Gotcha ! Not running. Still walking. **groan** The foot is feeling better than yesterday but still feels like its in a very vulnerable state. One error in judgement could set me back a week or two easily. I fantasized briefly this morning about going for a run maybe Sunday. I'm thinking now that would be dumb, dumb and dumber. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The judge says to a double-homicide defendant "You're charged with beating your wife to death with a hammer." A voice at the back of the courtroom yells out, "You bastard!" The judge says, "You're also charged with beating your mother-in-law to death with a hammer." The voice in the back of the courtroom yells out, "You God-damned bastard!" The judge stops, and says to the guy in the back of the courtroom, "SIr, I can understand your anger and frustration at this crime. But no more outbursts from you, or I'll charge you with contempt. Is that a problem?" The guy in the back of the court stands up and says, "For fifteen years, I've lived next door to that bastard, and every time I asked to borrow a hammer, he said he didn't have one." Mood: ---> :D

Whilst listening to morning radio talk about Bob Carr's departure, I walked from home down to Edgecliff Station. When I arrived the friendly announcer advised that the next train was cancelled. As was the one after that. Instead of waiting 25mins for the next train, I walked the rest of the way into the city. Thanks for stuffing up our infrastructure Bob. Anyway, a 75 min walk on the foot this morning showed me a few things. Firstly, that I remain generally pain free, but not without a gentle reminder every now and then that I should walk with even weight distribution to avoid a little "ping". Secondly, that the slight niggle is sufficient evidence that I should be taking it very, very easy over the next few weeks. Can't really see me running for another week or so... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Declaration of Revocation by John Cleese To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a Minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: 1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium." Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour'; skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise." You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to re-spell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up “vocabulary." Using the same thirty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "uhh", "like", and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up "interspersed." There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary, then you won't have to use bad language as often. 2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize." 3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents --- Scottish dramas such as "Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon." If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire. 4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as "Men Behaving Badly" or "Red Dwarf" will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness. 5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through. 6. You should stop playing American "football." There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American "football" is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called "rounders," which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs. 7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called "Indecisive Day." 9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap, and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call 'French fries' are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers. 11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself. 12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling "beer" is not actually beer at all, it is lager . From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." The substances formerly known as "American Beer" will henceforth be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine." This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in the Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion. 13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or "gasoline," as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon -- get used to it). 14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. 15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy. 16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776). Thank you for your co-operation. Mood: ---> :)

This is my post on CoolRunning today. Desperately seeking some wisdom.... The weird thing is that my foot feels amazingly good. I'm very sceptical and almost waiting for the drug to wear off or something. Its all very odd to have a troublesome injury one day and no problem the next. CoolRunning Messageboards: bursitis third metatarsal head: "Like Gadis, I have capsulitis in the 2nd metatarsal head. My Sports Physician injected the joint with cortisone yesterday. From that instant all pain subsided and to date, remains that way. I have seen my Pod who has adjusted my orthitics aimed at taking pressure of that area. My question is when and how I should resume training ? I have not run since 2/7/05 and prior to that my base was April 96km, May 113km and June 97km with plenty of longish runs and the SMH Half in May as well. Do I need to walk then build to walk/run at first or can I just jump into the deep end ? Do I need to follow the 10% rule strictly (and hence miss the C2S)?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Bad) Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three women are having lunch, discussing their husbands. The first says, "My husband is cheating on me, I just know it. I found a pair of panties in his jacket pocket, and they weren't mine!" The second says, "My husband is cheating on me, I just know it too. I found a condom in the Bastard's wallet, so I poked it full of holes with my sewing needle!" The third woman fainted. Mood: ---> :)

I saw Sports Doc Tom this afternoon. He decided that a cortisone injection into the joint was the way to go. He slid the needle right inside the joint and I felt the joint fill up. Pretty gross really. Whilst I walked back to the office pain free, that was because the cortisone injection contains a local anesthetic. So we won't count our chickens right now. Mood: ---> :|

Well the first run for three weeks lasted all of 5 mins. No good, no significant improvement. Walked home. Don't know what to do really. Cortisone injection by the Sports Doc maybe. We see. Mood: ---> :x

I've been walking from home to Edgecliff Station and back each day (30 mins each way) and am feeling good in the foot region. Other than that I feel like an unfit slob. Whilst I have been spinning and now walking over the last few weeks, I still feel that I have lost a heap of condition. *groan* I am confident that I will get through my light run on the grass on Sunday with no problems. All I need to do now is draft a program for the weeks leading up to the C2S that will ease me back into running and try and get some of that lost fitness back. Having said that, I am not committed 100% to run the race. If I'm not ready or am feeling any niggles in the foot - I won't run. Simple as that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q: Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac? A: He would lay awake at night wondering if there really was a dog. Mood: ---> :|

