Om mani padme hum

Picture at KalaPatthar 5545m - Clown, Me, Dad

Back from Nepal, and spiritually re-energised. Physically, not so much...

Another great trekking experience.

I even managed to do a couple of treadmill runs in Kathmandu (1400m) after the trek - Friday am 10k in 5x2k at 4:00, pm 7k easy

Sat am 6.5k mainly easy

Unfortunately it's been a struggle so far upon return. After no sleep overnight on the plane I tried to go for a run Sun afternoon. I lasted 8k then had to lie down on the grass by the river for 10minutes as I felt faint, and walked about 4k home. Since then I've been a bit off colour, resting HR up to about 60, and have run twice 10k very easy.

So it's a little over 3 weeks til Six Inch and it's definitely going to be a training run. I hope to put in some medium long runs the next couple of weekends, no point going too long aqnd damaging the legs, no real point tapering more than a couple of days. I really have no idea what to expect - might have a better idea in the next few days as my body returns to normal. I should have great oxygen carrying capabilities, it dependsa more upon whether my legs pick up quickly enough.

I definitely want to go back to Nepal again - tentative plans Mera Peak (6461m) 2011!

Off to Sagarmāthā

Quick update post before flying out tonight.

Not much going on running wise in recent weeks. Once I realised that the John Gilmour 10k track was postponed until after I'd left, there was no event to prepare for.

I ran 250km in October - mainly 10-15k runs - easy, medium, fartlek. On Friday I ran a 6.5k tempo at 3:50s which felt a little harder than it would have 2 months ago.

If we can find somewhere nice to run, and I can throw off yet another niggling virus, Clown&I might do a couple of light jogs in Kathmandu, before the trekking starts in earnest.

My Boston Marathon confirmation has come in the mail and they've taken my money, so that's well and truly in my thoughts already. I've downloaded some elevation profiles from MapMyRun (each a little different as the Garmin altitude function isn't that great) and also of Perth runs, to find some corresponding hills to train on. I was surprised to see the significant overall altitude drop at Boston, and that the gradient of the hills doesn't match the two in the City to Surf Marathon, although they do come later. I'm sure Sugar and Biscuitman can give me a blow-by-blow of these hills!

Anyway, back in 3 weeks relaxed, fit, and ready to launch a short but concerted training block for SixInch

Freo 10k

38:03 - PB but not quite my potential best at present

I started the week on Monday public holiday playing squash for the first time in about 8 years.
The rest of the week was spent limping with aching hip abductors (glutes and piriformis) - it's amazing what muscles you dont use running that do get used in a lateral movement sport.

I managed to hobble through 10k jogs Tues, Thurs and Sat am, started loosening up on Saturday

This morning started off poorly as I forgot my Garmin - so I ran blind (didnt even have a normal watch). I did about 5k easy to try and loosen the backside up ,so to speak

The start was as congested as usual , but things freed up after 700m or so and I hit a reasonable rhythm. I had been planning on staying in touch with biscuitman, but sadly his injury prevented him running, and Sugar was out of my league. I ran the first 5k keeping pace with the girl eho I think won the 5k womens event, as well as with the young blond guy from intervals (Clown knows the one!). They both stopped at 5k, which I passed at 18:45.

I started the second lap about 100m behind the leading female runner. One of the female marshalls yelled out a couple of times that those of us behind her were being 'chicked' and that we should try to pass her to save ourselves embarrassment. I thought this a little inappropriate but I did set my sights on gradually winding her in. I was also just behind Felipe Jalpa - who has a style which looks like he's jogging, and with Mike Haederle . I plodded along and gained about 20m on the leading female each kilometre, passing her with about 400m to go.

I thought to myself that this must be what it's like for Clown when running - it was my legs (or more specifically my upper butt) that was limiting me rather than my cardiorespiratory system. The good thing was that I felt fine afterwards, and even played another hour of squash this afternoon (paying for it now)

So I think I have another 30-45 seconds in me over the 10k, and am toying with the idea of focussing on the John Gilmour 10k track race to set a PB.

