Training Log Archive: jennycas

Stinking hot northerly but otherwise pleasant/sociable day in Melbourne (with George). Had intended to go for a run from Ross & Sue's once the cool change came through but by then it was cider o'clock.

Better than expected. But I do not understand how I can keep inhaling water even while breathing out. The chlorine makes me sneeze for the rest of the morning.

Jogged around the scatter which Sally had set quite trickily so that controls on opposite sides of the river were not so easily reached from each other. A couple of bad route choices and a couple of controls I overshot/couldn't see when I was standing on them. You know it's hot when if the description is a seat, you feel like sitting down at it! Would have expected to do about 30 with a clean run on a cooler day.

Trotted across to the adventure playground to stretch and then gave 12 x approx 100m a go, on soft grass trending uphill. Most were about 26 sec. It was still rather warm and I achieved lightheadedness pretty quickly!

Losts of stops in this but it added up to a decent amount: warmup to/from playground plus recoveries between intervals. Trainline-steps loop with Zara/Callum, Fern & Tyson, Lauren (who we broke - or rather, mountain biking earlier in the day had taken it out of her). Then ran Zara home across the golf course. That last hill nearly did me in.

Legs handled this okay, if slowly, but knees really stiffened up overnight. There is clearly a limit to the amount of time I can spend running on them, so it's probably a good thing that I can't be part of Fern's long run this weekend (we'll be in Melbourne...mmm coffee!).

Good for the soul - not that it needed soothing but it's always nice to get out in the 'countryside' and produce some endorphins. Got to the far end of the creek a couple min faster than I have been doing lately.

Had intended to go to Morialta but a late influx of patients put paid to that. Probably not a bad thing as knees had been tight.

Only had time for the shortest loop in the park so kept a steady pace, and was fairly happy with the time although it's hard to believe that I once (possibly only once?) did 44 for this loop. Knees a bit uncomfortable but at least they were okay on the weekend. Looking back at my log over the last 6 months the obvious conclusion to draw is that the Aust Champs rogaine wasn't good for them :(

Blair's broken, and Lachlan doesn't train :) so from the Trewins' place in Aranda where we were staying I set out by myself in the direction of Mt Painter which I hadn't known existed until I read about it on Craney's log a while back. Didn't take long to get to the top, and the 360-degree views over all of Canberra and the Brindabellas were amazing (yes, I know that word is overused). Impressive was the length of the shadow cast at that hour by the tower on Black Mountain. I did a lap of Aranda bushland on the way back and found a nasty hill.

Came home from OA conference feeling less pessimistic than I often do but a little daunted by the challenges ahead.