RunDave's Blog

Couldn't help myself

2010-07-18T18:01:00.002+09:30

I've been training pretty well, feeling quite fit and I've been doing plenty of long runs with my brother-in-law, so I couldn't resist entering the Adelaide Marathon. Not sure what time I'll go for, but I'm sure I'll go out too fast as usual. Hopefully it'll be a good hitout for Yurrebilla.

Thoughts about doping: Part 1

2010-07-12T10:09:00.003+09:30

This is a comment I left in the Science of Sport blog yesterday. I thought I'd post it here and I might make a few other posts about doping too.

I've been thinking for some time about doping and its normalisation. It all comes down to perspective (or loss of it). Whilst it is quite correct to say that doping is wrong and not normal, when you look at it as part of a spectrum of practices that are employed in elite sport, it is quite easy to see how it becomes normal. For the everyday amateur athlete and/or general population, practices such as altitude training, altitude tents, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, extreme use of painkillers, extreme dietary restriction and supplementation, laboratory testing, the high training loads and all the other legal practices that professional athletes endure to get an edge would seem bizarre (colostrum anyone?) and unnecessary. Also, I don't think most people realise the workload and pain that elite athletes go through to reach their peak. So to most people, elite training and high performance practices are not normal, but they are quite happy to sit back a marvel at the end product. To the elite athlete, all the above performance enhancing practices become normal and I think that it is a pretty small step from the legal to the illegal.

The general public might think something like taking your own blood out and storing it for use later to increase performance is extreme (although this is a common surgical procedure). But take the athlete who is training all day every day, being continually tested, is on a regime of legal drugs and vitamins, they spend time at altitude and they've been doing this for years. Their lifestyle has been manipulated in every respect to achieve maximum performance. When your whole life has been shaped to gain maximal performance, it defies logic not to use a practice that increases performance.

Many of the illegal doping practices for athletes are in one form or another legal and commonly used medical procedures. Steroids are legally used to treat a multitude of conditions, blood transfusions are standard practice, stimulants are also used to treat a multitude of conditions. So for an athlete who is subjected to a range of extreme and often bizarre performance enhancing practices, not using "normal" medical procedures might feel like they are missing out on their full potential.

I suppose this all sounds like a justification for cheating. It's not, but it does indicate how a fairly warped mindset (to us) could develop.

Anyway, that's my musings about it.

Heysen Trail Blog

2010-06-09T21:43:00.003+09:30

I've started up a new blog here to document my Heysen trail run. Check it out, and leave comments if you like. I'll still post here occasionally, but the Heysen trail will be my focus for the next year or so.

Trying to get this thing going again

2010-03-28T21:25:00.003+10:30

Had a huge run last Sunday. Meant to go out for 1:30 and ended up out there for 2:30 and stumbling home in the darkness. Didn't get out for the rest of the week due to a) soreness from the long run, b) looking after chicken pox boy and c) soreness from stacking it on skateboard.

Eventually got out today for a sharp run from the city to Flagstaff Hill after walking through the Earth ride today.

A note on the earth ride. The event was a good start, and the turnout was quite good considering the rainy weather. However, I had intended to run around the 5km with the now recovered pox boy riding. The ride was so slow that I could comfortably stroll the distance and most of the riders rolled around struggling to stay upright. I know they were trying to keep everyone together and only shut down road for the minimum amount of time, but if they really want to get people along to these events and make a statement, then close the roads fully for an hour or so and let everyone roll around at their own pace.

2010 LEAFY SEA DRAGON RACE'N RAMBLE RACE REPORT

2010-03-22T12:49:00.002+10:30

This is the race report that I wrote for SARRC. A good result for me; first place in a time of 37:20.

Rising early on Sunday morning I noticed one thing: the wind. Never mind that, it’s the same for everyone. I picked up my mother-in-law (Julie) and took the easy drive down to Normanville. When we arrived at the Normanville Beach carpark, everything was set up and ready for the start of the 10km walk starting at 8am. Julie had forgotten her race number, but was able to have it replaced by the very helpful ladies at the late entry desk. The wind was playing havoc with all the equipment set up in the starting area, but a few adjustments by the plentiful volunteers had most things tied or weighed down or packed away.

The 10km walk started with a healthy field of walkers setting off into the stiff ESE wind. I went to the late entry desk and entered then went off to get ready for the race making use of the convenient facilities.

The start of the 10km run came around quickly and we set off. Just as we started, a massive gust of wind whipped up dust and sand and momentarily stopped us all in our tracks. We made our way through town with great encouragement from some enthusiastic locals and found ourselves running out of Normanville towards Carrickalinga, thankfully with a crosswind for most of the rest of the race. The well signed and marshalled course wound its way through the streets of Carrickalinga eventually reaching the turning point halfway around Haycock point. Upon turning back we were met by another brief blast of wind before getting back into the crosswind. The two conveniently placed drink stations would have provided plenty of hydration, although it was a fairly cool morning and I didn’t require them much. Back through town, past the fans and finally down the home stretch with a tailwind at last! The finish line beckoned and we were done.

There was time for a couple of pieces of fruit and a coffee from the Kiosk before the presentation. An interesting feature of the race for me was the awarding of prizemoney to placegetters.

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses and families there were modest cash prizes for all placegetters and plenty of random draw prizes. Besides the beautiful location and the excellent course, the best feature of the event was the enthusiasm of the race organisers and volunteers.

Thankyou to all of you for putting on such an enjoyable event.

Now on twitter

2010-01-19T22:58:00.001+10:30

My twitter page

Red Red Shoes

2008-12-30T12:22:00.003+10:30

Just got some new trail runners in my favourite shoe colour. Mizuno Wave Ascend 3. Took them out for a 23 km run through Sturt Gorge and Shepherds Hill on the weekend and they performed very well. Slight hotspot on the left heel, but no blisters or discomfort. Will use them on Sunday in the Inaugural Sea to Summit Trail run organised by SARRC.
Happy New Year for Thursday.

Trailblazer 2008 race report

2008-10-20T10:21:00.002+10:30

Trailblazer report copied from Coolrunning post.

We got to the start with plenty of time to check in and only had to wait for the team infront of us. Other teams who arrived a bit later ended up waiting for quite a while, to the extent that the start was pushed back about 10 minutes. While we were getting ready I suggested we do it at the start line. Good move. Soon after, the crowds started lining up and I would have hated to have started back further and fight our way past all the walkers. In the starting area I was able to meet up with some friends and former teamates including Babette, the woman I ran my first Trailblazer with in 2004. We had a good chat while waiting for the delayed start. She mentioned at one point about the new route through Morialta, but I didn't make too much of it thinking that they had just altered the way up to the first falls. I was to discover later the ramifications of this "small change in the course".

The race started, and after a mad rush by a few teams, who by the look of their attire weren't going to be running for long, we settled into 5 min/km pace which we basically banged out consistently all the way to checkpoint 1, getting there in 1:35. I changed my shoes from road runners to trail runners there, then we set off up Amber's Gully.

Fortunately for us, although it was warm, there was some high cloud keeping the temperature from reaching the forecast maximum too early (it did eventually get to 35 degrees though). At the top of Amber's Gully I saw Sunny's sign (thanks again) and across the valley I could see a 50 km team and already knew in the back of my mind that unless they had injury or illness we would have trouble catching them. We didn't know at that stage that they were the first team though. Anyway, the rest of the climb up Blackhill went smoothly and the descent down to Montacute road was fine. Surprisingly, I had already nearly emptied my 2L hydraton pack and had a 600mL staminade in just 24 odd km! Refilled the pack, and set off up Montacute road and then up through Morialta. It really started to get warm up the top part of the climb up Morialta, but cooled off a bit as we went down the other side to the Morialta checkpoint which we reached in 3:30. Had a big can of "Mother" there and grabbed a bar to eat on the way and set off towards the climb back out of Morialta.

Then we discovered the new route. It is one of those fire tracks where they set Bessa blocks sideways into the ground and fill them with earth or gravel. They actually resemble a ladder somewhat, and when they are leading up a track that steep, they pretty much are a ladder! The track levelled out for a bit, went around a corner, and just as I thought they were going to take us up through they valley past the waterfall via the Yurrebilla/Heysen trail, the route went straight up the hill again on the same blocks! And it continued to go up until we were up past the powerlines. Then, cruelly, the course went back down to eventually join the Yurrebilla trail just before a nice flat section leading up to Colonial drive. Here I refilled the hydration pack again and we continued on, albeit with Wida experiencing some persistent calf cramps. It wasn't too long until we were at the top of Horsnell's Gully (now known as Giles Conservation Park). The descent to the bottom went well. After some fairly intermittant running since the bottom of Morialta, it was nice to get a few good km of faster running in. The fun of that was soon over as we started back up to the top. It was very humid down the bottom, especially in a couple of little patches where the sweat was just pouring out. It was another tough climb out of Horsnell's, but not as bad as Morialta. At Coach road we met up with Dad, I refilled the hydration pack again then we trundled along to checkpoint 3 in 5:52. I did grab a vegemite sandwich there and it was the best tasting thing I ate all race (sick of snakes and gu and staminade).

The final 6 km took us exactly 1 hour, it didn't seem like an hour, but numbers don't lie. This last bit was really all about just trying to find a balance between running all the downhills and flats, trying to run up the less steep uphill parts and not walking too slowly up the steeper parts. All the while I was secretly worried that another team would come breezing past us in the last few km. My legs finally went a bit jelly-like at the road crossing just below Mt Lofty summit, but by then it didn't matter too, much. I was pretty sure that we could crawl up the last bit and not give up a place or creep over the 7 hour mark. Wida kept trudging up the mountain, but when we got to the top, his legs wouldn't even allow him to run downhill through the finish line. Didn't matter too much anyway, I think only my wife and kids and my dad actually saw us cross the line, so if anyone asks, we cartwheeled over the line. Final time, 6:52, well outside the sub 6 hours that I had hoped for, but not too bad given the condition and the amount of extra time we spent walking. As I have found from this event before, nothing ever goes according to plan, but importantly we made it to the finish as a team.

I only ended up having one recovery drink (read beer) straight after the race (it was about the best tasting beer I've ever had) and another at the BBQ that afternoon. After that I was so tired, I couldn't cope with another. We went home and I went to sleep around 7:30pm and didn't wake until after 7am.

Found out today that the first team (of 2) in the 100 km finished in an astonishing 12:17! (well done Sonja and Mick) and the second team (4 members) in the 100km did it in 14:12 (well done power of 4). So despite the warm conditions out there, there were some extraordinary results. I also heard from my mate Babette that her and her daughter finished in 8:10 for 4th place and first all-girl team.

Feeling very good today. Went for a 1 km jog with the kids (they're training for the SARRC kid's marathon in December) and a longish walk to the playground and back. I'd say I'm a pretty good chance to toe the line for the Blackhill Challenge in a few weeks time, I feel like running up some more hills!

