City2Surf- DNS

City2Surf 2016 - DNS

Typical. On the Tuesday I proclaimed proudly that I hadn't had a significant injury in several years of running, on the Thursday my calf went.

In all honesty I'd been nursing a "tweak" for a few weeks following a run, ironically enough, along the City2Surf course and then Coastal Path. It was the Coastal Path that got me. The beach just south of Bondi was closed after the recent storms which meant I made a sudden right turn up a very steep hill. Ever since I'd notice a niggle in my right calf on most runs, variable in intensity. I didn't ease up in training and felt like it was improving over the course of July, hardly even noticing it at the Blacktown Half Marathon and then ping, ten minutes into a tempo (around 4:05/km) in Farm Cove. Tried to run it off, but no luck. Tried again a few days later on Saturday, but just made it to Mrs Macquarie's Chair before significant pain.

So the gym in the basement of our building it was. A dark hole with 1980's equipment. No natural light and air conditioning that turns off after less than thirty minutes. Luckily they'd just had two bikes installed and, even luckier, they seemed to have no effect on my calf injury.

I'd do "quality" on the upright bike, consisting of similar efforts/times to what I'd do running and easy run equivalents reading a magazine or book on the recumbent.

Kept off the feet for a week before trying a real slow jog home from work the night before C2S, but only managed 3km before the calf flared up and that was me out of the race.

Gutted, but not worth the risk. C2S is a goal race, probably in the year's top three, but two more important ones in September and November meant the pin was pulled. In truth, there wasn't even a decision to make. I couldn't have ran the race at all.

Returned to the gym for a further week of just bike before slowly re-introducing some treadmill work. The calf seemed to be set off by pace and/or hills, and both are easily removed on the treadmill.

Couple of embarrassing moments in the gym. Unbeknownst to me, 90 minutes on the recumbent generated a huge pool of sweat running out into the gym. Almost crossed from my bike to the far wall. The middle-aged woman doing floor exercises managed the situation very well, barely batting an eyelid, but I made a sharp exit when I realised.

Second time I was on the bike in black shorts, black hat, and my Strider's singlet around 6pm. A girl came in to use the treadmill and not long after I also got on the treadmill. She got off, did a few weights and left whilst I finished up on the treadmill. Just so happened that that night was wash night so next day I went back in the exact same clothes at lunch time. As I was nearing the end of my bike workout, in she came again and went on the treadmill just before I did. She must have had a real sense of deja vu. Perhaps she thinks I hadn't left? Or reuses dirty gym kit? She didn't stay long the second time.

Back running again now. Five straight days and feeling good. No dedicated speedwork, but have been pushing a few kilometres at sub-4:30 pace and will consider some faster intervals next week. This week is just rebuilding some base.

Blackmores is up next, two weeks on Sunday, and it is definitely a key race. Ran my half PB on the course last year, and it's looking a lot faster this year. I'd hoped to be nearer to 85 minutes this time around, but that's definitely off the cards, but a sub-90/PB/88 minutes I reckon could be on. A greater achievement? I just might rort Timmy Lindop on this one, who still thinks I'm confined to the bike.

Westlink M7 Blacktown Running Festival

This is a horrible, horrible race, but one I'm quite fond of. It's a bit of a trek (had to hire a car) and is an out-and-back along an undulating bike path that borders the M7 motorway. Last year it was made all the tougher by a significant hangover, seeing me break whilst running a 96:37 and Vic run her half personal worst in over two hours!

The route

All that said, it's small and personal, with a good goodie bag, parking right at the start/finish line, and access to changing rooms and showers. It has a good community feel. Hence, I returned. Victoria did not, unlike her dinner last year.

Desperately in need of a good race. The SMH half-marathon had been a disaster, but was trumped by the Sydney Harbour 10k. Confidence is so important when racing, allowing you to push through the hard times rather than giving up.

Didn't taper particularly for this race. Slightly reduced the weekly miles, but maintained the quality, and didn't go out on the beers the whole day before. I think I got nutrition right and will note it here (for my benefit): grilled fish, two fishcakes, and a few chips from QVB for lunch, two late afternoon white rolls (peanut butter on one, jam the other), pasta with a tomato base and a chicken breast for dinner, and a jam sandwich (white bread) before bed. One banana about one and quarter hours before race start. Of course Chester White was visited (Friday). Hydration wise I didn't force it. Urine was still concentrated before bed, but clear when I woke in the night for the toilet and again in the morning. This on the background of a much reduced calorie consumption over two weeks for weight loss.

Start of the marathon

Decided to run with the 90 minute pacer, but soon abandoned that idea as he shot off well under 4:00 pace. Eventually myself and a small group caught him (around 4km) where he apologised for his "excited start". He started talking about building a buffer and running the second half slower (thus positive splitting), so I abandoned him again.

