Training Log Archive: cricketk

(Course length 3.5km)

Really dithered about running today at all, with knees still feeling dodgy from yesterday's hike. But I know I need lots more practice on Malmalling, given my usual inability to spot the contours for all the grass-trees. Eventually left the house resolved to run either course 7 or 8.

Decided on the 7 and eventually trotted off to the start.

Fairly clean to 1 - came up about 30m left of where I wanted to be on the breakaway, but fell onto recognisable rock shortly thereafter and corrected well enough that it may have even looked deliberate.

Made a meal of 2, went too far to the left again going over the gentle knoll and then couldn't figure out which pair of rocky knolls I was between. Got most of the way to 3 before sorting it out. But then at least I knew where 3 was.

Had finally started to warm up on the way to 4 and jogged easily along the track option, then bounced up to the spur and jogged along that to 5.

Straight on the bearing to 6, checking off the clearing along the way.

Hit the spur a bit low on the way to 7, but recognised the bit of tocky ground on the edge of the clearing as being just on the edge of the circle and corrected pretty quickly again. Straight trot to the very nearby 8.

Decided to stay at the bottom of the slope to 9, but didn't quite manage to pull it off as cleanly as I had hoped and checked a couple of un-necessary rocks in the circle before spotting the one I wanted.

Trotted down to the river and splashed across (left foot in to the ankle) and then realised that I didn't actually know what the brown broken circle signified and just kind of aimlessly cast about in the right general area until I spotted a control and claimed it for my own. I now know that's a 'depression' symbol - thanks Nicole.

Jogged along the track to 11 and just made it across the creek without getting any wetter, but failed utterly when trying to get back across the creek to the finish and went in again (right foot to the ankle).

Thoroughly enjoyable course and very glad I took the shorter option that included lots of the reasons to like Malmalling and none of the reasons to hate it.

This afternoon's ride is looking shorter and shorter and shorter.

ETA - beaten by Penny and Don. They are awesome and I want to be like them when I grow up. Clearly becoming a better runner is only PART of the answer.

C • Penny & Don 4

Another play in the Goat Farm Skills. Still don't have any, but had great fun again. Hilarity definitely braver than me, doing the seesaw on her first time out there, unlike me who chickened the first time I saw it.

Multiple goes over the seesaw - best fun to time it while bouncing from a previous rider and popping up the front wheel to get it on. Got brave enough to do the two 'blue' log overs, but not brave enough to do the log-over on to a plank in the follow up to the harder of the two 'blue' logovers. I'm still occasionally wandering off the plank-size platform on the horizontal progressively skinnier... thing.

One roll through of the jumps track - squealing down to "failure to trust the berms" moments. These are lovely berms with no yucky skittery gravel and a beautiful bank on them and I still want to brake instead of just relaxing and letting the bike do its thing.

Had a small stack when attempting one of the small double come table-top things and got not-enough air, landed in exactly the wrong spot, bounced all over the place and eventually managed to fall/slide along on the up-side of the track getting hilariously muddy. I don't think I've quite got the jumpy thing figured out yet, but I think faster will help.

Every time I fall off the MTB, I think faster will help. I choose to believe this is true, and not a symptom of some kind of pathology.

Course 7 - Splits

Lovely walk through Kitty's Gorge with Pip.

Waterfalls are flowing, everything is green, all the horrid plants are not yet flowering and Pip fed me so well that it was hard work nursing my food baby back up the track to Jarrahdale.

ETA: Right knee glitching. Depending on how it feels, tomorrow's plans for O and bike-riding may be shelved in favour of skinning lemons.

Can't find heart rate strap or headlight, so very little data today!

A few more walking breaks than usual as hilarity fought with her tired grumpy legs.

Still trotted along nicely and managed to keep my feet dry until the very last moment. Felt tall and strong and very well, apart from the nagging left calf.

ETA - includes Friday's run because my Garmin is horribly confused. Had a couple of really good sections in Friday's run and felt damn good the whole way.

Ooh, ooh, ooh! I finally felt like my shoulders were rolling over smoothly and that I had some reach and catch in the water.

Very exciting!

ETA - cruising 50m at 50seconds. Yay!