Finally, thankyou Wida for partnering me for this run. It was a big ask to back up from Yurrebilla, especially with the limited training that we had together, but we ended up doing very well. I hope I haven't made the same impression on you as I made on Babette (her daughter knows me as the one who nearly killed her mum), and we can make it an SA CR team for the 100 km next year.

Sea to Summit

2008-10-07T08:58:00.004+10:30

Ran from Somerton Park Beach to Mt Lofty Summit via Yurrebilla trail plus an extra 15 or so km out to the top gate at Horsnell's Gully CP and back to make up around 38 km.

The start line
Getting the toes wet
Daws Road ahead, looking up to the summit.
View of Adelaide from above Waite Institute. My favourite place to view the city.
Top of Waite looking up to Summit

Did you know that there are deer in Waite CP? I startled one while running past. I looked back after going through the gate and it came back to have a look at me. Some of the cows are looking at it. I've circled it but it is a bit hard to see.

Looking down through Waterfall Gully

Some Cape Barren geese in Cleland Wildlife park

View from Mt Lofty Summit

Made it!

Long overdue update

2008-05-05T17:05:00.005+09:30

I haven't been keeping this blog up to date for a while now, but I have still been running. I haven't really done anything of note lately. I went in a casual 10 km race in Auckland while at a conference over there coming in around 10th in 39:17, not bad for the lack of training and also a late night the night before (conference dinner).

I still haven't decided which events I'll be targeting later in the year. I may try to improve my PB in the marathon in August. I have been doing my long runs mostly on trails over the last 6 months and I've really enjoyed that (with a few exceptions like the weekend). This leads me to thinking that I should do the Trailblazer (either 50 or 100 km) in October or the Yurrebilla trail run (non-competitive) also in October I think. If I have time, I may go in a few of the shorter SARRC events between no and the marathon. I'm also thinking about going in some SA athletics XC events or the joggers world series. I may even do some of the SA masters athletics events now that I meet their age requirements (30).

That's right, I am now in my 4th decade. To celebrate the day I ran 30 km. I also got some new treads (pictured below) which have been excellent for the mix of trail and road running that I've been doing recently.

Anyway, I hope the update has been sufficient for nyone who is still reading this blog. I'm sure I've missed heaps of things. I hope to keep the blog a bit more up-to-date to keep me motivated and stay on track for whatever events I go for in the future.

See you out there.

Fauxcellarm

2007-10-17T08:51:00.000+09:30

I totally get this.

It is basically the same as the word 'ringxiety', but I like fauxcellarm much more.

Here is the wikipedia entry for ringxiety.

Ringxiety is a portmanteau neologism formed from the words "ringer" and "anxiety." It was first coined by David Laramie, a doctoral student at the California School of Professional Psychology, whose dissertation concerned the effects of cell phones on behavior. Ringxiety is described as the sensation and the false belief that one can hear his or her mobile phone ringing or feel it vibrating, when in fact the telephone is not doing so. Other terms for this concept include phantom ring effect and fauxcellarm. It can also be generalized to describe the sensation of hearing one's phone or doorbell ring while doing such things as taking a shower, watching television, or using a noisy device. The reasoning for this relates partially to the idea that humans are particularly sensitive to auditory tones between 1,000 and 6,000 hertz, and basic mobile phone ringers often fall within this range. This frequency range can generally be more difficult to locate spatially, thus allowing for potential confusion when heard from a distance. False vibrations are less well understood, however, and could have psychological or neurological sources.

OK, it isn't a real word yet but I like it already. I'm not usually an early-adopter, but this one is going straight into the vocabulary

Running hiatus

2007-09-26T19:48:00.000+09:30

It's been a while since I've contributed to the blog, so I thought I'd update everyone (if anyone is still reading) about what I've been up to.

Basically, I haven't been doing much running. After the marathon I took a couple of weeks to recover, plus did some paving around the house which really messed with my recovery. On top of that, I bought a new mountain bike which I have ridden just about every day for the last month. I didn't run in the City to Bay because my time would have been aweful.

The upshot of all this is that my running isn't going so well at the moment. A sign of this is my corporate cup times. I didn't do the run directly after the marathon (I could barely walk, let alne run). The next run was in 26:53, over 10 seconds slower than my previous time, and yesterday I ran it in 26:53 again. This comes as no surprise given that I have only run 5 times since the marathon. However, I did finally get out for a long run on Sunday (boy did that hurt!) and I am running to work today, so I feel like I have turned the corner from my running slump. Hopefully I can build up some good form for the Black Hill Challenge in November.

Lastly, here is a photo from the Adelaide marathon photographers Epsom Road Studios. This is me pumping my fist at the end of the marathon when I realised that I was going to make it under 3 hours.

Sub 3...just!

2007-08-27T11:31:00.000+09:30

So it's been a long time between posts and there have been plenty of things going on since my last post including a holiday to Sydney, training, some Corporate Cup runs and plenty of work stuff. But, the big news as of this weekend is that I have finally run a marathon under 3 hours. The new PB is 2:59:40 (unofficial as yet).

I'm not going to go into infinite detail, but I will say that the race followed my typical approach to running. That is, I went out way too hard, struggled for much of the second half and then brought it home over the last couple of km.

I was pretty happy to get under 3 hours, although I had hoped to be closer to 2:55 based on my Pichi Richi time. I guess the gap between the two events was a bit too close. I had a pretty large negative split - 1:25 at halfway - but that as I say is pretty typical of the way I run.

The event was great. The new course was interesting with the highlight being the start and finish in SANTOS stadium. The amosphere in the stadium was great. I had my kids cheering me on at the finish which was great. Special thanks to one of the girls who gave me a massage after the race, I don't know whether I would have been able to move for the rest of the day without that massage. Also, thanks to my mate Bay for popping up all around the course to cheer me on and take a few "happy" snaps (may not be looking too happy though).

Now, I just need to work out how I'm going to run in the corporate cup this week.

Next goal is to make the top 50 in this year's city to bay. This means a time of around 44 minutes for the 12 km event.

PB Smashed!

2007-07-10T08:55:00.000+09:30

Sorry about that folks, I had written a short entry here giving the brief details, and I thought I had published it, but the laptop ran out of batteries before I could finish.

So to get Tesso out of suspenders (do they make suspenders for compression tights?), I came second in the Pichi Richi Marathon on Sunday in 3:02:25, a PB by almost 17 minutes. Not far off my A-goal, definitely reached my B-goal of a good solid PB, no need to mention C.

OK, here we go. We travelled up to Port Pirie on Saturday, checked into a crappy little motel in town then went over to Gladstone to see some friends for the afternoon. We got back not too late and got to bed fairly early. Even the kids got to sleep early thank goodness.

Woke up early and drove the hour or so to Port Augusta. Had a mild panic as we couldn't find where the start was. Made it with about 5 minutes to go before entries were cut off. Did a quick warm-up then stood around for a few minutes before the start. The temprture was pretty good, around 9-10 degrees I reckon, with a slight headwind. We started and made our way through town out to the turnoff at Stirling North. Right from the outset, there was a 3 man bunch, which stayed together until about 10 km. After that, it was me and the eventual winner (Yilma Woldgabreal - hope I got that right) for the next 25 km. Carly and the kids followed along in the car, handing me powerade at every second drink station. Funnily, Yilma's family followed along too, except they met him a few hundred metres past each of the drink stations.The next several km were fairly tedious, flat, straight road travelling through a saltbush area, with the occassional house, tree or rusty old car.

Then the hills started.

We passed through the half marathon start in 1:28:28, just before the start of that event. This was one of the highlights of the race for me, as we were given a big cheer as we passed through the start. This really spurred me on, if only for a few hundred metres before another long hill. A couple of km later, we were overtaken by the lead half marathoners, but I reckon we were only overtaken by 5 or 6 half marathoners for the rest of the race.

Despite the fact that this course is extremely hilly, I was surprised how little it slowed us: a couple of km splits were actually faster than the splits over the flat part of the course! At about 12 km to go, I dropped off the leader for a couple of km, then pegged him back at about 9 km to go, only to lose him again at the start of the downhill into Quorn with 6-7 km to go. At that point, I usually start to struggle in the Marathon, but although I was really hurting, my km splits for the rest of the race stayed pretty good right to the end. With about a km to go, I saw Ian Roberts (doing the half) gaining on me, but I managed to hold him off, and he even gave me a bit of a gee up with 100 m to go, pushing me over the line at a good trot.

The atmosphere at the finish was great, with many people staying around to receive all of the finishers. My only fault with the whole event was that the presentation was quite late to start with, then stretched on even later due to some technical problems. I had to leave after they had presented the marathon awards so that we could get back to Gladstone to see out friends again.

I won my age group, for which I got a small trophy, a little LED torch and a bottle of local (Bundaleer) wine, although I'm not sure that there were any other people in the 18-29 age group in the marathon.

After the race I was sorer than either of my previous marathons, not as sore as after the 100 km Trailblazer, but I have recovered much better. This morning I even went for a 15 mnute run, so the recovery is going well.

The next goal is to get under 3 hours at the Adelaide Marathon. Many people said that I should be able to get well under 3 hours if I could run Pichi Richi in 3:02. Estimates range from 2:40 to 2:55. I wouldn't call myself a hill specialist, but I would say that I am stronger than most at hills, so I reckon my result this race will translate to one of the higher estimates. I'll be taking it pretty easy this week, then next week we are in Sydney for a holiday, so I should get a pretty good rest before launching back into a couple of weeks heavy mileage and then tapering for Adelaide.

I'll try to get some photos up when they become available on the SARRC or Pichi Richi websites.

I'm excited!

2007-07-05T21:03:00.000+09:30

Yes I am. Only 3 sleeps to go until Pichi Richi. I'm feeling great, well rested, fitter than any other marathon preparation and I just want to get out there and have a great run. Time for some goals:

A - Sub-3. Given the hilly nature of the course this is unlikely, but who knows what might happen if I get through the hills still feeling fine. I raced 25 km two weeks ago at much faster pace than my half marathon PB, so I've obviously got the pace, and I have done some good distance in this buildup. If I can make it to the Half marathon start in 1:30, maybe I can get pulled through by some of the faster runners.

B - Solid PB. My current PB of just over 3:19 is a bit soft I think (based on half marathon and other distances), but I didn't have a good prep for either of my previous Marathons. So I reckon something in the order of 3:10-3:15. Don't destroy myself on this course and write-off any chance of going sub-3 in the Adelaide Marathon

C - A PB, ie anything under 3:19. Cruise through and enjoy the beautiful Flinders Ranges.

Wish me luck!

Longest run out of the way

2007-06-11T18:27:00.000+09:30

Had my longest run in the lead-up to the Pich Richi marathon yesterday: 36 km in 2:55. The distance has been building up nicely over the last few months and I'm feeling in pretty good shape. I'll probably have one more big week mileage-wise, then start to scale things back in preparation for the marathon. This is the best buildup I've had to a marathon yet, and if it wasn't such a difficult course, I'd be tipping a very good time, but I think I'll just aim to get around my PB and try for the elusive sub-3 at the Adelaide marathon. I might also use the SARRC Derby Dash in two weeks as a pace trial for the marathon.

