Training Log Archive: blairtrewinIn the 31 days ending May 31, 2020:
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Sunday May 31, 2020 #
11 AM
Cycling 1:42:00 [3] 37.0 km (2:45 / km)
Longest ride (in fact longest session of any sort) I've done for a while, doing the Koonung-Doncaster loop. First half was mostly on paths which predictably had plenty of other humans around (some of which I expected and some of which I didn't), then mostly roads for the second half - they're main roads but generally quite comfortable in weekend traffic. Coming back across the Heidelberg ridge added a bit of extra work - I didn't make a full frontal assault on the Col de Burgundy but still did the same net climb past my old place. Felt a bit tired at the end in a solid-day's-work-done sense (and hamstring feels better this afternoon than it has for a while).
I suspect we're going to see a certain amount of cleanliness theatre over the coming months, and there was one example of it this morning, in the form of some people in very visible orange vests (whom I suspect may have been in the process of discharging community service orders) spraying what I presume was disinfectant on a Doncaster fence that few if any people, with the possible exception of park/street participants who saw it on a route choice and didn't notice it was mapped as uncrossable, would ever touch.
I suspect we're going to see a certain amount of cleanliness theatre over the coming months, and there was one example of it this morning, in the form of some people in very visible orange vests (whom I suspect may have been in the process of discharging community service orders) spraying what I presume was disinfectant on a Doncaster fence that few if any people, with the possible exception of park/street participants who saw it on a route choice and didn't notice it was mapped as uncrossable, would ever touch.
5 PM
Saturday May 30, 2020 #
11 AM
Cycling 1:00:00 [3] 22.3 km (2:41 / km)
La Trobe loop. Hard work early on into the wind (quite strong along the Heidelberg ridge) and took a while for the hamstring to get going, but eventually felt OK. Going along nicely with the tailwind later on.
Did some exploration in the afternoon, taking in Mt. St. Leonard (doing it the easy way, climbing from the forestry road to the north which is only 1.2km each way). Can't believe I haven't done this before; would have been a great area for some epic long runs in the days when I was up to doing such things. Also good to see some of the more intact forests in this part of the world, with towering eucalypts and tree ferns; there aren't a lot of forests left now in the eastern half of Victoria which didn't burn in at least one of 2003, 2006-07, 2009 or 2019-20, so the pockets left which haven't burnt since 1939 are particularly valuable.
Did some exploration in the afternoon, taking in Mt. St. Leonard (doing it the easy way, climbing from the forestry road to the north which is only 1.2km each way). Can't believe I haven't done this before; would have been a great area for some epic long runs in the days when I was up to doing such things. Also good to see some of the more intact forests in this part of the world, with towering eucalypts and tree ferns; there aren't a lot of forests left now in the eastern half of Victoria which didn't burn in at least one of 2003, 2006-07, 2009 or 2019-20, so the pockets left which haven't burnt since 1939 are particularly valuable.
Friday May 29, 2020 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Don't seem to be making much progress with the hamstring at the moment. Perhaps I need to be more patient. As it stood, the only sport I experienced was on TV (have missed live sport, have not missed the betting ads).
Thursday May 28, 2020 #
1 PM
Cycling 43:00 [3] 16.4 km (2:37 / km)
Amazing what a difference it makes having a bike that actually runs properly. The hills on the Boulevard felt (relatively) easy and the time was a good 90 seconds under anything else I've done on this route.
The police helicopter was making its presence felt at the end, for reasons which would become apparent when I switched the computer back on.
You'll see plenty of bikes here, but I think today's the first time I've seen people on roller skis (on the road, anyway).
Only mild discomfort with the hamstring on a morning walk (certainly better than the equivalent yesterday), although a bit more sore after a day sitting down.
The police helicopter was making its presence felt at the end, for reasons which would become apparent when I switched the computer back on.
You'll see plenty of bikes here, but I think today's the first time I've seen people on roller skis (on the road, anyway).
