“…and the heat goes on”

quote of the day: "Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say"

Monday night's training had a solid turn out of Alan, Amanda, Annette, Charlie, Christopher, Dennis, Emma, Ewen, Helen, Joel, Katie, Ken, Maria, Mick C, Peter, Ruth, Trevor, Yelena, Chantelle, James and I running 20 intervals of 100m up a steepish hill, in 30 minutes. But before training, Ewen & I ran long and encountered a large group of inexperienced runners, one of whom we saw collapsed on the ground. I spoke later last night to the ambulance officer who treated him, coincidentally the officer was at a house where I was attending a comitteee meeting; the officer said the runner had suffered heat stroke and was lapsing into and out of consciousness, but was OK.

Those runners had been jogging at a very slow pace, slow enough that our six minute kms breezed past them. But why didn't their supervisor impress upon them the need to hydrate?

This morning I had no petrol and could not be bothered to fill up, so I ran an old training run from the eighties, the "Pipe Flat West" run from home.

Unfortunately at around 17km there was a sign "NO ENTRY" in large unfriendly letters. That wasn't there twenty years ago! The shortest return trip home was exactly the 17km I had just run. A bit far on a hot day: and it was 10:30am. So I kept going. Then at 21km a car pulled up next to me and I was roundly told off by a round woman for trespassing on her property. What a shame; the run along the Molonglo is a pleasant one with views of cliffs and natives pines which have survived the ravages of time, pollution, vandalism, and fires. And while it is twenty years since I ran that track, it was unchanged, still flat! and this time all my favourite radiohead songs were helping me enjoy it all the more.

I lost two kilos of fluid during that run as well. Good thing I am fit and don't need medical attention on hot days. Although come to think of it, the north-west Belconnen runs are safer; there are people around, I might get distressed one day.

FOOTNOTES
1. Thursday's Vets T&F program
6.00 pm 3000m
6.15 pm 60m
7.00 pm 800m (this one's a "pennington")
8.00 pm 4 x 100m relay
8.15 pm spiral 5

2. I think I will run, sorry, shuffle the 6pm 3000m come hell, high water, or 37.5 degree heat.

3. Sunday's monthly handicaps resume on the 28th at Campbell Park. Note the earlier start time: 8:30am.

if you ignore NO ENTRY signs, who knows where you will end up?

...pipe flat west ...

the vertical lines are where there were gates to climb
the flat bit is from 9k to 16k
the 17k NO ENTRY sign was well past the point of no return!

flashNeil

quote of the week: "Shell Found on Beach"

My training progress
last week's target: 100k
achieved: 103k
year total to date: 306k in 3 weeks
this week’s target: 110k
weight: forever 64kg and steady

song of the week: Radiohead - Bones, from "The Bends":

"i don't wanna a be krippled kracked
shoulders wrists knees and back
ground to dust and ash
crawling on all fours.
when you've got to feel it in your bones.
now i can't climb the stairs
pieces missing everywhere
prozak painkillersss.
when you've got to feel it in your bones.
and i used to fly like peter pan
all the children flew when i touched their hands"

FOOTNOTES
1. The quote "Shell found on Beach" is a classic of its kind. Simple and to the point, a headline writer's dream.

2. Half Marathon Training Group
The ACT Cross Country Club is again organising a half marathon training group to prepare participants for the Instant Colour Press Canberra Half Marathon on Sunday 13 May. It is aimed at novices – those runners and joggers who have not completed this distance before and are attracted by the challenge! This will be the fourth year of the program and we hope to build on the success of the earlier ones.

The program will start on 10 February and finish with a celebratory recovery run on 15 May. Group training will take place on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at various venues around Canberra. Members will also be encouraged to participate in the CCC events where possible as part of their training. Any additional training suggested will need to be undertaken by participants in their own time.

A brief information session will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 31 January at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Phillip. The full program for the Group will be available on that day with the first run scheduled for 7am on Saturday 10 February at Lennox Gardens.

3. Results from ACTA Interclub athletics - Kathy Southgate ran the mile in 5:29.49. That is yet another ACT W50 record, breaking ..... I don't know whose nor by how much! The darned ACTVAC records page has already been updated! Neil you are too speedy by far!

flashNeil at Parliament House.
Be at Parliament House tonight for some solid training!

random thoughts

quote of the day: Economist uses theory to explain economy - Collinsville Herald-Journal

After several 100k weeks
1) 5k is a nice, short race.
2) Any run that is less than 3k does not count.
3) Races motivate me to train regularly. Does that mean I race to train?
4) I feel that it is important to include more hills in my runs. I can't even believe I'm saying this!
5) The half marathon distance is easy.
6) Still my weight does not change!
7) Where do the days go?
8) Friends don't let friends run alone.
9) I will never plan to run on a track only six foot wide.
10) Every list should have ten points.

bloglines hint

quote of the day: "Britain Inches Grudgingly Towards Metric System"


bloglines users - I have only 4 subscribers, there were many more before the move to beta blogger. Please re-subscribe. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Speedygeese track results Thursday 18 January
1500m
M45 Colin Farlow 4:42.86
M50 Ken White 5:09.19
M55 Geoff Moore 5:41.97
M55 Neil Boden 6:24.60
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 5:05.11
W40 Katie Forestier 5:41.02
W45 Helen Larmour 6:03.15

3000m
M45 Roger Pilkington 12:14.12
M50 Ken White 12:33.44
M55 Geoff Moore 12:44.15
M55 Neil Boden 13:50.80
W35 Amanda Walker 12:32.97 **pb
W40 Katie Forestier 12:13.87
W45 Helen Larmour 12:47.32
W55 Margaret McSpadden 15:30.23
W55 Barbara Tucker 15:35.61

non-running on Australia Day

quote of the day: "Lack of brains hinders research" - The Columbus Dispatch

THURSDAY 25 JANUARY - AUSTRALIA DAY LIVE 07
A FREE concert on the lawns of Parliament House features the announcement of the Australians of the Year. The concert line up includes: Guy Sebastian, The Whitlams, TV Rock, The Audreys, Bobby Flynn, Renee Geyer, Sick Puppies, Deborah Conway, Kate Miller-Heidke, Mia Dyson, Damien Leith and Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical.

