GlenHendry

Hard work on the Rangey

2011-12-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

Buying, stripping and getting rid of the wrecked Rangey has been a fair mission. I worked on it by myself for the vast majority, with some heckling from the kids and a few helpful visits from Toghes. I learned a lot. I skinned many knuckles. I sweated and bled. It was fun, but time consuming for a time-poor man. Rangey's are not simple vehicles.

This is what happens if you try to use a trolley jack as wheels for a car. Bang!:

Range Rover EAS valve block rebuild

2010-12-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

I have a 2000 Range Rover HSE. Today I ripped out the Electronic Air Suspension valve block and replaced about 45 orings in it. As per the instructions on this page (thanks again Paul). Here is a short summary of the proceedings. The RRs air suspension is good again!

Interestingly, many of the orings were still good, although most of them had a square cross section instead of round, but 10 years will do that. The very small Non Return Valve orings were in the worst shape, one of the photos below illustrates that well.

Unfortunately, the pics are in the reverse order - although you think that I would spend the time to fix it, you're wrong.

RR pics

2010-10-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Solar panel system installed!

2010-07-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some before and after shots. Exciting and electrifying time :-|

Termite mounds in NT

2009-10-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Very small animals building very large things...

Gold Coast Marathon 2009

2009-07-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Race report

Sportypal data

Knee Operation washup

2009-02-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

I saw the surgeon for the post-op consultation. He said all went well, and showed me some cool photos. I am allowed to run and ride again now, monitoring pain, so I will ride this week and walk/jog next week to take it slow. The good news is that I should be right to race at BRW and almost certainly right to race 50km at Glasshouse in May. Fingers crossed.

Knee op

2009-02-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

The knee operation went well yesterday. I am able to walk without crutches or braces and the pain isnt too bad (so far). I am hopeful that I wont be off training for too long, as I still have firm plans to do all three Glasshouse trails ultramarathons this year (glasshousetrails.com).

In all the arthroscopy was incident free and successful from the POV of the surgeon. Hopefully the knee has many good years left in it.

Running on broken bits

2009-02-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

Ran home last night the 15km with Deon on the busted cartilege. No problems, although I felt fat and slow, and walked the bigger hills. The problems it causes seem random and hard to reproduce.

I am keen to run before the op to strengthen the legs and increase fitness before the (hopefully) short layoff post-op.

Surgery is on!

2009-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Feb 17th, 2009. I am under the knife in Mater Private Redlands. Going to have part of the meniscus removed. Walking out same day without brace or crutches says the surgeon . Sounds like a cinch...

Broken Knee-us Maximus

2009-02-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Late last year my knee started giving me trouble in an acute, what the hell just happened', kind of way.

After visits to Physio's, MRI machines and Sport Physicians I have a "Horizontal oblique tear in the posterior horn of my left medial meniscus" - or more commonly known as damaged cartilege.

I know what your all thinking - "You cant run ultra marathons and not expect that". Well sod-off. I can and do expect that. I really believe that this injury has been caused by non-running, but I am buggered if I can remember the incident. I had only 3 days off ofter the Toowoomba marathon (19-Oct-2008) and on my first run back (23-Oct) during a lunchtime run, it pulled up really sore. Sore in a way I have never been sore before. So I believe that it either happened during the mara, or on that first run back, or sometime in between. I dont think the 100km run in the month before was involved.

Anyway I am seeing the Knee Surgeon tomorrow, and I will report back. Fingers crossed, but it looks very likely that I will have an arthroscopy in the coming weeks.

Hamilton Island

2008-12-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

We have booked our holiday. 5 nights on Hamilton Island. Long driving trip is super Klugy to get their. Jan 18th 2009!. Cant wait.

View Larger Map

Toowoomba Marathon 2008

2008-10-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

See Race Reports for more info.

I havent published the race report yet, but it should be in the next few days.

Glen 4:16. (Half Marathon 2:09 with Bomber).

Bober 5:11.

Next challenge

2008-09-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

The 100km trail run is done, and I need something to chew on so I am planning an unsupported run from home (Brisbane) to the Gold Coast. Its 73km by car, but I will have to go further to avoid the highways. Ill run the course the girly cyclists do. Its getting on summer though, so carrying supplies could be tricky.

This is planned for Sat 1st November.

Google maps is excellent for this, (check here), it plotted me a great course, avoiding the higways. Looks perfect, 75km, and it even has a really cool trail section through the daisy hill forest. Could be hilly in there though...

View Larger Map

100km glasshouse trail run

2008-08-31T19:25:00.001-07:00

This is happening Sep 13th 2008. This is a special race for me, so I will blog in into its own blog site for posterity. See HERE.

2008-08-11T23:06:00.000-07:00

September, 2008. Glasshouse Mountains - Beerburrum Qld. Ultra Marathon. 100 km.

Pre Race

I was anxious, scared, worried and excited by this race. More than any other. For the four days before, it consume almost all of my waking moments.

BTW: This will be a short race report, with more pics and videos and less words. (Yay - from readers?)

Course

The 50km course starts at Beerburrum state school (checkpoint 2 (CP2)), and it then goes to cover 100km along the possible hardest route.

Checkpoints: 2 (Beerburrum state school), 2a (Mt Beerburrum summit), 3,4,5,6,8,8,8,7,7,6,5,2

Map of the checkpoints available below.

Goals

The goal was simply to make the distance. 100km is much further than I have ever run before.

Race Plan (summarised below)

Sep 2008    100km    Glendry Plan

clock time from to   dist    diff cum     pace      leg time    CP stop     cum leg time    comments

06:00:00    2    2a   1.90    H    1.90    00:08:30    00:16:09    00:00:10    00:16:19    climb beerburrum

06:16:09    2a   3    7.20    L    9.10    00:06:00    00:43:12    00:00:10    00:59:41    mostly flat & wide

06:16:19    3    4    6.10    L    15.20   00:06:20    00:38:38    00:01:30    01:39:49    bush & rolling hills

06:56:27    4    5    6.5   H    21.70   00:07:00    00:45:30    00:01:00    02:26:19    goat track

07:42:57    5    6    5.60    M    27.30   00:08:00    00:44:48    00:01:00    03:12:07    tricky ridge tracks

08:28:45    6    8    10.70   H    38.00   00:08:10    01:27:23    00:01:30    04:41:00    Powerlines

09:57:38    8    8    10.80   M    48.80   00:08:45    01:34:30    00:03:00    06:18:30    via 8a

11:35:08    8    8    8.00    H    56.80   00:08:30    01:08:00    00:03:00    07:29:30    via 8b (large loop)

12:46:08    8    7    8.00    L    64.80   00:08:00    01:04:00    00:02:00    08:35:30    sandy tracks

13:52:08    7    7    4.40    L    69.20   00:07:30    00:33:00    00:01:30    09:10:00    unknown

14:26:38    7    6    8.20    M    77.40   00:07:45    01:03:33    00:03:00    10:16:33    rolling hills

15:33:11    6    5    10.60   H    88.00   00:08:30    01:30:06    00:03:00    11:49:39    via Beerwah

17:06:17    5    2    12.00   L    100.00 00:07:30    01:30:00    00:03:00    13:22:39    past 4a and 1a

18:39:17              100                    13:22:39

The Race

CP 2 (Beerburrum State School) - CP 3 (Old Gympie Rd (dirt) cnr Eaton Rd) - including Beerburrum Mnt climb - 11km

We all started off at 6am, and set off for the Beerburrum climb. I remembered from last year that it was hard, but my god, it is very hard on the legs. Particularly my calves. They were getting roasted. I stopped a couple of times for a few seconds. Everyone was walking, it was 1k into a 100km race!

WE took a different course to normal, and so at one point I called everyone back, because I thought we were going the wrong way. After a Kangaroo court, I was found guilty of slowing us all down and we proceeded the way we were going. I was dubious though. I was wrong. We trotted out to three and I met Kelly and Dan from UK and a chap whose name I forgot with whom I have a mutual friend in Gary Kerswell from Qld Police.

