Training Log Archive: jennycas

Secret Controllers' Business - another 6 hours.

There are over 100 controls on the Tanunda Creek map (including model event) and I have now been to all of the sites, some of them twice. Whether or not I found Vincent's tag depended on how delectable the sheep had previously found it. I didn't realise their diet was deficient in pink surveying tags!

A herd of yearling cattle found me pretty interesting, and followed me along the fenceline for some time - I was in the next padock, and that was fine, but I had to come back through their paddock, and for a few minutes I thought they were all going to rush me (even though Jennys shouldn't form a usual part of their diet) but then I remembered how yelling at cattle to "Goo Orn!" and waving arms in the general direction you want them to go, seems to work for Grandfather, and so it worked for me too.

I got in some electric fence climbing/crawling practice in advance of November's World Rogaining Champs in NZ: http://wrc2010.org.nz/resources/ElectricFences.htm
Jeffa assures me that all electric fences will be switched off for the Aust Champs. We will have to arrange that for the model event also, and think carefully about them when putting out controls.

Knees weren't real happy and the dog wanted a walk more than I wanted a run. I am starting to miss swimming in the big outdoor pond :( but am not desperate enough to pay $7 for the indoor swamp at North Adelaide.

Nobody else was present when I got to Belair; shortly afterwards Zara arrived with Callum but there was no sign of Tyson and Fern. We waited a few min then headed up past the lake. When we got along the train line on the north side of the park we saw unmistakeable Ayups heading towards us. Tyson, Fern & Troy had run from Rosella Ave to the park, "waited 5 minutes" (Z & I were probably 8 and 6 minutes late, respectively, punctuality not being our strong point) then done a short loop and were heading home. Zara & I then went up past both waterfalls to the tap at the top of the park (I figured since I'd pushed uphill at nearly-kelpie pace I didn't want to lose the altitude just yet) and down Saddle Hill Rd, back Long Gully. Chatting meant we didn't feel the cold :) but when I got home it was 6 degrees on the plains and George & I took it in turns to stand in front of the lounge room heater eating pizza from the box (it being too cold to venture into the kitchen for civilised eating implements).

Shepherds Hill, Eden Hills, Bellevue Heights, Flinders Uni and home.

I came across a campground with about 50 tents, erected on one of the disused tennis courts at Sturt campus. Across the carpark was a setup which looked like a rogaine hash house. Something (maybe the Charles Sturt Uni Environmental Science department's bus) made me think that the theme was sustainability, so a bit of quick Googling over coffee yielded the following: http://www.cana.net.au/action/upcoming-events

"Students of Sustainability (Adelaide, July 4-8): Students of Sustainability will be held in 2010 in Adelaide from 4th-8th July on Kaurna Land at Flinders University. Students of Sustainability is a week-long conference that has been running annually for 18 years, and creates a village atmosphere, complete with sacred fire, entertainment, yummy vegan food, childcare, art space, thought provoking workshops and much more."

Well, I didn't notice much of a village atmosphere at 7.30 in the morning, but I was impressed by the prominence of signs directing people to the campus bar, not that it would have been open then!

C • Magic 2

6 x hills. Simon & Bridget only did 3 because they had already done other intervals. I slowed down a bit with no one to chase...actually none of the times are special, but I felt okay, and nothing hurt tonight :)
1.36
1.35
1.36
1.37
1.40
1.39

Warmup 15 min including runthroughs
recoveries 10 min
warmdown 15 min

Quoth Tyson yesterday "Bring torches tomorrow, we're going up Brown Hill". And so it came to pass that Tyson, Fern, Simon, Bridget & I did just that. Fern powered up, providing light for Simon, while the rest of us trailed behind - Simon said that, looking back, he couldn't tell which were our torches and which were street lights. From the trig point at the top (312m) we could see the TV towers on Mt Lofty looking closer than usual, the city lights in front of us, and in the distance across Spencer Gulf, the lights of towns on Yorke Peninsula. That was worth climbing the hill for! Also, my knees felt better than they had for a week, so I was happy. On the way home we took the singletrack through Waite, around the back of Carrick Hill. Later we passed by the Edinburgh Hotel, but sadly no-one had money to stop in for a drink...

I can take or leave orienteering in Gumeracha Goldfields ('cos I can terrain run there for free) but this was a pleasant enough course even if it did go into the scrubby goldmining section down south (there's a reason why I was organiser for the WOC trials in 2003 rather than running the long). I taped my arches - which I should have done on the rogaine last weekend - and my knees held up fairly well though I was happy not to have done the 9km course. It was only slightly embarrassing to get thoroughly beaten on time by M60s...

Afterwards my parents & I went via the farm to visit Grandfather. When we got there he was on the front lawn digging up a specimen of Mt Barker subterranean clover. He's intending to take it to a meeting of the Amos Howard Historical Trust to show them that the image which they have used on the trust's letterhead is not the correct species of sub-clover! (He's already explained this to the owners of the Howard Vineyard down the road.) Yep, I'd say he's doing just fine for 94.