Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

I'd been planning this weekend as one for a decent long run for a while (no Sunday event, and long distance races coming up the next two weekends), but was a little apprehensive after the last couple of weeks. Still took the plunge, and whilst various bits of the body were at niggle stage at some points, didn't have anything I would describe as an injury issue.

I've had some seriously good long runs in the past around this time of year (last weekend of May/first weekend of June). Today wasn't in that company, but it was decent, getting off to a good start in the first 30 minutes and mostly steady thereafter. Doing it a bit later in the morning than would usually be the case (which meant a bit more traffic on the roads, and more small kids on bikes in the vicinity of the Collingwood Children's Farm), though still quiet in the suburbs through such areas as the Sackville loop and the west side of North Balwyn. Quads intermittently sore in the second hour, especially coming off downhills, and was hanging on a bit in the last 10 minutes.

Slightly annoyed to look things up afterwards and discover I'd fallen just short of my longest run this year, but it's still my longest since New Year's Day. Definitely knew in the afternoon that I'd been for a run.

I'll find out soon enough whether my watch was short-changing me, because I've gone out and got a new one (apart from its possible distance issues, it was starting to struggle to hold a charge). Also on display in Rebel Sport was the NRL Monopoly game, which presumably has cards which involve your team's star player being caught snorting cocaine, urinating against the side of a police car or performing unnatural acts with small domestic animals.

C • Monopoly 7

Fronted up to my eighth course in a week at Bendigo's 40th anniversary event at Wildflower Drive, an area typical of the less intense terrain types on the fringe of Bendigo (fast open forest, and the odd pit and erosion gully but not much mining detail as such). Was wondering why the first few legs were largely track legs but realised that the courses were designed to contain the shape of a '40' (and I guess the first part was common to all courses, including the easier ones).

Took a bit of time to get going but eventually running reasonably well, and by recent standards happy with the way I managed the two major uphill grinds at 6 and 9. Only a couple of minor wobbles, one drifting a bit too far on the way to hitting the track at 8, the other being a little slow to pinpoint the vague and flat 16. Certainly the fastest kilometre rate I've done this year, but probably about a par result relative to the field (except for Jim - who did 37 - who I think is in his best form for at least a couple of years).

The pictures of the 40th birthday cake are definitely worth looking for on Facebook (I guess they'll also appear on the Bendigo website in due course).

Earlier, for the second successive Saturday morning, my Station Street shopping trip was to the backdrop of a lot of police - this time for the aftermath of a car crash (a car going down Station Street, apparently at reasonable speed, hit a parked car hard enough to push it up onto the footpath). From the enthusiasm with which the driver reportedly scarpered I think one can reasonably presume that either he knew himself to be under the influence of something or the car was stolen (or possibly both of the above). No-one hurt as far as anyone knows.

Woke up feeling somewhat sub-par and decided not to push things this morning. Quads loosened up fine in the first few minutes, but still a few niggles around (and hip quite sore this afternoon). Not entirely happy with where I am just at the moment; have a decent long one in mind for Sunday but will need to wait and see.

Spent a fair of time on my feet tonight running the annual Ivanhoe Labor quiz night (I still cross the creek to do this). One of the regular features is the half-time paper plane competition where people attempt to fly a particularly odious document into a rubbish bin, and the one we used tonight was definitely worth of such a destination - copies of Roger Franklin's Quadrant article (the one which mused about bombing the ABC studios). Naturally in the interests of fairness and balance I assume he's been furiously condemned on the front page of the Daily Telegraph over the last couple of days.

Certainly didn't feel like running this morning, with quads that weren't in post-marathon (or Six Foot) shape but still pretty ordinary. Headed for the water instead, running a little late to start with (and then later still because what looked like base camp for a film shoot had appropriated all the nearby parking at Fitzroy). Think the session did me good for loosening up, although what I feel like tomorrow will probably be more of a test.

First event of the day - park/sprint event in Roma Street Parklands (probably not as technical as a full-on sprint), once again using the phone app rather than controls (but a printed map). Felt a bit stiff and sore walking down to the event but OK once I was running - although not really pushing it (there's a lot ahead of me today) and so was predictably creamed by Rachel. Only one time loss, from the last control to the finish - I didn't notice until too late that a low wall along the lakeside path was forbidden to cross (and with GPS tracks uploaded as part of the system there's no getting away with doing anything dodgy :-).

The next challenge will be to get out of Brisbane, with fog and low cloud about, although as I write (7.15) it's starting to break up. My flight to Canberra is currently showing a 30-minute delay which will be OK; much over an hour would start to make things tight for the Canberra/Queanbeyan leg.

One advantage of the phone app system I didn't think of last night - it allows you to do things in parks where the authorities are OK with you being there but don't want you sticking things in the ground. (I understand this is the biggest obstacle to running events in what would otherwise be the superb urban area of Central Park in New York?).

