Racing towards my 9th Perth 21.58 and 1.46

In April and May I raced 2 half marathons (Bunbury 1.46 and Joondalup 1.47), a 5000m track race in 21.58 and a wonderful 3hrs of trails paradise in one of the extra PTS winter races at Ellis brook. The Ellis Brook one I raced it for the first 10km and after that it became a tough training run/walk, partly due to a hard intervals session the night before, and also the tough terrain, plus my lack of good long runs not helping either. 

Below; Finishing the Bunbury Half Marathon

Full details as follows;

20/05/12 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 47.01.
Race report and thoughts;
Inaugural Joondalup Half Marathon (21.1.km) 1hr 46min 59 secs by my wristwatch.
5km splits 23.28, 25.09, 25.31 27.22. Last 1.1km 5.29.
My original plan a few months ago was to nail a PB by today and be under 1.35 by today. As usual my expectations and plans were not followed up with the required actions, and if you don't put in the hard yards you cannot expect big improvement.
The run at Bunbury last week in 1.46.41 with several minutes wasted had me thinking that if I tweaked a few things with my drinks setup AND put in a few hard sessions this week I might be able to sneak out a small PB today still, maybe even go sub 1.40. My 5km in 21.58 on Tuesday night also gave me expectations that might be possible. However the next few days I simply got too busy with work with the 12-13 hours on the road on Friday and a high pressure day on Thursday, meaning that the week just got  away from me, and once again I failed to get any sessions done.
So coming into it today I was intent on trying to get some sub 5min per K action going and then trying to hold onto 5min flat per K with the hope I might be able to salvage a sub 1.45 or maybe somehow get near my 1.41 PB. Also brought my wife and two toddlers along to this one so we could all go to Whiteman Park afterwards and try and see some of the airshow (gave up on that when we saw the traffic), and in that regard I think it was a successful family outing although a challenging exercise, I think its a rewarding one.
I was rushed at the start and got a bad starting pozzie. The limestone path section for the first 4km was hard although fairly flat, and I ran it ok and got clear of the main crowd well...Andre, Jen and Matt caught me just before 5km, and finally a marker gave me my first definite indication of how I was going a 23.28 5km. I was making heavy weather of it though, the legs were heavy, and I wasn't feeling very confident. Had a good chat with Matt, and I guessed that if I wanted the PB I would have to stay with Jen, Matt and Andre, so tried to hang in there which I was able to for 2km or so...But then they started to pull away from me and when we hit a long concrete path section after Leapfrogs I lost visual of them and lost momentum. Then we got that nice fast bitumen path section on the Wanneroo side which I remembered well from running and racewalking there half a decade or longer ago...Another bonus was there was 500m markers on this bitumen path which were very handy and finally i could tell I was holding about 5min-5.10 per K consistently. 10km marker gave me 48.37 and I knew I was holding onto a similiar pace as I did at Bunbury last week. However I seemed to be incapable of getting under 4.45, in fact getting under 5min per K seemd very hard. At Bunbury last week I was able to find a spark when I wanted it, but not today. New drinks setup seemed to work ok, and I got  boost from the gel @ about 75min into it, just after the 15km mark. Was pretty pleased to hit 15km in under 75min, and figured about a 1.45-1.48 was likely. I wasted about 1 minute trying to make the most of nthe gel (still learning how to use them quickly....), but much better than the 5 minutes I threw away last weekend. Going past the southern end of the lake I was able to find some momentum and attack well. Then  we had the confusing 10k markers but I worked that one out. My 20k split of 1.41.30 was disappointing and I knew I was shooting for 1.46/1.47 Passed a few people and found a strong finish even on the last uphill section.
Overall a good run, but its frustrating not to have better progress.
Just have to try again next week.  Need at least one big long run before hopefully my 9th Perth, and at the moment I am underdone, but have plenty of time to try and turn it around and at least I have hit 1 of my key sessions in the last 3-4 weeks, thats  my 16k-21.1km runs around that 5min flat per K mark 3-4 weeks in a row, hopefully can build on that towards some PB challenging results in the coming months.
15/05/12 Masters 5000m 21min 58secs.
Ran 5000m track race in 21.58. Heart rate 183 afterwards partly due to a strong finish (last 200m in 38 seconds) and really sprinted hard for the line in the last 100m, In a desperate and successful attempt to sneak under 22 minutes.
1km splits 3.55/ 4.33/ 4.26/ 4.50/ 4.14.
Started very slow but by the front straight I could see K running wide in the lead so couldn't resist the urge to run up the inside, and we hit the 200m mark in about 39 seconds. However I knew that was just giving me lots of lactic acid so I tried to settle down and the next 400m was 92 seconds, still a bit faster than the 100 to 110 seconds target zone I wanted to work in, but it was nice to be through the first 1km in well under 4 minutes. The next K was a bit of a float , but 4.33 is still solid and I was pleased that I bounced back with a 4.26 after that as I was finding about 1.45's on most laps. Through 2km in 8.28 and 3km in 12.54. Had to be pretty focused to stay under my rough targets of 8.30 and 13minutes. This section was ok but nothing incredible. The 4th K was hard, and I was just trying to hang on to sub 5 min per K as I got lapped and started lapping some of the slower runners. In the last K I started to find some 1.45ish lap times again.   Working hard, and going ok. Got the bell and with 200m to go (4800m) my watch was 21.20 which was what I was hoping for. At this stage for a few laps I was guessing that about 22.20's shold be possible...Went hard for the finish and made good on the mini-breakthrough race, and just managed to sneak under the 22 minutes with a big sprint. Mission accomplished and only 9 seconds slower than my track PB of 21:49, although I remember rrunning 19:32in a 10k race in 1998. My fastest 5k since about 2004/2005 Glad I got there, and had the guts to persist...