No pics from CP3, because my crew friend deserted me and didnt show up... :)

CP 3 (Old Gympie Rd (dirt) cnr Eaton Rd) - CP 4 (in the boonies) - 6.1 km

I met a chap from the UK called Dan (Daniel Bleakman). We would run together for about 30km. We chatted and took it easy along this section, but we were talking marathons etc and it was enjoyable. It was still early, so it was nice and cool. I still had on the full tights.

On this section, Tugger, the leader in the 100 mile race passed us. They started 30 mins before us, but also did a 10km loop that we didnt do. That means he had made up all that time and caught us well before CP4, the second checkpoint. He was flying. But still nice enough to slow down and chat to us for a minute, before powering on and climbing a hill on the run that we were resigned to walk up else blow our legs 20km into the race. Hat's off to you Tugger.

At CP4 I relieved to see the Black Kluger and Norm, DEon and Troy. They ook some good photos and footage. The CREW had arrived!

My sandwich was missing, or I forgot to pack it. Either way there was lots of goodies there, and I took a few bits of lots of stuff.

CP4 (in the boonies) - CP5 (Connection Rd, near the lookout, Beerburrum) - 6.5km

A couple more 100 milers passed us in this section, Blue Dog and someone else I didnt know. Dan and I kept chatting and taking it easy. It was an easy section at first, but then we did the first section of the goat track. Things heated up quickly and we started to walk some serious hills. It was a very hard section, and it was very early on. I wasn't expecting to struggle until I got to the power lines section, but struggle I did.

Pic1 is us coming into CP5 from the lookout area. Pic 2 is Dan and I getting fed, watered and reset. Pic 3 is me getting ready to leave for CP6 with a great view of Mt Beerwah in the background.

CP5 - CP6 (off Woodford Beerburrum Rd) - 5.6km

Another very hard section of the Goat Track. We were well depressed when we got to CP6. We had a long way to go, and it was getting hot. My legs were getting chewed and it was the first time (of many) where even I started to wonder if I would finish this race. I hate to admit it. I should have some footage, which I will post to youtube and link to here.

At this CP I shed the long tights and replaced with knee length. I still needed the chaffing protection, but not the warmth.

CP6 - CP8 (McConnell Rd, near Raaen Rd) - 10.7km

Deon joined us at the top of the Powerlines section and I enjoyed the company. Its a long deep valley with some hideous terrain, and hills everywhere.

We slowly pulled away from Dan, the powerlines section was taking its toll on him it seemed. I felt bad for keeping on going, but I need to move at my own pace, and there was every liklihood that I would falter later while he improved and caught up. From the top, the powerlines section looks like this:

CP8 - CP8 (via 8a) - CP8 (via b8) - CP8 - 18.8km

If the powerlines section wasnt bad enough, the two loops at CP8 are somehow worse. The climb out of the loops back up to the checkpoint is so tough. Especially after a trail marathon. I hadnt even hit half way in this race, it was very hot, I was very sore and I was getting really worried about a DNF.

In this section the 100k and 100 mile get weighed and are not allowed to continue if you have lost too much weight. Despite drinking and eating continuously, I had lost 1kg. That was troubling, because hydration is a 15hr event is a very bad omen. Even 1% dehydration can decrease performance by as much as 5%.

I had a fall on the 8a loop, and scratched up my arm and arse. It was no big deal, but at the time, I didnt need any more difficulties. I was running the 8a loop alone, and I was still not even at half way. I knew the hardest half was the first one, but I did NOT feeling like running another 52km.

It was awesome to see the crew here, Deon and Troy had left for home, and Dazzler, Matt and Duggy had arrived, with Duggy's daughter Michayla. I dont know what the crew thought of my mental state, but I was feeling down, and suffering in the heat.

On the second loop at 8, I caught up with Alun at the checkpoint. He was doing the 100mile race, and so we did 8b toghether and had a good rest, walking much of the way. I was glad to have finished the two loops, and I only had to get to CP7, a sandy flat 8km away before heading in the right direction for home.

CP 8 - CP 7 - CP7 (God knows - near Woodford) - 12.2 km

I had a bad fall in this section, running fast and clipping a tree root. I bashed down hard, and my hammy cramped because my lower leg bent up to my bum. I caught up with another 100 miler, Tamsin, who is a champ and we had a quick chat before she left me in the dust. I ran quite a few good sections here, and made CP7 is good time. The crew were waiting there.

CP 7 - CP 6 - 8.2km

I felt good early in this section, and was running near Rachel Waugh (100m) and Steven ? (100k). The pepsi donated to me by Adrian Pearce at CP7 was going down well. Although I couldnt run for more than 1km without walking to recover. The legs were chewed. I was dying to get to CP6, because I knew Toghes would be there with Fiona and Joshua. After that, it was one checkpoint left, but two long sections: 8km from 7-6. 10km from 6-5 and then 12km from 5 to the finish. When I ran into the checkpoint, Josh came running to me and we ran in together. It was so nice to see the new crew. Fiona was in fine form and being a great supporter. Everything everyone says is heard and absorbed, but sometimes I dont have the wherewithal to respond in kind.

It was getting dark, and I knew that even though I didnt want to, I would have to put another layer on top.

Youtube link to the video at CP6

CP6 - CP5 - 10km

There is a long undulating section after CP6, and it got dark fast. I hate the headlamp and the torches, and it was a long section, being 10km. Normally a 10km run for me at the moment I could knock over in 43 minutes and enjoy it, but this was going to be the longest 10km ever. Dark, cold, sore and tired. The last 5km of this section is the third hardest on the course, and I call it the dungeon. Norm ran with me holding a third torch, which really helped. It was a hard, tricky dark section. Steve caught up to us again here, and shared the light. We walked/ran most of the way home from there until his ankle gave out and he struggled in the last couple of kms.

CP5 - CP2 - 12km - the finish

Toghes ran along with, helping with torch light. It was great to have some different company again. I tried not to whine too much, but I just wanted it to be over. I knew the section from CP5 to the school very well and I was very upset when the course marking took us a different, longer, harder way. At the point where I thought I had four flat kilometers to go, the course marking took us in the opposite direction, around Mt Beerburrum the long way. It was much hillier and the terrain was bad, especially at night.

To make things worse, my GPS watch battery died 3 kms from the finish and I didnt get all my stats recorded.

I finished with GREAT relief, had soem soup, and a cold foot bath and a good old sit down.

Summary

This race was an amazing life experience. I have never pushed myself so hard for so long. It started at 6am and finished a 9:35pm. No more than a 5 min break at checkpoints.

Many of the CREW have reported in and said that they enjoyed the day, I dont quite believe them, but I reckon I am lucky to have as many as 12 friends who would drive so far and hang around for so long just to let me be snarky with them. The first 80km was a full hour harder than the 80 I did in May, and then the last 20km was just hell on earth, and took 3.5 hrs, instead of 2.5. I really struggled in the last 20, and so I was pleased to have Norm and Toghes with me to share the experience. A special mention to Norm, who was there for 14 hrs, skipping lunch, and got everything, including crew changeovers without me having to worry. He would do anything for me, and is a great guy.

Return to Glens race results

Maps and Stats

Everybody dies – but not everybody lives…

100km trail run

2008-08-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well I have dog-gone and done it now, I have entered the 100km trail race for Septmeber 2008. It is a scant 4 weeks away on the 13th September, I had better go for some longer runs...

I am pretty terrified of this race, as it has EVERY tough Glasshouse section in it. Powerlines, goat track, loops at 8a and 8b and Beerwah. And Oh Lord, that section at Beerwah is hands and knees stuff, and its at the 77km mark. This is a 9000 calorie race. That's 72 bottles of gatorade.

Its 6am start, so I will be finishing at 7pm. Start and Finish at Beerburrum state school. I hope to have a crew of helpers in Bomber, Dazzler, Blox and maybe one or two of Smutty, Batman and Stormin, but we will see how they go with logistics.

Cowa fucking bunga

Moisty Diff Shenanigans

2008-08-03T19:43:00.001-07:00

Great write-up, here.

