Final Post

Well the writing has been on the wall for awhile so to speak, and after 182 post dating back to the 24th of November 2005 I have decided to "Pull the Pin" (train driver lingo) and finish up my personal blog.

Going back over the last 25 months I have been fascinated by the amount of stuff I have written. Those that know me personally know that I usually don't have that much to say. The blog has been a outlet for things stored up in my head I suppose.

But now with constant time constraints, the blogging has become more of a chore that I was starting to despise, not the outlet that I once did enjoy so much.

I want to thank all those people that have followed and supported me. Not only have have you provided words of encouragement with my running but also funded my causes with Movember in 2006 and again in 2007 ($460 raised for Movember in 2007!!).

I would often think of individuals while trudging out the miles and I have to say that the support I have had, from people I will never meet has at times been overwhelming.

I will be continuing my running. I am currently organising a team from the Narre Warren CFA to enter this years Run for the Kids. Our team is also fundraising for the Children's Hospital. Our progress can be monitored and donations made at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/CFAfirefighters.

I will keep the blog active for a month or so but with today's age of identify theft (alot of personal information is here) I will be deleting the blog after a time.

In farewell I will quote the late Ed Bradley, an American journalist,

"Because when it gets to the point where it's not fun anymore, I've always hoped that I would have the courage to say goodbye and walk away from it."

Regards Damien

aka Spark Driver.

Movember 20th

It is the 20th day of Movember and so far I have raised over $320 dollars.

The Mo is getting as itchy as hell and I am looking forward to shaving it all off come December 1st.

It is not too late to sponsor me. Credit card donations can be made at the Movember website, and entering my rego number of 65449 or my name of Damien Baker.

All donations over $2 are tax deductible and funds raised goes to a very worthy cause.

Running and health

After a check up with my doctor and given the all clear I have been out on a few 6km runs.

I went with Ewens suggestion of monitoring my heartrate and trying to keep it in the 80%, zone 4 range.

I set up a little used function on my Garminator 305 to sing out an alert when the heartrate got too high. It was a lot of hard work keeping it in the right range.

Overall with jogging and a little walking I have done a few laps of a 6km circuit in around 40 minutes.

Not a very fast pace but it felt good to be out and giving it a go.

Too Young

It was with great sadness to hear of John (Crazy John) Ilhans sudden death earlier this week.

I never knew the guy, and never bought a phone of him, but I feel very sad that this 42 yo father, with a young family, is gone, never to return.

Life is so precious at times that it scares me. How does someone, a non-smoker, who seems reasonably fit and active, die from a heart attack while walking the dog?? At 42 it seems to be such a waste!

Now I have to admit that I haven't run anywhere for about four weeks. I have no excuses apart from laziness and I'm feeling mighty guilty about that. Oscar and I have done some long 6km/50 minute walks and occasional bike rides but it hasn't stopped the weight and lethargy creeping on.

Due to Crazy Johns untimely death I am now scared to start up strenuous, long distance running again. Even though I would recover my heart rate would always average around 190bpm on a long, 50 minute run.

For a 36 year old male this high heart rate going for over 50 minutes can't be good!!

I am the type who only goes to the Doctor if there is something wrong. Usually then I put a visit off, hoping that what ever ails me will get better. But I think for my own peace of mind, I should get the whole health check service before attempting a return to running.

I am no longer as young as I once was and I feel I do have weight, eating and health issues that have to be resolved.

While speaking of health issues it is timely to mention that I am participating in Movember again this year.

(Pardon me as I copy and paste).

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I'll be growin a Mo. That's right I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about changing men's health and the fight against male depression and prostate cancer. Why...

Depression affects 1 in 6 men...Most don't seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.

Last year in Australia 18,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer - equivalent to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually.

Men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy of males is 5 years less than females.

To sponsor my Mo please go to

http://www.movember.com/au/donate, enter my registration number which is 65449 and your credit card details. Or you can sponsor me by cheque made payable to the "Movember Foundation" clearly marking the donation as being for my Registration Number: 65449. Please mail cheques to: PO Box 292, Prahran VIC 3181. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The money raised by Movember is donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative, which will use the funds to create awareness, fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and male depression.

For those that have supported Movember in previous years you can be very proud of the impact it has had and can check out the detail at: Fundraising Outcomes.

Last year I raised over $300 with $160 proudly coming from people who read this blog.

I know I haven't been the most faithful blogger lately but for the month of Movember I promise to do my best with witty postings and more silly pics.

Remember all money raised goes towards a great cause.

Let the mo begin!

RACE REPORT PLEASE...

After I missed out on a half marathon entry for the Melbourne Marathon I settled for the 10km race.

But due to too much red wine the night before, the morning of the Melbourne Marathon I was a DNS (did not start).

This is the first event that I have paid for and missed and I am feeling pretty shit about it (especially as it was for such a self indulgent reason as drinking too much ).

Then again maybe this feeling of disappointment is the 'kick up the arse' I need. I have found the motivation for running and any exercise lately very lacking. Those rare times I have gotten out the door have been rewarding once done but such a struggle to get there.

I can't believe I have let myself go so much since last years Melbourne Marathon.

In an attempt to get back to where it all started, Oscar and I went for a 6km walk yesterday, and I have just returned from a 10km bike ride today.

I'm not feeling very good about my current weight and feel I am overdue for a bit of detox from the alcohol (three bottles of cab sav in 24 hours and I NEED detoxing).

I want to feel good about exercise again.

Maybe Spark Driver 3.0???

