Training Log Archive: jennycas

Got caught up at work and therefore wasn't very helpful with the rush on registration/start (88 names in total though half a dozen of those were non-competitive Arrows). Ran around Will's long course and quite enjoyed it; obviously I'm not race-fit and haven't run a sprint since WMOC in Gothenburg but on the other hand I got caught out by making some suboptimal route choices even though I know the uni pretty well, so it was a good challenge. Also got caught out by the finish not being in the place where it has been in the past and so made a highly public error (although I don't think anyone was watching).

Time to start doing some intervals instead of just thinking about them each week, I guess...

And, a classic Australia Post fail: we received in the mailbox today at 7 Perry Ave Daw Park 5041 a letter addressed to the Malaysian High Commission, 7 Perth St, ACT 2600!!!!

C • Easy mistake to make 4

A bit of a struggle, maybe because a banana wasn't enough to run on and also because the morning was quite humid and everything seemed to chafe - not just my socks but also the annoying double-stitched seam line on my sports bra. Normally I wear prophylactic Bandaids in the vicinity of the region which the Oscars fashion commentators would refer to as "side boob" but I'd forgotten to replace them and so this run wasn't particularly pleasant.

Should have taken the dog for a walk when first I woke up at 6am and it was 27 degrees, because at 7am we got absolutely drenched by the tail of Stan. By late afternoon there was only mizzle, so it was perfect for a Morialta run. B&S and Liv and Hainesy and I went up to 3rd Falls which were falling at winter levels - nice. I headed up to Norton Summit from there and came down the Pretty Corner singletrack, by which time my legs, still lactic from last night, said they'd had enough.

A bit horrified that I haven't run up any hills for nearly 2 weeks so gave the Shepherds Hill-Eden Hills-Bellevue Heights-Flinders Uni loop a go. Didn't feel too bad going up although legs a bit empty. Got to run through the revamped plaza; there is still an underpass but it's now offset, has automatically-opening doors at either entrance and a bunch of chairs/lounges in the middle so doesn't really look like somewhere we should be running through.

Attack of the Killer Masseuse
Soooooo painful, and my legs were really puffy afterwards.

Covered the SE section of the map this morning, where there are lots of little lumps and bumps and formline knolls somewhat reminiscent of the subtleties of Gothenburg terrain except that's all soft and green and mossy of course whereas this has virtually no undergrowth to slow people down although you do have to do a bit of ducking and weaving among the younger native pines. Assembly area's a bit of a walk from the carparking (although not further than it was at the Canberra NOLs last May) and will have magnificent views of Wilpena Pound along the way.

Coffee & cake at Maggie's Rendezvous in Orroroo was good (somewhere to stop for people heading up from Adelaide on the Sat am) and I was dropped home about 7pm; thanks to Adrian for all the driving. Had taken me a while, after coming back from Europe, to want to think about any sort of orienteering but now I am starting to get keen on both competing and organising again :)

Was collected by Robin & Adrian at 6:30am and we headed to the Flinders (via Jamestown where for once the bakery was open and adequately-stocked at a time when I was there) to tape control sites for the Ultralong on Anzac weekend. Arrived about midday and my hip was horrible from sitting so long in the car (not so sure about driving to Bendigo next month) but it improved upon walking. We covered about half of Robin's 75 controls on what turned out to be a cool breezy afternoon - unlike when I was last taping sites at Prelinna/Manawarra in 40+ degrees during the March 2008 heatwave - and only once got lost, in a Bermuda triangle area where it didn't help that my compass was being distorted by the magnet on the tube of my water bladder.

We checked in at Rawnsley caravan park (apparently Bridget has already booked the bunkhouse for interstate NOL teams) about 6pm, had a lovely hot shower and afterwards it was still daylight, and I didn't need to wear 5 layers to go to dinner at the ever-more-expensive Woolshed, unlike the frostily cold darkness experienced when camping on the June long weekends.