Training Log Archive: SusC

Littlechild Creek. Finally beautiful weather! Definately best run of the week for me, totally felt at one with the map, could read rocks easily at 1:10,000 and no confusing 2.5m contours. No pressure as in 3rd leg mass start, saw a few M40s in end section of course but still did own thing. No problems hitting the marked creek crossings, run felt smooth and flowy, lost <1min in total and this on v short legs where a bit off due to dodging green. Early on in course made decision to run long leg 1-2 by going wide over runnable hill & down spur. Splits show this as definately slower route (1-2 mins) than the more direct/2 creek crossings/more detail route which would have been less runnable. So think my way helped me get into good rhythm early in course but possibly not wisest decision for racing? Hard to say...guess that means it was good course setting.

The Golden Fleece. First run of the week that I felt keen for, with a bit of nervousness & anticipation on getting up in the morning. Zero of either in all earlier races. But arrghh, I sucked! Well I didn't suck for the first bit, actually ran really strongly through the hillier first part of the course, until #10, planning legs well and executing as planned, but then had 2 mins of trouble with #11 (attackpoint of creek bend to NW of control failed, twice, placing me too low in gully system - eventually went higher up to look for control as had eliminated other possibilities). Managed ok through next few, but now with Mace (caught at 12) and Laurina (caught before long leg to 10) and a bit rattled. Couldn't make sense of anything mid leg 14-15, eventually relocating on a high pt with control mid-way after becoming ridiculously tentative (should have just run on compass and given up trying to make things fit) costing 1 min, then 16-17 had another episode of non-fitting after crossing the creek somewhere different to where I thought I was. Found myself in a very featureless place so left the area quickly, heading over to a bump in the distance to relocate, then headed back in to area of control but still no luck as misinterpretted a series of short steep sided watercourses for the earthbanks inside the control circle. Hovered and dithered, then got a slightly better fix on my exact location and eventually ended up at the control, helped by seeing that all runners in the area seemed to be converging in that direction. 5 mins lost, easily biggest mistake since last day of Easter 2011 in WA (also flat, vague). About another min lost mid route to #19, by now was running compass instead of trying to make things fit but ended up too far to R.

So, happy with fitness, not with nav. Just didn't adapt my navigating to suit the second half of the course, where it swapped to the flat terrain from the hillier stuff. Was not comfortable in this part of the map at all. Had big difficulties predicting how obvious/big an upcoming feature would turn out to be and angles between features felt a bit skewed in places. Had left gel at home so substituted with dried banana but prob had it too late (around 60 min mark) & after first error. Totally didn't deserve 6th given the headless chooking I seemed to be doing!

Waubadebar - Bicheno. Can not think of anything good to say about how I orienteered! It was CRAP. Headless chooking galore, doing things that I never do, like running in to green because it doesn't look too bad to get through, but hey, it's mapped green for a reason dumkopf!

Notes copied straight from my O book:
Very sleepy and no enthusiasm to get up to go to O
Weather wet windy & cold
Wore running shoes but rocks slippery & hard to treat as important race
Rushed decision making & paid the price, failed to read map properly

Wow. I didn't know I could do so badly at something I am usually so sensible about. Impressive!

In Deloraine in the Apex Pk near creek, some short faster back & forth bits on path, grass wet.

after running

With Fern, Tyson & Lauren, from Gowrie Pk, up the road towrads Mt Roland...then back to camp. Quite steep up but the down bit felt nice. Lovely scenery, nice daffodils & cows.

The Argonaut. Better run than yesterday, but still lost approx 4 mins in 3 places. Technique a little sloppy and still rushing a bit, main issue was not safe enough attack pts/routes. Prob needed to stop at times to make sure reading the map (1:15:000) properly and seeing adequate detail. Failed to push hard at the end, Tracy gained 5 mins on me from #11 on (had started 2 mins in front and I would see her in distance but then make small error) whilst running with Grace...I need to have the legs/inclination to be able to do this too.

Jason's Task. Good blend of technical/physical, with mix of leg types & lengths. Enjoyed course a lot but lost approx 4 mins, rattled by Kathryn being around b/w 4 and 11, then refocussed and did remainder of course pretty well after being alone through controls 12-16.

Fannie Bay to Dudley Pt, return, with Zoe. We celebrated me finally getting a P1 contract. It's only taken a year!

At Parap, before spending day at Charles Darwin NP for schools champs. Good time to be swimming, pool empty, a shame I couldn't stay longer.

At Klaus's, 19 mins on grass doing laps - felt ok and could really kick a bit in the sprint parts but then v tired once we got on the beach. Did 3 x approx 4 mins in shallows/sand, not going flat out.

feeling stiff, did all over

Mindil event, went fine, had enough helpers which is always pleasant. Picked up a few controls at the end, home just after 12, nice! Thhen had a sleep...

about three hours of walking around in total, putting out water in the morning and controls in the afternoon

warm up laps and drills

6 x 200 @ 3k pace, 4 x 400 @ 10k pace, 6 x 200 @ 5k pace, 30 sec recovs, 2 mins b/w sets
200s: 49,47,50,48,48,48
400s: 1.45,1.41,1.45,1.44
200s: 49,48,48,47,48,48

was a fun session, feeling much easier than recently

Over to botanic gardens/golfcourse to look for a suitable control site.

in the park after

knee/hip exs

To work, all easy gears to give knee a chance to rest. Found seat lower than it should have been, so put that up, hopefully will help. Nice morning.

