Training Log Archive: jennycas

Left work about 8pm last night so clearly didn't make it to orienteering, but was up bright & early for a swim before going with Vincent to speak to ranger & landowner about next year's Aust Long Champs - a successful visit and we have identified a suitable arena, so now we just have to hope against wholesale felling in the pine plantations (unlikely given the current ages of the trees). The wildflowers in the native forest areas should be at their best next October; even now we found some spider orchids (hopefully not environmentally sensitive), and I showed Vincent the edible fruits of Exocarpus cupressiformis, which certainly won't be mapped under ISOM 2017. Also I saw a robin redbreast but I can't decide whether it was a flame or a scarlet robin.

Lovely ride on a pleasant evening, as reward for an afternoon of house-and-garden activity. Adelaide's jacarandas are at their peak and I came home along the street which The Advertiser chose as a backdrop for their photo of 3-year-old "ballerinas" dressed in purple tutus to match the blossoms.

C • jacarandas 5

Would have been a nice cool evening for a longer run, but legs didn't have much in them and hip flexor is playing up again/still so I figured this was enough.

I was good yesterday - took escalators instead of stairs wherever possible at the convention centre, and didn't dance (or drink too much) at the conference dinner, so felt fairly much ok for a run up to Barangaroo, under the Harbour Bridge, past a massive cruise ship in The Rocks and then from Circular Quay I had to come back because of time constraints, otherwise I would have been tempted (possibly unwisely) to go out through the botanic gardens and towards Mrs Macquarie's Chair, where I've only been once (on the way to Dubbo for JWOC 2007). Anyway, this was good for fixing a few more inner-Sydney localities on my mental map; the place names being fresh in my mind having recently re-read Come In Spinner (one of my favourite books).

C • Come in Spinner 2

Caught the ferry out to Cockatoo Island this afternoon, armed with a copy of a sprint course from the 5-Days a couple of years ago, and walked around, map in hand, although there were a couple of control sites I couldn't access due to building renovations and a couple more which were in the middle of patches of nesting seagulls (seriously, they nest on the ground with almost nothing to protect them or their eggs, and I saw a number of eggs which had rolled away from various nests) and although I'm not convinced that seagulls are actually capable of attacking properly, the broody birds and their protective partners got so upset that I backed away and ate my lunch instead. Who ever heard of a) having a picnic in the middle of an orienteering course; and b) seagulls not being interested in someone else's picnic? They were seriously preoccupied!

C • Seagull nesting sites 4

Over to Glebe again - soo many people out running or dogwalking along the foreshore; I don't think I've seen any of the same dogs on my last 3 runs here - through Blackwattle Bay Park and across Anzac Bridge (knees didn't even like going uphill) and back via Pyrmont (by the end I was taking ramps wherever possible and walking up/down any stairs). Hadn't brought the Pyrmont sprint map with me but found online afterwards a copy of a Summer Series course which was set cunningly enough that due to the different levels, getting all 30 controls within a 45-minute score event would not have been straightforward even though it's a 1: 4000 map!

After I mentioned yesterday that Palm Beach's alter ego is Summer Bay, Geoff apparently sat through an entire episode of Home And Away tonight for visual proof that this is indeed where it's filmed! The things he gets up to, when I'm not home...

C • So that's 2

Escaped the big smoke for jacaranda country and made my way from hotel @Chinatown across to and did a sort-of-lap-of Glebe. Feeling very blobby as this was after conference welcome drinks/nibbles. Came back across Pyrmont Bridge; Darling Harbour's pretty at night, with the restaurants all lit up and boats moored out front. Something seems to be missing though, since I was last here for COSA in '08. Something up high...

Event: 2017 South Sydney Summer Series - Maroubra
 

3rd in a series of three free events (thank you Mr ASC) @Berowra this weekend, and I was curious, although since we'd crossed on the Berowra Waters ferry last NYE I knew it could be a bit steep around there. Doesn't look so bad on a 1:7500 map though, and I almost wondered if the 30 controls could be clean-uppable within the 45 min limit, but decided: not by me. In the end I got all bar 3 for 560 points (poor route choice meant that I passed one of them twice) but was a minute late although the control on the edge of the oval sort of negated the 10 points I thereby lost. Still wondering what would have been the best way for me to go or which controls to leave out, so that means it was a well-set course.

Afterwards G very kindly complied with my request that we drive out to Palm Beach, where neither of us had previously been and back from which I certainly wouldn't want to be driving on a public holiday. We actually managed to find a park there, so walked up to the lighthouse on Barrenjoey headland along with dozens of other people. Fabulous water views in all directions :)