2008-07-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

6 July 2008

Craig picked me up at 0450 and we started down to Gold Coast. Contigent:

Full marathon: Glen, Craig and Alun Davies (GH ultra runner)
Half marathon: Deon, Michelle, Troy & Eliza

It was a normal cold Gold Coast race morning, but rain was threatening, as it had rained all the day before. So it was muddy. Also the race area had changed due to works at Southport. It was 1km north this time.

The goals were:
1) have fun
2) kill 4hrs
3) sneak under 3:45
4) run all the way
5) use it as training for the next Ultra in July.

I had a bottle of powerade at each 5km station, with 1 GUs and coke at 35km. Craig had the same, but with half a powerbar taped to one of his. Overall this proved satisfactory. I had quarter of a cup of water at most water stations.

I looked hard for Michelle heading off in the Half, but missed her. We saw Deon and the other Nike boys. We lined up and waited for the start. It was looking like the rain was going to hold off, so that was nice, and due to the cloud cover, it wasnt too cold. I had three layers on top, and I intended to shed one layer later, which I did just after the first bridge.

I missed most of the early km markers, which annoyed me, because I had my new Garmin Forerunner 305 and I wanted to get accurate km positions. But the GPS would do most of the work for me. I kept along in pretty good pace, at about 5:05. I thought that I would be able to hold that for 35km and then struggle home for the last 7km.

Down towards the southern most turnaround at 13km, I was still feeling good and was happy with the carb intake and the legs. I was trying to run on the crown of the road so as to not flair up my left ITB. Seemed to be working OK. I had a couple of chats, but mostly kept to myself. Heading back north I completely missed Craig which was also annoying, because for the longest time, until I realised that I had missed him, I thought that he must have been having a bad run, for him to be so far back.

I pushed it North and went through the Half Marathon in a very respectable 1:46. That was dead on 5 min/km, so it was maybe slightly too respectable. If I did that again for the second half, I would end up with 3:32, a one minute PB. I knew I could not hold the pace for another 21km, but I wondered just how long I could hold it for.

I need to stop for a leak, but I didnt want to stop twice, so I kept going until I knew I could go straight away with toilets near by. I continued past the start line, the 26km mark, and saw Michelle and waved and chat as I past by. I was sore by now, but I wanted to push on for a bit longer and make it to the North turnaround at 34km before I stopped for a strategic walk. I stopped for a stretch at about 31km (see graph below), and continued North and saw Deon at about the 32km mark. He ran along for a while, which was greatly appreciated and we chatted about the race and his HM time (1:37) and general stuff. He was waiting to see Craig go past as well. I continued North along what Craig and I have come to know as 'death alley' until the Turn around at 34km. You can see on the graph below my toilet stop at 36km. I was very happy to still be hitting 5:20s during that 3rd decade, and thought that I might be able to run all the way home and end up with a 3:3n.

I was getting very tight in the quads and hammys, and eventually I stopped to strategically walk one of the hills over the small bridges. I knew psychologically, that I would be in trouble from that walk, and would have to continue to walk every km or so.

Alun past me heading back to the beach at about 38km, and I was walking over the other small bridge connecting back up with the beach. He looked stronger than I felt, and I knew that I could join him so I wished him luck and yelled abuse that I was right and he was wrong, because he forecast 3:50 for himself, and I said he was in shape for 3:40.

I saw Craig when I was at about 38km, and he was heading north. I was slowing every km by a couple of seconds, and battling the feeling to walk. I offered him a turn at the iPod but he was fine. I had been listening to it from about 15km-35km.

The 3:45 pacer picked me up with about 2.5km to go and I was struggling. He was a really cool yank who encouraged me very well. I stuck with him, despite much pain, and VERY close to cramping quads, and beat him across the line. Troy and Eliza cheered out with 200m to go and I was stoked to see them. I was trying REAL hard to beat 3:45. I got across in 3:42, which made me very happy. It was 12 monutes faster than Brisbane marathon in April, and only 9 minutes slower than my 3:33 PB. I will have to have another crack at that soon!

I saw all the Nike crew from down South and then missed Craig coming past while I was chatting to Troy and Eliza about their race. I went to meet him and was stoked to learn that he had belted out yet another PB, of 4:40. See here for his race results.

Loved it.

Everbody dies, but not everybody lives...

Km markers:

Distance	Split time
1	5:21
2	5:04
3	4:59
4	4:50
5	4:55
6	5:03
7	4:51
8	4:57
9	4:52
10	4:51
11	4:59
12	4:49
13	4:49
14	4:54
15	4:51
16	5:03
17	4:59
18	4:58
19	4:55
20	5:00
21	4:59
22	5:07
23	5:01
24	4:58
25	4:57
26	5:14
27	4:58
28	4:59
29	5:12
30	5:12
31	5:38
32	5:18
33	5:14
34	5:20
35	5:13
36	6:20
37	5:10
38	5:32
39	5:55
40	5:47
41	5:46
42	5:29

2008-05-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

May, 2008. Glasshouse Mountains - Woodford Qld. Ultra Marathon. 82 km.

Coolrunning Pics

Pre Race

My training has been average lately lately, (500km in 5 months) and I am running on a good base fitness level generated by a good year in 2007 and early 2008. I love running the marathon though. Michelle and Alun Davies and Grant were also racing the 82km.

The night before was a debacle as usual. Since the start was 3am, and I didnt want to get up at 1am, I chose to stay up at the race and sleep in the back of the Forester. But when I got there at 9pm and got ready to jump into bed, the gusty wind blew closed the door and the keys were locked in. I stood in disbelief for ages, frezzing my arse off, and then went and asked some other athletes who were sleeping in the car park to use their mobile phones to call Fiona to get her to bring the spare keys. Something I was not looking forward to doing, as she would have gone off her nut, having to get the kids out of bed and drive them up there. Also, I was going to be locked out of my car, in the cold, for at least another 1.5 hours. As it turns out, Joe helped me by ringing RACQ on his super card and they came and broke in for me. Late to bed, but safe from the wrath of the wife.

Course

The 82km course starts at Woodford, at the pool, and goes through the bush, past the Glasshouse mountains lookout, to Beerburrum state school (Checkpoint 2), then back through the bush (the hardest way feasible) to Woodford. According to my Garmin Forerunner 305, the course had 3100m of ascent. As a comparison, the Six Foot Track, Australia's hardest marathon, has only 1530m of ascent. Crikeys - no wonder Im broken.

Checkpoints: Pool, 7, 6, 4a, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 8a, 8b, 7, Pool.
Map of the checkpoints available below.

Goals

1) Make the distance

2) Beat 10 hrs

3) Survive

The Race

There is an amazing amount of preparation for this event, planning and organising drop bags full of food, clothes, shoes, spares, headlights, sunscreen, hats, glasses, etc. At the start line, we all got kitted up and ready. It was really cold at 3am, and all the support staff were dressed up like snow skiing. Us poor bastards had running kit. I had a third t shirt on top, which I planned to chuck off at the first checkpoint (CP7) after 6km. As it turns out, I kept it until 55km!

We took off and I tried to take it easy. We found ourselves at the back of the pack pretty early. Alun had already started to move up ahead, being pretty bloody strong at the moment, and so there was Michelle and I (the 50 kayers) , Grant (50 kayer) and Chris (12 x Ironman), and Suzannah (Coast to Kozi champ). We changed positions a few times and moved up through CP7 without stopping and up eventually to CP6, which was the 13k mark. It was still brutally dark, and Michelle was not coping very well with her footfalls and just as we had finished discussing her woes, it was me, the surefooted one, who clipped a tree root hard and went splat, face first into the dirt. My hands hit hard, and I rolled onto my camel back, I was worried I was going to pop it, but all was OK. Only my pride was hurt.

After the lovely ladies at CP6 (the same ones who loaned my the blanket last night when I was locked out of my car), we continued on toward the lookout and CP4a, approaching Beerburrum. Itr was not going to be light until the 28km mark, which was a long time to be running in the cold and dark. Thirty minutes later a headlamp came up behind us, which was confusing, because I thought we were last, but it was Alun, and after exchanging lefts and rights, and checkpoints this and north that, we worked out that we had plumb missed a turnoff after CP6 (and so had Grant, Chris and Suzannah) and dodged 2km of the course. Very disappointing for me, as I am supposed to know the courses pretty well. We ran with Alun for a while up to the lookout, and he disappeared in the dark down towards CP4a.

