Training Log Archive: jennycas

It was great not to have to drive 90 min from Bathurst this morning, and I'd slept ok once I had doubled up the solo blanket and put tomorrow's orienteering socks on (toes nearly froze when I had to take socks off again to tape ankles at the event). Leisurely breakfast in the hotel dining room was punctuated by seeing competitors run past the window; so, not only is the arena less than 1km away again, the courses go through the town! And indeed, later on in the long course my chosen route took me right past the Royal Hotel...

There were some decent route choice legs although the control sites themselves were mostly straightforward, which was a good thing because at 1:15 000 I often had to go by the control description, being completely unable to read the feature on the map. Didn't help that I twice got a bush in my eye and vision was distinctly blurry (is that an oxymoron?). I was right about not seeing any other W21s out there; it's difficult to push as hard when you're on your own :( Didn't slack off too much though - most of my time losses relate to getting in & out of steep erosion gullies, which is definitely not my forte and I was grateful for Friday night's rain making them less shaly.

Sure, I'd like to have been 5-10 min faster, but am reasonably happy with this weekend's runs given that my hamstring took from September to February to properly come good. And I was finding it hard to justify the expense of flying to Sydney when it didn't involve visiting in-laws, but can see now that I really benefited from having the weekend as a mental circuit-breaker without worrying about either work or family.

C • 90 mins 1

NOL/SL2 day 2 Hard 3 - Splits

Event: National Orienteering Leagues 1&2 / NSW State Leagues 1&2
 

I runned orienteering, it was fun :) Also it was the NOL relay. First runned Liv, then runned Bridget. And Bridget brought us back in first place! There was no way I was going to hang on to that but only Tash (I was glad to see her at the 3rd control because I thought I may have overrrun it) and Belinda (although I never saw her, she went through me before the spectator control so at least the time I lost on 8 after the end of the runthrough didn't lose any more places) overtook me, so we ended up 3rd, for the 4th year in a row now. I think we were all pretty happy with that, even if the ACT junior girls did beat us.

Hill End's a lovely town in the autumnal afternoon light but it's kinda frigid here this evening, glad I'm not camping! The Royal Hotel's a very popular place for dinner but the dining room only holds about 20 people so the Arrows shivered outside for a while until our food finally came. And all I had to do afterwards was walk upstairs to the antiquated possibly-haunted bedrooms, instead of driving back to Bathurst (was actually tempted to sneak upstairs and put on my PJs as thermals while waiting for dinner).

NOL relay Womens Relay - Splits

Finally this morning I managed to consume enough salt to alleviate my 3-day headache (although not 3-week neck stiffness) but my brain is just so full of things I need to do, that it literally can't hold any more. Unloaded a few frustrations on to Zara and also told her a bonus anecdote about how last night in the fading light I was following a bearing towards a rather dilapidated termite mound when I realised it had feathers, a long neck, and little beady eyes! Gave that one, and the other unmapped 'termite mound' nearby, rather a wide berth...at least they didn't stand up & chase me.

Pretty sure this course was originally from the Summer Of Stefano (and before he'd remapped any vegetation changes...). Got around ok without aggravating too much the ankle I'd tweaked last Sunday, but think 4 more km this Sunday will be a struggle, especially as I have last start in W21 (and will therefore see no one on my course) which is clearly a punishment for being vain enough to enter 'elites'.

C • Vanity 1

Working off some frustrations, also hopefully working off the junk food that was initially consumed as a band-aid measure.

Very convenient that today's event was literally next door to the caravan park; the last time I remember doing this combination was an Arrows' training weekend in 2008 when we'd all had a fine evening at the Pt Elliot pub, so running felt somewhat difficult that day. It felt difficult now also but that's because my legs are 11 years older; after sending my parents off to walk the easy course, I staggered painfully around the long - 3 minutes slower than a lady who'd had a baby 6 months ago! Great ocean views though, and unlike on Granite Island the natural beauty of the rocks and coastline wasn't marred by stupid modernistic sculptures.

