Wednesday 31 August 2011

yesterday, today, and forever

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 with
Yesterday
Lake Ginninderra 7k Tuesday 30 August
Geoff Moore 29:49
Bob Harlow 30:53
Miranda Rawlinson 36:02

Today
Rest. Unless you count an hour in the gym as training.

This Saturday
I want to highlight that the YCRC ten mile starts at 8:00am

Future
Running in the last three days has been surprisingly easy, and quicker than usual,  so I am going for it: it's only five-six weeks until the Masters Games.

Next month
The Vets Handicap in September is scheduled for O'Connor, I got confused about what month it was when advising some people last Monday.

Wherethehellismatt?
14 months in the making. From http://youtu.be/zlfKdbWwruY 


lots of fun, well worth watching right through

Tuesday 30 August 2011

400m hurdles semis 7:00pm today

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 with
Our Lauren Boden made the semis of the women's 400m hurdles at the World Athletic Championships. There are 24 in the three semi-finals; she was 12th fastest in the heats. You might like to tune into SBS-2 tonight at 7:00pm and cheer Lauren on.

Last night at Parliament House the speedygeese commenced a month of hill sprint sessions. First of all Craig, Ewen, Jen, Nadine & I ran 8k easy, then the main group of Andrew, Andy, Bronwyn, Caroline, Colin, Craig, David, me, Helen, Larissa, Nadine, Neil, Ruth & Warrick did 12 x 100m on a steepish hill, followed by 8 x 85m on an easier hill. Next week we plan to do something similar.

Customs 5k Friday 26 August: Floriade course.
Gary Bowen 22:19
Bob Harlow 22:26
Yili Zhu 22:59
Miranda Rawlinson 26:41
Caroline Campbell 32:33
Geoff Barker 35:42
I am hoping to get there this Friday.

Springing into spring




Song of the week. “Featherstone” – The Paper Kites – “Woodland” EP. From http://youtu.be/M0IDiVQxZYg



The Paper Kites are an emerging band from Melbourne, Victoria. Their awesome sound is very similar to that of the brilliant The Middle East from Townsville, Queensland. I wish them every success in the future.

Monday 29 August 2011

foreign tourist

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, August 29, 2011 with
email from Maria
Hi everyone

Our US experience is over and we are currently in Madrid. Our 2 week plus stay in NY allowed us to relax at times rather than feeling the pressure to spend every waking hour seeing the sights! We became familiar with many of the boroughs of NY, did many different runs through Central park and along the Hudson river. We  cycled much of the length of Manhattan and even had to ride on the road for a short distance- not very relaxing for someone with my limited cycle skills and nerves! The cab drivers don't mind using the bus and cycle lanes so there was the odd time that I felt uncomfortably close to moving vehicles!needless to say, Peter had to help satisfy my addiction to visit the many shops here. We bought a NY City Pass and visited the many famous museums here and sites such as the Empire State building. We were in the Rockafella building ready to go up the lift when the earth tremors hit NY. We spoilt ourselves and went to 3 broadway shows and a couple of excellent Jazz shows. We initially stayed on the east side in mid town and for the last week. We moved to the upper west side. Both places were very close to Central park and Peter navigated the subway system with ease. Even I with my total lack of direction managed to negotiate the very logical street numbering system in NY. I only wish every city used such a system and I could then develop some confidence in my spatial sense!

Luckily, we flew out of NY just before the hurricane weather arrived. We were both in Madrid 30 years ago and love this city! We have some good spanish friends, Ana and Carlos, who suggested a hotel very close to an excellent public park that has a 1200m running track- every 100m is marked.There's a huge pool in the middles of the track, 2 beautiful synthetic soccer fields and a mini golf course. It's fully lit and the surface of the track is great. Peter and I joined the many other runners this morning on the track. I even attempted a couple of 1k intervals and then collapsed! It's pretty warm here and the Spanish are  very lively and with Ana and Carlos to help us we have already fitted in very well with their typical meal times – late lunch( 3ish followed by rest and then very late supper(10ish)! The metro or subway system here is really excellent- clean, fast and very efficient. Much easier to use then the one in NY.Hoards of people in the streets everywhere you go and of course shops open every day till late! We leave madrid on Tuesday and will catch a train to Barcelona and then the metro to a small coastal resort called Sitges, we'll stay there about 7 days before we make our way to Burgundy for our cycling tour through the vineyards. Julia, our elder daughter and her partner Marc will join us there. We haven't seen julia since last November so we are both delighted that they can come!  

