Jennifer's baby

Jen and Daniel

Photo by Ruth. Story and more photos at http://baussmann2.blogspot.com/2011/03/meeting-daniel-james.html

Candid Canberra #64: path repair

At this rate, it should be all fixed in ten or twenty years

We'll run like we're awesome

Song of the week: "The Geese of Beverly Road", by The National

"Hey, love, we'll get away with it
"We'll run like we're awesome, totally genius"



from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02tWZNQ6n38&feature=player_embedded

Karmin won't mind if I quote her:
"I summoned up the courage to start listening to The National again yesterday and fell right back in love with all the same songs, as if nothing had ever changed. The Geese of Beverly Road still gets me most of all. It's about being young and reckless and feeling powerful when in reality the control is only for the moment, for a moment. I really am not the kind of person who has personally experienced any kind of major risk-taking but it still makes my heart ache. Not because I personally want to experience the thrill of the forbidden but rather because of the ideal of the teenage soul which really embraces what the song is about. A spirit of the times, the spirit of youth, rather than its literal essence, if you know what I mean."

Which in turn really captures the spirit of the speedygeese: soaring together above the mundane, overcoming the drag of the years and of the familiar, risking much to gain more.

Women's and Girls' Fun Run this Sunday. Girls, be in it! I shall be there, with camera. Daylight Saving finishes Sunday morning so, guys, run early then come over and watch the women run.

warming up

flags

Parliament House Training last night, on a warm Canberra autumn evening, ideal for running and enjoying Canberra's lovely environment, our last session of anaerobic endurance work for the time-being (although it's not really anaerobic but the rest is short enough so that it could be if people push hard enough) saw 16 participants, Andy (off to England today so jogged instead), Brett (went hard and more or less ran out of steam halfway through), Caroline (pushed hard for most of the intervals despite racing well on Sunday), Colin (fastest again!), Craig (ran early, totally ran out of steam, but pushed as hard as anyone), Ewen (ran early and didn't attempt the intervals this time), me (ran longer early and trotted around supervising), Helen (ran every effort hard despite racing absolutely brilliantly on Sunday), Jochen (ran each interval steadily, improving after injury), Joel (ran five of the six intervals, good solid effort), Katherine (ran early only), Mick C (ran all the intervals despite racing well up in the field on Sunday), Nadine (ran early and declined intervals on the hills, ran long instead), Ruth (claims to be tapering already so avoided the hills too), Warrick (solid honest effort, pushed very hard on the intervals), and Yelena (had a shot at the intervals too, ran some very fast). Now that I have commented on each runner, it has reminded me that I must prepare an updated "form guide" soon (see the side-bar link for an old one). Writing it should be fun, it was, last time.

Customs 5k handicap, 25 March
Bob Harlow 21:25
Yili Zhu 21:45
Caroline Campbell 27:23
Carolyne Kramar 34:30
Geoff Barker 34:40

Candid Canberra #63: Flags of Nations

Who'd live anywhere else? This is a beautiful city, the capital of Australia. And as the last week of daylight saving passes, an evening picture of flags of many nations seems appropriate.

hatches & matches

Coming Events, week 13 of year 2011:

Mon 28th	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Wed 30th	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 31st	6:00pm	ACTVAC T&F
Fri 1 Apr	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 2nd	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
	1:00pm	YCRC Winter Series: Regatta Point 5k
Sun 3rd	9:00am	YCRC Women and Girls 5k Fun Run, Commonwealth Park

Women's Jogalong, 6 March
Michelle Wells W35 25:01
Nadine Morrison W40 28:19
Kym Chisholm          30:13
Debbie Cowell W50 30:30
Cathy Montalto W55 42:20
117 finishers

YCRC Winter Series race #1: Dunrossil Drive 4.2k , 26 March
58. Caroline Campbell W65 22:44
59. Geoff Barker M65 23:00
64 finishers

Women's and Girls Fun Run
Where: Start/finish at Stage 88, Commonwealth Park
When: 9am Sunday 3 April 2011 
Enter on-line at http://www.wgfunrun.com.au/ until Friday 1 April 2011. Postal entries close Monday 28 March 2011. Late entries accepted at Stage 88 on Saturday 2 April 2011 between 2.00 - 4.30pm. Please note, no late entries on the day of the event

Training on Saturday: Mary and I ran a loop of West Basin in preparation for Mary's first ever half marathon in two week's time. And it was her longest run. We also saw Andy, Ruth and Ewen at Acton when we finished, and I joined them for a couple more kilometres.

Keith Bateman has taken a big chunk off his World M55 10k record, running 31:51 on the weekend.

Hatches: Due last week, Jen Bright is still infanticipating, as far as I know. [edit: I was wrong; Daniel James, born this morning, all is well!]

Matches: Congratulations on your marriage on Saturday

Abi & Will, from Abi's Facebook page. Some of the wedding photos I took appear in a post, below.