This morning was my first decent walk. Instead of walking to Bondi Junction station which is about 7 mins, I walked to Edgecliff station. This took me 30 mins exactly. No pain in the foot, so its all good. I will do the same tomorrow morning and if I'm feeling OK, may do the reverse on the way home. If I'm feeling good by the weekend, I'll probably do a light 15/20 mins run on the grass on Sunday morning. As everyone keeps drumming into me (thanks Bloggers!), I wont try and do anything silly and do too much too soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Doctor: "I've got very bad news - you've got Cancer AND Alzheimers" Elderly Patient: "Well, at least I don't have Cancer ! " Mood: ---> :)

I saw Doc Tom this morning with my x-rays and it seems that he was wrong with the stress fracture diagnosis. There was no evidence of any break in the bone. His diagnosis is now in line with Andy the Pods: capsulitis. Score: Andy the Pod 1, Doc Tom 0. :) So its inflamation of the joint basically. I am to start back on anti-inflamatories and can go for a walk tonight ! If all goes well, I can run in a week. Of course I still have to deal with the mechanical cause of the problem. Andy the Pod has adjusted my orthotics last week to take pressure off the forefoot around the second toe. So we'll see how that goes. Maybe, just maybe, I can do the C2S and Blackmores afterall !?!? Ha ! :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An old man was on his death bed. He wanted badly to take some of his money with him. He called his priest, his doctor and his lawyer to his bedside. "Here's $30,000 cash to be held by each of you. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take all my money with me." At the funeral, each man put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the priest suddenly broke into tears and confessed, "I had only put $20,000 into the envelope because I needed $10,000 for a new baptistery." "Well, since we're confiding in each other," said the doctor, "I only put $10,000 in the envelope because we needed a new machine at the hospital which cost $20,000." The lawyer was aghast. "I'm ashamed of both of you," he exclaimed. "I want it known that when I put my envelope in that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000." Mood: ---> :D

I managed to spin twice over the weekend. On Saturday morning I did 45mins of intervals and on Sunday I did a LSD of 75mins at a moderate pace. I guess that was my Sunday long run. Pretty boring to tell the truth. Rather than feeling like I'd had a good workout - I just got a sore butt. How does Lance Armstrong and Co. ride for hours and hours and hours ? Sorbothane bike seat ? My foot doesn't hurt walking or even standing on tippee toes anymore. Four more weeks of this and I think I'll go craaaazy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cool things about being a Man 1- Your ass is never a factor in a job interview. 2- Your orgasms are real. Always. 3- Your last name stays put. 4- The garage is all yours. 5- Wedding plans take care of themselves. 6- You never feel compelled to stop a friend from getting laid. 7- Car mechanics tell you the truth. 8- You don't give a rat's ass if someone notices your new haircut. 9- Hot wax never comes near your pubic area. 10- Same work, more pay. 11- Wrinkles add character, as does grey hair. 12- You don't have to leave the room to make emergency crotch adjustments. 13- Wedding dress $2,000.00; Tux rental $100.00 14- If you retain water, it's in a fuel belt 15- People never glance at your chest when you're talking to them. 16- New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. 17- One mood, all the damn time. 18- Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds. 19- A five-day vacation requires only 1 suitcase. 20- You can open all your own jars. 21- You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. 22- Your underwear is $20.00 for a three-pack. 23- If you are 34 and single, nobody notices. 24- You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger's seat. 25- Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. 26- You can quietly watch a game with your buddy for hours without ever thinking "he must be mad at me". 27- No maxi-pads.' 28- If another guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you just might become lifelong friends. 29- You are not expected to know the names of more than five colors. 30- You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. 31- You are unable to see wrinkles in clothes. 32- The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. 33- Your belly usually hides your big hips 34- One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons. 35- You can "do" your nails with a pocketknife. 36- Christmas shopping can be accomplished for 25 relatives, on December 24th, in minutes. 37- The world is your urinal. Mood: ---> :)

