Monday 31 July 2017

Rain!

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, July 31, 2017 with
Song of the Week - The Beatles – Rain. At https://youtu.be/Xf3leJAbx7U

At last it is raining in Canberra this morning, Training is still happening this afternoon regardless!



This is one of the very best Beatles singles. Turn it up!
Warning – the video contains traces of impersonations! Quite funny.

Sunday 30 July 2017

Today's trail runners

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, July 30, 2017 with
Doing speedygeese long run Mulligans-Goorooyarroo
From car park Amy Ackman St (opp. Cleggett St) Forde
15k option - https://www.strava.com/routes/9740738
25k option - https://www.strava.com/routes/9740797

Friday 28 July 2017

reliving Monday's speedygeese hill session

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, July 28, 2017 with
Meet at 5:30pm at the Parliament House public underground car park - run one lap warm-up - run over to one of the hills - do 15 reps on the hill - jog across to the rose gardens - do laps with quick tempo and recovery, first clockwise then anti-clockwise - complete one lap cool-down.

Thanks Bronwyn: see it all at this link: https://www.relive.cc/view/1098904271

A different hill session this coming Monday. All welcome!

Thursday 27 July 2017

45 today

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, July 27, 2017 with
My eldest daughter is 45 today! Happy Birthday Loani!





Wednesday 26 July 2017

speedygeese training summaries

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 with
Thursday 20 July: At Parliament House I ran part of the session and also participating were Jen, Isaac, Brownie, Susan and Jennie. We did {800/400j} x 4 then {200/200j} x 2.

On Sunday 23 July the distance group (Dave) reports: Welcome to this week’s edition of Speedygeese long run, co-authored by Ewen and Dave live from sunny Kiama. Disclaimer – all names used in this epic tale are real people. We’ll try our best to keep this short (but can’t promise anything).
While Narelle slugged it out in the Sri Chinmoy duathlon (with a flat tyre not helping) and Giles, Jacob, Thach, Shiree, Sandeep and Susan did a 20k+ run at Mount Ainslie/Mount Majura (and apparently were separated at the 7k mark – no need to say any more), Jen, Mhairi, Bronwyn, Ewen and Dave did the Kiama Coastal Classic 14k, which is the focus of today’s report. Dave and Ewen had an uneventful trip, arriving to a beautiful surfside sunset in a balmy 15 degrees. After a brief strategy session the two tackled the tent head on and thought they had it mastered in under 15 minutes. Big mistake!
Having failed at spending two hours trying to set up Dave’s huge “Taj Mahal” tent at Bowral in two hours, they thought a mid-sized tent would be a better option. The lesson learnt is that the size of the tent is not necessarily indirectly proportional to the erection time (at least not for dumb and dumber). 20 minutes saw a 1 metre high half tent that was deemed a failure and pulled down, much to the delight of a couple of onlookers. 40 minutes into the project, with a few more onlookers, half of the tent was up. After another solid 30 minutes it was decided that the other half of the tent wasn’t needed anyway, so it was off to meet Jen, Richard and Mr D for dinner at Trivium (which had great ocean views – too bad it was pitch black). The herbivores had a yummy ravioli while the carnivores dug into a slow cooked lamb shank, and Mr D (little Daniel) knocked down a huge plate of fish and chips followed by icecream. Much of the discussion revolved around the digestive process and the potential effects of a lamb and chocolate brownie and icecream mixture the following morning.
Then it was time for the next problem solving session. Since Dave had forgotten the air mattress pump (he is getting old, after all), Ewen and Dave had a mattress blowing up competition, which Ewen won (apparently he has bigger lungs). It was decided that the tent should be tackled again in the dark, so they brought in a specialist (Richard), who’s first suggestion was to put in some pegs. This proved to be a great suggestion, when a gale picked up at 3am, but 4 pegs was apparently not enough. Shortly after liftoff, Dave awoke and raced out to see the top sheet making moves down the road – now we know why it’s called the “fly”. Ewen kept snoring.
And now for the run report….The run was an entirely different kettle of fish. With a strong line up, the atmosphere was tense and the heat was on. Jen was true to form, being the last to pick up her number while everyone waited at the start line for the 10 minute delay (some say the lead cyclist was late, but we know better 😜). Jen refreshingly broadcast that she was just going to have some fun, enjoy the views and spend time with friends. Dave suspected she was up to something, however, when she upset the applecart, rudely passing him at the 1k mark, and never looking back.
The course was tough, being hillier than City to Surf and with surfaces including grass, dirt, concrete and beach sand. Temperatures more than 20 degrees higher than at yesterday’s Tuggeranong parkrun didn’t help. Thankfully, due to a lack of recent rain, there was no running through the water this year. Also, no-one got lost, although Dave did a slight detour through a caravan park (with a few unsuspecting followers).
The results were breathtaking – Jen Bright 2nd female overall in 1:07:36, Mhairi Craig 1st female 50-59 in 1:13:28, Dave Clarke 2nd male 50-59 in 1:09:24 and Ewen Thomson 2nd male 60-69 in 1:22:34. Bronwyn put in a commendable effort with 1:24:22. The major upset was Jen beating Dave by almost two minutes – clearly a result of Dave’s nocturnal activities the night before (blowing up the mattress as well as chasing down the tent ). Tim walked the course twice and took some great pics while Richard entertained Mr D.
Post event festivities included modelling for ocean backdrop pics (was going to mention Mhairi’s striptease but apparently it’s a regular occurrence so too boring for this review) and lunch at the same place as last year (whatever it’s called). It was also good to see long lost speedygeese Charlie McCormack and Tori Hennig at the finish.
Thanks everyone – it was a great weekend with some great results.

