25 City to Surfs

On Sunday I joined 70,000 friends for the annual dash of the lemmings from Sydney to Bondi. It's the biggest "fun run" in Australia, and I must like it because I keep coming back — 25 times and counting.

It was a good day! I joined the A1 starting group 15 minutes before Jana Rawlinson fired the gun, chatting to speedygoose Adam as sporadic second-hand clothing flew over our heads. This year the City to Surf had timing chips, so there was no need to panic about the 40 seconds it took to reach the start.

I found some running room on the left footpath and stayed there until the tunnel. The rest of my race went pretty smoothly — I caught "The Legend", Keith Mayhew running up the Edgecliffe hill. Keith has run all 37 City to Surfs, for the first twenty years they were all faster than 50 minutes! I ran past O'Sullivan Road (5k) in 22:52 and knew I was on for a quicker time than last year's 69:16. The climb up heartbreak hill went well. 47:56 at 10k, then shortly after, the brilliant rush down to the white sands and blue ocean of Bondi Beach. 64:54 on the finish clock gave me 2,484th place.

Thinking back on the race, I'm most pleased about how I felt. The mild day no doubt played a part — 7 to 16°C, but I think the switch to 'phase 2' of Lydiard training made a big difference. I felt an unusual reserve of speed in the legs. I wasn't at my limit the whole way — I hope that's a feeling I can retain for the track season.

Bondi Beach looks great from the air!

Caption Writer

Strewth is one of my many training partners. She claims not to be one of the odd ones — unless you think running through freezing puddles when there is a perfectly dry path around them a sign of oddness. Strewth is handy with the digital camera, and she timed the shutter release on the photo below to perfection.

It shows me "racing" the young girl in the 3000 metres that I wrote about in my last post. I'm making one of my many fruitless attempts to overtake. On the infield is another of my training partners, Kathy. Well, when talking about Kathy, the term "training partner" is not totally accurate. I'm barely quick enough to keep up with her on warm-up runs. She holds the Australian Record in the 3000 metres for females aged 50-54, with 10:42.87.

My analytical eye has spotted one obvious weakness in my running technique — my stride, after months of distance running, is very short and weak. I'm open to caption suggestions for this photo. One friend has already offered "The whole crowd is on their feet"! The winning suggestion will receive the following exclusive prizes: 1. The honour of having your caption used for the photo with a link to your blog; 2. A virtual six-pack of Steve's award-winning Nenmatsu Tripel beer!

Lily du Maurier-Passante, Daughter of France's Secretary of Crepes, is well protected by her bodyguard Laurent Yves St Claire-Monfrere.

[caption by - KK Cookies & Cream]

Comes a Time

I'm tired. I ran in a 3000 metre race at the track this afternoon — finished 11th in 12:19.93. This is a very long way from 11:07. So far away, that I now doubt my ability to run such a time.

Anyway, it was an interesting race. The Speedygeese cheer-squad and odd other friends offered me enthusiastic encouragement from the sidelines. I had a serious (and fun) battle with a young girl over the last 5 laps. Each time I pulled up beside her to overtake, she would surge ahead with youthful impetuousness. I made my last attempt with 200 metres to run — she might have said "see ya later old man" by the way she sprinted off to thrash me by three whole seconds!

Today marks the end of my first week of the hill/speed phase of Lydiard training. It comes after 13 weeks of base training, averaging 95 kilometres (or 9 hours) of aerobic running per week. I decided that 13 weeks was long enough — my aerobic improvement seemed to have reached a plateau.

I've reduced my weekly mileage to around 75 kilometres. This should be enough to maintain aerobic fitness. I've also introduced a "hill run" — a 13.9 kilometre circuit which includes 18 short hills of various gradients. In addition to this, I plan to run two track sessions per week, starting with fairly aerobic, race-paced intervals one day, and shorter 'leg-speed sprints' the other. After a certain number of weeks (not sure exactly) of this, I'll move on to the anaerobic phase of training. Just quietly, I'm looking forward to this part — that lung-burning, leg-dead sensation is a far too distant memory.

City lights make my hill course a great one to run at night

A Bad Hair Day

I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood
I flew to Paradise for a run of gold
I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching for a run of gold
And I'm getting old.

My 10k race at Surfers Paradise didn't go as planned. I finished in 45:15. I was expecting to run 2 minutes faster. My mate Jim had recently run 43:14 at the Canada Day fun run — if I'm on song, I can duke it out with Jim.

So... I couldn't even eke out an M50 PB. The hill in the final kilometre quashed that last-minute idea. On the day, I was simply bad — Anton Chigurh on a bad hair day. That bad.

I'm not sure what went wrong. I raced hard from the start, but I wasn't generating any speed. My first kilometre was 4:14 net — quick enough, but by 5k (22:11), I was behind schedule and just got slower. The encouragement of Em and others lifted my spirits, but not my speed.

I finished dazed and tired — just like in 1995, but also confused. Perhaps I'd caught a bug. From Plu maybe, or Katy? Or CJ, or Strewth? It would be rude to blame friends, so I'll choose our starry-tattooed young waitress from Saturday lunch. She did get rather close when leaning over to place the second round of coffees on the table.

