awake my soul

There were 17 runners at Parliament House last night. Miranda, Ewen, Andrew, Lincoln and I ran 8k early. Other runners joining us for a Rose Garden 200m speed session were Cookie, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Craig, Havilah, Kym, Laura, Lucia, Mick C, Peter & Ruth. Some did 10 loops on 3 minutes, some did 12 on 2:30, others did their best. The chin-up test saw Havilah set a new standard for women, she completed ten straight. Craig edged me out in the men's contest, he did 1+2+3+4+1 while I managed 1+2+3+4+0. Our target is the end of February to catch up with Havilah!

Last Saturday Suzie, Andy & Zainab had a good long run from the Acton Ferry Terminal, while I was away in Wagga.

Recent speedygeese results
Vets Track 25 January
1000m
W40 Michelle Wells 3:31.43 71.8%
W45 Janene Kingston 3:55.15 69.0
M70 Tony Booth 5:05.71 61.5

Pennington 800m handicap
1 Geoff Sims M60 2:27 87.9% Y 50
2 Kathy Sims W60 2:54 83.8 Y 49
3 Kathy Southgate W55 2:43 83.2 Y 48
4 Damian Rutledge M45 2:19 80.1 Y 47
6 Ken White M55 2:29 83.4 Y 45
9 Rod Lynch M50 2:34 76.8 Y 42
12 Tony Booth M70 3:12 75.5 Y 40
14 Roger Pilkington M50 3:09 63.1 Y 38
17 Margaret McSpadden W60 4:30 58.5 Y 36

3000m
M60 Geoff Moore 12:03.48 77.7%
W60 Kathy Sims 12:38.46 88.9
M50 Ewen Thompson 12:59.93 66.6
W45 Janene Kingston 13:42.64 68.8
W60 Margaret McSpadden 18:20.92 65.0

5000m
W55 Maria O'Reilly 20:51.31 88.0%
W50 Helen Larmour 20:59.05 81.7
M50 Roger Pilkington 21:14.59 69.6
M40 Craig Davis 21:31.09 63.5

Orroral Valley 26 January
20k men
29 Bob Harlow 1.44.38
35 Robert Ey 1.50.10
39 Michael Horan 1.51.37
46 Graeme Patrick 1.55.47
49 Roger Pilkington 1.58.28
20k women
4 Kelley Flood 1.40.28
12 Carol Ey 1.54.03
20 Catherine Montalto 2.13.58
8k women
4 Caroline Campbell 50.09

Customs 5k 27 January
Miranda Rawlinson 28:00
Caroline Campbell 30:02
Geoff Barker 33:12

TACT Half Marathon 28 January
The results are impossible to locate as the website is a maze, which means (a) the results are probably posted in some random place by someone as confused as I am, and (b) I am looking in other random places. Bronwyn reports she ran 1:45.44 for 4th female.

Vets Handicap 29 January
Aranda Bushlands 6k
8 Janene Kingston W45 30:26 68.9% *silver*
12 Carol Ey W50 30:52 72.2
13 Cathy Newman W50 33:01 66.0
22 Ewen Thompson M50 35:04 56.6
23 Kathy Southgate W55 25:30 90.5
25 Mick Charlton M60 34:34 61.0
28 Helen Larmour W50 27:53 79.9
30 Maria O'Reilly W55 28:55 81.5
31 Emma Adams W40 27:20 73.3
49 Roger Pilkington M50 28:39 68.7
59 Christopher Lang M60 34:15 61.6
62 Peter McDonald M55 37:43 54.8
65 Ruth Baussmann W60 36:54 67.0
74 Craig Davis M40 32:43 55.9
75 Andrew Matthews M50 29:39 65.9
78 Rae Palmer W60 37:19 69.5
88 Margaret McSpadden W60 43:01 60.3
91 Mick Horan M50 31:00 63.0
92 David Webster M60 32:48 64.3
93 Robert Ey M50 31:25 62.2
102 Geoff Barker M65 47:03 47.6
103 Brett Morrison M40 38:42 47.3
106 finishers

Bernie (3rd), Angel (1st), Janene (2nd)

Aranda Bushlands 3k
1 Heidi Johnston W40 12:44 77.3% *gold*
10 Cathy Montalto W55 16:33 70.0
12 Graeme Patrick M55 14:31 69.0
26 Gary Bowen M50 15:39 60.7
30 Jill Pearson W50 16:16 66.5
31 finishers

Song of the week
Mumford and Sons - Awake My Soul


I only discovered this group late last year and they are already my favourite group. This is certainly my favourite song. But all their songs I do like. Nearly all.

