Tuesday 30 September 2008

Good Morning Good Morning

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 with


It all depends on how you define winning I suppose.

Words are the strangest things.... I like playing with words and phrases where slight ambiguity can be found. I don't know why; and it must annoy or confuse the occasional reader.

Or perhaps what I think is subtle is not subtle at all. I don't know!

On firmer ground, as a diversion try playing with triple letter words.... there's:
"weeest" [superlative of wee],
"Wiiitis" [a term for shoulder pain caused by excessive playing of the Nintendo video game Wii],
"Hostessship" is found in Shakespeare, Act 4, Scene 4, "Winter's Tale", and you could also have Goddessship, Postmistressship, Headmistressship, Governessship etc. in the same vein.
How about the quadruple letter word "Brrrr"?
All these words are found in dictionaries, somewhere!
If you are into such things, the reference is http://jeff560.tripod.com/words7.html

The full picture


Strewth uncropped. (see "Followers")

Monday 29 September 2008

Here, There and Everywhere

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, September 29, 2008 with
I should be in Brisbane by now... assuming no hold-ups. It's a wonder others don't follow us up here for a few weeks. Especially in Canberra winter when the running is so good away from the cold.

Speaking of "following", I wonder if my "followers" pictures are still being cropped? It so it is not a problem with my blog design, because when I "manage followers", or look at them via dashboard, blogger too shows them cropped. I have had time to look at only a couple of other blogs with followers but theirs were OK. Later on if it's not fixed I will probably end up registering on blogger help and posting my bug report there. Or someone could research it for me...? Of course "following is still experimental".

With blogger, we'll never run out of problems. But I like it.





Sunday 28 September 2008

Too Much Monkey Business

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, September 28, 2008 with

Granddaughters Liana and Amelie wanting to be taken on holidays, I guess.

Variation on a theme
Sitting together on a train, travelling through Victoria were a New Zealander, an Australian guy, a little old lady, and a stunning blonde (as they are in all such stories, eh?)

The train goes into a dark tunnel and a few seconds later there is the sound of a loud slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, the New Zealander has a bright red hand print on his cheek. No one speaks.

The old lady thinks: The New Zealand guy must have groped the blonde in the dark and she slapped his cheek.

The blonde girl thinks: That New Zealand guy must have tried to grope me in the dark, but missed and fondled the old lady and she slapped his cheek.

The New Zealander thinks: The Aussie guy must have groped the blonde in the dark. She tried to slap him but missed and got me instead.

The Australian thinks: I can't wait for another tunnel, just so I can smack the New Zealander again.



Saturday 27 September 2008

I Forgot to Remember to Forget

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, September 27, 2008 with
I remembered to forget to set the tape for today's grand final. Go Geelong! I couldn't do it as I didn't have enough tape! I remembered to set the tape for tomorrow's last episode of Series 4 of Doctor Who. That's the important one. Although the DVD will be out any day now anyway. What brilliant writers Doctor Who has! It makes me think, perhaps I should attend a "Creative Writing" course, given my current interests.

Running is one of those things which helps memory. So does WALKING apparently! Now the problem is to remember to do some every day. "A West Australian research team says it has proved for the first time that 20 minutes of activity each day can improve memory function." - read rest of article at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/03/2353910.htm . This is good, because I have been told by a usually totally unreliable source that I am going to get dementia. Of course, this person is away with the fairies, but a good prophet is hard to find. And the advice was free.

Look, if you have to walk, at least do enough to make a difference to your fitness. Installing one of these in your workplace might just help.



You have to make sacrifices to do what you know you should be doing, to keep fit. They don't have to be BIG sacricies!

Friday 26 September 2008

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, September 26, 2008 with
Aaahrrr you'll miss me. Today's post and many following after it have been prepared WELL IN ADVANCE. You will notice a slight reduction in quality; or you will if you thought there was quality already. Nothing changes so doing these in advance is no problem. Should anything serious happen here, like the whole training group defecting to WALKING, or the sun forgetting to rise, I am sure EWEN will write a goof post for me. I hope he spell checks.

Loneliness is one of the BIGGIES these days. Hey I miss STREWTH already and she's only over in Italy watching Coldplay. I miss the 799 RUNNERS who each turned up to training once on some occasion or other and we didn't see again. I DO like Mondays and will miss the Parliament House training sessions the most. But it is great to head off to Brisbane to see Nathan, Lisa, Jackson, Tyler & Charlie. And there are no races on the horizon!

Racing will take a back seat but I so look forward to the training runs I am planning, in WARM weather, hurrah!


