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Jonathon's Racing Attacks and Adventure Packs!

Amazing racing and training adventures on roads and mountainous/hilly TRAILS, freewaybikehike and triathlons. Dreams of a SIX FOOT 45km finish,(DONE 2011,2013,2014,2015!),then ULTRA-TRAIL AUSTRALIA (50km DONE 2016! 100km DONE 2018!!!), memorable Melbourne Marathon and Gold Coast racing. Over a decade dreaming of a SUB 3HR MARATHON, sub 18min 5k, sub 38min 10k, sub 90min Half marathon etc...(shattered? or still realistic?)

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Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia


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42.2km SB; 2004; 3.55 2005; 4.02 2006; 4.18, 2007; 4.10 2008; 3.55
2009; 4.11 2010; 4.05 2011; 4.02 2012;3.49 2013; 4.12 ... 2014; ; 4.08 ...2015; 4.00
2016; 4.11 2018; 4.15 2019; 4.25 2020; 5.38 ... 2021; 5.44 ... 2022 DNF at 37km
More ongoing GOALS;
***PB's pursuit; 5k 21.49, 10k 41.01 21.1k 1.41, ...42.2k 3.49

MM and the G!...

In recent years I have been enjoying races like;
December; 6-INCH(46km offroad)2005;--6 hrs 25 min...
2006; 7hrs 04 min 2008; 7hrs 00min...2009; 6hrs 16min
...2010:--5hrs 49min..2011:---5hrs 30min..2013---7 hrs 24min... 2014--- 7 hrs 06min 2015--6hours 43min ...2016---6hours 41min... 2017--7hrs 3min?... 2018-7hrs ... 2020 8hrs 19 ... 2021 8hrs 51
October; Melbourne Marathon 2007; 4hr 10 . 2008 DNF at 23km..
2009 4hrs 11. 2010 4hrs 05min...2011;4hrs 02min...photos
2012; 3hrs 49min 52secs PB!... ..2013; 4.12 2014; 4.08 2015; 4.05... 2016; 4.53
Rottnest Marathon 2004; 4hr 32min ... 2013; 4hr 16min... 2019; 4hr 41min 59secs
August; City to Surf most years since 1997 see HERE for details,photos.
PERTH C2S PB's; 4K;17min 25 (2002) 12K;52min 52 (1997)
21.1K;1.54.20 (2007) 42.2K; 4.00.20 (2015) (2010 video..45secs into it)
Perth City to Surf Marathon finisher 2009,2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019.
June/July;
GOLD COAST; 2012 HALF; 1.44 2013 HALF; 1.47 2014 HALF 1.49
2015 4.11 ..., 2016 4.11..., 2019 4.25
PERTH Marathon(42.2km)
2004; 3hrs55min
2005;--4 hrs 02 min. 2006; 4hrs 18min 2007;4hrs 33
2008; 3hrs 55 2009; 4hrs 41min 2010; 4hrs 30min
2011; 4hrs 12min 2012; 4hrs 6min 2013; 4hrs 19min 2014 4hrs 48min 2018 4hrs 15min
2019; 4hrs 28min
2021 5hrs 44min
May; Ultra TRAIL AUSTRALIA;
2016 50km 9 hours 50min 956th
2017 100km DNF CP4 57km
2018 100km 24hrs 33min 15 913th
2019 100km DNF CP3 46km 2021 CP2 DNF (severe back injury)
April;TWO DECADES of Bridges racing; 1997; 43min 43 1998; 41min 01
1999; 47min 29 2000; 46min 47 2001; (5km) 30min 01 2002; (5km) 22min 48
2003; 42min 40 2004; 48min 50 2005; 44min 40 2006; 48min 07 2007; 49min 16
2008; 50min 42 2009; 49min 54 2010; 48min 39 2011; 52min 55 2012; 47min 02 2013; 54min 45 2014; 48min 47 2015; 49min 53 2016 52min 20
March;6 Foot Track 45km;
2011; 6.53 2013; 6.54 2014; 6.47
2015; 6.14!!! 2016 DNF


As of October 2022; 37 road marathons finished (Perth x14, Melbourne x9,Perth City to Surf x7 Gold Coast x3 Rottnest x3 SunsetCoast x1)
Have also finished 20+ ultra races; 6 inch 47km ultra finished 12 times, six foot 45km ultra 4 times, Ultra Trail Australia ultras 2 times, Truth 50km ultra once within cutoff (and once outside cutoff), Lark Hill 50km ultra, 6hour track race, 24hr track race.
Also completed the Bloated Goat 31km (1500m Vertical gain) 2 times which is similiar effort to a 46km ultra.
DNFs in UTA100km, WTF50miler, WAMC40miler race, Truth 50km, Six foot and 6 inch.
The first 3 DNFs were after covering more than 42km, and with Truth one was a 25km DNF and the first one I finished the full 50km but was 19minutes outside cutoff battling an ankle injury for 36km.
In road marathons 3 DNFs one at 23km in the 2008 Melbourne Marathon due to severe ankle injury in the first 1km, and PC2S @ 30km, also 2022 Perth Marathon at 37km too fat and slow

