Day three 5000m results

Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the 5000m with speedygeese in yellow

Day three 5000m results
Event 503 W30 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Kym Chisholm W31 ACT 20:01.39 72.07%
2 Thea Zimpel W30 ACT 23:52.66 60.37%

Thea and Kym at the 5000m ceremony

Event 503 W40 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Michelle Wells W41 ACT 19:09.13 78.93%

Event 503 W50 5000 Metre Run Masters
3 Helen Larmour W53 ACT 20:36.84 84.31%
4 Debbie Cowell W53 ACT 20:37.85 84.24%
5 Kelley Flood W52 ACT 21:51.04 78.50%

Event 501 W55 5000 Metre Run Masters
3 Maria O'Reilly W58 ACT 20:46.41 89.62%

Event 501 W60 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Kathy Sims W61 ACT 21:47.27 89.26%
2 Susan Archer W64 ACT 22:08.02 91.96%

Event 501 W70 5000 Metre Run Masters
3 Caroline Campbell W70 ACT 26:06.01 86.02%

Caroline on the podium

Event 506 M40 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Lance Purdon M40 ACT 17:13.20 77.52%
4 Steve Rohan-Jones M44 ACT 17:58.57 76.55%

Event 506 M45 5000 Metre Run Masters
2 Jeff Grey M49 ACT 18:46.93 76.19%
3 Geoffrey Monro M47 ACT 19:58.23 70.52%

Event 505 M50 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Bruce Graham M51 ACT 16:18.31 89.19%
6 Peter James M52 ACT 17:53.83 81.91%
11 David Clarke M54 ACT 19:38.43 75.89%
12 Peter Thomson M52 ACT 20:10.22 72.68%

Event 502 M70 5000 Metre Run Masters
8 Bryan Thomas M71 ACT 26:19.49 66.29%

Event 502 M75 5000 Metre Run Masters
2 Lachlan Lewis M75 ACT 33:13.95 55.77%

Event 502 M85 5000 Metre Run Masters
1 Rad Leovic M85 ACT 32:14.33 73.71%

Maria

Helen

Michelle

Tim and Erin - married today!

Day two Steeple results

Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the Steeplechase events

Day two Steeple results
Event 333 W70 2000 Metre Steeplechase Masters
2 Fran Harris W71 ACT 14:39.00 67.46%

Event 334 M70 2000 Metre Steeplechase Masters
5 Bryan Thomas M71 ACT 12:16.19 66.54%

Event 335 M45 3000 Metre Steeplechase Masters
2 Jeff Grey M49 ACT 12:58.69 72.05%

Event 335 M50 3000 Metre Steeplechase Masters
3 Peter Thomson M52 ACT 13:34.34 70.69%
4 Nigel England M50 ACT 13:39.37 69.07%

Day two 1500m results

Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the 1500m with current speedygeese in yellow

Day two 1500m results
Event 313 W70 1500 Metre Run Masters
4 Caroline Campbell W70 ACT 7:30.22 82.39%

Event 313 W75 1500 Metre Run Masters
2 Terri Jones W75 ACT 10:07.32 66.77%

Event 314 W55 1500 Metre Run Masters
2 Maria O'Reilly W58 ACT 5:40.91 90.33%

Event 314 W60 1500 Metre Run Masters
2 Kathy Sims W61 ACT 6:01.99 88.84%

Event 315 W50 1500 Metre Run Masters
6 Helen Larmour W53 ACT 5:44.43 83.50%

Event 316 W30 1500 Metre Run Masters
1 Kym Chisholm W31 ACT 5:29.19 70.83%
2 Thea Zimpel W30 ACT 6:30.18 59.65%

Event 316 W40 1500 Metre Run Masters
1 Emma Adams W44 ACT 5:26.87 78.64%

Event 317 M70 1500 Metre Run Masters
6 Paul Maggs M70 ACT 7:18.35 65.00%

Event 318 M65 1500 Metre Run Masters
2 Robbie Costmeyer M66 ACT 5:41.73 80.65%
6 Mick Saunders M65 ACT 6:00.10 75.91%

Event 320 M45 1500 Metre Run Masters
2 Jeff Grey M49 ACT 5:03.39 78.71%

W30s Kym gold, Thea silver!

Kelley, Mick, Maria at the track

Day one 800m results

Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the 800m with current speedygeese in yellow

Day one 800m results
Event 143  W30 800 Metre Run Masters
  2 Kym Chisholm             W31 ACT                    2:35.30     72.94%

Event 142  W40 800 Metre Run Masters
  1 Emma Adams               W44 ACT                    2:33.89     78.42%

Event 141  W50 800 Metre Run Masters
  5 Helen Larmour            W53 ACT                    2:51.89     76.80%

Event 140  W55 800 Metre Run Masters
  3 Maria O'Reilly           W58 ACT                    2:51.16     82.69%

Event 139  W60 800 Metre Run Masters
  2 Kathy Sims               W61 ACT                    2:54.03    85.41%

Event 144  W75 800 Metre Run Masters
  1 Jo Klemke                W75 ACT                    4:29.62     74.99%
  3 Anne Young               W77 ACT                    6:49.01     51.90%

Event 153  M35 800 Metre Run Masters
  5 Rohan Lowry              M39 ACT                    2:12.30    79.62%