Strewth & Mr Strewth

Do rack up those points on Sunday in the monthly handicap, and make sure you all run well enough to be re-handicapped for the next run, giving me a better chance of a place in October.

Thursday 25 September 2008

Three Cool Cats

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, September 25, 2008 with
One Mick and two Rogers

I don't know that Beatles song, but it seemed appropriate, with the Cats bound to win on Saturday.

Mick


Kelley tells me Mick is a worry. I am surprised she just realised that!

Roger #1
Today's BBQ Stakes saw me run ~25.30, Roger ~27.30, and Helen ~29.00. Roger and Helen are picking up form, but I was very disappointed with my time, especially as it was probably my last run there for a while, as I start to focus on track.

Check page 14 of the latest R4YL magazine for Roger's picture.

A curious goose.



Roger #2
ACT election candidates will be announced later today, if anyone is interested. I believe an old friend, Roger Nicoll, is a Ginninderra candidate. Each year I look at the list of candidates, cross out the hopeless ones, and see who is left. Last time no one was left! This time I expect only Roger will be left. But we will see.

Roger used to specialise in Orienteering and was quite a good runner, competing in cross country and road races as I recall. Which may not of course be any sort of recommendation. But he was never as pushy and arrogant as today’s representatives seem to be, and so I quite like him.

Actually I know personally quite a number of the candidates including current members. But it usually doesn’t mean I want to vote for them!

Field events anyone?



I guess I will stick to track.

Wednesday 24 September 2008

Please Mr Postman

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 with

Having Ewen’s statistics stored on his blog means he keeps for posterity fascinating historical data which might otherwise disappear into the mists of antiquity.

A postman knows how to post! I hadn't thought of that before.

I should do the same. No, not become a postal person like Ewen. I should post more historical stuff.

In retirement I should be able to go back through all my old diaries and construct something similar.

Meanwhile I have a pie chart, which should be enough for now to keep you armchair statisticians happy.



retirement



This Sunday’s (last) High Noon Meet program, track component.
12:00 noon 3000m (run and walk) hand timed only
12:02pm Long Hurdles 200m/400m
12:10pm 100m
12:30pm 1500m
12:45pm 1500m walk
12:55pm Sprint hurdles
1:05pm 200m
1:20pm relay 2x100m
1:35pm 400m

Tuesday 23 September 2008

• Rock and Roll Music

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 with
I am about to burn all my current favourite songs to CDs ready for our trip away. My tastes haven't changed much recently but some of the the songs have, as I discover artists I didn't know and as new songs are released. Here's the 20 best, which will go on the first CD if they all fit:

1. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab For Cutie
2. 42 - Coldplay
3. Erase - Geoff Moore
4. Eagle Rider - Delirious
5. Your Heart Is An Empty Room - Death Cab For Cutie
6. I Am Still Running - Jon Foreman
7. Lost! - Coldplay
8. Lightness - Death Cab For Cutie
9. 15-Step - Radiohead
10. Bixby Canyon Bridge - Death Cab For Cutie

11. Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love - Coldplay
12. Desert Song - Brooke Fraser
13. Violet Hill - Coldplay
14. Run - Snow Patrol
15. Cemeteries Of London - Coldplay
16. Death And All His Friends - Coldplay
17. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
18. Stare The Monster Down - Delirious
19. Baptise My Mind - Jon Foreman
20. Give What You've Got - Delirious

At training last night we had Alan, Christopher, Ewen, Gary, me, Helen, Ken, Neil, Rachelle, and champagne for Neil's birthday.

The October Vetrunner is now on-line. This photo, my favourite from the Half Marathon, is included. It is my favourite, not because Des is pushing over the pole, but because Helen & I can be seen in the background in deep conversation deciding to pace each other.



Rock and Roll! I enjoyed that run.

Monday 22 September 2008

• Please Please Me

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, September 22, 2008 with
Me, I have been keeping the Beatles song titles going, and will be for many weeks yet! But I am currently listening to Coldplay, Kutless, Delirious, Travelling Wilburies, and so on.

Time is so short
And I'm sure
There must be something more
- Coldplay's "42".
So much to do so little time.

Mee though just right, and the fixt Laws of Heav'n
Did first create your Leader, next, free choice,
With what besides, in Counsel or in Fight,
Hath bin achievd of merit, yet this loss
Thus farr at least recover'd, hath much more
Establisht in a safe unenvied Throne
Yeilded with full consent.

