Boot Camp

Today:
1st- Bike Ride:
Distance: 17.5 km
2nd - Run
Distance: 9.05 km
Time: 46' 27"
Rate: 5' 08" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 21 degrees, humidity 30%, wind light NW
Week: 35.3 km
October: 291.6 km
Year: 3612.3 km

Group from work have a regular mountain bike ride each week, sometimes twice, and today I was able to join them. Seven of us made the trip being 2 Steve's, 2 Dave's, a Kevin, a Garry and a Penny. It was a beaut day to be out, the bike was supposed to be a casual ride, but as we headed along the sandy track by the river heading to Point Hut, someone said lets go to the Gordon playground. It was only 6 km into the ride at this stage, but the playground was ours to enjoy. Boot camp was alive and well as grown up bus drivers had a ball on the flying fox, the monkey bars, the ladder and walking the steel wire from the rocket. We made army boot camp look like child's play.
We continued up thru Conder to the high track around the base of Tuggeranong Hill, eventually back to Gordon and on the gravel track behind Bonython back to work. Great fun on the bikes, will definitely go out again with the group when I can. Only one incident when Kevvy had stopped the bike, took the left foot out of the pedals and then fell off on the right side. Great sight, no damage.
We separated on returning to work as most of us were on split shifts, I still had nearly two hours free. Decided to go for a short run, turned out to be 9 km but it was so easy, the bike ride must have just the momentum to get me moving again after a week of fairly average performance.
Very good cross training day, finished off the run down in the water to cool the legs, returned to work and ate everything left in the lunch box, and there was plenty to consume. This exercise sure gets the appetite going.
Probably one of the most enjoyable days I have had for a long time, great company on the bike ride, and a good run straight afterwards. Even work this afternoon was enjoyable, but it usually is anyway.

The Wind, It Blew and Blew

Today:
Distance: 16.0 km
Time: 98' 24"
Rate: 6' 09" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 18 degrees, humidity 25%, Wind NW at 30-35 kmph
Week: 26.25 km
October: 282.55 km
Year: 3603.25 km

It's that time of the year when you can't get two calm days in a row. I blame the wind for today's average run, but I didn't try very hard. Otherwise it was a nice day and I jogged around, stopped and looked, walked a bit and played around in the water just enjoying myself.
My " au naturale" mate was again out enjoying the day again, obviously doesn't need to work or has flexible working hours.
The boys from work are going out bike riding tomorrow so I might just join them, a bit of cross training when the running is in " easy mode". Split shift, got to fill in a 4 hour break somehow. Track on Thursday night, probably should head to the oval instead. Decisions, decisions, important one's that will decide the future of the world.

O'Connor Ridge Handicap

Today:
Distance: race 8.0 km plus warm up 2.25 km = total 10.25 km
Time: race - 39' 50"
Rate: race - 4' 50" per km
Finishing place: 103rd
Weather: cloudy, temp 16-18 degrees, humidity 60%, wind calm
Week: 10.25 km
October: 266.55 km
Year: 3587.25 km

This is a good course for the fit and healthy. Plenty of ups and downs with few flat parts. However, if you are no ready for the run, it can be tough, there is nowhere to hide. Today's weather did not help at all with plenty of cloud cover raising the humidity level. Much prefer sunny and low humidity like last Sunday.
There was nothing to be gained by pushing, no chance of winning, no chance at overall points score for the year, so just settled into a race pace that ensured I did finish last. I did have a few after me, so maintained the record of never being either first or last across the line at a monthly handicap. There is still some tiredness so another week of easy before getting serious with Two Peaks and a mtn leg of the Triple Tri coming up in November.
Great to chat with other BC and BH finishers from last weekend, discuss plans for next year, and catch up with Elizabeth on the come back trail.

