5.25k Trail timetrial=26min

Wednesday 30th January; Ran 5.25k (approx) in 26min 01.35 HR-180 end. Splits 11.32/14.29 (downhill & small tailwind/uphill and small headwind).
Pace is about 4min 57 per Km although its obviously would be a bit faster on a flat road course in cooler conditions, due to the toughness of this course especially on the uphill return leg.

Morrison/Pechey/Swan Rd to Innamincka/Balfour Rd and back. Hot conditions,30 degrees Celsius at 7pm as usual! Did it after 7 hours of slog at work up and down nearby hills of the Darling Scarp, so was pretty tired and worn out before I even started. Couldn't pass up a golden opportunity like this to run on the railway heritage trail though....Not a bad effort I thought on this tough course. Splitted slightly better (11.49/14.55) than I did on this same course on 17th June 2007 See

herefor that post from last year...A very solid run!

17min on ex bike n 300 Ab crunches

Tuesday 29th January 2008; AM; 300 Ab Crunches.
PM 17minutes on exercise bike.

Brooking Rd return = 3hour January long run done

Saturday 26th January; Ran 27km in 3hours 1minute 35 seconds
on Darlington Brooking Rd course, (6min 43 perkm)Heart rate of 135 at end.

The usual struggle to get to Hills group in time,thinking I was crazy to try and go run 27k after no long run since 29th December,(4 weeks ago) just managed to catch up to the back of the main group as they headed for Midland, decided not to take the soft option of doing an easy 22k. Saw Terry and Phil B., old John, Jane and others, but was finding their pace a bit slow early, and decided to try and keep the faster front group in sight, as that pace felt good.

As we got into the eastern Bellevue area they stopped and I caught them, and Chris said something about being unsure of how to get to Brooking Rd, and did I know the way. I settled into some 4.50-5.20 per k stuff with them, which was a bit faster than I'd planned, but I stuck with it anyway, and Jane and old John disappeared behind us.


Ran with Chris & Alli from Northern Suburbs group, and a few others at a good pace all the way to Pechey Rd (about 10km )got there in just under 53 minutes,so about 5min 17 per km... Felt shattered by then due to a strong pace on the constant upward incline. Had a good chat about the Busselton Half Ironman race.

Stopped for my first powerade, and ended up walking for a bit to recover and eventually by the first waterfall after the railway tunnel I decided I may as well drop back to my usual running friends old John and Jane. Eventually they caught me near the first waterfall, and I ran with them to the Falls Rd turn off which is immediately followed by the long Brooking Rd hill. Much more manageable pace although I ended up walking the first part of Brooking Rd hill, but Jane and John waited for me, and got running again. I knew it was kinda mad attempting this tough run after my last long run was the easier much flatter 22km loop on December 29th 2007. But would have been disappointed if I had not taken on the challenge. Slightly different route along Strettle and Bailey Roads, before settling into the last 4km on the nice downward slope of the railway heritage trail.

Excellent conversation as usual, hearing the cherrynose cicadas at one point in this run, and the beautiful views of the valley early on where Kathryn and I used to walk a few years back. Feeling good, and really enjoying the experience, and from Hovea Falls onwards I was very glad to be out there! celebrating Australia Day with a decent long run! Last 30minutes or so as the clock ticked past 9am could start to feel the summer sun heating things up as little, as the temperature picked up a few degrees to 28 degrees Celsius. See here

Injury report;Nothing to worry about I dont think. Left shin splint flared up very bad later in the day after the run. Need to icepak and keep an eye on that one...
Probably due to the Bitumen hill on Brooking Rd and the downhill bitumen on Strettle and Bailey Rd I suspect?

Left knee is pretty dodgy but not majorly different after this run... forgot to tape nipples so they are a little sore, but not too bad. Very sore spots from chafing of hydration pack on my lower back, a bit painful in the shower, but it should clear up in a few days...

Very happy to nail this run. Important one! Thanks God, and also to all the runners I had the pleasure of running with making the journey a lot of fun.
Didn't spend much time at the Bakery afterwards as I had to get home to get ready for a busy day today...Happy! Wuhoo!

Kathryn and I do 20 minutes on the exercise bike

Thursday 24th January 2008 A.D. 2230hrs;
Cycled for 20minutes on exercise bike. HR 129.

