Training Log Archive: PrueD

Easter Day 2 at Mt Alexander. I have only just recovered enough to write my blog. I was slow and not particularly thorough at reading the contours. Lost about 10 minutes at no 6, being too high up the gully, and more time at no 7, with the same excuse. Of course it is really easy to read the map properly now. Despite the ruggedness of the terrain, yes, I really enjoyed myself. Any time out in the bush is good!

Walked W45A at Yorkshire Reef. What a great map and great day. Am now caught in a 3 way tussle with Phillippa and Anne. It's good to have competition, even at this pace.

Slow plod around the shortest course at the Prologue at La Trobe Uni Bendigo. I was wearing my new insoles and my bad knee was ok but l pulled my hammy on my good knee. This seems to always happens on the first day of multi-day events! Most annoying. Otherwise nice course, nice map and nice day.

Swim in the Benalla pool (with one other patron). It is a glorious sunny day here. The excitement for the day was provided by a small red bellied black snake which emerged from my front garden as I was weeding and then crossed the path in front of my elderly neighbour as he rode his motorised scooter down the footpath and headed in the general direction of a bunch of small children on tricycles being escorted down the road, who were then given an inpromptu nature lesson. My next door neighbour was also out gardening - so there goes the theory that snakes hide when people are about! The snake survived and went into the paddock opposite. However I am sure it must have some relatives about so I will need to be careful.

Swim in the Benalla pool. I am not going to try and run between now and Easter, in the hope I will be able to last the 3 days then as my knee blew up a bit after last weekend. I have a surgeon's appointment on May 2, so will see what is going on then. I am spending the weekend tidying up my place at Benalla as my 6 year old god daughter is coming to stay with her brother and sister and parents for the Easter holiday. I am deserting them to attend the 3 days.

Final night of summer street-O at Ringwood, followed by a great dinner organised by the scouts and presentations. Of course l didn't win anything. Observation of the night - I couldn't help noticing that nearly all the winning male walkers, Len excluded, sported the same 'explosion' hairdo.

Walk around Blackburn.

Run around the gravel tracks of the Blackburn Creeklands and Lake. I am forever trying the various permutations and combinations of insoles and shoes to find something that works. Today it was Hurricane 14s with my new Dr Kong insoles. They must have been OK because l got into a rhythm and started daydreaming - when normally my mind is on pain - which was a pleasant change.
I went to the Dr Kong insole shop in Blackburn this week. A friend who lives nearby told me that l was the only customer she had ever seen or heard of visiting that shop and she suspected it was a front for something else.

Street O in Canterbury. I just walked as my knee was still sore from the weekend.

Slow , rather warm trail run on some of the hillier bush tracks at Reef Hills. Knee took a while to get going but liked the uneven surface of the smaller tracks - which is a good omen for Easter orienteering! I carried a posse (or whatever the plural is) of march flies around with me. After all, it is meant to be March (although the temperature makes it feel otherwise). 6.37 km was the absolute limit.

Couldn't run any further and walked back to the car.

Swim in the Benalla pool. Another pair of bathers disintegrated (they seem to lose all their elasticity at once - maybe it was the salt water a few weeks ago). I am enjoying these early Autumn days, even though the weather is a little warm.

Jog around the bike tracks of Wangaratta on a very humid morning. It took a while for my knee to warm up and it was rather delicate going down some stairs on an unexpected detour around some track works. Still, happy that some semblance of life is returning, even though the time was slow.

C • envy! 2

The inaugural street-O champs at Warralong.It was very hot and hilly. I hadn't qualified so just ran C course for fun. I actually jogged a fair bit of it, including up a number of hills, as this felt better than walking. I felt OK although was extremely slow and a bit proppy. I estimate l am now 70% recovered.The usual suspects won.

Walk around Blackburn on a warm night......
daydreaming about the world champs we are going to run on the new map 'Peru'.

State Series 2 at Mt Beckworth on a warm day. For some bizarre reason I entered W45A but put a time down and started on course 6, which was W45AS. This was lucky as I would never have made the distance on W45A and W45AS was just about the right distance, injuries considered. I travelled slowly through the long grass and fallen timber as I didn't want to aggrevate my knee, in particular I didn't want to fall into a rabbit hole, which was one of the original accidents leading to the sore knee. Walking didn't seem to make much of a difference in this course as it was very steep and, with the warm weather, almost everyone else was walking too. I made 2 errors - both times heading for a short distance towards the wrong control, but luckily I discovering this before I had gone too far. I found sliding down to 8 and then climbing back up pretty tough. Knee is sore now. The event was followed by the annual OY presentations. I enjoyed the day. Thanks Roch.

C • a win! 5