All Fired Up

Today:
Distance: 12.65 km
Time: 76' 18"
Rate: 6' 02" per km
Weather: cloudy, looks like more rain, temp 22 degrees, humidity 45%, wind calm
Week: 85.55 km
October: 256.3 km
Year: 3577.0 km

I heard Pat Benatar signing the title song on the radio last night and it very much sums up where I am at. However, Frank Sinatra singing " My Way" also has an influence and " Alone again, naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan is in there somewhere. Patience is the word.
With a vet's handicap tomorrow and I should still be in recovery mode, all fired up has to take a back seat. Today, slept in after night shift at work, midnight finish and 2:00 am into bed, I headed out at 11:00 this morning just to keep moving.
Nice and easy down behind Theodore and over to Conder, jogged/ran the flat and downhill, walked the inclines, watched the little kids at the oval, some were so small they would have been lucky to see the finish line even when 20 metres away, they were having fun and participating, that's important.
Time to think when you run alone, came up with a few suggestions to help CJ out, and work out a plan for myself for next year. The current edition of R4YL mag has Andrew Letherby's 4 week training plan he followed, I would need to cut out the afternoon run. I am not a fan of his coach, Nic Bideau however.

It Rained

Today:
Distance: 11.6 km
Time: 66' 04"
Rate: 5' 41" per km
Weather: cloudy, temp 16 degrees, humidity 90%, light drizzle
Week: 72.9 km
October: 243.65 km
Year: 3564.35 km

It was hardly drought breaking, probably lucky to was the dirt off the windscreen of the car, but there was moisture in the air. Not for long and not much, but I did get wet.
Nice and easy again, this time down towards Pine Is and back, as flat as I can get from home. Nothing too exciting to report, but I think the wildlife was happy to get something to drink and wash the dust off.
Ewen, the distance is around 236 km for C2K, so don't make me go more than I will have to, the last 100km will be a plod. Get used to that and don't feel guilty. Good advise received from Martin Fryer (best ultra runner in Aust at present) as to how to get it all done. It is not as difficult as you would think, because there is a point when no more training will be of any assistance.
The main objective is to stay healthy and fit and not go over the edge. Just see how it all develops, plenty to do in the first half of the year.

Tour de Calwell

Today:
Distance: 8.15 km
Time: 47' 23"
Rate: 5' 49" per km
Weather: cloudy, temp 22 degrees, humidity 55%, wind from east at 15kmph
Week: 61.3 km
October: 232.05 km
Year: 3552.75 km

Obviously Calwell is not large when you can run around it very easily in less than an hour. A couple of rest days after Brindy, pulled up really well, the usual quad soreness from downhill trashing has gone although I could do with 20 minutes in the cold water just as after the run at the Cotter.
Ran around the outside of the best suburb in Canberra, down Johnson Dr, along Tharwa Dr to Drakeford and up Johnson Dr back home.
Big contrast in weather conditions to the previous few days including Sunday, running conditions very pleasant.
Planning out next year already having received advise from Martin Fryer on how to get through. Looking at peaking now in December 2008 trying to go from sea level to the top of the highest mountain in the country.
Much will depend on how Glasshouse 100 mile goes in Sept, more later. Sad part is he suggests not running Brindy next year.

Brindabella Classic - 54 km

Today:
Distance (measured by GPS) 53.15 km
Time: 5 hrs 7 mins 04 secs
Finished place: 9th
Weather: sunny, temp 15-30 degrees, humidity 25%, light NW wind at times, mainly calm
Week: 53.15 km
October: 223.9 km
Year: 3544.6 km

