Monday Run 6.5km

After consulting the program that I was going to follow for the Half I headed out this morning for 4 x 600m intervals with 2 minute jog recoveries. Oh well, at least I'm getting in a couple of weeks of structured training!

It was hard work, but I was actually feeling good when the pace was up, which was very satisfying. Later measurement shows the intervals varied between 600m and 700m, and the pace was between 4:15 and 4:30 min/km, which I'm fairly happy with as there were the usual unavoidable hills involved!


Blogger is being agreeable today, so here is the view from our bedroom window last week at the Sunshine Coast. It’s the same from the office as well (yes, I actually did some work while we were there). You'd need a seriously wide angle lens to properly capture it as it's pretty much a 180 degree view, but you get the idea. This is the sort of view I could get used to!!

Off to the Sunshine Coast

After arriving back from Sydney a week and a half ago I didn’t even have time to unpack before reloading the car with the rest of the family for the drive up to the Sunshine Coast on the Thursday. We broke up the drive each way with an overnight stay in Ballina with Jodie’s brother and uncle, which is about half way. We were staying at my boss’ “home away from home” at Maroochy River (near Bli Bli) for our work Christmas party that was on last weekend.
I was going to post a photo of the view, but blogger is being a pain, so maybe later.


Last Saturday Run 14km
I thought I’d better get my long run out of the way early on the weekend so I took off at 5am (4am Qld time) and returned before anyone else was up. It turned out to be only 14km, but it was much, much tougher than my previous 14km efforts. There were some serious hills involved, over a variety of terrain and along a route that I made up as I went along.
I made my way to Dunethin Rock, to the river, past the scout camp, and down a long straight stretch to Ninderry Nursery before turning back.

Saturday night’s dinner was followed by some Texas Hold ‘em (where I cleaned up) until the small hours of the morning, so I wasn’t up for any sort of recovery run on Sunday.
Monday morning I took the option to head down the beach for some bodysurfing.


Tuesday Run 6km
I ventured over to the relatively new Parklakes estate and worked my way through most of the streets therein. I included about 6x200m intervals to mix things up a bit, although they weren’t really all that intense.

I was a bit wary because my “good calf” was fairly tight, although it became that way only the day before and I suspect because of so much carrying kids up and down stairs. So it turns out that running was not a problem for it, and in fact seemed to cure the stiffness as the “good calf” was no longer tight or sore after the run.


Thursday Run 9.5km
I made my way through the Lighthouse and Emerald Downs areas, working in 3x8minute tempo efforts along the way. I had about 3 minute jog recoveries, although one of them turned into a standing recovery as Miners pulled over for a chat whilst on his way to the pool.
We’d only arrived back home late Wednesday after the drive from the Sunshine Coast via Ballina, which was an adventure in itself. I was very happy to have been able to drag myself out of bed for this run.


Saturday Run 17km
Seeing as I hadn’t run further than 15km since July I figured I really should do so before the CC Half next weekend. It’s no longer a goal race for me as I’m just not prepared enough, so I’m not too concerned about the fact that my longest run shouldn’t be the week before the race!
I headed down Pacific Drive to Town Beach, along the river to Westport Park, through Clifton and back via Gordon Street and Kennedy Drive.
At Flynns Beach I bumped into Blues Buffet and Miners starting out their run. After a brief chat we headed our separate ways.
The run was fairly uneventful otherwise. At about the 1 hour mark I stopped to refill the bottles in my fuel belt, popped a GU and washed the sweat off my face. It was amazing how refreshed I felt after just that short break, and I can see how a break of a minute or so during a marathon or longer could be very useful.
The run was followed by breakfast, then a couple of hours work in the yard including mowing the lawns. I’m happy to report that apart from being a little tired, I pulled up extremely well from the morning’s exertions. I did manage a snooze in the afternoon, but that didn't stop me nodding off during the Tri Nations rugby league final.

The 17km was taken at a pace for a 1:50 half marathon. It was a bit of a hilly route and I finished strongly during the final uphill sections. I'm reasonably confident of a decent run next weekend on the flat CC course but I'll just have to see how I go on the day!