ACTVAC monthly handicap results and progess points

27 March, Stromlo Forest Park
Long course 8k
3 Kelley Flood W50 40:02 74.2%
4 Christopher Lang M60 42:39 66.8 **silver**
7 Geoff Moore M60 34:27 83.2
8 Helen Larmour W50 35:11 85.2
13 Kerrie Tanner W50 41:19 71.9
14 Roger Pilkington M50 37:08 70.9
19 Alan Duus M65 43:04 67.2
24 Rod Lynch M50 31:59 81.5
25 Mick Charlton M55 46:06 61.2
29 David Baussmann M60 39:12 72.6
31 Caroline Campbell W65 45:38 82.3
33 Ewen Thompson M50 46:25 57.2
34 Warrick Howieson M40 39:21 60.5
48 Kathy Southgate W50 34:27 89.4
63 Alan Williams M60 44:32 64.6
69 Kathy Sims W55 44:02 73.3
70 Maria O'Reilly W55 38:24 81.7
75 Mick Horan M50 41:16 63.1
77 Ruth Baussmann W60 46:17 70.3
78 Andrew Matthews M50 37:17 69.9
83 Geoff Barker M65 58:13 50.7
104 Tony Booth M70 53:58 59.9
104 finishers

Point score competition after 3 rounds .. remarkably I'm ahead!
1. Geoff Moore 440 points
2. Roger Pilkington 412
10. Mick Charlton 362

Age standard competition after 3 rounds
1. Kathy Southgate 90.15%
3. Helen Larmour 85.20
6. Maria O'Reilly 81.87
9. Rod Lynch 80.90
10. Geoff Moore 80.27
11. Caroline Campbell 79.30

Short course 4k
4. Gary Bowen M50 16:39 78.3% **silver**
6 Graeme Patrick M55 18:57 71.1
8 Katie Forestier W45 16:49 79.6
16 Noeline Burden W55 22:50 68.2
26 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee W35 18:32 68.6
34 Cathy Montalto W55 23:17 67.7
35 Ken White M55 17:59 74.3
36 Jill Pearson W50 23:26 63.6
44 Garry Maher M60 23:42 59.2
47 finishers

Point score competition after 3 rounds
1. Katie Forestier 210 points
3. Noeline Burden 202
4. Graeme Patrick 198
8. Ken White 190

Age standard competition after 3 rounds
5. Katie Forestier 80.37%
8. Ken White 75.73
10. Gary Bowen 73.60

wedding photos - Abi and Will

lite week

What I am running: A couple of races this week, which is probably one too many, so am doing a lite week, which will end up being about 70km, after all my 100km weeks.

What I am reading: this week's lite reading was "Un Lun Dun", by China Miéville. A brilliant book, quite long, targets youngish readers so is just right for me.

What I am watching (lite viewing): also aimed at a young audience, "Parallax". On TV five days a week at 8:30am, on GO. Eighteen episodes down, eight more to come. This WA based children's program is also brilliant. And I am loving my new 2 terrabyte digital recorder.

What I am planning: I have almost decided to target 4:30s again in my next half marathon race, i.e. I won't expect improvement, but I will run the same pace as before, early, and see what happens. There are only two weeks to go and I am still recovering from the last one. Caution is the key.

What I am hoping; a Crows victory over Hawthorn. And it was great to see Geelong pip St Kilda last night, by one point with a goal 20 seconds from the end. Now if Collingwood can also lose by one point, the world will be perfect. Anything is possible.

It is great to have real football starting this weekend.

What I am doing: today, burning some new CDs for the car's CD player. Nothing too strenuous.

can do better

Results from last night's track meeting.
3000m "Pennington" (age/gender handicap)
3 Rod Lynch M50 10:48 78.3%
6 Katie Forestier W45 11:56 77.2%
8 Kathy Sims W55 13:15 83.5%
9 Ken White M55 11:41 76.0%
11 Damian Rutledge M40 11:57 66.9%
12 Tony Booth M70 14:48 69.5%
14 finishers

Explain to me why the highest age percentages don't win the "Pennington" races? Could there be something wrong with the handicap system?

60m
M60 Garry Maher 8.89 89.3%

1500m
M70 Tony Booth 7:07.16 68.8%

late 3000m
W40 Bronwyn Calver 12:55.92 68.2%

5000m
M60 Geoff Moore 20:22.31 78.4%
W50 Helen Larmour 20:29.70 82.6%

A combination of poor pacing after lap five, wrong shoes, and insufficient recovery after a half marathon, meant I missed by a long long way my first serioius attempt at breaking 20 minutes on the track. I would like to have another shot at it this season but I don't know if I will. Next time I think I should wear my nike lunar racers instead of my saucony kirvanas, as I had difficulty negotiating the bends for some reason, and in a 5k track race there are 25 of them. And if I am following a pacer, he/she needs to be reliable. And eleven days after a half marathon race doesn't seem to allow sufficient recovery for this 62 year old. And if I leave the attempt to next season, hopefully I will be a lot fitter and won't have to worry about pacers, shoes, or for that matter variable weather conditions. Recovery is still an issue though. Also, some track training might help!

Having said all that, 20:22 is my best time 5k track time for over two years.

I can do much better.

'fused?


from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVbQMIl4JnE

basic training/ playing it by ear

Our Kelley. Basically, Kelley trains harder, longer, and earlier than any of us!

Candid Canberra #62: removing the bridge

If you haven't been to Belconnen Town Centre for a while, you might get a surprise when you visit next. Everything has changed, even the red footbridge is now gone. And you could easily get lost walking around the expanded mall. Luckily, you are fit so it wouldn't be a problem, it would be good training.

My son Nathan, 7 months old

Photo by Pat Fisher, taken 22 January 1972.

Jenny is holding Nathan, Marg Fisher, out of picture, is holding their daughter Katie. Katie was 14 weeks and Nathan 7 months. Katie is now a grandmother, which makes Pat a great grandfather! Their great grandson (now 19 months) is a bit of a novelty as all their six grandchildren are girls! According to proud great grandfather Pat, he is gorgeous and gets lots of attention from all his cousins, and looks very like Katie when she was a baby.

