Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Second stage of the Melbourne Sprint Weekend at Kensington. I've done a few street-Os here (and plenty of runs) and had long thought it would be fun to get on here in a sprint. It turned out to be a reasonably straightforward area tchnically - some decent route choices but only small patches of complexity - but was still fun. Struggled with the running early on and spent the first few minutes thinking my back would probably freak out as soon as it saw a contour, but it actually managed OK and I was feeling like I was running decently (by 2019 standards) in the final third. Was hoping for a sub-24 (having seen before I went out that Kerrin was in the 16s); didn't quite make it, and the 50% benchmark came down a bit anyway with Aston and Brodie in the 14s, but still a bit closer than yesterday. Slightly below halfway.

I was chasing Milla for a bit through the middle controls, only staying within sight of her because she hasn't quite got the bit about planning your exit direction before reaching the control yet (I'm sure she will by this time next year). Every now and again the vagaries of the start sequence give one a chance to get a good look at how one of the juniors orienteers - last year at Sprint Canberra it was Ella Cuthbert (I doubt I'd be able to hold onto Ella - who, assuming the relevant rule changes go through, has a somewhat unexpected personal WOC place next year after her Oceania sprint run - for long these days).

Sprint into Spring 2: Mo - Splits

Opening race of the Melbourne City Race weekend at Edgewater, in the vicinity of the Mervyn G. Hughes Oval, although the only time we saw the Merv was running across it on the green jersey leg (not so good for those of us whose weight post-elite career has gone the same way as Merv's).

I've barely got through an evening run in the last two summer seasons so it was good to at least tick that box - had to keep reminding myself to get up regularly during the afternoon at work. Didn't feel entirely convincing but did manage to run up all the hills/steps (an advance on last week), and loosened up somewhat in the last third. Pretty slow, though, which I was aware of pretty early on when Asha burned past me, and at the end when Tash (who is my age again as of today) went through. A few interesting route choice legs in the Victoria University section, but otherwise a pretty straightforward course. Didn't get close to my sprint benchmark of 50% behind the elite winner, although Aston is better than most of the people I've run sprints against lately (he was in the mid-18s).

Was a bit surprised to see a bit of Belinda in the later stages taking routes which made no logical sense, but it turned out she was running course 2.

The run to the start triangle involved going through a culvert under the main road with perhaps 1.5m clearance - memories of the pipe under Hindmarsh Drive which was an occasional training route for me back in the day (and for Tara and possibly others more recently, if I recall correctly). My neck did not enjoy this.

And some excitement on the way home when, stopped in traffic, the person in front of me engaged reverse and backed into me (at some speed) for no obvious reason. No apparent damage to my car apart from a bent number plate, but his vehicle's rear end was looking a bit worse for wear.

C • Second courses 7

Sprint into Spring 1: Mo - Splits

At Northcote. Seemed OK at the time but a wrist which has been intermittently a bit sore over the last couple of months flared up after it (at least the angle which troubles it is not one which is tested writing or typing, otherwise I'd be in trouble). Guess I know what's caused it now.

Brought the bike home on the train tonight (staying at work late so I'd be on a less crowded train) and then couldn't find my tyre levers, so it looks like it will be another day before I use the bike again.

I'm currently collating information on 2019's climate extremes for this year's annual statement. One of the better snippets was that Israel had its highest temperature since 1942, 49.9 at Sedom (otherwise known as Sodom), which means we can say that Sodom was hotter than Hell - even though Norway was having a heatwave of its own at the time. I have no information on whether anyone sought to blame the heatwave on vice, promiscuity, homosexuality or any other alleged sinfulness.

Familiar names popping up in the news (an occasional series).

Still didn't feel quite right for running - made a bit of a false start. Probably not such a bad thing to have a quiet week after a big race week (in a normal season I wouldn't do much the week or two after nationals, but given how little I did before nationals I do want to continue building training if I can).

Spent some time today trying to determine the veracity of some extreme satellite rainfall reports from parts of east Africa (up to 300mm in a day in places which would normally get half that in a year), which I think are broadly correct but don't yet seem to be accompanied by reports of flooding on the scale that one would expect from those sorts of numbers. Made me wish briefly that Cristina was still in Djibouti (which was near the centre of the action), although I'm guessing that Cristina isn't desperate to go back there.

C • Djibouti 4

Got up feeling very flat and sleepy indeed this morning - must have slept badly although I didn't think I had (hopefully not getting sick). I'd originally thought of going out in the morning but deferred to lunchtime (this was also influenced by an early radio interview). The lunchtime attempt, though, only lasted a couple of minutes. Definitely appreciated a massage tonight.

Didn't do quite as much riding as I'd planned today either - went down to the bike room at work this evening to discover a flat rear tyre and a tack well embedded in it.

Didn't feel terribly awake for this, probably because my body thought it was still 6am. Nevertheless, the resistance seemed relatively light on some of the exercises, so maybe I've got a bit stronger through a week of competition. Probably useful to loosen me up, too.

I'd forgotten how flat I sometimes feel on the day after the end of a competition week. Definitely felt like I was a bit short of energy, and shoulders quite stiff for the first half, which made for a rather slow session. Felt cool outside after the week in the mostly warm conditions further north.

Had more energy later in the day, judging by a couple of quick bursts on the bike (nice not to have to use lights any more) to catch traffic lights on the way home.

Oceania Middle. Not sure whether I should count this as getting through five races or not - I did get around the course, but the back was bad from the start and I wasn't really racing at any stage, walking much of it and jogging the rest. Ended up in the bottom half, as I deserved to (and lost time on the second-last to add a bit of insult to injury). Had it been a training run I'd have bailed in the first five minutes, and I might have done it here too had the configuration of uncrossable fences not meant that I had to get as far as #5 anyway, by which time things had loosened up (a little).

Despite finishing on a poor note personally, the week was still better overall than I was expecting. On a more general note, the event week was excellent - one of the biggest we've had in Australia (and one of the most complex to organise - Stephen Goggs definitely deserves plaudits for extreme skills in cat-herding), and very little significant went wrong.

And my car didn't even smell as bad as I thought it would, and the bags fitted into my bin which is being collected tonight (the rubbish being joined by the underpants I wore today, whose elastic made it known that it had reached the end of its useful life).

C • Your AP readership 4

"Hello, is that ACT Policing? I'd like to report a robbery in Homebush..."

C • Absolutely 1