Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

The next stage in the comeback, an aqueduct run from Langfords Gap. Falls Creek is a lovely training environment, but wanting to stay on the flat at this stage has meant that I've been doing my runs solo (the big pack was doing the Pretty Valley loop today). Felt a bit better than Friday, although something still doesn't feel quite right.

It was gloriously sunny on top this morning, but with the change in wind direction clouds had built up just below gap level in the valley northeast of Langfords Gap - made for quite an impressive sight with the peaks sticking up above it.

These few days have reminded me that this is a good place to go in summer (although non-training times might turn from relaxed nothingness to boring nothingness for those who are up for three weeks instead of three days). Should do this more often; the New Year long weekend is a possibility again next year.

And the next lateral thinking test: had things turned ugly on New Year's Eve and an altercation developed, Constable Frogga could, depending on the circumstances, have been able to make an arrest had someone hit Martin Dent or myself, but not if someone had hit Robbie or Muzza. Why?

C • Constable Frogga 10

This ride paled in comparison with the 230km multi-mountain epic that NSW Stinger, Muzza and companion are currently attempting, but still had a few more hills than I'm used to in Melbourne - out and back from Falls Creek to a little past the Langfords West camping area (down hill number 1, but not 2, 3 or 4). Felt a little out of sorts this morning for no obvious reason (it's tempting to blame the altitude but historically I've handled moderate altitude reasonably well), and lacked confidence on the downhills (especially where the surface was a little loose or there was storm debris), which isn't really a surprise for the first ride after a big crash. Hand still a bit uncomfortable whenever there were vibrations, which wasn't often. There was a reasonably solid headwind coming back; didn't notice it so much as a tailwind but then you never do.

There was another impressive storm in the early hours of this morning, with a very active lightning show and another 51mm.

There were plenty of fireworks in Falls Creek for the New Year, of the natural variety. A couple of localised thunderstorms dropped 26mm of rain between them in the early evening, then a long-lived cluster persisted for the best part of four hours between 11 and 3. Final score for the night was 131, 87 of which fell in four hours during the main storm. Last year Melbourne took until early July to make it to 131 for the year. It's quite possibly the wettest day I've experienced anywhere since May 1987 on the Gold Coast (359), although the day of the individual race in the 1989 Juniors in Austria may have gone close (I saw a newspaper report of 150 but it wasn't clear where it was for).

This had all cleared for the morning and the mission was my first proper run for two months. There was a big group starting from the bottom of the village but I didn't join them because I wanted this run to be as flat as possible, so walked to the top of the village before starting along the aqueduct, first towards Rocky Valley (checking out the rain gauge, which will feature in a forthcoming paper of mine, on the way), then back across the dam and for a bit on the other side. Finished up in the village.

A bit of a mixed verdict for this one. The injury site itself didn't hurt after warming up and things were fine on the flat and downhill. Again felt like I had very limited strength on the (few) uphills (20 metres climbing at most), but the issue seems to be more with weak claf muscles than further down - probably a consequence of the long-term unemployment of these muscles. This will improve, but the plan is definitely for a slow buildup from here, and probably staying on flat even ground for a while yet.

Did my first interview of 2010 this afternoon with the ABC. I was thinking of slipping in a reference to the nude run last night if conversation turned to Falls Creek's rain, but it was all about temperatures.

Hopefully the last of these, at Benalla on the way to Falls Creek. The main mission today was to find out how much of the tracking from the Sprint Championships was still there three months late. The answer - none that I could see, which was a pleasant surprise. Underlines that regular use of a path/shortcut will make much more impact than one-off use (even if that one-off use is heavy) because the vegetation never gets a chance to recover.

Unsurprisingly I was pretty sore at the beginning but improved considerably later as all the bruised bits opened up (driving is still less than comfortable, though).

C • Tracking 1

Netx move was a session at the Benalla pool. Somewhat to my annoyance, only the indoor pool was open (they only have lifeguards for the outdoor pool in the late afternoon, which one could understand during a normal week but seems a bit strange during holidays), and 1.5m is only barely enough depth for this session. Still managed OK even if I was going round and round in circles.

Lateral thinking test: why is there a picture of Bruce Arthur on the wall at the Benalla Aquatic Centre? (and it has nothing to do with the Sprint Championships).

The biggest test of the day remained - driving up the mountain to Falls Creek with a sore gear-changing hand (although it had improved overnight). Fortunately you can do a lot in third.

C • Mystery 3

The original plan today was for a longish ride but that was scrapped. I probably could have coped with a road ride but it wouldn't have been the most pleasant of experiences. The hand has swollen somewhat but still seems to have a full range of movement, which is encouraging; from past history of severe bruising I expect the discomfort to peak at about 24 hours and then ease from 48 onwards, so I'm not too perturbed by current progress (or lack thereof) - might be if there is no improvement by Friday. (I suspect my injury is similar to Michele's at the Schools this year, and she ran the next day - if you're reading, how long did it take for the soreness to settle down?).

