Spark Driver's Journey

Final Post

2008-01-02T08:10:00.000+11:00

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

2007-11-20T09:57:00.000+11:00

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

2007-10-26T16:15:00.000+10:00

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...

2007-10-09T11:05:00.000+10:00

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

2007-09-01T09:48:00.001+10:00

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

2007-08-28T09:48:00.000+10:00

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.

2007-08-19T16:50:00.000+10:00

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...

Back to the Future

2007-08-07T09:55:00.000+10:00

I have just spent the last few days re-reading my Blog entries to see where I went wrong.

I am now back to 106 kilograms and I feel FAT! My running has slacked off to 55 kilometres in June and a very piss poor 29 kilometres in July.

A lot of the past couple of months inactivity I blame on poor weather, laziness and a little bit of fear.

I was frightened that after a week of not running turned into two weeks, then three, I would not be able to get back to my run "10km's all the way benchmark".

Fortunately though I did keep a little active by infrequent fartlek session on the treadmill at work, and a recent participation in the Walking School Bus program at my kids school.

In the last couple of weeks I have managed to get three outdoor runs to re-build my confidence. A 10.8km lap of the Yarra River and 'The Tan' completed in 58:53. A 10km local run that took 54:39 and this mornings dawn run over an old 10km route that was completed in 55:30.

Even though I have slowed down from being out of form and carrying extra weight I can still manage to run 10km's without stopping.

After reading my blog I seemed have made alot of excuses after the 2006 Melbourne Marathon. Maybe I wasn't quite ready for this event but it did bring a tear to my eye reading that post again.

I have an entry in the 10km Defence Lake Attack, that was bought as a birthday present from a friend, and I will be lining up for that event toward the end of the month.

The Melbourne Marathon will not be happening for me this year but the Half could be a possibility, if I get organised and trained up in time that is.

I don't think I will reach my goal of 2000km's in 2007 but I will try to calculate how far I have been. The website I use, www.mapmyrun.com doesn't like the long distance I have traced out and I will have to look at another distance recording method.

Now a special thank you thank you thank you to those that hadn't lost faith and kept visiting my blog while I was being slack. Your comments that popped up in my email every now and then certainly prodded my guilty conscience and helped keep me honest. I know how easy it is to forget about someone when they haven't Blogged for awhile and I appreciate you giving me a prod in the ribs every now and then. Thank You!!

Please be patient as I look forward to catching up on your Blogs and adventures over the next few days.

Run to the G

2007-06-18T09:24:00.000+10:00

Caz and David are a married couple who are friends of mine. The have both been into fitness and looking after themselves for the last year and have recently discovered running.

They had both bought entries for the Run to the G 10km event and had entered a third person who couldn't make it on the day.

Caz offered the extra entry to me so in return I offered to pace them in their goal's of a sub 1 hour 10km, and to run all the way with out walking.

I haven't been in the Run to the G before and I have to admit the disorganised chaos at the start line left a lot to be desired!!

There was a few thousand runners jammed into a small horse shoe shaped starting chute and when the starting orders went out (15 minutes late!!), the crowd surged sideways, instead of following the starting chute, and we was left to struggle over two lots of temporary fencing (Ggrrr).

Once out of that shambles the race turned right on Swanston St then right again up Flinders St. Caz set off at a cracking pace and completed the first km in 5:37 then the second km in 5:29. I tried to let her know she could back it off a little but the hills around the MCG soon did it for me.

The next two km's came in at 6:14 and 6:12 and the head start we had gained on Garminators virtual training partner was starting to catch up to us.

At the end of the 5th kilometre David stretched a calf muscle and started to walk, gradually falling behind. I dropped back to offer any help or encouragement and let him know to finish at his own pace. No point giving himself any further injury's. It is only a FUN run.

It was then a quick run to catch up to Caz. That sprint for 500 metres sure felt good and I was encouraged to find her ahead still running strong.

7km splits blew out to 6:45 minutes when my Padawan learner had to stop for a toilet break. Caz then realised her 1 hour goal was slipping away and she pushed through the pain to run the 8 and 9 km in 6:05 and 5:58.

For the last kilometre I kept up the encouragement and told her it wasn't far. The last 400 metres I lead in front pushing her to sprint over the finish line.

I was just wondering what happened to David when he pulled up right behind us at the finish. Seems he caught up at the toilet break and with his calf feeling better he kept up with us from then. Great effort!!

The goal of 1 hour was just missed with the end time of 1:02:10. But I did push Caz to her goal of running all the way.

It was a very slow pace for me as I could see later on the heart rate chart. The graph above is from yesterdays Run to the G. Below is a graph taken earlier in the month from a 13km solo run at Lysterfield Lake park.

Even though I didn't have the fastest, gut-busting time that I usually push for a did have a very rewarding experience. It was good to help a couple of friends realise a running goal and we talked about more runs we could do together in the future.

Other stuff

Yes I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging. It seems to go hand in hand with being a slacker at running and weight loss.

May totals ended in 106 km's and June had started off pretty piss poor as well.

I had been avoiding Sekhmet's Fat Fighters blog as my weight loss yo-yo's wildly in an attempt to avoid the disappointment. Weight loss I've found is only fun when you are losing.

My ankle and foot continue to go untreated and the ankle is starting to get sore again. I'm not too sure if I am 100% happy with the Podiatrist findings. I mean he didn't even see me run, only watched me walking on his stupid treadmill.

I can't help but think the problem is related to these new blue Asics Kayano 13's. I never had this trouble on my old red Kayano 12's and I did go through two pairs of them. Maybe another brand of shoes with more motion control maybe in order?

I may investigate further Beakus suggestion of a Sports Doctor. A streching and warm up regime before running may help.

I am unsure as to where I am in relation to Run to Rockhampton. The web site I use to measure the distance, mapmyrun.com, is having a lot of trouble with my run. I am 744 kilometres this year so far. Somewhere between Goulburn and Sydney!

A trail somewhere.

2007-05-29T15:58:00.000+10:00

As mentioned in an earlier post often, while I'm at work I peer out of the cab window at various walking/bike trails around Melbourne.

Often I wonder where does it lead to? What is around the next corner?

This bike path is in Steve and Alsoran's stomping grounds.

The picture was taken as I'm approaching Hoppers Crossing on the Weribee line. The trail starts at Hoppers Crossing and follows the train line heading towards Melbourne for about 800 metres. It then snakes under a rail bridge and heads north.

I like the look of this trail as it is constructed of one of my preferred running surfaces, bitumen. I find bitumen to feel 'softer' than concrete and is easier on the feet.

I have just looked up Australian Map Directory and found that this is part of the Federation_Trail.

Podiatrist

LBETPA asked "So what's happening with your foot?" Currently I'm a little ashamed to say "nothing".

I'm yet to go back and see Brad the Pod. Not from not wanting to just making up my mind and waiting for the finances to be available.

I think I will settle for the middle of the range $200 option. I have been running lately without any pronation support and the ankle is starting to give me grief again. In hindsight the strapping did help more than I realised.

Second Podiatrist visit

2007-05-19T09:49:00.000+10:00

I returned to see Brad the Podiatrist on Thursday for his diagnosis of my ankle troubles.

The x-rays had returned and I had my evaluation from the strapping ready.

From the x-rays Brad says I have a condition called posterior talor process impingement (try saying that when you are pissed). Apparently my Talus bone (ankle bone) has an extra growth that is striking against the heel bone.

It can also be called Trigonum. But actual Trigonum implies this bone is loose in the ankle joint which mine is not

It can be fixed by surgery, but Brad would like to correct the 8 degrees of pronation that also goes on in my stupid left foot, before he cuts me open.

He showed me three different types of orthotics, a cheap store bought, a custom foot adjusted orthosis and custom made functional foot orthosis.

The last two sound fairly similar but the $300 difference in price tags certainly puts them apart.

I expected a Podiatrist to recommend the $500 orthotic and I wasn't disappointed. I told Brad I would think about it and get back to him.

The main advantage of the dearer orthotic he said was its durability. It would last four to five years and the cheaper one would only last around two.

Then again it may not offer any improvement to the ankle pain. The strapping reduced pain by only around 60% and it may ultimately need surgery.

I think I will do some more research. I will make another appointment for two weeks time.

Train Pics

Often while travelling around Melbourne and its suburbs I look out of the cab window on my train and think "That looks like a nice place to run."
This picture was taken from the rail bridge between Westgarth and Clifton Hill on the Hurstbridge line.

It is looking down on a bike path that follows the Merri creek and I always think it looks pretty cool.

Road to Rockhampton

My progress to Rockhampton has slowed down quite a bit in the last few weeks but I am still plodding along.

I am currently approaching the small town of Breadalbane. Apart from some references to Ben Hall's bushranger gang I couldn't find much history regarding this place on Google.

I did find that Breadalbane is a Scottish word and it means "Highland Scotland" in Gaelic.

Thank you Mr Google for that useless piece of trivia.

Podiatrist visit

2007-05-14T11:38:00.000+10:00

I had my first visit to a medical professional for a running related injury last Friday.

As most would know I have been complaining of ankle pain that I have suspected to be Achilles heel for a few weeks.

The visit to the podiatrist revealed some things I already knew and a lot of things I didn't know.

It seems that I have had some slight Achilles pain but the Pod thinks it is related to something else.

Brad the Podiatrist showed on a foot skeleton how he thinks my Calcaneus (or heel bone) and Talus (ankle bone) are striking together. He explained how through his prodding, bending and the description of my symptoms he came to that conclusion.

Brad also filmed my feet while walking on a treadmill and showed that while my right leg walks straight and proper, my left foot misbehaves and over-pronates considerably.

My left foot has now been strapped up and padded to stop the pronation and Dr. Brad has encouraged me to run on it to see if the pain abates.

Since the visit I have run 20 minutes on the treadmill at work, 10km's early Saturday morning and a 12km this morning.

I have to admit that the padded and strapped foot doesn't feel too bad. There is only a little residual pain around the ankle and I suspect an orthotic insert maybe the answer.

I had my foot x-rayed yesterday and I go back to see Brad the Podiatrist on Thursday hopefully for some answers.

Snake Party

My son Ben had his 8th birthday party on Saturday and we had arranged for Raymond from Snakebusters to visit and entertain the hordes.

Raymond put on a very entertaining show and I would recommend any Melbournians to consider him for a kids party.

Ben struggling under his body weight in snakes.

Lucy with a snake and a baby crocodile (yes its real).

Spark Driver looking relaxed while keeping a snake away from his neck.

Apologies

My apologies go out to my regular fellow bloggers. Due to being very busy lately with work, kids parties and school commitments I haven't had time to catch up with all your blogs.

I do feel guilty for my poor time managerment skills and I will try to catch up soon.

The Great Train Race

2007-05-09T09:14:00.000+10:00

or alternatively titled

"How to run 13.2km's with a hangover."

It was an ordinary start on Sunday. My daughter had her 10th birthday party the night before and in usual children's party tradition it was an excuse for the adults to have a few drinks.

The plan was to be in bed by midnight. A glass of water between every Bourbon and Diet Coke and I would be fit for the morning. Unfortunately bed didn't happen till 2am and the water drinking didn't happen till it was way too late.

I had told myself that hell or high water I was racing a train in the morning. In my inebriated state I felt like that if I 'Did Not Start' it would signal the end to this running caper.

So with 6 hours recovery time I was up again getting ready for my first Great Train Race.

As a child I was raised in the Dandenongs and knew the layout of Belgrave fairly well. I had a secret sneaky place planned to park and was a little surprised to find everyone else seemed to know of my spot. I parked a little way out of town and took the 10 minute walk to the starting area.

After dropping my bag off I searched out and found some other Coolrunners. Eat 'Em, Wobbly Man, Tigerboy and Chilliman (sounds like a gathering of the Justice League of America) were gathered together talking race strategy. I also caught up with Blkbox, Sekhmet and Deege at the start line. I think Morseyruns freaked me out and said hello when I didn't know who she was (Spark Driver is written on the back of my Coolrunning hat). As always there was other CR's that I have forgotten with my most humble apologies.

The event started pretty much on time but I was situated fairly well back in the crowd It wasn't much more than a shuffle for the first kilometre and a half.

The route is very scenic and apart for a nagging need for No. 1 toilet I enjoyed the first half of the race very much.

I hear groans from many but I have come to realize that I do enjoy running hills. Maybe it is my body design of short legs/long torso that helps or my semi-regular hilly training routes but I find I can power up moderate hills when many around are slowing down or walking.

At Menzies Creek I had a quick, toilet detour then buckled down to finish off the race.

The Garminator announced that I had run 9km's in 50 minutes and I knew I was way down on my best pace but I was still happy to be out running.

Travelling through Emerald I could hear the whistle of the second train behind me and was determined to finish in front of it. I upped the intensity to a sub 5 minute pace.

The last two kilometres I could hear the whistle of the 2nd 'Ladies' train draw closer and closer and at one point I thought I could even hear the chug chug of the engine.

The last kilometre was almost a sprint with a 4:37 split and I was pleased to cross the finish line in Garmin time of 70:44.

The 2nd train eventually finished in 75.56.

I picked up the Number 11 spot prize of a pair of Brooks socks and headed over to catch the first train departing back to Belgrave.

On the trip back I spent a lot of time thinking of my throbbing ankle and reflecting what running means to me.

Since starting running nearly two years ago I have achieved so much.

5km ,10 km, a Half and the Melbourne Marathon events to name a few. It has had many highs and a few lows.

The Bellarine 34km rail trail in August '06 at a 93 kilo weight was the highlight. This current ankle injury would have to be the low.

As I sat in the train, currently weighing a very disappointing 100 kilo's, I decided that running is something I still enjoy and want to continue.

I need to fix this Achilles problem and I need to break that 93 kilo barrier.

Next year I not only have to beat the 2nd train I also need to beat the 1st one (57.54 this year)!

Since Sunday I have taken the first step and booked an appointment with a Podiatrist. The earliest time available was this Friday morning and apart from a couple 30 minutes sessions on a treadmill I have been taking it easy.

Drop back during the weekend sometime and I will fill you in on the latest.

I will blog off for now. It is time to catch up on my friends that I have neglected lately and read all their running news.

Confession time.

2007-05-05T09:22:00.000+10:00

"Are you ever posting again?" Thanks for the poke in the ribs there LBTEPA. I am going to post again. I just haven't had the heart for it lately.

As the title suggests I do have a confession to make. I have to confess that for the last three months I have been running with pain.

It was just gradual at first. A niggling pain at the back of my left ankle that was continually there.

After doing some research my uneducated guess is Achilles’ heel. I tried ice, elevation, compression and tendon manipulation a few times but without any noticeable effects I gave up in despair.

After I pushed myself hard in the Run for the Kids I was in so much pain I had trouble walking without a limp for three days.

Since that run it has been a constant reminder. Even sitting here blogging, not been out on a run for the last five days it is causing me pain.

Alas the "ignore it and it will go away" method hasn't worked as planned.

All this hit home yesterday when I was at the local Podiatrists settling an account for my Grandmother.

On the wall they had a poster referring to runners and Achilles heel, possible cause and treatment.

Not being an expert on doctors and specialist I asked the receptionist if this would be the place I would go to if I was having heel pain.

She gave me a look that resembled "Where did this Bogon just crawl from?!?", and cheerfully replied that they deal with everything concerning the foot.

I took a card and in my best Arnie voice said "I'll be back".

I am still running in The Great Train Race tomorrow. I have paid my money and wouldn't miss it now. That is the type of tightarse I am. But after that, in the next week, I will give this foot doctor a ring and get my bloody ankle checked out by an expert.

My Road to Rockhampton is currently at Bowning. The road will not wait for ever but I'm now not sure if I will get to Rockhampton this year.

Maybe by early 2008!

Lakes Entrance

2007-04-15T17:58:00.000+10:00

For the Easter break and the following week, my family, family friends and I camped in a caravan park in sunny Lakes Entrance Victoria.

Our home for a week.

I was very keen to explore the area on foot and was up before dawn on most days for a run.

Looking over the South Arm of the Lakes a new day is starting.

It was very exhilarating to greet the dawn out running and I took numerous sunrise pics.

I had been eying off a killer looking hill that was located at the end of one of the shopping strips and on the forth day of our stay I set out to conquer it.

Looking north at the Myer St hill. Elevation chart of one "Killer" hill.

View from the top.

In all I went out for five runs and covered 53 kilometres. Alot of the time I spent running was used for picture taking and sightseeing so there was no speed records or PB's set.

Great Train Race.

I received my race pack for the upcoming Great Train Race and was thrilled to find a very low race number. I know it isn't a very big field that enters this event but out of around 2,000 entrants I feel privileged to get number 11.

Run for the Kids 2007

2007-04-05T07:12:00.000+10:00

First of all my apologies for such a late race report. I seem to be busier at the moment while on annual leave than when I work six days a week.

On April the 1st, April Fools Day, I competed in my second Run for the Kids.

My wife Sal, and family friend Salli, had both entered in the 3.4km walk event. We all drove into the city early Sunday morning.

On the way I was entertaining the girls with stories of the legendary Anderson St Hill, which was part of the shorter, 3.4km course. Probably making it steeper than it actually is.

We arrived and parked at the Arts Centre. Then made our way over to the very crowded Alexandra Gardens.

The girls and I wandered around a little soaking up the atmosphere and checking out the sights. We could see that the starting area was filling fast so I wished them good luck, and went and joined the other 15.2km entrants.

I proudly walked up to the front, showing my blue preferred start number to anyone one who wanted to see it. Unfortunately as the other 3,oooish preferred starters also had a blue number there wasn't a lot of interest in mine.

I spotted a couple other Coolrunners in the crowd and made my way to them. Chilliman, Superjacent and others had formed a small group and it was good to see some familiar faces.

With great frustration the start was delayed by 15 minutes and we didn't take of till 8:45am. If I knew that was going to happen I could have caught the first train easy.

