Sunday 15th June 2008 A.D.;
Ran Perth Half Marathon (21.1km) in 1 hour 45 minutes 17 seconds. (4min59 per km)
HR 183 at end. 10.5k Splits; 51.00/54.17. Placed 262nd of 647 finishers.

7k splits; (doesnt include last 100m.) 34min 03/ 34min55/ 35min 49.

Official results @ HERE
some photos (couldnt find me in them) @ here...

Resting heart rate was 53 this morning which is not good!, but not terrible, so I figured I'd have a shot at the PB of 1.41 from 2005 (in what is I think my 10th Half marathon), but more likely a sub 1.50 was likely given my complete lack of training in the last 2 weeks, although I have been over the flu for 3-4 days, I have been too busy with evening shifts finishing at 0100 and 0200 on Thursday and Friday this week in my new night callcentre job, and some difficult meter reading rounds in Scarborough and Mt Pleasant on Wednesday and Thursday, plus Morley on Friday. Changed Jacobs nappy this morning before I left, so Kathryn and him could rest a bit longer as he is teething with his two top front teeth. Driving there I saw a massive rainbow and was reminded that God keeps his promises see Genesis chapter 9: verses 12-17 (especially verse 16) in the Bible...decided to wear my Fremantle Dockers hat today to celebrate their 53 point win over North Melbourne yesterday...It nearly blew off a few times in the squally winds...Its still statistically possible for the Dockers to make the finals this year but like the Eagles, they must win all of the remaining 10 games, or at least 9 of them to sneak into the top eight...

Got to Burswood with 20 minutes to spare, but parking was a shambles, maybe due to big field for the Half, and/or jetboat people racing on the Swan River from the same clubrooms as the West Australian marathon club behind Burswood casino. Wasted 15 minutes trying to find somewhere to park, overflow option onto grassy area by the river was not available, so I had to run about 2km hard to get to start line with about 10 seconds to spare, and then went hard at the gun,so probably ran the equivalent of 23km today all at sub 5min per km I'd say...

I missed a few 1k markers and some of the splits I couldn't remember afterwards, but managed to remember most of them...;
1Km splits; 4.07/4.26/4.41/5.30?/4.54= 23min 50 First 5km.
1K-4.07 2k-8.33 3k-13.14 4k-18.44? 5k-23.50
(had some minor back pain between 3km to 5km, so walked,stretched arms/back,ran on grass for awhile, until it went away, probably only lost about 40-50 seconds)
Started very well, but decided to back off a little after splitting 2k in 8.33!,
soon after saw Epi and Clown come past at about the usual spot where they pass me...
About 3k-4k in I think I jarred my back or something, cos I had to walk/stretch that out, then ran on grass a bit, to get over that. Then tried to settle into some sub 5min per km running... Dont remember my 4km split, might have missed the marker...
So fairly happy with the first 5k...Rain and puddles not too bad at this stage.

4.38?/5.35?/4.35/4.26/4.56= 24min 10 Second 5km. First 10km=48min.00
6k-28.28? 7k-34.03 8k-38.38 9k-43.04 10k-48.00
Can't remember or missed my 6k split, but I wasn't going that well through the Narrows Bridge, and the diversion in between the Freeway roads...

Got going again between Narrows Bridge and the Old Swan Brewery buildings, and on to UWA and Hackett Drive. Decided to attack/work past some of the bunches of runners around me, and ran a bit with some woman in a purple top who was also moving through the field a lot at that time. About 8k-9k, I backed off a little again. A good surge, which kept me on that 4min 48 per km pace, despite me losing the plot a bit amongst the freeway roads diversion. Saw (and heard) the swiss bloke who shouts "Ole Ole" (forgotten his name now) going across the Narrows bridge as I went under the bridge, and this brought back the good memories of Melbourne marathon last year, and probably gave me the mental trigger to attack at this point.

Nice section with Swan river on one side, and Mounts Bay Rd/Kings park on other side, very flat, puddles not too bad, and no climbs, or turns really, so found some good rhythm for about 3km hitting 4.35/4.26/4.56...
Saw Epi and Clown heading back the other way just as I hit 10km. Nice to get some encouragement.

At this point I knew that chances of a PB (sub 1.41) were probably going to be too hard, but a sub 1.50 was very likely. Since I have not run in the 1.40's for a Half race, since my 1.44 in the 2006 Freo Half, I got a psychological boost at that point cos, I could see this was shaping up to be one of my best races this year for sure, and probably one of my best for a few years...

Figured I should drink some of the gatorade I had carried in one hand this far, pretty soon, and then at the halfway point I splitted 51minutes which was a bit faster than I expected, I envisaged about 52-54minutes before the race, {although if I had trained a bit in the last 2 weeks, and not had to work two late evening shifts on Thursday/Friday (0100 and 0200 finishes, 4 hours sleep or less for the second Thursday night in a row) this week, I might have gone after about 48minutes for the halfway point} Good old WAMC (WA Marathon club) was giving out free Carboshotz gels, so I decided to have one of those and some water, and only drink half my Gatorade, lost a bit of time mucking around with that, but it gave me the boosts I needed physiologically, and I set about getting some attacking running going again.

Missed the 11k marker if there was one, but at 12k my wristwatch said 58min 28, which I knew was a pretty good time (anything under 60 minutes is sub 5min per km, so I was sitting on sub 1.45 pace with 9.1km to go! So I knew a sub 1.50 would only require me to stick around 5 minutes per km for another 9km, and the more sub.5.30 stuff I could bank the better. Set about trying to surge again a bit on that nice straight flat stretch towards the old Swan Brewery on this out and back course.

12k-58.28
13k-63.44
14k-68.58.

After a 5.16 and a 5.14, and a 14k split of 68min 58 (Almost 2 minutes faster than my 14k split in the 40miler (official results finally online HERE in March this year,there are a few photos on page 68 of current issue of R4YL magazine...) I knew that sub 1.50 was looking very likely, and my 7k splits had stayed consistently in the 34min zone. Feeling pretty good at that point.

The puddles were starting to get bigger and the rain maybe a little heavier. Took it easy again through that annoying Freeway roads section, got through the Narrows bridge, where two women with light blue tops came past a lot of other runners. Again tried to run off their pace, and some bloke in a white top. I ran on the grass again in South Perth to avoid the concrete, and set myself the goal of attacking/staying ahead of a bunch of runners nearby until after the ferry terminal, and then a bit further.

Struggled a bit after the Ferry terminal, and the puddles were becoming very large and hard to avoid through this section. The WAMC helpers were doing a great job in rain that was becoming moderately heavy stopping cars coming through the park access roads as we ran across them.