Peter has taken some fabulous photos and I'm sure when we get back, we will look forward to catching up with all of you! Congratulations to all those who ran the City to Surf and good luck in the Canberra times run! We hope you are all well and the worst of the Canberra winter is over and that work is going as smoothly as it can!
Adios 

Maria and Peter( Pedro while in Spain!!)
Coming Events week 35 of year 2011:

Mon 29 Aug4:30pmParliament House 8k jog
5:30pmParliament House speedygeese training
Tue 30 Aug12:15pmGinninderra 7k handicap
Wed 31 Aug12:15pmBBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 1 Sep4:00pmDickson Oval long run
5:30pmDickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 2 Sep12:15pmCustoms Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 3 Sep 8:00amYCRC 10 mile Black Mountain Peninsula
Sun 4 Sep 9:00am YCRC Jogalong, Weston Park
12:00AACT High Noon Meet


FOOTNOTES
1. I will be running this Saturday's ten mile race at ten minute mile pace or slower, with some of the Metro runners - four so far. A couple of speedygeese said they might join in. The more the merrier!

2. This Sunday's High Noon meet is an opportunity to cheer on Kathy Southgate in a 3000m, or even join in. I plan to be there in time for her race.

3. The Canberra Times Fun Run is another week away, Sunday 11 September.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Vets Handicap results

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, August 28, 2011 with
All speedygeese who ran today:
Mt Taylor 7k
6 Jeni Greenland W35 37:52 61.2% **bronze**
12 Alan Duus M65 36:46 70.4
13 David Webster M55 32:19 77.9
19 Helen Larmour W50 32:32 82.6
20 Nadine Morrison W40 33:55 70.5
23 Geoff Moore M60 31:31 81.5
26 Ewen Thompson M50 41:51 57.3
30 Kathy Southgate W55 29:54 92.4
33 Roger Pilkington M50 33:10 71.0
35 Damian Rutledge M40 30:44 72.1
51 Christopher Lang M60 39:18 64.6
59 Alan Williams M60 40:39 63.4
63 Kerrie Tanner W50 38:47 68.6
64 Janene Kingston W45 38:51 64.8
65 Geoff Barker M65 52:48 50.0
66 Charles Freer M50 38:54 59.4
71 Rod Lynch M50 32:21 72.0
75 Ruth Baussmann W60 44:41 66.2
76 Debbie Cowell W50 34:32 77.0
80 Emma Adams W40 36:05 66.3
85 Mick Horan M50 37:57 62.0
87 Margaret McSpadden W60 54:17 57.1
89 finishers

Mt Taylor 3.5k
5 Amanda Walker W40 17:10 68.1% **bronze**
12 Ken White M55 15:36 74.8
13 Jill Pearson W50 19:05 67.1
14 Noeline Burden W55 20:26 65.8
18 Heidi Johnston W40 15:59 72.2
19 Gary Bowen M50 16:08 70.3
24 Katie Forestier W45 15:05 78.2
30 Tony Booth M70 22:10 62.9
35 Garry Maher M60 20:45 59.3
38 finishers

Saturday 27 August 2011

spring is in the air

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, August 27, 2011 with



Big birthday: My mother-in-law is 90 years old today. We are celebrating.

Friday 26 August 2011

Half An Hour

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, August 26, 2011 with
Happy Birthday Brett, 43 today!

Dickson Training last night, we ran our last session of longer intervals for a while, a two lap timed run followed by three more two lap runs, with handicap starts. Tori & I ran 12k early, then in the main session we had Colin, Joel, Roger, Nadine, Suzie, Neil, Jeni, Miranda, Janene & Ruth. I usually keep the intense part of our sessions to half an hour...

... which brings us to last night's Clarke&Dawe, from http://youtu.be/U4ZJjKX7zSk



Susan & Suzie


On 9 October 2011 Susan Sturgeon & Suzie Gye are running the Melbourne marathon to raise money for the Wessex MS Therapy Centre in the UK in memory of Suzie’s Dad who passed away in June 2011. If you would like to sponsor them please use this link :)

Thursday 25 August 2011

coming home

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, August 25, 2011 with
Welcome back Carolyne after your holiday at the Gold Coast for the last few months. Spring is definitely on the way here in Canberra.


It's always someone's birthday... so,

Happy Birthday Kris Davis, Craig's wife.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

bucket list ultra

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 with
As regular readers will know I have a bucket list, created in February, at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=501585320915. Only 40 items long, I will have to extend it in twenty years time, or so, won't I? Numbers 22 & 29 have been crossed off, number 18 is to be crossed off in October this year. So far so good. Number 8 on the list is to run an ultramarathon, and it might be an idea to get that one out of the way sooner rather than later. Therefore I have decided, once my crazy attempts to get fitter and faster in 2011 have succeeded or failed, to run an ultra in 2012. 15 March 2012 is the 50th anniversary of me becoming a runner: the best ultra after that would be the Canberra marathon/50k on 15 April.

So I announce that I have tentatively decided to celebrate 50 years of running by completing the Canberra 50k in April 2012.

I don't look like much of a runner, do I? Well that will change if all goes to plan, and I will coast around this ultra course on 15 April, no sweat.

An ultra? You goose!

