Saturday trotters Avoca steps

 Ran quite easy. 13.4k  in 1hr13min49sec (5:30 pace) Felt good

Friday easy

 11km in 1hr2min. (5:33 pace) Keeping HR below 130bpm. Average HR125bpm

Thursday recovery

 Felt tired this morning. Ran 11.3km in 1hr7min (5:54 pace) keeping the HR below 125bpm. Average HR was 122bpm.

After the run I went to the gym and did strength and stretching for about 45min

Wednesday Easy run then track

 First run this morning was an easy 5km in 32min (6:24 pace)

In the afternoon I went to the track and the session was 2sets 5x400m. Did them in 1:29, 1:27, 1:23, 1:16, 1:15...1:25, 1:24, 1:22, 1:17, 1:14. Had a 4km warmup and a 4km cooldown

Tuesday easy run

 This morning was 11.4km along the lake. Keeping HR below 130bpm. Took 1hr3min. 5:35 pace. Average HR 125bpm. Body felt tired from Sunday but felt good.

After the run I did 10min of foam rolling in the legs and hips

Monday strength

 Just a hamstring 25min strength routine this morning

A good weekend of running

 Saturday I went and did The Entrance parkrun. I did a 3km warmup and I had a friction blister on one of my toes. I got back to the car and had just enough time to get a band aid on it. That seemed to work as it was quite painful in the warm up. 

Somehow I did 18:58 for the parkrun. 3:49 pace First time under 19min in years! Km splits were 3:48, 3:49, 3:49, 3:55 and 3:42.

After the parkrun I ran an easy 4km

Sunday I did a long 40km from home up through Katandra reserve then back home via Terrigal and Crackneck. Fished with the last 3km around 4:30-4:50 pace. Other than tired legs I felt great

Friday easy run then gym

 Easy 11km keeping HR below 130bpm. Started from the gym. 5:28 pace. Average HR 125bpm.

After the run I did about 30min strength work

Recovery Thursday

 Legs felt pretty good this morning after last night so that's a good start. Ran 10.6km keeping the HR below 130bpm. Took 1hr2min17sec (5:52 pace) Average HR 125bpm

Later in the arvo I did 1hr on Zwift

Morning easy, arvo 6@6

 First run this morning was an easy 5km in around 32min. Keeping the HR below 120 (6:19 pace) Average HR was 115

In the afternoon I did 6@6. It's been about 2-3yrs since I've done this.

Ran hard and felt great but stuffed by the end. I was the 2nd runner finished in 23:08

I did about 4km of warming up then 1.2km on cooldown so around 11km tonight

Easy Tuesday

 Easy run keeping HR below 130bpm. Ran 10km in 55:30 (5:31 pace) average HR 126bpm

Sunday longrun

 Was still quite tired from the drive home from Canberra last night so just set off running quite easy and picked the pace up in the last 10km. Ran 24km keeping to the roads and ran to Wamberal almost to Brooks Hill via the hills at Forresters Beach. 

24.1km in 2hrs (4:59 pace)

Lake Ginninderra parkrun

 I was staying about 2km from the parkrun so I ran there and did a 4km warmup. 

Then I ran 19:17 & was 4th place and 1st in my age. Splits were 3:46, 3:49, 3:51, 4:02 and 3:47.

Afterwards I ran back to the motel which was 2km.

Easy Friday before driving to Canberra

 5km done it 28min (5:31 pace) keeping the HR below 130bpm. Average HR 125bpm

Progressive run

 This morning I ran 10.6km with the goal of starting quite slow and each km to increase the speed by 10sec. Splits were 5:58, 5:50, 5:41, 5:30, 5:21, 5:10, 5:02, 4:49, 4:41, 4:29 and for the last 600m it was 3:54

10.6km in 54:52. (5:10 pace)

Body felt good

Easy Wednesday

 Ran nice and easy keeping the hr below 130bpm. 10km in around 57min. (5:41 pace) Average hr was 124bpm

Central Coast 10km/1hr Championships

 First run this morning was an easy recovery 5km focusing on keeping the hr below 120bpm in 32min30sec. (6:27 pace) Average HR was 118bpm

Next up I went in the Central Coast 10km/1hr race. I had a goal of going sub 40min in the 10km then just slow down and complete the 1hr race.

I was pretty happy doing 39:40 for the 10km the 14.6km for the Hour which I also won as everyone else except for 1 runner just did the 10km 

Recovery Monday

 This morning I went for an easy 6km focusing on keeping the hr below 130bpm. Took a bit over 33min at an average 121bpm

After the run I went to the gym for some light strength work

Sunday longrun with Nikolay

 I met Nikolay at around 6:30am at Toowoon Bay and we ran a comfortable pace to Terrigal via Crackneck then back along the road. 27.7km in 2hrs25min (5:14 pace)

Body felt great

The Entrance parkrun

 Saturday morning I went back to The Entrance parkrun hoping to do around 19:30. I was pretty happy to finish with 19:10. That's the fastest 5km I've done in years. Km splits were 3:53, 3:51, 3:49, 3:55 and 3:44. (3:51 pace average)

12km run in total

Wet and windy Friday

 Another easy run on a wet morning. Somehow I managed to stay dry and missed the rain.

An easy 10km in a bit over 51min (5:08 pace). Keeping my HR below 140bpm. Averaged 134bpm

Recovery Thursday

 Just an easy run keeping HR below 130bpm. Ran 10.3km in 1hr with an average 125bpm. (5:48 pace)

Later  I went to the gym for some strength work

Easy then track

 First run this morning was a recovery 5km. Focus on keeping HR below 120bpm. Ran 5km in 30min30sec. (6:03 pace) Felt good

Later I ran to the track for Mel's track session. This was 3x1600m with around 2min recovery. My splits were 6:10, 6:00 and 5:48. I felt quite strong on the reps. Body felt good. In total ran a bit over 10km with the warmup, session and warmdown

Easy running

 Woke up quite tired and was a struggle to get out of bed. Didn't feel like running at all but glad I did as I felt great running and much better afterwards. Ran easy pace keeping my HR below 140bpm for most of the run. Did a 10.4km loop in 53min. (5:07 pace) at an average 134bpm

Recovery Monday

 Just did 30min on zwift today

Weekend of 10km racing and 30km trail running

 Saturday I got up early and did the Trotters Brook Hill 10km. I wanted to get around 41min and got 41:29. KM splits were 3:59, 3:56, 3:59, 4:29, 4:06, 4:34, 4:14, 3:59, 4:17 and 4:00. With a 3km warmup and a 1.2km cooldown I ran around 13km all up. 

Later I went and got a massage then to the gym for about 30min of light strength work

Sunday Darna and I ran with the Trotters at Dubbo Gully. Great run just running nice and comfortable. We finished in 2hrs58min. Body felt great but my feet were a bit sore from landing on some of the rocks

Thursday and Friday

 On the Thursday the morning after the track session  I went for a recovery run focusing on keeping my HR below 120bpm. Ran 11km in 1hr9min (6:16 pace)

Friday I went easy again but this time keeping my hr around 135-140bpm. Ran 10km in 53min 5:16 pace

Felt great on both runs

Easy running then track stuff

 First up today I did a very slow recovery run of 5km keeping my HR below 120bpm. 5km in 30min30sec. 6:04 pace. Felt great

Later in the evening I went to the track with Darna for Mel's session. Tonight was 4x1200m. I was pretty happy doing each rep faster. 

1200m times were 

4:36, 4:31, 4:25, 4:20

I thought Darna had an awesome workout running around 4:18-4:20 pace after doing a 29km run yesterday!

Tues

 I set off to run 14km between 4:50-5min pace. I ran along the bike path so quite flat. Other than a tight deep right glute from 7km I felt good.

14.4km in 1hr10min 4:54 pace

Later in the day I went to the gym for a bit of mobility/stretching work

Easy Monday

 Just an easy 5k this morning keeping my heartrate low. Average 119bpm. Took 29min or 5:53 pace.

Body felt great

1 week after 100km

 It's been just over 1 week since my 100km in Canberra and I've been surprised how good the body feels. 

I've done a few runs easy, a track session and a 19:36 parkrun which is the fastest 5km I've done in years. 

