Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

Just me and the girls out there this morning. We all did the same set except the girls did their running on the 1km loop as the swooping magpie has reappeared...it swooped me 4 times on my second effort. The set: 2000m (637), 1500m (454), 1200m (355), 800m (229), 300m (54). I used the beeping watch on the yellow 100m posts today as a guide with the first three efforts on 20 seconds, the fourth on 19 sec and the 5th on 18 sec. I was under on all of them except the last effort where I held back so not to aggravate a sore hip from Thursday. That is a better set than I did just before AMA track championships in April. It is my best endurance set at Stromlo ever in fact. I know the short speed endurance has not come back yet but the basic maximum threshold endurance has really improved over the winter and French summer. The girls also worked hard except Kathy who has a head cold. With an afternoon run it will make 24km for the day but only 120km for the week as I did 2km yesterday w...

My second fast set for the year, this time on track. The set: 4 x 100m (17,16,15.6, 15.0 ) ; 4 x 200m (32.2,31.8,31.3, 31.1 ) ; 300m 49.0 ; 400m 75...all with 200m recovery. The leg speed only marginally better but consistency almost there over 200m. By my estimate in 2:15 800m shape so still a few seconds to go. Next week to skip the 200s and do a full 5x300m set. That will tell me where I am at over 1500m. A cumulative of the set under 4:10 would indicate 4:30 shape...I'm not there yet. All up for the day 20km and well over 130km for the week. For the half marathon in Melbourne next weekend it will be the same mini-taper I did for City2Surf and Gold Coast Half Marathon which is normal volume until 3 days before the race and last two days around 5km easy.

Respectably warm and still for a track session instead of on the bush tracks. The set: 4x100m (19,16,15,15) 1600m, 800m, 800m, 800m all at exactly 15:50 5000m pace for each effort with 200m recovery between efforts. I did find the set difficult, especially with the high volume I've been doing but happy to be able to run at that pace comfortably and with a decent rhythm. Post session a solid 11km on the bush tracks with Helen. Pre-session watching Steve and Jane helping young Olivia with an 800m set.

Normally windy and cold at Mt Taylor, today perfect again:-) I did a 10km warm up followed by 3.5km handicap. Mount Taylor course up,up,up,flat,flat,flat,down,down,down. I was at my maximum on the up and flat, cautious on the way down with oncoming traffic and rocky at times surface. The time 12:21, one second slower than last year....that's what you get for being cautious:-) A late afternoon run made it 24km for the day (felt great out there this afternoon) and over 130km for this week. Feeling good more days than not now after settling in to this high volume, high intensity training block.

Almost a full group this morning with perfect weather. So nice to see the sun out. The set: 4x100m (19-14) ; 2000m 733, 1500m 510, 1200m 353, 800m 229, 400m 70 I ran set 2 with the girls after that set to make 15km for the morning and 22km for the day including an afternoon loosener. Down south Keith did the same set, 30 seconds quicker than me on the 2000m. Well done Keith. Felt very good this morning with nothing at maximum effort except the final 400m up the hill and cruising around at 3:15/km for much of the session. Hitting 14 seconds for the strides also a good sign that the leg speed is returning. Steve ran the entire session with me so his form is coming along nicely. Jane was working hard at sub-4s. All the girls in the second set looked good. Hopefully that's the end of the colds and niggles. Tomorrow the ACTVAC XC handicap at Mount Taylor 3.5km will top the speed off.

Still winter, cold and windy...a lunch time trip to Stromlo XC for my first speed session of the coming season. The set: 5x100m with 100m jog recovery (19,18,17, 15.8,15.1 ), 4x200m with 200m jog recovery (35,33,33, 31.1 ), 5x100m with 100m jog recovery (17,16,16,16,16). All up 7km with a 10km loosener in the afternoon. Surprisingly got down to 800m speed comfortably on my first session. Next week to include some 300m efforts with the quickest being around 48. Still around 6 weeks until Australian Masters Games so no need to panic. I should be ready for an OK 1500m & 5000m then.

Too cold and windy for the track, instead at Bruce Ridge a set of 5 x 5 minute intervals on the fire trails with 45 seconds recovery between efforts. Difficult to do speed work in this weather but by weekend it should have turned warm again. Not difficult to run lots of kilometres to stay warm. I have seen the draft ACTVAC track program. I will hope there is a Zatopek lower grades 10000m in Melbourne this year as there is none in ACT before Xmas. There is however another One Hour Run and I will use that and try to improve on last year. Track will be suspended in Canberra while they put down the new surface from early November to early January. I have planned for that in the training program.

Today I was tagged on social media in three images. It is the second group of images I have been tagged in over the last few months and the common denominator is Paul Arthur and are images taken by his dad I believe. As is the case with all the images I've had to go back to the running diary to remember. I will put the images in context. The first two are taken at the NSW XC Championships on 29th July 1989. All my diary says is that I finished 7th. Two weeks later I ran 44:04 for 13th in City2Surf so I know I was fit.. I was living in three addresses on that day. Sometimes I stayed in Sydney with my family, I was also living in Belanglo State Forest in an orienteering 'hut' and was in the process of moving to Melbourne. As a result my training was patchy having weeks of up to 170km per week but quite often having easy weeks. As my diary shows I was regularly doing 3000m tempo runs on my own in training between 8:45 and 8:50. Paul and I were from the same club as the s...

Out to the hilly arboretum fire trails this morning without Bella. All up 18km in 83 minutes. I did some weight training in the garden this weekend so a little more fatigued than normal for my Sunday afternoon nap. This afternoon a loosener close to home to take the daily total to 24km and weekly 126km.

