the soft and grassy track

Dickson training last night: Excellent conditions, great track, all the lights on, gentle breeze, and eight of us attending,  running 200s+ in lane 4 with a good recovery. I jogged around (my fourth session since the 50k!). Craig, Kym, Neil, Susan, Suzie, Tony & Yelena ran the half-laps in two continuous relay teams. A good core group, a good number for our first ever Tuesday night at Dickson. Next week at least three of us will head off earlier at 4:00pm for a longer run. At 5:30pm we warm-up for the main session: I may cut down the warm-up time so we can fit in more intervals with a decent rest between them. Of course people can arrive any time before 5:30pm to extend their warm-up time if they are able.

The track is in the best condition I can remember. And it is so good to get off the roads!

Great photo of Ruth running Sunday's marathon

Our group dinner will not be on the 24th as advertised, we are training that day: I will book for a later date, probably a Monday, and let you know.

Exercise every day or become extinct!

At Parliament House on Thursdays we may do more than just run!

back to the start

Song of the week: Snow Patrol's Fallen Empires

.

Results from Customs 5k 13 April Jen Bright 21.23, Miranda Rawlinson 26.32.

Abi took a video of my ultra finish. Listen for Pat Carroll's commentary. He would have kept that up for hours. Check out http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150823565448783

Photos taken by Andrew

Half marathon Lucia

Half marathon Craig

Enjoying the run


FOOTNOTES
1. I was first M60 in the ultra, but I was 7th M60 in the marathon. 2nd and 3rd in the ultra were 6th and 5th in the marathon respectively. Not that I sped up any, I didn't.

2. I am claiming a 3:30 exactly marathon plus 9 seconds to cross the start line. No-one can prove otherwise.

3. I'm recovered. A 10k run Monday, An hour of gym circuit this morning followed by a 6k run, training planned for Dickson tonight! I am rather astonished that I am OK

aftermath

Coming Events, week 16 of 2012:

Tuesday 17 April 5:30pm *Dickson Oval speedygeese training
Wednesday 18 April 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 19 April 4:30pm *Parliament House early run
Thursday 19 April 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Friday 20 April 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 21 April 8:00am *Acton Ferry Terminal long run
Saturday 21 April 1:00pm YCRC Anzac Relays, Stromlo Forest Park
Sunday 22 April 8:00am *Stromlo Forest Park speedygeese training
* = I expect to attend.  I even expect to run!

speedygeese running on Sunday..
Half Marathon
143 Abigail Fargher 1:34.31
248 Lucia Pietropaoli 1:39.00
326 Craig Davis 1:41.37
433 Warrick Howieson 1:44.47
525 Suzie Gye 1:47.09
814 Peter Fullager 1:55.02
820 Lincoln Hawkins 1:55.09
1089 Miranda Rawlinson 2:01.36
1103 Zainab Farouk 2:02.14

Marathon
320 Geoff Moore 3:30.09
978 Ruth Baussmann 4:29.51

Ultra Marathon
43 Geoff Moore 4:17.01

There is no finish line

Oneself at the 42.195k mark of the 50k. Photo by Nadine.

one more item has been ticked off my bucket list...

..."run a 50k ultra". Done.
My splits: half marathon 1:40. Marathon 3:30. Final time something under 4:20. So the pacing went exactly as expected. Bad bruising of the feet caused me to slow down after 30k. Also as expected. But - no blisters, no bad toenails, no new injuries. I only lost 1 kg of weight, too, good management! But it was a perfect morning for it. And a very big field, which helps make such a long day out more tolerable. Official results - not up yet, see http://tiktok.biz/canberramarathon/2012 for full results when they do come up. I will as usual pick out the speedygeese and post their times here. Now I am hoping I can keep my running streak going - tomorrow 4k will do! If at all possible, it shall be so.

Pearsons in the 5k

Joel; Jill; Yelena at three stages of the event.

5k result
50th Joel Pearson 20:50
127th Jill Pearson 26:00
136th Yelena Pearson 26:14

10k result
Janene Kingston 47:26
Mick Charlton 53:58

000

The countdown days are now reading "000". I remember when they read "180". Time does fly.