After the race started it wasn't long until we did a sweeping left hand U-turn and headed into the Domain Tunnel.

The tunnel was as humid, still and smelling of exhaust fumes as the previous year and it was with relief to exit and feel the cool, light breeze.

Leaving the tunnel was the first of three major hills on the course and I powered up it with no problems.

On the West Gate Freeway I kept an eye out for the nasty looking metal road seems that Deege blogged about. I stepped on one by accident and noticed that with the overnight rain it did seem to feel a little slippery. It was a bit of a dancing routine to time myself leaping over those little hazards.

The view from the top of the Bolte Bridge was breathtaking and I was feeling in fine form.

From the top of the Bolte Bridge. Thanks to Coolrunnings Cato for the great pic.

Shortly after leaving the bridge I passed the 10km mark and noticed that I was at a 10km PB of 0:46:49! This was really fast for me and I was feeling great.

The last short, steep incline was the LaTrobe st bridge that passes over the Southern Cross/Spencer St railyards. It was a tough nasty little hill but once completed I was back in the city with not far to go.

The course then passed the Melbourne Remand Centre and my thoughts wandered to any prisoners who maybe peering out the windows. How hard would it be to be a runner and locked away without the freedom of the road I wondered to myself. I seem to have the strangest thoughts at times while running.

Down Spencer St and a left turn up the promenade of Crown Casino and I knew the event was nearly over.

I surged over the Yarra River for the second last time then turned right in front of the iconic Flinders St Station.

The last straight before the finish was down St Kilda Rd so I turned on the afterburner to complete the event.

My end effort was so intense that for the first time while crossing a finish line I felt like I was actually going to vomit.

Fortunately the sensation quickly passed as I lined up for 15 minutes for a crappy showbag and a drink of water.

There has been a bit of debate of the final distance. Apparently the race didn't go for the advertised 15.2km due to a last minute course change and was more than likely to be closer to 14.7km. Still I am very happy and a little surprised at my official time of 1:09:07. An average of 4:42 per kilometre!

With a little bit more effort, and a slowish train, I believe I could go close to beating Puffing Billy on May 6th. Wouldn't that be something??

Late Edit: I almost forgot to let you all know that the family and I are going away camping over Easter and the week after. We will be staying at a caravan park at Lakes Entrance and I will be taking all the gear with me (minus computer) and getting out for a few runs while there.

Stay safe all and see you in a few weeks.

March 2007 totals

2007-03-31T15:41:00.000+10:00

It is Run for the Kids eve and I am quietly excited.

I have been looking forward to this big event since December and it is only one more sleep away.

With the race starting at 8:30am and the first train getting to the City by 8:11am, public transport into Melbourne in the morning is just about impossible.

With great frustration it looks like an early start due to the road closures and a drive in on Sunday.

March Totals.

For the month of March I only managed to run 160.8 kilometres. With 14 runs that distance took me 13 hours and 27 minutes. The average pace was 5:01 which was a little faster than February's average of 5:17.

It is 40 kilometres short of my 200 per month goal and I only have laziness and bad time management to blame.

Run to Rockhampton.

My year to date is 464km's and that has me alongside the town of Tarcutta, a small farming community located on the Hume Highway.

Tarcutta is about half way between Melbourne and Sydney and is a major trucking rest point.

It is home to a memorial commemorating Australian truck drivers that have tragically lost their lives in road accidents.

Sadly the memorial has over 1000 names inscribed and continues to grow.

Annual Leave 2007

2007-03-27T09:37:00.000+10:00

This week I have started my 9 monthly, 4 week annual leave cycle (woohoo).

To celebrate 4 weeks off work, I set off at 6am this morning for a gut busting, local 10km run. I completed the 10.1km circuit in a blistering PB time of 0:47:18!

The PB did come at a price. It wasn't till too late that I discovered that I had a toenail that needed cutting. No major damage, but I think that one will be black by morning.

I have been following with interest Coolrunning's Digger and his 3:45 Marathon plan and it was with his words in my head that pushed me on to focus at sub 5 minutes for all my 1km laps. This morning with an average pace of 4:39 the mission was accomplished.

I have discovered that I need a minus 4 hour marathon time to qualify for 6 Foot in 2008. Currently my best (and only) is 4:13. With a bit of work and focus sub 4 hours seems very achievable.

With the run this morning, plus 3 runs from last week including a 13.2km, a 11.3km and a 10km, my Run to Rockhampton total brings me to Kyeamba, a small farming community in the central east part of the Riverina.

Kyeamba has a a population within a 7 kilometre radius of approximately 1427 people and according to Wikipedia it has no stores or significant public buildings in the area.

Next week I will try to stop somewhere more interesting.

Six Foot Track 2008??

2007-03-17T10:59:00.000+11:00

It is the weekend again and time to re-cap on the last weeks worth of running.

With late afternoon shift work and a busy daytime schedule, I have only managed to get out for three runs this past week.

Monday morning I was feeling so pumped after reading 2p's and Ewen's Six Foot Track race reports I cranked out a very satisfying 20 kilometre long run completed in 1:47:22.

Wednesday was a 10km regular run in 0:51:17 and yesterday was a rather pleasant, 10km run in the light rain completed in 0:53:17.

My thoughts have returned to Six Foot Track and I reckon I will have my first crack at this legendary event in 2008.

Run to Rockhampton.

My Run to Rockhampton total has me at Holbrook in NSW.

Holbrook was original called Ten Mile Creek, when the first buildings were erected in 1836. A German immigrant, John Christopher Pabst, became the publican of the Woolpack Hotel on 29 July 1840 and the area became known as "the Germans". By 1858 the towns name evolved to the official title of Germantown.

During World War I the name was deemed unpatriotic and in August 1915 the town was renamed Holbrook, in honour of Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook, a decorated wartime submarine captain and winner of the Victoria Cross.

The top half of the HMAS Otway, an Oberon class submarine, is located in Holbrooks Germantown Park as an honor to Lt. Holbrook

A young Lucy and Ben pictured on the monument during a trip in the area July 2004.

Farewell Victoria

2007-03-08T17:03:00.000+11:00

It must have been around last Tuesday, 20 kilometres ago, when I passed over the Murray river and entered the state of New South Wales on my road form Melbourne to Rockhampton.

I was expecting a bit more fanfare and fireworks at the time but I was unaware that I had made that milestone

It was only today when I was calculating my total km's on mapmyrun.com when I noticed that not only had I passed through the border town of Albury-Wodonga, I was actually about 20 kilometres down the road and at the northern most point of Lake Hume.

Run for the Kids

My t-shirt and race pack finally arrived for the Run for the Kids held on the 1st of April.

The t-shirt is a Nike Coolmax and as you can see a lovely shade of green.

It clashes horribly with my yellow/blue Coolrunning hat but running isn't always about the fashion??

I have worn it twice while training to run it in (ever mindful of the bloody nipple fiasco at the Melbourne Marathon 06) and now will tuck it away in the draw for race day.

For my first time ever I have earned a preferred start and am Blue 2390.

There doesn't seem to be much checking with who gets the preferred start. Just about anyone can claim to run 10km in less than 50 minutes but I can honestly say that I had worked hard for mine.

The sub 50 minute 10km run had been a goal of mine since I ran the R4TK's in 2006 and I'm proud to say I made it at The Olympic Dream November 2006.

Now just have to wait impatiently for the big event to come around.

100km service & February totals.

2007-02-28T20:18:00.000+11:00

Thanks for everyones great ideas with my ankle rubbing Kayanos but I think I have solved the problem.

Before heading out for my 10km run Monday morning I sat down and re-tightened all the laces. Seems they had come loose quite a bit since I first bought them.

Three subsequent runs since have been ankle rubbing free.

I'm hoping that this first 100km service after running the shoes in will be enough to keep them going for the next 850 km's.

Otherwise I will have trouble justifying the purchase of a second pair of expensive running shoes to "The Treasurer" (I love you dear Wife).

So far my Monday to Friday running regime has gone well. I even incorporated a 17km long run on Tuesday that will in future earn a rest day afterwards. As with all running programs flexibility is a must.

My running total for the month of February is a very satisfying 169.5km's. Considering that February is a short month I am thrilled with this result.

This has also been my best monthly total since I started to taper for the October '06 Melbourne Marathon.

My total kilometres so far this year brings me to the town of Barnawartha on my road from Melbourne to Rockhampton.

Barnawartha is a small country town beside the Hume Hwy/Fwy. It has only a population of 550 and contains a few historical buildings, such as the Post Office, 'Cheesely's Bootmakers shop'(now used to store hay) and the recently burnt down Star Hotel.

Over the past weekend my family and I attended the local Berwick Show. It was a fantastic day at an old rural type show and we all had a great time.

My son Ben looking comfortable with a new friend.

Daughter Lucy looking very uncomfortable with the same friend.

What every Show needs. Show Bags and a Monster Truck!

Lucy and Ben, second car back moving VERY fast!

Rubbing a hole through my ankle.

2007-02-24T15:15:00.000+11:00

Since my last post I have had a good four days of running and have travelled 47 kilometres.

I am currently just past Wangaratta on my road from Melbourne to Rockhampton.

Wangaratta is a large country city with a population of approximately 27,000. It is officially titled "Australia's Capital of Jazz" due to the incredibly successful Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues held annually in November.

My new running plan that I am trying to follow is a little different to most. I'm trying to get 5 days of running from Monday to Friday and leave my weekends for rest. Over the weekend I have found myself to be too busy to get a run in and I am often feeling disappointed Sunday evening.

So far the plan has worked a treat with a combination of "after school drop off" runs and early, 6am running.

I am still having a few hassles with my new Kayanos determined to rub a hole through my left ankle.

Band-aids just seem to rub off and liberal amounts of Sports Shield only seem to last temporarily.

The problem seems to be with the new Kayanos. Around the top of the shoe that makes contact with my left ankle they have a mesh sort of lining that just seems to rub the wrong way. The Kayanos 12 didn't have this mesh, just black fabric lining that didn't give any trouble at all.

Any advice or ideas with this problem would be appreciated.

Dirty shoes

2007-02-15T10:39:00.000+11:00

Most will be happy to know that the new Kayanos that I posted about earlier are now dirty.

I have clocked up 41 km's since buying them last week and they even have an impressive looking blood stain!

Yesterday the left shoe rubbed my ankle the wrong way allowing a little claret to spill onto the sock and shoe. Nothing that a well placed band-aid won't fix.

This extra 41 kilometers brings my quest of running from Melbourne to Rockhampton to the town of Benalla.

Seeing as I am in the middle of "Kelly" country I will share some more Bushranger history.

In 1869, a 14-year-old Ned Kelly was charged in the Benalla courthouse for assaulting and robbing a Chinaman named Ah Fook (I bet that is what he said when young Ned tried to rob him). Ned was later found not guilty due to the lack of evidence.

Ned Kelly reappeared at Benalla courthouse in 1877, charged with being drunk and disorderly and riding a horse on the footpath. After a fracas on the way to the courthouse additional charges emerged - assaulting a policeman in the course of his duty, resisting the police and damaging a constable's uniform. He emphatically claimed the police had doped his liquor (I'm sure that has happened to me before?!?). He didn't get away with this one though. He was fined 2 pounds and ordered to pay costs.

P.S. I recently entered in and paid for my first Great Train Race. I hope to meet some of my regular readers there.

Changing of the Guard

2007-02-08T12:20:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I bought my third pair of Asics Kayanos.

The new, blue ones were bought from Action World in Fountain Gate Narre Warren after a quick, three shop price compassion. Another shop could match Action World but didn't offer a free pair of socks.

The research and purchase only took me 15 minutes, the fastest time buying runners so far.

Kayanos II will be retired to domestic duties. They were my first strictly running only shoes and served me well for 940kms.

During that time they ran in a 30km Sri Chinmoy event, ran 34km from Geelong to Queenscliff, completed the Melbourne Marathon and survived growing a Mo in Movember.

I know that we are supposed to break in new runners but this morning I couldn't help myself. I took the sparkly new Kayano's for a 10km spin around the suburb. I completed the distance in 0:51:53.

After two weeks off I had my first shift back at work last night. Everything went well and I would once again like to thank everyone for their great support.

Gatorade has how many calories?!?

2007-02-06T14:49:00.000+11:00

Today I went for my "better late than never" long run.

Should have really done this 17km run over the weekend but with Melbourne's hot weather I decided to hold it off till it was cooler.

In the end I ran 16.95kms distance in a route PB of 1:28:43.

Garminator and the Motionbased agent won't synchronize at the moment so no further details are available currently.

This long run has me alongside Euroa on my road to Rockhampton.

In December of 1878 the outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang robbed the Euroa branch of the National Bank. They made of with 2000 pounds in cash and gold with the bank manager, his mother, wife, seven children, two servants and two tellers as hostages. All hostages were released later saying that their captors had behaved very "gentlemanly".

The Government of Victoria then increased the rewards on the heads of the Kelly Gang to £1000 each, and military guards were posted on all banks in the north-eastern district.

My wife Sal, and I watched the second episode of Australia's The Biggest Loser last night and the show has sent me on a calorie hunting mission.

I found a website called the Calorie King that will give the calorie count of just about everything imaginable. I had a browse through and looked up some things and it was with great surprise and shock to learn that a 600ml bottle of Gatorade has 150 calories!That is 15 more calories than a McDonalds Hash Brown (135calories)!!

Downing a bottle of Gatorade after a run has been one of my favourite past times. Might as well have been shoveling in a Hash Brown instead!

It is all good.

2007-02-03T14:41:00.000+11:00

After dropping the kids off at school (woohoo no more school holidays) yesterday, I drove out to an old favourite stomping ground Lysterfield Lake.

I set off planning to do 2 laps of the lake circuit but with the way the morning was rapidly warming up, I decided to call it quits after one exhausting lap.

I completed the 6.5km lap in 0:33:12. More Motionbased details can be found here.

As Fridays effort was so short I set off early this morning for one of my regular 10km circuits.This run covers a lot of my local suburbia with one very steep, kick-ass hill.

Today I ran this 10km route in 0:51:19.

Motionbased details here.

That 'other' thing.

Thanks everyone for your messages and emails of concern. It was very touching.

This incident is something that lots of train drivers go through but was the first time experienced by me.

It is the type of situation that is not published by the media for very good reasons.

I have had very good counselling/debriefing since, and am itching to get back to work this week and moving on.

Thanks again for everyones kind thoughts and good wishes.

January totals

2007-02-01T11:26:00.000+11:00

As some of you would know that aside from my work as a volunteer firefighter my main occupation, the one that pays the bills, is a Train Driver.

Unfortunately last Tuesday the 23rd I was involved in an incident while driving my train. I won't go into details of the incident on this open forum but if you would like to know more feel free to email me here.

This incident has me on sick leave for a few weeks but yesterday I had to head into my managers office at Flinders St Station to catch up on some paperwork.

I took my running gear with me so when the work commitments where completed I went for a sunny Melbourne day run.

I started at Flinders St Station and crossed over to Southbank, then I ran an anti-clockwise lap of the Yarra to the Grange Rd bridge and return.

It was just after midday when I started the run and I was surprised as always by the amount of 'lunch time' runners out enjoying the day.

I completed the 11.9km run in 1:01:27. More Motionbased details can be found here.

This run, plus a 10km run on Monday brings my January total to 133.27kms. I'm a lot happier about this total compared to the previous few months and feel I am getting back on track.

For the first time I even feel like I have done enough work to justify the week off running while working with the C.F.A at Swifts Creek.

At the end of January my Run to Rockhampton totals has me staying Avenel Vic.

This small rural town lies in the heart of wine country in the Goulburn River Valley. It is also the childhood home of one of Australias most famous outlaws, Edward (Ned) Kelly. Ned Kelly's father, Red Kelly, is buried in town.

Just when you need a power song...

2007-01-28T16:23:00.000+11:00

While out on my 17km long run today the random cycle of my Sony Walkman selected the live version of AC/DC, Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap).

This power song came at just the right time. I was at the 13.5km mark and struggling at the top end of a long hill. Those fine vocal cords of Brian Johnson and lead guitar rifts of Angus Young gave me the extra lift needed to finish off my tough Sunday long run.

More Motionbased details can be found here.

Elevation chart of todays long run.

Today's run and another 12km run earlier in the week brought my yearly total to 111.2km's. According to my map on MapMyRun this has me approaching the Victorian town of Seymour.

The area of Seymour was surveyed in 1843 and named by the explorer Thomas Mitchell after the British parliamentarian Lord Seymour, the son of the 11th Duke of Somerset.

When Lord Kitchener came to Australia in 1910 to advise the government on military matters, he inspected a major encampment at the racecourse and recommended it as a permanent military training area. When World War 1 arrived, a few years later, the permanent camp was set up and, in 1920, Seymour Shire became the chief military area in the state. This ultimately led to the establishment of the Puckapunyal training camp in World War II.

With only three days left in January I am a little behind my 165km a month target. Hopefully it is something I can make up for later.

Just down the road.

2007-01-24T09:34:00.000+11:00

I have only managed one 10km run since my last post.

This puts me only a short way up the Hume Highway alongside a small place called Waterford Park.

I'm not that familiar with Waterford Park and unfortunately Google doesn't seem to have much information about this small township.

Part of the perils of Running to Rockhampton is that at times I will be stopping in some pretty quiet towns. I will endeavour to make the stay a short one.

I had ordered two large 10 oz water bottles from Fuelbelt to replace the 7 oz bottle I lost while running and another bottle that had developed a rather annoying leak.

The original 7 oz is pictured with one of my new 10 oz bottles.

The two bottles arrived in the post yesterday and hopefully I will be able to hang on to them for a little while longer.

I have copied a fun tag from A Girl Running.

1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
Copy out the next three sentences

My book is a rather graphic, fast paced action book called "Ice Station". The Author is Matthew Reilly.

An unspoken understanding instantly spread throughout the nine remaining people in the pool.
The killers didn't care wheteher they were moving or not ...
The nine people in the pool moved as one, breaking out into frantic swimming strokes as the killer whales rose to the surface beneath them and commenced their feeding frenzy.

