False start

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

"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

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

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?

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

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

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

-- 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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

A couple of shots of the house.

Favourite Sculpture/Fountain

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

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

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

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

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...

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.

Spoonerisms

Was talking about spoonerisms with a friend at work today and decided to look a few more up. Anyway, a search on google led me to this web page - Fun with Words - which along with many spoonerisms, had dozens of other language manipulation topics including anagrams, Mondegreens and tonguetwisters. I hope you enjoy it, it really brightened up my day.

Injury update

The good news is that my physio thinks that I can start running again, the bad news is that I'll have to wait until Friday to do so. He doesn't want me running in my old orthotics because they have broken down somewhat. He is bringing me some new Orthotics tomorrow which I'll have to take home and adjust for my feet. So it will have to be friday morning. He has set me a program for the next three weeks, after which I'll go back and see him again. It was to be two weeks, but he will be away with the SA hockey team in the second week.

So here's the program:
Week 1 - 3x 10min light run
Week 2 - 3x 15min light run
Week 3 - 2x 10min light run alternating with 3x 15min light run

- ice massage after each run
-eccentric exercises each day 12 reps single leg/12 reps double leg
-massage soleus muscle each day

Explosion Update

They found the body of a man believed to be the cafe owner inside the building. Very sad.

From the Rupertiser:

Man's body found at blast site
02may06

THE body of a man has been found in an Adelaide cafe destroyed in an explosion early today.Police said the body was located at the back of the cafe following a search of the premises.
Emergency services spent several hours searching the Pirie Street building, which houses the cafe and two other businesses in the city centre, after the man's vehicle was located nearby shortly after the 3am blast.
A police spokesman said the body was yet to be formally identified but was believed to be that of the missing man.
"A short time ago the body of a middle-aged man was located at the back of the premises.

"This brings to a conclusion the tragic circumstances for the family," South Australian police Superintendent Paul Schramm said at the scene.
A post-mortem examination will be held tomorrow.
The blast blew out the front and rear sections of the building and caused a big section of wall to collapse.
It also showered debris across the street and damaged a second building.


Final update on this: This story at the age has most of the current info in it. I won't put up any more about it until there is some new information.

Jogger's World Damaged in building Explosion

Adelaide's only specialist running store has been damaged by a serious explosion in the basement of the building in which it is located. The whole building is closed and will likely be demolished. There are also fears for a cafe owner who may have been in the building at the time of the accident (3am).

Here are a few articles from the internet:

Last Update: Tuesday, May 2, 2006. 10:44am (AEST)

Fears for man missing after Adelaide blast

Adelaide police hold grave concerns for a man who they have been unable to account for after an explosion at a building in the city.
The blast happened just after 3:00am ACST in what is believed to have been the basement of a building on Pirie Street.
The cause of the blast is not yet known.
Fire investigators will attempt to enter the destroyed building to search for a business owner and Superintendent Paul Schramm says there are concerns the man could be injured.
"We have not been able to obviously make contact with this person," he said.
"His business is extensively damaged.
"We do hold concerns but let's not speculate. We will get that information to the relatives as soon as we can."
Former Adelaide Crows player Tom Warhurst says his sporting goods store was damaged by the blast.
"The force of the explosion's come out the front but because of the movement in the building it looks like the two storey back wall has collapsed at the back of the building," he said.
"The building's not in good shape, so I have spoken to the owner of the building who is also in construction and he says that it would be bowled over, it'll be condemned."
Rory O'Neill from a nearby wine business says his shop was also hit by the explosion.
He says a cleaner saw the blast.
"She got quite a shock. There was quite a ball of flame that came out of the building at the time of the explosion," he said.
"She actually witnessed [the blast] so she's been treated for shock I think and been taken to hospital."
Business owner Ben Barletta says his wine bar was damaged but says it is lucky no one was there at the time.
"Not knowing how these things are and that's why they call these things accidents," he said.
"Thankfully it wasn't a crowded day or we were in the building itself at the time, or a late night function, or anything like that so in as much as you can say it was opportune."

