Canberra in Autumn . . . clear blue skies, gentle breezes, birds singing ~ you wouldn't be dead for quids.

Pulled up very well from yesterday, and decided to give my road bike a test ride around the Sri Chinmoy course for Sunday. My legs felt fine, and better as the ride went along. As tempted as I was to continue with another circuit through Coppins and a side trip up Mt Stromlo, I figured that I should keep things fairly low intensity today and limit the hills.

Recovered with a refreshing bath, and then walked down to hideous Mall to fill some prescriptions and run some errands. It was a perfect day for a walk.
On the (long) way home, I stopped by a local store for a drink. They didn't have my favourite (Saxby's Diet Ginger Beer), but chanced a full sugared Margaret River Chilli Cola (with Lime). Apart from the unnecessary calories, it was a great surprise - dry, with a bite that gradually built up.

A gentle recovery jog in the evening was really enjoyable, 6 minute pace, and I felt great. It was rounded out by a few laps in a too-busy pool in the evening and lots of stretching and self massage in the Steam Room and Spa.

Just a perfect day!

I Love to Run; Gosh I Love to Run; did I mention I Love Running?

Just returned from one of those special experiences which you wish could never end. I didn't have any firm plans, and just headed out the door into the great bushland of Canberra's Nature Parks that make this such a special place. I explored new trails and new combinations in Black Mountain, took in the view from the summit and the loop near the top, and headed over Belconnen Way to the adjacent O'Connor and Bruce Ridge Rerserves, then further north to North Lyneham.

Bob rang to say that he had a good race, finishing in 4:44, and I stopped to refill my fuel belt at the Ukrainian Church. I wound my way back, diverting through Calvary Hospital for more water, and an exploration of Gossen Hill before returning home. It was a Turkey run - of course I wore a watch, however didn't pay much attention to it, and didn't stop it when I had service stops.

Average Heart Rate 138 63% Max 34km Total Ascent 880m

Now I have to hold back, because I just want to do it all again tomorrow.

Isn't Canberra a magical place?

I had the most humungous night sweats during the early part of the evening, and swapped beds and ended up lying on a few layers of towels to stay a little dry.
Awoke for a few hours in the morning but went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30 feeling much better. I might consider cycling down to Customs today - Bob is away with the car heading up to do the Port Macquarie Long Course Tri this weekend. I will get the washing on, and see how I go.

Evening Edit
Well, it has been an interesting few hours. I noticed that there was a backpack in Bob's study with his Triathlon race suit on top of his wetsuit. It seemed as though it he left it behind in the rush to leave yesterday. I rang him and he was surprised, and we checked with other Canberra athletes who might be about to head to Port, but they had all left. A few phone calls resulted in me finding that Greyhound Buslines might be able to get it there in time, so leaving things half done in the house I cycled down to the Bus Depot. Got it on in time, it now depends on it making the right connection in Sydney.

As I was there, went on to Customs lunchtime run and caught up with people . . . I was still feeling very ordinary, but ran anyway. A hot day which didn't suit me as much as the heat normally does, but ran a slight positive split for a 23:32 finish which was faster than I would have anticipated. Went to the supermarket on the way home and bought washing powder and all sorts of heavy and bulky things which made the return ride up the hill home more of a challenge.

To round out the disjointed day, I went down to the pool for an evening swim, thinking that I would make it a 'Sprint Distance' day; a 5k run, 20k cycle, and 750m swim. I thought that the pool would be relatively quiet on a Friday night, but I was wrong! I did 800m in straight laps, and avoided the temptation to round it up to an even 1k, or 1.5, or . . . I knew I had to ride home and needed to ensure that I had plenty of light.

Feel much better, will go for a run tomorrow in Black Mountain and extend it to whatever distance I feel comfortable with.

I was developing a sore throat yesterday during the flights and transit from Hobart through Sydney and Canberra. I didn't think much of it until the final flight, so that by the time I landed in Canberra I was feeling very ordinary and the glands in my throat had swollen. Earlier enthusiam for heading to the pool or for a run this evening faded rapidly and sleep was a higher priority.