Feel free to take up the tag if you like. Please let me know if you do.

The quest continues...

2007-01-16T08:34:00.000+11:00

I woke early this morning to run my regular, 10km circuit. I completed the 10.14km distance in 0:52:06.

More Motionbased details can be found here.

Today I took the chance to trial a new running accessoriery. While away on Strike Team to Briagalong late last year I acquired a Hi-Vis Camelback from the Department of Sustainability and Enviroment.
Yes, it is very bright, but it was free, and I ran the 10k's with no rubbing or hinderance. A handy, 2 litre hydration pack for my long runs.

This run brings my yearly total to 71.28. By my it calculation I am approaching Wandong in Victoria on my quest of Running to Rockhampton.

Wandong is a town on the Hume highway with a population of 1,500. It is situated on the Great Dividing Range and adjacent to the Mount Disappointment State Forest. The township was formed in 1876 and in its heyday Wandong boasted a large timber industry, seasoning works and brickworks. The name 'Wandong' is aboriginal dialect for 'Ghost' (gee I love Google). It is also home to the Wandong Country Music Festival (Yeehaa!).

Late Edit: I have read everyones blogs via Bloglines but for some darned reason I can't post comments at the moment! Fark Farken Bloger!!! (Whoops did I say that out loud??).

Looking forward to catching up when the Blogger boffins get their shit together.

Strike Team 0844 at Swifts Creek

2007-01-13T16:05:00.000+11:00

I returned yesterday afternoon after spending three night shifts at the Swifts Creek Fire Complex.

We spent most of the time on Asset Protection duties. Thankfully the weather and fire settled down overnight leaving the night shift with not much to do.

We stayed in snow villa's at Dinner Plain snow resort and enjoyed luxury accommodation and food.
The Onsen Health Retreat and Spa provided free entry for firefighters and I managed a short, 5km run on the retreats gym.

The spa facility were also well used by our crew.

It wasn't quite all rest and relaxation. While traveling to the staging area for our last shift we were confronted by a huge column of smoke pumping out of the area where we was headed.

As mentioned earlier the fire behaviour did lessen considerably overnight and the properties we were sent to protect at Brookville never came under direct ember attack.

My crew and I on Berwick Tanker.

The road back home had been cut off by fire so it was a very long, seven hour trip the long via Wangaratta, back home.

I seem to put on 2 kilos after everyone of these trips so after a nights rest it was back to exercise this morning.

I ran 10.1 kilometres in 0:52:33 losing one of my fuelbelt bottles along the way (ggrrr).

More Motionbased details can be found here.

Back to the bushfires.

2007-01-09T11:12:00.000+11:00

Woke up early this morning to squeeze in my regular 10km circuit. Completed the distance in 0:50:22.

Motionbased details here.

It looks like as it is my last run for the week as I am heading back up to the Gippsland Bushfire's this afternoon.

This time I am crew leader on a truck and our Strike Team will be doing night shift at Swifts Creek.

I was thinking about taking my running gear with me but fear that out of safety concerns I may not be able to wander too far from the Staging Area. And after a 12 hour night shift I'm not sure I will be in the mood for a run.

Hope to catch up with all your blogs when I get back.

Finally a purpose.

2007-01-07T14:06:00.000+11:00

Today I went out for a run during more civilized, daylight, hours.

A long run of 15.4km's was completed in 1:21:06.

A suburban, local long run.

More Motionbased details can be found here.

Sometimes I get some crazy ideas while running and here is one of them.

Back in the peaceful 1980's while in year seven at a new school, my running obsessed class teacher organised a trip.

It wasn't a trip on a plane, train or bus but it was a journey on foot.

Most school days started with the whole class going for a run around a 1km track surrounding the school grounds. At the end of the fitness session all our laps were tallied and the total kilometres place on the blackboard (wow a blackboard...showing my age here).

The total kilometres was then used to map our run against a map of Australia.

Starting from Melbourne and heading up the east coast our progress was recorded with drawing pins.

We would do research on the towns and cities we passed through, learning a bit of Aussie history along the way.

From memory we did a complete lap of Australia. It was an interesting learning experience.

So with keeping with that theme I have started my progress from Melbourne down the Hume Highway and heading north.

With the help of http://www.mapmyrun.com/ I have worked out that with my kilometre total of 35km at the end of week one, I have reached the intersection of Hume Freeway and Cooper St in Somerton Vic.

The road distance from Melbourne Vic to Rockhampton Qld is 1980km's and I would like to be at least there by the end of the year if not further (maybe Mackay Qld, 2316km's??).

Feel free to come out and cheer me if I go past your piece of this beautiful country.

Midnight Runner

2007-01-05T16:17:00.000+11:00

With Summers high temperatures and my shift work it has become necessary to re-start my midnight running escapades.

Some of you may remember way back in January 2006 I had my first and only after midnight run. Since then the need for running during the AM side of 12 o'clock hasn't been needed or really desired.

But due to my mostly late evening working hours this week, last night I added a torch to my 'Inspector Gadget' collection and headed out into a warm, 22C degree, night.

In all I ran 10.1 K's in 0:52:31. Not a very fast time for me but I did have a few stops to adjust my light that I was carrying as a headlamp. I ended just taking it off my head and wrapping it around my fist.

It was a very warm night but without the glaring sun the heat was quite manageable.

At this point I would supply a link to Motionbased for further stats, but seeing as the site is currently down and being a pain in the arse I wont bother.

Goals for 2007

I have thought a lot of my running goals for the coming year and here are just a few of them,

Run for the Kids, April 1st (already entered).
Great Train Race, May 6th.
Fatass Bellarine Rail Trail (I thoroughly enjoyed this event in 2006).
Melbourne Marathon, October 8th.
2007 kms in 2007.

The 2007 in 2007 is just a figure I have plucked out. I am planning on at least 2000 k's for the year, hopefully I will do more.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T15:10:00.000+11:00

Welcome back all. I hope everyone had a safe and happy festive week.

For Christmas I bought myself my first MP3 player. I was looking for one that I can use running and also for work so I decided on the Sony S203F. Purpose built for running it has 1gb of memory and a built in FM tuner. I picked it up last week and have had fun playing with it since.

After quickly loading a few songs into it I went for a run over my regular 10km circuit last Thursday. It occurred to me that with the MP3 player and Garmin Forerunner, I was running with $650 worth of equipment strapped to my left arm. Feeling like a cross between the Six Million Dollar Man, and Star Treks 'The Borg' I ran along to the sounds of Wagner, Young Divas and Eminem. I think my playlist needs some more fine tuning and any recommendations will be cheerfully added.

All my children are now over the Chicken Pox epidemic that swept through the house. With a little complaining last week they rode their bikes while following me on a short 5km run. They enjoyed themselves at initially but struggled on the first hill. I had a great run though and look forward to more family bike/run outings.

With Fire Brigade duties, hot weather and Chicken Pox as some of my many reasons, I am full of plenty of excuses of why I have done so very low kilometres in December.

Instead I will concentrate on the 1814.8 kilometres that I have run in 2006. Considering the the road distance from Melbourne to Brisbane is 1669km I think my yearly total is a great achievement. Also a very promising total to beat in 2007.

Chicken Pox. The Sequel.

2006-12-22T09:30:00.000+11:00

I still haven't got chicken pox but my other kid, Ben, has.

Thank goodness I only have two kids.

With school holidays starting today it is perfect timing (ggrrr). I'm just hoping now that he will be better in time for all the Christmas and family activities next week.

I had planned on a 7 to 8km run today with the kids following me on their bikes but that is now out of the question. Hopefully I will have time when Sal gets home from work at midday. I prefer morning running over afternoons though. It is hard to get the motivation going when the day is half through.

Yesterday morning my dog Oscar and I had another short run. We got out before the afternoons intense heat and completed 6.1kms in 0:30:41. A little warm conditions with lots of smoke haze around it was very satisfying to get back home.

Motionbased details can be found here.

I'm back

2006-12-20T12:45:00.000+11:00

Some of you may know Victoria is currently in the grip of a bushfire crisis.

As part of my volunteer firefighter duties I have spent the past 3 days in a small, Gippsland town called Briagolong.

While in Briagolong I was tasked to Strike Team 0805. A group of six, four wheel drive vehicles made up of a Nissan Patrol "Strike Team leader" and 5 Landcruiser ute type appliances. The Landrcruisers had small 'bolt on, bolt off' water tanks and pumps and are therefore called "Slip-ons". We were involved in containment line building and backburning.

A picture tells 1000 words so without boring you further with all the dirty, dusty details I will post some pics taken from the trip.

Sleeping accomdations at "Camp Krusty". Briagolong Staging Area.

A healthy breakfast (NOT!).

7am briefing.

My crew partner Micheal, dousing out a hotspot.

Filling the water tanks.

My appliance Upper Beaconsfield Slip-on.

Starting a backburn.

Dusty roads.

The author having fun.

Where is the shower?

After eating like a pig while away and the lack of running leading up to this weekend I have been feeling very bloated and FAT. I have avoided the scales for the last couple of weeks as I didn't really want to know how bad the damage was. So it was with great treperdation that I weighed myself this morning. A little shocked the scales hit 99 kilos! It was time for a run.

To start the path of rediscovery my dog Oscar and I set out for a 5km loop around the local area. We completed the 5.1km distance in 0:24:52 and both of us were very puffed.

Further Motionbased details can be found here.

Chicken Pox

2006-12-11T13:09:00.000+11:00

No. I haven't got chicken pox but my daughter Lucy, has.

She broke out in spots after school last Friday and the doctor has said she will have to stay home for at least 5 days.

As my wife Sal works mornings and I work afternoons looking after Lucy during school hours has thankfully not caused many problems. The only hassle is that with the heat wave on the weekend, and Lucy's condition keeping me housebound, I haven't been out for a run since my last post.

Isn't it strange that when you are unable to run is the times when you miss running the most? (That made sense in my head but reading it in print?? I don't know?)

The continuing bushfire situation and high temperature kept the CFA busy for the past weekend.

As mentioned earlier the temp gauge got pretty high. 37.8 degrees (100 Fahrenheit to some) on Saturday and a whopping 42.1 (107.7) on Sunday.

I attended a few local , small incidents including smoke alarms operating, road side cigarette butt fires and an idiot making prank emergency calls to name just a few. I also nominated to go as relief crew to the Gippsland fires but my services weren't required.

Just as well now with Lucy's chicken pox condition.

A local 12k run.

2006-12-07T09:52:00.000+11:00

Yesterday instead of heading out for the regular 10km circuit, I thought I would just follow the road and try something different.

There is a couple of lakes in a nearby estate that I have been thinking of exploring lately. I know how to get there by car but it is a pretty boring, straight drive. I wanted to build up some kilometers and see some new scenery at the same time so after quickly consulting street-directory.com.au I headed off in the general direction.

I ran along meandering through the local suburban streets slowly finding my way. I hadn't been in this part of town before and it was interesting looking around the area.

Patting myself on the back for my good sense of direction I stumbled on to the first, of two lakes I was looking for.

This area is known as Berwick Springs. It is made up of several man-made waterways, created by land developers to pretty up open grazing farmland, and charge top dollar for properties with 'water views'. The region is now approaching 10 years old and the local council has looked after it well. It is nicely presented and frequented by heaps of water birds, an asset to the local area.

I ran a loop of the second lake and head back to home following the main road.

All up The Garminator recorded the distance as 12.75kms. I completed it in 1:03:41 setting an average pace of 4:59 minutes per kilometre.

More details can be found on Motionbased.

The rest of the day felt really good after this run. That was until I got to work later in the evening and sat in a train cab for over an hour. I tried to walk some stairs and tightness shot up and down my right knee and outside shin. Reminding myself that I should take more time to warm up before a big run. A couple stretches while waiting for the Garmin to get a satellite lock is probably not enough (not to mention sitting at the computer, downloading data, straight after a run!).

New Blogger Beta

2006-12-05T09:07:00.000+11:00

It is with great trepidation that I finally succumbed and switched over to the new Blogger Beta. So far it seems as it is all business as usual with a few minor changes. I am a great believer and user of spellcheckers and it seems that they have made some cool improvements.

Unfortunately I haven't a run since my last post. I am on call as a volunteer firefighter and with Victoria's current bushfire situation I'm trying to avoid being too far away from the phone or the car. I was expecting to get deployed yesterday but it didn't eventuate and I am half expecting a call sometime today.

Post Movember and the darned itchy Mo is gone.

The latest donation, and first overseas contribution came from Alphamare. With many thanks that brings my total raised to $288. Once again it is a total that far exceeded my expectations and a fantastic effort.

I was very excited to see that the Run for the Kids is on again next year. I ran this event on its inaugural race earlier this year and completed the 14.7km distance in 1:20:09. In 2007 they have changed the course around considerably for the expected 30,000 competitors and the distance is now 15.2km's. I have already paid up and registered for the run and think I am entrant #121. With my sub 50 minute 10km times lately I should be up for a preferred, blue numbered start.

Time now to go and catch up on everyone's latest postings.

Stay safe all.

Late edit: Thanks Em for your concern. I did 'get some' after the Mo came off. Don't worry about being out of line. I am very broadminded :-P

Movember 30th

2006-11-30T20:48:00.000+11:00

In a attempt to get my monthly kilometres over 100k's for November (whoops Movember) I squeezed in my regular, 10km local circuit this morning.

My dog Oscar was looking very dejected as I was getting my stuff together so I took him a long as well.

We ended up running the 10km loop in a PB of 0:48:17. May have been able to have gotten under 48 minutes if I didn't have Oscar. I had to stop/slow down a few times to take his lead off or on and wasted a little momentum then.

More Motionbased details can be found here.

That brought this months total km's to 107k's. Quite a long fall from the 258k in July and I'm not too happy with that. I only had 11 runs during the month and the longest was only 12 kilometres. I think I will have to make the time and force myself on a weekly long run. I doubt I could run a half marathon distance now to save myself.

Movember

Today marks the last day of Movember and I jumped the gun a little and gave myself a Number 2 crew cut.

Many thanks to Simlin, Beakus and Ewen for the latest donations. This brings my grand total raised to a very surprising $263.

I know it is all going to a great cause but $163 of that total came from you guys. People who only know me by reading my blog. Most of you I have never met, and I probaly never will. I am very surprised, humbled and touched that you donated so much money in my name.

Next year I plan on going all out and growing a Mo that will rival this guys...

Movember 28th

2006-11-28T22:19:00.000+11:00

Yesterday while on an extended meal break at work I again went on my 12km lap of the Yarra river in Melbourne.

The sun was up and it was a glorious day. Maybe a little too warm for my liking, so I had my water filled fuel belt strapped on for hydration.

I headed out from Flinders St station and followed the north bank of the Yarra to the Grange Rd bridge. Crossing the river it was time to head back to the City and I followed the south side all the way back to the trendy Southbank Precint and the old Sandridge Rail Bridge.

Once again I crossed the iconic Yarra River and returned to my starting point of the Elizabeth St subway completing 12kms distance in 0:58:55.

Further details for this run can be found here.

Movember

With only a few days left in Movember it feels like time to get a little silly.

Spark Driver and Mo with even more "Full Monty" props.

Many thanks goes to 2P and my friend Salli for the latest generous donations to the worthy Movember cause.

I am very surprised and impressed to have raised $213 for this event so far.

Movember 26th

2006-11-26T20:27:00.000+11:00

My apologies for not posting for the last 6 days but seeing as I haven't run this week I felt I haven't had anything to Blog about.

That changed Last Friday though. My friend Salli invited me along for another race around Lysterfield Lake and I found it hard to refuse.

I ran two laps of the Lake Circuit while she walked one. My two laps equaled 11.6km's in 0:57:39 and I caught Salli during the second lap at around the 10km mark.

More details for Fridays run can be found at Motionbased.

Movember

Movember is drawing to an end and I am yet to find how a Mo will improve my distance running.

but while plodding along around the Lake, I thought that if I grew the 'tash big and bushy enough it would work as a great filter. Fantastic for all those bugs and flys that seem to make it into my mouth while running.

A healthy looking Running Bug Filter.

Late edit: As requested by Beakus here is a picture of her home station from the drivers cab of the train. Williamstown is the terminal stop of this small three station branch line and it over looks Port Phillip Bay. Many years ago the line continued on to the left and extended to Williamston Pier but that station is now well and truely gone.

Olympic Dream 2006

2006-11-19T18:55:00.000+11:00

This morning on the 19th day of Movember I competed in the 17th Olympic Dream.

This year saw a course change for the event that included 2 x 5km laps of the MCG and surrounding parklands.

I arrived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground fairly early due to infrequent public transport. This gave me plenty of time to sort out my gear, join in the warm-up aerobics and a few pre-race trips to the toilet. Powerade was one of the event sponsors and they were handing out free bottles of their Isotonic range. I foolish drank 2 bottles of the free stuff knowing I would probarly regret it later.

The race started at 10am with a whistle and the usual mad dash "trying not to trip yourself or others over" commenced.

The first lap passed pretty well. The course was surprisingly hilly with a few crossings over footbridges that spanned the railyards.

When I mention hilly it is not the steep hills Six Foot Track style. Just gradual inclines over footbridges that really started to hurt on the second lap.

Elevation chart from today's Olympic Dream.

The first 5km lap passed in 0:23:21 and I bunkered down to complete the second lap.

I could feel the Powerade excise was starting to rear its ugly head and I tried to focus on targets to overtake and not my increasing bladder size.

The sun felt particularly fierce during this lap and I could have sworn that it was 30 plus degrees. Since checking the Bureau of Meteorology website I have found that it was only a more reasonable 20 degrees at the time but it sure felt hotter.

The last approach to the MCG was on the very same bridge that Kerryn McCann ran over to win the 2006 Commonwealth Games ladies marathon. With that inspiring moment on my mind and my bladder at the point of rupture I pushed on to finish the 10km race in 0:49:35.

