Training Log Archive: jennycas

Event: Bendigo Rocks 2 - Mt Korong
 

Plan A was that George & I would have flown to Darwin this morning and gone orienteering at Litchfield with Susanne & Lachlan. Rearrangement of said plan (due to my now attending a funeral in Pt Lincoln on Monday) resulted in plan B: that I would fly to Melbourne and go orienteering at Mt Korong. Hopefully Blair never expects me to pay up on the equivalent of what I owe him in taxi fares from Tullamarine to Bendigo & beyond :)

Figured I need some granite practice before the NOL ultralong at Kooyoora next month and hoped that my hip would hold out for 9km and that it wouldn't take me much more than 2 hours and Clare wouldn't beat me by *too* much. And it was a really nice day once beyond the ranges, with the golden wattle starting to bloom. We got to the event and I said "I think I'm even going to get sunburnt!" because there's not much tree cover at Korong.

I was curious to see how a 9km course could be created from a fairly small patch of map, but it was well done, without too much seeming familiar until right at the end. Took the first few controls fairly slowly, getting into the map and gradually gaining on Ted van Geldermalsen. The individual boulders were ok to identify but I struggled to read the patches of bare rock, which seemed to have been printed indistinctly(maybe too pale, or maybe less well-defined due to the digital printing) and was too far south on both 9 and 10 and bounced off the little track both times. I also struggled to concentrate when my hip started to play up, which seemed to happen about every 20 min. I'd have to stop and stretch and then it would be ok for a bit until I went uphill again.

Slightly too low on 12 and had to scrabble up through the green, but my main error was on 16 where I was looking in a group of rocks about 50m north of where I actually needed to be and faffed around for a minute or two. Over the ridge 16-17 I went right; possibly not the best choice but actually my bearing to the bare rock attack point was pretty straight. I probably should have taken the ridgeline route to 21 because I dropped down and then it was a horrible climb back up, with neither of my legs working at this point. Briefly glimpsed Blair and Laurina at the control, then they were down and racing across the plains while I had only picked my way about halfway down the hill. At the drink control (22) a nice man who I didn't know poured me a drink and then asked me if I had remembered to punch!

Was a little high on 23 and managed to get caught again by Ted, who by now was running faster than me as I struggled to put one foot in front of the other without wincing. I spotted 24 before he did although he was right behind me across the paddock to 25. 26 should have been obvious but was hidden, and I mean really hidden, behind a boulder and I was so sure I was in the right place but had to have a second look. A little too high on 27 which Ted found first, and he was well ahead of me heading across the 3 spurs to 28 but ended up one rock slab too high and I got away from him through the last couple of controls.

Did indeed take 2 hours to do 9km, but it was the most enjoyable 2 hours I've spent this week, agonising hip & knee not withstanding. And made me think that I've got a greater than 50% chance of finishing the ultralong although if it's set for a winning time of 2 hours at Hanny-pace I'll probably need to take my lunch with me.

1 - Splits

Maybe I was excited that for once it wasn't raining, or else I've acclimatised fairly well to winter in Adelaide, because although I did wear a thermal and then wondered why my hands were going numb, it didn't really register with me that it was only 2 degrees (mind you, last winter never even got down to that; I can't remember when last I saw frost at home. Possibly the morning that I got back from Europe in 2011?).

The first big hill was a struggle, the second one a bit better, but I think my leg is improving slowly although I doubt I'd have been up for 6 hours of ups & downs in a rogaine at Saunders Gorge this weekend. As far as I can tell, the initial trigger for this problem was driving the ute 5 hours each way from the Flinders on the June long weekend. I always struggle with not having long enough legs to easily reach the clutch & accelerator (also a design flaw in Subarus, but I still love them best)!

C • Subarus 9

Attack of the Killer Physio
I've long suspected that Kath recycles "my" needles as she is using them on different parts of me. Today she was complaining that some of them had bent while in use, so couldn't be used again!

Starting to think that there is tendonopathy where my ITB inserts into joints both top & bottom and that by massaging I may actually aggravate this.

I wouldn't be entirely surprised if Bridget & I were each secretly hoping that no one else would show up...we went up past the overflowing lake and after about 10 min the front that she had warned me about came through and we were soaked. Nice to see so much water running everywhere (including the tracks). The last few winters this hasn't happened until fairly late in the season it seems.

It was rather soggy at the time I left work but after dinner I looked at the radar and went for a jog. Very slow, and no good up hills, but I won't need hill strength in Darwin next week. Actually no pain until I finished and then as soon as I started to walk back from the street corner, hip/knee went aargh.

Took the headlamp & ran over to Mitcham, Brownhill Creek behind the caravan park, up past Carrick Hill, along behind Waite then home. This was a run with plenty of bailout options in case my hip/knee played up, but I managed ok although could feel the tightness evolving towards the end and there were a couple of groin twinges. Wasn't too cold out and it only rained when I was on the slippery singletracks.

Hawthorndene run with Bridget, discussing the WOC relay and hearing all about how the junior camp went. I only had to stop and stretch once but it was random how the hip & knee twinges suddenly came on.

Didn't hurry to get up and leave our nice cottage this morning, but eventually made it out to Worlds End on a clear but cold day, glad not to have camped.

Wasn't sure how I'd go on a longer course so chose the 6.7km (acting my age) which I thought was fairly well set with some nice navigation on offer and a couple of good route choice legs. Navigating by the vegetation/open areas was a useful trick. It's pleasant enough terrain although more rocky underfoot than I would have liked. I'd be surprised if this course actually had more climb than yesterday's. Found myself walking more than just the hills, with no energy and no pushoff and hip giving more trouble than knee today. Spent at least 5 min on stopping to stretch, and on removing my shoes to take a prickle out of the underside of my toe (something which I never do on rogaines, but I was feeling wussy) which may account for the 5 min Robin beat me by.