Training Log Archive: PrueD

Christmas Day 4 at Rowdy Flat. Overall, an excellent course on an excellent map. I had one of the last starts and it was very warm by then. Courses were designed to sort the sheep from the goats and were not for the blind or the disabled (and I think I qualify for both) - I wore the map reading glasses today.

Course 4 was very physical with lots of climbing up and down steep erosion gullies. I seemed OK on the macro navigation but had a bit of trouble with the detail once in the general vicinity of controls. Time was lost on controls 1, 3 (lots of circling and climbing) , 3 - 4 (bad route choice - should have gone down to the flats and gone up the creek), 7 (too far to the SW), 9 (a plain mistake) and 11 (close but not close enough). I didn't like the running leg between 6 and 7 either (I took the track option but it was awfully hot and I can't run anyway. I was tempted to hijack a couple of passing horses.)

My knee coped reasonably OK - though was a bit sore after yesterday. I've been having voltarin for breakfast and dinner every day this week, which has been helping. Each day I've tried a little harder and am gradually creeping up the results list - if only it was a Xmas 20-day event!

I enjoyed today's course at Kangaroo Crossing, one of my favourite areas for both orienteering and weekend picnics. I started early and it was a tossup between sun glasses (less glare and can see the ground, but not the map very well) or ordinary glasses (can read the map but have a tendency to trip up) so, considering the knee, opted for the view of the ground and sacrificed the map reading. It turned out a good choice and I jogged slowly about 80% of the way, which made me happy. It was a beautifully set course and I only went offline a bit at 5. I was happy to finish without too much pain - life is returning though, of course, I am really unfit.

It was fairly social afterwards, with a nice treed setting, and I was surprised to hear of a number of people who had difficulty yesterday on some of the easiest controls. The winner of the biggest blunder was Nicola, who normally wins or nearly wins my class, but who was running in course 3 this event and who had terrible trouble finding the first control, a track junction, the type of feature that doesn't normally appear on a hard course. Our course had a control right on top of a hill, rogaine style, but I haven't yet heard of anyone failing to find that!

The rest of day was spend assembling my new ginormous BBQ, a Christmas present from my sister and brother-in-law. I really only wanted a smallist one - but this one now it standing proudly in my courtyard. It might be tested on New Years Eve.

I had a very early morning and arrived at the Barambogie event (Christmas Day 2) at 7.00, in time to get organised and do my duty at the start. I decided to ditch the knee brace today and see what happened. I felt quite a bit better than yesterday - knee is definitely getting stronger - and shuffled around the second half of the course. Cliff Young would have been proud of me. I had no real problems with the navigation (possibly because course 4 was easier than usual). I felt sorry for the Collins family, who had set the courses and tried hard, and the competitors on A course who had a misplaced control.

C • Courses 8

Day 1 of the Christmas 5-days at Magenta, near Chiltern. I had an early start, which meant it was quite hot. I jogged for the first two controls - but it was soon evident that my knee was not quite as enthusiastic as my head - and decided to walk the rest, as I am unlikely to last the 5 days otherwise. My navigation was a bad as my running and I seemed to be off bearing on almost every control, which was annoying. I can't blame being hot as I wasn't particularly hot walking (maybe I'm acclimatised to the NE weather). But it was lovely being in the bush again.

The best bit of having the event in the NE is that I can stay at my house in Benalla - which means I can sleep in my own bed and get a few things done at home after each day's event. No-one is staying - ithe travelling was too far for most of my regular guests. It should take me around 45 mins to get to each event.

My knee is a long way from better, but it is improving slowly. The kneecap doesn't dislocate as much as it used to do, and there is less pain when I trip or twist. I estimate the improvement to be approximately 2% per week, which is awfully slow but at least heading in the right direction.