City 2 Surf 2012

Hey Folks, thanks again for checking in. Here is my race report for the City 2 Surf 2012.

Once again the City 2 Surf starts off as always for me, confusion trying to find my start group...eventually i found the other guys in priority start and we all ran down to the start line. Official start time for our wave was 8:55am. Typical amatuer fashion by Corporate sports Australia, we have some newsreader, then Colin Barnett talking to us about irrelevant subjects right before race time, come 9:03 and we are still standing waiting to start. 

Eventually the gun goes off and we are away, wit the usual push and shove of the few that think its a great tactic to sprint the first 200m before stopping.

Luckily enough i had a race plan to be a little conservative early then hit the hills and smash the back end of the race. 

I started off well and was sticking to the plan perfectly, a couple of my training partners went past me shortly after this photo (Josh Hart behind me ended up in 16th position)

Josh Hart and Adam Martin, both hard workers and great runners, and decided to let them go and will try to pick them up on the back 4k of the race. Special mention also to Big Country Seany Ralph (in the green) who also went past and looked solid the whole way. 

Maintained a pretty even 3:25 pace for most of the first half getting towards Selby st hill.

At this point was my time to step up and make it count, by this time the big Diesel Adam Martin was well and truly gone and not sighted, i could see Joshy Hart up ahead, with a few more quality runners between him and myself, including Jimmy Lewin and the leader of the Womens. 

Got over the hill still feeling ok, and knew as i turned into Perry Lakes i had left myself with plenty of work to do to reel these guys in, so i had to dig deep and start to really push the pain barrier, also try and have a quick thought about technique and how to be as efficient as possible and run it out strong, i picked up a few guys going through Perry Lakes, and then it was time to put in the hard yards up the 3 sisters (oceanic drive hills).

Feeling well and truly spent, but still feeling like the legs were strong enough to hold up, I gave it one final effort, and whilst running hard the last 3k was dry retching and feeling pretty average. 

We turned right into the finish line, and I tried to kick and finish off well, felt like i was sprinting hard but in all reality i was probably going the same speed all along. 

Another year done and dusted, happy enough with my run, but very proud of the EEP and the group of mates i train with. with 4 of the top 20 in the 12k, some great results in the half, and other great results recently outside of the city 2 surf, I certainly am keeping myself in great company, not only from a running point of view, but also the character and work ethic of the group, and the intelligence and great conversation on our longer runs is a massive bonus. 

Thanks to Raf, a great coach and a leader within the community, and all my training parnters. 

RD

WILLPOWER

WOW! What a book! 

Have just finished reading a book titled 'WILLPOWER' by Roy F Baumeister & John Tierney. It has taken me a good 4 months to read this book, there is quite a lot of detail and statistics which i admit made it hard to relate to at times! 

Took plenty of notes along the way and here is my summary of things i have learnt and can take from the book

 (also here is a clip that the book tells us about delayed gratification and the way some/most/all humans think and the decisions we make daily)

With Willpower, we must choose our battles. We cant control the stress’ in our life, but we can control the calm moments we are given. In this time we need to work out what we are after in life, and set out to learn new skills and disciplines.

Pick a day of the year (possibly your birthday) and each year reflect on what’s worked, what has not, what goals you still have active. Plan and execute, and reflect on this day each year. Have an idea of what you want to accomplish, and each month plan ahead, also factor in there will be setbacks and hurdles, and its fine if you don’t reach your goal each month, as long as you are gradually on the improve each month your already winning.

Write out a to do list, and with your to do list, it is essential that you write down the next step. What is the next step…..then its written down on paper and out of your mind. A date and time for the next step would be of even greater benefit.

  Sleep, great for the body and the mind….must have adequate sleep! This is something I know I do not get enough off, so will need to exercise willpower to make sure I am well rested

We must also keep track of all habits we would like to see improve, measure, record and repeat.

Reward often…whe we set a goal for ourselves, we must reward ourselves often. Small goals deserve small rewards but once we tick off a big goal, then we must reward ourselves accordingly....(fair trade i think!)

The last part of the book sums it Willpower up perfectly, and I was going to quote it here, however I have used Willpower to not ruin it for anyone who has the Willpower to read the entire book to understand the last page.

Delayed Gratification to you all

RD

The Magic is Back

Hey Folks,

Been a while since i have put finger to keypad and produced another blog post, looking forward to the next few weeks, especially the City 2 Surf coming up Sunday week.

Once again i will do the 12k race, after posting a time of 43:46 last year, I am very keen to post something quicker this year. 

The form has been quite up and down over the past 12 months, and must admit to losing some confidence out of a bad 10k race at the Gold Coast. The most succesful people in life look at themself in the mirror and do not use any excuses, and this is what I am doing with that run. I must do better and be better prepared. 

Since arriving back (with the exception of the manflu for a week) training has been solid and building a good base for it. Dusted off a few cobwebs with a fair 5k on Sunday, and a quick trip to one of the best physio's in town today Gary Russo, hips and back feel good and almost flexible! 

On the social front i have been starved of music gigs to go and see in these winter months, so much so that i jumped at the chance to go and see The Bee Gees Australian show (tribute of course), and had a great night, they did a super job of hitting some of the high notes that Robin Gibb used to nail.

All in all we need to lift and get some more music gigs in Perth! 

Speaking of gigs i did go and see Flight of the Conchords a while back, and they were brillaint. 

The fact the brought along Arj Barker to do a 30min warm up was worth the money of the ticket, even though i didnt pay! (thanks Gina!)

So now to cheer on the Saints this Friday night against Geelong, and then sole focus to city 2 surf.

Thanks for checking in.

RD

p.s if you do manage to check out the issue of Women's Health, check out the new pin up boy of the Perth running scene.