Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Actually managed to get through a morning run of sorts for the first time this week, but it wasn't a particularly convincing one - definitely in minimum viable session territory and feeling like a brick more generally. One of those days when it was a bit of a disappointment not to have to stop at most of the road crossings (generally thanks to conveniently timed trains stopping such traffic as there was). Still, it's a start.

Discovered in the process that the dodgy track on the south side of the railway west of Dennis station, home to a few "should I really be here" moments at street events, is now a proper footpath.

The 'check in open' function of the Qantas app doesn't appear to notice when your flights are cancelled, which meant that I was getting not especially wanted reminders this morning that I was supposed to be going to Queensland this morning for NOL races this weekend.

C • Cancelled 6

Back sufficiently unpleasant this morning that I didn't even attempt a run, but did manage to get out for a ride at lunchtime on the La Trobe loop. Felt like I was struggling a bit on the climbs (a northerly wind probably had a bit to do with this), but a reasonable pace. More traffic than usual on the first bit, presumably because people were using Heidelberg Road to avoid the freeway (still closed well into today). Back feels somewhat improved by tonight so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Back continues to be troublesome. Usually if I can get through the warm-up for an intervals session it's OK once I get going, but not so tonight - knew on the first rep that it was going to be a problem. Bit of a setback this week after a decent stretch; perhaps I shouldn't be too greedy (relatively speaking).

Spotted a police helicopter, but I think it reasonable to assume with hindsight that they weren't looking for people sitting on park benches.

Warm-up for this session.

Lunchtime Pilates session. My back had flared up last night (and was uncomfortable going to bed, which is very unusual), which scuttled running this morning although it was somewhat improved. Coped OK with the Pilates though.

Latest historical excavation was Easter 1994. I was involved with setting this one (doing day 3 at Honeysuckle Creek along with John Asker, although on the day itself I fled the country to run a World Cup race in NZ instead). Remember it chiefly because we used the shorter hard-navigation courses to introduce Australian orienteering to what these days would be considered a fairly conventional technical middle-distance course (it seemed a good use of the area, and the older women - which in 1994 meant anything from 45 upwards - had been complaining for years that their courses were too easy and boring). It would be fair to say that some people handled it - Dale Ann Gordon came from 11 minutes down on the last day to win W50 - and some people didn't (a couple of well-known names were over an hour off the pace). Having the W12 leader end up halfway down the mountain wasn't part of the plan, though....

C • John 3

Lunchtime Boulevard loop, having deferred from the morning because of high winds then which had settled by the middle of the day (still a few light showers but nothing to worry about). Took quite a bit of time out of my previous sessions here, which I'd like to attribute to improving bike fitness, but I suspect at least part of the story is that I think I might have had a brake rubbing slightly before fixing the front wheel puncture last week.

The bats were again in the news today: the local MP wants to get rid of them, apparently because some of his constituents think they can transmit viruses (I guess it's progress that they wanted a cull of local bats and not a cull of local Chinese). He's been doing quite a good job this week of demonstrating proof of the saying that it's better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you're a fool than open it and remove all possible doubt (and the Victorian Liberals must be the only political party on the face of the planet who think that governments should still be trying to run a surplus in the current situation).

C • Spreading viruses 2

Was prompted by the US straight-line thread to think about what is the longest straight line (over land) in Australia which does not cross a paved road. Port Augusta to Port Hedland is 2300km in a straight line and I don't think the straight line would cross any paved roads outside the immediate vicinity of either town, unless it intersects one of the few fragments of bitumen on the Great Central Road.

C • Straight line terrain 16

Not quite what I'd hoped for but still something respectable to get into the book. Had enough confidence to set out on one of the old regulars, the Wilsons Reserve loop (with a lengthy stretch on dirt on the Yarra Flats on the Ivanhoe side). Going along OK for the first 30 minutes but quads somewhat troublesome after that; a short pause at the climb past the Kew overpass seemed to settle them for a while, but I was just about ready to stop around 50 minutes before they came good again in the last 10. Still pleased to meet my objectives of getting five runs in the week (which was consequently my longest since June) and to put together four days in a row - hopefully something to build on.

First bit of orienteering for a while (not counting Monday's short-lived attempt) on my local bit of bush, Darebin Parklands (which scored a feature on Gardening Australia during the week for the work that's been done to bring wildlife back to it). As I was planning to do on Monday, ran the course from the 2017 Victorian Relays, although cut the last bit short as 55-60 was longer than I wanted to be doing today.

Body held up more or less OK, but navigation was a bit rusty on some of the trickier controls (some of which were on features sufficiently obscure that I'm not quite sure how I endorsed them as control sites - maybe they've shrunk in the last three years). Terrain legs also need some practice, although I wasn't quite as hopeless on the steeper slopes in the drier conditions (compared with last Monday).

C • 55-60 min 3