Scroll down for 40 Miler results in full;

Sunday 30th March 2008; Once again for second day in a row failed to get to run session, took out my frustrations and was encouraged by about 15 minutes of sweaty moshing to Grave Forsaken at Altone Park Recreation Centre as part of a youth service for Beechboro Baptist.
Grave Forsaken has just released their second full length album called Destined for Ascension If you like old school metal think Mortification,Iron Maiden, Megadeth,Slayer,Tourniquet,Deliverance,Believer etc etc you should get a copy at Soundmass! If you want to see what they sound like check out their myspace page Here

Saturday 29th March 2008; Cycled very slowly for 60minutes to shops and back with my wife. My mountainbike has an almost flat back tyre...

Monday 24th March 2008;
Ran 46km in 4 hours 48minutes .15. (6.15 per km) Heart rate 138 at end.

This race incorporated two cutoffs; 64k (40 miles) cutoff of 6hours 45 (6.17 per K) and 55k cutoff of 5hrs 45 (6.16 per K)

splits; 7k-approx. 35min (approx. 5min per K),
14k-70min 38 (5min02 per K), 23k- 2hours 03min (5.20per K),
32k-2hours 59min.50 (5.37 per K) 39k-3hours 53min (5.58 per K),
42k(marathon)-4 hours 23min (6.15 per K), 46k-4 hours 48min.15 (6.15 per K)

More info on WA Marathon club messageboard @ HERE
Scroll down for semi-official results... official results with all timed splits are HERE...

Some photos including one of me at the 14k mark (splitting in 70min) @
here...



Here I am 14km into the 40 miler 70minutes on the clock...


Thanks to David Cane for his excellent photo!

Perth 40 miler results and Jons race report;

Edit/Update...11th April 2008;
some "semi-official" results have surfaced online for the 40 miler (64.4km) which are as follows;

1 Colin Francis 4.47.36 (course record)
2 Mick Francis 4.56.24
3 Jason Berry 5.22.38
4 Nathan Fawkes 5.43.16
5 Joe Clark-Murphy 5.48.35
6 Gary Carlton 5.55.42
7 Kevin Matthews 5.55.42
8 Liz Neville [F] 6.01.09
9 Graham Maier 6.10.54
10 Don Pattinson 6.18.55
11 Phil Baker 6.26.01
12 Graham Penter 6.32.30
13 Kevin Johnson 6.33.17
14 Chris Watson 6.36.56
15 Stephanie Martin (F) 6.38.02
16 Terry Cunningham 6.42.34
17 Phil Webb ---46k
18 Yvonne Bernhard (f) --46k
19 Jonathon Phillips--46k
20 Mark Bullard--46k
21 Rebecca Doedens (f)--46k
22 Kate Sommerville(f)--39k
23 Geraldine Carlton (f) 39k
24 Jane Elton(f)--39k
25 Steve Hince 39k
26 Christine Pattinson (f) 32k
27 Lynette McDuff (f)23k
28 Cheryl Van Der Spuy (f) 14k

Two women finished under the cutoff, and the majority of solo runners made the cutoff I think. Big numbers in the field (28 starters), and most (but not all) solo people made it to 46k, with 6-inch Womens record holder Rebecca Doedens the last to make it to 46km.

Plenty of good relay runners too...
Apperently after setting a fairly hot pace, Phil Webb decided to go look for his Cabcharge voucher at 46k so I am told by a reliable source...*LOL*...hahaha
As they say after every Olympics for depth of field it was "the best 40 miler ever!" *LOL*hahaha

Colin went on to reverse the placings from last year. Mike 2nd this time. Jason Berry cut a swathe through the field again with a devastating change-up to finish 3rd again. Nathan 4th? in a PB...after occupying 3rd spot for a lot of the race.

The race from the perspective of Trailblazer Jon;
As we started at 0630 was grateful for Gary's headlamp because it was still quite dark despite a full moon in the first 20 minutes or so.
In the first 7-8k Jason was taking it easy running 5minute K's with a group lead by Gary Carlton,Phil Webb, Kevin Matthews, Yvonne and myself. Felt honoured to be running with these awesome running legends. Phil Webb is a sub 3 hour marathoner at well over the age of 50, and both he and Gary are Comrades (89km race in South Africa in June which many of the runners in this field are preparing for especially those in the Hills group) legends, plus have shared the presidency of the WA Marathon club for as long as I have been involved...

7k split in roughly 35minutes, I broke away from that group due to not having a drink on that table, as did Jason and Yvonne. Pretty soon I had to let Jason go, as he dipped well under 5min per K despite us being on the upward leg (after the nice tailwind and downhill of the first 7k) and after splitting 14km in 70minutes, Yvvone came past me about 15k in. My decision not to have a drink on that table seemed to work well, although Iwas absolutely dying for a drink by the time I got to 14k, so maybe I should have had one there, and when I got to the 7k table I forgot I didn't have a drink there momentarily, scanning the table futilely for a moment.

Started to slow up a bit and struggle to hit my target speed of 5min per k, after the 14k, although my first gatorade did its job, the legs started to slowly seize up on me from here onwards (due to my lack of faster in distances longer than 10-15k this year, and my failure to post any long runs in excess of 40k in preparation for this race) and splitted 20k in about 1hour 45minutes, where Gary,Phil Webb and Kevin Matthews reeled me in again, (was a little surprised that it took them 13k to get back to me, and for awhile I had idle dreams that maybe they wouldn't but kept telling myself to "get real", cos runners of that calibre would surely catch me eventually) they threw in a little surge, and from there I started to pay for my early pace.

Managed to get to 23k in 2hours 03 minutes (under easier targets of 2.10 and 2.17, but not under better targets of 2 hours and 1.55), and 32k in 2hours 59 under my targets of 3 hours and 3.30, but got passed by Don Pattinson and 1 or two others. Put on heavy hydration pak at 32k, and really struggled from there on. Got passed by all the eventual finishers by 40k, with Terry Cunningham, the last to pass me at about 40k after I split 39k in 3hours 53minutes.

Then got stuck in walk/run mode a bit, Mark went past, went through 42k in 4 hours 23minutes, and used my last Gu, to recharge the batteries a bit, and make sure I got to 46k in under 5 hours. Surged past Mark as he struck injury. Called it a day in 4 hours 48minutes there, as I would have to run 9k in under 57minutes, and I was struggling to go under 60minutes for 7k by that stage, so figured my chances of getting to 55k in under 5 hours 45 were not that good today.

