Elfing Around

...and Finally

What some of the HuRTS boys didn't want you to see.
Whilst driving over the dark side (North of the Bridge) i saw 5 members of the team, Chairman Tom, Richie High, Slim Sammy Agnew, Warrior Charlie and Macca McClarnon all spotted earning extra cash in the holiday season.
Charlie makes for a better dancer then runner ;)
This is one doing the rounds;

Enjoy

Merry Christmas

Yet more Christmas Cheer

Every intention of getting out on Saturday morning for my long run as i knew i had a big party to attend in the evening that would prevent the Sunday morning happening. But after a busy morning with work and the 30 degree heat it meant i only managed a meagre 9ks. So thought i would just have to back up and tough it out on the Sunday...Result........FAIL. Yep didn't make it and succumbed to the demon drink that meant Kanser was out solo on another scorcher of a morning.
Felt a lot better by midday and it was time for another round of Festive Cheer, this time care of the Kane's who was hosting for the day. Good to see The Highnam's in attendence with Kirst & Tom with the kids with my mates Young Charlie and Maggie. Was left a little bemused when after talking to Charlie for about 20 minutes he turned to me with a confused expression on his face and asked "whats your name" (oh well, good to see i made an impression on him last time we spoke - thanks mate), as well as Stevie T (aka Wildman, Norman) who i hadn't seen for a while ( Tells me he's not been running either, which i can believe as he is getting back up to that C Cup size he was 12 months ago).
Great afternoon had with top line food of Ham, Prawns, Chuck... the works, not to mention enough booze to sink a ship. Needless to say it was another tough old morning to get out for work at 6am today and the cycle to work  that seemed to take an age.
Many thanks to the Kane's once again not only for the day but for the year in general with the constant supply of Breakfasts and Cups of Tea had after our running sessions, it is much appreciated.

Good chat with the Chairman yesterday as well who i think was trying to put the frighteners on me when he told me his Big Brother Jimmy James was flying in France and was already talking about our little wager we have over 10ks and where to send his winnings come June?? ( i best start either saving or training harder)

Anyway that's enough Trash for the Year, Have a great Christmas and New Year with your families, Stay Safe and Good luck with all your goals for 2013.
I will be on another break from Thursday as heading back up to the delights that Noosa has to offer for a week of relaxing on the beach, eating, drinking.........Oh and i best try to do a little running at sometime :)
Until the New Year..

Christmas Drinks at the Kane's with Kirst and Tommy Highnam.

Kanser with his SHOCKER of a Pink shirt - that bad he eventually changed it.

Mary Poppins Tommy...not sure what he is doing here??

The Lindop Punch - White Sangria seemed to go down OK.

Cheers

2012 Year in Review.

And so another year draws to an end, with it comes the time to look back over the past 12 months to see how it all panned out. After a very good (and perhaps my best) 2011 that saw me take out the most Improved for the HuRTS group, 2012 will be more remembered as a frustrating time as i never really managed to put it all together as i succumbed to a few annoying injuries.
Of course there were a few highs amongst the lows,
The Highs being -1. Helping Win the Churchill/Sands Trophy with the English lads and at the same time putting Enda to the sword once more over his dreaded 21k distance.
2. Noosa Tri
3. Nepean Tri
4.Some Good Performances in the Duathlons over the Winter Months

The Lows.
1. Calf /Hamstring problems
2. Not running under 35 mins for 10k in the Year (35.11 the best i managed)
3. Getting Sick 36 hours before the Thailand Race
4. Running 51.35 for City to Surf

Lets see how the Year went by;

January. The year started with Kanser and I made to run a Marathon qualifier in order to get into 6ft track out at Smithfield ( kip of a place) ...we did easily running easy for a 3hr:20 time

February.  The first race in the Striders 10k at Homebush and was happy enough with a 36.53 to kick start the season, also prepared for the March 6ft race with the Striders Equalizer including hills  14ks to run home in 60 minutes.

March. After all the hard work (although in truth i never thought i was ready) the 6ft Track race gets CANCELLED due to the state of the track after all the heavy rain we had over the Summer. March also saw some of  the HuRTS team line up for the A.B.C Biathlon with Pete Walker first home in 18.29 , and Tom getting a rare win over me in 19.26 as i crossed in 19.41 (knew it was going to be a bad year from there on in)

April. Kanser and I ventured down to the Nations Capital for the Canberra Half, had a solid run in prep for the Syd Half a month later and gave Kanser the fright of his life when he looked over his shoulder and saw me only about 40 metres behind. I finished the day in 79.52 ( Kane 79.44)

May. The first of the seasons bling was handed down and it was the English who tasted victory over old foes Ireland in the Churchill /Sands Cup. Run a creditable 78.31 over a tough course and beat Enda despite carrying him around for the best part of 20ks. The FREE winning beers tasted oh so good that night :)

June. Over to Bali for the Triathlon , and was delighted to finish 8th overall despite nearly getting killed whilst on the bike and forced to run the 10k in searing heat through loads of traffic.  We also welcomed Young Cillian Stankard to proud parents Ange & Enda to the World, and lets just hope he turns out a better runner then his old man............and with less excuses.

