losing my hair

speedygeese in the Ginninderra parkrun #1 - 28/04/2012 - 5k.
14 Lucia Pietropaoli 23:02 64.25%
36 Jill Pearson 26:52 65.63%
91 runners!
Being exactly 5k and a bit hilly, this would be a good course to break 20 minutes on!

Photo #1. CJ doing a CJ

There have been a few falls in recent days. CJ did this one at the Majura handicap.

Photo #2. Janene's two left feet

We have all done this sometime in the past - got the racing shoes out of the bag to find they don't quite match.

Coming Events
Week 18 of 2012:

Tuesday 1 May 4:00pm *Dickson Oval long run
Tuesday 1 May 5:30pm *Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Wednesday 2 May 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 3 May 4:30pm *Parliament House early run
Thursday 3 May 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Friday 4 May 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 5 May 8:00am *Acton Ferry Terminal long run
Saturday 5 May 2:00pm YCRC Stromlo Forest Park 7.5k **note new time**
Sunday 6 May 9:00am YCRC Women’s 6k Jogalong, Weston Park
Sunday 6 May 12:00 noon *High Noon Meet (3000m)
* = I expect to attend

For a low key Fun Run/Walk, I have measured a 5k course similar to the Customs Joggers 5k, except eliminating the hills at the start/finish and staying on the path at the turn. I just have to venture out with some paint one day. There is also a convenient turning point for a 3k, right where the wooden posts are before you get to Mr Spokes Bike Hire.

It starts/finishes in front of the Parkes Way underpass. The red line is the measured 2.5k. The green line is how to get to the start from the city.
This would be an easier course to break 20 minutes on - but is it exactly 5k? I only measured it using my Garmin.

off to New York

Congratulations to Susan, who has been accepted into this year's New York marathon!

Yesterday at Acton Ferry Terminal Justine, me, Alain, Jennifer, Susan, Kathie, & Amanda went on a pleasant long run in this lovely autumn weather.

Today's speedygeese results 
29/04/12 - Majura Park 10k
1 Helen Larmour W50 45:47 85.5%
2 Elizabeth Mountbatten W50 52:41 75.1
4 Alain Lochard M60 49:06 76.2
16 Jennifer Irving W45 58:21 64.6
17 Craig Davis M40 51:07 62.7
21 Rod Lynch M50 43:14 78.9
22 Nadine Morrison W40 49:44 70.2
24 Amanda Ruffin W50 51:35 76.7
25 Christopher Lang M60 56:11 66.6
31 Maria O'Reilly W55 48:18 85.6
52 Andrew Matthews M50 49:23 69.5
55 Janene Kingston W45 52:22 69.9
72 Roger Pilkington M50 52:49 64.9
106 finishers

29/04/12 - Majura Park 5k
12 Cathy Montalto W55 27:39 76.2%
17 Margaret McSpadden W65 39:53 57.9
27 Brett Morrison M40 28:05 56.8
51 finishers

It has been so busy - I am still to run and stretch today. Must go now! Back tomorrow.

many Canberra marathon photos

taken by John Kennedy

Enjoy your endocannabinoids

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/the-evolution-of-the-runners-high/

I have never experienced runner's high, not in 50+ years of running, I did once however experience swimmer's high, an out of body, time whooshing by, feeling for a km or so during a 5km pool swim. So that's how I know that nothing like that has occurred while running!
Running is more in-body for me. Welcoming the pain and trying for more.

Last night at Parliament House I ran early with Cathy, Jen & Justine, then supervised a very tough session of 20 x 100m uphill on 90 seconds at one of the more difficult east side hills, with Cookie, Andy, Bronwyn, Craig, Ruth, Tony & Warrick. Fortunately that's the last of the steeper hill sessions for a while.

I got quite tired towards the end of yesterday's training, but I am still astonished how well I am recovering from the 50k of just 12 days ago.

• no new injuries
• no missing toenails
• no blisters
• no post-marathon cold
• no missed training days, and
• no plan to do it again, ever.

When I run tomorrow it will be 120 days, straight.

