a niggle in the glutes

This may be the best Clarke & Dawe yet: from http://youtu.be/iugeQnDcp2U




Strength exercise #4. Tricep Dips

• Sit with your back to a bench or chair
• Place your hands on the bench so your fingers are pointing to you
• Lift your bottom off the ground and straighten your legs so only your heels are on the floor
• Bend your elbows out behind you to lower your bottom towards the floor
• Push back up until your elbows are straight

Variation - Perform with the feet raised up on another chair or bench to increase the difficulty

Noeline racing the 4k at O'Connor Ridge

It is one week until the Australian Masters Games begins in Adelaide. Noeline and Garry are competing in athletics events, as far as I know; Heidi has entered the W40 400m, 800m & 1500m, and I have entered the M60 5000m, 8k Cross Country, and Half Marathon. The four of us are medal prospects. There may be others who are there for one of the many sports on offer. If you are going, or know someone who is, please comment below & I will endeavour to catch up, maybe even see you compete.

It's Thea's birthday today! She's 29 years old, one year to go until Vets. It's also my grandson Tyler Moore's birthday today, he's just six!

stormy weather

...but all sports grounds in the ACT are open.
...but I have decided to cancel training today. It is too cold and wet out there.

Strength exercise #3. Chin-Ups

• Grasp an overhead bar with a reverse grip as shown
• Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar
• Slowly lower yourself back down

Variations - Perform with a wide grip i.e. hands wide apart on the bar, palms facing away from you

A group heading off in last Sunday's O'Connor Ridge 8k handicap. Includes Brett & Nadine taking care to slowly work back into racing.

running around in different circles

Change

• I'm older
• I'm fitter
• I'm handing over tasks from two different committees to other people
• I've just joined Google+
• I've just gone back to Google Chrome

Change is Good.
Why Google+? Facebook is great but a few friends are starting to use Google+ now which makes it worth trialling.
Why Google Chrome? Firefox is OK but this newest version of Chrome might be even better so I shall try it for a while.
Also I am attracted to the idea of integrated "everything Google".
Facebook Timeline is coming! The war of the worlds – Google v Facebook – will be most stimulating and enjoyable.
I love change.

Strength #2. Diamond Push-Ups

• Kneel on all fours with the hands close together so the two index fingers and two thumbs are touching and form a diamond shape
• Straighten your legs out behind you so that your weight is distributed between your hands and toes
• Bend the elbows back to lower the chest towards the floor
• Push back up to the starting position

Variation - Perform with the hands on a medicine ball to add another degree of difficulty.

Club Secretary Graham Burke and club Treasurer Nick Blackaby at O'Connor Ridge, before the run.

training partner needed this week

Today a young English lady came to the AIS looking for information about joining a running group. Slight problem, she is only here for a week at the most, but is really keen to meet up with anyone interested in going for a long run with her.

Anne-Marie said she runs sub 3hr marathon, so could you put this on your blog for her please ?

If anyone is interested, they can text her on:

00447983360820

exercises for strength

Strength #1. Push-Ups

• Kneel on all fours with the hands a little wider than shoulder width
• Straighten your legs out behind you so that your weight is distributed between your hands and toes
• Bend the elbows outwards to lower the chest towards the floor
• Push back up to the starting position

Training at Parliament House: Last night Craig, Ewen, me, Helen & Jen ran the early run, then for the main session Abi, Andrew, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Colin, Craig, Kym, Neil, Ruth & Warrick ran six intervals on five minutes of a 660m circuit which included one grasy hill three times. After the session I went to a meeting where a friend, one of the participants, was telling me about her best friend Vanessa and Vanessa's husband Warrick who had just run the Sydney marathon .... small world, same Warrick.

Last Friday's Customs 5k:
Andrew Simpson 20:03
Yili Zhu 21:35 
Gary Bowen 22:29
Yelena Pearson 27:33

Today's Ginninderra Handicap 7k:
Geoff Moore 29:41
Miranda Rawlinson 36:40

Sunday at O'Connor Ridge's Vets Handicap
Mary Ann and Tony chatting before the run. 

swans are a swimmin'

Song of the week: "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks", by The National, from "High Violet"
Leave your home
Change your name
Live alone
Eat your cake

Vanderlyle, crybaby, cry
Oh the waters are risin'
Still no surprisin' you
Vanderlyle, crybaby, cry
Man it’s all been forgivin'
Swans are a swimmin'
I'll explain everything to the geeks

All the very best of us
String ourselves up for love
All the very best of us
String ourselves up for love

Hangin' from chandeliers
Same small world
At your heels
I'll explain everything to the geeks

Well when you listen to the song it *sounds* like "I'll explain everything to the geese"!