Event 152  M40 800 Metre Run Masters
  6 Lance Purdon             M40 ACT                    2:21.16     75.36%

Event 151  M45 800 Metre Run Masters
  6 Geoffrey Monro           M47 ACT                    2:41.51    70.14%

Event 150  M50 800 Metre Run Masters
  5 Michael Horan            M53 ACT                    2:24.88     82.31%
  6 Bob Wright               M53 ACT                    2:28.40     80.36%
 12 Roger Pilkington         M54 ACT                    3:33.43    56.35%

Event 149  M55 800 Metre Run Masters
  1 Philip White             M58 ACT                    2:17.94    90.06%

Event 148  M60 800 Metre Run Masters
  4 Geoff Sims               M64 ACT                    2:34.14    84.47%

Day one 10k results

Beautiful conditions for the 10k this morning.
Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the 10k with current speedygeese in yellow

Event 101 W30 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Thea Zimpel W30 ACT 52:31.98 57.16%

Event 101 W45 10000 Metre Run Masters
4 Katie Forestier W47 ACT 42:10.19 78.26%

Event 101 W50 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Debbie Cowell W53 ACT 42:52.67 83.10%
2 Kelley Flood W52 ACT 44:20.64 79.27%

Event 101 W60 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Susan Archer W64 ACT 46:05.84 90.95%

Event 101 W70 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Caroline Campbell W70 ACT 54:37.48 84.94%

Event 102 M65 10000 Metre Run Masters
2 Robbie Costmeyer M66 ACT 44:15.09 78.09%
4 Mick Saunders M65 ACT 47:21.75 72.29%

Event 102 M75 10000 Metre Run Masters
2 Lachlan Lewis M75 ACT 1:11.39 53.98%

Event 103 M40 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Lance Purdon M40 ACT 36:35.73 76.14%

Event 103 M45 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Jeff Grey M49 ACT 37:42.19 79.21%

Event 103 M50 10000 Metre Run Masters
1 Bruce Graham M51 ACT 33:48.72 89.77%
7 David Clarke M54 ACT 41:05.96 75.69%
8 Peter Thomson M52 ACT 41:43.29 73.34%
9 Nigel England M50 ACT 43:42.74 68.87%

Later on this afternoon - the 800m races are on.

AMA Nationals this weekend

The link to live results for the AMA National Track and Field Championships is now active!
Get there via the website https://sites.google.com/site/ama2013canberra/

Nearly there

Is any publicity better than no publicity?
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/just-trying-to-stay-out-of-nursing-homes-20130327-2guwz.html

Last Friday's Customs Results 22/3
Peter Burke 20:41
Bronwyn Calver 22.26
Caroline Campbell 31:47
Bronwyn is getting seriously speedy! AND the course is still the long version!

My 100th Vetrunner article

Heartbeat
“Dear Coach,
“I am a 60 year old runner. It seems to me that the formula for Maximum Heart Rate, “220-AGE”, might be wrong. When I train hard, I get readings on my Heart Rate Monitor as high as 175 beats per minute, which is a whole 15 points above my theoretical maximum. Am I in serious trouble?
“Yours Truly, Regular Runner”.

Dear Regular,
The formula, which incidentally for women is “226-AGE”, is only a guide. Any super-fit athlete over thirty years of age, such as yourself, will probably find that the formula gets more inaccurate as they get older. Their real maximum heart rate will start getting higher than the formula suggests.

This has implications for those who like to wear a monitor and train in Heart Rate Zones. For example when running 70% thru 80% for aerobic training, or aiming for 80% thru 90% for anaerobic training, your calculation for the heart rate targets corresponding to these percentages could be out by as much as ten points, as a consequence of your estimate of maximum heart rate (the 100% figure) being incorrect.

To know if I am training in the right zone or not, I have always preferred to rely on instinct, how I feel.

Ask yourself, if you believe you should be targeting a zone, do you generally feel as if you are working hard enough to truly be in that zone?

Other than getting your maximum heart rate figure wrong, another reason you might be under-training using a heart rate monitor is the “cardiac drift” effect. After twenty minutes or so of exercise your heart rate can increase by as much as 5 to 20 beats per minute even when the work rate does not change. It’s OK for that to happen and does not mean you need to ease back.

In addition, it is possible that the figures quoted above for aerobic and anaerobic work are conservative. The switchover from aerobic to anaerobic may be around 85% rather than 80%, for fitter athletes.

Dear Regular, is it possible that by relying on heart rate zones, you may have been training at an easier level than they think you have?

If all is well with you medically, don't worry about working too hard in specific training sessions where harder work is appropriate. Many athletes could train harder than they do. Moderation in ALL things is over-rated. Just make sure you schedule plenty of rest and recreation though, to accompany your hard training. Balance is the key. One or two hard days, followed by one or three easy days, is wiser than pushing hard every day.

Set your heart rate targets if you will. But do remember that, as you age, your maximum heart rate does drop to some extent, so you must still adjust your zone targets downwards from time to time. It may not drop as much as people say, though.

