Goodna Jacaranda Festival Fun Run

I have wanted to do this fun run for a long while and for various reasons have missed it. One of the reasons I have missed it is that the organisers don't advertise. This year I rang them and was directed to their web site which turned out to be a good and informative site. The trouble is nobody knows about it.
I knew this wasn't going to be like other fun runs as far as organisation went. The web site said the 10k run would start at 7:00 AM and that the sign on and paymnet of the $5 entry fee would take place between 5:30 and 6:55. I arrived at 6:00 and found one of the organisers who was waiting on others so that they could begin setting up. Hmmmm!

The run started at 7:05 with an invitaion (jokingly) to the elite runners to start at the front. 30 of us set off, a few walking, a young 16 year old, Darryl Crooke, took the lead and disappeared out of sight. Their were no K markers and no marshalls. There was a police car patrolling and a sedan from the Qld Ambulance. There were some arrows to point the way along a very good undulating course. Though the winner was out of sight I managed to keep the 2nd & 3rd runners in view. Young Darryl won in 34 mins and I came in 4th in 42:04. The mother of the 15 year old girl who came second proudly told us that her daughter had not run 10K before. Unfortunately I didn't get her name.

All in all it was a good event on a good course. It was a fun run.

A Snail Passed Me

I am sure it was a snail that passed me this morning. It was just a blur. I felt like I was just lumbering along today. There was none of the magic of Tuesday but I was still glad to be out there. Just doing it does me a much good mentally as physically.

7.65K in 37:07

Glorious Rain

A 7.65K run in the rain today. I enjoyed the drenching and finished in 36:25.

A Magic Morning

I woke this morning feeling a bit down in the dumps and knew a run would give me a lift. I set out, planning to do my 7.65K circuit but was overwhelmed by the fresh cool morning after last night's storm. I decided it was time to do my 12K circuit agian after not having run it for ages.

It was an exhilarating run capped off with a surprising time of 57:07.

Sunday Long Run

I continue to be amazed at my recovery after the Toowoomba Marathon. On Sunday morning I met some buddies and we did 21k. With water stops and chatting along the way it took us 1:50. The coffee and the company back at Park Road was great.

Steady Eddie

Another 7.65k under my belt today in 36:25, a nice steady pace. I didn't get to bed until midnight and thought as my head hit the pillow that I would probably be too tired to run in the morning. I hadn't reset the alarm to a later time so it it woke me as usual at 4:50. Once awake I thouught I may as well make the most of a beautiful morning so off I went.

I love running.

Toowoomba Splits

Just for the record, Toowoomba Marathon being a 4 lap course, here are my splits:


Lap 1 52:47
Lap 2 51:43
Lap 3 51:30
Lap 4 54:29

Total 3:30:29

Whoops I didn't realise...I've been tagged!

I've been tagged....

CR Blog game:

Here are the rules:
1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or the closest one to it)
4. Post the text of your sentence in your blog along with these rules.
5. Tag five other people.

My sentence;
I have to accept that I simply don't perform at my best in these humid conditions.

I posted that on 24 December 2004, Christmas Eve. Remember how much I used to whinge about the humidity. I still whinge about it ... just not in my blog.

I now tag Jen_runs, Lucky Legs, Horrie, Plu, Superflake

A Good Recovery

Today I went out on my 7.65k circuit and finished it in 36:18. I was very happy with that considering I ran the Toowoomba Marathon on Sunday. I am very pleased with my recovery. When I think back to my recovery from the Gold Coast and how I struggled to get going again. it was getting on for 6 weeks before I felt i could enjoy a run.

Toowoomba was never really in me diary and so I hadn't done the long runs. My weekly average has been very low. I am, therefore very pleased with my effort of 3:30:30 and winning my age category to boot. The conditions were not ideal but I would rather the cold and wet than sweltering heat. It was good to maintain an average of 5mins per k for 42.2 k's and now to be recovering so well is an added bonus.

Yes!!!!

After a very lazy weekend I headed out this morning feeling good. Again, not pushing myself and just running as my legs took me I did my 7.65K circuit in 35:35. That is another 20 seconds off. Little by little, the improvement comes.

2 Seconds

Yes 2 Seconds. Tuesday 7.65K in 35:57. Thursday 7.65K in 35:55. An improvement all the same and it still surprised me.

Unbelievable

After a good work out in the 10K on Sunday I decided to take it easy this morning on the 7.65K circuit i.e. I was not going to make any real effort. After having improved my time last week from 37:49 to 36:49 I would have been happy with something in between. I felt good in the down hill sections, my left knee having improved somewhat. My quads felt heavy and tired in the uphill home stetch, 6m to 70m elevation in about 1.6K. I couldn't believe my time...35:57. Unbelievable!

10K Handicap Race

It was a 10K Handicap race at West End on Sunday 2/10/2005. My handicap was set at 24 mins 30 Secs. I thought the first people to start must be pretty slow for me to have that sort of handicap. However, the Handicaper did a pretty good job because the majority of runners came in within a period of 5 mins. The guy who set off after me was 30 secs behind me. When we finished he was 29 secs behind me. I finished in 42:17, an average of 4:15 per K. I don't believe I could have gone any faster at the time. I am, however, slower than I was at this time last year.

I would like to be a bit faster over short distances but I have only 6 weeks until the 500K relay. So I don't think I will be picking up very much speed in that space of time.