Weather predictions earlier in the week proved to be correct, it turned out to be a nice day, unless you were out running over 50 km. It was warm already at Bull's Head when the bus stopped for 10 minutes, and by the time the run started at 8:15 am, there was no need for long anything to wear except spending a long time applying sunscreen.
Settled into an easy pace with a 3 others, downhill and still fresh and enthusiastic, passing through Phibes' drink station early on and by Emma-Kate soon after. The down hill soon gave way to the two main uphill section on the 2nd relay section at which time the group had broken up a bit. Ewan had charged away never to be seen again and to record an excellent top 5 place, I think at his 1st attempt on the course.
Made the half way mark at Bulls Head where the two young girls were happily playing away on a couple of musical instruments, too tired to see exactly what. I was told I was in 11th place at this stage so that was good news. Top 10 was on the cards if I could hold it all together. Always plenty of encouragement at the drink stations, but you can also waste plenty of time, however today was vitally important to rehydrate, it was getting very warm.
The 3rd relay leg has plenty of downhill and the quads now start to take a hammering. Early on relay runner Maria zoomed past just after I had caught Mick in survival mode. He just does not like the heat and he had also done Fitzroy Falls marathon only last weekend. I also managed to pass another runner or two putting me in 8th place which I held for a long time. However, into open section after DS7 and on to DS8 (relay change) the heat, time and distance combined for me to have my first walk except in and out of drink stations. Left DS8 with 9km to go and going OK, tired but no other problems until a few cramps set in, just little annoying ones in the calves. Not wanting to have them stop me completely, slowed down waiting for the cool waters of Vanity's Crossing to arrive. If ever there is heaven on earth when you need some help, this is it. Water levels have risen, probably due to snow melt, nice and cool.
Walked up Ma and Pa, jogged down to Pierces Creek drink station where Peter C passed to to take my 8th place.A No matter what I tried, just too buggered to catch him, although he was never more than 100 metres in front. With sub 5 hours out, holding on to a top 10 place was the next objective. I finished fairly strongly, 9th place was not too bad in today's conditions. Time wise I was 22 minutes slower than last year when temp range was 3 - 16 degrees, but 4 places better.
As usual through the run I kept saying this is the last one I do, now completed 12 on a variety of courses, I will no doubt be on the start line again next year.
I love this run, a highlight of the running year for me. A great place to catch up with other ultra runners you know who are just or sillier than me. Trevor Jacobs completed his 20th run today. the heat took it's toll on two runners after the finish who needed medical attention after collapsing, both now appear to be OK. A few DNFs, not a surprise and very smart to pull out before doing any long term damage.
I ran early on with a guy who has recently completed the Marathon de Sables ( Sahara Desert run over numbers of days) and a run in the Gobi Desert over 5 days, marathon every day and 85 km on the last day. Very interesting to hear of their adventures, and hear Phibes' tales from the Western States 100 mile and World 24 hour run Canada in the past few months. These guys make my running look pretty tame, must get out more often.
Rest day tomorrow and Tuesday, may get out on Wednesday if the weather is OK.
Great way to fill in on a lazy Sunday afternoon. A the time of writing this, the great debate between a couple of no name politicians is on, I bet they had a boring day compared with running the wonderful Brindabella Classic.

The Quick Brown Fox......Lazy Black Dog

Today:
Distance: 11.6 km
Time: 59' 34"
Rate: 5' 08" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 16 degrees, humidity 28%, SE wind at 13 kmph
Week:
Distance: 57.4 km
Running days: 4/4
Ave: 14.35 km per run day
October:
Distance: 170.75 km
Running days: 11/17
Ave: 15.52 km per run day
Year:
Distance: 3491.45 km
Running days: 191/290
Ave: 18.28 km per run day

Out enjoying a jog on a nice sunny day down by the river, when a brown fox scurries across the path in front of me. Middle of the day is a bit rare but I have seen a few before this close to civilization. I didn't see the lazy brown dog jumping, so I also didn't see the alphabet before my eyes. So much for the nature lesson.
Little wind today made it a pleasure to be out and so it is reflected in the km rate. I am now a bit more optimistic about getting Sunday done before it gets too hot.
Time to venture into the water again after the run and scratch about in the sand. Nice day, good to be out. Rest day tomorrow, short easy run in Woden on Friday and nothing on Saturday.