never give up

Coming Events Week 5 of 2012:
Monday 30 Jan 4:30pm *Parliament House 8k jog
Monday 30 Jan 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Tuesday 31 Jan 12:15pm Lake Ginninderra 7k
Tuesday 31 Jan 6:15pm *Summer Series Race #1 Stromlo Forest Park 5k
Wednesday 1 Feb 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 2 Feb 6:00pm *ACTVAC track, Bruce. 3000m, 1500m, 3k/5k
Friday 3 Feb 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 4 Feb 7:00am *Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sunday 5 Feb 8:00am *Stromlo Forest Park speedygeese training
Sunday 5 Feb 9:00am Women’s 6k Jogalong, Weston Park
* = I expect to attend

I'm a bit late posting today - and haven't had time to check out race results from the last few days - no internet connection all morning! Methinks netspeed was down.

My son Nathan is officially a soldier today. I am amazed at what he had to go through during his basic training. But he never gave up. He even did over and above what he was told to do. And ended up winning the most prestigious award given to recruits, the "Most Outstanding Soldier" award. That's my boy.

Yes, "Musician Nathan Moore" was the most outstanding soldier and received this trophy. We had three exciting days in Wagga Wagga and Kapooka, and Nathan is now heading for Melbourne to complete the musical side of his training.

(Click to enlarge). Nathan and his wife Lisa. Lisa and youngest son Samuel flew from Brisbane to Canberra and then came with us up to Wagga Wagga for the occasion.

new routine

This coming week my routine changes slightly. No more gym classes on Monday+Wednesday, I am switching to Tuesday+Friday. This gives me an easier Monday with one hour less of exercise, but I shall still run in the morning and do full-on training at Parliament House in the afternoon. This may help me do better at chin-ups! Tuesdays become a bit tricky with gym in the morning plus a jog, and the YCRC Summer series race at 6:15pm. Wednesdays I will now have time to go for a longer early morning run before my lunchtime commitments. Friday is effectively a rest day, just the gym session and a few kms of easy running, plus chin-up training! I am sure that the ability to complete ten chin-ups by the end of February will significantly help me reach my 20 minute 5k goal.

Not much of a change of routine really. Still 100k per week, still one day only pushing the pace.

I have not yet entered April's marathon/50k, I still have a week or so to think about it. Now that is serious!

 "Tear yourself away from Facebook and give me dinner."

smile

the kick

Made back in 1995, a future Olympian shows early form. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNSWTwB-_bk

A race doesn't have to be close to be enjoyable to watch. I remember as a boy watching the National Cross Country at St Mary's in Adelaide, where a young Ron Clarke thrashed the field. And I remember competing in a marathon at Richmond, NSW when John Farrington sprinted away at the start, to end up with a solo 2:11. Such performances were more exciting than a close, slower race would have been.

in two minds

I was in two minds last night at the track; I couldn't work out if I were running a 3k or a 5k - the two events are combined - and I set off running the 5k but switched at the 2k mark for no reason at all. The splits were 4:04, 4:06, and 3:53. It didn't help that I misread my time at 2k as 8:00. But I still don't know why I then decided to complete just the 3k. I must focus more! It was, however, my fastest 3k since 2009. And it felt good to run faster than 4 minute pace for about 500m towards the end.

Craig ran a seriously big PB in the 5k, 21:30. Which incidentally is 17 seconds under Bronwyn's PB meaning he has achieved his primary goal in the 3000m and the 5000m; next Thursday is the 1500m Craig! Maria celebrated her 57th birthday by taking 30 seconds off the ACT W55 5k record, running ~21 minutes. Geoff S won his first ever age handicapped (Pennington or Higgins) 800m with an excellent run, with the two Kathy S's finishing second and third. There were many other highlights.

When I taper, as Ewen says probably for the ACT Championships, a sub 20 5k shall occur.

Now, the Summer Series starts on Tuesday, Jan 31 at Stromlo Forest Park (6:15pm) - see http://www.canberrarunner.org.au/index.php?module=News&action=ShowNews&id=268
That means we will have many choices of races. I shouldn't race flat out on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. I must set out a plan and stick to it. I am in two minds: this is fun but it is serious too!

"In Australia we have serious challenges to solve and we need serious people to solve them"

80 days to go until the ultra. And an opportunity to switch to the marathon if I am not focused. Now that's serious!

I shall break 20 minutes for 5k

Happy Birthday Maria, 57 today. When this blog was young, seven years ago, I wrote a profile of Maria on her fiftieth birthday. See http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2005/01/happy-50th-birthday-maria.html. She is still performing brilliantly, achieving one of the highest age-percentages of the speedygeese.
And Riki my cat is a teenager today. 13.