July. Was Duathlon season and was very happy to finish 11th overall out at Parramatta in the World Qualifiers  finishing only 4 seconds behind Pete Walker. Also did the BRAT series over the winter and was always the Bridesmaid getting 2nd in 5 continuous races, never managing to snag a win.
Also a great time to be English with the Olympic games held in London and some sensational performances across the board, none better then Wiggo's and Mo's not forgetting the Delighful Jess in what is sure to be the Best Games i've seen.

August. Is the big month that sees ALL the HuRTS boys line up for the City to Surf, was in pretty good form and was confident to break 50 minutes, All was going well until the 10k mark when the hamstring gave up the ghost, that meant i wasn't able to come down the hills and finish the race of as i wanted crossing in 51.35.

September. Was the start of a troubled month when i tore the Calf Muscle that left me very frustrated, although got a nice pick me up when i treated myself to a NEW bike

October.  Started to plan ahead for Thailand that saw me do about 6 races in 6 weeks, the best of them during this month was to be Nepean out at Penrifffffffffff. returning with a 1.45 to my name.

November.  Spent loads of time in the water trying to improve the swim leg and also went up to Noosa for the Triathlon. Had a few issues early but was more then happy with an overall time of 2.11 to finish 5th in the A/G. Great night in the Surf Club that followed with a drunken Kanser and Ronan. Was left a spectator for this years J.P Morgan run in Centennial. Made myself useful though by being on camera duties for the night. Some great performances, none better then Tucks 3rd and Tom's 4th (yes you guessed it...approx 8 seconds behind). Another good night had in the tents post race drinks thanks mainly to Enda and Richie Highs hospitality.
One of the lows as mentioned was getting sick some 36 hours before my BIG Thailand race in Phuket, Had a great swim and felt OK on the bike but when it come to the run leg i couldn't manage any more then 4.30 pace for the first 2ks and after that seemed to walk more then i run.

December.  Pretty much the start of the holiday / Silly season once i returned from the Land of Smiles with constant parties and functions on that sees training take a back seat. Got good incentive to try to train through it this year though as i managed to get a spot in March's 6ft Track race.
Also had news from the Chairman Tom upon returning from Thailand that i along with 11 others are all heading to Berlin next September to do the Marathon (not to mention the Beer Feest in October) so that will keep me more then focused during those tough winter months prior.

So here's hoping that 2013 returns to be more like that of 2011, and that a good 12 months lays ahead for not only me but ALL the HuRTS boys and girls and the one or two readers of the Trash out there.
i wont mention my goals just at the moment, I'll keep them for later............But one of them will certainly be to continue the dominance over Enda in the Half's and help the English team to more glory come May time :)

Cheers

The End of the World?

Friday morning and down for an early swim to get it out the way and pretty much copied Pete's session from earlier in the week but did it the other way around today - 5 x 200s then 10 x 100s
Felt OK and armed with the NEW Hand Paddles that swim coach and mentor Pete Walker got for me i was soon into it, Although the paddles feel strange and actually harder at first, they do make a difference and i reckon they are 3-4 seconds quicker over 100 metres.
Tried to keep the breaks shorter as well today and again was buggered by the time I'd done 2ks - always that much harder anyway when i swim solo.

Well i was going to go and do the Xmas shopping today but just heard that its supposed to be 'The End of the World' with everything ending sometime today so not sure that there is any point, Bit disappointed really as i have a big party tomorrow and then a top BBQ to attend on Sunday arvo care of a certain D.Kane.

No real shocks in the Darts over the past few days at 'Ally Pally' otherwise known as Alexandria Palace in London with all the big guns safely getting through round 1. Mentioned that i think Dutchman Van Gerwin will win it overall and just checked out that he can meet the Stoke Lad ...Phil (the Power) Taylor in the final if all goes to plan, now that would be some match to watch.

Warning
Children do not read , and if you are sensitive i suggest the same
Xmas Friday Funnies - Mainly for our English readers

Does Santa really live in the north pole? Lets look at the evidence.
1. Wears red and white
2. Good at breaking into houses
3. Has loads of electrical goods that nobody can trace
4. Drives an unlicensed vehicle
5. Only does one days work a year

Lapland my arse!

He's a bleedin scouser !

 

We were so poor in our house when I was young. On Christmas morning, if you didn't wake up with a hard-on, you had bugger all to play with !

 

Will be back later to give the Year in Review.............that's if the World hasn't ended :)

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Temps and Tempo Starting to Rise

Managed to get a free morning off work today so got the chance to get out with the Lycra Brigade and joined in some of the groups that were going around on there bikes and groups.
After a few warm up laps the session was called for 4 x laps , one lap recovery, then another 4 lap effort.
Just sat in to begin with and it felt very easy, and couldn't believe that we were still doing 5.30 laps, Was very happy to tick of 22.02 for the 4, just goes to show how much you save when you are in a group and drafting as i can barely hit 6 min laps when i am going around solo yet here i am knocking minutes off and doing multiple laps.
A slow recovery lap and it was on again for the 2nd set, started OK but i could feel the pace increase with each completed lap, with the 3rd lap particularly sharpish with a 5.18...ouch. Was just hanging in on the final lap when all of a sudden we get half way around near McKay Oval and there are people everywhere across the road, it was carnage with one poor guy 'Sparko' flat out with Claret everywhere. It didn't look good and my first thought was ..." Oh God  no not Angry Man Clyde Again"....Happy to report it wasn't as Clyde was i hear in a comatose state at home tucked up in bed after having 4 schooners last night at an awards night out.
Its around this time that the park starts to empty for the morning, and it was at this point i ventured out myself for a morning coffee.
After a quick 'pick me up' i was back in there and was lucky enough to see PRO tri Girl Lisa Maragon, and Dean Deagan flying around with a few others so jumped on the back of them for another half a dozen laps that was to finish me off for the morning.
With 90ks done for the day it was a gentle cruise back home as the temps were starting to rise to around 30 degrees and it was not even 8.30am at this point.
Very happy with that and i do enjoy these sessions, unfortunately i can't always get to them due to work commitments but i will try to get out more whenever i can.

