Training Log Archive: jennycas

Worked out in conversation with Bridget, that Susanne & I ran our first Easter, on Badja, a few weeks before she was born! It seems to have greened up somewhat since then (or maybe W13 courses didn't really get into the bracken and fallen logs). My one goal for today was not to stuff up; I knew I wouldn't be competetive running through the forest but I really wanted to redeem myself after navigating fairly poorly this week.

I also wanted to postpone the inevitable - Clare Hawthorne overtaking me after catching 2 min - as long as possible. Possibly I was a bit too focused on this, as I put a lot of effort into running over all the crap in the tough section, and when I saw her behind me at 7 I redoubled my efforts, and nearly had a complete brain fade on the long leg to 10, first veering to the left when cutting off the triangle between tracks and nearly being unable to pick up the track again, then veering to the right and down a west-facing gully instead of the southerly one which actually contained 10. Somehow I hauled my exhausted brain back into line (really shouldn't have stayed up until 1am Wed night doing those controllers' workshop slides) and while confused at times during subsequent legs (the readability of the map really didn't help; it wasn't the right map for a digital 1:15 000 print) I found all the controls okay, except for the second-last where I ended up crossing one clearing too many and therefore on the wrong rocky knoll.

I finished the race feeling more completely wiped than at any other time this year, but 81min sounded like a respectable time, until as I watched my name crawling lower down the results board I became quite despondent and decided not to look at its final resting place (also seriously contemplated retiring from elites; I mean, how much harder can I try?).

Event: Oceania Sprint, Aust Long & Oceania Relays
 

Oh whoops, I had a shocker! Running significantly faster than I was thinking, not always in the right direction, and paying far too much attention to the people around me, some of whom were similarly headless-chickening. So I was an absolute waste of space for the Arrows and took over 50% longer than the placegetters. Bridget's 6th, however, was very impressive!

In the analysis...

Never knew quite where I was after crossing the big clearing on the long leg to 3. Was too high and then when I crossed the clearing immediately before the control, misread its corner and went too high, found Asta and Emily also going uphill, took me a while to realise that the control was below us. Left 3 at slightly the wrong angle and ended up one clump of rocks too far W on 4. Left 5 at slightly the wrong angle, went twice as far as I needed to, stopped when I could see the really big clearing (yes, the one between 2 & 3), took a while to realise that the control uphill from me was 7, which I then passed on the way further up to 6 (and I equalled Grace's split belting back down to 7). From 8 I could see Asta & Emily running across to 12, I congratulated myself on not doing this as I ran straight past 9 (don't know how I missed seeing it) and went right up to 5 before recognising that the number seemed familiar!

Somewhere around here Anna went through the pack of wombles and I gathered what remained of my wits in enough time to jump on the train and, I'm ashamed to say, let her do the thinking for me over the last few controls.

OA Level 3 controllers' workshop which Robin & I chaired with assistance from Adrian & Andy Hogg. About 20 attendees, which was really good, but the more people there are, the more questions that are asked, and it was a very full schedule even without the midmorning fire alarm.

A very fun morning watching the schools' team kids in the relay, even if the fumes from red/yellow/blue hairspray were a bit overwhelming. Particularly impressed by the fact that the South Aussie girls were wearing Superman undies over their tights. No other state has the opportunity to do that!

Yeah, so the Aust relays were held later on the same map. I won't go into how this came to be midweek-and-poorly-attended, while the Oceania relays were a NOL race where states couldn't easily make full elite teams, but anyway, I didn't have a team. Until Anna pointed out that Mat McGuire and Emily Cantwell were also orphans, so we made a team which was unofficial on about 3 levels, and unless I'm mistaken, all enjoyed ourselves. I felt better running than I had on any other day so far this week, and was clean on all but one of the controls - the exception being 4, a downhill leg where I left the track as it bent around the spur. Passed a boulder, rounded a clump of rocks, dropped into the gully on the right along with Kate Morrison: no control. Found this hard to believe, as did she, I went a fair way down into the green making absolutely certain that there was no control, and just as I had the "oh crap" moment of realisation that we were one gully too far east, Anna appeared over the spur from the correct gully (although, to quote herself, she hadn't always been in it). So I'd guess I lost about 3 min there. Kate went on to do strange things on the next control and didn't catch up to me again until the top of the uphill slog after the spectator control.

Yes, another afternoon start. Went out to the event early because my taxi-service was responsible for commentary, and I really enjoyed the morning watching the schools' team kids and hearing how the South Aussies went. Particularly pleased with Olivia's 3rd and Mel's 6th in senior girls. They've come a long way in 2 years!

Ran the senior girls' schools' champs course in the public race (would theoretically have been 2nd to Heather Muir) and couldn't help thinking about my last senior girls' race in 1992, when the Warbys were rather wet underfoot. This terrain was fairly similar; rocky hilltops and subtle saddles, and I had a steady run with only a couple of slight misses in the control circle. Didn't even mind the slog up the hill at the end too much, but definitely had to walk (crawl) it.

Took the Beechworth O map - and Blair - through town, around the gorge loop road and back to Lake Sambell caravan park. Was really beautiful going down past all the native pines and mossy rock slabs (although my shins felt the effects of the descent afterwards) and not too bad coming back up the hill on a fresh morning. Afterwards my ambitions of visiting the bakery and Woolshed falls were fulfilled, so I felt like a proper tourist, and Mt Buffalo (where we encountered the extended Arthur clan) was deemed to be en route to Wagga.

Rowdy Flat
Despite the pre-event hype, this turned out to be fairly similar to other intricate goldmining areas, and therefore equally enjoyable - although the branched erosions/watercourses were in a more complex network than usual. 'Twasn't a good day for cramps, however, and I struggled/was distracted accordingly.

My bearing to the first control suddenly found me on top of a breadknife - quick scramble down the other side :) Ran too far downhill on 3 and looked in the wrong side gully, Jo went through me here. Hesitant to 5, track route to 6, okay plod through the spectator loop and to 14 which some people had trouble with, then across to 15 got confused about how many ridges-with-MTB-tracks I had crossed and, when I caught a glimpse of Susanne running along one of them to the fence (so I think she had caught me 6 min by then), decided to do the same. Overshot 17 on the downhill although I had crossed the creek very near to it, came back a couple min later. Wombled a bit on 18 and then unmapped rocks in the creek at the control confused me (I am easily confused) and finished in time to see a bit of the GPS tracking on the big screen and before the bottom dropped out of the sky.

15th turned out to be the best I achieved all week, which is not saying much, but was very excited for Sus with her second place!