I will back Gary in November

Speedygeese results from Thursday night track:
400m
M55 Ken White 63.09 81.7%
M60 Garry Maher 65.14 82.2
W40 Amanda Walker 73.61 72.1 pb by 0.8 seconds
M70 Tony Booth 73.79 81.5 best time since 2004
W55 Noeline Burden 80.06 76.2

800m
M35 Troy Steinman 2:27.63 70.0%
W55 Kathy Sims 3:00.82 78.3
M70 Tony Booth 3:03.04 76.8
W30 Jodie Sims 3:06.58 60.7

3000m
M35 Troy Steinman 11:11.06 67.9%
W40 Katie Forestier 11:33.38 77.9 pb by 7.7 seconds
M50 Gary Bowen 11:40.22 73.0 pb by 4.3 seconds (run 4 years ago)
M55 Ken White 12:15.28 71.9
W50 Helen Larmour 12:40.01 77.4
M40 Craig Davis 13:25.62 58.2
W40 Amanda Walker 13:32.20 65.2
W30 Jodie Sims 14:42.95 57.0
W55 Ruth Baussmann 15:32.10 71.3
W60 Margaret McSpadden 16:58.96 68.1

O'Connor 8k Medallists

Troy Steinman. Will go back six groups but is still improving.

Put your money on Gary
In the Vets Handicap short course, Katie goes forward to group 38, I go forward to group 36, Ken goes back to group 38. But Gary Bowen goes forward to group 34. So after Gary's brilliant 3000m on Thursday, Gary should be viewed as the firm favourite for handicap honours in November.

Today's training at Stromlo
We ran 3x1k fast, a repeat of last week's session down the gravel cycle hill alongside Cotter Road, with a recovery jog back up. Troy ran 3:17, 3:06, 3:10; I ran 3:47, 3:46, 3:42; Janene 3:48, 3:47, 3:54 (? I think), and Tony I didn't get his times but cumulatively he was ten seconds quicker than he was last week.

We will keep meeting at 9:00am at Stromlo Forest Park on Saturdays.

Spring Races

Efficient Running
I am convinced that the fastest runs are even paced. But a breakneck first couple of laps didn't stop Katie (8 second pb) and Gary (4 second pb) from doing their best times in the 3000m last night, in perfect conditions. How much faster could they have run with a slower early pace?

Fabulous Form

Katie taking off at O'Connor Ridge. Her time there was one second faster than a certain rival's course pb - check out the "Frylink O'Connor Ridge 4k" course records, at http://www.actvac.com.au/DB3/handrec.php.

ACT Cross Country Club Spring Series races, Tuesdays at 6:15pm
(subject to change?)
3 November 5k Menindee Drive, Parkes – Melbourne Cup Day “Boathouse East”
10 November 5k Barrenjoey Drive - off Lady Denman Drive
17 November 5k Weston Park
24 November 5k Menindee Drive, Parkes – “Boathouse West”
1 December 5k Weston Park
I don’t know what course(s) the Weston Park races are; hopefully not on the main road.
The ACTCCC website says 6pm for some of the events but I am sure they are all supposed to start at 6:15pm
And 8 December Parliament House Relays, Enid Lyons Street, Parkes

Any ideas for a speedygeese Christmas function, say on Tuesday 8th December (or 15th if people want to run the relays)?

Here’s a nice version of “Yellow”, by Chris Martin (Coldplay).



Vista
On 15 August and 31 August I reported I could under no circumstances run PC updates, and my thumbnails were all corrupted. Nor could I “personalize” my desktop (US spelling!!) nor could I perform half the other control panel functions. This week I found a fix for the control panel; Microsoft finally published something which works; and hurrah, I can run Microsoft updates again. So last night I was able to install Vista SP2, and this fixed the thumbnails problem amongst other things. I have a usable system! (For how long?) And it can be "personalized" again.

I am a runner

It should be a hoot at track tonight: there is a smorgasbord of events to choose between late in the program, just when storms are predicted. Running in the rain is no problem but I am not so sure about lightning. See you there!

John Kennedy takes some brilliant photos: I don't know how Narelle decides which ones to publish in "Vetrunner" magazine, they are all so good. Here are two more excellent examples from O'Connor Ridge.

Geoff Barker. Pretty in pink but not as pretty as his two companions.

Two very good looking gentlemen, Gary and Ken, smiling (at this stage of the race... the start)

Do you want to be a runner? Perhaps you think you are not good enough. But guess what, to be a runner, all you have to do is run! Simple, isn't it? You don't have to win any races, wear expensive streamlined clothes, or run at any particular speed.

If you do a bit of running, have you ever heard yourself saying, “Well, I suppose I am, but…” or even, “I couldn’t really call myself a runner, because…”

It's like writing: I always wanted to be a writer so in the last few years I have tried my hand at it via this blog and via articles for "Vetrunner", with the thought that if I get good enough at it, one day I might qualify to think of myself as a writer.

I admit, it’s taken me a long time to say, “I’m a writer.” I did so when I realised that "a writer" is simply someone who writes.

“What’s a writer?”
"A writer writes.”

"What's a runner?"
"A runner runs."

Write it up on your wall at home. Look at it every day. "A runner runs".

I am a runner. I run. What about you? Are you a runner? If not, what is stopping you?

hatch a goose

Police enforce speeding
So says one of the signs on Canberra's roads today. Looks like we will have to be speedy even when we don't want to.

The sign may have succeeded another one spotted a few days ago which gave rise to much mirth:
Police enforce speed's

Many non-Canberrans are probably unaware of the level of illiteracy here in Canberra. But if the truth be known, we are something of a back-water, and these signs are fairly typical.

What am I doing, for heaven's sake??

This example of a very strange running style is me tiptoing away at the start of Sunday's race, trying not to further damage my strained foot! Ken disappeared ahead soon after.

BBQ Stakes: today's times
me 26.38
Gary 27.31
Helen 28.31
Roger 32.15
conditions: warm and humid.

