In Chicago

Hi Everyone,

Here I am in Chicago. It seems like a lifetime ago since I left home on my big adventure. Our plane was delayed in Brisbane and we only just made our connection in Sydney by running. After a 13.5 hr uneventful flight we made it to San Francisco at 10:15 AM on Wenesday, almost 2hrs before we left Brisbane. Our luggage didn't make it to the plane and didn't arrive until the following evening. Wednesday ws the longest day of my life. By sheer will power we stayed awake until 8;30 Wednesday night US West Coast time ( had about 3 hours sleep on the plane).

SF was great. We had a great time at Fisherman's wharf, walking up Lombard St, riding the Cable Car down the hill and visiting Alcatraz where we tried to leave Gidget (Michelle) in a cell.

Friday was taken up with travelling to Chicago and registering for the marathon. We booked into the Palmer House Hilton where we have a very good room on the 19th floor. While lying on my bed I can look out the window to Lake Michigan. We are very lucky.

Saturday saw us back at the Marathon Expo which was huge - nothing like it in Australia. We rested on Saturday afternoon. I was drinking lots of water to keep hydrated for the marathon.

Sunday morning we rose at 5:45 and headed for the Marathon at 7:45. We were only about 5 minutes from the start. It was quite warm even at that stage. the Race began at 8:00 with over 33,000 starters. I didn't feel too bad though my left hamstring had been a bit sore. I maintained a steady 5:00min per K pace for the first 10k but I new somehting was wrong when I was thirsty before the first water stop. I was drinking lots at each water station, and there were plenty of them, but dehydration was already a problem for me and my hammy was really acting up. I got slower and slower and had to start doing some walking. I finished the first half in 1hr 48 mins, my slowest ever. I gradually got worse and worse and the temperature was climbing. Many people had started walking by this stage. It was ah horror marathon for me and the finish couldn't come quick enough. I felt shocking. I tried running but would just have to give it away.

I finished in 4:38, but I did finish and I got my finishers medal. Gidget finished in 6: 15 and Darryl about 20 minutes later. Absolutely fantabulous efforts on their parts. Gidget ran the whole first half and Darryl ran the first 12k and walked most of the way from there. Congratualtions Darryl and Gidget.

The organisation of the event was amazing. Everything ran like clockwork. The volunteers did a tremendous job. At least 80% of the course was lined with people cheering us on. At the finishing line some friends and relatives were waiting for their loved ones with bunches of flowers.

We spent Monday recouperating and had massage this morning then went to Navy Pier and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Tomorrow we head for Pittsburgh to spend some time with Darryl's rellies. I have to get myself in to nick for the niagara Falls Marathon which I will be taking very easily.

Bye for now,
Rob

Ready, Set, Go.

The big adventure starts on Wednesday. We head to Sydney then straight to San Francisco. Next Sunday is the Chicago Marathon. My bib number is 2039.

Yesterday I went to West End and ran a 10k at the Brisbane Road Rrunners Club. It was great to catch up with Tesso and Clairie at long last. Clairie did 20K yesterday but I was not able to stay for her finish. She was doing pretty well when on the occasions I saw her. It was also good to catch up wit other Coolrunners too. It was good to meet you Funrunner.

Craig came along to the club and did the 10K also. He really enjoyed it and has signed up as a member. Craig is doing the Half in Melbourne next Sunday.

I have been saving the big news till last. Yesterday Tigger finished the 62K Tambourine Mountain run in 7Hrs 14Mins to be the 2nd female across the line. Congratulations Tigger. What a terrific effort. It was a hot and humid day as well. When I spoke to her during the afternoon after the race she sounde bright an chirpy, not spent and exhausted.

My next post will be from the US, probably Chicago.

9 more Sleeps

Yes, just nine more sleeps and I am off to the US on my big adventure. I have been taking the training pretty easy, which means I have hardly done any in the last week. Yesterday I did 16k from Park Road with Tigger. We averaged 4:57 which was OK. However while I was running I was thinking how am I ever going to maintain this pace for 42.2K. It never fails to astound me that I am able to run the actual marathon at a faster pace. I do have to be careful though, and regulate my pace well in order to run the whole three.

Yesterday Tigger introduced me to friend of hers who has lived in New York and run the marathon twice. He was able to share some of his experience which was very helpful e.g because the race finishes in Centarl Park be mentally prepared for the fact that once you first enter Cenral Park you still have about 3.5 miles to the finish line.

Ghicago in 3 Weeks

Whow! I can't believe it, only three weeks until the Chicago Marathon. My bib # is 2039. I guess I had better start tapering.

Tigger and I did 31K this morning. Craig is away on holidays with his family. We ran from Park Road and did the circuit via tha Goodwill bridge, Highgate Hill, Brisbane Corso, Tennyson, Chelmer, Indooroopilly, UQ and Coronation Drive. The storm season has started early this year. We had storms last night so it was fairly humid this morning, though not too bad. As I am typng I can hear another storm rolling in. The thunder sounds almost continuous so it is hard to judge how far away it is. We don't usually get the storms until October.

I was having a look at photos of the 2007 Niagara Falls Marathon. I can't believe the amount of cloths the runners were wearing. I must have been quite cold. That makes me a be nervous. I haven't had much cold weather running experience really. It did get down to -2 here early in August so I wore a long sleeve top and cotton gloves, However the runners in the photos are wearing long pants, jackets, beanies, thick gloves etc. That's scarey! Singlet, shorts, and a cap may be a little underdone I think.

Twice over the Mountain

Tigger has decided to enter and a 62K ultra which is to be held on 5 October. This ultra marathon inlcudes running up Tambourine Mountain. Tigger did warn Craig and I that she was keen to do hills today, so when we met at Park Road this morning it was decided that we should do a double loop around Mt Coot-tha. I didn't exactly feel in the frame of mind to tackle such a tough run but had suspected that it might be on the program.

It was a terrific morning for running, and except for the long hall up the hill on each loop it was a very enjoyable run. I was concerned whether or not it was the right thing for Craig to be doing since he didn't have a very good run last Sunday, however, he had rested all week and assured us that he would be OK. As it turned out he was, and made it back to Park Road without taking any shortcuts.

Having run the mountain, I am pleased to say that my legs feel good. There is no stiffness or soreness so it would seem that my training is on track and going well. As I have said to my travelling buddies, Darryl and Gidget, the training isn't just about getting you across the finish line, it is also about how quickly you recover after the race. When you have places to go and things to see, as we will on our trip, the recovery time will be very important.

Ah! That's better!

After last Sunday's crazy run I took it fairly steady during the week. I rested on Monday and ran my 14K circuit Tuesday to Friday with Thursday being my quickest with an average pace of 5 minutes. On Saturday morning Craig and I met Tigger at her place and we ran a circuit through Tennyson, Fairfield, West End, Southbank, Toowong and Indooroopilly to get Tigger and I home in 2:48 for a 32K run. Craig didn't fair too well and after dropping behind at Highgate Hill, took a shortcut back where he was waiting for us when we arrived. Tigger's husband once again treated us to espresso cofffee which is always good. I finished a very pleasant Father's day with a 7K run bringing my total for the week to 95K.

We, that is my my friends Darryl and Gidget, and I, leave for the US on the 8th October. We fly from Sydney direct to San Francisco where we spend a couple of days before heading to Chichago. The excitement is building.

You Don't have to be Crazy

You don't have to be crazy but it sure does help. I wasn't able to run early on Sunday and was determined to get my long run in somehow. So I decided to drive with Robyn to her workplace at the Carindale Shopping centre which is about 45 minutes form our home on the Brisbane side of Ipswich. I set out from Carindale at 1:00 pm, the hottest part of the day, to run home. I didn't realise just how hot it was. Considering that August was our coldest August in 8 years, I just couldn't believe that the heat would take such a toll on me.

I ran along Old Cleveland Road to Stones Corner, then along Logan Rd, Stanley St, Southbank, Victoria bridge, Coronation Drv, Sylvan Rd, Western Freeway bike path, Centenary Highway bike path, through the back blocks of Wacol to Gailes and Goodna then up the hill to Bellbird Park where home is. 39K in 3:46 and it nearly killed me. It was a very tough run. As Tigger would say, "plenty of character".

I hope I am not crazy enough to try anything like that again.

That bought my total K's for the week to 102 which is the most in a very long time.

Noosa Half

Another Noosa Half successfully completed...well sort off. There is no official record to show that I completed the race, or even started for that matter. My timing chip, no 496, didn't work. I was pretty upset about it, to put it mildly. Anyway enough people who know me saw me out there running my little heart out. Tesso cheered me on. Thanks Tesso.

I finished in about 1:34:45 and was very happy with that. Tigger was the 2:10 pacer, and finished a few seconds under that. Well done Tigger. Craig finished in 1:45. Great work Craig. Craig and Tigger will be running the Melbourne Marathon on the same day as I am running in Chicago.

Training is going well. I hope to concentrate mainly on endurance. Pace is secondary. I might have an opportunity to increase my pace alittle in the Niagara Falls Marathon because the competitors for that only number 360 at this stage. There are less than 7 weeks to go for the Chicago Marathon. Niagara is 2 weeks after that, then New York is 1 week after Niagara. Am I getting excited!

