Wednesday 5.00am 11KM roo+lake 44m49
With the mornings getting darker and darker I'm getting to see the roos again on my morning runs. A welcome site.
Not so nice is running through face first through the biggest most sticky Spiders Webs ever!. Once your caught in one of these bastards it's a real struggle to get them off. Yuk Horrible!
Helen Stanton lives locally and is one of Australia's top marathon runners. I often see her out and about along Roo+Lake
28 February 2008
27 February 2008
Joyce Smith
Wedneday 5.00am 6KM Roo 23m52
6.00PM Nudgee Track Session 12 X 300m 100m gog recovery Ave 50.0 secs
finished with a 47.29s
Good fast set! 2K WU 1Mile WD
I was coached for a few years by Joyce's husband Brian (who was also a P.E. teacher at my school).
Joyce was team captain at the Munich Olympics and was a pioneer for woman's marathon running.When Joyce first started out Women were not allowed to run distances over 800m!
She won the first London Marathon(Twice) and held the British record for a long time in the years before Paula. Joyce ran a Marathon best of 2h29m43
Joyce ran in the 1984 LA Olympic Marathon (11th Place). She was also extremely fit into her forties.
In 1978 when I was still regularly training with her, she set a 3000m W40 WORLD RECORD 3000m 9m11 !!! That Still stands today!
At the time I had know idea she'd even broken a record, of course today, I fully appreciate just what a fantastic achievement this is.
She is still very much involved in Club athletics and her former Club (Barnet Ladies) merged with our Club (Shaftesbury Harriers) to form Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.
6.00PM Nudgee Track Session 12 X 300m 100m gog recovery Ave 50.0 secs
finished with a 47.29s
Good fast set! 2K WU 1Mile WD
I was coached for a few years by Joyce's husband Brian (who was also a P.E. teacher at my school).
Joyce was team captain at the Munich Olympics and was a pioneer for woman's marathon running.When Joyce first started out Women were not allowed to run distances over 800m!
She won the first London Marathon(Twice) and held the British record for a long time in the years before Paula. Joyce ran a Marathon best of 2h29m43
Joyce ran in the 1984 LA Olympic Marathon (11th Place). She was also extremely fit into her forties.
In 1978 when I was still regularly training with her, she set a 3000m W40 WORLD RECORD 3000m 9m11 !!! That Still stands today!
At the time I had know idea she'd even broken a record, of course today, I fully appreciate just what a fantastic achievement this is.
She is still very much involved in Club athletics and her former Club (Barnet Ladies) merged with our Club (Shaftesbury Harriers) to form Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.
I found this article which more accurately summarises Joyce's career by Simon Turnbull of the Independent 14th April 2002
Whatever Paula Radcliffe achieves on the road from Blackheath to The Mall this morning, Joyce Smith will always be the first lady of the London Marathon. She was the first woman to complete the very first London Marathon. She crossed the finish line that rain-swept morning in 1981 in 2hr 29min 43sec. It was her fifth British marathon record and the third fastest ever time by a woman in a marathon race. Her reward was a Seiko watch, which stopped ticking long ago.
It will be rather different for Radcliffe today. She will be some pounds 150,000 the richer simply for lining up in the 2002 Flora London Marathon. If she wins, in her first attempt at the marathon distance, the leading lady of the latter day British running scene will earn a further pounds 38,000. Wherever she finishes in the women's race, though, (even if she fails to make it to The Mall) Radcliffe will still have time on her side - if not a prize time- piece on her wrist.
Radcliffe is moving up to the challenge of the marathon at the age of 28. Smith was 43 when she won the inaugural London Marathon. She was 41 when she ran her first marathon. That was at Sandbach in 1979, just 10 miles down the road from the Cheshire village where Radcliffe lived at the time but a far cry from the hullabaloo that has accompanied Radcliffe's entrance into the marathon-running ranks."No, I don't think I would have fancied all the pressure that Paula has been facing," Smith reflected last week as Radcliffe endured her final pre-race grilling under the media spotlight. "Wherever she had gone to run her first marathon the interest would have been high. Taking on London has put even more pressure on but, then, that's what she's earning the money for, isn't it? She's chosen London and I expect that financially she's doing very well out of it." Not that Mrs Smith harbours any bitterness about missing out on the marathon money boat herself. At 64, retired from competitive running for 18 years now, her one regret is that she never got the absolute best out of herself as a marathon runner. "Oh, I was definitely capable of running a better marathon," she said. "Looking back, I'm sure I could have run faster if I'd been able to go to the marathon in my 30s." On a day when interest in women's marathon running hits a new peak in Britain, it seems astonishing to recall that when Smith turned 30 - in October 1967 - there was no such thing as distance running for women. The longest race for women in international competition was 800m. It was another five years before a 1500m for women was added to the Olympic programme and a further 12 years before the first Olympic marathon for women.Smith was a female first-footer in both events, at the Games of 1972 and 1984, though her career as Britain's most remarkable running woman was very nearly cut short by the constraints she faced. Frustrated by the half-mile limit placed upon women's runners at international level, she told Athletics Weekly in 1965 that she intended to continue competing "for two more years at the most" and duly disappeared from the scene in 1968.
She returned a year later, though, as a mother - to Lisa - and as a runner with new horizons opening up ahead of her. Guided by the astute coaching of her husband, Bryan, a former 800m runner with Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, she won the International Cross-Country title and set a world best time for 3,000m (9min 23.4sec) in 1971, reached the semi-finals of the 1500m at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and won a 3,000m bronze medal at the European Championships in Rome in 1974. As she completed her final track season in 1978, the part- time wages clerk from Watford could reflect with pride on her second coming as an athlete; she had won the women's national cross country title in 1959 and collected her first international vest on the track as an 800m runner in 1960. Little did she know she still had her finest hours ahead of her. Turning to the marathon "just to say I had done one", Smith smashed Rosemary Cox's British record by nine minutes in the 1979 Sandbach race, finishing in 2hr 41min 37sec.
