Early bird

K was doing her early (5:30am) 40 min session so I decided at the last minute to go out and run the Perth bridges (all the while thinking 'why aren't I still in bed'?). Ran it fairly hard at almost tempo level (9.59km @ 4:16 pace HR 168 Ca86). It was very nice on the Perth side but a little hard running back into the wind on the S Perth side into the 'air treadmill' so I just tried to keep an even effort with a spurt for the last k. With 700m to go I saw K & K a few 100m ahead doing their cooldown so bust a nut to try to catch them. I was happy that the HR wasn't through the roof today and the legs felt fairly good. Was having a stretch at the Mends St gazebo when I saw Biscuitman out for his run and he stopped for a quick chat before continuing on to UWA ; must have been fun in the 'breeze' - the way back would have been alright though..

Easy run tomorrow then 3000m at Coker Park on Thursday. Don't think I'm in 10 minute shape yet but I'll give it a crack...

Dodging Raindrops

After a rest day Friday I went for a shortened 'long' ride today (45k - 1.5 hrs) up to King's Park and a few laps and then on to meet Kim & crew at Cobalt in East Perth. I was so concerned about watching the radar and picking my route that I only realised I had forgotten my helmet by the time I'd closed the garage door and there was nothing I could do about it. I was really self concious about it, and I'm sure I was getting disapproving looks from everyone I went past. The good news is that I managed to stay Upright, fairly dry and had a fun ride. Saw Biscuitman out there with (another) Simon clipping along very nicely, and felt obliged to give them a bit of a hurry-up. The coffee stop at Cobalt was rudely interrupted by a meter-man coupled with the realisation that the 1 hour parking time had been used up....

Sunday I went with Kim to meet her crew to do their last long run. I did the 15km loop (4:38 pace 160HR) from Marina Dr. in Ascot taking in the Garret Rd and Windan Bridges (map). This was the longest run since Boston. Felt fairly comfortable although the HR is still high and had to force myself to slow down to more like long run pace. The niggling glute subsided after a few k's and I was able to run pretty smothly, except that going up hills, the left side still feels under-powered. Finished strongly as I saw a dark mass of rain closing in and I didn't really feel like getting soaked.

Coker Park 5k - 17:45

Had a good night on the track and was very happy to run 17:45 for the 5k. Legs felt pretty good for the whole thing. Perfect conditions, a little wind on the corner coming into the home straight but nothing much, and the rain stayed away although the track was wet. Ran this in my baby blue racing flats, although spikes may be the go if I'm going to get serious about this....

Lap splits : 40, 84, 85, 84, 84, 85, 88, 87, 87, 87, 86, 86, 83

Next week: 1 mile and 3000m (and I move into M45 on Wednesday....)

Easy run

10.1km @4:30 pace, HR 164 Ca85. Went out to try to beat the wild weather and was successful this time. It was cool, a little windy and a little drizzly, but perfectly adequate conditions. Tried to maintain an easy 4:40 pace but the legs wanted to go faster - I think all the cycling has increased my cadence, which is great, but it makes it hard to run slower without feeling like I'm plodding (I tried!). The good news is my glutes felt pretty OK today and I didn't feel them for most of the run. I really felt my quads today, the after-effects of yesterday's hammer session on the bike. I had some really good stretches when I felt like I was gliding along. This injury has been good for my running form because I'm really trying to concentrate on it.

In other news, looks like the Perth Marathon Relay is on with Biscuitman, Sandgroper, myself and 'Pete' doing the four legs. Biscuitboys is the team name ; 'Sweet Danger Biscuits' and 'Sugar Biscuit Gropers' were rejected.... probably just as well.

A run and a ride...

Yesterday I obviously had a lot of nervous energy, because I wasn't planning to run, but really felt the urge so went out for a mid-morning run on my home bridges loop ; my legs felt OK and the HR was acceptable for the slow pace ; 7.8km @ 4:55 and average HR was 147. Took a couple of shortcuts but made up for it by doing some quick steps up the stairs, and introduction to some of the fast feet drills I plan to introduce shortly when my legs are 100%.

Today went out for a 43km bike ride with 3 loops of King's Park (up May Dr, down Forrest) thrown in for the hard stuff; just shy of 90 minutes with an average HR of 145. My quads are now feeling a little wobbly! Enjoyed it though, and managed a decent pace - for the time being, these are my interval sessions - mostly managed to avoid getting rained on as well, which is a plus...

Hope to do an easy 10K tomorrow and a 5k at the track on Thursday night if my legs are OK.

A Good Start : Perth HM 5K

Had a pretty good run today ; I was just wanting to cruise this one comfortably and found myself at the first k marker at 3:30.... the legs were feeling OK, the hip a little niggly but soon the lactic overload feeling took over from any leg pain. I continued running fairly well and before I knew it I was at the turnaround. They really needed to put a mat down because it was hellish slippery and I very nearly went down even though I slowed down and took it very wide (if anyone's run in S.Perth, they know how bad the bike path gets). My right leg went from under me and I hit the ground with my hand - fortunately I got away with it without any real problems. I had pulled away from the guy I overtook just before the turn, and the next guy in front was a few 100m ahead so I just tried to maintain the pace. I know I slacked off a bit in the 4th K, but I haven't done any intervals for over two months and with the limited running I've been doing I'm pretty thrilled to finish in 18:06. So far too, I'v pulled up OK.