Nathan will be forty this June and has recently applied for a new job, one in the army band. His audition was held yesterday and he reports "Audition went really well I thought. Very positive. My 3 performance pieces went well and the sight reading/thrown in the deep end was ok. It ended up going for most of the day as it included 3, 1 hour written theory, harmony and aural exams also. I won't hear anything for at least 6 to 8 weeks so we are still playing it by ear for now. Tyler [one of Nathan's sons] did ask if I 'won'. I told him I did, so, yeah. I won!"

We are hoping Nathan gets the job, amongst other things it means that once he has completed basic training, the family will move from Brisbane and may end up living much closer, even here in Canberra is a possibility. Incidentally basic training should be manageable, as Nathan has kept himself pretty fit over the years.

swiftly and with style

Recent speedygeese performances
Tuesday 22 March: Summer Series #8 Stromlo Forest Park 5k
38. Bob Harlow M60 21:47
40. Mick Horan M50 22:03
41. Maria O'Reilly W55 22:05
45. Yili Zhu M45 22:26
55. Kathy Sims W55 24:29
66. Mick Charlton M55 28:13
68. Geoff Barker M65 28:38
74. Carolyne Kramar W45 35:44
74 finishers

Friday 18 March: Customs Joggers 5k
Tim Calver 18:36
Yili Zhu 21:35
Bob Harlow 21:53
Caroline Campbell 26:12
Geoff Moore 26:12
Geoff Barker 35:08

Candid Canberra #61
I thought about canning the Candid Canberra series after sixty photos but then I changed my mind. Despite receiving little feedback, I think there may be non-Canberrans reading this who appreciate a taste of Canberra every now and then.

Is this one way of avoiding a parking ticket when you stay beyond your two hours? Canberra parking inspectors generally act swiftly and with style. So the absence of a ticket on the windscreen is remarkable.

"Swiftly And With Style" part three



Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEYsQSPq6QU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzyt0xf9KSk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eww0Pm24rp8

The swift and stylish speedygeese are next in action on the track this Thursday night.

Two birds are sitting on a perch...

...and one says to the other, "Do you smell fish?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ok, now that that's out of my system, here's today's news:

At training last night: Andrew (new, 8k run), Christopher (5k run), Craig (20k run), me (25k run), Rachelle (5k run), Ruth (12k run), Tim (16k run). It was a perfect evening for a long run: no breeze at all, light drizzle the whole time, and even though it was sloshy underfoot it was most pleasant. Not many turned up and we decided not to do intervals seeing as how our usual options were rather waterlogged. My 25k means I have run 86k in the four days Friday thru Monday. Wow! As a result, I did sleep in a little this morning.

It was Tim's last run with us before he heads off to Morocco next week. Bon Voyage, stay safe and well, don't run too hard, see you when you return.

Yesterday's rain down the coast was rather impressive: my eldest daughter lives at Albion Park and she said they had 290mm of rain between 9am and mid afternoon. Anyway, my son in law and their four eldest children were held up for 2-3 hours on the short trip from school to home, trapped between flood waters I think although there was a man swept away by the floods close by who died, and some of the hold-up may have been caused by that. I cannot imagine how hungry my grandchildren would have been when they eventually got home. Not to mention, busting. I know my daughter who was at home with only the one year old was very concerned for their well-being during the hours they had not arrived.

After such a traumatic time for everyone in the area, not just for them, I suspect they may all be rewarded with a day off school today.

Candid Canberra #60

As the wet weather continues, all kinds of things are popping up. And more heavy rain and storms are forecast. As long as we can squeeze in some training between the showers, all will be well.

Candid Canberra Continuation

Coming Events, week 12 of year 2011:

Mon 21st	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Tue 22nd	6:15pm	Summer Series 5k Stromlo Forest Park
Wed 23rd	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 24th	6:00pm	ACTVAC T&F
Fri 25th	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 26th	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 27th	9:00am	Vets Handicap Stromlo Forest Park

Sunday Training: I completed my 100k for the week at Stromlo yesterday, running 12k with Colin & Emma before topping it off with a 4k jog just before the rains came. The 12k included an unplanned left turn which led us up the west side of Mount Stromlo to its summit. A tad steep for the likes of me but the reward is a long steady downhill on Stromlo Road. That will be my last Sunday Stromlo session until June, as we now have events of one kind or another every Sunday morning.

Where I shall be on future Sundays:

27/3	Vets Handicap, Stromlo Forest Park
3/4	Women’s and Girls’ Fun Run
10/4	Australian Running Festival Marathon/Half Marathon
17/4	Vets Handicap, Majura
24/4	Easter
1/5	Kiama having a holiday!
8/5	Mothers Day Classic
15/5	I don’t know yet..
22/5	Rex Foulkes Half Marathon
29/5	Vets Handicap, West Stromlo
5/6	Resumption of training at Stromlo

Candid Canberra #59: Skyfire

"Fitness groups damaging Parliamentary Triangle assets"

In what has to be a typical Canberra Times beat-up, it is reported today that "thousands of dollars of damage" is being done to areas of the Parliamentary Triangle by "boot-camp operators". And that this "misuse shows a lack of respect", according to a certain aboriginal activist, who is quoted as saying that "the area has been laid out there for Canberrans and visitors to enjoy and we see it as a sight [sic] to push indigenous issues, so they should show more respect for it".

As far as "sights" go, how un-sightly is the aboriginal rubbish-dump embassy, Mr Spokesman?  If I were you, I'd remove the beam in my own eye before I worried about the speck in someone else's.

Speedygeese training continues at the Parliament House site tomorrow as usual. I will sight you there.

Where exactly is the Parliamentary Triangle?

Yes that's right. It's where we train. And have so for many years.

