Why I'm late for training

I'm not talking about Speedygeese training - I usually on arrive on Monday afternoons with a few minutes to spare. I'm talking about the training I do on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Calwell. If I arrive 5 minutes late, I get to warm-up by myself, or maybe with Karen, who is equally happy jogging slowly.

If I arrive on time, I might have to warm-up with Kathy (pictured here) and the speedy teenagers. This is sometimes stressful, as Kathy only knows one way to run - fast. I mean, she ran 38:21 in the Canberra Times 10k and she's older than me! I think she inherited some talent from her son and daughter. Her son was able to do no running for months, then come to training for a couple of weeks and run under 2 minutes for 800 metres. Her daughter is one of the best young steeplechasers in the ACT.

Yes, I'm happy to have a reputation for tardiness. Much better than the daunting thought of going for a warm-up at half marathon race pace!

The sacrifices we make!

Speedygeoff is off on an 1,100k road trip to Adelaide to run in a 5000 metre race. Didn't anybody tell him he could run one of those out at the AIS track?

I was thinking about the sacrifices we runners make in the pursuit of our sport. For instance, today I was only able to squeeze in a 10k run, before a lunch date at Tosolinis with four young ladies. Yes, four! Perhaps you can guess who they were? One offered to kick me in the shin with her good leg, after a joke I made at her expense. One is blonde, wears red leather and Greek jewellery. Two were from Brisbane.

It was Grand Final day, but it hardly crossed my mind. OK... 1.30 lunch, out of there by 3, home 40 minutes later to catch the second half. Nup, didn't happen. What is it with females and three hour lunches? What did I do wrong? Probably ordering the Field Mushrooms - all three of them. Red leather girl then took pity on me and we ordered dessert and more coffee. Tiramisu! I wondered if this would give me an 'up arrow' for the weekly weigh-in. Anyway, it was a great lunch with great company. Who cares about footy?

It was only Geelong v Port Adelaide. Lee Troop's team against the second-best team in the competition and the best team from Adelaide. The Cats won by 119 points! It would have been totally boring after the first quarter. I wonder if the second-best team from Adelaide would have done any better? At least one of the Speedygeese would have been happy. He was only knee-high to a grasshopper when Geelong won their last flag in 1963. A pity you missed out on the draw for Grand Final tickets Mick. You can finally dust off the old jumper and wear it to training on Monday night.

Wogger on Blogger

Thursday training report. We did the inverse of last week's pyramid session; Strewth's blog summarises it best! Running were Alistair, Colin, David, me, Kathy, Ken, Margaret, Maria, Matthew, Mick, Rod, Ruth, Tim and Tony. Maria and I ran a solid 8.5k early; the rest belted around the track in the rapidly cooling conditions.

North Lyneham training: I might start up a new training session at North Lyneham on Fridays; after daylight saving begins, i.e. starting on Friday 2 November. These would be at 5:30pm and go for two months; in January we would probably move back to Aranda Saturday mornings instead. Are there any takers for North Lyneham? If there are enough people who would come regularly, it will happen.

We did try Tuesdays some years ago but Monday + Tuesday intervals was not a good idea. But when we tried Pinnacle on Fridays one year, after track Thursdays, that worked quite well. I think North Lyneham late Friday would work well if Monday’s session were short and quick, Friday’s session longer and slower, more of a recovery session from Thursday.

Training Group Dinner
There will be a group dinner on Monday 22 October, at 7pm, instead of training. The location will be the Two Sisters Lao Thai restaurant at Dickson. Please get in touch via email and tell me if wish to come to the dinner, I do need precise numbers. It is the day after the Brindabella Classic so we could all run that instead of training hard the next day.

A Game. Wogger is a great game, a little different from others, try it and you will soon get the hang of it; at each step there are only one or two places you can click to get something to happen, and if you click the “wrong” spot, you don’t have to undo or restart anything. It’s engrossing. When a game “chapter” finishes, and the chapters are quite short, it displays “End of …” and you can click on the next chapter link to proceed. The number of chapters seems endless; I am up to chapter 25.

Keep on stretching

Stretch 5 Quadriceps: Lie on your side with your knees against your chest and your head on the ground. Slide your bottom arm under the thigh of your bottom leg and place your hand around the outside of your foot. Grasp the shin of your upper leg with your upper hand. Move your upper leg back as far as you can.

Countdown to Track

Happy Birthday Aki. 25 years young, tomorrow! Only five more years and you're a Veteran!

Veterans' Track Program, first night, Thursday 18 October:
As well as throws and jumps, we have

Time	Track Event
6:00pm	1000m walk
6:20pm	sprint hurdles
6:30pm	1500m
7:00pm	100m
7:15pm	3000m (GM)
7:35pm	400m
8:00pm	4x100m, 2x200m relay
8:15pm	spiral 4

See http://www.actvac.com.au/Track/Prog2.htm for more information.

Keep on stretching

Stretch 4 Hip Abductors: Place your foot into the loop of a rope. Wrap it around the outside of your ankle. Rotate the leg outward and the other leg inward slightly. Lock your knee. Extend your leg across the midline of your body, leading with your heel.

At yesterday’s BBQ Stakes I ran 25.55 and Helen 27.18. Helen was over a minute faster than last week. My time was my fastest since 16 May. My next race is the 5000m track on 8 October at the Australasian Masters Games in Adelaide. Originally hoping to break 19 minutes, I think I have regained enough form to break 21. It could have been a lot worse.

First day of new training program a rest day! That is the way to organise it! I have got myself a new training program starting Friday 19 October. The first day is a rest day, but I will be trying out a new gym on that day.

