Training Log Archive: PrueD

Long Distance event at Glenluce. The first bit of excitement was a repeat performance of yesterday's parking saga. This time I was parked on a bare hillside and the little bubble was again directed back and forth, back and forth, to the left, to the right, until I got it right. I was laughing so much I forgot to engage park or the brake and I nearly solved the whole problem for everyone else by rolling back and running over the offending parking attendant.

My next bit of entertainment came from working on the start. Name slips to be collected, questions to be answered on the purpose of the beeping clock (answer - there was none really - as you could start anytime you liked and the start was marked with an SI punch). But rules are rules and I dutifully enforced them - taking officiousness to the next level.

Well, onto my course. After an anti-inflammatory last night, and another this morning (they're not banned, are they?) Ms Pitman had again entered W35A but was not up to it. This became very evident on the first downhill slope and gully. Uphill was no better. There was a little bit of jogging, some hurdling, and then she was reduced to a walk. The pace got slow and the mind went into rogaine mode....

Well, half way round, I looked at the other half of the course and it was full of hills and rough going, so I ambled back to the start along the road. DNF or MP as we politely refer to it.

For those who did much better on their respective courses - the weekend had a very large trophy repectively for the best male and female elite cumulative score over the 3 events, presented by the very charming Mr Wymer. It was indeed fortunate that Ms JennyCas, who came from SA especially for the event, came third and not first in the women's event, as she would have had to book another seat on the plane to get the trophy home. And then book another 2 return seats in a year's time to bring it back, as it is a perpetual trophy.

C • W35A 7

C • Parking 2

BKV Middle Distance event at Deadman's Flat, one of the more technically challenging maps in Victoria. I have been very very lost in the green in the north of this map several times before am certainly a lot more comfortable in this terrain now. I did Course 2 and didn't have too much trouble navigationally - apart from 4-5 where the compass pointed one way and my head told me another - so I followed my head and it was wrong, and 6-7 where I would get my head around the contours at all. I was very slow due to my sore knee, which was quite unstable, but lasted the distance. I no longer felt sick but was lacking in energy. The weather cleared for the day which was good. Despite all this I was relatively pleased with my time.

The entertainment of the day was provided by Henry P (who has featured in another blog recently), the car parker. None of us could get it right and I had to manouvre my litlle bubble car back and forth, back and forth, to the left, to the right, about four times until he was satisfied it was correctly parked - then to watch a repeat performance with the car after, and the car after that. Plus a small accident some time afterwards.

Due to seizing-up knee I gave the afternoon's sprint a miss but went out for an hour or so collecting controls afterwards. My club then hosted a dinner which was attended by about 40 people.

For some ridiculous reason I agreed to go up to Castlemaine straight from work to book into the caravan park before it shut at 6.30pm and to attend the Castlemaine night street-O. I really didn't want to go. It was raining and miserable when I left Mlebourne however the clouds cleared in time for the event which was attended by about 30 hardy Melbourne enthusiasts. The map and course were uninspiring, but the historic aspects of the scenery rather nice. I walked around with Ian and we got into coversation, overshooting a few controls. I saw bits of Castlemaine I have never seen before and would quite like to go back and walk around there in the daylight (there is never time after an O event). We all went to Capones for dinner afterwards.

(NB - I did spend a night in a cell in the Castlemaine Gaol once....)

Now I have caught a cold. So I didn't go to Street-O as it was cold and raining - even though it started in my street. Some hardy souls went. I stayed nice and warm inside, hoping to get better before the weekend.

C • (injured)(sick) 6

Yoga after work today. I haven't been for ages and found it quite hard - "I am not a plank" being my theme for the session - as I really cannot hold this move. Today it hurt my back (although was probably doing it good). I also stretched out my knee a bit but it is still hurts.

I seem to be perpetually late these days. I was late down from Benalla last night, late getting up, late to work, late to finish, late home, a late dinner - you are getting my drift......

C • late 5