At http://youtu.be/1a1UoljLWrY:

some things just take time

Coming Events week 39 of year 2011:

Mon 26 Sep	4:30pm	*Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	*Parliament House speedygeese training
Tue 27 Sep	12:15pm	*Ginninderra 7k handicap
Wed 28 Sep	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 29 Sep	4:00pm	*Dickson Oval long run
	5:30pm	*Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 30 Sep	12:15pm	*Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 1 Oct	8:00am	*Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 2 Oct	9:00am	YCRC Women’s Jogalong, Weston Park

* = "I plan to be there".

October Handicap at the arboretum course: A course map was in Vetrunner but there will have to be some changes as the start/finish area cannot be used. A new course map should be available this coming Sunday or Monday. I plan to do a familiarisation run over the new course Tuesday lunchtime 4 October, and it may be the only chance I have. Would anyone like to join me? It appears to be a rather hilly course, even compared to yesterday's.

I am finally seeing some improvement again. Since March it has been only plateau. As the saying goes, "Some things just take time. You can't have a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant". I anticipate this will provoke some comment from the usual suspects, go for it.

Today's ACTVAC handicap races

Sunday 25/09/11 - O`Connor Ridge 8k
4 Charlie McCormack W45 38:22 77.7%
8 Geoff Barker M65 59:02 55.0      **bronze**
17 Geoff Moore M60 36:07 85.7
32 Helen Larmour W50 38:18 84.7
36 Damian Rutledge M40 36:19 73.5
43 David Baussmann M60 42:01 73.2
44 Rod Lynch M50 35:15 79.7
48 Ruth Baussmann W60 49:08 72.5
54 Alan Duus M65 44:03 70.8
59 Janene Kingston W45 44:39 67.9
63 Roger Pilkington M50 40:23 70.2
64 Nadine Morrison W40 71:37 40.2
68 Brett Morrison M40 71:43 36.9
69 Debbie Cowell W50 38:19 83.9
72 Caroline Campbell W65 49:33 83.3
81 Alan Williams M60 49:54 62.3
86 Jeni Greenland W35 47:33 58.9
94 finishers

Sunday 25/09/11 - O`Connor Ridge 4k
4 Noeline Burden W55 22:51 70.4%    **silver**
7 Gary Bowen M50 17:18 78.7
14 Ken White M55 17:47 78.5
20 Heidi Johnston W40 18:27 74.6
22 Katie Forestier W45 16:40 84.4
23 Ewen Thompson M50 18:56 71.9
26 Emma Adams W40 18:38 74.2
29 Amanda Walker W40 20:07 69.1
36 Garry Maher M60 24:53 59.0
38 Phillip Toomey M65 32:37 45.3
39 Tony Booth M70 29:29 56.6
41 finishers

please poke the penguin for me

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/pokepenguin

See you at O'Connor Ridge tomorrow morning. Looks like rain? Not sure how I will go, it's been an interrupted training week this week. But I plan to run.

“Is it Saturn?"

Clarke&Dawe in touch with reality. From http://youtu.be/qoO3NR4ol4



Last night at the Dog Park: Ewen, Craig, Jen & I ran early; Nadine did an early run too; Yelena ran the warm-up run but had to leave; on the grass track at Yarralumla 2, 400m (exactly one lap) intervals were run by Andrew, Bronwyn, Caroline, Craig, Nadine, Ewen and Jeni. One lap timed, then four laps handicapped. Next week we return to Dickson, for just two weeks and then the track season starts on 13 October with races at the AIS Athletics track on Thursday nights from 6:00pm.

opinions

Running is easy yes? Put one foot in front of the other. Running up and down hills is good yes? Helps with strength, balance, power and speed. But when it comes to the fine detail, there are many opinions.

Everyone has opinions. To help clarify what some of mine are I shall analyse other people's. Remember, what they say and what I think are still just opinions.

Hill Workouts: Proper form helps you power up any incline.
I'm not sure there's a "proper form"; we are all different.

HEAD: "Keep your head and chest up. Don't slouch," says Olympian Adam Goucher. Attempting to "grit out" a hill, many runners put their head down, which wastes energy by throwing off their form.
Maybe, but posture is more than head and chest. It is also a good pelvic tilt which switches on the hip flexors and brings the knees up. And it's more than that too.

EYES: To keep your body upright, "fix your eyes directly ahead of you, not down at your feet," says cross-country champ Lynn Jennings. "You will sleekly move up the hill."
Yeah, and sleekly trip over a rock.