By the 20km mark, Michelle was limping and obviously struggling. Her foot was hurting from an overuse injury and giving her plenty of jip. She was destined for a strong finish in this event, being stronger than me over the longer distances, but it was looking in jeapordy. The chance of pulling out hurt her more than the injury itself, as no-one can become an ultra marathoner with a 'give up' attitude, so it's kind of ingrained to keep going despite pain. Something we have all done multiple times in multiple events. Michelle has dragged me along during some of those downtimes, and I was keen to help her along here. Thirty minutes further along, approaching CP2, Michelle started to insist that I take off an leave her to pull out at CP2, so I knew it was serious. I hung around for a while longer until it got light, and then bolted up to CP2, to tell the doc there to get ready for her. CP2 was scheduled to be a long stop for me anyway, so I ate my 'breakfast' and the doc saw to Michelle. Tank Girl was looking after me getting me anything I need and imparting helpful advise. She is a nice lady, would like to run with her one of these days when she is healed up (not that I could keep up). After getting checked out, Michelle pulled herself from the race and told me to get going. It was going to be a long day without her for company. The small field had already spread out, with no-one behind me, and so it was very unlikely that I would catch any of the other 82 kayers.

After a running stretch from CP2 toward CP4, I tried to get the iPod out, but the f***ing thing wouldn't work. I reset it, bashed it, hard booted it, everything. I thought it might be too cold for it, so I stowed it for later. My singing is bad too. I liked the section from 2 to 4, because its one of the few sections that I havent done before. So it was sight seeing. It was a beautiful cold morning, and it wasn't muddy or anything, so good running conditions, albeit too windy.

It was an 8km stretch to CP4, and UCB was there to help me get some calories. He is a real nice guy. Saw him at earlier checkpoints too (4a), so he was working hard. He is always good for advice too as he is an accomplished ultra runner. Then up the hill towards CP6. To get there though, I knew I had to go along the goat track and up Hennesey's Hill. It was a real tough section, and there was no-one in sight. A lot of climbing, a lot of walking. Steep downhills, and badly rutted trails.

After leaving CP6, and seeing the ladies again (Mrs Raftery et al), I had just done the first marathon, and I was pretty sore. I knew I had another marathon to go, with some of the hardest hills at Glasshouse. Instead of thinking of another marathon, I broke it down to the sections, and it was like a mantra - Powerlines section (11k), 8a (11k), 8b (5km) and then home (14k), I kept thinking "Powerlines, 8a, 8b then home". I hit the powerlines and wow is it as heavy-duty as ever. Thankfully it wasn't wet, but I was at 45km and the rough tracks and steep hills are angry! I secretly love the powerlines section though, and got through it OK, I even passed three 50km runners and scared the CRAP out of one of them when I snuck up and yelled gday. However, the powerlines hills did hurt the fuel tank, and the legs. One of the guys asked me if I was doing the 80km, and I was proud to say yes I was, and he gave me the big thumbs up encouragement and good on ya.

I was NOT looking forward to the two loops at 8a and 8b, there is about 20 km worth of hard work down there, none of which gets you closer to the finish line. Because you hit checkpoint 8 three times, and its late in the race, it is the most popular CP for visitors and usually the most manned for volunteers too. As I approached many 30 km runners were returning after their 8b loop and heading for home. I wouldn't be heading home for 2.5 hours yet. Many of them recognised my number as a 80km number and gave the most sincere recognition. It struck a firm chord with me, because in all 13 of my Glasshouse races, especially the earlier ones, I used to see the 80 and 100k runners and marvel at there ability to run that far. They reminded me of myself a few years ago - it was hard to describe, but a special moment for me. I got into CP8 and Tanky and Michelle were there, and the doc and a few other guys, but no Craig, no Fiona. Instead of taking my long stop, I got back out and did the large 11k loop 8a before sitting in for a decent stop at CP8, where I had spare shoes, socks, change of pants etc. This was my first disastorous section. The old train line section is LONG way when you walk stints. For the longest time, there were no markers, and I thought that I had missed the turn off. Eventually I saw one. Then the hard section of 8a, I passed another 50km runner in this section, a lady from USA with a western states 100mile t shirt, obviously a legend. She said she missed the 30 cut off at WS100 by 10 minutes, I ruled that as a finish for her.

Eventually got back to CP8, and I was a bit defeated. I knew the 8b loop contained Cooke's climb, and then it was a long route home. I still had 20km to go. I was at 60km, which is the farthest I have ever run, with a long way to go. Changed out of my shorts and long tights, and put on short tights, I changed my socks, put more lube on, put new softer shoes on, ditched a layer of tshirt. I was hoping it would make me feel new. My tummy was full and unhappy. Craig showed up, and it was really good to see him and Oscar. I told him Id be back in 25 minutes, and set off for 8b. The new soft shoes were getting caned on the rocky trail, but I was confident they would be good later. I got to the big climb and started up. There are no words for this hill. It took me a long time to walk. It is so long and so steep that I had to stop and rest about 3-4 times. I finally got back to Craig, Tanky and Michelle at CP8, and set my sights on the 14km home, but I was battling demons, so I probably wasnt as sociable as I should have been.

Craig drove along side for a little while and wished me luck. He reminded me that it was going to be a PB anyway, so don't worry about the time. I had a strong section of running after the food at CP8, but then my stomach started playing up, and I couldn't work out whether I needed to go to the toilet or spew - so I did neither. My guts felt so yukky that I couldn't explain it, but I also didnt know what was causing it. I honestly couldn't work out if I was bloated from too much food, too little food or whether my gut was fine, but it was intestinal problems. Normally my guts is pretty sturdy. This was a very long race tho, I was 69km in, and had been ruinning for 9hrs, eaten about 3000 calories.

This section was my second bad section. It is 8km long, flat, windy and sandy. I must have walked 3/4 of it because it took FOREVER! I was getting pissed off by the time I finally, after what seemed like hours, got to checkpoint 7, the final checkpoint before the finish. They probably thought that I was a whining bastard, cause I bitched endlessly about the previous section from 8 to 7. Bruce Cooke gave me some good advise about food in long races. With 5 km to go I set out for the finish. I was way over my target time, and had just walked most of the previous section. I knew I wouldn't break 11 hrs unless I ran much of this section. I ran 1.5km which hurt like hell, and then run/walked the next couple. There were two hills in the last stretch which challenged the legs, but finally I turned into the home stretch bush section and ran up the road. I had run most of the section, and would make it under 11hrs. I saw Alun and Michelle waiting near the finish line with dozens of others, and I was hoping to see Craig or other friends and family, but none where there.

The cheering and applause from the crowd made me proud and emotional, normally there would be no way in hell I could run up that road to the pool. But I found myself powering up there faster than anything. I felt no pain. I was really enjoying the moment, and didnt want it to stop. I had made it, in 10hrs 56 minutes. The success was somewhat dampened due to Michelle's withdrawal and possibly serious foot problem, we should have celebrated her success too, so I felt a little guilty. In true spirit, she acted like she wasnt dissapointed, but I know she must have been. I got a very cool medal that says 82k on it, and another huge Ultra mug. I was about the same soreness as the 50km races and felt fine mentally to drive home.

I chatted to everyone and was amazed at how many people made the effort to come up and say 'well done' or 'congratulations'. Even people I had never met before. It made me happy and proud and took some of the pain away. I went for a swim, got changed, had a sausage, said cheerio to everyone and drove home. It was a tough drive, but not much could have wiped the smile off my ego that day.

Lessons:

- Don't have too many sweet things to get mega calories, upset tummy occurs.
- Stand-up routines that you generate between 65km mark and 75km mark are not funny to other normal human beings.
- My Garmin Forerunner 305, is keeeewl.
- 3100m of climb, is much higher than Kosciusko (2228m) is equal to that of the trip from Everest base camp, to the summit.
- It's amazing how much food you can eat the day after burning 7000 calories.

