Harrie has had a cold for a few days but we expect that of a daycare full-timer. What we didn't expect was for her to spend monday night in hospital after being sent home from daycare.
Monday morning and she was still snotty and had a cough but no temperature and she didn't seem any worse than she had on Friday. So I dropped her and AJ at daycare and went to work. I was back at daycare picking HM up at about 12:30 and then after she'd had a nap I took her to the doc.
Her breathing was laboured and running about twice as quickly as it should be. Her little stomach was working hard as was that little dip where the neck meets the top of the chest. With minimal humming and ahing the doc suggested taking her to emergency to let them check her out. It made sense as the alternative was head home - further away from the hospital - and then possibly have to go there if things got worse.
I gave Sal a call and headed to Royal North Shore's paediatric emergency. She was given the once over with little waiting time. Sal turned up - fortunately for us the in-laws are staying and they picked up AJ. The high breathing rate and lowish oxygen saturation meant she was given ventolin, prednisone and put on oxygen. They also gave her a chest x-ray - I wish I'd got a picture of the huge grin on her face as she sat there with Sal, lead-smocked, holding her arms out of the way.
It was then a matter of waiting to see how she fared. Harrie would be staying at least one night for observation so Sal took the car and headed back home to get some stuff for me; with no sick leave available to Sal and because I can sleep pretty much anywhere it was a no-brainer that I would stay with HM.
Sal bought back Thai food a change of clothes. The change of clothes was patch-pocket shorts and a check shirt which could exactly replace the patch-pocket shorts and check shirt I was wearing. I had been thinking a t-shirt and a jumper might arrive, possibly even a change of undies.
Sal then left again while I waited around, watched some disturbing footage of torture in Syria and then some surprisingly impressive moments from senator Bill Shorten on Q&A. He seems to know his shit. Our room up on level 5 was then ready, we relocated and got our heads down for the night, me on a chair-bed-thing and Harrie with a tube up her nose and a clip on her foot.
She woke up a few times in the night but did OK. Sal came back in the morning for a couple of hours giving me the opportunity to pick up some supplies and get some fresh air. Then I pitched in for as-long-as-it-would take.
Harrie had progressively less oxygen as the day wore on and then no ventolin. By early afternoon the breathing was back to near enough normal and her O2 saturation likewise. Another doctor checked her out and said we could check out, which was nice. Great for her and fortunate for me as I'd run out three mobile phone batteries by browsing news sites. I had been offered a newspaper, but as it was the Telegraph (not really a newspaper, more a comic) I had declined. I know what daytime TV is like, so my only TV time was to switch it off when Sal left.
Although the test for Bronchiolitis - tube up the nose thing - had come back negative the doctors all seemed to think that was the most likely culprit. Inflamed airways on the bronchioles leading to difficulty breathing, or respiratory distress. With some ventolin to takeaway in case the wheezing started again we left for home at about 4, roughly 24hours after we'd got to the hospital.
Last night HappyBurp had a reasonable sleep and her breathing rate has remained normal, around 36 per minute and down from the 18 in 15 seconds the doctor had counted. She'd taken it all in her stride. I had remained relatively calm throughout and Sal had been fret-lite but fret nonetheless. My biggest challenge came early on in the piece with trying to stop her ripping the tube from under her nose and then later trying to convince her that toys were better to play with than tubes and wires.
So there you have it. Recorded for posterity while HM sleeps and I should be doing likewise or cleaning walls or working or some such. Back to work tomorrow when Sal works form home and I hand over the baby baton. Might get to hang with my little lady on Friday, let's see how the week pans out. For now, other than having a cold, she is pretty much her normal self.
Quite a dry post this one, sorry about that.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
a day worth blogging
I am a bit crap when it comes to blogging about the kids and their awesomeness and a lot of stuff in general and for that I do not apologise. If I'm a bit crap then I'm a bit crap - so there. For the record the kids are awesome. Both Sal and I find ourselves locked in a battle of wills with number 1 while number 2 refuses get to her knees and now drags herself commando style all over the house in search of things to upend over herself. They are awesome in the correct sense of the word and awe is inspired every day. Which is not to say I will blog any more about them than I presently do.
So to today. I woke up a little grumpy despite having been gifted a 15minutes lay in and not getting woken until 4:45. This, I suspect was evening the score for Friday's 4:15 start. Anyway, I got up and kept the kids quiet until approaching 7am when I could take out my grumpiness on Sal. I suspect the grumpiness was a hangover from a Saturday spent filling a 3m3 skip with bricks, concrete and wet sand.