Just tried to keep ticking along at 4:15 pace, speeding up on the downhills and running even effort on the, many, uphills. Half way came and, whilst not feeling entirely comfortable, sub-90 started to look possible. Passed 90 minute pacer around 12k, a massive improvement on last year after I was dropped by the pacer at 8k never to see him again. On this occasion he was to come flying past (4:00min/k's) a few kilometres later. WTF?

The last quarter becomes tougher, with a few hills in fairly quick succession, and I felt myself start to slip. Only to around 4:20s, and with a small buffer I still had a sub-90 on the cards, but it would be tight and would likely need a quick last kilometre. Not to be sadly, and I realised I had about 30 seconds to go as I hit the track with 300m to the line. Decided just to maintain pace and crossed the finish mat in 90:18 (according to my watch).

Race analysis from Strava

So pretty pleased with the morning. It's a fairly tough course, with plenty of hills, not much in the way of scenery to take your mind off things, and low numbers of participants so you're running completely alone for a lot of it, but I managed to record my second fastest half marathon and improve by six minutes on last year.

Not much to report in terms of friend's results as only Mike Ho made the effort of turning up. What an effort it was though, with him coming third in the marathon.

Mike Ho coming in to take 3rd in the marathon

City2Surf is hopefully the next race and then Blackmores. I ran Blackmores seven minutes faster than Blacktown last year and I'd be pretty pleased to emulate that ;)

Sydney Harbour 10 debacle

Sydney Harbour 10k

Festival of the Feet was postponed, due to storms, and Gold Coast cost was prohibitive (around $800 per person for flight, hotel, and race) hence the pin was pulled on that, so the next race post-SMH half marathon would be the Sydney Harbour 10km (SH10).

If we'd have done the two above races I may not even have entered the SH10, and certainly not ran it hard, but fate decreed otherwise. It's a fast course, so good chance of a PB, but I was feeling very tired after a heavy mileage week including a tough 24k along the City2Surf course and the coastal path and a big night out on the Saturday (Teresa's 30th birthday). Also my confidence was not great given my poor performance at the SMH half.

Friend Neil Pearson (a 32:xx 10k runner) was pacing 40 minutes so decided to try the same tactics as at Sydney10 i.e. stick with him till the eighth kilometre and then

push on for the final two. The final kilometres here would be flatter than Sydney10, so hopefully a PB would be on the cards.

Not to be. A very crowded start with many slower runners meant I lost a lot of energy merely trying to keep with Neil and a ten metre gap quickly opened. Truth was the legs were feeling very tired also and the gap may have opened anyway. The gap, combined with the tiredness and low confidence, gradually worsened and at 3km it became all about simply finishing the race. The split paces make for very grim reading (4:04, 4:34, 4:48, 4:52 over timing mats at 2.5k intervals) and I ended up finishing behind the 45 minute pacer in 45:35. A lot of people went past me. Humbled, yet again.

Great news for Victoria though. Saw her pass with the gun 45 minute pacer in Barangaroo and she finished strong to break the 45 minute barrier (44:32). Has been a bit of a psychological barrier for her and it'll be interesting to see how fast she goes now.

No mention of Timmy Lindop as yet, but needless to say he cleaned up on all his bets....until news filtered through that he was disqualified for running with a girls bib and finishing fourth fastest female. Legal advice is awaited.

So a pretty underwhelming result given I ran last years race, on an arguably tougher course with more wind, in 39:57. It was wet however and my taper had not been good, even non-existent. Also, other than Victoria and Timmy (doing a mid 36 minute again), PBs were lacking and there were a few people disappointed with their times.

We put on a Sunday roast post race and drowned my sorrows with a thousand beers that Timmy brought round and then watched Andy Murray win his second Wimbledon. Shit morning, cracking night.

SMH Half Marathon - "Celebration Time"

Way back in 2014, the SMH half marathon was my first ever race...and it was a stinker. Can't really remember my training (not logging runs, no GPS watch), but know it did not involve any quality sessions (thought these were daft) and was carried out in cotton t-shirts (think of the chafeage). In my even earlier days I used to at least use a heart rate monitor, and then aim to keep my heart rate above 160 beats per minute. For every run. This led to a very gradual improvement in pace...and injuries. Before 2014 SMH I simply ran consistently slowly for three or four times a week for less than 10km at a time. Or something like that.

Fast forward to the 2016 SMH half marathon, my seventh half marathon. I now have all the technical kit, two pairs of running shoes and a racing pair, amazing anti-chafe tape from work, run 50-60km per week (every inch of which tracked and diligently uploaded to Strava) of which two sessions are quality and one is a long run (ahem, all true except the long run). And the race is still a stinker.

