Hands Across The Water

Ruth's back

...and managed to locate all her Italian relatives.

Monday training
Running at Parliament House last night 6x360m, net uphill, on five minutes, with a 340m jog back, were Alan, Bronwyn, Caroline, Cathy, Ewen, Jodie D, Joel, Katie, Ken, Mick C, Neil, Rachelle, Ruth and Yelena. Also Christopher found us later, having done his own training.

Slightly uphill, because running downhill is as easy as falling off a piece of cake. Or at least I thought so, but surprisingly Sunday's downhill race caught up with me last night and I dared not try and move, so I just stood around and supervised. Maybe we will have to start some downhill intervals, as John Harding suggests is needed for downhill racing?

Having too good a time


The best thing about a vacation is having an excuse not to train.

I Feel Fine

My training progress
last week’s target: 90k
achieved: 81k
year 2008 total to date: 3278k in 42 weeks (c.f. the first 42 weeks of 2007 was 3246k)
this week's target: 90k
weight: 65kg ►◄

I am feeling no ill effects from Sunday's run. No niggles, no sciatica, no sore feet, no blisters. Just a bit of predictable quad soreness which will soon pass.

Bulls Head Challenge 27.2k results
5 Geoff Moore 2:02.10
9 Roger Pilkington 2:16.40
=11 Maria O’Reilly & Charlie McCormack 2:21.01

The placings are a bit misleading; I know that two of the Brindabella Classic runners were well under 2 hours for the return run, and I don’t have relay team splits but I know that at least two of the team runners also broke two hours for the Bulls Head leg of the run. That makes me ninth instead of fifth.

Cathy Newman is still the fastest speedygoose on the course: her 1:59.27 from 2006 was not broken!

Brindabella Classic 54.4k: This year no speedygoose ran as an individual but Kelley Flood and Mick Horan ran it as a relay in 4:47.14. (What were your splits, Mick?)

Kelley took a dive into the water at Vanity’s Crossing. Just after this. Falling in the water would have taken the steam out of her sails.


What they were doing, were they trying to go around it? We just ran through it.


Sheepish and wet. You goose!

Track program this Thursday night:
6.00 spiral 7
6.30 1200/2000m walk
6.50 200m
7.00 800m
7.30 4x100m relay
7.45 3000m

Feet up after Sunday's run.


Charlie.

The Ballad of John and Yoko*

*or Joel and Yelena

AACT
Yesterday I ran at the track
Joel 400m 56.65
me 1500m 5:23.90
Ewen 1500m 5:48.88
Yelena 3000m 15:28.4 pb

Brindabella/Bulls Head
Today I took the bull by both feet and ran my first ever Bulls Head run. Mr Flibble "lost the satellite" at 25k, but the picture below shows the altitude up to then, starting at about 1300m and by 25k dropping to 500m. The blip at 20k is Vanity's crossing, where I caught Steve (two fruits) & Jim and had a short walk and poured water over my head. I loved the course and will run it again in future years. Other speedygeese running the downhill 27.2k were Maria & Charlie (joint third place women), and Roger. Kelley & Mick were a two person 54.4k relay, Kelley up the climb & Mick back down. I will publish the times soon, I hope they give relay splits.



Snow Patrol are back
Fellow Snow Patrol fans Katie and Ruth will be pleased to know that Snow Patrol's next album is near. Already getting airplay, “Take Back the City” will be the first single from alternative rock band Snow Patrol’s fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. Note – there are many song lyric websites. Most of the lyrics in most of the sites contain huge numbers of mistakes, in spelling, punctuation, words, and phrases. And I notice that many of the errors have been copied across many of the sites. Therefore it is possible the lyrics below have errors. Which will be fixed when found.

But mainly I am happy that Snow Patrol are producing another album. If the harmonies in this song are anything to go on, the album looks promising.