Great half, at a cost

2007-05-28T13:00:00.000+09:30

So I've been gone for a while, sorry about that.

Yesterday I ran the Barossa Half marathon in 1:23:15, around 20 sec better than the last time I ran in the Barossa half in 2004, but not a PB for the half. I think that is a pretty good time though, because my PB was set on the "downhill" Greenbelt course. I wetn pretty much all out, and had nothing left in the tank at the end. My legs are pretty sore today. The top of my foot is a little sore, which I think is because of a combination of heavy training and aging shoes . I also went into the race feeling slightly sick, and now today I've come down with a bad sore throat and other nasty symptoms. I guess that's what you get for not listening to your body. The good news is that my calf/achilles feels fine, no soreness or weakness either during or after the event, so I think it is nearly back to normal (after 14 or more months).

Even more amazing is the time that Carly got. Last year she ran a half in 2:23. Yesterday she ran it in 1:51, a 32 minute improvement! She has really worked hard on her running and weight this year, and it has certainly paid off.

Quagmire

2007-05-28T12:24:00.000+09:30

quagmire \KWAG-myr; KWOG-\, noun:
1. Soft, wet, miry land that shakes or yields under the feet.
2. A difficult or precarious position or situation; a predicament.
3. Our driveway.

Quagmire is from quag, a dialectical variant of quake (from Old English cwacian) + mire, from Old Norse myrr, "a swamp."

Commute PB clarification

2007-05-14T16:16:00.000+09:30

No, I don't take a taxi, and if I did take public transport to work, it would take far longer than running.
I have since discovered that the distance is 7.5 km measured on Google Earth (GE). The speedo on my bike was out by a fair bit, so I re-measured the circumference and changed the settings, and now it measures the same as GE.
I have since run a much faster time to work: 29:50. So the previous PB is redundant now anyway.

Commuting PB

2007-04-11T20:41:00.000+09:30

Got a PB for my 8 km commute to work today, 31:14 with a pack and in 27 degree heat. Easy run home was pretty quick too, around 35 min.

Going to try very hard and get up for tracktimes tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll do some Yasso 800s.

I have a new interesting word coming soon. Stay posted!

Slack blogger!

2007-04-04T19:32:00.000+09:30

I've been back from sea for over 10 days and I still haven't posted. I am slack. And busy.

I've been really trying to get stuck into the running since I got back. I want to go in a couple of events soon. I'm not sure which ones yet, but I think I'll start with the Greenbelt half. I put on a bit of weight out on the boat due to the inactivity and ready supply of energy-dense foods so I have a couple of kg to lose if I want to be competitive. 78 when I got back (probably holding a bit of fluid), 76.5 now and I want to get down to 73-74. I got in 63 km last week and I'm aiming for that again this week, with some added cycling to and from work some days.

If you are interested in such things, I am part of Phil's campaign to raise awareness of China's human rights abuses in Tibet. I'm donating all my mileage (running and cycling) to the million km for tibet project. If you are interested, feel free to join the Yahoo group here. You could also check out the Race for Tibet website.

It's my BD on the weekend, so we're going down to Normanville to stay at the in-laws and have a nice dinner etc. It also means that I'll be able to do my long run in one of my favourite areas to run.

Anyway, have a safe and happy Easter.

Dave

PS. I never got a photo of my new 'do, and then out at sea I got bored and shaved it all off. Here is a rather fuzzy and stupid photo of the new new 'do.

Long overdue update

2007-03-12T16:04:00.000+10:30

Sorry for the long overdue post. This is what I've been up to.

Went out to sea for two weeks;
Came home and have been busy at work for two weeks;
Had our son's delayed birthday party;
Have been trying to cram as much running and cycling into the last two weeks, before heading out to sea for another two weeks tomorrow.
Went to Womadelaide on Saturday which was great, but hot and dusty;
Highlights were Lior, Augie March, Deborah Conway (yes seriously, she was great!), Blue King Brown, Sarah Donovan (who managed to conjure up a cool change), and the Waifs (even though one of the girls forgot the words to "London still" - making babies does that it seems).

In other news, dad is doing well. He's back at work part-time and going walking twice a day. He seems to have made a very good recovery and the doctors think so too.

For those who have requested a photo of the new 'do, you'll have to wait a few more weeks, until I get back from sea. I could take a picture now, but it has grown out a bit and really is starting to look a bit crap.

Running is going OK despite the interruptions. Starting to think about some events to go in. I think I'll start with the Greenbelt Half for a start and then see how things go with time, money, fitness and injury etc.

I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

Dave

Big week

2007-02-04T18:19:00.000+10:30

Very busy and eventful week. Riding home from work on Monday I got a flat (after only riding the bike a few times since I've started riding again), so on Tuesday I went and purchased some of that hard tape to line the inside of the tyre. Hopefully no more niggly flats.

On Tuesday I had a job interview which I think went pretty well. It just depends what sort of candidate they are looking for and how good the other applicants were I should find out tomorrow if I got it.

Beforehand, I found out that dad was about to go in for an angiogram to investigate the cause of some chest pains he has been getting over the last few weeks. It turned out that he had one very blocked coronary artery and two more that weren't too good, so he was checked straight into hospital and eventually had a triple bypass on Saturday afternoon. The scary thing is that my dad is a fairly healthy man, he isn't overweight and he eats a pretty healthy diet, he exercises regularly (which is why he noticed the chest pain and exhaustion), but he was a heavy smoker before he had me, so I guess it can catch up with you eventually (30 years after quitting). I also found out that his dad also had a bypass operation at around the age of 60. Mum's dad also had a bypass in his sixties I think. Hopefully my own lifestyle choices (vegetarian non-smoking distance-runner) prevent me from ever having any troubles, but the history is there in black and white.

So anyway, the operation went well and dad is doing fine. He optimistically thinks he'll be back at work in 3 weeks, everyone else reckons 5-6 weeks at least.

Finally, I went out for a 1.5 hour long run this morning and came back 2.5 hours later with 29.5km. In 31 degree heat! Drank about 4 litres of water while I was out and more when I got back. I actually ended up with a headache later in the day, so I wonder whether I drank enough or too much water. Just to be safe, I drank a really strong glass of Gatorade and added a pinch of salt. Feeling better now.

So there is the update from me. Pretty long and rambling.

Did I mention that I cut all my hair off. I did it three weeks ago in preparation for starting the new job and for a few interviews. I've also been keeping clean-shaven. Everyone seems to think that I look younger. Hopefully that is a good thing.

Bye now.

Very Busy Update

2007-01-21T20:05:00.000+10:30

I've been very busy with work and study. Evidence of this is the fact that I started this post 2 days ago, and have only just got around to finishing it. Sorry if I haven't been keeping up with everyone's blogs or returning comments.

I've been running about 45-50km over the last couple of weeks, had a couple of good long runs and a good speed session. I've started working at SARDI 3 days a week while I continue my PhD. SARDI is in a location that just isn't very easy to get to via public transport, so I'm going to pull the bike out and start getting around on that a bit more. Should save money on bus tickets too.

Not a long run

2007-01-08T09:16:00.000+10:30

But a nice brisk 12.5 km in around 57 minutes instead. I ran out of time to go for a long run so I kept it shorter and picked the pace up a bit. It was an interesting run too. I ran up to the foothills above Belair Road near Clapham. There are some really nice houses up there and some really "interesting" ones too. Earlier in the day I went for an 8 km walk with my wife and the kids (in the pusher). Not sure what made more sorer! I don't normally include walks in my mileage total, but with the fast pace that my wife walks, maybe I should.

Run it out

2007-01-06T19:16:00.000+10:30

My knee was quite sore for a while, but I seem to have run it out. I only had a few days off over xmas, and it was still sore after that. Since then I've run a fair bit including my 27km new year's eve run, but it has only got better. I guess sometimes you've just got to dig deep and keep running through the discomfort. I did also adjust my orthotics slightly and bought new shoes so that might have helped. Today I went for a sharp 9km run around North Adelaide in 40.22 (Bayden, I hope you don't come back too unfit) and my knee felt great. We'll see how the knee feels after my long run tomorrow. The new shoes and shorts are excellent.

New Dogs

2007-01-04T15:39:00.000+10:30

Got new shoes yesterday. I've switched to the Riders because the Mustangs aren't widely available anymore, plus they seemed to be wearing out a bit too quickly. They shall go into my running diary as Mizuno 6 or M6 for short. They aren't entirely red, but they do have red on them, which can only be a good thing. I also got a great pair of Nike Dri-fit shorts for $10 out of the sale bin. They didn't have a price tag and they had a mark on them, so I made an offer. Bargain! I ran into uni this morning wearing both of the new purchases and I'm pleased to say that they were both excellent.

http://www.mizunoeurope.com/sport/product.asp?poid=3664&ssc=333340&index=&cid=55

Marino Panorama

2007-01-03T22:48:00.000+10:30

This is a panorama I threw together from a whole pile of photos I took during my long run on the weekend. It is taken from a bench in front of the Marino lighthouse. I just twisted around and took about 15 photos. The resolution isn't so good because a) it was on my Sony Ericsson k608i mobile phone, b) I had to save as a lower res for blogger to accept it, and c) I'm not much of a photographer anyway. I think it turned out quite well nevertheless. I'm thinking of making it my new header. Click on the photo to see it larger.

RunDaveLog

2007-01-02T12:21:00.000+10:30

Kilometres Run
Year	'04	'05	'06	'07
Jan	0	158	237	191
Feb	0	238	244	100.5
Mar	328	72 (sick)	79 (injured)	156.5
Apr	249.5	226	38.5 (injured)	286
May	149	216	54.5	277
June	312.5	78 (sick)	124.5	269
July	50 (sick)	225	60 (Injured/sick)	211
Aug	213	210	141.5	110.5
Sep	323	90 (sick)	133	-
Oct	120 (sick)	260	214.5	-
Nov	287.5	129	157.5	-
Dec	191	242	154	-
Total	2224	2116	1638	1587.5

Blue = Km for Tibet

Final long run for the year

2006-12-31T15:33:00.000+10:30

Things have been pretty quiet around here. I haven't managed to do a lot of running over the past two weeks due to a sore knee, xmas stuff and a lack of resolve. So with today being the last day of the year and a Sunday, I went out and did one last long run for the year. 27km later I'm fairly tired and sore, but happy I got out for a good long run. My run took me up to the Marino Lighthouse and I got some good pics of the view back across Adelaide.

Finally a cool change and some rain

2006-12-21T15:18:00.000+10:30

Probably not enough so even break the parched surface. But it feels nice.
Went for a nice run this morning with the Track Times lads (and girls). It was hot! 32 degrees at 6am! Then we all had a hard-earned (lol) breakfast at the usual place.

