Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

Morning run on Aranda bush trails including 5km with Milli the Border Collie. Stromlo XC circuit is closed due to potential bush fires over the next 2-3 days. In 2003 fires swept over Mount Stromlo, destroying pine forests (where the running trails are now) and into suburbs within a few kilometres of the city centre (including Cook where I lived back then and trained today). Fires will possibly affect the southern suburbs of Canberra. Temperatures into the 40s with strong winds as well. Air quality today was hazardous (lots of smoke)reducing to moderate in the morning. I wore a face mask during the run. Tomorrow I'll aim to do an easy Parkrun again. Sunday a long run of 20km on bush trails again. I'm back at full volume again.

Morning pre-dawn tempo run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather cool, no wind, dark for the first 20 minutes. Air quality moderate, I wore a face mask. The tempo run 10 seconds/km quicker than yesterday, same effort. I'm starting to find some running form again. No calf pain, still not healed fully. I'm not far away from resuming long XC intervals replacing the tempo run. After my run Steve did a set of 5 x 300m at Stromlo. Splits: 54,53,53,53,53. Dew on the grass would have slowed things up a bit.

Morning tempo run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather cool, air quality unhealthy, I wore a face mask and moderated the pace (not too fast). There is a large fire to the south of Canberra that could impact us as early as today. Calf no pain again, I can feel it has not healed fully. I was able to run freely without favouring the right leg. I'm near full running volume again.

Pre-dawn recovery run on bike path. Being pitch black I had no choice. The calf coped well. I can feel it's not healed, no pain at all. That's promising. Weather was warm (36 degrees expected)smokey, hazardous, I had to wear a face mask. I may do a second run this afternoon if I am feeling well. At Stromlo shortly after my run Steve ran 4 x 800m XC intervals. Splits: 2:43,2:42,2:41,2:41

Morning recovery run on bush trails. Weather warm with smoke haze, unhealthy to run without a face mask. Right calf was much better today, stiff but almost pain free. If I am patient I might be able to get on top of things in the next week or so. Also my birthday, I get cheesecake and champagne:-)

Morning recovery run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather very warm, no wind. Air quality moderate, I took a face mask but didn't wear it. There was some smoke haze about, got better as the sun came up. Calf was feeling better on the grass. I'll see if I can build the volume back up again to normal levels this week. Weather will be very hot, up to 40 degrees. I'll need to get it done in the early morning. On Thursday evening I hope to run as 5km leg of an aquathon as part of a team.

Morning session for Steve at Stromlo XC circuits. The set: 2000m,1500m,1200m,800m,400m. Same set as last week although much quicker. Moderate air quality, no need for a face mask. I was out at Parkrun Ginninderra running with Jen,Deb,Clare and many others. Time 23:34. Splits: 4:51,4:43,4:33,4:38,4:40. Sore calf after the first kilometre.

Thursday morning set for Steve at Stromlo XC circuit of 5 x 300m with 300m recovery. Weather warm warm and very windy by 7am. I had run my recovery run before 6am in cool and still conditions. The weather flared up the bush fires again, one within sight of my work. A tough day for those fighting the blazes. I booked a holiday on the coast in March, not far from where houses were lost today to fire.

Morning session at Stromlo XC circuit for Steve with a set of 3 x 600m (1:47) and 4 x 200m strides (35). I attempted a jog, aborted after not long, calf still sore. With time on my side I'm proceeding with zero tolerance for pain. Form will come back quickly when the calf is healed. Cycling Tour Down Under this week. I wish I was there as the visits have been infrequent while I've been traveling to France in summer for tour de France. I promise I'll do both in 2021.

This morning a short recovery run with Milli the Border Collie. Calf is not sore to run on, I didn't go far. Air quality is where it normally is. I'm calling the bush fire smoke over. All this rain should have snuffed most of the fires out. Fingers crossed. Here at work we are dealing with the hail storm. Quite an event, especially with a flat ornate glass roof.

No running today, distracted by a big hail storm that swept across Canberra at noon. Lots of damage with cars losing both front and rear windscreens, some sliding off the road into trees. My work had minor flooding and big scale damage to the roof. Back at home Milli was happily playing in the hail after the storm had passed. I had to stop a river flowing in the garage.

Morning recovery run at Stromlo XC circuit. Today slow enough to take a camera with me. With Canberra still drought affected Stromlo XC circuit provides a lush munch for more kangaroos than I've ever seen here. Most of them are used to people, little joeys are a nuisance though. I had one run under my legs while running yesterday, neither of us hurt.