Yours Truly, Coach.

dinosaure

On the day a missing dinosaur was taken into custody in Belconnen, we trained at Parliament house as usual. Cathy, Ewen, Susan & I ran 8k early, then our main training was attended by Andrew, Andy, Craig, Ewen, Garry, me, Jen, Mick, Peter, Rae, Ruth, Sarah-Jayne, Warrick and an additional visitor from across the ocean, Annie van Herck whom we haven't seen for a few years, and visiting for the Folk Festival. We ran a pot-pourri of courses to celebrate our last run there in daylight saving. Merveilleux. But there will be no training there over Easter, too much else happening, and in two weeks time it will be too dark to use some of our trails.

Looking for a Miracle

Song of the week: by Hillsong United - "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"
From http://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw



The best track from the new release "Zion". Haunting, unforgettable

Nice Guys Race

24/03/13 - Stromlo Forest Park 8k
16 Rae Palmer W65 46:16 75.4%
21 Nadine Morrison W40 38:07 70.6
28 Rod Lynch M50 32:41 80.6
32 Caroline Campbell W70 49:14 78.7
33 Roger Pilkington M50 60:35 43.8
34 Margaret McSpadden W65 53:31 66.7
38 Ruth Baussmann W60 49:23 67.9
45 Mick Charlton M60 47:20 60.4
59 Cathy Newman W50 43:22 69.0
84 finishers

24/03/13 - Stromlo Forest Park 4k
21 Cathy Montalto W60 21:56 72.6%
36 Jill Pearson W55 22:20 67.1
45 finishers

Runners come from all walks of life. Distance running in Canberra includes quite a diverse set of people from all walks of life. Runners come from a variety of different ethnic, work, social and educational backgrounds. But when we get together and run, we forget about any other labels our society may have invested us with. We are all simply runners.

Even on the starting line. At times.

Everyone is welcome to join the speedygeese. We are inclusive, friendly, and helpful, whether you are young or old, slow or fast, beginner or experienced. You are invited to join in whatever days you choose, and as often as you choose.

And if none of our times and venues suit, there are many running groups around Canberra who are just as friendly and welcoming.

It started off as a tempo run

...but **someone** pushed the pace in the 4th km.
Ginninderra Parkrun 5k 23 March
13 Tim RAWLING 20:37
23 Kristian PITHIE 21:50 First Timer!
31 Lucia PIETROPAOLI 23:43
33 Geoff MOORE 23:49
68 Margaret MCSPADDEN 29:59 New PB!
81 finishers [edit - times as published were incorrect, now fixed]

This blog contains lots of statistics... not all statistics are useful.

The final lunge at the line, er, at the watch.

The speedygeese - Sarah-Jayne - flying home

It was a near thing it appears. though of course, it was a two man team just behind us...
Weston Creek Half Marathon relay results
122 SPEEDYGEESE 1:26:37 MMF
123 SUNDAY SESSIONS 1:27:39 MM
113 R113 1:37:04 FM
126 GRR 1:43:24 FM
120 BELINDA AND LISA 1:43:43 FF
103 R103 1:45:48 FF
131 MOHAMMAD AND BEN 1:47:04 MM
127 TEAM AB 1:49:31 FM
125 A AND B 1:51:37 FF
121 FIT GIRLS 1:52:03 FF
108 R108 1:52:04 MF
129 TEAM WUNSCH 1:53:30 MF
107 R107 1:56:29 FF
111 R111 1:57:15 FF
132 GILLIAN AND MEGAN 2:01:21 FF
102 R102 2:01:27 FF
112 R112 2:02:27 FF
110 R110 2:03:25 MF
104 R104 2:03:34 FM
109 R109 2:03:52 FF
130 TEAM HARDY 2:05:17 MF
105 R105 2:07:39 FF
128 GIRLS GIVING IT A GO 2:08:54 FFF
106 R106 2:09:10 FM
124 ROBBO RACERS 2:10:03 MF
101 R101 2:25:20 FF

winter training venues

Happy Birthday Eliza, 28 today!

Speedygeese training after Easter:
Saturdays commencing 6 April the YCRC winter races begin.
And every Saturday there are the two Parkrun options as well.

Sundays from 7 April speedygeese training continues at Stromlo Forest Park starting at 7:30am.
Note that 7 April is the first day without daylight saving.

Mondays from 8 April speedygeese training continues at Parliament House as at present.
4:30pm for the early run, and 5:30pm for the main training session.

Tuesdays from 9 April at Dickson Oval we start our new training program under lights.
At 4:00pm is an early longer run, with speedygeese training starting at 5:30pm.

Thursdays from 11 April is a new training session at the University of Canberra.
Meeting at 6:00pm we will "Run with the Bilbys".
We start beside the dirt carpark in Allawoona Street, and run to three ovals near there.

What are our fees? - no cost.
Choose the sessions that suit you, and just turn up.

Keep an eye on the "Coming Events" section on the right fora details and any changes.

