April to June 2006 Posts

Monday 26/6/06 cycled 13.75km in 38min01 hr 162
WEDNESDAY 27/6/06 RAN 10.5km 54min 59 (5.14 per km) hr 177 came home strongly in last 3.5km splits;17.42/19.04/18.12? first 3.5km was on the thorburn park course and the rest an out and back course alongside reid hwy

both sessions were night sessions just trying to stay in good nick for this weekends big one...typing this in at internet cafe during lunch break....

Friday June 23/6/06 AM; Cycled 17.25km mostly at high intensity in 52min 04..HR at end was 162...took a detour to East Perth to catch up with SP,TM, and RO, who are mates of mine, and were having breakfast at a cafe plus bible studies...took a 10 minute break there...Celebrating the Socceroos awesome effort to get past Croatia....Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!

PM; Cycled home from work on the MTB; 16.35km in 47min 29 HR-147..so great to get under 3min per km and to average more than 20km/h for the evening ride home...which I think is harder than the morning ride...
more uphills on the way home...

Perth Marathon only a week away now..and I am very disappointed in my lack of training this week...but I still think I am a good shot at beating my 3hr 55 PB for the 2006 Perth Marathon on July 2nd...and who knows I may still nail the sub 3.30 this time as well...

Saturday 17/6/06;
Ran 5x2km hilly reps; 8.21/8.54/ 8.53/ 8.45/8.53=AV of 8.45(4.22 per km) HR's were; 180,183,177,177,183...
Pretty happy with a solid reps effort on the beautiful Arena Joondalup course...which is inclusive of a pretty tough hill...

Only negative is that afterwards I realised I somehow managed to cut my foot quite deeply...may have been something to do with the steep hill combined with a sharp stick in my shoe or something...Took me a few days of putting the foot in salt water and bandaids to sort it out...but it seems fine now...
This meant the long run I had planned to do was not an option the next day...and I failed to get out on the MTB instead..so a little bit of a concern (only having done the one 32km long run) with the Perth Marathon not far away...

Still feel like I am on track for about a 3.40-4.10 at least, with the sub 3.30 still a possibility...
We shall see...

17/6/06 PM & 21/6/06; Evening walks with my fiancee KL...

Monday 12/6/06; 23min moonlight stroll with KL was fun...

Friday 16/6/06 AM; Cycled the 16.35km on the MTB to work in a crankin' 42min 54...Attacked this one hard as trying not to be late for work...and ended up being 10minutes faster than last week almost...course was a bit shorter and decided to finish at Barrack St this time...my fingers were very cold at the start...left home at 0650am...Very happy with agood high intensity ride to blow the cobwebs away...

PM; Cycled home 16.35km in 49min 40..again quicker than last week, but a lot more relaxed on the way home...
Hope to keep the work ride pattern going every week...
RHR was 46 this morning which is the best I have had for 3 months...

Sunday 11/6/06 Ran Fremantle Half Marathon in 1hr 44min...HR 183 (cos I had to get past a few people at the finish)....Reasonably happy with a sub 5min per km run...
267th of 466)
My organisation for the race was once again rather poor, but I didn't pay for it as much as with the Bridges 10k...Arrived 40 seconds before the start gun so just made it...Started fast as usual estimate I went through first 2.5km in 4.21 per km pace (10.53 split)....had to do a toilet stop again same as I did for Bridges in April...did that about 4km in this time...not sure why this time...so lost about 90 seconds there...but still went through first 10km at about 4.44 per km (47.20 10k pace)...on the way back I thought I had about 5-8km more to go than I did, and I thought I was going to run about 2hrs...but then I saw Dave doing situps on the side of the road and he said I only had about 4-5km to go...that gave me a boost..and I knew the 1hr 50 target was in reach...so fairly happy...also back got sore for awhile had to walk that out...Took a gatorade and a hammer gel which worked well...used hammer gel about 1hour into it...wore long sleeve top which proved to be too hot...I think I'm capable of giving the PB (1.41) a good shake if I was better organised...so some good signs before the Marathon in my 4th Consecutive Fremantle Half Marathon...