HANDS: "Keep your hands loose, no fists," says Jim Schlentz, who coached Olympian Kate Fonshell. Loose hands help your whole body stay relaxed.
Not sure about that, All drive starts in the arms, the legs follow. Some active tension would seem necessary in the hands and wrists as the arms drive forward and pull back.

LEGS: "Push your legs off and up, rather than into, the hill," says Goucher. This helps you feel "light," as if you're "springing" up the hill.
I like that one!

GOING UP: Run the first two-thirds of the hill relaxed, then slightly accelerate the last part, while carrying your pace over the top, says Schlentz. "Don't push too hard at the bottom of a hill," he says. "Then you're dead at the top."
I'd take it further; fly up the hill relaxed to start with, fly over the top, and fly down the other side, avoiding the temptation to recover by slowing down over the top. That's where I find I can break away from others in a race.

BRAIN: "Visualize the crest of a hill 20 meters beyond where it really is, so you run to the top-and keep going," says Jennings. "I would tell myself, 'Up and over, up and over,' and would not relax till past the top."
Yes, up, over, and beyond.

TORSO: "Lean forward," says Jennings. "It maintains momentum."
Up a hill it's not a bad idea. Lean slightly forward up hill and run tall. Lean slightly backward down hill and run tall.

ARMS: Coach and marathon champ Alberto Salazar emphasizes accelerated arm action to drive up a hill: "Concentrate on overusing the arms to really power up, so your running almost simulates sprinting." Your arms should form a 90-degree angle at the elbow, and swing straight back and forth, not across your body.
Good except there must be some MOBILITY IN THE ELBOW JOINT. Does no-one understand this?

FEET: "Get up on your forefeet and take shorter strides," says Jennings. "Run with punctuation."
Yes that's what we try to do.

GOING DOWN: "Your feet should land underneath you," says Schlentz. "This produces minimal shock on the body." A shortened arm-swing will help shorten the stride.
Especially when steep and rough I guess. I haven't checked this one out, I don't know where the feet "should" land.

My opinion is you should start out conservatively when you first train on hills, let the body adapt to the new kind of training, and learn what gets you up and over the hills faster. And I coach mature age runners, whose running form is often more suspect than the running form of kids. And I say, the key is, no two people are the same, and for each person, practice makes perfect.

track and field

ACTVAC track starts on Thursday 13 October. The full 2011-2012 program is at http://actvac.com.au/Track/TF2011.pdf. In the first week there is a 3000m at 6pm, a 1500m at 7.15pm, and a combined 3k/5k at 8:05pm. I will be away much of October, but should be back by the third week of track, cheering you on, and joining in for the occasional race most weeks depending on how it fits into the training plan.

Kathy Southgate, watched by her daughter, finishing the 3000m a few weeks ago. The clock is just ticking past the W55 national record. Click to enlarge.

No-one gets hurt

Song of the week: "Codex", by Radiohead, from "The King Of Limbs". http://youtu.be/nVw9gsNFZlA


Rumour has it that "The King of Limbs 2" is going to be released this year.

Training at Parliament House last night: doing the early run were Craig, Ewen, Jen & I. Back at Parliament House for our interval session were Abi, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Cathy, Colin, David, Helen, Kym, Neil, Rae, Rebecca (new), Ruth & Yelena. We ran sets of the longer zigzag interval in teams of three, chosen by height, thus proving conclusively that taller runners are faster than shorter runners. At least when running diagonally down a grassy slope in the dark then up the grass next to flagpoles, then resting before repeating the effort many times.
It was good to see that two of the three slightly injured speedygeese were back and running well again. And last night, no-one got hurt.

Warrick also came by and said hello, telling us about Sunday's marathon and receiving our congratulations. Here's an email from him about the race.
Well, alot of training had gone into this one, i went in feeling good. Got to the start at Milsons Point just in time to see the halfers starting their run over the bridge.

Ahoy!

Coming Events week 38 of year 2011:

Mon 19 Sep	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Wed 21 Sep	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
	7:00pm	Speedygeese dinner
Thu 22 Sep	4:00pm	Banks St Yarralumla long run
	5:30pm	Banks St Yarralumla speedygeese training
Fri 23 Sep	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 24 Sep	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 25 Sep	9:00am	ACTVAC Handicap, O’Connor Ridge

Happy Birthday Ian Dalziel, 60 years old today

Ian was a member of the training group back in the OLD days.

