BUSY! with new job (40hours per week since 22/8/05), my girlfriend K (for over 5 months now), have done over $1000 worth of much needed repairs on my car! still not happy with it, and its essential for my to get to the 5am starts at work. The mountainbike is out of use for now, will fix it soon. Have recently bought some much needed new shoes. Can retire the pair I ran my first 3 marathons in. Tried out my new shoes in the 2005 City to Surf 12km on 28/8/05, did about 57 minutes.

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WEEK 16 (25/06/05-03/07/05);

Volume; 554min Sessions;7 Best RHR;49 Sleep;47 *34
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 34km
Races/Time trials;RAN Perth Marathon in 4 hours 2 minutes (5.44 per km)
Reps sessions;NIL

You can't go back, you can go on..........

Sunday 3/7/05; Ran Perth Marathon in 4 hours 2 minutes (5.44perkm)
(Half splits 1.45/2.16)...172nd of 277.
Great to see one of the legends from the WAMC messageboard out there, and Dr Dan also...Tough headwind as I expected from Raffles Bridge (31km) to Narrows Bridge (36km)...A bit warm at times, but overall apart from headwind for that 5km stretch, pretty good conditions....
10k split 45.48, 15k 70.42, 30k 2.41 36k 3.19...
Wonderful,special to have my girlfriend K and my brother from USA, as well as Dad there as my support crew, doing drinks, made the experience all the more special.....

Official results @ WAMC, photos @ fuse photography....

My lack of distance work and sporadic training in general mean't that by 18k-20k I knew the sub 3.30 was not going to happen...maybe I'll give Rotto Marathon a miss this year, do the 10k and enjoy the experience at the Island instead, so sub 3.30 probably have to wait for another year....However if my training is going well I might have another shot at the sub 3.30...???...But I hope I dont run any more marathons on poor/dodgy prep like my last 2...its just a lot of pain to cop for the next 2 days, the last 10-15k is very hard, and you get a slow time for sure...so hopefully no more marathons on dodgy preparation for me....However I was happy with my first 15km in the 2005 Perth Marathon, and I think my drinks strategy worked better this time, so alot of positives to come from my Perth Marathon 2005 experience....as Rob De Castella? said?; "If you want to experience life, run a marathon"...at least I think that's what he said...sounds about right to me...so what I'm saying is; there is a dimension of life and knowing yourself, which I hard to come by otherwise which I think you gain by doing this sort of race....I recommend it...but it is unforgiving so DO train properly for it.....

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Excerpt from WAMC messageboard which I posted 4/7/05;
I hit 4.35's (per km) for first 10k (45.48) and still was on about 4.44 pace at 15k (70.42), then lost rhythm on the concrete after Raffles....went through halfway in 1.45.32 which was still just on my target pace (3.31 pace or 5min per k)... ...but I knew by 18k-20k that I was shooting for about 4 hours as I knew my 2nd half would be a lot slower, needed to get to half in about 1.35...mostly 6min-7min per k stuff after that....30k 2.41..then struggled against headwind from Raffles Bridge to Narrows Bridge to get to 36k in 3.19... Final time was 4hr02min 7 minutes slower than last years PB of 3.55, paid for lack of distance work in the last 2 months during my second half (2.16) dearly........so like you alacrity I'm a bit depressed/disappointed, but I only have myself to blame this race bites you if you dont prepare thoroughly, not like a 1500 or 10k where you might get away with poor prep and lots of adrenalin/hard yakka....race smarts etc... Maybe next year I'll get the 3.30 or something better....for now I am just going to take it easy with a few 10k races in the coming months and see how Dave goes in the Rotto Marathon......If training is going well (if its not I will not even attempt it this time) I might have another go at the sub 3.30 at Rottnest in October.......but probably just take it easy with 10k... Great experience again for me, nice to have the girlfriend and my brother visiting from USA (first time in 6 years) there too....be interesting to see how many photos from fuse photography we feature in this year...

I come out fighting.......

Well its finally here, the week of the Perth Marathon....
Am I ready?...I am not really sure...I hope so....
My reps times for 5x2km before Freo Half and my 4x4km last week, plus the way I did the 27km long run a few weeks ago, my small P.B. in the Freo Half-Marathon, and the 44km cycle on Sunday just gone, all give me confidence that I am ready..... My experiences from last year in my first 2 marathons, and as an athlete for over a decade on and off, tells me I should be right this weekend, but there is still a little doubt that I have not done enough long runs, or high intensity runs......
It's late on Friday night and I am getting nervous and a little edgy tonight, put my entry in today, got my number and spent an hour or two thinking about my drinks and energy/glycogen replacement strategy....think I am at peace about that now...just have to get the drinks in and give it my best shot on Sunday...
The only thing I can do is focus on the task of nailing that sub 3.30, and try and get it...If I come up short like Hewitt did in the semifinals at wimbledon tonight against Federer, well so be it....I want to come out fighting....
Saturday 2nd July 2005; Cycled an easy 34km at about 18km/h, HR a relaxed 105 at the end....feeling good for tomorrow at this stage...went for a ride along the sunset coast to Hillarys and back its a very nice ride which i have not done for a long time...really enjoyed it.... Friday 1st July 2005; thanks to my brothers encouragement, somehow managed to fit in a 3km tempo run in 12min 54 secs @ Arena track...Managed to hit my goal pace (4.20 per km) for this very short run quite well, with the final average speed of 4.18 per km about just right. Along the way I ran 1km splits of 4.04/4.26/4.24 on the grass 400m track....
Read from Matthew 6:25-34 today re: seeking God's Kingdom first and not worrying, cos God provides for his children....really felt God was speaking to me there........reminds me of Rebecca St James song...."don't worry about your life..."...probably based on Matthew 6:25-34.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------

going nowhere and I'm going to take my time.......

So what I have I done in the first 4 days of this week in training? Absolutely nothing, well near enough.....reminds me of a rather apathetic line in a song on the radio that goes;
"I'm going nowhere, and I'm going to take my time..." *LOL* :-)
Monday; busy with K mostly. Tuesday-Wednesday Deliveries.
Thursday busy with various important stuff.....

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WEEK 15 (20/06/05-26/06/05);

Volume;462min. Sessions;7 Best RHR;48 Sleep;52.5 *51br> OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 25km, Cycled 44km
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;4x4km 17.52 average = 4.28 per km.