Plus my legs had had enough...maybe a bit soft in hindsoft,perhaps I should have taken hydration pak off at 46k and gone hard at the 55k cutoff, if I had put a drink at 55k mark it might have been worth it, but my last-minute late-night drinks planning on a very tight budget caught me out there (went to sleep 1am woke 4am the night before race and had entry fee and about $2 extra in my wallet a few days before payday)... Was a tough decision but think I probably made the more wise one on the day to pull out at 46Km...

Hit my first target of a 46k in under 5 hours, so happy with that, 55k and 64k will have to wait for another day when I am better prepared/been training better, plus I need to find a way to take the hydration pak out of my drinks strategy as it maybe too heavy.

However I think if I had kept going I probably would only have been 15-45minutes adrift of the cutoffs if I could keep going...I could have used the walk/run pattern to get to the end but I would have clocked in at over 7 hours doing that...(and made me even sorer for work the next day)so maybe get there next time...

So for next years 40 miler if I do it, I would have more drinks on course with a bigger drink at 39k, another big drink (maybe two drinks) at 55k and a small drink at 7k perhaps. I think the hydration pak is two heavy when you want to race fast all the way, so I would jettison that and not use it for next time. I would need to do some 40-50k long runs, and a lot more fast running (sub 5.30 per k) at distances 21k-30k.

So overall pretty happy with the run! My best long run since Melbourne Marathon last year for sure. Oh and my shoes are awesome! Could be be a PB smashing year for me with these Reeboks I reckon...

Great catching up with various people afterwards. As usual dominated by Comrades bound or not comrades bound Hills Group people, although plenty of others as well.

WEEK 1 (24/03/08-30/03/08);

Volume; 363 min + 29.5hrs MR work. Sessions;3 +MR

Best RHR; 49bpm Sleep; 39.25hrs (5.61hrs per night) 31*


OD/LSD; 46km-4hr 48

Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 46km 4 hours 48minutes
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed
3-Abs done?-no failed
4-cycling done-yes 60minute very slow ride.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...My 40 miler run was a good, satisfactory effort. With smarter planning I might have been able to give the 55k, and even the 64k a chance, although there was always a big question mark given the pathetic amount of running I have done this year which is marginally better than last 2 years but only just. Hitting my target times for the 32k was a nice feeling, hope toexperience that many more times this year. Nice to go under 3 hours for 32k,and to go through 20k in 1 hour 45 was not too shabby either. Maybe next year we can go all the way. Weekend very disappointing but mostly was recovering from week at work,lack of sleep, and doing "family" things plus went to Fremantle vs Hawthorn at Subiaco oval with a mate of mine. Had hoped to do some reps after deciding that is a higher priority for me now, moshing to Grave Forsaken is a bit like doing reps so maybe that will help me next week...Bridges less than a week awaay now...




saw this labels thing here on blogspot not sure how it works but thought I'd throw in a few relevant words and might have a bit of a play wiht it later to try and understand it better...

Labels: 40 miler, Comrades, Hills Group, Jonathon, Mt Helena, Trailblazer, WAMC

Sunday 23rd March AM; Ran for 37minutes 30secs for 7.5km(very approximate distance measure)Heart rate 147 at end. About 5.00min per km pace...

Threw in a few surges on a tour of local parks, and found my new Reeboks great to run in. My first run in them. New life, new shoes all in keeping with the Easter theme today of New life that Jesus the Christ gave us about 2 thousand years ago...
when he arose from the grave in victory! Very appropriate that Grave Forsaken new album Destined for Ascension is out next week....You can listen to some of the new tracks on their myspace page HERE...

PM; 30 minutes "backyard style" cricket with my Dad and brother at Whiteman Park.

Friday 21st March AM; 200 Ab crunches
PM; 10min ride on Joels exercise bike. 5.5km covered. heart rate mostly around 120, cranked it up at the end up to 150bpm by increasing cadence heaps in last 2 minutes.

Looks like I will be in Mt Helena from 0630 to 1315 running the 40 miler race on the railway heritage trail this Monday 24th March. Start and finish is in gravel carpark off Keane street. see Herefor race info...Last year I unofficially ran 32km (in 3 hours 41 minutes) of the course...(see my post about it @ HERE....
so I know what to expect, its just whether I can last for 64km and the big challenge is to do it in under the cutoff time of 6 hours and 45minutes to finish by 1.15pm...

Made it to Jim Kidds last night and got some Reebok Premier Roadplus KFS(2006 model) shoes, to replace my terribly worn out New Balance 691's, which I have been using for work in recent weeks, and have been my racing and training shoes since september last year when Epi shouted me them, which enabled me to run the melbourne marathon once my tax refund money came through...

Might head back and grab some Mizunos for the Bridges 10k next weekend when I get paid, but birthday money from my Dad and Sharon my sister much appreciated got me the Reeboks, which the manager recommended. He had 'em for $100 but knocked $20 off the price when I said I only had $80...he reckoned they were the best available shoe there for my needs as a runner with the money I had...it was a toss up between them and some Mizuno Nexus shoes going for $40 (ex-display shoes)...nothing else really fit what I wanted. They had some new balance 691's for $80 but none of em were in my size.

In the end I found the reeboks were (a)felt more comfortable than mizunos (b) had a wider toebox (often a problem for me as my forefoot is a bit wide) (c) had size 9.5 (mizuno was only in size 9.) (d) mizuno slightly raised heel not sure if i wanted that in an ULTRA trails race...as it felt a bit weird when I tried the mizunos on...however I might come back get the Mizuno Nexus for $40 to run shorter road races like Bridges 10k for example.

Both these shoes are good options for a mild pronater like myself according to Jim Kidd's bloke, and just looking at shoe guide on page 57 of R4YL Feb/March 2008 (issue 16) edition that seems to match up even though the shoes in R4YL are 2008 models, and I have just bought a 2006 model shoe. Its a bit like buying cars, if you buy the 2006 model you pay a lot less than if you buy the 2008 model...

work and severe sleep deprivation still the modus operandi at the moment, micro sleeps during the day...but now we have a 4 day holiday, which for once I am not trying to work during. bills really getting to me in recent weeks, just struggling all the time to make ends meet, making me restless&edgy mentally...young Jacob diagnosed with a middle ear infection yesterday...poor little chap been a bit upset the last day or so...Just feeling a bit stuck in a rut, wanting to get off the merry-go-round a little at the moment...therefore restless mentally...= little sleep cos cant relax.

