small country

Pam Muston in Tuesday's Canberra times. Click to enlarge.

The article is spot on. Pam was just brilliant. Everyone is congratulating her. Long distance guru Steve Appleby says: "First, congratulations to Pam on her brilliant effort at Coast to Kosciuszko last weekend. First female, 5th overall, new record holder by hours and hours for females. Not forgetting 245 kms is a hell of a long way on foot. Well done Pam."

"If you are going to try cross country, start with a small country."  Unless of course you are Pam Muston.


At last night's speedygeese Christmas bash we had 33 partygoers celebrating in style at Ellicure. I didn't take any photos so I am relying on others to provide me with photos. First up is quite a good one of me having my say.... Good because it's not a close-up. Thanks to Janene for this one...

Captive audience

Everyone had a good time. Thank you for the presents; wine, wine, wine, the meal, and the Percy Cerutty book "Why Die". A brilliant choice. I am very grateful to everyone in the running group and I am thankful for the friendship of each one of you. It was specially good to have along to the dinner Paul and Susan who are contributing in major ways to the success of ACT Veterans Athletics; it was fantastic that several brand new members of our training group came along and got to know us better as we got to know them; and it was also great that a couple of "old faces", people we haven't seen for a while, were also able to attend. It looks like 2010 will be a bumper year for the geese!

To those who were there and those who could not make it; have a very merry Christmas, enjoy the holiday season, and come back fitter, healthier, and brighter than ever next year!

My holidays start in a couple of days. Actually (a) I don't have holidays, (b) I am retired so there is no such thing as a holiday, (c) I am not going away so I am not actually taking a holiday anywhere else than here, (d) Training including organised training is continuing through uninterrupted, except on 26 December, which is going to be a big family day and an extended Christmas eating day so no running, and (e) I don't have holidays. But I will throw myself into holiday mode, keep writing this blog, and catch up on family and reading and sleeping. Sleeping? Maybe not.

you all count

There have been an amazing number of visitors to this blog in the last month:

And that doesn't include people who read only via bloglines, google reader, and the like. I guess it will drop away a little over the holiday period. But wow, the numbers until fairly recently were at the most 55 or 60 a day. Over 100 was unimaginable. Well, I commit to continue to provide items which are light, interesting, and current. You, the reader, all count.

Thursday's track program
6:00pm 300m, also a caber toss (somewhat modified)
6:15pm 1k turkey event (ie guess your time, no watches)
6:30pm 100m shuttle relay. No real rules.
7:00pm 100m “President’s Handicap" (but which President?), also a LH/RH shot
7:15pm President’s Handicap final
7:30pm Standing Triple Jump
7:40pm “Twosome 2k.” Teams of two, each individual age handicapped, finish together. Means that every second runner gets a rest.
8:00pm 100m walk relay. This one is fun. To watch.
8:15pm party. Happy Christmas!

Monday training at Parliament House. A good turn-out. After a very warm 4:30pm start it cooled down rapidly for the main session, which was thirty minutes of 200m hard plus a jog from the Rose garden. Participating were Andrew, Bronwyn, Caroline, Christopher, Craig, Emily, Ewen, Gary, me, Helen, Jennifer, Jodie, Kelley, Melanie, Mick H, Miranda, Richard, Ruth, Tim, Tony & Warrick.

Signs that you are Webbed Out…
 Your opening line is, “So what’s your home page address?”
 Your best friend is someone you have never met.
 You are overcome with disbelief, anger and finally depressed when you encounter a Web page with no links.
 You are driving on a dark and rainy night when you hydroplane on a puddle, sending your car careening toward the flimsy guard rail that separates you from the precipice of a rocky cliff and death. You look for the “Back” button.
 Your dog has his own Web page. So does your hamster.
 When you read a magazine, you have an irresistible urge to click on the underlined passages.

On Reflection

Katie. And I can be seen, on reflection, taking the photo.

week 51

"I run so my goals in life will continue to get bigger instead of my belly." - Bill Kirby

Plans this week
Monday 14/12 Parliament House 4:30pm early starters, 5:30pm interval training
Tuesday 15/12 7:30pm Ellacure speedygeese dinner (fully subscribed with 35 or 36 attendees)
Wednesday 16/12 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k handicap at Woden
Thursday 17/12 6:00pm Vets track, last for the year. Novelty events.
Saturday 19/12 8:00am Pialligo interval training

Christmas is coming

Vets will have two weeks off and resume on 7 January.
Pialligo will have only one week off and resume on 2 January
Parliament House will continue uninterrupted.

