It looks like there'll be a whole new project coming - the bike project, 'cos running is off the radar for the foreseeable future. I'm going to use the opportunity to improve my riding (easy off such a low base) and maybe video-ment (I don't think that word will catch on) some of the visual features of the runs, since I never really persuaded myself that a head camera made acceptable viewing.
I might try swim-cam as well, but seen one indoor swimming pool, seem 'em all, I reckon.
This is the first attempt. It's pretty long - about 45 minutes - and the commentary is no masterpiece, but hopefully the whole thing will improve with practice.
One thing about real time video (personally I think it has its own charm) is that it makes you realise how much editing takes place with documentary footage, and how little you actually see. You need a lot of preparation to do the commentary, but writing a script creates another problem: it's incredibly hard to deliver a script and not sound wooden. That, of course, is why they allow actors to get money for showing off on stages. It's harder than it looks.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail Marathon
I think I must be some kind of rain magnet; it was over 30 in Sydney on Friday, but a trail to run on Saturday and what happens? Rain, or more precisely, cloud. Cue 4+ hours of running over wet clay, wet rocks and wet leaves all dimly perceived through wet glasses. I suppose, to be fair, Jabulani this year was hot, and apart from the vision, cool & wet is the ideal running environment. I didn't fall over, and I don't think I would have run any faster if it had been dry.
We stayed in Robertson overnight at a very good B&B. The race starts at the McGee family (of Olympic cycling fame) bush cabin resort, but you have to book about 3 years in advance to get a room there for the night before the marathon. Some hardy souls camp; I quite like camping but it has a stiffening effect on the body. Plus, who knows? It might rain.
Like most of the rural races, it's a fundraiser; this one for the fire service. Sadly, they don't have a sponsor. Like Nowra though, this was extremely well organised at both the start and finish.
Probably part of the minds of most of the people here are thinking the same thing. Mainly though, it's things like, is my watch working, are my shoes OK, do I have all my food/water, what pace am I planning.I was a bit worried by the number of people who had brought their own water, in case that meant that there wouldn't be much on the course, but there was in fact plenty. Of course, carrying your own means you have it when you want it, if you don't mind the sloshing.
One day my plan is to be able to take pictures during the race; I haven't really found a way to mount a camera stably (is that a word?) and I don't really feel up to carrying one in my hand. Plus, stopping is not something I enjoy doing because restarting is not easy. It's a pity, because there's a lot to see and I'm not sure that my memory and/or wordsmithery are up to all of it.
Anyway, most of the bush looks pretty much like what you see here, but there was one strikingly different section at about the 15km mark where for one reason or another the miscellaneous gave way to a section where there were three very clear layers; the undergrowth up to but not beyond a metre, just one species of eucalypt with polished white trunks visible from 1 metre to about 4-5 metres, then from 5 metres up, the crowns of the trees. It looked amazing, almost too homogeneous to be true, a little bit unreal.
I'm sure that to a trained (and less tiring) eye there were may other equally specific sub-systems. We certainly ran through a diverse range of heights (see the link for an altitude graph) and edges (see the satellite picture in the link). In fact, it might be a reasonable assumption that there were as many micro-environments as there were trail surfaces, since in a way the trail surface is produced out of the environment.
Of trail surfaces there was a plethora; what you can see in the finish picture is not at all typical, in fact. The fire trails are 4 wheel drive tracks - and in some places, extremely rough - and the surfaces included polished mud, mud with embedded small rocks like cobblestones, mud with loose rocks, mud with tree litter, mud with roots, rock face, rock face with loose stones, rock face with leaf litter (not as much rock face as it might appear in this listing of it), sand!!!!, bricks!!! (the latter two obviously added to reinforce the trail surface against water/erosion, three stream crossings (very low water). I'm really very anxious about falling - partly I'm scared of hurting myself and partly I really don't know how, after a certain point, I'm going to get up and keep going. As a result, a lot of mental energy goes on watching where my feet are going. One side effect of this is that I don't like running fast down hills, which means I have to run up the hills because the "rest up, hurry down" strategy doesn't work for me. It's very surprising to me that I can actually run up hills, particularly since my glutes have been pretty much in constant pain since the M7. In fact I was thinking yesterday as I ran up a hill - the last 10 km of this course is ALL up hill - that the only way I know I'm running up a hill is that I am passing people who are walking. It certainly doesn't feel very fast. But as in Nowra, I passed a lot of people going up hills in the last 10k, and only one of them managed to overtake me subsequently. Unlike Nowra, I didn't have a finishing burst to mow him down.
What else? It was my first run using gels, concentrated fast acting carbohydrates. They were certainly a big improvement on previous nutrition strategies, and no side-effects.
It took a long time to do the last 10k. The clock time was long, but the mental time was longer. I came 111th, out of how many I don't know. The time qualifies me for the Six Foot Track (Katoomba to Jenolan) in March, so I guess I'd better start working on my trail running. That's a serious run!
