Training Log Archive: TheInvisibleLog

Slackness prevails due no doubt to the influence of the hot weather.
Orienteering issue of the day - park ranger for the day 3 area of Easter rang concerned about obvious red tapes on shrubs in his park. He has been removing them as litter. After an explanation, he still doesn't want them replaced. A more invisible taping strategy will be required.
It seems that next years events at Easter are fraught with access issues.
Sprint- local uni seems ok, and I am not involved in that one.
Day 1 - negotiations to CEO level with local water authority. Some opposition still from officer level about access inside a fenced reservoir. Strange as the reason for closed catchment status evaporated when it was converted to a recycled water storage. Every time we enter we have to make sure we have the official key. I think part of the reason for officer level concern is that some with key copies have been using their access for private purposes... gold detection, rubbish dumping etc. Probably no access in future unless we negotiate another event with tourism plusses.
Day 2 - where do I start. Prolonged negotiation with Flora and Fauna and Parks over protection of Ballantinia. They have discrete surveillance electronics in the area to control mountain bikers. If I had my way again we wouldn't use this area, but someone went ahead and mapped without checking the access status.The courses are compromised. I doubt we will ever get access again. I am not going to go through these negotiations again. Thankfully another club owns map. They won't get their investment repayed.
Day 3 - Council land with a dedicated ranger. We negotiated with the former incumbent but change of ranger has brought us someone with a strong flora and fauna bent and it has got much harder. Parking moved to outside the park with a 1.5 kilometre walk to assembly. Now invisible tagging.
I declined an invitation to become involved with early negotiations over the key area for 2015, and already those who have taken on the job have come up against flora and indigenous issues. They have my full sympathy.

C • looks like 3

C • Invisible tapes 9

Too hot. Spent morning sleeping in (till 7.00am) and then doing supplementary plant watering.
Note with amusement that father and son are both on the Noisy Logs list.

C • Yours is more interesting 4

Running through Crusoe and stopping to consider mapping queries from course setter. Nothing major. Fences that can't be fitted into available space, waterholes gone dry etc. Nice to be able to do this before a working day.
The swimming platform looked very appealing with no-one there and the water felt warm. I didn't have the time to jump in. Maybe tomorrow morn.

Lunchtime run. Somewhat too warm at times.

Commute to work. Too many cyclists so forced to draft with use of brakes down the hills.

C • Too many cyclists... 2

Six hour rogaine. Lovely fast country with at times interesting navigation. But at 33 degrees and limited shade, not really conducive to running. Add to that two partners who had not recovered from the Run from the Hills last week, and it was clear within an hour that this would be the first rogaine I have ever walked. Finished early.

Major unofficial checkpoint for the weekend rogaine...
Dunolly swimming pool
Nine kilometres from the start. Maybe with a loop of controls it will mean just a 25 kilometre course - four hours and two at the pool.
Hoping its open.

C • Sat or Sun? 7

My manager is taking a VDP. His choice for a farewell function was a longish lunch break for a longish run around the best of the Bendigo running options. No choice but Crusoe. The unstated objective was to see who would 'win' the last run. I used the home ground advantage to good effect. Started at No. 7, up the hill, along ridge to Marne, back along the side of the spurs and into the Parks area from the west. Up till this point he was leaving me on the hills. But then I added about 500 metres of off track running. It turned the tables. He obviously found it really hard work. Then down hill and around part of Crusoe. This was the clincher. He assumed this was the same body of water that we had started at, and when I told him we still had 15-20 minutes to go, his will power evaporated. I had to wait for him twice along the track back to No. 7 and then left him behind in the last 500 metres, just to make it clear he was done. This was totally necessary as in the early part of the run he had boasted how he had done the same to another colleague a few days earlier, dropping him in the last two kilometres of the run after telling him 'You are f***ed". I waited for him to finish and then asked him to tell me the story again. He told me he was glad he was leaving now.

C • VDP 31

Gateway return. Tried to run faster than usual.

Run in to Yorkshire Hill

M21E course Yorkshire Hill

Run out again

Running into Yorkshire Hill

Running W21E course for Easter WRE.

Same again... second 30 minutes more enjoyable than first 30 minutes. Thats morning!

Late afternoon two reservor circuit. Sign of the times that it is a pleasant change to run without having to navigate. Yesterday I calculated that me weekly total of 61k running included 45k of navigation in terrain. It is a long time since the last week like that. May well have been O-Ringen 2006.

Out control checking for almost 3 hours. Ran when I could.

Twilight score event. Took the less efficient route as it turned out.

With the rising sun inside the fence checking more controls for Easter. 52 minutes running in an almost 2 hour period. The controls were quite challenging today. Its a great area.

Morning run. If I run 30 minutes in the morning, at the end I feel like it wasn't fun. If I run 60 minutes the second half is generally better and that is what I remember. I felt like a run was a good start to the morning when I finished today.

Morning struggle before a busy day.

Running a couple of easy and moderate courses for Easter... before work. You have to appreciate that!

C • March NOLs will be similarly convenient 2

AWOC Championships at Walbundrie, 50k north of Albury. The map had received the royal treatment in terms of publicity. It was certainly a reasonably open technical area, but its small size makes me uncertain that it really is suitable for an Australian Champs. No.. maybe the Australian Beer-O champs. How many other maps allow a start and finish at a country pub! This was the most impressive feature of the map in my mind.
As to the course, well, I must have been on drugs to sign up for the 10.6 k course. Back then it was cool weather and the grass was green and I still was deluded that I would build some substantial fitness in early summer. Instead, it was over warm (30?), the grass seeds were voracious and I am clearly still unfit. I stuck it out, but only after accepting that I had to walk up most hills and use a conservative pace from the start if I was to finish.

It was a very impressive turnup, with orienteers from Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Melbourne, Canberra... but was that really Russell Blatchford from Newcastle???? That really is quite a drive for a single race! I am not sure if I am impressed or worried. ;-)

C • Yes it is possible to start an event from the pub. 3

Shadowed Julie around her W35A course from the Vic Champs on Kangaroo Crossing. She had a few scores to settle. Most were settled, except for the speed. We arrived after lunch and it was quite warm... too warm for serious running.