A fantastic day for us old timers at Minnippi Parklands this morning. What a race!
In the end the age grading came down to less than a second separating me from Peter Reeves also known as Reevsey or PJ and The Robot!
Good conditions, cool but a little windy on the first K (a slow 3;16) as I headed out into the lead with Peter Bracken tucked in behind me. After a KM of path we turn left onto the lakeside path and run clockwise around. I felt OK but not comfortable by any means, Peter Bracken was with me till about 3k when I must have eased away. That 4th K is always a killer and I suffered. After completing two laps around the lake we head back the way we came. I recognised I was overstraining and beginning to tie up so consciously tried to relax but the thought of Reevsey straining every last watt of energy into his effort kept popping up in my head making me strain once more. Over the bridge (4K) and looked at the watch 13;15 meant I could take it home under 16;30.
Great runs by all contributed to what we think was the best overall parkrun age grade group which should include Phil Davies 10th around 85% but bar scan failure will require manual input.
Special thanks to Barry and Olga for hosting breakfast and sponsoring the awards.
That will be a hard act to follow!
Results are here;
http://www.parkrun.com.au/minnippi/results/latestresults/
I will post photos later.
1st km 3;15.8
2nd km 3;21.6
3rd km 3;20.5
4th km 3;18.3
5th km 3;11.0
In the end the age grading came down to less than a second separating me from Peter Reeves also known as Reevsey or PJ and The Robot!
Good conditions, cool but a little windy on the first K (a slow 3;16) as I headed out into the lead with Peter Bracken tucked in behind me. After a KM of path we turn left onto the lakeside path and run clockwise around. I felt OK but not comfortable by any means, Peter Bracken was with me till about 3k when I must have eased away. That 4th K is always a killer and I suffered. After completing two laps around the lake we head back the way we came. I recognised I was overstraining and beginning to tie up so consciously tried to relax but the thought of Reevsey straining every last watt of energy into his effort kept popping up in my head making me strain once more. Over the bridge (4K) and looked at the watch 13;15 meant I could take it home under 16;30.
Great runs by all contributed to what we think was the best overall parkrun age grade group which should include Phil Davies 10th around 85% but bar scan failure will require manual input.
Special thanks to Barry and Olga for hosting breakfast and sponsoring the awards.
That will be a hard act to follow!
Results are here;
http://www.parkrun.com.au/minnippi/results/latestresults/
I will post photos later.
1st km 3;15.8
2nd km 3;21.6
3rd km 3;20.5
4th km 3;18.3
5th km 3;11.0
Pete's consolation for the day was setting a parkrun Australia M60 Cat record!
12 comments:
Great work today Dave, awesome time. Was a pleasure sitting on your shoulder albeit for only the first 3k.....Will be in secret training until Sandgate ;)
And a great effort by all the Masters lot!