Hope to wear in new shoes in next few days and have a serious shot at getting that sub 6 hours 45mintes 40 miler nailed on Monday...Its a big ask, not well prepared but at the very least it will be fun trying. If I make it to 45km that will be a better effort than last year, and if I make it to 55km under the cutoff time of 5 hours 45minutes, that will be pretty satisfying, but mission will not be accomplished in full, unless I get to 64k under 6 hours 45 minutes, so that is the main goal, if not this year maybe another year. Its the sort of race I may need multiple attempts to finish, be my 3rd significant ULTRA (longer than a marathon) race after my two 46km 6 inch runs in 2006 and 2007...

Weather looking good according to HERE minimum temperature forecast at 13 degrees celsius, with a maximum of 27, so should be nice conditions...

Anyone free about 11am-2pm on Monday you'd be most welcome to come up to Keane street (gravel carpark at the hotel) Mt Helena and cheer me, and the other runners on...as we run hopefully 2 laps of the 32km loop on part of the railway heritage trail...

So its time to start my 16 week Perth Marathon training monitoring plan again, designed to get me focused and motivated, pretty tough task these days, so one of the major reasons why I have a blog, to try and give me that friendly kick up the backside to get off the couch and go do something...a bit like the indian "assistant coach" bloke with the spatula in "Run, fat boy, run!" movie, which my wife Kathryn and I had a good laugh at the other weekend...

WEEK 1 (17/03/08-23/03/08);

Volume; 88min + 26hrs MR work. Sessions;3 +MR

Best RHR; 48bpm Sleep; 38.75hrs (5.56hrs per night) 34*


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?-yes 200 abs.
4-cycling done-yes 10minute ride.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;Only managed to get 40% or 2 out of 5 of the 5 point strategy measures.
Basically was another trainingless week until the easter weekend kicked in, and I started to get back some normality in life, recover a bit. Even so Baby Central was dominating things, and I just couldn't get away for much training. However I feel well rested, and the 37minute run at 5min per km pace was a great way to test out the new shoes before tomorrows planned 40 miler attempt. Felt very good on this run and feel ready to go tomorrow.

Big blessing from God to get the money from Dad and my sister for my birthday to finally get the shoes I wanted to get for weeks...
Arguably the best pair of running shoes I have ever bought right up there with the Nike Skylons, and stuff like that from many years ago...For $80 excellent value and I will be back at Jim Kidds in future they are a great store! I think its a shoe upgrade from the New Balance 691's I have used for the last 2-3 years or so.

Training wise its well overdue for me to get serious. Have to find a way to get enough sleep, pay the bills, and get to work but still get training done. Hopefully the worst of the bills is almost over and things will start to get a bit more manageable in the next few weeks, even if I don't get a better job.
Once the 40 miler attempt is over, its full speed ahead towards my plans for a 5th consecutive Perth Marathon in July...

Well here I am again nearing the end of another runningless week!!! Arrrgh!
Basically I amk out of the Freeway Bikehike, and my 40 miler and Bridges 10k plans are looking mighty shabby just now, due to my life being utterly dominated by the quest "to make ends meet", "live by the sweat of your brow"(Genesis 3:19), pay the bills, increase income and so on...
Sleep deprivation levels at all-time highs for this year for sure...

My intention is to do the Bridges 10k no matter what as this has been an annual run for me since 1997, so I want to get to year number 12 in a row in 2008...40 miler its my worn out shoes that are the biggest concern (maybe I'll get some for my birthday...???), I think I would be asking for another blister a-la Perth Marathon 2007 with my current shoes...

Jacob going well, but its a struggle a battle just now...financially sometimes I feel like I am trying to get out to the calmer waters of the ocean of financial success, through a series of crashing breaking waves of debts, which send me back to the shores of unpaid bills time and time again...Its frustrating. I think we are making progress, but I am hoping for a few blesisngs to ease the pain soon...

Hopefully soon we break through a bit and get some running done, leave this unwanted state of running hiatus...right on the tip of my tongue....etc...

Ran for 5hours 6 minutes 22 seconds. Heart rate was 129 at end. Distance very approximate maybe 35km-37km, lots of walking and some long breaks. Jarrahdale on Munda Biddi in a northerly direction.

About 84% humidity (or not far off) early on so that probably explains why I was sweating a lot in the first 12k. May also be another factor in why I was so shattered about 2h rs 30 into it...

For awhile I started thinking I was going to be out there a lot longer than 5 hours, but managed to get running again after a very bad slump around 2hrs 35min to 3hours 11min, where I walked lots... Nathan came back and ran the last 3km with me which was very nice of him.

Ran the first 12km with Mark in about 90 minutes, after starting about 0545am, (3 hours sleep) my headlight was pathetic, and batteries went flat after about 25 minutes of running, but Marks headlight was very powerful and he had a handheld torch as well so I relied on his light for good visibility, as we worked our way through about 20 spiderwebs, and past a dead kangaroo. Just near the Balmoral POW camp Nathan and Lachlan caught us at 12km. I lost my strap off my hydration pak and had to go back for it.

Had a pretty bad day with gravel getting into my shoes, and was feeling pretty terrible from about 100 minutes onwards, couldnt run with the guys, and ended up on my own, using the 25minute run/5 minute walk and 5minute run/1 minute walk ultra strategies that Mark taught me along the way. At 2 hours and 9 minutes got to a fork in the track, was going to turn around then as I knew I would not get to 20k turnaround with the others, but after about 5 minutes I changed my mind and continued on until Lachlan came back the other way about the 17.5k mark, and my watch saying 2 hours 23minutes I think??? memory a bit unsure on that split...

Felt like death incarnate a few times today, and was struggling to stay awake driving to Jarrahdale, and big battle with micro-sleeps on the way home, but made it with DemonHunter special edition Triptych CD cranked up to keep me awake.


I think I will set myself 3 hour 30 minute cutoff for 32km and 5 hour cutoff for 46km if I do 40 miler. If I dont make those times I will probably drop out.
Time to get new shoes, and I really need to be a lot more fitter, so that means reps..., but good session to get done today this 5 hour run/walk, keeps my 40-miler hopes alive, although today does not inspire much confidence in my ability to finish 64km in under 6 hours 45minutes, it does give me a slight glimmer of hope, and I should be able to make it to 46km... We shall see....

