Training Log Archive: jennycas

About right pace for a recovery with Tyson, Troy, Simon, John, Fern. No hills - yay! Tyson is keeping up way better than he was a few weeks ago. My ITB was cramping a lot after and doesn't want to straighten out properly.

I felt like absolute crap at 5am but getting to Narrinyeri by 7, breathing the cool autumn air and watching the sun rise wasn't all bad. Wallaringans had the place looking pretty professional by the time elites started turning up. Simon set a great course (actually he set about 18 of them if you count all the combinations) and I haven't enjoyed a loop race this much since Eureka at Nerrina in 1999.

I felt like I was running really well; pity my brain wasn't orienteering at the same pace. Went to the wrong first control because I dropped too far down the hill (I wasn't the only one) but did pretty well through the rest of the controls on the first loop, which for me was the one with the most scrub-bashing.

Changed over near Shannon and Fel, first couple of controls no worries, then did something really stupid. Heading up to 174 I asked myself "is this the same control I've been to before?" and myself stupidly answered " no, you have to go further left!" I went way left, and found 180, which I thought was on a boulder (actually it was meant to be a cliff) and then hunted all over my map for a boulder in the relevant position, which I couldn't bloody well find, then I had no clue where I could be because nothing matched, and did laps of the hillside before I tried attacking from the same angle again, and what do you know, it led me straight to 174! (effing bloody stupid, shouldn't talk to myself).

Anyway...on the 3rd lap lost a couple of minutes in a couple of places and then did something else stupid after crossing the road. Very short downhill leg, I decided to run along the top of the rocks and then drop, but I was already well beyond the control before I decided to drop (I am used to this map being at 1:15 000, but that is no excuse) and consequently spent at least 5 min checking out the scenery on a couple of other spurs.

I figure that I lost about 15min all up on this course which is such a bugger because I am smarter than that...but it was fun, and I do like Narrinyeri. Even collecting controls was fun though I forgot to mark one on my map and the others had to go collect it afterwards :(

Geroge and I took Sus & Lachlan to the airport and then went to see Adam Hills. He is very funny but also much cruder than I expected from his Spicks & Specks persona.

Event: SILVA National Orienteering League
 

Finally the weekend arrived, about which I had been stressing all week in terms of how to arrange ferrying assorted family members around and whether there would be any problems with the NOL races. May even have had a few nerves of my own before racing because I definitely felt lactic and sluggish. Apart from looking behind the wrong bush for the first control and behind the wrong retaining wall in the south part of the school where Kay was lurking on control-guard, I was happy with navigation/route choice and being able to read the buildings okay. Robin made good use of a pretty tight school area.

The worst part of the day was having to kill 4 hours between events on a stinking hot day. The best part was the Arrows team photo where we managed to assemble 18 people on a BBQ (admittedly a big one - see OASA home page).

The middle distance chasing start format worked really well, as far as I can tell. I got a bit confused belting down to the lake and thought I was too far left when I was too far right already, recovered and chased after Wendy and Cath. Rachel wasn't far behind me up the next hill. From 2 the course split to go either left or right; the problem was that when looking for number 3 on the map, the 3 of number 13 (also number 7) stood out much more obviously...I had only dropped a couple of contours before I caught on but apparently others made it all the way down the hill to the drinks control.

Up the hill to 3 (left loop), I realised that I'd have to climb right up till it flattened out, but Cath/Wendy were looking lower on the spur, saw Laurina at 3, down the hill to 4, lost Wendy up the next hill, saw Rachel at the drinks control, up the next hill I figured out that I needed to be high so got ahead of Cath/Laurina, the next one I was too high so they got ahead of me, back to the drinks, then a looong slog up the road and over the hill towards the lake.

By now the hard ground under my shoes (new Olways, without my orthotics in them), was really aggravating the neuroma in my foot so I quickly rolled on the road and crunched my back. Little by little I slipped benind the others (hard to run when your toes feel like they're broken) but then I started getting glimpses of Vanessa up ahead - her knee must truly have been giving her hell - and after the spectator control I had her/Cath/Laurina in my sights but wasn't going to catch them, obviously.

Thought I handled the heat pretty well, wished I could have run a couple min faster if my foot didn't hurt. got back to town and it was 35 degrees, just couldn't cool down. Really had to force myself to eat pasta for tea and dreaded the thought of getting up at 5 am.

This hardly counts because it was only a loosener before stretching but I did do a couple of laps of the bark chip circuit in the park, because it's a nice uneven surface. Right hamstring/left shin are both unhappy because of a combination of standing and lecturing plus sitting in meetings. Stretching and strengthening 20 min.

Very pleasant morning for it, I didn't want to get out of the water. Much better when I can go slowly and breathe properly without fear of water buffaloes.

Short jog through Colonel Light Gardens, made shorter by the fact that I bumped into the Smerniks and heard from Kara about the woes of setting the next rogaine (apparently national parks won't let us use Innes), then I was running late for the MTBO meeting.

Took the GPS up the back of Waite again. Time spent searching for mysterious hidden objects is not counted. Was smart enough to take a torch this time. A good stretch is called for, and my shins are suspiciously tight.

I can't find my watch anywhere...am starting to wonder if it's somewhere up the back of Waite though I can't remember dropping it. This is of course the favourite Casio which you can't get any more :(

The longer version: Shepherd's Hill-Eden Hills-Bellevue Heights-Flinders Uni-Shepherd's Hill-home. Definitely a bit quicker than last time, perhaps because I was running a bit late? Compromised by not stretching afterwards because the physio can do that for me this afternoon!

Attack of the Killer Physio

This really hurt! As in, someone sticking their thumb into your hip is bound to be painful...but you can't flinch too much when there are still needles in other bits of you. The good thing is, I am still allowed double appointments...it's just annoying patients who aren't :)