Yesterday I went for a long run of just under 32km and felt strong at the end. I ran most of the run quite easy but picked the pace up to 4:30-4:40 in the last 5km. After the parkrun I got a massage

I've also joined the gym at Mingara and got a yoga class done yesterday afternoon after my long run.

\

Pretty happy with the way things are going

Sri Chimnoy Canberra 100km

 On Saturday I ran in the Sri Chimnoy 100km trail event in Canberra. This was my 4th or 5th time doing this event. I just ran a comfortable pace until it was no longer comfortable then I just walked/ran/shuffled to the finish line in 13hrs50min

Friday Zwift

 Just did 1hr with the AHDR bacon rolls

More easy running

Again took it easy this morning with a 10km run. 

Ran from home to Bateau Bay beach and back. 10km in around 51min. Feeling good but having a few issues with my bunion which has a cut and one of my toes rubbing on my big toe causing the skin to friction.

In the evening I did  very slow 6km in 34min from home to Darna's. Had new shoes Altra Vanish tempo

Tuesday easy

12km done in a bit over an hour. Just picked the pace up as I went. Nothing too hard Felt great

Sunday's longrun

My goals in this run today was to run 30km, include Crackneck and average under 5min km pace. Ticked all 3. Felt good throughout the run but was getting tired from 26km. All up 30km in 2hrs27min. I did a small ankle roll but it was ok

Canberra and a new parkrun

On Friday i drove to Canberra and was finished work around 2:30pm so after I checked in my accommodation I went for a very easy 5km. Today being Saturday and not seeing my first client until 10am I took advantage of that and went to Umbagong parkrun. It starts at Florey and has quite a few rolling hills. Nothing too steep but not really a fast course. I finished in 20:45 & was 5th overall and came 1st in my age group. In total I ran 10km. The weather felt freezing and I wore long tights, long sleeve top and gloves and after the run my fingers were absolutely freezing! Body felt great but my asthma was a bit tight

Easy Thursday

Ran a very easy 10km from home. Just keeping HR below 140 as muchas possible. 10k in 54min. 5:23 pace Felt good just a little tired

Post Dubbo marathon run

After no running for 2 days and feeling pretty good in the legs I set off for what was going to be an easy run of about 17km. I ended up running just under 19km in 1hr30min.

Dubbo Marathon

Darna and myself headed out to Dubbo for the marathon. Had a great race. Plan was to just run around 5min pace and finish in a bit under 3hrs30min and not have beat up legs. Instead I ended up finishing in 3hrs17min05sec and 3rd male and 4th overall. 

Weather was absolutely perfect!

I actually felt really comfortable and kept my km's around 4:35-4:45 until the last few km's.

Other than loosing skin on one of my toes that caused quite a bit of discomfort in the last 3km my body felt awesome the whole way.

To make things even better Darna ended up with 3rd female and we both took home $300 each for prize money!

All in all a great weekend 

The Entrance Parkrun

 Went a bit harder than planned but felt great and relaxed so kinda just went with it. Ran 3km as a warmup then planned on running around 4:30 pace for the parkrun. Ran the 1st km in 4:14 & it really felt quite easy so the next few km,so we're around 4:06-4:07 & the last km was 3:47. Came 5th and 1st in my age.

Total km's were 10km around 4:30 pace.

Now off to Dubbo for the marathon tomorrow 

Friday zwift

 Day off running today. Got on Zwift for the AHDR bacon rolls. Easyish about 70min. 50km done

Easy Thursday

 A nice easy pain free 8km in: 40:52. A bit of a taper run for the marathon on Sunday.

Body felt good, ankle felt good but felt tight in the chest

A 6 yr hiatus

 I'm back again and I have no idea how long I'll blog my runs but I'll start back with today

Run this morning was 10.4km easy run from home doing the Cresthaven loop. 52min51sec.

Nothing flash but nothing hurt. I strapped my left ankle as that's still been a bit bothersome sing I rolled it a few weeks ago

January 1st 2016!

It's been over a year since I've babbled away at this blog. For 2016 I've decided to crack out the whip and start writing away again. I'm not the best writer and thankfully we have spell check and my grammer is shithouse but that doesn't matter.
2015 was an amazing year for me as far as my business and my running life went and you know what? I didn't blog any of it! It's all in my memory.
So with today being January 1st let's begin 2016
I've started the year with an injury that I got last week in my right foot. I had the same injury in 2012. Peroneal tendon pain. I've run over 10 ultras in 2015 and survived without an injury except for a right inner hamstring tendon issue behind my knee in August after doing the Centennial park ultra 100k, but other than that NOTHING! Then last Saturday I raced the Trotters hilly 10km in 39:32 and could hardly walk once I finished. I must say though it's definitely on the mend. I can now walk pretty much pain free with shoes on for 95% of the time but running is still a bit away
So today being New years day I was planning on running beyond the black stump but instead took the bike for a spin up to Belmont to visit mum, drink some coke then ride back. 109.5km with the highlight being a p plater throwing a can of drink at me with7th less than 2km to home

3 days after cortisone. Things are looking promising!

So I had a cortisone in my ischial bursa ladt Tues and since then it's improved out of sight! Wednesday we traveled almost 8hrs to Griffith and I was relatively pain free in the car.
Once we arrived I ran 7km with discomfort after the first 2km but more on the medial hamstrings.
Thursday was xmas day and I got 21.4km done. Slow but steady and the leg felt great. It was an average of 5:39 pace but a lot of that was climbing rocks.
Today was boxing day and my leg felt amazing when I got up. I ran 10.5km with an average pace of 4:59. My first km was 4:35.  Had some discomfort on the medial hamstrings again but overall it was pretty good

FFS.......Day 34!

Just get better damn you!
Getting a little frustrated now. The last prp hasn't seemed to have much effect and I'm now feeling rather pissed off to be quite honest. One thing yesterday morning I got through a spin class no problem and it wasn't any worse after. On Sat I went to Trotters and ran but that wasn't pretty. In fact the leg was just sore and miserable and was achy for the rest of the day. 10km at 6:16km pace and that's too much? Bloody hell. Before I decided to stop running all wasn't too bad. I couldn't do speed work but at least I could run. Now after having a bit of time off its so bad it hurts to plod. You try to do all the right things to get back on track and its like it slaps you in the face.
Anyway Jamie did mention it could be an ischial bursitis so today I traveled down to Sydney to get an ultrasound which showed thickening of the hamstring tendon. They said it's hard to see if there's an inflamed bursa but tomorrow I travel back to Sydney again for a cortisone shot under ultrasound.
Let's see what happens tomorrow

Day 29

Yesterday I got a 3rd prp injection but this time in my sacrotuberous ligament. Now that one HURT!
I'm not sure if it's getting better. Some days it doesn't feel too bad and other days I feel more pain in the hamstring other days its more glute or an ache in the pubic area.
I must afmit though since the injection yesterday it much less painful getting out of the car after driving.
Still painful if I have to put my leg in a stretch position such as bending down to do up my shoes etc.
I did get a massage of Brad today. 45min just focusing on my left hamstring, glute and low back
Also did a little 2km jog this morning and it was ok but still painful in a stretch position

The other thing I was told it might be is in imflammed bursa

Let's see how things are tomorrow

Day 22

Wednesday 10/12/14 - Can feel a bit of an improvement today. Still hurts to sit and drive and also stretching but feels slightly better

Day 21

Day 21 Tuesday 09/12/14 - 3 weeks since the first injection and 1 week since the second.
spent the last 4 days crewing for Greg Brown at C2K. Hamstring survived the trip and I also did some slow run/walking about 60km in total. It was ok once it warmed up.
Today however it was frustratingly achy. Had a crap massage.
Just annoying today

Day 16

Thursday 04/12/14 - So 16 days now since first injection and 2 days since the second. Today was just sitting in a car traveling 8 or 9 hrs from The Central Coast to Eden. Leg was ok sitting but had the usual soreness getting out of the car. Once we made it to Eden I went for a swim and not long later it came it came pretty good.
Ive strapped it up tonight

Day 15

Wednesday 03/12/14 - Day 15 since the first prp injection. No training. My hamstring felt pretty darn good all day. Driving from Newcastle to Central Coast flared it but came good again soon. Still hurts to stretch. Tomorrow will be a day in the car as a passenger heading down to Eden

Day 14 and 2nd prp injection

Tuesday 2nd December and 14 days since my first prp injection I had the second one today. This time Jamie injected the plasma in 3 areas in my hamstring. One was the same as last time another more on the bicep femoris tendon and the 3rd was more muscle/tendon junction of the medial hamstrings. The bicep femoris injection really felt like he got it in the spot and the muscle/tendon was also right where I've been getting pain. 