Tuesday 23 August 2011

outside the crowds

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 with
Training at Parliament House last night: Ewen, Nadine & I ran 8k early, then the main group consisting of Andrew, Andy, Colin, David, Garry, me, Helen, Jen, Larissa (new), Neil, Rae, Ruth, Warrick & Yelena ran up to 8 x 400m with a 400m jog under lights on the west side of the House. Must say I didn't feel the cold after a couple of the intervals despite wearing only t-shirt, shorts and cap; no gloves, beanie or long sleeves. It is good to think that the days are getting longer and spring is around the corner.

Coming up on Saturday 3 September one or more of the Metro Runners and I will be running in the YCRC ten mile event at 8:00am from Black Mountain Peninsula. Please join us if you would like a nice easy training or tempo run; we won't be travelling any faster than ten minute miles. But as the saying goes, ten miles at ten minute miles is the same distance as ten miles at six minute miles.

Coming up on Sunday 4 September is the next High Noon meet, and Kathy Southgate would very much appreciate company for the 3000m being run on that day. Whether or not you would be able to run the 90 second laps she would surely be aiming at, or would be making up the field, it doesn't matter; the more people there the better for her. As a matter of interest, the National W55 3000m record is just under 11:15 - exactly 90 seconds per lap.

Song of the week: Dark Horses - Switchfoot - from Vice Verses, at http://youtu.be/iiNmS-ix43M.



Dark Horses
I’ve made my mistakes
I’ve seen my heart cave in
I’ve got my scars
I’ve been to hell and back again

Born for the blue skies
We’ll survive the rain
Born for the sunrise
We’ll survive the pain

- Chorus -
We’re singing…
Hey, You can’t count us out
We’ve been living up against the crowd
Yeah, we are the Dark Horses
We’re singing…
Hey! It’s not over now
We’ve been down but we’ve never been out
Yeah, we are the Dark Horses

We found a way out
The city takes everything it can
But outside the crowds
I can feel my lungs again

We’re singing…

We don’t care what they say
We know we’ll find a way
Yeah!… We are the Dark Horses


Vice Verses will be released soon. I am holding my breath but it's taking forever. Switchfoot and Anberlin are currently/soon touring together in the US. A double act to die for!

Monday 22 August 2011

41 years

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, August 22, 2011 with
Today Jenny and I have been married for 41 years - to each other!
41 down, 39 to go, because last year a friend said "40 down 40 to go".

On 22 08 1970 at Ainslie ACT -



Meanwhile here is what is happening this week, week 34 of year 2011:

Mon 22 Aug4:30pmParliament House 8k jog
5:30pmParliament House speedygeese training
Wed 24 Aug 12:15pmBBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 25 Aug 4:00pmDickson Oval long run
5:30pmDickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 26 Aug12:15pmCustoms Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 27 Aug 8:00amMetro Runners Acton Ferry terminal
Sun 28 Aug 9:00am ACTVAC Handicap, Mt Taylor

Sunday 21 August 2011

color: blue

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, August 21, 2011 with
Today's "Vets" Half Marathon
David Webster M55 1:36:54 73.4% gold
Warrick Howieson M40 1:39:35 61.8
Graeme Patrick M55 1:43:37 68.0 bronze
Roger Pilkington M50 1:44:14 64.2 bronze
Damian Rutledge M40 1:44:15 60.4
Suzi Gye W35 1:50:44 59.4 silver
Alan Duus M65 1:53:46 66.3
Mick Horan M50 1:54:53 58.3
Ruth Baussmann W60 2:06:40 65.4 bronze
Peter Hogan M60 2:10:32 57.2
Caroline Campbell W65 2:11:49 69.4 gold

Tomorrow's training at Parliament House:
Just in case there's any problem parking, allow yourselves an extra ten minutes.

Saturday 20 August 2011

More City to Surf pictures

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, August 20, 2011 with
Bob Harlow

Fiona Hedgecoe

Alison Sims

Kathy Sims

Geoff Sims

Rae Palmer

Happy Birthday Fiona Hedgecoe 39 today.
Happy Birthday Amanda Cook 34 today
Happy Birthday son-in-law Scotty Hall, 36 today

Customs Jogger 5k 19 August “Floriade” course.
Gary Bowen 22:02
Yili Zhu 22:40
Yelena Pearson 26:31
Geoff Moore 26:31
Caroline Campbell 32:16

Friday 19 August 2011

"no signal"

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, August 19, 2011 with
Last night's Clarke&Dawe at http://youtu.be/FZnYjx0vbcQ



Goorooyaroo 8k 13 August
9. Damian Rutledge M40 33:37
19. Caroline Campbell W65 48:14
19 finishers

Goorooyaroo 4k 13 August
8. Heidi Johnston W40 17:06
18. Geoff Barker M65 22:38
22 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 17 August
Gary Bowen 27:43
Jen Bright 31:57
Andy Matthews 31:58
Helen Larmour 32:39
Roger Pilkington 32:41
Caroline Campbell 38:29

Happy Birthday Helen 52 today!