Over the course of her five-year marathon career, she broke the British record six times in all, taking it from 2hr 50min 54sec to 2:29:43. She won the first London Marathon and the second, and remains the only British runner with more than one victory in Britain's prestige running race. She also finished 11th in the inaugural Olympic marathon, for women, in Los Angeles in 1984, entering the record books as the oldest female athlete in the history of the Games, ,at the age of 46 years 282 days.
Seven months short of her 65th birthday, the woman whose international athletics career spanned a remarkable 24 years still runs - but purely for recreation, with her second daughter, Lia. She is also heavily involved in the running world with her husband. Both are trustees of the London Marathon and Bryan is a member of the board of directors. He will be on the course today organising the mini-marathon for youngsters that could well unearth potential maxi- marathon stars of the future. Joyce will be in the grandstand at the finish, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the woman who has long been regarded as the future of British marathon running.
It will be rather different for Radcliffe today. She will be some pounds 150,000 the richer simply for lining up in the 2002 Flora London Marathon. If she wins, in her first attempt at the marathon distance, the leading lady of the latter day British running scene will earn a further pounds 38,000. Wherever she finishes in the women's race, though, (even if she fails to make it to The Mall) Radcliffe will still have time on her side - if not a prize time- piece on her wrist.
Radcliffe is moving up to the challenge of the marathon at the age of 28. Smith was 43 when she won the inaugural London Marathon. She was 41 when she ran her first marathon. That was at Sandbach in 1979, just 10 miles down the road from the Cheshire village where Radcliffe lived at the time but a far cry from the hullabaloo that has accompanied Radcliffe's entrance into the marathon-running ranks."No, I don't think I would have fancied all the pressure that Paula has been facing," Smith reflected last week as Radcliffe endured her final pre-race grilling under the media spotlight. "Wherever she had gone to run her first marathon the interest would have been high. Taking on London has put even more pressure on but, then, that's what she's earning the money for, isn't it? She's chosen London and I expect that financially she's doing very well out of it." Not that Mrs Smith harbours any bitterness about missing out on the marathon money boat herself. At 64, retired from competitive running for 18 years now, her one regret is that she never got the absolute best out of herself as a marathon runner. "Oh, I was definitely capable of running a better marathon," she said. "Looking back, I'm sure I could have run faster if I'd been able to go to the marathon in my 30s." On a day when interest in women's marathon running hits a new peak in Britain, it seems astonishing to recall that when Smith turned 30 - in October 1967 - there was no such thing as distance running for women. The longest race for women in international competition was 800m. It was another five years before a 1500m for women was added to the Olympic programme and a further 12 years before the first Olympic marathon for women.Smith was a female first-footer in both events, at the Games of 1972 and 1984, though her career as Britain's most remarkable running woman was very nearly cut short by the constraints she faced. Frustrated by the half-mile limit placed upon women's runners at international level, she told Athletics Weekly in 1965 that she intended to continue competing "for two more years at the most" and duly disappeared from the scene in 1968.
She returned a year later, though, as a mother - to Lisa - and as a runner with new horizons opening up ahead of her. Guided by the astute coaching of her husband, Bryan, a former 800m runner with Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, she won the International Cross-Country title and set a world best time for 3,000m (9min 23.4sec) in 1971, reached the semi-finals of the 1500m at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and won a 3,000m bronze medal at the European Championships in Rome in 1974. As she completed her final track season in 1978, the part- time wages clerk from Watford could reflect with pride on her second coming as an athlete; she had won the women's national cross country title in 1959 and collected her first international vest on the track as an 800m runner in 1960. Little did she know she still had her finest hours ahead of her. Turning to the marathon "just to say I had done one", Smith smashed Rosemary Cox's British record by nine minutes in the 1979 Sandbach race, finishing in 2hr 41min 37sec.
Over the course of her five-year marathon career, she broke the British record six times in all, taking it from 2hr 50min 54sec to 2:29:43. She won the first London Marathon and the second, and remains the only British runner with more than one victory in Britain's prestige running race. She also finished 11th in the inaugural Olympic marathon, for women, in Los Angeles in 1984, entering the record books as the oldest female athlete in the history of the Games, ,at the age of 46 years 282 days.
Seven months short of her 65th birthday, the woman whose international athletics career spanned a remarkable 24 years still runs - but purely for recreation, with her second daughter, Lia. She is also heavily involved in the running world with her husband. Both are trustees of the London Marathon and Bryan is a member of the board of directors. He will be on the course today organising the mini-marathon for youngsters that could well unearth potential maxi- marathon stars of the future. Joyce will be in the grandstand at the finish, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the woman who has long been regarded as the future of British marathon running.
26 February 2008
Christina Boxer (Cahill)
1990 WINNING SILVER IN THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES 1500M (2/2/90)31st July 1971 as a 14 year old.
Tuesday 5.00am 11KM Roo+Lake 43m51
I didn't feel like running a track session tonight so got in a steady run this morning, may run track tomorrow instead.
Christina Boxer yet another Loughborough Superstar it was my pleasure to run with at Loughborough. More of an 800m 'speedster' than Wendy .