- Milton’s "Paradise Lost". They didn’t have spell checkers back then, LOL.
We fight on. Proving/testing our merit to the end. And why not?

My training progress
last week’s target: 90k
achieved: 72k
year 2008 total to date: 3080k in 38 weeks
this week's target: 90k
weight: 64kg ▲
I won't be publishing my weight for the weeks I am away, but I will let my weight drop to 62kg in the next two months, then hold it there.
That's the plan. Please!

You thought you might be a ghost
- Coldplay's "42".
The fulfilment of all these plans had better not take forever.



So we press on.

Those who are dead
Are not dead
They're just living in my head

- Coldplay's "42".

Please please me by carrying the baton for as long as you are able. And making sure the next generation are carrying it too.

Sunday 21 September 2008

• Let It Be

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, September 21, 2008 with
There's so much we can't do anything about, I suppose that's why we sometimes focus on one or two relatively unimportant things we can do something about.

I try to be one of those people who build up rather than tear down. But sometimes I just cannot just let things be.

So, in light of recent events, this is quite apt:



I doubt that I will let it be for a few days yet.

And now for something completely different:
The ACT calendar of events on the Masters website has been updated: http://www.actvac.com.au/mainframe/events.html

Sunday's High Noon program is still not available.
Anyway, Sunday is the ACT Masters monthly handicap, always good.
I will miss both, we have decided we will leave for our Brisbane holiday on Friday at the latest.

Good luck to David & Caroline who are competing in the World Duathlon champinships in Italy, Have a good holiday there Ruth; good luck to Bronwyn and everyone else running in Sydney today, and to Ewen in Melbourne next week, where marathons and shorter road races are being held.

Saturday 20 September 2008

• Blue Jay Way

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, September 20, 2008 with
The cost of the medals.



Good performances at high profile games like the Olympics can inspire people to take up sport. That's good. But you might have gathered by now, I am not a fan of huge investments in a few elite if it is at the expense of recreational and sporting facilities for the rest. Let's give priority to making facilities and coaching expertise available to all. Australia is pretty good in this area; but there is still a long way to go if we are to get Norm out of his armchair.

I was feeling a bit blue when I heard that a good running friend of mine from my teen years in Adelaide died recently. David Fitzsimons, "Fitzi", went on to set records and represent Australia in the 5000m.

"Fitzsimons, who dominated Australian distance running in the late 1970s, died from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, aged 58. Recognised as one of the best athletes South Australia has ever produced, Fitzsimons represented Australia at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and the 1974 and 1978 Commonwealth Games..... " - see http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24324457-12428,00.html

and a tribute at http://www.athleticssa.org/.

Well, better go for a run. Now.



And then there's a wedding to go to today. That will be a laugh a minute. I will certainly need my sense of humour. I will set the tape to record Hawthorn flogging whoever-they-are-playing. Then tomorrow I will run it all off at 9am at Stromlo with Christopher and the Masters Sunday morning group.

Friday 19 September 2008

• I Wanna Be Your Man

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, September 19, 2008 with
For some reason, "Run like a girl" was a bit of a theme at last night's training. Was it something to do with our name change to Masters, and the need to provide balance to what is a sexist, non-PC, offensive name? (To anyone without a grain of common sense, that is). So, where are the "Masters who run like a girl" T-shirts? That's what we need!



Training were Al, Christine, me, Joel, Miranda, Rod, Tony & Yelena. We ran a couple of teams in shuttle relays where five of the runners ran 20 x 100 and the others a bit less. With about 80m jog in between each. It was a beautiful evening, under bright lights, where was everyone?

Portrait Gallery Director a runner:
" In training, he enthuses about running around Canberra. ''Running around the lake, which is just beautiful and great if you want a relatively easy jog. 'I always like to run up Mount Ainslie. It's great because you share the road with cyclists, all those early morning Tour de France aspirants.'' "
See the full article at http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/canberra-running-man-a-portrait-of-health/1267026.aspx

What do you think, is sport just for the elite, or is it for all of us?
"While Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates has called for increased government funding for elite athletes in Olympic sports to "take back the Ashes in London", the chairman of the Australian Sports Commission, Peter Bartels, advocates grassroots investment in non-Olympic sports"
See the full article at http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/money-for-the-masses-or-olympic-elite/2008/09/05/1220121527679.html. Well done, Bartels, keep up the good fight on our behalf, you are the man, we are with you all the way. But given the number of obese couch potatos in Australia, it may be a losing battle. What's the use of medals if the population is unfit and inactive?



