The 2012 athletics season started with the lowest of lows. My long-time coach, mentor, role model and friend Maxine Corcoran was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in early October, 2011. Typically strong, Max’s fight was no different.  Unfortunately for all of those close to Max, will-power alone was not enough to win this battle. The passing of Max was and is extremely devastating and is one of the hardest things I have had to endure. I am still very lost without Maxine, but I now have greater inspiration to run.

The Zatopek 1500m has always marked the start of my racing season. This year, emotionally it was very hard; however, the run itself went really well and gave me the self-assurance that I was fit and ready for the season.  A successful block of training was completed over the Christmas period in preparation for my first 800m race for the season, the Brisbane Track Classic. The race went well and I was able to record a win and a new PB, which is always an exciting way to start the season.  I was starting to look forward to the season ahead. The first official Athletics Australia Tour meet was in Adelaide a fortnight later. The race in Adelaide was run in hot and windy conditions; however, I really enjoy the heat being an ex-Queenslander. I managed to win my second event for the year and again lowered my PB despite the conditions (a very very small PB, but a PB is a PB!). After a yummy celebratory dinner in China town, with my training partner Andy Giam, I began to focus my attention on preparing for the next tour meet in Perth.

Eight days into a really promising 10 day block of training before Perth I unfortunately came down with gastro (passed on from my lovely sister). Optimistically I thought this would only be an annoying 48 hour bug, so Mum and I left Melbourne for Perth on the Thursday before my Saturday race. By Friday the bug still hadn’t left, in fact I also caught a virus to join the gastro, forcing me to withdraw from Perth and shift my focus to Sydney the following weekend. The next week training was very average but nevertheless I left for Sydney on the Friday. Pre- Race I was still not feeling great but after pulling out the week before my stubbornness took over and I decided to race. For those of you who watched Sydney will know, my performance was not one I wish to remember for long. I learnt a huge lesson that night: do not race if you’re not well.

After another week of sleeping I was feeling well enough to start training again. Attempting to run again was more difficult than I expected, I felt like, what I describe to friends as, a baby lamb. My limbs were not coordinating with each other at all; I felt much more like a child learning to walk rather than an athlete. The real shock came on a Tuesday night session when my left leg became paralysed, dragging along behind me when I attempted to walk.  I was straight off to the doctors and subsequently the hospital for diagnosis.

I was diagnosed with suspected Guillain Barre, an extremely rare syndrome attacking my Nervous system. This syndrome unfortunately is untreatable and requires rest, rest and surprisingly more rest.  A remedy I would have relished in many of my harder pre-season training weeks! Currently, I am still waiting for the Guillain’s to leave my system. At the time of writing this, it has been 8 weeks since I first started to feel ill.

I am trying to focus on the positives of this setback, it has definitely taught me to listen to my body more and reconfirmed the passion and desire I have for running.

Hopefully my “up” is on its way, but until then it’s more rest for me.

Thank you for your time and good luck to those running Nationals this weekend, I will be watching wishing I was out there racing.

Fall (verb): to perform disappointingly.

Fall (verb):  move downward, typically rapidly and freely without control.

Fall (verb): to tumble or trip

In a nutshell, the last month has involved all of the above.

Seasonally, autumn is one of my favourite times of year. Born and bred in the mountains, I always get a thrill when that bite returns to the morning air. I catch myself dawdling in sunny patches and sprinting across the shady parts of my runs. Somehow being hot and puffed but with skin that is still chilled to the touch.

Unfortunately, the past month has also involved some disappointment. Headed for the Olympic trials in Melbourne, I was hoping to pull out a 5000m PB to finish off my track season on a high. Although qualification was not at all my aim, I thought the event would be a great experience of elite competition. This race brought a rare occasion in which my coach and I had planned out a month of training directly focussed on one run. With all the sessions ticked off, a solid taper period and good preparation, I felt strong and excited to race. Most of all, I was keen to run fast. However, it wasn’t to be. Despite placing 4^th, I was more than 30 secs shy of my target time. Even more frustrating was the fact that I stepped off the track with no explanation for why. Needless to say it was a less-than-satisfying close to the season.

