Celia Sullohern RT Journal: 6am Monday morning

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

Joggers in colour-coordinated brand-name outfits, shufflers in baggy souvenir race shirts from the 90s and long socks, young guns trailing iPod cords and pumped-up music… all strut their stuff in the early dawn light. I even had to queue to use the surf club toilets!

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