Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

Wednesday afternoon recovery run of 17km on forest trails. Perfect weather with no wind, sunny and warm. I did notice few trees have had their leaves starting to turn colour as they do in autumn. A very mild start for now. Tomorrow morning I am on my way to Tasmania for the Hobart Easter Half Marathon. I'll have three days to explore Hobart again and chill out before the race.

Tuesday morning set for Steve of 3 x 1000m. Weather cool with light winds. Splits: 3:23,3:24,3:22(with 1st 500m 1:37) I ran a repeat of Monday as 4 x 500m, 500m recovery. Splits: 1:40,1:30,1:29,1:27. Much quicker than Monday with less effort. On Wednesday BBQ Stakes 6km XC handicap. I will only need to run the course to continue my taper after having done enough for the leg speed today.

Late Monday afternoon taper set of 4 x 500m efforts with 500m float recovery. I ensured the pace was slow enough so as not to get injured with only days until the Hobart Easter Half Marathon. Splits: 1:43,1:39,1:34,1:30. I did get confirmation this morning of no need to quarantine when entering Tasmania as I will be coming from a low risk location on a direct flight. Next set on Wednesday at BBQ Stakes 6km XC handicap. I'll do a couple of longer intervals on the course and jog the remainder.

Early Sunday morning run from home before dawn. There was a nice fog making things easy for running. First half on bike path, second half on forest trails including a steep ascent up a mountain on single track and down again. That's my final long run before Hobart's Easter Half Marathon should I make it there. I am waiting on approval to enter the state without quarantine restrictions. Should that not be approved I'll cancel out and run a local half marathon a fortnight later. This week's running will be based around tapering down to 80km/week and maintaining the speed endurance I have with a couple of XC interval sessions.

Saturday morning Parkrun Coombs 1st in 17:25. Weather cool and no wind. I didn't allow enough time to warm up, felt horrible at the start line and was hoping to warm up during the run. I had good competition from Andrew and forced him to the front until I did warm up. At 2km I took the lead again. At the turn around I committed to a full gas run to the finish. I got a gap up the hill at 3km finishing 16 seconds ahead at the end. Splits (500m):1:39,1:49(forced Andrew to front),1:43,(took lead)1:39,1:42(dead turn),1:46(hill),1:43,1:39,1:47(dead turn),1:43. After Parkrun I was off the Stromlo XC circuits for a group set,warm down and coffee. The set was an undulating 2.5km as intervals of 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy at a pace faster than Parkrun. Steve also did Parkrun as a warm down having done 3 x 1km at Stromlo earlier.

Originally scheduled to take place in March 2021 before the Covid-19 pandemic led to its postponement,the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst will now be held on 19 February 2022. The timetable is as follows: 14:35 U20 women’s 6km 15:15 U20 men’s 8km 16:25 mixed relay 17:05 senior women’s 10km 18:05 senior men’s 10km The World Masters Cross Country Championships will include a mixed 4 x 2km relay, tentatively scheduled before the World Athletics events on Saturday,19 February,and a series of age group races on Sunday,20 February. For those who don't know where Bathurst is it's west of Sydney and 3 hours drive north of where I live. Something worth training for. I'll have to reset my dial. It will be my first big competition as a fresh M60. Hello all you M60s out there, best chance for a world relay Gold since Perth 2016.

Thursday afternoon session on undulating forest trails in the Arboretum of 17km including 5 x 3 minute efforts with 60 seconds jog recovery to re-group and a further recovery run at Stromlo a chance meeting Peter and Jen. Weather cool, cloudy then sunny, windy. On Friday 12km easy running. Saturday morning Parkrun.

Wednesday at lunch time I ran in my 100th BBQ Stakes event and recieved my prize of a 100 run singlet after the finish. It was Andrew's 500th run. The event has been going since 1978. I think Roger has done over 1400 runs! Weather was dull grey, cloudy, light drizzle at times, mud all over the XC section of the course. I didn't take any risks out there being a week before I head to Hobart for a Half Marathon. I saved my energy for an all in Parkrun on Saturday morning.

