Harbour run
Training Log 17 October: 15 km City Loop and Harbour Run
Took off on an relaxed pace for a harbour run around the Botanic Gardens to Opera House, crossing the Harbour Bridge down to Lavender Bay.
Passing Luna Park and up the stairs that lead to the small Indian Restaurant (if you know North Sydney, you will know which one), then back across the bridge exiting off to where Hickson Road goes under the bridge.
Taking Hickson Road to King Street Wharf, then down to the end of Darling Harbour, and back to Hyde Park via Liverpool St and Pitt St.
Perfect conditions for running, and a good course with mostly flat, many pedestrians in parts and some good bends and sights.
Training log: 9 October. 1600 m fast pace sets.
Good training this afternoon with five sets of 1600 m fast pace runs- less than a sprint, but faster than event pace.
Good response, and legs holding up well. Some good stretching before and afterwards.
I was running along Sydney Harbour between Mrs Macquaries Chair and the western apron of the Sydney Opera House. Unbeatable training location, except that toward the last 400m of the fourth set a filming crew had blocked the path preventing all pedestrian access. I wasn’t really happy about that, but had to work around it which initially I found frustrating but was a good reminder that not everything will go to plan. There will be bigger difficulties to contend with on the journey ahead.
Training log: 8 October. Shake out, sprints and stretch
Last week I took my training easy resting my legs as much as possible. Training last week was spent in the pool mainly doing sprints of deep water running for extended periods and light periods of stretching.
My legs had tired over the previous weeks, and were beginning to show the stress of overtraining combined with a lack of sufficient stretching.
Warming up tonight, and setting off for an initial run I felt as though I had a new pair of legs. Well rested and prepared for the start on Thursday.
Tonight after a warming up of stretches, light aerobic activity and dynamic stretches I went for a slow job followed by interval training of 12 x 200 m sprints along the waters edge of Sydney Harbour. The long nights of daylight savings with the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background made it very enjoyable.
I finished up with a slow 5 km jog ending with an extended period of stretching. Over the next few days I will focus on my diet and building up fuel for the journey ahead.
Training Log: Six Bridges of Separation
My last training run was on 2 October when I ran a 25 km route around Sydney Harbour. I started with some discomfort on my ankles but was able to pick up some reasonable pace for the first half. Moving onto the goat tracks along Sydney Harbour for the second half I slowed down considerably and left some room for improvement.
Crossing the ANZAC Bridge from Pyrmont to Balmain I passed Senator John Faulkner (Australian Senator) and stopped briefly to say hello. I will email his later today and ask him to sponsor the 10 City Bridge Run and will let you know how I get on.
Finishing the run I had restricted range of movement in my ankles and a tight tension on my left hamstring. I spent the last two days seeing what effect stretching, acupuncture, massage, yoga and fish oil had on my soreness. Massage and fish oil appeared to have the biggest impact, and maintaining more stretching will be important over the coming month.
Training log: 12 September. 8 km circuit harbour run
Perfect day for running around the harbour on Sunday with a glorious course looping Circular Quay starting at Hyde Park. Passing Mrs Macquaries Chair, and around the Sydney Opera House before taking the Cahill Expressway Overpass footbridge, and then circling back around through Hickson Road passing back through the ferry terminal. Returned to Hyde Park along Macquarie St.
This is a good high speed route with variation of direction and elevation. I maintained overall time of the run, but no heart-rate data.
Stretched before and after the run which was important and left me feeling limber and in good shape.
Training log: 11 September. 24 km scheduled harbour run…and ended up a little lost
Saturday evening I headed out for a harbour run which joins up the land mass through a series of seven bridges. Crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge first, I headed across towards Gladesville with an intention of coming back across the Iron Cove Bridge and ANZAC Bridge before crossing the Pyrmont Bridge back into Sydney city.
This run is varied for terrain, both undulating and across some scramble goat-tracks tucked within the northern banks of the harbour- a truly beautiful walk if running doesn’t float your boat and you are in Sydney. If you want to take a walk, leave a comment I will give you directions to the best start point for access by public transport. Many parts show wonderful rock walks with plenty of mangrove like vegetation.