Flying Home in the Weston Creek Half Marathon

Jen

Craig

Liz

CJ

Galapagos

Weston Creek Half Marathon 17 March - individual placings
29 Alain Lochard 1:32:20 M50
36 David Webster 1:33:41 M60
42 Kym Chisholm 1:34:50 W30
45 Craig Davis 1:36:18 M40
46 Jen Bright 1:36:37 W35
58 Liz Bennett 1:39:56 W50 winner
79 Kristian Pithie 1:45:09 M35
83 Bronwyn Calver 1:45:32 W40
88 Cathy Newman 1:47:38 W50
89 Jennifer Irving 1:47:40 W45 winner
112 Katherine Sheppard 1:54:55 W40
122 Bill Arthur 1:59:16 M60
132 Ruth Baussmann 2:07:21 W60
144 individual finishers
[“team results soon”]

YCRC Summer Series #8: Stromlo Forest Park 5k 19 March
27. Geoff Moore M60 21:25
28. Helen Larmour W50 21:49
29. Maria O'Reilly W55 21:52
34. Ewen Thompson M55 22:41
37. Janene Kingston W45 22:55
50. Mick Charlton M60 27:42
58 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 20 March
Jen Bright 27:08
Geoff Moore 29:12
Caroline Campbell 39:04

An announcement on winter training venues/dates/times coming soon.
I won’t be able to get to the Customs run this Friday.
Otherwise, have a great week. Remember, we are speedy compared with most other people!

Politicians - are you running in 2013?

Andrew had a good quote on Twitter after our training at Parliament House last night: "Canberra. The only place you can do intense hill sprints on the roof of parliament while politicians debate below. 30 mins sprints." And that is what we did - 30 minutes of medium to long sprints up the roof of "The House under the Hill", a training session we have not done for a couple of years. In fact now is the perfect time of year - not too hot for intense uphill sprints, and not so cold that the frost of the roof makes it too slippery to negotiate safely.

Training were Cathy, Ewen  Peter early, then running steep little hills were Andrew S, Andy, Craig, Ewen, Kym, me, Margaret, Mick, Peter, Ruth, Sarah-Jayne & Susan.

A small ceremony preceded training: photo taken in the car park under the house under the hill. On a night where some very bad parking attempts were observed. Canberrans are pretty bad parkers, and we could photograph a different car there each Monday night parked badly, but this guy took the cake and we did get photos. A very strange driver scraped the car next to him, didn't leave a note, and stayed parked there anyway.

Andrew, Peter & Sarah-Jayne winners of the relay section of the Weston Creek Half Marathon

Pushing your limits
"Moderation in ALL things is over-rated" is a quote from my next Vetrunner article.

So, Australian politicians and staff and media, why not do something [else] enjoyable and constructive, go running!

Whispers In The Dark

Song of the week.
from http://youtu.be/zNaM-N1NdGo



Mumford and Sons next single release from the highly successful "Babel"

speedygeese bag record

A dog of a day for a mob of bunnies as the speedygeese fly home with the bacon.

The speedgeese swept every other relay team aside and flew home in team record time in today's Weston Creek Half Marathon. As far as I know they ran about 5 minutes faster than any previous team.
Details:
Approximate time 1:26.40
Leg 1 8k hilly some headwind Andrew Simpson ~4:12 per km
Leg 2 6K of 3k slight uphill into headwind, then reverse Peter Burke ~4:00 per km
Leg 3 7.1k hilly some tailwind Sarah-Jayne Miller ~4:00 per km.

Despite an apparent attempt at interference at the last change we did not drop the baton. That's because there were no batons.

Peter to Sarah

Photo by a partially recovered Andrew.

Fantastic running by all three and some great individual performances by those speedygeese who ran the full 21.1k. Results will be out in a few days I imagine.

Meanwhile Eliza helped me sweep the back-markers at Saturday's Parkrun

I enjoyed it and will do it again.

creating a new reality

Ginninderra Parkrun #47 - 16 March
19 Gary BOWEN 22:13
27 Janene KINGSTON 23:10 New PB!
32 Jacob Edward CLIFTON 23:44
72 Margaret MCSPADDEN 31:02
82 Ewen THOMPSON 35:38
85 Norma WALLETT 36:14 First Timer
95 Eliza MIDDLETON 42:55
96 Geoff MOORE 42:56
96 finishers

Tuggeranong Parkrun #4 - 16 March
16 Yili ZHU 23:14 First Timer
58 Adam ROBINSON 42:07
58 finishers

Running the country
from http://youtu.be/3ylPLHH66Mo


I couldn't agree more.

New Shoes

Nike Lunar Races 3

Parliament House Canberra

Invader Darth Vader

At last the Bowen Crossing underpass

Track results Thursday 14 March
5000m Championships
M50 Rod Lynch 19:21.30 76.4
W50 Helen Larmour 21:25.19 81.1
M55 Ewen Thompson 23:07.27 65.0

Customs 5k result Friday 15 March
The course was 80m long due to a Canberra Week stage being set up across it.
Geoff Moore 22:09
Bronwyn Calver 22.48

At last the Bowen Crossing underpass!

"Preliminary work has begun on the long-awaited safety upgrade to the Bowen Place crossing near Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin.
"Over the next fortnight electricity and gas lines will be lowered into Bowen Place, ahead of the construction of a pedestrian underpass, set to begin early in 2014.
"The underpass includes a 300 metre path connecting Kings Avenue to the existing path network next to Lake Burley Griffin, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to pass underneath the existing road.
"National Capital Authority (NCA) chief executive Gary Rake says it is important the preliminary work is done now, a year ahead of major earthworks.
"'Certainly we don't want to be moving a gas main during winter where an interruption in the project could interrupt heating in the city,' he said.
"'Also we don't want to be moving high voltage power lines in the summer when peak air-conditioning load is important.'
"The $10 million project was originally planned to be completed in time for the centenary celebrations, but Mr Rake says the project was pushed back to help fund other repairs in the capital.
"'Unfortunately we did have to defer this project due to the repairs needed at Scrivener Dam,' he said.
'But we have now got the work at Scrivener Dam under control, we have budget certainty there and we know we are absolutely clear to get on with Bowen Place in early 2014.'
"Mr Rake says the works will improve safety at Bowen Place and hopefully draw more people to the lake for recreational activities.
"'This will help us complete the circuit around the Lake Burley Griffin central basin,' he said.
"'It's one of the most popular walks and runs in the national capital and it will be wonderful to have a great, safe, wide-open crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists.'"

