Dr Phil's Training Diary

Kanangra Classic 100km Race Report

2011-10-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Kanangra Classic 100km Mountain Bike Race. 16th October 2011. The day was off to a slightly awkward start with some fun and games driving into the race start, as I miscalculated a creek crossing and managed to get the Landcruiser stuck, leaving a long line of anxious competitors queuing to get in for close to 20 minutes and one disgruntled NPWS ranger. Ooops. Lucky we left at 4 and not 4:30am hey Ben Artup? The obligatory queue at the port-a-loos made for some more awkward anxiousness. The race started very quick, and got faster along the 11km of road before the firetrail began. Definitely the longest run in I’ve ever ridden. I never managed to bridge the riders at the front who quickly started working together, one by one those that couldn’t hold on dropped off the back. I counted 2 cyclocross riders and 1 Surly Fat-tyre beast who passed me along the road. By the time I reached the fire trail, I was in about 7th position. I passed Sleep Train on the back side of a creek crossing followed by a steep and muddy ascent around the same time as I picked up cyclocross #2 as he struggled on the descents. We would yo-yo as he climbed quicker and set a good pace on the flat (there wasn’t much of this at this stage). This first FT section had quite a lot of climbing, broken up with some steep and at times not very well-defined downhill trails with plenty of drainage lips to keep you on your toes and behind the saddle. I thoroughly enjoyed these. Quite often at the bottom you would find yourself crossing a cold creek of uncertain depth. We arrived at the first major intersection as we had to navigate our way on to what was called the “inner loop”. At this point Cyclocross #2 and I joined up with Specialized S-works Stumpjumper #1 (Mike Hernan) who was unsure of which way to go. Presented with 3 options and no marshals at the aid station at this stage, after some discussion we took off in what appeared to be the right direction. Chatting along we reached the conclusion that we were probably first out of the 100km riders, as Mike was under the impression the guys up front were 50km riders. The pace they were setting up till the inner loop intersection was quick. The trail climbed gradually back up to the road, passed the second aid station, and then doubled back along mostly hard-packed dirt road. I had managed to put a hundred metres or so in to Mike climbing up to the road, which he promptly caught back up along the return on the faster road surface. We stayed together for the most part until we reached the finish of the first lap and had to pass through timing. We were told we were second and third placed 100km riders, and that first was just ahead of us. Mike picked up some more water as I kept moving, coming back on to the road with about 300m on him. First place was in sight about 500km up the road. Again Mike caught me about 1.5km short of the first turn on to the FT section. First place was not in sight at this stage. We almost missed the turn off, as Mike was concentrating on the road, and I was concentrating on his wheel in front. I gave him a shout as I took the turn, I would have felt bad if I’d let him ride on past while I took off. Again we climbed and descended along the FT. It was certainly a little trickier to climb the steep section after the creek crossing this time, as it was considerably muddier. I couldn’t get any traction in the back and had to jump off. Mike would have made it up, but got stuck behind me. We ran up the hill and jumped on again. At the next turn-off at the top of the climb, I had maybe 20m on Mike and decided I had to go now if I was going to stay away this time. He was a little cautious descending, so I knew I could pull away. We passed first place half way down the hill who had apparently suffered a flat tyre. A quick call of “you alright mate?” as I passed, and confirmation that he wasn’t in need of any medical attention and it was down and across another creek. I managed to look back over my shoulder and saw Mike not far behind as he crossed the creek. Head down I put the hammer down and tried to get out of sight quickly. I pulled away from Mike slightly and would catch glimpses of him on the long straight sections, each time just that little further behind. Buoyed by this and the fact that I (thought I) was in the lead, every time I started to fatigue or battled up a hill I would remind myself that I could in fact do this. I could pull away and put some more time in to Mike. As I knew I could climb a little quicker than Mike on the longer climbs I had to keep the pace up the whole way back along the first section of the inner loop. A quick collection of a cup of jelly beans at the aid station before the road caught the marshall by surprise. I don’t think he was expecting a rider to take the cup from his hands without stopping. I thought I was out of gels, and still had about 12km to ride at this point. Two mouthfuls of jelly beans down and I was about to head back along the inner loop road section, when the volunteer at this point directed me to keep going straight along the road and out to the far turn-off. This didn’t make a lot of sense, and wasn’t what I was prepared for, so I backed myself and told him he had it wrong. As I swung back around, I heard him comment he probably better look at the map again. I wasn’t going to wait around while he worked it out for himself and Mike caught me back up, so I put the hammer down and tried to keep the pace up. This section Mike had caught me up last time, so I got as flat as I could on the bars and kept the legs turning. A few quick glances back reassured me as I couldn’t see Mike. I passed a few guys who were about to head on to the inner loop as I took every corner as quickly as I could. The marshals cheered me on as I took the sweeping right hander before dropping down to the deepest and widest creek crossing of the whole race. The road down to the creek was fairly steep and eroded, and I was approaching it too quickly. Momentum carried me right down the middle of the road, where there was some deep ruts, and I had visions of me heading straight over the bars and head first in to the creek. Some quick maneuvering and a few expletives later I was still on the bike. The first time around we carried our bikes across, but this time I was prepared to cross it on the bike, as I could avoid the deepest section. Making it through safely I was back on the gas again, trying to stay out of Mike’s sights, thinking he was just around the corner behind me. I knew if he caught sight of me he would find that kick he needed, and the last section to go had too many flat sections for my liking. I was of course experiencing mixed emotions about this, as my legs were fatigued and the climbing wasn’t easy. Every time the legs protested I told them Mike’s were probably doing it tougher as he was likely 10kg heavier than me. They quietened up and got on with the job at hand. The last FT section back up to the road felt about twice as long as it did the first time, and I was getting a little worried. A few times the inside of my hamstring almost cramped up, and I was worried that if it did cramp up I would have to stop and stretch it out. I took it easy on the climbs and was careful not to bump the inside of my thigh against the saddle, as this would almost set the cramp off each time. A few more creek crossings some short climbs, and mostly undulating gentle climbs took me up the road finally. It was on like Donky Kong for the short 2km section of road back to the entry into the campground and perhaps the worst section of the entire course, as I made the very short climb across a bumpy paddock to the finish line. There were no finish line celebrations planned, as I was a little tired, but as I crossed and the commentator called “Well done Dr Phil, second across the line in the 100km” or something like that, I was a little surprised. The last 25km I had battled through the cramps and fatigue simply because I believed I was winning. And that was all the motivation I needed. To discover that I had done so under a false assumption made me just a little embarrassed, but I hid it well. Ben and Rod were quick to congratulate me and fill me in on the controversy of the circumstances in which the first guy had finished. Apparently he had been directed the wrong way at the start of the second lap, doing the inner loop earlier before he went out to the far turn-off. He had apparently also missed the section back into the campground on his first lap, and so was informed he still had a lap to go by timing. After some brief discussions it was decided he would need to ride back to the road in order to ride the total distance of the race, before he could finish. He managed to do this, and was still home a good 5 minutes before I came in. Either way, rules or not, I presume he completed the total distance and did so in a quicker time than I did. He was most certainly a better rider than I was, and for that he has my respect. I was happy to be informed that the race organisers had decided to award the win to both of us. To be honest it didn’t matter. I was pleased I had a good race and had given it everything I had. I’m not so accustomed to winning now that I get disappointed with anything less than victory. All in all, the inaugural Kanangra Classic 100km was a fast and flowing race with undulating firetrails and hard-packed dirt road. Just enough steep rugged descents to keep the cyclocross guys occupied, and enough climbing to give the roadies a bit of trouble. The pace was set from the start and it came down to a battle to hold on to that pace over the entire race. Well done to Sean, Mel and Jo and the rest of the Mountain Sports Crew for a professionally organised race. Hats off to Jono and Priscilla at JP Photography for a long day at the office and some great photos.

2010-12-19T03:54:00.000-08:00

Last blog entry was over a month ago.

In the time since my training has been up and down.
4 weeks ago my wife and I welcomed our latest (and third) little girl, Abigail Charlie.
I mention this as if it has been my achievement, however whilst it makes me incredibly proud to have yet another healthy child, I cannot claim ANY of the credit for the work that was involved in bringing her into this world. Nor can I use this event as an excuse for why training has been up and down. That is mostly a result of the ebb and flow that is my motivational level for anything associated with training.

The fact is that I don't really have a goal, well not an immediate goal. One of the problems of completing Ironman early in the year is that in my mind nothing is as tough as I had thought Ironman would be. Therefore my inherent laziness tends to win when a decision needs to be made to get out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5:30am rather than turn it off and roll over (after the obligatory 30 minutes of snooze-ing that must infuriate my wife).

Despite this I have had some spurts of inspiration where I have managed to cram in some decent training sessions. What tends to happen though, is that I know in the back of my mind that this inspiration will not last and that I need to make the most of it while I can, which invariably causes me to overtrain which tends to leave me exhausted and unable to do anything for the next 3 or 4 days until I repeat this process again. I know this is how injuries happen, so hopefully some more reasonable thinking can prevail in the new year.

I am looking forward to Christmas and the relative holidays that come with it. They generally mean a good balance of over indulgence and guilt-driven runs or rides squeezed in between.

I have made an impulsive purchase since my last blog, picking myself up a new road bike. A specialised tarmac expert to be precise. I'm not one for detail, so you would be lucky if I could tell you what group set it has. Key points to know are that it is a good bike at a good price. It allows me to race at the criteriums and other road races, which in themselves are really just a motivation to get out and train. I have been enjoying the criteriums, despite not placing. I tend to approach these wanting to get a more complete training session out of the ride, as opposed to 56 minutes of sitting on someone elses wheel and 4 minutes of hard riding. If I wanted that I would go for a ride with The Animal. That isn't true, or if it is, it is more the fact that when I am on the front I don't keep a steady pace, which The Animal generally ignores and drops back to his inexorable pace.

Yesterday was a lesson in how not to increase training levels slowly, following the principles of periodisation. After 3 consecutive weekends of a long run of no more than 20 km (and very little running in between each weekend), I decided to throw in two ~20km runs with a 1.5 hour road ride up to Katoomba in between. The result was a rather embarrasing first run in the Running Wild series. I use the word run very loosely in this case. In fact, about as loose as my bowel motions were following the run. Enough detail for you? Needless to say, I enjoyed revisiting the emotional torment that is the return leg along Narrow Neck Plateau. Where you feel physically exhausted, just want to get to where you are going, question why you even do this stuff anyway (it's not like you're good at it) and vow to never put yourself in a similar situation again in your life. I don't feel so bad today. I have a few days to rest until I do the same thing again next weekend.

More has happened in the preceding weeks, but it isn't very exciting.

At this stage I am on the waiting list for both the 6 Foot Track and North Face 100 running races. I think I am in position 98 out of 103 on the 6ft Novice Waiting List, which means there is a good chance I won't race. To be honest, that doesn't bother me. I will probably participate in as much of the training as I can anyway, and being on the list serves much the same purpose as actually being entered, in that it is a source of motivation to go and train. I have entered into Huskisson Long Course, and am quite excited about the prospect of racing back at Husky. I had a good time last year as a result of being the fittest I have ever been and at my peak in the lead up to Ironman. I won't be at the same level next year but I will enjoy the experience nonetheless. There is the possibility that if I get in to 6FT, I will be participating in the inaugural 6ft-Husky double endurance spectacular extravaganza never-to-be-repeated everything-must-go weekend of fun and frivolity. In which case I will have a suitable excuse of why I don't perform as well as last year for Husky.

Hopefully these blogs will become more regular and can reflect the same in my training exploits.

Till next time,

Dr Phil

Nepean Triathlon - pleasant shock to the system

2010-11-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

Nepean on Sunday just gone was a pleasant experience. Great to be racing again, as the last triathlon was Port in March. Thinking back I don't know what I managed to do in such a long period of time, but I do know it wasn't very much training. Suffice to say my time on Sunday wasn't quick. About 5 one hundredths of a second behind mr scam himself in 1:53:12 or thereabouts. Had I known I'd like to think it would be a different story, but alas this is the way it goes with staged starts.

A very brief race report for me:

Slow swim, standing up in just over 16min and crossing the mats in 16:59. I was comfortable the entire swim, managing to maintain a 3-stroke alternate breath rhythm that is usually only reserved for in the pool. This indicates I wasn't pushing it very hard though, as usually my heart rate and therefore breathing rate would be too high to manage 3-strokes/breath. A conservative start to the day, which to be honest wasn't such a bad way to approach the race on the back of little training.

Once on the bike the first lap was slow. There was only ladies from the previous wave that I was overtaking, as most of the guys in my wave were out in front and I wasn't putting any time in to them. 2 guys passed me, one of them I caught back half way through the second lap. Definately felt much more comfortable on the second lap. The quads and gluts had settled in and having some fluids on board helped. I think my time was around 51:20, which isn't to my usual standard.

On to the run and with a lot of doubt as to whether or not the foot would hold up I took it pretty easy. Getting through the first lap in over 25 minutes I decided to open the throttle a little and managed to bring home the second lap rather strong (for me) to finish in 44:52. This gives me a second lap of under 20 minutes, which for me and with my lack of running lately I'm pretty pleased with. It did feel good to run hard again, and picking up all the people that passed me on the first lap was satisfying.

Positives from the race was being able to settle in to a good pace for both the bike and run, the foot holding up and giving no problems at all (besides a few blisters), the heat not really getting to me and probably just the satisfaction of putting all three together after what feels like a long time. Finally found some motivation to get more intentional with training.

That afternoon after a birthday party over lunch at the rowing club in penrith and a very brief nap, headed out for 40 minutes or so running along Faulco Point FT. Happy to be able to back up, even if it was short.
Monday was supposed to be criterium racing at the regatta centre, which was called off due to rain, making monday a rest day. Tuesday am run was positive, although the hill out of sun valley is taking me more than a minute longer than it used to. Tuesday PM was a short but solid set in the pool with The Animal, followed by a short run out to Martin's LO and back. Wed am was a ride for about 1.5hrs with The Animal, however having to turn back before the bends to allow enough time to get to work.

Work commitments meant a late night wed and subsequent sleeping in thur am, missing the run. Was planning to ride down and do the run and ride back, even had my bag and clothes ready to go. Not terribly pleased with myself about the alarm, will have to start using the radio as well. Made up for it with a quick run around Shaws after work at about 8:30pm. This was an interesting experience as I haven't run it very much in the day light, so going there alone with a head torch at night was a little eerie. A bunch of sleeping cockatoos weren't pleased I interupted the slumber, needless to say they scared the bejebus out of me. Sounded like a Gorilla screaming through the canopy (pretty sure they don't hang out in trees though). This took me just over 44min, for about 8.5km. Not super quick but again, I managed to run pretty strong along the back half, feeling good to stretch the legs out and keep my HR up.

Plan is for an early swim down at the regatta centre to round off a pretty solid week and good quality start to training.
No triathlons for a while though, with Husky long course championships the next event in March. I think the plan is to do the 6-FT track/Husky Tri double as they are on the same weekend. Welsh Exchange Student and Scam have committed to the double, so it has now been documented and they cannot get out of it. Will be content to settle in to some 6FT training along with some triathlon training.

With 3rd little girl due next week however, it may be all over before it's begun!

Training resumed...again!

2010-09-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Well after a gung-ho start to the season over 2 weeks ago, I decided I needed a holiday. Off to Hamilton Island for some R&R for myself and the wife. Not much in the way of training took place in the Whitsundays I'm afraid, not for lack of options. I have decided these tropical resorts make great places for training camps. With plenty of glorious trails, no shortage of open water, buffet breakfasts and gym facilities, it is easy to imagine turning pro and going to live in tropical paradise paid for my someone else. If only it was as easy to actually be good enough to turn pro.
Nonetheless, 2 small walks, a 10 minute "swim" in the "exclusive" pool, and a 30 minute snorkel was about the only exercise I had over the 5 days. It was around this time last year I was training for Port Half. What I wouldn't give to be as fit as I was then.

Being back to normality for a few days, last weekend was a good chance to get some solid training done. Friday saw an easy ride around Hawkesbury Loop around midday, and a late night MTB along the Oaks. The original plan was to ride up and meet those runners coming down and head back to the car to get the esky out ready for the early runnners. Passed the early runners as expected, but failed to see the late starters where expected. Got to the gate at Woodford around 10:30 (after leaving at 9) where some other mtbikers informed me the train had stopped, and the runners won't be making it tonight. After a quick drink and pit-stop it was back in the saddle for the return journey. Reflecting on The Oaks ride: I would have to say on the trip up the second half is by far the most enjoyable as whilst there are more hills, it is undulating which gives you ample time to rest on the descents. The first half is just a constant grind sitting in the saddle working the gluts and calves. Whilst the first half of the return trip (Woodford to Glenbrook) is still undulating, it is not as enjoyable as the second half which is quick and easy descending fire trail followed by blissful single track.

Whilst I had plenty of time to make it back to the gate before midnight and have the beer ready, my plans were foiled by at first a chain issue, then a freak flat tyre, then another flat tyre. I had jinxed myself after the first flat, commenting that these things always come in 3's. I was grateful for the assistance of 2 complete strangers who were also riding down The Oaks, who at first had a multi tool that allowed me to fix the chain issue, then had some awesome tyre levers (trust me, there are tyre levers and then there are tyre levers!) to help with the first flat, then had a spare tube for the second flat. They were gracious to wait and help me on each occasion, which is more than I would have expected. I'm not sure what they thought of a guy heading out by himself at 9pm with no food or water for a 50km trail ride all dressed up in lycra.

After all that, I made it back about 15 minutes after 12 to open the car and get out the beer and chips everyone was eagerly awaiting. This was followed by about 2 hours of talking around a camp fire, just outside the National Park Gates, as we waited for those who were running the up and back option.

All up Friday was about 110km of cycling.

Up again on Saturday morning for what was supposed to be a longer ride up to Megalong Valley, but quickly became a slow and easy ride to Wentworth Falls and back. Back in time to head out to the Lakes to watch the Tri Club Race.

Sunday was up with the Kids to go and watch the start and finish of the inaugural race for the inaugural year of the running wild mtn running series in the Blue Mtns. Good to seem some good runs, great to see BMMC heavily represented with 4 in the top 6 and 2 on the podium. I will get in trouble for saying this, but it was kind of good to see someone else from outside of the mountains take it out.

Managed a pretty lazy swim with WES and ST on sunday.

Backed up again for another Swim monday, starting to feel less like a jelly fish in the pool now.

Resumption of training

2010-09-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

Finally, something worth blogging...

Back into the swing of things now, and ironically after finding out I probably shouldn't be running for 4-6 weeks.

The end of last week and the beginning of this week saw some good mileage done on the bike. Averaged about 80km/day over 4 days.

Friday was a wet and cold morning ride up to Wentworth Falls via Lawson (not that you can get to WWF without going through Lawson) to pick Mick up. Bad decision to ride to Physio appointment in those conditions as I became very cold after 30 minutes in wet clothes while Olly diagnosed a potential stress fracture/bone issue in the 5th metatarsal of my left foot. This has been giving me grief for the last 6-7 weeks since running 3 hours with Berro and Artup one weekend. Blame being firmly placed on a combination of the new Asics Trail Attacks (not providing the support the Kayano's do) and the complete lack of periodisation as I went from pretty much no running to a 30km haul around the lower blue mountains. Stress fracture yet to be determined by bone scan, however either way 6 weeks no running isn't going to hurt.

The motivation to return to training came with the registration for Nepean Triathlon, which is in November ( the weekend before Rach is due!). End of October I will hopefully start running, giving me 3 weeks to get runnning-fit. More motivation was provided by the purchase of the new Panthers Triathlon Club gear. I bought sizes that I fit into before Ironman, so I have some work to do if I intend to squeeze into them for Nepean.