Again rain all day, heavy this time. All the dams are overflowing, flooding in many areas and roads cut. I had to take the long way to work and back with Coppins Crossing on the Molonglo River closed to traffic. I waited until mid-afternoon for the deluge to calm down. Basically a repeat of yesterday 17km, 5 minutes quicker than the previous day, I didn't feel as good. Wednesday at BBQ Stakes 6km XC will be muddy and my 100th run in the event (I may get a t-shirt). I'll just be cruising around. Next session will be on Saturday at Parkrun. Nice weather is coming with morning temperatures in single digits and maximum around 20 degrees, sunny. This is a typical early autumn weather. May can be horrible. It's 12 days until the Easter Half Marathon in Hobart Tasmania. I'll peak at 120km+ on the weekend before starting my taper for the event.

Rain all day again, nice weather for running though. Warm, light persistent rain, not too heavy to be miserable. I ran from home in late afternoon to find the criterium track deserted and the XC circuits closed to to the saturated circuit. The ducks and kangaroos were loving it. The run a steady 17km with good rhythm. If the rain persists in coming days I'll do my sets here when nobody is around.

Sunday morning Half Marathon from home, out and back on bike path, dodging the rain and wind. The run included a trot over the dam wall to see how much water was flowing out if it. It will be raining much of this week off and on. Next set when the weather is dry.

Cloudy and very windy for Parkrun Coombs. Tail wind going out to the dead turn, head wind coming home. In those conditions I got out there relatively fast, slow coming home. Splits: 3:18,3:16,(dead turn)3:33,3:30,(dead turn)3:32,06= 17:20. It was the 3rd anniversary for the event, some wore crazy socks to mark the occasion. It was my fastest time since the inaugural event (17:13 in 2018) and on the 3rd version of the course. I've held the age graded record since then and improved it a few times including today. After the event I was off to Stromlo XC circuits for an extended warm down and two coffees. In the afternoon back at Stromlo for a loosener, 19km for the day. Long run in the forest on Sunday.

Lunch time run with Milli the Border Collie at Stromlo West, it's hilly, we did 7km, I was struggling to keep up. I haven't been running Milli much throughout the snake season. The Blue Toungue lizard in the backyard tells me when it's safe...it doesn't bother coming out to sunbake. It was out 2 days ago, not today. The weather today blowing from the south east, warm, rain squalls in between the sunshine, strong winds. It will be similar for a week. Tomorrow morning Parkrun (it won't be fast), followed by a jog and coffee. BTW Milli is addicted to the TV.

Thursday afternoon run and set at Stromlo XC circuits of 17km. Mid-run I included 7 x 500m efforts with 500m jog recovery. Wind was blowing the light rain sideways during the set, becoming partly sunny for the extended warm down although still blowing. Splits (500m): 1:43,1:36,1:35,1:33,1:30,1:28,1:25. A windy and wet week ahead but still warm, abover 20 degrees celsius. Next set on Saturday at Parkrun.

Wednesday lunch time run at BBQ Stakes 6km XC handicap. Weather cool with drizzle and some wind. My time of 21:55 a recent PB since October 2019 when I ran several times of around this level. Looking at the splits I was slow in the first kilometre today compared to 2019 due to a head wind and not enough warm up. Splits (500m): 1:52,1:56,1:56,1:48,1:40,1:50,1:56,1:52,1:37,1:41,1:49,1:44. On Tuesday Steve ran 3 x 1000m efforts. Splits: 3:28,3:26,3:28 showing Steve is still in great form. Next set on Thursday, 500m efforts at Stromlo XC circuit. On Saturday Parkrun.