Avast! Message from Maria!
Phew!- My 5th day of the tour! Truly spectacular scenery, luckily not all hills and of course the food and wine to reward us at the end of the day!
Julia and Marc joined us for this leg of our trip and it's been great to catch up with both of them!
Peter's many hours organising the trip meant he chose a company that knows the Burgundy region well and has gently eased us into the trip. Good bikes and well detailed maps with the odd complementary wine tasting and good meal!
The optional trip that Peter and I did on the 1st day (before Julia and Marc arrived) was a little tough on me as I have not been on a bike for ages and there were some hills! However, it did get me more familiar with the bike and the important gear changing needed.
The bike trips been a great way to see the Burgundy region- covered with vineyards, old stone churches and chateaus. Today was the most challenging as we hit the ' best' wine country in the land. The cost of this was to ride over some steep hills and then race down some very steep terrain! Quads are feeling it at the moment.
No running while on the bike tour! We head to Dublin soon and then to England to catch up with Juanita. Time is flying! We'll be home soon and will then try to get back into work routine! The food and wine here has been fab ( I can't resist the cheeses or the wines and Peter's weakness is the wine and the croissants and jam!)
See you all in the near future keep us in touch- We love to her the news from Canberra.
Stay safe and happy
Love Peter and Maria

Arrr!

Stretch #6 Standing adductor stretch.

• Stand with your feet wide apart and knees straight.
   
• Bend the left knee out to the side and lean to the left.
   
• Hold for 20 seconds.

go jump in the lake

Sydney running festival
Very hot condition meant most runners slowed down drastically in the second half and made full use of the water stations. Our Warrick was no exception: his first half was run in 1:45, and his second half in 2:09. His preparation and his physical condition were not the issue; it was simply far too hot for running a marathon, and Warrick was far too sensible to rush past drink stations. I would have been looking for a lake to jump into!.

speedygeese in the Sydney marathon
Warrick Howieson 3:54.00

speedygeese in the half marathon
Michelle Wells 1:31.43 pb for any half marathon
Elizabeth Bennett 1:35.36
Bronia Rowe 1:45.59
Craig Davis 1:46.35
Suzie Gye 1:56.00
Susan Sturgeon 1:58.11

Michelle's performance to run a new PB under those conditions is extraordinary. She was 33rd female and 10th W35. Liz was 4th W45. Others in the half marathon I know of include Tesso 1:34.56 and Jeff Grey 1:26.36

injuries

An alarming new way to coach athletes.

From the Micallef Program, Series 1, Episode 1. “It was clearly because of the injuries and her desire to overcome the injuries that she won the gold medal, therefore I think the secret for success of the Australian Team is to injure them as much as possible…. This means a rigorous and violent training schedule for young hopefuls".

In this video, the skit in question starts at around 2:57.  From http://youtu.be/BbSBa57wz68



(If you want to see something really funny, check out the drunken man sketch)

Meanwhile, about three in our training group have minor injuries. Here's an injury list.

No injuries here: Customs 5k result. Friday 16th
Gary Bowen 21:43
Yili Zhu 22:10
Geoff Moore 22:17
Yelena Pearson 27:28
Caroline Campbell 31:03

I hope it’s not too hot for the marathon in Sydney tomorrow. Sunday's Sydney forecast: 16 to 26. Go Warrick! Don't get injured. You've survived many hill sessions, you should be OK.

Because some people are a bit sore we'll cut down on the hill running at Parliament House.

“put mask over head and breathe normally”

The only politics you need to watch to know what is going on in the world is your weekly dose of Clarke and Dawe!
From http://youtu.be/KzrpqkoF3rU



Did they know about this morning's explosions and fire?

Chemical Factory fire in Mitchell overnight, many big explosions, still burning now. We're far enough away in Holt and the wind is not blowing in this direction, so no problem here. However I am not so sure of the wisdom of running along the lake near the city at lunhtime today.

Stretch #5 Adductor stretch

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet together
• Place your hands on your ankles, or clasped as in diagram, and push down gently on your knees with your elbows to increase the stretch
• Hold for 20 seconds

This stretch I have enormous difficulty with. So I suppose that means I should practise it as often as possible. There is an easier version, lying on your back, bum up againsts the wall, legs up the wall, letting gravity assist the stretch. I might try that verson for a while.

Too nice a day to stay inside for long. So it's off to Customs after all to try and avoid another 5k PW.

Speedygeese training last night at the Yarralumla Dog Park was a great success, but accidentally so. Nadine, Tori & I discovered a grass track ("Yarralumla 2") I didn't know existed while we were running two large 5k laps outside the golf course as part of our early run. So I took the main group of Abi, Bronwyn, Cathy, Colin, Ewen, Joel, Kym, Ruth & Yelena up to the oval for half an hour of one lap intervals with a lap jog's recovery, run as a relay in teams of three. The surface was beautiful soft grass, and there was absolutely no-one else down on the oval we were training on. A welcome change from Dickson.