Saturday was a little trip down (up would be more accurate) memory lane, as my Brother Tim and I headed out to tango with Lady Bellbird. Just under 15km of almost constant climbing, with some very painful sections towards the end. Mixed emotions as we headed up: the humility and self loathing as my brother pulled away from me mixed with the satisfaction of knowing that I used to be fit enough to attack this hill and still have the gas to get around Bells Line. This is another source of motivation as I so desperately want to be there again.

Sunday was a relatively late start as Tim and I, accompanied by Dylan, headed out on what was supposed to be an LSD. Decided to visit a loop that Mr Edwards took me on in the lead up to the heavy training before Ironman. It was during the build phase where Tim was struggling to impress upon me the importance of actually doing an LSD slowly. It was an unfamiliar concept to me. Needless to say, without The Animal's discipline we were soon time trialing along The Northern Road with a nice cross wind to contend with averaging in the high 30s. This loop avoids the hills of cobbity and silverdale, instead heading left along bringelly rd up to the M7 bike path and back home along the M4. The M7 bike path and M4 were terrible, as there was a very strong westerly for most of Sunday.

Monday was an enjoyable return to the morning rides that formed the bulk of the weekly bike training before Ironman, as I headed out alone down to Yarramundi and back, struggling up the windies. I think I had a smile the whole way, despite the cold, as I listened to Birds of Tokyo as the clouds lifted out off the plains. Was a good deal slower than I remember this ride to take. Headed out again that night with The Fat Kiwi to the lookout and back, feeling surprisingly fine.

Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days, and Thursday saw a late night foray with the new Ay Ups around Yarramundi Mtb Track with Tim. Enjoyed putting the Ay Ups through their paces as we struggled on the technical sections with the shadows playing peek-a-boo with some poorly placed rocks and logs. Temperature was ideal at that time of the night, and the track was surpisingly dry after the day of light patchy rain. Thoroughly enjoyed getting back on the MTB, so much so I have 'borrowed'the bike off Tim as I intend to train up for a 100km race late September. For anyone interested in dusting off the MTB and getting the Ay Ups out, I am planning a few more late night MTB rides up and down the oaks.

Which brings me to now, where I felt like I had achieved enough to warrant spending 45 minutes blogging about it. Heading off to Hamilton Island next week for a 'conference'. I wonder if snorkeling counts as swimming training?

Until next time...

Happy and Safe training,

Dr Phil

BMMC End of Season Trip

2010-06-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, something to blog about...

Well, the BMMC end of season camping trip has delivered on its promise for adventure, challenge, mateship and fascinating scenery in the glorious Blue Mountains. The route was set to take in 3 of the largest mountains in the Kanangra Boyd National Park south-west of the Blue Mountains.

Day One:
Headed out along Narrow Neck with The Animal, Welsh Exchange Student, Sleep Train, LL2, King Donges, Wild Bore (Ben Orr), The Physio and Terry Donges. We are joined at the top of Taro's Ladder by experienced bushwalkers Nick and Kim. Things weren’t going well for me, already having to dress a blister the size of a twenty cent piece on my heel with 20km still to walk today. Once off the ladder we head down the spur and across to The Cox's River via Mobbs Swamp, Wild Dogs Range and Yellow Pup. A relatively uneventful day finished with 2 river crossings as we made our way to Kanagaroo clearing, situated between The Coxs River and Whalania Creek. As the sun was going down and the temperature falling fast we built a fire and set up our respective sleeping aparati and settled in to some dinner. Many accounts of various adventures gone by were shared, most in disagreement with each other. Sleep Train did his best to prepare all of us for the day that lay ahead by sharing stories of previous attempts with the near-mythological 'Donny', member of the SAS and frequent partner-in-crime with Sleep Train on his countless exploits. With a 5am start to a very long day, we all hit the sack early.

Day Two:

Begins dark and cold at about 4:15am with a nudge from Sleep Train, final preparations were needed before heading out at 5am. The route for today would follow a slight variation of the reverse route taken by most when attempting the infamous 'Three Peaks' (more info can be found at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~aburke/3Peaks/index.htm). This would take us up Mt Guouogang, then Mt Paralyser and finishing with Mt Cloudmaker. A party of 6 headed out shortly after 5: Sleep Train, The Animal, WES, Nick, Olly and Myself; with the Wild Bore having to make a difficult decision to abort the trip due to a nasty blister. In retrospect, climbing Guouogang in the dark is a sensible decision, if only for the simple fact that you cannot see anything outside of the halo of light projected from your head torch and those in front, and so you simply keep walking oblivious to the enormity of what lies ahead. It was truly spectacular having the sun rise behind us, lighting up the valleys and mountains either side of us as the eery star-lit skyline is replaced by the peaceful dawn. As the day is changing around us, we continue the inexorable climb up the behemeth Guouogang. The pace set up the front by Sleep Train and Olly can only be described as calf-burning. We managed to summit after about 2.5 hrs, push through some dense scrub to find the cairn and accompanying log-books and have a bite to eat before making our way down to Whalania Creek. If I am honest I would say there was atleast 3-4 occasions climbing up Guouogang where I had convinced myself that I would return back down to the campsite, believing that either my blisters would cause too much pain or I would fatigue well before the end of the walk. My pride would only allow me to return if someone else had decided to also return because it would only be safe for us to stay with at least another. However, when the question was asked about who would return back to camp, no one came forward. Thus, with my pride to keep me company we headed out at 8am for the descent. After some tricky navigation work we zigged and zagged back onto the correct spur that gave spectacular views of the surrounding hills. I enjoyed the downhill as it allowed my heels a break and was more technical than exhausting. During the final stages of the descent we managed to lose James and Tim, who deep in conversation veered further left and hit the creek a few hundred metres below us. This slight error made crossing the creek more difficult for them, as the creek was wider and they couldn't easily get up to where we were due to a 5 m waterfall. After refilling our water and having something to eat we started the tough ascent up Mt Paralyser. The climbing was very steep and the terrain loose, which made the going slow. Eventually we made it onto a spur that was walkable, bringing us up to the top of Paralyser. The way up allowed a fantastic view of the spur that we had descended from Guouogang. At this stage Olly and I had moved ahead too far and continued unknowingly off Paralyser on our way up to Mt Cyclops. 20 minutes later when the others had not caught us, we decided to consult the map and after realising we had probably gone too far headed back to find the others enjoying lunch at the cairn signifying the top of Paralyser. After a quick bite, we made our way down to Kanangra Creek, this time crossing together. The descent took us through some vary narrow sections over rocky outcrops with steep drops either side. A pack of dingos, from which the Wild Dog Range is named, serenaded us with their howling across the valley. Again a brief stop at the creek for water and some food, before a steep climb up to a spur that would take us up to Mt Stormbreaker. Reaching Stormbreaker would bring us onto a bushwalking path along the ridgeline up to Mt Cloudmaker. This path is part of the popular Kanangra to Katoomba walk that I did a year and a half before. Everyone was looking forward to this as it meant the hardest part of the walk was behind us. After climbing up Rip, Rap and Roar, the three knolls that bring you up to Cloudmaker, we managed to find the 3rd and final cairn and log-book. After a short break we headed off for the final leg down into Dex Creek and along to Mt Strongleg with the light fading quickly. Sleep Train was not confident of our ability to navigate this section in the dark, given that he has managed to get lost in the same area in the light. Needless to say, we managed to veer off the fading track, losing all sense of direction with no land markings visible in the dark. Some good navigation and keen eyes from James brought us back onto the track. After what seemed like an eternity we were heading down to the Cox's River where we would cross Whalania Ck (meaning shoes off and aching cold) for the last time and head up to the Campsite. We were back at the campsite at about 11pm, making the total time 19 hours. A bite to eat, change in to some warm clean clothes and its off to bed for a proper nights sleep.

Day Three:

A sleep in allowed, rising at around 6:30am for some breakfast of Porridge and some time to tend to my feet. Yesterdays walk had taken its toll on my soft little feet. The blister that started on Narrow neck had worsened, and new hot-spots had developed on both big toes and little toes (from the downhill sections) and the ball of my left foot had a nice blister. Copious amounts of tape were employed to dull the sensitive parts and reduce the rubbing. Once everyone was up, fed and packed to go we headed out to make our way across the Coxs and up Yellow Pup. Climbing Yellow Pup was much harder than I remembered, taking just over 1hr5min. A break at the top before moving on over the Wild Dog Range and down in to Mobbs Swamp for lunch. Sleep Train and I made good time, passing the advanced party of Terry, LL2 and King Donges at the foot of Mt Derbert, pushing on to the top of Taros for a well-earned rest and bite to eat. The others weren’t far behind, and soon all of us were moving on up to the fire trail that would take us the final 10 km back to the cars. This is by far the most trying part of the whole walk, not physically but mentally. We are all exhausted, have sore feet and just want to stop. After seeing the writing in the sand left by Ben and Kel, tempting us with offers of Tim Tams, I was determined to pick the pace up. The whole way back along Narrow Neck I was trying to remember the sections of the trail that still remained, anticipating the bends and rises yet to come. This proved fruitless, as inevitably my recollection is only ever partial, skipping over large sections of trail in my mind only to round a bend or climb a rise to see more trail in front. By the end of the trail my feet were impossibly sore, my knees were stiff, my shoulder sore, quads quivering and getting very cold. A police chopper kept me company over the last 3 km, obviously looking for some lost walkers or climbers. This was a good reminder that there were others doing it tougher than I was, and that I should harden up and keep walking.

We arrived back at the cars at around 5pm, with the light fading and the temperature falling fast. Everyone was safe, and everyone was sore. The inaugural BMMC annual end of season camping trip had concluded, a success on all parts. Thanks to all who made the trip. It was nothing short of brutal. Thanks must go to Sleep Train, who’s navigation expertise kept us on track (mostly) for the who trip. Now we need to plan a real ‘3 Peaks’ walk.

Ironman and beyond...

2010-04-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Long time coming but here is a fairly rushed race report for Ironman.
I've had some time to reflect on how things went and how I feel about that, but have struggled to actually find the time to put pen to paper as the expression goes.

Swim started prematurely with the pro's taking a false start and the 1400 or so age groupers following suit. I started mid way in the first wave behind the pros, not wanting to get swam over. Had a pretty smooth swim, except for one section around a buoy where I was pushed under the water. Tried to swim conservatively and not expend too much energy. Got out in 53 something.

On to the bike, and it wasn't very long before Tim came cruising past. Would have been nice to jump on his wheel but after Port Half, I wasn't going to do that. Managed to settle into a decent group and stayed with them for the first lap, although started feeling pretty bad coming back into town. Dropped off the back after the hill on Matt Flinders drive. Spent most of the second lap by myself until another larger group came through and I stayed with them. The third lap had a big headwind coming back into town, and I stupidly spent quite a lot of time at the front. Probably a little paranoid about being pinned for drafting. Got off the bike at 6:12, pretty happy with the time. This was pretty much where I had hoped I would be. All I had to do to finish where I wanted to was run a 3:35 marathon! Now, I don't know why I thought that wouldn't be very hard.

Started conservatively on the run, hoping to pick the pace up after the first turn around. But everytime I picked it up, I didn't feel very good, so I would drop the pace off. Decided to ignore the time and just run comfortably, with the ultimate goal always being to finish. I faded before the last turn around, with about 5km to go, on the hills. Dropped back and walked for most of these. Felt lightheaded at the second last aid station and struggled to not stop and sit down. Ran from the last aid station, knowing I only had about 2km to go, and ran pretty hard. Came home in 10:38, about 50 minutes off my target.

All in all, I have to be extremely happy with how the day went. I didn't cramp, I didn't vomit, the feet and knees stayed relatively painless and at no point was stopping even a consideration. The support from friends and the family was very special, the huge amount of Panthers/PIS supporters was phenomenal, and simply seeing another PIS mate running/riding and giving and receiving encouraging words the whole day is what it is all about.

Thanks to The Animal for the training. I know you know that I wouldn't have got to the start if you hadn't hassled me and offered advice the whole time. Thanks also to Shitkick. Plenty of shared training sessions and lots of discussions about how the race was going to unfold or how to approach each leg. The motivation that comes from sharing the experience with mates is invaluable. Thanks to BMMC. I would never have considered doing triathlons let alone Ironman if I didn't know you guys. Your advice and encouragement is appreciated, not to mention beer club.
Thanks to Rachel and the Kids. Not like they're going to read this, but I can't appear to have ignored them in my thanks. Put simply, I couldn't have had this experience if it weren't for Rachel's tolerance and understanding. She put up with a lot of crap. Looking after the kids pretty much by herself, looking after me when I was either sick or in a foul mood from training too much.

Trying to keep active post ironman. The training has well and truly backed off. Currently nursing a sore foot, so very little running at all. Rode Blayney to Bathurst with Dylan. Its a 110km road race. Thoroughly enjoyed it, even being dropped by the bunch, getting a flat tyre and pretty much limping home feeling utterly exhausted. Got out to Lidsdale, a fantastic course in the State Forest on the other side of Lithgow, for an 8 hour mtb race. Did it as a pair with my sister, Amy, where we came 5th in the mixed pairs. Very happy with how we both went, felt good despite having only ridden a mtb once in the last 6 months or so. Was very lucky to get to ride my brothers new bike, a very nice Specialized Epic S-works! Full suspension carbon fibre XC bike that is super quick. Looking forward to some photos.

Really enjoying doing stuff for fun. I figure I'm probably never going to be this fit again, so I should put it to good use. Pretty annoyed I can't get out and run, but should focus on getting better and doing some races later on. Will be back at the BMMC runs soon!

10 more sleeps to go...

2010-03-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

It has now come down to this. The hard training is complete, whatever physiological changes training is supposed to induce should have been induced by now. The body now needs to rest, repair any damage and build up fuel stores (closer to the race).

Aside from an immune system that has been brought to it's knees, I did manage to pull through the heavy training relatively unscathed. No big injuries, thankfully. I am throwing back plenty of pills and potions to get the immune system back to 100% and get over these few illnesses, but really all it needs is rest. I haven't minded giving it that for the last few days, enjoying the sleep-ins, being able to eat dinner with the family at a reasonable hour, not going through 4 sets of clothes each day.

The bike should be ready, getting the final tune to make sure everything is running smoothly. A few light, short rides over the weekend will be enough to settle it in to the new cables.

Looking forward to all this being over, the race, the final hurdle. Where all will be revealed: was the training enough? was it the right training? am I capable of putting together 3 decent efforts? am I going to be happy with whatever I achieve? I guess we will find out in 10 days time.

Husky Long Course Triathlon

2010-02-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a pleasant weekend away with the boys (The Animal and Welsh Exchange Student) down at Huskisson, for the Australian Long Course Championships. Husky is the last race before Ironman and is a great opportunity to put some of the training into practice and see how far the training has improved things. Admittedly the distances here aren't even half ironman, but they're reasonable.

Swim 2km, Ride ~183km and run 20km.
I was aiming for anything under 4:30, and just wanting the run to be good, and get a chance to practice the hydration and nutrition.

Started well with a decent swim, feeling good the whole way and trying to keep the pace at about 80%. Finished in 29 something after a good run up the stairs into transition. Took a while getting the wetty off as I didn't use any lubricant on my legs, but everything else went well and was on the bike course after 31 minutes.

The ride was great. Not as quick as I would like but focused on staying out of trouble from the Draft Police, as I didn't want a repeat of Port Half. Pretty much had no one riding my pace anyway, majority were slower oldies from the wave in front and the occasional super quick bunch from the wave behind. There was a bunch of 3 riding with me end of lap 1, which I left behind at the water station as I didn't need to stop. By the time they caught up and passed me again we were in the hills heading out of Husky. They all bunched up as they hit lots of slower folks from the teams. I looked back and saw the TO coming up, and decided to put in an effort and get out of the mess. Took them all wide and put in some distance, with the sound of the TO's whistle behind me to spur me on. They all caught me again by the end of the second lap but 2 of the 3 pulled into the penalty box and I can only assume the 3rd did as I didn't see him for the rest of the day. I was pleased about this, when you try hard to ride clean you tend to enjoy those who don't getting penalised. Bike split was 2:18, which isn't too bad.

On to the run and I decided at the last minute to leave the hydration belt behind. I will use it for Port and should have practiced using it here, but in the race mindset I decided against it. For 20km, I didn't need it as the aid stations were close enough. It hadn't become too hot at that stage either. I felt great on the run. I'm not quick and I settled into a rhythm after about 1 or 2 kms. Usually I fade very quickly on the run, but each time I felt my speed drop I made that little bit extra effort and picked things up again. This seemed to work, leaving me with enough energy to give the last 4-5km a decent go. Run split ,1:30.

Total time 4:18. 6th place in male 25-29 and 70th overall.

Identified some areas for improvement, but overall stoked with a great race.

Training is going along nicely, trying to manage the next 2 intensive weeks before the taper begins.

Week ELEVEN - February 8th to 14th

2010-02-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

Well, 6 weeks to go until Port Macquarie Ironman... the crucial training period is yet to come.

This week started like each week before, with a sleep in. I did manage a decent swim after work, with 40x 100m on the 1:45. Generally, for each one I touched in between 1:25-1:30, which is where I aim to be able to hold comfortably without the 15 seconds rest.

Tuesday AM - planned 2 hour run in the National Park at Glenbrook was changed last minute due to high water levels at the causeway. Made it back to the usual BMMC run with the boys, taking it nice and easy and splashing in a puddle or two.

Wednesday AM - Swim 3.5km; PM ride 30Km. Ride was mainly to get the bike out, the chain was in terrible condition after the weekend. Down to H'bury hill and back.

Thursday - Nil

Friday AM - Swim 4km, Ride 90km (Old Bathurst, Lappo, Hawkesbury x2); PM Run 10km - Sun Valley Loop, getting soaked in the downpour.

Saturday AM - Ride with P.I.S - 155km round Cobbitty + Lappo + 20km of Time Trial before heading out for what was supposed to be 10 1-milers along the river. Managed 4, but headed back due to blister forming on big toe and lack of water. Happy enough with the ones that I did, especially after the ride.

Saturday PM - Swim with P.I.S - first swim I've joined them for. Definitely a tough set, the plan was 10X300m on the 4:15 (essentially 100m on the 1:20 with 15 second break every 3rd one). This was a wetsuit swim. I never got started properly, and so was chasing the front runners the whole time. Switched lanes for more sedate pace.

Sunday AM - planned ride with P.I.S again. Expecting to do Bells line, but as it turns out the group headed south while I rode round Bells solo. I must admit I enjoyed my own company. The first 35km was spent chasing an imaginary peloton (as I had assumed they had left just minutes earlier), which isn't hard to conceive when you are riding at 5am in the morning at about 36km/hr straining into the darkness for a glimpse of a red tail light. By the time I got to Richmond, I was resigned to doing it solo, and backed the pace right off. Had perfect weather, not a single drop of rain with a great temperature. Funniest moment was a large truck pulling up along side me at the top of a climb a few kms out from Bell and a young bloke sticking his head out and asking if I had a pen. I must remember to pack one next time, maybe take some Sudoku. Rolled around without pause (excl. 1 toilet stop) in just under 6 hours. No gels and no energy drinks, just a snickers bar and the usual hydration. Felt lethargic to say the least by the time I got home. I might add, I was home by 10:30am, with still most of the day to enjoy.

Sunday PM - intended swim with WXS (to be now referred to as WES for simplicity's sake) at Glenbrook became a swim by myself due to change of plans brought on by the rugby union and a better offer from ST. Got 3km done, feeling alright.

Next weekend is Huskisson Long Course. Looking forward to putting some of this training into practice. A little anxious about the run, as calf has been troubling me. Usually the ride gets things warmed up though, so hopefully I can put the hammer down for 20km.