BBQ Stakes history

	recent pb	when run	all-time pb
Katie	24.57	08-Jul	24.57
Roger	25.22	24-Jun	22.21
me	25.50	17-Jun	24.42
Ken	26.31	24-Jun	24.50
Gary	27.01	23-Sep	27.01
Helen	27.30	19-Aug	26.12
Brett	27.48	12-Aug	27.48
Amanda	28.16	12-Aug	28.16

Canberra Times article

Every post a winner

Song of the week. Death Cab for Cutie are on a winner with their new song “Meet Me On The Equinox”, from the “New Moon” soundtrack. In fact, most of the songs from the soundtrack album are quite brilliant. The type of music I am starting to really like - moody and melodic.



Monday training. A cold wind didn't deter seventeen of us from training at Parliament House last night. Miranda joined Ewen and I for an 8k run before heading home; Ewen and I were then joined by Andrew, Bronwyn, Christopher, Craig, Garry, Jennifer, Jodie, Joel, Kat, Rachelle, Tony, Warrick, Yelena & Yili as we ran continuous zigzag relays around the flagpoles in teams of three for thirty minutes.

Sunday's winner

8k O'Connor Ridge Gold Medallist Troy.

8k O'Connor Ridge fourth place-getter Heidi

nine

Overnight rain is what we want and what we like. The showers have now cleared, so...

This week’s plans:
Monday 26/10 4:30pm Parliament House early starters’ 8k jog
Monday 26/10 5:30pm Parliament House interval training
Wednesday 28/10 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thursday 29/10 track. Events:
6:00pm 1500m Steeple
6:15pm 100m
7:00pm 60m
7:15pm 400m
7:40pm Medley Relay (which I think is 200m/200m/400m/800m)
8:00pm 800m
8:15pm 3000m
I might run the 3000m and/or even the 800m. But after a long run earlier on.
Saturday 31/10 9:00am Stromlo Forest Park interval training (same meeting place as before, for now)

Results AACT Summer Series 17 October
800m Joel 2:10.16
800m Thea 2:57.19
3000m Yelena 14:52.45
5000m Thea 22:57.41

Results Orroral Valley men
20 km run:
14 Mick Horan 1.49.02
17 Roger Pilkington 1.54.40
27 Graeme Patrick 3.38.02.

20 km walk:
2 Geoff Barker 2.41.28
3 Peter Hogan 2.51.03

Orroral Valley women
20 km run:
5 Maria O'Reilly 1.53.35
6 Catherine Montalto 2.06.09

32 km run:
5 Kelley Flood 3.15.00

November's Vets Handicap:
There will be a familiarisation run Sunday 8 November at Weston Park, 8:30am

NSW Relay Championships will be held at Blacktown on 21-22 November. Details about the event, and a draft program, are available on the ANSW website at http://www.nswathletics.org.au/ under “Events/ANSW Calendar”. Entries close 13 November.

What I am watching: This is my favourite Blackadder snippet, taken from the “General Hospital” episode.


Breaking news: I have moved one place up the M60 rankings.
Kent Williams has just turned 65. Happy Birthday Kent!

october handicap

Troy beat his course pb by 6.36 to win the long course handicap. Heidi was oh so close to a place.

O'Connor Ridge 8k
3 Troy Steinman M35 33:28 72.5% gold!
6 Heidi Johnston W35 39:20 70.6
10 Jennifer Bright W30 43:18 61.7
15 Nadine Thomlinson W40 39:03 71.7
19 Caroline Campbell W65 46:49 82.5
21 Bronwyn Calver W40 40:11 69.7
33 Christopher Lang M55 44:30 65.7
34 Margaret McSpadden W60 53:40 65.9
38 Brett Morrison M40 39:37 63.6
41 Alan Duus M60 43:37 69.1
45 Craig Davis M40 43:49 57.5
65 Tony Booth M70 51:33 65.2
87 Roger Pilkington M50 46:53 57.7
88 finishers

I cannot believe I ran a pb for the 4k, the third time I have run it, but I did. I must have started too fast in the past, I certainly didn't this time, it was basically a hobble on a sore foot!

Katie goes from strength to strength.

O'Connor Ridge 4k
12 Ken White M55 17:09 78.7%
22 Katie Forestier W40 16:57 79.6
25 Geoff Moore M60 17:50 78.7
32 Gary Bowen M50 19:03 68.7
37 Cathy Montalto W55 21:50 73.1
38 Neil Boden M55 21:08 65.5
39 Garry Maher M60 21:08 66.9
56 finishers

eating her curves away.

Quote from grand-daughter Amelie Hall, aged four:
"Little Miss Muffet, sat on her puffet, eating her curves away"

Today's training at Stromlo: we found "track closed" signs as expected, and the grass looking a very suspicious yellow colour. Plan A was to jog over to Deek's Forest Park and run our intervals there, which we duly did. The km stretch alongside Cotter Road has been graded for cyclists, making a very nice running surface where previously the track had been rough and eroded. We ran down hill for three fast km intervals, returning back up for the recoveries. Participating today were Tony, Miranda, Janene, Heidi & I.

Thursday night results 22/10/09
Spiral 7 handicap, ~2.96k
1 Geoff Barker M65 21:11
2 Katie Forestier W40 12:16
4 Maria O'Reilly W50 13:24
7 Gary Bowen M50 12:10
8 Roger Pilkington M50 12:48
11 Cathy Montalto W55 14:31
14 Geoff Moore M60 12:42
15 Bronwyn Calver W40 12:58
17 Helen Larmour W50 12:53
18 Brett Morrison M40 12:58
20 Nadine Thomlinson W40 12:33
24 Ruth Baussmann W55 15:42
32 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee W35 14:18
33 Margaret McSpadden W60 17:58

200m
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 31.99 67.1%

3000m 
W40 Katie Forestier 11:42.13 76.9%
M55 Ken White 11:47.36 74.7
M50 Roger Pilkington 11:51.56 70.7
W40 Amanda Walker 12:30.31 70.6
W50 Helen Larmour 12:44.97 76.9
M60 Geoff Moore 12:53.93 71.3
W40 Bronwyn Calver 12:54.55 67.8 pb
W50 Maria O'Reilly 13:11.25 78.3
M50 Gary Bowen 13:38.22 62.5
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 13:58.45 62.6
M40 Brett Morrison 13:58.93 55.9
M55 Graeme Patrick 13:59.22 63.5
W55 Cathy Montalto 14:32.30 74.0
W65 Caroline Campbell 14:48.83 84.5
W55 Ruth Baussmann 15:52.53 69.7
W60 Margaret McSpadden 16:37.32 69.6
W40 Jodie Davis 17:01.91 52.3 pb