Also:

MAN MISSINGAFTER ADELAIDEBUILDING BLAST
02may06
POLICE hold fears for the safety of an Adelaide man missing after an early morning explosion in a central city building.Investigators are trying to enter the building in Pirie Street after an explosion severely damaged the premises about 3am today.
Police said there were concerns for the owner of a cafe, one of three businesses in the building.
Officers were unable to contact him and his car had been found parked behind the building, Superintendent Paul Schramm told reporters.
"So we can't completely rule out the fact that there may be an injured person in the building," Supt Schramm said.
"We don't want to speculate further on that.
"We have been in contact with the relatives. Obviously they are extremely concerned.
"As soon as we can safely enter the building and confirm whether or not anyone is injured, we will do so and notify the relatives.
"We are doing our very best to get in as soon as we can, safely."
The blast blew out the front and rear sections of the building and caused a major section of wall to collapse.
It also showered debris across the street and damaged a second building.
The explosion appeared to have been sparked in the basement of the building which housed a retail wine outlet, a cafe and a sports store on the first floor.
There has been some speculation gas may have triggered the explosion.
Supt Schramm said the situation could have been much worse had the blast happened later in the day in the usually busy retail and business section of the city.
"If it had happened other than in the early hours of this morning, clearly there would have been significant injuries," he said.
Supt Schramm said the front facade of 121 Pirie Street was extremely dangerous and would likely have to be brought down later today.
An area around the building has been declared a danger zone, limiting public access.

PS. A guilty secret. I don't buy my shoes from Joggers World, I get them at Athletes Foot because we have a family discount card there. I do buy my other running gear there though. After I redeem my reward discount next time, I might start getting my shoes at Jogger's World - if they have reopened yet!

Itchy feet

This no-running caper is really starting to get to me. I just want to go for a run. I ran to get over some traffic lights the other day and I felt fine. Surely I can start now. No I'd better wait. A measly 38.5 km for this month. I suppose there is no option but to take it easy, but it is so frustrating. Bring on Thursday. Fingers crossed that I'll be allowed to run then.

Overdue injury update

Well this update is somewhat overdue. I went to the physio (Tim) again on Wednesday. Tim reckons the inflammation on the tendon has gone down quite a bit. He has told me to progress to single-leg heal dips, but continue ice massage (my bad - I haven't done that since then). He really got into the tendon and my calves with massage and I was quite sore afterwards, but the leg is feeling much better and stronger now. I even had to run for a traffic light today and it felt really good (that is to say, I felt no pain or weakness in the Achilles or anywhere else). Tim thinks that after next weeks session, I will be able to do a 1-2 km run the next day and another that week, then build up over the next 4-5 weeks to running 10 km again. It sounds slow, but at this point any run is looking good to me. I assume that if everything is looking good after this then I will be able to start building up a new program.

So let's look at some numbers. I will say it is 5-6 weeks until I can start a new program, which would take me to early June. If I say that I have all of June and July, and most of August until the Adelaide Marathon, then that gives me 12 weeks - the perfect amount of time for a half marathon training program, not so ideal for a full marathon. So there is my dilemma. I guess I'll have to see how the leg feels after the 5 weeks. I'd love to run the marathon, but I'm not sure if I can get enough training done in 12 weeks. What does everyone think?

Brave or stupid?

We are sick of paying private health insurance premiums. It wouldn't be so bad if it went even close to bridging the gap between the service and the benefit, but it doesn't. Furthermore, the cost of insurance has increased rapidly over the last couple of years to the point where we have had to decrease our level of cover. The government 30% rebate was swallowed up long ago.

But what are we going to do about it? Well, we're not going to take it anymore, we are going to self-insure. We will set aside the same amount as we are paying in premiums now into a high interest savings account, only to be used for health related services. This is a scary move for us, but when we sat down and did the sums, we just can't afford a system that sees us pay huge premiums, get little benefits and then have to pay huge gaps to make up for it. Furthermore, most people I have asked have acknowledged that many more people are doing this now. My main concern about this move is that we won't have enough saved up for any short-term medical expenses. I'm afraid we may just have to wear that if it happens. In the long-run, I am aiming to save up a very large health nestegg. With two young children, I'm sure we will need it in the not too distant future.

We did quite a bit of research into this approach, and it seems to be a bit of a taboo topic. Many financial advisers and medical practitioners give conditional approval to this approach, but neither the government nor any other bodies seem to endorse it. It is very difficult to find information about how much you should set aside per year and how much you should save all up. We can only afford to set aside the amount that we are currently paying, and I would like to keep contributing for at least a couple of years before reviewing the amount we put in. Over the next decade I'd like to get it up to around $10,000. I wonder if this is enough.