As an aside, any supporters who are keen to purchase an Ironman T-Shirt to commemorate their involvement, let me know what sizes you want and I will add you to the list. Mister G is getting some done up for us, around 16-19 $ depending on volume. You can get a plain cotton T or a coolmax one like the BMMC shirt ST has.

Week TEN

2010-02-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

This week was a bit of a milestone for me and training for Ironman. The hi-light being getting around Bells Line of Road for the 10th consecutive week, in less-than-ideal conditions. I'd have to say it doesn't get much easier, and I still get dragged around by The Animal for most of the ride.

The week started with a sleep in Monday (as is becoming fairly routine) with an easy swim set after work (only did about 1.5km).

Tuesday AM was the first long tuesday run I have managed (Australia day the obvious exception), clocking over 20km and meeting up with the other BMMC boys for the usual Tuesday am run around Sun Valley. Not sure of the kms exactly but I made sure I ran over 2 hours.

Wednesday morning got a solid swim session in, 3.5km.

Friday AM swim 4km, ride 90km with The Animal and The Bro in search of some hills. Got them all except Bellbird, so we did Hawkesbury twice. That evening was a twilight club race with Panthers Tri Club. In extreme weather conditions I felt pretty good for the initial run (changed to duathlon due to electrical storm) and on the bike, putting some distance into the guys that normally run me down. Unfortunately the heavens opened on the second lap and we cancelled the remainder on the bike, heading out for the 5km run to finish. Struggled a little with this one, as I tend to do, but managed to finish fairly strong. Enjoyed it thoroughly though. Thanks to Scam for putting in the hard yards standing out in the downpour.

Saturday AM started as usual, far too early, with me heading down to Penrith to join the PIS guys for a steady ride and run. Didn't get very far, as the decision was made to postpone the start of the bunch ride. The Animal and I headed out by ourselves to do Cobbitty, and ended up riding up to a group that had dropped back after a number of flat tyres. Joined in with them and eventually caught the rest of the bunch by the time we got back to Mulgoa. The rendezvouz was short lived, as The Animal succumbed to a flat tyre also - as tends to happen after so much rain. We headed back and then slogged out a hard 20km run off the bike. Not a flat 20km by any stretch of the imagination. I took it easy, trying to focus on maintaining the kind of pace I feel I could keep over 42km. A little slower than I would like, but the previous days training had been tough. Was quite shattered after this, so I skipped the wetsuit swim.

Sunday was wet AGAIN, but headed out a little later to meet at The Animal's and embark on yet another 160km loop of the Blue Mountains. Had to wake The Animal from his slumber and convince him the join me. We got around safely, feeling pretty good under the circumstances. That afternoon was a Swim to make up for the previous days absence. Felt strong in the pool, in no small part to the 500ml of sugar, caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng I have come to know and love. I figure Sunday I can get away with it.

Capped off another decent week of training, and probably the last adventure around Bells Line. Possibly some more to come, but for now its au revoir to Bells as I prepare for Huskisson in a week and a half. This is the Long Course Championships, which are close to half ironman distances. This should be a good barometer for how the training is going a month out from Ironman. It would be nice to come into a race without an injury, but a calf niggle at the moment is threatening. Hopefully some massage and physio will do the trick as I really can't afford much time off.

Port Fundraising Page

2010-02-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

When registering for Ironman, there was an option to set up a fundraising page at Everyday Hero.

www.everydayhero.com.au/ovariancancer

If you would like to donate to Ovarian Cancer Australia, check the page out.

February is also Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which ties in nicely with the lead up to Ironman in March. At work we are organising a few different things to raise funds, including a sausage sizzle, morning tea, monster raffle, jelly-bean counting competition, treadmill run and some other things. If you are popping out to Winmalee, pop in and buy a raffle ticket or just donate some money.

Thanks guys!

Weeks SIX through to EIGHT inclusive.

2010-01-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

The last 3 weeks have been tumultuous. Circumstances have been less than ideal as far as being able to get consistent training sessions completed. However, greater levels of tolerance from Rachel (+kids) have allowed me to get most of the important training sessions done.

Week SIX - 11th January to 17th January
Monday AM - Ride 35km
Monday PM - Swim 3km
Tuesday PM - Swim 3km, Run 5km (treadmill run @ Gym)
Wednesday PM - Run 10km Sun Valley
Thursday AM - Run 11km treadmill (45mins)
Thursday PM - Ride
Friday AM - Swim 3-4km, Ride 120km.
Friday PM - Run 1hr45min (need to map this one for distance, ~16-18km)
Saturday AM - Ride with Penrith Institute of Sport (PIS) around Cobbitty Loop, 115km, with easy Run off the bike, ~7km.
Sunday AM - Ride with PIS, Bells Line of Rd. This was the first one with the Ironman squad, felt great and enjoyed every single pedal stroke!

I stayed home for the weekend while Rach and the Kids headed off to Holidays on Saturday, making my way down on Sunday afternoon. Holidays consisted of car camping on the South Coast near Jervis Bay. Plenty of relaxation, too much sun, and a little reading.

Week SEVEN - 18th to 24th January - training while camping = bad!
Monday - Rest (weather terrible)
Tuesday AM - Ride 35km around Crookhaven Heads, Culburra and Callala. Some great places for trail running incidentally, Jervis Bay National Park and some state forest areas. Not many hills!
Wednesday PM - Swim ~2.5km. Found a pool at nearby Greenwell Point, a great outdoor 25m pool I had to myself (+ some sea gulls), a little colder than I am used to though.
Thursday AM - Run 6km with Amy.
Friday AM - Ride 18km - Swim 3km - Ride 52km
Headed back home that afternoon to get organised for weekend training sessions and moving house.
Saturday AM - Ride with PIS around Cobbitty again, this time finishing with some fast Time Trials followed by a very sluggish 15km run off the bike. Struggled with the heat and hydration. Walked far too much.
Sat PM - swim cancelled due to moving.
Sunday AM - Bells Line of Rd again with PIS, 160km getting around in 5hr30, struggled.

Week EIGHT - 25th - 31st January
Monday - Rest
Tuesday AM - 42km in Glenbrook National Park for Australia Day Fatass Run. Enjoyed this a lot. Wasn't planning on doing the full marathon, however when Scam headed down Pisgah Ridge I knew he had full intentions of doing the full. Something that was discussed later as Plan B was hatched. I think I needed this one mentally moreso than physically. My long runs have suffered for the last month due to the long rides taking precedence. Felt good to get through this in 4:10 with few complaints.
Tuesday PM - not surprisingly I didn't get the call from The Animal to join him for the firm treadmill session, so I ate food instead.
Wednesday AM - Swim >3km
Wednesday PM - stretches and some core exercise. Legs feeling tight after Tuesdays run.
Thursday AM - 12km on treadmill at 5min/km pace, keeping HR low(ish). Lack the discipline to do this properly.
Friday AM - Swim 3.5km followed by 120km ride with The Prince and The Bro. Headed up to Megalong Valley to see what the hill has to offer. Not much as it turns out! It is a good long hill, but plenty of fast flatter sections to keep the pace up and not much slow grinding efforts. In this regards Bellbird and Tomah are considerably harder. I did enjoy the ride. Had to crank it back to make a massage appointment. Much needed work on the gluts and ITB.
Saturday AM - low point as I missed the morning PIS ride due to back pain, poor sleep and alarm malfunction.
Saturday PM - got a ride in with Paul (bro-in-law), who is about to embark on a foray into the world of triathlon. 60km around the Hawkesbury Loop with Old Bathurst thrown in. Back home with enough time to get up to Springwood Pool for a 3km straight wetsuit swim. Felt good, splits looked OK, not sure if I missed a few laps though, 120 laps in 25m pool and I am bound to forget a few. Glad I could keep pace up over the 3km without feeling fatigue, total time ~42mins.
Got a quick run in the evening around home, 1hr5min.
Sunday AM - made the PIS Bells Line Ride, 160km, 5:35, in a lot of pain for most of the day. Calves, gluts and quads felt like they were on fire. Ran off the bike, 35mins, v. slow pace but focussed on putting one foot in front of another.
Sunday PM - Rest and re-fuel.

Happy with progress. More consistency needed and more discipline with correct training. Apprehensive about February and the increase in intensity and distance, however happy that the body has held up mostly for the last 2 months of fairly hard training.

It seems everyone I speak to is going to be in Port Maquarie for Ironman, which I am both pleased and apprehensive about. I will put this warning out there for those who wish to spectate: if the day is a success you will see tears and if the day is a failure you will also see tears!

Week FIVE - 4th to 10th January 2010

2010-01-11T02:40:00.000-08:00

I would have to say, one word that has been thrown around this week would have to be RECOVERY. I most certainly had it firmly planted at the back of my mind throughout the week. With each missed training session I reminded myself that the body has a tendency to go through these recovery cycles. That is, every so often you need to back things off and allow the body to recuperate and regain some strength. The alternative is not back off and potentially getting sick or suffering an injury. I have found that getting this balance right is harder than it would seem. Either way, to be honest my decisions were not made based on this training principle (more on training and programs later). It was based on missing alarms, hitting snooze too many times and simply being unmotivated. Returning back to work mid-week also made it very hard to finish off the week with some decent kms.

After finishing last week with some big days and all 3 long rides including a fair bit of riding in the rain, this week started pretty easy.

Monday - PM Swim, 6km.

Tuesday - PM Run, 10km. (v. slow and tough around Woodford Dam solo)

Wednesday - all day excursion to the Zoo, 10 hours, v. tough. PM swim, 3km.

Thursday - AM run on treadmill with The Animal, 10km Build, 45mins. Jump in the pool straight after for about 1.5km.

Friday - PM Ride, 25km Woodford and Back; Run off the bike, Martin's LO return. 21:45 (PB for this run - negative splits, felt good, leg speed quick after treadmill work)

Saturday - AM missed swim session due to Pool not being open until 8am, so got an easy 6km run around home, felt slow. PM was supposed to be some hill reps on H'bury Hill followed by 10km run off the bike. Plans aborted due to flat tyre, played Volley Ball instead.

Sunday AM - early start for Bells Line of Rd with WXS and Dylan (needs a nickname if he is going to keep featuring in my Blogs). Felt fresh due to reduced load during the week, kept pace slow and concentrated on technique. Finished strong down the hwy and after a slow transition (15min incl. toilet break) headed out during the hottest time of a very hot day for what was supposed to be a 90min run. Change in plans after 40mins due to heat, took on some water at Cripple Creek and walked back to the parent's house, Warrimoo. Felt fine as far as energy and strength was concerned, just couldn't manage the heat. HR stayed low but breathing rate through the roof.
PM swim with ST and WXS. Maybe 3km, 10x100m on 1:30, 1x400m and some kicking drills.

The run and ride kms were reduced this week. Some shorter high intensity stuff was chucked in instead.

2010-01-03T18:18:00.001-08:00

Week FOUR - 28th to the 3rd January 2010 [NEW YEAR]

2010-01-03T03:31:00.000-08:00

Well, a switch in format for the weekly blog is in order. Because it is far simpler and reduces duplication if I list what I did on each day (besides, it is more intuitive). I am hoping that these blogs will become shorter and shorter as each week becomes simply a repeat of the week prior. That is, the program stays the same and I stay with the program.

After 4 weeks of settling in to the training I think a nice balance has been reached. Admittedly, the time constraints have been relaxed due to holidays. In the same vein as Prince Donges, if someone would like to sponsor me as a hack triathlete attempting an Ironman for the first time, feel free to have your people contact my people. I can guarantee you won't get any media coverage or podium appearances for your money, but we could think of it in a more philanthropic light.

On with it...

Monday:
Ride in the AM - very very heavy rain, torrential at times. Headed up to Woodford and back, getting thoroughly soaked before even getting out of the car port! I think it is about 30km, if that.
Later that morning, the family and I headed up to a brief holiday with lots of friends up at Forrester's Beach, Central Coast.

Tuesday:
Sleep in - thats what you do on Holidays isn't it?
Midday ride around Bateau Bay and Terrigal, perhaps 25km.
Evening Run with Welshy up the biggest hills we could find. 45mins. Decent views.

Wednesday:
Ride in the morning with Welshy and Australia's most recent Tour De France hopeful (unannounced at this stage). Very pleasant, if a little quicker than I am used to, little hit out around some of the National Parks around Terrigal. One or Two decent hills.
Headed back home later that morning - Rach had to be back for a funeral.
Evening swim at Springwood - 4km: 500m warm-up, 30x100m (10 paddle+pull buoy, 10 normal, 10 paddle+pull buoy) on the 1:40, finished the last 6 on the 1:30, swimming at approx 1:25. 500m warm down.

Thursday:
Morning run with the BMMC boys, out to Faulconbridge Pt from the High School and back, under 20km for the round trip.
Late morning swim with The Animal. Decent set (after previous night's swim) consisting of 5x300m on the 6:20. First 2 were fine, last 3 were tough. Enough rest between sets. A few drills and 10x25m sprints to finish up. All up just over 3.5km.
Easy ride that afternoon with The Animal: Faulco - Winmalee - Blaxland - Springwood. 40km, 1.5hr.

Friday:
Broke the routine this week, headed out for easy long ride. The loop has a name, I can't remember it however, ask The Animal. About 94km taking in Northern Rd, Bringelly Rd, M7 Bike Path and M4. Struggled maintaining The Animals pace, many conversations about what 'slow' means were necessary. Cervelo's aren't designed to be ridden at 20km/h, unlike Giants.
Got a run in that afternoon. Heading out for a repeat of Christmas Days run, with the alteration of heading back home once at the top of Sun Valley hill. Yet to explore the goats track that heads out of Sun Valley up to Valley Heights, but expect it to be entertaining. This run took me 99mins, haven't mapped it yet to work out the kms. I suspect between 15 - 18km.

Saturday:
Morning bunch ride with Mr Green et al. This ride would have to be the toughest one for quite a while. Starting with a figure 8 route taking in Old Bathurst Hill (up), Mitchells Pass (down) x3 and Lappo Hill (up), a point system was set up after the first climb. Next stop Nth Richmond, Bowen Mt and Bell Bird Hill. From here it was back to Hawkesbury Hill and home. A quick photo with the boys before the second Torrential Downpour I have had the pleasure of riding in in the last week. It appears the points were unnecessary as The Animal had a clean sweep of all 5 hills. I was somewhat proud of my own performance, managing a podium finish for 4 out of 5 hills. This was a great social ride, the last one with Jason before he heads off to the Sunshine Coast.
Off the bike, The Animal chased me down on the run (I had a much quicker transition) and proceeded to put about 1km into me. Just shy of 10km for this one. Felt slower than the previous week (ride was about 2 hours longer and considerably harder), however roughly maintained my target marathon pace for Ironman (5min/km).

Sunday:
Difficult to get up this morning. Still running late, despite the 1 hour sleep-in granted by The Animal the night before. Headed out on the bike with tired legs and a sore back, for a slow loop around Bells Line of Rd. This would be the second attack on Bell Bird in as many days. I would say she attacked back this time, as I struggled before the hill even began. Managed to roll through and get around in just over 6 hours (I think). Aside from physical fatigue, my 'mental endurance' (as it was so eloquently put mid-ride) was waivering, making this one that much tougher.
Capped off the day with a social swim (ie. more talking than swimming) and spa before cooking up a storm of pasta and rissotto with the wife. My life is all about carbs at the moment.

Despite the disturbances to the routine earlier in the week, it finished strongly.

Some interesting developments this week:
I have managed to lose some decent weight over the last 4 weeks (without any real modification of diet), bringing me down to between 71-72 kg. Target for Port is anything below 70. And I think this will happen with just a little modification of the diet.
Related to the first development, it appears I have sprouted some abdominal muscles. Until now, I had at the back of my mind always thought that I was born without any. They are only small, but they are there!

I'm feeling in a good position re: training at the moment. Things are going to step up in a few more weeks, giving me a little time to adjust to the increased load before it increases again. The body seems to have shaken the viral thing from a few weeks back. My only health issue at the moment seems to be excessive sun exposure. A change in sunscreen may yield some better results, but not making the classic "it's wet and cold I don't need sunscreen" mistake should make a difference.

Tomorrow will be a light day - perhaps some golf, some shopping, cleaning the bike(s), work, etc. Ending with a hard swim session in the evening.

Week THREE - 21st to 27th December [CHRISTMAS]

2009-12-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

Run:
Tuesday AM - BMMC usual, 10km
Thursday AM - BMMC usual, 10km
Friday Midday - 15km, Home - Winmalee - Long Angle - Sun Valley - Railway Pde - Spurwood - Mum and Dads - Christmas Lunch
Saturday AM - <10km, off the bike around Blaxland

Total Run: 45km

Ride:
Wednesday AM - Mtn Bike, Anderson's Fire Trail - The Oaks Fire Trail (~50km)
Friday AM #1 - 35km out-and-back H'bury Hill with 2 reps of the hill
Friday AM #2 - 40km 'playing on hills' modified for the bike - Mt Riverview hills followed by Lappo and home.
Saturday AM - 110km Box Hill - M7 loop with The Animal (read more below)
Sunday AM - 160km Bells Line of Rd Loop with The Animal and WXS (read more below)

Total Ride: 395km (mtn bike kms are equivalent to about 1.33km on the roady in my opinion)

Swim:
Saturday PM - 3km wetsuit swim Bridge to Bridge, Nepean River
Sunday PM - 3km in the pool, 500m warm up, 20 x 100m on the 1:40 with paddles and pull buoy, 500m steady to finish up

Total Swim: 6km

Week Three started slowly again with nothing on the Monday. A pretty easy lead up till Christmas Day, some late nights at work made it difficult to get in any PM training.
Wednesday was a long hot day on the fire trails with the Bro, Sis, Bro-in-Law and a friend. Some cross training was the order of the day with the mountain bike. Took a little longer than I would have thought, but was fun nonetheless.
Felt strong on the Thursday AM usual up Old Bathurst, a pleasant change to the usual fatigue and lethargy on this run. Decided to make an early start to the hill, so I put in a bit of a head start on the others. Had ST breathing down my neck as he powered up the hill behind me, passing me towards the top. Happy that I kept the legs turning over all the way up.
Friday, Christmas Day, started well with a short ride down to the bottom of H'bury Hill, 2 reps of the hill and back home. Woke up the Kids and the Wife and cooked some breakfast. Back out again on the bike, this time with my Bro, for some hills down in Mt Riverview (there are 3-4 decent hills that all head partially down the escarpment, we linked them all). Finished up with Lappo and back home. Had a good hit out up Lappo on the road bike, which climbs very nicely in comparison to the TT bike. Just over 8:05min between speed sign and fire sign. Back home for present opening time.
Wanted to time how long it took to get from my place to STs via Winmalee and Sun Valley. Took it easy and felt very good running at my own pace. Ended up getting to STs in 90min on my way through to Mum and Dads. Estimate the distance is about 15km. The plan is to get this run in before the Tuesday usual Sun Valley loop before heading back home up the top of Sun Valley. This would make the run over 2:30hr, and would mean I would have to leave home before 4:30am, so I may have to find a quicker more direct route down to STs. I have a few more options to explore over the next few weeks.
Saturday AM was a post Christmas recovery ride with The Animal. This ride shall be referred to as the Box Hill - M7 loop. Clocked up just over 110km going pretty easy. But this did include about 5km of heading along the M7 in the wrong direction, completely unaware that we were heading North-East instead of South. We only realised as we saw the signs for the M2 and the North Coast. How we managed this is completely beyond me!
Got a steady run off the bike around Blaxland as I chased The Animal around for just under 10km. Felt good on the run, with a few surges, but mainly trying to run this as if it was the start of a 42km marathon in the Ironman. That afternoon, The Animal, The Welsh Exchange Student and I jumped in the Nepean for a wetsuit swim from the Rowing Club up to the Boat Ramp at Tench Reserve. This is right on 3km. Was good to get in a wetsuit swim, trying on a full westuit as I'm keen to get rid of the sleeveless one I've been using. Felt pretty good as I snaked along behind The Animal, running into him on more than one occasion. I found this amusing, and thought that any onlooker would also find it amusing, as two swimmers kept running into each other with more than 50m-wide of river to swim in. Needless to say, some work is needed on this aspect of the open water swimming. A good pair of goggles that don't fog up, would also assist in this regard.
Sunday AM headed out for a long slow loop around Bells Line of Rd. Baz joined up for about 12km until he got a flat tyre. The animal and I assisted with the tyre change, only to blow out the only spare we had that would fit his wheels. A long walk back to the car for Baz, and The Animal and I headed on our way. The weather was wet for most of the ride up Bells and down the Hwy. An afternoon shopping at Anaconda before getting in a swim that afternoon. Felt good in the pool considering the long ride that morning.
A solid end to the week. Not bad considering the time commitments at this time of year. A good start to the 'real' training for Port.