Comments;
Sunday 26/6/05; AM Cycled 44km...did part of my beach course as well as the lake.........PM; Bushwalking with K for 57 minutes...
Thursday 23/6/05; 4x4km reps 17.58/17.07/17.44/18.38 = 17.52 average (4.28 per km)
Very stormy weather, got absolutely saturated by a burst of heavy rain, and gusty wind during my last 4km rep, so probably lost about 15-20 seconds to the weather on that one...
Very happy with this session, its one I have been keen to do for awhile and I finally got to it, despite the weather, and I guess maybe I am not sick if I can pull that one off...
Significantly better than the 18.59 average I did for this same session (see here) a few weeks before the 2004 Perth Marathon, so I think it is safe to say I am on track for 3.20-3.40 in just over a weeks time if all goes well.
Wednesday 22/6/05; AM; Deliveries and feeling better, I think.....
22/6/05 PM; Cycled 25km at just over 20km/h... Night ride. Solid effort. Done me a lot of good, and could be just the springboard I need to get this week happening.....
tossing up whether to do a 30km+ long run or not.
Pro's; 1.last chance this week, and 2. will help me with the distance aspect of the race plus 3. make recovery afterwards nicer (how could I forget the last 10k of Rotto last year, and being a cripple for the next 2 days...)...4. should help make sure I hold on strong enough at the end to nail the sub 3.30.
Con's; 1. Can I find the time. 2. Are my shoes too worn out 3.Might use too much glycogen 4. the weather (thunderstorms and rain) is not much fun just now. 5. if I am sick or fighting to stay healthy wont this just make me sicker...
Conclusion; the cons are all excuses and I should try to do one last long run.....,
e.g. 1. I can find the time if its important enough 2. if my shoes are too worn out they will be too worn out on July 3 anyway, either somehow buy new shoes or guts it out in what I have.... 3. Glycogen will replace as long as I give myself 3-5 days, and keep the intensity relatively low...need to run for 3-4 hours though. 4. I will just have to find times in between the weather or guts it through it. 5. If I'm going to be sick it will happen anyway, so better just risk it and hope I pull through...
Tuesday 21/6/05; Deliveries and not feeling well, think I might be losing to the cold. We'll see...
Monday 20/6/05; Recovering from a big weekend, and trying to hold off a cold that people closest to me have...

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WEEK 14 (13/06/05-19/06/05);

Volume;299min Sessions;5 Best RHR;48 Sleep;48.75 *49
OD/LSD/LFD sessions;1 hour bushwalk with K?....
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;NIL
Comments;
Slack week trainingwise dominated by deliveries, and no high intensity training, no running. Busy also having fun with K!, some wonderful, special! times, including movies, we went to the Freo vs Kangas game.....visited a friends church....did a nice 1hour long bushwalk Saturday...A lot of rain, and a lot of driving for me (over an hour each day for 5 days straight) this week also...
Disappointed in myself, but there is still one more week to consolidate what I have done over the last 14 weeks, which in the words of Jimeon is a bit "all over the shop...", but I am still confident gives me a good shot at the sub 3.30, especially if I do one more good long run, and 1-2 good long reps sessions in week 15/16......will see if I can deliver on July 3rd...
This means week 15 is a total ATTAAAACK!, assault! week, as its my last chance to do some good sessions before week 16 where I will want to start easing off,tapering just getting the body ready for the big one, the 2005 Perth Marathon on July 3rd....

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WEEK 13 (06/06/05-12/06/05);

Volume;419min Sessions;6 Best RHR;47 Sleep;49.25 *42
OD/LSD/LFD sessions;Cycled 24km.
Races/Time trials; Raced Fremantle Half Marathon (21.1km) 1hr 41minutes (4.47 per km)
Reps sessions; 5x2km (8.12 average= 4.06 per km)

Comments;

Towards Freo Half....born for battle...and HM P.B!

Sunday 12/6/05 Ran Freo Half in 1hour 41 minutes Hr 183 at end. (4.47 per km). P.B.!
Nice to do a P.B. Yay! Didn't get under 1hr 40 but went close enough.
Negative splitted I think, (51min/50minutes).............
First 2.5km 11.03 (4.24 per km)..Last 2.5km 10.51 (4.20 per km)...
Started well as usual. Struggled hard into headwind for at least more than 20minutes. Very cold winds, and some rain also. Not much tailwind on the way back, but must have been some...just got slower and slower..couldnt get going find rhythm...until about 4km (17km mark) to go...got passed by N (about 58-68minutes mark) in this time, he did 1.38 ...Saw one or two people who know me from WAMC messageboard...D got in top 5 so well done to him...About 17km mark started running with some guy, passed a few people and finished off very well last 1-2km...A successful race, happy with it, a good tune-up I really needed! for the Perth Marathon only about 3 weeks away now...K ran her first race also, the 5km, so despite the gloomy stormy weather a great day! Thanks God!
Saturday; Cycled 24km on the mountainbike...Good solid ride on my worn out bike, with my worn out shoes...
Friday; too busy, did nothing, disappointing, but got my entry for Freo half marathon done.
Thursday 9/6/05; Ran 5x2km reps 7.45/8.29/8.19/8.25/8.02 (8.12 average = 4.06 per km)
Very happy with that reps session. Also I had to battle diabolically strong! westerly winds during the last 500m of every rep, which I didn't really adjust to until rep no 5 (the last one).
I realised what I had to do was as soon as I recovered from climbing the hill at the beginning, I had to really attack strongly for about 400-800m while I had the tailwind and downhill with me, then back off a little to regroup for the grind into the westerlies for the last 500m, which gave me back about 15 seconds. The westerlies were costing me about 30 seconds, and sapping my legs of energy a lot...its like finishing up a long hill at the end every time...and when it gusted I was almost brought to a standstill...not as much rain as I anticipated though...stayed relatively dry...
Heart Rates ranged from 177 to 192 for the five reps....
That 41min01 effort for the 5x2km is about 2-3 minutes faster than what I did for the identical session at the same time in 2004, so I am fitter than last year, despite the sporiadic nature of my training in the last month or so. The sub 3.30 is still alive if I can get the right sessions done in the next 2 crucial weeks after the Freo Half....Onward...
Tuesday too busy, Wednesday; deliveries.
Monday 6/6/05; Did 40minutes in the gym with K. 10 minutes on the rower, 10 minutes running on the treadmill, and 20min on the bikes...Nice to do something different and avoid the rain... Heart rates 120-150's...

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WEEK 12 (30/05/05-05/06/05);

Volume;463min Sessions;8 Best RHR;48 Sleep;45.25 *44
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; RAN 27.5km Cycled 19km.
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;2x2000m (7.48/8.16 = 4.02 per km)
Comments;

whats the buzz...

