Training on the Emu and Kiwi weekend

ANZAC Day this Friday. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps of course, and I heard John Williamson singing a song on TV on Anzac Day about a Kiwi and an Emu, and "if you pick on one, you pick on two"...which was a reference to the Anzacs, and Australians and New Zealanders fighting together...Thats where I "plagiarised" the idea for my blog post title from this time...

Sunday 27th April 2008 A.D.;PM; Did 200 Ab crunches. Kathryn did 4x50 (4 different varieties)

Cycled for 33min on exercise bike to the lovely intense sounds of my cassette tape of Tourniquets 1990? Stop the bleeding album, songs like Tears of Korah, and You get what you pray for, and finishing with Somnambulism. Forgot to take heart rate but estimate around high 140's, low 150's...
Also went on a brisk walk with Kathryn and Jacob to shops and back, Kathryn jogged the last few minutes pushing the pram. Left forefoot still a little tender after long run yesterday, and some tightness in left hammy tonight...

Saturday 26th April 2008 A.D.;
AM; Ran 33km in 3 hours 43 minutes 54 seconds. (6min 47 per Km)
Heart rate 132 at end, probably higher earlier on...
Splits; 1hr 42/2hrs 01 minute.
Is a PB for this Darlington to Mt Helena course by about 4 minutes,
although not really going allout, and carrying a 4kg Hydration pak (2L water+ 2 gatorades) as per usual.

A little cold and windy at the start, but perfect conditions really.
Probably drank too much fluids, and only used one of the Gatorades.
As per usual I woke up after about 4 hours sleep thinking "you must be crazy Jon" to myself, and I even had the Crazy Johns tune in my head from hearing it on TV :-) *LOL* hahaha. But I brushed aside such thoughts sorted out the cats and headed for Darlington.

Arrived just in time to run at the back of the A-team but they were going in another direction to where I wanted to go. So I ran with an injured athlete for a few km, had a good chat then pulled away, (had the first of several No1's toilet breaks, and started to feel good, ready to push the pace a bit. When I made it to Mundaring (9.5km) in 59.05 (and saw Tim Bradley heading back) I knew I was set for a good day and my initial thoughts of just doing 22km today evapourated. Great Eastern Hwy (11km) soon loomed up and the new $10 watch I got from Kmart on Thursday said 69min 40. I knew that I had to go for my preferred target of 27km...Still felt a million dollars at 13.5km (83min), and decided to take the plunge and go all the way to Mt Helena, since I figured (a) I might not get the chance to come to the Hills next week (I expect I will have very limited petrol money for one thing),(b) I felt really good, (c) I am keen to start getting the 33km+ long run stuff on the board regularly with the Perth Marathon only 10 weeks away now...Had Deliverance instruMetal song "Thistles" still playing in my head from listening to it on the way to Darlington a lot in the first 90minutes especially.

When I arrived at Mt Helena in 1 hour 42minutes I knew I was a chance to beat my best time for this course (although I couldn't remember what it was, as beforehand I had only checked my times for 22km and 27km on the Darlington Railway Heritage Trail course. Decided to scull my first Gatorade at this point. The very cool conditions meant that fluids were not a high priority, plus I was pretty relaxed. Figured I was an outside chance to finish the run in the 3 hour 30's at this point...Started to get some of Grave Forsakens "horror and sadness" song in my head a little at this time...

When I saw the sign by the trail saying 10.1km to Darlington, my watch said
2hrs 24min.58. So I knew that 6.30 per km would get me to the finish in 3hours 30.
At that point I figured I was a chance. Then I started to get minor twinges in my left hip, and decided to take it easy as I don't want any knew injuries to manage, and got to Mundaring in 2hours 32min with 9.5km to go. My time of solitude which continued for most of the run, was up to 90min now, and in a lot of ways I was enjoying it a lot. Prayed a little.

Saw dozens of those black "rainbird" cockatoos at one point, and they were throwing lots of branches and green honky nuts on the trail...Was a surreal experience running along the trail surrounded by a massive bunch of them on both sides of the trail an in the trees above for a few minutes.

Walked a few times to sort out the sore left hip, and had to take a couple more no 1's toilet breaks, and was now forced to take it easy due to the sore hip, so now more trying to push the pace under 6min per km. In the last 6km (27km mark) I started to stiffen up, and started to feel a bit of "grind planetarium" mode sort of mode, where my breathing was very easy, but the legs were getting very heavy.
From there it was slow progress as I could only manage well over 7min per km, but was pretty happy with the whole run.