Now back from Sydney

Monday Run 6km including 8x200m Intervals
After dismissing my alarm and dropping back to sleep I finally got up after 6am and headed out into a very warm and sunny morning in Sydney.

Given my recent comfortable runs I decided to include some speed intervals today. After a couple of km warm up I ended up doing 8 x 200m (roughly because they were time based) intervals. I later measured and they were more like 220’s. I had between 1 and 2 minute jog recoveries, which varied so as to avoid crossing intersections during the intervals themselves.

It was a tough session in the conditions and I was drenched with sweat even more than usual by the end so it must have been a good one!



Wednesday Run 8km including 2x12min Tempo
It was much cooler this morning and I was out much earlier. Today I wanted to throw in a couple of longer efforts, so after a 2km warm up I upped the pace to “60 minute race pace”. At the time I thought it wasn’t all that uncomfortable or strenuous apart from a couple of the hills. On later measurement it turns out that both efforts were exactly the same distance and at 5 min/km pace. I should have pushed it a bit more but I’ll rate it satisfactory under the circumstances.


U2 Follow up
The set lists for all the Australian shows so far are available on u2.com ;)

We were a little apprehensive about entry queues after hearing reports, but seeing as the gates opened at 5.30pm and we arrived at the stadium at 8pm, any line ups were well and truly cleared by then and we went straight in.
I know all about the food and drink queues in and around Telstra Stadium from past experience. We’ve got it all worked out with a place close by with free, easy parking, we can relax, grab a few cheap drinks and a feed before heading across to the stadium. It’s certainly not the Novotel right next door, because that’s just as bad as the stadium! And it’s fairly easy to make a (relatively) quick getaway after the show.

U2

After waiting 11 months since buying the tickets I was definitely looking forward to this show.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that U2 are the band that I would most identify with, and whilst I’ve always had an awareness of their music it’s not that I’ve followed them all that closely or that I own all their CDs. That’s not to take away from the fact that I think they have created so many brilliant songs, many of which are real anthems, and that their ability to produce quality music over so many years is quite amazing and, in my opinion anyway, unmatched. Whilst you can always pick a U2 song and they have their own sound, I think they have a great variety in their songs, and they’ve been very effective in changing/evolving to a degree over the years. The thing is that you know they’re going to miss playing more songs that you really want to hear than they actually get to play.

The only other time I’d seen them play was when they toured with B.B. King, back in 1989 I believe. Over the last 15 years or so I have seen plenty of U2 cover bands (sometimes unintentionally because they just happened to be playing at the pub we were at) which included some memorable nights.

When you’re going to a stadium concert there are certain things that aren’t quite the same as at a smaller or enclosed venue, so as long as you realise this you’ll walk away happy. It’s unrealistic to expect a band that can sell out 2 x 70,000 odd tickets in a matter of hours to play a venue other than a stadium. You know the sound isn’t going to be perfect as a sports stadium is simply not designed for concerts and you just can’t feel the bass quite as you like to. You’re not going to see the band members in great detail unless you’re really, really close. You’re at the mercy of the weather. But all those factors can be resolved by watching the DVD anyway!

We didn’t get around to seeing Kayne West who was the support act. We turned up at the stadium around 8pm and got inside with little fuss other than a swipe with the metal detector. We had general admission tickets so we made our way down to the field which was a good experience in itself. I’ve been to Telstra Stadium plenty of times, but not on the playing surface. It’s nice to walk through the tunnel and out onto the field imagining how it would feel running out to a packed stadium as you’re about to play for your country!

We made our way to a good position that was about 20 metres from the ellipse, which is a walkway they have setup that extends into the audience. From what I could judge the stage was about at the goal line (for a rugby league match), and we were a bit closer than the halfway line…we were a short way in front of the line of lights/speaker towers, next to the mixing tent and just off centre. We were really happy with the spot, as we could see the band fairly well, had a great view of the stage and light effects, along with the sense of being right in the middle of the energy generated by the crowd. It doesn’t hurt to be 185cm tall in these situations. We were grateful for a pleasant night and no hint of rain!

The massive lighting rig behind the stage is certainly set up well for a stadium show. It was put to great use with plenty of spectacular effects, and most of the time they had close ups of each of the band members on separate screens at the top corners to the sides of the stage.

