See Slowmo Run

And then, a year or so later...

2011-12-20T16:35:00.008+11:00

Mmm... I see that my previous blog post has me preparing for the Sydney Marathon, um, last year. It's just as well I don't write this for money - the family would be living in a cardboard box by now.

Here are a few highlights from the last year and a bit...

Sydney Marathon, September 19, 2010

After my early exit from this race in 2008 I had a few pre-race nerves. However, everything went well and I finished in a tad under 4hr 30m feeling good. I ran wearing my thin Vibram Cherry huaraches which were not only comfy the whole way but a good conversation starter as well.

Coastal Classic trail run, September 25, 2010

This was the inaugural running of the Coastal Classic, with a beautiful course through Sydney's Royal National Park, and I'd been looking forward to it for months.

Now you might think that running a 30km technical trail, complete with brutal hills and sand slogging, six days after a marathon is not such a good idea for a middle aged office worker. Well, you'd be right. I felt tired at the start line, shattered by about 20km, and was shuffling pathetically for the last few kilometres - but I made it to the finish line.

The sense of achievement was short-lived. The next day, my left foot was worryingly swollen and painful. When it failed to respond to the usual treatment (ignoring it for a week or two) I reluctantly went for x-rays and scans and discovered that I'd injured a joint badly enough to be off running for some time.

The latter part of 2010 and the first few months of 2011 consisted of unsuccessful attempts to begin running regularly, interspersed with extended periods of sulking.

Barefoot Ted, March 2011

Long before 'Born to Run' was published, Ted McDonald, aka Barefoot Ted, was inspiring ordinary people like myself to run with less sole and more soul. It was from Ted's website that I first learned about huaraches and how to make and wear them. So it was a great pleasure to finally meet the man himself when he visited Sydney for a few days in March.

This photo was taken just before heading out with Ted and a small group of other runners for a lunchtime trot through The Domain and Botanic Gardens.

On the road again

Fast forward to May: the foot finally seemed all better and I made my comeback at the Sri Chinmoy 16km Iron Cove event, running slowly but very happily.

My plan to run the 2011 Coastal Classic was foiled by a badly timed dose of flu, but I did get to do many of my other favourite races including the Shoalhaven King of the Mountain (32km trail), Willy to Billy bush run (34km trail) and the remaining races in the Sri Chinmoy Sydney series. The Sri races in particular are always a great tonic for the spirit as well as the body, each one filled with friendliness, good humour and encouragement.

Long, slow plans for 2012

The plan for next year is to tackle some longer events, starting with the Narrabeen All Nighter 12 hour race in early January, my first attempt at a trail ultramarathon with The North Face 100km event in May, and the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race in June.

Overcoming pre-marathon fear through displacement behaviour

2010-09-18T16:40:00.007+10:00

I've been counting down the days until the Sydney Marathon and feeling relaxed and comfortable about it thanks to a mental technique that I've long used to deal with life's big challenges. A very tiny part of my brain registers the event getting closer but the rest of it simply repeats "no problem - plenty of time". The bigger the challenge, the more I do this. However, despite my best efforts and with one day to go before the marathon, I fell prey to a sudden and unwelcome attack of reality today.

To settle the nerves I busied myself happily breaking the first rule of running...

Never get new footwear just before a race. Never ever. It will end tears.

But I'm choosing to belieive that there's a loop-hole in this running law (another trusty mental technique here) that applies to those of us whose footwear consists of rubber flaps tied on with string, especially if said flaps have got to the point where they've been colonized by what feels like a slippery algal growth that thrives on foot sweat.

Luckily I had some spare pieces of Vibram soling so it was a simple matter of tracing around my old huaraches and cutting out the new ones...

Punching the lace holes...

Making a recess for the bottom lace knot...

Lacing them up (that's the old pair festering on the right)...

And we're ready to race !

Super athletes of the Sierra Madre

2010-08-03T15:17:00.005+10:00

I found this video of the Copper Canyon ultra-marathon via Caballo Blanco's web pages. It has beautiful scenery, images of the local people and (of course) lots of huaraches. It also has one of the most wonderful evocations of running as sharing, friendship and simple joyfulness that I've found anywhere.

Time for a run

2010-07-21T17:33:00.006+10:00

I've been in the habit of wearing a watch when running. It's the same mechanical watch that I wear most of the time. I like it, not only because it never needs a battery but because it's only accurate to within a few minutes a day. Such good-enough timekeeping makes it seem a lot friendlier than the authoritarian, microsecond precision of a quartz watch. But lately the watch has become a bit too much like its owner, prone to unreliability and frequent stopping, and so it's sitting on the shelf waiting for me to get round to putting it in for a service.

This prompted me to think about buying a running watch. Not a GPS one that nags you about running too slowly, but a cheap one with big, easy to read numbers. Also, since I've had a few falls while running lately, the most recent one being a swan-dive over the dog who, up until that point, had been trotting very politely by my side but had caught sight of a small brown pooch to our right, upon which she swerved in front of me to say hello to it (which she subsequently did, seeming quite unconcerned that her owner was lying on his back, gasping, whimpering and bloodied next to her), I was worried about breaking my much-loved mechanical watch.

I had a look at some Timex running watches but they didn't seem to be for me. What's the point of having a 100 lap recall function when there's no chance of me ever running 100 laps of anything, or 10 laps, or even 2 to be honest, being someone who closely equates the word "lap" with the word "pain".

I considered going to the local shopping centre to find a cheap digital watch since the only thing I really wanted to know was how long I'd been running for. But after doing a few runs without a watch I began to wonder why I even needed that ? I'd slipped into the habit of noting how long each of my day to day runs were, but I didn't actually do anything with that information other than forget it after a day or two.

Then I read a post on Barefoot Ted's mailing list where someone was ruing the fact that they'd recently got injured after letting themselves be seduced into going a bit too fast, and doing a bit too much, by focussing on their running watch more than their body. I could imagine myself doing that, even with a K-mart cheapie rather than a Garmin, being lulled into competing with time. The last skerrick of interest I had in buying a new watch disappeared there and then.

Some highlights of the year so far

2010-07-10T18:33:00.017+10:00

Although I've had the pleasure of taking part in some great running events this year I've been far too slack to blog about them individually. So here are a few of the highlights...

April: Not the Canberra Marathon

The 2010 Canberra Marathon was cancelled due to an unresolved legal dispute over the ownership of the event. This was disappointing for those of us who had been looking forward to it, but not nearly so much as it was for CoolRunning Australia member LindyK who had was using the event as a fund-raiser for Parkinson's disease support. Lindy is both a former elite marathoner and a Parkinson's disease sufferer, and the date of the marathon, April 11, was World Parkinson's Day. Lindy and her sister Heather had been planning to walk the 50km ultra-marathon course.

Enter some other CoolRunning members, particularly SuperSam1979 and ChrisG, with a very simple idea: let's run it anyway ! And thanks to the wonderful collective enthusiasm of about 30 runners, plus their families and friends, together with a very professional course measuring and marking effort by Chris, that's just what we did.

My own plan to take part in the run was scuppered by an ill-timed dose of flu. Instead I spent the day helping on the fruit, snacks and drinks table which the runners and walkers passed every 5km, thanks to the ingenious course design, along with others including Chris himself who couldn't run due to injury. This was easily one of the most enjoyable, friendly and meaningful events I've ever been part of and it more than made up for missing out on the official marathon. Lindy's determination and cheerfulness were inspiring. It was also a great pleasure to meet the other runners, some of whom were preparing for the Comrades marathon in South Africa. All in all, a very special day.

The event got some nice coverage in the Canberra Times with one article featuring some of those involved and another with a lovely photo of Lindy and Heather on the course.

May: Two runs at Lake Gillawarna

Beatty Reserve is a parkland setting with a great network of hard and soft paths. It's a terrific place to run and May provided two opportunities on successive weekends: the Sri Chinmoy Mirambeena 16km and the Heart of the Lake 10km. Both events were blessed with perfect conditions: cool and still with lovely winter sunshine.

I love all of the Sri Chinmoy events but I think this is my favourite of their Sydney series, both for its beautiful setting and also for the smaller, more informal atmosphere compared to the larger events at Centennial Park and other venues. The 16km course sticks to the hard paths and involves two out-and-back legs with several short but testing hills. I remember walking a couple of these when I first did the event in 2007, so it's satisfying to be able to run them now, albeit slowly and with enough leg pain and puffing to ensure I remained firmly "in the moment". The post-race pancakes were very welcome !

The Heart of the Lake course takes in some of the soft paths in the park as well as another selection of testing hills, including one particular leg-torturer that seems to get ever steeper as you puff and struggle to the top. The Westies, as usual, went out of their way to provide a great race-day atmosphere and plenty of friendly encouragement. After taking a couple of kilometres to warm up I settled into a rhythm and had one of those lovely runs where all of my bits actually seemed to be working together. As a result I finished quite a bit sooner than I was expecting, feeling all in but happy.

July: Shoalhaven King of the Mountain

In preparation for the M7 Cities Marathon at the end of July I planned to do a 32km training run early in the month. Lo and behold, I discovered this wonderful event not too far from Sydney, with what sounded like a lovely farm and bushland course that was just the right length. So much nicer than grinding out a long run in the local suburbs on my own. The only hitch I could see was the bit about 'mountain'...

As it turned out, this was one of the nicest runs I've ever done. Actually, run-walk would be more accurate because running up the mountain, or even some of the lower foothills, was beyond me. The race field was small (about 130) and very friendly with lots of chats when breathing allowed. I really enjoyed catching up with my running friend Sonia, who I hadn't seen for ages, and meeting CoolRunners Tim and Mani (doing the run in his FiveFingers) for the first time.

The aid stations were fantastic: each one providing plenty of encouragement and fine humour along with the drinks and fruit. The aid station at the top of the biggest climb, Mt Scanzi, even offered a shot of Bundaberg rum as a reward for reaching the summit ! Not only did it deaden the pain, it warmed my insides very nicely on the subsequent cool, shady downhill section. Approaching the finish at the Kangaroo Valley showground, runners were greeted by a bagpiper, apparently another long standing tradition of the race and not one that I've struck at any other event. After that it was just a short run across the showground to the finish line where, best of all, my family were there to greet me.

I wore my huaraches for the run and they attracted a lot of comments and even a photo request from a lady at one of the aid stations - I guess they were the weirdest thing she'd seen for a long time. I'm happy to report that they were comfy the whole way on the gravel roads and my feet were in fine nick at the end.

Many thanks to the Nowra Athletics Club and everyone involved in putting on such a terrific event.

Getting faster despite my best efforts

2010-06-28T20:26:00.005+10:00

I think it's already safe to say that this has been my best running year so far in terms of actually feeling like a runner. I'm still slow but now I'm slow and comfy rather than slow and gasping for breath. Sometimes I've even caught myself enjoying running up a hill.

There's no special reason for this new found runner-ness, no magic training regimes or nutritional supplements or motivational mantras have made the difference. And I haven't bought a Garmin. It is, I suppose, just the very gradual improvement that comes from running regularly over the last couple of years. This is all very nice except for one thing: I'm no longer always at the back of the pack.

