Cotter - Run No 137

Today:
Distance: 32.1 km ( 20 miles)
Time 2 hrs 50 mins 12 secs
Rate: 5' 18" per km
Weather: cloudy, temp 10 - 15 degrees, humidity 75%, wind calm
Week: 102.25 km, Sept: 227.55 km, Year: 3192.25 km

I have kept records of most of my running since I became serious, still writing daily in an small book, but now also on the " Training Centre" from Garmin and more recently here on a blog page.
It's more a completion of the running day than any fanatical record of any past achievements, they were few are far between. No first past the posts ever for me. That winning feeling is not why I run.
However, I do reflect occasionally on what I did, opening up my book. Before the days of GPS, my distances were more a time basis, calculating distance by how fast I thought I ran on the day.
Today was the Cotter 21 mile, it's really 20 miles almost exactly 32 kms, give or take 100 metres depending on which GPS you measure by and how much cutting of corners you do.
Nick and Liz ran very solid today out in front as Robbie faded after a fast start. Mick has an injury so he tailed off and eventually completed the 18 mile course. Good to see softshoeshuffle out there as well after an injury lay off. Others out there started earlier, but I didn't see them.
A big improvement today over my effort from 2 weeks ago, almost 15 minutes better, so something must be going right. However, my best is much better again, although as Billy Joel sang, "when I wore a younger man's clothes". Over 10 years ago, May 1999, I ran around 32 kms in 2 hr 24 mins 45 secs in a purple patch out there at the Cotter. Two weeks in a row before that over the 18 mile ( 29 kms) course I ran 2 hrs 13 mins and then 2 hrs 8 mins. Mick has better times than that at the same time, we were training for the Nowra Ultra ( 46 kms) at the time. "Those were the days my friends" , Mary Hopkins once sang as well.
Back to the here and now, fitness coming back after an easy August.
About to look up the results from the Commonwealth 24 hour as I hear the Aussies did well. Thanks to everyone for their company today, even if there was plenty of daylight between us.