13/05/12 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 46min 45 secs. (76th of 240 finishers)

Below; early on about 1km into the Bunbury Half Marathon.

Bunbury race report; Ran the Bunbury Half in 1.46.45. RHR 180 due to a fairly strong finish to make sure I got under 1.47 and less importantly to beat some of the runners I had run with a lot for the las 6-7km. Started well but tried to be a little conservative and didn't go to the front, although I was on the back of the front bunch. Was holding around 4.30-4.45 per km and the KM markers basically were telling us how many K left to go so for example I got to 5.1km in 23.29, 7.1km in 33.12 10.1km in 48.39. Took a big drink at about 12km, and had a big toilet stop soon after which cost me 2 minutes. The first 12.1km was 55min 35, so solid pace well under 5 min per K and I knew I was on target to beat the 1.49 from Busselton earlier this year on a much easier course. Figured I probably wouldn't be able to PB given my less than ideal training in recent weeks and the fact the rolling concrete hills section was next, which I could not get any rhythm on...Pre-race I had set 7km goals of 33minutes 15 (4.45 per K) as a Target B (to beat my seasons best of 1.49) and 29min 45 (4.30 per K) as Target A (to be a chance of attacking the PB) in my favourite part of this course. Didn't hit target A but my 33.12 (with an extra 100m) is well under the 33.15, so Seasons Best was the aim, just needed to hold onto sub 5.30's in the second half and I should be around the 1.49 ballpark. After I got through the rolling sand hills on concrete paths, I started to find some momentum again on the nice flat section out towards the port, although the speed humps were a little annoying. The section through the cafes is fun, even given the concrete...and after a 4.58 K I was finding good momentum again. Through the cafes saw Kellie doing her duties as lead cyclist with Roberto in hot pursuit (he won in 71min), I got quite motivated through this bit, and was surprised to hit a 4.45 Km which showed some middle race strength I have not seen a heap of in the past. Backed off a little after that, and held about 5.00-5.10 per K for a couple of K's and I got over the long wooden bridge feeling good, and guessing a 1.45-1.47 was a realistic target. Unfortunately my habit of throwing water on my face to keep body temperature down had made my paper number (it was nice to have our first name on them in this race it reminded me of the good times at 6 foot, 6 inch, and Perth Trail series) very wet and the safety pins had ripped through the paper and my race number was falling off. I was due to have a gel anyway to give me a boost for the last few km, so I spent 3 minutes walking along trying to fix up my number so it wouldn't fall off my shirt in the last 6 km or so...The gel went down well and I finished the last of the 750ml water bottle I had carried with me for about 6km...So lost a few minutes here which cost me a sub 1.45 in the end...At 17.1km my wristwatch said 1.27.20 so I knew I needed to run the last 4km in about 20 minutes (5 minutes per K) to get a 1.47. Based on how good I was feeling today I knew that was realistic if I pushed strong to the finish. Lined up a few runners ahead of me and got attacking after the 3 minutes wasted and with a big energy boost from the gel, i hit a 4.36 Km from 17.1km to 18.1km which was one of my fastest K splits for the race. Had to back off a touch after that, but was still holding around 5 flat per K, and after getting through the hilly bit again, had 3 runners ahead of me and 1 behind so made sure the last downhill K was a strong finish, passed the 3 runners,  and nailed a 1.46.

