so many running options

Training Last Night
Ewen, Miranda & I ran early. Then we ran some zigzag relays, 15 minutes in teams of two, followed by ten minutes in teams of three running shorter legs. Participating were Sarah-Jayne, Jen, Craig, Warrick, Andy, Garry, Rae, Ruth, me (2nd relay only) and Ewen the reserve.

Catching up on BBQ Stakes results
BBQ Stakes 27 March
5. Kerrie Tanner W50 36:23
7. Ruth Baussmann W60 36:46
18. Jennifer Bright W35 29:15
21. Andrew Matthews M50 32:52
35. Roger Pilkington M50 52:08
47. Gary Bowen M55 33:14
52. Caroline Campbell W70 41:16
59 finishers

BBQ Stakes 3 April
5. Geoff Moore M60 28:02
19. Joel Pearson 27:02
20. Kerrie Tanner W50 29:09
29. Andrew Matthews M50 28:02
31. Roger Pilkington M50 43:55
52. Gary Bowen M55 34:25
57 finishers

BBQ Stakes 10 April
2. Kerrie Tanner W50 37:44
14. Ruth Baussmann W60 36:45
24. Helen Larmour W50 27:00
29. Jennifer Bright W35 36:54
52. Andrew Matthews M50 28:33
55. Joel Pearson 28:24
65. Gary Bowen M55 32:40
70 finishers

BBQ Stakes 17 April
4. Gary Bowen M55 30:10
28. Helen Larmour W50 26:19
43. Kerrie Tanner W50 29:33
58. Joel Pearson 29:30
61. Andrew Matthews M50 36:59
64 finishers

BBQ Stakes 24 April
13. Roger Pilkington M50 39:52
31. Andrew Matthews M50 28:07
45. Jennifer Bright W35 31:00
46. Kerrie Tanner W50 31:02
50. Caroline Campbell W70 38:32
56. Lincoln Hawkins M50 45:22
57. Helen Larmour W50 30:17
63 finishers

Running doesn't have to be boring ... you could do a different kind of session every day of the year.

And in case you think just "going for a run" is the best way to get fit ...
http://running.competitor.com/2013/04/training/three-ways-to-sneak-speed-into-your-training-schedule_70879

weekend results

YCRC 3k 27/04/13 Stromlo Forest Park
YCRC 5k 27/04/13 Stromlo Forest Park
I shall add these results in here when available!

ACTVAC 10k 28/04/13 Majura West
11 Rod Lynch M50 42:03 81.6%
13 Rae Palmer W65 59:27 76.4
17 Nadine Morrison W40 49:13 71.3
22 Marilyn Banfield W60 65:45 68.2
23 Kerrie Tanner W50 54:53 72.1
25 Mick Horan M50 48:37 70.5
39 Caroline Campbell W70 64:03 79.4
49 Janene Kingston W45 54:34 68.1
53 Margaret McSpadden W65 71:27 65.1
57 Mick Charlton M60 62:33 59.8
67 Roger Pilkington M50 72:36 47.5
93 finishers

ACTVAC 5k 28/04/13 Majura West
11 Brett Morrison M40 23:36 67.6%
17 Cathy Montalto W60 28:34 73.9
45 finishers

Canberra is still a bit rural

Spectators at Goorooyaroo

"Would you be there for me?"

Song of the week: "Miami", from Foals.
Found at http://youtu.be/vQ90LRaEIt0.
Some serious muscle power here.
This one from the album “Total Life Forever”.

sunny parkrun anniversary

Ginninderra Parkrun #53 - first anniversary - Saturday 27 April
51 Kristian PITHIE 21:54
57 Janene KINGSTON 22:38 New PB!
59 Kelley FLOOD 22:45 First Timer!
69 Thea ZIMPEL 24:08 New PB!
97 Yelena PEARSON 26:58
139 Margaret MCSPADDEN 30:16
188 finishers
Did Kelley Horan forget her relatively new surname when she registered?

Tuggeranong Parkrun #10
14 Yili ZHU 22:51
67 finishers

Record numbers parkrunning. Also at Stromlo, a good number of youngsters enjoying the beautiful sunshine later in the morning. I enjoyed a couple of easy runs in two of the races - nothing to write home about - before hitting the trails to complete 18k+.

Parkrun's anniversary

 Margaret

Thea

Yelena

are we tired yet?

Customs 5k results Friday 26 April
Bronwyn fastest speedygoose again 21:51
Yours Truly off same mark but dropped from the start 22:05
Cookie return to racing and still running well 25:40
Caroline improving couldn't catch her 31:29
So it looks like my M60s have ended with no half decent time for 5k, my best being a 19:54 back in 2008... Maybe I can do better as an M65?

the plankaday challenge

Officially, plankaday goes in 7 day cycles:
1 x 60 seconds on day 1
2 x 60 seconds on day 2
3 x 60 seconds on day 3
4 x 60 seconds on day 4
3 x 60 seconds on day 5
2 x 60 seconds on day 6
1 x 60 seconds on day 7
Then the second week, 75 seconds, and so on.
All I am doing though is one plankaday, starting at 60 seconds and extending it by “only” 1 second each day until I reach my goal of 3 minutes. After that I will set new challenges. I will achieve my goal of a 3 minute plank in Longreach. We will have traveled there from Winton that day.