Initially I was a little disappointed with my time. It beat my previous Olympic Dream time of 4 minutes but it was held on a completely different course. I was hoping to get closer to 45 minutes for a 10km event. It was with relief that I heard the place getters describing the event as difficult during their medal presentations. The 1st place female winner seemed to even address me personally when she said not to be disillusioned if PB's aren't broken, it was a tough course with all the inclines.

I squeezed in 2 more Powerades (hey it was FREE) and a couple of trips to the toilet before catching the train back home. Another race event under the belt.

Movember 18th

2006-11-18T10:52:00.000+11:00

For the first time in a while I have two runs to write about.

The first run took place on Thursday while I was on an extended meal break at work.

I had planned on a 10km route over some new territory but when I switched on the Garminator, he promptly replied "Battery low, press enter". This hasn't happened to me before but from reading others Blogs I figure I wouldn't have the Garmins services for long.

Within five minutes running I was a little pissed to see his blank screen and decided that due to not having the correct time on me, and the need to get back to work on time, a shorter run over known route was in order.

I ran through Birrarung Marr towards the MCG planning to do some reconnaissance work for a race on Sunday. The Number 2 light tower at the "G" is the starting point of the Olympic Dream, an 10km event being held on Sunday.

At the MCG I ran a clockwise half lap of the exterior then crossed the Tennis Centre footbridge over the railyards. A left up Swan st then right at Punt rd placed me in the vicinity of the Morell bridge, facing the base of Anderson st hill.

I passed a few walkers while running up the hill then followed the Tan around to Linlithgow ave. Crossing St Kilda rd I headed back to work at Flinders St Station.

With the failure of Garminator I have had to calculate the distance using Gmap. The best I can figure the distance was 7.4kms. I have no idea of the time it took me. I just knew it left enough for a shower and time to run my 1544 Pakenham train home.

My second run was yesterday and back to an old favorite destination of Lysterfield Lake.

I picked up a friend Salli and planned to settle an old score. To see if I could catch Sal while she walked a lap of the lake while I ran two.

In all I ran 11.4kms in 0:56:22. Surprisingly it took till 10.2kms to catch Sal. For someone who has such short legs she can sure move fast (I know she reads this and can hear her cursing me now :-D ).

As mentioned earlier, tomorrow I am running in the 10km Olympic Dream. It is a 5km loop course around the MCG and surrounding parklands. I am confident of a sub 50 minute time and am hoping for minus 45's.

Special thanks to Jaykay for the latest donation to Movember. A update pic will follow soon.

Late Edit: Even though I have heaps of props with fire helmets and uniforms etc, I will not be doing the Full Monty for charity any time soon. I cannot think of anyone who would want to pay to see this!!

Movember 15th

2006-11-15T10:22:00.000+11:00

Spark Drivers garden after sudden hail.

Due to thunderstorms, rain and local hail this mornings planned 10km training run has now been cancelled.

I'm now glad that I did a 12km loop of the Yarra River while on my meal break at work yesterday.

I ran from Flinders St Station to the old Sandrigde rail bridge, along the south bank of the Yarra to the Grange rd bridge and returned along the north bank of the river.

It was a good run and satisfying to have my 1st distance over 10km's since the Melbourne Marathon early October. My thoughts turned to Half Marathons and how I am now eager to run the 21.1km again.

I will do some research and locate a suitable, upcoming Half Mara event.

The Garminator reported that the total time for the Yarra 12.1km distance was 0:59:07. But while downloading the Garmin I noticed that he had spat the dummy while passing under some of the many bridges that line the river. His data may not be 100% correct but if you are after more information it can be found here.

Movember

Looking more like Blakey from "On the Buses" here I am wearing the Country Fire Authority dress uniform.

My total for Movember now stands at $178. Thanks to a colleague Paul 'Tiny' Little from the fire brigade for the latest donation.

I have now worked out that I can accept cash and cheque donations from friends and family. If you read this and would like to donate cash I can provide a receipt that is tax deductable for amounts over $2. Just contact me via phone, email or SMS to make arrangements.

Go Sal

My lovely wife Sal has also decided to jump on the Lard Bus. She wants to make a lifestyle change and lose some unwanted kilos. She has recently discovered something that most regular runners already knew. That getting up in the early morning for exercise though painful at the time gives a rewarding feeling for the rest of the day. She has been going for a half an hour quick walk and looks to increase the distance with time. There has even been talk of a weight loss blog.

You go girl!

Movember 12th

2006-11-12T12:17:00.000+11:00

My dog Oscar and I went for a run to a friends place last night. It was just a short run of 5.8kms and just as well as Oscar is a little out of shape. He kept up with me as he always does but he hasn't had a run for awhile and his effort obviously increased at the 4km mark.

We completed the 5.8km distance in 0:27:34. More details can be found on Motionbased.

Oscar was very excited to get out for a run as he hasn't been for awhile. I have become a bit too fast for him on the regular 10km run and may have to find some shorter 5k routes to stretch his little Staffy legs.

A late sleep-in and poor Melbourne weather this morning has prevented me from going for a run. Instead I set a date with Jillian Michaels and her Cardio Kickbox DVD for a fast paced work-out.

The Mo and I straight after Cardio Kick-box.

A few weeks ago I was flicking through the "Next Blog" button on the top of the screen when I stumbled onto a page from a young lady in Edinburgh, UK.

Alphamare set up her blog as a weight lose journal and has titled it "Jumping on the Lard Bus".

She rides her bike for exercise and she has run 3 miles so far. Not quite a runner yet but I am working on it.

She has done well with her goals to date and I encourage anyone to drop in and give her a rev-up.

Movember 9th

2006-11-09T22:25:00.000+11:00

The Ninth day of Movember is here and I have this itchy, prickly growth on my top lip.

This last week I have suffered from a persistent cold and if it wasn't for charity I would have shaved the bloody thing off!

Thanks to MorseyRuns for her generous donation to Movember and for keeping me honest (though it took me awhile to recogonize her "real" name).

My funds raised tally stands at $173 so far!

This morning the stuffy nose and dried out lips had eased enough to have a go at my local 10km circuit.

It had been four days since my last run and The Garminator took about three minutes to get a satellite lock and eventually we got going.

It was a fantasic morning for a run. The blue sky was clear with only a light breeze. Maybe a little too hot for my liking but I hadn't planned on pushing myself that much.

I ran comfortably all the way and completed my 10.1 km run in 0:50:27. About 2 minutes off PB time but I didn't set out to run it fast, just to complete it and keep the legs moving.

More details can be found at Motionbased.

Arthurs Seat Challenge race report

2006-11-06T14:26:00.000+11:00

***WARNING-Long post ahead***

We are all back home now from out two night weekend holiday.

Apart from an anoying head cold that I suffered from all weekend our inaugural camping trip was very successful. We learnt a lot of things to take with us on our next getaway.

I completed the short but tough Arthurs Seat Challenge yesterday morning. It was 6.7km in 0:39:33.

The start area was very crowded at 8:15am with many people still registering. I ran into Coolrunnings "Eat 'Em" who expressed he would be surprised if the event got underway at the advertised start time of 8:30am. We wished each other well and he was swallowed up in the crowd.

At Eat 'Ems advice Sal and the kids decided to head off to the finish line at the Arthurs Seat summit sooner rather than later. They also wished me luck and I headed over to the start line.

Gathering on Point Neapen rd I was reminded of many other "for charity" runs I had attended. A race starter mysteriously elevated above the crowd struggling to address 1800 people with a megaphone. I would be surprised if anymore than 50 people managed to hear what he was saying.

I was a little way back from the start line as I watched a plume of smoke, then the delayed CRACK from the starters pistol. The crowd surged forward and the pace increased from a walk to a slow run.

As usual in a tight packed starting line the first 700 metres is used dodging slower runners, getting frustrated by walkers, trying not to get tripped up and sprinting into any gaps.

The first 2 kilometres was pretty flat as I watched the crowd. I was surprised at the amount of kids running but remembered that the race is mainly organized by several local schools. A guy near me seemed to be wearing a skirt and running with no shoes. My thoughts turn to the $200 Asics Kayanos I am wearing and how I need to beat him.

After the flat 2km coastal road you get a good view of the first uphill portion. The road steadily rose ahead for the next 900 metres and I dropped down a gear. I have compared myself to other runners and think I am pretty good on hills with this time being no exception. At a comfortable 5:20 min/km pace (according to the Garminator) I started passing a few other runners.

At the top of the hill the road flattened out then rose up again. Whoops, I wasn't expecting that, but no problem, I was still pushing on. A lot of kids and a few adults were walking at this stage and I looked over my shoulder and could see why. The road looked a lot steeper and longer from the top than it did at the bottom!

The course then dropped down shortly with almost a sigh of relief. At the bottom of the dip was the first aid station. I grabbed a cup of water and slurped a little in my mouth. Mindful of the bloody nipples at the Melbourne Marathon I was careful not to get water on the white, Nike singlet I was wearing.

My finishing photo at the Melbourne Marathon complete with bloody left nipple.

At 3.7km the course entered a dirt road with a gentle incline. "This is nice" I'm thinking to myself as the road winds through some Aussie bush.

500 metres later and we are back on the the bitumen. The grade felt a lot steeper here and I was approaching a road sign that advertised the first of many, tight hairpin turn.

At the third hairpin turn the burning in my legs and stuffy head cold finally caught up with me. I dropped back to a walk to let my breathing catch up. "Wow this is steep" I say to no-one in particular as I stretch my legs to run again.

The walk a little, run a bit continued for the next 2.5kms as I struggled to climb a mountain. I knew this run was up hill but I nevered imagined it to be this steep. My ears start to pop at the elevation and at times I catch glimpses of the awesome views over Port Phillip Bay. I am relieved to notice that I am not the only one walking then running and I have since read on the Ausrun Forum that Eat 'Em, who I consider to be a great runner, had to walk a little too!

At 6km I drink again at the last aid station then run up the final incline. A very welcome downhill followed running through the picturesque Seawinds Gardens.

With a little frustration I had to line up to get over the finishing line. There is a lot to be said for the Windag timing system but I'm sure it is very expensive. This is a charity event with a free T-shirt after all

The elevation and pace chart from the Arthurs Seat Challenge.

Arthurs Seat Challenge on Google Earth.

More details for this event can be found on Motionbased.

Movember

Movember is progressing well with funds raised at $133. Thanks to my friend Laurelin for the latest donation.

A itchy, prickly moustache is very annoying while suffering with a cold and I would not recommend it.

An update picture will follow shortly.

Movember 3rd

2006-11-03T22:54:00.000+11:00

No running today due to a suspected head cold. I hope it will be right for Sundays Arthurs Seat challenge otherwise it will be a very unpleasent run.

On the 3rd day of Movember the Mo is starting to take shape.

I'm still undecided on what style I am going for. I don't know if I will have enough time to grow a legendary Mo like Robert De Castella's or Yiannis Kouros but at Tesso's suggestion I have done some research into the Porno Mo.

I Googled "Moustache" but with the family filters on this example is the best I can come up with.

I'm not sure that this style is right for me. The curls at the end just look so.....fake!

Special thanks must go to Deege, Running Gal and Sals parents, David and Noela. With their generous donations to Movember (rego number 23127) my total raised figure so far is $113!

After only three days I am very impressed.

The family and I are going camping this long Melbourne Cup weekend so I may not be able to blog again till next week.

I hope every one enjoys their weekend.

Movember 2nd

2006-11-02T10:13:00.000+11:00

I was considering a rest from running this morning because after two hard runs in the last few days my calves have felt a little tight. The constant rain in Melbourne since 2:30am sort of cemented the rest day idea in place.

Can't really complain about the weather much as we desperately need the rain. Even while running around my local surburbia you can see the effects of the drought on the grasslands and peoples front lawns. Everything just looks so dry.

If the rain isn't gone by Saturday you will hear me complaining then. I have a lot of outdoor stuff planned for this weekend.

In an effort to introduce camping trips to our family outings I have bought a large camping tent on ebay and this weekend was going to be the inaugural trip away. Nothing very spectacular just two nights at a caravan park in Rosebud while I run the Arthurs Seat Challenge on Sunday. A weekend full of rain is NOT on the agenda!

Day 2 of Movember is starting to see a little growth. My ever suffering wife has expressed her displeasure at the Mo but does support the idea behind it. She has threatened bedroom favours are off the agenda for the month of Movember but I think once I get the sexy Magnum P.I look happening she will learn to appreciate the Mo.
Remember that all donations can be made here. Please include my Rego number of 23127.

Thanks to my wife Sal and Em for your donations and getting the ball rolling.

Movember 1st

2006-11-01T10:32:00.000+11:00

For the month of Movember (formally November) I will be growing a moustache.

Much to the annoyance of my dear wife Sal I have decided to encourage growth on my upper lip to raise money and awareness for men's health issues. Money raised will be used to change the face of men's health by creating awareness and funding research into prostate cancer and male depression.

More information can be found at the Movember website.

Donations by credit card can be made here. Please enter my rego number of 23127 and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Not only will growing a Mo raise money for a very good cause I think a Mo will help my running training and style.

There have been some great distance running legends who's Mo's have helped them along the way.

The legendary Robert De Castella used his Mo for good and not evil by winning the 1982 Commonwealth Games marathon in Brisbane, the Rotterdam marathon in 1983 and the 1983 World Championships marathon held in Helsinki.

In 1983 'Deeks' and his Mo were made Australian(s) of the Year.

1986 he defended his title and won the Commonwealth games marathon in Edinburgh, won the 1986 Boston marathon and also won the 1991 Rotterdam marathon.

Yiannis Kouros is known as the "Running God", "Golden Greek", "Pheidippides Successor", "World Record Breaker", "Unstoppable", and as the "Master of Pain".

He is undefeated in any continuous world-class ultra-marathon competition beyond 100 miles.

He holds every record from 100 miles to 1,000 miles, from 200 km to 1,600 km, and from 1 day to 10 days.

Yiannis also starred as Pheidippides in the movie A Hero's Journey about the history of marathon running.

For the next month I will take inspiration from these two running legends and only hope I can grow a Mo half as good as theirs.

My Mo and I. Day 1.

To kick off Movember I ran my regular 10km loop this morning. Completed in 0:48:17 but I did pause the Garminator awhile as I chatted to some friends.

More details for this run can be found here.

What are the chances???

2006-10-31T10:04:00.000+11:00

Just a couple of training runs to report.

Last Friday I ran my regular 10km local loop in a quick 0:48:36. I was very impressed to see all my km splits below 5 minutes and feel I am getting back to my former pace.

This morning I had another 6:30am start for my 10km run and this time I ran the loop in reverse. Once again it was another quick 0:48:39 and I feel a lot better now for making the effort and going for a run.

My race pack for this Sundays Arthurs Seat Challenge has arrived with a very strange coincidence.

When I opened the race pack I was sure that the race number of 0727 looked familiar.

Seeing as I have kept all my previous race numbers I went through my old ones and was surprised to find that the Olympic Dream from last year also had 727!

What are the chances of that happening? Has it happened to anyone else?

Taking it as a sign of good things I am looking forward to this weekends run.

It also made up my mind to enter in this years Olympic Dream on Sunday the 19th of November. The course has been changed considerably to a 5 km loop and you now have to pay for the medals. But I will enter because I still want to set an official sub 50 minute 10km time for a preferred start in the 2007 Run for the Kids.

Late Edit: My monthly total for October was pretty dismal. 118.8km is one of my lowest months. I suppose there is something in this "post marathon blues" business. No excuses for next month. Time to kick arse!

Garmin Panic!!

2006-10-25T09:46:00.000+10:00

Thanks everyone for your latest fantastic comments. Its hard to slack off when I feel I will be letting so many people down.

Sundays long run didn't eventuate due to ebay pick up business but I did get out for the regular 10km circuit on Monday

I completing the 10.2km distance in 0:50:09 and felt alot better for doing it too. Mondays 10km run heart rate and elevation chart.

More details for this run can be found at Motionbased here.

I was heading out the door today for a planned mid-week long run when I found that my Garmin Forerunner 305 wouldn't turn on!!

I returned to plug The Garminator into its USB port but still nothing, he wouldn't respond!

With growing concern and panic I turned to the Garmin website in the hope of finding 1st aid instructions. After scrolling through the information (hhhmmm a lot of new stuff since I last visited), I found a description of Garminators symptoms (blank screen, no beeps, looks like it is f*$#ed) and a remedy.

With growing trepidation I pressed the Power, Mode and Reset buttons simultaneously.

A great sigh of relief when 'my Precious' emitted his all familiar "Beep" and 'Battery charging in progress' started scrolling across the screen.

The Garminator is now resting quietly plugged into the main power while I have a strong coffee and a little lie down.

I did briefly consider going for a run minus the technology but due to receiving a phone call while all this was going on I am now waiting for a Tradesman to show up.

I have to go to work at midday so unfortunately my run will be scratched for the day.

Better luck tomorrow.

Time to pull the finger out

2006-10-21T10:07:00.000+10:00

It has been a week and a half since my last post and I seemed to have lost my way a little.

I have only been for two runs since then. A 12km loop in 0:58:53 around the Yarra River last Saturday and my local 10km circuit yesterday. Without having the marathon training plan to keep me honest I find it easy to make excuse for not running.

The bathroom scales on the other hand are making no excuses and are refusing to take a break. With a 'who gives a shit' diet and lack of activity my weight has slowly increased to back over 96 kilo. Very frustrating indeed.

The weight gain doesn't fit in to my "lose 10 kilos before 2007 Melbourne Marathon" plan so its now time to pull the finger out and get back into it.

Yesterdays 10km run was part of the renewed effort and I just did 1/2 an hour with Jillian Micheals Cardio Kickbox . Tomorrow I have planned a 17km long run and to start monitoring my eating habits.