One of the competitors yesterday was on his 214th marathon. Rest assured, that is one record I'll not be pursuing. Apart from anything else, 214 ice baths is not happening.
Big vote of thanks to Liz for logistics and moral support. How people drive themselves home after one of these things I can't imagine. I doubt I sat in one position for more than 1 minute on the 200 km trip home.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Molonglo River
Running: was out running 7.85 km in 57m:53s
I was down in Queanbeyan this weekend so I asked the friends I was staying with what a good run would be: they started me off along the Molonglo River. I was a bit nervous about getting lost, but I didn't have a running pouch for the mobile phone so I had to run nervous - that's why the run was a bit short. Actually I'm quite pleased to have found my way back; in general I have no sense of direction. It's true that with a river around you always have a fair chance of disentangling yourself, and with practice I suppose I could use the sun.
It was a very nice little run and potentially a great run. You can see (best in the satellite view, rather than the map view) where I ran up the hill away from the river; I met three kangaroos (grey) loping along through the grass at the edge of the bush and the road. As it turns out, I could have run down the hill and got back to the main road but the thing with bush running without a map is that you don't actually know that in advance, and sometimes you have to be back for tea! It looks like there's a salt mine down there, or a white coal mine, or something. Plus, access to some more remnant scrub.
You can see at one point that I was moving very slowly - that's because the track ran out and I didn't realise I needed to backtrack. Well, needed was a bit strong because I did manage to scramble across the rocks (and flood debris), noting (ever the naturalist) several kangaroo prints. Having looked at the map now I can see I needed to run directly behind the fence(s), but at the point that I went down to the water's edge the trail seemed very clear and promising. Once you're down at river level, you don't have any idea what's above you (the bank is about 8-10 metres). I mean, I could guess that there was a fence line, but there wasn't any particular guarantee that it was navigable. I've run into that problem in Richmond, Vic. along the Yarra banks.
But it all worked out nicely, and really, a run/walk/scramble is more fun than just a run along a known path.
About halfway up the hill was a false crest with a tent neatly tucked away; great spot for a kids camp because civilisation is invisible despite being less than 400 metres away.
Next time I'm down I'll arm myself with a water bottle and some food and explore a bit more.
I was down in Queanbeyan this weekend so I asked the friends I was staying with what a good run would be: they started me off along the Molonglo River. I was a bit nervous about getting lost, but I didn't have a running pouch for the mobile phone so I had to run nervous - that's why the run was a bit short. Actually I'm quite pleased to have found my way back; in general I have no sense of direction. It's true that with a river around you always have a fair chance of disentangling yourself, and with practice I suppose I could use the sun.
It was a very nice little run and potentially a great run. You can see (best in the satellite view, rather than the map view) where I ran up the hill away from the river; I met three kangaroos (grey) loping along through the grass at the edge of the bush and the road. As it turns out, I could have run down the hill and got back to the main road but the thing with bush running without a map is that you don't actually know that in advance, and sometimes you have to be back for tea! It looks like there's a salt mine down there, or a white coal mine, or something. Plus, access to some more remnant scrub.
You can see at one point that I was moving very slowly - that's because the track ran out and I didn't realise I needed to backtrack. Well, needed was a bit strong because I did manage to scramble across the rocks (and flood debris), noting (ever the naturalist) several kangaroo prints. Having looked at the map now I can see I needed to run directly behind the fence(s), but at the point that I went down to the water's edge the trail seemed very clear and promising. Once you're down at river level, you don't have any idea what's above you (the bank is about 8-10 metres). I mean, I could guess that there was a fence line, but there wasn't any particular guarantee that it was navigable. I've run into that problem in Richmond, Vic. along the Yarra banks.
But it all worked out nicely, and really, a run/walk/scramble is more fun than just a run along a known path.
About halfway up the hill was a false crest with a tent neatly tucked away; great spot for a kids camp because civilisation is invisible despite being less than 400 metres away.
Next time I'm down I'll arm myself with a water bottle and some food and explore a bit more.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Jabulani 2012
Running: 23.69 km in 3h:05m:15s
This was hard, in my opinion much harder than last year, although there were people at the finish to disagree with that. For me, last year was steep but not very technical, and although I didn't enjoy the steep part of it at the time, I've done a lot of training since then and I'm a lot stronger. King of the Mountain was steeper.