Her P.B.'s were ;
1.59;05 - 800m
2.34;92 - 1000m
4.00;57 - 1500m
5.33.85 - 2000m
8.49.89 - 3000m
She was a THREE time Olympian (Moscow/LA/Seoul).
I didn't feel like running a track session tonight so got in a steady run this morning, may run track tomorrow instead.
Christina Boxer yet another Loughborough Superstar it was my pleasure to run with at Loughborough. More of an 800m 'speedster' than Wendy .
Her P.B.'s were ;
1.59;05 - 800m
2.34;92 - 1000m
4.00;57 - 1500m
5.33.85 - 2000m
8.49.89 - 3000m
She was a THREE time Olympian (Moscow/LA/Seoul).
Chris is still in the sport working as a BBC commentator - normally interviewing athletes as they come off the track. She is also coaching athletes ( including a 17 year old girl to a sub 2m00 800m!)
25 February 2008
Wendy Sly
Monday 5.00am 11KM Roo+Lake 45m16
VERY HUMID and I was feeling pretty tired!
VERY HUMID and I was feeling pretty tired!
Was I fortunate to go to Loughborough during the Golden Years of British Distance running!
If we saw Wendy out on a run, be it The Beacon or in the woods (Bluebell Wood), it was enough to make you change course /follow / run with / in order to spend time with the Loughborough Pin Up girl! We loved her. Unfortunately she was already 'with' renowned middle distance runner Chris Sly. Wendy won a Silver Medal at the LA Olympics (where Decker/Slaney fell!). She was beaten by Puica of Romania so, in effect, she WON the GOLD MEDAL! 8m39 (Bloody Hell!).
Here is a storey I found about her whilst searching for the photo above.
Sly survives brain surgery with old fighting spirit
By Sebastian CoeLast Updated: 8:23pm BST 02/05/2004
I handed my mobile phone to Daley Thompson, who was sitting next to me at the warm-up track beside the Olympic stadium in Sydney. We were at February's Australian Olympic trials, and I was not sure what to make of the text message I had received.
He read it and handed the phone back to me. "Guess I had better call her," I said. He nodded. Wendy Sly answered immediately and I could think only of asking whether she was all right. "Well, I am now," she chirpily answered, as though recovering in New York from brain surgery, as the text message had read, was akin to taking the day off because she was feeling a little off colour. But then again Sly, one of the best middle and long-distance runners to have represented Great Britain, has always been one for understatement.
Sly, who won a silver medal in the 3,000 metres at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, had become a statistic one evening at a leafy Surrey railway station - and on this occasion not one with time or distance attached. She was sent crashing to the ground as she successfully attempted to prevent a mugger from making off with her briefcase. "I knew he was young," she said of her assailant, "he didn't run like an adult. You know, he was all knees and elbows." Only a runner would have observed the footfall and the alignment of knee and hip as they were on their way to suffering a brain haemorrhage.
advertisementDischarged from her local hospital with stitches in her head and a drum-full of painkillers, she returned to work the following day to prepare a presentation for a meeting in New York. "You're OK to travel," she was assured by another doctor.
Sly was not so sure. "I was up to my eyes in Advil and had ringing in my ears and no peripheral vision in my left eye, which was the only one I could see out of. I knew it just wasn't right," she said.
Sly arrived in New York and halfway through her meeting decided she could no longer soldier on with the violent headaches she had suffered since the mugging. After a CT scan at the nearest hospital, she set off back to the meeting only to be restrained by two doctors doing a passable impersonation of Carl Lewis along the hospital corridor. "You can't leave, you've got a blood clot 5cm in diameter," they yelled. Ten minutes later she was in the emergency room on a drip; 36 hours later, after exhaustive tests, she was having brain surgery.
She was lucky. The flight and change of air pressure could have killed her two days earlier. Yet she returned home a couple of weeks after the successful surgery and was back running not long after that. "I still get quite tired and I'm getting back to the office slowly and tend to work from home," she said. "The first time I went back to my gym I got a standing ovation as I walked in, which was nice of them."
There will be a few of my contemporaries at Loughborough University who will not be remotely surprised by her resilience and determination, and one seasoned international in particular, who in the ninth mile of a breakneck training run was asked by her whether he was feeling OK as she eased away from him to complete the session.
Sly's two fifth places in the World Athletics Championships in 1983, in 1500m and 3,000m races won by Mary Decker, were performances of the highest quality. These were distances ostensibly dominated by the old Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. A year later Decker was to play a prominent but prostrate role in Sly's finest moment, when a mid-race collision between the American athlete and Britain's Zola Budd left Decker lying on the track clutching her hip and making a noise familiar to every kindergarten teacher. Sly, unruffled by the histrionics, got the silver behind Romania's Maricica Puica.
Before she was detained by those American doctors, Sly rang through to her colleagues in the office. "I can still make the rest of the meeting," she told them. That proved beyond even her, but thanks to the doctors she can still make the rest of her life.
24 February 2008
Alan Guilder
Sunday 10.00am Nudgee, Half Zatopek = 20 X 400m
110m jog recovery Ave 71secs
(finished with a reserved 67)
Mental anguish and torture completing this session (as ever!), you start the session thinking 1 down 19 to go! 2 down 18 to go (1/10th completed) and so on.
To keep plugging away at 71's between ten and fifteen is really tough but when you get to fifteen down your on the home stretch and you know you can complete it.
Rather hot again today but not quite the 40 O we had yesterday just a sapping 30 O today!
Stayed up to watch Arsenal last night . Eduardo suffered a really terrible broken leg, so gruesome that they wouldn't show replays on TV. We went one down to Birmingham,(away) but came back to 2-1 up then conceded a penalty in the third minute of extra time - quite unbearable to watch. Gap over Manu in the Prem now down to 3 points!