17k 1.24.11
18k-1.29.44
19k-1.35.04
20k-1.40.00
21k-1.44.47

When I arrived at 17km (with 4.1km to go) in 1hour 24min 11, I knew I was still a good chance to go well under 1.50 and I figured a 1.44-1.47 was probably the time to shoot for. However I knew I was starting to struggle a bit with slipping back into some 6min per K rubbish, and I needed to give myself a kick up the backside again now if I wanted a 1.47 or better.

So I surged again and started winding things up pushing the pain barriers aside and focusing hard, working the arms, breathing,stride, while dodging puddles, and working my way around bunches of runners. When I splitted 5.20 for 18k-19k, I knew I was starting to get back into a good groove, and that a 1.46 was looking good, then calculated I would need a couple of sub 5min K's to have a chance of going sub 5minutes per Km, and get down to low 1.45's...So dug deep, and tried to crank up the cadence a lot, and knew i was getting there when I started passing a lot of runners very quickly around about the causeway.

My 20k split just after the Causeway was 1hour40minutes zero seconds, which I figured was faster than what I ran in the 40 miler this year so my fastest 20k this year for sure, and I knew I just needed one more sub 5min k + a solid last 100m, and the sub 5min per k average for the run would be mine. My breathing wasn't allowing me to go much harder, so I just tried to hold the pace, and maybe find a little bit extra to get past a couple more runners at the end. With 100m to go my watch said about 1.44, and I figured I'd couldn't quite go sub 1.45, but the sub 5min per K was very likely. Finally got the better of some bloke with a white top in the last 70m who I had battled with for about 300m, but some bloke in a black top, cruised past both of us. When I saw the clock hit about 1.45.12 (my watch said 1.45.16, but I think I stopped it a bit late) as I went under, I knew this had been a successful race!...

Good to catch up with Clown and Epi afterwards who both did about 1.32, so about 12 minutes ahead of me they were...
Decided not to tack on an extra 10km afterwards, mainly because of the risk of blisters in the rain that was getting increasingly heavier, and puddles that were getting gigantic!...Looks like I might have to rely on my meter reading work in the last 21months, and my experience of running 6 marathons, plus the 27k and 33k with the Hills Group in recent weeks to get me through the 42km of the Perth Marathon in 3 weeks time. So I think I am finally starting to hit some good form and fitness, so hopefully I am still a good chance to give that 3hr 55 PB a serious battering on July 6th.

Sunday 8th June 2008 A.D.;
Cycled for 10 minutes, HR-117, 3 minute rest then;
Ran 2km in 8min 58secs, HR-174 on Hull Park course.

My sickness has been hanging around all week, but I think I am over the worst of it, starting to feel a lot better in the last few days, still have a very mucousy nose occasionally. But I think I should be fully recovered in time for Perth half-marathon next weekend. Unexpected night shift at work (finished at 5am, so did not sleep for 24 hours straight, and then only for 3 hours before getting back to my meter reading work on the Friday, combined with me being sick left me looking to recover this weekend, and make the most of some quality and quantity time with my wife Kathryn, and son Jacob. Unfortunately didnt make it to the MundaBiddi 100km, but Dave and Nathan both went under 12 hours, Dave 10.30 Nathan 11.18, a massive improvement on their 14 hours last year, wish I was there!...(although 30-40k would have been my limit...Caught up with Steve P. and some old mates of mine at a Saturday night night birthday party, which was great, maybe one day me,Steve and Rob can run Comrades in their hometown of Durban,South Africa...24 entrants this year from Western Australia for next weekend!!! Most of them I know from training with them at the Hills group in the last 2 years...
So my Perth Marathon plans once again are in disarray, trying to figure out how best to approach the next few weeks, and seeing how my new job develops...Its times like these you need courage, persistence,wisdom,strength...Good news is I think Kathryn and I are just about "out of the woods" moneywise, and things are looking decidedly positive for the next few weeks,months in that regard...So thanks God! in advance for that one...

Sunday 1st June 2008 A.D.
AM;Cycled for 70minutes on exercise bike, heartrates around 90-120, so very low intensity.
PM; 200 ab crunches.

WEEK 11 (26/05/08-01/06/08);
Volume; 70min + 32hrs MR work. Sessions; 1 +MR
Best RHR; 46 bpm
Sleep; 42hrs (6.11hrs per night but includes 9 hours saturday night) *29
OD/LSD; 70 minute ride??? Does that count?
Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL
Reps sessions;NIL
5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes achieved kinda...
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed
3-Abs done?-yes achieved.
4-cycling done-yes achieved.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...
Second consecutive week of mostly less than 6 hours sleep per night, combined with my meter reading work and training for my new callcentre job in the evening, struggling to get enough money to keep my family going, Jacob getting a runny nose, and then last night my wife Kathryn and I both started to get significant flu symptoms, today resting heart rate is like 56 after being down to 46 earlier in the week on a few days, and I feel very low on energy and am going through the tissues every minute or two. Basically I am pretty sick with the flu.

Yesterday was a pretty hairy day trying to meter read in the middle of continual lightning,thunder and heavy rain storms, on one street I felt like the lightning was striking all the way down the street and the thunder claps sounded like waves breaking or a death/thrash metal gig they were so loud and close. Was very keen to get back to my car then.

So training wise this week is another "no-show" pretty much. Maybe next week???
Perth Half marathon (and Comrades) are on June 15th, and Lake Monger 10km on next weekend, so hopefully by then I will be recovered, work,bills,sleep mix will be a little improved, and I can put some good races on the board. As soon as I am healthy again I will be endeavouring to hit the track. However the resting heart rate readings of 46bpm (x2 this week), suggests that the training I have done in recent weeks combined with my meter reading work has given us some fitness momentum, so if I can get that down to 44 or better a PB in the Perth marathon on July 6th is very likely.

I will try and run 30-40km on Dave and Nathans Munda Biddi 100km trails "race", next weekend, and that may well be my last major long run before the Perth Marathon on July 6th. Be mostly high intensity 22km or less stuff then, and a few days of taking it easy before the race. That should ensure I am tapered enough, although I barely have anything to taper from at the moment, have a few more weeks to change that...If my new job continues to be a success (Did 3 shifts, and felt like I as getting there with the calls on Friday night), I should be able to afford to take a few days off from the meter reading early July, and then of course hopefully a big holiday in October to celebrate Kathryn and I's second wedding anniversary, with a return to the Melbourne Marathon high on the list of things to do, details are online as of today @ http://www.melbournemarathon.com.au/

So for now its back to my tissues (blowing my nose every few minutes, and maybe the Fremantle Dockers can brighten my day
for a change...or not...its groundhog day and pavlichs poster in the last quarter is really getting terribly annoying...so its back to square one, back to the drawing board etc etc etc...Hopefully next week will be about as positive as the Dockers 3goal winning first quarter...at least...