If we hadn't found the oval it would have been too dark to complete much training. There was enough light near the oval to enable us to see. Just.

************************************************
CHANGE OF VENUE---
Dickson is unavailable for two weeks
Thu 15 Sept & Thu 22 Sept
Meet instead at the Dog Park, Banks St Yarralumla, map below.
4:00pm early run and 5:30pm hill training
************************************************

speedygeese in Sunday's Fun Run

Canberra Times 10k Fun Run
155. 40:41 Damian Rutledge
177. 41:26 Katie Forestier
186. 41:32 David Webster
224. 42:29 Debbie Cowell
295. 43:34 Helen Larmour
311. 43:50 Bob Harlow
338. 44:12 Yili Zhu
374. 44:33 Ken White
382. 44:36 Charlie McCormack
469. 45:37 Andrew Matthews
528. 46:23 Ewen Thompson
565. 46:44 Graeme Patrick
630. 47:12 Warrick Howieson
653. 47:26 Elizabeth Mountbatten
684. 47:51 Sarah Pau
687. 47:54 Fiona Hedgecoe
706. 48:02 Bronwyn Calver
712. 48:05 Amanda Walker
748. 48:22 Emma Padovan
872. 49:23 Zainab Farouk
879. 49:28 Geoff Sims
893. 49:32 Debra Hopkins
1045 50:55 Larissa Karpish
1229 52:22 Miranda Rawlinson
1426 54:03 Rae Palmer
1460 54:17 Kerrie Tanner
1475 54:26 Cathy Montalto
1540 54:56 Caroline Campbell
1591 55:27 Jenny Bodel
1754 57:01 Ruth Baussmann
1858 57:47 Noeline Burden
2412 64:22 Cinae Ryan
2470 65:34 Geoff Barker
3128 finishers

Canberra Times 5k Fun Run
6. 21:25 Gary Bowen
8. 22:03 Heidi Johnstone
46 26:20 Janene Kingston
572 finishers

happy feet

OK, I am back on schedule during the first three days this week, and my cold is much better. The price was having to miss last Sunday's 10k, which I regret, but were I to have run the cost in terms of missed training and miserable days would likely have been greater. Happy now.

High Noon: I forget to mention in my "What's On" section that the final High Noon meet this year is on this Sunday.

Canberra Times Fun Run: Bronwyn has posted 10k times for many of the speedygeese; I shall wait for Thursday's paper as there may be other runners I wish to include in a list which will appear here on either Thursday or Friday.

Sydney Running Festival this weekend: Competing from the speedygeese in the Marathon are Warrick Howieson, also Bronia Rowe I believe. Competing in the Half Marathon are Craig Davis, Susan Sturgeon, and Suzie Gye; all three are using the Sydney Half as a warm-up for the Melbourne Marathon later in the year.

Susan & Suzie reminder...

On 9 October 2011 Susan Sturgeon & Suzie Gye are running the Melbourne marathon to raise money for the Wessex MS Therapy Centre in the UK in memory of Suzie’s Dad who passed away in June 2011. If you would like to sponsor them please use this link :)

What's with the penguin? It must be a pregnancy thing. My eldest daughter sent it to me as her Father's Day present. She is expecting her sixth child in the new year. She'll then have GBBGBG, much to the delight of G2 who would otherwise be surrounded by Bs.

Is an iron man actually a Fe male?

That was a rhetorical question.
'
Meanwhile at Parliament House training last night: Craig, Ewen & I ran early, then the interval session included Abi, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Cathy, Colin, Craig, David, me, Helen, Nadine, Neil, Rae, Ruth & Yelena. In teams of three we ran for thirty minutes lots of little sprints with a short recovery jog. A repeat of the session we did on 15 February. Specific hill runs have been moved to Banks St Yarralumla on Thursdays, for two weeks.

Reminder; please let me know by this Thursday if you are joining us at the Vietnamese Village Inn in Page on Wednesday 21st for our speedygeese dinner. So far, 16 are coming.

This Saturday at Acton Ferry Terminal let's get a larger group together at 8:00am for our long run (as long as you wish to go). The weather is warming up, let's make the most of it (before the cold change next week!)

I continue the series of stretches "which I really must do regularly" given that my lower back/hip/hamstring area has seized right up following 49 years of continuous distance running with insufficient cross training...

