The 'Run 4 Vision Ultimatum'

For all the Matt Damon fans and movie buffs – here's a special treat and good reason to support Run 4 Vision and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Join me for the premier of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and a raffle on Thursday, 30th August at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick. Please check out http://www.run4vision.com/special.php to pre-order your tickets. There's prizes to win, so bring your friends and family and win.

See you at the movies!

Lazy Week - Great Finish!

Looks like my hard work is paying off – after the big last week, I recovered from a lingering cold the first 3 days and only ran 9 km on Thursday before resting for today's Marathon.

4 am wake-up call, and zooming out to Blacktown Olympic Park on my Scooter in freezing conditions!
Race started at 6.30 am in Prestons, and off we went for 42 km along the M7 on the cycle path back to Blacktown.
Had a great start with the first 10 km in under 50 min. Ran well wrapped up in a winter jacket as it was bloody freezing out West. But it helped ,and after I made an effort to slow down, eat and drink regularly, I was ready for a great finish – my last 5 km in 25 min sprinting into the Olympic Park Stadium in Blacktown.

Not my fastest race - 3.47hrs - but by far my best! Never did I hit the wall and I felt like 'flying' past all those other runners the last 10 km. No sore legs and feeling great :)

Now it is building up and clock some more kms every week to be well prepared for my longest race yet – the 100 km Glasshouse Mountains Trail Run in 6 weeks time. http://www.glasshousetrails.com/

"If you want to win something ....

... run the 100 meters. If you want to experience another life, run a marathon."
(Emil Zátopek)

I am slowly getting there - last week I went the first time over 100 km. Two great, long runs on the weekend. Clovelly to Hurstville Grove on Sunday, got lost at the end in all those hills but did a good 4 hrs and 40+km.
Must have caught a little cold during the run, and I rested the last two days. Will take it a bit easy this week and then on Sunday we see how I go on the M7 Marathon.

Signed up for another big one: the Great North Walk 100 miles in November!
http://terrigaltrotters.com.au/GNW100s_Home-Page.htm
Looks like some great preparation for the Marathon des Sables, I thought :-)

It was also time to fork out the first part of the registration fee for the Marathon des Sables ... at least the exchange rate to the US$ made it a little bit easier to part with the money.

Cool Running

Gee, last week was a bloody cold one! Glad I have the gym close by. Happy to run most of my KMs on the treadmill at Elix'r at the moment. However, I still managed two longer runs on the weekend along the coast. 85km all together.
Thanks to a running buddy who did the MdS in 2006 ('Virtual' from CoolRunning forum (www.coolrunning.com.au/forums), I was able to test my first backpack on a run. One of the more popular models used in the Marathon des Sables, but not for me. Even with the cool 10 degrees last Sunday, I could feel that I would be far too hot and restricted with this kind of backpack in the desert. Did not feel comfortable with a small bag in front (4 l) and a backpack on the back (19 l). So back to researching other models this week.

Morocco, here we come....

Our flights are booked and confirmed. From Sydney via Dubai to Casablanca! Going a week prior the race to get used to the place.
Went to the physio to get my knee checked - only bruises, so problem can be solved with ice and some patience.
Easier week running - 65 km all together. My running buddy Denis is back from Ireland, and those few extra Guiness over there made him a bit slower - so now I can keep up with him, easy-peasy ... we made the 2 long weekend runs without getting wet on Sunday, which was nice for a change. Next goal in 3 weeks - the M7 Marathon.
http://www.citiesmarathon.com.au/

10% done - 90% to go!

Had a mixed week. 100 km in all, good long runs on the weekend, even though I injured my knee playing indoor soccer on Wednesday. My advise: keep away from those kind-of-fun-tournaments! Too many wannabe Vidukas trying to impress. Going to see the physio this week to make sure it is not too serious. Proud to announce that 10% of my fundraising goal has been reached, and myself and The Fred Hollows Foundation are very grateful to all the generous donors. Thank you all!
Please keep Thursday, 30th August evening free and mark in your diary. Watch this space for more info soon!