FRIDAY 26 JANUARY - AUSTRALIA DAY CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL
At Stage 88, Commonwealth Park, featuring high energy performances by ACTIVE KIDZ, as soon on ABC TV, plus loads of other activities for the family including TRICKY NICK's magical show, GECKO GANG games, story telling, face painting and a farmyard animal petting pen.

Programme:
10.00am - 1.00pm : Paint the Backyard Fence
12noon - 6.00pm : Farmyard animal petting pen
12noon - 6.00pm : Aussie playground and Gecko games
12.30 - 4.30pm : Backyard Cricket
1.00 - 2.00pm : Royal Military College Band
2.00 - 3.00pm : Canberra City Band
3.00 - 5.30pm : ABC Active Kidz and Tricky Nick the Magician

Happy Birthday Australia!

FOOTNOTES
1. We had 9mm of rain last night and it all fell during Vets track. Makes for a change, racing in the wet! I am sorry for those who missed it because they thought it would be hot. The change was a big surprise.

2. Speedygeese have webbed feet. In particular, Amanda ran a great pb, taking nearly 20 seconds off her previous best for the 3000m.

3. Katie was in top form too running a fast 1500m AND a fast 3000m soon after, both right on her pbs. Through water and rain and humidity and wind, that 'aint bad!

happy geese after the rain...

My lesser known career highlights

I joined an athletic club in 1962. My career really started in 1961 when I invented a game. If my mother wanted to post a letter, I always volunteered. I timed myself by the kitchen clock. Out the back door, down the side path, through the front gate, down to the letterbox at the end of the street, post letter, and back. I wish I had started my running diary then. I could be owed a 50-letter t-shirt.

In 1963 I was undefeated over 800m in D grade at Interclub. My father George Moore, no relation to the jockey, only came out to watch me once. Before the race he thought for a while and came up with this advice. “Make sure your shoelaces are tied properly”. I have never forgotten this advice. All the 800s were just on 2 minutes but the second lap was usually 5 seconds slower than the first. I don’t recall my father having any thoughts about that.

My long run was a 3 mile circuit around Mile End and the west parklands near my High School. No one in the school training group had broken 17 minutes for this run, until a tall gangly youth who usually trailed off behind us announced he had run 16:55. No-one believed him and he went off quite sad. This came to mind when I ran the Bega-Tathra relay course solo in 1978 in a time well under the Cross Country Club’s team record of the previous year. No one believed me. What goes around, comes around. Well, I did go on to break the ACT marathon record a few weeks later. My best run that year was at Bega. Kohnke did run that time for 3 miles.

In 1964-65 David Looker of St Peters College beat me by 100m every time we raced 1500 at interclub. I got my revenge at the annual interschool carnival, where representing the ABHS (Adelaide Boys High School) I finished 0.2 secs ahead of David in the mile. My coach Robert Boomer was delirious. He had just won a rather large bet with the St Peters’ coach. Robert Boomer was also my English teacher and I topped the school at English that year, despite being in the science class.

In 1966 all my training was by myself at the new Flinders University. I ran 200m intervals where the footy side trained. One of their teams played in the lowest amateur grade, and were last in the comp. One day they asked me to boundary umpire. We lost 43 goals to nil. Usually boundary umpires run from one end of the ground to the other. Not in this game, it was mostly in one half. I needn’t have been training running 200m intervals; 100s would have sufficed. Even my boundary umpiring skills didn’t match their footy skills; they never asked again.

Later in 1966 I found a new coach, Bertrand Russell, no relation to the philosopher. His 16 year old son could run 1:56 for the 800m; I couldn’t. But he was impressed when I ran exactly the pace he advised in a 1500m run, so he took me on. Mondays we ran 20 x 400m with a 400m jog. Tuesdays the same. Wednesdays ditto; Thursdays ditto. Fridays we rested up for Saturday’s race. Sundays hill sprints. After his son retired in 1967 he stopped coaching runners and trained greyhounds. I would think these greyhounds always ran at the pace he advised.

I carried the habit of resting the day before a race into the 1970s. I didn’t carry the habit of running sessions of 20x400m into the 1970’s. Why one habit should persist and not the other is a mystery. The first athlete I encountered in Canberra was Nigel Crew. In January 1969 I arrived in Canberra from Adelaide to work at the CBCS (Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics). Looking for somewhere to run, I jogged along Northbourne Avenue, found Haig Park, then North Oval at the ANU. Nigel was training at North Oval, and after exchanging a few words, I asked him what athletic club I should join. “North Canberra is the best club” he suggested. As we all know, Nigel is colourful and eccentric and enthusiastic. In other words, no different from any other athlete you or I know. And he is MR NC, the man with the NC number plate which I have always been sure stands for Norths first and Nigel second.

My first cross country race was the 1 mile Corkwood. Before the race I met Jack Pennington and Peter Scott. During the race Peter and I ran neck and neck for the whole run – out to the Corkwood, 1 circuit, and back. Until, that is, I stepped in a hole and tripped and fell with the finish line in sight, bounced back up and successfully ran second. Peter presumably concluded from that one victory that he was the better runner, because I don’t think I ever headed him in any race after that.

It was interesting that the “one mile” Corkwood was “out, one circuit and back”; the 2 miles “out, two circuits and back”, and the 3 mile “out, 3 circuits and back”. This creative course measurement seems to have lost support nowadays; we measure everything precisely – distances to the metre, steps, km rate, heartbeats, altitude, wind velocity, calories burned, weight change, skin temperature, air pressure,…anything really. Were the old, simpler days better? Nah.