Tell me you never wanted more than this
And I will stop talking now
One perfect partner, one eternal kiss
Whoa

Take back the city for yourself tonight
Or I'll take back the city for me
Take back the city for yourself tonight
Whoa

It's a mess, it's a start
It's a flowing work of art
Your city, your call
Every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight
Get your epitaph right
You can sing 'til you drop
'Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight
I love this city always
It bares its teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we're all gluttons for it
We know what's wrong and what's right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

I love this city tonight
I love this city always
It bares its teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we're all gluttons for it
We know what's wrong and what's right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

I love this city tonight
I love this city always


Roy Jones, Brindabella/Bulls Head organiser, running at Parkway.

If Not For You

Emma sent this email from Vancouver earlier this week.

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. So I thought it would be timely to reflect and be thankful.

I am thankful that my family are all healthy and happy.
That the boys have settled into their new school with ease.
That being crammed into our floathome has helped us come closer together as a family.
That my new job is shaping up to be fantastic, especially the infant mental health part, with a great mentor and colleagues and many chances to learn and "do stuff".
That we are moving into our new house next week and it is beyond our expectations.
That Rob is showing how adaptable and supportive he always is.

I am so happy that there are so many opportunities for having fun in Vancouver, that I doubt we will get bored here!
That winter is coming.....and we are going to learn how to ski!

I am most thankful that I miss my family and friends like crazy, and still get sad thinking about the distance (and time) that will come between us.
But the separation and sadness has helped me realize even more fully the wonderful connection we make, and how truly thankful I am for you in my life.

Love Emma

PS Each week-end we do something else, here is a little selection of Vancouver!


The back of our new house.....can't wait!


Toby at Steveston Harbour where we will be living next week, can buy fish straight off the boats! Tobes is loving Kindy and his swimming is taking off!


Steveston, off Garry Point, wetlands just off the dyke.


Walking along the dyke in Steveston......a few hundred metres from home. The dyke goes for over 20km around the island....great for running, but no hills!


Lighthouse Cove in West Vancouver.....watch out for bears! West Vancouver is rather posh......drive past and play "what mansion do you want?"


Old railway with community gardens. Goes for 10km from one side of Vancouver to the other. We all walked from Richmond to Granville Island yesterday. On the way we stopped at Kerrisdale and weirdly enough bumped into my new long run group at a coffee shop! Can't help but become part of the running community here!


Crescent Beach, White Rock.....there are really nice houses here. Under every rock here are at least 4 crabs. Lucas is coming in to his own at school, and is proudly doing really well at reading. On the first day of school we spied him playing basketball with the other lads, centre stage.


Deep Cove, great place to learn seakayaking, and mountain running......the Baden Powell trail is a 41km trail through the mountains to Grouse Mountain, lots of hill training.....and I discovered that Jasper is a mountain goat! He is a great runner!

• A Taste of Honey!

Spring is finally here, pollen is in the air, the days are warmer, daylight saving started early (hurrah!), and track season has officially started with a bang.

And we savoured some fine performances. Kathy, Tony and Ken in the one mile, and Kathy in the 3000m, were particularly outstanding.

Speedygeese performances at the first 08-09 ACT Masters track meet last night:
In the one mile run, Tony Booth took 17 seconds off the M70 record, and Kathy Sims broke the W55 record by 6 seconds.

1 Mile
M45 Rod Lynch 5:22.38 77.7%
M55 Ken White 5:31.64 80.0
M50 Gary Bowen 5:55.52 72.2
M60 Kevin Chamberlain 6:00.09 78.2
W40 Katie Forestier 6:03.25 74.7
M45 Roger Pilkington 6:27.34 65.2
M70 Tony Booth 6:28.32 78.3 ACT M70 RECORD
W55 Kathy Sims 6:32.41 83.6 ACT W55 RECORD
W40 Amanda Walker 6:34.16 67.4
W45 Helen Larmour 6:41.22 73.6
W35 Bronwyn Calver 6:49.59 64.3