Anyway, plan B was a pool running session at Fitzroy on the way to the cricket. Probably did me good to work various bruised and battered bits through the water. A bit more of a crowd than usual in anticipation of a hot day - almost as much of a crowd as there was at the MCG (a surprise given the potential, although not reality, for a classic finish). I found myself near a bunch of enthusiastic Pakistan supporters; at one stage the residents of Bay 13 came around to pay a "visit" before being moved on by security. (I wasn't close enough to hear what was being said, but knowing what the occupants of Bay 13 are like I would be surprised if there were no breaches of the ICC anti-racism code, probably in the form of references to illegal immigration and/or terrorism).

(Personally I think it adds a lot to a sporting occasion if there are large numbers of supporters present for both sides - something that happens a lot at AFL matches in Melbourne, but not at the cricket except sometimes when Sri Lanka or India are playing. The example par excellence which comes to mind internationally is the Rafter-Ivanisevic Wimbledon final of 2001; there might be potential for something similar next year at the Australia-Pakistan series in England, part of which might just fit nicely into my Europe 2010 schedule).

I'm on the road to Falls Creek tomorrow so now's the time to review the year - one which was mostly spent in Australia (unlike 2008) but involved many different bits of Australia. It was a rather frustrating finish to the year and I'm a bit apprehensive as to how things might unfold in the early months of 2010, but there was still much to enjoy this year.

Best run: probably Binna Burra in early August for the scenery and the company, although a few other honourable mentions on the trip, notably Laurieton (August) and Eyre (June).

Best race: the WMOC long final, with the middle day at Easter close behind. The symmetry of the Easter result (beating Craig by 1 second after he'd beaten me by 2 seconds the last time we met at Easter) was a nice touch too (although Craig may disagree).

Worst race: Victorian State Series at Kooyoora. Definitely not a venue to take on as an afterthought after a long shift working on the start.

Pain is temporary, glory is permanent: running the last two-thirds of the NT Long Champs on an inner sole after my right shoe fell apart. The WMOC long final gets a guernsey here, too.

C • Cricket Supporters 1

Another step up (hopefully the final one before starting to run properly), 1 min off/6 on, at Fishermans Bend before spending much of the day at work. The bad news was that I felt horribly sluggish, especially in the first half, the good news was that there was no sign of anything untoward in the hot spot. I think I'll take that combination, although it should be noted that there was nothing even remotely resembling a climb on this route. Rather humid.

There was a sign advertising the Melbourne headquarters of Storm Financial. I assume it is there for the same reason that the sign on the One.Tel building in North Sydney stayed there for about three years after that company's demise - no-one can agree whose responsibility it is to pay to take it down.

In yesterday's entry about my 1998 altercation with the horse in Swanston Street I was thinking of mentioning that it had been a decade since my last significant crash, but decided not to as I thought that would be tempting fate. Evidently just thinking about it was sufficiently tempting fate.

Decided to have a go at the MTBO summer series at Ballarat (Canadian Forest) - something not too extreme but a bit of a change from the (recent) training routine. Wasn't pushing it too hard with the aim being to get the 20 controls (score event) inside the 75 minutes, something which looked eminently achievable. Riding itself was reasonable - fun to get on some smaller tracks, although my technical skills are pretty well non-existent (and my downhill daring equally non-existent) so others were outriding me fairly comprehensively on those sections (and I was getting off the bike a bit more than they were - although partly that's because I'm on medical orders not to stand up in the saddle, which limits my hill-climbing capabilities a bit).

About 80% of the way through I was coming downhill on single-track (not too steep) into 44, went sideways to miss a rut and went straight into a protruding bit of vegetation (looked like a grass-tree base), leading to a significant crash. It wasn't especially high-speed (maybe 15-20 km/h) but I landed hard and felt quite shaken up. The most significant damage appeared to be to my left hand, so holding the handlebars was a challenge for the rest of it, and I was also feeling a little dazed, but managed to get through the last 10 minutes and made it home.

The hand is badly bruised (I think - I'm reasonably confident nothing is broken because I can bend and straighten it OK - it just hurts to do so - and it hurts less when I move it). It did mean that my route choice home was determined by minimising the number of gear changes (normally I'd go Bell Street rather than the Ring Road). I was actually impressed with the number of bits of body I managed to damage in the one fall (also the other hand, both knees, chest area and chin - although I think the last of these was inflicted by the helmet strap/buckle, perhaps an indication that this could have been worse). Hopefully nothing too serious. I haven't done MTBO for four years, and it might take me that long to forget tonight.

C • Gravity should be a swear word, I've often thought! 3

Suspected broken bone in left hand from MTBO crash.

Event: National Altitude Trainning Camp
 

A fairly mundane session at Fitzroy before a day at the MCG. A little later in the morning than I'm usually there but still too early to encounter any of that portion of pool-visiting society that Tooms keeps talking about.

Had a case of history almost repeating itself later in the day on the bike when a horse and cart in Swanston Street pulled out from the kerb without looking, but I was sufficiently on the ball (and had sufficient room) to pull up behind. My most significant bike crash was in almost the same location and for the same reason (the sort of incident which I suspect was more common in 1898 than 1998).