Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

After Canberra Times Fun Run and an easier week we move to getting ready for track and racing track. In the Direct Preparatory Period we introduce some small lactate sessions and graduate to longer lactate sessions, time trials and some play racing. In the competition period we target key races and incorporate some specific sessions to meet our goals for 2014. The outcome from these races will highlight what needs to be adjusted for each of us leading up to the championships in March / April. Training Overview - Direct Preparatory Period 1 September 15 - October 30 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 (or step down) intervals at race pace, effort=9/10, weekly once-twice Long intervals, long recovery: 100...

As I outlined before an uphill first kilometre, one kilometre undulating with dead turn at 1.75km, last kilometre steep down in parts, rocky in parts, dangerous in parts with oncoming traffic. I did almost an hour warm up on the course and beyond, took in some more liquid and waited for the start. First kilometre all up 4:05 and done at maximum threshold. Last year I did around 3:50 full of lactate. Second kilometre around 3:45, lots of traffic. Last kilometre around 3:20 on the undulating part, 3:10 on the flat and slight down, 3:00 on the steep down (no faster). End result 12:48 and comfortable enough to cheer everyone, not so fast I risked a disaster fall. My fastest on course 12:21 done at full gas and all the risks. That leaves me a 30 minute loosener to round off the weekend and 120km+ for the week.

Stromlo set for Jane, Steve and myself. The track is slower than last week again with more rain mid-week, but much quicker than Tuesday and a little quicker than Thursday. It was cold with wind-chill, around 30kph from the south east. Jane smashed out a PB set by another 18 seconds (2000m 7:37, 1500m 5:28, 1200m 4:17, 800m 2:44, 400m 77). Again another leap towards a 17:30 5000m and the improvement due to her Tuesday and Thursday sessions. Steve and I both had great sessions, but Steve was relatively much better, an 11 second improvement on last week. 2000m 6:47 (Steve 6:51), 1500m 4:55 (Steve 4:58), 1200m 3:55 (Steve 3:54), 800m 2:30 (Steve 2:28), 400m 68 (Steve 65). The wind was a major factor in all of our efforts. I was fatigued a little from running 19km yesterday afternoon but worked very hard chasing Steve on the last 3 efforts. The late set included Helen, Gabe, Roget, Maria, Tori, Kathy and Minnie. I paced Helen and co over their 3 x 1000m efforts. The pacing was at 4:00/km...

Same session as last week 4 x 800m with jog back recovery. Reverse of the stretch we used last week made it hard to keep pace for the first 500m three undulating hills in the way. While the water has mostly dried up the circuit is slower than last week and should keep getting slower over coming weeks as the grass springs to life again. Jane (2:51, 2:51, 2:54, 2:58). Jane was up on last week after the first three efforts but found some lactate in the last effort. Steve and I (2:35, 2:33, 2:33, 2:33) [Steve on the last 2:36 lactate also blisters]. We were both up on the session of last week, myself by 2 seconds each effort but I definitely had to work harder. In Bemboka Keith ran a slightly different circuit to normal running 4.8km worth of long intervals with 30 seconds recovery. Keith is still flying along and in low 17 shape for 5km. We have one more session on Saturday before we start our taper for Canberra Times Fun Run. I have to wait until Sunday running the ACT Masters XC hand...

I am now entered in the 5000m, 10000m and 8km XC for the championships. All that remains is an airfare which will come in the next month or two (whenever the specials appear). That locks in the type of training sessions I will need to do. A slight alteration to my schedule in hanging around Lyon for an extra day after the 10000m before heading off to Saint Malo post championships. Final day Tour de France...Taper Camp Annecy...WMA Championships...Saint Malo beach holiday

Jane first at it this morning. 5 x 1km on road (3:51, 3:37, 3:47, 3:36, 3:50). From what I understand the road slopes up in one direction, down in the other. That's a 7 second/km average improvement over last week...finding form at the right time for Canberra Times 10km Fun Run. Steve and I at Stromlo this afternoon will repeat last week (sort of) with 5000m on the 2000m x 2 and 1000m loops, running 3 x 1000m efforts with 100m jog recovery and leave us with 1700m to finish off. More interested in the total time and effort than the splits which will vary with the ups, downs and turns. As it turned out the Stromlo XC circuit was filled with water on the inside lines which we couldn't take, increasing the distance somewhat. Slushy puddles everywhere and not a blade of dry grass. We went ahead with the session anyway with soggy shoes. The 2.5km loop x 2 was used even though it added in two extra hills. It may have been a little less slush but only marginally. The number of interv...

No ACT Masters half marathon for me...I did my own 24km. Ran down to the lake through the cork oak and onto the lake bike path, did the course in reverse until I met Maria. I ran with Maria and others, cheered everyone on, handed out some cups of water and took some photo. All up 24km in around 105 minutes. Some images from the morning, all looked to be doing well including Kathy, Sue, Elle, Nigel and of course Maria. Guess which one is the common petty thief!!

