Lately . . .

The year is speeding by. It's a cliche but "Where has the year gone?" I've been asked to design Christmas stuff at work . . .

I have another exhibition coming up. Called 'Views, it will be held at the Rosemount Estate Cellar Door in McLaren Vale - locals will be more familiar with it's old name - Seaview. The exhibition is an opportunity to hang works from the past two years and give them another airing. You're sure to see something new though - I don't think anyone has been to all my exhibitions (Oh, except David and he's even missed one opening!).

Click on the pictures to see them at a larger size.


The exhibition poster.

Something new! We're both doing yoga. Our friend Effy Kleanthi, who opened my 'Detours' and 'Detours Revisited' exhibitions invited us along to a couple of sessions. David went first and I then went along with him. It's Bikram yoga which is practiced in 40 degree heat (or up to that temperature). The heat means you sweat a lot but it also protects you from injuries. I reckon the sessions are as hard to do as a half triathlon - and they take longer, one and a half hours! It's amazing stuff. I've been inspired by it.


Some people are just unteachable and just never do the right thing . . .

We recently went on a car run through the Adelaide Hills. What was special about this run was that we were privileged to do it in our friend Malcolm's 1948 Wolseley. A beautiful car, David and I had each had a turn in the front and back seats. It's spacious up the back, enough room to cross your legs! Up the front its a bit squishier but great fun to be in. And its very quiet!

Activities for the day included a trip to Melba's chocolate factory, Udder Delights cheeses, the Birdwood wine and cheese shop and a lunch at the Blumberg Hotel. The pub does a good steak.


The Wolseley lost some water but only because it was parked on a slope.


The view from the back seat. In sepia - as everything was in 1948 I'm reliably told . . .

I was in two exhibitions for the South Australian Living Artist Festival. I had two pictures up at the Hahndorf Academy. both were originally show at the Tin Cat Cafe earlier this year. I had another picture in an exhibition at the Austral Hotel in the SA Central Flickr group's show.


The show at the Hahndorf Academy for the South Australian Living Artist Festival


The picture I put in for the exhibition at the Austral Hotel, Rundle Street in the city.

As usual David has been busy in the kitchen. His most recent enthusiasm has been Japanese cooking. The source for this enthusiasm was a trip to a wonderful Japanese restaurant when we were in Broome and a new Japanese cookbook which I brought home from work.


Involtini of eggplant (aubergine) filled with ricotta and green olive and served with a tomato and roast capsicum sauce.


The occasional tea towel gets incinerated too.

After about three weeks of physiotherapy, Ned the guy I went to see, fixed up my initial complaint, the knee ache I felt when riding my bike. With that gone I thought I was home free. Wrong. I then went for a run. After a kilometre or so I felt great shin pain and then had to hobble to a stop. It passed and I could run for a while longer but then the same thing would happen. Now, with three months more physio I think I have the problem sort of under control. All I need to do is stretch my legs before I run and if I feel like the pain is coming on again I stop and stretch again. The stretches have to be extreme and prolonged to be of any effect though. I suspect, when triathlon season starts again, I'll be the only one who stops to stretch mid-way though the run leg of a competition! I'm hoping the yoga will help too!


My running gear - can't run without music, mobile phone and money for emergencies and the house keys.

We have a self storage locked at Norwood and recently we decided to clean it out as we couldn't fit anything more into it and it was needed to safely store my unsold artwork. The locker was piled up a metre high right from the front door. It took two Saturday afternoons to sort it out. Oxfam will be receiving 20 boxes of books, mostly novels. At the same time we went through our clothing - we removed what I though must have been close to 1 and a half cubic metres of clothes - it went to the Salvos. I swear our wardrobe sighed with relief.


One of our friends said 'books breed when you're not looking'. I think he must be right. Above, some of the boxes of books awaiting a new home.