The full Queensland travel plan. We will be staying a few days in Cairns at the start, and a few days at the Gold Coast at the end.
It's a while away yet.

Recent Results
Customs 5k 19 April
Bronwyn Calver 22:16
Thea Zimpel 25:10
Miranda Rawlinson 27:11
Good times on a windy day.

Tuesday training 23 April – Miranda, Jen, Clint & I ran early, then on the track at Dickson Clint, Colin, Ruth & Susan did a double pyramid, 200 300 400 300 200 300 400 300 200 with same distance recoveries. Clint does well doubling up plus riding his bicycle from Cook to get there, and back again in the dark afterwards; Colin was very speedy lapping everyone in an outer lane; Ruth seems fully recovered from the marathon, which is fantastic; and Susan will be the next big improver (after Cookie and Sarah-Jayne) seeing that she intends running every Tuesday and Thursday session. Note - Thursday training is still on today, 6pm at UC.

AMA Nationals Hobart 2014: see the following document for details  http://www.actvac.com.au/Documents/AMA-2014-Events-Schedule.doc

YCRC News 23rd April 2013
1. Stromlo Forest Park – Schools/Club Winter Series
2. YMCA Of Canberra Half Marathon.
3. JogalongGeoff
4. Pennington/Longstaff
5. Helpers/Volunteers
6. Club website
7. AIS/UC Iron Supplement Study

Stromlo Forest Park – Schools/Club Winter Series
From Ken Eynon:
Our new combined school/club series at Stromlo Forest Park (SFP) will commence this Saturday 27th April. The first event for Primary School Children starts at 10am.
The full program is listed as a News Item on the clubs website www.canberrarunner.org.au
The program which will run for the full ACT School second term has been designed for the following reasons:
· As an exercise program for those children who undertake little or no exercise;
· To assist those children who are seeking to improve their running for participation in their school cross country;
· To better utilise the world class de Castella Cross Country Course at SFP; and
· To foster a better relationship between junior and the older distance runners in our community.
I have committed to organise this series for 2013 and 2014 in the hope that we can establish a cross country program that will see more children and adults involved in running and make SFP a centre for winter running in the ACT.
The development of the program and any changes in this period will depend upon the support and interest received over the next few months. The YCRC president and committee encourage you to spread the message and get your friends and family out to these weekly events.
SFP is an ideal location for family and friends to have some fun. We do ask that parents and guardians be aware at all times of where their children are, and to ensure children are do not venture down to the dam on their own.

YMCA Of Canberra Half Marathon – 19TH May
The YMCA Of Canberra Half Marathon incorporating 44th Annual Rex Foulkes Half Marathon will be held on Sunday 19th May starting at 8am. Early bird entries close on 30th April. Thanks to Mizuno two early entrants will have the chance to win a pair of Mizuno running shoes. Another 8 pairs are prizes for 8 lucky finishers. Full details on the half can be found at the following link.
http://www.canberrarunner.org.au/modules/Special/halfmarathon/CanHalf2013-1.pdf

All half marathon finishers receive a finisher’s medal, the race is electronically timed, and there are numerous other Barrel draw prizes such as gift vouchers from the Runners Shop. Prize money, trophies and age category awards for Masters.
The half marathon is a costly event for our club to stage and we need good support from runners both local and interstate to meet the costs. We are indebted to YMCA Canberra, Instant Colour Press, Mizuno and the Canberra Runners Shop for their kind support.
The SFP program above will not be held on the half marathon weekend. However, a 1.6km mini jog and a 5k Fun Run will be held at Lennox Gardens at 2.30pm and 3pm on Saturday 18th May. These events are free to YCRC club members.
If you can help with the half marathon please email Ken Eynon @ kene@incanberra.com.au

Jogalong
The next Jogalong will be held on Sunday 5th May. Due to construction work in Weston Park the Jogalong will remain at Grevillea Park, East Basin, and Lake Burley Griffin for May, June and July. The Jogalong is a 6k Handicap event for Women and Girls, where the slower walkers and runners start first. Part of the Jogalong comprises a 3k non handicap and a 1.6km mini jog for young children. The Jogalong is held on the first Sunday of each month and starts at 9am. The Jogalong has free child care.

Pennington/Longstaff
The Jack Pennington and Rosemary Longstaff Trophy races are listed in the program for 6th July at Weston Park. Due to the construction work in Weston Park, Weston Park is not available. These events will now be held at Yarralumla Oval, Yarralumla.

Helpers/Volunteers
All YCRC events are organised and managed by volunteers. To survive we need your assistance. If you can help at any of our winter series events please contact David Osmond @ davo.osmond@gmail.com

Club Website
The YMCA is currently upgrading their website and in turn the YCRC website. We are not sure when the new website will go live. Your patience is appreciated.

