Training Log Archive: jennycas

The first thing Ross said when he & Sue picked me up from the airport last night was "you can come for a powerwalk with me in the morning". I know about Ross' powerwalks; the 8km up Merri Ck to Coburg lake & back normally takes him an hour. I was dragging the chain a bit 'cos I got a blister (not a problem with these shoes/socks when running) so we took 67. Was good for my hamstring to do something different.

Thought I'd better do some housework since I'll be abandoning said house for 3 weekends in a row (Melbourne, Sydney, Sydney). Bailed on work early to catch a plane but not quite early enough to check my bag through...

Better at the end than the beginning. Most bits of me were more extendable afterwards - except the ones I can't see, beginning with H.

Short Colonel Light Gardens loop. At first thought I wasn't even going to manage to work up a sweat but eventually the humidity did that for me. Tried a bit faster after stopping to stretch and time turned out okay but have no idea how I will manage 5x that duration on Sunday (without the aid of anti-inflammatories). Afterwards my hip & groin seized up pretty badly, during the process of going to visit my friend's new baby, having dinner at the pub with George after his first day back at work (I didn't think he should have gone back until he could at least put a shoe on that foot; it's still very swollen), and being stalked by a RBT. As in, the police car cruised through the hotel car park, left just ahead of us, turned down a side street without any lights on, and then came after me with lights flashing! Their excuse for not-exactly-random breath testing: "We're just collecting some data".

Time is a sad indictment. Still feeling having been beaten up by physio, and definitely aware of the hamstring. Sun had already set in the creek valley but was reflecting pinkly off the buildings on the foreshore at Glenelg, when I reached the top of the hill.

Not real fast this morning but it could have been the 'headwind' or the ITB. Paused for a runner who was crossing the footbridge and it turned out to be Margaret Bourne so I stopped to chat.

Attack of the Killer Physio

Painful. I had to remind myself that Kath is my friend and she is trying to help...(and I'm paying her)

Course A of John's doublet around UniSA Magill Campus. Navigation not too bad (apart from not seeing the right garden bed at 10) but running was absolutely woeful post-physio.

C • melbs 4

Course B. This was slightly shorter, I was slightly looser, and by now it was easier to tell which would be the most efficient way to go around buildings. Picked up some of the tapes afterwards in an attempt to stave off stiffness.

Couldn't see what benefit going for a run would give my legs, plus I was busy picking apricots. The birds are pecking them when they're far too green for human consumption (but that doesn't stop the dog from sampling the fallen ones).

Bridgewater-Mt Lofty via Mt George trails, the road up past Woodhouse, Sprigg Rd then the very steep firetrail up to the Summit carpark. Accompanied by Fern, Tyson, Lauren, John, Luke, Simon & Bridget. I didn't expect this run to be easy but at least I knew where the tough bits would be, and that they would also be scenic. Initially my hamstrings felt like someone had cut a couple of inches out of them and then put the ends back together - they just wouldn't extend properly - but when we got to the steepest section my quads took over to push me up the hill, and the break at the summit allowed for plenty of stretching. The whole run was pretty social, punctuated by drink stops and doublings-back, and the return involved going down Summit Rd to the top gate of the botanic gardens, a quick slide under said gate, a random descent through the gardens (I had the map but the smallest trails are numerous and unmarked) the long downhill back past Woodhouse and the usual up & down beyond the golf course. This was more than enough for me today but hopefully my legs will be able to find an extra hour next Sunday. My mantra for the interim is: sleep, stretching and pasta.

Zara met us at the Organic Market Cafe afterwards, having run up from home with Callum, and she was there earlier than any of us!

C • Extra hour 2