But this year was much less steep - in fact a net downhill run as you can see in the link. To make up for that, it was a LOT more technical - virtually no roads. Altogether, maybe 4(?) km of road. The rest was track, and various parts of it were rocky/steep/slippery and/or worn down between tree roots. I'm a bit of a shuffler, and 95% of my training is on grass or road (this year I think apart from NOSH, I've done no trail running at all!), so not falling over is a big problem for me. Possibly a mental problem to some extent (I'm not confident on poor surfaces, plus I'm not convinced the multifocals are optimal for it), but I lost my footing completely once and tripped/stumbled 5 or 6 times. Garigal National Park rang to the sound of a runner shouting "Concentrate, you bloody idiot". It's not easy when your glutes seem to have metamorphosed into a block of aching wood, to:
This was hard, in my opinion much harder than last year, although there were people at the finish to disagree with that. For me, last year was steep but not very technical, and although I didn't enjoy the steep part of it at the time, I've done a lot of training since then and I'm a lot stronger. King of the Mountain was steeper.
But this year was much less steep - in fact a net downhill run as you can see in the link. To make up for that, it was a LOT more technical - virtually no roads. Altogether, maybe 4(?) km of road. The rest was track, and various parts of it were rocky/steep/slippery and/or worn down between tree roots. I'm a bit of a shuffler, and 95% of my training is on grass or road (this year I think apart from NOSH, I've done no trail running at all!), so not falling over is a big problem for me. Possibly a mental problem to some extent (I'm not confident on poor surfaces, plus I'm not convinced the multifocals are optimal for it), but I lost my footing completely once and tripped/stumbled 5 or 6 times. Garigal National Park rang to the sound of a runner shouting "Concentrate, you bloody idiot". It's not easy when your glutes seem to have metamorphosed into a block of aching wood, to:
- Look at the ground
- Look at the path ahead
- Breathe properly
- Remind your motor system to lift the feet OFF the ground, despite the fact that all available feedback from the legs says it can't be done.
Having said all that, I finished without serious damage.
Trail running really is a different sport. Different form, different muscles. The guy who won the marathon looked like the quintessential skinny marathon guy but with the thighs & quadriceps of a 100 meter sprinter. Having said all that, it's easy to understand why, on the basis of today's course, why people love it. It really was a superb course, absolutely beautiful, starting in Mt Kuring Gai National Park and finishing in Garigal National Park. There was a fair bit of rubbish on the trail (like broken branches) from the winds, but today the sun was shining through a slight breeze. Magnificent.
I've got two more for these coming up! To be honest, I hope they're a bit easier, because the next one is 42K in October. There's not a lot of training I can do between now and then to stop a lifetime (well, two years) of shuffling)
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Weather
I've probably written about this before, but never mind. I love running in storms. I read once about (illustrating the madness of the colonial Britons) a group of harriers who only ran during Hong Kong typhoons. It may have been fiction (was it Le Carre?) but it ought not to be. Had the me of now been there then, I would have been out there
Extraordinary weather the last couple of days in Sydney. Apart from the roofing iron blowing around the back garden on Friday, which was perhaps a bit too scary - if you were hit by one of those you'd be dead and there'd be no way to avoid it even if you saw it coming - Saturday AM was perfect running weather.
In the wind, every lap of the oval is different. There was a women's football match in progress: scoring only occurred at one end. Tarpaulins snapped and cracked at apparent random. The air turned grey; then clear again.
I can never really feel that the wind is behind me. My watch tells me I'm going faster than expected, and I can know it's easier, but there's no reversed equivalent to the running through water sensation of a good headwind. Running into a headwind is an excuse to run harder; when I'm running at a fixed pace designated less than race pace there can be a feeling of frustration but the need for the extra work to maintain the pace into the headwind is satisfying. It feels like the the kind of effort training should be. Although if it went on too long the virtue would be quickly replaced by exhaustion.
Sometimes the joy of running is the rhythm that lets me forget that my body has to work to make the movement happen. Today, though, is a day to relish the work.
Extraordinary weather the last couple of days in Sydney. Apart from the roofing iron blowing around the back garden on Friday, which was perhaps a bit too scary - if you were hit by one of those you'd be dead and there'd be no way to avoid it even if you saw it coming - Saturday AM was perfect running weather.
In the wind, every lap of the oval is different. There was a women's football match in progress: scoring only occurred at one end. Tarpaulins snapped and cracked at apparent random. The air turned grey; then clear again.
I can never really feel that the wind is behind me. My watch tells me I'm going faster than expected, and I can know it's easier, but there's no reversed equivalent to the running through water sensation of a good headwind. Running into a headwind is an excuse to run harder; when I'm running at a fixed pace designated less than race pace there can be a feeling of frustration but the need for the extra work to maintain the pace into the headwind is satisfying. It feels like the the kind of effort training should be. Although if it went on too long the virtue would be quickly replaced by exhaustion.