Thursday 18 September 2008

• The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, September 18, 2008 with
Caps 'n Chips


Artist's impression of Strewth - who has been researching running caps recently - finishing Sunday's Fun Run.

Canberra Times 10k Fun Run
Timing chips were introduced for last year's run and proved very successful once again this year. The official results come in time chip order. In other words, if you sprinted to the line with someone and their time is way different from yours, and therefore their place as well, it's OK, they simply crossed the start line with that margin of difference. Conversely, if someone is given the same time as you and you never saw them, it's because your starting and finishing margins were the same. Simple really! And a very good system. Just don't ease off if you are ahead of a rival who has caught you. You need to get away again!

speedygeese results
138 Geoff Moore 40.59
145 Mick Horan 41.11
216 Ken White 42.46
294 Katie Forestier 44.05
349 Charlie McCormack 44.48
356 Gary Bowen 44.52
372 Sonia Veldhoven 45.03
393 Amanda Walker 45.21
438 Maria O'Reilly 46.09
476 Ewen Thompson 46.44
485 Thea Zimpel 46.52
579 Bronwyn Calver 47.58
683 Kathy Sims 49.14
693 Peter McDonald 49.19
710 Jodie Sims 49.33
734 Charmaine Knobel 49.45
736 Tony Booth 49.47
842 Christopher Lang 50.52
941 Geoff Sims 51.52
994 Mick Charlton 52.27
1114 Rae Palmer 53.25
1272 Peter Hogan 54.38
1274 Miranda Rawlinson 54.39
1362 Ruth Baussmann 55.29
1644 Margaret McSpadden 58.08

3032 finishers under 2 hours in the 10k.
Another 1773 finishers under 90 minutes in the 5k walk.

CTFR History
It is interesting to compare times with previous years.
Previous posts contain records of the last two years:
2006 results.
2007 results.

Other times of interest
1 Martin Dent 29.50
10 Nick Walshe 33.55
13 Emily Brichacek 34.12
23 Bruce Graham 35.52
39 Jackie Fairweather 36.49
79 Des Brown 39.18
86 Gary Rolfe 39.26
101 Kent Williams 39.51
111 Michael Leahey 40.07
118 Richard Faulks 40.14
148 Ruth McTaggart 41.17
170 David Webster 41.50
208 Paul Archer 42.36
248 John Morton 43.21
284 Susan Hobson 43.55
426 John Kennedy 45.52
430 Sue Archer 45.56
567 Pam Muston 47.46
1029 Zed Seselja 52.40
1199 Cate Winning 54.02
1536 Roy Jones 57.07

Roy


Number 1954 is Roy Frylink. Roy Jones behind him is the one in the R4YL cap. And green shoes.

Category Results
We didn't bother entering a lot of teams this year, like we did last. This didn't affect our participation.

Tony Booth won the M70-79 division.

"Pushin 60" (Ken White, Gary Bowen, Ewen Thompson) won the M50-59 team category.

Wednesday 17 September 2008

• Revolution 1

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 with
Last Monday at Parliament House it was surprisingly sheltered from the storm along the path on the western side, so we completed a normal training session there without getting too cold or damp. And the surface was soft without being slippery. Training were Christopher, Ewen, Gary, me, Katie, Ken, Neil, Rachelle, Ruth & Yelena. We ran ten intervals half the length of the straight, on 2:30.

Track and Field
The first half of the ACT Masters Track and Field program is on the website at http://www.actvac.com.au/mainframe/Events_Page.htm. My heading above, "Revolution 1", would refer to the 400m! Of which there are a few. A 400m is the easiest event! Anyone who can jog 10k can run 400m! It is only 1 lap of the track.

Fitness Through Fellowship
I would love to see a track season where participants forget about their personal ambition for awards, medals, recognition, and status, and instead think about increasing the enjoyment of others especially new people.

That would be a revolution, indeed!

The more new people we get who reject an out-of-date culture of one-upmanship, gamesmanship, pot hunting, and self aggrandisement, and just take pleasure in what is really on offer, the enjoyment of healthy physical exercise in an environment of encouragement and motivation, the better!

I think our multiplicity of trophy races and prizes and awards is a barrier to the main thing, which is "fellowship" or "friendship". And specially the "I should have won that, not you!" attitude you see sometimes, means the spirit of the club looks more like unfriendly rivalry than friendly competition.

And this is so immature, it is a child's attitude. Grow up!