Dickson training 18 August
Wet and cold - Bronwyn, Tori & I did the early run without getting too damp, but the weather closed in and the lights stayed off as Craig, Neil, Suzi, Jenny Langton & I ran ~5k on the track before heading home. Jenny is visiting for a few days following a short skiing holiday. The weather here has been worse for running but not often, she'll be glad to get home to Brisbane.

Finishing the City to Surf

Bronia Rowe

Charlie McCormack

Craig Davis

David Webster

Jen Lee

Kelley Flood

Noeline Burden

Ruth Baussmann

Warrick Howieson

Yili Zhu

Thursday 18 August 2011

City to Surf results

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, August 18, 2011 with
Net times for speedygeese and friends who ran in the 2011 City to Surf.
Martin Dent 41.39 3rd
Emily Brichacek 47.59 2nd F
Bruce Graham 48.38 5th M40-49
Keith Bateman 48.43 1st M50-59
Jim Dawes 50.06
Lance Purdon 56.16
Jodie Barker 56.24
Richard Faulks 58.55
Jen Lee 61.56
David Webster 62.50
Bob Harlow 62.53 5th M60-69
Craig Davis 63.25
Fiona Hedgecoe 63.37
Charlie McCormack 65.34
Elle Knight 66.07
Warrick Howieson 66.54
Kelley Flood 67.29
Carol Masters 67.59
Bronia Rowe 68.54
Yili Zhu 69.08
Lynda van Dyke 70.15  
David Baussmann 71.17
Greg Polson 73.35
Jim White 74.29
Alison Sims 74.30
Jess Faulks 74.45
Alan Towill 75.24
Adam Robinson 75.47
Katherine Sheppard 76.03
Kathy Sims 76.11 8th W60-69
Roy Jones 77.22
Rae Palmer 77.32 10th W60-69
Geoff Sims 77.48
Karen Daniels 79.36
Joseph Ting 80.02 metro runner
Pam Faulks 80.12
Leanne Lee 85.12 metro runner
Ruth Baussmann 85.24
Noeline Burden 87.00
Carol Robinson 87.07
Alison Chua 89.26 metro runner
Stephanie Sims 90.22
Amanda Baussmann 92.21
Wanda Stewart 95.59
Emma Baussmann 96.18
Kris Davis 102.53
Hazel Tan 123:39 metro

... via http://www.city2surf.com.au/. I shall add more names if I learn of more who ran.

 Katherine finishing the City to Surf

Wednesday 17 August 2011

City to Surf running fail

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 with
City to Surf: The results are at http://www.city2surf.com.au/. I shall put together a list of speedygeese net times asap. It will take me a while. Meanwhile here is a video near the finish; check out what happens to the spectator in the beanie. Justice, I say.


From http://youtu.be/AP0H5JxG5m0

Thanks to Pat Carroll for the video; we knew Pat years ago when he lived and trained in Canberra; he coaches friends in Brisbane; Pat is celebrating his 50th birthday today!

Industrial Revolutions. After that video, now for something completely different: skill! It doesn’t get any better than this!


From http://youtu.be/ShbC5yVqOdI

Tuesday 16 August 2011

re-move

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 with
...because my Song of the week is "Move" again, but a different one from last week. You have seen me wear the “hungry” t-shirt and you have commented on it. This is the band “Hungry” who produced several albums, the one t-shirt, and this one video clip just twelve years ago. A band of five, the keyboard player is my daughter Mon Hall, and the bass player is my son-in-law (Mon's brother-in-law) Wes Falconer.

Move – Hungry. From http://youtu.be/KpBTg7239Fg



Training at Parliament House last night: Nadine & I ran early (Separately: I took a different route, up through Yarralumla) and we were joined for the training session by Andrew, Andy, Caroline, Cathy, Christopher, Colin, Craig, Garry, Helen, Jen, Jill, Joel, Neil, Rae, Warrick & Yelena. The session was the same as last week's, a set of hard runs over ~860m with the same jog recovery, for 30 minutes. The number of laps completed varied from five to eight. We finished the session with a jog up the main Parliament House hill to admire the view of the city at night.

Early daze


From Bryan Thomas's book

Monday 15 August 2011

week 33

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, August 15, 2011 with
Coming Events week 33 of year 2011:

Mon 15 Aug4:30pmParliament House 8k jog
5:30pmParliament House speedygeese training
Wed 17 Aug 12:15pmBBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 18 Aug 4:00pmDickson Oval long run
5:30pmDickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 19 Aug12:15pmCustoms Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 20 Aug 8:00amMetro Runners Acton Ferry terminal
National Cross Country, Stromlo
Sun 21 Aug ACTVAC Half Marathon

Also, for all you retirees, I am going on a run from Stromlo Forest Park at 11am on Tuesday, when I might even attempt a run over the Blewitts course again.