One of the annoying things with high hamstring pain is it can be hard ro work out where it's all coming from. 

After the injection I had an ache for pretty much the rest of the day which is different than the first injection where I felt fine. I ended up putting a compression bandage around the tendon and the helped a lot. After about 4 hrs with the bandage on it started to get achy again so I took it off and now my hamstring is feeling really really really good! 

I'm not getting too excited just yet but this is the best it's felt in a long time

Day 13

Monday 1st December - No training just on my feet working all day. Leg was annoying all day. I can feel it mostly when I lift my knee such as walking up steps and still sore when sitting.
So it's been 13 days since my first injection and I don't know if it's working. I'm hoping the pain I've had is the inflammation from the prp injection.
I get the second injection tomorrow morning

Day 12

Sunday 30th November - day 12 since the injection. No training just went to the Central coast half to take photos. Hamstring and glute were both quite achy when I got up and was pretty much like that all day. I was sitting for most of the day and that's what seems to make it worse

High hamstring prp injection

On Tuesday 18th November I went and got my first prp injection. This has been a long time coming. I've suffered with high hamstring tendonosis for the last few yrs on and off and after my last race at Stromlo I decided it's time for the injection. I want to keep a diary of how the injury goes with the injections.
So on Tuesday 18th I had the injection and it was simple and pain free. After the injection it felt fine and there was no flare up

Wednesday 19th day 1 - No training, I just went about my normal day and noticed my hamstring felt more relaxed. No pain except for certain stretch positions

Thursday 20th day 2 - No training.  Leg felt pretty much the same as yesterday.  Still sore if I sit on it for too long

Friday 21st day 3 - Easy 9km at 5:40 pace. Hamstring felt better at times and the same as it has been at other times. Rest of the day it felt awesome

Saturday 22nd day 4 - Very very easy 10km at Trotters. Ran an average of 5:50 pace. Hamstring was pretty good but groin was a little sore. Not sure if it was from running so slow

Sunday 23rd day 5 - Rode the bike 100km from Tumbi Umbi to Swansea and back. Hamstring was great until about 45km then was uncomfortable. It seemed to be ok riding though but when I finished that was a different story. My left butt around where the injury is was absolutely painful and stayed that way for the rest of the day

Monday 24th - day 6 - no training.  Butt very sore

Tuesday 25th - day 7 - no training.  Butt still sore

Wednesday 26th - day 8 - no training.  Butt sore but slightly better

Thursday 27th - day 9 - I went and saw Stan physio and asked if I should do any eccentric exercises. He suggested doing 3x20 eccentric leg curls. Did that then sore leg but came good as the day went on

Friday 28th - day 10 - 3x20 eccentric leg curls.  Leg quite achy all day

Saturday 29th - day 11 - no training except a surf. Could feel leg surfing. Leg was sore but came good as the day progressed. Was at Platinum chiro xmas party until really late and was sitting for most of the night and that flared the glute and hamstring up

Tuesday and some good training done

Made it to the 6:15am cycle class then as soon as that was done I went to Mingara pool and swam an easy 2km in 39:42 stopping every 5 laps then straight after the swim I got a 5km walk in 47:36.

Later I went back to the gym and did the 5:30pm cycle class followed by some core work.

Back was ok today but was tight and I know if I tried to run it would have flared up

Monday's swim

Was going to try a 30min run this morning but straight away my hip/back was sore so I stopped. Annoying!
At 11am I headed off to Mingara pool and swam 2k doing intervals of 50m in 35:44.

That's pretty much it exercise wise. Back felt a little better as the day went on

Thursday, Friday, Sat and Sunday. Got a bit of running done!

Thursday - Was up in Newcastle this morning and got a 10k run in 53:54. I could ffel the back but it was ok and felt ok as the day went on. It's not better but improving!

Friday - I was on my way to Canberra and stopped off at Mittagong and ran another 10k this time in 52:51. Again the back felt good as the day went on but was a little sore straight after the run

Saturday - Cold frosty morning in Canberra and I run around Lake Burley Griffin doing 16km in 1:22:35 and for most of the run I could feel discomfort in my left hip and in the last 1.5k I could feel slight pain in my back. I put my asthma puffer between my pants and spine and the pain vanished! Weird! But as the day went on the back/hip got pretty sore and was still sore at the end of the day

Sunday - Back on the coast and my back was feeling kinda normal again. Went to the gym and did the 9:15am cycle class then used the sauna where I was doing trigger point work to my gluteus medius and found that really relieved any discomfort I had.
Later I went back to the gym got on the treadmill and ran 1km pain free in about 5:30 then did another 1km faster in 4:50 with a little bit of pain at the end. Then it was yoga

Wednesday and things are looking promising!

Happy with how today went. Went to the gym and did 1hr on the elliptical trainer. Then I go to the Chiropractor to start work at 8:30am and my client forgo and my 9:45am client canceled as she was sick! Christ sakes that shits me. So I now have a couple of hours free so I go for a run/walk. Did 12km in just over 90min. Back was ok running and for some strange reason if iput pressure on my back while running I seemed to be running pain free. Weird. I then decide to go straight to Woolworths and buy some rigid strapping tape and strap my back and glute up. All felt great with the tape on.
Later I went back to the gym to do some core and upper body strength and did a last minute 1km run on the treadmill in 5:20. Back felt great with the tape on. I could feel it but overall it was quite good. Even better it felt fine as the day went on and even standing on one leg putting my pants and socks on was pretty good and thats the movement that really flares it up.

So I'm finally feel im getting somewhere with this injury and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Well For now at least.

Lets see how it is tomorrow. I'll have a go at running in the morning

Monday and Tuesday. In the 6th week now of this back injury

Monday was physio day. Saw Stan at 9am then got on the X-trainer for an hour after. Back was fine but still sore to run up and down on the spot. I then did some core work.

Later I got to a 4:30pm cycle class

Tuesday was another cycle class at 9:45am then some leg strength work. In the evening I went back to use the steamroom. Backs pretty much the same as yesterday

Sunday swim

Up at 7am and at Gosford to watch the Bay2Bay funrun by 7:45am. Took a few photos, chatted to a few mates then got out of the freezing cold to the warmth of my heater in my car and drove to Mingara pool to do a few laps. 60laps (3km) in 57:32 stopping every 1-6 laps for a break.

It was then to the gym for a core workout and to sweat it out in the steamroom.

The back was ok today but I could still feel it

Saturday

Went down to trotters just to walk and got 8km in walking to Wamberal along Ocean View dve and back

Next was to the gym where I did a double cycle class. 1hr50min in total.

The backs been pretty good but I did feel it after the walk.

Friday the 13th

Well Friday the 13th wasn't too bad a day.
After a morning of massaging clients I was able to get to WoyWoy pool which was 25m today for a 3km swim. Swam between 2-10 laps before I had a break. Finding it a bit boring at the moment to just swim continually so breaking it up made it easier. Total swimming time was 55:32 and must have spent 75min in the pool in total.

At 4:50pm I went to the gym and before I did the cycle class I got on the tradmill and did a mixture of walking and running. Was running up to 4:17 pace and the back just has discomfort while I'm running but gets sore after. Got 4km done in just over 25min

At 5:30pm it was time for cycle class. Back was tight in this but not too sore unless I was pushing a heavy load.

It's 9:30pm now and it's been pretty sore since that little run/walk.

Tomorrow I'm just going for a walk down at trotters then will do the double cycle class

Thursday....a run/walk and pain again

Got 8km done with a mixture of walking and running. I was up at Mums so trained around Warners Bay heading to Speers Pt and back. Started with 5min slow running then 5min walking then after 5km I ran 1km in 4:35 pace and the back felt fine running that pace on flat but as soon as I stopped to walk then get running again I started to get that stabbing pain again. Pain level was moderate for the rest of the day but unlike yesterday when I was pretty much pain free all day this time it was there just slightly and if I tried to test it out during the day such as running up and down on the spot it would instantly hurt.