At Stromlo the set: 4x100m, 2000m, 1500m, 1200m, 800m, 400m....just Jane, Steve and myself. My splits: 4x100m 17,16,15,15. Ran 2000m as a warm up (7:27), 1500m solid with last 700m @ 3:20/km, 1200m with last 900m @ 3:15/km, 800m (2:33) with last 500m @ 3:05/km, 400m in 71 or 2:58/km.. All up 13km (4km late with Helen) for the morning leaving 7km as a loosener this afternoon.

Out on the bush trails a set: 6,5,4,3,2,5 minute intervals with 1 minute jog recovery at maximum threshold or better, 3:30/km or better and 19km in an 80 minute run. The last few days have been recovering from all the sore spots with 2km, 12km and then 17km yesterday. Back on program now and over 120km per week by Sunday. Next on the schedule is the Burnley Half Marathon and penultimate AthsVic XCR series event. Although I won't be training for the half (training for 5000m and 1500m) I feel I am in better shape than at Gold Coast. With more competition in Melbourne (the depth is much better in Melbourne) I should take another 30 seconds off what I did a few weeks ago. It was 73:20 last year despite a head cold in the fortnight leading up to it.

Direct Preparatory Period 1 Mid-August-September Aims to develop: Aerobic endurance, race pace, specific speed, power Training Goal: Aim to fit in no more than 3-4 of the sessions below each week according to body fatigue LT Runs: steady runs comfortably hard of 20-50 mins at lower threshold, effort =3/10, weekly once Race Pace Lactate intervals: short intervals at race pace, effort=9/10, weekly once-twice Long intervals, long recovery: 800-2000m with long recovery at race pace, effort= 9/10, weekly once Race Pace Step down intervals: step down race pace lactate intervals with longer recovery, multi-paced Race Conditioning: Track races, fun run, BBQ stakes, monthly handicap, effort =8/10, weekly to monthly Power: 150m hills on slight to moderate incline, jog back recovery, high hips, effort=7/10, weekly once All sessions begin and conclude with stretching and 4 x 100m strides Plyometrics, strength training, core stability, yoga optional Competit...

City2Surf Girls: Minnie, Michelle, Maria, Helen...one girl missing from the photo from last year, plenty of time for next year

Just about perfect conditions today for hanging out at Bondi...the sun out and great for basking by the beach. We drove up yesterday evening and spent our stay at Brighton le Sands on Botany Bay, just the 3 of us with Minnie, Michelle and myself. Being Minnie's birthday tomorrow we made an evening of it with wood fired pizza, salad vert and a bottle of some pinot noir from Beaune in Burgundy where we had been a week earlier. I did a 7km run along the Botany Bay foreshore on dusk. Race day was a drive to Centennial Park, walk and jog to the start, meeting friends and so on. The same followed at the finish where Maria, Helen, Steve (Jane from a distance), Kathy, Geoff and us three all found each other at some point in the crowd. Many of us shared by coincidence a bus ride to Bondi J. Faster Fossils won M50+ team for the umteenth time. APS United would have won if they put in a team and I swapped over. Only 10 seconds between Peter James and Andrew Edwards. Three of the fastes...

After some terrible weather in the last two days and some more tomorrow I took my chance to get down to the track and find out where I'm at. The result 1600m in 5:17 which sounds and felt ordinary but is normal post-France return. I am fit, skinny and very slow. It is the same every year except 2010 when I caught swine flu early in the trip, recovered and ran high mileage and 12 of 13 days with either speed work or many hills at altitude. I've run out of time this year to get any quicker so I'll have to go with what I've got, around the same as last year. 123km in my legs this week. It will be 3 slow runs of 10, 5 & 5 km before Sunday and then see what happens. I will have to start relatively slow in the race and hope to catch a nice bunch of 2-3 near Rose Bay before we hit heartbreak hill. I will see on the day. I've got no doubt I can run very strong the whole way but my big danger is going lactic in the first 3km. Having only a preferred number this year ...

Started a longish run with the bunch but dropped them after 1km. First km in 5 minutes, 10km turn around in 41 minutes, second half in 41 minutes with last km in 5 minutes= 82 minutes & 20km. Being net down on the way back made up for it being into a biting wind. That's 140km for the week. I have two sessions to fit in before City2Surf...a harder session on Monday and a short 2000m tempo on Wednesday then just easy running and a big drop in volume. It's a big risk on the late taper whether I come up in time but I have to keep my eyes on The Australian Masters Games in October.

The set: 5 x 100m (20,18,16,15,15) 2000m (723), 1500m (514), 1200m (408), 800m (248), 400m (79) with 2 minute recovery. Cool and a stiff breeze. The set done with Steve. That was a tough session for me. Still with 130km in the legs and the pace a step up from what I had been doing overseas. Slowly the form will come back, especially when I back off the volume. Hoping to get in two more sessions and a long run before City2Surf next weekend.

My 16km run this afternoon included a stop off at the track. 4 x 100m, 4 x 800m with 200m recovery. Efforts: 2:34, 2:33, 2:33, 2:33. All of the intervals done by feel and not so fast as to cause injury in the late afternoon chill. That was a much better session than yesterday but still loads of work to do. The effort times and recovery will reduce over coming weeks. Once again the heavy load from running 130-140km per week is leaving me flat and some days are better than others. I will have a similar taper as I did for Gold Coast Half by working hard all the way up to the Wednesday or Thursday before City2Surf and then taper hard with just a couple of 5km runs...only a semi-taper. The first major goal of Australian Masters Games 5000m and 1500m is not far away in early October so working towards that.