Who should turn up but Joel!

Because I couldn't run the Summer Series 5k race on Tuesday night, owing to a meeting of the Organising Committee for the AMA Nationals, I ran my second recent BBQ Stakes yesterday. Who should turn up for the first time but Joel!

YCRC Summer Series #7:
Black Mountain Peninsula 5k Tuesday 12 March.
30. David Baussmann M60 23:03
35. Janene Kingston W45 23:48
50. Mick Charlton M60 28:28
51. Ruth Baussmann W60 28:32
55. Margaret McSpadden W65 32:12
59 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k Wednesday 13 March
Joel Pearson 27:01 (first run at BBQ)
Jen Bright 27:45
Me 29:55
Gary Bowen 32:37
Helen Larmour 34:41
Roger Pilkington ~47 mins
Caroline Campbell ~52 mins
Helen was coasting as she is racing the 5000m track championships tonight. Roger walked most of it with injury, and Caroline has a back injury so was taking it very slowly. I ran steadily within myself, aiming at 30 minutes, and never really noticed the heat. Joel had company and was aiming at 27 minutes, good for practicing even pace running, and he just finished behind me on handicap. Jen started late!

Annie is in town!
"Hello everybody ... Col and I will be back in town soon for the National Folk Festival. We'll arrive in Sydney on 22nd March, then drive down to Canberra with our campervan, probably on March 24th. We'll camp at the festival between 28th March and 1st April over Easter, then stay for a while to see all our friends. We'll be staying at our friend Tina's place in Queanbeyan.
We have no precise plan for the time until 26th April when we fly back to Wellington. Maybe travel around in NSW to visit friends and relatives or visit sites that we never went to because you just don't do that when you live there !
Anyway we'd love to see as many of you all as possible. I'd love to fit in some runs with the ACT Vets (the slow ones, that is). I don't run so much these days (arthritis) and I try to stay fit by alternating with swimming, walking and pilates.
Col is well and has recovered well from his stroke 2 years ago. He'll be celebrating his 80th birthday soon !
We'd like to look in on as many local folk events in the time that we're there (Bungendore, Murrumbateman and any other events on the calendar).
If you have time to meet us and share a yarn, please [reply to this e-mail address or] ring me on my mobile (0424 596 631) from 23rd March.
Looking forward to catching up with many of you."

Annie and Col

What Holds Us Back?

My March Vetrunner article
The saying goes “If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?” Besides being a test of our character, this saying serves to challenge us to examine why we don’t attempt to do everything we would like to do.

All of us at some time or other choose not to attempt something great because of fear, the fear of failure.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. - Nelson Mandela

It is sad to see someone living in fear. Fear can mean we do not grasp opportunities for greatness when they come along. Fear keeps us from reaching our potential. People who live with fear and discouragement fail to take steps which would open up new and rewarding possibilities. Instead of being driven by fear, let’s have a mindset where we put discouragement behind us and step forward into whatever the future holds.

Fear means we don’t know what the future holds, and we decline to move forward. Boldness on the other hand means we don’t know what the future holds but we have decided to move forward anyway. Fear and boldness have the same starting point! It is as simple as that; we have a choice. When the future is uncertain we decide what our actions are going to be. When we decide to play it safe, mediocrity is the outcome. It is way more exciting to take risks, chancing the possibility of real benefit and gain. I know where I would rather be. It has nothing to do with what has happened in the past, or what the naysayers go on about. It is everything to do with how we look at life. It is all about having a glass half full attitude. Boldness and assurance make all the difference.

Connecting this to training and fitness, I contend that it is good to have quite a flexible approach to training. How else will you discover what might be achieved? Never be content to do everything the same way it has always been done. When you keep an open mind and take some risks, you may discover better ways to gain and maintain fitness. Whereas when your routine is kept just the same it always has been, there is little chance of any improvement. Put another way, regardless of what others say, a flexible approach is better than sticking to the safe and familiar.

The familiar is not necessarily the best.

I am a fan of a group called Switchfoot, and their song “Thrive” expresses the writer’s desire to thrive, not just survive.

Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man if I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel doesn't mean you can drive
A warm body doesn't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Down the track I don’t want people to say about me “lots of things happened to him but he did OK, because he managed to survive them.”

I would rather people said “Despite every setback and all opposition, he thrived. He grasped every opportunity and ran with it.”

Hoping you are the same.

mere geese

Training at the Dog Park - we ran two laps which took us right around the golf course - we being Barry, Ewen, Kylie, Sophie & myself. Then we ran a warm-up into Weston Park, before jogging over to Yarralumla Oval #2 for some 400m intervals, handicapped, we being Barry, CJ, Ewen, Garry, me, Jen, Margaret, Peter, Rae, & Ruth. Yarralumla is a nice area to train in, and lots of shade means that it didn't feel as hot as it really was. But we are back to Parliament House next time.