Another 34K Day

Craig was back from his debut City 2 Surf in Sydney last Sunday and he was keen to get another long run under his belt as he is training for the Melbourne Marathon. Tigger is still OS. Craig an I decided to do the same run I did last week, out to Portside and back, a total of 34K. It was a beautiful day for running today. The temp was just right. I made it back to Park Road in 2:55. Craig had dropped back a bit but was happy to let me go.

Niagara Falls International Marathon

Chicago Marathon was going to be my last long run before the New York City Marathon. Chicago is now the second last long run before New York. The Niagara Falls International Marathon will be held the weekend before New York. I had already entered the 10K event there but have decided that I just cannot miss the opportunity to run the marathon, so I am upgrading my entry. You may think I am crazy, and you are probably right, but I am not running to win or even for a PB. I just want to do it and believe that I can without spoiling New York.

From the web site: "The Niagara Falls International Marathon starts by the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo N.Y. The first 6.5km (4 miles) of the race travel the beautiful majestic parkways of Buffalo before crossing the Peace Bridge into the historic old town of Fort Erie, Ontario. The route then follows the beautiful Niagara River Parkway and finishes at the magnificent Niagara Falls". How could I miss that?

What I want is just to have the experience of running those three events. I am very excited!

I my last post I reported a great week of running. Sadly last week I was suffering from a very bad cold and only did 14K on Tuesday and then 34K on Sunday. I was really disappointed. My 34K on Sunday was at 5:18 pace. A couple of snails passed me. This week I am making an effort to get the mileage up. The temperature here in the mornings has been down to the -2 and -3, cold even by Canberra standards. Yesterday I thought my fingers might snap if I tried to bend them. Today is a public holiday for the Ekka (Royal National Show, or the Brisbane Exhibition which abbreviated to the Ekka). I haven't been to the Ekka in years and have no intention of going this year so today I started my run at 10:00AM and added 4Ks to my 14K circuit to give my 18 which I did at average pace of 5:20 (no snails passed me because it was too late in the day for them but an old lady sideswiped me with her zimmer frame as she zipped by on the inside)

Biggest Week in a While

Finally, I feel as if I am back into training mode. My total K's for the week was 86. That is the most I have done in a long while. Oddly, I chose our coldest week so far this year to do it. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I ran my 14K circuit. The times went 1:12, 1:15, 1:16 and 1:08. The temperature on Thursday dipped to -1c. I know it gets colder in places, but for me that was a tad too cool. On Fridays I like to put in a bit of an effort, hence the 4:50 per K pace.

Today Tigger, Craig and I went for a bit of character and set out from Park Road at 5:00AM. We ran out along the Western Freeway to Jindalee, then through Oxley to Oxley Road and along there to Indooroopilly, St Lucia, Toowong and back to Park Road. 30K of character.

I entered the Noosa Half yesterday and look forward to catching up with Scott.

Twigger will be away for a couple of weeks and Craig is running the City 2 Surf in Sydney next Sunday. So I will be doing 34 on my own.

Park 2 Park Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran my fifth Park @ Park Marathon in Ipswich. The event is organiised by the Ipswich Hospital Foundation. It would have to be one of the best organised events in which I have run. I really enjoy participating even though it is a very tough run, being 4 laps of a hilly course.

It was quite chilly at the start line and it seemed like an eternity before the gun went off . The first lap is 6.1K followed by three 5K laps. I got off to a slow start, my feet were numb and it took me a while to get moving.

My splits were 28:36 (6.1K), 23:57, 23:39, 23:36. My Net time was 1:39:50, 2 minutes slower than last year. Must be old age.

It is disappointing that more people from Brisbane don't make the effort run this event. Tigger ran it for the first time yesterday and enjoyed it. There were a couple of guys who came all the way from Tweed Heads.

Not Much in 2 Weeks

It is now more than two weeks since the Gold Coast Marathon. I haven't done much running since then. On Sunday and I Tigger and I did 28k at a nice steady pace and I have seem to have pulled up OK after that. Last weekend I was in Perth visiting my new Grand-daughter, Lily Rose. She is absolutely beautiful. While there, I a did couple of 7K runs on tracks around the Swan River. What a beautiful city and environment to run in. At one point I stopped to watch several Dolphins feeding on a school of fish. They put on a great show.

Next Sunday I will be running in the Park 2 Park Half Marathon in Ipswich. It is a tough run, 4 laps of a hilly course. I love it though. It is a well organised race in a very friendly atmosphere.

A Few Days Away

Robyn and I are off to the Perth tomorrow to visit my son, Anthony, and his wife, Kym, and our new grand-daughter, Lily Rose. We will be returning on Monday.

Anthony is a Health and Safety adviser for Rio Tinto Minerals. This will be our first visit to Perth. We are really looking forward to seeing Lily Rose for the first time.

I am recovering well from the marathon. I did not realise until I checked my records that my time of 3:20:51 was a course PB for me. That's the icing on the cake.

Post GC Marathon

Well I did it! I went much better than I expected with a 3:21 finish. I had a lot of pain in my right foot for most of the race, which took a lot of concentration to manage. that took away some of the pleasure of the run. However, I managed to keep a fairly steady pace and averaged 4:45. After I reached 35K I was feeling fairly good and was able to relax a bit and run with with a degree of confidence that I wasn't going to blow up. I was very pleased with the result.

Tigger did a mighty fine job in getting her brood in under 2:20. Well done Tigger!

Craig had a horror marathon and started cramping after 20K. This combined with stomach problems caused him a lot of grief but he soldiered on and finished. Congratulations Craig!. Don't give up mate. The next one will be great.

Congratulations to Robert Song! 3:12! Fantastic!

Great 10K Ewen! Congratulations. Thanks for the encouragement from the sideline.

Thanks for your encouragement and company out there Toasty. You did a great time considering your recent injury history. Congratulations.

Plu and the CR cheer squad were in fine form. Thanks so much. It sure makes such a difference.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Last Post before the Marathon

I was listening to the radio in the car onthe way to the railway station this morning at 6:50 am and heard part of a live phone interview with a 99 year old female masters athlete. I didn't hear much nor get her name but what stuck most in my mind was that she had just come in from training. I thought, " OMG! How slack am I"

I better start doing some real training.

All the best for a great run on Sunday everyone.

Update: Tigger's comment:-

There's no more to say,
Sunday is the day.
The weather could be better,
But we've trained in wetter.
So it's time to be bold,
Go out to the cold.
And whatever the pace,
Enjoy the race.

GC Marathon only a few days away

Yesterday Tigger and I did a nice cool 16k. We practised a slow run for Tigger's pacing duties at the GC Half :-)

A friend expressed concern, over a coffee at Park Road yesterday, that Tigger should ensure that there is not too much helium in her pacer balloons. Tigger, being of slight build, may have difficulty keeping her feet on the ground.

Bring on the Marathon.

Not Long Now

Less than 2 weeks to the Gold Coast Marathon. I am looking forward to this event. I really just want to stay relaxed and enjoy it. The trouble is that I find it such a boring course which makes it hard to find enjoyable distractions. Not many of the runners provide a suitable distraction. I am certainly not in the PB stakes, and I don't share Robert Song's aspirations, though I will offer him every bit of support and encouragement that I can. It seems that I have a real mental hurdle to overcome in relation to GC. I just want to finish still smiling.

Yesterday, while Craig flitted off to Fiji, Tigger and I did 26K. It was pretty cool. It seemed that every time we turned a corner, the temperature dropped another degree. We managed an average pace of 4:58 which we thought was good. I think Tigger will have to carry a load of bricks to slow her down for her pacing job in the GC Half.

Turn around & 3 Weeks to GC

At last my health seem to be improving. Last week I ran 14K on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday was very slow, Thursday was less slow, ans Friday I decided to do my Friday effort run and finished the 14K in 1:06:31, av pace 4:45. this was 9 minutes better than Thursday and a good boost.

On Sunday I met Tigger and Craig at Park Road at 5AM. It was quite cold and in the breeze along the river was even colder. Us tough Queenslanders make no concessions to the cold (what we call cold) where running gear is concerned, just our usual summer gear, except Tigger, being a girl, wears gloves. It was a 34K morning and we headed for the Brisbane Cruise Terminal at Portside.

Along the way, Tigger mentioned that she had run on Saturday and I thought she meant a 6K at Sherwood. It wasn't until we reached Portside, the 17k turnaround, that she mentioned that she had run 28k. What stamina!

Craig is running really well and should have a good run in his debut marathon at the Gold coast. He informed us that immediately after our 26K next Sunday, he and his family are heading for Fiji for a week. We tried to convince him that it would not be beneficial to his marathon training and that he should reconsider. He didn't seem to be taking much notice.

We finished our 34 in 2:53, av pace 5:05.

Only 4 weeks to GC

What shocking preparation I have had for a Marathon. I have to keep downgrading my expectations. Last week I ran 14K on Wednesday and 28.6 yesterday. This is hardly what one would call confidence building. My problem has not been injury, but a bad cold and sinus problems have had me feeling pretty yuck.

Yesterday I felt better than I had for a while and met Tegwen and Craig at Park Road. Tegwen, also, has been sick, but Craig on the other hand is thriving and pulled up well after his first Half last Sunday at Doomben. Craig is on track for competing well in his debut marathon at the Gold Coast in less than 4 weeks. We completed our 28.6 in 2:27, average pace 5:08.