Saturday 24th May; Ran 27km in 2 hours 44min 56 secs.
Heart rate 150 at end. Average speed 6min 06 per km.
Darlington to Sawyers Rd and back course.
Splits 1.28.46/1.16.10
(Did the last 9.5km in 50minutes @ 5min 15 per km pace)...

Decided to throw in a big surge in the second half after taking it easy
with the Hills group B-team, (who are starting their long taper for the 89km Comrades race in June)Morts, and a few others, most of whom were doing the 33k course...Had some great chats about all things running in perfect running weather occasional light rain, beautiful views, two big kangaroos jumped out onto the trail as if to say; "come on see if you can stay with us!" hahahaha *LOL* :-)
What more can I say but I love running the railway heritage trail from Darlington...

Initially I was planning to run a fast 22km, but after 10 hours of meter reading yesterday, and getting to Great Eastern Hwy in 1 hour 15 I decided I'd rather enjoy the B-teams company a bit longer and get a longer run in...Only had 1 gatorade with me and was keen to get home to help out my wife, plus get started on my overtime work today, so decided not to go the whole 33km that the B-team was going although it was tempting.

I am starting a part-time evening job next week (got the nod to start 3 months probation in their callcentre yesterday), and looks like we have adjusted to the pays situation in my main job so hopefully the end of my finances woes is very close...My new part-time job has the option to go fulltime, but at this stage I am looking at keeping both jobs. Hopefully this extra time commitment doesnt impact too negatively on my running but have to get another income option on the board, so I don't get caught out when hard times come again...

Its my quickest time on that course by 8 minutes, compared to the 2hr 52 I did on 17th August 2007 in the leadup to my Melbourne Marathon run last year. See HERE for details of that run. Some other times I have done this run in the last two years are May 2007 and September 2006.
On the way back i was trying to push the pace after wasting some time in the first half on breaks at Mundaring and Glen Forrest, plus had to get gravel out of my shoes a few times from Sawyers Rd to Mundaring on the way back. In the last 7km Djc and a woman I dont know came past at about 5minutes per km so I worked hard to keep them in sight for a few km and started hitting some 5.00-5.30 per km sort of stuff...
Very happy! with run. Another long run in the bank, and pushing the last 6-9km will help me a lot in my quest to try and improve my times quickly. An LFD (long fast distance) run for the second half of the run...

Monday 19th May; Cycled 15minutes on exercise bike before work...


WEEK 10 (19/05/08-25/05/08);
Volume; 179min + 39hrs MR work. Sessions; 2 +MR
Best RHR; 49 bpm Sleep; 40hrs (5.71hrs per night) *35
OD/LSD; 27km long run 24/5
Races/Time trials/LFD; Last 13km (especially last 11km) of long run on 24/5 was LFDish...
Reps sessions;NIL
5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes achieved.
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed
3-Abs done?- no failed
4-cycling done-yes achieved.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...

Sunday 18/5/08; AMish (1015start);
Ran 29km in 2hr 52min 36. HR-144 (5min 57 per km)
LSD (long slow distance) session, but about as high in intensity as one can go before it starts to become more of an LFD (Long Fast Distance) session.
On my TOLP (tour of local parks) course...4x6.75km + 2km hull park course.
6.75km splits; 37min 04 /43min 51 /39min 30 /40min 30
last 2km 11min 41

Nice solid long run...stopped twice for drinks breaks, and a few other times to get pebbles,bits of grass out of my shoes...Original plan was to do 27km, but once I got out there was feeling good, and decided to add another 2km onto it. Left knee aching a bit, from all the bitumen, and some concrete (but also lots of grassy sections in the parks), but overall no major problems.

Saturday 17/5/08; AM; 200 Abdominal Crunches.
Ran 1000m/500m/2x300m. (rests;3min/5min/3min)
Times; 3min 49.81/1min 53.97/59.75/61.25
Heart rates at end of rep; 177/174/177/177
Noranda Track midday, My wife Kathryn jogged for 6minutes, then ran a 400m.
Jacob who is now well past 9 months, went to sleep again on his second visit to the track in the pram.
I was thinking of doing a few more 300m reps, but some bloke turned up and let two large dogs run free all over the track, (illegal, but very common problem at ovals) so I decided rather than confrontation or try and do reps and fight off dogs from me, and potentially my wife and baby, I'd call it a day and go home instead.

Overall some good speedwork, with heart rates a bit lower than has been the norm for me in recent years, so maybe I am hitting a slightly higher level of fitness this week. Resting heart rate of 47 on one day this week supports that hypothesis, and my weight was 74.6kg this morning.

I think that short reps session combined with the 4000m last night should ramp things up for me a little fitnesswise too, and maybe , just maybe, we can put in a good 4 weeks between now and about the 15th June (Perth Half Marathon), which to me is the most crucial time in putting good training on the board for the Perth Marathon on July 6th. I have enough aerobic base in the bank already, and can easily maintain that, its the speed and fitness gains that will get me well into 3 hour territory if all goes well on the day I think.

Particularly happy with the 3.49 1km today as its been awhile (last time was 2nd March 2006!) since I have done a sub 3.50. That was one reason why I did the 1km rep first because I wanted to hit it while I was fully fresh. Hit 200m in 37 seconds, and then went through 400m in 1.25, 600m in about 2.14, 800m in 3.06, so 200m splits of 37/48/49/52/43, which is pretty decent...I felt comfortable, I think I could have got close to 3.40-3.45, if I had gone after it a bit more at the end.

Injury report;Kathryn had a bad day with her right knee flaring up laterally, while for me my left knee was a little tight posteriorly...So a nice short reps session. I think in the end Kathryn gained something today also...,if so a successful day at the track for us both.

Friday 16/5/08; PM; Ran 4000m timetrial in 17minutes 44.62seconds at Belmont track straight after just over 6 hours meter reading work, while waiting for the work traffic to clear a bit.
1km splits; 4.10/4.32/4.36/4.26. (Average speed; 4min 26 per km)

Heart rate was 186 at the end, thanks partly to a reasonably solid finish, but reckon I could have got it into the 190's or higher if I had gone hard to the line, I think that was a mistake, should have have finished off hard so will bring it home with a bit more intensity in the last 100m next time I do a timetrial, probably worth about 3 seconds... So probably was hitting high 170's heart rates most of the way. 400m splits (a little approximate as I am not sure I remembered the 2400m,2800m, and 3600m splits correctly); 1.34/1.39/1.50/1.46 1.53/1.51/1.53/1.50 1.49/1.39...