Anyway, a proper row was narrowly avoided and we went out for some breakfast at Splat in Queenscliff. I've been there a couple of times before and like the view from the deck - all along Manly beach - the pictures on the wall - especially the one of the shark and swimmer at the Bower - and the guy who runs the place - who seems like a decent bloke. It was a far more relaxed breakfast this morning on account of me not having cycled there and arrived a stinking, sweating wreck or got there with a mental dog in tow.
So we had breakfast and it was pleasant and the girls behaved and we drove home and the grandparents, who have taken up residence, took AJ out while Sal headed out bag shopping with Harrie and I was a free man.
I have been longing to get back in the water since Fiji - in November. So I grabbed a backpack, faffed around a lot deciding what gear to take (deciding to ditch the weight belt and wetsuit in favour of a rash vest), grabbed the pushbike and headed to the Bower to see if I could swim with the sharks.
Manly was busy with crowds in town for the final day of the Australian Open of Surfing that looked like it was going to take place without waves. Bad for them, great for me. I got to the Bower to find it looking pretty nice - just like the picture. I chained my bike up, left the key to the chain in the backpack that I hung from the handlebars and went down the steps to the water.
Australia is having a La Nina year. That means a lot of rain and cool temperatures with warm seas. Today we didn't have the cool temperatures or rain but we did have the warm seas. Perfect. I headed out and saw my first shark, a small Dusky Whaler, after about 30seconds. It had already been a good outing.
I got out over the sand and found a huge school of Yellowtail heading north. I duck-dived down to join them swimming over the weed and between the boulders. Clearish warming water, loads of fish, a shark. Happy days! After a while I turned to head south as that is where I have seen more sharks in previous years. And after a while I spotted another whaler. My breath hold was getting a bit better - but not outstanding - and I was pretty comfortable swimming around at about 5m. As it was low tide that was deep enough. Any deeper would need a shovel.
I turned back towards the rocks, passing a lone, juvenile Kingfish and another Whaler. Then I found a small Wobbegong sitting on top of a rock. I started to beat myself up for not having a camera with me (always take the camera!) as I did a few dives to get a good look at the little carpet shark and another that was wedged under a rock about 8ft from the first.
I saw a few scuba divers approaching so swam over to them and let them know there were sharks about. I do like hanging out with scuba divers while I'm on breath-hold :-) A quick trip to the surface and I went back down to point out the Wobbie on the rock. I should have pointed out both as one of the divers damn near stood on the second one. On the surface I had a chat with another snorkeler about the sharks before heading on my way south.
I saw no more sharks but enough fish to keep me happy as I started to get a little chilly. I got out after around 40mins, very pleased with myself. I grabbed a coffee and sat on the wall by the steps to watch the world go by and take this picture. Then it was time to head home.
I decided to first ride along the beach to check out the crowds at the surf comp. So I put my sandals on, packed or strapped to the rucksack everything else and headed along the beach. With my bike helmet clipped to the backpack and my t-shirt knotted on my head (I'd forgotten to pack a cap) I felt very much as if I lived "on the beaches." It was a nice feeling.
Along the beach and then back to the main road. I stopped to correctly fit the t-shirt and bike helmet and then cycled home. I was a little surprised to find that I'd been gone under 2hours. I really must do this more often.
Sal was cooking a roast for dinner and with only Harrie to look after I got another free pass. Rowlf hadn't had his long walk so I took him down to the Spit so he could have a swim in the Harbour. He was his usual mental self, I was back by the water and all was well in the world.
OK, I need to go to bed, so that's the lot. A good day; overlooking the ocean with my ladies, in the ocean with the sharks and paddling in the shallows with my dog. Three out of three.
So to today. I woke up a little grumpy despite having been gifted a 15minutes lay in and not getting woken until 4:45. This, I suspect was evening the score for Friday's 4:15 start. Anyway, I got up and kept the kids quiet until approaching 7am when I could take out my grumpiness on Sal. I suspect the grumpiness was a hangover from a Saturday spent filling a 3m3 skip with bricks, concrete and wet sand.
Anyway, a proper row was narrowly avoided and we went out for some breakfast at Splat in Queenscliff. I've been there a couple of times before and like the view from the deck - all along Manly beach - the pictures on the wall - especially the one of the shark and swimmer at the Bower - and the guy who runs the place - who seems like a decent bloke. It was a far more relaxed breakfast this morning on account of me not having cycled there and arrived a stinking, sweating wreck or got there with a mental dog in tow.
So we had breakfast and it was pleasant and the girls behaved and we drove home and the grandparents, who have taken up residence, took AJ out while Sal headed out bag shopping with Harrie and I was a free man.
I have been longing to get back in the water since Fiji - in November. So I grabbed a backpack, faffed around a lot deciding what gear to take (deciding to ditch the weight belt and wetsuit in favour of a rash vest), grabbed the pushbike and headed to the Bower to see if I could swim with the sharks.
