How poor are they that have not patience!

Managed my first competitive run since February. Happy that the bursitis/hip held up well and isn't causing grief a few hours afterwards - this HAS happened to me before with other injuries.
Orange Blossom Castle Hill 4k in 20:40; nice and comfortable run and not out of breath at the end.
There is one Big Hill which we had to do twice, but I got through that okay.

A lovely sunny Sydney Spring morning.

Right now I'm running every second day and walking with Mrs BB and Max the wonder Jack Russell on other days. This is a step up from just walking during Mar - Aug. The first few runs were terrible - no cardio fitness and wobbly legs.

Recently I've managed 6k-10k with cardio okay. I can still feel a little niggle in the bursitis area but nothing like it was. Glad I finally had the MRI to see what was wrong. Annoyed I waited that long.

So Spring is here and running awaits. Nothing too soon, too far or too fast, but I feel like now the long winter of discontent is over.

Die dulci fruere.

"Exit, stage left"

Vague vagaries

I've been a trifle tardy in updating this blog: I see four months has gone by. So has the warm weather.
I've done little running though; a quad injury put paid to that through March and April.
A large mole removal on my right calf, with attendant wide margin and many stitches, put paid to May. The good news is I'm all clear. I've had two weeks with my leg up and no walking even!
I tried running again yesterday :8k in 50 minutes. Tough, but okay. My quads are very heavy today (not injured though, I don't think), so I went for a 68 minute walk with Mrs BB instead.
I'll try a few more walk/jog days before I feel confident I'm okay to run properly again.
Meanwhile life with all its vagaries continues. A close colleague passed away suddenly in late April. The weather is terrible. The Blues are on a roll. My family is well. Wine tastes good.

quid sit futurum cras, fuge quaerere

For now, "exit stage left"

Twilight blogging

Most online time is spent on Facebook rather than blogging nowadays, hence the lack of posts. This is in complete contrast to Andrew, who manages daily blog updates, but seems to do little on FB. I must say congratulations for doing so, as it requires more dedication but provides more detail.

Plenty of running happening: SMC races, CR Twilight and Hills 3k time trials. It's a consistent training plan and pattern, so I seem to be doing okay, although the odd niggle and minor injury keeps me alert, and supporting the physio and chiro.

Lst night was a fun though testing CR Twilight at Homebush Bay. Put on by CR Freezer who is a Facebook friend and an actual friend, it was a nice flat course which produced some decent times ( I managed 5k in 24:30, with a neg split 12:17/12:13). Additionally, it was a great social occasion, with quite a few sticking around to re-fuel and chat.

That's what draws me to running: keeping fit but not being constantly competitive, keeping healthy, mixing with other runners and calling some of them your friends. With them, you can run still under pressure, finish good bad or indifferent, cop some trash talk and give it back - all good naturedly - and have a chat afterwards. And then the jokes fly on Facebook.

Here's a photo of two of the three running colleagues who are good friends. The other one - thomo - wisely rested up last night to avoid injury, but he'll be there at SMC tomorrow doing the 10k, as part of the 3 52's: me, Andrew and thomo. I swiftly add Alison is nowhere near that age...


Mind you, the three of us don't act 52: bis pueri senes

Exit, stage left

Bling! Bling! Hello? Who is it?

It's me, the proud owner of my first ever running medallion.

Today was St Mary's South 8k Fun Run.

This is a terrific community event. I say a bit more about it here.

For me personally, I was really happy with my race, even though it turns out I ran faster in 2007; back then I had the speedy Thalia pushing me hard through to a quick finish. Today I went out solidly and kept increasing my speed, dropping off runners along the way. I like to go out at a comfortable pace, then pass others rather than them me. It worked: no-one went past me after 500m and I targeted about twelve runners to catch.

My time of 37:43 got me 3rd place in 50-59 group, an engraved medallion and a photo up on the podium. How cool is that?

It really is a great event to get to: $10 entry with stacks of benefits.

It was great to catch up with regular CR's KatierR, slowmc, BeesKnees and meet Lotsahare, Bert, greyhoundracer and Freezer.

I hope they post the photos soon...

"exit, stage left"

Future leighway in Federal Politics

SMC #1 season 2010/2011 started in trying conditions: cool and drizzly 13 degrees.

Fortunately the 10k race missed the rain: at least those that finished in under 55 minutes. Then it belted down.

I managed 51:15 (split 26:00/25:15) with a 4:47 last km. Second best run in four years of SMC (and only three seconds behind my best in four years). My first two SMC's saw me go under 50 minutes, so I'd like to get back to that. I reckon it's achievable on a decent day with a motivated mind.

Today I went out in a reasonable 5:12 pace for much of the race, and came home rather well: last three km's were 5:02, 5:02 and 4:47 as mentioned.

