A few days break

Thanks for all your advice. I have had two days off running, keeping my ankle elevated and with a pressure bandage on when I have been home.

I woke this morning with my ankle feeling ok. I have been itching for a run during my forced rest and had planned getting back to this morning. Oscar and I set out for our regular 15km and completed the circuit in 1:21:28. About 10 minutes into the run I stopped to do some stretches with my ankle. I don't normally stop like this but I figure prevention will be better than the cure. Anyway we continued our run with no shooting pains in the foot. I think I may have just been biting off too many kilometers too fast.

Speaking of too many k's, today's run brings my monthly total to 172.4km! My previous month was 111.1 and I am very happy with the improvement. I have added a chart in the sidebar so monthly totals are now easier to follow.

Entries for Run for the Kids are now closed with the organizers deciding to cap the participants at 20,000! I am so glad I am one of them and am very excited that it is now so close. Only ten sleeps to go.

I am very proud to share that yesterday I went to the uniform store at work and picked up a pair of size 92R (36") shorts. I originally was wearing 107R (42") before I started exercising. Now to get into a pair of 87's (34").

Ouch

In a effort to increase my weekly kilometres Oscar and I set off for another 10.3km run this morning. We completed it in 0:54:15.

The run was pretty good except for some occasional pain in my right ankle. Every now and then, when I was taking a step, I would feel a sharp pain shooting from the top of my foot up through my ankle. This happened once on yesterdays run but I forgot all about it. Today's run it must have happened 6 to 10 times. I was able to keep running through it, with only a little residual pain.

I'm hoping it might only mean too many k's too quick. In the past three days I have run everyday and done about 35 kilometres. A bit of a difference from running every second day. Tonight I will leave a pressure bandage on it and give running a miss tomorrow. Trying it out again on Thursday.

Oscar will not be joining me on the Run for the Kids. I haven't taken him on a race before and I'm not too sure if he would be welcome. Besides as he seems to prefer running on grass I think 14.7km on bitumen might be a little too far for his three toed foot.

BAD Runners

I went out again for a run on Sunday with our formative running group the BAD Runners (Berwick And Districts). There was only Runningrupert and myself there and I did a 10.4km in 0:57:49. Rupert and I ran together for the first 40 minutes then he pushed on and did some hill work while I headed back to the car. It is good to get out and run different trails with other Coolrunners. I'm hoping that we will get some more interest in the near future.

Last night I worked and drove a few special trains for the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony. On my extended mealbreak I went for a walk down to the Yarra to watch the light show. It was thrilling to see so many people in Melbourne.

I have enjoyed being at work during the games. I only had one day off during the 12 day period and the atmosphere in the city has been awesome. But good things do come to a end and its back to regular services. Until this weekend when we are hosting the Grand Prix!

This morning Oscar and I ran our 15km. A little slower than our previous PB but we completed it in 1:24:56. I started a bit sore in the calves after Sundays run but it was nice to get out in some cooler weather.

Speaking of runs I keep forgetting to mention how my Run for the Kids race pack arrived in the mail last week. Those that read Coolrunning will have heard already that I will be yellow 6311. My wife Sal has also received her 4.5km walk pack and she will be white 24257. I have been building up to this race since I first heard about it in October 2005. I am now very excited that it is less than two weeks away.

Bodyglide

The Bodyglide I ordered from Physiosupplies Australia arrived yesterday. Very impressive as I had only ordered it online the night before. I was itching to try it out so after dinner settled down, Oscar and I went out for a quick spin.

I was wearing my running shorts and all lubed up on Bodyglide. I didn't want to be too far from home, just in case I got in trouble again, so Oscar and I just went on a short, 5.3km run (completed in 0:26:41).

The product worked surprisingly well. I could feel my thighs rubbing together but there was no friction, and definitely no pain. I reckon the Bodyglide could be a winner. No more sweaty bike shorts woohoo.

I have had a lot of comments on Oscars short-arseness from my previous post. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not a very tall dog and Oscar is short example compared to other Staffys. He even looks short in that picture to me so I think he may have been crouching a little. He likes to do a lot of speed work at the start of our runs but usually losses a bit of puff towards the end of the 15km. Unfortunately I don't think he is well designed for a full marathon but he will accompany me on the journey for a Half.

Oscar and I

As requested from Royal Kanga here is a picture of Oscar. As I'm never one to give up a photo opportunity I jumped in too.


In the pic I am wearing my new Asics Duotech singlet (a recent purchase from eBay) and the Asics running shorts that have recently given me so much trouble.

We ran a short 8.8km this morning in 0:48:27. I was going for our 15km run but my knees started to feel sore so I decided to cut the run short.

I ordered some Bodyglide from Physiosupplies Australia this afternoon. This was after I spent 2 hours wandering around the city looking for a store that stocked it. It was a beautiful day in Melbourne today so the time wasn't completely wasted.

Chasing Kenyans

Oscar and I just got home from our 15km run with a blistering time of 1:15:39! That is 5:05 minutes off my previous best time! It was tough going and surprisingly a lot of concentration to keep a decent pace up.

