Training Log Archive: jennycas

Yeah, Flinders terrain! Maybe not my *absolute* favourite, but definitely terrain that I'm good at, probably because I can just focus on navigating cleanly and not have to worry about where I'm putting my feet or what I'm lifting my legs over. Got a good warmup when I couldn't find the streamers on the way to start and had to hurry after finally relocating!

Just kept checking my compass, and slowing down to read the map properly. Oh, and having a high index of suspicion for where I might be if I wasn't quite where I expected to be. (After all, this works on rogaines, and this was a micro version of last month's macro.) And picking up the pace every time I felt like slacking, and bashing forcefully through the 'slow run' (not necessarily good visibility). Only confirmed time loss was about a minute on 10 where from my attack point on the clearing I went more SW than SE and ended up on the wrong side of the knoll.

Finished still feeling good because if you only run for 75 min you don't have time to get tired. Don't think I drank enough though, because I had a splitting headache all afternoon on our drive out to Martins Well and up to Blinman. Thankfully it cleared in time for dinner at the Woolshed which I was responsible for organising.

2 - Splits

Event: Flinders Ranges June Carnival
 

Rawnsley Park. A short-and-sweet course from Gil. The start and finish were each all of 120m from our campsite! I trotted around wearing a thermal top, being very careful where I put my feet because my torch beam is less than spectacular, and didn't even work up a sweat. Biggest hesitation was when I was standing on the minor track below the rockface at 4, not quite sure whether that was a cliff above me, until Dave Nicolson came down and punched it (I actually thought it was Steve, and that I'd caught him, but he'd had trouble earlier on and I'd comprehensively overhauled him). Even had time to cook dinner for the starving menfolk before presentations, where Bridget was relieved to have won because she hadn't engraved the trophy from last year yet :) I beat all the M45s though.

Course 2 - Splits

About like last Friday. Even had to cancel physio appointment because I was too busy being two people at work. Then managed to get most of my packing for the Flinders done before not being late to pick up Blair. Poor George has been sick and lost his voice this week but the fresh country air should do him good!

Across the golf course to collect Z&C, up the singletrack inside park boundary, down Olave Hill Rd, back along Turners Ave where we serenaded a birthday girl on the way to dropping F&T home.

Scared myself into doing a long run by the realisation that I have just paid $55 to the Asthma Foundation (hope SARA actually gets some profit out of that) to rogaine around Second Valley Forest with Zara for 6 hours on the 23rd, and that I haven't run more than an hour in training since, oh, about Easter!

Shepherds Hill, Eden Hills, Blackwood, Belair and home down Gloucester. When I got to the park it was still almost too dark to see my footing, but I did have a moon-shadow (reminded me so much of rogaining a month ago) and encountered a guy on an MTB coming down the steepest section as I was going up, although his lights were too bright to be of use to me.

Felt fairly good running although neuroma manifested predictably just before an hour. I told myself that I could run through it but in the end stopped for a drink, stretch and back-crunch at the tap at the BP, which made the descent okay. A good morning for it, didn't even seem cold - at least not when compared to how it has been in my office and travelling between the wards this week!

C • 17 km!! 4

Neither raining nor cold but sort of breezy. Being away from civilisation for even a short while always makes me feel better about the prospect of a day among humans :)

Funny story, although purist cat-lovers may beg to differ...

There has been a white cat in the neighbourhood which comes and eats our cats’ food, which we have to leave out on the front porch because the Smudgecat is too skittish to come round the back where the dog is. I had shooed whitecat away a few times (it’s definitely not underfed) but it would come back and lurk peering around the corner till our cats had finished eating, then move in. Last week I got a bit sick of this, and I had a wicked idea:

I took Meatloaf to the front door, showed him the cat, then opened the screen. I’ve never seen him move so fast! The cat vanished through the hedge to next door with Meatloaf in hot pursuit, then there was silence. Thought I’d better go and look for him. Nothing. Turned the stove off, took the keys and his leash, walked up and down the street calling. Nothing. Went back inside after about 10 min, and he turned up almost straight away, looking ridiculously pleased with himself but with no fur around his mouth, so I’m sure he had just been playing in the neighbour’s backyard and not actually harmed the cat...

I haven’t seen it this week, though :)

C • I like it :) 7

Fern & I earnt some hard-core points since we were the only ones running - but actually it wasn't too bad out, and despite the darkness/rain, still more scenic than Penrith. Up to Belair Station, across to Pinera, back along the creek at a nice chatting pace :)