A recent fad, something called “Crossfit” has a following even here in the ACT, so I found this article helpful in analysing what it is about. I guess fad training systems have the same problems fad diets do. They work for a while but don't stand the test of time. http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2012/01/crossfit-endurance-tabata-sprints-and.html

I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.
I shall break 20 minutes for 5k.

Annoying enough? Good.

cat stretch

Training at Parliament House last night: Major construction was happening in preparation for the Australia Day concert, but there was room on the grassy area down towards old Parliament House for us to run continuous relays, for a change, it being cool enough for a harder session. Eighteen participants meant we had six teams of three: for twelve minutes of shorter sprints we formed three fast balanced teams and three other (I won't use the "s" word!) balanced teams. And for fifteen minutes of longer sprints we reformed into six balanced teams. In a rectangle on the grass; Short intervals: alternately diagonal or up, recovery across. Long intervals: diagonal and up, recovery down and up.  Taking part were Andrew, Andy, Caroline, Cathy, Colin, Craig, Ewen, me, Havilah (new), Laura (new), Lauren, Lincoln, Mick, Neil, Ruth, Warrick, Yelena & Zainab. Ewen & I ran 8k early as well. And I had run 6k in the morning, trying to get extra distance in before going away later in the week.

Song of the week: Charlie Brown, by Coldplay.



A rare bit of political commentary: With the US a long way from here, but the media covering political events there as if it were the main topic of conversation in Australia, which it isn’t, I am rather tired of hearing US politicians talk incessantly about “democracy” as if it’s the universal panacea for all the world’s ills. I am rather more impressed by the ideas expressed in the following quote, seen recently on a friend’s blog. “Democracy in the eighteenth century was not yet the article of faith that it would become in the decades following the American Revolution. It was still a technical term of political science, meaning simply rule by the people. In traditional political thinking going back to the ancient Greeks, rule by the people alone was never highly regarded, for it could easily slip into anarchy and a takeover by a tyrant. The best constitution was one that was mixed or balanced, where the people's rule was offset by the rule of the aristocracy and monarchy. Eighteenth-century intellectuals admired the English constitution so much because it seemed to have nicely mixed and balanced the three simple forms of government, monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, in the Crown, House of Lords, and House of Commons." - The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, Gordon S. Wood.

Stretch like a cat

angry bird

Coming Events Week 4 of 2012:
Monday 23 Jan 4:30pm *Parliament House 8k jog
Monday 23 Jan 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Wednesday 25 Jan 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Wednesday 25 Jan 6:00pm ACTVAC track, Bruce 1000m, 800m, 3k/5k
Thursday 26 Jan Orroral Australia Day Classic, 20k
Friday 27 Jan 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 28 Jan 7:00am Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Saturday 28 Jan 10:00am TACT Half Marathon
Sunday 29 Jan 8:30am ACTVAC Handicap Aranda Bushland
* = I expect to attend

I expect to be away Friday thru Sunday but will be back in action next Monday.

Meanwhile, be good!

what you're built for

Sprint-Marathon Relay Sunday 12 February, Dunrossil Drive.
Meet at 7:15am for an 8:00am start.
Runners are seeded into teams of six.
See Jim White to register,
or call him on (02) 6231 4168.
Cost is $4:00 per person, on the day.

Training this morning at Stromlo Forest Park were Andrew, Abi, John, Thach, Jacob, Lucia, Ewen, Ruth & I. The quicker runners did 3 x 1k as follows

	km1	km2	km3	Avg
Andrew	3:41	3:41	3:30	3:37
Abi	3:43	3:41	3:37	3:40
John	3:48	3:42	3:59	3:50
Thach	3:52	3:52	3:54	3:53
Jacob	3:53	3:56	3:46	3:52
Lucia	4:02	4:01	4:01	4:01

Running: It's what you're built for

alive for another day

Happy Birthday Charlie McCormack, 47 today! I hope you celebrate in style.

Today's run at Acton Ferry Terminal wasn't too bad, we had a cloud cover and it even felt cool early on. Susan ran 5k, Ann ran 12k, Miranda about 19k, while Suzie, Andy, Zainab & I completed 22k. Didn't see Ewen or Ruth, did they sleep in? Did see Katherine, Liz, Bronia, many others. At the 16k mark, I even managed a set of six chin-ups, a recent record. And the 22k felt like a short run, which is a very good sign.