Friday 25th April 2008 A.D.(ANZAC DAY);

PM; Ran 2km in 8min 45.25 (4.22 per K). Heart Rate 168 at end.
Hull Park course PB for me, beating the 9min 07 I did on 6th January this year.
The speed per K is pretty slow really, but the distance is approximate and involves a lot of road crossings and terrain changes, although its mostly dead flat. Probably should be able to go well under 8 minutes, but its more a loosener/recovery run type course for me. Was inspired by the Dockers winning the first half against Geelong Cats, so decided to get in a quick run at halftime. Felt solid but pretty relaxed for a run that short. This is reflected in the heart rate which is high intensity, but not really in maximal zone (that would be 170's/180's). Nice little gallop to make today an easy double session day.

AM; Cycled 40 minutes on exercise bike. Heart rate 156 at end.

Had some Tourniquet songs from Vanishing Lessons and the Test for leprosy (Stop the Bleeding) playing on cassette tape while Jacob played in the high chair.
Fired up,cranked up the intensity a bit to get the higher heart rate with some vintage thrash metal riffs, and Ted Kirkpatricks usual maniacal but intricate double bass and cymbals attack drumming, with stuff like, K517,Drowning Machine,Acid head,Pecking order,Bearing gruesome cargo, and finally Test for Leprosy,Ready or not, and Ark of Suffering. I just love Tourniquet. Afterwards I stretched and felt a whole lot more happier about the world in general...
Also got Kathryn my wife to do 16 minutes on the exercise bike too.

WEEK 6 (21/04/08-27/04/08);

Volume; 306min + 19hrs MR work. Sessions; 4 +MR

Best RHR; 52 bpm Sleep; 44.5hrs (6.36hrs per night) *48


OD/LSD; 33km 3hr 43.

Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions;NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 33km 3hr 43
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed.
3-Abs done?-yes 200x1.
4-cycling done-yes 40minute high intensity ride, and 33min ride.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...
Need "more reps" (just for my fans), long run was a nice one to get done and the 40min ride,33min ride and to a lesser extent the 2km run were great sessions to get done this week. Really enjoyed my long run this week. Acutely aware of the need to avoid new injuries.
Maybe good to get some more shoes in May or June, or I can race and train in the same pair for a couple of months as per usual (probably what will happen)...
I feel I am on the cusp of something good if I can just breakthrough the other issues in my life during May somehow (with God's help), or if not, well so be it.
I think this could well be my last Perth Marathon for awhile if I don't break through to another level (sub 3.30 at least) this year, I am not going to grind it out doing 4hour marathons year after year, I'd rather do something different. If however we can get a bit closer to my ultimate goal of a sub 3 hour marathon, then I will persist, otherwise I might just become
a feral trails runner/mountainbiker/hiker/mountainclimber or something, and focus more on maintaining fitness for good quality health, and recreational family reasons, which at some point I think I will do anyway. Don't know if I want to race competively every year for the rest of my life...

So a good platform to go into May with now with my longer efforts this year so far being;
January; 26/1 27km 3 hour run.

February; 2/2 33km 4 hour run

March; 1/3 37km 5 hour run, 24/3 46km 5 hour race run.

April; 5/4 2 hours on exercise bike, 13/4 21km 2 hour race run,

26/4 33km 4 hour run.
Significant shorter stuff has been; 5km race, 2x10km races, 5.25km trails time trial, Major trackwork; 10k reps session,5km ladder,5x300m,5x200m.

Overall nowhere near what I want in 4 months (or 6 weeks of trying to get something going towards the Perth Marathon), but enough high quality stuff, to be building some much better momentum than last year. Hopefully can put together several good training weeks in May and June so that my 5th Perth Marathon is a good chance at a big P.B. I wont get very far in these dreams unless a lot of my life takes some major turns for the better I think...But hey some positives there to hopefully build on.

A state of Crisis mode is declared!

Once again my employer has (for more than a month now)in my opinion failed to pay me in full for the work I have done. I think this is the 4th (fortnightly pay) time this has happened in the last 5 months, and the 3rd time in a row my pay has been $100-$200 short of what it should be.