The only competitiveness I will entertain tomorrow will be mind v body. But I might use the green or yellow balloons to keep me going. Green=3:15 marathon pace, yellow=3:30 marathon pace. Pink balloons=something's wrong.

Meanwhile here is a reminder: NO PARLIAMENT HOUSE TRAINING ON MONDAY. All Mondays are now free, Tuesdays we train at Dickson, and THURSDAY is Parliament House day from now on.

When you don't mind being the tortoise:

I hope all you hares enjoy the race tomorrow. For me, this is going to be the one day when there IS a finish line, nothing else.

A life crowded with incident

Happy Birthday Miranda, 59 today!

Australian Running Festival - very close now! (Yes I know the following is too wide but I am not going to try to compress it). The good news is that there will be marathon pacers. One other issue that I haven't heard about: let's hope we get "chip time" this year, as well as "gun time".

The weather forecast looks perfect.

Narrowing it down: not! I expect to finish the 50k between 10:40am and 12 noon.

Important information for all participants The 2012 Australian Running Festival is only days away. We trust that your training has been going well and you are ready for the two day event. Over 5,000 have entered and more than $120,000 has been raised for charity so far. Please find below important information that will help make your race day more enjoyable. Race details and maps are outlined through the below links: Saturday, April 14, 2012 5km Dash 1pm (Note: starting time has changed from 12pm) 5km Fun Run 1pm 10km Dash 3pm 10km Fun Run 4pm Sunday, April 15, 2012  Ultra Marathon 7am  Marathon 7am Half Marathon 7am What drinks will be available?Water, GU Brew and GU energy gels will be available at specific stations along the Ultra Marathon, Marathon and Half Marathon course. Water and GU energy gels will be available at the finish line for the 5km and 10km races. As these are multi lap courses, the drink station is passed several times during the event. In an effort to minimise our impact on the environment, all drinks will be served in fully biodegradable PLA cups. Personal refreshment services will be strictly limited to elite runners only. What can I do with my gear?There will be a baggage holding area within the grounds of Telopea Park School, near the basketball courts and recovery area. Please do not leave valuables as all care but no responsibility will be taken. How can I keep warm at the start area?Please do not bring garbage bags to the start area to keep warm, these can become a serious trip hazard for other participants. Instead why not wear an old jumper or jacket that you no longer require. All discarded clothing at the starting line will be donated to charity. Road closuresRoad closure information for the event weekend can be viewed here. Important information about your Race PackIf you entered on or before February 24, 2012, with a correct Australian address, you should have received your race pack via the post. If you have entered on or after February 25, 2012 or are an international participant, then you will need to print off your E-Ticket and bring it with you to the Event Expo or have it ready on your mobile device to collect your race pack. Your race pack includes your chest bib with bib tag and runners guide. Replacements for any lost bibs or tags are $20 (limited numbers) available from the Event Expo at Telopea Park School. Where, when and what is the Event Expo?The Event Expo will be held at Telopea Park School hall on Saturday, April 14 from 10am – 5pm and Sunday, April 15 from 6am – race start. When you registered you will have received an E-ticket via email that you will need to print out and bring along with you or have ready on your mobile device to collect your race pack. If you have misplaced your e-ticket you can re-send it to yourself by clickinghere. A friend or family member may pick it up for you as long as they have a copy of your E-Ticket. Will there be pacers?Yes, there will be pace setters for the Marathon Event only. Pace setters will be visible by coloured balloons. Finishing times will be from 3 hours every 15 minutes until 4.5 hours. For more information on pace setters, please click here. When will results be available?A full event wrap will be available in The Canberra Times on Monday, April 16, 2012. Online results will be available on Saturday and Sunday evenings where finishers can also download their certificates. Photos and video from the event will be available on Tuesday courtesy of Marathon Photos. Are there prizes?Overall male and female winners of the Marathon will receive: 1st - $2000 2nd - $1000 3rd - $500 Prizes for other events are listed on the event website.

thirteen grandchildren

...together for the first time.

I have updated "our venues"

Parliament House: Mondays (October thru March) and Thursdays (April thru September)
Parking is at the underground car park as indicated by the red circle on the map below.

The main session starts at 5:30pm with a warm-up run followed by an interval training session at one of the many locations around Parliament House, for instance the Rose Garden to the East; the small oval to the west; the flagpoles to the North; or the tracks which surround the building.