Meanwhile Ken will be looking after Speedygeese training while I am away. And Ewen the blog, although I will still be posting fairly regularly I hope. After my return on 18 October, I will be introducing brand new training sessions at Parliament house Mondays, with track racing starting up on Thursdays. And as daylight saving arrives, at last.

And if you missed Allrounder on the television news last night, there's a photo and an article in today's Canberra Times newspaper.

My most recent music purchases, for listening to on my new car CD player as I drive across the Hay plains in the next few days:

Duathlon Gold

Stretch 3 Hip Adductors:
Place one foot inside the loop of a rope. Wrap it around the inside of the ankle. Lock your knee, rotate your leg inward. Extend your leg out to the side of your body, leading with your heel. Complete one set. Repeat leading with your toe.

Congratulations to our 2007 Australian and ACT Duathlon Champions
Sunday 23 September, 2007 at the new Stromlo Forest Park.
Caroline Campbell - first ACT, first Australian in her age group
David Baussmann - first ACT, third Australian in his age group.

Pick an event. Track season starts 18 October.
ACT Records as of 3 June 2007
800 Metres
M30 1.56.71e Vince Craig 2000
M35 1.55.9 Jeff King 2000
M40 1.57.6 Tony Murray 1988
M45 2.01.0 John Morton 2004
M50 2.05.9 Kevin Chamberlain 1997
M55 2.16.2 Kevin Chamberlain 2002
M60 2.21.82e Lindsay Hooper 1987
M65 2.41.2 Keith Perroux 1991
M70 2.51.9 Merv Collins 1996
M75 3.01.91e Rad Leovic 2005
M80 3.32.63e Merv Collins 2006
M85 4.24.84e Allan Sherriff 1999
W30 2.11.4 Stacey Quitzau 1993
W35 2.14.07e Jenny Brichacek 2003
W40 2.15.3 Elaine Cooper 2000
W45 2.30.41e Kathy Southgate 2005
W50 2.30.70e Kathy Southgate 2007
W55 2.47.03e Maureen Rossiter 2006
W60 3.04.83e Fran Harris 2003
W65 3.12.00e Cory Collins 2002
W70 3.40.54e Cory Collins 2007
W75 4.31.50e Norma Wallett 2006

1500 Metres
M30 3.58.7 Mark Silins 1995
M35 3.55.43e * Gerard Ryan 1996
M40 3.56.2 Tony Murray 1989
M45 4.12.0 Garry Hand 1991
M50 4.21.1 Kevin Chamberlain 1997
M55 4.39.4 Kevin Chamberlain 2002
M60 4.43.81e Lindsay Hooper 1987
M65 5.32.2 Keith Perroux 1991
M70 6.05.05e Merv Collins 1997
M75 6.58.38e Rad Leovic 2003
M80 9.34.4 Hal Dalheim 1998
M85 8.45.67e Allan Sherriff 1999
W30 4.27.4 Susan Hobson 1990
W35 4.33.0 Elaine Cooper 1995
W40 4.40.18e Jenny Brichacek 2006
W45 4.57.95e Kathy Southgate 2002
W50 5.02.76e Kathy Southgate 2006
W55 5.59.1 Anne Young 1991
W60 6.16.5 Anne Young 1996
W65 6.46.57e Anne Young 2001
W70 7.50.92e Anne Young 2005
W75 8.15.43e Norma Wallett 2006

3000 Metres
M30 8.54.3 Colin Neave 1992
M35 8.47.3 * Geoff Moore 1984
M40 8.36.0 * Tony Murray 1987
M45 9.07.4 Frank Green 1985
M50 9.46.9 Bernie Millett 1992
M55 10.15.0 Bernie Millett 1997
M60 10.36.0 Peter Kallio 1997
M65 11.43.8 Peter Kallio 2006
M70 12.39.0 Michael Freer 2000
M75 14.23.0 Hal Dalheim 1994
M80 17.44.97e Keith Perroux 2006
W30 9.05.93e * Susan Hobson 1989
W35 9.51.0 Elaine Cooper 1995
W40 9.54.0 * Elaine Cooper 2000
W45 10.44.81e Kathy Southgate 2002
W50 10.44.82e Kathy Southgate 2007
W55 12.31.0 Anne Young 1993
W60 13.03.0 Anne Young 1996
W65 14.15.0 * Anne Young 2002
W70 16.23.14e Anne Young 2005

5000 Metres
M30 15.17.0 Danny O'Dea 1991
M35 14.36.8 * Garry Hand 1985
M40 14.51.4 Garry Hand 1987
M45 15.44.5 Frank Green 1985
M50 16.49.0e Trevor Jacobs 2002
M55 17.28.0 Bernie Millett 1997
M60 17.59.2 Peter Kallio 1997
M65 20.40.0 Michael Freer 1995
M70 22.22.0 Michael Freer 2001
M75 25.18.0 Hal Dalheim 1995
M80 31.44.7 Allan Sherriff 1997
M85 29.28.88e Allan Sherriff 2001
W30 16.25.7 * Susan Hobson 1989
W35 17.08.7 Elaine Cooper 1995
W40 17.28.22e Elaine Cooper 2001
W45 18.40.0 Kathy Southgate 2005
W50 18.27.97e Kathy Southgate 2007
W55 21.21.0 Anne Young 1992
W60 22.32.0 Anne Young 1995
W65 23.57.78e Anne Young 2002
W70 27.45.69e Anne Young 2005

10000 Metres
M30 32.32.0 Anthony Perry 1996
M35 30.13.5 Garry Hand 1985
M40 30.33.1 Garry Hand 1987
M45 32.25.0 Garry Hand 1991
M50 35.02.0 Bernie Millett 1991
M55 36.14.87e Trevor Jacobs 2007
M60 37.43.0 Peter Kallio 1996
M65 40.54.9 Peter Kallio 2005
M70 44.27.0 Michael Freer 2000
M75 52.33.0 Hal Dalheim 1995
W30 32.54.92e Susan Hobson 1990
W35 36.03.3 Annette Perkins 1984
W40 37.56.0 Mary Ann Busteed 1991
W45 38.23.0 Kathy Southgate 2002
W50 39.07.42e Kathy Southgate 2006
W55 44.12.0 Anne Young 1991
W60 46.18.0 Anne Young 1996
W65 49.56.0 Anne Young 2001
W70 60.49.12e Anne Young 2006

*=Australian record
red=speedygeese

Gwen, Margaret, and Ron

Look carefully, a 50-run T-shirt can be helpful in identifying runners, particularly when twins are involved.

