Off the Record

*Just a hello from the webmistress, to advise that the blogger himself is still alive and kicking, still running a bit, mentoring a bit, and generally continuing life in much the same vein as the past 10 years. I will endeavor to get him to post his training again, and his reflections on life, as I think it's a good thing to try to live openly, instead of laboring to present oneself shiny-side-up to the world or hide the evidence to the contrary.

BabyG is nearly one year old. Time for the father to think about who he is, in the long line of Arthurs before him, and in what he leaves with the next and future generations. *

6FT Race Report- Finally

After cruising to victory in SStriders 10k the Sat before, I felt confident that I should run OK in the 6FT. My final hitout prior was a 3kTT on Tues at Mingara. Weather was fine, I ran 8.51 feeling very relaxed. But on the side, I had sustained a slight injury to my plantar fascia after the Striders race on Sat. It was under control, but was of concern.

The Start: Found myself going down the stairs in about 20th spot, was not concerned as I wanted to go easy at the start. Stopped to do a (edit - wee) and tie up my shoe, and lost about 10 spots, but was still not concerned at all.

The Middle: As I tried to up the pace once down the bottom, um, I was concerned as I felt like it was a real effort for me to change pace, which is not a normal thing. From that point on, my 6FT was just a slogging, grinding run. My immediate goal was just to finish, and not to walk at all. Was happy to finish 9th and not 10th (apologies to the 10th person *Webmistress*). After reading the final results, I was very surprised to find that I ran the 2nd fastest time up the hill. I had no strength at all going up that hill, and just ran easy.

Summary: A couple of good things came out of the race - one was seeing my daughter at the finish, and 2) - Still hold the course record for King of the Mountain.

PS. Can I quickly say a big thank you to my support crew, my manager, my coach, my masseur, my medical doctor, my psychiatrist, psychologist and my number one fan (*most of the time*), Di. (*Ohh, thanks*). And of course, thanks to the little garden gnome himself, Kevin Tiller (*and the firies, and all the people who handle all the other stuff that we don't see*).

run run as fast as you can..you can catch me because i am not a marathon man

have not been running much ,after 6foot...will try and start hard tarining this week,with one goal,to beat Chriss Truschot in every race we have..and take out the 2008 P.A.C.T distance runner of the year

Time to Catch Up

(*Sorry, these entries are not the words of Paul {note the clever sidestep to avoid blasphemy}. Could someone please hand me a flak jacket? I'm sure I'll have need of it, for once more daring to paraphrase the words of Paul.*)

Saturday
1 hour run, easy. 1.5 hour bike ride, not easy.

Sunday
Slept in, and then pretended that not wanting to borrow car was excuse for not doing long run in the morning. Went fishing (in the car), did a sort-of-long run in the evening, 1hr 45.

Monday
This one I can't make up, don't have a clue, but there would have been a run done, and it would have been something like 1hour easy, again pretending to make up for the whole Sunday sleep in thing.

Tuesday
Oh no, technical stuff that I wasn't really paying attention to. What was it - um, maybe 5 x 1km, all sub 3', last one 2' 52". Something like that.

(*and while I'm online, in case I run out of time to post much later in the week, Happy Birthday Greta. Grid-iron player? Have a great party*)

Friday

Arrived at Homebush ready for NSW 10km. But not quite ready mentally. Anyway. Goal was to beat Troopy, as I was the 2nd fastest runner in the field, 28'30". That goal was gone after 1 lap. 2nd goal - to run sub 30'. That goal was gone after 2 laps. 3rd goal - to run sub 31". Gone after 3 laps. Next goal, to get off track as quick as possible. Found a spot a 200m to escape track. All in all, total waste of time. Should have kept training hard at home . Never mind. Always next year.

Wednesday, Thursday

Am- 1/2 hr,
Pm 45 mins.

Thursday
40 mins easy.

