Training Log Archive: PrueD

Go home today. Cold still no good.

I went down to the beach today but found it was closed due to blue bottles - so I went for a long walk along the coast. Despite being cool by Melbourne standards, it feels quite warm due to the humidity. I don't really like humidity and my cold is not improving (with humidilty making it hard to breathe).

Tried to run today but only managed 4 km. Knee is appreciating the hillwork involved in walking and running but cold is getting worse. I then went down to the beach and bobbed up and down in the surf for a while. Very nice.

As is normal on holidays, my cold developed into the one-day wonder (a long time coming and severe for about a day) and enough to stop me running. But I dragged myself off the chair and walked along the coastal bike track/boardwalk. I am starting to relax a bit. Knee is still giving me problems but I will attend to it properly when I get back.

No - not dead - just missing in action and missing an internet link. I am now in Caloundra Qld for the week - chilling out. My cousin has generously lent me his apartment on the beachfront and his car - so I have planned a week of walking (hopefully running), swimming, shopping, eating and watching the ships. I have only been here an hour and I have already bumped into an old friend from unit who has just moved up here. Yesterday I travelled around for the day with my cousin in his little Alpha Romeo Spider - with the lid off - looking very glamourous with windswept hair.

The past two weeks have involved moving the mountains of accumulated history out of mum's house and garage, moving her furniture to Heathmont, giving the house a facelift (painting, new carpet, gardening and repairs), meeting with estate agents and planning the selling campaign, moving out of my flat, renting it out and settling into Heathmont. And working in between.

First observation - it is a big house but needs a lot of work and is an awfully long way from work. So, after a bit of drama and negotiations, I have decided to buy my sister out and move back to Blackburn into Mum's freshly renovated house - and sell Heathmont. So a third move in a couple of months is required - but at least the junk has been pared down to the necessities and might even fit this time.

Oh, and with all this drama and change - I have caught a cold.

C • But.. 2

Still no exercise. I would have liked to have been at the MTBO champs as it sounded like lots of fun (today was a sprint in the vineyards and there was a dinner last night and another tonight). But instead I spent a fun day sorting out my affairs (accounts, BAS and tax) which have been somewhat neglected over the past months and were in one almighty mess. It took all day. I have to go back to Melbourne tomorrow to finish cleaning out Mum's house and garage.

C • the big clean out 2

I ran an emergency management workshop at Wodonga all day. It was the first one of these I have done since the Black Saturday fires and the participants were interested in hearing about my unfortunate experiences over recent years.

We finished early and I detoured through Yackandandah in time to catch the end of the Aus MTBO Middle Distance event at Rowdy Flat. Everyone was having a great time - expeciallly crossing a little bridge at the end (but I didn't see any swims, despite encouragement from onlookers). It appeared you didn't need to be able to ride a bike for this event as many people walked (carrying and pushing their bikes) nearly the whole way. I didn't envy the people wearing cleats who had to climb up those really steep slippery banks whilst also carrying a bike - it was hard enough climbing them for the Oceania champs while wearing spikes. Someone suggested they would have been better off taking a small folding unicycle rather than a big bike. 2 hours for 10 km seemed the norm.

No exercise happening this week. Drove to Benalla and worked all day. The moving to Heathmont has only half happened. My mother had sooo much stuff - including boxes with all my school assignments and kindergarten drawings (maybe time to get rid of them now).

C • Now I know 2

I am in a huge muddle today as it is moving day - 2 house worths of accumulated junk (both from Mum's house and my flat) into one house at Heathmont. I don't really feel like moving but it has been forced upon me as Mum's house needs to be painted and carpeted ready for sale.

Oh me oh my - I am in disgrace and somewhat disappointed - I got an MP in the Oceania Relays today. And my popularity with Jools and Margie could be seriously waning.

I found the start quite tough going (a really long haul up to 3) and was feeling really quite tired after a week of competition. Then I took a slightly wrong bearing from 4 to 5 and (after viewing the map later) found myself on the track with no clear idea where I was, but probably not too far from where I should have been. I then wandered aimlessly for a considerable while (I should have gone down the hill to the track bend, but didn't have the energy or brain cells), nodding greetings to passers-by but not giving into temptation to ask where I was. I eventually gave up, finishing the course but leaving 3 uncollected controls in the middle. Thus ended a very enjoyable but not very successful Oceania champs, although the exercise, the company, the scenery and the general break were all great.

C • Me too 2

Oceania Long Distance event at Marginata. I had a reasonable run and didn't make any significant errors - rather, I was just slow. I made a poor route choice between 3 and 4 where most others chose to go along the fence line and I chose the direct route. I found the ribbon bark and logs along the steep slope very slippery (no spikes) and was slow - however, later, when I compared my leg times with other competitors, my time was not significantly slower. I enjoyed the run across the open plains but, again, was slow in comparison to most others. I think I was about 12/15 at the end. Margie beat me by 5 seconds (3 of them gained on the uphill sprint to the finish) and Jools soundly beat us both.

Afterwards Ian and I went to view the Snowy River at Delegate but it was distinctly uninspiring, despite the water release. We had a vanilla slice at Nimmitabel and it was arguably the best , most gooey and most delicious one I have had. Well ......I deserved a treat!

Speaking of food, the catering at the weekend's events have been great - especially the egg and bacon rolls - of which lots have been sold to Victorian orienteers as the word spread. So much for the healthy diet! Tonight about 13 of us are going up to Miss Heidi's again for an Austrian mountain dinner.

