Running, Long Rides and Happy Haggis Day.

Monday. Usually a rest day but with NO run on Sunday I thought I better get back out and promised Corky I’d run with her. Good crew out though with the group basically splitting into two as I held back and it was like the Irish invasion with Enda, Super Kev, his brother Mark as well as Corky from the Emerald Island with Prince Ho also keeping us company.

Usual around the Domain/ Passenger Terminal and the Wharfs turning at the 7.5k mark. Pace was easy, banter less so with the first of the Churchill/ Sands trash already starting some 4 months out.

15ks all up averaging 4.52s – perfect.

Evening was spent at the Wisemans care of the annual ‘Burns Day’ better known to me as ‘Haggis Day’  Fine turnout over at the family home in Cloey, with a top BBQ and hosting by Craig himself. The Haggis was cooked (to perfection I’m told) and brought out, but before we got into it Craig gave a great poem about it (we had no clue what he was rambling on about), very intense and Birchy and I got a little worried when he had the knife pointed and something about Englishmen that looked very intimidating.  Only polite to try the Scots finest dish....... Acquired taste that’s for sure, and it’s certainly not mine. The Scottish sausages on the other hand were the business as was the chicken.  A fine evening capped off when the 12 year old Glenfiddich was brought out, Very smooth to put away and enjoyed by all .....even Greta sampled.

Quote of the night came from Greta herself though when she asked me ‘ Why do the Scots have and celebrate ‘Burns Day’ so close to our own Aussie Day?

Many thanks to Craig and wife Anne for hosting.

 

Tuesday. Turned into a rather late Monday evening and when the alarm went at 5.30am in order to meet Kroney for our long ride it was touch and go?  Still, made it and along with my regular long ride partners Kroney and the Leech we were set for the morning. Honoured to have Angus ‘Curly’ Boyd along with us for his debut as we settled on the 3 Gorges ride over the north side. Along with the West Head and Akuna Bay this is perhaps the best ride you get in Sydney although with plenty of hills and over 100ks it was more than I was capable or should be attempting with no bike work done over the last 6 weeks once again.

It’s a tough enough start for the first 30k until you get out of town, but once out its stunning and before long due to the wet roads we make our way cautiously down to Cataract Gorge. First challenge of the day on the uphills but we climb together as we then head to Berowra Waters. Another great section as I open it up and fly down to the waiting ferry hitting speeds up near the 70 ks per/hr.

I may have been first OFF the ferry but I was certainly last up the 2^nd of the hills as the legs with lack of biking was starting to show. Meanwhile the boys in particular Kroney flew up.

Pretty fast section along the highway before heading back into Kuringai National Park, but any slight hills and I was getting dropped big time, Angus took pity on me and towed me along for about 10k and I just sat on his wheel the whole way, even on the decent.  The 4ks climb out was torture and had to do solo with the lads that far ahead I had them pre order my coffee at the local brew house at the top.

Recovery time over coffee and banana bread chatting to Travis Shields before I was forced back on the bike for the final 40ks or so back home.  Tagged on to a group along the Pacific Hwy, that included gun cyclist Stuart Dangerfield that helped but I was close to breaking point as the distance tipped over 100ks for the day. Was forced into an unscheduled ‘Pit Stop’ as cramps set in and a ‘Coke’ was ordered as I was in a world of pain.

Happy to get back to Nth Sydney where we dropped Eoin off and then proceeded across the Bridge into town and then home with 120ks done for the mornings work. Average pace all up for me was 26ks per/hr that may not seem that fast but it was bloody hard enough for me over that terrain.

For a full on course description and times best check out Kroneys info care of the popular Strava link that everyone seems to be on these days.

Was supposed to head to an Aussie Day BBQ hosted by Kroney, but in truth I couldn’t venture off the couch all afternoon it was that bad.

Many thanks to Eoin, Kroney and Angus though for the ride and getting me through it, makes me think that I need to do more on the bike over the next month or so if I’m even to attempt these bigger tri races.

 

Wednesday. Rest day, although did do an easy 7ks with clients first up .

 

Craig with Haggis, flanked by Greta, Sonii, C.T, Lindop, Birch and Corky O'Connor.

Not sure if the knife was for the Haggis or Englishman Birch & Lindop?

I think I'll stick with my Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding, thank you.

I always try to fit into the local culture.

Although I think Corky wears it better.

Cycling buddies on the ferry at Berowra Waters - Leech, Kroney and Angus Boyd.

'Elite' Leech trying to come to terms once shaking on giving me 60 seconds start at Homebush next week in the 10k, alongside Angus with his own 'Home brand sponsorship - Boyd shirt.