Most races October 2009-October2020; >
30/10/2020 50th John Gilmour 10,000m track race 58min
20/09/2020 XTR Sunset Coast Marathon (#36) 5.38
30/08/2020 Fat Lamb PTS 20km
02/08/2020 Perth Half Mara 2.04
11/07/2020 Jumbuck PTS 3.39
08/03/2020 Darlington Half Marathon 2.07
01/11/2019 John Gilmour 10,000m Track race 51min
06/10/2019 Perth Marathon 4hrs 28min. #13 see here
01/09/2019 Rotto Biddi 3hrs.09.44
25/08/2019 City 2 Surf Marathon 4hrs 48min
17/08/2019 TW Parkrun 5km 24.29 (5th)
3/08/2019 Truth 50km DNF (at 25km in 4hrs 26min)
28/07/2019 RunMelbourne Halfmarathon 2hr 03min
21/07/2019 Champion Lakes R2R Halfmarathon 1hr 55min (32nd)
7/07/2019 Gold Coast Marathon 4hrs 25min
16/06/2019 Rottnest Marathon 4hrs 42min
18/05/2019 Ultra Trail Australia 100km DNF at 46km (CP3) 8hrs 58min
17/03/2019 Fat Lamb 20km 3hr 29min 49th of 70
02/03/2019 Lark Hill 25km 3hr 54 (Night race forgot headlamp)
24/02/2019 Swissmurdie 2hr 35
09/02/2019 Busselton Half marathon 2.13 (Late start actually 2.05)
20/01/2019 Chi Gong 1hr 58 134th of 158 finishers
16/12/2018 6 inch 47km 7hrs (12th finish)
21/10/2018 Rottnest Half 2hr 03 min
16/09/2018 Fremantle Half 1hr 58min
04/07/2018 Truth 25km 3hrs 11min 55 (PTS)
24/06/2018 Eagle 22km 2hrxx(59min officially, but 43min on my watch as started late)
17/06/2018 Perth Marathon 4hrs 15min
19/05/2018 Ultra-Trail Australia 100km 24hrs 33min 15secs 913th of 964 finishers
218 withdrawals
03/03/2018 Lark Hill 50km
17/12/2017 6 inch 48km 7hrs
06/08/2017 Truth 50km 8hrs 22min 59
16/07/2017 Jolly Jumbuck 21km 2hr 54min (94th of 129)
02/07/2017 King of the Mountain 16km 1hr 41min
20/05/2017 Ultra-Trail AUSTRALIA 100km DNF (at 58km and 10hours 38min)
26/03/2017 Bloated Goat 30km 5hr 18min
18/12/2016 6 inch 48km 6hrs 41min
16/10/2016 Melbourne Marathon 4hours 53min
25/09/2016 WTF 50 miler DNF at 55km
14/08/2016 Truth 50km DNF at 25km
3/07/2016 Gold Coast Marathon 4.11
14/05/2016 Ultra Trail Australia 50km 9 hours 50min
3/4/2016 My 20th consecutive Bridges fun run 10km 52.20 (hammy strain)
12/3/2016 Six Foot Track DNF at 30km 5 hours.
---------------------- 20/12/2015 6 inch 47km 6 hours 43min
15/11/15 Bloated Goat 30km Trails race (1600m Vert) 5hrs 43min
18/10/15 Melbourne Marathon 4.05
13/09/15 Fremantle 10km 47min 22
30/08/15 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4 hours 00min 20 secs.
05/07/15 GCM 4.11
24/05/15 R4R Half Marathon 1hr 46min 13secs
12/04/15 Bridges 10km 49min 53secs.
04/04/15 Perth Trail Series Truth & Consequences 50km ULTRA 8hours 49min
14/03/15 Six Foot Track 45km 6hrs 14min 11secs Smashing PB!!! (32min)
21/12/14 6 inch Trail 47km 7hrs 06min 30secs
12/10/14 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 8min (8th fastest marathon in 25 finished)
14/09/14 Fremantle 10km 49min 26 (first K 3.47 5k split 23.02)
31/08/14 Perth City to Surf 42.2k 4hrs 34min
06/07/14 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.49
15/06/14 Perth Marathon 4.48
01/06/14 Elleker Half Marathon 1.59.
21/04/14 40 miler DNF (28miles)
06/04/14 18th Bridges 10km 48min 47secs...since 1997
08/03/14 6 Foot Track 45km 6hrs 47min 02. (824th) A PB!!! :-)
09/02/14 Snakes and Ladders 15km 2.05
15/12/13 6 inch Trail Ultra 7.24
27/10/13 Rottnest Marathon 4.16.41
13/10/13 Melbourne Marathon 4.12.55
25/08/13 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4.13.28
11/08/13 Perth Half Marathon 1.54.05
28/07/13 Fremantle 10km 50.06 (very sick but first 1k in 3.55)
07/07/13 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.47.29

16/06/13 Perth Marathon 4hrs 19min 55secs
My 10th consecutive Perth Marathon...Click to see -> how I became a SPARTAN...

