House Warming

Yesterday I was fortunate to be invited to a running friend's house warming run and barbecue.
David has set up home in Brooklyn, Wellington at the foot of the Wind Turbine. This was the starting point for the 2:30 run that Dave had invited Wellington Harrier and Wellington Marathon Clinic runners to.

It was a sunny day with the traditional Wellington breeze accentuated by the elevation of where Dave now calls home.

There was a gentle start to proceedings as runners milled and discussed latest training methods.

The run started downhill with stops for re-grouping as we ran on some lovely tracks towards the flat outskirts of central Wellington.

After a brief time of easy relaxed running it was time to head up a lengthy track that would eventually take us up to the wind turbine. It was a pleasant run as we took in some beautiful views of Wellington Harbour and the central city.

There was the occasonal runner who got a bit frisky on some of the hillier sections of the track.

Having taken in the Wind Turbine we headed back down to Dave's place where a hot shower awaited us and some extremely welcome cold refreshments and food.

The host showing how it should be done

It was a fabulous afternoon and evening mixing with other runners and some of Dave's work colleagues.

Thank you Dave for being a wonderful welcoming host at your House Warming!

A Running Mate's 50th

Having been there a couple of years ago myself I felt I should offer a running mate commiserations on having reached this less than honourable milestone.

Although getting older for most has rather negative connotations for the runner it takes on special significance. Every 5 years we are reborn into a new racing age category where we no longer have to worry about younger and faster runners. Our prime focus is beating those in our age group and it's an extra bonus if we manage to take out some younger runners in the process.

Liam Healey has been a stalwart for Wellington Harriers and indeed Wellington Province for several decades and actually began competing when he was a young fella. He has represented the province numerously and won regional and national medals. Liam has also competed admirably at an international level. I had the good fortune of running with him at the Mt Kinabalu Climbathon in the 90's which was a run that took us from 2000 metres [over 1 mile] altitude up to 4000 metres [2 and a half miles] and back down. A particularly gruelling event. Such is the competitive nature of Liam that he needed oxygen at the finish line having completely spent himself.

Anyway back to the party. I felt priveleged to be invited to this auspicious occasion and celebrate his joining my age group. I know I will have to remain vigilant in my preparations for next year's harriers as I'm sure there will be even more friendly rivalry between us. Liam, welcome to the 50's club. Roll on the National Road Relays in Nelson 2012!

Here are some of the highlights of Saturday evening.

Birthday Boy

Super Characters

This food is sure good

This is doing nothing for my waist line



Time for some fireworks





Happy Birthday to you



Being in a Club

Some of the most important decisions I've made in my life have been joining clubs.

When I was of high school years I didn't have a lot of friends and as a result spent a lot of time by myself and with my family.

I discovered an interest in playing chess during those years and due to a somewhat empty social calendar decided to join the Otago Chess Club who met on a Friday night. With math being one of my favourite subjects I found that I easily adapted to a game that required logical thinking and great reserves of patience.

On leaving school I joined up with Caversham Harriers in Dunedin. My love for running was firmly cemented with being with other like minded people and the opportunities to test out whatever athletic prowess that had been awaiting release.

When I was on my big travelling excursion overseas I hooked up with a running group in Atlanta where I established contacts with the local runners. One of these guys was a black American who I have fond memories of driving around with in his red corvette and meeting his lovely family.

On arrival in London and not knowing anyone I made the best decision possible to contact a running club that I saw advertised on a community message board. That contact I made ended up with my getting a job and becoming a member of a fantastic running group called Thames Valley Harriers. What I loved about being in this club was that I got to meet a different social network than I would have if I had just remained a kiwi travelling overseas. A lot of kiwis and Australians often predominately hang out with others of their like. I found TVH an extremely friendly, supportive and encouraging club to be part of. I also was looked up to because I began to compete at a high level where I gained places in some races and actually won the prestigious Welwyn Garden City Half Marathon in 96 degree temperature.

In more recent times I have been a member of Olympic Harriers, Wellington when I first moved up north. On starting school at Waikanae I joined the Kapiti Harriers. Our local club was fantastic for our girls growing up as they got to meet up with other children and had opportunities to compete locally and regionally.

More recently and for quite a few years now I have been a member of Wellington Harriers. I joined this club because it has a strong masters running section and I have had a lot of success competing with them. They are also a great bunch of guys and contact with them has lifted my social calendar dramatically although distance sometimes hampers my involvement in their arranged activities. However they keep me informed and I try to get to as many gatherings as possible.

This Saturday one of the club's most successful runners, Liam Healey is celebrating his 50th birthday party. I am looking forward to catching up with him and other members of the Masters team there. We will be talking up past victories and watching some highlight packages of former glory days.

Apologies to those who have seen this photo before. It is a recent photo of the Wellington Harriers Masters group on a Saturday summer run along Waikanae Beach.

On my mind

I participate in this feature which I found here

 This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, come back here and add a comment below, with a link to your blog.

This is on my mind:

Wellington Harriers have resumed their summer runs. The runs are hosted mainly in Wellington but a few also on the Kapiti Coast. These runs are held from people's homes and are followed by food and drinks. They help bridge the gap between harrier seasons that run from March to October.

I really enjoy these running occasions as it's a chance to socialise with other members in different locations and run over different tracks.

Running along Wikanae Beach last Saturday

Accepting Injustices

A bit of a mouthful that can leave a bitter taste. Quite frankly life sometimes just isn't fair. Due to work commitments my planned Sunday 100k ride became a steady 10k run. Just enough time to ponder over my day's blog entry. I found myself reliving the disappointments of yesterday that were still bubbling away. Having won 3 trophies last year and having run even better this year, I excitedly drove to Wellington to my harrier club's prize giving to collect the 2 cups that I believed had my name on them. However to my horror, due to a technical stuff up, I left empty handed as they were mistakingly awarded and handed to my rivals. Although I had no silverware to show for my efforts this year, I left feeling proud of what I had achieved in competition as the trophy holders sheepishly departed for home knowing injustices had been done. Though the cups had been taken from under my nose the moral victories remained.

Not yet over the hill

What an exciting race at Hunua Relay, Auckland last weekend! My 50 + team, Wellington Harriers collected the National Silver in a tight finish! I had the second fastest lap on the hilly lap3. Our 4 minute lead over the 3rd placed team with 2 laps to go of the 68k relay was down to 20 seconds with 500 metres to go! Our anchor man gritted his teeth and just hung on! All credit to our boys as several of the team hadn't won national medals before! Looking forward to more biking now the Harrier season is over!