AROC images...

the pod espresso all-stars on the first leg...I'm not sure what Dave & I were looking at but Jodie always knows where the camera is!!

Jodie during Leg 2 on the single MTB track...surprisingly (or not!) I couldn't find a photo of me actually on the bike!

Map 1 covering Legs 1 (foot), 2 (bike), 3 (foot - rogaine on orienteering map), 4 (bike - this leg I caused our major nav error getting from CO18 to TA4), 5 (foot - orienteering) and part of Leg 6 (bike) (click on map for a larger image)

Map 2 covering part of Leg 6 (bike) then Legs 7 (paddle), 8 (swim), 9 (foot - rogaine with Google Earth map), 10 (swim), 11 (paddle, not collecting CP30 on Black Mountain peninsula) and 12 (bike) to the finish (click on map for a larger image)

Huxley's "1st" birthday...

we think being born on the last day in February in a leap year makes Hux a special dog...today he turns "1"....he (with Suze) was at Customs today although he didn't run it...he got to play with Kerrie's dog, got lots of pats and received a special mention in the post run announcements!

today's run was a PS PB by 1 second (LOL)...very happy with that after being a bit disappointed with last night's 3000m (which was my 3rd fastest...obviously I have higher standards now!)...it was also really windy on the edge of the lake, particularly between Regatta Point and the boat hire place and vice versa...

Customs #110

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 15.1/45%
start time: 12:28pm
total distance: 5.00
total time: 23:36 (start 11:30)
avg pace: 4:43
total calories: 374
avg/max HR*: 165/220

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:04 [Z1: 93-111]
00:03 [Z2: 111-130]
00:33 [Z3: 130-148]
16:34 [Z4: 148-167]
06:01 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 4:36, 4:46, 4:46, 4:50, 4:37

Jodie had a good run as well doing 29:XX in her first Customs run in quite awhile...

Vets...

the first race for me was the 3000m and was conducted in reasonably pleasant conditions (15.8 degrees, 68% humidity)....finished 14th in 13:16.34...

1k splits: 4:18, 4:32, 4:27

lap splits (200/400/400/400/400/200/200/400/400): 0:48, 1:42, 1:48, 1:47, 1:50, 0:55, 0:55, 1:50, 1:41

clearly the middle k is letting me down...I need to do more long runs on weekends which I'll be able to do after this weekend...

had a long wait until the spiral so helped out with giving placings in the 200s before having a go at the shotput...it started to rain about 2/3rds of the way through this so I was soaked by the end...

the temperature had dropped by about 4 degrees by the time the 8 Lap Spiral started plus the wind picked up as well so it was quite chilly with moisture still in the air...not many runners competed tonight and I finished 8th in a nett time of 15:53....

Middle of the week...

slowish ride home Tuesday...16.01k, 46:49...

quicker ride to work Wednesday...16.16k, 40:57...

lunch BootBox...at least we did do boxing this week, LOTS of it...and lots of pushups & squats...

average ride home...15.32k, 45:36...

the pod espresso all-stars will be entering the next AROCSport Adventure Race on 15 March...we will be doing the 6hr Mouse Chase option (9am-3pm) rather than the full 12hr Rat Race option (9am-9pm)...in this race we choose our own adventure, making it as long as and as hard as we want...each checkpoint & challenge is worth points which you do in any order (like a rogaine)...we make up our own combination of "paddling, mountain biking, running, iron gut, public transport, 10 pin bowling, sliding, scavenging and more!"

the best thing is we get the maps the night before so hopefully should have a good plan in place for the day...

now for today...the plan for Vets tonight is to run the 3000m (6:15pm) and the 8 Lap Spiral (8:00pm)...

50mins...

rode to work again...16.29k, 42:23...

managed to get out for a 50min run but struggled through it...started off OK then from about 4k or so was heading into a reasonably tough wind and I didn't really have the motivation to push...

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 25.0/356%
start time: 1:26pm
total distance: 9.02
total time: 50:00
avg pace: 5:33
total calories: 690
avg/max HR*: 151/238

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:20 [Z1: 93-111]
00:30 [Z2: 111-130]
39:12 [Z3: 130-148]
05:27 [Z4: 148-167]
01:09 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 5:20, 5:18, 5:22, 5:27, 5:34, 5:42, 5:45, 5:38, 5:45

hopefully the ride home won't be a struggle!!