Tomorrow I think I'll swim and do the afternoon cycle class.

I'm hoping after a nights sleep it will again st\rt to feel normal again

Wednesday and feeling good

A double cycle class was on the menu today. Completed it with no back pain at all but it did feel tight on and off throughout the class. Also got a leg workout done which included some plyometrics with no back pain.
No pain in the back as the day went on.
I think its time to try and do another slow run tomorrow and see how it feels

Tuesday. swim, acupuncture, 6k plod and physio

I was going to get up early and do the 6:15am cycle class but I was absolutely bloody tired and it took no convincing to go back to sleep and let my body rest a bit longer. Back felt wonderful this morning.

So instead I went to Woywoy pool and swam 2k in 38:55 then off to see Kristi-Anna so she could stick needles in my back.

With my back feeling good I went to the gym as I had to see Stan (physio) but before I saw him I got on the treadmill and at a snail pace I ran 6k in 41min stopping every 2k to make sure the back was ok. Mostly just felt tight until the last 500m when it was getting uncomfortable.

Physio next and he mainly massages around QL area then stretches and mobilization techniques

Saturday, Sunday and Monday.....a bit of fun at South West Rocks

Woke up Saturday with a back that just felt perfect! Was off to South West Rocks today with Greg Brown picking me up about 9:30am. First up though I got a cycle class done at 7:45am and my back was fine in that.
Rest of the day was spent heading up to South West Rocks and catching up with some other friends

Sunday was the morning of the marathon, half marathon and 10k and a few other smaller events that were held.
Perfect weather and with my back still feeling wonderful I rode around the course taking photos and cheering the runners on. My back was slightly sore in stages riding the bike and by the time I was finished riding it was pretty sore but it was feeling great again not too long later and felt great for the rest of the night

Monday again the back was feeling great. No pain what so ever. When I got home I had a massage to do and still felt fine in that but I did notice it was a little tight. I then went for a 1km run around the block and that stirred it up. Sore again from such a small little run. I guess it is on the mend and feels fantastic compared to a few weeks ago but it's still not ready to start running again and that's bloody annoying!

Wed, Thurs and Fri

So keeping my promise to myself and to blogging while I have this back injury the last 3 days have been mixed emotions.

Wednesday was a great day training wise. Started off by doing 30min on the stationary bike then 30min on the x-trainer. Back was a little sore after that.
I then saw Stan and had some physio then later I got body balance in. First time in a long time since I've done one of those. I then got to Mingara pool to swim 2km slow

Thursday was a day I had a sleep in. I was going to do a cycle class but couldn't be bothered and thought the extra sleep seemed a better idea.
I had to go to Newcastle to massage the Knights so I stopped off at Kotara fitness first to do some core work before work. Nothing else done today

Friday I woke up with the sore back. Very depressing and was quite annoyed. I just want this thing to go away. Almost 5 weeks now so it's frustrating not being able to do what I love doing and that's the joy and freedom of running out on the trails.
I got to the gym and did 48min on the stationary bike then off to Woyoy pool to swim 2km in about 39min then tonight I got in a cycle class. Back felt better tonight

Need to keep track of this injury

I thought I should blog about this back injury so if I ever get it again I'll be able to come back to this and see how I got through it.

So what have I got? Some stupid ligament issue called my iliolumbar ligament that goes from the transverse process at the L5 and attaches to Iliac crest.

The first sign I had an issue with this ligament was 1 week before it crippled me. I was doing Mt Solitary ultra and about 10km from the finish running down a hill I felt discomfort in my lower back near my spine. It lasted a few km's then going up Kedumba hill for the last 7km it went away and never bothered me again. In fact I forgot all about it and thought all was rosy.
The next sign was the following Saturday when I was doing some massages in Canberra and just had a tight low back.
The next sign was the day it happened. I was out on the GNW with the Terrigal Trotters and after about 6km into a 33km trail run I got that same feeling I had a week earlier at the Mt Solitary race but this time it didn't go away. It didn't really slow me down but I could feel it getting worse. I should have stopped and walked but as we do I ran and paid the price.
From then on it just got worse and worse and when I thought it couldn't get any worse it got worse again!

2 days later I go and see Stan my physio and after ruling out SIJ he thinks it may be my facet Joint.

With the help of another friend Di I go and get a cortisone injection into the L4/L5 and L5/S1 facet joint and after 7 days of no real pain relief I get a 2nd injection this time in my iliolumbar ligament.
The pain level went from a 8/10 down to a 2/10 straight away. It was heaven!

The pain since then had stayed between a 0/10 to a 4/10. I still can't run but I did do 3km in 19min40sec yesterday but even going that slow stirred it up.

So it been like this
Week 1 - PAIN!
Week 2 - PAIN!
Week 3 - 2nd injection and I'm walking with slight discomfort and I tried a cycle class but got sore mid way though
Week 4 - This is where I'm up to now and I did a 3km slow slow slow run yesterday but wasn't too good after and today I've done a cycle class then I had to go to Parramatta to massage the Eels and got there early so walked6km trying to do some 100m jogging but found out I better just stick to the walking. Then later when I got back on the coast about 6pm I went back into the gym and did a leg workout that included lunges, squats, jumping lunges which were all done Bodyweight and also used the assisted chinup machine and got through it all pain free. I did try to run up and down on the spot but that's still painful

So things are on the mend!!

The injured runner!

Injuries come and go. It doesn't matter if you are an elite athlete, a serious athlete or a weekend warrior. Sometime in our lives we all get injuries. Some people struggle with chronic injuries and some acute. Some people get recurring injuries every few yrs or so while other people get totally new ones.

For myself since I started running in 1999 I've had a lot and I've learnt a lot about how to win the battle against them not only physically but also mentally. Half the battle is the mental one!

The first injury I can remember getting was an achilles issue sometime in 1999. It put me out of action for about 4 or 5wks. I had no clue what to do. I didn't even have the internet back then so it was looking through old runners world magazines to see what this pain was. I was reading stuff about surgery and was freaking out! I was also stressing out that I couldn't run. I hated it! Then after about a month I was back out pounding the pavement again. I've had achilles issues twice since then. Once in 2009 after running hard out at Palmdale which took about 2 weeks to heal and I had issues with it again late last yr but with that one I had no pain just a puffy achilles so I took 4 weeks off to let it settle.

I've have the dreaded ITB. First time was back in 2000 when I was training for my first marathon which is now called the Blackmores marathon. I had no idea what this sharp stabbing pain in my knee was. All I knew was after about 20min of running it HURT! I remember thinking I had a knee injury and thought I was going to need knee surgery or something stupid like that. That one lasted about 6 weeks then came good only to haunt me again in 2009 when it came on all of a sudden running stairs in Bouddi National Park. The second time around I was out of action for 2 weeks then I back into it again.

I've had a strained quad and calf that's put me out of running for about a week

I've done cartilage damage to my ribs falling between two rocks after surfing and I was out of running action for 3 weeks and couldn't lie on my stomach for 9 months

I've dislocated my right shoulder about 8 times since I was 16yrs old and the last time was 5yrs ago ocean swimming out at Terrigal. That put me out of running for 2 weeks.

In 2010 I suffered with High hamstring tendinopathy and got it again in 2012

In 2011 I had a very nasty groin injury on both legs. That was awful and I couldn't run for 5 months between January and May.

In June 2011 I pinched a nerve in my L5-S1 and that was absolutely painful!!! Took 8 weeks to settle

Then last yr in 2013 I got my very first stress fracture in my right fibula but other than running I had no pain at all.

And now in 2014 I got a stress reaction in my tibia after doing C2K a 240km race which took 6 weeks to heal but this one only hurt if I pushed on the bone

Other things I've had peroneus brevis tendon pain in my foot which took 2 weeks to heal.