The Half Marathon

Train for the longest distance you are going to race.
Now that the 50k is done, I will be training for everything up to the half marathon. Which means doing half marathon training, and racing shorter distances a lot. As I wrote in the May 2012 Vetrunner magazine, "Q: How does training for the half marathon differ from training for the marathon?" - "A: The main difference is that when you prepare for a half marathon race, you can do some over-distance runs". Implying there's little difference in the actual training, in case you didn't get it. And I improved fitness so much doing marathon training, I think I shouldn't change it too much. And regarding racing, there are more choices of events than there are for marathons, and halves are easier to run and to recover from. Much easier.

An incomplete list of half marathons for the remainder of 2012.
This list may not be 100% accurate: always check.
Sun 29 Apr Greenbelt, Adelaide
Sun 6 May Bathurst, NSW
Sat 19 May Mt Beauty, Victoria
Sun 20 May YMCA, Canberra ACT
Sun 20 May Noosa, Queensland
Sun 20 May SMH, Sydney
Sun 27 May Bunbury, WA
Sun 27 May Barossa, Adelaide
Sun 3 Jun Doomben QLD
Sun 3 Jun Traralgon, VIC
Sun 10 Jun Macleay River, NSW
Sun 17 Jun Bay to Bay, Gosford NSW
Sun 24 Jun Pichi Richi, SA
Sun 1 Jul Gold Coast, QLD
Sun 15 Jul Redcliffe, QLD
Sun 22 Jul Hunter Valley, NSW
Sat 28 Jul Australian Outback, Uluru
Sun 29 Jul Westlink, Blacktown NSW
Sun 29 Jul Bush Capital, Canberra ACT
Sun 5 Aug Brisbane Running Festival, QLD
Sun 5 Aug Townsville, QLD
Sat 18 Aug Sutherland, Audley NSW
Sun 19 Aug ACT Veterans, Canberra
Sun 19 Aug Mudgee, NSW
Sun 19 Aug Adelaide, SA
Sun 2 Sep Ross, TAS
Sun 2 Sep Bankstown NSW
Sun 2 Sep Dubbo NSW
Sun 2 Sep Toowoomba QLD
Sun 9 Sep Forster, NSW
Sun 16 Sep Blackmores, Sydney NSW
Sun 23 Sep Coffs Harbour, NSW
Sun 30 Sep McLaren Vale, SA
Sun 14 Oct Melbourne, VIC
Sun 14 Oct Toowoomba, QLD
Sun 4 Nov Portland, VIC
Wed 14 Nov Solar Eclipse, Port Douglas, QLD
Sun 25 Nov Central Coast, NSW

chin-ups

One cannot progress without a plan. I would like to get strong enough to be able to complete ten chin-ups in a row. But I do reverse chin-ups - i.e. gripping with palms towards me - and I would also like to do ten normal-grip chin-ups - palms facing away - but right now the shoulders don't like it. So my strategy will be, practise three times per week for the rest of this year, progress from 3 to 10 reverse chin-ups over the next 8 months, see a chiropractor about my upper back and shoulders, progress from 1 to 10 normal chin-ups in the next 8 months, do other strength work in the gym twice a week, and keep the low (62kg) bodyweight I have currently.

Training last night under lights at Dickson Oval: Justine, Craig & I ran early (13.5k) then a group of runners, Alain, Colin, Craig, Jennifer, Kathie (new), Miranda, Ruth, Susan, Suzie, Tony & Yelena ran a set of four x 1.1km on ten minutes. Pretty tough going, we haven't quite adapted to the cold, and the nice thick grass could do with a mow.

The early run at Dickson

Clockwise. This is the "official" course for our early run. We start at 4:00pm sharp in order to get back by about 5:20pm ready for the main session.

not impressed

reprise

Song of the week: Sherlock’s Daughter: "Reprise". I am related to one of the group members...


such energy!

