Daily runs

Sun long ride

2012-01-22T13:09:00.002+11:00

Again a ride was in order today. Set out from Bensville to Budgewoi then down to WoyWoy.
92.5k in 3hrs22min. Pretty slow but it was really windy. Also just didn't fel like killing myself out there

Sat and 2 weeks since Narrabeen

2012-01-22T13:04:00.002+11:00

Well after my attempt at running last week that sore foot I got right at the end of my 10k run has still been sore. Too sore to run on. I seem to have inflammed my peroneal tendon. Pain on the lateral arch of my foot with push off. Managed a couple of spin classes this week and went for a nice ride (55k) from Bensville to Magenta then back to Terrigal.
Foot was heaps better after the ride but got sore as the day went on

How I started running

2012-01-20T19:35:00.003+11:00

One of the most common & frustrating things I see in the exercise world is people wanting to lose weight, whining & complaining that they aren’t happy with their body. I see this everyday. Every now & then I find someone who decides enough is enough & they do something about it.
I was one of those people

I decided to get what really bothers me out of my head & down on paper.

I believe, no in fact I know that if we want something bad enough we will get it. If it’s important enough we will do what needs to be done to get what we want.

We all need GOALS! Without goals we have no idea where we are going or what we want. If you decide to get married what do you do? Do you say I’m going to get married one day then expect it to happen? Do you need to get more specific? Maybe you might need to work out how it’s going to happen. I mean if you say your going to get married I think you need a partner. It’s a bit hard to get married on your own! You may have to set a date. What about a location? Food? Music? & then once you work out all the details you then need to sit down & work out who’s attending. After all this you then need to make an investment or hope mum or dad will pay for it. Either way you will find the money & the time to make that wedding happen. It will become a priority in your life. You want it bad & you will get it!

Lets look at another subject. Let’s say work. Why are you working? Is it to pay for the things you want out of life? Did you wake up one day & hey presto you had a job? Or did you have to put effort & planning in to getting that job. Maybe you had to work out what you wanted to do. You might had to spend time getting educated to get the skills required to do that job. Do you wake up in the morning & think to yourself if you should go to work or do you just get up & go. Most people have a system where they go in to auto pilot & get ready for work without to much thought. They have done it consistent enough so it’s a habit.

Another subject. Lets look at that holiday or short trip away. If you have a holiday planned for let’s say the Gold Coast. You book the airfare, you book the accommodation, you plan it all in advance. You know when you are leaving & when you are returning. If you catch a plane you even know what time your going. You make it a goal & a priority in your life to go on that holiday. Let’s say you wake up the morning you are leaving with a bit of a cold or you feel under the weather. Maybe even a bit sick. Do you cancel that holiday? NOT ON OR LIFE! You set a goal up & you will achieve it.

Now why is it then that we say I want to lose weight & expect it too happen? If you can find a job, find the time & money for a holiday or even plan a wedding why can’t you lose weight? It’s not rocket science. You MUST COMMIT! You have to be CONSISTANT. You need specific goals & a deadline. If you really want to lose that weight you can do it. If you haven’t then you don’t want to. Now I do believe that some people do have medical conditions that really do stop them from loosing weight, but most of us don’t have that problem. Our desire just isn’t strong enough.
If we spent less time making excuses for & more time committing you would reach your goal.
When was the last time you changed your mind about doing your exercise because you were tired? Have you ever cancelled you personal training session because of something else? Guess what? That something else is more important to you than loosing that weight. If you want to lose weight, get fit or tone up then you need to be making it the number 2 priority in your life. What’s number 1? It’s family. Number 2 is health & wellbeing & number 3 is work.

Here is a little story about the old me who found out about goals & was sick of being MR AVERAGE.

I use to be 100kg before I started running. I use to hover around 80kg then not long after my second daughter was born (she was 3 month premature & a lot of time was spent in hospital) I put it all on. I did manage to get some off over the following year & was around 88kg to 93kg. Then one day I had to get into a suit & the bloody pants were so tight I thought I had on the wrong pants. It was then I said bugger this I’m going to lose the weight. It MUST come off. I’m in my early 20’s & getting obese! It must have been that night I took Sharnie our Bull Mastiff for a run/walk. We went for around 20min & I was stuffed. Could hardly breathe. I used my asthma puffer almost 6 times! Now I could have gave up quite easily but thought to myself this has to get easier. I started taking Sharnie for a daily run/walk. 30min was the most I could handle. I was waking up sore & stiff but noticed I was feeling better as the day went on. This went on for about 2 weeks & after all of this I hadn’t lost much weight. Maybe ½ kilo. I thought I need to address what I’m eating. Now I was eating CRAP! And a lot of it. Loved my butter. Loved my chocolate. Loved my biscuits. Loved my coke. I was eating pies, sausage rolls, ice-cream. I was drinking fullcream milk. I’d have almost 2lt of that a day. Cheese…..yummmm. Loved my takeaway. I use to work as a storeman & I can remember many a times having morning break at 8:30am & having hot chips! Anyway the fact is I had to change what I was eating. I could do all the exercise in the world but if I wanted to reach my goal I had to change my eating habits.
I decided to go cold turkey. I gave up drinking anything but water. Water was all I drank. Now let me tell you it was a massive shock to the body! I gave up the butter, the ice cream, the chocolate. I started & having stirfrys for dinner & taking leftovers for lunch. My morning break was now fruit & yoghurt. As soon as I changed my eating habits I lost 20kg between February & April. It was a new me!
Now my goal at the time was to run around Lake Ginninderra non stop. This is a 7km loop around one of the lakes in Canberra. I can even remember the month when all this started. It was mid January and the year was 1999. It took me about 3 weeks to reach that goal. Now do you think I ran once or twice a week? NO. I ran 5 x a week rain, hail or shine. I was committed to reaching what I had set out to achieve & nothing was going to stop me! I just figured I’d lose the weight on the way
I ran 5 x a week & ate healthy. That’s all I did. In this time I was getting fitter & less stressed. I did this with a job working from 6am to 3pm and at the time I had 3 daughters & was married. When did I run? When did I fit this in? I dedicated 4pm & 5pm to my running.
I was starting to like running so I thought I might try & go in a race. I had no idea how I would go & was terrified that I might come last. But hey….running was keeping the weight off & I had reached my goal of running around the lake & I knew if I didn’t pick an event I would stop. I was getting board. I got on the internet & found out about the Canberra half marathon in May. It was 1 lap around Lake burley griffin. 21.1km!!!!! I thought if I could run 7km I could run 14km. If I can run 14km I could do 21km. So I set out for a long run of 14km around Lake Ginninderra 2 times. I have never felt so bloody exhausted in all my life! I did do it but bloody hell it was tough! I had about 4 weeks to get ready for this thing. I entered so now I was COMMITED! If I didn’t do this thing I was going to lose my $25 I invested & damn if I was going to let that happen!
One Saturday morning after I had finished work I parked my car at Lake Burley Griffin. I took a water bottle with me & off I went. I ran slow just wanting to get around the lake non stop. I knew if I could do it I could finish the race. Now if you think 14km is hard you should try 21km!
Over the next couple of weeks I ran that thing EVERY SATURDAY. I made it my Saturday goal. Nothing was going to get in the way. If I had to I would run at 5am. (never had to but I would’ve) I knew if I didn’t I wouldn’t complete the race.
Sunday 16th may 1999 was the race date & I remember heading off & plodding around the course. I finished running non stop in 1hr 37min & 44 seconds. I was placed 133rd overall. There must have been 400 or 500 people in it. Was I happy? Heck yeah! I completed my first ever race! I was weighing around 72kg & was feeling on top of the world! Much different than 5 months earlier when I couldn’t run for 30min without walking & was about 25kg heavier! The problem with all of this I found a new passion. I hated running but loved the results it gave me. And finishing a race was the best feeling in the world.

It’s now May 2007. It’s 8yrs ago I ran that race. It’s 8yrs ago I lost that weight. As I write this I’m about to race the Canberra half again. This will be my 6th Canberra half. A lot has changed since I set that goal 8yrs ago. I’ve been on quite a journey. It was a year later I completed my first marathon. That’s another story for another time but let me tell you that (at the time was the most painful thing I had ever done!) the marathon changed my life. I completed that marathon in 3hrs 40min 2sec. I couldn’t walk without limping for a week & it took 3 weeks before I could run again!
8 yrs on I have completed 9 marathons. The quickest in 2hr 56min. I have completed around 30 half marathons & 1 ultra marathon. I’m training for my 10th marathon in July & I’m completing another Canberra Half this weekend. I have gone from 1hr 37min 44sec for my first half marathon to my current best of 1hr 20min 19sec which was last year (2006) I kept setting goals & reaching them. There is no way I would’ve got where I have without setting goals & I’m not finished either! This year (2007) I’m going to break 80min for the half marathon & run under 2hrs 55min for the Gold Coast Marathon. I have a goal in place with a deadline. I WILL DO IT! I also have a goal to do 35min for 10km.
Over the next 5yrs I have more goals set. I’m going to run under 2hrs 45min for the marathon. I’m going to run 75min for the half marathon & I’m going to run 34min for 10km. I know I will do it. I have a system in place (that’s called not giving up!) & I trust it. It will work & I will get there!
After that? Who knows? I will tackle that when I get there!

