Glenbrook Trail 25km

2:41.30

15th out of 39, 11th male finisher.

Mentally challenging as much as anything else, today was a great experience and I've finished up the year on a reasonably high note. Was excited to be running with Big Robbie Downton, the biggest guy there, and dressed in pink too.

Big Pink

This was a great run, a good mix of fire trails and single track, and a run where I was able to actually keep running for the majority. There was one very steep "Woodford" type hill which was power walked up, and a couple of sections of single track that got congested and not great for running on anyway.

One of the guys behind me told us we hit 10km at 1:06 at which stage I was thinking I was doing ok, I felt pretty good. We were at the bottom of the valley at this point and I was thinking to myself about whether there was going to be any huge hills to come. Very shortly after we started climbing, and soon I was powerwalking, jogging, walking. I think i had a gel at about 1:15.

The HR just shoots up going uphill and it's really hard work. I passed a couple of people and they would then pass me. At the top of the single trail was an aid station that was really busy and I decided to keep going past, which may have been a bad idea because all those people who were getting drinks passed me not too long after.

I just remember this hill that went on and on, I really considered walking here - but the hill wasn't super steep, it just never seemed to end. Added to that I was getting passed continuously which was grinding me down. Eventually I got to another aid station where I sucked down one of the finest tasting gatorades I have ever had in my life, and thanked myself for not choosing to do the 34km. I took off downhill/flat whereas the 34km/42km guys had more of a hill to contend with.

200m climb from 11km to 14km

Again this was another grind where I just had to keep my legs turning over, my feet were really starting to feel hot, my big toes in particular. Another aid station and I asked how long I had to go; 4.5km, I said that that was about all I needed. At this stage I was running on my own, the guy in front had gotten away from me and I just had to keep the legs moving. About 35mins later I got to the clearing where we had started and had a huge feeling of relief. Coming down the hill there was a school/uni group tour thing who gave me a cheer as I came running past and I put my hands up all victorious. Crossed the finish line to a bit of a clap from the organisers and other people who were waiting. Looked at my watch and saw 2:41, grabbed a Fanta, looked up and saw Rob sitting there too! WTF? Turns out his calves were shot, damn Crossfitters think doing wod's the day before a long run is a good idea.

Good fun and will need to get up there for some training runs. Anyone else?

When I was still smiling

1500m Swim

Approx. 30mins

A bit out of swimming condition and the lats and shoulders are going to be sore.

Barefoot practice

20 Minute barefoot run

Approx. 3.6km

Avg Pace: 5:33min/km

Nice easy run around the park on soft grass. Had some moments of nice fluid form. More just conditioning the feet. Right hip is feeling dodgy, need heaps of rolling around on the oversized tennis ball.

12km Run

http://j.mp/92TxXi
Started: 22/11/2010 16:49:24
Run Time: 1:01:41
Stopped Time: 3:00
Distance: 12.06 km
Average: 5:07 /km
Fastest Pace: 4:07 /km
Climb: 60 meters
Calories: 869

First run based out of Ashfield. Ran from home to the Bay Run, a nice flat 7k loop and then back home totaling 12km. Pretty good pace for me coming of an interrupted couple of weeks moving house.

Intervals

5 x 800m 2min rest

3:15
3:16
3:17
3:21
3:19

Another tough speed session which I did too fast. Should have been doing 3:28, but anyway, kept them reasonably close at first before dropping off. Fifth interval was mentally hard to start. No one there watching and only me to account to. First interval I was thinking how much better this was than the 1600's and by the end it was all suck. Made a rookie error in that I didn't change into fresh socks after work and ended up with a blister.

1600m warm up, 800 to cool down. Need more frozen water bottles to put in the ice bath- it's not cold enough! WPC + dextrose post run.

Active Release Therapy

Decided to get ART done on myself today. Oh the pain. Got my left hammie and calf pummeled and my right glute med. Was having a real stiff knee joint on the right side which was apparently being caused by an extremely tight glute med. Got that (painfully) sorted out. looking forward to getting a run in now.

http://www.spectrumhealthcare.com.au/

Gymnastics

Half an hour warming up with jumps, handstand practice and cartwheel practice. Feel like the cartwheels are really letting me down, but they're not too much of a priority. Did a couple of backflips, back tucks I think they get called, from the trampoline onto a mat placed on top of the foam pit. Was spotted by the coach (he basically holds your shirt and helps pull you through. After that did a tiny bit of work on the rings and was pleased to get three sets of five out on the rings, legs tucked up - rather than behind, so it works abs as well. Was also pleased that I was the only one able to do that many! Super, super unstable.

Rest of the session was mainly back tucks from a hard box on to a mat (spotted). Really surprised that I'm making progress on this, but still have a huge way to go. Some of the O-Lifting stuff I've done helps as it gives you the right idea about extending through the hips.

Spoke to the coach about what one needs to do to even start considering skill work on the rings and its at least 10 consecutive ring dips, preferably L-dips. He also mentioned that to get good at gymnastics one would need to put in about 12-15 hours a week. Damn, I'm only doing 1.5.

I've quit the gym as I'm moving this week, I'll try and work in a lot more bodyweight work.

Easy 5km

Approx. 30 mins

Missed my long run on the weekend because I helped my brother move. Top floor and some heavy shit up 45 stairs in 30 degree heat. Top that off with a 2am bedtime and I was smashed. Wanted to run 10km and was feeling ok until some abdominal pain cut me short. Really gotta eat better.