Above; Getting some airtime at the end of the Bunbury Half Marathon as I sprint for the line making sure I got well under 1.47.
 Given the way the last couple of weeks has been typically all over the place trainingwise as usual I am fairly pleased with this result, and mission accomplished on a tougher course with target B in knocking off the 1.49 from Buseelton earlier this year. No PB breakthrough, but I wasn't far off my 2005 1.41, and if I can get a bit more consistency in the training I am hoping to get well into the 1.30's at some stage this year...Afterwards caught up with various people, and didn't really want to go home, but had to to get onto my second 2 hour drive to get back for Mothers Day things. A nice race that went mostly to plan. Had some pelvic/hammy soreness afterwards maybe from the rolling hills, but hopefully just a niggle that will sort itself out. Maybe I can finally get some decent momentum going from here....

22/04/12 PTS Ellis Brook 21.8km trails race 3hrs 12min 28secs. 39th
Started off briskly at Ellis Brook in the slow group, although one young woman on left of picture took off very quickly, but I was ahead of the rest of the group including the bloke in an eagles jumper....

Photo below about 4km into the Ellis Brook run still going strongly at this stage;

Photo above about 13km into the Ellis Brook race...by this stage I was starting to plod a lot...

Ellis Brook survival run report;21.8km Ellis Brook Perth Trail Series
600m elevation and a lot! of ups and downs climbing up and down the Darling Scarp to Victoria Dam and nearby hills and valleys.
Some steps to go down, and some technical single trail, but also a lot of firebreak/4wd track type stuff too, so not as much technical stuff as in some of the other PTS courses.
Ran with a high intensity for first 90 minutes to 2hours, and tried to keep the walk breaks short. From 2 hours onwards my legs were very heavy/weary, and it was hard to force myself to jog, and ended up walking a lot more than I wanted to...so more of a fast hike in the last hour, but mission accomplished re a 3 hour long run.
Legs weary from the 12k intervals session the night before.
Results for all in the race @ http://​www.perthtrailseries.com/​data/​half_truth_by_time_website_​2012.pdf
although the distance is incorrect for some reason on the results link, and because I am a late entry I'm not listed yet, but it should be there later.
PTS page for Half Truth is @ http://www.perthtrailseries.com/TrailHalf.htm

Some of my training in April/May 2012;

27th May 27km 3hrs 23min 20 secs

Ran 27km on trails in 3hrs 23min 20 secs. HR 132 at end.

An OverDistance style long run, with a few walk breaks but held onto a solid pace most of the way, and it was pleasing that I didn't fade much in the second half of the run.

13.5km splits; 1.40.11/ 1.43.09.

Used two gel blasts and 4 drinks and just enjoyed getting out on a trail that has a feeling of blissful solitude to it, so much so that you feel like you have escaped from the city out there. Nice weather, a bit warmish towards the end as I started at 10.30am today. Started slowly and worked my way into it. Really good to get this one on the board, and its crucial to my chances of a PB...