It was great to get back to the warmer Canberra weather, but I had heavy night sweats again despite sleeping with only a sheet. Crawled out of bed at 8:30am only because I had a dental appointment which I could easily have missed. After this, I returned home, made the bed with fresh sheets and slept for a few hours. When I awoke, the prospect of the final Aquathon of the season seemed a risky prospect, and decided to cut my losses and hope to recover soon.

Going to Customs 5k tomorrow is about a 25% chance at best I think. Have eaten the health food staple of ice cream and cold grapes tonight, feels good with my sore throat.

Things shall improve tomorrow.

Back in the Land of Connection

You could do a lot worse than spend three hours sitting in the sleepiest little Qantas Club in Australia, especially when one has experienced an unexpected internet drought for the last week.

Bob is on an earlier flight through Melbourne to Canberra, and I am enjoying my own company and the chance to catch up on some of the news and so on on the internet terminals here. In spite of myself, the first site I logged into was CoolRunning.com.au and scanned through the summary of recent posting on the message boards and looked at a couple of blogs to see what my cyber friends have been up to. I had (virtually) kept up with my blogging whilst away, writing evening summaries each day in Word on a laptop to cut and paste to the blog when connected however there hasn't yet been the opportunity.

Hopefully, my CoolRunning Crop Top will be there when I get home this afternoon, and I will wear it with pride! There is the final Aquathon of the season in Canberra tomorrow afternoon, (will JustTri It be there?) and I could give it a burl there.

Enough said. I will check on the triathlon results and spend a little bit more time on the Cool Running site. Thank heavens there's (decent) decaf coffee.

Plans to cycle around the Port Arthur Nubeena Loop were put on hold when I found during the night that I had a serious case of saddle sores induced (I think) from sitting around in wet swimsuits for a long time yesterday. Walking was difficult enough, running and cycling were absolutely out of the question.

I won't complain.

It was a late finish from the presentation last night, and although we had hoped to have sushi, it was all we could do to stagger across the road to Mures Fish Cafe and order some grilled fish for dinner. It was close to 10:00pm when we finished, and fell asleep very easily. Getting up during the night resulted in a deep cut in my left eyebrow which gave me an impressive ghoulish quality as the blood had ringed my eyes and dripped down my face like an effigy of Alice Cooper.

Bob had arranged a meeting in town, and I had ,uncharacteristically, won a random draw prize of a voucher for the Athletes Foot in Hobart Town. I thought that I would end up with a couple of pairs of socks, but ended up with a rather cool pair of clumpy waterproof Teva clogs that were on special for the same amount as my voucher. Good for getting the wood in winter!

We then headed down to the Huon Valley and ended up at the former courthouse in Franklin for lunch, Petty Sessions. We shared a Rocket and Parmesan Salad and abalone Balls, before locally farmed Salmon and Rainbow Trout. It was very good and great value.

Too soon, we returned to Hobart, stopping off for ice cream cones and buying some smoked Wahhou at Mures before driving to my mothers on the Tasman peninsula. We managed to get out of the house for a swim late that afternoon, first trying a rocky beach in the bay, before driving, still in our wetsuits, caps and goggles, to Pirates Bay Beach at Eaglehawk Neck. Here the surf wasn't large, but broke in sets of perfect waves great for body surfing, and the extra buoyancy of our wetsuits made it so much easier!

So ~ not much exercise today, but a great day nevertheless.

Being able to sleep in until 6am was great, and both Bob and I were feeling well on race morning. The weather looked better than anticipated and we were in at transition in good time.