I'd grown very used to being somewhere near last in every race, whereas now I find myself flirting with the slower middle class and reaching the finish with, or sometimes in front of, people who I've always thought of as much speedier than me. I know you're supposed to be pleased when your times get better. On the CoolRunning Australia forums it sometimes seems that the only topic of conversation is one's Personal Best Time and the endless quest to lower it, but I've never felt much affinity with this. I've always been more interested in how much I enjoyed a run rather than how long it took me. And since I started running to manage depression, the last thing I wanted to do was obsess about time targets, race placings and Continuous Improvement.

At the recent Sri Chinmoy Centennial Park half-marathon I finished in a bit under 1hr 55min - the first time I'd run the distance in less than two hours. I've absolutely no idea why I ran that well, especially since I woke up feeling particularly sluggish and unathletic. But during the run everything seemed to come together and it felt good to push a bit harder than I normally do. Afterwards however, I felt distinctly uncomfortable about people commenting on my time and suggesting I'd have to change my running name from 'slowmo' to something else.

John Bingham, author of one of my favourite running books 'The Courage To Start', wrote about this same discomfort. Despite years of deliberately run-walking at a leisurely pace in his races, based on the notion that more time means more fun, he found himself getting faster. For someone who had made a living out of his public image as a very slow but happy runner, no longer being at the back of the pack was something of an identity crisis.

Where is all this leading ? I don't know yet. Running takes one onto surprising and unknown paths inwardly as much as it does outwardly.

slowmo in slowmo

2010-02-15T18:17:00.006+11:00

To the bemusement of neighbours and passers-by I spent a few minutes the other day filming myself running backwards and forwards past my house in an attempt to discover what my feet are doing when I run. To try to capture my typical running form I did the filming after I'd got back from an easy 5km run. I arranged each "pass" so that there were a few metres of running either side of the camera's view and I tried to keep to my usual slow-ish pace.

I don't own a video camera so I set up my trusty little Panasonic Lumix snappy camera, which has a movie mode, on a tripod at the bottom of my driveway. The camera saves the movie as a .mov file. To create a slow-motion sequence I loaded the file into QuickTime, exported selected bits to image sequences (sets of jpeg still images), then imported each of these back into QuickTime at 6 frames per second.

And here is the result...

The verdict ? Well, it seems that I land with a mid-foot strike. This came as quite a surprise. When I'm running, I feel like I'm landing towards the front of my foot. But the camera doesn't lie and it could be that my impressions were influenced more by what I thought I should be doing rather than by what I actually was doing.

You can't always get what you want

2009-10-06T20:04:00.005+11:00

My big goal for this year was to undertake the Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon for the first time. But my preparation for the event has been less than ideal... in fact, dismal sums it up fairly well.

Ever since a bout of flu earlier this year, I don't seem to have been able to string more than a couple of weeks together before falling prey to some bug or other. None of them serious, just unpleasant enough to interrupt training.

So yesterday, with less than a fortnight to go before the event, I finally had to admit that I wasn't going to make it. I contacted Prachar Stegemann, who for many years has been the organizer of this and a host of other Sri Chinmoy events in Australia, and asked if I could drop down from the Peace Triathlon to the Classic event (1.5km swim, 40km cycle, 10km run).

Prachar replied with a typically encouraging email that cheered me up immensely. I hope he won't mind if I quote this line from it:

The best things are worth waiting for, so doubtless the longer you have to wait for that moment of crossing the finish line of the Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon, the more satisfying that moment will be!

Sri Chinmoy Prospect Creek 24km run, 13th September

I did this event last year and remember shivering at the starting line in the morning chill. This year it was just the opposite - unseasonally hot.

Only a very small field turned out for the 24km race although there were more for the 12km and 6km events. Right from the start it felt warm, even though it was just a little after 8am.

Getting to the end of the first 12km lap I was sorely tempted by the sight, sound and, above all, the smell of the pancake brekky being enjoyed by those who had already finished their events.

I plodded round the second lap at an ever slower pace. By this stage each water station was like an oasis in the desert. The finish line was a welcome sight when I reached it, but even more welcome were the pancakes, still being served by the wonderful Sri Chinmoy folk - better than any trophy !

Hat trick of trail runs

2009-08-30T20:11:00.012+10:00

Well, the August triple treat of trail events has been and gone and it was wonderful...

Bankstown Hidden Half 16th August

I enjoyed this run when I did it last year. This year was even better ! Once again the organization of the course was terrific, as was the friendly welcome and encouragement by the Westies club (I particularly appreciated "get your arse into gear slowmo !" from one of the race marshalls). The hills on this course were just as challenging as I'd remembered but I was pleased to be able to run them all this year.

The weather was perfect for running - cool and still for the whole event. We even had music, with a brass and drums band belting out some cool tunes through the morning, not to mention the race marshall with Chariots of Fire on his ghetto blaster.

The photo above and those below are courtesy of Gemma Clarke Photography.

Chatting to Rob, one of the race organizers, after the race

The band was a great touch. Hope more events follow suit !

Willy to Billy 35km Bushrun 22nd August

I'd had this race pencilled in to my calendar for a long time and had been looking forward to it with a mix of excitement (longest and most serious trail run so far) and out and out fear (same reason). The race turned out to be both harder but also so much better than I thought it would be.

Everything about this event was special. The freshly baked scones at the start lived up to their reputation and really hit the spot on a chilly mountain morning. The course was both challenging and beautiful - a mixture of forest roads and single file rocky trails with stunning views to be had at some points. But the best thing of all was the sense of this being a community event. Every time I reached one of the aid stations, the local bushfire brigade members and other volunteers there were fantastically welcoming and encouraging, and had water, sports drink and pieces of fruit laid on.

There were some big hills and some very big hills. There didn't really seem to be any other sort. By the time I got to the last climb, which went up for around 7km, I'd jettisoned any hope of walk-running it and settled for walk-puff-stagger.

A nice treat was that, for the first time ever, I wasn't the only huarache-wearing runner in an event. There were two of us ! On the left, in the photo above, is Daniel in his ultra-marathon ultra-laced huaraches; on the right, me with the trusty pair that I wore for all three of the races this month.

There was a great atmosphere during the run with lots of chats and greetings between runners. It was a particular pleasure to run some of the course with Bert and Anne (on the right in the photo above).

Very special for me was having my lovely partner there to cheer me on at several points along the course.

Sutherland Half-marathon, Royal National Park 29th August

The third event of August's triple treat, and wonderful one to finish with. You have to love a run with the very civilized starting time of 1pm, especially if you are as dysfunctional in the mornings as I am.

Despite a little rain in the morning we were treated to a sunny afternoon for the run. If anything, a little too sunny - after a few kilometres I found myself wishing that I was wearing a singlet instead of a black t-shirt.

Apart from a short loop at the start, most of the race involves an out and back run on Lady Carrington Drive and there are fewer nicer places to run with its mix of sun and shade, dry woodland and moist forest, and rolling terrain. I started the race with CoolRunning friend Crabby and managed to stay with her for about 3km or so - a new record I think. After that I settled into a pace that was still a bit faster than my normal chug, helped a lot by the company and steady pace of other runners. Despite slowing down a little bit in the part of the race, I managed to finish just inside two hours for the first time - very chuffed with that*.

Catching up with people after the race I had the pleasure of discovering that one of the other runners was someone who I had worked with on a National Parks project twenty years ago and hadn't seen since. I'd swapped posts with him on CoolRunning but didn't twig that we knew each other until then.

Many thanks to all the folk from the Sutherland District Athletics Club for a really enjoyable and friendly event.

*Since writing this post I got my official time and it was just outside two hours. Oh well... I'll just have to try again next year :-)

August triple treat

2009-08-09T21:43:00.007+10:00

Three wonderful events over the next three weekends to look forward to...

First up is the Bankstown Hidden Half-Marathon on Sunday 16th. This is hosted by the very friendly folk of the Western Districts Joggers and Harriers, or 'Westies' as they are better known. I really enjoyed this race last year. The course is in a lovely parkland setting, part bike paths and part dirt trails, and includes what the organizers like to call some 'honest' hills thrown in.

The following weekend, on Saturday 22nd, is the 35km Willy to Billy, a bush trail run from Mt Wilson to Bilpin in the Blue Mountains. A major attraction of this race is the promise of freshly baked scones prior to the start of the race ! The course winds through some beautiful country, although it is another event with some honest hills, very honest in fact. I had a quick look at the elevation profile of the course on the race web site, but decided it was best not to think about it. This is also a qualifying event for the Six Foot Track and I secretly harbour a dream of finishing within the cut-off time of four and a half hours, though my main objectives are simply to enjoy the race and eat lots of scones.

Topping off the triple is the Sutherland Half-Marathon on Saturday 29th. It's hosted by the Sutherland District Athletics Club, who rival the Westies for friendliness and their ability to put on a great event, and are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. The race is held in Royal National Park with most of the course being on Lady Carrington Drive, a wonderful place for running. I did this event for the first time last year and wouldn't miss it for quids.

Why does running help depression ?

2009-07-21T13:20:00.006+10:00

A number of studies have found that moderate to vigorous exercise can benefit people who have clinical depression (follow this link for a Google Scholar search on the topic) and in Australia exercise is commonly recommended in public mental health campaigns and by health professionals. Although research published in the British Medical Journal found that shortcomings in many of the studies make it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the benefits of exercise (see a summary of the paper

here).

At an anecdotal level, I've talked to many people, in person and via the CoolRunning Australia forum, who find that running helps them to feel better and avoid, or at least temper, the effects of depression. This has been my experience too.

Running hasn't been a cure-all for me: several attempts to dispense with medication have ended with depression reasserting its hold. On the other hand, medication without running provides stability but also casts a sort of dull pall over everything, as if not only the lows but also the vibrancy and colour of life are being suppressed.

For me, running seems to complement other measures in some way, but I'm not convinced that this is wholly due to the effects of exercise. In my twenties and thirties I used to do a lot of cycling and was much fitter than I am now, but I was still prone to panic attacks and episodes of depression. So why does running help ? Here's what I think are my reasons...

Being outdoors

Running gets me outside. I find that, on a sunny day in particular, that's often enough to get a definite lift in my mood. Even when it's cold, windy and pissing down I still feel better for getting out into the elements - though perhaps in that case it's the slightly eccentric and ludicrous aspect of it that appeals to me.

Races

I don't think I'd continue running for very long if I was only ever doing it alone. Regardless of the physical and mental benefits that it brings, and even the mild addiction that it can become, I'm sure my inherent laziness would prevail. This is where races come in. John Bingham, in his book The Courage to Start describes races as a public celebration of running. It's always exciting to turn up to an event, whether big or small. Each race provides a clearly defined challenge. You know what you have to do and, for the longer events, you've probably had to work through a structured preparation for weeks or even months previously. Races provide structure and purpose.

