Training Log Archive: PrueD

Well, the rain started falling as soon as I crossed the border into NSW and pretty much kept falling all the way to Moss Vale.

I virtually went from the car to the start of Day 1 in the 5-days. Numbers were down a bit from previous Christmas events. There was a steady misty rain throughout the event and it was quite warm so wet foggy glasses and very curly hair were the two annoyances of the day. Lots of people thought that Day 1 would be a street/park event and wore runners and shorts - only to regret this later when they battled through the wire grass.

I navigated fairly well to the first 4 controls - working out fairly quickly that the street option was better than the direct route. What looked like impassable cliffs were in fact passable. Made a major blunder at 5 - when I mistook a circular cliff for the control circle (because the number was right beside it) and passed right past the actual control, thinking that it was not mine. The rest of the course was pretty much on tracks with little navigational challenge - and therefore a running event. After 6 hours or so of driving my legs felt like lead and I could hardly run. Didn't do very well.

Interesting sign at the start of the event - "Make sure you go for your correct control" - which was something I hadn't thought of before!

Spent a slightly miserable night in the Moss Vale caravan park in my little hike tent - which is waterproof but very small. It rained all night.

C • Sign 4

Back to Benalla. Spent most of the day trying assemble a bike out of a box. I failed miserably on the gear bit, so its not ready. John and Jenny Sheahan came to visit. Off to the Christmas 5-days tomorrow - YIPPPEEE!!!!

Christmas at Mornington with my sister/husband, my elderly mother and her boyfirend (yes - there is hope for us all). Was reminded about how the other half live. Highlight was a trip with 4 people in an inflatable dinghy (named Zara) from the Mornington Pier to a mooring. The new yacht was nice too.

Day at work - went down to the city at lunchtime to get some wrapping paper. Unfortunately I had to pass by some shops who had started their sales and succumbed to temptation - thereby providing my male colleagues with further evidence to prove that woman is closely related a millipede. Had to do a present run (god-daughter etc) in the evening and then go to Mornington - so couldn't so any training. It was pouring with rain by then anyway.

As I do not wish to be branded a complete piker I fronted up at street-O tonight. The temperature at the start was 39 degrees and it was down to 34 degrees on the way home - and humid. The event was at Loughnan's Hill (North Ringwood) and also in very steep area, dissected by deeply entrenched creeks, just north of that. Despite the heat there was a really good turnout and this was probably because many people had started holidays. There weren't any obvious route choices and nearly everyone went a different way. As usual I chose I silly route and actually went around in a complete circle so that I could go up a gentle incline (jogging if possible) to avoid going up a really steep hill. I didn't feel too good at the end and even felt a bit faint. I didn't stay for the BBQ.

Parts of SA were subject to a catasrophic fire danger rating today. The category "catastrophic" includes the top end of what was previously categorised as "extreme". The weather in SA was bad, but not significantly worse than what has been regularly experienced in previous years. For me the word "extreme" meant the absolute worse (body at one end, pile of ashes at the other) - but I guess that, after experiencing a number of days of extreme FDR where there haven't been a lot of fires, or where fires have been put out quickly, then people became complacent about the word. I suspect that the general community will soon become de-sensitized to the word "catastrophic" - just as they have become to the word "extreme", especially after we have a few of them and they result in no obvious disasters.

C • no obvious disasters 3

I think that I have had too much Christmas cheer. It still surprises me that we persist with the food and celebrations intended for a European winter (which I adore, but we are not there), rather than an creating a celebratory style that is uniquely Australian.

I am sending you the DSE e-card (cos I don't have an alternative). I tried to cut the surrounding propoganda out and just send the card but to no avail - I couldn't replicate the sparkles. So here it is:

Happy Christmas!

Unfortunately DSE is one of those organisations that wont wish anyone a Happy Christmas. But I can wish you one!

I'm not exactly sick, but I had a really bad headache last night (necessitating 4 panadol) and a reasonablly bad headache today (necessitating 4 more). I'm not sure the cause. So this evening I opted for a stroll around Blackburn whilst pandering to my other interest, house and garden design.

We had a busy day at work and, after several last minute panics, managed to submit our prescribed burning statements (have to call them "planned burning" now, to cater for the literacry level of the general populace), with 5 minutes to spare. Our general manager has likened the development process to pulling ingrown and impacted wisdom teeth. Our legal contractors "Sparkes" and their law clerk "Burns" did a wonderful job.

Back to yesterday - my friends wont go into the bush during summer because of their fear of snakes. I rarely see a snake and certainly never when running through the bush (except in the high country, where they must be more sleepy). I put this down to my heavy feet and the fact that they hear me coming. There's a few people in orienteering - Mrs Prez (stomp, stomp, stomp), the middle Miss Johnson (kerplunk, kerplunk, kerplunk) and some junior or semi-junior who wears a Nugget top (don't ask me his name, because they all look the same to me) who passes by with a thundering "thump, thump, thump" - who I suspect have never seen a snake!