About Mondays: this is my recovery day, I plan to run an easy 10k each Monday to recover from whatever hard effort running I do on Sunday. Yesterday was no exception, I had run km intervals on Sunday for the first time this year, and my quads and hamstrings and an ITB are still tight from last week's 50k, so 10k in an hour was a pleasant run. Detouring to avoid the rain, I discovered that a loop down Spofforth Street then across to the ovals at Kippax is exactly 5k by the time you run along the ovals and reach Fullager Crescent past Higgins shops. By this route, anyway.

It is raining more now. I am hoping to do my Tuesday pre-Dickson long run later, at 4pm, and show you that tomorrow.... But not if the rain continues? We might have to cut it short, we will see. I am going out there anyway.

Customs 5k Result 20 April Andrew 19:34, Jen 21:30. Kym 22:24, Caroline 28:35

Lake Ginninderra panorama. From the RiotACT website.

18 month plan

On Friday I posted my pattern for the next six months, but I also have an 18 month plan leading up to the next Australian Masters Games in Geelong, October 2013. When I'm 65. Incidentally, I will have to keep improving to be competitive in that age-group! The plan is simple:

from	to	plan
now	Sep 2012	focus on long running
Oct 2012	Feb 2013	focus on many 3k/5k races
Mar 2013	Jun 2013	longer running again
Jul 2013	Oct 2013	specific 5k training

At the Games I expect to enter just an 8k cross country and a 5k track. If there is a Half Marathon on the program, I will enter that as well.

Meanwhile, even though I am focusing on longer running this winter, I will still race on many weekends, on either Saturday or Sunday, in place of a speed session. I can get to some of the High Noon meets this summer, where I shall run the 3000m which is certain to be on the program each week. The first such is 6 May.

Coming Events Week 17 of 2012:

Tuesday 24 April 4:00pm *Dickson Oval long run
Tuesday 24 April 5:30pm *Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Thursday 26 April 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden (not Wednesday this week)
Thursday 26 April 4:30pm *Parliament House early run
Thursday 26 April 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Friday 27 April 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 28 April 8:00am *Acton Ferry Terminal long run
Saturday 28 April 1:00pm YCRC North Lyneham 6.2k
Sunday 29 April 9:00am *ACTVAC Handicap, Majura (Antill St)
* = I expect to attend

weight

Here's my updated weight graph

In a fit person, there is a clear relationship between weight and performance. Generally speaking, as my weight drops my performances improve. I can predict race times from my average weight! Roughly, anyway. Note how my weight dropped from 1 January this year, when my running streak began.

Last week I was telling someone - not a runner - how I would like to lose a few more kilos. And I got exactly the response you might expect: "You can't afford to lose any more weight!" in a panicky voice. Do you get that kind of reaction too?

Now, let me clarify. Weight loss is a by-product of distance training. Distance training causes an increase in fitness, and causes a normalisation of weight which in our culture usually means weight loss. Weight loss by itself is unlikely to increase fitness.

In that regard, my weight loss is not related to or caused by any crazy diets. I eat consistently and well. Unless there is are medical considerations, one's diet should be unrestricted and varied. In other words, normal! Abnormal diets lead to problems, certainly in the longer term.

By far the most popular New Year's resolution is "lose weight". Perhaps "run daily" might be a more effective resolution. Worked for me!

In the last few days I have passed on some wisdom about coffee and coffee addiction, cold water recovery, and now body-weight. There may be more wisdom to come, stay tuned!

To change the subject: Ewen has compiled a nice little video taken during yesterday morning's run:



Meanwhile this morning I enjoyed an interval session at Stromlo Forest Park; yes I am running intervals again after ticking off the 50k as "done". We did 3 x 1km, the central loop, with a km jog in between. Average times were:

Andrew 3:27
Joel 3:39
me 4:08
Ewen 4:35
Jill 4:43
Yelena 4:54

We will be doing this session, or one very like it, "every spare Sunday", which will turn out to be once or twice a month.

