The Dreary Plan

Jay's Half Marathon

OK, I know. It's not technically "Rick's" return to running, but really it is. I got up early and went down to the half marathon. I was out there with all the other runners. I endured the nasty weather conditions and I actually did the entire half marathon. Jay just did the running part. I only missed the one thing!

Taylors Mistake to Godley Head

Walkin' on a rainy day.

Hiking in the Port Hills

Forest Friends

Run, Bike and Wag Your Tail

Galen, Tyler, Jay, Rick and Oliver on a Sunday tour of Bottle Lake Park

Great Day for a Ru...Walk.

A Little Speed Work

Tearin' Through the Woods

Halswell Quarry Park - Scenic and Slow

A Day on the Crater Rim Walkway

Searchin' Fer Aintry

OK, back to work

The Adventures Begin

The Eve of Jay

We're Back - Yeah!

I finally replaced my camera and just in the nick of time. Tomorrow I fly back to the US.

Putting on Some Finishing Touches

Well, the main training is over and it's time to start resting up for the Bellin 10K. I've done a little running, water training and a bit of work in the gym. I feel toned and ready for a good 10K effort. I should be a good match for Herb on June 13.

Time for some water running

I was shocked - shocked to discover that a mere 5 years without any speed practice is all it takes for my legs to revolt at the attempt to do a few intervals. True I could have done it a bit easier than combining my longest hardest run with finish that included a return trip with intervals along the way. But I've always said, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Ah yes, it's looking like time to run in the water again. I wonder if they missed me down there. It was about time I started my taper anyway. I included a sasquatch photo on a previous blog, so I thought this picture would be appropriate with my new water training plan.

Racing, Pacing and Training Again

Ah yes, the good weather is back and my running buddy Oliver and I returned to our trail running again. They changed our regular route and replaced it with somewhat of an obstacle course. It runs slower but really makes your pick up your feet - something I've got to improve on before June 13. It's time to get serious about starting my pre-race warmup. Intervals are probably on the menu. Speaking of racing, pacing, intervals and race tactics - here's a clip of the true master. Notice how Lasse Viren (double Olympic gold medalist in this event) keeps looking back - even he feared the master.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrZpT-LXO-8

New Brighton 5KM Road Race

Wow, what a week we've had. Gale force winds, rain and of course temperatures hovering just above freezing. Needless to say, it wasn't a good training week for me. In fact, I spent most of the time polishing the seat of my pants in one way or another. So you could say my expectations for todays run were somewhat diminished. The weather was so nasty that when I got up this morning I said no f&*#in' way! Then I remembered that Herb was interested in the sasquatch logo for the New Brighton running club, so I thought I'd at least see about finding a T-shirt. Heck, as long as I'm making the trip I might as well suit up just in case. I arrived early to find the club diligently placing cones and there we a couple of ladies huddling inside the clubhouse shed with registration materials. Ah well, as long as I'm here I might as well get a number, right? They handed me a hand written number to pin on my shirt - no high tech here. OK, lets see how I feel after a sedentary week. I bundled up as best I could and jogged slowly around the course (3 laps around the domain =5K). Pretty pathetic, worse than I thought. Can I even go one lap without walking? A second lap then a third and I felt somewhat better - just rusty. Now for the hard part - getting nearly naked in this horrific weather. Long sleeves, short pants and I was ready to go. I had more than a few good reasons to expect catastrophe, so I was pleasantly surprised to complete the thing in 25:20 - damn, a significant improvement from last weekends 10K. Maybe I'll get back to work before it's too late. I need to be ready for Mr. Speedyman.

Not Exactly What I Expected

Today was the Sri Chinmoy 10K, a 3 lap+ of the Avon River on paved walking paths and road. I had expected to improve on my last performance since my latest workouts indicated that I might. Maybe it was because the day was quite windy or perhaps I haven't done enough morning runs, but more likely because in reality I'm actually quite slow. It didn't go as I expected. I started well enough, but was struggling quite early and at 5K the time was 26:03. I thought I could relax, recover and do a better second half. Think again. My finish time was 53:50, only slightly better than the 10K I did in the last 15K run. This, in fact, could be my top speed.....Naaaaa. I was feeling pretty old today, but I'll bet I looked terrific.

10K Warmup Run

So there's this 10K this weekend put on by Sri Chinmoy Running Club. It's three laps of a 3K course (plus a bit I suppose) but it's all on pavement - just what I need. I did my city loop again today - all pavement. As I passed through the park there was a high school or college girls running club that started their training run just as I went by. I made a valiant effort to stay ahead and they mercifully turned off before overtaking me. I did the loop in 61 minutes today, but I plan to take it easy on Thursday so that I've got a chance of not embarrassing myself on Saturday. Sorry my camera is still in the shop, but here's an inspirational picture.

No More Wimping Out

After a day of wimping out due to near freezing rain and near gale winds, the weather relented and so did I. Today was a success running my 64 minute loop of pavement through the city. I don't plan on missing any more running, so I plan to be prepared to deal with inclement weather. What do you think of my new warmup suit?

Focus on Bellin Run

Well it was back to training again today. I intended to run an hour and I thought my trusty training partner Oliver was up to it, but 30 minutes was all that he had. OK, I'll have to do it tomorrow. I should be doing these on the pavement anyway.

Herb and I have been joking about how poorly our conditioning is for this upcoming race, but I'd like to make something perfectly clear. We are finely honed running machines. Herb shows fat man pictures on his web site and I make jokes about how pathetic my running is going, but on June 13th in Green Bay, the spectators for the Bellin Run are going to see something like this...