Monday 24 July at Parliament House: I ran early then supervised: running 15 x harder 100m hills on 80 seconds then doing some quick-leg work for 5 minutes were Bron, Bronwyn, Giles, Isaac, Jen, Jennie, Pieta, Ruth and Warrick.

And so it goes. Two more July training sessions at Parliament House to go, then we are into August and a new set of training will have been prepared. For recent non-attendees, and there are many, spring is not too far away and it is never too late to rejoin us.

We train in the cold



Tuesday 25 July 2017

Recent speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 with
Lake Tuggeranong Stakes 6k 18 July
3. Sandeep Chandra 32:09
4. Warrick Howieson 32:12
11. Ewen Thompson 30:07
12. Peter Thomson 28:07
17. Roger Pilkington 33:35
20 finishers

AMRA Black Mountain Run-up 2.6k 18 July
11 Bron Sparkes 21.52
15 finishers

Customs 5k 21 July
8 Caroline Campbell 31:18
9 Peter Thomson 23:22
12 Ewen Thompson 25:29
14 finishers

Burley Griffin 5k parkrun #59
22 July
77 Jennie Blake 27:41 W60
105 Elizabeth Bennett 30:17 W50
148 finishers

Ginninderra 5k parkrun #272 22 July
34 Kevin Miller 24:30 M35
64 Celina Miller 28:20 W35
80 Bron Sparkes 30:31 W40
81 Ruth Baussmann 30:41 W65
87 Brendan Belcher 31:30 M35
145 finishers

Tuggeranong 5k parkrun #231 22 July
27 Bronwyn Calver 23:32 W45
29 Peter Thomson 23:37 M55
41 David Clarke 24:45 M55
144 Ewen Thompson 36:25 M60
189 finishers

Gungahlin 5k parkrun #197 22 July
67 Margaret McSpadden 30:09 W70
73 Yuan Yuan Liu 30:50 W45
127 finishers

Queanbeyan 5k parkrun #13 22 July
9 Amanda Cook 23:25 W35
61 finishers

Batemans Bay 5k parkrun #64 22 July
30 finishers

YCRC Runners Shop 10k 22 July
17. Isaac Muscat U14 41:02
31. Rohan Pitchford M50 44:47
36. Andrew Simpson M45 46:27
38. Sandeep Chandra M40 48:07
49. Mick Charlton M65 57:30
51 finishers

YCRC Runners Shop 5k 22 July
1. Jacob Grooby 16:37
34. Geoff Moore 25:26
42. Caroline Campbell 29:40
42 finishers

Kiama Coastal Classic 14k 23 July
12 Jen Bright 1:07:29.3
15 David Clarke 1:09:17.6
32 Mhairi Craig 1:13:38.1
66 Ewen Thompson 1:22:34.3
76 Bronwyn Calver 1:24:21.6
82 Gabrielle Brown 1:27:07.7
99 Victoria Hennig 1:32:07.5
203 finishers

Monday 24 July 2017

Meet me down by the jetty landing

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, July 24, 2017 with
Song of the week: "Reckless", by Australian Crawl (James Reyne) at https://youtu.be/JIrUqsB-0vw



"Reckless"

Meet me down by the jetty landing
Where the pontoons bump and spray
I see the others reading, standing
As the Manly Ferry cuts its way to Circular Quay

Hear the captain blow his whistle
So long she's been away
I miss our early morning wrestle
Not a very happy way to start the day

She don't like that kind of behaviour [2x]

So, throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless
Throw down your guns
Don't be so

Feel like Scott of the Antarctic
Base camp too far away
A Russian sub beneath the Arctic
Burke and Wills and camels initials in the tree

She don't like that kind of behaviour [2x]

So, throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless
Throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless

She don't like that kind of behaviour [2x]

So, throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless
Throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless

Throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless
Throw down your guns
Don't be so reckless
Don't be so... reckless
Don't be so...

