The year ends

Friday (New Year's Eve) - well this week hasn't really
worked out quite as planned. I ended up sleeping in
again this morning so my plan for my long run went
right out the window! As things have turned out, this
week has turned into somewhat of an easy week, so it's
probably not such a bad thing.
I wanted to get some sort of training in today especially
as tomorrow is a big question mark. Who knows what i'll
feel like tomorrow!
I decided on a treadmill interval session as i am at home
with the kids today.
warmup 5mins jogging
2 x 1km's @ 15kph/inc 2deg with a 3min walking recovery.
(I would normally do about 2-2.5 min recov but today
is a very hot day and i'm not good in the heat!)
1 x 500m @ 20kph/inc 2deg with a 3min recovery.
1 x 300m @ 20kph/inc 14deg with a 3min recovery.
cooldown about 5mins walking and jogging etc.
T0tal workout for today around 45 mins of good solid effort.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!

Thursday - complete rest day - my throat started to
feel a little sore last night - not what i need just now.
Hopefully i will run for an hour and a half on Friday
morning.

Wednesday - An easy run this morning of 10km's in
just over an hour. No Masters tonight so i may do
some sort of workout this evening - we'll see!
UPDATE - didn't end up training this evening.

Tuesday - generally a rest day these days but today -
treadmill interval workout - warmup 1km followed by
1 x 1km @ 15kph then a 2min walking recovery
1 x 500m @ 20kph/2deg incline then a 2min walk/rec
1 x 300m @ 20kph/14deg incline then a 2min walk/rec
1 x 1km @ 16kph/2deg incline and a 2min walk/rec
3minutes of jogging to cooldown.
These speeds are adjusted to what i believe to be correct.
A very good and very hard training session and i'm very
pleased with the way i completed it.
Tomorrow morning will be an hours running at easy pace.

Monday - a rest day yesterday. I had planned on an interval session
at the track in the afternoon. We spent such a long time at the
shopping centre in the crowds that the day just disappeared. It just
wasn't meant to be.
This morning i headed into the garage and onto the treadmill for
an hour session. I'm quite positive that the speed reading is wrong
on the treadmill. I have a pretty good idea now about what pace
I'm going and i know that when it shows 8kph, it's really about 10.
So 10km's this morning in just over an hour to start the week off.
My usual Knox Masters event is not on this week so i'm going to
substitute that with a timed 1170 run somewhere during the week.

Christmas Run

Saturday - well i did it - a long run on Christmas morning!
Also by far the longest run i've ever done. 18.4 km which
is about 5 km's further than i've run previously. I thought at
times that i wasn't going to make it as two thirds of the run
was uphill. I decided to have a run over the Knox Half
Marathon course without the last 5 km's or so. I ran from
my house to where the start is and kept running to the
part where you start the last 5 km loop. That would be
enough for today as i didn't want to push my luck too much
and get an injury. Right now i feel good and am pleased
that i have clocked up over 47 km's running for the week.
Now to the business of eating and drinking too much i guess!

Loose plan for tomorrow - exchange a couple of my presents
that are the wrong size (fancy bike riding gear!) and hopefully
get down to the aths track late in the afternoon for some
intervals. **********MERRY CHRISTMAS***********

ps. now that i've done a long run on Christmas Day i must
surely qualify as a HARDCORE runner now eh !!

Friday - morn - various crunches/skipping and medicine ball
exercises all aimed at strengthening my stomach.
This afternoon i managed to get home early from work so i
thought i might punch the boxing bags for a while and also
do some various exercises on my weight machine.
Almost everything today will help my stomach muscles.
Tomorrow (Christmas Day) i have decided to do a long run
early in the morning instead of a bike ride. All being well, i
will run for at least an hour and a half.

Goals for 2005

Even though as yet i haven't managed to meet my Dec 04
goal of a sub 60sec 400, I want to set my goals now for
next year. I think that i probably was a little ambitious
in thinking i could break 60 after only being back into
running for three months. I'm certain that i will break
that barrier very soon.

For 2005 (and this gives me the whole year to build) -

400m in sub 58secs

1000m in sub 3:00mins

Knox Half Marathon (held in Dec 05) in sub 2:00hours

Of course there will be other runs in between, but those
are the main goals that i want.

Rest

Thursday - a complete rest day today! Yesterday took a lot
out of me and today has been very hot and humid. Better to
have a day off for the body to repair and be back into it with
some (yet to be decided) good training in the morning.