You don't have to be a great runner, or even a very good one, to enjoy races. I'm a slow, back-of-the-pack specialist but I find reaching the finish of a race is always a deeply satisfying experience, especially if I feel that I've done my best. There is also the pleasure of being part of an event, of running a particularly nice course, and of seeing and chatting to other runners. Some of my slowest races have been my most enjoyable for these reasons.

Being part of something

There is a community of runners. It's a broad church and includes people from all backgrounds, walks of life and points of view. Some runners are motivated almost solely by competition, be it against others or with their own previous best times. Others, like me, are in it for different reasons. All of us, fast or slow, are runners. We have a shared enthusiasm, a hoard of anecdotes about our successes and disasters, ambitions of races that we'd like to do or results we'd like to achieve, and an anatomists esoteric knowledge of running injuries !

In a nutshell...

Perhaps all of the above can be summed up very simply as: nature, purpose, and friendship.

Sri Chinmoy Dolls Point half-marathon

2009-07-19T21:38:00.005+10:00

This event, held last Sunday (12th July), was my come-back run after a few weeks lay-off with a bout of flu and one couldn't ask for a friendlier or more enjoyable event. Having only done a couple of tentative short jogs in the days leading up to the race, and still feeling a bit sluggish, I was pleased that this was a two lap course because I could drop out half way if I needed to.

In the end I managed to complete the distance and, although it was one of my slower runs, it was also one of the most satisfying. I credit this success partly to the magic of being in an event, that intangible extra boost that you get when participating in a race, but mostly to the fantastic encouragement of Prachar and all the other Sri Chinmoy folk marshalling the course.

The day was also an opportunity to catch up with running friends including Emjay and kb, as well as to meet some new faces.

For some terrific photos of the event, visit the gallery on the Sri Chinmoy web site.

There are two events left in this year's Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series: 24km, 12kma and 6km races on a lovely parkland course at Prospect Creek in September, and the Centennial Park half-marathon and 7km race in November. If you haven't tried a Sri Chinmoy event yet, come along and see why so many of us have become enthusiastic regulars.

Back in black (huaraches)

The half-marathon was my first run using new 'paracord' laces for my huarache sandals. I ordered some of this cord after seeing it mentioned in a post on Barefoot Ted's minimalist runners list. I'd never heard of it before, but the post mentioned that it was both comfortable and highly durable. There's a Wikipedia description of paracord here.

The black paracord certainly matches the black Vibram soling material that the sandals are made from very nicely: just the things for the fashion conscious freaky-footed runner :)

I found that I needed to adjust the lacing pattern that I use to avoid the heel portion slipping down while running. This is because the paracord is a lot smoother than other materials that I've used. So far though, the new laces have been stable and very comfortable.

Barefoot running t-shirt design

2009-06-26T21:11:00.007+10:00

This is my first attempt at a barefoot running t-shirt design which I created with the very nifty wordle word cloud generator.

Feel free to use this design if you like it.

Learning to be better at not running

2009-06-20T00:20:00.003+10:00

Despite soaking up the blessings that were thick in the air at the Nun's Run, the little 4km trot turned out to be an instance of enjoy now, pay later. I'd had a particularly unpleasant bout of flu for the previous fortnight but by the day of the run it seemed to have faded to just a sniffle. However, on the way home ominous feelings of crumminess started to swirl in my innards and these turned out to be the first signs of the flu settling in for another two week season.

I remember someone commenting to me once: why don't life's inconveniences stick to the times allocated for them ?

To which I might add (in my most peevish tone): And why can't they stay in single-file rather than bustling in all at once ?

The flu had arrived at the same time that I'd finally weaned myself off anti-depressant medication. I thought perhaps this might be to my advantage in a perverse sort of way. The general line of reasoning was that if you already feel ghastly then whatever withdrawal symptoms arise will be drowned out like hecklers at a bad, but loud, concert. Actually, that didn't work. It turned out to be more like being trapped in a very bad concert where the hecklers get up on stage and join in.

Given all of this, running has been off the menu, replaced by feeble and pathetic shuffling around the house. I have noticed its absence. So have those around me. I've slowed down and an old black dog has caught up with me again.

So, it seems that as well as learning more about running I also need to learn how to be better at not running: because life is always going to be punctuated by stumbles and falls of one sort or another.

I've a way to go with this.

Running with nuns

2009-06-07T20:52:00.004+10:00

Is this not the most wonderful road sign that you've ever seen ?

It was created for the Nun's Run: an epic 400km walk from Dubbo to Darlinghurst by Sister Leone Wittmack and Sister Helen Clarke to raise money for a new cancer research institute at St Vincent's Hospital.

The end of their journey was celebrated with a fun run in Centennial Park which attracted a wonderful turn-out. It's not every day that you see nuns dressed in traditional black and white habits with race numbers pinned on the front. Nuns are so cool...

The organizers stated that they wanted to put the FUN back into fun running and in this spirit there was no recording of times or placings, just the enjoyment of being part of such a lovely event.

Don't worry, be happy

2009-05-21T21:38:00.000+10:00

Sydney Morning Herald Half-marathon - May 17th 2009

Wakey-wakey

This year's Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon was a significant event for me, being the anniversary of my coming out as a foot-flap wearing freaky-footed runner. I remember how nervous I'd been last year. Not only was it the first time that I'd worn my huarache sandals in a race, it was also my first really big event with thousands rather than hundreds of runners, and only my second half-marathon.

As it happened, I had a great run last year and I was looking forward to an even better one this year. Not only did I now have several more big events under my belt, but I would be wearing my high-tech sandals. Admittedly, to the casual observer, they still resembled pieces of vandalized door mat tied to my feet with string, but to the minimalist-running afficionado they represented the epitome of traditional practice combined with space-age materials. Or so I liked to tell people anyway. Then again, I also liked to tell them that my circus pants are a new breed of compression wear.

But I digress...

The night before, I assembled my gear for the morning, checked the train timetable and carefully set my alarm. I felt organized. I felt confident. I completely failed to register these as warning signs.

I woke next morning to a quick succession of thoughts:

"I'm awake before the alarm - that's good."

"It's unusually light for this time of morning."

"I wonder what the time is ?"

"!!!!"

Later I was to work out that not only had I set the alarm the night before, I'd somehow managed to set the time so that it was wrong by hours. My train had already gone. The race was going to start in 45 minutes. I was not there.

A few minutes later I was in the car with my partner driving us into the city at quite impressive speed. We made it to the Elizabeth Street side of Hyde Park just in time to hear the race start. I bolted across the park trying to work out where to go, spotted the gear stowing area and ran as fast as I could towards it. I will be forever grateful to the wonderful lady at the table who was already writing my number on a plastic bag as I approached. She even kept a straight face.

College Street was still packed with runners shuffling towards the starting line. "I've made it" I thought and relaxed, only to lapse back into panic again when I couldn't see how to get through the %#$@ fence separating the park, and me, from the race. Another minute of frantic running and I made it onto the road. To my relief, the back of the pack was still there, inching forwards. Also there was my brother Paul, who didn't make even the slightest effort to keep a straight face.

The race

The course seemed packed compared to last year. It also seemed to have much more life and excitement. After last month's Canberra Marathon, with its wonderful spectator support, performance artists and cheer squad, I must admit that I'd been expecting this event to be a bit ho-hum in terms of atmosphere. With the exception of the City to Surf, Sydney doesn't seem to get excited about its major road races. So the buzz on the course was a nice surprise. For the first few minutes there were cheering spectators rather than empty streets. We were entertained by a troupe of super-heroes with enormously wide shoulders and red masks, some of whom bolted along with the field shouting encouragement like deranged running coaches, whilst others performed bizarre body actions and pantomine gestures from various perches. It turned out that they were advertising some chain of fitness centres (this was Sydney after all) but they added colour and movement and hilarity, and I got a high five from one of them for being freakier than he was in my sandals and star pants.

It was great to run with Paul. He is one of the few people who can out-chat me in a race. We kept up what felt like a good pace, running steadily up the hills on Argyle and Hunter Streets and Mrs Macquaries Road while trying to keep a bit in reserve. On the first lap, half way up the Hunter Street ascent, we met the wonderful LuckyLegs, looking very comfortable trotting up the steepest section, smiling and chatting and being her inspirational self. Just as inspiring was seeing the race leaders up close, one of the benefits of a loop course, and admiring the grace and fluidity of their movement.

During the second lap I started to feel a little tightness in my chest from the snuffle that had been lurking for the previous couple of days, but it was easy to ignore this on such a perfect morning, with the sunshine, cool still air, and the buzz of being part of such a great event. When we reached Mrs Macquaries Road for the second time Paul asked if I'd like to have a go at finishing in under two hours. I hadn't been following our pace at all, content to just run at what felt like a solid but sustainable clip. But I felt comfortable and the idea of getting in under two hours for the first time sounded great. Paul said we just had to pick up the pace a little bit and offered to lead me out. I agreed. He darted through the runners in front of us and was gone.

Er...

I tried to work my way through the field, then skipped up onto the footpath and peered ahead, finally spotting Paul. a rapidly disappearing speck in the distance. I ran faster, ducking and weaving, but soon realized it was pointless. The last thing I wanted to do was spoil a good run by knackering myself before the last stretch. I dropped back down to my former pace. A couple of minutes later I met Paul, who was generously waiting for me (or perhaps he couldn't find anyone else to talk to). We rounded the turn at the bottom of Mrs Macquaries Road and headed back up the hill, picking up pace as we neared the top.

The last stretch was fantastic, running at speed into College Street, around the turning point, up the last incline (who put that there ?) and then flying (or so it felt) into the finishing straight and sprinting to the line.

How was it for you dear ?

I finished feeling that wonderful combination of fatigue, exhilaration and satisfaction that comes from a run where everything has gone just right, and from being part of a great event. I knew from the 'gun time' on the finishing clock that this had been my fastest half-marathon so far, doubly satisfying on this testing course.

Wandering around the park, I met several CoolRunning friends, including the lovely TKR who was there with her family enjoying the achievement of having run her first half-marathon. I wandered back into the city, still wearing my huaraches, and caught the train home feeling tired and happy.

The next day, my race-day snuffle had developed into a grotty head cold and was on its way to becoming a dose of flu, but I was still on a high from the race. I logged into the CoolRunning forum to read everyone's race reports and post my own. To my surprise the race thread was a litany of unhappiness and disatisfaction...

The field was too large. The course was too narrow. The drink stations were too crowded. It was no longer a race for real runners (so what did that make me ?).

Someone railed against those idiots who were dressed up as super-heroes (I thought back to the Canberra Marathon with the 'Shower Scene from Psycho' on the sidelines and the 'Ghost riders' cheering the runners on Parkes Way).

Limit the numbers ! Ban walkers ! It went on and on.

In amongst all the sturm und drang there were some posts from people who had enjoyed the race as much as I had, but they were a minority. My sails sagged. I switched the computer off.

