post £1500

This is post #1500. Not £1500. Why did I get "£1500"? Because in desperation I have changed to a British keyboard definition. Why? It is worth it, to get rid of the ubiquitous and ridiculous US spell checking. “American English” - unquestionably an oxymoron - keeps returning however many ways I tell it not to. I think this is particularly a problem for Australians, which is why I am masquerading as British to see what happens.

So when I type "#" I get "£" and "#" isn't anywhere on the keyboard. When I type """ I get "@" and vice versa! So for example typing an email address involves hitting """ for the "@" sign.

And there are a couple of other minor differences which I can live with as well.

But sometimes I @forget@.

Word is so frustrating because I have not been able to force Australian spelling, it reverts back to US within seconds! Googling the problem, the experience is universal and is possibly unfixable, although some users have proffered long and complicated fixes which I am trying, but I think the fixes won’t work with Australian English anyway which is why I am trying British, where they should work. Possibly. Unfortunately one part of the fix is the use of a different keyboard definition.

I will let you know how the experiment goes. If it still fails, plan B is to scrap Microsoft altogether and go with OpenOffice.

Or I could change my mind and in future favor Americanization. Anyways, be seeing you on the trails and side-walks!

Last Thursday's 800m

waiting for the start

still waiting ...

They're off in the first race!

More 800m photos tomorrow....

Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

speedygeese at last night's track meet.
800m
M45 Rod Lynch 2:24.62 79.0%
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 2:30.33 85.3
M50 Gary Bowen 2:31.34 77.5
M60 Geoff Sims 2:33.79 82.1
W40 Katie Forestier 2:43.68 72.4
W40 Amanda Walker 2:57.10 65.8
W55 Kathy Sims 2:59.61 77.7
W50 Jill Pearson 3: 01.63 70.8

10000m
M60 Geoff Moore 41: 05.06 79.7%
M45 Mick Horan 41:45.95 71.5
M45 Roger Pilkington 44: 07.50 67.7
M50 Ewen Thompson 45:21.64 66.9
W35 Bronwyn Calver 47:56.32 64.4 pb
W65 Caroline Campbell 51:57.80 83.4

Next week there is a 4 x 1500m relay. I would like to get a team of four M60 men together to set an ACT record. I think an Australian record is not likely! Reason being, the M60 Australian record for 4 x 1500m is held by four very fast West Australians, set this year - 21.48.4 (an average of 5:27). On a good day, Kevin and I should get under 5:20 which means finding two others willing to try and run in the low 5:30s. Not impossible? And it doesn’t matter anyway. Just having a team of four will be fine.

One of the Western Australians who set the record was Jim Langford! My ambition to win gold in something next year may well be thwarted, having discovered that the legendary Jim Langford is in my age group, and running for Masters WA! So if I do end up improving enough to run well under 19 minutes in the 5000m, as is the plan, it still might not be enough for gold!

Yesterday's 10k in only 41.05 - splits 20:20, 20:44 - doesn't help. Although, I finished well ahead of my rivals, for a change. And the 5k split was faster than three recent 5k races have been. Conditions were warm and humid but we will have to get used to that if we are to be competitive in future interstate Masters events. Jim being from Perth would be used to worse, even warmer.

I still have a lot more training to do before I start running well. I had a great gym session this morning followed by another hot 10k training run. Next week I plan to move from two gym sessions to three a week, holding on to 90k weeks. I am taking it one step at a time; "you have to walk before you can swim".

Making full use of the track


Look! They're in different lanes! It must be a spiral!

What I Talk about When I Talk About Running

On November 02, 2007, I fore-shadowed that I would be awarding a book prize to the 50,000th visitor to this blog. And that is what I have done.

Sonia is the lucky recipient of the book “What I Talk about When I Talk About Running”, by Haruki Murakami. Just in time for her launch into serious athletic competition with Box Hill Athletics. Here is a summary of the book, taken from http://www.dymocks.com.au/:

“In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a slew of critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revealing, both for fans of this masterful yet private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running”.

Sonia, Amanda, and Peter


Sonia Veldhoven, the lucky 50,000th visitor to this blog, on the left, in pink.

More speedygeese results:
November Jogalong
Cathy Montalto W55 39:11
Carolyne Kramar W40 34:32
Caroline Campbell W65 32:29
Helen Larmour W45 27:51


FOOTNOTES
1. Yesterday I forgot to add – Burn After Reading also sends up "good morning" television: an easy target I know, but they do it so well. Although, by that stage of the movie, you are already laughing non-stop.

2. Today we have a 10k race on the track, I will probably run unless the heat is oppressive. Lap-scorers are mandatory! I will need one. So if you can help out in that way, please come along and stay for the 10k. It is due to commence at 7:30pm. It will be great weather for spectating.

"PC or MAC?"

