Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Running in one of the regional events, about 60km north of Guangzhou, in an area which was mostly lychee forest (it's harvest season - I seem to be making a habit of being at local fruit harvest festivals) with a bit of village stuff thrown in. Interesting area for the experience, although not viable as a World Cup middle area - too technically simple, and too small.

Not sure if I was seeing a representative sample, but control flow didn't seem to be amongst the stronger points of the local competitors. I at least got that bit right, but struggled with the running side of things on another very humid day (this will become a familiar statement by the end of the week). Wouldn't have wanted to be much further, and wasn't up to sprinting up the dam wall to the last control, either.

There was a TV broadcast today (good to see this in good shape as preparation for the World Cup) - spent 10 minutes or so being interviewed, in front of an audience which probably got a decimal point in the Chinese ratings (which probably still meant it had more viewers than the State of Origin). They also seemed to issue everyone with watch-style GPS trackers, which means they must be cheap - will need to make some enquiries about this.

Now back in Guangzhou for the next step - the IPCC meeting. Did some scouting of the neighbourhood in the late afternoon; amongst the discoveries made is that the Decathlon outlet across the road sells running socks for 24.90 for three pairs, which means it costs considerably less to throw your dirty socks out and buy new ones than it does to get the hotel to wash them (15 per pair). I'm doing neither, having applied the stomp-shampoo-on-them-in-the-shower method to my washing, which leaves the bathroom looking like what my grandmother would have described as a Chinese laundry.

C • New Zealand laundry 3

One of the other Australians here, when I mentioned the World Cup-related things I was doing this weekend before the meeting, said that my schedule made her tired just thinking about it. I responded that hers did the same to me, and mine is more predictable. (She has a nine-month-old daughter).

An easy one while I acclimatise to the humidity of a tropical wet season (about 28/25 this morning). A bit of a concrete jungle where I was staying in Kowloon but not too much traffic (motorised or pedestrian) and didn't have too many road-crossing interruptions until the end. Through Kings Park at the far end (my second successive Kings Park run, 6000km or so apart), with a few hills and steps, although nothing compared with what Hong Kong can offer in other places. Not super-energetic, but OK in the injury department.

Got the train to Guangzhou afterwards to link up with the World Cup organisers and look at a possible middle distance area - one of those days which doesn't feel too hot at first glance but leaves you drenched in sweat as soon as you walk up a hill. Finished 30 seconds after it started raining. Have ended up tonight in a town 70km north of Guangzhou and having dinner with the district governor (amongst other notables).

Perth to Hong Kong today. Left far too early to do anything before leaving (note to self: reset alarm from 4.30 before tomorrow), and Hong Kong at 6pm in June after a long flight wasn't the best of environments to try something either. Will have a go tomorrow morning when it's a bit less hectic.

Usually being paged in an airport lounge is good news, and so it proved today (upgraded to premium economy). The later stages of the flight were meteorologically interesting - lots of towering cumulonimbi - but perhaps not so good for nervous fliers.

A day in Perth which finished a lot better than it started. This was at the start and it wasn't a good session - struggled with various things and when my hamstring started to play up I decided to head home, rather than do a full circuit of Kings Park (from East Perth) - the physio did say yesterday that she was a bit concerned about the neural tension on that side. Was happy to see this one over.

The night at the football, on the other hand....

All Nations intervals, a bit earlier than usual (i.e. it was barely light at the start). Had felt pretty sleepy, and occasionally sore, warming up but seemed OK while I was running; not on the level of the last time I did this session though, and was going lactic a bit earlier than I did last time on the later reps. Still not a bad session (and no sign of hamstring trouble).

And here ends the Melbourne part of the story for now, because I'm about to embark on a proper big trip - starting with an IPCC meeting in Guangzhou next week (with a stop en route in Perth to catch tomorrow night's game), then onto WMOC, O-ringen and WOC, and finishing up with North American Championships in Canada. Will be away until late August all up. First leg is to Perth tonight.

C • Eagles vs Essendon 7

Warm-up and down. Pretty sleepy and slow going there (in part a consequence of staying up later than I should have last night for the endof Colombia-Japan), better coming back.

Tonight's historical results discovery is that Prong ran (unofficially) in the 1996 Australian Relays as a W35. (Writing that made me realise that Prong is now an M35; we're all getting older).

C • Relays 1

Headed out on a frosty morning - not a common occurrence in Melbourne (as demonstrated by the person who was attempting to clear their windscreen with their wipers, something which any Canberran would recognise as a rookie error). Started out reasonably well, and along the river should have been a good environment for it, but didn't really live up to its initial promise - felt a bit flat in the second half. No injury issues though, which is always good news.

Shattered that this clashes with the Australian Long Championships:

"The biggest WWE live event ever in Australia, Super Show-Down is coming to Melbourne Saturday October 6 at the iconic MCG.

Fans attending WWE Super Show-Down will be able to see The Undertaker™ take on Triple H™ for the first time since WrestleMania 28, plus all their favorite Superstars including John Cena, Ronda Rousey, Shane McMahon, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Nia Jax, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Big Show, Bray Wyatt, Australian tag team Billie Kay and Peyton Royce of The IIconics and many more."

C • Poor planning 2

Standard morning session - the last one for a while. Seemed to be getting easier today although I always wonder if that's an indication that I'm not doing some of the exercises quite properly.

Hit the road after that to do a series of talks in Ballarat (pretty tiring doing essentially the same talk three times in one day; I think they appreciated the bit where I was talking about things you can do in climate models which you can't do in the real world and mentioned Andy Hogg's demolition of New Zealand).

One drawback of travelling on a weekday close to the end of the financial year - roadworks everywhere. There were six separate lots between Rockbank and Ballarat.

After the talks, headed for the Federation University pool (thanks Roch for the tip). Once I'd navigated my way to the front door without the aid of an ISSOM map, worked out how to get in, and which lanes were about to be taken over by the swim squad, this worked out fine; the session was reasonably mundane but nothing went wrong.