Sunday Light

Had planned diving but sea was too big, so did 100 situps and was about to go out running. Thought I will just scan the paper. Next thing it was 9 o'clock...aargh daylight savings. Then watched the IAAF 20km championships on SBS in which the first two women set a world record and the man just missed out. Lornah Kiplagat ran at just over 3min /km to win the women's in 1:03:26 and Zersenay Tadesse from Eritrea won the men's in 56:01 which is the second fastest ever. Hard to believe people can run that fast. Later in the day after Lilly's party Seaman Leamon and I ran 7km around Malabar at the leisurely pace of 4.5km/h. We would have completed the 20km in 1:30. Must be room for improvement.

Second Bike Ride

Met at 6 to join Alison, Monica and Anne to ride to Centennial Park. I rode with Alison who powers on her "Cypree" cruiser. After a lap of the park we found Anne and Monica at the Coffee Shop ready to head for home. Monica had "toilet issues" and Anne said she was done in. While being entertained by Monica's "toilet issues" discussion I didn't see a gutter coming and crashed. Managed to land on the grass footpath. Completely uninjured. After Coffee at Crazy Chix I rode down to Lapa and ran down to Cape Banks with Mat BP (about 8k at 6min/k). Very pleasant day with a fresh southerly and all the banskia in bloom. After that I took Serena to Centennial Park and we did three laps before she was pooped.

Dead Legs

Thursday 27/10/06
100 situps then had to rush into town for a OHS Green Card course. I have done these about three times and many other OHS courses. What a waste of time. 5 hours sitting in a little room with some guy out the front droning on about "When he did this..." and other war stories. These courses should be abolished and the instructors given useful employment as bartenders. But worse was to come, I had to attend another OHS course at Mittagong at 6.30pm. This one went for three hours!!!! The boredom factor was 9.9. A total waste of a day.

Friday 28/10/06
A Beautiful morning so I headed down to the "Cathedral" above Cape Banks at 6am. It was a 1 hour round trip, which I ran OK but my legs had nothing. Sitting around in the classrooms yesterday wore me out! Forced myself to run at around 4.5km/min. I enjoyed it but I wasn't quite fast enough to beat the flies which swarmed all over me.

Question Answered

Tueday 24/10/06
I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30am and started walking down the Tullymorgan road (See Picture). I was a bit hung over from the alcohol and the emotional drain of the funeral so I had to force myself to run for about six or seven k’s, stopping often to take in the magnificent country side, and to listen to myself answering the question from yesterday.
The answer to what I want to achieve is simple. To give my kids (including any nieces nephews, and friends) what I had, a loving Dad who sets a good example. It is a simple sounding wish but not easy to achieve.
At the family get-togethers yesterday I was surrounded by family extending over four generations. One thing was clear, the example from the parents, uncle and aunts and adult friends is the key element that makes children happy, secure and confident to live their lives. The example they learn will guide them whatever the future holds.

So what has this got to do with jogging, two things
1) Jogging is a form of meditation that gives me the solitude to understand my thoughts and feelings
2) Running marathons is one way I set an example to my children. An example to live a physically active life, enjoying what nature and family have to offer.

Wednesday 25/10/06
Back in Malabar, I joined the group at 5.15am to run from Malabar Beach to Lurline Bay. Felt fine all the way especially going up Broome St. No knee pain. Looking forward now to increasing training intensity slowly.

Time is Passing

Sunday 22/10/06
This was the day of the Maroubra Fun Run but I had to give it a miss to travel to Grafton for the funeral of my dear old Uncle Bob.
Monday 23/10/06
Stayed at Lawrence with my wonderful Aunty Vois and Uncle Brien on their property 6k out of town. I ran down to their old farmhouse on the Clarence River where I used to stay when I was a kid. It was about a 14k round trip through the Lawrence village and some beautiful countryside. Numerous wallabies stood along the fence lines as I made my way at about 4.5km/min along the country lanes. It was a beautiful morning, all the trees and shrubs were in flower, the sun was not too hot and mist was rising off the Clarence.
As I passed down the road I saw one very appropriate sign. I am not a religious person but it does make you think. God may or may not exist but you can be sure, from the moment you are born, the End is coming
I was here to attend the funeral of my Uncle Bob who had lived a tough life. He died at 75 and his brother Geoffrey, my father, died at 74, both of bowel cancer. As I plodded along, the sights and smells brought back vivid memories of my childhood, and the things these men meant to me. I am now 44. So I guess should only budget on another 30 years. What can I achieve in these final 30 years, whats the most important?
This was a question that repeated itself over and over as I attended the simple but moving ceremony at the Uniting Church in Grafton, then the burial service, and two family get- togethers to celebrate Bob’s life.