Sunday 23 July 2017

speedygeese at the Kiama Coastal Classic

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, July 23, 2017 with




Saturday 22 July 2017

My Runners Shop 10k photos

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, July 22, 2017 with
Today a few of us ran the 5k, then I took some photos of the 10k


Isaac running fast approaching the 6k mark


Rohan in the 6th km


Isaac sprinting to the finish


Andrew


Sandeep


Mick

Friday 21 July 2017

if only..

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, July 21, 2017 with

Thursday 20 July 2017

Olivia's new floor routine

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, July 20, 2017 with
Former Olympic Gymnast Daria Joura (who represented Australia at the Olympics in 2008) with my granddaughter Olivia Falconer.


Daria has designed a new floor routine for Olivia to practise over the next 6 months or so.
Go Liv!

Wednesday 19 July 2017

speedygeese training summary

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 with
Thursday 13 July: Just six turned up: Susan (warmup), Dave (left early), Jen (left early), Brendan, Jennie and me. I actually ran the whole session ahead of the others, the first time for ever so long I have "won" a session. It was an interval session consisting of {400 jog, 400, 200 jog, 200, 200 jog, 200} x 3.

On Sunday 16 July the distance group (Dave) reports: It was a cool start for the speedygeese long run at Googong this morning. Minus five degrees for my 6.45am warmup (and I forgot my beanie 😬). After a 7k jog down to the dam and around to the other side of the lake and back up the hill, I returned with frozen ears to meet up with a massive crowd at the boatramp for a 20k scenic trail, courtesy of Narelle. With a slight breeze, it was jacket or long sleeves weather, although the return trip was much warmer (well above freezing point). Thanks also to Narelle for the Googong rent-a-crowd that swelled our numbers, helping to put speedygeese “on the map”, as it were. It was great to see so many Googong locals joining in.
No dramas or injuries this time, although Jen was 5 minutes late (took over my role from last week) and therefore lost a coffee bet. ☕
Some good times this morning (running times, that is – we always have other good times), including four ending up in the top ten for the 9.7k Strava segment “Googong foreshores to tin hut dam” (although that’s probably not so hard when only nine people have run it 😂). But seriously, there was some very good effort put in on quite a hilly course.
Jen and Isaac turned near the 7k mark to complete around 14k, Warrick, Peter and Sandeep did 16k, Graeme and Sammy finished with 18k and Narelle, Mhairi and Thach completed the full 20k. I ended up being tail runner with 27k and 760metres elevation (which was double the planned elevation - I wondered why I was so slow at the end). Shiree, having completed the 20k course, sacrificed her coffee and continued on to get 26k.
As per normal protocol, Graeme, Narelle, Sammy, some locals and I retired for a quick coffee and food at the Yellow Belly Café. Thanks everyone. A successful run all round and, most amazingly, no one got lost. That’s a first!!
💪 🏃♂️ 🏃♀️ ⛰️

See Dave's Sunday's run at https://www.relive.cc/view/1085398760

Monday 17 July at Parliament House: there was no no breeze so we ran continuous relays at the lower flags. I supervised, and running in teams of three then teams of two were Bron, Bronwyn, Colin, Dave, Isaac, Jen, Jennie, Paul, Pieta, Rae, Sandeep and Warrick.

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Recent speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 with
BBQ Stakes 6k 05 July
13. Ewen Thompson 34:06
24. Craig Wurtz 28:42
34. Peter Thomson 29:49
35. Jodie Davis 48:22
45 finishers

Lake Tuggeranong Stakes 6k 11 July
4. Caroline Campbell 36:23
13. Ewen Thompson 29:45
15. Sandeep Chandra 31:52
19. Peter Thomson 29:48
20 finishers

Customs 5k 14 July
2 Bill Arthur 29:01
7 Bron Sparkes 25:08
8 Ewen Thompson 24:25
10 Peter Thomson 23:29
13 Caroline Campbell 32:04
14 finishers

Burley Griffin 5k parkrun #58 15 July
24 Craig Wurtz 21:24 M50
68 Kelley Horan 25:18 W55
124 Helen Way 29:57 W50 **First Timer**
176 finishers

Ginninderra 5k parkrun #271 15 July
15 Gavin Mongan 21:51 M35
24 Brendan Belcher 23:15 M35
48 Jill Pearson 26:21 W55
141 finishers

Tuggeranong 5k parkrun #230 15 July
6 David Clarke 19:41 M55
33 Bronwyn Calver 23:03 W45
36 Peter Thomson 23:26 M55
132 Thomas Howieson 31:23 M11
138 Jessica Howieson 32:25 W10
139 Warrick Howieson 32:28 M45
213 finishers

Gungahlin 5k parkrun #196 15 July
23 Amanda Cook 21:54 W35 **New PB**
92 Stephanie Sabadas 27:39 W25 **First Timer**
119 Yuan Yuan Liu 29:55 W45
124 Margaret McSpadden 30:16 W70
197 finishers