Sometimes the joy of running is the rhythm that lets me forget that my body has to work to make the movement happen. Today, though, is a day to relish the work.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Westlink M7
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 42.47 km in 3h:53m:29s
I'm a little disappointed, but under 4 hours is always my 3rd goal, so 1 and 3 isn't bad. (1 is finishing, 2 is the target time). It was surprisingly hilly, as you can see from the elevation profile. Curiously though it wasn't the big hill in the 1st half, it was all the small undulations in the second half. Well, nothing in the 2nd half is easy. Also, you can see from the GPS that I ran an extra .275 km - and GPS usually understates the distance - so I need to concentrate harder on running straight lines through the curves.
Another very well organised run. It starts in the middle of nowhere (sorry, residents of Prestons) and uses the bike tracks along the M7. Much of the time you're running through remnant bushland, admittedly with a freeway in view, but it's not the least pleasant run I've done. It's nicer than both Canberra and Sydney; better managed as well. We finished at the Blacktown International Sports Centre, which is kind of a good venue, although the track has seen better days. Poor suburbs don't get money for that kind of facility upgrade. Apart from the athletics oval, there's baseball, football, soccer grounds, a pretty large complex. I hadn't realised - since I normally only drive through it - how much development is still to take place out there. There will (certainly) be another half-a-million people over the next period of time. Assuming the economy is still functioning.
Anyway, the weather was also perfect. Cold, admittedly at 7am, but after a kilometre it's only your hands that feel it and after 5 they don't feel it either. By the time I got to the finish it was a sunny winter's day, probably around 18. I didn't see anyone I knew, but after the race someone came up and thanked me for my advice (I told him as I passed him at 29km that it doesn't get any worse after 31km. It was his first marathon, and that's how I felt at Canberra, which was mine). I guess I must be improving, because I didn't feel any worse until after 39km. Man, that final 3km was really, really hard. There's an uphill bit at 40-41 that was murder, and other than relief I didn't enjoy the concomitant final 1.2km downhill at all. Although, I did pass someone I hadn't seen since the 500 meter mark when he strolled past taking one smooth stride to my two stumpy ones. I wanted to sprint the final 300 metres around the track (I train for those fast finishes), but want was not will. I think I maintained a 100% steady shuffle.
Hats off to Liz who provided valuable cheering at many viewing points on the way. A capering supporter is the best kind!
I'm pleased to say that in one of them I appear to be running, as opposed to the usual shuffle! Mind you, in the picture of me crossing the line (not shown due to technical difficulties), I appear to have developed a serious list to starboard.
Thursday today and I took my classes (AM and PM) on the Spit Bridge to Manly walk, so that was a gentle workout on a glorious day for one of may favourite walks.
I'm a little disappointed, but under 4 hours is always my 3rd goal, so 1 and 3 isn't bad. (1 is finishing, 2 is the target time). It was surprisingly hilly, as you can see from the elevation profile. Curiously though it wasn't the big hill in the 1st half, it was all the small undulations in the second half. Well, nothing in the 2nd half is easy. Also, you can see from the GPS that I ran an extra .275 km - and GPS usually understates the distance - so I need to concentrate harder on running straight lines through the curves.
Another very well organised run. It starts in the middle of nowhere (sorry, residents of Prestons) and uses the bike tracks along the M7. Much of the time you're running through remnant bushland, admittedly with a freeway in view, but it's not the least pleasant run I've done. It's nicer than both Canberra and Sydney; better managed as well. We finished at the Blacktown International Sports Centre, which is kind of a good venue, although the track has seen better days. Poor suburbs don't get money for that kind of facility upgrade. Apart from the athletics oval, there's baseball, football, soccer grounds, a pretty large complex. I hadn't realised - since I normally only drive through it - how much development is still to take place out there. There will (certainly) be another half-a-million people over the next period of time. Assuming the economy is still functioning.
Anyway, the weather was also perfect. Cold, admittedly at 7am, but after a kilometre it's only your hands that feel it and after 5 they don't feel it either. By the time I got to the finish it was a sunny winter's day, probably around 18. I didn't see anyone I knew, but after the race someone came up and thanked me for my advice (I told him as I passed him at 29km that it doesn't get any worse after 31km. It was his first marathon, and that's how I felt at Canberra, which was mine). I guess I must be improving, because I didn't feel any worse until after 39km. Man, that final 3km was really, really hard. There's an uphill bit at 40-41 that was murder, and other than relief I didn't enjoy the concomitant final 1.2km downhill at all. Although, I did pass someone I hadn't seen since the 500 meter mark when he strolled past taking one smooth stride to my two stumpy ones. I wanted to sprint the final 300 metres around the track (I train for those fast finishes), but want was not will. I think I maintained a 100% steady shuffle.