I’m not this super human. I find running hard like anybody else. I just love the results that come form it all. All I have done is set goals, made it a priority in my life & done what needs to be done to succeed.
You can apply the same principles that I have with my running to your goals. But you must make it a priority in your life. If you don’t then don’t expect to lose that weight. Don’t expect to get rid of that back pain. Don’t expect to get fitter or tone up. One thing you can expect is to be worse off than you are right now.
Don’t blame things for stopping you from getting what you want. We all have tough times in our lives. Bloody hell I’ve had plenty! But through all the good & all the bad I’ve never let it stop me from reaching my goals.

You can do it to!

I hope this short true story of my early running days helps you get motivated enough to reach your goals.

Darren McClellan

Since I wrote this which was 5 yrs ago I've now completed over 18 marathons fastest being 2hr54min, 9 or 10 ultras, over 40 1/2 marathons fastest being 79min and 100's of fun runs

Post Narrabeen

2012-01-14T23:24:00.002+11:00

Well its been about a week since Narrabeen. In that week up to Thurs I've done no running. I pulled up quite sore on both knees. Feels like MCL damage but has improved quite a bit everyday.
Friday was my first run back and did a 6k on the treadmill in about 34min. Right knee was good but left knee was sligtly sore

Sat (today) was my next run. Again done on the treadmill but this time 10k in 55min. Knees wern't too bad. In fact it was the right foot which became sore right at the end of the run.
Next run I'll attempt is on Tues. Tomorrow is a well deserved Sunday rest!

Narrabeen Allnighter 12hrs! 130.051km!

2012-01-08T20:27:00.005+11:00

Wow! What a tough event this one is!

My day started by tossing and turning Fri night/Sat morning and really didn't get alot of sleep. That seems to happen alot before an ultra race. Spent Sat just trying to do nothing. Lying on the couch etc.
Mum came and picked us up about 2pm and by the time we squeezed everything in the car we were off.

First stop was to some chicken at this shop down at Narrabeen then to the supermarket to get some supplies then it was off to the race area to set up camp.

The weather was coolish waiting around but good for running.

7:30 we gather around for a bit of a race briefing then 8pm we line up ready to go.

Within about 1min Jo Blake takes the lead with me not too far behind. By the turnaround I think he slowed down to run with me then we kinda shared the lead for the first 20k. It felt really comfy and was happy to just keep that pace. We did go through the first 10k quite fast in 44:39.

It was about 20k and I noticed Jo slipping behind but wasnt sure if he would pick the pace up later

My girls Tiff & Skyla were there all night helping and really chearing me on.

I went through quite alot of bad patches all night and after about 40k I had my first toilet stop and a nasty vomit!

It was also around that time my right knee started to give me quite alot of grief but I could run with it. It was mainly all the ditches and at the turn arounds where it was the most painful. As the night went on all I wanted was icy cold water and ice. I pretty much just ran the whole way wetting my body with the water bags, chewing on ice.

The last hour was just hell and my body was starting to shut down. 42min to go and Í was just short of 7k to reach 130km. Going around the last lap I'd done 129.3k and had about 3min to get to 130k. Thinking I wouldn't do it I just kept shuffling along then all of a sudden I thought stuff it.....when will I get this chance again and knew I would hate myself if I fell 100m short so I just ran that last lap as hard as I could!

The hooter sounded and I just collapsed on the ground!

10k splits were

10k - 44:39
20k - 1:30:45
30k - 2:17:47
40k - 3:07:02
50k - 4:02:09
60k - 5:04:29
70k - 6:01:42
80k - 6:57:58
90k - 7:56:32
100k - 8:55:56
110k - 9:54:35
120k - 10:58:12
130.051 - 12:00:00!

Friday......almost there!

2012-01-06T22:34:00.001+11:00

Just a pretty relaxed day today. Wake up about 7:30ish and headed out the door for a comfy 6k.
Legs felt great

Thursday...only 2 days to go

2012-01-05T22:29:00.002+11:00

A nice and easy 10.7k on a nice flat road. Right butt still quite tight but I'm pretty certain I'll be able to run on it for 12hrs

Wed and much better!

2012-01-04T12:52:00.003+11:00

First thing I thought about when I woke up was how my piriformis would be when I walked on it. Happy to say it felt ok. It was tight and I could definitely feel the difference between the sore right one and the good left one.

I had a massage booked in this morning down at Umina so I drove down to Booker Bay and ran easy 27min out and got a bit past Ocean beach then turned around and ran back in 26min. 10.6k in 53:30

I was quite happy with how my piriformis felt

Tuesday post around the bay

2012-01-04T12:48:00.002+11:00

Just went for run around the streets of Bensville. A little under 4k in 19min.
A few hills and a little bit of trail. I found my right piriformis really tight and sore.
Got a bit worried. Straight away I stretched and iced it then got the tens machine on it later followed by having Denise massage it to help release it.

Around the Bay

2012-01-02T13:23:00.005+11:00

4am and the alarm goes off......a yawn and a stretch and I somehow drag my body out of bed. Actually quite surprised how good my legs feel after yesterdays effort.
After some toast and coffee and a shower we make our way to Gosford. Got there about 4:50 so it's only 10min later and we are ready to run.
After a moments silence for the passing of Leon yesterday we are off

Straight away Mick takes off like a man on a mission followed by Ian, myself and Mark.It's only about 2min of running and it was going to be Mick, Mark & Ian running happily at about 4min/km pace. I was happy to just settle back and run on how I felt. I didn't want to push it if I felt too sore or stuffed. By the Avoca dve intersection I could see the 3 of them go through in about 12:40 I went through about 40sec later in about 13:20.
That was the last I saw of Mick and Mark but could still spot Ian in the distance.

First drink stop (5.5k) in 23:40 and 20sec or so I thought I better move on.
The hills start just after this and 2 of them are a decent one.
Again I spotted Ian about 2min ahead. I got to the second drink stop 10km in 43min then it was a very dew/wet/foggy frost reserve to run across.

Back on Empire Bay drive just past the Kincumber tennis courts and one of the last main hills to get up. I could see Ian making his way up in the distance.

Next thing I know I see Graeme Ridley on his own at the 3rd drink stop (14.7k) just past the Bensville turn off. 1hr3min I've been going now. A lollie and a coke and I head off again.

And again in the far distance I see Ian head down to Empire Bay. He's creeping away from me now. Get to the 4th drink stop (18K)in 1hr19min and Mike Gero is there with some more drink, lollies etc.

Get moving again and still feel pretty good. The run to the 5th drink stop (22k) at Booker Bay/Blacwall was one of the best part of this run. I alawys enjoy that section. Get to the 5th drink stop in 1hr40min

The toughest part of the run now begins. Pretty much just flat concrete for the rest of the way. I get to WoyWoy at the start of the bay to bay course in 1hr55min (26km)and set a goal of going sub 2:50. About 1km ahead I again catch a glimpse of Ian and that's the last time I see him until the finish

6th drink stop (28.5km)and no idea what my time was at this one and I'm now getting tired and aches are kicking in. Not wanting to stop long so I don't turn into rigor mortis I head off after some more coke and water and some cordial stuff.

7th and final drink stop (32km)and reach it in 2hrs24min and think now only 5km to go!

The rest of the run went pretty smooth and just kept a nice pace to the end.

Finished the 37k in 2hrs47min
Mark did 2:28, Mick 2:31 and Ian in 2:42
Now I need to freshen up for Narrabeen on Sat

Beyond the black stump 2012!!!

2012-01-01T14:45:00.006+11:00

The run today.....distance is in miles

Beyond the Black Stump Fatass and more runs in Berowra on MapMyRUN. Find run

Well its the first day of the year and what a cracking start its been!
Beyond the black stump was on the cards today. This was the 2nd time I've run this. I did it last yr not really knowing how tough that hill is. This year I knew what I was in for but it was just as bloody tough!

Went pretty comfy for most of the run but was feeling it after the ruined castle coming back up that hill. Even managed to fall and do a stunning barrel roll then get up and get on with the running again. The run down to the ferry is a great relief and to time it so I get there just as the ferry is arriving was even better!

I was with about 5 or 6 runners n the start of that hill/mtn but decided I wanted to just take my time so I let them all passed and happily walked up to the top. I remember last year feeling like throwing up but all good this year. In saying that the legs were stuffed and I don't think I could've went much quicker.

