Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Again 3 on/1 off. Once again a run which was indifferent as a run, but the knee was in a reasonable shape, just feeling a little odd briefly at one point late. Started from the Ivanhoe pool and thought about going via Darebin Parklands but didn't think I'd be able to get across the creek after the rain of the last 36 hours or so.

If this had been a more significant run I might have entered it somewhat fired up after watching the soccer in the morning. I adopted Norwich City as a team when I was over in England in 1989 but I'd only previously seen them twice (once in person, once in TV) - they've spent most of the last 15 years in lower divisions which don't get a lot of coverage. This morning was the first time I've seen them score a goal. It was certainly an eventful match - six goals (three apiece) including a penalty against, the Norwich captain getting sent off, and the Norwich manager getting sent off. Can't imagine the referee would be too popular in those parts at the moment. (The penalty was there, the red card probably wasn't, and I don't know what the manager said).

Followed the run with a pool running session at Ivanhoe, struggling a bit for space as the session went on, being squeezed on one side by the aqua aerobics and on the other side by the enthusiastically-bombing ten-year-old older brothers of the five-year-olds having swimming lessons (the waves they generated would have been sufficient to power the City of Banyule). Managed not to get landed upon and felt fairly reasonable.

Event: Meeting Orientamento Venezia
 

In a surprisingly good mood after another dismal night's sleep (this time because of railway maintenance work, a more frequent occurrence this year than it has been in the past), finding the window of light drizzle between heavier periods of rain. Stepping it up again a bit with 3 min on/1 off. Knee slightly worse than Thursday but not enough to cause any real alarm.

The state election is now only two weeks away and aspirants are out and about. After running section number 4 I encountered the Labor candidate for Ivanhoe (whose views of the vibes are similar to mine - little enthusiasm but little hostility either); after section number 5 I encountered the Liberal candidate (and distracted him from an approaching shopper who might have actually been convinced to vote for him). The Liberal candidate is a fitness instructor by trade and certainly looks like an enthusiastic user of gym equipment (or perhaps an enthusiastic user of 'nutritional supplements').

Swim at MSAC after dropping my car off for a service. Felt generally rather sluggish.

I'm currently researching a piece I'm writing on the northern Tasmanian floods of April 1929 (with some help from Kirsten in determining which bits of Launceston go under when the Tamar's 4-6 metres above its normal level). As usual I've had some fun going through the papers, including the discovery that hooning was a problem in Adelaide 81 years ago (someone appeared in court on a charge of riding a motorbike down Anzac Highway at 50 miles per hour, which doesn't sound too exciting now but would have been in 1929). I was wondering if the Mercury was taking a particularly parochial view when the worst natural disaster in the history of northern Tasmania was relegated to a position well behind a court case in which a Hobart man was acquitted of stealing a tarpaulin valued at 10 shillings from the Tasmanian Railways, but it turned out that virtually no news of the goings-on in the north actually made it to Hobart until three days later. One picture showed a large crowd watching the show from the bridge at the bottom of Cataract Gorge, a somewhat brave move given the number of northern Tasmanian bridges that ended up somewhere in the middle of Bass Strait (where they were joined by the Duck Reach power station).

And there was an 'oops' in a more recent paper, today's Herald-Sun, which reported on a case in which the Minister for Immigration had stated that an American facing charges in Alabama would stay in immigration detention until a decision was reached on his extradition, which wouldn't happen until assurances were received that "Mr Bowen would not face the death penalty". I know his performance as Minister for Immigration hasn't been to the taste of everyone (especially in Woodside), but the death penalty sounds a bit extreme.

The annual Bureau-CSIRO-university tournament, indoors this year. I didn't think I was quite ready to put my knee through a game, and in any case the Bureau had plenty of players, many of whom are better than I am, so I put myself down to referee instead. Indoors this isn't actually too strenuous and can largely be done from up and down the sideline. Only did one thing reasonably controversial, awarding a penalty against CSIRO where it was fairly touch-and-go whether contact was inside the area, but they saved it anyway. The Bureau won, as they did last year (it is perhaps not coincidental that I haven't played the last two years).

Another step up, 2 on/1 off, down to the Banyule flats. Another morning where it wouldn't have been that brilliant as a run, but the main priority at the moment is how the knee is going, and the answer to that was reasonably positive - a bit of a twinge on the first running section, which was reasonably steeply downhill, but no issues after that.

2 mins on/2 off from my place out as far as Rosanna Station (normally my 'almost home' marker on long runs in that direction). Slept badly last night and felt like I had the beginnings of a cold (although no further developments during the day), which would have made for a difficult run under normal circumstances but this wasn't challenging from an aerobic point of view. Knee fairly similar to Monday with only slight twinges. The last bit was uphill and I got a reminder that it's a while since I've run up hills of any size (there's probably a bit more to move uphill than there was a month ago, too).

It seems the issue I mentioned yesterday is only an issue on domestic trips, not overseas ones.

What's becoming a fairly standard session (although hopefully progressively less standard over the coming weeks). Felt reasonable and seem to be putting in a bit more each time. Definitely a nice morning to be in the pool - one of the warmest we've had so far this spring (the only problem was sun glare when going east).

Noticed a news report about a case that's going on in Canberra over the issue of a public servant who got injured on a work trip while engaging in what might be described as extra-curricular activities and whose insurance claim is being contested by Comcare. This got my attention because if those sorts of extra-curricular activities aren't covered, arguments with icy Geneva footpaths in the middle of a run probably aren't either. (And, in further evidence that Canberra really is a small town, Comcare's lawyer was a couple of years below me at school).

Joined the MFR crowd from Bruce's for the first minute, then set about doing my own thing - 1 min on/1 min off, but for longer this time. Knee felt significantly better than yesterday with only minor twinges (most significantly on the downhill into Merri Creek) - definitely encouraging progress and probably an indication that I can build back a bit faster than I did last year (here's hoping anyway).