December 15-21.

MONDAY 15/12- No training.

TUESDAY 16/12- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- Mt Riverview Tennis COurt- return. 1.05, 12K, 5.25min/km. Night run, felt good, even on hills.

WEDNESDAY 17/12- Warrimoo Underpass- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Wilson Way- Railway Pde. 55.45, 10.5K, 5.19min/km. Another night run. Skipped the Underpass Loop on the way back. Moving well.

THURSDAY 18/12- Warrimoo Underpass- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- return. 1.01, 12K, 5.14min/km. Same as previous night with Underpass loop added on return leg as well. Felt very creaky at first but was moving well after that.

December 8-14.

Only 3 runs this week with work and C2K crewing duties.

THURSDAY 11/12- MORNING- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- Mt Riverview Tennis Courts- return. 12K on a rainy day at 5.30 pace.

THURSDAY 11/12- NIGHT- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Old Bathurst Rd- Bowaga St- return. 10K at 5.40 pace.

FRIDAY 12/12- Two Hills Loop, 10.5K.

Weekly total 32.5K. Not good.

December 1-7

MONDAY 1/12- 11K @ 5.40min/km. Ran to Springwood at midday to visit the bank, totaing a backpack and took it fairly easy. Hot day.

TUESDAY 2/12- Winmalee Trails. Blue Gum Swamp Trail- Bees Nest Hill- Grose Head South Lookout- St Columbas- The Grotto- Blue Gum Swamp Trail- 10 Rock Hill- Shaws Ridge. 19K in 2.05. Run with Sarge involving a couple of new trails, pretty hilly. Struggled from the start, felt very rough.

WEDNESDAY 3/12- No training.

THURSDAY 4/12- Warrimoo Underpass- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- Emu Plains Rd- return. 18.5K, 1.43, 5.33min/km. Road run at night. Felt good.

FRIDAY 5/12- No training.

SATURDAY 6/12- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- Mt Riverview Tennis Courts- return. 12K. On a very hot day, had to walk a bit.

SUNDAY 7/12- No training. Worked from 7am till 11pm.

Weekly total 60.5K

November 24-30.

MONDAY 24/11- No training.

TUESDAY 25/11- Blue Gum Swamp Trail (Winmalee) x 2. 20K, 2.11, 6.34min/km. With Sarge and Darkie. Died badly in second loop.

WEDNESDAY 26/11- Grose Head South Lookout Trail. 13K, 1.25, 6.34min/km. With Sarge. Felt okay.

THURSDAY 27/11- Home- Mitchells Pass- Nepean River- Lapstone. 1.11, 12.5K, 5.44min/km. Road run with Shogun. Moving well but suffered on the trail climbing back up to Lapstone. Felt very beat up.

SATURDAY 29/11- Two Hills Loop w/ 5 x 100m strides to finish off. 10.2K, 1.00hrs, 5.55min/km. Felt pretty good- don't think I have done this loop under 6min/km before. Very muggy day, very sweaty.

SUNDAY 30/11- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Koala Ave- Winnicoopa Ave- Long Angle Trail- Low Gear Lane- Sun Valley- Waratah Pde- Home. 14.3K, 1.22, 5.44min/km. Should call this one the "lap of Warrimoo" as it is all on a road or on a trail running parallel to it- extension of the Two Hills Loop with some flatter stuff around Blaxland added on. Felt fairly good.

Weekly total- 70K. Best weekly tally for quite a while. Feeling positive.

November 17-23

MONDAY 17/11- Tom Hunter Oval, Faulconbridge. 2K warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 3 x 2K aerobic in 9.38, 9.27, 9.20, 2K warmdown. 11K total. Felt a bit rough but more sub 5 Ks.

TUESDAY 18/11- BIKE- 32K MTB in Blue Mountains National Park.

WEDNESDAY 19/11- No training.

THURSDAY 20/11- RUN- Tom Hunter Oval, Faulconbridge. 3 x 3K in 14.12, 14.05, 13.59, 5 x 100m hill reps, 5 x 100m strides. 11K total. Well happy.

FRIDAY 21/11- RUN- Mt Portal. 12K, 1.19, 6.43. Felt pretty rough and did some walking.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 22-23/11- No training.

Weekly total 34K running, 32K bike.

November 10-16

MONDAY 10/11- RUN- Track session at Tom Hunter Oval. 2K warmup (Nike Frees), 5 x 100m strides, 2 x 2K w/3min recovery in 8.22 and 8.37, 2K warmdown (all barefoot). 9K total. Went out a bit hard in the first one and suffered in the second one. Lap splits were 99, 99, 99, 101, 102 and 101, 101, 103, 105, 105.