Bumped into a few people including Original Simon who isn't running ATM with an injury similar to Sas', and was sorry to see Slippery in a leg cast after rupturing his Achilles just after the Bunbury HIM. Courtney Carter won in a fantastic 1:07:17 and it was great to see Tina Major come out after having a baby 16 weeks ago and win in 1:24:25.

Here are some photos including the top 5 men and women and some of Kim's sub-4 bus.

Something new under the sun...

It's often said that there's nothing new under the sun ; I happened across this link on the SMH homepage - have a look. It's a re-touched time-lapse video of the Botany Bay container terminal at work, which doesn't sound all that exciting, but it's quite beautiful and fascinating, and it kept my attention for the whole 3:23... looks great in fullscreen.

Bathtub V from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Back to running, I decided until the wind reached it's peak before setting out for a 12.2km Attadale run. The Melville Water wind reading was average WSW54, gusting to 83km/h which made parts of it quite interesting. At times I found it a little hard to breathe as the crosswind almost sucked the air out of my lungs and occasionally I was being lifted off my feet and felt like I wasn't moving forward at all! The river was pretty wild with waves crashing against the bank and under the Pt. Majestic boardwalk, and across the water I could see the spray from said waves showering the cars on the freeway. I love being out in this!

The headwind in a few sections work made my glutes etc. work pretty hard, and they were a little uncomfortable, but once I turned around it was a lot easier, and I got into a good stride and felt like I was, for the first time in a very long time, gliding along rather than working the clumpy stride that I've been doing of late. All in all, very happy with it and managed some good fartlek. Average pace 4:33, HR 163.

Brüno

Had a nice run this morning on home turf - 9.8km at an average of 4:28 pace. It was more of a progression or build run and was quite enjoyable except for the alarming HR (172!). I was chopping along quite nicely breathing pretty easily and the HR was already in the 160's - the disconnect was such that I almost blame technical malfunction. To be honest I did get a little tired at the end but I was doing around 3:45 up a hill... I get a new HRmax though - 193! Felt a little nauseous once finished, a little like after a tough rep at intervals... a good run though, and once again there were times when i forgot about the sore glutes.

Cycled up to Challenge to see my trusty physio who duly obliged me by sticking some large needles into my glutes. The consensus seems to be that I'm getting over this thing now and my visits will be less frequent from now on.

Cycled back (of course), and as I was leaving I got stuck behind a bus with Brüno's waxed and shapely arse in my face for a little too long - queasy for the second time today... it's just not right...

Follow this link if you don't know what I'm on about..... Brüno movie poster

Two days, two runs

On Sunday Kim & co had a stretch session in East Perth, and, not being overly tempted, I set off on a short easy run to the Causeway, over the Windan and back for 6.92km at 4:43, HR 158. HR was high and I felt a little fatigued from the previous day's bike session but, in an encouraging sign, for a few brief periods (and I mean brief) I actually forgot about the glute niggle.

Monday morning Kim was meeting the crew at NextGeneration in King's Park so I tagged along and did a nice run through the park with a bit of fartlek thrown in when I felt good. 9k at 4:29, HR 161. The whole hip area (both sides) was feeling a little niggly so I'm going to take a day or two off to let the body recover. It's been a fairly big few days - three runs and a relatively hard bike ride but I am starting to feel a little more normal, less pained and have had a couple of good-ish runs in the last two weeks.

Things seem at last to be heading in the right direction.

Free(way) ride

Did a nice long ride this morning in pretty frigid conditions. This time I was better prepared with my running gloves and Under-Armour Coldgear base layer, last used while skiing in -20°C conditions. I was concerned I would overheat - I needn't have worried.... I do need to work something out for my feet though ; I lost feeling in my toes after about 20 minutes and only got it back while eating breakfast three hours later.

Cycled from home south on the freeway bike path to Mundijong Rd (33km) - a brief pause for a Choccie Gel, and then returned back up the path to meet Kim and the gang at Zamia's Cafe in King's Park for a total of just over 78km at an average of 30.5km/h, average HR 143 - 2:36 of effort. I really enjoyed this - I was leery of using the freeway path, but once I got past Leach Highway it was plain sailing on a very good quality track. It also didn't feel like it was next to the freeway - it's quite well sheltered from it. It's also a nice rolling course so not too boring for the legs - map.

Followed up with a nice breakfast and coffee or two at Zamia. Lovely way to spend a morning. Now I just need my training partner back....

A corner turned

Did a 12.15 km run (4:37 pace HR 163) this morning in lovely conditions - no anti-inflammatory and more what I would call niggly stuff happening in the glutes rather than pain. The pain at the front of the hip has gone (hooray!) and apart from the first few minutes of slightly ginger foot placing on the left side I am running more normally now. Longest run since the marathon after only one rest day. The HR was high for the pace, although I did do one or two faster K's, but it's been a fairly tough week and it was a definite improvement on Wednesday.

