Queensland 10,000m Championships 33;56 3rd

My mini taper consisted of two 10km days on Thursday and Friday, so my weekly total just hit 100km for the week.
Saturday morning was spent at Sandgate parkrun where Mike Trees ran his 100th parkrun.
Its taken him 10 years to get to 100. He has run the quickest time by any M50 with a 15;44 at the original home of parkrun, Bushy Park in West London.
Having undergone an operation to remove the shattered remains of a burst disc from his vertebrae  in November ,he has concentrated on recuperation by swimming up to 35km a week . He has run a maximum of 20km a week mainly doing drill work. Working on form and stride length up a short (50m) hill with core work between reps. A fortnight ago he managed a 22;10 but Saturday he really pulled the proverbial cat out of the bag by running a 18;02 ! It goes without saying conditions were horribly humid
A fabulous recovery that has sparked the possibility of him running at World Masters Games in Auckland in April. He was always going to swim the 5km Open water swim but now he is considering racing the 5000m and 1500m on the track.
The Queensland State open 10000m Championship was an 8;00pm start. Conditions were 28 C and 88% humidity with initially windy conditions calming down as we ran.
I ran the race with the hope of running a sub 34 and getting an Open medal.
The race doubled as the Masters Champs as well. Aidan Hobbs, Patrick Nispel and Matt Macdonald pulled away from me immediately from the gun. I had some company briefly but sickness contributed to Osman Saleh's demise and he dropped out. Unbeknownst to me Matt Macdonald had also dropped out and so I was running in the Bronze position. I really just hung in there for most of the race, trying to find a pace that I was comfortable with, the conditions being what they were. Aidan lapped me with 4 to go but he wasn't absolutely flying past me and as I hit the bell Patrick lapped me and I had to run an 80 second last lap for sub 34 minutes so I knew I'd achieve one goal. At the finish I was told I was 3rd so both goals done. 4th was Wayne Spies who won the overall Marathon at World Masters in Perth (about 2;35) about a minute behind me. Happy to mark down a 33;56 for 2017, it was tough going.
Mike took a heap of photos of me.
Check them out here https://goo.gl/photos/fz3t2q5oUz2x22fx8

Sandgate parkrun 17;43 and Queensland State 5000m 16:37

Mike Trees spent the weekend with us on his way to NZ for business (he will stay with us again on his way back to Tokyo in two weeks time). He had a fairly major back operation a couple of months ago and is very focused on his rehabilitation. Andrew Green has a nickname for Mike, 'Sensei' as in Japanese for teacher or Master. He is a very wise man and spending a long weekend with him is full of learning. He embarrassed me with daily flexibility workouts and his monk like diet. That said, my back has never got to the condition his did and my bloods (when tested) have never been a cause for concern (unlike his). Anyhow he wanted to run his 99th parkrun here in Brissy and we wanted to choose a course that would be least jarring for his back (no hills or slopes) ideally we'd have done a flat grass course but we settled for Sandgate where Mike could jog along side the pathway on some grass for part of the way and it is dead flat with only one tight 180 O turn at the head of the pier and two easier 90 O turns into the pier. He has done almost no running so was relying on his swimming for the endurance. He survived and managed a pain free run in 22;11. He set a world best M50 15;44 at the original Bushy parkrun a few years ago when I ran 15;48 at Sandgate old course.
See his complete parkrun history here
I had entered the State 5000m in the evening and really should have just jogged round with Mike but I cant help myself I went off pretty easy letting Jamie Simmonds charge off to a 3;03 first KM into the distance as I led a small group. I intended to only run as hard as they ran so long as that was relatively easy. As we rounded the the island to run down the pier Jamie was already heading back on the esplanade pathway towards the finish. He couldn't have run down the pier section!
That would have to disqualify him so I was now leading. Conditions as ever really hot and humid but it felt good running easy 3;35's. I decided a wins a win and to ensure I wasn't out-sprinted by the two guys who were running with me to apply pressure at 4KM to gap them, bringing it home with a 3;25km 17;43 and first officially 'over the line' as Jamie disqualified himself.
Conditions in the evening at ANZ QSAC were cooler with a strong wind blowing. I thought the wind would kill everyones chances of fast times but others coped pretty well in heat 1, the A grade faster runners. I was in the B grade race and there was a further C grade race following ours. I warmed up OK and felt pretty good on the start line. However, within a lap I was in trouble!
A sea of lactic hit me and I struggled big time. The whole field ended up coming around me as I hit the back of the field. Sweat was pouring off me, big time.
I contemplated dropping out as I just felt awful but I hung in there and when I saw Hintsa drop out, I wouldn't be classified  last now!
I gradually managed to rope in a few more of the kids and finished in 16;37.6. Actually for a M55 that's not such a bad time but lesson learned dont even tempo the day before let alone near 'race' the morning of a race! Where was Sensei when I dreamed up this unwise master-plan?
In two weeks I really will 'jog' Mikes 100th parkrun at Sandgate the morning of the State 10,000m in the evening!

Check the ages!!

parkrun trying to take it easy, the purple pant lady was about to overtake us (OK she was just out jogging)

With Barry and Jamie. My thanks to Olga and Barry for some of these photos