After running 92:02 in Canberra (a tough course) and getting a new 10km personal best at the Olympic Park the week before, I had confidence to go for sub-90. Nay! I had confidence to go for closer to 88 minutes (plus a rort from Timmy Lindop to get to within 5 minutes of his time, estimated to be somewhere near 83 minutes).

But there is no question that the SMH is a tough course, with a significant number of significant hills coming in the last two thirds of the race. The course has been changed from 2014, where a final 500m out and back past the finish line (that was soul destroying) has become two extra hills earlier in the course (more soul destroying). Double-edged swords and all that.

Strategy-wise I was in two minds. Run with the 90-minute pacer and hopefully have something for a kick over the final few kilometres (the daunting Mrs Mac's Chair), or run solo with a kick early down the hill from Hyde Park to Circular Quay and then hold even pace till the end. On hearing that the 90-minute pacer would be bringing speakers and taking selfies my mind was made. Solo it was.

Warmed up with Victoria on a cold, clear and crisp morning, before lining up just ahead of the 90 minute pacers. Gun sounded and we were off. Kicked down the hill, running the first kilometre in under 4 minutes, before getting caught out by the first new hill of the course and then heading onto the flat Hickson Road. Probably ran a bit too quickly here, running a couple of kilometres close to 4 minute pace before an impending sense of doom started to settle as each hill in Pyrmont felt tougher and tougher. Soon the runners around me started gapping me whilst others joined me...and then also started gapping me.

As we left Pyrmont I finally heard the dreaded sound of garish pop music and I can attest that there is little more demoralising than having the 90 minute pacer creep up on you with "Celebration Time" by Kool and the Gang blaring out. I knew my race was over.

The rest of the run became about finishing and simply putting one step in front of the other became a feat of extraordinary human endurance. Thankfully my Garmin chose this point to fail (second time in two half marathons?!), which meant I was spared seeing my kilometre splits, but progress was slow.

I finished in 01:35:05 and was passed by 369 people in the second half. My average splits went from 04:12 to 04:48 (first half vs second half).

Mixed feelings about that, or rather, unhappy versus very unhappy. It's nice to be running faster than Blacktown M7 half (the next half I raced after Canberra last year) on a tougher course but, for the differences in training I made as described above, I had hoped to be a bit faster than 11:20 minutes compared to my 2014 race. I think the strategy had a lot to do with it and perhaps the 10km PB had taken more out of me than I realised. And perhaps it was just one of the days, as in truth I didn't feel that good during the warm up.

Victoria ran a very nice 01:41:27 which, whilst her first non-PB of the year, is still very respectable and beat the boy Goals whose 01:43:48 can only be put down to his bandy knees. The ladies, Rowley and Cooke, held each others' hands and supported themselves to sub 1hr50. Lovely stuff, but I do note Rowley crossing four seconds ahead of her partner like the scoundrel she is. Kristen Piper, whilst only running the second two thirds as part of the relay, looked like she'd been shot as she crossed the line, but ended up coming ninth in the team event.

Celebratory drinks at the Opera Bar

Goals looking surprisingly happy despite being chicked

From the pointier end of proceedings, Timmy Lindop outdid his usual rorting by enlisting the help of his only personal pacer, the super fast Tom Highnam. If it wasn't for how shit I ran, making his advantage essentially academic, I'd have certainly called for the bet to be void. He ran a 01:23:21 which he was pleased with. Jeet continued his impressive start to the year with a 01:18:14.

Drinks were had afterwards at, first, the Opera Bar and then the Royal Oak in Double Bay. Apparently it would traditionally have been at The Sheaf, but Timmy doesn't agree with their kicking out policy. Meant he could stay out at least until 8pm.

Neil Pearson smashing the SMH despite coming off the back of a win in the Boston/Big Sur

Jeet's fine form continues...in drinking

Beautifully matched trousers to table by Chris Truscott



Losing $40 to Mr Lindop, but it could be worse....

...he could have tried to kiss me

NSW Athletics, Sydney:10

A minute forty was the start Timmy gave me for this race. Brokered by Jeet, a fair man no doubt, but accepted a little too quickly by Tim for my liking. Seeing as my personal best time for 10k is 39:57 (ran last July) and he was going to be unhappy if he didn't go under 38:00, you can see why I was concerned. My best time this year was 41:12 (admittedly on a tough course) and I was having to run this race between night-shifts (which I reckon can add 5-10s per km to pace). Anyway, hands were shook and, once the alcohol fog had lifted, I knew there was no backing out of it.

The expo. Try not to get lost.

The Sydney:10 is meant to be a quick course, possibly even the quickest in Australia, and conditions were next to ideal. Cool, clear, and perfectly calm. There was a lingering smoke, from back-burning to prevent forest fires, which I mistook for morning haze, but it didn't seem to effect me.