The transition area was amazing!!!!
Completely undercover in a cavernous shed, there was ample room for the 500 or so bikes on numbered, stabled bike racks, bag storage, drink stations and timing mats. A clean, smooth concrete floor was an excellent surface; numbering and preparation went smoothly, as the event was very well organized. Before I knew, it was time to leave the shed for the first wave, all women (110 entrants) in a deep water start at the dock. Jumping into the water was cold, and without the provision of warming up, floating in the cold, clear Southern Oceans waiting for the starting siren caused many feet to turn white and numb. Without warning we were off, and swimming in the beautiful waters adjacent to the city centre. The two lap course caused no difficulties, and it seemed that I wasn't last, and even 'out sprinted' (in a fashion) two girls at the exit ladder.
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Didn't rush through transition - an extra 30 seconds wasn't going to make a big difference if I was organised. On the bike, and out on the bike course! I was already being lapped by the time I got on the road . . . and I was looking forward to getting through the 8-lap course and out onto the run leg. Described as technical, it was a fair description although I found it quite fun after the first lap even though I was being passed by many cyclists from all the waves. As the event was being held in the heart of the city, it was an exciting event with an estimated 20,000 spectators on the sidelines cheering. Thankfully, I managed to avoid aborting the cycle leg with one of the many mechanical failures, punctures or prangs. As I finished the 7th lap I saw one woman from my age group entering transition to start her run. She didn't look as though running would be her strong point, with the shoulders and arms of a swimmer. As each lap was taking me approximately 12 minutes, I thought that it was unlikely that I could run down that difference. Oh well, last in the age group again - but I was really quite happy with both my swim and cycle.

On to the run, I had to stop and think whether I had gone through transition properly, it seemed too quick! In one side of the shed and out the other, over a timing mat, and through a drink station. As usual, I was moving quite easily and had to remember that I planned to take the first two of the three laps easily, and then put it in at the end. I felt good, and steadily passed people, although they may have been on their second or last leg, and started an hour or so after me.

I took my lap times each time I crossed over the timing mat, and this was making me confused. Both for the first 'lap' and the 'second' it was around the 13 minute mark or so. I was running well, but no where near a (?sub-) 40 minute 10k! I pumped it up a little, but was holding a lot in reserve, thinking that maybe the finish line was long - an extra kilometre or so by my calculations. At the final turnaround I saw the not-so fast looking runner in my age group . . . from my inaccurate estimation of when we each passed the same point, it seemed to be about a 3 minute lead. Given the previous splits, I figured I had about 6 minutes to run - but unless she blew up completely and crawled (backwards) making up that three minutes seemed remote.

The finish line loomed too soon - I wasn't able to catch up with the other runner, and was feeling great, wishing that there was another 11k to run. Through the chute and into the recovery area, I was pleased to guzzle bottles of water and really enjoyed the small clusters of grapes. Bob finished almost at the same time, having started 30 minutes behind me.

Dinner with an old friend and her family in Hobart last night, very enjoyable, even if I only sat there sucking on my Fortijuice (yum?) while everyone got stuck into a great looking Thai Salad. A drive up Mount Wellington made us both dream of running up (sea level to 1250 metres), or cycling when we have our mountain bikes – I know that I’d have no hope on my cluster and double chain rings.

At registration, ran into so many people that we didn’t leave for many hours. More Fortijuice, a packet of broth, and a gel for me, and half a kilo of penne with a mess of my homemade sauce made with the glut of tomatoes from my mothers garden for Rob. Thankfully not too early a start tomorrow for a change, although the swim will be frosty, and the 8 lap technical bike course (with 3 u‑turns and a steep climb each lap) will challenge my lack of cycling fitness. Here’s hoping that I will be able to last it to the run course which will be welcome.

To bed!

Planned only a short, light jog today and a loosening cycle. The weather was most uninspiring though, with showers passing over regularly with a breeze. Although I had been on clear fluids only since Wednesday ~ after about 6 minutes my gut was most unhappy, forcing me to walk back home ~ slowly ~ to jump straight into a hot bath. After a gel, and Fortijuice I felt a little less woozy, however did not feel up to the ride and crawled into bed instead. I promptly fell asleep until Bob awakened me at 11am. Oh well, another day sans exercise, without the likelihood of any tomorrow, yet at least I will be well rested for the race on Sunday!

Another morning run, this time following some trails marked on a topographic map. Passing through an open gate we seemed to be running into a farmyard. A couple of country blokes looked at us askew, as we came closer, me in lime green and blue tights and crop top, and Bob in his running shorts. At a distinct fenceline and locked gate, I asked the guy about the trail marked on the map leading to the highway and general store. After informing us that he had bought the land and that this was the track, he permitted us to go through the gate and follow the track up through wonderful forest on a sandy track. All too soon, we wound back to the highway, where we followed it along for a kilometre or so on a narrow, busy road. Retracing our steps in time to meet the courier bringing the newspapers from Hobart to the General Store, we ended up home having had a really enjoyable, if short run or about 8k. Later that day we took the bikes for a spin when we put them together. It was cold! Maximum that day of 14°C in Hobart meant that it was probably a darn site colder on the bikes and with a significant wind chill near the Great Southern Ocean. While Bob continued riding to Port Arthur, a round trip of 66km, I turned around at Taranna, about 40kms of riding including a great climb up from Eaglehawk Neck on the way back.

