Where is Our GOLD?

Brick session within Centennial Park again with Roger, Double laps on the bike followed by some running hills.  Pretty cruisy as Roger is still not firing (still suffering the effects of head colds and Holidays) so really had to work by myself.
I see PLOD has committed to the BRAT Duathlon on Sunday, so looks like I'll have to settle for the minor placings once more :)
Enda Watch - Enda continues to be seen flying around the park in the early hours despite his constant "I'm not doing ANY training" routine. Heard he knocked out the 6k Woollarha Hill loop in 24 mins today (3.30 pace) ...... Impressive mate :)

Still no sign of ANY Gold bling for us at the Olympics, although i suspect that will be changing at 11.15pm this evening when "Wiggo' goes out on the time trial on the bike.
Good result for Silver from the lovely Zara in the Equestrian, Also watch out for the Rowing girls Stanning and Glover tonight in the 'Pairs'
..............Those Golds are Coming :)

My Olympic thought for the Day,  How can Kazakhstan be way above G.B in the medal tables, when only 4 people live there and one of them is Borat?

Also just had my tickets come through, and managed to snag tickets for the Women's Beach Volleyball...lovely.
Unfortunately, it's Iran versus Saudi Arabia

Cheers

 

20 x 400s McKay Oval (off 2 minutes)

Stole one of HuRTS members Terence Bell's session that we used to do this time 12 months ago when he was training for his Melbourne Marathon last October and that was 20 x 400m efforts rolling every 2 minutes (OK T.B used to do 30 at times but.. )
Tough enough session i seemed to remember, but its a bit more controlled and you don't go lactic is the aim. Decided i wanted to do 15 of them around 80-85 seconds then see what i could knock out for the final 5?
A bit of a lonely and repetitive session this one so tried to also break it down mentally, went through the first 5 fine, and the next were also OK, had to stay focused on the 3rd batch and then kicked it down to finish of the session.
Times were pretty good overall - working around 3.20 - 3.25 pace per/k, So another box ticked for me.
Times were, 87, 85, 85, 85, 83, 84, 83, 83, 81, 82, 83, 81, 81, 81, 83, 79, 79, 78, 78,77

Big weekend of racing again coming up with another double header, starting at Lane Cove for the Striders 10k - A great final hit out for C2S and we will be able to predict a time from that race i reckon for the following week. Then on the Sunday its the BRAT Duathlon again, Wonder who Team Sparks will send down for this one after PLOD smashed all before him in the last race :)  I hope they send Enda ................. as i want to see how all his training has been going before we go Head to Head the following week :)

Olympic Watch. Enjoyed another night/early morning watching as the English have still to put a GOLD on the board although our Gymnastic team took a Bronze which was a major surprise. We have the women's 200m in the morning - lets hope S.Rice bombs out , and in the Men's 200 Butterfly i am predicting Mr Phelps will be returning to the dais in the Gold medal position, and happy to see Aussie Darcy wont be in the final as well.
Also, what is it with some of these swimmers? I take my hat off to Emily Seebohm on her Silver medal , great race and huge congratulations but then to blab it all out whilst been interviewed after??? ....Pleeaaasssseeeee, spare me. I am myself a very emotional person and don't think there is anything wrong with that in general ever since i watched the movie 'The Champ' in my younger days but after racing well and taking Silver..Stop it. I've not seen an outburst like that since Gold Coast 2011 when Enda did something similar at the 18k mark :)
So that's the Missile and the 'C- Bomb - gone down in the past two nights , whatever next?

Gets me on to Today's Top 10 Cry Babies ( again not all Olympians)... and some even WON the gold :)
1. Matthew Pinsent  Rowing 2004 after winning Gold
2. Veronica Campbell-Brown Sprinter after winning Gold
3. Derek Redmond  (1992)400m Sprinter after breaking down injured
4. Mary Decker (1984) running after Zola Budd crashed tackled her.
5. Paula Ratcliffe (2008) Marathon
6. Paul Gascoigne (1990) England football after getting yellow carded.
7, Pete Sampras (1995) Tennis Australia Open
8. Andy Murrey (2012) Wimbledon after another lose
9. Emily Seebohm (2012) swimmer after her Silver medal
10. Enda Stankard (2011) Gold Coast Half Marathon after a Young Timmy whipped his ar$e :)

