I Ran My First Half Marathon!

Half marathon finishers received a medallion

This morning, in cool, overcast weather, I ran 21.1 km around the beautiful Swan River, finishing the 2009 Perth Half Marathon in 1:57:47. I was aiming to go under 1:50 but I'm very happy to get under 2 hours, particularly considering a) the congestion at the start, b) 2 toilet breaks and c) inclement weather. Courtney Carter, the men's winner ran 1:07(!), to become the 2009 WA State Champion, beating over 900 fellow participants in the process.

I ran a 1:01:11/56:36 negative split* which I'm proud of. My mirrored splits (cumulative time bracketed):

1st half

0-2 km: 11:56 (11:56)

2-4 km: 12:25 (24:21)

4-7 km: 17:17 (41:38)

7-10.55 km: 19:33 (1:01:11)

2nd half

10.55-14 km: 19:21 (1:20:32)

14-17 km: 16:46 (1:37:18)

17-19 km: 10:12 (1:47:30)

19-21.1 km: 10:17 (1:57:47)

Daryl of Frank And Daz Take On The World fame also ran today. Running part of the way with him was inspiring. What a legend!

My next challenge is to double the distance and run a full 42.195 km marathon! I will achieve this in the first half of 2010.

*A negative split occurs when the 2nd half is run faster than the first. Many runners are tempted to run fast at the start only to suffer later on, often affecting their overall time.

Iran's Election Dramas And Protests

Over the past 10 days I have been keeping a keen eye and ear on the Iranian election farce and associated events. I had the pleasure of visiting Iran in 2004 (see a, b, c, d, e, f and g) and lived next door for several years so am very interested in the country's current affairs.

In a peaceful and beautiful Isfahan, 2004

Iran is an amazing country with unlimited potential. The wonderful Iranian people deserve to be heard and not controlled by violent thugs and unelected gurus if they don't want to be.

Another photo from Isfahan, 2004. So much for "...provid(ing) solace and comfort to distressed, weary and troubled hearts..."

My main sources of news have been the http://nomadlife.org website (thank you Dody), #iranelection tweets and the BBC World Service on News Radio. Kylie, a friend from Adelaide moved to Tehran 4 weeks ago to join the AIESEC Iran Member Committee. What a time to live abroad for the first time! Her fascinating firsthand stories of the events in Iran are here and here. I kind of wish I was there now.

After a week of mass protests followed by a lull yesterday, there is a feeling that today will be a turning point in the saga and perhaps even in Persia's distinguished history. Fingers crossed all will work out for the better...

21 km (Half Marathon) - Not Bad For A Morning Run

This morning I ran 6 laps of Lake Monger equal to 21 km and my first ever half marathon distance. My 3.5 km (lap) splits were 18:42, 20:35, 20:10, 20:05, 19:22 and 18:43 for an overall time of 1:57:37. I'm very proud of my achievement and am now confident of finishing the upcoming Perth Half Marathon on 21 June.

Rain, Beautiful Rain

Tonight rain hit Perth for the first time in May. The balmy 25 degree Celsius days have finished for now. My car appreciated the wash as no doubt the local plants and animals did. Lake Monger slowly receded with the dry weather and hopefully this trend has reversed.

Random Fact Of The Moment

My flatmate Chrystelle saw Nirvana live in concert in Los Angeles!

WA Daylight Saving Referendum, 16 May 2009

Western Australian today held its fourth daylight saving referendum. On this occasion, like the previous three referendums, the NO vote won and Western Australia's three year experiment with summer daylight saving has ended.

I voted as a Western Australian resident for the first time in the state electorate of Churchlands.

Australian citizen residents of Western Australia were asked to write down either a YES or NO in response to the following question:

Are you in favour of daylight saving being introduced in Western Australia by standard time in the State being advanced one hour from the last Sunday in October 2009 until the last Sunday in March 2010 and in similar fashion for each following year?

I voted YES because I enjoy the extra hour of light in summer evenings and the larger difference in times makes business more difficult to conduct with the rest of Australia. A majority of Churchlands voters agreed with me although we were outvoted by the remainder of the voting public.

In the great scheme of things, daylight saving is not a big deal, although the campaigning from both sides of the debate wanted you to think otherwise. Outside the polling booth were flyers promoting the YES vote. Is "What legacy do you want to leave to your kids?" a dramatic enough title?

Recent Happenings

* The past 3 weeks I've been very busy working at Brierty Ltd's head office in Maddington, an industrial suburb south east of the airport. This is my first client placement and I'm learning fast. The folks at Brierty are great and their office is more relaxed and spacious than Turner & Townsend's. Bjoern and I share a donga (portable office - basically a glorified shipping container) with Steve, Glen and Adi.

* Legendary actor Charles "Bud" Tingwell died. RIP. There was only ever one 'Gramps' in Charlie the Wonder dog:

* This week I bought return plane tickets to Bali with AirAsia for only $215!

* On Sunday, I ran the Mothers Day Classic, completing the 7 km run (2 laps of Lake Monger) in 34:04. Rob and Cheryl also had a run. I was lucky enough to win a spot prize: DKNY's Red Delicious perfume.

* Tuesday evening I ran further than I've ever run before: 14 km (4 laps of Lake Monger). Today I repeated that feat. My current running aim is to finish the Perth Half Marathon on 21 June.

* Last weekend a trailer and helped Bjoern and Ola furnish their formerly sparsely-furnished home. Lifting tables and desks up stairs is fun...