Portsea Twilight Run 2016

First time in 5 years. The course has changed a little, now 8km and no beach section. I haven't been doing a lot of training for the last year or two while the new house build was underway and I only decided to enter just before Xmas. So with only about 6 training runs completed in the previous two weeks I was only expecting a time of about 1 hour. I was pleased to finish in under 52 minutes!

Loving the Retro Esky!

Went out looking for a new ice box/cooler and found they had brought back the retro Esky I remember from back in the 60's!

From Drop Box

The blue ones are apparently exclusive to Bunnings and there is a smaller yellow version with a carry bar exclusive to Big W.

I needed something larger and easier to carry so I ended up getting the Esky Ice King 65L which has all-terrain wheels, and doubles as a seat (for two if you're skinny, maybe only one if you've over indulged over Xmas!).

A Collection Of Esky®'s

Portsea Twilight 2011 - 6.7km

After a one year break for 2010 I came back to the 6.7km Portsea Twilight 2011 run on Saturday 2nd Jan 2011 and ran a time of 39:17.3.

Run Melbourne 5Km 2010

It's been a while since I went in an organised event. One of the guys from work suggested going in the Run Melbourne 5Km on 18 Jul 2010. I wasn't sure how I would go and the day before I had a severe cramp in my right calf so I decided to loosen up on the day with a 35Km ride before heading into town for the run. I was happy with my time of 26:28 although it's a little slower than I would have liked.

Distance: 5km
Time: 26:28
Division Place: 53
Gender Place: 288
Overall Place: 380

Portsea Twilight 2008

I completed the Runner's World Portsea Twilight 2008 in a time of 0:38:55.37. Slower than last year but it was very hot.

Portsea Twilight 2007

This years Portsea Twilight 6.7k Classic was run in humid, overcast conditions with periodic light rains. I completed it in a time of 0:35:18.37 for a of Pace Per Km 0:05:16.17
which put me 474th overall and 86th in the male 40-49 age category

Round the Bay in a Day 2006

I signed up for the 100K classic which started in Sorrento at 8:00am on Saturday 15 October 2006 and finishes in Melbourne's Docklands. However, I customised the route and rode down to the start and then back. All up the distance was 180k and I completed it in 5 hours and 30 minutes. It was my first major outing on my new Trek 5.5 Madone and it rode like a dream.

Run For The Kids - 14.7k

Yesterday was the inaugural Run For The Kids (Royal Childrens Hospital) from Melbourne Docklands over the Bolte Bridge, through the Domain Tunnel and finish up beside the RCH. Entries were closed at 20,000 so it was a huge event. My time was 1:15.

Sri Chinmoy 5k - Yarra Boulevard

Yesterday I ran the Sri Chinmoy 5k Yarra Boulevard along the banks of the Yarra River in Burnley. There were three race distances available; 5, 10 and 15k. I chose the 5k option as I already have 6.75k and 10k times. My mate Steve and I had set a goal of under 25 minutes; I ran 22:44 and Steve finished about 10 seconds after me. One of the highlights of these runs is the free pancake breakfast but even better was the free massage. Luxury! The photo on the right was taken at the 1km turnaround point and although it looks like I have a highly idiosyncratic running style it's really just because it caught me just after giving the camera a big wave. And here I am heading away from the turnaround a couple of seconds later.



Yesterday was also the last day of the Commonwealth Games which saw Australia take gold in the Womens (Natalie Bates) and Mens (Matthew Hayman, where did he come from!!) cycling road races. We went up to watch the start of the mens race in the gardens but as with any road race it's almost impossible to get an idea of how the entire game is being played out from trackside. After a couple of hours we headed home to catch the end of the race on TV between gaps in the Netball coverage (NZ won). We watched most of the closing ceremony on TV and then Domi and I went up to Green Point in Brighton to watch the fireworks exploding off the tops of the city skyscrapers and at the MCG. We obviously weren't the only ones with that idea as the car park was half full when we got there.

Commonwealth Games Cycling Time Trials

Today beach road was barricaded off to through traffic from St Kilda to Mentone for the womens (turn around at Black Rock clock) and mens (Naples St, Mentone) time trials. This was a very rare opportunity to get out and ride a race circuit so I headed out at 6:30am, squeezed through a gap in the barriers, headed towards the Black Rock turn around point but spotted the North Rd bunch passing in the opposite direction and attempted to catch up with them. After chasing for a couple of kilometres at 45kmh I had to ease off as I came into Hampton and just enjoy the ride at my own pace.