Paddy Pallin Adventure Race results...

We finished 76th out of 100 teams that finished the Classic Course in a time of 5:52:24 (we got a 15min penalty for skipping CP30; it looks like collecitng that CP added about 8-10mins to the return paddling leg)...

114 teams were entered in the Classic Course (1 Did Not Start, 11 withdrew during the day, 2 finished unranked)

We finished 29th in the mixed category
47 teams were entered in the Mixed category (4 withdrew during the day, 1 finished unranked)

Our split times (with overall leg placing & then category placing):

Foot: 15:34
106/114 41/47
Bike: 49:07
99/114 40/47
Foot: 50:12
62/114 24/47
Bike: 1:05:11
94/112 37/46
Foot: 34:15
67/109 24/45
Bike: 50:24
37/104 17/43
Paddle: 17:30
68/94 27/39
Swim/Foot: 34:25
80/94 32/39
Paddle*: 17:58
7/94 5/39 (*didn't collect CP30)
Bike: 2:48
83/103 33/43

The winners did it in 3:17:45 (mixed team)!!

speedygeese...

seemed to be running late right from the start today...

rode into work...16.27k, 41:15...

late leaving for Parliament House...luckily Tim & Jodie (who wasn't running) were waiting for me...felt like I had my own pit crew as they helped me do a quick change!

a quicker than normal warm up lap to catch up (1.78k @ 5:01 pace)...we jogged down to place drinks at the lower grass area before heading off for a shorter lap around old Parliament House (0.89k)...

the main part of the session was 12 x 40sec on / 80sec off basically around the grass area...Al & I kept each other pretty honest, running on the path...the complete loop was almost 2mins for us...Tim passed us twice...

effort distances (metres): 186, 174, 177, 207*, 177, 172, 175, 170, 179, 174, 198 * didn't hear the whistle over my puffing! Al had to tell me to ease off...

finished with a loop down to the edge of the lake and back (2.65k)...10.85k all up...

avg/max HR: 144/181....starting temp/humidity: 25/28%

A flogging...

we blew any chance at a semi final spot as we lost by 102 runs yesterday...only 1 match to go now until the cricket season is over for us...

Paddy Pallin Adventure Race Report...

The day started with the HQ/registration area in Weston Park opening at 7:15am…Dave dropped our bikes off at the top of Mt Stromlo while Jodie & I checked in at HQ to collect our racing bibs (team #80), sportident stick (or "dipper"), control card, maps, race instructions and some other goodies…

The dipper was used each time we checked into a transition area [TA] and will provide leg time splits in the results while the control card was used to collect punch marks at each checkpoint [CP] (as per orienteering) to prove that we'd been where we were meant to go…

Three buses were used to transport the Group 1 Classic Course starters to near the foot of Mt Stromlo, just off the road to the Observatory…because there were so many entries in the Classic Course (114 teams), we'd been split up into two groups with the expected faster finishers starting in Group 2…in the end there were 64 teams in Group 1 and 50 in Group 2…there was also a Novice Course with 35 teams but they started at HQ and did a shorter course…

The first leg to TA1 (the bike drop) required us to make our way to the top of Mt Stromlo on foot, collecting two CPs on the way…unfortunately CP2 had been stolen so we were directed to TA1 as we neared the top…

From TA1 to TA2 we had to make our way via 4 CPs on bike (or on foot if you were like me and chickened out on some of the steep bits)…the way to CP3 was via the road and then it was onto the first lot of single track MTBiking…the way from CP3 to CP5 was taped so you were meant to follow that trail (some teams obviously either hadn't read the rules or decided they were only there to broken and took some shortcuts)…the early part was fairly congested and I stopped a few times to let faster teams pass…I probably spent only 50% of the time on the bike while Jodie & Dave made it seem easy…but I was much quicker on foot!