Unfortunately as i said there was a nasty accident in there this morning and it does seem to be happening all to regularly  these days with about 6 i am aware off within the past month or so. PLEASE guys take care out there, It can happen so easily and quickly, and there are some idiots about. Talking of which, i received a top nomination for Dumb @r$e of the Year Award overnight when one of our more experienced and elder statesman not to mention Coach (Hilly) was seen riding up one of our busiest roads (Oxford St) without a HELMET on. I Realise he may not have much upstairs but i reckon even his head would make an awful mess should something untoward happen. 
.......And this guy is a tri coach, One thing i wouldn't be sending any of my kids to him if that's how he views safety, Unreal.
Don't believe me? Check this out

And even though he is not in the Country ( it has been quiet hasn't it?) , Good Old Enda has been up to no good again whilst on home soil. Getting in to the Xmas Spirit i think Enda under estimated the Guinness and i had this sent in to me .................Yet More Shame

Enda on another night out, this time in Galway


Tomorrow i will give the "Year in Review for 2012"

Until then
Cheers

6k Woollahra Hill Loops at Centennial

Out early on another warm and sunny morning in Sydney town for my 2 x 6k loops around Centennial Park that takes in the 700m Woollahra Hill on each lap.
Worked the first loop in 26.34 (4.25 pace), and picked it up slightly on the 2nd despite the legs feeling tired with a 25.51 (4.18 pace). 12ks all up in 52.25 average pace 4.22

Solid two days on the spin and will now get out on the bike in the morning for a few ks

Cheers

8 x 1k Reps Centennial Park

With a busy morning at work coupled with the forecast of hot weather i decided to get my session in early morning instead of joining the lads and opted to do my old staple 1k reps rolling every 5 minutes x 8.
Aim today was just to keep them all controlled and try to maintain the same pace throughout, felt as if i was working pretty hard straight away and even after the 3rd rep i thought this was going to be another tough set to get through. Could have easily pulled the pin after the 5th when the pace dropped and didn't get any quicker for reps 6 & 7, hung in there knowing i only had one to do and managed to get the last one back under the magic 3.30 pace.
Times for each were: 3.27, 3.28, 3.28, 3.30, 3.32, 3.32, 3.35, 3.29
Shattered come the end,  as the temps heated up even by 7.30am , Saw the BRAT/Hardmen going around on there bikes and got the abuse as normal from POD flying around, good to see Marshmallow Man Clyde back out and even more pleasing to see he's taken his stabilizers OFF again after his latest tumble. I see  Kroney (part time HuRTS) has taken a stack now and is walking around doing his best Hannibal Lecter impression after kissing his nose on the bitumen recently.

Great session to get out the way especially at this time of the year and hoping this is the one that kick starts my latest block before we enter the New Year. Still along way off where i need to be but hopefully i can get back to some sort of form with about 6 weeks solid training.

With Xmas just around the corner now is the customary time of the year where artists/Singers all release there Christmas songs to top the Charts. Michael Buble, Mariah Carey and even old Cliffy Richard usually cart out some tripe, but news coming out from the U.K that is taking the music world by storm is The One Pound Fish Man - One Pound Fish, Take a listen - very catchy and everyone will be singing it before long. Even thought i heard Fats giving it a blast late into last Thursday evening :)
Jeez - I've heard it all now - Whatever Next?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_miGclPFGs


Cheers

2.3K Swim

Over to the A.B.C Pool to start the week with a swim that saw fast guys Walker, Irish Kev (yes i know there is one Irishman that is) , Ronnie (Bigg's) and the ever improving Champ.
Pete called a tough set that was 200 warm up, 10 x 100, 4 x 50s, and 4 x 200s with a cool down for 2.3ks in total. Knew today was going to be tough with nobody around my pace so no chance of getting on anyone feet. Where is Todd when you need him, or even Enda for that matter?
Managed to get through the 100s but was basically gonseki from there onwards, held on for the 50s and decided i was only going to be good for 3 of the 200s.
Times were still pretty solid even if i was doing it tough, and that Walker never really gives you much of a break in between sets.
All up 2.3ks for the day - good thing i get there before the others as it gives me chance to do the extra that i miss within the set.

Good news from the weekend is that i managed to get a spot in next years 6ft Track run in the Mountains (not 100% sure its good news or not), Many thanks to Kanser who signed me up on Saturday morning whilst i was working way.  Just got to get out and do some serious training for it although i didn't get the start i was really looking for as i missed my Sunday long run yesterday after having a big party on the Saturday....ooops :)


Just seen good old Bradley Wiggins was voted the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. No complaints from me on that one, must have been a close vote though as we had a very good year all round and anyone from about 6 could have won and it wouldn't have surprised.