They do not suspect we are speedy geese.

Wagga geese by Ewen

balloons again

song-of-the-week
Foals - Balloons
from http://youtu.be/zHcOFmiswcQ


a great video

Canberra - 100 years old today (or tomorrow).
I have lived in this great city for 45 years of Canberra's 100. But my wife has been here for 65 years! We wouldn't live anywhere else.
Canberra is the best place to live. People are fitter, happier, healthier than the bigger cities in Australia.
And as the oceans rise, more people will move here! (Perhaps not turtles)

Turtle: I feel a slight discomfort in my nether regions.

this time, balloons

Imagine my surprise on arriving at Stromlo Forest Park this morning to find balloons everywhere and people too. 7:20am was a great time to get there as the balloons were about to take off.

Photos by Andrew S, Ewen.

Training were Yelena, Joel, Ewen, Andrew S and myself. 3x1k was the norm, though I managed only two, and Ewen, four.
Also training there earlier was Michelle, and later Amanda and Katie.

Congratulations to Cathy Montalto - 3rd place in the W60s at Six Foot Track!

sunset aloft

Training this morning: Kristian and I set off from a surprisingly busy Acton Ferry Terminal intending to run a reasonably hard 14k, but while running around Mt Ainslie we decided not to turn back and completed the loop, finishing with a rather hard 18k. Kristian is running the Weston Creek Half next week, will do well. Along the lake we saw, among others, Kylie and Bronia running a brisk 34k, marathon training.

Also this morning both Canberra Parkruns were held:
Ginninderra 5k Parkrun #46
7 Tim RAWLING 20:33 New PB!
9 Joel PEARSON 21:06
13 Nadine MORRISON 21:56
15 Gary BOWEN 22:16
18 Brett MORRISON 22:44
25 Cathy NEWMAN 24:03 New PB!
55 Yelena PEARSON 28:29
64 Margaret MCSPADDEN 30:43 New PB!
78 finishers

Tuggeranong Parkrun #3
38 finishers, no speedygeese today

There was the perfect sunset in Canberra last night, preceding a perfect day for balloons aloft today. Photos of some of the balloons coming soon!

Change of venue this Monday only

This Monday is the Canberra Day public holiday, which this year includes 100 anniversary celebrations. There will be masses of people in Civic, and traffic chaos around the Parliamentary triangle. So I have decided to switch our training to Banks Street Yarralumla. We will park at the Dog Park, which is just south of the cycle path as it passes Weston Park. Times are as usual; 4:30pm for a longer run which will take us on a circuit around the outside of the golf course and environs, and 5:30pm for our usual warmup leading into an interval session.

Six Foot Track
Good luck to Cathy Montalto, one of several Canberra W60s competing this year.

Speedygeese results
Customs 5k 1 March
Jen Bright 21:16
Bronwyn Calver 23:37
Geoff Moore 25:35
Caroline Campbell 31:18

Women’s 5k Fun Run 3 March
10 Helen Larmour 21:26
14 Maria O'Reilly 21:44
46 Cathy Newman 24:16
67 Rae Palmer 25:45 winner W65
70 Cathy Montalto 25:44
80 Emma Padovan 25:51
143 Ruth Baussmann 28:36
232 Margaret McSpadden 30:47
274 Sarah Pau 31:28
275 Abigail Pau 31:29
1,044 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6 March
Roger Pilkington 43:56
Jennifer Bright 26:55
Ruth Baussmann 37:32
Andrew Matthews 28:15
Gary Bowen 33:49
Helen Larmour 33:51

Vets Track 7 March
1500m
M50 Rod Lynch 5:04.91 81.1%
W30 Kym Chisholm 5:47.91 67.0
W50 Helen Larmour 5:48.47 82.5
W55 Maria O'Reilly 5:42.89 89.8

3000m
W30 Kym Chisholm 12:22.17 67.7%
W60 Ruth Baussmann 16:33.67 69.9
W65 Margaret McSpadden 17:23.99 70.8

Spiral 7
1 Margaret McSpadden W65 17:37
8 Helen Larmour W50 12:27
10 Ruth Baussmann W60 16:51
15 Roger Pilkington M50 22:57
16 Maria O'Reilly W55 13:46
17 Rod Lynch M50 12:02
21 finishers

Customs 5k 8 March
Tim Calver 18:38
Peter Burke 20:16
Jen Bright 21:08
Bronwyn Calver 22:46
Geoff Moore 23:31
I am starting to feel better after two weeks of feeling absolutely shocking. I think my race times should start to pick up again soon.

At the races

CJ and Janene

Caroline and Sherryl

race day

From Competitor.com
Follow these easy steps for a great race experience.
1. Don’t eat, drink or wear anything new on race day. Stick with what has worked—shoes, socks, clothes, food, gels, drinks—while you were training. Reward yourself with new shoes or try new gel brands after your race, not before it. I agree!

2. Start hydrating with water or a sports drink as soon as you wake up on race morning. Continuing sipping periodically from a bottle until you get to the starting line. ??? This conflicts with step 1! Better to make sure you are hydrated (normally) in the days leading up.

