Back at Last

Hi Everyone,

Please forgive my long absence from my Blog. I am sure I could offer many excuses but I don't want to bore you. I have everyone had a very merry Christmas. I sure did.

I have started my training for the London Marathon. The Virgin London Marathon will take place on 25 April 2010, ANZAC Day. My late Dad was a returned serviceman. He served in the RAAF in New Guinea during the 2ND World War. I will be dedicating my running of the London Marathon to him.

On the Sunday prior to the Marathon I hope to run a half marathon in Vienna. I was tempted to do the marathon but think it best to conserve my energy for London and treat Vienna as a final long run. Normally I would run only 16K a week before a marathon but I am going to stretch that a bit this time. The marathon package has been booked and paid for through Travelling Fit and the flights to London and Vienna have been booked.

I am travelling with my friends Darryl and Michelle with whom I traveled to the Us and Canada in 2008. We will also be travelling to Germany and Finland.

Tigger's training for Cradle Mountain in February is at full throttle at the moment. She is covering a lot of off road territory and clocking up a lot of K's.

Happy New Year

Rob

The start of a tough Summer

My Mum is home again after a week in hospital undergoing all sorts of tests which did not show up any problems. She is frustrated with her total lack of energy but says that if there is nothing wrong with her then she just has to get on with life. Quite a statement from an 87 year old.

My running has been going OK over the past couple of weeks. On Sunday 8th I tackled a 28k from Park Road. My buddie Tigger was not able to run because one to the Tigger cubs was very ill in hospital and the other was very ill at home.

Thursday 12th was the Cool Night Classic, a 5.2K race in Brisbane City. I did my first CNC in 2001. That was my first ever race and the start for my running life. On Thursday I finished the 5.2 in 22m18s and came third out of 35 in the M55-59 category. I was pleased with that.

On Sunday 15th Tigger and I set out from Park Road at 5AM. Tigger has been successful in gaining entry to the Cradle Mountain 82k Ultra in Tasmania in February 2010. Yesterday was the first day with the mandatory back pack so time had to be taken to get the pack adjusted properly. this is really important and running with a pack is a vital part of Tigger's training. I anticipate some tough long runs during summer which hopefully will see Tigger ready for Cradle Mountain and me ready for a good London Marathon.

Australia's Favourite Soccer Mum

My best mate Darryl has a wonderful Mum. She is a finalist, one of six, in a competition to be voted Australia's Favourite Soccer Mum. Merle is a very special lady. You can take my word for it; Merle deserves that title. You can go on line and vote for her (as many times as you like). Just click on Merles picture for the link to register your vote(s).

Catching up.

Wow! It is over a week since I ran the Lamington Classic. What a great weekend it was. What a tough race. I have absolutely convinced myself that I am no trail runner. The idea is very appealing but the experience is is something else altogether. I found that return trip from Binna Burra to O'Rielly's on Sunday much easier than the the Saturday run because I new the trail and was able to pace myself. However, I was only 4 minutes quicker on Sunday. My total time for the weekend was 4h 51m and seemed to me to be incredibly slow. Give me the bitumen or a concrete path any day. Even as we were driving home down the mountain I saw a concrete path my immediate reaction was to wish I could get out of the car and run on it.

I missed my long run on Sunday. Robyn and I drove up to Bundaberg to visit my 87 year old Mum who was admitted to hospital on Saturday. The doctors are still doing tests to find out what is causing her stomach and back pains and fatigue. I think she is just wearing out.

Time to do some training

I think it is time to get down to some serious training. On the 24th and 25th of this month I have the Lamington Classic and on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of November I have the Endeavour 500 Summer Relay.

The Lamington Classic is run in sub-tropical rain forest betwenn Binnaburra and O'Reilly's on the Lamington Plateau which is west of the Gold Coast and very close to the Queensland / New South Wales border. We run 21k out on Saturday and return on Sunday, staying overnight in a bunkhouse. The event is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is the oldest trail run event in Australia. The field limit is 75, a special concession this year. It is usually limited to 50 runners.

The 500K relay is a fund raising event for the Endeavour foundation. I think this will be my 5th. I missed last year because I was overseas. The event is run over three days and this year will have about 17 teams of about 18 runners each. It is very enjoyable but very tough. I usually finish the weekend feeling absolutely stuffed.

Spring has Sprung

What incredibly crazy weather we have been experiencing. Heat, dust storms and gusting winds seem to be heralding a scarily hot summer. I went to bed last night during another dust storm laden with tonnes of dust from central Australia (the storm not my bed), this much milder than that on Wednesday with its choking, blinding dust, thinking that I would it would prevent me from doing Sunday long run. However, on waking at 4.30 this morning it appeared that the dust had moved on (to the Town of 1770 perhaps). I set off to Park Road to head off on my run by myself as Tigger is holidaying with Mr. Tigger and the young Tiggers.

By the time I started at 5.23 it was fairly light with the sun not yet visible on the horizon. A lovely cool southeasterly was blowing in form the coast. It was an absolutely beautiful morning for running and I felt better than I have since the Gold Coast Marathon in early July. I headed along the Brisbane River to Newstead, the mouth of Breakfast Creek in fact, and enjoyed every step of the 14 kilometers. Truly Spring has sprung. I felt compelled to greet everybody along the way with a cheery "good morning", tough not all seemed to share my sentiments.