On the road to the finish and for some reason now I had dead legs so I just plodded to the end

32k done in 3hr24min. 8min faster than last year
Got to the ferry in 49min (we had to wait a while)
Top of the road hill in 1hr20min (I think)
Ruined castle in 1hr42min
Back to the ferry in about 1hr28min
Top of the mtn in jst over 3hrs
And back in 3hr24min

Orchard run

2011-11-20T11:40:00.002+11:00

I got out here around 7:15am and not a car in sight. I felt pretty buggered before I even got running. I think the 12 beers last night didn't help!
Went what I thought was a steady pace but by the time I got up the top of the hill I had sweat dripping off me. Got to the roundabout in 35min and the intersection in 53min. I almost turned around here but thought bugger it i"ll keep moving forward. Got to the green sign in 1hr3min and the road in 1hr23min
The run back was really tough! I found the downhills hard and it was pretty bloody hot too!
I had to stop about 3 times in total just to regather myself

The car at the end was a much welcome sight!
Ran it in 2hrs41min all up

Thurs to Sat

2011-11-19T13:40:00.003+11:00

Well I seem to be back into the swing of things. The legs are feeling good again

Managed to run 10k on Thurs in a little over 48min
Fri I did another 10k but this time a slow 55min
And Sat I ran with the trotters. We ran the round dve. About 12k n 55min
So all going good so far

Post GNW

2011-11-16T20:20:00.003+11:00

Well after 3 days I think I'm coming back to normal. The last few days have been tough to say the least! My legs have been so tired and been feeling like they just need a massive stretch! My feet have been puffed up and have massive cankles!
After the race we (Denise and I)made our way to Nelsons Bay for a bit of a break

All Ive done is eat, drink beer and chill out by the pool. Oh we did go on a dolphin cruise and play a bit of pool :)

Today being Wed we got back home. Swelling in the feet has gone down and I managed a 1k swim then did 5k on a treadmill in a little over 25min. Legs were pretty good but did feel tired

Lets see how I go tomorrow

GNW 100mile (107.9miles).....a long long race!

2011-11-15T07:53:00.004+11:00

What a weekend and what a race! So much goes into an event like this and that's what make it such a big part of your life.

I guess it all starts on Friday. For me it was an easy 8k run. I've always found going for a bit of a run the day before a race helps and hey......if i can't run the day after doing a slow 8k then I'm not ready to tackle 175k!

We stayed up at my Mums place as she lives about 15min from the start line.
The Friday night was a get together of about 70 people for dinner. That was great catching up with some people i haven't seem in a while

Tried to get an early night but knowing i have to do this race in the morning made sleeping something that just wasn't going to happen. I think i got about 1hr sleep. 3am comes and its time to get up.
First thing i need is breakfast. Just a couple pieces of toast. I don't want to eat too much as the last thing i need to worry about out in the bush running is stomach cramps and needing to find a toilet.
Next was make sure I've got all my gear ready and packing all the food.

We got to the start just after 4:30am. After checking and weighing in i went back to the car to shut my eyes. The lack of sleep was also sinking in. 5:30am we all gather around and listen to Dave to hear the briefing before we all make our way to the start line all looking fresh and excited! How things look different at the end!

Now i decided just to run my own race and not worry about how fast everybody else will go at the start. I think i had about 12 runners in front of me for the first 6km of road then it was on the trail and i had another runner past me there. He had a green band on (green band for 100miles and orange band for 100km) I just watched him run those early hills thinking I'll catch him soon enough.
Getting to Freemans drive and crossing the road in about 1hr26min I'm thinking I've maybe gone too fast but I'm feeling good so i just stick with my pace. I catch up to the guy who past me just after crossing the road and also Shona (she was in the 100km) I'm watching still running the hills and asked if they have been on this course before. They both tell me they haven't so i told them they might just want to walk some of these hills.
After running with Shona for a while she decided to take off while i kept my steady pace. Next thing i know I'm in the rain forest slowly making my way through. The guy who was running all those early hills caught up to me here but 10 min later he dropped off.
After 3hrs26min I make it to the first checkpoint.
Denise was awesome. She had all the food out all ready for me. She tells me I'm in 8th place. A few min later I'm gone again.
About 20min later i catch up to Shona again but she soon dropped off. The rest of the way to checkpoint 2 I'm all on my own. I got through that section in about 2hrs20min. I get my weight checked here and I've lost just over 1kg. Still in 8th place i head off again.
It wasn't long and i pass another 100mile runner then a 100km runner. Next thing I'm starting those hills again. I'm quite surprised how good i feel going up them. Crossing watagans creek i pass Dave waugh then make my way up the next big hill. Got to the top of that still feeling good but was glad to be up there. Checkpoint 3 came soon after and I'm now in 6th place.
I found the climb out of the basin a bit tough but after running 85km i think that's normal!
The rest of this section us pretty easy going and before i know it I'm on the road section 10KM away from Yarramalong. It was here i pass another victim of running hard too early and i then plod along making my way to checkpoint 4 (103km) 3km to go I catch up to levi and we ran in there together.
I get my weight checked again but this time i put on 200grams. About 7min later I'm off again but notice water leaking from my pack. I turn back and luckly i had 2 water bladders so Denise changed that for me and I'm off again.

Not long into it and levi and his pacer catch up to me. I let them pass and walk run the bumble hill section. 15min later i catch up to them again. We run together for quite a while but they slowly dropped off and next thing i know I'm on my own again getting to Somserby for checkpoint 5. The climb to Somserby was tough but still felt great at the checkpoint. I change my shoes here and leave in 4th spot.
Next section wasn't too bad until about 1km from checkpoint 6. That's when i went through my first real bad patch. I get there and for the first time i have trouble eating and drinking. I tell Denise its getting tough. Levi came in about 4min after me

I leave the checkpoint still in 4th but knew Levi would catch me.
I manage to run until the suspension bridge then he caught me.
The rest of the race was the most challenging thing I've ever done.
I went through stages of bring able to shuffle to almost dry reaching. I could no longer stomach anymore food and had trouble keeping water down. Then the next thing i felt on top of the world like nothing could stop me.
Soon enough though i really started to chafe from having the pack on for so long that i couldn't run. My legs were coming good but was reduced to power walking. About 3km to and i found if i just shuffle without letting the pack bounce too much i could kinda run to the finish.
I got to the lookout just before Patonga had a look behind me and couldn't see a runner in sight. I knew now i was going to get 5th spot and I WAS GOING TO MAKE IT!
The last section leading to the beach was just sensational. Running on the beach to the finish line was just priceless. I reached the finish pole collapsed on my kness kissed that pole got that medal around my head and felt on top of the world!

I finished in 24hrs28min in 5th place

A true ultra experience!

Tuesday - 4 days to go!

2011-11-08T16:11:00.003+11:00

Went out for a lunch time run. Around 34deg. Quite hot and humid. Its spose to be cooler this weekend but it was only going to be 30deg today. 4deg hotter so really who knows what it will be come Sat.
Ran 10k doing 4x5min at a moderate pace with a 5min recovery. Total for the 10k was 42:52
Left achillies slightly tight but other than that I felt great. The heat didn't bother me too much but I could feel it

I then made my way to the gym and got in the steamroom.

I'll take it easy now until Sat

175km. I can do this thing!

Somersby to Girrakool

2011-11-06T11:03:00.003+11:00

Had Sharon pick me up and we met Gary & Suzy at Girrakool around 6am. We then got in Suzy's car and made our way to Somersby shop. Sunny warm morning for this run. Steady pace most of the way. The first part of the trail Sharon took the lead. I rolled my ankle not far into the run. Just kept running and it came good.
It wasn't long and I was now leading to the end followed by Sharon then Suzy then Gary.
Got to mooney creek in around 1hr10min and to Mooney Bridge in 1hr47min.
Finished in 2hr26min

I was really happy with how everything felt
I guess around 22 or 23km in total

Trotter...Crommety hill

2011-11-05T10:27:00.002+11:00

Felt good again this morning. Started off steady and just picked up the pace once we got to Wambie shops. Ran pretty hard up the hill but Mick came screaming past me! Ian was just behind me at the top. I wanted to push hard down the hill to see if I had any tight spots that I need to focus on for next week. Only my left hammy was tight but still felt ok. Ran back along the road making it 14.6k done in 1hr2min (4:15/km)
Very happy

Friday easy day

2011-11-04T15:21:00.003+11:00

Went for an easy 10k from Terrigal to Wamberal and back. I was really happy with how my legs felt. Felt like I had a spring in my legs. I guess It took just over 45min.

