Training Log Archive: cricketk

MTB skills session with Mike and the Avanti Plus mob.

Similar stuff to what Danger covered, but targeting a lower starting standard. Obstacles were all much, much easier than what we did with Danger.

Far too many people in the group, but still managed to mostly move people through the obstacles pretty quickly.

Met a whole heap of women doing the skills session on their own and now have a much larger pool of people at a similar standard to ride with. Wicked.

Tried to pop a wheelie in the carpark after the first circuit and succeeded, scaring the crap out of myself. Unbalanced to the right and jarred that knee a little on the landing. It played up quite a lot on the second round, which I cut short to protect it.

A really unusual experience to be neither the slowest, nor the most unco of the group.

Went to yoga, yoga was not on. Bought a wheel and hubcap for my car instead.

Switched to 8-5-8 and will do this a few times more. Not any harder than 5-8-5 and the 5 minute section felt short.

After this a 10-10 and then 20 minutes uninterrupted I think.

Definitely seeing progess.

Lots more one-leg drills through Burswood. Found them difficult today, but closer yet again to pedaling circles.

Knee better than this morning.

100 x breast stroke
100 x easy free (drowning)
3 x sink downs
200 x pull buoy
3 x sink downs
100 x breathing 3-2-3
50 x breathe right
50 x breathe left
200 x pull buoy
200 x free (finally feeling OK)

Held up very late at home with parental care duties and surprise tradespeople. Had to take the shortest way possible. No trains visible and Graham Farmer Fwy backed-up past Burswood.

Left knee glitching again and slowing me down :-(

Yowser.

Perched on my workmate's TT bike. Note to self - TT bike position is NOT for me.

Ow.

Mum released from hospital late yesterday arvo instead of today, so I finally got to ride, huzzah!

Of course, when my intern had a funny spell and needed to get to the Doctor, that meant there were no cars in the office, so a couple of very expensive taxi rides for me to get her assisted and home and me back to the office. Pity I couldn't dink her. Speaking of which, I saw a very elderly couple sharing a gopher this morning. They were totally on an awesome date dinking each other on their wheels. So cute!

Knee feeling much happier this arvo and had a very cheerful ride. Did some one-legged pedalling by Burswood again. Still pedalling in squares, but not quite so much.

Collected a commuter who was trying out the 'bike route' nonsense instead of just riding down Albany Hwy and taught him the mysterious ways of SE22.

My Orienteering Season, by Kirsten Richards, aged not-W35 yet.

I've been thinking that I've been getting steadily worse at Orienteering over the course of this season, but now I go back and look at how I went and on which maps I ran really well, I'm much happier with my progress.

This is the first full season of H level courses for me and I'm actually making the transition OK. I think.

My pace over the ground has improved immensely. To whit - (by the GPS) at start of the season I was doing 13-15min/km and managed 10min/km in Kowen Forest where I only made two mistakes, rarely had to stop to make a decision and thoroughly enjoyed the map. This Sunday just gone, I made an enormous number of mistakes, stopped to think a lot and had trouble understanding the map at all, yet still managed to sustain under 11min/km. At the women's training weekend, on the map-memory exercise I did about 7 minutes/km. It was for less than 1km, but gave me a taste of what it might be like to know where I am and where I'm going all the time. It was very satisfying. I'd like more of it, please!

I'm pretty sure the increased speed is not translating into improved splits. I particularly stuff up the earlier legs, which is where I am still full of energy and bounce and seem to need it knocked out of me before my brain is willing to get involved in this orienteering business.

My tolerance for mistakes has narrowed. What counted as a reasonable level of confusion at the start of the year is now an unreasonable level of confusion. Unfortunately, I'm making it all much worse for myself by not sticking to the plan for each leg. I doubt myself after a moment of confusion and then try to correct something that is actually still on track - and thereby stuff it up monumentally.

The two really clean runs I've had this year were both on open farmland maps. (As were two of my complete disasters.) I need to remember this and not think I've suddenly forgotten how to orienteer in the bush. I haven't yet learned how to orienteer in the bush is closer to the truth.

Things I have learned this year.
1. Pay attention to the contours and not the rocks
2. Vegetation mapping isn't something you can use as a navigation aid (unless it's plantation)
3. Run to the attackpoint (or the catching feature) and don't quibble about every rock and barely discernable knoll along the way.

C • Farm land 4

Strength, stretch, roller.

Enjoyed doing bridges this evening. Weird.