Not a very insightful article. More likely to be an attempt to incite a response. We shall (from now) ignore it. And watch with interest who, if anyone, writes in about it.

on the double

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Trochees:

It was a lovely autumn Canberra morning for a run: it stayed cool with the ocasional very light drizzle or mist ("mizzle"). Ruth, still training for the marathon, ran 34k, I ran 30k, Andy, Ewen & Emma P ran 20k, Mary ran 15.5k (late start), and Chuan & Ann, recovering from last Sunday's half marathon, did 12k.

In the last few kms, running by myself at that stage, I came across Keith Bateman whom I had never actually met before, although he has commented a couple of times on this blog and we are Facebook friends - http://www.facebook.com/#!/keith.bateman2. He was conducting a personal training session down by the lake for Greg Polson, who coincidentally I also know, for he was in the same class as me at Adelaide Boys High School in 1965. So it was good to see both of them, especially to meet Keith, current world record holder in the M55 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m track events, and going for another 10k record in a week's time.

Keith and Greg were doing some barefoot running practise, and Keith told me that 60% of his running is barefoot. Interesting!

So, for me, just 15k scheduled tomorrow will give me an eleventh 100km week for the year, keeping alive the hope of a faster half marathon in three weeks' time.

... this post brought to you by St Patrick Day's green, a couple of days late to be sure, never mind.

Thursday night track results

100m
W55 Noeline Burden 16.37 80.4%

200m
W55 Noeline Burden 35.46 77.4%

3000m
M50 Rod Lynch 11:15.62 75.1%
W45 Katie Forestier 11:48.42 78.0
W55 Maria O'Reilly 12:34.49 84.4
M50 Roger Pilkington 12:53.48 66.1
W40 Bronwyn Calver 12:56.60 68.2
M40 Craig Davis 13:22.97 58.9
M60 Alan Williams 14:15.89 65.6

spiral 6
5 Ruth Baussmann W60 12:20
7 Graeme Patrick M55 10:43
8 Helen Larmour W50 10:03
14 Nadine Morrison W40 10:22
15 Brett Morrison M40 10:15
17 Roger Pilkington M50 10:20
20 Rod Lynch M50 9:21
21 Tony Booth M70 12:56
22 Kathy Sims W55 11:36
24 Gary Bowen M50 10:40
27 Ewen Thompson M50 17:55
27 finishers

If all goes to plan I shall race the 5000m next Thursday evening. Anyone out there like to set the pace at exactly 4 minutes per km (96 seconds per lap)? There are several of us interested in seeing if we can get under 20 minutes next Thursday.

Ruth's back from kiwiland...

...and back in action on the track, racking up points in the Adler spiral series. Here's her unique style on display at Campbell Park last year.

*best* recent performances

A note on Tuesday's time predictor: it is supposed to be based on best recent performances, not just any and every recent run over various distances. Analysing my own race performances, I tend to run at my current potential about one run in two. So when you use the predictor to see what time you might aim for in a serious race, use your best times as predictors, not just any old time.

It is good to know whether you are ready or not for, say, a sub three hour marathon. If the table and past experience do not project to sub three, wait a little longer before running the marathon.

I use the marathon as an example because most people can't just keep racing marathons. Each marathon requires that you take much longer to recover than is needed for shorter events.

"But I know people who race many marathons and they keep running good times" I hear you say. (I have very good hearing). But I contend that such people might run half an hour faster if they stopped racing marathons so much and did only one or two of them in a year. I say that because I have seen it.

Don't race marathons to see how your marathon training is going. Race 5ks or 10ks and use the time predictor table to see what you might have run. Then when you are ready, pick a fast marathon course and go for it.

Marathon training will improve 3k, 5k, and 10k times significantly. And every time you improve over the shorter distances, you can be certain that your potential marathon time is improving proportionately. Note though, you must actually be doing the long distances required for marathon training for this to be so.

If I ever get under 38 minutes for 10k again, I will consider returning to marathon racing. Maybe. I think I enjoy 3k, 5k, 10k, 21k more than I enjoy marathons. A marathon is endured rather than enjoyed. So, maybe not, even then.

speedy and fast

Summer Series #7: Lake Ginninderra 7.1k result
11. Bob Harlow M60 30:53
17. Damian Rutledge M40 32:04
32. Roger Pilkington M50 35:46
45 finishers

Weston Creek Half Marathon relay result.
A relay team called "Run Fatboy Run" completed the half marathon course in 1:31.52. It was made up of Ken, Heidi, Katie I assume. Well run, speedygeese! Easily the fastest relay team.

Troy of the speedygeese

Running at Campbell Park last year.

Unscheduled day off
I was to run 20k today but am too busy. One day off will not hurt. Anyway I shall make up the distance on the weekend. Cooler days are on the way, I hear! See you out there soon.

The next big race

Having completed the Weston Creek Half Marathon without injury etc, I have now entered April's Australian Running Festival Half Marathon, in a team of "Metro Runners". My primary goal for this race, given that Andy Matthews will not be running in it, is to beat his time from last year when he dropped me at the turn and finished well ahead. This time, unlike last week, my taper won't include a fast 5k race five days earlier. And hopefully with the four extra weeks of training and a kilogram lighter in weight I can set off at a faster pace than 4:30s. So I hope and expect to run a bit faster than 95 minutes in April. The main difficulty I foresee is how to work out what pace I am on: last Sunday calculating splits using the formula "kms x 4.5" was bad enough!

At Ewen's request, here is a shot of Kym on Sunday wearing the running skirt that she did so well in.