Later I met Denise in the gym so I thought I'd do a bit of hill walking on the treadmill. Walked 3km building up to 7km/hr and slowly going to a 15deg incline. That was pretty tough! Then ran easy for 1km. Got in the steamroom for a bit after that

Thurs Rumbalara run

2011-11-04T15:19:00.002+11:00

Raining when I got running. Just ran about 13 or 14k doing the rumbalara course. Felt pretty good with no real niggles

Wednesday....10days to go

2011-11-02T09:16:00.001+11:00

Ran a comfy 12k from Trrigal to Forries and back. Legs felt good. I thought they would be stuffed

Melbourne cup day

2011-11-01T11:44:00.002+11:00

Felt tired when I woke up. Went for a slow 10k to start the morning. Then I went to the gym for the steamroom

Later I did 3k race night at Mingara. Quite a big turn out. Warmed up with Baz and Clarke doing Hansens. The race was pretty quick (for my standards at the moment) Still very much lacking speed but I'm getting back there. Just can't hold a fast pace for too long. I guess on 7weeks back running and only been doing speed work for 3 or 4 weeks does that to you.
Went through 1km in 3:20, 2km in 6:55 and 3km in 10:27.
I really struggled on the last 1.2km. Just managed to hold Jess off
Finished with a 2km warmdown
13km done tonight

23km all up today

31st Oct...Mondays swim

2011-11-01T11:41:00.003+11:00

No running for me today. Just a nice 3k swim down at WoyWoy pool. Took about 56min. Stopped every 5-10 laps to break it up a bit

Rumbalara 16km

2011-10-30T13:47:00.004+11:00

Well I was slightly seedy after going to Mark & Tara's wedding last night and with the alarm going about 5hrs after I gone to bed I was also quite tired!
I had no plans in racing this event as its too close to GNW. I just wanted a hard long run. Weather was warm but very humid. Started off running with Suzy but she dropped off by the time I got up the stairs. Was feeling great except for the coronas from last nght that were still in my body! Found the stairs/hills after seymor ponds tough going and even walked a couple....(gnw mode)
Somewhere on the way back Matt Robbie comes flying past me. He started 10min late. All up finished in 1hr25min and about 40sec
Happy with it and how my muscles felt

With a 3k warmup and 2k warmdown 21km all up

Trotters Charles Kay 10k

2011-10-29T13:16:00.004+11:00

My goal today was to start around mid pack/back of back, start easy then just see how many other runners I could catch.
Went as planned and alot of other runners had an easy race planned as well I think because of Rumbalara tomorrow. For the first k I chatted with Tom, then for the second I ran with Wayne. Aboud 3.5k I caught up to Joe and about 4 or 5 other runners. I then started to run a bit faster. I could hear Joe hanging on to me but by 500m down the road he dropped off. I got to Charle Kay feeling quite good. Think I was there around 31min. Then I slowed down quite a bit getting to the tp. Next thing I'm flying down the hill then saw Mick at the school and he said I was 2nd. I was sure there must've been 4 other runners at least in front. (later I found out Mick & Mark Dunlop wern't doing the whole thing and the other guy Mark got lost)
Finished in 2nd place in 42:01

Had better years!

2011-08-26T20:06:00.013+10:00

Well what a pretty bad yr running wise. I've been bad with the blogging as my running has been bad to me
First half of the yr I suffered osteitis pubis and a sportmans hernia. 5 months of no running from Jan to May
Finally getting back into the running from may and got through North Face 100km with 2 weeks of training then by mid June I was feeling all run fit again.
26th June I go in Woodford to Glenbrook. 25km in the Bue mtns and of all things my L5/s1 disc got inflammation in it and compressed on my sciatic nerve. The most painful 2 weeks of my life.
2 weeks of hardly being able to take a step on my right leg without a stabbing hot poker feeling pain shooting up my back
Week 3 I was able to walk with a limp but painful sharp hot poker stabbing pain
Week 4 was the same as week 3
Week 5 I was able to get on the exercise bike in the gym
Week 6 I ran on the treadmill at 7min k pace for about 6km
Week 7 I was able to plod outside but a painful back still
Week 8 I have a go at 10k and managed to do it in 48min, Did a run up Kincumber mtn and a trotters run. (the trotters run flared my back up again)

Well Its now the end of October and I've been back running for about 6 weeks. The pain in the back has pretty much gone. No more nerve pain from the damn sciatica and all is looking rosy.

I've managed to complete quite a few long runs as I've entered the GNW100 miler. I've also managed to run all of the 100mile course.
2weeks ago did relay for life. 2 days before the event I set a goal of running 100km. The night of that I was going great until 45km then started to get stomach cramps. I stopped at 52km and since we camped there I went to bed then got up about 6am and felt pretty good so at 6:30am I decided to get going again. I got another 38km in so 90km all up. Out of that run I pulled up with really tight hamstrings and achillies. I had to have the next 3 days off running because the hamstring was so sore. Back running again on the Thurs but still with tight hamstrings.

The next big run was the following weekend when I got up and ran trotters sat morning then went for an easy 24km bike ride then a 2km swim then after having a 90min sleep I went to Yarramalong where I met up with Levi, Rob and another runner at Midnight and we made our way to Patonga.
Most of the run I was running on my own. I arrived at Patonga at 8:20am. Felt really good until the last 5km. Still felt good at the end but was glad to be finished

Well that was last weekend and since then I've done
Tues - am easy 10k, pm - 4 x 1mile repeats in 6:31, 6:17, 6:09 and 5;54. That was done at adcock park. I guess I got around 12.5km done all up

Wed - am easy 12k, pm easy 10k

Thurs - Moderate run from Terrigal to Kincumber mtn and back. Just over 16km in 1:21 - tough run

Fri - easy 12km

So folks thats where I'm at

Easy Friday

2011-06-24T13:50:00.002+10:00

Very slow and comfortable 12k from Terrigal to Forries & back. Cold morning being 3deg

Thurs

2011-06-23T13:00:00.002+10:00

Just a steady run getting around 17k done in 1hr28min or around 5:13/km
Felt pretty good but left knee was a bit sore. Ran from home at Terrigal to Erina/Springfield then back
Later on I went into the steamroom & sauna

I'm back!

2011-06-20T21:18:00.002+10:00

Well at least I hope I'm back. So far so good. Since I last blogged away I've managed to complete TNF100 in 13hrs36min, done the State 10k in just over 39min...that was hard! and have raced the bay2bay in 46:05.
The main reason I haven't been blogging is my computer had crashed. It's been like that since March and I'm quite enjoying not having it. I can check what I need to with my phone but as far as blogging on this site goes my phone won't let me.
I'll try and get on here a couple of times a week when I get access to a computer.

So far this week I've ran twice. Tues I managed a 12k run doing 10x2min hard 1min recovery and today (Wed) I ran a steady 14.5k from home to Forries beach and back in a little over 1:06. Around4:35km pace. Great weather for it too :)
Later I was in the gym and did 10k in 44min then weights then steam room
Next race planned is this Sunday..Woodford to Glenbrook

Kinda back

2011-05-07T14:24:00.002+10:00

Ok well it.s been a damn long time since I've blogged. Mainly couldn't be bothered since I've been injured. Started running on and off about 3 weeks ago. Only one day here and one day there. Still have signs of injury but at least now I can run. This week is the most i've done since I've stopped. Tues was 12k, wed 18k from the haven up kincumber mtn & back then another 5k in the arvo, Thurs did 10k, Fri 12k and today being Sat I ran 14.5k. Hoping tomorrow to run in Bouddi nat park and do mcmasters beach to Putty beach return. Then one day on & one day off next week until Nth Face.
I think I might still do ok as Ive got the endurace from those 4 & 5 hour bike rides and I seem to be ok if I dont run fast and since next week wont be fast I'm hoping to go ok. Either way BRING IT ON!!

Sunday...bike in the gym

2011-01-30T15:38:00.001+11:00

Had an attempt to run on the t'mill but straight away I could feel that hernia pain so just got on the bike for 90min.
Hernia pain was with me for the day as in a light ache

Sat and sore

2011-01-30T15:36:00.001+11:00

Woke up early and wanted to do the same run in Mt Majura as I did yesterday. Ran up to the car & pain was back so I called it quits and went back to bed

Fri

2011-01-30T15:35:00.001+11:00

Today I was in Canberra and ran in the arvo. I could feel alot of tightness in the lower abs but felt pretty good. Ran Mt Majura for 1hr all up

Thurs

2011-01-30T15:32:00.002+11:00

Went to the gym and felt not too bad so I ran 1k on the t'mill then could just start to feel pain so I did 20min on the bike. Had another go on the t'mill & got 3k done then back on the bike then another 1k then bike then did another 3k then had a stretch then finished with 1k. Felt ok through all that

Aust day and a painful 10k

2011-01-26T18:41:00.002+11:00

Started off feeling ok on the run but it got quite painful as the run went on. Was still ok at 5k but the last 2k was really annoying. I'll just rest up from running now until I feel I'm right to run again. Hoping it won't take too long. Worst case it's a sports hernia (like a hernia but without the hernia bulge) and that will be surgery. So will just have to take it day by day. Still hopeful for 6ft but could be doubtful. If I feel it's getting no better in a few weeks then off to sports dr

Tues and not really a run

2011-01-25T15:55:00.002+11:00

Went to the gym. Ran almost 1k and the hipflexor pain was annoying so I got on the bike for 10min. Then back on the t'mill for another 1k but again annoying so on the bike for a bit then ran 2k but still annoying pain. Just didn't feel like putting up with it. Could've kept running though.
I'll see tomorrow if I'll run or not