Iron Supplement Study
The University of Canberra and Australian Institute of Sport are conducting
a study looking at iron supplementation in distance runners.
Participants need to be aged 16-40, injury/illness free, minimum training history of 3 years.
More info available to interested athletes, please contact, Amy Woods amy.woods89@gmail.com

shake vigorously

"How many times had Pete told me to keep going? Maybe the smartest decision I’ve made in a long time was to stay together."

Boston Marathon - just one personal story of many.
http://ultrasmall.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/boston-marathon-2013/

Speedygeese training at Parliament House last night: Ewen and I ran early, a steady 8k. Although it was officially cold, the wind had dropped in time for our run and it felt fine. Then we met the rest of the runners for our third week of "Rose Garden 200s", a 200m straight with a 240m recovery, most sprinting the straight and floating the recovery.
Sarah-Jayne completed 15 laps and is looking good for her half marathon in May (see below); Jen ran 13½; Andrew 13 laps recovering from Sunday's Centenary Seven peaks Cycling challenge; Kelley & Mick H joined us for the first time in 2 years and both completed 13 laps, Mick staying with the 12 lappers once he had caught us, and Kelley catching us on the finish line; Tim, Kerry, Warrick, Andy & I ran 12 laps on 2:30, while Garry did 11 x 200m, new starter Marilyn ran 10 laps, and Ewen ran a few laps before breaking off to leave early.

http://www.canberrarunner.org.au/modules/Special/halfmarathon/CanHalf2013-1.pdf

We're here to stay

Song of the week: "King and Lionheart", by Of Monsters and Men, from the album "My Head Is An Animal".
From http://youtu.be/A76a_LNIYwE



Howling ghosts they reappear
In mountains that are stacked with fear
But you're a king and I'm a lionheart.
And in the sea that's painted black,
Creatures lurk below the deck
But you're the king and I'm a lionheart.

And as the world comes to an end
I'll be here to hold your hand
'Cause you're my king and I'm your lionheart.
A lionheart.

For Boston.

fine line

Training today at Stromlo - I was all by myself, although arriving as I was leaving were Maria, Amanda, Helen, Tori & Katie. And I did meet up with Joel & Yelena later.

Racing yesterday - I took it easy early, took a wrong turn later which added 100m, otherwise felt OK, specially up the final steep hill.
YCRC Mt Ainslie 9.3k
Saturday 20 April
14. Geoff Moore M60 47:07
16. Andrew Matthews M50 48:51
22. Ewen Thompson M55 55:45
23 finishers

Meanwhile this should be a relatively normal week - if you can call runners "normal".

xrcise

Ginninderra Parkrun #52. Next week is the one year anniversary.
21 Tim RAWLING 22:05 58.49%
23 Gary BOWEN 22:21 69.35%
27 David BAUSSMANN 22:43 71.83%
43 Ron VINES 25:26 69.33%
55 Yelena PEARSON 27:46 53.36%
73 Margaret MCSPADDEN 30:49 67.82%
81 Gwen VINES 31:24 66.56% (Margaret's twin sister)
99 Jill PEARSON 37:11 48.05%
105 finishers
+67 finishers at Tuggeranong Parkrun.
But only ~24 finishers at the YCRC 9.3k (or in my case, 9.4k) today.

The Athletics ACT High Noon meets are back in 2013, with the first scheduled for Sunday May 19 at 12 noon. Details:

May 19 - Program: 2013_high_noon_meets_-_program_for_weeks 1 and 2.pdf 

June 2 - Program: 2013_high_noon_meets_-_program_for_weeks 1 and 2.pdf

June 23

July 14

July 28

August 11

September 1

September 22

Who can Enter?

The meets are open to registered members of Athletics ACT, ACT Little Athletics and ACT Veterans Club and interstate athletes. Junior athletes must be turning 12 years of age by December 31 to be eligible to participate. 

Entry Fees

Entry fees are $5.00 for registered athletes of the above organisations and $10 for non-registered athletes.

• 2013/2014 AACT athletes  - registrations accepted from May 1, 2013. Dual Registered athletes are registered until September 30 2013.
• 2012/13 registered Little Athletes are registered until 30 September, 2013.
• 2013 registered ACT Veterans are registered until December 31, 2013

Which registration number do I wear?

Either your Athletics ACT, ACT Little Athletics or ACT Veterans Club competition number can be worn.

Volunteers Needed

U14-U20 Junior athletes ­are expected to have a parent volunteer help officiate during the meet under the supervision and direction of an experienced official twice during over the winter program.

Please contact Dianne Calvert to nominate yourself to officiate or volunteer at dcalvert@grapevine.net.au

Programs

The programs will be available on the AACT website once they are finalised.