The Runaround - 25km, June 24, 2007

I have legs. I know this because I have been feeling them ever since I completed the 25km run I competed in on Sunday. Feeling them, as in an ever-present ache. It's not painful as such, just inconvenient and creaky. A lack of preparation is most likely the cause of my predicament. So, if I want a pain free aftermath to the 30km run to be held in about a month's time that I intend to run in, I had better get out on the road and put in the kilometres.

I finished the 25km in 2 hours 20. That's pretty slow but I finished.



The start. At 8am. Cold



The other runners



David discovered the witches hats glow in the early morning light



Bridget showing her sensational form



Me running. Watching the minutes speed away and contemplating the kilometres left to go

*** Official results. I did the 25km in 2 hours 20 and 19 seconds. I ran each kilometre at an average of 5.676 minutes or at an average of 10.71km per hour. Hmmmmmmm . . .

An Anthropological Study

Let’s look at a typical suburban couple’s behaviour on a Saturday in Adelaide.

We’ll make a random selection, Google Map like. First we see the whole metro area of Adelaide then we zoom in, with a click. We have the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. Another click and another zoom. Now we can see Portrush Road and the fair suburb of Glenunga. Another click and we see a block of 70s units. Let’s choose one and we’ll follow the inhabitants for a while to see what they’re up to. How about Unit 8? The residents call it ‘Chateau Glenunga’ (how pretentious!). Consider our look at life there as an anthropological study.

8am - Nothing’s stirring - both asleep. Oh no, a trip to the toilet.

9am - Not much movement at all.

10am - Still nothing’s stirring.

11am - Ah, here we go. They’re up. Subject 1 (white, male, 42, named Harvey) is making coffee in the kitchen. Subject 2 (white, male, 44, named David) is sitting on the couch reading a book on 1950s and 60s architecture and decor. They drink the coffee - Kenyan 3/4 roast as a latte.

Noon - They’ve gone their separate ways. Subject 2 appears to be cleaning the tiniest spots of mould off the bathroom wall. Meanwhile Subject 1 has gathered everything he needs to go for a run and has headed outdoors. He has headed north on Portrush and has then, via the Blockbuster car park jogged off into the back streets.

1pm - Subject 2 has put some washing on. He appears also to be getting ready to go out. Subject 1 is now at the linear park near north Adelaide heading towards Bundy’s Road. His heart rate (he’s got a monitor on, is at 140 beats per minute).

2pm - Subject 2 has headed to the carport and has headed off down Portrush and then turned onto Greenhill Road heading west. By a serendipitous coincidence he sees Subject 1 as he runs up Greenhill Road in an easterly direction. They wave. Subject 1’s heart rate is now at 150 bets per minute. It will top out at 160 as he heads up hill towards home.

3pm - Subject 1 has had a shower, puts some washing in the dryer and is now taking photos of a few items around the ‘Chateau’. Subject 2 is in Ikea, near the airport. He’s looking intently at homewares. His Ikea bag has just a few items in it at this stage.

4pm - Subject 1 is on the computer. He’s failing to get it to connect to the internet and the email is also down. He downloads the photos from his camera, sizes and manipulates them in Photoshop and also continues with the clothes washing. Subject 2 has left Ikea and has visited several other stores.

5pm - Subject 2 is driving back towards the ‘Chateau’. Subject 1 has a drink of a new bevarage bought a couple weeks back that is yet untried. It is Blue Tongue Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Subject 1 is surprised to discover it tastes more like beer than non-alcoholic ginger beer. Or is the suragy biscuit (baked by Subject 1’s mother) he ate before tasting the ginger beer interfering with his palate?

6pm - Subject 2 returns with his day’s ‘hunting and gathering’ spoils. Subject 1 initially disapproves of the amount bought but then enthusiastically inspects the ‘catch’.

7pm - Subject 1 & 2 get in their car and head towards another suburban couple’s home for a dinner party.

