Peninsular Power

30km done salt stained top. Wind played havoc with my mohican.

A 2.6km warm up at home with Sascha (the dog) then out to the Redcliffe for a long run on Sunday. I looked at my watch after two K's on thought that's pretty quick for so little effort! I didn't realize I must have been blown along by the wind. Running Westerly, Southerly and then Easterly and then reversed, I had both the benefit and burden of very strong winds all the way. There were white caps and waves at Margate where you very rarely see them due the calming influence of Moreton Island out in the bay.
I was enjoying just ticking off the K's, nice and steady, not pushing it. 
I was going to turn around at 10k but had just ran through all the market stalls at Redcliffe and didn't want to face that again so soon and as I felt pretty easy, decided to run on to 15K which is the Ted Smout bridge. The wind had me bent over double at some sections.

Finished off 30K's at 4;05 kms and loved the fact that my black top was covered in salt stains. Tried to take a photo to capture it but didn't come out in the picture.
A nice easy week planned for me now just steady running and maybe a few rides.

Glasshouse Mountains in background

Photos from Caloundra Foreshore 10KM

Results are here;

Caloundra Foreshore 10km 1st 33;36

I have raced this 4 times previously, 1st, 2nd , 3rd and 'got lost' last time I ran it in 2010!
It mostly  hugs the foreshore pathway from Golden to Moffat Beach. There are a few sections where your out on the road . Mostly cement path but some boardwalk and some paving stone sections (dangerously slippy when wet like today). Towards the finish the course rises over a couple of headlands short sharp killer hills!
Up at 5.00am for 7th day in a row and out the door at 5.30 for the hours drive to Golden Beach. 2km warm up and feeling yesterdays run in my legs. 
No sign of Jacko, Clay (going to run sub 2;30 on the Goldie) or Hintsa or any of the usual suspects that take the honours - I may just have a chance! 
We used to start on the pathway but in the few years since I've competed they have closed off the road and had us spread out across it = much better!
Slight false start and I'm having kittens trying to check if I paused and unpaused correctly and am recording the run! I hear it beep at 1km -  it must be working ;-)
So me and a young lad from Pacific Athletic Club - didn't know at the time it was Bryan McManus a medicine student in his last year at uni. At about 3k he starts to gap me and I think that's ok I'm not going to bust a gut in this race and I'm actually in overall 2nd place (wow that's $200!). At 4k I'm back with him and I think he lets me lead (to do some of the work - tactically). I hear his footfall and then it starts getting distant and then I cant hear it! I'm clear in the lead at 5km - I'm only going to win this race overall ($500!!). I ran consistently always asking the volunteers to confirm directions (I did get lost remember), I cant hear any cheering for 2nd place (I never look round), this is as comfortable as it gets!
The tough rises knock the stuffing out of me towards the finish but I am happy to run comfortably across the line in 33;29 (most watches had the distance 100/150m short).
Bryan was second in about 34;10.
The ladies race really did have some class. 
Cassie Fine beat Clair Geraghty.

At 52 years of age I know these wins will be fewer and fewer so I must savour the sweetness of victory what a way to cap to an awesome/terrific weekend!!



2006 2nd 34;49
2007 1st 34;22
2008 3rd 32;58
2010 DNF
2014 1st 33;36

Sandgate parkrun 2nd 15;53

1500m warm up a few strides had a bit of stomach cramp which made me pensive about performance.
Said hello to Peter Bracken at the start, and we are off!
Initially get left checking my Garmin has started! Sprint to 2nd but can't overtake kid in lead! Kid turns out to be David Lean tall but looks about 15! Later find out we blast through first K in 3;02, settle into stride but have this feeling not going fast enough so try and overtake David but each time he pulls up level with me!
Dog walkers across the pathway have me screaming TRACK! Indignant looks as we scrape past.
This happens twice.
On the road beside us  large peletons of bike riders are finishing their long Saturday rides about to head for the nearest coffee shop / that isnt part of the runners culture is it?
At the turnaround David still leads me, my watch is on auto scroll so I miss the time but see 3:10 must be average K's "hey that's OK!"
We have a smaller gap on Peter and the others than I'm used to seeing / hey why am I feeling so bad? Why cant I get past this kid?
We run into the field coming at us spread across the path my attempts to overtake are again thwarted as we are forced to run single file. Again glance at the watch and it reads 18.6 kmph ? That's OK?? But still think we are going to slow but because of need to run Indian file behind David I resign myself to not getting sub 16!
As we get the bendy bit on the pathway I glance at my watch and it reads 15:00 wow surely I'm within a minute of the finish??
David pulls away slightly and I think about the 3second gap I let slip on young Alex a few weeks back and though I'm not inclined to 'race' him as such, I close back up and get to the finish line within a second of him.
I take a few minutes to recover before I check my watch for my time, wow did I really run that!
Happy to go sub 16 and achieve a soft season goal.
We are both given 15:53, for me worth a 94.3% age grading , my best ever!

Another perfect day Winter Solstice 2014

Start

Finish

15;53

15;53

Racing Seb

I think the anti inflammatory drugs have the side affect of giving me  horrendous mouth ulcers - does anyone else suffer this? I have stopped taking them this week and am now suffering with sore knees. I look positively geriatric when I am walking downstairs to the point that I'm almost embarrassed by my laboured steps. At home I walk down backwards!
I have to find a balance between the anti inflams /knee pain or mouth ulcers.