Jack Pennington (now our club Patron) organised the winter program - week after week we ran at the Corkwood, occasionally elsewhere. After many years of this the Cross Country Club was started, primarily as a response to the lack of variety in venues. Jack had done a magnificent job of organising the Corkwood races and in promoting distance running. Remember in those days there were no fun runners; no-one ran around the lake in the Canberra sunshine, the only runners there were, competed in athletics on the track except a hardy few who ran in the forest and the Corkwood.

Jack Pennington was regarded by some as eccentric even for a runner, and a favourite story I heard Jack tell was about an ex Prime Minister (John Gorton) who asked him why he was still playing silly buggers at his age. This silly old bugger named Jack was in his late forties then; everyone else involved in starting up the Cross Country Club were in their early or mid twenties. Jack was not only strange, he was unique and a fearless ground-breaker. Although I must say that his training methods were different too; even to me, a 400m and 800m runner from 1962 to 1974, I found Jack’s ideas on speed training extreme. Now everyone is older than Jack was then. We could do with some of the speed he had then.

I ran in everything on offer. There were very small fields on today’s standards, but great camaraderie. Everyone turned up to every race they could. These races served as my winter speed work. In summer it was interval work that got us fit but in winter we just ran at lunchtimes from work and raced on the weekend. All training runs were hard and fast however, until the mid seventies when the marathon started to appeal, but that’s another story.

Returning to 1966, I was a student at Flinders University. It was Flinders’ first year of operation. I remember my low student number, 660055. All clubs and societies started from scratch, including the Flinders Athletic Club, of which I was its first President. Hence I was pleased to see at Santos Stadium in Adelaide last year a Flinders banner; the club is still alive and well after all these years.

I remember getting my mother to type up the new Flinders constitution. I still redden with embarrassment at what a mishmash that first constitution was. We had no idea.

The club uniform I designed for Flinders was a white singlet with broad horizontal stripes in dark and light blue, identical to the ANU singlet which emerged many years later. Guess who ANU copied? The choice of colours was derived from a combination of the two SANFL footy teams, Sturt and South Adelaide, whose areas Flinders bordered. As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Flinders wasn’t my only experience as a club President. I have managed to avoid the many rewards and pleasures of being ACTVAC President, but back in the seventies I was President of North Canberra Athletic Club for a short time. My “reign” saw a huge increase in senior athletes, particular men, joining the club. What happened was, I recruited a whole lot of fun runners from the ABS where I worked. At that time Athletics was mainly Track and Field, and there weren’t that many distance runners. So the influx of many extra members was a breath of fresh air, broadening the club.

Or – you would have thought so. But the response was chilly at best. ACT Athletics was ruled at the time by one particular difficult person, who ran a monopoly, controlling everything. This chap ran the Athletics Association, coached the junior athletes, organised and conducted all the track competition, wrote the newspaper articles, took the photos … did everything. My feeling was that he didn’t like me very much, and things came to a head when I went with some distance runners to a fun run in New South Wales where we competed as a North Canberra team. This was when Fun Runs were just starting to catch on.

We did well in the Fun Run, but that Monday the Canberra Times article reporting the result, penned by our afore-mentioned friend, instead of celebrating the outcome with us, criticised us for competing elsewhere on the same day that a track competition was programmed in Canberra. Not that we would have been competing in it had we stayed in Canberra. Anyway, the next ACT committee meeting was “interesting”. I expressed dismay at the tone of the article and got considerable support from the committee, but then we all backed down when our friend promptly resigned from every position he held. He was reinstated. I had been seriously out-maneuvered – it’s pretty hard winning a poker game against someone holding all the cards. I hope the gentleman concerned is enjoying his retirement up north, and reflecting on the rise of fun running everywhere, and of orienteering, triathlons, masters athletics, mountain running, marathons, etc, where entrants don’t have to belong to athletic clubs to compete.

Running belongs to the people and always will. I haven’t given up encouraging people of all kinds to get involved in this pleasurable and rewarding activity. Membership of clubs where one is continually controlled and managed by hostile others is not my idea of fun. But a whole lot of people of similar interests forming clubs so they can enjoy training and competing together in an atmosphere of fellowship and generosity and mutual encouragement. Let’s keep it that way! A minimum of bureaucracy; a maximum of enjoyment!

Find the goose

"Tomatoes come in big, little, medium sizes" - The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia

Change of training venue this Saturday

Selection trials for the Australian team to compete in Mombassa will be held at Weston Park in Canberra this weekend on Saturday 20 January 2007

The draft time table has been published with the following start times:
9:00am – U20 Women 6km
9:20am – Open Women 6km
9:40am – U20 Men 8km
10:10am – Open Men 8km

So instead of meeting at Aranda, we will meet at Weston Park at 8am for our training session, and watch the trials from 9am.

Find the goose.
Someone has been emailing me childish "puzzles" lately. So here's one for you, you know who you are.

Find the goose

Last Monday night
Mick C, Dennis, Alan, Amanda, Christopher, Ewen, Gary, Helen, Joel, Yelena, Katie, Ken, Mick H, Neil, Ruth & I ran 4 x 820m in teams of two, with a 400m jog in between. It was Joel and Yelena's first run with us since their wedding; and it was good to welcome back Mick and Dennis. Great to see Griffin back with us as well.

A goose with both feet on the ground. Related to me?

Avoiding pain

We live in a culture where most people go out of their way to avoid pain. (Also where a very small minority go out of their way to experience pain, but we won't go there). But a society which is driven by comfort and by pain avoidance is a boring, artificial, and ultimately destructive place to be in.

Have a headache? Take an Aspirin. Have marital issues? Get a divorce, or have an affair. Don’t like the way you look? Cosmetic surgery, or a new wardrobe. Hungry? Chocolate, or Kentucky Fried, await you day and night.