Perfect water temperature in Horseshoe Bay afterwards, so I jumped a few waves with Bridget & then Zara, before retreating slightly sunburned and setting up a foreshore sandwich-production-line for family & friends. Hands up if anyone's read all the way through the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series to the 5th book - Mostly Harmless - when Arthur Dent is stranded on a planet where he becomes known as The Sandwich Maker? That's me; the Sandwich Maker (even if I didn't have any Perfectly Normal Beast to put in them).

Fun little sprint (at 1:2 500 - we really are getting spoiled) courtesy of Ben & Toby who had mapped it also, around the high school and reserves alongside the Inman River. Legs a bit hammered from AOTKM this morning so I just jogged, and at that pace could read ahead pretty well so avoided falling into any major traps. Nice to run somewhere new!

Missed this morning's O event because of taking my parents to dad's cousin's golden jubilee service, celebrating 50 years of her life as a nun (and at which her 102-year old mother was present!). Apparently attending church once already today wasn't enough for dad, so he wanted to go again in Victor, therefore I had time for a lovely run out to and around Granite Island (while mum napped at the caravan park).

C • There's 3

Autumn is finally approaching, as evidenced by the dog's enjoyment of scavenging & crunching windfall apples in our garden.

Sadly, this was less successful today - took over 10 min longer for this course along the north side of Belair than when I last did it in Sept 2016 - basically I walked more than half :( Partly because the bush has thickened up so much in the NE corner and partly because my legs were buggered, and also because I was reeealllly hungry! Had trouble reading the quarry detail (so don't know how a long race at 1:15 000 will go) but at least my bearings were pretty good.

The work-gods and traffic gods both smiled upon me tonight so I actually made it to Morialta on time(ish) and then although there was no way I was able to run fast for the first 20 min up to Deep View, once legs had loosened up the running-gods permitted 3 decent intervals up the fire track. So maybe I won't be a completely weak link for the NOL relay, even if a fairly old & rusty one.

Dug out the "green" course which Robin set for B&S when they were training for Estonia, and hoped that its being the end of summer would mean the bush wasn't quite as thick this time around. Also hoped that by being 20 min earlier than last week I'd have enough daylight, but of course this was a longer course today, and again I ended up doing the last few controls fairly ad-hoc in terms of being certain of their location on both ground and map, which may explain why more than once I found myself bashing through some quality green when least I expected it (and I made exactly the same 90-degree error by going up the wrong creek among the yakkas, as I had done 2 years ago!). Yet somehow I don't think I'd have had as much fun if I'd actually taken a headlamp with me...and the moon was friendly.

It was after 10pm by the time I'd dropped parents off and made it home myself last night so I didn't hurry to get going this morning, but couldn't pass up an opportunity to orienteer on Lucky Hit when someone else was setting the training; the Lyons had decided to do this for club training day, and as I'd eagerly anticipated, the courses even sneaked into the quarry area so maybe this was almost relevant training for Hill End goldmining? Anyway, I ended up doing 4 short courses, with a goodly break in between them for the benefit of rogaine-tired legs (also to hear Jo's & Abi's account of their rogaining experience), and in the company of Tyson then Fern to keep me honest for the last two. Hung around for the communal tri-club picnic afterwards :)

Before going for my biannual haircut, at which I learned that the hairdresser has been cast as a Greek goddess in a movie with Jason Momoa and Arnold Schwarzenegger...(!?)

C • Better option? 7

4hr suburban rogaine, starting at Waite campus, which was in the very NE corner of the map. The course therefore encompassed the hills face zone stretching in a southwesterly direction; walking tracks up behind Waite, Brown Hill itself, Brownhill Creek, Randells Reserve, Sleeps Hill quarries, and even Shepherds Hill, from which it would be at least 10km actual shortest distance back to the HH. So we fairly quickly ruled out Brownhill Creek/Pony Ridge and going to the SW-most control along the creek in Sheps (in the end only 2 teams made it there, and they were late back), but thought we might still be able to get the ones at the downhill end of Gloucester Ave depending on time after the 2hr mark.

