XCD endurance

16/11/2025

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY LOLA 🤩🥰

02/11/2025

This pic is from 4 weeks ago today. A lot has changed and not a lot has happened since then! 😅 numerous doctors appointments and more steroids than a female sub 2.10 marathoner!

My philosophy with training while sick is to not do it - particularly when it is affecting the chest. Normally that allows things to get back to normal in a few days but in this case, it meant 1 run in 11 days and having to pull out of Blackall 50. Weeks of the sinuses being too blocked to run, coughing fits and sleep even worse than normal! Still - i've seen numerous cases of runners getting pneumonia this year and that is not something I wanted to take a chance with.

New month now and hopefully 🤞🤞🤞about to get out and run my first run over 8km in 4 weeks. Things are still at best at around 80-85%, but hopefully it's onwards from here! Motivation is high and I really want to build towards something having not raced since Gold Coast Half in July!

20/10/2025

There is a saying I use with athletes quite often - "chase the dream rather than defend the expectation"

has an aura about it as one of the best Ultras in Australia, and that can add pressure to those with aspirations of getting on the podium or even winning. For .dom02 coming back as the 100km reigning champ and going into a strong 50km field also as the reigning 100km champ, there is always going to be expectation from others for them to do well. In these cases, it's so important to treat the following year as a new project, new race and new experience.

To watch have such a strong race for 2nd place in the 50km was so satisfying. I genuinely think this is a higher quality performance than his 100km win last year. He just had an opponent in who is flying right now. With UTK miler coming up, this would have been a great stimulus off a very short taper.

For .dom02, how exactly are you supposed to back up from winning by 1h40min last year!? We only decided 3-4 weeks out that racing the 100km again would be the plan as we could see that fitness levels were good. I never wanted to push this one as an option as not everyone wants to come back to 'defend' last years win. There was no checking the start list as it really wasn't going to achieve anything. To let the excited front few go early on (being in 10th after 8km) and not taking the lead until around halfway takes a confidence and a trust in managing your own effort. The winning gap of over 40min shows just how brutal the 2nd half of ultras can be!

Also a big shout out to finishing her first ever ultra in the 50km! She's put a lot of hard work in and it's worth it when you get to ring the finishers bell. Also to getting a solid 21km race in! Comiserations to having to DNF the 50km due to heat stress. Blackall is a brutal race and the bluff climb claimed another victim!

Despite not being well enough to race myself, it was special as a coach to see people out there grinding in the heat. Well done all!

17/10/2025

Sadly, I won't be starting the 50km at tomorrow 😔 what started as a 'bit of a cold' has pretty much stayed right where it is for nearly 2 weeks now!

Running a 50km over hills in the heat with 19 days notice is 'a bit of a challenge'. That challenge gets a touch harder when you have only ran 8km in the last 11 days!
Even with that, i'd have still backed myself to get through it if I had recovered, but unfortunately, I am still coughing up a lung and not able to smell anything! I tried a short run this afternoon with the very faint hope that it would feel okay and i'd go pick up my bib, but i'd be putting myself at risk and not truly respecting what is a tough race even when you are fit and well!

Looking forward to getting out there in coach mode and watching a few of my athletes. I'm not going to @ them and build hype after the success of last year because thats the last thing they need before they go to bed! We can celebrate them tomorrow 🤩

Good luck everyone!

04/10/2025

04/10/2025

Thank you for arranging a cracker of a morning!
A solid workout in the bank as I scrape together some hill work before 50km! 😅

21/08/2025

I want to talk 'heat' real quick 🔥

If used sensibly, using heat as an additional stimulus in training can provide a real boost to your training. This can be done passively (eg., sauna, spa bath) or actively (using a hot training environment or adding layers when training).

Benefits include:
🌡 Improved thermoregulation (vital for hot race prep).
💪 Improved plasma volume and, subsequently, better oxygen delivery to the working muscles.
🫀 Lower heart rate at a given work intensity.

Another way in which heat can be used to optimise training is to increase the aerobic challenge for a given workout.

For example, I currently need to spend more time on an exercise bike than I'd like due to a chronic back/nerve issue. I typically struggle to elevate my heart rate on the bike, so I have started to use clothing layers to elevate my heart rate (pictured). Ultimately, the absolute workload (wattage) doesn't matter to me, just the aerobic workload (heart rate response). This approach can work as a gentle introduction to heat training.

Whilst I may look like i'm having a mid-life crisis riding alone on a spin bike in a dark corner of the gym, it may well pay off when I can get my running volume back to where it needs to be! 😅

Do you have any 'hot tips' for heat training? If so, i'd love to hear them!

04/07/2025

Go time tomorrow! half for in the Australian Half Marathon Champs. The fitness is not in the realms of PB but it doesn't change the plan - give it everything and see where it takes me!

Excited to see how all my athletes go this weekend starting with in the half. We'll cover the marathon crew tomorrow

24/05/2025

Great morning out in Noosa!
Super proud of my athletes .hayeswoods and running new PBs 👏 and shout out to also in the half on domestique duties today 😅🤢🫥
Also want to shout out who was all set for a huge PB before gastro hit yesterday and couldn't even get on the plane down from Cairns 😬😮‍💨 the man is in shape and just needs a break to show it!

I was the 90 min pacer out there today and had a heap of fun!

Thanks for the 📸 😁