Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Long day at Mannawarra. An enjoyable orienteering experience, as always on the Flinders areas, but too many mistakes in the first third of the course to be able to count this as a good run. Didn't feel as if I was really in control on the first three (and took a while to get used to what wasn't mapped as yellow), but hit them OK. Wasn't so fortunate on 4 with a small miss, and then a much larger one on 5, a classic parallel error which cost me about 3 minutes. Also a minute on 9 when I didn't see the flag in a scrubby gully. Much better technically in the second half. Also reasonably happy with this run physically, only really tiring in the last 15 minutes; 93 minutes seems relatively short compared with some of the long races we've done this year. Simon did 74 and Bruce 82; without mistakes I would have been around 89 which is probably close to par.

1 - Splits

Event: Flinders Ranges June Carnival
 

First day of the Flinders weekend and the first proper night race I've ever done (closest previously has been the odd course on a training camp). It took me a few controls to get the hang of doing it in the dark, and by then I'd dropped five minutes on the first three controls, including a major parallel error at 1 which I was lucky to get out of with only four minutes lost. Got the hang of it after that and was pretty good through the last two-thirds of the course; starting to feel more comfortable running in the terrain later on, too. It certainly helps having a decent light. This will be good preparation for the Darwin NOL event, although I'll be wanting to get out at least once more before then.

Despite the early mistakes, I didn't expect to be quite as far down the results list. This included Tyson claiming my scalp for the first time, and Greg Morcom doing so for the first time since 1985 (although I'm not sure exactly when - he definitely beat me by a second in M14 in one of that year's WOC carnival events at Mount Alexander, but I have forgotten whether it was Greg or Karl Hollamby who beat me into second place at the Australian Schools - which had one-year age groups in those days - a few weeks later).

Marketing claim of the day: the drinking water casks being used at this event proudly proclaim that the water contained therein is both fat-free and sugar-free.

C • First night event! 3

Course 1 - Splits

Some crowdsourced advice via Tooms' log suggested that Claremont pool was the most convenient to where I was (mainly because both it and where I was staying were on the same train line), so headed down there - a nice spot even if the locals were remarking on how cold it was (meanwhile I was thinking that it was pleasantly mild). A pretty good swim; felt like I was moving through the water well (by my standards at least).

After giving three talks in 24 hours, next stop is Adelaide, then the Flinders.

The trip over had its share of minor annoyances and mishaps, starting at the Melbourne end when someone in the next row of seats on the bus threw up spectacularly, then continuing at the Perth end when my taxi voucher didn't work (this after negotiating a half-hour taxi queue; Perth generally has decent public transport but the airport is a big black hole in the network) and a glass fell out of the fridge where I was staying and shattered comprehensively. I also discovered that the place I'm staying in doesn't have very thick walls courtesy of the Bollywood music next door at 5am...

Once I was running it was an OK, but not sparkling, session, and never really tired - all those 2+ hour runs of the last fortnight must have done me some good. Not that strong uphill. Started out due west from West Perth (initially along the railway line bike track), then a loop through Bold Park - after three attempts I still haven't quite worked out the track network there - back through Shenton Park and finished through the top end of Kings Park. A little longer than I'd planned.

The last half of this run was in steady light rain, although I missed the main meteorological excitement of the day, a lunchtime tornado in the northern suburbs - was doing a talk at the Bureau at the time and could see some impressively angry clouds in that direction.

Saw it reported last night that a prostitute felt 'screwed over' by Channel 9. I guess she'd know what it feels like.

Fartlek on the usual loop. Again felt reasonably springy (with some help from the new shoes). A bit faster than the last couple of weeks (once deducting a shoelace stop - an occupational hazard of new shoes) but still not breaking 10. A bit of left calf tightness early but seemed to be OK as the run went on.

I've now completed 13 consecutive days without setting foot in an airport (close to the longest such stretch I'm likely to experience between March and August), but that's at an end - am off to Perth now for a couple of days, then SA for the Flinders weekend. It looks like I may be in danger of actually experiencing some rain in Perth.

C • Rain in Perth 3

All the ingredients for a slow session today, despite feeling reasonable; early, dark and doing newsletter deliveries (which also means a decent number of hills). The result was much as expected. Plenty of wind around still (but no rain); none of the excitement to be found in Gippsland.

Media Watch brought us one of the more unfortunate TV news stuff-ups of recent times (assuming it was a stuff-up): introducing a story about Usain Bolt's 9.76 last week, ABC News 24 said 'A return to form for the world's fastest man', and showed pictures of - Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne scurrying out of the House of Representatives chamber last week in their attempt to avoid catching Craig Thomson germs.

C • Classic - it can't have been a stuff up 1

3x1k at the Tan, after work (which means after dark). Felt better than last week (and definitely no stitch) but a little slower, not sure whether or not I can blame the light (the Tan is lit but only modestly). This was the first run in new shoes and felt like I had a bit of a spring going uphill. Some big groups going the 'wrong' way, although they didn't really get in the way (the largest was setting out just as I was finishing).

One milestone for the numbers nerds only: last week was 10,000 days since I started training seriously enough to record it. Haven't yet counted up on how many days out of those 10,000 I've run (except that 2,388 of them were consecutive) but would guess somewhere in the mid to upper 8000s.

Going to/from the Tan. Suspect this is the highest my weekly total's been in a while.

C • Training kms 2

C • streak 2

Swapped this session with the usual Monday swim because I didn't feel like hauling a flotation belt across the country. Felt pretty good, perhaps because I'm not coming off the usual sleep deprivation as I would be on a Friday. Went a little longer than usual through being engrossed in a conversation by the other person in the lane (a regular I've seen here most weeks for the last couple of years). Also felt pretty good for the ride in to work; the bike cage at work was only half full, probably because my colleagues had taken note of the forecast.

Hosting a Monday night for the first time in a long time. I didn't expect a lot of people to make the long trek past the Darebin Creek, especially on a rather wild evening (although the rain wasn't that heavy, and the route was planned so that the higher more exposed bits were the ones with the tail wind). Dion and Clare came out to brave the conditions with me. A bit faster than usual for a Monday night; felt better than a usual Monday night, probably because the long run of the weekend was further back in the past. Didn't even get sledged too much today about the football (perhaps because the most likely potential sledgers at work were Carlton supporters).

C • Same out our workplace 1