Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Not a good day. My buttock is gradually becoming less ugly (the purple zone is about a third the size it was two days ago), but there's enough soreness there to suggest there's still quite a bit of swelling, and although it doesn't feel like it's affecting my running form, the watch suggests otherwise. (I didn't notice so much on Thursday, probably because that track was so rugged that I just attributed any issues I was having to the difficulty of the terrain). The original plan was to run to Green Cape from a road junction about 12km short of it, but once it became apparent that the body was struggling, I decided to settle for the Disaster Bay lookout a bit after halfway - I probably could have got through, say, 2.20, but pushing the boundaries with an injury in a remote area is perhaps not the most brilliant idea - not so concerned about the bruising itself, more about the risk of doing something else if, as I suspect, I'm running with irregular form. Still a hard and humid morning's work on a hilly track (one short but very steep climb made me thankful I hit it at 10k and not 21 as originally planned).

Two positives to draw from this run: my first testing of gels worked (I took one about 3k from the end, mainly so that if I reacted badly to it it wouldn't be a problem for too long), and the view from the Disaster Bay lookout was stellar.

I definitely hope this settles properly during the week; having missed a few other possibilities, the window for a serious long run in Six Foot preparation is closing. Next weekend's forecast isn't looking great either; if that holds I'm thinking seriously of going somewhere with at least a bit of altitude.

Came back to Melbourne during the day, a somewhat tiring drive (even stretched out the beach towel under a tree in a park at one stage), although I got through East Gippsland before any significant fire action (most of it's currently well north of the highway in any case). Just to show what I've missed out on, the car thermometer (over-reading, as usual, by a degree or two) was registering 44 as I pulled in.

Moved down to Tathra to spend the night with the Hogg/Walter/Jones collective (having hung out with them for most of the last two days). Perhaps surprisingly, I didn't have running company this morning (mainly because I didn't feel like getting up early enough to join Nat and Cathy, who went out at 6.30 because Cathy and her kids needed to be back in Canberra by lunchtime), but did the next best thing and followed in their footsteps, loosely speaking - on the track around the headland at Tathra and then along the beach north towards the Bega River outlet. It turned out I wasn't exactly following in their footsteps, as their footsteps would have been washed away - the tide was a couple of hours further in and the beach was hard work much of the way (the headland track also had its moments, but was nowhere near as rugged as Thursday's). Came back along the bike path. Felt a bit sluggish, if OK for strength on the climbs, and perhaps a bit thankful that I now have only a minor epic planned for tomorrow, not a major one.

The last time I was in Tathra for any length of time was in March 1985, just after I'd started running regularly. From memory I think my "long" run then was vaguely similar to this one, but going a bit further north on the Bermagui road (which was mostly gravel in those days and consequently had much less traffic).

Those of the relevant age who had any connection with the ACT junior (or sub-junior) scene will be pleased to hear that Camy Koala is still alive and well.

A pool running session with a difference, in the Bermagui sea baths. Was a bit concerned about what it would be like at high tide but it was fine - just the biggest waves creeping over the edge (no doubt it would be a different story in heavier seas). A reasonable session although I cramped once.

I've now progressed from looking like I've been sliding down a burnt-out slope to looking like I've been sitting in a tub of beetroot, which I take to be progress.

Quite a bit of the rest of the day was spent in a spot which Rob discovered at the far end of yesterday's run - a small beach in a cove in between cliffs. Very attractive spot and a good find.

C • polar vortex 6

Not sure I've ever done a run quite like this before. The plan was to meet Rob and Andy at Tathra and run the coastal track south to the next inlet, about 9km worth.

First surprise was to get to the start and discover that our numbers were depleted by one, Andy sidelined by a wrist injury sustained in a mountain bike fall the previous day. (By the time we got back, he was at Bega Hospital waiting on X-rays which confirmed it was broken). That left Rob and myself to take to the track. My expectations were that it would spend most of its time along the clifftops and occasionally drop in and out of gullies and coves, but in fact it spent most of its time dropping in and out of gullies and coves, with many log stairs, and even the flatter sections were pretty rough underfoot. (The crossing of a pebble beach - the first I can remember seeing in Australia - was a highlight in that respect). We didn't break 7s on a single kilometre and it was increasingly apparent that we weren't going to get to the far end of the track and get back in the two hours I'd set as my upper limit today, but Rob wanted to keep going so we split at that point. Going back seemed to pass quite quickly, though not much faster (meanwhile Rob hammered the trip back and got home only 10 minutes after me having covered an extra 5km, although apparently most of that 5km at the far end was much easier going than what we'd traversed). Felt tired at the end but nowhere near the usual muscular fatigue post-run that I'd expect from a midweek long run.

Spent most of the day hanging out with the others in Tathra and not doing all that much (other than joining the expedition to retrieve Andy from Bega), before going back to Bermagui in time to run an OA Board hook-up. (I was worried this was going to come unstuck when I got back to where I was staying and my key didn't work - it turned out that some tradespeople had been in to redo the locks today and the management, who were extremely apologetic about it, had forgotten to give me the new keys).

