Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

A group run from one-half of the Ewels/Preston property empire (two houses 100 metres apart in Trafalgar), having been there for Kathryn's 30th last night. Started out on the road to the tip - and in the plain-speaking country they still call it a tip, not a "transfer station" or a "resource recovery centre" - before heading up onto some steepish bush tracks in a patch of forest on the escarpment behind Trafalgar. This is rainforest in places and very thick elsewhere, but has a decent track network. It was, however, very slippery with the recent rain and present drizzle, something I demonstrated on two different occasions (the first time taking enough skin off an elbow to be able to show a bit of solidarity with the MTBOers next weekend). Didn't want to take it beyond an hour - and in any case had a train to catch. The others all went out for a second loop.

The main positive from today was that the knee was significantly improved, with only mild discomfort and much more stability than either yesterday or last weekend. Hopefully this means I can start building back into things, starting with having the sort of 50-60% week this week that I was planning to have last week.

The trip down to Trafalgar had its moments. I decided to put the regional train network to the test (well-used by country people coming to Melbourne, but hardly at all in the reverse direction because of the lack of transport at the other end unless your destination was within walking distance of a station, which mine was yesterday). I had forgotten that it was Caulfield Cup day and we would therefore have our share of drunken racegoers, which degenerated into worse after one of them made what I took to be a sexually suggestive remark to someone who was under age. This prompted someone else, who may or may not have been the father of the girl concerned (noting that "father" is a somewhat more blurred concept in some of the places the train was going than we're used to), to take vigorous issue with them, and this ended up in a rolling all-in brawl in the aisle (albeit of the pushing-and-shoving-and-lots-of-foul-language variety - I didn't see any actual punches thrown). Most of the offenders either were evicted or evicted themselves to continue hostilities at Tynong station; one might hope that a few of them might tread the well-trodden path to Moe Magistrates', but I'm not holding my breath.

Much more sedate on the way home this morning - just some high-spirited teenagers whose singing wasn't totally atrocious.

C • Makes the bendigo line seem gentrified 4

First attempt at running. Certainly not 100% but not as bad as I thought it might have been, and warmed up reasonably well with no real pain; still feeling a bit unsure down and up hills. Also pulled up OK afterwards.

There weren't many hills on this one except early and late, with one of the main purposes of this run (apart from testing an injury) being to investigate any local flooding after the heavy rain of the last 24 hours. The answer was that there wasn't much - the Yarra is running strongly but has not yet burst its banks. Suspect it might be a bit different in Wagga or the southwestern half of Canberra.

C • Murrumbidgee... 1

Still not feeling brilliant walking (especially on stairs) but decided I'd still give pool running a go, and turned out to respond pretty well - a solid session with no awkwardness in the knee (and it probably felt a bit better afterwards too). Chickened out on Fitzroy given the wildness of the weather and went indoors at Ivanhoe, before getting to see that people still haven't learned that umbrellas are useless in high winds (especially on the Collins Street bridge which is one of the windiest places in Melbourne, and whose rubbish bins are periodically filled with shredded umbrellas).

Will have a go at an (easy) run tomorrow before heading down to Trafalgar for Kathryn and Rob's gathering.

Geography epic fail of the day: to the report in that esteemed high-quality publication, MX, which reported an alleged terrorist plot in which the terrorists were going to arrive in Delhi by sea.

C • MX 3

Don't seem to be making an awful lot of progress at the moment. Will give it another couple of days (in a week which I had been half-thinking of taking off anyway) and try some pool running on Friday; if it's not up to proper running by the weekend then the time will have come to get it looked at properly.

A lesson in spin spotting 101: any newspaper letter-writer, or talkback radio caller, who claims to be a long-term voter for party X but is so disgusted with their position on issue Y that this time they are going to switch to party Z, is very probably a long-term member of party Z.

Both sides do this (although I've never put my name to such a missive myself - my only contribution to such discourse was in my days as Orienteering ACT secretary, in response to a tobacco industry claim that banning tobacco sponsorship would devastate smaller sports). One such correspondent's cover was blown, though, when he received an award at the Liberal state conference for outstanding service to the party by virtue of writing so many letters to newspapers.

A reasonably relaxed session physically; not especially stiff after the weekend. Knee not entirely comfortable with this, though, and will have to be careful over the next few days. Also taking a bit of a break from running until it settles down; the timing helps there.