Well, don't let's cave in to the majority view. A huge benefit of distance running is, we learn life skills for enduring necessary pain. This is all very different from the majority, which prefers to avoid pain whenever possible. Let's not lose out to the pressures society puts on us, let us instead apply what we learn as runners and athletes, to all parts of our life.

Fly goose fly!

FOOTNOTES

1. On this Thursday evening's program
6.00 3000m
6.15 100m
7.00 1500m
7.30 400m
8.00 4x200m Relay
8.15 3000/5000m

2. There will be discussion on the success or otherwise of the joint Track and Field meetings of the last two weeks(and the desirability of us taking part). Please send feedback to Alice, who would like to hear from as many of you as attended. For or against (with reasons) - either would be useful.

3. I say the opportunity to run with different opponents is good, merging the two groups for a time can only benefit both groups, especially when numbers may be down, Mutual respect grows. And I enjoyed the change. Please send Alice your views.

speedyMaria

Lift up your eyes

My training progress
last week's target: "100k or so"
achieved: 102k
this week’s target: 100k
weight: 64kg and steady
quote of the week: “Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.”
song of the week: Hillsongs - You Said

You said, Ask and you will receive
Whatever you need
You said, Pray and I'll hear from heaven
And I'll heal your land

You said Your glory will fill the earth
Like water the sea
You said, Lift up your eyes
The harvest is here, the kingdom is near

You said, Ask and I'll give the nations to you
O Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your light, as it rises on us

O Lord, I ask for the nations!

Monday is the day I report on how my training has been going. Last week's distances were 17k Monday, then 18k, 25k, 8k when I managed only 2k of the 10k track race, zero when I was too busy, it was too hot, and I thought I was injured, 10k jog, & 24k on Sunday to finish off. This week I will run BBQ Stakes as a tempo run, and all being well I will race a 1500m and try to get that 5:17 target.

FOOTNOTES

1. I am going to host the 24k Goosy Gander Wander. A training run from home followed by tea & toast, toast made in the biggest home toaster in Belconnen! Coming soon.

2. Our kitchen floor is finally getting put in today, so the kitchen is nearly finished! Only painting to go. And lounge room painting at the same time

3. That's one room nearly done. Many more to go. Lounge room carpets next, maybe, once the painting is done and we see how it looks.

goosy goosy gander
where shall I wander

back in shape

Thanks to strewth, here is a photo of aki, cj, strewth, ewen, speedygeoff, & MrStrewth, at the AIS on Thursday night. Missing is luckylegs, who had run a great pb for the 800m, and left before the cameras came out

Getting my back in shape after a burst of sciatica the last couple of days

fifty fifty

speedygeese results from Thursday night
800m
M45 Colin Farlow 2:11.88
M45 Rod Lynch 2:25.72
M50 Neville Madden 2:18.94
M50 Ken White 2:22.45
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 2:24.14
M65 Tony Booth 3:04.31
W35 Amanda Walker 2:53.51
W40 Katie Forestier 2:44.34 ***pb

3,000m
M45 Roger Pilkington 13:09.5
M50 Ken White 12:49.2
M60 Geoff Barker 16:06.7
W40 Katie Forestier 12:48.4

10,000m
M45 Mick Horan 40:20.8
M45 Roger Pilkington 44:15.6
M55 David Baussmann 48:53.4
W45 Cathy Newman 45:25.1 ***ACT champion
W55 Ruth Baussmann 54:04.2

my screenname is tongue-in-cheek. But "slowgeoff" is poor marketing.

speedygeoff running 5:23 last week

FOOTNOTES
1. At training today it was the fifty-fifty session. Ken, Katie and Colin ran a set of 50 x 50m sprints with a 50m jog back, on 30 seconds. Don't you wish you'd been there?

2. After resting yesterday, I ran 10k easy today as I have a funny right hamstring.

3. There is no truth in the theory that I set hard training sessions only when out of action myself.

CJ is the new ACT track champion

At last night's ACT Athletics 10km track championships, CJ won the women's gold medal. A great reward for lots of distance training. That makes the very popular CJ - 36 subscribers in bloglines alone! This blog only has 3!! - the 2007 ACT 10k champion! And... bronze - Aki! And... fourth - Strewth!

That's three of the six speedygeese who blog. The other three were there to see it - I who only made 2k of the race, Ewen who made 5k, and Flashduck who watched.

It was hot, still well over thirty degrees after the 10k had finished. My excuse is hamstring, not heat. A slight strain, not too much damage, I hope. Ewen's excuse is he planned all along to run 5k and then stop. Which he did.

I should have photographic proof soon of CJ's accomplishment, and will post it here.

dumb headlines
I have been putting up dumb headlines from faraway & long ago and there are more to come. But the Canberra Times had the dumbest of headings today for one of its articles.
"20,000 extra troops will only increase casualties: experts"

edit: sweet sweat: places 4, 2, 1 and 3

fire and drought

The Return to the Cotter. It was the first time I had run there since the fires. Photo by Geoff Sims.

no more turning away

Nice long runs of 17k, 18k, and 24k in the first three days this week have helped the marathon training along a bit.

My training priority must be to stay uninjured! I am starting to forget already the new year resolution to "stretch stretch stretch".

One day I will load up some maps of where my long runs go. (When I get around to figuring out how to).

I attended Ken Lorraway's funeral this afternoon. There was a large turn-out representing all generations, and a great tribute to a compelling hero.

And people there rather stunned at the suddenness of it all.

On reflection I would say, all the more reason for us to get on with the important things in life.