Spring Series 2 - Black Mountain Peninsula 5k
34. Mick Horan 21:30
62. Neil Boden 24:54
63. David Baussmann 24:59
78. Caroline Campbell 26:27
82. Mick Charlton 26:46
89. Roger Pilkington 27:35
95. Ruth Baussmann 28:29
96. Thea Zimpel 28:31
114 finishers

I decided to have a rest day yesterday - haven't had one for a while, and the Spring Series race didn't appeal - and instead I went with Jenny to see "Burn After Reading" at Dendy Premium.

My favourite actors are George Clooney and John Malkovich. They, along with Brad Pitt, were the main actors in the movie.

My favourite actresses are Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. They were the main actresses.

My favourite Directors/Producers are the Coen Brothers. This movie was their return to typical Coen Brothers inventiveness. Shades of Millers Crossing, Fargo, The Ladykillers, and other Coen movies. And just as good.

"I Have Gone As Far As I Can Go With This Body".
The Coens are at their most brilliant with their character development, and this movie is no exception, each unique character is drawn so well, in particular Clooney, Malkovich and McDormand who were so totally suited to their part (or, their part was so perfectly written to suit them).

A theme: each character was delusional: Malkovitch played the role of a character with a drinking problem. He also thought he could write, but it was drivel. Clooney played the role of a character with a running problem! He got very grumpy if he couldn't go out on his daily run. Hilarious! McDormand had a self-image problem! ..... I won't go on, you must see it.

Hardbodies
"Burn After Reading" lampoons spy movies. It was kind of an anti-"Mission Impossible". It was
.. a send-up of the spy industry
.. a send-up of the fitness industry. Genius is the art of putting disparate things together in a new way, and I don't recall a blend of spies and gyms before.
.. a send-up of the sex industry, in a brief but memorable scene
.. a send-up of internet dating. None of the sexual encounters were heroic as in the typical spy movie. They were disastrous.
And I don't think I will view "park benches" in quite the same way again.

"This disk contains numbers, it's the real stuff!"
Moral of the film:
.. Don't cut the labels off your clothes
.. Never plan to fly to Venezuela
.. And never ever let a CD you have burned get into the wrong hands!

"This is Drivel"
There are three kinds of movies in the world. Hollywood, non-Hollywood, and Coen Brothers. The Coens are, shall I say, unconventional. I love the dialogue-style ending, which they did so well in "No Country For Old Men", and repeated here. Hollywood can't do endings; the Coens have perfected it.




FOOTNOTES
1. I haven't provided a movie review before, so this was different. Five stars! ♥♥♥♥♥

2. The quotes I have highlighted will be nowhere near precise, they are my next-day-memory.

3. I recommend Dendy Premium. Very indulgent.

4. Asking "PC or MAC?" was as much "intelligence" as any character showed in the movie. And even then, did they get the answer wrong?

5. Of course it was about running! You should see Pitt on the treadmill! He runs like a goose.

Spiralling

Monday night speedygeese training: Alan, Amanda, Bronwyn, Christopher, Gary, me, Helen, Jodie D, Joel, Katie, Ken, Mick C, Miranda, Neil, Ruth & Yelena ran 45 minutes of 410m loops at Parliament House, sprinting 200m of them and jogging the rest, stopping occasionally for a stretch and a drink. Given the heat, most of us ran 15 loops, some ran 12 to focus more on speed, Gary ran 18.

Speedygeese results for the Australian Mountain Running Association's weekend events:
Two Peaks (20k)
13. Roger Pilkington M45 1:57:32
17. Charlie McCormack W40 2:02:39
22. Maria O'Reilly W50 2:06:33
23. Helen Larmour W45 2:06:37
25. Christopher Lang M55 2:13:56
31. Bronwyn Calver W35 2:18:00
34. Peter Hogan M60 2:21:48
42 finishers

Three Peaks (26k)
34. Mick Horan M45 2:38:01
50 finishers

Track program this Thursday night:
6:00pm sprint hurdles
6:15pm 1000m, 3000m, 5000m walk
6:30pm 100m
6:45pm 800m
7:10pm 200m handicapped, 200m scratch
7:30pm 10,000m
Looks like a warm one.

From today's Canberra Times



click to enlarge

Song of the week Spiralling, by Keane
The first track on the new album "Perfect Symmetry" by Keane, is an excellent song called "Spiralling". Obviously inspired by the multi lap spiral races we do at the track!