In the last day or so I got one of my weekly emails from Peak Performance, and this weeks one was about common marathon training mistakes.
Seems to me the main things they were talking about were;
-doing too much tempo runs and long runs.
-doing too many long runs at too fast a pace.
-not periodizing enough (hard week/easy week or hard/harder/hardest/easy)
-doing too much long runs and fast tempo runs in the last 4 weeks before the actual marathon so that body is not recovered enough for optimal performance on the day.
(Note; Of course if your training for the marathon begins 4 weeks before, --like it has for me on several occasions *LOL* :-) hahaha-- then getting some distance in the legs so you will last all the way is more important and the recovery time needed before race day is shorter...very different setup compared to someone who has been training for 10-20 weeks...)
-not enough shorter intense speedwork at much faster than goal marathon pace.
-not enough short intense races
-not enough variety in training to keep it interesting (crosstraining perhaps)
-overuse of gels in the actual race or with not enough water intake when ingesting them...(or too much H20)
-too much strength training (or body core) not very relevant to running, better off doing hill running instead...

some interesting points which seem to ring true, and I suspect are common mistakes of many of the runners I know, and probably where I have gone wrong too in at least 1 or 2 aspects...

Also from speed reading a paragraph aimed specifically at marathoners from Percy Ceruttys 1960 How to become a champion book;
some key points stand out;
-avoid running on bitumen on concrete as much as possible.
-long walks in the mountains (the higher the better) are very helpful.
-running fast i.e. 4.15 per k->2.30 per k is important.
-learning to surge at will during races.
-developing a good kick (the ability to finish the last 400m-1k fast i.e. 55-80secs/2.30-4.15) is useful for winning races...
-hill running useful
-rest day per week (Monday is ideal)
-"hibernation times" 3 days of almost nothing several times in the year...

Good to think about as I am hoping to start week 1 of a 20 week plan for Perth Marathon 2008 in July this week....

Sunday 17th February 2008; Ran Matilda Bay 10km in 47min 45. (4.46 per km)
Heart Rate-195 at end. 5km Splits; 23.32/24.13.
1km splits; 3.57,4.40,5.01,5.01,4.53
and....... 4.43,4.50,5.05,5.17,4.18...

Had a great run today! My best 10km for almost 3 years! So very happy to finally have a good race where I hit my main target which was to go sub 48 minutes.

Woke up this morning after the obligatory 5 hours sleep (better than 3 or 4), and resting heart rate was 47 which is my 2nd best this year, and maybe a bit of an omen for my target of getting into the 47minute zone today, although I don't place much credence on, or pay much attention to such things.

Yesterday I was tossing up whether to go today given my nil running training in the last 2 weeks, and the fact that money is very tight. I had $28 in my wallet, and my next payday is not until 28th February! So should I spend money on entry fee??? Also
had some good reasons to run though, and they were in no particular order (a)I had almost a full tank of petrol, (b) I was hoping to catch up with Craig, Steve or any other runners I know, (c)the ill-fated beach to bluff trip..(d) I wanted to see if my 10k rep session of 46.41 a few weeks back combined with my long runs with the fantastic hills group would be enough to get me under 48 minutes...despite my lack of training in the last 2 weeks.
Was banking on my last two weeks of 41hours+ meter reading work in some difficult terrain and weather to help me hold onto the fitness I had picked up earlier this year in my 2 good weeks...So after chatting with my wife decided to make sure I was there.

My 4.30am alarm did the trick for once, and soon I was heading down the freeway with almost no traffic, cranking out my mindbender CD, and feeling really psyched up for a good run today...

Got there well before 7am so early for once another good thing, had time to warm up properly while dodging the mosquitoes, and chat with other runners a bit...
Weather conditions were absolutely perfect! No wind, and light rain, quite cool temperatures, but not cold. Sculled down about 500ml of water beforehand, so I wouldn't have to drink too much while I was running.

Started strongly with a comfortable 3min 57 first 1km, felt like I had another 10 seconds in me at least...Saw Colin Francis, Craig, and Ian go past...Then settled down to deal with the concrete path sections, which as usual I avoided by running on the grass next to the path at every opportunity. Went through 2k in 8.37 so a 4.40 km, then my mediocre but slightly improved cardio-respiratory fitness became a factor and I backed off a bit as I saw Don P. from hills group cruise past. Figured if I could keep him in sight I should hit a reasonable pace, so tried to do that. A couple of 5.01 k's and then as we made our way along the parklands by the beautiful Swan River, with UWA on the other side, I picked up the pace a bit for a 4.53 K which got me to halfway, with a 5K split of 23.32 which I was pretty happy with. I knew I was a good chance to break the 48minutes by then. As we headed off the concrete path and down the slight downhill of Hackett Drive alongside UWA, I knew that it was time to crank things up a bit, plus Don P. was getting almost out of sight. Threw in 4.43 and 4.50 1Km splits between 5k to 7k, which meant I hit 7k in 33.05 and I knew I was looking good.

Also knew though that the concrete section was still there to be negotiated and that from 7k onwards was roughly about where I struggled in the 10k reps session a few weeks back so expected to struggle a bit in the last 3k. This proved to be the case with 1K splits of 5.05 and my worst of the entire race a 5.17! (terrible). At that point I looked at my watch which said 43.27 (about 7-27 seconds slower than I wanted, saw Christine P. coming up alongside me, and I knew I had to put the "pedal to the metal" NOW, if I was to nail a 4.32 last K to finish with at least my 2nd fastest 1K split of the race. Got a bit of encouragement from a few spectators who knew me, ignored my lack of oxygen, as I went hard for the finish line with a few hundred metres to go...When I saw the raceclock at the finishline counting up from 47.37 I knew I was home and hosed, mission accomplished, target achieved for today. Was an awesome feeling, felt like I had done a PB, which I hadn't but, emotionally I feel like I achieved something worthwhile today. My last 1km split was 4.18 which was quite good I thought.

After the race chatting with other runners, saw dolphins frolicking in the Swan river, jumping high into the air!
Also sampled some rockmelon, Nutragrain, and Sustain! that the WAMC put on for breakfast. Excellent value for an $8 non-member race entry! Continued a good chat with Craig afterwards about our respective times, and goals for the future, and then headed for home very happy and satisfied.

So once again I feel I have kept my foot in the door of the window of opportunity to chase some PB's this year with a good run. If I can build on this one in the coming weeks maybe I can get my Bridges 10k time under 45 minutes this year for the first time since 2005, and prove there is life still in my 33 going on 34 year old legs... My best 4 Bridges in the last 11 years so far have been 44.40 (2005), 43.43 (1997), 42.40 (2003), and 41.01 (1998, still my PB)....I have about 7 weeks to shave 3 minutes off my 10k time from today...A very achievable goal I think (the sub 45minute 10k), if I can consistently get my core 5 main sessions (long run,reps/race/time trial x2,ride,abs, and swim) done in the majority of those 7 weeks...