Unfortunately it seems I have joined Kevins (like Brucey McAv and his description of AFL action as "clever" (or "special")(count how many times he says that in his commentary, I think the people who made "twelfth man" could do him (Edit; looks like they have its called "Bruce 2000"...but it is based around Sydney Olympics rather than AFL...)...and Kevin quite well...)infamous "working families" bracket, because "when it comes to" ("and on the question of") "core values" my employer doesnt seem to have many. This includes no paid holidays for more than 18 months and a pay that has dropped from $500-$600 a week to about $400 a week. Of course our rent, petrol, food expenses, and of course baby expenses have all increased this year. Is it any wonder I am worn out physically,mentally, and emotionally from continual slogging my body walking around streets 6-11 hours a day 5-6 days a week for 19 months...and still struggling to make ends meet. Yesterday I once again compounded the problem by spending the last few cents my parents had given me trying to juggle my work with consecutive days interviews in the Perth CBD, trying to snare an elusive better permanent position. Of course I was told that they did not think I was confident enough in my ability to progress to the stage 3 interview. Oh well at least this ime I was able to speak to the actual employer direct than get rejected by a recruitment company.
Plus they were very amiable to deal with, changed their interview time for me, and were very frank, and welcoming. I respect the high standard of their interview and wish them well. It still is frustrating and hurtful to miss out again, something that has happened more than a dozen times for me this year.

Unfortunatly due to my poor referees status, related to my poor work history, my vicious circle is a hard one to break at the moment. I need a few miracles fast.

Until then its a case of;
-all expenditure is subject to severe review of the "need to be spended or not" basis.
-all thoughts of running holidays are suspended iuntil further notice.
-all races are suspended until further notice.
-training is a very low priority.
-praying is a very high priority.

I can keep trying but its getting harder and harder to keep going, and I just don't know how to arrest this downward slump/spiral in a lasting manner just now...its starting to become a major ongoing concern.

I have been through similiar times in the past several times, and thanks to God I came through, and hope myself and my wife and almost 9 month old son can do so soon.

My weight has dropped to 76kg, so I suppose that is a positive. Less weight = faster times???

Double-edged sword this weekend, public holiday Friday (Anzac day), means a chance to recover from work, maybe train a bit, get a few things done around the house,figure out how we can juggle the bills like Houdini this fortnight, do some more job hunting, ask my parents for more crisis money, and then try and make up for the money lost by not working on Friday next week, plus juggle useless job interviews again, so by this time next week unless I get some serious good news I suspect I will be officially depressed again.

My name is Jonathon and I have a problem with work/family/bills/pathetic job conditions balance. In my ongoing battle to avoid bankruptcy, "until debt do us part" and associated nasty pasties, my wonderful parents and the Creator Triune are the main things that keep me going, along with my wonderfully easygoing wife, and adorable (and very energetic) little son. This is my story. Thankfully its also part of HIS STORY. (Gods), and like Job (at least I don't have 8 children for starters!) I will try to keep trusting him, and fighting on...

thus ends the written therapy session. *LOL* :-) Or does it...
reminds me of a funny sign I saw on a door while meter reading yesterday, it said;
"if thou doest beeth selling religion or other products and services, doeth not enter here", thats slightly different to the common "its the cats/dogs/kids house, we just pay the mortgage", "my house was clean yesterday", its almost as unusual as (or perhaps more so) "improve your image be seen with cats"...

Watching david letterman on TV last night before a bit of the Indian 20/20 cricket league came on to see andrew symonds get smashed for 35 runs in one over, and the usual collection of 6's then out at the end of the 2nd over. Although there are exceptions...Liked lettermans "obama vs osama" thing...interview with actress helen hunt was interesting too, she is the star of the movie "Twister"(watch out for the annoying popup spam/spyware that comes with that link) which is one of my alltime favourites...Reminds me of Tourniquet instruMETAL song Viento Borrascoso (Spanish for Devastating Wind) from the Psycho Surgery album. See HERE for audio clip.

Please feel free to email all "financial donations" and "potential job opportunity option ideas" to jontheroadrunner@rocketmail.com, as Jon the "roadrunner" attempts to outrun the "wile e. coyote" of creditors for another few weeks...

Jacobs first visit to the Track

Sunday 20th April; Ran 5x200m reps @ Noranda.
Total time for 1km; 3 minutes 02secs .22.
Times; 33.92,35.20,35.78,39.14,38.18.
Heart rate was only 177 at the end of it, but I'd had enough.
Did about 2-4minutes jog recovery in between each one.