Great that my fiancee KL came along, and it was cool catching up with Dave,Nathan,Dan,Epi...saw a cool running top out there..very fast time from Todd Ingraham to win in 1hr 8min...impressive..a nice fast course with views of the ships out to sea...I'm happy!...achilles seems to be ok...so just got to maintain and increase the momentum for a good Perth Marathon and a sub 3.30 is still a possibility for me....

Friday 9/6/06 AM; Cycled 17.5km to work in 51min 45...exploring a bit at the beginning before I found the cyclepath at Bayswater Train Station that goes all the way into the CBD...Nice ride mostly...Pushed the intensity a bit as I was not sure how long it would take me to get there and wanted to be at work by 0830..ended up getting there about 8 minutes quicker than I expected...

PM; Cycled 16.25km home in 52min 52...HR-132...Took it a lot easier on the way home...stopped for one break to check my map and found a better way to get to Morley Drive by using Beechboro Rd south and Walter Rd to get me from the train line and over Tonkin Hwy...Nice relaxed ride...

Hope to ride to work twice a week from here on...

Although my general conditioning fitness is not quite there I am hitting Resting Heart rates of 47 beats per minute this week, so starting to look good for a shot at the Marathon...If all goes well I think I will be good for a 3.20-4.20 marathon...how good it is will depend on how well I train in the next 2 weeks...Freo Half Marathon tomorrow will be a good litmus test of where I am at....

Monday 5/6/06 AM; Mountainbiked 16.5km in 66min HR-144 along bennett brook tracks with people from church..a lot of fun...also got up to 42km/h along Lord st and had the HR up to 171 at one point....

PM (2 hours later);Ran 32km 3hours 47 min HR-132 splits 1hr 49/1hr.58.....Went 16km up the John Forrest National Park Railway Heritage trail from Pechey Rd to Sawyers Rd in Mt Helena and then back...very hard on the return...walked some of the last 5km which took me 35minutes..tough step up in distance but needed this one to keep my marathon hopes for July 4th alive...Tough!....pretty sore today...enjoyed getting out on the trail....

Sunday 4th June Cycled 20km in 55min 44 HR-158...splits; 28.35/26.51...Excellent ride and enjoyed using my new cateye cycle computer...(finally replaced the old one which died after almost 9000km... a few months ago) which I fitted yesterday, and also got the tyres pumped up a bit...felt good... Had BOND song Midnight garden playin in my head...got a Bond CD (Classified) the other night when out with my fiancee KL...Bond is described as a saucy string quartet...which is apt...but I like their song explosive especially.....

Just finished my third week in a new job, and got my first pay in several months, so hopefully catch up on a few debts and get lots of things back on track in the coming months....including my internet access which is very limited at present...cant get to net very often at the moment...

Wednesday 31/5/06 Ran 4x2000m reps @ Gerry Archer (Belmont) Times; 8.23/9.07 // 8.49/9.14...Heart rates at end of reps were; 186/177 //186/177...Took 7 minute rests.

A long way off the pace of what I have done in previous years for this session but still a good effort, and enough for where I am at...should see me fit enough to go under 1hr 50 for Freo Half next weekend...or maybe quite a bit better...we shall see...
Did all the reps in tracksuit pants...too cold and I did em under lights, shared the venue with some footballers...

Saturday 27/5/06; Ran 21km in 1hr 59.26 HR-165. Tough...got a bit dehydrated and a little overheated as I only had one gatorade...Great to get this long fast distance type timetrialish session done. A toughy but a goodie...Used the 10.5km course which I ran last Sunday. Did 2 laps; 55.44/64.42 splits
Saturday 27/5/06 PM; 37min brisk walk from Lookout to railway tracks and back with my fiancee KL at Whiteman Park...

Sunday 28/5/06 Ran 3km in 17min51...a night run...exploring new course...