"No more turning away
from the weak and the weary
no more turning away
from the coldness inside
just a world that we all must share
it's not enough just to stand and stare
is it only a dream that there'll
be no more turning away?" - Pink Floyd

Events this Thursday

5:45pm 5000m walk
6:10pm long hurdles 400m/300m/ 200m
6:25pm 60m
7:00pm 800m
7:30pm 200m
8:00pm 3000m
8:15pm 10000m ACT (open) championship
8:20pm relay 4 x 100m

FOOTNOTES
1. At training last night Alan, Amanda, Christopher, Emma, Ewen, Helen, Julie, Katie, Ken, Neil, Richard, and I ran, in three teams of four, a relay where on a 930m loop we each did 620m hard running and a 930m recovery. Times three.

2. Emma ran a great 26:40 for the jogalong last Sunday, a pb by over two minutes, while Helen ran it with Kerrie as a tempo run in 29:37.

3. I plan to run something Thursday night; it may not be the 10k, it may be the 3k or even a slow 800. LuckyLegs is also having a go at an 800m, should be good to watch.

.03

My training progress
last week's target: 110k
achieved: 101k
this week’s target: 100k or so
weight: 64kg and steady
quote of the week: " Low Wages Said Key to Poverty " - Newsday

Last week was the week I ran a 1500m race in 5:23.62, smashing and annihilating last year’s pb of 5:23.65, by 0.03 seconds. Hurray for electronic timing! And a week where I stretched every day bar one. And did a set of 100m runs in training. As a result I have ended up stiff and sore. My guess, it’s the stretching that has done it; any activity an oldie starts doing that he hasn’t done for a while will inevitably cause some pain.

.03 - Licence suspension? Fine? No, 1500m improvement in 12 months. At this rate I will crack the 5 minute barrier as an M845.

song of the week: Thom Yorke - Atoms For Peace, from "The Eraser"

“No more going to the dark side with your flying saucer eyes
No more falling down a wormhole that I have to pull you out

The wriggling, squiggling worm inside
Devours from the inside out

No more talk about the old days
It's time for something great

I want you to get out
And make it work

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them
And take me in your arms

Peel all of your layers off
I want to eat your artichoke heart

No more leaky holes in your brain
And no false starts

I wanna get out
And make it work

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them
And take me in your arms

I wanna get out
And make it work

I want you to get out
And make it work

I'll be ok

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them
And take me in your arms”

FOOTNOTES

1. The forecast for Thursday is 36 degrees. I will wait and see if I really want to run a 10k race Thursday at the track. Very doubtful.

2. There are maps, of sorts, on the side bar to show where we train. The larger versions cover a larger area than the thumbnails, as well as showing the detail more clearly. It’s the best I can do at the moment. “P” means where you may park, of course. And “X” marks the spot.

3. At Parliament House tonight, another variation on a relay theme…..

800m training

"Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link" - Cornell Daily Sun

Saturday's training (with the addition of a long warmup and cooldown) consisted of a set of 10 x 100m on grass, jogging back, on 80 seconds, with Colin, Amanda, and Ken. And Sunday's run was a good but very slow 18km run, along the horse trails west of Belconnen; cool and windy conditions following light rain made the run quite pleasant.

For information here is a program I gave Maria to help sharpen her up while she is away on holiday, so she can run a good 800m race on return. As background, Maria has been doing plenty of longer distance running and doesn't want to lose distance fitness, and will benefit by including some sprint training.

Fri 5 Jan 4 x 2mins relaxed striding out, on 6mins
Sat 6 Jan 10 x 100m sprints with 100m recovery
Sun 7 Jan up to an hour of easy running

Mon 8 Jan 3 x 200m fast, up to 10 mins between each
Tue 9 Jan 45 mins easy
Wed 10 Jan 3 x 200m easy striding out
Thu 11 Jan 3000m tempo run
Fri 12 Jan 4 x 2mins relaxed striding out, on 6mins
Sat 13 Jan 16 x 50m sprints with 50m recovery
Sun 14 Jan up to an hour of easy running

Mon 15 Jan 800m time trial
Tue 16 Jan 45 mins easy
Wed 17 Jan 4 x 200m easy striding out
Thu 18 Jan 3000m tempo run
Fri 19 Jan 4 x 2mins relaxed striding out, on 6mins
Sat 20 Jan 12 x 50m sprints with 50m recovery
Sun 21 Jan up to 45 mins of easy running

Mon 22 Jan 800 time trial
Tue 23 Jan 30 mins easy
Wed 24 Jan jog or rest
Thu 25 Jan ** 800**

On Saturdays our sessions will be similar to hers.

Christmas photos

Christmas photos of my nine grandchildren now appear on http://mooregenerations.blogspot.com/

how the speedy geese ran

Thursday's results

3000m
Rod Lynch 10:44.52
Richard Faulks 11:10.78
Roger Pilkington 11:30.48
Tony Booth 13.36.34
Ewen Thompson 15:42.62

1500m
Colin Farlow 4:27.30
Amalendu Edelsten 4:38.37
Rod Lynch 4:55.59
Kevin Chamberlain 5:04.46
Ken White 5:10.24
Geoff Moore 5:23.62
Roger Pilkington 5:31.43
Amanda Walker 5:57.96
Tony Booth 6:02.22
Neil Boden 6:05.06

Vale Ken Lorraway

from the Athletics Australia website
05.01.2007
Vale Ken Lorraway (1956-2007)
Athletics Australia and the athletics community today mourn the passing of Australian and Oceania triple jump record holder Ken Lorraway, who died suddenly from a suspected heart attack yesterday.

Ken Lorraway will be fondly remembered as a feisty competitor, who has tough and stubborn, but enormously respected. He remains Australia’s best triple jumper – still holding the Australian and Oceania record of 17.46m set in London on 7 August 1982.

Ken came through the junior ranks with the North Canberra Athletic Club and then competed for Belconnen Striders until his retirement.

From 1974-78 Ken attended the Southern Illinois University in the United States on an athletic scholarship and in 1978 was selected as an All American.