I'm mindful that I can be vulnerable to feelings of depression during the onset of a bout of flu. But on this occasion I don't think that was all that was going on. Look at our world. Listen, watch or read the news on your favourite medium: war, disease, poverty, tragedy. Here in Sydney we have the good fortune to live in a safe, prosperous place; to have free time and the opportunity to spend it doing something that we love, like running in a great event. Reading reports of how unbearable, how truly unacceptable it was to be held up by slower runners on some part of the course or other, I wondered how it is that running can be so fraught for some.

Sri Chinmoy Iron Cove 16km

2009-05-13T21:06:00.004+10:00

I had very low hopes for this run. For much of the previous week I'd felt low-grade crummy, my legs were leaden during my weekday runs, and on Sunday morning, the day of the race, I stayed in bed for as long as I possibly could. When I eventually left the house I felt as sluggish and unathletic as I ever had.

Things got better when I arrived at Iron Cove. Sri Chinmoy events are guaranteed to lift one's spirits with their friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Plus there are always running friends to catch up with and Iron Cove is a lovely setting. Still, I thought it was likely that this would be one of my slowest slow runs.

When the field for the 16km event assembled I self-seeded at my customary position behind everyone else. When we started, I was a bit shocked at how fast everyone else seemed to be going. I continued to chug along at the back. It was a lovely morning, cool and still, with the bay as calm as a millpond. There was no need to fret about being slow.

Gradually I started to enjoy the run more and noticed that my pace had picked up a little. By the time I reached the half-way point I was feeling very good indeed and was surprised to find that I'd caught up to my friend Linda who is normally a long way in front of me. We ran together and chatted for the next few km and Linda told me that she was taking it easy on this run because of some foot pain.

In the last part of the run I found myself a little way ahead of Linda and still feeling very good. It now occurred to me that I might even have a chance of getting in under my previous time for this event of 90 minutes, a time which I'd been extremely happy with. So I did my best to summon up a bit more pace. I could hear Linda behind me and was waiting for her to go past me, but as it happened we stayed in that order until the finish, getting there in just under 85 minutes - a big PB for both of us !

And the moral of this story ? Well, the only one I can think of right now is that I'm crap at predicting how a run is going to go :)

First marathon finish

2009-04-24T19:47:00.019+10:00

Yet another race report lagging far behind the actual race. Ah well, slow by name, slow by nature.

Canberra Marathon - Sunday 19th April

The Canberra Marathon was definitely one of the best events that I've ever been in. I went there hoping for an enjoyable run and, of course, to make it to the finish this time, but I had no idea it was going to be so much fun.

It was a lovely day for running, cool but not cold. The race followed a very scenic course looping (as you do in Canberra) around Capital Hill, taking in the National Library, the Carillon, the War Memorial and providing lots of views of Lake Burley Griffin. The course layout, with its double out and back main section, meant that even those of us at the slow end of the field felt part of the event with lots of other runners in view for much of the time.

For me there was also the pleasure of running with another freaky-footwear enthusiast for the very first time - doubly nice because it was my inspiration in all things barefoot, Sharene (on the right in the photo above).

However the real highlight of the day, the thing that made it so much fun, was the unbelievable spectator support along the course. From my experience of the Sydney Marathon last year, I had formed the idea that unless one was running in a mega-event such as London, Paris or Boston, a marathon involved a long run through a void of mostly empty streets. This certainly wasn't the case in Canberra where the run was enlivened by the claps, cheers, jokes and banter of the spectators and wonderful race volunteers, not to mention some surreal performance artists. Then there was the overwhelming noise, colour and movement of the CoolRunning cheer squad - guaranteed to lift the spirits and put a spring in the step.

I ran the the event in my favourite pair of thin-soled huaraches and they were comfy for the whole distance. As usual there were lots of comments and question from people who doubted that my feet would survive without being battered and bruised by the run. It seems that the "new" wisdom that expensive, cushioned running shoes are not actually required for running is a little slow to catch on here.

This photo of my (sensitive and delicate) feet the day after the race proves, I hope, that my soles were none the worse.

As for my own marathon run: it was both easier and harder than I had expected. It was easier in that with the scenery, sideline support and good company of other runners along the way, the time seemed to pass very quickly. It was harder due to hitting the dreaded wall at around 32km which made for nausea, heavy legs and quite a few walking breaks.

The last stretch of the run was magic. Firstly, my gorgeous partner Annie and kids were there to meet me about 2km from the finish. Then, 1km further on, a much appreciated final boost from the CoolRunning cheer squad, and my running friend Emjay calling out "your going to finish this one". After that, a last corner, and a short run to the finish line, which I crossed with a time of 4 hours, 50-something or other minutes, slightly stunned and bemused but happy.

The Answer is 42

As Douglas Adams told us, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, although the actual question is still a little hazy. Can it be mere coincidence that the marathon distance is 42 (and a bit) kilometres ?

Ermmmm.... yes.

But still, I like thinking of the marathon as being to running what 42 is to the Universe, namely an answer begging a question from those who attempt it. And that question is: What am I doing this for ?

My entry in the Sydney Marathon last year became a fund raising effort for the Black Dog Institute and, I suppose, a way to become comfortable with being open about living with depression.

My answer for why I wanted to attempt another marathon only started to become clear to me towards the end of my training for Canberra. It has to do with travelling somewhere new, physically and emotionally. For me, depression is, more than anything, an overwhelming desire to retreat into oneself, to hide away from everyone and everything. In contrast, running takes you outside, encourages you to set out for points beyond the borders of the comfortable and the known. For me, reaching the finish line of the Canberra Marathon was proof to myself that I could do that.

Second first marathon attempt

2009-04-15T19:23:00.007+10:00

Four more sleeps to go and then it will be time for my second attempt to run 42.195 km (plus a bit more) in the 2009 Canberra Marathon / 50 Km Ultra-marathon. My first attempt was the 2008 Sydney marathon where my finish was, ahem, unexpectedly premature.

This time around my plan had been setting my sights on completing the 50km ultra-marathon, scoring a marathon finish along the way. Whether I'll have the stamina or the stomach to do the extra 7.805 km after reaching the marathon finish line for the first time remains to be seen. But I've been trying to visualize myself breezing effortlessly across the line as I set out for the extra bit and a glorious double finish. Positive waves... positive waves...

I'll be running in the sparsely contested, circus gear and sandals category, opting for my favourite pair of Vibram cherry huaraches. But for most of my training runs in preparation for Canberra over the last few months I've worn my FiveFingers Classics which were kindly supplied by Max and Sally, local FiveFingers pioneers here in Sydney. The more I ran in them, the more I grew to like them. In fact, I've now run far enough that they've recently become more authentically barefoot then they used to be with the soles finally giving out. So, sadly, it's time to retire them - though of course there's the fun of choosing the next pair to look forward to !

Video comparison of running with and without shoes

2009-03-02T14:56:00.004+11:00

A nice comparison (though you have to bear with the sound). I found about this via Barefoot Ted

Canterbury 2009 Australia Day 5.5km fun run

2009-01-26T18:33:00.009+11:00

This has to be one of the nicest community runs in Sydney. Organised by Canterbury Council as part of their Australia Day fair, it attracted a great mix of entrants from the very young, running or walking with their parents, to the inspirational veteran Derek White of Woodstock Runners. The course is through parkland, nicely flat and following the Cooks River for most of the way. This morning the river was looking particularly scenic in soft light under a cloudy sky. The clouds also helped to keep the temperature down - a real blessing after the recent 40+°C days.

Once again the event was free to enter ! I don't know quite how Canterbury Council manages this - especially as they provide a generous show bag and icy cold drinks after the run. But all power to them - it's such a good way to encourage people to take part, enjoy some running, and discover what the Cooks River parklands have to offer.

I lined up at the start feeling very ordinary. I'd done 15km and 22km training runs in the previous two days as part of my preparation for the Canberra 50km event in April. So I planned to take it easy and just enjoy the morning. At about the 1km mark I started to feel better and found a rhythm that felt good. I was conscious of running a bit quicker than usual now, but decided to stick with it for a while and see what happened.

At the half way mark I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see that I'd gotten there in about 14 minutes. I began to think that I had a chance of finishing in under 30 minutes, but I'd never run more than 1km that fast before and I didn't want to get carried away (metaphorically or literally). So I just concentrated on keeping my rhythm, enjoying the feeling of skipping over the ground in a way that I hadn't quite experienced before. I'd chosen to wear my Five Fingers Classics for the run and they felt just right. They also provoked a good humoured "why don't you get a pair of proper shoes ?" from the sidelines.

With about 1.5km to go I started to feel a bit puffed but once again just tried to focus on the rhythm of my foot falls and this seemed to help a lot. Then the finish line was in sight and I crossed still feeling good. I felt even better when I learned that my time was 28:15 - my fastest few km ever !

One of the nice things about being habitually slow is that when, for whatever mysterious reason, everything comes together to make for a really good run like this one you really appreciate it.

After the run I joined my family for more fun at the Australia Day fair - with yet more free entertainment including my daughter's favourite: the camel ride !

Many thanks to Canterbury Council for a really enjoyable and friendly day.

Kiva

2009-01-13T22:15:00.003+11:00

Kiva is a wonderful initiative that allows folk in rich, fortunate countries like Australia to invest in micro-credit schemes in developing countries. I first heard about it on a BBC Worldservice radio program and the first time I visited the web site I was hooked :)

Have a look at this wonderful video, made by a Kiva volunteer from the UK, and then visit www.kiva.org

(What's this got to do with running you ask ? Well, for me, running is about a community of people sharing a common passion and helping and encouraging each other to achieve their best. It's a short hop from that to Kiva)

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Last race for 2008 and surviving the off-season

2008-12-29T21:47:00.008+11:00

The 2007 Central Coast Half Marathon was the first time that I'd run 21km and I remember feeling apprehensive at the start, wondering whether I would be able to make it to the finish. I did, and enjoyed the event thoroughly.

Now, a year later, I once again stood at the start in my customary back-of-the-pack position. I not only felt more confident now, having five half-marathons under my belt, but even harboured a secret hope of finishing in under two hours for the first time. The course, starting from The Entrance and running along a bike path around Tuggerah Lake (google map), is almost monotonously flat so it's a good event for those seeking a fast time - or in my case a relatively fast time.

It's an out and back race and I reached the turn-around in about an hour feeling quite pleased with myself. Ah yes, pride comes before a fall... Just after starting the return leg I started to feel the first signs of an unhappy tum which rapidly grew into an urgent and unignorable demand to get to the nearest loo pronto. Luckily for me this course is especially well serviced with toilet blocks and I darted into the nearest one for a prolong pit-stop.

I completed the rest of the race but at a very subdued pace, even by my standards. Perhaps there was something wrong with my pre-race banana ? Or perhaps my body, alarmed at being asked to go (sort of) fast for the first time ever, was sending me a reality check.

And so endeth the 2008 fun run season...

The off-season

My next event will be in March 2009 at the earliest. As someone who runs for mental and emotional health as much as physical health, and who begins to flounder very quickly without regular goals to train for, this seems like a worryingly long off-season.