From CP5 to CP6 you had to decide which way to go so we picked a slightly longer but much quicker route that didn't have as much climb…along the way we picked up a team of three women ("Blurred Vision") who were doing their first adventure race and didn't have much idea about navigation…they pretty much stuck with us until after TA5…they had asked another team for help but were given the brush off…

CP6 to TA2 was via another taped route and this time I probably stayed on the bike about 90% of the time as it was a bit flatter…

Our bikes were left at TA2 as we collected a map (known as "Bluetts West" when orienteering) to do a rogaine, collecting 6 CPs in any order, on the other side of Uriarra Rd…we collected the first CP OK and then had a minor navigational error (I took us too low on a slope) before correcting the error with Jodie's assistance and collecting the remaining 5 CPs…the error only cost us about 5mins and is typical of the errors I generally make when orienteering by myself!…it was during this leg that the Group 2 starters made an appearance...

It was back to TA3 to collect the bikes and do some more single track MTBiking, collecting 6 CPs on the way…this was reasonably flat but still quite technical with lots of switchbacks and rocky bits, I probably spent about 85% of the time on the bike...I did get a bit more confident but was well aware of my limitations, preferring to avoid potential injury…it wasn't worth taking shortcuts here as it was easy to miss CPs which were on the trail, at least one team did exactly this and had to backtrack…as a point of reference CP17 was near the Criterium cycling track while CP18 was between the cross country track and Deek's Forest Park…we crossed Uriarra Rd again and then made our way by fire trail to TA4 which was on the edge of the Stromlo Forest Area close to the Molonglo River…

We suffered another navigation error as we took the wrong fire trail and headed more toward the RSPCA then we intended, this probably costs us 15-20 minutes before we got back on track and made it to TA4…

It was back on foot to complete an orienteering course of 3 CPs (i.e. collected in order)…this took us along then across the river in a triangular course…the river crossings were fun (and refreshing) as we went in up to mid thigh…thankfully we made it through this part incident free…

Back to TA5 and on the bikes to TA6 which was located at Orana Bay on Lake BG…this ride was a combination of fire trails, 4WD tracks, bike path and roads as we made good time collecting 4 more CPs…along this leg we passed a team that was lost as they'd completely missed getting to TA4 (we pointed them back in the right direction)..

At TA6 it was onto the kayaks to paddle out to Springbank Island to collect a Google Earth map for the next leg which would require a swim to Acton Peninsula...the paddle was hard work as the water was quite choppy due to the wind…there were also boats out on the sailing course but we managed to avoid colliding with them!

At Springbank Island we dropped off some gear, collected the map (put straight into a waterproof bag) and then made our way to the peninsula...Jodie put the control card under her hat while I had the maps tucked inside my PFD (mandatory buoyancy vest) …it was interesting swimming with a PFD on but at least you knew you could stop and be fine!

Then it was around the sculpture park/Old Canberra House area collecting 4 more CPs before swimming back to the island…

On the island we had to note where the last CP was (on Black Mountain Peninsula) and mark it on our map before paddling back via it to TA9…at this stage we elected not to collect the final CP as time was running out…on the return paddle, the "Blurred Vision" team were heading to the island having happily and successfully negotiated the other CPs without us…

From TA9 it was a short ride to the finish…I think we took about 8 minutes over the cut-off time (5.5 hours) plus we'll cop a time penalty for missing CP30 BUT it was a fantastic day weather-wise and we had a great time, working well as a team…it was pretty much non-stop from start to finish…certainly a good work out...I had a very sore left tricep as a result of the heavy braking I was doing on the single track MTBiking!

The team we helped were very appreciative and caught up with us at the finish...Dave gave them a contact email address to send through some photos they'd taken with us on the course…

Jodie had to duck off to baseball while we hung around chatting and watching the presentations...Tim was there with the pod espresso cart and had done a roaring trade almost from the time he set up at 7:00am...

Rick's Farewell...

today was the official Cusotms Joggers Farewell to Rick H who is moving to Evanshead in a fortnight...Rick's done something like 1775 Customs Joggers runs over 31 years!

conditions were warm and windy...my legs were dead and I was slow...