Early exploratory run around the dirt roads that wind around the multitude of bays and beaches in this part of the world. For the first time in many years, Bob and I were able to run together chatting the whole way at a comfortable pace, probably he has slowed down a tad and I a little faster than I have been for many years. All up, about 12kms for me in a bit over an hour.

An early start (4:00am), enabled Bob and I to drive out to the airport with our bikes for an early check-in, and then back home to leave the car. Our dear mate, Rad, a 77 year old triathlete and runner, then drove across Canberra to pick us up and take us to the airport in time for our flight. Thanks Rad!! We arrived in Hobart quite early and picked up our car at the airport, which easily fitted our two bike boxes and mountains of luggage – it was not warm though! Driving to my mothers’ place on the Forrestier Peninsula, en route to Port Arthur was quick and we were able to swim across the sound in the late afternoon, with wetsuits of course! Not much exercise today, but probably a 1,000 – 1,500m swim

My doctor was booked up this morning, so I left it.

No exercise at all, spent the day getting my bike boxed for travel and packed, with a couple of two hour sleeps thrown in. Alarm set for 4am ~ hopefully I'll be able to recover tomorrow and be able to race on Sunday.

Not well. Groin pain on right. Can't stop sleeping or feeling really groggy. Spent most of the day asleep, and feel pretty ordinary. Will try to see my doctor tomorrow (he only works half a day on Mondays) as our flight leaves at 6:20am on Tuesday for the Hobart Tri.

Planned to go for a long run this morning. Happy to sleep late, and got up put on running kit, had a coffee and set myself up with Fuel Belt, water etc. Like Lucky Legs, my tummy wasn't quite right, nor was I. Eventually I headed out the door, and only got about 60 metres when I realised that I wasn't up to even a short run. Stopped, turned around, walked back and crawled into bed, only taking my shoes off. Slept for another six hours. There's always the Lake Swim tomorrow.

Was keen to get to Customs Joggers today, as it would be the last time Aki and I would be there together until the next Uni break. Decided to ride my road bike down, with the hope of a longer ride through Coppins Crossing on the way home. For the first time I tried putting my shoes in the back pockets of my jersey and travel light without a backpack. It felt a little odd, but has potential. It didn't take long though to find that my legs were dead, and my great fatigue merely increased.

Trotted the course quite conservatively, and was pleased to mumble words of encouragement to all those who whizzed past me in the handicap event. Although I had no accurate sense of pace, as I had not calibrated the Polar s625x for the new Brooks T3 shoes, I was rather surprised how an easy jog felt on this course although the pace was still under 5 minute pace. Aki kept well in front of me, with a huge sprint to the finish and quick recovery, equaling her second best time on the course.

I came in 23:21 and found the running good, but still felt like crawling back into bed. A mercy call from Bob requiring cable ties to attach the speed sensor to his forks resulted in a protracted trip to hardware, car accessory and bike shops to find ones of the correct width and length. By this time, it was late, I hadn't eaten all day, and I was exhausted. I rode home the shortest route on the main roads (where I had a missile thrown at me by the passenger of a car), and crawled into bed. I can't work out why I am so tired, I just need to sleep.

Can I Sleep Now?

A too busy day ~ squeezing in shopping (ugh) for gifts for a Runner's 60th Birthday, a 2 year old's adoptee toddler shower, dental appointments and getting to the 3rd Aquathon on time.

By the time we were at the start, I was ready to curl up and go to sleep, I couldn't stop yawning, the wind had come up and the air and water temperature were decidedly chilly for this waddling duck.

Once I started however, in the small, last wave again, I got into it and tried to remember what I was doing in the pool. A little nervous about trying out the new Brooks T3's in the event, especially as the inner sole was attached at the heel, yet loose enough elsewhere to come out dangling whenever I removed my foot.