This is where we leave our subjects for the time being. I’m not sure you can conclude much from a reporting of a single day’s events. Perhaps we’ll have to visit the ‘Chateau’ again some time.

Pictures - Elargification happens upon clickification!!

Here's what he bought . . .


Frames and tape and mats and backing board and stuff ready for framing work to go in the exhibition


The brand of ginger beer with decorative background


David has been busy making his own stock for cooking - chicken, veal and pork. He has also been making slow-roasted capsicums which he places in oil

Running Performance Analysis

The simple maths involved in this took me ages! Doh!

The Run Around II

A couple of weeks ago I went running and as usual I listened to music via an iPod, - my relatively new iPod Shuffle, the one that’s about the size of two 50cent pieces put together. I had the iPod clipped onto my running shorts and I was also wearing headphones. After my run I ripped off the headphones and poped them away as I sweated my way indoors looking for a drink.



I then decided to have a shower, so I tossed everything I was wearing into the dirty wash basket.

A few days later I took a load of washing out to the line to dry. It was a load that contained my running shorts. I pegged the shorts on the line only to see that my iPod was still clipped onto its waistband.

It was then that I realised my iPod had been through the wash, deep rinse, spin rinse and spin cycles.

With great trepidation I showed David the drowned iPod and told him what had happened to it. After alluding to my intelligence, negatively, he suggested we let it dry out for a while.

That night we attempted iPod resuscitation. The diminutive machine was duly turned on. It failed to work. David then decided to see if it would re-initialise on the computer.

He took it upstairs to perform the necessary procedure. I waited downstairs pacing nervously.

After a short quiet period he walked down the stairs and announced that the operation had been a success and that my iPod had returned to functioning order. It was alive.

Although I wouldn’t suggest any of you put your iPod in the wash, it didn’t seem to harm mine. Even so, it’s not going in there again any time soon - not without a floatation aid anyway.

All this is in preface to the major theme of today’s story, which is yesterday’s race, in which I wore Lazarus the Shuffle. Lazarus worked fine, and I did better than I expected too.

The race was a half marathon – 21km. It’s the longest running race I’ve taken part in. It started at Athelstone Primary School in the Adelaide foothills. The route took in most of the eastern portion of the linear park next to the River Torrens. It then took us through the city and to the Brewery corner on Port Road and then back into the city to finish at Pinky Flat just behind Adelaide Oval. See maps for route outline. Click on them and they get bigger!





Apart from Lazarus the iPod I was also wearing my trusty heart rate monitor, which mysteriously doesn’t work in the car - it can't pick up my heart rate. During training runs I usually try to keep my heart rate down to 130 to 140 – doing this is supposed build up fitness. Running at a rate higher than this level all the time is meant to be counter-productive.

David dropped me off at the race and took a few photos. We set off at 8am. Great conditions, coolish (about 16 degrees or so) with no breeze. I put myself in the middle of the pack and tried to keep pace with people that looked like they might run at the same pace I do. Within a few kilometres my heart rate was up to 140. I kept it there for a while but decided I had the fitness to go out to 150 for the rest of the race. However, even slight inclines and hills bumped it up to 160.

At each water stop I took a glug of glucose syrup for energy, which really helped. By the 10km mark my pulse rate was up to an average of 160 but I was running a bit faster and feeling pretty good. With only two kilometres to go to the finish, there were markers every kilometre, I decided to really pick up the pace - stride out and speed up. At one point my heart rate hit 177 and I backed off. I suspect my peak heart rate is just a few beats per minute further on from there!

The run to the line was mainly downhill so I put on a bit of a sprint towards the finish and ran through the finish line. I had completed the 21km run in 1 hour and 50 minutes according to my watch. I was hoping for less than two hours, so I was very happy with the time. I had told David I’d take two hours so he didn’t arrive in time to see me finish.

I still want to see what the official time will be as, by my watch (which is wrong), we set off several minutes before 8am.