C • Sticking things in the ground 12

The fog may have lifted, more or less, by 7.30, but I wasn't going to get out of Brisbane that easily - the incoming flight (as it turned out) didn't leave until Brisbane was clear for landings, and the boarding time slipped from 30 minutes late to 50 to 65. It ended up being 90, with the 'help' of some taxiway congestion, and I knew I'd lost all of my margin for error.

At least there were no hold-ups at the Canberra end; my bag came out just as I stepped up to the carousel, picking up a car was quick, and I thought I would be OK as long as I was away from Mount Ainslie by 1.30. With a start around 1.05 there wasn't going to be much to spare, but I did the short course so thought a time in the low-mid 20s was likely.

This was switching from high-tech to low-tech (phone apps to control cards). Didn't find it easy running, particularly on the second leg which contained more than half the course's total climb. Navigating reasonably well - as it turned out, better than the setter on 5, which probably cost me 90 seconds or so (it was in another watercourse about 50m NE of where it should have been).

And then finished, handed my card in, and got pretty well straight back in the car for the next stop...

The third event of the day was an indoor event in the building which David Poland's office occupies. (This was set up mainly for me but was open to the public all day - only one other person had done it though).

Those who've seen the Stockholm Indoor Cup maps will know how fiendish multi-level indoor events can be (for those who can find it, I challenge you to look at the 2017 map and work out a legal route from 3 to 4 in under five minutes). A small two-storey building in Queanbeyan was never going to offer that level of challenge, but there were a few legs which made you think about how to go about doing it. Only walking for this one; think you'd have trouble finding anyone willing to let you run around a multi-storey building.

I was thinking that it would make my timetable challenging if this took more than 15 minutes, so I was glad that was a bit short. Even got back to the airport in time to have a shower and have something to eat.

Eating something at the airport might not have been the best idea - I was feeling a bit off-colour when I got off the flight but was OK by the time the Mitcham event started. Unlike Brisbane-Canberra, the Melbourne leg offered few logistical problems; the flight was a few minutes early and the traffic across to Mitcham was not as bad as I expected (it helps that I was going against the flow most of the way).

Being safely at Mitcham was one thing (and one advantage of the event starting in the Coles carpark was that it made it easy for me to replace my headlamp batteries, which had been found severely wanting last night), but if I was going to do this event (a 60-minute score) properly it was going to be as long as the other three events put together, so I wasn't sure how my body would hold out. (I guess notionally, as a score event, finding one control would theoretically suffice). Felt OK at the start and in the mostly downhill first kilometre; back tight again on the hills, especially early on, although the hills weren't as steep as those on offer in Brisbane. Not really running smoothly but kept plugging away (losing a bit of time on the misplaced #5, which was on the next street junction). Had a bit of a hip twinge halfway which eventually settled down; but was feeling every bit of the day's work in the later stages; several legs later on were long gentle climbs and I felt every bit of them, especially as my quads were starting to go in the last 10 minutes. Definitely wasn't too upset that it was a short course tonight (even at my slow pace tonight, I got them all with plenty to spare). A definite sense of mission accomplished when it was done.

C • WOD 1

In Brisbane in preparation for tomorrow's World Orienteering Day challenge, and went to their Tuesday night street event at Auchenflower - a small but well-contested affair. It was my first chance to test out Peter Effeney's phone app for visiting controls - all worked smoothly.

My body wasn't working quite so smoothly, although at least I got through it, which is more than I can say for any other evening event in the last few months. Certainly could have done without hitting a steep hill on the way to the first control, but back settled after that initial shock. (The western side of Brisbane is not noted for its flatness, although this turned out to be hilly only early and late). Route planning didn't end up being great (40-minute score event) - knew from about 15 minutes out that I was going to finish with several minutes to spare but with no opportunity to get another one.

The app gave me 210 more metres than my watch did, reinforcing the sense that my watch is short-changing me - which may explain the apparent slowness of my training pace this year relative to last (tonight's 3.5% difference would more or less bridge the gap between the two). I'm in the market for a new watch at the moment.

A steady and consistent swim (all the laps were within a few seconds of each other) punctuated by intermittent goggles trouble - the strap won't stick when tightened so I think it's time for a new pair. The sign at the entrance warned of "loud works" today but they hadn't started by the time I left.

In the latest instalment of what's become a media circus, I noted a headline today of the alleged sex-worker past of a certain alleged drug mule currently facing the Colombian courts: "Cassie accused of working near Penrith". My thoughts on this were (a) I know certain parts of western Sydney suffer from high unemployment but I wasn't previously aware that "working near Penrith" was illegal and (b) I'm somewhat grateful on her behalf that my sister is out of the country and therefore is presumably not seeing her name being taken in vain on a regular basis by the nation's headline-writers.