Cape Banks Loop Mon 30/12/14

‎Very stiff still from Sat. Ran slowly on a warm morning. Slowly came good after Cape Banks.

No particular injuries.

Roseville Ripsnorter Sat 27th Dec

This was a tough 28k run. After an exhausting week finishing up work, then Christmas and Boxing Day feeds, I was determined to get out for a long run.

This was a 6ft Track training Group run. I had never done it before

After a trot across the Roseville bridge it's straight into technical ( that is rough as guts) bushland tracks. This is 80% of the course. 

After 20k it becomes very difficult to keep your legs from stumbling on the hundreds of roots and fallen trees. Only had one fall,which was below par for the course.

It was an interesting run but draining. I had never been to the Cascades at the head of middle harbour before. They were interesting.

 Only in the brief road section in the middle and the last 4 k could you really get a rhythm going.

‎My knees,  especially the left, were very sore in the last 10k. But they have recovered OK.

‎A good hit out.

Last St Vincents runs

‎Since April I have been running to St Vincents from the office to visit Serena.

‎I know the route very well now and the many reliable sights along the way. It's like Ground hog

day‎.

It's a very flat route‎ just under 10k. The only hill is the rise up Moore Park cycleway.

Usually it takes about 45 minutes but on some days it's taken an hour.

This week Serena is to be discharged ‎so I knew this might be my last run along this route.

Monday it took just over 40 mins. Still stiff from Sunday. Then‎ Tue it took 40mins exactly. Then on Wed it took only 38 mins from the office gate to the Hospital door.

The difference between Tue and wed was mainly the weather.‎ But I was surprised since I had been diving on wed which is usually energy sapping.

Still , a good way to end this running route.

I also found a wallet on the last run. I called the guy up and we arranged for me to drop it off to him at a local servo. He gave me a nice bottle of red called "The Reward".

Mt Tomlin - 14-12-14

I was in Port Kembla for work early on Sunday. I managed to escape at  9am and drove down to Berry on a whim. I had a hankering to explore the escarpment around Kangaroo Valley.

Berry to Mt Tomlin return

After buying a map and food I set off from the centre of town towards a faint track marked on the Kangaroo Valley map. The track ran up a hill called Tomlins Mountain in the Barren Grounds Nature reserve. I thought I might be able to push through to Jamberoo Pass road.

I had a pleasant 6k run through lush pasture land and weekend retreats before the road disappeared into private property. Undeterred, I went up the driveway of the house and met with the landowners who turned out to be lovely people, Jennifer and James M_ffat . 

They gave me some directions and warnings. Both were accurate. They warned that the road leading onto the ridge had became very overgrown. In fact they recommended a machete. (They had never been up onto the ridge.)

I took a short cut through their property and soon came to a lantana forest. This required me to crawl, slither and badger my way through for about 200m up the hill. Along the way I became covered in small cuts and bitten by a spider on my left leg. This wasn't staring out well. (subsequently found that the road can be access directly off the highway and there is no need to go through the lantana)

Finally I came through the lantana and onto an open disused road along the ridge which I assumed would lead to the summit. At first it was a typical Energy Australia maintenance road and then it led into pasture with lush grass, dams, and shady trees strung out along a round ridge running to the north. A very beautiful place. If it were not for the  kangaroos I could have been in the opening of the "Sound of Music".
It was easy running along here through mobs of startled kangaroos, wombats and all types of native birds like rainforest pigeons and parrots.

The old logging road

Soon the ridge was enclosed by the rainforest canopy, and the open field became a disused logging road. I followed this rough road for several kilometeres to about 1km from the summit where it petered out on a small plateau. It was a very pleasant walk/run along this road. Great views over the coast, and magnificent solitude, except for the mossies and leeches.

Near the top I came upon a fallen down shack with just the fridge, toilet and iron bath and water tank distinguishable from the bush. Eerie.

Once someone's pride and joy?

From here I made a beeline north through the surprisingly open rainforest floor and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself on the summit plateau in no time at all. (For once there were no false summits.) There were fine views from Port Kembla to Jervis Bay. Standing on top, covered in scratches, tick bites and leeches I called out to the world to "Bow down before Me". I received no reply, which I took as an answer in the affirmative.

I tried to persevere to the north to connect up with the Griffin Track, but the tea tree scrub was extremely dense. So after three hours of constant uphill getting to the top, I retraced my tracks and came down the mountain in just over an hour.

I checked in with Jennifer and James who kindly gave me cold water and then jogged back to Berry along Tindalls lane and then the Princes Highway.

It was hot running along the bitumen of the highway and I went straight into the pub in Berry and downed a schooner in one go.

About 25k all up in 4.5 hours. All in all a fun, challenging day.