Had a sore knee for 1 week after running Narrabeen Allnighter race for 12hrs on concrete turning at a witches cone every 1 mile

Got a sore foot that put me out of action for about 2 weeks...No idea what that one was

Had morton's neuroma once which felt like I had a stone in my foot. That went away in about 3 weeks but didn't stop me running.

And right now I've pulled my iliolumbar ligament in my back.

So in 15yrs of running I've had a few injuries and I know if I let those injuries heal they will get better. Most get better in 2-4wks. Some are a little more stubborn though

Believe it or not I don't actually mind if I get an injury because if I never got an injury I'd just keep training hard all yr round without a break and I believe I would burn out.

Things I've learnt from injuries is never train through them. Just about all my injuries have just come on without much warning. My stress fracture last yr I had plenty of warning but ignored it but the rest came without much warning. The warning signs are probably there but I didn't recognise them.

I've done 2 ocean swim races that I loved that if it wasn't for running injuries I would never had done

I've learnt to enjoy swimming, bike riding and general cross training more. I've learnt that I enjoy running and training more than competing. That's why if I get injured I swim, and ride lot's and if I can't do a race then so be it.
I did get a little pissed that I got injured 2 weeks out from TNF100km race this yr though but at the end of the day I've done 3 ultras already this yr.

I've learnt that resting with an injury is a chance for me to recover and let my body heal.


So when my back gets better and if my injury history is anything to go by I should be back in 2 or 3 weeks I will then get back into it again train like a demon for 6-12 months until I get another niggle then take a few weeks off for recovery then train like a demon again which at the end of the day suits me fine :-)

TNF100 from a crewing perspective

TNF100 from a crewing perspective

So what do I do when I can’t race?  I do the next best thing and help another runner in their quest to run 100km.

2 weeks before TNF100 I was doing a training run with the Terrigal Trotters on the GNW and somewhere on that run I hurt my back and I hurt it bad! I was waiting until the morning of the race before I gave in and decided to live to fight another day. So with no race to run had being there I thought I might as well help Greg Brown out the best I could.

I had my Mum up with me as she was going to crew for me if I was able to run so we both followed Greg around the Blue Mtns for the day.

Now it begins I guess at the Start line. We got to the start at Scenic World about 6am and Greg was in wave 4 so he didn’t start until about 6:45ish so when he gave me his pack to hold while he went off to help Marina get a couple of last minute things from the registration area I went for little walk to where I had a better view of things. Maybe I should’ve let Greg know I’d moved from where he left me and with the event getting closer to it’s start time I start to look around for Greg but can’t see him anywhere.
With wave 1 about to start I try calling Greg to see where he was. His phone was turned off! Wave 1 are off and within 3min wave 2 will be getting under away. Greg’s in wave 4 so I take his pack and start to walk around hoping I’ll see him near the start line somewhere. It wasn’t too long and I spot Gary Pickering and he tells me Greg’s just over here and he’s in a panic! Now I know where he is and I’ll have time to give him his pack I tell Gary I’ll let him sweat it out a little longer! I see Greg but he doesn’t see me yet and I see fear and panic in his eye’s so I put him out of his misery and hand him his pack. Relief is now on his face and he has just enough time to take his jumper off put his pack on, get to the start line before he sets off!

Now I won’t have much to do until 47km later at CP3 as we can’t go to the first two CP’s so I hopped on the rail and which took us down the cliff to about the 5.5km mark. By the time I got there I saw Marc Person and Gill Fowler go running by. I walked a few hundred meters on to the single trail and started to take photo’s. A little down from where I was I saw a couple of people trip over then another and a minute or so later I saw another trip over all in the same spot. I walked over to see why everyone was falling on their faces and saw a small rock that getting everyone. After two more fell I started to warn the runners about this rock. I did that until I saw Greg come through then was about to leave. As soon as I walked away another tripped on the rock and fell down the embankment. So I now decided to just stay until the last runner came through and warn the rest.

When they came through I took the train back up to Scenic World, found mum and went off to Katoomba find a bakery.

Next stop – CP3 at Megalong Valley. We got here about 9:30am and I wasn’t too sure what time the leaders would be coming through but thought somewhere between 10:10am and 10:20am. I walked a few hundred meters up the track to take some photos. About 10:15am Stu Gibson came flying by! For the next hour I’m snapping away at the runners and cheering them on. The NSWIB had an esky at the cp so while I wait for Greg to get in I’m quite happy taking in the sunshine drinking beer. I then decided to tease the runners by walking back up the track with a couple of beers and drink them as they ran past me. The drooling from some of them told me they were getting thirsty. A few said “that’s not fair” a few just said “oohhhhh” and some just looked and held their hand out hoping I may give them one. Then out of nowhere Greg comes in. I can’t remember what time it was as I’d had about 5 or so stubbies by now. He had drop bags at this cp and had what he needed in them so all I had to do was see if he needed anything else and make sure he didn’t stay too long. Within a couple of minutes and a couple of photos of him leaving he is gone.

Next Stop – Katoomba to the bottle shop and the supermarket for some food

Next Stop – CP4 at Katoomba aquatic centre. With mum now driving and me drinking this is day is going well! We get the CP4 and I just chat to some 50k runners that had finished. Took photos of some of the 100k runners that I know and also chat to some 100k runners that I don’t know and try to encourage them along. We were here for a couple of hrs and Greg comes in still looking pretty good. I see if there’s anything he needs and tell him to get out of here and get back out there which he does and he’s off again.

Next Stop – CP5 and The old Queen Victoria Hospital at Wentworth Falls. Time to start rugging up as the sun is now starting to go down and the temp is getting cold. This was quite a wait as I knew it would be. We got here around 4:30pm I think and I thought Greg would arrive between 7pm and 8pm so with that I grabbed a few more beers and headed over to where the runners came in and happily cheered them in. They have now run 78km and the smile are vanishing from their faces. They are now shuffling along except for a few who still look rather fresh. I chat here to Allison Lilley for a bit then some other people I’ve never met before.  After drinking my beer I decide it’s time to get some coffee into me and start to warm up.
Around 7:10pm Cathy Duffy comes in and is looking a little lost. I go over and see if she needs anything and she tells me she can’t find her crew. I’m thinking with 9 family members all with blue hoddie on with team Cathy on them how could you miss them but can’t see them anywhere. I give them a call for her and they said they are stuck in traffic and about 2min away. So all good. I help her out and it’s not long later they are there and we get some food and warm clothes on her and send her off. About 10min later Greg comes in and within about 3min he’s off.

Next Stop – Finish at Scenic World. The end is so close now but so far away. It’s taking most runners between 3hrs30mn and 4hrs to do the last section of 22km of stairs, stairs and stairs. So I gather Greg should be in between 11:30pm and 12am. I find a nice warm area to sit and Mum sits down and rests up. We are going to be here a while! I just wait now cheering the finishers on and clapping them on their final 50m. It’s amazing watching them finish. I saw them start and to see them 15hrs, 16hrs 17hrs later still going is quite amazing! Greg came in about 11:50pm in 17hrs6min and a 25min PB! Now we wait for Marina to finish so we can give her a lift home. With mum sleeping on and off  in the chair, Greg relaxing eating hot chips and drinking the cold beer I had waiting for him Marina comes in in a little over 19hrs!

Next Stop – BED! Home by 2:15am, bed by 2:30am

Buffalo Ultra 75km....what a beast!

"The African buffalo is a member of the "Big Five"group of animals, with the elephant, rhino, lion and leopard. Buffaloes have earned a bad reputation from hunters and other people who come in close contact with them. They are unpredictable and can be dangerous if cornered or wounded. Though they have been known to ambush men and are often accused of deliberate savagery, they are usually placid if left alone"

Well that pretty much sums up this course. Especially the bit where it say's "Though they have been known to ambush men and are often accused of deliberate savagery, they are usually placid if left alone"

So with 7 weeks training coming off a stress fracture I decided to give it my best shot and I'm happy to say I survived to tell the tale!

So on a very early Saturday morning down in a small but awesome town in Victoria called Bright we lined up. I guess there were a lot of nervous runners hanging around. I don't think I was nervous but......but......but.......ok I guess I was nervous. 