C • Sorry! 3

Big laps on the grass, faster b/w the red buckets. Initially felt like hard work, like last week, but started to feel more natural after 15 mins. Kind od like my core was feeling more in place. Could last night's iliopsoas visualisation have had something to do with it? Surely not, how could that stuff work....;)

3 times up the beach & back in the shallow water, middle time v hard. approx 45 secs break b/w each. Feeling slower than I should be....

Big leg massage from Lach in evening....

30 skips on/10 secs off along drive to work

at desk, 3 min each iliopsoas, twice

From home to Nightcliff markets to meet Lach, Zoe & friend for breaky. Took Ludmilla route, good gravel/grass road verges/footpaths going this way. Running still felt awkward, like have zero core muscles engaging. Had to conciously think posture the whole way. Running hardish up to Musgrave? Rd (HR>150 at end), then easy for the last 4 mins.

In the shade at markets, while waiting for Lach. A most awesome cool breeze was blowing, virtually not sweaty!

Return to maintaining body...haven't done knee exs since Europe and think am paying for it.. 2 sets, 4 exs, terrible on the single leg dips!

Spent nearly an hr after using the hard balls on R quad etc...actually true, the hurt goes away after initial hurt. Got the muscles quite soft but knee still a bit crunchy.

Checking control sites for Moderate/Long for event next w/end. From home, across to Vestey's Lake via Parap, then around museum/school, Birdsong gully (rejected as control site as Trevor the rubbish warrior in there and he liable to think my flag is rubbish and remove it) and Bot gdns. Got v sweaty as fairly steamy, out for nearly two hours all up but only logged running. Walked from Birdsong gully as feeling stuffed. Otherwise a nice morning out.

Did a massive stretch to try and sort out the crunchy knee and makes hips less stiff. Love massive stretches! Just bad at making time to do them.

At Marrara. 4 laps w/up, runthrus/drills, 2 laps w/down. Some new bods to talk to.

5 x 800 @ 10k pace with 200 recov.
3.31,3.36,3.36,3.38,3.37
Felt v unco running, had to keep thinking about what I was meant to be doing...odd. Thought I would have been back in the swing of it by now. Did the slower set as not feeling bouncy today but this didn't feel that easy, either, so guess I have lost fitness or else just am just feeling off.

200m recoveries, to start of next 800:
1.19,1.17,1.12,1.12

Work to Mindil Bch, to meet Lach. Running a bit late which was a shame as had to watch the sunset from my bike. It was a good one, worthy of a proper viewing.

to work

21.48 on grass, running around the cone loops and working harder b/w the red buckets. Then 13.06 on beach towards Nightcliff & back in ankle deep water. Body felt terrible on the grass, tummy all tight...too much lunch?

Down to stack as hard as possible, short recov (38sec) then hard back. Think I am just tired...

Tired! Had a nap at work. R knee sore and creaky, not happy with so much riding yesterday perhaps, or else the ride/run combo.

Did heaps, all over body. Let's see how knee is tomorrow.

Tri very popular, 150 participants, 104 of which had never done one before. Totally assorted assortment of bikes (mine not the only with a parcel rack and one had a basket:) Times a guess, 42.09 total, just caught Zoe on the run but she started 2 mins after me in the swim so overall faster.

Lake Alex, Fernwood girls triathlon. Glad to start in first wave as then hidden by following waves. Couldn't swim straight, although was trying to keep sun to the right. Started a bit fast and then had to slow down....but I got there in the end, as the second wave came through.

2 laps of a loop on the road in East Pt res, first up to the military museum, then back to the front gate of reserve. Passed lots of riders initially but got hard to overtake by the second lap as by then had gone past most of the mountain bikes and needed quite a bit of time to pass the commuters, but overtaking a bit busy due to road bikes coming through from swimmers in the last wave. Rode hard and kept up ok, didn't mind being on a mountain bike really although I'm sure i'd get sick of it if a much longer ride.

Supposed to have been 2 x 1.25k laps on the bike path, but someone put the turnaround in the wrong place so the lap was 2.5k alone. So did one lap, assuming they'd changed the course, and finished. But most people followed the instruction to do 2 laps and therefore ended up doing 5k, or, somewhere in between, because once the organisers worked out what was going on they moved the end of the lap to reduce the size of the lap....confusing? yes! Never mind, was just for fun. And now lots of women out there have worked out that they can actually run for 5k, not just for 2.5k.

C • Was this your first tri? 3

Riding around all day it seemed, to/from triathlon, plus around Vesteys/Mindil twice (once am, once pm) to check out control sites for upcoming event.