Cathy at Blewitts

The national cross-country events on Saturday, after boys' & girls' races in the morning, include
12:50pm 6k men under 18
1:20pm 4k women under 18
1:40pm 8k men under 20
2:05pm 6k women under 20
2:35pm 8k open women
3:10pm 12k open men
The ACT are fielding a strong open men's team this year and should do well in the team's category.


Some recent speedygeese results:
Liz Bennett
ran the tan (Melbourne) ultra 50k and was fourth female in 4:23

Kathy Southgate ran yesterday's High Noon 1500m in 5:23, taking more than 20 seconds off the ACT W55 record.

Kathy at Mt Ainslie

Sunday 14 August 2011

City to Surf

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, August 14, 2011 with
Metro runners after the City to Surf

Leanne Lee, Joseph Ting, Alison Chua

A beautiful sunny day in Canberra today; but the sun didn't quite make it to Sydney for the 84,000 strong field in the annual Sydney City to Surf. Nice looking conditions all the same. Many friends ran and I shall dig out their times in due course.

Jogalong 7 August
A few speedygeese ran in this month's women's 6k jogalong
Michelle Wells     25:08
Nadine Morrison 28:02
Cathy Montalto     33:57

Letter 2 from Maria and Peter.

Hi all
Since we last emailed we have flown from SF to Toronto and are now in NY.  We both really enjoyed SF and stayed in a very good location away from the hustle and bustle of Union Sq but within walking distance of lots of interesting places provided you don't mind hills! Before we left SF we went to a jazz bar to catch some live music with a very good singer.  He introduced us to his wife who was from Oz, she had a sister that lived in Cook in Canberra near where I lived and whose family had immigrated to Oz on the same boat as my family. Small world! In Sf our regular run was down towards Fisherman's Wharf, along the water front past Alcatraz and up and over the Golden Gate bridge and back.  A distance of about 18K in total. We also did a bike ride out over the bridge to Sausalito and Tiburon then caught the ferry back across the bay.  Before we left SF we met up with Kathy (now the 4x400m W60 world masters record holder) and Geoff (an exceptional athlete himself and now spouse of the 4x400m W60 world record holder) and enjoyable dinner. 

In Toronto we stayed with my cousin Eugene and his wife Rosanna and daughter Rosin, pronounced Rochine- Gaelic for Rose!  It was good to catch up with them and to move out of the tourist zone and into suburbia in a new town.  The first thing that surprised us was Toronto was hot and humid.  Not what we were expecting.  Secondly, Eugene was kind enough to drive us down to see Niagara Falls before taking us to a BBQ put on by Rosanna's cousin and we were entertained with good food, wine and company. Toronto was also a time to adjust to yet another earlier time zone (3 hours ahead of SF) and running in the heat (30 degrees +) and humidity.  Still it was very nice running down to and along lake Ontario. 

Monday we arriver in NY and immediately commenced getting familiar with Manhattan.  For those google map inclined we are staying on 58 East St between 2nd and 3rd Ave not far from Central Park.  This is in easy walking distance to a number of sights including museums, galleries  and Time Sq.The first few days here we have been exploring the various parts of Manhattan - uptown, down town and took the ferry to Staten island to get a good look at ms liberty.  Yesterday we did our first run – in Central park of course and  last night we went to our first Broadway production - Avenue Q – the first of a few we intend to see.  Neither of us were familiar with it before hand but while lining up to get cancellation tickets to the Book of Mormon (which is sold out months in advance) we got talking to some people from NY who recommended it.  So we bought tickets and thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Tis hot and sticky here and almost like a sauna especially down in the subway- by far the most efficient way of getting around this dense and frenetically busy place. I rang another irish cousin today who we have never met before as my dad's older brother moved to NY  about the same time my family came to Australia. We hope to meet up with Gerard next Wednesday. And of course … I hit the shops for the 1st time today- pretty good for me a many of you know  what I'm like!! Poor Peter! Anyway must be off- we hope all is well with all of you, need to reenergise as peter plans a bike trip for me in the next couple of days to ride around Manhattan Is.

PS – Did you know that Maria can navigate around by remembering the location of where stores and sales are and it is extremely more reliable than her sense of direction! The things you learn.

Maria & Peter

Saturday 13 August 2011

peddling like ducks

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, August 13, 2011 with
Clarke&Dawe from http://youtu.be/mJsceMyM_fA


...and problems with small screens. How do they manage to keep a straight face?

Customs 5k results 12 August
Andrew Simpson 18:42
Geoff Moore 21:16
Bronwyn Calver 23:38
Yelena Pearson 25:39
Miranda Rawlinson 25:43
Caroline Campbell 29:57




Friday 12 August 2011

Another good night for running at ****son Oval

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, August 12, 2011 with
Don't worry, I typed the asterisks. Blogger doesn't have the same problem with "blue" words that ShoutMix has.