Very happy to finally get over being sick and get a long run and a short reps session done this week, and I think quitting my job at the rec center has helped my health a lot!....
However, I had a lot of "nothing" days this week, and I don't think doing deliveries, or going walking/slow running with K, is high intensity enough a session to give me the improvements I want for my Half-marathon and marathon times....So I have a few more weeks to turn things around if I am to have any chance of nailing sub 1.40 for the Freo Half and sub 3.30 for the Perth Marathon....Its good to see K improving her running though....If I fail this time, there is always the Rotto Marathon and the Perth Half-Marathon....later this year.....
5/6/05; RAN 27.5km in 2hr 45 minutes (HR 162), which is 6.02 per km pace.
Good solid LSD/LFD session...almost 3 hours of running, and threw in some spurts for a few km at 4.50 to 5.30 per km pace...A bit quicker than what I ran last year in my marathon prep over the same distance (2hr 58), so maybe am going a little better than last year despite the lack of running in the last 3-4 weeks...It was hard but very happy to get this one done...
Had a very! close encounter with a baby tiger snake which really scared me, I was like about 5cm away from stepping on it, and it was! striking at me too, in the grass alongside Lake Joondalup...I was a bit surprised to see one at this time of the year being winter and all now...
3/6/05; 2x2000m reps (7.48, 8.16 = 4.02 per km average) HR's 192,192. 2km warm-up run with K beforehand and she helped get my splits for the reps...nice...:-)
It was getting too dark to see so had to stop after 2 reps, and my HR's were a touch high but my speed is fairly good..., this session gives me a lot of confidence that I can fine-tune up for a good Freo Half and Perth Marathon if I put the work in during the next few weeks...Significantly faster than what I did on 21/5/05 in week 10...so getting back on track....
30/5/05 Cycled 19km in 64 min, a good ride to blow away the cobwebs at the beginning of this week. I'm still sick, but not as bad as I was at times last week....working in the evening....

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WEEK 11 (23/05/05-29/05/05);

Volume;548 min . Sessions;9 Best RHR;49 Sleep;50.25 *47
OD/LSD/LFD sessions;RAN 18km, Cycled 31km.
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;NIL

Comments;

Running on empty...

Nice to get the longer sessions done especially the 18km run, but just been too sick all week to do much, but very happy to at least get a run in....
So not a very good training week, but better than last week...
29/5/05; Ran 18km in 1 hour 46 minutes. HR 144. (About 5.54 per km pace for this run)Still not 100%, but the run did me a lot of good, and feeling better today...I bit warm/hot towards the end... 28/5/05; Flat out with deliveries and for the second day in a row under pressure with my new job...but got to umpire volleyball today which I really enjoyed...
still not well, but better than the last few days...
26/5/05 PM; Over an hour walking along the beach with K, and climbing up the steeep sandhills...
26/5/05 AM; Cycled 31km...Good longish ride, and feeling a little better today, although looks like the council has ripped up the bitumen path I ride on for part of one of my course....why!!!!????....still a good ride to do...
25/5/05 PM; Cycled 7.5km. Good night ride but I am quite sick...
24/5/05 & 25/5/05; Deliveries, not well at all, quite sick, plus dealing with work stuff and the long drive there making me a lot sicker!.
23/5/05 AM; Cycled 8.5km. Struggled through this ride as I was feeling less than 100%, as I said to my girlfriend K, I am "running on about 2-3 cylinders." which is how I felt during this ride.
23/5/05 PM; Umpired Basketball. Very fastbreaky game in the second half, low on energy, but focused on the task of umpiring and soon forgot I was sick, too busy sweating it out trying to sprint ahead of the play to get in good position to see the shooting fouls. Had to ref on my own, no other umpire, so that = more running...Enjoyed the run by the end, and was moving very well...if I can get well again and clear these obstacles invading my time a bit, I think I will be able to get ready for a good Freo Half, and in the process get my Perth marathon 05 dreams back on track.....
24/5/05 No time for anything but chasing up work related stuff and 80 min of deliveries in the evening. Besides I got sicker and sicker as the day went on. Flu?....Sore throat has progressed to lots of sneezing,coughing, and nose clogging. Not well at all. Had a good chat with K, trying to encourage her to enter her first ever 5k race some time in the next few months if she wants to.
Hope I get well sometime soon,God willing, but I have a feeling I am going to get worse before I get better.....these things tend to last about 1-2 weeks, and I am only up to day 3ish of 7-14...?

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WEEK 10 (16/05/05-22/05/05);

Volume; 465min Sessions;8 Best RHR;45 Sleep;46 *60
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 20km.
Races/Time trials;Nil.
Reps sessions;2x2000m (8.18 average = 4.09 per km)
Comments;

One step at a time......

A handful of good sessions this week, but still dominated by deliveries, driving south!!! of the river getting my new casual job up and running (more of that next week), and wonderful times with K!.
K ran for 13min on Sunday, when I went with her on her favourite 70-90min bushwalk. She does this one several times a week, I saw a mob of about 30 kangaroos on this walk one evening.
Saturday night/Sunday morning I started getting a sore throat. Nice to get to church with K for the second week in a row, went to a church of Christ group again. Hope I am not getting sick.....
I am happy that I at least have done a "taste-test" of the reps again, hopefully do them properly next week......Here we go, here we go, here we go......

The latest and the last......

21/5/05 PM; 2x2000m (8.09,8.27 = 4.09 per km average) HR's 180,186.
First time I have done a proper run session for a few weeks, so just took it steady, just feeling where I am at. Felt like my form was good, and moving well at an even pace. Could have gone harder at the end, but was more interested in a steady HR...
Also it was getting dark and heavy rain and LIGHTNING! threatening, plus I found the 2nd rep rather tough to cope with, so figured the bare minimum of two reps was enough this time. Looking to move up to 5x2km/2000m (with the hill included on the course?, or maybe just stick to the track, see how it goes...) in the coming weeks, which is what I was supposed to be doing this week. Unfortunately I am a bit behind on my planned programme, but if I do the 3 main priority sessions, it shouldn't be too late to catch up although I need to get a move on, less than 2 months to go now. Just nice to finally do some running again...Hopefully a lot! more next week...RHR was 45 this morning best one since week 7, something I have not been able to get in the last 2 weeks, so that is also a positive sign/step in the right direction.
17/5/05 AM; Cycled 20km HR 144 Average speed 19.7km/h. Solid LSD session. Slowly getting myself hopefully on track for a higher intensity week this time around.
16/5/05 AM; Cycled 11km. HR 156,Average speed; 21.1km/h. Not really time-trialish enough for me, but I did have a go and HR shows it was more medium intensity than low intensity.
16/5/05 PM; Umpired a rather fast-breakish (i.e. some sprinting up and down the court to follow the play) game of basketball.

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WEEK 9 (09/05/05-15/05/05);

Volume;713min . Sessions;8 Best RHR;49 Sleep;45 *53
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 22km. Cycled 21km. Bushwalked 3 hours.
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;NIL

Comments;

The rain...&....You and I...