Queanbeyan 5k parkrun #12 15 July
39 Vanessa Palmer 35:54 W45
69 finishers

Batemans Bay 5k parkrun #63 15 July
12 Victoria Hennig 25:43 W55
39 finishers

Merimbula 5k parkrun #197 15 July
6 Giles Lamb 22:01 M40
32 Jennie Blake 28:50 W60
39 George Quarmby 29:53 M60
71 finishers

YCRC 6k Stromlo 15 July
17. Peter Thomson M55 29:53
19. Jennifer Bright W40 30:10
20. Isaac Muscat U14 30:10
27. Sandeep Chandra M40 32:43
28. Ewen Thompson M60 33:03
33. Caroline Campbell W70 41:34
33 finishers

YCRC 3k Stromlo 15 July
59 finishers

Tuggeranong parkrun 15 July






Thomas Howieson


Warrick and Jessica Howieson

Monday 17 July 2017

come back again

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, July 17, 2017 with
Song of the week: “Come back Again”, by Daddy Cool. From https://youtu.be/tI3mcR0-wjQ

Sunday 16 July 2017

weekend photos

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, July 16, 2017 with
Cookie running 21:54 at Gungahlin parkrun on Saturday





speedygeese doing an early training at Googong on Sunday.







Saturday 15 July 2017

How to be extremely productive without getting extremely exhausted

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, July 15, 2017 with
"The reality is that stepping away and shifting your focus, whether that’s physical workload or mental workload, allows your brain and your body to take a slight step back and to get away from always pushing the edge."

Article at
http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/health/article/2017/07/11/how-be-extremely-productive-without-getting-extremely-exhausted

"Most people think to get better at anything — whether that’s athletics or intellectual learning or whatever — you just need to work really hard. And what that equation demonstrates is the need for balance. Not only do I have to do really hard, deliberate work, but I don’t get growth or adaptation or learning unless I have the other part of it, which is rest, recovery, stepping back and allowing that work to absorb so that I can improve on whatever it is I’m doing."

We train so that we can run fast when we need to?

Friday 14 July 2017

stress - resilience

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, July 14, 2017 with

A few weeks ago a medical practitioner told me I was very resilient. I thought I'd check out, what is resilience?

https://hbr.org/2016/06/resilience-is-about-how-you-recharge-not-how-you-endure

Make sure you give yourself time to recover properly from every race and from every hard training session.

Thursday 13 July 2017

no rain for two months in Canberra

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, July 13, 2017 with
... and ~minus 5 most mornings.



But the days are nice and sunny. Let's go running, regardless!

Wednesday 12 July 2017

speedygeese training session catch-up

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 with
On Sunday 25 June the distance group (Dave) reports: This morning’s speedygeese long run started according to plan, with Jen and I doing a 6k frozen lap of Lake Tuggeranong in minus 5 degrees then meeting up with Sammi, Narelle, Bronwyn, Sandeep, Ewen and Thach (who ran in from home) for a 16k course to Gordon Pond, Pine Island and back to the lake. The run ran smoothly…until the second kilometre when Jen tried to send Narelle the wrong way. Of course, I quickly got them back on track, and kept them on track, leading the way for at least another 1km. I must admit I missed a turnoff (having only run this course 5 times before) and most of the others followed like lemmings until I admitted I had no idea where we were going. Meanwhile Bronwyn, Sandeep and Ewen had given up shouting and continued on the correct course. We turned back and met up with some of them, waiting for us, a few km later (except for Jen, who had refused to follow me a second time and ended up heading into the bush). Narelle, Sammi, Ewen, Thach and Sandeep continued on, following Bronwyn who was by this time way out in the lead, never to be seen again. I went back for Jen and found her walking in circles mumbling about gates. After leading Jen out of the wilderness, we eventually caught up with Ewen and Sandeep (Narelle, Sammi, Bronwyn and Thach were long gone) and it was smooth sailing for the last few km. I finished off with a 6.5k lake lap in just under 30 minutes. In the end Bronwyn, Ewen, Narelle and Sammi had done 16k, Sandeep did 18 while Jen managed 22 with a sore hip (among other things) and Thach chalked up 25 at a cracking pace. I finished with 30k in 2:29 (not counting stops). After a geriatric hobble to the coffee shop I found the crew, with Sandeep conspicuously missing even though he assures me he had coffee?? Thanks for the run everyone. Next week is the Sri Chinmoy 20k trail run and the Gold Coast marathon. Good luck in the marathon Narelle.

Monday 26 June at Parliament House: I was otherwise occupied; Pieta reported who attended: running 20x hill repeats on 90 seconds were Pieta, Emily (new), Paul (new), Jen, Isaac, Warrick, Jennie. Dave did the warm up then went and did a lap of LBG.