4x800m Relay (individual splits posted yesterday)
M55 Colin Heywood
M55 Ken White
M50 Gary Bowen
M50 Roger Pilkington 10:39.42

W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee
W40 Katie Forestier
M75 Bob Chapman
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 11:52.68

M40 Brett Morrison
M60 Ken Eynon
W40 Bronwyn Calver
M55 Nick Blackaby 12:43.69

W50 Maria O'Reilly
W55 Cathy Montalto
W55 Clare Wall
W50 Helen Larmour 13:18.37

Not yet available: AACT track results from 17/10 and 23/10. Joel, Yelena, Thea, others may have run.

Identity theft: Any emails from Doug Fry's yahoo account today can be ignored. His account has been hacked and someone has been posing as him. Yahoo has now suspended the account for at least 24 hours, but not before I and many others, presumably his whole contact list, were sent an email asking for money. The wording was not quite up to Doug's high level of clarity and articulation.

I intend to live forever. So far so good.

Last night's track 4 x 800m relays, approximate individual times
Gary Bowen 2:31
Ken White 2:37
Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 2:38 pb for 800m
Brett Morrison 2:46 pb
Katie Forestier 2:51
Nadine Thomlinson 2:52
Roger Pilkington 2:56
Graeme Patrick 3:07
Helen Larmour 3:09
Bronwyn Calver 3:11
Maria O’Reilly 3:18
Cathy Montalto 3:30
Remembering that most had run the 3000m earlier when it was very warm.

Bradley Croker winning in Oregon
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2009/09/21/sports/doc4ab7bdce0e840335647401.txt

If only it were that easy...

Stromlo Running Festival

STROMLO Running Festival is now in its second year and will take place in Canberra on the weekend of the 19th-21st February 2010. On-site camping and caravan facilities will provide a unique opportunity for participants to submerse themselves in weekend crammed full of running, seminars, presentations, entertainment, socialising, and food and drink. Organised by Run For Your Life in conjunction with Robert de Castella and the ACT Cross Country Club, the weekend promises to build on the reputation of the inaugural event.
There are eight different running events to choose from over the weekend; providing variety and choice for every single runner, regardless of ability or experience. Catering will be provided on-site and will offer a selection of meals at affordable prices.
More details on the website - http://www.stromlorunningfestival.com.au/

BBQ Stakes
Yesterday's BBQ Stakes 6k handicap was held in pleasant conditions, but times were slowish as runners struggled to adapt to the unaccustomed warmth. Phill Toomey achieved his 100th run to receive his T-shirt, one week after I did. I tried as hard as I could to reel in the 15 seconds start I gave Gary, and by 5k it was 12 seconds, the closest I got!  But he pulled out his usual sprint finish to regain those 3 lost seconds and 5 more. Roger went roaring past both of us however. Maybe next week I will regain some “zip”.

Speedygeese times:
Roger Pilkington 26.07
Gary Bowen 27.40
me 27.45

Helen

Another fast finisher like Gary, Helen crossing the line at Mt Taylor. She won last week's BBQ Stakes so was doing timing duties this week. Next week I give her 45 seconds start; is it still too big a start  for me to catch her?

One skin – two skin – three skin - …

Training for the 800m
When I trained for the 800m many years ago, I still found it difficult to run very well over 400m or 1500m despite a high level of 800m fitness. One of the reasons for this is the unique nature of the 800m. A 400m is essentially an extended sprint event, where runners can excel on training which rarely, if ever, exceeds 400m in length, and which focuses on speed and strength. A 1500m race is getting well into the arena of distance running, where runners can still excel even if their training is mostly long slow distance. But 800m runners who only train with the sprinters, or who conversely only train with the distance runners, will find their times dropping away in the 800m.

800m specialists need to find a balance, and need to train in such a way as to develop both their anaerobic energy systems and their aerobic energy systems. They need not only to think like a sprinter and try to develop sprinting speed and power, but also they need to endure the torture of longer running.

This table illustrates how the two energy systems have been shown to contribute to racing performances:
Proportion of Aerobic / Anaerobic Production of Energy (ATP)

Duration of Maximal Exercise	% Anaerobic	% Aerobic
1-3 sec	100	0
10 sec	90	10
30 sec	80	20
1 min	70	30
2 min	60	40
4 min	35	65
10 min	15	85
30 min	5	95
1 hour	2	98
2 hour	1	99

Brooks G, Fahey T, White T (1996). Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications. Mountain View: CA, Mayfield.
Mole P, (1983). Exercise metabolism. In Exercise Medicine: Physiological Principles and Clinical Application. New York: Academic Press.

The aerobic/ anaerobic mix in training during the week should be roughly in proportion to the energy used in a race. For example if you are a marathoner, most of your training is aerobic since you use only about 1% anaerobic in a race. Whereas an 800m runner uses about 50% aerobic and 50% anaerobic in a race.

So then, if you want to focus on the 800m this track season, how should you train to develop both these systems?

A particular training session should have as its focus just one or the other of these energy systems, not both. Don’t normally mix aerobic training and anaerobic training in the same workout. When designing your week’s training pattern, half the sessions should focus on developing anaerobically, and half the sessions aimed at developing aerobically.

One anaerobic session I like to conduct, as the season’s important 800m races draw near, is 4 x 200m at race pace with a very short break in between. Another shown me by Glenn Coward is the “zipzap”, a few laps of 100m sprint, 50m float. For the 800m runner, anaerobic sessions just need a little warm-up and stretch, some stride-outs or run-throughs as if racing, and then into it.

Aerobic sessions should be at a reasonable pace and not too far. Genuine tempo runs make for good aerobic sessions for an 800m runner. As do traditional middle distance intervals.