Steeplechase is not on the regular schedule. To request contact Gerard Ryan at least one week prior to schedule. Hammer is very difficult to add to the program due to AIS conditions. We have already sent a request and they will advise possible competition dates. Extra events may be scheduled with at least one week’s notice before the day to gerard.ryan@merici.act.edu.au

A quiet night with the Bilbys

About equal numbers of Bilbys and Speedygeese at UC last night. The lights are random, came on late after we started. Of us, it was good to see Tori, Janene & Kelley return to the fold, along with Rod and myself, and I should also mention a new runner Kylie who joined in, I think I could claim her as a new starter with us seeing as she's not a Bilby nor a triathlete. Welcome, Kylie, we might see you other times if you are free to come along.
Of the training, I only got 6k of easy running in, others worked a lot harder.

Mixing with the Bilbys is fun.

The Bilbys website is http://www.bilbys.org. I saw someone walking along the main street (the only street) at Jamberoo this week when I was doing the same, they were wearing a Bilbys tee shirt. I was visiting grandchildren who have just moved there. Nice place.

doing it together

On Monday at Parliament House Clint, Ewen & I ran a good steady 8k early. Then the training session consisted of a repeat of the Rose Garden 200s, a loop consisting of a 200m straight and a 240m recovery section. In 30 minutes, Tim had run a little under 16 laps, Jen completed 14 laps, Andrew just over 13, Clint & Kerry just over 12, Andy & I 12 laps (on 2:30), Annie 11, and Gary & Ewen some laps. It was good to have Annie visiting us in her brief time in Canberra (Queanbeyan actually). And it was good to see the return of Kerry Tanner who vows to be back next week despite ending up a "stuffed duck".

On Tuesday Clint, Jen, Miranda & I went on a long run - Jen led Clint astray, but Miranda & I ran the traditional 13.5k warmup loop - then the main training session had Joel, Rod, Susan, Clint & Yelena running 12 x 200m with 100m recovery around Dickson oval.

Meanwhile back on Canberra Marathon day Jenelle,(https://twitter.com/MummyLovesToRun) and Craig were doing it together!

Eliza (http://www.facebook.com/lilwallabee) and Rex doing it together!

evermore

Song of the week: "Hey My Love", by Evermore
From http://youtu.be/CwiFxXuCB7g



Breaking News: Part 2 has just been released.
At http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=434750229952860

Boston

Australian Running Festival Results

A link - http://fairfax.tiktok.biz/list/canberramarathon/2013/42km/
Selected results - Speedygeese and friends
5k
51 15651 EWEN THOMPSON 00:22:46 51 M 36 M50-59 4
55 15372 JANENE KINGSTON 00:22:52 55 F 17 F40-49 3
705 finishers

10k dash
87 10513 HELEN LARMOUR 00:43:00 87 F 12 F50-59 1
381 10286 MIRANDA RAWLINSON 00:56:49 381 F 135 F60-69 2
459 finishers

10k Fun Run
664 finishers

Half Marathon
6 05022 BRUCE GRAHAM 01:14:10 6 M 6 M50-59 1
130 06446 KATIE FORESTIER 01:33:03 130 F 18 F40-49 2
214 05940 TIM RAWLING 01:37:53 214 M 179 M20-29 53
247 06395 DAVID BAUSSMANN 01:39:06 247 M 207 M60-69 1
279 06972 BRONIA ROWE 01:40:23 279 F 44 F30-39 18
494 06051 BOB HARLOW 01:46:57 494 M 380 M60-69 4
570 06950 WARRICK HOWIESON 01:49:06 570 M 421 M40-49 104
643 06461 GRAEME PATRICK 01:50:55 643 M 460 M60-69 7
649 06740 KATHERINE SHEPPARD 01:51:06 649 F 186 F40-49 43
686 05636 ROBERT HARDIE 01:52:18 686 M 483 M20-29 132
774 06020 RAE PALMER 01:54:19 774 F 246 F60-69 2
811 06868 KAREN DANIELS 01:55:12 811 F 269 F50-59 12
849 05418 SUSAN STURGEON 01:55:56 849 F 285 F30-39 112
863 06747 ADAM ROBINSON 01:56:11 863 M 572 M40-49 148
1,136 06462 CATHERINE MONTALTO 02:02:10 1,136 F 450 F60-69 5
1,271 06787 KEVIN CHAMBERLAIN 02:05:55 1,271 M 727 M60-69 14