The solution ? Aim for something big enough to need a long training program - the sort that says: it's week X, day Y, do this. Goodbye off-season blues, hello Canberra Marathon / 50km ultra double, April 2009.

As I write I am just starting week 3 of one of Hal Higdon's 18 week marathon training programs - slightly modified by extending a couple of the longest runs with the aim of completing the 50km ultra. My logic is that since I failed in my first marathon attempt in Sydney this year, I'll make it easier for myself in Canberra by aiming past the marathon finish line. Cunning eh ?

Centennial Park sexxi cross-country

2008-11-30T20:50:00.008+11:00

The title of this post may require some explanation...

Some time ago, CoolRunning Australia member ShanksPony complained about the term half-marathon thus...

I think we need a new word for a half-marathon. The word 'half' is misleadingly diminutive, and this distance deserves better.

21 is also XXI, and i would like to propose that the half-marathon becomes the 'Standard Entry' for race meetings. Therefore the half-marathon could be renamed the SEXXI. This in turn would lead to an obvious re-classification of the other distances:

10km: Ain't half sexxi
marathon: 2sexxi
ultra: far2sexxi

This is such an obviously sensible and empowering suggestion that it's amazing that no one had thought of it before now.

The final Sri Chinmoy event for the 2008 Sydney series was a sexxi cross-country in beautiful Centennial Park. For those looking for faster fulfillment there were also 4km and 7km races.

I'd like to say at this point that I'd been training well leading up to this event and felt in tip-top shape and supremely confident - but I won't because it's not true. I arrived at the race feeling sluggish and nursing a sore achilles which I had somehow managed to provoke despite doing almost no running. Is it possible that you can strain your achilles while sitting down ?

The morning was unseasonally cold for spring time in Sydney, with occasional light showers and gusts of wind, but this made for quite nice running conditions, and anyway, nothing can dent the pleasure of running in Centennial Park. It's very easy to forget that you're just a stone's throw from the city as you jog past lakes and playing fields, through pine glades and over rolling grassy hills. I had chosen to wear my FiveFingers, thinking that they would be better than sandals if the course was muddy, and they felt very comfy on the grass and dirt trails.

For the first part of the race I ran and chatted with my friend Crabby (seen here rehydrating while I strike a fashionable pose) until she got into her stride and disappeared over the horizon as she is wont to do, as well as other CoolRunners MichaelG, Bert and RunningAngel. But after a while I found myself running alone and tried to get into a steady chug that I hoped would hold up for the 21.1km.

As it turned out I made it to the finish comfortably, having taken a bit over two hours for the run - a much better time than I deserved given my lack of preparation.

Many thanks to Prachar and the wonderfully friendly and encouraging Sri Chinmoy folk for another great event. If you're in or near Sydney, visit the Sri Chinmoy web site for details of the 2009 race series.

Slow by name...

2008-11-21T23:19:00.003+11:00

...and slow by nature, especially when it comes to keeping a blog up to date.

I don't know how the rest of the universe does it: all those organized souls who keep the world posted on the minutiae of their daily lives. Where do they find the time ? Don't they ever sleep or go to the toilet or just sit for long periods staring blankly into space like... well... like me ?

Sri Chinmoy Triathlon Festival 25-26th October - Canberra

Each year in October, the Sri Chinmoy folk put on a fantastically packed weekend of triathlon events in Canberra. There are events for all ages and abilities and quite a few folk, fired with enthusiasm or perhaps just paralysed by choice, compete in more than one.

Last year, feeling the need for a life-affirming challenge, I did the Classic event. This is the Olympic distance: 1500m swim; 40km cycle; and 10km run. I completed it and finished feeling good, but it was certainly challenging - especially the cycle that included a steep climb.

The original plan for this year was to do the Classic again, aiming to finish it in a shorter time.

Yeah, well... there's planning and then there's real life. And this year real life for me meant a serious dose of couchitis after my Sydney Marathon attempt.

As the day of the triathlon drew closer I began to feel less and less confident about my ability to survive the swim, or ride a bike up that big Coppins Crossing hill, or stand up after the cycle, let alone run. So finally, after a lot of um-ing'n'rrr-ing, I landed back on planet reality and downgraded my entry to the Sprint event: 500m swim; 20km cycle; 5km run.

So pleased that I did ! The Sprint event was run on a perfect Saturday afternoon, not too hot, not too breezy. There was a good field and a really friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere. Canberra is a great place for triathlons, and Yarralumla Bay, where the Sri Chinmoy Festival is held, is the perfect venue.

Event summary: I found the swim quite hard - it seemed to take forever and at one point, when the breeze across Lake Burley Griffin picked up enough to generate some head-high chop I had the very strong impression that I was going backwards. The cycle was terrific. Canberra is a great place to ride but it's even better when you have race marshall's holding back the traffic for you as you speed through yet another roundabout. Finally the run, which I did wearing my favourite huarache sandals, was an idyllic jog in the soft light and balminess of the late afternoon.

Secret plan for next year is to attempt the famous Sri Chinmoy Peace triathlon (2.2km/80km/20km)

Iron Cove (The Bay), Sydney, 2nd November

Yet another Sri Chinmoy event, this one being the penultimate race in their 2008 Sydney Series. Great conditions for a run: just a tiny breeze and welcome cloud cover since there's little shade to be had on this course.

I don't know whether it was just my impression, but this seemed to be a especially friendly event. Almost everyone I met on the out-and-back course nodded and smiled or exchanged hellos. Of course, looking forward to an apres-race pancake brekky makes anyone feel cheery.

Early in the race I enjoyed running and chatting with Bert, a fellow CoolRunning member, very experienced runner, and stalwart of Sydney events.

For some reason I chugged along quite a bit faster than my usual pace... so much so that I completed the 16km in under 90 minutes. I usually don't concern myself with my race times but I have to admit I was chuffed.

Of course, this gets put into its proper context when compared to the winning times of 68 minutes (women) and a staggering 55 minutes (men).

But I'm still chuffed :-)

Vibram FiveFingers vs huarache sandals

2008-10-12T13:44:00.005+11:00

I had a nice suprise recently when Max and Sally of OC Fitness sent me a pair of Vibram FiveFingers Classics to try out. I've been wanting to compare FiveFingers with my running sandals for some time and thanks to Max and Sally's generosity I now had the chance.

First impressions: I like them. A lot !

The pair that I have are size 42 and they feel very snug. From measuring my feet and looking at the FiveFingers sizing chart I'm between sizes 42 and 43. The first few times that I put them on it was a time consuming exercise, especially the puzzle of how to convince my little toe to go into its own pocket. After a bit of practise though this got a lot easier.

So far I've worn them for a number of short runs (less than 10km) and one 16km run with substantial hills and lots of puddles. In terms of feeling the ground, the 5Fs are noticeably more cushioned than my thinnest Vibram Cherry sandals but less so than my off-road neoprene sandals. Because I do most of my running with the Cherry sandals the more insulated sensation of the 5Fs was off-putting to begin with, but after a few minutes of running in them I forgot all about that and began to enjoy them more and more.

The thing that appeals to me most is the stability of my foot in the 5Fs. With my sandals I still find my foot slips a little on the footbed, especially in the wet. I'm endlessly experimenting with different lacing patterns and non-slip additions to the footbed to remedy this. It's a very minor point, especially when set against the overall comfort and enjoyment of running with the sandals, but it's one that I'm still trying to improve. In comparison, the 5Fs, with their glove-like fit, free you from worrying about this even on downhill sections in the wet. On the hilly 16km run I found myself seeking out puddles just for the fun of it.

So, will I be switching from sandals to 5Fs for all my running ? No, but they'll definitely be part of my minimalist footwear armoury (footoury ?).

The Cherry sandals provide a closer-to-barefoot feeling of the ground and nothing beats having the tops and sides of your feet in the open air on a warm day. The 5Fs, although super to run in, feel enclosed in comparison, though not when compared to shoes and socks of course, and I notice my feet getting a little hotter and moister. On the other hand, I really appreciate the stability of the 5Fs on steep hills and in the wet and I suspect that they'll be my footwear of choice on cold winter runs too.

2008 Sydney Marathon

2008-09-23T12:44:00.013+10:00

After all the training, the wondering and the worrying, the day had finally arrived.

I caught a train into the city, which was very quiet at 6am, and walked down to Circular Quay and then up onto the Harbour Bridge walkway in time to see the half-marathon cross the bridge. Two police motorbikes, which I guessed would be a little ahead of the lead runners, came into view and stopped in the middle of the road, opposite where I was standing. One rider shouted to the other "you know where we're supposed to go mate ?" to which the other replied "no f***ing idea mate". This got a loud chuckle from everyone on the walkway. Then they set off again, hopefully in the right direction, followed shortly afterwards by the lead runners. It's always exhilarating to see athletes of that standard, but on the Harbour Bridge on such a beautiful morning it was especially good. Next followed the huge half-marathon field which seemed to go on forever. I looked for friends who I knew were in the event and managed to spot MissPinky, though she was too far away to cheer.

I continued on to the northern end of the Bridge and joined the throng of runners heading down to the start area. I was very pleased to see Crabby just ahead of me and caught up with her for a chat. I also met another CoolRunner, Ewoksta, for the first time after chatting to him many times on the forum pages. I got out of my tracksuit pants, laced on my huarache sandals (having chosen the thin Cherry soles for the day) then threw my plastic gear bag up into the back of a large truck where it joined a growing mountain of other bags to be transported to the finish area.

All of the nervousness that I'd felt the evening before had subsided and I was really looking forward to the race. I wandered over to the starting area and was pleased to see that they'd signposted my end of the field (the back) with snail signs ! I strolled down the road a little, taking in the water view and feeling relaxed.

Perhaps it should have occurred to me at this stage that this unaccustomed quiet confidence was a warning sign, but it was only after a few more neurons had switched on that I realized my timing chip wasn't attached to my ankle, instead it was in one of a squillion identical plastic bags in the back of the gear truck...

PANIC !!!

This felt a lot more familiar. I bolted back to the truck and, with the amused permission of one of the race officials, climbed up the bars on the side and frantically started digging into the pile of bags. A voice on the PA asked runners to make their way to the start area. I burrowed even more frantically. There it was ! A bag with my number 5976. Yes! No... it was 5967... aaaarrrgghhh!!! Finally I found my bag and recovered the timing chip. With a huge sense of relief, and after spending a minute unwedging myself from the side bars of the truck, I thanked the grinning race official and headed back to the snail section with the chip firmly velcroed to my ankle.

The race

There were still a couple of minutes to go until the race so I did my best to calm down. I hadn't yet seen my brother Paul who was going to run the marathon with me, generously sacrificing his own record of sub-4 hour finishes by doing so. But I was very pleased to be joined by a CoolRunning friend Emjay and shortly after that by Paul who reminded me that I had been supposed to meet him at the Black Dog Institute stall near the start (another neuron that hadn't switched on). Then, all of a sudden, the race began and we shuffled forwards, then walked, then slowly jogged onto the Bridge.