I'm waiting/For my moment to come/I'm waiting/For the movie to begin/I'm waiting/For a revelation/I'm waiting for someone/To count me in
Cos now/I only see my dreams/In everything I touch/Feel their cold hands on/Everything that I love/Cold like some/Magnificant skyline/Out of my reach/But always/In my eyeline now
We're tumbling down/We're spiralling/Tied up to the ground/We're spiralling
I fashioned you/From jewels and stone/I made you/In the image of myself/I gave you/Everything you wanted/So you would never know/Anything else
But everytime/I reach for you/You slip/Through my fingers/Into cold sunlight/Laughing at the things/That I had planned/The map of my world gets/Smaller as I sit here/Pulling at the loose/Threads now
We're tumbling down/We're spiralling/Tied up to the ground/We're spiralling/When we fall in love/We're just falling/In love with ourselves/We're spiralling
Did you wanna be a winner?
Did you wanna be an icon?
Did you wanna be famous?
Did you wanna be the president?
Did you wanna start a war?
Did you wanna have a family?
Did you wanna be in love?
Did you wanna be in love?
I never saw the light/I never saw the light/I waited up all night/But I never saw the light
When we fall in love/We're just falling/In love with ourselves/We're spiralling/We're tumbling down/We're spiralling/Tied up to the ground/We're spiralling

Week of the Velocitous Avians

Another week begins, and once again velocitous avians (a.k.a. speedy geese) will be seen flying around Parliament House on Monday, tip-toeing tentatively along Territory trails on Tuesday, wending willingly down welcome walkways on Wednesday, traipsing tremulously on training tracks on Thursday, flocking fearlessly along friendly footpaths on Friday, sprinting sportily at sun-swept Stromlo on Saturday, and sinking short of breath onto sofas on Sunday.

Just doing what we do again, again.

My training progress
last week’s target: 90k
achieved: 93k
year 2008 total to date: 3476k in 45 weeks
this week's target: 90k
weight: 64.5kg ▼

Saturday times
200m
Joel 26.49

800m
Joel 2:15.44
Thea 2:55.52

3000m
Yelena 15:15.85
Thea 15:17.10

5000m
Me 20:34.04

Beauty


Overlooking Mt Beauty, Victoria.

But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.

Jackson Five

NO NO! this post is NOT about a suspect American pop group of yore.

Today my grandson Jackson Moore turns five !

The musical connection is correct, but the Jackson after whom he was named five years ago was Jackson Brown! Or so rumour has it. Jazz rules, OK?

MOORES


Jackson anticipating his birthday


Nathan with Jackson's brother Tyler


Jackson's and Tyler's brother Charlie


Jackson with his balloon Jenny and I sent him. We sent him other gifts as well. Any time we see Jackson though, balloons are MANDATORY!

Grandchildren are so COOL! they are so cute, in an ideal world their photos would sell like wild cakes!

Keep training! But don't come running to me if you break your leg!

All the speedygeese track results from Thursday night.
1500m
M45 Rod Lynch 4:57.82 79.4%
M50 Gary Bowen 5:22.14 75.5
W40 Katie Forestier 5:35.68 74.8
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 5:38.54 78.8
M45 Roger Pilkington 5:54.28 67.4
M60 Geoff Sims 5:57.18 73.5
W45 Helen Larmour 6:12.26 73.4

3000m
M45 Rod Lynch 11:34.69 71.3%
M45 Roger Pilkington 12:27.03 66.8
M50 Gary Bowen 12:43.58 66.4
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 12:44.24 72.9
W40 Amanda Walker 12:49.07 68.2
W40 Katie Forestier 12:49.76 69.4
W45 Helen Larmour 12:55.39 74.9
W55 Miranda Rawlinson 14:44.16 71.0
W55 Ruth Baussmann 16:07.63 67.7

5000m
M60 Geoff Moore 19:54.96 78.8%
M45 Mick Horan 20:40.32 69.2

Spiral 6
6 Roger Pilkington M45 10:51
10 Miranda Rawlinson W55 12:12
13 Cathy Montalto W55 12:02
16 Rod Lynch M45 9:06
17 Margaret McSpadden W60 13:32
18 Ruth Baussmann W55 13:17
25 Gary Bowen M50 11:19
28 Kathy Sims W55 11:12
30 Jodie Sims W30 11:34
35 finishers

Not to look a gift horse in the eye, it was a perfect night for running, once the wind gusts had died down, and many speedygeese took advantage of the conditions to come out to ACTMA track. But speaking of horses, we do miss the Bilbys, their night at the track with us a couple of weeks ago was the most fun of alll.

And now for something completely different.



Third Place


Charlie and Maria at the Cotter holding the trophy they won for the Bulls Head Challenge. They tied for third place! Last and by all means least, that's Ken Eynon between them.

You have to shoot where the fish are barking

The prize for the 50,000th visitor has gone to .... Sonia Veldhoven! Congratulations! The prize is in the mail. I won't reveal what the prize is, yet.

Track last night



Track results from last night will be out soon. I was pleased to get under 20 minutes for the 5k, a rarity for a normal Thursday night. It wasn't quite a walk in the cake, but much more improvement is possible. So I am still on track to run some decent times later in the season.