Is there any Canberra Marathon news?
None yet. The thread on Coolrunning "started by Ewen" shows there is much interest!

Coast to Kosciusco http://www.coast2kosci.com/results2009.html
Congratulations to Pam Muston on her brilliant performance.

goose, mountain goat, or hamster?

"I love running cross country. On a track, I feel like a hamster." - Robin Williams

I have decided that the Weston Creek Half Marathon will be my next big race. The course is the same as last year's - see Melanie's blog for the course map.

The race includes teams of two or three as well as individuals. I once again throw out a challenge - I will race a team or teams of three speedygeese females who would sooner run as a relay than do the whole thing. I find such a challenge keeps me on my toes, I cannot afford to bludge early on, and I am not guaranteed a win at any stage!

Fast Finisher

Troy

Slow Finisher

Andrew

Stopped finisher

Bronwyn

Reversing finisher

Rachelle

no heidi'ng place

You can blame John Kennedy for the first two photos, and me for the third.

Jogalong results 6/12/09
Suzie 32.45 (pb is 30.16)
Thea 28.57 (pb is 27.36)
Cathy 31.31 (pb is 27.17)
Caroline 34.12 (pb is 29.50)
Helen 28.09 (pb is 26.27)

Thursday track results
4x100m Relay
M50/M45 Gary Bowen, Angel Marina, William Barker, Ken White 55.24
W40/W35 Katie Forestier, Amanda Walker, Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee, Bronwyn Calver 61.94

400m
M50 Gary Bowen 64.95 77.3%
W55 Noeline Burden 81.07 75.9

800m
M55 Ken White 2:24.21 84.8%
W40 Katie Forestier 2:38.80 75.3
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 2:41.12 70.3
W40 Amanda Walker 2:47.11 71.0
M50 Roger Pilkington 2:52.72 67.3
W55 Kathy Sims 3:03.82 77.0
W40 Bronwyn Calver 3:07.44 62.2
W50 Helen Larmour 3:08.17 67.5

3000m
M35 Troy Steinman 10:41.05 71.0%
M60 Geoff Moore 12:07.97 75.8
M50 Roger Pilkington 12:32.36 66.9
W50 Helen Larmour 12:34.21 78.0
M50 Ewen Thompson 12:42.29 67.1
M50 Mick Horan 12:47.03 65.6
W45 Janene Kingston 12:49.78 71.8 **PB**
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:01.38 67.2
M40 Craig Davis 13:22.06 58.5
W55 Miranda Rawlinson 15:10.67 69.9
W55 Ruth Baussmann 15:20.81 72.1
W60 Margaret McSpadden 16:22.19 70.7
W40 Jodie Davis 16:47.05 53.1

spiral 4
1 Ken White M55 6:38
4 Margaret McSpadden W60 8:50
5 Janene Kingston W45 6:53
12 Ruth Baussmann W55 7:58
14 Kathy Sims W55 7:11
16 Gary Bowen M50 5:59
17 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee W35 6:50
21 Ewen Thompson M50 9:38
24 Roger Pilkington M50 6:26
25 Bronwyn Calver W40 6:58
29 Katie Forestier W40 6:23
30 Helen Larmour W50 7:00
34 Amanda Walker W40 7:15
35 Tony Booth M70 8:07
36 Geoff Moore M60 7:36

Training at Pialligo today: 5x690m
Troy: 2:20, 2:17, 2:23, 2:25, 2:25

Heidi: 2:29, 2:33, 2:39, 2:49, 2:55

Me: 2:44, 2:44, 2:38, 2:41, 2:39
Janene: 2:55, 2:46, 2:48, 2:55, 2:55
Tony: 2:48, 3:15, 2:54. ?, 3:38
The recoveries are less than half the distance of the efforts. The idea is to run very fast and evenly, trying to repeat the effort each time. As you can see from the time variations, this is not easy! This particular session should help the 3000m track race and cross country races from 3k to 6k.