A few of us meet at 4:30pm for an easy longer run before joining in with the main session.

Dickson Oval: Tuesdays (April thru September)
Parking is alongside the 8 lane 400m athletic track as indicated by the red circle

The main session starts at 5:30pm with a warm-up run followed by an interval training session on the 400m track under bright lights. Sometimes we also run up and down the small hills on the western side of the track.

A few of us meet at 4:00pm for a long hilly run before joining in with the main session.

Acton Ferry Terminal: Saturdays 8:00am year round
There is plenty of parking at the Acton Ferry Terminal car-park as indicated by the red circle.

This is a long run, and there is no set distance. Everyone starts together, usually at the same pace, which may pick up as newer runners complete their run.

Stromlo Forest Park: Sundays 8:00am when no other events scheduled
Park near the cross country track as indicated by the red circle. (Google Earth is ridiculously out of date for this one!)

We warm up around the cross country course then run an interval session. Or we might occasionally head around the Mount Stromlo area for a longer run.

We would expect to train here 1-3 times per month. Every Monday I will post coming events for the week. You may check this blog weekly to see if Sunday training is on, and to see if there are any last minute details about other training sessions.

and you thought Canberra was cold!

Roger in Finland (via http://rogerpilk.blogspot.com.au/)

We thought it was the World Masters Indoor Championships but a couple of events were outdoors! Roger didn't run the 8k cross country so was able to take this photo at the 3k mark.

Roger's results
800m 2:40
3000m 12:24
1500m 6:07
Half Marathon 1:42.31.
See Roger’s blog for his reports

Our winter training plan
The decision has been made: it has turned out we cannot use a couple of the ovals we had hoped to use, other groups have actually booked them and are likely to be there most weeks! So we revert to a plan which seemed the most likely when we started thinking about it.

Monday will be a "rest day" this winter
Tuesday training at Dickson commences 17 April
Thursday training at Parliament House commences 19 April
Long runs continue at Acton Ferry Terminal Saturdays from 21 April
There will be one Sunday session at Stromlo Forest Park on 22 April. (The next Sunday session there should be 13 May)

The main sessions on Tuesday and Thursday will start at 5:30pm at their respective venues.
Saturday, and Sunday when on, will start at 8:00am.

Parking Fail

Everything is good about Parliament House - except occasionally the parking!

And, Happy Birthday Abi, 32 today!

free

Song of the week: “Free” by Pete Murray

As far as you know, you will make the distance
Even if everything is falling down,
But don't lose that vision
And don't lose your courage
Until you are standing right here with me now

I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me

And high on emotion, has been a killer for days
It's wearing you out until you slowly fade
Where is that needle, or that damaging blade
It's cutting you up until it empties your gauge

I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me

Hold on, hold that tight
Colours on or colour blind
Talking how sweet the ride
Dumb is gone into your life

I, I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
Only you can tell me
When do you wanna be
I, I want you, to stand up and fight every moment with me
For the truth, it's your love
Your destiny that I see
In my shoes, so tell me when do you wanna be free?
When do you wanna be free?

Speedygeese at the the AMA championships, Melbourne
(Full results at http://vicmastersaths.org.au/)
M65 60 Metre Finals
6 Garry Maher M65 ACT 8.68 3.9

M65 200 Metre Finals
4 Garry Maher M65 ACT 29.88 -1.2

M65 400 Metre Finals
4 Garry Maher M65 ACT 1:09.74

W50 800 Metre Finals
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 2:53.25

W55 800 Metre Finals
2 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 2:47.23

W50 1500 Metre Finals
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 5:46.56

W55 1500 Metre Finals
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 5:34.82

W50 5000 Metre Finals
2 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 20:31.50

W55 5000 Metre Finals
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 20:12.30

W50 8k cross country
3 Helen Larmour W52 ACT 35:30.00

W55 8k cross country
1 Maria O'Reilly W57 ACT 35:54.00

Training Saturday: we ran from Acton Ferry Terminal as usual at 8:00am: Abi, Andrew, Miranda, Ruth & I.