3000 metres
M45 Rod Lynch 11:05.48 74.4%
M60 Geoff Moore 11:26.91 79.6
M55 Ken White 12:01.32 72.7
W40 Katie Forestier 12:07.65 73.5
M50 Gary Bowen 12:25.87 68.0
W45 Helen Larmour 13:15.45 73.0
W55 Kathy Sims 13:20.66 80.6
W40 Amanda Walker 13:21.78 65.5
M70 Tony Booth 13:34.73 73.8
W35 Bronwyn Calver 13:43.68 63.2
M60 Geoff Barker 15:56.91 59.2

5000 metres
M45 Roger Pilkington 22:48.59 62.7%

There are some very good times first-up from the training group all round. As for me, my best 3000m last season was my final one, when I ran 11:27.4. So I have resumed this season as I ended last, even with a small improvement. Very much to my surprise. It’s a feather in my pocket. Now let's hope for the same rate of improvement as last year!

Ken & Kathy's percentages of 80% and more tell the story of how they are running. I took videos of them on the track, and if suitable for publication, I will show them here and/or on a special blog for the purpose, as soon as I am able.


Tony (at left) and Kathy (at right) at the Parkway run last month.

Here's a news item about a blitz on jay-walking: http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-target-jaywalkers-in-city-blitz-20081016-51zw.html
Could this have been during the Melbourne Marathon events? I think the lesson is, don’t run around Melbourne Streets any more!!!

The "Despair" website makes calendars to order. I have a 2008 one, a gift from Mon. The 2009 calendars can now be ordered, see http://site.despair.com/blog/2008/10/16/introducing-the-all-new-demotivator%c2%ae-posterbook-calendar/. You can select any 12 of the Despair picture you have already seen on my blog!

Here's another:


Voting day tomorrow in the ACT. Vote early!Vote often!

• Come Together

Each daily post has a theme. There is more than enough material about. I can be selective.

How does it all come together?

(a) I try and include something current and interesting, e.g.

Granny out-runs teenage bag-snatcher
“Mrs Lane had won the Yorkshire cross-country championship as a schoolgirl in 1953 and had kept herself in shape ever since.” See the story at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4944431.ece.

(b) I see what pictures I have for which there might be a link, however tenuous, eg

Grandmother out-runs scary looking man at Parkway.


Consie is the grandmother of Helen's three children.

(c) there's a chance some cartoon or other is not totally irrelevant


"Young Frankenstein" - putting disparate parts together can result in a monster.

(d) I write something which helps link things together. Even helpful running hints on occasion. Today, this discussion is all you get.

(e) I like to throw in a running gag (of course!). At the moment I think it's funny to have each day some sort of mixed metaphor, which I highlight in red (see below).

(f) A Beatles title which relates is chosen early or late in the process.

(g) I stand back to admire the finished product, despairing of ever doing it really well. I shuffle or rewrite bits to improve it, hit publish, and it's done.

Actually when I write a post I am flying by the edge of my seat for most of the time.

• Money (That's What I Want)

As you have seen, three or four more "despair" posters like the one above have turned up. Welcome to "Opportunity! We have all experienced this one! You and I cannot understand how anyone in their right mind could fall for this little "Nigerian" scam and the like, unless they haven't heard of it before and are greedy and desperate and will clutch at any straw.

But Human Nature being as it is, these scams pay, apparently.

Fat v Fit (cont)
In the same way, sporting organisations have fallen for the fast-food and alcohol con, greedily accepting their sponsorship without regard for the negative benefits in terms of fitness and health that such sponsors represent.

Money to keep a sporting organisation going has been deemed the most important thing.

Maintaining, supporting, promoting, and enlarging a sporting organisation should never be funded to the detriment of its members and of the wider community. The greedy grab of money from groups who are directly responsible for the social evils of obesity and of binge drinking is an action which more than cancels out the positive benefit the sport itself brings to the community.

