Training Log Archive: TheInvisibleLog

This used to be my standard long run. Originally it used to take about 100 minutes. Eventually it became a test run. Thought I'd use it today to ease the foot back into long runs. Went hard and was pretty happy with the time. The last time I was this fast was in 2003. But that year I was a lot faster..... 79 minutes. I don't think I'll ever see those times again.

Rain brings out the wildlife

A gentle run in the rain. First run at 4 in the afternoon for a few months. Body is obviously more used to 6 am. Met two of the species Jogger Irregularis. Never seen either of them out on my 11k trail before. In fact, never seen anyone out there other than Julie. Had a chat to one. Said his last run was in November and it had been too hot since then. I told him he needed a spouse who woke for pre 6am runs. He didn't like that. It was pleasant to see good evidence that running more than once between November and late January helps with speed. I thought I was running slowly, but he receded quickly.

The other species encountered was a feral pest. Biker destructivus maximus. Rain brings out the bikers who want mud. Over the past 5 years they must have been as frustrated as white water kayakers round here. There is a grade 4 rapid on the Loddon River near Bridgewater, and a grade 3 I think near English Bridge on the Campaspe. Never seen either of these rapids in spete, just beleiving the local paddlers.

Had my own experience with mud, and it reminded me why the farmers who once worked this area referred to it as Sunday soil country. Too wet to work Saturday, Too dry Monday. You only get Sunday. The rain is very gentle. Only 8 mm over 6 hours. But it is enough to have the runnels down the tracks running well. The soil has been dry for so long it is hydrophobic. The ground is generally very hard still. The only place where the track has softened for running are occasional stretches of what passes for sand here, or an uphill section of very red sodic soil. Probably subsoil. It transforms quickly from concrete to sticky red glue. It happened this afternoon. The runners need a clean.

Humid. Hot. Horrible. Massive rainstorm last night. At least 3 mm.

One of the tasks for the weekend is to write a summary of my experiences with GPS as a mapping tool. Sort of useful will be my conclusion. But I'm far more interested in LIDAR and digital mapping. Here is one way of mapping the Hattah area. You could consider this as a map based on 20 cm contour intervals. The colour gradient doesn't really show it. Someone sent this map to Obewan who passed it on to me.

Is the area good for orienteering. Well, parts might be. There isn't much runnable sand dune country in Victoria. This is runnable. But its a long way from Melbourne. Obewan and I are more interested in organising a rogaine here. We had a great time at the Wilderness navigation challenge using a map with aerial vegetation detail and 10 metre contours. the contours were dodgy. The vegetation image was very useful in part of the map. This is what the red gum country looks like.

If we could get access to the LIDAR data and recent aerial digital photography, a very good rogaining map would be possible, with little time in the field. BTW, thats a 1km grid as far as I can work out.
More images at the photobucket site.
http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/neil_barr/Ha...

Intended to ride, but after a week with over 5 hours of riding, my back was back to its behaviour of a decade ago. I heeded the warning signs and went for a prophylactic run. It mightn't have been the best for my ankle, but I know from experience I can be in a lot of trouble if I don't get the back moving at this stage.
After the easy run, I was 1.5 kilos lighter. I think it must be humid. And 24 degrees at 7am.

After three days the bike is in for a retune. Must have given it a pounding. Gentle run to test out the ankle. Survived, but will be taking it easy on it this week still.

Another day. Amother area of unmapped sluice mining detail. Despite the quality of terrain, there isn't enough of it for a major event. Pity. Maybe another ironman location.



More tomorrow.