Week TWO - 14th to 20th December

2009-12-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

Run:
Tuesday PM - 12km Woodford Dam
Wednesday PM - ~6km of running out of 10km (struggled in heat with sore throat and tired legs)
Saturday PM - 2 x 2.5km in Club Triathlon
Sunday PM - 10km run with BMMC for Inaugural Christmas Party Handicap

Total Run: 33km (considerably reduced due to absence of long run and forced ban from Thursdays BMMC run)

Ride:
Wednesday AM - 160km Bells Line, 5:41hr, avg speed 28.2km/h
Friday AM - 35km Hawkesbury Rd Out and Back with The Animal, ~1:15hr
Sat AM - 125km Cobbitty Loop with The Animal, 4:30hr (flat tyre start of hills back of Cobbitty)
Sat PM - 2 x 10km in Club Triathlon

Total Ride: 340km

Swim:
Wednesday Arvo - 4km straight, Glenbrook Pool, 1:05hr
Sat PM - 2 x <250m in Club Triathlon

Total Swim: not worth adding up!

Week Two was a far less successful week than week one. It did not start well after not being able to get to sleep Sunday Night until 3am, due to 1 too many 'Mother' Energy Drinks on Sunday's long ride. A planned morning run up to the pool for some laps before running back was terminated due to lack of sleep. That day began to show signs of a viral upper respiratory tract infection, with nasal and sinus congestion and a mild sore throat. Skipped the Tuesday AM BMMC run for the same reason, and started dosing up on a wicked cocktail of garlic, horseradish, vit C, Co-Enzyme Q10, pseudoephedrine, paracetamol, Endura's Over Training Formula (5 different types of Ginseng), and some antibiotics.
So my week didn't really start till Tuesday PM with a run around Hazelbrook - Woodford with Donk, She-Donk and Mister G. Felt OK given the amount of drugs in my system and the virus taking up residence in my upper respiratory tract. Donk and I took a detour up a hill to discover a great section of single track and fire trail that winds up and back to where we began our run. This meant we took another detour to get back over to the Woodford side and join She-Donk and Mister G. It did bump the KMs up a little and through in a good hilly variation.
Off the back of this PM run, I got up at 5am and headed out on the bike as soon as it was light enough, and headed down and across to Richmond, up along the Bells Line of Rd Loop and back down the HWY. Going solo this time was different, I think I pushed harder on the flat at the start but then dropped the pace off between the top of Bellbird and Mt Tomah. Forced to grab some water from the Heavy Vehicle Checking Station at Bell, after 2 out of the 3 bottles I started with were ejected from my bottle holder within the first 15km of the ride. Managed to make the Optimiser and part of the Gatorade get me through to Bell, but really needed just plain water. Spirits lifted considerably as I crossed the Darling Causeway, as the remaining 60km is a relative cruise after the first 100km. Felt strong enough to push through without stopping at Blackheath and made it back home 20 minutes quicker than previously. Avg speed if anything slightly slower, indicating the extra time on the Saturday before was taken with toilet stops and 5-10mins at Blackheath.
Had to get a swim in (2 weeks between swims), so I headed to Glenbrook before planning to meet up with Berriman at the NP for an easy run. Felt really fresh in the water, so I just kept swimming and got 4km done. Not a quick pace but a solid effort at comfortable pace, with plenty to think about for Port Macquarie 2010 making the laps tick over fairly mindlessly.
About 20 mins waiting at the Glenbrook Gates for Artup to get off the phone, and my weariness was slowly catching up with me. Feeling pretty average by the time we headed out, by the time we got to the top of the causeway on the other side I was seriously doubting my ability to stay with the Bens. They also shared my doubt, and unlike me were comfortable putting voice to their concerns. Of which I was grateful. I let them go and dropped back for a walk, jogging in sections before getting a steady flow going back down to the causeway. I waited for about 5-10 minutes, not being sure how long they would be, but then headed up to get some water. I was at the shops buying 2L of chocolate milk before the boys returned to the cars, only to find a car similar to mine parked in a similar position. I was touched by their concern for my wellbeing, but humbled by their apparent doubts I could make it back to the car.
The group collectively imposed a one run ban on me, meaning I would miss out on the Thursday AM usual run. That night I slept poorly, some bad chills on a horribly hot night. The fever was good to shift the virus, and a day of rest on thursday mean I could return to exercise Friday AM with a ride in preparation for what was shaping up to be a big weekend.
Saturday AM ride was uncomfortable, as my lower back has been protesting on the longer rides, especially the ones that include some hills. The back is getting stiffer earlier in the rides now, indicating that a little conditioning to the extra KMs is going to be needed. Perhaps some improvement in technique will also help this, along with some quality stretching and strengthening exercises for the lower back and gluts.
No rest again post-long ride, but more running around organising work christmas party and getting ready for the Club Tri that afternoon. Felt a little fatigued and a little rushed as I got the bike into transition, only to find no more racks left, so a pacth of grass would have to do. As it turned out, best position for the transition. The club tri for December is split up into two shorter triathlons back-to-back. That is, about 250m swim, 10km ride, 2.5km run, 150m swim, 10km ride, 2.5km run to finish. I don't normally like this format as it doesn't play to my strength of having longer swims and rides. However, under the circumstances post long ride that mornining, I was grateful for the shorter distances broken up with a terribly slow 150m swim with arms and legs that just don't want to move. All said and done, was rather happy with myself for the effort during the race, managed to pick up a number of people on the bike after coming out of the swim somewhat back from where I would ordinarily. Screamed on the bike, feeling fresh and fast. Dropped 2 places (one of which being taken by my arch-nemesis and pharmacist colleague, Brendan Smith) on the run, but then picked up some more on the second bike. Dropped one more on the last run, but managed to hold on to about 9th position I suspect. All this in budgy smugglers (stay tuned for some incriminating photos courtesy of the WXS).
Sunday was a relaxed affair, sleeping in and then spending a good 4 hours peeling potatoes, chopping potatoes, boiling potatoes, baking potatoes, mixing potatoes; followed by 30 minutes of eating potatoes. Greatly assisted by Mr Donges and SWMBO in the kitchen, to produce some smashing salads and potato bake, in preparation for the BMMC Christmas Party that was taking place that evening. The handicap run around Sun Valley was under way by 4pm, in a somewhat disorganised fashion, with the girls leading out the boys for a leisurely stroll. I think the honours went to Sleep Train, followed closely by Mr Donges, then The Welsh Exchange Student, The Physio, Myself, Craig and Jeff making it to the top of the hill not long after. The girls maintained a steady pace, finishing not long after the boys.
The Christmas BBQ went well, plenty of food, good conversation, 2 presents exchanged hands, plenty of laughs. Thankyou to everyone who came, it was a great finale to 2009; and by the sounds of everyone's plans a last minute opportunity to relax before some heavy training commences in 2010. Looking forward to seeing the potential realised by every single person in their prospective pursuits. From Ironman to 6 Foot Track and every other ultra marathon in between, their are going to be some good quality results for the BMMC in 2010. Bring it on!

Christmas BMMC Party

2009-12-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

OK, it has been suggested that here is a suitable place to put the relevant details for the inaugural BMMC Chrissy Party taking place this Sunday the 20th December.

Firstly, may I mention, it a commonly known fact that the length of time between a Christmas Party and Christmas is inversely proportional to how important that Party is for those attending. That is, a chirstmas party the weekend before Christmas holds high value. I thought I would mention that as my running and training pals within the BMMC have become such a big part of my life (if for nothing other than the amount of time we spend in each others company - and just quietly there are other reasons). There is a second reason for why I mention this, and it is to make any BMMC members who are not placing the appropriate priority on the BMMC Christmas Party and Handicap run fell extremely guilty and remorseful. This is said partially in jest; you can guess which part I am being serious about!

Ok....
Date as mentioned above is Sunday the 20th December.

The time as noted in initial text message is 3:30pm, to kick off the proceedings with the handicap run around the usual Tuesday morning Sun Valley Loop. (for a Map refer to Scam's Blog as I'm sure he has it up. Otherwise we can sketch directions before departing. I estimate the Handicap Run will not take more than 2 hours (ie. for the slowest runner, who presumably heads out first). We normally take just over 1 hr at our slowest, and this includes about 5-6+ minutes of stretching, which unless you're a clear winner ST, will not be taking place. I will allow 2 hours so that those who wish to forego the handicap run, can arrive when we are all back. This by no means you cannot come and cheer the finishers - there is plenty to do and keep the kids entertained (undercover pool, semi-commercial play equipment - dont ask, eating, drinking and talking, etc). This puts the approx time for cooking and eating close to 6pm, which will allow for families with kids who are in for a nightmare blur for the next 2 weeks to get a relatively early one. This does not preclude those wishing to hang around till late.

Location: address is 55 Spurwood Rd, Warrimoo. Last driveway on the R before getting on to the Fire Trail (this being the start of the handicap run). For those who have done the Sun Valley loop, it is the Rd you run down at the start after turning off Railway Pde from STs.

Food: nothing has really been organised. As I am the host-by-proxy, I will arrange a selection of Drinks, Nibblies, Sausages, Salads and some Bread Rolls so that you can come unprepared and be well catered for. The suggestion has also been made that people may well prefer to bring their own selection of meat (or vego substitute) and/or drinks to consume. I think that will be a good idea. If you want to contribute by bringing a salad that will knock our socks off, go right ahead.

Children:as previous mentioned, there are enough things to keep the kids entertained, so blease feel free to bring them along. ST has kindly volunteered to baby sit the little one's while parents can party all night. Maybe some outdoor-rec classes, or Yabby catching (you should be able to get some down the back creek). Remind me to show you a large cave down the back sometime ST, I cant promise Aboriginal Markings, but my memories of this as a child were amazing! Plenty of things to keep them entertained over 15 acres.

Guests: we haven't discussed this but I reckon it's a fine idea if people have some friends in mind who might enjoy this sampler of BMMC Social Activity, and who have a vague curiosity in running, that they are more than welcome. We may borrow a tactic employed by Youth Groups all over the world, to incentivise bringing a friend along by offerering a fun size snicker to those who bring someone new. I never did feel comfortable with the suggestion that I may have only been invited to Youth Group because my 'friend' decided he wouldn't mind a snickers! Anyhow, bring a friend or two.

Special mention to the Lower Mountains Distance Running Men (not quite special enough for me to research their correct name however). It would be great to see you guys, given that the merger has gone ahead and you have now been absorbed into the BMMC.

I think that is it, but suspect I may have missed some crucial point.

Looking forward to catching up to celebrate a year of achievement and quality Blue Mountains trails.

Dr Phil aka Flying Fist

Week ONE

2009-12-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

Run:

Tuesday --> 10km with BMMC, usual Tuesday Sun Valley route (actually logged in previous post but included here to total the week). ~1hr
Wednesday --> approx. 36-38km run from Glenbrook NP gates up The Oaks and back in the evening with Princess Donga and Prince Donga (briefly). ~4:30hr
Thursday --> 10km with BMMC, usual Thursday loop (very very tired and slow) ~1hr
Sunday --> ~8km run out to Martins LO and back through the streets (35min)
Total Run: 64km (~7:05hr)

Ride:
Wednesday --> 120km ride shared with The Animal and Welsh Exchange Student (separately). Discussed in greater detail further down, ~4hr
Friday --> usual AM out and back with The Animal, 40km. ~1:25hr
Saturday --> Bells Line of Road loop with The Animal, 160km (~ 6hrs)
Sunday --> Cobbity Loop with The Animal, 125km (~4:20hr)
Total Ride: 445km (~15:45hr)

Swim:
Zippity Do Dah

Total time: 22:50hr (not even one seventh of the total week)

Well, the big mid-week effort began with a ride with The Animal. Was planning on doing the Hawkesbury Loop in counter-clockwise direction, however poor planning and execution of the alarm-wake-up procedure, meant last minute change of plans to clockwise direction in order for The Animal to be back in time for work. However, as it turned out in a bitter twist of fate, a direction change along Castlereagh Rd and brief interlude onto someone's property with 2 nasty looking (albeit a little fat) Blue Cattle Dogs added some KM and time to the trip. I won't say who's idea it was, but it wasn't mine!
Well the universe wasn't going to provide ME with some whingeing material without providing The Animal with an extra helping. A lack of communication re: some massive pot holes along a busy Londonderry Rd came close to being a friendship-ending manouvre. Needless to say, The Animal stayed on, did not get any flats, did not ruin his wheels and found it in his heart to forgive me. I am pretty poor at signalling when we ride, not because I am inconsiderate or rash, I just don't tend to notice the pot holes/obstacles until I'm upon them, and then I'm dodging and weaving to avoid hitting them myself. No excuse however!
We got back in one piece and at the foot of Old Bathurst hill I parted with The Animal, so that I could join up with The Welsh Exchange student who would be heading in to Blacktown for work. I figured he would be heading out soon and I could meet him at the bottom of the hill, sent out a message to inform him of the rendezvous point. Would have had time to get up Old Bathurst and meet ol' ShitKick up the top, but alas, maybe another time. Finally met up with Welshy and made our way along the M4 to Prospect Hwy, where we said our Good Bye's and I headed back home. Made good time on the way home, and was glad to cover 120 km.
A couple of hours sleep, and a quick stop at work before countless back and forth on the text msg with Prince Donga, and we managed to formulate a kind-of plan. I was going to head up The Oaks at 5pm while he and the Princess would head down after work. Princess got a head start (on Mick, that is - I actually got a 1:15 head start on her) and met me about 4-5km past the Heli Pad. I timed my exhausted sit-on-a-rock break well, as I had only been there for 2 minutes and eaten only 8 snakes (the Natural Confectionery Company Variety that is) before Gill came blazing down The Oaks (actually up a hill at this point in time). She had left at about quarter past 6. We both headed back down The Oaks, expecting the Prince to come bounding round a bend behind us at any minute. Due to Gill's very quick running we did not see Mick for another hour and a half I'd say, we were just short of the bitumen near Euroka turn-off.
I had been struggling for about an hour at this stage, and had been visualising the large Mighty Angus meal-deal and chocolate thickshake for about half of this time. A little-too-energetic Mick suggested he keep running ahead and meet us at McDonalds. I thought that was a fantastic idea as he had verbalised by deepest desire at that stage. He must have run hard (or we were going very slow) as we had only been and McDonalds for 5-10 minutes before he joined us for what would have to be the cheapest Big Mac meal (without the meat - so a double lettuce-burger) in history - $2.95. Based on this, those meat patties must be worth $2.50 each!! Must be all those hormones.
Got home a little later and promptly hit the sack. I had no real intention of getting up for the Thursday Morning run, as my legs were aching pretty bad and my knee had the slightest suggestion of pain. However, my circadian rhythm timed well with my alarm going off, so I pulled on some pants and a top and headed down to Blaxland. Was a sorry sight heading up the Oh-so-Steep incline that is Hilda st, lots of grandpa-shuffles with groaning and moaning accompaniment. I had decided that it was probably best if I only ran as far as the first stretching-point overlooking the plains, as I really shouldn't push my luck with the knee. It was this run on sore legs that had been a major player in the knee injury 3 months prior. Didn't have the balls to say I was heading back at that stage so I stubbornly pushed on. The going was very tough along the flat section before hitting the climb back up the gully track. I had decided since coming down that I was only going to run as far as the steep section off the fire trail and I would walk the rest. At this stage The Animal (who also proclaimed he was sore) was leading the others up a little bit ahead. I managed to remain running until the rocky section where I followed Shogun's example and stopped to a walk. Didn't get running till just a little short of the top (you most certainly cannot be seen walking as the others wait patiently for you to get up the hill). Powered on at the top and finally got back to The Animal's.
Now this run wouldn't normally get a write-up as I have done. But I was hurting bad, and I want everyone to realise that.
I suspect that day at work I was the most irritable I have ever been.

Saturday's big LSD ride with The Animal would have to be the hilight of my week (and this week has had some big ones for me). The Animal was very quick to bring my attention to what an LSD stands for and what SLOW means. I suspect he didn't want to be the one to call Rach to come and get me along Bells Line as I'd passed out at the top of one of the MANY climbs. Needless to say, I felt I was rather self-controlled the whole time. I didn't mind taking it easy behind The Animal for the first quarter, and I was doing everything I could to not lose sight of him for the middle half, then felt remarkably good for the final quarter. So this is what pacing yourself is all about? Interesting concept that actually WORKS. This loop has been on my to-do list for some time now. It is held in high regard amongst Triathletes and Cyclists alike. While only being 160km in length (not huge by any standards and a good 20km short of Port Ironman's bike leg), it contains about 90km of hills, and some decent ones thrown in for good measure. The Animal had done enough to warn me about the hills, and I had some experience riding them in the other direction, so I wasn't in too bad shape by the time we reached Bell, 100km down and only 20km to go before the last easy 40km.
Once home, a little nap interruped by Andeline loudly informing me (and the rest of Farm Rd) that she had done a poo! Not only had she done one, she had managed to do some interior decorating at the same time.
Got a start on Lance Armstrong's biography after we had cleaned up, and couldn't put it down for a good few hours. Missed the arvo swim with The Animal (his text message arrived 30 minutes after he had already started swimming), and didn't end up making it by myself. Despite not swimming for a week and a half, I was happy with this weeks effort. Less (should read NO) missed sessions for the next 15 weeks is the plan.

Now to saving the money to book my place at Port...

Lock in Port Mac 2010 please Eddy!

2009-12-08T02:47:00.000-08:00

Well, with indecision poorly disguised as a trippy 'let the cosmos decide' attitude, it is with great trepidation that I publicly acknowledge the fact that I intend to attempt to complete Port Macquarie Ironman 2010. If only I could disguise the lack of true commitment in that sentence.
Santa is going to have to take those presents back to the shop and get a refund so I can afford the insane entry fee. With '16 weeks to go' being the catch-cry amongst training circles, the knot firmly lodged deep in my innards is beginning to make its presence felt. With any luck it may serve to motivate me to get out and log some quality kms.

From Port Half to now...

I have recovered from the ITB-related knee injury to be able to get right back into running relatively niggle-free. Finally managing a decent run this weekend gone with fellow BMMC associates. Mr and Mrs Sleep Train, Prince and Princess Donga, The Animal, The Welsh Exchange Student, Scam Bullant and Myself ventured down off the escarpment to run along some spectacular coastal Royal NP between Otford and Bundeena. This was Fat Ass run that is a must have on the calendar. I thoroughly enjoyed the run, including the struggle through the last 5 Kms. Some light reading of 'Born to Run' in the back of Prince Donga's car back to Otford ended in me borrowing (more accurately a re-borrow) the book and finishing it last night. If you haven't read it, look it up and give it a read, I really enjoyed it.