As I headed back I hoped for a repeat of the enjoyment I experienced on the outward trip. I was not disappointed. In fact my running improved and I enjoyed it more. This was supported by the fact that my average pace continued to improve and ended up at 5.08 per K, the 28 K run having taken 2:23:33.

My total for the week was 63 K. My highest for many weeks.

Still taking it easy

I have been miserable with a rotten head cold so haven't been doing much. Even the 14 k with tigger on Sunday was a bit of a struggle. I'm starting to feel a bit better.

I have entered the 30k at Glasshouse on Sept 13. Tigger starts her 100K there the day before.

Brisbane Marathon

What a day! Winter is not officially over yet and today during the marathon we had to endure temperatures around the 30C mark. A bit of a shock to the system. However that was only secondary to the problem which slowed me the most. From about the 15K mark I started suffering excruciating pain in my right foot. I feel as though a nerve is being pinched and runs in a line form the tip of my second toe back through the middle of my foot. It is an incredible pain and very hard to manage while running. I eventually finished the run in 3:42 and was extremely relieved.

I thought the course was pretty terrible. Especially the second lap where we had to back track under the Story Bridge. That almost did my head in. The marathon recovery area a the finish was the best I have experienced in my, now, 17 marathons. They had people waiting on us hand an foot, treating us like kings.

Thanks for the encouragement along the way Robert Song. It was really appreciated.

I think the sudden high temperatures really took there toll today. There seemed to be a few causalities. Tigger stopped to render assistance to one young fellow who looked quite dreadful when I passed.

Deek & I

Twins! Even Mum can't tell us apart! Rob Richards and Robert De Costella at the Lengends Lunch , Marathon eve, Gold Coast, July 2009. Both are Marathoners. Deek is the Legend but he has never taken as long to run a marathon as I have.

Marathon! What Marathon?

I can' believe it is only a week an half to the Brisbane marathon and I have hardly given it a thought. Until I read Robert Song's Blog I was just taking my running of another marathon for granted. I just intend to turn up and run and see what happens on the day. For Robert Song, on the other hand, this has been a goal event for which he has been working very hard and now has to let go due to his health. This has made me appreciate the what a privilege it is to run a marathon and not just take it for granted that I will be able to go out and just do it.

Tigger is training hard for her Glasshouse 100K in September. She is taking me on a newfound tour in the wilds beyond Mt Coot-tha on Sunday. I am wondering if I should carry an EPIRB.

A surprise result

After my 1:45 at Ipswich last Sunday I didn't have great expectations for today at Noosa. I love the Noosa half. It is a good couse, good weather and loads of friendly people. I set out a little fast, I thought, but was able to sustain a reasonable pace. I worked prettty hard the whole way. I finished in 1:32:06. I was over the moon. My first lap was done in 46:07 and the second in 45:58, so a negative split as well. I also came 4th in the M55-59 category. So am I pleased with myself? You bet!

Congratulations Tigger on you 50K win with digger on Saturday. You truly have taken to ultra running like a duck to water. A terrific result.

Congratulations Scott on your 2:56 Townsville marathon. Well done mate!

Park2Park

Another beautiful morning at Limestone Park in Ipswich, and the 5th annual Par2Park half marathon was, again, a great event. It is incredibly well organised and a credit to the Ipswich Hospital Foundation. The course is a tough one, no doubt about it, but still no excuse for my worst time on that course. No, my 1:45:01 is totally down to lack of preparation.

1st and 2nd places went to Patrick Nyangolo and Oswald Revilian Kahurzi in 1:08:49 and 1:08:50. Patrick has won C2S 3 times and Oswald has won the GC and Sydney marathons. The course is a 1.1k then 4 x 5k hilly laps. These guys lapped me in my second lap, their third, at about the 9k mark. Absolutely amazing running! The guy who cam third, Hintsa Mabrahtu, didn’t lap me until about my 11.5k. Hintsa finished in 1:13:48.

Tigger, who is training for the 100K at Glasshouse in September, ran 1:48:43, this after her training run in Toohey Forest on Saturday.

Back at last!

I have to say that I enjoyed the GC. My 3:19:44 was a course PB which pleased me greatly. The day was absolutely perfect. I didn't mind running down to Burleigh and have less distance to north of the start/finish. I think it made the course a whole lot better. My pace slowed a bit in the last 10K but I had a real adrenalin rush in the very long finish chute an sprinted (relatively speaking) to the finish line. The race was fairly uneventful and I didn't have any real issues. It is amazing what experience can teach. Things which would have concerned me in my early marathons are now things I can think through, put into the perspective of the whole race, and deal with. I think now I can face future GC's with a much more positive attitude.

Last Sunday, with my friends, Darryl and Michelle (my OS travelling buddies), i ran the Railtrail Fun Run an 8.3K run which follows the path of the now dismantled rail line between Fernvale and Lowood which are two small towns in the Lockyer Valley west of Ipswich. They had a record crow of over 700. It was well organised and very enjoyable.