Another wonderful week bushwalking and cycling with my girlfriend!
I am very,very happy! Thanks God.....Hopefully the beginning of a long-term pattern!
Its been a nice relaxed low-intensity week trainingwise again, which is good cos I was very tired from all the driving for my new part-time job training most days this week, and lack of sleep!
However I won't make a success of the marathon, and might not even do it, unless I get my high intensity stuff going again very soon.
Also my wounds from when I fell off my bike 9/5/05, have made it a bit painful to run at times this week, so felt it was better to give them a chance to heal a bit
I think week 10 I must get things back on track with some running.
15/5/05; Bushwalking for 3 hours with K, through some heavy rain for over an hour, and up and down some very steep, energy sapping terrain on the Darling Scarp.
14/5/05; Cycled 21km with K. She was much faster this time.
12/5/05; Bushwalking for 62min with my g/f K.
Deliveries as usual this week. Very tired from about 3hrs+ driving on each day of M-Th this week.
9/5/05 PM; Umpired basketball game,40min of run/walk/sprint etc...fartlek/speedplay sort of stuff. plenty of backwards running of course...*LOL*
9/5/05 AM; Cycled 22km. Hr 126 by end. Went with mum for the first 4-5 km, fell off on a steep downhill tight turn spot where sand had been washed onto path. A bit shook up and 5 cuts bleeding, but ok. Worked into the ride in the final 16km, got up to normal speed...

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WEEKS 1-8, the first half of the assault;

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WEEK 8 (02/05/05-08/05/05);

Volume;500 min Sessions; 11 Best RHR;47 Sleep;45 *65
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; NIL.
Races/Time trials; Cycled 10.5km.
Reps sessions; NIL
Comments;

When the sun sleeps...

8/5/05; Cycled 10.5km 26.59. Good solid ride.
Have not done much this week trainingwise mainly just lots of short rides not worth saying much about, and just been very busy with deliveries!, jst and induction for my new casual/part-time job, which was fun, got to try out the rock-climbing wall. Lots more of that stuff in the next 2 weeks.
A little low on the sleep this week, especially Thursday to Saturday! Did a lot of driving around the city for those things and so I could spend some time with my girlfriend. We went hiking on Thursday (90min including 5 minute run) and Saturday evenings (90 min with the last 40 min covering the same distance as we covered in the first 50minutes), FUN! Walked for 90min both times so am counting it as a session, as leisurely bushwalking with HR's 100-140 area...
Managed to get K to run for 5 minutes on our first bushwalk, and I think she has lots of potential as a runner if she chooses to go after it. On our second bushwalk we were walking at over 5km/h for 40min, which I think is probably fast enough to get the heart rate up over 120 maybe.
So its been a very tiring week, but a very special week because of K.
Trainingwise I'd have to say its been another holiday, aka as 2nd rest week in a row. Thought about running a race on Sunday, but come Saturday night I was just too tired, and had no money or petrol, needed!! a lazy Sunday sleep in!

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Losing the plot, and not very motivated in the first three days of this week.
Want to turn it around, but not sure I want it enough, even if I do, its just not very feasible, until I have some changes financially etc.
Sometimes I just feel like "stop the merry-go-round I want to get off".
I guess once I adjust to, get used to having a girlfriend (since Saturday 30th April 2005 we began), if thats going to be a lasting thing this time...
...its been "a long time between drinks" for me in that dept, after a lot of "close but no cigar" scenarios, (the last one drawn out over 7-8 months), looks like me and K might have something special! :-).
So hopefully once I get used to that I can get after things again. Have had to do stupid JST all this week which has also been a big drain on my precious time, IMO JST is a complete waste of time, especially for me. Its sort of a flat easy weeks, transition point in my marathon training anyway, so in some ways as long as I can get going I can afford to have up to 3 slack weeks and not lose too much ground. But the last 7 weeks (from week 10 onwards) I must come out "with all guns blazing"! If week 10 is a very good training week I might still have a good go at the Challenge 10k, but I think my best shot at a fast 10km is now going to be later in the year. Likely races after that would be the 20 miler and the Freo Half Marathon. I have my Duty Manager training next week, so maybe once that is done, and I am more used to being with the the lovely Miss K, I can get after things properly again.
I have come too far this year already to throw away that shot at a sub 3.30 or better.

WEEK 7 (25/04/05-01/05/05);

Volume; 593min . Sessions; 8 Best RHR; 45bpm Sleep; 50.25 *49
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 21km.
Races/Time trials;RAN 13.75km in 70min 37. (5.08 per km)
Reps sessions;NIL

Comments;

L A Story...

A lot of lightning and stormy weather Sunday night. I'd have to say that trainingwise a bit of a failure this week, except that I got the time-trial run done. Have to reload again, and it might be a little while before I am in a position to do so this time, its going to be tricky for a week or two at least, have a lot of stuff to sort through in the next week or two with work, getting established with the girlfriend? and that.
30/4/05 Saturday; After finishing off lots of deliveries, Cycled 21km very relaxed with K. A lot of fun at least until the rain kicked in, I was very proud of K for cycling that far on her first go. Had a big night out watching FREO nail melbourne with some vintage Wizardry, and McPharlap! and the Eagles annihilate sydney and stuff. A lovely, special weekend.
Very busy with extra deliveries Friday.

In death we rise......

28/4/05 AM; RAN 13.75km in 70min.37 (5.08 per km).
Hilly course partly through Neil Hawkins Park and Arena Joondalup. Have only done this one a few times in past years, and I just missed my PB for it (June 2003), by 27 seconds. Started conservatively, got going alongside the lake, powered up the big hill out of Neil Hawkins, and put the pedal to the metal at the finish trying to get that elusive PB. HR up to 189 at the end so I did my best at the end to nail it, just came up short. Warm conditions but some nice winds a bit headwindish early on. A lot of "trail running" as the americans like to say on this one, its a nice course. Not too much time on road or the dreaded concrete, although a bit here and there, one of my favourite courses, lots of sights and sounds, variety, beautiful landscapes to admire, to take your mind off the fact you are sweating like a pig, and hammering it. Also no tiger snakes this time which is nice. Good to get a priority 3 session on the board for this week.
27/4/05 ; Cycled 10.5km easy night ride. Had Tourniquet dirge "In death we rise" playin in my head tonight, hence the morbid sounding title. But its actually a very positive song in a surreal way, it is a very nice instrumental too with some nice violins and stuff.
What can I say about this week except a series of excuses and the fact is
I've been a little SLACK to start this week...
Excuse 1; quads been sore for two days after the 26km run I did Sunday night, as expected.
Excuse 2; missing my new friend K, hope to catch up with her soon.
Excuse 3; Anzac day busy going to the footy with my mates. WAFL; swans vs south freo; skydivers in swans jumpers,RAAF planes buzzing the ground, the whole crowd stood in silence while anzac veterans stood on the ground, a talk was given, silence, the last post etc...
then for the rest of the day it was back to "swannies forever" after every swans goal and so on..., and the chance to kick at goals, listen to the coach talk at quarter time, and try out my hip and shoulder on my mates down on the ground...
Excuse 4; the same tired one I've been using for 7 weeks; busy with deliveries the last two days.
Oh well there is still 4 more days left in the week I can think of excuses for not training, or do some hard yards...entering a new phase now with the timetrials priority 3 sessions now becoming more important for the next 8 weeks.
Dave phoned tonight, with more running plans for the next few months, some good ones too...onward

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WEEK 6 (18/04/05-24/04/05);

Volume; 756min Sessions; 8 Best RHR; 45 Sleep; 49 *35
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; RAN 26km! (OD) Cycled 32km (LSD). Cycled 52km (LFD).
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;4x2000m (8.06 average = 4.03 per km)
Comments;

Every breath you take......