I watched the mens 5000 metre last night on TV and that left me very inspired for this mornings run. I imagined Oscar as a little Kenyan I was chasing down and that helped me keep my pace. I'm sure if I was racing Kenya's Augustine Choge he would be back home, watching Foxtel, while I would be still struggling up my first hill!

We went to watch the Marathon on Sunday and that was a great day. We first set up camp in front of the Arts Centre and watched the ladies pass at the 0:51:00 mark then stayed to watch the mens leaders at 0:47:00. A little excitement when Namibia's Beata Naigambo collapsed in front of us. She was attended to at the scene and taken away in an ambulance. I read a snippet that she was in a stable condition in hospital Sunday night.

We then went and moved in front of the boathouses on the banks of the Yarra river. We watched Kerryn McCann and Kenyan Hellen Cherono Koskei pass in 2:07:00. Very exciting to watch a Aussie leading at that stage of the event. I'm sure all readers now know that Kerryn went on to win in 2:30.53. It still gives me chills thinking about her stunning victory.

I also spotted and said hi to a fellow Coolrunner. Courtly Love was proudly wearing her Coolrunning cap and we chatted shortly. I notice that she has a blog as well but hasn't posted for awhile. Time now to go and leave her a message.

The Tan

Today at work I had a 1 and a half hour meal break so I went for a long planned lap of The Tan.


(Excuse my very poor line. I'm new at this Google Earth thing)

I started the watch when I left Flinders St Station and turned left down Flinders St. Turning left again at Queens Bridge I crossed the Yarra River then turned up into Southbank. The promenade was very busy and I spent a lot of time dodging and weaving through the crowds. Eventually I broke out into the clear and climbed the stairs up to St Kilda rd.

St Kilda rd seen even more crowds. There was a free festival in the gardens and people seemed to be milling around everywhere. I love seeing Melbourne alive with the Games at the moment but it does make it hard when you want to get around.

I eventually crossed the road and found The Tan track. I have only run on this course once before and that was part of the Olympic Dream run. That race went over The Tan anti-clockwise and I repeated it today. I seemed to be the only one going in that direction and I figured clockwise is best to get the full benefit of the Anderson St hill.

I only did one circuit then headed back to Flinders St. There is tight security at work at the moment so I have to don my ID lanyard over my sweaty top to gain access back into the building.

I have measured out my route on Google Earth and reckon it is about 6.3km. I completed it today in 0:32:20.

I would have liked to have done two laps but I had to save some time to freshen up before going back to work. Now I know what I am doing and where I am going I will aim for two laps next time.

Tomorrow the family and I are heading back into the City to cheer on the marathon runners. We are planning to set up on St Kilda rd, just before the half way mark, then head back to Federation Square to watch the finish on the big screen.

Looking forward to a great day out then back to work in the evening.

Day Zero

Day Zero is what Connex is calling today. The first day of the Commonwealth Games. I am working tonight driving a few special trains, and will be leaving for work shortly.

Oscar and I ran our 15km this morning in 1:24:51. I wore my new running shorts on the outside of my bike shorts and they worked a treat. Thanks everyone for your great advice.

Equipment trouble

I normally run in bike shorts. Sure they are a little tight and revealing but they stop my thighs from chaffing and causing a lot of discomfort. The tights have been good and I haven't looked back until my group run on Sunday. When standing with new acquaintances I felt very self conscious when I noticed how much they resembled a pair of Buggy Smugglers. After losing some weight (under 100 kilo's for five days now woohoo) I felt it was time to go the running shorts.

Yesterday In Melbourne I went sports store shopping (I like to wander around Rebel "just looking"), and ended up buying a pair of Asics high cut shorts. Last night I wore my new shorts around the house, having dinner and watching TV and they felt great.

So this morning Oscar and I set out for our 15km run. The shorts were great initially but after 3km the chaffing came back. I pushed on baring the pain for another 4km then, to my utter frustration, I had to call the run short and run/walk the next 1.5km home. Ended up doing around 8.5km in 0:53:15.

I'm kind of at a loss at what to do next. I'm thinking some product like Bodyglide may be the answer. But after telling my wife how inexpensive running is ("all you need are runners and go for it") I seemed to have racked up bills of over $400. Sure a lot of that are the $215 Asics Kayanos but I don't really want to buy more stuff now may not work for me or I don't need.

Fishing, Golf & Running

Friday 10th of March

ManDay (sorry about the label, it wasn't my idea) on Friday was a lot of fun. My day started of about 10am when I had to pick up the bus. Then pick up the 11 other guys and we all went to the pub for lunch.

After a very satisfying chicken parmagana the boys loaded up their booze and I drove us all to the golf course.

The golf was pretty ordinary. I haven't played for a long time and it showed. I couldn't tee off to save myself. The 6 golf buggies we hired between us all ended up being fun. We only completed 5 out of 9 holes due to time constraints. We had to head off again to meet the fishing charter.

We went out fishing at Western Port Bay for about 6 hours. I caught two elephant fish, the biggest fish I have ever caught.