Week off

2006-12-18T12:09:00.000+10:30

Ran 13km yesterday down to the beach along to Brighton jetty and back. The beach was packed with people walking and running. I took Addi and she only started to lag behind in the last 2-3 km. That was my first run since last Sunday. It took me all week to get over the sinus infection, but it seems to be gone now, so it was worth it. My left knee is still a little sore though. I'll have to monitor that. Looking forward to keeping running over xmas to work off all the extra food and alcohol consumed.

We had a small family house-warming party yesterday which was good. I still haven't posted any photos of the house, but I'll try and get some up in the next week. Just about everything inside the house is completed. We just need to get our fancy light fittings installed. Outside, there is still a lot of work to be done including in the following order: the driveway, paths around the house, a paved area out the back and of course the garden.

We now have broadband internet and Foxtel, so we should be kept busy at work and play. Of course I abused the novelty of having Foxtel by getting very little sleep on the weekend and watching all sorts of crap (and some good stuff). Watched some NFL on Friday night (49ers vs Seattle). I'd forgotten how much I liked American football. I used to watch it on the ABC hosted by Don Lane when I was a kid. Of course my team back then was the 49ers because they were the dominant team. Then they stopped showing it over here and then we didn't get pay TV, so it has been a long time since I've seen a whole game. NFL is the only American sport I've ever enjoyed. Baseball is too slow and Basketball should only be a 5 minute long game right?. I didn't even get ice hockey, even though I played field hockey my whole life. NFL just seems to be the right mix of tactical sophistication, ball handling skill and brute physical force. Anyway, enough of my love for the pointy-ball game. Hopefully I can catch a few more games over summer.

Km for Tibet

2006-12-11T10:32:00.000+10:30

So far I've run 220 km for Tibet. You can dedicate your training km to a free Tibet by emailing them to Journeyman Phil each week or month. Check out his blog entry for a Million Km for Tibet and join up. Also, check out the Race for Tibet website and the Australia Tibet Council website.

I might need to take a few days off running to get rid of some knee soreness and a sinus infection that I can't seem to shake. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up my km for Tibet.

Pretty warm today

2006-12-08T14:44:00.000+10:30

Make that hot! When I stepped out of the house this morning, I couldn't believe how hot it was already: 30 degrees and I had my tights on! I guess combination of the insulation and the AC in our new house is working. My left knee has been a bit sore over the last couple of days, but I made it into the city OK. The tights don't actually make me overheat too much, but anything over 25C is probably a little too high. Anyway, it's 40 degrees now and drier than a dead dingo's donger, so I can't complain too much.

I've been doing a fair bit of this today.

Evolution of a Mo - Epilogue

2006-12-04T05:56:00.000+10:30

Well now that Movember is officially over, the Mo is gone. It was an interesting experience, and I'm very happy that I was able to raise a bit of money for men's health issues. Thankyou to everyone who donated and thanks for all the support and comments. Now it's back to the regular look for me.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 28

2006-11-29T16:07:00.000+10:30

Kind of like Russell Hammond from Stillwater (band in Almost Famous) but with longer hair.

I got to looking at more images of Billy Crudup and I was amazed at how similar we look (except he has better teeth and a slight dimple in his chin). Then I found this image from Without Limits, a film about Steve Prefontaine. Freaky hey. Now if only I could run like Pre.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 27

2006-11-28T09:28:00.000+10:30

Having a bit of fun with the Mo over the last couple of days of Movember. I think this one looks a bit more respectable than the chopper mo.
Ran home last night then ran into uni this morning to go for a 9 km run with Bay. So 31km in the last 13 hours has left me feeling a little sore and tired, but I didn't get to go on a long run on the weekend because I was digging trenches all weekend. All this hard physical work is building up the muscle in my arms and torso. I hope this isn't to the detriment of my running.

The price of bananas is coming down (apparently). The price will reportedly be down to around $2/kg by February. Woohoo!

Evolution of a Mo - Day 26

2006-11-27T09:27:00.000+10:30

Tammy suggested that I was looking a bit like James Hetfield. I had to look him up though (not a huge Metallica fan). I think it looks a bit more like this guy below. Which is to say, Spark-Driver, I'm not that impressed with the the look, and I will be reverting back to the goatee at the end of Movember.

For the international readers, this is Mark "Chopper" Read, a notorious criminal and standover man in the Australian underworld. Yes, he has no ears. He chopped them off in prison. You do not want to cross this guy! He has reputedly turned away from crime - probably because he found that he could make heaps of dosh flogging his stories through other media - and is now an author of several dodgy books, had a film about him acted by Eric Bana (of Hulk fame), and wait for it, has written a children's book called "Hooky the Cripple".

Oh yeah, I really want to look like him!

Evolution of a Mo - Day 21

2006-11-22T23:32:00.000+10:30

The hiker Mo. Had a postgaduate retreat at Morialta today, so I stayed at my parents place last night to walk around there the next day. Decided to walk up old Norton Summit Rd and then back down through the park to the place where the meeting was held. It was a bit foggy and drizzly this morning, but this is a shot of the city somewhere behind me. Looks like a bit of a bad hair day too.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 20

2006-11-21T09:36:00.000+10:30

Getting some volume now. Looking pretty scary too. I'm still not used to it and I don't think I'm ready to maintain it past the end of Movember. The gala partè is on Friday, but I'm too busy to attend. Hopefully I can raise a little bit more by the end of the month. I'm impressed by the amount that the Mo-ray Eels have raised so far. If everybody did such a good job, we'd have a cure for this in no time!

This pic is post-run. Did 9km at lunch with Bay.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 16

2006-11-17T15:20:00.000+10:30

This one is for Deege.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 14

2006-11-15T11:06:00.000+10:30

Look Spark Driver, no hair on that chin!
Do I look a bit gaunt here?

Evolution of a Mo - Day 13

2006-11-14T11:58:00.000+10:30

So I've been a bit slack with the Mo updates, but I have a good excuse. We moved into out new house! And I've been really busy doing all the little things you need to do to get yourself set in the new place, so I just haven't had time. I've only been for one run since Wednesday too! Anyway, here it is the 13 day old mo. Enjoy! Pictures of the new house will come soon, I just need to find the time to take them.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 7

2006-11-08T16:39:00.000+10:30

Lookin good!
My mo spurred me on to a third place in today's invitation fun run for the corporate cup. My time for the event was two seconds slower than last fortnight, but it didn't count towards out team's points. I still feel pretty sore from digging etc on the weekend, so I'm pretty happy with that time. Everyone in the invitational got 1 free adult ticket on the the Kangaroo Island ferry which is nice, but I don't know that I'll be able to use it before it runs out at the end of March. It turns out that our team was 3rd fastest in the 4.5km event and 44th in the improvement points, so well done team!

Evolution of a Mo - Day 5

2006-11-06T14:14:00.000+10:30

Can you see it now? I've put the details for my registration below. I'm in a team named the Mo-ray eels and my rego number is 39009.

Here's the spiel:

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I’ll be growin a moustache. That’s right I’m bringing the Mo back because I’m passionate about changing the state of men’s health.
Male health is a major issue, did you know:
Men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy of males is 6 years less than females.
Every year in Australia 2,700 men die of prostate cancer – more than the number of women who die from breast cancer.
Depression affects 1 in 6 men…Most don’t seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide. Rates of suicide are more than double the national road toll.
Help me change the face of men’s health by sponsoring my mo.
Please go to http://www.movember.com/au/sponsor/?action=sponsorlink&rego=39009, enter my Rego number which is 39009 and your credit card details. All donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.
The money raised by Movember will be used to change the face of men's health by creating awareness and funding research into prostate cancer and male depression.
Movember culminates at the end of the month at the Gala Partè where I’ll be parading my Mo on the cat walk for a chance to be crowned the Man of Movember. If you want to be part of this great night you’ll have to purchase a Gala Parte ticket for $33.00 (inc GST).
\nCheers\nDavid\nMore info is available at www.movember.com\nMovember is proudly grown by Motorola, Polaroid, Remington and VB.\nMovember is proud partners with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative.

Cheers
David

More info is available at http://www.movember.com/
Movember is proudly grown by Motorola, Polaroid, Remington and VB.
Movember is proud partners with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 3

2006-11-06T09:07:00.000+10:30

After a long hard day's work digging a sunken garden/retaining wall out the back of our new house.
Glad I didn't go in the Blackhill Challenge the next morning. Every muscle my body was aching! Went for a "long" run anyway (ca 13 km) and it took me 15 minutes to loosen up!

Evolution of a Mo - Day 2

2006-11-03T12:00:00.000+10:30

Can you see it yet?

Not going in the Blackhill Challenge on Sunday. We've got too much to do on the house. Looking forward to racing in the invitational fun run for corporate cup next week instead. Next event after that is likely to be the SARRC Christmas Frolic.

A million kilometres for Tibet

2006-11-02T16:47:00.000+10:30

Check out the Race for Tibet website and then pledge your training/racing kilometres to "A million kilometres for Tibet".

China, you cannot brutalise an entire nation and get away with it.

Evolution of a Mo - Day 1

2006-11-02T08:45:00.000+10:30

Late starter, blank canvas.

I may be a day late, but I have decided to do the Mo thang for Movember. Here is a pic of the blank canvas (shaved last night, taken today) and a before photo for comparison (complaints about picture quality can be sent to Sony-Ericsson). I'll put up the details of my Mo crew soon, so you can donate your hard-earned to prostate cancer research and other men's health issues (no, not the mag). We have a history of prostate cancer in our family, so I really want them to find a cure.

So, what style of mo am I going for? You'll just have to wait and see!

Smashed PB again

2006-10-25T10:16:00.000+09:30

Well I managed to beat my previous time in the corporate cup again. This time I ran 15:46 for the 4.5km. It was not easy. I felt terrible the whole way with my legs feeling really heavy and slow. I also had a sore lower back after my run from the Tram terminus to Pinky Flat. I'm now thinking that the sore back could have something to do with lifting a whole heap of stuff while setting up and packing up at the race for life on Sunday (I did a 21km long run in to the city and then helped with the event rather than running in it). My average heart rate this morning was lower again at 171 bpm, so my fitness seems to be improving despite my tired and sore legs.

Race Time @ Ave.HR

18:10 @ 178
17:33 @ 169
17:05 @ 171
16:49 @ 175
16:22 @ 178
16:12 @ 174
15:46 @ 171

I've got my tights on now to try and help my legs recover, and I'll monitor my back over the next couple of days. Today's run is the last official run for the corporate cup, but there is a fun run and presentation next fortnight. The exciting part is that there is an invitation race for the faster runners as part of the fun run which includes prizes for the winners. Considering I came 3rd overall in the last run and I'll probably be in the top 5 again this week, I think I'll go in it. It'll be nice to go out and race on the course again after all these time trials.

