Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

State Series 3 at South German Track, an area which could best be described as all the bits that were too uninteresting to put on Blow Mine or Mia Mia. It's pleasant forest to run in, open and not particularly hilly, but with little technical challenge other than holding a straight line in flat country. The course picked out the interesting bits as best it could but that still left a lot of blandness.

I've gone sub-5s on both of the aforementioned maps, but I'm not as fast as I was in 1998 (and Easter Sunday 1998 was probably close to my physical high-water mark) so I didn't expect to quite make it there this year. Lacking sharpness in the early legs but a steady run after that. Only one wobble of any size, drifting a bit left on 10 and hitting the gully too far down; maybe 30 seconds at most. Didn't stay for the results but I expect the faster ones will crack the hour.

Took a reasonably heavy fall coming out of 11 - no lasting damage, but feels like there is quite a bit of bruising on the right hip and shoulder. May be a doubtful starter for the pool tomorrow morning.

Decided to have a crack at the Athletics Victoria cross-country race at Lardner Park near Warragul. This is familiar territory for me as I go there most years to run the Bureau's stand at the Gippsland agricultural field days - it was a bit of a novelty to see the place without any tractors parked on it.

It's a long time since I've run a real cross-country (the fire-trail courses that the ACT use when they're off the bitumen don't count) - would probably have to go back to the late and much-lamented Bilga Bash in the early 90s (which established that runners can't handle tussock grass). Lardner Park has a reputation for mud, but this has been a dry year (I've seen it much wetter in March) and it's a bit earlier in the year than usual too. The shallow ditches were still there, as were a variety of hills and a fence crossing. I'd heard a bit about this and wondered if it might be the sort of rickety barbed-wire fence we deal with routinely on orienteering courses, but in fact it was a solid wooden rail, and even someone with my flexibility and vertical leap (or lack thereof) could jump over it planting a foot on the top (not that most of the opposition realised this).

The start was predictably frenetic and I stayed out of the frenzy as best I could, before settling into it, held back a bit by the threat of a stitch on a couple of occasions. Traffic was a bit of a problem on the narrower parts of the course on the first lap. Felt as if I was struggling a bit on the second lap but judging by the number of people I was passing others were struggling a lot more (lap splits 15.34/15.49). Unsurprisingly got passed by about half-a-dozen in the last 200, but a pretty enjoyable day.

It's interesting in a race like this to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of orienteers against runners. I found that I was gaining ground on people, not so much at obstacles, but in accelerating out of them (especially the fence). Also held or gained ground on the steeper downhills, which is not an area I have much of a reputation in in orienteering.

Judging by Lee Troop's course record par here is about 2 minutes outside a flat 8k; I'd certainly be happy with a mid-29s for a flat 8k at the moment. Haven't seen placings yet but would guess I was about a third of the way down, which is a lot further up than I thought I might have been.

Some excellent runs by the women, even in Hanny's absence. Kathryn was 3rd (and probably would have won had the race been a kilometre longer), Sophie led early before ending up 8th, and Rachel Johnson and Jasmine also had decent runs.

C • Fence 6

At Richmond. Never really got out of first gear this morning.

I went to a meeting at Trades Hall on Wednesday night. You often find some fairly radical left-wing propaganda on the noticeboards there so I was intrigued to see a flyer 'Boycott Connex' and wondered what the basis for the boycott was - was it an anti-privatisation campaign? something about the most boorish ticket inspectors you'll find this side of Prague? just a comment on Connex running a lousy service? It turned out to be none of these - it was because Connex apparently provides transport services to allegedly illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Personally, I think the cause of peace in the Middle East would be better-served if Connex were encouraged to get more deeply involved in the region - if the various armies and militias had to rely on Connex for their transport there would be less fighting because they'd never get to where the war was.

And where else but Melbourne would a news story on Lisa Weightman's selection for the World Championships marathon mention in the first three lines that her cousin was a long-since-retired (so long ago that he actually played in some decent Richmond teams) Richmond footballer?

Long run from near work, thus starting a bit later than usual (i.e. it was only dark for the first 20 minutes). Headed north for much of the first half, taking me into some previously unexplored territory in the Pascoe Vale area (which has more deep gullies coming off Moonee Ponds Creek than I had previously suspected), then up through Essendon, past my grandmother's house and back past Flemington.

