Easter Saturday

Bit too much cheese with dinner on Friday, so knew the Saturday Hurts run was, well, going to hurt. Actually felt a lot better than I thought and a nice crowd of MC, Mike Race, Renee and her bloke, Aidan and Ben. Pace was very pleasant for the the frst 10kms after which I had to do a Rob Costello so caught up with the group at Fox gates for the second lap. On the way back into the park, Aidan and Mike Race picked up the pace and decided to stay with them as I had missed a couple of kms. Didn't really enjoy the 4.10 pace going up past the moonlight cinema but felt good as we kept the pace up along the top to the Oxford Street gates, where Aidan and I hammered it home in sub 4km pace down le. the hill. All up 18.2kms and the longest hit out in a while. Stats at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290983557

Corp Cup and 3 x 2km

Out for a very warm and humid corp cup on Wed and felt pretty ordinary on the way up to the start, so wasn't feeling that excited about the run. Headed off and legs felt pretty heavy for the first two kms then I passed Adam (walking the course due to hi injury) and perked up a bit. 5th km felt very ordinary and had I managed to keep up the pace I would have been close to a pb, as it was pretty happy with the first sub 24 of the year at 23.55. Stats for Wed at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290072078.
Yesterday felt even hotter than Wed so really wasn't looking forward to the 3 x 2kms session along Hickson, especially with the corp cup in my legs. Small crowd of about 12 including MC, Mike Race, Russell, Dave Casey and Barts. Very happy with the reps of 3.45, 3.43 and 3.43 average pace although last set felt really tough. Nice wee 2km easy jog back for probably 9kms for the set.
Stats are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290072056.
Planning on doing 20 on Saturday morning at Centennial.

Monday Hurts

Decent crowd out today and the return of Mike after two weeks taking it easy. Just another stunning day, following on from the 30C days over the weekend. Very humid again though and just strange to be running in this weather at the end of March. Felt good for almost the whole run today and was going to keep going through to the opera house, but coming down the back of the passenger terminal my right knee developed a sharp pain across the knee cap which was concerning. Dropped out at CQ for almost exactly 10kms and did some stretching. No issues during the avo but felt a bit stuff on the bus - will see if Pilates tomorrow can do anything/recommend any other stretches. Alternatively it could be my shoes just wearing out as niggles are the first sign I get that I need to change the footwear. Anyway an all right start to a short week and stats are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/288716666.

Wed and Thurs

Meetngs ran over yesterday so missed out on the Hurts session. Headed out myself an did about 11.5 across to Cremorne Point and back. Stunning day for a run and really enjoyed it on my own for a change. Very happy with an average pace of 4.45 for that route as it is a bit up and down. Stats for that run are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286987772
Backed it up today with the 10x400 sets at Rushcutters and a decent enough crowd of 20 odd today including Laura, Mike Race, Tom, Ray, Jonathan and Russell. Felt strong today and very happy with the 84, 81, 79, 79, 78, 78, 78, 77, 76 and finishing with a 72 - which may be a Rushcutters lap PB. Stats for today are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286987758.
Off camping tomorrow for the weekend, so unlikely that I will be out before Monday.

Departure of Rob

It was with misty eyes that we said goodbye to Rob C yesterday at Circular Quay and a show of dedication given he was flying back home to Ireland yesterday evening. His jovial banter and general gentlemanly-ness will be missed by the squad and we'll be sure to keep tabs on his results, to be sure, to be sure.
Been a few days since I did a post and have managed a couple of sessions - got in a run in Melbourne on Tuesday night last week, where it was still 34 at 6.30pm - stats for that one are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/284338268.
Got out for the Hickson Rd set on Thursday and felt good - totally screwed up the garmin for some reason but looks like I managed around the 3.35 pace for the set - which seems right as Jeet was doing roughly 3.30 pace and I was just behind him. Dodgy stats for that set are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/284338253.
Nothing done over the weekend, although weight seems to be dropping off, just under 75kgs this morning, which should make things a bit easier. Out yesterday and just did the 10.5kms back to CQ and the stats for that are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286283600 and happy with 4.33 average.
Have entered the Striders Lane Cove 10km, State 10km Champs in May and the C2S, so the goal races are lining up.

Monday Hurts

Quite a decent crowd out today and a few faces I didn't recognise. Only Jonathan backed up from 6ft amongst Brendan, Laura and Russell. Conditions were exceptionally humid and warm but the pace was just a pleasant 4.35 average for the session. Stats for today are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/283115617 and I'll aim to get a run in tomorrow evening in Melbourne - although with a forecast of 37C it could be a warm run.

Busy Week

Three days in Melbourne made for a single Hurts run last week although I have managed to get in a 10km run in Melbourne and two Sydney rides, so not all was lost. Stats for last week's sessions are at :
Mon - 11kms http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282337071
Wed - 10kms http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282337050
Fri - 28km ride http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282337018
Sun - 33km ride http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282336998

Some great results yesterday for Hurts at 6Ft TRack - sensational win by Fats and a brilliant pb of 4.19 for Rob C in his last race in Aus - a fitting end to his Aussie adventures.

Off to Melbourne again this week for two days, so I'll miss Wednesday's Corp Cup which will make mean I will only be able to get 3 runs in this series. I will endeavour to get to two hurts sessions this week though.