FOOTNOTES
1. A very sore achilles I hobbled around on in the"spiral" stayed with me on Friday's run. No such problem today.
2. I am finally getting fitter, just when there are NO races of interest coming up.
3. The December FOOD MONSTER is lurking nearby, about to strike.

form runners

We have space for one more at the dinner this Tuesday. Any takers?

Gary

Start of the November handicap.

Katie and Ken

Start of the November handicap. Photos by John Kennedy.

Fri 11 to Sunday 13 December
Coast to Kosciusko. 246 kms from Boydtown Beach, NSW to the summit of Mt Kosciusko, finishing at Charlotte’s Pass. Website http://www.c2k.ultraoz.com

Sunday 13 December
The Runners Shop/Brooks Black Mountain Challenge. 8am. 5kms from the bottom carpark on Black Mountain peninsular to the summit of Black Mountain. Organised by Woden Harriers Athletics Club. Website: http://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=730646

Tuesday 15 December
Black Mountain Run Up. 2.6kms. 12.45pm, Clunies Ross Street, Acton, 100m east of the Botanic Gardens entrance. Free.

Sunday 20 December
Tour de Mountain. 6am 25 km Tour & 3-person relay, 9 km Mt Taylor Challenge & 17 km walk. 6.30am 17 km Mini-Tour run over Farrer Ridge, Wanniassa Hills and Isaacs Ridge.
Start and finish at Mawson sports field, Beasley Street, Mawson (near junction with Lambrigg Street. Yellow Pages map 78 J10
Online entry available at www.mountainrunning.coolrunning.com.au
Please enter early and not on the day. Helpers are needed for drink stations. Please contact John Harding at hackettrunner@hotmail.com or 0427107033

Tuesday 5 January
Mt Ainslie Run Up. 2.3kms. 12.45pm, Remembrance Park, Treloar Cres, Campbell . Free.

9 to 16 January
30th National Running Week, Thredbo. An action packed week for runners and their families with lots of prizes. See details at www.mountainrunning.coolrunning.com.au

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming." - Frank Shorter

OK, now bring on the Canberra Marathon, the runners are ready.

it only hurts to breathe*

"If you start to feel good during an ultra, don't worry, you will get over it." - Gene Thibeault

Ewen

Proof perhaps that you can have a 1mm stride length and still run a good time. And wearing a slightly stepped on 6 foot ultra singlet, therefore looking good. That's a big footprint!

Prize winners

What IS going on behind us? One sees lots of things happening in photos that you miss on the day.

John Kennedy

At last a photograph of the photographer. He took the first two photos and this one is his camera but I don't know who took it! (What is Andrew doing?)

Frivolity

One o' mine. More frivolity to come, I took plenty of photos and some of them are really funny good.

*"it only hurts to breathe" is a quote from the track "On My Sleeve" from the new Creed album, "Full Circle". Another quote, "distance makes the pain feel worse". LOL.

birthdays and parties

Happy Birthday Rod!

Rod turned 50 on Monday. Welcome to the M50's!

Happy birthday also to Joel, 26 on Monday.
Happy birthday also to Yelena, 28 today. Two years to go to the W30's!
Happy birthday also to Amanda, 42 today.

That's

Amanda will now disclose the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Meanwhile, my quotes will have to do. "The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again." - Erma Bombeck. Also Known As Amanda's slogan.

Coincidentally 42 is also the number of acceptances to our dinner on Tuesday. Sadly they can only fit in 36 of us, we are oversubscribed. Which means putting a few people on a waiting list. I am not sure how to go about that; "last in first out" doesn't seem quite fair. I will ponder it for a few days. Meanwhile, let's hope the restaurant has 5 or 6 cancellations. I have talked to the restaurant and we will get in if there are cancellations. I never expected 40+, it hasn't happened before!

Footnote: We are now down to 40.... so keep your fingers crossed everybody.

the best music of 2009

Each year I post my choices for the best new albums of the year. Running and music so go together; rhythm, you know. This year is interesting as I have in the latter half of the year finally regressed to listening to some of my favourites from the 60s and 70s, notably The Incredible String Band (I have purchased everything ever recorded by ISB except Earthspan and No Ruinous Feud, which I haven't managed to locate), Robin Williamson (from ISB), The Beatles, The Who, Country Joe and the Fish (I love the song “Janis” and many more). But there were also some excellent new recordings released this year. Here then are my top five.