Made the gears heavier and increased cadence towards the end. Nice to see my wife Kathryn take the initiative and do 20 minutes first also. Was a hard day at work in the 38 degree heat, suffered a little from mild heatstroke I think....Its been a very busy week so far, but a very productive one in many respects. More on that in the coming weeks hopefully. Tuesday night we had a great dinner with a nice couple from church, had good discussions. Wednesday night dinner at my parents. Hope to crank up the training like I cranked up my cadence and heavier gears towards the end of tonights ride, which got the heart rate up to something worthwhile, i.e. above 120 bpm...

Been thinking about what is the best plan for Beach to Bluff on February 10th, I think cycling the 80k to the base of Bluff Knoll would be the best option for me, second option would be to run 34k. Also bought R4YL magazine today and it had a short mention of 6 Inch in the Ultranews section, plus calender suggests Melbourne Marathon may not finish on MCG or will have different course to last year, which makes me think that my goal interstate race for 2008 might have to be Sydney Marathon on 21st September???

Easy 15min on Ex Bike

Monday 21st January 2008 AD; Cycled for 15min on exercise bike HR-108 end.
Was working some heavy gearing while watching tennis (Molik& Mirza in doubles) about 2300hrs...

Been very tied up lately with work commitments doing overtime on weekends, and the usual stuff, plus not enough sleep (trying to start earlier to minimise time in the heat) and mild heatstroke especially last week, from slogging it out in 40 degree + heat at work...One day I downed 1.5 litres of cold fluids just to get the body core temperature down enough to survive the last 2 hours...So rather disappointed and frustrated that I have not trained in the last 2 weeks hardly at all, and especially that I have not made it to the Hills group. So hoping that maybe this week I can start getting the momentum going again towards hopefully a much better February, as January is pretty much wasted now.

2008 5 session tri strategy 300 Abs plus

Saturday 12th January 2008;AM; 300 Ab crunches just now.
Then overtime work. Hoping to do Hills group long run today but sleep too chaotic last night.

Have rigged up a 5 point plan in my offline personal daily diary to try and get some triathlon type training going this year, to get my Abs program going more regularly, and to try and push me to train more often in general this year, but still juggle my work and family commitments.
Prioritized as such; 1;Long run, 2a and 2b;Reps/timetrials/races, 3;Ride 4;Abs 5;Swim. Also plan to start a 20 week Perth Marathon 2008 attack from February 18th onwards, which is the day after the Matilda Bay 10k. Other "new years resolutions" I guess is to spend more time reading the Bible and with the local church, and try and increase our family income through more work, maybe a better position by 2009 at the latest.

Had a bit of a chat with Nate last night about the 75km Kep Track which goes from Mundaring Weir to Northam, so it must be possible to run,mountainbike,hike a long way on that track, so a potentially good training option for ultra runners like Nate. He is planning an assault on the 24 hour race at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast this year, while Dave is going to do 6 Foot in March this year.

5x300m @ Noranda II

Tuesday 2030hours; 8th January 2008; Ran 5x300m reps @ Noranda Track, with 3min rests.
57.79-Heart rate 162/59.87 HR-165/61.38 HR-177/63.90 HR-177/59.19 HR-180
Total time for 1500m;5min.02.13.
1km pace~3.21.42 400m pace~1.20.57 100m pace~20.14.

See http://runmara2005blog.blogspot.com/2007/11/5x300m-take-i-noranda.html
Much better heart rates tonight than what I did on 5th November, but was marginally slower...However I managed to do the last 300m as my second fastest rep, instead of my slowest one like last time. Battled a strong headwind for the last 150m of each rep. Overall a good spur of the monet session. Battled also to keep food in stomach as I ate a late lunch after 7 hours of slog at work (getting a bit dehydrated), so probably not really in the best condition physically to be attempting reps. Also had some trouble with shin splints, and my chronic slightly bruised right heel, but my left ankle problem was non-existent, which is very good news. Suspect the shin splints is due to running the 5k on hard surfaces on Sunday night, and the bruised heel flareup due to the 5k and slogging it out at work...So overall with carefull management via icepacks, I should be able to deal with these issues, although the shin splints is a concern...