Wednesday 24/5/06 Ran 2x2000m reps @ Gerry Archer with 7 minute rests in 8.22 (HR-180) and 8.48 (HR-186) after work. Splits; 4.01/4.21 and 4.16/4.32. Just easing back into reps as I have not done any since March...Been very busy settling into my new job and have had no access to the net, but that will hopefully improve in the next week or two. Achilles problem does not seem to have gone away properly, but it has improved a lot, and I really want the 2006 Perth Marathon, even if I fail on the sub 3.30 target (which I have not given up on), I still really want to do this race, and Freo Half Marathon. So plan to try and nurse achilles through these two, and then maybe take a much longer break from running.....if it does not clear up totally...thats worst case scenario...I hope...

Sunday 21/5/06 Ran 10.5km 66min 23 HR 132 Enjoyed a relaxed cruisy run mostly alongside Reid Hwy and on my Thorburn Park loop.
Saturday 20/5/06 Ran 10.25km in 52min 02. HR-180
Run attack on the Thorburn Park loop course, and golf course route. Split for first 1.75km was 7min 45.

Tuesday 16/5/06; Calf Raises 4x30

Thursday 17/5/06; Calf Raises 3x30 Reffed 3 basketball games a lot of running.. Achilles a little tender afterwards but not two bad...don't think its 100% right yet but it has improved...Also walked up 4 flights of stairs pretty fast at work. Been real busy with adjusting to new job this week.

WEEK 4 (8/05/06-14/05/06);

Volume;601min Sessions; 7 Best RHR;49 Sleep;48 *64
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 48.5km (OD), Cycled 25.75km (LFD) Cycled 19km (LSD) Ran 10.25km (LSD)
Races/Time trials;Cycled 13.5km 42min.44
Reps sessions;NIL
Comments; A successful week, and volumewise my 2nd best week for 2006 so far. Great to crack the 10 hour mark. Two good high intensity rides also. Very happy with this week. Only thing I need now is reps, races, and lots more running. Hopefully I can keep the injuries at bay, improve the finances, and start making good progress towards my targets in the coming weeks...

Sunday 14/5/06; Cycled 19km in 67min 32 HR 147. A good solid ride. Headwind along West Swan Rd on the way out and tailwind on the way back resulted in a big negative split; 36.04/31.28. Did not really attack much but did not take it too easy either...A good ride to finish this week with.

Unfortunately one of those blasted thorns somehow managed to pierce my supposedly thornproof front tyre near the end, and in the last 2 minutes of the ride my front tyre was flat and I had some interesting moments riding at speed around corners with a flat tyre...NOT good timing as I do not have much available resources to fix it. Hopefully I can start doing some run sessions instead...

Saturday 13/5/06 Ran 10.25km 59min 56 HR 162. First run for over a month...Got through this "fitness test" ok so far...Worked into it, got faster as I went. First 3.5km was 19.29 (9.12/10.17). Splits for the last 6.75km were 20.44/19.43...Did Thorburn park, and then my longer Golf course route No achilles problems while I was running and only very minor knee soreness...Right knee was rather stiff before hand but no problems after a good stretch and iced it afterwards...

My original target race of Bunbury Half Marathon looks like it won't happen. Mainly finance issues. However as long as I pull up ok from this and keep going well, and my new job is a success, the Albany Half Marathon or the Freo Half Marathon are my most likely next races...

PM; Calf Raises XI 4x30...hopefully will keep my achilles from flaring up again.

Wednesday 10/5/06 Cycled 25.75km in 80min 25 Heart Rate -162. (3min 07 per km on average.) RPE; 8 Took 1minute drink stops at 36min 23 and about 61minutes. Worked into this one really well, enjoyed the cool morning air, and was flying along with the slight easterly tailwind for much of it. Saw the large number of Kangaroos just north of the Margaret River Chocolate factory on West Swan Rd again...Was 9 minutes faster than my ride on this course on Monday...Tried and succeeded in avoiding overstressing the right knee, but still kept the intensity very high...