Hats off to Liz who provided valuable cheering at many viewing points on the way. A capering supporter is the best kind!
 |
| Look - running, not shuffling at 41km |
 |
| I didn't know I was knock-kneed |
Thursday today and I took my classes (AM and PM) on the Spit Bridge to Manly walk, so that was a gentle workout on a glorious day for one of may favourite walks.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Dolls Point 2012
Endomondo Running Workout: 21.02 km in 1h:55m:03s
Undeniably my worst ever half marathon, but arguably my best ever training run (since I usually train at 5:30 pace). Boy, was I stiff - still recovering from last week's run at Kangaroo Valley, I think. An absolutely stunning day, clear, just a touch of breeze - last year we ran in a howling gale. It's fantastic to run next to the sea, listening to the shoosh of breaking wavelets. Plus, there were boats, people fishing, walking, cycling, doing headstands and generally entertaining themselves.
Afterwards, some stretching, pancakes and oranges, then home for gardening, shopping at the local market and carpentry (still plodding away on that staircase, but progress is progress - the next timber pieces to be bent are much more fragile than the last lot, and I don't want any breakages.) Ran into two colleagues at the market, including the one who had a tumour removed from his brain last Monday! No, seriously. And he looked pretty well and sounded coherent. Fingers crossed. Of course, he's still waiting for the tissue biopsy results, so has no idea what the future holds, but whatever, nice to see him up and about.
That's about it.
Undeniably my worst ever half marathon, but arguably my best ever training run (since I usually train at 5:30 pace). Boy, was I stiff - still recovering from last week's run at Kangaroo Valley, I think. An absolutely stunning day, clear, just a touch of breeze - last year we ran in a howling gale. It's fantastic to run next to the sea, listening to the shoosh of breaking wavelets. Plus, there were boats, people fishing, walking, cycling, doing headstands and generally entertaining themselves.
Afterwards, some stretching, pancakes and oranges, then home for gardening, shopping at the local market and carpentry (still plodding away on that staircase, but progress is progress - the next timber pieces to be bent are much more fragile than the last lot, and I don't want any breakages.) Ran into two colleagues at the market, including the one who had a tumour removed from his brain last Monday! No, seriously. And he looked pretty well and sounded coherent. Fingers crossed. Of course, he's still waiting for the tissue biopsy results, so has no idea what the future holds, but whatever, nice to see him up and about.
That's about it.
Monday, July 2, 2012
King of the Mountain
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 32.10 km in 3h:13m:34s
Up at 5:00 this AM to drive down to Cambewarra - I'd never heard of it, either - for the Shoalhaven King of the Mountain, a relatively famous NSW race, not exactly a trail race, because it's on roads the whole way, but it's substantially through bush except for maybe a total of 10 km spread over the start and the finish in Kangaroo Ground.
We had a fantastic trip down in about an hour fifty - it's a pleasure driving anywhere in NSW on a Sunday before 8 AM.
I haven't been feeling good about the long distances this year, so I was pretty nervous. I'm supposed to run 35 km every 2nd weekend for training, but frankly between injury, illness, weather and falls, I haven't made more than 30, and certainly not every fortnight (don't tell my coach). King of the Mountain is 32 km, but there are two fairly significant hills as you can see from the profile in the link. The second is 360 meters high - it calls itself Mt Scanzi, in the tail end of the Illawarra escarpment - and you can see from the times at 22 and 23 km that the last section is pretty steep. In fact, just by running non-stop up this section I passed about 8 people who I never subsequently saw. It's obviously a big advantage to get to the top first because you start running downhill first and it's pretty hard for those behind to catch up; although I'm not the strongest descender in the world (I get very nervous about falling) and in fact I had been passed on the down slope of the first hill by a couple of those 8 aforementioned people, but despite that I did manage to stay in front after this second peak.
One guy I had passed on the way up did pass me in the main street of Kangaroo Valley, but after the last Cooks River episode I wasn't having any of that and I took my life in my hands (the last kilometer is the main street - not the pavement! - of Kangaroo Valley) and overtook him during a gap in the traffic and ran as hard as I could for the finish. It's obviously wrong to say I was feeling good, but you can see from the splits for the last couple of kilometers that I was in reasonable shape, so I held him off.
It's a very social race; one guy gave me some good advice at the 1km mark - don't look at your watch - and said Hi to me later in the car park. A bunch of people stopped to chat with the volunteers at every drink station; this made me feel a little rude (I didn't), but it's not that easy getting moving once you stop in my experience. I prefer continuous motion.
If you're ever in Kangaroo Valley (and you should be, it's stunningly beautiful) I can strongly recommend Jack's Tin Shed for exceptional coffee at fair, that is, city, prices; possibly the best toasted banana bread in history and undoubtedly a very fine hamburger and chips. (Good rural coffee is usually 20-30% more expensive than the city in NSW) Since the main reason I run in these events is to have an excuse to eat chips, it's very important that they stand out. And they did, so it was all worthwhile.
This will give you a rough idea...
A great effort by the organizers; it couldn't have gone much smoother that I could see.
Up at 5:00 this AM to drive down to Cambewarra - I'd never heard of it, either - for the Shoalhaven King of the Mountain, a relatively famous NSW race, not exactly a trail race, because it's on roads the whole way, but it's substantially through bush except for maybe a total of 10 km spread over the start and the finish in Kangaroo Ground.