In 1978 Ken competed at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games where he placed 4th in the triple jump and 8th in the Long Jump. Ken represented Australia at two Olympic Games. At the Moscow Olympics in 1980 he was a finalist in the triple jump alongside Ian Campbell, with Lorraway finishing in 8th place and Campbell 5th in a controversial final.

He also competed at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 where he did not qualify for the final and placed 6th in at the IAAF World Cup in Rome in 1981.

He won five consecutive national triple jump titles between 1980 and 1984

The highlight of Ken's career in the eyes of many track and field fans came at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games when he won a silver medal in the triple jump with a leap of 17.54 metres (wind assisted). In a tremendous duel, former Athletics Australia head coach Keith Connor, competing for England, took out the title with a leap of 17.81m.

Ken was still actively involved in athletics, coaching junior athletes in Canberra and was regularly took up his position on the hill at the AIS track.

Ken married 1982 Commonwealth Games long jump silver medalist Robin Strong following the Brisbane Games. Robin finished 6th in the Los Angeles Olympics and formerly held the Australian record.

Ken was 50 and is survived by his beloved family - wife Robin and sons Alex (17) and Sebastian (14) and daughter Madeline (11). All are heavily involved in sport, with Alex a talented triple jumper and basketballer, likewise Seb who enjoys basketball, athletics and football and Madeline who is a talented young basketballer.

Athletics Australia extends deepest sympathies to Ken’s family.

Footnote: from the Canberra Times, Sunday 07 January. Click to enlarge.

007. The Year of the Spy.

"Official: Only rain will cure drought" - The Herald-News, Westpost, Massachusetts

A very good M65 runner
I spied in the SA Masters News that South Australian Peter Sandery, who seems able to train and race hard all year without any serious injury problems, has turned 65 and has set some very fast times in international competition; 2:31 for the 800, 5:02 for the 1500, 18:50 for the 5000, and 39:50 in the 10,000.

His advice? In training, run 5 or 6 x 1000m repetitions, at target race pace initially, in later sessions running faster than target for the first and last part of each interval.

And run sprint sessions of 6-12 reps of 60-100m.

"The aim of these sessions is to run as fast as you can while maintaining a smooth style".

"A race shouldn't be a step into unknown territory, but rather a confirmation of what training has prepared you for. It should also provide motivation to do the high intensity training that running at your best requires."

FOOTNOTES

1. Trevor Jacobs broke the ACT M55 steeplechase record late last night at Vets track, taking about 40 seconds off Bernie Millett's time.

2. Of the speedygeese, the Farlow/Walker combination excelled in the 1500m, with Colin breaking 4:30 for the first time for a couple of years, and Amanda cracking the 6 minute barrier for the first time. On the same day their one year old Ben walked for the first time. Maria made the ultimate sacrifice and chose to miss out and babysit Ben while his parents ran.

3. I also ran the 1500m - and I felt sore as usual at pace, but awfully slow as well, yet equalled last season’s SB of 5:23, only six seconds slower than my first quarter 007 goal. A very promising start! In particular, the longer races' targets look more achievable now.

my eldest granddaughter speedyKayleighFalconer...

...my eldest daughter speedyLoaniFalconer and her dad

Middle Distance Relay Records

"Malls try to attract shoppers" - The Baltimore Sun

AUSTRALIAN RECORDS 4x800m RELAYS.
speedygeese in bold!

M30 12:29.52 ACT
(Brad Osborn, Robert Gerrard, Simon Carmichael, Craig Edwards)

M35

M40 9:02 WA
(no ACT record)

M45 9:23.77 ACT
(John Morton, Paul Considine, Mick Horan, Rod Lynch)

M50 9:59 VIC
(The ACT record is 11:02.72)

M55 9:56.9 ACT
(Pat Stakelum, Geoff Sims, John Lamb, Kevin Chamberlain)

M60 10:51.0 VIC
(The ACT record is 11:26.14)

M65 11:41.1 VIC
(no ACT record)

M70 11:44.1 VIC
(no ACT record)

M75

W30 10:36.06 ACT
(Mel Cockshutt, Jenny Langton, Anna Danielsson, Katie Forestier)

W35 13:29 VIC
(no ACT record)

W40 11:50.01 ACT
(Annette Sugden, Gabrielle Brown, Bernice Matthews, Charlie McCormack)

W45 13:33.14 ACT
(Kerry Boden, Sue Bourke, Annemarie Calnan, Vicki Matthews)

W50 12:07.99 ACT
(Charmaine Knobel, Maria O’Reilly, Jill Brown, Maureen Rossiter)

W55 12:54.80 ACT
(Margaret Taylor, Maureen Rossiter, Jill Brown, Margaret McSpadden)

W60 15:16.25 ACT
(Fran Harris, Alice Scott, Norma Lindemann, Jillian Clark)

W65

W70

AUSTRALIAN RECORDS 4x1500m RELAYS
M30

M35

M40 18:57.9 ACT
(Dale Moore, Colin Farlow, Paul Considine, Bryce Anderson)

M45 18:53.20 ACT
(Colin Farlow, Mick Horan, Paul Considine, Amalendu Edelsten)

M50 19:15.21 VIC
(ACT record 20:55)

M55 21:14.88 ACT
(Paul Archer, Trevor Cobbold, John Lamb, Geoff Moore)

M60 22:43 VIC
(no ACT record)

M65 24:49.77 ACT
(Tony Booth, Bryan Thomas, Richard Hilhorst, Roger Abbott)

M70 28:09.85 ACT
(Peter Trotter, Ray Bramwell, Michael Freer, Bob Chapman)

M75

W30 22.07 ACT
(Mel Cockshutt, Jenny Langton, Anna Danielsson, Katie Forestier)

W35

W40 23:08.08 ACT
(Helen Larmour, Charlie McCormack, Gabrielle Brown, Katie Forestier)

W45

W50 24:27 ACT
(Kathy Sims, Maria O’Reilly, Maureen Rossiter, Charmaine Knobel)

W55 28:02 ACT
(Alice Scott, Jill Brown, Margaret McSpadden, Carol Baird)

W60

W65 34.09.33 ACT
(Val Chesterton, Francis Harris, Sue Counsel, Jennifer Odgers)

W70 34:20.42 ACT
(Cory Collins, Anne Young, Alison Ide, Consie Larmour)

FOOTNOTES

1. There are plenty of Australian records to go for when the ACT Vets conduct more relay races, soon. Get your best team together for an ACT record attempt. Or even an Australian record!

