And then, a year or so later...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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