Went to the dr to see if I had a hernia and after 5hrs of waiting I got the all clear so that a relief!
I think it's just abdominal strain

Muzza's memorial run (wambie whoppers)

2011-01-23T20:00:00.002+11:00

Struggled to get up at 5am but I did it. Had a slice of toast and a coffee then got out the door. Had pain again in the hip flexor but could still run through it. Starting to think I might need some time off running to let it heal. Got 1/2 way along Ocean view drive and met up with Ian. Ran 4.5k to Wambie Whoppers in about 23min where there were maybe 30 or 40 other runners. A great turnout!
We all stayed together until the Ridgeway Hill then we split up. I was running with the front group up the hill but with the hip flexor still feeling tight & sore I backed off. Coming down the hill there was a drink stop with sports drink, lollies & cans of softdrink. I had all! By now my hipflexor was doing ok so I picked up the pace and soon caught Mark Dunlop, Thomas & Wayne.
Got to the end in 1hr42min30sec. We then all chatted & I managed to get down 2 beers which went down smooth then ran the 4.5km back home in 41min30sec. Hipflexor was good on the way home but could still feel it

All up today just over 29k in about 2hrs27min

Sat Trotters Muzza's run

2011-01-22T09:30:00.002+11:00

Around 16.5k this one. Hipflexor was pretty good. Could feel it the whole way but had no problem running on it. Only bits were hard on it was the hill before you go into the ponds.
Ran with Baz & Ian for most of the run. Finished in around 1hr14min (4:29/km)
I was pretty happy with that effort with it only being 13days after doing Narrabeen

The swim at the end was gold!

Friday

2011-01-22T09:27:00.002+11:00

Took it easy. Again left hipflexor was tight and slightly sore but much better than yesterday.
Just ran easy 10k in 49:29. Ran the first 5k in 25:26 and back in 24:03

Thurs

2011-01-20T22:00:00.001+11:00

Again left hip flexor pain! Anyway still got a 19.2k run from home to Crackneck and back done in 1:42 (5:18/k)

Wed

2011-01-19T21:07:00.002+11:00

Again 2 runs. First I just did a moderate 10k on the t'mill. Left hipflexor was really tight & sore but felt better as I got running. Still had pain in it for the day.

Second run I decided to stick to the Haven and run on the oval. Hip flexor was tight and slightly sore but again got better as I got into the run. Ran 10k in 47min.
Weird thing after that run hip flexor pain totaly went away

20k done today

Good Tuesday!

2011-01-18T21:32:00.002+11:00

Did 2 runs. First up I just did an easy 10k in just over 50min. That was done on the t'mill

Later I went to Adcock and started with 3x1mile for the warmup. We then did 4x100m then 2 sets of 4x300m with a 100m walk recovery done in 55, 55, 55, 55 then in the second set in 56,56,57 & 58. Then 3x100m and finishing with a 1mile warmdown

Around 20.5k done all up today

Sunday and slow long run

2011-01-17T09:49:00.002+11:00

Got out running just after 5am. (have a busy day) Ran a slow 23k in 2hrs6min (5:28/km). Only pain I could feel were in my quads but they wern't too bad. I did stop alot of times to stretch them out though and to also have a break. I found the humidity the killer today. Ran from Terrigal to Shellys beach and back.
We spent the rest of the day down at Luna park and I noticed my knee getting sore as the day time being on my feet went on

Painful trotters run

2011-01-15T21:19:00.002+11:00

Damn that had hard. It was one of those stupid really hilly runs all over Terrigal! I started off ok but by 10min my quads and calves were really sore on any downhill. I even walked down Hastings. 10.5k in 59min
Later we went to the shark & ray centre and I spent 2hrs in a wetsuit in the water & I think it was great recovery as I felt heaps better after that!

Fri and running again

2011-01-14T21:55:00.002+11:00

Went to the gym to see how I'd go running on the t'mill. I like to start back up on the t'mill so if I do feel any injuries I can just get off and get on the bike. Also you don't se as many muscles so it makes a good recovery.
Ran 6k easy in 32:32. Felt like hard work! Could feel a few tight & sore spots but overall pretty good. After that I got in the steam room for a bit. Back to the gym in the arvo to do a cycle class. That was hard too but no pain except for a tight left quad. Again got in the steam room for a bit after

Day 3

2011-01-12T21:33:00.002+11:00

Much better today. Still injury pain in knee and just as much swelling in the foot but the calf isn't as bad and I can walk up & down stairs with only a bit of pain. The knee pain was still bad in the morning but got much better as the day went on

Post narrabeen day 2

2011-01-11T21:30:00.002+11:00

Well feeling heaps better today. Muscles are still stiff and sore but can now walk up & down stairs. Injuried pain in left knee that I think will take a while to heal. I think the left calf and foot will be good by the end of the week. Still got quite a bit of swelling on right foot

Post Narrabeen Day 1

2011-01-10T23:19:00.002+11:00

Well I must say I do feel alot better today. Yesterday was painful. Every muscle ached all day. Today I wasn't aching at rest but sore if I moved. At least today I could put up with the pain.
The injury pain compared to just "normal pain after running 123km" is starting to show. I couldn't tell the difference yesterday. Left knee on the medial side feels injured could be ligament, right calf that was almost cramping feels like it has a bit of a tear & the top of my right foot is sore & swollen. I managed to get to the gym for the steam room for 15min today which helped and taking some ibuprofen.
All I can do now is do what I do well & recover. No plans for running for a while. Like after every big race/run I'll start again when my body tells me to. The weekend would be good though!

Narrabeen All Nighter!...12hrs tough hrs

2011-01-09T14:00:00.003+11:00

Well home after a friggin tough race! Running on flat bike bath/concrete for 12hrs really smashes the shit out of every muscle you have in your body!
Ok no hope on getting the record for me. I have respect for that run.
We got down to Narrabeen about 4pm with a blue sky. We pitched up 3 tents for the family.
I had Charlie & Jono crewing for me but my girls were such great helpers.
We got racing right on 8pm. Plan was to go out at a comfortable pace but faster than I knew I could hold. For the first 20k I was doing in the 15min for the 3.333km laps. Then noticed I started to slow but just kept at a comfortable hard pace.
I really don't know what my splits were after 40k but kept them around 20min. Some were 24min and some were 19min.
I found the tin spaghetti worked like gold! Weather was a mixture of dry & heavy down pours.
I managed to do the whole run without walking except for going through the food stops.
Found it quite amazing that my 2 youngest girls still awake and helping out at 4:30am!
I went through alot of bad patches and good ones. On the bad ones I slowed right down and the good ones I picked the pace up.
After 50k my right calf was almost at the cramping stage. Kept it at bay with salt tablets. The no doze kept me going too.
Had a really great bit at the 100k and that last for about 1 lap then pretty much went 1lap bad next lap good until that last 50min when we ran 500m out then turned around. Tried to keep strong but then last 30min was just PAINFUL!
So in the end I got 2nd place in 123.9k.
Right now my legs are aching, in fact right now I'm aching from the sole of the foot to my eye balls.
Now thats out of the way bring on six foot :)

Thursday and almost there

2011-01-06T21:52:00.002+11:00

A couple of days to go and still feeling good. Ran easy again. This time from Terrigal to Forries and back. 12k all up. A few tight spots still hanging around from the weekend. Will rest up now until the race on Sat night.

Wednesday and legs feeling real good!

2011-01-05T19:21:00.002+11:00

Was tired when I got running at 6:15am. Ran from Terrigal to Wamberal and back. Nice easy 10k. Ran with Kirko for most of the run. Legs felt great but I was just tired. Plodded along but happy with no pain

Tuesday and still easy running

2011-01-04T13:30:00.002+11:00

Again just did a t'mill run at the gym. Was really happy with how my legs felt. Recovering great from the weekends effort. Easy 10k in 53min

Recovery day

2011-01-03T17:35:00.003+11:00

Not much done today. Just went to the gym and ran a very slow 5k on the t'mill then did another very easy 15min on the bike. Legs don't feel too bad just that darn left quad but the good news is it doesn't hurt at all running on flat. Had pain walking down stairs but thats only doms. I think I'll just do similar for the rest of the week. Really just want to keep my running fitness there and avoid all hills

Around the Bay

2011-01-02T12:04:00.003+11:00

So early this run! Alarm had the nerve to wake me up at 4am. Other than my left quad being sore I felt ok. Would've liked to keeped on sleeping but I know I'd have the shits with myself later on. So got up and made my way to Gosford pool. Not too sure how many runners turned up but there were a quite a bit. Again like yesterday I didn't want to push my legs too hard.
I just run easy staying back with Sharon for a bit, then slowly made my way up to James Moran & Steve Guest. A bit further along I caught Adrian & Wayne then was on my own. Coming down the hill into Kincumber Adrian came flying past me. A man on some kind of mission. Tempting to go with him but I kept back. Wayne then caught back up to me but soon faded. Coming to Frost reserve in 48min I stopped for about 1min to have some coke. I was now on my own for just about the whole run. I could see some other runners ahead every so often but they were about 2min away. Got to the bridge at WoyWoy in 2hrs5min and still flt in good shape so I set myself a goal to finish in under 3hrs. The next runner I caught was Thomas at Point Claire. We ran together for a bit but he to soon faded. My feet were starting to hurt on the last 4k and wanted to change my shoes but other than that i felt quite strong.
Finished in 2hrs57min58sec by my watch but I guess they will get me down at 2hrs58min
Legs got quite sore when I stopped but while I was running I felt good
After some breakfast & a couple of hours rest I went to the gym to use the foam roller and roll out my left quad and get in the steamroom which has helped alot

