Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Melbourne Bush-O at Wellington Chase is a bit of a change from mixing it with the likes of Hertner and Hubmann this time last week, but still a worthwhile experience. I'd like to blame the long run yesterday for my slowness but the truth of the matter is that I was just slow - in particular didn't feel particularly smooth through the rough going underfoot early on. Only mistake was on 8, the easiest control on the course (apart from the last), although I'm not sure it was in quite the right spot. Happy to nail some tricky downhill legs in rock, especially as last year's experience suggested that the rock mapping was not always all it could be.

Vegetation was a bit of a lottery; Max Dalheim (whom I'd caught at 3) got a jump on me at 4 through finding a nicer way across a gully, but the favour was returned on the next leg. Was thinking at that stage that it was perhaps appropriate that my music selection had thrown up "Get Lucky" on the way in to the event.

Hamstring a bit sore on the downhill track leg 7-8, OK otherwise. Took a bit of skin off my hand with a fall coming into the last control, reminding me that when you fall over in Australian terrain, it hurts.

Good turnout again - 160 or so, many of them relative newcomers. I thought the clash with Puffing Billy might have hurt the numbers but it doesn't seem to have done.

Roadside signs on the way back advertised "Quit Smoking in 60 Minutes: Guaranteed". I can think of two ways to determine the point at which one has quite smoking: the moment of extinguishing the last cigarette, or the moment at which one is sufficiently far removed from smoking as to no longer have any desire to do it. For option (a) the time taken is zero by definition, for option (b) I'd suggest that 60 minutes since the last cigarette is a bit too soon to reach the conclusion that one has quit. (Whatever the process, someone who probably could have used some quitting advice was the extremely pregnant woman I saw having a smoke in the car park underneath the Mercy Hospital later in the day).

Started this morning with thoughts of 2.30 and was going along pretty well for the first few kilometres, but the hamstring still isn't quite right (something which became more apparent on the climb into Montmorency) and I decided this wasn't the day to be pushing boundaries; I'm always cautious with injuries which don't improve as a run goes on. Was definitely losing power uphill and it showed in the pace (or lack thereof) in the second half.

First time back at Fitzroy for a while, a little later in the morning than usual (I think you can understand why the snooze button on my alarm has been used the last couple of days). Reasonably standard session, not too stiff after yesterday. Definitely starting to get into "it's warm once you're in" territory, but the regulars were still there.

Looks like there are a lot of people being slack with their NSW Championships entry - as of a few minutes ago there were only three entries in M21A. (Maybe if it stays as it is I might finally win one - NSW and WA are the only states/territories whose M21A long distance championships I've never won).

C • SA champs 16

Scaled back my Thursday ambitions a bit in the circumstances (and I plan to go significantly longer on Saturday). Eventually got to bed around 12.30 after the end of the third meeting, unsurprisingly fell asleep very quickly, and must have ended up on my right hand because it was completely numb when I woke up....

The run was another small step up from yesterday on both the performance and injury front. Being in the core of peak hour after a later-than-usual start, I wanted something with as few road crossings as possible so headed from Northcote (base for this evening) down the Yarra to the Walmer Street bridge, back through Kew and Willsmere then out to the Chandler Highway bridge. Another nice running morning in what's been a rather cold April.

To make the times even more unsettled, for some reason breakfast was served three hours before landing (i.e. at 2.30am Melbourne time) rather than the more typical 1.45 or so. As I quite often do with early morning arrivals, I dumped my bags at the office and then went for a run while I was still awake (more or less) - this one based on the Tan (backwards) but extending to Walsh Street and then doing a loop around the MCG.

This run was definitely better than Monday's though felt sleepy at times (which isn't surprising given that by this stage I'd had perhaps 4 hours' sleep in 48, to become 4 in 60 by the time the day was done). Hamstring a little sore later but definitely improved on Monday, too (even on the steep Walsh Street descent).

Just to add a few points to the degree of difficulty, I had no fewer than three meetings more or less back to back tonight (a heavy schedule even without jet lag), the first in person and the last two by phone - Ivanhoe Branch Executive at 7, OA Board from 8-10.15 and an international meteorology committee at 11. I've held up better than I thought I would (though with the inevitable flat spots during the day) and at the time of writing have almost made it to the 11pm one and actually feel reasonably awake. Don't think I'll be getting up at 5.15 for a long run tomorrow though....

Last time I passed through Dubai Airport the transit was sufficiently frantic that I recorded it on AP as an intervals session, but this one was much more relaxed - 3 1/2 hours, which meant plenty of time to take advantage of the (small) gym which I discovered when staying in the airport hotel last year.

Like last time, the treadmill was broken (I don't know if it has been unbroken at any time in the interim), so the bike was the best available option. Nice to have a bit of a hit-out in transit during a long trip, although a stationary bike is about as interesting as always (even with the backdrop of what I think was one of the Beverly Hills Cop sequels on TV).

The first leg of the flight from Zurich to Dubai had been quite empty, and I had a row of seats to myself - though it's a sufficiently short flight that there were only about three hours to take proper advantage of it. I certainly wasn't so lucky on the Dubai-Melbourne leg; I normally sleep OK on planes, but this time had a seat which didn't recline (presumably broken rather than someone using a devious device behind) and intermittently noisy small people in the general vicinity. Probably didn't get more than 90 minutes sleep on the flight.

C • Broken seat 3

Nice setting but one of the more dismal runs I've had in recent memory - sluggish and took a very long time to loosen up. Went along the flat parallel to the lake from Vanessa's place for the first 4k or so, then gradually uphill to get to the top of the ridge behind Pfaffikon from the back side (the climb was probably the best bit of this). Felt a sharp twinge near the base of my left hamstring on the sharp descent coming off this - this eased once the gradient did, and was more or less OK on the flat last 10 minutes, but doesn't feel quite right walking later in the day so will need watching. It will, at least, get plenty of rest over the next day or so.

Today's main activity was a trip to the University of Bern to do a seminar there and meet with some of the people in their group who are working on an EU project in the same field that I am. (Continuing the fine tradition of acronyms for European research projects, I saw a document referring to the HADES project - disappointingly, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with extreme high temperatures but looks to be related to nuclear waste management).

Heading home tonight (the return trip to Zurich cheapened slightly by the 5-franc railway discount voucher I got for travelling to Sunday's event by public transport and presenting my ticket at registration). I noticed an ad for trips to Australia in the window of the station travel office, which suggests that either the Swiss Railways also do more general travel-agency stuff or there's been a lot of new infrastructure built while I've been away. (Any Swiss visitors to Australia who expect our railways to be anything like Swiss ones are going to be sorely disappointed).