Week 11 of 18

This was a recovery / adaptation week, with relatively low km and only 3 running sessions. There were supposed to be a couple of cross training sessions, but I missed out on them again.


Tuesday 13km Aerobic Run
Easy run into town and back via the industrial area. Nothing to see here.


Thursday 8.5km Hill Reps
After a quick warm up through Dahlsford Estate and part of Crestwood Estate I put in a 10 minute effort. Only problem was I foolishly chose Celestial Way for the start of this “flat” part of the run…the street name describes where this street heads. Just lucky I didn’t divert up Heavenly Ridge or I really would have been in trouble. Oh well, so the hill reps started early. Anyway, I finished the 10 minute effort at the bottom of today’s official hill and did 3 x 90 second reps. Felt good throughout, although I kicked a bit too hard into the 2nd rep and faded a little near the top.


Saturday 23km Long Run
I ran via town on the way out and back from a loop to the airport. I took this run a bit too lightly and suffered mildly as a result. Apart from mentally taking it lightly I think I started a bit too quick, and by about 30 minutes was struggling. I just kept reminding myself to slog through it and I’d come good, which of course came true within about 10 minutes. I also had a tough time with the hills along Pacific Drive at the end of the run. A good lesson in respecting any distance, good practice for hanging in there, and learnt at a good time.
The 36km coming up this weekend certainly won’t be taken lightly!

Week 10 of 18

I’m a bit late with this post…almost time for the current week’s update. Anyway, this was a Moderate week.


Monday 5km Recovery Run
Just a super easy run around the Waniora area. About 1km into things it really started bucketing down with rain which was quite refreshing for a change, but it would have been better if I had a cap on me to keep the rain out of my eyes.


Tuesday 13.5km Aerobic Run
I actually kicked off in the rain this morning, which wasn’t so bad even though it was well before sunrise (at least I had a cap this time). The rain eased off in the middle of the run before picking up again for the last couple of kilometres. I went through the industrial area then along Gordon Street this morning. I was struggling after 4 km for some reason, but came good after about 10 minutes. However by that time I’d already cut a couple of sections so I didn’t end up with the 15km originally planned.


Thursday 12km Tempo and Hill Reps
Forty minutes into this run I upped the pace for a 10 minute interval, which led straight into 3 x 2 minute hill reps. I was back at the Pacific Drive hill up from the Jonas Absolom roundabout. Felt good after this session, and after a shower I headed into town for coffee with Miners and Hamburglar, who had been out for a ride. Hamburglar was up here on a family holiday and also running and riding most of the Ironman course in preparation for a (probable) shot at the Half Ironman later in the year.


Saturday 25km Long Run
I ducked over to Lake Innes this morning, then headed back through Clifton, Westport Park and Pacific Drive. Mostly I plan my long runs at about 6 minute pace. I felt really good through pretty much all of this run, and even though I felt like I was running conservatively I still managed to finish about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I had to double check later to make sure that I hadn’t taken any shortcuts, but it was all legit! Not bad at the end of a couple of big weeks. The real test will be my 36km run on the first weekend in March. I’m looking forward to that now.

Sydney Big Day Out 2007

I wrote up this over the long weekend, but never got around to reviewing and posting it.

It was great to return to the BDO after missing the last couple of years. This year’s line up appealed to me more than any over the last few years, and overall is the best that I’ve attended. My schedule was full to the point where there were plenty of bands that I wanted to see but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts and I was unwilling to sacrifice seeing those I did for those that I didn’t.

So after arriving just before midday and getting straight through the entrance it was a case of joining the masses in the queue for the wristband required to purchase alcoholic beverages. As it turns out, the subsequent bar queues combined with the tight schedule meant it was a pretty dry event anyway. And seeing as you could only buy 2 drinks per person there was little point in taking turns in the queue! By the time you get out to the toilets, then to the bar, queue for 20 minutes then get back to the stage it’s been 30-40 minutes and you’ve missed a full set or close to it. After a food and drink break at 5.30 all I had from then until the end of the night were a coke and water.

So the first band on the schedule was The Butterfly Effect on one of the main stages. And a fantastic start to the day they were…in my opinion worthy of a later time, but that’s a tough call with the quality of most of the bands to come. They put on a great show and I really enjoyed their set. I was fairly close to the stage inside the D Barrier.