Next week we will be doing 34K. We will then begin our taper (mine started straight after Canberra). the following Sunday will be 26K and the last before GC will be about 18K.

Tegwen will be a pacer for the Half at GC. She has a challenge before her as she is pacing the 2:20 group. The challenge will be to run at that pace while resisting the temptation to run faster.

Queensland Half

Yesterday I ran the Queensland Half. What a great morning. I didn't have any particular goal in mind, but always tell myself that anything under 1:40 will be good. I hadn't run since the previous Sunday due to a heavy cold, and was still not feeling too bright but determined to enjoy the run. I did enjoy the run.

While waiting for the gun to go Craig tapped me on the shoulder. He looked keen and confident. I saw him during the run but didn't manae to catch him afterward. So I can't report on how his first Half went.

I was pretty happy with my result, 1:35:07. I felt that I gave it my all but, having said that, it never stops me from wishing that I could have done better. I read Ron Peters' race report on CoolRunning. Ron came first in my category yesterday in 75:34. Ron deserves such results because, as he says, he trains hard and races hard and I know that both are true, the results don't lie. I, on the other hand, train and race and am sort of satisfied with my results.

After collecting a random draw prize, a watch, a memory stick and a free massage, I decided to head home. I thought it highly unlikely that I would have been placed in my category because, besides Ron, I thought there were a number in our category ahead of me. I was wrong. I received a message when I got home to say that I came second. I guess Ron did only beat me by 20 minutes.

Official results: Rob 1:35:10 and Craig 1:48:07 - well done Craig!

Gold Coast - 6 Weeks Out

Only 6 Weeks until the Gold Coast Marathon. Where has the time gone. I haven't put in the effort that I did for Canberra. Last year was the same story and I ran my my slowest Marathon at the Gold Coast in 2007. I am feeling a little more confident about the Gold Coast this year. Though my mid-week training hasn't been up to scratch, my Sunday long runs give me a degree of comfort.

Yesterday, Sunday 26th, Tegwen, my running buddy, was again not able to join us due to illness. When I arrived at Park Road at 5:00AM, it was just Craig waiting for me. Ben was a no show due a back injury. Craig, who was training for his first Half, is now training for his first marathon. He upgraded his Gold Coast entry. Craig was keen to run 3 Hours so we decided to run to the Goodwill Bridge, onto to Highgate Hill, the Corso, Yeronga, Tennyson, Chelmer, Indooroopilly and UQ. At UQ we did a loop around the Uni to ensure that we would hit the three hour mark by the time we arrived back at Park Road. This was the first time Craig had ever run this length of time or distance. He didn't shy away from the extra loop at the Uni and finished still looking strong. We covered 33.5K at an average pace of 5:18. It was a solid and satisfying long run.

Next Sunday Ben, Craig and I are doing the Doomben Half.

A Little Better

It was a slow week but I did manage to run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. That was an improvement. I just couldn't push myself to any descent pace though.

On Saturday Tegwen ran and said if she wasn't at Park Road by 5:05AM to go as she wasn't well and probably wouldn't make it. She sure didn't sound too good.

Sunday morning was freezing and, not surprisingly, Tegwen didn't make it. I headed out along the river to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal at Portside. I had run to Newstead with a couple of guys, Ben, the PT, and Craig. Ben was having Achilles trouble and our average pace on reaching Newstead, 14k, was 5:20. Ben and Craig headed back while I continued on for another 3k. By the time I got back to Park Road, a total of 34k, I had reduced the average pace to 5:06, the run having taken 2:52:45.

So Much for Good Intentions

Well my intention to exercise willpower and run more consistently didn't translate into reality. I ran Tuesday and Wednesday then fell in a heap. Although the run on Wednesday was really good and run at 4:37 pace for 14K.

Today, being Mothers Day, it has become tradition, apparently, to run two anti-clockwise laps of Mt Coot-tha. Anti-clockwise is the toughest route. Tegwen and I left Park Road at 5:00AM and arrived back 2hrs 40mins later, having covered almost 28K.

Plans for the New York Marathon trip are progressing well. If things go according to the current plan, my last long run before New York will be the Chicago Marathon on 12 October, three weeks before. On the weekend before New York I will be running a 10K race which is part of the Niagara Falls International Marathon event. I am quite excited.

Gold Coast

After three of weeks of lethargy since the Canberra Marathon I have decided to start putting in a bit of effort. I do not want a repeat of last year's dismal Gold Coast marathon performance. It wasn't so much that it was my slowest marathon to date, it was the the dreadful experience over the last 5 or 6 K's which I don't want to experience again. Last year I dropped my bundle between Canberra and GC marathons and simply didn't put in the K's during the week. The Sunday long runs were not too bad because I was running with friends but I found it hard to summon the willpower to consistently do the runs on my own during the week.

Last week I ran on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (yesterday). My 14K circuit that I used during my Canberra training has had to be altered due to some major road works. My new circuit is now 14.5K. Benefits of the altered circuit are more lighting and more paths which is much safer.

On Sunday I went of to Park Road with intention of running an easy 26K. However, I didn't allow for the fact that Tegwen had invited a couple guys, much younger than me, with whom she runs during the week. Craig is training for his first half and Ben for his first marathon. We set off to Newstead along the river. Craig didn't need to run 26K and Ben wanted to do 2.5 hours. It took us 1:15 to do the 14K to Newstead. That was nice and easy.

At Newstead it was decided that Tegwen, Craig and Cathy would head back to Park Rd via Victoria Park giving them 21K all up. I decided to head back the way we came with Ben to make up a total of 28k. I was quite prepared for Ben to ramp up the pace and leave me behind as he had told me that he is aiming for a sub 3 at the Gold Coast. We did ramp up the pace right from the start. As we chatted along the way, Ben told me that his training schedule was determined by the business which he owns. "What busines is that?" I enquired, "Personal training" was the response. Hmmm! I thought, this is going to be interesting.

So much for my easy run. I know I didn't have to stick with him and possibly he could have easily left me behind but Ben seemed happy enough with the pace we were doing and we setteled into a steady rhythm. We were doing under 5 min K's. By the time we got bact to the City Gardens my legs were tiring but I still felt OK. Under the Riverside Expressway we picked up the pace a little and by the time we were past the Grey Street Bridge I was thinking if I keep running at this pace I am going to throw up. We got back to Park Road in 2:22 for 28.3K, an 8 minute negative split.

Upon checking my Garmin, I found that the 26th K, the one where I felt I mght throw up, was run in 3:28. Maybe I should train more with Ben. Then again, probably not, I might have to pay him.

Canberra Marathon 2008

It's hard to believe it is over. I flew down to Canberra on Saturday morning with Tesso, Iliketoast, Ihatetoast, Matt and Pretty Ellie. Tesso and I arrived in Canberra to find that Qantas had kindly left our bags in Brisbane. This caused some stress as you can imagine. Fortunately I have had the practice, that when flying to marathons, of carrying my running gear in my carry-on luggage. However, stuff like my Garmin, sunscreen, anti-chaffing cream etc., were in my bag. Tesseo had the same problem. During the day we gathered together what we could in case our bag didn't show up. When we came back from dinner the bags were in our rooms. What a relief!

Sunday morning, and the the weather was absolutely dismal. It was threatening rain and was quite cold. About 20 minutes into the race the rain started coming down very steadily and continued for about another hour or more.

I guess, though I hadn't really put in the work for a PB, I did harbour a desire to perhaps create an new one yesterday. My PB hopes were seriously set back when I was overtaken by the 3:15 pacer at abut the 2K mark. I was a bit thrown by that and never managed to catch him, though I saw him and his ever dwindling group as I approached the turn-arounds and as they departed. I certainly did not feel as good this year as I did last year in the various stages of the race. I think the cold and rain caused me to find it a bit hard going and I didn't feel relaxed. I passed the Half mark on 1:38 and was happy enough with that. I knew I was only halfway through and there was still a whole 21.1 Ks to go and anything could happen. I was inspired by Lucky Legs along the way and felt ashamed of any negative thoughts and decided to make the most of what I had left in me. At about 32K my legs were tiring quickly and feeling heavy but I knew from experience that it was possible to get through that stage and make some recovery. This did happen to a degree and I kept going fairly well until the 40K mark where it became a real mental battle to overcome the quickly fading capacity to keep going. Thanks to CR Tim, who was running with me at this stage, I was able to find the resolve to keep up a reasonable pace. I finished the second half in 1:37:28, a negative split. My official net time was 3:15:28 (gun time 3:15:38). This was 33 seconds outside my PB. I was very happy with the result.

My running buddy, Tegwen, came home in 3:28:28. She had planned to do the 50K but the cold and rainy conditions caused her some respiratory and feet problems and she wisely decided not to continue on.

Thanks to all of my regular Blog readers and commenters, for all your encouragement and support. It really does make a difference. It was good to catch up with Ewen, Robert Song, Superflake, Lucky Legs and Horrie and Belinda and Tim, Johnny Dark, and Eagle in Canberra. Iliketoast and Ihatetoast put in an awesome effort on the cheering front. Terrific work! As usual Tesso, Queen of Telopea, was in residence over the weekend and made the stay very pleasant.