What work was like before I retired

PC or Mac

The general problem
Two users report that comments don't work for them in this blog. Anyone else? I suspect they may be using old versions of Internet Explorer, but I don't really know. I suggest they try Chrome on their PCs and tell me if that fixes it, which will be a help in working out what the problem is. So If you too cannot access comments, please let me know. I may end up reverting to pop-up window (hopefully not losing existing threaded comments, except they won't be threaded any more) or reverting to the basic threaded format blogger provided, which was not all that attractive looking but seemed to work for everyone, I think, after just one bug-fix by me.

big day

Speedygeese results
3000m
M50 Rod Lynch 11:45.68 72.5%
M60 Geoff Moore 12:07.87 77.2
M40 Craig Davis 12:20.58 64.3
M50 Mick Horan 12:25.31 68.6
M60 Bob Harlow 12:49.49 73.7
M50 Roger Pilkington 13:13.41 65.0
W45 Janene Kingston 13:59.93 67.4
W55 Cathy Montalto 15:25.95 71.7
M70 Tony Booth 15:45.86 66.2
M50 Ewen Thompson 15:55.39 54.4
W60 Ruth Baussmann 16:02.37 71.1
W65 Margaret McSpadden 17:51.20 67.9

1500m
M40 Andrew Simpson 4:54.59
W40 Heidi Johnston 5:15.47 78.7%
W40 Emma Adams 5:19.73 78.5
W30 Abi Fargher 5:20.04 72.9
M50 Rod Lynch 5:23.01 75.9
M50 Mick Horan 5:36.54 72.9
W55 Maria O'Reilly 5:46.01 87.8
M50 Roger Pilkington 5:46.17 71.5
M50 Gary Bowen 5:52.25 70.9
W40 Amanda Walker 5:53.32 72.7
W60 Kathy Sims 5:54.09 89.5
M60 Bob Harlow 6:26.95 70.1
M70 Tony Booth 7:11.07 69.2

Also, John Kallinikios (spelling?) ran 5:42.59

400m
M60 Geoff Sims 60.26 89.4%
W40 Emma Adams 67.72 79.1

spiral 4 laps
7 Cathy Montalto W55 7:57
8 Roger Pilkington M50 6:29
11 Margaret McSpadden W60 9:55
12 Graeme Patrick M55 6:49
13 Kathy Sims W60 6:51
18 Maria O'Reilly W55 7:12
23 Rod Lynch M50 6:31
25 Gary Bowen M50 7:01
26 Ruth Baussmann W60 8:48
27 Janene Kingston W45 7:38
28 Mick Horan M50 7:54
29 Geoff Barker M65 11:17
30 Tony Booth M70 10:20

Congratulations to Andrew for a fast time in his first 1500m race, leading all the way and winning it. Abi too ran her first ever 1500m and did very well.

In the earlier race, the 3000m, Craig's big pb puts him ahead of his rival Bronwyn's pb. That's been his goal. Now it is up to Bronwyn to reclaim it! But conditions were pretty bad and a ten second faster time is on the cards.

My best 3000m time in 2011 was "12:07" twice, and in 2010 12:07.94, so yesterday's 12:07.87 was my equal best time since 2009. Guess I am happy with that, but around 11:45 should be my goal in these races. I shall try again another time when it isn't hot, humid and blustery, and when I can tuck in behind some of these faster starters. Short races are a good test of how marathon training is going, which means it is probably going well.


FOOTNOTES
1. Next week only, Vets track is on Wednesday evening. There is a 1000m, an 800m which is a handicapped event, and an attractive looking 3k/5k at the end of the program.

2. The Sprint-Marathon Relay is on Sunday 12 February, 7:15am for an 8:00am start. I have put my name down, and I recommend that members of all the Sunday training groups go in it as well. It's a great event. The venue is Dunrossil Drive and the cost per person is $4.00, paid on the day. Register with Jim White when you see him, or ring him on 6231 4168. He seeds everyone into teams. It is a continuous relay, like our relay training sessions only longer, with 1k legs and a 2k leg, and each team of six totals about 36k, not quite a marathon.

After such a big day, time for a nap.

the real world

Vets track today
I shall run the 3000m at 6:00pm, aiming to break 13 minutes in the heat. Then I shall jog around and watch the other events - 1500m, 400m, 4 lap spiral - as the evening starts to bring cooler weather. Of course, it could rain; all the better.
The reason for saying sub-13 is that my first-up race in 2011 was a 3000m in 13 minutes exactly.

Training this coming Monday
If we get a good turn out again we can run relays in teams of 3: for example if we had 24 of whom 9 were very speedy, which is quite likely, I would choose three balanced teams of the fastest runners, and five balanced teams of the rest.

Coming up: YCRC Summer Series races, 6:15pm Tuesdays
31 Jan Stromlo Forest Park
7 Feb Boat House East
14 Feb Telopea Park
21 Feb Barrenjoey Drive
28 Feb Weston Park
6 Mar Acton Ferry Terminal
13 Mar Black Mt Peninsula
20 Mar Stromlo Forest Park

Meanwhile of course I will continue with Saturday mornings at Acton and Sunday mornings at Stromlo.