On another note, we had some whacky and noisy visitors in our street yesterday morning...

Black Cockatoo Visit - June 11 2009

Good run today..

Rode up to Mends St this morning to meet Sandgroper for a 10.43 km trot around the bridges - around 4:43 pace, HR 166 (!). Forgot to take my anti-inflamatory which is probably a good thing, because although I was a little tender to start it seemed to settle down after a few k's. Going downhill was still a little 'mincey' but going around right handers is now a lot easier. The good company made the run go fairly quickly (including news of SG's coach going 7:48 in the Gold Coast 100km - 3rd fastest all-time Australian woman, missing the record by 8 minutes - not a bad debut), although it still seemed a long way. It's funny because it wasn't that long a go that I wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than 10k! When finished we did a bit of a stretch and then I rode home. It was a good warmup and cooldown I reckon, and because I'm running so little, I figure adding something to these sessions isn't a bad thing. My HR was high on the run but I certainly didn't feel too bad at all, so it was a little surprising.

Now the proud owner of ...

Lake Monger 10K

Yes - an entry about running! I ran the Lake Monger 10K today - it was beautiful conditions for it and there was a pretty decent turnout. I just wanted to go comfortably today and not feel any pain so in that respect it was mission accomplished. I was averaging around 3:58 for the first 6k and picked it up a bit on the last lap - 4k in 15:12 - 3:48 pace)- I finished in 39:06 which I was very happy with. I had a guy drafting me the whole way and he tried to take me with about 500m to go - sorry, that's just rude, blue Sports Fever 2xu shirted man (and don't try to shove past in the finishing chute either !)....

Some more pictures : Lake Monger 10K Album

Hills

Had a good ride this morning while Kim and the gang did their 38k long run in the leadup to Perth - which they all finished successfully and unbroken... I went from Darlington up to Mundaring on Thomas Road and followed Mundaring Wier Road to Kalamunda, stopped for coffee, and headed back. It was extremely cold this morning and I was exceedingly uncomfortable in the descent from Mundaring into the fog around the Mundaring Wier - I had to stop for a bit at the roundabout by Jacoby Park just to thaw out. I definitely know a bit more about wind-chill now than I did yesterday. That said, it was a really good, tough, challenging ride - 72km with nearly 1200m of ascent. I did it in 2:43 with an average HR of 140. More like an interval session than a solid effort - there are essentially three big hills on the way with the climb from the Wier to Hackett's Gully the toughest.

Had two great experiences ; as with the ride down in Denmark, this time I found myself cycling in the middle of a block of white tailed black cockatoos - in Denmark it was the red tailed variety. Fantastic! Almost better, my new preferred mid-workout recovery snack - a Chocolate Outrage Gu washed down with a large long mac. Mmmmm....

Not so great today

Tried running again today after only a day's rest. Did not feel great today, a bit sore and tired and unenthusiastic - still I ran just shy of 8k in 35:14 at 4:26 at an average HR of 166. The injury, whatever it is does, seem a little up and down - I went for physio again today and got some new exercises and some needles. Felt pretty sore for the rest of the day. Also saw Darren at Peak Podiatry - it looks like I'm using my whole upper back to compensate for the bung leg - I suspect this is a temporary arrangement rather than a habit I have got into. Booked a massage at Ascend for Friday after the last one with KD was cancelled due to his shoulder injury - may he get well soon.

May not run again until the 10K at Lake Monger this Sunday and do it as a tempo effort - see if I can run it in 40 minutes. I'll start with that aim and see how it goes. I'm not running that often that I can't try to make every session a 'quality' effort ... I'll get on the bike again for a couple of decent rides in the days to come.

I've had a fab couple of days trying to resurrect my PC after it got infected with a virus and the software used to repair it screwed it up so badly that I had to do a complete reinstall of the OS.

Elleker HM Trip

Went down south for a few days to support Kim and others in the Elleker half marathon. Managed to get a good bike ride and run in while down there. Did a 66km bike ride from Hallowell Springs where we stayed on Friday up and around the Scotsdale tourist drive to the Bibbulmun Cafe (34km) where I met Kim for a jumbo coffee and a muffin before heading off to our accomodation in Torbay which was another 32km. It was a pretty tough ride and I averaged about 28km/h and the HR average was 145 the whole thing. Route is here.

On the Sunday I went down to Elleker to support Kim, Claire, Jo, Kate, and quite a few WAMC members. Kim had a good run and clocked a 2 minute PB, Jo went very well with a 1:35:20 running her first half for 16 years! Claire had a good run too (she only ran London marathon 5 weeks ago) and Kate clocked a big PB as well. A very successful day in all.

On Monday a tried going out for a run on my standard cup of green tea and a Voltaren Rapid 25. The HR was a lot better and I actually managed about 3.5km of tempo ! I felt pretty good in that part of it - I knew I'd pay for it later whether I went faster or not, so gave it a go. Best run I've had for nearly two months. Hopefully this is the start of a new chapter....