My wife Kathryn wrote down my times, which made it easier for me to concentrate on keeping the 200's ticking over. She did 3x500m with 4-5minute rests first up. Maybe a bit intense for her first reps since October 2005 (when she was training for the Rottnest 5km), but I wanted her to be able to compare where she is at now with where she was at then...Probably in hindsight, she needs to develop her aerobic base more yet, but this session I hope will make her fitter and more inclined to do the things that are needed to develop that aerobic base, and if she does the 500's again in say a few weeks or a few months time, hopefully she will have a big improvement.
This of course depends on whether she wants to do that...

I took Jacob (almost 9 months old now) for a spin in the McLaren pram to encourage her on the first one,and then he went to sleep for the rest of our time there. So I think maybe Jacobs first assessment of the track is that its all a big yawn! *LOL* :-)

Taking Kathryn and Jacob to the track was a rather adventourous move which
I have been wanting to do for a few weeks now. Keen for my wife and young son to share in some of my running/outdoor/crosstraining/sports/recreational experiences in a more active way, so hopefully this is the start of a return to more of that sort of thing in the future, as Kathryn and I did back in 2005, before getting married, and having Jacob, made it very difficult.

As a result I didn't want to take on anything too hard today, as my main focus was giving Kathryn the opportunity to be part of things, without the need to get a babysitter for Jacob. My aim with this session was simply to do a little bit of easy speedwork, and a bit of cardiovascular work, just to sharpen me up for hopefully some more intense sessions later. (If I ever get to them of course.) So happy with that. Was thinking before of doing 8x200m or 10x200m, but decided I can save that for next time.

I am back in "Bills induced Training hiatus" mode again this week, but perhaps next week, or the week after that, or the week after that...things might improve. I am so "whatever" about it now...but as the Newsboys song I hear on Sonshine 98.5 FM radio says just now; something like;"I've got to stay strong, we've come too far now to lose our way, this race can still be won"...exact lyrics here....

Exploring the Darlington Half Marathon

Sunday 13th April 2008 A.D.;AM; Ran Darlington Half Marathon in 1 hour 56minutes 05 seconds. Heart rate 159 at end. Splits 58.59/57.06 (uphill/downhill)...(5min 30 per km)

Nice to negative split even if it was on a steepish constant downhill.
I did my usual thing of getting off to a decent start in the first few km and then settled into a grind up the hill cos (a) I didnt want t spend all my pennys energywise on the uphill, and (b) after waking up with a resting heart rate of 59! today, I knew I was not going to run well. I decided yesterday anyway that due to my lack of training lately I would treat it as a fastish training run anyhow, (have a Win for the day personally in my "grand master training plan" in spite of what the field of runners did), and not worry too much about my time except to try and go under the 2 hours. Obviously if I had turned in 50-55minutes then I would reassess my target time, but I wasn't expecting much, given the way I am feeling...hope I am not getting the flu.

Mentally I am a bit broken anyway, just sick of work mucking around with my pay, and the constant struggle to try and make ends meet, and my lack of success in finding a good new job, its all getting to me a bit, and I am starting to get into a "going through the motions" attitude, because I can't do half the things I want to due to lack of money, plus its starting to affect my wife and baby negatively, so just trying to keep the ship on an even keel and heading in the right direction hoping for more favourable winds in life soon...At the end of the day where I am with God is what matters the rest is not very important by comparison.

Yeah back to the race/hard training run. had a few chats with people like Nathan and others. Found out that the Swiss bloke who shouts Ole Ole is actually called Silvio, and he said he is going to visit Zurich and some other places there in 2 weeks time.
He works at MichelAngelo Hair Salon...

Started on road, then went on the trail I often run Saturday mornings with the Hills
Group for about 2km, where I was passed by many of the people I know, and started my struggle up the hilly roads, which continued all the way to Mundaring. Some guy on a trailbike kinda scared us a little at one point, he expected all the runners to dive off into the bushes or something when he was coming through...lucky there wasn't a tragedy with people like that on the road. Overall while a very scenic course, and the Marshals from WAMC did an excellent and very important job, it was a bit hairy at times trying to share the road with cars on a narrow road. Also on the way back about 30 cyclists came roaring down the hill too.

Near the Mundaring turn I encountered the "abusive marshal from hell" ...who gave me a "bit of a spray" *LOL* :-) I tried to "run a bit faster" on the downhill leg and it seemed to work a little...

I ran with one Gatorade,which I rationed about 400ml at 50minutes and the remaining 200ml at 90minutes. Struggled all the way and most of the way I was getting passed rather than passing others, but I am used to that scenario.