It was pretty close to pitch dark by about 1km, but I used the light on my watch, and the grass track at Gerry Archer was well marked with fairly new white marking, so didn't have any trouble seeing what I needed to.
Pretty satisfied with that timetrial as a marker for where I am at. Hopefully I can do it again in 4-5 weeks time and be greatly improved on the 17min 44 effort.

Thursday 15/5/08; AM; Cycled 20minutes on exercise bike very slowly Heart rate only made it to 90... Also did 150 Ab Crunches. An attempt to wake up, and start the day off a bit differently before work...Not a total failure, but not very awe inspiring either.
Probably worth something. Especially good to get the ab crunches done as I have not done them for a few weeks.


WEEK 9 (12/05/08-18/05/08);


Volume; 230min + 30hrs MR work. Sessions; 4 +MR

Best RHR; 47 bpm
Sleep; 46hrs (6.57hrs per night) *28


OD/LSD; 29km long run 18/5


Races/Time trials/LFD; 4000m 17.44 16/5

Reps sessions;1km/500m/300m/300m 3.49!/1.53/59/61 17/5


5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes achieved.

2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-yes achieved just...
3-Abs done?-yes achieved x2

4-cycling done-yes achieved.

5-swim done?-no failed



Comments;...A half-decent week. Got long run done, had an ok 4000m time trial, and hit a 3.49 1k plus a few other short reps. Did not get the higher intensity stuff over 10-20k done that I planned, but overall, I think I made some progress this week, plus got a better heart rate, weight is still good, and feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel on all fronts. The next 5 weeks is crucial with the Perth Marathon only 8 weeks away now. Its do or die, now or never time in these next 5 weeks. I have probably one of the best aerobic base foundations I have had in the last 4-5 years, and, the short stuff has shown some good signs here and there. Seem to be adjusting better to the demands on my life, and am hopeful of some good training weeks in the next few weeks. Its still really despeerate stations a bit, but God willing a few blessings come my way, and some progress should start to be made...Feel like I have climbed up from the cliff face, and have taken my first step on the plateau in the right direction, so hopefully by next week, it will be 2 or 3 steps...

Looking back over my hard copy training book tonight, I get the impression I am hitting a good improvement curve this year, if I can keep the momentum ticking over.
Have sensed this several times this year (like my 46km on 24th March, and my 47min 10k at Matilda Bay in February for examples...), although it is very hard to predict a marathon effort, there are some signs I am ready to go deep into 3 hour territory this year, something I have not done since 2004, so I am quietly confident 2008 could be my best year ever so far with marathons, if I can keep progressing...

Sunday 11th May AM; Jammed in a quick 15min ride on the exercise bike, (Heart rate 126 after) as did my wife Kathryn, before heading off to Resturant for a Mothers Day lunch.

Hoping for a run in the PM maybe.

My post title "Camelot in smithereens" today inspired by this.....

This week I did 44 hours of meter reading over 6 days, drove several hundreds of km in a car that needs work, had a job interview (have another one tomorrow), and basically got pretty tired most nights, and enjoyed watching Jacob becoming a very energetic little boy...he is currently crawling around at a rapid rate...has his first two teeth, and maybe a few more on the way, is taking his first unassisted walking steps occasionally. The rent electricity,gas,phone/internet all under control for another week or so, might finally be starting to get somewhere financially but still some very tricky weeks ahead...A good part time second job, or preferably a new fulltimejob would be nice...(or a better setup in my current job but cant see that happening)...

Best resting heart rate for this week for me is 49, my weight is down to 74kg, (80kg at the beginning of the year), so some positives...


WEEK 8 (05/05/08-11/05/08);


Volume; 15min + 44hrs MR work. Sessions;1 +MR

Best RHR; 49 bpm
Sleep; 44hrs (6.25hrs per night) *47


OD/LSD; NIL


Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions;NIL


5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-no failed.

2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed.
3-Abs done?-no failed

4-cycling done-yes 15minute easy ride on exercise bike.

5-swim done?-no failed



Comments;...Well I feel pleased with my efforts at work this week, had some success in some difficult environments there.
Racing weight is pretty good, heading towards low 70kg's now, maybe even get into the 60kg zone again havent done that for a few years....Resting heart rate while nothing incredible still dipping under the 50 so thats good. Getting a good nights sleep on Saturday and Thursday nights has done me a lot of good...but my training plans are in total smithereens again as far as this weeks concerned...although I think my aerobic base is well maintained by runs the last two weeks (33k and 77min tempo), and two very big weeks at work...Maybe next week, we will get there, if I hadn't been working overtime Saturday I would have gone to Hills group saturday. Maybe the 32k race on Sunday, although wasn't that keen...Maybe next week is all I can say...

Sunday 4th May 2008;
AM; Ran 15.5km Tempo run in 77min 37secs.
(5 min. 00 per km) HeartRate 159 at end.
2km split-9min 12 8.75km split 42min 16.

Heart rate was 48 this morning which is my best one for a few weeks, so was keen to get out there today, and consolidate the advantage...

Money and petrol resources still very low/on rations, so decided to give Hills group and Intervals a miss this weekend to save petrol, and try a Tempo run instead.
First of all took Kathryn and Jacob for a 33min walk, and then started my run about 10.20am...
I did 2km on my Hull Park course, then did 2 laps of my "7km local parks course", but upon remeasuring it just now, I think its more like 6.75km so I have decided to go with 15.5km as the approximate distance....At 8.75k I splitted in 42min 16 I stopped for about 1min 30 (left stopwatch running)and sculled a gatorade, my watch said 43min 47 when I started running again, so I made my 8.75km splits at 33.04 and about 33.50 (or 35.51 if you include the drinks stop time)...Felt pretty comfortable most of the way, and spent a high percentage of the run on grass or bitumen surfaces, there is two small hills, but mostly a pretty flat course...

So mostly ran just under or just over 5min per km, to average right on 5min per km...
Temperature about 20-22 degrees Celsius humidity about 45% so very nice conditions for running in...

Saturday 3rd May 2008;
AM; Cycled 15minutes on exercise bike. Heart rate 126 at end. Just a quick ride to try and get going for the day...