Customs #109

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 24.3/55%
start time: 12:29pm
total distance: 5.01
total time: 25:11 (start 12:45)
avg pace: 5:02
total calories: 374
avg/max HR*: 156/174

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:09 [Z1: 93-111]
00:23 [Z2: 111-130]
01:01 [Z3: 130-148]
22:42 [Z4: 148-167]
00:48 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 4:44, 5:03, 5:06, 5:10, 5:08

tried out my new injinji socks...weird but comfy!

tonight we are going to the elimination semi of the WNBL between the Canberra Caps and the Dandenong Rangers at the AIS...

and tomorrow is the adventure race, woo hoo!!...

10k PB...

on a wet but humid night I managed to knock nearly 1:08 off my 10k track PB to finish 20th in a time of 48:41.81...most pleased to hold off Richard H as he was on my tail most of the run, even passing me three times in the last 10 laps or so...

I'm pretty sure I would have had a much faster time if I wasn't hampered by a stitch from ~5.2k through to ~9k...I don't think it ever really subsided, I just got better at ignoring it...first time that's happened to me in a race so I'll have to have a look at my preparation...due to the humid and wet conditions I even had to ditch my glasses as they kept fogging up!!

400m splits: 1:49, 1:51, 1:55, 1:54, 1:53, 1:55, 1:56, 1:56, 1:55, 1:57, 1:57, 1:56, 1:57, 1:58, 2:00, 2:01, 2:00, 2:00, 2:00, 2:02, 2:02, 2:02, 2:00, 1:59, 1:50

1k splits: 4:35, 4:43, 4:48, 4:50, 4:51, 4:57, 5:01, 5:02, 5:04, 4:49

5k splits: 23:49, 24:53

everyone finished under the hour, I think there were 30 finishers of 31 starters - Anne Y set a new record for the W70 with 58:53ish...

Bike, car, run...

yesterday's ride to Fyshwick (9.75k, 25:57) was uneventful if quite warm...looks like they've done a good job on the repairs to my car...

dropped my bike off at mum & dad's then drove home and swapped cars to return theirs...the ride home from their place gave me the opportunity to practice some trail riding (13.22k, 44:42)...should be OK for Saturday although it might be a little trickier now with the rain we've had...

I am looking forward to tonight's 10000m champs...hoping to go under 49mins...

rode to work again this morning...16.3k, 42:11...

had BootBox(less) again at lunchtime (session 36 of 10)...a different trainer yet again who wasn't aware it had a boxing emphasis (so no gear) - don't these people communicate within the organisation??...lots of running, pushups, crunches, exercises with tubing and so on...

but the best news of the day is that my car is finally ready...will be riding to Fyshwick to pick it up after work and then via a complicated method of bike/car will be returning mum & dad's car to them tonight...

50mins...

argh, I'm getting old!...the combination of keeping for 30 overs on Sunday and last night's session has me feeling quite sore in the quads, particularly just around the knees...

nevertheless, I managed to get out for a 50min run...

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 24.7/36%
start time: 1:13pm
total distance: 9.21
total time: 50:00
avg pace: 5:26
total calories: 690
avg/max HR*: 158/238

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:00 [Z1: 93-111]
00:17 [Z2: 111-130]
05:16 [Z3: 130-148]
39:16 [Z4: 148-167]
01:38 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 5:20, 5:19, 5:19, 5:29, 5:32, 5:30, 5:33, 5:26, 5:26

felt longer than 50mins...!

speedygeese...

rode to work today then had another ride at lunchtime as I did a cache on Mt Ainslie...

after work (4:30pm) met up with Jodie and Dave (pod espresso all-stars) down near the flags at Reconciliation Place for a practice paddle prior to the race on Saturday...

then it was off to Parliament House for the speedygeese session...it was a tough session in warm conditions (starting temp/humidity 25.1 degrees/38%)...

the warm up totalled just over 3k then it was into the hard work...

on an undulating path we were to complete 6 x 40sec hard / 80sec easy returning to the start point each time...the "odd" efforts were a bit more uphill than the "even" ones...

effort distances: 156m, 183m, 173m, 176m, 207m, 187m

got caught in the pack a bit for the first one...decided to fang it in the 5th one to see if I could catch Tim (I didn't!)...we moved up next to the road where it was a bit flatter to repeat the same drill...

effort distances: 187m, 184m, 182m, 208m, 185m, 220m

this time I fanged it in the 4th one...and in the last we were to run through to the end (i.e beyond the 40secs) so my last one was over 44secs (pulled up short of the end as others stopped in front of me)...

warm downed with about 1.4k...