24/4/05; Ran 26km. A 3hrs+ slow OD (overdistance) *NIGHT* run...
Finally got a decent long run done, which is good, its been a few weeks since the last one, and although I am getting some long rides on the mtb done every week, I think it was very important to nail this *run*. It puts me in a more than satisfactory position, just to get that priority 1 session done.
Had "every step you take" etc song playin in my head incessantly during my long run, which was a good one, cos its the sort of song that just goes on and on obsessively and never ends, which is perfect for a long slow overdistance 3 hours+ night run...dont know why I thought of it, maybe cos I heard it on the radio this week, and cos of certain happenings this week. For example Cornerstone and Byford have some strong memories from 2000 attached for me...
Wanted a time trial run also this week, but was busy going to Cornerstone on Friday night with a friend. Great night out! Message was all about how we "can't get no satisfaction" unless we go to God our Saviour & Maker...Music, icebreakers and jokes were all very entertaining, and at times very moving. I am very glad I went. The down side is that I was a bit tired Saturday, although Freo won!, and I got my deliveries done.
So I think its been a better than average week, am building some momentum with 10 weeks to go.

Tribal Warrior...

22/4/05; 4x2000m (7.50/7.57/8.20/8.18---4.03 per km average) Decent reps session. On the grass 400m track @ ArenA this time, so a bit easier than recent weeks, no tough hill at the start of each rep, plus I was able to monitor my pace every 100m-200m a bit more closer. First two reps were good, about what I wanted, its the first time for at least a few years I have done sub 8 for both of the first two reps so happy with that. Still a long way off "the glory days" of 1997 which is when I did my PB for this 4x2000m TRACK session (with a 3.41 per km average), and a 7.07 as my fastest one. That was when I was training for City to Surf 1997, and did my PB of 52min 52 for the C2S......
Anyhow off the "the older I get the better I WAS" topic, and back to this reps session. Struggled! to hold it together in the last two reps blowing up a bit, with 8.20 and 8.18, plus I totally "threw the kitchen sink" and all at the final 300m of the last one, did the last 300m in 60 secs, and got the heart rate to 204!!! which is a total max for me as heart rates go, never been higher than that I dont think, equal highest I think. I was on my knees after the last one with that heart rate wondering if I was going to throw up, but didn't. Good thing the only thing I ate or drank during or BEFORE the session was H2O cos anything else would have ended up on the grass for sure.
So why were the last two a bit harder? Why a heart rate of 204 on the last one?
I've got 4 factors of interest I think;
1. my conditioning/CV fitness this week is a bit down on last week.
2. Pushing to get the first two both under 8min probably built up the lactic acid a bit more than I was used to that early in the session.
3. heat. It started to warm up a bit under a warm sun, and the body had to cope with that increased temperature, so a bit of a factor.
4. I really went for it in the last 100m-300m.
Anyhow, very happy to get a decent reps session on the board, hopefully next one will go a bit more smoothly, but I am hanging in there which is good. Might get a big breakthrough in times with the reps in the next few months and make inroads into the 7's, Need to be patient and persistent, and add some shorter reps work and ladders, but that is not the highest priority in the charge towards Perth Marathon 2005. Might be better to leave the sub 38 min 10km goal until August or later in the year. Depends how the next few weeks go. If I can get some long running done this weekend, this will have been a quite satisfactory week 6.
21/4/05; Cycled 32km. Took it pretty easy, a good LSD type session.
20/4/05; Cycled 10.5km easy. Planned to run this afternoon, but instead a surprise rendezvous with new friend K. She (K) is a big! footy (AFL) fan and likes bushwalking and says she wants to go mountainbiking, so thats a start. Very nice afternoon, went to one of the cafes in Joondalup, tried a very creamy cappucino and chatted for ages about AFL footy and other stuff.
That reminds me, I have to get my tips in for the CR competition in the next 24 hours, might wait until after the Footy Show on TV tonight, plus want to watch the Amazing Race on TV at the same time. Its tricky, might involve videotape, but I think the footy show is more important.
So went for a quick ride later in the evening instead, another night ride like last night.
19/4/05 AM; Got deliveries done in less than 2 hours this morning which has to be a record, so that frees up my time a lot for the next few days, which is good cos I may have a lot of things to keep my finger on the pulse of this week.
19/4/05 PM; Cycled 10.5km on the mtb. It was a night ride so I needed my headlight lighting up the bikepaths. Took it easy and enjoyed it. A few minutes slower than last weeks but thats ok.
HR only 132,(compared to 162 last week) and it felt very!! easy.
When I was doing sports science at Uni in the late 1990's we used to talk about RPE's (aka as Rating of Percieved Exertion)..typical Uni stacks of acronyms...With RPE's you would simply rate how hard exercise felt on a scale of 1-10, because you might get two athletes who both have heart rates of 150, but one gives an RPE of 8/10 while the other only gives 5/10, so for the person giving 5/10 it felt easy. Anyhow my reason for mentioning this is that my RPE for this ride was about 3/10 (HR-132), while last week it was about 7/10. (HR-162), so I was surprised at the HR being 132, I thought it would be about 100-120's. Anyhow thats enough about RPE's.
18/4/05; Cycled 52km again, but; HR at the end was 168 this time,
(that sort of heart rate=absolutely a LFD {Long Fast!Distance} session).
I averaged 23.1km/h on the mtb up and down those rolling hills around Woodvale/Edgewater and along the lake in the vicinity of Wanneroo.
I was Ten minutes! faster than last week.
Was firing it up! with POD's Tribal Warrior song playing in my head in the last hour or so.
So a good start to this week, hopefully am ready for a better week.

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WEEK 5 (11/04/05-17/04/05);

Volume;489min . Sessions;7 Best RHR;44 bpm Sleep;48.25 *22
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 52km
Races/Time trials;10.5km ride TT.
Reps sessions; 4x2km (7.59 average=3.59 per km)

Comments;

Freestyler...