It all went well, I swam better, although the slowest, and enjoyed the runs with negative splits each time.

After crossing the finish line, Bob and I dashed off to shower in the Yacht Club, change into real clothes, and head to the Hyatt for the Birthday Celebration. Despite being unable to remove the large '40' scrawled on my calf, or the 4 race numbers on my limbs, I don't think anyone noticed anything other than a large appetite.

I felt great after a fairly heavy few days overnight, so much so that I ended up being able to go back to sleep from about 3:15am thinking of how to fit a longer run in today. Only got to sleep about 6:30 and then for a very short time.

Funny thing was, I didn't feel quite so anxious for a quick 24k when I was out of bed! Plans changed, so I ended up at the BBQ Stakes lunchtime handicap run at Woden, and from the start of my cycle there realised it was going to be a very easy jog at best. I went off my usual handicap (12:15) and within the first few hundred metres my quads were politely asking me to stop and turn around. I just kept jogging, chatting to people as they passed me, and engaging in a nice conversation with Col from the 4k mark. 47th out of 50, felt better at the end than before the beginning, and was surprised that my time was 31:30 when I was taking it so easy, with an average heart rate of under 140 bpm.

There was a message that my new racing flats had arrived, to stopped by The Runners Shop on the way to pick up my Brooks T3. Not as comfortable as the Nike's, however they should do. If I find some elastic laces I will try them out at the Aquathon tomorrow night. Now, to find something nutricious to eat and drink!

Worn out by the Supermarket.

I don't like to shop.

But I like to run, cycle and now swim, and that is what I did today . . . starting with a 6k jog in the bush this morning to check that my new shoes were OK. I then went to the pool and did 3k again, however this time I did the warm up with fins (and clearing my goggles) over 500m, with a steady 2.5k freestyle to finish. Worked on my arms and breathing to give me confidence for the Sri Chimnoy Lake Swim on Sunday.

Late afternoon saw me out on the road bike for a whirl, although the wind was high and gusty at the time, which made the going hard. Something of a tailwind on the return journey which was welcome.

Planned 'quick' trip to the supermarket lasted over an hour and enabled me to stock up on many of those essentials we had run short of. I hate shopping (bike shops, ship chandler's, camping supplies etc excepted). Even if I didn't enjoy it, I felt virtuous and satisfied with what I had achieved. Mad rush home, change into running gear and off to the ACT Cross Country Summer Series 5k.

There was a huge turnout ~ 50 women and 86 men ~ and I was pleasantly surprised that I came in at 22:38 and a negative split after such a big day. Especially the shopping.

My legs and left knee continued to seize up last night, although icing did help. It was better on waking from an excellent sleep which was so welcome.

No running today, however I went to the pool, primarily to use the spa and steam room for stretching. I did take my fins down though, as it seemed a good idea to move over my arms a bit and take the work load off my legs. Despite these vague plans, I not only found that swimming in my own lane with fins was easy, but very enjoyable and enabled me to concentrate on two aspects of my stroke; high elbows and hip/arm extension and rotation. I ended up stopping when I had done 2k with fins feeling very good, and was later to see that my lap times actually improved throughout the set. Feeling a tad guilty about taking it easy with the fins, I did a couple of laps without, and slipped into the same easy pattern of improving my stroke and extension. The end of an hour co-incided with 1km of freestyle, so here I called it quits, and stretched in the spa and steamroom.

An evening ride down to the Runner's Shop for new racing and training shoes was mostly successful - I was looking for a replacement for the Asics Nimbus V I currently use as my heavyweight trainers, and ended up with the rather less aestheically pleasing Nimbus VI (grey in the men's model). Nike was out of the Zoom Eldorado in my size, and others weren't suitable until Brian suggested the Brooks T3 - I tried on the 42.5cm - too big, but felt OK. Hopefully they will be in and tested before Bob and I leave for Tasmania and the Hobart Triathlon in a weeks time.

Just been out for dinner with very close, old friends who are leaving Canberra after 36 years. On return, maybe the Nimbus aren't so ugly, a bit more silvery grey than battleship, we'll see.

I look forward to testing them tomorrow.

