What do you think about when you're running?

"What do you think about when you're running?" our dinner guest asked me. The question appeared from nowhere and I was immediately transformed into a stunned mullet, lying on the wharf with my mouth opening and closing and no words coming out. It felt like an eternity before I started to stutter and mumble a half hearted reply. I can't remember what I said, I only know it was very wide of the mark ... the mullet was back in the water but it was still touch and go as to whether he would survive.

Had I been better prepared for the question from our guest I might have quoted Haruki Murakami who says "I just run, I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it another way, I run in order to acquire a void ..." and " The thoughts that occur to me while running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. The sky both exists and doesn't exist. It has substance but at the same time doesn't. We merely accept that vast expanse and drink it in" That's a great way of describing the way I think but not necessarily what I'm thinking about. Anyway, I'm still no closer to answering the question. Perhaps there is no answer or maybe "how to perfect my date scone recipe" would be close enough.

This week I've started a recommended reading list. It's mostly for my own historical record but, who knows, it could grow into another separate blog to rival Art Garfunkel's! (Interestingly we have only 2 favourites in common "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Tao Te Ching"). Art's actually got a list of all the books he's ever read, about 1200 odd up to 2007. I could never remember them all and anyway, my list is more current and doesn't include the couple I've read that I wouldn't recommend.

Sunday was a 'chop wood, carry water' kind of day and I did get out for a run that once again took me up into Pureora Forest. I ran for nearly 2 hours, over 20k, though my programme said 13. It was just a case of running where I felt like going and getting lost in that 'void'.

Monday was a 10k frequency run and on Tuesday I did my speed workout. That was a couple of k's to warm up followed by 12 x 400m on 1:30 with jog rest intervals between. The first 3 or 4 are always easy peasy but as you get further into it ... well let's just say I know what I think about when I'm running those! Survival! (I have experimented in the past with visualisation when running intervals. The one's where I

think negative work related thoughts only are quite a bit slower than the one's where I'm having to hold off Javier Gomez for the Olympic Gold). The final result was a couple that were too slow, some bang on time and several too fast. Not bad for running in the dark early in my buildup. They'll get very consistent later, they always do.

Wednesday was my day off and once again gave me a chance to do some chores like moving firewood before chopping firewood as well as the usual Donkey related jobs as well.

Thursday turned into an unscheduled day off. They happen occasionally especially when the goal event is a long way off. This one followed the usual trend which is ... slightly late getting home, feeding chooks etc (takes a bit longer for some reason), stop to have something to eat, get fire going, have more to eat, sit around, have more to eat, decide to wait until Sp.K gets home from dancing (she said she was going to do a walk), have more to eat ... when she does get home and says she's not walking ... use that as an excuse not to go. Friday was back to a frequency run. This time 11k because I'd forgotten to drop off agendas on my way home so I put them in a back pack and delivered them by hand. The solution worked well except for the 9k of it that was on State Highway 32, a road frequented by logging trucks and people trying

to pass logging trucks.

Saturday was more jobs around home, rooster culling and waaaay too much wood chopping and stacking. I finished up with one incredibly sore back by late afternoon. I thought it might jeopardise my run but once I got going it was OK and I managed to get my 10k done and get home and cleaned up before our visitors arrived. I'm pleased they came for dinner, they had some interesting questions.

Until next time ... take Jesus, take Marx, take Care

My Gym

It's that time of year when 'normal' people head indoors if they're exercising and around here the local gym is a popular option. As a triathlete I should be hanging out at the pool or on my wind trainer or a treadmill. However, being decidedly abnormal I choose to remain outdoors and just dress differently. This week I took the camera along on a couple of runs to try and capture the flavour of 'my gym' ... the big wide open drafty one where the duty gym operator (God) keeps forgetting to turn the heaters on!

Sunday's run went way over time, like 1 hour 40 instead of the planned 1 hour. I finished up going to the end of Arataki Rd and over the swingbridge into Pureora Forest before turning round and running back via Pakonui Rd. The swingbridge is one of those places which holds very strong memories of Ron, probably because we crossed it lots of times to go hunting, we'd pause

midway to look for trout and sometimes just lean against the wires and talk. Nice place.

Monday's run was 10 k at an easy pace. I started pretty late so most of it was in the dark. Up on top of Henderson Rd I could see the snow clouds over Titiraupenga (see photo right)

Tuesday was my first hint of a 'speed session'. New York is 20 weeks away so it's time to start shaping my programme with that in mind. I was looking at the website this week and saw that the entry numbers for this year were being increased to 58,000 for the 40th Anniversary race making it the biggest marathon ever. Even increasing entries to that number they're turning away 4 of every 5 lottery applicants. I'm getting pretty excited about this one and that's helping me get out the door and away from the fire.