25th May 6km intervals 26min 05secs

2x3km intervals.
12.33.25 HR 186 at end. 1k splits; 4.06/4.06/4.21.
6min rest.
13.31.85 HR 180 at end. 1k splits; 4.18/4.27/4.46.
Had an earlier than normal finish at work, so did this session on the way home from work. Was a bit weary from work so less than ideal, and the second rep was hard work. I pushed hard with a bit of a tail wind in the 2nd K of the first rep and it was pleasing to get the second K under 4.10 and get to 2km in 8.12 which is a pretty good split for me even with a bit of a tailwind. Heart rate is a bit higher than normal, and a bit unsustainable, but thats to be expected when pushing the limits a bit to get well under 12.45 (4.15 per K). So the first rep with a 4.11 per K average speed was exactly what I wanted tonight. The second one was a bit of a struggle, but I still held onto 4.30 per K in the slow one, so overall a slight improvement tonight on where I was last month maybe.
It was dark by the end of the second rep and I was using the light on my watch during the second half of the rep, as I still have not got a good headlamp...maybe next payday, but I'd rather run in sunlight anyhow (too many mozzies etc) although there isn't much of it this time of year, and I'm supposed to be working during most of it... 
More importantly I got two sessions done during this week, and if I can hit a long run on the weekend, this will be one of my better weeks, and things will be starting to look somewhat on track...The next 9 days are crucial if I want to avoid the reverse taper. This week hasn't gone totally to plan, but better than some other weeks, so I feel the momentum heading in the right direction tonight just a little.
22nd May 7.5km intervals 33min 34secs
7.5km of BT intervals @ 4.28 per K. Heart rates 168-180ish.
5x 1500m
6.15,
6.50,
6.54,
6.57,
6.38.
Sensational glorious morning both weatherwise and also simply because I finally found a way to get to BT intervals again. Unfortunately I don't think I can do this every week, as much as I would very much like to, because my job comes before my running at this stage, and there is a continuing issue of clash between starting times for both, which I have not been able to resolve at this stage. But I will be back again, not sure when.
Sessionwise it was a good hard one at high intensity but without really putting the pedal to the metal all the way although I was for sure working hard on every rep. In the big picture of my Perth Marathon prep, and my intention to try and find a new level this year, it was a small step in the right direction, and a good start to the week. Finally! The last few weeks have been a bit frustrating but today I got there and that is satisfying. However if I want to get the momentum ticking over and the progression to go somewhere I have to back it up with a few more good ones this week and next week. Its do or die time if I want to avoid a reverse taper for 2012 Perth Marathon. I don't have to be at BT run club to get good sessions in, but today was really encouraging, and it helped a lot to have a few people to chase, and its extremely motivating to see the little groups ahead and behind me, its like a ladder. As usual the coffee was exquisitely excellent, and the conversation fantastic too afterwards.
On the first rep I tried to sit with S and L but could not stay the pace. I ended up @ 4.10 pace for the first rep despite them pulling well ahead of me. Nice. The 3 minute rests was ideal for me, even with it being 2min 30 rests on some of them. Long enough to recover fairly well, but short enough to keep me on my toes and the heart rate up a bit. I had no idea what pace I was on during the first few reps especially and was relying on others in the group to work out where to finish, as I have no Garmin. After the first 2 reps I worked out roughly where to go, and started setting up mental checkpoints to keep an eye on my progress. In the 2nd rep the fast group came past us and S decided to go with them stride for stride, and "get aboard the fast train" I was right with him, and my nationals racing instinct kicked in, as I have often done this at Australian championships when I got lapped, "jump aboard" the fast train and get a momentum pickup for a bit...The positive is you can use it to step up your pace and catch others slightly ahead of you, the negative is that if you do it for too long you get very lactical and lose more than you gain. I went very badly down the negative track as I got the urge to swing round the front of the train and see how far ahead I could breakaway from them. When I stopped this, heart rate felt pretty high, my oxygen debt was massive, and the lactic acid was just pooling like crazy into my system. No choice but to back off...The next few reps including the 2nd one ended up being around the 4.35's per K mark. L stopped. S and I struggled on, and M started challenging us both on each rep, and I couldn't go with it all the way. By the end of the final rep S and M were so far ahead of me (at least a minute), their rest time was about 1 min out of synch with mine so rather than go with a 2min rest, I decided to help one of the runners from the next pace group to  go a bit harder on the last rep. He hung in well all the way, and towards the end, I decided to kick away at the end, and push myself a bit harder at the end. This netted me a 4.25 per K average on the last rep and got the heart rate up to 180 after sitting around an intense but not heavily stressed 168 for the rest of the session (apart from the crazy stuff). Good session, and gives me something to try to build off this week. Keeps my PB hopes alive for the Perth.  Thanks BT, and thanks God.  The show must go on in my plans for Perth number 9 and marathon number 17 attempted (15 finished so far)...