It is rare that this hardened sport's writer is moved to tears but it was difficult not to become emotional at a performance this morning of such sublimity , such tenacity and just such sheer raw courage that it is imprinted indelibly in the mind's eye of all who were privileged enough to witness it . This correspondent included . Of course the performance was owned by a person who needs no introduction on this blog . The man who made the humble Garmin a fashion statement . Countless millions around the world have traced the journey of this humble man from chimney sweep , to illegal alien to boat refugee and into our hearts all via Garmin connect . We have followed the adventures , trials and tribulations of this man , a pioneer no less , who has won our respect with a simple creed in life and a code of conduct which is to never forget your humble origins and always give of your best . The man known to us as Lord Garmin faced possibly the greatest challenge of his illustrious career today and responded as only champions can do. It was no secret that the knees this time were held together more with prayer than cartilage . His craggy features sun bleached and weathered . The hair a little thiner . A little greyer perhaps ? The torso a little more stooped than we remembered . Was Father Time ringing his relentless bell ? For whom did it toll ? Our hero ? The opposition was formidable for sure . For the most part far younger . Others disoriented and eccentric but none the less dangerous for that . The crowd who had for the most part come to see their hero stood ten deep in places . The sound of a lone bagpiper set a solemn tone . The morning air crisp but humid with expectation . The race started as such races do . A flourish of arms and limbs jockeying for an inch of advantage . A bare centimetre that could prove crucial at race's end . For the better part the race went to script . Until that was at the 3k mark , when our hero faltered ever so slightly . A greedy pack were on his tail eager to exploit any hesitancy . The heart was strong but was that slender slither of cartilage enough to hold out for one last time . The crowd looked on expectantly. Were they witnessing the demise of a champion ? Was the unthinkable about to become the unendurable ? Then a remarkable turnaround best captured by Lord Garmin himself when he related the incident to a hungry world media pack after the hysteria of the race had died away and tears wiped away . His Lordship takes up the story . " With a k to go I was shot . I realised my reign as world park running champion was drawing to a close . I could feel bone grinding on bone. The age graded pack circling in for the kill . Than for an instant I glimpsed the face of one of my countless supporters who had been camped out for days in those bitter fields of toxic waste and rotting mangroves. He was wheel chair bound and clutching a pathetically worn out Mr.Garmin doll . His face contorted in disbelief that I might lose . Tears welling in his eyes . I knew I had to find something . Not for myself but for those who believe in the Mr. Garmin story . The little people . Those who age grade in single digits . I had to do it for them ." Of course history now shows that our hero did find someting . The results now etched in history. That slender fraction of an age graded percentage point that determines the great from the soon to be forgotten . For the record there were others in the race . A motley crew of pretenders . History will soon forget them . Minor actors in a play dominated by a giant of our times . Will we ever see his like again ? Probably not . He ascends into the ranks of the immortals . Those whose deeds grow taller over time with the telling of their story . More and more will claim to have been there that day and witnessed it first hand . Such is the stuff of legends . Some men leave us with memories others leave us with a legacy . All hail the GTrain . All hail the conquering hero . Will we see his likes again ? Probably not .
Top effort, so close, must have been a great day for all
Top effort, so close, must have been a great day for all
Pete you are a star you have outshone all your past commentaries a magnificent piece of journalism deserving of a post by itself! You had me laughing out loud on the train!
Lord Garmin would like to acknowledge the traditional owners for allowing history to be made on their grounds in yesterday's park run spectacular . He was less pleased with the pelican for finding an obscure technical clause in the government's bush fire prevention legislation fine print outlawing the playing of flaming bagpipes within a ten kilometre radiius of an International airport and passing it on to race organisers . Thanks Frank .
The Pelican was very busy falling apart in a half ironman on the other side of the country.
Fresh from a half marathon at Noosa the week before where the average pace was 3:47 for an 80:24, the Pelican completed a 1.9km swim in just over 32 minutes and 90km cycle cruising at 39kmh ave and got off the bike in 3rd place in the 50-54 age group.
In the early part of the run, the Pelican moved into 1st place before falling apart and becoming a nesting point for other pelicans and other sea birds who mistook him for a lamp post due to the lack of forward movement.
Since Lord Garmin loves statistics and the robotic dribbler hates them, a full set of stats is presented here:
3:50, 4:01, 4:06, 4:05, 4:08
4:14, 4:24, 4:25, 4:30, 4:41
4:33, 4:38, 4:57, 5:07, 5:05
5:05, 5:15, 5:12, 5:38, 5:17
4:42, 1:31 for 392m
Just over 99 minutes
As a guide, at the last half ironman completed, the 1st 10km was done in 40 minutes and the total was 87 minutes.
Sounds like the pelican had a beak full of Bream .
" what a wonderful bird is the Pelican
It's beak holds more statistics than his belly can "
Maybe time the Pelican took up mud wrestling .
The more you run over two dead cats the flater they get .
Forgot to say Francis a fantastic effort mate well done 39kmph!!! You are psyching me out! Also tremendous first 5k before the wheels came off!
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