My choices for the best new music of 2009

1. No Line On The Horizon – U2. This album contained the best song of the year, “Magnificent”.

2. Truth Of The World (Welcome To The Show) – Evermore. Arguably the best concept album ever recorded (yes, even better than Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”). Australian, too. (Or Kiwi, if you like)

3. The Recordings of The Middle East (EP) - The Middle East. A sensational new band from Townsville, Australia, they are yet to put down a full album. JJJ have been thrashing “Blood”, and rightly so.

4. Some songs you can download from a fabulous new band called “En Tout Cas”, pronounced On-Tu-Ka. From Melbourne, they don’t even have a record release yet, but their music can be found on http://www.myspace.com/entoutcasmusic. Check it out, so good.

5. New Moon soundtrack. Half a dozen of the tracks are the best music you will ever hear. I love DCfC anyway, and some of the other bands I haven’t heard before are outstanding. Not that I will be seeing the movie.

Training Monday
Present were Andrew, Bronwyn, Craig, Emily, Ewen, me, Helen, Jennifer, Jodie, Melanie, Mick H, Rachelle, Richard, Ruth, Tony, Warrick & Zac. We ran thirty minutes of zig-zag relays in teams of three, always fun and the obligatory frisbee players added to the occasion.

Today is the last chance for you to reply to the Ellacure dinner invitation. I just hope they allow another increase in numbers!

If there is no Canberra marathon in 2010
(a) What will Katy do?
(b) What will happen to the 50k?

spelling it out

As part of the 2010 Canberra Marathon negotiations, it has been pointed out that 2010 would be the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon after which the marathon is named, and therefore we have to have a Canberra Marathon.

While we do have to have a Canberra marathon, the reasoning is spurious. 2010 is NOT the 2500th anniversary of Marathon

The anniversary is 2011, not 2010. Let's spell it out:
490 BC battle of marathon.
489 BC the 1st anniversary
488 BC the 2nd. Note - the two numbers add up to 490, when it's BC.
...
2 BC the 488th anniversary. Still adding up to 490.
1 BC the 489th
1 AD is therefore the 490th. The year after 1 BC is 1 AD.
2 AD the 491st
3 AD the 492nd. Note - when it's AD you add 489 to the year
...
2010 AD the 2499th anniversary. Still adding 489 to the year
2011 AD the 2500th.

So I don't know who is suggesting 2010 is the anniversary, but it would be stupid to "celebrate" in the wrong year, wouldn't it? Don't be confused by what year is what, changes to calendars, and so on. Regardless of what labels we may or may not put on the years, Marathon was 2498 years ago and it will be the year after next when the 2500th anniversary occurs.

Speaking of the Canberra marathon, its ownership has gone to court. What do you think about that? My thoughts are, I think we should recapture the spirit of amateur, volunteer, sport. That’s what I think. And I would like to think I practice what I preach, in this regard.

Coming up this week for the speedygeese:
Monday 7/12 4:30pm Parliament house early run; 5:30pm Parliament House interval training
Tuesday 8/12 6:15pm ACTCCC Christmas Relays Lennox Gardens 6:15 pm Teams of 8, or 10 for A Grade. 1.6km Leg for each runner
Wednesday 9/12 5:30pm BBQ Stakes Christmas relay, teams of 2 self-handicapped, closest to 40 minutes wins. Followed by a real BBQ and presentations. No lunch time race this week.
Thursday 10/12 6:00pm ACTVAC track; note several changes.
6:00pm 3000m
6:15pm short hurdles
7:00pm 400m
7:15pm 800m
7:40pm 100m
8:00pm 4 x 100m
8:15pm spiral 4
Saturday 12/12 8:00am Pialligo interval training

More shots from Weston Park

Look how high Ruth is off the ground! That's Ewen's bounding training, making a difference already!

Not only Charlie and Helen but also in the background Craig and Andrew.