Wednesday - This morning's long run was only meant to be
for 60 mins. As it turned out i kinda got a bit lost and had to
go a fair bit out of my way to find a way home. The run
ended up going for 1:32:21 and some 13.5 km's later i made it
home. It actually felt pretty good and i encountered some very
rough terrain running through some diggings in a new golf course
that's being built. Average pace was pretty good considering
the obstacles i came across.
Tonight was the Masters again -
warm-up about 15-20 mins of various jogging and run throughs.
2 x 200 x 3 person relay
8 x 150m intervals at a solid pace walking for 150 recovery.
Then jogging to the 150 for the next repeat.
A pretty good session considering i'm still suffering from a
flu virus.

Tuesday - nothing this morning (no time).
I thought all day about doing some training tonight.
I'm still suffering from some sort of flu virus, but other than
a bit of a cough and a swimming feeling in my head (until
flu tablets/panadol take effect), I don't feel too bad at all.
I decided to try a speed workout on the treadmill - so -
warmup for 5 mins jogging followed by 3 x 500m @ 16kph.
Approx 2.5 mins walking recovery between each of these
and then 5 mins jogging to cool down.
It was very tiring and a bit more difficult than the last time
i tried this workout last week - but now it's done!
I'll try and get a little more sleep than usual tonight and
do a long slow run in the morning. Masters again tomorrow
night.

Monday - Even though i'm not 100%, i was determined
to do my run this morning. I'm glad i did as i managed to
do my 9km's faster again. 55:21 this time, another minute
and a half quicker than previously but the last bit was a
struggle.
Now because of different happenings this week, i'm not
quite sure yet how my training will go. I won't be able to
do my long run on Friday morning so i will need to find
another time for it. We'll see what happens!

Virus ??

Sunday - I managed to pick up some sort of virus which
i think started affecting me on Wednesday. The hard
training of the following couple of days weakened me to
the point where the virus was able to take some hold.
Other members of my family have had it in the last
few weeks and i kinda knew that i would eventually get
it. Providing it doesn't get any worse i will go for my
60 min easy run tomorrow morning and see how i feel.
I've basically had two days off this weekend only doing
a very light weight training session this afternoon.

Friday - Ran my first (well i did do one about 5 weeks ago)
90 min long easy run this morning and it was quite difficult.
I think i'm still suffering a little from that 400m relay i was
in on Wednesday. I'm going to see how i feel over the next
couple of days before i decide on how much to train this
week. I will do a lake run on the road bike in the morning
though.

Thursday - normally a rest day and i am really drained
out from last night racing. I thought i'd just give the legs
a loosen up on the treadmill for 10 mins or so (very easy)

Tomorrow morning i'm thinking of starting to go for 90 min
runs on Friday mornings. So that should up my long run
each week to around 13 km's.

400 PB

Wednesday - Cycling around the lake this morning.
I didn't get away quite as early as usual so i only got
about 10 km's done in the time available. For a change
i used my mountain bike for my first time with the
clipless shoes/pedals. Of course i forgot about them
and managed to fall over sideways trying to get my
feet out. Fortunately only a grazed elbow and not
much else!
Tonight the Knox Masters gathering at the local track.
I warmed up with a couple of laps of slow jogging
followed by a few run throughs and various stretching.
The event i had my eye on for the evening was the
2 x 400 x 3 in each team relay. I volunteered to be
first runner so i could check on my time and wanted
to try and PB. It was always going to be tough as i had
decided to go flat out in the first one and see what was
left for the second one. Running into a stiff headwind
in the front straight i managed a 66 (my best by 3secs).
I think the effort was probably the equivalent of a 64
in ideal conditions but anyway. I had finished clearly
ahead of the other runners and gave us a good lead.
By the time i got to run the second of my 400's we were
trailing a long last. The first 150 or so was ok but then
i hit a brick wall and struggled badly at a very very slow
pace to finish the lap. Needless to say we finished last
by a space.
Following this for about the next 30 mins or so i felt
very dizzy and was suffering from a massive headache.
I walked around and drank lots of water but even now
(some 2 hrs later) i feel very drained out. Tomorrow
will be another rest day for me and hopefully i will feel
better.
(current goal is still sub 60 400m by end of Dec ???)

Finally!