Was stoked to get across the line under 2 hours and get another half marathon finishers medallion (I'd forgotten that WAMC gives out those, so it was a nice surprise when I crossed the line...) to to take "straight to the pool room" with my rather large collection of trophies and medallions over the years, one day Kathryn and I can have our own house with stuff like that, a pool table, her Eagles memorabilia,photos, and so on all set up nicely when I am well and truly in "the older I get the better I was" state, hopefully I can get out of that state one more time in the next 5-10 years or so.

Overall pretty happy with the run, which is important in keeping the fire burning in my Perth Marathon plans for July this year.

Aftre the race I found out my old Racewalking coach Stan has cancer and being in his 80's he may not live long. Heard that Tina Major (top WA marathoner) ran a good time to finish 2nd in Canberra Marathon, ad sampled some of the juice and croissants that the wonderful WAMC had on offer. So about what I expected, happy with the run, glad I went. Hopefully soon we can step up the training a bit despite the ongoing juggling act.

Saturday 12th April-AM;
150 Ab crunches while sharing looking after Jacob with my wife Kathryn.
PM; Cycled for 40 minutes on Exercise Bike Heart rate 120 at end, while feeding 8-month old Jacob pasta, and picking up his toys when they fell on the ground. Put old Rachel Rachel cassette on while I was doing it. Same setup as for 2 hour ride last weekend. Solid.
Wednesday 9th April --50 Ab crunches while looking after Jacob.

WEEK 4 (07/04/08-13/04/08);

Volume; 156min + 24hrs MR work. Sessions;2 +MR

Best RHR; 49bpm Sleep; 41.5hrs (5.93hrs per night) 50*


OD/LSD;NIL

Races/Time trials/LFD; Darlington Half (21.1km) 1hr 56

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 21km 1 hour 56min
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-halfway there Darlington Half M.
3-Abs done?-yes 50 W 150 Sa.
4-cycling done-yes 40minutes on ex bike
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;...Again marginally better on the sleep stakes, and overall an easyish week at work (not really my choice) still managed to get a sub 50 resting heart rate although the last few days of the week, I think my general cardio-respiratory fitness has lost the plot a little... I have a long way to go to be training the way I want to but the mediocre darlington Half marathon run keeps me operational. Thankfully there is still 12 weeks to go before Perth Marathon, so plenty of time to turn things around, and I have had some occasional good runs so far this year...So overall a satisfactory week thanks to my slow Half Marathon run, but need to really step things up in the next 12 weeks if I am to smash my marathon PB and make significant progress deep into 3 hour marathon territory on July 6th later this year. If I can get to a much more "happy place" work and billswise, then God willing I think we can step things up and still be a good Dad,Husband etc...Otherwise its going to be a case of heavy weather living on the edge struggling to get into position for about a 3.45-4 hour effort if all goes well again. be very easy to just give up, but thats not want I want to do. The whole relationship with God,marraige,family,work,bills,life,training races mix goes together I think, so to use a phrase from my old racewalking coach, if I "drop my bundle" or "work myself out of it instead of into it" on any of these things the rest will suffer, so I think I need to be patient and persisentent and the opportunities will come again when God allows them...Many thanks to my parents for helping us to keep going financially time and time again...

My 12th Bridges funrun is a bit of a wipeout.

Sunday 6th April 2008 AM; Ran Bridges fun run 10km in 50minutes 42 secs. Heart rate 183 at end. 5k splits 24.04/26.38.

1km splits;
4.01/4.43/about 5.06/about 5.06/5.08
5.49!/5.29/5.12/5.24/4.44.

The words forgettable, and pathetic spring to mind. Basically the last few days I have been wondering if it would be worth doing this, and in the end I did it mainly because (a) I wanted to keep my streak of 12 Bridges in a row alive, and (b) a forlorn hope that somehow I might be able to pull a rabbit out of the performance hat and do a good time. In a nutshell "it wasn't to be". Even in the first few km when my splits were ok, it felt very hard to keep going.

Felt very humid (Edit; Just checked http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW60901/IDW60901.94608.shtml and confirmed that humidity was between 92% and 98% throughout this race which explains some of the weariness, perhaps also my 2 hour ride Saturday contributed also (maybe even the 46k race on March 24th (2 weeks ago) still affecting me a little)...and then there is lack of speedwork in recent weeks...) and a bit warm in the last few km, after perfect conditions in the early stages. Just had no energy and felt very unmotivated.

