Field notes.

Something peculiar happened today, I broke my personal record my climbing Anderson Street Hill - a fairly infamous segment around the Tan in Melbourne. It's unexpected because during the climb I gassed out about three quarters of the way up after doing 4 by 3 minute sessions on the flat.

It's a great sign to see when you're training because it means you're improving. It's always good to break a PR but it's even more rewarding when it happens on a day where you felt like you where nowhere near your potential.

Most of today was taken up by running to Princes Park and back. It's interesting how running long distances changes your perspective about travelling. At the beginning of this year running to Albert Park from my place seemed like a daunting distance where now it almost feels like warming up.

This was one of the more mentally difficult runs I've done in a while. Between the pain in my right leg, the rain, and the busy streets it was really difficult to keep a strong focus and mental fortitude.

Thankfully after triaging today it only looks like some muscle swelling or tendonitis meaning that I'll be able to continue training albeit at a reduced load this week. Consistency is vital, momentum in training builds the resilience your body needs to do long distance running.

Exercising while sore is different to doing so injured, soreness indicates growth while injury often means the opposite. Knowing the difference or when one turns into the is really important.

Another Saturday another long run, this time to Rowville and back. While I know the route like the back of my hand I have never ran it on foot before and as such never experienced the gradient first hand. It's not the most precipitous terrain in the world but the hill up to Jacksons Road from Eastlink will make you work for it.

Stretching on the grass out in front of the Mulgrave McDonald's is not something I've ever thought of doing but it is nice to enjoy the more inconsistent moments.

As the kilometers stack up so does the time. I left at 9am and didn't arrive home until 3pm, while I wasn't running for the entire time that much time on your feet does take a toll.

At least it didn't rain.

After another week of riding into the office my legs are feeling sore but strong. When I first began cycling I needed to shift gears for almost all inclines, now I barely touch the shifter. I couldn't understand how road bikes only had one set of gears - it's now very obvious why.

One thing I've found that helps after a long run is to do a fast (<4:00min/km) speed session the following to squeeze all the lactic acid out of your legs.

At least that's what I wanted to believe on the treadmill this morning.

Training for the 2026 Gold Coast Marathon is well underway as more and more of my Saturday's are being consumed by long runs.

The challenge now is to find a way of making each long run "fun". This week I decided to do 15 laps of Caulfield Park, with each lap being approximately 2.2km it was going to be a mind numbing experience. There is some comfort in a repetitive course as it allows you to enter a meditative trance as you try and remember what lap you're on.

The fun parts of this run were the pullups I did every lap which is why lats now hurt more than my legs.