Even bigger news from home is that World Champs DARTS has begun at Alexandra Palace, with the Stoke boys among the hot contenders for the title, Taylor (The Power) , Lewis (Jackpot) and Andy Hamilton (the Hammer) can keep the title in the Potteries for another year, My big tip and danger man is Van Gerwen (Mighty Mike) the Dutchman so keep an eye out for him. I love it when the crowd goes off, i reckon you have to have about 10 pints before they even let you in for these nights.  Its got to be one of the best marketing sports events on the calender. It's on live on Fox 1 every morning from about 7am if you get the chance - check it out.

Cheers

Tom's Night at the Presentation.

No words are really needed for this blog so i'll just let the photos do the talking on how Tom's evening ended up
Enjoy :)

1. First the Tap on the Shoulder.

2. A gentle walk through the crowd.

3, Steady down the stairs does it.

4. "But Enda WHY are you holding on to me? "

5. 'Because you'll skittle poor Richie High down the stairs if i dont"

and finally time for a sleep :)
Taxi Time

Cheers

HuRTS Presentation Night 2012

The Harbour View in the Rocks was the chosen venue this year for the Night of Nights that brings the whole (or seems it) HuRTS group together as we honour those that excelled in one way or another over the past 12 months.
The first person i was to see as i got the beer in was non other then the Chairman Tom himself with a big glow on his face as he embraced me - i knew then that this could be a big night.
Got chatting to many of the team and had a good talk to Mikey who had calmed down a little since lunch but was still a little on edge as he was looking to avoid his Underachiever title for a 5th straight year.
With all the trophy's on show and with Tom just about still standing we got proceedings under way with the first award to 'Walker of the Year'. (Ultra Man) and Tucks seemed to cover more miles then all of us put together to take it out. A lovely Ken Doll was up for grabs in the Triathlon of the Year and was won by the ever impressive Pete Walker, With anticipation at record levels the Underachiever was next on the menu when all of a sudden i felt many sets of eyes feast on ME , as i broke out in a hot sweat when i heard there were a few nominations for Kane, Enda and Mikey..... but they weren't the winner?????? i nearly did a lap of the Rocks when i heard Champagne Charlie's name read out. Unreal - the man can run 8.32 in a 3000m Steeple Chase, 32 mins 10k, and 9 hour Ironman yet is still not immune from taking Mikey's crown.
In the Ladies, there really wasn't any great surprise when Laura's name was called, although the classy Anna could be giving her a run next year. Biggest Improver of the Year was won by Indrajeet who just pipped Elvis it seemed. Spirit Award of the Night was i thought a certainly with Good Guy High's name a given in my books but what a surprise i had when MIKEY CONWAY'S name was read out. Good job for him that votes were cast before the last 10 days or so. :)
In the big one of the night for Performance of the Year, there were many a good run over the 12 months but one that couldn't be overlooked was that of Tony Fattorini (Fats) for his superb Melbourne Marathon in October. Fats has won 6ft track, and has achieved much in his career but this win will go down as one of his finest he reckons and was seen till the early hours drinking bubbly from the trophy it meant that much to him.

The night was still young at this point as the beers were then in full flow and Kanser was already in Berlin mode telling all that he was out to smash everyone, Enda says he will be working that much harder next year in order to get Mikeys old trophy, whilst Tucks asked me where Lands End and John O Groats was for when he ventures over to the Mother Land early next year.
Tom meanwhile was in all sorts of strife ,and when the hand on the shoulder came from Enda he knew it was time to go and was escorted down the stairs by Enda himself and Richie High put in a taxi and sent packing back over the bridge. ( the sequence of photos what i will put up is comical to see)

Another top night had to finish of another very successful year for the crew and here's hoping that 2013 is even better and there are many a PB for the team.

Some photos from last night - sorry some of the award ones are a little dark

Walker of the Year , Andrew Tuckey (Tucks)

Underachiever of the Year - Charlie Low

Improver of the Year - Indrajeet

Top Triathlon of the Year - Pete Walker.

Spirit Award of the Year - Mikey Conway

Female Performance of the Year - Laura James, (this is the Memaid Emma collecting for her but she is photogenic so thought I'd put on)

Top Award for Performance of the Year - Tony Fattorini (Fats)

and then the drinks flow with heyden, Mermaid, Timmy, Kanser and Richie High.

Charlie coming to terms with his new friend, along with some of the team, Smolley is in deep thought as well.

Mixing it with the NEW HuRTS #1 Fats.

Some of the Awards on view

Cheers

On Todd's Toes at the Pool

Sure to be a few dusty heads this morning after the big HuRTS presentation last night (more on that later), but arranged to meet the Mermaid ,Todd and a few others for a swim at the pool. met Pete and Champ on the way in already finished for the day, A 300m warm up then it was decided to do 4 x 400 metres. Todd agreed to pace it out and tied his legs together and was basically bound and gagged in order for me to try to stay on his feet for the whole set.  It felt so slow during the first rep but was surprised when we touched out for a sharp 6.51. Enda was a late arrival and joined in the 2nd that was even quicker, and from there in it was pretty even paced.
Times were 6.51, 6.46, 6.50, 6.53
A bit of a cool down followed and Bingo ........2ks were done to finish the week off.

