Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Pulled up a bit stiff, which was predictable, and with tightness on the outside of my left knee, which was somewhat less predictable. Wouldn't have minded getting into the water today, but that wasn't really an option as the OA controllers' workshop more or less occupied the same timeslot as the Sunday opening hours of most swimming pools.

The Otway Coast 6-hour with Jenny, the first proper rogaine I've done for about 15 years (there are a couple since which I've used as the basis for 3-hour-ish training runs with the likes of Bruce and Liggo, but with no intention of going the full distance).

The Otways are not noted for their runnable forest so I had no expectations as to being able to get through the bush quickly; we initially plotted a route of around 32km but expected we would probably have to cut it off (a job made easier when the northeast part of the course was declared OOB at short notice because of access issues associated with some emergency water pipeline works). As it turned out, we ran the tracks (except up the steeper hills) but barely ran in the terrain at all - there were a few sections where I could have, but that might have led to blowing up earlier.

The steepest bit was right at the start, dropping into 61, our second control - definitely as steep as some of the hairier stuff I've had in Swiss O. It got better from there - the forest almost invariably had a thick understory, but because there was little fallen timber you could usually push through it. Did a section out to the west around 83, then a faster bit, mostly on tracks, through 63, 62 and 81, before taking on a northern loop up to 60, 65 and 90. We decided not to be more ambitious at this stage; I think Jenny would have liked to try for one more control in this area, but I was worried about the 91-74 leg - given that it involved an unavoidable creek crossing downstream of something called Melaleuca Swamp - and wanted to have enough time in reserve to get home if we needed 40 minutes for that 1km leg.

91-74 did indeed have some nastiness - the creek crossing was indeed dark green, and it probably took us 10 minutes to go 100 metres there, throwing ourselves at the vegetation and progressing a metre or two at a time. (No rogaine would be complete without at least a bit of gnarliness). Got through, though (29 minutes for the leg), which set us up OK for the rest. The next control, 54, wasn't in quite the right place (no rogaine's complete without at least one dodgy control site, either), but we only dropped a couple of minutes there, came through 70 (where I cut my knee without noticing it, and almost brought a small tree down on myself for good measure), and got to 66 with 35 minutes to go. We thought we could get two more controls from there, and did; finished with 7 minutes to spare but I don't think we could have done anything productive with them.

The relatively limited amount of running meant I felt better than I expected to, although I was threatening to cramp at various times in the second half (and did, in some style, while driving through Torquay on the way home, leaving me with little option but to coast to a stop while sorting it out).

I thought our planning and execution was pretty good and that anyone who was going to beat us was going to have to cover more distance than us, and that proved to be the case - in fact we won easily, by something like 240 points.

And if you're heading to the Surf Coast this summer, make sure your fire plan is in order. The forest is already bone dry and even the larger creeks are also dry (we saw a few pools in one creek and no water anywhere else), astonishing for October in one of the wettest parts of Victoria.

C • Small tree 2

At Northcote today because it better suited the day's logistics - was feeling a bit tight this morning and would have been a little doubtful about running. In the water, though, it was fine - I haven't been in Northcote's outdoor pool much. Its deep end isn't quite as long as Fitzroy's but still plenty for this type of session (and it's good to be able to use a poolside tree as your turnaround benchmark, even if it is surrounded by artificial turf).

A certain amount of excitement in the 'hood last night - Station Street was blocked off and it turned out a dead body (and a damaged one) were involved. News reports said that it involved 26- and 66-year-old men known to each other (I'm guessing father and son) and didn't say anything about looking for suspects, so I'm assuming that it was an attempted murder and suicide (or possibly murder and attempted suicide).