Training Monday: Parliament House, freezing cold, raining towards the end. Winter has arrived! We ran 12 loops of about 350m, on 2:30. A short up-hill, a long downhill, and a short up-hill finish. Running were Ruth (early only), Jen (early too), Abi, Andrew, Andy, Colin, Craig, Jill, Neil, Tony & Yelena. Also I ran early and jogged around later.

Max

...must be related to our cat Riki

taper time. chocolate can wait six more days.

Coming Events
Week 15 of 2012:

Monday 9 April 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Wednesday 11 April 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Friday 13 April 12:15pm Customs 5k Commonwealth Park
Saturday 14 April 1:00pm – 4:00pm *Australian Running Festival 5k, 10k
Sunday 15 April 7:00am *Australian Running Festival 21.1k, 42.2k, 50k
* = I expect to attend

Canberra. It's a great city to live in. We are hosting the Australian Running Festival this coming weekend, There will be heaps of competitors and spectators. If you are not entered, come along and enjoy it anyway. And at this stage the weather forecast is perfect.

Ruth

speedyself

Ruth's challenge in Sunday's marathon is to finish before I complete the 50k. Will this happen? Yes I am expecting her to be there cheering me on when I finally cross the line. I might need oxygen and/or chocolate at that point, either would be good.

100 days

Today marks the 100th day of my running streak.

Today also marks the 64th birthday of my lovely wife Jenny.

Today is also Easter Sunday

Watching the Kangaroos piling on the score today reminds me of a game of football I saw some years ago. Near the end, the North Melbourne Kangaroos are three points down. Jason McCartney grabs the ball and just gets his foot to it to as he is flung to the ground. The ball enters the goal square and another North Melbourne forward grabs it and kicks the goal that wins the game.

The stadium erupts – everyone cheering wildly, not just Kangaroo supporters. Everyone came to the ground to see Jason play. Jason has overcome great odds just to be there, he has become everybody’s symbol of victory over adversity.

For Jason is the man who had nearly died as a result of the Bali bombings, the man who saved two others’ lives there.

When the bomb exploded he had suffered severe second degree burns to over 50% of his body. But he had regarded his burns as minor and set about saving those around him instead of worrying about himself. Later after flying back to Melbourne, it was discovered that his burns were severe, and when operated on he almost died

After extensive rehabilitation he played this one game of football, and then announced his retirement. But he went on to later give a lot more back to the sport he loved. And for once a football crowd had put aside their concept of winning, and cheered Jason’s sacrifice for the greater good.

On that occasion football was win/win but usually it is win/lose.

Life should not like football. We know that what life is really about is, everybody wins when we help others, when we give out of what we have been given, when our spirit of generosity is bigger than any selfish or self seeking spirit.

The more we look to helping others in every way we can, the more their lives benefit, and so do ours.

That is what Easter is about. The biggest sacrifice of all, resulting in the greatest victory for all. Win/win.



And... just seven more days to the 50k. I appear to be on track. Persistence seems to be paying off. Of course, motivation is important too...

never overdo weight training

Checking out possible training venues (cont):
Reid oval looks good. I shall go over there on Tuesday night to check it out under lights and talk to any users.

Dickson is available Tuesdays. So if Reid is available Thursdays we have three options to consider:
(a) Monday Parliament House and Thursday Reid, or
(b) Tuesday Dickson and Thursday Parliament House, or
(c) Tuesday Dickson and Thursday Reid.
I am now leaning towards option (c) pending further checking. And we can decide later where we train on Mondays in summer. As Joh Bjelke-Petersen famously said, "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

p.s. whatever we decide, we will still be at Parliament House this week, Easter Monday 5:30pm.

Bench Presses.

This bench is being pressed the wrong way.

touch and go

Checking out possible training venues:
Cook: unsuitable (no lights). 300m 8 lane track. Before sunset, dogs (and their owners) everywhere. After sunset, pitch black. Surface a bit rough.

Jamison enclosed oval: unsuitable (no lights). Would have to book, Belconnen Footy club would have priority, no track marked, only a boundary line. Very rough surface too.

Kippax: unsuitable (nowhere to run): well lit fields, good surface, but ovals fully used for Rugby training. Also a bit far to go (except for me)! Ditto I imagine for other fields in Belconnen I haven't had time to check, like Hawker or Spence.

CU: unsuitable (nowhere to run): when lit soccer training is on, when not lit too dark. Rough surface on and off the pitches. Would get very boring.