Just have to collect all the photos from last nights shenanigans and find the correct words to sum up the events although I'm pretty sure Tom may be the talk of the town........Despite winning Sweet F.A

Have a good weekend ,
Cheers

Rushcutters 450s with the Angry Man

Yet another busy morning work wise in the park, doing a sharpish 40ks on the bike and a cruisy 8ks of running (very slow). It was then over to Rushcutters Oval for the full single laps we do now that is about 450 metres rolling every 2 mins:10 seconds.
No sign of all the favorites for tonight's presentation, as Tucks, Tom, Laura, Richie High, Elvis, Pete Walker and Enda were all in make up and getting there nails done for the evening (although not sure WHY Tom wasn't there though in truth)
Still a good crowd out with Bartles (leading from the front), Kanser, Macca, Heyden, Mikey, J.W, Christian and a good few others as we split into two groups. Rolled around the first rep in 82 (ave 3mins/ks) and pretty much held the pace sitting behind Kanser and Bartles, coming home alongside Macca and Heyden for the first 5 all around the same pace. Anyway it was around the half way mark that 'Mr Angry' was to make his mark for the day ....And NO Clyde wasn't there, BUT Mikey fires up about runners going out to hard and then blocking his lane (what?), Well in fairness i realise i am not in career best form at the moment but 3 minute ks is hardly pedestrian and there isn't exactly a million people out there on the back stretch to get around - still he wasn't happy :(
So took it on the chin and dropped back as Kanser then rolled his eyes i was happy to roll around at the back of the pack for reps 7,8,and 9 before trying to put a final burst in for the 10th rep.i was perhaps fading in truth so even without Mikey's blast I'm not sure i could have held 82/83s for the rest of the set.
Bloody Hot out there today didn't help matters,
Reps times were;
82,82,83,83,83,83,86,86,87,80

Not sure whats happening to Mikey, and I'm secretly hoping that he does NOT win his usual award this evening as it may just send him over the edge, and if that's the case there is NO WAY I'm training with him next Tuesday he'd be unbearable :)


Well that's about it - i best go dig out my best shirt for the evening and say a final farewell to the trophy that i collected 12 months back and prepare for a night on the tiles with the boys. Will be sure to have a full report with photos on the blog sometime Friday.

Mikey with Benny St collecting his award last year................Will we see more of the same this evening ????

Cheers

HuRTS Award Nominations and Latest Odds

With the big HuRTS awards night and presentations a little over 24 hours away and with all the votes in i thought now would be a good time to give my views and the latest odds for the likely lucky Candidates.
I have NO inside knowledge or information on the awards so PLEASE don't go preparing your victory speech or sending me hate mail via anonymous twitter accounts on what is written below :)

For a bit of light hearted look as how things will pan out this is what the 'Timmy Crystal Ball' has come up with and some of the nominations.
BTW - these are not necessary my submitted tips either.

Performer of the Year:
Chairman Tom  6/1, Barely ever runs a bad race and his performance at the Gold Coast will surely put him in the running as well as his JP run. Despite running well has NEVER won as much as a bean over the past 5 years at an awards night.
Tip - can see him walking away empty handed once again.

Andrew Tucks  8/1. Former #1 and past winner although had a pretty quiet year by his high standards, still represented his country once again so may go close to taking out the top award.
Tip - not this year and may be forced to relocate to Wales to get back to winning ways.

Fats, 4/5, A late entry with his superb Melb Marathon that has seen a flood of money for the one time Mountain Goat Climber of the team, A previous 6ft winner and sure to go close here. Lets hope he brings his Home Brew with him and bakes a few cakes for the team to celebrate should he win.
Tip. Start writing the speech.

Razor Wareham 5/2 . Another late entry from the guy who never shuts up whilst the rest of us can barely talk in training with his unorthodox training schedule. Great Melbourne run and still showing those young guns how to run over 42ks (Kane take note)
Tip, Could well surprise.

Macca McClarnon.12/1 Irishman who is as tough as old boots, like Tom never runs a bad race and has the runs on the board with some good races over the past 12 months
Tip, don't write him off

Timmy's Tip - Should Win ........Fats
                     Will Win .............Fats

Female of the Year, Nominations , Young Laura 1/3, Sonya 5/2, Mermaid 10/1, Olivia12/1, L.L write your own ticket
Tip is - Laura for her comeback JP race and her Half earlier in the year.

Under Performer of the Year - The one trophy dominated in recent years by one Mikey Conway (evens), sure to be a front runner once again but faces strong competition this year from Irishmen Enda 6/4, and Kane 7/4. Throw in the mix Champagne Charlie3/1 , and Marshmallow Man Clyde 7/2 and this shapes up as a close call.  Loads of late money for Kanser i hear , whilst Mikey has promised to sack any UBS worker who votes for him this year in order to avoid taking it out for a 4th straight year
Tip is - Should Win..... Mikey
            Will Win .........Kanser
            Who i pray will win ....Enda

Spirit Award - A great award this one BUT is there anyone in the group that can halt all round good guy Richie High? Always got a smile on his dial and makes sure the group is well catered for at ANY social event. Never misses a session (in the pub) and forever spreading the word and love ( mainly Enda's way)
Unbeatable odds 1/4 - Get your house on him
Outsiders worth a few bob each way, MrAce 2/1 for his work on fitting us out with caps and even managing to run with a smile, Greg and Charlie 4/1 for there ongoing work behind the scenes with the emails and website,  Chairman Tom 7/1, coordinating the sessions, Mikey 7/1 like Tom ( and i best not forget him or he will be upset)  :)
Tip.........the House is on Richie High

A few extra awards this year as well, Triathlon of the Year,  not many in the group to be honest as most us can't swim, but in the mix would have to be Pete Walker, Richie Palmer, Charlie, Eoin, High ?
Tip is ............Pete Walker

Ultra Walker of the Year............Who Cares :)
Tip.........Tucks, on the bases he walked further then anyone else, others of note, Elvis, Skippy Heyden, and John Worsick?

