Training Log Archive: Mess Engineer

Hunter Valley Champs on new map at Gretley.
Hard Medium. Distance a guess. 18 Controls.
Muggy day so sweating heaps and was hard running with low scrub and constantly having to watch where you put your feet with rocks, holes and other potential ankle breakers.

#1 Conservative and slow route via track W and then track S.

#2 No issues

#3 No issues (ran past #234 which was on later Hard Short course)

#4 No issues

#5 Came across slightly south but read the map green / vegetation so corrected

#6 Slightly confused here. Got to correct water course. Went followed it (from to long a distance above so lost sight of it) SE and came out at the branch running Northward. 15 seconds relocating to understand this is where I was. On to control and spotted the drinks well before the control.

#7 Total screwup. No idea why. Somehow despite compass bearing headed E rather than S. Gully too green and got to track at bottom 150 m E. Realised this was wrong and surmised where I was. Headed S up track and then back W across the four little water courses almost back to where I started and then S up to control. Splits will reveal at least 6 minutes wasted here. Control #6 was on the later Hard Short course so I stood here again as basically said why would I run off in that direction at all ?

#8 No issues

#9 No issues

#10 Used the two obvious 'x' car wrecks to pick the correct boulder then straight to control

#11 No issues

#12 No issues

#13 Back to main N-S track to avoid the green. Then followed track. Misread map as was trying to get to minor track that went N then W. Major track went N then E. Got to end ... realised where I was so the down to watercourse. Went N up hill midway between the two water courses and met Bob Gilbert on Hard Short on his way to the same control I was heading to.

#14 No issues

#15 No issues

#16 No issues

#17 Came out at major track / cliff area and then corrected. Some time wasted here as found Hard Shorts #181 but not major.

#18 No issues.

Come some major screw ups but also some positives where I knew I was in the wrong spot but relocated well.

Stunning scenery with huge boulders, and multiple birds nest ferns, stag horns and other rainforesty type areas.

Short Hard. Distance a guess. Basically all walking.
15 controls. #2, #5, #8, #9, #11, #12 duplicates on prior course.

When I came back a sweaty mess from my first run Lynda Hewson was about to go out on her 2nd ever Hard Short event. Rather than doing another solo run went with her for a mentoring session.

Was more like a 'map memory' event for me as I didn't have my own copy of the Hard Short map so I would look over her shoulder at each control and work out roughly on my (different course) map where I had to go.
Also put my compass down at the start when I was retying my shoes and forgot to pick it back up again (got it at the end of event thankfully) so all my directional references were off tracks, terrain and other features.

I was under strict instructions not to 'help too much' so quite often I would be stopped and sitting / standing with 5 to 10 metres of control waiting for Lynda to see it ... or discussing with her what features on the map she could be using to confirm her location relative to the control ... before she would work out we were there. Overall she did well.

Distance a guess.
Collected 9 controls.
Took longer and was more fiddly untying all the umpteen streamers that Denis had put out.

Hard Medium - Splits

Didn't want to go and do this today but twin brother needed one more working bee to finish off the last retaining wall and concreting so he could continue the remainder of the project solo.
So just got on with it to get it over with.
But after more than a year he in understandably feeling similar about this project.
Times approximate.

11:15 am - 1:30 pm
Got remaining posts, wall panels and step formers close enough to his acceptance of level.
Mostly assistance and supervision.

Break for lunch.

2 pm - 4 pm
More manual labouring so more enjoyable than first half.
Trying to figure out how we could turn the landing around the corner of the house.
He was trying to modify design to avoid a baby gymea lily so he could preserve it.
I was trying to encourage him to dig it out as it was going to compromise the stair and handrail design and grow into a massive obstruction. Compromise was to do nothing and he will continue to dig the next 7 flights of stairs upward and then work out what he could so.
In meantime fitting remaining handrails ready for final concreting.

Legs and back feeling it once I got home so election coverage was enough to put me to sleep.

For first time in over a week managed to sleep last night for 6 uninterupted hours without pills and woke up feeling reasonable ... and exercise became easier today.

Bailed in the last 2 minutes to avoid burpees.
A got another 'care package' of food handed to me at the gym today after the first one.
The contents of this one look even more inviting but they are frozen so I can't tuck in myself as a breakfast substitute.

20 kg chest track a killer.
Sleep deprivation continues.

Legs still feeling yesterdays effort plus not sleeping at all well so waking at 4 am.