A decent turnout, with quite a few CR friends doing the long run - and no doubt getting pretty wet.

The big news in the world of books is Lindsey Davis' new Falco novel "Nemesis" (#20): it promises to be a thriller, with a major character dying. I've got a library copy so next week should see me dive straight into Rome AD 70. She's just released "Falco: The Official Companion" too. Covering Falco's world over the seven years of the novels (and 21 years of books), it's one I'm going to buy - trying the Book Depository for the first time.

Oh, and musically, I'm looking to get the John Denver "Live In Australia & Japan" DVD. I've been listening to him on my iPod lately, and his songs don't age. There's a kind of optimism that's infectious. Then there's the fact that "Annie's Song" was played at our wedding in 1998.

Politics is generally pretty grubby. Sometimes we elect people who are there not for the pension, but to try to do good things - however you define that.
One new MP in that category is Andrew Leigh.
He has a brain, and he has a blog. It's good reading.

I'm sufficiently satisfied with the Federal Election outcome to think that we might yet have three decent years. Independents holding the Government to account is good; holding Abbott & Co. to account is even better. Now to sit back and watch the circus. Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam.

"exit, stage left"

One Vote of Commitment

At least in the 1970's there were real issues with real political parties and real policies.
Something to believe in. Something to fight for, no matter what you believed:
"Shame Fraser, Shame"
or
"Turn on the lights, Australia"

Not like today, right?

Wrong.

There's even more to fight for. Even more to believe in. Many of us now worry about what world will our kids grow up in.
So if you don't like what's happening, do something.
This is what I said on Facebook:

Please vote tomorrow. Think about it, but vote. Too many people have fought hard and long for your privilege.
If you don't like any candidates, then get off your a*** over the next three years and do something. Agitate. Inform. Protest. Investigate. Stand for election. Write.
Lots to do.
Important discoveries, events and... societal-changing times weren't driven by self-serving "what's in it for me" cynical Tweeters

I plan to be more actively involved, especially if the voters of Western Sydney and SE Qld elect Rabbit.

Climate Change, Health, Education, Technology and human dignity are worth fighting for and over. How about you?

Blog Slog

It's really difficult to keep this blog updated. I tend to spend more time on Facebook and coolrunning, and conversing that way. I don't know how Andrew manages all of them. Tesso has given up on blogging, but is definitely active on Facebook.

The West Met season is drawing to a close, and this year I've been pretty active: 10/12 races, and plan to do 13 in total.

Since last post, I've raced
* #9 Bella Vista - new XC course; 4k in 19:48 with a strong finish
* #10 Prospect - uphill/downhill path; 4k in 19:46 min - great last 2k with last 500m in 2:06 min
* #11 Emu Plains - tough riverside XC bikepath; 4k in 24:53 min, smashing last year's disappointing 26:54
* #12 Cowells Lane Ermington - relatively comfortable XC; 4k in 20:32, beating last year's 21:20

Upcoming: #13 Greystanes next week, then Handicap event at Rydalmere, then #14 Bella Vista again, and that'll about do me; I don't feel like running a non-points score at Dundas again.

Recommended viewing: ":30 seconds" 6 episode tv series, originally aired on Foxtel but recently late Saturday night on ABC. Loved it, bought the DVD. It's to Advertising what Frontline was to Current Affairs.

Recommended reading: Don Watson: "Bendable Learnings. The Wisdom of Modern Management". This is just the book to sooth my frayed nerves after dealing with business-speak each working day. Here's the publisher's blurb, which puts it succinctly:

"Mission statements are everywhere: you have to have one, whether you're a Fortune 500 company, a hedge fund, a primary school, a church or a hockey club. Without a mission statement, who would know what your values are, or what your culture is? And how then, going forward, will you get buy-in on your strategy and uptake of your brand? The language of modern management has triumphed, transforming clear, everyday communication into meaningless sludge. To sound professional, you must express everything in abstract nouns, and each noun in terms of another one; you must talk about synergy and strategy, uptake and outcomes and outputs and inputs, key performance indicators and drivers and customer experience - even if your 'customers' are in fact patients in your hospital. This language is deliberately obscure and falsely scientific; what is more worrying, those who use it have lost the very ability to think clearly."

Superb.

21/08 could be a date that will deliver more satire. Tony Abbott's bumbling team could be elected to govern Australia. Common sense, decency and logic suggest that won't happen, however it's possible that this could occur thanks to some dog-whistling people who live in Sydney and Brisbane. I try not to think about this too much as I like my blood pressure where it is. Climate Change inaction, Work Choices, condescension to women generally, a fanatical devotion to all the wrong things about Roman Catholicism, an unusual interpretation of truth-telling. Need I go on?

On a more humorous note, it seems that Anakin Skywalker is back and short of funds.

Amoto quaeramus seria ludo.

"exit, stage left"