On the up-side, the end of track meant the start of cross country season. After a restless 2 weeks break from training, I have now hit the cross country trails once again. Of course, this involves seeking out some good hills and cranking up the effort. As they say, what goes up must come down, bringing me to definition number three. No-one likes the feeling of jelly legs after a sharp climb, so there have been some quite rapid, uncontrolled descents. When you combine this with wet, slippery trails from the persistent rain, it doesn’t end well…or cleanly! You know you’ve done a decent run when you return with muddy hands and knees.

This weekend brings the first of the long races. I’ll be a rookie in the Newcastle ‘Hill-to-Harbour’ challenge. Starting virtually at my front door, I couldn’t exactly miss out on the fun! 10km of scenic running (if you have time and energy to look), including some nasty hills and rapid ‘falls’. I’m also looking towards some longer stuff such as the SMH Half Marathon in May. Racing in Opens cross country this year will also mean a step up from 6km to 8km.

All in all, not a bad few months to look forward to. And of course, what better inspiration than watching the Aussies take on the world at the Olympics! It’s made it all the more exciting being familiar with the athletes trying to qualify, rather than just names you hear on the TV. Witnessing my coach’s attempt to qualify for the marathon, I now appreciate the huge effort involved in planning, training and staying healthy in the lead up to such an event.

For now, all I can do is hope the next month of training “falls” into place!

6am Monday morning and its peak hour at Newcastle foreshore.

It’s probably my favourite part of the day and one of the reasons I love the place I’ve been living over summer. There’s this real upbeat and positive vibe when you head out for a run in the morning, and you can’t help but feel refreshed as you get caught in the ocean spray and watch the sun come up. And as I dodge around packs of lycra-clad cyclists and old guys in speedos, I am reminded of why I drag myself out of bed to run. No stopwatches, no track markings, no one to notice your splits. Shuffler or superstar, we’re all out here doing the same thing.

2012 has started off pretty well for me. I finished off an 11-day stint at Falls at full training volume after a few weeks of light load due to injury. Back on the flat, I turned my attention to the 1500m at Hunter Track Classic on Jan 21^st. I was hoping to pick up some speed, having built a solid winter fitness base.

Training felt quite different for me as I tried to tap into my lactic system more. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed some of the sessions with my favourite being series of 200m sets at different paces and recoveries. Surrounded by the awesome atmosphere at Hunter, I had high expectations for myself to run a PB. However, I just did not seem to be able to find any leg speed despite the fast-paced race and ended up pretty disappointed with my time. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry the following week at training when I finished a tough threshold/ hill reps session with a 1500m along an undulating gravel track in roughly the same time as my track race! So much for my well-planned taper, spikes and race conditions!!

Over the next few months, I’m looking forward to watching and racing the track classics. I have decided to focus on the 5000m to hopefully race in Melbourne. Along the way, I will get a few track races in but I’m wary of doing too much on the synthetic surface as I tend to develop niggles quickly this way. Although I’m a cross country tragic at heart, there’s a certain sort of buzz at track meets which is unrivalled. It’s awesome to watch the tactical races play out and I admire the rapid turns of speed.

I’ve also just commenced work at a gym so I am stepping into an unfamiliar world of weight machines and group fitness.  Learning heaps every day and might even start to mix up my training with some more strength work and pilates. Perhaps even embarrass myself at zumba!

For now, I’m just enjoying soaking up the gorgeous summer sunrises and the feel of running barefoot on a grass track.

“Don't work towards freedom; let the work be the freedom." - Dogen Roshi

This time last year I was just getting back from a pretty nasty injury that had caused me to have four months off running. To be honest when the injury was diagnosed I was ready to throw in the towel and call it a day. The last few years for me has had some great moments in running, but I just felt like any time I got to a reasonable level of fitness another injury would strike and I’d had enough. I stopped doing any form of training and started living like a normal person. It was great for the first couple of months, going out and not having to worry about sessions, travelling without stressing where I would be able to train. But soon enough I got over it, realized that I was really missing training and that I probably wasn’t cut out for the party lifestyle!

So began the tough battle back to fitness. It was not pretty to say the least; I couldn’t remember ever being that unfit! But it actually made me realise how long it had been since I took a break, and appreciate how tough full training is on the body. All through my junior years I had cross trained madly when I got injured- which can be more tiring than running half the time! Having those few months of complete rest left me really fresh and excited to come back and race again. Together my coach, Ted McLean and physio, Craig Purdam, formulated a new running program which I am still following and has worked really well for me over the past year. It’s focused on quality running, lots of strength work in the gym and a bit of cross training to complement my running sessions (see below for my current weekly program).