Only mild discomfort with the hamstring on a morning walk (certainly better than the equivalent yesterday), although a bit more sore after a day sitting down.
Wednesday May 27, 2020 #
5 PM
Cycling 42:00 [3] 15.2 km (2:46 / km)
Hamstring still not good enough to get through a decent-length walk (during which I spotted a front yard with cacti growing out of assorted redundant household items, including a stove, a microwave and a TV) without discomfort, so put back thoughts of a run another day. Headed out on the bike instead late in the day, said bike having just been straightened out by Reuben and friends. The bike was moving more smoothly than it has been; its rider felt better than in some recent rides, but kept getting red lights on uphills which didn't make it easy to maintain a rhythm.
Tuesday May 26, 2020 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Hamstring getting closer but still felt a day away. Saw the physio later in the day and his verdict was similar, although he also said that I should be able to walk on it for 30 minutes without discomfort, and it didn't quite last that long in a late afternoon walk.
The council was commendably efficient at taking the tape off the playgrounds (which officially reopened at midnight).
The council was commendably efficient at taking the tape off the playgrounds (which officially reopened at midnight).
Monday May 25, 2020 #
8 AM
Cycling 43:00 [3] 15.5 km (2:46 / km)
Hamstring still iffy today, although better than yesterday. Felt a bit awkward pushing on hills so did something less hilly than I was thinking of originally. Seemed to be taking a while to wake up, but a nice morning to be out. Bike still making a few odd noises (and is now in the capable hands of Reuben, whose team have been rather overrun of late as lots of people have decided they want to ride and discovered their bikes no longer work).
10 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
A group Pilates session, another small sign of a return towards normality (even if it involved a lot of spraying equipment down). Didn't do the exercise that puts the greatest strain on the hamstring but otherwise went OK. Thought the others might not appreciate it had I used my phone to livestream one of my colleagues appearing at the bushfires Royal Commission (which seemed to go OK; being opening speaker was a reasonable indicator that he was wanted to set the scene, not to go through a what-did-you-know-and-when-did-you-know-it inquisition).
Hamstring seems a bit better this afternoon.
Hamstring seems a bit better this afternoon.
Sunday May 24, 2020 #
12 PM
Cycling 1:09:00 [3] 25.0 km (2:46 / km)
Hamstring pulled up not so well after yesterday and was still a bit sore this morning, so took to the bike instead - again a northeastern loop but this time dropped down into Heidelberg (the old place hasn't changed much but several new apartments are under construction further up the street), so a hillier loop than sometimes the case here. Felt a bit sluggish for a lot of it.
First time I've been past the new Rosanna station since all the follow-up works from the level crossing removal were finished - the bike path crossing is good and the path itself is also good, although as you'd expect on a weekend it was perhaps a bit too well populated with other humans (particularly small ones whose "traffic" sense may be somewhat underdeveloped).
First time I've been past the new Rosanna station since all the follow-up works from the level crossing removal were finished - the bike path crossing is good and the path itself is also good, although as you'd expect on a weekend it was perhaps a bit too well populated with other humans (particularly small ones whose "traffic" sense may be somewhat underdeveloped).
Saturday May 23, 2020 #
11 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 35:00 [3] *** 4.6 km (7:37 / km) +130m 6:40 / km
spiked:5/6c
Did some orienteering! In an actual forest! With even a few tapes to find! Headed up to Eppalock South where Tash had organised some maps and Bruce went ahead to put out tapes. Hamstring wasn't great this morning and I had second thoughts about going out at all, but figured I'd enjoy being out in the bush even if I couldn't run much.
Turned out the hamstring held out for 25 minutes, which is 15 minutes longer than it did on Thursday so I'll take that as progress. Various other bits of the body were not functioning at full capacity and I wasn't running many hills, but there were enough non-up moments to be enjoyable. Things seemed to be coming up quite quickly, which reflects how open and fast an area this is - back in the day, the Eppalock areas were ones where I would shoot for sub-5, and my last trip to this part of the map in 2015 was, I think, the last time I went sub-6s on a bush area. I still hope, somewhat forlornly, that it won't be the last time for that, but something which happened that day which certainly won't be happening again is an extended head-to-head battle with Aston in a mass-start race.