19/05/13 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 58min 26secs 310th of 495.
07/04/13 Bridges 10km 54min 45seconds.
09/03/13 6 Foot Track 45km 6 hours 54 minutes 20 seconds. 740th of 804...blog post or ...photos! page.

24/02/13 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 37min 04 Placed 79th of 117 finishers.
09/02/13 Busselton Half Marathon 1hr 51min 58 secs 219th. full Busso results here
02/11/12 John Gilmour 10k track 47.17 ..see here
14/10/12 Melbourne Marathon 3hrs 49min 52secs ..(777.)
16/09/12 Fremantle 10km 47min 16
26/08/12 City to Surf Marathon 4hrs 42min 41 secs
15/07/12 Lake Joondalup 10km 47min 30.
01/07/12 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1hr 44min 49 secs. 1668th of 9035 finishers

17/06/12 Perth Marathon 4hrs 6min .. (post and photos here)
20/05/12 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 47min 01secs. (151st of 313 finishers)
15/05/12 Masters 5000m 21min 58secs
13/05/12 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 46min 45 secs. (76th of 240 finishers)
22/04/12 PTS Ellis Brook 21.8km trails race 3hrs 12min 28secs. 39th.
01/04/12 Bridges 10km 47min 02
25/03/12 17.3km (690m ascent) Swissmurdie trails race 2hrs 19min 17secs 54th of 60.
20/03/12 MastersWA 1500m in 5.56, 100m in 14.3, 400m in 76.4, 5000m in 23.33.
26/02/12 WAMC Swan Twilight 5km 24.32
26/02/12 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 44min 08 secs 70th of 102.
04/02/12 Busselton Half Marathon in 1hr 49min 31 secs.
18/12/11 6 inch 46km 5hrs 30min PB!
09/10/11 Melbourne Marathon in 4hours 02minutes 49secs...photos...

12/09/11 Fremantle 10km in 45minutes 50 secs.
7/8/11 Perth Half Marathon in 1hr 47min 46 secs.
17/7/11 Lake Joondalup 10km in 46min 33secs.
19/6/11 Perth Marathon in 4 hours 12min 54secs (351st of 547.)
12/6/11 Lake Monger 10km in 48min 09secs
22/5/11 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 51min 44secs 109th of 261 finishers
10/4/11 Bridges 10km 52min 55
12/3/11 6 foot 45km in 6hrs 53min 07 secs...819th...of 877...33 DNF's...4 outside 7hr cutoffRace Report and race photosPre & post race photos,initial ELATION
Note; Completing 6 foot is a major goal achieved which I have had in mind since 2005!!!!!!!

4/3/11 3000m in 12min 40 (19th of 19 finishers)Momentum building a little,sub 13 done! :-)
18/2/11 5000m in 23min 31 (20th of 20 finishers...4 DNF's)..results
5/2/2011 21.1km Busselton Half in 1hr 51min 41 secs for 124th of 218 finishers.
19/12/10 46km 6 inch trails race in 5hr 49min (63rd of 79 finishers)
10/12/10 5000m in 22.43 18th of 18!
5/11/10 John Gilmour 10,000m in 47min 36. (23rd of 31)
10/10/10 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 5min...2895th of 5027 finishers...
12/9/10 Fremantle 10km in 46min 53...a big SB and my best time since 2005!
29/8/10; 42.2km in 4hrs 15min for 537th of 830 finishers...my 6th best of 12 M. finishes.
19/8/10; 5000m in 22min 06.0 secs (SB by 0.6 of a second, & Stan did a SB also that night)
22/7/10; 5000m in 22min 06.6 secs. (SB and 17secs off my track PB)
20/6/10 Perth Marathon in 4.30.
13/5/10; Masters 2000m 7.55 (first sub 8min run since 2005) & 5,000m 22.42
22/4/10; Masters 800m 2.46 & 5,000m 22.29!~(2nd best ever track 5,000m, track PB is 21.49,)
3/4/10; Australian Masters 35-39yrs; 4th in 1500m 5min 34secs. see here...
28/3/10; Bridges 10km in 48min 39secs. 388th of 1646
25/3/10; 300m in 47.6, 600m in 1.57.0 100m in 14.6
18/3/10; Masters 1500m in 6.03 & 10,000m in 49min 35
28/2/10; 4th place in 6 hour Track Race at Coker Park; 45.003km
6/2/10; Busselton 21.1km in 1hr 52min 50 secs
20/12/09;6 inch 46km 6hrs 16min
15/11/09; Peninsula 5km 22min 5225th of 73.
6/11/09; John Gilmour 10km 48min 39
11/10/09; Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 11 min 33 secs
4/10/09; Freo funrun 5km in 22min 53 secs
... ...
2011; 5hrs 30min 6 inchPB!! 2012; 3hrs 49min PB(Melbourne Marathon)!!2014; 6hrs 47min PB! @ 6 foot!