My first race back in 2011 was the Leonora Golden Gift, where I placed 4^th in the mile behind Kaila McKnight, Georgie Clarke and Lisa Corrigan. This was a big boost to my confidence as I had really just entered it for a bit of fun. I then had a few more months of good training before racing in the City to Surf, where I placed second behind Jess Trengrove who ran a really great race to claim the win. A week later I backed up for the Australian Cross Country Championships, which I won from my good friend Lisa Corrigan. After this I travelled around Australia doing a few road races including the Burnie Ten, which I was lucky to win after being hit by a motorcycle at around the 6km mark… I think the bump on my head was sufficient enough for me to not be able to thing logically and I decided to get up and keep running….probably not the smartest idea as I had to take a week off after due to a corked calf and bruised head- however I did get a very handy cheque at the end! (It was worth it). Next up I travelled to Japan for the Chiba Ekiden, which was a heap of fun in a great team managed by Sarah Jamieson. My last race for 2011 was the Zatopek 10,000m in which I won the Australian title….I won’t say I loved the race because 25 laps around the track in pouring rain is never fun, but it was a great way to end a year that had started on fairly shaky ground!

I took some time off after Zatopek and freshened up, before heading to Falls Creek for a couple of weeks. I stayed up there with Georgie Clarke, and I’m not sure if Georgie and I did more sun baking or running! But it was a good trip, I met heaps of really great people and I feel like I benefited a lot from the training I did up there. My next race will be the Adelaide GP, where I will run a 5000m. I’m really excited about the year ahead and hope I can continue to build on this past year. Although there will definitely be more setbacks along the way, it’s a part of elite sport, I’ve got a great team around me and I’m especially grateful to my coach Ted McLean who has stuck with me through everything over the past 10 years, the awesome group of guys in Canberra that help me out in every session and New Balance who have been terrific sponsors since 2009.

Here’s a sample of my weekly training program:

Monday:              AM- Gym (60min)
                                PM- Easy bike ride

Tuesday:              AM- Core strength or yoga
                                PM- Track session (eg. 4-6x1km reps)

Wednesday:      AM- Easy jog (60min)
                                PM- Gym (60min)

Thursday:            AM- Core strength or yoga
                                PM- Grass session (mix of intervals, usually shorter and fast)

Friday:                  AM- Easy bike ride or swim
                                PM- Gym (60min)

Saturday:             AM- Grass/Dirt session (mix of intervals, 500m-1500m, and hills)
                                PM- Rest

Sunday:                                AM- Long run
                                PM- Rest or yoga

While sitting in “The Man” pub at Falls Creek and as the countdown began to mark the beginning of 2012, I thought about the year past. 

It terms of athletics, 2011 was a tale of both success and frustration. Indeed, early 2011 allowed me to realise my potential as an athlete after my 3rd placing at the National Championships in the 800m, however the later half of my year was marred by injury. 

After nationals, my coach and I immediately terminated the season with the hope of getting my first solid winter season under my belt. This plan was going accordingly and I was quickly developing a fitness that I had never known. When May came around I completed a gym session that I now attribute to the struggles of the rest of my season. The session was going like any other until I came to my ‘step-up’ exercise. It is an exercise that I frequently complete because I feel its benefits in my running dramatically. At this stage of the year, I was stepping onto a box that was around 30cm high with a weight of 60kg on my back. My first set was uneventful, however, a few reps into my 2nd the box snapped in half and I fell with the weight on my back. In an attempt to stop myself falling or dropping the weight on someone in the overcrowded gym, I caught the falling bar and strained in an awkward position. For the time being, it seemed as though everyone was unscathed – even me. 

As the week went on from the gym incident I began to develop a sore hamstring. I immediately stopped training and sought medical advice ASAP. Cutting a long story short, after numerous procedures, several injections and frustrating physical therapy,  I am still struggling with the same hamstring injury some 7 months later. 

This injury has been like no other I have experienced. I am no stranger to the stress fracture or torn muscle and have so decided that either of these injuries would have been much preferable to my current one.  The reason being that with intervention and rest, both of them heal and heal well in a young athlete. Both my doctors and I are therefore trying to figure out what makes this particular injury so different and difficult to diagnose. 

