North Lakes parkrun 16:21 2nd

Pete Bracken told me he was running his 200th parkrun on my home course and I thought it was a good opportunity to see if my flu vaccination theory was right from last week (that it had a detrimental effect on running performance). Ordinarily North Lakes is a fast 3, 'circular' laps around a lake course, but super fast times are made more difficult by lapping large numbers from midway. I thought Bracko would act like a bulldozer, clearing the course of runners but it didn't really turn out like that! Sure Bracko started conservatively for a change (niggle in his hammy) but he was gapping me by a km and gone by lap 1. He ran 5:15 and I was 5:18 with Benny Merlin in 3rd making it 3 ex Pat poms!

With Pete away,  the gaps on the path closed up as soon as he was through and I was left to find my own path. Unusually for me I shouted "RUNNER BEHIND" a few times to try and get a gap but I did still come a cropper, crashing into an open top Wiggles car being carried along by about six runners celebrating someone's 💯 parkrun! On this tight circuit honestly what were they thinking?

No harm done but it would have cost me a second or two!

Through the 2nd lap in 10:50 and I worked out another 5:30 lap would bring me home in 16:20, comfortably inside Keith Bateman's M55 Australian best parkrun time (16:27) [KB would have been jogging].

Bracko ran 15:58 easy and Benny ran 16:45.

I was happy because my time was a goal and it was a respectable time compared to recent 16:30's performances​ and last week's abberation.

Still 93.99% age grading was not good enough to beat the awesome Louisa Abrams 95.6%.

I asked Mike Trees to look out for Louisa in Auckland at World Masters Games where she won a gold in the 10km road race last week.
Turns out he knew the family anyhow as daughter (Felecity ~ a pro triathlete) was former girlfriend of Alistair Brownlee and the family had set up a 2XU outlet in Brisbane (when Mike still had a 2XU interest).

Mike finished 4th in the 5000m and won the Sprint Triathlon and 1500m open water swim. He was 2nd in the 5000m open water swim an hour later, missing a third Gold by 0.8seconds! Not bad for a runner who had an operation on a prolapsed disc in his back in November!

Bracko and I searching for post race salvation.

Warm down with Benny and Bracko

Start of 3rd lap

Benny searching for a gap goes wide around 🐕

The spirit of parkrun, don't know how I managed to crash into one of the runners holding onto the Wiggles car.

My hair has gone black and white though it looks all grey (Shaftesbury Harriers)

Sandgate parkrun 16:48 5th

Rain greeted us for the start of this one but it was a bit cooler and the wind wasn't too bad. Hoped to run around 16:30 but was unsure how 105km in the 5 days prior might impact. Went off easy enough, initially in 3rd behind young Peter Bracken and even younger Adam Foggy.
Bracko had invited his BERTY Squad along to pace him to a sub 15:40.
Those two swiftly gapped us and I was briefly joined then gapped in quick succession by Elliot Carr, Jee Ming Leung and Craig Macklin who is in the M45-49 age Cat.
I was uncomfortable with what should have been easy enough pace. The rain didn't help specially on the turn onto the pier, at the head of the pier and off the pier.
Huge numbers of runners were straying into our path as we head back to the start. A record 456 took part! 456!!
We also had to look out for your everyday dog walker, walker and jogger just enjoying the public footpath as is there right.
Coming back along the pier I managed to catch Craig and we ran together back to the finish. I was listening to his breathing and at times he sounded really easy. Though we got to a K to go and he went through a bad patch and I hit it hard.
Disappointed with 16:48 but that was still good enough to give me 1st ranking in Australia age grading for the day (33,195 runners!!!)
During the week I'd had a flu vaccination and think that along with the mileage had an affect. Last time I ran a parkrun following flu jab 26th April 2015 I ran about 27secs below par see herehttp://runningmasters.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/sunday-run-callahan-road-24km-14441.html.
Keith Bateman holds the Australian M55 Cat parkrun record at 16:27 so I need to have a proper go at that before I get too old too slow or injured. Did I really run 15:48 at Sandgate in 2014? Seems long gone, out of sight, today - a full minute slower!
My blog has now logged up 300,000 hits since it's inception! Not bad considering the drivel I write about myself 🗣🏃🚽

Looking cold and wet!

I managed to catch Craig. Yes I'm going bald 🤖👨. Wet wooden pier.

High arms indicative of me uneasy feeling!

Top age grading in Australia 33,195 runners!!!

BRRC Half Mara Championship 75:22 2nd

Busy at work and no time to update my blog! Two weeks ago I ran QMA 5000m Champs at QEII finishing 2nd to Clay in 16:48.
It was a tough performance but really just going through the motions as I have done no track work this year but plenty of mileage.
BRRC at West End last week was much more agreeable conditions. Less hot and less humid, but that is all relative as Brisbane is always high humidity.
6:00am start time, course 1 loop of 1.1k plus 4 x 5km "loops". Actually it's a straight line out 2.5km, with a 180 o turnaround, back 2.5km and 180 o turnaround.
Ten x 180 o, two inclines on each lap = 10 inclines to negotiate. So not the quickest of courses but I like breaking the distance down into the 2.5/5km tranches and you get to see how everyone else is going.
Clay and I went hammering off into the first two KMS at sub 3:20's pace. I felt my 💓 rate going really high and I knew there was no way of sustaining that pace so I pulled back a little as Clay headed away. I was still within reach at 6km but he inexorably  pulled away after that. I concentrated on maintaining​ speed, trying to relax and spurting following each turnaround.
17:04 for the first 5km and through 10km in 34:36, so slowed down somewhat in the second half.
I was happy with 75:22, it bettered a Ron Peters Club Champ age record and also his M50 mark and those for M45 and M40.
Clay set a new M35 record with his 73:56.6.
Ron's Australian M55 record is a daunting 72:19. He ran it at the Gold Coast about 8 years ago. It now looks beyond me!
I don't know where I'm going to find 3minutes from. I'm​ half minded to give up the Half and try for his Australian M55 Marathon record at 2:37. It would be a debut Marathon which might help because I won't know the psychological as well as the physiological pain that I would experience.
The plan is to try the half at GC this year and the Marathon at GC next year.