Looking for consistency.
Last night it was only me for the early run; I stayed off the mountain trails and ran mainly on the roads, as the rain which had just stopped had left everything quite muddy and slippery. Back at the oval, the first real test of the new drainage system passed with flying colours, the surface, in lanes four and five, was no different from usual. Running there for our two-lap handicapped interval training were Charlie (new), Colin, Craig, Neil, Susan & Suzie. They ran four of the intervals with an very slow lap's jog in between. Colin was not only the speediest but also the most consistent, with only three seconds separating his four runs. Consistency at a fast pace is what we want to develop in these sessions, although a faster last effort is always possible and is a good confidence booster for next time, an indicator that you can push just that little bit harder in the earlier efforts.

Ewen (in patriotic colours) charging up the hill at Stromlo. That's Michael, Charlie (new)'s dad in the foreground he's trying to catch.

Thursday 11 August 2011

best seller

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, August 11, 2011 with

In the book Why Men Don't Have a Clue and Women Always Need More Shoes, the authors discuss common questions women ask about men, based on over 5,000 letters they have received. Here are a few of them. [Note: I take no responsibility for the information or opinions presented in this post. AND this is a repost from another blog, where the author said the same!]


1. Why do men continually offer solutions and give advice?
When a woman wants a man to show empathy, he thinks she’s asking him for a solution. Advice-giving is perceived differently by men than it is by woman. If one man asks another man for advice, the man who is asked sees the request as a compliment. A woman usually wants to be heard not fixed.
The most frequently expressed complaint women have about men is that MEN DON’T LISTEN. Either the man completely ignores her when she speaks to him OR he listens for a few beats, assesses what is bothering her, and then proudly puts on his Mr Fix It cap and offers her a solution to make her feel better.

2. Why do men keep flicking through the channels with the remote control? 
Dictionary definition of "Remote control":
     noun, female; a device for changing one TV channel to another;
     noun, male; a device for scanning through 55 channels every 2.5 minutes.
Apparently, in heaven, every man has 3 remote controls and all toilets seats are left up.
Of course, the truth is that men don’t want to know what’s on TV, they want to know what else is on TV.

3. Why don’t men stop and ask for directions?
Why does it take 4 million male sperm to find and fertilize an egg? Not one of them wants to ask for directions.
We all know that Moses wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. He couldn’t ask for directions either.
Of course, the truth is that men don’t get lost; we simply discover alternative destinations. 

4. Why do men make such a fuss about going shopping?
For a man, one pair of shoes, one suit and a couple of shirts will last for many seasons. The same hairstyle endures for years, perhaps decades. And even better, his wallet, as a consequence, will last for longer too.
A woman will dress carefully according to the weather, the season, fashion, her own colouring, where she’s going, how she feels about herself that day, who she’s seeing, what she’ll be doing. A man merely performs the sniff test on a piece of clothing he’s left lying over the arm of a chair.

5. Why do men have such disgusting personal habits?
Dictionary definition of "flatulence":
    noun, female: an embarrassing by-product of digestion;
    noun, male: an endless source of entertainment, self-expression and male bonding.

While 96.3% of men admit to farting, only 2.1% of women will ever acknowledge they fart. Men let loose an average of 15.-2.5 litres of gas a day delivering an average of 12 farts a day which is enough to fill a small balloon. Women fart an average of 7 times a day and emit 1-1.5 litres of gas. The main cause of excessive farting is talking too much and talking while eating. Wind becomes trapped in the system and although much of it is belched out, the rest passes through into the small intestine where it mixes with other gases and prepares to burst out on an unsuspecting world. Why do men fart more than women? Women don’t stop talking long enough to build up pressure.

In 1956, Bernard Clemmens of London managed to sustain a fart for an officially recorded time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. He was a man, of course ...

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Maria

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 with
The next two High Noon meets:
a) Sunday 14 August there will be a 1500m & a 3000m
b) Sunday 4 September an 800m & a 3000m

Message from Maria
This email arrived 1 August.

Hi everyone
Well we both easily survived the campervan experience or in the states the RV recreational vehicle experience- in fact it was absolutely fabulous if a little exhausting. We went to Kings Canyon and saw the most magnificent rugged mountains and gorges followed by Sequoia National Park and immersed ourselves inside the massive forests- some of the trees were absolutely HUGE in both diameter and height- many of them thousands of years old. Peter took many photos and I am sure he will manage to attach some of them to this email. We then went off to Yosemite- wow I absolutley loved it – no wonder it's famous and one of the hot tourist spots here. Spectacular and very diverse landscapes - beautiful waterfalls, massive granite monoliths and sweeping bright green meadows. We did some onerous hikes through Yosemite- quite steep and strenuous, we managed to get to the top of the Yosemite falls to overlook the valley well below us on our 1st day there and then on the following day on the recommendation of a young dutch couple we met we then did the Misty Trail walk and walked above 3 sets of different waterfalls- it was extremely steep in patches and felt like we walked up millions of stairs- god my quads got a work out!