During the track season, frequent 800m races are recommended. Good 800m runners will keep improving as a track season progresses by running as many 800m races as they can, for experience and for rapid conditioning.

I love the 800m because it is such a tricky combination of strategy, psychology, skill, strength, speed, endurance. It is the shortest track event which doesn’t use lanes, which makes it very exciting to watch and to compete in. It pits the sprinter-type against the distance-type. It cannot be run flat out, there must be something in reserve; but it cannot be run easily, runners must be alert to others surging and be ready to sprint to cover any move. It takes a special kind of athlete to specialise in the 800m.

800m time predictors can be found at
http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2008/08/lady-madonna.html, and
http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2007/06/800m-time-predictor.html

That 1500m handicap

When I come to look at it, yes the 800m starts were used, presumably by mistake..
1500m Handicap actual times
M50 Gary Bowen 5:23
M70 Tony Booth 6:19
W50 Helen Larmour 6:13
M50 Roger Pilkington 6:01
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 6:04
M40 Brett Morrison 6:13
W55 Ruth Baussmann 7:31

rippling backward through time

"SOME scientists claim the giant atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is being jinxed from the future.... They say their maths proves that nature will 'ripple backward through time' to stop the LHC before it can create [the Higgs boson particle]." - for the full article go here.

I don’t usually “do a Doug Fry” and publish news items, but this one is bizarre enough to be an exception.
Although.... I think the marathon is like that; it is impossible to run fast early in the marathon and I often wonder why. Now I know it is a "ripple backward through time" that stops you setting yourself up for major hurting later.

What I am watching: saw one of my favourite movies again, The Shawshank Redemption, with its message of "Hope". Wonderful! It is rightly the favourite of many people. All runners thrive on hope.

Monday night training: A top training night; fine warm weather, large turn-out, lots of good recent performances to celebrate, everyone happy and well. Five of us ran the early 8k: Ewen Maria, Ruth, Miranda and I. Then we were joined by another 18 speedygeese: Andrew, Bronwyn, Cathy, Christopher, Frances, Gary, Helen, Jennifer, Jodie, Joel, Kat, Katherine, Mick C, Rachelle, Tony, Warrick, Yelena & Yili. I thought about having relays with such a large number, but settled on a repeat of last week's 30 minutes of 200 sprints on a 480m circuit. I ran quicker than last week despite feeling sluggish. I hope this trend continues.

That handicap 1500m
Looking back at the adjusted 1500m times I published on Tuesday, they are definitely incorrect; when I am able I will have another go at figuring out what they might have been. I haven't given up yet, there is still hope, but reason says I may have to, as clearly the standard start intervals were not used.

I..can't..seem..to..go..any..faster!

all systems go for another week

World Masters Games Sydney
Half Marathon
W50 5 Tesso 1:38.02
W60 1 Sue Archer 1:39.58
W70 1 Anne Young 2:17.36
M75 1 Bob Chapman 1:51.43

M60 200m
5 John Lamb 27.12
6 Geoff Sims 27.16

Weston Creek Fun Run – the only “speedygoose” to compete was Geoff Barker, M65, who did the 6k in 43:45. I don’t think Geoff is allowed to run anymore, so he would have mainly walked it.

Fitzroy Falls marathon
10k 32nd Jenni Greenland 50:52
I wanted to run the marathon there this year but I was way out of form. The course looks great!

Fitzroy Falls 2009 start.

This week's plans - where I'll be.
Monday 19 4:30pm 8k at Parliament House
Monday 19 5:30pm Parliament House interval training with the speedygeese
Wednesday 21 12:15pm 101st BBQ Stakes 6k
Thursday 22 6:00pm Vets Track
.....6:00pm 3000m
.....7:15pm 4 x 800m relay
.....8:00pm spiral 7
I may "have a run" in the 3000m and/or the spiral. I am really not sure
Saturday 24 9:00am Stromlo interval training with the speedygeese
.....whether or not the proposed track closure occurs, we will continue to meet in the usual place inside Stromlo Forest Park. And it is definitely on, despite the handicap the next day.
Sunday 9:00am Vets Handicap at O'Connor. There is a 4k and an 8k, I am not sure which I will run.

some more awesome times

World Masters Results
M50 1500m final
6 Morton, John M51 Australia 4:41.71
W55 800m final
4 Sims, Kathy W58 Australia 2:50.97
W70 800m final
3 Collins, Corinne W73 Australia 3:31.57
M65 5000m race walk
1 Whyte, Robin M67 Australia 30:22.0h
M50 200m semifinals
5 Kennedy, Leo M51 Australia 25.02 Qualified for final

TRACK AND FIELD 15th October 2009
3000m
W40 Katie Forestier 11:47 76.4%
M55 Ken White 12:06 72.8
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 12:14 71.5 **pb by four seconds**
W40 Amanda Walker 12:17 71.8 **pb by ten seconds**
M50 Gary Bowen 12:39 67.4
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 12:45 66.8 **pb by four seconds**
M40 Brett Morrison 12:50 60.9
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:05 66.9
M70 Tony Booth 15:17 66.4
W55 Ruth Baussmann 15:48 70.1

5000m
M35 Troy Steinman 19:31 66.9%
M50 Roger Pilkington 20:35 70.1
W50 Helen Larmour 21:45 76.8
W65 Caroline Campbell 25:14 84.6

200m
M60 Garry Maher 29.82 81.5%
W55 Noeline Burden 35.02 76.8

300m
M60 Garry Maher 47.23 79.3%
M50 Gary Bowen 47.71 73.5
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 49.22 69.1
M70 Tony Booth 54.40 75.8

4x200m Relay
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee
M60 Garry Maher
W55 Noeline Burden
M35 Lance Purdon 2:04.93

M40 Brett Morrison
M60 Jim White
W40 Nadine Thomlinson
M50 Gary Bowen 2:12.96

1500m Handicap
The published times make no sense so I have hazarded a guess as to actual times. An educated guess based on what the start groups should have been. But the likelihood of my initial guesses being accurate are approximately zero. If and when I can confirm what the real actual times were, I will so indicate.
but if I can work out actual times I will asap - incorrect starts were probably used.
M50 Gary Bowen 6:43.79 (4.58?)
M70 Tony Booth 7:16.22 (6.24?)
W50 Helen Larmour 7:20.98 (6.02?)
M50 Roger Pilkington 7:21.25 (5.36?)
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 7:23.63 (5.34?)
M40 Brett Morrison 7:42.35 (5.38?)
W55 Ruth Baussmann 8:30.36 (7.35?)