Stromlo set for Jane, Steve and myself. The track is slower than last week with the rain bringing on new grass and soft. It was warmer than it has been but still a frost. There was a breeze from the south this week where last week was still. Jane smashed out a PB set by a fair margin (2000m 7:35, 1500m 5:32, 1200m 4:36, 800m 2:50, 400m 78). I would say she is capable of a sub-18 minute 5000m track on that form. She broke all of her first stage target times easily and is getting close to her 17:30 target times. Steve and I both had top sessions. 2000m 6:37 (Steve 6:54), 1500m 4:52 (Steve 4:59), 1200m 3:54 (Steve 3:59), 800m 2:29 (Steve 2:28), 400m 69 (Steve 68). I hit all my target times this week (one week early) and a PB set for me. Steve also a PB set and just needs a strong 2000m to hit all of his target times at this stage. The late set included Helen, Gabe, Roget, Sue, Emma and Minnie. I paced Helen and Gabe over their 2000m, 1500m and 1000m efforts. The pacing was at 4:20/km a...

First 5000m pacing session of the year. We chose the uphill 800m stretch with a couple of flat and slight down elements to break the rhythm. Steve and I (2:37,2:35, 2:35,2:35). We had the beeping watch set on 20 for the 100m yellow posts and were comfortably under on each effort. Jane had 2:52,2:52,2:53,2:53 with similar efforts. That's quite impressive for all of us...well under 3:10/km on track equivalent and in the 3:30s for Jane which match some of her efforts on road in the morning. Keith races in Melbourne again this weekend. Similar course to last time but not the same. Keith also did a 4.5km in Bemboka which matched the pace we did at Stromlo. Every number I see from Keith makes me believe he is in the form of his life...looking forward to Canberra Times Fun Fun where we can all measure against each other.

Another easy recovery run, 90 minutes all up which is the maximum I've set myself for a year. Quite snappy at the end, ran with Bella in the first part. At people age of 75 she is able to maintain 4:00/km for 8km but no quicker unless she sees some kangaroo. Ankle is fine, I feel it sometimes but it is not sore to run on at all. Still icing multiple times a day. Even if I am good it will be weeks until it is rock solid. Such a long time until things matter luckily. One week less than a year until it really matters (World Masters in Lyon)and almost 8 months until Australian Masters Athletics in Bankstown. Time is still on my side so I can be patient. Tomorrow we begin again with a couple of sets of strides and some 5000m pace work with long recovery. Will probably be some undulating 800m efforts at Stromlo.

Jane was first at it this morning with the set 5 x 1000m, 1 minute jog recovery and an average of around 3:50/km on a firm surface. Steve and I were next in the afternoon at Stromlo. We ran 5000m using the accurate 2000m x 2 and 1000m loop. It was cool and windy with a soft, wet track a few seconds/km slower than Saturday due to the recent downpour. At the bottom of the course and in the middle of the track was a mob of kangaroos (maybe 20-30) bounding everywhere, most of the females of age had joeys in the pouch. We ran the 5000m as a maximum threshold interval set of 3 minutes hard, 30 second jog (around 100m) with the 4th effort around 4 minutes. With only 30 seconds recovery lactate build-up would have slowed our efforts in the final part of the session but neither of us cracked (good pace judgement for us). The intervals were done at 3:25-3:30/km for me, slightly slower for Steve. An adjusted time equivalent for me would be around 16:40 on track and 16:55 for Steve. Very encourag...

Both today and yesterday were long runs of around 80 minutes. Yesterday was sluggish, today was snappy. That's four long runs in the last week since City2Surf debacle. The ankle is pretty sound now, no pain on runs and still icing every day...back to business as usual. This week we will start to feed more speed into our Thursday set with some extra strides and faster sets. That should feed into the Saturday set and then into the Canberra Times 10km Fun Run in three weeks. We all should know then where we are at.

The usual Stromlo set for Jane, Steve and myself. You would expect either a jump in form or a slump in form depending on how much City2Surf pain was felt and recovery after. For Jane near identical to the set pre: City2Surf. Was tired in the middle of the set but finished strongly (2000m 7:59, 1500m 5:44, 1200m 4:39, 800m 2:57, 400m 79). Steve and I both had a jump in form. 2000m 6:47 (Steve 6:57), 1500m 4:59 (Steve 5:05), 1200m 4:00 (Steve 4:04), 800m 2:33 (Steve 2:28), 400m 73 (Steve 68). The surface pretty hard and fast now, slightly less than 10sec/km slower than track at our speed. It will slow up from this week on with rain and warmer weather bringing the lush grass back to life. The late set included Tori, Helen, Gabe, Maria and Minnie. I paced Helen and Gabe over their 2000m, 1500m and 1000m efforts. All were pumped after City2Surf and trained well. Of me: Still putting ice on the ankle. It was pretty solid today. I will cut some junk kilometres out of the week and aim to d...

A slight deviation this evening. I chose home and a run with Bella rather than Stromlo. After 50 minutes with the dog I ran a 2000m tempo (3:28,3:27)plus warm down, 76 minutes all up, the minimum. It was way cold when I finished. Tomorrow morning should be the last spell of true winter here followed by a false spring and a few more cold days but no minus six.