Stretch #4 Piriformis stretch

• Lie on the floor on your back and cross the left ankle over the right knee

• "Thread the needle" and grip the thigh of your right leg with both hands clasped together to pull the knee towards you, lifting the foot off the floor
• Pull the knee further towards you to increase the stretch
• Hold for 20 seconds

At Mt Ainslie

Young Janene with no "i" chasing hard with both feet off the ground!

Tears stream

... everything changes.

Song of the week: Fix You, by Coldplay in 2005. Video at http://youtu.be/JI-o25K6B-E



This is the best song ever written, It's amazing how meanings can change as times and circumstances also change. "Fix You" is particularly poignant today. Also, some nice running by lead singer Chris Martin in the middle of the clip. Pump up the volume and revisit your emotions!

Play it again Sam
Speaking of emotions, a neat quote from Serena Williams in the middle of her losing the US Open final to Aussie Sam Stosur. "Don't take the point off me for expressing myself. I'm an American". That just about sums it all up, doesn't it? Times change.

Food: Dinner on the 21st
Please let me know by this Thursday if you are coming to the speedygeese dinner on the 21st. So far we have 13 yes's, 13 no's, and 4 maybe's. There will be caramello koalas! Some things don't change.

Wine: Jamieson’s Run Cabernet Shiraz Merlot is a nice drop! Just saying that.

Coming Events week 37 of year 2011:
Be aware of this change to our routine. It's Banks Street on Thursday, this week and next. We'll do our hills there and our intervals Mondays.

Mon 12 Sep	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Wed 14 Sep	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 15 Sep	4:00pm	Banks St Yarralumla long run
	5:30pm	Banks St Yarralumla speedygeese training
Fri 16 Sep	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 17 Sep	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 18 Sep		Sydney Running Festival

Springing into spring
For a change, I'd like to get a whole lot of speedygeese joining me on the Saturday morning run from the Ferry Terminal. That is, if you're not going to Sydney for the marathon or the half marathon, as several are.

Loving the downhill finish

Ruth pulls away from a fast finishing Debbie in the last few metres at Mt Taylor.

bummer

I am not doing the Fun Run today - I have been sick all week. Bummer.
If I ran a 10k on the road it would only be 50 minutes or so and I'd pay for it by prolonging this cold.
Good luck to everyone who is doing the Fun Run, I look forward to hearing your race reports.

Stretch #3: Gluteus Maximus Stretch
 Another one of those stretches I use/must use more often, to help with sciatica etc. and good for the lower back after lifting or running.

Technique:

• Lie on the floor on your back.
• Pull your bent knee up towards the opposite shoulder
• Hold for 20 seconds 

Note that when doing these exercises on the floor, the head should be resting on the floor or on a cushion if more comfortable, and the shoulders should be pulled down and relaxed. The lower back stays as flat as possible, which can be achieved by keeping the belly button pulled in. But remember to breathe!

I'm flat out

...like a kitten sleeping.

I missed today's Metro run & it looks like I will miss tomorrow's Fun Run. It's just a cold. I have had it for a week now, it's getting worse.

Yesterday's Customs 5k 
Gary Bowen 22:18
Bob Harlow 23:27
Yili Zhu 24:28
Caroline Campbell 30:58
Geoff Moore 31:15
Andrew Simpson left his shorts at home.

The Dog Park notice will stay at the head of this blog for a couple of weeks. Newer posts will be below it...

Letter from Maria:
Hi there guys!

Alas can't ring like I could in the US- costs too much!- As you would know being half spanish brings out the best in  me and we both absolutely loved spain, despite its dangers to the body!

couldn’t sell lambs to a kiwi

Last night's Clarke&Dawe, from http://youtu.be/5gkmOYQyH6Y



Stretch #2: A simple outer hip stretch

• Lie on the floor flat on your back.
• Cross the right foot over the left knee, keeping the right knee bent.

• Use your left hand to pull the right knee across your body.
• Hold for 20 seconds.

Dickson training
Another perfect night at Dickson. Tori, Craig & I ran early, then the track session was 5 x (300 fast, 100 jog, 200 fast, 100 jog) as a relay in teams of three. (The second runners did the reverse: sets of 200/300.) Participating were Bronwyn, Colin, Craig, Janene, Miranda, Rod, Roger, Ruth, Suzie & Yelena who did all ten sprints; Noeline & I who ran the 200s, and Garry & Susan who ran the 300s.

Next week Thursday 15th Dickson is closed; we meet at the Dog Park, Banks St, Yarralumla.
Parking is up on the grass not far from the cycle path that runs betweem Yarralumla and Weston Park,
Thursday 22nd we will probably meet at the dog park again, while on Thursday 29th we will be back at Dickson.

