Sam Inverso

I finished the Canberra Marathon in 5 hours 48 minutes and 48 seconds!.

I’ve posted some photos in the photo gallery taken by Taira. She was volunteering so their aren’t many. I’ve ordered the official marathon photos and will post them when I get them.

5:48:48 over 26.2 miles (42.2km) means I averaged 13 minute and 19 second miles. I was doing consistent 9:58 miles for the first 12 miles (18 km), then I just started getting slower and slower.

It was pretty hard going, and as foretold by the veterans I met at the pasta party the night before, at about 30 km (18.7 miles) it felt like someone hit me with a brick. I really just wanted to sit down and take a nap. I pushed on and was heartened at 32 km to see that I had beaten my longest previous run time by a half hour!

The last 200 meters were the easiest, even though the winner had finished 3 hours and 28 minutes earlier there were still people at the finish line to cheer us plodding few to personal glory.

Because the course went through parks, walk paths, and bike paths there were many people out enjoying the day, and it was amazing how many of them stopped to cheer us on. The course looped around Parliament house, where the Balloon festival had just begun, and kids lined the streets with smiling faces and stretched our hands for us to slap as we went by. If you ever see haggard runners with bib numbers pinned to their jerseys, smile and say keep it going. It’s a tremendous help.

The marathon would be have been impossible without the many volunteers running aid stations, directing us through tricky bits, and their general perky smiles and unflaggingly supportive attitudes. I nearly hugged the last volunteer at the turn before the finish line when he said I only had 800 meters to go!

All totaled I raised $A 409.20 for the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia, not bad for less than six hours of work. A big thank you to everyone who pledged.

Thanks to everyone that supported and encouraged me over the last three months. Special thanks to Taira, who went as far as cycling ahead of me for 10 miles in the dark with a head lamp so I wouldn’t miss a scheduled long run. Hopefully life will return to normal now. I don’t think I’ll run another marathon, at least … not too soon ;-)

I’m running my first marathon next Sunday (April 15th). There are a few reasons why I’m running a marathon, the first is to see if I can. The second is to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia with per kilometer sponsorship, and the final reason is to have something to blog about ;-)

It’s been a hard three months of training. I’m following a combination of Joe Henderson’s Run Right Now and the Runner’s World Smart Coach. I followed them to the letter so I’m about as prepared as I’m going to be.

My goal is to survive and finish within 5 hours.

Thanks to everyone who is sponsoring me! So far I have received over $200 is pledges.

Wish me luck.

I bought a car! It’s a brown 1987 Toyota Corolla Seca pictured below in all its loveliness.

After walking what feels like three miles with groceries between the supermarket and my apartment I decided it was worth it to get a car.

After looking around for a month or so I came across this beauty and knew I had to have her. 90% of the cars here are white so it’s unique and easy to spot in a parking lot. Toyota’s generally have a good reputation, and I got a good deal on it.The seller wanted $A 1,750, but I bargained him down to $A 1,500 ($US 1,119). Mainly I think he accepted because he is moving over seas and needed to sell quickly. According to The Red Book, the car sells privately for between $A 1,300 and $A 3,200

For those thinking about purchasing a car in Canberra, Australia here is some info on places I searched and costs of ownership. I searched through the ANU classifieds, the Saturday Car Fair in Wooden (by the Police Station and Bus Interchange), and allclassifieds. I found this one through Allclassifieds.

Here’s the cost break down:

A friend of mine bought a 1993 Hyundai accent for $A 2,900 at the same time, so I’ll be happy as long as my car cost with repairs stays under his ;-)

This is the first car I’ve purchased my self, so far it’s running like a charm. I have nick named it the Brown Beauty, but my residents call it the Wombat Mobile. What do you think?

On Saturday, April 15th, I tagged along on a sight seeing tour of Canberra with Chris and his sister Catherine visiting from Sydney. We saw New Parliament House, the outside of Old Parliament House, The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, The War Memorial, and Telstra Tower. All of which were good.
New Parliament House was particularly fun for the trivia: it has 2,700 clocks and a flag as big as the side of a double decker bus.
I’ve posted some pictures in the gallery.