The drizzle petered out between Woodend and Kyneton, as I expected, but there was plenty of evidence of recent rain; the Coliban was flowing strongly and there was quite a bit of surface water on some of the paddocks.
Turned out the hamstring held out for 25 minutes, which is 15 minutes longer than it did on Thursday so I'll take that as progress. Various other bits of the body were not functioning at full capacity and I wasn't running many hills, but there were enough non-up moments to be enjoyable. Things seemed to be coming up quite quickly, which reflects how open and fast an area this is - back in the day, the Eppalock areas were ones where I would shoot for sub-5, and my last trip to this part of the map in 2015 was, I think, the last time I went sub-6s on a bush area. I still hope, somewhat forlornly, that it won't be the last time for that, but something which happened that day which certainly won't be happening again is an extended head-to-head battle with Aston in a mass-start race.
The drizzle petered out between Woodend and Kyneton, as I expected, but there was plenty of evidence of recent rain; the Coliban was flowing strongly and there was quite a bit of surface water on some of the paddocks.
Friday May 22, 2020 #
1 PM
Cycling 1:01:00 [3] 23.0 km (2:39 / km)
Hamstring still not quite right so took to the bike (want to get into the bush tomorrow, so hoping to settle things down by then). Lunchtime session on the La Trobe loop - was a pretty solid one, notwithstanding the bike not quite working at its best. Hamstring was a little sore early on but settled within 10 minutes or so.
Anyone who's spent much time on the ABC is likely to have been the subject of a complaint to the ABC (I reached this particular career milestone more than a decade ago). The latest one I read of was one against the hosts of ABC News Breakfast for blasphemously taking the Lord's name in vain by saying "Jeez". As someone on Twitter pointed out, if blasphemy is the problem, there is a completely secular alternative which begins with F.
Anyone who's spent much time on the ABC is likely to have been the subject of a complaint to the ABC (I reached this particular career milestone more than a decade ago). The latest one I read of was one against the hosts of ABC News Breakfast for blasphemously taking the Lord's name in vain by saying "Jeez". As someone on Twitter pointed out, if blasphemy is the problem, there is a completely secular alternative which begins with F.
Thursday May 21, 2020 #
8 AM
Run 21:00 [3] 3.6 km (5:50 / km)
Hamstring had settled enough by the morning that I thought it was worth a try. Started out OK, but it was definitely fatiguing after being out for 15 minutes or so and it seemed best not to push it too hard. Not too far away from being able to do something more substantial, hopefully.
Wednesday May 20, 2020 #
11 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
Hamstring still giving trouble this morning. Most of what I do in Pilates doesn't stress it too much, so did most of the usual session, just skipping a couple of exercises. Seemed to work OK. They're going back to classes next week.
Like most of the rest of Melbourne, I got woken up by a 2am thunderstorm (naturally my first reaction was to reach for my phone and look up the radar). The five-year-old down the street was very excited about the storm, although she might have been a bit too excited had she been in Waurn Ponds (scene of a suspected tornado).
Like most of the rest of Melbourne, I got woken up by a 2am thunderstorm (naturally my first reaction was to reach for my phone and look up the radar). The five-year-old down the street was very excited about the storm, although she might have been a bit too excited had she been in Waurn Ponds (scene of a suspected tornado).
5 PM
Cycling 45:00 [3] 16.2 km (2:47 / km)
Thought I should try to do something aerobic today so headed out for a late afternoon ride after sending a couple of documents off to others for review (one of the pluses of working from home is that you can put the time you're waiting for responses from others to good use, although it's not as if I'm completely lacking in other work things I can do either). The Darebin bike path is no less populated in late afternoon on a weekday than it is on weekends, but once through that it was a reasonable ride. Some making-it-up-as-I-went-along route choice at the end taking advantage of paralleling a train (which in turn makes it easier to cross roads adjacent to the level crossings).