12th May 10km of intervals 46min 26.

1005hrs; Ran 3km/3km/4km intervals. Heart rates 171/168/168
12.40/14.33/19.13 (tailwind for 3k/headwind for 3k/
headwind for 2k/tailwind for 2k)
1k splits for the 3k intervals 4.00/ 4.13/ 4.27 and 4.51/ 4.40/ 5.02.
For the 4km rep my 2km splits were 9.35 and 9.38.
Its groundhog day and weekend warrior time. Was determined to get out of the house for a run this saturday and after doing domestic duties was finally able to get out of the house by 9amish
Ive got a race on tomorrow, but given I have once again failed to run during Monday to Friday, and I want more than one quality session per week, I've decided to see tomorrow as a hard training session and not have high expectations on a good race time, which was the same way I approached the Ellis Brook Perth Trail series race a  few weeks ago, at least this time I've got more than 20 hours to recover instead of about 12 hours like that time...Although in some ways thats a negative as I get less of a back-up effect, because it won't simulate a hard 31km as much...Maybe I should forget about Bunbury and just go for a big long run. No I think a fast 21km this week and next week are worth more for me, so will persist with that. Basically the training program for Perth Marathon is not even close to where I would like it to be. However I am trying to build some momentum on the sessions I am getting done, and hopefully that might be enough to help me PB on race day 17th June at least...

It was a nice feeling with the tailwind in the first downhillish 1km and I got to 1km in 4.00 feeling good, was able to keep attacking with the benefit of the tailwind to hit 2km in 8.13, and hung in there for the last 1k. I knew the second rep would be hard pushing into the wind, and it was, just tried to stay under 5min per K and was successful for the most part only dipping over a little in the last uphillish 1k. Didn't want to battle that headwind for 3km again so I decided to do a 4km to finish instead of 4x3km like 3 weeks ago. Good to have some variety. Saw one of the hills group runners out there possibly doing a long run, which was a nice surprise to see a familiar face, she was one of the ones I did 6 foot with last year...
So a good tuneup, which hopefully helps me race ok tomorrow, and if I can sneak in a recovery jog tonight, that might help to reduce any leg wearyness for tomorrow. Another D grade week, but still holding onto some semblance of momentum, resting heart rates have been sub 40 for 5-6 weeks in a row, so reckon I'm still looking a good PB chance for the Perth at this stage, although not happy with the small number of sessions I am getting done...The work/family mix at the moment is struggling a little, and the combination of early starts, late finishes, and minimal daylight available at this time of year combined with the weekly mountains of debts, is a big part of the problems. Saw a good LED headlamp for sale the other day for $9 might grab that and see if that helps in the week, all I can do is try again to translate the good intentions into reality and hope that this coming week goes better...Probably have about 3 more weeks to try and get it right and avoid a reverse taper...