23 February 2008
Mat Phillips
Saturday 8.00am SAF Nathan
State Masters 5000m Championship
1st Place 15m58
It was always going to be hard to force myself to run hard in STINKING HOT conditions backing up after 3K last night and 3 PINTS of VB!
I thought I started conservatively but still managed to go through a K in 3m02, by 3K I was really feeling the heat and questioning my sanity! Why was I making myself do this? It was madness the heat was just savage! I even resorted to grabbing a drink of water on my way round but had the normal convulsion trying to gulp it!
3K was 9m30 and my goal at this point was to see if I could hang on for a sub 16min.
I managed a small kick over the last hundred to creep in under 16 but was delirious by the finish.
I sought shade and shed buckets!
I had to get home immediately to look after the kids as Natalie is working today , so no warm down and was driving home within 15mins of finishing the race. Got home at 9.15am and the temp was 30 0 C!
Supposed to get up to 36 0 today.
It got up to 40 o C Today!!!!
Little wonder with all the sweating I've been doing that I'm weighing in at a skinny 63KG@!
Tony Sunderland
Thursday - Restday
Friday - 6.00pm -Pat Carroll Brisbane Running Clubs Challenge - The City
3K Road 2nd 9m38
The race Venue got shifted at the last minute due to a concert taking place at the original venue The Botanical Gardens. A really hot and humid day in Brisbane with the Temps getting up to 32 0 C and the humidity levels sky high! We were fortunate the sun was just going down and so some of the real bite of the sun was going. The course was run along the footpath to the side of the river partly under the freeway.
A crowded start but was able to find space and opened up quite comfortably taking a lead from a field of aprox 200 runners. After aprox 400/600m Aidan Hobbs , who had beaten me in the same race last year came along side and then nudged into a lead.
The question I ask myself is how comfortable do I want to be when I'm racing? Normally the answer is I want to be comfortable and not too hurt myself too much! Quite understandable! maybe the times when we really do go for it and run into the uncomfort zone is when we know we have really given absolutely everything and are truly running to the very best of our abilities.
Friday - 6.00pm -Pat Carroll Brisbane Running Clubs Challenge - The City
3K Road 2nd 9m38
The race Venue got shifted at the last minute due to a concert taking place at the original venue The Botanical Gardens. A really hot and humid day in Brisbane with the Temps getting up to 32 0 C and the humidity levels sky high! We were fortunate the sun was just going down and so some of the real bite of the sun was going. The course was run along the footpath to the side of the river partly under the freeway.
A crowded start but was able to find space and opened up quite comfortably taking a lead from a field of aprox 200 runners. After aprox 400/600m Aidan Hobbs , who had beaten me in the same race last year came along side and then nudged into a lead.
The question I ask myself is how comfortable do I want to be when I'm racing? Normally the answer is I want to be comfortable and not too hurt myself too much! Quite understandable! maybe the times when we really do go for it and run into the uncomfort zone is when we know we have really given absolutely everything and are truly running to the very best of our abilities.
I saw the poster above and thought about my racing and my comments above! I can truely say that I just about give every race everything I've got, its about searching for that EXTRA bit that gives me satisfaction when I think thats what I've done.Tonight was not a night for heroics for me and I let the elastic between Aidan and myself well and truly snap as he pulled away to a comfortable win (10sec?). There is no disgrace in being beaten by someone of Aidan's pedigree. We turned around at a point that my watch read 3m40 and I was thinking surely this is too early? but not appreciating that we were going to be running back the way we came plus an extra section that we'd jogged out to the start. I would normally enjoy the experience of running back on myself in a race to see how other team mates are doing shout encouragement and get a feeling for where the others are in respect of yourself race wise.
Today was not quite as much fun as it was a narrow pathway and there were lots of fast moving cyclists going in both directions. So I didn't really take in how anyone else was doing! Didn't even see third place. Running wise I think I ran faster on the way back really opening up after the turn but not to the point that I was ever going to catch Aidan.The race was really a fun run come get together and I wasn't exactly sure where the finish line was but stopped my watch where I picked up the place card. I'm sure the course was slightly long! It was great to meet up with lots of runners after. Andy C.and Patrick H. who were in our Masters 4 x 1500m team that set an Australian record M45 last year, the original Blog Miester Matty Phillips, and of course to have a beer or three after with Geoff, Errol and Kenty.
True to form Kenty missed the start of the race but still did the Honourable thing by running through the field and finishing a creditable 55th to help the team out. As ever on these occasions we runners owe a great deal to Pat and his helpers for putting on another great day.
Today was not quite as much fun as it was a narrow pathway and there were lots of fast moving cyclists going in both directions. So I didn't really take in how anyone else was doing! Didn't even see third place. Running wise I think I ran faster on the way back really opening up after the turn but not to the point that I was ever going to catch Aidan.The race was really a fun run come get together and I wasn't exactly sure where the finish line was but stopped my watch where I picked up the place card. I'm sure the course was slightly long! It was great to meet up with lots of runners after. Andy C.and Patrick H. who were in our Masters 4 x 1500m team that set an Australian record M45 last year, the original Blog Miester Matty Phillips, and of course to have a beer or three after with Geoff, Errol and Kenty.
True to form Kenty missed the start of the race but still did the Honourable thing by running through the field and finishing a creditable 55th to help the team out. As ever on these occasions we runners owe a great deal to Pat and his helpers for putting on another great day.