Chicken flashback

At Speedy Geese Training on Monday were Adam, Alan, Cathy, Colin, Emma, Ewen, me, Helen, Kathy, Katie, Kelley, Ken, Maria, Mick, Neil, Ruth and Sonia. We returned to one of our 100m hills and ran 20 sprints up and jogs down, restarting each 90 seconds.

Keep on stretching
Stretch 2. Hamstring: Lying with one leg bent, one straight, place your foot into the loop of a stretching rope. Lift your leg as far as you can. Grasp the ends of the rope with both hands and "climb" up it, hand over hand, as your leg lifts. Repeat several times.

From Ken Eynon:
The National Capital Authority (NCA) has a draft brochure in print at the moment called 'Lake Burley Griffin and Surrounding Parklands'. The brochure is a guide to the recreational activities and areas in and around Lake Burley Griffin. I have seen a copy of this brochure being a ACTCCC representative on the 'NCA Lake Users Group.' I expect that the NCA want to brochure out in the public domain very quick hence this email.
In my humble opinion the brochure is excellent although I do have a few gripes. I have mentioned these to the NCA, but fear that they might ignore them anyway. The brochure mentions some clubs (not running, walking or triathlon etc) and I feel that this is unfair. This is another matter and not as important as below.
My main beef is that the recreational trails around the lake that we all like to run on, are called 'Cycle Path' on the brochure. If my memory serves me correctly these were originally called 'Recreational Trails' and somehow over the years the name has changed to 'Bike or Cycle Path' As these recreational trails in my mind are not only for cycling, I am suggesting that runners and walkers contact the NCA ASAP and suggest that the name be changed to 'Recreational Trails' as they are a shared facility and not solely for bike riders.
The NCA contact is Tanya Boulter email tanya.boulter at natcap.gov.au or phone 6272 2978. If you do have the time get yourself a copy of the brochure and provide comments as you see fit.

Monday Monitor

My training progress
last week's target: 82k
achieved: 80k
year total to date: 2,977k in 38 weeks
this week’s target: 80k
weight: 65.5kg ▼

I thought I ran pretty slowly on Sunday - I trotted down the hills, struggled up them - but it was as quick as I have run for a while, I ran the same time as I did on this course last year, and surprisingly I had the best AST% in the training group for either course. But the fact that it felt slow is probably a good thing; so I am waiting for a run to feel fast.

I might even take up stretching to see if that helps. Or; I owe it to the training group to do some personal research on whether stretching helps after running forever.

Stretch 1 pelvic tilt: Lie down on your back with both knees bent. Place your hands behind your knees. Lift your legs toward your chest. Gently assist with your hands; don't pull. Only hold for a very short time; Repeat several times.

song of the week: “All Day and All of the Night”, by The Kinks.
Evermore also have an excellent version of this song, on their "Light Surrounding You" single. I have added the Kinks' version to the blog playlist...

Our House


(This is a reversal; here J cooks, I clean)

Today's ACTVAC Handicap results

Speedy geese at today's ACTVAC Handicap races:
Parkway 8k

Place	Name	Time	AST%
1	Alan Duus M60	40:53	69.9
4	Kelley Flood W45	37:21	74.2
25	Roger Pilkington M45	34:41	73.6
34	Barbara Tucker W55	46:16	69.5
36	Helen Larmour W45	35:44	80.3
41	Maria O'Reilly W50	35:51	84.4
42	Ruth Baussmann W55	44:22	71.7
47	Kathy Sims W55	39:33	79.5
49	Rod Lynch M45	31:09	81.4
50	Colin Farlow M45	31:52	78.6
53	Christopher Lang M55	42:31	64.4
58	Margaret McSpadden W60	46:11	71.2
61	Richard Faulks M45	32:52	77.6
63	Mick Horan M45	35:02	72.8
66	Charmaine Knobel W55	40:53	76.1
75	Geoff Barker M60	42:01	68.5
76	Geoff Sims M55	42:03	67.1
81	Peter Hogan M60	43:23	65.6
91	Peter McDonald M50	41:58	63.9

Parkway 4k

Place	Name	Time	AST%
13	Ken White M50	16:11	82.2
16	Cathy Montalto W55	20.18	76.8
21	Geoff Moore M55	16:30	84.7
23	Katie Forestier W40	16:38	81.0
35	Maureen Rossiter W55	22:24	70.7
37	Gary Bowen M50	17:46	73.3
44	Neil Boden M55	19:58	68.8

Last Month:

Speedy Gosling Rachelle at the August Vets Handicap.

Who Reads This? Search Me.

The last four searches have been for "Canberra Times Fun Run Results." My advice is, buy last Thursday's paper; the Canberra Times are after newspaper sales, not internet hits.

Prior to that, "running action flailing legs". My advice is, wait on, Aki is a contributor, I will get her to write the definitive story. No Ewen, it wasn't Aki submitting the search, its source was the UK.

And "snow patrol final straw". Of course. Now if only I had gone to the Powderfinger Silverchair concert and written that up. OK, I have. A big tent in Canberra's cold did not appeal. Though I do like the old Powderfinger, a bit.