At the moment we have fairly minimal medical costs but if you add the premium onto the gap payments, we are paying 150-200% or more of the cost of the services that we are using at the moment. For example, my initial visit to the physio cost $55, the benefit was $24, leaving a gap of $31. Future visits would cost I think $36 with a benefit of $16 leaving $20 gap. If I see the physio 4 times this month (which may happen), then it will cost me $91 plus the $187 premium that we pay = $278. If I pay the fees upfront without insurance, it will have cost me a maximum of $163, although my physio has agreed to charge $30 per visit if I don't have private health insurance, so it would be even less (he's a mate). So for this month I would have almost swallowed up our health savings, but that money would have been paid anyway and some. It is unlikely that I will need ongoing treatment for this injury, and I would consider taking extra caution to make sure that I don't dip into these funds on an ongoing basis.

I suppose the point is that we are healthy now and we are used to setting aside money for health, so why throw it away to a health insurance company now when we can save it for when we need it later, but can also dip into it if required?

This entry is unfinished, but I would invite any thoughts about this approach. We have started it. As of Tuesday we are sans health insurance for the first time in my life!

Update

As promised.

I saw my physio on Wednesday. As suspected, I have a small tendonopathy on the inside of my right achilles tendon. He did some work on it and prescibed some eccentric exercises in the form of slow heel dips - 3x20 at 20 sec per dip - and ice massage. All this I was expecting, but I needed to hear it from a professional as well as get advice specific to my condition. He also said that my back soreness is probably due to overcompensating for the achilles soreness, so he recommended my usual stretching regimen to help with that. Interestingly the soreness was located in the iliosacral vertebrae rather than the lumbar vertebrae, further indicating that it has nothing to do with my spondylolythesis.

WARNING: Bodily functions discussed. So to the exercises and massage. The first few days went OK, but then late Friday I started feeling bloated and tired. I think I had some digestive issues resulting in constipation. I felt like crap all yesterday and I've hardly eaten anything all weekend. I've been burping and farting all weekend and haven't felt motivated to do anything. I couldn't even eat all of the lovely dinner my wife prepared last night, much to her dismay (and in shame I slept on the couch until late night when I finally crawled into bed). I'm feeling a lot better this afternoon. I've cleared most of the backlog so to speak, and I'm less gassy, although it is still there a bit. I started eating LSA on Thursday, I wonder if that has anything to do with it? I'll cut out the LSA and eat plenty of fruit and veg - if I can fit it in - and see how that goes.

I'll get in some more dips this afternoon and some more icing. My back soreness has mostly gone away so I can get back into the strengthening exercises soon too. I'll update in a few days or after my next physio visit on Wednesday.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Tesso and Beki, so I guess I should pull my finger out and contribute.

I will preface this quiz with the statement that I am injured at the moment, so these answers are what I usually do and not what I'm doing at the moment. Also, the answers may be tinged with a hint of frustration at not being able to participate in many of the answers given below.

1. What time of day do you run?

Anytime. I usually run to or from work and rarely both. Sometimes I get up early and take the dog for a run, and lately I have been running with the Track Timers on Thursday mornings. I usually do my long run on Sunday morning.

2. What are your favourite runs?

My favorite run is anywhere around the towns of Yankalilla and Normanville about 1 hour south of Adelaide. I just head out and run anywhere through the rolling hills or along the beach. It is beautiful countryside, with little traffic on the dirt roads and clean fresh air.

3. What is your favorite song to run to?

Well I don't run with an MP3 player, so I don't listen to music while I run, but I do get songs stuck in my head that I sing to myself (singing aloud may incite incidents of road rage).

Anything from The Magnetic Fields' album 69 Love Songs, H&C Holy Grail, Cold Chisel Khe Sanh (lately for some unknown reason), Many others that I can't think of right now. Often I'll get a snippet or loop of a song stuck in my head and repeat it over the whole run, eg 'Isaac or Fuzz' by MGF.

4. What book are you reading at the moment?

The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien. I've read this a couple of times before and I've read TLOTR twice too. I lost my copy of The Hobbit a few years ago, so when I saw an old (1973) copy sitting in a second-hand book stall at Myponga markets on Saturday, I couldn't resist and snapped it up for $2. I've started reading it aloud to our 4 year old daughter. Hope she doesn't get too scared by Goblins, Gollum or Mirkwood!