I ran counter-clockwise given that I started the run late and I had planned to have reached the Fig Tree Bridge in Gladesville by nightfall (the route is across small dirt tracks before then so going would be made slow by poor visibility after the sun set).
I took longer than I anticipated getting out to Riverview, then because I was used to running this route clockwise I sort-of became lost as you can see by the photo map between 9 and 14 km…a little bit of backtracking.
Read the next post I will write about being ‘Lost in Riverview’ because it was a good experience of having to rely upon the mental stamina and toughness that running develops. After a certain stage in training when fitness has been proven, much of the training becomes more about a competition within yourself: will you blow off training one night? can you run hard when it hurts? will the small niggling pain that you feel (which every athlete gets and endures) eventually make you decide that it is just not worth it?
I worked my way out of the situation and salvaged the run, crossing the Fig Tree Bridge, and then across the Gladesville and Victoria Bridges before catching a passing bus back to Town Hall Station. Ordinarily I would have run the distance back to Sydney, but it was getting much later than I had intended to stay out for, I knew I had covered about the distance I was wanting to train over, and there was nothing to prove by running it home as there were no gains in fitness and probably more to lose in fatigue. I think it was a good judgement call, although some of the passengers might have been less than impressed sharing part of the bus ride with me…
I maintained time of the overall run, no heart-rate data and measured weight before and after the run.
I felt confident across the distance, and am looking forward to the first run in New York on 24 September.
Earlier on 11 September a spirited gang of supporters ran and walked from the Sydney Opera House across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the other side of the harbour where we enjoyed breakfast. More on that in a following post.
‘Fun Run’- Oxymoron? Go on, come and run 2.4 km for the global launch!
A friend of mine emphatically swears that the expression ‘fun run’ is a non sequitur…he claims never to have experienced a run yet that was fun. Poor soul!
Join us for the Global Launch of the 10 City Bridge Run this Saturday where 100 people will together run 2.4 km from right behind the Sydney Opera House across to Milsons Point, via the Cahill Expressway overpass and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Arguably the most picturesque route for a short course in Sydney, and so while the running might not be ‘fun’, it will be a pleasant view. Besides, what have you to lose? Let this be the start of your personal ‘get fit for summer’ regime!
RSVP here through Eventbrite.
Bring a camera and it would be great to see how you saw the event.
More details are on the Eventbrite page. Please leave a comment or contact me directly with any need of clarification or questions: phone 0438 007 770.
Training log: 3 September. 8 km good pace- broken journey
Tonight a training run of 8 km- set off at a good pace, and feeling good with the previous soreness around the calves. The route was out-and-back from Hyde Park, down Macquarie St and turning to George Street passing through Martin Place. Continuing up Nurses Walk to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and across to Milsons Point.
I opened up to a good pace, a felt some tightness of breath reaching the far side of the Harbour Bridge. I stopped briefly at The Church By The Bridge in Milsons Point seeing they had a “I Heart Kirribilli” display and talked to Des Smith about how the launch event might play out on 11 September. Des was kind enough to offer me two pancakes (delicious!) and after a quick conversation with the locals headed back fresh after a rest stop.
I recorded no time or heart-rate data for the run, and measured weight before and on return. After stretching, I felt fresh for a longer run scheduled for tomorrow.
Training Log: 1 September. 8 km easy pace.
Heading out from Hyde Park down Macquarie Street then around the Sydney Opera House, the harbour and city lit up like jewels. My run snaked across the Opera House forecourt, on the Cahill Expressway overpass, then crossing the bridge to Milson’s Point. Back on the bridge and retracing my steps again enjoying the night air and the stillness brought to the water by the dark. Once across the bridge, I headed down the stairs toward ‘Nurses Walk’ onto George Street and back up through Martin Place finishing at Hyde Park.
I ran an easy pace, and felt relaxed and in good condition. I recorded no time or heart-rate, but measured weight going out and coming in to see how much was lost to sweat. I spent a good 20 minutes stretching afterwards, leaving me in good shape for training tomorrow.
Building Bridges 