On Sunday 2 July the distance group (Dave) reports: Well minus 6 degrees didn’t stop the speedygeese this morning. The usual Sunday long run was a bit quiet today, with only two runners, as most were doing other events. Thach did around 20k and Bron 17k over Mt Taylor and Coolemon Ridge and back. According to one unconfirmed report they didn’t get lost, but I suspect that’s just a case of fake news. Sarah was nearly finished the Sri Chinmoy 104k solo ultra, when she suddenly woke up and realised it was after 8 o’clock and the run had already started ;-) Not sure whether she stayed in bed but I’m sure she’ll deny the dream.
Bronwyn did a solo 17k at Mt Arawang. Giles did his own little 20k run with Bunty and Jen was rogaining with Isaac, after running an amazing 5k time yesterday of 19:43 to finish 6th in the YMCA age/gender handicap at Stromlo Forest Park.
The rest of us were either taking on the Sri Chinmoy 20k Tuggeranong Trot trail run or the Gold Coast marathon or half marathon, testing out whether all those Speedygeese long runs, speedwork and other training was paying off. It seems it was, with plenty of bling picked up by Speedygeese runners. Mhairi finished in a fantastic unofficial time of 1:48:24 to take out the first female 50-59 gong and Jennie B was second over 60 female across the line in 2:28:43. Sammy picked up a cup for 5th female overall in 1:42:08. I was happy with 1:34:40 (second male 50-59, beaten by 30 seconds by some old bloke). Other unofficial times were Kerron 2:02:53, Warrick 2:05:13, Sandeep 2:02:19, and Yin 2:07:55. Thommo got 1:53:04 after completing a marathon a few days earlier.
Meanwhile, at the Gold Coast, Narelle completed the marathon in an amazing 3:27:47 and Pieta finished the half marathon in 1:45:50 (both PBs). Apparently they had a ball at the Gold Coast (and probably still are :-) )
Thanks to Suzanne, Thommo, Sandeep and Sammy for the Tuggeranong Trot pics, and Narelle for the burger pic.

Hey Thach also reported on the same run: This is the official report on today’s long run. Please treat any comments from David Clarke regarding this run with suspicion.
It was a select field this morning with only Bron and me making it to the start line. It was cold, -4 degrees, but the sky was clear and not a breath of wind; perfect conditions for running!
Following the ultratrail course, we trotted along one of the tracks at the base of Mt Taylor which eventually led us through west Kambah. After crossing Kambah Pool road we scrambled up to the top of Mt Arawang where we were rewarded with a fantastic vista of the Brindabellas.
We then descended down the mountain and followed the southside of Cooleman track before crossing over the ridge and joining the northside of the loop which we followed for a further 2 kms before taking on the 2nd trig point climb.
Descending down the stairs we followed the northside of the track behind Chapman before skirting around Fisher and finally finishing off with a tough 1 km climb back up Waldock St that averages just under 7 percent.
Thanks to Bron for the excellent company and conversation. I’m still amazed that you can run for over 2 hrs (with over 400 metres of climbing) on a single cup of coffee!
Hope everyone has a good running week.
Ps We didn’t get lost today

Monday 3 July at Parliament House: It was cold and wet; Sandeep, Rae, Jennie and I turned up and didn’t run; Dave and Giles sped off into the weather together.

I don’t remember what happened on Thursdays 22 June, 29 June, 6 July at Parliament House! I think on the 6th I was there to supervise 2 x (200, 400, 600) and let’s say Isaac, Sarah, Brownie, Jennie, Dave, Susan, and Andrew Smith participated. Also I think Fiona and Jen were there but didn’t run.

On Sunday 9 July the distance group (Dave) reports: Today’s speedygeese long run was very different in some ways and very much the same in other ways. It was cloudy and therefore warmer than recent runs, at 4 degrees, with a slight breeze that was mostly felt near the top of the mountains. As is often the case, I started early at 7.00am, and knocked over 10k from Aranda shops to Lake Ginninderra, around the lake and back. Meanwhile Sarah and Thach started slightly later and did some hills. Then we all met at Aranda shops at 8.00 as usual, although I was running a bit late due to a mishap that I won’t go into here, so I left 5 minutes after the others. A good size crowd headed off to do the short loop first, supposedly to Mount Painter according to the route created by Bron, then Black Mountain for the long course. The group included Thach, Peter B, Isaac, Jen, Mhairi, Sarah, Narelle, Susan, Bron, Graeme and Sandeep. I had a simple plan…follow them to Mount Painter and meet up as they came back down the hill. As I approached the top, however, it became apparent that something was very wrong. Yes…..they had all gone the wrong way. I know what you’re thinking, but Jen later confirmed that I was right – a rare occurrence (Jen confirming I'm right, that is). After a few selfies and a touch of hypothermia at the trig and having realised that I was probably on my own for the rest of the run, I decided to do a Speedygoose solo run. With a few minutes of sun warming the old bones every now and then, I headed off down Mount Painter and continued along the bikepath to Black Mountain, then up the narrow trail on the lake side of the mountain to Telstra Tower, down the other side to the CSIRO tree seed centre then along Belconnen Way back to Aranda shops, arriving just after 10.00am - 30km and 665m of vert all up. To my surprise, as I finished I received a call from Jen, who was the only one still running with 1 km to go to finish 18k. She informed me that all the others had stopped after the short course, so were probably gone. I stumbled into the coffee shop and glanced around, hoping to spot a familiar face, but alas there were none. At that moment, just for a second, I remembered that there are more important things in life than running……like ducted gas heating for example. Eventually Jen turned up and we enjoyed a noisy coffee and fruit toast and another coffee….and another coffee. I’m sure the others enjoyed their run and their coffee. Thanks everyone. Too bad we didn’t get to spend any time together, but maybe next week. 😎