Tuesday

(*Sorry, I left the piece of paper I wrote yesterday's entry on at work. This is a paraphrase*)

Ran 3k at track, in a massive storm, ankle deep in water, 8'57", dodging little kids and old ladies, then froze waiting for a lift home. Thinking about trying for 40+ NSW 10k record on Friday night.

monday

AM easy8km PM 14km easy

sunday FUCKING SUNDAY

Did not run today ,felt shit

saturday

left home at 4.30am on push bike ,rode to freeway at tuggerah to be picked up bye jason MAXWELL....arived at lane cove at 628 am....short warm up,felt fucked and very light in the head..tryed to get pumped for race mentally..felt fucked first half of race..dropped the pack at 20mint mark , only 3 left, felt flat last 2km ,ran with J,H till i made my move 400m to go ,but he didt drop,,,had to kick again last 10m..finished second..fucked run.(cant win 6foot of that run)ANY WAY HAD FUN AND GREAT TO CATCH WITH GREAT MATE JASON.

Thursday, Friday

Came home after 5000m on track that wasn't, ran 6k.

30min easy this afternoon.

(*?Striders 10km tmrw*)

Whatever, Wednesday

40 min easy. Will be running 5000m B race Thursday night. Should go under 15 min if I don't shoot myself in the foot, or the head. PS. I don't have a gun.

Tuesday

(*Once again I have been accused of not typing exactly what Paul says. All right, then.*)

This blog isn't about running. It's about me. I am an alcoholic and a compulsive gambler. I live in a tin shed. I am sitting here in the dark with a bottle of red wine, listening to music and thinking about the best way to end my life. I don't want to be here anymore.

I did 4 x 1km reps at Chittaway Point. I don't know why I ran. I do it, just like I get up in the morning.

Monday

(*PA is choosing not to answer his phone. Cannot do blog for today. Sorry ppl.*)

Sunday

Early start today, Country Championships at Glendale, 5000m.

Ran first lap easy to see who was serious. As it turned out, no-one, so I went through in a 65s second lap. After 3km was nearly half a lap in front. Lost interest from then on. Finished 1st 15'35". Just a waste of a week of training. Freshened up expecting some name runners to show up. No show. Might run State 5km B Grade on Thursday night.

(*Good run from Jason Maxwell, although I think his potential in the Steeplechase has yet to be explored*)

Saturday

Am - 8km

Pm - 7km

Feel like a fat slob. Got my runs done, though.

Friday yet again

20 min warm up to local oval. 10 x 100m efforts, 20 min warm down.

Got funny stares from all the non-runners at the oval playing soccer. Next time I won't wear skintight top and lycra pants. These non-runner types must think we're weird, but it's really them that aren't living the proper life.

Freshened up all this week. Reason I don't know why. I have race this Sunday, I'm not gong to run a PB. Those days are gone. All it seems to be doing to me is putting on wt. Can't wait to next week to get into hard training. But saying all that, I hope I can run quicker than 15'25". Surely I'm not that affected by alcohol just yet.

Thursday

Pm - 4 km run this afternoon. Couldn't do session as I have a strained left calf. Painful to walk on.

(*Too much midnight bicycling, I'd say*)

Wednesday

Pm - 1.5 hrs easy in hilly bush around home. (*Oh no. I was wrong. It was 1.5 hrs easy on the flat, took "for f*cking ever", apparently*)

To Terrigal Trotter Mike Aiken and your family, we are thinking of you and hoping for you. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Please Lord, give all the strength you can to Mike, as he is a good man, and the world needs all of the good men it can get. You've told me some great stories of duels on the track in your time at Asics Wests. Miss seeing you round all the places where runners do their catching up.

Tuesday

Decided to only run once a day this week.

Pm - 6k warm up, 3 x 1km on track - 2'48", 2'52", 2'52". Keeping fresh, race Sunday.

(*There was some baby coochie-woo stuff after this in the text Paul sent with his training details, but I've omitted that, as it will also conflict with the bad-ass tone that he is working hard to achieve with his blog*)

*Ewen, your comment on the 5000m pacing gave rise to an interesting discussion with Paul about some of the splits of his best runs. He told me that when he ran 13'49" for 5000m, he went through 3k in 8'12". When he ran 28'30" for 10000 at Zatopek, his previous best for 5k was 14'30". That night, he went through 5k in 14 dead. I asked him what he was thinking then, and he said "Well, I just hung on". I was impressed. 5k is a long time to "hang on". Just thought I'd share that with you. Also, he has an incredible ability to calculate splits and pace on the run, even at top speed (while I have trouble remembering what lap I'm on in a 1500m).*

I Don't like Mondays

*..that one's for you, Biss. Paul is actually fond of Mondays - recovery days :).
And a fresh start to the week *

Pm - 1 hr easy.