Sunday is Aki's designated long run day, so I thought we should run a chunk of the course for the Weston Creek Half Marathon course http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/~vsj110/HalfM/half.htm
to enable her to see what she is in for.

It was cool, but quite pleasant by the time I drove across to collect Aki and then headed down to Weston Creek. Thanks to Rick's advice at Customs on Friday, we easily found the start line on the bike path at the Irish Club and we were soon on our way.

I was very impressed with Aki's ability to chat easily whilst we were jogging and enjoyed her company immensely. The time passed quickly, and as the k's went by it was clear that our planned turn at 55 minutes of running was going to be temptingly close to Black Mountain Penninsula. The option of water and facilities there, and Aki's good form convinced us to continue to the assumed turnaround point before heading back.

It is a long time since I have done run on the bike paths on Sunday morning, and was struck by the number of people I recognised running and cycling. Despite aggrevating a posterial cruciate injury the previous evening at the Athletics (spectating is a dangerous activity ~ Climbing to get into my seat resulted in a loud 'pop' which made extension of the leg impossible), I managed to run easily without undue pain. After yesterdays hills it was good to do a flat course, however the hard surface took it's toll towards the end.

There was not much time for socialising after, as Bob and I were due at a friend's for lunch, but it was great to run with Aki and see how well she is doing. The spectre of the Half Marathon should no longer be daunting. I took a few detours, and then ran at a faster pace to catch Aki up, with was comforting to see how I could change the pace and still put in a 4 minute kilometre when I needed to. The bulk of the run was completed within 60-65% of my HR max, with an average of 132.

Total for the week:

• Swim 8.3k
• Cycle 70.0k (too wet!)
• Run 65.4k

Gang Gangs and Eucalyptus in the air

Oh, what a wonderful life!

Procrastinated a bit this morning in the cold, as Bob had headed off to do the Cotter 18 with Judi, Kris, Luci and Col at 6:30am. I didn't have any preconceptions when I headed out the door, but once I entered Aranda Bushland, the heady scent of eucalypts after the rain filled the air, streams trickled brightly with water and the birds were a cacophonous chorus across the trails.

I loped along the trails, enjoying the time to myself and the knowledge that where I went, how long or how fast did not matter. Once into Black Mountain Reserve, I looped around to the south of trails and then up push bike hill where the emphasis is on pushing rather than riding the bike. This is always very slow (today, 1k in 11:24 according to the 625x), yet very satisfying in reaching the summit of Black Mountain, about 230m above the start 1.5k down. I had some refreshingly cool water at the Tower, and then spent the rest of my run looping around the trail near the summit, then Little Black Mountain and around and about the many trails that course ensure that this area is so wonderful.

Plan to jog with Aki tomorrow morning on part of the Weston Creek Half Marathon course tomorrow morning, so reluctantly headed home for a total run of just over 2 hours and 20kms. The Polar s625x gives me a total ascent of 560m, and a average heart rate of 148 (easy). Apart from the climb (or crawl) to the summit, my splits were surprisingly even, with the last kiometre being run at the fastest pace.

Totally enthused again, and itching to get out there again. Only a hour before we go to the Telstra A Series Athletics this evening in Canberra. Must eat and drink some more.

Canberra
The Running Capital of Australia

(or why am I so slack, that I blame the weather)

Having increased my swimming from 0 to 10 kms in a week, I know that I should have a day out of the pool. Went to Customs Joggers at lunchtime today in cool and mild conditions, with the plan to run moderately for the 5k, then have an easy 6 or 7k cooldown afterwards.

A little underwhelming at the start of the handicap, wedged between the slower and faster runners on my own. Found that I hadn't tied my shoe laces up when I started running, and so stopped to tie them. My mind kept wandering - saw someone jogging in the other direction I haven't seen for ages, made plans for the weekend and so on until about 1.5k into the run when I realised how much my mind was drifting. Focussed a bit more and came home strongly, although my heartrate did peak at 200 bpm. During the first kilometre it averaged only 97 bpm

There was a huge turnout today in the cooler conditions and with end of school holidays. After catching up with people, I did an easy flat 6k and enjoyed it. Plans for longer runs on the weekend with I hope will coincide with warmer weather and the return of our fleeting summer.