Then another half a dozen folk looking for Fun Run times. (OK, the winner broke 30 minutes but not the course record, it was Brett Cartwright, no one in Canberra knows him that well, but he has lived here for some years, he trains alone.) Happy?

A "running time chart". I get that one regularly. Happy to oblige. It's linked from the side-bar.

No "Nic Bideau" or "Craig Mottram" in the last 100 hits / 2 days. I get that one regularly as well. But how many more would there be if Craig had won "that" race, heh? By the way, I noticed on Cool Running heaps of criticism of Nic and his training methods. Oh yeah, who else in the western world has achieved what Nic has with Craig, eh? Boo to all critics, that's what I say. It's a very unpleasant and well documented Australian trait - the tall poppy syndrome. Craig was in the race. Where were you?

No strange and unusual hits in the last two days. They are not all that uncommon though. One reason the search engines find me is that I update this every day. The other reason is that I know a lot of words. (That's an attempt at humour, by the way).

So name-dropping Rob de Castella and mentioning that he finished the Fun Run may attract some interest. More likely though is that people will want to know "how to train for the 800m", or "how to stretch". I might write something on "how not to stretch" though, and they still find me.

My grand-daughter Kayleigh blitzing the competition on the beam in the NSW state gymnastics championships.

FOOTNOTES
1. The Vets Handicap tomorrow is at the old Deeks Forest start point, on Uriarra Road near its intersection with Cotter Road. Long course is 8k, short course 4k. Anyone aged 30 and over can run.

2. Yes it's a week early. That was in case anyone wanted to go in a throwing competition next weekend and would have missed the handicap. (How likely would that be?!)

3. Next year a new policy comes into force which will see all Vets handicaps run on the last Sunday of the month, with very few exceptions (e.g. if that would clash with Easter). Hurray!

Recovery

Thursday training saw Al, Anna, Barbara, Bronwyn, Colin, Geoff B, me, Jacqui, Joel, Ken, Maria, Matthew, Tim, Tony, and Yelena run a simple pyramid of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 100, 80, 60, 40 and 20 seconds with a jog of the same duration before each sprint. A good session on a cool and humid night.

At the BBQ Stakes on Wednesday Roger ran 27:23, I ran 27:27, and Helen 28.33. Roger hadn’t run the CTFR but Helen & I were still in recovery mode. That’s my excuse anyway.

Sarah ran her first ever 10k in Sunday's Fun Run.

My ten favourite songs of all time are currently

1	Run	Snow Patrol	Final Straw
2	Yesterdays	Switchfoot	Oh! Gravity
3	Storm	Lifehouse	Who We Are
4	Remyxomatosis	Radiohead	Com Lag (2+2=5)
5	Make This Go On Forever	Snow Patrol	Eyes Open
6	Recovery	Graeme Hush	Home
7	Chocolate	Snow Patrol	Final Straw
8	Stop Whispering	Radiohead	Pablo Honey
9	[*Fin]	Anberlin	Cities
10	Shut Your Eyes	Snow Patrol	Eyes Open

I list these because today I plan to purchase a CD player for the car for the first time. Hurrah! Ready for the Adelaide holiday. (I hope the installation is trouble free!)

The Last Word
And (from Wikipedia) "Veldhoven is a municipality and a town on the Gender stream in the southern Netherlands, located just southwest of Eindhoven." So now you know.

Canberra Times Fun Run Results

Team Results: The three Speedy Geese teams, Speedy Chicks, Silly Geese, and Slow Geese, won easily their age categories.

Individual Results: with Wild Geese (those currently flying) in red, and Domestic Geese (those who have flown with us in the past and may yet return to the formation) in purple, and Ducks (friends of the geese, or "just because") in blue:

Place	Name	Time
58	Kathy Southgate	38.21	W50-59 first
97	Peter Cullen	40.05
107	Richard Faulks	40.26
119	John Kennedy	40.43
143	John Morton	41.25
149	Christine Pauling	41.35
154	Ken White	41.44
160	Emma Adams	41.51
171	David Webster	42.08
173	Geoff Moore	42.12
179	Katie Forestier	42.19
206	Sonia Veldhoven	43.00
216	Maria O’Reilly	43.14
223	Helen Larmour	43.22
235	Jim White	43.33
238	Bob Harlow	43.38	M60-69 first
260	Gary Bowen	44.08
280	Debbie Cowell	44.31
285	Michelle Wells	44.35
299	Mark Kethro	44.49
325	Kerrie Tanner	45.16
351	Ewen Thompson	45.43
514	Tony Booth	47.50
515	Peter McDonald	47.50
518	Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee	47.52
540	David Baussmann	48.11
564	Robert de Castella	48.29
590	Keith Bradley	48.45
608	Kathy Sims	48.59
614	Geoff Barker	49.02
640	Gabrielle Brown	49.15
641	Adam Robinson	49.15
651	Barbara Williams	49.31	W60-69 first
678	Rae Palmer	49.51
717	Roy Jones	50.27
721	Caroline Campbell	50.29
747	Mary Ann Busteed	50.47
788	Diana Schneider	51.16
789	Christopher Lang	51.17
791	Sarah Pau	51.18
822	Cathy Montalto	51.40
869	Peter Hogan	52.09
873	Cate Winning	52.11
...	Geoff Sims	52.20
886	Vanessa Palmer	52.30
892	Michael Thomson	52.33
981	Michael Freer	53.43
1037	Ruth Baussmann	54.31
1097	Clare Gunning	55.14
1117	Margaret McSpadden	55.31
1148	Doug Fry	55.56
1213	Graeme Small	56.42
1256	Maureen Rossiter	57.27
1272	Barbara Tucker	57.40
1480	Michael Roche	61.22

I will have missed some people - so in particular if you the reader ran and are missing, but also if your close friend/ running mate/ child/ grandchild etc. ran, I want to add their name too. Or anyone else you think I might like to add.