Cheers

St Peters Park Run - 18.30 5th Overall.

Another rush around to make the St Peter’s  Park Run on a killer of a hot and humid morning and  rocked up to find HuRTS Nick Roberts, C.T (in the middle of his long run) and a nice surprise to see the ‘Mermaid’ Emma looking good with bub #2 not that far away. No sign  of Fats though after he laid the bet on Thursday deciding to sleep in and sending Mrs Fats over to race instead (that has now cost him $20 for the privilege) . A talented Stankard was out, although it was ‘Angel Ange’ doing the hard yards whilst I have it on good authority that Enda was training on hills earlier (although he’ll tell you he’s done no training )

C.T said prior he was only going to run around 19 minutes and with me running 18.20 last week I tried to get him to run with me, but didn’t seem that keen. So I took off with him somewhat behind,  Fast first k and go through in 3.26 with C.T then sitting right on my shoulder, slow it down a little after that and happy to see the 2^nd go through in 3.37 The first girl (no idea who) comes past with a kid about 12 soon after and just at the start of the hill C.T makes his move and tells me to stick with him. Easier said than done, as I’ve goneski and offer nothing once again as I get to the top.  A slight increase in pace coming down the other side but disappointed to see a 3.57 go through for the 3^rd.

Survival mode from here on in I’m afraid, somehow make the 4^th respectable but the final one was ugly as I cross out in 18.30 – some 10 seconds slower than last week and one place down in 5^th for my troubles.

Ugly splits were; 3.26, 3.37, 3.57, 3.41, 3.49

Apart from the 1^st kilometre I never felt good at all, not looking for excuses but the humidity was the major concern not only for me but for most by the way everyone came over the line and I doubt there were many PBs flying around today.

C.T ended up putting 16 seconds into me over  2.5ks (18.14) and I bet he was just holding a steady pace throughout and Nick Roberts took the win with a time of 16.53

I was hoping ‘Prince Ho’ was going to come out and pace me for the morning, but that was a NO go as he decided to walk his dog instead – I think he must have known something?

 

Overall disappointed, but we keep plugging on.

 

Cheers

HuRTS Elite Biathlon..... without the swim leg.

Morning. 2k really easy swim set down at PAP, didn’t do the usual 3k as didn’t want to knacker myself before the ‘Big Battle’ with Tommy H at the Biathlon later in the day. Followed it up with an even easier 5ks around the Domain as I marked the run course out for the event. Then finished up the morning with coffee with the Chairman whilst trying to work out how much of a start I needed in the swim leg only to be told that he was ‘pulling the pin’ and wouldn’t make the start line.

 

Evening. Rolled up early to find Laura already waiting so decided on a warm up and went over the run course with her,  The team started arriving soon after and just around race start time so did Sydney’s recent Rollercoaster weather. 40 degrees throughout the day but bang on 6.30pm the heavens opened and the thunder and lightning struck that resulted in the pool closure. Stood around for a while deciding on the best course of action, but with no sign of stopping we had to sadly rearrange and just do a 5k running event. Absolutely pelted down and with floods galore it made the run leg that much more difficult.

Quentin and Biathlon Champ Mike Leichwark battled it out at the front , with Lachlan Oates in 3^rd way ahead of Leechy, Kroney and myself. I was the first to drop off as early as about 2ks in truth and I was only  running about 3.42s at the time. Ambled my way around Farm Cove to the Stone Gates and managed to check where everyone else was on the turn and just prayed I had enough left to get home without getting overtaken. The rise coming out the Domain back to the road is another tough section with 1k to go as I then made my way down to Mrs Macs Chair and I nearly needed my snorkel to get through a flooded area. Little easier finish heading back to the pool but by this stage there was no way any sort of kick down for home was happening as I crossed the line in 18.42

Solid enough effort I thought in the circumstances, but looking at it I reckon Tommy H would have beat me overall as we worked out prior that 90 seconds would be the magic time difference in the pool.

Quentin took line honours just ahead of Mike, although I believe Mike would have taken the comp had the swim leg been completed, and I’m sure  ace swimmer Dave Butcher would have also been in the mix.

Good  hit out all the same, pity the weather stopped what would have been an interesting little event, On the plus side I’m $20 richer care of the Chairman’s NO SHOW – that I’ll happily put in the betting account for the season ahead.

Ventured over to the Tilbury after for a few beers with the gang to farewell old mate and #1 blog reader ‘The Italian Stallion’ Durante (when he eventually showed up), plenty of banter and laughs along the way, Enda rocks up full of excuses, Tea Towel Tony Fats arrived, C.T staggered off and left early, Taffy was running late missing the run leg and looked like Harry Hill with his NEW collared shirt and the Stallion hit up Harry’s for a final time for another 4 hot dogs and Tiger Pie........ Yep, some things just don’t change with the HuRTS team.