The next big things racing wise maybe;


6 inch 47km
on 20th December @ 0430hrs, countdown (activated a few days before?) is;


Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter K into the world May 2015 A.D.!

Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter J into the world June 2010 A.D.!
Kathryn and I welcomed our son J into the world in late July 2007 A.D.!
Our challenge is to be good parents with the Creator Gods help!



... 2004 ...2005 ...2006 ...2007... >...2008...2009...2010 ...2011... 2012.

but for the most important thing in life;
there is only 2 ways to live!...Bible Gateway...

Saturday, August 30, 2008

City to Surf HALF M week 6

Sunday 31st August 2008 AD AM;
Ran City to Surf Half Marathon in gun time 1.55.30 (net time 1.54.48),

HR 174 at end. Average pace was 5min 26 per km...

895th? of about 1400.
7km; 36.03
14km 73.13 (37.10 7km split)
21.1km 1.55.30 (42.18 7.1km split)

2008; 6km 31.01? 12km 63.25 18km; 98min 18
(2007; 6km 30.03, 12km 63.05 18km 97.15 )
...1.54.48 in 2008, 1.54.20 in 2007...

Official champion chip results @ HERE

PHOTOS coming soon via FUSE PHOTOGRAPHY...

My webpage about my City to Surf running (and racewalking) since 1997 is HERE, includes lots of photos, and shows my 12k PB of 52min has stood for way too long.

My messy 1k splits as best as I can remember from my wristwatch;

5.30 (4.48 actually, because it took 42 seconds to cross start line,and includes Malcolm st hill)

4.51, 5.15 x2 (didnt see 3k marker),5.32,=26.23 first 5km.

4.38?(downhill in kings park with John,Mike?...),5.02,5.13,6.32,(talking to Jane and others,dropping GU,drinking my powerade,trying to digest it)5.52
=53.40 first 10km.
4.50,4.55,4.54 x2 (missed 13k marker)=14k 73.13...

then missed 15k,17k,19k,20k,21k markers, so;

roughly 6.11's,6.30s (stopped to have GU, caught by 12k runners),
5.30's-5.00's partly with Hunna in the last 3km to finish...
So I was comfortably able to hold around 4.50-5.30 pace for some of the race, but had some 5.30-6.30 rubbish after a slow start for a bout at least a third of the race...

Cranked up Grave Forsaken on the way to the race, but forgot bodyglide, although it didn't seem to matter...
Got there early and decided to run around to stay warm, but got too far away from the start with a minute to go...

First 10km was 53.40 which is very slow..., I was just too lacking in sleep and not up for a good time today, turned out to be quite hard to organise things so Kathryn could come too, but I felt it was more important today that we all got to enjoy the City to Surf experience as a family than I did a really good time, but still got in a great long run for my Melbourne plans so a successful run in the grand plan scheme of things...

Ran slowly for 30min before start to stay warm and jogged back to Perry Lakes (35min) afterwards so I could walk the 4km with Kathryn and Jacob. So did about 3 hours of pretty much continous running, so a good long run in the end...

Lost interest/motivation in attacking my time once I knew I wasn't up for a PB today, from about 15km onwards, but ran well with a friend in the last 1-2km, and I think we enjoyed pushing each other a bit through that section, which allowed me to get well! under 2 hours and finish just 28 seconds adrift of last years 1.54.20 which was nice. Always good when you can run with a legendary runner of similiar pace.

Official time of 1.54.48 quite a bit quicker than the 1.55.30 on my wristwatch which shows I wasted 42 seconds stuck in the crowd at the start trying to get across the startline after the gun went... I didn't finish all that stroungly and just cruised in tried to keep heart rate from ballooning today, so probably ran most of race at heart rates of about 160-170's which is a bit slack on my part...Saw a few cool running hats, including a guy with a nick of "Vurt"...

Was great to catch up with many people I know briefly especially from the Hills group, and my wife Kathryn with 1 year old Jacob in pram did their first ever City to Surf, plus caught up with uncle and aunty after the race, so a successful (and challenging day logistically) day! Coming off about 4 hours sleep, but really had a lot of fun, and enjoyed the day even though the time is pretty pathetic, a worthwhile training run for Melbourne. Very proud of Kathryn for making the effort to get to the start line which was a challenge for her and Jacob...So nice to have her there on the day, plus the time with Uncle and Aunty after the race was really wonderful too...Jacob got to walk some of the City to Surf on oceanic Drive, and he was very good the whole way...:-)

More than 37,000 in it today am very glad I did the Half Marathon! Heard Cathy Freeman talking before the race. Saw Phil B, Macca,Terry,John,Mike,Jane,Gary, Hunna,Pete and Anna?,Dave,the Swiss bloke and others so good to catch up with a few legends of running like that! A good days running at about 180 minutes, plus more than an hours walking with Kathryn.