From "The Age" 11 October:
"We've already shifted the culture and thinking around tobacco consumption. Now we have an obesity epidemic, and excess alcohol consumption is a real problem," she said. "The community is ripe for considering the fact we need to move away from junk food advertising and sponsorship of sporting events, and the same with alcohol."

The full article is at http://www.theage.com.au/national/sports-fast-food-fetish-keeps-coffers-fat-20081011-4yso.html.

By the way, here is grandson Josiah with another footy award, an end of season coaches award!



Please note the writing on the football. Sponsored by Dairy Farmers. Yay! Go Jossie!

More results
AACT track 11/10 – no speedygeese ran, in fact few attended and the fields were quite small. I plan to run there this Saturday, a 1500m I think, and Ewen, Joel & Yelena plan to run, amongst others.

Weston Creek Fun Run 12/10
Geoff Barker 58th in 32.15. (122 finishers).

Jogalong 5/10 114 finishers including
69. Cathy Montalto W55 30:52
70. Michelle Wells W35 27:53

Well, we got rid of tobacco advertising, we can do the same with other dubious advertisers. The reason I left the ACT Coaches Association after only one year of membership (decades ago) was my disgust at their open-eyed acceptance of tobacco sponsorship at the time, which included cars daubed with the advertisers' logo and slogans! "But they keep our organisation going"! Sorry, all such arrangements do nothing for me. Money can't buy my love.

• I Remember You

I remember behaving like this. I apologise and don't mean to.

Last night was my first Monday training night at Parliament House after daylight saving resumed, and wouldn't you know it? We could see outside alright, and what we could see was pouring rain and flashes of lightning. The paths were too slippery and the lightning somewhat daunting, so we trained under cover in the under-ground car park. The revised program was six intervals of 90 seconds or so with a short walk/jog, resuming on about 5 minutes, each interval on a loop at the northern end of the car park so we would not have to breathe the fumes at the southern end.

Training were Bronwyn, Helen, Jodie D, Katie, birthday boy Ken (see below), Miranda & Yelena. I jogged and supervised; Joel & Christopher said hello but didn't train.

This Thursday is the start of the ACT Masters new Track and Field season. Events on the track on the first day incude a one mile race, and a combined 3k/5k.

ACTMA track program this Thursday
6.00 pm Long Hurdles
6.15 pm 1500m Walk
6.30 pm 100m
6.50 pm Mile
7.10 pm 400m
7.30 pm 3000m/5000m

It looks like being a good track season with many of the speedygeese running well leading up to it. Our training will focus in the next few weeks on regaining some of that speed we may have lost with longer running. Best wishes to all competing on the tarck.

Happy birthday for last Tuesday to our new M55 - Ken White


The photo shows Ken running away from speedycoach early in the August handicap. Unfortunately for Ken, speedycoach had regained the lost ground by halfway and cleared out after that.

All the same, I am glad we are in different age groups so we can help each other instead of targetting each other. Ken is very speedy and runs good times over middle distances.

Ken's first race as an M55 is the one mile on the track this Thursday night. He thinks that Kevin's record of 5:07 is just beyond him though. But he should do well regardless.

More recent results - Orroral Valley 20km:
Males:
10 Mick Horan 1.46.50
13 Roger Pilkington 1.54.44
14 Alan Duus 1.58.43
15 Peter Hogan 2.05.15
Females:
3 Kelley Flood 1.46.50
6 Maria O'Reilly 1.54.43
7 Helen Larmour 1.54.45
Perhaps I should have run! It sounds like it was an enjoyable course on which to do a long training run on. The 32k option may have been a tad far, but 20k seems ideal.