Note to self, don't try and bush bash in ankle socks. D'Oh

Diving and running don't mix

‎Another hectic week trying manage numerous jobs while installing a new subsea cable. I don't need to dive much anymore for work but replacing this cable took a bit of experience so in I went. 

Only two runs through the week. The first from the office to St Vincents,and the second 11k around the SMC course.

On both occasions it was very muggy and a struggle to keep going.‎ 

On Mon I relied to run to St Vincents on a very muggy night. Just couldn't do it. Stomach pains so bad I got a branch and strapped it against my belly for relief.

Now we'd I just ran to st Vincent very comfortably in beautiful warm rain‎.

So a very mixed bag.

Emerald Excursion STAR Sun 30 Nov 2014

A warm day and very creaky muscles made me think twice about getting out of bed. But having entered the Six Foot Track marathon I figured I better make an effort.
I was the only starter for 6.20 so for the first 12k I had a pleasant solo run, and then caught Mike and Stef near the Maritime Museum.
I had a  chat with them and then after the Botanical Gardens I fell in with Mike, Mark S, and another quicker runner and we had a swift run through Paddington, then zig zagged through Surrey Hills, down through Broadway and back to Annandale for 30k.
With 5k to go I was hot and I rushed into a servo and got a cold 600mm skim milk. Yum. Cold milk is the best refresher. That perked me up for the run home.
Afterwards picked up Serena and had a pleasant breakfast at Kelly's with H & M and S.

Tourist Trot Star Nov 9th

‎Greg L has decided to run the Canberra marathon so I invited him along to this star run. Perfect weather for his longest run in 25 years.

I ran with him and Mike at about 6min ks.

Airport adventure star Sunday 2nd Nov

‎I was the only person to show up for 6.20. So off I went alone. 

A fresh ‎cool southerly was blowing which was a challenge for the Sydney2Gong ride.

I enjoyed the run to Captain Cook bridge where I caught sight of the 6.00am group. They missed the turn for the overpass so I caught them up and directed them back.

Then I pushed on alone but mistakenly took the short cut to Tom Ugly's Bridge. So I doubled back along the course to make up the missing section. 

I was attacked by a very aggressive magpie near Ramsgate Rd. It latched onto my ear.

Then turned around and completed the course in about 2.20. Some knee pain but felt ok.

Had a nice catch up with Mike and Stefica at the finish.

Another run from office to St Vincents. Ran ok, with a little knee pain.

Office To St Vincents - 29-10-14

No run Mon/Tue. Quick run into see Serena. Knees are pretty sore, but still managed a fair pace. Pushed to the limit along Moore Park trying to catch hipster cyclists.

Maroubra Fun Run 2014

‎Jogged over with a about half an hour to spare. The organisation was much improved this year.

It was hot. Probably 23 in the shade and maybe 27 at the end‎.

Met up with the Leamons,Neil,Amy before the start. Wheelchairs started 5 mins earlier this year.

Pipe band played the usual stirring tunes and then we were off. I caught Neil just before the Beauchamp st roundabout and then followed the first female for the whole event.

First lap was 15.23 then the heat took its toll. I slowly lost pace but I didn't lose a position. Everyone slowed. Second lap in 16.52 for ‎32.15 for 8k.

Post Marathon runs

‎Not many. Just one 10k last week and 3 * 10k this week. Fortunately no particular injuries.

One memorable run was from Malabar to UTS to see Honor's ACYA presentation. Impressive.

Met Louise from Malabar along the way at Moore Park.

Melbourne Marathon Oct 12th 2014

‎I entered this with no idea of my fitness. Because this year I have not entered any races since Boston except the C2S. 

I ran better than I thought I would in the C2S and managed 57.30.

But I have done no 10k races and just didn't know what would happen in this marathon.

I had also only attended the Star runs irregularly and often struggled. 

However I did plenty of running on my own. This included some great runs up and down the escarpments behind Cairns‎, behind Wollongong, and here and there.

The best training I have had is running to St Vincents from the office several evenings a week to visit Serena. I am usually delayed at work so I am always under the Gun to get there and have to sprint. I also often have little races with the bike rider along the Moore Park track.It must have helped.

I went to Melbourne mainly as a family outing. Serena drove down with me and got some time on her L's. Michele and Honor flew down. We stayed in a great semi in South Yarra close to the Chapel St clothes shops and cafes. So the ladies were happy.

I jogged in to‎ the MCG to pick up my bib early Sat morning. It was about 4k. My legs felt like artificial limbs. Heavy and stiff. I thought I would be lucky to beat the 3.12 in Boston. Quite likely 3.15 would be realistic.

Next‎  day I had a pleasant jog to the start. My legs did feel better. I met a number of Striders at the start which was very well organised. The weather was calm and about 12 degrees.

Off we went and I ran with no plan at all. Just a vague goal of 90mins for the half. 

I quickly fell into 4.10 pace and found myself next to a guy in a red singlet who ended up running near me the whole way.