Stomlo Forest Park this morning

The lower loop is the 1k, we used the rest for the warm-up an cool-down.
I kind of like the pretty pattern this run makes.

cold shower

Another thing which may have helped recovery was the cold shower. Every shower time I start off with hot then (if I remember) switch to cold and run the water over the legs for a time, front and back. This is particularly effective in Canberra's winter. My understanding though is that alternating hot/cold for up to seven times is more effective again. Seems a bit of a waste of water though. Plunge pools too are supposed to be more effective, because of water pressure. But I don't have access to one.

You get used to it!

Training at Acton Ferry Terminal this morning, and running between 10k and 20k, were Abi, Andy, Justine, Ewen, Kym, me, Ruth, Laura dlC, Thach, Suzi, Jennifer & Alain. Also Zainab & Riki who just missed us. And we saw Caroline run through as well. A very good turn-out, and so soon after some had run marathons or halves!

It was the wedding day for Ishara & Byron today. Byron ran with us a few times on Saturdays, last year.

pattern

More of a traditional training pattern for me for the next 6 months, helped by the fact that I'm coaching Tuesdays & Thursdays instead of Mondays & Thursdays.

Monday: recovery run - jog 10k
Tuesday: gym (strength/flexibility) and jog 6k, then 20k run in the evening, building pace
Wednesday: recovery run - jog 6k
Thursday: am jog 6k. pm 14k pace variation
Friday: gym (cardio/circuit) and jog 6k
Saturday: 20k run (or more) in the morning, or if I'm going out to the cross country, 10k in the morning, and 10k in the afternoon including a tempo run
Sunday: my speed day; either race or intervals or hills, 12k altogether.
Total for each week 100k plus any supplementary running.

This plan is totally flexible and I will try to work it around holidays, the weather, important races, etc.

Streak: part of the reason I am getting fitter is my running streak, now 112  days. At this stage of my progress I have got to the point where my "days off" are easy short runs, and where I can have the occasional additional early run some days.

Titanic


"School of gillards and even an old carr"

Stopped in our tracks

Our first Thursday at Parliament House last night was a success, despite the deluge which stopped us in our tracks part-way through. At training 18 participated: Alain (new), Andrew, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Craig, Ewen, me, Jen, Jennifer (new), Justine (new), Kym, Lucia, Neil, Ruth, Susan, Suzie & Tony. Four of us ran early, then we ran 8x100m hils on 90 at which point we had to stop because of the rain.

Cats!

coffee

Coffee re-visited. I am not drinking coffee this year but have done so twice: immediately before the two long races where this was appropriate, March's Weston Creek Half Marathon, and Sunday's 50k. I suspect it helped very much that I drank it before the run, and more importantly that I had otherwise given it up.

This article http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/nutrition/do-the-performance-benefits-of-caffeine-come-at-a-cost_49856 says it all, supporting my approach to coffee this year. The conclusion is, "save it for when it matters most:  race day"

Any race shorter than an hour, I won't do this. Longer than an hour, and if I am serious about going flat out, I feel there are benefits.

speedygeese dinner
I have sent this email to the core group about the upcoming dinner: "Our speedygeese autumn dinner is at the Lemon Grass Thai Restaurant, 65 London Circuit (Melbourne Building) 7:00pm Tuesday 15 May. It is booked, The banquet menu is attached, cost will be $31.50 per person plus $3.00 corkage bottled wine only. This restaurant is very well regarded for the quality of its food. I will need to know numbers, so RSVP when you can, an early response would be much appreciated. And when you reply please indicate if you will be ordering off the menu instead of having the banquet".

Orroral Valley this autumn

Canberra - what a great place to live!

the soft and grassy track

Dickson training last night: Excellent conditions, great track, all the lights on, gentle breeze, and eight of us attending,  running 200s+ in lane 4 with a good recovery. I jogged around (my fourth session since the 50k!). Craig, Kym, Neil, Susan, Suzie, Tony & Yelena ran the half-laps in two continuous relay teams. A good core group, a good number for our first ever Tuesday night at Dickson. Next week at least three of us will head off earlier at 4:00pm for a longer run. At 5:30pm we warm-up for the main session: I may cut down the warm-up time so we can fit in more intervals with a decent rest between them. Of course people can arrive any time before 5:30pm to extend their warm-up time if they are able.