ACT Athletics
Joel had an excellent start to the senior athletics season yesterday with a time of 2:10.16 in the 800m.

Blind cricket

Two go under ACT M60 400m record

World Masters Games
W60 5000m track final
1 Archer, Sue W61 Australia 21:27.2
W70 5000m track final
3 Young, Anne W74 Australia 28:36.9
M60 400m track final
2 Lamb, John M60 Australia 57.78 a new M60 ACT record
4 Sims, Geoff M61 Australia 59.01 also under the old ACT M60 record!!!
I am very impressed by all these performances.

EDIT: Sue Archer's time is also an ACT record, the previous record of 21:51.37 was also Sue's, set last March. That's a 24 second improvement!

Stromlo today, perfect sunny weather for our 3 x 1km efforts! We ran the central loop. As I recall,
Troy averaged ~3:30 for each of the kms.
Anthony ran around 3:53, 3:43, 3:33
Heidi ran 3:58, 4:02, 3:57 to get under 4 minutes for the first time
I ran 3:54, 4:00 4:02
Janene ran 4:10, 4:35. 4:03, taking care 6 days after the marathon
Miranda ran about 4:56, 4:58. 5:10

identity theft?

For a moment there I thought that Ruth (3rd) and Cathy (18th) had changed their respective birth certificates and run in the W50 5000m! Those who did run included Kathy with an excellent silver medal and a time I can now only dream of, and Tesso running very well for 21.07. A time I hope to emulate soon!

W50 5000m finals
1 Wilson, Julie W51 New Zealand 18:49.7h
2 Southgate, Kathy W53 Australia 19:01.1h
3 Basman, Robyn W50 Australia 20:04.7h
4 Kiyamova, Rasimya W52 Russian Federation 20:07.1h
5 Petley, Karen W50 Australia 20:44.9h
6 Fabian, Theresa W51 Australia 21:07.1h
7 Bunker, Erika W53 Australia 21:08.8h
8 Ryan, Anne W54 Australia 21:27.6h
9 Berthet, Marie-Jose W52 New Caledonia 21:39.6h
10 Wille, Chrissy W51 Australia 21:55.7h
11 Fernandes, Lourdes W51 Brazil 22:21.5h
12 Nagyné Kotroczó, Andrea W51 Hungary 22:38.9h
13 Fairgrieve, Jane W51 Australia 23:09.1h
14 Lee, Julie W50 Australia 23:14.2h
15 Lippitt, Anne W54 United Kingdom 24:16.8h
16 MacPherson, Lorna W53 Canada 27:53.6h
17 Brenton-Haden, Sally W53 Canada 28:04.3h
18 Newman, Catherine W54 Australia 29:10.3h
19 Garban, Odilia W51 Venezuela 30:09.1h

Also a silver medal to Bob Chapman
M75 5000m 2 Chapman, Bob M75 Australia 24:28.1h

ACTVAC track
I didn't get out to the track last night, but the weather cleared just in time for the 3000m/5000m at 6pm I hear. And Bilbys were out there in large numbers, I am glad they made it. I hope everyone had a good night, results will be up soon.

Stromlo training reminder: 9am sharp Saturday.

the actvac logo leads the athletes in

ACTVAC field athlete Wendy O'Brien carried the banner and led the whole athletics contingent into the Sydney Olympic Stadium at the World Masters Games last Sunday. Note the ACTVAC logo on her jacket.

More results from Sydney:
Jackie Fairweather 37.15 gold in the W40 10k road race by a very long way.
Anne Young 62.24 3rd W70
Joan Mallory 75.16 winner W75
Bob Chapman 50.37 3rd M75
M40 100m Ken Telfer 3rd
M50 100m Leo Kennedy 5th (first Australian)

8k cross country
59 Kathy Southgate 31.31 winner W50 (2nd female overall)
144 Sue Archer 36.04 winner W60
247 Bob Chapman 41.57 4th M70
284 Suzanne Counsel 45.05 3rd W65

Earl Fee of Canada won the M80 800m in 2:49.3. He would have lapped the last two runners. It is worth noting all the times.
M80 800m Finals
1 Fee, Earl M80 Canada 2:49.30
2 Matsuoka, Hiroshi M80 Japan 3:13.80
3 Lewis, Bob M81 Australia 3:28.08
4 Matzner, Karel M80 Czech Republic 3:45.66
5 Inoue, Takashi M80 Japan 3:56.12
6 Deed, Allan M83 Australia 4:15.31
7 Churchward, Roger M84 Australia 4:16.26
8 Scott (2), John M80 Australia 5:50.16
9 Rigby, John M82 Australia 6:09.36
Hmmm, Earl’s 2:49 compares favourably with times you and I can run. He won by a fair way, too. I have been following Earl Fee’s career and I have linked to the Earl Fee blog in the past; here it is again: http://petemagill.blogspot.com/2009/04/earl-fee-interview.html

M80 Earl Fee

BBQ STAKES
Yesterday was a rest day for the WMG athletes, but not for me as I ran my 100th BBQ Stakes 6k handicap. Helen, following on from her good form in training on Monday night, won the BBQ Stakes in windy and unpleasant conditions. It was great seeing her win on the same day I finally earned a 100 run t-shirt. All times were pretty slow, and I should say that Helen was pretty lucky as she won only because she passed on the line another person who had stopped briefly to help one of Helen’s friends who had taken a fall. Could it have been a plan?
BBQ Stakes convener Adrian Plunkett was pleased to announce that I have had two wins in 100 runs, an average of 50 runs per win. As we get about 50 runners each week, this makes me statistically average. Which is what the organisers try to achieve with their handicapping, I would say.