My trip home after work took me past the State Library, with the requisite Friday evening demo, this time in the name of freeing Palestine. Seeing banner saying 'Free (insert something here)' takes me back to the times of Norm Gallagher, of the Builders Labourers Federation (long since absorbed into the CFMEU), who was (deservedly) jailed for receiving corrupt payments in the mid-1980s - for a while thereafter, every building site in Australia seemed to sport 'Free Norm' sprayed on its fence, but its impact was reduced somewhat in Canberra when someone started writing 'with every Big Mac purchase' underneath. (The only injustice in this affair is that a bribe requires both a payer and a recipient, and no-one seemed too interested in pursuing the other half of the transaction - rather like the current Trade Union Royal Commission, actually).

Doing my first rogaine for many years tomorrow (with Jenny, who's across for the OA controllers' workshop). Apart from using a 6-hour as the basis for a 3-hour training run with Bruce and Liggo in about 2007, I think the last time I did one (also a 6-hour) was 2001.

Not the most sparkling run I'll ever have, but for the most part put the kilometres under the belt in a reasonably consistent manner after the first kilometre. Mostly based on the Maribyrnong River (after starting from North Melbourne), so pretty flat. Hamstring not quite right on the downhills but not too bad.

It's slightly left-field, but if we could get permission (probably unlikely), the Wingate Avenue Housing Commission estate in Ascot Vale looks like a potentially interesting sprint area - lots of long buildings at irregular angles.

And an area well-known to the orienteering community was in the news again today. If we wanted to test the proposition that any publicity was good publicity, we could always organise a night event at Belanglo on Halloween, though that might be considered in questionable taste. The 1980s Big Foot would have done it.

First night of the Summer Series. Passed a late fitness test on the hamstring so was ready to go, with the plan being faster than a jog but not at full race pace. A bit tight early on (especially on the first climb) - hips mostly this time - but gradually settled down. No route choice for the first 8, and found myself in a bunch with Warwick Davis and Bruce Paterson until Bruce peeled off (he was running B), whereupon Warwick was joined by someone else I don't know. The three of us stuck more or less together for most of it; Warwick pulled out a 20-metre gap on the long downhill towards 20, which proved to be decisive because he made the gap in the Tooronga Road traffic and I didn't (although I think he would have beaten me in a dash for the line anyway if it had come to that). Oddly enough, after barely diverging all night, the three of us found three different ways from the last control to the finish....

Hamstring was good for most of it but a little iffy on later downhills.

Tonight was considerably cooler than it's been for a while (i.e. it was actually a couple of degrees below average for October - and it even rained this morning), something which prompted me to field a lot of comments about how cool it was. (Chris Godfred-Spenning doesn't seem to get anywhere near as many of these, even though he's a forecaster - and has started to do the odd ABC Melbourne radio spot - and I'm not).

From the event, it was straight home for an OA Board meeting which started a few minutes after I got in the door. I eventually had dinner at something like 10.45.

Hamstring still a bit dicey - don't think it's as bad as it was when it gave trouble mid-year but thought it best to rest it for a day (and made the decision too late to head for the water instead). It's improved in the afternoon and I think I'll be OK to go out tomorrow, although not necessarily fast.

Apparently I'm now one of the perpetrators of "what appears to be the greatest crime ever attempted against humanity". Personally, I would have thought that having responsibility for an alleged discrepancy between two temperature analyses in the vicinity of Eucla in 1920 ranked somewhere a bit below sending 6 million Jews to the gas chambers, but I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Obnoxious climate sceptics will have one less place to find official support as of today, thanks to the demise of the Harper government in the Canadian elections. I can think of quite a lot of people I know in Canada who will be very pleased indeed by this (and I'm not exactly upset myself, either).

C • So relieved 1

Headed into the water somewhat relieved by the result at Twickenham and somewhat unsettled by some issues to be dealt with in my orienteering administrative life, but had a fairly decent swim, though tailed off a bit towards the end.

Lunchtime around the Tan for the first time in a while (extended slightly by some building work en route). Thought it might have been fairly warm but it took its time warming up today, making for pleasant conditions while I was out. The hamstring sore spot which appeared a bit towards the end today was more evident today; still not really enough to get in the way of running, but I'd want it to improve a bit in the next 48 hours if I'm going to try to go hard on it on Wednesday night.