Hamstring seems a little better after this.
Hamstring seems a little better after this.
7 PM
Note
It's been a wet year and the ground is becoming increasingly muddy, something demonstrated by the electricity company ute which was bogged up to its axles in Yarra Bend Park this afternoon.
Tuesday May 19, 2020 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Woke up with soreness in the right hamstring - not obvious why this developed overnight but my body sometimes moves (or doesn't move) in mysterious ways. Had hoped that walking around during the day might settle it down but it didn't really.
Poll results of the day: 13% of Australians surveyed believe that Bill Gates was involved in creating and spreading Covid-19, and 12% believe that the virus spreads through 5G. I would speculate that there is a fairly large overlap between the 12% and the 13%. (I'd also speculate that One Nation voters are severely overrepresented in this group, but disappointingly the pollster didn't publish results broken down by voting intention).
And NZ Opposition Leader Simon Bridges' rating as preferred Prime Minister is 4.5% (that's not a typo). I recall back in 1993 that a poll in Canada found that more Canadians thought Elvis was still alive than thought that then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was doing a good job; he resigned shortly afterwards (possibly out of embarrassment).
Poll results of the day: 13% of Australians surveyed believe that Bill Gates was involved in creating and spreading Covid-19, and 12% believe that the virus spreads through 5G. I would speculate that there is a fairly large overlap between the 12% and the 13%. (I'd also speculate that One Nation voters are severely overrepresented in this group, but disappointingly the pollster didn't publish results broken down by voting intention).
And NZ Opposition Leader Simon Bridges' rating as preferred Prime Minister is 4.5% (that's not a typo). I recall back in 1993 that a poll in Canada found that more Canadians thought Elvis was still alive than thought that then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was doing a good job; he resigned shortly afterwards (possibly out of embarrassment).
C • Poll 14
Monday May 18, 2020 #
8 AM
Cycling 46:00 [3] 16.5 km (2:47 / km)
Boulevard loop. Bike still making some strange noises and I think a brake is rubbing a bit (getting it looked at, but not until next week), so not surprised to be a bit slower than last time, but quads were functioning OK which is an improvement on recent Mondays. Got the gloves out for the first time this year, although probably didn't really need them. A bit more traffic around than lately, but certainly not remotely close to a normal peak hour.
Sunday May 17, 2020 #
11 AM
Run 41:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:51 / km)
Good to get down to the Peninsula for the day (first time I've been out of town in a couple of months). The run itself wasn't so good; the back was OK but the left quad didn't cope too well with the dunes. A brief stop (partly to get a picture of the sign of Rye's creatively named snake catcher) failed to settle things down much and I pulled up at 40 minutes, somewhat short of what I'd hoped for.
I'm clearly not the only person who's noticed that on a clear day, Bridgewater Bay is a good place to watch a sunset. (It's also a good place to watch one of the more impressive swells I've seen in these parts, going right up past the rockpool; today was sunny and calm here but clearly it's windy somewhere else).
A significant number of people have clearly got out of driving practice in the last two months.
I'm clearly not the only person who's noticed that on a clear day, Bridgewater Bay is a good place to watch a sunset. (It's also a good place to watch one of the more impressive swells I've seen in these parts, going right up past the rockpool; today was sunny and calm here but clearly it's windy somewhere else).
A significant number of people have clearly got out of driving practice in the last two months.
Saturday May 16, 2020 #
11 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 34:00 [3] *** 4.6 km (7:23 / km) +80m 6:48 / km
spiked:7/9c
A bit of a change of scene today, using Woodlands Park and a course from a Melbourne Bush-O a few years ago. Definitely good to get out into some forest again, and to actually be doing some navigating (although it was a little disconcerting that some of the features named on the descriptions weren't on the map, possibly because the feature that was on the map had a limited existence on the ground). Back was a bit iffy, and got worse on the long gradual climbs through the open, so I decided to cut off the final loop and ended up 15 minutes short of what I'd hoped for. Still glad I did this, though (and may look to go a bit further afield next week).