Melbourne Marathon
As well as the marathon there was a half marathon which included the Australian road championships. The ACT pulled off a rare coup by winning the teams event, something very difficult to do on Victoria's home turf. My friend Scott McTaggart was second, and Anthony Haber who started his running career with our running group for a season ran fifth.
There was also a 10k event which Ewen and Thea went down for, Thea couldn't start due to blisters, Ewen finished in 46:36 for 210th place.

Someone who is trying to gain a foothold in the public eye is former Australian orienteering champion Roger Nicoll, a candidate in the Ginninderra electorate for Saturday's ACT elections. I have known Roger for a long time and he has been active in the Belconnen area for the last thirty years. For more information see his website. If you have not already decided how you are going to vote, I highly recommend him. "Not just words. Roger's already doing it".

• Two of Us

My training progress
achieved during the last three weeks while on holidays: 117k. I was going to run at BRRC on Sunday morning 5 October, but it was too hot for a long road race!
year 2008 total to date: 3197k in 41 weeks
this week's target: 90k
weight: 66kg ▲ That's high. Well, although I have been burning the midnight oil at both ends, as usual, I have not been running as often as I would have liked. I confidently predict down arrows for the next week or two.

Results ACTMA Handicap 28/9, Parkwood
8k 95 finishers
5 Christopher Lang M55 42:58 66.8% silver
12 Mick Charlton M55 45:12 62.8
33 Bronwyn Calver W35 39:17 70.3
41 Kathy Sims W55 41:49 79.0
42 Alan Duus M60 41:53 71.0
53 Rod Lynch M45 33:59 77.9
55 Tony Booth M70 45:27 72.8
63 Roger Pilkington M45 39:37 67.2
68 Colin Farlow M45 34:56 74.9
94 Adam Robinson M35 52:11 45.3

4k – 44 finishers
6 Jodie Sims W30 19:22 64.3% bronze
13 Amanda Walker W40 19:09 70.6
14 Jodie Davis W40 25:04 54.2
15 Neil Boden M55 19:35 71.4
43 Geoff Barker M60 24:28 59.5

More news from recent races, and results, to be published this week as I clear the back-log.

Two of us: Olivia & Alex on holidays



Some of the gang at the beach again

I'll Be Back

I'll Be Back for training tomorrow, Monday. At Parliament House at 5:30pm as usual. And for those who can arrive earlier and would like a long warrm-up, I will continue running 7.5k at 4:30pm, same venue.

I will keep posting with Beatles titles, "I'll Be Back" is still one of them! Would you believe there are still roughly 155 titles I haven't used, and that does not include all the solo work of John Lennon, Paul McCartney/Wings, and George Harrison, which is substantial. So until I tire of this, it will keep on going. Persistence is my middle name. I will be doing it until the fat lady freezes over.

At Uni I did mathematics & philosophy. and ran. and watched footy. That’s all. So this is a favourite video clip.



Yesterday I picked up my chest numbers for the AACT 08-09 season, so that I can officially compete for North Canberra this summer. I officially registered only once before in the last twenty years or so but didn't end up competing that year. The plan is to tag along at the back of the last division of the 800m and 1500m on Saturday afternoons and beyond. I watched Saturday's 800m and was delighted to see that the last division was also the first division: boys ran one race, girls the other. At least now I know what I am in for, and at least in the 800 I won't be lapped!

It would be nice to recruit some friends who could come along and join me at the back of the middle distance fields on Saturdays. Takers? There is no pressure out there like there was twenty years ago when only fast runners competed; everyone is slow these days.

Splish Splash


Five of our grandchildren enjoying the waves at Scarborough, Brisbane last week.

Across the Universe

Like the posts that have gone before, I started typing this way in advance. But all went to plan, we have returned after our voyage across the universe and back, safe and sound as they say. So I am amending this post for publication.

The backlog is horrific. But keep your ear to the grindstone and you will receive from me updates on more recent events very soon.

We have been seeing relatives and I am sure to find some suitable photos for display. Here's a photo stuffed with relatives. The photo was taken on 29 September 1909, so I doubt that any of these particular relatives will feature in any of the photos I have taken. Descendants of them will, though.