The track is in the best condition I can remember. And it is so good to get off the roads!

Great photo of Ruth running Sunday's marathon

Our group dinner will not be on the 24th as advertised, we are training that day: I will book for a later date, probably a Monday, and let you know.

Exercise every day or become extinct!

At Parliament House on Thursdays we may do more than just run!

back to the start

Song of the week: Snow Patrol's Fallen Empires

.

Results from Customs 5k 13 April Jen Bright 21.23, Miranda Rawlinson 26.32.

Abi took a video of my ultra finish. Listen for Pat Carroll's commentary. He would have kept that up for hours. Check out http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150823565448783

Photos taken by Andrew

Half marathon Lucia

Half marathon Craig

Enjoying the run


FOOTNOTES
1. I was first M60 in the ultra, but I was 7th M60 in the marathon. 2nd and 3rd in the ultra were 6th and 5th in the marathon respectively. Not that I sped up any, I didn't.

2. I am claiming a 3:30 exactly marathon plus 9 seconds to cross the start line. No-one can prove otherwise.

3. I'm recovered. A 10k run Monday, An hour of gym circuit this morning followed by a 6k run, training planned for Dickson tonight! I am rather astonished that I am OK

aftermath

Coming Events, week 16 of 2012:

Tuesday 17 April 5:30pm *Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Wednesday 18 April 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 19 April 4:30pm *Parliament House early run
Thursday 19 April 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Friday 20 April 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 21 April 8:00am *Acton Ferry Terminal long run
Saturday 21 April 1:00pm YCRC Anzac Relays, Stromlo Forest Park
Sunday 22 April 8:00am *Stromlo Forest Park speedygeese training
* = I expect to attend.  I even expect to run!

speedygeese running on Sunday..
Half Marathon
143 Abigail Fargher 1:34.31
248 Lucia Pietropaoli 1:39.00
326 Craig Davis 1:41.37
433 Warrick Howieson 1:44.47
525 Suzie Gye 1:47.09
814 Peter Fullager 1:55.02
820 Lincoln Hawkins 1:55.09
1089 Miranda Rawlinson 2:01.36
1103 Zainab Farouk 2:02.14

Marathon
320 Geoff Moore 3:30.09
978 Ruth Baussmann 4:29.51

Ultra Marathon
43 Geoff Moore 4:17.01

There is no finish line

Oneself at the 42.195k mark of the 50k. Photo by Nadine.

one more item has been ticked off my bucket list...

..."run a 50k ultra". Done.
My splits: half marathon 1:40. Marathon 3:30. Final time something under 4:20. So the pacing went exactly as expected. Bad bruising of the feet caused me to slow down after 30k. Also as expected. But - no blisters, no bad toenails, no new injuries. I only lost 1 kg of weight, too, good management! But it was a perfect morning for it. And a very big field, which helps make such a long day out more tolerable. Official results - not up yet, see http://tiktok.biz/canberramarathon/2012 for full results when they do come up. I will as usual pick out the speedygeese and post their times here. Now I am hoping I can keep my running streak going - tomorrow 4k will do! If at all possible, it shall be so.

Pearsons in the 5k

Joel; Jill; Yelena at three stages of the event.

5k result
50th Joel Pearson 20:50
127th Jill Pearson 26:00
136th Yelena Pearson 26:14

10k result
Janene Kingston 47:26
Mick Charlton 53:58

000

The countdown days are now reading "000". I remember when they read "180". Time does fly.

The only competitiveness I will entertain tomorrow will be mind v body. But I might use the green or yellow balloons to keep me going. Green=3:15 marathon pace, yellow=3:30 marathon pace. Pink balloons=something's wrong.

Meanwhile here is a reminder: NO PARLIAMENT HOUSE TRAINING ON MONDAY. All Mondays are now free, Tuesdays we train at Dickson, and THURSDAY is Parliament House day from now on.

When you don't mind being the tortoise:

I hope all you hares enjoy the race tomorrow. For me, this is going to be the one day when there IS a finish line, nothing else.