I was born to run ... apparently. This week I've been reading 'Dr Sheehan on Running' written by noted cardiologist and runner George Sheehan in 1975. He asks the question "How do I know if running is my exercise?" and then answers with If you ran in school, tend to be narrow rather than wide, have small wrists and weigh in pounds twice your height in inches, you will probably like to run. If you are a loner, have few friends and have been described as a dreamer, you can go out right now and buy shoes. Not only is that the best description of me I've ever read, it also means I'm a kilogram over weight!

Wednesday was a day off and a chance to change the Donkey's real estate and organise firewood.

Thursday I was back on the road with an easy 10 k over rolling hills. Friday's run was also kept to 10 k as I wasn't allowed to be late home. We were going out to see a friend of Sp.K's in a local (Taupo) production featuring a selection of songs and dances from musicals. The 1st half was a 'one man' play called "Verbatim" with a cast of about 6 people? It was about a guy in prison for murder and it looked at his life and his crimes from various perspectives including his own, his family's, the victim's spouse and the 'all knowing' talkback caller. The 2nd half was the musical show. It was great! I really enjoyed the live theatre. We'll have to check out the Broadway shows for October since we'll be staying in Hells Kitchen, very close to Broadway.

Saturday we headed to Rotorua to a different outdoor gym. Sp.K was teaching dancing so I headed out through Ngongotaha towards Hamurana ... running in the footsteps of giants on the Rotorua marathon course. I'm guessing I did about 16 k, good enough for now.

Ordinary life is very zen ... chop wood, carry water ( you could add shovel Donkey doo's ). That, and a slightly longer run, is the plan for Sunday.

In the Beginning

Sunday morning and I should really be celebrating such a gorgeous day by getting on my bike and going for a ride. This is my kind of 'off season' with not a lot of structure to my training and every thing I do at the moment is easy aerobic stuff.

This week I took Monday off as I was late home from work and running in the dark when it's cold and wet is not too appealing. I could have gone out to the garage and jumped on my wind trainer but that's almost worse ... in a different kind of way. Anyway, the off season is all about going a bit easy on yourself. There will be plenty of times in August and September when I'll need to harden up and hit the road in rotten weather.

Tuesday was almost mild so I ran 12 k after work, 10 k on Wednesday and 13 k on Thursday. Thursday's run was meant to be 10 but I was day dreaming when I got to the 5 k turn around so I carried on down the hill. I was loving running in shorts again! It was pretty dark by the time I got to the turnaround hedge and the new people in the farm house just before the turn have some very ferocious sounding dogs. "Lucky they're kenneled up" I thought. On the way back towards the house the barking was getting louder and seemed to be getting much closer. I saw a black dog against the black road in the inky blackness that unfortunately was there! (Ref. 'Not the 9 o'clock News' ... like the blind man in the dark room looking for a black cat ... which isn't there). I ran to the left and in a deep growly authoritative type voice yelled " Yaaah, git, gowaaarn home!!" ... immediately out of the blackness came a much louder, deeper and far more convincing " Get the f#%* back in here ya f#%*ing mongrel!!!" followed closely by a "Sorry mate" ... "No worries" I sqweaked back .." Yaawwlright?"... "yep"... I trotted off down the road proud of the fact that although I'd swerved a bit I hadn't broken my stride.

I was caught out by the fact that I hadn't been that far along the road since June 1 when the new dairy farming year kicks off so there's new people (sharemilkers and farm workers) all around the district. Me and their dogs will just have to get use to each other in the coming months.

Friday was another 10 k, in the rain this time.

Saturday was sorting out Donkey fencing, shoveling Donkey doos and general chores before going to Tokoroa for Tu's 50th birthday. Tu teaches with Special K. He and his family are all pretty large and when I saw lunch I could see why. What a spread! What else could a skinny undersized triathlete do? I had 2 large helpings of the main course of roast beef, roast vegies, cauliflower cheese ... followed by too much cheese cake, pudding and birthday cake. It's the biggest pigout binge fest I've had in ages and when we got home in the afternoon all I could do was fall asleep on the sofa.

That's been my week.

The people of Mt.Albert did what the rest of NZ couldn't and put Labour's David Shearer into Parliament. I think the short sighted motorway and the highly unpopular Super City plans of the current Government did the trick for him. Look out for David Shearer though, he could well be the next Labour Prime Minister. Would have been nice to see the Greens do better. They are the voice of public transport and cycling initiatives which make good sense to everyone except the Aucklanders in their SUV's.