Only the Irish would produce a front page like this

Meanwhile, back in the real world

Remember to enter for the Australian Running Festival events being run on April 14-15. If you enter the Half Marathon or the Marathon you will be sharing the start line with me, running my first 50k ultra! The website is http://www.runningfestival.com.au/. 

By the way, to enter the ultra, you simply enter the marathon; any marathon entrant can choose to continue on, on the day. Which also means that I can choose to stop at 42.195k!

seven years

This blog is seven years old today!

Training group size
After we had 22 training at Parliament House this week, I was asked if that was the most we have had? No, here are the official records!

31 at North Lyneham on Tuesday 12th June 2003
30 at Parliament House on 20 September 2004
30 at Parliament House on 3 March 2008

I would like to see our training group grow in numbers. Not at the expense of other training groups. But I would love to see us exceed 100 participants each week. Can we accommodate 100? Yes, because the training can be adapted to suit most people who join us. We can break up into groups of speedsters, middle distancers, and long distancers. We can run relays to ease any congestion on the tracks. Where will the numbers come from? Mainly from new people. And who brings in new people? Mainly the newest members. Go for it!

Pre-workout-supplements. Don’t ever take these kind of supplements, and don’t get sucked in by articles like the one at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-17/pre-workout-supplements/3774122 which, even though it seems to be warning readers against taking dangerous supplements, actually tempts them to try some. And why not, someone may ask? The risks should be obvious. And, we are in this game for the long haul, not just to feel good tomorrow. Don’t be tempted!

Seven years of blogging. I shall keep going, I should get it right one day..

Run on!

overcoming

Training last night at Parliament House: There were 22 runners in attendance in total: Abi, Nadine, Tim & I ran 8k early, I nearly managed 5 chin-ups on the way; Ewen ran 6k early. In our warm-up at 5:30pm we had another go at chin-ups so I got another 3 in. Another not-too-hot day, and we set ourselves various challenges around the Rose Garden loop, surging 200m during every lap. Nadine ran continuously for nearly 13 laps in the 30 minutes; Ewen ran continuously for 10 laps before stopping. Abi, Andrew, Colin, Craig, Jen, Kym, Lucia & Tim ran 12 laps on 2:30. Cookie, Andy, Cathy, Jill, Lauren, Mick, Neil, Ruth, Yelena & I ran 10 laps on 3 minutes; Lincoln switched groups mid-session, running 6 laps on 2:30 followed by 5 laps on 3:00; and Garry was there too, running five laps on 3:00 then switching to the 2:30 group to run 3 laps with them.

The real challenge?

On the other hand, the presence of "other runners" will always help us do better, just as our presence helps other runners do better. Ultimately though it is largely about us overcoming our own perceived limitations.

"Quitting" doesn't work. Realise that being an overcomer takes time and perseverance. Commit yourself to being an overcomer, and you surely will succeed.

The three C's of running:
Commitment
Consistency
Common sense
http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2009/05/committment-consistence-common-sense.html

looking spiffy

Coming Events Week 3 of 2012:
Monday 16 Jan 4:30pm *Parliament House 8k jog
Monday 16 Jan 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Wednesday 18 Jan 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 19 Jan 6:00pm *AACT/ACTVAC track, Bruce 3k, 1500, 3k/5k spiral 4
Friday 20 Jan 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 21 Jan 7:00am *Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sunday 22 Jan 8:00am *Stromlo Forest Park speedygeese training
* = I expect to attend

Results Customs 5k 13 January
Yili Zhu 22:19
Jen Bright 23:30

I seem to have no energy today. It feels like Monday. But I am still looking forward to meeting my friends for training at Parliament House later today, it is the highlight of my week.

one day too late

How to make threaded comments work. Posted by nitecruzr one day after I had figured out the same answer. http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/01/two-level-comments-and-one-known-post.html

One mile handicap net times from Thursday
M55 Ken White 5.50.81
M50 Mick Horan 6.06.10
M50 Roger Pilkington 6.12.19
W60 Kathy Sims 6.36.59
M60 Bob Harlow 6.44.89

goose-egg (via Damian Rutledge) Nearly had egg on my face earlier... instead ended up copping one fair & square below the knee whilst having a late night run, thanks to a passenger in an oncoming car. Would have had the window down, ready to throw. Felt like I was in a game of Paintball! Bloody charming ain't it? 

Yelena has been on holidays. She will be back soon to give the W30's a bit of a shake. Joel probably took this.

This morning Ewen & I finished our week with a 14k run, while watching kilometer intervals run by Andrew (averaging 3:23's), Thach (3:49's), Jacob (3:50's) and Lucia (4:01's).