The only other event I am considering at the moment is the Blackhill Challenge. I'm still not sure I'm ready for the hills in this event. I certainly have the speed, but I've been doing little to no hill work all year. In the last two years I have gone in this event, I have been coming off the 50km and 100km Trailblazer events, so I've had plenty of hills in my legs, but less speed. This year will be the opposite. I guess I should give it a go. It might be interesting to see what sort of training has the better result. I might also get out and do some hill repeats at Montefiore hill later this week.

OK. That's enough for now. Happy running people.

I ran with Buster in Adelaide!

2006-10-19T19:10:00.000+09:30

Ok not quite. But I was running on the uni-loop at the same time as him just 10 minutes ago. Sure, he was running in the opposite direction to me and it was half dark, but I did say g'day and he and his running partner said g'day back. I was just about wetting myself, I was that excited. Really kicked home in the session after that (so I could get back here and write about it). I didn't see him around the other side of the loop, so he must have stopped, but I was running through my head how I might be able to get his autograph on my CR cap. Alas, it was not to be. Anyone know what he is doing in Adelaide? I think I read that he has finished his season, so I assume he is back in OZ having a well earned break.

Anyway, that's my excitement for the day. Back to work now.

Bodybuilding vs Bold and Beautiful

2006-10-18T11:41:00.000+09:30

It has been a week since my last entry which is due to a combination of slackness, piles of work and not that much to write about.

I'm feeling really fit at the moment, although yesterday I felt pretty tired during my run at lunchtime, so I'm not running today. Hopefully I'll get out to Track Times tomorrow morning for a speed session ahead of the Race for life on Sunday. Looking forward to the last Corporate Cup race next week.

Last night I saw a program called Shock Docs on channel 8+1. Not my usual taste in TV, but the two subjects were very interesting. First was a story about English female bodybuilder Joanna Thomas' journey to the Olympia titles in Las Vegas. The second story was about the Bold and Beautiful Beauty Pageant, a beauty contest for women over size 18.

I'm a bit torn over these two stories as I think that both may promote unhealthy lifestyles. I'm not saying that the women in either of the competitions didn't have some form of beauty (although some of the contestants really did have me wondering what could be described as beauty). I actually thought some of them were quite attractive, but the underlying health issues were a real concern.

The bodybuilding girls seemed to be engaging in some fairly risky practices such as fasting, dehydration, extremely low bodyfat %, unnecessary cosmetic surgery, and presumably some form of pharmaceutical assistance. My initial reaction to this story was that many of the women did not look natural or feminine. The weird part is that I've seen plenty of physique and figure competitors who are muscley, attractive and feminine, and seem to achieve this through fairly healthy lifestyles. So are the different divisions two totally different sports, or is the bodybuilding just a more extreme form of the the same behaviour? I don't know, but I'd like to find out.

On the other hand, the BBWs were basically glorifying obesity. I know they are saying that they are happy with the way they are, but it says to all obese people that it is OK to be that way. Well it is not. I accept that we shouldn't discriminate against obese people, but I think it is incorrect to condone it.

I think that despite the fact that I had a stonger negative initial reaction to the bodybuilding women, in hindsight I actually respect that form of lifestyle more than the BBW. The bodybuilders clearly have to work extremely hard and make enormous sacrifices to compete. The BBW really don't have to do anything other than eat too much and then make themselves look beautiful. One group is rewarded for extreme hard work and sacrifice, the other is rewarded for no hard work at all. Or am I missing something here?

Meeting Tesso - PB

2006-10-11T08:37:00.000+09:30

I'm not sure what was the highlight of my morning, meeting Tesso or getting a PB for the 4.5km lap of the Torrens at Corporate Cup.

I got there reasonably early this morning to beat the heat (forecast 34 degrees). I saw Tesso running along the other side of the Torrens, so I knew we would cross paths. Went out hard as usual doing the 1st km in 3:27 (ran past Tesso after about 500m), slowed a little over the next 2km but then brought it home in the last 1.5km for a PB over that course of 16:12. This is 10 sec faster than last fortnight and 4 seconds faster than my previous PB on this course set in 2005 during the SARRC twilight race.

18:10 @ 178
17:33 @ 169
17:05 @ 171
16:49 @ 175
16:22 @ 178
16:12 @ 174

Above is my progression during the Corporate cup with average heart rate. Up until last run, I was getting the feeling that I was just improving by running harder and not actually getting much fitter, so I am pleased that my average HR has decreased this fortnight. Can I go sub 16 next fortnight in the last run of the series? We shall see. After seeing me run this morning, Tesso said she expects no less, so the pressure is on!

Went for a few km warmdown and chinwag with Tesso after the run. It was really nice to meet up with her and talk running and other stuff for a little while. I was moaning and groaning most of the way because the run really took a lot out of me, so I hope I wasn't too incoherent. After a while Tesso went back to get ready for work and I trotted back to Uni. I'm feeling a bit better now, although the hayfever is pretty bad now with the hot northerly blowing today.

Anyway, a great start to the day, back to work now.

Surprising quote

2006-10-08T15:24:00.000+09:30

"Only through the readiness to accept historical truth can a sound understanding of contemporary reality be reached." - Pope Benedict XVI

First, let me say that although I was baptised a Catholic, I don't really subscribe to any religion at the moment. I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment - given in the context of aboriginal reconciliation in this country - I'm just surprised that the current pope said it. And, is he prepared to apply it to all instances of "historical truth"? Time will tell.

100 things about me - work in progress

2006-10-06T12:08:00.000+09:30

I don't subscribe to any religion
I used to be Catholic, but I got sick of their hypocrisy
I am a spiritual person
We put down anthroposophy as our religion on the last census, although it is not a religion as such
I like the original Star Wars movies and hate the new ones
Empire Strikes Back is my favourite of course.
I like watching boxing.
My body type would be suited to boxing, but no one I know would ever accept me doing it.
I played hockey for SA at every junior age group and for the National Hockey League team.
I got sick of hockey and started distance running in 2004.
I am very competitive.
I have never stolen a pig.
I am allergic to horses
I love bananas and have been very unhappy since Larry hit town
I'm vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
...

Not a PW

2006-10-01T20:57:00.000+09:30

So I might have been a little hasty with the PW call. I really thought I did better than that in 1999. I do recall however, that I had to stop for a couple of minutes to go to the toilet that day (poor race preparation), so it probably still makes this year a bad result.

1999
00:48:19
254

2000
00:45:03
82

2006
00:47:04
135

Visual onomatopoeia

2006-09-19T09:44:00.000+09:30

Ewen's got me thinking now. Are there any words that look like their meaning? Hmmm, I know that there are basically two ways of processing language. Most people see or feel the object/meaning/emotion in their head and then associate a word with it. Less commonly, people actually see words in their head. I have heard that some savants associate letters or numbers as images in their head, so a certain number or word forms a "picture" in their head. But this doesn't necessarily translate to what the word means. I'd love to look into this a lot further, but I don't really have the time right now. If anyone can think of anything, I'd love to know.

I think the onomatopoeic word for "the wheels falling off" is clunk.

I am considering taking up hockey again next year. I'm just trying to work out if the two sports are compatible. Running a half marathon or more the day after a premier league game might not be all that much fun, especially if I play midfield where there is more running. If I play fullback, then there is always more opportunity to get hit by balls/sticks which mightn't be too good for running either. Add to that the fact that I always used to get injured a lot more in hockey than in running and it doesn't sound all that appealing.

Went for a short run last night to loosen up the legs and it seems to have done the trick. The DOMS is a lot better today.

DOMS

2006-09-18T08:38:00.000+09:30

Not even close

2006-09-17T13:17:00.000+09:30

Did the C2B in a PW of 47:04. It was all going well until about km 3 when I started feeling the heat. Then I missed 3 out of 3 grabs at water at the first drink station and didn't stop to get anything. I made sure that I got heaps of water at the next two stations. I think wearing the compression tights was a mistake too, just a little too hot for them today. My impression is that I just wasn't fit enough to do 45 for 12km. I gave it everything, but it just wasn't there. That's OK. I haven't been doing the miles in training and my intensity hasn't been high enough. The disappointing thing is that my two previous runs in the C2B were before I started running "seriously" when I was a hockey player: 46:30 in 1999 and 45:03 in 2000. I must have been fitter then than I thought.

Splits @ HR
1- 3:29 @ 156
2- 3:35 @ 178
3- 3:39 @ 183
4- 3:42 @ 185
5- 3:51 @ 185
6- 3:58 @ 183 22:15
7- 4:06 @ 180
8- 4:07 @ 181
10- 8:27 @ 179 missed the split
11- 4:10 @ 181
12- 3:55 @ 184 47:04

Anyway, I'm happy to have done the event again. The atmoshere was great, the event was huge, I got a nice massage afterwards, and I went for a cool dip in the sea which was really refreshing. There were 23,500 people there today and I'm not sure how much bigger they can make this event given the crowding at the finish area. Walking back to the tram, there were still thousands of people coming through. Luckily I got to the tram before there was a huge line to get back into the city.

There is a slight tingle in the achilles, so I'll have to monitor that. This may well be my last event for the year, apart from the remaining corporate cup runs. There is the Blackhill Challenge in November, an event that I really love and have done well in in the last two years, but I'm not sure that I'll have time for it and the hills might not be too good for the achilles if it comes up a bit sore still.

So stay tuned for what may be fewer entries about just staying fit until next year.

Edit: Official time 47:04. Equal 135th out of 7000-odd.

False start

2006-09-16T12:46:00.000+09:30

Sprang out of bed this morning at 7.30 and exclaimed "oh shit! the race!" to which my wife rolled over and said "David, it's Saturday". Whoops.

I'd been dreaming about getting the bus to the start. so when I woke up, I guess I assumed I had to go. This is odd for a few reasons. 1) I don't normally remember my dreams. 2) I'm catching the tram to the start tomorrow. 3) I'd already woken up earlier when one of the kids woke up too early, so I knew it was Saturday already.

Onomatopoeia

2006-09-14T10:19:00.000+09:30

Since Ewen has brought it up, I shall reveal my next word: Onomatopoeia.

The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
From the Greek word onomatopoios, coiner of names: onomat-, name + poiein, to make.
Words are formed in many different ways, but one of the most fascinating is the tendency to create words that reflect the sound an object makes. This so-called onomatopoeic approach has produced dozens of English words, including splash, buzz, murmur, meow, chirp, hiss, sizzle, neigh, whinny, bang and cock-a-doodle-do.

C2B

Lock me in Eddie. I'm entered into the city to bay on Sunday. I'm hoping to go under 45 minutes. That would get me close to top 100, which I think should qualify me for the elite start next year. I was hoping to get into the elite start this year based on a 10km time from early this year, but the elite spots have been allocated already.

The pace I ran for Corporate cup yesterday morning (16:49 for 4.5km) would just get me under 45. Although I was really pushing it, it was essentially an individual time-trial. I'm hoping the racing conditions might pull me along a bit too.