Started UP behind Waite - gosh that's a steep gully - in the hot sun with umpteen other teams and I was behind Zara from the beginning, just like in the last couple of events (mum suggested that I'm getting older and Z is getting younger). Lovely views to the south over Belair when running along the ridgeline to the now-imaginary trig point for 90 points, and likewise NW towards the city (when I wasn't watching my feet) as we headed down the hill towards some 70s (and a shortcut out the still-open gate of Carrick Hill reserve). A few controls along the creek and trainline through Mitcham, then UP Randells Reserve where there are new MTB trails & switchbacks. Drink from tap at the BP at Belair, then it was down Gloucester Ave and I suggested to Z that we were better off not going into the top of Sheps but shortcutting down through Sleeps Hill in order to maximise time in the flat suburbs where there were some reasonable points on the way back. Was a bit surprised to see some other teams which still seemed to be heading further south, when we got to the bottom of Sleeps Hill.

Unfortunately the long descent of the Lynton Connector bike path did bad things to my knees - in particular, the right ITB/quad developed the same problem as last Monday in NSW, and kept losing power. I kept trying to change cadence, walk it out, stop & stretch, but often lagged a long way behind Z :( At least I knew where all the train line crossings were, from running through these suburbs so often! Did think that the course setters could have marked them on the map...they couldn't have known though that the footbridge behind Mitcham Library is under repair and so we had to go all the way around the block there for only 20 points.

Did a thorough job of getting everything on offer in the suburbs west of the HH, including the two within the grounds of Waite as it was getting dark, and finished with just over a minute to spare - I was glad it was no less than that, because I surely didn't have a finish sprint in me. Plenty of watermelon & pizza on offer afterwards, and a nice surprise when the results were read out because somehow we were 2nd, by only 20 points.
Seems a few other fancied teams were over-ambitious and had to cut their plan short +/- got back late...while I was disappointed in my fitness, certainly couldn't fault our planning :)

C • 20 points 5

Found a map from the 2017 event (on the back of which was printed a Narrinyeri training course) and took it for a run. Struggled to actually read the detail once the sun had set, but thankfully it was a moderate course so I could sort of intuit the control locations. Legs handled the cross-country ok, although very slowly, so I appear to have now signed up for 10km @Hill End in 2 weeks' time...

With Zara/Callum at chatting pace: south up Pole Rd, down/up Coat Rd, down Ironbank Rd, up Sturt Valley/Manoah Rds & back to hers via Upper Sturt Rd and the secret track. Legs weren't very enthused but there were some gorgeous evening views (and by the end of 4 hrs on Sat, nobody else's legs will be enthused either).

Home from the supermarket, rather full of dinner.

We were staying only 1.5km from the national park so at first light I was breakfasting & filling my Camelbak and set off along the beach just on sunrise, although I couldn't see this because of the headland to the east. Had suspected after yesterday's brief reconoissance of the 1km to Bullimah Beach, that the Bouddi Coastal Walk might involve quite a few steps & stairs, and so it proved, and they were often spaced in such a way that I had to walk them whether going up or down, so it was very slow going. Some lovely views from headlands (to the south, Barrenjoey lighthouse and the entrance to the Hawkesbury) and bays (upon leaving Maitland Beach I met a local who told me the story of the 1898 shipwreck after which the bay was named) and some sections under tree canopy (scrub much like during the Paddy Pallin rogaine at Catherine Hill Bay a few years ago, but much drier with no water in any streams) where I could hear bellbirds and whipbirds.

By the time I got to Little Beach I had been out 75 min already, so said hello to the campers, briefly walked the beach, and then headed up the hill to the main road thinking this would be a quicker return route. Which it was - 53 min - but ascended continuously to/along the ridgeline for about 4km, and then by the time it started going downhill my knees were wrecked from the hard bitumen and I limped back down into Killcare with lots of stretching stops. Probably I should have got G to pick me up rather than undertaking the return journey, but the run was totally worth it for having been the only person on Maitland Beach earlier!

