Training Log Archive: Bruce

Melbourne Forest Loop
Season best time. Either I am getting stronger in the terrain, or the long grass is drying out a bit. I think it may be a bit of both.

I started a long run, but bailed out after 8kms.
Last night was interrupted with Sophie being sick, so I only got around 5hrs sleep. I was also still leg tired from yesterday's hills.

Given that I am starting my taper, this was not a disaster, so I used it as a recovery run.

A couple of odd sporting observations today...

Robert Harvey and Sam Reid are 2011 All Australian AFL Players (or at least they were according to Stephen Silvagni during the presentation announcement last night!) I think Silvagni may have been on the turps!

Michael Hussey may have trouble carrying the 4 super sized cardboard cheques that he won in Sri Lanka for man of the match x 3 and man of the series.

15 x Airlie St tempo session
Around 15 people started, and only 4 of us finished. 3 Melbourne Marathoners and me.
I started slowly, but I felt better in the last 10 than the first 5. It got really hard for the last 2 though.
My final really hard training session prior to Oceania.

Lap times
1:52.7
1:53.9
1:54.4
1:55.6
1:55.0
1:53.5
1:54.8
1:54.0
1:53.2
1:51.9
1:51.0
1:52.7
1:53.4
1:56.6
1:01.9

Same session from August 23 session
laps
1:52.4
1:52.8
1:55.5
1:53.0
1:54.2
1:51.9
1:51.7
1:51.2
1:48.9
1:55.5
1:55.9
1:55.6
1:55.2
1:53.6
59.3

Shadowing Mason on course 9

C • Mason's QuickRoute 1

Belltopper Hill State Series #8
I haven't run here for several years. The terrain is spur gully, but it now contains some bushfire regrowth in the south, making for some challenging low visibiltiy navigation.
There is also a re-vegetated paddock now with low visibility vegetation. Control 4 was in this area, and it caused me some grief. I navigated well to the circle, but I couldn't see any depression. I relocated off a small dam, but I could only see a knoll on the ground - but not on the map. This stumped me for a couple of minutes, before I stumbled across the control hidden at the bottom of a tiny depression.
Upon finishing, Sean Sunley assured me that the map should be accurate as Alex Tarr had done a re-map. This didn't feel like something that Alex would have mapped though.
Apparently the controller had decided that a control was required in that block of forest, and had added the depression to the map. Unfortunately the other important features around the control site were not added, and the control flag was hidden at the bottom of the depression. As a result, this felt a bit like bingo orienteering.
I also lost a little on 11. The bridge end felt like it was too far from the track for me.
Finally I lost more time on 15 standing at the edge of the broken ground, but not seeing the flag in the bottom of the pit.

Overall it was a fun course on nice terrain not too far from Melbourne, but I would hope to not come across these type of issues at State Series level.

C • the controller had decided that a control was required 5

C • QuickRoute 3

Course 3 - Splits