Friday - 10km easy

Just an easy Friday run along the beachfront. Quite sore from yesterday's speed session, which is no surprise. I felt better towards the end of the run, and will no doubt recover well throughout today. 10km in 4:31's.

Thursday - HuRTS 4 x 800m (off 3'), 4 x 200m

Another deceptively brutal session, much like last week. Quantity-wise, it's not much. Quality-wise, it's intense. Although this time I was prepared for it. This really fast speed work is my weakest-link, so these sessions are absolutely gold for me - as I get annihilated! Jake and Jerome were there to keep me honest, however the former went too hard in the initial rep and hit to sit the next few out. Jake was consistent, and I fell consistently further behind on each of the 800m. I really started to struggle by the third one, and was simply in survival mode by the fourth. The times reflect it - 2:20, 2:23, 2:27, and 2:30. Then it was onto some 200m, which felt ridiculously short after the 800m. Nothing super quick here, averaging between 30-32 seconds. All up, a short but very intense session. I think I might need to look at doing more of these on a Saturday morning, especially on the weeks where we have Quarters or Mona on a Thursday (kind of illogical to do Parkrun less than 48 hours following these two Thursday sessions, as it is more or less the same session). A long 6km warm-up and 6km cool-down from and to Neutral Bay (via the Cahill Expressway, which I have Macca to thank for showing me that route).

Wednesday - 20km + strides

Up at 5am this morning for a very early start. Ran to North Head, briefly bumping into Erika along the way (I hope her calf has pulled up ok). I've been meaning to run this loop for ages, so it was good to get back out there and do it - although I couldn't see too much as it was pretty much pitch black. Back down to the lagoon and along the beachfront to get the 20km up. 4:22's. Finished with strides as usual.

Tuesday - HuRTS 20 minutes hills + tempo

Tested out the new Asics Gel Hyperspeed's today - I didn't realise how much I missed these! They were fantastic, super light and comfortable. Enough support without being too restrictive. Another new session for me today. Met the crew at the gates of St Mary's at 12:25pm. Not a huge group today, probably due to the Gold Coast this weekend. The first 20 minutes was simply running up and down a short hill just near The Domain. Kept the pace solid yet comfortable, knowing that a 5km tempo followed. All up was 5.17km worth of hills, with Quentin on my tail keeping me honest. A five minute break which included a walk back to the gates before starting the '5km' tempo (measured 4.78km on my watch, but this is well known). Quentin and I started in the final '3:30 pace' group (although arguably a few others should have joined us - namely Toby). I was really happy with this, as again it felt strong and controlled, without red-lining at all. The first kilometer was quicker due to being a net downhill, then the following were within a second of each other. 3:24's average, with Quentin and I working together and keeping the pace consistent. A great session, lots of variety. With a 5km warm-up and 5km cool-down, just under 21km all up. Only got a little bit of dirt on the inside of my right shoe, so not a disaster after all. Manflu seems to have gone as well, so an extra bonus.

Monday - 15km + strides

Finally feeling good again! Out and around Manly for my usual Monday run. 15km in 4:13's. Finished off with strides - even felt strong on these as well. I think that my manflu is cured!

Sunday - 20km easy

Met Justin and Ben at the pool, deciding to stick to 20km. Luckily the pace was nice and easy - just what I needed. We picked up Tim at Dee Why, just running to the fire station. Felt better on the way back, but kept the pace very nice and relaxed. 20km in 4:43's. Hopefully I will come good in the next day or two.

Saturday - 15km easy

I had half committed to at least showing up at the pool to warm-up to Curl Curl for Parkrun, but upon waking up I knew that I was wasting my time (plus, I don't want to pullout two weeks in a row). So put on the new shoes and just ran my usual Monday loop, really nice and easy. An amazing sunrise, for the first time in a long time I was back to basics and really just enjoyed being outdoors and running. And there was no doubt in my mind that I should have done Parkrun - I was just feeling flat, and intensity would have just pushed me over the edge. 15km in 4:35's.