It wasn't long before we were off and running into the darkness and before I know it we are plodding up the first climb which I didn't find too bad. Mainly because it was a very very easy pace and it was also dark so I could only see as far as my Ayup light would let me. So before too long we were on top of Mystic mtn and soon to make our way down "Mick's Hill" arrrrgghhhhh....ohhhhhhh.....arrrrrghhhh......ohhhhhhhh....... arrrghhhhh!!!!!!!! That's the sound I made sliding on my feet, sliding on my butt, then sliding on my feet, then sliding on my butt down this muddy slippery hill trying not to break my neck then thinking "how many people would line up for hours at Dreamworld for a ride like this?" That hill I think was 800m but however long it was it took a long time to get down. Then I started thinking that I have to climb up that later on then I start thinking I need to stop thinking.

Now once down I get running again checking to see if I had a big hole in my pants which I'm glad to say I didn't.

It wasn't too long before we make our way up "Clearspot"......ohhh Clearspot how I remember you well. This became a walk/run for me and all I thought about was putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward which worked a treat because before I knew it I was up the top then running down down down down down where I managed to twist my ankle. Having rolled my ankle a few times in the past I know if I keep moving it comes good so that's what I did but this time it hurt more than normal. Anyway I kept going trying to block out any pain then changed my running gait to make it a bit more pain free. So down down down I keep going then we head down "Warners Wall" This wall was another crazy down hill but I handled it better than Mystic and before I know it we are on road going through a drink stop. I felt great here and just kept on going. Through a few paddocks and gates we now make our way up Keating Ridge which I really liked and pretty much ran the whole way. It was similar to Pluviometer on the 6ft track then a few km's down hill to the bottom of the "Big Walk" I had a can of coke here and filled up my water and drink bottles then just took my time getting up to the top of Mt Buffalo. 

Now it was a 7km loop to go then run back to the finish....easy! On this 7km loop we got to go caving too which was exciting! Not easy after about 40km of running though. 

Now on the return trip I was still feeling great and once over Keating Ridge and back on the road section I caught up to Tony Williams who seemed to be struggling somewhat and at on off the drink stops he asked if they had any gels. They didn't but I had some as I wasn't even using them so I gave him a couple.  Keeping on moving forward we get back to "Warners Wall" and after a few steps forward I look around and find some sticks on the ground and use them to get myself up this cliff face thing. This is where It hit me and step by step by step I used those sticks to trudge to the top. It was also here that those gels kicked in for Tony as he passed me like I was standing still and the last time I saw him was at the finish line. In fact I most likely was standing still when he passed me. Once up the top it was then slow slow slow walk/run to the top of clearspot. A guy who was in front of me at the time turned around looked at me, pointed to the sky and said Ït just keeps on f**king going! It doesn't f**king stop!" Then with no flat to get the muscles use to running again it was time to go down the other side of Clearspot. This killed my knees. They were sore and I was no longer having much fun. It was now survival. This hill with sore knees and feet and arms and toes was endless but I did get there and with a little bit of runable ground it was time to conquer "Mystic" I grab some sticks the just stuck them into the mud and heaved myself about half a meter then stuck those sticks into the mud again and heaved myself another half a meter and did this over and over and over again sometimes going a meter forward then sliding two meters back and sometimes yelling outloud...."arrrgghhhh C'mon!"sounding like Lleyton Hewitt but I did eventually get to the top. Once there I knew I only had about 4 or 5km to go and mostly downhill. I stood on the top of Mystic for about 1min and thought about what I had just climbed then shook my head and headed to to finish.

I crossed that line in 11hrs34min had Sean put that medal around my neck then found a seat took off my shoes and thought "WOW!

C2K 2013!!!!!!!!!!

Ok let me try and put this race into words….hmmmmm...well I’m going to miss alot but here goes.

Now one thing this is not just a race, it’s an amazing journey into another world. I mean how on earth do you describe in words the feeling you get mentally and physically running/walking 240km from Eden on the Sth Coast of NSW to the highest point in Australia?

I could put this race in to sections such as PRE RACE, THE RACE and POST RACE because each has it's own story but for this I'm going to just talk about "THE RACE"

Amazingly I managed to sleep pretty well waking up about 3:30am to eat some breakfast and do some last minute sorting of my gear. By 4:50am we arrive at the start line and with a nervous wait I try to keep warm. A few photos done of Kevin, Charlie and myself on the start line and the next thing I know we are lined up and off and running!

The first few km's and it's no easy task. Straight on trails and some short sharp steep hills. I just got into a comfortable pace walking those steep hills along with everyone else that I could see.
The first 24km went pretty quick just getting into a nice rhythm I soon catch up to Sarah Richardson then pass her then a little while later she catches up to me and we run into the 24km mark together where we get to meet up with our crews for the first time. I stop here to do some shoe surgery and off I go again.
The next thing I really remember is making my way to the marathon point where I get a cheer from Carol Adams. I got there in 4hrs13min. After that it became a bit of a blur until I got to the first checkpoint at Rocky Hall (50km) I came in there in 5hrs9min (I think)
Feeling pretty good I made my way to Big Jack Mtn at 56.3km in 5hrs50min. It was here Kevin drove to the top while Charlie walked/ran the 7.2km steep hill with me. That 7.2km took 1hr3min to get to the top. I was now back on my own plodding along to checkpoint 2 at Cathcart (70km) 8hrs2min in and 13th place. From here I run with John Pearson and Rick Cooke until my right hip started to give me grief. I put up with it but as the km's went on it was just getting worse and worse. Very frustrating as the rest of my legs felt great. By the time I got to the next checkpoint at 106.7km I was pretty much walking. It was here I got charlie to stick his elbow in my hip and try and release it which helped for a little bit but soon became painful again. At 110km I put some KT tape on the hip and BINGO! I was all good again. Now back into running mode I was catching quite a few other runners and now feeling positive again. It was also around this stage these guys in a ute drove up next to me and said to hop in the back as they could give me a lift! hahaha....one then asked what do you get if you win and I said I'm not too sure but if you finish you get an Akubra. He then said his mate next to him makes Akubra's and he will just give me one!....laughing my head off they wished me well.

Now from 110km to 139km I'm flying along loving it when I decide to have some ice. The next thing I'm cold, then I'm shivering. I said to let me sit in the car with the heater on for a bit and I'll warm up then get back out there. The next thing I know I'm sitting down and I vomit, and vomit and vomit and vomit. I was in the car crook from 9:35pm to 10:58pm. That's a long time going nowhere and being sick. Kevin thought at on stage there I was going to be off to hospital but being a great support crew he stayed positive and poor Charlie had the job of cleaning out my vomit bowl. Finally I decide I've got to get moving and we walk the next 9km to Dalgety checkpoint (148.1km) I stayed here and had a 35min sleep and got my head back into it. I woke up feeling great again and was off into some sort of running.

At 162km Kevin and I started the Beloka climb. All I remember of this was it was STEEP! As we were getting closer to the top the sun was rising and that was just a magic sight!
We were now on our way to Jindabyne and we got there at 8amish or 26hrs30min into the race. I stopped here and had some soup before we started the 40km treck up and up and up to Perisher with a few steep down hills in there too. Being so tired on this climb with being so fatigued I was feeling like I was now drunk and I think Kevin was feeling similar effects we were now just talking shit, laughing at all sorts of things and just having a good time and asking Chalie what's the score in the cricket even though it didn't start for a few hours but hey we had no idea of the day let alone what time it was.  We decided a while ago not too worry about my time as It got blown out the window back when I was throwing up so we were making the best out of this situation.

Somewhere along this section about 5-8k from Perisher we are running down this steep hill and Kevin said his knee was a bit sore and I said my calf is a little sore. We stop to walk then the next thing I know I have this sharp stabbing pain in my left calf. Not long later I couldn't bend my knee so I was now walking the rest of the way to Perisher which took a long time.
We now had a 8-9km climb to Charlottes Pass to get to and we thought we will just relax, walk to the summit and just enjoy being out here as we had plenty of time up our sleeves. About 5km from Charlottes Pass we got a message from another crew that after 4:30pm they weren't allowing any other runners up to the summit because of bad weather. SHIT! it was 3:35pm and we were walking pretty slow now and we only had 55min to get up there which normally wouldn't be a problem but with a stuffed calf it kind of became a bit of a problem. OK all of a sudden I thought I haven't come all this way, gone through all this pain not to get to the summit so I blocked that calf pain out and we did a run/walk to Charlottes Pass getting there around 4:10pm with 20min to spare! We then went back into relax mode.
The next part of this adventure was something else! Kevin, Charlie and myself hiking to the summit congratulating, hugging, hi fiving all the other runners who were on there way back. We hiked through snow and ice stopping to use the highest toilet in Australia on the way and get to the summit in the most perfect weather you could ask for. We got some photo's taken then made our way back down the 9km to Charlottes pass to the finish. I saw Greg Brown and Keith Sullivan on our way back down and I just felt so happy they made it.
With 4km to go I got back into power walking mode just wanting to finish this thing now.

