Friday, December 29, 2006
Parking
On Christmas Eve we spent a lovely afternoon at the Botanic Park with Gary and Keith and some of their friends having a picnic. Games were also involved - cricket and petanque. Not the best day for a picnic, we were subject to an occasional spattering of half-hearted drizzle.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Tri, tri, tri again
Another Sunday, another triathlon. Ailsa, unfortunately, was unavailable for a re-match as, at the time of the race, she was 20,000 feet up and on a plane somewhere over the Tasman sea on her way to New Zealand. The re-match will have to wait for another Sunday. No doubt, at this very moment, she will be somewhere in New Zealand learning the Haka chant so she can psyche me out at the re-match.
However, there were plenty of other starters for the triathlon held on December 17. Graham, Terry and Penny, all of who swim with Kathy Heenan’s Norwood group, had entered the race. They all did the Tinman, which consisted of a 300m swim, 13km cycle and a 3km run.
I competed in the Challenge event, which was run over the same course as the November 26 race. Conditions, too, were almost identical to the previous race. The Challenge event consisted of a 600m swim, 19.5km cycle and a 4km run.
I completed the course 1 minute and 19 seconds quicker than the last triathlon. I knocked a minute off the swim, a second off the cycle and about 20 seconds off the run over the previous race. So, I’m pretty pleased.
Photos:
Top – Penny and Graham. They were both presented with blue ribbons and commemorative glasses for winning the Tinman in their respective age group.
Graham speeds along on his mountain bike
Graham pounding the pavement
The cool water provides some relief for hot and tired legs at the end of the race for Graham and me
Triathletes (?) – me, Graham & Terry
Me and Terry with Kenneth who took most of these fabo photos
At the start – Graham and Terry contemplate the swim leg
David advises while Graham and terry await the start
The start of the Tinman race
Terry on his trusty steed
Me on bike
Click on the pictures for further enlargification
Photos I found on the website of the photographer who covers the triathlons. The bottom three in this post
However, there were plenty of other starters for the triathlon held on December 17. Graham, Terry and Penny, all of who swim with Kathy Heenan’s Norwood group, had entered the race. They all did the Tinman, which consisted of a 300m swim, 13km cycle and a 3km run.
I competed in the Challenge event, which was run over the same course as the November 26 race. Conditions, too, were almost identical to the previous race. The Challenge event consisted of a 600m swim, 19.5km cycle and a 4km run.
I completed the course 1 minute and 19 seconds quicker than the last triathlon. I knocked a minute off the swim, a second off the cycle and about 20 seconds off the run over the previous race. So, I’m pretty pleased.
Photos:
Top – Penny and Graham. They were both presented with blue ribbons and commemorative glasses for winning the Tinman in their respective age group.
Graham speeds along on his mountain bike
Graham pounding the pavement
The cool water provides some relief for hot and tired legs at the end of the race for Graham and me
Triathletes (?) – me, Graham & Terry
Me and Terry with Kenneth who took most of these fabo photos
At the start – Graham and Terry contemplate the swim leg
David advises while Graham and terry await the start
The start of the Tinman race
Terry on his trusty steed
Me on bike
Click on the pictures for further enlargification
Photos I found on the website of the photographer who covers the triathlons. The bottom three in this post
Monday, December 04, 2006
Fleurs
We may be in drought but our hoya has decided to flower prolifically. Also some nice day lillies - the bright red one is a new one to us, its first season of flowering.
Exhibitionism VII
The exibition has come to a close. I sold 5 out of the 15 pieces I had on display - 6 if you count the one I sold before the exhibition - and 7 if you count the one sold today after it has closed. So, if you're interested, the pieces that are left for sale include the canvases of 'Apocalypse on Rundle',' Pegs' and 'The Red Room'. The watercolour and photos of 'Apocalypse on Rundle' are left but not the entirely photographic one. And the photo 'Chairs' is left, and that's about it. The photos are of the pictures as they appeared in the Tin Cat Cafe. I tried to avoid reflections and lens distortion and lighting problems in depicting the exhibition but that wasn't always successful. Anywho, I hope you like the pictures.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Triathlon One: Harvey versus Ailsa
The triathlon season has begun and on Sunday I completed the first Challenge triathlon at West Lakes. It consisted of a 600m swim, a 19.5km bike ride and a 4km run.