A life crowded with incident

Happy Birthday Miranda, 59 today!

Australian Running Festival - very close now! (Yes I know the following is too wide but I am not going to try to compress it). The good news is that there will be marathon pacers. One other issue that I haven't heard about: let's hope we get "chip time" this year, as well as "gun time".

The weather forecast looks perfect.

Narrowing it down: not! I expect to finish the 50k between 10:40am and 12 noon.

Important information for all participants The 2012 Australian Running Festival is only days away. We trust that your training has been going well and you are ready for the two day event. Over 5,000 have entered and more than $120,000 has been raised for charity so far. Please find below important information that will help make your race day more enjoyable. Race details and maps are outlined through the below links: Saturday, April 14, 2012 5km Dash 1pm (Note: starting time has changed from 12pm) 5km Fun Run 1pm 10km Dash 3pm 10km Fun Run 4pm Sunday, April 15, 2012  Ultra Marathon 7am  Marathon 7am Half Marathon 7am What drinks will be available?Water, GU Brew and GU energy gels will be available at specific stations along the Ultra Marathon, Marathon and Half Marathon course. Water and GU energy gels will be available at the finish line for the 5km and 10km races. As these are multi lap courses, the drink station is passed several times during the event. In an effort to minimise our impact on the environment, all drinks will be served in fully biodegradable PLA cups. Personal refreshment services will be strictly limited to elite runners only. What can I do with my gear?There will be a baggage holding area within the grounds of Telopea Park School, near the basketball courts and recovery area. Please do not leave valuables as all care but no responsibility will be taken. How can I keep warm at the start area?Please do not bring garbage bags to the start area to keep warm, these can become a serious trip hazard for other participants. Instead why not wear an old jumper or jacket that you no longer require. All discarded clothing at the starting line will be donated to charity. Road closuresRoad closure information for the event weekend can be viewed here. Important information about your Race PackIf you entered on or before February 24, 2012, with a correct Australian address, you should have received your race pack via the post. If you have entered on or after February 25, 2012 or are an international participant, then you will need to print off your E-Ticket and bring it with you to the Event Expo or have it ready on your mobile device to collect your race pack. Your race pack includes your chest bib with bib tag and runners guide. Replacements for any lost bibs or tags are $20 (limited numbers) available from the Event Expo at Telopea Park School. Where, when and what is the Event Expo?The Event Expo will be held at Telopea Park School hall on Saturday, April 14 from 10am – 5pm and Sunday, April 15 from 6am – race start. When you registered you will have received an E-ticket via email that you will need to print out and bring along with you or have ready on your mobile device to collect your race pack. If you have misplaced your e-ticket you can re-send it to yourself by clickinghere. A friend or family member may pick it up for you as long as they have a copy of your E-Ticket. Will there be pacers?Yes, there will be pace setters for the Marathon Event only. Pace setters will be visible by coloured balloons. Finishing times will be from 3 hours every 15 minutes until 4.5 hours. For more information on pace setters, please click here. When will results be available?A full event wrap will be available in The Canberra Times on Monday, April 16, 2012. Online results will be available on Saturday and Sunday evenings where finishers can also download their certificates. Photos and video from the event will be available on Tuesday courtesy of Marathon Photos. Are there prizes?Overall male and female winners of the Marathon will receive: 1st - $2000 2nd - $1000 3rd - $500 Prizes for other events are listed on the event website.

thirteen grandchildren

...together for the first time.

I have updated "our venues"

Parliament House: Mondays (October thru March) and Thursdays (April thru September)
Parking is at the underground car park as indicated by the red circle on the map below.

The main session starts at 5:30pm with a warm-up run followed by an interval training session at one of the many locations around Parliament House, for instance the Rose Garden to the East; the small oval to the west; the flagpoles to the North; or the tracks which surround the building.

A few of us meet at 4:30pm for an easy longer run before joining in with the main session.