Amanda at the track last night.

Here's a feel-good story from the Pan Pacific Masters Games Athletics which has just concluded at the Gold Coast.
Blind 10,000m runner Labrador’s Damien Williams found himself in difficulty on the track when his guide fell sick. Andrew Clowes from Morningside in Brisbane, a competitor in the same race, decided to assist Williams for the remainder of the race even though it could have cost him his own chance of victory and meant he had to run an extra lap. It was Masters spirit at its best and will long be remembered by those who witnessed it. In the end Williams was guided to victory in his 35-39 age group in a time of 41 minutes 26.76 seconds, while Clowes was also victorious in the 45-49 category in 40:18.58. Clowes’ victory lap guided Williams to his gold medal.
(Written by Sophie Birse)

Who We Are?
I have just had a look at 'links'. Our world body is World Masters Athletics, our regional body Oceania Masters Athletics, our national body Australian Masters Athletics, our sister state bodies Masters Athletics WA, New South Wales Masters Athletics, Queensland Masters Athletics, South Australian Masters Athletics, Tasmanian Masters Athletics, Victorian Masters Athletics. And we are ACT Veterans Athletic Club. Never fear, there's a pot of gold at the end of the tunnel. From next May we will become ACT Masters Athletics. That's the plan. And it's the only sensible one we've got. I will be pushing for it with all the energy I can muster. You've gotta stick your neck out on a limb sometimes.

Athletics ACT has an 800m race on at 4:40pm tomorrow, and a 3000/5000 at 6pm. I might be able to make it for the latter.

and the winner is....

....not yet known. This is a bit like a draw prize at the races where you have to be present to win. Either I must be able to identify you, or if I cannot you must claim! So first of all: #50,000 appears to have come from Victoria but may well have been Canberra because sitemeter doesn't always get it right, did open this blog at 10:41am today, and did come via domain bigpond.net.au. Claim now! If there are no legitimate claimants, I know who #49999 is, and not only that, #49999 is jumping up and down with hand in the air, tongue hanging out, very keen!

So #50000 you have until I write Friday's post to get back to me!

When my garmin is still hungry, it goes back four seconds.

Sometimes, with all this exercise, I'm so hungry I could beat a dead horse.



Curious that my Garmin played up on the Weston Park run. It measured the distance much shorter than it really was. It does that sometimes when there are trees overhead. It got the time right though. But does this mean I might be going further than I think I am on some of my runs? In a couple of half marathon races it has spat the dummy right towards the end too. Yes, I keep it charged up!

We Can Fix It



Yes We Can



And if you are close to or equal to number 50,000 on the sitemeter counter, let me know! The closest person I can identify will win a prize!

Running like a Duck on a Hot Tin Roof

Spring Series #1- Weston Park 5k
Tuesday 4 November

22. Geoff Moore M60 20:33
35. Thea Zimpel 22:16
46. Roger Pilkington M45 23:37
51. David Baussmann M55 23:59
60. Caroline Campbell W65 25:34
65. Geoff Barker M60 26:15
77. Ruth Baussmann W55 27:35
84. Carolyne Kramar W40 28:46

102 finishers

A couple of speedygeese who were going to run, I thought, didn't turn up after all. They missed a cool evening and a very quiet park and cycle path. Very few Canberrans were out and about other than us runners. Perfect. I approached the run as an even-paced tempo run, a minute or two slower than "flat out". Surprisingly it was quite a good time but I felt comfortable, talking-pace-level all the way, and ran even splits, which leads me to believe the flatness I experienced last weekend was either (a) loss of heat adaptation, and/or (b) a virus which has now been fought off.

The course was possibly as short as 4.85k instead of the advertised 5k, but made up for it to some extent with its degree-of-difficulty. I expect the same effort on the track would have given me around 21 minutes or better for 5k.

And now, in breaking news, Annette and Dale are leaving Canberra for Brisbane very soon. As I don't think I can make their farewell this weekend, I will farewell them now. By-eee!


Annette running a good half.

The 50,000th hit on this blog will occur tomorrow, probably. There will be a prize for the 50,000th person if I can figure out who he or she is! Identification via sitemeter stats can be difficult and sometimes impossible. But it might be you! So read my blog again tomorrow.

Who needs rhetorical questions?

song of the week: "Unwinding Cable Car" from Anberlin’s 2007 album, “Cities”. Although never making the charts here, this song is still getting regular airplay in Canberra. And is my favourite Anberlin song.

"What are your passions"?



"What will you be remembered for"?