Big dilemma in the mind about the Waikiki triathlon this weekend, but I think the $100 or so (entry fee is $70, petrol to get there and back, getting puncture on bike fixed=$20), I can't justify spending with stacks of bills building up right now, so may have to wait until Meelup in february for my first Tri this year. Which would be my first Tri for several years actually, if I make it to Meelup,Hillarys,Busselton etc...

Good to get a minor short reps session on the board early in the week....Onward...

250 Ab c's n mini "dualathlon" n 5k race in 23min 26

1800; Ran 5km at Burswood twilight run in 23minutes 26 seconds, 4.41 per K Average, HR-186 at end. Temperature about 28 Degrees Celsius.

Drove like a maniac to Burswood, grabbed a number, paid my race fee ($8), and madly headed for the start line with less than 2 minutes to spare. Saw Radar, Ian, and one or two other faces I recognised, but looked like a small field. Was still a bit warm, but I was able to get off to a solid start, arriving at the 1km marker in 4min 06 seconds. Then I got passed by a few people (including two blokes pushing running prams!), and then settled into a steady position going along the eastern side of the Windan Bridge. Couldn't see any 2k,2.5k or 3k markers, but I arrived at 4k marker feeling the heat a bit,

--It was about 27-28 Degrees Celsius according to http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW60901/IDW60901.94608.shtml...

and having lost momentum a bit in 18min 56, splitting the last 1k in 4.30 and passing one runner in the process. During that last 1k saw Radar doing his warm-down (He won in 16min 57), and he gave me a bit of encouragement. had a good chat with a HashHouse (Drinkers with a running problem, On, On, On etc) runner who was about 40 seconds in front of me after the race...He told me about the Kep Track which I have just found online @ http://www.keptrack.com.au/
So a very enjoyable little 5K to start 2008...Wore the new Nike top that my brother Tim sent over as a Christmas present the other week, and it was very nice to run in too.

Ankle was surprisingly not an issue, although the strapping tape may have given me a minor blister, although I did not notice it out there. The strapping tape could have been a significant problem in a longer race like a half marathon etc...
So a good run, a bit slower than I was hoping but the heat and lack of K markers made it difficult, and I guess I haven't done enough speed work yet, combined with my ankle problems in the last few days, so not such a bad effort to kick off my racing for 2008! Very happy I made it. Feeling a whole lot more positive about life, and the universe in general. Hopefully can improve my time lots! in my next race, which is likely to be the Matilda Bay 10k on February 17th, or maybe something else before that. If my training is going well I might get down to Coker Park or Perry Lakes to run some track races, or maybe a triathlon or two, but have to get the family finances back on track first, and make sure I get this ankle sorted out properly too...

Have just come across a Coaching service online called Front Runner Coaching here in Perth which provides training programs,goal setting,online support, and injury prevention tips from world class (14th in the world champs in 2007) Dualathlete Raf Baugh;
You can access it @ http://www.rafaelbaugh.com/coaching.htm



MIDDAY; Mini-Duathlon; 15min on bike/9 minutes (2km) running; Cycled for 15minutes on exercise bike, pretty relaxed and HR only about 105bpm. My 5 month old son Jacob was moving his legs up and down trying to copy Daddy (me)on the bike and smiling like a cheshire cat. Then bit the mental bullet, and gingerley tested out the still strapped ankle with a 2km run on my Hull Park course, which went really well, clocking 9 minutes 07seconds (4.33 per K)in the 25 degree warmth. Sweating like a pig due to the warm weather, and heart rate hit 165 BPM.

So now I am thinking I should run the 5km tonight as long as the ankle doesnt flare up again in the next few hours...If I do run, given that my ankle is not 100% I will leave the strapping on and try to be very careful not to reinjure it further.

Its not an incredibly important race in the master-plan for 2008 but it would be nice to get the year started with a solid race on the right foot, rather than start the first week of the year with a very mentally disappointing let down of another no-show after mentally psyching myself for this one all week long...


AM; 250 Ab crunches this morning. Ankle seems to feel better this morning should I risk running tonights 5k...last night I was pretty sure I shouldn't run, but now I am wondering....