I'm a bit sore in the legs now after combining yesterday's game with today's session!

Finally some cricket...

chasing a very moderate total we managed to secure a win 9 wickets down (the last pair had to score 6 runs to secure the win)...still just outside the top 4 so need to win our last two games to give ourselves a chance at the semis...

bowled my 10 overs straight for 16 (1 dropped catch by the 'keeper) then took over the gloves (got two stumpings)...we had a bad spell in the middle of their innings where we dropped about 10 catches and I reckon 8 of them were from the one batter!!

made double figures but was dismissed by an excellent catch - will have to hit it higher over the fielder next time!

Stromlo Forest Park...

loaded the bike on the back of the car with the intention of doing some MTB riding this afternoon after the cricket was finished...

bigger turnout at SFP this week...much nicer conditions too!

speedygeoff liked last week's session so much that we did the same again with a bit more...

warmed up with 2.5k then after a short break we did the 1k loop in this fashion: running 200m (~1500m pace) then jogging back 100m and repeating (you actually use 1.1k to do it)...that works out to 3k...

effort times: 0:46, 0:47, 0:47, 0:51, 0:53, 0:54, 0:55, 0:54, 0:54, 0:51 (jog times: 0:41-0:45)

another shorter break then we did a 1k jog on the reverse loop...this was followed by 200m on/100m off for 2 1k reverse loops...

on times: 0:45, 0:48, 0:54, 0:49, 0:49, 0:54, 0:46 (off times: 0:36-0:43)

after another break we finished with a 2.5k warm down...all up 11.57k in 80:57...avg/max HR: 148/237 (!)

after a shower and chat I headed to Chisholm where Eastlake resumed their 2nd innings at 4/64 still 52 runs behind Tuggeranong...there were hopes that it'd be all over by 1pm (no lunch was being put on) but it wasn't to be...the Eastlake captain scored a century as they were eventually all out for 251, halfway through the middle session...Tuggeranong needed 136 and duly got it 1 wicket down in the 27th over...we finished at 4:40pm and by the time I left the ground after doing the paperwork I couldn't be bothered going for a ride (that plus the fact I had a splitting headache!)...

did two caches on the way home near Questacon then got everything ready for tomorrow's match in Sydney...it'll be another early start but hopefully we'll get a game in...

Consistency...

in total time, not pace (of course)...only 2 seconds slower than last week's PS PB...

Customs #108

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 20.5/38%
start time: 12:28pm
total distance: 5.00
total time: 23:39 (start 12:45)
avg pace: 4:44
total calories: 374
avg/max HR*: 163/180

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:06 [Z1: 93-111]
00:07 [Z2: 111-130]
00:37 [Z3: 130-148]
16:44 [Z4: 148-167]
08:03 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 4:34, 4:48, 4:52, 4:48, 4:37

Vets...

had a good run in the 3000m...close to a PB will need to wait for the official times...by my watch: 13:10...didn't have the official clock to go off so had to keep looking at the watch...

splits (200/400/400/200/200/400/400): 0:51, 1:43, 1:44, 1:45, 1:47, 0:55, 0:55, 1:49, 1:40

1k splits: 4:18, 4:27, 4:23

held it together for a bit longer than usual!

volunteered to be a lap scorer for the 10000m walkers so ended up with 4 to keep track of: Derek R, Terry M, Anne T and Carmen C...

Anne stopped after 9 laps...Derek & Terry both went under 75mins while Carmen soldiered on to finish in 1:49:20...