Return to Glens race results

Results:

812	Davey Waugh	M	82km	6:51:13
808	Nigel Waddington	M	82km	7:54:00
811	Nic Maloney	M	82km	8:02:53
803	Michael Lovric	M	82km	8:27:22
816	Roger Guard	M	82km	8:42:49
806	Lisa Spink	F	82km	8:47:44
810	Steve Appleby	M	82km	9:37:45
804	Alun Davies	M	82km	9:38:39
*814	Susannah Harvey-J	F	80km	10:00:00
*805	Grant Cooper	M	80km	10:00:58
*807	Chris Parkinson	M	80km	10:00:59
*815	Glen Hendry	M	80km	10:57:00
802	Mark Hester	M	82km	10:57:51
801	Rodney Ladyman	M	82km	11:48:55
800	Joe Raftery	M	82km	12:03:12

Course Pic:

Everybody dies – but not everybody lives…

Brisbane Marathon 2008

2008-04-28T16:44:00.001-07:00

Did Brisbane marathon on Sunday in 3:54. A little dissapointing but understandable with surrent mileage. Report here.

2008-04-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Six Foot Track Trail Marathon
Blue Mountains (NSW)
45 kms Trail Ultramarathon
Saturday 8th March 2008

Back to Race Reports

I have been looking forward to this race for many years. It looked like being the biggest athletic event in my life so far in terms of difficulty, prestige and coolness. It was tough to qualify, enter and train for. The logistics of getting to, and staying in Sydney and the Blue Mountains also complicated matters. In the end I stayed with Michelle and her sister and partner in Katoomba. They were so wonderfully obliging to ferry us around to and from the start and finish lines - that made everything SO much easier for this event, and great company to boot.

From the website:

The Six Foot Track is a 45km footpath stretching across the Blue Mountains from The Explorer's Marked Tree, near Katoomba to Jenolan Caves. The marathon started in 1984 and follows the length of the entire footpath. It is Australia's 5th largest marathon and by far the largest 100% off-road running event. The race is a fundraiser for the Rural Fire Service & Six Foot Track Heritage Trust. It currently attracts approx 800 entrants each year.

For the first time in a marathon-or-greater race, I took no special drinks or food, and relied on the event nutrition at checkpoints. I was nervous about that, but all worked out well. The aid stations were well appointed and numerous. We had water, electrolyte, coke, carb bars, lolly snakes and other stuff too. Not quite as buffet-ish as the Glasshouse races, but fit for purpose.

You needed a sub 4hr marathon time or >1 ultramarthon finishes to enter the race, so there wasnt too many gumbys racing. I started in the second wave due to having a successful 2007 and Michelle started in the 4th wave, as she didnt want to get too rushed early. Michelle's strategy of taking it easy early often sees her running the last 10km of big races as fast as the first. Something I can never do.

I had a leadership conference at the Gold Coast three days before the event. It was a great conference, but not a good leadup to the race, with late nights, early mornings, beer and wine.

The race

The start was pretty exciting, with a bus ride to the Explorer's tree from our drop off point, and then waiting for the waves to start. I was in wave 2, Michelle was in wave 4. It was a bit sad that I couldnt run with Michelle for most of the way, but my twitchiness would have pushed Michelle to run faster down the early hills than her (wise) cautiousness would have liked. I set off and ran down the 900 steps called Nellies Glen, it was pretty hard on the legs straight away, as every step was slippery and had different widths and depths, and twisted and turned. We ran down hill pretty much constantly for 15km, to the middle of the megalong valley. At the bottom, we crossed the Cox's river, which was about waist high for me, and pretty cold. I used the rope to keep me moving. The small lady in front of me slipped off a rock and went in neck deep. I thought I was going to have to rescue her. I had lots of tiny pebbles in my shoeswhich was really uncomfortable, but noone else was stopping, so peer pressure made me keep going. Then I thought - frick this!, I am not running 40km with rocks in my shoes and I sat down and took them off. It was hard to see everyone running past, but I knew it was worth it. When I got going again, the rocks were still there!, so I was annoyed, but I had to sit down again, and take off my shoes and socks, and rinse them in a little stream.

All was good again, so I started the big climb. The map in this link shows two climbs, but I was so wrecked that I hardly remember the downhill in between them. Either way, there was about 3.5 hrs of climbing I reckon, and some of it was very steep. I walked many bits and pieces, and wondered if -anyone- could run the whole course. I talked to lots of people along the way, and saw some Brisbane running familiar faces. There was a section during the climb where a few guys were stretching out against trees trying to prevent cramps, and a guy I was running with at the time told me that this section of the pluviometer was infamous for knocking people out with cramps. Muscle cramps were not something I have ever had to deal with, even in my longest Ultras. I gave them plenty of consideration from that point on, because my legs were copping a hiding, even when walking the hills.

I remember one particular hill, which was so steep, that from the bottom, you could see 30 or 40 guys on the hill, walking up it, and many of them were stopped, either battling cramps, or just recovering from the section previous. I stopped and stood to recover about 3 times up it. I was staggered. After that particular climb, my legs stayed at the point of near cramping for the rest of the race, and they were my limiting factor. My heart and lungs were fine, and energy levels were fine, but the legs, which I had previously found to be pretty staunch supporters of my running, were unhappy. I became very much aware of why the course is so hard, not due to the distance or the terrain or even the hills, but the toll that they combination take on your legs. I realised that if I wasnt careful, I would be on the ground and if the cramping episode was serious enough, even stop me from finishing the race.

I took the hills pretty carefully after about 30km, because I knew that the last 7 km was also pretty punishing on the legs. I started going fast down the hills, because after about 25kms, I knew that I was going to beat my predicted time by miles, and maybe stay under 5 hrs. The hills all the way to the finish ruined the sub-5hrs idea, but I was still going to go well under 6 hrs, and probably under 5:30. I started passing people slowly but surely and ran down the switchback concrete path down to the Jenolan Caves. I could hear the finish line speaker and I was pretty happy with finishing and having a decent PB for six foot track. I came down the last stairs and turned for the chute, I didnt see Michelle's sister, as we had told them we wouldnt finish for ages yet. I gave some fist pumps, and finished with 5:23:31.

The finish area is really nice. I wished that I could have stayed to check out some more of the caves. The one that I saw that was a bridge over the road was amazing. It took a lot for me to walk down there though. I was pretty sore. I saw Gomez and had a chat, he nailed 4:14 and came about 40th - champ. Michelle finished a little later, since her wave was after mine with 5:43. She looked as fresh as a daisy, and shouted out "That was EASY" when she found us. We had both been sucked in by the hubbub about this race, and it turned out to be 30-45 mins easier for us than we expected.

It was a great race, very hard, very challenging. Very different to the longer runs I have done. The Glasshouse racing really prepared me mentally for the tougher course and terrain. I am rarely properly prepared physically, but in my experience, it doesnt count that much. I reckon any human active with a degree of mental toughness can finish these races. The training that most do simply gains the confidence (which can be used in place of mental toughness).

Keen to race again in 2009, but I did miss the kids, and the flights were a bit of a nightmare. If you dont have fully flexible seats, then they screw you and so I sat in the airport for many hours. I am really looking towards a special destination race in the next couple of years. It might be GNW100m or GH100m or Western States or Badwater or something silly like that.

---
2008 has started well with two trail ultras finished. That pleases me. I have now got 10 marathons and 5 ultras racked up. The rest of 2008 is supposed to be:

Apr - Brisbane marathon
May - Glasshouse 80km
July - Gold Coast marathon
July - Glasshouse 50km
Sep - Glasshouse 100km

Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.

Hendry web

Glen and Fiona Dec 2007

2008-01-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hendry kids Dec 2007

2008-01-12T20:59:00.001-08:00

Ultra 4 complete!

2008-01-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today I did the Hares n Hounds 2008. As a Hare, I ran 55.5km through the Glasshouse Mountains trails and teams of Hounds were released 1 hr after us and if all Hound teams caught you before the 50km mark, you were out. I made it, but only just. I was the last hare not caught (not many hares were behind me!). I really struggled today, it was a 3:30am start (at Woodford) and the course was very hard. I finished in 6h40m, which was my target, but I really wussed the last 15kms which trashed legs.
Race website HERE.