Monday training. What happens when we extend our regular 25 minutes of hard training to 45 minutes for the first time? Answer - exhaustion! A good thing it was cooler than usual. On a circuit of just over 400m, we ran a 200m stretch as fast as possible, and jogged the rest, with our goal being (a) no stopping, (b) seeing how many circuits we could complete in 45 minutes. Despite the goal, stopping was allowed when needed for a rest, a stretch, or a drink. And if you were a 400m/800m specialist or just starting up again after injury, you were permitted to join in (with the fastest runners) every second circuit of theirs. Engaged in this challenging session were Alan, Amanda (19 laps), Bronwyn (19 laps), Cathy, Christopher, Gary (blisters got the better of him), me (17 laps), Jodie (15 laps), Joel (every second one, 9 laps), Katie (20 laps), Ken (20 laps), Mick C (16 laps), Miranda, Neil, Rachelle (every second one, 10 laps), Ruth (16 laps) and Yelena. We were fortunate that it was relatively mild, with a cool breeze.

We will be doing this session a few more times on Mondays. Or if conditions dictate, a modified version. A rolling stone kills no birds, so will you come on out and join us?!

This Thursday night's ACT Masters track program.
6.00pm spiral 6
6.30pm 1500m walk
6.45pm 60m
7.00pm 1500m
7.15pm 100m
7.30pm long hurdles
7.45pm 3000m/5000m

Today is a very special day. It is Joel & Yelena's second wedding anniversary! More photos can be found in Joel and Yelena's Facebook pages, where these came from.





Thea and Yelena



The Pearson clan

To Boldly Split Infinitives That No Man Has Split Before

Why did the chicken cross the road?
It thought it was poultry in motion.

My training progress
last week’s target: 90k
achieved: 63k
year 2008 total to date: 3383k in 44 weeks
this week's target: 90k
weight: 65kg ►◄

Splitting the Infinitive
Grammatical pedantry insists that, when writing and speaking, one should universally avoid splitting the infinitive. I might launch a counter-proposal: to always insist on avoiding the split infinitive is ludicrous and often compromises meaning.

For example, the word "gradually" has different shades of meaning depending on where it appears in the following sentence:
I managed to just run 63k last week, but at least it was 50% further than the previous one. Repeating that this week will bring me up to my target distance, after which I want to gradually increase my total distance, weather and luck with injury permitting.

Another example, a good case for using the split infinitive is in an exchange, where there is an echo of a previous statement made by oneself or by another:
I meant to publish a link to an article entitled "Don’t forget to regularly exercise to improve memory" when it first came out, but I accidentally forgot. In future I will try harder not to "accidentally forget".

Or the use of an emphatic adverb such as "really":
I need you all to really get stuck into training and come out today as we start a new phase of speed endurance.

As a wannabe writer, I wonder should writers learn to not split infinitives? I think not. Rules of grammar can be too tight.

Origin of the prohibition of split infinitives
The rules only emerged in the nineteenth century. But they may be based on a mistaken belief that Latin, where infinitives are only one word, should be the benchmark. One could also argue that the move was anti-France, as the French language makes split infinitives mandatory. Given the English attitude towards the French, such a hypothesis seems very likely.

English is not Latin, however.

A new start


The start of Bulls Head; after ten months of unprecedented consistency, the resumption of a new period of inconsistency?

Neil takes off at O'Connor Ridge


Are speedygeese also "poultry in motion"? I'd say so.

Faster! Faster!

They were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast that it was all she could do to keep up with her: and still the Queen kept crying ‘Faster! Faster!’ but Alice felt she could not go faster, though she had not breath left to say so. The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and the other things round them never changed their places at all: however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything…

‘In our country,’ said Alice, still panting a little, ‘you’d generally get to somewhere else – if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.’ ‘A slow sort of country!’ said the Queen. ‘Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!’

-Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass"



Thursday night results
400m
M55 Ken White 65.09 78.7%

4x800m relay
1. M50 Phil White, Michael Leahey, Ken White, Michael Clancy 9:39.77

2. M60 Geoff Moore, Geoff Sims, Garry Maher, Kevin Chamberlain 10:29.19 Australian record by 19.2 seconds

3. M45 Bruce Graham, Roger Pilkington, Nigel Coldrick, Bryce Anderson 10:50.55

4. mixed Steve Johnstone, Jim White, Rod Lynch, Ken Eynon 11:10.74

5. mixed Bronwyn Calver, Nadine Thomlinson, Jill Pearson, Alexandra Simpson 12:08.68

6. W55 Cathy Montalto, Maureen Rossiter, Ruth Baussmann, Kathy Sims 12:30.07

7. M70 Roger Abbott, John MacLeod, Peter Trotter, Ray Bramwell 13:44.46

3000m
M45 Rod Lynch 10:53.03 75.8 %
W40 Katie Forestier 11:41.10 76.2 pb
M45 Roger Pilkington 12:14.90 67.9
M60 Geoff Moore 12:21.40 73.8
W45 Helen Larmour 12:42.86 76.1
W40 Amanda Walker 12:52.64 67.9
W35 Bronwyn Calver 13:21.28 65.0
W55 Cathy Montalto 14:32.98 72.9
W55 Ruth Baussmann 16:05.43 67.8

5km
M50 Ewen Thompson 21:53.35 66.4%

Saturday afternoon results
400m
Joel 57.15

1500m
me 5:56.68
Ewen 6:02.67

3000m
Yelena 15:05 pb

Sometime between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon I stepped through the looking glass into Opposite World. I felt like a goose out of water in the 1500m. No life, no energy. I was slower than superflake! But at least it wasn't my PW. (Punched Wherever).