Q1 at Surfers Paradise is the tallest residential building in the world

I should have given the 10k a miss and gone for a surf

A phone self-portrait on the beach at Surfers Paradise

After the Gold Rush

After bragging about our mild winter, the weather took a decidedly cold, wet and windy turn yesterday. Never mind — soon I'll be flying 1000 kilometres north, following the sun to the Gold Coast! This year I'm racing in the 10km event for the first time. Usually I've done the half marathon — chasing a fast time on a flat course. As I'm training for 3000 metre track races this year, I thought the 10k would be far enough.

The photo shows me (yellow singlet) after the finish of the half in 1995, looking a bit dazed and tired. I'd been running with Raewyn Blair (2510) during the race and she out-sprinted me to the finish. Although not a PB, I was fairly happy with the run. I wrote in the diary: "Great result, course PB. 1st k 3:38, last 3:55. Early start was hard, no warm-up. Good conditions, 12°C, light breeze. Training shoes. 83 minutes may have been possible. 5k splits - 19:33, 19:45, 19:54, 20:02".

I'm catching up with some old (and ancient) friends on the weekend — we'll be eating, drinking, being merry, and running. See you all next week!

After running 21.1k, I'm looking a bit dazed and tired

Base, Racing, and Training

Our winter continues to be mild — I run in the afternoons, enjoying distance runner friendly temperatures in the low teens Celsius (around 54°F). I continue to plug away with the Lydiard base phase, guided by Hadd heart-rates. I've just finished my 9th week of 96-ish kilometres (that's 60 miles for my metric-challenged readers). Hardly huge miles, but I'm not a fast runner — if I were, I'd be covering 125 clicks (78 miles) in the same time.

In Hadd for Ancients, my plan was to switch to the next phase of training after six to eight weeks of base. Now I'm not so sure. I feel there's still some improvement to come from running slowly. I've been fairly good at sticking with my plan of including upper aerobic runs and occasional short sprints during the base phase in order to keep the fast-twitch muscle fibres "awake".

Some of these upper aerobic runs have been races. Now; this has been interesting! I wasn't expecting age-PBs in these events, so it's been surprising to have more good races than bad:

17 May - 5k road in 21:46. Good, although well behind my rival Jim.
25 May - 1500m track in 5:38.49. Good, an M50 PB.
7 June - Stromlo 5k cc in 21:04. Good, very close to Jim.
15 June - 3000m track in 12:24.39. Bad, a parabola of slowing laps.
21 June - Stromlo 12k cross country in 54:14. Good, ahead of Jim!
6 July - Gold Coast 10k. See you there!

I've also completed my first 'Evaluation Run' — made famous by Mystery Coach. I'll do these in lieu of the Hadd 2400m test due to the simplicity. My method for the Evaluation Run is to run a 2.5k warm-up, followed by some light drills and strides. Then I run 2 laps in lane 6 at Calwell (a 400m grass track) to gradually raise the heart-rate up to 83% of maximum (138 for me). I then hold a steady HR of 138 for a further 20 laps of lane 6, recording splits for each 4 laps. If my aerobic condition improves over the next few weeks, I should run faster at the same heart-rate. Results for 17 June:

Times for 5 x 1748 metres @ AHR 138
17 June
	Time (pace/km)	AHR
1	8:51 (5:04)	137
2	8:59 (5:08)	138
3	9:05 (5:12)	137
4	9:02 (5:10)	138
5	9:01 (5:09)	138
TOTAL	44:58 (5:09)	138

4 kilometres from home on my Rose Cottage Inn course

Ewen and the Real Susan

I've been memed by Susan! "Who's Susan?" I hear my millions of readers asking. Well, she's an all-real skateboard punk rocker from the second largest state in the union — Texas!

On my next visit up-over, I'd like to go for a run with Susan. Then I'd be able to call her my running mate (a description Barack will never use for Hillary). I'd also have a beer with Susan (whilst she sipped Aussie wine), and sing this song (in the key of Scott Brown) — adding a verse for Susan, meaning I'd need a word that rhymes with "Suze". I'm supposed to spread the meme by tagging five friends. Susan, I was always hopelessly slow at playing tag — and I haven't got five friends! These days the only runner I can catch is Strewth, so I'll tag her. If you're a reader who thinks I can catch you, consider yourself tagged. Now for the Q and A section:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
I was running less, but I was faster. Sad, but true. In 1998 I ran 40k per week, but youth was (lingering) on my side. I ran a 10k fun run with one of the girls from Calwell in 41:09. I was lucky enough to run in Oregon — what a spectacularly beautiful part of the world! I also dabbled in triathlons. I was a useless triathlete due to my brick-like swimming.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?
The best was in 1991 — breaking 11 minutes for the 3000m Steeplechase (10:51.3), when seven years earlier I honestly thought a time that fast was impossible. Oh, and not falling over, like poor Harry. The worst would be clobbering my knee against a steeplechase hurdle and hitting the deck, which put me out of action for three weeks.