"Life is short... running makes it seem longer."- Baron Hansen

the run goes that-a-way

ACTVAC RUN/WALK HANDICAP ANNUAL AWARDS - 2009

POINTSCORE COMPETITION
THOMAS SERIES
1. Bob Lowry (1103)
2. Anthony Kennedy (1066)
3. Troy Steinman (1064)

FRYLINK SERIES
1. Ray Bramwell (528)
2. Ken White (518)
3. Graeme Small (511)

WADDELL SERIES
1. John Busteed (285)
2. John Suiter (279)
3. Alan Burdon (275)

AGE STANDARD COMPETITION
THOMAS SERIES
1. Kent Williams (87.1%)
2. Bernie Millett (85.4 %)
3. Robbie Costmeyer (81.4%)

FRYLINK SERIES
1. Carol Baird (86.9%)
2. Mery Collins (81.0%)
2. Geoff Moore (81.0%)

WADDELL SERIES
1. John Suiter (87.6%)
2. Peter Kallio (81.7%)
3. Dave MacKenzie (80.8%)

MULLINS AWARDS
THOMAS SERIES
Alan Duus

FRYLINK SERIES
Geoff Moore

WADDELL SERIES
Bob Parker

ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD
Carol Baird

say dis-neee!

Bronwyn, Jodie

Stand up, Ruth!

Ruth, Ewen. Ewen was also lurking in the background of the first picture. Too tall!

Results Vets Track from Thursday:
3000 m
M50 Roger Pilkington 11:50.75 70.8%
M60 Geoff Moore 12:15.90 75.0
M50 Ewen Thompson 12:28.36 68.3
W50 Helen Larmour 12:34.05 78.0
W40 Bronwyn Calver 12:55.88 67.6
W30 Jodie Sims 13:47.51 60.8
W65 Caroline Campbell 15:10.35 82.5
W55 Ruth Baussmann 15:27.20 71.6
W60 Margaret McSpadden 16:12.35 71.4

800m handicap - actual times might have been a second or two faster than the official times below for most runners
4 Ken White M55 2:26 83.7%
5 Gary Bowen M50 2:29 79.4
6 Tony Booth M70 2:54 80.8
8 Kathy Sims W55 2:59 79.1
10 Katie Forestier W40 2:44 72.9
13 Amanda Walker W40 2:46 70.8
15 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee W35 2:44 69.1
19 Helen Larmour W50 3:11 66.5
20 Roger Pilkington M50 3:03 63.6
22 Caroline Campbell W65 3:54 71.6
26 Ruth Baussmann W55 3:44 64.1
27 Neil Boden M55 3:28 60.2
28 Margaret McSpadden W60 4:04 62.1
34 finishers

Pialligo training on Saturdays

I haven't yet had time to update my "Speedygeese training venue" link on the side-bar. We train at Pialligo at 8am on Saturdays instead of at Stromlo, which is closed.
Details are at http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2009/11/pialligo-training-on-saturdays.html.

White is not surrender: neither is purple emo

Things are much simpler than they appear. “Man has an uncontrollable urge to make things more complicated than they are. We constantly seek explanation, meaning, something more than things merely existing. And ultimately we create, we invent, we seek what is artificial but still somehow important to us.” - Karmin

During my last year in school I and many others sat for a state wide mathematics test. An advanced one: there were four mind-boggling questions to unravel in three hours. Afterwards I was unhappy because my peers were talking about the complicated and convoluted answers they had written, while I sadly reflected on my lack of understanding and the fact that my answers were fairly brief, in fact I couldn’t follow some of the post mortem discussion at all. When the results came out though, rather than getting a poor result, I ended up getting top marks in the state and winning a rather substantial prize. That taught me one thing; that in some things, mathematics at least, I could cut through the noise and see clearly the simple answers. In turn that gave me confidence to apply myself in other areas of life, knowing that my instinct and reasoning could be trusted even when others had different views.

Pattern recognition
Our brains are wired to be creative. And inventive. Creativity is the ability to put disparate things together in a new way; the ability to generate a new perspective from which inventiveness and inventions arise.

Someone who can both analyse AND synthesise does best; some people who get a small team together with complementary skills, ones who can work together; do even better. Rare; because people forming teams often invite/promote people who are the same as them! Big mistake if we are looking for innovation, creativity, and progress. Like geese, if we could overcome our competitive instincts and work together without fear or compromise, even more could be achieved.

Unfortunately, what I have seen of leadership teams, egos try to dominate, and along the way, agendas are formulated and pushed. Eagles and turkeys. Bad mixture. To nullify the egos, teams need to form and disband, in a fluid manner. A liquid society. Not afraid to wipe the slate clean and start over. Born again.

