Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Much better this morning. It was a nice change (a) to do a run where every step didn't seem like a struggle and (b) to do one where all the creeks were running strongly. I've been waiting four days for the former and the best part of three years for the latter (at least in Melbourne).

I headed out after the heaviest rain was over - just some light showers from time to time and a stiff southeast wind. Headed out to Montmorency to check a few remaining things for Thursday's event, but nowhere near as hilly as last weekend. Not a stellar run but better than I'd expected. Faded a bit in the last half-hour.

If I was going to get sick it wasn't a bad time for it to happen, as it was always planned to be a relatively low-volume week. Will be ramping things up significantly from this week onwards.

C • Rain? 8

Event: Four Peaks
 

Still feeling rather out of sorts and this was a bit of a token effort. Tried taking one of Slimes's cans of harden up but it went through me as quickly as everything else has in the last couple of days. Managed to plug away without falling to pieces but it certainly won't go down as one of my finest hours. Did manage to cope with worse in early 1997 (with a couple of 40-degree days thrown in) so hopefully will be able to see this out over the next couple of days. Not the worst time for it to happen if something was going to happen.

Felt a bit improved today so decided to head out, not really having much idea before the start of whether I was going to be totally hopeless or fairly reasonable (I didn't hope for anything better than fairly reasonable). The first hour was at the fairly reasonable end of things but faded away somewhat after that. 80 minutes was a little short of what I'd hoped for in a best-case scenario but satisfactory in the circumstances.

Only saw one Peter Costello poster on the streets of Toorak, and no Petro Georgiou ones in Kooyoong (was rather less surprised that I didn't see any posters erected on behalf of their ALP opponents). Our politics are, however, a good deal less complicated (and thankfully less violent) than those in some other parts of the world, as summed up by the description in the 'Economist' of those groups purporting to represent the anti-government cause in Darfur:

"The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army is led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur, perhaps the key rebel leader, who says he will not attend the meeting in Libya. Then there is the SLM/A-G19, which probably will come, but may or may not be talking to another SLM/A faction loyal to Ahmed Abdel Shafi, a rival of both the SLM/A-North Command and the SLM/A-Union Front, to say nothing of the Great Sudan Liberation Movement. The fractious SLM/A may in turn co-operate with a faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the other big umbrella group, led by Khalil Ibrahim. But that depends on the attitude of another JEM faction led by Idriss Bahar abu Garda - not to mention the Revolutionary Democratic Front Forces, the United Revolutionary Force Front or, for that matter, a faction of the National Movement for Reform and Development."

C • Those guys oughta see the L... 2

Feeling a bit better this morning after a night's sleep, but still rather weak. Have shuffled my planned run for today to tomorrow - will see how it goes then.

Felt pretty reasonable in the warm-up and not bad during the race either, but didn't really have the speed. Did have one of the best head-to-head battles I've been in for a long time, and unexpectedly managed to edge away in the last 50 metres after we'd traded places six times in the last kilometre.

Km splits: 3.33, 3.39 (uphill), 3.31, 3.27.

This will be my last of these for the season - which means it will be the last time for a while I double up with two races in a day.

Getting to/from the Tan. Nothing too untoward.

Street-O at Wattle Park, first event of the Wednesday Summer Series. This was never going to be easy doubling up after lunchtime, and was looking even less easy when I started feeling rather out of sorts in the late afternoon. Decided to run anyway after feeling reasonable in the warm-up, but it was always a struggle. Initially the extent of my ambitions was to avoid being 'lapped' by Adam (who'd got an extra control early on). I thought I was in reasonable shape to at least manage that, but lost 200 metres at a misplaced control (one of two on the night). That then gave me a new challenge as the person who had been 100 metres behind me, and drifting back slowly, was now 100 metres in front. I had my best spell of the night at that stage and overtook him at the second-last control - but then died in a big way on the last hill into the finish and almost got caught.

It became apparent afterwards that it wasn't just because of a lunchtime race that I felt bad - by the time I got home I barely felt like eating anything and only just lasted long enough for the Chaser. Not sure what it is but hopefully not too serious.

C • What is a spiked control 6

A pretty nondescript effort, not particularly strong on the hills and not flowing particularly well on the rest of it, despite the nice conditions. Relaxed week-and-a-bit will come to a reasonably emphatic end tomorrow. Took a slightly irregular route through Rosanna, mainly to have another look at potential banner-hanging spots for November 24.

First leg of the occasional Monday night triathlon (was otherwise engaged in the morning on the campaign trail). Slightly different crowd to what you get in the morning but mostly harmless. Someone obviously didn't think the locals were harmless because the police drug bus was set up just across the road (it is Fitzroy, after all). Swim was fine once I'd sorted out some goggles trouble in the first couple of laps.

MFR Monday night from Warren and Tash's. A good crowd for Clare's farewell - she's off to try her luck in the film industry in the States (although San Francisco for now, not Hollywood). Not sure whether to hope she's providing fodder for one of Yelena's magazine articles in a few years' time or not (on the one hand it would indicate she was famous, on the other hand one normally appears in those sorts of magazines because one is in rehab/breaking up with one's partner/undergoing extravagant cosmetic surgery).

The run was at a reasonably standard intensity - sometimes runs led by Warren get a bit more intense than the usual Monday night, but not tonight - but nice to do it in the light. Felt reasonable without being spectacular, but didn't feel any after-effects of a big lunch at work.