(clicketh to enlargeth) (note the appropiate use of ye olde englishe)

Footnote: A power surge took out my home phone answering machine while I was away! So any messages left there in the last three weeks have disappeared into the ether.

When I Get Home

Hopefully soon, I will continue to assist as many runners as possible.

Whether you do Fun Running, like the Spring Series:
Tue 4 Nov Weston Park 2/5km
Tue 11 Nov Black Mountain Peninsula 2/5km, John Cardiff Close
Tue 18 Nov O'Connor Ridge, Masterman St East (Bruce) 2/5 km
Tue 25 Nov Boathouse 2/5 km, Menindee Drive, Parkes
Tue 2 Dec Stromlo Forest Park 2/5km Uriarra Road

... or track, or just getting fit, I will try and listen to you and give you healthy advice.

Although, "you can beat a dead horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

Anyway we are geese, speedy geese at that, not horses,


and I am looking forward to getting back into the flock.

Happiness is a Warm Gun

How to run your way not everybody else’s.
It is amazing how people who train together often develop the same running style. We need to make sure we do not make our running style rigid and inflexible. Yeterday I suggested we would do well to run like a child, with the same physical freedom and relaxation of a child. But this doesn't mean "running around like children with their heads cut off." It does mean using our adult wisdom as to how and where we run.

There is a massive amount of pressure to conform, pressure to buy into other people's ideas. Consider the evil of consumerism for example. The following advertisement is very persuasive and very evil. Beware what others say to you. Ask yourself first, what are their assumptions? What are their motives?



The above assumes we are all part of the competitive consumerism rat race. And it suggests that yet another credit card is the answer! Very evil indeed.

So don't just take any advice at face value. Work it out, in the company of like minded people, for yourself.

I like the idea of re-discovering child-like flexibility, because that can become a starting point for establishing new and better patterns of training. Starting from scratch is sometimes a lot easier than making minor corrections. To style, to attitudes, and to training habits.

An example of this is the person who "hasn't missed one" of a particular racing series so has to run the next one, despite being seriously under-prepared for it. We need to break whatever pattern of thinking is causing such irrational actions.

Sometimes a shock is just what is needed.


This is the final shocking despair poster.

Mother Nature's Son

How to run naturally.
Run like a child. Barefoot, free, like the wind, relaxed, arms and legs working furiously, no tension, laughter on the face.

It's not regimented, it's not a stilted learnt style. Watch a young child, one who has not been shown how to run and is not copying someone else, and see how it's done! It's instinctive.

Find some sprinklers to run under, or some puddles to splash, or some contours like the ones below to play on.


Wouldn't it be nice if all our running tracks were gently undulating and had lush green grass to run on. Wheeee!

I see myself in a year's time being able to run barefoot at Stromlo. I am working towards it already; "Frees" were the first step; it will happen. It will require patient adaptation, but it will happen. I have had NO calf or ankle problems this year, due to work on flexibility and strength combined with moving down from DS Trainers to Frees. The last running shoes which were good were the Tiger G9, since then every running shoe ever made has had too much "protection" until the Frees came along. In particular, too much heel lift.

I ran all my fastest marathons in Tiger G9s.

"It’s not rocket surgery!"

For You Blue

Geese who don't whine (1) Joel



Geese who don't whine (2) Yelena



That's because, even though they cannot run Masters Track, they are going to go out and enjoy Athletics ACT track on Saturday afternoons. I will join them, this season, all being well. And I will not whine, wherever I come and whatever time my race is run.

You Know What To Do

Just when you thought the walking jibes might be over...


My worst fear would be losing my speed and becoming a slow walker.

How to run further
Relax, and run with quick steps.

How to run faster
Relax, and run with quick steps.