Beyond the black stump

2011-01-01T12:30:00.004+11:00

Hot out there today. I didn't want to push myself too hard so just cruised along at a moderate pace. Got to the ferry just as it was arriving. Good to have a little break on it. The climb out wasn't too bad & I ran with some other guy for a few km's. It was the rocky down hill bit to the castle where I just walked & let everyone pass. I didn't want to smash my legs or twist an ankle with Narrabeen only next week. I stopped and took some pic's at the castle then made my way back up the hill. Found that all good. Got to the road going back to the ferry and ran this bit hard hoping I would make it before the ferry left. Think I missed it by about 2min so had to wait for it. Lost about 7min there but I wasn't at all bothered. The next climb just killed me! Here i am trying not to smash my legs so I slowed down getting up this friggin mountain! By now the sun was blaring right on me & started to feel sick. No idea how long it took to get to the top but felt like ages. There was an esky full of ice & soft drink at the top. I stopped here for about 5 or 6min and chatted to nat, Mick & neil. I then got going again. Felt good again. Got to the road section and there was Darrell with an icypole! That was GOLD! Bit further along some lady hosed me down & I felt back to normal again. Just cruised to the finish feeling good. Very tired but felt good. Took 3hrs32min for this run

NEW YEARS EVE!!!

2010-12-31T18:34:00.002+11:00

Well last run of the yr. Travelled down to Manly for a run as I had to do a massage at Nth Balgowlah and Dad wanted to check out the area for Narrabeen to see where we could put up some tents. I ran from Manly up to Brookvale and back. 11.5k in about 57min

Later I ran the 3.333k course at Narrabeen. It's quite nice. Reckon I can somehow handle running 12hrs on it:)

Around 15k done today. Time for a few beers to welcome the new yr!

Thursday to Forries

2010-12-30T10:20:00.004+11:00

Moderate run. Ran from terrigal to Forries and back. 14.5k all up in 1:11:59. Started off slow but picked the pace up as I went. Mainly around 4:50 pace after the first 3k. The first 3k I kinda plodded around 5:45 pace. The last 4k I would've been about 4:30 pace.
After I made my way to the gym and did some core work then got in the steam room

Crackneck

2010-12-29T15:31:00.005+11:00

First run today was the same as yesterday. Easy 10k from Terrigal to Wamberal & back. Ran with Kirko on the way back. Went really slow out doing the first 5k in 28min. Mainly because I just plodded along for the first km. Took awhile for my legs to feel good. Ran slightly faster coming back but still slow. 53:38 for the 10k

Tonight I ran with the group from the runners shop. Only 4 of us and I ran with Adam. First time I met him. We ran their crackneck course. Map my run said 10.5k. We ran it in 51min. I love running up crackneck. My right hammie was again really tight. Kinda aching. Think I;ll put the tens machine on it tonight

20.5k of easy running done today

Tues

2010-12-28T21:47:00.002+11:00

2 runs today. First was done about 8am from Terrigal to Wamberal and back. Legs felt good in this

Tonight I was at Adcock park. 6.5k warmup then strides then we did 5x1k witha 400m rec jog. No rest at all. Not too sure of the pace but I think I held them between 3:35 & 3:45 pace. Finished with a 1mile easy run. Right hamstring was really tight in the last 2. Had a 20min ice bath when I got home
About 13.5k done tonight

23.5k done today

Boxing day

2010-12-26T12:41:00.003+11:00

Ran the Bay to bay course out & back. Got running just after 7am. Left quad was good but could feel it. Other than that I felt good in the legs for most of the run. Groin was tight both legs. Had some light drizzle when I started but it didn't last for long
24km all up in just over an hour

X-mas day

2010-12-25T08:18:00.003+11:00

Trotters dingo run. A handful of runners turned up including Matt Robbie. I guess a cool change for him compared to Darwin. We ran the flat TT out & back. Got to the end of it in about 28min and ran out of road. We tried to go through this bush track but no luck. By the time time we stuffed around it was 30min. Onlookers watching us from their houses must be thinking we were nuts! Ran back alot quicker. Ian, Charlie, Matt & myself for most of it. Last km that left quad of mine was getting sore so I slowed down. The run was 11k done in about 54min. I ran there and back from home so about 12.5km for me today

x-mas eve

2010-12-24T12:43:00.002+11:00

Decided to run on the t'mill again. This time my left quad was good. In fact it feels normal. Ran 10k but was going to do 12k but could feel that friction blister starting to get sore so I cut it short

At 3:45pm I went & did a cycle class. Legs feeling good by the arvo. Went & bought some more expensive blister bandaids and they are much better. Guess you pay for what you get:)

Thursday

2010-12-23T21:11:00.002+11:00

Went to the gym to have a run on the t'mill. Thought if my quad was still too sore I could get on the bike. Managed to run 10k. Could feel the quad but it was ok to run on. Friction blister still causing some pain

In the arvo I did a spin class

Wednesday

2010-12-22T14:31:00.002+11:00

Did a double spin class this morning. I used the first one as a warmup then pushed myself hard in the second one

Tonight I tried to run. Did 5k but left quad was still too sore so I stopped

Tues 2 cycle classes

2010-12-22T14:30:00.003+11:00

Legs still got doms but better than yesterday. Bought blister block for my foot.
Did a spin class in the morning then another one in the arvo. Also went in the steamroom both times for 10min

Monday

2010-12-22T14:28:00.002+11:00

Pretty much a rest day. I did do a cycle class in the arvo. Both my quads have doms and the blister on right foot pretty sore

2010....from no running to ultra running

2010-12-21T15:49:00.000+11:00

Just a look back at 2010 and my running has gone from nothing to ALOT! It feels great to be finishing the year with no injuries (just niggles) and I'm pretty happy how the year has turned out. So a bit of a run down

January - Started off with no running at all for the first 2 weeks. I'd had 22days of total rest as I stopped running back in December. I then managed to do a few 1km run on the t'mill. I then took up cycling and swimming. Started to do some 60km rides and swimming about 3k.
Around the last week of Jan I was starting to run slowly on the t'mill up 10km and also managed a 57min 10k outdoors. On the last Sat I did trotters 10k time trial in 48min but still feeling pain.

February - I bought a bike of a friend & started to do some longer rides of around 150km. Was keeping up the running but very very slow. Also was improving in the swimming.

March - This month was a mixture. Lot's of downs! Had a subluxation on my right shoulder in the pool doing a tumble turn. Then Did my first ocean race at Caves Beach. 1.5km. Loved it! 3 days later my right shoulder fully dislocated. End of the month I was running 10k a few days a week but still getting hammie pain

April - I started to get into running this month. Did Novice xc in 39:45 so back to sub 4min pace. Injury was still there but could run with it. Also went to Stawell gift with Jono, Rach, Charlie & Josh and was starting to do slow long runs again. Pain was always there after long runs

May - This is the month I started to get back into running again!!!!
Started off State 10k in 38min. Did SMC 10k in 37min and that was the first sign of no pain before or after running. Also did Miranda xc relays in the mud. All were good runs and was great to be racing again.

June - This month was just spent maintaining my running. Back to long runs and raced bay to bay in 46min (my slowest time). I also paced Suzy in the Woodford to Glenbrook run in just over 2hrs

July - This is when all the big long races all started to happen. Running good now. Still feel hammies but can now run through it and even race through it.
Start of the month I paced Nat to 3:21 marathon at Gold Coast. I felt great in that & decided to have a go at Hunter Valley marathon 2 weeks later. Finished that in 3:01 in 3rd place. Then decided to do Bush Capital 60k in Canberra 2 weeks later. This was the longest I've ever run. Finished in 5hrs8min in 3rd place

August - I decided now to enter GNW100km in November. August started off with the city to surf which I finished in 53:30. The following week I ran with Nat & Buzz & Rob on the 12ft track. 90km. Did a few local xc races as well. Ended with Lake Maquarie 1/2 marathon in 81min

September - I started off sept with Central coast 10k & 1hrs champs. 10k was in 36:48 and went on to do the 1hr in 15.643k
Next was Cooronbong with a hangover. 38min for that one. And other weekends were spent on the GNW course doing 50km plus runs.

October - Not much this month. Had groin pain but just kept up GNW training.