Who will be the first bloke in Canberra to race in a running kilt? Perhaps Ewen, in one of these. It won't be me.

Monday night's training. Numbers were down because of the public holiday. We repeated the previous Monday's 6xhilly 640m on 5 minutes. Training were Abi, Caroline, Colin, Craig, Ewen, me, Jochen & Tim.

Results Customs 5k Friday 11 March
Bronwyn Calver 25.25
Caroline Campbell 28:19
Geoff Barker 37:20

Time Predictor
Assuming you are fit for the longer distance being compared, the following chart enables you to predict an expected time for one distance based on your best recent time for another distance:

3000 5000 10000 1/2Mar Marathon
09.45 16.40 34.30 77.00 2:41.30
10.00 17.05 35.20 78.50 2:45.20
10.15 17.30 36.10 80.40 2:49.10
10.30 17.55 37.00 82.30 2:53.00
10.45 18.20 37.50 84.20 2:56.50
11.00 18.45 38.40 86.10 3:00.40
11.15 19.10 39.30 88.00 3:04.30
11.30 19.35 40.20 89.50 3:08.20
11.45 20.00 41.10 91.40 3:12.10
12.00 20.25 42.00 93.30 3:16.00
12.15 20.50 42.50 95.20 3:19.50
12.30 21.15 43.40 97.10 3:23.40
12.45 21.40 44.30 99.00 3:27.30
13.00 22.05 45.20 1:40.50 3:31.20
13.15 22.30 46.10 1:42.40 3:35.10
13.30 22.55 47.00 1:44.30 3:39.00
13.45 23.20 47.50 1:46.20 3:42.40
14.00 23.45 48.40 1:48.10 3:46.30
14.15 24.10 49.30 1:50.00 3:50.20
14.30 24.35 50.20 1:51.50 3:54.10
14.45 25.00 51.10 1:53.40 3:58.00
15.00 25.25 52.00 1:55.30 4:01.50
15.15 25.50 52.50 1:57.20 4:05.40
15.30 26.15 53.40 1:59.10 4:09.30
15.45 26.40 54.30 2:01.00 4:13.20
16.00 27.05 55.20 2:02.50 4:17.10

Provided you set off at an even pace for the new distance, you will achieve the predicted time.

The chart works even if your performances never compare in a straight line along a row - just draw your normal "curve" across the table, and as one column's time improves, the others will improve correspondingly.

Canberra Day

Coming Events, week 11 of year 2011:

Mon 14th	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Tue 15th	6:15pm	Summer Series 7.1k Lake Ginninderra
Wed 16th	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 17th	6:00pm	ACTVAC T&F
Fri 18th	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 19th	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 20th	7:00am	Stromlo Forest Park

Today is "Canberra Day". A celebration of the ACT government's desire to ingratiate itself with voters by declaring many public holidays each year. Regardless, we shall ignore the holiday and conduct speedygeese training at the usual time and place.

Weston Creek Half Marathon
Speedygeese:
29. Kym Chisholm 1:33:17
31. Geoff Moore 1:34:34
55. Mick Horan 1:41:31
61. Cathy Newman 1:43:38
64. Andy Matthews 1:44:36
65. Warrick Howieson 1:44:45
70. Yili Zhu 1:46:09
90. Roger Pilkington 1:52:42
99. Katherine Sheppard 1:55:39
113. Caroline Campbell 2:00:02
119. Zainab Farouk 2:02:19

Metro Runners:
127. Chuan Foo 2:06:14
144. Ann Go 2:16:19

159 finishers

Katherine

After the Half. Not the only one with hands on hips.

Kerrie & Kym fly

Saturday’s Six Foot Track Result:
one member of the speedygeese ran this year.
227th Kerrie Tanner, 6th female, 1st W50 by 25 seconds
843 official finishers.
Kerrie ran 5:10.40, which was 30 minutes faster than her time last year. Congratulations!

Sunday's Weston Creek Half Marathon
I achieved my goal, breaking 95 minutes, but the star was Kym who finished second female and won her age group.

Speedygeese gold went to both Kym and Caroline

Metro runners Chuan and Ann successfully completed the Half Marathon.

By way of a report, I found it harder than I had hoped, but managed to stay on 4:30 pace right to the end, with some effort of willpower. It was warm and I was never comfortable. But it was great to achieve my goal, and it was great to complete the race with no niggles, blisters etc.

My Garmin 405 experience was interesting. I had set it to beep every 5km, but that proved to be a mistake. While I could see my time at 1, 2, 3 and 4k, I could not read the display after it signalled at 5k even though it stayed on the dial for a brief time. The lap split display was far to small for my eyes to make out. So I won't be setting lap splits in future.

The other thing about the Garmin was, after one hour the display changed from minutes/seconds to hours/minutes. There may have been seconds on there but again, if there were, the display was far too small for me to see. That means after one hour I did not know exactly how far ahead of schedule I was. From 5k on it had always been about 15-20 seconds up, and I had an idea that I had maintained that, but I didn't really know. Is there a setting for keeping minutes/seconds after one hour? I haven't checked yet. [edit: trial & error -> if I display two data fields, not three, seconds become the same size as hours/minutes].

Shoes? Perfectly happy with the Saucony Kirvana, the best shoes I have ever worn. I would wear them in a marathon. If I were to run a marathon, which I am not.

The Weston Creek Half Marathon is an excellent race for trying out the gear you plan to use later in the year in bigger races. Not to mention seeing what your form is like before the winter season gets underway. Therefore I declare the event a resounding success.

Sub 20, will it happen? Yes it will!

