Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

The Australian Masters Games in Geelong continues and I am home. Almost 4000km of driving in a weekend making it more than following Tour de France in three weeks...that's how big Australia is!! It is a very low key event. Being able to park the car on the grass verge within 20 metres of the track with a good view made it possible to give the dog a view while I ran as well. There are two speeds of athletes at the games. In best shape are those going to WMA in Brazil this week like Allan Cook and Lavinia Petrie (who broke W70 5000m world record around 21:30). For others it is just their first track runs of the season and not in great track shape yet. Results: M55 5000m Keith Law 1st 17:39 (taking 25 seconds off his PB and winning in a time quicker than AMA Championships 2013). Great run Keith. M50 5000m 1 Graham, Bruce M UNATTACHED 16:27.66 14:16.90 88.34% 2 Quirk, Steven M UNATTACHED 16:51.78 14...

The last three days around 12km each day and only light running according to how I feel. Today the dog couldn't keep up on the bush tracks so it wasn't that slow. I still have 113km for the week in my legs but by Sunday it will be around 80km. With a bit of luck I will get a light jog in tmoz in Geelong and maybe a few strides...It's 7 hours in the car so I'm not counting on it. Sunday will be a great way to get back into track again with a play 1500m in preparation for the 5000m on Tuesday. On Thursday I should get another run in over 3000m at ACTVAC first night of track. Then it will be back into some hard training while I race as I need to pull off 2-3kg by November 14 and the Victorian 5000m Championships. I should be in great form by then.

Today just as windy as last week but cold...long sleeves and tights weather. The set: 4x100m ; 4 x 600m with 200m recovery (1:50,1:51,1:51,1:51) Steve average 1:54 In the bush the girls: 4 x 5 minute (1.1km) hill intervals Yesterday 24km all up, 135km for the week. Taper has started, down to 131km today and 80km by start of the Australian Masters Games. Felt great out there on the track today. Form was much better especially into the wind, relaxed and was never working at 100%

18km of running this morning including the Frylink 4km XC Handicap. I ran at 100% effort and still finished only 9th over the line. Some very good performances out there today. The course pretty much down 1500m, up 500m to the turn, down 500m, up 1500m. I had to squeeze every last ounce of speed out on that final 1km up and only just managed to catch GT 50 metres before the line. That was one hard run. This afternoon an easy loosener up Mt Painter to make it 24km for the day. With a public holiday tmoz I will be able to get in a long run to top out at 135km for the week before beginning my mini-taper for Australian Masters Games which commence for me next Saturday.

September is known as the windy month in Canberra and no hiding from it today. Some gusts around 35km/hour by the end of the session and much worse after. Steve, Jane and myself early on the track. On the bush tracks Helen, Kathy and Emma. Track set: 4x100 (18-15.0),2000m 6:33,1600m 5:15,1200m 3:56,800m 2:32,300m 50. 200m recovery. Set the watch on 20sec/100m for the first three efforts, 19 for the 800m and 18 for the 300m. Well under for all efforts except the 800m which had the worst wind and the greatest fatigue. Bush set: 6,5,4,3,2,1 minutes hard, 1 minute recovery. That's my last very hard track set before Australian Masters Games. I have a 4km cross country handicap tmoz at the same venue and a lactate session (5x 600m intervals) on Tuesday.

80km/hour winds today. Steve and I did our warm up in the forest and then braved the elements on the track. Normally this session is 800m intervals, today only once into the gale each effort. We were lucky to stay on our feet and had Garry as a bunny but no help from the wind. The set: 4 x 100m (18,16,16, 15.1 ) ; 5 x 600m (1:50,1:51,1:52,1:51,1:50) with 200m recovery. Surprisingly felt very good. 11km in the forest made it 15km for the day and 126km in the last 7 days. Still expect to top out this weekend at 140km before starting the mini-taper. Saw the girls doing 5 x 3minutes out on the trails during the warm down.

Good news yesterday for me. Lower grades Zatopek has appeared on the calendar in December. That gives me a shot at posting a decent 10000m in 2013 as the weather wasn't great for my attempts earlier in the year. More good news...I gained a preferential start for Marathon de Paris. That means I get a chance to put a good race together rather than treating like a tourist event. With 46000 starters the lines are similar to City2Surf.