Oceania Sprint Champs at Wombat Hill near Cooma. For once in my life I started well, spiking 1 and 2 straight away. They popped up much more quickly than I expected. I then had complete success spiking 3,4,5,6 and 7. Unfortunately I bcame disorientated at 8 and wasted close to 5 minutes trying to relocate. 9,10, 11 and 12 all spiked. I was slow but pleased with my result - 7th out of 18 and could have been better had I not lost my bearings at 8 (I was in sight of the control but just confused). Ian got close to the record for being out the longest (69 minutes) - I think he was sussing out the area for tomorrow. Afterwards we went to Miss Heidi's Teahouse on Mount Gladstone - the scene of a previous orienteering event - and had hot chocolate and scones/jam/cream - and I now don't feel like dinner. Oxoman is staying in the next unit at the motel.

C • Great run! 2

Stuffed around in Wagga before heading over the mountains later in the day to Cooma. We looked for the Wagga Botanic Gardens, which were marked on the map, but found that they hadn't been planted yet as the site was a paddock covered in Paterson's Curse. It was quite cold and wet and at Cooma we conceded defeat and booked into a motel. Mmmmmmmmmmm. We enoyed a nice dinner with Jools and Invis.

Australian relays at Borngoogee. I was entered with Debbie and Libby in the Vic W45 team. Only the other two thought that the distance was too far so changed our entry to Open Mixed, which gave them shorter legs and me the same distance. I think I was the token 'man' in the mixed team.

The others came back surprisingly quickly (later I realised why when I saw their short courses). I had a reasonably good run but lost concentration in thelonger leg and thought I was further than I was. This was a shame and I wasted some time trying to make sense of the map. I then rushed off. Tash passed me and I surprisingly caught up with her 2 controls later. Seems that the control stand had a number stuck on the side that didn't match the one on the top - but was the same as a control nearby. This was a shame (but I will claim that I mowed her down :)).

It was a good day, but I was starting to feel tired as we are now camping in Wagga and I haven't been sleeping very well.

On the way to the schools individual event at Burngoogie (Wagga), I explained to Ian that the event would no doubt be easy with rogaine-type controls in simple terrain. How wrong could I be! And what is the furthest you could travel in the one event?

I did the 5.8 km senior girls event. I started badly, forgetting to clear and check and then heading straight for the closest control, which happened to be #9. I then got going again, but in the longest leg, missed hitting a track - which didn't worry me as the starter had explained that many of the tracks were unclear. Only this one was really clear and I had missed it. I met up with TinyToes out on a spur and we floundered around for some time (big noodle but no garmin) prior to parting. I then worked out where I was (I wasn't going to be defeated by the schoolgirls' course) and relocated, although I was some distance away from where I should have been. Later Debbie Davy, the course setter, expressed some pleasure that she had caught someone on that spur, as that was as she had hoped. I am glad to have made her happy.

But the course didn't end there. It went past the start and straight up a near vertical mountain, contoured along, with several more controls until the finish. I beat one other person and a number of MPs. I was right - after 2 hours it was starting to feel just like a rogaine. I decided that they made them tougher in NSW.

Travelled via the Riverina Highway to Tumburumba. This was an area I haven't been to before, except for the Granya rogaine. We passed hills before we even got to Granya and I recognised them from the rogaine. The trip confirmed my opinion that the North East has a very limited number of people as we bumped into several people we knew (from skiing or work) in Wodonga and Albury.

We spent the night at the 'Rosewood Golf Club Caravan Park' which had a sign up advertising showers and toilets. Rosewood is a one horse town near Tumba. We were their first customers and we camped on a disused fairway. They opened the nearby RFS shed so we could have a shower. We had a drink with the Captain of the RFS 'Fred' and the President of the Golf Club 'Neville'. There was no charge.

Oceania Middle Distance event at Rowdy Flat Yackandandah. It was a lovely sunny day until mid afternoon when the tropical downpour hit. Like everyone else I was somewhat apprehensive about this map prior to the event - but found the actual event much better than I expected. I just plodded along slowly and carefully - messing up 3 controls (1 fairly badly) due to running too fast and losing contact with the map. I think my main issue both days was not giving up early enough and retracing my steps - I usually flounder around for a while even when I intuitively know I am in the wrong spot. I would have been better sticking to the slow and careful approach.

Overall it was a better result than yesterday - 10th out of 16. I enjoy technical orienteering and I just have to learn to trust my own navigation a bit better. Afterwards Ian and I drove all around Beechworth. We are looking forward to our week's holiday and hopefully I keep improving. The running still isn't looking good - but that has not been the limiting factor so far.

Forgot to mention - I enjoyed the big screen and the entertaining commentary. It was interesting to see the elite women going all over the place - but they recovered quickly (which seems to be the secret).
ALso thanks to Warren for his commentary about me which I could overhear. It want something along the lines of:
"Here comes Prue. But why is she going that way? Ooooh - she's sliding down the hill - *cheer* (as I slide down on my bottom) - and it's not even her control.......".

Oceania Long Distance at Northern Spurs Warby Ranges. It poured with rain all night and nearly all day - and certainly all the time I was on the course. I opted for the very unfashionable wide brimmed hat look - effectively giving myself an umbrella to keep the glasses reasonably dry. And it worked. I was terribly slow but hit the first few controls spot on and was then heading directly for the 3rd when I had a confidence lapse and decided I was off-course - altering it and spending the next 30 minutes noodling - all was then lost and I nearly gave up. I then opted for the road option to 4 which gave me a handrail - and I think it was quicker than the direct route, even at my slow plodding pace. I stuffed up 8 - I think from a wobbly bearing where I was too far downhill. Then I stuffed up 11 and 12 by aiming off too early.

All in all - a total DISASTER - 17th out of 18 (and that was a mispunch). 8 kms was an awfully long way to go in a 4.8km course.

The only funny bit was the finish tent who asked me if I was in wet T-shirt contest - obviously because of my rather soaking wet, now very transparent top.

It was really nice to be staying at home in this weather and I think my house guests all enjoyed being warm and dry as well.