Training Log Archive: simmo

Event: North Fremantle (Metro Series)
 

Short course at North Freo Metro Series. Good control choice, poor execution. Took the lower street from 11 to 5 because there looked like a track but the circle was hiding a wall, not a track. Back uphill and around cost me best part of a minute. Then nearing the finish and well ahead of Noel I ran straight past 1 without seeing it. Got to the corner 150m past the control and looked around to see Noel about to punch. He eventually finished 2nd and I easily lost the 1:40 I was behind winner J Maynard with those two blobs.

C • Joanna 3

Started Friday around the river ride, but nose started to bleed in Northbridge. Thought it had stopped after about 10 minutes so continued on, but it started again at Hay St. After another 10-minute stop I decided to come home, and guess what, it didn't bleed again all day.

Hyde Park laps in early morning, in lieu of the normal Tuesday evening run, because it will be hot again.

Around the river, very quiet through the city and over the Narrows, then we noticed more riders on the Freeway path, then from Canning Bridge it was basically one thing after another.
1. Canning Bridge blocked by 3 recumbents trying to turn onto the bridge from the path under it - we had to wait while they all did 3-point turns!
2. A big triathlon with the cycling leg in full swing along Burke Drive - we had to wait for a gap to join the train, then had to give a master class in climbing to literally hundreds of the slower ones riding 3-4 abreast up the hill at Point Walter.
3. A rubbish truck backing towards us blocking our shortcut through Angove Lane.
4. A car coming the wrong way along our lane through the Leighton Boulevard development.
5. Cars parked in the bike lane at Leighton dog beach.
6. Heavy traffic looking for parking spots and pedestrians on all the crossings through Cottesloe.
Eventually we pulled the pin and took the shorter Grant St option. The final indignity being the Daily was closed, so just cruised home for the second best coffee in Perth.

Kings Park short lap, very hot - around 36C.

Around the river, we had The Daily Espresso to ourselves except for a couple with a tandem who sat outside.

Bassendean ride.

Event: Quinns Rocks (Perth Metro Series)
 

Metro Series at Quinns Beach, short course.

Oceania Long Distance at St Helens. A bit further South of the 2012 Oz Champs areas, and featuring more granite with much less tin mining. The bracken is now much higher too. Didn't feel great warming up, and as soon as I started had no energy and couldn't get moving faster than a slow jog. 2,3 and 4 involved climbing and by 4 I was too stuffed to look a the long leg to 5 with any real interest so I didn't see the route to the right with cleared crossings across a series of choked creeks. Slogged through hundreds of metres of green and green stripe to the final two crossings near the control. There was a bit of a train by this time, and although barely above a walk I managed to keep it in sight until half-way through the next long leg, where again I didn't notice better alternative routes to the left and right.

No 'pink' legs on my splits (a rare occurrence), but lost time on every leg. Surprise winner who picked the good routes and had the fastest and 2nd fastest times on the two long legs.

Event: Joondalup North (Metro Series)
 

Public race at Coles Bay. Fairly pleasant memories of this area from 1992, but disappointed with the remapping and the regrowth. Mostly green map, with inconsistent granite mapping. W55s were starting at the alternate interval and Liz A caught me at 1, then I went wide at 4, losing almost 5 mins, and never saw Liz again, although she had her own troubles and it seems I was never more than a minute behind her in the forest. Lost further time at 7, 16 and 18 in the green.

Oceania Middle Distance - the best area and map of the week (by far!!), and the best race for me. Spiked the first 7, was in the lead for the first 3 (Dave M was faster on the uphill legs), then a momentary lapse in concentration lost me 1 minute at 8. I then had 5 really good legs to be just 3 secs behind Dave at 13, but 3 small errors of 30 secs or so at 14, 15 and 17 left me 1:22 behind. Adrian was going well and certainly going to beat me, if not catch Dave until he lost over 2 mins at the last control, leaving me in 2nd.

Fell over in the finish chute right in front of Blair's commentary position and badly grazed my right knee.

Oceania Relays, 1st leg for what should have been a the winning team. it was me that stuffed it, started well and was with the AUS and Kiwi teams for the first 200m then they peeled off left. Unfortunately I was misreading the gullies and kept going until 400m past my control. Stopped, but it took me a couple of minutes to work out where I was. By the time I got to it everybody was gone and I'd lost 4-5 minutes. Almost made the same error in the same location after the spectator control, then found 12 before 11. 8 minutes down at the changeover. Ross pulled up a few places, then Adrian ran a blinder, just failing by 2 secs to catch the AUS team for 2nd place, and only 4 mins behind the Kiwis. Blast!

Oceania Sprint Champs at Uni Tas, Launceston. Made a 30s error early, but was going quite well until long leg 10-11 where I missed a turn, got horribly confused and lost 2 minutes. Should have been under 15 mins and in a place or close to the win.

Event: Oceania 2015 and World Cup Round 1
 

Around Healesville, mainly paths alongside roads. Thought of running to the Sanctuary, but realised it was too far, would have been 12km+.