Sydney City2Surf

[kiwikrasher]

If you've had a look through the Fitness thread lately you may have noticed I'm doing a far wack of running recently.

I'm currently training for the City2Surf 14 km run on the 10 August. As the name suggests it starts in the heart of the Sydney CBD and finishes out at Bondi Beach. It's a very well attended event, with approx 85,000 runners last year. I qualified for Red Group last year, which puts me in the lead group behind all the seeded runners. As my time was 65'43" last year I'm aiming at breaking the magic hour, which would put me in the first 1000 finishers.

Along with the run, I use this event to fundraise for Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect). As a few of the long timers on the forum would know, my young fella is affected by autism so I know first-hand the struggles families can face coping and dealing with this disability. Apsect was a great resource of information and contacts post Byron’s diagnosis and I have seen the difference their work makes to those affected by ASD.

So if anyone is interested in having a read up on my progress or donating, please visit my page https://city2surf2014.everydayhero.com/au/paul

Regardless, I'll update this thread with the results.

Cheers

[C00kiemonster]

Cool

I'll have a look later see what I can do.

Looks like a great event

[kiwikrasher]

Cool

I'll have a look later see what I can do.

Looks like a great event

It is a great event Cookie, the atmosphere is crazy, plenty of supporters lining the road, I must have high fived a couple of hundred kids last year!
The main drama last year was not having run it since '97 I had no official time to move up the groups, so had to start in the open (blue) group and spent the first 6 kms in insane traffic. I was pretty slow on average till Heartbreak Hill and then it thinned out just enough to run at my own pace consistently. The red group I'm in this year is for runners that ran between (for men) 54 min-70 min. So I hope to be mid field somewhere and the traffic issue should be a lot better. I'll see if I can find my log of the run.

[kiwikrasher]

[Kwacky]

I can't see it at work. I'll take a look tonight when I get home

[wazza675]

I chipped in $20.

My eldest daughter has Aspergers Syndrome which falls on the Autism spectrum. I can only imagine how difficult things could (and would) be if she had low a functioning form of Autism. I only wish I had more patience.

Good Luck!!

Wazza
(formerly Bluedaytona02 from D6.0rg)

[kiwikrasher]

I chipped in $20.

My eldest daughter has Aspergers Syndrome which falls on the Autism spectrum. I can only imagine how difficult things could (and would) be if she had low a functioning form of Autism. I only wish I had more patience.

Good Luck!!

Wazza
(formerly Bluedaytona02 from D6.0rg)

Cheers Wazza! My young fella has High Functioning Autism which a lot of professionals in the field consider as Aspergers. It was only his early speech delay and early displays of traits that pushed him into the Autism diagnosis. The latest version of the DSM actually removes the labels PDD-NOS, Aspergers and Autism, and now it is all just Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The logic behind it is even 2 kids with the same label can be wildly different and the labels were pre-judging kids. Now therapies are more designed around the individual rather than a label.

And I agree with you, I regularly thank my lucky stars that Byron isn't low functioning. I have spent time with a family with a servely Autisc boy that was the same age as Byron and I really felt for them. Though it was amazing, Byron and him seemed to have an understanding and played together (well parallel play) all weekend with absolutely no spoken communication and no dramas. They were both 4.

I also agree, patience is the thing I struggle with the most, and I have grown as a parent by having to deal with his ASD.

Thanks again mate, and I wish you and your family the best.

[D6Nutz]

My eldest (now 4) is being put forward for Aspergers assessment, and listening to the questioning it's made me think about my own diagnosis. I personally was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, but from the questions they have asked about my son I have (and historically have had) many traits of apsergers.

The one thing I can say is he has certainly improved my strength of character and enabled me to strengthen my patience levels. But it is most certainly interesting helping him to grow and work with his intricate challenges. I hope his diagnosis enables him to learn in the way that my diagnosis did, it certainly hasn't held me back.

I wish you the very best of luck with the run. I follow the fitness thread so certainly know that you deserve a good result

[kiwikrasher]

My eldest (now 4) is being put forward for Aspergers assessment, and listening to the questioning it's made me think about my own diagnosis. I personally was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, but from the questions they have asked about my son I have (and historically have had) many traits of apsergers.

The one thing I can say is he has certainly improved my strength of character and enabled me to strengthen my patience levels. But it is most certainly interesting helping him to grow and work with his intricate challenges. I hope his diagnosis enables him to learn in the way that my diagnosis did, it certainly hasn't held me back.

I wish you the very best of luck with the run. I follow the fitness thread so certainly know that you deserve a good result

Funny you should say that about yourself mate, I had a similar awakening about myself. I was never diagnosed with anything as a kid, but with my increasing knowledge of ASD I wonder if I would have in this day and age. I was an extremely anxious kid, and very obsessive. I got sent to a few psychologists but it all got put down to my environment (followed my dad thru' three marriages, domestic violence, his alcoholism and drug use and psychological torture from his third wife that I later discovered was a paranoid schizophrenic). All my family and closer friends all joke that I have OCD, but it gets put down to my military time.

Best thing about it all Nutz is it puts you in the best place to help with strategies and therapies, because you will 'get' your child better than someone without the traits. I've talked my son down from meltdowns over the phone from work when my wife has not been able to calm him for hours.

Try and get hold of Temple Grandin's book, 'The Way I See It' , there's ebook versions. She is a professor that has autism and gives some amazing insights into the mind of ASD. Some of the concepts in there have helped me amazingly with Byron.

All the best of luck mate, and feel free to drop me a PM if you ever want to ask questions. You may remember Scarlet from here, her son has ASD, and she helped me so much when I was struggling with Byrons diagnosis, so I understand how valuable it is to have someone further down the path to bounce off.

[wazza675]

Having read your post, I hit up Book Depository and placed an order, most of which are written by Temple Grandin (as you suggested)...

Bright Not Broken (Hardback) By (author) Diane M. Kennedy, By (author) Rebecca S. Banks, By (author) Temple Grandin (AUD$23.18 Save $7.21 RRP $30.39
The Autistic Brain: Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed (Paperback) By (author) PH D Temple Grandin, By (author) Richard PanekAUD$14.02 Save $2.94 RRP $16.96
The Autistic Brain (Paperback) By (author) Temple Grandin, By (author) Richard Panek AUD$14.68 Save $3.19 RRP $17.87
Asperger's and Girls : World-renowned Experts Join Those with Asperger's Syndrome to Resolve Issues That Girls and Women Face Every Day (Paperback) By (author) Tony Attwood, By (author) Teresa Bolick, By (author) Catherine Faherty, By (author) Lisa Iland, By (author) Temple Grandin, By (author) Jennifer McIlwee Myers, By (author) Ruth Snyder, By (author) Sheila Wagner, By (author) Mary WrobelAUD$17.15 Save $9.59 RRP $26.74
The Way I See it: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's (Paperback)
By (author) Temple Grandin AUD$20.00 Save $6.74

Some light reading for the missus!!

[kiwikrasher]

It's more enlightening reading Wazza!

Good work mate, I've been to a couple of autism workshops that were very helpful but that last book helped me much more, some great fundamental concepts discussed in there. You make me feel lacking that I haven't read the rest now!

[wazza675]

I haven't yet either.
Never been one to read self help books or biographies. And It's only as I have gotten older that I have read the lord of the rings trilogy and I'm now part way through book four of game of thrones (actually called a song of ice and fire).
Hopefully I'll be able to get into the autism books and learn something.