Manly was busy with crowds in town for the final day of the Australian Open of Surfing that looked like it was going to take place without waves. Bad for them, great for me. I got to the Bower to find it looking pretty nice - just like the picture. I chained my bike up, left the key to the chain in the backpack that I hung from the handlebars and went down the steps to the water.
Australia is having a La Nina year. That means a lot of rain and cool temperatures with warm seas. Today we didn't have the cool temperatures or rain but we did have the warm seas. Perfect. I headed out and saw my first shark, a small Dusky Whaler, after about 30seconds. It had already been a good outing.
I got out over the sand and found a huge school of Yellowtail heading north. I duck-dived down to join them swimming over the weed and between the boulders. Clearish warming water, loads of fish, a shark. Happy days! After a while I turned to head south as that is where I have seen more sharks in previous years. And after a while I spotted another whaler. My breath hold was getting a bit better - but not outstanding - and I was pretty comfortable swimming around at about 5m. As it was low tide that was deep enough. Any deeper would need a shovel.
I turned back towards the rocks, passing a lone, juvenile Kingfish and another Whaler. Then I found a small Wobbegong sitting on top of a rock. I started to beat myself up for not having a camera with me (always take the camera!) as I did a few dives to get a good look at the little carpet shark and another that was wedged under a rock about 8ft from the first.
I saw a few scuba divers approaching so swam over to them and let them know there were sharks about. I do like hanging out with scuba divers while I'm on breath-hold :-) A quick trip to the surface and I went back down to point out the Wobbie on the rock. I should have pointed out both as one of the divers damn near stood on the second one. On the surface I had a chat with another snorkeler about the sharks before heading on my way south.
I saw no more sharks but enough fish to keep me happy as I started to get a little chilly. I got out after around 40mins, very pleased with myself. I grabbed a coffee and sat on the wall by the steps to watch the world go by and take this picture. Then it was time to head home.
I decided to first ride along the beach to check out the crowds at the surf comp. So I put my sandals on, packed or strapped to the rucksack everything else and headed along the beach. With my bike helmet clipped to the backpack and my t-shirt knotted on my head (I'd forgotten to pack a cap) I felt very much as if I lived "on the beaches." It was a nice feeling.
Along the beach and then back to the main road. I stopped to correctly fit the t-shirt and bike helmet and then cycled home. I was a little surprised to find that I'd been gone under 2hours. I really must do this more often.
Sal was cooking a roast for dinner and with only Harrie to look after I got another free pass. Rowlf hadn't had his long walk so I took him down to the Spit so he could have a swim in the Harbour. He was his usual mental self, I was back by the water and all was well in the world.
OK, I need to go to bed, so that's the lot. A good day; overlooking the ocean with my ladies, in the ocean with the sharks and paddling in the shallows with my dog. Three out of three.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Five days with Strava
In January I ran everyday as part of Janathon and every day I used RunningFreeOnline to log my miles. It's one of the rules that ensures all participants put their mileage in the same palce so each of us - and the organisers - can keep track of progress. The site, alas, rates as one of my least favourite. Not just my least favourite mileage tracking sites but one of my least favourite sites fullstop. I'll not dwell; I just don't like it.
Typically I Use DailyMile to load my mileage. It's a dead easy to use site and fairly social. What it makes up for i sociability it loses in features. You get a map and an elevation graph and can say what the weather was like, how you felt and what shoes you were wearing but not a lot more (at least not for free.) It also managed to lose one of my recent runs and then on another ocassion I tried to save a run and was given a "we're making the site better" screen. An unexpcted outage and another run lost.
With a reasonable amount of competition in the free-mileage-tracking market I decided to check out Strava, a site recommended to me by a tri-athlete and ironman I bump into most weeks. It was originally intended for cyclists but the feature set for runners is pretty damn good and I have to say I am very impressed. It is already making me run faster than I have for a long time and it is far better for analysis - something I need as I start to train for another marathon. So here are how my five days have gone.
Day 1. I upload a run and see how Strava feels to use. It recognised my Garmin, uploaded and mapped the route and showed me my km splits. It also allowed me to view 'segments.' Segments are runs or parts of runs that you can save. An obvious candidate is the harbour Bridge. If you run a segment - any public segment - the site will let you know and present you with your spot on the leaderboard. Navigation is easy, the presentation is unfussy . Nice.
Day 2. Trying to get over the plodding January I decided to set a segment time on Parriwi Rd and then the deck of the Bridge. Knowing that leaderboards exist makes you run faster than you would otherwise. Which is great for training and helped me over the plods.