Waiting, Waiting

Today:
Distance: 14.8 km
Time: 90' 00" (exactly)
Rate: 6' 05" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 21 degrees, humidity 30%, wind strong from NW at 40 kmph
Week: 45.8 km
October: 159.15 km
Year: 3479.85 km

I am no good at this tapering , so this week is just as the title says, waiting. You can't really go out and do something too long or intense, so the fill in is easy as you can take no chances on the wheels falling off.
Nice day today except for the wind, so I trotted around near the river very carefully. I got back to the beach area at Pine Is, looked at the watch and still a couple of hours to fill in, so stood about in and out of the water for half an hour cooling down and scratched around in the sand. Forgot to take the spade and bucket.
There is a bit of unscientific logic to this part, blister prevention on Sunday. The sand is rough and probably so are my feet. Kicking up the sand removes any dry and soft skin, the newly exposed skin now has a chance to toughen up in the next 4-5 days, and hopefully that eliminates another possible problem that may occur on Sunday.
Weather forecast for Sunday is now 8-29 degrees, sunny. We could be in for a warm finish, so I may have a chance to catch a few late in the run.

Easy Ever After

Today:
Distance: 11.0 km
Time: 62' 54"
Rate: 5' 43" per km
Weather: late pm, sunny, temp 22 degrees, humidity 28%, windy from NW at 30 kmph
Week: 31.0 km
October: 144.35 km
Year: 3465.05 km

Easy jog after a good day out yesterday, late in the afternoon as I had to work all day, just not fair. Best part was the wind had dropped a bit from the gale that continued most of the day. I decided to go from work before riding home, so it was a short run down by the river, stopping near the end to stand in the water for 10 minutes. Really works well to keep the legs and glutes free to keep moving.
This is an easy week so there will be a few non running days thrown in. Those days will mostly be decided by work commitments, no pre planning necessary.
Felt fairly comfortable today, no problems after yesterday. Taking it easy, but really I would like not to waste this week tapering and next week recovering, seems like two weeks of good running being missed, especially with some nice weather about.
Forecast at this stage for Sunday for BC,sunny, temp 8 - 26 degrees. Better finish early.

Orroral Valley Classic

Today:
Distance: 20.0 km
Time: 95' 34"
Rate: 4' 47" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 10-15 degrees, humidity 30%, wind calm early then NW increasing

Week: 20.0 km
October: 133.35 km
Year: 3454.05 km

This event has been going for nearly 10 years. Once you have been down into the Namadgi National Park and experienced nature at it's best, it continues to draw you back. Plenty of kangaroos about as well. Today was perfect running conditions with the start time now in the morning to get away from the strong afternoon NW winds. The wind did start to get up and going but it assisted on the run back down the valley.
Around 50 starters in events today with 3 in the longer 32.5 km run and the majority in the 20 km. A number of reasons for only 3 in the longer event included Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail marathon yesterday, the 24 mtn bike event on at Stromlo today and some saving themselves for Brindabella Classic next weekend. They missed a good day out.
I am almost over the cold that knocked me down last week, so a good run was a bit unexpected with only two very short jogs all week. Maybe the rest was well timed.
Settled into the top 10 for a while until we hit the one and only real hill for the day at the 5-6km mark when I passed a couple and then one of the leaders had ITB trouble and dropped back. The lingering effects of the cold slowed me on the up hill and a couple just in front went away, unable to maintain contact. I had Emma Murray go past me after the top of the hill, but she didn't get away, always in sight. Emma still had hammy problems and obviously not at her best at present. She did say later she would like to again go to SFT next year, so look out everyone who enters, she likes the course.
I shifted up a gear down Smoker's Trail towards the 2nd drink station, thanks Martin, to catch and pass Emma on the long open grassy trail back down the valley. Great sections this, very dry from the drought when usually there are some muddy parts.
Managed to also catch another runner after the 3rd drink station and also to then hold off Emma in a final sprint to the finish. Finish 6th, still had Vanessa in front of me as 1st female but then had to be content with 2nd in my age group as well, still fairly tough as you get older. Great day, perfect conditions, great event.
Easy week coming up, couple of runs early on then ease back, rest Friday and Saturday and BC on Sunday.
Stopped at Point Hut to stand in the cold waters of the Murrumbidgee River on the way home. Absolutely wonderful!!
Big day out, missed out on getting to a BBQ meet and greet other team members in the Triple Tri in November, just too late this afternoon and just a little tired, wonder why. Also wonder they asked me to do the Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie mountain run leg. No other volunteers, good, I like the mountains, the Two Peaks event is on the weekend before, so plenty of time to train. Looking forward to the rest of the year.