First Bike Ride

Saturday 21/10/06
Met up with Alison, Monica and Anne for our inaugural bike ride. We rode down to Lapa and back in a ferocious southerly and then retired to a civilised coffee at Crazy Chicks. Everyone enjoyed the bikes so it will probably become a regular thing. Afterwards I did 10 hill repeats of Howe St and 100 crunchs.

Malabar Headland

Jogged with the MMAD gang over Malabar Headland for about 5k. then rushed back to work for another hectic day

Tuesday did something

Serena and I went to Heffron about 5.30. I made a bet she couldn't beat me on her bike (Iwas running), which she declared wolud be no contest, she would thrash me. I hoped to do 10k and we set off at 4.17 for the first km, 4.27 for the second. Serena was well out in front but then there was a dummy spit. So I had to beg and bribe her to keep going. We did another 4 km at 4.22,4.30,4.26 and final km 3.53.
Serena and I came to an agreement that I will get her a speedo for her bike and she will be my official pacer. Its fun doing things with the kids but it can be high maintenance. Oh, I also said she could judge the design of our official trip Jacket!! Yes bring on the Griswalds, we are going whole hog. More on that later.

Do little Monday

Got up at 4am and was at Office at 5am to load truck with David. Then took care of paper work till 7am and went to Port Kembla. Spent several hours diving on an asset at sea and then went to site meeting at construction job. Got back home at 5pm and got dressed for jogging. Did 100 sit ups and watched the NZ v Australia netball match last quarter. That was it, the Hypnotiser was on and my good intentions went out the window.

Entry Accepted!

This is to notify you that your entry into the 111th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, 2007 has been accepted, provided that the information you submitted is accurate.

You can verify your acceptance into the field by searching the 111th Boston Marathon "Entrants" database on the B.A.A. web site, www.baa.org/2007/cf/Public/EntryLists.cfm. Additionally, an "Acceptance card" will be mailed to you via US Postal Service mail.

In early April 2007, an official Number Pick-up Card and extensive information regarding the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and related race week activities will be mailed to you via US Postal Service first class mail. If you do not receive your Number Pick-up Card (required to claim number) and brochure by April 7, please contact our Registration Office at 508-435-6905 for further instructions. All registration related inquiries may be directed to the same telephone number. All other inquires should be sent to registration@baa.org.

Note that bib numbers will not be distributed on Race Day. Your travel arrangements should take into account picking up your number at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on Friday, April 13 from noon to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, April 14 or Sunday, April 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you in April!

Sincerely,

Boston Athletic Association

Cruisy Sunday

10 hill repeats of Howe St hill (next to Golf course) followed by 100 situps. Then I spent half the day fixing up the bikes and repairing punctures (all three bikes got cat's eye thorn punctures coming back from Lapa on Saturday night).
Best of intentions of a good bike ride with kids (Serena, Matt and Elli B.) in the afternoon at Heffron but it rained so we stopped after one lap and went to Noodle House

What is MMAD?

MMAD as in MMAD Al stand for "Malabar Mums and Dads" which is a group of Mums and Dads who go running for un around the eastern Suburbs of Sydney. We meet on Mondays and Fridays at 5.30am, Wednesdays at 5.15am and Saturdays at 7am. Its laid back and at your own pace. Anyone can come along and there are no fees or rules.

Why I am writing this

It is six months to the Boston Marathon and a lot of my friends ask "how am I going?" and I bore them with a detailed answer about time per kilometre, muscle strains and running shoes when all they really wanted was for me to say "Fine thanks", so now I can just say "Read my Blog"

Seriously I am writing this blog as a training record for myself and my friends. My goal is to run well at Boston on April 16th. I will record all my training runs and cross training and hopefully it will help me stay motivated.

Running without pain

I ran to Lapa and back last night and Maroubra and back via Broom street this morning and I suffered no knee pain. So it looks like the two month rest has worked and I will be able to declare today the beginning of preparation for the Boston Marathon in six months (April 16th).
This week I purchased some Adidas Adistar runners because they promised to have a very gentle heel strike. They certainly are very gentle and hopefully this will give my knee maximum protection.

I was forced to take a two month break after my left knee became very painful. The exact cause I am not sure of, it followed an uneventful three hour run but the next day I could hardly walk on it, and it remained painful for the next six weeks. Andrew the physio diagnosed strained ligaments but I think it was more than that. Whatever the problem the only treatment was rest.

Fingers crossed I can now continue with training for Boston. This week Alison gave me a training plan sent out by the famous "Gilly" who trained Greg for his Canadian record run. I will publish it here later. I am not sure if I will follow that plan exactly but it has a lot of sage advice worth listening too, for example he suggest alternating your running shoes to prevent injury.