The Horrie and Belinda Show

That is where my training has taken me since I last posted. Here is how I got there.

1/2/07

Today we had 2 laps of the lake followed by a short recovery and then another 2 laps of the lake. As most were racing at Lane Cove a couple of days later, there weren't too many having a dig. So I found myself chasing Wine Trail Runner, which meant that the pace was firm. Finished the first 2 laps in a PB time of 11:25. After the recovery I checked with WTR if he was doing 2 laps again because Sean had given the option of a 1 lap finish. When he said he was doing another 2 laps, I decided to dig deeper to try and stay in touch with him on the second lap. This worked well for me as I was able to go past Neil (who usually finishes ahead of me) on the second lap and lower my newly established PB by another 15 seconds to finish in 11:10.

2/2/07

The usual recovery 30 minute Friday run and felt very comfortable running 6.2km at an average of 4:50/km in the half hour.

3/2/07

Due to Little Athletics commitments I had to give Lane Cove a miss. I decided to run my Coogee-Clovelly hills circuit again and was happy to take a minute off the previous week's time to finish it in around 67:30.

4/2/07

As I had 90 minutes on the program, I decided to run to Coogee and back again. A very humid morning meant that I backed off a bit and finished it in 97:30.

5/2/07

Today I had an hour on the program so I managed just over 12km at an average just below 5 mins/km.

6/2/07

We had the long rep session again. 2x3km and a 1km to finish off with 4 minute jog recoveries between each one. I was happy to head out on 4 min/km pace and sat just behind Blue Dog until he upped the ante on the last km and took us through a bit quicker to finish the first rep in 11:53. I was hoping to be able to run the second 3km in under 12 as well. Went through the first km just under 4 with Blue Dog chasing Peter a bit further ahead. I goofed off a bit on the second km which meant a slower 4:05 before I finished off with another 3:59 to finish the second 3km rep in 12:04. Sean then issued the challenge and wanted everybody to make their last 1km rep quicker than their previous longer reps. The challenge was met with everybody charging off and giving their all. I was happy to finish the last km in 3:46.

7/2/07

Another 90 minutes on the program again saw me running to Coogee and back. With weather conditions a bit more favourable, I was able to run a bit quicker than Sunday to finish 4 minutes quicker.

8/2/07

Today we had 10 Wild Walters which is a shortened version of his bigger brother Wild Wally. A 420m circuit which sees us charging uphill to begin before trying to hold the pace along a flat section at the top before charging downill to finish it off. I was very happy to hold a good consistent fast pace and finished with an average of 89 for each rep. Splits were 87,87,87,90,90,90,89,90,91 and 88.

9/2/07

I decided to forgo the easier half hour recovery run that is scheduled for Friday to venture over to the last run of Colin's Summer Series. I decided to run the 5km and was hoping to get closer to 20 minutes than I did the last time I did it (20:45). I was happy to actually do even better to finish in 19:38 with splits of 3:43,3:52,4:01,4:03 and 3:58.

10/2/07

I again hit my Coogee-Clovelly hills circuit and managed to again run a minute quicker than the week before so the hill work is definitely starting to pay dividends.

11/2/07

As I could not make it to the Megalong Mega the week before, I jumped at the chance to join 2p and 8 others for a run from the Deviation to Cox's River and back. We set off just before 8.30 in misty conditions with a bit of drizzle about. This was a relief as we prepared for the hot conditions of the previous weeks' runs. We set off at a nice comfortable pace before gradually building it up gradually to arrive at the Pluviometer in 48 minutes. We had a quick stop here to wait for the runners bringing up the rear and a photo opportunity before charging off down the descents. As there was a bit of rain about, the track had a bit more grip than it did when I ran 12 Foot 5 months ago. This allowed us to hurtle down at a good clip and with my newish Salomon trail shoes, I felt a lot more comfortable than last time. Just over an hour later we were at Cox's River where we regrouped, had a bit to eat, while some refilled camelbaks before heading back up the big climbs. Will and I were a bit tardy getting organised and before we knew it, everybody had taken off. We ran at a steady pace until we caught up with Ine, 2p and Go Girl and decided to walk once we caught up with them. Go Girl, Will and I eased away from Ine and 2p as the climbs started to get a little steeper. Then Will with his French hiking experience soon opened up a big gap on GG and I and was soon out of sight. GG and I stuck together and ran some of the smaller climbs. We also stretched out nicely going through the cattle yards and were soon at the Mini Mini saddle. We again stretched out nicely to Alum Creek, passing Will along the way. Then it was the brutal climb to the Pluviometer which does not get any easier, no matter how many times I do it. As we neared the final climbs, Will had caught up again with his strong uphill hiking. We reached the Pluviometer with a 1:40 split from Cox's River and I told Go Girl that she would not be doing it much quicker on race day. Another quick stop for a quick bite to eat and a drink and then it was time to tackle the Black Range. Will had already warned us that he would not be able to stay with us along the Black Range as due to only recently returning to running, he was going to include quite a few walk breaks. GG and I just cruised along, walking the steeper inclines and feeling quite comfortable. Then with about 5km to go, GG started to have some issues with Plantar Fascitis. We stayed together until she decided to have an extended walk break with less than 3km to go. I pushed on and was able to catch Kai Li who had bonked after being too aggressive on the climbs to Pluvio. I finally reached the Deviation campground with an hour split from Pluvio to give me a running time of just over 4 and a half hours for what the garmin measured at 38.2km. I was happy with how I felt and did not feel in the slightest bit of discomfort.

12/2/07

Another hour on the program today and was happy to cruise 11.7km in just over the hour.

13/2/07

Today we had a 4 lap of the lake TT, which is a distance approximately 5.6km. My PB for this TT was 23:28 prior to the Coastal Classic. I wasn't sure how I was going to go after some big mileage on the weekend. I settled in behind Blue Dog, Wine Trail Runner and a fellow called Neil. We covered the first lap in 5:47 and it felt comfortable. On the second lap the boys started to crank it up a bit and I was struggling to hang on. A 5:42 second lap had me on target for a 23 minute finish. On the third lap the boys started to crank it up a bit more and I was starting to feel the pinch and dropped off the back. I could feel my pace had dropped and this was confirmed with a 5:49 lap. Sean challenged me to get back onto the tail of the group. At first I didn't think I could but I just concentrated on staying relaxed and keeping my stride long. This made me feel good and I could sense that I was starting to take some ground off Neil who had also dropped off the back of BD and WTR. Another couple of hundred metres and I was now really starting to close the gap. Then with about 600m to go I put in a concerted surge and was able to go past him and open up the stride the best I could. This enabled me to pull off a 5:43 final lap and give me an overall time of 23:03 for a 25 second PB. Next time I will be shooting for a sub 23.

There is some good news from Belinda with her calf improving steadily. After swimming and walking for the last week or two she was able to go for her first run since breaking down and ran at 6:30/km pace for just under half an hour without any pain from the calf. The hamstrings were tight and the fitness had deserted her but she was happy to be running again.