After Yosemite we headed to the beautiful lake Tahoe area and caught up with the world champion Kathy and Geoff and had dinner together at their campground, Fallen Leaf Lake. We were lucky to get the last spot at Camp Richardson and then moved to another campground opposite Lake Tahoe with much better sites and decent hot water system ( I did not enjoy washing my hair in freezing cold water that morning!! Kathy and Geoff left after our 1st night and headed towards Yosemite while we stayed at Lake Tahoe a couple of days. We took the Gondola lift up to the top of the mountain to a height of over 9,000 feet and hiked from there the first day , after a morning run, and then after another morning run we hired mountain bikes and went for a leisurely ride for a few miles to see some of the historic sites and more of the lake. It is quite beautiful surrounded by the snowy peaks- no doubt a stunning ski resort with no shortage of super long runs for speedster skiers such as Helen!

We are now in San Francisco and really love the place, although the weather is much cooler than I thought it would be! We arrived by train and once we deposited our gear at the hotel we went for a bite to eat – Luckily we're located very close to lots of restaurants and boutique shopping areas! After feeding our faces we walked into Union Square- when they tell you SF is hilly – they're not joking… some of the hills are incredibly steep!Needless to say once we hit Union Sq the money just kept going- I managed to do lots of satisfying shopping, including running gear of course!

Today, the day of the Vets handicap, Peter and I slept in and did a run from the hotel and over the Golden Gate Bridge and almost all the way back again- I ran for over 105 minutes and Peter did a mammoth run as well and ran 93 minutes!- His clothes are already getting loose and he's had to use a different knot on his belt to keep his trousers up! Pretty good eh?? After our huge run and shower etc we went down the road for a bit to eat and met a lovely local, laura who gave us lots of useful info an great places to see, eat and shop while here. Of course we took up her advice and headed to some of the boutique streets rather than Union Sq and again found some great bargains! Peter and I have certainly done well here but I MUST save some funds for NY! We both bought Lulu Lemon stuff and some great shoes. We headed to the very funky and hippy area where the Grateful Dead used to hang out-Haight- Ashbury zone and again browsed some very interesting shops and spent more money! Tomorrow is the SF marathon and we hope to see some of the runners go by! All is obviously well with us and we hope all is well with all our family and friends.

Stay safe and stay warm
Love
Peter and Maria

PS Peter will send a few of the millions of photos he has already taken of our journey separately! Feel free to pass this email on to those we missed on the To: list

Maria at West Stromlo

Tuesday 9 August 2011

move

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, August 09, 2011 with
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt ~

Training at Parliament House last night: Jen, Ruth, Nadine, Craig & I ran early. Then the main session consisted of five or so circuits of ~860m alternating hard/not-so-hard, 30 minutes worth. Joining the early starters for that session were Andrew, Andy, Cathy, Garry, Helen, Joel, Neil, Warrick & Yelena. It was nearly light enough to see on the western slopes so we used the tracks there as well as along the roadside.

Song of the week: "Move", by Thousand Foot Krutch, at http://youtu.be/YPvHYtka1GM



Tonight there's a Vets Social Dinner at the Hellenic club, I will go if any of my friends are going, please message me. Otherwise it's another night at home watching DVDs alphabetically. I have finished watching the brilliant movie "Adaptation", "Alien" is next (Alien 1 then 2, 3, 4...)

Quote from "Adaptation": "You are what you love, not what loves you," More quotes here!

Monday 8 August 2011

what's up?

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, August 08, 2011 with
Coming Events week 32 of year 2011:

Mon 8 Aug4:30pmParliament House 8k jog
5:30pmParliament House speedygeese training
Wed 10 Aug 12:15pmBBQ Stakes 6k handicap
Thu 11 Aug 4:00pmDickson Oval long run
5:30pmDickson Oval speedygeese training
Fri 12 Aug12:15pmCustoms Joggers 5k handicap
Sat 13 Aug 8:00amMetro Runners Acton Ferry terminal
1:00pmYCRC Goorooyaroo 8k
Sun 14 Aug
City to Surf
12:00AACT High Noon Meet

Speedygeese running the 5k at Stromlo Forest Park 6 August
27. Kathy Southgate 19:37
30. Damian Rutledge 19:49
32. Katie Forestier 20:01
41. Heidi Johnston 22:03
49. Adam Robinson 25:38
51 finishers.

Townsville Marathon: Liz Bennett ran 3:28 in heat and humidity and said she needs to be better acclimatised next time!