As far as I can tell, the timing chips were a great success.

Congratulations to all who ran (2230 official finishers in the 10k, 1729 in the 5k "walk", and many more late entrants not included in the results). See you next year!

Fitter and Faster and Further

Please Stand By
I have come across, via one of my “running writing” links (Vanilla of “Half-Fast”), an article from Runners World on the “180 strides per minute” story. Which supports everything I said. Although, they reckon you can increase your stride rate by running some downhill intervals. Well, yes, but you need to do something which increases your stride rate on the flat and uphill as well. Downhill intervals would have a role in teaching the muscles to move faster. But practise up and down hill. They also reckon you should pump your arms a little faster and your legs will follow. That’s dead right! And on the topic of tempo, cadence, 180 steps, please stand by, I will be publishing my “How To Run Faster and Further” article very soon!

Canberra Times Fun Run
Results will be out tomorrow! (Go the Geese!)

Fast Rae

Rae "Are YOU Really 60?" Palmer running the half marathon. Getting FITter and faster, she ran a good Canberra Times Fun Run on Sunday.

In a bunch, in a bunch.

Monday Night at Parliament House saw sore Fun Runners consolidate their aches by running four intervals over 730m with a 350m jog recovery in teams of two. It is nearly light enough by the end of the session at 6:30pm to still see. If only daylight saving were to start early; I think it starts on 28 October this year, but everyone disagrees with me. I think it ends on 6 April next year, one week later than it used to, and I think it starts on the first Sunday in October next year, not this. But because everyone else thinks it starts early this year, I need someone who really knows, to tell me the correct dates. I will be very happy to say "I was wrong"!

Running last night were Alan, Cathy, Charmaine, Christopher, Colin, Emma, Ewen, me, Helen, Joel, Kathy, Katie, Kelley, Ken, Neil, Rachelle, Ruth, Sonia, and Yelena. Welcome new starter Kelley, our first PCRG ("Pat Carroll Running Group") recruit!

Peter's return to racing

Peter Hogan running the half marathon recently.

Peter's the one with the hat and the chest number. He ran in Sunday's CTFR, and seemed to be going quite well.

Monday Morning Monitor. Still not Summer.

"A winner is someone who sets their goals, commits themselves to those goals and then pursues their goals with all the ability that is given to them. That requires someone who believes in themselves, who will make self sacrifices, work hard, and maintain the determination to perform at the best of their ability."

My training progress
last week's target: 80k
achieved: 79k
year total to date: 2,897k in 37 weeks
this week’s target: 82k
weight: 66kg ►◄
song of the week: “Shut Your Eyes”, by Snow Patrol, from “Eyes Open.”

Shut your eyes and think of somewhere
Somewhere cold and caked in snow...


And today is forecast to be 12. Not quite snow, but feels like it. The wind is up, the grey clouds are approaching. We certainly were fortunate to have great conditions for yesterday's Fun Run! Training is on as usual tonight at Parliament House whatever the weather. Outdoors if at all possible, so don't put the long sleeved tops in mothballs yet!

Happy Birthday Annette Sugden for tomorrow! Welcome to the W45s. How is your track form for relays this summer? I know certain other W45s who will be seeking you out for the odd 1500m or even 800m!

CTFR10kSGPBS

Preliminary report on the CTFR: Speedy chicks, geese and birds of all feathers did very well. I tried to run at 42 min pace and achieved it, only grinding to a crawl at 9k, and saw many other speedy geese on the way. I even saw Richard early on, who muttered "hamstring" before disappearing over the horizon. Running around 42 mins were Ken, Emma, myself, and Katie; around 43 mins Sonia, Maria, Helen and Gary. I didn't see Gary as he started at the back of the field giving the leaders about four minutes. Sounds like fun; if the results (with the new timing chips) fall into place, it's tempting to do the same next year.

Massive improvers were Emma, Sonia and Katie. Rachelle ran her first ever 10k and did very well too. All geese will get their names and official times recorded here once the results come out. Photos too. And I might list some "friends of the geese" as well. But I won't list a certain scantily clad gentleman who I passed at the 4k drink station..

Bonus Video: How LOTR should have ended:

Geese Find Fame. Fortune to Follow.

Today's Canberra Times (click to enlarge):



I know of three Speedy Geese teams in tomorrow's Canberra Times Fun Run, and there will be others running as individuals. Teams include

"The Speedy Chicks": Helen, Kerrie Tanner, Chris Pauling and Katie. A couple who are speedy and a couple who are chicks?

"The Three Slow Geese": Marg, Barb and Ruth. They must be running well, as Maria didn't make the team, though she is running too, and

"The Silly Geese": Ken, myself, Gary, David, Peter and Ewen. Five geese and a wombat who wishes he were a koala. Very silly because it is only three to count.

So remember, as I told the interviewer yesterday, geese call out to one another by honking as they are flying along.

More of the Chaser

If Cross Country were easy, it would be called football!

Taking up the Challenge



Thursday night training saw Al, Barbara, Bronwyn, Jacqui, Jodie, Joel, Kathy, Ken, Maria, Matthew, Rod, Ruth, Tim, Tony, Yelena and I enjoy six intervals over 400m with a lap jog, plus the usual warm up and cool down, on a balmy night. For many an easier session than usual. Sunday's 10k will be enough of a challenge this week!

Chaser
If you thought APEC was funny, watch this -



And a new video of the Moore grandsons (Jackson, Tyler and Charlie from Brisbane) is on my family blog.

