Training Log Archive: jennycas

It doesn't matter that I never got G a birthday card, because apparently that service is provided by our local Federal MP - a lovely card with an embossed Australian coat of arms on the front turned up in the post, with a handwritten personalised "Happy 40th Birthday Geoffrey" message from Nicolle Flint...I presume she first goes through her list of constituents and crosses off all those who are suspected to be members of GetUp!

C • GetUp! 2

Headed to Brighton after work, ran north on the beach (a summer's evening and there were people everywhere) to Somerton to check out the new boardwalk behind/on top of Minda dunes: https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/minda-coast-par...
I reckon Minda itself would make a good sprint map, now that it's not so much used for residential care. Found Dunluce Castle on the way back :)

So, 2006 was the first year when the Arrows started organising the relays. And I've helped out every year but two (was away in 2013 and 2017) but this time Bridget & Simon did an amazing job of all of the course setting/organising, so this is the first year I've ever been able to run in the relays (still hosted map-bagging night of course). Pity my actual running wasn't up to much because of my knees, but it was good to team up with Fern, and we were never going to beat Em & Liv or Jo & Abi anyway.

From the mass start I had the really long leg over into Blackwood Forest, and chose to go right which while possibly lesser distance definitely had more climb, and I was annoyed with myself afterwards for that choice, but Fern went left when it was her turn and she said she wished she'd gone right, so obviously the leg was set for the routes to be pretty equal but for people to question their choices - nice. They were fun little courses, unsurprisingly steep in parts and surprisingly warm in the sun by the end!

Legs about to fall off by the end of this leg :(

I'd talked my parents into teaming up together which meant them doing the easy course one after the other. Dad got around fine and handed over to mum but we could see her getting lost before she'd even gone out of the school into Frank Smith Park, and so dad headed after mum & ended up accompanying her around the course - the same that he'd just done - and they achieved an official team result, which was nice for them.

I asked the birthday boy (who'd been very helpful with setting up the maps' clothesline) to take parents home (I'd collected them bright & early this morning so hadn't had time to acknowledge G's b'day) while I continued with Arrows' pack-up which was all done by 2pm, and afterwards a few orienteers converged on the bakery at Coromandel Valley and I procured an utterly ginormous choc-chip cookie with the words Happy Birthday on it, so that solved my dual omissions of card & cake, all in one :)

Before a Killer Massage which preceded meeting S&M for lunch at Lot 100 https://www.lot100.com.au/

I'd actually booked us a tour of the distillery/brewery for G's birthday, and since we were the only four people on the 11am tour, 45 min somehow turned into 90 min, and we learned lots about how gin and beers are made and flavoured, and we tasted lots of flavours, and it was a good thing that they'd held our table inside the restaurant, because it was wintry in the hills and all the bright young things dressed in not much (for hen's gatherings and winery tours) were shivering in their finery sitting at tables outside - they get 400 people through Lot 100 on weekend days.

I think I've made my peace with this hugely-successful multi-enterprise commercial entity having been established on the farm which used to belong to my grandfather. His old dairy is still visible, but now surrounded by apple orchards.

Sooo tired today, and knees weren't great, but I needed some fresh air - and by the time I met Zara & Two Dogs (remember that brand of alcoholic lemonade from the '90s?) it was definitely fresh out.

C • Two Dogs 4

Fun little one-person relay around the reserve (which I still think of as the driving school but nobody else would know what I was talking about). When I'd picked parents up to come to training, the sky was very grey in the west, and when it started to rain, I worried that they'd get too cold and wet walking around, but in fact I was the one who came home with completely white fingers and had to soak them in warm water until the colour came back. This seems to be happening more lately?

C • I used to have that 2