Congrats to Sugar on third place and a PB, even if not quite the target time
Good luck to Clown, Sling and TB next week in Melbourne - three PBs coming up



And on a final note, a couple of the fast young 5k guys were wearing nasal strips as pictured. My thoughts:
a. Breathe through your mouth
b. I dont care if it makes you run faster, you guys look like dicks

Go the Mighty Cats

An up and down running week this week - and it started with the 'up'

Tuesday night ran for the first time at AK reserve - the replacement track for Perry Lakes. The surface was great, and fast. Apparently it is the same surface as at the Beijing Olympics -

It's a "dual-durometer" construction made of asphalt and stone base, polyurethane (PU) surface and a butyl rubber layer that helps with high return of energy during striding and exceptional shock absorption.

The track surface is finished with embedded ethylene propylene diene monomer granules for advanced traction. Unlike sheet rubber applied to asphalt with glue, PU is chemically bonded to the asphalt. Because PU is poured into place, if offers a seamless surface without tripping hazards.

The redoubtable Biscuitman was running a Yasso 800 session at 2:40s, so I decided to join in for the ride. I went in thinking I'd do 6 or so, but ended up doing the first 5, then skipped the 6th - jogging 800m with Rob instead, and returned for the last 4. So 9 of 10 - but a nice little break in the middle.

Splits - 2:37/2:40/2:41/2:39/2:39 (break) 2:42/2:43/2:39/2:37

I knew it was going to be fast when the warmup 3.5k was at 4:10s!
The 2:40 jogs were just under 600m

I felt a bit intimidated initially running on a real track - then I thought why be intimidated by a bunch of teenagers? Luckily we'd finished when some of the big guns of WA distance running started their session. (Kudos to TB and Clown for a good interval session too - perhaps we can start our own Tuesday interval group this summer)

What I got out of the session (apart from confirming the fact that Biscuitman is a gun), was that despite the limitations of the sesion as a predictor, I feel I still have a bit of marathon improvement in me if I can tap into that potential.


Anyway, the other thing I got from the session was a virus on Thursday - a sure sign I pushed too hard. So the rest of the week was a bit of a write-off, 3x10k easy 4:45-5:00 pace runs.

On the non running front - the Cats had a well deserved win yesterday, and today we did the Nepal Trek shopping - spending inordinate amounts on trekking gear.

Freo 10k next week? maybe...

Freo HM

Happy enough with this week

Tuesday Tempo 10k in 38:45 -eased in with a 4:08/4:05, then 5k in 18:40, and had to work the last 3k into the wind in 3:50s. This was to test my knee pre the Half, and things were fine

Thurs and Fri 12k each 3 laps around the tan. I did one fast lap on Fri am but I forgot my Garmin charger so not sure how fast it was. Ran anticlockwise this time which feels the harder way to do it.

Sun - Freo HM in about 86 flat. No exact time as I didn't enter - in Melbourne wed-fri and working sat am, should have entered online but didn't ,and they've stopped on the day entries. Felt a bit of a freeloader running without entering but I only had about 3 plastic cups of water en route and would happily have paid had they let me.

I ran with Rob as a bit of a pacer - 19:34/19:44/20:40/20:46 the 5k splits. I felt fine most of the run but had to dig a bit in the last 2k into the wind as Rob pushed things up a notch. I tried to be surreptitious finishing to the side of the chute, but a few people gave me some funny looks.

Great PB for Rob who's injuries didn't slow him down much this time and hopefully builds some confidence for Melbourne. Also solid efforts from Gunner and Coops - both looked comfortable each time I crossed paths with them. TB was handing out drinks - many thanks (looks like you've lost some weight - can see it in your face)

Go the Cats!

Sore Knee

I've been paying for my great Marathon over the last couple of weeks. Initially I thought it would be the left groin/hip flexor which would bother me, but that can be run through and settles with stretching.