Did nothing on the weekend, was about as productive as what Freo was against the tiggers...a boring, pathetic, disappointing weekend in some ways. spent too much time online. Positives; had a good game of monopoly with Dad & Mum, and made contact with someone from my old school, have not caught up for 15 years, hope to see if we can organise a school reunion.
Oh well tommorow is a new day of a new week, maybe I'll get my long run done next week, I'd better, as that is the priority 1 session for the marathon, and I will have to play catch-up a little now, also a good 10k time will require a lot more. More running. Must do.
15/4/05; 4x2km (7.44/8.13/8.02/7.56---3.59 per km average) Another PB which makes 3 in 3 days. Didn't feel up to it this morning, but made myself get down to the Arena, was telling myself I could do an easy 10km instead, but then I changed my mind, and thought I'd have a go, and if I didn't hold it together in the first rep then I'd just settle into an easy 10km. It was tough, but I got there, and surprisingly was able to find something extra and absorb the hill at the start of each rep quite well. Really had to dig deep to nail the last one in sub 8...
Extremely happy with my first sub 8 session for this course.
Have two months to make inroads into the 7's and hopefully be doing some 6min ones before July, as this (and variations on it) will be my priority 2 session until the Perth Marathon in July.
Its going to require a lot of persistence on my part to go sub 7...
15/4/05; Have had some significant right knee soreness when I try to move from a sitting position to a standing position in the last 12 hours, but so far its having nil effect on my running.

C'mon! Aussie Cmon!, Cmon!!...

14/4/05; Cycled 10.5km and beat my time from last week (7/4/05) by 12 seconds...Started slower but came home hard...Can feel the added strength in the legs...HR 162 at end, so i think that qualifies as a Timetrial, well sort of. Its hard to get the HR into 170's/180's on a bike.
13/4/05; Finished off deliveries and celebrated by going for a 52km mtb ride! Despite taking it easy for the first 10-20km, I worked the second half pretty hard (south easterly winds = tough headwind one moment, awesome tailwind the next), and got average speed into 21km/h which is good on my hilly courses. Did the same course as what I did in week 2, and despite doing the first half a few minutes slower than last time, my total time was a few minutes faster than I did in week 2 on 24/3/05. An excellent 2hrs+ LSD/LFD session which will help maintain my endurance and calves strength. Need to catch up on some more long *RUNs* though...
Right knee was a little sore at times during this ride.
12/4/05; Busy with work stuff! this week. But determined to get a better training week on the board this time, especially now my heel soreness has cleared up, and my left knee has settled down again. Spent some time checking out the Marathon guide webpages and had a look at the Canberra marathon results. Interesting to hear on CR how various people there went in it, and saw a handful of WA runners in it also. Made me think about which east coast marathons in Australia I might consider travelling over for one day if I had the money...

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WEEK 4 (04/04/05-10/04/05);

Volume;604min Sessions;10 Best RHR;43! Sleep;51.25 *24
OD/LSD sessions;cycled 31km
Races/Time trials;10.5km ride TT.
Reps sessions;4x2km (8.08 average=4.04 per km)
Comments;

Reload. Energize. Onward!

Busy with extra deliveries on Sunday which in itself is a bit like doing a very low! intensity LongSlowDistance session, so an ok week, but no long run=not a satisfactory week, although I did do one 30km ride. The 43 RHR was great!, expect to work harder next week.
9/4/05 PM; 5km solid recovery run with steve. About 24 minutes, so maybe a bit fast for a recovery run, but felt good...
9/4/05 AM; 4x2km (7.49/8.11/8.26/8.06--4.04 per km average) Very happy with this session!
Should mention that my 2km course @ ArenA starts with a very tough hill, but the surface is mainly grass so while not on a track, its a pretty nice course to run on. Very happy with the way I paced this one, the way I felt runningwise, and all. Tough attacking session which was just over 3 minutes faster (or 23 seconds per km) than what I did for the same session on 19/3/05 just under a month ago. So I am progressing. Just need to keep heading in that direction and I will threaten my PB's...
9/4/05 Resting heart rate this morning was 43 which is my 2nd best one since I started recording them in 1995, and my best since 2003. My best in 2004 was a 45, and my second best that year was a 47. In 2003 I had one 42 and a lot of 44's. This suggests that purely using heart rates as an indicator (which is only one of many aspects of fitness), I am pretty close to being as fit as I have ever been as an adult. But the aim is to start getting the resting heart rate under 40.
8/4/05; Cycled 31km.Relaxed longish ride. Did me a lot of good. Saw a lot of birds have returned to the lake, as there is now some water in it, after it being dried out over the summer, although there is still a big dryish island in the middle. Had underoath song: "reinventing your exit" playin in my head. Some light rain towards the end.
Another big blessing from God today, I have landed a job as a part-time Duty Manager at a recreation facility in the southern suburbs. It doesnt really start til June, with training in May. Its only part-time at this stage, but its an exciting opportunity to start working my way back into the sports and recreation industry again and put my Uni degree to use again, which would be good. So pleased about that! Also got back my photos from the Bridges 10k and the off-road mtbiking on the munda-biddi. My Dad got a good one of me leading Dave in the first 500m, which is good as photos like that would have to be a bit rare at the moment! :-) *LOL*...
Seriously though its a very good action shot.
7/4/05; Cycled 10.5km and did a big PB for that course. Heart rate 162 at end which is in the high zone for on the bike. Night ride. Bridges results online at WAMC website WOOHOO! :-)
Last few days; Busy with deliveries, other stuff, and resting the heel, which seems to be clearing up well now as of Thursday. Still a little tender. But the layoff has worked. I didn't want to risk not getting to the start line of the Bridges in a quest for a faster time.

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WEEK 3 (28/03/05-03/04/05);

Volume;677min . Sessions; 8 Best RHR;44 bpm Sleep; 51hrs *14
OD/LSD sessions; 36km offroad hilly! cycle.
Races/Time trials;Bridges 10km 44.40 (212th of 1031)
Reps sessions;2x1500m+4x200m.

Comments;

My 9th Bridges 10km...(1997-2005) and onward...