Oh yeah, and The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

5. When did you start running?

I started running seriously in February 2004. Before this I had done a bit of running mainly as training for my hockey career. Before the age of 17, I had always relied on the minimum training and games to keep me fit. After I finished year twelve, I was overweight, slow and unfit. My state sports institute coach took me aside and basically told me that, and if I didn't do something about it I would lose my institute place. He gave me a program of running exercises involving sprint work, resistance training and longer distance sessions as well as some advice on healthy eating. Over that summer I lost about 13kg and reinvented myself as a hockey player. Since then I have always seen fitness as a high priority whether it be for hockey or just for running.

6. What's your post-race/post-run ritual?

Drink, warm down, stretch, eat, collect awards (just kidding), shower then home or home then shower. Sometimes we'll go out for lunch or coffee after a race.

7. What do you eat before you run?

Jam on toast and juice. Sometimes an espresso. Sometimes Sustagen. I can eat most light meals before running, but not milk.

8. What's your favorite running accessory?

Coolrunning hat followed closely by my polar heart rate monitor.

9. What's your motivation for running?

I've written at length about why I race here. So I would have to say that my motivation for running in the first place is so that I can race and hence so that I can test my ability.

10. What are your running shoes?

Rotating three pairs of Mizuno Wave Mustangs.

11. What is your next running goal?

My next running goal is to run sub 3 hours in the Adelaide Marathon. It is a fair way off, but I think I will need all that time to rebuild my strength from my present injury. Along the way I wouldn't mind getting under 36min for 10km. I might also have a crack at the top 50 in the Adelaide City to Bay.

I tag all the people from the Track Timers blog. I'd like to hear more about your running life guys,

Serious inactivity

I ran on Thursday and still felt uncomfortable but not too sore. Then over the weekend the lower back and right leg got progressively worse, to the point where walking was uncomfortable. So no running for this little black duck. Even a fair amount of stretching didn't seem to alleviate the problem. So I have bitten the bullet and done what I should have done weeks ago: I have booked in to see my physiotherapist tomorrow. I thought I could get out of this mess myself, but I seem to have made things worse, so it is my only option really.

So I haven't run since Thursday, I won't be running for at least another couple of weeks, and I can't even walk comfortably. Added to this is the fact that I havn't kept up with the blog too well, and although I have been browsing bloglines, I haven't been leaving any comments or replying to those left on mine. So sorry to my audience for neglecting you for the last week. I promise I will keep everyone updated with my progress, and as an added bonus, I will answer the 11 questions I was tagged with by Tesso and Beki soon.

So...

I've come to the realisation that my achilles problem is probably a result of my neglected back and abdominal strengthening and stretching. I have been getting a lot of tightness through my hips, lower back and hamstings as well as my knees and calves. Basically the whole right-hand side from the lower back down feels tight and causes some pain while running. This is similar to what I used to get playing hockey and I overcame it by continual stretching and strengthening exercises. Since I retired from hockey and started running, I basically gave up these exercises thinking that they were unnecessary for this type of activity. How stupid! So I have started back with my old regime of stretching and I'll work to rebuild the strength and stability that I worked so hard to achieve to be able to play hockey. This may be a slow process, and running may be quite painful for a while, but I will get it fixed.

I ran home from uni on Sunday night, which is when I fully realised that the old problems were back. The time was OK - 50 min for 10.5km - but I was uncomfortable most of the way. I took Addi for a run this morning; more discomfort, but not as bad due to the fact that I had done about 30 min stretching for a 29 min run.

Anyway, feel free to drop me a reminder every now and then to keep up the exercises.

Oo oo, I nearly forgot. It was my birthday last week and I had a really nice dinner with the family and went to a housewarming at my cousin's (who shares the same birthday as me) new house . I think over the 2-3 days around my birthday, I had a grand total of 5, yes 5 cakes. All of them good, all of them very fatty, so hopefully I haven't put on any weight from this.

Croweater

Tesso asked about the nickname for South Australians. As I commented in her blog, we are the croweaters. I have been a proud croweater all my life, but it occurred to me that I didn't actually know why we are called that. I had a rough idea of what it might be, and as it turns out I was nearly right. I thought I'd make it one of my words, not because it has been a favourite word of mine, just because I find it intriguing.

Wikipedia entry:
Croweater is an Australian slang term for people from South Australia. Early settlers often ate the breast meat of crows, parrots and cockatoos when there was a shortage of red meat and the term croweater entered the lexicon in the late 1800s. The term is not considered derogatory.