I'll try to get to the start early for a good position. I won't be able to hang around at the end to chat to CRs and SARRC friends because I've got to get back to work straight away.

Supple - part 2

2006-09-10T15:53:00.000+09:30

Q: What does this word make you think of?

A: Me - soft leather gloves or shoes.
My female officemate - breasts (I know, I couldn't believe it either).
Others - breasts x3, bendy flexible type person x5 (assuming this is what Ewen meant), strange NZ dialect for imbibing x1.

So I'm weird OK.

Not so supple: me after running 25km yesterday morning. I was intending to run about 15km, but I got a bit carried away with things. It was not easy and I was hurting by the last 5km. The achilles seems to have held up, it's just the rest of the body that's sore now!

OK, make that crazy too.

Supple

2006-09-05T15:58:00.000+09:30

Q: What does this word make you think of?

My answer and my officemate's totally different (and unexpected) answer will be revealed next week, but what do my readers think?

Enough entries for today.

Steve Irwin dead

2006-09-05T12:45:00.000+09:30

Like just about everyone else in Australia, I was shocked to hear of his death. I must admit that I wasn't a huge fan of his shows, but after hearing of his beliefs and efforts in conservation a few years ago, I admire him for what he has done both directly and indirectly for the conservation of wildlife globally and locally. He seemed like a lovely bloke and a loving and devoted father.

I had the strange coincidence occur that my kids gave me a Croc Hunter card for Father's day then he died the next day. I'll keep it as a reminder to be the best father I can be and to try and involve them more in what I do.

Bravo! to the ABC for showing the interview form a few years ago. It had me laughing the whole time even though it was sad that he's dead. It's a bit cliched to say that he died doing what he loved, but in this case it is certainly true. Thankfully it sounds like it was an instant (albeit intensely painful) death. I wish his family all the best during this time, and I hope his legacy is carried on through the zoo and his other great conservation work.

Kibosh

2006-09-05T09:25:00.000+09:30

As in, to put the kibosh on. Not my favourite word but an interesting one, mainly because the origin of this word is largely unknown. There are a few theories as to it's origin, but none have been proven.

Anyway, I'm considering putting the kibosh on my aspirations of going in the City 2 Bay this year, not because I'm injured or because I wouldn't make the PB, but because of constraints on time and money. I may go past the course on my way into uni to watch the leaders go by. I probably would have time to go in the race, but by the time I've finished, cooled down, had a shower and travelled back into uni, most of the day would be gone. The chief financial officer has also expressed concerns about the cost of entry, although I should be able to find $20 somewhere. I'll think about it.

Here is the Oxford definition of kibosh.

[Origin obscure. (It has been stated to be Yiddish or Anglo-Hebraic: see N. & Q. 9th ser. VII. 10.)]
1. In phr. to put the kibosh on: to dispose of finally, finish off, do for.
1836 DICKENS Sk. Boz, Seven Dials, ‘Hoo-roar’, ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, ‘put the kye-bosk [sic] on her, Mary’. 1846 Swell's Night Guide 124 Kybosh on, to put the, to turn the tables on any person, to put out of countenance. 1856 Punch XXXI. 139 (To put the cibosh upon). 1891 C. ROBERTS Adrift in America 9 It was attending one of these affairs which finally put the ‘kibosh’ on me. 1896 H. G. WELLS Wheels of Chance xli, ‘I put the kybosh on his little game,’ he remarks. 1924 Chambers's Jrnl. May 296/2 Standofer's fairly put the kybosh on us this time. 1952 J. CLEARY Sundowners iii. 122 Well, that puts the kybosh on it. 1956 H. G. DE LISSER Cup & Lip xxii. 246 Good for you... You have put the kybosh on them. 1971 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 May 531/2 Not only did the First World War liquidate the Edwardian douceur de vivre. It also put the kybosh on the rationalist's faith in progressive social evolution. 1975 Sunday Post (Glasgow) 10 Aug. 7/3 She'd been looking forward to some salmon fishing, but the heatwave's put the kybosh on that.

PM in AM CC!

2006-08-30T11:37:00.000+09:30

That's right, our PM, little Johnny Howard, was out there this morning powering around the Torrens in his tragic Wallabies track suit. Except he was going the wrong way for the Corporate Cup! As much as I don't agree with his politics, I have to say that he is setting a good example by getting out there and exercising, despite a busy schedule.

How did my run go? Well I've raised the bar again with a 17:05 for the 4.5km course. I was really pushing it this morning and only eased off with about 500m to go when I realised that I was well under my previous time. I still think I can improve quite a bit, and I think I probably had a little bit taken away by the half on the weekend, but how long can I continue this sort of improvement. The calf/achilles felt fine during the run, but there is still some tightness there when I cool down. I'll have to keep a close watch on that and keep up the stretching and massage.

I'm now seriously considering a crack at my PB of 45:03 for the City 2 Bay. My pace this morning was about 3:47 and I'd need a pace of at least 3:45 to crack 45 min. I was pushing pretty hard this morning and I don't know that I could have maintained it for 12km, but I am coming off the back of a half marathon and I would have the added advantage of having other runners to pace in the C2B. Anyway, we'll see how training goes over the next 2 weeks. I might use the next CC run as a test to see whether I can manage the required pace, and then enter straight afterwards if I'm feeling OK.

Half marathon report

2006-08-27T13:54:00.000+09:30

Well what a great day!

Nice to meet CRs Simlin and Wardman, if only briefly. Sorry guys, everything was a bit of a rush and I had to catch up with so many people out there. Wardman, congratulations on getting through your first half. Simlin, well done on getting through the 10, onward and upward. To the Mystery Sydney Strider CR (or was that Nando, I'm confused now), I called out to you about 200m from the finish as we went past, I hope you're OK because you looked in pretty bad shape.

We went really well. Baden had set a target of 1:45 for the half and we did it in 1:36. We basically went out at a comfortable pace and managed to keep it going til about 18km, then I picked up the pace and brought it home hard with Baden picking up my shoulder. I think for the first time ever, I managed a negative split of about 48:38 for the first 10.6km and 47:22 for the second 10.5km. Baden was pretty happy and I was very pleased that it went so well.
Our km splits were:
4:56 (1.1Km)
4:25
4:35
4:37
4:41
4:34
4:38
4:36
4:37
4:38
4:34
4:20 (a bit short I think)
5:02 (hence a bit long)
4:30
4:37
4:47
4:17
4:26
4:27
4:18
4:14

Total 1:35:58

My wife battled through in 2:20 and paid for not having an energy drink or lollies out on the course, but it was an excellent effort condsidering it was her first half and she has had limited preparation over the last 4 weeks due to injury and sickness. Thanks to the woman who gave her a couple of Jellybeans with 6 or 7 km to go, apparently they were the two most energising jellybeans ever consumed!

The weather out there was perfect for good times, cool in the morning with the sun coming out but not really heating up and no wind to speak of. I know a few people had really good times in the marathon. I'm kind of disappointed that I wasn't able to do the marathon, although I probably wouldn't have gone close to my PB despite the good conditions. Oh well, there's always next year. A little birdy tells me that the organisers WILL have a new course next year and it sounds like it will be a good one. I can't give away any more so stay tuned!

Pace trial

2006-08-22T18:15:00.000+09:30

Ran a few laps of the uni loop with Bayden today to get a feel for the pace that we would like to run on Sunday. We went out too fast in the first lap, hit the right pace for the second, and carried that through for another lap. It's a nice comfortable pace for me, and Bayden seemed to be doing pretty well too. Hopefully his legs hold out for the 21km. I think we must both be excited/nervous about the race, because we talked the whole time about it.

Forecast for Sunday is looking good.
Showers 9°C - 18°C

Getting faster

2006-08-17T11:20:00.000+09:30

Ran the corporate cup yesterday in 17:33, 38s faster than last fortnight! I know last time I was coming off some illness and only a bit of running, but that is a fair increase. I felt a lot better too and my heart rate was 9 bpm lower. Now all I have to do is maintain this improvement for the rest of the series. I'm feeling pretty good about the half too. Bayden seems to be pretty excited. Hopefully we'll be able to reach his goal of 1:45. We're going to have a run tomorrow to get a feel for pace.

Q: Why are my legs sore?

2006-08-13T17:37:00.000+09:30

A: Because I ran 39km in the last week and over 70km in the last two weeks, which is the most running I've done since getting injured in March. I'd forgotten that feeling of tired legs because I haven't been able to do enough running to get to that point. Obviously I'll make the next couple of weeks a bit lighter, tapering for the half, but it's looking OK for now. I'll be pacing a friend named Bayden from uni for the half. I'll do a couple of shorter runs this week including the Corporate Cup on Wednesday. On Friday Bayden and I will do a few laps of the uni loop at race pace to get a feel for what pace we'll need to run to reach his goal time of 1:45.

Save the Australian Lungfish

2006-08-08T17:35:00.000+09:30

I don't normally post this kind of thing, but this is too important to miss. Can anyone who reads this post - and agrees with the petition - please go to the site below and sign it. I've also included some background from the petition site below.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/610807318

A Very Special Fish – Australian Lungfish under Threat

The Queensland Government’s surprise decision (5 July 2006) to proceed with a very large dam on the Mary River threatens the survival of one of the most scientifically important animals on earth. Throughout most of its length for most of the year, the Mary is nothing more than a small, meandering coastal creek but it is uniquely important as habitat for several of the country’s endangered species. One of these is the Australian or Queensland lungfish, a ‘living fossil’ that has existed unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. Of all living fish groups, the lungfish are the closest relatives of the land vertebrates – the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including ourselves. Lungfish were abundant 400 million years ago, during the Devonian (the “Age of Fish”) but have now dwindled to only three kinds, respectively living in South America, Africa and Australia. The South American and African forms are weirdly modified larval-looking creatures, but the Australian lungfish is still very similar to those ancient fish that gave rise to the first land vertebrates. It is thus uniquely important to scientists studying the origin of land animals.

Fossils show that the Australian lungfish was alive as it is today already during the Cretaceous, alongside the dinosaurs. This probably makes it the oldest living vertebrate species. At that time it was much more widespread than it is today. Now it only occurs naturally in the Mary and Burnett rivers in SE Queensland. Introductions into other rivers in the past have largely been unsuccessful, with the exception of the Brisbane River, but this population of lungfish is only just hanging on due to extensive damming of the river to provide water for greater Brisbane. Australian lungfish have an absolute requirement for shallow, slow-flowing, densely vegetated riffles as spawning and nursery habitat. These environmental features are characteristic of both the Burnett and the Mary but it is exactly these features that are lost entirely by permanent flooding resulting from the construction of dam walls. Dams thus pose a mortal threat to the long-term survival of the lungfish populations.

