Training Log Archive: jennycas

Putting out controls/flags/units at Para Wirra for tomorrow's club relays which is shaping up to be a pretty good event courtesy of Tyson and the Arrows. The best bit about not competing is that I won't have to run through the patch of green in which I was putting out controls...actually, most of the terrain is nice enough and Simon's courses avoid that which isn't. The golden wattle is blossoming everywhere and smells lovely if you don't get hayfever, which I don't. We drove to Williamstown bakery for lunch - straight past the Two Ladies map which will be this year's AMDC - in Tyson's 'new' Outback (which corners well, unlike my stomach) before setting up the graveyard. Tomorrow is going to be fun!

C • Relay 1

During a day of Secret Controllers' Business with Jeffa and Vincent I took the opportunity to run the Aust Long Champs W21E course and see how the map reads at 1: 15 000 on the run. It was convenient knowing what the control sites would look like when I got to them, but there was plenty of navigating to be done on the way there. I took too long to make up my mind on the route choice leg after the spectator control, and dithered a bit, but otherwise didn't lose much time - except for detours to check a couple of control sites on other courses. Oh, and to walk up a couple of hills - but I would hope to be significantly fresher if I was running this as a race! It will probably end up being about like last year's W21E course in terms of physicality - more open, and therefore longer, but with similar climb. The views across the Tanunda Creek gorge were spectacular and water was trickling in even the smallest side creeks.

I should correct my comment from two weeks ago, as I maligned the sheep unfairly. It turns out that it's the cattle who eat the pink surveying tags. We placed a tag on the very easy course at 11am this morning and by the time I came back past it at 4pm it had been pulled out of the ground and eaten - all that remained was a bent wire! Maybe the cattle like hot pink? This could be a problem for members of Big Foot Orienteers :)

C • 1:15000 prints 5

C • Its cockatoos and corellas here 2

C • Anticipation 1

Ages since I've done this as a run but I knew I'd freeze on the bike this morning. Somehow it seemed further on foot! About 51 up, so 45 back. Hard to believe I once did 93 min but I guess it would be possible to be 10 sec/km faster if it wasn't dark/muddy/cold, and if I'd had breakfast first (last night's food intake was a bit random; baked cherry cheesecake predominated). Didn't feel too cold running but my hands took a long time to regain functionality when I got home, and therefore I was going to be late for 8.30am staff meeting so I took rather literally the boss' previous statement that if you can't be on time it's not worth being at the meeting.

These are about 3-minute hills up the 4WD track and I did 5 of them. Recovery was down the singletrack. I was a bit buggered, so it will hopefully be easy to improve next time :) You can tell that on the 4th hill I kind of stopped paying attention to the fact that I was meant to be running hard...but on the last one I dropped my elbows and improved the power-to-weight ratio (or something).
2:52
3:02
3:04
3:11
3:00

C • something 1

warmup 21:15 across to the park
downhill recoveries 10:19
warmdown 19:14 home from the top of the hill

Glad I substituted this effort for the alternative of just running the 3-hills loop. Also, I saw the first golden wattle blossom of this "spring"!

Well, I suppose it was restful for my knees; I got some quality dogwalking and stretching in before work. My brain didn't rest, though, worrying about the fact that we only have half the usual number of Arrows available to help with this weekend's club relays, and then the evening was taken up by the scintillating double of OASA management committee followed by 2011 programme meeting.

C • Help 1

With Bridget, from Leonard St, to First Falls and back. We shone our torches on the waterfall and it was spectacular - but it was tantalising being able to hear the creek rushing alongside us and yet not see it. Afterwards we all partook of Bridget's excellent pasta bake. There was a moment when I looked up, halfway through my dinner, to find that Bridget and John had simultaneously polished off their plates and were looking at me as if to say "why are you so slow?" Either I talk too much or I'm really unco with a fork when my hands are numb!

C • Option 3 4

Now, if the forecast said showers late morning, wouldn't you expect to be able to fit in a 3-hour run between daylight and rainfall?

But no, it was drizzling when I left home and by the time I'd gone up through Randells Reserve to Belair (33 min) it was thoroughly soggy. Not long after, so was I, and once you're so wet that you can't be any wetter, you may as well settle in and enjoy it. All I had taken with me was a handful of scroggin (a hangover from the Anzac Day rogaine; it's been sort of a magic pudding) and the on-call phone, sealed in a ziplock bag. Along Sheoak Rd, into the park at the top of Pony Ridge and up past the waterfalls (I pre-empted the slipperiest bit of the singletrack and therefore didn't stack it) to the tap at the top of the park, now on 75 minutes. Down to the railway line, east to the old Upper Sturt Station, up Station Rd to Upper Sturt Rd (92 min) past the tennis courts down into the park and back along Long Gully to the park entrance (122min) where I came across Harry Waterhouse and some of the other road runners and he expressed surprise that I was on my own. Up to Belair, down Gloucester Ave to home. The last section took just under 32, so I wasn't any slower than when I have just normally been up to Belair and am coming back down.

I'd say this run was lots more fun than the SARRC Athelstone to Henley Beach 30km which was on today and a heaps better option than mountain bike orienteering at Fox Creek :)

C • and much moer fun than a ra... 4