Looks like Meelup triathlon I can't afford to do, although the Karri Valley and Hillarys Triathlons, plus Freeway Bikehike still look real possibilities at this stage. If I can then translate this 10k speed into a Half marathon PB (currently 1hr 41min), the next step up would be to hopefully smash that elusive marathon PB of 3hr 55 that has hung around like a bad smell since 2004, in July and/or September/October. If the Melbourne Marathon (12th October) starts and finishes on the MCG I think I will try and do that one, and leave Sydney for another year.
Then there is hopefully 6 inch and 6 foot 2009, Canberra and Gold Coast in 2009 or 2010, and the 2009 Sydney World Masters Games.... So good to remind myself of where I am trying to head with all this racing and training by listing what are the main goal races on the radar.
The 40 miler is also on the list of things to do, as is Beach to Bluff, and a 6 hour race in Bunbury whether that is this year or more likely another year I don't know...Busselton Half IM looking less and less likely this year but not out of the question just yet...

Thanks God for a great run today!

PM; Went to Triggs beach today with Steve, Shannon,Bruce,Julie,Jade,Brandon, my wife Kathryn, and our little Jacob. It was young Jacobs first ever trip to the beach! Spent 45 minutes trying to bodysurf, swimming out of rip, getting dumped (did a few forced somersaults underwater and swallowed a bit of saltwater in the process.), finally got a good ride at one point and generally using a lot of energy for about 45minutes in the surf...Was really great to finally get to the beach even in fairly rough conditions...Felt rather refreshed after some time in the ocean, in a week that saw me only get 38 hours sleep for the week (less than 5.5 hours per night).
Perfect way to recover from 10k race this morning.

Its been a tough week again but I think we achieved some special things this week with Gods help so that is very satisfying. Just got to make it to next payday somehow....Next week is week 1 of my 20 week program for Perth Marathon in July. Not too sure when my next race will be, probably Freeway Bikehike on March 16th maybe...

Sunday 10th February 2008 2200hrs;Cycled 30minutes on exercise bike Heart rate 141 at end.
Highish gear, maintained fast! cadence all the way!. Struggling with a heat rash this weekend, could be my sweat ducts have been getting blocked and inflammation caused by sweat not getting out...Whatever it is it is extremely annoying...hope it goes away soon...My wife Kathryn also did 32minutes on the Ex Bike today, and we went for a 28min walk to the lake yesterday...Young Jacob is really coming along well and in leaps and bounds in the last few days too...Some key points in his development occurring now...

Had big plans for some hard sessions this week/weekend...but between a flat out work schedule (more than 42 hours this week in actual reading time plus travelling time and so on means I was busy with work related stuff for at least 50 hours this week, plus drove a lot of km,), mad weather (37 degrees one day, 32 mm of rain the next), and routes in Nedlands,Brigadoon drivebookish stuff(something like that),Perth/Mt Lawley (walked from Perth CBD to Walcott St and a lot of other stuff, so a lot of km walked that day), my machine dying on me in Maylands, and training a bloke in Midland...its been a topsyturvy hard but certainly not mundane week. Needless to say come the weekend I just wanted to crash and get some sleep on the board after a few nights of midnight-4am sleeps...So rested up and made the most of some much needed family time, and failed to do any of the sessions I had planned for the weekend, until I squeezed in a ride tonight...But hey I registered a resting heart rate of 45! yesterday morning and 49 today, and the 45 is my best in 2008 by a long way, so that suggests the training I did in the last 2 weeks plus the hard days at work are paying off for me, despite the complete mess of a training schedule even worse than usual...Only a week to Matilda Bay now, so hopefully I can absorb the financial and other pressures on me, and come up with a good sub 48 minute effort at matilda bay 10k, and get my 2008 campaign going somewhere...Only a few weeks until the 40 miler race too, so will have to get back to the Hills group too soon...Disappointed I had to pull out of Beach to Bluff, but hopefully some other time...See what happens from here??? Looks like another heatwave week heading our way...

Sunday 3rd February
AM; Ran a total of 10km using my secret "10k reps session" format in 46minutes 41.88 seconds. Average speed 4.40.19 per km. Heart rates ranged from 162 to 192 but mostly around the low 180s.

Got there around 8am and finished about 10am so avoiding the heatwave time of the day for the first half of the session again just like yesterdays run. See
here, which shows it sat around 24-27 degrees for the first hour or so, but from 0930 to 1000 the temperature climbed to 28-30 degrees as I finished just before 10am.

First half of the session was excellent, considering where I am at now. Was consistently hitting around 4.25 per km on the reps for the first 5-6km which meant I was on track for a sub 45min effort which would have beaten the 45.17 I did on October 1st last year a few days before the Melbourne Marathon...
See here...


Given my lack of good speedwork in recent months I knew it was rather ambitious attempting to complete this session now, but wanted to establish a baseline of short distance (5k,10k etc) fitness to work from in future weeks, as well as kickstart some more intense reps type training, and this was the best way I could think of with the Matilda Bay 10k in 2 weeks, and the Bridges 10k 6th April the main current ***short*** races in mind. (other races include th Freeway bikehike 16th March, maybe some short triathlons and the 40 miler on 24th March to name some of them) I am hoping to nail a sub 48 at Matilda Bay, and hopefully work towards some sub 45 (or better) stuff by the time Bridges comes around. Would be nice as I havent run sub 45 for a few years now so have almost forgotten what it feels like to run sub 4.30's for an entire 10k...

Ended up increasing my rest times a lot in the second half of the session, partly because I was telling a lady who was taking her little aths kids for some "training" about the marathon club runs, and had to get a bandaid out of my car for one of my nipples... So not sure if my rests were too long, I didn't do my active recovery well enough, my 33km yesterday was affecting me, my lack of fast sessions over 5km in recent months, the sharp increase in temperature (it hit 29-30 degrees celsius after sitting around 24-27 degrees for the first half of my session), or just generally poor fitness...but my last 4k of reps was very slow sliding out to about 5minutes per km, and thats when I got my lowest Heart rates of 162 and 177....
So I wasn't that stressed cardio-respiratory wise (breathing), it was just really heavy legs that wouldn't go anymore. Methinks that has to be lactic acid accumulation or general fatigue, but hopefully I will be better for having done this session, and can improve significantly next week.

Anyhow that meant my time blew out to just under 47minutes, which going on past experience predicts a sub 48 10k race time for me maybe as a starting point for 2008. Apart from very tired legs, I actually felt a bit too good at the end of this session, and that combined with the very low heart rates near the end of the session suggests to me that if I avoid doing a long run close to my next attempt at this session and get out there before 7am, I might nail a sub 45minute effort next weekend, if I can get through the usual weekly logistical obstacles. Hope to skip saturday morning group next weekend, in favour of another 10k reps session, and do part of Nathan and Daves Beach to Bluff epic 86km run (which finishes on the summit of Bluff Knoll the second highest mountain in WA at over 1000m) as my long run on the Sunday instead....
***update; too hard logistically this week so perhaps a Mt Cooke run or the Hills group again instead***

Guess we shall see on February 17th whether we can deliver the goods in the Matilda Bay 10k.