3/4/05 (Sunday); 10km race 44.40 splits; (21.40/23.00)
Felt very good before and in the first 1km, so decided to start the race targeting a sub 40 run despite my lack of training suggesting a sub 45 more likely. Watched the 5km winners coming in saw a few people I know. Steve, Dave and Dr Dan I saw before the race.
Started strongly as planned. 1st 1km 3.33. Pleased with that. Next 1km was 4.06, a little slower than planned but still good. Dr Dan went past me just before we hit the 2km mark and crossed the Narrows bridge. Backed off a bit then went through 3km in 12.11 (4.32 1k split), which was quite a bit slower than I hoped.
Into a headwind on the South Perth foreshore?,and my poor training this week, plus not yet optimal fitness started to kick in. Missed the 4k marker, but went through 5km in 21.40 (about 4.44's 3k-5k). About 2 minutes slower than what I aimed for. Disappointed, hurting a bit, and by this time I knew the PB was out of reach today. Struggled to hold it together in the second 5km, beginning with a 4.30 and then a 4.59! :-(. Not happy with the 4.59 at all!! Tried to get going again coming up onto the causeway, but couldnt see the 8km or 9km markers anywhere which was really annoying, but managed to hold onto around 4.30's for the last 3km, and get past a few people in the last 300m without really going flat out with the finish. Heart rate only 180 which is on the low side for a finish. Disappointed, but a much better run than the shocker last year, and on the preparation I did I guess I have to be satisfied with it, a decent B-grade effort. Nice tailwind at the end. One of my better Bridges runs. Hope to do my 10th Bridges next year. My mate Steve did a big PB and a C-grade qualifier in his first ever Bridges, and only his 2nd 10km race, so I was happy for him. Dave did his usual 34/35min,didnt make top 10, but managed to beat an obviously underdone Ray Boyd? (Yes the legendary one who has won the City to Surf 12km in Perth 11 times!).
Dave's wife did a big! PB and they are a big chance to win the husband & wife section.
I really hope they get it!
I would love to go for that one day...but first I'd have to marry a Christian woman who runs...who knows it might happen some day....
Another Perth, total! legend in Todd Ingraham won the 10km again! I know last years record holder in Pippa Hendon took out the Womens 5km again, and Andrew Brooks won the Men's 5km. Shaphan Cox in the top 10 for the 5km and Nick Fragomini also. I saw Susan Zlnay (5th) and Nathalie Brooks (2nd) out there and they were both top 10 for the 10km. I beat Sally Vaughan on the line by about 1 second. Thats about all I know. Results usually out in 2 weeks or so. Far too long in my opinion, they should be out in 1-3 days in this age of technology...***STOP PRESS*** 7/4/05; WAMC has put interim results on their website.....yay!...Dr Dan did 41.57.
So overall a very good hitout in my 9th Bridges 10k. Its got me motivated to keep going hard at it. The heel is still showing soreness, but didn't bother me while racing, so maybe it will just disappear soon,especially with the daily icing I am doing. I hope so.
Got to buy new shoes in the next month or so, or I will get injury problems from my shoes being worn out again. The ones I am wearing have done 2 marathons, and all my training and racing for 12 months. I had 4 good sessions this week; the 36km mtb expedition, the reps on Wednesday and todays 10k race. The 21km cycle was ok also. So good in some ways to have an easy week after the intense week I had last week. Now its time to settle into the basic Marathon stuff I need to do, and maybe add an extra weekly reps session/time trial so I can target some races;
May; the Challenge 10km, perhaps the Bold park XC, the Perth 20 miler?
June; the Albany and/or Freo Half-Marathons, perhaps the Lake Monger 10km.
Then hopefully if all goes well, the big one the Perth Marathon, and hopefully improve on last year.

Waiting on today...

31/3 Cycled 21km easy. Have decided to rest the heel for a few more days, so unfortunately no more running until after the Bridges 10k. Its disappointing as I had about 3-4 reps sessions planned for this week,
and my chances of getting that P.B. this weekend are not looking so good now, although I am still going to give it my best shot and try and go under 41min, I expect that around about sub 45 min is more realistic given the training I have done. Have to see how things go on the day....There are a few other 10k races like the Challenge, Run for Gold, and Lake Joondalup, so maybe I'll land the big one (P.B.) at one of those, if not this weekend. Lots of stormy wind,rain and hail weather about on April 1st, and I have taken on some extra deliveries, to find that elusive $$ that I need to buy essentials....
30/3 2x1500m (5.49/5.58) and 4x200m reps. Ok session although I was hoping for a little faster. In the last few days had some hopefully minor/momentary afflictions in the form of occasional soreness in left knee since Bodysurfing on Friday, and I bruised the heel of my left foot 28/3 evening quite bad.

Munda Biddi exploration

28/3; Mountain-biked 36km off-road and up and down some steep! hills on gravel tracks with CW, SPe,SPr,Rc. Almost 4 hours we spent out there. Beautiful views! on the Munda Biddi, and at Serpentine Dam. We had frequent drinks breaks, which was important especially with the high levels of humidity. A truly UTG! incredible! ride. :-)

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WEEK 2(21/03/05-27/03/05);

Volume;830min Sessions; 13 Best RHR; 45 Sleep;48.25 *21
OD/LSD sessions;Ran 22km, Cycled 52km
Races/Time trials; 5km run 22.16
Reps sessions; 6x1km (3.57 average), 10k ladder 42.27 (4.14's) , 2x1400m.
Comments;

Annihilating my corruption!

To borrow a line from >,demonhunter aforementioned song, its time to do a little bit of
"stabbing right through the back of my soul", metaphorically speaking of course...
27/3 AM; WAMC MOB run. Ran 22km 2hours 23min. Started strong, as I was late, saw them running off as I drove in. Didnt see them again until the Windan Bridge/East Perth area. Reckon I was running sub 5min km's for awhile to catch the back of the MOB. Went through 10km in 52min, running with some guys who were doing a 26km. By then I'd had enough and took it easy for the next 12km (turned at Como jetty, basically following the Perth Marathon course...)shuffling along at about 7.35 per km. I knew the last 6-9km would be tough due to my lack of long runs in recent months, and starting so fast made it heaps worse. Still its done now, and I got to chat a bit, and enjoy the views of the river and the city skyline. That long run was crucial to me getting my Marathon training on track for the coming weeks, so an important one to get done. Its been a satisfying but exhausting week. Certainly in my top 3 toughest weeks ever in terms of how much time spent doing stuff. Got some intense reps work to do next week and the Bridges 10k next Sunday, but not going to do a long run next week, going to make it an easier! week than this week just finished.
The week after the Bridges, need to do another 22km long one, and 25km the week after that and so on...
27/3 PM;Easy 6km cycle.
26/3 AM; 10km ladder 42.27 (500m/1k/2k/3k/2k/1k/500m)
Ladder times; (1.43/3.51/8.23/13.34/8.55/4.09/1.48). Very! humid. Sweating a lot, but at least
it was nice cool conditions this time, so body temperature was bearable, although I got the shirt off after the first 2k. Tough! session. Took a lot out of me.
Had hardcore band; Beloved's Death to traitors song playin in my head whenever it got hard in this one...Very happy to get it on the board, and beat the time I did for this session in 2002,
which is the only other time I have attempted this 10km ladder before.
Could be a bit of a watershed session, I estimate I am capable of a sub 44min 10k now.
Have to keep going hard at it, to get to near the PB (41min), a significant session.
26/3 PM; went surfing (bodyboarding for me) with R and S at Scarbs, R reckons it was a 2m swell, got a few big rides, and managed to avoid some of the bigger waves which looked a bit scary to me, plus I have not been out in good sized waves for awhile, the ones at mullaloo generally pretty small by comparison. Good fun!