Culturally speaking, a key thought in the minds of the next generation of Masters athletes is "friendship". For example, the old ideas about the authority of parents over children is changing. A mother will now be heard to say that she wants to be "friends" with her children. In the previous generation there was more emphasis on control and authority. This is a real cultural shift. It points to the truth that if we, the more senior members of the Masters athletics groups, expect some sort of deference from newer younger members, they will not relate to that so not be attracted to the club. Instead, a simple expression of friendship as equals is exactly what is needed and will be reciprocated. We are so well placed to connect to this generation, provided we return to our foundations, "fitness through fellowship". Bring on the next generation of Masters with their refreshing attitudes towards sport. From which we could all re-learn.

I will try and clarify this for an article in "Vetrunner" one day. But hanging onto familiar and established ways of operating, especially keeping the out-dated name "Veterans", is no way to relate to the next generation. It is merely self-indulgence. And it is not just the name which is important, it is the attitude.

Change is not so much about what you say, but about what you do.

And first you must see there is a need for change! If you cannot see the joke in the following poster, you have a problem.



Although, if you thought you had problems:
"Taiwan's leading female ultra-marathon runner has had to have both legs amputated after blisters on her foot developed into an infection".
Read the rest of the article here.

Tuesday 16 September 2008

• Michelle

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 with


CTFR report
After a wild night of lightning and strong winds, Sunday morning at the Canberra Times 10k Fun Run we experienced flurries of heavy rain and hail, strong headwinds during the run, and walkers on the path, which meant that fast times were a rarity. It was impossible to run quickly in the last 2k, as walls of walkers blocked the way and all one’s attention was engaged in plotting and re-plotting the best path forward, while ducking and weaving and getting stopped dead at times. Every runner was held up by the walkers, not just me, so it didn’t affect placings much but did affect times a lot. Nevertheless I still managed to run an even split, and despite not feeling well, battling the wind, pulling up each time a walker changed course, and thinking I was running poorly, I ran a reasonable time of 40.59 which establishes an M60 10k pb and is considerably faster than last year's run.

Many speedygeese ran; and Helen and Rachelle came out to support us and cheer us on, which is always appreciated. The “original gosling” Michelle tells me via Facebook that she was there too, cheering us on. Hi Shelley!

The official results will become available on Thursday.

I wonder what it is about walkers in running races these days? In the Canberra Times event the walkers were only doing 5k and merged with us with 2k to go. Recently we have had 3k track races which are runs and walks combined, and more have appeared on the new AACT program for this summer. It is really difficult to judge how fast a walker you are passing is going; generally they are going much slower than is first apparent. And for some reason these walkers often like to walk several abreast. Up to seven or eight abreast on Sunday! And many of them “take more room” than runners, which is why they walk instead of run. And they are less predictable than runners, tending to dart across in front of you unexpectedly. When they run a few steps they go sideways, as if reluctant to leave their friends. And a few of them even get quite possessive about their space, intentionally blocking the way as if resentful that others are able to run. On Sunday many of the walkers showed a general lack of courtesy to all runners and a lack of understanding of running. Having walkers mixed with runners in serious races is very silly.

Without the walkers and the wind, I may have run 30 or 40 seconds faster. And I wasn’t feeling 100%. Which means I should be able to break 40 minutes this season, something I last did 15 years ago as an M45. Back then it was unexpected, a “one-off”. But now I am running consistently and not getting sore. Which was my primary aim and goal: to get to the point where I could run pain-free. This has been achieved this year. Even on the long and winding road.

Moore Moore relative photos


Kayleigh Falconer. Photo by Mon. This is here because on Sunday we could not show you her face.


Liana Hall and Kayleigh Falconer. Photo by Mon. As grown up as Liana is, Kayleigh is growner upperer.

Austin


The boy on the left is my late father-in-law, Austin Lowes, arriving in Australia in 1924. The cutting is from the Newcastle paper, "The Labor Daily". What is amazing is that Jenny at the same age looked almost identical! She has always said she takes after her father, now we know it's true.

Monday 15 September 2008

• Can't Buy Me Love

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, September 15, 2008 with
My training progress
last week’s target: 90k
achieved: 78k
year 2008 total to date: 3008k in 37 weeks
this week's target: 90k
weight: 63kg ▼

I am posting this on Tuesday (pre-dating it to Monday) because power blackouts around Canberra meant no internet connection for a whole day! Netspeed was down. Curiously, in the "despair" series, we are up to "power"! I don't care too much for power (money). Power can't buy me love!



After I have cleared yesterday's backlog I will put up Tuesday's post where I will waffle on about the Canberra Times Fun Run.