Later in the morning we went to watch the Womens Time trials in which Gold, Silver & Bronze all went to Australia (Wood, Watt & Carrigan). That's Kathy Watt in the picture above. In the afternoon I went down to Black Rock to watch the Mens race from out the front of Kennedy's shop - right next door to Kathy Watt's shop - and the atmosphere was marvellous. It was a beautiful day for it and there was a surprisingly large crowd. Kennedy had an unofficial time keeping operation going.

Sri Chinmoy Princes Park 10k run

On Sunday I ran in the Sri Chinmoy 10k at Princes Park in Carlton. I was pleased to find I had run it in 48 minutes 54 Seconds. A Personal Best for sure!

Portsea Twilight Classic 2006 6.75k Run

On the 7th January I ran in the 6.75km Portsea Twilight Classic in the Pt Nepean National Park. This was my first official run and I was pretty unsure what to expect of both the event and myself. My friend Steve came along for the run as well. I ran a time of 37:20.

Mornington

Sunday morning I woke late. I must have slept through the alarm. By the time I was dressed and on the road it was 7:30pm and the sun was shining. I was on the lookout for packs on their way to Mt Eliza to follow up on the ride two weeks ago but there weren't many around due to the 210km Round the Bay In A Day ride that started that morning at 5:00am. I picked up a pod of 4 cyclists who were turning around at Mordialloc and then I continued on to Station Street and tried to catch up with a pack I could see in the distance which I finally caught at Bonbeach. There were about 6 Bandidos and three other riders who were on their way to a race meet at Frankston Park.

I continued on with the Bandidos to the foot of Olivers Hill where they shot ahead and I struggled up with what seemed like the same effort as my previous ride. It was only when I reached the top that I realised I had forgotten to change down and was still in 3rd or 4th gear! Nevertheless, I made it over the top (handy hint: always approach hills with the intention of riding over them, rather than to the top) and this time didn't have to stop to catch my breath. I continued on to the Mt Eliza turn off but decided to press on to Mornington, stopped in the park, refilled my bidon, ate my muesli bar and enjoyed the sun.

The trip back was uneventful. There were plenty of 'Round the Bayers to tag along with to make that long boring stretch between Frankston and Mordialloc less of a chore. I was knackered when I got home but pleased that I had extended my maximum riding distance just that little further to 88Km in 2h:54m.

Riding to Mt Eliza

I set off on Sunday morning at 6:30am to do my regular Sunday morning circuit of Beach Rd but a few minutes into my ride I caught up with a small pack who were headed for Mt Eliza. "What the hell" I thought. "Let's go".

The ride down to Frankston passed without incident but what a struggle getting up Oliver's Hill. A couple of times I nearly came to a dead stop but I saw a couple of MTB cyclists legging it up and I decided I would do everything I could to get to the top without stalling. I laboured on, standing on the pedals in my lowest gear breathing raspily with the effort, past the walkers, and finally the grade started to level out. I continued on about 50 metres further and stopped at the side of the road to catch my breath. I had made it.

The rest of the distance to Mt Eliza is almost all uphill and, after the effort of getting up Oliver's Hill, I felt as if I was almost out of energy. The rest of the pack decided to continue on to Mornington. I thanked them for the ride and continued on into Mt Eliza and turned back towards Frankston. The ride downhill out of Mt Eliza and then down Oliver's Hill is exhilarating in the extreme. I clocked a max speed of 63Km/h which I think is my fastest yet.

I joined a passing pack at Seaford and kept with them on the Nepean Highway, slowly turning into the westerly wind as we went. I stopped for a few minutes in Mordialloc to refill my water bottle and remove my thermals. I joined another pack heading my way through Parkdale and stayed with them until Black Rock where I dropped into Kennedy's for a coffee before making the final warm down stretch to home.

Total Distance: 70Km in 2h:15m.

I got warmer gear.

3 weeks ago I wanted to get warmer so I went to Le Knicks in Black Rock and got fitted out with warmer gear. Now I'm warmer.

Cycling in the Dark

I need some warmer cycle gear. My feet are freezing when I get out on to Beach Rd at 6:00 in the morning. :-(