More annoyingly is some pes anserinus tendonitis/bursitis in the right knee. It doesn't appear until about 8k, but when it comes it's quite nasty. Akin to ITBS on the medial aspect of the knee/proximal tibia.

On the plus side, I've got another overuse injury to add to the collection - I've now become much better at diagnosing and treating sporting injuries in the last couple of years.

So lots of stretching (esp hamstrings) and no runs beyond 10k - 38k total last week, 54k this week.

Apart from this the body feels good on easy runs, but after trying anything approaching a quality session I feel it the next day

I was hoping to run the Freo HM with Clown next week, but will have to see how it goes. An option may be to run 'til the knee gets sore then pull out. A quick trip to Melbourne for a couple of meetings Thurs and Friday mean I also have the opportunity to beat my Tan lap time.

Looking more closely at those High School times from my last post I'm beginning to question my memory - surely I never ran that fast. I'll take a look and see if I have any records to confirm their veracity. I cant imagine ever being as fast as Sugar is now!

And finally, speaking of fast - I saw the Triathlon World Champs on TV -Alistair Brownlee won with a 10k of 29:04 - that's pretty impressive after 1500m swim and 40k cycle!

Official result

Your Net time: 02:57:51	Your Gun time: 02:57:54
Your first-half split (Net Time): 01:28:59	Your first-half split (Gun Time): 01:29:03

That would make second Half 1:28:52
7 second negative split


So I've consumed some fatty food and some very nice wine, and celebrated as well as possible with wife away in US/Europe

Having achieved a goal which took 5 years and 8 marathon starts to achieve, there is a considerable let down feeling and sense of aimlessness
Luckily running is such a part of my life that I couldn't fathom not continuing to run regularly
Boston is the next significant goal, and with the sub 3 out of the way, and Clown's sub 3 on the way, we can relax and enjoy it.
Beyond that I guess it's hard to go from there. There is no great marathon milestone in my reach, unless averaging sub 4 min/km counts

5k and 10k runs don't really push my buttons. Ultras are attractive but very hard work
I did toy with the idea of challenging my year 12 school athletics results - 2:04 800m and 4:21 1500m

I entered the marathon time in the VDOT calculator - comes in at 54.3
Predicted times
5k 18:34
10k 38:31
HM 1:25:13
1500m 5:01
3000m 10:44


Short term I've got a nasty left hip flexor strain with a noticeable swelling in the groin (get your mind out of the gutter), so I expect a couple of weeks before I'm running again

My finest hour

2:57:59 by my watch. How do you like those apples ( I almost said this to the girl giving out fruit in the recovery tent a la Matt Damon, but took pity on her)

Leading up to this one, I wanted to focus on 2 things - mental discipline not to go too fast in the middle third, and adequate nutrition.

I decided to use 7km chunks as my targets, as indiviual kms were too variable with the hills. I wanted Nothing under 29, nothing over 30 for each of the sixths.

29:14/29:16/29:09/29:22/29:18/29:15 by the Garmin - all within 2 sec/km of each other.

So I started conservatively, feeling quite good. I tucked in a group of about 6 - mainly South African guys who I expect are stalwarts of WAMC/Darlington. I heard one had run 2:17 in his younger days. I'm not a chatty marathoner, so I just listened.

Nothing really happened in the first HM. I took powerade at every station, and grabbed a Gu at 15k and had it with some water at the next station. I didn't walk any of the stations, often needing to take 2 paper cups to get adequate fluid after spillage.

It was a buzz to go pass the assembling hordes before attacking Market St. I've run it several times in training and took a head down approach. The aforementioned ex2:17 runner bounded ahead up the hill, but we reassembled in Kings Park. We made up some time on the downhill, and after the U turn at the bottom of the hill, I found I had pulled ahead of the group. I didn't speed up so I assume they slowed for some reason. I ran the rest of Kings Park solo.

