Last time I did this, I ran laps of the golf course solo in the dark and rain. Things were made tougher last night when Tom messaged saying that he had to skip the session due to work - I was hoping to share the work with him (it's still hard, it just makes the session psychologically easier). Nevertheless, there was still a good turnout. I met Erika, Darren, Jamie and Burkey at Queenscliff SLSC at 6am straight after the 15 minutes easy. We agreed to running in the walkers lane (not the cycling lane) between Queenscliff and Shelly Beach. I was slightly apprehensive as I know how crowded it can get, but was glad I listened in the end as it was really nice. I actually felt great today (must have been the lamb backstrap last night), probably partially due to myself actually respecting the session this time around. Remembering that you have another 22 minute fartlek after the initial 22 minute effort ensures that you pace it appropriately. Went out at just over 3:20 pace, but felt fine and bought it home strong finishing in 3:19's. This bought me to about a third of the way between Manly LSC and Shelly Beach. I turned around and regrouped with the others before starting the fartlek. I ensured that I didn't go too hard this time, and probably put greater emphasis on the floats, aiming to hold sub or low 4's. Ended up averaging 3:26's for this part of the session, so a significant improvement on last time (although it was on a different course).  Again, felt strong, comfortable and relaxed. A nice steady cool-down for the remaining 15 minutes for exactly 21.1km all up for the 79 minutes. 3:45's. Another beautiful, but dark morning. Only one to go (sleep in tomorrow) before daylight savings ends. Runner of the session would have to be Burkey - never seen him complete a session further than 400's. He looked strong as well!

An easy 30 minutes for almost two laps of the white fence at Centennial Park this afternoon in between teaching and treating. 4:25's at 124 beats per minute. 27.9km for the day!

75 minutes easy + hill strides

Had to be up even earlier than usual this morning, so got out a sneaky 30 minutes prior to meeting Darren, Erika and Tom at Pittwater Rd at 6:04am. We decided to avoid North Head this morning by running to Shelly, then to the start of the MSW track. 75 minutes ver easy, 4:38's at 121 beats per minute. Finished off with some Raglan St hill strides. Back well and truly before sunrise.

Fast Tuesday - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 minute efforts (off 2 minutes) (am) + 40 minutes recovery (pm)

Short but hard this morning, after being deceived a few weeks earlier with a similar short session (on paper), I was much more apprehensive this time around. So glad to see the full squad back and running. A massive crew today including Tom, Erika, Darren, Jamie, Richard (who decided to leave after the first rep to go searching for umbrellas???) and a very warm welcome back for Emma! We agreed to complete the sessio along the beachfront in the bike lane - it was simply too dark for anywhere else. We met at Queenscliff SLSC where we were greeted by a nice southerly headwind. Tom declared that he was going to be 'rubbish' today - which I wasn't totally convinced (and I was right to be). Anyway, I fell for it, and went out quite hard (but not all out, repose ring the session) for the initial effort. I deviated right, while Tom turned left (I'm like Zoolander) as we approached Manly LSC. 3:05's is what we averaged for the initial rep, getting in 1.62km. Not bad for straight into a headwind. The two minutes rest felt progressively quicker with each rep. 3:03's for the four minute effort felt nicer - I ran next to Tom before shadowing him for the last part of the rep. Another headwind rep for number three - again, tucking right behind Tom for 3:07's. 3:02's for the two minute effort. This actually felt slow - I was starting to really feel it now. Simply changed the game plan to holding on and finishing the session - survival mode. The last rep was quick. 2:50's. I had a solid lead until about 15 seconds to go when Tom came flying past me. A real Mo Farah kick from Tom. And that was it. Another deceptively hard session! A nice easy 5km cooldown towards Manly Pool and Passmore Reserve. Just over 15km all up. And home really early as well! Got another easy 40 minutes planned for this afternoon - will attempt to get out there before lunch if all goes to plan.

5 laps around Randwick before lunch, just catching some light drizzle at the end. Felt nice and relaxed. 4:34's got me 8.75km, a very low 120 beats per minute. About 24km for the day.

75 minutes easy + hill strides

I got an insight as to what the end of daylight savings will look like next week. The good news - it's positive (the mornings are at least). No uni/work today, so had the luxury of sleeping in until 640am. Out for a solo lap of North Head - just missing Tim on the way out. Felt nice and relaxed, easily holding 4:27's. The heart rate appeared to average 126 - but I honestly think that the Garmin's ability to accurately read my heart is deteriorating by the day. Finished off with some hill strides. A nice day ahead of doing not too much (apart from drinking coffee, cooking, eating and sleeping). I am starting to get better at this whole 'relaxing' thing.