I have said all this before in detail. (Use the feature which seaches this blog if you want to read or re-read it.) One thing that worries me in yesterday'slink is the talk of "running with stiffer legs". What is that all about? If we tense them deliberately, how can we simultaneously relax them? Maybe they will be "stiffer" if they are stronger through appropriate training. But isn't it really important that each leg be relaxed as much as possible in its recovery stride, ie while the other leg is connecting briefly with the ground?

speedygeese is our name and speed is our game


The down side of all this is, the faster you run, the slower the pedestrians are. Yes, I predict we will never be free of slow walkers.

Good Day Sunshine

Daylight Saving means no more dark runs at Parliament House, and we can return to the paths on the eastern or western side of the building for more varied training sessions. Or run down to the lake. (Or run up Red Hill or Mugga Way, which we won't do anyway because of the traffic).

I do like daylight. Bring it on.

Watch out for lawnmowers!



How to run faster over longer distances
I was reading up on some of the debate about the advantage of a high back-lift with the legs when you are running fast. This may be this season's theme; last season the theme was "180 steps per minute". So to get you into the swing of things, have a look at the cool-running thread at http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/index.php?showtopic=20642. "The jury is still out", in fact I think the trial is still on, or possibly the jury hasn't even been selected yet. (Stupid metaphor! Get back to the point!) The suggestion is that a high back lift is an essential ingredient in running quickly and economically over a long distance. Without doing much research - yet! - my guess is that certain runners should really work on this - others may not need to - some may not be able to initially because of limits in their strength and flexibility, meaning they should work on that first - still others just won't be able to adapt because their running style is so ingrained. However - worth a look, and we will see how adaptable some of us are.

Running at 180bpm works. I think if we are to run fast at this tempo, we cannot let our legs drag behind us, nor can we stride out with good hip flexibility unless our legs have a very short and high back-lift. I have emphasised trying to skim over the ground so that the feet stay on for the minimum time. This new back-lift challenge looks like just another component of the same speedy style. The trick of course is to integrate all these style components into one fluent whole.

Any thoughts?

Cats rarely exert themselves, until set a challenge ...


Cats however never use a high back-lift, except when expelling dogs.

"The swing of things" - ha ha, that was an attempt at humour.

Octopus's Garden

Last time we were in Brisbane, June 2007, we went to Mooloolaba and visited underwater world with its fantastic array of aquatic animals. And the live entertainment was sensational. I don't know if we will go there again this time but it was great value. It was pouring rain and we had to endure hazardous driving conditions to get there, but outdoor activites were out of the question. The link above is well worth checking out!




We took many photos; there were seals, otters, fish, sharks, and every variety of sea creature.

But it was pouring rain and the roads were treacherous. How to stay out of trouble when out driving? Here's a very old driving joke: The other day I went into the local religious book store, where I saw a "Honk if you love Jesus" bumper sticker. I bought it and put it on the back bumper of my car, and I'm really glad I did. What an uplifting experience followed!

I was stopped at a light at a busy intersection, just lost in thoughts of the Lord, and I didn't notice that the light had changed. That bumper sticker really worked! I found lots of people who loved Jesus. Why, the guy behind me started to honk like crazy. He must really love the Lord because pretty soon, he leaned out his window and yelled "Jesus Christ" as loud as he could. It was like a football game, with his shouting, "Go Jesus Christ Go."

Everyone else started honking, too, so I leaned out my window and waved and smiled to all those loving people. There must have been a guy from Florida back there because I could hear him yelling something about a "sunny beach", and I saw him waving in a funny way with his middle finger stuck up in the air. I asked my two kids what that meant, they squirmed, looked at each other, giggled and told me that it was the Hawaiian good luck sign, so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign back.

Several cars behind, a very nice large man stepped out of his car and yelled something. I couldn't hear him very well, but it sounded like "mother trucker" or mother from there. Maybe he was from Florida too. He must really love the Lord.