Who cares what people think? “Everyone has been and will be worrying about how themselves and how they look, so in truth people won't pay that much attention to people other than themselves, and so we shouldn't have a huge need to worry about what others will think because it is somehow, maybe, possible that they won't even be thinking about you”. - Karmin

Then when you run; be yourself, run like nobody’s watching, Sing like nobody’s listening. In fact, fly like a goose. I attended a grandchild’s concert yesterday. One child was self-conscious, declined to participate, and cried. The others all joined in at the top of their lungs. It’s sad when people miss the fun and freedom of living life to the full in the company of others. Does it have to be this way?

Australian politics
Probably the less said about our sad, reactionary, dysfunctional, parliament the better. You can skip this bit. But I will say, democracy rewards mediocrity, that’s what I think. I also think that compromise is failure. There are too many voices, and too much chaos, and too few incisive minds, and too few risks taken. And everything’s too complicated, from the tax systems, to planning processes, and everything in between. Including how to handle global warming, (“climate change”), with the apparent need to listen to the fools who believe there is no global warming happening. And it’s all coloured by personal ambition. Ah democracy. It all gets very boring, after a while.

I don’t know what that says about teams.

Come together. Right now. Over me.
Just my patchwork thoughts late on a Wednesday night and beyond.

Thanks Karmin for the quotes and ideas.

http://d-autumnrain.blogspot.com/2009/11/patchwork.html.

Never stop creating. And keep moving.

how do i look?

this photo by john Kennedy; I took the other three.

Results Tuesday’s Spring Series race #5: Weston Park 5k cross country.
26. Geoff Moore 21:48
27. Mick Horan 21:55
36. Heidi Johnston 23:00
46. Maria O'Reilly 24:01
49. Graeme Patrick 24:37
50. Janene Kingston 24:42
67. Ewen Thompson 27:01
74. Caroline Campbell 28:48
81. Margaret McSpadden 31:29
86 finishers

slow walkers

These days a PB is like a hen's tooth - it's hard to pull one out.

Jodie features in R4YL magazine this month:

There are many photos from Sunday's presentations (and our coffee time at Yarralumla) on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/speedygeoff

Results BBQ Stakes
Wednesday 25/11
Gary 28:19
Roger 30:11
Helen 30:14
Victoria 34:26 (her pb is 30:27)

Wednesday 2/12
Gary 26:52 PB Well done Gary. He didn't know until later when he checked his watch.
Roger 27:30 Unhappily his bicycle was stolen during the run.
Me 29:54 Recovering from the Spring Series race etc etc.

Why are my family’s mixed metaphors connected with teeth! Two old ones: Jenny: He got through by the skin of his pants. Me: Today I bit the bull by the horns. And now a new one – Lisa: trying to describe how difficult it is to get Jackson to do something: 'It's like pulling hen's teeth'

Hot Spot

just say yes

Early on

Goose hug, Gary and Rachelle

Gary winning bronze and apparently the whole Gordon family winning gold and silver

Gary's crowd of admirers

Monday's training
Five trained early - Craig, Ewen, Helen, Ruth & me - and only four joined us later for a pleasant session of 3 by 950m in the cool - Bronwyn, Jodie, Rachelle & Richard. Some people must have been recovering from Sunday's racing, but I like the idea of running it out the next day with a solid if steady effort.

The weather was a bit crazy - the official minimum for the day was recorded at at 4:30pm, just as we first set out!

All in all an enjoyable session with good company.

Despite the cool last day in November, the average maximum temperature in November for Canberra was a new record, one whole degree above the previous record.

Song of the week: Rain, by Creed, from their new album "Full Circle". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qrp5JmejSE

Climate change deniers
Idiots.

drawing on every resource

"The best laid schemes o' geese an' men
Gang aft agley"
(whatever “Gang aft agley” means!)

Taken before the presentations. Carol won the short course age standard competition, she was well ahead and couldn't be beaten. Merv and I tied for second after an exciting see-sawing battle all year. I drew on every resource and clawed back enough points just to tie. Good result - I wanted to win but I didn't really want 80 year old Merv to lose! We couldn't have planned it better. We couldn't have planned it full stop.