I have entered in the 6.7km Arthurs Seat Challenge on the 5th of November (our 11th wedding anniversary date sorry/thank you my loving wife). A short run but with a significant up hill portion, it sounds like a fun race for a good cause and a free T-shirt too!

My apolgies too all for neglecting your blogs. I'm sure I have heaps of reading to catch up.

After a Marathon the running continues

2006-10-12T10:12:00.000+10:00

Since the Melbourne Marathon it has taken around three days for my leg soreness to abate enough to consider going for a run.

This morning I set off early for my regular, 10km circuit. It was shaping up to be a hot, windy day in Melbourne and I arrived back home rather windblown in 0:50:29.

More details can be found on Motionbased.

It is all official now. I ran the 2006 Melbourne Marathon in 4:13:27. In my age group that put me as 238th! One of the funnier moments I recalled from the event was while running/limping up Fitzroy st in St Kilda. I was slowing down and clutching at my thighs when a scruffy looking man, sitting on the gutter drinking from a long necked bottle in a brown paper bag, called out "run through the cramps mate, you are nearly there". He then laughed hysterically. Looked like he was having a great time offering pearls of wisdom. I wonder if he was a previous marathon runner?!?

There is a few race photos floating around from the event. Most are not very flattering and one even has me as walking (so embarrassing). Thanks to Coolrunnings 'MyImages' I have a rather painful looking one of me struggling along.

I have ordered the race finishing photo from Supersportsimages and hopefully that will be arriving soon.

So what next I wonder. It is 12 months till the next Melbourne Marathon and I will have to find some events to run in before then. I am interested in the Echuca Sweat versus Steam on the 19th of November but I am still waiting to see if I will get leave from work to compete in that one.

Until then I will do the Forrest Gump thing and keep on running.

Melbourne Marathon 2006

2006-10-08T17:07:00.000+10:00

I have arrived back home from the Melbourne Marathon and though I didn't make my expected time of 3:45, I did complete the event and set a Marathon PB of 4:13.

Even though the start was delayed by 15 minutes it was worth it to hear the National Anthem being played. Not many of the competiors joined in the singing but there must of been a little girl, about 7 years old, at the front singing her heart out. The Race Starter dropped the mic to her level and even though she was out of time and tune the moment was priceless. She received a resounding ovation.

Coolrunnings 'Digger' was driving the 3:45 pace bus and I jumped on and followed him along.

The Thursday previously I had bought a new running singlet for the marathon and at the 15km mark, after splashing water all over myself, I started to expercience a new sensation, bleeding nipples. I have never had this problem before during earlier races so didn't put much thought into protecting the pointy bits. I stopped at a St Johns van for some band-aids but they had trouble sticky to my sweaty, bear like, chest hair. Luckily by then my singlet had dried out and the irrataion had subsided. I tried to avoid getting my top wet then but had created a blood stain on my mostly white new top.

I passed the half way point of 21.1km at 1:50:11 and my my last five weeks of slack training was starting to show. At the 26km point running a Half Marathon seemed like a good idea as I slowly lost the pace bus. 29kms and after losing sight of Digger and struggling on some small hills I started to walk.

The rest of the event seemed to go past as a walk/jog/run while I slowly cramped up. My thoughts turned to how if I lost a further 10 kilos, and committed myself to not cheating the training long runs, I will kick arse in 2007!

I grabbed a icy-pole from the Coolrunner cheer squad at the 35km mark and Jaykay caught me around 36.5km for a little inspirational push along while she ran her Half Mara. I had to let her go as leg cramps demanded a short walking break.

The finishing chute looked so very long till I finally passed under the finish banner. An MC announced my name as I looked over and spotted my family cheering me on. Maybe it was joy or maybe tiredness but I had a very emotional moment then as tears welled in my eyes.

Me finishing complete with a bloody nipple stain.

Details for my first Marathon can be found on Motionbased here.

My injuries from running 42.195kms are a blood blister on my right foot, very tired, stiff legs, the previously mentioned chaffed nipples and a moderate sunburn. Guess who didn't think of sunscreen??

And that is my Melbourne Marathon experience. Not as fast as I wished but I still beat Oprah Winfreys time of four hours, 29 minutes. And even beat Sean "P Diddy" Combs time of four hours, 14 minutes and 45 seconds.

SportsTracks only has my walking distance of 1.3km and a slow 7 minute pace jog of 11km's. A good time to beat for next year.

Marathon Eve

2006-10-07T11:50:00.000+10:00

After 18 weeks of training the Next Big Thing is nearly here.

By this time tomorrow I will have completed the 2006 Melbourne Marathon.

Even though I think my training has been a little lacking at times, I am still confident that if I pace myself sensibly, I will be running the whole way with a 3:45ish time.

Regardless of what happens on the day I am going to soak up the atmosphere and have FUN.

I would like to thank EVERYONE for your great comments and support. Without out this blog and all your encouragement I don't think tomorrow would be happening.

I hope everybody has a great weekend with their own running achievements.

Ocean Grove Beach Run

2006-10-02T09:16:00.000+10:00

Sundays Long Run

The kids had been staying at Nanna's and Granpa's place for the second week of school holidays in sunny Ocean Grove Vic and on the weekend Sal and I drove down there to pick them up.

I took my running gear with me planning on my last, long run before Melbourne Marathon in six days (oh my god!!!).

Early Sunday morning it was a beautiful Spring start to the day as I headed down towards the beach.

After initially getting a little lost in the unfamiliar Ocean Grove back streets I found myself overlooking Bass Strait.

Ocean Grove beach looking toward Point Lonsdale

The original plan of attack was to run to Point Lonsdale and return. But having never run in sand before, and the Point looking a terribly long way away, I decided it may not have been the smartest choice. I turned west and make my way to the closer looking Barwon Heads.

It was very exhilarating running on the waters edge. The sun was warming my back and there was a slight breeze. The sand felt soft in places and I considered taking off my Kayanos to feel it barefoot. Not wanting to carry my shoes I decided to keep them on my feet.

Making tracks

At the 7km mark I rounded the headland to the mouth of the Barwon River and after having a brief rest I ran back toward Ocean Grove following a coastal road.

It was a little steep getting back to the township and making my way back to our weekend base.

Sundays Long Run Elevation chart.

In the end I completed a very fulfilling 13.8km in 1:11:58.

Further Motionbased details can be found here.

Now I will be enjoing my Taper week before Sundays HUGE race.

100 things list catch up.

Thanks all for your great comments regarding my list. I was starting to worry that I revealed too much of myself but I'm now glad that I did. It was a very cleansing experience.

Please remember that the "Divorce Boy" stuff happened over 20 years ago in 1985/86. A Current Affair or Derryn Hinch would no longer be interested in what I'm doing. It seems like such a long time has passed since then and I am a different person now.

I have only worn the evil Asics Gel Eagles a few times but the last time I hurt my shins badly and was laid up from running for a week. In fairness to the shoes it may not have been entirely their fault, more likely the downhill running I was doing at the time. I will give the evil shoes another chance after the Marathon.

100 things

2006-09-27T10:27:00.000+10:00

Since my last post I have had two quick runs.

A 10.9km in 0:55:10 around the local suburbs, and a 10.7km in 0:51:57 around the Yarra River, MCG and The Tan in Melbourne yesterday.

More information on these runs can be found on Motionbased here and here.

Other than running I have been at work and devoting time to my '100 Things' list.

With great trepidation here it is...

1. I am a married father with two kids
2. I have been a train driver since 1991
3. Since driving trains I have hit 100's of birds, 3 sheep, 2 dogs, 1 cat and driven over one dead body
4. I have lost count of the near misses
5. I have been a train driving instructor for the past 3 years
6. I have been a volunteer firefighter since 1999
7. I have attended 800 call outs as a firefighter
8. I follow Essendon in the AFL but aren't really interested in the footy
9. I have never stolen/borrowed a pig
10. As a child I was terrified of spiders due to my mothers hysterical fear of them
11. Now I am the Dad and the Husband I have had to get over that fear and just deal with the 8 legged little buggers
12. When younger I was a shy, introverted kid
13. At 16 I left school after completing year 10
14. I worked at a cabinet makers for two weeks
15. I worked as a Driveway Attendant in a Service Station
16. I worked on a production line in a factory building Kenworth trucks
17. For 18 months I cleaned restaurant kitchens including exhaust fans and exhaust canopys (yuck!!)
18. I have never been on unemployment benefits
19. The first car I drove was a 1970 VG Valiant when I was 13
20. When I first got my license I drove like a 'P' plated maniac
21. I have lost my license 3 times. Twice for speeding and once for drink driving
22. I now drive religously sticking to the speed limit
23. Except when I am driving a fire truck
24. I have never had a serious accident
25. I failed my motorbike learners the first time but continued to ride a bike on the road without a permit for the next 12 months
26. I now have a license for motorbikes, car and medium rigid trucks
27. I had a rifle and a shooters license for six months but lost both when I was arrested for drink driving (the gun was in the boot/trunk of the car)
28. When I was little I had a huge collection of Star Wars toys that I played with and wrecked.
29. Some of those pieces are now worth hundreds of dollars
30. I now have all 6 episodes of the Star Wars movies on DVD
31. I enjoy watching Third Watch, Survivor and the Amazing Race
32. I have all The Soprano's episodes on DVD
33. I have been to two AC/DC concerts, one KISS concert and one Bee Gees concert
34. I like 80's music, Emeniem, Rn'B and starting to get into Dance and Techno
35. In the last two Census I have put my religion as Jedi
36. I think I would like to buy another motorbike
37. In year 7 my teacher was a distance runner and encouraged the class into running
38. During year 8 at school I competed in the Sun Super Run. I can't find much about this event on the Web but I do remember walking a lot
39. At school I was a 'fat kid' who hated Physical Education
40. But surprisingly I found myself to be a good short-distance sprinter
41. I now enjoy distance running and wish I had started 10 years ago
42. 01/01/2005 was the date of my last cigarette
43. 17/09/2005 was the date of my last alcoholic drink
44. I have found that you don't need alcohol to have a good time
45. But sometimes I miss the social side of drinking
46. I ran away from home when I was 14
47. When I was 15 I was made a ward of the state
48. I also made national headlines at the time as "The boy who divorced his parents"
49. I have appeared on A Current Affair 3 times and Midday with Derryn Hinch once.
50. In 2003 I won a "Firefighter of the Year" award. An award voted for by peers at my brigade 51. I like cats, we currently have two
52. I was at, and witnessed both births of my two children
53. I let Sal name our first born Lucy because after that effort I thought that she deserved it
54. I once rescued a unknown couple who where being swept away in a Rip at Venus Bay Victoria
55. During the mad swim sprint to catch them I thought to myself "What the hell are you doing?!?" But I still managed to bring them back to dry land
56. I have been to the Saints and Sinners Ball twice
57. I have been married for 11 years
58. I have had two piercings, ear and nipple. I still have the nipple
59. I have two tattoos
60. Train Drivers get free entry into the Royal Melbourne Show
61. I have never been out of the country
62. I will never go to Bali, Indonesia or Thailand
63. In my last year of school I went on a school trip biking from Davenport in Tasmania to Hobart
64. That trip was organized by my PE teacher Mr Wenker (pronounced Wanker)
65. Kids at school used to call him "Leo" after Leo Wanker on the Paul Hogan Show
66. I have all the Paul Hogan Show on DVD
67. I have made a recipe book of things I like to cook
68. So far it only has two things, Lasagana and Choc Caramel Slice
69. This is my favourite number ;-)
70. I prefer to have my watch set on 24 hour time (its a work thing)
71. Is the year I was born
72. Since running I have become a bit of a sporting brand snob
73. I like Asics, Brooks and Nike
74. I currently have three pairs of Asics runners
75. I would like to travel to Russia on holiday
76. I suspect that I have a evil pair of Asics. My Asics Gel Eagles I have only wore three times and am frightened to put them back on
77. When younger my mother was religious and dragged us all to church regularly
78. I don't go to church now and still call myself a Jedi
79. As a child I used to suffer from chronic blood noses
80. Now my 7 year old son seems to suffer from the same thing
81. I am the eldest of three brothers and one half sister
82. I don't talk to my brothers and rarely speak to my parents
83. I have had two operations, ingrown toes and a vasectomy. All under local anesthesia
84. As a 6 year old I was hit by a car while running across a road
85. I spent 3 days in hospital with a broken collar bone
86. I was hit by another car when I was 17 while riding my bike home from work
87. Nothing more than cuts and grazes and a destroyed bike
88. I am not that lucky with push bikes, I have had a lot of accidents while riding
89. When I left school I wanted to be a Motor Mechanic
90. After working at Kenworth I decided Motor Mechanic just wasn't for me
91. I worked at a family owned nursery and witnessed a woman get killed by a truck in a nasty work place accident
92. I had to attend the Coroners Court as a witness regarding that accident
93. My wife thinks I'm having a midlife crisis
94. I work all afternoon shifts
95. Sometimes I say things and regret saying them straight away
96. I am a pretty laid back person
97. But when pushed I do have a flash point
98. I like to play Texas Hold'Em
99. In eight days I will be running in my first Marathon
100. I am happy with how my life turned out

Getting my Mojo back.

2006-09-25T22:19:00.000+10:00

Thanks R2B for the timely reminder. Some more great encouragement would be nice.

Since my last post it has been a struggle to get any running in. Between school holidays, looking after the kids and going to work every afternoon, I just haven't found the time for a run.

I was feeling pretty low about how my marathon training plans had fallen to bits and was considering seeing if I could change my entry category from the Full marathon to the Half.

That was until last Saturday when Sal got home from work early and encourage me to get out for a run.

Oscar and I ran over one of my regular 10km routes and we got back home after 0:49:24. I pushed myself hard and the run did a great job of lifting my spirits.

It has been a long time since Oscar has had a fast run like this and he was pretty stuffed. At my current pace I may have to keep the dog curtailed to 5km distances only.

I know I should be in the 3 week taper period before the big race, but today I wanted to stretch the legs a bit to make up for the last two weeks of slacking off.

I set out alone with out Oscar and ran a 17 kilometres route in 1:27:54. It was an enjoyable run as I was left to my thoughts and lapping up the beautiful spring morning. It averaged out to a 5:10 pace and one I reckon I could maintain over a flat, 42.2km course.

I'm feeling a lot better about Melbourne Marathon now. I figure I will try and stick with a 3:45 pacing group on the day. But if that plan goes pair shaped who cares?? It will only serve to set a good time to beat for 2007!!

10 days since my last Blog

2006-09-17T20:11:00.000+10:00

As the title suggest it has been a few days between posts. Only 10 days I hear some of you say, but it has felt a lot longer to me.

The Melbourne Marathon is three weeks away and I have had a little trouble staying motivated.
My race number arrived the other day (go #250!) but I'm finding the training is getting tedious. I'm starting to feel that 42.2km's is a ridicules distance to run and at this stage I think this will be my one and only marathon. The Six Foot Track dream will stay just that, a dream.

20km's is now a comfortable distance and I will be limiting myself to Halfs for quite awhile to come.

Since my last blog I have managed to run 73.9 kilometers including a 32.7km long run today.

This morning was planned to be 36km but after being reduced to a walk at 30km's I decided to call it quits and head home. Todays elevation chart.

The course I chose was fairly hilly and my legs felt so very heavy on the last hill. I knew I shouldn't give in and walk only 2 kilometres from home but it was a struggle to keep going.

In comparison the Melbourne Marathon course follows a coastal road from Frankston to Melbourne and looks a lot flatter. .

Thanks to Raybau from Motionbased for the elevation chart.

I think that with the flat course and race atmosphere on the day I should be fine to run the Marathon distance.

42.2 kilometres I must be nuts!!!

Good morning world.

2006-09-07T19:12:00.000+10:00

I set the alarm nice and early (5:45am) today and headed out for a 'good morning world' type of run.

I had another 5km spin on the treadmill at work the previous Tuesday and was feeling pretty anxious to get out doors, and build up some kilometers again.

This morning run went really well. I covered 15.2km's in 1:15:10 and arrived back home with no leg pain at all.

Splits from this mornings run.

The elevation and pace chart for my run. Maybe I should try it in reverse one day.

More details for this run can be found at Motionbased.

My leg is feeling great. The weeks forced rest seems to have worked wonders on my shin. I'm thinking that maybe I was just suffering from a tendon strain and not the dreaded shin splints I so amateurishly diagnosed.

I am very confident now of completing the Melbourne Marathon in four and a half (gulp) weeks.

A friend sent me a email today that was titled 'Dickhead Bus Drivers' (apologies to any bus driving readers). In the email was a picture of a level crossing on Springvale Rd in Springvale Victoria.

The picture was taken from the drivers cabin of a moving train. It is a heart stopping moment that train drivers experience regularly. I drive trains on this line at least twice a day and in 15 years I have had numerous near misses on this very crossing. You wouldn't believe some of the stupid shit I have seen people do here and at other locations.

Be careful out there.

Tentative steps after a week off.

2006-09-04T20:59:00.000+10:00

After taking a week off from running my right shin is feeling a lot better.

To reduce the chances of further injury I will try to slowly build up the training kilometers this week. Hopefully reaching a long, 20km run by Sunday.

I went for a 5km run this morning and completed 5.1km in 0:23:55. Later in the day I ran a fartlek session on the treadmill at work running 5.3 kilometers in 30 minutes.

Sitting here now my leg feels pretty good and I will go out tomorrow for a 8 to 10km run around the suburb.

Last Thursday our dog Oscar suffered a medical emergency.

During the course of the afternoon we watched as he obviously struggled with severe constipation. A phone call to the Vet suggested a couple of tablets of Coloxyl to soften his stools, but by Friday morning there was still no movement. Oscar was not eating and looking very, very miserable.

Fortunately the Vet could see him early Friday morning. He was examined, x-rayed and admitted for surgery.

We picked him up later that afternoon and after an enema, castration and five hundred and fifty dollars Oscar was feeling a lot better.

He has been resting since with a short walk yesterday and today. I will wait till his stitches are removed next week before he goes out for a run.