Fun night brought to a close as I shared a cab home with Fats who then took advantage, getting me at a weak moment with me agreeing to a $20 bet for Saturdays Park run with me to get a measly 60 second start

 

 

Rest day on Friday but will try to squeeze in another Park Run on Saturday plus a few more ks as it’s another busy weekend ahead.  Saturday sees my good mate host the popular Irish/ Aussie Day BBQ party, normally one of the best of the year so Sunday’s long run is a certain no go.

In the footy Stoke back up after an impressive display last week against Arsenal with a trip to highflyers Leicester who have taken the league by storm this season. Very tough game but have a few quid on the Potters to come away with a point.

Timmy’s Tip; Leicester 2 v Stoke 2

 

Elsewhere my mate Slim Sammy Aggers has gone very quiet on the footy, I see his Tin Pot Palace outfit haven’t scored a goal in over 5 matches – Oh Dear. Take one man out the team and they start to play like a championship team. Roll on the 4^th round of the F.A Cup I say.

 

Biathlon team (L to R) Mike, Hamish, Dave, Lachlan, Jono, Laura, Quentin, Timmy, Hoey, Leech, Greta and Kroney

Have a great weekend
Train well and stay safe
Cheers

 

 

Midweek P.A.P Swim in the Heat.

Near 40 degrees again and worked in with Crossy Lad to head to P.A.P again for the second swim of the week, also joined by old client Alex and after a 200m warm up we decided on a quick 5 x 300m rep set.

Crossy led the lane out and as soon as 150m I was dropped and basically laboured home in 4.55 and thought I was already done before we started. Decided then to get the toys out for help and with the hand paddles I was able to sit with the boys for the remainder of the session.

Next 4 reps ranged from 4.43s to 4.47 that I was happy with. Neither Alex or I could get anywhere near Crossy Lad mind you on the 5^th as he kicked it down for a 4.30 finish – the lad is certainly getting stronger in the pool that’s for sure.

 

Cheers

 

Early Morning 3 x 3ks Efforts in Centennial

Monday ,

Normally a rest day but stunning day out and when Crossy Lad came calling for a swim it was a good opportunity to start building the ks back up. Was looking for an easy session although once Angus and Kroney rocked up I knew I was in for a tough 40 minutes ahead.

A couple of hundred warm up followed by 2 x300, 4 x 200 and 6 x 100s was the go and I was battling to stay on Kroneys feet throughout, Was pretty happy to do the first of the 200s in around 3.10 but the last two were far quicker in 3.05s.

The 100s all done in sub 1.30s that I was also happy with, first bit of speed work back in the pool since before Xmas and forgot just how hard it is.

 

 

Tuesday.

Temps up around 30 degrees again so put out my email to go early morning, unfortunately regular morning guys Jeet was working, Laura struggled to get to the park, Corky was hung-over and Birchy said he was going for a manicure (what’s all that about?) so was left to go solo for the morning.

Planned session was 3 x 3k reps at a controlled pace, just did a 2k warm up and was set to go for the faster first 1k on each rep. If the first k is the fastest the 2^nd is the flattest and the 3^rd by far the toughest as you come around near Fox Studio gates heading back to the cafe.

Happy enough to complete the first in 11.01 averaging 3.40 pace put was certainly working hard enough to even achieve that in all honesty. Went out slightly harder on the 2^nd to take advantage of the easier start but by half way had to dig in and just managed to finish on 11 mins dead.

Really contemplated not going out for the 3^rd and it was only the Stoke Heart that saw me complete the session, Pace was down straightaway but just tried to run it as even as I could. Thought about running it at less than tempo pace but kept a sustained effort up and although the slowest of the morning I was happy enough with an 11.14 finish (3.45s)

Times. 11.01, 11.00, 11.14

 

A 6k cool down (working with a client) meant 17k for the morning.

 

No sign of any of the others this morning although I did see ‘Mr & Mrs Kenny in #1 Renee and James flying around on the bikes,  Renee always offering encouraging words as I battled away, whilst Kenny was less encouraging hurling abuse and telling me to cover my fat gut up.

It was noticed though that Kenny was sat on Renee’s wheel ‘Drafting’ all the while – shame on him J

 

Rest day tomorrow although with high temps once again I may see if Crossy Lad is up for another swim set?

 

Thursday is the HuRTS Biathlon at the ABC Pool,  should be a good night, 500m swim followed by 5k run – Tommy H is going down in this one, get your money on the little Stoke battler to take him out.