I haven’t been near 20 minutes for over two years. But I am hoping that I, along with half a dozen of the speedygeese training group, will improve enough this year to crack the 20 minute barrier for a 5000m race.

My recent good 5k track races:
25/02/09 - 20:01 in Geelong.
Prior to that the only (recent) sub 20 minutes, all at the AIS athletic track, were
6/11/08 - 19:54.
13/03/08 - 19:32.
and 1/2/07 - 19:27.

So it hasn’t been that long, in the grand scheme of things, since I was running reasonably well: but unfortunately it hasn’t been very often. When I break 20 minutes this year, I don’t really want sub 20 to be a one-off, so I am trying to be patient by building a good fitness base as first priority.

If I do it on the road, I will make sure the distance is accurate before claiming a breakthrough! Last Tuesday's road 20:16 was on an accurate course. So we're nearly there.

Dickson Oval training
For information, speedygeese training at Dickson oval under lights officially starts immediately after Easter, on Thursday 28 April.

Tomorrow's Half Marathon:
My new Garmin Forerunner 405 is now set to signal laps at 5k intervals. All I have to do is stick to my plan of running each 5k split in 22:30. This should be relatively easy to achieve, on current form. In fact my recent 5k time projects to a half marathon in 93 minutes, but I am not going to expect a time that fast yet, and not on the Weston Creek course anyway. Stay tuned to see if I can crack 95! Much faster halves are anticipated later in the year, so there is no hurry to go as fast as possible now.

This will beep every 5k to remind me I should be running 22:30's.

For interest, also based on my recent 5k time, the projected full Marathon time is about 3:15. I looked up what the time equivalents would be, to make sure my 95 minute target for the Half was not too ambitious.

Speedygeese at Vets Track Thursday 10th
100m
M60 Garry Maher 14.69 81.6%

800m
M40 Damian Rutledge 2:13.39 82.7%
M55 Ken White 2:22.17 86.7
W40 Heidi Johnston 2:40.57 72.6

3000m
W50 Helen Larmour 12:40.05 78.4%
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:07.71 67.2
M70 Tony Booth 15:17.29 67.2

5000m
M50 Roger Pilkington 21:18.27 68.8%
M40 Craig Davis 23:45.07 57.1

Happy Birthday Christopher, new M60

Chrstopher Lang will be turning 60 tomorrow.

yes and no

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E18ElOoq0QY&feature=player_embedded

Good conditions at Vets track last night; small turn-out. There were only about ten runners in the final 3k/5k: not much chance of a very fast time when you're running by yourself.

Roger was one of four runners doing the 5k.

Coming events for 2011 from the YCRC website
Mar 2011
Sat 12 Mar SIX FOOT TRACK MARATHON (NSW)
Sun 13 Mar 26TH ANNUAL WESTON CREEK HALF MARATHON
Tue 15 Mar LAKE GINNINDERRA 2/7.1KM R
Tue 22 Mar STROMLO FOREST PARK 2/5KM CC
Sat 26 Mar DUNROSSIL DRIVE 2.1/4.2KM CC

Apr 2011
Sat 2 Apr REGATTA POINT 1.6/5KM R
Sun 3 Apr ACTEWAGL WOMEN AND GIRLS' FUN RUN/WALK
Sun 10 Apr CANBERRA MARATHON & 50K
Sat 16 Apr ANZAC RELAYS 4X3.6KM R
Sat 30 Apr STROMLO FOREST PARK 1.5/5/7.5KM CC

May 2011
Sun 1 May WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Sat 7 May NORTH LYNEHAM 1.6/3.1/6.2KM GR
Sun 8 May MOTHER'S DAY CLASSIC CANBERRA
Sat 14 May MILL CREEK 1.6/3/6KM
Tue 17 May BLACK MOUNTAIN RUN UP AND POWER WALK
Thu 19 May ABS FUN RUN
Sat 21 May HALF MARATHON EVE 1.6/5KM
Sun 22 May REX FOULKES HALF MARATHON
Sat 28 May CAMPBELL PARK 1.6/3/6KM GR

Jun 2011
Sat 4 Jun LONGSTAFF/PENNINGTON 1.6/4/8/12KM CC
Sun 5 Jun WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Sat 11 Jun GOOROOYAROO 1.6/4/8KM GR/CC
Sat 18 Jun ACT CC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sat 25 Jun RELAYS

Jul 2011
Sat 2 Jul SYMONSTON 1.6/4.5/9K CC
Sun 3 Jul WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Sat 9 Jul COOLEMAN RIDGE 1.6/5/8KM GR
Sat 16 Jul LOTUS BAY 1.6/3/5K CC
Sat 23 Jul RUNNERS SHOP 1.6/5/10KM R
Sat 30 Jul BUSH CAPITAL BUSH MARATHON FESTIVAL

Aug 2011
Sat 6 Aug WATSON 1.6/3/5K CC
Sun 7 Aug WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Sat 13 Aug STROMLO FOREST PARK 1.5/3/5KM CC
Sat 27 Aug RELAYS

Sep 2011
Sat 3 Sep WEST BASIN 5K/10 MILE
Sun 4 Sep WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG

Oct 2011
Sun 2 Oct WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG

Nov 2011
Tue 1 Nov BOAT HOUSE EAST 2/5KM R/CC
Sun 6 Nov WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Tue 8 Nov WESTON PARK 2/5KM R/CC
Tue 15 Nov BARRENJOEY DRIVE 2/5KM GR
Tue 22 Nov BLACK MOUNTAIN PENINSULA 2/5KM
Tue 29 Nov STROMLO FOREST PARK 2/5KM CC

Dec 2011
Sun 4 Dec WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' JOGALONG
Tue 6 Dec CHRISTMAS RELAYS

mathematically annoying

from http://xkcd.com/. Click to enlarge.