I could blame it on the lack of sleep last night ~ It sounded like someone was trying to break in, although I calmly thought that this was very unlikely.

So I convinced myself that it was Magnus the possum rearranging its home in the shed after being protected by the possum-mad neighbour while the spiders were being sprayed. It still meant I slept for about an hour in the morning, and thus woke up very groggy.

Groggy. sleep deprived, with gale force winds, rain and a biting cold temperature made the deferral of my planned morning run easy. Still guilty, I stayed in bed and cuddled the cat.

I managed to get to the indoor heated pool at lunchtime, and started well although faded as time wore on and I no longer had the lane to myself. Called it quits at an hour, and soaked up the heat from the steamroom and spa in an attempt to warm up. Spent some time in the gym, but was bored silly by the treadmill, so stuck to doing some lower body weights.

Dinner with colleagues tonight at a restaurant not reknowned for healthy or interesting food. No chance for a run this afternoon first ~ oh well, it is good to be flexible I guess.

P.S. It turned out that the voiceless, human sounds bashing around at midnight was the said possum-mad neighbour rearranging our shed. I still need sleep!

The morning was spent preparing the house and yard for pest controllers to spray for our spidery friends - sad to see them go, however they are winning the cobweb war and invading my bed each night. Although I had hoped to go for a decent run, home duties were far too pressing.

Headed off on my MTB to Woden to do the BBQ Stakes for the first time this year - the weather looked ominous however I was made of sterner stuff. Just enough time to change and check my handicap, not enough for a warm up (again). Note to self: allow more time!

The course was in reverse today, which meant an uphill start. The weekends activities told here, my pace on the ascents dropped back to a crawl, although on the flat and downhill sections I felt good. I couldn't keep up with the three blokes who left on the same handicap, however passed some of the slower runners in front. Having both warmed up and been done with the uphill sections, my pace picked up considerably, resulting in a better than average negative split.

1k 4:50 20m ascent
2k 5:31 (!) 35m ascent
3k 5:01 11m ascent Halfway split = 15:22
4k 5:17 (!) 22m ascent
5k 4:16 5m ascent
6k 4:06 0 ascent (downhill) = 13:39

One of the problems in cycling to the run is bike and gear security after the run disperses - hence no chance to do some more k's after I checked in. Bob rang me from the National Library and we agreed to meet for lunch at the French Bakery at Hughes. While there the rain came down in torrents - I suited up with arm warmers and a gortex jacket and I left to ride to the swimming pool - Afterall, it doesn't matter if I'm a little wet before I go swimming, right?

The stormwater drains were overflowing in the inner north, and water was deeper than the bottom bracket in places. After a hot shower, I changed into my gear and hit the steam room before the pool to warm up a little more! The pool was fairly busy with lanes taken up with swim school places, but I didn't let this deter me and swam for an hour, and quite enjoyed it.

Must go for a decent run tomorrow ~ the weather is forecast to be unseasonably cold, 6-18C and wet! Just gotta run though - it's a lot worse than that in a Canberra winter!

Nice Weather for Ducks?

Morning was taken up with visit to the specialist doctor who agreed to cease regular visits each week! I am going really well these days - can it last?

Went for a swim in the afternoon down at CISAC - it was quite pleasant now that school holidays are over ~ although it was lunchtime I had a lane to myself for about half of the time, and only one other for the rest.

Swam for just over an hour to make it a round 2.5k - although when checking my laps at home found this was 2.6k. Was surprised to see the dark skies outside, and rode home in a thunderstorm, arriving back quite soaked.

A bit disorganised in preparing for the Cross Country tonight - Bob was going, but heading straight off to swim squad afterwards, so I cycled down to the Boathouse. Not enough time to register, change and warm up, so I found the first part of the run pretty hard going, my legs were dead. They warmed up after 2k though and I picked up my pace and began overtaking people. Unfortunately, my lack of preparation including missing a trip to the loo, so I had to make a detour to public conveniences and lost about a minute and a half. Felt good though, finishing in under 5 minute pace adjusted time, 25:40 officially.

A storm coming home made the going wet and dark, and I needed to pull over and put on arm warmers quite early. A hot bath was very welcome tonight!