Cheers

Recovery/Survival Swim

Procrastinated for hours this morning before i was brave enough to venture down to the pool for the recovery swim. Bloody freezing getting changed and was dreading even the thought of it - that was until i jumped in and it was a lovely 26 degrees.
Bit of a warm up and then decided on doing 2 x 700m efforts, I say efforts, it was anything but as i laboured big time from the off today so ended up just trying to get through them. Times were shocking, and i won't even bother to post - Lets just say i wont be troubling any Olympic team in this lifetime. Don't know about the recovery swim it really was a case of Survival this morning. Happy to get it done though and felt good once i was all showered and into the morning coffee.

Olympic Watch. Well congrats to the Aussie 4 x 100m team last night, After talking the talk for the past few months you delivered us nothing. Very disappointing in there 4th spot after being favorites to take the Gold. Although after witnessing it and the short interval after, James Magnussen now comes into my Top 10 'Poor Sportsman / Most Disliked Aussie Athlete. I know he was disappointed, but the way he reacted was poor form in my eyes
Got me thinking about my Top 10 (again not in any specific order, and not even Olympians ) but here goes

1. Anthony Mundine, boxing
2. Jana Pitman - Hurdles
3. John Steffersen - 400m runner
4. Bernard Tomic - Tennis
5. Tamsin Lewis - 800m runner
6. Lleyton Hewitt - Tennis
7. Ricky Stuart  - Rugby League
8. Craig Foster - Football
9. James Magnussen - Swimming
10. .......There's still another 14 days left of the Games, sure to be a few to be added. :)

All of the above should take a look at swimmer Libby Trickett and see what at true sports she is.

On a lighter note, Poor Enda phoned me last night, and he is normally very much 'Anti Queen' and is always slagging her of, so it was a nice surprise when he spoke very highly after the Opening of the Games about Our Lizzy. " Yes, Timmy, fair play to her, i normally think of her as an old miserable bugger, but the way she jumped out of that helicopter with James Bond on Friday night was very impressive"
..... Bless Him :)


Cheers

Sunday Run...Running like a Fairy?

A late start for me in the park today after a late night watching the Games as well as feeling generally tired - not to mention the phone calls and texts at all hours from certain people at Aine's 30th last night.
Back into Centennial and continued on with the Woollarha Hill 6k loops x 3, getting a bit bored with this now but it is a good session as i get to work the hill on every lap about the 4.5k mark
Armed with the ipod and some great tunes it seemed easy yet again as i completed the loop in 26.41 (4,26s), Perfect winters morning and the park was packed today and there was even a Half Marathon on in there care of the Hare Krishna Sri Chimnoy team going around. I held the 2nd lap a little quicker and to my surprise even managed to knock the third lap down further.
Times for each lap were
26.41 (4.26 pace)
26.18 (4.23)
25.37 (4.16)
All up 18.2ks in 79.30 averaging 4.23 for the morning so not a bad effort on the back of yesterdays session and things are tipping along nicely hopefully.
One more big week then will take it easy as it's only two weeks to go before City to Surf.
I think the beer ban is working for me and I've felt as if i have made some improvements over the past 3 weeks, although could have done without the texts last night from the team - Expect it from the Irish Cartel but even Sonya and J-Fen were in on it as well, With message coming through from Fenton that i run like a FAIRY (and i thought he was my mate? )

Clued to the telly trying to take in as much as possible, although made a promise to myself NOT to watch Channel 9 with there terrible ONE EYED coverage........Its embarrassing, Eddie (the Cyclops) Maguire is the worst although that Carl is not far behind, as for the female face of the team Leila McKinnon we all know she knows bugger all and is only there care of head man at 9 ... David Gyngell (CEO) her husband.
Thank God for FOX is all I'll say  :)

Day off tomorrow, although might try to squeeze a swim in at some stage if i can , before returning on Tuesday for another killer session :)

Cheers

Let the Games Begin......