2. Other states should have a go at these too! Now, there's a challenge.

3. Wednesday's run was for me a good start to the year's tempo runs. Voltarin, deep heat, and a long warmup, helped overcome calf cramps, and I ran a comfortable but fast BBQ Stakes in 25:45 (reverse direction) with no ill effects; maybe a bit TOO fast but I was not tired at the end, either because of improved fitness, or more likely, the cool day.

Liana Hall, Uncle Nathan Moore, and Amelie Hall at Christmas

Alcohol ads promote drinking

"Alcohol ads promote drinking" - The Hartford Courant

Riki enjoying Christmas

Track program this Thursday night.
5.45 1500m/2000m/3000m Walk and 3000m run, concurrently
6.00 Sprint Hurdles, Weight Throw, Triple Jump
6.15 High Jump (0.9m)
6.20 100m
6.30 Shot Put, Discus
7.00 1500m
7.10 Triple Jump
7.15 Discus, Shot Put
7.20 High Jump (1.50m)
7.30 Relay, 4x100m and 2x200m
7.45 400m
8.10 4 lap Spiral
8.25 Steeplechase - 1500m/2000m/3000m low, concurrently. 2000m/3000m high, concurrently. (I am sure they mean two consecutive races)

FOOTNOTES
1. Thursday night track is jointly with the ACTA, so procedures are different. After paying at the front gate as usual you will be directed to the Commonwealth Room to sign on for your events when you will be then entered on to the evening's database. You will be provided with chest numbers (your own club number) - this will assist with the recording and result entering. Heats are run in the usual way - according to your estimated time.

2. Ouch! After getting up this morning, my left calf feels like someone has stuck needles into it. Still, I might be able to run today, with a bit of work on the calf.

3. And so, niggles permitting, tomorrow I plan to avoid concurrency with walkers and run the 1500m for a change. Or else, an easy day.

Light meals are lower in fat, calories

Doug Fry: "I believe that due to lack of sponsorship, there will NOT be a Fun Run on Australia Day this year." So I checked the Australia Day Fun Run website, and it is set up for 2008. Looks like 2007 is off, as Doug reports. Not that many will mourn its loss; few ran in Canberra in 2006, it was a little expensive.

FOOTNOTES

1. Real headlines - "Light meals are lower in fat, calories" - Huntington Herald-Dispatch. Do tell.

2. Yesterday I ran 18.5 km including a set of 5 x 820m runs with 400m recovery, with the speedygeese (Ken, Maria, Amanda, Peter, Neil, Chistopher, Ewen) in the Parliament House gardens. Teams of Two. And I remembered to do my stretching afterwards.

3. And today an easy 14.5km. So I am on target after two days.....

mother-in-law, sister-in law, speedyself, & mother on 30 Dec at the National Botanic Gardens

Larger Kangaroos Leap Farther, Researchers Find

My training progress
last week's target: 100k
achieved: 100k
this week’s target: 110k
weight: 64kg and steady
song of the week:

Switchfoot - Faust, Midas, And Myself, from "Oh! Gravity"
"This one’s about a dream
I had last night
How an old man tracked me home
And stepped inside
He put his foot inside the door
And gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes
Something in his laugh
Something in his voice
That made my skin crawl off

He said, “I’ve seen you here before
I know your name.
You could have your pick
Of pretty things.
You could have it all
Everything at once.
Everything you’ve seen,
Everything you’ll need,
Everything you’ve ever had in fantasies.”

“You’ve one life,
You’ve one life.
You’ve one life left to lead.”

I woke up from my dream
As a golden man
With a girl I’ve never seen
With golden skin
I jumped up to my feet
She asked me what was wrong
I began to scream
I don’t think this is me
Is this just a dream
Or really happening?

What direction?
What direction?
I’m splitting up!
I’m splitting up!
This is my personal disaffection

What direction? What direction?
What direction now?

I looked outside the glass
At golden shores
Golden ships and masts
With golden cords
As my reflection passed
I hated what I saw
My golden eyes were dead
And a thought passed through my head
A heart that is made of gold can’t really beat at all

I wanted to wake up again
Without a touch of gold

What direction?
Death or action!
Life begins at the intersection.

I woke up as before
But the gold was gone
My wife was at the door
With her night robe on
My heart beat once or twice
And life flooded my veins
Everything had changed
My lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine
And what was once routine was now the perfect joy

You’ve one life
You’ve one life
One life left to lead"

FOOTNOTES

1. Larger Kangaroos Leap Farther, Researchers Find - A real headline from "The Los Angeles Times"

2. Training today at Parliament House - if it is raining we will train under cover.

3. Yesterday evening's storm added 47mm to our rain gauge. The top south-west corner of Holt (where we live) got more hail and rain than anywhere else in Belconnen, again. Water came through our roof, too. The last three days has doubled the total rainfall since 1 July.

what hit holt

Hi Five

Games require skill. Running requires endurance, character, pride, physical strength, and mental toughness. Running is a test, not a game. A test of faith, belief, will, and trust in ones self. So hardcore that it needs a category all to itself to define the pain. When game players criticise, it's because they aren't willing to understand, not because they're stronger. Running is more than a sport; it's a lifestyle. If you have to ask us why we run, you'll never understand, so just accept. - Jessica Propst

In 2006
I ran 3800kms altogether. That's an average of 73km per week. Not too bad. And in 2006 my weight dropped from a consistent 67kg to a consistent 64kg. (This weight reduction all happened in the first three months.)