Sydney Harbour Bridge

At the end of August this is the sight that appears on Spark Drivers virtual Road to Rockhampton journey.

After 853 gruelling, stop/start kilometres the elatiant runner, picks up his pace, lifts his arms in the air, and crosses the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The air is filled with the cheers and claps of friends and family that have turned out for this monumentus virtual milestone.

Spark Drivers skin tingles with emotion, or is that a burning sensation as the historic bridge explodes in fireworks around him.

Spark Driver was quoted as saying "Gimme a drink" as Australia's Prime Minister, Little Johnny, throws open the doors of Kirribilli House for a celebrationary BBQ.

Defence Lake Attack follow up.

After receiving a lot of comments regarding the reported 200bpm towards the end of the Defence Lake Attack I decided to upload the heartrate/distance graph for the event.

For the past year my average heartrate while running is 175bpm. It is not unusual for it to reach the low-mid 190's while pushing hard and climbing up hills.

I didn't think that 204bpm would be that unbelievable to a slightly overweight, slightly out of form runner?

And yes. I have added the Melbourne Marathon Half as my next "To do" thing.

Defence Lake Attack 2007

This year was my third time as a participant in the Defence Lake Attack and I am pleased to say that the organisers finally got it right.

After last years manual recording of finishing times shamozle, it was refreshing to see that they had finally introduced the windag timing system.

You may remember last years 10km distance was very short. The 600 metres short according to the Garminator was very frustrating when I was pushing for a PB back then. This year the organisers had done their homework and added a dog leg section to make the 5km per lap accurate.

My friends Caz and David from Run to the G joined me again as we car pooled into the event. We had to pick up our numbers there so we left a bit earlier. I was a little apprehensive about the number pick up business expecting chaotic queues but it was surprisingly orderly.

We watched the 5km racers start first and every one jumped when the starters gun, a 105mm Howitzer, boomed out over Albert Park Lake.

Next I joined the 10km runners lining up, I wasn't pacing this time around so I wished my car pooling buddies the best of luck.

Even though we were warned, and expected it, everyone still jumped when the cannon fired announcing the start.

I took of fast. I knew I had lost a lot of form since last years event but I knew it was a fast, flat course and I wanted to make the best of it.

The first and second kilometre passed in 4:31 and 4:38 pace. A bit too quick for a Fatty Bombah to be running so I slowed it down a little.

Kilometres 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 went by at an average 4:52 but I was starting to feel the earlier quick pace catching up with me.

The last three kilometres I struggled to keep it around 5:06-5:02 per kilometre and I was grateful to see and pass through the finish line.
Considering that I am carrying 10 kilos more than this time last year I was very happy to complete the event in 0:49:01.

I may now resemble Fat Albert when I run but I can still hold my own over 10km distance.
My friends also finished the 10km race. David in 0:57:40 and Caz finished in 1:00:58 with Coolrunnings own Slow Sue.

Even though they had only briefly meet before the event, Slow Sue stuck with my friend Caz, who was struggling with a sore foot, and encouraged, prodded and paced my friend over the finish line.

Makes me proud to be a Coolrunner seeing such selfless acts as that.

After downloading all the Garminator data I could see that the last kilometre and a half my heart rate was over 200bpm! This can't be good for a 36 year old male and I may have to work on my fitness more before pushing myself like this again.

Making a rewarding effort.

Thanks to everyone for your great words of encouragement. It is hard to slack off when I think of everyone I would be letting down.

I have picked up with my running. I have had three runs of 10+ kilometres including a late night, 2 x laps of The Tan. This morning I also completed a local 12.5km run in 1:04:42. Not a bad effort for a slacker.

Running is something I still enjoy. But with work, sleep, family and CFA commitments it is hard to schedule it into a busy life. The best time I have found is early morning. When you can roll out of bed there is not many distractions or reasons to make excuses. Unfortunately with my shift work I need to get all the sleep I can grab.

I seem to have to make an effort to get out for a run. Though I do admit it is very rewarding when I get back home afterwards.

Mornings have brought me a new project that I have been sinking my teeth into.

I mentioned briefly in my last post of Walking School Bus. Walking School Bus is a project involving the local council, school and parent volunteers.

I have established a bus route that weaves in and out local streets. I take my own two kids, Lucy and Ben and we collect another ten on our 1km walking journey to school.

It has been a great way to encourage some exercises with the kids and take five cars away from the school peak hour chaos.

While going over my old blog entries it was interesting to see some of the old pictures. I could see how fit I looked at times and I decided to add this one for future reference.

It has been awhile since Oscar has been for a run and I decided to take him in an attempt to get back to where I started from. As you can see he loved the first five kilometres of the 10km run but struggled to bring it home.

The Queensland State of Orgin top is another story. About 15 years ago when the NRL were playing the first State of Orgin match at Melbourne's MCG, myself and a few friends bought tickets for the game. My friends were both ex-pat New South Welshmen and were wearing team guernseys. I shopped at Canterbury in the City and much to my friends disgust I brought the Queensland Orgin top as it was the only one I liked.

From memory Queensland lost that game against the Blues and except for the streaker at the start of the game I didn't have the foggiest of the rules, game play or anything else that went on.

Now I find the top is good for colder weather running and it has been getting a bit more of a workout lately.

After a couple of weeks lapse my Run to Rockhampton continues. I have calculated that I am close to Prestons, on the outskirts of Sydney, and at a crossroads.

Should I turn right and take the South Western Motorway for a triumphant run through the streets of Sydney. Or keep my eyes on the prize and follow the M7 Westlink to Eastern Creek?

Decisions, decisions...