Currently I am in Falls Creek with my training group. If it is tough being injured while at home, it is much harder to deal with on the mountain. Presently I am slowly getting back into training with a running, cycling and gym session each day. After getting into the saddle and riding about an hour out towards Omeo, I have a new found respect for the cycling community because hill riding is tough. I am very grateful that a few boys from my group have brought up their bikes to keep me company on some rides which are otherwise particularly lonely. At the moment I am enjoying my riding much more than running because the cycling action causes me no pain. With that being said, I realise that cycling is a good alternative and not a substitute. That is why I have attempted to keep up my running sessions while here – with the very wishful thinking that hopefully, one day, I will wake up injury free and be able to compete at the Olympic trials in March. 

As I feel the door is slowly shutting on the domestic 2012 season, I ensure that I am doing all I can to keep it alive.

Hope you are all running well and injury free

Johnny

Normally I prefer to have had some solid months of training under my belt before trying to race longer distances but time was of the essence.   It all seemed to have come around so quickly following Commonwealth Games but in reality October was very late for a major championship thus it was more the start of the season for me rather than the end.

Once the decision was made I was 100% committed.  Perhaps it may have been wiser to trial the distance in the New Year after a hard training block but I had committed to running the VIC 5000m championships a few weeks earlier.   

Luckily the NSW 3000m Championships were held about ten days prior to my 5000m debut which allowed me to get in a solid hit out against my training partner James Nipperess who is in good shape at the moment.  He proved that when he left me for dead in the last 600m.  However Ken suggested I would be better for it ten days later of which I agreed.

The day I dreaded had finally arrived along with typical Melbourne weather.  Overcast skies combined with wind and rain did not do much for my motivation.  I spent the morning on the train out to Mt Waverley for treatment from Darren Fulton (Miritis Massage).  Once back in the city I headed out into the rain for a light run around the streets of Melbourne with Chinny (Russel Dessaix-Chin).

The rest of the afternoon was easy going as I took a nap before catching a kebab (cab) out to Olympic Park in peak hour traffic.  I probably would have been better to walk as we crawled along at a snail’s pace.  As the evening unfolded the wind began to drop which made for still conditions though the track was still wet.  This did not deter me at all as I focused on warming up and getting ready to race.

It did not dawn on me until I lined up on the start line that I was actually going to be running more than just a 3000m.  I tried to block the negative thoughts out of my mind as well as the old lap counter at the finish which read 12 laps to go.  Thankfully I had help from Ed Gunby, Chinny and Jason Woolhouse along the way.  Although the split at 3k (8.26) was a bit off what I had wanted I was happy to still be feeling comfortable.  At this point it was Jason and I taking lap for lap.  It was by no means planned but unfolded nicely as we shared the workload.  I felt I needed to pick up the tempo rather than leave it for a last lap all out assault.  With 800m to go I gradually increased the pace and managed to pull away for a win which is very rare for me but I hope to one day change the tag of being a bridesmaid.  It was a good tussle between Jason and I which I really enjoyed and I wish him well for Zatopek 10k.  I don’t envy anyone racing 10k on the track; it would be a tough gig, no doubt.

On reflection of the race I had hoped for a faster time than 13.56.77 but did not play out the way I had expected.  Nonetheless it was sub 14mins which now gives me something to build on as I look to get in some solid training over the next few months.  This will include a stint at the infamous Falls Creek from Christmas into the New Year.  I am really looking forward to this trip as I do every year, especially with so many people from the athletics community getting together to do the one thing we all love….Running!

Many thanks go out to Athletics Victoria for helping the trip to Melbourne go so smoothly and I look forward to running on Melbourne Olympic Park for the last time in April at Nationals.

I had almost forgotten how exhilarating it is to win a race. That was until I finally cracked the bolt in Noosa last weekend. The Noosa asics bolt has eluded me for 5 years but I finally made the top of the podium in my 'comeback' race in hot conditions, both the weather and competition.

I have travelled to Noosa for the bolt for the past 5 years finishing 2nd, 3rd and failing to finish three times! It has been a race I have wanted to win for many years but always fell short. This year I was determined and toed the line with nothing to lose after a long spell of mediocre performances.

1500m - Weltklasse Zurich