I jumped on the static bike (cool name for exercise bike apparently) last night and did 60 mins of reps. That is 1 min easy (dial at 12 o'clock) then 1 min hard (cranked up to 3 o'clock). I picked up this session from a tri mag in Andy the Pod's Rooms. I don’t know what the benefit of it is but after an hour I looked as if I had a bucket of water poured over me. Has be good for you then, right ? I'm still walking pain free but sense that I have an overall weakness in the left foot. I guess that would be expected at the moment but I notice that when walking that my right foot strike is far more dominant than the left. I'm thinking of going to see Larry the Physio at the end of next week. Maybe Larry can give me a set of exercises to strengthen the ligaments and/or muscles down that way. Something needs to be done as getting both shin splints and a stress fracture in the left leg only is no coincidence. There must be a muscular/skeletal imbalance or something. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two women friends had gone out for a Girls Night Out, and had been decidedly over-enthusiastic on the cocktails. Incredibly pissed and walking home they suddenly realised they both needed to pee. They were very near a cemetery and one of them suggested they do their business behind a headstone or something. The first woman had nothing to wipe with so she took off her panties, used them and threw them away. Her friend however was wearing an expensive underwear set and didn't want to ruin hers, but was lucky enough to salvage a large ribbon from a wreath that was on a grave and proceeded to wipe herself with it. After finishing, they made their way home. The next day the first woman's very worried husband phones the other husband and said, "These damn girls nights out have got to stop. My wife came home last night without her panties." "That's nothing," said the other. "Mine came back with a card stuck in the crack of her butt that said, 'From the boys at the Fire Station. We'll never forget you!' Mood: ---> :)

24 on Ch7 | Big packet of CC's - PB Well it was my night off ! Yes, well I'll put that packet of CC's down to post-stress-fracture-diagnosis-syndrome. Um, that losing weight thing will have to start today I guess. :) I had my x-rays done yesterday morning and they will be delivered to Doc Tom late today. So the first opportunity I can see him again is Tuesday. No real hurry anyway. I'm walking now without a limp and sense that I'm on the mend. I must be very careful not to get too complacent with this injury. I'm sure that if I break into a sprint to catch a train I could potentially undo a week or two of healing. Yes CJ, I'm afraid the bad jokes will just keep coming until I'm running again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: "My friend is in a bad way. I think he might be dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?" Mood: ---> :)

Gee thanks to all my fellow Bloggers for your kind thoughts and encouragement. I'm sure that the next month or two will fly past quickly. I'm committed to keeping fit and have even set a goal of loosing 2 kgs over the next 6 weeks. The way I see it, if I don’t consciously aim to lose weight, I'll probably put some on. So what does a non-runner blog about in a run blog ? His inner most thoughts on the running world ? Nah .... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joke of the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jose arrives at the Mexican border on his bike with 2 huge bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and asks: "What's in the bags?" "Senior, It's only sand." replies Jose. "Sand??? Well, we'll just see about that - get off the bike!" The guard takes the bags, rips them open, empties them out and finds nothing in them...except sand. Detaining Jose overnight, the sand is analysed, but only to discover it is in fact simply sand. Jose is released, the sand is put into new bags and placed on Jose's shoulders, and he is let across the border. Next day, same thing happens. The guard asks: "What you got there?" "Sand," says Jose. A thorough examination of the bags again shows there to be nothing but sand, and subsequently Jose is allowed to ride across the border. For a whole year this continues until one day Jose doesn't show up, and the guard discovers him in a Cantina in Mexico. "Hey, Bud," says the guard, "I know you're smuggling something. For a year it's driven me crazy. It's all I can think about... I can't get sleep, the kids are getting neglected...heck, even the dog senses I'm beginning to lose it! Between you and me, just what are you smuggling?" Jose sips his beer, smiles and replies: "Bicycles..." Mood: ---> :)

I saw Doc Tom this morning and whilst he wants an x-ray and possibly an MRI, he thinks its a stress fracture of the second metatarsal. I'll get an x-ray in the morning and see him again on Thursday. I'm shattered. Thats crap news for me. After my solid 10km PB last week I was so looking forward to the C2S and Blackmores Half. Bugger. The cause ? Doc Tom reckons that whilst I was (correctly) sticking to the grass in all of my training from January to April this year because of shin splints, I didn't have an adequate base (on road) for the half marathon in May. So result of the constant pounding for 21kms around the city streets on bones that just weren't up to the task - crack ! I seems that the 10% rule just wasn't enough. Looks like I will need to take 6-8 weeks off and then start back in a walk/run routine until I can build my base up again. So looks like I'm a cross trainer for the next 2 months. Double bugger. Mood: ---> :(

With only a marginal improvement in the foot pain, I've taken Andy the Pod's advice and booked to see Tom the Sports Doc on Tuesday morning. Its near on 7 days since the Striders Race and I'm still walking (read: limping) with mild pain and dont think I've really improved much since Monday or Tuesday. Still, my spirits are high and I remain hopefull that I can be running by the end of next week after the Doc Tom visit. Mood: ---> :)

