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

Canterbury 2009 Australia Day 5.5km fun run

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

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.