My Wed night 16k run home

2008-01-03T19:42:00.001-08:00

BoeingToCribbRd-Glendry
Find more Runs in Brisbane, Australia

2007-10-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Melbourne Marathon 2007

2007-10-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Had a crack at the Melbourne marathon. It was a cool race, ending in the MCG and all. Pity I was too screwed to appreciate it....

Race report here.

Rest In Peace my friend

2007-09-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

With great despair and sadness, I report, that Kyle Hendry has passed away yesterday, Sep 16th 2007, following a motorcycle accident. He was a pillar in the Hendry family who will be forever remembered with the greatest of fondness.

Ultra race 3

2007-09-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished my third Ultra this year, and it has completed my physcial goals for 2007. I have now entered the Melbourne marathon next month, to cap out the year. I am also planning on sneaking in the Kurawa to D'bar 50k ultra in Decemeber to make it 2 marathons and 4 ultras for 2007.

I did 6:48 last night, for the 56km at Glasshouse. It was my longest run ever to date. It was a very tough day. My running partner Michelle helped me along greatly.

Race report here shortly.

Race results here shortly.

Some pics here from before the race.

Some pics here from after.

Inaugrual Six Towers Challenge completed

2007-08-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

We held the first of many Six Towers Challenge this morning. It was a successful event. We had 7 competitors (Girvo, Glen, Whytey, Toghes, Craig, Piltzy, Matty). All did very well. It is a diabolical 8km out and back course along 6 power towers in the Glasshouse Mountains, between Beerburrm and Woodford (its a section of the May ultra I did). The challenge is that in the race, you are allowed to use a MTB, and it was proposed that no advantage would be gained, you can see the course to the left of and behind the boys in the pic above. Held true, and the mountain bike came in in a respectable 4th place, after 3 hardcore endos, and a few good stacks. Toghes is well scraped up.

It is a really really hard course, and a very good workout. Some calories were annihilated today. Next time we need more MTBers, to make it more challengeful.

Times:
Girvo 46:10 (23:45 turn split)
Glen 46:20
Whytey 47:00
Toghes 59:00 (MTB + 6 stacks)
Craig 1:03:00
Piltzy 1:04:00
Smutty 1:13:00 (went too far - wront turn)

Just when you thought it was safe to go back MTGing (Toghes has these all over):

Glendry

Ultra marathon 2

2007-08-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

I loved the first trail ultra so much that I entered the second in July 2007. It was a 50km this time, and a bit easier than the May event. Still at Glasshouse mountains, but from Beerburrum state school. Two laps. Was great, ran way too fast for the first lap, and then plonked the second lap, but still had a great time, and ripped a PB. See here for details.

Aquaria

2007-08-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I have gone fishtank mad again. I have a big saltwater aquarium stuck in the middle of the lounge room and I love staring into it and fiddling with the filters and plumbing - thank god for RCD safety switches. If you want, you can see some pics here

Ultramarathon 1

2007-08-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

I considered/feared/entered/trained/started/raced/finished my first ultra marathon in May 2007. It was a 53km trail run up at the glasshouse mountains, my favorite race series of the year. Start and finish at Woodford - I think we ran to Gympie. Results and race report can be found at http://www.hendryfamily.net

Kids growing up!

2007-06-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Josh n Jess

2007-04-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

New Baby, the total is now three.

2007-03-08T20:21:00.001-08:00

New baby girl! Her name is Lilly Rose Hendry

Superhero quiz complete!

2006-12-30T17:41:00.000-08:00

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman		80%
The Flash		75%
Iron Man		70%
Green Lantern		65%
Wonder Woman		55%
Hulk		55%
Batman		50%
Supergirl		50%
Robin		42%
Spider-Man		40%
Catwoman		35%

You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

The Hendry kids

2006-12-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Beach Camping

2006-12-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hendrys and Toghers hit the beach, we had annoying beach camping neighbours, but it was a great weekend away.

Coomera Half Ironman Triathlon

2006-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

2/90/21 km triathlon. Was too hard for me (5h55m). Slightly dissapointing result, but a good day out.

Crazy Indoor Model airplane contest

2006-09-25T02:51:00.000-07:00


Carvin 2005 Indoor Model airplane contest. The most amazing RC flying Ive ever seen

New post - been lazy

2006-09-22T01:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry all, been lazy for a while, busy too. Kids going crazy, Fiona still crazy, me normal. A recent pic.

Big news

2006-08-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the news in Carindale is that Fiona is pregnant again!

A little earlier than perfect planning, but still welcome. JC is hoping for a boy, but he says he will forgive us if it is a girl. Another round of Obsettricians and all that medical fuss. Due Mar/Apr.

Camping Jul 2006 2006

2006-07-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Gold coast Marathon 2006! Done!

2006-07-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well; I couldn't be happier. I managed to finish the Gold Coast marathon, despite drinking too much beer in the 3 months prior. It was an awesome Queensland day, with a big crew racing (about 8-9) and PB's set all round.

Full:
Blackman 3:13 (crikeys! (pb))
Glen 3:33 (pb)
Jason 3:46 (pb)
Craig 5:11 (pb)

Half:
Deon 1:29 (crikeys! (pb))
Frampy 1:44 (pb)
Coxy Chris 2:02 (pb)

10:
Bree 0:55 (pb)
Matt 0:58 (pb?)
NV 1:12 (pb?)
Froni 1:21 (pb)

My race report is here if you are in danger of being bored to death.

Everybody dies, but not everybody lives...

A day at the park...

2006-06-26T03:54:00.000-07:00

Camping!

2006-05-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Shenanigans Occurred

2006-05-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

The craziness continues. See here for more.

Super heros are in the area

2006-05-11T01:29:00.000-07:00

Superhero run tomorrow night. Stay tuned for shenanigans update.

Check Josh and Jess' site for new posts...

Happy days

2006-04-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

2006-04-18T03:35:00.000-07:00

Happy to be home with the kids!

Farwell USA - Hello Australia

2006-04-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today the blog take a new turn. It stops being a mechanism to inform aussie friends of how the USA trip is going, and starts to be one I use to inform Yankee friends how the Hendry's are going down under. I leave at 5pm today and touch down 6am Tuesday. Cant wait.

We had a great send off yesterday, at the Bellevue billiard hall. I will post pics soon. I got some very nice parting gifts from many of my good 787 friends. Thanks very much to you all.

Home soon - for good

2006-04-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Only 5 days to go, until I leave USA for good. I will be sad to leave so many great new friends, but I will sure be glad to get back to see Fiona, Joshua Craig and Jessica Erin again.

Golf, USA style

2006-04-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I managed to squeeze in a game of golf before I left, which I really enjoyed. The Everett Country Club is a fully private course and it is amazingly green and soft. I ended up 4th (and last) with 108. It was great to get out and have a whack again. Brent lit up the final holes, with an eagle, which was amazing to see.

X Dog trail run

2006-04-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

I drove the round trip to Portland again this weekend to race in an X Dog event. It was awesome. Their motto is 'Insane ideas - real events'. The course was a bit of a rainforest trail meets blair witch forest kinda deal. Running through the trees under the dark canopy was a bit spooky. It didnt rain too much, so although it was very slimy, it wasnt the mud fest we were expecting. I had some anxious moments running down around muddy corners. It was a very very hard 3 lap event, with a real big climb. Results here - should be up in the next day or two.

An evening outing

2006-04-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

We went to to Seattle to go to the Village pub to watch the semi finals of the college basketball. The games weren't that great, even for the fans, but it was a good night overall. The beer was available is huge crazy chilled jugs. We loved it. Eventually it ran out and Locky freaked again. :)

The Mayo Jar

2006-03-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Some philosophy worth remembering...

A Professor stood before his philosophy class and wordlessly, he picked up a large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golfballs. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So then the professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now", said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your heath, your friends and your favourite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the sink. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Skiing Whistler

2006-03-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Whistler lived up to all the hype, and passed it. It is a very very big mountain. In fact, it is 2 very big mountains. See it here on Google Earth (an awesome tool) (in summer time).