Aranda: possible. One area within the playing fields is suitable. Surface excellent, light from neighbouring training area OK, good long early run and cool-down options, But there are no line markings so we would have to set up each time. And an issue I have is that the car parking area is dark, is distant, is part of a walkway, and it cannot be seen from the training area. We would be risking break-ins. So, not recommended.

Dickson Tuesdays: yes! I have checked and we can use Dickson on Tuesdays, same arrangements we are familiar with. So, recommended.

Any other feedback? Replying today would be good. If we make Tuesdays Dickson mid-April to mid-October we will "rest" on Mondays and go to Parliament House on Thursdays. And it will be easier to fit in with the hard training or racing we do Sunday mornings. When Vets track resumes, we can revert to Mondays at Parliament House.

Dogs

wins all round

Happy Birthday Andy, 53 today.

Speedygeese at the Customs 5k on 30 March:
Miranda 26.26
Bill 28.38
Caroline 28.52.

There is a big Wiggle sale on at present. Free delivery too!

John Kennedy took some WGFR photos. [Mine were here.]
Helen

Maria

Cathy and Mary Ann

Ruth

Kym at work

See where I run: Yesterday's run, a nice easy 23.5k at the end of the day. Ran part of it early on with Andrew.

Congratulations to grand-daughter Kayleigh, winning the NSW level 8 gymnastics championships on the weekend. Her best result so far.

no end in sight

Well it made this week's Chronicle - but not every edition. Not mine in Belconnen, anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if it was only the city edition. Please click to enlarge.

Easter: a white blank page

Women's and Girls Fun Run - 500m mark


Thanks Ewen.

Training at Parliament House last night - Abi, Cathy, Ewen & I ran early - I checked out the course for the last 7.8k of the ultra - then for the main session Abi, Andy, Christopher, Colin, Craig, Mick, Neil, Ruth, Tony & Warrick ran figure 8 circuits on the western side, five on five minutes, each 700m circuit including two hills and four push-ups part way round.

For those running the marathon (or ultra, or half) on 15 April - have you noticed how rapidly the countdown timer is counting down? Scary.

Thursday Training - I am deferring this for two weeks. I am inviting people to check out any and all possible venues to see about lights, other users, surface, convenient location etc. This Thursday I will check out Cook, Jamison, Aranda, anywhere else I think of out that way. We will make an announcement in time for a 19 April start. This will allow you to get back to me after this Thursday and allow us to make a final decision the following week. We may end up having to book somewhere which means a small cost will be involved.

Song of the Week - "White Blank Page" by Mumford & Sons



Can you lie next to her
And give her your heart, your heart
As well as your body
And can you lie next to her
And confess your love, your love
As well as your folly
And can you kneel before the king
And say I'm clean, I'm clean

But tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart
Oh tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart

A white blank page and a swelling rage, rage
You did not think when you sent me to the brink, the brink
You desired my attention but denied my affections, my affections

Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life
Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life

Thursday venue undecided as yet

Speedygeese in the Women's and Girls' 5k Fun Run 1 April:
18 HELEN LARMOUR 21:56 W50 1st
21 MARIA O'REILLY 22:06 W55 2nd
28 JANENE KINGSTON 22:51 W45 2nd
89 CATHERINE MONTALTO 27:06 W55 8th
127 RUTH BAUSSMANN 28:26 W60 6th
680 finishers
Full results via http://www.wgfunrun.com.au/results.php

Coming events Week 14 of 2012:

Monday 2 April 4:30pm *Parliament House 8k jog
Monday 2 April 5:30pm *Parliament House speedygeese training
Wednesday 4 April 12:15pm BBQ Stakes 6k Woden
Thursday 5 April **speedygeese training venue & time tba (Dickson not available)**
Saturday 7 April 8:00am *Metro Runners Acton Ferry Terminal
* = I expect to attend

**We don't yet have a venue for Thursday, stay tuned. Some other group has booked Dickson each Thursday and I think we cannot use it. The Bilbys are in the same situation as us. I am taking suggestions about where we could go.

sunny run

The weather was perfect yet again for the annual women's and girls' fun run!

The leading pack at 1k

Helen

Maria

Cathy

Helen finishing

Janene finishing

Ruth finishing