25/3;AM; 5km timetrial 22.16 (splits 10.52/11.24...1k splits; 4.05/4.22/4.46/4.50/4.13) @ ArenA.
Pretty happy with a solid 5k in hot, humid! conditions. Wanted sub 23, and got it. Sub 22 was just out of reach, maybe in cooler conditions.
25/3 PM; 2x1400m 5.28 & 5.55. Good. Planned on doing more but the sun went down, and I couldnt see the track to well in the darkness so decided to save myself for Saturday, especiallya s I spent about 2 hours trying to bodysurf at the beach during the day also.
Injury alert: A bit worried I hurt my left knee (the one I already have the torn ACL in),
while bodysurfing, it doesnt seem to be affecting my running at all, but has been giving me pain when I stand or sit in certain ways. So been icing that.

Freedom fighting!, 52k pick-up

24/3 Cycled 52km. 21km/h average speed. Nice relaxed distance ride, enjoyed it.
23/3: Busy with deliveries.
22/3 AM; 6x1km reps 3.42/3.55/4.06/ 4.02/4.05/3.55 (hr's 180-186)
VERY happy with that. A PB for me with that session. Previous best was 24.00 (31/03/04),
did 23.47 this time, and cracked the 4min per km barrier which is a huge psychological boost.
So a good start to this week. But if I want to have any chance of smashing my PB for 10k (41.01) in the Bridges on April 3rd, I need to work extremely hard in the next 10 days or so...here goes...
21/3 AM; Cycled 21km, PM; ran easy 2km. Great to have the MTB back again, even with bald tyres, got to try and make it last a week or three.
Disappointed with PM session but wasn't very motivated, and the footy (AFL code) players were training on the track I wanted to run on,
and I like to train on my own, (just me competing against my watch and the track, makes it easier to focus on the target times when you keep things simple)...
especially when I am starting out with a reps session, so going to try and do reps in the AM from here on.

WEEK 1 (14/03/05-20/03/05);

Volume;516min . Sessions; 9 Best RHR; 47 bpm Sleep; 47 hrs *33
OD/LSD sessions; NIL
Races/Time trials; 30km cycle 67min 51. 5km run 24.19.
Reps sessions; 4x2km (8.54 average)

Comments;

Find my way back

20/3 Cycled 30km Freeway Bikehike in 67min 51secs Heart rate 168. Splits; 31.13/36.38.
Slowish start a bit like the City to Surf. 6600 entries in the first ever Freeway Bikehike.
Awesome fun, pushed hard all the way, and really enjoyed the whole experience!
Riding in the Northbridge tunnel was cool! surreal!, only saw one crash near me, but was concentrating very hard on making sure I didn't cut anyone off, cause a crash, as its really the first bike race I have done apart from short triathlons. Also tried to grab a drink at the aid-station while doing 35km/h which was rather silly!, I guess I am used to not slowing down at all while running through drinks stations, but on the bike its just not feasible, so that was one of the things I learnt.
Worked with a small "peleton" near the end which got me into a good position at the bottom of that last BIG hill, and also shielded me from the headwind a bit.
Averaged about 29km/h in first 15km, with fullbore UTG! attack!
In last 15km more hilly, headwind stronger. Getting tired, didn't drink much, so battling dehydration as well, but I reminded everyone in the mini-"peleton" that "hills are your friend" :-) *LOL*,
dug deep and hammered it up the tough big hill at the end of the freeway,
and left them all in my wake...Considering I have not cycled for a few weeks I was impressed with
the strength I had, must of been the hills in John Forrest XC and my deliveries work
that helped me hold onto the steel in the legs for the hillclimbing...
Reckon I beat most of the mountainbikes (MTB's). Saw some tandembikes!, but mostly people on racers in lycra around me towards the end. So very! happy with the ride! Easily my best ride over that distance I would think. Must bring camera next time!
Thanks God for a wonderful ride/day, and good to be able to share experiences with S afterwards also...Since S & T did it also, maybe we should enter the teams section next year.
19/3 Ran 4x2km reps 8.35/8.31/9.33/8.55 (hr's 171-186)
Better. Hot (32'C)&Humid! conditions. Had P.O.D. "find my way" song in my head...
These reps on grass mainly, so nice surface, but a very tough/steep hill at the start of each one,
my ArenA approx 2km course, which is a FAV.! place to train, has lots of shade.
Also Ran an easy 5km recovery run in the arvo/evening at Carine again...

The only way is up!

Pretty slow start to this week. 14/3; Recovery run 3.5km. Ok.
Then a few days of deliveries walking up those hills, which seems really easy now..., and tried out for new job on 17/3; 0500 start, didnt like it, so then early interview 18/3 for another pozzie.
Finally! on 18/3 in the evening got down to the local grass track, plan was to run a 10km time trial. First 5k was ok, not fast, but ok 24.19, 4.17 in first k felt comfortable, then 4.40's, but from 5km onwards had no intensity, doing 5-6min per km, and decided to abort at 8km. Depressing!
Probably not taking a drink at all was part of the problem, dehydration...just got into a rut pacewise...like a bad dream...
Hopefully the weekend and next week is a better story. Got my mtb (mountainbike) back from the bike shop 18/3,new back wheel, and new front tube.
Tyres are as bald as a babies bottom, but need more $$$ to replace them.
Looking forward to freeway bikehike tomorrow, and bruised buttocks swelling disappeared by 15/3, so that was as I hoped; a momentary affliction.

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Have you run 5k, 10k, Half Marathon or a Marathon yet? Yes No	Select closest match. What is your PB for 10k and/or Marathon? or at least 5k...? sub 40min 10k and/OR sub 3 hour Marathon sub 50min 10k and/OR sub 1hr 50 Half Mara and/OR sub 4 hour Marathon sub 60min 10k and/OR sub 5hr Marathon Have not run 10k or Marathon yet, but have run under 35min for 5k... I told you! I have not run 5k, 10k or a Marathon!
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email Jon...There are only 2 ways to live!.......*******WAMC messageboard!***....CR msgbrd (comchat thread)

This is Jonathon's BLOG about attempting a better marathon time in 2005 A.D.
sub 3hr 30 Marathon (maybe sub 3hrs),sub 38min 10k the main goals for 2005..........

sub 4 hour Marathon done first go; 11/07/2004,

Depends if I can get organised but the marathon assault probably to go up a gear in 2005.....

Jon's 2004 Perth Marathon race report ....2004 MARA BLOG and Guestbook..
....racing 2001-2005pages...............24/10/04; Rottnest Marathon experience