Monday morning set with Helen at Stromlo XC cicuits of 5 x 3 minute efforts with 1 minute jog recovery where we were able to regroup for a few seconds. Weather sunny, cold, light winds. Perfect for balloons which were landing close by. Next effort on Wednesday at BBQ Stake 6km XC handicap.

Sunday morning runs punctuated by rain. I began with a run to the lake watching Weston Creek Half Marathon and 10km runners. It was very wet for them, big puddles on the course in parts and chilly winds from the south. I had a couple of hours break until the rain stopped, finished my 19km of running at Stromlo that included 4 x 500m strides into the wind, around 3:40-3:55/km. Grass track was dry. This week a new routine with track finished allowing me to fit in a couple of sessions mid-week, solid runs on Wednesday at BBQ Stakes 6km XC or Parkrun, long run on Sunday. Next race is at Easter with the Hobart Half Marathon.

Saturday morning Parkrun at Ginninderra. Weather cool to warm, sunny, no wind. There was heavy fog in the valley. I led start to finish with no pressure from behind. Splits (500m): 1:44,1:43,1:39,1:42,1:46(dead turn),1:42,1:44,1:43,1:41,1:42=17:14. No bad splits, my quickest time on the course since November 2020. Another good run. After Parkrun I was off to Stromlo for a 5km warm down and coffee.

On 18th February I ran a 5000m at Woden track in 17:21. I ran strongly throughout as I had been for months on end. In fact I ran 20 x 17 minute+ 5000m races (including Parkrun), but nothing in the 16 minutes+ range until the 16:59 yesterday. On the Friday night following that 17:21 race, when I realised things weren't going my way and the usual routine I would use to fix it (regular long runs) just wasn't working, I changed two things. First was getting on the floor and doing 60 pushups and a 60 second planks on most days. Second was my diet by replacing all the bad food with healthy food, inserting the notion of eating to train. Within six days the changes started to come. I took 20 seconds off my recent PB at my regular BBQ Stakes run over 6km on 24th February. The soft tummy I had kept through most of 2020 was starting to shrink. I was last in this shape during the bush fires/covid lockdown period when I could train at will, running a 16:50 5000m on 17 May 2020 and 16:31 two...

Rain all afternoon almost led to the final ACT Masters Athletics track meet of the 2020-21 season being cancelled. We were lucky the rain cleared off in time to get the meet underway. The puddles didn't go away making it wet running and soggy socks. I made a point of staying out of lane 1 to keep the socks and shoes dryish for as long as possible. A big field mean't we were in lane 2 for much of the run anyway lapping runners. I was lucky to have Jacob pacing me for the entire run. We decided on sub-17 minutes as a target for me in the conditions. It was only with 400m to go I took the lead clocking 16:59.93...perfect pacing. I felt great throughout again, being fully tapered and at race weight. We had pizza post-race. A great way to finish the summer track season. Rough splits: 1km 3:18, 3km 10:11, final lap 74 seconds. 500m splits:1:36,1:39,1:39,1:40,1:42,1:42,1:42,1:44,1:40,1:36,0:14(90 metres extra running in lane 2/lapping runners). Steve had a near perfect run for 4th p...

Tuesday sessions at Stromlo XC circuits. Steve early ran a 1200m tempo in 4:00, his fastest time for that sector on record. In the early evening I ran 6km including 3 x 500m efforts with 500m recovery. Splits: 1:33,1:28,1:22. I had to hold back a little to ensure I didn't get injured 2 days before the ACT Masters 500m Championships. I felt good running. I've held volume at just over 80km this week which is fully tapered. On Wednesday an easy 6km at BBQ Stakes community XC event.

Monday morning sets at Stromlo XC circuits for Steve and myself. I was up much earlier to see the Sky Whale balloon up close, the set after that. Steve ran his 2 x 1000m in 3:20,3:22. My 500m efforts in 1:43,1:35,1:30,1:28,1:25,1:21,1:28. If I am feeling good on Tuesday morning I'll do 2 x 1000m as Steve did today. .