Saturday 30th August 2008 AD AM;
Ran 2km in 8min 19.66 on Hull Park Course Heart rate; only 171!
(4min 09secs per km)
Vistula St splits 1.13/1.32 (6.47)
Small St splits 2.31/2.47 (5.32)
Hull Park bit; 3.01...
Its a PB again on that course YAY! :-) and I think if I keep improving the fitness,
I should be getting into the 7min zone for 2km again, which is something I havent done for a few years...

The most pleasing indicator though was my heart rate at the end of this short wake-up in the morning run, which at 171 was quite low, and is a sure sign I am ready to go for a good run in my second City to Surf Half Marathon (21.1km) tomorrow. Might even give the 1.41 PB a bit of a battering maybe, although the 3 hills and my lack of speedwork (reps etc), plus a lingering flu sickness I have almost shaken out of my system now, might just stop me but we shall see, looking forward to it. Its more a training run for Melbourne in October, so don't really care what the time is as long as its under 2 hours, but the faster the better ! My wife Kathryn and I got our racepacks last night, she is doing the 4km walk with Jacob in the pram, which wil be her and Jacobs first City to Surf! Ive been car reading again this week, so body should be pretty fresh and ready to go this weekend, back to walk reading next week...

MELBOURNE 42k (12/10/08) ASSAULT;
WEEK 6 (25/08/08-31/08/08);

Volume; 188min + NIL MR work (car reading) Sessions;2
Best RHR; 52bpm Sleep; 39.5hrs (5.64hrs per night) *37

OD/LSD; Yes 3 hour long run by adding an extra hour (warmup and warm down) of slow running to City2Surf Half.
Races/Time trials/LFD; Yes 2km-8.19 (4min.09secs perKm),
21.1km (C2S)-1hr 55 (5min.28secs perKm)
Reps sessions;NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-Yes achieved
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-Yes, just.
3-Abs done?- Nope...
4-cycling done-Nope...
5-swim done?-Nope...
Comments;Well I am keeping "my hat in the ring","foot in the door" of a good Melbourne Marathon, with two good key sessions this week. While I am pretty disappointed with my pathetic City to Surf half marathon time of 1.55, I just wasn't dealing with the hills, and wasnt able to go anywhere near the PB...If I had worked harder a 1.48 or 1.49 might have been possible but I just couldn't be bothered busting my gut for that this time round. If I had been able to get through 10km in under 48 minutes like in the Perth Marathon this year I would have had a go at the PB, and gone for broke, hopefully can have a serious go in the Freo Half or perhaps even the Sydney Half...we shall see. Enjoyed my running though, and thats " one small step" again for my Melbourne Marathon plans. Still feel the need to ramp things up a lot, maybe next week??? Although the state election is going to make things busy...Need to get more sleep this week, the last two weeks have not got enough...Looking forward to trying to step things up as September Spring is sprung tomorrow...

Friday, August 22, 2008

Here we go here we go here we go wk 5

So once again I feel like the blokes in that old Mitsubishi Canter advert trying to get to a footy game in a car that starts to rev, and then doesnt start...like my training plans false starting as usual the familiar feeling of starting to rev up, "here we go!!! , here we go!!,here we go!!,herrre we goooo", maybe starting to get somewhere?????? So will my training plans "engine" accelerate from here or will it stutter along and cut out, fail to really get going, we shall see, but as I said to one of my mates the other week, "a runless day is a bad day", so if I can eliminate as many of them as possible (a swim,ride, etc is good though), I will improve...

Friday 22nd August 2008AD AM;
Ran 6km in 28min 06secs on Hull Park course. (4min 41 per K)
Heart Rate at end-177 Splits; 8.53/9.37/9.36

Did a PB for Hull Park course by exactly 1 minute.
Previous best of 29min 06 on Thursday 7th August see HERE, splits then were;
9.35/9.33/9.58, so compared to;
8.53/9.37/9.36 (todays splits)
I started a lot faster, held on much better in the last 2km (probably not having tracksuit pants on helped, although I did sweat lots as I persisted with beanie and jumper today), and the most pleasing aspect is that my heart rate was marginally better, so I think I am slowly improving, despite still being unwell this week, I am maybe almost back to 100% health now...

Injury report; I badly lacerated and bruised my left ankle earlier this week (tripped over my 1 year old Jacobs playpen trying to hurdle it quite fast, on Tuesday night in a similiar way to that Swedish runner Susanna Kallur did in the 100m hurdles heat at the Olympics this week), so this run was also a bit of a test to see how that would go running at a decent speed, (after doing a test jog while walking to the shops with my wife Kathryn Wednesday night) and although my ankle is still a bit sore, it wasn't a problem really although left knee was doing its usual occasional ache thing at times today but thats always hanging around...