Met Victoria, Tim, James, and Jacqueline in the athletic centre, where the race would finish, for a quick warm up and then out to a pretty busy starting coral. I found myself close to the 40 minute pacers and got ready for the off. Strategy was to try and stick with the pacers and, if I had anything left into the last two kilometres, kick on and try and get a decent personal best. I knew this strategy was unlikely to win me the bet, as there would be only so much time to make up over two kilometres, but the goal really was just to get back under forty minutes.

Gun fires! Just to tell us the start will be in five minutes. No false starts reported. Actual gun fires! We're away. Frustrated to find quite a few significantly slower runners in front of us that blocked me off a couple of times. I don't believe there were many newbie racers here and I don't understand the mentality of people seeding themselves so far up the start when they're going to run so much slower. Particularly when it's a chip timed affair. First corner, a sharp left turn, also causes congestion and I'm surprised to go through kilometre one in 3:45, just behind the two pacers.

The pacers separate here, one running to gun and one running to chip, and I push on to run with the gun pacer. If I can just stick with him I'll probably come in comfortably (10 seconds) under forty. Second kilometre passes in 3:55. Feeling strong, but concerned we've gone out a little quickly and a break could happen at any time. At North Head I didn't even feel it coming.

Little panic at the third kilometre marker. Looked at my overall time passing it and horrified to see 12:15. After the first two kilometres I should have been 20 seconds up, so 12:15 must have meant a third kilometre of 4:35. Broken already? As well as the pacers? The watch still reckoned 4:00 pace, so I'm not sure what happened. Distance long between the markers perhaps?

From here on ran well. The course is pretty quick, but not entirely flat, and is comprised of three momentum-sapping out-and-backs. Even so the pace stayed on target and I ran shoulder-to-shoulder with the pacer.

Passed kilometre eight just before the second run up Olympic Boulevard, had a little panic that I was so close and yet so far, gave myself a talking to, and started pushing on. Managed a 3:55 and then a 3:46 over the final kilometre, into the stadium and around the track to finish in 39:32. A pretty big PB that I was very pleased with.

Quickly made my way to spectate the runners still on course, entering the athletic centre, to cheer on Victoria. Came in looking very strong, finishing with a 4:14 and crossing the line in 45:10. Another PB! She's ran a PB in each of her four races this year, which is really helping to fund my New York kitty.

And what of Tim Lindop? 37:12, beating me by 2:20. Even running a personal best of 25 seconds saw me only get to within 40 seconds. The rogue.

Cracking run by Jeet, who did a PB going under 35 minutes. Like Victoria, he seems to be getting a personal best in every race he runs.

Whilst the team headed for coffee and breakfast I made my way back to the train and hospital to rest before the early-starting night-shift. Did find time to enjoy a breakfast for champions though......

Butter chicken

Canberra Half Marathon

It's not the most popular race of the season

First race of the year that would be comparable to those ran last year i.e. same race on the same course at the same time of year. A good yardstick to see where I'm at compared with 2015.

Hadn't initially planned to race here, but a few friends going down and, more importantly, drinks afterwards, persuaded us to make the trip. Goal? I'd be happy with anything better than last year (01:40:32) and not almost shitting myself from kilometre six onwards. Ended up setting an even more optimistic target, due to Dick Turpin's rorting, of running with the 90 minute pacers. I was expecting a blow up, but hoped I'd have done enough by then to finish under last year's time. Even if I was crawling.

Drove down on the Saturday with Timmy Lindop (aka Dirk Turpin), Taffy James, and Vic. Much more comfortable than last year's "First Class" train ride...the Murray's Coach. Expo was a non-starter, with only a sock stall open, but pre-race dinner had a good turnout even if there were a few complaints regarding the food. Well, if you're going to order a sausage pizza?

Taff James and Timmy Lindop, joined at the hip for the weekend

Pretty pleased with the taper. Chester White's peccorino spaghetti on the Friday was the highlight of a number of pasta meals, plenty of Saturday hydration (not the alcoholic stuff for once), and only 30km of running in the week leading up to the race (mostly quality).

Chester Whites: best pasta in Sydney

Perfect conditions on Sunday morning, much like last year, and enjoyed a brief warm-up with Timmy and Paul Birch. Timmy's knowledge of public toilets proved invaluable once again when he led us to his own private facilities just outside Old Parliament House.

Lined up next to the 90 minute pacers and we were off. Hilly start, up around Parliament House and I didn't force the pace, just allowing the pacers to gap me a little with the intention of catching up on the downhill. Managed just that and then stuck with them through kilometres 3 - 8. Last year I had a dramatic loss of power around 6km, but no such woes this year. The route was reversed around New South Wales Crescent, with a sharp rise kicking things off. Again, the pacers gapped me a short distance, but this time I decided not to make it up afterwards as my splits were still within target and I felt they might be going a bit quick.