12 PM
Note
Life's little mysteries: the long-term car park at Melbourne Airport is, as you'd expect, near-deserted, so why are there a few cars parked in its outer reaches? (surely they haven't been there since March?).
One plane flying overhead is definitely well short of the usual quota for a Woodlands run.
One plane flying overhead is definitely well short of the usual quota for a Woodlands run.
Friday May 15, 2020 #
5 PM
Cycling 1:00:00 [3] 22.2 km (2:42 / km)
Almost but not quite right to run this morning (might have been tempted to try to push through it, but don't want to jeopardise my chance of doing something tomorrow). Headed out instead on the bike in the late afternoon, on an afternoon which was as clear as (although not as cold as) the morning.
This was the La Trobe loop again. It wasn't exactly an afternoon peak hour but definitely more traffic than I've been used to lately. Left it a bit late; was getting to the stage in the last few minutes when I was thinking whether I should stop and turn the lights on. Certainly no headwinds today, in any direction, and not as much sunglare heading west as I expected either.
As with Sunday (post-crash), the bike was making some odd noises but seems to be functioning reasonably normally.
This was the La Trobe loop again. It wasn't exactly an afternoon peak hour but definitely more traffic than I've been used to lately. Left it a bit late; was getting to the stage in the last few minutes when I was thinking whether I should stop and turn the lights on. Certainly no headwinds today, in any direction, and not as much sunglare heading west as I expected either.
As with Sunday (post-crash), the bike was making some odd noises but seems to be functioning reasonably normally.
Thursday May 14, 2020 #
8 AM
Run intervals 12:00 [4] 2.0 km (6:00 / km)
All Nations intervals. Had a late night last night with what I think is the longest OA Board meeting since I've been involved, but felt OK in the morning. Didn't feel as if I was going that fast on the reps, but times similar to recent weeks and didn't go lactic to quite the same extent as the last few attempts; maybe a sign of being ready to take on a longer session?
Run 25:00 [3] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
Warm-up and down. Felt a bit more routine than morning sessions usually have this year.
4 PM
Note
The Stating The Bleeding Obvious Award for the day goes to the ABC for the last sentence of this:
"An earthquake has been felt widely across parts of SA, with Geoscience Australia estimating the magnitude-4.2 quake occurred near Burra, in the state's Mid North, just before 3.30pm (ACST). There is no threat of a tsunami."
"An earthquake has been felt widely across parts of SA, with Geoscience Australia estimating the magnitude-4.2 quake occurred near Burra, in the state's Mid North, just before 3.30pm (ACST). There is no threat of a tsunami."
Wednesday May 13, 2020 #
10 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
Midweek pilates session. Felt reasonable doing this once warmed up (more reasonable than when trying to run in the morning, at any rate). There's talk that classes might be back next week but I'll believe that when it happens (as with orienteering, a lot of this is about trying to get a clear interpretation of rules which may be less than clear).
Tuesday May 12, 2020 #
8 AM
Run 40:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:43 / km)
One of those go-figure days - the way I was feeling yesterday I thought there was no chance of being able to get out before a physio session today, but woke up feeling OK and decided I'd at least give it a go. It turned out to be one of my best runs in weeks (and certainly my best morning run in weeks); settled down through the first 10 minutes and no significant difficulties thereafter. Might have felt better still had I known before the start that my lifetime tally of interviews with Alan Jones was likely to remain at one.
Spent quite a bit of the day crunching numbers on the rain that didn't fall last year, and did fall (except in the far north and southwest) this year, along with doing an interview on past extreme rainfall events with ABC Gold Coast, which gave me a good excuse to mention my experiences of 10 May 1987 (all 353 millimetres of them).