One Week Out

Only one week until the Canberra marathon. I have been cutting back on the K's and and taking it easy. We only did about 16 this morning and at about 5:15 pace. I had a few niggles through the week. A sore right calf gave me a scare but I slapped on some Voltaren gel and it seems to have done the trick. I am feeling good and looking forward to being in Canberra. it wil be good to catch up with many running friends. I enjoy watching and cheering the 10K on Saturday afternoon.

I hope it won't be too cold at the start of the marathon. Since I am staying at the Telopea Inn I will try and stay in my room as long as possible. The trouble is though, I like to be out where the people are so I can soak up the incredible pre-race atmosphere. It is facinating to watch the different ways in which runners act in those 15 to 20 minutes before the start.

2 Weeks Out

I must have eaten too much chocolate at Easter because I was feeling pretty crappy up until this morning. After the 34K on Easter Saturday I rested, and ate chocolate for 2 days. I ran 14K on Tuesday and cut back to 12K for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday I rested again. The program for today was to either run 26K or run a 10K race. Since my running buddy, Tegwen, was running a 10K for a team at the Mooloolaba Triathlon, I decide to head to
West End and run a 10K race. I was pleased that I did as I felt terrific. I enjoyed the run and I enjoyed crossing the line in 41:30. After my 42:47 for 10K on Good Friday I was really chuffed.
Tegwen sent me a text to say she ran well and was happy with her effort. So 2 happy runners.

It was very cool here this morning. My wife, Robyn, is in Tassie at the moment and has a fire going. She says it is very cold and windy. Even the locals are rugging up. So I am thinking that I might get to experience one of Canberra's colder marathons. The three that I have done previously have all been very mild.

My stats for the week:
Tue 14K, 1:12:03, Av Pace 5:09
Wed 12K, 1:01:15, Av Pace 5:05
Thu 12K, 1:03:01, Av pace 5:15
Fri 12K, 1:04:55, Av pace 5:25
Sun 10K, 0:41:30, Av pace 4:08, best pace 3:58 (last K)

Total for week 60K

It was great to see you this morning Tesso. Tesso won the 5K. I sure miss Clairie yelling at me.

3 Weeks Out

Well at last the final long run has been completed and the taper begins. By this time in three weeks it will be all over and I will be enjoying a drink with fellow marathoners.

It was another steady week of training last week. Some of the times were a bit ordinary but I am pleased with the way my training has progressed and my present state of preparedness. I completed three 14K circuits, one 10K race and a 34K long run.

The race was the annual Intraining Easter Egg Run. My daughter, Cynthia, and my grandchildren, Jordan and Georgia, joined me. They did the 3K and later the 1K. I ran the 10 in 42:47. Slightly over last year's time, but I was very pleased.

After the running Cyn and the kids took part in the egg& spoon race and the egg throwing competition. They didn't win, however, Jordan won the giant chocolate Easter egg in the random draw. That sure put a grin on his face.

The weekly stats:
Tues 14K, 1:14:32, av pace 5:19
Wed 14K, 1:08:53, av pace 4:55
Thur 14K, 1:10:39, av pace 5:03
Fri 10K, 42:47, av pace 4:16
Sat 33.57K, 2:50:26, av pace 5:05

Total 85.57K

4 Weeks Out

Another week closer and a few more k's under the belt. The weather during the week was perfect for training. Once again I did 4 days of 14K and my running buddy, Tegwen, and I finished of the week with 27.2K from Park Road. We did 2 laps of Mt Coot-tha which helped to reduce our average pace to 5:32. It's always a tough run but always rewards with a great sense of achievement.

My Stats for the Week:
Tue 14K 1:05:24, av 4:40
Wed 14K 1:13:43, av 5:16
Thu 14K 1:07:15, av 4:48
Fri 14K 1:07:34, av 4:50
Sun 27.2K 2:30:48, av 5:32

Total 83.2K

5 Weeks Out

I am privileged to have had one of those rare, for me at least, weeks where I couldn't set a running foot wrong. I ran 14K each day, Tuesday to Friday and today set out on a programmed 34K run and ended up with 36.2 due to a slight underestimation of the course.

I received a text message from Tegwen yesterday notifying me that she had run 35 + K's in 2:47. The challenge was set. I started from Park Road just before 5AM and headed to the Qld Uni then onto Indooroopilly. On the way I passed two running ladies who asked me what I was training for. Canberra Marathon I said. So are we they said. Where are you staying they asked. At the Telopea Inn I replied. So are we they said. Sharron and Kathy I think they said are their names...triathletes. They may be friends of Lew Williams.

Anyway, I was managing to keep my average pace under 5:00 and was pleased with that. I went onto Chelmer, Yeronga, Brisbane Corso, Highgate Hill, Kangaroo Point, Dockside, Story Bridge, City Gardens...This is where I got caught at the end of the Goodwill Bridge by thousands of runners (the distracting girlies Tesso warned me about) taking part in the Women's International Day fun run. the only way I could cross their path was to run with them and sidle across to the other side and out. While I was trying to figure a way out of my dilemma, I did get a hello from one of my favourite "Girlies" ..Tesso herself.

As distracted as I was I set off again to cover the last 3.5K back to Park Road.

Why was this a special week? Because I was happy with the stats:

Tue 14K 1:12:38, Av Pace 5:11, best 1K 4:51
Wed 14K 1:06:04, Av Pace 4:43, best 1K 4:11
Thu 14K 1:07:08, Av Pace 4:48, best 1K 4:07
Fri 14K 1:07:28, Av Pace 4:49, best 1K 4:14
Sun 36.2K 2:55:00, Av Pace 4:50, best 1K 4:04

Total 92.2K for the week.

6 Weeks Out

Well another week gone buy. I managed a couple of solid runs during the week. Tuesday was 12K in 57:27, Wednesday I had an early appointment in the city so gave the run a miss. Thursday was 14K in 1:15:01, Friday was 14K in 1:09:27 and Saturday was 7K in 35:43. I was quite pleased with Friday's run as I improved 5:30 on the previous day.

Sunday morning was a bit of a shock to the system. I was shivering as I waited for Tegwen to arrive. It stayed cool for the whole run. We only did 21K at 5:00 pace. It was an easy Sunday. Next week Tegwen can't make it on Sunday so I will be doing 34K from Park Road on my own. Hmmm! she will probably want to check the record on my Garmin.

68K for the easy week.

7 Weeks Out

What a week it was! I was very tired. I did 12K on both Tuesday and Wednesday. All day Wednesday I was struggling against tiredness at work. On Thursday when I woke to the alarm I didn't feel to brilliant and thought that I couldn't spend another day feeling as I had on Wednesday, so gave the run a miss. I set the alarm a little earlier for Friday morning and did 16K at 5:05 pace.

A heat wave hit us on Saturday. The temperature soared to about 44 degrees C in Ipswich, which is just west of Brisbane. I manaed to achieve a few things outside but had to keep retreating to the Air conditioned indoors. My running buddy, Tegwen, rang me to ask if I had thought of a shaded course for our planned 34k on Sunday. Hmmm! no such thing exists.

Fortunately the temperature dropped considerably late in the afternoon and remained fairly pleasant overnight. So Sunday morning was all go for 34K. Out and back from Park Road to a bit past Brett's Wharf. We managed to average 5:00 K's with no stops at taps on the way back. We just used our water bottles.

8 Weeks Out

A total of 80K's for the week. 4 12's during the week and 32 on Sunday. the first three 12's were a bit ordinary but on Friday I managed to get down to 57 minutes. On Tuesday to add some variety to my running I ran my old 12K circuit and on Thursday tried tried another circuit, not previously run, which didn't have as many hills. On Tuesday after my 12K I added 6 x 100m strides.

On Sunday I met Tegwen at Park Road for a 32'er. We dicided that after last week's flat 28 along the river we needed a character building run so opted for the Western Freeway, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Oxley, Indooroopilly, UQ, circuit. The Western Freeway bikepath is quite hilly and from Seventeen Mile Rocks to Oxley is one long continuous hill. I reckon we had enough character to last us a while by the time we got back to Park Road. we finisde the run in 2:42, a bit under 5:05 pace. Next week is 34K and we have already decided that it will be to Brett's Wharf and back. nice and flat.

I am not putting the effort to achieve anything extra special at Canberra this year. I put on entry form that I hoped to run it in 3:25. Anything better than that will be a bonus (I am hoping there will be a bonus tough) ;-)

9 Weeks Out

The K's were a bit low this week. I missed a 12K run on Tuesday because it was pelting rain. Yes I know, I'm a sook. So it was 12K on Wednesday in 1:01, 12K Thursday in 1:02 and 12K Friday in 0:59. I just seemed to be getting slower.

I spent a big day in the yard on Saturday and on Saturday night was totally stuffed and to top it off, didn't sleep well. This morning the alarm went off at 4:05 and I just didn't feel up to a long run. However, that's the good thing about running with others, you arrange to meet and you just have to be there. So at 5:00AM I met Tegwen and Cathy at Park Road. The run this morning was 28K. After the tough 34K last Sunday we opted for a flat out and back along the river to Newstead. We finished with 28.3 in 2:18. That is an average pace of 4:53. Cathy had turned back at 13K and Tegwen and I turned up the pace on the way back. I was feeling really good and able to sustain a steady pace all the way. I was very pleased with the morning's effort. The running conditions were idyllic and there were lots of runners and cyclists out today.