20 February 2008
19 February 2008
Mike Puddifoot
Tuesday 5.30pm Nathan Road Kippa Ring 4 X 1000m Jog back recovery
3m03, 3m00, 2m55, 2m49
A good solid session. I was amazed at how quickly I was recovering from each interval. It seemed like I'd run the interval, pushing as hard as I could, specially the last two, and within
moments of finishing these really hard efforts I'd be back to steady breathing and feeling as if the effort wasnt that hard on me. Dont get me wrong , for me to run a K in 2m49 takes a huge effort, serious concentration and a commitment to push as hard as I can and then push again and all the time trying to maintain momentum pushing the effort through the legs and keeping the upper body relaxed and free from strain! 2K W.U. and 1K W.D.
I'd watched this Ryan Hall video last night. This is impressive. He is so tall!
www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e593f8eba239bada1a0c
3m03, 3m00, 2m55, 2m49
A good solid session. I was amazed at how quickly I was recovering from each interval. It seemed like I'd run the interval, pushing as hard as I could, specially the last two, and within
moments of finishing these really hard efforts I'd be back to steady breathing and feeling as if the effort wasnt that hard on me. Dont get me wrong , for me to run a K in 2m49 takes a huge effort, serious concentration and a commitment to push as hard as I can and then push again and all the time trying to maintain momentum pushing the effort through the legs and keeping the upper body relaxed and free from strain! 2K W.U. and 1K W.D.
I'd watched this Ryan Hall video last night. This is impressive. He is so tall!
www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e593f8eba239bada1a0c
18 February 2008
Martin Ford
Monday 5.00am 43m42s 11KM Roo+Lake
Here is my first ever attempt to map Roo+Lake.
I lost 500m somewhere but I'm sure when I try it again, if I bring the map scale down to a level where I'm able to see the bendy pathways around here it will make a difference. It's not quite Sydney harbour but it is attractive enough a course for me to repeat it so regularly and of course it is convenient!
Here is my first ever attempt to map Roo+Lake.
I lost 500m somewhere but I'm sure when I try it again, if I bring the map scale down to a level where I'm able to see the bendy pathways around here it will make a difference. It's not quite Sydney harbour but it is attractive enough a course for me to repeat it so regularly and of course it is convenient!
17 February 2008
Gary Donnelan
Sunday 4.00pm 40m00 11KM Roo+Lake 4th Fastest Ever!
I flew around the course today which was a bit of a surprise considering the nearly half Zatopek (20 X 300m) yesterday! As ever , an afternoon run means my body is limber and straight into it , without the need to warm up over the first few K's.
Suspect I shall be stiff in the morning, ahh well, thats the price I must pay.....
Manu thumped Arsenal in the FA Cup, much as I suspected at Old Trafford. Much more important game on Wednesday - Champions League V A.C.Milan !
I flew around the course today which was a bit of a surprise considering the nearly half Zatopek (20 X 300m) yesterday! As ever , an afternoon run means my body is limber and straight into it , without the need to warm up over the first few K's.
Suspect I shall be stiff in the morning, ahh well, thats the price I must pay.....
Manu thumped Arsenal in the FA Cup, much as I suspected at Old Trafford. Much more important game on Wednesday - Champions League V A.C.Milan !
16 February 2008
Jay Twist
Saturday 3.00pm Nudgee A kind of Half Zatopek
20 X 300m 100m jog recovery,
Ave 51secs - (finished with a cautious 48sec)
These sessions are enormous! total commitment, intense concentration, complete giving and draining of resources.
Very windy day today so tried to aim the 300m to avoid the wind but still felt it in the first 50m and last 50m of each interval though would have benefited from it for the 200m! Turned out hot even though had just had another shower (sunny Brizzey indeed! Still, Mackay copped an incredable 624mm in just 10 hours yesterday! thats two feet of water!! 2000 homes got flooded! Well thats living in the tropics for you)
20 X 300m 100m jog recovery,
Ave 51secs - (finished with a cautious 48sec)
These sessions are enormous! total commitment, intense concentration, complete giving and draining of resources.
Very windy day today so tried to aim the 300m to avoid the wind but still felt it in the first 50m and last 50m of each interval though would have benefited from it for the 200m! Turned out hot even though had just had another shower (sunny Brizzey indeed! Still, Mackay copped an incredable 624mm in just 10 hours yesterday! thats two feet of water!! 2000 homes got flooded! Well thats living in the tropics for you)
Simon Hannaford
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Friday 8.15pm SAF Nathan (QE11 Track) 1500m 1st 4m20.3
This was an invitation race held in conjunction with the State U18 and U20 Titles.
I found out when I arrived at the track that this race was put on at the request of Gerrard Gossens who is a blind runner. He was attempting to gain a qualifying time to qualify for the Olympics in Bejing! His goal was 4m22.
My goal was to improve on my modern day best of 4m 18. Gerrard had set up a number of friends to run 'with' him as well as his guide Dennis Fitzgerald. Gerrard is able to feed of the sound of having other runners around him. So I felt like a bit of an interloper in this race! My initial plan was to run steady over the first 800m and then really try to push from the third lap and bring it home on the fourth.
I led from the gun, past 300m in 51, past 700m in 2m00, and cant remember the times beyond that! The strangest thing about the race was having the lads behind me calling out time and distances for Gerrard and shouting encouragement. He was very close to me and I thought he was going to move through and overtake so I was looking around trying to determin if I needed to move out into the second lane to let Gerrard and Dennis through, however, the head of their phalanx (?) was Aidan Hobbs and Jared Huaschildt and they werent quite close enough . I clocked 4m 19 but of course you always get the electronic timing seeming to add a half second and so my official time was a somewhat disappointing 4m 20.32 .