A mega dam was completed late last year on the Burnett River. When it is full, it will have permanently destroyed 42 km of lungfish spawning/nursery grounds. Prior to construction of this dam the lungfish were listed as vulnerable on the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. With the destruction of their spawning/nursery habitat on the Burnett and now even greater destruction on the Mary, should this dam go ahead, that listing would need to be revised to ‘critically endangered’. The dam can still be stopped by the Federal Minister for Environment and Heritage, but he needs to be persuaded to act.

The significance of the Australian lungfish cannot be overstated. As a ‘living fossil’ it provides the only opportunity to study the development and physiology of the aquatic predecessors of all land vertebrates, including ourselves. Australia is the custodian of this invaluable information source for the rest of the world. The answer to Queensland’s water problem lies in education on water use and smart new technologies, not in damming a fragile coastal river system and willfully extinguishing a uniquely important animal.

And I have been running too

2006-08-08T10:21:00.000+09:30

After being injured, sick and quite busy with work, I have been doing a bit of running in the last week. I ran 18:10 for the first run in the Corporate Cup. A fair way off my best time for that course - 16:15 in the twilight series - but I should be able to improve significantly over the coming months. Half marathon is still looking good after I ran 19 km fairly easily on Saturday. Ran home from uni last night which was pretty hard, but still feeling OK. I'm thinking about pacing someone through the half. I'm pretty confident that I could comfortably pace someone at around 1:40 or more. Back to work now.

Naughty Monkey

2006-08-08T09:46:00.000+09:30

"Borrowed" from Tracey

This is bloody hilarious

http://www.cartoline.it/pics/_zoom_flash.htm?immagine=scherzi_150404_01.swf
1. Click on the link above (Coffee Machine)
2. Put the coin in the vending machine
3. Choose your drink
4. Click on the cup when it is ready
5. Click on "APRI"

Enjoy!

Don't forget to click on "APRI" when you see it!

Interconnectedness

2006-08-07T13:24:00.000+09:30

This word made me laugh, not because of the meaning found in the dictionary:

"in·ter·con·nect ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ntr-k-nkt)v. in·ter·con·nect·ed, in·ter·con·nect·ing, in·ter·con·nects v. intr.
To be connected with each other: The two buildings interconnect. v. tr.
To connect reciprocally: tried to interconnect the two theories.
inter·con·nected·ness n. inter·con·necti·ble or inter·con·necta·ble adj. inter·con·nection n."

But, because of the definition that my supervisor found in wikipedia:

"Interconnectedness is one of many concepts gaining popularity as part of the terminology of a worldview which sees a oneness in all things. A similar term, interdependence, is sometimes used instead, although there are slightly different connotations. Both terms tend to refer to the idea that all things are of a single underlying substance and reality, and that there is no true separation deeper than appearances. Some feel that 'interconnectedness' and similar terms are part of a contemporary lexicon of mysticism, which is based on the same core idea of universal oneness.
Science is coming to the view that everything in this universe is interconnected. A thing exists because there is an observer. Everything is made up of either energies or particles that flit in and out of existence at the quantum level. These particles can be thought of as events in an endless expanse of possibilities. The very act of observation makes them concrete. The universe seems to be a virtual world where everything exists as waves which assumes particulate forms when observed. The line between the observer and the observed seems to blur at the level of sentient beings like humans which can assume the role of both the observer and the observed simultaneously."

Which is one of the biggest loads of bullshit I've ever heard.

Contretemps

2006-08-01T10:56:00.000+09:30

Love this word. 1) It isn't pronounced as it it is spelled. 2) I love english words "borrowed" from other languages (I suppose they are all from other languages, but some seem more recent). 3) It just sounds good, especially if you put on a strong French accent. 4) It's a nice sounding way to describe a stuff-up.

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\, noun; plural contretemps \-tahnz\:

An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

Mrs. Post was the center of a notable contretemps when she spilled a spoonful of berries at a dinner of the Gourmet Society here in 1938. -- "Emily Post Is Dead Here at 86; Writer was Arbiter of Etiquette", New York Times, September 27, 1960

He looked worried, distressed, more distressed than one should look in the face of a slight contretemps. -- Anita Brookner, Undue Influence

Nathan was a fiercely ambitious and competitive man, as quick to take offenceas to give it in his business dealings, and it is not difficult to imagine him responding impetuously to such a contretemps. -- Niall Ferguson, The House of Rothschild

So, where was I?

2006-07-28T11:48:00.000+09:30

I suppose I'd best update from the beginning.

I didn't run for just over a week after I had the achilles twinge, then I went for a 5km run last Tuesday and a 7.5km run last Friday. The leg felt OK for both of those runs, so I had planned to do a 10-12km run on Sunday until...

I woke up with a bit of a sore throat on Sunday morning, so I decided to take it easy (given my history of prolonging illness through pigheadedness). I stayed up to watch the final stage of the TdF, which with hindsight might have been a bad move. I was feeling pretty crappy on Monday morning at work, so I took the afternoon off. And then it hit. Monday night through Tuesday night I was totally wiped out - dizzy, headaches, felt hot but no temperature, achy, very sore throat, nasal and sinus congestion. Feeling a lot better on Wednesday, but still with a very sore throat, I went to see the doctor. He thought that I'd probably turned the corner, but I could have some antibiotics just in case the symptoms worsened. Took yesterday off as well to try and fully recover, but managed to do some work at home. Was feeling optomistic about getting back into work today, but woke up this morning feeling a little worse than yesterday, so here I am at home again.

Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow or at least by Sunday, so I can get back into work. I regret not having the flu shot this year now, although it didn't stop me getting the flu in the last two years, so maybe it wouldn't have helped this year either. This may also be a slight blessing, in that my achilles will get another week or more rest before getting back into the running again.

A couple of other things
House update. There has been considerable progress on the house since my last update. The roof is on, the plumbing and wiring have been put in, the insulation is in, and the plasterboard has been put up. The flushing, cornices and skirting should be finished on Monday. Things are looking good. Here's a picture of the main living area at the back of the house (with a strapping young lad posing for the photo).

And finally, Floyd... Say it ain't so! I followed le Tour pretty closely this year, and I was swept up by the performance of Landis. I wanted Evans and Rogers to perform, but I was amazed at the courage of Landis' approach to the race and especially the support of his average team (unbelievable effort by Axel Merckx). I'm going to put the positive A test down to three possible causes: a) His sample or bidon was tampered with; b) there was an error in the analysis; or c), one of the legal drugs that Landis takes for a couple of medical problems (chronic joint pain and hyperthyroidism) has either lowered his epitestosterone or raised his testosterone levels. The other really inpiring ride of the tour for me was David de la Fuente. That guy put it all on the line in his first TdF even though he risked bombing the whole tour. Maybe next year he'll win the Maillot a pois.

That's enough from me. I'm going to sit back and suck down another lemon, honey and ginger drink.

Twinge

2006-07-12T00:04:00.000+09:30

Went for my longest run since my injury on saturday. The achilles has come up a bit sore so i'll need to take some more time off running. It's a bit frustrating, but i don't really have any time for running at the moment anyway. Might just have to run for fitness and fun until next year. I'll see how things look in a week or 2. With any luck I may still get up for the Adelaide half or the C2B.
PhD progressing well.

Yes, I'm still alive

2006-06-28T17:34:00.000+09:30

Quick update.

I've been very busy with work.

Running is going well.

Leg is feeling really good.

I've built up to over 32km/week with a long run of 13km on Sunday.

15km this Sunday.

House has finally got a roof on it.

Hopefully they'll keep doing more work on it.

Have a great week.

RunDave

Desiderata

2006-06-16T15:28:00.000+09:30

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

--Not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church"! --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career,

however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Just thought I'd throw something completely different in today. I read a lot of blogs that quote inspirational works, so I thought I'd put one of my favourites in. I'm not a very religious person, so this poem seems to sit pretty well with my beliefs, in that it pretty much avoids religion and only mentions God in a fairly abstract and inclusive way. We used to have it hanging in our toilet at home when I was a kid and I couldn't tell you how many times I've read it. One of the remarkable things about it is the ongoing confusion about its origin. This website explains the confusion. I must admit, our copy had the reference to St Paul's Church and I often wondered how someone living in the 1600s could have written something so fitting for the 20th century. When I found out the real story, rather than being disillusioned, it confirmed it's relevance for me. Although not 100s of years old, it was written way back in the 1920s, yet it still holds true for the 2000s, so it is probably more timeless than many give it credit for. Anyway I think it is a good creed for life.

Edit: It should be divided up into stanzas, but blogger isn't letting me do that properly.

Slack blogger

2006-06-13T09:42:00.000+09:30

I've been really busy with work stuff, so I haven't had much time to blog. Just a quick update for anyone who is interested. I did my four runs last week, culminating in a 9km run on Sunday. For the first time in months I can say that my leg feels good, and that I'm not just managing it from one run to the next. I'll continue my slow progression so that I don't have a relapse, but at this stage things are looking good for the half marathon in late August. I had hoped to do a 10km race this weekend, but things are pretty tight moneywise, so I may be a no-show. I may just end up running 10 km on my own :( . To the guys at Tracktimes, I will get out there one day soon. I've had a few different circumstances preventing me getting out there, but I should be OK this week.

Happy to be running.

Building companies are f****d!

2006-06-05T16:37:00.000+09:30

Want to see the progress on the house? Well, look at the photos from 3 weeks ago because they've done f**ckall since then.

Edit: 16-6-06 still nothing even though they told me they would get some stuff sorted out last week so that the roof could go on this week. Lying bastards.

Sorry about the language, just feeling a bit frustrated.

Getting by/ Dual monitors

2006-06-04T14:52:00.000+09:30

A Girl Running pointed out that while my entry about last night's movie was interesting, I hadn't mentioned how my running is going.

I went for about a 6km run on Friday and a 7km run today. The leg is feeling fine while I'm running and most of the time in between, but at times it doesn't feel 100%. This is why I'm taking things slowly. The tingling is still there sometimes and the leg just doesn't feel as strong as it should. There isn't any pain either while running or while resting. I can feel the fitness coming back which is really good.

The plan for this week is to run every second day 5-6km with an 8km run next Sunday if I feel up to it.

Now for something completely different. Does anyone out there have two monitors set up on your PC? I want to set up a second monitor next to mine to make data analysis easier, but I'm not sure what is required. I have the second screen, but I'm unsure about how to connect them up. There is only one female connection at the back of the box, but there is a male connection there too. Do I need some type of adaptor?

Purely Belter

2006-06-04T14:05:00.000+09:30

Saw this film on SBS last night. Great film, some really great characters, an excellent story and a great ending. The production values weren't all that good, but the story and characters made up for it. The two boys in the lead roles were great, some of their dialogue was hilarious. The film also showed Newcastle as both a beautiful yet ugly city. The area looked to have quite spectacular scenery, but there was also the ugly architecture and urban decay. 4 1/2 stars from me.

Not pushing it

2006-06-01T13:09:00.000+09:30

I was going to run with Tracktimers this morning, but since I ran yesterday and the leg has a slight tingling still, I thought I'd better not push my luck with running two days in a row. I'll run tomorrow instead.