3. Eat something light and simple for breakfast 2-3 hours before your race. If you normally drink coffee to start your day, do the same on race day. If you normally don’t, don’t start in the hours before your race. I agree! Except, for races longer than two hours, you might want to drink a second coffee an hour before the race. But only if you know it won't upset you.

4. Be prepared to adjust your race plan on the fly and go with the flow. Circumstances such as weather and how your stomach feels on race morning are beyond your control. I agree!

5. Warm up and do a variety of drills before you get to your starting corral. You probably won’t have time or space to do anything but stationary drills, like running in place or jumping jacks, once you’ve entered the corral. I agree! Early warm-ups are highly recommended.

6. If it’s cool and you’ll be waiting for a long time, consider wearing an old long-sleeve T-shirt or sweatshirt you can throw to the side after you start. Or cut three holes in a plastic garbage bag and wear it until the starting gun sounds. I agree! Discard excess gear before you start!

7. Have realistic expectations and seed yourself honestly in your starting corral. While it’s exhausting to have to jockey past lots of runners in front of you, it’s even more disheartening to by passed by an entire wave. If you start at the front, you’re more likely to go out too fast. I agree. Absolutely!

8. Familiarize yourself with the race venue and route well before race day. Know where to park, drop gear, use the bathroom and enter your specific starting corral. Err on the side of arriving too early than too late. I agree! And run around the course days earlier, and plan in advance how to attack each part of the course.

9. Try to find your own space on the road, but expect to be cut off or sideswiped by runners early on and throughout the race. It happens in every race, often when you least expect it. I agree!

10. When drinking from an aid station cup on the run, pinch the cup at the rim to avoid taking too big of a gulp or soaking yourself. For half marathons and all longer races, drink something at every aid station, even if you don’t feel thirsty. I agree for marathons. Or possibly for half marathons when it is hot. But why are you racing half marathons when it is hot?

11. In a half or full marathon, take sports gels early and often. Start by taking one 20 minutes before the start of the race to top off your glycogen stores and continue taking them every 3-5 miles. It’s hard to stave off a bonk once you’ve already hit the wall. Make sure to practice drinking water and taking gels in your training so your gut is accustomed to it come race day. I don't agree at all. Most runners won't need gels for a marathon. For longer events, yes.

12. Try to run a consistent pace throughout the race, but err on the side of running slightly slower in the first half of the race. Your pace may slow a bit as you shorten your stride running up hills, but use your arms to help you to the top of the hill and expect your pace to increase slightly as you take advantage of the “free speed” you get from lengthening your stride while running downhill. I agree!

Graeme and Peter on race day.

CJ, Ruth and Margaret on race day. David is there too.

no no no no no no no

Revised Vets T&F program this Thursday
5:30pm weight (Masson St)
6:00pm Pole Vault
6:00pm 3000m (GM)
6:20pm 200/300/400 hurdles Ch
6:30pm 1500m walk, 5000m walk Ch
7:00pm discus Ch/ shot
7:15pm 400m Ch (B)
7:15pm triple jump Ch
7:30pm 1500m Ch
7:45pm discus Ch/ shot
7:50pm 100m (D)
8:05pm 7 lap spiral (A)

AMA Track and Field Championships, Easter 2013
At close of registrations we have 640 entries.
NSW 149 men 69 women 218 total
VIC 84 men 37 women 121 total
QLD 23 men 24 women 47 total
SA 19 men 17 women 36 total
WA 36 men 28 women 64 total
TAS 18 men 7 women 25 total
ACT 62 men 46 women 108 total
NT 8 men 3 women 11 total
Overseas 8 2 women 10 total
Total 407 233 women 640 total
Much more information at the website https://sites.google.com/site/ama2013canberra/
It has been a huge amount of work organising this event so far and it hasn't even started yet. So we are very appreciative of all those who entered.
Even though registrations are closed, there are still tickets available for the dinner/awards night.
Dinner tickets are available at https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?ID=8488
And we have sold many of the shirts and t-shirts, but more will be available at track at Easter time when the events are being held.
So there are 450 ACT members who did not enter. That means there are 450 locals who can contact Neil Boden asap and offer their services to officiate. That will be great! His contact details are on the form supplied on the website under "official and volunteers" - https://sites.google.com/site/ama2013canberra/officials-volunteers

Clarke & Dawe
from http://youtu.be/mJs7gcmkP6s



YCRC Summer Series #6 - National Museum 5k
45. Cathy Newman W50 25:19
65 finishers

YCRC Half Marathon coming up in May

Monday speedygeese training: Four teams of three battled out a continuous relay around a 350m loop on the east side of Parliament House. A team of Kym, Sarah-Jayne, and Jen led for half of the 32 minutes and got as far as 30 seconds ahead, but the team of Tim, Peter & Warrick clawed back the lead and at the finish ended up 30 seconds in front. Third was the team of Craig, Andrew S, and Dan (new) who hung on for a while but finished one lap in arrears. Finally a team of Andy, Ewen and I were lapped so many times we lost count. Ewen and I had the excuse that we had run 8k beforehand.