Dickson Oval: Tuesdays (April thru September)
Parking is alongside the 8 lane 400m athletic track as indicated by the red circle

The main session starts at 5:30pm with a warm-up run followed by an interval training session on the 400m track under bright lights. Sometimes we also run up and down the small hills on the western side of the track.

A few of us meet at 4:00pm for a long hilly run before joining in with the main session.

Acton Ferry Terminal: Saturdays 8:00am year round
There is plenty of parking at the Acton Ferry Terminal car-park as indicated by the red circle.

This is a long run, and there is no set distance. Everyone starts together, usually at the same pace, which may pick up as newer runners complete their run.

Stromlo Forest Park: Sundays 8:00am when no other events scheduled
Park near the cross country track as indicated by the red circle. (Google Earth is ridiculously out of date for this one!)

We warm up around the cross country course then run an interval session. Or we might occasionally head around the Mount Stromlo area for a longer run.

We would expect to train here 1-3 times per month. Every Monday I will post coming events for the week. You may check this blog weekly to see if Sunday training is on, and to see if there are any last minute details about other training sessions.

and you thought Canberra was cold!

Roger in Finland (via http://rogerpilk.blogspot.com.au/)

We thought it was the World Masters Indoor Championships but a couple of events were outdoors! Roger didn't run the 8k cross country so was able to take this photo at the 3k mark.

Roger's results
800m 2:40
3000m 12:24
1500m 6:07
Half Marathon 1:42.31.
See Roger’s blog for his reports

Our winter training plan
The decision has been made: it has turned out we cannot use a couple of the ovals we had hoped to use, other groups have actually booked them and are likely to be there most weeks! So we revert to a plan which seemed the most likely when we started thinking about it.

Monday will be a "rest day" this winter
Tuesday training at Dickson commences 17 April
Thursday training at Parliament House commences 19 April
Long runs continue at Acton Ferry Terminal Saturdays from 21 April
There will be one Sunday session at Stromlo Forest Park on 22 April. (The next Sunday session there should be 13 May)

The main sessions on Tuesday and Thursday will start at 5:30pm at their respective venues.
Saturday, and Sunday when on, will start at 8:00am.

Parking Fail

Everything is good about Parliament House - except occasionally the parking!

And, Happy Birthday Abi, 32 today!

free

Song of the week: “Free” by Pete Murray

As far as you know, you will make the distance
Even if everything is falling down,
But don't lose that vision
And don't lose your courage
Until you are standing right here with me now

I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me

And high on emotion, has been a killer for days
It's wearing you out until you slowly fade
Where is that needle, or that damaging blade
It's cutting you up until it empties your gauge

I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me

Hold on, hold that tight
Colours on or colour blind
Talking how sweet the ride
Dumb is gone into your life

I, I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me
When do you wanna be
I, I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
When do you wanna be free?

Speedygeese at the the AMA championships, Melbourne
(Full results at http://vicmastersaths.org.au/)
M65 60 Metre Finals
6 Garry Maher M65 ACT 8.68 3.9

M65 200 Metre Finals
4 Garry Maher M65 ACT 29.88 -1.2

M65 400 Metre Finals
4 Garry Maher M65 ACT 1:09.74

W50 800 Metre Finals
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 2:53.25

W55 800 Metre Finals
2 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 2:47.23

W50 1500 Metre Finals
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 5:46.56

W55 1500 Metre Finals
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 5:34.82

W50 5000 Metre Finals
2 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 20:31.50

W55 5000 Metre Finals
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 20:12.30

W50 8k cross country
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 35:30.00

W55 8k cross country
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 35:54.00

Training Saturday: we ran from Acton Ferry Terminal as usual at 8:00am: Abi, Andrew, Miranda, Ruth & I.

Training Monday: Parliament House, freezing cold, raining towards the end. Winter has arrived! We ran 12 loops of about 350m, on 2:30. A short up-hill, a long downhill, and a short up-hill finish. Running were Ruth (early only), Jen (early too), Abi, Andrew, Andy, Colin, Craig, Jill, Neil, Tony & Yelena. Also I ran early and jogged around later.

Max

...must be related to our cat Riki