Sunday morning run of 17km mainly on forest trails. Weather cool, sunny, light winds. Next sets on Monday and Tuesday with short leg speed intervals 0f 500m-800m. Weather for the week looks wet. Hopefully it will be OK on Thursday evening for the ACT Masters 5000m Championships, the last track race for the 2020-2021 season. Three weeks after that I'll be running a Half Marathon in Hobart Tasmania.

Saturday morning Parkrun at Ginninderra. It was Elspeth's 300th Parkrun. Weather cool with a stiff south easterly wind blowing the hot air balloons quite fast and away from the start. Tail wind out to the dead turn, head wind all the way back. I led until 500m to go working very hard into the wind. Splits (500m):1:42,1:45,1:38,1:41,1:48(dead turn),1:43,1:44,1:43,1:45,1:43,0:05=17:23. Winner 17:09. Steve at Stromlo XC circuits ran 4 x 1000m with 90 seconds recovery. Splits:3:30,3:27,3:29,3:26. A good set to prepare for the 5000m Championship on Thursday evening.

Friday morning run by the lake of 17km. I felt good, nothing sore from the 10000m the previous evening and solid throughout. Next Thursday is ACT Masters 5000m Championship. I'll be shifting emphasis to 5000m training hoping to get 1-2 specific sessions in before my final track race of the 2020-2021 season. Steve will be doing sub-race pace intervals for his preparation. Having posted a decent 10000m World ranking time last evening I'll both be keen to post a solid 5000m time. With most of my friends on the coast this weekend I'll be running Parkrun Ginninderra on Saturday morning. A friend is celebrating their 300th Parkrun event.

Nice conditions for the ACT Masters 10000m Championships at Woden track, warm with light winds. I ran solo from the start with a time near identical to what I ran at the Australian Masters Athletics Campionships in Melbourne 2019 and World Masters Athletics Championships in Malaga Spain 2018. My previous recent ACT Masters 10000m Championships times were 35:41 (2020),35:26 (2019),35:22 (2018)and 34:51(2017),all wins. Splits(500m)1:46,1:44,1:43,1:40,1:42,1:43,1:44,1:46,1:47,1:46,1:44,1:44,1:44,1:47(drink),1:43,1:45,1:45,1:46,1:44,1:38,0:29(extra distance lapping runners)=35:19. During the run I wasn't looking at garmin splits, on the start finish clock I wanted to see 7,14,21,28,35 minutes at 2,4,6,8,10km and hopefully a touch under at the finish. Running that extra 180m lapping runners in lane 2 stopped me doing that. Steve ran in the early 1500m race leading start to finish in 4:54 from Emily in 5:11.

Afternoon taper set at Stromlo XC circuits of 2 x 500m strides. Splits:1:38,1:32. Weather warm, full sun, light winds. I didn't feel great running on a short warm up, only 4km for the set, the pace was OK. I'll have to keep that in mind on Thursday evening before the 10000m track to ensure as best I can to get a good warm up in prior. I will be out helping duty before the 10000m. After the Stromlo strides I was out to BBQ Stakes to help out there.

Tuesday morning run by the lake in full sun, some wind, balloons up, including 1000m and 500m efforts with 90 seconds recovery. Splits: 1000m 3:13(1:39,1:34); 500m 1:38. Only 5km running today, 5km on Wednesday with some 100m strides, 10000m track on Thursday evening. Steve at Stromlo ran 3 x 1000m efforts. Splits: 3:27,3:24,3:25

Monday morning taper set along the foggy lake before work. The set: 2.5km warm up including 100m strides, 2 x 1000m, 2 minutes recovery, 1 km warm down. I had to include a hill on each effort to fit in the distance due to path being fenced off. Splits: 3:12(1:37,1:35),3:21(1:39,1:42). An afternoon recovery run to make 12km for the day, down to 114km last 7 days(from 148km),80km by Thursday evening. I will repeat the set on Tuesday morning.