We had a fantastic trip down in about an hour fifty - it's a pleasure driving anywhere in NSW on a Sunday before 8 AM.
I haven't been feeling good about the long distances this year, so I was pretty nervous. I'm supposed to run 35 km every 2nd weekend for training, but frankly between injury, illness, weather and falls, I haven't made more than 30, and certainly not every fortnight (don't tell my coach). King of the Mountain is 32 km, but there are two fairly significant hills as you can see from the profile in the link. The second is 360 meters high - it calls itself Mt Scanzi, in the tail end of the Illawarra escarpment - and you can see from the times at 22 and 23 km that the last section is pretty steep. In fact, just by running non-stop up this section I passed about 8 people who I never subsequently saw. It's obviously a big advantage to get to the top first because you start running downhill first and it's pretty hard for those behind to catch up; although I'm not the strongest descender in the world (I get very nervous about falling) and in fact I had been passed on the down slope of the first hill by a couple of those 8 aforementioned people, but despite that I did manage to stay in front after this second peak.
One guy I had passed on the way up did pass me in the main street of Kangaroo Valley, but after the last Cooks River episode I wasn't having any of that and I took my life in my hands (the last kilometer is the main street - not the pavement! - of Kangaroo Valley) and overtook him during a gap in the traffic and ran as hard as I could for the finish. It's obviously wrong to say I was feeling good, but you can see from the splits for the last couple of kilometers that I was in reasonable shape, so I held him off.
It's a very social race; one guy gave me some good advice at the 1km mark - don't look at your watch - and said Hi to me later in the car park. A bunch of people stopped to chat with the volunteers at every drink station; this made me feel a little rude (I didn't), but it's not that easy getting moving once you stop in my experience. I prefer continuous motion.
If you're ever in Kangaroo Valley (and you should be, it's stunningly beautiful) I can strongly recommend Jack's Tin Shed for exceptional coffee at fair, that is, city, prices; possibly the best toasted banana bread in history and undoubtedly a very fine hamburger and chips. (Good rural coffee is usually 20-30% more expensive than the city in NSW) Since the main reason I run in these events is to have an excuse to eat chips, it's very important that they stand out. And they did, so it was all worthwhile.This will give you a rough idea...
A great effort by the organizers; it couldn't have gone much smoother that I could see.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The living room
Finished decorating. That's my first wallpapering job - not too bad, although I probably will spend the rest of my life looking at the blemishes. A bit of delusion seldom goes astray in this situation.
We have a new rug too, but it doesn't photograph so well.
We have a new rug too, but it doesn't photograph so well.
Friday, June 15, 2012
News in brief
She's a Devon Rex - a fairly modern breed I think, with a lot of Siamese in them. They're short haired, so no shedding (presumably that's actually less shedding) and no allergic reactions, which will make Liz's sister happy.Liz doesn't have an odema, her CT scan was normal, but she's still very dizzy and headachey. There's not much to be said for ageing, and injuries certainly make you feel your age. Plus they muck around with your mind; it's much harder to rebuild your confidence. I remember it took me a few months after my first bad fall to be happy running on trails again. I'm still very aware of the surface when it's rough.
Liz is resting, but she feels worse in some ways after a day doing nothing than after a day at work - it's a different kind of worse, but worse is worse. At least if you're at work you feel like you're getting something done. She's quite worried I think, but certainly very frustrated.
I'm OK - last fall pretty much worn off. The rain is getting me down a bit & it's certainly not great training weather. I've got a marathon coming up in 6 weeks, so I can't skive off training too much but beyond a certain point, I'm not prepared to go out. I've never liked winter, but this is the first year I've felt as bad about a Sydney winter as I used to about the Melbourne ones.
Not much other news - staircase coming along, but again, the weather is slowing it down because my workshop is the back garden.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Sri Chinmoy 8km race
Sprint
Post-race warmdown
A record! 8km in 35 minutes 21 seconds
I have to put in some caveats, although I am in fact absurdly pleased. Firstly, I was pipped to the post by someone I hadn't seen all race, and I swear he beat me by less than a second. Fortunately, he wasn't in my age group, so he didn't cost me the medal - but he also won a medal; first place in the over-60 division. That's a bit of a thunder-stealer! I have to say, I was very tempted to lurch "uncontrollably" in front of him, but I restrained myself. I'm pretty sure that would be inappropriate behaviour for what is notionally a recreational sport.
Furthermore, the guy who won the 16k - which is my usual choice of event - ran it in 65 minutes. Twice the distance in 5 minutes less than twice the time. When you see the picture (below) you will see that I'm not winning that distance any time soon.