I drove the bus back home dropping off drunken husbands to their very happy wives (NOT!). Eventually crawling into bed absolutely exhausted at 2am.

Sunday 12th of March

Today was a early start to catch up with some other Coolrunners with the second meeting of the Casey/Cardinia Running Group. At a local athletics track I met runningrupert, scorp_king and slowbutsure.

We went for a run through the main street of Berwick and into the Wilson Botanical Gardens. Slowbutsure and I stayed back to do two laps of a lake while runningrupert and scorp_king went and tackled some hills. Then we all headed back to our cars.

I worked out on Google Earth that I ran about 10.2km in 0:59:00. It was my first time running with a group and I'm looking forward to 2 weeks time when we are going out to do it again.

6 Foot Track

A surprising mixed reaction to my goal of competing in a Six Foot Track marathon. Even my lovely wife thinks I've gone completely mad.

Is it just other runners personal preference of road races over cross country events, or have bitten off more than I can chew?

I must admit that when I first looked up the Six Foot Track website it left me feeling very inspired. Raising money for the local Rural fire Service is something that also appeals to me. Made me think that one day, if I'm ever good enough, I could run in the event.

I know that my 15km running non-stop is a long way from a marathon but this time last year I couldn't even run 5km! With time and training I think I would be able to complete a marathon. Maybe not Six Foot by 2007 but one day who knows?

A friend of mine is having a birthday get together tomorrow. He has hired a bus and about 12 of us will be going to the pub for lunch. Completing a round of golf. Then heading out on the bay for a fishing charter. Because I don't drink, and have a truck license I will be driving the bus. I haven't played golf for 10 or so years and I wasn't any good at it back then either. Still I've borrowed a mates golf clubs, already lost a ball over the neighbors fence and am quite excited and looking forward to the day.

Look out for a fishing/golf report soon.

Making Goals

Oscar and I just completed our 15km run. We did the course clockwise this time leaving the big hill for last. The hill was a killer after already running 8km but we still ran all the way completing the course in 1:27:56. I think I will stick to the anti-clockwise direction for a few weeks.

I had originaly planned to run my first half marathon in the Melbourne Marathon this year. But after reading on Coolrunning and checking the Melbourne Marathon website often I'm not too sure that the event will happen.

I have found another half at the Sri Chinmoy Running & Fitness Festival being held on the 28th of May. I have never attend a Sri Chinmoy event and it does sound like fun. If Melbourne Mara still happens in October I could aim to run the full event then.

I have to get at least one marathon in before Six Foot Track 2007!

Nearly a 1/2 Marathon

This morning Oscar and I ran my new 15km course. I'm happy to say we completed it in 1:24:05.

Narre Warre South is pretty flat but at Gronk's suggestion I have included the biggest hill he have got.

I don't think Oscar was expecting such a large run. He was pretty tuckered out for the rest of the day.

I reckon I still had another 7kms in me (not sure about Oscar). Enough to complete a Half at least. Melbourne Marathon here I come.

Pounding the treadmill

In the end my mealbreak would only let me have 25 minutes down the gym. The treadmill's have recently been updated so I had to take a few moments to figure them out.


I set a pace of 10kph an hour but after a few minutes I thought "I can do better than this!" and upped it to 11kph. The gym is not air conditioned but has four roof fans operating. Still it felt warm outside so I worked up sweat.

Kind of strange running and watching TV. I think Oscar would hate it.

I think it would be difficult to run on a treadmill all the time. It would be hard to keep motivated and not just step off. When I go out to pound the pavement I am on a journey, with my course planned out, an estimated time to complete it and no chance of just pressing 'Pause'. Just my thoughts only.

In all I completed 4.12km in 23 minutes. Being at work and being paid to run was a novelty, but I don't think I will be making the treadmill session a main part of my routine. It is good to have the alternative for poor weather. On that note I am planning on returning tonight time permitting.

Sorry Wobbly but the gym is not open to outsiders. Just an exclusive area open to Train Drivers and some other Flinders St staff. The room is on the first floor at the extreme western end of the building. I have noticed a few water stains in the roof but have never seen it leak. We leave all that roof leaking business to the managers on the top floor :-)

A quiet week.

Thanks AlsoRan for the reminder. I had slacked off on the Blog.

I haven't posted much this week as I haven't had much to say. Oscar and I did our 11.6km on Monday in one hour and again on Wednesday with a time of 1:00:56.

Oscar has another sore foot so he will have to be rested and we are into the heat again in Melbourne, preventing me going on my regular morning runs.

At the Queen St end of Flinders St Station, is a staff gym. It is a small but well equiped gym that is owned and operated by the social club. It has plenty of weight stuff, a rower, two exercise bikes and two treadmills. I'm planning on taking my running gear with me tonight and doing 40 minutes on the treadmill. That will be a alternative to running in the heat, running at 2am or just sitting on my arse waiting for cooler weather.

My total kilometers for Febuary was 111.1. Even though Febuary was a shorter month I am still disappointed to be 13 km's less than January. I have mapped out a 15km course on the bike (ggrrr another puncture!) and will start doing that one when it gets cooler.