It just leaves me wondering why I can run at 4:53 for the long run and yet find it so difficult to get under 5:00 min K's for my 12 K runs during the week. But then, maybe the reason I can run better on the Long Runs is because I don't push myself too hard during the week. At this point I have done no speed nor hill work.

A total of 64K this week. I had better try and get a few more in next week. Only 9 weeks left.

10 Weeks Out

Well sure enough, Tegwen made it to Park Road last Monday morning. After arriving home from the UK at 11:00PM the night before she was there ready to go at 5:30AM. We ran 15K. A pretty good effort on her part, wouldn't you say. Definitely crazy! She is planning on doing the 50K in Canberra again this year after being 3rd among the ladies last year.

I ran 12K from home on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday I had to meet some friends at Southbank for breakfast. Yesterday, Sunday, we ran 34K, some of it in pouring rain. It took us 2:52, a tad over 5:00 min K's. We did a loop from Park Road via UQ to Indooroopilly, Chelmer, Tennyson, Yeronga, Fairfield, Dutton Park, Highgate Hill, West End, William Jolly bridge, and back to Park Road.

That was a total of 85K for the week and I am again pleased to report that my knees have improved even more. Apart from having to have a little lie down on Sunday afternoon I have has no other after effects from the long run.

Don't worry Horrie, lots of people still call me Eddie. I think Eddie will be around for a while yet.

11 Weeks Out

Ah! at last a week when I have felt good and my knees haven't been killing me. I ran 4 mornings during the week, 12K each time.

Monday was rest day. Tuesday I had a slow start but gradually improved along the way to finish in 1:01. I repeated this on Wednesday and Thursday put a little extra effort in and finished in 1:00. Friday, having been pleased with the fact that my knees weren't giving me as much gyp, I set out a little faster. I find that if I do this it makes a marked difference to my overall time. I finished Friday's run in 57:40.

An unusual event occurred on Tuesday. A fox ran accross the road ahead of me. I saw a fox on Mt Coot-tha once but the is the first one I have seen locally in the 34 years I have lived in Ipswich .

Today I ran from Park Road and ran to the green bridge at UQ and then through West End via Dornoch Terrace and Riverside Drive, through South Bank, over the Goodwill Bridge, through the City Gardens, turned around at Edward St, received a nice hello from Anna, our runner Queensland Premier, then headed back to Park Road. A total of 22K at 5:00 pace (the last couple of K at 4:30).

Yesterday, while I was out, Robyn took a call from Tegwen who said she wasn't back in Australia yet but could I let her know what run I had planned for Monday Public Holiday..she's keen. That's why I cut my run a bit short today, so that I have something left for tomorrow.

I finished the week with 70K and feeling good about it.

12 Weeks Out

I turned 56 yesterday, so it has been an easy week. That's my excuse. Monday was a rest day and Tuesday turned out to be one too. Wednesday was 14K at 5:11 pace and Thursday was 10K at the same pace. Friday I missed because I had to be in the City early to have breakfast with my friends, Darryl and Michelle, with whom I am going to New York. They are seasoned travellers and will be able to show me the ropes. Saturday I worked in the yard and today I did 30K from Park Road along the Brisbane River. I was wearing my Garmin, thinking it had plenty of charge left in it. However, when I got to the tap at the Edward St entrance to the City Gardens I went to check my time/pace and all I had was a blank face. It was not a reflection of my own face I can tell you.

Fortunately I knew where the 15K turnaround was along Kingsford Smith Drive but I have no idea of pace or time. I felt OK when I got back so maybe I was not trying hard enough.

13 Weeks Out

13 weeks till the Canberra Marathon. Scott says 12 in his Blog. Maybe I have miscounted.

I was a bit slack in my training this week. Wednesday's 14K just didn't happen. I woke to the alarm and just couldn't get out of bed.

Today I did 26K. An out and back along the Brisbane River from Park Road. I didn't manage the same pace as last week, however, I was happy enough with 2:15 for the 26.

Peterhorse passed me on his bike. It's always good to get a friendly cheer when your out there struggling.

This weeks mileage:

Tuesday 12K
Thursday 12K
Friday 12K
Sunday 26K, 2:15, 5:11pace
Total 62K

During the week I submittted my registration form to the travel agency, Travelling Fit, to book my spot for the New York Marathon. I am already excited. I can't imagine what I am going to be like as the time gets closer.

Am I There Yet?

That's what I kept asking myself this morning. I set out from Park Road at 5:00 all by myself with the intention of running to Newstead and back, a little over 28K. At about 12K I was toying with the idea of cutting the run short and cutting accross to the Hospital and Vic Park. The humidity was incredible and I knew that much of the return trip along the river from Newstead would be in full sun. However, once I got to Newstead House I gave myself a severe talking to and headed back the way I came. I was so glad to get back to Park Road. I was stuffed. The run was 28.35K at average 5:01 pace, a total time of 2:22:20. I am glad I toughed it out and did the 28.

My week:

Tuesday 13K; 1:05; 5:00 pace
Wednesday 12K; 1:02; 5:10 pace
Thursday 9K; 0:47; 5:17 pace
Friday 7K; 0:32; 4:52 pace
Sunday 28K; 2:22:20; 5:01pace

Total for the week 69K

1 January 2008

First day of the New Year! Where did 2007 go? It just seemed to fly by. What a year! Some highlights for me were:

• Marathon PB in Canberra - 3:14:55



• 3rd in my category (55-59) in the Queensland Half Marathon.



• My daughter, Cynthia, graduated from Uni, Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce.

Cynthia with her proud Mum and Dad.


2008 will be a big year. I have booked my flights for Canberra for my 10th marathon. In the next week or so I have to start forking out the money for the trip to the US which will include the New York Marathon. I will probably also do the Gold Coast Marathon.

Happy New Year.

Xmas Running

Yesterday I set out from Park Road at 5:00AM. Tegwen bougth along some of her Tuesday/Thrusday running buddies, Tony, Gerrard (Gossens) and Brian. We ran to the Goodwill Bridge then to Highgate Hill and on to the Green Bridge. Gerrard and Brian left us at this point and headed back to Park Road while the rest of us headed up river to somewhere behind the Indooroopilly Golf Course (I think). We covered 20k all up, in very humid conditions.

Tegwen and her family are off overseas for a month so I will be missing a running buddy till February. It might give me a chance to keep up with her when we are in serious training for Canberra..... for the first couple of weeks at least.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. Thank you for all your support, encouragement and interest during 2007. I hope 2008 wiil see you attain all those goals you have been dreaming of.

Rob

Hi Folks

Hi Folks,

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to my blog. Life gets a little hectic sometimes. though I do admit that I did spend some time away with my lovely wife, Robyn.

The 500K Relay was, again, an absolutely terrific experience. Our team, Southern Cross Runners, came 10th out of 18 teams. We didn't do as well as we would have liked but it certainly wasn't for the lack of trying. The whole team worked extremely well together with each memeber putting in a super effort.

I ran 7 times over the three days, 3 Friday, 3 Saturday and 1 Sunday. Runs averaged 5K and varied in degree of dificulty according to the terrain. Each leg of the relay has a grading from 1 to 10, 10 being the most difficult. One of mine was graded 9, but after running it i wuold have graded it about 8. The majority are graded at about 4 or 5. Though running 7 times over three days does not sound a lot, the the issue is that you run them as hard as you possibly can because you really don't want to let your team mates down. This, combined with sleep deprivation, results in you being totally stuffed by the end of the weekend. None of of this detracts from it being a terrific experience.

As for which will be my 10th Marathon.......... Canberra 2008 of course!

Less Than week to the 500K Relay

Next weekend is the 500K Summer Challenge. This will be my 5th 500K Relay. It's such a fantastic weekend. This year the course has changed a lot due to problems getting Police permits to run on main roads. We set out on Friday morning from Helensvale again this year but instead of finishing in Ipswich we are finishing in Gatton.

This morning Tegwen and I did 17k at 5:00 min pace. I really enjoyed the run today and finished feeling quite good. I would like to be able to report that I have been clocking up the sort of K's that Robert Song has but not so.

Two Times Over

Tegwen, my running buddy, was celebrating her birthday today and decided to do that by running from Park Road to Mt Cootha, completing two laaps and back to Park Road. We ran with Tony, a guy Tegwen does speed work with, who is competing in a Triple Triathlon in Canberra in a couple of weeks. He is one of a three man team and is doing the running. Needless to say, he beat us to the top on both laps.

We did 27K's all up but it did take us 2:33 which was a tad on the slow side but I, for one, could not have run Mt Cootha any faster. I was totally stuffed.

Last Wednesday evening I competed in my 7th Cool Night Classic. This marked the 6th aniversary of my first ever fun run. This year's Cool Night Classic was incresed in length from 5.13K's to 5.75K's. I finished in 24:24. Under 25 minutes as I had hoped. I did the 5.13 last year in 21:55 so I have slowed a bit.

Jacaranda Festival 10K

For the third year in a row I ran in the Goodna Jacaranda Festival 10K Fun Run. This year I had a post on CoolRunning. That attracted two CR's, Aidan Hobbs and Graham. We had a field of about 30 runners. A bit disappointing for such an easy going no fuss run. I enterented in the over 55 category as did a local running identity, Tom Nugent. Tom is very fast and won our category and also came in 3rd overall. Darryl Crooke won the race for the third year in a row. He ran 33:25. Aidan came in 20 seconds behind Darryl. David Topp from the Brisbane Road Runners came in 4th. I came 2nd in my category at 43:25 and 7th overall. Barry McGaffin of Intraining came third.