PM; 4x30 Calf Raises My tenth calf raises session.

Thursday 11/5/06; Reffed 2 basketball games, achilles seems to be almost good to go now. Pretty keen to try running a little in the next few days. Right knee is probably more of a concern at the moment...

Tuesday 9/5/06; Cycled 13.5km in 42min 44 HR 159 Splits; 21.25/21.19. Great negative split attack on this picturesque course that goes through some of the semi-rural Swan valley type areas...Benara Rd, West Swan Rd, turn at Reid Hwy. Really enjoyed this one, and no ill effects from previous day.

PM; Reffed a basketball game. Felt good...

Writing in PURPLE this week cos I'm really stoked about FREO winning the western derby last weekend! FREO way to go, hit em real hard take em down below give em the old heave ho Dock Dock DOCKERS! FREOOOOOO.
Also have been offered some new jobs with some lucrative packages on offer. If it all works out my finance issues should be sorted and back on track by June/July....Thanks GOD!...so nervous but looking forward to the new challenges....:-)

Monday 8/5/06; Cycled 48.5km. Took 3hours 49min. HR 132.

My time included about 20-30minutes of drinks and checking my Bike maps, (which I got from Bikeforce and is produced by the Department for Planning and Infrastructure as part of the Perth Bicycle Network see www.dpi.wa.gov.au/cycling/1518.asp#bikemaps) plus I took it pretty easy and was exploring different routes a lot in the second part of the ride...Went hard for the first 26km or so on my Whiteman Park course which I completed in 89minutes which is about 10 minutes faster than last time I did this course. However I checked my map and then set out on some exploration of different ways to ride to the Swan River from where I was. Eventually got there and followed the River up past the Garratt Rd Bridge before turning back. Had to stop and check my bikepaths map a few times...The swampy area near Garratt Rd bridge is yuck...I remember running through there in 2002 on a lunch break from work once...I think its even more of a toxic waste dump now....A rather cruisy ride, but I really enjoyed going through Whiteman park again and finding out what the best ways to get to the Swan River is...Next time I will know where I am going and be a lot faster, if I go that way again...My longest time on the bike this year...and very important to get a longer ride done again...

WEEK 3 (01/05/06-07/05/06);Volume;224min. Sessions;4 Best RHR;48 Sleep;46.25 *53 OD/LSD/LFD sessions;Reffed 3 games of basketball in a row (2hours worth)... Races/Time trials;Cycled 14.5km in 52min30 HR 150. Reps sessions;NIL
Comments; A mess of a week. Too busy with trying to land a good new job. Went well with that, but training fell by the wayside a bit...just too many unpredictable things happening to get my 3 hour+ ride in. However with what I have done the last 2 weeks, I am still hanging in there...Need to bounce back with a better training week next week. The achilles seems to be settling a lot, although I had some very bad right knee soreness since basketball reffing on Thursday night. Hopefully ice, rest and being very careful will allow me to avoid letting these injuries become significant obstacles...Still looking good... Great that Freo won the derby! WUHOO!

Saturday 6/5/06 Cycled 14.5k in 52min 30. Heart Rate-150.

Used my Reid Hwy course, but took a few wrong turns in the darkness on the way back. Its really easy at night to get navigation wrong all the suburban streets look the same...Pretty happy with that ride.

Sunday 7/5/06 A quick nite walk with my fiancee KL around the lake.

Thursday 4/5/06; Did 4x30 Calf Raises. Just keeping things ticking over...
PM; Refereed 3 games of basketball and managed to avoid any really hard running or push-offs on the injured achilles. Enjoyed reffing tonight. I think the achilles is improving a lot, and if I can keep the calf raises going I will try a test run soon, as I need to start doing long runs very soon, and also get some faster running going again hopefully by late May or early June. I'm running out of time (pun intended), but I think with the rides I have done in the last two weeks, and the training background I am coming from in recent months,years, my marathon plans for July 2006 are still very much intact if I can beat this achilles issue...Onward...