Candid Canberra #58: Rosellas

Just one more reason why I love Canberra.

Do come along to Vets Track tonight. I am the Meet Director this week. And it's cool; you can run a good time in the 800m, the 3000m (early), and/or the 3000m/5000m (late).

Acton 5k Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S9voVRcbiw)



Taken by Ewen at the 2.5k turn.

Interesting how wide some runners went at the turn. And check out the cyclists "sharing" the path with us. Week-day cyclists are the worst! The ones in this video give you a hint of what they were like, but they are not too bad compared with ruder ones we experienced that day.

On the other hand, the weekend cyclists we experience in the same area are courteous, polite and friendly. Not so much the lycra clad individual speed merchants, more the ones in recreational cycling groups. We should always return good for good and thank them as they pass by.

(

speedygeese results
Friday's Customs Joggers 5k:
Tim Calver 18:39
Bronwyn Calver 24:07 23:46!
Caroline Campbell 27:24.

Tuesday's Summer Series #6: Acton Ferry Terminal 5k
22. Geoff Moore M60 20:16
28. Bob Harlow M60 21:11
36. Yili Zhu M45 22:04
50. Mick Horan M50 23:28
68. Mick Charlton M55 27:03
73. Caroline Campbell W65 27:24
86 finishers

Another significant improvement, and only 17 seconds faster will get me that sub-20 target for the year.  My splits were 10:05 to the turn and 10:11 back. It's looking good for this Sunday's Half Marathon; after that I will decide where and when my next 5k will be.

Happy runners at North Curtin

includes Ewen, Ruth, Janene, David and some of the Broulee runners. Photographer: me.

(an unmatched left parethensis causes an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.

hair of gold and lips like cherries

Training last night at Parliament House were Abi, Caroline, Christopher, Colin, Craig, Emma, Ewen, me, Helen, Jochen, Joel, Katherine, Mick & Neil. We ran 640m intervals on 5 minutes, six of them, on a 300m circuit which involved running the uphill section three times. Notably, new green green grass has been laid on these hills around Parliament House and the surfaces are soft, even, and most pleasant to run on, unlike the squares of rough grass down towards old Parliament House that we have recently used. A very enjoyable session.

Today I race at Acton over 5k: last year's time is the time to beat: 21:35. If I can achieve that, it will be the first real sign that my training is on track.

I am mentioning again that online entries for the March 13 Weston Creek Half Marathon close Wednesday 9 March, tomorrow.

ACTVAC results from the weekend:
60m Championships
M60 Garry Maher 9.06 87.6%
W40 Emma Adams 9.16 80.1
W55 Noeline Burden 10.00 85.8

100m Championships
M60 Garry Maher 15.22 78.8%
W40 Emma Adams 14.44 77.8
W55 Noeline Burden 16.27 80.9

200m Championships
M60 Garry Maher 30.74 80.1%
W40 Emma Adams 30.67 75.5
W55 Noeline Burden 34.82 78.8

400m Championships

M open Joel Pearson 56.03
M40 Damian Rutledge 55.04 86.3%
M70 Tony Booth 1:32.92 65.9
W40 Emma Adams 1:06.28 80.9
W55 Noeline Burden 1:23.08 74.7

800m Championships
M40 Damian Rutledge 2:15.16 81.6%
M40 Brett Morrison 2:35.69 69.6
M55 Ken White 2:24.82 85.1
M70 Tony Booth 3:11.99 74.4
W40 Emma Adams 2:32.11 78.0
W40 Heidi Johnston 2:36.83 74.3
W45 Katie Forestier 2:41.79 75.3
W50 Helen Larmour 2:54.14 73.9

1500m Championships
M40 Brett Morrison 5:30.01 67.8%
M55 Ken White 5:02.57 84.6
M70 Tony Booth 6:51.05 71.5
W40 Heidi Johnston 5:20.12 76.8
W45 Katie Forestier 5:27.43 79.4
W50 Helen Larmour 5:43.34 81.6
W55 Kathy Sims 6:02.77 86.1

perfect weather for a half marathon race

Coming Events, week 10 of year 2011:

Mon 7th	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Tue 8th	6:15pm	Summer Series 5k Acton Ferry Terminal
Wed 9th	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 10th	6:00pm	ACTVAC T&F
Fri 11th	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 12th	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 13th	7:30am	Weston Creek Half Marathon

For the March 13 Weston Creek Half Marathon, online entries close Wednesday 9 March. Register at
https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?ID=3373

For me, Weston Creek is a stepping stone to faster half marathons later in the year. So there is no pressure. 95 minutes seems like a sensible time to aim for; and it is 4:30 per km almost exactly; simple mathematics even for me. I may well set out at that pace in the first half, and if I am having a good day (which is expected) I can speed up in the second half, or if I am having a bad day, which is also a possibility, I won't have started too fast, and it won't have been too bad.

Today's post is brought to you by the colour navy.

in search of good running form

This is not photoshopped, Ewen really does look like this when he runs. This could explain his recent times.

some days are diamonds

some days are stone
sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone
sometimes the cold winds blow a chill in my bones
some days are diamonds, some days are stone
-according to an excruciating Canadian singer, anyway.

Today was the first "cold wind" day of 2011. More to come I'm sure. But excellent running conditions and many rowers, runners, and cyclists were on and around our lake again this morning. Their numbers are increasing, probably reflecting how our population is increasing, inner-city especially, rather than a sudden surge of interest in exercising. Two Metro Runners who are entering the Weston Creek Half Marathon next weekend joined us today, Ann and Chuan, and ran a comfortable 18k, along with Ewen, Emma, Andy and me. All looks good for the Half.