Now for running news. Yesterday I went for a run at lunchtime. I ran across to the uni loop (2.2km loop) and ran three laps. As I was running, I noticed that my HR was quite high. I wasn't sure if this was due to lost fitness or running too fast. It turns out it may have been a bit of both. In my haste to get out and finally do some running I ran around 4:10-4:20/km which is a lot faster than my usual steady runs. My average HR for each lap was 165, 163 and 167 and the times were 9:31, 9:15 and 9:31. I had the achilles strapped up and it felt fine. The legs still feel OK today, so I think I may be on the way back. Even so, I will make sure I take things slowly.

I did some strength work again this morning which felt really good. I have taken up a new approach to sleep after reading this article. I am going to bed only when I feel tired and setting the alarm for 5:30am every morning. I started on Sunday morning so I could take advantage of the end of daylight savings. Getting up this early was difficult for the first few days, but it has given me more time to get ready and do other things in the morning. I have also found that I am actually tired at night and ready to sleep instead of staying up past midnight and still not feeling tired. As suggested in the article, I'm going to give this approach 30 days to see how it goes, but as I said, I've already seen some benefits.

SARRC singlet

Tesso and anyone else running in Canberra, this is me modelling the SARRC singlet if you are trying to find the Track Timers. Shorts will differ. Sorry about the small pics, they were "borrowed" from the Oz day fun run event photographer. Links here and here to the larger photos with HUGE watermarks obscuring most of the photo. I really love the top photo, but I wasn't keen on forking out the exorbitant price for the prints.

Patience

No, it is not one of my favourite words, nor is it one of my stronger qualities. I do like it as a name. It is rare in Australia, but I have seen a few African and Carribean people with that name. But I digress. The achilles is slowly recovering, but I'm taking it slowly so as to avoid a recurrence. The next month should be pretty lean as I build up slowly. Not sure what races I'll be aiming at, but there is a chance that I might be able to make it to the Barossa half. We'll have to see if we have enough $$$ for that though.

The cold is totally gone, but RunCarly is sick now. There is also a nasty 'flu going around at the moment which I will try my hardest to avoid.

Got back into the weights and strengthening yesterday. I'm hoping that this will pay off in the long term by strengthening my core and thus helping my running form and preventing any other injuries. I have a congenital back problem called spondylolysis, which was a problem many times through my hockey career. The main problem that it causes is tightness and pain in the hamstrings, but it can refer to other muscles. I'm thinking that it may be involved in the achilles/calf problem, so any stretching and strengthening of my back and abdominals should have some benefit.

Anyway, have to get back to work. I'll update how I go with running around the track on Thursday morning.

Serendipity

The word for today is serendipity. I'll leave the history of the word for the reference below. The reason I like the word is because it conveys a sense of more than just luck in making a discovery, but also the skill to recognise something of benefit. You could call it a combination of fortune and perception. It takes nothing to receive something by luck, but it is truly serendipitous to be on a path that leads to an accident in the first place, and then to perceive that the accident is of benefit. I guess what it says to me is that you make your own luck.


ser·en·dip·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (srn-dp-t)n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
An instance of making such a discovery.

[From the characters in the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, who made such discoveries, from Persian Sarandp, Sri Lanka, from Arabic sarandb.]

seren·dipi·tous adj. seren·dipi·tous·ly adv.

Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that “this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word.” Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of “a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of....”

Baby Steps

Went for a run this morning with the track timers. I just did slow laps of the track while they did speedwork. Got in 5km in about 25 minutes. The effort wasn't too hard and the achilles felt OK. I strapped it using a technique I saw on a sports injury website. We'll see how the leg feels over the next couple of days before setting out for another run. At the moment it will be baby steps to see how much I can do and whether I've recovered. Will keep up stretching and massage. Now that I'm over the cold, I'll try and do some more strength sessions too.

Nice to meet Michel (hope I got your name right) out at the session this morning. It is awesome to know that there are people out there that are following my running progress and life, and even nicer to meet some of you.

Speaking of meeting people. Phil, Robbo and Murray of Track Timers blog fame are going over to Canberra for the marathon (Phil is doing the 50km). Feel free to say hi to them any of you who may be reading my blog and are running in Canberra. The guys will probably be wearing SARRC singlets. Phil met a few of you at 6FT a few weeks ago, but I'm sure the other guys would love some conversation and encouragement.

I think I'll put a favourite word in another entry.

What is the word for...

that chalky yucky feeling you get in your mouth when you eat an unripe banana? You know the one, where you screw your face up and try to suck the leftover banana residue out of your mouth whilst making a silly sucking noise.

