A Blog? What the...?

In light of the overwhelming response to the opening of The Running Centre, in West Perth, it is with great pleasure that I have been asked to write for the fine young men and women that represent the business. As much as all you runners, joggers, fitness junkies, 'try'athletes (just kidding guys, please don't hurt me!) and the like enjoy reading about running, it has come to my attention in the last three or so months, that there are in fact, more things that go on in a day than running. Shock horror, I know.

So this blog is intended to not bore you to tears with every easy run I write about, but to share some of the experiences that I have in my day to day task of working, running, criticizing food and beverages across the city of Perth (at times), spending $65 a week on massages (yes, they do hurt) and living my double life as a photographer. Hopefully more than 4 people read this blog (which accounts for all the staff members at The Running Centre ), and you too can be amused by the things that a 23 year old (almost) kid gets up to.

So where to start?

I guess the best place to start is with yesterday. Yesterday marked the first time that I felt like I belonged in a 1500m race. For those who don't know me, I prefer to stay away from anything shorter than 5km, my midget like legs don't travel too fast over anything less. However, up against the power of in form athletes such as Marc See (3:48) and Sam McIntee (3:50), I came away from the race with a credible 3:51.4 (as clocked by my coach, the infamous Wombat Warrior - more to come on him at a later date)

So where did this 3:51 come from, after wallowing around with times 4 seconds slower for the past two seasons? I think part of the reason has to do with this.

Never before has WA athletics had such a great canvas for the athletes to paint on. From the local talents of Ben Offereins (400m) , Felipe de Castro Cruz (400mH), Marc See (1500m) and Ethan Heywood (5000m/XC) to the new locals such as Patrick Johnson (100m), runners are producing PB's at an alarming rate. This track is possibly the new swimsuit that WA athletes had been waiting for. The 1500m race was magic, 7.40pm, under lights, not much wind. I can only imagine how many complaining eastern staters will come away from the National Athletics Championships (April 16-18) happy.

The aftermath of a great race? A hard session the next morning! I started it off with some toast and a coffee from the great people in at Elixir Coffee Specialists at Nedlands - if you are ever near Chelsea Village, pop in and talk to the Sports Mad Justin, the walking canvas Jonny or the rose amongst two thorns, Gemma, and enjoy what I think is the best coffee in Perth. After all, this is my blog, and I would know!

The session was 6x800m reps up the Vistas in Kings Park. Sure. With 30km/h winds, and my body finally catching up with me, 10 x 300's were run instead, with a 20min warm up and warm down. The legs are still a bit shot, but come tomorrow, all will be fine. Hopefully moreso on April 16!