Wednesday 3/5/06; 200 Ab crunches. Trying to get this going again, 2 months since I did this last on 5th March. Only my 5th Ab crunches session for 2006 after just over 4 months, need to do a lot better with this!....

Monday 01/05/06; Cycled 10.5km in 34.57 HR-132 (Splits-17.44/17.13) to Bassendean train station and back which is just over 2 minutes faster than what I did on this course on 15/4/06. Felt pretty relaxed physically. Was pretty happy with a relatively relaxed ride I really needed.

Was stressing out mentally a bit trying to figure out what to do about transport options today. Had silly idea of riding into city or to Gozzy (via the train), but that would have been way too time consuming, and I am glad I didn't, because it was a very tight schedule of a day, getting petrol and getting to a job interview which was very promising. I think I may have landed a new position. If so could be that the finances improve to a more realistic fully operational state by mid June. I really hope so, cos its getting all a bit too hard...Thanks God if so. Enjoyed the interview process as it sharpened me mentally a little which is good. need to get a few things on the employment front sorted in the first few days this week before I go after the training again. KL was sick again today, so that also complicated things further. However off to an ok start to the week in many ways despite the challenges.

WEEK 2 (24/04/06-30/04/06);

Volume;369min. Sessions; 5 Best RHR;49 Sleep;52 *57
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 52.75km.
Races/Time trials;Cycled 14.5km 43.50
Reps sessions;NIL

Comments;
A better week. Improved volume significantly, and got a faster, higher intensity ride done. Long ride was slightly further in distance, but less in time. Have got calf raises program on track. Got through basketball reffing unscathed, so very pleased to have consolidated things a little this week. Aiming to ease back into running by the end of next week if all goes well, and hopefully continue progression based on the foundation of these first two weeks...A minimal but ok start to my Perth Marathon 2006 program.

Sunday 30/4/06 Cycled 6.25km 18.46 HR 150 Splits 9.08/9.38 Using the shorter version of the Altone Golf course route...Good mid range intensity, without going flat out...Was very busy doing various things with KL, but just managed to find time for this one.

Also did 4x30 Calf Raises this day to keep the achilles injury issues under control. I think I am ready to start easing back into running again soon. However I need to keep this calf raises program going, and ease back into the running very gradually, plus ice it to avoid inflammation.

Saturday 29/4/06; Cycled 10km 30.14.87 HR 144. Splits 15.02/15.12. Solid ride. Was feeling stressed out mentally, and had headache, but felt a bit better after this ride... Did 2 laps of the course me and KL walked last weekend.

Friday 28/4/06 Cycled 14.5km in 43min 50. HR-159. Splits; 23.54/19.56... (The first half I lost 2 minutes stretching, had troubles with an insect that flew into my eye and just wasn't quite as sustained in my attacking.)

Took the railway route, but did not ride the river detour section as I wanted to stay on a straight flat course and just concentrate on attacking the ride a bit. Was great to do a higher intensity session.

Forgot to stretch beforehand so I had to stop at the railway line and spend 2 minutes doing a few quads and hammy stretches, as I was very tight and a bit stiff and sore to begin with from yesterday.

Most of the ride I felt "in the groove", and it sure felt good. Really enjoyed pushin it out a bit.
Had Tourniquet Tire Kicking and"a little bit of Lee Harding "Almost anything?" tickin over in my head, especially the aggressive riffs and drumming of Tire Kicking... Click on http://www.myspace.com/tourniquetrocks to have a listen... Trying to be nice to my trusty worn out MTB by not giving it too much of a hammering cos its got to last for awhile longer yet, but made sure I spent a bit of time going hard in top gear as much as possible. A good ride to blow out the cobwebs and sweat it out a bit. Been needing and wanting a session like this for a week or two....yeah!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday 27/4/06; Cycled 52.75km in 3 hours 15min 30. Heart rate 138 at end. Pretty tired by the finish. Took 3 short drink stops during that time. Didn't have any carboshotz this time so was a bit tougher but it forces my body to burn fat as a fuel with little carbs available in the system, so good from a training point of view. Just slow enoughin intensity for the low carbs fuel levels to not be too tough to cope with...

