Training Log Archive: jennycas

To/from home to Seacliff where I put my bike in Bridget's car while running. Only took me half an hour all up to get there, and it wasn't raining yet. Return trip involved headwind, rain and traffic lights so was a bit slower. I think I've seen it claimed somewhere that you can now ride along the coast all the way from Outer Harbour to Seacliff - but the "coastal" bike path actually goes between Brighton High and Minda Home rather than through the sand dunes. I wouldn't have expected the bikeway to be allowed to damage the dunes anyhow (but their being the last coastal remnant dune system hasn't stopped Minda from wanting to build on them).

Bridget, Simon, Lauren & I ran from Seacliff to Hallett Cove via the coastal trail with all the stairs. It was drizzling on us, so some of the steps were slippery, but not as slippery as the muddy bits of the track. The views were absolutely magnificent, with green hilltops and sheer cliffs with rolling waves at the base (funny how despite my fear of heights I don't mind cliffs when there's an ocean at the bottom). Also, we were rewarded by the sight of cascading waterfalls on the creek that runs through Hallet Cove Conservation Park (I looked it up in the street directory, it's called Waterfall Creek). The smell of coastal wattle and wet sand at Hallet Cove Beach made me think of camping at Cantara! From the kiosk at Hallet Cove we went up through the park via the multicoloured clays of the Amphitheatre formation (some skating required) and back along the Cove Rd rather than risk the stairs again (I can't believe I stacked it on a perfectly innocuous ramp). The Cove Rd boringly follows the railway line and has a few gentle rollercoaster hills, but then we turned off and went up the big one to Marino lighthouse (didn't seem as bad as on a 35-degree Summer Series evening) just to come back down again, before finishing through Kingston Park and down the zig-zag ramp. A good fun run was had by all :)

Greater enjoyment* hath no Jenny, than to spend all spare waking moments in the creation of the start book...

*this may not quite be a true reflection of my mood by 10pm tonight!

You could just read what Fern and Bridget said about this run :)
It was so odd when we were at the golf course car park and suddenly a second "Callum" appeared - Gemma the mad kelpie. Then it got confusing knowing which was which as they ran rings around us together in the darkness. If we'd known that her owners had been trying to catch her for an hour and a half we would have grabbed her while she was first greeting Callum. Hopefully Zara now realises that he is actually fairly well-behaved (by comparison).

I didn't mind the run being rather disjointed because my legs were kind of tired. Might give them a rest Friday as we are going to do the Marion Coastal Trail (AKA the Hallet Cove stair run) on Saturday.

Made it to the top in just over 32 min but had to work pretty hard for this. Felt like a real effort even after stretching at the bottom of Randells (but I found a dollar). Didn't manage to dodge the raindrops on the way back down Gloucester (31 min; I think that's at least as good as previously).

It's been a while...this was a fine morning and I thought riding might be easier on my knees than running. Now, by lunchtime, I'm not so sure about that, but it was fun at the time.

To Fern's for what may be the last group run from Grange Rd, then up the creek to the bridge at the end of the caravan park (very nearly too dark to see our feet on the singletrack) with Fern, Tyson,Simon, Bridget, Lauren, Troy. Then back to Fern's, and home again after hearing how Tyson got stuck inside a roll of cable...

It was a fine day for a run around the hillsides looking for rocks and my legs didn't feel too bad so I did the long course. Steve Cooper started 2 min before me and I know he runs faster than I do but since the map is so open I figured I'd keep him in my sights for as long as possible. As it turned out, at the end of the long leg he went to 8 not 6, gifting me that minor victory (we'll ignore the fact that Simon took 20 min out of me on this course). I was at the event from 10am to 2pm, and since my course only took me an hour, that means I spent at least 2 hours discussing fundamental nationals-related questions with various people.