It was flat and.. well a bit boring. But it was easier to concentrate than at Boston with the intense crowd, the noise and the emotion.

Here there were very few spectators, and by 20k I was just in a little group. I just tried to concentrate on an even pace.

It hurt till 12k then it didn't. I started feeling good. And confident. The pace wasn't falling off. I passed 21k in 87.30. Then 30k in 2h5m30s. Still felt pretty good.

I had a bag of minties ‎and kept one in my mouth the whole way.

I knew the pace couldn't last, but I was surprised it had lasted so long. 

I also knew the hill up to the war memorial would be tough. It was.

At 35k my pace suddenly dropped as I entered the park. It dropped gradually down to 5min k's with three k's to go. It hurt. 

With about 1k to go the red singlet man said the only thing to me in the whole race, He sensed my pace plummeting and just gasped "let's go mate" 

I tagged on to his shoulder and we ran the last couple of corners together and over the line.‎Finish time. 3h01m31‎s. My second fastest time ever.

‎Red shirt guy and I shook hands on the line and then I walked through the nearly vacant finish area to where Michele was waiting in the park.

We then‎ walked back to South Yarra passing the Marathon runners and I observed the many different states of the runners faces. Some were grinning, some were in pain, some just looked like they wished they had stayed in bed. I wondered why they do it, why do I do it?

‎Honor and Serena met us at the Tall Timbers cafe (really really good) and we had a very excellent breakfast followed by a full afternoon of browsing in clothes shops.

The weather was magnificent. We had hotpot in the evening.

We had another pleasant day together in downtown Melbourne on Monday before M& H flew back and Serena and I drove back on Tue.

(Also had the best ever Lamb Shank with sweet potato at a restaurant called Culina)

‎All in all a good weekend that somewhat rekindled my desire to run marathons.

Boston 2014 Race Report

The problem with these big marathons is that the entry is 6 months before the race, so you can't know if you will be fit.
So it was with two minds that I went ahead with this event after the knee injury in Jan/Feb and the continuing flu from a couple of weeks ago.
The Boston Striders hosted us very well and I stood on the start line feeling quite fresh.
To get to the start line involved two security screens. At the first, we had a pat down. There was a line for women and a line for men. I had three energy gels pinned inside the front of my pants. The metal detector kept going off and the old guy doing the patting down kept touching my groin and saying "is that a gel in there?" I just kept a straight face and said "yes mate, it a gel, large size"
Conditions were perfect. Cool with no wind. I was in Corral 6 with a little cluster of four Aussies. We had a good chat and then we all shook and hands and wished each other good luck.
Everyone in a race field and the crowd was in a very good mood and there was the usual lump in throat emotion as the bass baritone singing the Star Spangled Banner came to an almighty climax and a fly past of Black Hawks went overhead right on cue.
Then we were off...slowly. It took three minutes for us cross the line as runners paused to get their faces on TV as they passed over the mats.
I had a rough plan of doing the half in 90 minutes and then to run by how I felt.
And that's how it turned out, I crossed 21.1kms in 90 minutes exactly. I felt OK but I knew that I would lose time from the then onwards on as the hills were approaching. Boston is a downhill course overall but that doesn't make it easy. The combination of the long down hill to 21km followed by a series of four crests to 32k  then a flat run to this finish has brought many hopeful runners undone.
The crowd was beside themselves with enthusiasm and it was several people deep for most of the way from the 10k mark. They noticed my Sydney Striders shirt and called out "C'mon Australia" and "You got this Sydney".
At one stage I had a burst of enthusiasm and started Hi-fiving the lines of little hands poking through the security barriers and I called out "Go Boston". This sent the crowd into paroxysms of joy and an extra loud roar went up followed by "USA, USA" But I couldn't keep that up for more than a few minutes and most of the second half consisted of gritting my teeth and concentrating on my stride and my next little goal.
Usually all I could manage when some one cheered for me was just to raise a finger, but they liked that too.
The noise at times was painful but undeniably encouraging. The Wellesly girls were especially imploring this year to try and get a kiss. Many amusing signs were held out by the good looking girls such as "Kiss me I am graduating its my last chance" or " Kiss me I don't mind beards, sweat, or oldies" ( I stayed away from their clutches but I enjoyed seeing other runners disappear into a sea of arms and lips  and emerged dazed but happy))
There were many inspirational sights along the way such as the Hoyts in their final run, the legless runners on carbon fibre blades, the wheelies and the blind with their guides.
Sometimes it was a struggle to keep on running as dark thoughts about quitting entered my head, but I plodded on, thinking of the people who inspire me but still losing time all the way.
The hills weren't too bad and fortunately I started overtaking a lot of people who were flagging.
Mark Schaefer overtook me half way up Heartbreak Hill looking fresh and gave a me a friendly pat on the back.
There were many dead soldiers from the hills onwards as the temp rose to about 20 degrees. I saw quite a few getting first aid.
Some were very fit looking young men and I realised they must also have entered injured or ill but they were determined to be part of it. That was a common feeling.
Along the flat ground to the finish the crowd was in a frenzy and was occupying every possible vantage point. If someone started walking, the crowd screamed at them to start running again and that certainly made me determined not to walk.
The CITGO sign seemed to take forever to reach after I first saw it coming over Heartbreak Hill. Finally it passed behind me, then Fenway Park where Kate, Frank and Geoff were watching the Red Sox game , and then at last the turn into Boylston St, past the bombing sites and over the finish line in 3.13. It was not possible to have dry eyes in that final stretch. That was a very long 500 metres.
I felt pretty crappy after crossing the line but the super happy enthusiasm of the volunteers lifted me up and I drifted along in a daze for 100m up the road past many collapsed runners and then I "collapsed"  at the first free spot on the foot path against a light pole and at last took a rest. It was so good  not  to be running anymore and just rest.
Then I commenced a huge sneezing fit. The crowd around me called out "God bless you" after every sneeze, little did they know it would go on for 15 minutes!
A couple of times a medic came over to check on me, but I told him I was OK (even though I wasn't sure)
Then I got some help to stand up and shuffled past the many medical volunteers who were holding out wheelchairs to me but also saying enthusiastically "congratulations awesome job" and clapping, (it was a little embarrassing but quite touching as they were so earnest)
I made my way to where the complimentary phones were located. I needed to tell Frank and Co that the gym was at a new location this year. Fortunately I bumped into them just near the phones by random chance. Many happy hugs were exchanged and then we all went to the gym together through a sea of cheerful faces and an atmosphere of goodwill, and I think also relief that the event had gone so well.
It was great to have a hot shower right next to the finish line and to change into fresh clothes. The Boston Striders are highly organised and hospitable.
Then we had a pleasant lunch in the cafe upstairs and caught the train back to Foxboro.
This Boston marathon was a wonderful experience which I was pleased and proud to take part in. The events of last year were tragic and will always haunt Boston but the silver lining was the extraordinary outpouring of goodwill this year. The motto of the run was "we all run boston" and all Bostonians (who are stereotyped as a cranky bunch who are just as likely to boo as cheer) universally supported this event. This was demonstrated in many ways but especially by the numerous strangers who walked up to me with their hand out, a big smile, and said sincerely "thank you for running."
From a running point of view it was a slow time and I would have been better off not starting and concentrating on training back to full fitness. But this event was about more than my running time and I have been affected by the whole experience emotionally.
Another bonus is that I suffered no knee pain during or after the run. Go figure? So now I have a new goal, and that is to train for the Sydney Marathon in September which will be my tenth anniversary of marathon running.