I crossed that line in 39hrs20min and 29th place out of 50

GNW100's a monster of a race!

Crazy, just flippin crazy. I haven't wrote on this thing for a bit because I'm just a lazy guy at heart but this race is like no other so my thoughts on it and how I went.

PRE RACE

Ok well I pretty much stopped running for 4 weeks prior to this event because of an achilles issue. My last proper run was relay for life where I clocked up 100km but also flared up my achilles so since then it's been cycling lots and swimming a fair bit.

The week prior before GNW I drove to Canberra and when I got there my achilles was blown up like a balloon then the next morning it went down I I drove home and again it was puffed up like a balloon. Monday I decide to send Dave Byrnes an email saying I'm pulling out but for some reason the email wouldn't go through so I thought I'll send it again tomorrow. The next day I thought "hell with it let's give it a shot and see how I go" So I email Dave and ask if it's too late to book the pre race dinner and the next thing I know I'm going ahead with it.

I decide I better try some kind of running before the big day so I get on the treadmill twice that week and ran 10km each time. No flare up of the achilles and I did see the physio the week earlier and he said it's ok to start up some running so what's 175km I think...thats some running so all of a sudden I'm excited like a little school kid eating straight milo out of the tin!

I now get all my drop bags ready and with my mum just living 10min up the road from the start I'm all set to go.
The Friday comes and I drive up there and get my drop bags ready then see it's a total fire ban for the Sat in the greater Hunter.....arrrgghhhhh!!! That should mean a cancelled race but Dave Byrnes being Dave Byrnes manages to get the all clear to go ahead :-)

At the pre race dinner I somehow get talked into cooking up potatoes for the first 2 checkpoints as they couldn't cook them up on the day because of the fire ban. I finish dinner go back to mum's and with her help we cook the potatoes.....forget the potatoes are boiling away then remember then get overcooked potatoes ready for the first 2 checkpoints. Sorry if they were a bit soggy!

Now the night of the race is hot so I decide to sleep in the lounge room on a lounge with the air conditioner going and with a total of 3hrs sleep I'm ready to rock'n'roll!

THE RACE

So I turn up to the start line thinking I might do ok. I set a goal just to go checkpoint to checkpoint and see how far I get.

After the fun of getting weighed, chatting to all the other runners who are also looking quite excited we listen to Dave go through the speech of welcome and good luck and explaining the rules and etiquette of the race.

6am Dave say's go and we are off to war but we don't know it's war just yet.

I get running really comfortable taking care not to stress my achilles and I'm running with Spud, Nikolay and a few others until a little bit past where the trail start. From then on it was feeling great to cp1. I'm out of there after about 5min and going good. A few Km's on and I'm trying to open a bottle of coke and while I'm doing that I trip on a stick or something and fall pretty bad but I get up and continue with a blood drawn arm. It was this stage I had my first real cramp. WTF!  I never cramp I'm I've been taking salt tablets every hr. Anyway I come good and just slog the next 10 or so km to Congewai rd. I'm running with Dave Waugh for a bit then I loose him then I catch back up to him then I get away from him again and the next thing I see Damien Smith sitting down. We run together to the Congewai rd and I'm thinking I'd love it to rain right now. I'm still feeling ok and I've run 45km so thinking that's good. 5min later I feel a bit sick so I go to have a drink and .........NO WATER LEFT! Ohhhh dear. I get about another km then decide I need to walk and save myself for the hills ahead. I'm in about 6th place at this stage.

All of a sudden things got real bad real quick. The temp was now 38deg and I'm on a dirt road with no shade with the sun reflecting off the road on me and hitting me straight from above. I walked into cp2 (52km) absolutely stuffed dry reaching a few times. I get weighed and I've gone from 69.8kg to 65.2kg!

I sat there cooling off getting fluid in me and lying on the green stretcher for 1hr10min then head back out there.

All of a sudden I'm feeling great again thinking I'm going to do this. I pass a few runners and the next thing I'm heading up the communications tower surprisingly catching Nikolay and  Antoniya the woman that ended up winning the female event. I get to the top back to running feeling pretty good plodding along passing all these runners sitting down trying to find shade from the sun. Other runners are helping them and from then on I was running on and off with Antoniya up the next big hill past Watagens Ck. We get to the unmanned water stop and I tip what was left in my water bottle all over my head to cool me down, refill my bottles and head off. Now somewhere here things went down hill really quick. I get plodding and a few km's later my quads have seized up and I can no longer run down hill. Not long later I cant hardly walk up hill. I start to think just get to cp3 (80km) and maybe I'll be able to rest again then come good. I soon find even walking really tough and see a log and decide to sit until I see another runner then get going again. I sit for about 10min then 3 runners came by. I then think I'll wait until the next lot come by and I'll run to the Basin CP3 with them. 15min and no other runners I get up and plod at about 20min-24min/km pace. 

I manage to get into the Basin 1hr40min after I started to walk again and that's only 5km. 

I then tell them I'm pulling out as I was worried if I continued I may not be well for C2K.

So after I thought about the event I was really happy I got to where I did. 49 people pilled out at CP2 and only 29% of the field finished the 100mile. That would have to be the biggest drop out rate of any race that I know of anywhere in the world.

I managed to walk into cp2 feeling like death then gain enough strength to continue another 30km

A run, a swim a scone and coffee.......It's Friday!

Pretty chilled out day. Leg was tight but ok to run on as long as I didn't run too fast which was fine as I only wanted to do an easy 12k. Ran from WoyWoy pool towards Koolewong and back. 4:50 pace for 12.7km.
Then it was in the pool for an easy 2k swim done in 19min then a MASSIVE date scone and a coffee

Thursday hills

Leg felt pretty good when I took off this morning for the first few km's then once I started on the hills I started to feel it. Wasn't too bad the whole run and I managed 18.5km running from Terrigal to Erina and Wamberal and back. Had an average pace of 4:50/km.

Later I went to the gym and got a leg workout done

Tues

Went out for a 17km run average pace of about 5:12/km so easy. It was from Terrigal up Crommerty hill and back so a nice hill in there. I didn't want to push the pace at all with my hamstring the way it is. In fact it felt good until about 7km when I started the climb up the hill then I felt it for about 6km then it came good in the last 4km. I mixed the pace up doing around 5min pace for the first 5km and around 4:45/4:50 pace for the fast few km's and a coupe of 5:25 pace in the middle to get the feeling of running really slow which I'll be doing more as C2K gets closer.
Later I went and got a massage and tonight I did the 6:30pm cycle class which I could slightly feel my hamstring then did physio exercises and leg weights

Monday

My hamstring felt a bit better this morning. I did get to the gym where I ran slow 2km on the treadmill then did the physio exercises I was given for this injury last yr then another 2km on the treadmill.

Tonight I got on the bike trainer and got 1hr done

speed hurts!

Haven't posted for a few days because I've been a bit pissed off. Thursday morning I went to the track and did 3x5x200m doing each around 31-34sec but in doing so my left hamstring flared up and quite frankly I'm annoyed. Annoyed that by doing one simple speed track session it could cause so much fucking pain! Anyway Friday morning I went for an easy 10k and all was ok and Sat I ran trotters and covered 11.5km all up and for the rest of the day I spent self massaging my hamstring and glute.
I entered coast to Kosi on Sat but would be much happier if my hamstring felt better.
Today (Sunday) I took off from running an downd feel much more positive as my hamstring feels like it has settled down.
I managed a swim of just over 1.5km then off to the gym for a lot of hamstring strength work. I now plan on taking until Thurs/Fri off from running then get back into it

Wed

I've had the last two days off running since Woodford to Glenbrook as my calves took a hiding and that left hamstring/adductor still feels "wrong" Anyway I decided to put on the Mizuno's and get out the door. Just ran easy around Terrigal heading towards Erina covering 13.3km in 1hr7min. The leg was ok but could feel the difference between the left and right
Tomorrow I plan on meeting with fellow trotters and do their track session.