Warm and windy today so avoided the track...the same up hill 1.1km effort as last week. 15km in total including 4 x 1.1km at maximum threshold, working very strong on that tough steep hill mid-way. All my efforts under 4 minutes, the quickest 3:53. Steve 5 x 3 minutes this morning...that left just me and the girls this afternoon with Helen, Tori, Kathy, Kelley and KT (Maria in Sydney). Australian Masters Games entrant list and timetable is out. The draw has been kind as I get to run with M45-M54 in the 1500m and M30-M54 in the 5000m. There is one star M30 in 5000m so I will try not to be lapped if he starts. M50-54 has Steven and Scott so three of us have the potential to run 16something. The 1500m I will want like a time trial and not sit and kick so am prepared to lead to 1000m even paced in 3:00 so as to not risk injury for the 5000m. Some runners will be intent on slowing the 1500m pace down so I will see how it turns out.

Today a lower threshold run on the hilly Arboretum loop. Surprisingly at 75 minutes my quickest run on the loop ever. An afternoon loosener made it 24km for the day and well over 120km for the week (I didn't rest up for yesterday). That leaves one more solid week of around 140km before I ease off for my first racing block. Racing schedule expected to look like this: 07 October Australian Masters Games 1500m (warm up for) 09 October AMG 5000m 10 October 3000m 17 October 3000m, 1500m handicap 24 October Hour 31 October 1500m 07 November 3000 14 November Victorian 5000m 05 December Lower Grades Zatopek 10000m Training will look like this until 14 November, then a couple of weeks 10km specific training. Competition Period 1 October-mid November Aims to develop: Competition organisation, peaking Training Goal: Sessions with high intensity, recovery runs and targeted sessions in between races to reach race goals Race Pace Lactate intervals: short interv...

Friday: Run to work, sit for 5 hours, run from work, drive for 6 hours to Melbourne. 18km running, 700km in car. Saturday: Run Tan Relays, drive for 7 hours to home, jog 6km with Bella. 21km running, 700km in car. Thanx so much for Sunday. Might sleep in. Of the Tan relays: All about the team. APS M50 entire season undefeated, broke M50 team race record APS set last year with two different runners+me by over 30 seconds. Well done Andrew, Mark, Scott and others on a great year. Splits today: (by my watch) Mark 13:12, Scott 13:31, Me 12:44 More on the Tan relays in coming days.

It took two attempts at breaking the internet queue (with 7 hours sleep in between) but we finally got through to enter Marathon de Paris 2014, April 6. We originally had this race down for 2015 but somehow in 2014 all the dots lined up. Dot 1: Marathon de Paris weeks after AMA Championships in Hobart Dot 2: Paris Roubaix scheduled for Sunday following MdP in 2014, usually same day. We will see Paris Roubaix as well. Dot 3: Two weeks away in France leads straight into the Easter break in 2014, a break after the break. So we have a hotel, airfares, registration...not much more to do. Two times to France in 2014:-) What does that mean for training?...not too much. I will start building up the long run, add more threshold runs in place of short speed sessions, maybe a few more kilometres each week but none of that until I complete the racing block before Xmas. After Xmas:  At Oceania Masters Championships in Bendigo I will run 5000m and Half Marathon (as training), not the...

After two days of rain and some wind we headed for the forest trails. The session was conducted on an uphill stretch with flat sections, a big hill 10%+ at the half way point, roughly 1km in length, jog down hill recovery. Steve and I together, Kathy on her own, Maria, Tori and KT together. Of me: 4 x hill intervals 3:54. 3:54, 3:52, 3:52

I had to re-arrange this week due to rain expected Monday and Tuesday, windy other days and needing to be relatively fresh for the final AthsVic XCR13 event on Saturday, the tan relays. Instead of a long run a 14km trip to the track and back: 4x100m (17,16,15,14) ; 2000m 6:31 ; 1200m 3:53, 400m 75, 150m. Today another ploddle of 10km=24km for the day. At some point this week when the weathers suits and Wednesday at the latest some shorter intervals and both 1500m and 5000m pace. Probably a step down set.

I did two of the normal sets this morning. The first with Steve and Jane. The second with the girls an hour later which was at just over 4:00/km. The swooping magpie is still there and did not bother me but did to everyone else. I was lucky to start at 7am. The set: 4x100m, 2000m (642), 1500m (453), 1200m (354), 800m (231), 300m (52). 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 first effort where I was not warmed up enough and my shoes were not tied up properly. Steve was pressing me on all his efforts. This set very similar to that a fortnight ago which is great six days after the half marathon. All up 16km this morning, 24km for the day with a late ploddle, back at full volume since Wednesday so nearing another 120km+ week. The sessions I do mid-week on track will be key to how well I go down in Geelong at AMG. I have 3 full w...