Oh wait.. There's more. I have written this on the plane between Boston and
LA. I ordered some food during the flight and the stewardess refused payment saying "You deserve it because you ran the marathon" Ha ha tough luck for the guy next to me who had to break out his credit card.

Boston via PNG

Two great runs on the weekend have given me some confidence that I won't embarrass myself in Boston.
First the Cape Banks run and then the Roseville STAR. Monday ran to Maroubra for spin class and back. No run on Tue as I had a hectic day at work.
Now I am on a plane to Lihir Island PNG for an urgent ship inspection. Stopped in Cairns last night and had a pleasant slow jog/walk around town. Nice place.
Not best preparation but have to pay the bills.

And thats where it ended ... until now - Boston 1 week to go.

Unknown to me the injury on January 5th was not a normal niggle and would derail all my plans. I couldn't run in the Bogong to Hotham. I could still walk so that's what I did. Ed and I hiked from Bogong to Langfords Gap and saw the leaders come past down the hill to Big River. They were impressive.

After some unsuccessful physio I saw Dr Grace Bryant and had an MRI. The result was torn meniscus. Bummer. But she prescribed an NSAID called Meloxibel which was immediately beneficial (Voltaren had done nothing). Slowly over the next two months I was able to start running. I plodded the Equaliser with Stefica, I ran Six Foot Track in 5.12 (which included a lot of walking), and Striders 10k last week at Lane Cove in my slowest time ever of 40.40.

A big dose of the flu four weeks ago didn't help but I am now feeling some form coming back just in time for Boston. I won't have a fast run, but I am grateful just to be able to make the distance after the misery of being unable to run for two months.

Very Light Week

Sun Jan 5th- No long run last Sunday due to family commitments. Then no run till a 7k run on Friday. No run Sat. Didn't mind too much since I had various sore bit including right foot, left achilles that needed a rest. Then today ran from Wisemans Ferry to Leets Vale and back. My right knee became very sore and I had to walk quite a bit of it. Not a good sign for B2H.