Yesterday I met Tigger at 5:00AM at Park Road and we set off through Herston and Bardon and then over My Coot-tha, and extremely hilly course. Tigger is training for the Glasshouse 100k in September. As we came round the Mt Coot-tha lookout, ready to set off downhill and home, Tigger decided that she would run the reverse course back around the mountain (big hill really) before heading home. I just said " see you back at Park Road.” It was a really good workout and just what I needed to prepare for the Park 2 Park Half in Ipswich next Sunday.

Sub 3:10! NO WAY!

Less than a week to the Gold Coast Marathon. Let me make it quite clear that my legs do not have a sub 3:10 in them. I will be very happy if I can get a 3:20. I am trying to stay calm and relaxed leading up to the GC. I am looking forward to it because I have endeavoured to maintain a positive attitude towards it. Tigger is pacing the Half 2:10 bus.

Tigger and I did an easy 16 yesterday. On Saturday Tigger did a 30K then a fast 6 at Sherwood.

I am heading to the coast on Saturday moring with my mates Darryl and Michelle. We will be at the GC Lunch.

All the best for a great run.

GC, Less than 2 weeks

It is now less than 2 weeks to the Gold Coast marathon. As I wasn't able to do my long run last Sunday due to minding my grandchildren, I went out for 35K yesterday. Even though it is getting a bit close to the marathon I really felt that I needed those extra Ks in my legs. It took me 3 hours to do, some of it in pouring rain, so I was not pushing myself too hard. Even so, I still have not been able to get my head round the fact that when I am doing a training run I feel as if I am working hard and couldn't run faster if my life depended on it, yet in the race I can work harder and run faster and for a longer distance. After a race I always ask myself "how did I do that?".

Gold Coast is almost upon us.

The weather has been perfect for running. 36.5K along the Brisbane River yesterday was enjoyable. Not exactly in a "comfort zone" Ewen, but enjoyable. Ultra Tigger was with me for a while but had to head back early. Saving her energy for something big I think.

Next Sunday is the Queensland Half which starts and finishes at the Doomben horse track. I am looking forward to trying to blow some cobwebs out.

There is a little over 5 weeks until the Gold Coast Marathon. I am feeling much more relaxed about this year's event, my 6th, than I have in a while. I am looking forward to it actually.

34K is still a long way!

After Tiggers' 80K last week and after reading the posts of Coolrunners like Digger and Tuttle about their Comrades run on Sunday I have been feeling like a bit of a wimp only doing marathons. However, my I realised too, after doing my 34K long run on Sunday (on my Pat Malone) and feeling sore yesterday and today because I did try to stretch myself and work a bit harder, that 34K is still a long way.

Tigger, of course, is already contemplating her next BIG run while I worry about how I am going to perform in a titchy marathon at the Gold Coast. I think in my life, I am going to have to run at least one race longer than a marathon (maybe).

Yesterday I went with friends to do the 11K Glasshouse Trail run. I have trouble running on trails because I don't train in that type of terrain. I managed to finish in 48 minutes. My run started at 9:00AM. By that time Tigger had already been running for 6 hours. She started at 3:00 AM in the 80K race.

My friends and I, along with Mr. Tigger and the two junior Tiggers, waited for Tigger to finish. She came in at, I think, 9 hrs 45 minutes (Tigger will know) to win a medal for 2nd place female. Congratulations Tigger! She still looked fit and healthy and didn't collapse in a heap. She said it was a very tough run, and I believe her. Somehow, I don't think it will be her last. Though Mr. Tigger thought Tigger a little crazy to run such an event, I could see that he was very proud of her achievement.

Kathrine Switzer

The Calf is improving. I took it easy during the week and Tigger and I ran only 20K this morning. I am sure I will be able to increase the mileage this week.

At the Niagara Falls International Marathon last October I spent some time at the marathon Expo. Kathrine Switzer was there promoting her book, Marathon Woman. I have to admit that I didn't know a lot about Kathrine. I was vaguely aware of her 1967 Boston Marathon run-in with officials, but I was not aware of the tremendous amount she has done over the years for running and in particular for women marathon runners.

I saw her book and bought it as a gift for Tigger. Katherine even wrote in it for her. Tigger loved the book and lent it to me to read. I loved every page. Kathrine is a great lady. The running world owes her a great deal. Since reading the book this photo has come to mean so much more.

Old Person's Injury

I was went out for a run on Tuesday morning. I was feeling terrific and couldn't believe how well I was running. Then, low and behold, my right calf decided it had had enough and ceased up on me. i slowed my pace but still managed to complete the 14K in 1:09:37.

On Wednesday I went along to the speed session in Limestone Park. Chris had us doing fartleks on the grass running track. I took it easy to start with and as I warmed up (it was a 4 degree morning) I ran faster. Then on the second last "go" my calf called it quits again. I took Thursday and today off running to give my poor old calf a rest. Hopefully it will be good for a nice easy run with Tigger on Sunday. Tigger is insisting on an easy run after her super effort at Mt Mee last Sunday. Well done Tigger.