I loved the first half of the marathon: running across the Harbour Bridge, along Mrs Macquaries Rd, Oxford St, around Centennial Park... I met lots of CoolRunning folk, including UpAndAtom for the first time, and the number of "Go slowmo" greetings that I got was overwhelming. With the warm weather I wasn't wearing my habitual fancy pants - instead I had a brand new pair of loud, Circus pattern shorts from RunningFunky to add a spot of colour to the event and symbolize stepping out of the shadow of the Black Dog. The huarache sandals felt perfect and with the heat I was pleased to have my feet free of shoes and socks.

The course headed back towards the city and it was at about this time that I started feeling a bit light-headed. I put this down to the warm conditions and perhaps needing a bit more sugar. I had a cache of honey sachets and apricot chews in the pockets of my tri top. I'd been careful to drink a cup of water at each aid station so dehydration didn't seem like a worry.

We continued on, across the old Glebe Island Bridge and onto an unfortunately boring and uninspiring section of the course - the Westlink Road, a barren wasteland of bitumen and concrete sidings. I had been walking the uphill sections, trying to get rid of the increasingly woozy feeling within but just before the 33km point, I started to see white fog and decided to sit down for a couple of minutes until I felt better. Paul stopped with me and many passing runners asked if I needed help. One very nice fellow thought I must need a little more sugar and gave me some jelly beans. I nibbled a red one and then spent a minute emptying my stomach contents, as neatly as I could, into a road-side drain. After that my head felt much clearer but I couldn't stand up and Paul summoned the first aid folks. My race was over.

A wonderfully friendly paramedic came and found that my blood sugar was fine but that my blood pressure was low from dehydration. She and Paul stayed with me until an ambulance arrived and I was put on IV fluids and taken to hospital. The two ambulance paramedics were terrific and had an endless stream of jokes while they were fixing me up. They had a great time making comments about my sandals and pointing them out to everyone at the hospital - "look what this guy has on his feet !!!". With some extra fluids in my system I felt much better physically, but I couldn't help being disappointed and embarrassed about my race ending like this.

After a couple of hours at the hospital for some more checks, Paul joined me again and drove me home. He had run the rest of the marathon, but had had his timing chip confiscated by a stern and unrelenting race official at the 34km point, despite only being a minute over the cut-off and having one of the first-aid people confirm his explanation that he had been helping me just down the road and could easily finish the race inside the cut-off time (which he did).

I slept like a log overnight and woke the next morning feeling more at peace with myself than I had the day before. My barefoot-running friend Sharene (Runbare on CoolRunning) had left a phone message the night before and called again in the morning to see how I was. I appreciated this a great deal and was very cheered by her advice that you're not a real runner until you've got a DNF. She also suggested I could count the kilometres I did in the ambulance and chalk it up as an ultra :-)

Shortly afterwards I spoke to Paul who reminded me that my legs had still been working well at the end and this showed that the training had built up my strength and fitness. On the computer I had a swag of messages from CoolRunning friends checking to see if I was OK and encouraging me not to let this experience put me off.

Most of all, my wonderful partner Annie told me to remember that it had been my longest run so far and that I'd raised a lot more money for the Black Dog Institute than I ever expected to.

And the moral of the story ?

Numerous studies confirm that physical activity can help many people to recover from depression and either prevent its recurrence or at least lessen its impact. Running has certainly done this for me, but I've discovered that it's racing that has been the biggest help. Even for a slow, non-competitive runner such as myself, races provide challenge, force me to get my act together enough to prepare properly, and give me the opportunity to do more than I ever thought I could. Until recently I never imagined that I would attempt to run a marathon. The fact that I bombed out, probably because I neglected to drink enough fluids before the race, just means that I will be that bit more experienced at my next attempt. If the marathon was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.

Taper worms

2008-09-18T11:34:00.006+10:00

I picked up my race number yesterday and, as soon as got home, pinned it to the top that I've chosen to wear for the marathon. This is not typical behaviour for me. I'm usually pinning my number on just before, or sometimes even just after, the start of a race. No, this is a symptom of taper worms - an infection that can beset runners in the days leading up to a big event, giving rise to an uncomfortable squirming sensation in the bowels and a host of nervous ticks and twitches.

I've been thinking about the words running to help manage depression. I've often told people that that is why I began running last year, but now I wonder if I haven't so much used running to manage depression but rather channelled the search for meaning, the overwhelming obsessiveness and the needs for structure, achievement and catharsis into running rather than into other forms of eccentric behaviour. To put it another way, perhaps running has become my craziness of choice.

I suppose that it's all in the eye of the beholder. Obsessiveness expressed as, for example, really needing the colours of the pegs to match when you hang your clothes out, is viewed as slightly loopy. But obsessiveness expressed as running through the cold, wet, gusty nighttime weather, as per the training program's dictate for the day, is labelled as commitment. It might cause a few heads to shake and a few comments to be muttered, but it won't get you carted away.

I heard a wonderful interview with the novelist and scriptwriter Hanif Kureishi on ABC Radio National. He talks quite a bit about psychoanalysis and his opinion that therapy isn't so much to do with curing people of their craziness but more about helping them to use their symptoms creatively. This rings true with me, though I'm not sure how creative I'm being adjusting the safety pins on my race number for the hundredth time...

Sri Chinmoy Cooks River race

2008-09-14T21:28:00.005+10:00

Image 'borrowed' from Sri Chinmoy Sydney race series web page

Last Sunday (7th September) I took part in a 16km race, held along with 8km and 4km events, in a lovely section of park on Sydney's Cooks River. After heavy rain the previous day it was great to have blue sky and sunshine for the morning, albeit with quite a lot of puddles.

The previous day's weather might have put a few people off because there seemed to be a smaller field than usual, but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing because runners for all three distances started together and ran the same 4km loop.

I had wondered before the run if four laps of a short loop might be a little monotonous, but with such a pleasant morning, plus the parkland setting and having the river in view most of the time, I needn't have worried. Even better, I got to chat the whole time thanks to having the pleasure of Crabby's company. Normally she'd be way, way ahead of me but on this occasion she was taking it easy as part of her own preparation for the Sydney marathon. Even though I knew this I still felt quite pleased with myself for being able to keep up while gabbling on. My ego was restored to its normal size when Crabby expressed her surprise at being awarded a placegetter's trophy, saying "but that's the slowest race I've ever run !".

The race was followed by a generous and tasty pancake feast at which I carbohydrate loaded very enthusiastically. I doubt that any of those calories will still be available when I'm running the marathon but you never know.

Thanks, as always, to Prachar and the Sri Chinmoy folk for a fun morning.

It's all downhill from here...

2008-09-02T20:26:00.009+10:00

Yesterday I did my last long run prior to the Sydney marathon. It was meant to be 32km, but a dose of some flu-like virus a few days earlier had left me feeling sluggish and lethargic so I only managed 30km, most of which I ran like a lethargic slug.

I don't want to talk about it...

Sutherland Half Marathon

This was a much happier run, a week earlier, in the beautiful surroundings of Royal National Park. It was organized by the Sutherland District Athletics Club, yet another bunch of runners who seem intent on giving everyone the most enjoyable day possible.

The course took in a little tour of the historic Audley picnic area before heading out along Lady Carrington Drive for 9km or so, and then back along the same trail to the finish. Decent rains the night before had left the trail damp and slightly soft underfoot with the occasional muddy puddle to add interest. It was an absolutely lovely run, with the sunshine breaking out from behind the clouds every so often and streaming down through the tree canopy. Bush smells and birdsong...

Being much more organized than the previous weekend I got there in time for the start of this race, complete with a brand new pair of sandals made out of Vibram 6mm neoprene soling material (see below). The only problem was that I was still trying to get them on when the race started. After fumbling my way through tying the laces, I once more found myself starting several minutes after everybody else. Moreover, I'd done such a poor job with the laces that it took another couple of stops to get them adjusted properly, followed by a long wee stop made necessary by having too much coffee before I left home. So much for my competitive edge ! Happily, I caught up to some of the other runners eventually and enjoyed a bit of on-the-hoof conversation. I finished the race feeling strong and full of that particular kind of pleasure that the best runs provide.

Many thanks to the folks from the Sutherland Club for a really wonderful day and for the photo that appears here.

Trail running huaraches

I was fairly sure that my feet were not yet ready to tackle the gravel and rocks of Lady Carrington Drive with only the thin Cherry sandals for protection. So, with a sheet of more substantial (6mm) Vibram neoprene material, which I purchased from Barefoot Ted, I made a pair of trail running huaraches. The neoprene is very slightly spongy with a much more basic and shallow tread pattern than the high-tech Cherry material.

These new sandals turned out to be fantastic for the Sutherland half-marathon. Though I was insulated from the ground much more than with my thinner sandals I still had a definite sense of barefoot-ish running, and not having to monitor the terrain ahead quite so intently made the run much more relaxing.

There's a huarache for all conditions !

Space-age ludditism and the 'Hidden Half'

2008-08-22T21:26:00.011+10:00

Running technology revisited

Thanks to Barefoot Ted, who is now selling a new range of running sandal materials on his website, I've now graduated from rubber doormats to the world of high-tech huaraches.

There is something very appealing in bringing together the best of modern materials with the simple practicality of traditional design. Choosing not to wear bulky, expensive, brightly coloured, nylon spaceships on the ends of your legs doesn't have to mean that you've turned your back on technology, even though the spaceship wearers around you generally assume that you must have. In fact it's just the opposite. It's about using modern materials in more subtle ways to make running more pleasurable and more natural.

This is the tread pattern of Vibram 'Cherry' soling. It's a light, flexible material - only 4mm thick. The tread, which resembles a shallow egg-carton pattern overlaid with fine lines, provides amazing grip on smooth surfaces.

The upper surface is very slightly felty, rather than being smooth or tacky like the doormat rubber that I've used previously. It's quite comfy for the foot to sit on directly, so for my first pair of sandals made from this material I chose not to glue the thin foam footbed on to the upper surface as I have previously. This means that making a pair of sandals is a breeze - trace your feet, cut out the shapes, punch three holes in each sandal for the lacing and voila ! Who says high-tech has to be hard ?

The result is a sandal that follows the movements of your own sole without inhibiting them. It gives a very 'close to the ground' feeling - very similar to the sensation of running barefoot, while still providing some protection against sharp objects and abrasive surfaces.

Even on my first little run around the block with these sandals I found them to be seriously nice ! The excellent grip of the Cherry soles seems to make my foot strikes feel more definite and secure. I wondered if the hemp laces, as supplied by Barefoot Ted, might be scratchy compared to the soft bootlaces that I've used to date, but they turned out to be quite comfy.

Bankstown 'Hidden Half'

This annual half-marathon is organized by the Western Districts Joggers and Harriers aka the 'Westies'. It was held last Sunday (17th August) in cold conditions - especially with the 7:30am start. Actually that starting time proved to be too much of a challenge for me and I arrived just in time to see everybody else set off while I was still trying to pin my number on and lace up the new sandals !