This was an invitation race held in conjunction with the State U18 and U20 Titles.
I found out when I arrived at the track that this race was put on at the request of Gerrard Gossens who is a blind runner. He was attempting to gain a qualifying time to qualify for the Olympics in Bejing! His goal was 4m22.
My goal was to improve on my modern day best of 4m 18. Gerrard had set up a number of friends to run 'with' him as well as his guide Dennis Fitzgerald. Gerrard is able to feed of the sound of having other runners around him. So I felt like a bit of an interloper in this race! My initial plan was to run steady over the first 800m and then really try to push from the third lap and bring it home on the fourth.
I led from the gun, past 300m in 51, past 700m in 2m00, and cant remember the times beyond that! The strangest thing about the race was having the lads behind me calling out time and distances for Gerrard and shouting encouragement. He was very close to me and I thought he was going to move through and overtake so I was looking around trying to determin if I needed to move out into the second lane to let Gerrard and Dennis through, however, the head of their phalanx (?) was Aidan Hobbs and Jared Huaschildt and they werent quite close enough . I clocked 4m 19 but of course you always get the electronic timing seeming to add a half second and so my official time was a somewhat disappointing 4m 20.32 .
Gerrard ran a two second PB (4m22) to qualify for the Olympics! how good is that!. My plan to run steady first 800m didnt work out. I still felt as if I tied up on the last lap and though I might have gained a couple of seconds on my third lap I think I lost 5 or 6 seconds by not blasting it from the start. I have good speed endurance but I probably dont have the basic speed to really pull things back on laps three and four after slow first two. How else can I manage to run two back to back 4m28's = 8m56 !
Dennis told me he has been fitted out for Olympic 'Suit 'etc fantastic heh?
14 February 2008
David Beaver
Weds. 5.00am 11KM Roo+ Lake 43m15
Thurs. 5.00am 11KM Roo + Lake 45m14
Found it tough this morning, my right knee has been anissue for at least a year but I manage to accommodate it. Normally it siezes up after a run and it takes a while to warm it up when I start out before it eases up and allows me pain free running.
However, increasingly I feel it might be deteriorating and I shall have to get it seen to.
Hadn't really planned to do any running racing till Pat Carroll's Club 3 KM Team Challenge on Friday 22nd however I've just noticed that QA are having an open 1500m late on Friday at UQ and maybe that might be worthwhile tagging along to?
Thurs. 5.00am 11KM Roo + Lake 45m14
Found it tough this morning, my right knee has been anissue for at least a year but I manage to accommodate it. Normally it siezes up after a run and it takes a while to warm it up when I start out before it eases up and allows me pain free running.
However, increasingly I feel it might be deteriorating and I shall have to get it seen to.
Hadn't really planned to do any running racing till Pat Carroll's Club 3 KM Team Challenge on Friday 22nd however I've just noticed that QA are having an open 1500m late on Friday at UQ and maybe that might be worthwhile tagging along to?
12 February 2008
Jamie Harrison
Tuesday 6.00pm Nudgee 14 X 300m - 100m jog recovery Ave 51 secs (finished 48.29)
Completed in teeming rain , the track was holding the water in the inside lane and I was wet through after 400m of my 2K warm up!
I dispensed with my saturated top after 7 intervals and felt good even carrying the extra water in my shoes socks and shorts.
A good set, 51's is like running 68's / 69's for 400m so I'm impressed with that sort of effort.
The recovery 100m is over quickly as you slow down from your interval and you speed up to hit the line flying.
Nearly forgot to mention Arsenal beat Blackburn this morning to go 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League!
Completed in teeming rain , the track was holding the water in the inside lane and I was wet through after 400m of my 2K warm up!
I dispensed with my saturated top after 7 intervals and felt good even carrying the extra water in my shoes socks and shorts.
A good set, 51's is like running 68's / 69's for 400m so I'm impressed with that sort of effort.
The recovery 100m is over quickly as you slow down from your interval and you speed up to hit the line flying.
Nearly forgot to mention Arsenal beat Blackburn this morning to go 5 points clear at the top of the Premier League!
11 February 2008
Phil Klien
Monday 5.00am 11 KM Roo+Lake 44m51 (4m01 'KM)
It is now dark when I get up at 5.00am and some of the warmth of the day before has dissipated and it might even be regarded as nearly 'fresh' @ 21 0 C !
The big question I ask myself now is 'do I need my Sunnies?' Now, the answer is probably not. However, before I hit the road I seem to be loaded up with 'extra' gear! = Watch, ipod worn in arm band, tissue to prevent sweat in ipod, headband plus all the other running gear. Running can be such a simple sport, its a shame that I feel the need to load myself up with all these extras.
Felt tired today but only to be expected considering two sessions yesterday and bloody fast run on Sat!
Man City beat ManU last night and Chelsea Drew with Liverpool - You Beauty!
It is now dark when I get up at 5.00am and some of the warmth of the day before has dissipated and it might even be regarded as nearly 'fresh' @ 21 0 C !
The big question I ask myself now is 'do I need my Sunnies?' Now, the answer is probably not. However, before I hit the road I seem to be loaded up with 'extra' gear! = Watch, ipod worn in arm band, tissue to prevent sweat in ipod, headband plus all the other running gear. Running can be such a simple sport, its a shame that I feel the need to load myself up with all these extras.
Felt tired today but only to be expected considering two sessions yesterday and bloody fast run on Sat!
Man City beat ManU last night and Chelsea Drew with Liverpool - You Beauty!