Up Early to watch the opening of the Games before a busy morning working. It was lunchtime before finishing but i was determined to get my City to Surf 5k effort in again so it was a repeat of last Friday where i park up near the Golden Sheaf and do the easy 2ks down to O'Sullivan Street that is the 5k mark on the C2S.
Despite feeling tired before starting, the pace was pretty solid to begin and with a nice breeze behind the back i was holding the pace OK as i made my way up Heartbreak with the help of my tunes blasting out some Jam, David Bowie and the Clash's 'London Calling'(inspiration from this morning). Got to the roundabout on New and Old South Head Road then the wind was right back in my face and i was thankful it was a down hill section as i past the cemetery and into Military Road. Hit Dover Heights and the 10k mark in 19.10 averaging 3.50 pace and a lot quicker then last weeks effort ( thanks mainly to the tail wind - Check the Flakes blog for full details there)
Turned then came back the same way ( no schoolgirls today making me blush though) and took in the sights and a cast of hundreds out on the course getting there last minute runs in as well. Thought i saw Terence Bell heading up on the other side of the road - but didn't get the chance to talk. Saw a fast Enda go past me on the way up as well and he tells me he hit the 10k mark in 18.19...............So much for not training i say?
Managed to even hold the pace pretty well on the return as well, getting back to the start line in 22.06 (4.25 pace)
A couple of kays to finish it off, stopping at 60 minutes exactly for the day. Seems to be heading in the right direction as City to Surf gets nearer. Still off the drink so another two weeks and i reckon I'll be all set for a few by about 10am post race.

As mentioned i was up early to watch the opening of the Games - I thought it was brilliant to be honest (OK maybe i am biased) as it captured everything the Country stands for. The Industrial Revolution was very well done and Mr Bean was excellent . I am a big fan of the Arctic Monkeys but wasn't sure if they were the right choice for the occasion?
Lets just hope the Athletes can do us as proud - Go Team G.B :)

** Also see some Imbecile has posted on the blog? As i have previously stated 'The Trash gives out enough so i am happy to receive the same in return. But if you are going to post at least have some substance in your reply or even better put a name to your scribble and not just hide behind a mouse.
Already lost one fan a few months ago when a 'Young Cub' didn't understand the word 'Banter' and if you don't enjoy the 'Craic' ..... then simple 'DON'T READ' :)

Will just be out cruising around the park for 20ks in the morning , might see if i can do a few ks with J-Fen if he's around, No sign of Kanser (not even a report from his 9.65k race).... so it looks like it could be a Sausage and Egg McMuffin and Pancakes on the way home care of Macca D's for breaky if J-Fen doesn't come good with his Yankee Breaky sooner or later :)


Have a good weekend
Cheers

4 x 2k Woollahra Hill Reps, In the Hurt Box.

Couldn't make the HuRTS session so had to train by myself again and do the dreaded 4 x 2k Woollahra Hill Reps that are tough at the best of times.
After a 1500m warm up it was straight into it with the first 400m on the flat before the hard 700m climb up the hill, It flattens out a bit before you get the downhill part running back on yourself to Paddington Gates and back down the hill. Felt tough from the start today and ticked off the first rep in 7.22 (3.41 pace) and could have happily wrapped it up there and then. I tried not to attack the hill as much on the next rep with the hope of bringing it home stronger, which i managed although the 3rd rep drifted a little and it was just a case of digging deep for the 4th one. I was in the Hurt Box big time on the last and couldn't wait till the top of the hill for what i was hoping was an easier one kay to finish off.
Rep Times were:
7.22 (3.41 pace), 7.19, 7.23, 7.24 - rolling/going every 10 mins
Buggered again by the end, but that is the 2nd day on the trot working on the Hill, so will back of tomorrow before getting back and running over the City to Surf course again on Saturday morning.