Advice from the wise:

read more: page flip

Today I have changed this blog's design slightly. I have added a "Recent Comments" section and moved things around it in the side columns. Do we need "ShoutMix"? I shall probably phase it out. ShoutMix was something of an experiment anyway, but using post comments seems sufficient now that the comments appear with the initial view. Comments still appear with the relevant posts of course.

Then I started yesterday trialling "Read more" so that posts can be shorter initially, and can be expanded if and when a reader wishes. Yesterday and today I have hidden a .gif file after "read more". Did you see yesterday's? Try today's. These are animated .gif files, so if you have a slow connection, you might have to wait while they load.

instincts are misleading

"...you shouldn't think what you're feeling."

song of the week - "lightness", by DCfC. One of my favourite songs from a few years ago. From http://youtu.be/qkIqohjk82U. A nice unplugged version by two of the band.



The simplest ITB stretch. What I need to do regularly. Stretching is a discipline, I never feel like doing it, but I must factor it into the daily schedule.

This stretch loosens up the Iliotibial band.

• Stand with the leg to be stretched behind the other
• Lean over to the non-stretching side
• Push the hip you wish to stretch out to the other side
• Hold for 20 seconds

Here goes

Customs 5k Friday 2/9
Andrew Simpson 20:35
Gary Bowen 22:05
Bob Harlow 23:10
Miranda Rawlinson 26:29
Caroline Campbell 32:06

YCRC Ten Miles Saturday 3/9
33. Roger Pilkington M50 79:32
41. Alan Duus M65 84:08
42. Ewen Thompson M50 84:45
43. Mick Horan M50 85:16
48. Bronwyn Calver W40 88:42
54. Sarah Pau W35 91:02
58. Timothy Lim metro 93:27
60. Caroline Campbell W65 96:58
65. Zainab Farouk metro 99:09
66. Leanne Lee metro 99:09
67. Geoff Moore metro M60 99:09
69. Ruth Baussmann W60 99:40
70. Jennifer Bright W35 99:40
78 finishers

Jogalong Sunday 4/9
Nadine Morrison W40 27:10
Michelle Wells W35 29:37
Sarah Pau W35 32:50
Caroline Campbell W65 38:20
94 finishers

High Noon Meet Sunday 4/9
800m
Roger Pilkington 3:10

3000m
Kathy Southgate 11:17.40
Katie Forestier 11:51.40
Ken White 12:06.00
Roger Pilkington 12:46.90
Amanda Walker 13:23.50
“All track events are classed as hand timed due to system problems.”
In other words, the electronic timing was started manually?


speedygeese training at Parliament House
Last night Craig & I ran early, then joining us at 5:30pm were Andrew, Andy, Browyn, Cathy, Colin, David, Neil, Ruth, Warrick & Yelena. All regulars. Our speed session consisted of 12 x 100m hills on 90 seconds, then some attrition hill sprints. The final five, in order,  were Andrew from Colin, very close, then Andy, Bronwyn, Craig, also very close.

Spring at Parliament House

More trouble at the old tent embassy: http://the-riotact.com/trouble-at-the-old-tent-embassy/53885 It would be great to see the Parliamentary Triangle cleaned up and turned into something we Canberrans could be proud of. Most of it looks fine most of the time. As in the photo above.

This post created using the new blogger interface. Not quite the same as the old one...but better, I'd say.

cat and mouse

The latest Simon's cat, from http://youtu.be/BWIPZvwcnX8



Yesterday I ran up the hills north of Mount Stromlo, above Blewitts Pines. Haven't been there before, a slightly different view of Canberra.

I am thinking of running up there again midday tomorrow.

Coming Events week 36 of year 2011:

Mon 5 Sep	4:30pm	Parliament House 8k jog
	5:30pm	Parliament House speedygeese training
Wed 7 Sep	12:15pm	BBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 8 Sep	4:00pm	Dickson Oval long run
	5:30pm	Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 9 Sep	12:15pm	Customs Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 10 Sep	8:00am	Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sun 11 Sep		Canberra Times Fun Run

The AST percentage, how it works

For our Veterans Athletic Club races, you will often see me publish a "percentage" figure next to the time for each athlete. This is the AST percentage, with which you can compare performances by allowing for the differences in age and gender, and with which you can compare your own performances across different events or from year to year as you slow down with age.

The formula is very simple:

AST = WMA / TIME * 100

where WMA is an age standard time from a World Masters Athletics table of times at or near world bests, smoothed, for each individual age, not just age group.

