Blackwater, Rotation 2 of 5, Day 3 of 11...

Normally I'd be happily analysing statistics from my runs, but the main focus seems to be watching the days tick off until the next break.

I've just arrived back to site after my first long weekend break back to Sydney. Excellent to see my girls and the rest of the family, but just not enough time.

I also had 2 days in Rockhampton doing some inductions. I didn't make too much effort to explore Rocky but from what I saw on the map and from a couple of drives around (trying to find some decent food) there's not much to it. Oh, apart from being "The Beef Capital of Australia". I wonder if the Big Mac had local ingredients? It tasted the same as anywhere else!

Fortunately, I'm back to Sydney again this weekend, as we have some friends coming back from Singapore for a few days (hello, if you're reading, see you in The Orient on Friday). Just a flying visit: fly out of here Friday lunchtime and leave to travel back Sunday evening.

So no running for a few days. Hopefully once I get settled into a routine here - I can follow some sort of programme again. It's not like there's much else to do!

I've been trying to post some MotionBased screen shots to my previous posts from Blackwater, but no luck so far. I also got some Google Earth shots too, but I forgot to transfer them to my office computer! I was trying to record where I'm based. I'll try that later too.

Blackwater, Rotation 1 of 5, Day 7 of 11...

Another good run yesterday evening. 10.60km in 1:00:04 at 5:39/km pace.



I've figured out that the current map of Blackwater is wrong. I've tried to run along one road from both directions - and the middle section just doesn't exist! I ended up running through the bush to find another sealed road - and that got a bit scary at times!!

But excellent running conditions again. I'd set my Imaginary Friend off for an easy paced 1 hour at 6:00/km pace - and had no problem with that. In fact the last few kms were knocked off much quicker - and I felt like I could have carried on much further.

I'm not sure if I'll get into some running during the week. I'm up at 5.30am already, so not much chance of getting up any earlier - and we usually head for dinner straight after work, so no opportunity then either.

Blackwater, Rotation 1 of 5, Day 6 of 11...

Here I am, early on a Sunday morning, in the site office. 6.00am till 2.30pm today. Then I'll head back to camp, do some laundry (back to Dulwich Hill days...?) and watch the footy on TV.

So after a few days here, I've realised that the situation is bearable - all-be-it in the absence of my girls, although I can speak to them every day on the phone. Yesterday I was entertained by Lian singing and playing The Grand Old Duke of York on her new karaoke piano!

I also managed to get out for a run yesterday evening. The conditions were excellent! Not too hot, the sun was setting, and the roads are DEAD-FLAT! The details were 6.63km in 40:05 at 6:01/km pace. So nice and slow.


I intend to do a longer run this afternoon - after the footy on TV is finished there ain't much else to do!

Half Marathon Photos & Result...

So 39 seconds quicker than I timed it. I don't understand how they've adjusted the time as I timed it tape to tape. But I'll take it!

The thing I noticed was how different I look in the two shots. The bridge was within the first 2km of the race - so about 10 minutes in. I think I look fairly relaxed. Then some 1:45 later...

I haven't done a run yet here in Blackwater. I moved into some better accommodation last night - then celebrated down the Mine Workers Club with a locally reared rib-eye steak, a couple of beers and half a bottle of wine!

I planned to go for a run tonight, but then I realised it's Friday! Although seafood buffet at the Club doesn't appeal to me, so we'll see!

Definitely get a couple of runs in over the weekend. We only(!) work 6.00am till 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday whereas weekdays are 6.00am till 5.00pm. So a bit of time should be available.

Blackwater, Rotation 1 of 5, Day 3 of 11...

Not that I'm counting.

5 rotations puts me at the middle of November. 2 months, which is what they originally said. Although already they're trying to push that out to Christmas. NO BLOODY WAY!!