We lunched at Copacabana Beach - no, not the one in Rio - and then did a short walk around sandstone cliffs at Kincumber Mountain, before heading south to the airport, having allowed so much extra time for getting across Sydney that in the end we spent half an hour at the park in Botany where the NOL sprint race was held on this same weekend a few years ago. I'm like a puppy dog; need to be let out of the car for a run around (ok, and to pee) every so often :)

Nepean River's literally out the back gate of the caravan park in Emu Plains so I did the bridge to bridge loop, including crossing the new $49 million (!!!) pedestrian footbridge: https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/sydney-west/ne...

We spent the morning taking G's parents to Bunnings (you can fit 4 people & 2 walking frames into a hired Corolla hatchback) then headed for the Central Coast and are staying tonight in a B&B at Killcare. Lovely clifftop walk at Putty Beach this afternoon, followed by drinks at the surf club, then sunset picnic. Sun sets earlier here than it does in Adl though. Hopefully rises earlier too :)

Found an event to go to which wasn't too much of a detour on the way out to Penrith - a small school & oval next door, mapped at 1:2 000, somehow became a 2.7km course if you went around it about 4 times but that didn't make it boring by any means, and certainly having a map in my hands took my attention off super-sore neck (either from bike riding or swimming yesterday, but I couldn't turn my head at all last night).

After visiting G's parents @nursing home we met his sister & her offspring for High Tea In The Valley (at the Crowne Plaza in Windsor) which was very nice but would have been better if they'd brought us new clean plates before the cake course!

Surprisingly peaceful swim. Legs feeling 300% better than yesterday.

Pleasant sunset ride, happy that we're not going to Sydney until tomorrow (although a 6am flight will be unpleasant).

Bit of a long run disaster - started out ok around the lake on a nice cool evening, and Lexie even joined us for a bit, but by the time Zara/Callum & I got to the Upper Waterfall my legs were toast (probably from last night's descent of Brown Hill) and hip flexors/knees really didn't enjoy going down into the redwoods. Managed a bonus up-over-the hill ok at the far end of Long Gully but had to stop & stretch/massage with ever-increasing frequency as the darkness deepened on the way back.

Corgis make it all better though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn8lGz3EmVU

C • aww 2

Hmph. Uni's gone back this week, so it was 20 minutes sitting in the car before even getting out of FMC carpark, then another 15 min to Sturt Rd 1km away (passing 3 cars which had rear-ended each other, being hauled on to tow trucks). By 6pm I'd only made it to Mitcham, not Morialta, and since I had to be at Mitcham anyway for 7:30pm WA committee meeting, ran up Brown Hill in the meantime for secret twilight rogaine training - and got rained upon!

Event: SA Sprint Championships - Aberfoyle Park HS and surrounds
 

Fun course starting out with tricky section crisscrossing the high school, then out around the back of the sports fields (starting to get hot in the sun on the long return leg) map flip and into the school again, finishing off around the oval which was rather a slog - the whole course may have been a bit long (presuming 2.8 was straight line) - but it was good setting from Craig, on Olly's new/updated map. I had no idea that today is Olly's last day in Adelaide!

A bit horrified/ashamed to be 4 min down, when the past 2 years it was more like 2 min, but I'm not prepared to run 35s in a sprint in Aust just yet. Now that I'm finally neither injured (although that won't last) or sick, the next challenge is to achieve decent training before Hill End without any upcoming forest races on offer.

C • 35's 2

Actually sneaked into the medium lane and tried not to hold anyone up, because the slow lane was so full of slowcoaches - and got this done before both those lanes were merged into a schemozzle, to allow for toddler swimming lessons.

Followed by AOTKM and a full day of piecing together potential ARC landowners and their associated contact details (where known) by hand-drawing on to one big cadastral-boundaries map.

Decided to do the long course - remembering about the park enlargements on the back of the map - from the Cazzolatos' really hot event in Jan, and it was quite fun on a still-cool morning, especially when passing by some amazing mansions throughout Hyde Park. I didn't climb the stairs to actual control sites @top of grandstand/balcony because I get enough stairs at work and also hamstrings are a bit hammered from Wed's long descent of QJD. Convenient stretching stop when (not actually) the world's longest freight train passed by at the Millswood overpass.