Spent quite a bit of the day crunching numbers on the rain that didn't fall last year, and did fall (except in the far north and southwest) this year, along with doing an interview on past extreme rainfall events with ABC Gold Coast, which gave me a good excuse to mention my experiences of 10 May 1987 (all 353 millimetres of them).
Monday May 11, 2020 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
A real back flare-up today - not totally comfortable even walking. Not sure what the trigger was (don't think it was the crash yesterday, although you never know). Probably could have ridden with it - water would have been ideal, but that's not an available option yet - but thought it best not to until the physio has a chance to have a go at it tomorrow.
It's pretty sad that NSW Health found it necessary to tweet today: "Viruses do not spread via mobile networks - preventing Covid-19 is not as easy as turning off your wifi". On the evidence of yesterday's gathering in Melbourne (which was essentially an equivalent of those in various US states, minus the arsenal), we seem to be approaching a Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory - I think the way it's supposed to work is that Covid-19 was invented to provide a pretext for a mass program to inject nanobots into everyone that Bill Gates can use 5G to activate and control the world (or something like that).
It's pretty sad that NSW Health found it necessary to tweet today: "Viruses do not spread via mobile networks - preventing Covid-19 is not as easy as turning off your wifi". On the evidence of yesterday's gathering in Melbourne (which was essentially an equivalent of those in various US states, minus the arsenal), we seem to be approaching a Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory - I think the way it's supposed to work is that Covid-19 was invented to provide a pretext for a mass program to inject nanobots into everyone that Bill Gates can use 5G to activate and control the world (or something like that).
Sunday May 10, 2020 #
4 PM
Cycling 1:04:00 [3] 24.0 km (2:40 / km)
First attempt at getting out didn't work, unusual for a Sunday - I suspect my back didn't like extracting weeds from the front courtyard (I'm actually having to do some of this gardening thing now that Mum isn't paying regular visits to do it for me).
Second attempt was in the afternoon, in a somewhat different direction, heading to Reservoir and spending quite a bit of time in Reservoir (it's one of Melbourne's largest suburbs - and calling it "wah" rather than "war" is a sure sign of not being from Around Here), partly to see the latest defunct level crossing, which gets rid of a nightmare intersection into the bargain (I'd have stayed well clear of here on a bike up until a few months ago).
The ride, though, almost ended as abruptly as the run did when a runner stepped out from behind a building at the point where the bike path goes into the street. She was apologetic but I don't think she had much to be apologetic for, it being classifiable as what would be called in F1 parlance a "racing incident". Both of us were surprisingly unscathed - just a few grazes for me - and the bike was making slightly odd noises but seemed to be functioning normally. Once settling down about 20 minutes in, the rider was functioning reasonably normally too.
Second attempt was in the afternoon, in a somewhat different direction, heading to Reservoir and spending quite a bit of time in Reservoir (it's one of Melbourne's largest suburbs - and calling it "wah" rather than "war" is a sure sign of not being from Around Here), partly to see the latest defunct level crossing, which gets rid of a nightmare intersection into the bargain (I'd have stayed well clear of here on a bike up until a few months ago).
The ride, though, almost ended as abruptly as the run did when a runner stepped out from behind a building at the point where the bike path goes into the street. She was apologetic but I don't think she had much to be apologetic for, it being classifiable as what would be called in F1 parlance a "racing incident". Both of us were surprisingly unscathed - just a few grazes for me - and the bike was making slightly odd noises but seemed to be functioning normally. Once settling down about 20 minutes in, the rider was functioning reasonably normally too.
Saturday May 9, 2020 #
11 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 36:00 [3] ** 4.3 km (8:22 / km) +120m 7:21 / km
spiked:21/21c
Out to Darebin Parklands. As with last week, the intention was to run all the odd-numbered controls first, then all the even ones, but I wasn't feeling brilliant and in any case the elements got in the way - two hours of heavy rain before I started had made the creek rise enough to make all but one of the crossing points not safely passable (and flooded a couple of the riverside paths too), so some of the legs involved very long detours. In the end I settled for the odds and the first loop of the evens. A bit iffy, but better than last week.
