The Little Man

Since the arrival of our “little man”, life continues... as it always does:
· Our dearest daughter still get’s up at 6:00 a.m. (5:40 this morning) regardless of the time I go to bed, apparently my schedule is of little concern;
· Ally continues to surprise me with her adaptability and calm demeanour; and
· When I stumble down to the shed in a tired stupor only to remember that my bike is at work, i.e. I ran home the day before, crying is okay but I still need to run to work.

In all seriousness, the routine in our household has changed little since Corbin’s birth. I’m not minimizing the arrival of a new child, but I still tend to make dinner, Isla continues to thoroughly enjoy either 8, 10 or 2 books before bed and my lovely wife picks up all the slack.

As for the running, well, although the volume has dropped off I’m thankful for being able to maintain some frequency particularly when it means throwing in a double to help a friend lesson the load on his shoulders.

Earlier this week I booked off work in order to spend a day (our wedding anniversary) with the family. Whilst everyone was sleeping I snuck out the back door and jogged down to the Lochside Track for an impromptu workout. I wanted to squeeze in some faster intervals after warming up with a couple miles of tempo:
· 2xmile: 5:57, 5:55
· 2x400: 1:19, 1:15
· 4x200: 0:35, 0:34, 0:33, 0:33

Although I’d hoped to run the 200’s faster, the difference may lie in the subjective distance (which I need to measure out). Still, not all that bad and with some luck I hope to use this to break the 5’ barrier at the Victoria track Series Race #6 this weekend.

Wish me luck!

Training:
Jul 26: A.M. 1:01:30 with 2x(3’ (1’) + 30”(1’) + 30”) (3’), P.M. hilly 47:02

Jul 27: sluggish 24:09

Jul 28: 57:32 w/ 2xmile (1') + 2x400 (2’) + 4x200 (1’)

Jul 29: day off (scheduled)
Jul 30: easy 25:54 w/ 4xstrides

Hurry Up and Wait

After not running on the weekend, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we’ve been experiencing and revelled in an early morning up-tempo run on the way into work. Unlike Bob Geldof left the Boomtown Rats, I do like Monday’s. It was one of those rare moments where you’re at one with your body. My stride felt effortless and smooth, and as the sweat dripped down my face, it was with disappointment that I stopped wishing the run could’ve continued.

Yesterday afternoon, under record setting temperatures (30C), I slowly made my way back to the Vic High Track for my second session of 200s. Once again, the oval was deserted and despite best efforts from Carter and Hicham, I was to run this workout alone.

I ran a similar session in mid-May and therefore wasn’t too surprised to see my splits slower than expected. With the variance set to rest, it afforded me the time and concentration to focus on the workout. Unlike May 12, I completed the full 12 repeats and was proud of myself as I slowly jogged home feeling completely dehydrated but content.

34.1, 34.0, 35.7, 35.6, 35.2, 35.9
36.9, 36.6, 36.4, 37.0, 37.4, 36.4

Unfortunately, it seems that I may have worked a little too hard yesterday. I knew I was in trouble last night as I lay in bed, my left achilles throbbing to the beat of an unheard tune. Any doubt was put to rest and with my bike at work, I coerced my lovely wife into dropping me off at the office… there was no way I was running today. And so, I wait.

Training:
Monday: steady 49:47
Tuesday: 1:17:47 with 12x200m (200m)
Wednesday: day off (unscheduled, left achilles)

Vengeance Is a Very Useful Tool

Now that my running doubles as a mode of transportation, my choice of venue has narrowed during the week. So it was, with naught but the glare of the late afternoon sun and a blustery wind as company, I stepped back into the arena where there is no escaping the cruel truth. It was my inaugural visit to the hard packed dirt oval at Victoria High, and my second time since March, 2008, that I stood on a track. I wish this realization had hit home prior to the session.

I was unable to find where the start/finish or 200m mark was, and so decided to place stones at the apex of each corner. After an easy loop to remove some fallen braches, I touched my ears to their respective shoulder, gently jumped up and down a few times and then toed the line I had drawn in the dirt.

The plan was for 12x200m at 3kP but after looking at the McMillan Calculator, a tool I’ve never used before, I decided to aim for between 32.5 & 35.8. I thought the back end was generous as there was once a time when I could hit 35s in my sleep, and fully expected to pass the opening stone between 28.X and 32.5. I was in for a surprise.

What was once my bread and butter, a disproportionately fast 200m, all but appear to have been run out of my system. The times tell the story, and after recording 4 successive 37s, I decided to pull the pin at 10.

34.9, 35.0, 35.2, 35.7, 36.4
36.2, 37.2, 37.2, 37.6, 37.1

What I find amusing, is how strangely comforting I find the result. Yes I was running on a dirt track, and it was windy, hell, there’s no telling I wasn’t covering more than 200m. All that aside, what this has drawn to my attention is that a) it has been over 14 months since I’ve run regularly on the track, and b) efficiency at speed, once my bread and butter, is missing. I plan to change both these facts.

Training:
Monday: day off (scheduled)
Tuesday: 1:06:31 with 10x200m (200m)