Threw in some fast surges from Thomas Rd to Albany Hwy along the Tonkin Hwy. Had an excellent tailwind on return and its relatively flat or downhill for most of the way. This was after about 70 minutes of pushing into a solid headwind on the way out there. The Tonkin Hwy route was 45.25km all up, with splits of 1hr 27min/1 hr 18min so its easy to see how much quicker I was on return with the tailwind surges, which gave me a 9 minute negative split despite the lack of carbs locking things up and fatigue (heavy legs) setting in towards the end...Right knee soreness present early, but not so much a problem this time...saddle soreness was present towards the end but ok not as bad as a few weeks back. The last 7.5km I did my short railway route course turning at Albany Hwy, which was a bit of a grind but I needed it to get over my target of 50km and also to get over the 3hour mark which was my other target for this session. Overall a fairly satisfying session and nice to get to long sessions done back to back in consectutive weeks. need to keep this momentum going. The mountainbike feels rickety but the gears seemed a little smoother this time. It has done well over 10,000-12,000km I estimate (odometer stopped at 8955km a few months ago, and I did a few thousand km before I bought the cateye cycle computer) Hopefully it will keep going a few more weeks,months...Feeling a lot more positive about things today.

Saw a veritable plague of leeches? on the cyclepath alongside Tonkin for one section,also a helicopter, saw a sign about Aboriginal archealogical sites, and many other sights sounds and smells. Didn't enjoy the smell of the rubbish tip between Rowley Rd and Thomas Rd. Interesting ride, and being out near Rowley Rd and Thomas Rd reminds me of the days I used to train on Hopkinson Rd and Thomas Rd as a racewalker about 17 years ago back in 1989...

So my 2006 Perth marathon plans are still intact for another week. Had demon hunter song Coffin Builder in my head for a lot of the way and also heartstrings,undying,the latest and the last, plus Grave forsakens light the hall...

Happy with the ride, and going to take a risk and try and get through basketball umpiring tonight. Hopefully the achilles will survive this first test and I will sleep extremely well tonight...a massive energy usage for the day it will be....

Reffed 2 games of basketball,didnt run much and put weight on left leg mostly. I think its improved but needs at least 1-3 weeks more rest and treatment before I try running hard on it. See how things go...Seem to be able to get through reffing ok, but not able to run hard like I used to...

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday 24-26/4/06; Kept the calf raises program moving along, am up to 4x26 calf raises now...I think I will consider trying some test runs soon...But probably not for a week or two yet...Need to consolidate...

Sunday 23/4/06 Walked 5km around golf course route via shops on return with KL. Did Calf raises 4x20 later that day. Still resting the achilles and not doing much else at present...

WEEK 1 (17/04/06-23/04/06);

Volume;268min. Sessions;2Best RHR;49 Sleep;47.25 *53
OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Cycled 50.5km.
Races/Time trials;NIL
Reps sessions;NIL

Comments;
See previous post re 50km ride. Other than that pretty much a wipeout of a week trainingwise. Lack of finances combined with achilles issues is leaving me very unmotivated, and wanting to rest achilles. Urgently have to improve finances before I can crank up the training. Hanging on by a thread/fingernails, but plenty of time to crank it up considering (a) the work I've done during February/March, and if I can keep the 50km+ rides going, plus sort out the achilles, I'll be in with a chance...

Friday 21/4/06; Did 4x18 calf raises. Need to keep the new regime operational to try and clear my achilles issues.

Wednesday 19th April 2006; Cycled 50.5km in 3hr 26min on the mountainbike. HR 126. Time includes about 15minutes I spent on drinks breaks and checking my maps. Pretty solid long ride. Very happy with it. Plan is to do at least one ride like this per fortnight, (preferably each week) until my achilles allows me to run again. So this is WEEK 1 of my Perth Marathon 2006 Assault. Its an 11 week program same amount of time as what as I did in 2004. Its time to get really focused and ensure my long 3hour+ sessions get done preferably each week, plus do some shorter easy sessions, and some more intense sessions...