What I really wanted from being at the show was just to take it all in. It’s the experience of being amongst the tens of thousands of fans getting right into it and singing in unison about a red guitar on fire, about a place where the streets have no name and that they still haven’t found what they’re looking for. It was hard to tell how it was in the seated sections, but on the “floor” there was plenty of enthusiasm, and that’s where I wanted to be!! I finally learnt my lesson on rock concert reserved seating at the Foo Fighters show last year.

I was awed by the scene when Bono did his make poverty history routine where he got everyone to hold up their mobile phones. I’ve seen it done plenty of times before but not on this scale. Looking back and into the stands was just amazing.

It was easy to get caught up in the excitement for the main part of the show, taking in what the band was doing, what was going on around and just enjoy being amongst it all. A couple of the slower songs later on, including Miss Sarajevo (during which Bono did his best to fill in for Pavarotti) gave me the opportunity to reflect for a moment on the fact that the 4 guys on stage were the people actually responsible for creating all this music that has been heard by hundreds of millions of people around the world, and they were right there in front of me. It’s easy to take for granted what they’ve achieved, but interesting to be standing there with them performing in front of me appreciating what they’ve done. But only for a moment, because then they launched into Pride and Where the Streets Have No Name, and there was no time for reflection any more!!

From my point of view, and that of those around me, it was a great night that was more than worth the price of admission and the wait. I can’t imagine them doing another show of this scale again any time soon if at all, so I’ll look back very satisfied to have experienced it.


This was the set list:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven’t found What I’m Looking For
Sometimes
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (in the Name of Love)
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
----
Zoo Station
The Fly
With or Without You
---
The Saints are Coming
Desire
Kite


With a bit of luck I’ll get some photos from the night emailed to me in the next day or two so I’ll post a couple if they’re decent.

Next stop: Big Day Out. With 2 out of 3 line up announcements already made there are more bands that I want to see than I could physically fit into the 12 or so hours, which is a shame, but in reality it’s a very, very good thing :)

Now if only I’d been on a dive since I started this thing my blog would be complete! ;)

A Few Lazy Days

Thursday Swim 1km
The goal was to cover 1.2 to 1.4km today, but by the time I got to the pool I simply ran out of time and had to bail at the 1km mark. It was a shame really, because I was feeling comfortable in the water today. The other consequence of being later than usual is that by the time I was on my final lap I was sharing the entire Olympic pool with just 1 other person! I could cruise as slow as I liked in the fast lane although I just opted to hog the medium lane, recklessly charging straight through the middle of the lane without fear of collision ;)
So it ended up being 600m freestyle and 400m breaststroke.


Friday Run 14km
It was such a nice morning for a run. I ran a similar route to last weeks 14km with a few variations, but basically along Pacific Drive to Town Beach, then along the river to Westport Park before working my way back home.
I finished at closer to 5:15 pace, which I was happy with for a longer run seeing as I felt quicker and more comfortable than my last 14km run.


Saturday
Drove to Sydney and went up the road to see some band play a few songs.


Sunday Swim 1.8km
My longest swim by a couple of hundred metres…yay!
After having a most enjoyable sleep in to 9am (which I never, ever get to do any more), I had some fruit and headed to the pool.
I was originally planning on doing 1.4km, but I had a lane to myself the whole time and was feeling nice and relaxed so I kept going. On the whole it was a great swim for me. Once warmed up I felt I had a good rhythm going and was enjoying cruising through the water. Where I usually start of with up to 500m freestyle I managed 750m before changing. My breaks were shorter than usual as well.
In the end it was 1100m freestyle and 700m breaststroke as:
750m: F, 400m: B, 100m: F/B/F/B, 50m: F/B/F/B/F

Steady as she goes

Yet again I’m only getting around to a once a week post!

This coming Saturday I’m going to see U2 at Telstra Stadium. I can’t wait now, especially having bought the tickets a year ago and after the postponement of the tour earlier in the year. I already know of another CR blogger heading in there on Saturday :) I’m interested to hear who’s going to be any of their shows, and at Saturday night in particular!


