Training Log Archive: inuksuk

Silver Stream. I climbed up Powder Hill from the scout camp at Whare flats. The whole valley has been flooded so lots has changed in the last week. Its a real shame the lower parts are being sectioned off - they say Aotearoa isn't an American suburb; I still wonder. The track was really overgrown in places near bushline. Gaultheria berries were everywhere - yum. The bush was quiet except for the odd tomtit, grey warbler or fantail. I did kick up some pigs near bushline.

Easy run through Logan Park and botanic gardens. Met Antoine running opposite direction. Found out he's raced Wil and Mike in NB. Its a funny small world.

Commute - Ocean Grove to university

Finally a nice day. A slight onshore breeze made the ride really pleasant.

McGoun's track. I dropped off the track in the douglas fir glade and bashed through the blechnum, astelia, and coprosma through a beautiful Sequoia glade to flagstaff road. An interesting area. Came back through Ross Creek.

Commute - University to Ocean Grove with a slight diversion to the inch bar for a pint of Emerson's London Porter. yum.

Weather crapped out again...more rain. excellent.

C • So apparently May is not a goo... 2

To unipol via logan park playing fields...

felt spent from first 500m. yeeha.

Ran through logan park and botanic gardens. My legs felt like lead for the first 5min!

Still more rain. Welcome to another Dunedin winter. The novelty has worn off already and winter has hardly begun. arrgh...give me a dry cold any day!

Mostly uneventful, except I did manage a laugh when I busted out of the bush onto the playing fields at the top end of the reserve, where I noticed a person crouched in the rain in the tell-tale mushroom picking position. I'm still not sure whether she got more of a shock from the appearance of a sopping lunatic bursting out of the bushes or the fact that I commented "good day for it" as I ran past (which, I suppose it was for those inclined; they were everywhere...)

mostly warm down -- walked to start. I've been doing some serious contemplation of Jim Cotter's theories on warm ups...

Flock Hill. I ran well today but I just wasn't clicking with the map so my orienteering suffered some serious flaws. I suffered from innumerable "wrong side of the right feature" "can see the feature but can't figure out how to get around the *&^%(&*^ cliffs to get to it" and "running to the wrong feature inside the circle"

I've come to the conclusion that you "learn" Flock Hill, both in how to deal with the terrain and you subconsciously learn the usable features. Lots of people referred to attack points they'd used before. Of course, having said that, I used a knoll as an attack point that I'd seen with lara a few weeks ago. It was perfect: right on the edge of the circle amongst the rocks. I spiked it and took a rough bearing. Missed. Went back and tried again taking care to look more closely at my bearing.... same. Third time? finally. So maybe my theory is flawed.

I hit 21 of them more-or-less cleanly, and botched about 6 (and totally blew one of them) not very good, but still was great training and awesome fun. The finish was through the "battle scene" of Narnia. Quite funny.

Flock Hill. I got to some bouldering with La, while Aaron and Sara practiced jumaring.
We found lots of really elegant problems (and not-so-elegant fist jamming overhangs!) just within half a dozen rocks. The possiblities there are mindblowing -- I felt surprisingly good for how long its been since I've been on rock.

Ran up Andrews stream to Hallelujah flats (Aurthur's Pass). Great day for it: cool and crisp, and the rain thankfully kept to the coast. The bush was eeriely quiet today. It didn't feel like 2.5 hours.

We put in four or five surges in the last k. It felt really good to open up after a couple hours of grinding ups and downs.