8k warm up...

nice ride home yesterday...16.35k, 43:24...

didn't take up speedygeoff's suggestion of a 3hr 30k warm up for tonight's 3000m...ran 8k at lunch time instead:

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 20.1/47%
start time: 1:24pm
total distance: 8.00
total time: 43:21
avg pace: 5:25
total calories: 600
avg/max HR*: 161/231

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:06 [Z1: 93-111]
00:03 [Z2: 111-130]
06:17 [Z3: 130-148]
28:15 [Z4: 148-167]
03:50 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 5:18, 5:21, 5:16, 5:31, 5:22, 5:35, 5:33, 5:24

forgot to mention that the pod espresso all-stars are "competing" in the Paddy Pallin Adventure Race on Saturday 23 February...HQ will be at Weston Park while the bike drop is at the top of Mt Stromlo (I guess we will be using the single track MTB areas out there)...there will be 24k on the bike, 9k on foot, 3.2k on the kayak and a possible 300m of "other" (obviously a surprise!)...hopefully the weather will be good and we will get to kayak this time!

this means, however, that I won't be running around the cross-country track with speedygeoff that morning with the bike drop off and race preparation to take up the time until we get on the bus at 8:50am to be bussed to the start (9:30am)...last time we were bussed to the bike drop to do some orienteering first but who knows how it will work this time!

Rats...

my car won't be ready Friday so I have arranged to borrow mum & dad's "big" car again...they'll be coming to the track again to drop it off...

my plan for running tomorrow night is to only do the 3000m so I may do a run at lunchtime as well...

BootBox...

rode to work...16.29k, 41:04...tested out a cool new mirror that Jodie picked up for me yesterday (the Zefal Spy Mirror)...

seeing as I didn't run yesterday I ran over to lunchtime's BootBox session...2.36k, 11:42...unlike last week we did do boxing but with a different instructor...worked up such a sweat at one stage that I couldn't see because (a) my glasses fogged up and (b) becasue the sweat was stinging my eyes - lucky I was holding the focus mitts at that stage and not trying to punch!

called in on Tim afterwards at his new location in Questacon...it's only a temporary set-up at this stage until the new cart arrives at the end of this month...

run back to work, albeit a bit slower...2.33k, 12:36...

Sri Lanka downs India...

took the day off work to attend the first ODI in Canberra since the 1992 World Cup (I went to that one too!)...

rain delayed play but after a herculean effort from the groundstaff, play started at 1:30pm with a 29 over a side match...

Sri Lanka won the toss and put India in...India made 5/195 (Tendulkar 32 of 30, Gambhir 35 off 33, Dhoni 31 off 25, Rohit Sharma 70no off 64) but just as they headed off the field it started to rain again...

Sri Lanka's innings was reduced to 21 overs with a start at 4:40pm, the target 154...they reached it with 2 overs to spare!! (Jayasuriya 27 off 13, Dilshan 62no off 59, Jayawardene 36no off 35)...

it was a real carnival atmosphere with plenty of Sri Lankan and Indian fans, chanting, waving flags, blowing whistles...a crowd of just over 6000 was there...mum & dad enjoyed it too and so did Jodie who was there for the first innings...

bodes well for Cricket ACT's aim to have 2 women's cricket World Cup matches in 2009 and a test in 2013...

I thought it was cool to see rival spinners Murali and Harbhajan having a good chat while their respective teams were warming up before the match...

so no run for me today...

speedygeese...

nice hard session tonight...starting temp/humidity was 25.3/35%...

started off with a short jog down to the little soccer field for everyone to drop off drinks then we headed in an anti-clockwise direction for a warm up lap (~1.3k) back to the starting stairs where we picked up late comers Tim, Jodie and Griffin...

another short jog back to the oval where we paired up with someone of a like pace (me with Al, Tim with Mick H and Jodie with Rohan) then speedygeoff took us over the course of what was to be the "fast" loop followed by a "recovery" loop...you weren't allowed to go too slow in the recovery loop as you had to be back in time to swap with your partner...

the aim was to work hard for 20 minutes completing as many loops as possible...Al & I managed 7 with me completing my 7th effort after the whistle so that we had both done the same...

effort times for me: 1:24, 1:28, 1:30, 1:36, 1:32, 1:34, 1:30

then we finished with a warm down (~1.3k) which included running up the grassy slope of Parliament House...once again on the jog down Jodie and I rolled away on the bottom bit...

about 8.5k all up with an avg/max HR of 142/176...

Canberra Half, changes to course...

from Ken Eynon, the race director:

"Due to other commitments on the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin on that weekend course changes will be made.

There will be no out and back section on the foreshores of the Central Basin. The start will be in Flynn Drive behind the Hotel Hyatt.