Lucia and her little sister, at a Healesville restaurant. Photo borrowed from Facebook.

14 days 200k

I am not sure how long I can keep this up for, certainly not when I start racing again, but that's 100k for each of the first two weeks of the year. A good start towards averaging 80k per week. Helped by the mild, to say the least, weather.

Canberra is such a good place to train through summer, relative to the rest of Australia. Canberra is good for lots of things:

Synchronised window washers

Double rainbows

Kangaroos (I took this photo at the Australian Institute of Sport)

Friends to run with (Leanne at the War Memorial cafe after a run around Mt Ainslie last week)

There was a good turn-out for Leanne's last run this morning; she returns to Melbourne next week. Running were Shane, Warrick, Ann, Alison, Zainab, Leanne, Miranda, Irwin & me. Leanne's mum Gina was there too, walking, Karen went with her. Did I miss anyone? Yes, we will so miss Leanne in future weeks. Later Ewen, Andy & I completed a longer run.

p.s. threaded comments are now implemented, although I had to fiddle around with the html to get them working. You can choose to comment on a post as previously, or you can comment on an existing comment  by clicking "reply".

rescuing the runners

"I thought to myself - 'the 1996 race record was safe for another year'."
Even in mid summer: [click on link] what happens when the weather closes in during a mountain ultra!

Radio operators during the ultra: all the runners withdrew or were rescued after the weather set in. Many were suffering from early signs of exposure.

Surfboard or toboggan?

speedygeese track results 12 January
400m
Geoff S 60.66
Emma 67.99

3000m
Andrew 10:56.66
Heidi 11:26.07
Katie 11:35.71
Maria 12:08.18
Mick H 12:08.50
Lucia 12:14.67
Helen 12:18.89
Roger 12:26.77
Bronwyn 12:33.25
Bob 12:57.52
Amanda 13:02.84
Ewen 13:34.93
Ruth 15:35.47

record low

I am wearing four layers of clothing this morning. Last night we Canberrans experienced the lowest temperature ever recorded in January, 1.6 degrees at 5:49am. Not as cold as our neighbours in Goulburn though, where the temperature dropped to a record -0.1. But the sun is shining and I shall run for a couple of hours in a warm part of the day.

We didn't expect snow

Yesterday at Falls Creek, Victoria, where many of the top runners have gathered to train during summer. Photo by one of them.

How to kick at the finish of a race:

·         Get to the end more aerobic than anyone else

·         Have a larger degree of anaerobic capacity to use.

·         Have a large reserve of motor units you can call upon

·         Be able to use them in fatigue!

·         Be close enough and feel good enough where your body extends it's [sic] limits a little- be motivated and challenged with goals just far enough to challenge yet close enough to be achievable.

Full article at http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2011/09/science-of-finishing-kick.html

Glass and a half

Liz Bennett running the marathon on Sunday in Hobart. Got in just ahead of the weather, I'd say.

sunset

West Belconnen, last night.

Gym done, shopping done, dishes done, now to run 16k before the rain hits. Or is it going to snow? It could be a little cool at Thredbo today during National Running Week!

Good weather for penguins.

rough going

Training at Parliament House: Tim, Nadine & I ran 8k early. Nadine sustained an ankle injury towards the end of the run and went home to ice it. For the main session, Tim & I were joined by Cookie, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Craig, Ewen, Jacob, Jane (new), Jen, Kym, Lauren, Lincoln (new), Mick, Neil, Ruth, Tim, Warrick & Yelena. The session goal was to complete 11 of our Rose Garden circuits on 2:45, sprinting the top 200m. 16 of the group achieved this. Some chose not to wait for 2:45 and made it a continuous run: they did 13 200s (Bronwyn), 14 (Jen, Kym & Craig) and 15 (Tim). It was hard going but everyone ran well.

I was pleased to equal my recent record of three chin-ups, during the early run, then at a second attempt during the warm-up, managing five. I should be able to do ten straight soon??!!

Spofforth Street - rough going for the hoons

On a recent run I was delighted to see a series of speed bumps along Spofforth Street, along the back of Holt close to my home. I hadn't run there for a while. Every morning well before the sun comes up Canberra low-life are hooning around, doing burn-outs and drag racing. The speed bumps might keep some of these morons away which can only improve the quality of sleep. As you know, a good night's sleep is essential for everyone's health and well-being, particularly for tired athletes, not to mention students, parents of young children; normal people!