Once I finally got going I managed to catch up with the back of the pack after a few minutes and settled into what turned out to be a very enjoyable, albeit fairly testing, run. The tests came in the form of some quite sharp hills, several of which had me walking up them.

The course followed bike paths and shorter sections of gravelly trail around a Lake Gillarwina and through the surrounding park land. The Westies did a great job of marshalling us all through the many loops and turns of the course with plenty of encouragement and banter. It was lovely to see Runbare who had come along to cheer us on despite still trying to get over a bout of the flu. All in all, a terrifically friendly and well organised event.

The new huarache sandals were great, especially on the bike paths. On the trail sections the thinness of the soles meant that I felt every rock and managed to pick up a decent bruise in the arch, but there was nothing that could spoil the enjoyment of running with such a close to barefoot feeling.

A year of running

2008-08-12T20:32:00.008+10:00

According to my running diary, a spiral bound notebook with anarchically formatted notes in pencil, I have just reached my initial 1000km of logged runs. I started this diary when I bought my first, and as it's now turned out, my only pair of running shoes at the beginning of October last year.

My very first run was a couple of months earlier, at the start of August, when I set out for an 'easy jog' from which I returned fifteen minutes later, breathless, exhausted and tragically dismayed at how far I'd fallen into sluggish middle age. Through August and September I plodded and gasped my way around the local streets twice a week as part of a beginner's triathlon training program. My mood would swing from doom-laden pessimism, through amused self-ridicule, to occasional short spikes of now or never, who dares wins, stubborn and slightly desperate determination. I was running from the familiar, but no longer bearable shadow of the Black Dog towards some new, better, but as yet wholly unknown way of living life.

I didn't record how far I ran in those first couple of months, partly because my sessions were based on time rather than distance, and partly because my sole focus was the triathlon at the end of October and it didn't really occur to me to think past that. In any event my total distance covered must have been miniscule. But somehow, buying a brand new pair of running shoes seemed to symbolize how important the whole effort had become. It was the beginning of something new. Hence the diary.

For me, reaching the end of my first year of running and my first 1000km, marks something special. It means that for once I've stuck with something long enough to feel that I've truly started.

First of the longer runs

2008-08-04T09:40:00.013+10:00

Sri Chinmoy Prospect Creek 24km race

It was a nice coincidence to have this event, part of the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series, on a day when my training program called for a 24km run. I hadn't run this far before but it seemed only a short step up from the half-marathon distance. More significantly, it represented the beginning of unknown territory in the training program - a series of weeks where the long runs become, well, long.

After some windy, wintery days recently it was lovely to have a still, sunny morning for the race. As well as the 24km race there were also 6km and 12km events, all run on bike paths in a large area of parkland and sports grounds in Greystanes. This was a great place to run, insulated from the busy roads nearby and with some scenic stretches and just enough little ups and downs in the course to keep it interesting.

We set off a little after 8am and it was to be a bit over two and half hours later when I gratefully crossed the finish line. I found the run much harder than I was expecting it to be, though I don't really know why. One of the things that I'm learning about running is to accept and work with how you feel on the day: on some days everything seems just right and running is pure pleasure but on others it's little more than the onerous task of dragging a reluctant body and pessimistic mind from the start to the finish. Several times I found myself thinking how unlikely it seemed that I'd ever be able to run the 42 (and a bit) km of the marathon in September. Luckily for me I had the company of Emjay, another CoolRunning member, for most of the race which made it so much easier than it would have been on my own.

After the run there was the traditional apres-race fruit and pancake brekky laid on by the wonderful Sri Chinmoy folk as well as the opportunity to chat with some of the other CoolRunners there that day. It's terrific to be part of a group that brings together people from right across the running spectrum, from my slow end through to runners who talk modestly and nonchalantly about their sub-4 minute per km pace.

Despite feeling like it had been a hard slog, or maybe even because of that, it was very satisfying to have completed the run and gotten this far with my training. I could also tick off another distance record in the exclusive 'slow guy in fancy pants and funny sandals' category.

Thanks to CR Wildthing for the photo

World Harmony Run

After the race on Sunday I had the chance for a brief chat with Prachar Stegemann about the fantastic stories and photos on the Australian Sri Chinmoy World Harmony Run website. Recently, the runners visited the Devil's Marbles in the Northern Territory. To see some absolutely stunning images of the Marbles, as well as lovely photos of the kids from nearby Tennant Creek, have a look at their blog for that day.

Sutherland to Surf to Sutherland

2008-07-31T22:43:00.011+10:00

On Sunday I took part in the Sutherland to Surf race - an annual event that has been running since the 1970s, although this was my first go at it. The course goes from Sutherland to Wanda Beach, 11km of rolling hills with most of the run on main roads, partially closed for the event.

I was gobsmacked by the size of the field when I arrived at the race starting area. It was one of those "one, two, three... lots" moments - a few thousand runners crowded in together. I bunged my timing chip under the lace of my huarache sandal to shuffle across the starting mats, then pocketed it for the run so that it wouldn't irritate my foot.

As an aside, it's occurred to me that things would be easier for runners if we were all micro-chipped, like dogs and cats, rather than fussing around with timing chips which are especially cumbersome if you're running sans shoes. I mentioned this on CoolRunning and CR Crabby pointed out that not only could our implanted chips time our runs, but they could also work like an e-tag on the highway, automatically debiting your credit card account for the cost of the event. Remember - you read it here first.

The run was enjoyable - cool conditions, no wind and I was pleased to find that the hills didn't seem too bad at all. Once again I was running in fancy pants which provoked a few cheery comments but, unfortunately, more than the usual number of unfriendly taunts as well. I haven't yet worked out what it is about not wearing regulation black runner's tights or standard shoes that gets up some people's noses so much.

Just before I crossed the finish line I got the timing chip out again and, as gracefully and inconspicuously as I could manage, stooped to wave it over the timing mat. My guide in all things barefoot, Runbare, had advised me to do this, saying "it works well as long as you don't mind looking like a git". Well, when you've just run a race in foot flaps made out of a door mat what have you got to lose ?

To pad out the morning's distance for my marathon training quota I'd arranged to run back to Sutherland after the race with Crabby. I was a bit apprehensive about this because I couldn't quite see how she was going to keep down to my pace, unless perhaps she hopped. As it happened we lost each other in the finish area anyway and so I started my slow jog back to Sutherland alone. It was distressing to find that the hills had grown a lot bigger now and I was reduced to a trudge. Still, I eventually made it back to the start and despite feeling like I must have taken twice as long as I did on the run out, it had actually only been an extra ten or fifteen minutes. Best of all, no achilles problems - yeeessss !!!

Do what you don't do well...

2008-07-22T12:37:00.008+10:00

...as the old song doesn't say.

Running is teaching me that there's a lot to be gained from doing something that, not only am I not very good at yet, but most likely I'll never be much good at it. By 'good' I mean able to run like those who are at the front of a race pack, those who run with a fluid grace and poise that is beautiful to see. I'm usually trying to catch up with the back of the pack and I've yet to be accused of running gracefully.

Because I know I'm going to be slow I don't worry about watching the clock. Saying that runners are generally interested in their times is a major understatement. Time, for most runners, is an obsession: time per kilometre, average pace, target time, personal best time... and all this monitored, tabulated, graphed against heart rate and distance data from the well-wired runner's armoury of strapped-on devices.

Don't get me wrong - I can well understand the fascination with time and measurement and I find it easy to relate to running gear-freaks who lust after the latest Garmin. I'm a geek loud and proud in other contexts and I love gadgets. But somehow with running I got onto the Luddite path and discovered that I like it: how it feels and where it takes you.

Time is just one facet of the everyday runner's experience and there's nothing wrong with measuring it, or challenging yourself in terms of it. But, as Kenneth Slessor says in Five Bells...

Time that is moved by little fidget wheels
Is not my time, the flood that does not flow.*

There are so many other facets to running - pleasures and experiences that don't slip away with age, as one's pace inevitably does, but actually come into sharper focus. The simple satisfaction of doing something for its own sake. The vividness of moments. The physicality of movement. The awareness of the natural world as we run through it. The opportunity for child-like joys, such as running through puddles, that most adults bar themselves from. These and many others, some that I would find hard to put into words adequately, are there to be had from running. Even from my slow, chugging version of it.

* For more on this great Australian poem visit ABC Radio National's Book Show web site

Cross that bridge, and again, and again...

2008-07-15T19:34:00.007+10:00

The Sri Chinmoy Doll's Point half marathon

Photograph by J Bar made available under the Gnu Free Documentation License.
Original full resolution photograph available here

It's not the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which I hope to be running across in September, but it's still a significant water-spanning bump to run across... out and back... twice... This is the Captain Cook Bridge and it was part of the course for the Sri Chinmoy half-marathon held last Sunday morning together with 10km and 5km events.

What a great event: cool conditions, no rain, a lovely scenic course on the shores of Botany Bay, a good turn-out and a wonderfully friendly atmosphere. As this was my first lengthy run since annoying my achilles I planned to take it easy and walk at times if I felt that I was stressing my ankle at all. But, as it turned out, I managed to chug along at a comfortable pace over the whole distance. How happy ? Very happy !

As usual at a Sri Chinmoy race, the organizers cooked a fabulous pancake breakfast for all finishers. I also had the pleasure of meeting some other members of the CoolRunning community for the first time: Wildthing, Gadfly, Crabby, TKR and Kyliee, as well as saying hello again to The Keg who is a great supporter of community runs like this one.

Next day my achilles was a bit swollen and I was limping a little, but still smiling !

Fundraising

This week, my Sydney Marathon fundraising page for the Black Dog Institute ticked over to $1170 ! That's about $1160 more than I expected to raise when I began this. Thanks again to everyone who has supported me so generously with their sponsorship and encouragement.

Running technology

2008-07-09T22:31:00.005+10:00

When people have asked about the sandals... well, when I say 'asked' what I really mean is that they've pointed at them and said, incredulously, "what are thoooooose ?" ...anyway, when people have asked about the sandals I've experimented with different replies. None of them have worked.

Responses that I've offered include:

I'm a beta tester for Nike and these are secret prototypes of the new Nike Free 0.05
I like the bondage look
I'm a member of the Brotherhood of Huarache, would you like to see some literature ?
Sh*t, what's happened to my shoes !!!
and even (pathetically) Wanna buy a pair ?

Once, after the Sydney Morning Herald Half-Marathon, a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked "hey mate, where did you get those ?". Wow, I thought, someone's really interested ! But he was actually asking about the two bananas that I was carrying because he hadn't been able to locate the fruit table.

However, like any other innovative trend-setter (or obsessive outlier) my confidence is not at all diminished by the overwhelming lack of interest shown by the high-tech shoe wearing majority... well, maybe a bit, but not enough to put shoes on and get injured again :)

I'm presently running in my second pair of sandals. They clap out fairly early, the first pair after about 100km. This is because of the tradeoff that I adopted for the prototype phase in which I felt it was most probable that the initial design turn-over rate would be high, thus rendering it uneconomic to invest in materials with a longer expected road life. Or, to put it another way, it's been hard to find cheap rubber door mats that last longer when you turn them into sandals.