Still getting thousands of texts from Enda, still telling me that he is doing no training - strange though as i have seen him out 3 times with PLOD this week already (not to mention his race on Sunday)
Anyway 'Professor PLOD', after hours of calculations has come back and DEMANDED that we all run of Scratch for the race. I know i am getting rorted once more and against my better judgement have reluctantly agreed to such............... So BRING IT ON :)

The Trash has exciting news of a NEW MEMBER on the HuRTS books, coming soon - Chairman Tommy H  is in negotiations as we speak, and is just fine tuning and tweaking a few terms and conditions before she can join.
Check her out here as she lines up for her last race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMgmYutL9W0

If we can just keep Mr Cool J-Fen away from her and 'rocking her socks off', or Enda from drooling then we may have a chance to get some quality within the group :)

With the Games less then 48 hours away - Timmy's Top 10 continues - today its England's Top 10 gold Medal Chances (not in any particular order)

1.Mo Farrah 5000 & 10'000m
2. Brownlee Brothers - Triathlon
3. Katherine Grainger + Anna Watkins, double Skull rowing
4. Rebecca Adlington 800m Swimming
5. Ben Ainslie Sailing
6. Karen Pickering - Open Water swimming
7. Chris Hoy  Cycling
8 Jessica Ennis Heptathlon
9. Victoria Pendleton Cycling
10. B.Wiggins, M.Cavendish  Road and Time Trial cycling

also look out for a young lad Steven Lewis in the Pole Vault, good lad and he's from my old hometown Stoke ........ so will have a big heart and hopefully go well.

cheers

Banana Boats and Bricks

After the early morning fog had lifted that had blanketed Sydney first up i couldn't believe the first two people i saw come out the mist .......... Mo and Larry (Enda & POD) running down the hill, gave them the customary 2 Min's of abuse before joining training partner Roger who was back for the brick session after taking a 3 week vacation.
Roger who was feeling the effects of a cold and lack of training was looking for an easier session today, so i decided on - Two flat laps on the bike (8ks), then the Woollarha Hill loop (2.25k) x 2
Not really done that much on the bike and seemed to struggle my way around the double laps in 12.40 before taking off on the 700 metre hill, held the pace OK and came home in 8.09 (3.40 pace) feeling pretty good.
A short little break then it was a repeat , giving Roger a handy start on the bike i caught him on the 2nd loop and was virtually the same pace around in 12.43, a quick transition with Roger on my heels and it was out on the run again, he stayed with me up the hill and almost all the way till the 1500m before i managed to get the gap on him. Pushed the last 500 and got home in 7.55 at a healthy 3.33 pace.
Not a long session but the intensity was there for a good 40 mins - good to have Roger back that kept me honest and made me push all the way
Was interesting what he said about drafting - he did a 7.06 first lap and then sat on my wheel for the 2nd and did 6.24 and he said it was loads easier despite going nearly 40 seconds quicker over 3.7ks
Still believe my running is not to flash at the moment but more then happy with the way i am able to run OFF the bike, managing to hold my race pace?

Don't think i will get the time to get into the City tomorrow so it looks like i may be forced to do my own Hill work again, looks like another tough one ahead then :)

I am constantly getting bombarded with emails and texts from Pest Enda about giving HIM a two minute start in the City to Surf..............is this guy on drugs?  He comes out with more excuses and bluffs then anybody i know.
Got every excuse going, only training twice a week, had no sleep, laces came undone, even said something about himself breastfeeding at one point, before i switched off. This is a guy that run 38.30 (3.30 Pace) on Sunday at Sutho to Surf (11ks) on limited training and wants 2 mins from me who has battled to run 37 minutes for 10ks  lately..................Leave it Out, he must think I've just arrived on the Banana Boat :)
For the record ......Enda's giving me 75 seconds head start for City to Surf. .... no more to be said :)

In late breaking NEWS that will  see Chairman and HuRTS #1Tom  running for cover again - another member brings SHAME on the great name, And no its not Enda or Kanser this time, but Angry Man Clyde, aka Marshmallow Man, aka Dolph, aka Sheep Lover Rozza, Over in Thailand. Seems Clyde had a few too many ales (probably 3) and went out on the town and got caught up with some of Enda's old friends, waking up in the morning not with 'Jinky Jackie' but more 'JackHammer Jimmy',
He was last seen siting in his hotel room trying to explain all to good wife Katie , and even worse how he 'Grasscutted' old friend Enda, and his old flame.

Oh the Shame.... Clyde after a night on the tiles with 'JackHammer Jimmy'

cheers