Myself, Niall and Kev headed off for a bike ride this morning, with the emphasis on doing a few hills. We drove out to Pymble and jumped on the train to our start at Berowra Waters. The train arrived in Hornsby and we sat there for a while waiting for it to continue on to Berowra, except when it did get moving, after about 15mins, it started heading back to the city. We were supposed to change trains! Oh well, jumped off at the next station, waited another 25mins for the train to Berowra to show up and finally got on the bikes, ready to start the ride, at 10:15, having left the house at 7:15!

With the show on the road, we spent the first few minutes flying downhill to the ferry at Berowra Waters, which we just missed. When we finally got to the other side, it was straight into the first of the climbs. I’d been a bit worried about the climbs, as it’s not easy lugging 88kg uphill, there were three decent climbs scheduled for the day and I’d had a couple of beers the night before at Craig’s birthday ;-) However, the first one put my mind at ease as it wasn’t too bad, and according to Kev and Niall it was the hardest.

After that it was another hour cycling through rolling countryside and down the switchbacks at Galston Gorge. We had a quick stop to adjust Kev’s gears before heading upward again to Hornsby Heights and continuing on to the Pacific Highway. We had debated yesterday whether we’d stop there, or continue on to Bobbin Head, but we were all feeling pretty good today so on we went for our third, and final downhill to Bobbin Head, followed by our third, and final climb of the day leading us back to Pymble and the comfort of the parked cars.

The stats for the day were:

Distance: 50km

Avg. HR: 101

Max. HR: 170

Avg. Speed: 22.4km/h

Max. Speed: 59.1km/h

Calories: 1577!

Yep, that’s 1577 calories (kcal) so I’ve been stuffing my face wtih pasta ever since I got home! ;-)

S: 2600m – B: 137.4km – R: 10.3km – Row: 5000m

Since my legs have been at me, I’ve been riding a bit more to make up for it. Both yesterday and today, I cycled in to work via Bondi, Bondi Road, a few laps around Centennial Park, Moore Park Road and Oxford St. then I cycled home yesterday as well. I was feeling pretty good yesterday, and thought everything was going great, but I was a bit tired this morning, so yesterday must just have been due to the day off on Wednesday. Ty and Dean are up from Canberra, so I’ll have to miss today’s swim session.

Update: just cycled straight home as it was a bit chilly and I was tired ;-)

S: 2600m – B: 87.4km – R: 10.3 km – Row: 5000m

My inability to run has come back and bit me on the arse again. My achilles/calves are still quite sore, so yesterday I decided two things. First, I’m not running today, and won’t be running again until the soreness goes away. Second, I’m going to revise my run training.

I read up on some run training philosophies yesterday and all seem to suggest that your long run is the most important run of the week, the one which produces the greatest training effect. My problem is that I can’t run for very long at all. My aerobic system is fine, but my legs aren’t happy with the pounding and having to carry my 88kg at a more rapid rate than walking. My lower legs are the weakest link, hence they’re bitching the loudest.

So, there are two problems. First, I’m too heavy, so I’ve got to get rid of some weight, which means upping my training volume. Running more is just counterproductive for the moment, so cycling will be the main focus for a while as it’s zero impact. Secondly, my “long” run is too long, or rather I’m building it up too quickly, so I’m going to knock that back to 5km instead of 7 and keep it like that for two weeks or so and then build up slowly. We’ll see how that goes. I’m also going to add another short (3.35km) run into the weekly schedule so that the overall distance stays the same, as my legs don’t complain after the short runs.

Got up yesterday morning and hit the road early, starting my long run at 6:20am. I’ve been reshuffling my program this week, so while I did my long run in Centennial Park the last time, it was just too much hassle to stop off there on the way in to work, so I stayed local. The route comprised a lap of Christisson Park, then down Old South Head Rd. to The Gap and back, then repeat the whole thing for a total distance of 6.9km in 36:58. I ignored the 145bpm HR limit and just cruised along, allowing my to hit 155 on the uphill bits. Felt pretty good throughout, apart from the last kilometre when my left knee was giving me shit. It was just a bit tight and a short stretch after finishing sorted that out. The middle of my calves is bloody sore now though. I’ll have to figure out if this is due to the run itself, or possibly me overstretching the calf/achilles after the run.