Work asked me to be a "car reader" for two weeks, cos someone was going on leave for two weeks (turns out he ran Melbourne Marathon last year also, which I found out while he was training me on Tuesday) so been adjusting to that new temporary role this week, and zipping around in company car all week instead of my normal walk reader role, its been fun trying to get the reads that walk readers cant get due to dogs, buried,hidden meters etc,...nice to do something different...but I'll be happy to get back to walk reading again...

So a good run to kick off my week 5 campaign...

MELBOURNE 42k (12/10/08) ASSAULT;
WEEK 3 (18/08/08-24/08/08);

Volume; 28min + 5hrs MR work. Sessions;1 +MR
Best RHR; 47bpm Sleep; 37.5hrs (5.35hrs per night) *26

OD/LSD; NIL (too busy worked all 7 days this week (all day shifts, just couldnt find a long slot of time and lacking in sleep, but organised flights for Melbourne Marathon trip)
Races/Time trials/LFD; maybe 6km 28min 06.
Reps sessions;NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-NO failed...
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-well halfway there did one solid run.
3-Abs done?- Nope...
4-cycling done-Nope...
5-swim done?-Nope...
Comments;Looks like the motor didnt start this week, maybe next week, although the 6k was a good run, and am primed to go, if I can just get out there...Been learning new car reader work (short term 2 week fill in for someone on leave) and that has been a hassle...plus day shift at callcentre saturday and sunday, and organised flights for Melbourne Marathon trip...

Plus watching a lot of the Olympics on tv!!! One of the many highlights for me was seeing Jarad Tallent take the silver medal in 3hrs 39 in the 50km walk! Wonder if he will racewalk the Melbourne Marathon in sub 3.30 this year???? Inspiring stuff!, Then there was sally McLellan,Steve Hooker, Tallents bronze medal in the 20km walk, the Mens and Womens Marathons, and Jane Saville, Claire Woods in the 20km walk, the mens 10,000m was a great race, the steeples also interesting, with an Australian in the 3k steeple final! Emma Snowsill winning the womens triathlon, and the other Emma also medalling, the list goes on and on...I love watching the Olympics!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

An old friend: Brooking Rd 27km week 4

Saturday 16th August 2008 AD;
Ran 27.5km in 2 hours 46min 29 seconds (6min 03 per km) HR 144.
15 minutes faster than what I did in January this year!!!, and at similiar intensity...so effectively a PB on that course...


Early on I was thinking of going on the ZigZag course with the terrific trio Terry,Graham, young Phil, + others, and almost did, but then decided the Brooking rd course might be of more use to my Melbourne plans...

Ran with some A-teamish runners for the first 80 minutes or so, they stopped twice to let me catch up which was nice of them. Found the pace a bit hot at around 5min per km or maybe a bit faster, but hung in as best as I could had a good chat with Mike the Mechanic early on (3 hr 24 in Perth a few weeks ago) and then DJC (sub 3 hr marathoner doing Boston Marathon next year). Got to Pechey rd in 49min despite taking a toilet break, so I reckon we must have been doing about 4.30-4.45's per km...

Beautiful views as usual, kangaroos, birds, and the waterfalls flowing, reminded me of the times my wife Kathryn and I used to hike along this section a few years ago...
Hovea falls was going well, and as I saw the Eagle view trail markers, I was reminded of the group going there today...Hung in there with the other 6-7 runners until not long before the Falls rd turn off...

Then I had good old Brooking Rd hill to myself (hills are your friend), I reached the bottom in 1 hr 39min. I got to the top of Brooking Rd in 2hrs 2 minutes, so it took me 23 minutes to get up (and partly down to cross Great Eastern Hwy) the thing!
Just like old days, but I didnt walk any of it. Then I was a bit confused which way to go and had my 4th and last 5 minute break for the day (so I actually ran walked for 2hrs 26min if you take out the breaks which I leave my stopwatch running for, in 3which case my average running speed would be 5min 19 per km despite the tough long Brooking Rd hill) and drank most of my second powerade, before deciding to take a guess on Strelitza Rd and followed that all the way to a road I later found out was Bailey Rd, just heading in the general direction of where I thought the Darlington bound trail was, when I got there in 2hrs 23 min and the sign said 3.9km to go I was pleasantly surprised, and got going stronger again, especially when one of the other runners getting an extra 4km in passed me, my last 4km taking 23 minutes, so hitting sub 6min per km again...

Excellent run very happy with it, and hopefully it will help me shake the flu I have been plagued with this week, I had a lot of mucous still in my system this morning...
Finally got one of the big guns out of the Training arsenal, and put it to use... YAY!

