Run Melbourne
Post event Update 17 July when results were published
This magnificent event attracted more people than a Carlton
vs Collingwood game of aerial ping pong and in their lycra shorts, charity
driven t-shirts, long socks and well worn runners etc. the majority of the
crowd were better dressed to boot. Being a realist I set myself up in the 60
min+ wave and gravitated towards a couple of fit looking ladies who were
holding 65 min balloons. The experts in these matters tell me those ladies run
6 mins and 30 secs per kilometre for the whole distance and therefore you can
pace yourself to finish in a target time. I wasn't dismayed by the fact that
they had wrist bands showing each kilometre of speed for the whole ten (eg. 1
km in 6.30, two in 13, three in 19.30 etc.) as I wasn't chasing a future
science partner but a time goal. Unfortunately I lost them before the 500 meter
mark as the sweat in my eyes blurred my vision (it had nothing to with them
being too far away - that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Anyways I did
have a goal of running the whole distance (which I did bar a couple of walks
through drink stations) and finishing in under 70 mins. My official time
(published in "The Age" this morning) was 69.37 - not a breakneck pace
but at the same time one that I am quite proud to have achieved - it was a full
3 mins 45 secs faster than my best 10 km run. Now onto my Half Marathon goal in
October and I did have a 6.2km training run this morning (in the dark) so
obviously pulled up fighting fit. You can still sponsor me using the logo on
the right hand side of my blog, or just visit there to see the great
messages of support from the donors to date. Funds raised are for the Asthma
Foundation of Victoria.GPS of my run can be seen here.
9 July Update
A couple of months ago a guy who runs ultra-marathons (100km
events) volunteered to help me train for the half marathon event in October and
being slightly naive in these matters I took him up on his offer. After running
in my weekly ParkRun around Albert Park on Saturday (it was 1 degree!!!!) he
said "right we're going for a run tomorrow" - so at 10.45am I got the
"wake up" sms message - "Hi I am doing a spa session at GESAC so
will see you at Duncan McKinnon at 11.30am" - let me give you a tip, don't
trust blokes who run 100km events for a hobby, they are a few snags short of a
barbie (no offence intended George!!!). My training program said "70 min
jog" my training partner thought that meant 70 mins solid jog, then
"you've nearly hit 10 kms may as well run the last 200
metres"….."no point in finishing quarter of a lap in, may as well
finish the whole lap"….so 10.7 kms later I do a slow slow slow walk home.
If you notice I'm a tad ginger today that would be because I am!!!! Good news
is I know I'll can run the 10km event next week in a heartbeat.
Dry July
Update as at 17/7
Over half way there now and last week it was a battle, this
week it is a breeze - although the cold glass of Sav Blanc (condensation on
glass and all) that my wife left on the dining room table on Sunday night as
she went to get the pepper mill was nearly necked. I blame the dehydration for
the hallucinatory thoughts I was having (see Run Melbourne update as to why I was
dehydrated). I did fight back the urge and am still going strong 17 days in. I
don't know if the lack of a beverage is playing havoc with my grip on reality,
but I do have a vague recollection of saying something along the lines of
"I might go another month" out loud sometime yesterday - it could
have been a fleeting thought that didn't come out of my mouth though (any
witnesses??? How much do you need - money is not an issue???) You can donate via
the logo on the right of the blog- funds are for the Royal Melbourne Hospital
Cancer patients.
9 July Update
Nine days in and it has honestly been a battle. The wife
with a glass of wine most nights hasn't been too bad, but my niece's 21st on
Saturday night was a tad boring sipping tonic water whilst these young kids
were bouncing off walls. However that's not the least of it!!! To pick an event
that swears you off the grog whilst in the middle of a Project implementation
is probably not something I'd recommend, with the standard one week out panics,
people blowing steam out of their ears because the process for getting hard copies
of a document has changed, or arguing over whether the Deniliquin telephone
exchange is in Victoria or NSW generally leads to one thing - a binge on a
Friday night. Last Friday it was one tonic water and then a quick exit. Now I
find out the wife's away with the kids for three days - what did that used to
mean??? Poker, beer, sport and pizza, this time it will be a nice cup of herbal
tea, a good book and maybe a yoga or meditation session!! Only three Friday
nights to now conquer so will kill this one.
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