Went in to work and then to the gym yesterday evening with the intention of doing a 5000m row for time, then some weights. Myself, Marc, Tom & Dave all do a little bit of rowing on the Concept IIs as part of our various fitness things, so Dave suggested having a mini-competition within Fat Club where we’d all post our best rowing times for 500m, 2000m, 5000m and 10000m. I hadn’t done an effort for time since late-2002 at which point my bests were:

500m: 1:39.6
2000m: 7:35.0
5000m: 21:01.0
10000m: n/a

I had planned to start rowing at 2:00/500m pace and then see how long I could hold on for, but things went better than planned and I soon found myself averaging 1:57/500 and getting faster. I eased off a fraction at 4000m knowing I’d go for the sprint finish, then dropped down to sun-1:50 pace for the last 500m or so to record 19:14.2 and an average page of 1:55.4. I was bloody delighted with that as it was almost 10secs/500m faster than my previous best, and shows I’ve got a lot stronger/fitter over the last two years. My next target is more than 7500m in 30mins. I was bloody knackered after that, so I skipped the weights session.

S: 2600m – R: 10.25km – Row: 5000m

I’ve finished my week off, so it’s time to get back into regular sessions. I had an alright swim at lunchtime. Was still feeling a bit tired after the weddings at the weekend, so I skipped the last 400m of the session, as did everyone else for some reason.

400 FS
4 * 100 IM on 1:45 (1:33)
400 Pull
6 * 50 on 50
4 * 50 on 45
300 FS
8 * 50 as {
    2 on 60,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 45 }
200 FS
Total: 2600m

Got home and went out for a run. Couldn’t find my HRM so just decided to run at a comfortable pace and see what happened. I ran the 3.35km in 18:20, which is about 1:40 faster than usual but I still felt reasonably comfortable. I was also supposed to cycle yesterday but left the bike at home so we could go grovery shopping on the way home from work.

S: 2600m – R: 3.35km

Well it has been a week of weddings. Micky & Megan (photos) got married last Saturday week, Candice & Adam (Jacqui’s photos) were on Friday evening, and Katie & Mark (photos) tied the knot this Saturday. Congratulations one and all!

We had a traditional church ceremony, one in a beautiful old house and another aboard a paddle-steamer on the harbour, but the one constant was my new suit! I had to go shopping the day before Micky’s wedding as it became apparent that I did have to wear a suit to the weddings. I thought I might have been able to get away with smart-casual, but that idea was scuppered once Jimmy, Marty and Nathan admitted they were wearing suits, and seeing as how I no longer fit into my only previous suit (bought for Cliona’s wedding!) I had to shell out for another. I was doing my suit shopping the day before Micky’s wedding, and was a bit worried as I had just remembered that once you bought a suit there was usually a little tailoring to be done, but luckily enough the one I wanted happened to fit me perfectly straight off the rack. I grabbed a couple of shirts and ties and I was good to go.

After all the excitement of the weddings it was time to relax a bit, so myself, Billy, Lisa and a few of her friends went to watch Sydney FC beat Adelaide 2-1 last night. The weather was lovely, unlike the last game when it pissed rain, and the result was in our favour too. Adelaide looked like they had equalised at the last minute but the ball was ruled not to have crossed the line. Phew! We’ve now won three games in a row, and sit second in the table behind Adelaide. Next home gaime is against the New Zealand Knights in two weeks.

Der Spiegel has a long article on how Abu Chraib has altered two lives; one of a prisoner, and one of a guard. It’s a fairly detailed look inside what went on inside the prison. Given that the prisoner is sure that he’s the one in the famous photo of a hooded prisoner wired for electricity and standing on a box, it’s woth a read.