So extremely happy to nail this session, which brings my running km for the week to 48km, plus cycling, walk with my wife, and the usual meter reading exploits for many hours all week. At 440minutes for the week, and having ticked four of the boxes of my 5point training strategy (long run,ride, 2x race/timetrial/reps,abs and swim) this has already been a successful week. If I can just jam in a swim tonight somehow (would help if I could find my goggles...might have made splash n dash on Friday if I had), I would have nailed all 5 sessions I want to try and get done on a weekly basis this year...
***update*; failed to get a swim done...but hey "Rome wasn't built in a day" "God is still working on me" of course...

Saturday 2nd February; Ran 33km from Darlington to Mt Helena and back in 3hours 57minutes 34 seconds. Heart Rate at end was 138. Splits 1hr 54/2hr 03. (Mundaring 9.5K split 59min 23.)

For once I arrived early hip hip hurray! It was ominously dark with a lot of clouds and a pretty good sunrise trying to sneak over the eastern horizon, as easterly winds gusted. I started at the front, trailblazing with one or two others, grabbing big sticks off the path that had blown onto the trail, so that the others didnt have to run around them in the still very dark light. Headlamps would have been handy for the first 10-20 minutes.

There was no way I was going to do a hard 38Km (through the long hill of Jacoby park near Mundaring Weir) with the A or B teams, so it was the C team and a few 19k-25k people that I was running with for sure. In the end only John C., GC,Jane, old John, and maybe one or two others ended up doing the 33km. Its a fairly shallow uphill most of the way to Mt Helena, and then the downhill on the way back, so a pretty easy course which I have run several times in the last year or two now, so not a really challenging course but perfect to consolidate on last weeks tough Brooking Rd hill 27km.

Had trouble finding people running at my pace, and as was the pattern for the entire run as usual the C-team was taking lots of long breaks along the way at every opportunity, i.e. about every 3k or so...I was finding that pattern way to slow, and not conducive to my rhythm or pace, so I ran with John C., and Alli for awhile after Glen Forrest. Some of the 19k runners came through including one woman with a distinctive Sydney Striders top I have not seen before. Eventually though I found that pace a little quick and they got away from me slowly. However it pulled me through to MUndaring in 59minutes which is a bit quicker split than some of my recent runs on this course, so a pleasing split.

Then it took awhile for Jane and old John, GC, and Tim B. to turn up and they took a long break. Saw Kep track signs. Then again at Sawyers and Mt Helena. Some excellent chats though and I wasnt game to it alone at my current level of fitness in my longest run for a few months until we got to Mundaring with just over 9k to go.

With about 4k to go Don and Christine from the B team cruised past so I latched onto their fast pace for a few Km keeping them in sight, and then as the temps started to climb and i started to feel it a bit I dropped back to Jane, old John and GC for the last 1km, but threw in some spurts here and there. Overall a good run, 10 minutes slower than what I did 15th September 2007, but a pleasing run to bank...A good platform now from the last 2 weeks for the coming weeks...

Wednesday 30th January; Ran 5.25k (approx) in 26min 01.35 HR-180 end. Splits 11.32/14.29 (downhill & small tailwind/uphill and small headwind).
Pace is about 4min 57 per Km although its obviously would be a bit faster on a flat road course in cooler conditions, due to the toughness of this course especially on the uphill return leg.

Morrison/Pechey/Swan Rd to Innamincka/Balfour Rd and back. Hot conditions,30 degrees Celsius at 7pm as usual! Did it after 7 hours of slog at work up and down nearby hills of the Darling Scarp, so was pretty tired and worn out before I even started. Couldn't pass up a golden opportunity like this to run on the railway heritage trail though....Not a bad effort I thought on this tough course. Splitted slightly better (11.49/14.55) than I did on this same course on 17th June 2007 See

herefor that post from last year...A very solid run!

Tuesday 29th January 2008; AM; 300 Ab Crunches.
PM 17minutes on exercise bike.

Saturday 26th January; Ran 27km in 3hours 1minute 35 seconds
on Darlington Brooking Rd course, (6min 43 perkm)Heart rate of 135 at end.

The usual struggle to get to Hills group in time,thinking I was crazy to try and go run 27k after no long run since 29th December,(4 weeks ago) just managed to catch up to the back of the main group as they headed for Midland, decided not to take the soft option of doing an easy 22k. Saw Terry and Phil B., old John, Jane and others, but was finding their pace a bit slow early, and decided to try and keep the faster front group in sight, as that pace felt good.

As we got into the eastern Bellevue area they stopped and I caught them, and Chris said something about being unsure of how to get to Brooking Rd, and did I know the way. I settled into some 4.50-5.20 per k stuff with them, which was a bit faster than I'd planned, but I stuck with it anyway, and Jane and old John disappeared behind us.


Ran with Chris & Alli from Northern Suburbs group, and a few others at a good pace all the way to Pechey Rd (about 10km )got there in just under 53 minutes,so about 5min 17 per km... Felt shattered by then due to a strong pace on the constant upward incline. Had a good chat about the Busselton Half Ironman race.

Stopped for my first powerade, and ended up walking for a bit to recover and eventually by the first waterfall after the railway tunnel I decided I may as well drop back to my usual running friends old John and Jane. Eventually they caught me near the first waterfall, and I ran with them to the Falls Rd turn off which is immediately followed by the long Brooking Rd hill. Much more manageable pace although I ended up walking the first part of Brooking Rd hill, but Jane and John waited for me, and got running again. I knew it was kinda mad attempting this tough run after my last long run was the easier much flatter 22km loop on December 29th 2007. But would have been disappointed if I had not taken on the challenge. Slightly different route along Strettle and Bailey Roads, before settling into the last 4km on the nice downward slope of the railway heritage trail.

Excellent conversation as usual, hearing the cherrynose cicadas at one point in this run, and the beautiful views of the valley early on where Kathryn and I used to walk a few years back. Feeling good, and really enjoying the experience, and from Hovea Falls onwards I was very glad to be out there! celebrating Australia Day with a decent long run! Last 30minutes or so as the clock ticked past 9am could start to feel the summer sun heating things up as little, as the temperature picked up a few degrees to 28 degrees Celsius. See here

Injury report;Nothing to worry about I dont think. Left shin splint flared up very bad later in the day after the run. Need to icepak and keep an eye on that one...
Probably due to the Bitumen hill on Brooking Rd and the downhill bitumen on Strettle and Bailey Rd I suspect?