Going The Distance

"Winning isn't always victory, losing isn't always defeat."

In yesterday's BBQ Stakes, I ran 25:58, another one minute improvement, approaching the times I was running earlier this year. Roger was 29:39, obviously not too well. Actually I didn't feel that flash either. Helen wasn't there, she would be getting the timing right for Sunday's 10k Fun Run, and Charlie wasn't there either, she is in Hong Kong and will miss Sunday's run.

Each year when the Canberra Times Fun Run is on, we seem to experience a change in the weather from Winter to Spring, overnight! We line up the start in blazing sunshine and unaccustomed warmth. It looks like a hot one again this year, if the forecasters have got it right! So make sure your fluid levels are up.

Hot weather means bigger fields. A welcome innovation this year is the chip tied to the shoe laces, meaning everyone gets accurate times. That will help at the start; if runners realise they don't have to be close to the front when the gun fires, it will be easier for everyone to get away at a sensible pace. Let's see if it works like that?

I am looking forward to Sunday but a fast start would be disastrous. If I feel like I did at just the 1k mark of the BBQ Stakes yesterday, and that k was only 4:15, I don't think I will make the distance.

Plum blossoms in our driveway at home herald warmer weather.

Shut Your Eyes and Sing To Me

Snow Patrol at Monday night's concert. A sensational 90 minutes.

Speedygoose, gander and two goslings were at the Snow Patrol concert as well as us, as you may have discovered from the Cbox entries. And Speedygoose spotted Jenny and I across the crowded room and came over and said hello. She has very good eyesight for a goose; I could barely see them at that distance and certainly wouldn't have recognised them. Not sure about your band recognition though, hey Sg?

SpeedyKen took training on Monday night at Parliament House while we were at the concert. Present were Emma, Adam, Alan, Helen, Ewen, Sonia, Ruth, Cathy M, Joel, Yelena, and Ken. The girls were in mean form and Joel saved his best for the last like a good sprinter!

Thought for the CTFR: "Anyone can run 100 meters. . . . It's the next 9,900 that count!"

Like Saturn's rings/An icy loop around me/Too hard to hold

Riccionne: a speedy goose at the World Masters Athletics Championships - Kevin Chamberlain in the M60 800m:

Heat 2: 7th in 2:30.23, qualified for the semi finals.

Semifinal 2: 8th in 2:24.70. There were less than 3 seconds between first and eighth; Kevin qualified last as the 12th fastest; beating the 13th fastest (5th place in the other semifinal) by 0.1 seconds.

Final: 9th in 2:23.44. Only 1.4 seconds outside Lindsay Hooper's ACT M60 record.


Snow Patrol
Five stars out of five for every song played last night by Snow Patrol. An awesome concert. Jenny and I had perfect seats, the best in the house - top row, in a dead straight line to the stage. Every word was audible, every song had its unique light show, the band was firing on all cylinders.

Playlist
1. Hands Open (b)
2. Chocolate (a)
3. It's Beginning To Get To Me (b)
4. Headlights On Dark Roads (b)
5. Signal Fire (c)
6. Grazed Knees (a)
7. How To Be Dead (a)
8. Tiny Little Fractures (a)
9. Spitting Games (a)
10. Chasing Cars (b)
11. Shut Your Eyes (b)
12. Make This Go On Forever (b)
13. Set The Fire To The Third Bar (b)
14. Run (a)
15. The Finish Line (b)
16. Open Your Eyes (b)
17. You're All I Have (b)

(a) Album 3 - Final Straw (2004)
(b) Album 4 - Eyes Open (2006)
(c) Spiderman 3 soundtrack

Interesting - for all but a couple of songs, the arrangements were bar-by-bar identical to their recordings.
Interesting - not one song was played from their first two albums. This is justifiable, albums three and four are superior, and much better known.
Interesting - every song they played, bar one, is on my MP3 player running play list. The exception was "The Finish Line". ("There is no finish line" - right?) But "The Finish Line" was haunting, eerie, ghost-like, great.

"Run" is my favourite song by anybody. Not well known by the audience. In fact, their third album "Final Straw" was not well known, but their fourth album "Eyes Open" was. In my view, both albums are as good as each other.

Light and colour throughout were excellent, and varied from song to song. There were beautiful falling-snow images for "Chasing Cars", for example. Sensational.

Other highlights were the brilliant harmonies of "Make This Go On Forever". And the fact that they sang "Third Bar", which I did not expect to be included, but they had a female who was just as good as Martha Wainwright join them from the support band.

I could go on and on. Variety, intensity, passion, creativity were all on display. It was just brilliant.

The original Nike ad.

I Am Speed

"While running, it is considered rude to count the people you pass out loud."



Monday Morning Monitor
My training progress
last week's target: 80k
achieved: 82k
year total to date: 2,818k in 36 weeks
this week’s target: 80k
weight: 66kg ►◄
song of the week: “Here Without You”, by 3 Doors Down.

It was an OK week running wise, stressful other wise, so thank you Flashduck for cheering me up when I bumped into you at Jammo. It's amazing what a difference a smiling face will make. Coming up this week, all being well, I will hammer out the BBQ Stakes on Wednesday, then try and outfly the rest of you geese at the Canberra Times Fun Run on Sunday over 10k. Anything could happen and it probably will. There are Speedy Geese Teams: we M50-59s are entered as the "Silly Geese". Fly Goose Fly!