MELBOURNE 42k (12/10/08) ASSAULT;
WEEK 4 (11/08/08-17/08/08);

Volume; 166min + 23hrs MR work. Sessions;1 +MR
Best RHR; 49bpm Sleep; 40.5hrs (5.75hrs per night) *13

OD/LSD; 27.5km 2hrs 46min (LFDish in the first 90 minutes)
Races/Time trials/LFD;NIL
Reps sessions;Nil.

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-YES,
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-No
3-Abs done?-Yes.
4-cycling done-No
5-swim done?-No
Comments;Still trying to get over the flu, get rid of the congestion in my nose, until that happens I cant attack training properly. Just have to wait it out, hopefully be able to go hard at it in a few days time...Great to nail a tough! and very important long run, the tough Brooking hill course combined with fastish early pace, my first decent long run since Perth Marathon on the back of that mediocre 18k last week, means thats one crucial Melbourne Marathon prep session done, just need about 10-20 more if I am to seriously give that sub 3.25 goal a shake. In a good position to attack if I can just avoid anymore illness and develop some good daily routines in the next few weeks...

Olympics is inspiring, the usual Australian swimmers, Hackett just failing to get his 3rd gold in 3 olympics in the 1500m freestyle, despite holding the world record from the heats, same as Eamon Sullivan did, Opals beating Russia in the Womens basketball, as did the Boomers,

but Especially enjoyed seeing the surprise bronze medal from Jarrad Tallent (who I had a chat with in last years melbourne marathon which he was racewalking in about 3 hours something...) in the 20km walk yesterday, and the 38 year old Romanian woman winning the womens marathon today, with Kenyan Catherine Ndereba getting the silver from a chinese woman....With 3 victorian women from australia Benita,Kate and Lisa all doing really well for Australia, but no top ten finish, although not expected...Moneghetti's commentary was great, and some interesting info about the origin of the blue line on the road, it was made by an old president of the victorian racewalkers club for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics...

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Gotta Step on it Week 3

My blog title inspired by an old Jet Circus song from a cassette tape I found a few weeks ago which was a favourite Swedish band I liked about 1991/1992 ish...Just found out they are on myspace by googling them, and have done a few more albums how cool is that! :-)...
Step on it, you gotta step on it...Oh Yeah I'm pretty stoked with the Freo demolition of the eagles on the weekend too, very appropriate that Macca (Sean McManus), could finish his incredible career with an excellent derby win!!!

Sunday 10/8/08 AM;
Ran (and walked for a couple of minutes in a couple of places) approximately 18km, in 2 hours 4min 33 secs...(about 6min 55 per km) Heart rate at end 132 beats per minute.

Since Saturday at least I have started to develop a cold/flu or something, so my horror run with illness is persisting for a bit longer. So I didn't feel like doing anything today, and reps was not an option they way I am feeling. Resting heart rate was sky high at 58 today, another indicator I am not well, but I know for sure anyway cos I feel weak,sick,and have a runny nose, big sneezing all happening...

Keen to get a long run on the board though, so I decided to do an OD (overdistance), or low intensity style long run and aim to keep going for 2 hours, and not worry about pace at all. Been wanting to explore my Victoria Rd (Reid Hwy) course as I havent run that way for a long time, so decided to head out that way, but now there is a little creek where I used to go, so had to detour a bit, as I wasn't into running through that today...

However I found a couple of new ways onto Victoria Rd, and soon I was running dow this limestone track with the beautiful views of Darling Range, on the way back. The solitude (serenity? :-) *LOL*) of this dead straight section was awesome.
Really enjoy running that track, even though its only about 1.5km you feel like you have left surburbia and are in the bush... I enjoyed it so much that once I got back home to the end of the first 6.5km in 41min flat,(6min 18 per km), I grabbed my powerade and gatorade, and decided to head up the hill to find a shortcut back onto Victoria Rd, to run the same section again instead of going on my "tour of local parks" course...

Then I decided to try and run to Lightning Park,(a new footy oval in the last few months) as I have never run that way before and I was keen to see what this fairly new recreational facility is like...Ended up trying to go along Reid Hwy and a ridge next to the Hwy, but that felt very Snake-ish/swampy, and wasn't really any great tracks to run on, ended up walking some of it. Crossed Tonkin Hwy and jumped the fence into Lightning Park, ran around the footy ovals (some kids were playing a game there), then decided to try going over Tonkin Hwy on the overpass, then had to find my way through residential streets back to Reid Hwy, and my last chance to run the glorious Victoria Rd section one more time, into gusty stiff easterly winds, but more than made up for by the awesome views of the Darling Range, and the "out there" feeling...Getting close to home I realised I was going to finish under 2 hours, so I went and did a lap of Ottawa Park to make sure I ran for over 2 hours...My first long run since the Perth Marathon in July....

So achieved my objective of a 2 hour long run this weekend, despite being a bit sick...Hopefully next weekend can nail a 3 hour run or something like that, i.e. 27km-35km will be the plan, as I can hopefully start to get serious about the charge towards Melbourne...