WEEK 7 (28/04/08-04/05/08);

Volume; 92min + 36hrs MR work. Sessions;2 +MR

Best RHR; 48 bpm Sleep; 46.5hrs (6.64hrs per night) *35


OD/LSD; NIL

Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions;NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-no failed.
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed.
3-Abs done?-no failed
4-cycling done-yes 15minute easy ride on exercise bike.
5-swim done?-no failed



Comments;...Did a 15.5km Tempo run instead just for something different, and becasue I figured that might be the most useful session for me where I was at this weekend.
Particularly with minimal petrol available. Not really progressing much, but keeping foot in the door of opportunity...

ANZAC Day this Friday. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps of course, and I heard John Williamson singing a song on TV on Anzac Day about a Kiwi and an Emu, and "if you pick on one, you pick on two"...which was a reference to the Anzacs, and Australians and New Zealanders fighting together...Thats where I "plagiarised" the idea for my blog post title from this time...

Sunday 27th April 2008 A.D.;PM; Did 200 Ab crunches. Kathryn did 4x50 (4 different varieties)

Cycled for 33min on exercise bike to the lovely intense sounds of my cassette tape of Tourniquets 1990? Stop the bleeding album, songs like Tears of Korah, and You get what you pray for, and finishing with Somnambulism. Forgot to take heart rate but estimate around high 140's, low 150's...
Also went on a brisk walk with Kathryn and Jacob to shops and back, Kathryn jogged the last few minutes pushing the pram. Left forefoot still a little tender after long run yesterday, and some tightness in left hammy tonight...

Saturday 26th April 2008 A.D.;
AM; Ran 33km in 3 hours 43 minutes 54 seconds. (6min 47 per Km)
Heart rate 132 at end, probably higher earlier on...
Splits; 1hr 42/2hrs 01 minute.
Is a PB for this Darlington to Mt Helena course by about 4 minutes,
although not really going allout, and carrying a 4kg Hydration pak (2L water+ 2 gatorades) as per usual.

A little cold and windy at the start, but perfect conditions really.
Probably drank too much fluids, and only used one of the Gatorades.
As per usual I woke up after about 4 hours sleep thinking "you must be crazy Jon" to myself, and I even had the Crazy Johns tune in my head from hearing it on TV :-) *LOL* hahaha. But I brushed aside such thoughts sorted out the cats and headed for Darlington.

Arrived just in time to run at the back of the A-team but they were going in another direction to where I wanted to go. So I ran with an injured athlete for a few km, had a good chat then pulled away, (had the first of several No1's toilet breaks, and started to feel good, ready to push the pace a bit. When I made it to Mundaring (9.5km) in 59.05 (and saw Tim Bradley heading back) I knew I was set for a good day and my initial thoughts of just doing 22km today evapourated. Great Eastern Hwy (11km) soon loomed up and the new $10 watch I got from Kmart on Thursday said 69min 40. I knew that I had to go for my preferred target of 27km...Still felt a million dollars at 13.5km (83min), and decided to take the plunge and go all the way to Mt Helena, since I figured (a) I might not get the chance to come to the Hills next week (I expect I will have very limited petrol money for one thing),(b) I felt really good, (c) I am keen to start getting the 33km+ long run stuff on the board regularly with the Perth Marathon only 10 weeks away now...Had Deliverance instruMetal song "Thistles" still playing in my head from listening to it on the way to Darlington a lot in the first 90minutes especially.

When I arrived at Mt Helena in 1 hour 42minutes I knew I was a chance to beat my best time for this course (although I couldn't remember what it was, as beforehand I had only checked my times for 22km and 27km on the Darlington Railway Heritage Trail course. Decided to scull my first Gatorade at this point. The very cool conditions meant that fluids were not a high priority, plus I was pretty relaxed. Figured I was an outside chance to finish the run in the 3 hour 30's at this point...Started to get some of Grave Forsakens "horror and sadness" song in my head a little at this time...

When I saw the sign by the trail saying 10.1km to Darlington, my watch said
2hrs 24min.58. So I knew that 6.30 per km would get me to the finish in 3hours 30.
At that point I figured I was a chance. Then I started to get minor twinges in my left hip, and decided to take it easy as I don't want any knew injuries to manage, and got to Mundaring in 2hours 32min with 9.5km to go. My time of solitude which continued for most of the run, was up to 90min now, and in a lot of ways I was enjoying it a lot. Prayed a little.

Saw dozens of those black "rainbird" cockatoos at one point, and they were throwing lots of branches and green honky nuts on the trail...Was a surreal experience running along the trail surrounded by a massive bunch of them on both sides of the trail an in the trees above for a few minutes.

Walked a few times to sort out the sore left hip, and had to take a couple more no 1's toilet breaks, and was now forced to take it easy due to the sore hip, so now more trying to push the pace under 6min per km. In the last 6km (27km mark) I started to stiffen up, and started to feel a bit of "grind planetarium" mode sort of mode, where my breathing was very easy, but the legs were getting very heavy.
From there it was slow progress as I could only manage well over 7min per km, but was pretty happy with the whole run.

Friday 25th April 2008 A.D.(ANZAC DAY);

PM; Ran 2km in 8min 45.25 (4.22 per K). Heart Rate 168 at end.
Hull Park course PB for me, beating the 9min 07 I did on 6th January this year.
The speed per K is pretty slow really, but the distance is approximate and involves a lot of road crossings and terrain changes, although its mostly dead flat. Probably should be able to go well under 8 minutes, but its more a loosener/recovery run type course for me. Was inspired by the Dockers winning the first half against Geelong Cats, so decided to get in a quick run at halftime. Felt solid but pretty relaxed for a run that short. This is reflected in the heart rate which is high intensity, but not really in maximal zone (that would be 170's/180's). Nice little gallop to make today an easy double session day.

AM; Cycled 40 minutes on exercise bike. Heart rate 156 at end.

Had some Tourniquet songs from Vanishing Lessons and the Test for leprosy (Stop the Bleeding) playing on cassette tape while Jacob played in the high chair.
Fired up,cranked up the intensity a bit to get the higher heart rate with some vintage thrash metal riffs, and Ted Kirkpatricks usual maniacal but intricate double bass and cymbals attack drumming, with stuff like, K517,Drowning Machine,Acid head,Pecking order,Bearing gruesome cargo, and finally Test for Leprosy,Ready or not, and Ark of Suffering. I just love Tourniquet. Afterwards I stretched and felt a whole lot more happier about the world in general...
Also got Kathryn my wife to do 16 minutes on the exercise bike too.

WEEK 6 (21/04/08-27/04/08);

Volume; 306min + 19hrs MR work. Sessions; 4 +MR

Best RHR; 52 bpm Sleep; 44.5hrs (6.36hrs per night) *48


OD/LSD; 33km 3hr 43.

Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions;NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 33km 3hr 43
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed.
3-Abs done?-yes 200x1.
4-cycling done-yes 40minute high intensity ride, and 33min ride.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...
Need "more reps" (just for my fans), long run was a nice one to get done and the 40min ride,33min ride and to a lesser extent the 2km run were great sessions to get done this week. Really enjoyed my long run this week. Acutely aware of the need to avoid new injuries.
Maybe good to get some more shoes in May or June, or I can race and train in the same pair for a couple of months as per usual (probably what will happen)...
I feel I am on the cusp of something good if I can just breakthrough the other issues in my life during May somehow (with God's help), or if not, well so be it.
I think this could well be my last Perth Marathon for awhile if I don't break through to another level (sub 3.30 at least) this year, I am not going to grind it out doing 4hour marathons year after year, I'd rather do something different. If however we can get a bit closer to my ultimate goal of a sub 3 hour marathon, then I will persist, otherwise I might just become
a feral trails runner/mountainbiker/hiker/mountainclimber or something, and focus more on maintaining fitness for good quality health, and recreational family reasons, which at some point I think I will do anyway. Don't know if I want to race competively every year for the rest of my life...

So a good platform to go into May with now with my longer efforts this year so far being;
January; 26/1 27km 3 hour run.

February; 2/2 33km 4 hour run

March; 1/3 37km 5 hour run, 24/3 46km 5 hour race run.

April; 5/4 2 hours on exercise bike, 13/4 21km 2 hour race run,

26/4 33km 4 hour run.
Significant shorter stuff has been; 5km race, 2x10km races, 5.25km trails time trial, Major trackwork; 10k reps session,5km ladder,5x300m,5x200m.

Overall nowhere near what I want in 4 months (or 6 weeks of trying to get something going towards the Perth Marathon), but enough high quality stuff, to be building some much better momentum than last year. Hopefully can put together several good training weeks in May and June so that my 5th Perth Marathon is a good chance at a big P.B. I wont get very far in these dreams unless a lot of my life takes some major turns for the better I think...But hey some positives there to hopefully build on.

Once again my employer has (for more than a month now)in my opinion failed to pay me in full for the work I have done. I think this is the 4th (fortnightly pay) time this has happened in the last 5 months, and the 3rd time in a row my pay has been $100-$200 short of what it should be.

Unfortunately it seems I have joined Kevins (like Brucey McAv and his description of AFL action as "clever" (or "special")(count how many times he says that in his commentary, I think the people who made "twelfth man" could do him (Edit; looks like they have its called "Bruce 2000"...but it is based around Sydney Olympics rather than AFL...)...and Kevin quite well...)infamous "working families" bracket, because "when it comes to" ("and on the question of") "core values" my employer doesnt seem to have many. This includes no paid holidays for more than 18 months and a pay that has dropped from $500-$600 a week to about $400 a week. Of course our rent, petrol, food expenses, and of course baby expenses have all increased this year. Is it any wonder I am worn out physically,mentally, and emotionally from continual slogging my body walking around streets 6-11 hours a day 5-6 days a week for 19 months...and still struggling to make ends meet. Yesterday I once again compounded the problem by spending the last few cents my parents had given me trying to juggle my work with consecutive days interviews in the Perth CBD, trying to snare an elusive better permanent position. Of course I was told that they did not think I was confident enough in my ability to progress to the stage 3 interview. Oh well at least this ime I was able to speak to the actual employer direct than get rejected by a recruitment company.
Plus they were very amiable to deal with, changed their interview time for me, and were very frank, and welcoming. I respect the high standard of their interview and wish them well. It still is frustrating and hurtful to miss out again, something that has happened more than a dozen times for me this year.

Unfortunatly due to my poor referees status, related to my poor work history, my vicious circle is a hard one to break at the moment. I need a few miracles fast.

Until then its a case of;
-all expenditure is subject to severe review of the "need to be spended or not" basis.
-all thoughts of running holidays are suspended iuntil further notice.
-all races are suspended until further notice.
-training is a very low priority.
-praying is a very high priority.

I can keep trying but its getting harder and harder to keep going, and I just don't know how to arrest this downward slump/spiral in a lasting manner just now...its starting to become a major ongoing concern.

I have been through similiar times in the past several times, and thanks to God I came through, and hope myself and my wife and almost 9 month old son can do so soon.

My weight has dropped to 76kg, so I suppose that is a positive. Less weight = faster times???

Double-edged sword this weekend, public holiday Friday (Anzac day), means a chance to recover from work, maybe train a bit, get a few things done around the house,figure out how we can juggle the bills like Houdini this fortnight, do some more job hunting, ask my parents for more crisis money, and then try and make up for the money lost by not working on Friday next week, plus juggle useless job interviews again, so by this time next week unless I get some serious good news I suspect I will be officially depressed again.

My name is Jonathon and I have a problem with work/family/bills/pathetic job conditions balance. In my ongoing battle to avoid bankruptcy, "until debt do us part" and associated nasty pasties, my wonderful parents and the Creator Triune are the main things that keep me going, along with my wonderfully easygoing wife, and adorable (and very energetic) little son. This is my story. Thankfully its also part of HIS STORY. (Gods), and like Job (at least I don't have 8 children for starters!) I will try to keep trusting him, and fighting on...

thus ends the written therapy session. *LOL* :-) Or does it...
reminds me of a funny sign I saw on a door while meter reading yesterday, it said;
"if thou doest beeth selling religion or other products and services, doeth not enter here", thats slightly different to the common "its the cats/dogs/kids house, we just pay the mortgage", "my house was clean yesterday", its almost as unusual as (or perhaps more so) "improve your image be seen with cats"...

Watching david letterman on TV last night before a bit of the Indian 20/20 cricket league came on to see andrew symonds get smashed for 35 runs in one over, and the usual collection of 6's then out at the end of the 2nd over. Although there are exceptions...Liked lettermans "obama vs osama" thing...interview with actress helen hunt was interesting too, she is the star of the movie "Twister"(watch out for the annoying popup spam/spyware that comes with that link) which is one of my alltime favourites...Reminds me of Tourniquet instruMETAL song Viento Borrascoso (Spanish for Devastating Wind) from the Psycho Surgery album. See HERE for audio clip.

Please feel free to email all "financial donations" and "potential job opportunity option ideas" to jontheroadrunner@rocketmail.com, as Jon the "roadrunner" attempts to outrun the "wile e. coyote" of creditors for another few weeks...

Sunday 20th April; Ran 5x200m reps @ Noranda.
Total time for 1km; 3 minutes 02secs .22.
Times; 33.92,35.20,35.78,39.14,38.18.
Heart rate was only 177 at the end of it, but I'd had enough.
Did about 2-4minutes jog recovery in between each one.