Morning session at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather cool, light winds, air OK, no need for a face mask. Steve was out there first running long step down intervals of 2000m,1500m,1200m,800m,400m. It's always a tough set and has been a staple of ours for nine years (since 2012). I was out there cruising around again at 4:40/km. Calf stiffened up towards the end. More self massage and stretching required. After the run I took Milli the border collie for a run on a farm and coffee later on.

Morning run at Stromlo XC circuit of 18km. Weather cool, light winds, air quality unhealthy, face mask required. Speed similar to yesterday evening, around 4:40/km. Left calf is still sore, more massage and stretching required. More rain forecast over the coming days. Most of the fires near Canberra are being controlled. I haven't seen an update for the small Mary's Hill fire which is the closest. Last report was out of control.

I slept in this morning, forgot to set alarm. In the afternoon there was thunder, lightning, hail and torrential rain. I had to wait until the storms passed before heading out for a 17km run on the grass. Air quality moderate, no face mask needed. I am hoping the rain put out some fires and the smoke diminishes in coming days. More rain expected. For a while today I thought the left calf was completely healed. It stiffened up during the day. In the run it was a little sore. I was running around 4:40/km, 20sec/km faster than previous days. I'm back up to full training volume, just have to wait until it's healed enough to run a faster tempo and then long intervals. It will happen gradually, no set date.

5am run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather cool, no wind. Air quality moderate, some smoke haze, no need for a face mask. 12km this morning at 5:00/km. Left calf has improved a little. I can see the possibility of running without pain by the weekend if I am careful. I should be at full volume as early as tomorrow. Rain and lots of it forecast over coming days. It will be a welcome relief. Often in Australia droughts end with a deluge. I expect there will be some flooding and bring a lull to the bush fires, along with it better air quality. There is still months of summer to come.

Tuesday morning run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather very cool, air quality moderate, no need for a face mask. Calf is much the same, probably will be for a week or so. I'm able to run at 5 min/km comfortably on grass. I won't push things until the calf improves. No rush.

Morning run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather smog at unhealthy levels (wore face mask), cool 12 degrees, no wind. Jogging today at just over 5min/km. Right calf is OK to jog slowly. I'll be able to self massage and stretch this niggle out in less than a week if things go well. When it is better I'll resume with long intervals and some tempo running. For the moment I'll take things day by day.

A calf tear early on in the Cadbury Hobart Half Marathon put my run to an end very early on. Weather was cool and windy. Splits for what they are worth: 320,319,333,341,334,STOP,jog back to hotel,524,508,505. The calf had been sore for a few days, felt ok after warming up, able to complete all sessions. Felt good today on warm up and until 2km into race, then progressively worse.. It should be ok to train on again soon. Positive side early splits were good, felt smooth running, thigh injur/y appears healed. Calf strain was not original strain, located next to it. New strain likely as anterior muscle not working.

This morning at Stromlo XC circuit Steve ran 4 X 600m efforts. Splits 153,152,150,149. I am in Hobart for Half Marathon tmoz. Easy run this afternoon near race start. Before that a wander through MONA, Salamanca markets and race bib collection.

5am run at Stromlo XC circuit of 18km. Now starting in the dark for 10 minutes meaning a very slow warm up to alert the kangaroos that I am coming. Weather cool to warm, no wind, air quality is good. No need for a mask. The run today faster than yesterday's recovery run, felt much the same. 2km warm up and warm down. Splits: 619,547,442,436,434,431,426,424,422,421,421,417,419,408,407,402,450,450. Saturday afternoon will be an easy run from the hotel near Hobart. It's been three weeks since I began my 'rehab' from a thigh tear. It's around 90% healed. I still have to be careful for a couple of weeks. The rehab has consisted of longer solid or tempo runs, almost all on grass XC surface. In the first week I ran two Parkruns, winning both in 18:35 and 17:22. I've done 12 long runs in the last fortnight of 17km or more, replacing two days with indoor bike when the smog was awful. I think my legs will stand up to 21km on bitumen in the Cadbury Hobart Half Marathon. ...