Here are my New Year Resolutions for 2007
1. Stretch,
2. Stretch, and
3. Stretch.

FOOTNOTES

1. I will be looking to exceed 80km per week all 2007.

2. I would like to spend more quality time with my friends.

3. I am aiming for ten grandchildren by the end of the year.

...and I will not take myself too seriously.

one, two, three, four, ... HI FIVE!

Happy New Year!

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder (AAADD)

"Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks." - Sir Roger Bannister

flashgoose

AAADD
People! You know I am always busy. Because/despite the fact that I have been retired for nearly four years now. But what have I achieved? The following is an analysis of a typical day in 2006. I have worked out that I suffer from AAADD: Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the back door step that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin, and notice that the bin is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the cup of coffee I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the coffee aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The coffee is getting cold, and I decide to put it in the microwave to warm it up.

As I head toward the kitchen with the coffee, a vase of flowers on the bench catches my eye... they need water. I put the coffee on the bench and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the bench, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the dining room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a cold cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen bench, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only one cheque in my cheque book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realise this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

FOOTNOTES

1. In yesterdays storm, Holt got the most rain in all of Canberra. The rain gauge in our back yard measured 21mm. More today would be welcome!

2. This morning I measured out Aranda oval (East) ready for the new year. I am looking forward to some real sprint training!

3. The next stage in fixing up this blog is going to be to add some location maps to the sidebar.

See you at Parliament House on New Year's day! 4:30pm and/or 5:30pm as usual.

Actively Ageing

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." - John Wooden

Actively Ageing Framework
Actively Ageing is an ACT initiative to encourage older, less mobile, people to get involved in physical activity. Here are some details.

The Actively Ageing Framework for the ACT was officially launched by the Minister for Sport, Mr Ted Quinlan MLA on 15 August 2003. (The full article is here, where you will also find a link to the Framework document.)

The Framework aims to increase the participation of older people in physical activity and has been designed to develop a coordinated approach, with the involvement of key stakeholders and other interested sections of the community.

Mr Quinlan said “The Actively Ageing Framework is central to the Government’s efforts to improve the health of older Canberrans by getting them more involved in physical activity."

Great Training Venue - to be.

Why do I run? Why do I breathe? - Nike ad

Stromlo Forest Park


"Stromlo Forest Park is a world-class multi-use, recreational sporting facility available to both recreational and professional users.

Built as a result of the devastating 2003 bushfires that destroyed the Stromlo Forest, it boasts a purpose built event pavilion, criterium cycling circuit, grass cross country running track and mountain bike tracks to suit any level of rider.

"Stromlo Forest Park also has various trails suitable for equestrian riders, runners and walkers keen on exploring the Canberra countryside.

"Only ten minutes drive from the city, Stromlo Forest Park will be available to the public at most times.

"It is planned that the Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory Government, Mr Jon Stanhope MLA, will officially open the Cross Country Running Tracks in October 2007.

"The reason for the extended opening period is to ensure the turf has matured and root growth is sufficient to allow running on the surface without causing detrimental effect to the running surface."

Follow the link for more information.

The correct use of apostrophe's

Few of us know what we are capable of doing… we have never pushed ourselves hard enough to find out. - Alfred A. Montapert

Today my writing laments the continual misuse of the word "its" for the third person neuter posessive, when everyone knows its the contraction for "it is". I's hair stands on end everytime I see someone use it in they's sentence. Ive even heard one grammarian state that he's book says that personal pronouns all have a special posessive case form that doesnt use "apostrophe-S"--hes off he's rocker! Youre well aware whatll happen to you's reading material if this becomes common. Were going to have to keep we's guard up, until its clear that peopleve gotten this straight! Its dreadful!!

Not only that, some peoplere even forming they's contractions with an apostrophe. When they have a word phrase such as "it is", and they want to write it's contraction, they's spelling is "it's"!! Ill never see where they couldve gotten such atrocious grammar from, when if theyre unsure of how to use "its", they only have to look it's meaning up in they's dictionary!!

An apostrophe is a single inverted comma used in punctuation to signify a possessive: that bag is her's or a plural: he has two brother's; three bus's came at once. There is widespread confusion as to where it is appropriate to use an apostrophe. The simple answer is whenever you see a word ending in an 's', e.g. I spy seven sailor's, you shouldn't run with scissor's, the hardware store sell's video's, the planet Mar's. An apostrophe may not be used in abbreviations where it is substituted for deleted letters, as when 'did not' becomes 'didn't', and 'he is' becomes 'he's'. It may however be used liberally where the presence of the letter 's' in a word creates doubt, as in the'se are the shoe's you ordered.


It's usage rules remain a mystery to most, but here are some suggestion's:
.Use one to show plural's (You have two cow's.)

.Use one in the middle of pronoun's (The dog is her's.)

.Use one in verb's (Bobs dog overeat's.)

.Use one in front of s'es, to warn the reader's eye that an s is coming up ('She goe's to the 'store to get apple's)

.Use one at the end of any word to show the speaker is a genius (I's fixin' to be goin' to the sto'.)

.Use one after numbers' with no exceptions (I have two' cows, The 60's were a great decade, 1' + 3' = 4')

.Use several to indicate the speaker is an alien ("Kh'aaa'rr'ghh," said Deb Foskey.)

Surround text with double apostrophe's to provide emphasis, especially on a sign ("Fresh" Fish!, "Cheap" Price's!)

.Surround text with double apostrophe's to suggest irony, e.g. on a sign ("Fresh" Fish!, "Cheap" Price's!); implying that the good's sold are neither fresh nor cheap.

famou's picture of a praying manti's