Drinks to follow at the Tilbury for Durante’s leaving do.

 

Cheers

 

National Park Long Run in Shire Town.

Passports ready, money changed up and vaccinations all done – yep, it was time to head South and pay Laura a long overdue visit for out a Sunday long run in ‘Shire Town’.  Called up some support in Jeet, Birchy and Taffy James for the morning as we made our way to the National Park where Crossy Lad had made the effort to join us as well for a pretty cruisy 20ks.

Stunning little track that sees plenty of undulating little hills that makes it a solid run although I resisted to up the pace at any stage of the morning deciding to run with Taffy and Birchy whilst the others couldn’t help themselves to go ahead.  Great little chat heading out till the top of the hill at 10k before basically just repeating for the journey home.

Taffy run well for his longest run since his injury and Birchy got through it well despite his dislike for trail running due to his dodgy ankles.

20ks done in 1hr; 40 mins exactly working at 5 min per/k pace, certainly wasn’t  the fastest run on record but certainly very enjoyable and sometimes you need to do these kind of sessions as I reckon it builds great strength and endurance up without smashing yourself.

Finished off with Laura’s mum Lyn making it down as well to deliver her Banana Bread and more famous Scones that went down a treat,  Taffy made a show of himself again when he started licking the cream bowl, although I think Lyn was just happy to see that old ‘Potty Mouth’ Tommy H was a no show after his shocking language last time around.

Coffee drunk and Scones destroyed it was time for some beach action down at Cronulla and the water was stunning and proved a good recovery for the tired legs. Watched a little of the ‘Ironman and Women in the ‘Nutri-Grain series (man, those are super athletes) before heading over for an afternoon at Cronulla RSL for a few scoops.

Great 8 hours in total spent in Shire Land and many thanks to Laura for hosting the morning as well as her Mum and Wol who made us outsiders feel welcome and didn’t throw the schooner glasses at us at any stage of the afternoon.

With the deadline for our passports running out it was left to Jeet to get us back over the Captain Cook Bridge and back to the safety of Erko for a few quiet ones to finish off a top day.

Many thanks to Jeet as well who was on driving duties and had to put up with a rather intoxicated Paul Birch on the return journey.

 

Cheers

Post Run treats, with Taffy, 'Lumberjack' Birchy, Jeet and host Laura.

Think Taffy enjoyed himself ....... possibly a little too much.

It was suggested to bring Tommy H one back, but that idea lasted about 3 minutes before Birchy demolished it.

Perfect hosts on home turf - Lady Laura and Wol enjoying an ale or two.

and Taffy Lad James with Jeet didn't go without either.

St Peters Park Run 18.20 - 4th Overall.

Had a window of an hour so scooted over to St Peters to line up with a record crowd of some 477 to take on the ‘Worlds’ toughest Park Run over 5ks.

Massive crowd and saw two of the latest HuRTS legends from Thursdays sweat fest in Mike Liechwark and ‘Hipster’ Chris (beardy guy). Super fast start from everyone and at the 500m mark I’m positioned no better than about 10^th, Get a shout out from spectator Kanser at the 1k mark as I slowly  move my way through the field into 7^th by the time I get to 2ks. Still about 400m away from climbing but already dread what’s coming, spirits are raised though when going up the hill I pass a runner as I High 5 some joker all dressed up in fancy dress at the top (swear it sounded like Enda?).

Try to up the pace on the downhill and soon after the 3k mark I pass another runner that sees me now into 4^th with 3^rd place only some 30 metres ahead and despite feeling average at least it keeps me true to see the final stages out. The final k is a very tough but keep plugging away as Kanser reappears with 200m to go as I finally get on the 3^rd place guys shoulder. I wait before I try one last kick for home and as I come level he decides to do the same as we begin a battle to the line. Unfortunately (for me at least) he takes it by a mere second as I stop the watch in 18.20

Still very early in the year but I’m pretty happy with that and hope by Feb I can finally start breaking that 18 minute barrier.

Splits for the day were; 3.31, 3.36, 3.43, 3.35, 3.37 ( and 13 seconds to run the extra distance over 5ks) average 3.37s

Well done to HuRTS boys Chris who just held out Mike Liechwark by a second as well I heard both coming home in around 17.50 (?)

 

Great hit out and wish I had the chance to do more.

 

Heading down to Shire Town tomorrow for the Sunday Long run...... Or more importantly heading down to stuff my fat face of homemade Scones care of Laura’s dear mother Lyn post run, Happy Days J

 

Have a good weekend

Train well, stay safe

Cheers