Live Music
I have been to some good concerts over the years. The very best of the best include: The Beatles in 1964 at Centennial Hall, Adelaide. Also at Centennial Hall at other concerts The Rolling Stones, where they introduced their new song "Little Red Rooster", The Who, playing "My Generation" and doing the guitar smashing thing, Roy Orbison, a stand-and-deliver performance of hit after hit with his voice doing all the entertaining under a simple spotlight. At Thebarton, brilliant was Eric Burdon and the Animals, the best jazz improvisation I have seen; later at the Canberra theatre, Donovan, and at the AIS Indoor arena, Mental As Anything were sensational, great musicians and entertainers, as, surprisingly at the time, were the Cockroaches, who later morphed into the Wiggles and made their fortune as children's entertainers, and the Eurythmics was another awesome concert there. At the outdoor stadium, Dire Straits stands out.

Chasing Cars
There were many other concerts ranging from good to not so good. Tonight for the first time for a while I attend a live concert: Snow Patrol at the AIS indoor arena. I will tell you how it goes.

If I enjoy it I might just see Evermore, and Switchfoot, who are rumoured to be playing here later this year (not together!)

Catching Caroline

Speedy Self, Allrounder, and Ewen, making a last ditch effort to catch Caroline, in the ACTVAC Half Marathon. Photo by Ken.

Speedy Gosling wins award

"Dedication and commitment are what transfer dreams into realities."

Aki received a phone call yesterday from the cross country club. She has been voted in as the most improved female runner for this season past. And will be receiving an award. See her blog. Congratulations!

It's all happening at the Zoo.

We met at the Zoo today for our long run. An excellent choice of venue; should we make it a regular thing? And fine sunny weather.

Stretching
ACTVAC member Jack Thackray attended a stretching workshop recently he was impressed with. Their website (http://www.proconditioning.com.au/) shows a range of stretching/rehabilitation and other exercises that might be of interest. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet.

“The long run puts the eagle in the chicken.”

“The long run puts the tiger in the cat.” - Bill Squires, coach

Yesterday's 15k included the Pinnacle peak, at 703m. I stopped and looked at the view. Wet. Then jogged past 100 kangaroos. They are very tame in that area. A few bunnies were out and about, too. And flocks of white cockatoos, on the moist ground, quiet for once, feeding. Very tranquil.



A game: A bark in the dark. #4 in the Bonte series: this one is not at all tricky.

Track: Will the track be ready in time in mid October? I will pass on ALL intelligence gathered. I really have no idea at the moment.

Sad news: From Friar: Local running identity Rad Leovic finished the Hamburg Triathlon in first place in his age group. Then when he got to the hotel to book in for the World Masters Athletics Championships, he was told his wife Christine was in hospital. She died two days after having a heart attack. Rad flew back to Australia, but his wife had already passed away. Her funeral will be held shortly. As announced at the Customs joggers run yesterday, there are highs and lows in life. Rad has experienced both in the past week.

Some people have no sense of humour

Namely, NSW police, and, as we know, all Americans.

These are the fake APEC passes Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello had on them. They carry the words "Insecurity", "Joke" and "It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass".



I wish could have been there. Hilarious.

Story here.

The Essence of Running

Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance …
you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh
reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast
quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin
beneath your feet.
But when you are through, exhilarated and exhausted,
at least for a moment everything seems right with the world…

Thursday training report
In teams of two we ran up to twelve x 330m each, with a 110m recovery jog. Runners were Alistair (new), Bronwyn (third week), Colin, Gary, Jacqui (new), Jodie (new), Joel, Katie, Ken, Margaret, Maria, Matthew, Peter, Rod, Ruth, Tim (second week). It’s great to welcome so many new people!

Stromlo Forest Park
The new groomed grass country circuit at Stromlo Forest Park will be ready to open on 2nd December 2007.
The ACT Government and the Chief Minister are keen to do this in early November and have allocated approximately $35,000 to support the opening event.
The full circuit comprises a 2.5 kilometre loop that can be cut back to 2k, 1.5k or 1k, thus enabling multiple laps covering all distances required for events.
It is proposed that the event will become an annual event, however the date may change to fit in with the local running calendar.
Proposed Event
It is suggested that the opening event will include four races and entry for each will be free, with a voluntary gold coin donation to Hartley Life care.

Schools 2.5k cross country - one full lap.

2 x invitational 8k elite cross country races for men and women 2 x 2.5k + 2 x 1.5k laps.

Five-kilometre charity cross country run & walk for the public (5k) 2 x 2.5k laps.

Schools 2.5k Cross Country
This event will be 2.5 kilometres and one full lap of the circuit. Both Primary and Secondary schools will be encouraged through school Term four to get together runners and the two Primary and two Secondary schools with the largest number of runners per head of their student population will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and $500.
de Castella Invitational 8k Cross Country
Australia’s elite athletes will be invited to compete in a men’s and women’s 8 kilometre cross country races. Prize money for the event will be $3,000, $1,500 and $500 and perpetual trophies will be created for the events.
Some athletes will receive travel and accommodation funding to attract a quality field.
Fields of between 50 and 100 athletes are anticipated in year one and strict qualifying times will apply. This is aimed at making entry something special that athletes would strive to achieve.
Qualifying for men’s race might be 10k = 31.30 min; 5k = 14.30, women’s 10k = 41.30 min; 5k = 17.00 min.
Charity Celebrity & Community Cross Country 5k Walk & Run
A public event that is open to all, including families, kids and walkers will be held just prior to the invitational cross-country races. The event will comprise two laps of the full 2.5 Kilometre course.
A selected charity will be supported and funds from car parking, and other sources will be donated to the charity.
The benefiting charity will be Hartley Life Care. It is hoped that they will assist with some volunteers and can sell sausages etc
Local celebrates and politicians will lead the walk.
Aerial photos and maps of the course can be downloaded from http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/~vsj110/Stromlo/StromloParkaerial%20shot.JPG and http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/~vsj110/Stromlo/Stromlo%20map.jpg
Further information will be available on the ACTCC website closer to the event at http://www.canberrarunner.com.au/


Charmaine being chased.