Easy Again

Today:
Distance: 10.65 km
Time: 63' 57"
Rate: 6' 00" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 20 degrees, humidity 33%, light west wind

Week: 18.25 km
October: 113.35 km
Year: 3434.05 km

The weekly total will be the final distance for this week, rest day on Saturday hoping to get the 20km run down in the Orroral Valley done on Sunday. That's 2 running days in a week at ave 9.125 km per run.
Today was the 2nd of those runs, very easy and a little bit better and faster than yesterday. Cruised around on the tracks by the river, stopping a few times, dive bombed by a maggie but still enjoyed the day.
That was the best part of a 14.5 hour working day, busy, busy, busy. Started at 7:00am and finished just after 9:30pm. Glad to have the kids go back to school next week to learn something, although most seem to think they know everything already.

Slowly and Carefully

Today:
Distance: 7.6 km
Time: 46' 47"
Rate: 6' 09" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 23 degrees, humidity 65%, wind light NW
Week: 7.6 km
October: 102.7 km
Year: 3423.4 km

Returning from injury and sickness require careful planning and not getting carried away with too much enthusiasm. Today was really nice in the morning (that changed in the afternoon) and a limited opportunity arose at work to get out in to the sunshine. A virus affects the whole body not just the blocked nose and sinuses as I had. One thing to be careful of is the effect on the heart and long term damage that can be done by raising the pulse too high too soon.
Lying in bed crook the last Monday, I took my pulse rate. Normal resting rate is 43, Monday 58, an increase of 35%. So today I took a very careful approach to a walk/jog/very slow run down around the river. As flat and easy as I could, raised a sweat because of the humidity, nice warm day. Sometimes it good to go slow.
Depending on work, like Ewen, very busy in school holidays with lots away, I will try to get another short jog in before Sunday's run in the Orroral Valley.

Down & Out

Today:
Distance: nil

Saturday I had a good run over at Stromlo and Black Mountain in good conditions without any problems. All was looking good for Orroral Valley Classic this weekend and BC in two weeks time. Went to work on Saturday night, a bit over 5 hours and not many people about. However started to develop a sore throat during the night which I thought was just symptom of a long run and generally being a little tired.
Sunday was always to be a day of rest watching the cars at Bathurst. Gradually, I went downhill developing a blocked nose and sinuses so I took a few pills to keep the germs at bay. Organised myself for work and decided to not take any running gear and have another day to recover. An early start this morning meant in the shower and breakfast at 6:00am, but that was as far as it got. Nearly finished showering and started to go light headed, the legs went from under me and down I went. Can't remember the moments after that until I was being held up feeling dreadful.
Back to bed, ring work, I won't be in today, and in bed I stayed until 3:00 this afternoon. I seem to have recovered enough now and all being OK, I should be able to go to work tomorrow, no running of course. Unscheduled rest but it won't do any harm. This was my first sick day off work since for over 5 years, just my 3rd day off since I started nearly 15 years ago.
The lessons to be learnt, listen to what is happening, recognise the signs, don't push the limits too far, do that hard yards early in any training program so that any setbacks late won't stop you getting to the start line.
I don't know how I would handle a long term absence from running,(or work for that matter through injury) I do feel for CJ at present and Liz a couple of years ago off with major injuries.
I just need to get back into the groove slowly, still plenty ahead to do.