10 February 2008
Aidan Hobbs
Sunday 5.00am Nudgee 6 X 1000m 200m walk/jog recovery
First two = 3m00 and 3m03 estimate the rest between 3m05 to 3m10
Sunday 5.00pm 6KM Roo 21m57
During the a.m. session I decided not to time the K's after the first two as I wanted to finish the set and needed to make it within a certain degree of achievable comfort zone running. It is so hard for me to get moving in the early mornings I needed to blank out the harshest of task masters - the stop watch!
Right Here Right Now you should be able to hear Fat Boy Slim - 'Right Here Right Now', they used to play it at Highbury right before the players came out of the tunnel, it was on a loop that got louder and more dramatic just as they were coming onto the pitch. I have no idea if the tradition continued at the Emirates - Does anyone Know? Can any non Gooners recognise The famous Four Gooners I have now posted permanently above my Seasons Bests?
First two = 3m00 and 3m03 estimate the rest between 3m05 to 3m10
Sunday 5.00pm 6KM Roo 21m57
During the a.m. session I decided not to time the K's after the first two as I wanted to finish the set and needed to make it within a certain degree of achievable comfort zone running. It is so hard for me to get moving in the early mornings I needed to blank out the harshest of task masters - the stop watch!
Right Here Right Now you should be able to hear Fat Boy Slim - 'Right Here Right Now', they used to play it at Highbury right before the players came out of the tunnel, it was on a loop that got louder and more dramatic just as they were coming onto the pitch. I have no idea if the tradition continued at the Emirates - Does anyone Know? Can any non Gooners recognise The famous Four Gooners I have now posted permanently above my Seasons Bests?
09 February 2008
Ryan Isaac
7.00pm Saturday 10KM 36m50 (3m40 KM) Redcliffe coastal path to Scarborough
Towards the end of this run I was simply flat out as fast as I could run, certain amount of people dodging and I sometimes wonder how close I come to crashing into people that are not walking along with care or attention and of course children who can go in any direction at any moment!
This run confirms I'm still in good shape if ever I doubted it!
Towards the end of this run I was simply flat out as fast as I could run, certain amount of people dodging and I sometimes wonder how close I come to crashing into people that are not walking along with care or attention and of course children who can go in any direction at any moment!
This run confirms I'm still in good shape if ever I doubted it!
08 February 2008
Jared Hauschildt
Friday 5.00am 11KM Roo+ lake 41m41s (3m47 KM's)Another hard run with real venom stuck in over the last 6K's.
These images are from the Bridge to Brisbane 2007. This was perhaps my best performance during the Winter of 2007. I finished in 21st place in 39m07 over a 12K course. I went through a more accurate 10K in 33m06 on route. The joy of this type of race is running against the absolute cream of distance talent in S.E. Queensland and being competitive at the sharp end of the field (OK not at the very pointy end!). During this race I seemed to tow a large group of youngsters around with me - it seemed that I had to bear the brunt of the wind running along Kingsford Smith Drive. Some finished just in front but some I managed to drop. I had set out with the goal of top 20 and Sub 40mins so pretty close to satisfying my target. I had and to a degree still have a 'Frozen Shoulder' whichwas more painful during the Winter than it is now and hence I ran in a long sleeve top to try and keep things warmed up! I made the fateful mistake of getting to the start line in the early morning twilight without my sunnies! I dont like running without them and as you can see by the time the race started the sun was up. I believe some 15 or 16,000 runners finished the race .
07 February 2008
John Athian
Thurs. 5.00am 11KM Roo+Lake 42min48 3m52sec KM's
A good hard run, slight punishment for being slack yesterday, felt OK.
No racing planned for a while. Maybe State Masters 5000m on 23rd Feb.
Would prefer to work on my 1500m time and getting that down to 4m15 or below.
06 February 2008
Ian McKee
Wed 8.00pm Queensland State Open 5000m Champs U.Q. St. Lucia
1st. Darly Crook 15m10.47
2nd. Adam Carlton 15m12.47
3rd. John Athian 15m15.17
4th. Jared Hauschildt 15m16.76
5th. Patrick Nispel 15m17.22
12th David Sweeney 15m42.82
No wind , not hot but we'd had non stop rain for hours beforehand so standing water on the inside lane of the track. Overall good condusive conditions for running.
An OK performance but I guess I expected better. Sometimes the difference between a good performance and an OK one are fairly small. I didnt feel inspired to fight to stay with the bunch I didnt really kick with 800m to go , I didnt really give it my all on the last lap.
Started with 72's, dropped to 74's and got to 76's toward the finish. I think my penultimate lap was a 78! and last lap 74. Not nearly good enough. I guess I'd only have been happy if I could improve on my 15m29 Q'Land Record in this race last year. Went through 3K roughly on track for 15m25 by clocking 9m18, but it wasn't there today. Some of the youngsters ran good times I'll update later. I'm guessing but I probably finished about 12th overall, the race results got split up into U18's, U23's and Open ( I was 5th placed Open finisher but a lot of the youngsters have also beaten me).
Thought I'd brighten up my blog with these colourful shots from the Doomben (NOT) 10,000 last Winter! The first 100 or so runners got turned around too early on the course, not too much of a problem if we then all run the same course but then we ran into the crowds from the earlier to set off Half Mara. I was in 4th place with about 2K to go catching the $100 third place prize but got misdirected again over a longer section of the Half Mara course!
I think I was 7th over the line (1st Master) in a time that didnt mean anything given a place that wasn't right! (three runners passed me that didnt pass me!) The stuff of nightmares! Great course and I'm sure the same mistakes wont be made this year. Anyhow I might run the Half this time!