The run was steady but a little on the slow side. Grinding it out a bit in the last half-hour but then I'm coming off a harder day yesterday than some Wednesdays of late.

Pascoe Vale Road was the route to our destination for many a family trip to Melbourne, and my short section along it featured a few 'are we there yet' landmarks, like the Glenroy McDonalds (McDonalds was a novelty to a Canberra child of the late 1970s) and the Oak Park swimming pool. The sign detailing progress (or lack thereof) towards the unlikely goal of raising enough money through bingo games to finance a new hospital in Broadmeadows seems to have disappeared.

While on the subject of family road trips, there was a radio phone-in a couple of days ago with the subject of road-trip music inflicted on people by their parents. Air Supply featured prominently in discussions (like Savage Garden, the best I can say for them is 'at least it's good for the current-account deficit'). We experienced a bit of them too, but one of the benefits of having a mother who's only 20 years older than you is that there was sufficient overlap in our musical tastes to form a significant voting bloc on such occasions (at least once Cassie was past whatever the early 80s equivalent of the Wiggles was).

C • Peter Combe 4

A newsletter delivery run around Ivanhoe and Eaglemont. Felt pretty comfortable for the most part without having to work too hard.

First foray onto the Tan this season. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but didn't expect it to be good - my pace over short distances (and in speedwork sessions) has left a fair bit to be desired this year even by my usual standards.

Left behind a bit at the start (as usual) but settled by 600 and got into a solid racing rhythm. Spent a lot of the course chasing someone in a Spanish soccer top who was 30 metres ahead of me, but couldn't make any ground. Got a stitch with about 1km to go which wasn't especially comfortable, but cost me a few seconds at most.

I'd feared something out beyond 14. It wasn't that bad, but I would still want to be faster (especially given the perfect conditions). Mid 13s would be OK. Excellent run by Bruce.

Today's random bit of soreness is brought to you by the letter 'B' (back stiffened on the downhill before easing). Most of the other nuisance problems weren't evident today.

Km splits: 3.37, 3.44 (uphill), 3.35, 3.35.

Going to/from the Tan. Felt quite sharp on the way there but that may have been because I was running late.

Spent the trip back coming up with the rules of the game for 'Australian' climate change sceptic bingo. These are as follows:

- each player gets issued with a game card containing 5 names randomly chosen from a list of 9 climate change sceptics who regularly have opinion pieces in the 'Australian'.
- if a name on your list has an article published by the 'Australian' which mentions climate change, cross the name off the list
- if a player is named personally in such an article, they can cross an additional name of their choice off (maximum of 1 'freebie' per player)
- first person to cross all the names on their list off wins

I've had a few takers already from various meteorological institutions, but the more the merrier. Starts on Monday.

C • The Australian 1

In Sydney for the day for work and picked a classic Sydney venue for an intervals session - the east side of Farm Cove looking across to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge with the ferries passing in the background.

Did a set of 10x1 minute (approx - about 62 at the start, 58 at the end). Fairly easy as intervals sessions go but starting to feel quite lively in the second half. A few showers to spice things up.

Spent the first part of the rest of the day doing a talk, and the rest of it trawling old files in our Sydney office (quite a bit of this involves looking at Terry Bluett's handiwork as he was one of our station inspectors in NSW for many years - you won't be surprised that he did the best maps of any of the inspectors).

I was also reminded by events yesterday that however dismal your football team in Australia, at least you're at no risk of getting relegated, as Norwich City were on Sunday night.

C • SC Freiburg 4

Morning swim at Fitzroy. Felt OK at the start but never sped up in the later stages in the way that I have the last few weeks.

I'm feeling a bit left out at present - unlike several of my colleagues I haven't been personally abused on any climate sceptic blogs in the last few days. Perhaps after the 'Australian's reporting of my comments on the weekend the sceptics are under the misapprehension that I'm on their side.

Heading up to Sydney tonight to do a talk tomorrow (and had a meeting at lunchtime), so did leg 2 of the Monday morning triathlon. This was a run which didn't feel too brilliant but that's a reflection of what was done yesterday. Mostly spent in Kensington, including some meandering through the more convoluted part of the new section, which would make a good sprint area.

Finished up around the old North Melbourne football ground; it's hard to imagine now that top-level games were played here 20 years ago.

Got the first use out of the long-overdue new shoes.