Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Still not feeling 100%, but it doesn't seem to be impeding me so I thought I might as well go out and do something, even if it wasn't super-long. Definitely some of the more challenging conditions I've run in for a while (in the moisture department, anyway), with light rain interrupted at 15-minute intervals by short but intense downpours - definitely not a day for getting across Darebin Creek other than at bridges. Since the footbridge I would normally use on this loop is currently out of action, this meant coming back across the Bell Street bridge and then a stretch through the Thornbury industrial area (it was perhaps appropriate, given that my next engagement was a Jukola party, that one of the factories belonged to a company which I presume, by its name, is Finnish). Becoming a bit more sore in the last 10 minutes.

C • Shoulda come to Emerald - i... 5

Having a rare weekend in Melbourne (tonight will be the only Saturday night in my own house between early May and early September). Feeling somewhat better today and decided that I'd give it a go, and it more or less worked out although still not quite 100%. The new trail along Darebin Creek is a nice place to run; felt pretty good through there. May try something a bit more ambitious tomorrow.

The new pedestrian bridges near Grange Road, and a new bike path along the railway line (which I hadn't previously known about) look close to ready and should be done by the time I get back in late August. I don't think the Chandler bridge (which has apparently had some industrial strife) will be, which will stretch the advertised completion date of "mid-2018" - August could probably reasonably be claimed as mid-year, September is pushing it, October definitely not.

Still not much improvement, which is annoying.

Went to the OV meeting tonight, and with the Chandler bridge closed my route home took me via lands once very familiar, but largely untrodden for the last three years. I discovered that the Heidelberg Woolworths (whose car park was the final destination of my mechanically-challenged Fiat, at least after it had been pushed, with Liggo's help, into said car park from the road outside) is now a hole in the ground, and that a new set of shops has appeared on the site of the old gas factory on Bell Street west of the creek. (There seem to be an awful lot of supermarket renovations/rebuilds going on at the moment; given what time of year it is I'd suspect a tax-related reason, but can't think of one).

C • tax? 3

Still a bit of lingering hamstring soreness - at a stage where I think I could run on it, but keen to get it right well before Masters. Didn't feel entirely optimal even in the water. Pretty chilly at the moment (although not as much so as it will be over the next few days), and not a lot of people in the pool.

Unsurprisingly, the works at the Clifton Hill athletics track that were supposed to be finished by the end of April are still going. Presumably the builders have blamed the delay on bad weather. (Melbourne's year-to-date rainfall is running about 35% below normal). The Fitzroy pool is also going to be close to some long-lived building work as a fence has appeared around the park across the road; some post-session googling revealed that this is to be an entry point for a water main rebuild and is going to be there for the next 18 months or so.

Hamstring flared up overnight, although had improved a bit by the evening, so should be able to give something a go tomorrow.

Tried a new venue with a group I occasionally go to pub trivia with, at Pascoe Vale. It was a bit disconcerting to discover that from this pub, it is possible to bet on horse races in Norway (although I would suggest that anyone actually doing so should probably seek professional help).

No prospect of getting anything done this morning with the early flight back to Melbourne, and wouldn't have been feeling terribly well-rested to do it anyway - I'm used to waking up on multiple occasions before the appointed time when I need to be up early for something, but last night was particularly bad; must have woken up at least a dozen times before the appointed hour of 5.10, the first of them not much after 1. (At least I didn't match my effort one morning in the mid-1990s of getting up for a long run, thinking my alarm had gone off, and getting as far as having something to eat, getting my gear on, and getting ready to step out the door, to look at my watch and see that it was 1.40; presumably by about the 90-minute mark I would have started to wonder why there was no traffic and why it wasn't getting light...).

Pilates session was pretty reasonable, and I was feeling a bit better in the afternoon too. Seem to be getting the hang of things, gradually.

Moved on from pilates to the Northcote pool. As previously noted this isn't the best of options on a weekday evening (swimming lessons take up the indoor lanes, and squads most of the outdoor ones), but it worked out OK. I didn't work out quite so well, with a somewhat tired and listless swim (I wonder why?).

Couldn't manage to come up three days in a row - back was troublesome early (but eventually settled down), but felt generally tired and sluggish, and the run reflected that. Held the navigation together for the most part, except for a familiarity-breeds-contempt moment - I'd helped put some water out yesterday and one of those water controls was the one I stuffed up (only by 30 seconds or so). Was chasing Joanna (for a certain definition of "chasing") for the last few controls; she's pretty fast (certainly faster than me) but we knew that already.

Normal service was resumed in the results today (Simon 32, Dante 39), apart from Angus having a massive blowout early (and hence being my scalp of the day). May not have drunk enough yesterday - let's just say that had I been called on to do a drug test, I would have still been there at 6pm.

Heading back to Adelaide demonstrated that Goyder's line is verifying well; the landscape turned from dustbowl to green in the space of a few kilometres south of Orroroo. North of there you'll sometimes see emus grazing on barren fields; I'm assuming that there are no plans to call in the army to deal with them, given how that worked out last time.

Helped collect some controls after the event. Memo to Victorian clubs - you really need some South Australian controls (not only are they lighter, the hinged design of the number plate means that they fit together much better - I think I could carry eight comfortably and ten at a pinch, whereas six is pretty much my upper limit in Victoria).

Perhaps some control stands should have been thrown in as part of the Patrick Ryder or Bryce Gibbs trades. (I imagine Port supporters are probably of the view that 100 control stands would have been roughly a fair exchange for Angus Monfries).

C • SA controls 7