Metro Runner Ann

And, happy birthday Suzie, 35 years old today! Welcome to the new age-group!

From xkcd.com:

"Also in the right quadrant are NFPA-compliant chemical manufacturers and Sir Charles Wheatstone. Sharing the top with the internet libertarians are Nate Silver and several politically-active kite designers"

OK? "Some days are diamonds". No, I don't know what that means, either.

hoop pines and sport stars

Happy Birthday CJ, 50 years old today!

What if interviewers behaved like the politicians they interview? Clarke&Dawe, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGXGoYRKfnA&feature=player_embedded



The Hoop Pine planting ceremony
Chief Minister Jon Stanhope is letting us know that on top of luring a string of foreign dignitaries to his arboretum he’s now be able to star spot with some sportspeople:
Mr Stanhope said he was delighted that Mal Meninga, Lauren Jackson, Robert De Castella, and David Campese had agreed to attend the special tree planting ceremony on Monday, March 7.
“These individuals have made a remarkable contribution to our city and our nation as sporting champions and role-models for aspiring athletes,” Mr Stanhope said. “And now their legacy and connection to Canberra will be recognised through the planting of a tree at the National Arboretum.”
The sporting stars will each plant an Araucaria cunninghamii, commonly known as the Hoop pine, which is native to eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. The drought resistant tree grows to a height of 30-36m and can live up to 450 years.
All Canberra sport and tree lovers are invited to come along to watch a 11am in the National Arboretum’s Central Valley.

Candid Canberra #57 - the Canberra Sky

"The World's Toughest Footrace"

Tim Calver is running in the Marathon Des Sables – a 7 day, 6 stage foot race across the Moroccan Sahara Desert, in April this year.

He is raising money for CanTeen and is seeking sponsors and supporters - see his website http://www.desertultrarun.com/ for more information.

A huge amount of work and preparation is taking place just to get him to the event, besides all the serious training he has undertaken.

It's a daunting run! And lets hope the unrest in Morocco stays far away from the runners. The run itself should be more than enough of a challenge.

An excerpt from Tim's website:
It covers 245km/153 miles (in sections similar to 25, 34, 38, 82, 42, 22 km) run over 6 days (7 for some) - equivalent to 5 1/2 regular marathons. That is a speed of between 3km [walking] and 14 km [running - fast!] an hour for competitors aged between 16 and 78. In addition to that, competitors have to carry everything they will need for the duration (apart from a tent) on their backs in a rucksack (food, clothes, medical kit, sleeping bag etc). Water is rationed and handed out at each checkpoint.

We have to carry and prepare all of our own food throughout the race and we will not find any supermarkets or corner grocery shops dotted around the Sahara. We will experience mid-day temperatures of up to 50°c and nights down to 0°c. All this whilst running or walking on uneven rocky, stony ground, no hard concrete or black strip of bitumen to run on and 15 - 20% of the distance is in sand dunes.

The heat, distance and rubbing has potential to destroy feet and may cause severe trauma if incorrect shoes and equipment are used. Mental stamina probably constitutes at least 50% of whether I will complete the distance or not. Physical fitness is important but mental stress should not be underestimated.. Even if you have run dozens of marathons, this does not mean that you will automatically find the Marathon of the Sands easy - either way I will be planning to do lots of training prior to the MdS.

On the 4th day, we will set off across the barren wilderness to complete an 84km stage. The top 50 men and top 5 women start at noon with the rest of the field [that are left standing] heading off at 9am.

Few people complete this before dark that evening and some will not come in until after dark the next night. This is followed by the 42km Marathon stage. It's very tough!

Could there be a similar run set up here in Australia some time in the future? The climate and conditions can be pretty daunting at times...

autumn

It is Autumn at last, and the weather is much more pleasant for running already. So there is no excuse to stay indoors! The ACTVAC Track and Field Championships are on Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 March. The program is available through the ‘News’ section of the ACTVAC website www.actvac.com.au. Entries have now closed and there will be no entries on the day. Please note – there will be no track and field program this Thursday night.

Verti-cool challenge tower race
158 Katherine Sheppard 27th female 5:24
509 finishers

Verti-cool ultimate challenge
83 Tim Calver 23:20 (with back pack)
99 Bronwyn Calver 11th female 24:08
106 Geoff Barker 24:49
178 finishers

YCRC Summer Series #5 Weston Park 5k
26. Kym Chisholm 22:13
35. Bob Harlow M60 24:23
40. Geoff Moore M60 25:12
52. Mick Horan M50 27:04
53. Neil Boden M60 27:44
57. Ewen Thompson M50 28:05
59. Ruth Baussmann W60 28:32
62. Mick Charlton M55 30:07
66. Geoff Barker M65 31:13
77 finishers
I was with Kym at 1k but the very rough going caused me knee problems and I stopped and stretched, then ran with Ewen in the second k on the steep bits. The knee came good and I enjoyed passing people in the last 3k. My new Garmin 405 (which I only bought yesterday before the race) said I ran 5.09k, Ruth's said 5.08k, and given I ran wider than she did, we have synchronicity. The extra distance and tough course means it was a very good run by Kym, I won't be challenging her on the mountain runs this year or ever!

Metro Runner Alison with hair

Alison is shaving her head for the Leukaemia Foundation on March 18. She would love your support! http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/personalPage.aspx?langPref=en-CA&registrationID=387392. I shall see if I can get an "after" picture!