Training Log Archive: PrueD

Walk around Blackburn in the dark and fog. Hands were cold.

Walk around Blackburn.

Hopefully no nice men will feel the need to fling themselves onto the ground in front of me at Street-O tonight!

C • so... 3

Street-O at Blackburn North - not too far to go. I plodded around A course, although paused occasionally to read the map - as it was a bit of a toss-up between tripping up on the footpath or getting run over on the road. No accidents tonight.

Afterwards, Bruce P and l tried on some cross country 'skykes' (l think they are called), which Len was trying to sell and which would be a sure way of having an accident if you survived everytbing else.

Walk around Blackburn.

Bit of a pathetic plod in Benalla. Didn't really feel up to it today, despite the glorious weather.

Still alive. No need to worry. I have either been busy this week or the weather has been inclement (another good meteorological term). Spent yesterday:
- putting a chest of drawers together from 200 pieces of Ikea (not too hard, and should give me some sort of credit towards an engineering degree);
- braving the storms towing a trailer load of stuff to Benalla;
- settling the sale of my Heathmont house (and no, I am not now rich, I just have a little bit less debt).

This morning I swam in the Benalla pool, due to the doom and gloom of the morning's weather. As the sole patron, I could suggest they turn the heating up just one degree. Normally I warm up in the first few lengths - but not today - I was just as cold at the end as I was at the start, and it took a good hot shower to warm up.

The Ikea experience reminded me of my late relative, Basil Watson, who in 1915 built an aeroplane in the hallway of his parents' home in Brighton. A propellor from the plane is in the Victoria museum - the last relict from the plane after it crashed and killed him.

Not much training happening here this week. I went to street-o at Ivanhoe tonight but, after several hundred metres, came apon Dave Knight who had crashed heavily and hurt his knee badly. I duly accompanied him to the Austin A&E where he was number 40 in the queue. I don't know the verdict as i left him with his wife, and he had not been attended to at that stage. I suspect a broken kneecap. Poor Dave - he has been going so well lately and was looking forward to a number of fothcoming events. :(

Attended my sister's birthday dinner tonight at Cumulus, which was in keeping with the meteorological theme of recent days. Each Tuesday I write the state fire report to the minister, including the forecast for the week. Last week the severe weather foecaster described the forthcoming week as 'settled', which is almost as precise a meteorological term as 'mizzle'.

C • Settled 2

State series event at Glenluce. It was a beautiful day, a great area and unrelenting technical course. I helped in registration (complaints department) for a couple of hours before heading out. With 137 competitors on the course and only 2 finishers at that stage, it was not looking good!

I jogged along fairly comfortably, but made several significant errors - following the wrong valley 2-3, was too high up the valley at 8, and didn't spot 16. I ran out of energy at 18 and really struggled during the last 3 controls.

Overall l didn't do very well - being trounced by Trollop. Sprite overdid it yesterday and ran out of puff, and gave up. Highlight of the day was beating Ian :)

C • State series event 2

Horrible mizzly (miserable and drizzly) day. I've got lots to do to get ready for settlement on Friday. Swam in the Ringwood pool.

Walk around Blackburn. I also succumbed and went back to Ikea tonight for the chest of drawers that match my bed. This box weighed 45kg and l unpacked it in the car. If the bed took 3 days to put together, this will take 3 weeks to put together!

Street O at Cathies Corner. I only signed up fo the C course again, which started late and was only 37 minutes long. As you can see, I was 2 minutes late. I felt sluggish and my knee hurt. I am currently waiting for the gas crew to arrive, as my gas meter was changed today and I can't get the hot water system or the heater pilot lights to light.

Walk around Blackburn. I've felt quite tired the past few days - and can only explain it as the result of using the creative side of my brain (for the first time in ages) decorating the house. It has completely done my head in. My sister came over and helped yesterday - which was good.

Woke up feeling refreshed. Swam in the Benalla pool which was unusually busy.

Ran around the Benalla Lake between showers. The rest of the weekend was spent re-arranging furniture and pictures. There is a chain of events involved in working out the furniture and pictures that best suit Blackburn and Benalla, and deciding what goes to the op shop and the tip. The general situation reminds me of the Fawlty Towers scene where Basil asked Sybil - 'would you like me to move the house five milimeters to the left?'

It was a freezing day and I was really tired. Went to the Violet Town market and then lay in front of the heater and went to sleep zzzzz.....

Really busy day at work, then back to Blackburn and Heathmont, then drove to Benalla.

Walk around Blackburn. I forgot to mention, last night, that I got a new super fast SI stick. No longer will I be wiggling my stick around for ages while a queue of anxious competitors banks up behind me!

Street O at Tunstall Square on a balmy evening. I enjoyed my run but planned it poorly.

Personally I am in a bit of a muddle after moving all my furniture to Blackburn yesterday and then working late into the evening. The removalists broke a window, so I have to organise a glazier. And the car has only one headlight.

But I finished the state bushfire plan today. This is the first time a consolidated overview of the state arrangements have been written and l don't think there is anyone (not even the chiefs) who previously fully understood all the arrangements. This document would have saved about a year of royal commission time. So I am feeling rather pleased with myself.

C • halo 3

C • window 7

Walk around Blackburn Lake area. It is a nice day - which is just as well, as the removalists are coming today to move my large furniture from Heathmont to Blackburn.

Drove to the end of the world (or so it seemed) through Springvale and the home of pentecostal churches to the Victorian Sprint championships at Haileybury College, Keysborough (the site of a friend's former market garden). I had foolishly entered W21A. Unfortunately, this chooky is no chicky - as eyesight failed and I misread 14 and 15 for 4 and 5. I worked out my mistake at 15 but didn't notice the error at 14, so MPd. My old SI stick also failed due to old age (wobbled it around in each control for ages but nothing happened). So somewhat of a dismal disaster. I was beaten by a glamorous Swedish- looking blond called Suzanne.

Campus Challenge - Jogged around all the controls just for the experience. It really surprised me that anyone got an education at that school as they would first have to find their classroom - which could pose considerable difficulty for the spatially challenged. I felt OK.

I spent the rest of the day making feijoa cakes for my mother's former 'companion', who turned 93 yesterday, and visiting him. To the best of my knowledge he is still alive after eating them. I then continued to do battle with my bed which is still not assembled. And no, I don't have a house full of Ikea - it is more like a museum, as everything else is old (as in very old - dining room table is about 200 years old!)

C • big red building 4

Just a walk around Blackburn as I spent most of the day moving things fron Heathmont and cleaning the gutters. I also did battle with hundreds of others at the 'l can do it myself' shop (lkea). I loaded all the boxes myself, squeazed them all into the car myself, unloaded them and am now engaged in battle trying to assemble my new bed. What happened to the days when beds came with just 4 screws!

This is the third time I've tried to enter this - the first two attempts on my phone clearly unsuccessful. I am tryng to take a leaf out of Jools and Zootrio's training regime and get up early to do something. Today was an early morning walk in the dark and drizzle around Blackburn - taking care on my return to avoid stepping on the chewed up dead thing that is currently in my driveway.

Swim in the Ringwood pool with a lane to myself. My city bathers were on their final voyage before disintegrating.

It was a lovely warm morning so I went for a walk around Blackburn Creeklands and the lake.

I had to laugh at the Myki training people at Parliament Station who, with a fake touch pad in one hand and Myki card in the other, are demonstrating how to touch your card onto the pad.

C • Do I need to practise this method? 5