All will be known throughout the course of the evening down at the Harbour View Hotel tomorrow in the Rocks, A full report and round up will be done with photos on Friday

Hope to see you all there,
Cheers

HuRTS 45 minute Tempo

Tough old morning out on the bike in Centennial that saw me do a few laps with Irish pair Eoin 'the Leech' and Cork boy Paul Hanley (strong accent and no clue what he says whenever he talks to me), Bike felt good fresh after another service even if the rider didn't, 35ks done then promised to ride another 35k time trial with a client who is also handy on the bike and by the time i returned home i had ticked off 86k for the morning.
Saw L.L ( Lisa) out in the park running at one stage putting in a final burst for perhaps some awards come Thursday, told her that i think she has left her run a little late she did reply that maybe 'Underacheiver' was possible but i quickly told her that was already sewn up :)

With a quick break it was then into town for the 45 minute tempo session, massive crowd again despite the busy time of the year with all the regulars out for a trot. Started off very easy and was running with Billy Batt, Todd, and Champ working at 4.09 pace reaching the theatre company by half way. Quickened it up and was running just a tad under 4 min/ks coming by the Passenger Terminal and C.Q before the battery gave up the ghost on the GPS coming around Farm Cove, Saw Tucks and Pete Walker taking a short cut through the gardens coming out near the A.B.C Pool so just tucked in with them for the final 5 minutes home. Bloody tough again with the hills not to mention the swirling wind around but ended up making it back in plenty of time. Not very often i managed to run with Tucks on the final 5 minutes of ANY set over the years so was happy enough to hit the Stone Gates with him on this occasion (don't need to mention the fact he run a 60k Kepler Race about a week ago in N.Z).

Did say that i would put the nominations up for the HuRTS awards but think i will hold them over till tomorrow as Mikey was getting a little worried that i may be having a strong influence on the voters in his quest for Under Achiever trophy. I think all votes are now in and counted so it wont matter but just to be sure.....

Received yet more material from readers,(you'll have to stop sending all this Flakey, the boys are getting upset), this time its a 'Guess Who' again. This photo was taking many years ago and can you guess who the HuRTS member is from years gone by. We are looking for the person in the 'Bonny Hat at the front, A big clue is the gender of the person is MALE  ( I know i struggled to tell at first)  :)
First person with the correct answer will get a free beer on Thursday evening.

What a weekend of football from the English Premier this week, the Manchester Derby game just doesn't get any better, with Utd coming away with a 2-3 win thanks to yet another injury time goal.  The game had everything and its no wonder its the best league in the world after watching matches like that. My team Stoke are still going strong, with 3 wins out the past 4, as is Slim Sammy Agnew's C.Palace unfortunately the same can't be said about Master Sweeneys Arsenal, Tom's Newcastle, Enda's Villa,  and we wont even bother with Skippy Heyden's Q.P.R :)
Did find these couple of photos funny though also from the weekend.

Utd Manager Alex Ferguson, celebrated 26 years as the boss at the club last week, but if you added all the injury time added over the years then it more like 30 years :)

The new Money Box on offer for Man City fans, after one idiot decided to throw coins at Rio that cut him open above the left eye.

cheers

IN and ON the Drink

The annual Thailand trip usually symbols the start of the silly season for me and at the completion of the race normally means no more training until around the 10th Jan in the New Year once I've spent a few days at the cricket and the Test Match is over. This is done because there is a feast of activities going on that sees many a party that includes the demon drink, This year i have vowed to train through it though even if it is at a less intensity. So today even after a big weekend i headed into town to the A.B.C Pool to meet Pete Walker, Todd, Champ, Brendan and Gun Swimmer Mike(?) for the usual Monday swim. No sign of Enda mind who i have on good authority was seen heading to the gym to pump up some Iron claiming it was to cold for him.

Session was 5 x 300s, 5 x 100m with 200 warm up and cool down, I arrived very early as i knew that i couldn't stay with the guys and knocked out 500 warm up first, and after doing the first 300 then went to doing 200s instead of the scheduled set. Tried to tuck in with Todd and was hanging in there although he does have some kick on him and when he fires up i thought a hailstorm was beating down on my head (got a bloody headache now)
Finished off with 4 of the 5 100 reps and was buggered again come the end, It's only been two weeks since the race and can't believe how hard i found today's session with doing nothing during that time. Just goes to show that i will need to continue to work at it if I'm to avoid losing it altogether.
2ks in total for the day.