Saying that I have had a good weeks training.

21K on Sunday at 4;07 with all the aches and pains of the duathlons still in the legs. 
A 15K 4;00 lunchtime run on Tuesday - with a very fast return portion.
A 5 X 1km 'round the houses' road session yesterday morning (when it is so hard to get going). 
Fitness wise, I'm in good shape. 
I'm just over 60kg with a huge reduction in beer intake (I didn't even have a beer to watch the State of Origin [drown my sorrows!}). It wont be long before I'm sub 60kg and I cant ever remember being that in my adult life!
I may give Sandgate a burl on Saturday and Caloundra on Sunday (it is not a PB course). Less than 3 weeks to the Gold Coast (10km) which is the goal race.

My buddie Stu Moore (8) in his Cambridge 'Blue' chasing Seb (in African Violet) at the Palace.
Probably the British Universities Champs about 1980.

My buddie Jimmy Espir (9) leading Seb (early 80's)

This morning I got out on the bike (raised the saddle!) for 20km on very wet roads, then this afternoon I ran 15km along the river in 4;05's.

Masters Legends

Masters Legends Peter Reeves [full beard and dark glasses far left] and Barry Broe (second right, glaring at camera].

National Masters Superstars Peter Reeves and Barry Broe have been paid a handsome retainer to advertise Endura alongside local legend Jacko Elliott!
Reports that Reeves resting heart rate is in the region 35bpm were confirmed by his own start line analysis. Barry won the prize for intimidation on the start line.

2014 Moreton Bay Grand Prix - Duathlon

Results from the weekend 
- I've never before competed in a race where 4 Sweeney's took part or ever been beaten by another Sweeney!

15th in the Sprint and 24th in Long and first over 50 (only 5 old guys took part - there were 105 starters in the Sprint and 99 in the long.

Here's a screen shot of the two results; Sprint then Long;

The cycling weakness was shown up in the long course.

Francis is my set up wrong?

Yes Courtney I 'm as old as your father!

How do I hop on without losing a bollock?

The first Sweeny to ever beat Sweeney

Constantly had to change my line as I got overtaken to avoid drafting

Ladies before Gents, after you madam. I followed this lady for what seemed like the whole race, overtaking and being overtook, a real ding dong till the final run.

All photos are copyrightZeropointzerophotography.

Keith is back and Pete is flying.

Seems like quite some time since we've seen Keith Bateman racing but I noticed last week he ran parkrun in an outrageous 16;27 - probably taking it easy on what looked like a hilly course for a 95.85% age grading. Fabulous running!
Today I note that Pete has checked out why I run at Sandgate. He's only gone and smashed my age grade record running 17;11 for 93.31% - in my back yard the cheeky so and so! He has topped the Australian Age Grade ladder this week by a whopping 7%! Congrats Champ!
Meantime I did my first duathlon at Kuwongba's Lakeside Raceway. What an effort! A really lumpy circuit and my cycling was pedestrian. I get too much pain around both knees (tendonitis) and just cant rotate. At least I gave it a go. Got chicked! 
Not sure about my results but will post when I get them. You can check the strava activity or the garmin activity is probably easier to see the run cycle run and then the run cycle run cycle run.

Team Reeves pacing Pete to Age % Record, sponsored by Ipswich Education Superannuation fund (Belly and?)

The Master now sports a genuine Heisenberg goatee!

The Master now sports  a genuine Heisenberg goatee!

Keith battles no competition stray dogs hills and still runs 95% !

This one is for Pete;
One of my all time favorites.

Parramatta parkrun 1st 16;22

On Friday I ran a tempo 10K on my Roo+Lake course. 
I reckon I have run it 2000+ times over the last 10 years. 
I ran my second fastest time ever! 
10.6km 38;22 ; 3.37K's
http://www.strava.com/activities/147094382
I was flat out as hard as I could go after about two or three K. 




I was a little disappointing about not being around in the evening to run a 10,000m on the track at the Q'Land Masters Champs as I was heading to Sydney to attend a wedding, leaving Friday arvo and returning Saturday evening. When I mentioned to the Mrs that there was a Parramatta parkrun (we were staying at ParkRoyal Parramatta) I did not expect to get an enthusiastic 'oh you must do it' (on the morning of the ceremony), so who was I to argue - other than I wouldn't have run flat out the day before if I was going to be 'racing' the following day!
In NSW they start their events at 8;00am which gave me plenty of time to find the place and warm up (brrr it was 14 O C!). The course was an 'out and back', following the river cycleway with a section of grass at the start/finish and two short inclines. At the start I got a little caught up behind some runners and didn't hit the front till 3 or 400m. I felt OK, not too stiff from Fridays effort. Slightly unnerving running a course you dont know but have checked on maps. The turnaround was actually around a small triangle of meeting pathways which I wasn't expecting. I worked hard but not absolutely flat out. I had a good lead and wasn't going to be beaten. Finished in 16;22 though I still have not got an official result as my bar scan must not have worked (I've emailed the organizers but heard nothing). The course ran 7 secs over 5k according to my Garmin which made it about the same as last week which was about 7 secs short according to Garmin.
I'm in good form, running at about 61/62kg which is light for me having cut my beers by about 98% over the last 2 or 3 months and dropping about 3kg.
May try my first duathlon (sprint distance) in two weeks time, then 10KM at Caloundra and at the GC.