Training Log Archive: PrueD

I've had a fairly low key week with some sort of ailment that included joint pains. But I'm feeling a bit better today - although I'm a bit apprehensive about the week ahead as my running has been zilch for some time and I am a big bigger than I should be.

I came up to Benalla last night and swam in the pool this morning - and am hoping that the lack of clarity in the water had nothing to do with the large number of children there :(

It rained really heavily in the night (huge storms) with over 100mm in some places upstream - but it appears we may have escaped a flood. It is lovely here despite the rain.

Feeling a bit better today after a good sleep. I tried to run but my knee hurt so I resigned myself to walking. It was a beautiful day. RUnning wise I am not looking good for next week - which is disappointing.

C • women's sledge? 1

I spent the day entertaining about 100 non-English speaking Asian radio orienteers at the ARDF Asia-Pacific championships at Maldon which is on until Tuesday. Despite my cold I actually had a great day.

I helped put some controls around Maldon for the street event. I have never explored Maldon properly before and found it incredibly interesting - with lots of gold mining history right in town. I would highly recommend it for some other sort of event in the future. I then helped mark up maps (last minute panic).

Then I took entries - which was really funny as I had a list of about 100 Japanese names in no particular order and which all sounded the same. The briefing was really funny as no-one spoke English and no-one heard or understood the 'come back at 4.00pm' bit. On the shout of 'GO' , nothing happened - as they didn't understand that either. Altogether very entertaining.

I then went out for about an hour with Lillya, who gave me some basic instruction, and saw lots of smiling Japanese carrying aerials and running around in all directions.

C • Maldon 1

The course was just a little bit worse than I had feared, as the organisers had forgotten to tell me that the participants had some significant industrial issues. I had a cold by the end.

A walk around Blackburn last night. I wont be living there for much longer so am enjoying the bushy paths and tracks while I can.

Thurs and Fri I am facilitating a workshop for 50 people. Being an introvert, I am not looking forward to this and now have a touch of anxiety disorder. I would rather sit up the back snoozing than being out the front having to listen to every word.

C • this week and next 1

Had to work later tonight to make up for a wasted morning. My friend Ross from Benalla is sitting next to me at work (i.e. about 30 cm away). He's a rally navigator and spent all morning inspecting my maps from the weekend and then following everyone's route on route gadget. He then wanted to learn the map legend and clue symbols - and started searching the VOA website... then the OA website ....and then.....

I explained that this related to the 3 rules for orienteering newcomers and that it would be really unfair if he breached them:
1. Never give newcomers the map legend or clue symbols
2. Make sure all directions to the start are really confusing; and
3. Put out the sign 'Newcomers Welcome' and then tell anyone who arrives that it is pre-entry only.

About an hour later he found them....and now I have a copy too!

C • Newcomers 7

Yoga after work tonight. We didn't really stretch the areas I wanted to stretch but it was still good. It was very windy today and we could hear the wind whistling into the yoga room - it sounded like a haunted house.

State Series 8 at Belltopper Hill. Louise and I got there fairly early and were lucky to finish before it got too hot. I am really unfit at the moment and knee is still a problem - so walked a fair bit of it - but I was just glad to be there. I had a bit of trouble at 1 (126) - now I don't wish to complain - however - I found the pit marked on the map and the contol was not there. I didn't see it on a neighbouring unmarked pit, so wasted some time (1 minute). All the rest were Ok only slow. Ian sprinted part and yelled out for me to follow him - but luckily I didn't as he got hopelessly lost at the next control and I beat him resoundly. Louise beat me by 1 minute, which wasn't too bad, but we were both soundly beated by some over 60s :(. Distance is a guess because I turned on the Garmin and late and turned it off after 58 kms. The last 50 kilometers were decidedly faster than the first 8. I won't be downloading this.

I left early because I had to do some gardening. Mum's house got a note from the council threatening a fine if the bushes overhanging the footpath were not cleared. Oddly, when I was deep in the bushes with the clippers they started to bear an uncanny resemblance to the green on Kooyoora.