Suppose for example 10 minutes were 100% (ie WMA = 10), here are some of the percentages

10 mins = 100%
15 mins = 66%
20 mins = 50%
30 mins = 33%
40 mins = 25%
50 mins = 20%, etc.

Close to the “100%” mark the AST changes rapidly, but as times get slower the AST changes much more slowly, it never reaches zero unless you were to take an infinitely long time!

And if you want to know what the value for WMA is in any instance, simply invert the formula, so that it reads

WMA = AST * TIME /100

Jen Bright managing an impossible zero AST at Mt Taylor. i.e. she didn't compete there.

Results
BBQ Stakes Wednesday 31/8
Gary Bowen 28:04 27:04
Andy Matthews 28:08
Helen Larmour 28:10
Bob Harlow 28:15
Roger Pilkington 29:02
Jen Bright 29:03
Ruth Baussmann 35:40
Kerrie Tanner 36:18
Caroline Campbell 39:47

At today's High Noon meet, Kathy Southgate smashed the ACT W55 3000m record. and was only 3 seconds outside the national record. Fantastic run, about 11:17!

tenacity

Some of my friends who ran the YCRC ten mile event this morning.

Timothy, Ruth, Leanne, Zainab, me, Sarah. Photo by Ewen on my Blackberry.

It was a beautiful spring day. Fancy, the third day of spring, and here in Canberra we have had three perfect spring days, with more to come!

The bees they are a'buzzin'

Metro runner Leanne was set the challenge of finishing under 100 minutes and she did it! Great effort. Zainab & I ran along with her, Caroline, Sarah, Ewen, Timothy and many others were ahead of us, and Ruth & Jen were running along just behind and would have helped us along if we had slowed down; they ended up running under 100 minutes too. But we kept up the pace and finished well!

going particularly well

Dickson Training is suddenly going well; we had 16 last night, the same number as at Parliament House on Monday. On what felt like a heavy track, even though the grass had been cut, we ran 12 x 200m with a recovery jog in teams of three. Present were Bronwyn, Colin, Craig, Garry, me, Janene, Miranda, Nadine, Neil, Rod, Roger, Ruth, Suzie, Tori, Margaret & Noeline.

Clarke&Dawe. From http://youtu.be/UVChkuZNlxw



My tilt at winning the Thomas Point score is also going particularly well. I am confident I can win it, I just have to improve a little and not get injured and I can do it. Main rivals with three of eleven rounds to go are fellow speedygeese Alan Duus and Roger Pilkington; I am more or less equal with both of them at this stage. Alan has a temporary small break on me, 2 points plus 3 more when lowest points get removed. Roger is some 10 points back, 13 after you take out lowest points, but is more likely to have something up his sleeve in the way of improving than I. This month of the three of us only Alan has been re-handicapped, one group back, which evens it all up. So it’s extremely close. Peter Clarke is about level with Roger when you take into account that Peter has run one less race than we have. And Peter moves forward one group, levelling things up there too. Current indications are a final result of myself, then Alan, with Roger and Peter fighting out third. Roger would disagree, and this report might just stir him up to try even harder!

Amanda at Mt Taylor

spring

• sunshine
• more time to run
• magpies dogs and bicycles
• Canberra's 10k Fun Run
• AFL finals
• a speedygeese dinner

This spring's speedygeese dinner is at the Vietnam Village Inn on Wednesday 21 September. You may now RSVP, I will have to know in the next two weeks (by the 15th) how many are able to attend. I am suggesting most of us will have the $25 banquet which includes two entrees, soup, seafood, beef & chicken dishes, rice, desserts, and tea or coffee. Please advise if you would prefer something from the menu instead. And, the restaurant is BYO.

speedygeese dinner
Vietnam Village Inn
Page shops
7:00pm
Wednesday 21 September
RSVP by Thu 15th

August Vets Handicap

Graeme Small & Jill Pearson at the Mt Taylor handicap

YCRC Ten Mile Saturday 3 September: It's an 8:00am start.

Jogalong Weston Park, Sunday 4 September
The monthly Women's Jogalong will be held in Weston Park along with the 3k and children's 1.6k Mini Jog. Please be aware that the ACT Government is holding a Fathers Day Event in Weston Park. They have asked that all vehicles be parked in the Car Parks and not along the side of the roads. If you park on the side of the road you are likely to be booked.

Note also that the Jogalong on 1 January 2012 cannot be held at Weston Park. It has been moved to Stromlo Forest Park.

Canberra Times Fun Run, Sunday 11 September
For a limited time you can still register for the Fun Run. Late entries will be open until midnight Sunday, September 4. No further registrations will be taken at that point or at the event.