Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Last leg at Jukola. This always promised to be a bit of a physical epic; last leg at Jukola usually is. The advantage of doing it is that you're the one member of the team who can get a reasonably normal night's sleep (I was planning on the basis of a 7.30 start and ended up going out about 8.10). It was a somewhat daunting prospect and became more daunting when I woke up during the night when Kerrin came into our tent after his leg, and found out he'd done 110 - I thought he'd be close to 90. (All the times were long - the winners were 45 minutes slower than expected).

I've had a few good epics in recent weeks - I think making a good job of the Canberra marathon has given me a lot of confidence in my ability to handle races in the 100-110 minute range. This was no exception as I lasted the distance without too much difficulty; it was also a bit less physical than I thought it might have been after the model and reports from earlier runners, although some of that was because of the tracking, which in a few areas where legs 4, 5, 6 and 7 converged was almost as prominent as it was in the Canberra marathon.

There were too many mistakes to classify this as a good run, as I lost 1-2 minutes at each of 19 and 20, losing concentration on the first split section after a long common stretch where I'd been in (and often leading) a group as often as not. Also lost about 2 minutes at 9. Before the 19/20 losses I'd hoped to get under 110 but in the end had to settle for 113.

We didn't do quite as well as last time, ending up 231st (last time 184th). We were in the 300s for the first three legs but the three juniors, Ollie, Nick and Leon, all did an excellent job; I started 243rd and thought I might have had an outside shot at the top 200 if things went really well, but I think I'd have had to have gone sub-100 to pull that off.

It rained through the first three legs and at the end, and mud was not in short supply, although I avoided the worst of it (keeping an eye out for treacherous bogs after hearing of Simon spending 30 seconds trying to extricate himself from one).

Not an exceptional run, but still an encouraging one as an indicator of my potential to handle what's ahead.

Jukola is as big as ever in Finland - we saw a newspaper on the table when we stopped for lunch on the way back to Helsinki and it had the front page and a double-page spread in the sports section (and that was before the men had even started - the women run on Saturday afternoon). Also passed the electronic big screen and its truck on the rad, heading back to Sweden.

Next stop Oslo for the World Cups next weekend; fly across there tomorrow.

C • Coverage 2

Event: Jukola 2008
 

A light hit-out, again on the Jukola model map but taking controls in a different order this time. Felt significantly better running this morning, and starting to get the feel of the forest a bit more, although the rougher stuff is still quite hard work.

Training on the Jukola model map. 1.5km each way on a track to get there then an 8km course. Again struggling to get much physical fluency in the terrain, but navigating reasonably well. Quite a few junky legs through felled stuff and marshes which were very hit and miss - am hoping that this reflects a couple of years worth of vegetation change since the map was made and that the Jukola map itself will be better.

Once again managed to dodge the rain - it was pouring in Tampere at lunchtime but the rest of the day out at the Jukola venue was dry. Not warm though - only about 15 degrees.

Event: Forssa Games
 

Arrived in Finland at 3.00 p.m., drove for two hours and was on a course by 6.30. In the circumstances I thought that entering the elite class at Forssa would be just a tad ambitious (plus you had to be in the quarantine area by 6 - which as it turned out I would have made by the skin of my teeth), so I was happy to settle for an enter-on-the-day course to get the feel of Finnish forest and turn my legs over.

It took me 10 minutes to get any sort of feel for running in the forest; picked up a bit after that. Navigation was pretty easy - probably a moderate course by local standards, although the map still took a little bit of getting used to.

Flight over was fine, apart from a bit of lower back soreness at the end of the first leg. Only negative was that almost all the Asian crossing, which had the potential for fabulous views, was cloudy.

Final hit-out before heading to Finland tonight. Felt good at times but lacking power on the hills; calf playing up a bit today as it periodically does. Will want more strength here when I make it to Europe.

I won't be upset not to do the first half of a run in the dark for a while, nor to miss out on a 5.15 alarm for the next few weeks (except possibly for Jukola night). It does have the positive side-effect that I'll hit the plane tonight exhausted and will therefore be able to sleep OK on it (at least that's the idea; will have to see how well it works in practice).

C • Good luck with your sleepin... 1

Took a long time to get going with a bit of stiffness (particularly in the left buttock for some reason) but not bad once properly underway.

Second leg of an abnormal Tuesday triathlon (followed up by the ride into work, which was unusually favoured by the lights today). A not-especially consequential session on a morning as warm as one can possibly expect at Fitzroy (and from the forecasts I've seen, a good deal warmer than my first morning in Finland is going to be).

C • Good luck 4

Mass-start handicap race at Kooyoora. Lacked energy and enthusiasm before the start and carried it for a fair bit of the race. My concentration also wasn't as good as it was on the last two days with several small mistakes, although nothing more than 20 seconds or so. Most of these were when other people were around - hopefully this isn't an omen for the coming weeks where crowds will be there in abundance.

After the first short loop Leon and I were together. He pulled away a little bit at that stage; I wasn't too upset to let him go as I thought I had a better chance through him making mistakes than in a running race (as it turned out he had an excellent run and ended up winning). Continued to plod away until starting to pick some others up later on; Matt Schepisi at 14 and David Colls at 18. I had my best stretch battling with them over the last couple of kilometres; we were together at 21, but then my route choice around the green on 22 failed to pay off, which gave David the break. Matt was 50 metres behind me at 23 but did me in the sprint. (David was on the longest option, Matt on a slightly shorter one). We were about 3 minutes behind Leon, Jim and Dave Brownridge. I couldn't be happy with this run; in this field I should have been in the lead pack (and then should have been able to at least head the second pack given the opposition). The main problem was that until the 55-minute mark I didn't really want to be there and was going through the motions.

Nuisance-level rain throughout, but not enough to make the rock slippery.

Mentioning energy and enthusiasm reminds me of one of the more memorable parliamentary interjections, back in the 1950s when a Labor backbencher was speaking glowingly of his leader, Bert Evatt, and said that he had displayed "capacity, judgement, energy and enthuasism" - whereupon an interjector said "so did that chap Lawson" and dissolved the session in uproar. The Lawson in question had just been jailed in NSW for raping five models (and, as of a couple of years ago, is still alive and still in jail as Australia's longest-serving prisoner).

C • Gadget 2