('Grete laughed for the first time today. Read Peter Pan for more information on baby's first laugh. Apologies to Paul for making the blog too girly. Will try for a more bad-ass approach tmrw. Webmistress*)

Sunday

Long run around Centennial Park, supposed to do 2.5 hrs. After 30 min I was pissed off with it, and by 2 hrs I'd hit the wall. Don't think I can run 6FT, as I don't think I'd make the distance. I'm not in as good shape as I should be, for the sessions I've been doing. Don't know why. Should have been able to run much faster than 15'25".

Saturday

Am - 8km

Pm - Allcomers 5000m @ 8.30pm, no freshening up. Time -. 15'25". Would have liked to have gone a bit quicker, but went through 3k in 9.02 or so. Ran this 5k in Sydney only because I didn't feel like doing a session by myself. No big deal, just a run. I have a little girl; what does running matter? If I do 6FT, looking forward to not racing; just running for as long as I can, as fast as I can.

Friday

Am - 8km

Pm - 10km

*yawn. Nothing like a bit of variety in one's routine, is there?
Still blogging, thanks for the support, guys.
I have been told not to use "big words" in this blog. Something about people knowing it isn't Paul typing. I would've thought it's perfectly obvious what's his and what's mine. It's all in the f*cking asterisks, isn't it?*

Fartlek in the rain, just fartlek in the rain...

Am - 8k.

Pm - Ran to Chittaway, did fartlek session. Struggled in the rain. So hard doing this on my own. All the time I was running, I kept thinking about why these so-called up-and-coming runners on the Central Coast are not coming out to train with me.

(*Tried to explain this sounded wanky, too, and got told off. What do I know? Don't know if I can keep posting this blog, and I'm quite serious in saying this. Does anyone want to volunteer to take over?*)

Wednesday

*Paul, you need to switch your phone on if you want your blog done. Sorry ppl - he's AWOL tonight. Then again, maybe he's still out running?*

*He's ba-ack.*
Pm - 25K run through the mountains from home. Very grateful for yesterday's recovery day. Felt strong over the hills. Tongue-in-cheek... maybe I can win the C2S this year? Doubt it. Think I'm just jerking myself off. Already had that dream.

Having second thoughts about running Canberra marathon, not enough time to prepare. Maybe Melbourne.

Tom, don't have any goals at the moment, other than to keep running every day, to keep physically and mentally well, because if I don't, I will hit the bottle too much, and be a complete bum.

Slogging on

*...like all good distance runners*

Monday - Pm - 14km + one bottle white wine.

Tuesday -
Am - 30min
Pm - Ran to Chittaway Point, did 5 x 200m, 1 x 1km, 5 x 200m, 1 x 1km. Mentally tired, thought I'd do something totally off-the-planet-different that I'd never done before.
*No times for session?*
No.
*Oh, OK. Boring to read, but OK.*

Apology to webmistress.
*Apology accepted.*

Monday

*Rude to webmistress again. Webmistress thinks blogman can do his own blog until he learns to be polite and listen, even if someone has a different opinion from him. Webmistress also thinks that there are many life lessons that the blogman has yet to learn. Texts like "Physician, heal thyself", and "First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye", come to mind. Hyperlink to meaning of proverb here, for Paul when next he reads his blog.

Paul, life has been pretty good to you. You have been given so much. Time to look around you and live with some focus, humility and gratitude.*

Very, very tough

My intentions were to run to the Orchard solid but in control. Turned in 68 min, just maintained rhythm on the way back, as it was very hot. Overall time 2hr 09. Very grateful to Margaret Beardslee for giving me a drink of water on the way back. Total km for the week 175.