The swimming has been on the back burner and the riding has been sporadic at best. Getting some solid ride-run bricks going consistently, which is one big aspect of the triathlon that needs some work for me. At the moment I'm just keen to get some Ks back into my legs running, and return to the level of strength and fitness I was before being knocked around by the knee injury. I guess it was a necessary but hard lesson that needed learning: listen to your body and protect your joints. Some may disagree with me, but a missed session allowing you to recover is much better long term. Similarly, providing sufficient time to rest and heal has to be far better than repeated partial returns to training followed by repeated injuries. Either way, my focus now is prevention and correction. Both riding and running techniques need to improve, and there isn't much point persevering with huge kilometerage (if Scam can do it...) when the technique is still holding you back.

With this in mind the focus is on augmenting the training with some core strength work and flexibility work to help with getting my posture and action right on the bike and on the run. Hope it works!

'Born to Run' has inspired me to get out on the trails and soak up some of that running spirit and get back to basics. The run this morning had me a little chattier than usual, and possibly for the same reason a little stronger up the hill. Learning why we enjoy running and remembering this seems to be the key for most of the incredibly quick ultra runners out there. If thats all there is to it... sweet! I suspect a dose of bloody hard work goes a long way. But at the very least, hard work is all the more easier when you enjoy it.

Looking forward to the Inaugural BMMC Christmas Party on the 20th and the handicap run.
Looking forward to some impressive results for fellow BMMC associates in some up-coming races.
Looking forward to early mornings and a constant feeling of fatigue...

2009-11-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

One mistake down...

Port Macquarie Half Ironman done, just over 5 hours. Overall happy that I have one under my belt, however felt like my run let me down. Admittedly I took it very conservatively on the run, being more concerned about not doing any permanent damage to my knee than getting a good time. With the ultimate objective being completing Port Ironman next year, the important thing was to qualify. And I did that simply by finishing Port Half.

What I took away from Port was a number of things..
Simply having now done a half ironman (the longest thus far for me), I know what to expect and can therefore be more aggressive the next time. As they say, experience is crucial to the longer distances. I realise now how much more work I need to do on the run, especially off the back of the bike. This means much more training specifically for long rides followed by runs straight away. Additionally I need to do many more longer runs at faster pace to get used to the demand on the body.

I learnt that there is a definite skill involved in not getting penalised for drafting on the bike. After being told that I had incurred a 5 min time penalty for drafting on the first lap of the bike course, I was a little discouraged. Now, I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally draft. This is beside the point however, because it matters not what your intentions are it only matters how the Technical Official will see it. This is where the skill comes into it. Needless to say, this is one area of my training I intend to look into. In future I will be more intentional about appearing to be not drafting. As it happened, I got picked up for drafting through a hilly section while there were about 8-12 riders all around me, how the TO didn't penalise every single rider in the group is beyond me.

The knee injury was frustrating. I anticipated that it would be a problem for a good part of the run. It was, but perhaps more frustrating than the pain itself was the effect this had on my mind. When you are doing it tough, you don't need many excuses to ease up the pace and take it easy. So when you have a convenient one like a knee injury (now the fact that it is an excuse does not mean the pain wasn't real - there were times where I was forced to walk just to ease the pain), the will power is in short supply and the mind is all too eager to agree with the body.

One good thing to take away from Port is that I was relatively happy with my swim time. Just over 26minutes, equates to around 13:45 per km. This is pretty good for me in open water. I was averaging a little less than this in a 25m pool with the wetsuit, and have always struggled swimming well in open water. Everything went well for me on the swim. We were pretty spread out at the start, in comparison to the shorter tri's and land starts where it is rather crowded. Got in a good position and found myself just off the lead group of the age groupers.

All in all... I have to keep reminding myself that I just completed a half ironman and didn't feel like I over did it at any stage, and more to the point that I could probably do 2 out of the 3 disciplines over longer distances pretty easily. The difference would be doing the 3rd discipline well over 42+km at the end of a long day. I guess this is where the training needs to step up another level (or another couple of levels as the case may be). For the most part I am looking forward to getting back into the solid training and getting this knee sorted out.

More time with the family is a priority again, so it looks like early mornings are back on the agenda.

18 days between blog posts...

2009-10-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

Well, where has the last 2 and a half weeks gone? What have I achieved? To be frank, very little.

Wednesday 30th September - Swim AM, Ride AM, Shortened track session PM. "Day from Hell" with The Animal, joined for parts with the Welshman and Coburn.
Thursday 1st October - Run AM with The Animal and the Welshman.

It was this PM track run of about 5km followed by the AM run of 10km that caused the knee injury that I have been nursing for the last 2.5 weeks. ITB-related tendonosis on the outside of the right knee has made running, riding and swimming a bit of an issue.

That weekend was a lazy Saturday followed by an enjoyable MTB ride at Yarramundi on some impressive Specialized Mountain Bikes. This demo day, put on by friend's of my bro's, was a great opportunity to ride expensive bikes in the mud, and not be concerned about having to clean them.
Sunday MTB ride with Berro in Glenbrook: another chance to play in the mud on some great single track. Backed up with a run up to Springwood Pool for a swim with James (joined afterwards by thr Girls for a play in the kiddy pool) and run home. At this stage the knee was protesting considerably.

Had an ITB release on Wednesday to see if this could help the knee. Swim session that evening was causing some discomfort, mainly with pushing off the wall. Quick chat with Olly saw confirmation of my suspicions, with some advice offered to rest the knee and do some stretches.

Put the bike in with Dave Richo at Panthers Cycles to get some noises looked at and some new grip tape put on my bars. Picked it up after work Thursday, very impressed with the improvements made. A new chain and some tweaking of the seat and bars made a big difference to my position and the feel of the bike.

Sat AM ride with the Tri Club was great. Knee was a little tender, but after pretty much a week of little exercise and plenty of carbs the legs felt great. After leaving home late I made good time to get to the Truck Stop just in time to head out with the guys doing the longer ride. Gagas was there, so glad I had someone I knew to chat with. Pace was good, and I spent a good deal of the ride on the front. I think this is a weakness, and tends to see me hit the wall on the longer rides. Today was different though, as the wall never seemed to come, and I felt strong for the whole 130km. Included the hills behind Silverdale.

Sunday MTB ride up The Oaks from Glenbrook to meet with the Bro who was coming down from Woodford. Made it up to the first steep climb after the helipad, where I met Tim cranking it down the left-hander in the opposite direction. This was a solid 49 minute hard session keeping a steady pace the whole way. Rode back to the single track and eventually to the top of the causeway where we were met by another friend for another loop of the Single Track. All up close to 40km on the MTB, which was a reasonable effort after the ride the day before.

Wednesday AM ride round the loop with the Welshman, via Nepean River to catch the end of the World Masters Games Kayak races. Some fit and impressive old blokes on display.
Backed up with a MTB ride with the Bro and Mr Everson down Anderson's FT from Wentworth Falls to Woodford. Original Plan was to link to The Oaks, however dinner arrangements put a time limit on the afternoon. Took the single speed MTB out for a run, making the climb out of Bedford Creek all the more challenging.

Not much running for 2 weeks now.

Saturday the 17th was supposed to be a chance for redemption, however work commitments put that to bed. That evening saw a return to running with a short hit out with Donges and Baz around Springwood. Knee still sore at times, however responded well to a faster pace. Pain quickly gone after stopping.

Tomorrow needs to be a big day as I have far too many stored carbohydrates to burn.

2009-09-29T04:34:00.000-07:00

Well, in the name of consistency, last Wednesdays Day from Hell was again down-graded. This time, due to the impressive dust cloud providing for a lucifer-inspired atmosphere.

I'm not sure what contributed the most to the decision not to ride: the thought of being blown off my bike or the thought of having to pull my bike apart to remove all the dust. This would have to be a first for me: deciding not to ride to avoid making my bike dirty to avoid having to clean it. Definitely a low point for me, and not something I'm terribly proud of. Despite this, managed to swim about 3km with The Animal in the morning and get a solid running track session of ~8km in the afternoon. The times are coming down slowly for the 1 milers, however this stitch issue is not resolving. It is odd how these injuries don't just disappear despite refusing to stop training. I think I may need to see an allied health professional.

Thursday - after being fairly committed to running the normal BMMC Thursday run with The Animal, I must apologise for not showing up. The decision was based purely on the desire to remain in bed for those extra 90 minutes. What can I say...

Friday saw me miss the pre-arranged start of the usual morning ride with The Animal by approximately 1 minute, which might not seem like much but when you are chasing The Animal on the bike it is a reasonable length of time. It has to be said, his decision to not wait is in accordance with BMMC standards and is completely reasonable and expected given the track record I have.

Saturday was a 3km swim, 1hr45min mtn bike ride (bike computer didn't work and distance isn't all that meaninful on the mtn bike), 9km ride - 10km run - 9km ride session down to the Folks for a hit out around Sun Valley with the Welshman.

Sunday was the first 'triathlon' for the Panther's Tri Club season. The swim was unfortunately cancelled due to strong winds and the wind-chill factor that resulted. This did not play to my strengths, as the swim was replaced with a 5km run to make the event a duathlon. After a poor run leg to start, things went better on the bike and I managed to hold my position over the final 2.5km run.
Total time: 1:04:55
Breakdown:
5km Run: 20:33 (nice head wind for 2.5km and usual stitch issue resurfaced), overall not very happy with time.
Ride: 34:27 (incl. transition)
2.5km Run: 9:54 (stitch not an issue, final 1.25km with head wind, felt better)

Cycle Computer stats:
Distance: 19.62 km
Time: 32:53 min
Avg Speed: 35.7 km/h
Max speed 49 km/h

Again, the head wind proved troublesome on the bike, however with a loop track a head wind also means a nice tail wind. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Monday was a day off.

Tuesday was morning run with BMMC, last one with Sleep Train before he flew out to Austria to compete in the World Mountain Running Championships. Looking forward to seeing what Ben can produce over there.

Day from Hell tomorrow... will this be the first one to go according to plan?

2009-09-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Port HIM fast approaching...

I am slowly and painfully learning what is required for training for a specific event, something I don't think I have ever done in my life. Albeit, this event is something I would never have thought I would ever need to be training for. At the end of the day, you do what you can in the time you have, and if you are persistent you will see improvement.

I am a little apprehensive about the half (I haven't even begun preparing myself for the full, one mistake at a time), and I am aware that I probably shouldn't build it up in my mind too much, else be bitterly disappointed. I think the training is going OK. However, compared to some other individuals I have the pleasure of being able to train with, there is training and then there is TRAINING.

The saturday before last, I managed to survive (only barely) a ride with The Animal (aka Running Man of Blaxland - follow link to latest blog in the BMMC collection). About 150km or so all up, the computer died when the flat tyre was fixed at 114km. This left me positively wasted for the next few days, which was spent mostly eating carbs and watching TV.
Did manage some cross training on Sunday with a touch of rock climbing at Clarence Dam with the bro and a mate. Was thoroughly embarrased by a couple of fit rock climbing ladies, who had to explain what it means to "second" and "clean" a route, and demonstrate how to tie a figure 8.

Monday and Tuesday were days off. These were genuine days off, unlike the "day off" theory Sleep Train subscribes to.

Wednesday saw plans of a Day from Hell downgraded to a day of leisure on the outskirts of hell, staying well away from the city centre. Managed a reasonable swim in the morning, followed by an easy ride-run session with the sis (~30km on the bike and 5km round the trails at the folks house). Wed PM was a 6km warm up from Glenbrook Oval to the causeway and back, followed by a shortened interval session of ~4km.

Thursday AM run was missed as Mr Donges and myself arranged to pick James (aka Baz, aka ShitKicker - who now needs a more creative and more child friendly nick name) up from the airport, after his 9 month training camp in the welsh countryside. He has returned to the home of the BMMC for some intensive training and coaching in the lead up to Perth for the ITU World Long Course Championships in a month. Thursday PM was a run around the Tues AM S/Valley loop at the request of the Welshman who wanted to run some hills.

Friday PM was a swim. This was also the first training session missed by James.

Sat AM was a leisurely ride down to the river and back with Mr Donges and Thomo, yet to be convinced of the benefits of physical exercise outside of sitting in a Kayak. Sat arvo was a run from Woodford down to Bedford Creek and up Anderson's for a bit before turning around. Over 3 hours total time, about 25km covered, so nice pace with plenty of breaks.

Sun AM was a good little hit out with James on the bike, heading down to the M7 and back for about 75km. I must say, the new Orbea machine and the Zipp 404s made it hard to pay attention to the road in front of me. Found it very hard coming back up the mountain (quite unexpectedly as the ride wasn't particularly long), but realised with about 3km to go that my back tyre was almost completely flat (enough air to make it hard to notice). A top up with the pump got me home. I am getting tired of all these flat tyres, and hope that the more flats I have in training means I will avoid them during races.
Sun PM managed to get a swim in, only logging about 2.5 km, before taking Andeline into the kids pool for a bit of a swim.

Not a bad stretch of activity. Perhaps more intensity required over the next couple of weeks.

Day from Hell planned again for tomorrow, which is going to start on the right foot, as it is now almost 12am and I will be starting on 6 hours sleep.

W2G By by Moonlight

2009-09-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

Mainly for Sleep Train's benefit, I have decided to post some of the photos from last Friday Night's Woodford to Glenbrook FatAss run organised by Scambullant. Sleep, take note, it is 10:30pm, and if I am late to meet The Animal in the morning as he drags me up Hawkesbury Hill, we all know why. I have to put my alarm forward by 20 minutes to cater for some slow bodily functions, and that eats into my already too short sleep time.

Nonetheless, here are some of the photos:

The evenings proceedings went well.
Running at night turned out to be very enjoyable, and for some reason seemed to be easier.
The hills weren't so big, and the temperature was near perfect.

Moon was a little subdued due to the cloud cover, however this made it warmer, so it was a fair trade off. Grade of the track was super smooth, and in what moonlight there was, fairly bright.

I don't know what time we headed out, as I stayed to the back and got some photos/movies as people ran past to the start of the trail. Took it easy running with Scam and some guys for a minute or two before deciding there only needs to be one sweep, and I was going to go enjoy myself. Sorry Scam, I'll do it next time, promise.

Ran up past Rob (vstaR), then Rod, then Colin and MisterG, then GPB, a few other individuals, and settled in with Kieron and Connor (on the MTB). Stayed with them for about 5km and then decided to push on just before the helipad. I said this on CR, but can say it again, I was impressed with Kieron. Not only was he managing to push his son who was on the MTB up each hill, but as I worked out he was also "JustdidIt" who ran 6Ft Track carrying/pushing/dragging his other son with the 12 footers.

It was the next section, that although lonely was very enjoyable. Being dark you can't really tell how fast you are going. It is good training I believe, as you run more to feel than you would in the daylight. Managing to push that little bit harder as the heart rate dropped. As I did in the W2G race, I pushed it quite hard on the downhill sections from the helipad. A few occasions my footing would slip, and I would have to remind myself to ease off a little, it doesn't take much for my ankles to roll, and despite the track being relatively smooth I didn't like my chances.

To the helipad my watch showed 11:03, at the gate at the end of The Oaks it showed 11:29, and I was at the gate at the end around 12:08ish. I would normally be able to run from gate to gate in the low 30s, so I probably lost a few minutes here. At least 3 occasions where I had to stop due to a stitch in my right side. These were very frustrating as I felt like I had energy left to come home strong, but every time the leg speed quickened the stitch would return.

Kieron caught me around Iron Bark, and we ran together to the causeway, where he was required to push Connor up the hill one last time. Was 4th back to the finish (excl. the early starters), missing out on a medal. But, as my car had the esky with the beer I was guaranteed something to drink.
I was impressed by how many people were hanging around, most of which happy to stay and chat as runners came home. It wasn't until close to 1:30am that I headed off home.

Big pat on the back to scam (like he needs more congratulations) for putting it out there and making sure everyone finished safely. The atmosphere was great, as all runners enjoyed themselves and were eagerly awaiting the next moonlight W2G. We even managed to restore the reputation of the BMMC to its former glory... well almost.

Can't remember what other stuff I have done. Some swim sessions, not much on the bike, and some solid runs (no long ones).

Generally I am managing 2 sessions on most days, and at least one every day, the exception being Saturday I guess, however I was running after 12am so technically...

Wed was meant to be a session to hell and back with the Animal (as opposed to every other session with him), however work commitments meant I could only do the swim and running sessions. The run was another attempt at intervals, this time on the track (if you can call it that - I have run on smoother trails than glenbrook oval). After 1 400m lap struggling to keep up with The Animal running (what was only later explained) on 5:20 or less pace for 5 1-milers, I soon settled in to my own pace. Felt horrible for the first 2 or 3 miles, and would have given up if I wasn't that little bit proud. Started feeling good for the 4th and 5th sets, but as I wasn't timing myself or measuring my heart rate I don't know how well I was running. The stitch demon was back again sticking his little pitchfork into my side every couple of laps!

I realise these sessions will go along way to improving my running so, I guess I will have to persist. I have now learnt that it does no good comparing one's self to The Animal as well as The Sleep Train.

Felt OK for the Thursday morning run, although you know you're in trouble when the guys dont event bother to hassle you about being late to another training session.

continued...

2009-08-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday AM was a long(ish) run through GNP, turning into Euroka and up Bennett Ridge, quick pit-stop at the loo and a nice return along Red Hands Cave FT and back to the causeway along the Link Track. Just over 2 hours, but well and truly smashed at the end. Couldn't keep the legs pumping up out of the causeway. (20km)

Sunday PM back at the pool at 4pm for a shortened session with Animal and Sleep Train. (1.5km)

Monday AM ride for a bit over 1hr - 30-40km

Monday PM swim - 2.4km

Tuesday AM run - 10km

Totals for the week:

Bike: 210-220km (~7.5hrs)
Swim: 8km
Run: 46km

Port Macquarie Half Ironman

2009-08-31T05:09:00.000-07:00

It has begun...

Well, rego is in as of 9pm this evening. Last chance before entry fee went up. Discussions with she who it is becoming increasingly apparent must be obeyed at all times have centred around commitments, priorities, time management, household responsibilities, workload, and a fair bit of talking up Port Half in 2 months. Needless to say the next two months are going to be a good trial for how things will be come 2010. Decisions for Port Full will be based on this little beta test.

Training has been pretty good this week gone:

Wednesday morning was a last minute change due to blustery conditions from bike ride with animal to swim with sleep train. Not a big set, just increasing the load gradually and waiting for that aerobic capacity to come back. Technique is horrible at times, leaving me wondering whether it is too late to attempt to correct my swim or just slog it out.

Wednesday PM was a very unfortunate introduction to the training technique known as fartlek. No idea on the origins of this odd little word, nor to be honest on the actual definition. Needless to say I made a rude attempt at some interval training...interrupted by a brief (shorter than 20mins) interlude into the bushes along Grose Rd. Stomach never really recovered from the protein smoothy earlier that afternoon, leaving me to turn around and walk-jog-sprint-walk back to Sleep's childhood residence. Felt like the afternoon was wasted, but got enough of a taste of fartlek's to know I dont like them very much, so in that case it was 'educational'.

Missed the Thursday AM run with the BMMC boys due to the same old excuse. I'm not sure whether my alarm (=phone) is an extension of that little part of my brain responsible for characteristics such as discipline, determination, strength of will, courage... you get the drift. Either way, I seem to have a snooze button on that part of my brain also.

Took a sick day from work on Thurday so wasted the day feeling guilty about not doing anything, until I purchased some new shoes and decided to take them out for an evening jog round the streets after a little ride down to the bottom of Hawkesbury Hill and back. The temperature was nice, and felt like spring was asserting itself. Looking forward to the late evening sessions come daylight savings!

Friday am was a road ride with the Kiwi and Animal, that included chasing down some loan cyclist along the highway at blaxland, one hill repeat (pretty sure it doesnt count as a repeat when there is only one of them) down into sunvalley, then out to Hawkesbury Look Out. All up a respectable 50km - not bad before work.