TUESDAY 11/11- No training.

WEDNESDAY 12/11- RUN- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Blaxland station- return. 5.8K, 31.31, 5.26min/km. Night run after work.

THURSDAY 13/11- RUN- Tom Hunter Oval. Aerobic reps- 3 x 3K w/ 3min recovery in 14.23, 14.21, 14.20. First two in Nike Frees, last barefoot. Running solidly aerobic without becoming breathless. Haven't run that many sub 5/min Ks in at least two years. Well pleased.

FRIDAY 14/11- RUN- 5K @ 4.43 pace. Very hot day, 5K was all I could manage.

SATURDAY 15/11- No training.

SUNDAY 16/11- RUN- 4K warmup @ 4.58min/km, 6 x 250m hills in 1.56, 2.00, 2.07, 2.08, 2.07, 1.59, 4K warmdown including 5 x 100m strides @ 5.29 pace. 11K total. Good session with Shogun including hill reps on the notorious Sanctuary Drive, Leonay (16% grade).

Weekly total- 39.8K

November 3-9.

Time for some real training.

MONDAY 3/11- BIKE- Full lap of M7 cycleway (3.00, 78K, 25kmh). Good ride for the first 65 or so k before I started to run out of gas. Hot day, well pleased.

TUESDAY 4/11- RUN- Track session at Glenbrook Oval (all in Nike Frees). 2k warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 3K tempo in 12.49 (4.16min/km), 2k warmdown, 8K total. Night run, repeating Sunday's session but noticeably quicker. Felt more efficient too. Happy.

WEDNESDAY 5/11- RUN- Low Gear Lane Loop. 5.6K, 30.28, 5.28min/km. Recovery run, felt pretty good.

THURSDAY 6/11- RUN- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- return. 7.5K. Felt very rough so eventually turned the watch off and shuffled back.

FRIDAY 7/11- MORNING- RUN- Track session at Tom Hunter Oval. 2K warmup (Nike Frees), 5 x 100m strides (barefoot), 6 x 400m (barefoot) in 94, 92, 88, 90, 90, 89, 2k warmdown. 7.5K total. Felt very rough but kept pushing. Not bad numbers in the end.

FRIDAY 7/11- NIGHT- RUN- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- return. 8.8K, 50.01, 5.41min/km. Felt pretty good actually.

SATURDAY 8/11- BIKE- M7 Cycleway- 39.5K, 25kmh. Dead legs today.

October 27- November 2

MONDAY 27/10- Worked all day.

TUESDAY 28/10- BIKE- Warrimoo- Springwood- Hawkesbury Lookout- Warrimoo- Mount Riverview- Warrimoo. 51.5K, 2.06, 24kmh. Good ride. Legs a bit beat afterwards.

WEDNESDAY 29/10- RUN- Track session at Glenbrook Oval. 2K warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 6 x 400m in 92, 92, 91, 91, 89, 87, 2K warmdown (all in Nike Frees). Total 7.4K. Quite happy with this session on a humid evening, pacing was excellent and the last two reps felt efficient and not particularly hard.

THURSDAY 30/10 and 31/10- No training.

SATURDAY 1/11- Warrimoo- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Blaxland Station- return. 5.8K. Untimed easy run after work.

SUNDAY 2/11- Track session at Tom Hunter Park, Faulconbridge. 2K warmup (Nike Frees), 5 x 100m strides (barefoot), 3K tempo in 13.09 (4.23min/km, barefoot), 2K warmdown (barefoot). 8K total. Haven't done this session for a while. Hurt like buggery.

Not the best week, couple of good sessions though.

October 20-26.

This week started off on a very depressing note when the sale of my cafe fell through and that is reflected in bugger all training at the start of the week. However another potential buyer has come to the fore so my time should be considerably freer in a week or two- I will be just working the one job (restaurant) for the first time in close to two years.

MONDAY- WEDNESDAY 20/10- 22/10- No training.

THURSDAY 23/10- Warrimoo- Waratah Pde- Green Pde- Tusculum Rd- Macquarie Rd- Hawkesbury Rd- Winmalee. 10K, 56.58, 5.41min/km. Very slow road run.

FRIDAY 24/10- Low Gear Lane Loop. 5.6K, 32.33, 5.51min/km. Felt very flat.

SATURDAY 25/10- Low Gear Lane Loop. 5.6K, 31.21, 5.37min/km. Same loop as day before but feeling quite a bit better.