For today's run I turned up at the Masters 9am pack run at Stromlo, only to discover the time had been changed to 8am. So because of November changes, or possibly because we are in a looking glass alternate reality, here are my plans this week.

Monday 3rd
9:20am normal gym class
4:30pm Parliament House preliminary jog (Strewth needs to attend this one if she is going to regain her lead over Yelena)
5:30pm Main Parliament House meeting time; a shorter warmup than usual so we can fit more serious running in, from the Rose Garden by 5:50pm.

Tuesday 4th
6:15pm (note new starting time) Spring Series #1, Weston Park (note venue). Various other sources, and I now note that the Canberra Times is yet another, have the venue wrong. This is a 5k race which I will use as a tempo run. Should be fun; there will be people everywhere at Weston Park because workers (not me!) have some sort of holiday that day.

Wednesday 5th
9:10am gym class - new time, new day, because my 9:20 Friday one is cancelled due to a launch of "Heart Moves" at the gym
10:30am 14k run

Thursday 6th
ACT Masters Track.
6:00pm spiral 6
7:00pm 1500m
7:45pm 3000m/5000m
I may run all three, for training purposes!
A chance to shave some time off the 5000m, Ewen!

Friday 7th
The easy run I usually do on Wednesdays

Saturday 8th
Athletics ACT track.
4:40pm 800m
6:00pm 3000m/5000m
I am busy from 2:00 to 4:00 so my plan is to arrive late and run the 5000m and shave even more time. Or if I cannot find my legs, 3000m will do.

Sunday 9th
8:00am Stromlo long run
I will probably run easy for an hour, then meet any 9:00am starters Ewen, and run easy for another hour.

Another change of times, down the track, this month being November, the handicap run on Sunday 30th at Inaabanya starts at 8:30am, not 9:00am.

Raring to go.


Ewen and Strewth lining up at O'Connor Ridge. Ewen is taller than I thought!

Still sailing through life on a bed of roses

Today at the track, Athletics ACT has its "number two" program, which includes
3.45pm 3000m
4.10pm 1500m
There are also steeplechase races after 6pm. It is a much cooler day today than it was yesterday, and I am looking forward to running a 1500m.

This coming Monday at Parliament House, a friend of mine I used to work with called Ann plans to wave a Hawaiian shirt out the window of her car on Monday when she drives past us at Parliament House Training. When she does, everyone must honk like a goose! "Friends I used to work with" are a very rare species indeed. Unlike with most of my workmates, Ann and I used to get on like a horse on fire.

Track results: Most of the T&F results from Thursday are still not available. Check again tomorrow.

I was impressed with Cathy Montalto who came out on Thursday for a rare run on the track. She was there to run in the W55 4 x 800m relay, but she had a bit of time up her sleeve so ran the 100m first. That's very brave for a long distance runner! Not only that, the 100m was the Daniels handicap, and she was off 24 metres, which means her actual racing distance was only 76 metres. Afterwards Cathy told me she must run more of them, they are over so quickly!

Always a smile


Cathy Montalto running at the October handicap

How we set a new Australian record last night.

Last night there were four of us in the M60 age group who set out to break the ACT record for 4x800m.

The ACT M60 record was 11:26.1. And I also thought we had a chance of breaking the Australian M60 record of 10:48.6, held by Victoria.

Right from the outset the monkey was in my court; I led off and it was up to me not to spoil the party by breaking down! My very few attempts at 8oom in the last 15 years had generally resulted in injury, as often as not in the course of the race. But I figured a 1500m pace 2:50 would still be good enough for the team to have a chance to get the Australian record. But as well as never having trained for the 800m in recent decades, I had hardly trained at all in the previous ten days owing to the 27.2k Bulls Head run destroying my quads more than I initially thought it had. And I had a cold, which I don't treat when I have to run, because I don't want health problems which might arise as a result of disguising any health issues.

So I ran "conservatively". But somehow managed about 80 seconds for each lap. Way faster than any training sessions. And for the first time I can remember in the hundreds of 800m races I have run in the last 47 years, there was no lactate in the legs down the finishing straight.