Tuesday - nothing this morning.
Tonight after work i thought i'm feeling good and
i'm early enough to do something so perhaps a
timed run around the lake.
1km warmup jog to start
1170 timed run around the lake (5:03:24 PB)
Finally i managed to lower the 5:12 from what seems
like ages ago! I thought this time i would go out quite
hard and try to hold on to it. I didn't look at the watch
at all during the run - only checked it at the end. Once
again nothing left at the end (no kick) but it must be
the right way to set a time for me.
1km cool down jog and then about 10 mins with the
heavy medicine ball for my stomach. (Total time 27 mins)
I didn't want to do too much tonight as i have Masters
again tomorrow night and i want to be as fresh as possible.

At this stage the plan for tomorrow morning is cycling
around the lake at about 6.30 AM.

PB again !!

Monday - great stuff! another 2 mins off the time for 9km's.
It still may sound a little slow to some people, but for me it's
quite an achievement. 57.05 this morning for 9km's is about
5 mins faster than i was doing a week or two ago. I must be
doing something right! The 2 days of complete rest that i've
just had on the weekend obviously helped me. I feel too that
a couple of the faster stamina sessions that i did last week
have helped to achieve the slightly faster cruising speed.
Of course the slow easy distance runs aren't really meant to
be pushed, but it's nice to know that my general speed is
improving.

Mon Arvo - Thought i'd take advantage of having to stay
home from work again (sick daughter).
5mins warm-up on the treadmill at easy distance pace
3 x 500m @ 16kph with 2.5mins walking recovery between
5mins cool-down same as warm-up followed by a little
basketball with the other (not sick) kids in the driveway.
10 mins with the 5.5kg medicine ball for the stomach and
there you go a nice little speed/stamina workout.
Not sure if i'll get a session in tomorrow - we'll see.

Rest

Sunday - Well i decided to turn the weekend into a
rest period. I guess really i should have a proper rest
of at least 2 days each month or so. This is it then!
Funny how it makes you feel guilty! I'm sure though,
that it will be beneficial for me and make me stronger
(and faster) in the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow morning will be slow easy running again
for an hour.

Saturday - nothing today, i decided to give the body a rest.

Friday - I did my usual Friday morning slow easy distance
run. Surprisingly for me, i ran it more than 2 mins faster
than i normally do for 9kms. I wonder if the speed session
yesterday had anything to do with it ?? Anyway i really
want to try to break the 60 for 400m by the end of this
month, so i need to work hard on the gut busting stuff. My
speed/stamina sessions are going to hurt over the next
couple of weeks, but they have to be done.

Thursday - Last night i helped out as a marshall at the
Knox Half Marathon which was held at my local club.
Just watching some of the competitors was quite inspiring.
I'm pretty sure that i'll give it a go myself next year with
12 months and a few more k's under my belt. Soon i'd like
to start by entering into a few 5km fun runs etc and build
up gradually over time. Something to look forward to.

Well today should have been my complete rest day.
Two of my kids had to stay home from school today due to
illness so i missed work again. I do a fair bit of activity and
exercise while working so i guess substituting it with a workout
shouldn't hurt too much.
Slow jog to warm up followed by 3 x 500m at 16kph on the
treadmill. In between each of these a walk recovery of about
3 or 4 mins. Another slow jog to cool down a little followed by
around 10 mins of various exercises with my 5.5kg medicine
ball. Following this 3 mins on the heavy bag to finish.
All this aimed at strengthening the core.

In the morning will be another hour of slow easy distance.

Wednesday - another good long effort early this morning.
6.50 pace for the 9kms which is about where i am at this
stage. Felt good after about 10 mins which is unusual.
I generally don't come good until much further into the
run. Finished off quite strongly over the last 10 mins with
a strong burst for the last minute or two.

Tuesday - Back to a bags routine with the 3 bag setup.
(heavy bag, floor to ceiling and speed ball). 3 mins on
each with about 30 secs rest between x 2 sets makes
for a good solid burst for 20 mins or so. Really good for
the stomach muscles and the stamina.

My aim late afternoon or tonight is a timed run over
my usual lake course of 1170m (must try to break 5mins)

Tuesday afternoon/evening - got out for my timed 1170
and misjudged the pace again. I went out slowly thinking
that i would be able to kick with about 450 to go. I didn't
really have too much left. Certainly not enough to make
up for the slow pace.
The Garmin showed a 12kph average pace for the distance.
I really need to push that up gradually to 16kph over the
coming weeks. I'm going to have to really push for stamina.
That will help anyway for my 400's - i need to be able to
sustain a fast pace for as long as possible. My goal is still
to break 60 for 400m by the end of December!