A couple of people I know did the race - Gavin from JT Cycles who sold me my bike and Bridget Murphy-O’Neil a former Murray Bridge-ite.

Click on the pictures to see an enlarged version.

Fresh(ish) and ready to go.



The start. These are the fast people. See me? No. That's because I'm back with the slow/slower people.



Here I am. Only 21.1km to go.



The end. Hot, sweaty but fine and very pleased with the time.




Pinky Flat, where the finish line was, is home to a number of black swans - ones that don't mind a gentle pat.



From the SA Road Runners Club website, May 9

The Greenbelt Half Marathon and 10 km last Sunday was held on a lovely morning and was very well attended. Ian Roberts reports there were some 379 finishers with the majority, 270 plus, entered in the half marathon. Hoping for results and a race report shortly.

Official Results

I didn't do as well as I thought. I completed the 21.1km in 1 hour 55 and 37 seconds (169th). That's 5 minutes more than I thought. Perhaps I should learn how to use the timer properly on my heart rate monitor. It's still under two hours, so my goal was achieved. Of the people I know, Gavin Nugent frm JT Cycles did it in 1.36.16 (57th); Lorraine Tyler, a one time member of our swimming group did it in 1.53.00 (152nd) and Bridget Murphy-O'Neil completed the course in 1.49.54 (124th).

Results for The Run Around

The results of the run I took part in on Sunday have arrived. I completed the 10km in 52 minutes 52 seconds. I was placed 39th out of the 86 that completed the event.

I can do better.

The Run Around

I completed a 10km run at Carisbrooke Reserve with the South Australian Road Runners Club on Sunday.

Click on the maps for the whole story. The first map is of commentary on the first lap of the run and on the second map there is a full and frank discussion about bias in the media. Actually, the second map has a discussion of the second lap and how I stop running after the 10km. Quite the surprise ending there.

Clickify. Enlargification etc . . .

City to Bay Result

I completed the City to Bay Fun Run in a time of 1:07:51. I came in at 3451 but there are multiples at each time so I'd have no idea of the actual placing. The results list 7425 runners. Mr Stephen Provis came last in a time of 2:56:14. In contrast the winner, Mr Martin Dent ran the 12km in 0:35:05.

Below is a scan of the race results as publised in one of Mr Murdoch's finest journals, The Advertiser and a picture of me about to cross the finishing line from that most august of journal's website. I'm the one circled. As I've stated in a previous entry - I'm less fuzzy in real life.

City to Bay Fun Run

Today I completed my first ever City to Bay Fun Run. It's a 12km event that starts in the city next to the Festival Centre and finishes at Colley Reserve in Glenelg on the coast. 24,000 people took part - by far the largest race I've ever been a part of.

I almost didn't end up as a starter.

About a month back I entered and received my number, sure that nothing would go wrong. Then David got a flu-like virus. 'Eeek', I thought. But is was three weeks from the race. I stayed well up until about two weeks ago, then I started to feel unwell too. I stopped all exercising. I had already completed four 12.5km runs and tried to think 'well thoughts'. It didn't work. I felt crap but I didn't get the fluey thing as bad as David.

And the night before the race we went out to a special dinner at our favourite restaurant, the Tin Cat Cafe in Kent Town. I didn't have any alcohol but it was a late night with a lot of food - about 20 courses, all canape-sized. Great food. But we didn't get home until midnight and I needed to get up at 6.30am to get to the 7.30am assembly. Of course, the food kept me awake. So, I think I ran it on five and a half hours sleep and with a very mild case of whatever that current virus is that's going around.

Next year I plan not to get sick prior to the event.

I don't know what time I completed the event in - but it should be about an hour and 10 minutes or less. All the times will be published in the local daily paper on Tuesday. I might even be able to download footage of me crossing the line too. I will keep you posted.

The pictures: Me before the start; the race begins; after escaping the finishing line chaos.