Turning into Kings Park road we were partitioned off from the 12k runners, but then the fun started. On the pre race map it said we took a little left detour into Thomas St, but this didnt happen. We turned right and merger into hordes of walkers/joggers. Knowing we had a Barker St turn left I moved to the path on the left of the road, but there was noone ther telling Marathoners to turn left. I did but I pity those who weren't familiar with the course. There was a guy 100m ahead of me down Kings Park road who obviously go lost in there beacause he was nowhere to be seen when turning into Barker road just a few hundred m ahead.

Running thru Subi I felt good, but again turning into Hay St we merged with the masses, and I spent km 34-38 weaving through joggers. This didnt slow me down much and helped distract me from the big hill. The problem was that the 2 drink stations along here were packed with people stopping and I went about 7k without a drink.

So we turn down Stevenson and I'm alone again. I suddenly became acutely aware of the fact I was at 38k, on pace and feeling pretty good (I had a left groin niggle quite badly in KP but it faded on flatter terrain). I was in a new situation for me whereby I started picking off runners one by one. The first was Verity Tolhurst, who I had run near in Canbeera this year before I blew up. I started feeling the pain at the 40k hill towards WC highway, but I wasn't about to stop.

At this point I was glad to see Clown running towards me and he said some encouraging words. At this point I was pumped. My shoe had picked up a long piece of sticky tape flapping about but I wasnt going to stop and pull it off. I even managed to find some energy for sub 4 pace in the last 500m, and took 2 guys in this last bit.

Surprisingly I felt OK afterwards, apart from an incredibly sore right groin/hip flexor which I suspect is going to be very annoying in the coming fortnight.

So my 5 year goal is complete, in style, on a hilly course. I guess I do better with hills - my PB in HM and Mara are now on hilly courses, and in retrospect in School Xcountry I always did best in the hilly ones.

Why today? Luck, lighter weight, no virus in the leadup, good weather, disciplined pacing all played a part.

Congrats to all those I saw out there - Gunner and Coops, Craig/Duffer with a Mara PB, TB I saw at the start and not the end. Sugar and Biscuitman I look forward to your 12k reports. Clown thanks for coming down and supporting despite not running the HM - you'll go sub3 in Melbourne. Homo - next time. Sling - you'll go sub3 sooner or later.

I'll post my official time and HM split when available

Looking for inspiration

I'm not getting it from the Eagles, the Aussie cricket team or the Wallabies.

I am finding it in Bolt, Bekele and Hooker.

It's been a fairly uninteresting fortnight from me

Week 1 71k@ 4:28
Mon 10.1@ 4:26
Tues 20.1@ 4:24 - Kings Park - held back
Wed 10k@4:17 with fartlek total about 2.5k@5k pace
Fri 10k@4:38 - preflight to Sydney
Sat 20.6k@4:32 - Sydney Botanic gardens and Harbour Bridge

Week 2 77k@ 4:32
Mon 11.6k@ 4:21 - with 3k@10k pace
Tues 10.4k@4:26
Wed 19.3k@4:36 Kings Park even easier
Fri 10.1k@4:26 - 4x500m 10k pace
Sat 10.7k@4:33
Sun 15.6k@4:42 - with Rob - last 7k of marathon and back

I felt fairly heavy in the legs all week up til yesterday. Have some fears of having a race like Slig's half - perhaps not enough rest post Perth

Of note in this prep compared to my one for Perth -
1. No illness for the first time ever in the 4 weeks leading up to a marathon
2. Average pace 4:30 over the last 4 weeks compared with 4:19 in the 4 leading up to Perth
3. No really hard efforts this time - last time 20k@ 4:01, this time 4:11 - 3 and a half weeks out
last time 39k@4:24, ths time 34k@4:32 3 weeks out.

So more kms (426v373 in last 5weeks) at slower pace.

I don't know what that all means, but I'm still heading out with the plan as per 2 weeks ago - 88:xx flat first half, hopefully hold sub 3 times to 35k, see what happens from there

This week - max 10k runs Tues-Fri, easy pace with strides

Where to aim?

