Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Continuing to look for signs of slow improvement, and today's was being able to drive for 90 minutes straight. Hard to notice otherwise. The workshop was worthwhile though, giving me more perspective on things like what a big rain does for outback pastoralists (a fall of 50-100mm can set them up for a year), whether it matters what time of year it happens at (basically no), and how sensitive they are to extreme high temperatures (not terribly).

The local paper in Port Augusta had headlines about skyrocketing local house prices. It's a relative term (the average has gone from $200,000 to $272,000), but the local economy does seem to be travelling pretty well, thanks to a large extent to all the renewable energy developments happening in the area.

In Clare tonight, for another workshop tomorrow. Would have liked to have joined Simon on his late afternoon run but that isn't an option yet.

The good old days weren't always so good (an occasional series):

"Australian Rules football in Melbourne is being ruined by a small minority of hooligans who made themselves a nuisance every Saturday. These hooligans come to the grounds with the deliberate intention of making themselves objectionable, pay little attention to the game, of which they are most profoundly ignorant, and spend the time shouting insults at the players and creating disturbances. Football enthusiasts generally are sick and tired of being pushed around and annoyed by these beer-sparring blatherskites".

These words were uttered by the commentator Norman Banks, in 1952.

C • 1952? 6

Another day of incremental improvement; I can now walk without significant pain (although still with a noticeable limp) and the actual appearance of the area has transitioned from ugliness type A to ugliness type B in the way it's supposed to.

I thought driving up to Port Augusta in an automatic would be fairly straightforward, but my foot did not like not being flat on the ground (something which wasn't possible with the seat and steering wheel configuration) and 40 continuous minutes was about as much as I could tolerate, which made it a pretty slow trip (we were also hours late because my Hobart-based CSIRO colleague - Simon Allen, who will be known to Tasmanian orienteers - missed his connection in Melbourne). This did give us the opportunity to try out the Crystal Brook pub (not the worst of its type I've seen). Definitely glad to make it in around 8.30.

Somewhat improved today, a relative term which means that (a) I had probably 40% vertical mobility in my ankle rather than almost nothing yesterday (b) I felt up to walking slightly awkwardly around a supermarket (c) I didn't feel the need to prop myself up against the wall whilst peeing (d) I didn't feel like I needed to lie down at any stage and (e) my appetite has returned to reasonably normal levels. The latter was tested, among other thing, by the cake at afternoon tea, produced for the visit of Fern, Amber and families; Patrick insisted that we have candles and birthday singing so we sang happy birthday to the moon landing (sorry Aislinn).

Following some of the links related to the moon landing revealed that Neil Armstrong and Edmund Hillary were part of an expedition which reached the North Pole in 1985. There must have been some interesting conversations on that trip.

At least things have improved to the point that I'm reasonably confident I'll be able to fulfill my work engagements (and the travel between them) this week, although I'll be pretty cautious about resuming running, partly because I'm not sure what other damage the swelling might do whilst it's in progress. At this stage I'll consider it a bonus if I make it back in time for Bendigo next weekend.

Another difficult day, although perhaps with some slight signs of improvement by the end. Definitely an inactive day; I doubt that I covered more than a couple of hundred metres today (most of it between rooms in the house).

Discovery of the day was that in 1989, strapped for hard currency, the Soviet Union paid for a shipment of Pepsi in (presumably redundant) submarines. This in turn made Pepsi briefly the possessor of the world's sixth-largest naval fleet before they onsold it all for scrap metal.

The second round of this, but this time the rash and swelling is in my ankle rather than shins (at least that meant the decision not to rogaine was very straightforward). Swollen ankles are something a lot of orienteering will have a fair bit of experience with, not so much me (the last time I did an ankle was in 2004). It was as much as I could manage to negotiate a work day in Adelaide following by getting to the football - the first time I've been to a football game at Adelaide Oval (and I certainly can't complain about the result).

Still a bit too much swelling to try running but felt up to doing something in the water. Felt a little awkward at first but moving OK after the first few minutes. Ended up pulling a little early after getting a cramp, a reminder that I'm not quite in balance properly yet.

The good news is that the swelling is steadily declining, the bad news (for now) is that it's localised in a painful spot around the side of the ankle. Hopefully that disappears quickly. I'm off to Adelaide for a diverse range of activities (meaning an even larger than usual bag); seeing Essendon play at Adelaide Oval for the first time tomorrow night, doing the rogaine on the weekend with Jenny (providing I get through a fitness test tomorrow morning), then hitting the road in the first half of the next week for a couple of agricultural workshops.

Felt much better in a general sense today after a reasonable night's sleep (first since Saturday) and was able to get back to work without any difficulty, but the lower leg swelling is causing me more trouble than last time, presumably because of its exact position rather than that there's more of it - I can't put weight on my left leg standing for any extended period of time, although walking is manageable. Hopefully the swelling will disappear as quickly as it did last time (or I'll have the opportunity to get through plenty of reading in a pleasant bush location this weekend).

This log entry from 2010 is relevant in light of receiving an ad today that a-ha are doing a tour of Australia in early 2020.