Tai Tapu 15K

It was a cold day this morning - almost freezing when I got up. I decided to bring the long sleeve top just in case. Starting time was 10 am so it might warm up considerably. I thought it might be a somewhat small event (relative to the City to Surf of 14,000). I was right and wrong. They didn't have 14000, but there were probably 1500 runners there. This was the tuneup race for the Christchurch Marathon at the end of May. In other words, there were plenty of talented runners there. I had no expectations since I really hadn't run much in the last two weeks. I ran yesterday about 30 minutes on trails with Oliver just to make sure the pilot light was lit. At starting time it was still kinda cool and I wanted to be comfortable so I wore the long sleeve top - it was a mistake. Withing 5 minutes of running, I was wishing I could peel it off, but I was too busy huffing and puffing to make the effort. 5K came through at 27:30 - that was OK. 10K checked through at 54:30. I didn't allow myself to walk until I hit 10K, but it came as a real relief from the pavement running to slow down and walk. I had no expectations for the last 5K - just survive and get back to the car. I walked at every K mark and surged between as much as possible. This jerky strategy got me a last 5K of 30 minutes for a finish time of 84:30. I was stimulted to kick in the last 400 meters when I was passed by a guy who had to be at least 90 in the last kilometer. I though it would be untoward for me to surge by the old guy right in front of the finish line. All in all, a heroic effort that will help me get through the next few days of aching muscles and joints. I think there's another 10K this month put on by Sri Chinmoy (Did I ever tell you he lifted me once?). Since it's called the Avon Loop, it probably has some grass to run on along the way, and now I know I can go that far.

Castle Hill and Cave Stream

OK, well I found a way to get the remaining videos from my chip after I wasted my camera. Hopefully I will get it repaired or replaced soon so that these won't be the last pictures you see on the blog.

Cave Stream Adventure

Today was the day I was going to show you thrilling scenes from Terry's attempt at the Cave Stream. Well, we had a swell time climbing around Castle Hill and then we headed on to the Cave Stream. Upon arrival there we feverishly donned our underground water gear and headed down to the entrance. When we arrived at the river crossing to get to the cave entrance we were greeted with a raging torrent from the previous days rains. Crossing the river would have been an adventure in itself - and we were only psyched for and "underground" adventure. Like whipped dogs we dragged our sorry carcasses back up the trail. As an afterthought I thought we'd go down to the cave exit and see if the flow into the cave was as bad as I expected. Normally the water level for the cave at the exit is about ankle deep. The flow there today was thigh deep. Though still manageable at that point, there are places inside the cave that would be daunting for a salmon. I would have loved to show all of this to you with the video and photos I took of all of it, but our last adventure involved retrieving the camera from the middle of the highway where it fell when we drove off with it still on the roof. The chip is still intact so I may still post the video and photos when I figure out how to get them onto the computer.

It's All About the Pie

Here's your Pie!

Bottle Lake Bozos

Everything is Swell, Yeah.

Uh Oh...Fun's Over.

On my last blog entry I somewhat jokingly suggested that someone might like to join me in Green Bay for a kind of contest at the Bellin 10K Run. I did not seriously expect any real takers to my challenge, so you can imagine my surprise, nay even my shock when one of you took me up on my offer. Now he's done it, I'm committed to making a serious effort. So for today's 65 minute run there was no camera, no dog, no gentle surface and no snappy repartee. It was a "training" run. My first in a very long time. So, the fun's over. I'll have to actually work now.

OK, What do you say?

Sorry, I got distracted.

I've been so absorbed with the events on Herb's blog that I've ignored mine. Check it out, I'm breathless with anticipation.

Stepping Up to the Crater Rim

Back to Da Forest Sabu

City to Surf 12K

My Hero Ollie

New Friend, New Day, Old Course

Christchurch Coastal Cruisin'

Mike, Rick and Ollie's Excellent Beach Adventure

Mike and Me

Fast Friend, New Run

A Little Bit of Pavement

Finally, Something New!

Beachin' Day, Dude

The 'Pathfinder"

It's Dangerous To Get a Dog Wet

New Zealand Dawn - Again

Dawn Beach Run - No Really!

Back In The Saddle Again

No Bananas

OK, so I'm calling in "no bananas". I let my day get filled up and the spot I reserved for my run went to fixing the hot water tank. So, we've got hot water now but no run. I might actually still go out this evening and get 'er done, but my guess is that's unlikely. As Scarlet O'Hara says "Tomorrow is another day!"

Half as Often, Twice as Long

Surf N' Turf

Kick-Ass Waitangi Day

Visitors From Waaaay Down Under

Ramblin' in the Woods

I'm Baaaack!

Act II Scene 1

Intermission

Thirty of Thirty

Grotesque White Creature Spotted on Local Beach

Due to technical difficulties there is no video today.

Low Tide

Run, Grasshopper, Run!

Inaugural Afternoon

Hagley Park

Easy Does It

Bottle Lake Forest Park - AGAIN!!

Pickin' and a Grinin'

Early Morning Slog

Kiwi Traffic Jam

New World Symphony

Terry tells 'em better

Two Dog-gone Much

January 11, 2009

January 10, 2009

January 9, 2009

January 8, 2009

January 7, 2009

January 6,2009

January 5, 2009

January 4, 2009

January 3, 2009

January 2, 2009

January 1, 2009