85k this week ( was on track for 100 until today)

Mon 6.2k @4:50 - recovery
Tues 20.3k @ 4:11 - through Kings Park marathon loop at a bit faster than MP
Wed 12.2k @ 4:31 - felt really lethargic
Thurs rest
Fri 11.7k @4:15 - MP - Garmin had some sort of malfunction so ran on feel - sportstracks interpreted the run properly and had gone faster than I expected
Sat 34.3k @4:35. Had to move long run to unfamiliar Sat am due to marshalling duties on Sun. Drizzling at the start, some heavier showers and clearing towards the end. Very similar course to last week - mainly on marathon course. Felt pretty crappy today so was happy with it all in all and hade a bit of a secong wind at 30k which was promising.

Sun - marshalled at Womens Classic ,meant to run in the afternoon but work and family commitments prevented it. Felt in a funk all day - very annoyed with constant work calls and just couldnt relax.


So I'm starting to think about the race plan for C2s. Up until now I've said that I wouldn't worry about the time, but that would be disingenuous. I would like to set myself up with a chance for a PB but not put pressure on myself.

Given the course, I think a first half of 1:28:xx would be the plan. Then I would expect to be able to hold on to sub 3hr pace through KP and subiaco. My plan then is to see what happens with the last 6k. Either I have some juice left and kick on, or I'm struggling and lose as little as possible.

The alternative would be to take it out really easy and finish strong, but I would still like to give myself the possibility of a sub3 finish - as unlikely as that is.

City to Surf Marathon (probably)

I'm 90% decided on running the marathon at the end of the month.

I managed 105k this week, and that was one of my self imposed criteria (the ability to do a couple of 100+ weeks) for trying the full Mara so soon after Perth.

Thanks for the comments last week - many were along the lines of what I was thinking already. Craig - I appreciate your input - and I'm certainly very aware of the over fast speed I tend to train at. Sadly there continues to be a disconnect between my intentions and actions. Terming my 4:19 average run as 'Easy' last week is evidence of this - 'easy' was my intention, the result clearly wasn't.

I'd like to say I was successful in slowing down this week, but it was only true to a very limited extent. The only way I've really been able to slow down is by running with my brother-in-law on saturday, who is training for a sub 1hr 12k C2S.

Mon 8.7k@4:37 -easy(ish)
Tues 20.2k@ 4:23 - though Kings Park for the first time in a couple of years
Wed 15k@ 4:25 - again through Kings Park
Thurs rest
Friday 12k with 3x1k 3:33/3:28/3:33 - I still find it amazingly hard to run fast this early in the morning

Sat 15k@4:55 - including 10k through KP with Luke at race pace for him - looking good

Sunday 33.5k@4:35 - solo long run - basically ran on the marathon course - started at the 14k mark through to 30k mark, then the start to 14k mark, with 2k each way from home.
This felt like a real plod, despite the speed, my legs complaining about the recent mileage and introduction of hills. Tried to minimise stops - only a quick water fill at 20k and again at 30k.

I had been 100% about running the Mara yesterday, but this mornings effort with some pretty fatigued legs scared me as I imagined being at the 33k point of the race feeling like that and needing to get over the hills to come.

On the non-running front, I'm back on the sauce - celebrated with some Moet and a bottle of 1997 Keyneton Estate - a little past its prime but still a lovely drop. Hopefully I will limit myself to weekend drinking only.

I'm a little concerned at the City to Surf plans. Mara starts 0730, 12k at 0900. This means i will be running up St Georges Tce exactly as the 12k starts, as was the organiser's plan to add to the atmosphere. The intention is that the 12k runners will all be on the right hand side of the road, and we'll stay on the left. Having experienced several City to Surf starts, I have my doubts over the organiser's ability to stop 25000 people spreading across the lanes. The site FAQ says that there will be a physical barrier or median strip to stop this happening - if it's just the median strip I have my concerns especially on the first hill. I think that after the KP detour things will be fine - and the courses do diverge through Subi

Looking at my GPS record I'm also reminded that it doesnt like running down St Georges Tce - poor signal with all those buildings - wont be able to rely on it there.