Geoff Sims ran second; he did brilliantly considering he too was badly affected by the flu; I think he ran about 2:34. Geoff is the ACT's M60 400m record holder and is tending to specialise these days in 200, 400 and 800.

Garry Maher ran third; he looked great and kicked around the two laps at a fast tempo, maintaining the pace very well for a sprinter. Actually Garry specialises in the 100m and 200m but often competes in the 400m, 300m hurdles, and 800m, and even the occasional 1500m. He ended up with a time of about 2:40.

Kevin Chamberlain ran the last leg; he specialises in 800m and 1500m and is finding some very good form this season after having a couple of easier seasons. Kevin set some amazing ACT records in the years he turned 50 and 55 and seems to have regained his youthful motivation this year. He looked so smooth running in the relay, and finished fast. I imagine he ran about 2:34. Given the breeze, the warmth, and the difficulty runners 2, 3 and 4 have in judging pace in a relay, that was an outstanding run. Kevin ran 2:30 in a scratch race a week ago and was delighted with that time then.

So we ran 10:29.19: A whole 57 seconds faster than the old ACT record, and 19.2 seconds faster than the Australian record. And the good thing is, if we all have very good days next time, I think we can go 20 or 25 seconds faster.

As for me, it's the breakthrough I was waiting for: a respectable time for an 800m, with no pain. Now I have the confidence to train for the 800m like the old days, and to run a few more of them. It also means that next year at Geelong in February and at Adelaide in April, I will have the confidence to race the 1500m at the national level, as well as the 5000m which is still my main race. For now.

There's no doubt about it: the best 60 year old middle distance runners in Australia live in Canberra!

Obviously I am excited by the relay, but wait there's more. Before I close off, there were other great runs on the track last night, and I will publish the times for them when they appear on the ACT Masters website. But I wanted to highlight the fantastic 3000m run by our Katie. It was her day for a big breakthrough: a pb of 11:40. The 3000m had the biggest field we have had for years; and it was of high quality too. The winner Scott McTaggart broke the ACT M30 record; and the Katie says she benefited by chasing some of the good runners in the field.

Katie


Katie Forestier looking fit and well at October's ACT Masters Monthly handicap. Photo also starring Roger Pilkington and Gary Bowen.

The Big Issue

The ACT election results have just been finalised. A summary for non-ACT readers: the first mob campaigned on how bad the second mob were. The second mob campaigned on how bad the first mob were. The third mob were a group of hippies who relied on voters being stoned to get any votes. There is no fourth mob. Yet to be determined is which two mobs are going to get together to form government, or whether they will give up trying and instead gather in three corners of the room shouting at each other.

The elector knew what the big issue was.



Spoilers Ahead
I hate having to explain a joke. Usually it spoils the joke. So before you read the "spoilers" ahead, have another look at the cartoon above, enlarge it, see if you get the joke. I should explain that non-ACT readers will not get it in its splendid entirety. If at all.

Here is an explanation of why it is so funny.
1. Mark Carmody is the local ABC news weather reporter. Virginia is the newsreader.
2. Mark wears a different flower each day, usually large and ostentatious.
3. Mark is genuinly entertaining, and as a result receives a lot of flak from the general public, because ABC presenters are meant to be bland and boring.
4. The flower Mark is wearing today is a cactus.
5. The "Garnaut report" is a report on global warming completed by Ross Garnaut for the Rudd Australian government.
6. Mark has an unusual way of pronouncing many of his words.
7. Most of the comment in the letters column of the Canberra Time during the run-up to the elections focused on whether the writer approved or disapproved of Mark the weatherman. Which was so far removed from any of the election issues, it was just as if the voter was sick of hearing about the elections!

I certainly was, and I was out of town for three of those weeks!

In the cartoon one also sees the four horsemen of the apocalypse, referred to recently by Scott in Ewen's popular blog, which made me recall this cartoon. The cartoon appeared in the Canberra Times a month ago.

As a footnote, is there nothing more boring than hearing incessantly news about other countries' elections?

Puns are for children, not groan readers

“A gentleman will walk but never run” – Sting, from the song "An Englishman in New York"!


Photo by flashduck!

I have been hearing conversations of late concerning the timing of our Monthly Handicap runs. Specifically, there is some discussion about whether the shorter races should start a little later than they do: whether we should send off the longer race first and, 15 or 20 minutes later, start the shorter races. It was done like this in the past and seemed to work OK. We could still work off just one big clock, and add the minutes difference to all the start times of the groups of the shorter races.

Some of the advantages of changing it would be that short course runners and walkers would not have to wait so long until the presentations. As it stands, some are leaving before the presentations, thus missing out on announcements, T-Shirt awards, and event awards. And we are getting more families using child-care, who may not want to stay around as long either. And it's good to get the long event away early, it could even start earlier and enjoy cooler conditions. And the short course runners are coming in as the fastest long course groups are starting out - the short courses are all out and back I think - which makes for danger, it is difficult for an exhausted short course runner sprinting to the finish to negotiate a pack of very fast long course runners putting in their sprint from the start, and vice versa.

