adventures in myki

I’ve been a relatively early adopter, for once, of the latest thing here in Melbourne: our whiz-bang billion-dollar ticketing system, Myki.

It’s fair to say it’s not been an altogether smooth experience. Myki is the curate’s egg of “smart” ticketing systems – good in parts.

For one thing, the website is appalling. It appears to be designed only for Internet Explorer AKA “The browser of the beast”, which all sensible people avoid like Sam Newman with an extra-infectious case of the plague. Also, as far as I can tell, it uses table layouts, which were the latest thing back in 1996. There are also several rookie mistakes right the way through the thing, the kind of mistakes that would have been picked up in basic user testing.

Sigh.

I managed to order a card, despite obstacles, and it came exactly 2 days too late, meaning I had to buy another weekly Metcard to make it through.

It was only today I managed to put it to use.

This morning it worked like a charm. I “touched on” and it went beep appropriately, and super-quickly. I was pleasantly surprised, which is lucky as there is absolutely no-one to help you at Ringwood East, and nowhere to buy tickets within about 200km. At Parliament, it was even better. I got to work and sent a tweet about it all being perfect.

Sadly, the trip home was not so smooth. At Parliament, the same ticket barriers that bent over backwards to accomodate my shiny new card in the morning, flatly refused to acknolwedge my Myki at all. I may as well have been waving a limp piece of lettuce in their direction. I tried every gate, feeling progressively more humiliated. Eventually I asked one othe Myki mates what was happening. He said it was my card, and I should go online to check.

Good one. Very helpful.

So, my card works perfectly in the morning, and mysteriously turns into a turnip in the afternoon? I don’t think so.

My afternoon facebook status update was composed on my mobile, and was not so glowing, believe me. I think I used the phrase “steaming pile of crap” and I would have carried on in that vein at great length if I didn’t have to use my phone’s frustrating, dinky little keyboard.

Running
Another “speed” session bright and early this morning. It was the same as last Friday’s session – 4 x 1200m with 400m float recovery between reps. Add in warm-up and cool down, and it was about 8km. I could be imagining things, but it seemed a touch easier than last week. Hard to tell, really.

I tried some 1200s

…and they were fun.

Well, that’s not exactly true. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning to do them wasn’t fun. Croydon athletics track isn’t all that fun, especially with the sun not quite up. The lungs leaping out of my mouth bit wasn’t fun.

But the rest was good, especially when it was over.

I did 4 x 1200 with a 400m float recovery between them. Add on some warm-up and cool down and it was 8km of running.

I don’t believe I feel any faster; I’m still as sluggish as a particularly lazy fat slug on a slow day. One assumes this will improve if I continue with this sort of thing.

try some 1200s

Well, my recovery from knee injury (and other things we won’t go into) has been progressing pretty well. I can now run around 60km per week pretty comfortably.

The problem is this: the 60km are all done at a pretty easy, slow, comfortable pace. In short: junk miles (“junk kms” doesn’t have quite the same ring).

I need a bit of quality, a bit of speed.

So, I was googling this morning, when I came across Runner’s World US site, and an article called Try Some 1200s. So, I thought, why not?

But the thing is, there are 5 different types in his article. See:

1. Straight Set: 4 x 1200
   Run the 1200s one or two seconds per lap faster than you normally run mile repeats. Jog three or four minutes between intervals for recovery.
2. Three Laps and One: 1200-400-1200-400-1200-400
   Run the 1200s at the same pace and with the same recovery as above. Run the 400s five or six seconds faster than 1200-meter pace with a 400-meter jog recovery before starting the next 1200.
3. Descending Ladder: 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200
   Take a one-to-one jog recovery after each interval.
4. Sneaky Miles: 3 x 400-200-400-200-400
   The 400s are run at 800-meter-repeat pace (one or two seconds faster than 1200-meter pace), while the 200s are “floated” at an easy-run pace.
5. Quartered 1200s: 4 x (4 x 300)
   Run each 300 one or two seconds faster per lap than 5-K race pace and run an easy 100 meters between each 300.

Which should I choose? Go on, I know there are some speed demons and track people who read my blog every now and then.

Running
A pleasant 11km this lunch-time from work down to Fawkner Park and back.

quick bits

For those of you who are runners (I think that’s most), can you relate to this?

There are certain streets, paths, footpaths etc. where I almost always run really fast. For example, Little Lonsdale street heading East between Swanston Street and Spring Street. There’s something about the timing of the lights, the terrain or something unknown that makes me fly along there.

Also, Mount Dandenong Road, heading West from Dublin road. I usually do this towards the end of my run and always have a kick of speed. Once I averaged 18kph (according to a passing cyclist with a bike computer).

Some of this can be accounted for by the “close to home” factor. When you start out you feel fresh and happy and full of energy. Conversely, when you know you only have 1km to go before the end of the run, you’re tired but you may as well speed up and burn up whatever’s left of your energy.

Also, flat bits immediately after long-ish, but not too steep, hills tend to be fast. I think that’s because your body gets used to an increased level of effort to get up the hill. When the hill levels off you continue with that same effort level, but this gives you much faster running on the flat.

Does that make sense?

I also have slow spots (actually – that’s most of Melbourne at the moment). The bit of the Capital City Trail that runs under Dynon road is always a slow one, I think because it’s so damn depressing.

New phone
I upgraded my mobile phone from an ancient Nokia (black and white screen, did phone calls and texts and that’s about it) to a new HTC Magic. It’s one of those phones that uses the Google mobile operating system – Android – though not the new Google phone. It’s my latest toy, and lots of fun. If you leave a comment on this blog, it gets sent to my gmail account which is automatically synced with my phone. The upshot of that is that I can reply to your comments without hauling my fat arse of the couch.

Joy.

I can also play stupid games, look at the internet and upload photos to facebook and twitter. I believe it also makes and receives phone calls, but I haven’t tried that: not enough time.

Running
12.5km yesterday morning, including that bit of Mt Dandenong Road, which I “fanged” it along, as usual. 13km this morning from my work to Brunswick and back.

speed returns

It had been missing for a while, my speed. So long, in fact, that I was beginning to suspect it had left me for another man, and that I was doomed to be known forever more as “JH – the plodder”.

Today, as if from nowhere, and without me even noticing, my speed came back.

I ran 14.84km (best to be precise about these things!) in exactly an hour, including a reasonable amount of time spent standing at various traffic lights in Carlton, Brunswick, Northcote, Fitzroy and the city.

I’m happy with that, especially as it didn’t seem especially fast at the time.

Sick
The gremlins that been working so assiduously in recent weeks and months towards the greater goal of my body’s self-destruction, have either kept quiet or had a rest today. The knee and other unmentionable bits feel fine, or as near to fine as can be expected.

I was worried I’d spend the week between last Monday’s GP appointment and this coming Monday’s specialist appointment in a panicked fog, but that hasn’t come to pass. All is serenity and bliss and if there lurks an dark undercurrent somewhere, I’m content for it to remain buried somewhere until I need it.