6th May 20km medium run  1hr 45min

HR 168 at end of this 20km. Moving well through the first small downhill 1km in 4.25. Then settled into about 5min flat per k, sometimes ma bit faster sometimes a bit slower....Was aiming to be under 1.50 for this run but as close to 1.40 pace as I could get, maybe under for some of it. Felt ready to go...
Saw some cyclists with puncture issues.
2km 9:25
3km 14.07
6km 29.26
10km 49.24
12km 59.53 (faded a little on the uphill.
Was pleased to get through the first 12km in 4.59 per k average speed.Then grabbed a much needed gatorade that I had stashed in the bushes before I started (so I didn't have to carry it in the first 12km)...Took my time drinking that including an initial walk break, and ended up needing a toilet stop. That meant my next 2km to 14km was very slow and I got there in 1.13.30.
Not sure how to fix that, maybe smaller drinks in two locations, but that requires a lot of pre-training organisation, but when Ive been sitting on 10min 2km pace and it takes me 13.30 I figure there is at least 3 minutes wasted there...difference between a 1.45 and a 1.42.
Anyhow tried to regroup and get going again;
16km 1.24.18 (10.48 for 2k so 5.24 pace (small headwind))
18km 1.34.46 (10.28 for 2k so 5.14 pace (small tailwind))
20km 1.45.51 (11.05 for 2k so 5.32 pace (small headwind))

Pretty pleased with this one...........

3rd May 2x2km (8.33/8.57)

2KM 8.33 (4.08/4.25)
2KM 8.57 (4.04/4.53)
RHR was 36!!! this morning so I knew I had to get to some intervals, but ended up running with my work machine i.e. half a kg hand weight (I am guessing on the weight...) Nice way to get things ticking over for the day, but about 33% of the distance I wanted to to do...frustrating...but some good signs...Next time I will put in a proper session...

28th April 16km medium run 1hr 26min 

2K 9.20 4K 19.35 10K 52.30 14K 75.24....hr 168 at end.
so 4.40 per K to start with then slipped out to 5.07's for the next 2km, followed by roughly 5.29's for 6km, 4k in about 5.45's last 2k uphill at about 5.42 pace. Ive got about 3-5 weeks to get it together and improve by 10-14 minutes on that. It is the first time Ive used this course in entirety, and since I am relying on certain path crossings bridges etc for my distance markers etc it takes a few shots at it to learn to hit paces, as I rely on those to know how I am going, since I have not joined the garmin bandwagon yet and am relying on mapmyrun...so should be able to improve a lot. Also am getting used to the small, subtle but still significant inclines along the way...Was hoping to be under 80 minutes today so its a bit disappointing, but I will get there. Happy to finally get out there this week for a decent run. Going to try for a 3 hour long run tomorrow, and then try again next week to try and get some more consistent training ticking over its getting a bit close to do or die time with only 7 weeks until race day for Perth, and 9 weeks until a bit of fun in the Gold Coast Half. Just need to somehow find some time to get 2, preferably 3 decent sessions done during the week in amongst my 10-12 hours of driving each workday during the week.

26th April 2x1km intervals 3.59.90 HR 171 200m splits; 41/48/53/54/43 5min rest. 4.08.65 HR 174 200m splits; 41/50/57/53/47 Tried for 3rd rep but it was getting too dark and my lactic acid levels were high and I ran out of motivation after running 400m in 1.35...

21st April 12km intervals 55min.

4x3km intervals 6 minute rests.
13.04 (4.01/ 4.34/ 4.29) HR 174 at end.
13.19 (4.21/ 4.24/ 4.34) HR 180 " "
13.54 (4.37/ 4.47/ 4.30) HR 174 " "
14.32 (4.55/ 4.43/ 4.54) HR 162 " ".
Nice to get this one on the board. I knew the 3rd and especially the 4th rep would test my resolve, but was pleasantly surprised to hit the first K in 4.01 even though its  little downhillish and my first one is often a quick one. Throughout this session when I dug deep I seemed to be able to find a 4.30 per k except for the last rep, was a bit of a grind and took me out of my comfort zone a fair bit. But thats good, thats what I need to do. Didn't have any high expectations tonight as its been a long hard week at work, and I haven't got a lot of training momentum at the moment, so was expecting the first rep might be as slow as 13.30-14.00, so it was nice to get the first 2 well under 13.30. Some work to do to get the improvement I want but a solid starting point.