SUNDAY 26/10- Track session at Tom Hunter Oval. 2K warmup (in shoes), 5 x 100m strides (barefoot), 6 x 400m w/60 sec recoveries (barefoot) in 97, 92, 92, 93, 93, 93, 2K warmdown (barefoot). 7.5K total. Not fast but pace was steady, quite happy with session considering all the missed training beforehand.

WEEKLY TOTAL- 28.7K

October 13-19

MONDAY 13/10- BIKE- Warrimoo- Mt Riverview- Springwood- Warrimoo. 31K, 1.17, 24kmh. Legs very beat up from yesterday's track. Was going to longer but was sensible and kept it short.

TUESDAY 14/10- Worked all day.

WEDNESDAY 15/10- BIKE- M7 Cycleway- Eastern Creek- Prestons- Eastern Creek- Kings Park- Eastern Creek. 63km, 2.10, 26kmh. Good ride, worked hard, cool conditions. The M7 Cycleway is a suberb resource and 'tis a pity other roads don't have something similar.

THURSDAY 16/10- RUN- Track session at Tom Hunter Park. 2K warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 15mins of 30sec spring/30 sec walk, 2K warmdown. 7.8K total. Was going to do 6 x 400m barefoot again but my calf was still pretty battered from last Sunday, so did 15 minutes of 30/30s instead in shoes. Covered 2.8K during the 15 minutes.

FRIDAY 17/10- BIKE- Warrimoo- Springwood- Mt Riverview- Warrimoo. 31K, 1.16, 24kmh. Was going to ride 50-60K but very tired this morning after a late night, so kept it local.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 18-19/10- Worked all weekend.

October 6-12

Managing my time a bit better now. Also adding some bike instead of runs to reduce the stress on my body and also help deal with the spring heat.

MONDAY 6/10- RUN- Waratah Pde- Green Pde- Tusculum Rd- Hawkesbury Rd- Winmalee Shops. 10K, 55.39, 5.36min/km. Rolling road run, felt pretty average.

TUESDAY 7/10- BIKE- Glenmore Park Rd, Glenmore Park- Belmore Rd, Bringelly- return. 40K, 1.26, 27kmh. Good ride on rolling road with nice verge. Pleasant farmland country much of the way.

WEDNESDAY 8/10- RUN- Glenbrook National Park gates- Mt Portal lookout- return. 12K, 1.14, 6.14min/km. Best run in the lower mountains. Slow, very hilly, loved it.

THURSDAY 9/10- RUN- Track session at Glenbrook Oval. 2K warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 5 x 400m with 60 second recovery in 88, 85, 89, 87, 88. 2K warmdown. 7K total. First intervals session since early 2007 I think. Buggered but happy.

FRIDAY 10/10- BIKE- Warrimoo- Hawkesbury Lookout- return. 30K, 1.14, 24kmh. Hilly road ride, legs beaten up from the track session.

SATURDAY 11/10- worked all day.

SUNDAY 12/10- RUN- Track session at Tom Hunter Oval, Faulconbridge. 2K warmup, 5 x 100m strides, 6 x 400m w/ 60 second recovery in 92, 92, 90, 90, 91, 95. 2K warmdown. 7.4K total. Did this all barefoot. Very tough going on a hot day.

36.4K running and 70k riding for the week.Some good sessions there. Happy if I can keep the momentum going.

Not Much Happened in September.

Juggling two businesses (anyone want to buy a Deli/Cafe in the lower Mountains?) and sucessive colds kept things very quiet over September, just a couple of short runs each week.

September 8- 14

MONDAY 8/9- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Blaxland Station- return. 5.8K, 31.11 5.22min/km. Felt like a bloke who hadn't run for a week. Funny that.

September 1-6

MONDAY 1/9- Finchs Lookout.7.2K, 42.33, 5.56min/km. Felt thrashed but slowly grinded my way through.

Missed the rest of the week with yet another bout of flu.

25- 31 August

MONDAY 25/8- Instead of running, I spent this morning having root canal. Lovely.

TUESDAY 26/8- Waratah Rd- Greens Pde- Tusculum Rd- Macquarie Rd- Hawkesbury Rd- Winmalee Shops. 10K, 55.42, 5.33min/km. Road run after work.

WEDNESDAY 27/8- Nepean Bridges x 2. 13.6K, 1.15, 5.32min/km. Was going to do three laps but felt buggered from the start and slowed badly on the second lap.

THURSDAY 28/8- Helped my sister move house then worked- no running.