Inaugural Morrison Rogaine


Congratulations to the organisers Brett & Nadine. See the full album at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150252652421174.317402.618286173&type=1

Capital Canberra

Sun's down. Photo by Kate

Sunday 7 August 2011

worn out

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, August 07, 2011 with
Speedygeese at Customs 5k Friday 5 August
Andrew Simpson 19:05
Gary Bowen 21:56
Jen Bright 23:20
Geoff Moore 24:14
Miranda Rawlinson 26:19
Geoff Barker 34:50
Conditions – windy, and we had to detour off the track at the Ferry Terminal. My handicap had been changed from 15:00 to 10:45 - wrongly - so when I caught Rad with a bit over 1km to go, I hadn't been running all that fast but I slowed more and jogged with him to the finish. Hopefully my start time will be adjusted back to its normal 13 -15 minutes next time.

We had three days of warm weather but it was good to see the rain return yesterday. I just made it to Acton Ferry Terminal yesterday morning, wondering why my 1996 Commodore's Power Steering had failed in the last 2k of the drive, only to discover when I opened the bonnet that there was no longer a fan belt attached. And the radiator water was starting to boil. Lucky it happened there and not somewhere remote or late. I sent the Metro runners off up Black Mountain and waited for the NRMA (any excuse to avoid hills!) who arrived promptly and installed a new fan belt as well as replacing a pulley which was the cause of the trouble. All fixed and I still got in a 10k run before the rain. And no hills.

Wish it were as easy to replace a few parts of my body which seem to have worn out.

The top of Black Mountain

Metro runners Ann, Leanne, and Alison made it all the way up there Saturday morning. So did Shane the photographer. They didn't look the least bit worn out. They may even be able to walk again by now.

Hurray for the rain. Here is a photo of the 1955 Canberra floods. The city is simply not recognisable back then, is it?


p.s. there is a HUGE difference between power steering and no power steering. Ask me and I shall demonstrate!

Saturday 6 August 2011

Neil Boden, Athletics ACT

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, August 06, 2011 with
Neil Boden made this week's Canberra Chronicle...

Photographed at the ACT Olympic Council lunch, a week ago.

Check out the new AACT website at http://www.athleticsact.org.au - it's much improved, there are many interesting articles, and all the latest news on Senior and Junior athletics in the ACT. Well worth bookmarking.

From the website, here is the profile of Neil's daughter Lauren.

Lauren Boden

Name: Lauren Boden      
Date of Birth: 3rd August 1988
Place of Birth: Canberra, Australia
Club: North Canberra Gungahlin/AIS
Coach: Matt Beckenham
Discipline(s): 400H, 400m
Personal Bests: 55.25, 53.51

What or who got you interested in Athletics?
I was always running around with my younger brother, Steven so my parents suggested we try Little Athletics. I started at Corroboree LA Club when I was 5yrs old and stayed there for 10yrs where my love for athletics developed.
 
Best and worst thing about Athletics?
I love racing; knowing that you’ve trained hard and just enjoying the adrenaline and atmosphere that comes with each race. Patience is a hard skill to master; as an athlete you want a PB every time you compete so learning to be patient and wait for that performance to come is sometimes difficult!
  
Take us through a typical training session?
Being a 400m Hurdler means I have a variety of training sessions. Majority of my sessions are jog/stretch for warm up, followed by technical drills. I usually do a high intensity running session which might be 300-250 etc or I might do a hurdles session which will either be a long rep (eg Start-8H) then short break and a finish rep (6H-F) or 3H-Fx2 is common in my training program. The sessions are also dependent on where I am in the season or if I am still in base/winter training.

Athletics career goals/aspirations?
My short-term goal is to represent Australia at the 2012 London Olympics in 400H. I would like to make the final there. Then win 2014 Commonwealth Games, finals at both 2013, 2015 World Championships and medal at 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. I would like my 400H PB to be under 54.2sec at the end of my career
  
Who is/are your idol(s)/hero(es)?
My parents, Kerry and Neil are amazing because they are so supportive and loving. They have always encouraged me and allowed me to pursue my love of running. My coach, MattyB is an inspiration… he was an amazing 400m Hurdler himself and he is so passionate and dedicated about/to his athletes. Anyone who has overcome adversity is also inspiring to me.
  
Favourite food/drink/indulgence?
With the amount of chocolate I eat I think it has moved from being an indulgence to a regular food! Everything in moderation though. I love fresh fruit, especially mangos and pineapple

Hobbies/passions?
I enjoy relaxing with family and friends in my spare time, watching movies or going shopping. I work at a primary school in before/after school care which is really fun. I love working with the children so perhaps that is a future career, after athletics of course!

Favourite movies/books and why?
I enjoy romcoms (romantic comedies) – bit of a romantic at heart! I also like comedys and action movies. The Notebook is my favourite movie! I enjoy reading crime novels such as Kathy Reichs and Janet Evanovich
  
Favourite travel destination?
I’ve really only travelled with my athletics but Switzerland is definitely the most beautiful country I have been to. The postcards don’t do the Swiss Alps enough justice!