Tried to trick myself into thinking it was almost spring here. Really regretted a long run in shorts around dusk. 75 minutes all up, similar route to yesterday but avoided the hills and the speed efforts. Iced up early in the day again until after lunch. Minnie wanted to do City2Sea and booked a motel before I could think. I guess we are shopping in Melbourne as well in mid-November...better save some $$ Not much changes in the program for the next month or so. Keep developing that 5km and 10km with some good sessions on the grass. Major difference is bringing out the beeping watch and using those yellow posts at Stromlo...have to get out the calculator for a few of us.

Oh well back to training again. Only did 1km yesterday, iced the ankle for two days at work...no ibuprofen, no voltaren, no side effects, no asthma, no nothing. The ankle inflammation has subsided muchly. Ran 85 minutes through the Arboretum after work including 5 x 3 minute efforts on the steep hills, 1 minute jog recovery. Felt quite good although a little too cold for my liking still. So it is back to ON program. More icing, good shoes and soft, stable surfaces should help me keep the good form I know I have already. Thursday I will reassure myself of that at Stromlo with a 2km effort.

On Saturday Keith raced in Melbourne. True to his form he had a great run as 1st M50+ by over 2 minutes. Well done Keith. We had a cast of many Canberrans in the City2Surf. Steve 52+ ; Jane 55+ ; Michelle 61+, Helen 64+, Maria 67+, Kathy 69+, Gabe 70+, Mick, Kelley, Jim, Ewen, Team Faster Fossils and Minnie. Of me: Well I enjoyed despite the sub-par performance. 200m into the race I had an asthma type attack came in waves and lasted several hours after the race [known side effect to over counter anti-inflam for achilles injury...just googled it although advice is to go straight to hospital (not finish race)]. I couldn't sustain anything faster than 3:55/km which is slower than the entire males in the preferred and seeded runners. I stopped at 3km for a pee and pulled back into the race just behind Steve. Not only couldn't I catch up with him but he was pulling away and having a great run!! On the way up heartbreak hill things really got bad so took a long break and looked for...

Steve and Jane did their 2000m tempo run this morning in the south of town and the very cold minus 4 degrees. Jane 7:35 and Steve 6:52 on bike path. That's pretty good form for both of them. I will do my 2000m tempo at Stromlo this afternoon. I will set the watch at 3:20/km or 20 seconds/100m and use the yellow 100m posts as an aid. Looking to crack 6:40 even paced which would put me in very good form, in low 33s shape for 10km or better fully tapered. Surprisingly I didn't lose much pace on the nasty hill at just after 1000m on Tuesday. The faster starting pace today may test me there. I've had some very easy days. Just jogging for 20 minutes yesterday. Loads of stretches and ice have helped reduce inflammation in the ankle/lower left leg. It hasn't been sore to walk or jog slowly, seems to become sore after 15 minutes or so. Very hard to pinpoint the problem as was the last injury...the pain seems to shift about. I expect my performance on Sunday in City2Surf won...

The good news: 2000m tempo even paced 6:43 (roughly=6:23 on track and around 33:30 shape for 10km). Felt pretty good in the cool of the afternoon. The bad news: I have some inflammation in the troublesome left ankle. I will need lots of ice to get through to City2Surf and some very easy days. Still planning to do another 2000m tempo on Thursday. After City2Surf may have to take another short break and start from scratch again.

Another minus 6 degree morning but a great day with sun and no wind. Ran out and back on the arboretum 85 minutes all up and much quicker than the long run a few days ago while I was jet-lagged. All the snow on the close Brindabellas is gone to the naked eye. Mount Franklin has bulk snow but usually has in a good year...not many gone years this last decade.

Minus 4.9 degrees, clear and sunny, loads of snow on the Brindabellas this morning. Early set: Steve, Jane and I. Jane 2000m 8:03, 1500m 5:45, 1200m 4:30, 800m 2:54, 400m 79. That's her best Stromlo set ever and in good shape for City2Surf. Steve and I: 2000m 6:55 (Steve 7:09), 1500m 5:06 (Steve 5:14), 1200m 4:08, 800m 2:33 (2:27 for Steve), 400m 71 (67 for Steve).***Splits for S&J from memory, fairly close I think. Late set: The same set with Kathy, Maria, Gabe and Tori in that pecking order. Gabe has made up lots of ground since I was away. Now under life time PB shape over 5km. Kathy is running very strongly. Also saw KT, SK, Missy and friend. Keith in Bega: 2000m 6:57, 1600m 5:38, 1200m 4:12, 800m 2:45, 400m 82. There was more wind down there and Keith did in training shoes. Of me: Comparison 28 June pre-France to 2 August 2000m 6:53/6:55,1500m 5:04/5:06,1200m 4:04/4:08,800m 2:33/2:33,400m 68/71. That makes me on average a couple of seconds slower each effort which is...

A run to work and back today. On the run home it wasn't snowing at the lake (around 560m asl) but it was at Mount Painter (732m asl) and about 50m below.