Endurancemag and PP links

My bro in USA gave me a copy of endurancemag for Christmas, and its a pretty good read about running and related stuff in North and South Carolina.
http://www.endurancemag.com


After interest in the 2008 6 inch race from two runners from Colorado, USA, and a feature article in Endurancemag on someone running the Pikes Peak race in Colarado (similiar in many ways to 6 Foot although only 21k for the ascent and double that for the full race), I feel compelled to check out this significant mountain running event;

http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/

Apparently near the top (at over 4000m it is the 39th highest peak in USA)the air is very thin (more than 4 times height of bluff knoll), which means that it takes about 10-15 minutes per k ....above the treeline...not enough oxygen for trees to grow near the summit?....

An athletes worst nightmare strikes the ankle

"Injury: An athletes worst nightmare."
Melodramatic quote I heard on one of my brother Tim's old basketball videos many years ago...and have remembered ever since whenever I get injured in a lighthearted attempt to not let it get me down mentally too much more than it already has.


It seems I may have a serious ankle injury, or maybe a minor ankle injury, we shall find out in the next few days, but I am about a 30% chance of running the 5k tomorrow I reckon, as I will not run if I am getting the pain I am getting today.

I'm referring to my anterior ankle area probably more towards the lateral side, which was extremely sore yesterday morning. I had it strapped on Friday, which seemed to help initially but once I started reading meters my foot immediately got very sore, and I was in constant pain for about 90minutes to 2 hours, and then it suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason. Today (Saturday 5th January 2008 A.D.) it was a little tender, but nothing like the severe pain with every push-off step of yesterday...So I was hoping that maybe it was going to clear up. Seemed ok this afternoon while working, but right now its getting sore again when I was walking around in the house.

So I am not sure what to do now. Not really sure how I got, it although I can think of at least two instances at work where I may have damaged my ankle. I want to get a medical opinion, possibly an X-ray/MRI or maybe they can try a few tests to narrow down what it is. But of course I have no money for anything like that, especially right now would have to be the worst time of the year for this to happen for me financially. Hoping its something minor that goes away in a few days. Unlikely I will run the 5k tomorrow now, although if I am feeling fine tomorrow, I may risk it, we shall see.

My best guess so far is that I may have dislocated the Peroneal Tendons from the Lateral Malleolus or something like that after reading my sports injuries book, but very unsure about this one. As the americans would say I really "have no clue" what this one is. So hopefully it heals itself, or I will be out of running action until I can afford to have it medically assessed, and maybe out for a few weeks or months until it is fully treated.

So I will hope and pray that it fixes itself or my 2008 racing and training plans will have to be rearranged somewhat!, and work is going to be a real challenge if this continues. So help me God!

Best case scenario is that I wake up tomorrow or sometime soon and it has fixed itself....have to wait and see how it all goes.

Genesis of 2008 is a 60 minute ride & 5K ladder III

Tuesday January 1st 2008 A.D.;
8PM; Ran 5km Ladder @ Noranda in
19 minutes 57secs.91. Average speed per 1km; 3min 59.58 Heart rates; 168,171,183,186,192,189,192,189,195.
Times; 34.25/1.26/2.22/3.23/ 4.14 (1km rep) /3.23/2.22/1.34/36. Rests 3-6minutes RPE (rating of percieved exertion);9.5 out of 10.

Same session (5k Ladder II) as I did on 28th April 2007 see;
http://runmara2005blog.blogspot.com/2007/04/5km-ladder-ii-goes-11-seconds-quicker.html
but a few seconds slower this time, but a few seconds faster than what I did in 5K ladder I on 24th March 2007. Overall a great effort I thought for where I am at right now. Combined with ride earlier and including rest times between reps thats about 2 hours worth today, which means I made most of public holiday. So pretty happy, nice conditions, a little humid maybe but no wid issues at all. Little hammer in my head giving me trouble, and very tough to keep going towards the end but overall a great session to have on the board on the first day of 2008.

Did 60 minutes on exercise bike with heart rates between 110-160. Threw in three 5 minute spurts in the last 30minutes where I held high intensity.
Speedo doesnt work (which is probably why people left it on the verge to be picked up by council bulk rubbish collection) so don't know what the distance was.

Sweated a lot, and watched Molik lose to Mirza in the Hopman cup tennis on TV while I rode.
Just had a shower and I feel really positive right now, I think this ride combined with the 3K ladder and 22km run I did on the weekend, have me feeling the best I have felt for a few weeks. Resting heart rate this morning was 51 which is ok though nowhere near where I want to be, after a pretty relaxed New Years celebration at my Mother-in-laws last night.
So a good way to kick off the year.