The first 7k will comprise a loop from Flynn Drive towards and under Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, left into King Edward Terrace. Along KET and then left down Parkes Place between the High Court and the National Gallery. Along the foreshore of the lake and up Parkes Place West between Questacon and the National Library. Right into KET and then right again onto Flynn Drive through the start area and right at the roundabout and onto Alexandrina Drive.

Near the bottom of Novar Street the half goes onto the Bike path/Recreation Trail and undertakes the normal lap of West Basin as in past years. Commonwealth Avenue Bridge is cross on the western side and then it is onto the finish line crossing to the lake edge near the Katie Bender Memorial. This finish line will be in the main grassed area of Lennox Gardens next to the small car park and toilet block."

This is expected to be a flatter faster course...and for those that run at the pointy end, there's been an increase in prize money....

The pod expands...

with no cricket in Sydney yesterday I had a pretty lazy day!

slept in for a change...went to the bike shop to get some bits 'n' pieces...watched some cricket...

did the grocery shopping then cooked dinner...

today the new offshoot of the pod will start at Questacon from 2pm...this will be a 7 day a week (8:30am-5:00pm) operation with only Christmas Day off...Tim will be busy there this week so I will be helping out his new barista, Chris, at Braddon...

Tim hopes to make tonight's speedygeese session - at least he'll be nearby!

Stromlo Forest Park...

speedygeoff and I were the only attendees on a cool & windy morning...

during the warm up lap of 2.5k, speedygeoff revised our session from the planned 1k reps (x3) to 200s...

we ended up sprinting 200m (2 posts) and jogging back 100m (1 post), repeating this all the way around the 1k loop...

effort splits: 0:44, 0:46, 0:48, 0:48, 0:52, 0:52, 0:54, 0:53, 0:49, 0:45

next was a reverse lap of 1k before jogging 100m/sprinting 200m on another reverse lap of 1k...

effort splits: 0:49, 0:48, 0:53

we finished off with a reverse lap of 2.5k...

I utilised the showers before making my way over to Chisholm to umpire second grade...Eastlake were dismissed for 36 (!) inside the first session and then Tuggeranong declared at 6/152 at tea...by stumps, Eastlake were 4/64, still behind by 52 runs...

the day finished with dinner at Tim & Sheona's place for mum's birthday...

Club cricket (Sydney)...

PS PB...

after last night's slow efforts, I was quite surprised to see that today's Customs run was a PS PB (by 12 seconds - 9 November) and nearly 50 seconds quicker than my last Customs...

Customs #107

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 16.9/65%
start time: 12:29pm
total distance: 5.00
total time: 23:37 (start 12:15)
avg pace: 4:43
total calories: 374
avg/max HR*: 165/180

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:05 [Z1: 93-111]
00:22 [Z2: 111-130]
00:05 [Z3: 130-148]
13:38 [Z4: 148-167]
10:04 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 4:31, 4:49, 4:48, 4:43, 4:45

off to watch the Caps play the Adelaide Lightning tonight at the AIS Arena, a top of the table clash...

Vets...

three events, three slow times!

first up was the 3000m...started off fast but couldn't maintain it as usual...honestly is anyone surprised by that?!...13:32.85...

splits (7 x 400 + 1 x 200): 1:39 (!!), 1:48, 1:50, 1:54, 1:52, 1:53, 0:46

1k splits: 4:22 (!!), 4:40, 4:31

next was the 800m...I managed to do the first lap quicker than 1:30 but couldn't hang on...3:05.34...

lastly was the 7 Lap Spiral...started off Group 38 and finished 22nd in a nett time of 13:46.16...

Kathy S (who keeps kicking my butt) suggested getting racing spikes or even just racing flats...maybe that can be a reward IF I can break either 3:00 for 8oom or 6:00 for 1500m!

oh, my car should be fixed by next Friday...mum & dad arrived at the track to see me compete (I use that term loosely!!) in the 800m and the Spiral...they were kind enough to bring the "big" car for me to use again on the weekend (although it may not be necessary if it keeps raining in Sydney!)...

had a chat to Nick about Friar...seems he's a bit better than last Thursday night/Friday morning although still not 100%...more tests need to be done to see what the next step will be...