November - GNW100k done. 14hrs37min and 4th place. Also did terrigal trotters 10k 2 weeks later and finished in 39min in 1st spot. Rest of month was just recovering

December - End of the year. Entered Narrabeen allnight in Jan, Six foot track in March & TN100k in May. Also join AURA. Just getting back into running again still fighting groin pain that I got a couple of month ago. Mainly doing long Sunday runs. Last one was a 69km last Sunday. Now only 2weeks until the end of the yr & 3 weeks until Narrabeen I'm taking it easy

long long 69km run

2010-12-19T19:45:00.002+11:00

19/12/2010 Route
Find more Runs in Terrigal 69k Loop, Australia

Big run today

Had to work in Sydney last night and didn't get home until 11:45pm and got to bed about 12:30am. So it was tough to get up at 5ish to do this run
This is my last long run before Narrabeen and wanted to do around 5:20km pace.

Got running about 6:15am from Terrigal surf club. Wasn't too sure what pace I was running but felt good. Got to The Entrance in 80min but my left toe was rubbing on my shoe. Decided to go to coles & see if they had blister blocks. No luck so I bought advanced healing band aids. Worst $7 I've spent! Didn't do a thing. Decided to just run and hope it doesn't get to painful. The pain just went away after a while so that was good. Was still feeling great until about 35k and then noticed thing getting heavy. I walked every hour for about 1min and was drinking every 20min and eating jelly beans every 2hrs. By the time I got to Wyong about 46km I started to drink every 10min and do 1min walking every 30 or 40min. Stopped at a servo about 50k and with my last $3 bout a 600ml bottle of coke. Next stage of hardness came about 60k. Just plodded along until the end!

Finished 69km in 6hrs12min (5:23km pace) really really happy with it.
As soon as I stopped I found it hard to move. Took 10min to get my shoes off & WOW! Blood all over my socks & foot. 20min later I limped to the beach to stand in the cold water for 10min then limped back to the car. Legs were just aching but that to be expected.

A bit later I went to the gym just to use the steamroom

So that a good training day I reckon. Will run again hoping by Thurs. I'll only run when I feel I can

No injury pain in legs as write this just tired legs

Trotters pony club 14.1km

2010-12-18T13:29:00.001+11:00

Didn't push it too hard today. Felt good. I like this run.
After that we had the xmas party

Fri

2010-12-18T13:26:00.002+11:00

Had to be at Bondi beach by 8:30am so I left home around 4:30am to get a run in before I started. Got to Centennial Park about 5:45am & ran 4laps a an easy pace. I reckon 11.5k done.

In the Arvo I met up with Nat and we ran about 12k easy from her place along the M7 & back

Thursday

2010-12-18T13:24:00.001+11:00

Just a quick 10k done in the gym on the t'mill. Had to rush off down to Sydney to massage Sth syd

Wed

2010-12-15T08:18:00.001+11:00

Got up early & got to the gym at 6am to do 1hr on the bike. Steamroom for 5min then home for FOOD!

Around 5:15pm I did a run just running around the streets of Green point. Started from Erina Leagues. 12.4km in about 1hr

Tues

2010-12-14T08:28:00.002+11:00

Started off the morning by doing the 6:15am cycle class. Went pretty hard. Legs felt good. Jumped in the steam room for 10min after that

Went to the track but had to do my own thing as I had a client at 7pm. Started off by doing 11k around 5min km pace. Felt good in that. I then did 5x1km repeats with a 400m recovery.
Km times were 3:55, 3:44, 3:35, 3:35 & 3:31. Did a 2km warmdown

Around 20km all up tonight

Mon

2010-12-14T08:27:00.001+11:00

No running but I did do a cycle class at 5:30pm. This was more just to spin the legs a bit

Sun and around the bay again

2010-12-12T11:24:00.003+11:00

Felt good for the first 2k then groin and hammies were getting tight. I didn't push it as hard as last week. Got to Empire bay and found a tap so got a drink there. Next drink was 3k past WoyWoy then again when I finished. Quite hot & humid again today. Finished the run in the same time as last week in 3:07. Not bad I guess as I wasn't going as hard. Legs were really stiff & tight when I finished. About the same as last week but they seemed to ease up a bit as the day went on

Sat

2010-12-12T11:18:00.002+11:00

6am run with the trotters. It was Marg bender's run. 11k. There were a bunch of about 6 or 7 of us running quite easy for most of the run. Greg Love, Mark Dunlop, Ian, Adrian, Thomas & some other I've never seen before. With 3k to go the guy I've never seen before & myself started to pick the pace up quite a bit. I think we would've got to around 3:45 pace. Just before the last hill back to Terrigal I backed off as I'd had enough of this little race by then. No idea how long the run took. I went straight in for a swim. Water was damn icy! I swam out to goldy and back. After trotters I made my way to the gym to do the 8:45am cycle class then spent some time in the steam room.
Felt pretty good today

Fri

2010-12-10T21:07:00.002+11:00

What a great day! Just felt good today. Got out the door at 6:30am for a hot & humid 10k run. Just took it easy but again had no pain in the dreaded groin. Think i'm almost mended. I can feel pain throughout the day if I do certain movments but nothing at all compared to how it has been.

At 5:30pm did a cycle class & spent 10min in the steam room

Thurs

2010-12-09T21:34:00.001+11:00

Ran a 15k at around 5:45am from Terrigal to Forries & back. My groin had no pain at all!

Later I did pilates then at 5:30pm I did a cycle class for an hour then in the steam room for 10min

Wed and got my six foot entry in!

2010-12-08T21:17:00.003+11:00

Did an easy 10k in after I finished training a client at 7:45am. Ran from the Haven to Wamberal and back. Then made my way home to get on the computer to enter 6ft by 9am. Had trouble getting on the site but around 9:08am luck came my way! Entry in & money taken....phew!

At 3pm I went to the gym & did easy 50min on the bike & 10min stretching in the steam room. Then back to work

Tues..Central Coast 1mile

2010-12-08T21:11:00.004+11:00

No running in the morning. I went to the gym & did 50min on the bike at a moderate pace then got in the steam room for a bit

Tonight I got to Mingara for the 1mile. Not much speed in these ultra legs yet:) Did Hansens rd (6km) a a warm up then about another 2k on the track. We got racing at 6:30pm. Groin was goo through the race but could feel it a bit after. I know I went through the first lap in 74 but then it dropped down to around 80sec. Was feeling good and think I could've gone harder & faster. Pushed the last lap hard though. Managed to come 4th in 5:19. Mark won in 4:29 then Angus 4:31 then Sho in 5:05.

Stopped on the way home and got some ice then had an ice bath when I got home

Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon

2010-12-06T19:05:00.002+11:00

Very busy weekend! It started on Friday. Drove to Canberra but stopped at Campbeltown gym to run 10k. Then it was off to Canberra for work

Sat I got out running on Lake Burley Griffin running the 15.6km loop. The rest of the day was massaging from 8am to 4pm then driving back to Terrigal.

Sunday I got up and ran "around the bay" Didn't take a watch with me but started the stopwatch and left it in the car. Both hipflexors were really tight. It did ease up as I got further in the run. By the time I got to WoyWoy I was dying for a drink. With 9k to go I saw a bubbler so I stopped there for about 2min and guzzled a shit load of water! Got back to the car and my time was 3hrs7min or 4:55/km. For the rest of the day my right groin was sore & didn't ease up at all

And today being a Monday I had a day off from exercise. Woke up and no pain!....thank goodness for that

Entry in for Narrabeen allnighter!

2010-12-02T11:50:00.003+11:00

So I committed to it. Paid my $60 and entered. If all goes to plan I'd like to have a crack at the Aust road record. It's 138km over the 12hrs. If I don't get it then as close as possible would be great. I think it's achievable as it's 5:13/km. Will just see how I go.

Today I just ran easy 12km from Terrigal to Forries and back. Legs felt food with no pain but they just felt heavy. Right groin is really coming along good now. Still gets that tight feeling on the run though

In the arvo I went to the gym and did 2k on the rower, 20min of foam roller work then 10min in the steam room

Wed and fresh legs!

2010-12-01T21:36:00.002+11:00

Up early for work then as it was pissing down I ran on the t'mill again. 10k easy.

Had to go to Homebush to massage the bulldogs for the day. Finished there about 4pm and drove back to the gym to do the 5:30pm cycle class. Then got in the steam room for 10min

Legs felt great today

It Tuesday and I think I've recovered

2010-11-30T19:35:00.002+11:00

Quiet day work wise so I was lucky enough to have a sleep in.
It was raining and I didn't want to push my groin niggle too much so I headed off to the gym and ran 10km in 44min44sec. Groin was good but just tight.

