Training Log Archive: rach

Spied a hill on yesterday's run that I thought would be good for hill sprints. Did 5 (1:24,1:24,1:22,1:22,1:20). Very humid.

Ran through Edge Hill, Whitfield & up to top of Bel-Air Drive which has a great view over Cairns. Had a good look at the oncoming rain which subsequently soaked me on the way home. Great fun.

Tinnaroo Terra Triathlon. This was a great event! It started off with either a paddle or swim in the lake, then about a 18km mountain bike, a 7km trail run and then a short ride back to the finish. I swam and managed not to die (swimming's not really my thing), then set off on the mountain bike. It took me a bit of time to remember how to ride again having not ridden since sometime early last year, but I started to get into a rhythm after a while. Lots of big hills on the gravel road which meant tricky descents which I took quite cautiously to begin with. However there was enough uphill that I was able to overtake most of the girls who were ahead. The trail run was great fun - most of it was on a walking trail that existed at some point in the past, but not really now, so it was a matter of running from tape to tape. After that it was just a short ride to the finish. The gift voucher I won for the bike shop down the road is great but would have been really handy a few days ago before I got my bike serviced there!! It was a really good weekend - quality events, great turnout and a really friendly atmosphere.

Great weekend at Tinaroo for the 'Adventures on a Summers Weekend'. Started out with an hour score orienteering event in the area around the scout camp at Lake Tinaroo. Nice spot for it as the camp is on a peninsula so the lake is the border of about 90% of the map and it's quite detailed with lots of granite features. Certainly didn't pick the best route and kept running past everything! Cleared the course in around 43min.

After skipping the 'paddlegaine' due to lack of a kayak, the next event was a 30 or 60 min trail run. The goal was to do as many laps as possible in the time limit. The organisers had fun adding to the challenge, with obstacles such as hay bale hills, nets, a slip-and-slide and buoys about 10m into the water to 'run' around. There was also some great single trail and a fair bit of running over the rocks around the lakeside. When I finished the first lap in just over 10min, I knew 6 laps would probably be unachievable, but 5 wouldn't be too difficult. Saying that, the buoys seemed to get deeper and the hills larger each lap! Won a bottle of home brew for being first female.

Cairns Road Runners social Wednesday run. First time I've been to this and it's certainly very convenient, starting right outside the hospital on the esplanade. Tried to keep a steady pace - not particularly easy when needing to constantly zigzag around walkers, dogs and kids on bikes.

Esplanade run.

Exploring the area a bit more. Went up Red Arrow (the popular but steep bitumen walking track behind my place) then onto Blue Arrow (the not so popular rainforest trail which is very slow going) up to Lumley lookout then down the trail under the powerlines. I had seen this trail from the lookout previously but wasn't sure what it would be like or where it would spit me out. Was a pretty good track but I got freaked out by the idea of snakes halfway down then even more freaked out by the hermit man doing trail maintenance. Was planning on running much further but it was getting very hot and I needed to have started a bit more hydrated so pulled the pin when I got back to my place.

I'm getting back on Attackpoint for two main reasons - firstly to share with anyone who is interested how training and life is going in Cairns, and secondly to try to motivate me to train a little more. I've been here in Cairns for 5 weeks now and finding it a struggle to train during the week but hopefully I can get out there a bit more often.

C • Hi 6

Cairns Road Runners the Rocks 5km. Great turnout with a much bigger field than I was expecting (about 115 in the 5km). On a bike path alongside the creek at Redlynch. Went out a bit hard considering the humidity and lack of training recently, so was a struggle at the end. Was first girl (and held off the current Ironman World Champion!) so happy with the result. Might try pacing it a bit better in the other races in the series.