The Mk II sandals feature non-slip tape as shown in the photo above. This is the same sort of tape that is used on exterior stair edges etc. and it stops the foot slipping fowards or backwards on the sandal, especially in wet conditions. So far it's worked a treat.

The Mk III sandal is already on the drawing board and represents a technological leap in very cheap low-tech running gear. With the help of the friendly folk at the new Australian branch of Algeos, who supply shoe materials, I am getting some proper soling rubber, made by Vibram, that I hope will give the sandals a road life of at least 500km. Stay tuned...

On the road again (really, truly this time)

2008-07-01T18:52:00.004+10:00

After the buzz of running in the Bay to Bay 12km event I got back into training for the marathon, only to be foiled by achilles soreness after just two runs. Do you ever have the feeling that bits of your body are out to get you ? Just lying in wait, lulling you into a false sense of security, only to leap out... Yes, well perhaps that is a tad paranoid, but I felt dejected about the having to have yet more time off, especially having got the support of so many people who have sponsored me.

There was a topic recently on CoolRunning (Australia): 'what keeps you running now', ie. although you may have started for fitness or weight loss or whatever, what is it that motivates you today ? I posted a completely off-the-cuff contribution which, like spontaneous words sometimes do, expressed things in a way that surprised me, but that seemed right...

sanity
to feel part of something
pancakes

These are my reasons for running. 'Pancakes' refers to the pancake breakfast served up to participants at Sri Chinmoy running events. I guess they also speak of the spirit of generosity that you find in the running community - although to tell you the truth, the only reason I mentioned them was that I really like pancakes. As for the first two reasons, they sum up what running gives me. When I can't run life is harder.

But this week things are looking up. Two days ago I did a very tentative 3km run. The achilles complained a bit at first but not too much and the next day it felt alright. Today I ventured out more confidently for a 5km run, including some gentle long inclines. There was nothing more than a dull ache from the achilles, and that was soon obscured by relief and pure pleasure. I think it's the closest I've got so far to experiencing the fabled runners' high.

Don't have shoes, will travel...

2008-06-23T23:46:00.001+10:00

So much has happened since my last post that it's hard to know where to start...

On the road again

Stretching, Tiger Balm and just not doing very much seemed to be the right tonic for my achilles niggle. It improved so much that a week ago I was able to run in the Bay To Bay 12km race. This is organised annually by Terrigal Trotters who seem to have it as their mission to be the friendliest, most encouraging and entertaining bunch of people you're ever likely to meet. The run starts at Woy Woy and follows the edge of Brisbane Waters all the way to Gosford - a very nice course.

It was going to be a cold morning, with a chill wind and drizzle, so I hunted around for something warm to wear. Luckily at the back of a drawer I found a pair of long neglected, slightly-more-colourful-than- usual-for-running, tights that I'd bought years ago for winter cycling.

OK, I admit that they do stand out compared to the standard issue black tights that most runners favour - but I was surprised by just how many comments they provoked. I'd like to send a particular thankyou to the race marshall who shouted out "Now that's style !" as I chugged past.

I did the run with my brother Paul who would usually be light years ahead of me. To help keep down to my pace, he had done a 20km warm-up run prior to the event (really, I'm not joking). Even though we chatted pretty much non-stop for the whole run, thanks to Paul's pacing I finished in a much faster time than I would usually manage, even with intact ankles.

This photo was taken when we were approaching the finish line - Paul looking relaxed and me with my customary expression of surprise at having got to the end. All in all it was a terrific event and highly recommended.

Fundraising for the Black Dog Institute

As I mentioned in my first post, I'd been given a web page so that people could sponsor my marathon attempt to raise money for the Black Dog Institute, but I hadn't been able to get it working. I'm happy to say that all was fixed by the fantastically helpful Alexandra Keating at gofundraise.com.au who not only saw to it that the technical problems got fixed, but even edited the page text and image for me so that I wouldn't have to wait. Thanks Alexandra !

The page, complete with fancy pants photo, is here.

It's only been a week of so since the page went up and I've been absolutely overwhelmed by the support that I've received from work colleagues and members of the CoolRunning community, thanks in no small part to Frank (a friend and CoolRunner in Adelaide) whose true calling is publicity agent ! The level of support has gone way beyond my expectations. Not only have folks been generous with their sponsorhip, but I've received a swag of messages with their encouragement, thoughts and inspiring personal accounts.

It's a privelege to get such support and it gives the whole effort a great sense of purpose. I'm going to be training hard - and leaving the shoes at home from now on !

(Don't) walk a mile in my shoes

2008-06-09T12:42:00.005+10:00

Day 6 since my last run (counting the scratch marks in the wall) and my achilles tendon is starting to feel a lot better. My brain, on the other hand, is going spare.

A lot has been written about how the runner's body makes all sorts of pleasure-inducing, pain-inhibiting substances, but I used to think that this only applied to fast runners and that whatever slight dribble of endorphins my body managed to squeeze out while I chugged along would have less mind-altering effect than, say, a good cup of tea. However, I think I was wrong about that because I'm seriously craving a run right now. Even the usually reliable, healthy substitutes, like coffee and chocolate, aren't working.

It's my own fault of course. It was silly enough trying to run those speed intervals in the marathon training program at, well, speed, but on top of that I made the fatal mistake of wearing... shoes.

Most runners wear running shoes. You go to a race and you see a lot of colourful, expensive, very high-tech running shoes. A pair of running shoes might last 600-1000km which, even for a newbie runner like me, doesn't take that long to do. So the average runner spends quite a lot of money on shoes each year. But it's worth it, we are told, to protect our feet, our joints, our muscles and tendons from the pounding that they would otherwise get when we run, especially on hard surfaces.

There have always been a few mavericks who choose not to wear running shoes; who argue that humans evolved to walk and run barefoot; that modern, cushioned shoes distort the running gait and can actually increase the risk of injury. These people are generally treated in much the same way as an Australopithecine would be if it turned up for a fun run: interesting, amusing, out of the ordinary, but definitely a different species. However, barefoot runners have refused to go extinct and hang on stubbornly, albeit as lonely individuals or in small remnant populations.

Despite living in Australia for most of my life, I have English feet: soft, sensitive, delicate... in other words, pathetic, especially for walking on rough, hard surfaces. Barefoot running held about as much attraction to me as fire walking. So when I began running last year I invested in a pair of moderately expensive running shoes based on the good advice of a specialist running shop. And very comfortable they were too compared to the ancient, clapped-out objects that I'd previously worn for my rare, athletic activity. But after a few months of running I started to get knee pain, and this gradually worsened until it stopped me running altogether. Some visits to a good sports physiotherapist helped a lot. I learned that the root cause of my problem was that my running style was not entirely optimal. It was crap in fact. My right leg had a strange tendency to buckle at the knee, as if it was trying to swap places with my left leg. The ungainly action that resulted put all sorts of damaging stress on my joints and tendons, eventually causing them to complain painfully.

I needed to learn how to run better, and I got interested in the claim of people like Barefoot Ken that running without shoes can improve your action and reduce the risk of injury. I started out with a little barefoot walking, gradually working up to 1-2km runs on concrete and bitumen. But my wimpy English feet didn't enjoy the abrasion or the frequent punctures from pieces of broken glass that seem to litter every stretch of local footpath. I looked around for some sort of minimal protective footwear and found Nike Frees and Vibram Fivefingers. The Frees seemed a bit too much like shoes. The Fivefingers looked interesting but, locally, cost more than I could afford. Then I found Barefoot Ted's running sandals. These looked like just the thing: minimal, cheap and with traditional cred. But I couldn't get Barefoot Ted to reply to my emails so I decided to make my own. About $5, a rubber doormat, some foamy stuff and a tube of glue later...

I christened them Slowmo's Cheap As Chips Running Sandals and they worked a treat ! It took a while to get used to running in them (which I'll talk about another time) but I found that they made me feel lighter, surer, like a runner in fact... And, no more aches and pains !

So why was I misguided enough to go back to shoes to run my first speed interval session ? Fear I think, an irrational regression to the belief that it would be better to wear shoes for this new exercise.

Ah well, despite the achilles tenderness, the self-criticism and the endorphin withdrawal, at least I have the perverse satisfaction of knowing that it was running shoes, and not my barefoot(-ish) sandals, that caused the problem.

Sydney Marathon 2008 - off to a slightly ordinary start

2008-06-06T15:26:00.002+10:00

This year I have set myself the goal of running my first marathon. Yes (sigh) I know the rest of the universe has already done one and it's no quite like climbing Everest any more (yes [sigh] I know the rest of the universe has already climbed Everest and... <continue ad nauseum>). But since I only began my running career last August, and my longest run so far has been a half-marathon, the goal of being able to run 42km (26 miles) seems like a biggie.

The event in question is the Sydney Marathon 2008 on September 21st. This is a charity fund-raising event and I'm going to try to raise some money for The Black Dog Institute. To help galvanize myself into action I entered (and paid - ouch) a few days ago. I will be running in Bib Number 05976.

Sufficiently galvanized, committed, determined etc. I have launched myself into a program of intensive training. Unfortunately things haven't quite gotten off to a dream start on either the training or the fund-raising front.

I selected one of the training programs available on the Sydney Marathon web site and, being realistic about my abilities, decided to start a few weeks early and double up on the first part of the program. Now, my running style is characterized by a stately pace - a pace appropriate to someone whose interests lie in the higher, mental and spiritual aspects of running rather than base athleticism and competitiveness. To put it another way, I'm slow. Really slow. So when I saw that the training program included speed work from the very first week I was a little apprehensive. That was mistake. It would have been far better to be very apprehensive and thus a little more cautious...

My first and, to date, only speed session consisted of six one minute intervals. One minute at full pelt is about 200m for me. I threw myself into it and was rewarded with breathless nausea followed the next day by an uncomfortable twinge in my right achilles tendon. Bah ! I thought: athletic competitive runners such as me aren't troubled by pifling little aches and pains. So, I went for a medium length slightly painful run, followed a couple of days later by a shorter, more painful, limping jog. It then began to dawn on me that the achilles pain wasn't succumbing to my steely indifference as it was supposed to. In fact, by yesterday it had developed into a quite convincing running injury, complete with swelling and more pain, and leaving me limping around the house ridiculously. Ah well... better to get the injuries out of the way early rather than just before the event !

On the fund-raising front things haven't got very far. All event entrants who nominate to raise funds for charity are given a fund-raising web page which they can customize with their own text and images. Well, that's what the email from the organizers promises but, despite several attempts, I haven't managed to customize, or even slightly dent, my page. The pages are hosted at gofundraise.com.au and they provide a simple on-line template editor which, for me, generates screens full of xml error complaints when I try to do anything. Teething troubles I thought, and logged a help request with the gofundraise folk via their help page. Their system assured me that:

"our technical staff will response to you shortly"

It's been about 24 hours but they haven't responsed to me yet.