What to do?

Wound it back up to 88k this week

Mon rest
Tues 14.8k@ 4:06 with 10k in 40min tempo
Wed 20k@4:22
Thurs rest
Fri 10k@4:26 easy
Sat 10k@4:18 easy
Sun 33k@4:35 - long run with Rob

Feeling not quite recovered 3 weeks post Mara - paces for effort 5-10sec slower than a month ago.

More importantly the motivation ain't there to do a full on marathon prep. To run Monday and Thursday for me requires a deal of willpower as these are my long work days - wasnt up to it this week, and after puttin in for the first 6 months of the year I'm leaning towards settling down to 80k weeks in 5days running

This still doesnt decide my City to Surf decision - it would be nice to run a slower, more controlled marathon (if such a thing exists), would also be nice to target a fast 12k, or I could hitch on with Clown and Homo in the HM.

Then Clown has thrown a spanner in the works with his plans for Melbourne Mara in October.

Lets wait and see.

Dry July

Three weeks no alcohol - a record for me for a long time - and on the downhill run to the end of the month. I finally registered on the Dry July website and put my money where my mouth is (the money I would have otherwise spent on wine) - so I can't stop now.

On the running front I've taken it nice and easy post marathon - weather, busy work and a 4 day weekend in Melbourne helping to keep me from doing too much too soon.

Week 1 40k total - mainly easy, a little fartlek, did some without the watch to keep my mind off the pace.

Week 2 - 55km total. As above plus one obligatory lap of the Tan in Melbourne - did 13:55 for the 3.82km, 3:38 average - pretty pleased as I was running by myself on a surprisingly quiet track.

As Clown mentioned on his blog - great sporting time of year - two reasons to stay up late - the usual Tour, and the Ashes. Tonight will be a big one - outside of Cadel and Lance, I'm an Andy Shleck fan. I'm also holding out some hope for an improbable result at Lords - weather and umpiring permitting.

We watched collingwood v hawthorn last night at the 'G, and the Pies fans behind us reinforced their reputation as the lowest common denominator as they treated the children with us (and their own children) to an education in swearing. Unfortunately after they spent the pre match discussing how their amateur boxing bouts went down at the local town hall went this week, we weren't game to say anything. On the upside, they all left at 3 quarter time (to 'avoid the traffic' apparently, rather than to see their team get shellacked by a resurgent Hawthorn). I'll never complain about Dockers fans again!

As for me, I'm lacking a bit of direction in my running right now - will see if I have the energy to ramp it up to 100km+ weeks in the next fortnight to help me decide C2S 12/HM/Mara

Perth Marathon 2009

3:04:08 - 10minute PB but not quite what I was aiming for

The leadup week was OK - Tuesday ran too fast 8k in 3:55s, so took Wed off, 5.5k@4:30 Thurs, 7.5k@4:30 Fri

Saturday I had a sore throat and felt hot and sweaty, I convinced myself I had a virus and wouldn't run today. Of course I woke up feeling fine

The warmup was unremarkable other than one contact lens slipping to the side of my eye such that I couldn't retrieve it, and forgetting my Ipod headphones.

We started off OK - hit 10k bang on 42 mins. We were running in a small group on the cyclepath. At about 14k this guy came up on the right of me - I was running alongside Rob. He proceeded to veer to his left towards me, knocking my elbow with his, and really pissed me off. I muttered something but he stayed there. I fell back a little but he slowed a little too, then I sped up a little and he did the same, still knocking me with his elbow. I swore and sped up significantly under a burst of adrenaline. Sadly this was about the same time Rob's groin hurt and he never caught me up.