Saturday AM was a nice late start (relatively) on the bike for an LSD (long slow distance) ride out the back of Cobbity, Silverdale, Wallacia, etc. All up 135km, with a few breaks along the way. Was happy with how the legs held up, was on the bike for approx. 5 hours (hence the 'LONG' in LSD). Enjoyed a quick paced TT session with The Animal along Northern Road in the mud, getting the new white jersey filthy.

Backed this up with a 4pm (read 4:15pm) swim at S'wood with Animal and Sleep Train. Thoroughly exhausted, despite getting in a nana-nap for 30 minutes or so during the day.

Carbo load over DVD with Mr and Mrs Prince Donges

2009-08-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

Willy to Billy Debut Complete.
Surprisingly felt good for a 35km run. My pace wasn't quick, coming in a tad over 3 hrs. In typical DrPhil style of coming so close to goal time yet missing.

The course was much easier than I anticipated, the final climb being very runnable. I had held back quite a bit throughout the first stages, so that I was ready for the climb. I could have possibly given more earlier and still been ok up the hill. Problems I had included a recurrent stitch, mainly affected me on the flat to slight decline sections, where I would have liked to stretch out a little. Probably need to get used to faster leg speed. Some blisters appeared mid way, which meant the downhill section was slow going. Hydration was only a little problematic, taking the time to get in enough fluids at the aid station was frustrating as what little gains I made between the stations were lost. This was more apparent on the final climb. Some chafing under the arms was more of a nuisance than anything - I had to run with my elbows sticking out.

Lessons learnt: strap your feet to prevent blisters, don't wear a singlet stick to short sleeves, get a water belt and get used to running with it, do some track work to get the leg speed quicker, back yourself in the final stages and give a little more early on.

Was able to get a ride in on the Sunday, the Yarramundi loop cut short due to road closure. A good one for the legs anyway.

Missed the Monday morning ride with Kiwi and Animal - happening far too frequently. Now 2 separate alarms to wake me up.

Managed to wake up Tuesday and get a run in with ST. Didn't get blown away.

Early nights are now mandatory so that I can get back into the early morning routine.

2009-08-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

Well, after a cranking start to my return to intentional training, I seem to have not done a great deal for the last 3 days.

Last Wednesday was a shopping experience with Andeline (this should count as training), followed by an easy ride up the mountains with Mr Donges. I really enjoyed this ride, giving the hills a good go.

Thursday morning I managed to show up for a Thursday run with ST and The Animal. I think the only time I've managed to beat Tim up Old Bathurst, as he was recovering from 2 weeks or more with the flu. ST on the other hand, would have to be attached to a ventilator to give me a chance beating him up the hill.

Friday morning was a 25km ride up to woodford and back down to springwood for a 1.5km (or thereabouts) swim at the wood with ST and Skinny Kiwi. Enjoyed the envigorating ride back home from the pool at 7am in wet tri pants. Kiwi could have had an uncomforable ride home after someone felt it necessary to take his riding nicks while swimming. Enjoyed this ride-swim session, the shoulders took about a km to warm up, by which time I was ready to call it a day.

Sat Morning made it to the National Park for a run with RodtheHornet and Sailaway along with ST and Scam. Decided to ride down via lapstone hill to get a ride-run session in. Felt average on the way out to the Oaks so decided to keep Scam company as he headed back via Euroka Clearing. I wasn't terribly looking forward to the ride back up home and then off to work for the day. Apologies to ST, Rod and Louis, I would have liked to run the whole way with you guys. Big heads up to Rod and Louis coming all the way up to the Mountains for a run.

This is where the triumphant return to hardcore training ends miserably. Sunday was a non-event boycotted by a morning at work and an afternoon eating chips and drinking far too much soft drink at STs for a BMMC BBQ. Got Andy home to bed, and promptly took myself off for a nanna-nap. The mornings had caught up to me, it would seem.
Monday saw me whinge like a baby at quarter past 5, and hide back under the covers while texting some lame excuse to Kiwi and The Animal.
Funnily enough, Tuesday saw the same thing happen again - I might have even used the same excuse.

Will potentially have weekends free from now for some time, so hopefully looking to extend the km in all three disciplines for the next 10 weeks leading up to Port Half.

Heard a rumour that James is back on the 17th September. Look out BMMC, the Welshman is coming home. Uncomfirmed as yet, but it may herald a BMMC trip over to Perth for support crew at the Long Course Champs.

This Saturday is Willy2Billy, so will put in a few easy long runs over next few days and cap it off with a steady 35km. Followed up by a carbo after-load on Sunday night at MisterG's establishment. If the growth we've seen over the last 2 BMMC nights at Victoria's is anything to go by, we may need to book out the whole restaurant. All interested welcome to come.

Till next time...

Triathlon Season approaching fast...

2009-08-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well, this week signals the beginning of intentional training for triathlons with a return to the pool.

After a 3 month hiatus (from the pool), I am determined to clock some reasonable kms in the pool in the hope of bringing my swim times down. Managed to get in just over 2km straight up of freestyle, followed by a couple of 100m medleys on monday night. The focus is going to be on drills and 800m sprints.

The bike is making a slow return into the weekly routine, with lots of strength training required. A bit of work on the trainer and some hills are in order. Have been doing a little over the last few weeks, but nothing to write home about. Time to start logging the kms so I can build up to reasonable distances at a good pace. Looking for a cheap road bike to get me off the tri bike. Managed to join the slimming kiwi for a dash up to hazo on Monday. Then decided to ride down to the morning run at Sleep Trains and back. Did struggle a little with the pace. I'm hoping to get plenty of ride-run sessions happening to improve my running off the bike - this was a struggle last season. So a 5-10-5 (ride-run-ride) session this morning. Planning on doing the same on Thurday.

After Saturday's 12 ft experience, I managed to get in a 15km run on Sunday morning with Terry (yet to be nicknamed - needs to attend regular BMMC runs and naming ceremony). Headed out from the NP gate at Glenbrook for the usual out to the picnic area before the start of The Oaks and back.

Wednesday last week was a longish run with Prince Donges from Woodford down The Oaks onto St Helena's, crossing over and down to the bottom of Martin's Lookout, up to Springwood via Sassafras and back to home, clocking in just under 2.5 hours (incl. breaks). Pace was slow and enjoyed a few rest stops.

Tuesday was a mix-up of the usual routine, opting to run from The Animal's (I know it has a name - ask Scam if you care about it) to give Sleep Train a few more days for the body to recover. Happy enough to manage running up Old Bathurst. Didn't even attempt to keep up with Garath and Tim.

Memory gets hazy about now. Did join Kiwi for a little ride out to H'bury L/out somewhere there. Hoping to keep logs up to date.

12Ft experience

2009-08-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Didn't get to run as I had hoped (only planning on doing 45km only), but did get to take Andeline out and give the guys a bit of support.

BMMC represented by vstar (rob) and shogun! Good effort guys. Rob would have recently finished, all things going well.

M7 wrap up

2009-07-26T04:05:00.000-07:00

3:30:21 official time. 1:38:43 first split, 1:51:09 second.

Was feeling good Friday and Saturday, no injuries and the groin issue apparently fixed. Started out well, staying just off the 3hr pacer through the first 2 - 3 km (maintaining under 4min30/km - admittedly only over a short distance). Made it to about 13-14km before the 3:15 pacer caught up. The calf had started feeling tight coming up some of the first climbs, but I eased the pace and put up with the discomfort. Made it to half-way in 1hr38 which would have to be a half marathon pb by a few minutes (this time actually is suprising as I wasn't going very hard).

Took in my two gels over the first 20km, expecting to pick up some more at the drink station before half-way. Was excited to see Mr Donges there cheering me on and taking my photo that I forgot to pick any up. The gatorade water bags were doing the job, however I could have done with the sugar and caffeine over the last 10km.

Got passed by Mrs Artup's relay partner Mrs Symonds at about 25km. Would have loved to have been able to stay with her however knew the legs couldn't hold up over the next 17km if I wasn't careful. We passed the lead runner with second place and Mr Ben Artup hot on his heels with only 5km to go (for them). Was inspiring to see Ben looking so good running so fast. Unfortunately not inspiring enough to ease the pain I was experiencing in my calves, quads and hamstrings.

The rest of the run was simply about continuing to put one foot in front of the other and doing battle with those inner demons and protesting muscles encouraging me to stop. Proud with myself for resisting these strong urges, as in training the focus tends to be lacking and the mind gives in to the body. Not very happy with the pace over the last 22km (~5:29/km) to give a split of 1:51:09, a hefty 12 minutes slower than the first half.

Found something left in the tank as I approached the last hill to come off the bike track, running down 4 or 5 runners in the process. I'm left wondering whether the finish would have been better had there been a 3:30 pacer to carry me home. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough and it was left too late to come in under the 3:30 goal. However, happy enough. As pointed out philosophically at the finish line, you can't go too hard on your first attempt, as you need to be able to better it on the next attempt.

Was good to meet Scurry, who needs to front up to some morning runs now.

Big thanks to Mr Prince Donges and Mr and Mrs Scam Bullant who rocked up for support on the finish. Looking forward to some photos being posted of me looking absolutely shattered on the finish. Big thanks to Scam for driving me home. I hadn't thought about the practical issues of driving a manual car after running a marathon.

Post W2G Pre M7

2009-07-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

Well things have dropped off a little since Woodford to Glenbrook. Busy with work and no real weekends off, has meant no big runs (longest was a slow 13 out Faulco Point).
It has almost been a month since last blog, so I have pretty much lost track of the runs. Suffice to say I am certain I haven't clocked as many kms in the last month as I did in the week of W2G.

Not sure how I will fair on Sunday. It will my my first attempt at a road marathon, and I am a little apprehensive. Not sure how the legs will hold up over the 42km. I am aiming for sub 3hr30min but again, with nothing to compare it to this could be a little ambitious. Whilst it is 5min/km, I will need to sustain this over the 210mins.

We will see.

Woodford to Glenbrook

2009-06-29T04:58:00.000-07:00

Had a good week last week. Logged a few km's, and capped the week off with a good attempt at W2G.

Tuesday I managed to make it to the BMMC run in the morning and felt good. Overall time was a little slower than usual, so I guess we've managed to find out who is holding the pace back...Sleep Train!

Backed it up on Wednesday with an enjoyable long run from Lawson to Glenbrook. Discovered some previously undiscovered (by me) trails at the back of Lawson. Linked up a few trails (combined with a quick run over a padlocked gate, past a few goats and around a few sheds) as we wound our way down to Woodford. Made the decision at this stage (after 1.5 hrs) that I was feeling ok and would give The Oaks a go. Mentally, a hard track to run with the similar bends and hills and the failed expectations of reaching the heli-pad on atleast 4 separate occasions. Got in a rest and plowed on for what I had anticipated would be an easy downhill run. The legs had other ideas. Made it to the gate, over 4hrs later, chalking up about 41km.

Next run was Sat morning with Sleep Train, getting a slow ~16km.
Sunday was W2G. Knowing what to expect I expected nothing. I made a point of not looking at the time until the Heli-pad as I wanted to be unexpectedly suprised at my time. Needless to say, I didn't have to look at my time, and was pleased at getting there in close to 56min. Ran the second half of the first 12km with Terry, as he decided I would be a good pacer for the time he wanted to run. Gold Coast Marathon this weekend. He and his Garmin managed to keep me updated with my pace along the way, informing me of my expected time if I kept this pace up. I think when he joined me I was running 4:36/km, which would get me home under 2hrs which was my goal.
Shortly after the heli-pad the speed picked up and I was running 4min/km feeling very good. Terry dropped back to keep his pace. I knew I'd see him again, so it wasn't farewell.

Legs got tired and I felt like I had hit the wall. Nonetheless with about 3-4km to go Terry came up past me and urged me on, picking my pace up 500m at a time. I would never have thought I could have pushed through the pain and heavy legs had I not been pushed. The advice to shorten my stride and concentrate on increasing leg speed really helped. The finish line approached and a couple of runners were passed.
Got to the end in 1:52:52. Well under my goal of 2hrs, and just shy of my ultimate goal of 1:50 (I have back-up goals if my real goals are not met, it's a little trick I like to play on myself). A respectable effort for a first attempt, and the first real race where I have focussed on technique throughout the run. Thanks to Terry. I've heard he may make the switch over to BMMC from SMC very soon.

Just over 90km for the week.
Nothing on the bike or in the pool. Not sure when I will find the time to get in the km's this week.

2009-06-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

Managed to get out for a run last Sunday for an easy enjoyable hour and a half down Singles Ridge and up to Blaxland East, taking the new shoes for a spin. Felt good despite having a break for a bit over a week. Knee turned up sore, due to inadequate stretching and cool down.
Missed the tuesday morning BMMC run due to misunderstanding with the alarm on my phone. It seems it was actually going off and I wasn't simply dreaming it. Made it up that evening with a night time run into the National Park from Glenbrook. A steady 1 hour run at a good pace. For some reason I run faster in the dark, especially on the way back.

Got up for a run on Thursday with BMMC, only Animal showed up. Weather warmer than I expected, which meant too many layers. Was slow going up Old Bathurst due to... well this probably isn't the place for that discussion. Nonetheless made it back in time to take Animal's new bathroom for a test drive. Handles well under pressure.

The bike and pool has been neglected. Waiting for the motivation to return.

Woodford to Glenbrook on the cards next Sunday, looking forward to seeing what I can do over 25km.

Race Report

2009-06-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Following is my race report from the birth of baby number 2, Zoe Elise. Photos can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97819&id=571336764&l=256ced0f03.

Things got under way at about 1pm on Thursday when I arrived at Nepean Hospital where Rach was waiting to get settled into a delivery suite. I had received a phone call at work earlier to inform me that Rachel was probably going to be induced that afternoon after an ultrasound had showed little growth of the baby and her heart rate dropped too low a few times.

Things got moving around 4pm when the "Syntocin" (drug used to induce contractions in the uterus) was administered and the waters were broken. Steadily increasing contractions (in number and force) kept Rachel occupied for the next 5 or so hours until the business end of the evening got under way. Only 4 or 5 "big pushes" accompanied by some vocal encouragement from Rach is all it took to get little Zoe out and onto Mum's chest where she cried as she adjusted to breathing (of course "only" and "all it took" may be understatements).

It was another hour until the plumbing had been fixed and Rach was ready to give Zoe some milk. She'd been weighed and measured, coming in at 2.67kg and 47.5cm. A shower and change of clothes and Rachel was feeling much better. We moved up to the Postnatal ward where Rach and Zoe had an empty room for the night. I was given a leave pass to allow me to come home at 2am and catch 5 hours good sleep in my own bed. Early start again and I was back down to the hospital to make sure Rach and Zoe made it through the night. Everyone was doing well, and the morning started with a hearing test for Zoe and some Dr's visits for both to check over all the relevant signs. Once given the all clear we headed home at 6pm Friday evening, 36 hours after all the fun began. A pb for Rach there.

Now at home we have settled in, where we are working on getting some routine into our lives. Thanks to BMMC for the flowers, that literally just arrived. At any rate I might be allowed out to some morning runs as early as Tuesday.

Very little time until W2G now, and very little preparation. After Daddy received a new pair of Kayano's for all his hard work through the labour, a few km's this week are needed to get me up to speed.

BMMC Dinner

2009-05-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

Clockwise starting at the bottom left of the photo we have Mister G, his Majesty King Donges, Prince Donges heir to the throne, Scam Bullant and his lovely wife (Mrs Scam?) whom must be obeyed by all, Mrs DrPhil, DrPhil, Animal's head is poking just above Shogun's back, (not so) Fat Kiwi, Shogun and Mrs Shogun, and Sleep Train.

IT Consultant to the Stars: Sleep Train and Mister G getting set up for the photo presentation.

L-R: Scam, Fat Kiwi and Animal.

Photos were taken on the Sunday night after The North Face 100. As mentioned earlier the food and fantastic restaurant provided by Mister G at his Italian Restaurant in Warrimoo, in the lower Blue Mountains.

Here it is. DrPhils claim to swimming fame!

2009-05-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

Check out the link above.

Look at the 9 years male section.
I think it is safe to say I may have peaked a little early in my swimming career.

NF100 Photos - on facebook.

2009-05-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

Feel free to check the photos out on Facebook. Select the link in the title above. Blogspot was far too slow to upload these.
Video is proving more difficult as my camera records in HD and so the file extension isn't recognised by facebook or youtube. I'll get something sorted.

I'm going to throw some suggestions out into the ether about BMMC.
As BMMC is building a fair bit of momentum in terms of recognition amongst the local and wider running community and with the fantastic results of a few key members (whether they were aware they were members or not is beside the point) in recent races, some thought needs to go into the future direction of the group.

Following the fantastic night of pizza, beer and a film presentation from North Face 100 that was held at Victoria's Italian Restaurant in celebration of the phenomenal results achieved by BMMC members, Andrew Lee and Branden Haywood, some suggestions have been made that these sorts of nights could become somewhat of a regular event. It may even be adopted as the BMMC clubhouse if Sean is OK with that. Thanks again to Sean Greenhill and his generosity in opening up his Restaurant to the BMMC crew.

This got me thinking about getting some shirts screen printed, and looking forward to future races where we can get involved and either compete or support those guys who are competing. A lot has to be said about the kindness and generosity of the BMMC support crew at NF100 who were patient enough to wait for the stragglers to waddle on in at the end of their race. Heads up to Sleep Train and Scam for getting out there.
I have been approached by a local media outlet to perhaps do a feature article on the BMMC and its successes on the Australian Trail Running Calendar.

So, to those silent supporters of BMMC, remain silent no longer. Raise your voices and declare yourself a BMMC member (pending approval). I know that on paper, the BMMC looks a lot like an elite society of established runners, and whilst this is indeed the case it is also much more. For me, the group is about friends and training partners enjoying the satisfaction that comes from being able to run the best trails in Australia just outside our back doors. There is a wide range of ability represented by the BMMCs membership, yet an acceptance of each other for where they are in their running journey (pardon the cliche) , which makes for an incredibly positive and encouraging atmosphere on the regular runs.

So far, the group has expanded simply by word of mouth alone. Where different circles of friends and training partners have merged into one loose association of runners from the same geographical location. I am conscious that this can sometimes appear to be exclusive for those people who just may not know someone in the group. The question is how do we open the BMMC up for anyone and everyone who would benefit from joining? How do we promote the group?

Scams challenge laid down following the Wild Endurance title being claimed by the Sydney Striders, to take out the trifecta in 2010 has provided some long-term goals for BMMC. The plan is to have as many members as we can compete in the Six Foot Track (we would have to get 1, 2 and 3 to improve on 2009); to follow it up with a relay team in the Wild Endurance and smash the course record and reclaim the title from the low-landers and then back it up 2 weeks later with as many entrants in the NF100 and improve upon this years 1st and 3rd. As for the rest of the year, we have the Woodford to Glenbrook, the Hunter Valley Marathon, the M7 Marathon, Fitzroy Falls Marathon just to name a few.

But, the BMMC isn't just about running (a little misleading, we apologise). Quite a few members (in fact almost all) are into multisport, including Triathlons and Adventure Racing. With success at the last National Geographic event, the skinny-Kiwi is looking to put in a good performance at this years GeoQuest in under two weeks time. Animal has his sights set on Port Maquarie Ironman 2010, and may manage to drag a few other BMMC members along with him. Aside from recognised events, there has also been talk of a 12hour attack on Kedumba. Adapting the very popular endurance moutainbike concept to the trail running domain. This could become a BMMC-sponsored low-key fatass-esque event where other running clubs are invited to come and train and test themselves on the premiere trails of the Blue Mountains.