Track
This Thursday there's a steeplechase, a mile, and a 3000m on offer, but I won't be able to go. The following week, Thursday 19th, there is a 3000m at 6:00pm which I will possibly run, even if the day is hot. Just to see if all this hard training is producing results.

rain yesterday snow today

Coming Events Week 2 of 2012:
Monday 9 Jan 4:30pm *Parliament House 8k jog
Monday 9 Jan 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Wednesday 11 Jan 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 12 Jan 6:00pm AACT/ACTVAC track, Bruce
Friday 13 Jan 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 14 Jan 7:00am *Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
Sunday 15 Jan 8:00am *Stromlo Forest Park speedygeese training
* = I expect to attend

Liz Bennett's marathon time in Hobart yesterday was 3:31.32. See her blog post  http://jogsjogblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/chocolate-marathon.html.

Snow is predicted in Tasmania today...

...and with a maximum of only 25 degrees in Canberra, it is another perfect day to go for a run.

games we play

I don't know what games you play, or what games you might have been planning to play starting on 1 January this year. But the easiest game in town is running; you just step out of the door and do it. It's not too late to start; there are still 359 days left; go for it! And if you need running buddies, I know people who run at nearly every time of day, except, Akipk, after midnight in civic. And if you are reading this, Akipk, I'm known as "canberrarunner" in the forum in question, check my comment!

As for me, it is the eighth day of January, so my streak equals nine days, and this week I ran exactly 100k, my running week starts each Monday. Today I ran with Ewen, Andrew, Thach & Jacob at Stromlo Forest Park. Some did a set of 3x1k; Andrew averaged a shade under 3:30, Thach about 4:00, and Jacob about 4:05.

What a great morning for running! While down in Hobart, Liz Bennett was running in the Cadbury Marathon. 2012 results are due shortly at http://www.cadburymarathon.com.au/.

Get in the Game

Lisa Wilson (35255) on the front cover of the athletics program for the 2011 Australian Masters Games, Adelaide. 

Tomorrow, check this blog for what's on in week two, as far as the speedygeese are concerned, or check our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/groups/287488711234/.

short story of the 10k

Never did get the hang of 10k. Ran some good Canberra Times Fun Runs, the fastest being 32:14 as an M40, although my best was probably a 30:30 run in the Fun Run years earlier when it was only 6 miles and not 10k. Before I ever ran 10k on the track, I decided to prepare for some track 10ks by going to the grass track at ANU, next to the Sports Centre, in the days when there was a full 8-lane athletics track there, sadly no longer since the demise of athletics at our tertiary institutions. I ran some timed 10k time trials over a few weeks; 25 full laps of the track; just to get a feel for the event, and knowing that dress rehearsals were the way to go. Then over the next few years, I did race some 10ks; 34 mins, 33 mins, finally 32 mins plus. My 10k PB though was an odd one; at the age of 35, that summer I joined a gym, worked on upper body and lower body strength, and managed to develop a sore lower back with sciatica. So I rested up a bit, then went in a Vets 10k track race on 22/3/84, which being an ACTVAC event had a large field of slow runners. That's where I managed a PB of 31:59.3 - actually 31:57 on my watch - in a race where, way in the lead of course, I multi-lapped so many of the runners, that at one stage I remember going four wide on a bend around runners lapping other runners. I would have run well over-distance. On the plus side, this was the only race in 50 years where I have felt as if my legs and knees were coming up effortlessly with each step, a result of the lunges and half squats I had been doing in the gym. I remember having trouble with pins and needles in one foot during the race, a legacy of the sciatica and back problems. Not many Vets run that sort of time now: do today's runners train hard enough if they are serious about improving? Anyway, like the 5k and the marathon, the 10k was yet another event where I knew I could go a lot faster but it never happened.

Pictures speak lauda than words

Every second driver in Canberra this week thinks our roads are raceways. I wish they'd go away.

why am I here?

Results ACTVAC speedygeese Thursday 5 January
800m
M60 Geoff Sims 2:26.52 88.2%
M55 Ken White 2:28.95 83.4
W40 Emma Adams 2:30.96 78.5
M50 Roger Pilkington 2:48.72 70.7
W60 Kathy Sims 2:56.47 82.6
M70 Tony Booth 3:26.27 70.3

3000m
Andrew Simpson 10:41.88
W55 Maria O'Reilly 12:26.68 85.3%
W40 Emma Adams 12:29.46 71.3
W60 Kathy Sims 12:36.27 89.1
M50 Andrew Matthews 12:48.99 66.5
W40 Bronwyn Calver 12:52.04 69.2
M60 Bob Harlow 12:55.03 73.2
W40 Amanda Walker 12:57.11 70.3
M70 Tony Booth 16:44.23 62.3

5000m
W45 Katie Forestier 19:59.64 79.5%
M45 Damian Rutledge 20:55.09 66.3
M50 Roger Pilkington 21:30.09 68.7
W50 Helen Larmour 21:31.85 79.7
M50 Ewen Thompson 23:55.74 62.3

Best run of the day - Maria. Must have recovered from her New Year's Eve party. I nearly got to track: I pulled into the car-park and got out of the car, then asked myself "Why am I here", got back in the car again and drove home, going for a steady 10k training run instead. I am not ready to race yet, it's only day five!