Sunday 14 September 2008

• Yellow Submarine

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, September 14, 2008 with
Spring in Canberra
Well, yellow anyway, even if not a submarine.
Perhaps a certain "Coldplay" song title was more relevant today!


This Australian wattle tree is in our backyard, outside our lounge room window.
The wattle is the Australian National floral emblem, and its colours, green and gold, are our national colours.

There are not many rhymes for "wattle" so it doesn't feature in any national songs. Monty Python tells it best:


This here's the wattle
The emblem of our land
You can stick it in a bottle
You can hold it in your hand.

Amen!




Falconer grandchildren (continued)


Jarod Falconer



Kayleigh Falconer




All ten grandchildren have so much potential it is scary.
And none of them are called Bruce.

Saturday 13 September 2008

• Love You To

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, September 13, 2008 with
Each day just goes so fast,
I turn around, it's past,
You don't get time to hang a sign on me.
Love me while you can,
Before I'm a dead old man.
A life-time is so short,
A new one can't be bought,
But what you've got means such a lot to me.
Make love all day long,
Make love singing songs
.
-the Beatles, "Love You To"


"Dear Geoff, I went to my first session with my new running group today.
"And guess what was on the oval
".................. Geese!!
"Miss you guys
"Emma"


Emma sent this photo


Canadian Geese

AACT Track
The Athletics ACT Track and Field program for the whole of the 2008-09 season is now available at http://athleticsact.org.au/. It all starts on Saturday 11 October and offers a 3000m every week, and 1500m/5000m alternately each Saturday until 22 November, then two Thursdays in January with us, then Tuesdays.

ACTMAC Track
The ACT Masters Athletics Track and Field program for this year has been finalised and is about to be published. It all starts on Thursday 16 October and offers middle and long distance events each week.

ACTCCC Spring Series
This popular series of Cross Country races commences on Tuesday 4 November and continues for 5 weeks.

Speedygeese training sessions
Our Parliament House training sessions will continue every Monday evening.

Back to Stromlo
Given the number of events on offer, I have now decided to postpone the start of regular Saturday morning Stromlo grass training sessions until 29 November (i.e. when AACT Saturday events are no longer happening).

I plan to attend as many of all of the above as possible. I would love you to join me in any of these you wish. (there's the link to the title! Hmmmmmm.)

Falconer Grandchildren (part one)


Olivia Falconer


Alex Falconer

Friday 12 September 2008

• Words of Love

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, September 12, 2008 with
Barbara at Carley's wedding


You can chat with Barbara via bardytucker (that's not a typo) at hotmail.com. I don't think she's on facebook. (If she were, you could really chat).

At Dickson last night there were 14 of us who ran Ewen 300s. With variations, it was teams of two, we were in lane 3 so the intervals were >310m, and we tended to shuffle rather than walk back the 100m in between, and then we waited for the baton. But we did do ten of them each, Ewen. I put the change-over points mid-straight and mid-bend so that everyone would have half straight and half bend to race on. Training were Al & Joel, Thea & I, Bronwyn & Tony, Rachelle & Neil, Miranda & Yelena, Jodie D & Caroline, Ruth & Margaret. In that order if I remember rightly. (Thea & I nearly took it out! The gosling and the old grey goose!) It was a good session. And we had the new lights fully on; it was as bright as day!

Moore Moores - Nathan & Lisa with Charlie



click to enlarge. Tomorrow - Falconer grandchildren!

I meant to publish this earlier...
A West Australian research team says it has proved for the first time that 20 minutes of activity each day can improve memory function.
The team from the West Australian Centre for Health and Ageing carried out an 18 month trial using two control groups with an average age in the late 60s.
One group did on average twenty minutes more physical activity a day, mainly vigorous walking, and it was this group that performed better on tests for memory and other cognitive functioning. The Director for the WA Centre for Health and Ageing, Leon Flicker, says the increase was small but significant.
"The improvement in memory functioning was a little over a point on one of the scales that we use," he said.
"To put it in perspective, this is actually more than the effect of some of the drugs that have been trialed in the past which, overall, have been found to be ineffective."
Professor Flicker says the people who took part had some memory complaints but none were suffering from dementia.
He says more research needs to be done and this will look at what sort of exercise is best and whether it can help those suffering from dementia.
"What we've shown is that a moderate increase in physical activity produces a moderate increase in the brain's functioning, but whether a lot more activity would continue to have even greater effect, we really can't say at this stage," he said.
The trial results will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association today.

- from ABC News, 3 Sept 2008.