BootBox minus the box...

finally got off my slack butt and rode to work yesterday...16.27k, 40:27

rode to the midday BootBox session where Jesse had a "surprise" for us, no boxing because his crew had taken the gear...another good hard session with Jodie making it hard for me to stay focused as I was laughing too much at her being a funny goose...rode back to work...

rode home...16.18k, 45:09

checked the ACT Umpires website last night to see I've been appointed to the 2 day (9 & 16 Feb) second grade match at Chisholm 1 between Eastlake and Tuggeranong...

this morning I had to drop my car into AAMI at Fyshwick to get fixed after the bingle on the Australia Day holiday...traffic was a pain in the butt, no wonder I don't drive much during the week...

the 3rd ODI between Australia & England scheduled for Drummoyne has been called off due to the wet weather preventing the ground's preparation...the next matches are at the SCG on Sunday & Monday...the series is currently tied...

tonight at Vet's I'm aiming to run the 3000m (6:20pm), the 800m (7:30pm) and the 7 Lap Spiral (8:00pm)...I'll be going there straight from work…mum & dad will be coming to bring me a car for the weekend (and watch the last event)...

club cricket proper finally re-starts again on Sunday with the 4 round matches remaining...we currently sit 6pts outside the top 4 and will be playing Universities, a team missing their 3 Australian players so hopefully we'll win this one...

8k tempo...

a bit quicker than last week due to being 12 degrees cooler and rainy!

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 19.2/88%
start time: 1:14pm
total distance: 8.00
total time: 43:29
avg pace: 5:26
total calories: 600
avg/max HR*: 160/214

*Time spent in HR Zones:
00:00 [Z1: 93-111]
00:00 [Z2: 111-130]
10:27 [Z3: 130-148]
22:02 [Z4: 148-167]
03:56 [Z5: 167-185]

1k splits: 5:29, 5:27, 5:25, 5:27, 5:22, 5:31, 5:23, 5:23

speedygeese #16...

good hard session tonight...

started with 2 warm up laps of 1.83k and 1.36k respectively...

the main part of the session was a loop (~300m) that involved a long diagonal sprint (downhill), short straight jog, long diagonal sprint (uphill) and another short jog...

the idea was to complete 10 loops minus 1 for each time the leader passed you...Tim was the pace setter and he passed me just after I started my 5th loop so I got to do 9 loops...Jodie managed 7...

loop times: 1:10 (oops), 1:21, 1:26, 1:26, 1:26, 1:28, 1:29, 1:27, 1:29

we finished with a slow loop so speedygeoff could pick up the cones and then did a big lap (~2k)...THEN we added a jog up the grassy slope before finishing with a jog down...Jodie & I even rolled a bit of the way down!!

all up about 9.2k in 63mins...avg HR 141, max HR 176...

Hectic...

Friday was a bit hectic, up at 5:30am for an early flight to Melbourne before some caching in the CDB...checked into the hotel early then made my way to the MCG...

the Aussie women - the Southern Stars - won their match by 21 runs over England...

the "main" game was a bit of a fizzer with India out for 74...the noise from the crowd was deafening particularly whenever Gilly got a mention or Harbhajan did something!

back to the hotel by 11pm...

Saturday I was up again at 5:30am this time for the flight back to Canberra...umpired two third grade Twenty20 matches at Majura Oval...

swapped cars with mum and dad (for the automatic with cruise control!) for the drive to Sydney this morning...

Sunday up again at 5:30am (groan for the trip to Sydney for a couple of Twenty20 matches, drove the second part of the journey through pouring rain waiting for the call to say it was off...got to the ground at 9:15am...play was delayed until 10:15am event though we could have started on time...the match was reduced to 18 overs....the last 5 overs was spent in quite heavy rain, ridiculous that we stayed out in it...

eventually the match (and the remaining matches for the rest of the day) were called off...so it was back in the car for the trip home (in pouring rain to start with)...stopped twice on the way home as I was very tired...made it back by 4:00pm...

now watching the ODI in Brisbane....meanwhile the English women beat the Aussie women easily today at the MCG in match 1 of their 5 match ODI series...