Marathon
49 01123 JEFF GREY 02:56:36 49 M 48 M40-49 17
167 01019 ALAIN LOCHARD 03:16:58 167 M 156 M50-59 8
183 00764 DAVID WEBSTER 03:18:49 183 M 172 M60-69 5
217 00082 NICK MESHER 03:22:39 217 M 202 M50-59 12
255 01494 DEBBIE COWELL 03:27:00 255 F 21 F50-59 1
270 01184 KYLIE MALONE 03:27:57 270 F 25 F40-49 7
282 01503 KERI VAUGHAN 03:28:39 282 F 28 F50-59 3
306 01124 ELLE KNIGHT 03:30:00 306 F 33 F40-49 9
343 00977 PETER CLARKE 03:33:08 343 M 302 M60-69 9
364 01159 JENELLE DZIANO 03:34:55 364 F 46 F20-29 9
408 01593 BERNIE J MILLETT 03:39:03 408 M 350 M70-99 2
495 00914 PETER THOMSON 03:44:38 495 M 421 M50-59 40
515 01334 CRAIG DAVIS 03:46:08 515 M 436 M40-49 154
529 01413 CLARE WALL 03:47:33 529 F 83 F50-59 5
530 01562 TREVOR JACOBS 03:47:34 530 M 447 M60-69 14
532 01540 NATALIE WATSON 03:47:52 532 F 84 F40-49 29
538 01020 JENNIFER IRVING 03:48:19 538 F 86 F40-49 30
560 01049 ROBBIE COSTMEYER 03:50:11 560 M 467 M60-69 17
566 00556 PAM MUSTON 03:50:31 566 F 97 F50-59 6
572 01120 CATHY NEWMAN 03:50:51 572 F 98 F50-59 7
669 00090 ROB EY 03:57:41 669 M 549 M50-59 66
762 01193 THERESA FABIAN 04:03:35 762 F 149 F50-59 12
801 01563 PETER BAUSSMANN 04:07:56 801 M 638 M30-39 221
871 01401 RAY JAMES 04:14:17 871 M 677 M60-69 25
940 00793 CHRIS GAMBLE 04:20:50 940 M 722 M60-69 32
1,020 00361 SUZANNAH GYE 04:28:55 1,020 F 244 F30-39 94
1,043 00956 RUTH BAUSSMANN 04:31:11 1,043 F 252 F60-69 3
1,214 00851 WILLIAM ARTHUR 05:07:15 1,214 M 897 M60-69 47
1,291 finishers

DNFs: Charles Freer, Andrew Sutcliffe, Susan Archer, Elizabeth Bennett

Ultra Marathon 50k
27 U00082 NICK MESHER 04:06:12 27 M 25 M50-59 2
42 U01503 KERI VAUGHAN 04:18:01 42 F 5 F50-59 2
61 U00914 PETER THOMSON 04:33:24 61 M 50 M50-59 8
68 U01501 MICK CORLIS 04:37:20 67 M 54 M50-59 10
70 U00977 PETER CLARKE 04:38:06 70 M 56 M60-69 3
72 U00556 PAM MUSTON 04:39:01 72 F 15 F50-59 3
75 U01019 ALAIN LOCHARD 04:39:25 75 M 60 M50-59 12
76 U01020 JENNIFER IRVING 04:39:25 75 F 16 F40-49 7
142 finishers

Copied straight from the official results. I may add more results from time to time as I find them.

Craig Davis - A marathon PB by 3 minutes.

Photo by Scott Yates.

Great day of half marathons, marathons, and ultras

Canberra turned on spectacular weather today for the Australian Running Festival. Speedygeese who ran in the marathon included Kylie with a PB under 3:28, Craig with a PB around 3:47, while Suzie and Ruth were brave finishers. Many half marathoners ran good times. And over 150, maybe 200, of the marathon finishers went on to a full 50k. The day was perfect, although for some reason many in the marathon felt unwell - something in the water? But many great runs. I suggest you scan your friends' facebook updates for reports and photos, and when the results appear I will list here some of the highlights - of speedygeese, ACT runners, and my friends from elsewhere.

Scott Yates took a great photo of me which is now my Facebook header page. And here is one of his photos of the runners. Again, look on Facebook for his full set.

YES it is Ruth. Click to enlarge!

Another perfect day for a run in the park

But first, Happy Birthday Miranda, 60 years old today!

Ginninderra Parkrun #51. Saturday 13 April
14 Joel PEARSON 21:58 58.80 %
16 Gary BOWEN 22:06 70.14 %
20 Brett MORRISON 22:24 62.80 %
26 Geoff MOORE 24:34 67.64 %
43 Yelena PEARSON 27:53 53.14 %
56 Margaret MCSPADDEN 30:10 69.28 %
79 finishers

Yelena

Gary

Margaret

Brett

Joel

me

At the start

Also, 75 runners were at Tuggeranong Parkrun this morning, Yili Zhu ran 22:22, coincidentally the same time as I ran flat out at Customs yesterday.

Simon’s Cat, from http://youtu.be/LpHpm_b0vRY



Tomorrow morning it's off to run around watching the Australian Running Festival Marathon and Half Marathon.

Mild mild days of April

Last night speedygeese met Bilbys at the UC for our first training session together. A handful of Bilbys led by Guy Jones (mnemonic to remember his name for next time, "dry bones") outnumbered Colin, Rod & I for a session of ~530m hard, ~120m recovery x some number. I just tagged along. This will be ideal training: A good grassy surface, brightly lit (but bring a torch just in case), plenty of faster runners to help us pick up the pace, and no pressure so that  runners like me can just potter along. I like the fact that they run continuously, which gives me an option to just "go for a run" at the back. An excellent day's work.

Today I ran Customs and am hoping to start improving soon. Friday at Customs is planned to become one of my two effort days each week.
At the Customs 5k today
Tim Calver 18:50
Bronwyn Calver 22:05
Jen Bright 22:15
Geoff Moore 22:22
Bob & Carolyne were there; Bob still recovering from serious injury ran 24:08. He is going to improve rapidly and I join his age group in just 22 more days! Pressure's on.  