I've been savouring my 'nanies lately in the event that the destruction of the banana crop by cyclone Larry will push the price of the remaining crops through the roof into luxury status. They're already $5/kilo, up from $2-3/kilo, but they are still good quality. It's times like these that you start to appreciate what you've previously taken for granted. I generally eat a banana a day. I wonder what price I'll pay to continue this habit?

Almost over the cold. Achilles is feeling a lot better. Might take one more weekend off just for good measure.

: (

Still sick, still feeling like the achilles is not quite right. That's all I have to say about the matter. : (

Good news, bad news, good news

The good news is that my achilles is feeling a lot better. As suggested by several websites, I think I will move on to some achilles and calf strengthening exercises tomorrow, now that the pain is gone.

The bad news is that I've got a cold. It came on only a few hours after RunCarly came home from Canberra, so that's a bit of a bummer.

Which brings me to the other good (sort of) news. I'm sick, but I'm injured anyway, so it isn't affecting my running. And since I'm not running, the cold might only take a few days to go away rather than weeks. How's that for twisted logic?

BTW. What a great 5000m race last night at the Commonwealth Games!

Tautology

Today is the first day that I have felt real improvement with my leg. There is still soreness in the muscle on the inside of my lower leg, but the achilles isn't feeling tight and "funny" and the tingles have gone. I've done a few weights sessions now and I think that will help my much neglected core strength a lot. Feeling a bit depressed that I haven't run for a week and I couldn't do my long run, especially seeing all the inspirational running in the marathon and the triathlon.

Today's word is dedicated to the appalling abuse of language by the commentators at channel nine. Along with their overuse of cliches, numerous errors of logic, ridiculous parochialism and continual mispronunciation of names, the nine commentators have managed to take tautology to new levels. I'm sure their mission statement reads: "If we can't find a superlative, we'll make one up". This word is very important to me because it reminds me to say exactly what I mean.

tau·tol·o·gy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (tô-tl-j)n. pl. tau·tol·o·gies
Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.
An instance of such repetition.
Logic. An empty or vacuous statement composed of simpler statements in a fashion that makes it logically true whether the simpler statements are factually true or false; for example, the statement Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow.

Vulgar

Still injured. Have done a couple of weights sessions and my muscles are telling me all about it. Not very happy about not being able to run. I'm sure my leg actually felt worse yesterday than the previous three days rest. It feels a bit better today, so hopefully things are on the way up. Plenty of stretching and massage now and some strengthening exercises when all the soreness is gone. I'm thinking about doing some riding to keep the fitness up. I'll get the bike out tomorrow and see if I can get it to work.

My word today is vulgar. It's not quite the correct descriptor for how my leg feels, but it is close. I like the word vulgar because of the repulsion it can illicit. After reading the history of the word, it might make me sound a bit pretentious.

vul·gar ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vlgr)adj.

Crudely indecent.
Deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement.
Marked by a lack of good breeding; boorish. See Synonyms at common.
Offensively excessive in self-display or expenditure; ostentatious: the huge vulgar houses and cars of the newly rich.
Spoken by or expressed in language spoken by the common people; vernacular: the technical and vulgar names for an animal species.
Of or associated with the great masses of people; common.

[Middle English, from Latin vulgris, from vulgus, the common people.]
vulgar·ly adv. vulgar·ness n.

Word History: The word vulgar now brings to mind off-color jokes and offensive epithets, but it once had more neutral meanings. Vulgar is an example of pejoration, the process by which a word develops negative meanings over time. The ancestor of vulgar, the Latin word vulgris (from vulgus, “the common people”), meant “of or belonging to the common people, everyday,” as well as “belonging to or associated with the lower orders.” Vulgris also meant “ordinary,” “common (of vocabulary, for example),” and “shared by all.” An extension of this meaning was “sexually promiscuous,” a sense that could have led to the English sense of “indecent.” Our word, first recorded in a work composed in 1391, entered English during the Middle English period, and in Middle English and later English we find not only the senses of the Latin word mentioned above but also related senses. What is common may be seen as debased, and in the 17th century we begin to find instances of vulgar that make explicit what had been implicit. Vulgar then came to mean “deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement.” From such uses vulgar has continued to go downhill, and at present “crudely indecent” is among the commonest senses of the word.