I'm going to throw it out there to see if people are interested in perhaps setting up a website. Somewhere to post photos, put up course descriptions for popular runs, notify the wider community about planned runs, brag about past achievements, taunt other "marathon clinics" about who is better, etc, etc. I do have some webspace available through my ISP. I'm not all that crash hot with html, but there are some easy programs that you dont need to know html for. I also probably dont have much time to give to the idea but thought I would offer it if anyone else did and felt like they wanted to do it.

NF100 - tick (well 54km anyway)

2009-05-17T01:23:00.001-07:00

After receiving the new Asics Trail Sensor's wed am I managed to pop up to Katoomba and go for a run from Narrowneck Rd down Nelly's Glen part of the way to Ford Reserve and back. I needed to see what I was up against if I were to do the second leg. Shoes felt OK. Decision was made that evening for me to run the first leg and Wayne (Patron King) Donges would run the second.
Thursday and Friday were rest days. As I hadn't run any section of the first leg of the NF100 course I was having difficulty preparing mentally for the run. Relying on the elevation map I made note of the hills and tried to give them some reference to the hills I had run.
Race day arrived and with it the culmination of a few weeks of reasonable preparation. What would happen after the 35km mark was the big question for me, and how would I deal with it over the remaining 20km. Leaving Mick (Prince) Donges to go out hard with the front runners I made an easy pace for the first leg, feeling frustrated mostly for the amount of stopping and starting in the middle of a big line of people. Just when the space opened up to stretch the legs a moment of distraction to either blow my nose or grab the mouthpiece to my water was enough to see me twist my ankle twice. The first not so bad, easing up as I continued to run. The second was a lot worse, causing me to eat dirt and clutch my ankle like a baby for a few seconds. My ensuing thought processes went something like this: Ouch!; Oh @#&*!; Well atleast I don't have to keep running now!; well how am I going to get out of here, there is still the Rock Slide and Golden Staircase to go before I can get out; Damn It! Wayne is going to be waiting for me down in Megalong, I cant let him down!; Im going to have to finish, but I still have a marathon to run! These thoughts went through my brain in the space of 10 seconds. Leaving me to get up and start walking to ease the pain. After about 50 metres of walking I managed an easy jog, making every effort to scan the ground for even ground. My pace was considerably slower after this point, realising that it would only take one more roll and I would be out of the race. Making it to CP1 after 2:07:37, I decided not to waste much time and keep the ankle warm so I took in some endura, grabbed some lollies and off I went.
Putting in some time on most of the others on the uphill sections I knew I had to keep my momentum going. The wind was distracting and I was getting quite cold despite having my thermal shirt on. Caught up with Dean going up one climb, decided to stick with him and make some conversation, see what all the hype was about. To say nothing of his running, his physique is phenomenal. Hopefully got a cheap shot in as I passed him as we were filmed climbing one of the hills along narrowneck . He caught me on the downhills and I never saw him again. Made it to the water tower and decided to check my phone which had been beeping for the last 20km. Sent a message to the wife and changed my shirt and headed off for the last section down to the ladders. The climb down to the firetrail hurt my knees and feet. Made some good time along the bottom and slowly climbed up to Dumphy's.
Getting to CP2 at 4:34:45 (2:26:58 split) I was feeling a little apprehensive about the third leg. The hills were hard after here, as my right groin was giving me some trouble. Couldn't seem to get the power out of the right leg, not sure if the groin is related to the foot drop on the right side - I'd say it probably didn't help matters. The out and back section along ironpot ridge gave some spectacular views. Took the opportunity to get some photos. The climb down from Ironpot was pretty hard on the knees and toes. After crossing the creeks and making my way past the Ranch I realised I had no water left. I estimated I had about 8-10km to go and that included a reasonable climb. Grabbed a moutful from a runner who was cramping up and stopped to walk. Paced it out with him for a few minutes and then started moving again. I could only run for a few hundred metres before I would get a stitch. The easy downhill sections always tend to give me problems. I suspect it has to do with core strength perhaps as your abdominal muscles get a work out running downhill. Took another phone call to explain why I was running late, estimated I was 2km out so gave myself 10 minutes.
The last km I felt fantastic. Got some momentum going down the hill and didn't seem to get any cramps. Probably the only time I got to stretch out the entire run. Don't get me wrong, had I not been finishing it would have been a different story. Ran in at 7:02:57, about 45 minutes off where I hoped I would be. But finished nonetheless.
Photos and movies need to be sorted out before I upload them.

2009-05-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

Countdown to NF100. What have I got myself into?
Well, after falling victim to the hazards of purchasing shoes online, I have now only 2 days to wear my new trail running shoes in. They will hopefully arrive tomorrow express post. Which gives a small easy run on Wednesday and again on Friday just to keep the joints loose and give the shoes a few kms. Some discussion has been had about the merit of wearing my zoot triathlon racing flats on the NF course! Whilst far from perfect they may be the lesser of many evils when it comes to running on the day. We will see.
Not entirely sure whether my preparation has been sufficient for the NF100. Whilst I am only running half (as yet undecided about which half), it is the furthest I will have run in a race by between 24 and 32 km (and about 16-20km longer than I have ever run).

This week just gone:
Tuesday morning run with BMMC. Enjoyed pushing the last stretch from the top of Sun Valley with Animal.
Wednesday morning saw Mick and Me heading out on an attempt of Legs 5 and 6 of the NF track. From Katoomba Falls oval down into Jamison Valley, up Kedumba Pass and back around to Fairmont Resort via the under cliff track. Despite dropping behind Mick coming up Kedumba, I was impressed and just a little self-congratulatory over my effort to keep running the whole way up. Excluding a brief pause where I had to take a call on the mobile, but that doesn't count as it wasn't due to fatigue that I stopped. Heading back to Leura was a different story, but made it back in 3hr38min total time.

Wed night was a late affair in the city to watch the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Unfortunately the days efforts, left me in a sorry state come Thursday morning, leaving Scam and Animal to make conversation themselves.

Sat morning was the weekend "long" run with BMMC. Like how I used quotation marks around "long" as if to imply that 28km (generous estimate) isn't long? Well, I'm simply trying to prepare myself for Saturday, so if I convince myself that 28km isn't that long then maybe 54km wont feel so bad. I'm not becoming an endurance running snob who looks down his nose at anything under 50km. One day perhaps!

Sunday was a rest day, missing an opportunity to go for a swim due to Mother's Day commitments. Made it to the pool Monday night for an easy 2.75km swim. Definately felt slow next to the squad lane with young fit girls smashing me each lap.

Hopefully will inspect Nelly's Glen on Wednesday.

This week: Run 71km, Ride ~30km, Swim 2.75km

Monday 04/05/09 - Blog time is irrelevant.

2009-05-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

Monday 27/04/09 saw me waking early to join Animal on a ride down to Yarramundi. He still leaves me for dead on the hill.

Thursday am run with BMMC. Scam put in an all-time record for turning up late, remarkable all the more as it was at his place. Made good time though getting back, a few short-cuts go a long way (there has to be a clever word for that little grammatical wizardry!).

Saturday was a big run joining up close to all the running trails available between glenbrook and warrimoo (excl. national park). Running late myself, I met the others at the top of 5-ways after running in from Spurwood. Decided to carry a camel-back laden with a few extras to add weight, so I could get used to carrying a 20L pack for NF100. 3hr47min later (and 4 different climbs up the Great Dividing Range - well some of it) saw us back at Scams. Thanks goes to she-who-must-be-obeyed-by-scam for the fruit platter. I hope scam has put the run up on his blog, it was an epic (would have to be the longest stretch of consistent running for me). I have to re-learn how to pace myself up hills, and take a leaf out of scams book.

Sunday was a sleep in, and midday 50km road ride up the mountains, followed by approx. 2km swim with sleep.

This morning was the weekly ride with animal. If I want to stay with him on the hills I will have to put in more time on the bike.

Plan for this week ahead, with only 11 days to go till NF, is to check out leg 5 of the NF track with Mick. Not confirmed but would like to head down into the Jamison Valley from Katoomba and up Kedumba Pass. May make a loop out of it from the Golf Course. Have a day off then get in Woodford to Glenbrook to smash the legs (this would only allow 7 days to recover so we will see).

What consistency.

2009-04-28T03:07:00.001-07:00

"...I will just ask one question; “excuse me Mr De Castella, does 2 out of 7 days running count as consistent?” "

Yes! If you only ran 2 days the previous week. But then I'm no De Castella.

Consistency has too broad a definition to be very useful.
For me, and I recognise that this is different for everybody, the only benchmark that is important is the one I set last week. If I am consistent with this approach to my training, then I can't help but to improve.

2009-04-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

Sat arvo mtn bike ride woodford to glenbrook (26km).
Sun arvo swim over 2km

2009-04-24T18:51:00.001-07:00

Tuesday - morning run with BMMC --> I must issue a correction for last weeks blog. MMMC does not exist...yet. Any mid-mountains runners who wish to affiliate themselves with the Blue Mountains Marathon Clinic should direct their enquiries to Scam Bullant.
Wednesday - attempt at 6ft track (parts thereof). Headed from Megalong to Jenolan Caves via the track. Enjoyed it, didn't run very well, but made it to the end after 5 hours of plodding along. 2nd half saw me walking quite a bit. Mick made it all the way to Kanangra, over 70km later.

Rest day Thursday.

Friday was a leisurely 1.5 laps at Yarramundi on the Mtn Bike.

Saturday, Glenbrook to Woodford via The Oaks Fire Trail. 2:22 running time, 26km.

Kanangra Walls to Katoomba

2009-04-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the return to the Sun Valley loop with BMMC.

Wednesday Morning busted out the H'bury Loop with Animal, getting back in time to pack the bag and head out to Kanangra NP.
A break from the normal routine this week for a 3 day hike from Kanangra Walls to Katoomba. After piss-farting around for the best part of the morning we got out to the start of the track by just after 2pm, and headed off at 2:30pm. Night 1 was atop a saddle before Mt Stormbreaker, giving us a nice climb in the morning. Making good time Day 2 we got to the top of Mt Yellow Pup. Really enjoyed the climb, spent most of it imagining a decent bike ride down in probably 15 minutes max. Took me 1hr18 to get to the top. Quads were sore. Last day had us concerned about how far we had yet to cover, however pleasantly surprised by the "cruisiness" of the remaining trail, getting to the top of Narrow Neck for lunch before midday.

Inspired to do some more hiking.

Registered for North Face 100km as part of a 2-man relay with Wayne Donges. Looking forward to seeing what the body can do when pushed, and pushed, and pushed. I think the key is going to be nutrition and hydration. Hopefully will get in some longer 30km+ runs in the next 4 weeks.

Bummed I missed the Kedumba Pass run Sat morning. I think an Anzac Day Epic is going to be on the cards.

2009-04-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

Monday 6th April - 2km in the pool after work. Running late so busted out 80 laps straight up.

Tuesday 7th April - bit over 2km in the pool again. More drills this time. The regular 1km easy free, 500m flipper kick, 500m pull with a bit of butterfly at the end.

Wednesday 8th April - early morning ride with The Animal. Just short of 60km down to yarramundi and back before work. Got smashed on the hill yet again. Another 2.5 km swim in the evening, alone after The Animal actually had to work an honest day and didn't get back in time. Was going to swim 3km but met up with Olly and chatted about Port. More motivation to give it a crack next year.

Thursday 9th April - MMC run down Glenbrook NP. Just over 1 hour. Some rotting carcass somewhere off the trail gave a peculiar odour on the descent into the Gorge.

Friday 10th April - Mtn Bike Ride with the Bro and some local mtn bikers. Headed from Torwood Rd into Sun Valley, up what I have been informed is referred to as "Shit Hill", down 5 ways and along to Winnicoopa, up and along Wilson Way to Boorea St and out to Chicken Run down to the River and back along to the bottom of Old Bathurst, making our way to Mitchell's Pass and over Knapsack and up the back of the RAAF Base to have a morning Coffee (Coke) in Glenbrook. Finally back along highway to Valley Heights. Quite an epic for the mtn bike, but good fun. That afternoon was a fast 10km up at Lawson with Mr and Mrs Michael Donges and the man making a comeback, Joshua Thorpe of KT26ers fame. Some nasty hills on this little run.

Saturday 11th April - Backed up with Scam for what was supposed to be a 3 hr run, but as the run progressed it became apparent we were making good time. Felt suprisingly good after backing up from the evening before right up until the last climb into Blaxland. Scam powered on and added a little more at the end to get up the 2.5 hours he wanted. I was happy just to crawl back to the car at Marshal Mansion. Learnt a few things on this run: adequate hydration is crucial (going to have to get me one of those running belts I swore I'd never get, or carry a 600ml Mt Franklin bottle in Sleep Train Style); adequate nutrition is crucial (declined the generous offering of a spare gel from Scam at the 2 hr point, which in hind-sight would have possibly got me home in a lot less pain); and the body needs more than 12 hours to replenish energy stores. A reliable authority on running told me that you are allowed to add the distances together for multiple runs when they are run within a 24 hour window.

All in all happy with the effort as I have needed to push the body as far as it (apparently) can go, simply to know what it feels like and what it will take to push through that. The long weekend runs need to become a staple part of my training diet.

Sunday 12th April - the Easter Sabbath, so in true religious form I was back at work. Nonetheless it was still a day of rest as I did no training. Recovery from Saturday and in preparation for Monday mornings club tri.

Monday 13th April - Easter Monday Club Tri. Ok swim, Good bike and off to a good run that was shortened to 2.5 km. All in all not a bad effort. A little dissapointed the run was shortened because I felt like I was on track for a pb. 54.10 total, 12:30 swim, 31:56 ride, 9:43 run.

Rain + Grose River + Lilo = 6.5 hours of fun.

2009-04-05T02:34:00.000-07:00

2 hours worth of blogging was just wiped. If my child was not asleep next door I would have sworn rather profusely.
If you want to hear what I got up to this week just gone, you're going to have to ask me!!!

Pathetic.

Sleep Train runs in opposite direction!

2009-03-30T02:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, believe it or not, the unfathomable psyche of the sleep train has done a switch-a-roo. Tuesdays long-awaited return to the sun valley home run was put off for another week, poor light meant we stayed on the bitumen and headed up to springwood and back, running in opposite direction.

Wednesday had a massage to work on the lower back and ITB, both pretty tight after a couple of runs on the mtn bike. The afternoon, when baby-sitting duties were delegated, allowed me to get on the mtn bike and hit up Blue Gum. This time doing it anti-clockwise, which meant we had to climb Bee's Nest. I think that one is going to become a regular training run to work on my hills.

Thursday morning was a run with Donk, busting out a little under 10km (haven't measured yet). Ran across the Kiwi doing it tough with the Dog. I suspect we ran at a faster pace to my normal morning sessions with MMC, not entirely sure why, but it wasn't a conscious descision.

Friday evening took the mtn bike out after a tune at the shop, just to make sure things were working. Same again Sat morning. Nothing big, just enough to turn the legs over and go through the gears.
Sunday was early start to head out to Wiseman's Ferry for the Tre-X off-road triathlon event. Joined the Fat Kiwi, Deano and the Sister for a bit of an off-road sampler. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
Dr Phil posts his first (age-group) victory in a triathlon. The secret to success, I've discovered, is picking the events that no one else can be bothered to go to.

Swim: 7:34 1st in category, 11th overall - used the kiwi as a bumper to keep me from running aground.
Ride: 1:02:43 1st in category, 9th overall - including a spectacular over-the-bars ditch into a creek on the downhill section.
Run: 25:25 2nd in category, 15th overall
Total: 1:35:43

Got myself a Salomon Hydra-Pack for my troubles.

2009-03-23T02:35:00.000-07:00

Well, new mtn bike since last monday. Took it out with the siblings on friday, only to break the chain 300m into the first lap. Not to worry, ran it back to the car and then went for a jog out along the fire trail anyway. Managed to jump on the bike and hit out a lap when the others had finished. Balance coming back nicely by the end. Chain shall be fixed ASAP, alowing me to get in a few decent rides to get the flow back. Slept a little in the afternoon, in between entertaining the little one. Woke up and she had managed to turn the DVD on to watch one of her favourite shows. That arvo was a dismal first attempt at interval running. The plan was to complete 4 x 1km runs @ 100% with Time Dwards (joined by fellow druggo Smithy). The first one was OK, but from there it quickly became apparent that I am not a fast runner. I don't have the leg speed it would seem. Backing up wouldn't have helped my chances but, alas I need to work on this aspect of running. Especially if I want the times to get better.

Tuesday morning was a run down Martin's, joined by the Fat Kiwi on the way back as we had missed each other by about 2 mins at the start.

Sunday decided to put in a hard days work with a little ride in the morning up Old Bathurst for the first time. Was a little apprehensive early on in the climb as I was in bottom gear well before what I thought would be the hardest section. Getting up in the saddle until the second last hair-pin wasn't too bad, then could sit down for the last 2 sections. Pretty pleased with myself, given my bike set up at the moment. After work it was a reasonable 2km swim. Managed 2 x 5 x 100m on the 1:45, with a 500m kick to break it up. Need to ease back into some consistent swims. Followed that up with a nice 13.5km run up at Lawson with the Donk. Felt good for most, last 2 km was hard with long steady ascent into Lawson.

Monday was another Day off, as weather put a downer on a mtn bike run down Blue Gum swamp. Tuesday morning will see a return to the tuesday sun valley run. Looking forward to it.

2009-03-16T03:42:00.000-07:00

Nothing to report on for the preceding week. That's because I did precisely that: nothing! As much as I wanted to, and would set my alarm as if I was going to. Each time the alarm went off, I pressed snooze and rolled over.

Anyway, moving on. This week ahead shall hopefully be more productive. The mornings will have to be utilised as the evenings are going to be taken up with baby sitting duties. Started the week with a mixed day today. Blew off the morning ride for an extra hour in bed, instead got on the mtn bike with the Kiwi to hit out a nice 26km round Blue Gum in the evening. Enjoyed it, managed reasonably given I haven't jumped on the mtn bike for about 6-8 months. Need a bigger bike as the knees, quads and lower back are sore.

Hopefully more to say next week.