This is an article that I found based on Andy the Pod's advice -------------------------8<-------------------------------- Run Softly, Run Tall - Runners World: "Run Softly, Run Tall Improve your form, and you'll run better. It's that simple. Our five-point makeover shows you how. Try this at a race: In addition to running it, watch it. If you do, you'll see important differences in the passing parade of runners that you probably never noticed. You'll likely observe the contrast between how much better the front-runners look than most of the runners are back in your group. Faster folks look better because they run smoother, quieter, taller. Mid-packers can tend to pound the ground, slump forward, and stare at their feet. The differences in pace dictate some of the differences in appearance, but this doesn't have to be so. Midpackers can learn from the speedsters. Even though they can't duplicate their speed, they can look more like them, and run better because of it. Running isn't a beauty contest, and style points aren't awarded. But ideal form--running lightly in good head-to-toe alignment--is important because it's easier on the body than landing heavily and out of balance. Good form also allows you to run faster with less effort. I see these contrasts in speed and form at my favorite runner-watching spot: The Amazon Trail, a 1-mile sawdust loop just down the road from my home in Eugene, Oregon. The Amazon Trail brings together some of the world's fastest runners and many of the slowest. As I do my own run on the Amazon, the speedsters glide by, brushing the sawdust quickly and quietly with each footfall. They run proudly, with their backs straight and eyes forward. Although my pace places me among the slowpokes, I still try to model myself after the faster runners. I don't claim to have perfect running form. But I did learn good racing habits at a young age that have stuck with me. If you've never run fast or had great form, start taking corrective action. Try this: Add some faster running to your routine. Do short runs at a pace 1 to 2 minutes per mile faster than you typically run. This will force you to run more efficiently. The habits learned in these up-tempo runs will transfer to your normal running. And in all your runs--fast and slow--check your form by following these guidelines: 1. Face: Your jaw should be relaxed, not clenched in a grimace, and your eyes should gaze forward, not down at your the feet. Looking ahead at the horizon will naturally straighten your back, and bring you into a more efficient running alignment. 2. Shoulders: Your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. They should also be level, not dipping from side to side, or with one shoulder higher than the other. 3. Arms: Your arms should swing forward and backward between your waist and the lower chest. Elbows should be bent at roughly 90 degrees. 4. Hands: Your hands should be lightly cupped with fingers brushing the palms, not extended or tightly clenched. You should also keep your wrists relaxed. 5. Feet: Your feet announce how well you absorb shock. Instead of slamming the ground, land lightly on your heel, roll forward on your foot, and push off on your toes. Good running is springy and quiet. Improving your running form may not advance you to the front of the pack, but it'll make your running easier and more comfortable--whatever your pace. -------------------------8<--------------------------------

Andy the Pod has cleared me of a stress fracture and concluded that I strained something-that-I-can't-remember-the-name-of near the foot/toe joint. He's adjusted my orthotics by adding extra support in the forefoot and recommended that I learn to run softly/quietly to reduce the impact. At the moment I still get a dull ache walking, so running is a few days (or more) away. If the pain continues, he's given me a referral to a Sports Doc who may inject it with cortisone or something. Mood: ---> :(

The foot still hurts although not as much as the weekend. The pain was able to be reduced by the use of anti-inflamatories, so my guess is that its a strain of a tendon rather than a stress fracture. From the pic below I reckon its the tendon which connects to the metatarsophalangeal joint. ;) I've made an appointment to see Andy the Pod (aka Podrunner) for Wednesday 5.00pm. Andy was saying on Saturday that its probably caused by "slapping" the pavement and that I may have to learn to run quieter. I wonder if that includes puffing and grunting ? Will there will be a time in the near future when I can just run for a few months without any niggles appearing from nowhere and spoiling all the fun ???? Mood: :|

10km | Race | 45:51 PB Gee that was a (unofficial) PB by 3:01 2:58 today ! Rather unexpected considering that I have been training as per normal but not really doing anything special. Must have been a really fast course I think. EDIT: Hey ! I came 4th overall in the handicap adjusted results ! :) Anyway, for the first time I actually did a warm up and stretch before the race (maybe that was it?) and then set off at 7:00am start. Whilst I saw both the 45 & 50 min pacers lined up, I lost them at the start and ran a few ks a bit in the dark. What made it worse was that my GPS signal went missing so I had to quickly work out my splits in my head as I ran. I saw Podrunner (45 pacer) at about 3kms and think that I ran up to CR Queen Bee at that point. Having Podrunner in my sights worried me really because it meant that I went out way too hard. So it was either slow up or keep going and test the water. Test the water it was. As it turned out I was about 3 mins ahead of my PB at 5km and then finished pretty steady thereafter. I'm still a bit confused about the big drop in my time and am half expecting to find that the course was short or something ! Ok, here's the bad news. My second toe on my left foot (or is it the bone leading to the joint?) is killing me and I'm limping about at the moment. I spoke to Podrunner after the race and I will see him probably Wednesday. Hope its ligaments rather than stress fracture... Mood: ---> :D