Day 3. A day when I didn't feel like a morning run and as soon as I got on the bus regretted not runnng. So I ran home, taking it fairly easy and avoiding as much rush hour traffic as possible. Not a lot to say about Strava's influence because on this run it didn't have any.
Day 4. A typical run to work, but I knew a segment of 800m existed between the towers of the Harbour Bridge so I decided to up the pace. Once again Strava had given me a kick and I benefitted from half a mile at maybe 90% effort.
Day 5. Having split times displayed is not just a Strava thing; GarminConnect and many other sites do that. But I'm using Strava and therefore it can take credit for the Military Rd section where I was intending to run at marathon pace. General competitveness saw me run a quicker than usual Parriwi because I overtook a runner soon after getting on the road and for a while could hear him behind me. I didn't fancy getting overtaken again. At the Bridge I wanted to get back on to marathon pace, which I did fairly easily. Then another runner pulled up to my shoulder. Once again, I didn't fancy getting overtaken so I put my foot down and he stuck with me. As I approached a restriction I figured I'd just be able to get through before the guy with the flight case and if I did I could pull away from the guy on my shoulder. Lucky I made it because if my timing had been out I would have jad to slam the brakes on. I got over the bridge with my honour intact, had a brief chat with the guy on the steps and then made my way to work in a new PB of 48:59. I'm looking forward to seeing if I managed to get up the leaderboard for the full or towers segments of the bridge.
So there you have it, Strava, a website that seems to make me run faster.
Typically I Use DailyMile to load my mileage. It's a dead easy to use site and fairly social. What it makes up for i sociability it loses in features. You get a map and an elevation graph and can say what the weather was like, how you felt and what shoes you were wearing but not a lot more (at least not for free.) It also managed to lose one of my recent runs and then on another ocassion I tried to save a run and was given a "we're making the site better" screen. An unexpcted outage and another run lost.
With a reasonable amount of competition in the free-mileage-tracking market I decided to check out Strava, a site recommended to me by a tri-athlete and ironman I bump into most weeks. It was originally intended for cyclists but the feature set for runners is pretty damn good and I have to say I am very impressed. It is already making me run faster than I have for a long time and it is far better for analysis - something I need as I start to train for another marathon. So here are how my five days have gone.
Day 1. I upload a run and see how Strava feels to use. It recognised my Garmin, uploaded and mapped the route and showed me my km splits. It also allowed me to view 'segments.' Segments are runs or parts of runs that you can save. An obvious candidate is the harbour Bridge. If you run a segment - any public segment - the site will let you know and present you with your spot on the leaderboard. Navigation is easy, the presentation is unfussy . Nice.
Day 2. Trying to get over the plodding January I decided to set a segment time on Parriwi Rd and then the deck of the Bridge. Knowing that leaderboards exist makes you run faster than you would otherwise. Which is great for training and helped me over the plods.
Day 3. A day when I didn't feel like a morning run and as soon as I got on the bus regretted not runnng. So I ran home, taking it fairly easy and avoiding as much rush hour traffic as possible. Not a lot to say about Strava's influence because on this run it didn't have any.
Day 4. A typical run to work, but I knew a segment of 800m existed between the towers of the Harbour Bridge so I decided to up the pace. Once again Strava had given me a kick and I benefitted from half a mile at maybe 90% effort.
Day 5. Having split times displayed is not just a Strava thing; GarminConnect and many other sites do that. But I'm using Strava and therefore it can take credit for the Military Rd section where I was intending to run at marathon pace. General competitveness saw me run a quicker than usual Parriwi because I overtook a runner soon after getting on the road and for a while could hear him behind me. I didn't fancy getting overtaken again. At the Bridge I wanted to get back on to marathon pace, which I did fairly easily. Then another runner pulled up to my shoulder. Once again, I didn't fancy getting overtaken so I put my foot down and he stuck with me. As I approached a restriction I figured I'd just be able to get through before the guy with the flight case and if I did I could pull away from the guy on my shoulder. Lucky I made it because if my timing had been out I would have jad to slam the brakes on. I got over the bridge with my honour intact, had a brief chat with the guy on the steps and then made my way to work in a new PB of 48:59. I'm looking forward to seeing if I managed to get up the leaderboard for the full or towers segments of the bridge.
So there you have it, Strava, a website that seems to make me run faster.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
closing thoughts
It is over, right?
Janathon is a great event and Cathy should once again have praise heaped upon her for bringing us together (big group hug!) even if she is trying to kill us. Again I feel guilty about not reading and commenting on more blogs. That is, after all, a big part of the event. I dipped in and out of a few, left a few comments but should have done more. To each and everyone reading - probabaly about 6 people, one of which will be my brother - if you consider your Janathon congratulatable then consier yuorself congratulated!