Woke up this morning in such a negative frame of mind. Did not want to to do my long run, but I had already confirmed with my coach Rob Beardslee that I would be there to do it. My intentions were to break two hrs, but the ball never really got rolling. Tough day in the office. I really hate running at the moment. I really don't know why I am doing this. I should have listened to my coach and just run relaxed and easy - it's just time on my feet. The closer I got to the finish, two things excited me - seeing my little daughter, and knowing there was a Pepsi Max waiting in the fridge. I hope Hilary Clinton wins the American election, and the Australian cricket team is really pissing me off, because I think they're up themselves.

Final comment from coach - "progress is good".

(*kudos to baby 'Grete, who did her first long run today, although she insisted on being carried for the last couple of k's - something about sh*t suspension on the stroller, I think she said. Work begins on a new prototype stroller*)

Saturday

(*Pissed-off-edness has lessened. Am able to resume posting real training blogs, although runners are so predictable, my fictional day's training was only 15min astray*)

Am - 10k

Pm - 14k.

Was sort-of thinking about running the Stalky's half m'thon in the bush, but got the dates and days mixed up, so it was over before I even got round to checking up on that. So looks like tomorrow is going to have to be the Orchard time trial. Going to get to sleep, so I don't have to think about how much it's going to hurt if I run it hard.

Friday (addendum)

OK, if you must know, it was in fact a 1hr run in the am. around Nobby's Beach with good running mate Jason (*insert shameless plug for Raine and Horne Newcastle here*).

Pm - 45 min (*I was right! Hah!*)

Friday (as if you didn't know)

*The webmistress will not be posting the training of the blogman today, for 3 reasons.
a. She is pissed off with the blogman,

b. She has no idea what the blogman did in training today - (probably ran sometime, somewhere),

a. + b. = c. = The webmistress is too pissed off with the blogman to ring him to find out what he did in training today.

So let's make it up. Um, 45 min am, followed by 45 min pm, or should we consolidate things and say 1.5 hr right in the middle of the day? Anyone else care to put forward what Paul did in training today? Be creative.

Avenged? Some.*

Why?

Am - 8k.

Pm - Warmup at Newcastle track with Jason Maxwell.

4 x 1k. Times too disgusting to write down. I really hate my running at the moment with a passion, but I just keep going. 5k warm down.

I might time trial to the Orchard this Sunday, just to clean out the system.

Wednesday

24k, 1h 40min through the hills. What can I say? Groundhog Day.

It's Tuesday

...and that means session day.

Am - Ran - (*forgot to tell webmistress how long.*)

Pm - 6k warmup, 10 x 400m @68s, 200m float recoveries, warmdown (*of unspecified length.*)

Chatted to Matt after the run, who said he reads my blog, which is nice (*and congratulations Matt and Mrs Matt :-).* All the best for your running goals, Matt.

Recovery Day

Thank f*ck.

1/2 hour easy Am.

1 hour Pm.

Another Bl**dy Long Run

How humid is today?? Taught me a lesson for sleeping in, and not doing long run in the morning. Must get tougher in the mind.

Another 2.5hr run done, through the wilds of Katandra. Mission - to see my baby girl.
Mission Accomplished :D

180k for the week. Cannot believe I used to run this sort of mileage every week in the '90s. 65kg.

Saturday

Am - 10k

Pm - 5 x 1k - 2.53, 2.50, 2.50, 2.48, 2.47. Just cruising. 4k warmup, 5k down.

Recovery Day

10am, 10k pm. Just easy running today. Two solid days coming up, have to keep reminding myself that I'm 40.

Meanwhile, back at the track...

Am - 8 k easy.

Pm - 5 k up / down.
15 x 200m at track. Felt strong in floats, so worked them.

Warmup went past KFC. For a split sec I had to choose between pigout and training. Chose the track session. End of the session confirmed to me why I hate running on the track.

(*cryptic?*)

Wednesday

Am. Easy 8km.

Pm. 24 km through the bush. Felt strong.

Happy New Year

40' am.

Pm - 4k up,/down, 6.5k fartlek at Chittaway Point. Strong in float recoveries.

Feeling strong and looking for a race to do.