There were presentations after the event. Category winners were awarded trophies and cash prizes. I received an engraved medal and $30 cash. My first ever cash prize. After anouncing the category winners, Darryl, Aidan and David were in the Open category, they then awarde prizes to the overall place-getters. I thought that would be the first three but they continued on to the 7th place and I received another $30. How's that! Don't worry I don't plan on giving up my day job.

At Last!

At last! A Sunday run that I feel good about. I met running buddy Tegwen at Park Road at 5:30AM. Tegwen has recovered well from her ankle injury so we decided to stretch ourselves a bit and run some extra K's. We ran along the river to Newstead then cut accross to the Brisbane General Hospital, on through Victoria Park to Gregory Terrace, the Normanby, Petrie Terrace, Milton Road and arrives back at Park Road in 1:43 having covered 21K. We were pretty pleased with ourselves.

I spent the rest of the day working on the cubby. I still have a lot to do.

A Good Week

Well at last I have managed to run 4 days in a row.

My week: Sunday 10K - 44:15, Monday - rest, Tuesday 12K - 57:20, Wedneday 12K - 56:20, Thursday 6K - 31M, Friday 12K - 56:40.

This morning I forced my myself not to look at my watch until I pressed the stop button at the end. I am a bit time obsessed. I was pleased with my effort today as it didn't feel as if I was working as hard as I was on Wednesday.

Tonight at 10:45 Robyn, my wife, arrives back in Brisbane after touring Europe with her sister for three weeks. She will be exhausted. I am looking forward to meeting her at the airport.

I have finally committed myself to running in the 500K relay again this year. There has been a change to the team. Previously we were callled Brisbane Road Runners, howerver gradually the team has been comprised more and more of Toowoomba runners and we get sponsorship from Toowoomba businesses so the name has been changed to Southern Cross. Our major sponsor is Southern Cross Ford who supply us with vehicles.

Something Concrete

I have had to give up my 12 k circuit for a while as most of it is run on concrete paths. My right knee and hip were beginning to get to painful after running the circuit. I now run a 12K, 6K out and back, course. Most of this is on bitumen but 2K of the 6 is dirt track wit a few ruts and ridges. I have run this three times now and am beginning to get some relief in my knee and hip. The knee pain is such that if I sit in one position for too long the pain gradually increases to the point I feel nauseous. This can happen on my 35 min train trip to work. Once I can move or stretch my leg it is almost instant relief.

Anyway, my first new 12 k was 1:02, 2ND 1:04 and the third, today, was 57:30.

On Sunday I ran the 10k In 44:15 at Brisbane Road Runners at West End. It was the Road Runners 25 year anniversary. They had a good turn out. The run was free and included, breakfast and sausage sizzle, and free coffee from one of those mobile machines. It was a very pleasant run and morning.

A Perfect Sunday

Well that will teach me not to read CR for a while. I drove to from Ipswich to Toowoomba on Sunday morning, arriving at the Hilly Half start at 6:15 to find one runner, Greg, there just in case some poor bunny didn't get the message that the race had been cancelled.

Greg offered me a bottle of wine for my trouble. After accepting the wine and preparing to return home, Greg informed me that some of the Toowoomba Road Runners were meeting at 7:00 and running the course just as their Sunday long run. I said that will do me and set off in a group of about 12. We took it fairly easy at the start then a small group started pulling away so I thought I might as well put in a bit of an effort and set off with them.

It was a pretty tough course which took me 1:46 to complete. As I was running I was wondering how I would be going if it was a race. Not very much better I think.

So the morning wasn't a write off. I go to run the Hilly Half, which I hadn't done before, I met some very friendly runners, got a bottle wine and I didn't have to pay $30 entry fee. The weather was perfect. A good morning by all accounts.

Many thanks to Greg, Joe, Trevor, Glen, Denis, Roger, Robert and the other Toowoomba runners for their friendly hospitality and a good run.

I drove home, stopping at Maca's near Gatton on the way for a Delux Brekie Roll. I arrived home at about 11:00AM and spent the rest of the day working on the cubby. I slept well last night. I was stuffed.

The Morning After

This morning when the alarm went off at 4:40 and I awoke with a shock. It seemed like my head had just hit the pillow. It also felt like it had been hit by a brick for, in fact my head had only just hit the pillow about 2.5 hours before. That was when I had arrived home after the Ball. I had a fantastic time at the Ball but at a cost, so my head was telling me. The Ball was the ENERGEX (the company I work for) Spring Ball organised by the Recreation Club. There were over 500 in attendance most of whom seemed to be on the dance floor all at one time due to the music provide by an excellent band.

I headed to Park Road and ran 15K at a 5:25 pace, the best I could manage.

Robyn, my wife, did not accompany me to the Ball because she is holidaying in Paris with her sister.

There was no progress on the cubby this weekend due to other commitments on Saturday and some post Ball recuperation today.

Return of the Running Buddy

At last my running buddy, Tegwen, joined us for a run this morning. She still has to to take it easy, at least running wise. Last week she swam 10K in the UQ pool. Today we did 15K at about 5:15, a nice comfortable pace. It was good to have her back.

Below are some photos of progress on the cubby. It has been a bit slow due to weekends away at the City 2 Surf and the Noosa Half. That's me on the roof. A not very comfortable position I might add.

A tough 10 miles

After not running since the Noosa Half I set off to run the 10 Mile at West End on Sunday. After a week of rest I thought I would be able to manage 16K without too much trouble. Wrong! I couldn't believe how hard I had to work. After 6K I was averaging 4:32 per k and didn't think i could maintain that pace. I was thinking about the Noosa Half and averaging 4:21K for that race and wondering how the hell I managed it. I was running with another guy, Malcolm, and he started to put a bit of distance between us. I thought I would have to let him go. Then I decided that I was being a bit soft and put in an effort an caught him again. We kept each other honest then and by the end of the race we managed to get the average pace down to 4:28 to finish in 1:12. It was a good hit out after a lazy week.

Noosa Half

Another terrific Noosa Half. This is always such a good event. Because of the 2 laps you get to see everyone on the course and give your friends a bis cheer. It was great to have TD (Don) from Canberra out there today. After training in the Canberra winter, Noosa's humidity was a bit of a shock to his system. Toasty bought his 1:40 pace group in with a few seconds to spare. Well done Toasty. You seemed to be the only pacer to keep a group with you all the way.

I ran a good race today. I checked my pace after a few K's and was a bit surprised to find that I was running 4:19 K's. I was sure I wouldn't be able to keep that up. It did creep out to 4:23 at the end of the first lap but thanks to a guy named Gary (I'd never met him before) who said he was using me as his pacer, I worked a bit harder and managed to finish the race with an average pace of 4:21 and crossed the line in 1:33:14. I was very pleased with that. Gary came in not far behind me.

The CoolRunning cheer squad did a fantastic job again. Thank you Cirque and crew. I missed Tesso and Clairie.

What's in a name?

Like TD, it's time for Eddie to go. Though I liked being Eddie, Rob is my name and I like Rob too. I'll still answer to Eddie because Eddie has been good to me. Nothing else changes, I am still me and I like being me.

C2S

Whow! What an experience that was! 65,000 people! I am glad we were all heading in the same direction.

What a great weekend I had. I flew down with friends on Friday, booked into the Medina on Crown and headed out for some lunch. Our weekend was organised by Di and Phil Hungerford from the RunInn. There were about 25 of us altogether. Friday night was dinner at Betty's Soup Kitchen, Saturday morning was a run round the Opera House etc., then breakfast. We then hopped aboard the hired mini-bus and did a tour of the C2S course. That was really beneficial. Saturday we did a Rocks Pub Tour with dinner at the Lord Nelson.

Sunday morning I headed to the start line with a couple of other guys. I got the to start line of the Blue group (third Wave) just as they were stretching the rope across the road. So I plonked down on the road at the rope with about four others and there I sat while the hordes arrived.
They allowed a bit of a gap between waves so when I took off the way was fairly clear until the tunnel. Even then I was surprised that I was able to keep running steadily, with lots of ducking and weaving, all the way. Having driven over the course, I knew when I had reached Heartbreak Hill and was able to work my way up quite well. My Garmin also helped, in that I was able to keep in mind how far I still had to go and pace myself accordingly. As I came into Bondi I was feeling really good and put in a bit of an effort, with the help of the CR Cheer Squad, to use up my reserves. I was very happy to to cross the line in just over 66 minutes.

It was terrific to catch up with Tesso, the temporary (I hope) Sydneysider. Then another pleasant surprise when Ewen came along a little later. I wasn't able to leave my group and go a wandering to find the rest of the CR crew. I may have been left behind.

A Rare Pleasure

Since being too slack to brave the cold and dark on my own in the mornings, I have been doing some runs in my lunch break. I run from the City Gardens and follow various routes around the City reaches of the Brisbane River. On Friday I was heading along Edward Street to start my run when who should I bump into but Langy (RITH). He was in his civvies but asked if I would mind waiting for him to change. So it was a rare pleasure for me to be able to have a run with Langy. We did almost 9K through South Bank, Kangaroo Point, Story Bridge etc. Langy is just recovering from illness, so I was able to keep up with him. We hope to be able to connect for some runs more often.

