Training Log Archive: jennycas

Wasn't sure about this one when I started out towards Shepherds Hill and up through Eden Hills, but it gradually got better, although I was thirsty by the time I got to Blackwood. After stretching at the tap my mobility improved and through the ups & downs to Belair I gradually convinced myself that from Belair Triangle I should turn right along Sheoak Rd rather than going left and downhill. Down the Pony Ridge switchbacks I had to give way to a group of mountain bikers; I admired their ability to get downhill way faster than I could. Knees were tightening up a bit by the bottom but surprisingly, along the creek I seemed to be getting a little spring in my step (and in the air) and with the aid of half a dozen jellybeans which kept making their way from my pocket to my mouth, I finished off okay.

So I'm feeling somewhat more optimistic about next weekend although that doesn't explain the dream I had last night where I got to the start of the Ultralong and found my compass broken. Not something you can really do without at Kooyoora!

Attack of the Killer Masseuse

Calves & adductors particularly painful. I wasn't sure how driving out to Moon Rocks afterwards would go, but actually, putting out controls for the relays was good recovery.

Did quite a good job of carbo-loading in advance of a long run when we went out to dinner: garlic bread, chorizo & olive pasta, and most excellent banana fritters with chocolate sauce :)

Quick run by myself in the park before relays-organising-extravaganza (to quote AK). The Arrows are a well-oiled machine but my hips weren't after sitting on the floor numbering maps! In general though my back is better in the evenings than the mornings.

Legs & back not feeling so flexible this morning. Just getting to Shepherds Hill was a struggle and staggering up the hill a bit like treading water. I contemplated heading back from the park as time was a bit tight (need to factor in being 10% slower than previously, plus the equivalent time again for stopping to stretch) but forced myself to go up through Eden Hills and down through Bellevue Heights and the uni. This didn't always hurt, but when it did, sometimes the pulling-feeling was on my inside knee, which is new and unwelcome.

Over to Mitcham and back before OSA council meeting. Both the run and the meeting were better than expected. My hips & back actually felt loose enough to flex, which was a pleasant surprise (although spending the best part of 3 hours in the aforementioned meeting seems to have reversed this, alas).

We escaped Penrith, after a day doing family stuff, with enough time to drop in to Glebe so that George could buy books. I've suggested that if we need to curtail spending with a new house, we could not buy books for a while, and re-read the thousands we already have, but this seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Admittedly one reason for buying this house was so that we'd have more space for our books! Anyway, I set a virtuously good example and did not cross the threshold of a bookstore, but instead went for a run. It was good to get some fresh air and I saw some impressive mansions, but geez, this was painfully slow. Can't believe how stuffed I am!

Nearly didn't make it to this one. After back was unpleasant in the night, presumably due to the hotel bed, I managed to sleep through until 8am - at which time it was still raining - and thought very hard about not going orienteering given my 9:38am start. A look at the radar and the rain appeared to be clearing so I had no real excuse, except that even a quick hotel breakfast takes time and so we didn't leave until 8:45, with me navigating for George while taping my ankles in the car. We pulled up at the event; I hopped out of the car and ran the 500m to the start casting longing glances at the toilet queue as I bypassed it, and arrived with just enough time to sign the indemnity (is this really necessary if we've already clicked the waiver button when entering?) before I was called up!

Yeah, so I've definitely never cut it this fine before :) Good thing I'm not someone who finds it difficult to settle in and focus on the map - in fact, one of the reasons I like orienteering is because it forces me to switch off all the other things which are on my mind (there seem to have been a lot of these lately).

Anyway, the bush was good and soggy, with tiny watercourses branching off a main one and a network of tiny tracks, in an area less than 1.5 sq km. The print resolution/colour was a wee bit funny and so I struggled to read ditches and watercourses when they were overlaid with solid or hatched green, but my bearings were pretty direct and I toddled along ok, if very slowly and feeling rather like I had been carved out of a solid block of wood. About halfway through we came out into the 'open' with tall grass nearly my height in places and a slalom of motorbike tracks which went in random directions. I really found it hard to lift my legs through this bit, which we came back through towards the end, but I liked the forested parts which reminded me, strangely enough, of the NOL races at Newcastle a couple of years ago.

Time was pretty woeful but logic tells me that there must be some possibility of improvement in the terrain between now and nationals. I dare say I could sharpen up my navigation a little also; will get a new compass before Kooyoora. Anyway, it was still a rewarding weekend of races and I talked George into detouring to Brooklyn, on the water by the Mooney Mooney bridge, on our way back to Penrith and we found a quaint little café/gallery for lunch, so that was nice.

C • clarification 2

C • Lake Mac Games 6

SL13 HARD 2 - Splits