BBQ Times 14/10/09
me 26.42
Roger 26.52
Gary 27.29
Helen 27.46

If I miss one day of training, I notice it. If I miss two days, my training group notices it. If I miss three days, everyone notices it.

- based on a quoted from Jan Paderewski. I am not going to miss a day this week, even though the weather has turned foul.

Results from World Masters Games
M60 800m final
1 Ogilvie, Trevor M61 New Zealand 2:21.68
2 Lamb, John M60 Australia 2:21.90
3 Solomon, Kevin M62 Australia 2:22.32
4 Wigger, Tim M61 United State 2:23.67
5 McManus, Tony M60 New Zealand 2:23.88
6 Sims, Geoff M61 Australia 2:25.77
7 Gillies, Les M62 Australia 2:35.82
8 Talib, Salih M64 United State 2:36.50
9 Box, Jim M63 Australia 2:39.03
10 Wakelin, Neil M62 Canada 2:40.64
11 Milne, Peter M60 Canada 2:54.67

W55 1500m final
1 Saunders, Margaret W55 Australia 5:43.09
2 Sims, Kathy W58 Australia 5:44.10 ACT record by 5.69 seconds
3 Wall, Clare W55 Australia 6:22.49
4 Coffey, Rosita W57 Australia 7:12.21

Brilliant Kathy, silver in an excellent time, oh so close to gold. Kathy's own W55 ACT record was 5:49.79, set in Townsville last year. So this 5:44.10 annihilates it.
And well done Clare Wall!
In the W50 1500m Tesso was 7th in 6:09.19.

The women's 1500m was a direct clash with the women's cross country - not the most brilliant example of great programming we have ever seen - so women had to choose between them, which would explain why the numbers are down in the 1500m.

8km Cross Country results from yesterday haven't been posted yet, but I can tell you that Kathy Southgate was second outright in the women's field and won the W50 division, and Sue Archer won the W60s.

A better link to WMG results than the one I gave yesterday is http://www.nswathletics.org.au/answ/live2/

Finally, notice that John Lamb is "playing" with the M60 800m ACT record in the same way he played with the M55 record. He ran many 800s just the tiniest bit outside the M55 record, until he finally broke it. 2:21.90 is the tiniest bit outside the M60 record. Just 0.08 second, in fact, 2:21.82 set by Lindsay Hooper in the World Masters Games in Melbourne in 1987.

Sue Archer World Champion

World Masters Games
10k road (Sunday)
Sue Archer 44.48 winner W60
Tesso ran 44.41 and was ninth W50

800m heats (Monday)
M60 John Lamb qualified 4th with 2:25.22
M60 Geoff Sims qualified 7th with 2:25.39
So they are both in the M60 final.

All the WMG results can be found at http://www.2009worldmasters.com/default.aspx?ArticleID=69#fragment-3

Monday training
Miranda, Ruth and I ran 8k in the rain first; then the rain eased and Andrew, Bronwyn, Christopher, Garry, Gary. Helen, Jodie, Joel, Kat, Neil, Rachelle & Yelena joined us for a warm-up and then 30 minutes of 50m jog up the ramp from the rose garden, 200m fast, 230m jog back to the rose garden. Not surprisingly, none of the Melbourne competitors were there. Joel, Gary and Helen managed 14 laps. I was pleased to complete 13, Joel just lapped me at the end, and my legs were complaining during the last two sprints. A good turn-out and a good session. It looked like it was hailing heavily over on the Brindabella Ranges, but that is where the hail stayed.

Helen is in fine form

helping out at Mt Taylor

Good Winners

Results Melbourne Marathon:
1088 Janene Kingston 3:35.27 (21 minute pb)
Melbourne Half Marathon
1656 Ken Eynon 1:43.53 (10th M60)
1718 Thea Zimpel 1:45.55
2722 Warrick Howieson 1:50.18 (2 minute pb)
3295 Katherine Sheppard 1:56.04 (11 minute pb)
6615 Norma Wallett 2:25.38 (winner W75)

No doubt they will be talking about it:
Janene's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=546527369
Katherine's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=804521763
Norma's blog http://luckylegs.blogspot.com/
Ewen's blog http://gsxsuzuki.blogspot.com/, as I think Ewen ran the half marathon in around 1:43 but his place and time seems to be missing from the results.
I found the results on http://multisportaustralia.racetectiming.com/, there may also be something on http://www.melbournemarathon.com.au/ at some stage.

Other races that have been on during the weekend were the Fitzroy Falls marathon on Saturday, which like the Melbourne marathon I would have loved to have been fit enough to run, and the Weston Creek Fun Run on Sunday.

In the World Masters Games in Sydney, Tesso ran the 10k in 44:40. See http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=588576964

My plans this week
Monday 12th 4:30pm 8k run at Parliament House
Monday 12th 5:30pm coaching at Parliament House
Wednesday 14th 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k race
Thursday 15th 6pm Vets Track
Saturday 16th 9am Interval session at Stromlo Forest Park

Also on Saturday at 6pm, Athletics ACT starts its summer competition at the AIS athletics track. No doubt the details are on http://athleticsact.org.au/.

For me last week was a disaster; I ended up running only 40k in total, I didn't get to my 100th run at BBQ Stakes, and was Meet Director at track on Thursday so didn't get to race. And I am dead tired. Today I made myself get out of bed thinking it was early, but the clocks all read 9:33. This week then, instead of last, will be my BBQ Stakes 100th T-shirt, that is if I have the energy. Thursday is the Come-And-Try-It night at track; I probably won't be there as Nathan and two of his boys will be arriving from Brisbane for a visit. But Monday and Saturday are good. (Hark, is that rain I hear falling?!)

Bad Losers

21 minute pb!

News from the Melbourne marathon - Janene ran a 21 minute pb, 3:35.25 according to her watch, in perfect conditions in Melbourne. See all you Queenslanders, it pays to leave your hot weather behind, come down and live and train in Canberra, and race in Melbourne, all away from the heat. Brilliant running, Janene!