Strength

Dumbell Shoulder press 12.5kg
10 10 10
Single leg squats 25kg
8 8 8
Dips
8 8 8

Glute bridge 10 10 10
Single leg Glute bridge 10 10 10
Adductor raise 10 10 10

Hollow rocks 25 20 20

Intervals

3 x 1600m 1 Minute recovery

6:47.7 (4:14 min/km)
7:03.8 (4:24 min/km)
7.17.4 (4.33 min/km)

Solid session. First "real" interval session trying to stay at a designated pace. i was trying to stay within 7:15 - 7:32 for each interval. I'm used to doing all out efforts (damn CF) so I'm still not sure how to pace myself. Obviously went too quick for the first two. Anyway, good hit out, but need to learn how to pace properly.

Elevated the legs to drain as much fluid away from them before a bit of a calf stretch and heading home. Calves felt pretty tight.

Pre: Nil
Post: WPC + Dextrose

Barefoot practice

15 mins barefoot running

2.3km (approx)

Nice and squishy underfoot due to a fair amount of rain 5 mins prior. Got a bit concerned when someone started practicing their golf drives in my direction but they only hit two balls and left. Too wet to do any handstands.

Mobility + Gymnastics

10 min roll out with the ball and foam roller before work - taking Lawrence's advice and getting more aggressive.

20 min epsom salt bath after work + 10 min rolling again. Some really nasty bits on hammies and quads.

1.5 hr gymnastic session. Handstand practice (got my longest yet). Cartwheel. Some ring work, some pull ups over the bar. best though was getting some ugly backflips into the foam pit. Awesome! Hour and a half just isn't long enough.

Recovery 5km

Started: 08/11/2010 17:17:55
Run Time: 29:27
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 5.05 km
Average: 5:50 /km
Fastest Pace: 4:43 /km
Climb: 45 meters
Calories: 386

http://j.mp/9qTMid

Max HR: 164 (87%)
Avg HR: 146 (77%)

Trying to get my legs moving after a longer run to see how that affects things. Ran in the Piranhas which, towards the end, started to feel pretty good. Felt like I had some solid form going on, albeit brief. I actually ran this a bit fast - should have been between 6:11 and 6:30 according to the McMillan Running Calculator.

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

Fairly stiff and sore, particularly the left knee which I seem to be having a bit of trouble with again. trying to aggressively hit the above and below and trying to stretch as much as possible.

Also hit up 15ml of fish oil to see if that has any effect. Been pretty inconsistent with the fish oil of late, as with most of my diet. Moving house soon which should give me more time to get a few extra cross training sessions in. Like others I have grand plans. What remains to be seen is whether I can pull it off!

Pre: nil
Post: WPC + Dextrose

15km Run

Started: 07/11/2010 8:43:14
Run Time: 1:28:14
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 15.09 km
Average: 5:51 /km
Fastest Pace: 4:11 /km
Climb: 115 meters
Calories: 1169

Max HR: 180 (95%)
Avg HR: 162 (86%)

http://j.mp/9hD5nM

A tough run. Wasn't feeling super motivated this morning, but felt quite good when I started out. Have a little bit of recurring ITB tightness on the left which comes and goes. Splits look ok. Nutrition yesterday was minimal and fairly low carb. Pre run just had a wpc shake - trying to lower the carbs a bit and get a little fat adapted. Probably running a touch hard though for that which is why it ended up being fairly tough! Hit a real short, sharp hill right at the end which just pushed my HR up to 180 and made me feel like puking.. It was also damn humid today (looking on BOM site Parramatta was 93% at 9am) and I felt like I was sweating heaps. Will try and get some salt tabs sometime.

Am also trying to up the km's over the next few weeks but with a shorter 'long' run and more easy runs + tempo + intervals... See what happens.

Pre: WPC shake
Post: WPC + Dextrose (40g carbs)

Weight Training

Dumbbell Bench Press 45kg 8 8 8
Single leg squat (back leg elevated) 25kg 8 8 8
Bodyweight Dips 8 8 8


Glute bridge 10 10 10
Single leg glute bridge 10 10 10
Adductor raise 10 10 10

Definitely felt the glutes on the single leg squats. Followed up the session with 3mins each side hip mobilisation. Also felt quite spent on the squats and dips, pushed the HR up a bit too fast.

Barefoot and handstand practice

Handstand attempts
10min barefoot run
More handstand attempts

Finally found somewhere I can run barefoot without fear of bindis or sharp things. Its also soft enough to roll onto out of handstands. Winner.

No gadget 5km

No iPod, no HR monitor. Just put on the Piranha's and went for a jog.

First time running in them for months - need to transition into them. Lower body still a bit tight. Not sure what to do about recovery because I continually feel stiff and tight. Not sure if its because I'm doing too much then not running for too long and subsequently not adapting.

Gymnastics

Good gymnastics session. Fell as though I'm starting to get a bit of progress on my handstand. Learnt to forward roll out of it which gives me much more confidence and I might even be able to practice some if I can find a nice soft park. Barefoot running and handstand practice sounds like the way to go!

Also had some fun on the bars and rings. Pull up and over on bar, swings on the rings. Also some drills for the vault. 10 sec holds on rings, kinda iron cross progression. Spoke to the coach today - it took him a year to train up to Iron Cross when he was 16 - and he had started gymnastics when he was 3..

My cartwheels suck. Thirty second handstand hold and two sets of 25 hollow rocks to finish it up.