My wife Kathryn wrote down my times, which made it easier for me to concentrate on keeping the 200's ticking over. She did 3x500m with 4-5minute rests first up. Maybe a bit intense for her first reps since October 2005 (when she was training for the Rottnest 5km), but I wanted her to be able to compare where she is at now with where she was at then...Probably in hindsight, she needs to develop her aerobic base more yet, but this session I hope will make her fitter and more inclined to do the things that are needed to develop that aerobic base, and if she does the 500's again in say a few weeks or a few months time, hopefully she will have a big improvement.
This of course depends on whether she wants to do that...

I took Jacob (almost 9 months old now) for a spin in the McLaren pram to encourage her on the first one,and then he went to sleep for the rest of our time there. So I think maybe Jacobs first assessment of the track is that its all a big yawn! *LOL* :-)

Taking Kathryn and Jacob to the track was a rather adventourous move which
I have been wanting to do for a few weeks now. Keen for my wife and young son to share in some of my running/outdoor/crosstraining/sports/recreational experiences in a more active way, so hopefully this is the start of a return to more of that sort of thing in the future, as Kathryn and I did back in 2005, before getting married, and having Jacob, made it very difficult.

As a result I didn't want to take on anything too hard today, as my main focus was giving Kathryn the opportunity to be part of things, without the need to get a babysitter for Jacob. My aim with this session was simply to do a little bit of easy speedwork, and a bit of cardiovascular work, just to sharpen me up for hopefully some more intense sessions later. (If I ever get to them of course.) So happy with that. Was thinking before of doing 8x200m or 10x200m, but decided I can save that for next time.

I am back in "Bills induced Training hiatus" mode again this week, but perhaps next week, or the week after that, or the week after that...things might improve. I am so "whatever" about it now...but as the Newsboys song I hear on Sonshine 98.5 FM radio says just now; something like;"I've got to stay strong, we've come too far now to lose our way, this race can still be won"...exact lyrics here....

Sunday 13th April 2008 A.D.;AM; Ran Darlington Half Marathon in 1 hour 56minutes 05 seconds. Heart rate 159 at end. Splits 58.59/57.06 (uphill/downhill)...(5min 30 per km)

Nice to negative split even if it was on a steepish constant downhill.
I did my usual thing of getting off to a decent start in the first few km and then settled into a grind up the hill cos (a) I didnt want t spend all my pennys energywise on the uphill, and (b) after waking up with a resting heart rate of 59! today, I knew I was not going to run well. I decided yesterday anyway that due to my lack of training lately I would treat it as a fastish training run anyhow, (have a Win for the day personally in my "grand master training plan" in spite of what the field of runners did), and not worry too much about my time except to try and go under the 2 hours. Obviously if I had turned in 50-55minutes then I would reassess my target time, but I wasn't expecting much, given the way I am feeling...hope I am not getting the flu.

Mentally I am a bit broken anyway, just sick of work mucking around with my pay, and the constant struggle to try and make ends meet, and my lack of success in finding a good new job, its all getting to me a bit, and I am starting to get into a "going through the motions" attitude, because I can't do half the things I want to due to lack of money, plus its starting to affect my wife and baby negatively, so just trying to keep the ship on an even keel and heading in the right direction hoping for more favourable winds in life soon...At the end of the day where I am with God is what matters the rest is not very important by comparison.

Yeah back to the race/hard training run. had a few chats with people like Nathan and others. Found out that the Swiss bloke who shouts Ole Ole is actually called Silvio, and he said he is going to visit Zurich and some other places there in 2 weeks time.
He works at MichelAngelo Hair Salon...

Started on road, then went on the trail I often run Saturday mornings with the Hills
Group for about 2km, where I was passed by many of the people I know, and started my struggle up the hilly roads, which continued all the way to Mundaring. Some guy on a trailbike kinda scared us a little at one point, he expected all the runners to dive off into the bushes or something when he was coming through...lucky there wasn't a tragedy with people like that on the road. Overall while a very scenic course, and the Marshals from WAMC did an excellent and very important job, it was a bit hairy at times trying to share the road with cars on a narrow road. Also on the way back about 30 cyclists came roaring down the hill too.

Near the Mundaring turn I encountered the "abusive marshal from hell" ...who gave me a "bit of a spray" *LOL* :-) I tried to "run a bit faster" on the downhill leg and it seemed to work a little...

I ran with one Gatorade,which I rationed about 400ml at 50minutes and the remaining 200ml at 90minutes. Struggled all the way and most of the way I was getting passed rather than passing others, but I am used to that scenario.

Was stoked to get across the line under 2 hours and get another half marathon finishers medallion (I'd forgotten that WAMC gives out those, so it was a nice surprise when I crossed the line...) to to take "straight to the pool room" with my rather large collection of trophies and medallions over the years, one day Kathryn and I can have our own house with stuff like that, a pool table, her Eagles memorabilia,photos, and so on all set up nicely when I am well and truly in "the older I get the better I was" state, hopefully I can get out of that state one more time in the next 5-10 years or so.

Overall pretty happy with the run, which is important in keeping the fire burning in my Perth Marathon plans for July this year.

Aftre the race I found out my old Racewalking coach Stan has cancer and being in his 80's he may not live long. Heard that Tina Major (top WA marathoner) ran a good time to finish 2nd in Canberra Marathon, ad sampled some of the juice and croissants that the wonderful WAMC had on offer. So about what I expected, happy with the run, glad I went. Hopefully soon we can step up the training a bit despite the ongoing juggling act.

Saturday 12th April-AM;
150 Ab crunches while sharing looking after Jacob with my wife Kathryn.
PM; Cycled for 40 minutes on Exercise Bike Heart rate 120 at end, while feeding 8-month old Jacob pasta, and picking up his toys when they fell on the ground. Put old Rachel Rachel cassette on while I was doing it. Same setup as for 2 hour ride last weekend. Solid.
Wednesday 9th April --50 Ab crunches while looking after Jacob.