29/11/09 - Weston Park 3.5k Vets handicap
5 Gary Bowen M50 15:00 75.0% bronze
7 Graeme Patrick M55 16:28 70.9
8 Noeline Burden W55 18:40 72.9
9 Geoff Moore M60 14:34 83.2
14 Rod Lynch M45 13:26 82.1
21 Ken White M55 14:23 80.5
23 Katie Forestier W40 14:29 80.4
24 Cathy Montalto W55 18:01 76.8
35 Neil Boden M55 18:00 66.2
49 Garry Maher M60 19:44 62.1
63 finishers

29/11/09 - Weston Park 7.0k Vets handicap
7 Ruth Baussmann W55 39:16 72.8% bronze
8 Charlie McCormack W40 32:53 72.4
15 Craig Davis M40 35:20 59.7
21 Margaret McSpadden W60 44:05 67.3
27 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee W35 33:01 69.1
28 Heidi Johnston W35 32:23 71.6
30 Maria O'Reilly W50 34:20 78.6
32 Bronwyn Calver W40 33:08 70.6
37 Alan Duus M60 36:31 68.9
39 Yili Zhu M45 33:24 66.1
40 Helen Larmour W50 32:51 79.4
47 Mick Horan M50 31:25 72.0
48 Miranda Rawlinson W55 39:07 70.5
49 Jodie Davis W40 44:22 53.2
56 Janene Kingston W45 35:18 67.7
70 Roger Pilkington M50 33:16 68.0
73 Troy Steinman M35 28:26 71.4
84 Ewen Thompson M50 42:08 54.8
93 Andrew Matthews M50 50:58 44.4
94 finishers

Vets annual awards:
Long course point score – Troy Steinman bronze
Short course point score - Ken White silver
Short course age standard – Geoff Moore silver
Short Course Mullins trophy – Geoff Moore winner! This is awarded to “runners finishing closest to the 50th percentile, as a fitting way to remember Reg Mullins, for although he was a talented long distance runner he rarely finished better than mid-field in most of his seventy-five handicap runs.” – quoted from the November Vetrunner. This supplements me being “officially statistically average” at BBQ Stakes. It’s a wonder I don’t have 2.3 children to round it out!

Just as it would have been impossible to contrive an age standard tie, there is no way a "Mullins" win could be contrived. It's a very random award! You'd have to know how many eligible runners there were in the final race, who of them were still in front of you, and then work out what place you needed to finish, and somehow factor out whoever were ineligible. Not possible. Even allrounder would have trouble figuring out this one!

This week
Monday 30/11 4:30pm Parliament house 8k jog; 5:30pm interval training
Tuesday 1/12 6:15pm Spring Series #5, Weston Park (again!)
Wednesday 2/12 12:15pm BBQ Stakes
Thursday 3/12 6:00pm vets Track
6:00pm 3000m
6:20pm 200m
7:00pm 60m
7:15pm 800m handicap
8:00pm Parlauf Relay
Saturday 5/12 8:00am Pialligo intervals

Note the changes to this Thursday night's program - there was a second 3000m scheduled but it has been cancelled. The Parlauf relay is teams of five totalling 5k altogether, probably with each runner covering 400, then 300, then 200, then 100. It will be a fun way to finish off the night.

had we but world enough, and time

Fly


Sit, Stand, Walk, Run
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserv'd virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am'rous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapp'd power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

- Andrew Marvell, To his Coy Mistress

legendary running

Out galloped they all from Brattingsborg,
As fast as they could speed ;
But Vitting bold came running behind,
Because he had no steed.
It was hardy Angel fyr,
To Grimselin he cried :
" O, he must on his bare legs run
Who has no horse to ride ! "
And still ran Vitting, and still ran he,
Till with wrath he nigh was wode ;
Then he struck a warrior from his horse
And sat himself on, and rode.