He does seem to be enjoying the special pampering he is receiving at the moment.

Shin Splints??

2006-08-31T19:02:00.000+10:00

My sore right ankle from last Sunday has developed into something that has suspiciously similar symptoms as shin splints.

My ankle and the front of the shin has been very sore up until today when the pain seems to have eased a little.

I have been very frustrated this week. It is the time in my training program when I should be cranking out those big, long runs, but up until this morning I haven't been able to walk without a limp.

This injury flared up after trail running at Lysterfield Lake last Thursday. I'm hoping I haven't bought a pair of evil Asics Gel Eagles trail shoes.

Hopefully after resting this weekend I will be able to start training again. Fingers crossed a weeks rest won't upset the marathon program too much.

Late edit: Thanks for the reminder Simlin. I have just added my monthly totals. This month was a little low due to the last weeks rest. 226.35km is a little short compared to last month. Hopefully I can get it together for September.

Defence Lake Attack.

2006-08-27T15:45:00.000+10:00

Once again after a week of being a slack Blogger I have six days to catch up on.

Tuesday the 22nd of August

A run out from work this day. I left Flinders St station and followed the Yarra River to the Anderson St bridge. Turning right I ran a anti-clockwise lap of the Tan and headed back to work.

8.4 kilometres in 0:38:54 (I have really noticed how much faster I have become).

Details can be found at Motionbased here.

Thursday the 24th of August

After heavy rain most of the morning in Melbourne I decided to get those 'still new looking' trail shoes a bit dirty.

After dropping the kids at school I drove to Lysterfield Lake Park and ran a 11.9km circuit in 1:03:36.

I didn't get the shoes that dirty but after stomping in every puddle I could find I got them very wet.

I don't know how it happened but when I left the park to head home my right ankle felt very sore, almost like a sprain.

More Motionbased details found here.

This mystery injury kept me resting for the remainder of the week and I tried to recover it for Sunday morning.

Sunday the 27th of August
Defence Lake Attack

My first competive race I entered 12 months ago is back and this time I was out to set a 10km PB.

The rest of my family, Sal, Lucy and Ben were entered for the 5km walk and it was looking like a fine day.

When we arrived at Albert Park Lake I noticed that the event seemed to be bigger than last year. It was in a different location and seemed to be a lot more tents and military vehicles on display.

I lined up early at the starting gate and half expected a balls up like the previous year when the starters gun wouldn't work.

I think the whole field, ducks and even the swans jumped out of their skin when the start was announced by a gut churning BOOM from a 105mm Howitzer gun!

The starters gun!

I set off fast. I knew I was fast but I was feeling fairly confident that I could keep a good pace. Once I was out of the crowd I started picking targets and reeling them in.

The first lap of the lake went through at 0:20:49. I was elated but also a little disappointed as The Garminator told me the lap was only 4.8km long.

The second lap was a little slower as I was caught up in the 5km walkers. I had to dodge and weave a bit and I lost sight of the next runner that I was pacing off.

Sal copped a slap on the butt as I lapped her and a quick hello to the kids and I continued on.

I crossed the finish line in a record smashing 0:42:15! Beating my previous 10km race time (Olympic Dream) of 0:53:37. I just wish the Garminator told me I had run 10km instead of 9.6.

I gathered my showbag and waited for the family to come in. They would have been under an hour except for congestion in the finishing chute. Very well done guys!

Ben is very happy with his Bling (complementary race medal) and has announced that he will keep it for ever and even his kids will inherit it.

Details for the Defence Lake Attack can be found here and Motionbased results here.

Apart from the discrepancies with the distance I am thrilled with the result. At Tesso's suggestion I was hoping for 45 minutes but would never have imagined sub 43.

My right ankle has pulled up sore again and I have been having a little trouble with my second toe on the left foot since the 34km last weekend. All of a sudden they seemed to have decided that after 400 km's my Asics Kayano's are too small?!? Very weird.

A 50 kilometre weekend. Bellarine Rail Trail.

2006-08-21T11:01:00.000+10:00

Saturday the 19th of August

Knowing I would regret it if I didn't, I set out during a few spare hours for a 16km Hal Higdon training run.

I had thought a lot about R2B's comments from a previous post about how fast one of my 17km runs went. I double checked the figures and found that they were all correct so surprisingly I did run 17km in 1:26:00. On Saturday I ended up pushing myself hard and ran 16.1km's in 1:16:21. Again an average pace of 4:44!

All my splits were under 5 minutes except for a steep hill section. I will be working on that one soon :-)

Sunday the 20th of August
Fatass Bellarine Rail Trail Run

After spending the night at my in-laws Ocean Grove place Saturday night (not as bad as it sounds, they are very good in-laws). I woke at 6:30am, had some toast, and drove the half hour trip to the Geelong Showgrounds.

At 7:25 am there was already a lot of people there. I signed the necessary indemnity forms and hopped around keeping warm and chatting to familiar faces.

Once again I met Coolrunners, Tiger Boy, Eat Em', Jaykay, Chilliman, Diane[GH], and Superjacent (aka Steve).

At 7:50am the Race Director Brett (Coolrunnings BDC) gave us a chat on runners safety and good behavior and Lee Troop gave a short speech thanking Brett and his team of volunteers. Lee also asked the Ultra runners doing the 68km to seriously think hard about what they were doing.

With a very informal ready, set, go we all set off and I kept with the leaders group till about the 7.7km mark where I stopped for a short toilet break.

I rejoined the race with two strangers that seemed to be doing a happy pace. One of them was talking about his experience at the Paris Marathon and it was interesting listening.

The Paris Marathon guy upped his ante and joined a forward group and I cotinued to run with the other bloke who I found out was a Coolrunning lurker named Paul.

Paul and I stayed together for quite awhile at a 5:15 to 5:30 pace. We walked through the 16km aid station for water and some lollies then picked up our speed to 5 minutes or less for the next 10 kilometres.

During that time it was a little satisfying to pass the Paris Marathon guy who was reduced to a run alot/walk a little pace.

Paul and I stayed together till 26km's when he had to stop to deal with a stitch.

At the 27.8 km mark The Garminator spat the dummy and lost all satellite reception. I was feeling much the same and was just about stuffed on a long stretch of bitumen road when Tiger Boy and Eat Em' powered up from the rear and swept me along for the last 5 kilometres.

Tiger Boy was doing a fantastic job of Pacer, calling out words of encouragement and I could feel their energy. I managed to keep pace with them till over the finish line and I am so grateful for their assistance.

The Garminator lost signal for 30 minutes and gained it back toward the very end. I am not very happy with its data from this run and will not be posting his results. According to Steve's Mr Garmin the distance was 33.63 kilometres and I completed it in 2:52.

The auther and Steve. Steve is surprised to hear that he is not the only one with a secret camera.

My ever faithful family was at the finish line to meet me and Sal drove me to the local caravan park to shower and get my Skins on before I couldn't walk.

We had a fantastic lunch at the Royal Hotel in Queenscliff where I wolfed down a very yummy and well deserved Rib-Eye steak.

24 hours later and I can't praise the healing powers of Skins enough. My legs feel brand new and feel ready for another 34km run.

The first weekend of long, LONG runs.

2006-08-18T12:04:00.000+10:00

Wednesday the 16th of August

According to the Hal Higdons Marathon plan a 16km long run was on the program today.

I set off alone and ran across to the neighboring suburb and back in a big squareish loop.

By the time I got back home I ended up running 17km's in 1:26:06.

My splits for this run.

The splits time blew out to 5:39 in the 11th km when I took a wrong turn and had to go off-road next to the railway track.

More details for this run at Motionbased.

Thursday the 17th of August.

Oscar and I did our old 10km circuit around the estate.

It had rained a little overnight so I wore my new Asics Trail shoes.

I found the Asics Gel Eagles very unforgiving when running on concrete but a lot easier to run on grass that my Kayano's. It was a lot of fun looking for and stomping in any puddles I could find and I made a great mess.

Oscar is a little out of form and was happy to get back home after 10km's in 0:49:38. I'm afraid that I think I am too quick for him and 10km's will be his limit from now on.

More Motionbased details here.

Friday the 18th of August (today).

I had ever intention of moving tomorrows 16km run to today but just can't get myself motivated to do it.

It was sunny earlier but clouding over now. The cold wind is making outdoors a bit nippley (uncomfortable when you have a pierced one) and I'm just not in the mood for it.

I can always run tomorrow but as we are heading to the in-laws at Ocean Grove for the weekend I may not get time for it.

I have the much anticipated Fatass Bellarine Rail Trail 32km on Sunday and I am looking forward to having a great Sunday long run.

That will be the first of my three 32km runs before the taper leading to Melbourne Marathon 2006. I have been thinking of running this 32km then pushing the next two out to 36 kilometres. I think this maybe better preparation for my marathon than having to make up 10km's on the day.

Any ideas or thoughts on this would be very welcome.

Half a week to catch up on.

2006-08-15T12:54:00.000+10:00

Seeing as I have been such a busy/lazy blogger I now have three runs to catch up on.

Thursday the 10th of August

On this day I had a straight run down the Yarra River from Flinders St station to the Grange Rd Bridge and returned on the south bank.

It was a distance of 11.2km's and I ran it in 0:53:18.

Apart from the 11th kilometre which involved some stairs I'm pretty happy with the split times.

If you are interested more details can be found at Motionbased.

Saturday the 12th of August.

Due to a expected busy Sunday I moved my 30km long run forward a day early. I started out just after sunrise and ran 7.7km's to the local Garden Supplies where I had to order some pine bark mulch.

With the mulch all paid for and delivery expected around 11am I continued on with my run. I covered some new roads in the area that I have been thinking about and I have come to realize that 30 km's is a bloody long way!

Saturdays Long Run route.

It was with a little disappointment that when I got to a point that I knew was 2 kilometres from home I found that I had covered only 26km. Weaving in and around a few streets to make up the last 4km's was very tough and my km splits times reflect that.

Km splits from Saturdays long run.

In the end I ran 30.7km's in 2:39:21.

More details can be found on Motionbased here.

After arriving back home and showering I donned my Skins with a pair of overalls over the top and proceeded to weed and mulch our garden beds. The Skins did wonders for my leg muscle recovery but by 10pm that night I was struggling to stay awake. It was a early night to bed.

Tuesday the 15th of August (Today).

I have been researching trail shoes for a while to give my Kayano's a rest from the muddy paths around Lysterfield Lake, and decided on the Asics Gel Eagle Trail.

I ordered a pair from Pauls Warehouse last Friday and today they arrived..

To welcome them home I set off to Lysterfield Lake and ran 11.1km's in 0:56:28.

Details for this run are at Motionbased.

The Gel Eagles felt a lot different than my Asics Kayanos. They are heavier and also felt a lot bouncier. The paths around the Lake wern't quite wet or slippery enough today to get the full traction benefits of the trail shoe. I'm hoping to take them to Sassafrass for a real muddy run soon.

The scenic route around Melbourne.

2006-08-09T14:31:00.000+10:00

Tuesday the 8th of August.

On Tuesday I showed up for work early and took a run around the more "iconic" parts of Melbourne.

I ran from the Elizabeth St Subway at Flinders St Station and headed down the North Bank toward Birrarung Marr Park. I crossed the footbridge over the train tracks and headed out to do an external lap of the MCG.

Approaching the Melbourne Cricket Ground from the Birrarung Rail Bridge.

I hadn't run around the "G" before and I did find the experience pretty special. There is several statues commemerating sporting achievements scattered around the ground and the size of the place is pretty awesome.

The view from the bottom of the Number 5 light tower.

I then crossed back over toward Rod Laver and Vodaphone Arena's, turned left up Swan St, then right down Hoddle Street to follow the Yarra Trail.

Following the Yarra River I crossed over to the south bank on the Grange Rd Bridge (as recomended by Steve on a earlier run) and headed back to the City.

Melbourne taken from Birrarung Rail Bridge.

My maximum heart-rate monitor was singing away merrily as I joined the multitudes of lunch time runners heading up the Anderson St Hill and I did a half lap of the Tan.

Crossing St Kilda Rd I dodged the crowds on Southbank, crossed the Yarra River again at the Sandridge Rail Bridge, and returning to Flinders St Station 14.2km's and 1:10:31 minutes later.

More details on this run can be found at Motionbased.

Wednesday the 9th of August.

Yesterday I attended at my Gym and had a follow up fitness assesment. My last assesment was 29th of March 2005 and since then it has all been good news.

March last year I weighed 108.7 kilo, now 94.1. My body fat was 36.1% and now a lot healthier 24.8%. On a bike test it was found that my stamina has doubled and the assessor was very happy. I did point out to him that most of my weight loss was contributed to outdoor running and not the gym but he didn't seem to mind.

You ran where??

2006-08-06T11:41:00.000+10:00

Thursday the 3rd of August

I ran a fairly slow 6.5kms in 0:42:00 on the treadmill at work tonight. I did this while watching 'Resevoir Dogs' on DVD.

If it wasn't for the movie it would be pretty boring run. I much prefer to get outdoors but I just don't feel that safe running the streets of Melbourne at 10 o'clock at night.

Sunday the 6th of August

After again missing my run on Saturday (may have to change my Friday rest day to here. Saturdays are just too busy) I set out for my long run bright and early this morning.

I was inspired by Chillimans post on Coolrunning regarding the Sassafras creek run but was unavailable to attend this gathering due to their late start.

So instead I drove to Belgrave, where the start of the Great Train Race is held. The plan was to follow the race course for 10 kilometres and return.

I started out just after 7am with a quick hill descent for around 500 metres. It was then a steady but gradual climb into Selby.

The famous Puffing Billy Trestle Bridge.

Except for the kookaburra's laughing at me it was a fairly quiet and peaceful run.

Selby-Aura Vale rd

The 7.8km point found me in front of the Clematis Hotel looking down the road and contemplating if I should continue. The Garminator told me I had only run 7.8km's and I would be foolish to turn around and head back now (thanks Garminator).

(At this point I have made several attempts to load more pictures into this god dammed f*%ken blogger piece of rubbish and it won't allow me! For the sake of my own sanity I have to move on)

I arrived in Emerald after 10.1km's in 0:54:38. I stretched for a little and took another pic.

It was a pleasure to run back to Belgrave. It is mostly downhill with two short but very steep hills. When the maximum heart-rate alarm sounded I walked for a little to the top of the rises then continued running. I think my return times was a lot quicker than my forward time.

(Once again Blogger wont let my splits graph upload ggrrr)

In the end I ran 20.5 kilometres in 1:49:07.

The title of my post is Sal's reaction when I told her I ran from Belgrave to Emerald and back. It is funny how 20 kilometres is starting to feel like an easy distance now.

Late edit: After reading Jaykays shameless plug for her eEay items I have decided to add my own. Click here to have a sticky beak at what I am currently selling on eBay.

111th post

2006-08-01T22:45:00.000+10:00

After I doing a rough count I think I passed my 100th post and didn't even notice. Doh!!

Thanks for everyone's great comments with my last post particularly my wife Sal. A little bit embarressed by her response and very humbled. I love you too Chicky!

I have two runs to catch up on.

Tuesday 1st of August

It started as just a run to the Post Office to buy some stamps and send a letter but ended in a 10.2km muddy circuit. Oscar came with me and the skys had cleared a little after raining most of the morning. We had fun splashing in the mud on some of the the dirt and sandy footpaths and arrived back home 0:51:11 minutes later filthy dirty.

More details can be found on Motionbased here.

Wednesday 2nd of August

After not really being in the mood for a longish, mid-week run I eventually forced myself out the door for the programmed 14.5km run. I ended up running 15.4km in 1:16:41 and covered some new roads in the area. I felt a lot better once I got back home after getting off my arse and making the effort for a run.

Once again Motionbased details can be found here.

A long Run and monthly totals.

2006-07-31T10:52:00.000+10:00

Due to work and family commitments I missed a run on Saturday but yesterday, (Sunday) I still made it out the door for my long run.

The Hal Higdon program called for a 27km run and with five and a bit laps of my local 5km circuit I managed 27.5km in 2:21:37.

My 1km splits. I'm very happy with this effort.

Even though I covered the same territory five times the runs was quite enjoyable. The hilliest part of this course is also where I hit a stiff westerly head wind but with a few shouts at the elements I managed to push through. My apologies if I scared any neighbors.

Up to the 20km mark I felt fantastic. I reckon after this Marathon business I will concentrate my efforts of Halfs, improving my best time.

I have registered for my first Fatass event. The Bellarine Rail Trail is a 32km or 64km run comming up on Sunday the 20th of August. The family and I are going to make a weekend of it and stay at Sal's parents place at nearby Ocean Grove and I will run the 32km from Geelong to Queenscliff. We are all looking forward to that weekend.

Today is a rest/cross training day and I have just returned from the swimming pool. A few laps to free up the muscles a little but it was not really needed. Soon as I finished the long run yesterday I showered and put on my Skins. Compared to the way I felt after the 30km Sri Chinmoy my legs are 100% better.

Yesterdays run brings my monthly total to....drum roll please... 257.55km!! That is 85km more than my previous best of 172km in March. The kilometres are really starting to add up.

My monthly weight average is 95.7 kilos. The weight has actually fluctuated a bit this month. It was tending to creep up until I started myself on a low calorie/low fat diet. I have to admit that even after giving up smokes, alcohol and starting a exercise regime, sticking to a healthy diet is one of the toughest things I have ever done.

Now that was silly...

2006-07-28T14:13:00.000+10:00

I think I did something a bit silly this morning. I paid my $100 and registered for the 2006 Melbourne Marathon.

Now that I have paid there is no going back, only forward. Come October 8th and I will be running in a marathon.

Thursday the 27th of July

Oscar and I went out for our 10km training loop and completed it in 0:48:29.

This run can be viewed at Motionbased.

I am well on my way to making a official sub 50 minute 10km race for the defense Lake Attack. Not only have I registered for this race but also the rest of the family, wife Sal, kids Lucy(9) and Ben(6) will participating in the 5km walk. Good luck to all.