Finally, the two guys who usually win this event didn't show up. It's all about the process, though, isn't it? And that time represents a great PB for me, a solid 25 seconds per kilometer off my previous best. It makes me think that maybe the coaching is paying dividends in more ways than just comfort. It still feels like a long way to 4 minute pace though.
500 meters left
Really, I'm shockingly competitive.
After the race and the pancakes, I went for a warm down 12km through the Bardwell Valley. It's a bit of a pain getting to it (you have to run UP the spur between the Cooks River and Wolli Creek) but the 4-5 km you get to run through remnant bushland makes it worthwhile,
Post-race warmdown
A record! 8km in 35 minutes 21 seconds
I have to put in some caveats, although I am in fact absurdly pleased. Firstly, I was pipped to the post by someone I hadn't seen all race, and I swear he beat me by less than a second. Fortunately, he wasn't in my age group, so he didn't cost me the medal - but he also won a medal; first place in the over-60 division. That's a bit of a thunder-stealer! I have to say, I was very tempted to lurch "uncontrollably" in front of him, but I restrained myself. I'm pretty sure that would be inappropriate behaviour for what is notionally a recreational sport.
Furthermore, the guy who won the 16k - which is my usual choice of event - ran it in 65 minutes. Twice the distance in 5 minutes less than twice the time. When you see the picture (below) you will see that I'm not winning that distance any time soon.
Finally, the two guys who usually win this event didn't show up. It's all about the process, though, isn't it? And that time represents a great PB for me, a solid 25 seconds per kilometer off my previous best. It makes me think that maybe the coaching is paying dividends in more ways than just comfort. It still feels like a long way to 4 minute pace though.
500 meters left
Really, I'm shockingly competitive.
After the race and the pancakes, I went for a warm down 12km through the Bardwell Valley. It's a bit of a pain getting to it (you have to run UP the spur between the Cooks River and Wolli Creek) but the 4-5 km you get to run through remnant bushland makes it worthwhile,
Monday, April 30, 2012
News
I should get some pictures from the Bardwell valley, which is similar terrain to my untutored eye, although the Cooks is not the Woronora. One day I think I'll just run trails, they're very satisfying.
Many years ago when I was managing ABILITY, I got my DoS to find out about getting one of these signs - it turned out to be free, and I've always enjoyed the apparent landmark status it confers. Finally UTS has caught up. I wonder if it's been irking someone there for years, that this tiny language school had its own council sign, and the mighty UTS didn't. Oh well, in five years I'll be the only person who remembers our sign was first.Saturday, February 18, 2012
MIrambeena
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 15.88 km in 1h:16m:43s
Well, that's the first race for 2012 done and dusted. It's a PB for the distance (which is 16 km, but GPS always loses some of the distance because it treats curves as line segments - it's a balancing act between battery life, sampling rate and accuracy) but not quite as good a PB as I was hoping for. Still, a PB is a PB. And the course wasn't completely flat.
It was a beautiful morning - an autumn morning, despite the month, but a beautiful autumn morning - and the course is really nice, set in a shard of bush/parkland on the upstream Georges River near Bankstown Airport. Running on cycle tracks can be problematic, but the cyclists were thin on the ground this AM.
I don't think I can run a lot harder in some ways. I think this is the highest sustained heart rate for any of my races, which I suppose means training is working, and I'm sure there is some theoretical - practical - limit on heart rate. IF I can't run harder, then I have to think about different ways to run faster.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Marathon training begins...
Endomondo Running Workout: 29.72 km
Well, things are starting to get serious. I slightly mis-aligned this run, but I didn't really feel, having arrived at the front door, as if running another 280 metres was absolutely essential. Since I am notionally recovering from an injury, I have the excuse of discretion.
The injury, in point of fact, hasn't been nearly as bad as I feared last Sunday. I had only got about 100 metres from the front door before realising that the pain in the knees just wasn't going away and returning home. Consequently I have had 4 days rest, and actually descended the staircase 100% pain free on Thursday AM. So, naturally, back to training. It's an odd sport where a rest week sees you only running 60k! Next week is also easy, because it's a race week, a 16k hit out at Georges Hall, over bike tracks in the national park(?) there. I haven't run this course before, but it should be fun. So, that'll be 3 60k weeks in a row, which should leave me in good shape to get through the next month. Last year I was averaging 70k per week and this year it's getting close to 90 (well, it was) so I'm not surprised that it's hard work. I learned last year that immediate rest is the way to go, and I'm sticking with that.
It's not all bad; the reason (I think) that my knees packed it in was that I've been doing a lot of strength training in the gym (plus I don't think 20 years of being 30kg overweight made my knees hugely happy) and I probably overdid it a bit. It's quite hard to judge weights/repetitions; it always seems hard at the time, but it's not until 24 hours later that you know if you overdid it or not.