Perisher: 3076 acres - 50 lifts - 53k skiiers/hr - 3km long run
Whistler: 8100 acres - 33 lifts - 59k skiiers/hr - 11k long run
Vail: 5300 acres - 34 lifts - 54k skiiers/hr - 6km long run

Conditions on day 1 were fabulous. Blue skies and shin deep powder everywhere. Fresh tracks. Due to the number of Cat tracks at Whistler, I decided to ski Sat, and possibly board Sun, but I did not regret it. The boarders were struggling there that I saw, and I was having a ball on the planks again. I really think the boarding improved my skiing somehow. On Sunday the cloud came in and with cloud and snowfall, visibility was shot in some places.

Alyssa made me do a little jump which nearly killed me, you can see it here It is 2.5 mg. Its is a blight on my skiing ability, but I maintain that the hill was much steeper than it looks in the video and that jump, was a rock, and my skiis stuck fast on it. It was a great moment in sports.

Colorado

2006-03-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Colorado, as far as I can see is big and brown and flat. Until you hit the rocky's. They are huge and jump out of the ground 20kms outside of denver. Further in, the rockys in Colorado have about a dozen ski resorts. But we were headed to the best, Vail. It was fantastic.

Roller Derby in Denver

2006-03-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Chris and Charles took me to the Roller Derby as a surprise, apart from getting lost in the scariest part of Denver on the way, despite Sat Nav sitting idle on the dash, it was a fantastic evening. It is a pretty brutal sport, and the crowds were interesting, definitely a punk sub culture there. Pics are hard to get when they are flying around the rink.

Happy Birthday

2006-03-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

I want to send out a very happy birthday to my favorite 18yo nephew Adam, who turns (you guessed it) the big 18 today. I am sorry I wont make you 18th bday party this weekend, but Ill be thinking of you. Cheers - you made it - wonders will never cease ;)

Glen

St Louis - Missouri

2006-03-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

I have arrived at the leadership centre, here in St Louis. Its a very cool place. Unfortunately I dont think that I will be able to see much of St Louis at all before I go, but I will see Denver and Boulder this weekend.

To Ski or Board at Whistler - that's the question

2006-03-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Whistler has some medievilly long runs, that -might- lend themselves more to skiing than boarding. I am not quite sure which to do up there. One day of each may be a possibility, but it seems the best choice should be maximised and used all weekend. I am leaning towards boarding at the mo. Any thoughts?

Big trouble in little Colorado

2006-03-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

It appears, that the Anark boys think that they are going to give me some trouble. It would seem that they have a secret little plan to get me innebriated on my arrival there in Boulder next Friday night. Of course, I will do my Aussie best to out-drink and out-bullshit them. It'll be hard, but as they say, someone has to do it. It'll be especially hard to out booze them after my 3 week dry spell, I might be a light weight! It'll be especially hard to out-bullshit them, coz they're Yanks ;)

My exciting outlook

2006-03-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

1 week of work (6-10)
1 week training in St Louis (13-17)
1 weekend in Boulder, Colorado, skiing Vale (18-19)
1 week work (20-24)
1 weekend in Canada, skiing Whistler (25,26)
1 week work (27-31)
1 weekend on Whidbey Island, Half marathon (1,2)
1 week work (3-7)
1 weekend packing up (8,9)
Fly home April 10th !

New slideshow of JCH

2006-03-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

I have posted a slideshow here of Joshua first year. Enjoy.

Running - its a bloody mystery

2006-03-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

Someone explain this to me: I'm heavier than I have been for over 8 years. I have run less in the last month than I ever have in 56 months of my recorded running history, ridden zero and swam zero. To describe it, my monthly mileages for the last 4 months (nov-feb) are: 105,30,40,8! Then I take my little blood clotted leg out for a run yesterday, and over my hard 9km course, I run it over 3 mins faster than ever before on that course, when I was worried I might not make the distance. What is up with that? If you can explain to me how to consistantly get faster by bludging and not running, I'm on board!!!

New baby on the way!

2006-03-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

A friend has had a scan and is pregnant! Great news congrats to you both (yep, there were two involved). Another baby in the mix will make things even more interesting. I am not at liberty to release names, but I am sure all will be revealed soon enough. Ill give you a hint - it's not Fiona.

Revealed! : http://jasjaz.blogspot.com/

Crap movies

2006-02-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

If you're bored, and decide to get out a movie, do not get out Duece Bigolo 2. It is craaaa-aaaap.

While I am on movies, the USA, or at least this part of it, is VERY censored compared to Australia. Many mainstream popular movies have semi-rude words changed, often badly. A prime example, is Austin Powers, when he is on the bed saying 'Do I make you horny baby', the yanks badly dubbed it to say 'randy' instead of horny making no attempt to change his mouth saying horny. I have noticed many other similar examples. I might keep a list of the ones I notice for posterity.

Also, if that weren't bad enough - they dubbed ALL the Bob the Builder voices to be American!! Josh would be outraged.

Austin Powers: 'Do I make you horny/randy baby'

Total Recall: Is that your wife? What a BITCH/Monster!

Demolition Man: Many expletives washed out with soap...

Road Trip: When he realises he has mailed the wrong tape FUDGE instead of F***

Lethal Weapon 4: Danny Glover - Arse kicking/But Chew'n

Good Morning Vietnam: God Damn/Gosh darn

Now I am watching for them, there are too many to keep listing...

I will keep edited this post with updates, these are all I can remember right now.

Snowboarding take 3

2006-02-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Alyssa, Locky and I went back to Snoqualmie Pass today for more snowboard action. We didnt do a lesson today, but boarded pretty hard. Did some jumps, rails etc, it was real fun. A mpg of a railslide is here, sorry its largish (11mb), I dunno yet how to downsize it.

Silly things

2006-02-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

This is a list of the sily things that have been said to me here. Caveat: I am sure I have said things that sounded silly too.

1. Whats that accent you have there, are you French ?
2. What language do you speak in Australia ?
3. Is that a South African accent ?
4. Do you have windows in your houses ?
5. What is a fortnight ? Is that like a big one night stand ?
6. Do you know the Atkins' from Adelaide ?
7. I only have to drive one and eight tenths miles to work.
8. Is that you on the horizon? (A lady looking up a ski slope on the phone to her lost friend)
9. I like Australian and Brazillian accents. I wish we had an accent.

Snoboarding Day 2

2006-02-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

It was a sensational day today. -12 degrees celcius and not a cloud in the sky, nor a breath of wind. Perfect boarding conditions. For some reason, the slopes were bare too, until about 11am, almost noone was on the slopes. It was sensational. We skipped level 2 lesson and did level 3 and it all went very well. I am still really enjoying being a gnarly boarder duude.

Mt Rainier

2006-02-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

Mt Rainier is a huge mountain twice that of Koziousco right near Seattle, rarely visible due to cloud, fog etc. When it is revealed it is nothing short of breath taking. Heres a pic from today when I was out for a run at 3pm. It was freezing! See pic 2.

Snowboarding

2006-02-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

More snowboarding tomorrow at Snoqualmie. I am looking forward to it heaps, although it is supposed to be very cold, 13F (-11). http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/winter/conditions.asp Woohoo.

Cold snap

2006-02-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Crikeys, these yanks know how to have a cold snap. Today was very cold, for me at least, and it didn't get as cold as they said it would.

New car for USA ventures

2006-02-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

I gave back the Grand Prix when I went home for the week, and now I am sporting a Pontiac Montana, best I can figure, its the combination of a SUV and a minivan, either way, it is big. It feels a lot bigger inside that it looks too. I doubt I will get good mileage out of it.

http://www.pontiac.com/montanasv6/gallery.jsp

Today, I tried to fill the car, but the tank is so big that it was more than the $75 pre-authorisation limit on the visa card. It wasnt empty, and after I put 75 bucks in it (at 57c/L) and it still wasnt full, and it had 990km to emtpy. What a tank.

My own beea - I'm so proud

2006-02-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

Craig also put together a fine batch of suds for me, complete with personalised/insulting labels. It was a great moment in sports when they were distributed.