8th April 16km 2hr 33min
First long run in the glides, they felt heavy. HR 120's/130's. Probably spent too much time on bitumen. Exploring local bikepaths, and roads between them. Went off road a bit on the way back home...and was rewarded with the sight of a Quenda scurrying around in the bushes, as the sun went down. Some nice moments of solitude. Not that motivated and felt very sluggish. 153 min long run banked, so hopefully that will help me to ease into my Perth Marathon program without too much trouble next week...sometimes the sessions that are the hardest to do are the ones that are worth a lot, hopefully that was true tonight...I should mention that I played tennis and did a little deep water running directly beforehand so this may have contributed to more weary legs than usual...done.

6th April 6km intervals 26min 27 secs
2x 3km intervals 7min rest HR's 180,174.
12.57.88 / 13.29.75.
1k splits 4.04/4.25/4.28 and 4.17/4.30/4.42
Did a new course using mmr to try and increase the probability of it being accurate, as this uses satellite pics from google maps?, so error margin should be in the region of less than 10-30metres hopefully...A bit of a test run as my thigh has been sore all week, but although its still sore and I can see a visible bruise, scar or internal bleed or whatever it is, it seems to be less intense in pain than it was earlier in the week, and Its mainly only sore of I touch it now, i.e. mostly painfree while running, so the big positive is that I was not affected by this affliction at all during the session as far as I could see...I am still mystified as to what it actually is, although I had some good suggestions from friends on facebook I have been too busy with work to get it checked out, but hope to do so soon, if it doesnt heal itself. Another thought is that its a spider bite, or a very very bad bruise...Anyhow back to the session. Very little running in the last 2 weeks, so trying again to try and get back into the groove again...Pleased to get things mostly under 4.30 per K...but I need to get after 4.15 per K, 4.00 per K and 3.45 per K... and I think next time I will be expecting to kick things off with a 3.50 first K or at least a sub 4...Need to work my way into the 11min zone at least as soon as possible...that said...its a fairly pleasing session for where I am currently at, and if I can improve on this and string together a handful of good sessions in the next 7 days I may consider a last minute 10k attack at Challenge, which is not a favourite course of mine, but if the times are coming down it would be nice to try and take a minute or two off my Bridges time. See what happens...At this stage I think my next big race is not likely to be for several weeks, and I'd like to put together a solid 3-5 weeks instead of just 1 week...Anyhow a good effort in my attempt to ease back into intervals I think, and most of all thanks God that my sore thigh wasn't a problem tonight...Took a pretty long rest in this one, as I was keen to ensure the 2nd rep was fast...

In conclusion;

Other than that I've been flat out with work, bills, trying to keep my 9th Perth Marathon plans alive and spending too much time on facebook and logging my runs on one of those online run things.... My blog urgently needs a restructure, as the last time I was playing with it, I managed to muck up the layout somehow, and not sure how to fix it. I might have to migrate to the NEW template with much fear and trepidation of the unknown, but don't have the time at the moment to do it, plus I am worried about losing data from my current one...especially my sidebar photos...Trying to post at least once a month, as the old weekly post is starting to become a thing of the past at the moment...If I can find the time to fix the layout I might get back to weekly blogging...either way I am keen to make sure my blog keeps ticking over even if its only just once a month.

Was very pleased with a very ad-hoc (on the way home from work on the spur of the moment) 21min 58 secs 5k track at Masters, and the Bunbury Half I felt very good. Joondalup was a bit of a slog, but solid. While the program I had in mind for my 2012 Perth 42.2 has not followed the script, and I am a fair bit behind on target times, there has been some encouraging signs, and mini-breakthroughs. Lack of long runs is a big concern, but I can probably get away with it although it does have the potential to blow out my time in the second half of the race. My short stuff and the 20-21km runs suggests I have a good chance of attacking my Half and 42.2k PB's on June 17th, although its going to be a grind to try and hold onto it in the second half. My intention this year for more than 6 months now has been to work my medium runs and intervals, and stay away from ultras this year a bit. So far I've done the bit about avoiding ultras, just havent got the quantity and to a lesser extent the quality I wanted to aim for, and my long runs have not been occurring. Trying to stay with it, as I still can see a distinct possibility of a big PB on June 17th. When you have been trying for 8 years you cannot let an opportunity like this slip, even when things are well off the desired course...Onward...God willing...