Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

The bad news is that I felt tired and sluggish (not surprising after finishing at 12.45am), the good news is that the run was pain-free for the first time in ages, despite going to a longer rep length (2 on, 1 off). This is very encouraging although I'm not about to rush things back given earlier setbacks. (I'm wondering which will come first - being able to do a proper run, or being legally allowed to do it more than 5km from home?).

Today's name from the past in the news was 1984 W18 Australian champion Karen Barbey. Unlike a certain other scandal-plagued Australian junior champion of similar vintage a few months back, her deep and meaningful conversation with the Independent Commission Against Corruption appears to have been as a witness rather than a suspect.

C • whom 2

Lunchtime ride, feeling somewhat better than I was in the morning. Initially down into Yarra Bend, then west as far as the Edinburgh Gardens, scene of a heavy police presence from time to time this week - although not as heavy-handed as Sydney Uni (picking on a law professor may not have been the smartest of moves for the cops). Fairly quiet outside, and a fairly smooth ride. Got some enthusiastic crowd support from Fairfield Primary in the last bit.

Feeling pretty sleepy this morning, which had absolutely nothing to do with this being the second of three successive nights of meetings lasting to midnight or beyond (I'll be feeling it's an early night when tomorrow night's OA Board meeting finishes at 10 or thereabouts). Got going a bit better later, after an initial loop through the east edge of Kew (or, as it's known by those unimpressed by the antics of the local member, Far Kew) and North Balwyn, then back through Ivanhoe and a finish to the west.

Stretching things out a bit further (9x1 minute this time). Felt a bit of a niggle but definitely improved on the last two, and no tightness afterwards so I seem to be making decent progress.

A sign that traffic is getting more noticeable is that I actually used the pedestrian lights to get across Grange Road (although that was partly because I thought that dashing across in a gap might encourage a nearby three-year-old to attempt to do likewise).

A lunchtime ride with a bit of a mission - on Sunday I'd seen a flash of the relevant colours on the other side of the road and went out today to see if I could confirm the continuing existence of a Carl Kirkwood ALP For Preston sticker (once upon a time these could be spotted on power poles the length and breadth of the electorate but they're becoming fewer and further between). This mission was indeed accomplished. It's something of a historical artifact - the last election that Carl Kirkwood was a candidate in was in 1985 (and for historical bonus points, the small print reads "Part of the John Cain Team").

The ride itself was pretty smooth. Paths quieter than I've become used to, perhaps a consequence of (most of) the kids being back at school now.

2020 life lesson learned: now that the kids are back, do not attempt to get coffee at 9.05am at a cafe in close proximity to a school drop-off area.

Evening session (since that was the time I could get). There were a few squad people who didn't seem to have noticed that their usual lanes are currently the slow lanes, which meant being overtaken at rather high speed on occasions, but I wasn't going too badly myself (by my usual standards).

A scoreline from the WA-SA Shield game which will have been noted by fans of backyard cricket: Wes Agar c & b Ashton Agar 4.

C • Agar 2

7x1 minute with 1 minute walk, which got me four-and-a-bit times around Pitcher Park instead of three (once the jog parts get longer than a minute I'll look for more varied alternatives). Pretty similar to Friday: not entirely comfortable while I was doing it, but didn't get any worse through the session and pulled up OK afterwards.

The day's proper session, essentially doing the northern and western half of the circle (the bits I didn't do last Saturday), from Heidelberg around through Preston and East Brunswick to Collingwood. Not a bad ride; felt comfortable on the initial climb (a light tailwind helped), and didn't really tire, nor did the hamstring give any trouble as it sometimes has later on rides.

A bit of bike infrastructure has been done since I was last out this way: a proper opening has been put in the gate at the end of the footbridge at the northeast corner of Northland (you used to have to negotiate a narrow gravel, and often puddled, gap between two posts).

Street signs in some places bear details of who it was named after - the bit in East Brunswick that Victoria Street was named after Queen Victoria was something of a statement of the obvious (although the bit about her being the world's longest-reigning female monarch has been overtaken by events) - but in West Heidelberg, where the 1956 Olympic Village was, the small print details which teams stayed in which street. The streets themselves are mostly named after things to do with World War 2 - one wonders what the Germans and Japanese would have thought (particularly as a few of the older athletes would probably have been returned servicemen). Also noted in the names department was the Carringbush Hotel, although I'm not sure whether it takes its name from its home suburb's fictional name or whether the fictional name was taken from the pub (the pub looks reasonably old so possibly the latter).

The Economist does deadpan very well: "El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced an inquiry into whether El Faro, a digital newspaper, had engaged in money-laundering. El Faro recently reported that Mr Bukele’s government secretly asked imprisoned leaders of MS-13, a big criminal gang, to reduce violence in exchange for privileges."

The second attempt at the pool was a lot better than the first - actually felt as if things were functioning and got down to a reasonably normal time. It helps somewhat when it's under the sunshine (it's getting to the point of the year where the sunscreen needs to start coming out - those of you further north would already be there, of course).

Trying this route back on the advice of my physio - at least it's a start. Didn't feel as if I would have been up to a proper run today, but at least things didn't get any worse through three laps of the oval at 1 minute on/1 minute off, and I pulled up more or less OK afterwards (even if the hamstring didn't especially like kicking the football back to the kids across the road).

There's traffic again on Grange Road. When did that happen?

The council election ballot papers arrived today. We've ended up with five candidates, making (a) to (d) on my earlier list, and arguably (g) (someone who doesn't think the Greens are hardcore enough). We've also had the compulsory feature of any modern election, a candidate - this time a Labor one in the north end of Darebin - going down in flames after being sprung having said something racist/homophobic/misogynistic (delete where inapplicable) on social media. (Someone, presumably not a candidate, ticked all three of those boxes in 30 seconds while ranting, mostly to himself, outside the bakery at Fairfield at lunchtime).

The morning hardly constituted a proper session so this was a late afternoon outing on the Boulevard, not always at my sharpest but got through it all right (including the hills). A few bikes out, which is usual, and a few fast vehicles, which is less so - one motorbike's speed wouldn't have been too far short of three figures.