I ran from Park Road this morning and had to run most of it on my own. I did bump into my running buddy Tegwen who was walking with another victim of injury, our mate Geoff. Tegwen is on the mend and is able to run short distances. I did 17.6k this morning, average 5 min pace. Next weekend I will be in Sydney for the C2S. It's my first one and I didn't apply for a preferred start so will be leaving in the third wave. Of course I don't actually expect to be able to run much for the first 5K, so I am told.

Noosa Half is the next weekend. Once again I haven't put the effort into training so can't expect wondrous things. I love the event though so it will be good just be a part of it.

Here are some photos of the progress on the Cubby. They include my grandson, Jordan and dog, Casper.

Park 2 Park Ipswich Half

Another glorious morning in Ipswich and again I competed in the Park 2 Park Half Marathon. I just reread my post on this event for last year. I reported that I ran 1:38 which was the same as the year before (2005). Well, guess what, I did the same again, 1:37:50 to be exact. How is that for consistency. I was really pleased with the run this morning. It was a bit chilly at the start, and the run up through Queens Park isn't getting any easier, never-the-less it is still a great event and very enjoyable.

The 1st and 2nd place getters were a couple of young Tanzanian guys. They lapped me while I was still in my third lap, they in their fourth/last lap. They looked so good.

The Park 2 Park events, Half, 10K, 5k and a Kids race, are organised by the Ipswich Hospital Foundation. They do a terrific job. Intraining's Chris Gale was the race director.

I thought I may have to give today's race a miss as I sprained my ankle during last Sunday's run. It was quite swollen until Wednesday though the pain had gone by then. I ran on Thursday and it seemed OK and gave me no trouble this morning.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

I had a thoroughly enjoyable run this morning. It was reminiscent of my Sunday morning runs I used to have before I really started training for marathons etc. I did 19K's in 1:35, average 4:58 per K. It was good just to run without feeling I had to actually have achieved something special time or distance wise. I just enjoyed running. It was a bit chilly at the start but I didn't take long to warm up.

I don't think I have mentioned before that I am doing the City to Surf for the first time this year. I am giving the Bridge to Brisbane a miss. It is the weekend before and as it takes up so much of Sunday, I thought, being away all weekend in Sydney the next week, it would not be fair to the family. Besides, I have started a project with Jordan, my grandson. We are building a cubby house/fort in the back yard. We bought some materials today and started digging the post holes. I don't think he is going to let me have too many weekends off until the project is complete.

Rail Trail Fun Run

I did something different today. I hadn't even heard of it before, but this year was the 5th year it has been run. The Rail Trail Fun Run is an 8.3K run between Lowood and Fernvale, country towns in the Brisbane Valley west of Brisbane and only 35 mins from my home. The Rail Trail is an excellent running path which has been constructed along the path of the old rail line which was pulled up years ago. Each year they alternate the start and finish, this year starting in Lowood. Chris Reeves won for the 5th time. He did it in 25 mins, I did it in 36. Chris did the half at GC last Sunday in 66 mins.

My daughter, Cynthia, and her children, Jordan and Georgia, came with me today. They took the 3K option and enjoyed it very much. There were over 600 participants a big increase over last year's record of 423. Chris Gale from Intraining was the race director.

Oh well!

A PW for me. A Personal worst by one minute. That is what I achieved at the Gold Coast on Sunday. I didn't put in the preparation and set out from the start just hoping to get under 3:30. I sat with the 3:30 bus for a while but thought I may just be able to do a bit better as I wasn't feeling too bad. It wasn't till I got to 37K that the wheels fell off. I wasn't a pretty sight for the last 5K. It was very tough going. My energy was completly spent. It seemed to take all my effort to keep moving forward.

Never-the-less, I managed to finish in 3:32:08. My previous worst being 3:31:16. I still came 17th out of 142 finishers in my category. I am happy with that.

I have to say that I have never enjoyed the Gold Coast Marathon. I have done 4 and they have all been somewhat of a challenge as compared to my most enjoyable marathons, Sydney 2004 and Canberra 2007.

Congratulations to Robert Song. I was so happpy that he had such a good run and such a fantastic result. The good part about the GC was seeing Coolrunner's like, Tesso, Eagle, Peterhorse, Iliketoast, Johnny Dark and Plu (a surpirise in the full), also Vurt out there on the road. The cheer squad was terrific. I was so sorry to hear that LL's plans were thwarted by the airlines. That was really terrible.

BRRC 10K Champs

What a good race! I went without any real plan of how I was going to tackle the race. I set out from the start with Robert Song. I left him behind for about 2 K and then he passed me making it look so easy. He is in very good form at the moment. I managed to hang onto an average pace of 4:12 - 4:15 to finish in 42:23. This has been a consistent pace for me over my last few 10K races. I was pleased to be able to do it again. I won my age category. I have a window of opportunity to do this while Ron Peters is still in the 50-54 bracket. Ron won the race yesterday by a very good margin. He moves up to my category next April.

A Better Sunday

Because I didn't intend running very far on Sunday I didn't get to Park Road until 5:30AM. The rest of the crew had left so I was on my own. I headed out along the River towards New Farm and Newstead. I was surprised to catch up with 3 of the early crew under the Story Bridge. It turned out they had only left about 10 minutes before me. Further along I caught up with 2 more about 500 m past the end of the floating walkway. They were heading to Newstead and across to the Hospital then through Victoria Park and back to Milton. That sounded good to me so I kept going on my own and got to Park Road in 98 minutes having covered 21K at an average pace of 4:45. I felt good all the way. Totally the reverse from last week's horror run.

Less than 2 weeks to the Gold Coast Marathon.

Long Slow Run

After yesterday's freezing cold blustery weather I thought this morning might bring more of the same. Thankfully it was much better. No blustery wind and nowhere near as cold.

I missed my running buddy, Tegwen, this morning. She tripped during speed training and has well and truly busted her ankle. No Gold Coast Marathon for her this year.

I set out from Park Road at 5:00 AM with Bruce who is training for GC but is a tad slower than me. We stuck together for the first 19K by which time my legs were hurting like hell. I don't know what was causing the muscle soreness but I was doing it tough. I thought if I sped up a bit it might help, so I left Bruce and tried to lift the pace a bit. I only managed to drop the average pace from 5:47 to 5:37 per K. After 35K and 3hrs16mins on my legs I was sure glad to get back to Park Road.

GC is only three weeks away. I hope my legs come good in that time.

Queensland Half Marathon

After having had a stomach ailment all week, I didn't have any great expectations for the half Marathon at Doomben on Sunday. I was still feeling off on Saturday and wondered if I would have enough stemina to get through the race on Sunday. Amazingly I felt a lot better Sunday morning and was glad to be there at the start. SpeedyGeoff and I sized each other up, played down our own expectations...you know the usual stuff. Neither of us felt like we were at our best.

Nevertheless, I gave it all I had. My average pace gradually slowed through the whole race and I finished with an averge of 4:27 per K and a time of 1:34:16. Not that bad cosidering the week I had had. I did pass Geoff along the way. I think the humidity, and it was humid, may have been giving him a bit of trouble.

I wasn't able to stay for the presentations and didn't find out until this morning that I came third in my category (M55-59). That put a smile on my face.

Just can't get Moving

Since Canberra I have been stiff and sore and just can't seem to regain any bounce. I have enterted the Queensland Half Maratnon at Doomben and know I can make the distance but feel lack any ability to maitain the sort of pace that I will be happy with. I am hoping that just being there with my running friends will lift my sprits and give me the get up and go that I need.

I have done very little running recently. I did only 15 last Sunday, 7 on Monday and 12K on Wednesday. That's it for the week. I was happy with 56:38 for my 12k circuit on Wednesday but I am not recovering well.

Tomorrow's long run might sort me out. I am still keen to do the Gold Coast Marathon. Time is running out for me to get my mo-jo back.

A Little More Respectable

Well this morning's 31K felt better then last Monday's 34. Today we finished in 2:36:38, an average pace of 5:04.

Back to the Blog

Yep, I am still here and I have done some running. I have not been running to a program though.

I had a great morning back at the Brisbane Road Runners last Sunday. it was really good to catch up with lots of people like Tesso, Clairie, Robert Song, Beagle among many others.

The 10K went well. I managed to finish in 42:09, an average pace of 4:12.

On Monday, the Labour Day Holiday, my running buddy, Tegwen, and I ran 33.7K. I found the run very hard and found I had to really work at just moving forward. We averaged 5:17 and were glad to get back to Tegwen's place where her husband made us a delicious coffee. We sure appreciated it.

There was no running by me on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday I plodded my 12K circuit and finished in 63 mins, average pace 5:18. Today I was determined to put in a bit of an effort. I ran the 12K circuit again but this time in 54:20, average pace 4:31. That made me feel a bit better.

What a Slacko!

Whow! have I been slack this week. I ran Teusday, 12K in 59 Mins and today, 12K in 56 Mins. The other days I have felt too bone tired (slack) to get out of bed.

On Sunday I am going to Brisbane Road Runners at West End to do the 10K then on Monday, Labour Day Holiday, I am meeting my running buddy, Tegwen, and we are doing 32K.