Anyway, the strength training paid off today, because at about 28km I tripped on a bit of Marrickville footpath, but was able to convert it from a fall to a stagger, which is down to knee strength and one of the reasons I have been working so hard on those muscles. I sort of feel vindicated. Falling is very demoralising, but not falling is very energising. Of course you could argue that if I hadn't been running then I wouldn't have been falling - but logic has no place in all this.
I can't remember anything else much going on. The new bit of the garden is coming along well, although the solar powered water feature isn't working as well as I'd like. I have to negotiate with the neighbour to put the solar panel on his roof. Plus, it hasn't actually stopped raining yet, so there isn't much sun around anyway. But apart from that the new plants are going well. I spent Saturday pruning and weeding between showers; the garden has gone beserk with all the water. Another couple of weekends should see it looking more orderly.
Work is good; I'm still working on some ideas for using computers in the classroom - it's harder than it might seem. For repeatability, computers are great, but for adaptability - and every class is different - they are not so hot.
I can't remember anything else much going on. The new bit of the garden is coming along well, although the solar powered water feature isn't working as well as I'd like. I have to negotiate with the neighbour to put the solar panel on his roof. Plus, it hasn't actually stopped raining yet, so there isn't much sun around anyway. But apart from that the new plants are going well. I spent Saturday pruning and weeding between showers; the garden has gone beserk with all the water. Another couple of weekends should see it looking more orderly.
Work is good; I'm still working on some ideas for using computers in the classroom - it's harder than it might seem. For repeatability, computers are great, but for adaptability - and every class is different - they are not so hot.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Borders of Balmain
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 23.26 km
Set out from Petersham Oval this AM (site, as posted elsewhere, of Bradman's Sydney district cricket debut, which included a century and three wickets) and discovered, while waiting for the rest of the group, that it's also the site of a very early colonist's attempt to grow "Indian corn" - the colonist in question having been born in Petersham, England the name of the suburb in a sense begins here.
We ran through Annandale and Rozelle, which, away from the main roads, are very attractive suburbs. White's Creek makes a brief unconcreted appearance in Annandale, in a very nicely landscaped wetlands.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Brighton in the rain
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 26.83 km
pffff...I think English needs a formalised list of exclamations; right now I need one that suggests exhaustion and stiffness. It was a tough run. Honestly, that fact that I managed two marathons last year seems completely implausible based on today. Funny business.
To put things in perspective though, I'm two weeks into a new coach and therefore a new coaching routine. Plus, I worked out last year that I needed to spend more time in the gym, and I've just started that as well. Since the new routine features significantly more speed work than I used to set myself (one of my goals is to break 40 minutes for 10k), and most of the gym work is on the legs, they - in particular the right one - were protesting. On the return leg I thought they might cramp, but to their credit they didn't.
I wonder if another factor might be the change in shoes; I've been training in cross country shoes, which are thinner, lighter and have a more flexible sole than my road shoes. Last year I trained in the road shoes all the time, but I had a lot of sore knees (that doesn't look quite right now it's written down) but the mixed shoe type seems to be avoiding the knee issue so far. I'm starting to get some idea of why runners go mad about shoes, and in a way, how easy it is to rip them off. $200 is ridiculous for a pair of runners, but it's not so ridiculous for a pain-free couple of months of training. Mind you I can import a lot of the shoes for $100; there's a small risk on sizing but so far it hasn't been an issue. I'd try the Dunlop Volleys - but they aren't strong enough to last a month these days as street shoes, so I can't see them being much use on a run. They'd tear themselves to bits on a tennis court!
pffff...I think English needs a formalised list of exclamations; right now I need one that suggests exhaustion and stiffness. It was a tough run. Honestly, that fact that I managed two marathons last year seems completely implausible based on today. Funny business.
To put things in perspective though, I'm two weeks into a new coach and therefore a new coaching routine. Plus, I worked out last year that I needed to spend more time in the gym, and I've just started that as well. Since the new routine features significantly more speed work than I used to set myself (one of my goals is to break 40 minutes for 10k), and most of the gym work is on the legs, they - in particular the right one - were protesting. On the return leg I thought they might cramp, but to their credit they didn't.
I wonder if another factor might be the change in shoes; I've been training in cross country shoes, which are thinner, lighter and have a more flexible sole than my road shoes. Last year I trained in the road shoes all the time, but I had a lot of sore knees (that doesn't look quite right now it's written down) but the mixed shoe type seems to be avoiding the knee issue so far. I'm starting to get some idea of why runners go mad about shoes, and in a way, how easy it is to rip them off. $200 is ridiculous for a pair of runners, but it's not so ridiculous for a pain-free couple of months of training. Mind you I can import a lot of the shoes for $100; there's a small risk on sizing but so far it hasn't been an issue. I'd try the Dunlop Volleys - but they aren't strong enough to last a month these days as street shoes, so I can't see them being much use on a run. They'd tear themselves to bits on a tennis court!
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