Personal Bests in real life? Not so sure about that.

Conquering Antarctica

There are many reasons why Bill Arthur could quite legitimately take a break and have this Sunday's The Canberra Times Marathon off.

The 62-year-old is legally blind, with bilateral optic atrophy since birth, although after 51 marathons on six continents that has hardly been a barrier before.

In August 2011, his knee packed it in while preparing for a half marathon, and the response was a procedure where the bone in the leg is cut, straightened and has a plate put on it, transferring the weight from "the bad side to the good side", as he puts it. He has run two marathons since the six-month recovery.

Bill Arthur from Watson is ready to run his 18th Canberra Marathon. Photo: Jeffrey Chan

But perhaps most impressively, Sunday's marathon - Mr Arthur's 18th - comes only two weeks after he completed the Antarctica marathon on King George Island in sub-zero conditions.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/runner-breaks-expectations-as-he-takes-every-step-20130411-2hoox.html#ixzz2QCvDqo00

Bill used to run with the speedygeese at Dickson.

Your training

There comes a time when your goal races have been run and you must get back into base training, giving the body time to recover from the stresses of racing, building more strength and endurance back into your body, and shifting the focus away from speed.

That time is now.

As you saw in yesterday's post, I have a plan to do just that. But what is your plan?

Here are a few tips.

Have a plan you know you can follow. One which is achievable, but stretches you to do something a little different, something a little more.

If you haven't been doing much up until now, start by establishing your long days, and as the weeks pass by, add your recovery days, then add your speed days, then lengthen your long days. From week to week add no more than 10% to your distance run compared with the previous week, or 5k whichever is greater. And some weeks, plan to drop back in distance, don't wait until you "need to".

Be patient. The longer it takes, the better the foundation for future improvement, in fitness, in health, and in race performances later on.

Slow down so that you can run further. You won't lose your speed, in fact it may improve. But don't push it. While you build up distance, your racing distance added to your speedwork distance in training should never exceed 20% of the weekly total, and should generally be around 10-15%.

Remember the three C's. Committment, Consistency, Common Sense.

In ten weeks a 50 km a week runner can become a 100 km a week runner by gradual controlled planned faithful attention to a sensible increase in distance each week. Don't rush it and it will seem easy.

Happy Parkrunners

Running is meant to be enjoyable. If it isn't, you are doing something wrong!

my own training

My own training for the next ten weeks needs to be base training - progressive aerobic conditioning from my current fitness level. To that end there should be a couple of speed days, a couple of long days where I increases distance over the weeks, and a couple of easy days to recover from the long days. Any day of the seven could be speedy, any day could be long, and of course any day could be easy. So I have to pick which races or training sessions will be flat out, and which ones will be easy/recovery/tempo, and which ones will be incorporated into a longer day. I need to think about when my gym/ strength/ stretching days should be; the answer being, not on my long days, and I need to make sure I factor in enough rest to avoid possible injury or burn-out.

I could so easily try to run fast every day. But during these ten weeks the most important thing is to be covering the distance.

So tentatively, my personal pattern, subject to week by week variations due to weather, other commitments, and how I go generally, is planned to be

Mondays speed. Participate fully in the Parliament House sessions.
Tuesdays long. Participate out at Dickson track training and make it part of a much longer run, as at present.
Wednesdays formal gym stretch/strengthen/balance/core work and no training run, or a tempo run out at BBQ Stakes when I can, nothing fast.
Thursdays easy. Joining the Bilbys at UC should be a nice recovery session trotting along at the back! They tend to do long intervals, I think, which is ideal.
Fridays speed. Seeing if I can get my time for the Customs 5k down under 20 minutes. Adding in some flexibilty and coordination /core training afterwards.
Saturdays long. I will go out to the YCRC run when possible but usually treat it as an easy tempo run and have enough energy for a long run afterwards.
Sundays easy. A run on the grass at SFP is ideal. Afterwards, another session working on core and flexibilty.

Well that's the plan. Can I stick to it? Why not? Meeting people each day will help a lot. And I have got rid of the headaches I was having. So it is full steam ahead. I should be able to build up to 100km weeks fairly quickly. And that means my fitness levels will start to improve again.

Inspiration

No matter how good the other runners look, they are not going to intimidate me. [Benita was a Canberran]

last night = first speedy session of "winter"

We were back at Parliament House for some Rose Garden 200s on the first Monday of Eastern Standard Time. Running early were Rae, Clint, Ewen & I. Then we warmed up around the house before starting our 450m loops, pushing hardest on the 200m straight.
In 30 minutes of running, the very approximate distances as I recall, were
16 laps Tim
15 laps Colin
14½ laps Sarah-Jayne
14 laps Jen
13 laps Clint
12 laps Warrick, Andy, me
11 laps Mick
10½ laps Ewen
10? repeats Garry
I was pleased to complete a full training session at a reasonable pace! Now I can start planning the next 6 months of my training. I will take a couple of days to work out what's possible, given our travel plans, and to confirm that my health is OK, given my last two months of headaches, then I will get stuck into the training itself.

suburban sprawl

Song of the week: "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)", by Arcade Fire, from "The Suburbs"
At http://youtu.be/NuSbELCNloc

What time is it really?