Immediately following them was Evermore on the adjoining stage. It was a fairly tough stretch to make to go from TBE’s heavier sound. By the second song they had got the crowd right into their set though. The enthusiasm of the drummer and keyboard player in particular was impressive, and they finished on a high with Running.

It was then time to catch up with some friends who’d opted for Trivium over TBE. It’s tough arranging to meet up with the volume of the music, the fact that you had to try many times to get a phone connection, and that SMS’ were taking ages to get through. We lay up on the grass at the back while My Chemical Romance did their thing for the emo kiddies.

We then headed back into the D for Eskimo Joe. They were great, although I was a bit surprised that in such a short set they’d throw in a U2 song (New Years Day) given that they’ve got plenty of their own good material…it went down well though. Solid.

John Butler Trio came on next. We caught a couple of their songs before ducking over for a quick pit stop, drink and food. They were off to a good start, but unfortunately a band had to be sacrificed, and seeing as it was dinner time they were it.

We made it back just before The Killers kicked off. Unfortunately we wasted some of their set trying to get back into the D, which was full and had been closed off, but you don’t know when it will open up again so we hung around there (they had a red/green light system to get in). After a while I headed back to watch the rest of The Killers while the others stayed in “line” (read disorganised crush) for the D. So the stage was unsighted for part of the show, but what I caught was as good as I had hoped/expected. Personally I have a preference for some of their music that didn't get released as singles but that's ok, I like their pop stuff too! The only thing was that the sound seemed a little light on. They came good though, played all the crowd favourites and everyone responded enthusiastically. Good stuff.

Jet was next. I’d seen their first BDO appearance 3 years ago shortly after Get Born was released and was very impressed. With another album out since then they had more to offer this time. I did miss part of this show though, but what I saw was fairly good. Still think I enjoyed their show last time a bit more.

By the time Muse came on we were in position on the Tool side of the arena just a few people back from the D – a great spot. I was particularly impressed with Muse, who turned in the “punching above their weight” performance of the day for mine. They played a fair bit off Black Holes and Revelations, and it came across harder and edgier than on the album. They had a spectacular light / video show, and a really big sound. Much better than I anticipated, and I really enjoyed their set.

So it was then time for the headliners, Tool to come on stage. As expected, they put on a fantastic show of great depth. Being near the front behind the D, there were of course heaps of their fans all around, and this enthusiasm really lifted the vibe. There was plenty from 10,000 Days, as well a good mix of older stuff, much of which I know even though I haven’t necessarily followed them all that closely. Towards the end of their show I moved to the back half of the arena as I was interested in catching the Violent Femmes, who were playing on one of the outside stages immediately after Tool. After being a lot closer for most of their show I really noticed how washed out the sound was even just halfway back. It must have been terrible for the people in the seats at the far end of the arena.

I made it to the Violent Femmes by the time they started, and found another really tough stretch to make from the intensity of Tool to VF’s acoustic sound on a much smaller set up. They looked like they’d seem better days, but came good a couple of songs in. I was a bit tired by that stage, but a fair proportion of the crowd were right into it. I think playing Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, etc. early in the set helped, as it really lifted the show from there.

One aspect that I missed out on this year was the entertainment provided by the crowd. Usually when you’re waiting around there’s heaps of amusement provided just watching what various people in the crowd are up to, which is a big part of the fun on the day. Without much of a break later in the day I only got a small opportunity to catch this side of things, although I did catch part of the ground tile skating championships taking place in one section of the crowd! Sadly nothing to match the award winning performance by SlothyBoy in the “eating dirt whilst perform an air kick” category a few years ago…priceless ;)

Overall I’d say that Muse, The Killers and The Butterfly Effect were the highlights for me.

I got back on the train almost exactly 12 hours after I arrived, and in that time would have spent a maximum of 45 minutes sitting down. There was plenty of push and shove involved in trying to get into the D during The Killers, as well as being near the front (just behind the D) during Tool. The legs were shot, as they’d also be put through hill reps earlier in the day to go with more than their fair share of cross training. I’ve never been so glad to get to bed and had a big sleep in the next morning before driving back to Port later in the day.