Today the 28th of July

I played with The Garminator and set it for a Quick workout of 13 kilometres, pace of 5:20. The run was down a road in to the neighboring suburb of Cranbourne to 6.5km and return. I tried to keep myself at the 5:20 pace but kept speeding up. Ended up completing 13km in 1:06:26. An average 5:04 pace.

More Motionbased details here.

Tesso asked "Who is that CR hot on your tail?" referring to the pic here. I can honestly say I do not know. He is wearing a yellow bib so he was in the Half but I'm afraid to say that I did not meet him on the day. If any other Melbournians out there have an idea please let me know.

I spy another Coolrunner.

2006-07-26T23:28:00.000+10:00

The Sri Chinmoy website has published some photos from Sundays run. There was a few pics of me but I found this one that I am kind of happy with.

I went for a run along the Yarra River in Melbourne today. I ended up running a 10.58km in 0:51:38. I ran out 5.2km following the river but when I couldn't find somewhere to cross I had to turn back and return to work.

At about 6.9km I was surprised to see another runner heading towards me wearing a Coolrunning cap. After the initial shock I recognized Steve out for one of his Yarra runs. We stopped and chatted for a short time but I had to push on back to work.

The splits from today's run. The 5:26 time included climbing some stairs to cross the river at the rail bridge.

I made it back with about 15 minutes to clean up, change and grab a Boost Juice (they help me cool quickly after a run) before running my 5pm Williamstown train.

Except for the time constraints todays run was very enjoyable. Exploring a different path was interesting and the chance encounter with Steve made my day. I will endeavor to get out along side the Yarra River more often.

Some things I learnt.

2006-07-25T21:22:00.000+10:00

After a few days retrospect I have been thinking a lot about the Sri Chinmoy Princess Park run and believe I have learnt a few things from the 30km experience.

1/When running at night take a torch.
The most annoying thing about the Princess Park run was having to enter with a stupid injury. If I hadn't tripped over a curb while out running in darkness four nights previously I would have been in better shape for the big event.

2/Take the Fuelbelt on Race day.
I brought my Fuelbelt and a bottle of Gatorade on the day but with a last minute decision I left them in the car. I figured there would be frequent aid stations on the course and there was. But I did noticed many other runners wearing Fuelbelts with sports drinks. Maybe more fuel for the longer run and certainly a lot easier to drink out of than a cup.

3/Wearing Skins
The Skins I bought a few days previously stayed in my backpack during the run. My plan was to don them straight after the race but I didn't put them on till after I got home and showered. I noticed again that a lot of runners were wearing them during the event and I started to think that I should have too. What's the point of $100+ sports tights when I don't wear them during sport?

3/Bladder Control
It's not just while running but also during day to day life. I just can't seem to hold on as good as I used to. I have been joking that it must mean I am getting old but my wife thinks I should get a check-up. I will arrange to see a doctor during the next week. I would be very frustrated to have to stop for a piss during my marathon and have the legs stiffen up again.

It has been a few days since the run and nearly a week since I fell. The pain in my knee from the fall has been superseded by my aching leg muscles. I have struggled to get in and out of cars and walk up stairs let alone attempt to go for a run.

Tomorrow at work I have a long meal break so I may go for a slow, leisurely run along the Yarra River. I am at my highest monthly total and only need a few more kilometres to crack the 200 for July.

P.S Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble uploading pics to blogger??

30km Sri Chinmoy

2006-07-23T14:02:00.000+10:00

Well against good judgment I decided to compete in the 30km Sri Chinmoy at Princess Park this morning.

I woke bright and early with my knee still a bit swollen and sore. Made a couple pieces of toast then picked up my friend Salli, and her sister-in-law Karen for the drive into the City.

The girls were going into the 5km walk and we noticed it had been raining overnight. I mentioned how it never rains for a Sri Chinmoy event and things would be ok.

At Princess Park a bubbly Beki introduced her self and them I caught up with some other Coolrunners. Tiger Boy, Rohan, Azza, Eat 'Em, Lostboys A & B, Jaykay, Chiliman and Steve. There was lots of other yellow and blue gear and as usually I'm sorry I didn't get everyone's names.

Before the race started I positioned myself right at the front. Figured it would be good to get a flying start without dodging slower runners.

It was explained that the course was a 5km circuit. The 30kmers would have to complete 6 laps and the Halfs would run 4. Their was some grumbles as it was announced that the half marathoners would have to turn back, and rejoin at the back of the pack, after the first straight to make up the 1.1km.

We had the moment of reflection then Ready, Set, GO! The race had started.

I was running quite well, maybe too good as Garminator told me I was at 3:50 pace! I was worried I would burn up on the first 5km circuit so had to make an effort to slow down.

The course passed under Royal Parade via a couple of bridges. It went out near Melbourne Zoo then looped back on itself. Garminator didn't like the bridges and paused himself. While running I had to make some adjustments and turn off the auto pause feature. I was passing under the bridges another 11 times and didn't want the stopwatch paused everytime I did.

The first 5km lap was completed in 23:16 and I was feeling pretty good. I figured if I continued at a reasonable pace I would finish 30km in around 2 and a half, maybe three quarter hours.

10km passed at 48:04 (woohoo PB) and 15km at 1:13:22. 20km I was at 1:38:59 and still feeling pretty fresh.

Salli and Karen had well and truly finished there 5km and came out to cheer me for the 15km mark. They then went for a coffee then came back for more cheers when I passed under the banner for the 5th time. Completing 25km in 2:03:53.

I was feeling pretty stuffed by now. I could feel the injured knee was getting tight, and I kept reminding myself that the furthest I had run before this was 22km's. I also had a infrequent need for the toilet that came and went. I was starting to think that if I had run in the half marathon I would have been finished by now. Still just one more lap didn't sound so bad so I pushed on.

After I passed the last drink station at 28km I spotted a toilet block and the need for a piss wouldn't wait further. Stopping I could feel my legs stiffening up and the will to go on was evaporating.

After a steady km pace of 5:00 to 5:30, the 29th kilometre pace blew out to 7:19! I was reduced to a walk and even stopping to stretch the legs and very sore knee. Other runners going past were shouting out encouragement and I felt a little silly walking so close to the end.

With effort I didn't know I had I started with a slow jog then pushing on to a 5:30 pace again.

Within sight of the finish line the back of my left knee started cramping. In my head I was saying "No way, not now!" and ran/hoped/limped over the finish line completing 30km in 2:36:50.

The earlier finishers had done a great job of clearing out the pancakes but I wolfed down four of the best mandarines I think I had ever had. Strange that in the last 5 km's I started feeling hungry.

Considering I had trained no where near this distance, and that I was carrying a stupid injury. I felt that I did ok.

With Garminator cracking the shits about the bridges I don't entirely trust his data but further details can be found at Motionbased.

It is 11 weeks to the Melbourne Marathon and after today's effort, with more training kilometres and long runs. The goal of running 42.195 is even more plausible.

Decision time

2006-07-22T09:37:00.000+10:00

Injury Report

The stiffness and swelling from my knee has abated a bit and even though it doesn't feel 100%, I now have full movement so I am going ahead with the 30km Sri Chinmoy run in the morning.

Thanks to everyone for their great comments and good wishes.

Car Buying

Today after much deliberation and thought my wife Sal and I bought a new car.

It is a new Honda Jazz Vti-s. It has a zippy 1.5 litre motor with a 7 speed automatic. Most importantly it will also have a 5 year warranty.
It will be replacing our ageing, petrol guzzling, Holden VS Commodore.
This car will be added to the stable and keep our other Honda, a 7 seater 2004 Odyssey, company.

The new car is still making its way from Japan and should be here in a week or so.

LATE EDIT: I just found out that a very Coolrunner that I met at the Melbourne Zoo Super Summer Series, Alisonjc, now has her own blog. It is a very entertaining read and can be found at www.lbtepa.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Bugger!

2006-07-20T21:40:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 18th of July

This morning Oscar and I ran my 10km circuit. According to the Hal Higdon Marathon plan I am supposed to be running a 6.5km but I have been getting a little bored with the short kilometre runs, and decided to extend the distance a little.

We completed the 10.1km in 0:48:35. This has been my best 10km time yet and I am happy to make my sub 50 minute goal.

Motionbased details for this run can be found here.

The defense Lake Attack was the first race I ran in last year. I completed 5km in 0:26:11 and since then have become a lot faster. The race will be held again on Sunday the 27th of August and I will be returning to Albert Park Lake for a 10km this time. I look forward to making my sub 50 minute 10km time official, and beating my previous lake lap record.

Wednesday 19th of July

My mid-week longish run had to wait till I got home from work about 6pm. It was dark and very cold when I set off for a 13km run around the suburb.

I was enjoying the run till the 2.1km mark when I tripped on a round-about and fell heavily, landing on my left knee, chest and hands.

I regained my posture and collected the Fuelbelt water bottles that had scattered across the road and managed to jog/limp around the corner and checked myself for damage under better lighting.

My left knee had copped a graze under the Nike running tights but thankfully no rips or tears. A nipple ring I wear was half knocked out and I had to remove it completely to avoiding losing it. Otherwise the damage seemed minimal so I completed my planned 13km run in 1:08:05.

Motionbased details for this run can be found here.

In hindsight I should have headed straight home and RICE my knee but it felt ok when I was moving. It is only now after being at work all day and giving it very little attention that it has swelled and stiffened up.

My taper for Sundays 30km Sri Chinmoy has started a few days earlier than I planned. And as much as I hate to think it my participation in the event may be in jeopardy.

As the title said...BUGGER!!!

On a happier note Rebel Sport in the Bourke St Mall were having a 20% off storewide sale today. I dropped in and bought a pair of Skins tights and a Everlast Hoodie. I can't seem to resist a sporting goods sale anymore :-)

Sunday long run.

2006-07-16T15:34:00.000+10:00

Today had a fallback distance of 16km's in the Hal Higdon marathon plan.

After catching up with chores I set out alone just before midday. I covered part of my pre-Garmin 15km course (it was a bit short of 15) and had to fill in for the last 2km's.

I am pretty happy with my splits. They are pretty consistent with the terrain I ran on.
Elevation/Distance

In the end I ran 16.5kms in 1:25:01. 11km's into the run and I passed a local Fish and Chip shop. The smell wafting out of the place wouldn't leave me so once I had freshed up I headed back to get the family lunch. Hot chips on a cold winters day...Yum.

More information on this run can be found at Motionbased.

I haven't mentioned it much but I have received my race number (Pink 2978) for next Sundays 30km Sri Chinmoy at Princess Park. The furthest I have run so far is 22.7km and I am a little nervous. This event was always going to be the measuring stick for the Melbourne Marathon and I hope I will be up for it.

In the Coolrunning forums I have noticed the thread for the Fat Ass Bellarine Rail trail long run. I have added my name to the list and I am looking forward to the experience. The family and I can stay at the in-laws in Ocean Grove for the weekend, and will then watch me stagger into Queenscliff after running 34km's on the Sunday.

A wet Melbourne.

2006-07-15T20:50:00.000+10:00

Today I had planned on a 11km run in the city during my mealbreak, but due to the constant rain in Melbourne, I was restricted to the treadmill in the social club's gym.
A very wet MCG viewed from Richmond station.

I ran a boring 11km's in 1:02:20 while watching TV.

My 1000km milestone came and passed and I didn't even notice, only remembering later when I was getting changed.

1.7 kilometres to go.

2006-07-13T21:30:00.000+10:00

As the title suggests I have 1.7kms to go before I crack 1000k's this year. I'm almost tempted to go for a spin around the block to even it out.

But it is getting late and I have already had dinner so this milestone will have to wait for another day.

It has been 3 days since my last post and I will quickly catch up.

Tuesday the 11th
The area we live in is still growing and there is new housing estates popping up everywhere. It also has plenty of beautiful display homes close by that my wife Sal and I like to browse through. Oscar and I set off this day for just a cruise through some of the newer areas to check out land sites and get a feel for the area.

We ended up running 7.8kms in 0:40:01 and covered a bit of ground. I noticed some brand new homes that people had moved into in the past week. It reminded me of when we shifted into our current house. It had been raining for two weeks and we had a brand new home in the middle of a sea of mud. It was so much work to get the garden and outside areas to what we have now. I'm not too sure if I really want to go back and do it all again.

More details can be found on Motionbased.

Wednesday the 12th
On this day the Hal Higdon Marathon plan has me running a 11km distance. Once again Oscar and I set off but this time I just set the Garminator for 5.5km and turned back home when the alarm sounded. 11km in 0:53:56.

I was impressed with the splits on this run. The two highest times was while climbing hills.

If that doesn't totally bore you more information can be found at Motionbased.

Thursday the 13th
Today I had a one and a half hour meal break in the City so I took my running gear to work.

I set off from Flinders st Station and turned on the Garminator when I got to the north bank of the Yarra river. Then headed east till I arrived at the Anderson st bridge. I crossed the Yarra and pushed myself up the Anderson st hill and completed a clockwise circuit of The Tan.

Back at Anderson st I turned back to work this time following the south bank of the river.

(Gggrrr here I wanted to add some boring but very cool maps and graphs but bloody Blogger won't let me!!)

I ended up covering 8.42kms in 0:40:40. More information can be found at Motionbased here.

Tomorrow is a rest day and also a DDO/RDO/EDO (whatever you may call it) from work.

I will be back for my 1000k breaking run on Saturday.

Just to catch up.

2006-07-10T09:48:00.000+10:00

Looks like I have a blogging post and a few runs to catch up on....

Friday I went back to Lysterfield Lake with my friend Salli. She was going to walk a lap of the lake while I would run two . I figured I would catch her easy on my second lap but I couldn't believe it when she beat me back to the car! I ran 12.9km and Salli walked 6.5km in 1:04:35.

I know Salli reads this and I am throwing out the challenge. I want a rematch!

Saturday Oscar and I set off for a 11km pace run in accordance to Hal Higdons Marathon training plan. I pushed for a fast pace and got it completing 11.1km in 0:55:30. Oscar had been awhile since his last run, Lysterfield Lake doesn't allow doggy visitors. He still did a great job of keeping up.

Later that day I registered for the 30km Sri Chinmoy Princess Park run. I reckon this event will be a good indication to see if I am up for the marathon distance.

Sunday and I had my long planned, much anticipated 22.5km long run. I had never run this distance before and it has been six weeks since my Half Marathon debut, I was feeling a little apprehensive.

I set off alone. Anything over 15km's is too far for Oscar and without him I can run on the roads.

Without going into every pavement pounding kilometre I will summarize and say it was a good run that felt pretty gruelling at times. It got tough towards the end, especially as I was so close to home but found that I had to make up 3 kilometres. Weaving up and down some local streets soon stretched the k's out.

My wife Sal flung open the door when I arrived home and exclaimed how worried she had been for me, "You have been gone for hours" she cried.

"22.76km in 1:59:59" (woohoo under 2 hours!) I replied with a sheepish grin and trying not to fall over. It was good to get home.

The long run brought my weekly total to 87.54km's, a new top weekly score. After slacking off last weekend it has also brought me back on track with the marathon plan and a well earned rest day today.

Now for a few questions. I don't think Krispy Kreme doughnuts are all that. I'm not sure why people are still queuing for them three weeks after the store had opened. Maybe a well thought out and planned advertising campaign.

I would love to meet the legendary Tesso at the Melbourne Marathon. I bags running next to her for 1km then eating her dust when she takes off at some crazy 4:45 pace for the rest of the race :-)

A long Lysterfield Lake run.

2006-07-06T14:27:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I had a slack day with no running. I had things on in the morning and CFA stuff in the afternoon.

My wife Sal arrived home from work and after the very successful lasagna dinner, she went and lined up for 40 minutes at the new Krispy Kreme for two boxes of doughnuts.

The Fountain Gate Krispy Kreme store opened at our local shopping centre on the 22nd of June and amazingly people are still queuing up. It has a 24hour drive thru that has had a constant stream of cars. I think I am in the wrong business.

After dropping the kids off at school this morning I drove again to Lysterfield Lake for a leisurely, "lets see where this trail leads" sort of run.

I set off across the dam wall in the morning sun feeling pretty pumped. As I had planned on a slow run I decided I could take some time for picture taking to add to the blog.

Just after the wall is a steep short hill. At the top I turned right and ran up the Tramline Walk trail.

There where so many kangaroos out and about that I soon got sick of stopping to take their picture. The ones that were on the track soon moved and others close by didn't seem to mind a guy running around in tight black leggings huffing and puffing like a steam train.

I ended up following a bike track that seemed to meander through the bush. The Asics Kayanos were probably not the best shoe for trial running. With rain all night the pathways were a little wet and became very slippery . I'm glad I wore my old shoes because it wasn't long before they were filthy dirty.

I pushed on out further in the park than I have ever gone before. Thankful that I had taken my laminated park map and that the Garminators tracking function was working so well.

It was a very slow pace. I was stopped often to consult the map, take pictures and even a couple of phone calls.

(At this point I am trying to upload a couple more pictures but Blogger is being very bloody painful and won't let me do it. Time to wind up this post.)

In the end I had covered 15.51km in 1:28:50. Not a very fast time but I did enjoy myself.

More information of this run can be found at Motionbased.

Two laps of Lysterfield Lake

2006-07-05T10:23:00.000+10:00

After Monday nights good run and everyones great comments to my last post I set out yesterday to run two laps of Lysterfield Lake.

I ended up running 13.06km in 1:06:52. The track elavation is a bit more up and down than my normal, surburban running courses and I think my 1km splits reflect this.

More details of this run can be found at Motionbased (thanks Steve).

The Garmin 305 has been grouse. I have enjoyed its company and feel it was money well spent. The only small problem would be the time I now spend on the computer analyzing the data and creating maps. I am currently planning out some different routes for some more varied input.