Anyway, I fell into a rhythm that saw me get to half way in 88:35, and I continued at 4:10-4:15s for the next 10k. At 32k I was 2hrs15 and thought I was still a realistic chance. I started to struggle at this point and didnt really find someone I could tag along with. I passed Dave Kennedy, but he wasn't having a fast day after a very recent 100k ultra.

I slowed to 4:30s and at 36k was 4:33 and realised it wasn't going to be sub3 today. The last 5k were 4:50-5:00s and my left quad cramped up big time. For good or bad I was still passing those around me even at this pace - I think in the last 10k I passed 5 people and only one passed me.

The cramp really developed in the last 500m such that I limped through the finish and couldnt sit down for a few minutes. In my usual style I could barely talk or sit up afterwards - so again sorry to you all who wanted a chat - I dont do well post marathon!

I went home and slept for a couple of hours and rewarded myself with my first fast food in several months - a chicken burger from Hungry Jacks. I also wasn;t tempted to break my Dry July and will continue off the alcohol.

Congrats first to Sling for a top performance at Gold Coast. Clown for persevering through groin pain. Homo for battling the stomach cramps. Gunner for another solid Mara in his leadup to Busselton. The Sugary Biscuit team for their 3rd place. TB for leading the field at the start ('cos that's how you roll') then toughing out another long day at the office.

5k Garmin splits (read 400m long)
20:33/20:51/20:57/20:42/20:46/21:21/22:14/24:10
Halves 88:35/95:33

My immediate thought is to never do another - so let's give it a week or two.

All the hard work is done

Taper week - 65k@4:20

Monday 10.1k@4:10 - fairly consistent effort - felt great after my week off
Tues 10.2k@ 3:51 - 5k tempo 4:06/3:53/3:46/3:44/3:44 - 19:19
1min break then 2k 3:42/3:38
1min break then 1k 3:38
1min break then 2k home 4:20/3:57
This felt surprisingly controlled

Wed 10.8k@4:09 - didnt feel great - took a little walk at half way
Thurs off
Fri 7.8k@4:24 - easy
Sat10.3k@4:24 - easy
Sun 16k@4:47 - gentle run in the breezy conditions with Homo and Clown - resisted the temptation to farther or faster

So... light runs <10k Tues,Wed,Fri this week.
The plan on Sunday is out in 88:XX and take things from there

Rob, Henry and I will be having a pasta dinner Friday probably at Valdarno in Dalkeith at 7pm - if anyone wants to come and shoot the breeze, let me know.

Good luck all with the last taper week.

Swine Flu Part 2

I made a comments to Clown last week about the rituals involved pre marathon - Friday night Carb dinner with other runners, entering the day before at Runners World, dropping off my self prepared drinks, race morning breakfast etc.

The one I forgot about was my pre Marathon virus, which has happened every Perth Marathon, somewhere between 3 and 1 week out. This one came on Tuesday, and was complicated by my contact with Swine Flu - such that on wednesday when I developed fevers and muscle aches, I had to have swabs and be quarantined. I don't think I had swine flu ('novel H1N1' to be politically correct) but advice from the health dept said I needed to stay away from work. So I started my Tamiflu and stayed at home, eating and watching DVDs for 3 days. Guess I'll find out this week if I did or not.

Running wise I played it safe - 12k@4:10s on Tues then no running whilst sick. Feeling better this morning I headed out for 12k@4:25 with Rob and cruised, felt energised by the run after only one run in the preceding week. I really wanted to head out for a second this afternoon but decided to play it safe.

My understanding is that I should have lost minimal performance with this time off (?0.6% or one minute over the marathon!). This week will see running 5 or 6 days with shortish sessions with plenty of time at MP and tempo pace (total 60k). The good news is that my achilles and hamstring tendonitis is much improved.

Swine Flu!

Swine flu scare this week proved to be nothing to be concerned about (perhaps like the 'pandemic' itself) I tested some patients on Monday and was called later by the lab to say they came back positive for swine flu - luckily I had been wearing a mask when I plunged a swab into the deep recesses of their noses and throats.