I got lucky this year. It's all about motivation and opportunity and this year I was up against Gary, with a new baby (that will rob you of opportunity!) and a cold, and Andrew on a 12month runstreak (there's the greater motivation.) That left me with a free run to the top spot. Opportunity was good to me. I've moved house since June and the direct route to work is 10.5km. Easy to add a bit to that and keep the numbers ticking over. And I had the motivation. I know it isn't a competition...but I wanted to win back-to-back June and Janathons. The total only came into the picture after a couple of weeks.
Gary still pushed me all the way. It was his 2011 total that I was after from mid-Jan. I simply did the maths. If I run 25km a day for the last two weekes will that get me past him? The answer was yes. Just needed the masochism to back up the maths.
I really do not like running the roads of Sydney in January. The trails are great but the roads are a sweaty slog and it is a good job I'm a stubborn sonofabitch. But hey, if I'd had more fun I'd have done fewer miles.
There were not the same emotional highs and lows that I had in the past couple of events. Does that mean I didn't push myself hard enough? Surely not...
Either Gary or someone else will knock out 500miles. A full month of 25km days is 775km, and from there you don't have to add too much to get it over the line. The person to do it will not be me. Sal has already banned me from all future Janathons on account of the knackered, stinking, vacant, gibbering wreck I become. I am holding onto the hope that she will guarantee my non-entry next year by buying me a kayak for Christmas. That said, the most unsubtle of hints I dropped in 2010 and 11 got me nowhere...
I might be around for Juneathon, but my focus will be on The Gold Coast marathon in July, so I'll not do anything silly. Which is a shame, because it is damn near perfect running conditions in June...
Today I got the bus to work. I hated it. The steamed up windows didn't help, but what really didn't help was that I could have done it quicker on foot. In fact at the kids' daycare one of the mums this morning told me I had beaten her to North Sydney yesterday. She'd not been on a bus, she'd been driving.
It took a lot of will power to keep out of the work biscuit barrel this morning. One of the great things about the athons is that I get to eat like a horse.
I love my Asics. I've been through plenty of Nimbus and Cumulus since I started running about 9years ago. But I've been very impressed with the Nike Pegasus that I picked up on new year's day and which I ran about 660km in. They do hum a bit though...
When I walked Rowlf this morning I took a jacket because the temperaturea had dropped that far. Thanks a bunch Sydney summer!
I think that's about it.
Now I need to start spending a bit more quality time with the family.
Janathon is a great event and Cathy should once again have praise heaped upon her for bringing us together (big group hug!) even if she is trying to kill us. Again I feel guilty about not reading and commenting on more blogs. That is, after all, a big part of the event. I dipped in and out of a few, left a few comments but should have done more. To each and everyone reading - probabaly about 6 people, one of which will be my brother - if you consider your Janathon congratulatable then consier yuorself congratulated!
I got lucky this year. It's all about motivation and opportunity and this year I was up against Gary, with a new baby (that will rob you of opportunity!) and a cold, and Andrew on a 12month runstreak (there's the greater motivation.) That left me with a free run to the top spot. Opportunity was good to me. I've moved house since June and the direct route to work is 10.5km. Easy to add a bit to that and keep the numbers ticking over. And I had the motivation. I know it isn't a competition...but I wanted to win back-to-back June and Janathons. The total only came into the picture after a couple of weeks.
Gary still pushed me all the way. It was his 2011 total that I was after from mid-Jan. I simply did the maths. If I run 25km a day for the last two weekes will that get me past him? The answer was yes. Just needed the masochism to back up the maths.
I really do not like running the roads of Sydney in January. The trails are great but the roads are a sweaty slog and it is a good job I'm a stubborn sonofabitch. But hey, if I'd had more fun I'd have done fewer miles.
There were not the same emotional highs and lows that I had in the past couple of events. Does that mean I didn't push myself hard enough? Surely not...
Either Gary or someone else will knock out 500miles. A full month of 25km days is 775km, and from there you don't have to add too much to get it over the line. The person to do it will not be me. Sal has already banned me from all future Janathons on account of the knackered, stinking, vacant, gibbering wreck I become. I am holding onto the hope that she will guarantee my non-entry next year by buying me a kayak for Christmas. That said, the most unsubtle of hints I dropped in 2010 and 11 got me nowhere...
I might be around for Juneathon, but my focus will be on The Gold Coast marathon in July, so I'll not do anything silly. Which is a shame, because it is damn near perfect running conditions in June...