Splits and gap were maintained over the bridge and around the 12km hairpin, but it was here I started dropping into the 4:20's. It's a long, undulating, and boring part of the course and I realised I was in trouble. Again decided not to force it, and risk a big blow up, and just persevered with 4:20's.

The new pace was fairly tough, but never really felt in danger of a blowup. I was still able to spot and shout a hello to the guys ahead of me, but my greetings were not returned (Jeet, Tim, and Birchy). I think they were working harder than me, for their far better times, and that's probably something I need to work on.

After 16km comes the turnaround and a couple of kms before returning, over the river, to the government/museum quarter of town. Missed a couple of kilometre flags (17 and 18) AND my Garmin malfunctioned, unbeknownst to me, and stopped recording distance. This perfect storm led me to believe I had a lot further to go than I actually did and I almost threw my toys out of the pram and into Molonglo River.

Flag 19 saved any hissy fits and I tried (and failed) to power around the final loop, hill, and out and back past the finish line. Felt a lot stronger than last year at this point.

Chip time matched my watch time of 92:02 leaving me very pleased. Eight and a half minutes faster than at the same race last year and actually my second fastest half marathon ever. At this stage of the season, and at my current weight, I feel very optimistic about the runs to come.

Happy racers

Victoria ran her third consecutive personal best of the year and achieved her first sub-100 half marathon. A fantastic achievement. Two minutes faster than Blackmore's and even faster than her predicted time from McMillan. Faster than me last year so I see no reason why she can't go sub-90 this year or, at the very least, get into the low nineties.

Timmy ran sub-85, completing his rorting of me, but lost out to Paul Birch who ran a comfortable sub-90. James Matthews, impersonating Lazarus, ran a cracking 3:10 marathon earning a Comrades qualifier. He could barely finish 10km the weekend before. And Elite Jeet ran his socks off to PB in 78:57.

A cracking bacon and egg roll (with no less than eight layers of bacon!) before driving back to Sydney for a night in the Dove and Olive. All gets a bit hazy, but tales include being kicked out of the unkickable-outable Low Bar, still no chicken dinner for Tim, falling down the stairs in the Columbian on Oxford Street, and waking up to find Taffy James asleep on our living room floor.

Really good weekend. Few more pictures below.

He'll have the shirt off your back

Good turn out at the Dove and Olive

Vic, Jeet, Jackie, and a startled Taffy James

Rorting the rorter

Sydney Striders 10k - Lane Cove

Striders North Head was an unmitigated disaster and made all the worse by two days of abstinence from anything fun beforehand in the name of taper/race preparation. Lesson learnt; out on the beers from early afternoon on Friday with head hitting the pillow at 1am.

Timmy Lindop was picking us (myself and Vic) up at 0610 so only a few hours sleep later and I took myself, singlet and skimpy shorts to the corner of Crown and William. Paul Birch was also in the car and we all had to hear about Tim's "fair" bet with James Matthews which sounded, to the rest of us, like a rort.

Never ran Lane Cove before, but heard it's a tough course with two big hills and plenty of undulation. In Birchy's words, "it's not a fucking quick course".

Almost pitch dark on arrival and bibs were handed out under torchlight. A 1km warm up with Tim and Vic, at about the pace I ran North Head last month, and we were about set to get underway.

Time-wise I was thinking about sub-40 again, definitely after hearing Mike Ho was pacing that time. He runs close to 32 minutes so 40 minutes would be easy and I had confidence he'd do a good job. I figured I'd just try and stick with him, but drop away early if I was feeling the pace to try and prevent a blow-up.

From the gun Mike and the 40 minute group got a bit of a head start on me and I was left in a slightly slower group just behind. Could see James and Birchy in the 40 minute group and managed to bridge the gap. Felt pretty comfortable, but the first hill (2.5k) saw Mike make ground on me, and a few others, and I decided not to go with and ran my own race from here on.

Lengthened the stride coming down, but felt I was stronger compared to others on the way up. Downhill running is something I really need to work on. Back on the flat (read; undulating) and I kept it comfortable around the 4:10 pace being well aware the next hill was reputed to be even tougher. And so it proved. Just didn't seem to end, but again made ground on quite a few of the guys around me, only to be lost on the long downhill.

There's about 4k to do after coming off the hill and I just fell onto the shoulder of some girl doing a similar pace. I'd pass her on the uphill sections, she'd pass me on the flats/downhills. I was just starting to think about pushing hard and dropping her over the last one or two kilometres when she went up a gear and left me for dead. Chicked again. Didn't even bother giving chase.