Conditions on the day were perfect sunny warm and no real breeze. Jumping in the water was only as bad, temperature wise, as our local heated pool on a cold day. After swimming off and while bumping into the rest of the field as they headed north, I thought “Why am I Doing This”. But then I just got on with it and soon the buoy marker for the end of that leg appeared and I was running up the beach heading for transition.
I was quick in the transition zone for once, even remembering where my bike was and not fumbling with stuff. Out on the road I kept the pace between 30 and 36kph but in spots there was a breeze and my speed hovered in the mid-20s.
After three 6.5km laps around the lake area it was time to go back through transition, deposit the bike back on the rack and slide into the running shoes. Again I found my place without any trouble and stumbled off.
My legs were still in riding mode and they really were not interested in changing from a revolving motion to a striding action. After about two kilometres of forcing my legs to do what I wanted they gave up a bit and I found the run a bit easier. After completing the 3km loop it was time to run the 1km lap and while puffing profusely I crossed the finishing line.
In the pool the week previously my calf muscle had cramped up on two different occasions. My legs only got a day of rest before the event and I was concerned that I’d get cramp during the race. While I was on the bike and again while I was running I felt cramp ‘tingles’ but luckily it didn’t strike.
The results were published late on Monday night. Ailsa, who I used to swim with at the Aquatic Centre and at Norwood, also competed in the triathlon on Sunday. Last year we both did a couple of races over the same distance and she always beat me by a few minutes – but by the end of the season I was catching up with her. On Sunday I caught up completely. In the swim I was 44 seconds faster than her and then I gained another 9 seconds in the ride. But on the run she clawed back my lead by 32 seconds. I finished 105th out of the field of 146 in a time of 1:09:02 while Ailsa finished 110th in a time of 1:09:25. We both compete in the 40-44 age group. I did the 600m swim in 12:40, the 19.5km ride in 36:14 and the run in 20:08.
The next triathlon is on December 17.
Click on the pictures to see them enlargified (See an online dictionary of Bushisms)
Conditions on the day were perfect sunny warm and no real breeze. Jumping in the water was only as bad, temperature wise, as our local heated pool on a cold day. After swimming off and while bumping into the rest of the field as they headed north, I thought “Why am I Doing This”. But then I just got on with it and soon the buoy marker for the end of that leg appeared and I was running up the beach heading for transition.
I was quick in the transition zone for once, even remembering where my bike was and not fumbling with stuff. Out on the road I kept the pace between 30 and 36kph but in spots there was a breeze and my speed hovered in the mid-20s.
After three 6.5km laps around the lake area it was time to go back through transition, deposit the bike back on the rack and slide into the running shoes. Again I found my place without any trouble and stumbled off.
My legs were still in riding mode and they really were not interested in changing from a revolving motion to a striding action. After about two kilometres of forcing my legs to do what I wanted they gave up a bit and I found the run a bit easier. After completing the 3km loop it was time to run the 1km lap and while puffing profusely I crossed the finishing line.
In the pool the week previously my calf muscle had cramped up on two different occasions. My legs only got a day of rest before the event and I was concerned that I’d get cramp during the race. While I was on the bike and again while I was running I felt cramp ‘tingles’ but luckily it didn’t strike.
The results were published late on Monday night. Ailsa, who I used to swim with at the Aquatic Centre and at Norwood, also competed in the triathlon on Sunday. Last year we both did a couple of races over the same distance and she always beat me by a few minutes – but by the end of the season I was catching up with her. On Sunday I caught up completely. In the swim I was 44 seconds faster than her and then I gained another 9 seconds in the ride. But on the run she clawed back my lead by 32 seconds. I finished 105th out of the field of 146 in a time of 1:09:02 while Ailsa finished 110th in a time of 1:09:25. We both compete in the 40-44 age group. I did the 600m swim in 12:40, the 19.5km ride in 36:14 and the run in 20:08.
The next triathlon is on December 17.
Click on the pictures to see them enlargified (See an online dictionary of Bushisms)
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