05 February 2008
Phillip Cunningham
Tuesday 5.00am 6KM Roo 23m 23m59 (3m57 KM's)
Again tried to dodge thunder and lightning!!
I survived so managed that OK but got saturated again.
Brisbane dams capacity are now up to a magnificient 28% from the near disaster level of 18% of a couple of months ago.
Only 6KM today as racing 5000m tomorrow and felt some taper might be in order.
Again tried to dodge thunder and lightning!!
I survived so managed that OK but got saturated again.
Brisbane dams capacity are now up to a magnificient 28% from the near disaster level of 18% of a couple of months ago.
Only 6KM today as racing 5000m tomorrow and felt some taper might be in order.
04 February 2008
Paul Davis-Hale
Monday 5.00am 11KM 47m10
In the Rain with an acheing body!
In the Rain with an acheing body!
The photo above is me running at the Palace as a 13 or 14 year old. Note Gola Hornet spike $4.99 and zero protection. Baggy shorts care of my oldest brother, and London Irish vest. Race sponsored by Dynamo a pre cursor to Gatorade. Great hair skinny skinny boy! Nice relaxed hands (finish!) where did all the tension come from ??(Life?) Eyes down or closed = praying for the line!
03 February 2008
Eddie Herridge
Midday Nudgee 14 X 300m 100m Jog recovery Ave 51 Secs ( finished 47secs)
A tough intensive session in opressive humidity. Good session bodes well.
Stayed up to watch Arsenal beat Man City 3 -1 (away) , other results went our way Spurs held Utd to a draw - but typical them , leading 1 -0 they capitulate 3 minutes into extra time!! Also Chelsea got held to a draw at Portsmouth. Arsenal now lead the Premiership by two points - about 14 games to go.
A tough intensive session in opressive humidity. Good session bodes well.
Stayed up to watch Arsenal beat Man City 3 -1 (away) , other results went our way Spurs held Utd to a draw - but typical them , leading 1 -0 they capitulate 3 minutes into extra time!! Also Chelsea got held to a draw at Portsmouth. Arsenal now lead the Premiership by two points - about 14 games to go.
02 February 2008
Billy Dee
Sat. 7.00pm 11KM roo+lake 42m24 (3m53 KM's)It was really warm and humid this evening. One of the reasons I dont tend to train at night!
It gets a bit uncomfortable with all the midges/flies that come out at dusk not allowing much open mouth breathing. Another issue with evening runs is all the Cane Toads I nearly step on! Hundreds of the big bastards! it means that I cant really run on the grass for fear of stepping on one of those mothers and also snakes! so I stick to the middle of the concrete pathway at night.
Happy with run tonight as feeling yesterdays Halk Zatopek plus 11KM. Comfortable tonight and tried not to push it too hard.
I'm just messing around on the computer trying to convert pdf into jpeg in order to post here.
If successful should be able to publish some old photos of my life.
Here is the All England Schools 5000m final in 1979 where I finished 4th (a year under age) in 14m44.4 on 7th July 1979 in Nottingham photo by Gary Taylors dad!
Wow it works! I havent changed my style much! Still the same high arms, still the same pained expression! Unfortunately not still the same hair! Wish I still had those spikes though = "EB" (a Finnish make!) white calf leather with green sole really smart
Billy Dee Luton based contemprary of mine. He committed to the cause during his twenties and gained international selection and some brilliant times.
01 February 2008
Mark Jones
Friday 5.00am 11Km Roo+ Lake 43m07 (3m57 KM's)
6.00pm Nudgee A Half Zatopek 20 X 400m 120m jog recovery Ave 72 secs
(finished with a 66sec) Good session on a par with last time I ran this session. Blustery conditions. Humid.
Made the mistake of not wearing socks just spikes and feet have blistered!
So tough getting through this session, I have to approach it by saying to myself first 7/8 laps are a 3000m then get to 12/ 13 laps and tell myself its only 5000m then tell myself its only 8/7 laps to go!!During intervals 10 to 15 my concentration waivered on three intervals and I ended up with 73's but all I had to do was concentrate and I'd run a 72 or a 71. Had a slight calf niggle after twelve but it didnt develop into anything so really pleased to complete session and after a morning 11KM!! Serious stuff!
The weeks training has been a little mundane as I was not able to get to the track earlier in the week and the influence of next weeks State 5000m Champs (Open) on Wednesday starts to have an influence on decisions.
For recent photos of me racing check out my 'Bob Mallows' post.
I love the shot taken near the start with me surrounded by all the youngsters.
That's me in the black and white stipes of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers if you couldn't work it out.
6.00pm Nudgee A Half Zatopek 20 X 400m 120m jog recovery Ave 72 secs
(finished with a 66sec) Good session on a par with last time I ran this session. Blustery conditions. Humid.
Made the mistake of not wearing socks just spikes and feet have blistered!
So tough getting through this session, I have to approach it by saying to myself first 7/8 laps are a 3000m then get to 12/ 13 laps and tell myself its only 5000m then tell myself its only 8/7 laps to go!!During intervals 10 to 15 my concentration waivered on three intervals and I ended up with 73's but all I had to do was concentrate and I'd run a 72 or a 71. Had a slight calf niggle after twelve but it didnt develop into anything so really pleased to complete session and after a morning 11KM!! Serious stuff!
The weeks training has been a little mundane as I was not able to get to the track earlier in the week and the influence of next weeks State 5000m Champs (Open) on Wednesday starts to have an influence on decisions.
For recent photos of me racing check out my 'Bob Mallows' post.
I love the shot taken near the start with me surrounded by all the youngsters.
That's me in the black and white stipes of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers if you couldn't work it out.
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