Came in on 41:12, which I was pretty pleased with over a tough, tough course. The downhill finish is nice, but I'd say that's the hardest 10k I've done. Enjoyable though. Paul Birch was pretty close behind with me being 55th overall.

Confidence building certainly. That's about the same time I did my first 10k in last year, in May at the Great Manchester Run (41:06). A much easier course. As such I feel I'm probably faster than I was and a month earlier. McMillan predicts a 91:51 at Canberra next Sunday which I'd take your arm off for.

Another top result for Victoria who got her second 10k PB on the bounce, by about 20 seconds, on a tougher course to North Head. Exciting to see where she'll finish this year. She's almost 2 minutes up on her PB (Manchester) from last year already.

And Timmy's bet/rort? He'd given James a 90 second start and subsequently ran a 38:43 whilst James went round in 43:02.

The little Stoke battler/rorter. Still, I fear the bet he's given me next week is even more one sided...

Striders Fail

Well, a pretty disastrous start to the racing season for Running Cramic.

Kicked off with a 21:30 at St Peters parkrun. A tough course, no question, and mitigated somewhat by a 4:30/km pace over the 7km from home to start (overslept) and just making the gun, but I'd hoped to be running closer to 20:00 than that. A course change to Cook's River, a much flatter course, but with three momentum sapping U-turns, saw the time drop to 20:06. Might have notched sub-20, but had drafted off an old boy for much of the run and felt it would be rude to go for the pass right at the end. That said he did pace me over the last km at 3:50/km.

Up next was the Sydney Striders second 10k race of the season at North Head. I think the fear in my eyes says it all:

Optimism got the better of me and I lined up with the 40-minute pacer, Julia Degan. A quality runner, but perhaps not the ideal pacer. She ran the first kilometre in 3:50 and the second in 3:55. The third? No idea, that was the last I saw of her little flag as I blew up. For the FIRST time. The pace became 4:15 and then a walk. Time to take stock and think about a secondary goal. Knowing Victoria would be coming past soon, aiming for sub-45, I decided to pick her up and pace her to her goal. Not a chance. Blow up number two was even more spectacular. I staggered off the course at the 7km mark and sought solace in the public toilets. A dump helped to regain some composure and I was back out on track. Up the road I could see the 50-minute pacer! The primary goal was now simply to finish. Feeling dreadful, despite running at 4:50's, I managed to drag myself around the final few kilometres, just sneaking in under 50 minutes.

Absolute disgrace. Last September I ran the same course in 40:55, despite being absolutely sideways (had still been drinking at 3am, racing at 7am), and now I was nine minutes slower. A personal worst by quite someway.

On a positive note, Victoria smashed her personal best by getting round in just over 45 minutes. A cracking result, especially so early in the season. She will go significantly faster than that this year.

I guess it's a bit unfair to be comparing my time to the last time I ran the course, as I was easily at my peak in September of 2015. The real marker will come in April at Canberra, where I will be running the half marathon again. 1:40:50 is the time to beat. Simply being faster over the same event will be a big confidence boost, but the early signs are not looking too good. If I'm not careful I could easily be coming in behind Victoria again (who is also aiming for sub-100 minutes), and that will live long in some people's memories.

The Year Ahead - 2016

Fair to say that the start to the year has been fairly lackluster. Multi-factorial with comfortable laurels allowing a rest, the god awful reality of marathon training, and a few too many schooners of Little Creatures playing important roles. Denial is a feature. My belief that I am running faster than at this point last year, based on the ropey evidence of a couple of treadmill sessions, has been undermined by some blow-ups in training and actually running some sessions on the same routes at significantly slower paces. The mind has been focused.

One issue has been the lack of definite goals. My idea of trying to better my good friend, Ant Brown's, impressive times of 2014 has been scuppered by his throwing of a hissy fit at his current inability to go under 40 minutes at 10km distance.

So listless I've been, until I spotted some pretty optimistic race times to aim for: those to earn preferred starts in Australian running events. Taking the SMH half-marathon as an example, the times are:

10km in under 38 minutes (03:47 pace)
Half marathon in under 85 minutes (04:04 pace)
City2Surf in under 56 minutes (03:59 pace)

My current PBs stand at 39:57, 89:31, and 58:41 respectively, so a pretty tall ask to drop each by such an amount.

Is it possible?

In terms of last year, I managed to shed more than 15 minutes off my half marathon PB. This was facilitated by a significant increase in training and an, approximate, 10kg drop in weight. I also started running more quality sessions and paid more attention to tapering (less bananas, more loperamide).

All can be improved again. I ran, on average, 40-50km a week last year, but when I increased this to 70km, around Blackmores half marathon, I noticed significant gains. Again I'm currently around the 40-50km mark so getting back to +70km, provided I remain injury free, is an early goal for the year.