C • GPS 1

Hope(less) Creek at Kooyoora for Jimbo's 'Unofficial World Championships'. I have never been so lost and still can't make sense of the map. I started late (after a 31/2 hour drive) and had to bail at 3 due to being at the furthest corner of the map and only having 30 minutes left until the course closed. Even after bailing I wasn't sure where I was and followed the creeks and spurs down - hoping they would lead back to the start (which they did). The area around 3 was incredibly steep, green and rocky - and I couldn't find anything to relocate on (apart from Invis - but I was too proud to ask him). Jools is definitely the world champion of the sledge - having no real trouble and finishing the course. Louise got futher than me but also had to bail.

I spent the evening at Chateau Elmo with Louise, testing the local cuisine and avoiding the local talent (in the shape of a rough looking man with a big grey beard who looked decidedly interested). I wouldn't want to steal him from Louise.

C • furthest corner of the map? 1

Back to Benalla last night and a swim in the Benalla pool this morning. It was nice to have a lane to myself again and to see a few people I know. I am catching up on a few things here today before heading off to Kooyoora tomorrow to (attempt to) thrash the opposition.

Today's activities include baking a cake for Peter's birthday today. I haven't had too much luck with cakes lately for the following reasons:
1. Trying to do the female thing and do a number of things at once. Result - forgotten cake in oven (consequnce - bin).
2. Trying to not overcook cake (so it is nice and moist) - taking it out of oven too early (consequence - bin X 2)
Result - 3 recent failures. Hopefully this won't be repeated today.

C • Cake empathy 9

Street-O at Canterbury. I headed out west and, thinking I would need to drop some controls (as I usually do), dropped 3 and 14. Even though I was plodding along slowly, i seemed to collect controls quite quickly and it soon became evident that I was going to run out of places to go in the east. So I collected all except 3 and 14 - which was the closest I have ever come to collecting all controls in an event. Clearly it was a short course. My knee felt very wobbly at the beginning but started to strengthen after a while.

DSE had their achievement awards today and a team I've been working with (the dreaded Planned Burning Team) collected an award. They called out my name. However when the certificate arrived it was missing my name and everyone, except me, received a $50 book voucher!

C • this entry seems like... 2

Yoga after work today. They are about to stop running yoga on Monday nights - which is disappointing as I really need the stretch after the weekend's activities. My knee still feels sore inside - same injury as previously but the other end of the ITB. We didn't really stretch it today.

This hasn't really been the weekend for training. I went with Peter to the Wang golf course and while he played I headed off to the bike tracks. I only plodded along for 4 km before deciding to walk. Peter had to finish by 12:30 as there was a 'shotgun' tournament starting then. I'm not sure what that meant but I thought of two options:
1. All players must be pregnant before commencing playing or
2. Any left over players from the previous game will be shot.

Drove back to Benalla last night from Mornington and felt quite tired today. After a fairly big snooze this afternoon I awoke to find that the wind had dropped (it was pretty strong this morning) and I walked around the lake.

Swim at the Nunawading pool today. It was very crowded and I had to swap lanes twice - in order to make room for a GIANT inflatable slide contraption - taking up 2 lanes. I wanted a go but only little kids seemed to be eligible with the adults throwing the buckets of water to make it more slippery.

I'm having the day off - I've got another funeral this afternoon at Mornington for my brother-in-law's father.

Walk around Blackburn. I am not on the injured list any more - but am certainly unfit and inflexible.

A query on the GPS tracks from last weekend - why do mine show every step (do I swing my arms from side to side as I go?) including every little divergence around trees - yet other people's appear smooth? Is it my running style or is it a setting on the GPS?

Secondly, I must stop reading other people's blogs. It seems that a fellow competitor and I have been given new names by an adversary. I would prefer the name that means 'little fairy that flits through the forest' to the one that Wikipedia defines as '2–3 feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads and eyes. They have pointed, bat-like ears and high, squeaky voices........ generally obedient, pliant, and obsequious. Rather than conventional clothing, they wear discarded items like pillowcases and tea-towels.'