Today I got the bus to work. I hated it. The steamed up windows didn't help, but what really didn't help was that I could have done it quicker on foot. In fact at the kids' daycare one of the mums this morning told me I had beaten her to North Sydney yesterday. She'd not been on a bus, she'd been driving.
It took a lot of will power to keep out of the work biscuit barrel this morning. One of the great things about the athons is that I get to eat like a horse.
I love my Asics. I've been through plenty of Nimbus and Cumulus since I started running about 9years ago. But I've been very impressed with the Nike Pegasus that I picked up on new year's day and which I ran about 660km in. They do hum a bit though...
When I walked Rowlf this morning I took a jacket because the temperaturea had dropped that far. Thanks a bunch Sydney summer!
I think that's about it.
Now I need to start spending a bit more quality time with the family.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
and I'm spent
Well it wouldn't be January and this wouldn't be Sydney if it wasn't humid
as hell to the very end of Janathon. Another sticky night last night was
followed by another cloyingly close morning. I got back from walking Rowlf
having read Facebook posts from friends bemoaning their bad night's sleep. Sally
was up with the kids and bemoaning her
bad night's sleep. I'd had my own bad night's sleep, woken a couple of times
from dodgy dreams - one featuring hordes of loitering teenage oiks and the
other a rattlesnake. No idea where the oik dream came from, but the rattler
will be because I watched Rango on Sunday. Good movie, well worth watching if
you ask me. Before I forget - cracking sunrise this morning which this picture, taken with my Blackberry, does no justice. So you'll have to take my word for it.
Anyway, January 31st. Last day of January, last day that I have
to run and it was the standard no-brainer to start the day. I dropped the girls
at daycare and made way towards work. Blah blah like trying to breathe treacle,
blah blah sweating my arse off blah blah. My legs felt super-heavy and all over
the place, which I attribute to mental fatigue and what I call 'finish line
anxiety.' I don't know if I read or heard that phrase or if it is my own, but
it refers to my ability to feel like shit just before I get to the finish of an
event.
I ran up the hill to Mosman and at the lights grabbed the
water bottle from my backpack, just as I did yesterday. I took three big swigs,
just as I had yesterday. My form had improved by then - at least it felt like
it had improved. I rolled along to North Sydney
and down towards the bridge.
Another jogger came in from a side path, ran along the grass
and then ran a few steps on a garden bed. That annoyed me. I understand trying
to avoid hard surfaces where possible - I'll try and run on an asphalt road if
the pavement is concrete and I don’t think a bus will hit me - but running on a
prepared garden bed is a bit rude. I thought I'd let it go.
At the bubbler I stopped to refill the water bottle. I
watched the jogger take the steps two at a time and then disappear onto the
footpath. I finished filling my bottle and said to myself "right, let's
catch him."
I took the steps two at a time and at the top he had maybe
100m on me. He was moving at a reasonable rate. I picked my pace up a bit and
started to chase him down. Silly - maybe, but it's the last day of Janathon, I
had 718km under my belt and...well, fuck it, I'm sick to death of plodding.
Approaching half way I was close enough to contemplate
overtaking. When competing in "The Commuter Olympics" I typically
hold back until the last 100m or so and then blast past, not giving the
opposition (who usually don’t know they’re racing!) much opportunity to bite
back. But today I was spoiling for a race. With about 700m to go I eased past
him. Then I sped up. I sped up some more. I resisted the urge to look over my
shoulder. With about 100m to go I sped up again. It felt great. I ran down the
steps damn near in tears. FUCK YEAH! Still got some left in the tank. I didn't
look back; no idea if he bit or not, and I didn't care.
I ran down to the foreshore and eased to work with 14.5km
for the morning and 722.5 for the month.
The fuller-figured lady can start to warm up her vocal
chords.
It was surprisingly cool as I left the office and when I got to North Sydney the sign atop the RICOH building was saying 22C, a full 12C lower than yesterday. I ran up to North Sydney Oval and then took a diversion - shock! horror! strayed form the path! - to the field behind the oval. It overlooks the harbour and I stopped the Garmin to send Gary, Andrew and Cathy a friendly "gotcha" as I put 1km onto Gary's 2011 total. Despite the noise of the traffic on the freeway it felt quite serene and I had to snap myself out of simply standing there, alone, in a field, thinking about nothing and enjoying the cool breeze. Sydney, it seemed, had decided to turn the thermostat down - at last.
I restarted the GPS and trotted off towards home. I was chaffed from yesterday and it was a bit uncomfortable but I just wanted to get it over and done with. The math said I would clock up 733km by about Spit Bridge and that was about right. At the foot of the Gallipoli steps I stopped the GPS again. It was a shade over 25km and I decided that I could walk home from there.