Running at three steps per second

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

Just lately, I have been hearing stories of runners trying out my "three steps per second" recommendation and finding that it works. Two of the testimonies:

Helen is currently among the fastest women running the monthly 6k "Jogalong". She has run about 40 of them and this month managed to improve her race pb by twenty seconds, while focusing on maintaining 3 steps per second the whole way.

Phill is currently not among the fastest men running the weekly 6k BBQ Stakes. Yesterday he tried keeping three steps per second going for the whole distance, managed it, and “out of the blue” ran a twenty second pb. Phill has run about 70 of these races.

It’s worth trying. While many runners will already have learned how to run very efficiently and won’t benefit, many other runners, particularly those who take long strides, will definitely improve.

See my article "How to run Faster" in the September 2007 edition of Vetrunner, or you can read a short version here. Because of the interest, I will publish the full article here in due course.

Yesterday's BBQ Stakes times:
A better run from each of us than we managed last week. I am slowly improving again.
Helen ran 26.48
I ran 26:57
Roger 28:11
I should point out the start is handicapped & we do not run together!

Weighty problem
See what getting a hamstring injury & not being able to run, does to my weight! Dear, oh, dear.


Maria running Cross Country in the ACT.

Maria already runs with short quick steps. And runs very fast. And enjoys very high AST%s.

Drink Station Alternative

Water? Batteries? or... Ice Cream!



Margaret finishing a track race

How to run on a full stomach

Don’t.

Footy Finals Week One

Fri 7:50pm Power v Eagles

Sat 2:30pm Hawks v Crows

Sat 7:30pm Pies v Swans

Sun 2:45pm Cats v Roos

If my analysis is correct, we (Crows) want Port to win (for once) over the Eagles so we can play Port "away" in the preliminary final should we beat Hawthorn and (presumably) the Kangaroos first! It's well set up for the Crows to make the grand final from eighth, as we wouldn't have to travel to Perth to play the Eagles or to Sydney to play the Swans. If Port DO lose to the Eagles it would make it very difficult. But Port have a very big incentive to win, because losing would mean Port would have to get past both Geelong AND Sydney to make the Grand Final.

Monday Training
We conducted a two person zig-zag relay, 12 intervals each x 260m. Participating were Adam, Amanda, Annette, Christopher, Emma, Ewen, Geoff B, Helen, Joel, Kathy, Katie, Ken, Margaret, Maria, Rachelle, Ruth, Sonia, Yelena, and a surprise, Cathy M: welcome back Cathy! Most are over their winter colds, and a talking point was the number of break through runs at the Jogalong on Sunday.

Flat Patch

My training progress
last week's target: 100k
achieved: 63k
year total to date: 2,736k in 35 weeks
this week’s target: 80k
weight: 66kg ▼
song of the week: “Blow Out”, by Radiohead, from “Pablo Honey”. I seem to like songs which build and gain momentum right to the end.

Going through a flat patch, I had no energy this week, I must be fighting off something. Lethargy from watching athletics each night, perchance? If so, this week will be better!

Saturday’s Cross Country Club Relays
Fifteen teams of four runners each ran a 3k cross country relay at Yarralumla, on a flat patch of ground but quite rough with large clumps of dry grass and much running and jumping, ducking and weaving. Only two geese ran, Ewen and Caroline. There were cones in all directions around the large oval area, meaning runners had to watch where they were going to stay on course. It was hilarious watching the few who were seriously navigationally-challenged repeatedly veering off in the wrong direction. And it was interesting to see not for the first time that certain runners always insist on doubling up in these relays, taking places in more than one team, when there are others missing out who might well come and run if asked. Sometimes we runners are too self focused and forget the team thing.

leg 2 – 8th of 15 -. Ewen Thompson M50 13:13
leg 3 – 14th of 15 - 14. Caroline Campbell W65 14:56

Sunday’s Jogalong
Some of the speediest geese are smashing their pbs. No wonder this gander cannot keep up in training any more! Incredible performances. And they probably all did a long run on Saturday morning, thus learning there is no need to ease off for most races.

Sonia Veldhoven W30 25:23 huge pb!
Maria O'Reilly W50 26:36
Amanda Walker W35 27:01 pb
Helen Larmour W45 26:27 pb
Caroline Campbell W65 30:57
Maureen Rossiter W55 33:10
Barbara Tucker W55 33:12
Margaret McSpadden W60 34:10
Emma Adams W35 25:15 [corrected] pb!
168 finishers

Let's show them who's boss!

25,000 doctors for one heart attack!
And there was an embarrassment of medical attention for a woman who collapsed at an international cardiology meeting in Vienna on Sunday. The woman was immediately reanimated by one of the 25,000 doctors present at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology… story here.

But Now I See

"Why is it that you only feel the thorns in your feet when you STOP running?" - from "Amazing Grace".

We went to see the movie "Amazing Grace" last night. Not only is it a surprisingly good movie with some great acting, it moved along at a fast pace (which is good for what looked like a "period costumer" set mostly indoors) and it contains a large number of quotable quotes and special insights. Recommended.

Rats
Before the movie I was hoping we would get to see a preview of "Ratatouille" but they didn't show it. Rats!

Are we there yet?
I didn't watch the jogalong this morning, I watched the women's marathon instead. Too hot! The large group hung on well, considering.

Crowing

World Athletics Championships
Remember on Sunday to watch on SBS at 8am Eastern Australian Time the Women's marathon, and at 8:30pm the men's 5000m featuring Craig Mottram.

Yes! As I said last week before the Brisbane game, The Crows were good enough to win three in a row and make the finals - with good wins against Brisbane and Collingwood in the last two rounds, we're ready to go further!