Brisbane Half & Marathon

Went down to view the races from the other side - as a spectator, with a camera & Tenz at my side. Followed the runners after synching my stop-watch with the start, past GOMA & under the William Jolly Bridge to the start of the Riverside Drive. Stood there with Glenda & Matt R & was surprised to see the first two HMs sprint right past the bikepath/ footpath & head up round the milk factory. There was a steward standing further down the road rather than at the entry. Fortunately, Steve "the footman" cycled up shortly after & got another cyclist to chase them down & send 'em back. They probably lost a minute here & were understandably not too happy. Saw Pat a little later & he mentioned his camera wasn't working & could I take some shots at the finish.

I then headed over the Victoria Bridge to cheer & take some photos as the leaders came back from Coro Drive. I was approached by a guy who really wanted to pat Tenzing. No problem, until he opened up his wallet to show me his Border Collie who had recently died. And then a flood of tears, he was pretty distraught.

Back over to the finish where I had to run to catch a shot of the winner crossing in about 70 mins, only 30 secs or so to his nemesis & they were minutes ahead of anyone else. Puntermatt had a great run & in my excitement I had the shutter button depressed but the camera off- duh! Peter H also had a great run finishing in 82, with both Mike H & Wayne PBing as well. Damn if I wasn't running...conditions were good, coolish, a bit of rain & a breeze, would've suited the marathoners.

Watched the top finishers in the marathon come thru' including a gutsy effort by Roxie Schidmt who charged past me to finish in 2.49.

Wounded knee

Pushed it a bit too hard at Tuesday's session after our last long run. Did a couple of laps of the steep hill "Gold Coast" & probably strained my knee from that. Felt a bit ordinary the next day & have been nursing it since. Didn't stop me from a 90 min session last Sunday & ran 14ks on Wednesday. Have avoided fast sessions, so no PCRGs. Brisbane HM this Sunday, lucky I hadn't entered, really don't want to go hard for a little while yet.

Gold Coast 32 k

Got an early lift to Miami with Wayne, driving in tandem with Pete & Mike to meet up with Dave. Started pretty close to the GCM turn-around point (about 13 ks into the race) & headed north along Hedges Ave. This street is known for its exclusivity - squllion dollar homes fronting onto the beach - with every third one up for sale. Come worst-case climate change scenarios, storm surge & sea level rises will no doubt eat into their rateable land value...

Weather turned a little yuk, squally rain & wind. Ran past the start finish line & turned at the 1 hour 18 mark. Couldn't resist the finishing shute practice...put on a surge to skip to the front & cross the 'line', arms outstretched & sub-3 of course...

Running south was into the wind in the open stretches , but not too bad. Had a drink & a short stretch at the 2 hour mark & consumed a Gu that Pete had given me. The first time I've tried this & it seemed to go down well. An energy shot that probably has more of a psychological lift than anything. Still, we upped the pace for the last 35 mins to 4.15s. Finished off with 5 mins of slow jogging & then a brief swim - surf was choppy with a strong current. R & R at Dave's unit overlooking the beach.

3k TT Tues.

Ran a good race after my last long run to take another 8 seconds off last month's time, now 10.07. Encouraged by my quicker recoveries. Blister didn't have any bearing but got sore later in the week after an easy 10k on Wed, I had Fri & Sat off.

Bribie Island 30k

Set off from 8th Ave Woorim on Bribie Island @ 5.30am. Cool first thing, mist covered the sports fields half-way over the island. Headed off down First Avenue & was surprised to see the Ian Fairweather park - the little patch of bush where the eccentric recluse set up his humpy & painted. Quite a distance from the coast & views. Headed down to the top of the Esplanade (near the RSL club)& was greeted by a beautiful clear morning, fine & calm. The Glasshouse Mountains crystal clear across the Pumicestone Passage.

Followed the pedestrian / bike path under the mainland bridge & headed up to Pacific Harbour. Ran around deserted streets to North Point, turning around in 1 hour 20. I was running pretty slowly & comfortably, this usually happens when I'm not in a group run. Even so I started to feel a blister on my little toe come up & had to pull over at 1.53 to apply a band-aid. My shoes were still damp from Friday's downpour at PCRG.