Hopefully the achilles will clear up well before July. Found a useful link from Cool Running re treating achilles problems, so did 4x16 calf raises (double legged) with 2 minute rests
today also. Made sure I stressed the eccentric phase (the lowering part) of each calf raise. Need to be disciplined about maintaining this. Also iced my achilles last night. Going to rest the calves (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) tomorrow, and then plan to do my next bunch of calf raises on Friday.

My ride was extremely interesting. Had heard that Roe Hwy now goes all the way to Kwinana Freeway, so was keen to see if this was true so followed Roe Hwy from Albany Hwy all the way to Kwinana Freeway, and then followed detour from Farrington Rd to Berrigan Rd, Karel Avenue and then back down Roe Hwy. Experienced lots of interesting sights,sounds and smells. The smell of a bakery in Canning Vale was good. Plenty of birds, plus the planes landing at Jandakot airport. Went past Whaleback and Glen Iris golf courses. My mountainbike is a bit worse for wear, but have to make do with what I have...it was ok...Had the usual niggling knee soreness at times, but mostly a very enjoyable and successful ride. Also came across some signs detailing the history of Aboriginal people on the plains below the Darling Scarp again, just as I did on Tonkin Hwy when I rode the 31km last week. Have learnt a few interesting things about how they lived in this area...Apparently they had 6 seasons for the year instead of our European influenced 4.

Seemed to cope better with saddle soreness this time, than I did on the Whiteman park 40km ride the other week. See how I pull up in the next few days. Onward and hopefully upward...

Saturday 14th April; Cycled a solid 31km in roughly 1hr 49? with heart rate of 138 at end and I guestimate at least 150's at times during my ride. Enjoyed exploring the Tonkin Hwy course I have been meaning to do since February. For example the detour of "Darling Scarp Exploration". Its a great course to ride. Mostly rather flat and straight red bike path. Got the path pretty much to yourself with almost no distractions. Includes views of Champion Lakes and the Darling Scarp... I must get a new cycle computer soon!!! New bike would be good too but that will have to wait awhile...

Sunday 15th April Cycled 10.5km in 37min 18 HR 129. Light rain most of the way rode to the Midland train line and back.
Ok but not my favourite ride. Too many bumpy concrete footpaths and tricky roads to contend with.

Not happy with only 3 sessions this week, a rether disappointing week trainingwise, although its great to finally have my first ride on the Tonkin Hwy course. Have maintained the running ban to rest my achilles this week. Need to get calf exercises and iced water treatment going again though. Life for me is generally a bit messy/boring just now, but we push on, hopefully better days ahead...

Hopefully be ready to do some slowish 25km-35km long runs during May. In the meantime my plan is to try and do some 50km-70km rides on the mountainbike so I have a decent endurance base in place to attack my marathon goals with...Hopefully by that time the achilles is back to normal...

Sunday 9/4/06; Cycled 13km (2 laps around golf course route) in 38min 52 Heart Rate 165. Pretty happy with a good attacking ride in the evening...lingering saddle soreness from a few days ago not much of a problem....

Tuesday 11/4/06 Cycled a relaxed 16.5km in about 70 minutes HR only 108...Golf course route and exploring along the B Brook area...

Been shoving the achilles into buckets of iced water for 30minutes and trying a 4 minute calf stretch plus have done the calf raises for 5 minutes on one day (sore for the next two days..the gastrocnemius is clearly a bit on the soft side...)...Need to do lots more of that in the next few weeks...hope it works. Cant afford to go to a good sports doctor and just hoping my mountainbike will survive...