The weight is now around the 85kg mark and even at my lightest race weight last year, of 82kg, I could comfortably have lost more. Online calculators reckon this alone would see me go comfortably under 85 minutes. Comparing 75kg to my 89:31 at 82kg PB gives a time of 82:51, all things being equal. Similarly my 10km time could be down to 37:01 by dropping to 75kg.

The third big change towards the second half of the year was ensuring two runs a week were quality. This will continue to be the goal for the whole year and, as my pace in these sessions was continually improving, I feel I am yet to plateau in performance improvements from these training sessions.

It's also worth noting that I was probably quicker than my 2015 PBs suggest. Blackmores half marathon is a decidedly tougher course than Melbourne, where you expect to improve by up to 2 minutes, but I shamefully gained 2 minutes. And worse, lost to Mike Gleeson. I put this down to an afternoon on the beers beforehand and not chasing a blonde bird. Additionally, without going into detail, I believe that running immediately after a set of night-shifts adds around 10 seconds to my kilometre pace. Being better tapered, as such, may have seen my 39:58 (gun) 10km at Homebush, with the Sydney Striders, dip into the 38:XXs. All hypothetical, of course, and as we know, if it's not on Strava, it didn't happen.

So I reckon it is possible, but will necessitate a lot of hard miles on the road, putting down the fork and pushing away from the table, and easing up on the VBs the day before a race. Sounds like a lot of will power to me. I am pretty sure these goals will come back to haunt me, but at least I have a slightly less arbitrary set of numbers to, literally, chase.

Some additional goals:

5km time. McMillan reckons, if I'm hitting the above targets, my time should be around 18:18. Not a round number and this upsets my OCD, but sub-18 might be the toughest ask of the lot. I'll be happy just to tick off a sub-20 at St Peters Parkrun, the world's hardest.

Festival of the Feet. My best position of last year and Mr Third Place will return to defend his crown (plastic trophy) and, depending on how weak the field is again, perhaps better it.

Melbourne Half Marathon. I have recently been reminded of a drunken bet made with Mr Mike Gleeson, that the loser, off scratch, pays for all beers post-race. This goal, in itself, should motivate me for the rest.

Marathon. Desperate to run a sub-3 hour marathon so that I need never run another, but the training is such a pain in the arse and the goal pretty optimistic. If I hit the above goals I may consider this one, but it's very unlikely. My toenail has only just recovered from Blackmores in 2014.

So that's the lot. I'm probably a bit delirious on nights, but I'll give the above a crack. Fut lads.

The year that was - 2015

Overall, very pleased with the year. Personal bests at 1 mile, 5km, 10km, City2Surf, and 21.1km, but within the context of never having ran 1 mile, 5km, or 10km before, having been torpedoed by the bowels at my one previous C2S, and only having ran one half previously. As such my best 1 mile time is also my worst, and I ran my worst ever 5km and 10km times this year as well as my bests.

The goals for the year were: 5km in under 20 minutes, 10km in under 40 minutes, and a half marathon in under 90 minutes. I also set sub-60 minutes as the goal for City2Surf. My previous times were 01:46:26 for a half (SMH half) and 01:18:01 for City2Surf. So, how'd it go?


January

No racing, just training. First event I'd earmarked was Canberra in April. Runs were mostly with Victoria, a few quality sessions, and the occasional 10km solo. Times were pretty slow (4:50 pace for 10km) and weekly kilometres were nothing to write home about.


February

A trip to Tasmania witnessed the addition of more than 4kg in a matter of five days (damn you cheese and wine). This was reflected in poor training pace. I made the decision at this point to focus on weight loss pre-Canberra and not worry too much about quality. Training continued in a similar vein to January.


March

First races of the season: St Peters Parkrun. Never raced 5km and wasn't sure what to expect. Hoped to run at least sub-21 minutes and felt sub-20 might even be possible. First attempt was offset by a couple of newbie fails. I hadn't appreciated the mass start and was left at the very back, finding it impossible to overtake on narrow paths, and not understanding the barcode system had me believing I wouldn't even register a time. This led to my simply plodding around, learning the course for a future attempt. A sorry 23:15 was the result.

Second attempt was much improved, running in 20:18. A sub-20 5km seemed more than possible, given how early in the year I'd put down a 20:18 and the fact St Peters has the occasional moniker of "The Toughest Parkrun in the World" owing to a stinking great hill in the middle.


April

My last(!) St Peters Parkrun of the year and down to 20:05 in pretty awful conditions. No idea it would be my last at the time, but work, holiday, booze, and navigation failures meant I would not run it again in 2015.

