Training Log Archive: sss

Orienteering near Daylesford at Tipperary Springs on a cold, wet morning, with very slippery and steep conditions (plus added hastle of not being able to start until 10:30am leaving little time to get round and drive back to Adelaide). Overall navigation good, but getting over the terrain terrible. Slipped and fell on rock in creek and hurt myself (hip and wrist), plus had to use tracks to get from one end of the map to the other to try and save time, meaning I missed out on the navigation practice in the middle.

Start to 1: good. I was learning slowly how slippery the ground was.
1 to 2: good. Decided to go over hill but this was perhaps slower than going round the path, yet navigation was great.
2 to 3: good. Navigation fine but the terrain was really getting to me. Fell over in creek while standing still on solid rock. Awful. Climbed out and a bit shaken, walked up hill. It hurt.
3 to 4: good. Got on track and progress improved to the water point.
4 to 5: good. Went up spur and got the control ok, but heard some went lower and had trouble.
5 to 6: good. Found the depression ok and it all made sense
6 to 7: good. Big decision about whether to get quickly round using tracks or try the forest. Decided on the tracks since we had to drive home. Got a good split time!
7 to 8: good. I'd gone passed 8 on my way to 7 due to my unusual route choice so it was easy.
8 to 9: good. I decided to head over the hill instead of going back to the tracks and it was hard and slippery again. Don't think I gained any time doing this but got some bush in. Really really steep. Almost scary.
9 to 10: good. No major problems but was overtaken and sort of led in.
10 to 11: good. Exiting 10 going across creek was SLOW and the branches slippery and the sides steep, but found the little irrigation channel ok. Short legs and bearings must have been ok and they didn't hide the controls
11 to 12: good. More of the same. Just keep going.
12 to 13: good. Shallow spur. Was led in but was fairly sure of where I was anyway.
13 to 14: good. Just a jog to the end and I had in my brain where I would be coming out having looked at the finish arena. It helped!

Overall good navigation, awful running conditions. Leg surprisingly good apart from the new acute injury and my wrist also hurt! Might do me good while I rest up to get over this. Either that and I really loose it to old age!!

Yorkshire Hill orienteering at Bendigo. Right buttock a pain but left hammy also played up during event, otherwise ok.

Start - 1: poor. I was a bit ambitious in thinking I could find the watercourse in chewed up gold mining terrain and ended up coming back to path bend and going from there. SHould have stuck to the path to start with.
1 - 2: good. Pretty straightforward, could even see the 3 knolls and went to the one at the centre of control circle.
2 to 3: good. While not the most efficient running I was again fine with navigation. Found the watercourse junction, recognized the knoll and went to the end of the watercourse nearby to spike it!
3 to 4: good. I was aware of someone ahead who might have led me in a bit but was heading there anyway; probably made it a little easier since I was more confident to look in that particular gully.
4 to 5: good. A really short leg and didn't go wrong.
5 to 6: good. I lost touch with where I was on this leg but it worked out ok. Was a big vague with the broken ground and mud banks but saw the open ground and ruin that helped me get the control.
6 to 7: good. Was heading for a pile of gravel and someone else led me in confirming ahead of time that this was the right pile.
7 to 8: good. I did some good navigation and contoured round, recognize the gully and headed over to the depression. Not sure about efficiency but navigation good!
8 to 9: good. I was heading in the right direction on this short leg and was led to it.
9 to 10: poor. I lost track a little around here and am not even sure whether it was this control or the next where I jsut kept going, not 100% sure of how many gullies I had crossed.
10 to 11: good. Recall going a little high but wanting to get the right aspect of hill and finding it ok.
11 to 12: good. I got this one before some other people looking for it, but think that I was a bit vague; could have been in the wrong spot but got lucky.
12 to 13: good. A short non-memorable leg. As I exited I was looking for path and had to cross a deep pit.
13 to 14: good. I liked going down the path but might not have been shortest route, but worked!

Overall I didn't make too many mistakes. First control was my worst and 7 to 8 was probably my best as I tried contouring and worked out where I was. General improvement in seeing small detail on map and matching that with what is around me; or else I was just in tune with this mapper/course setter!

Rest / travel day driving to Bendigo. Mmight do me some good.

Total rest today. Really noticing pain into hamstring/adductors; as well as can't twist properly to left without upsetting piriformus, especially in lunge position. Twist to right makes oliques/QL feel very stiff. So weird. Thinking about physio again next week.

Did 3km swim, starting with 1km (23:17), then 500m paddles (11:45), 500m no paddles (12:03) and finished with 2 x 10 x 50 (12:38 and 13:20) alternating 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle; the single length freestyle was almost sprint speed for me (and might be a good idea to think of it as such in future) although goggles began giving problems and buttock saga continues. Double layer hat worked to keep goggles more stable, but not so good for turns (got air in the inner plastic hat which threw balance during tumble!). Leg/hamstring/buttock problems continue; probably better than last time I swam but I can feel it cranky, still can't reliable extend behind, still can't kick with full force and a bit miserable I can't run as I'd like. Have had a few good days but not coming completely sound as soon as I'd like. Ever so often I worry the sacroiliitis is root cause... and there ain't no cure for grade 3 arthritic erosions into the SI joint destabalizing the whole pelvis.. but worry never helped anything. Maybe I can strengthen the muscles to compensate or at least have fun trying until I can't move any more!

Right buttock not as I would like (can't weight bear or tense without chunky pins and needles pain), so taking some time off just in case that helps. Think I need to stretch and strengthen too... without upsetting it.

A 14km run at Para Wirra into the Goldfields, ended up being 400m of climb and quite a challenge! Was trying to have an easier day (ie don't do 7x1km reps) to settle down my rhs hip/buttock that feels "fragile" but this maybe wasn't the thing to do either (still feels "fragile"!). But good fun and everything else mostly ok. (would love to have tried this 30 years ago; I'd have smashed more than 2 segment records!).