2009-03-09T02:51:00.000-07:00

Not a bad week this week.
Chased down sleep train and the kiwi on tuesday morning, after arriving 30 seconds after 6am. MMC has a strict departure time policy. A reasonable run time. Just under 5 min up Sun Valley hill, will have to aim to get sub 4:45 soon.
Tuesday afternoon got down to the tri club handicap race. Realised I hadn't been there for 3 months, so had a lot to prove to myself about how much I have improved. The last 3 months really have been focussing on the run, so I was keen to go hard. Ended up running the 6.7 km in 27:23, knocking 1:15 off November's time. That gave me a pace of 4:05 min/km. I was pretty happy with that time, still a ways off being a respectable "runner". Also, the key now is to be able to get this sort of pace coming off the bike, without having to wait 6km for the legs to stop aching. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to do a lot more runs straight off the bike in training. That is going to be the off-season objective.
Wednesday morning was a swim session. Femme squad again put the boys to shame. Shoulders were very sore, not sure why; also lacked energy. Perhaps backing up 2 runs the day before was responsible. Great for the legs anyway.
Gave the morning run a miss on thursday, as I was taking it easy before Cronulla. The Kiwi interrupted my lawn mowing session to go for an easy ride out to H'bury Look Out. I wonder if this is where he takes all his dates? Was good to turn the legs over though. Decided to put the bike in at the shop to get "tuned" before Cronulla. Got the bars put down about 7mm, so I can get flatter on the bike. Not such a good idea in hindsight, as the lower back was protesting come Sunday. I plan to get correctly fitted on my TT bike, so that I can condition myself into the correct position. This means I probably need another bike just for cruising with the bunch. This is very very doubtful, as the last purchase will take a few years to be forgotten by the wife.
Sleep was late for swim session Friday morning. This is a first. Did 3x 1km swims at about 16:30 pace. Haven't felt fast in the pool for some time. But then, it has taken a back seat over running lately. Friday night was Carbo Load #1, pasta dish at the Ori. Camped out at Murphy's Glen with the Boys (+Gill) Fri Night. Had fun, slept pretty poorly though.
Saturday was easy morning, missed the bunch ride with the Lifecycles guys. Was planning on getting used to the lower bars. Instead had a busy morning doing work stuff with the boss, checked out some local real estate, Carbo Load #2 for lunch (saffron risotto), picked the bike up and headed down to Cronulla for bike check-in and Carbo Load #3 (carbonara and pizza) with Sleep, Mrs Sleep and Femme-Squadette (awaiting confirmation of nick name). A request had been made to include an entry at this point that Sleep Train was undoubtedly put to shame by a pregnant woman and a piece of caramel cheesecake. We were all informed that this is the dessert-of-choice for Sleep, yet said Pregnant Woman (Mrs Dr Phil) walked all over the Sleep Train. Mrs Dr Phil Jnr entertained us all. It was back to Bronte for a nap before getting up at 5am to get back down to Cronulla by 6:30.
Sunday morning was Cronulla Triathlon. One leg of the Challenge Series of Olympic Distance Triathlons organised by Triathlon Australia. This was good exposure to the calibre of age-groupers I can expect in Triathlon, as most guys there are trying to qualify for the World Cup on the Gold Coast.
The swim was a modified (reduced) leg, as due to rough conditions they had to move it further up the beach. They also reduced the distance (not sure what to, prob 1km), however you now had to run about 1km along the beach back to transition. I did enjoy the swim, I realise I need more practice ocean swimming, as it can be a fairly big factor. Found myself off-course a little at each buoy, and when I thought I was heading back into shore I was actually continuing further up the beach. All-in-all the time was 20:23 for the swim.
The bike leg was 2x 20km out-and-backs. Did it in 1hr4min, which I was fairly happy with given the lower back issues that arrived with 10 km left to go. It meant I had to get up off the bars and stretch the back out. As some faster guys came passed and I savoured what little reprieve I could get from the prevailing head-wind, I caught the end of a competitor heading in the opposite direction yelling at us "something something something you F#cking Cheaters!". Obviously wasn't happy that he still had 6km to catch us. Knowing I could probably have done a faster time with a little more bike fitness and more conditioning of the lower back is some comfort.
Headed into the run, relishing being able to straighten my back. Took it easy for the first 1.5 laps of a 3-lap 10km course. This was due to muscle fatigue, lack of energy, etc. etc; and is the main aspect I need to work on. Utilised an endura gel with half of the run down, so really felt comfortable for the last half. The new tri shoes worked well. Blisters stayed away until about 500m to go, at which point you can plow on through. I did notice the ball of my left foot protesting early on in the run, and is still a little tender now. May be a case of some inserts for the tri shoes. Did the run in 43:57 (4.5 min/km). From memory the timing mats were at the swim finish and the run start, which means the bike time was actually less given that it included T1 and T2.
Overall time 2:08:53, and a provisional position of 22/70 in the male 25-29 category. This was 9 min off a podium finish! Therefore, if I improve my times by approx 7% in each leg (including transition I guess), I will be cheering. Problem is that a 7% improvement will probably take about a 30% increase in training. Isn't that how it works?
Monday was a day off, sore calves. Will see if I can get up for morning run, would be a good idea to get straight back into it.

Most importantly though, I literally just opened a Certificate of Participation for the Australia Day 2009 Fun Run. Reward enough. 42min50 for 10km. More improvement needed. Interestingly, I only ran 1 min slower doing a 10km run as part of a triathlon. Which indicates to me that fatigue or more importantly fitness isn't what is slowing me down on the run. Perhaps it is the mechanics of my run. Or that I haven't yet worked out how to run at a greater intensity over that sort of distance. I think this is where interval training comes in, and learning how to keep going at higher heart rates. We shall see.

2009-03-02T02:12:00.001-08:00

I need to start writing things down, or else update my blog more frequently. As I cannot remember what I did last week.
Monday and Tuesday were write-offs pretty much, after Sunday's little run. I think I went for a swim somewhere here, but can't be positive.
Wednesday night was the next run, a nice little "inner loop" with Scam. See the spreadsheet below.
Thursday morning run with Scam and Sleep saw me roll my ankle twice within a minute, the second one a doozy. Perservered and made it back up Old Bathurst. Blisters made themselves known again.
Friday morning swim with the Fat Kiwi and the Sister, followed by a trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park. Luckily enough, the bub and me got bored about the same time and went for some lunch and a bit of shopping.
Saturday morning was a nice ride with the Lifecycles crew, just under 100km. A nap later that morning, and a run-swim-run session. Not too hard.
Sunday morning was a run with Sleep. Faulco point, 22km out and back. A little dip in a puddle on the way back saw me run the last km with wet shoes, just what I needed. Felt good, pushed through a few ebbs to find a few flows. Sunday afternoon was a ride down to Penrith and a little bunch ride. Was intending to ride back home, but a little accident on the bunch meant we had to make alternative arrangements. The nature of bunch rides I guess.
This week ahead will be a light one before the Cronulla Triathlon.

2009-02-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

Updated run spreadsheet and a blister on my right foot.

The miseducation of Dr Phil

2009-02-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well. Big week for me.
Tuesday run was good. We moved the departure time ahead 15 minutes, which meant on that overcast morning it remained dark well into Sun Valley. The lack of light meant we chose to run straight up the concrete hill, rather than risk an ankle injury going up the side, much to the delight of scam. Managed to roll my ankle anyway down in the valley, and when asked what grade the injury was I replied: I suppose its about a 7 - 7.5. Now, this number was largely arbitrary as I had no idea what a 10 would be, nor what a 1 would be. Time informed me that a 7 usually involves a chopper air lifting me out of the valley. Needless to say, the injury was downgraded once we knew the reference points. In typical (mild) ankle injury style, the pain eases after a short time of running on it anyway, which is why most ankle injuries blow up after the game/run.

Wednesday was a swim at glenbrook. Again, the dedication and discipline of the femme squad put the blokes to shame, as less than 50% of the guys could drag themselves out of bed. My sister turned up to start her career as a triathlete. Having a similar background to myself in swimming and riding, all she has to do is get her running sorted, improve her fitness in the other disciplines and she will be up to speed in no time.

Thursday am saw a different run. Enjoyed this one. Some nasty hills, and a little further than the usual. Sleep declared decisively at the top of old bathurst: "this is my favourite thursday morning run".

Friday was going to be a swim at springwood. Arranged to meet train and my sister early. Thankfully, all 3 of us slept in. I rationalised this as I had to rest for the triathlon on saturday down at Huskisson. Was only entered in the sprint distance, as the long course was completely booked when I went to register. Mixed emotions over this. Part of me wanted to test myself over the longer distance, while most of me was thankful it was only going to be short. No exercise on friday, as I had a narrow timeframe to get a lot of things done, before heading down to Huskisson.

Saturday. Was unsure how I would be in the swim and ride today. I had been concentrating on my running for the last month, so hadn't done many Kms on the bike.

I was grateful the swim was wetsuit-optional. As I hadn't had much opportunity to use my wetsuit since getting it just before Nepean Tri. The bloke next to me at the deep water start made the comment just before we got started that he is likely to get a kick in the guts, being relegated to the second line by all those super competitive guys who feel being in the first line is going to improve their times considerably. Alas, I received a kick to the side of the face which dislodged my right-side goggle enough to fill up with water. Great! Just what I needed. I was in a bit of a situation now: do I stop and fix my goggle and get swam right over the top of, or do I swim one-eyed for the first 150 m until an opportunity presents itself to stop briefly and empty the water out. I chose the latter. I would like to mention, if you are going to put yourself at the front of the wave for the swim, you need to be able to swim fast. The owner of the foot that collected my head (and his mates either side for that matter) was as slow as a wet week, which meant I had to navigate past them using only one eye. Got out of the water in just under 12 minutes. Which is slightly better than what I swam in the pool the previous week. Not bad considering some people found the surf pretty choppy.

A short run into T1 and a quick transition onto the bike. Wasn't expecting great things on the bike but made up a few places, and felt pretty strong the whole time. Averaged just under 40km/h on a relatively flat ride (slight incline on the ride out, with fast descent on the way back).

Into the run, had big expectations. Headed out of T2 in the wrong direction, then hit the pavement on a down hill section running past the caravan park. Just what I needed. Left shin muscle was burning the whole time. Was hoping it would go away, but everytime I stretched out it felt like I was going to have to stop. Dropped the pace off the whole way, as countless people went past me. With all this time, I got to wondering how do people keep bouncing back from poor performances. I concluded that it must have something to do with our memory. Our minds are probably programmed to shut out negative experiences. I mean in general, not traumatic experiences of abuse or torture. But in the everyday memories, what is it that makes people reflect on the past with such a different perspective than what was probably felt at the time. At the time I was thinking, why the hell do I do this. Spend all this money and time on training and getting to these events, only to run like crap. I was reasonably disappointed in myself. But as I finished and the pain went away, I started to see things differently. I didn't actually run that slow, is it that my expectations are greater now? Isn't that how we improve? By constantly setting the bar higher. If that is how progress is made, then surely the pain and dissapointment is part and parcel with having the greater expectations. You cant separate the positive from the negative aspects. It is this cycle of dissapointment and improvement that we call progress.
Ended up coming 11th in the male 25-29 category, which I was pleased with given the horrible run.

Sent out a request to join Sleep for the start of his long run he does on Sunday. Joined him for the second leg of his mammoth 50km run. My usual runners had to be adjusted as they had caused some rubbing during the 5km run the day before. Lack of preparedness meant I grabbed my new race flats I had picked up down at Huskisson. Thought process went something like this: I need to wear my new shoes in, I don't have time to change the laces on my asics, its going to be wet so I don't want to wear socks, why not. Well....turns out that thought process was erroneous. 30 mins into a 2 hour run and some impressive blisters were developing on the arches of both feet. I'm always amused at how blisters feel much bigger than they really are. Sleep, if the zulu warriors wore innapropriate footwear they would complain about blisters too!! As for the Spartans...well there is bravery and then there is stupidity.
Now we come to the theme of this entry in my training blog: education.
Lessons learnt on run with Sleep:
1. wear appropriate footwear!
2. expect the worst when you don't know what to expect! Bees Nest is a killer, so I am going to rename it Killer-Bees Nest! Get it?
3. Don't compare yourself to Sleep Train - nothing good comes of this!
4. "Runners just keep running"! Despite heading in the opposite direction to where they should be.
5. Pain can be ignored - up to a point.
6. No matter how sore you feel, running bare foot will not ease the pain from your blisters.
7. When Sleep eases the pace it means he knows what is up ahead, you would do best to follow his lead.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself on this run. Some personal bars were raised.
Total run time just over 2.5 hours. About 28 km. About 30 mins off the pace...oh well.

2009-02-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

One more week down.

Tuesday the 10th Feb - morning run with MMC. See table below for splits. Sleep and Time (Dwards) were there. Had fun pushing it hard up to Rickard. I was introduced to the childhood memories of Sleep and Time, reminiscing of the fantasies they used to live out as they would race to the finish, pretending to be some well known runner I had never heard of. I would be introduced to some more memories for these two on Thursday mornings run.

Wednesday night was a hit out in the pool at Springwood. Did 3km straight up in just under 50 mins. With 1km splits of 16:05, 16:49 and 16:52. These are out a little which suggests I either dropped 50m on the first km or picked up 50m on the last 2km (I'm going to assume it was the latter). This isn't particularly quick unfortunately.

Thursday am was the ususal MMC. I was impressed this morning as I managed to cut 13 seconds off the sun valley hill. I had been tormented by the 5 min mark ever since starting this run, and this morning with the help of Time breathing heavily at my shoulder, managed to do it in 4:50. Sleep was making sure we weren't being followed, like a protective father letting the children play around up ahead (maybe he was resting his hamstring for the evening intervals in the NP).

Friday (no work today), had intended to get in a long ride and a swim. Instead I went shopping and bought some rhino roof racks and bike rack for the new car. Now all I need is the new car! Turned out I did nothing all day.

Saturday morning, which has become the usual long run of late, was back in Glenbrook National Park for a run out along The Oaks FT with Sleep for approx 43 minutes. Not sure how far it was out, there is a little hut with picnic benches there, just before the gate? Met up with Zac who is also a fellow Panther's Tri Guy, training up for Port Macquarie in 8 weeks. Like Sleep said, we crept up on him in the dark and rain with his pants down. He was good company for the second half of the run out. I turned back, as I had to get to work by 8:30. Made good time, getting back to the gates in 36 minutes. The gentle descent down the Oaks was welcomed. I did learn a valuable rookie lesson today though: don't wear cotton if its raining. The satisfaction of finishing a long(ish) run (about 17km) before work on a wet morning is fantastic. After umm'ing and ahh'ing at 5:30am over hitting the snooze or the off button on my mobile phone, I was glad I chose to harden up and get out of bed. This is a prime example of how guilt and accountability to training groupies is THE BEST motivator.

Sunday was a rest day. Work was crazy, we were short staffed and fairly busy. Plenty of work to do besides.

Monday the 16th was a swim at Springwood. 1km warm up in 15min, 500 flipper kick and 500 paddle/pool buoy swim, followed by a 750m hard sprint. I wanted to get an idea of my pace over 750m as this is the sprint tri distance, and I've never compared my open water times. Did it in 12mins. Room for some improvement, as most people are swimming 1km in this time. Kicking is the weakest aspect of my swimming. Hard to maintain a steady effective kick. Followed this up with a 100m warm down before the pool closed.

Huskisson is this weekend. Planning on heading down for the sprint distance on Saturday. Was hoping to do the long course on the sunday but, entries had closed by the cut-off date, and I was holding off making my mind up. Don't thing this short "mini-tri", to borrow Sleep's description, warrants a taper in training. An easy Friday should be fine and some carbs the night before. Will see how things go, looks like it will be wet.

2009-02-10T03:09:00.000-08:00

Sun Valley 10km Run Splits.

I suppose Sleeps description as "Easy" is fairly accurate.
I am always amazed at the consistent pace we generally run this run at.

It begins...

2009-02-09T03:06:00.001-08:00

Well, this is my first real attempt at a blog. I have been resisting the blogging movement for some time now. Preferring to spend my time on other things. But I have come to see the value in recording daily occurences, events, achievements, training runs, etc. There is something in the pretentiousness of thinking that someone else would like to read what you have been doing that I want to tap in to. Not being much of a "Dear Diary" kind of guy, to have the motivation to document my life may be a temporary state. But if I can be bothered to keep this updated, then maybe I will see some improvement.

This blog is primarily to record my exercises. I chose this medium as opposed to sites such as MapMyRun or Facebook simply because others are less likely to read what is written here. If you are reading this, I will apologise in advance for many things. I will most likely change tense a dozen times during any one post.

I am going to get straight ito it then. I wanted to record the last week's exercises here, as I am reasonably proud of myself for being able to increase my workload, intensity and even start to see some improvement in my times. Just tonight I did my local out and back time trial run from my house on Farm Rd Springwood to Martin's Lookout in a pretty quick time for me, 22.42. I will have to work out how far it is, I think its close to 6 km, and includes some very slight inclines and declines as well as fire trail and bitumen. It was getting quite dark as I left at 8pm and was only raining slightly. Sleep Train sent out his Blue Mountains Marathon Clinic reminder message before I left, encouraging all to come and join him for an "easy" 10km run before work. I have said this before, "easy" is relative and means absolutley nothing for me when it his coming from him.

Sunday was a light swim after work at Glenbrook, in the cloudy, luke warm water that wasn't particularly refreshing. I only clocked up 2 km as the pool was closing up, but I put in a hard 1km to start off, fininshing around 14.30. Not quick by the standards of many, but I felt good and was probably only at 80%. The day before had been a great adventure run with the father and son effort of Wayne and Mick Donges, accompanied by Scam Bullant and Sleep Train. Hereafter, I shall refer to these two as scam and sleep respectively. Their cute little nicknames are tedious to write all the time. Sorry guys. We started early, which allowed me to get back for work. As they have both mentioned in their blogs, we clocked up a nice run heading out from my place, down Martin's, up the other side, checked out Lost World, and then down to duckhole for a little history lesson and up into Glenbrook. Just over 2 hours in total, with about 15 minutes of stretches and rests and appreciating the amazing views all up. This was probably my longest run in terms of time, and I felt good for the most part. The steps were tiresome.

Friday was the Panther's Tri Club "mini tri". I dislike Sleep's description of the tri as mini. It was more of a training run, as the heat meant they couldn't have the race as they would normally. I lack the discipline to approach a training run at the same intensity as a race, which meant I didn't push it too hard and only ended up running about 1km after the ride. The heat played a big role in this also, the bike ride helped me decide that I would never race when the temp was above 40 degrees. Can I blame the poor performance on spending too much of the day looking at a new car with the wife? Probably not.

Thursday, I missed the Mountains Marathon Clinic (MMC) 10km "easy" run in the morning with Sleep and Scam and possibly Edwards. I had intented to run, yet snooze and OK on my phone were a blur at 5:30 am, hence I slept through. Admitedly, I didn't feel much remorse about this. The morning before was a swim with Sleep, Scam and what has been labelled as the femme squad: a few of the local lasses who are a pretty feisty bunch. Clocked up 3 km, with my usual routine of 1km free straight up, followed by 500m flipper kick, 500m with paddle and buoy, and then a 400m sprint. If I have the energy I will attempt 5 100m sprints and a 100m warm down, however this morning I could only get 2 100m sprints in, so I increased the warm down. The femme squad permitted me to jump on the end of their 100m sprints, I think that was my undoing.

Tuesday was a big day for me. After making it to the usual MMC run in the morning, I backed it up that evening with an approx. 12.5 km run up at Lawson with Mr and Mrs Michael Donges. This was a good run, with some fairly steep hills to finish the run. This was the first time I ran both in the morning and the evening, and they were each fairly big runs for me.

Monday might have been an evening ride, I cant remember. The rides have taken a back seat at the moment due to concentrating on my runs. Perhaps that was why I struggled on Friday at the tri, usually the rides allow me to make some time back on everybody else. I have also been neglecting the bike after the terrible accident on the Australia Day weekend on the M7 motorway, where some triathletes were taken out by a truck. I had ridden this road the morning before with a mate. It just brought the pretty big risks we take when we ride on the roads close to home and made me think about what I had to lose now with my family. I think I would like to stick to the quieter roads and the regatta centre now. Maybe the M7 cycleway, however that isn't terribly appealing. The usual morning ride I do with Mark Hadfield, down to the bottom of Lapstone hill and back, isn't too bad. There is plenty of corner and breakdown lane, and the traffic isn't too bad at that hour. I just need to get in some longer rides now in the lead up to Huskisson. I am probably a little late in my preparation for Husky, and still haven't made a decision. I know I am quite a way off the pace, I just want to get a larger triathlon under my belt as a reference for training and future races. We will see.

The Saturday before this week was the bigger run with Sleep and Scam through Glenbrook NP. Heading out at 5:30 was interesting. But I actually enjoyed the bigger run, and still managed to get back, have a shower and get to work to open at 8:30. Perhaps this will become a regular.

Until next time.

I will endeavour to get the splits up for the MMC 10km Sun Valley Run over the next few days. Sleep wants to see how slow we are running.

Oh..btw.. If anyone is interested I am not a Doctor. I dont have a PhD nor an MBBS. I dont prescribe, and I am not Oprah's little lap dog. I received this nickname from Sleep, and it has stuck. If anyone wants to make me an honorary doctor, I wouldn't say no. I just cant see myself working that hard to become a real one. Pharmacist Phil doesn't have the same ring to it anyway.