Odd sighting of the day: a real estate sign advertising something as "Tanja Entry Level, wording which implies that there's a posh end of Tanja that one could aspire to. For those unfamiliar with the South Coast, Tanja is a dot on the map about 10km north of Tathra which the sign refers to as a "locality".

Something a bit longer today as the bruising subsides to nuisance level (except perhaps on steep downhills). Headed inland today on a road which turns to gravel a couple of kilometres out of town and heads into the forest; not fast but a reasonably steady effort on a route which was almost never flat, despite not getting any higher than about 120 metres. Climbing reasonably strongly on the way back. Warmish and humid again, and less windy than yesterday; wouldn't have wanted to be going much further without water.

The forests down here are more open than most coastal ones in NSW or eastern Victoria - technically they're bland gully-spur but could support a local club if one existed (and they would have some good rogaining potential). That said, the south side of the road is a nature reserve which in NSW normally means no go.

Made it into the Blue Pool at the second attempt; it was a crosswind today, and much lighter, so there was none of the choppiness that put paid to yesterday. It's the first time I've done a proper swim session in 'natural' water since one at Edith Falls (near Katherine) in 2009, but 'navigation' was a bit easier this time with prominent features at both ends (and I could be sure there would be no crocs). Felt OK without pushing too hard; salt starting to make its presence felt towards the end.

For the second day in a row, the van from WR Engineering was leaving just as I arrived. The company, along with several others, is famous amongst Canberrans of a certain age for the (lack of) quality of the singing in its local TV commercials back in the day; needless to say, for most of the swim, running through my head was 'Near and far/where great sheds are/the name is WR'. Had the water to myself for the duration of the swim but the local kids were just arriving as I left; presumably the school bus from Narooma High had just got in. (It's the first day of term in NSW today).

C • Old Canberra TV ads 1

Things are improving a little bit with each passing day, though I still look like I've been sliding down a recently-burnt slope sans trousers. It still wasn't the most comfortable of runs but managed to get through something a bit more than what I was doing on the weekend, mostly orienting myself and getting a feel for Bermagui. A decent NNE breeze, a coolish wind here because it's coming off the water, though still felt a little humid when it was a tail wind.

The rest of the day was very relaxing, which was the idea (although I'm now finding out about exactly which bits of the body I missed with the sunscreen), spending time on the beach and time on the couch and time near the pool, and getting through some of the less intellectually demanding parts of my book collection (Christmas presents from a couple of years ago). A reasonable number of people on the street but few on the beaches; I suspect the local population has dropped by at least 50% in the last 36 hours.

Can't say I was too upset to be here as the number next to Melbourne on the Bureau front page read 40, then 41, then 42....

I had planned to do an afternoon session in Bermagui's Blue Pool, an iconic oceanside baths of the sort you'll find a few of in Sydney. The atmosphere wasn't quite playing ball - the place was deserted (the locals having presumably realised that 35-knot NNE winds, straight down the pool, were suboptimal conditions for here), the water was choppy, and I thought that trying to swim here alone in tricky conditions and with the tide coming in perhaps wasn't the smartest of ideas. Maybe tomorrow.

I do wonder what the winning time would have been for the Sydney-Hobart if it had started yesterday. Don't think it would have been that far over one day.

Final day of Sprint Canberra at ANU. Still feeling just as sore as the last two days (and if possible it looks even uglier), but the swelling must have gone down a bit because I felt less impeded on the run than was the case the last two days (the lack of hills probably helped). Still a bit below par, though, and was gradually drifting back amongst the group I started with, being pulled in by Jase and Richard Goonan, and dropping back from Oliver Mill and Jimbo. Also fell into the trap a bit at 13 and dropped 20 seconds or so. Felt I was making a bit of progress, and am still hopeful that I should be up to doing some proper training by midweek.

I thought I was making a bit of a habit of having close sprint races with Lanita (we were five seconds apart today), and a check of the results proves it - in eight meetings since October, we're 4-4, with only two of the eight margins (one each way) greater than 37 seconds, and four of the eight (two each way) 11 seconds or fewer. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, suspecting that she'll have left me behind by this time next year; in a way it reminds me a bit of having a series of close battles in Canberra in 1987 with Jenny Bourne (then the leading Australian woman, who should have had a decent shot at a top-10 place at that year's WOC but had a bad run on the day, and in those days there was no middle distance or sprint to have another go).

This was an excellent series of events - thanks to all those responsible (and especially to lazydave). Will probably be hard to do something similar next year with Oceania taking up a big chunk of January, but the basic concept - both competition-wise and having a training camp combining seniors and juniors - appeared to work very well.

I'm now down in Bermagui for a few days. I was thankful that I was going down the Clyde and not up it - the seasonal migration of the Yogi was in full swing and traffic in the reverse direction was in great abundance (although moving, most of the time). There were also more people than I've seen for a while either in the midst of a deep and meaningful conversation with the NRMA, or waiting to do so. (The upper reaches of the Clyde Mountain used to be a good place to find such people, but today's victims were more evenly distributed).

(And, apropos of the thread that's going at the moment, unsurprisingly the Bodalla dairy outlet does seriously good chocolate milkshakes. Don't think it's going to be on the way home from an event any time soon, though).

Day 5 ANU Elite - Splits