5am morning run at Stromlo XC circuit. Weather cool with smoke haze, no wind. Air quality in the unhealthy zone again. Steve and I both wore face masks. This morning was a recovery run, nothing fast. Splits: 625,507,454,451,453,447,441,439,434,432,431,427,440,455,436,434,433,415. Final run in Canberra tomorrow morning, another easy run on grass. Saturday morning off to Hobart and will do a short run from the hotel near the start of Cadbury Half Marathon.

5am run at Stromlo XC circuit. Smoke haze increased overnight, wore protective mask for run. It was cool and misty (mix of fog and smog). All up 17km for the morning including 6km tempo to finish. Tempo splits: 407,357,353,353,353,336

Morning run at Stromo XC circuit, similar to yesterday with an 18km run average 4:10/km, fastest split 3:41. Weather warm to very warm, no wind. Some smoke haze around, no need for a mask today. Steve was also there running 10km including 4 x 200m strides, all 33-34 seconds. Time to look forward to the Cadbury Hobart Half Marathon on Sunday. I'm feeling confident I'll get through it now without drama. I'll go over my race plan in coming days and get an idea on the weather. Looking forward to the weekend in Tasmania.

9am morning set at Stromlo XC circuit with Steve. 18km including a tempo 2.5km to finish. Weather cool, cloudy, overcast with some smoke haze, drizzle and light rain earlier. Air quality still hazardous although much better than conditions that forced being house bound yesterday, we both wore masks for the run. Steve and I both warmed up from different directions, car parks. Our splits after 2km warm up: 436,423,421,420,414,412,410,404, (drink stop)409,410,406,405,359,340,326. Jen also got out there again after running on treadmill for days. 13km this morning followed by a swim. 50km trail race coming up for her next Sunday.

Smoke rolled in from the east last evening, very thick. At 11pm I was having trouble breathing, had to relocate to find somewhere safe to sleep and breathe. Driving on the roads was hazardous, visibility down to 50 metres. Hard to imagine I will venture out at all today. I set the indoor bike up again and cycled for 95 minutes including some long strength intervals (big gear 53/14,low cadence). Tomorrow is a work day, some businesses and institutions are closed. Mine was on Thursday and Friday, I expect Monday will be the same. Postal items are not currently being delivered. More riding on the bike trainer until conditions are better. I leave for Hobart and the Half Marathon on Saturday. Only five days of exercise to negotiate between now and then.

530 am Saturday run at Stromlo XC circuit, once again wearing mask and sealed glasses. Smoke haze has been improving slowly over the last 48 hours. Still classed as unhealthy. It has been clearing around 9am and should again today although 42 degrees today will keep me inside. The run very similar to yesterday with an average of 4:20/km, some sections much faster, start very slow. Legs felt good today. Cadbury Half Marathon next weekend. I'll get some more tempo running done mid-week. No taper other than an easy Saturday before the Half, another 120km+ week ahead.

Air quality much improved in Canberra over yesterday, still at hazardous levels. I ran at Stromlo XC circuit 18km at 4:20/km average on my own wearing face mask and sealed sunglasses solo. By the time we had gathered for and finished coffee the sun was shining, no smell of smoke and good visibility. Expected to reach 37 degrees today, 42 degrees tomorrow along with more bush fires. Rain expected following two days which may clear things up. I've now completed two weeks of base training at 120km+/week. Eight of my nine last days have included long runs. My left thigh was good today although still stiff.

Another day of heavy smoke in Canberra. So much smoke our workforce was sent home due to smoke inside the building. I put on a mask with air filter and sealed sunglasses, braved it outdoors for a 92 minute run on single track in a forest when the air quality had improved to as good as it was going to get for the day. I'll get out there again when I can, otherwise it's more indoors on the bike wind trainer. Earlier in the morning Steve ran 7km on treadmill. That's probably the best choice if one is available. Many of the gyms have closed in Canberra. Many of those affected and locked in at the coast moved home yesterday afternoon or early today. Shops are short of food, petrol and communication has been a struggle down there. There's a lull with the bush fires for a couple of days before ramping up again on Saturday with 42 degrees and hot dry strong winds and more fires. Sunday and Monday there may even be some rain on the weekend and improved air quality. We can only...

Easterly wind brought the bush fire smoke back into Canberra after a horrible day on the coast yesterday. Some of my friends are caught up in the drama as all roads out were closed. Some evacuated early yesterday morning when they were open. This morning all Parkruns in the Canberra region were cancelled due to extremely hazardous air pollution. I've resorted to indoor bike training until conditions improve, whenever that is. I have Hobart Cadbury Half Marathon in 12 days.