Left knee is pretty dodgy but not majorly different after this run... forgot to tape nipples so they are a little sore, but not too bad. Very sore spots from chafing of hydration pack on my lower back, a bit painful in the shower, but it should clear up in a few days...

Very happy to nail this run. Important one! Thanks God, and also to all the runners I had the pleasure of running with making the journey a lot of fun.
Didn't spend much time at the Bakery afterwards as I had to get home to get ready for a busy day today...Happy! Wuhoo!

Thursday 24th January 2008 A.D. 2230hrs;
Cycled for 20minutes on exercise bike. HR 129.

Made the gears heavier and increased cadence towards the end. Nice to see my wife Kathryn take the initiative and do 20 minutes first also. Was a hard day at work in the 38 degree heat, suffered a little from mild heatstroke I think....Its been a very busy week so far, but a very productive one in many respects. More on that in the coming weeks hopefully. Tuesday night we had a great dinner with a nice couple from church, had good discussions. Wednesday night dinner at my parents. Hope to crank up the training like I cranked up my cadence and heavier gears towards the end of tonights ride, which got the heart rate up to something worthwhile, i.e. above 120 bpm...

Been thinking about what is the best plan for Beach to Bluff on February 10th, I think cycling the 80k to the base of Bluff Knoll would be the best option for me, second option would be to run 34k. Also bought R4YL magazine today and it had a short mention of 6 Inch in the Ultranews section, plus calender suggests Melbourne Marathon may not finish on MCG or will have different course to last year, which makes me think that my goal interstate race for 2008 might have to be Sydney Marathon on 21st September???

Monday 21st January 2008 AD; Cycled for 15min on exercise bike HR-108 end.
Was working some heavy gearing while watching tennis (Molik& Mirza in doubles) about 2300hrs...

Been very tied up lately with work commitments doing overtime on weekends, and the usual stuff, plus not enough sleep (trying to start earlier to minimise time in the heat) and mild heatstroke especially last week, from slogging it out in 40 degree + heat at work...One day I downed 1.5 litres of cold fluids just to get the body core temperature down enough to survive the last 2 hours...So rather disappointed and frustrated that I have not trained in the last 2 weeks hardly at all, and especially that I have not made it to the Hills group. So hoping that maybe this week I can start getting the momentum going again towards hopefully a much better February, as January is pretty much wasted now.

Saturday 12th January 2008;AM; 300 Ab crunches just now.
Then overtime work. Hoping to do Hills group long run today but sleep too chaotic last night.

Have rigged up a 5 point plan in my offline personal daily diary to try and get some triathlon type training going this year, to get my Abs program going more regularly, and to try and push me to train more often in general this year, but still juggle my work and family commitments.
Prioritized as such; 1;Long run, 2a and 2b;Reps/timetrials/races, 3;Ride 4;Abs 5;Swim. Also plan to start a 20 week Perth Marathon 2008 attack from February 18th onwards, which is the day after the Matilda Bay 10k. Other "new years resolutions" I guess is to spend more time reading the Bible and with the local church, and try and increase our family income through more work, maybe a better position by 2009 at the latest.

Had a bit of a chat with Nate last night about the 75km Kep Track which goes from Mundaring Weir to Northam, so it must be possible to run,mountainbike,hike a long way on that track, so a potentially good training option for ultra runners like Nate. He is planning an assault on the 24 hour race at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast this year, while Dave is going to do 6 Foot in March this year.

Tuesday 2030hours; 8th January 2008; Ran 5x300m reps @ Noranda Track, with 3min rests.
57.79-Heart rate 162/59.87 HR-165/61.38 HR-177/63.90 HR-177/59.19 HR-180
Total time for 1500m;5min.02.13.
1km pace~3.21.42 400m pace~1.20.57 100m pace~20.14.

See http://runmara2005blog.blogspot.com/2007/11/5x300m-take-i-noranda.html
Much better heart rates tonight than what I did on 5th November, but was marginally slower...However I managed to do the last 300m as my second fastest rep, instead of my slowest one like last time. Battled a strong headwind for the last 150m of each rep. Overall a good spur of the monet session. Battled also to keep food in stomach as I ate a late lunch after 7 hours of slog at work (getting a bit dehydrated), so probably not really in the best condition physically to be attempting reps. Also had some trouble with shin splints, and my chronic slightly bruised right heel, but my left ankle problem was non-existent, which is very good news. Suspect the shin splints is due to running the 5k on hard surfaces on Sunday night, and the bruised heel flareup due to the 5k and slogging it out at work...So overall with carefull management via icepacks, I should be able to deal with these issues, although the shin splints is a concern...

Big dilemma in the mind about the Waikiki triathlon this weekend, but I think the $100 or so (entry fee is $70, petrol to get there and back, getting puncture on bike fixed=$20), I can't justify spending with stacks of bills building up right now, so may have to wait until Meelup in february for my first Tri this year. Which would be my first Tri for several years actually, if I make it to Meelup,Hillarys,Busselton etc...

Good to get a minor short reps session on the board early in the week....Onward...

1800; Ran 5km at Burswood twilight run in 23minutes 26 seconds, 4.41 per K Average, HR-186 at end. Temperature about 28 Degrees Celsius.

Drove like a maniac to Burswood, grabbed a number, paid my race fee ($8), and madly headed for the start line with less than 2 minutes to spare. Saw Radar, Ian, and one or two other faces I recognised, but looked like a small field. Was still a bit warm, but I was able to get off to a solid start, arriving at the 1km marker in 4min 06 seconds. Then I got passed by a few people (including two blokes pushing running prams!), and then settled into a steady position going along the eastern side of the Windan Bridge. Couldn't see any 2k,2.5k or 3k markers, but I arrived at 4k marker feeling the heat a bit,

--It was about 27-28 Degrees Celsius according to http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW60901/IDW60901.94608.shtml...

and having lost momentum a bit in 18min 56, splitting the last 1k in 4.30 and passing one runner in the process. During that last 1k saw Radar doing his warm-down (He won in 16min 57), and he gave me a bit of encouragement. had a good chat with a HashHouse (Drinkers with a running problem, On, On, On etc) runner who was about 40 seconds in front of me after the race...He told me about the Kep Track which I have just found online @ http://www.keptrack.com.au/
So a very enjoyable little 5K to start 2008...Wore the new Nike top that my brother Tim sent over as a Christmas present the other week, and it was very nice to run in too.