Monday 10 July back at Parliament House: Pieta, Paul, Jennie, Isaac, Rae and Bron ran 20 x 100m hills on 90 seconds while I supervised. Things will take a few more weeks to get back to normal for me but I expect to get to Monday and Thursday training each week.


Two very good looking speedygeese.

Tuesday 11 July 2017

speedygeese race result catch-up

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 with
BBQ Stakes 6k 05 April
4. Caroline Campbell 38:04
9. Ewen Thompson 34:05
11. Peter Burke 29:54
33. Andrew Matthews 30:48
35. Bronwyn Calver 30:52
36. Peter Thomson 28:09
40. Carolyne Kramar 44:15
45. Roger Pilkington 32:46
56 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 12 April
15. Ewen Thompson 34:13
22. Andrew Matthews 29:55
23. Roger Pilkington 30:58
25. Jennifer Bright 27:16
28. Peter Thomson 27:25
32. Jodie Davis 51:22
34. Bronwyn Calver 51:23
46. Carolyne Kramar 47:13
53 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 19 April
6. Jennifer Bright 28:05
11. Ewen Thompson 34:01
32. Peter Thomson 29:04
39. Roger Pilkington 37:17
40. Jodie Davis 53:41
42. Bronwyn Calver 53:43
47 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 26 April
6. Jodie Davis 49:58
13. Ewen Thompson 35:06
15. Bronwyn Calver 30:40
26. Roger Pilkington 33:02
28. Peter Thomson 29:37
34 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 03 May
6. Jodie Davis 47:28
13. Ewen Thompson 33:55
20. Bronwyn Calver 29:44
30. Peter Thomson 27:44
38. Roger Pilkington 32:22
43. Andrew Matthews 31:34
46. Caroline Campbell 41:01
52 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 10 May
3. Jennifer Bright 28:16
8. Andrew Simpson 27:09
14. Ewen Thompson 34:15
22. Bronwyn Calver 29:56
26. Roger Pilkington 31:15
28. Caroline Campbell 38:48
33. Peter Thomson 27:48
44. Jodie Davis 47:56
61 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 17 May
7. Bronwyn Calver 29:03
11. Ewen Thompson 34:09
26. Peter Thomson 28:01
28. Peter Burke 30:04
31. Jodie Davis 47:52
33. Craig Wurtz 30:27
35. Roger Pilkington 32:35
39. Caroline Campbell 40:30
52 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 24 May
11. Ewen Thompson 34:00
17. Jodie Davis 47:14
24. Peter Burke 28:36
25. Bronwyn Calver 30:10
30. Craig Wurtz 30:39
32. Roger Pilkington 32:17
46. Caroline Campbell 43:20
54 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 31 May
14. Peter Burke 27:29
15. Ewen Thompson 34:04
30. Jodie Davis 47:12
31. Bronwyn Calver 30:01
40. Roger Pilkington 31:45
43. Craig Wurtz 30:42
45. Caroline Campbell 40:02
56 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 07 June
6. Roger Pilkington 34:21
11. Peter Thomson 27:49
12. Peter Burke 27:51
18. Ewen Thompson 34:38
22. Kylie Wood 41:02
27. Craig Wurtz 30:34
30. Bronwyn Calver 30:44
35. Caroline Campbell 40:04
47 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 14 June
2. Pieta Smith 31:06
7. Kylie Wood 33:44
9. Jodie Davis 46:37
10. Ewen Thompson 34:09
13. Peter Burke 25:22
14. Craig Wurtz 29:24
16. Peter Thomson 28:02
23. Bronwyn Calver 29:53
44 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 21 June
8. Jodie Davis 45:16
10. Craig Wurtz 28:37
15. Ewen Thompson 33:58
17. Peter Thomson 27:33
30. Bronwyn Calver 29:41
32. Caroline Campbell 38:49
58 finishers