Friday 8/8/08 PM;
Ran 8km in 39min 47secs. Heart rate 177. 4min 58 per km.
Solid but a bit more relaxed than last night, although I pushed hard in the last few km to try and get under 5min per km.
Did "tour of local parks" course + 2 laps of Ottawa Park (to get extra 1250m to get it up to 8km)...
It was dark and this course is poorly lit compared to my Hull Park course so was taking it easy early on to avoid doing an ankle on honky nuts or anything else I might not see in the dark..might have to dig out my headlamp and get some batteries for it, if I keep doing these night runs...ditched the trackie pants this time, which worked well... So thats two good runs in 2 days, hopefully can go after something a bit more significant in the next 2 days...

Thursday 7th August PM;
Ran 6km in 29min 06 HR-183 at end. (4min 42 per km.)
3 laps of Hull Park course, 2km splits 9.35/9.33/9.58...

7.30pm start; beanie,trackies, longsleeve top over tshirt, cos it was a little chilly at start (About 12 degrees according to HERE+ a bit lower due to windchill...) but by the second lap I was sweating like a torrential downpour, had the beanie off, and the long sleeves rolled up, and wishing I hadnt put tracksuit pants on...Pretty good run, and a massive 4 min PB! under the 33min I did on 29th March 2006, the only other time I have done 3 laps of this course...
4min 42 per k equates to about 3.18 marathon pace, so I got a long way to go, but a still a pretty decent run, I am pretty happy with!

I went through the special Olympics TV guide today and found the times of all the Beijing Olympics Athletics events I want to watch and wrote them in my diary, they include, 20km walk (mens and womens)Luke Adams,Jarrad Tallent,Chris Erickson (I stayed at his place when I went over to do the Australian 50km walk world cup trial in 1998) 4-time Olympian! Jane Saville (who has a blog! I found out today, how cool is she!, when I was doing Australian championships for Racewalking 1989-1993,1998-2000, I would see her winning most of the Womens events, although a girl who went to my school Willetton SHS after moving over from England,(Chelsea Groves) almost beat Jane in the 1989 U/17 girls 5km road walk at Adelaide Grand Prix circuit, I raced in the Australian U/17 boys 5km road walk that day also...)

Oh yes I digress, other events; 50km walk Jarrad Tallent (I had a chat with him in the 2007 Melbourne Marathon),Adam Rutter and no Nathan Deakes DUH! Duh! DUH!!!!!
Jarrad should go pretty well, but Deakes was a definite gold medal favourite after breaking the world record in Geelong (at 4.19 per km his 50km walk record equates to about a 3.01 marathon!) a , bronze medalling (same as Jane Saville in Athens), and becoming the world champion in Osaka last year, but he has torn a hamstring tendon from his pelvis!, and is out for the season!

According to the Tv guide I got on the weekend the program for the racewalking events is as follows;

Saturday 16th August 9AM Mens 20km walk;
Luke Adams (medals chance),
Chris Erickson (top ten chance),
Jarrad Tallent (top ten chance).

Thursday 21st August 9AM Womens 20km walk;
Jane Saville --her 4th Olympics and the bronze medallist in Athens 2004, medals chance You can wish Jane all the best in Beijing from her website @ http://www.janesaville.com/
via jane@janesaville.com
also
Kellie Wapshott,
Claire Woods.

Friday 22nd August 3.30PM; Mens 50km walk;
Jarrad Tallent (medals chance),
Adam Rutter.

Sarah Jamieson Australian record holder in the 1500m (was on state teams with me in the early 1990's and I heard her speak plus I got her autograph at Kelly Exeters New York Marathon fundraising breakfast last year) is another medal hope, especially now some of the Russians are out for drug test switching... Lee Troop in Marathon should be interesting, Womens Marathon, Craig Mottram a medal chance in 5000m for sure!
Plus Kylie Wheeler in the Heptathlon (she was prominent in the University of Western Australia (UWA) Athletics Club when I was there...and is one of the nicest athletes I have ever met)...


MELBOURNE 42k (12/10/08) ASSAULT;
WEEK 3 (04/08/08-10/08/08);

Volume; 195min + 14hrs MR work. Sessions; 3 +MR
Best RHR; 51bpm Sleep; 40.75hrs (5.82hrs per night) *

OD/LSD; 18km run (2 hours 4min)
Races/Time trials/LFD; maybe 6km 29min 06.
Reps sessions;Nil.

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-YES, achieved just.
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-No
3-Abs done?-
4-cycling done-No
5-swim done?-No
Comments;Not a great week at only 32km of running, or 195minutes for the week, but not a nothing week either, so am stuttering into gear, just have to stop getting sick, free up some time, and can hopefully build on the small training momentum I was able to put in place this week. Am moderately pleased with the 29min 6km run, and getting a 2 hour long run done. The 8km run in 39min 47 was satisfactory, but a bit on the slow side...Hopefully the Beijing Olympics will be inspiring!