That's all folks. Janathon 2011. Total of 733km, or 455miles in old money. One of my goals was to get to midnight with enough miles logged that I would feel comfortable that Andrew would not catch me. It's 8pm and I'm done with running this month.
Now it is just a matter of seeing what the lads in the old country can do in the next 15hours. I suspect I've done enough. The maths is on my side.
I'll count my chickens in the morning, but for now (and I do feel a bit bad about this next line, but I'll type it anyway) here is a fat lady singing. So it must be over.
It was surprisingly cool as I left the office and when I got to North Sydney the sign atop the RICOH building was saying 22C, a full 12C lower than yesterday. I ran up to North Sydney Oval and then took a diversion - shock! horror! strayed form the path! - to the field behind the oval. It overlooks the harbour and I stopped the Garmin to send Gary, Andrew and Cathy a friendly "gotcha" as I put 1km onto Gary's 2011 total. Despite the noise of the traffic on the freeway it felt quite serene and I had to snap myself out of simply standing there, alone, in a field, thinking about nothing and enjoying the cool breeze. Sydney, it seemed, had decided to turn the thermostat down - at last.
I restarted the GPS and trotted off towards home. I was chaffed from yesterday and it was a bit uncomfortable but I just wanted to get it over and done with. The math said I would clock up 733km by about Spit Bridge and that was about right. At the foot of the Gallipoli steps I stopped the GPS again. It was a shade over 25km and I decided that I could walk home from there.
That's all folks. Janathon 2011. Total of 733km, or 455miles in old money. One of my goals was to get to midnight with enough miles logged that I would feel comfortable that Andrew would not catch me. It's 8pm and I'm done with running this month.
Now it is just a matter of seeing what the lads in the old country can do in the next 15hours. I suspect I've done enough. The maths is on my side.
I'll count my chickens in the morning, but for now (and I do feel a bit bad about this next line, but I'll type it anyway) here is a fat lady singing. So it must be over.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Summer's here and the temperature is not quite right for running in the street
Woke up a bit late so it was just a short walk for Rowlf. I noticed the clouds moving particularly quickly, from the north. Hmmm, forecast was for a hot one today and that wind suggested a big puddle of hot air was headed our way.
The run to work was the usual sweaty slog but I was feeling pretty good. Nothing new to report, still sticking to the OCD route. I contemplated adding a couple of cheeky extra kilometres but decided against it. No need to do anything silly. I got to work at about 08:30, and considering it is now 13:45 and I have yet to have a piss I think it is fair to say I sweated out more than I thought I had. This summer really does not like me.
Today the forecast top temp was 30C. It has been exceeded - it is currently 32C. I could have a challenging run home. Let's hope it cools off and the wind either swings or drops, because an 11km NNE run into hairdryer is not something I am itching to get started.
So the temp dropped to 31C. Before rising to its current 33C. I leave in about half an hour and I think I'll just stop looking.
OK, I had to look...ooo, it's right down to 32C, I'm off!
What you can't quite make out on that picture, just under the 'RICOH' sign, is where it says 5:38PM and 34C. OK, so the top of a North Sydney office block might not be the most accurate gauge of current temperature, but it certainly felt damn hot. Not really a great deal more than that to say about the run home. Glad to get through 700km. Glad today is done, and now to rehydrate.
Beer is good for that, right? Just a couple...
A short post today, hence the bigger picture. Makes the post look bigger than it really is.
Just one more day, and I suspect I shall not do what I did last Juneathon and Janathon and go uber easy.
The clever money is on me doing the same as I did today; a bit over 25km.
The run to work was the usual sweaty slog but I was feeling pretty good. Nothing new to report, still sticking to the OCD route. I contemplated adding a couple of cheeky extra kilometres but decided against it. No need to do anything silly. I got to work at about 08:30, and considering it is now 13:45 and I have yet to have a piss I think it is fair to say I sweated out more than I thought I had. This summer really does not like me.
Today the forecast top temp was 30C. It has been exceeded - it is currently 32C. I could have a challenging run home. Let's hope it cools off and the wind either swings or drops, because an 11km NNE run into hairdryer is not something I am itching to get started.
So the temp dropped to 31C. Before rising to its current 33C. I leave in about half an hour and I think I'll just stop looking.
OK, I had to look...ooo, it's right down to 32C, I'm off!
What you can't quite make out on that picture, just under the 'RICOH' sign, is where it says 5:38PM and 34C. OK, so the top of a North Sydney office block might not be the most accurate gauge of current temperature, but it certainly felt damn hot. Not really a great deal more than that to say about the run home. Glad to get through 700km. Glad today is done, and now to rehydrate.
Beer is good for that, right? Just a couple...
A short post today, hence the bigger picture. Makes the post look bigger than it really is.
