Training Log Archive: jennycas

I knew this would be no fun - a steep area with quarries and MTB tracks (rather unsuitable for night-O) and a somewhat kamikaze course planner - and I hadn't really intended to go because I knew I would be tired after a long day on my feet in the dispensary but when the entry numbers seemed so low earlier in the week, decided to support the organisers, only I couldn't determine which would be better for OY points, to come last in 21s or be the only person in 35s.

Anyway, all of the other people who stayed home had the right idea, I think. Feeling a bit funny in the tummy after scarfing my dinner after getting home from work, and with white fingers & numb toes from the cold already after taping my ankles I wasn't very focused from the start, but also I couldn't read the map at all. Partly because of how brightly my headlamp was reflecting off it (which is a problem I often have in night events) but also it seemed impossible to distinguish between the black lines for cliffs, roads, MTB tracks and fences, especially where they joined each other, and so I would have to completely stop, then hold my map at arm's length (yes, I am becoming more long-sighted) to work out what it showed. Control circle detail seemed indecipherable by torchlight, even at 1:7 500. At least the reflectors on the controls caught my light beam really well!

I took some very long routes around on tracks rather than going down & up steep gullies in long grass, (probably actually did 8-9 km in total). Managed to stay ahead of Jo & Abi for a bit but after they went through me (practically holding hands) I came unstuck taking a roundabout route to try and avoid a cliff, and once I'd worked out what I'd done, there were no other lights left around me, and later on when I couldn't find a control right on a track (the mapped mound was actually a few metres away from the track, so I'm excused for not seeing it but not for then overshooting by a few hundred metres) I thought maybe I was so late that they'd started taking the controls in already...probably should have acted my age tonight but then I'm pretty sure Zara would have been faster than me anyway.

So yeah, I still hate night O. But I guess, at least I flew the flag for Wallaringa?

C • Map 2

Redwoods return, trailing Fern & Zara/Callum. Still a touch of cherry blossom there :) It would have been a perfect Scandinavian summer's evening for a longer run but I had a meeting to get to and anyway my knees hurt.

If I had read my horoscope this morning (which I am NOT in the habit of doing) would it in fact have said "You will become trapped in a retirement village, 40 years before your time is due, and be unable to find the way out"?

Had to drop rogaine controls off up Happy Valley way, so ran around there and Reynella East, both suburbs being totally unfamiliar to me. I found some nice wetlands and walking tracks but also the aforementioned retirement village where the through roads shown on the street directory turned out to be emphatically blocked by locked gates which I couldn't squeeze under.

C • Estates 8

Managed a warmup lap (well off the back of the pack), but legs definitely weren't up for 3km tempo so jogged upriver to the suspension bridge and return, because why waste the daylight hours on going around the uni loop?

Don't think my knees would want to run today.

Since I was heading up that way in search of rogaine controls, dropped in to Evalin's training and jogged around fairly casually because we're not exactly meant to be sprinting around the gardens and also because tired legs (although not as bad as when sprint champs were held the day after the twilight rogaine a few years ago). Then, because beautiful gardens, lingered taking photos of flowers and eventually convinced myself to descend into the gorge and take photos of the waterfall, I mean collect controls. Two full descents/ascents, a dozen controls and 3 hours later, I was feeling a bit wrecked - but ok to play horsey after we took pizza for dinner to SLEH at the Brownhill Creek caravan park. This turned into a race between Heidi riding Auntie Jenny, Eleanor riding Uncle Geoffrey, and Mummy Susie riding Daddy Lachlan. We'll call it a dead heat :)

C • Dead heat... 3