FRIDAY 29/8- Waratah Pde- Green Pde- Tusculum Rd- Macquarie Rd- Hawkesbury Rd- Winmalee Shops- return. 20K, 1.50, 5.29min/km. Good run in the early afternoon. Felt pretty good for the first 14K or so, battled a bit on the uphills after that. My longest run since Six Foot Track in March.

SATURDAY 30/8- Worked all day, no running.

SUNDAY 31/8- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Rusden Rd- Grandview Pde- return. 15.5K, 1.27, 5.36min/km. Muggy afternoon run with some cool drizzle. Felt rough but got around okay.

WEEKLY TOTAL 59K. Starting to look more respectable.

18- 24 August 2008.

MONDAY 18/8- Still got this damn cold.

TUESDAY 19/8- Waratah Rd- Green Pde- Tusculum Rd- Macquarie Rd- return. 9.6K, 50.38, 5.16min/km. Undulating road run.

WEDNESDAY 20/8- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Old Bathurst Rd- Rusden Rd- Outlook Pde- return. 14.2K, 1.20.23, 5.39min/km. Road run. Hard work!

THURSDAY 21/8- Rickard Rd- Five Ways- Long Angle Trail- Long Angle Rd trailhead- return. 12.5K, 1.19.39, 6.21min/km. Mainly on hilly, sandy firetrail. Boy was this slow.

FRIDAY 22/8- Low Gear Lane Loop. 5.6K, 32.46, 5.51min/km. Cold and rain today. Wore a jacket and definitely needed it, even in the middle of the day.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY- No running. Too busy with work. Saturdays in particular I usually work from around 8am till 11pm, so running Saturdays could be a problem....

WEEKLY TOTAL 41.9K

August 11-17.

MONDAY 11/8- Low Gear Lane Loop. 5.5K, 30.24, 5.27min/km. Windy cold day. Felt a little rough but tried to match last Monday's time.

TUESDAY 12/8- Two Hills Loop. 10.2K, 1.02, 6.11min/km. Longest run for a while. Slow going but not tired at the end which is a good sign.

WEDNESDAY 13/8- Spurwood Rd- Long Angle Trail- Elizabeth St Trail- Rusden Rd- Boorea St- Wilson Way- Railway Pde- home. 10.1K, 1.00, 5.58min/km. Scratchy throat today. Walked up the Elizabeth St trail (steep, eroded and overgrown) and jogged the rest of the way.

THURSDAY 14/8- Sore throat, cold, sniffles, sinus pain. No running.

FRIDAY 15/8- Slow 6K with cold still lingering.

The weekend was buried by work and the cold. Weekly total 31.8K.

Week 4-10 August 2008.

MONDAY 4/8- Spurwood Rd- Long Angle Trail- Low Gear Lane- Rickard Rd. 5.5K, 30.21, 5.27min/km. Midday on a cool winter day I ran my local "round the block" loop, half road, half trail with one horrible hill included.

TUESDAY 5/8- Nepean Bridges. 6.75K, 32.11, 4.46min/km. Lunchtime, muggy day, solid-paced lap of the Nepean River.

WEDNESDAY 6/8- Spurwood Rd- Long Angle Trail- Low Gear Lane- Rickard Rd. 5.5K, 31.32, 5.39min/km. Same run as Monday under cold, grey and windy skies. Love Blue Mountains running in winter. Felt a little tired so took it easy at first but on the 1.6K Rickard Rd stretch did 7 x 20 sec sprint/ 1min jog.

THURSDAY 7/8- Railway Pde- Wilson Way- Boorea St- Mt Riverview- return. 8.85K, 47.57, 5.25min/km. Road run on a cold winter night. Was going to go to Pilates as I usually do Thursday evenings but a veterinary appointment ran over and I did a run later instead. Hilly, a bit tired on the uphills on the way back.

FRIDAY 8/8- Rickard Rd- Five Ways- Finchs Lookout- return. 7.2K, 40.56, 5.42min/km. Mid morning run- half road half trail. Did a mile of 30sec sprint/ 30 sec walk on the way back. Same loop as Monday and Wednesday with the big hill. Felt tired so cruised it.

SATURDAY 9/8- Spurwood Rd- Long Angle Trail- Low Gear Lane- Rickard Rd. 5.5K, 32.07, 5.46min/km. Same loop as Monday and Wednesday with the big hill. Felt tired so cruised it.

SUNDAY 10/8- Bradbury Oval. 6K, 30 mins. Was in Campbelltown today so fitted in half on hour of circling one of the cricket ovals.

WEEKLY TOTAL 45.3K