3. Why do you run?
It's fun! Oh, and the friendships one makes (that includes you)! One friend (and rival) is Jim. That's him in the photo below — running with childlike abandon, racing a girl whose older sister has run for Australia. He always races "all-out", so a victory against Jim is well earned.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
The best was: "Find a good coach, race short distances and train on a grass track".

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
I'm very unsurprising. Sorry, that's something you all know. Very well — I placed 2nd in the Moth Class in the 1972-73 Riverina Sailing Championships.

Jim sprints with childlike abandon to the finish of a cross country race

Childlike abandon

I've been waiting to tell you about a race that happened two Sundays ago. It was an amazing race. 1500 metres on the track. Even my up-over readers would know how far that is — the metric mile. One-and-a-half kilometres.

The race was one event in the first of the High Noon meetings to be held at the AIS track over winter. It was an "all-comers" meeting. The weather was all-perfect — 16°C (61°F), sunny, just the occasional zephyr ruffling the windsock near the long jump runway.

A field of 23 runners and 2 race-walkers crowded the curved starting line. Our ages ranged from under 10 to 60; boys and girls, all anticipating the excitement and tactics that 1500 metre racing provides. At the crack of the gun we charged off, aiming for the same bit of Mondo 100 metres away. I thought I'd started with blinding speed, but looked around after 50 metres and thought 'wow, I'm last!'. Why couldn't I run with childlike abandon? Why was my central governor set permanently in slow motion? It didn't matter. I was racing. I was having fun!

Around the top curve and some of the littlies started to slow. I picked my way around them — at times contemplating testing my steeplechase hurdle technique. Speedygeoff was just ahead, but he pulled inexorably away. The Seiko showed 1:04 at 300 metres. I didn't get any other splits — I just chased the one other person in the race who was on the ancient side of thirty and within reach. I caught him with a lap to go, then increased the pressure trying to bridge the gap to Emi. Youth prevailed by 3 seconds. I finished 13th — incredibly pleased (and surprised) with my time — 5:38.49. This was an M50 PB, but what gives me hope for the future is that it was "out of the blue" and run off endurance training. When I introduce interval training, theory has it that I should become faster.

For the record, the 15-year-old winner of the race ran 4:11. The first in a line of talented girls ran 4:52. My 5:38 is apparently equivalent to 4:56 for a 33-year-old.

Calm conditions are good for racing — as we have here on Lake Burley Griffin in this view of the National Library from the National Museum

Where am I?

Last Saturday I ran in a 5k race on the scenic bike-paths adjacent to Lake Burley Griffin. My time was 21:46. I had a good race, even if the weather was less than desirable. A chilling westerly, which I'd have been rapturous about in my old sailing days, turned my final 2k into a Michael Jacksonesque moon-walk.

I've been pondering where this result leaves a naturally ponderous athlete when it comes to a lofty goal of running 11:07 for 3000 metres. My 5k was 48 seconds faster than for the same race last year. A mere 3.5% improvement. Am I optimistic in believing I'll be 3.5% faster when the summer T&F season rolls around in October? If I can be this much speedier I'd be rewarded with an 11:33 — leaving me lactate-legged and panting, over 100 metres behind the runner who's face expresses the immediate relaxation of sheer relief upon looking left at the Seiko and seeing 11:07 click over.

I'm in for a long hard winter. As I train through wind-swept afternoons, I'll take great inspiration from a movie not yet in production. "Far out in Fargo" is the story of an ice-encrusted runner who staggers in from the frozen plains of North Dakota, slashes 6 minutes from his PB to win a famous marathon in 2hrs 30mins 34secs — in doing so, he leaves a highly ranked Kenyan sitting in the gutter, dumbfounded and head-shaking in disbelief.

Lake Burley Griffin sunset from near the Carillon. I like the coolness of this photo and the mystery of the unknown runner.

Thinking of Kate

Last Sunday I went on a day trip to Albury. My mate Jim was driving — we left Canberra at 3am! The purpose of our foolishness was to do the Nail Can Hill Run. I ran this race last year; and the year before that. It's becoming a habit. I'm not sure why. Nail Can is an 11.3km race with a thumping big hill! I'm no mountain goat. Give me the flatness of a 400 metre Mondo track any day.

It was foggy and cold as I shivered with a record field of 1500-plus starters. I carried my trusty Sony phone camera, thinking I'd take some photos to show you what you're missing. As I raced towards "the hill", I thought of two Kates. One Kate we've nicknamed KFC — after her initials. Kate's parents named her before Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC. She's a very talented runner. The other Kate, I first saw on Countdown. I sang a tune of hers in my head as I plodded up "the hill", pausing occasionally to take photos...

Say if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems...

Singing along with Kate worked. As "the hill" flattened out, I started to run, and realised my pace was good. I was having fun running fast, just like KFC used to; so there were no more stops for photos. I raced down to the finish, very pleased to record my best time since 1981 — 56:53. My mate Jim ran 54:11 — watch out next year! One runner I'd loved to have swapped places with is my training partner from Calwell — Kathy was the third female, and broke the 50+ record running 48.34!

A tad brisk before the start. Kathy (in pink) finished third

First part of the hill

Runners appeared out of the fog

It was a long hill!

Nearing the top of the climb

The finish line was a welcome sight