In the last 1km or 2 if I had pushed harder I probably could have gone under 50 minutes, but just couldn't be bothered finishing off strongly. So just cruised in with a 4.44, with a little bit of speeding up to get past a few people in the last 100m as the competitive juices finally started to energize a little again... Sleep deprivation biting me a lot today too. Shoes were great but one sock was a bit worn. But overall I think I am borderline chronic fatigue at the moment, just wasn't up for it today Had trouble with toilet stuff a little today, but sorted out most of it.

No point in racing again I don't think until I (a) rest up, get into a better sleep/pay the bills type balance, and (b) get some good trackwork/speedwork going again, and (c) improve diet at home as well...

Depressing post, but hey sometimes you have an awful day...

Had a good chat with "flying fossil" from Cool Running before the race, saw Shaphan Cox (Canning Districts Athletics, Riverton Baptist and trains with world class dualathlete Raf "Radar" Baugh I think sometimes who went to my school for 1991/1992 -Willetton SHS) won the 5km in about 15.30ish I think from Todd Ingraham (sub 2.30 marathoner,he ran for Rossmoyne SHS in state u/17 schools cross country back in early 1990's, the same year I was running for Willetton, and Todd has run New York,Chicago, and London all under 2.40 I think. He also did 2.29 in Boston Marathon to be in the top 20 Australians in 2007 see here)...Return of Ray Boyd to running...so some positives from the day...


WEEK 3 (31/03/08-06/04/08);

Volume; 171min + 27.5hrs MR work. Sessions;2 +MR

Best RHR; 50bpm Sleep; 41.5hrs (5.93hrs per night) *17


OD/LSD; 2 hour long ride on exercise bike.

Races/Time trials/LFD; 10km Bridges race 50 minutes 42.

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-yes 2 hour ride.
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-1x done-10km Bridges race.
3-Abs done?-no failed
4-cycling done-yes 120minute at times very intense ride.
5-swim done?-no failed


Comments; Something is better than nothing but really shattered disappointed just now with my Bridges 10k time, just have to get back on the horse next week...and hope I have a better race next time. Not really getting there with training although the 10k run and the 2 hour ride should ensure I don't lose too much ground, and am still well positioned to get somewhere if I can put together some good training in the coming weeks. If I do that this will have been a consolidation/easy week, which is sometimes a good thing, although I can only afford to do that every now and then. I am probably a bit weary from the 46km race on March 24th, and only getting 3.5 hours sleep before the Bridges 10k probably conributed to my negative state of mind after the wipeout of a time...So still well placed to build towards a good Perth Marathon in 2008! I did the 30th Melbourne Marathon last year, and I hope to do the 30th (and my 5th consecutive) Perth Marathon in a big PB this year.

2 hour long ride on exercise bike

Saturday 5th April AM; Cycled for 2 hours on exercise bike Heart rate 135 at end, but much higher at times, where I threw in a surge while listening to a compilation tape I did of some favourite songs for my 30th birthday back in 2004...

Had young 8 month old Jacob in high chair next to me playing with his toys for about 45 minutes of it. His toys were tied onto highchair by ribbon so when he thows them on the ground I could grab them and put them back on the chair tray table without getting off the bike every 2 minutes. My wife Kathryn was able to have some much valued baby-free time, and go and do some other things for best part of an hour. So worked well. Its the first time we have tried this, but could be a regular occurence, as its a win-win situation for all three of us...It poured with persistent rain the whole time, so better than getting my shoes wet before tomorrows Bridges 10k, where I will be wearing number 916, in my 12th consectutive Bridges fun run. the sub 45 minute plans for the 10km are still on the radar, but I am not very confident as I have not done the reps sessions I wanted to do in the last few weeks since my Matilda Bay 47minutes 47 effort...But other than that I feel ok, so maybe if I attack enough I may still pull it off...Bit of a long shot though. As long as I go under 50 preferably under 47minutes, I wont be too unhappy...
Be very disappointed if I cant go better than last years 49minutes 16 see HERE Bridges thread on Cool Running getting some traffic from Perth people this year which is good see HERE

Note;
Oh yeah I just did this blog entry while keeping young jacob occupied with toys on the floor and now I am feeding him pasta in his highchair. so today he has had lots of excitement teaching him about heavy rain,christian metal, exercise bikes, and of course a bit of pasta, good diet if he ever decided to come on training runs with me in a decade or two...:-) *LOL*...hahaha