On the running front - a good week. 99.3k@4:17

Monday 8.4k@4:39 - recovery
Tuesday 20.1k@4:01 - this was planned as a MP run. After last weeks 4:21 pace I decided to start faster than my usual 4:40s. On a perfect night I found myself in the zone and flying. At 15k I encountered Homo running the other way and as I stopped and we chatted I became aware of just how well I was going. I immediately picked up where I left off and powered home. It felt effortless at the time, but subsequently I developed a niggle in the left achilles which stayed all week

Wed 8.5k@4:24 - recovery
Thurs rest
Fri 11.3k@4:07 - did 2x1.5k intervals at 3:35 pace, but felt hampered by the achilles
Sat 11.95k@4:13
Sun 39k@4:24 - easy 8k before meeting Rob then we ran together about 20k at 4:20s or so. Pushed a couple of km at MP and then 2k 34-36k @4:05s then back to average pace for the last couple.

After my Canberra debacle I'm keeping expectations in check. This week 85k similar pace.

YTD 1999k@4:32

Back in the saddle

So I'd pre-empted the pod's advice and ran anyway this week

105km@4:24

Monday as previously documented the 3k of race@3:39. After coming home I ran down to Mosman Park easy 10k@4:37

Tuesday 12.3k@4:22 - MP for 10k of this (2k warmup)

Wed 20k@4:20 - MP except for a section of running into galeforce winds - tempo effort, slow pace. The only plus was that the cyclists seem worse affected than me and I passed a couple of them

Thurs rest
Fri 12k@4:17 - MP
Sat13.7k@4:20 - MP after 2k warmup

Sunday 34.5k@4:30 - tough start after a cousin's 21st Sat night- little sleep and a little nauseous. No Rob to push me along so I headed down to Lake Monger to give me a target of sdome type. Saw Rob there and as we warmed up and chatted he missed the start - my bad! Running back I hit a second wind and ran the last 10k in 43 min, with the last 5k@4:12.

So it was largely MP running this week, and a bit of a confidence booster - my first 100k+ since early March. One more similar week before starting to reduce. Foot feels fine

Had my running shoe bargain of the year this weekend. Went down to Rebel Sport in Claremont and on the clearance table they had a pair of DS Trainer 13's in my size for $29.99 - the tag was labelled Blackhawk but I checked with the salesguy and he said the price stood - bargain!

No stress, I'm in my cubist period!

No, I'm not Picasso, but I am happy

Saw Darryn S (podiatrist) today re the foot and he told me he's 100% sure it's not a stress fracture. It's a cuboid subluxation syndrome , brought on by that high mileage week and probably too much running on the left camber road to rest my medial ankle sprain.

So I got some mobilisation massage and strapping and I'm free to keep running on it! Yay!

NEPAL 2009

Enchanted by the scenery, clean mountain air and gentle manner of the Buddhist Sherpas in 2007, I'm planning on heading back to Nepal this year.

This time I'm taking my father, hopefully my brother-in-law who went last time, and anyone else who might be interested.

The options are:

1.Everest Base Camp - 20 day trip, 15 day trek, 5545m high point - the classic trek and the same one as we did last time - I'd be happy to do the same again.

2. Annapurna Circuit - 24 day trip, 18 day trek, 5416m high point - said to be more scenic than Everest but with less prestige.

3 Everest Circuit - 25 day trip, 20 day trek - Base Camp trek plus over ChoLa pass and Gokyo Lakes

I'll do any (like the sound of #3), but time availability may be a limit for some. The planned time would be starting late october/early november.

Clown I can forward you the World Expeditions Book if you're still interested. The everest base camp treks fill up reasonably early, there are places left on the departing 2/11 and 16/11 treks. Annapurn has spots departing 29/10, 5/11. Everest circuit 4/11.

There are great entry level mountaineering trips, and trips to the more isolated Tibetan and Bhutan Himalayas that I'd love to do in the future, but this year these somewhat easier ones are on the cards!