Vets speedygeese track results Thursday 26/11
4x400m Relay
M50 Gary Bowen, W50 Vicki Matthews, M45 Angel Marina, M45 Bruce Graham 4:27.23
M60 Greg Stretton, M60 Geoff Sims, M60 Garry Maher, M60 Jim White 4:45.15
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee, M70 Tony Booth, W30 Vanessa Haverd, W30 Jodie Sims 4:49.33
[W60 Jill Brown. W60 Carol Baird, W60 Susan Archer, W60 Margaret Taylor 5:56.94]

2000m Steeple
M50 Gary Bowen 8:35.15

3000m
M35 Troy Steinman 10:40.58 71.1% PB by 8 seconds
W40 Katie Forestier 11:46.71 76.4
M55 Ken White 12:05.47 72.9
W40 Amanda Walker 12:13.51 72.2 PB by 4 seconds
W50 Helen Larmour 12:40.71 77.3
W40 Bronwyn Calver 13:01.89 67.1
W55 Kathy Sims 13:22.32 81.6
W35 Rachelle Ellis-Brownlee 13:28.57 63.5
W30 Jodie Sims 13:42.17 61.2 PB by 16 seconds
M55 Richard Frost 17:03.01 51.7 established PB

5000m
M50 Roger Pilkington 21:45.56 66.3%  20:44.27
M50 Ewen Thompson 22:44.74 64.5  21:59.36
M40 Craig Davis 22:45.47 59.1  22:44.27 established PB
M50 Andrew Matthews 23:22.60 61.7  22:45.47 established PB

A cool, humid night brought some excellent PBs, with Amanda continuing her purple patch, and Troy hanging in longer with faster runners. And it was good to see the newer speedygeese having their first runs on the track: Richard, Andrew. There are still more who could come along and give it a try!

Ode to Gary

starting again

Margaret at the start of the O'Connor Ridge monthly handicap

The final handicap for the year is this Sunday, 8:30am (note the earlier start...), Weston Park (...and note the change of venue). Looks like I will end up a close second in the short course age percentage point score (see yesterday's post for what I think of close seconds). I haven't had a single good run in the handicaps all year, and my training during the last month has fallen right away. Still, I can but try.

I resumed training at the gym this morning, feeling about 60% well, and will resume at Pialligo tomorrow to run out the cobwebs for Sunday. Pialligo is an 8am start, and we meet initially at the old Pialligo school (see Wednesday's post). Then next week, I hope I can start building up distance again.

Yesterday instead of training or going to track I watched my grand-daughter Kayleigh compete in Gymnastics. She had been selected to participate in the National Clubs IDP (International Development Program) Championships for levels 5 and 6. The event was at the AIS here in Canberra this week. It was a great experience for a ten year old to meet up with and compete with the best in Australia at her level, and a great privilege for her to be chosen to take part in the first place. She was all smiles as she had "stuck" her beam routine for the first time, on both days too.

go for the bronze

It should come as no surprise that Olympic bronze medallists are generally happier than Olympic silver medallists, according to a study a few years ago. Even though the silver medallists beat the bronze medallists, which means silver medallists ought to be happier, they tended to focus on the fact that they could have won a gold medal, while the bronze medallists tended to focus on the fact they almost didn't win any medal. Silver = frustration, bronze = gratitude.

Your focus determines your reality.

After your next "disappointing" performance, before you tell the world how bad you are feeling, stop and examine your focus. Is there a point of view from which you can be thankful and grateful?

Here are some good efforts from Tuesday
ACTCCC Spring Series #4: Boathouse East 5k
38. Heidi Johnston W35 21:31
50. Craig Davis M40 22:25
51. Thea Zimpel 22:30
64. Graeme Patrick M55 24:03
71. Caroline Campbell W65 24:59
74. Cathy Montalto W55 25:06
79. Ruth Baussmann W55 26:36
91. Margaret McSpadden W60 29:33
102 finishers

Well done everyone! A couple of excellent pbs in there.

Happy with my time?
To continue the theme, in recent years I have run 10ks in (a) 40:08, and (b) 40.59. Guess which one I was happier with at the time? You are right, the 40.59. Crazy, isn't it?

We should be happy that we are just out there doing it, I think.

Last Saturday training: At Pialligo were Heidi, Tony & I. We did 5 x ~650 with ~350m jog recovery and a bit of sitting in the shade. Then at Monday training, Parliament House, were Andrew, Bronwyn, Craig, Emily, Ewen, Garry, Gary, me, Helen, Jodie, Kathy, Neil, Rachelle, Richard, Ruth, Tony & Warwick, who ran 3 x 950 with a 950m jog.

Caroline at O'Connor Ridge

Caroline would be happy with her "sub 5 minute k" 24.59 at Boathouse East!