There are also advantages keeping it as it is. As it stands the short course runners are nearly all in before the first of the walkers arrive; then the walkers are usually all in well before the first of the long course runners arrive. Having these races finishing together will make sorting out who is in which event and timing and recording a good deal more difficult; and a lot more chaotic with 200 people milling around together at the finish area at the same time waiting to record their names. Also there will be more of a rush for the tea and coffee. And some of us short course runners have enjoyed heading off for a cool-down run while watching and encouraging the long course runners.

Another thing I am aware of with our handicaps and the large numbers they attract is the need to take care as we race on narrow and sometimes eroded tracks. As we pass people in both directions it is really up to runners who are coming through fastest to watch out for runners ahead; it is not up to front markers to anticipate when and how back-markers will come through. While I haven't been too good at this in the past, and on Sunday found myself unfortunately "barging through" a group near the turn with walkers and runners coming the other way as well, for which I apologise, I do intend being more watchful and careful in future. And anyway it is good fun racing along with so many on the track, I really enjoy it. I don't want to spoil the enjoyment for anyone else.

And as they say, "people who wear glass slippers shouldn't kick stones".

Gary racing away at the start of Sunday's handicap


Photo by John Kennedy

One of the many groups of runners heading off from the start.


There are at least two speedygeese amongst that lot. Photo by John Kennedy

Today was a bit serious. Tomorrow should be punnier than it was today.

The World Is Your Lobster

song of the week
ABC television's "Rage" showed three brilliant videos on the weekend; the live version of "Lost" by Coldplay which is my favourite track on the Viva La Vida album and is presumably their third single release; "Take Back The City" by Snow Patrol from an album which has finally been released and which I must acquire asap; and Death Cab For Cutie's "Cath" which is a great track on their latest album and getting JJJ airplay I believe.

I have featured these three songs on my blog in the past, so to resurrect my "song of the week" I have the video for another great DCfC song which has grown on me and is now my equal favourite along with their "Grapevine Fires" from "Narrow Stairs".

song of the week: "Your Heart Is An Empty Room" by Death Cab for Cutie from "Plans".



An Ominous Age
Birthdays about now include Colin last week who turned 47; Kelley this week who will be 48; Grandchild number 3 of 10 Jarod who is 8 today; and this blog’s youngest reader whose 15th birthday was yesterday! That’s not – very –young -any –more –is -it!

Please comment if you are a regular reader and are younger than 15! I am not expecting any comments, surprise me!

8 and 15 are very comfortable ages - although not totally comfortable; the 8 year old has an older sister to keep up with, while the 15 year old should be past the worst of being a teenager, but may not be there quite yet.

But late forties is ominously uncomfortable. The best way of dealing with the approaching-fifty syndrome is to expect the best. 50 won't be too bad, really! I found 60 a hoot!

For all of you, for all sorts of different reasons, the best is yet to come. The world is your lobster.

Monday training was also a taste of what's to come. We ran on a circuit of ~410 metres, pushing the pace for a gentle downhill 200m on a somewhat sandy soft surface, jogging the rest, ten intervals in thirty minutes. For the next few weeks we are going to run the circuit continuously, seeing how many circuits we can run in 45 minutes, still only sprinting 200m of it each time around.

Present were Rae, Mick C, Christopher, Margaret, Carolyne, Amanda, Rachelle, Ruth, Katie, Ken, Neil, Bronwyn, Jodie, me, Helen, Yelena, Joel, Alan & Cathy.

This Thursday's track program
6.00 pm 100m
7.00 pm 4 x 800m Relay
7.15 pm 200m
7.30 pm 400m
7.45 pm 3000m/5000m

The Spring Series events
There are different versions of the Spring Series events around. I have to believe that the calendar on the cross country club website is the correct version. In particular, what is in the November Vetrunner calendar is incorrect!

Edit: the yellow "calendar of events" card put out by the Cross Country Club turns out to be correct, and the calendar found in the ACTCCC website is incorrect. And what I published on 10 October in this blog turns out to be correct!

So, here again is the actual program; and note that all races start at 6:15pm this year:
Tue 4 Nov Weston Park 2/5 km
Tue 11 Nov Black Mountain Peninsula 2/5 km, John Cardiff Close
Tue 18 Nov O'Connor Ridge 2/5 km, Masterman Street, east of the Bruce stadium
Tue 25 Nov Boathouse 2/5 km, Menindee Drive, Parkes
Tue 2 Dec Stromlo Forest Park 2/5 km Uriarra Road

Finishing Bulls Head 27.2k downhill


Hmmm. For those who haven't seen me for a while. A new white beard. Scary.