I feel as if I've fairly much exhausted the possibilities of this map for now - I wasn't really navigating for most of this. Hopefully we'll be able to go a bit further afield next weekend, although I think we're still a few weeks away from actual events in Victoria.
I feel as if I've fairly much exhausted the possibilities of this map for now - I wasn't really navigating for most of this. Hopefully we'll be able to go a bit further afield next weekend, although I think we're still a few weeks away from actual events in Victoria.
12 PM
Run 8:00 [3] 1.4 km (5:43 / km)
Back home from the parklands, as the rain started to get heavier again. (Strangely, there didn't seem to be anywhere near as many people around as there had been on recent and more clement Saturdays).
Friday May 8, 2020 #
9 AM
Cycling 1:01:00 [3] 22.2 km (2:45 / km)
Morning ride on the La Trobe loop. Hard work early on - not really warmed up and a steady headwind - but took advantage of that in the second half. Oriel Road really is a nice way to come down on a bike, and particularly when there's a tail wind (perhaps I should have found this out at some point in the 17 years when it might have been part of a plausible commute route). Still nothing resembling a morning peak hour, although I would have been going against it anyway.
With everything else that's going on the world, the attempted mercenary invasion of Venezuela didn't get a great deal of media attention. I'm not sure why they thought that an invasion force of 60 was going to be able to defeat an army of 300,000 (maybe they got ideas from the Venezuelan navy losing to a cruise ship a few weeks back?), but perhaps the most bizarre thing was that they (or their backers) tweeted the raid while it was in progress.
With everything else that's going on the world, the attempted mercenary invasion of Venezuela didn't get a great deal of media attention. I'm not sure why they thought that an invasion force of 60 was going to be able to defeat an army of 300,000 (maybe they got ideas from the Venezuelan navy losing to a cruise ship a few weeks back?), but perhaps the most bizarre thing was that they (or their backers) tweeted the raid while it was in progress.
Thursday May 7, 2020 #
1 PM
Run 30:00 [3] 5.1 km (5:53 / km)
Got out at lunchtime after a morning false start (which might have had something to do with sitting down at a teleconference since 5am). Fairly marginal, and getting more so as the run went on. Was hoping for 40 minutes but ended up pulling up somewhat short of that.
Wednesday May 6, 2020 #
12 PM
Run intervals 12:00 [3] 2.0 km (6:00 / km)
All Nations intervals at lunchtime. Actually got through the set this time; no dramas with the back, although tiring a bit in the last couple, as seems to be usual at the moment.
Run warm up/down 25:00 [3] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
Warm-up and down. After a false start in the morning it worked out OK at lunchtime, although coming back was a bit of a struggle (as has occasionally happened of late, a traffic stop seemed to help settle the quads down).
Tuesday May 5, 2020 #
1 PM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
A reasonable session efficiently done, after taking the first couple of exercises to loosen myself up. Didn't loosen myself up enough to be up to running later in the day, though (which was the plan) - a pity not to take advantage of such a nice day (other than by walking). Still, I got a paper accepted today, so it wasn't as if the day was a total loss.
Monday May 4, 2020 #
8 AM
Cycling 44:00 [3] 15.1 km (2:55 / km)
Quads still sore today. Riding probably wasn't the ideal recovery session for this (in the water would be better, but that's not a realistic option at the moment - even in the river in its current state, being tested by a rather bold whitewater canoeist below Dights Falls, unless you want to end up a long way downstream). Took on the first part of the Boulevard but struggled badly with the quads on the first two climbs, at which point I decided that this was meant to be a recovery session and headed for mostly flatter ground along the river.
Ended up feeling reasonably recovered in the rest of the day, so the session may have achieved its objective even if it didn't really feel like it at the time.
Ended up feeling reasonably recovered in the rest of the day, so the session may have achieved its objective even if it didn't really feel like it at the time.
