Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

MFR Sunday morning runs have restarted but I didn't feel confident enough to join a group run just yet, so did my own thing, heading west in the direction of All Nations Park and Ruckers Hill. A bit of a struggle again, particularly when going up the (small) hills, but hamstring remains sound. Back tightened a bit afterwards but OK on the run.

I'm starting to shuffle these a bit earlier in the day in anticipation of the months ahead when heat-avoidance will become necessary (La Nina years in Melbourne specialise in prolonged, humid moderate heatwaves, rather than the short sharp ones of last summer). It's been pleasing that so far my back has functioned OK running in the mornings, unlike the situation in midyear.

Headed for Westerfolds Park, partly in pursuit of some unfinished business - back in July I'd set out to do all the permanent controls (in numerical order, which means a fair bit of criss-crossing) over three or four sessions. That quickly became off the agenda for some months but I was back to it as the opportunity arose. The run itself was similar to others this week - finding it hard work but no significant pain. A little wobbly at times (and creek crossings were sometimes tricky), but am putting this down as another small step of progress.

The grass is not yet a problem - only picked up a few seeds - but is probably not too far away from being so, so I'm not sure if I'll be back in the immediate future.

Sooner after waking up than I've been used to exercising lately (coming off another late night), so perhaps not surprising that I wasn't that sharp, also threatening to cramp at times.

The crunch on swimming pool numbers seems to be easing; I noticed when I booked this on Wednesday morning that there were still some Wednesday slots available (whereas when things first opened, every slot had disappeared within a few minutes of bookings opening).

C • Opposite situation 1

Headed northeast this time for another step up in the return. Back pretty tight early on (sounds familiar) but not the soreness often present in the past, and settled down after the first 10 minutes or so. Still finding it hard work but some decent patches through the middle, was tiring a bit but a traffic stop with about 10 minutes to go was somewhat revitalising. A hint of hamstring soreness in the last few minutes but that was gone by the evening.

Picked off a few more streets in the area on and west of Oriel Road, mostly going around the outside. I think of this as Bellfield but Bellfield officially doesn't start until north of Banksia Street (which means that the former Bellfield Primary wasn't in Bellfield, at least on its current boundaries).

Someone rode in and out of a cul-de-sac at the same time as I was running in and out of it. I suspect we may have been on similar missions...

A check of the 1991 and 2001 street directories reveals that the northern boundary of Ivanhoe in this area hasn't moved (it has east of the Repat), although Bellfield wasn't identified separately from West Heidelberg in 1991. Still, it's probably not quite as oddball as the Malvern Central shopping centre (which isn't in Malvern).

The bike's not playing such a big role in training now that I'm starting to run more, and today was the first session since the weekend. Did the out and back ending up on the Koonung path, an old regular which became beyond limits for the last few months.

The paths seem a bit quieter than they were - perhaps a reflection of more people going back to work - although I'm not quite sure what the person wearing a bulletproof vest was expecting to find on the Darebin Creek trail. (I know some of the locals were none too pleased about the trail's creation, but as far as I know none have started shooting). Later on, on the way back, I found myself for a bit in a peloton of sorts heading for Kew High (potentially some more business for a certain Kew High parent).

Not the most energetic of rides; an earlier start than has been usual of late. Enjoyed actually sitting down for a coffee afterwards (it was slightly alarming when a fire truck turned up, but they were just looking for coffee too).

Comebacks are always hard work and this one is no exception. One of these days a slow 30 minutes will not feel as challenging as two hours once did, but there's a bit more recovery to be done yet. The positive, though, was that there was no pain, and while there was a bit of back stiffness it was well below the levels I've sometimes encountered on morning runs this year.

Today's mission: a pocket in between Westgarth school and the railway line. Will probably need a couple more goes (or one long one) to clear the rest of the area south of Separation Street.

Lunchtime swim, in a positive mood given the news already received during the day and in anticipation of what was still to come. Felt OK in the water but a little slow again. Felt the water was colder than usual, and on the way out confirmed that it was (in the 24s), but quite pleasant once moving.