Woodford to Glenbrook

This was my 3rd time running in this race. The first time was in 2010 where I was pacing another runner and we finished just over 2 hrs, then in 2011 I was going to race it but pinched a nerve in my back and was forced to walk most of it. This yr I toed the line and felt pretty good except for that hamstring that's been playing up for the last two weeks. Anyway I took off and felt the pace was quite easy but after going through the first km in 3:28 and the 2nd in 3:32 I thought maybe I've gone too hard.
I just kept a pace that was hard but comfortable for the first 12km then i knew I should be able to take off as the last 12-13km is all down hill.
I finished in 11th place and 4th in my age group in 1:40:06 so I was happy with that

A great day with my running mate with lot's and lot's of laughs!

Friday and Sat

Fri I made my way down to Canberra for my monthly trip. This time I stopped at Bowral and explored the trais around Mt Gib. I also found a bike path to run the last 4 odd km's on. 13km done

Sat in Canberra and I just ran a really east 11km on Lake Burley Griffin

Recovery run

I was going to get up early and meet fellow trotters at 5:30am for the morning track session but decided that I needed the extra sleep and with my adductor magnus pain it would be better to do an easy run instead. So I go up about 7:30am and by 8am I was off running around Terrigal, Wamberal to Forries beach then back to Terrigal running 15.4km all up at about 5:06km pace. My leg was fine running but could feel it through certain movements throughout the day

Mid week long run and a massage

Had to go to Newcastle to massage the knights so I got up there a little early and got a run in from Carrington towards King Edwards park and back going via the break wall. 20.08km in 1hr33min or 4:36km pace. My adductor Magnus was slightly sore throughout the day so I got a massage on it

Tuesday....2 runs and an RPM class

I got some speed work done this morning ad boy did I feel it too! Started with a 5min warmup running pretty slow and easy then did 10x2min hard with a 1min recovery between each hard effort. After 5 of them I ran 5min easy before doing another 5. Ran from my new house in Terrigal to Wamberal and back. 10km in a little over 47:58

The second run was bout 4pm where I ran a lot of the hills in Terrigal including Wilsons rd and made my way over to Wamberal. This was 10.25km in 49:40. Legs were pretty heavy.

After all that I went to the gym and did the 5:30pm cycle class and relaxed in the steam room for a bit

Sunday hangover run

Went to the Trotter awards night last night and had quite a bit to drink and didn't get to sleep until about 1am so this morning I found it hard to get up to run but got out the door at 8am and ran 23.2km in just under 2hrs
I felt pretty good running which I was amazed at

Saturday Trotters old bay to bay breakers relay

Got a call last night to see if i could fill in for a sick runner so I turned up just before 4;30am to meet all the other runners 11 male vs 11 female all doing a 1km leg with the girls having a 6min45ec start. My 1km was pretty much all down hill so I knew I would do a fast time but didn't think I would go as fast as I did. I had Donna there doing the female leg and we did a warmup together as we had almost an hr to fill in.
It ended up being Donna having about 1min lead with the change over and I just ran as hard as I could. At one stage I thought I was going to collapse! I passed Donna with about 200m to go and just kept running like my life depended on it.I passed the baton to Mark Dunlop and ran that 1km in 2min43sec!
The boys beat he girls but not by much.
After all that we ran 14.6km up kincumba mtn

Friday

Managed an easy 11km run an later a swim of 20x50m repeats finishing the 1km in 14:32

Thurs recovery

Still got a sore hamstring/adductor Magnus muscle so just ran a nice easy pace towards Kincumber and back to Bensville. 15.3km in 1hr17min

Later I went and got another massage. That's 2 massages I've got this week

Wed

Started my run at Terrigal (Duffys oval) at 6am and ran 17.3km in 1hr18min or 4:31km pace doing the old waterslide run up towards Tumbi rd. My left hamstring got tight after about 5km and at 8.5km I stopped for a sec just to stretch out a bit.

After the run I went to the gym and did a cycle class. I wanted to do a double cycle class but I was just too tired so I hit the steam room instead 

Tuesday in Bouddi

Woke up yesterday with a really sore left hamstring and went and got a massage and put the tens machine on it for most of the day and this morning it was pretty good.
Easy recovery run this morning. Just took off out the door then decided where I wanted to go. No plan except to run nice and easy. I ran around some streets and on a small trail around Bensville then made my way to Bouddi which has some great fire trails and single trails to run on.
Ran 15.3km all up in 1:22:16 so it was nice and easy.

Later I went to Mingara pool and did 10x100m intervals finishing the 1km in 16min34sec

Lake Macquarie Half

I felt pretty good this morning and thought I may as well go out at a descent pace and just see what happens. So we get racing at 8am and I go through the first km in 3:50 and the 2nd in 3:47. I'm feeling pretty good for the first 5km and manage to do most of my km's under 4min the held 4min pace until 12km when all of a sudden the legs got heavy. Now I'm doing about 4:10-4:15km pace and hold that until I finish. Finished in about 86min30sec and I was pretty rapt with that. Normally I'd be bummed at a time like that but to only been back running for a couple of weeks after 5 weeks of no running with a stress fracture I think I did a great job.

Right now I have a sore left hamstring and very sore legs in general. That's the first hard road run I've done in a long long long time and it smashes your muscles much more than a trail race. Not saying a road race is harder or easier than a trail race it's just that they are both very different

Thursday and the first moderate pace run in ages!

An 11.6km run with an average pace of 4:28 done. Felt fine in the leg but again it had slight tightness but nothing that seemed to be a worry.

Happy with the way my running is coming back

Wednesday

Ran an easy 11km in about 5:10km pace just running around the streets of Bensville and Sth Kincumber. Right peroneals still tight but doesn't bother me in the slightest running.

So that's my day training wise. Not much but it's good to be running :-)

Tuesday

Tight muscles today in the right peroneals. Now I'm just being careful with that as that's what caused the stress fracture. No pain running at all but just felt tight throughout the day. It's also down near the ankle not up near the knee where it was last time so I'm thinking it's most likely from the walk on Sunday

Anyway I got 12km in this morning at 4:52km pace

Later in the afternoon I did an hour on the bike on the indoor trainer

Monday morning DOMS

Well more than just morning DOMS...more like all day DOMS! Left hamsting took a beating yesterday but I'm happy to be sore from doms pain rather than from injury pain.

So training today was recovery day. A 2km swim and a cycle class in the afternoon

Fri, Sat and Sun

big few days since Friday. Friday I'm up really early and when I say early I mean early. I was on my way to Canberra and planned to run at Mittagong on the way down. So I'm in Mittagong by 6:30am and set off for a 10km easy run. It was cold however -4deg is COLD!

Sat I ran an easy 12km on Lake Burley Griffin

Sunday (today) I went with the Terrigal Trotters for a 42km trek on the Great North Road. I've never been on this trail before and it was another magical area that we are so lucky to have on the Central Coast.
I decided to walk most of this and was hoping to finish around 6hrs. I power walk and right near the end I get lost and add another 4km to the walk. I finished 46km in 5hrs52min. Very hard on the body! I ran one section for about 500m and ran some other sections but only about 40m or 50m each time. Basically I walked about 98% of the trail.

The great news on all of this is I had no bone pain! :-)

Thursday

As planned I took today off running and did an early morning cycle class.

Later I got out for a 5km walk around Erina doing that in about 40min then I went to the gym for some core work and of course the steamroom!

Wed another nice run done

Same as yesterday. Out the door about 5:45am for an easy 11km. Ran just a little over 5min km pace and had no pain. I could feel the leg was a little "tight" but really happy to have gotten through 2 easy 11km runs without a problem.

So tomorrow I'll back off the running and do a cycle class in the morning