Half way there

Week 9 of 18


Monday 7km Run – Intervals
Started the week with a few intervals – 5 x 2 minutes with 1 minute jog recovery. I did a loop over to Flynns Beach but didn’t really plan it well as most of the intervals coincided with the uphill sections, and it wasn’t supposed to be hill reps today! Also spent one of the reps dodging a dog…he was friendly enough, but he threw me right off by crossing my path for a while before he turned around to head back home.


Tuesday 14km Aerobic Run
Out along the beaches and the river to Westport Park before heading home via a more inland route.


Thursday 11km Tempo / Hill Reps
After a 40 minute warm up to take the freshness out of the legs I upped the pace for a 6 minute interval which ended at the bottom of today’s hill – Mimosa for 3 x 90 second hill reps. This is a tough hill and the incline builds near the top and you don’t get any more than 90 seconds out of it. Perhaps a bit too steep for what I wanted to achieve.


Saturday 30km Long Run
In an effort to avoid cross streets and the associated hassles of running in a suburban environment I ran down Ocean Drive to Lake Cathie and back this morning.

Like a couple of weeks ago, much of this run was done in fog, particularly down at Lake Cathie. It’s a popular cycling route and there was a steady stream of cyclists heading south with a few familiar faces passing by, including a local Ironwoman in training that was out for a ride on her wedding day! Because of the fog I couldn’t actually see the lake until I got to the bridge and at the bridge you could just make out the silhouettes of the trees surrounding the lake but certainly no view to the ocean.
I ran to the far end of Lake Cathie before turning back. On my way back past the lake I had a quick refuel and washed some sweat off using the outdoor shower. I quite liked the long stretch between Port and LC, but the shoulders were a bit narrow for a few kilometres at the Port end, leaving only about 5km of nice wide shoulder to run on. I didn’t particularly enjoy the rotten stench of decaying road kill in a couple of spots though.
The last 3km was a climb right to the finish, which seemed like a good idea when I was comfortably sitting at the computer planning the route, but it was really tough at the end of a long run when it was getting steamy with the sun now out.

During the run I used a couple of Hammer Gels and some Endura Electrolyte on top of the usual water and Gatorade.

I got to soak my legs in a tub of ice water for half an hour or so, and grabbed a quick nap at lunchtime, but that was about it for rest as it was Jodie’s Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary in the evening. There was much organisation going on around the place and a few of Jodie’s family crashing on mattresses and lounges throughout the house.


I've been really slack in skipping all of my recent cross training sessions. I really need to do something about that.

Hmmm, looks like I can't hold out any longer...Blogger is going to force me to upgrade next time I log on.

Week 8 of 18

Much less to report for last week, which was a Recovery / Adaptation week. I was carrying some mild flu symptoms, although really only at night and they cleared up during the days. Wanting to keep it that way I skipped a couple of non critical sessions to have every chance of fighting it off before it took hold. I only missed a recovery run and a cross training session anyway.

Last Sunday was just a walk to loosen up, so I took the kids for a walk in the pram.


Tuesday 10km Aerobic Run
Along Lighthouse Beach then through Emerald Downs and Waniora. It was a bit of a struggle to get up this morning, but I was rewarded with a nice sunrise over the beach for my efforts. The run was followed up with a lunchtime massage.


Thursday 8km with 4 x 2 min Hill Reps
I was a bit wary this morning and I didn’t want to drain myself too much. I warmed up through the Dahlsford and Crestwood Estates before launching up Pacific Drive from Jonas Absalom.
I hit the 2nd and 4th reps hard, and hit a new mark further up the hill than the other week. I’m starting to feel much stronger on these hill reps now, and I’m remembering why I liked them so much last year! It just took a couple of sessions to build into them again.


Saturday 18km Long Run
It still seems slightly odd that anything under 2 hours is a “short long” run, but so it is.
I trotted around the local area a bit before heading in to town, along the river and back via the beaches before finishing with a loop around Bangalay Drive.
I was still a little apprehensive as I still wasn’t 100%, but I made it through ok and the minor symptoms I experienced have since disappeared. Lucky, as the coming week is “High Volume”.