I am really looking forward to the 10K at West End. It is so long since I have run there. I will probably hardly know anyone.

Marathons

With less than 9 weeks to the Gold Coast Marathon I am back on the road.Last week I ran 6 days and clocked up 73K's including 27 on Sunday 29th. I managed to run the 27 at an average pace of 4:57. I haven't been doing any speed work or hills etc. I just don't have the get up and go at this stage.

I won't be putting as much effort into training for Gold Coast as I did for Canberra. I have always had high expectations of myself at the Gold Coast and, except the the first in 2004, have been disappointed in my results. For some reason I have found GC a hard course and have enjoyed Sydney and Canberrra more.

The Gold Coast will be my 9th Marathon and I will just be running it as I feel on the day with no expecations of a PB or anything splendid like that. I will just be looking to keep it under 3:30, anything better will be a bonus.

My marathon history so far:

1. Gold Coast 2004 3:21:58
2. Sydney 2004 3:18:40
3. Canberra 2005 3:25:59
4. Gold Coast 2005 3:31:16
5. Toowoomba 2005 3:30:29
6. Canberra 2006 3:21:27
7. Gold Coast 2006 3:22:59
8. Canberra 2007 3:14:55

My Canberra Race Report

The Canberra Marathon has become a very significant part of my life. The marathon weekend is a special time. Not only is it the culmination of a lot of hard work but the beginning of a new season of Australian distance running..... well for me it is because their always seems to be so many events to choose from after Canberra.

This was my third year in Canberra and and once again I came home uplifted and elated, not only from having completed a marathon but also from catching up with, and spending time with so many wonderful friends. This is something I would never have experienced without running.

My real journey to Canberra 2007 began back on 9th January when I began Susan Hobson's marathon training program. That was a fairly daunting commitment for me. I am glad to say that, except for the last couple of weeks when the Flu took hold of me, I stuck to it like glue. Thank you Susan. What a difference it made to running a marathon. Sure the sickness towards the end knocked my confidence around, as my blog testifies, but I have to say that on the day I felt much stronger and better prepared than I ever have before.

There was something else I did which I haven't done before. On the Friday before race day I logged onto CoolRunning and was looking at the Canberra Marathon - Sub 3:30 Hr Bus (first Time) topic. Brick had posted a posted a 5K split plan to achieve a 3:20 marathon time (post # 61). I thought it was just what I needed, not having used something like that before. I copied and pasted in Word, printed it off, calculated the average pace for each 5 K split and wrote them down against each of the split times. I stuck this to a piece of cardboard wrapped it in sticky tape to protect it then tied it to my Garmin with a zip tie. You wouldn't believe how much doing this little exercise helped my confidence for the race.

I was able to use this plan to great benefit in my race and unbeknown to me someone else's race as well. This I found out after the race from another elated runner. Here is the story in his own words from the Canberra Marathon 2007 topic on CoolRunning (post # 224) :

Brick said:
At the start line I had a problem with my HR Monitor not starting the stop watch properly, it only starts the stop watch if it can get a HR reading and I had not wet the contacts (silly mistake) so i had no choice than to just run on a steady pace.Got to the 5KM marker and asked a person next to me what the race time was and he said 24:10 so spot on my target.This prson had a CR cap on so talked to him for a bit it was speedygeoff as we talked another CR cap ran past I ask who is that he said that is Eddie he is targetting 3:20 so I siad see ya and started after Eddie I nevr caught him but could see him for most of the race.

Thanks Eddie, I know I mention this yesterday to you but it was great.

Eddie was sitting on the exact splits I had set I only found after the race he had used the splits I posted last week.

How good is that! Thank YOU Brick.

I hit the Half point right on plan and was very pleased. I continued to be amazed at how good I felt through the whole race. At the 35K mark I was ahead of the plan by at least 2 minutes and began not to pay too much heed to it as I felt good and thought I would make the most of the feeling. If I was going to hit the wall further on, then so be it. It didn't happen, there was no wall. When I finally turned the corner into the home straight and saw the clock I mad a dash for the line and cracked the 3:15 to record a 3:14:55 marathon.

All the rest of the day I had to keep massaging my face muscles because they were aching from grinning so much.

No matter what difference it may have made to my time, I am glad I took time out to give Clairie a hug. I also stopped and gave a hug to my friend Barb Williams, one of my running buddies from Brisbane who now lives in Canberra.

I owe a great deal to my running buddy, Tegwen Howell, who kept me honest in the long training runs. Tegwen recorded a PB in the Marathon at 3:28:54 (from 3:30:00, Toowoomba 2006) and went of to complete 50K in 4:14:33. Congratulations Tegwen. I am so proud of you.

Thank you again to everyone who gave me so much encouragement and support in my journey to a new marathon PB. An unforgettable experience.

Canberra Marathon 2007

Words simply don't describe my latest marathon experience. How can I possibly articulate how I felt after crossing the finish line to record a personal best time of 3:14:55. My previous best, set in Sydney in 2004, was 3:18:40 giving me a new PB by 3 mins 45 secs.

This was my third Canberra Marathon. My results have been:

2005 3:25:59
2006 3:21:57
2007 3:14:55

Hmmm! If I keep improving at that rate.............?????????????????????????

I have been wanting to recapture the Sydney 2004 experience. That certainly happened on Sunday. The whole race went so well. I hoped for a PB but to actually go sub 3:15 totally blew me away.

The support and encouragement both leading up to and during the Marathon has been absolutely fantastic. I cannot say how much it has been truly appreciated and how much it contributed to my greatest run so far.

I shall post a more detailed race report soon.

Last Post

Last Post before Canberra. How the weeks have flown. My journey to the 2007 Canberra Marathon has been different from any other because I have put more effort into preparation, this however has been marred by sickness which certainly robbed me of confidence, if nothing else.

Since feeling better, I have put in a couple of good solid runs which have pleased me greatly. My 10K at the Easter Egg Run was a good example.

I am really looking forward to being in Canberra again and catching up with so many running friends, even if just to say thanks for all the encouragement and support. I am also looking forward to the race. I am experiencing the pre-race jitters. I try to relax but find myself again mulling over some aspect of the run.

This morning's last run was a very easy and pleasant 7K. I didn't wear a watch and was not at all concerned about pace or time. It was a matter of keeping the legs ticking over.

I was very upset to read Robert Song's bad news. It is such a shame that you won't be with us in Canberra Robert Song.

All the best everyone and thanks for sharing my journey to the 2007 Canberra Marathon. All the best Scott for your Nagano Marathon and Tuggeranong Don for your Boston Marathon.

Home Alone

I had some time home alone yesterday, a rare event, and though there are lots of things screaming at me to be done, I got to thinkng about how nice the weather was and how I hadn't run since Friday, and how I supposed to have done a 16K on Sunday, and how it would be nice to go for a run. So I decided to head for Park Road and run along the River to New Farm and back. Mind you, I started my run at 12:45 PM...yes, the middle of the day.

There was a nice breeze coming off the River which at the start lulled me into thinking I might stay less than hot during the run. I didn't feel too bad until I got to the floating walkway, then it was full sun and I began to heat up very quickly. I began to slow a bit. I kept going and turned round at 8K, according to my Garmin, along the path at New Farm not far past the City Cat jetty. I took it easy on the way back until I was exiting the City Gardens and heading along under the riverside express way when I was feeling OK again and lifted my pace a bit. My splits for the last 4 K were 4:50, 4:41, 4:33 and 4:18. I averaged 4:52 for the 16K and was back at Park Road in 1:18.

I just have to cool my heels till Sunday now. I just do some short runs, probably my 7K circuit, to keep things ticking over.

Good Friday

I took my grandchildren, Jordan 9 and Georgia 8 to the Easter Egg Run today at West End. Steve, the Footman, Manning and his wife Margo from the Intraining Running Centre organise this event each year. There is a 10K, 3K and a kids 1K plus an egg & spoon race and an egg throwing competion and also a choclate easter egg hunt. It's a real fun family time. Jordan & Georgia love it. Jordan ran in the 1k, his first, and finished in 5:o5. I was very proud of him.

While I ran the 10K Jordan and Georgia walked the 3K with some friends. It was so good to run in a race. It is amazing who the competitive spirit kicks in and carries you along. I said before the race that I would be happy to run at 5:00 Min pace. At the start line I stood back in the middle of the crowd and just started at what I thought was a nice easy pace. At the first K marker I checked my Garmin which beeped the 1K at about the same time and was surprised to see 4:15. I thought something must be wrong with the Garmin. I just kept on going and finished the first 5K in 21:18. The Garmin was telling the truth. I had guy running on my heels in the 6th K and ran that in 3:54. I was very happy when I finished the race in 42:10, average pace 4:13.

Happy Easter everyone.

A Beautiful Sunday

What a glorius morning it was this morning.

After having had to take myself off to the Doctor on Thursday with infected sinuses I was feeling a bit miserable. The course of antibiotics and nasal spray seem to be doing the trick so this morning I was feeling much better.

I hadn't run since Wednesday so was rearing to go this morning. The program called for 26 but I ended up with only 24K. I reckoned that was OK. What was also OK was my average pace of 4:42 mins per K. My last K was 4:09.

With Canberra now only 2 weeks away I am glad to have had such a good run this morning. It has given me quite a boost.