The upside is that my 2nd rotation falls over a Public Holiday long weekend, so it's been suggested (and far be it from me to steer them in this direction) that it's not worth traveling up for a Tuesday rotation start, back home on Friday, back up again the following Tuesday and back home for the end of the rotation on Friday. Hopefully I can spend that time in Sydney or worst case will be Brisbane. At least I get the long weekend off.

So, what's this place like? Well there's no other way to say it than: it's a shit-hole. What do you expect from a place with the sole purpose of supporting a coal mine?

I'm not going to go into detail - it'll depress me too much.

I'll try to go for a run tonight - partly to keep fit, partly to keep occupied and partly to be able to upload a course to Google Earth so that I see and show where this place is.

Then I'll have the joys of sampling camp food!!

Half Marathon Report...

The very fact that there is something to report is a huge bonus considering last week's distractions.

Even as late as Saturday night I was considering binning it. We were babysitting one of Lian's friends and they were running around screaming their heads off. The changes at work were still playing on my mind. And as well as the thought of getting up at 4am and running 21.1km on Sunday - they all combining to make my head feel like it was going to explode.

But I decided that the run would provide a good distraction from all the crap and may sort me out.

So up I got at 4am, wandered around a bit to get my system going, had something to eat, checked the cricket score and headed for the 5.05am train to Milson's Point.

I think I may have fallen asleep on the train because the journey went very quickly. I followed the crowds up to the park, collected my free singlet and dropped off the rest of my ballast at the clothing trucks / porta-loos!

I had a good stretch before the start and ended up stood next to the starters stage - from where I couldn't even see the red balloons signifying the 1:50:00 pacer (they were way behind me). I thought that'd be OK though as I had my trusty Imaginary Friend.

However, it didn't take long to realise that my Imaginary Friend was also suffering from the early start - or perhaps it was because he gets upset being hidden from the sky by the Harbour Bridge / buildings. Anyway, I couldn't rely on his advice of pace or distance too much - but at least it gave me an idea.

I felt pretty good for most of the first half, except when there was torrential rain (probably only for a few minutes - but felt longer) just before the turning point. That caused a fierce head wind going out which died on the way back.

I think I went through 14km (City to Surf distance) in about 1:15 - so a new PB there! I also saw the red balloons pass me on the way back toward the city and kept them in sight for a while.

But then I encountered the hills between about 15 and 19km. They really knocked me around. I remember walking up one particularly steep bit and had to force myself to kick off again when it leveled out.

I ran along with a lad from Sunderland via Brisbane who said he'd been limping since 8km and that seemed to give me a bit of a breather before I put on a bit of a surge down a hill and through to the Opera House.

...to finish in 1:54:30 by my watch.

So 4:30 outside my initial target, but as I said - considering where my head's been for the last week or so - I was very pleased with that.

I wandered round the recovery village to stretch a bit and put some dry clothes, then headed back to Circular Quay station and home.

I was switched on enough to keep drinking fluids for the rest of the day and didn't feel too beaten up.

I really can't imagine how I could ever do a Marathon, but maybe after I've settled down a bit and get back into training I might re-evaluate that idea. I'll certainly give the Half a go again. Maybe the Sydney Morning Herald sponsored event in May next year?

Who Threw that Spanner in the Works...?

It took something big to divert my attention away from the Half Marathon on Sunday, and this has seemed so big that I was about to throw in the towel at one stage!

There's just been a reorganisation at work. I'd been led to believe that my position would basically stay the same but I'd be working for a different group, still based in Sydney.

As it turned out, when the new org chart for that group was issued, my name wasn't on it! So a) I'm pissed off that no-one had the decency to come and advise me of that, and b) it suggests that the work I'd been doing and was intending to do for that new group was worthless!

Thankfully, there were some decent senior managers who did see the worth in what I'm trying to do and they were eager to pounce and grab me before I toddled off down to the Job Centre (via the pub).

However, their immediate need for me is to go to one of our sites for 2 months to sort something out. Anybody heard of Blackwater? No, thought not. It's 200km West of Rockhampton - a huge coal mine where we're building a $200M coal handling plant. Nice!!