Stromlo, Dairy Farmers and Black Mountain

Today:
Distance: 29.6 km
Time: 2hrs 59 mins 22 secs
Rate: 6' 03" per km
Weather: cloudy, temp 12 - 22 degrees, humidity 25%, wind calm to start then up to 25 kmph
Week & Oct:
Distance: 95.1 km
Running days: 5/7
Ave: 19.02 km per run day
Year:
Distance: 3415.8 km
Running days: 185/ 279
Ave: 18.46 km per run day

Received a phone call on Friday night asking what run I had planned for Sat morning with only two weeks to BC. Arranged time and place and started out from Deek's Forest Park around 8: 30 am. We are both planning to run BC so the idea behind the run was to get in some downhill at pace, easy on the up and get used to the weather conditions that may be expected. BC starts at the same time high in the mountains, and later after Bull's Head the terrain is open and exposed. It may well be very warm on the day so a bit of open country with little shade was needed.
However, the predicted showers for this afternoon turned out to be just a few spots lasting a minute. So little benefit. It was good running conditions until the wind picked up and fortunately not the heat, low humidity meant little sweat.
We ran a basic out and back course from the old toilet block, down to Clo's crossing, up the central 6 course to the power line, over to the top of Dairy Farmer's hill, down thru the arboretum, down the gun barrel to the cork plantation. Road works continue at Glenlock interchange where we went under the road to the steep uphill track at the back of Black Mountain. Managed to run all the way to the top passing Geoff Sims pushing his bike near the top. I thought mountain bikes were meant to be ridden on mountains, maybe not enough gears or maybe not a big enough engine to move the bike. Anyway, all is forgiven as this top section is really steep and damn hard work.
Back down the same way only a short detour down the Black Mtn run up course to return to the same track we ran up. A lot easier going down only needing to be careful not to trip on the loose gravel. Back the same way over to Dairy farmer's hill and thru the Stromlo ( small trees, no forest yet) back to the start. I had tried to calculate a distance before starting expecting the trip to be around 34 km but the distance to the top of Dairy Farmers from our start is just 6.25km so we came up a little short of the 35 km I was expecting.
However, hills and wind make up for distance, so just under 30km for the day was quite OK at an acceptable pace for the course and more difficult than the first half of BC.
After a short rest at the finish, drove to Pine Is to stand in the water. Legs are fine now, just a little tired.
Rest day tomorrow on the couch watching the cars race around Mt Panorama, go the Fords.

Fill in Friday

Today:
Distance: 11.65 km
Time: 64' 36"
Rate: 5' 33" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 19 degrees, humidity 25%, wind from west 25 kmph
Week & Oct: 65.5 km
Year: 3386.2 km

Ran today because I had the opportunity, not very far and not very fast. However, it was a nice day, except the wind still has not stopped blowing, so I filled in time by going for a run. School holidays means not many at work during the day, and the canteen was closed because the cook has gone to Bathurst for the V8s.
A simple jog around the river, very careful to watch out for snakes. Stopped to stand in the water again after the run for 15 minutes, readying the legs for tomorrow's 35kms.
That will signal the start of a taper of some sort with a run in the Orroral Valley 20 km next weekend to be done. That's not overly difficult with only a moderate climb after 6 km the real challenge. Otherwise, it's a great setting for a run.

Quick then a Sudden Stop

Today:
Distance: 15.6 km
Time: 72' 42"
Rate: 4' 39" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 18 degrees, humidity 40%, wind from NW at 20 kmph
Week & Oct: 53.85 km
Year: 3374.55 km

Jogged from work down to the gravel track that connects the back of Bonython and Woodcock Dr. Back on 20th Sept, I marked out a 1 km course. Today I did the same, 8 x 1000 metres, the wind had dropped considerably from the previous days of this week so conditions were very good for running. Last time a southerly was blowing, this time a change in direction so comparing times is a little difficult.
The first couple were a little sluggish but I improved as each was done. It was not meant to be a full on sprint session, more a chance to run a little faster with a short rest in between.
Laps 1,3,5 & 7 with the wind were 4'16", 4'07", 3'56" & 3'45" per km. Laps 2,4,6, & 8 against the wind were 4'26", 4'08', 3' 57" & 4' 10" per km. Last lap the wind blew little stronger. I had a problem with nature again today, on lap 4, a 1.2 metre brown snake slithered across the track in front of me, hence the title of today's story.
A jog recovery down to the river, standing in the water for 15 minutes happily watching school kids on holidays swimming, still too cold for me to get in completely. Easy back to work after a good day out in the sunshine. I like this day, not too hard as long as the wind is not too strong.