Saw Kanser out running once i had finished, out with one of his Running clients so 'young Bronwyn' tells me, also mentioned that Davie Boy has been training her for a couple of years now for Marathons can you believe? Will have to find out a little more for the Trash readers, so stay tuned,  Although i think he needs it as rumour around the Centennial traps yesterday is that HuRTS #1 Lady Laura is again been poached and Kanser is not a happy bunny about the idea of losing his star recruit he gained last year from Mikey to some 'Young Cub' :)

Will be out for the dreaded Tempo set tomorrow although will be taking it easy and wont be killing myself especially at this time of the year.

Big week ahead starting on Thursday with the HuRTS night, and have another 3 nights after that full on with drinks and parties...............roll on New Year i say :)

Tomorrow i will be giving the Paddy Power Odds on who will take home the 'bling' at Thursday nights awards presentation. Loads of money already in for Mikey for one of the awards, wonder which one that will be for? :)

cheers

Sunday Long Run 24ks - Done

After a Saturday night out being entertained by English funnyman Steve Merchant (think The Office, Extras) i was up early for my first Sunday Long run in months as i arranged to meet Kanser at Centennial. Also had a late text from Rob Costello aka Elvis who was out to join us at the same time and in fact made for a nice change for an Irishman who doesn't talk trash for two hours (although he is a little strange as he was telling me that he plans to run some hundred miler in the states next July)
Had intended to run 24ks for the morning but really haven't done anything like that distance for months so thought I'd just see how i went. Beautiful morning first up with temps over 26 degrees (see Flakes blog for full weather pattern)
Knocked out the first 10 loop in 46.11 ( 4.36 pace) doing it pretty easy catching up on the gossip and chatting about the up coming HuRTS 'night of nights' Presentation **. Started the 2nd loop and Kanser was straight into picking the pace up (that i could have done without, and got me thinking WHY does he do that?) and went around in 44.07 (4.25s) although the talking dropped somewhat at this stage of the morning. A single 4k flat lap was all that was left to do and as Kanser drifted off by about 100m i managed to hold the 4.25 pace to finish with 24ks in a time of 1.47 all up averaging 4.30 for the morning.
Very happy with that to be honest and at least i have a solid base to work with and will try to pick it up every week now getting either up to 30ks or just working at a faster pace.
It was like old times at the end when it was back to the 'House of Kane's where the Good Wife had already lined up the best breaky that now includes 'Smoked Salmon' on the menu (Tommy H will have to lift his game to top that should we venture over the Dark Side early in the new year for one of his hostings )
A little tired now and will take tomorrow off, although got a big afternoon planned as got the special invite around Mr Stankards house at Bondi for a BBQ he has, lets just pray he doesn't try to kill us with more of that Irish Phish alcohol he dished up at the end of the City to Surf in August and i get more then a burnt Rissole this time around :)
I must add that i must have rocks in my head as the Charming and Classy Anna from the group is also hosting a BBQ (although it is North Shore) and has promised Wagyu Beef, Lobster and top line guests and chilled bubbly, whilst i will have to put up with Irish drivel all afternoon, PLOD slobbering away, and Angry /Marshmallow Man Clyde putting the World to rights, and that's before Enda has even gets started on his excuses for the afternoon.

Cheers

**, The outcome of the HuRTS presentation chat we had  was that we feel that the poor Chairman may go home empty handed next Thursday evening once again despite having a pretty good year............all will be revealed next Thursday.

Pyramid 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 Laps

Down to Rushcutters for the Pyramid Session that is 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 full laps of Rushcutters Oval for the first kind of any speed session for over 3 weeks and boy was it to hurt.
Good crowd if somewhat small with Tom, Enda, Mikey, Elvis, Young Laura, Christian, James and a few others and also nice to see Kanser return after his spell back home in Ireland
Knew this was going to be a tough return and wasn't even sure that I'd get through it in truth so was happy to let Enda and Mikey go slightly ahead on the first single lap as i still went around to quick with an 86 (3.19 pace), held pretty much the same for the double and was already starting to feel the pace come the triple set. didn't help when Kanser decided to drop back a division and run with the second group meaning i was pretty much running solo for the 4 timer. I wasn't able to hold the pace on the 2nd triple lap but knew once that was out the way i was pretty much on the home straight. Managed to keep the double lap under 3.30 pace that i was happy with and then just had enough petrol in the tank to finish the final lap of in 85.
Absolutely spent at the end to be honest, but more then happy to get through it as another bulk of training gets under way - Will be hard enough anyway this one with all the Christmas drinks and activities set over the next 4 weeks or so but i am determined this year to train over the festive period unlike previous years :)
Times for the Day were;
86, 2.58, 4.35, 6.20, 4.41, 3.05. 85
Mikey continues to run well as does Enda,(who also agreed once more to give me 2 minutes start on the next 10k we do), Tom led the field all day (Obviously Tucks was on leave), and Kanser just seem to be cruising around (although he was blowing pretty heavy)

Have lined up my first long run on the weekend with Kanser, haven't done one in ages now but need to get started sooner rather then later as i think i will try to do Six Foot again this year and don't want to start my run to late if i am to give myself half a chance in the race.