It's an 11 days on, 3 days off roster - which means 11 days without my girls - living in a site camp. Hopefully they have a gym and no bar!

Just got to work out the details of when to go. But it's been very distracting these past couple of days.

It does appear to be an opportunity to work within this new group of people and prove hands-on the worth of what I'm trying to do - and therefore secure my long-term future (as much as one can these days). And I'm told that I will still be Sydney based!

The way that this reorganisation has been rolled out has been ridiculous - and it's affected more senior people than me. It's left a real bad taste in many peoples mouths!

So hopefully, I can sort my head out about this whole thing and get out for the Half Marathon on Sunday.

Easy Does It...

This morning was meant to be a 5km Easy paced run - so that's 6:00/km.

I didn't take too much notice of what my Imaginary Friend was telling me - I just ran what I thought was a comfortable pace, making sure I made a clean foot strike and breathing well.

It turned out that I finished 5.20km at 5:13/km pace. I really find it difficult to comfortably run any slower. I suspect my heart rate would've been higher than an easy pace is trying to achieve. Good job I don't wear a Heart Rate Monitor!

Coincidentally, 5:13/km is exactly the pace I need to run for 21.1km to achieve my 1:50:00 target. Whilst this mornings 5.20km was easy, I suspect Sunday may be considerably tougher.

Still some soreness in the left heel. So I will run no more before Sunday. Just have a stretch and remember to warm up properly.

So next post should be Monday with a report!

Easy 7km, Tapering...

I had my doubts whether I'd get out this morning, considering how I felt yesterday afternoon. But dosing up on drugs seems to have sorted me out - at least they suppressed the symptoms. I'll keep taking them until the weekend (hope I don't get a podium finish, otherwise they might drug test me!)

So 7+ km at an Easy pace (should have been 6:00/km but turned out to be 5:40/km) was achieved.

I felt a bit of a niggle in my left heel again. Hope that doesn't give me a problem on Sunday!

Another Easy run tomorrow and maybe Thursday too. Then a good rest and a good feed up until Sunday!

Feeling Like Crap...

I've been hit by a major case of the snuffles. And with a nose as big as mine, that means serious trouble!

I'm dosing up on Cold & Flu tablets. But I can't concentrate on anything work related.

I also just checked the train times for Sunday. I'll have to get the 5.05am train in order to get to Milsons Point before 6am. That's going to be tough!

I think the Cold has been brought on by being kicked out of bed by Lian again last night. She's been feeling under the weather too lately, so we've been letting her sleep in our bed with mummy. So my being downgraded to the spare room means no electric blanket! Maybe I'll try to squeeze into Lian's bed (with heater) if I get booted out again tonight.

I think I need to get stuck into work so I don't get distracted to write this sort of crap again!

Extra Long Rest...

I was torn between having a final 'long' run yesterday and having an extended rest before a couple of easy sessions this week.

The rain conspired to make the rest day the only realistic option!

And it was Father's Day so I had to give Lian the chance to pamper me!

So just a couple of easy sessions this week to give the legs a taste of what to be prepared for next Sunday!

10 days to go...

My programme called for a 5km easy run at 6:00/km pace this morning.

As usual, I was a bit quicker than that. Average pace was 5:43/km but I carried on a bit beyond 5km (5.18km) to go for half an hour.

I was trying to focus on getting a good rhythm, breathing well and not shuffling. I've noticed that my heels are hitting the ground before I plant my foot. That's got to be the reason why the soles of my shoes are wearing in that area. It has to be mechanically inefficient too as I either have to work against the friction of my foot hitting the ground and / or my stride length is not optimised.

I guess the solution is to pick up my feet more on the follow through.

I'm also feeling a bit sore in my left heel. Not sure whether it's my achilles...? Probably not, as it feels lower than that. I was intending to do a long run on Sunday, but perhaps I shouldn't push that much so close to the Half Marathon. I'll still run an easy pace on Sunday, but I think just less distance.