So far so good: streak now equals 7 days, training on target, and feeling more comfortable each day. Which is easy to say this early in the new year. Still no finish line in sight.

Please stay tuned for more short stories. Thanks for coming!

1978

Very short story of the four marathons I ran in 1978. My 1978 diary tells me there were no typical weeks; I played it by ear from week to week; raced frequently (some great times); did many very long training runs, which would not have been slow, up to 25 miles at the very longest; had some days off here and there; scheduled a run every day; ran 10-12 times a week; ran 3 times a day once a week; totalled 3160 miles for the year; and weighed in at 8 stone 5 for most of the year. My longest week in 1978 was 113 miles (in June), the shortest week was 18 miles (in September). I ran few track training sessions, few if any hill sessions. Just fast running over long distances, with heaps of road and cross country races. No track racing hardly at all; remember, this was the year I turned 30 but at the time Vets minimum age was 35, so there was no reason or temptation to bust a gut on the track, I could concentrate on long fast endurance runs with no pressure instead. Yes, my specific marathon training did include 10k time trials on grass tracks, Charnwood mainly, but these were much easier than running a track race; a few seconds slower makes a lot of difference. In the marathon I aimed to go through 10k in about 34:10 so my time trials were around 33.30 to 34.30.

My four marathon performances that year were

• 2:30.24, 1st, in Canberra, pb by 4:38 
• 2:29.03, Commonwealth Games Trial, on 2:22 pace but hit the wall with 3 miles to go after a 20 mile pb by 4:34 
• 2:30.05 for a brilliant run in the national championships, 7th, in steam bath conditions, my best marathon but not my fastest
• 2:26.58 1st again by a big margin in Canberra.

I carbo-depleted and carbo-loaded for these marathons and the loading made all the difference, especially at the Nationals in Caboolture. It is not something that worked every time, because later on my body didn't get tricked any more, I assume it had adapted and wouldn't respond.

Marathon racing is hard. Marathon training is great and my advice now is: enjoy all the training and reap the benefits in shorter races!

No coffee so far in 2012. This wasn't a "resolution" but I feel better without it. Coffee is something else which helped my marathons in 1978 but which the body has adapted to and doesn't work any more. In fact over the years coffee has started to interfere with my breathing. A stuffy nose is not ideal if you want to run fast. Tea is good though.

Australian Half Marathons Jan-April 2012

Sun      8 Jan    Cadbury, Tasmania.

Thu      26 Jan  Convicts & Wenches, Brisbane

Sat      28 Jan  Capital Summer, Canberra

Sat       4 Feb   Busselton Jets, WA

Sat       11 Feb Caboolture, QLD

Sun      18 Mar  Weston Creek, Canberra

Sun      18 Mar  Intraining Twilight, Brisbane

Sun      25 Mar  Orroroo, SA

Sun      15 Apr  Australian Running Festival, Canberra

official end of holidays...

a surprise PB

Short Story of the 5000m.
This is a very different story from the 3000m one. Back in 1978 I had raced four marathons, two of them that year wins in Canberra, the last a PB of 2:26.58 in November. After each marathon race was completed, my marathon training continued unabated. Whenever my marathon training was going well, my times for shorter distances as far down as 1500m would improve. Just two months after the PB marathon, in January 1979, I ran in a low key interclub track race over 5000m and "out of the blue" ran a fast time which is still my PB today. Interesting though that I didn't prepare for it; it was a hot and windy January afternoon; the field was small; I trailed the leader for the first four laps then took the lead and was never pressed; and finished "knowing" that I could run a lot faster on a good day with competition. But I never did get back close to that 15:10.5; possibly because I ran another four hard marathons in 1979 which may have been one or  two marathons too many, and also because I upped my training distances even more than before, and I had probably reached optimal levels of training in 1978. But how does one know unless one experiments?  Anyway, I did have a good sequence of 5000m races for about 15 years, all around the 15:30 to 15:40 mark. But I never did crack the 72 second per lap 15:00 time, or even run close to 15:10 again.

The 5k was my favourite event for many years, until I lost form and it took too long and the 3k became my favourite.

The 10k story will be different again. Which goes to show that, even for the one person, there are many different approaches one may take to training and racing. So take heart, you can fit your training pattern around other things, adapt it to your lifestyle. You don't have to follow one exact training program and fit everything else around it, in order to succeed.

I hope you are still on holidays. I am. My full routine resumes in a couple more days' time.