Monday - Ran for an hour this morning and managed
to get 9km's in. The last 10 mins or so i ran at a good
solid pace, the last 3 mins quite hard.
Nothing tonight - too humid and need a rest.

Sunday - 41kms on the bike this morning at a nice leisurely
pace with a friend of mine. We did a little exploring around
the local bike tracks and found a few new ones. All in all
about 2 and a half hours worth.
I didn't get to the athletics track until about 7pm tonight.
spent the afternoon at the horse riding school for a gymkhana.
Stayed around for a barbeque which made my stomach feel
a little weird when i started my warm-up at the track.
I nearly didn't go but i wanted to try out my new interval idea.
An intense stair drill using the grandstand followed by a recovery
jog of 400m around the track done 3 times continuously making
a set. Then after a bit of a rest (5 mins or so) another set the same.
The times were quite interesting -
first set - 3.53, 3.44, 3.00 and the second set 3.36, 3.18, 3.03
the time to beat from now on per set is 9.57
Today the only part of these intervals that i pushed hard were
the stair drills and the last 150 or so of the third rep in each set.
I'm sure that if i continue doing these every week, my times
will improve dramatically in the coming months.
I finished off with a steady 400m in 85 and slow jog to cool down.

Tomorrow morning i will get up a little earlier and run for an hour.

Saturday - I changed my workout this morning from cycling
to a long run. I didn't have to take the kids to little aths today
as we had a twilight meeting last night instead.
My intention was to run for an hour and a half but i soon found
the humidity a problem. I cut it back to just over an hour and
it did include quite a bit of longish uphill work so i'm pleased
with the effort. Was going to try to get some bag work done
this evening but family commitments had to come first.

Tomorrow will be my longest bike ride for a while. Hopefully
will do at least 2 hours in the morning.

questions ??

Thursday late! - it's times like this on my rest day that
i sometimes wonder if my training is right or distances
that i'm aiming for are right! I guess by doing lots of
slow easy running, i will get my aerobic fitness level
up, and improve my performances at all distances.
The thing is though, which one am i really best at?
I used to think the 100m was my distance, but i'm starting
to think that maybe something longer might be the go.
Anyway, while i'm pondering all these things, i've just
thought of another interval/tempo type training run
that might be of benefit. There is a steps routine that
i sometimes do in the grandstand at the track. It takes
about 28 seconds at speed to complete and is a bit like
a hill/bounding run. I think i might do one of these with a
half pace jogging lap of the track in between, for say 6
repetitions. Should be a real good workout. Of course
the emphasis would be on really trying to push during
the step run. The 400m jog would be like a recovery.

On looking at my training over the past couple of weeks-
Not doing any bag work has probably been detrimental
as my stomach muscles don't feel quite as strong as they
should.
I'm going to stop doing the shuttle runs in my driveway
as the surface (paving stones) is way too hard, and i
can sure feel it. Also i think i'm doing too many speed
sessions each week.
My long run on the weekend needs to be longer, relaxed,
and of course fun.

****Anyone reading this please feel free to comment****

Tomorrow morning will be a 45 min slow easy run.

Thursday morning - today is a complete rest day and i
feel like i really need it !!
I'm not really sure what to make of last nights running
at the Masters. It didn't feel at all good (felt like a struggle)
and i was a bit sore around the groin area before i ran in
both the 100m and the 300m. I made sure that i warmed
up well - about an hour in total gradually building up the
pace and doing stretches etc.
My goal for the night was to try and run around 12.5 for the
100m. We had a problem with the start (the gun didn't fire
properly). When we did get a start, i was expecting to hear
a bang and only heard a "GO", so i hesitated and missed it by
a couple of metres. The timer then told us that he wasn't sure
if he got it right so who knows. 13.26 was what the clock said
but i don't know what to think!
The 300m was about 10 minutes later, and from an inside
lane, i watched the other 3 runners gradually get further and
further away in front. My time was 47.6 which was a PB for
the distance having only done a best of 53 in training. It just
didn't feel good though and i think that i have possibly over-
trained again in the last week or two.
My feeling is that i have probably overdone the speed work
which has made me tired and added a couple of kilos to my
weight. I'm going to focus once again mainly on my long slow
easy distance running and cut down on the speed work for
a couple of weeks. I also haven't done any bag work for two
weeks (heavy/speed/floor-to-ceiling bags) and my stomach
muscles don't feel quite a strong as they were.
To start with i will be having more rest this weekend.