Just one more day, and I suspect I shall not do what I did last Juneathon and Janathon and go uber easy.
The clever money is on me doing the same as I did today; a bit over 25km.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Manly out and back
I had an awful nights sleep. Rather than toss and turn and keep Sal awake I decamped to the sofa, tossed and turned and kept myself awake. I thought I'd managed to get a bit of sun stroke. I woke up feeling ordinary but the suspected shin splint was fine. Time to walk the dog.
I took Rowlf to the Spit where he could have a swim and I could stand with my legs in the water. I'm not sure it makes much difference physically, but it sure is good for the soul. We got home and I threw down a couple of slices of bread, peanut butter and honey, gave Rowlf a wash (in other words we wrestled for 15minutes) and got ready to head out for a run.
The Spit to Manly walk is 9km and starts 1km from my home. Do that out and back and add a bit in Manly and I'm good. Easy. I gave the Nikes another breather as most of today would be tame trail.
I was keeping it very gentle today, just an idle trot. The weather was being kind to me and was a little overcast as I left - still humid, but no savage bite to the sun. I was also helped by pensioners. Hundreds of them seemed to be doing the walk today, groups of ambling oldies, many of whom did not seem to know or care about getting out of the way of people walking in the other direction. Frustrating though that was, it had the effect of moderating my pace so that by the time I got to Manly wharf and 10km I was feeling ok.
I hugged the shore until I found a dead end, decided today was not a day for exploring and headed to the beach to get a few extra metres. I was pleased enough with the distance and turned for home after slamming down a Gatorade.
At the wharf on the return I stopped for a chat with an oncoming jogger in a 6ft track singlet. Like me she had not secured a spot for this year, but unlike me she is doing the North Face 100 (km, not miles.) we talked shoes and event organization, wished each other well and set off in our different directions.
The return leg was probably a bit slower. I was being super polite and stopping to let most oncoming walkers past, glad to be taking small rests. I figured the energy saved was worth more to me than the annoyance of the stop-start progress and the bigger annoyance of far more than 50% of people not saying thanks. C'est la vie.
I finished at about 22 and bit km which was a little less than I anticipated but a little more than I needed. I knew I was going to struggle this weekend and I'm glad it's behind me. Pretty simple now; I just have to run to work and back twice.
The pics are from earlier trots to Manly. The Gallipoli Steps, the view from the highest point on the course and a random jogger who kept overtaking me - and me her - because I kept stopping to take pictures. And, of course, Rowlf.
So let me get this right next weekend I don't have to go out for a run? But what will I do? :-)
I took Rowlf to the Spit where he could have a swim and I could stand with my legs in the water. I'm not sure it makes much difference physically, but it sure is good for the soul. We got home and I threw down a couple of slices of bread, peanut butter and honey, gave Rowlf a wash (in other words we wrestled for 15minutes) and got ready to head out for a run.
The Spit to Manly walk is 9km and starts 1km from my home. Do that out and back and add a bit in Manly and I'm good. Easy. I gave the Nikes another breather as most of today would be tame trail.
I was keeping it very gentle today, just an idle trot. The weather was being kind to me and was a little overcast as I left - still humid, but no savage bite to the sun. I was also helped by pensioners. Hundreds of them seemed to be doing the walk today, groups of ambling oldies, many of whom did not seem to know or care about getting out of the way of people walking in the other direction. Frustrating though that was, it had the effect of moderating my pace so that by the time I got to Manly wharf and 10km I was feeling ok.
I hugged the shore until I found a dead end, decided today was not a day for exploring and headed to the beach to get a few extra metres. I was pleased enough with the distance and turned for home after slamming down a Gatorade.At the wharf on the return I stopped for a chat with an oncoming jogger in a 6ft track singlet. Like me she had not secured a spot for this year, but unlike me she is doing the North Face 100 (km, not miles.) we talked shoes and event organization, wished each other well and set off in our different directions.
The return leg was probably a bit slower. I was being super polite and stopping to let most oncoming walkers past, glad to be taking small rests. I figured the energy saved was worth more to me than the annoyance of the stop-start progress and the bigger annoyance of far more than 50% of people not saying thanks. C'est la vie.I finished at about 22 and bit km which was a little less than I anticipated but a little more than I needed. I knew I was going to struggle this weekend and I'm glad it's behind me. Pretty simple now; I just have to run to work and back twice.
The pics are from earlier trots to Manly. The Gallipoli Steps, the view from the highest point on the course and a random jogger who kept overtaking me - and me her - because I kept stopping to take pictures. And, of course, Rowlf.
So let me get this right next weekend I don't have to go out for a run? But what will I do? :-)
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