Two hours

Just Macca, Tom, Hamish and myself this morning for the Easter Sunday long run. We were all knackered this morning (except for Hamish) - old age finally catching up with us all. Hamish turned around early leaving three of us for the back half. Conversation was minimal, reflecting our lack of enthusiasm. Poor old Macca and Tom had 38km, so I really shouldn't be whinging about an easy two hours. Decided to pick the pace up a little from Dee Why onwards, getting in a few sub-4 kilometers to finish at a moderate pace. Ended up with 27.5km averaging 4:22's. Walked home solo, ready to enjoy and relax for the next few days. Looks like I might give Lane Cove a miss next Saturday due to the fact that Gary hasn't included it in the program; the fact that I am racing in Canberra the following weekend; and what is looking like a potentially weak lineup for a Lane Cove anyway (no Barts, no Criniti, likely no Tom, Hoey, Robin; not sure about CT or Neil). Don't want to upset the coach - he's been good to me so far! Two 140km weeks back-to-back! High mileage with quality. Another week before reducing both next Sunday onwards.

Saturday Bay Run - 16km Tempo

A nice little surprise by Gary this morning when I asked him what today's session was after warming up. His response - a '16km tempo.' Should have seen this coming, as he had not scheduled a second run for me today (always a sign, at least I now know for the future). But despite my whinging above, I secretly am a closet fan of long tempo runs - something about my physiology allows me to literally back off a second or two per kilometer and stupidly hold it twice as long. 16km equated to two-and-a-bit laps of the Bay. Gary's instructions were to hold 3:30's, and only push harder towards the end if I felt ok. He and Lucy were going 6km, and were going to attempt 3:30's, so he suggested I hold onto them for the initial 6km. As always with these sessions, it felt comfortably hard. Got through the first lap holding 3:28's and feeling fine. The second lap started to feel harder - but then again the pace was increasing without realising. Each kilometer my watch would display a time that was far too quick - one came out at 3:17! So kept telling myself to back it off somewhat. I felt I did this, but the times stayed slightly faster than usual (not necessarily a bad thing, I shouldn't be complaining). Ended up averaging 3:25 for the entire 16km. It was only myself, Gemma and Tom do Canto running the long tempo efforts. Tom is in great form at the moment, after a strong 6FT and Sun Run (winning both) and held a solid 3:16 average for the same run. That would be nice! A slow and easy 5km jog with Tom back to King George Park for 25km all up. Saw Hoey out there again this morning, looking very strong and pushing it! Feel bad as I am well and truly overdue a breakfast with him! It will happen, I promise!

Thursday torture - 3km (off 500m jog), 2km (off 500m jog), 1km (am) + 35 minutes recovery (pm)

Tired and unmotivated this morning. It's been a big few days at work and uni, and a lack of sleep is taking its toll. Coupled with the fact that I have essentially been running solo (Tom is away, Jamie doesn't respond to his phone anymore, Darren and Erika still have another week of recovery), it was effort simply getting my shoes on this morning. Decided to complete the session running anticlockwise laps of the golf course. It always reads short on my GPS running this direction (as opposed to over reading running clockwise), which is a good thing for me as it stops me from trying to break GPS speed records (or so I thought). Also, it's quite undulating - especially in comparison to the pancake flat beachfront. Ran the first effort in 3:14's, which I was extremely happy with. Notably too fast though, as I could probably take a few more seconds a kilometer off that as it reads short. A 500m shuffle ('jog' is an overstatement) then straight into the 2km effort. My legs were still dead from the initial 3km, so it was simply a matter of holding on. A net uphill during this effort made the average pace an unflattering 3:21. Again, another 500m shuffle before starting the last effort. I was gone before starting this one. Again, an even greater net uphill, with a slow 3:25. Again, I'm not reading too much into the average paces - I know that compared to previous anticlockwise loops that today's effort was quite good. I was shattered at the end, so the effort was definitely there (if not slightly too hard). A nice easy jog back along the beachfront where I was greeted by some nice looking surf. Just shy of 17km all up.

Out stupidly late for a night run. 8:50pm it was when I laced up and left home. Luckily it was a beautiful evening - people out celebrating the start of the long weekend, not a cloud in the sky, a full moon, and a mild northerly breeze. World record conditions. Took it super super super easy - 7.37km in 4:45's, a very low 117 beats per minute.