Not sure now that EST has returned, too many clocks in the house some of which automatically reset and some of which don't. I set the alarm on my Blackberry assuming it might reset. But the cat woke me half an hour earlier than that anyway. Only Ewen and I trained at Stromlo this morning. No fast runners to keep us honest. Other than Katie and Amanda doing their own thing. Let's hope the numbers skyrocket soon.

Amazingly, Ewen and I couldn't be separated on the line in Saturday's Goorooyaroo race, either. We were even together at the 4k turn!

YCRC Goorooyaroo 8k Saturday 6 April
=15th Geoff Moore     M60 44:40
=15th Ewen Thompson M55 44:40

Easter AMA Nationals
There are so many pictures I don't know where to start. So I won't even think about it. There are thousands of photos linked from the event website. Go take a look. https://sites.google.com/site/ama2013canberra/photographs

Photos and results from today's Ginninderra Parkrun

Ginninderra parkrun #50 - 06/04/2013
25 Joel PEARSON 21:15 60.78 %
30 Nadine MORRISON 21:57 71.15 %
43 Brett MORRISON 22:57 61.29 %
55 Cathy NEWMAN 24:09 71.15 %
56 Thea ZIMPEL 24:31 60.37 % New PB!
78 Ruth BAUSSMANN 27:50 70.72 % New PB!
97 Eliza MIDDLETON 29:36 50.00 %
98 Yelena PEARSON 29:36 50.06 %
104 Margaret MCSPADDEN 30:22 68.83 %
118 finishers
Other finishers of interest
18 Sarah MCRAE 20:16 74.67 % First Timer!
33 Gary BOWEN 22:03 70.29 %

Cathy

Brett. It must have been warm.

Thea

A Lucia look-alike (~22:30?)

Gary

A David look-alike (~22:05)

Nadine

Joel

Margaret

Eliza and Yelena

 Wow, what a close finish!

Ruth

All the better to see you with my dear

I have new glasses.
They make me look very studious.
Which I am.
So that's alright then.

Results from the Albert-Melbourne 5k Parkrun 30 March
38 Nadine MORRISON 21:25 72.92%
45 Brett MORRISON 22:03 63.79 %
They had 163 finishers

Go Nadine!

Results from the Customs Joggers 5k 5 April
Tim Calver 18:34
Peter Burke 21:31
Bronwyn Calver 22:10
Geoff Moore 24:03

The geese are out-running me! About time, too.
Other Customs times of interest
Bob Harlow 24:45
Yili Zhu 24:29

Photographs from the Nationals
It will take me a few more days to set this all up, but you can see many albums of the running events at the AMA Nationals. See https://sites.google.com/site/ama2013canberra/photographs.

Kym in the 800m

Winter training kicking off this week

It is time to get our winter training plans, as well as our bodies, into shape. Winter starts when (a) the Canberra Runners Club start their winter series of races, and (b) when daylight saving ends and our evening training sessions need to be run under lights or in a well lit area.
This weekend is the start of our winter!
Decide which days you can attend our speed training, long runs, tempo runs, time trials, or racing!
Here is how we are kicking off

Friday 5 April a lunchtime handicap run at Customs Joggers (5k flat)
Saturday 6 April at 11:00am the YCRC race at Goorooyaroo.
Then we turn our clocks back an hour
Sunday 7 April at 7:30am intervals at Stromlo Forest Park
Monday 8 April, back to Parliament House for a 4:30 8k run and a 5:30pm interval session
Tuesday 9 April we start back at Dickson oval, 4:00pm for a long run and 5:30pm for track training under lights
Wednesday 10 April a lunchtime handicap 6k at BBQ Stakes (6k hilly)
Thursday 11 April at 6:00pm interval training at UC with the Bilbys

And so it will continue. It's a smorgasbord! Pick the training pattern that suits you which takes in some of these days, and make a commitment.

Except on Sunday 14 April when we will all troop down and watch, help, or compete in, the Canberra Marathon, on with the Australian Running Festival.