Lake Tuggeranong Stakes 6k 27 June
3. Ewen Thompson 29:30
5. Craig Wurtz 27:36
17. Peter Thomson 30:49
19 finishers

BBQ Stakes 6k 28 June
20. Bronwyn Calver 29:45
32. Ewen Thompson 35:27
33. Craig Wurtz 28:45
36. Jodie Davis 49:51
38. Caroline Campbell 40:43
45 finishers

YCRC Women’s 6k Jogalong 02 July
Cathy Montalto W60 32:36
45 finishers

AMRA Mt Ainslie Run-Up 2.3k 04 July
19 Kelley Horan 18.14
24 Helen Way 21.44
26 finishers

Lake Tuggeranong Stakes 6k 04 July
11. Sandeep Chandra 30:00
12. Peter Thomson 28:40
13. Ewen Thompson 31:37
14 finishers

Customs 5k 07 July
Peter Thomson 23:22
Ewen Thompson 25:29
Caroline Campbell 31:18
14 finishers

Ginninderra 5k parkrun #270 08 July
14 Gavin Mongan 21:26 M35
50 Bron Sparkes 27:26 W40
69 Gary Moss 29:53 M70
137 finishers

Gungahlin 5k parkrun #195 08 July
105 Yuan Yuan Liu 30:02 W45
110 Margaret McSpadden 30:25 W70
178 finishers

Burley Griffin 5k parkrun #57 08 July
23 Craig Wurtz 21:51 M50
37 Kelley Horan 23:12 W55
152 finishers

Tuggeranong 5k parkrun #229 08 July
20 David Clarke 21:02 M55
46 Peter Thomson 23:17 M55
101 Andrew Smith 27:40 M45
232 finishers

Queanbeyan 5k parkrun #11 08 July
61 finishers

Batemans Bay 5k parkrun #62 08 July
12 Thach Huynh 22:36 M40
15 Bronwyn Calver 23:34 W45
18 Gabrielle Brown 24:27 W50
52 finishers

5k parkrun du Lac de Divonne #9 08 July
Ruth Baussmann 30:16 W65

parkrun du Lac de Divonne

Monday 10 July 2017

new slang

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, July 10, 2017 with
The Shins – "New Slang" - is my song of the week.
A haunting song, a favourite for a long time.

At https://youtu.be/zYwCmcB0XMw

Sunday 9 July 2017

some of the speedygeese..

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, July 09, 2017 with
...who trained here in Canberra early Sunday morning.

Saturday 8 July 2017

interstate runners

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, July 08, 2017 with

Bronwyn at Batemans Bay parkrun today


Ewen at Sydney 10k

Friday 7 July 2017

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, July 07, 2017 with

Thursday 6 July 2017

1978 training snapshot intro

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, July 06, 2017 with
Just for interest I am going to publish some of the training and racing I did in my best year, 1978.
I do not have time to type it up today, just thought I would flag that it's on the way.
Caution - not for the faint hearted.

Wednesday 5 July 2017

speedygeese at the Gold Coast last weekend

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, July 05, 2017 with
Gold Coast Marathon 02 July 2017
762 Narelle Desmet 3:27.48
1,724 Louise Hill 3:52.40
5,211 finishers

Gold Coast Half Marathon 02 July 2017
1,143 Graeme Smyth 1:39.44
1,661 Liz Simpfendorfer 1:44.35
1,771 Emily Milford 1:45.22
1,812 Pieta Smith 1:45.50
2,341 Peter Simpfendorfer 1:49.59
4,567 Kylie Wood 2:04.55
8,206 finishers

Meanwhile back in Canberra

Tuesday 4 July 2017

Many recent speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, July 04, 2017 with
Pennington 16k 17 June
13. Jennifer Bright 1:15:19
23. Sandeep Chandra 1:28:45
25. Ewen Thompson 1:32:40
28 finishers

Longstaff 8k 17 June
6. Rohan Pitchford M50 37:31
8. Isaac Muscat U14 38:36
24 finishers

Kowen Trail Run Marathon 17 June
30 finishers

Kowen Trail Run Half Marathon
17 June - women
1. Sarah-Jayne Miller 1:42:53
10. Nadine Morrison 2:13:23
20. Catherine Montalto 2:27:58
32. Jennie Blake 2:49:32
45 women finishers

Kowen Trail Run Half Marathon 17 June - men
7. David Clarke 1:48:50
12. Giles Lamb 1:53:37
43. William Arthur 2:58:20
45 men finishers

Kowen Trail Run 12k 17 June
124 finishers

Lake Tuggeranong Stakes 6k 20 June
2. Sandeep Chandra 27:51
3. Ewen Thompson 30:01
14. Peter Thomson 28:59
15 finishers