Ankle was surprisingly not an issue, although the strapping tape may have given me a minor blister, although I did not notice it out there. The strapping tape could have been a significant problem in a longer race like a half marathon etc...
So a good run, a bit slower than I was hoping but the heat and lack of K markers made it difficult, and I guess I haven't done enough speed work yet, combined with my ankle problems in the last few days, so not such a bad effort to kick off my racing for 2008! Very happy I made it. Feeling a whole lot more positive about life, and the universe in general. Hopefully can improve my time lots! in my next race, which is likely to be the Matilda Bay 10k on February 17th, or maybe something else before that. If my training is going well I might get down to Coker Park or Perry Lakes to run some track races, or maybe a triathlon or two, but have to get the family finances back on track first, and make sure I get this ankle sorted out properly too...

Have just come across a Coaching service online called Front Runner Coaching here in Perth which provides training programs,goal setting,online support, and injury prevention tips from world class (14th in the world champs in 2007) Dualathlete Raf Baugh;
You can access it @ http://www.rafaelbaugh.com/coaching.htm



MIDDAY; Mini-Duathlon; 15min on bike/9 minutes (2km) running; Cycled for 15minutes on exercise bike, pretty relaxed and HR only about 105bpm. My 5 month old son Jacob was moving his legs up and down trying to copy Daddy (me)on the bike and smiling like a cheshire cat. Then bit the mental bullet, and gingerley tested out the still strapped ankle with a 2km run on my Hull Park course, which went really well, clocking 9 minutes 07seconds (4.33 per K)in the 25 degree warmth. Sweating like a pig due to the warm weather, and heart rate hit 165 BPM.

So now I am thinking I should run the 5km tonight as long as the ankle doesnt flare up again in the next few hours...If I do run, given that my ankle is not 100% I will leave the strapping on and try to be very careful not to reinjure it further.

Its not an incredibly important race in the master-plan for 2008 but it would be nice to get the year started with a solid race on the right foot, rather than start the first week of the year with a very mentally disappointing let down of another no-show after mentally psyching myself for this one all week long...


AM; 250 Ab crunches this morning. Ankle seems to feel better this morning should I risk running tonights 5k...last night I was pretty sure I shouldn't run, but now I am wondering....

My bro in USA gave me a copy of endurancemag for Christmas, and its a pretty good read about running and related stuff in North and South Carolina.
http://www.endurancemag.com


After interest in the 2008 6 inch race from two runners from Colorado, USA, and a feature article in Endurancemag on someone running the Pikes Peak race in Colarado (similiar in many ways to 6 Foot although only 21k for the ascent and double that for the full race), I feel compelled to check out this significant mountain running event;

http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/

Apparently near the top (at over 4000m it is the 39th highest peak in USA)the air is very thin (more than 4 times height of bluff knoll), which means that it takes about 10-15 minutes per k ....above the treeline...not enough oxygen for trees to grow near the summit?....

"Injury: An athletes worst nightmare."
Melodramatic quote I heard on one of my brother Tim's old basketball videos many years ago...and have remembered ever since whenever I get injured in a lighthearted attempt to not let it get me down mentally too much more than it already has.


It seems I may have a serious ankle injury, or maybe a minor ankle injury, we shall find out in the next few days, but I am about a 30% chance of running the 5k tomorrow I reckon, as I will not run if I am getting the pain I am getting today.

I'm referring to my anterior ankle area probably more towards the lateral side, which was extremely sore yesterday morning. I had it strapped on Friday, which seemed to help initially but once I started reading meters my foot immediately got very sore, and I was in constant pain for about 90minutes to 2 hours, and then it suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason. Today (Saturday 5th January 2008 A.D.) it was a little tender, but nothing like the severe pain with every push-off step of yesterday...So I was hoping that maybe it was going to clear up. Seemed ok this afternoon while working, but right now its getting sore again when I was walking around in the house.

So I am not sure what to do now. Not really sure how I got, it although I can think of at least two instances at work where I may have damaged my ankle. I want to get a medical opinion, possibly an X-ray/MRI or maybe they can try a few tests to narrow down what it is. But of course I have no money for anything like that, especially right now would have to be the worst time of the year for this to happen for me financially. Hoping its something minor that goes away in a few days. Unlikely I will run the 5k tomorrow now, although if I am feeling fine tomorrow, I may risk it, we shall see.

My best guess so far is that I may have dislocated the Peroneal Tendons from the Lateral Malleolus or something like that after reading my sports injuries book, but very unsure about this one. As the americans would say I really "have no clue" what this one is. So hopefully it heals itself, or I will be out of running action until I can afford to have it medically assessed, and maybe out for a few weeks or months until it is fully treated.

So I will hope and pray that it fixes itself or my 2008 racing and training plans will have to be rearranged somewhat!, and work is going to be a real challenge if this continues. So help me God!

Best case scenario is that I wake up tomorrow or sometime soon and it has fixed itself....have to wait and see how it all goes.

Tuesday January 1st 2008 A.D.;
8PM; Ran 5km Ladder @ Noranda in
19 minutes 57secs.91. Average speed per 1km; 3min 59.58 Heart rates; 168,171,183,186,192,189,192,189,195.
Times; 34.25/1.26/2.22/3.23/ 4.14 (1km rep) /3.23/2.22/1.34/36. Rests 3-6minutes RPE (rating of percieved exertion);9.5 out of 10.

Same session (5k Ladder II) as I did on 28th April 2007 see;
http://runmara2005blog.blogspot.com/2007/04/5km-ladder-ii-goes-11-seconds-quicker.html
but a few seconds slower this time, but a few seconds faster than what I did in 5K ladder I on 24th March 2007. Overall a great effort I thought for where I am at right now. Combined with ride earlier and including rest times between reps thats about 2 hours worth today, which means I made most of public holiday. So pretty happy, nice conditions, a little humid maybe but no wid issues at all. Little hammer in my head giving me trouble, and very tough to keep going towards the end but overall a great session to have on the board on the first day of 2008.

Did 60 minutes on exercise bike with heart rates between 110-160. Threw in three 5 minute spurts in the last 30minutes where I held high intensity.
Speedo doesnt work (which is probably why people left it on the verge to be picked up by council bulk rubbish collection) so don't know what the distance was.

Sweated a lot, and watched Molik lose to Mirza in the Hopman cup tennis on TV while I rode.
Just had a shower and I feel really positive right now, I think this ride combined with the 3K ladder and 22km run I did on the weekend, have me feeling the best I have felt for a few weeks. Resting heart rate this morning was 51 which is ok though nowhere near where I want to be, after a pretty relaxed New Years celebration at my Mother-in-laws last night.
So a good way to kick off the year.