C • Ella 9

Street-O at Brandon Park tonight. The hardest part was finding the start - I should have read the clue description better. I saw the bit that said Brandon Park .... and the bit that said 'enter off Ferntree Gully Road'....so headed for the similarly named shopping centre. No luck! I eventually got to the start with 1 minute to spare.

I've been to this area before and was late back then because of the steep hills on the east side. So I avoided these and stuck to the flats this time - even though the controls were more widely spaced. I kind of plodded along, alternating with a walk every now and then. No ill effects.

Decided to brave yoga again tonight - despite the ill-effects of last week. I was Ok tonight and the stretches were good!

I really love Kooyoora - the bush is just beautiful! Although I would have to say that I am starting to grow familiar with the area around Melville Caves and would probably have preferred if the event was somewhere else on the mountain. My course seemed remarkably similar to the last major one I did here, with controls in roughly the same spots as previously.

I entered W35, which was only 4.9 km. I had a problem on 3 (42) and ended up on the road, having to relocate. Then another problem on 7 (61) thinking the control was on the other side of the creek - but at least I didn't run off the map this time, as I did last time. There was no drug testing - so my voltarin (not sure if its on the banned list) did its job effectively and I felt OK, although could barely jog. Felt much much better than earlier in the week.

After the event, Ian and I went back to the farm and rounded up a herd of 12 wild horses (well, really just a bunch of unfit ponies, but they were faster than me) in a 250 acre paddock - Ian in the car and me on foot. I walked and jogged an awfully long way as they did everything they could to divide and conquer. Eventually they went into a yard and Ian did some do-it-yourself farrier work on the hoofs. However a nearby pony stallion became very excited at the sight of the mares and jumped over the fence - only to not quite make it - and got caught upside down in the fence. Luckily it didn't break a leg and managed to get free - only to be put back in its paddock. I didn't get home until 10:30pm.

Thank you, Jenny, for bringing me some rock oysters from Rock Oyster - another place I really like!

C • that's bad planning! 3

C • elsewhere on Kooyoora 1

As expected Ian and I arrived very late at Mt Kooyoora late on Saturday and I hobbled around the 2.6km course. I only had one problem and that was at 6 (84) when I (again) saw a few people heading off and got caught in the 'they must know better than me' mindset. And of course they didn't. I walked the whole way and got a reasonably respectable time. It was great just to be there.

I stayed at Ian's family farm at Rheola and fed 10 very cute baby lambs with bottles in the evening. There were also about 10 wild kittens under the house who were busy catching mice from the mice plague.

As usual I got the saggy bed and put a pillow in the middle of it to flatten it out - which was remarkably effective. I had the best sleep I have had for a long time. For some reason I always have a good night sleep on that saggy bed. I also had some more voltarin and then *click* - hip kinda went back into place. Then, after a gentle massage - knots came out - and all in time for the SS on Sunday!

Still on the voltarin, I stayed home today and had a swim at the Nanawading pool. I am not used to crowds and, even at 10:00 it was hard to get a park and then hard to find a space in a lane. However the pressure of being mown down and mowing down others seems to have improved my times. I felt a lot better afterwards.

I have suspected that my left hand side problems (arm, hip, knee) might be coming from several spots in my spine - possibly a pinched nerve in my neck. After seeing stroke outcomes recently I am not keen to have any more chiropractic work on my neck. Anyway, in the shower I directed the hot water on both sides of my neck and there was a fairly big *crunch* and, suddenly, I felt so much better. Possibly as a result of the combination of anti-inflammatory, heat and exercise. I am definitely coming on the weekend and I might be a bit better than I previously thought I was going to be.

It is clearly not my time. I've got bursitis in my hip and currently every step is painful. Panadol and voltarin have helped a little. It is disappointing for the weekend or the forthcoming champs. Swimming seems to be OK but yoga appears to have aggravated the problem.

C • Women's Sledge 6