Yesterday's run felt good. I feel like my fitness is returning quite quickly and this is reflected by my heart rate - my laps of the uni loop are getting faster while the average heart rate is decreasing. I did the circuit again and this time my arms and abs aren't so sore the next day. The exercises I did were: Crunches, seated dips (?), reverse incline crunches, chin-ups (still sadly poor at this), incline crunches and push-ups.

PS. The poll results haven't changed much with the dozen or so extra votes from last time. My conclusion? Runners are much the same as the general public in this regard, ie 55-60% sensible (folders), 35-40% crazy (scrunchers), 5-10% eccentric (rollers and other).

Poll update

2006-05-29T12:34:00.000+09:30

Update on poll. I think that most people who would have voted have done so now. The topic has just about dropped off the active list and I don't think I'll bump it up to the top again.

I can't believe that there are so many scrunchers out there. Don't you know what could happen people?!! I was surprised at the number of rollers too. Not sure what the "other" was since there was no comment to explain it. Maybe it was someone who does both. Perhaps it was you Ellie? I think my theory about runners being unusually orderly control freaks is looking a bit shaky considering these percentages are about the same as the straw poll on Rove Live.

Looks like pretty good support for the intended orientation of the toilet roll. Can't say I'm surprised at that.

Assuming the 12 people who voted for "seat up" are male, it looks like a majority of male runners are well trained. The lid category looks to have followed male/female voting lines.

Good progress

2006-05-26T16:42:00.000+09:30

Saw the physio this afternoon and he said he is happy with my progress. The lump on my tendon is half the original size, the tendon is moving freely and the calf is a lot less painful to his deep tissue massage. He has suggested no more than 4 runs per week for 4-6 weeks and just build up the length of the runs with one run a week up to 45 minutes. No speedwork for at least 2 months. He's suggested to do more slump stretches to loosen up the whole back of the legs which may release the calves a bit. He aggrees that I shouldn't do the eccentric exercises until the calf feels up to it. I just sent him an SMS asking whether trail running with or without hills is OK. So I'm pretty happy with this course of action. I'll run every second day for 20-30 minutes and try building a longer run up to 45 minutes over then next month or so. I'll go back and see him in 5-6 weeks to see how things are going and to get his thoughts about going in a few shorter events.

The poll is getting some interesting responses.

Ava good weekend!

Quick update and poll announcement

2006-05-25T10:34:00.000+09:30

Went for a 27 minute run today and also ran on Monday (27 minutes) and Wednesday (16 minutes). On Monday I also did a circuit on some equipment out on the uni-loop eg. chinups, pushups, crunches, dips etc. My arms and abs are still sore from that especially my triceps from the pitiful 5 then 3 chinups that I did.

The leg is feeling OK, not 100%, but getting better and I have been testing it out a bit more than I'm supposed to. Going to see the physio tomorrow. Apologies to the tracktimes guys for not getting out this morning, I slept in.

The Folder/scruncher poll is up on Coolrunning. Go forth and vote people. I'm preparing myself for much ridicule over this poll, but I think it should be fun.

Fold or Scrunch: part 2

2006-05-22T16:50:00.000+09:30

Following the response to my previous post, I think this might be worthy of a poll on CR and Ausrun. I have a theory that the incidence of folders vs scrunchers might be higher in the running/fitness community. The ratio on Rove Live last week was about 60:40, but that sample may have been biased by members of the running/fitness community being in the audience, so it wouldn't have reflected the views of the rest of society. My theory is that runners/gym junkies are more obsessive-compulsive or at least strive more towards order and organisation in their lives than the average in our society.

I think three questions need to be posed:

1. Folder or scruncher
2. Toilet roll facing inwards or outwards
3. Seat down or up

Any other pertinent questions?

Am I sounding slightly obsessed with this topic (You don't need to answer this)?
Would I get "Folder" tattooed on my bum for $20,000? Hell yeah, it's $20,000 people!

Fold or Scrunch: the case for folding

2006-05-19T10:34:00.000+09:30

This age-old debate has been rekindled thanks to a new advertising campaign from Sorbent. I am a folder. My reason, other than one of familial habit, is one of structural integrity.
Given the same length of paper (although scrunchers seem to use more) there is a predictable and reliable amount of paper between you and disaster. Sure, scrunching may potentially put a thicker wad over your fingers, but, being a randomly formed structure, there is a distinct chance that you may poke through a gap. That's a chance that I'm not willing to take. Folding has the added benefit of the wipe/fold/wipe combination - I can't see how you could do that with scrunching. The only downside I can see is that it may take longer to fold, but I think this is a small price to pay for increased hygeine and may be obviated by a decreased handwashing time in the event of 'exposure' as a result of unlucky scrunching.
I'm happy to debate any valid argument against folding. Despite the fact that I will never change, I may come to accept scrunching as a valid if not flawed method.

This might sound a bit daft...

2006-05-19T09:15:00.000+09:30

Especially when you consider what I wrote yesterday. I woke up this morning and my leg felt fine - a rational person would have gone back to sleep thinking how great it was that the leg was healing so fast - so I went for a 15 minute run. The leg was fine. It still feels fine after I've cooled down, got ready for work and iced it. We'll see how it feels later, but I may have been a little premature with my prognosis yesterday.
Stay tuned!

I'm out

2006-05-18T14:43:00.000+09:30

The news is not so good. After my last run on Tuesday, I came up sore in the calf the next day and the achilles is sore too. It's not as bad as before, but it isn't good, and it comes from just a handfull of 10-15 minute runs. The achilles is still sore now. I've stopped running and I've done a bit of ice-massage. I'm going to see my physio next Friday to see what he can do and to get his opinion on my next move.

I'm thinking of taking off as long as it needs to heal by itself without treatment. I'll just do the eccentric exercises and other strength work as well as some bike work and then maybe get a checkup after a month to get clearance to start running again. I don't think I could lose anymore fitness than I already have and I haven't put on any weight either, so I should be able to stay healthy. This will rule out any racing for most of this year, but I've got a thesis to write, so the extra time may help in that area. So, what do you think? Sound like a good plan?

As you can imagine, I'm pretty down about this. A fairly simple injury has managed to wipeout an entire season of racing, not to mention the fact that I can't even run just for the hell of it anymore. There might not be much on this blog about running for a while, but feel free to drop in to hear about the house or lexicology or sculptures or any other shit I feel like spinning.

PS. Tesso. My name doesn't have many anagrams. Onlt two: CARD SHARD VIM and CARD DRAM SHIV. And they don't make any sense.

PPS. But Tesso, your name comes up with some corkers and thousands of anagrams. Anyone for some SATAN HAIR BEEF?

Funny email one of my workmates sent me

2006-05-18T06:13:00.000+09:30

Did you ever stop and wonder...

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll
squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there... I'm
gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it's bum."

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer? I
have a light in my freezer.

Why does your Obstetrician, Gynecologist leave the room when you
get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?
They're both dogs?

Can blind people see their dreams? Do they dream??

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests? (This one kills me!!!)

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from
vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from
morons?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have
the same tune?

Stop singing and read on...

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets
mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out
the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive
faster?

Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the
first place?

:-)

Things people have searched and found me

2006-05-16T14:52:00.000+09:30

runner massage blog
Joggers World explosion
what to eat before 10 km run
channel 9 suck adelaide crows (too true)
sa hockey (surprised this one came up)
"pull my finger" 1800s (odd)

All pretty benign. Why can't I get juicy RunnerSusan type search referrals? You know, like "porno massage babe" and other funny stuff that gets linked inexplicably to her blog. Maybe I need to put more random and off topic phrases in my blog.

Simpsons dominatrix strategic MTV. See how that goes.

Edit: Failed. Maybe I don't get how this works?

House progress

2006-05-15T10:30:00.000+09:30

A couple of shots of the house.

Favourite Sculpture/Fountain

2006-05-15T10:25:00.000+09:30

This is one of my favourite sculptures. I guess it is really a fountain, but I really like it. I'm not sure who the artist is. Can anyone guess where it is located?

Bananas $10/kg

2006-05-15T09:06:00.000+09:30

I commented on this in Flashducks blog, but I thought I'd expand on my comments. I love bananas. You don't realise what you've got until it's gone. I used to eat at least one banana per day before Larry. Now I rarely eat them because they are just too expensive. It's going to be a long while before they are back too, but I really hope they don't allow imported bananas - it'd just kill the local producers. Over at mum and dad's place yesterday, I spotted an overripe one sitting in their fruit bowl, so I pinched it. Oh, the delightful creamy texture, sweet taste and pungent aroma of the banana - how I miss you!
Now what are the symptoms of potassium deficiency?

Doing a 15 minute run later today. My calf is still a bit sore, so we'll see how the run goes.

Dunlop kt42s

2006-05-13T20:48:00.000+09:30

Has anyone tried these? They look and feel the goods, but I'm skeptical. At $50 they may be worth a try. Tim, if you're out there, have you seen or tried them.

Progress

2006-05-13T20:40:00.000+09:30

Stepped up to 15 minute run today. My legs felt good and it was great to get out for a bit longer. My calf has been just a little bit sore, but the achilles feels fine. I also did my 10 minute run on Thursday but stretched it out to 12 minutes and felt fine. Stretching and massage have been going well, but I've been slack with the eccentric exercises. Feel free to admonish of for this.

2nd run back

2006-05-10T09:15:00.000+09:30

Ran again on Monday. Walked down to the uni loop, did one lap (2.2 km) in about 10:20 and then walked back to uni. Achilles felt really good the whole way, but my hip is still feeling sore. My calves have been a bit sore for the last two days, but I'm not sure if this is from the running or the eccentric exercises. I'll do my next 10 minute run tomorrow with the track timers and see how it feels after that.

Thanks everyone for the reminders. I have been doing all my tasks. Keep on my back lest I become complacent and stop doing them again.

I ran today...

2006-05-06T17:09:00.000+09:30

for 10 minutes. And it was over all too soon. I set out walking for 5 minutes then ran for 10 minutes and then walked home. I was supposed to run at an easy pace, but I think I ran way too fast. I was so happy to be running again and I looked at my HR, 145, ok I'd better not push it too much harder. Two minutes later, 155, ok slow down now. Then a moment later, 167, what am I doing, racing or something? So I was a bit keen and my fitness has decreased a lot, but the good news is that my achilles feels fine. I followed with some ice massage and a little later some more massage with Brauer arnica cream. During the run my hip felt a bit stiff and sore still, so I must remember to stretch this area and my back/abdominals.

The delay in running was due to the fact that I didn't get my new blank orthotics until Thursday afternoon and then I didn't get the opportunity to adjust them until today. The orthotics felt fine, so I think I've got them right, although I won't really know until I've used them on a longer run.

Anyway, I'm a pretty happy camper at the moment. Next run will be another "easy" 10 minutes Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, feel free to harrass me about doing my icing, massage, eccentric exercises and stretching.