Good luck to all the speedygeese having a run in the marathon!

some other results

W60 4 x 800m world record
Event 723 W30-99 4x800 Metre Relay Masters
1 Australia 'A' 11:22.59 (WR)
1) Kathryn Heagney 62 2) Kathy Sims 61
3) Paula Moorhouse 64 4) Jeanette Flynn 61
2 Act Mixed 'A' 12:05.49
1) Emma Adams 44 2) Constance Larmour 77
3) Kelley Flood 52 4) Kym Chisholm 31
3 State Mixed 'A' 12:20.92
1) Michelle Wells 41 2) Vicki Cobby 41
3) Susan Archer 64 4) Raelene Campbell 40

Ginninderra Parkrun #49 - 30 March 5k
20 Gary BOWEN 22:02
38 Cathy NEWMAN 25:48
53 Ruth BAUSSMANN 28:22 New PB!
74 finishers

Tuggeranong Parkrun #6 - 30 March 5k
35 Sam WRIGHT 25:39 First Timer!
67 Kerrie TANNER 36:51 First Timer!
75 Adam ROBINSON 43:29
79 finishers

BBQ Stakes 3 April
Joel Pearson 27:00
Geoff Moore 28:00
Andy Matthews 28:02
others of interest:
Rob Ey 27:52
Kerrie Tanner 29:01
Gary Bowen 34:24
Roger Pilkington walked/jogged

So now it is time to congratulate everyone involved in the Nationals. Thank you to all the volunteers, officials, athletes, and the weather, for making them such a magnificent success!

silhouettes

Song of the week: "We Will Become Silhouettes", by The Postal Service
from http://youtu.be/0rKC7ElkTUQ

Day four 8000m cross country results

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

Day four 8000 metre cross country
Event 901 W30 8000 Metre Run Masters
2 Kym Chisholm W31 ACT 34:12.00 70.52%
3 Thea Zimpel W30 ACT 43:13.00 55.73%

Event 901 W40 8000 Metre Run Masters
2 Michelle Wells W41 ACT 33:40.00 74.60%

Event 901 W45 8000 Metre Run Masters
3 Katie Forestier W47 ACT 33:28.00 79.33%

Event 901 W50 8000 Metre Run Masters
2 Helen Larmour W53 ACT 34:15.00 83.50%

Event 901 W55 8000 Metre Run Masters
3 Maria O'Reilly W58 ACT 36:01.00 84.91%

Event 901 W60 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Susan Archer W64 ACT 37:27.00 89.05%

Event 901 W70 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Caroline Campbell W70 ACT 45:14.00 81.06%

Event 901 W75 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Terri Jones W75 ACT 1:02:29.00 64.02%

Event 902 M70 8000 Metre Run Masters
8 Alan Wilson M70 ACT 44:17.00 65.41%
9 Bryan Thomas M71 ACT 47:54.00 61.20%

Event 902 M70 8000 Metre Run Masters
3 Lachlan Lewis M75 ACT 1:01:18.00 50.79%

Event 903 M35 8000 Metre Run Masters
4 Rohan Lowry M39 ACT 29:17.00 76.04%

Event 903 M40 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Lance Purdon M40 ACT 29:30.00 76.05%
4 Steve Rohan-Jones M44 ACT 31:00.00 74.57%

Event 903 M45 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Jeff Grey M49 ACT 31:42.00 75.87%
2 Geoffrey Monro M47 ACT 33:30.00 70.65%

Event 903 M50 8000 Metre Run Masters
1 Bruce Graham M51 ACT 27:12.00 89.83%
5 Peter James M52 ACT 30:12.00 81.57%
9 Peter Thomson M52 ACT 33:56.00 72.59%
10 Nigel England M50 ACT 34:21.00 70.55%
12 Michael Horan M53 ACT 35:27.00 70.05%

Event 903 M55 8000 Metre Run Masters
5 Ken White M59 ACT 43:39.00 59.87%
6 Nick Blackaby M58 ACT 56:44.00 45.65%

Event 903 M60 8000 Metre Run Masters
6 Geoff Moore M64 ACT 37:43.00 72.43%

Event 903 M65 8000 Metre Run Masters
3 Robbie Costmeyer M66 ACT 35:16.00 78.88%
7 Mick Saunders M65 ACT 38:41.00 71.26%

Day three 400m results

Full results are going out live at this link
Here are the ACT results for the 400m with speedygeese in yellow

Day three 400m results
Event 513F W40 400 Metre Sprint Masters
4 Emma Adams W44 ACT 1:07.92 80.59%

Event 511F W50 400 Metre Sprint Masters
4 Sue Bourke W53 ACT 1:07.37 88.79%

Event 510 W55 400 Metre Sprint Masters
4 Alex Lloyd W55 ACT 1:17.78 78.41%

Event 509 W60 400 Metre Sprint Masters
4 Maureen Rossiter W62 ACT 1:20.52 80.61%

Event 507 W75 400 Metre Sprint Masters
1 Corinne Collins W76 ACT 1:30.94 90.88%
2 Constance Larmour W77 ACT 1:47.94 78.16%
3 Jo Klemke W75 ACT 1:54.76 70.57%

Event 523F M40 400 Metre Sprint Masters
5 Scott Yates M43 ACT 1:00.45 78.03%

Event 522 M45 400 Metre Sprint Masters
1 Michael Roden M48 ACT 51.55 94.76%

Event 520F M55 400 Metre Sprint Masters
4 Philip White M58 ACT 59.07 88.35%

Event 519F M60 400 Metre Sprint Masters
3 Geoff Sims M64 ACT 1:01.34 88.38%

Event 190 M65 400 Metre Sprint Masters
Garry Maher M66 ACT 1:07.11 82.52%