I'm injured/Reciprocity

I'm injured.
There, I said it. I've been denying it for almost two weeks now (and as my dad always says, denial isn't just a river in Egypt). The injury isn't bad and it really doesn't hurt too much, but something isn't right with my achilles/calf. It feels tight and knotted; almost like it is ready to tear at some moment. I don't want to continue running and wait for that moment. I'll be taking at least this week off to make sure it gets better. In the meantime I think I'll try and do some weights and much-needed core strengthening.

Today's word is relevant to my blogging activity. The word is reciprocity and I'm guilty of showing a lack of it. I am very busy at work at the moment and I haven't been able to return many of the comments on my blog or keep up with reading everyone's blogs on bloglines. So sorry for my lack of reciprocity.

rec·i·proc·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key n. pl. rec·i·proc·i·ties
A reciprocal condition or relationship.
A mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges, especially the exchange of rights or privileges of trade between nations.

reciprocity
n 1: a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence [syn: reciprocality] 2: mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges

[From Latin reciprocus, alternating. See per1 in Indo-European Roots.]

Eclectic

Just realised I haven't logged what I have done in the last week. On Tuesday I had an easy 5km. Wednesday I ran into uni a little harder (10.5km). Thursday morning we did Mona fartlek (well done the Steve on Australia's Brainiest last night). Friday I did a recovery run from home to uni. And yesterday I went for a 21km long run. The achilles and calf are still feeling not 100%, but still no real pain. The run didn't feel too good. I just felt a bit flat in the legs and kind of struggled over the 21km. I was glad when I got back to the start. The calf was feeling a bit sorer today but felt much better after a good stretch. I'll push on and see how training goes this week.

Now to my next word. I had hinted that the next word would be "vulgar", but that will have to wait for next week. Today it is eclectic. I like it because it describes my tastes and my way of life in general. I particularly like the usage of the word as a noun and hope that one day people apply it to me. Also, this week I have included the derivation of the word because it always interests me where words have come from and how they came to be part of our language. I may have to go back and add the derivation of my previous words.

e·clec·tic ( P ) Pronunciation Key adj.

Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.

Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources: “a popular bar patronized by an eclectic collection of artists, writers, secretaries and aging soldiers on reserve duty” (Curtis Wilkie).

n. One that follows an eclectic method.

[Greek eklektikos, selective, from eklektos, selected, from eklegein, to select : ek-, out; see ecto- + legein, to gather; see leg- in Indo-European Roots.]

PS. Well done to everyone who ran the Six Foot Track Ultramarathon on Saturday. Phil, it sounds like you had a real battle out there.

Coffee bad...Noooooooooooo!

I read some rather disheartening news about coffee yesterday in New Scientists feature article about agricultural water use. Coffee was the worst offender taking 20,000 litres to make a kilo of coffee! In comparison, it took 11,000 litres of water to make a Quarter-pounder and 5000 to make 1kg of cheese and 2000 to make a litre of milk. In a world where water is becoming scarcer, it makes me think about how much of it I drink and also reminds me to appreciate it a lot more. Out at training this morning, one of the guys suggested that I get fair-trade coffee so at least the growers are getting a good deal. I suppose the important thing is that we realise what goes in to producing a lot of the things we take for granted.

Last night on Jamie Oliver's show they showed him killing a lamb to eat with a family he was living with in rural Italy. He made a really good point that if you're not prepared to find out what really happens to all the animals you eat, then maybe you shouldn't be eating them. So many people are detached from the food that they eat, that they find the death of animals repulsive, but have no problem eating the same animals. I am so glad they showed it. I don't eat meat myself, but anything showing the reality of eating meat is a good thing I think. Not that a lamb raised on a picturesque farm and slaughtered very gently by a squirming pommie chef is anywhere near the conditions of a crowded, dirty and compassionless abbatoir, but it does show people that an animal has to be killed so that you can eat your lamb roast.

100th Entry - Why I race.

As my 100th entry I thought I'd have a philosophical look at why I go in races.

Why do I go in races? As a runner, it is a fairly fundamental question. I recently read in someone's blog that they thought previously they thought they deserved a race because of all their hard work in training. Another person had pointed out to them that they could alternatively view a race as a reward and hence something to be enjoyed. What I think this all boils down to is whether you see the race as a right or a priviledge.

If you think it is a right, then you may think you deserve a good result for hard work and a poor result for lazy work. So no matter what you do on the race day, you deserve the result: a very fatalistic approach. This may result in you not making the most of what happens on race day.

