Sunday Jul 8 |
 | Run race ((Dubbo Dash)) 14:53 [4]*** 2.8 km (5:19 / km) +90m 4:35 / km | |
| spiked:16/17c |
| If you were trying to find a form of orienteering totally unsuited to me it would be hard to go past a mass-start sprint race. There were a few people on the start line who were talking about using me as the chief navigator (whereupon I told them about the World Cup race in Switzerland in 1996 - otherwise infamous for the flash flood - where I was leading a pack of 12 which I didn't expect to be able to outsprint, so I deliberately punched a wrong control that I spotted and got most of the rest of the pack either disqualified or very confused).
As it turned out I drifted a bit wide on the longish first leg and was almost at the back of the field, and then spent the rest of the course picking people off one by one, rising to about halfway 1.20 down, which isn't actually too bad for me in a sprint. Would have been quite an interesting sprint as an interval start race, with some nice detail near the river, but the number of people out meant there was essentially no navigation. Didn't feel that sharp but that was no surprise. The steeper river banks were very slippery after morning rain - anyone who didn't end up on their backside at least once wasn't trying very hard. |
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| C • Cute tactic. I hadn't heard th... 1 |
Saturday Jul 7 |
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| Event: JWOC 2007
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| Run race 1:37:56 [4]*** 14.4 km (6:48 / km) +540m 5:44 / km | |
| spiked:28/30c |
| A steady run which was a bit slower than I would have liked, on an area with gully-spur and rock lines - reminded me a bit of Julimar (the WA National League area from 2005).
Didn't miss much, just a couple of 15-seconders - pleasing in particular to nail some difficult ones coming down onto rock lines from above. Lasted the distance OK but not as sharp as I'd like to be. The final result was 5th (and not too far away from 2nd), but Shep was a long way away, 12 minutes ahead - a fair reflection of my speed (I even got done in the finish chute by my sister - who had a pretty reasonable run herself).
Caught Rune 4 minutes at 13. He ran away and then I caught him again out of 18. He ran away again and I didn't see him again, but finished a couple of minutes ahead of him on the ground so he must have hit further trouble.
Road sign watch: on the way between Parkes and Peak Hill: 'You are now entering the Bogan Catchment'. Hopefully there's a similar sign in the reverse direction on the way out to the JWOC areas - it will give the Australians the chance to introduce everyone to some Australianisms. |
Thursday Jul 5 |
| Run 40:00 [3] 9 km (4:27 / km) | |
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| Last hit-out before the championships week. Was staying on a farm about 20km out of Birchip and did an out-and-back up the local road. The bitumen ended at their gate so I was on dirt all the way (I didn't ask our hosts whether either of them has ever been mayor).
A nice run on a windy morning - felt pretty good, even quite strong at times. |
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| C • Ridings 2 |
Wednesday Jul 4 |
| Run 58:00 [3] 13 km (4:28 / km) | |
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| Reasonable session in the city. Included a loop around the Tan where I pushed the pace up to around 4 mins/km pace, felt OK. Stomach a bit iffy. Got caught in a sharp shower in the last few minutes.
I leave Melbourne today, initially for Birchip (where I'm working tomorrow), then for Dubbo, then for a couple of weeks in Queensland (coast first, then outback) returning through SA. Updates may be somewhat sporadic, especially after the JWOC week. |
Tuesday Jul 3 |
| Run 1:21:00 [3] 17 km (4:46 / km) | |
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| Around the hills of Eaglemont, most of it on the branch newsletter delivery run. A patchy run, strong on some hills but lacklustre on others.
More or less by accident we've (hopefully) got some additional media publicity for JWOC. I was doing an interview on matters climatological with the statewide drive program of ABC Radio NSW (which covers the whole state except Sydney) and dropped in a reference to JWOC. As a result they're keen to do a reports slot with me next week. Hopefully it comes off.
(The listeners of ABC Newcastle must be getting sick of the sound of my voice as it's the second time they would have heard from me today - I spoke with them earlier about something else - but I've probably still got about 50 to go to catch up to the Minister for Ports). |
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| C • Media talent 5 |
Monday Jul 2 |
| Swimming 30:00 [2] 1 km (30:00 / km) | |
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| Reasonably routine session at Fitzroy. Took a while to get going. As we move into July the Fitzroy pool (which is outdoors) is increasingly a place for the hard core - certainly not as many around as there were in, say, March. |
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| C • Weather 3 |
| Run 45:00 [2] 8 km (5:38 / km) | |
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| A not particularly fast MFR Monday night run, with a larger crowd than usual for winter (partly because Rune drew a crowd, I'm sure). Felt OK without being stellar.
I spent most of the day checking old cyclone tracks so it was natural that my mind at one point turned to trying to work out how many members of tonight's contingent (running and otherwise) have cyclones named after them. The answer appears to be four - Warren (category 3, Gulf of Carpentaria, 1995), Fergus (category 2, New Zealand, 1996), Zoe (category 5, Solomon Islands, 2002) and Max (category 1, Darwin, 1981). Perhaps surprisingly there's never been a Bruce or a Nicola; less surprisingly, there's also never been a Rune or a Torgeir. |
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| C • Cyclone Torgeir 2 |