Yesterday I googled minced meat recipes and found this lasagna dish. I showed it to my wife Sal and she has requested it for dinner. So while I am blogging I have to frequently check the meat sauce that is now on the stove. Hopefully it will work out and I can give good reviews of it later.

A weekend to recharge

2006-07-03T19:24:00.000+10:00

Last Friday I set out for my regular 10km run. It didn't go as well as I hoped and I had a few problems. The Garminator lost its satellite lock and I had to stop and have a fiddle with it. Then at the 6.5km mark I was reduced to a walk for a bit after powering up a short, steep hill. My heartrate had peaked at 191 bpm at the summit so I decided to walk it out for a few hundred metres to bring it back under control. I got back home after 10.9km in 0:52:38.

This weekend, as anyone who lives in Melbourne knows, was fairly poor weather wise. I had a 10km run Saturday and a 21km long run scheduled for Sunday. But due to the rain, shopping for dining room tables with the wife or just not being in the mood for it I didn't get any running done.

I checked out the new Melbourne Marathon website on Sunday and started to question my goals. Am I ready for a full marathon? Do I have the determination for it? Am I being unrealistic? My weight lose has stalled a little this month and I wonder will I be too heavy for a marathon?

The family and I went to the cinema that afternoon to watch Superman Returns. It was a great, feel good movie and helped put to marathons and running out of my mind for the rest of the night.

This evening Oscar and I went set out for a evenly paced, 10km run around the suburb
It was over a different route than normal and was actually a bit of fun. After a few days of breaking in my new Asics Kayanos were getting their first run and they felt great. I didn't push myself too hard and ended up completing 10.3km in 0:52:14.

After such a enjoyable run my thoughts have turned back to my goals. I reckon I can make up my lost kilometres from the weekend during the next few days and be back on track. The McMillan Running calculator reckons I could run a marathon in 3:45:10 at 5:21 pace/km. With focus and training I am back to believing that it is indeed a realistic goal.

Shopping and a 5km run.

2006-06-29T16:12:00.000+10:00

Last night Oscar and I got out for our regular 5km run. Wednesday normally has a longish 10km according to Hal Higdeon, but I had prepared a Shepards Pie for dinner that was happily cooking in the oven. I only had about 30 minutes to spare for a run.

I pushed us fairly hard as penance for missing my 10km and was pleased to get back home for a 5km PB of 0:23:32. I had time for a quick shower and hopped in for a fantastic, carbohydrate loaded, dinner.

This 5km distance is really starting to feel like a short run now.

Today saw the kids and I take a trip to Active Feet in Heathmont for my next pair of runners. As advised I took my old Kayanos and was video taped on the treadmill walking and running. With my old shoes and then barefoot (I have such ugly toes uugghh). Tom the salesperson suggested as I haven't had trouble with Kayano's, I should stick with them. I indicated that I would like to try an equivalent shoe in Brooks so I had a run in a pair of Brooks Trance. Straight away I knew I didn't like them. They just felt too tall in the rear foot compared to my Asics. I bought the Kayanos XII's. Even though they are they same type as my old ones, all clean they look like a totally different shoe. New right shoe is in the foreground.

I have to admit that I feel a little foolish for paying $60 more for these shoes at Active Feet than I would have paid at Rebel Sport. I did talk to Tom a lot about running, shoes and my progress so far but I'm not sure if I could say that the service was worth the extra money. I originally went to a shoe specialist to check my running gait and see if the Kayano's were appropriate. I suppose now I should have known that since the Asics hadn't given me any trouble why change them? If it ain't broke why fix it?

My other shopping trip was to Rebel Sports to spend my birthday money and vouchers. I was originally going to get a pair of long Skins tights but at $134 I quickly changed my mind. I will keep an eye out on eBay and online for them I think. I ended up buying a pair of black Nike tights for the cooler weather runs. I need something to motivate me to get outside when it has been so cold lately.

I'm just waiting now for my wife Sal to get home from work. She can take over babysitting duties while I get out in the cold to try out my new toys.

Keep an eye for another post soon.

Tagged.

2006-06-27T09:05:00.000+10:00

Thanks Wobbly Man. I too think I have done this or something similar lately but I always find them good fun:

4 Jobs I have had:
Service Station/Driveway Attendant
Cleaner
Railway Station Assistant
Train Driver

4 movies I watch over and over again:
Mad Max
Anything with the words "Star Wars" in it
Back to the Future Triology
Groundhog Day

4 Places I have lived:
Belgrave
Strathmerton
Northcote
Boronia (All in Victoria. Very lame)

4 T.V. Shows I love to watch:
Third Watch
Survivor
The Amazing Race
Cops

4 Places I have been on Vacation:
Gold Coast, Queensland
Newcastle, NSW
Big River, Victoria
Tasmania (Never left the country. Very very lame.)

4 Websites I visit daily:
coolrunning.com.au
Bloglines.com
ebay
Country Fire Authority

4 of my Favorite Foods:
Spagehetti Bolognase
Roast Lamb
Ice Cream
Subway

4 Places I would rather be right now:
Canada (Must be warmer than here??)
Russia
The starting line of The Melbourne Marathon
In a galaxy far, far away (Refer question 2)

4 Favorite Bands/Singers:
AC/DC
Kiss
Rogue Traders
Eminem

4 Bloggers I am Tagging:
Stormbikes
Louise
psbowe
R2B

Weekend long runs and a Birthday.

2006-06-26T15:02:00.000+10:00

Today marks my 35th year on this planet. As you may know I recieved a Garmin Forerunner 305 last Friday for a gift and I am currently collecting vouchers and cash for a upcoming Rebel Sports shopping trip. I have my eye on a pair of Skins for long run recovery and some new runners later on in the week. Now that the silliness of an old mans birthday is out of the way lets get down to running business.

My new toy The Garminator and I have enjoyed a weekend of long runs in accordance to week 3 of Hal Higdon's Intermediate II marathon plan.

Saturday it was a race pace run of 10.17km. Oscar and I finished it in a 10km PB of 0:48:59. It was a good run but in a effort to impress The Garminator I think I pushed myself a bit harder than normal. I had played with the settings on the heart rate monitor and set the alarm for 185 beats per minute. At around the 6km mark the heart rate alarm sounded and kept sounding off and on till I got back home. The spikes on the speed graph show where I stopped to cross roads, take Oscar's leash on or off and even where I stopped and waited for Oscar to do a poo!

Garminator I set off alone for the long run on Sunday. This was the first step back long run distance and I ran 13.03km in 1:07:16. I set off down the road, turning back when The Garminators pre-set distance alarm activated half way at 6.5kms. A lot of spikes in the speed graph this time and I didn't have Oscar to blame. It must be times I paused the GPS while I stopped to cross roads etc etc.

I am using both Motionbased and SportsTracks for collating the GPS and HRM data at the moment. I'm sure that once the novelty wears off I may start using only one. My ever faithful Excel running log seems to have become a thing of the past and I will be retiring it at the end of the month. If anyone can offer tips and points feel free to yell out.

1st Garminator spin

2006-06-23T19:43:00.000+10:00

I waited kind of patiently for The Garminator to charge up this afternoon. When the 3 hours was up I strapped it on and had a play with some of the settings.

Once I thought I had it figured out Oscar and I set off for our 5km run. After three minutes I had to turn back for home when I realised I had forgot the heart rate monitor doh!

We set off again with all the gadgets in place, and completed 5.1km according to Garminator in 0:23:44. My average heart-rate was 170 bpm.

It took a little stuffing around connecting the Garmin to the computer. I then downloaded SportsTracks and came up with this,

Very exciting stuff and I'm looking forward to learning more things on my new toy.

My Birthday is not until Monday the 26th and so far I have recieved the Garmin and a $50 Rebel Sport voucher. So cool!

Welcome The Garminator

2006-06-23T11:31:00.000+10:00

My Garmin Forerunner 305 that I ordered last Saturday from www.youprice.com.au has arrived!!

I'm hoping it would get here today but I still don't quite believe it!

I wasn't even 100% convinced that the company was on the level. I am so excited that it is here.

The hardest part now is waiting 3 hours for The Garminator to charge up before I can play with it.

Will be going for a run this afternoon and looking forward to reporting later.

Stay tuned folks!

Sore feet

2006-06-21T10:58:00.000+10:00

Since my last post I have two runs to report.

I went out on Monday for my postponed long run completing 17km in 1:31:00. I didn't really have the motivation for this run but I knew I would regret it later if I didn't go. I filled my Fueltbelt with water, house keys and a turned off mobile phone. The Fuelbelt has been the one of my better, eBay running related purchases. Being school holidays there was a lot of people out using the walking path and I started feeling positive about my decision to get out on such a beautiful winters day. From the 9km to the 15km mark I could feel a second wind come on and my strides become longer. Now I was really enjoying myself. The last 2km's involves a small hill and I was happy to get back home.

My second run was yesterday when Oscar and I did a quick 5km run around the block. We arrived back home in a blistering 0:23:57. An average of 4:47 a km.

Today I have a 10km run programmed in but I have to get a annoying chore called "go to work" out of the way first.

After both runs this week my feet hurt a little with a bit of muscle tiredness in my legs, but this is no surprise. My Asics Kayanos are well past their replacement date with 829km on the clock. Last payday I had the choice of the Forerunner 305 on special ($73 cheaper that prosportwatches.com. Thanks for the question blkbox) or new shoes. As posted I chose the Garmin so the shoes have to wait till pay day next week. I believe I am a neutral to moderate pronator and wonder if my feet actually need such a motion control shoe as the Kayano's. I'm planning a trip to Active Feet for a second, more experienced opinion. I would love to hear any feedback from readers who have shopped at Active Feet before.

Ocean Grove 2km circuit

2006-06-18T19:40:00.000+10:00

I went out on my planned run 8km Saturday morning completing in 0:38:50. I ran 4 laps of the 2km circuit pictured below.

I am familiar with the big hill on Thacker St that both Steve and Sekhmet mentioned. It is not far from my in-laws place and I will incorporate it into a run next time I visit.

My long run of 17km's has been postponed till tomorrow due to a late Saturday night and more work training starting today.

This week I am being taught the operations of the Connex train the Xtrapolis.

This train is another part of the former Connex side that I am yet to experience.

I ordered a Garmin Forerunner 305 Saturday morning from youprice.com.au. The site said postage will be 4 to 10 days and I will be waiting eagerly for it's arrival.

As you could imagine I am hoping it will arrive here sooner rather than later.

A couple of slack days.

2006-06-16T23:00:00.000+10:00

As the title suggests I have had a couple of run free days. Other things have come up or I just haven't had the spirit for the short 5km run I am supposed to do. I am considering just writing that one off and continuing on with the training program.

I am currently blogging on my father-in-laws computer as we stay over night at Sals parents place at Ocean Grove. They have a large native forested park just outside thier driveway that I have measured on Google Earth to be 2 kilometres in diameter. I have brought my running gear with me and in the morning I am planning atleast 4 laps to get back on track with training.

I have done some searching online and ringing shops regarding pricing for a Garmin Forerunner 205. With shops being atleast $100 more than on the internet I think "Garminatator" (named already) will be an electronic purchase. To my utter surprise and delight I have discovered youprice.com even has 305's at the bargain price of $399au! This price is only valid to Sunday and I should have purchased one by then. Stayed tuned for further details.

A brief history of Connex

2006-06-14T19:35:00.000+10:00

Oscar and I ran yesterday and today for my training program. Yesterday we did 5km in 0:24:10 and today it was 8km in 0:39:02. Both these runs I did when I got home after work and they were a little bit of a struggle to get motivated. Though I did appreciate the effort once I had finished the run and arrived back home.

I am also doing training at work but I will have to give a brief history of my workplace and public transport in Melbourne to explain.

I have been employed with the railways since 1990 and driving trains since 1991. For those that don't know Victoria's public transport was quite extensive. Trams, trains and busses were all operated by the government and was called the Public Transport Corporation (PTC).

In 1997 we had a change of government and it was decided that the PTC would be split up and franchised out to private companies. The trams where split into Swanston and Yarra Trams. Country trains were divided into Passenger and Freight companies and the suburban trains where divided into Connex and MTrain. I found myself working for MTrains and no longer drove on the Connex side of the train network.

Things were going fine until December 2002 when National Express, the overseas company that operated MTrains, decided it was no longer viable to operate trains in Melbourne. They abandoned their franchise, customers and staff and headed back to the United Kingdom. The government then stepped in and operated MTrains until Connex reclaimed the whole network in April 2004 and everyone was back in the one happy family.

But now we have MTrain drivers who haven't driven on the Connex lines in over 8 years and Connex drivers who haven't driven on the MTrain side. There has been some changes to both sides, and it is a little hard to stop a 300+ tonne vehicle at stations that you don't remember being just around the corner, or at the bottom of the next hill.

We are in the process of teaching drivers the old lines again and this week it is my turn. For the past two days I have been getting up early, catching a train into the city and learning the old lines. Yesterday I did the Belgrave and Lilydale lines and today it was Hurstbridge and Epping. It has been quite a trip down memory lane and a interesting experience. I even spotted a Coolrunner running in Croydon on Tuesday and posted it on the non race Coolrunner sightings post.

House fire for a cardio workout

2006-06-12T17:21:00.000+10:00

The Marathon program called for a light cardio workout today with cross training. We had originally planned a family bike ride but with the constant rain and drizzle during the day the ride was ruled out.

My fire brigade pager went off with a call to a house fire and I responded for a 4 hour workout.

The call was to a lounge room on fire in a unit but when we arrived the whole place was well alight. I was thinking workout when I had to drag 120 metres of fire house up a hill, climb a ladder to remove hot roof tiles, pull down the smoldering ceiling inside the house while wearing 15 kilos of Breathing Apparatus and take one and a half hours cleaning and rolling up hose to pack up the truck afterwards.

Thankfully the occupants all managed to get outside safely. It seems that the fire had started from an electric heater in the lounge room. Normally this may have been contained to the one room but someone over the years had covered the whole roof space in newspapers. This was done as a poor attempt at extra insulation, creating a dry and ready to burn fuel that spread fire very quickly and was hard to extinguish.

I have lost count of the amount of house fires I have been to in 8 years with the Country Fire Authority but I never stop feeling sorry for the occupants. I couldn't imagine having to sit on the side of the road watching your house and belongings being destroyed. It must be a very hard thing to experience.

In this colder weather please be careful with heaters, dryers and anything else that can create heat. This misfortune could happen to anyone.

Week 1 Marathon training

2006-06-11T12:40:00.000+10:00

First to answer a few questions;

David Criniti asked "Got a target time in mind for the marathon?"

No target time set thanks. This is my first marathon and I will be just thrilled to finish. But then I have worked out that if I can keep running at a comfortable pace I suppose a time between 3:40 to 3:50 is not out of the question.

Tesso asked "Does your current one (training plan) also include a longish (15 - 17k) mid week run?"

Yes the Hal Higdon intermediate II plan does have a longish run midweek. This starts at 8 km this week to as much as 16km in week 13.

Today brings to an end week 1 of my training plan. 42 kilometres is less than I am used to in a week and I may increase the k's a little more till the plan catches up. I do like the structure of the plan including the long runs on the weekend. Yesterday (Saturday) Oscar and I did a 8km in 0:38:02 and this morning I went alone on the long run of 16km completed in 1:24:11.

The long run was a bit of fun actually. It was over a different route than I would normally use, 8km to the neighboring suburb of Berwick and return. I was pushing for my goal time of 5 mins a km but with a strong headwind from the 8 to 12km mark it wasn't possible. Still a average of 5:16 a km is about my standard.

Starting Monday the program has Cross Training (a leisurely bike ride with the family), 5km run on Tuesday, 8km run Wednesday, 5km run Thursday, a day of rest on Friday, 8km run Saturday and a 17km long run on Sunday.

My lovely wife Sal has promised a Garmin Forerunner 205 for my 35th birthday on the 26th of this month. I have been after one of these jiggers for a long time and can't wait. But now I have read of a few teething problems with the new X05 models. Do people think I should take the chance on the new model or maybe just purchase the older, tested and tried 201?

"Soon my precious, soon."

A very quick post.

2006-06-08T16:07:00.000+10:00

Oscar and I ran an old 5km course around the block today. Pushed really hard and completed it in 0:23:53. That's less than 5 minutes a km. That adds to the 8km's that I turned out on the treadmill last night (0:41:08).

Hal Higdons Intermediate II Marathon plan is going along great. Initially less kilometres than I normally do but the long weekend runs start adding up soon.

Lysterfield Lake Park

2006-06-07T15:06:00.000+10:00

No running today. I'm saving myself for 8km on the treadmill at work tonight. I figure if I struggle for time during the day I will just save it for work then I get paid to run.

A friend of mine, Salli, and I went for a walk around Lysterfield Lake Park this morning. It was pretty cold and started of with heavy fog. We got up to close to a curious kangaroo and I took the oppurtunity for a pic.

In all it is a walk of about 5km's. I don't know how long it took as I didn't take my watch (aahhh free!!). I also found a hill that would be great for some hill sprints later. Lysterfield Lake Park looks great and I should really do some more running around here.

A few nights ago I also took this great pic at work.

It is taken from the cab of the second last Pakenham train while approaching Officer. Not really running related but I wanted to share it.

I have noticed on the Marathon Training Plan that there doesn't seem to be many km's during the week. More so the long runs on the weekend is where the kilometres seem to play out. Also the longest run is 30km's. Thats about 12k's short of race distance. Is this normal for Marathon training?

Training begins

2006-06-05T23:04:00.000+10:00

I have thought a lot about my comments on my last post. I have also done a little research and counting the figures and have found that from this week it is exactly 18 weeks to the Melbourne Marathon.

As it so happens 18 weeks is the length of Hal Higdon's Marathon training plan. I have had a look at the plan and converted the figures from miles to kilometres and I do believe I can do it.

So as of this week it looks like I am in training. I will stick to Hal's plan as best as I can. If anyone can suggest a better training plan feel free to let me know.