Wednesday - 15km

Today was even better again! Amazing conditions to start with, although the coolness in the air all but disappeared once the sun came up (although along the harbour was still good as the sun hadn’t completely covered this part of the run yet). With beautiful conditions comes crowds of people, one of which who I collided with. This was despite moving over to the left and waving my hands to suggest that they leave a little bit of room as they were walking three abreast straight towards me. They ignored me, and the inevitable happened. A bit of abuse and some profanities from them wasn’t enough to stop me, so I just simply shook my head and kept going. Out to Shelly and then to Fairlight before returning. Upon return I saw the same three women, with one of them walking all the way over to me (yes, she was definitely not keeping to the left like all the signs suggest to) and had another go at me. Clearly not locals! Anyway, got back home in one of my fastest times ever of 53:48 (3:35’s)! Again, the weather and fresher legs no doubt contributed, but hopefully it is a sign that I’m getting fitter and faster. Looks like it is going to be a stunning day out there for the last one of summer!

Tuesday - 15km

An absolute stunning morning to be back out there running. I decided to take another day off yesterday as a precautionary measure, as my performance had stagnated and even dropped slightly over the last few weeks. I wasn’t feeling great either, so that along with yesterday’s torrential downpour, it was a no-brainer really. I was still a bit apprehensive this morning, as so often is the case after taking an unplanned rest day. Kept the intensity slightly more conservative than usual, really ensuring that I wasn’t going to just dig myself into another hole. Up to North Head, and although the intensity wasn’t as high as usual, I felt remarkably powerful and springy. I couldn’t believe that I could still hear the surfing commentary from Bower St (I can hear it load an clear from my place, which is not surprising as I’m right across the road from it). Got home in a very solid 55:15 (3:41’s), much quicker than I was expecting (I was thinking at the very least a minute slower). Probably a combination of being fresher than usual, and the weather - probably more the latter. Anyway, I’m really happy with that, and it gives me a little boost of confidence moving forward.

Sunday - 30km

Feeling quite a bit better this morning, pity that the conditions were not ideal (as I so often whinge about these days). Extremely humid and windy, equaling arguably the worst combination. I decided to run a lap of the lake this morning, I just needed the psychological break from the hilly coastal route. I kept the pace firm but controlled, not really ever going beyond the comfort zone throughout. I was drenched by the time I reached the caravan park at Narrabeen before turning straight into the southwesterly headwind. This was bitter sweet, as the wind was so nice and somewhat cooling, but a headwind is still a headwind. I managed to get held up on almost every second traffic light on the way home (oh well, this happens from time to time), but just held the pace and brought it home in 2:01:31 (4:30’s). Nothing spectacular, but probably better than I am giving myself credit for given the conditions. At least it is the last long run I’ll do this summer!

Saturday - no session, just an easy run instead

I hate doing this, but I really needed to this morning. It’s my own fault really. This was always going to happen when trying to add in a second speed session each week while trying to maintain the intensity of my weekday runs. And today I paid the price for it, although these days I’m much more contained about it, and don’t let it get to my head as much as it would’ve in the past. Looking back, I was shattered on Thursday afternoon and evening, and I really struggled yesterday, needing a second coffee just to keep functioning. Then this morning I just couldn’t warm-up. I felt sluggish, and the further I went into the warm-up, the less inspired I became to do a threshold effort. So, I decided to simply turnaround and run an easy 15km along the beachfront just to clear my head and to make something out of it. I’m really glad I did this, as I would’ve just been kicking myself for having run a poor threshold effort anyway. Now I’ve got to decide whether I want to commit to proper speedwork, meaning two or three hard sessions per week separated by easier runs in between? Or do I simply revert back to the status quo and run at a solid and controlled pace each morning. To be honest, I actually prefer the latter, without the added stress of all of the strings attached with the speedwork. I’ve proven to myself that I can maintain a more than excellent base of aerobic fitness without any specific speedwork, and I’m not sure how much more I want to sacrifice just to run a minute or two faster over 10km or a half marathon? Sure, these goals may seem everything to us runners at the time, but in the whole scheme of things, it’s not like as if that extra minute or two is going to get me on a national team or anything like that. So simply sticking with the daily runs on feel seems the no-brainer option for me at the moment. Should I decide to race, a few weeks of some shorter and sharper stuff will suffice. Most importantly, I’ve been the happiest I’ve been in years over the past months by doing my daily 15km - which overrides everything else. Nevertheless, I’ll be back out there for my long run tomorrow.

Thursday - 5 x 2 laps (1300m) (off 3’) (+ 200m, 150m, 100m, 2 x 80m, 2 x 60m)

Out for my second interval session this morning, and this was quite a big step up from last week’s. Decided to go to Passmore Reserve for these for two reasons - firstly, the GPS was inconsistent last week (and I’m quite OCD), so knowing that each lap of Passmore is 650m, some two lap efforts seemed quite logical. And secondly, the setting up for the Surfing Festival meant the beachfront would have been a nightmare. Another bonus is that it is nice and quite at Passmore. After a short three kilometer warmup, I got stuck into it. Similar to last week, I needed to be slightly conservative as I haven’t done a session like this in a long while. Overall, I was ver consistent once again, finishing with 4:16, 4:13, 4:15, 4:14, and 4:15. Quite happy with that. I’ve still got a fair bit of speed to come, but it’s nice to simply set a benchmark which I can continue to work towards improving on. A long 6.5km cooldown back along the beachfront before finishing off with some sprints. Rest day tomorrow!

Wednesday - 15km

A much welcomed change in the weather today with a relatively nice 19 degrees and a very light southeasterly breeze with overcast skies. Felt pretty good (not as good as yesterday though), and really tried to make the most of the conditions. Shelly-Fairlight Loop this morning, having to detour once again past the Surfing Festival setup - hopefully they’ll be done before the weekend! Had a few close moments with some walkers and a lifeguard where I had to almost stop to avoid a collision (no one’s fault really, just quite crowded), which is rare to have one, let alone two or three in a run. Got back home in 55 flat (3:40’s), not too bad but nothing amazing either. Although I’m still covered in sweat right now, so perhaps the conditions weren’t as good as I thought. I’ll give it another month or two until we are into ‘world record conditions’ once again!

Tuesday - 15km

Today I traded the heat and humidity for a massive southerly (with a small bit of humidity left over, just for fun)! Despite having to work harder just to go slower, it was a good trade off. Up to North Head today, and I was flying for the initial 500m running northbound towards Queenscliff. I knew that it was too good to be true, and right I was. Heading south towards Manly LSC was tough, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was going to tackle up at North Head. It was quite brutal up there, deteriorating the further south I went. That last bit before Fairfax Loop where it is exposed and you can see South Head was full-on. The good news was that I knew that once I turned around, not only would I be over halfway through the run, but it was going to be downhill with a nice tailwind. But, as is always the case, you never gain in a tailwind what you lose in a headwind. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the run back. Apart from having to detour and dodge the construction workers setting up for the Surfing Festival (yes, the infrastructure still looks excessive despite the fact that the whole event has been watered down somewhat), I felt really good and strong. It's just unfortunate that the conditions didn’t allow me to show that, finishing in 56:10 (3:45’s). The time doesn’t matter, it was a solid run and I’m quite happy with it. Definitely no swim today.