Don't know if you could see the photos from the Phuket race yesterday (or even cared for that matter) but the Chairman insisted that i not bother with such boring shots and was after the ones that included the possible NEW HuRTS massage team that he is thinking of bringing in for the squad in the New Year. So just to keep him happy here is what you can expect come the new year should you have any injuries or concerns...........Please take a ticket :)

Massage girl Nori, complete with HuRTS visor, MrAce might want to use the photo if he wants to promote how the new caps look when he puts the new order in:)

Meet Noi and Noy, sisters who now that Richie High has resigned from his day job and we may not have a tent at next years JP Morgan i have these two lined up to look after our hospitality tent for the night.

....and despite telling me that he wasn''t going to go this year, i did track Enda down and was forced to listen to his banter for the night once again, Actually i did have a half decent conversation with him . Just wish he'd get rid of that damn Irish jersey for once.

cheers

Laguna Phuket Triathlon 3.07:29

Back from the little holiday in the Land of Smiles, and had a good 9 days or so since the race to enjoy some sunshine and reflect on the race itself.
Left here on the Thursday before feeling in pretty good form and even went out on the bike course with others on the Friday to check out what was in store as the course was slightly different this time around, then went out for a bite to eat and a few drinks early evening with friends and was enjoying the night when all of a sudden.............BANG, A quick visit to the toilet, followed hot flushes and i was barely out of the main drag before bringing back up my best Thai Fish Snapper from an hour earlier. Stumbled back to the hotel and the next 12 hours or so were perhaps the worst i have ever felt. I thought it was all over for me at that stage and was getting set to write the blog for a final time as i couldn't get out the room at all.
Started to feel a little better about 9pm on the Saturday night, and knew that i should eat and get something into me but couldn't make myself leave the hotel which meant racing on absolute nothing inside me.
Race Day is an early start and up at 4am, all set up and watch the sun rise before the start of the swim leg that sees us swim 1.2ks in the ocean and then a further 600 metres across the Lagoon to transition. I settled nicely and was delighted to stand up out the water in only 32 minutes and was away out on the bike in under 35. Held back a little to begin with as there are 3 mammoth hills to contend with in the first 16ks of the 55, i seemed to labour up the hills but was very happy to be passing loads ( even people walking the bikes), Was working very hard and didn't think i was going that well but when i checked the time on every split i found was doing OK time wise and was going past people throughout which was also pleasing. Came in off the bike in 94 minutes for the 55ks and was delighted to be out on the run with the clock not yet reaching 2hr:10 min - meaning that i only really had to run 4 min/ks (48 minutes for the 12k) to break the 3 hour mark in 2.58 and give myself every chance of a top 20 overall and a possible A/G win?
This unfortunately was about as good as it was to get as the next 57 minutes were pure HELL, I shuffled out on the first k working no better then 4.30 pace and just had nothing. Made it to the 2ks mark before my first walk of the day (which was the first of many) and took drinks aboard and the Ice sponges that were on offer. Happy to see the first 6k lap done in 27 minutes (4.30 pace)  and just prayed i could hold that, put on a brave face for the "Thai Tims' around transition before yet another walk, as an overweight guy came running past me - Pride kicked in at this stage and thought 'No Way' is this geezer faster then me as i run past him only to stop again 50 metres further and him to fly by again.  This was getting embarrassing as it must have happened about 10 times over the course of 3ks, and with 1500 left to go i thought OK, lets just get this over and done with as i was now reduced to running 5 min/ks - But even then i had to stop ONCE more :(
Never been so happy to cross a finishing line as the run leg took me 57 minutes averaging 4.45,  in my overall time of 3.07:29, 55th overall and 6th in the A/G
Race results here;
http://results.championchip-thailand.com/lpt2012/show.asp?On

Its all 'If's and buts" but i felt had i run anything like i should have done i reckon a top 20 and 2nd spot was on the cards BUT Triathlon is like that and you need ALL 3 disciplines to get the required results. Was delighted with my swim leg of 32 minutes and all those swim sessions did pay off for me in the end, the bike leg was strong yet again but with nothing left inside me since the sickness i was then running on EMPTY from the very beginning
Although initially disappointed i wasn't as bad as i imagined i would be as i knew I'd done the training and everything was pretty much spot on this year and basically had no control of the sickness that was to take me out for 24 hours.

That's 4 on the spin now for this particular race, and as i sat pondering over a beer or two will i go back for number 5 ? Well... I'll always go back to Thailand ( i have to as i have 3 wife's, 8 kids and sponsor Enda's 7 children over there)  but not sure if I'll do the race in 2013 as Berlin is set for the end of September/October time and will be the main focus, and not sure if I'll have recovered from the Beer Festival that follows.

Had a great 9 days that followed the race just beaching, eating and drinking everyday as the Lindop Harem looked after my every need, with Saucy Sue on hospitality duty and new 'on the firm' Naughty Nori taking care of repairing the damaged body on massage duty all was good and with 'Bang' around as well.... with a name like that I'm not sure what she could bring to the party? but seeing i am a decent guy i thought I'd take a chance on what she had to offer to join Team Timmy :)

All photos will be up once i sort them out ( and edit them) , but here are a few from the race.
http://www.shopfinisherpix.com/photos/my-photos/pctrl/Photos/paction/search/pevent/laguna-phuket-triathlon-2012/pbib/563.html
I am not sure how to download them so if any techno geek out there knows how to - give us a call

Back to reality tomorrow , as back to work - lets just hope i can run faster then 5 minute ks

Korp Koon Krap
Chok Dee