The World Masters Games Athletics starts in Sydney today. I know that Kathy and Geoff Sims are up there competing, and Mick Horan is also an entrant. Also I hear that friend Tesso from Brisbane is running too. I will keep an eye on the results this week.

What I am watching: The best mystery/crime solving TV program I have seen is "Jonathon Creek", and it returns with a Special on ABC TV tonight.

Mixed metaphors: Here are two mixed metaphors, both used quite inadvertently.
The first by my wife Jenny recently:
“He got through by the skin of his pants”.

The other is one of mine I heard myself saying yesterday:
“Today I bit the bull by the horns”.

Accidental mixed metaphors are the best!

Amelie, Heidi and I

What I am watching: Last night I watched Amelie, which is the title of my favourite movie; it's a few years since I last watched it and I soon realised why it's still my favourite.

What I am doing in training: Today Heidi and I trained at Stromlo. Because of the cold southerly wind, we whimped out from trying to run fast 1km intervals around the Central Loop. We ran them along the Creek Loop instead, which is somewhat easier being way downhill and with the wind behind us most of the time. I ran 4:00, 3:56 & 3:48, Heidi 4:13, 4:15 & 4:17. My last one was fastest only because we had to run past the other training group using the area, which included Neil's daughter Lauren, and I couldn't be seen to bludge. The sun came out later.

Ken's quick season start

Speedygeese in the TRACK AND FIELD 8th October 2009
800m
M55 Ken White 2:25.45 84.1% great run
M50 Gary Bowen 2:36.05 75.8
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 2:41.78 70.0
W40 Katie Forestier 2:43.52 73.1
W40 Amanda Walker 2:45.36 71.1
M40 Brett Morrison 2:50.75 62.9
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 2:54.41 66.8
W55 Kathy Sims 2:56.40 80.2
W40 Bronwyn Calver 3:05.22 62.9
M70 Tony Booth 3:05.59 75.8
W50 Maria O'Reilly 3:12.31 69.6

3000m
W40 Katie Forestier 11:54.08 75.6%
M50 Roger Pilkington 11:58.09 70.1
M55 Ken White 12:22.90 71.2
M50 Gary Bowen 12:29.90 68.2
W40 Amanda Walker 12:51.25 68.7
W50 Helen Larmour 13:00.22 75.4
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:14.77 66.0
W50 Maria O'Reilly 13:15.91 77.9
W30 Jodie Sims 13:58.03 60.1

I wish there were more training groups competing
In the 800m, all the women runners were members of our training group. Quite often people contact me looking for a training group to join, many of them women. I wish there were many other training groups like ours, because the times we meet don't suit everyone. Also, when it comes to inviting feedback on proposed competition programs, my thoughts on 800m races should be given more weight, because so many of the 800m runners are training with me. Rather than the opposite, less weight, if I am seen to be the only one expressing a particular opinion. Also, it would be fun having sets of runners from rival training groups to compete against.

Next week's Track and Field is a Come-And-Try_it meet. Here's a chance to get some new people involved. (a) Bring your friends. (b) Be prepared to try a couple of new events yourself. (c) Come prepared to assist any newcomers.

Training at Stromlo
When we meet at 9am tomorrow (Saturday) at Stromlo, we may have to park just inside the entrance and jog down. There is yet another major cycling event happening, with tents everywhere. I will try and arrive at the start line on time, but I may have to arrive in the car park several minutes early in order to get down there through the crowds.

Go Janene Go in the Melbourne Marathon.

Good luck in Melbourne

This Sunday in Melbourne is the annual Melbourne Marathon and Half Marathon. Best wishes to everyone competing. Some of the runners to look out for include
Janene Kingston
Norma Wallett
Warrick Howieson
Katherine Sheppard
Ewen Thompson
Ken Eynon

[BOM website]: Melbourne forecast for Sunday: Mostly sunny. Winds north to northeasterly averaging up to 25 km/h tending northerly 25 to 35 km/h during the morning. City Mostly sunny. Min 9 Max 22.

Yes, alright, one more


2009 MS Sydney to the Gong bike ride
[Joel]: Hey Everyone, I'm doing the 90km Gong ride to support MS. Anything you donate my company will match, so a $5 donation is really $10. I'm going to attempt to raise $200. So if you have any spare cash, anything would be appreciated! http://register.gongride.org.au/?pearj/

By Popular Demand

and now for something completely different

Breaking news - Monty Python is 40 years old today.
song of the week: The Lumberjack Song, in its original context.


Daylight saving the first week in October brought rain and hail to our first daylight Parliament House training session for the year. The pre-training 8k run was so hot that one silly goose changed into a singlet for the interval work that followed. Luckily I forgot to do likewise, but I had intended to. The temperature subsequently dropped sharply, and then it started to seriously rain, with hail falling as we were running our ninth 200m interval of the ten planned. Most of us bailed out at that point.

Running at least nine intervals were Amanda, Andrew, Brett, Bronwyn, Gary, me, Jennifer, Jodie, Ken, Maria, Nadine, Neil, Ruth, Tony & Warrick (note spelling!) Earlier bail-outs were Christopher who cycled in at 4:30 and cycled away again, Ewen who ran out of legs in the early 8k run and went home, and Craig who pulled up halfway through the 5:30 warm-up with a sore calf. I don't think we have lost three people before we even started before. For the 200m intervals run on three minutes, the surface was pleasantly soft as a result of steady rain earlier in the day.

Parkway

Is this supposed to be a fast run or just a silly walk?

going for broke down the hill

low five, anyone?

that was fun, let's do it again

good finish - well ahead of Jim

just another run in iceland

Plans this week: I hope to total 80k and I plan to attend the following training sessions
Monday 5 Parliament House, 4:30pm jog, 5:30pm coaching
Wednesday 7 BBQ Stakes at 12:15pm
Thursday 8 6:00pm Vets track
Saturday 10 9:00am Stromlo Forest Park

Parliament House training is on today despite it being a public holiday. Rain or shine. It is raining steadily at 11:00am as I type this. The forecast was for an afternoon shower or two...
Wednesday's BBQ Stakes is my 100th I think, so a T-shirt might be coming my way.
On Thursday I will be Meet Director so I won't be racing.
Events of interest on Thursday are
6:00pm 800m
8:00pm 3000/5000m
so here is a rare opportunity to race a 5000m in the cool.
The kilometre interval session on Saturday at Stromlo is an excellent one; we total about 12k of running but of course you can do more if you wish.