If you think it is a priviledge, then you will enjoy the race because it is a reward for all the training you have done and hence will try to make the most of the reward regardless of how hard you trained. I think this is a very positive way to approach racing, especially when you are doing it as a social pastime. This approach may result in you not working as hard in training because no matter what effort you put in during training, you know you will enjoy the race anyway.

So this got me thinking - why do Irace? I think I have taken aspects of both of these approaches into races. However, for the most part I see racing in an entirely different light to the two previous approaches.

I see racing as a test, a test of how well I can do based on my personal ability, my training and my effort on the day. And, I suppose if I'm really honest, it is somewhat egotistically a test of how good I am compared to other competitors. I suppose I like tests in general, so it it no surprise that that I would want to test my ability for running.

I do find races rewarding and I really do enjoy the atmosphere on the day, but I don't think it is my primary reason for racing. I get the most satisfaction from testing myself; laying my body on the line and giving 100% to see what I am capable of on that day. Perhaps this is the reason why I can't hold back in races or try to run at a slower pace with someone else (if this is the case, please don't anyone ask me to pace for you because I may not hang around for long!). I find I just have to go my hardest and there is little stopping me.

Of course there are several other reasons why I race including general health benefits, being a good role model for my kids, pleasing parents (sad I know), raising money for charities and encouraging others to take up a healthy lifestyle, but I consider that they merely prop up my main motivation for racing.

I suppose an allied question would be why do I run at all? And that is a question for another day. I will say that this entry may remain subject to additional thoughts and editing as I continue to ponder these questions.

I hope all those who have read my previous 99 entries have enjoyed them and I hope everyone sticks around to read the next 100.

Toilette

Ever wanted a better word for the vulgar phrase (vulgar is also another favourite word of mine - stay tuned) "shit, shave and shower"? Well, toilette is it. It is a polite way of saying that you have performed your daily ritual of cleaning and making yourself look and smell good. It may also be a sneaky way of commenting on someone's cleanliness and smell, eg. "He/she had a rather unpleasant toilette". I suppose it is a fairly old-fashioned word, but in this world of newly fabricated, re-defined and lost words, I believe that some deserve to be preserved.


toi·lette ( P ) Pronunciation Key (twä-let)n.
The act or process of dressing or grooming oneself; toilet.
A person's dress or style of dress.
A gown or costume.

Longish run

I tentatively went for a long run this morning. Got up late after working late last night and then took Addi to the beach and back (6.5km) and then ran directly into uni (10.5km) for a longish run of 17km. The achilles felt OK, and, owing to the four days off, my legs felt pretty fresh which, is a change for my long run. It wasn't really such a long run, but it was good to get back out there. The calf is feeling a little bit tight now, so plenty of stretching and massage over the next week and hopefully I can quickly build up to the mileage I was doing two weeks ago.

Ugly Sculpture Comp

My achilles still feels a little bit sore so no running today. Instead I have taken up the challenge from Wobblyman to find the world's ugliest sculpture. I think I have two contenders.

First are the famous 'Fones' on the Barr-Smith Lawns at the University of Adelaide. Over 15 years of O-week bunnies have basked in their ugliness whilst consuming copious amounts of free beer and playing pointless sports such as hacky-sack and frisbee. They are there as a permanent reminder to all other people that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

The second sculpture is located in the Hughes Plaza at uni. I'm not sure of the sculpture's name or date, but it is near the the mathematics and computer science departments, so I guess it is some form of conceptual art trying to represent a number of intersecting planes. However, other than the fact that it has always looked like it is unfinished and made of substandard materials, it has faded and rusted over the years and looks as dated and run-down as the architecture in the plaza itself.

I nominate these two pieces of 'art' as the ugliest sculptures in Australia at least.

Niggle

Didn't run home last night and didn't do speedwork this morning. My Achilles is still feeling a little sore and weak. I don't feel confident pushing it so I'll probably take off another couple of days before testing it out. I was intending on having a light week this week - looks like it will be a really light week.

Idiosyncrasy

I like to use this word because we are all unavoidably different. Plus it is a really polite way to say that someone is just plain weird. Eg "He certainly has his idiosyncrasies".

Idiosyncrasy
n : a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual [syn: foible, mannerism]

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy (d--sngkr-s)n.
A structural or behavioral trait peculiar to an individual or a group.
A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.



Ran home last night. Legs were really sore. Feeling a little niggle in my right achilles. Running home tonight to see how it feels. Hopefully I'll be able to do a light speed session tomorrow.