Found just enough water at different points along the route & was quite pleased not to feel too fatigued after completion of 2 hours 40 minutes - my longest run for 27 years...Difficult to judge the distance & pacing but felt a bit slower than 5 min ks, maybe 5.10s so possibly 30-31 ks.

Friday PCRG Had a decent hit-out in the rain that continued to get heavier as the session wore on. Ran 1k; 500m x 2 with an extra 1k (45sec SR between). Then one of Pat's extra extras - 1 min hard out & back. The day prior I ran an easy 10k.

Back feeling better, things looking up.

Blog & back out of action

Had my birthday late Feb. That's Cecile's signature b'day cake: quadruple layer, 500g choc cake - yum!

Our computer's been playing up so I haven't had the opportunity to update. Even now I feel it may crash so will try to make it brief.

Have spent this Easter taking it pretty easy - apart from the Good Friday 'Easter Egg' 10k, this year starting from the Botanic Gardens. Got there early to register - no one could tell me the course route. Had to wait for Steve "The Footman" to give a description thru' the megaphone at the start line. Ended up doing a lap of the Gdns before heading down the cycle path out to Park Rd before turning back.

Hit the 3k marker in 11.12, pretty much my hoped for 3.45 pace. But slowed after that - the next k must've been long according to my watch. Settled into an ok rhythm but the lungs just weren't up to the effort, legs seemed good. This was my first race since October & my first 10k race since last year's Easter run (Doomben was short). Pleased to catch a couple of folks who had been an annoying distance in front of me at the 9k mark. Nearly overtook Clare G at the finish but thought better of it.

Spent the rest of the day working in the garden & my back has been sore since then. Took Sat, Sun & Mon off. Looking to run tomorrow morning & if everything feels good will stretch it out for a long run (I have the day off work).

Last two Sundays have run 2hr 20 , around 29ks. Have felt pretty ordinary after these efforts, still contemplating this marathon training - whether it's worth it. I think I'm better suited over the shorter distances. Will make a decision soon, probably based on whether my back continues to give me trouble (let alone my knee, arthritic toe or knotted calf...)

Long run 27 ks in 2.02

Ran a bit quick today, started off with 4.40s & they got a bit quicker once Highgate Hill was out of the way. 9 of us today, felt at times like a fun run. Did the River loop in 88 mins then a half hour extra that headed out under the Story Bridge, up & over & back quick along Riverside probably doing 4.15s or a bit faster. Felt a bit wrecked for the rest of the day, hope to bounce back for Tuesday's 3k TT...

63ks for the week, 5 days running. Friday I did 6x 2 min efforts at the local park with 1 min JR. Tenz was happy with this - he ran the inside lane.

Daisy Hill Trail Run

Drove Pete & Wayne down to Daisy Hill for a 6am start this morning. Had a map of the area & linked up 2 of the longest trails: Buhot & Venman Circuits with a loop trail of the Plunkett Mallee circuit. Conditions were good, practically in the shade for all of the 2 hours thanks to the tree cover. Nice undulating topography with only 2 steep hills. Saw quite a few wallabies but no koalas. Had a couple of short deviations from the plan & arrived at the half-way point, Venman Bushland carpark in exactly an hour. Drank from the tap there. Came back linking the other halves of the 2 circuits. Arrived 5 mins early so did a short loop of the carpark area to finish in 2.01. Wayne's pedometer measured 21ks.

Added this type of long slow run on trails to the program after reading an article from McMillan. And it was good to spice things up a bit.

Downloaded a marathon training diary from the Gold Coast marathon site. It's the "advanced" version & is quite handy being able to add the runs & comments. Adds up your weekly totals too but the week starts on a Monday & finishes on a Sunday - so this the 20th week out from Gold Coast was a 57 k week with 2 days off (Monday & Thursday).

Friday night I took part in the Brisbane running clubs 3k challenge. Last year it was held in a relatively quiet section of the Gardens. A bit of a schmozzle this year as the Gardens were partially closed due to a music festival. Change of plan had us starting from the bike path under the freeway & heading out along the 'floating' boardwalk with a turn-around once at the end of it. All the way back to the GW Bridge. Ran pretty controlled, didn't have anything in reserve but picked folks off who had gone out too hard. A long 3k I suspect, finished with 10 mins 52 but felt faster than that, just made the top 20.