Friday Run 6km
This was a week ago and apart from running through the Waniora area I don’t recall much of this run so it must have been nice and easy!
Briefly caught up with Miners, Rooster, Aunty K, Truckie and (I think) Rock Doctor at the tail end of their dinner at TG’s in the evening.


Saturday Run 14km
This was the longest one I’ve done in 6 weeks, and it’s about time I started back with a few longer runs.
The weather wasn’t too good and it was the day before the Half Ironman so it wasn’t surprising that it was fairly quiet out and about. I made my way along Pacific Drive past most of the beaches, along the river into town and then back home via Granite Street with a couple of diversions along the way. It was a steady run at my familiar 5:30 pace.


Sunday Half Ironman
I looked out the window at 5.30am and it wasn’t pretty. I was looking after Isabel this morning and I decided against dragging her out at dawn with all the rain about. Instead we both headed out a little later to watch some of the action around the transition area towards the end of the bike leg and early parts of the run. We spotted a few locals, including Miners and Riggo well into their run leg along with a couple of other unidentified CRs.
I wasn’t game to juggle a camera along with Isabel and the umbrella so unfortunately I have no photos this time.


Monday Swim 1km
Today wasn’t too bad in the pool. I was very relaxed throughout the session and found that I was cruising along fairly happily back in the slow lane. For most of the time there was no one in the medium lane and only one other in the slow lane. It was warmer in than out with some decent rain showers falling during the swim.
I ended up doing 700m freestyle and 300m breaststroke.


Tuesday Run 6km
As I was heading out for my run today I reminded myself that the CC Half is less than 4 weeks away now so I should start with some varied sessions in an effort to boost my fitness and kick myself out of my 5:30 pace comfort zone in the short time I have left.
It was only going to be a short run so there wasn’t time to do too much so I just threw in 2 x 5 minute tempo efforts while I made my way around my regular Lighthouse loop.

Big Catch Up

Wow, there’s a lot to catch up on in terms of posting and reading. Better get to it…

Last Wednesday Run 7.5km and CR Dinner
Did the early Tuesday morning drive to Sydney entirely in daylight which was a novelty. There was nothing too remarkable about this run – not too hard, not too easy. I did a few splits along the way and was surprised by how consistent my pace was over the entire run at about 5:20 per km.
As a few people have picked up I’ve made no mention of my recent “lower leg” injury and I hope to keep it that way!

Met up with Jen, The Owl, Don Juan, blkbox, Beki and Ellie at The Rocks for dinner. It was great to see everyone again :)


Friday Run 9.5km
In the morning I ran a similar course to Wednesday at a virtually identical pace with an extra couple of km at the end.
Friday evening was the drive back to Port.


Saturday Swim 1.0km
The pool was packed today when I went at lunchtime. I managed to get through a mix of 600m freestyle and 400m breaststroke before I pulled the plug.


Monday Run 9km
The fact that daylight savings started the day before, that it was a bit cool and that it was drizzling outside didn’t make it easy to get up, but I did it anyway.
I zigzagged my way through the Lighthouse Beach and Emerald Downs areas before returning home for a nice warm shower.


Tuesday Swim 0.7km
Met Miners down at the pool for some laps at lunchtime. We spent more time floating around the shallow end than actually swimming which was fine by me as I was enjoying the chatting more than the laps and wasn’t feeling that strong in the water. And yes, what little swimming we did was in fact in the fast lane :P Not sure what I was doing there though as Miners actually covered about 250-300m for each of my 200m!
The lesson here is that if you want someone to swim with that will push you and cover a great distances along the black line don’t look in my direction…I could easily derail the training of the most committed triathlete!! ;)


Wednesday Run 9km
I’m amazed how consistent my pace has been for all of my recent runs. Just kicking along at just under 5:20 pace. Might be time to pick it up a bit!
Today I made my way around the Waniora and Flynns Beach areas. I had a lot on my mind (good stuff, not bad!), so the journey seemed to be at an end in no time. I think that’s the mindset I need for the long runs when I get back to them.


Monday brought up 50km for October, which is pretty poor in terms of where I would have liked to be for the month, but not so bad considering I didn’t run at all for the first third of the month for unmentionable reasons!