Also made the trip to Canberra for the half-marathon at the Australian Running Festival. My training did not even suggest a sub-90 to be on the cards and I decided to aim for sub-100 and run with the pacers. A few fails in the run up (taper and on the day) and a stool of monstrous proportions put paid to even that goal, and I finished in 01:40:32. Pleased, of course, with almost six minutes off the PB, and a couple of excuses to explain the missed goal, but sub-90 felt an awful long way off.

Don't forget to add loperamide

May

Spent much of May in the UK, predominantly for exams, but found time to take part in my first 10km race in Manchester. A cracking event, easily the best organised of the year, and one I'd hope to return to. Goal was to run sub 42 minutes, as I hadn't yet even ran a sub-20 5km. Good conditions, but a slightly hilly course, meant I was very pleased with my 41:05. Sub-40, however, did not seem immediately achievable.

June

Got wind of an event happening out near work; Festival of the Feet. A 7km, 14km, and 21.1km course were on offer and I opted for the 7km. A bit of an odd distance, but one I was hoping to use as a marker of whether I was closer to my 10km or half marathon goal as I was going to have to prioritise one or the other in early July. The plan was if I was close to 28 minutes I'd target 10km, if I was off I'd go for 21.1km.

Time ended up being 28:59 and, in my eyes, well off a 40 minute 10km. This was tempered by the fact I'd had no taper and had come straight from the fourth of four night shifts. It was also good enough for a podium place (third) and the positioning had actually slowed me down a little as I looked to not break/have something in reserve if fourth place challenged.


July

GC half start line

July kicked off with Gold Coast Half Marathon followed the next week by the Sydney Harbour 10km. Both flat and fast courses and offering good opportunities to meet my goal times. However, running hard at Gold Coast would write off Sydney Harbour so I had to choose one to prioritise. Despite running fairly slow at Festival of the Feet, I decided to target my 10km goal at Sydney Harbour.

This allowed me to run Kirra Parkrun in the Gold Coast the day before the half-marathon and record my first sub-20 5km. It was a flat course, out and back and out and back again along some gorgeous coast. My time was 19:27.

I ran the Gold Coast Half the following day with Victoria and helped her achieve a cracking new sub-105 PB, a time she would go on to smash later in the year.

Sydney Harbour 10km was up next and I took it more seriously than I'd ever taken a race, with a strict taper and race day preparation. Whilst pretty flat, the course was slowed by a few tight turns and an aggressive wind. Despite that, and with the help of a fantastic RunLab pacer, I got round in 39:57 to record my first sub-40 10km.

The lad Bader

Buoyed by two goals being met, I entered the Blacktown Half Marathon at the end of the month. Taper was self-sabotaged by a twelve hour drinking session the day before and, despite recording a new PB of 01:36:37 I hurt badly and couldn't see sub-90 coming anytime soon.

A cracking month overall, with PBs in three distances including two year goal times.


August

August sees the biggest running event of the year in Sydney and, probably, Australia; City2Surf. Disaster the year before, with bowel issues, but much improved this year with a 58:42 time. If the race is good, the social afterwards is even better. A cracking day all round.

September

Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon is the notable event in September. A tough, hilly course and one that achieving a PB on is tricky, but I managed to knock more than seven minutes off my Blacktown time and finish in 01:29:31. Amazing what you can achieve when you're not absolutely sideways the day before.

Victoria destroyed her PB from Gold Coast, on a much tougher course, getting round in 01:42:41.

I also ran my first Sydney Striders 10km event at North Head after a huge night on the booze and was therefore pretty happy with  a 40:55. Nice recovery breakfast with Sydney running royalty....and Timmy Lindop.

Michael Ho centre, not sure who the guy on the left is

October

Second Striders event at Sydney Olympic Park and my second sub-40 10km of the year with a 39:58.

Melbourne Half Marathon was also up and I was trying to decide whether to go hard and try and PB or just take it easy and enjoy the course/event. On the dubious advice of my run coach ("Go out as hard as you can and see what you can achieve," said with a twinkle in the eye after a fair few beers) I opted for the former and broke around the 12km mark. Still got round in 01:32:35. Not a terrible time, by any means, but some lessons certainly learnt.


November/December

Marathon training is tough

No racing, eased off the training a little, and ate my body weight in curry whilst back in the UK. Result: whilst quicker than the same time last year, I have plenty of work to do to meet my 2016 running goals.


Conclusion

Very pleased with the year. Took more than 15 minutes off my half-marathon PB, almost 20 minutes off C2S, and ran sub-20 and sub-40 at 5km and 10km respectively.

Victoria also had a cracking year smashing her half-marathon and marathon personal bests, with her time of 03:40:42 at Melbourne being an absolute standout.

In addition have made some really good running friends this year, sank many a schooner in post-race (and, occasionally, pre-race) celebrations, and had a throughly enjoyable time seeing Sydney by foot.

Looking forward to 2016!