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and were walking toward me. I bet they wanted to pray, but just then I noticed the light had changed to yellow, and I stepped on the gas. And a good thing I did, because I was the only driver to get across the intersection. I looked back at them standing there. I leaned way out the window, gave them a big smile and held up the Hawaiian good luck sign and I drove away. Praise the Lord for such wonderful people!

Good Night

One's heritage is fine but tradition can be a pain in the abdomen. Institutionalised tradition hinders innovation, advance, improvement. What is it that we are doing that we no longer need to do? Once over-valued tradition is put aside we are free to engage the new, creative, and progressive.

For example, our exercise routine. Mine is based on decades-old knowledge. So I am going to have to set aside some time to research and became adept at newer and better exercise techniques. This is something I have been promising myself for some time, yet but the transition is always problematic.

And of course I will share such knowledge with you. As I invite you to share any knowledge you have with me.

Good night old routines which are past their use by date. Good morning to the new, NOT necessarily the same as the old.

Are blonde jokes still in vogue?



Surprisingly this cheerleader is not blonde.



I think I will get her to hold this on Thursday nights



Good night.

Let's Dance

We speedygeese are a team. Meaning - social skills are important. These include:

Listening. It is important to listen to other people's ideas. When people are allowed to freely express their ideas, these initial ideas will produce other ideas.
Discussing. It is important to discuss your ideas with your teammates until you agree.
Questioning. It is important to ask questions, interact, and discuss the objectives of the team.
Persuading. Individuals are encouraged to exchange, defend, and then to ultimately rethink their ideas.
Respecting It is important to treat others with respect and to support their ideas.
Helping. It is crucial to help one's coworkers, which is the general theme of teamwork.
Sharing. It is important to share with the team to create an environment of teamwork.
Participating. All members of the team are encouraged to participate in the team. (usually consist of three or more people)
Communicating. For a team to work effectively it is essential team members acquire communication skills and use effective communication channels between one another e.g. using email, viral communication, group meetings and so on. This will enable team members of the group to work together and achieve the team's purpose and goals.

Source - wikipedia!

I always intended this blog to be a forum rather than my jornal. This year it has become more of a journal because there is an interst in what rtraining I personnally do and why. But I would be happier if there was much moe partyicipation and interaction. This blog continues to be my primary communication mechanism. Both ways. Thank you to the few who regularly take advantage of it. I wish more would.



I deliberattly left thetypos and grammatical blunders ib the above paragrah to show you how badl ny fusrt draft looks! Don't worry how your communications via this blog look to anyone else, just do it! I just type very fast & fix it up after.

If the speedygeese group becomes VERY LARGE then this brings challenges to do with how a team working environment operates. However we are small enough that the wikipedia list of principles generally applies.

I remember in my workplace before I retired, managers knew all this stuff but had no idea how to apply it. That was just a nightmare better forgotten. But we choose to train together, we have many common interests. Hopefully we can apply it.

What do you think needs to be done first?

Meanwhile
Let's sing! let's dance! let's all wear fancy pants!

The above rhymes with an eastern austrlian accent but not with a southern one. OK, I won't write any more poetry. But let's go into print even wjhen we are in a funny mood!

Working as a team gets much more effective results than working alone does.

p.s. happy birthday mother 83 today (she reads my writting)

Don't Let Me Down

Don't Let Me Down and stop training in my absence! It is October and the Track Season is upon us!



I have had several attempts at defining success. I think personal success is something along the lines of "setting achievable goals which will stretch you, coming up with a plan to achieve those goals, then sticking to the plan". Perhaps more words are needed, words which mention other people, but preferably not in a way which wishes "failure" on them. I am sure to think of something.

I am of course enjoying myself in Brisbane the land of the cane toad.



What goes dot-dot-croak, dot-dash-croak?
Morse toad.

Everything you ever wanted to know about frogs and toads is here. There is enough reading for the rest of your day. Make it a good one!