Training Log Archive: jennycas

Event: Big Foot Sprints XXI
 

An older-style hospital which had lots of smaller elongated (with arms & legs) buildings in parallel across a sloping parkland hillside, and a few patients sitting smoking on doorsteps wondering what we were all up to...

The prologue had starts at 30-sec intervals (only one course, over 70 entrants of all ages) and it was nice to actually catch up to and overtake some other competitors for once. Also I didn't feel too bad running (seriously, that's hardly been the case since Aust Champs) and felt like I got most of the route choices right although I can now see where I could have saved about 20 sec. Most importantly, was back in time to help G wrap Christmas presents for the in-laws - car bonnet made a good table :)

Under pressure of a real-time chasing start for the final (although I didn't realise that the times were to be added together anyway) and getting a bit hot from waiting around in the sun, I completely missed a shortcut through an L-shaped building - admittedly this gap was hidden under the control circle - and went the long way around which was 40 sec less efficient, so a whole bunch caught me, and then I got flustered and made a parallel-building error on the next leg so lost another half a minute, so they all went past me, and the remainder of the race was a bit of a slog in a chain of people, although there were still some good alternate route choices. Also impressive results by junior Shinglers!

C • The older Shingler (f) didn’t do too bad either. 4

Prologue - Splits

Sprint - Splits

By the time we flew into Sydney/waited ages for our luggage/paid $700(!) for 4 days' car hire/got to the Rydges @Camperdown it was after 10:30 last night and I was hungrumpy but we walked over to Newtown & found pasta at 11pm(!) and so this morning I had the energy for a trot down through Glebe to Blackwattle Bay foreshore, back up via Orphan School Creek. After hotel buffet breakfast G & I walked along Parramatta Rd to the markets and Gleebooks, which is kind of a destination/tradition when we're in Sydney.

Fairylands loop with Tracy, including detour to drop tomorrow's controls @Paula's, so then she came with us - it was quite a conversational run!

In a hurry because of needing to finish packing for Sydney tonight, but couldn't manage to go any faster (incidentally, number of strokes per lap always correlates pretty well to number of min elapsed for 1km). Might be because of all the chocolate which it's been impossible to avoid ingesting around the hospital - everyone knows that chocolate actually has the density of lead, right?

With Zara/Callum after a false start where it quickly became evident that kelpie pups can jump fences...poor Roo-girl ended up with some nasty scratches from hauling herself over the barbed wire to chase after us, and had to be carried home & shut indoors :(

Warm windy morning, trying to rain. Staggered across to Mitcham, then followed the creek to Heywood Park, Orphanage Park, back along the train line. Lightning didn't come any closer than 3km (as estimated by time from flash until thunder) until I was walking the dog afterwards, whereupon we both got absolutely soaked. Don't think it's going to make 35 today?

C • Not making 35 5

Casual exploration of the pine forest & 'gorge' tracks - discovered the MTB Singletrail To Nowhere, and took it twice.

Not sure why I felt so wrecked today both mentally and physically, despite a fairly quiet weekend? Was tempted to take a nap when I got home from work, but fended off the Sandman by consuming junk food, then went out for a ride which was made harder by the fierce headwind, I mean gentle gully breeze from the east.