Sunday May 3, 2020 #
11 AM
Run 1:15:00 [3] 13.1 km (5:44 / km)
Wasn't all that confident before the start of this, but I can usually tell within the first few minutes whether today is a reasonable day, and knew within the first few minutes that today was a reasonable day. Headed up initially through Bellfield, venturing as far as the Bell Street bridge (the path to the footbridge further south is still closed for works; Bell Street itself is not the dividing line this far east that it is on the west side of the creek), then south again. Quad started feeling a bit troublesome at this point and I thought I might have to work to get to an hour, but a traffic stop at 50 minutes settled it down and I did an extra loop west with a view to getting to 75. That mission was accomplished (although tiring somewhat in the last 10 minutes), which further lifts (slightly) the longest-since-September-2018 benchmark.
Quads definitely told me afterwards that they had been doing some work, and generally pretty tired in the afternoon, but it's nice to be tired because you've been doing some work (even if it's only half of what would have been routine on a non-orienteering Sunday 15 years ago).
Quads definitely told me afterwards that they had been doing some work, and generally pretty tired in the afternoon, but it's nice to be tired because you've been doing some work (even if it's only half of what would have been routine on a non-orienteering Sunday 15 years ago).
Saturday May 2, 2020 #
11 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 8:00 [3] *** 1.0 km (8:00 / km)
spiked:4/4c
Headed to Darebin Parklands with the intention of doing two loops based on the permanent course - first the odd numbers, then the even ones (good way of changing the legs on a map where the controls themselves are mostly pretty straightforward), but knew early on this wasn't going to work out. Got far enough to work out that getting to 7 is problematic when it's been raining (the ditch on the map between it and the main parklands has become a main channel of the creek). I'd also forgotten how muddy some bits of the area get in winter (which, for mud purposes, it now is).
Saw a couple of people (who I didn't recognise) at the start preparing to do the course with maps on their phones - happy to see that.
Saw a couple of people (who I didn't recognise) at the start preparing to do the course with maps on their phones - happy to see that.
4 PM
Cycling 1:07:00 [3] 24.0 km (2:48 / km)
After the morning false start, went for a ride in the later afternoon after watching today's flavour of football nostalgia, the 1999 Essendon-North game (the best game I've ever watched in person). A false start because it started raining on the way out of the driveway so I thought I'd better go in to get my jacket, whereupon it had stopped by the time I got it on (but restarted again within a few minutes and continued with sleety drops for most of the rest of the ride, so I got that one right). On the Koonung trail as far out as Elgar Road; not as many people out as there would have been on a nicer day, but still a few. Felt OK riding, but the recovery time on the watch (15 hours) is unusually long for a ride, so perhaps something isn't quite right?
Friday May 1, 2020 #
Note
(rest day)
A change to the routine today - back in the office for the first time in weeks (mostly to do a media conference on the cold, but also took the chance to get various other things done which are more easily done in the office than from home). The change in routine didn't suit training too well though - original plan was to go out during the day, but realised that fronting up in front of the cameras post-run might not have been the best of ideas (especially had I encountered one of the day's numerous icy showers).
Plan B was to go out once I got home, later than planned because I'd forgotten that in the early part of the evening peak trains that stop at Fairfield only run every 20 minutes and I missed one by 30 seconds. (The trains are still running their normal schedule and are consequently very empty; there were five people on my carriage this morning). And then when I finally did get out, it was immediately clear that I shouldn't have bothered....
Still, I did get to have an in-person conversation with someone I know (the forecasting colleague I did the media conference with) for the first time in six weeks.
Plan B was to go out once I got home, later than planned because I'd forgotten that in the early part of the evening peak trains that stop at Fairfield only run every 20 minutes and I missed one by 30 seconds. (The trains are still running their normal schedule and are consequently very empty; there were five people on my carriage this morning). And then when I finally did get out, it was immediately clear that I shouldn't have bothered....
Still, I did get to have an in-person conversation with someone I know (the forecasting colleague I did the media conference with) for the first time in six weeks.