Gathering

2006-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

We had a nice little get together once Jessica came home. See pic.

Jessica has arrived

2006-02-08T15:30:00.002-08:00

See http://jessicahendry.blogspot.com for pics

Dangerous place to live

2006-02-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Most Americans that I have spoken to think that Australia is a rather dangerous place, due to the long list of 'Top Ten' shows they have here, Top ten poisenous snakes, Top ten poisenous spiders, Top ten lethal creatures, Croc killers, many of which spend most of their time filming in Australia. What I think the Americans fail to acknowledge, is that the west coast of the USA is chock filled with volcanoes, earthquake faults, avalanche prone mountain passes and towns etc.

At least if you get bitten by a spider you get to beat the shit out of it before you die, if you get hit by an Avalanche and the impact doesn't kill you, you wake up staring at your own arse, and then freeze to death. It seems to me to be a terribly unpleasant way to go.

Northwesterners

2006-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

This might give you an idea of what its like to live here. I have snipped the boring ones...

1. You know the state flower (Mildew).
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best,
and Veneto's.
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coh! o,! and Sockeye Salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon,
Yakima, and Willamette.
12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark -
while only working eight-hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by
rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see
through the cloud cover.
20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you
can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but
still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the
socks on.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the
old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.
27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

Home sweet home - soon

2006-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

I am having a great time here, seeing lots of great things, working with lots of great people, on a great project, with a great place to stay and cool car to drive, but I miss my friends and family at home. I am really looking forward to getting back next week and hope to catch up with you all.

Snowboarding

2006-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Its stranger to say than it is to hear, but I doubt I will again don the wanker planks that are skis. After 1 two hour lesson and an afternoon of boarding - I love it. I love everything about it that I hated about it when I was a skier. I dont care about the crazy dance you have to do in line for a lift, I dont care about sitting down at the top and bottom of every run, I dont care about the near death experience that is getting off of a chairlift.

Its bloody great. The lesson was so worth it, we got 3 lessons, 3 days passes, 3 days kit hire for USD99. Its an awesome bargain. The boots are more comfy, and learning is not that hard. I was very pleased with myself for getting on board so quickly. Alyssa did awesome too, we aced the class and just went on with it from there. I can swap from front to back and back to front without crashing, but only on green runs so far.

Gnarly duude.

Snow Boarding

2006-01-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

I will be snowboarding today, with lessons and everything. At Snoqualmie Pass. http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com
Stay tuned, more details and pics later.

Comments - come on people !!!

2006-01-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, yall, if you read the blog, feel free to leave me a comment for any you blog entry that you like or hate. Go for it and flame me, dont be a loiterer.

Feel free to post an actual entry if you like.

Glen

Road Rage

2006-01-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

Mental note: dont road rage against people who have over 20 pro-gun stickers on their ute. Its a pity this photo doesnt show them all clearly, but they were scary. My personal favorites are: Guns cause crime like flys cause garbage, Piss on gun control, life member of the NRA, 2006 national terrorist hunting permit, and of course, the number plate...

Australia Day

2006-01-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

Australia day was quiet here. Too quiet. Alyssa, Dave & Ren and I went out (next door) to the Marriott bar to quietly reflect on the passing of an Australian anniversary. There was beer there that was going to go off, so despite it being a school night, I did the right thing and killed a few of them. I did all I could, but I'm just one man. Dave helped, you can see the shock he suffered when the beer finally ran out. What a trooper.
Glen

How 'bout them Seahawks

2006-01-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

Well well well. The Seahawks went nuts and won the grand final of the NFL last night against the Carolina Panthers. Pity I dont remember much about the game. It was a flogging I think. Now the Seahwaks are in the Superbowl, in two weeks time. Against the winner of the other conference (there are 2 'leagues') who beat the Denver Broncos. Seattle is going to be a crazy place for a few weeks I think. What's better is that the Seahawks really look like a fair chance of winning the super bowl. It will be a big day for Seattle.

Mt Pilchuck hike

2006-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

The big My Pilchuck hike got rained out. Bloody rain. We drove all the way up there, only to turn around and drive home. Our spirits were slightly improved by a 5 star breakfast of pancakes (and the works) at IHOP. I wish they had IHOP at home. http://www.ihop.com/ Come hungry -> Leave happy, a great slogan.
Glen

Ambassador Hendry

2006-01-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

My buddy from work has 2 young daughters, one of which is in the girl guides. They were having an 'other countries' night, and they asked me if I would consider doing a little presentation on Australia. Since my exchange program is essentially a cultural exchange I thought this was definitely in my charter, and it seemed like a good thing to do. Well the girls were great, and seemed to enjoy my little powerpoint slide with maps and aussie animals and so I am very pleased that I did it. I was a little nervous, but I got the big thumbs up via a big synchronised 'Thankyou Glen' at the end and I felt pretty chuffed. (see pic)

The grand final of the Grid Iron is on this weekend with the New England Patriots versus the mighty Seattle Seahawks. Go Seahwaks!

Glendry

TV makes me sleepy...

2006-01-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

We have nearly 100 channels here. Its dangerous for a (temporarily) single man who is trying to get to bed early. Interestingly, even with 100 channels, there is still almost nothing on.

Seattle Rain Record

2006-01-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

Seattle is a rainy place. Especially in the winter. Especially if you are from Brisbane. Seattle is currently at its 29th day of consecutive rain, the record being 33, set 50 yrs ago. Yippee.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/01/10/seattle.rain.ap/

Glen

Crystal Skiing complete

2006-01-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Twas a big day. Including a hellish drive and some great snow. We left at 8am, and didnt get ther until 12:30. It was a nightmare. I dont know what was causing the traffic jams, but we crawled for hours as we neared the slopes. Lots of people were turning back. We werent even sure we would be able to ski once we got there based on the numbers. Parking was crazy.

But overall Crystal Mountain was great. Very few beginner runs, so less gumbies, and the snow was simply sensational. Ill let the pics do the talking. It was very cloudy, and very cold, but not too windy, so it meant good conditions for skiing, but not for sight seeing. I really wanted to get a good look at Mt Rainier, but we didnt see it at all.

Glendry

Skiing - Finally

2006-01-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Well I am going skiing today. I am looking forward to it. It is a shame Fiona cant be here as well to ski with me. I am going to Crystal Mountain, 2hrs from here, right next to Mt Rainier. Check web: http://www.skicrystal.com

Ill report back sarvo.

Glen

Petrol

2006-01-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

I love buying petrol here, for one, its dirt cheap, which is good coz Im driving all over the country side, and two, I have never once had to go into the shop, its all pay at the pump, and credit cards are ubiquitously accepted at the pump, with quick approval and no signature required. Its sweet. The pumps, also have the throttle lock on them too, so you get set it up, and then get your bum squeezers back in your pockets, coz its usually 3 degrees outside. No wonder credit card theft is an issue here, in many places, you do not need to sign or show id using them, unless the purchase is large.

Bellingham Half Marathon

2006-01-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

I decided yesterday to do a Half marathon this weekend, so I found one an hours drive north and did it after too many beers, and not enough sleep last night. Pathetic excuses aside, I struggled. I was really hurting the last 10 kays and my ITB flared, so I was reduced to walking some bits. It was very annoying. During the run, I was trying to think of all sorts of reasons why I was performing so poorly, but I was just out of HM shape, and my body was angry. I suffered badl.y for the last 5 kays, to sneak home under 2hrs. Beautiful course, around a nice lake near Bellingham, Washington. Nice conditions also. At home now, sipping some beer, and watching Sahara, a movie based on a novel by a favorite author of mine.

Fiona & JC arrive home safely

2006-01-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

They arrived home in Brisbane 1230h today after long long flight. Good job Fiona, sorry I couldnt be there to help you with JC and bub.

Fiona and Josh gone

2006-01-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Bellevue apartment will be without a little voice for my final 3 months here. I dropped Fiona and Joshua at the airport just now, and they are up up and away to Souel, then Sydeny, then Brisbane. They are due home Sat 6th at lunchtime, as they lose Friday in timezone magic.

Crookedest Street

2006-01-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

We drove down the crookedest st in the world. It was crooked.