“Wake up! Wake up!” When Javal Davis walks through the corridors with his megaphone, all he sees are creatures, driven wild by rage and hunger, people who have nothing left to lose, who are as unpredictable as dogs, who have been driven into a corner and are capable of anything if you let them out of your sight for only a moment.

Right, just a quick round-up of the oustanding sessions. Cycled home again last night and did a few laps of Centennial Park a little faster than yesterday (7:34, 7:31, 7:29). It was pretty windy again though, so I was getting a fair old push at various stages.

Went for a run after arriving home. 4 laps, 3.3km, 20:33.5. I felt pretty tired throughout the whole run, probably because it’s the end of the week.

Lap1: 5:00.7, 139
Lap2: 5:05.9, 143
Lap3: 5:13.6, 143
Lap4: 5:13.6, 144
@ 1min: 109

Went out for dinner last night and had some vino, then crawled out of bed this morning to go for a 3km run with Jacqui. So, I’ve just finished my biggest week’s training in 11 months, and my third biggest week since I started this fitness thing. However, the two bigger weeks had quite a bit more swimming & cycling, and a lot less running, so I’m happier with this one as my running is pretty weak.

I’ve Micky’s wedding tomorrow so that will be a nice party, Monday is a public holiday, I’m off to Canberra on Tuesday for three days then back up to Sydney for two more weddings. It’s going to be a relatively quiet week training wise. Perfect for a bit of recovery ;-)

S: 6000m – B: 84km – R: 18.2km – W: 1 session

Did another ride around Centennial on the way home yesterday. Three laps, nice and easy. I timed them this time and averaged around 7:42 (29.42km/h) which is a little quicker than the last time I recorded a time. It was pretty windy, though since it’s an almost circular loop you’d expect the wind to cancel itself out.

Felt pretty good in the pool this afternoon as well. Our coach didn’t show up, so I ended up choosing what the session would comprise. Nobody complained outright, apart from chancing their arms to see if they could make me give them an easy session.

100/200/300 FS, 30s rest
6 * 200 FS on 3:30 (2:52)
4 * {
    100 IM on 1:45 (1:31)
    100 FS on 2:00 (1:35) }
8 * 50 FS as {
    2 on 45,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 60 }
Total: 3000m

I’m pretty tired now though. On a positive note, I’ve now racked up five consecutive weeks of decent training, and next week is a rest week as I’ll be in Canberra, so I’m looking forward to the extra sleep ;-)

S: 6000m – B: 56km – R: 11.9km – W: 1 session

Well I did my long run last night in Centennial Park and it went pretty well. I changed into my run gear in work and left everything there, apart from wallet, phone etc. which I carried in a small backpack. Hopped on the bus out to the park, and started running around 17:30. I was feeling pretty good apart from the usual crap with my right foot, but I decided to stick out the first lap before stopping to adjust my shoelaces.

The lap went by surprisingly quickly in 22:25.7 (AvHR: 142) with the usual HR limit in place. I stopped for about 20secs to fix my laces and then headed off on the second lap. This felt a bit better as I was getting into my stride a bit. Towards the latter half of the lap my legs were starting to feel it a bit, and I was noticing a bit of ITB tightness around my knees which I was expecting. The last 40% of the lap is a slight uphill gradient, and this time I kept bumping up against the 145bpm HR limit which was a bit frustrating, forcing me to slow down a bit, leaving me with a lap time of 24:08.3 (AvHR: 143). Total time: 46:34.0.

At this stage in the game it’s far more important for me to get the distance under my belt rather than tire myself out by going too fast, hence the rigid HR limit. Also, apart from the 10K Bridge Run I did with Jacqui over a year ago, this was the longest ever run I’d done outside (I’d done 7.5km on a treadmill once before) so I was pretty happy with that. My legs are feeling it a bit today, though they’re not too bad and, given it’s my day off training today, they should be fine tomorrow. So, I’m proclaiming Long Run Wednesday a success.

S: 3000m – B: 28.0km – R: 11.9km – W: 1 session