Andy at Central Curtin

YCRC Half Marathon
Entries in the 2013 YMCA of Canberra Half Marathon are now open.
Our major event will be the YMCA of Canberra Half Marathon on Sunday 19th May. However, we will still conduct a 1.6k Mini Jog for young children under 12 years, and a 5k Fun Run at 2.30pm and 3pm respectively on Saturday 18th May. Entries for these events are free to all YMCA of Canberra Runners Club members, and paid up half marathon entrants. All others will pay on the day. Adults $10 Juniors U20 $5.

Our club is please to advise that in this year when Canberra celebrates its 100th Birthday, our long time sponsors are still onboard. The sponsors are Instant Colour Press, YMCA Canberra, Mizuno and The Runners Shop Canberra. We will once again have the Mizuno early bird prizes where two lucky entrants who enter before 30th April 2013, get the chance to win a pair of Mizuno shoes to the value of $200 from the Canberra Runners Shop. All finishers have another chance to win one of 8 vouchers for Mizuno shoes to the value of $200 along with a great range of other prizes including gift vouchers from the Canberra Runners Shop and local bottled wine.

This year we have decided not to proceed with a race charity. However, please feel free to embrace a charity or good cause as you see fit.
There are no online entries for the 1.6k Mini Jog or the 5K Fun Run. Enter on the day at the event.

Course - The half course in 2013 will be the same course as that used in 2012.
Entry fees 2013
Note:- YCRC members receive discounts of $20 to $25 off their entry, it only costs $45 for 2013 membership, Join here.
Before 13th May 2013.
Non YCRC Members $60 YCRC Member $40 - Relay Team (2 person) $70 First runner full half entrant $35
On/After 13th May 2013
Non YCRC Members $80 YCRC Members $55 - Relay Team (2 person) $80 First runner full half entrant $40
No late entries on race morning Sunday 19th May 2013
Quick Links
Half Marathon Individual Entries: here - Half Marathon Individual Participants Listing: here
Half Marathon Relay Entries: here - Half Marathon Relays Participants Listing: here
Ken Eynon – Race Manager

Rise Above It

Ignoring criticism IS the way to go. You’ll never achieve anything if you need people’s approval. Not in the long run.

Song of the week: "Rise Above It" by Switchfoot
from http://youtu.be/4ilLUI0cRf0

html delimiters

As blog owners know, you have a choice of "compose" mode or "html" mode when writing a new post or editing an old one. I switch between the two modes, knowing I have more control when in html mode. For beginners, in html mode here are examples of simple tags you can use to delimit text for various effects. (I do this now out of interest to see what browsers the xmp tag works in.)

lime is produced by
<span style="color: lime;">lime</span>
strikethrough is produced by
<s>strikethrough</s>
italic is produced by
<i>italic</i>
To display html examples such as these above, I delimit using xmp and /xmp, otherwise we would have pairs of identical lines! What doesn't work is nesting xmp's here to show you how the xmp delimiters work, but you get the idea, maybe. xmp switches off html interpreting.

But what may happen in your browser if it is different from mine is that the xmp delimiters may not even be functional, which means the above probably won't make much sense. They work fine (here) in Chrome. It would be interesting to know which browsers they don't work in. The main browsers other than Chrome would be Firefox (works OK), Safari, Opera, and Explorer, in descending order from best to worst, generally. Let me know?

Training at Stromlo Forest Park: Sarah-Jayne, Yelena, Peter, Andrew S, Joel, Ewen, Barry (new) & I all had a run around a pleasant, cooler Stromlo grass track today, all but me doing a very fast 4 x 1k.

Results Ginninderra Parkrun #45
18 Tim RAWLING 20:57
23 Gary BOWEN 22:22
27 Jacob Edward CLIFTON 23:07 New PB!
63 Cate WINNING 30:30 First Timer!
64 Margaret MCSPADDEN 31:04 New PB!
80 finishers

Tuggeranong Parkrun #2
28 Adam ROBINSON 31:38 First Timer!
43 finishers

I never learned this:

This on the other hand is much closer to my philosophy:

Take risks!

LBG

I finally ran a complete lap of Lake Burley Griffin this morning, and it turned out to be exactly 28k. Starting from Acton Ferry Terminal at 8:00am and running anti-clockwise, first to Scrivener Dam then along the South side of the lake through the wetlands, then back along the North side to Acton again. It was cold which made it ideal for a long run. The triathletes were setting up at Acton, I don't envy them having to swim on a day like this and then battle the southerly wind on their bikes. Running with me today was Kristian who cut back over Kings Avenue Bridge, completing 20k, his longest run. Then I ran with various random people after he left me, there were quite a few runners doing the East Basin circuit this morning. Among them, I stopped and talked with Laura dlC who was running clockwise with one of her many friends. Twice I bumped into CJ and Ruth doing a long run together; longer than mine.

I do prefer this cooler weather. most pleasant. The run felt easy, the average pace was 5:45 per km including stops to chat and to drink from the bubblers on the way. Let's call the actual running 5:40s.

Don't ever admit to drinking tea before competing?

They had tea.
from http://youtu.be/9ObMtnDNpuo



Results BBQ Stakes 6k 27 Feb
Jennifer Bright 27:12
Andrew Matthews 29:32
Gary Bowen 31:08
Ruth Baussmann 37:59
Caroline Campbell 38:00

Happy birthday to everyone born on 29 Feb. Hope you enjoyed your micromillisecond of celebration overnight.