It was a busy day today ~ haircut first up (out in under two hours); then a trip over to Commonwealth Park to change into running gear and get down to the Customs start, returning a call to Lucky Legs on the way.

My handicap seemed to be a fair 9:00 minutes flat, and I found that I was completely excited at the prospect of running with other people for a change. I wanted to go off my correct handicap to give it a really fair go, but an almost new runner (once on the Floriade course) didn't know the route, so we (kind of) split the difference (a soft 8:15 for John and an unknown 9:00 for me equals starting at 8:30).

Sure I started a bit fast, and didn't feel too guilty about leaving him in my wake as I scooted off down the familiar path at the start. Within the first few hundred metres I realised that I hadn't taken my Ventolin at the start and I was beginning to wheeze and gaggle for breath. I passed the first kilometre mark at around 5:05. Too fast!

I felt great though and kept it up, hoping to catch up with someone in front. By the two kilometre mark I could well and truly tell that someone was catching up to my heels quickly and getting closer. I hoped that it wasn't the new runner John, but didn't bother to turn around and check and have my fears confirmed.

I rounded the halfway willow tree around 13:35, which would give me a finishing time of something over 27 minutes, knowing that the last k is always tougher. Soon, new runner John caught up with me and I tried to wheeze instructions for the finishing route to him through his over ear iPod earphones. He wanted to stick with me, although I knew that he was stronger than me and would beat me by far.

When there were clear runners ahead to follow, he did leave me, and race ahead. I felt pretty good, and although breathing with some difficulty, didn't find the hill as hard as I had remembered recently. Rounding the Pavilion at the crest, floppy haired Nick passed me and I informed him that he was the first eligible runner. He put on an extra spurt of speed down the hill to the finishing flag. I cut across the now flattened ex-Floriade beds and tried to maintain my speed. Although finishing behind new John, I closed to gap and raced to my bag to collect some Ventolin and have the Ventolin. I was then as right as the rain that deluged Canberra this afternoon.

Overall time - aim sub 30 minutes. Overall secret wish list aim sub 28 minutes.

Finishing time - 27:27.

Then, with 30 minutes to kill on the southside before a family visit for Bri's birthday. I popped into The Runner's Shop at Woden to check out there current crop of shoes. I am down to one pair - Forster Tri, and although I haven't been running much compared to 12 months ago, with jogging with Molly and so on over the last season, they have been getting their k's up and the soles worn down.

Having settled on the Asics lary tri shoes as my everyday shoes over the last year, feeling so much lighter and faster than regular training shoes (such as Nimbus / Kayano), I thought that I would try and go down the route of 'just' having a pair of specialised trail running shoes for the fun stuff, and a pair of the Forster Tri replacements - the Noosa Tri - for sealed surfaces. I just had to justify it to Bob!

Although wracked all day with a terrible sinus head, I didn't even feel like trying anything on, but I walked away with a bright yellow pair of New Balance 872 Off Road shoes.

And a pair of the patterned Noosa Tri shoes

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