What's On After Brindabella Classic

Today:

Distance: Nil



As mentioned, I rested today and am glad I did. With the wind blowing the cream out of the coffee, the birds trying to fly north would have finished in Antarctica.

I have studied the ultra calendar trying for make plans for next year. With BC later this month, I have a few dates already allocated before the end of the year.

Orroral Valley classic on Sun 14th Oct, BC ( 54 km) on Sun 21st Oct, Two Peaks ( 26 km)on Sat 10th Nov, Mtn leg at Triple Tri( 20 km) on Sun 18th Nov, help or maybe get a run at Deep Space Mtn marathon on Sun 2nd Dec, and Tour de Mtn ( 19 km) on Sun 16th Dec. Then after Christmas and in between training for SFT( 45 km) in early March 2008, there must be something. Gosford 12 hour in Jan has been cancelled, the Sri Chinmoy 100km ultra was cancelled in Jan this year so can't rely on that, I could go to Bogong to Hotham but not likely, there is a big chance at Coburg 12 hour on the track in April as it is only a week after a wedding I will be attending in Vic. Then there is the King of the Mountain at Kangaroo Valley in mid July, a short 32 km.

However, I have found a real possibility in May as a new event is on, the North Face Adventure Trail run over 100km on 10th May in the Blue Mountains. This would be a great lead into solid winter training with Bush Capital (60 km) ultra at end of July just a few weeks out from the main event, another attempt at the Glasshouse Mountains 100 mile ( 160 km) in early Sept.

Sounds like a plan to me, let's get into it. Only 11 months to get it all done. No time waste and certainly no time for injuries, too much to do.

Ran out of Puff

Today:
Distance: 20.7 km
Time: 2hrs 7 mins 40 secs
Rate: 6' 10" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 21 degrees, humidity 40%, strong west wind at 40 kmph
Week & Oct: 38.25 km
Year: 3358.95 km

Yesterday at the oval going around in circles was a good day. Today could not have been more different. Although going up and down hills is not like a flat oval, the run just had nothing. The hilly track at the back of Urambi was tough, the river track out to Red Rocks gorge was terrible, admittedly both were against a strong wind. But the return with a bit of assistance was average and even the water at Pine Is is getting warm, so not even the coldness to refresh as was the case just a few weeks ago.
Probably just one of those days when it wasn't meant to be. So take a day off running, change the plan for Thursday to 1 km sprints or tempo somewhere flat and get ready for the last long run on Saturday before BC.

Tempo Laps of the Oval

Today:
Distance: 17.55 km
Time: 87' 06"
Rate: 4'57" per km
Laps of the oval: Dist: 12.6 km, time 59' 57", rate: 4' 45" per km
Weather: sunny, temp 18 degrees, humidity 45%, strong west wind at 40 kmph
Week & Oct: 17.55 km
Year: 3338.25 km

Bit undecided as to what to do today after Saturday's long run and a strong wind blowing today. Started out as an easy run going past the Calwell shops and arrived to find a vacant Calwell oval. With no real motivation to climb hills, I stayed and ran laps on the running track, just like Ewen. You can learn from what others do.
I managed to maintain a consistent rhythm, changed direction after 6 km, the wind coming across the track so no real benefit or hindrance. Lost count of the laps as I ran in lane 2, sometimes out in lane 3 when the wind blew me sideways.
Yesterday dragged out the runner's bible for me called " Guide to Injury Prevention". I have read this book from front to back many times, taken in everything that applies to me. At my massage last week, Maria found no problems, no climbing down from the ceiling, just good preventative work to get me to the start line.
I find inspiration in the saying on CJ's blog, the important part is getting to the start line, not the finish line, or words to that effect.
If you have a copy of the book, CJ & Strewth, read pages 189-191.
Ewen, the oval in the outer lanes is pretty good for a lack of rain, nice easy running today without needing to watch the ground.