A little depressed, just hoping that by banning myself from running and doing the smart thing in the next few weeks by treating what I think is an achilles injury I can get my Perth Marathon 2006 assault on full attack by May/June at the latest. Hope to be running well again in time for the Bunbury Half Marathon on 21st May, or the Challenge 10km or the Albany Half. At the very latest I think I must be firing for the Freo Half Marathon on June 11th if the sub 3.30 dream is to stay alive for me in 2006...

I saw in the Bridges results on the WAMC website today that I did beat the bloke I sprint finished with...wuhoo. so hapy with that small victory. Placing was 390th of 1317 with official time of 48min 06 seconds, which is my 2nd slowest (2004 I did 48.50, and 3.55 in the marathon that year) of my ten consecutive Bridges runs from 1997 to 2006.

Wednesday 5/4/06; Cycled 40.75km in 2hr 42. HR 126. Whiteman Park course, plus an extra 15km with a loop to Reid Hwy and back. Took a few powerades, and battled/enjoyed a few light head/tail winds. Good session. Nice weather temperature wise. Got very saddle sore in the last 10km or so...Trying to rest the achilles. Need to get calf exercises going.

Thursday 6/4/06; Reffing Basketball 3 games. Tried to rest the achilles, by walking as much as possible...

Sunday 2/4/06; Ran my 10th consecutive Bridges fun-run (1997-2006). Completed the 10km in unofficial wristwatch time of 48minutes 07 seconds, with a finishing heart rate of 186. Th 48minutes included a 1 minute toilet stop about 1.2km into the race. So actual run time I estimate was about 46min 52-47min07. 1km Splits were 3.57,5.24 (including toilet stop), 4.50's the next 2km (missed the 3km marker), 4.44, 5.03 6.14? 4.33? 4.31, 4.00.... My 5km splits; 23.46/24.21. The 23.46 included the toilet stop so would have been about 22min30 or 22min 40 otherwise.
Usual wind conditions with a small headwind from 2km-5km, and a tailwind for most of the rest... Was nice cool temperature.

I am pleased with the way I finished strongly in the last 1-3km, and had a good sprint finish with someone at the end which is always fun. Be interesting to see if I beat him or not, as I think it was rather photofinish-ish, and I am sure we will get the same time...

I found it very hard to get any rhythm in the middle stages, and I think I stayed up too late the night before, which may have cost me a minute or three...The toilet stop happened cos I drank a powerade just before the start which was a silly thing to do. I would run better if I had someone give me a powerade at about 5-7km, instead of relying on the cups of water which are ok but less than ideal. I ran on the grass as much as possible to minimise impact on my knee etc, and this was ok, but it does not help with maintaining a steady pace/rhythm...
I don't like running in large crowds like the Bridges and the City to Surf. I once again am reminded that I prefer the races where there is a small field, or running on my own, or with 1 or two friends. The alternative is of course to win the thing or be in the top 5-10 which means you are ahead of most people, but I am not good enough to do that, and not sure if I ever will be...I'd have to improve my 10km time to about 35-38minutes at least...It might happen though cos I feel I am about in 43minute shape now, even though I only did 47-48minutes in this race.

Overall I enjoyed the hitout and felt good at times, and am very glad I ran. I am convinced that despite another disappointing overall time, I have progressed significantly in the last month or so and the reps work has paid off for me. Maybe next time my improved fitness will show up more in the time recorded, if I can continue to train the way I have in March 2006.I hope to get the achilles right and land a good Challenge 10km or Half Marathon time in the coming months...

Time to get on the mountainbike and ride lots of K's for a few weeks until my Marathon program starts in earnest, or my achilles destroys my dreams of Perth Marathon III in sub 3.30 ...we shall see...
The achilles was not an issue while I was running at all. However it has been rather sore for about 24-48 hours afterwards. So I am going to try avoid running for awhile (probably about 2-4-8weeks) and get some calves exercises going, plus get my mountainbike going instead. Going to go get the new tyre for the bike this afternoon. Hopefully will be able to do a few run sessions as my Perth Marathon 2006 assault is supposed to start in earnest in 2 weeks time...