AMRA Black Mountain Run-up 2.6k 20 June
10 Craig Wurtz 18.44
11 finishers

Customs 5k 23 June
Jacob Grooby 16:37
Colin Farlow 19:05
Craig Wurtz 23:01
Ewen Thompson 23:45
Peter Thomson 23:50
Caroline Campbell 31:11
13 finishers

Ginninderra 5k parkrun #268 24 June
43 Brendan Belcher 24:41 M35
100 Bron Sparkes 30:31 W40
173 finishers

Gungahlin 5k parkrun #193 24 June
19 Giles Lamb 20:32 M40
125 Yuan Yuan Liu 29:45 W45
131 Margaret McSpadden 30:22 W70
198 finishers

Burley Griffin 5k parkrun #55 24 June
34 Craig Wurtz 21:53 M50
47 Kelley Horan 23:08 W55 **First Timer**
124 Caroline Campbell 28:41 W70
198 finishers

Tuggeranong 5k parkrun #227 24 June
39 Peter Thomson 22:28 M55
48 Bronwyn Calver 23:06 W45
68 David Clarke 25:05 M55
77 Ewen Thompson 25:47 M60
101 Jennie Blake 27:27 W60 **New PB**
245 finishers

Queanbeyan 5k parkrun #9 24 June
3 Amanda Cook 22:11 W35
58 finishers

Batemans Bay 5k parkrun #60 24 June
19 Victoria Hennig 27:03 W55
47 finishers

Edinburgh parkrun #400 24 June
88 Jacob Miller 23:13 M11
117 Kevin Miller 23:59 M35
248 Chloe Miller 27:21 W10
249 Celina Miller 27:22 W35
499 finishers

ACTVAC Handicap Mount Ainslie 9.3k 25 June
2 Rod Lynch M55 75:19
5 Nadine Morrison W45 46:38 **Gold**
13 Giles Lamb M40 47:55
14 Caroline Campbell W70 62:20
19 Bron Sparkes W40 50:28
39 Craig Wurtz M50 51:28
41 Peter Thomson M55 46:33
43 Mick Charlton M65 59:55
50 Jennie Blake W60 62:39
55 William Arthur M65 65:26
57 Margaret McSpadden W70 68:41
58 finishers

ACTVAC Handicap Mount Ainslie 4.5k 25 June
13 Cathy Montalto W60 26:41
29 finishers

Ginninderra 7k Handicap 29 June
7. Bron Sparkes 34.24
11 finishers

Customs 5k 30 June
Peter Thomson 23:55
Craig Wurtz 23:57
Ewen Thompson 25:00
Bill Arthur 29:53
Caroline Campbell 31:03
15 finishers

Ginninderra 5k parkrun #269 01 July
37 Brendan Belcher 24:17 M35
84 Bron Sparkes 29:29 W40
158 finishers

Gungahlin 5k parkrun #194 01 July
7 Giles Lamb 19:55 M40
16 Nadine Morrison 21:41 W45
106 Yuan Yuan Liu 29:44 W45
114 Margaret McSpadden 30:25 W70
182 finishers

Burley Griffin 5k parkrun #56 01 July
26 Craig Wurtz 22:07 M50
68 Jennie Blake 27:39 W60 **New PB**
133 Elizabeth Bennett 47:17 W50 **First Timer**
134 finishers

Tuggeranong 5k parkrun #228 01 July
34 Bronwyn Calver 23:04 W45
35 Peter Thomson 23:05 M55
53 David Clarke 24:52 M55
193 finishers

Queanbeyan 5k parkrun #10 01 July
32 Vanessa Palmer 32:48 W45
55 finishers

Batemans Bay 5k parkrun #61
01 July
7 Gabrielle Brown 23:54 W50
11 Victoria Hennig 25:58 W55
37 finishers

Milano Nord parkrun #41 01 July
27 Ruth Baussmann 29:10 W65
35 finishers

Treviso parkrun # 15
01 July
1 Jacob Miller 22:20 M11
2 Chloe Miller 22:53 W10
4 Kevin Miller 23:53 M35
8 Celina Miller 26:48 W35
18 finishers

YCRC 5k “Age/Gender handicap” Stromlo 01 July
8. Jennifer Bright W40 19:43
12. Rohan Pitchford M50 21:21
14. Peter Thomson M55 21:44
35. Caroline Campbell W70 27:38
43 finishers


Liz Simpfendorfer at the Gold Coast Marathon.


Andrew Smith and Kylie Wood at Tuggeranong parkrun.


Jacob Miller disappearing in the distance to win the Treviso parkrun outright.

Monday 3 July 2017

Got My Mind Set On You

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, July 03, 2017 with
Song of the week: George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You".
At https://youtu.be/XZGYYDvZnpg



"It's gonna take patience and time... to do it right".