Parkway
Christopher

not (quite) next

Brett

could be pleased to finish

Andrew

looks cold too

Caroline

The t-shirt says it all

Roger

just another run, what's all the fuss?

Parkway Photos

A week ago at Parkway it was not all that warm.

Ruth

A penny for your thoughts, Dave

Tony

Aaaarghh the cold

Ewen

Raincoat and gloves

Heidi

...a hot bath would be nice

and me

gloves AND beanie

amoeba

Thursday night track performances.
Craig Davis ran his first ever track 3000m. Bronwyn Calver ran her first track races in the W40 age group.

Injury free at last
I was pleased with what was essentially a tempo run in the 3000m, just over 4 minutes for each km running easy. And I declare myself injury free at last! It was good to see many of the speedygeese competing on what was a surprisingly good night considering the time of year. Well done John Lamb for arranging such pleasant weather.

In the 3000m, excellent performances by Caroline Campbell in the W60 age group, and Maria O’Reilly in the W50s.

3000m
M35 Troy Steinman 11:34.8 65.5%
W40 Katie Forestier 11:47.9 76.3
M55 Ken White 11:55.1 73.3
M60 Geoff Moore 12:10.5 75.6
M50 Roger Pilkington 12:17.4 68.2
W40 Nadine Thomlinson 12:18.7 71.1
M40 Brett Morrison 12:49.2 61.0
W40 Amanda Walker 12:55.9 68.2
M50 Ewen Thompson 13:03.8 65.2
M40 Craig Davis 13:14.5 58.6
W50 Maria O'Reilly 13:18.8 77.6
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:26.6 65.1
M70 Tony Booth 13:57.3 72.7
W30 Jodie Sims 14:09.0 59.3
W55 Cathy Montalto 14:10.8 75.9
W65 Caroline Campbell 15:22.4 81.4
W60 Margaret McSpadden 16:36.0 69.7

In the 1500m, an excellent performance by Kathy Sims in the W55 age group

1500m
M55 2293 Ken White 5:27.69 76.8%
W40 4263 Katie Forestier 5:37.03 75.4
M50 2167 Roger Pilkington 5:47.17 69.4
W40 4084 Amanda Walker 5:48.43 71.3
W40 5288 Nadine Thomlinson 5:54.4 69.3
M40 5290 Brett Morrison 5:55.3 62.4
W55 3603 Kathy Sims 6:04.5 84.5
W40 4383 Bronwyn Calver 6:17.2 65.2
M70 1044 Tony Booth 6:17.2 76.7

No speedygeese ran in the 400m. Some common sense is prevailing!

Training at Stromlo Forest Park
I turned up this morning in the very light rain and so did Janene and Heidi. See "Happy Speedygeese not at Vets track" below. It was their first visit to Stromlo and were rather impressed by the fact that an Australian cycling championship was in progress there while we were training. We ran our 3 x 1k on the grass circuit, Janene using the session as tempo training before her Melbourne marathon just one week away, running about 4:30s, I averaged 4:02, and Heidi 4:08.  We will continue meeting there 9am every Saturday morning and hope a few more start coming along.

Maps of training venues, including the Stromlo one, appear in the "venues" link in the sub-heading at the top of this page.

So, good luck Janene in the Melbourne marathon, you will tweet us at 25k, won't you? And say hello to Ewen who is running the half.

Daughter and mother

Three generations actually. Jodie and Kathy in the foreground both competed on the track, and that's Alex running away in the background

amoeba

Hurrah! Stromlo speedwork is back in the program.

Happy Runners

"People who drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis may be more likely than teetotalers to exercise -- and the more they drink, the more likely they are to work out, a new study shows".... continued here at http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20090901/alcohol-a-motivator-for-exercise. It's a bit of a worry to see their definition of "heavy drinkers". For men it's 76 or more drinks a month, for women, 46 or more. Still, the study was conducted in the United States, where they are more likely than anyone else to suffer from drinking-induced exercise.

Happy Track
Last night was the first night of Vets track and an excellent night it was too. For early August, it was amazingly mild, and it was still. It has been years since a 1500m race at wind-swept Bruce Stadium has been held in such calm conditions.
Our officially speedy results should be available quite soon.

Happy Handicaps
There are just two more Vets handicap races this year. I might switch to the long course; Iwill make up my mind just before the start at the October Handicap.
I am told the venue for the November handicap and awards presentation will be at Weston Park this year (a new course there), and not at Innabaanya as for previous years.

Happy Birthdays
Birthdays this week for my mother, 84 today, and grandson Tyler, 4 last Wednesday. I have new photos of the three Moore grandsons posted on my http://mooregenerations.blogspot.com/ blog.

Happy Speedygeese at Vets track

Happy Speedygeese not at Vets track

Happy Long Weekend. Remember, Saturday at 9am Stromlo training is on for the first time, and Monday 5:30pm Parliament House training is on as usual despite the holiday.

Wear Your Love Like Heaven

I have been listening to some old Donovan music. I remember hearing him live at Canberra Theatre in about 1969. Brilliant.
And speaking of music, Canberra's best musical group The Idea Of North were on Hey Hey its Saturday Reunion last night. Here's the video.



We have strong connections with this group - our son Nathan knew the members well through the Canberra School of Music, and accompanied former band member Trish Delaney for some of her solo gigs. And much much earlier, in grade 1 Nathan's lovely teacher Martina Fechner taught the 5 and 6 year olds the German and English versions of "My Hat It Has Three Corners". Nathan loved that song; I wonder if he later passed it on to the band? Or I wonder if band members Nick Begbie and /or Andrew Piper were actually members of that class at Holt Infant/Primary School?

There is a second and last "Hey Hey" reunion next Wednesday; my favourite comedians Lano and Woodley are on, and Australia's best band Evermore is playing (I think). So once again I will be watching.