Later in the arvo I ventured back to the gym but this time I did 50min on the bike. Went quite hard. Then got on the foam roller then into the steam room

Sunday at The Entrance

2010-11-28T12:10:00.003+11:00

28/11/2010 Route

Find more Runs in The Entrance, Australia

Got up pretty early as I wanted to get over to film the runners finishing both the 10k & the 1/2 as well as fitting in my long run beforehand. Got to The Entrance about 5:30am & was running at 5:45am. Just ran comfortable. Right groin/adductors still stight but went ok in the run. Stopped a couple of times just to do some quick stretching.
23.5km in 2hrs

Later I went to the gym & did 45min on the foam roller & 15min in the steam room

Sat Terrigal trotters 10k tt

2010-11-27T09:32:00.004+11:00

Decided to just run on feel. Did about 2k as a warmup then when we got racing I ran comfortable but still hardish.I was leading for the first km then Adrian ran right on past me which suited me fine as I wanted some to try & chase. I'm not a fan of leading. I stayed about 5seconds behind him until he stopped at 3k mark. DAMN! Now I'm in front on my own. I guess I slowed down a bit then. Got to the turn around & noone was in sight anywhere. Saw Thomas in 2nd spot about 90sec behind me. Slowed again then as I thought I'd win this. About 2km to go my right groin that I had trouble with leading into GNW was getting sore. Slowed down again. Finished in 1st spot in 39:08. I think I could've got 50seconds quicker if I had someone to run with

Post GNW....Getting back into it

2010-11-27T09:20:00.002+11:00

Well it's been 2 weeks now since GNW. It's been a tough 2 weeks too. The first week was a struggle mentaly. 2 days later after the race on Monday night my left hip went into a spasm causing pain to put any weight on it. I think it was meant to happen so I would be forced to rest my legs. Spent a good week using the foam roller, steam room, pool & a few ice baths. Sat I went to the gym and did an easy 6km on the t'mill. Felt good in that but legs were quite fatigued.
Sunday I ran 23km from Terrigal to Erina then along Avoca drive and back. Took my time and after 6km I was running ok.
This week has still been tough. Legs still fatigued alot and have been getting tired not long into each run. Tues I did a very light speed session, Wed was a really easy 8km, Thurs did easy 10k and another easy 10 on Fri. Have menatly started to feel better since Thurs

GNW race report

2010-11-14T07:32:00.003+11:00

TOUGH!!!!!!!!!! After only 2-3hrs sleep as I just couldn't sleep I got up at 3am. Legs felt perfect. B'fast down at 3:45am and we left at 4:30am. Stayed at my Mum's at Belmont so was only 15min from the start.
We got running right on 6am. My plan was to run easy but not too easy for the first 6k. Got there around 100m in the lead. I then slowed down and took it really easy on the down hills & walked alot of the up hills. Just before Freemans Dve I could see Clarke Mclymont just behind me. Got to Freemans dve in 1st place & still felt great. Top of the big hill at the communications tower and still felt good. No view on any other runners behind me. In to the rain forest & really took my time so I wouldn't slip. Thats when Clarke, Matt Cooper & this other 100m runner caught me. I still lead until the last hill before the flat bit to CP1. Slipped over and now they were about 1min ahead of me. Just ran easy into CP1 about 1min behind them.
I left there around 5min later in 2nd place and this is when the heat was really getting strong. Ran very steady on this section. Made to Congewai with seeing any other runners behind me. Ran most of this section but stopped and walked every 15min for about 30sec just to break it up a bit. Just before CP2 I see the other 3 runners coming down the hill. I was only about 5min behind them.
At CP2 I made the mistake of having an up&go. Tasted good at the time and after 50km of running it's hard to know what you want. Changed my shoes & socks at CP2 and the leading female came in not long after me.
Made my way on to CP3 and saw about 3 other runners heading into CP2. Just befor the hills start I came within 1/2 meter fro a stepping on a brown snake. Now the run really gets tough. The hills now were like over vertical! It took me soooo long to get to the communications tower. I had to grab 2 sticks & use them as walking poles to get up. Almost to the top & I saw the leading female not far behind me.
Now my feet were starting to get really sore. Was finding I was feeling great running but felt sick if I walked so I was taking advantage of all the flat & down hill trails. Got down to Watagans ck and wanted to just lie in the water to cool down but had to keep going. Looked behind & I could see the female about 300m away. I knew the next hill she would catch me. She did and she was walking up those hills like it was nothing! Finally to the top I stopped at the unmaned water stop to fill my drinks up. The rest of the way to the basin was great.....until I came across that friggin tree! Track just came to a dead end. I thought I was on the wrong track so I turned around and ran back to the 2.5km sign then ran back again. Looked up, looked down I thought how the f....k do I get around this thing. Spent 20min stuffing around. 2 100mile runners caught up to me. Finally after x-country I get around. Into CP3 and took my shoes off to change them & there were leeches everywhere. Over 100 on my right foot & over 50 on my left. Plus another 50 or so in my socks & shoes! 20min later I got out of there. Now in 4th spot I decided to just finish this race. The climb oiut of the basin was tough & my right tendon was getting really sore. On to cedar bush rd & I was still feeling good but my foot now was killing me. Thought only 11k to go! ran strong to the end of that rd then onto Yarramalong rd. 3.5k to go! Saw another 100mile runner just ahead walking. Stopped to see if he was ok then got running again. Got about 500m and my ankle just wouldn't let me run. Thought I'll just walk to the finish. Within 2min of walking I was starting to get really sick. Somehow I made it to the end after spewing up 6 times. I was almost in a crawl by the last 200m. That last 3km took around 1hr to complete!
Finished in 4th spot in 14hrs37min

Friday...GNW eve

2010-11-12T11:30:00.001+11:00

Just a comfy 6.5km. Legs felt fantastic! Later went to the gym for a stetch and to use the steam room

Thursday....not long now!

2010-11-11T11:26:00.001+11:00

Just ran easy 10k from Terrigal to Wamberal and back. Took my time. Legs felt good. Right hammie just a bit tight

Wednesday...easy run

2010-11-10T09:42:00.000+11:00

Just a very easy 5k run. Felt good through it & after

Tuesday and last efforts...4 days to go

2010-11-09T10:23:00.002+11:00

Ran 12k from the Haven to Wamberal and back. Had very stiff hipflexors before I got going but they loosened up on the run. Did 5x1km at around 4min pace. After the run legs felt stiff & sore the more I rested. Thinking race day I won't stay at the checkpoints long. Want to keep moving

Monday....5 days to go

2010-11-08T21:31:00.001+11:00

No running but I did go in the gym to do some foam roller work & to use the steam room. Legs feel good

Sunday Ourimbah

2010-11-07T10:46:00.001+11:00

Met Mick & Danny. We got running around 7am. Legs felt good and was a nice cruizy pace. We stayed together and ran to the intersection and back. Just over 20km.

Sat

2010-11-07T10:45:00.000+11:00

Another easy run. This time on Lake Burley Griffin. 10k

Friday

2010-11-07T10:41:00.001+11:00

Made my way to Canberra. Stpped at Mittagong to get my run in and break the trip up. Just started at the golf club and ran towards the hwy then turned around
Easy 10k

Thurs...easy run but felt tired

2010-11-04T12:03:00.001+11:00

Just had trouble getting the legs moving. Maybe I shoud've had a shower to wake up first. Anyway was running about 7:30am and did 14.5km from Terrigal to Forries & back

Wed and tapering

2010-11-03T20:00:00.001+11:00

No running today but I went to the gym and used the x-trainer for 1hr in the morning then went bak in the arvo & did another 40min on x-trainer then 20min on the bike

Tues...central coast 3000m

2010-11-02T19:55:00.002+11:00

AM did an easy 10k from Terrigal to Wamberal and back. Felt stiff all through the legs

PM Went to the track and was in B grade. Was feeling tired and really didn't feel like racing. Did a 4k warmup. Once we got racing I was ok but still tired. 1stkm in 3:23, 2nd in 3:30 & 3rd in 3:30. 10:23 all up and got 4th.
Then did Hansens rd 6k with Ian, Jess & Tom
13k tonight

Sunday out at Ourimbah

2010-10-31T15:53:00.002+11:00

Satyed up at mum's at Newcastle last night as I was massaging the Melbourne hearts soccer team up there until 10pm so by the time I got to bed it was pretty late. Alarm went off at 5:30am...grrrrr! but thought I gotta get up...so that's what I did.
Left Newie around 6:15am and got to Palmdale right on 7am. Was about 8-10 runners there. Mostly trotters. Ran with Mick & Ian to the hill then I just kept up a steady pace to the top. Slowed down and waited for someone to catch me. Mick caught me & we ran a nice pace to the green sign. Got there in 59:45 which was much quicker than I thought we were going. My legs were tired and that right groin was getting tight. Mick turned around there & I kept going to the tar road. Stopped for a quick stretch there then made my way back. Stopped again near the green sign just to have a quick stretch then just before the roundabout I saw Steve Guest. We had about a 5min chat which I didn't mind at all. Found the muscles stiff to get going again after stopping.
Not sure how long it took but I think we left around 7:10 and when I looked at my phone for the time (which was about 5min after I got back) it said 9:48. So I guessing it took about 2hrs35min give or take a few min.
After that I went to the gym for a stretch and to use the steam room. Muscles came good not long after that