WEEK 4 (07/04/08-13/04/08);

Volume; 156min + 24hrs MR work. Sessions;2 +MR

Best RHR; 49bpm Sleep; 41.5hrs (5.93hrs per night) 50*


OD/LSD;NIL

Races/Time trials/LFD; Darlington Half (21.1km) 1hr 56

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 21km 1 hour 56min
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-halfway there Darlington Half M.
3-Abs done?-yes 50 W 150 Sa.
4-cycling done-yes 40minutes on ex bike
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...Again marginally better on the sleep stakes, and overall an easyish week at work (not really my choice) still managed to get a sub 50 resting heart rate although the last few days of the week, I think my general cardio-respiratory fitness has lost the plot a little... I have a long way to go to be training the way I want to but the mediocre darlington Half marathon run keeps me operational. Thankfully there is still 12 weeks to go before Perth Marathon, so plenty of time to turn things around, and I have had some occasional good runs so far this year...So overall a satisfactory week thanks to my slow Half Marathon run, but need to really step things up in the next 12 weeks if I am to smash my marathon PB and make significant progress deep into 3 hour marathon territory on July 6th later this year. If I can get to a much more "happy place" work and billswise, then God willing I think we can step things up and still be a good Dad,Husband etc...Otherwise its going to be a case of heavy weather living on the edge struggling to get into position for about a 3.45-4 hour effort if all goes well again. be very easy to just give up, but thats not want I want to do. The whole relationship with God,marraige,family,work,bills,life,training races mix goes together I think, so to use a phrase from my old racewalking coach, if I "drop my bundle" or "work myself out of it instead of into it" on any of these things the rest will suffer, so I think I need to be patient and persisentent and the opportunities will come again when God allows them...Many thanks to my parents for helping us to keep going financially time and time again...

Sunday 6th April 2008 AM; Ran Bridges fun run 10km in 50minutes 42 secs. Heart rate 183 at end. 5k splits 24.04/26.38.

1km splits;
4.01/4.43/about 5.06/about 5.06/5.08
5.49!/5.29/5.12/5.24/4.44.

The words forgettable, and pathetic spring to mind. Basically the last few days I have been wondering if it would be worth doing this, and in the end I did it mainly because (a) I wanted to keep my streak of 12 Bridges in a row alive, and (b) a forlorn hope that somehow I might be able to pull a rabbit out of the performance hat and do a good time. In a nutshell "it wasn't to be". Even in the first few km when my splits were ok, it felt very hard to keep going.

Felt very humid (Edit; Just checked http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW60901/IDW60901.94608.shtml and confirmed that humidity was between 92% and 98% throughout this race which explains some of the weariness, perhaps also my 2 hour ride Saturday contributed also (maybe even the 46k race on March 24th (2 weeks ago) still affecting me a little)...and then there is lack of speedwork in recent weeks...) and a bit warm in the last few km, after perfect conditions in the early stages. Just had no energy and felt very unmotivated.

In the last 1km or 2 if I had pushed harder I probably could have gone under 50 minutes, but just couldn't be bothered finishing off strongly. So just cruised in with a 4.44, with a little bit of speeding up to get past a few people in the last 100m as the competitive juices finally started to energize a little again... Sleep deprivation biting me a lot today too. Shoes were great but one sock was a bit worn. But overall I think I am borderline chronic fatigue at the moment, just wasn't up for it today Had trouble with toilet stuff a little today, but sorted out most of it.

No point in racing again I don't think until I (a) rest up, get into a better sleep/pay the bills type balance, and (b) get some good trackwork/speedwork going again, and (c) improve diet at home as well...

Depressing post, but hey sometimes you have an awful day...

Had a good chat with "flying fossil" from Cool Running before the race, saw Shaphan Cox (Canning Districts Athletics, Riverton Baptist and trains with world class dualathlete Raf "Radar" Baugh I think sometimes who went to my school for 1991/1992 -Willetton SHS) won the 5km in about 15.30ish I think from Todd Ingraham (sub 2.30 marathoner,he ran for Rossmoyne SHS in state u/17 schools cross country back in early 1990's, the same year I was running for Willetton, and Todd has run New York,Chicago, and London all under 2.40 I think. He also did 2.29 in Boston Marathon to be in the top 20 Australians in 2007 see here)...Return of Ray Boyd to running...so some positives from the day...


WEEK 3 (31/03/08-06/04/08);

Volume; 171min + 27.5hrs MR work. Sessions;2 +MR

Best RHR; 50bpm Sleep; 41.5hrs (5.93hrs per night) *17


OD/LSD; 2 hour long ride on exercise bike.

Races/Time trials/LFD; 10km Bridges race 50 minutes 42.

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 2 hour ride.
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-1x done-10km Bridges race.
3-Abs done?-no failed
4-cycling done-yes 120minute at times very intense ride.
5-swim done?-no failed


Comments; Something is better than nothing but really shattered disappointed just now with my Bridges 10k time, just have to get back on the horse next week...and hope I have a better race next time. Not really getting there with training although the 10k run and the 2 hour ride should ensure I don't lose too much ground, and am still well positioned to get somewhere if I can put together some good training in the coming weeks. If I do that this will have been a consolidation/easy week, which is sometimes a good thing, although I can only afford to do that every now and then. I am probably a bit weary from the 46km race on March 24th, and only getting 3.5 hours sleep before the Bridges 10k probably conributed to my negative state of mind after the wipeout of a time...So still well placed to build towards a good Perth Marathon in 2008! I did the 30th Melbourne Marathon last year, and I hope to do the 30th (and my 5th consecutive) Perth Marathon in a big PB this year.

Saturday 5th April AM; Cycled for 2 hours on exercise bike Heart rate 135 at end, but much higher at times, where I threw in a surge while listening to a compilation tape I did of some favourite songs for my 30th birthday back in 2004...

Had young 8 month old Jacob in high chair next to me playing with his toys for about 45 minutes of it. His toys were tied onto highchair by ribbon so when he thows them on the ground I could grab them and put them back on the chair tray table without getting off the bike every 2 minutes. My wife Kathryn was able to have some much valued baby-free time, and go and do some other things for best part of an hour. So worked well. Its the first time we have tried this, but could be a regular occurence, as its a win-win situation for all three of us...It poured with persistent rain the whole time, so better than getting my shoes wet before tomorrows Bridges 10k, where I will be wearing number 916, in my 12th consectutive Bridges fun run. the sub 45 minute plans for the 10km are still on the radar, but I am not very confident as I have not done the reps sessions I wanted to do in the last few weeks since my Matilda Bay 47minutes 47 effort...But other than that I feel ok, so maybe if I attack enough I may still pull it off...Bit of a long shot though. As long as I go under 50 preferably under 47minutes, I wont be too unhappy...
Be very disappointed if I cant go better than last years 49minutes 16 see HERE Bridges thread on Cool Running getting some traffic from Perth people this year which is good see HERE

Note;
Oh yeah I just did this blog entry while keeping young jacob occupied with toys on the floor and now I am feeding him pasta in his highchair. so today he has had lots of excitement teaching him about heavy rain,christian metal, exercise bikes, and of course a bit of pasta, good diet if he ever decided to come on training runs with me in a decade or two...:-) *LOL*...hahaha