Training Log Archive: blairtrewinIn the 28 days ending Feb 28, 2007:
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Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 #
Run race 13:46 [5] 3.83 km (3:36 / km)
First crack at the Tan this year and it was very ordinary indeed - felt OK in the warm-up, but had no speed at all and knew I was in for a long day when Bruce was 50 metres up inside the first 300 (instead of his more usual 20 or 30). Got baulked a couple of times early on by walkers or pram-pushers but that was worth 5 seconds at most. Felt better in the second half but it didn't come through in the splits. Hopefully this is a flat spot I work out of. Only 14 seconds faster than what I did during the time trial last week, and that was with no-one to pace me and an extra 1.17k to run afterwards.
KM splits: 3.35, 3.43 (uphill), 3.35, 3.35 (last two slightly overlap).
KM splits: 3.35, 3.43 (uphill), 3.35, 3.35 (last two slightly overlap).
Run race ((street-O)) 36:00 [4] * 9.4 km (3:50 / km) +130m 3:35 / km
spiked:15/16c
Street-O at Canterbury. A couple of times a year I have this combination when the Corporate Cup and Summer Series seasons overlap. Expected it to be awful after lunchtime's mediocre performance, but got going nicely in the warm-up and held this through most of the run.
Last Sunday introduced us to map scale quirks but this one was bizarre - somehow the map's compressed east-west, so it's 1:16500 in the west-east direction and 1:11000 north-south. The pack stayed together early on - Adam got an early jump but lost it when he hit an unmapped uncrossable fence and lost 50 metres. He and Bryan Ackerly then got a break of 50 metres or so on me as I was resolving a difficult route-choice problem, but it proved to be time well spent because we split shortly afterwards and my route was the shorter one (also no bad thing to be a bit behind at the split point, so the opposition doesn't get second thoughts). I ended up with a break of 100 metres on Bryan going towards the last control, but lost nearly all of it because it was misplaced by 40 metres and I overshot it. The gap was about 20 metres leaving the control, which I didn't expect to hold but did. Quite a pleasing run - and perhaps an indicator that I wasn't trying hard enough at lunchtime.
Peter Hobbs (who went the same way as me) also slipped in ahead of Adam, which gives me some hope of winning overall, but as I'm not running next week he's still in the box seat - if he wins next week he'll get a tie at worst, even if I win the last round.
Last Sunday introduced us to map scale quirks but this one was bizarre - somehow the map's compressed east-west, so it's 1:16500 in the west-east direction and 1:11000 north-south. The pack stayed together early on - Adam got an early jump but lost it when he hit an unmapped uncrossable fence and lost 50 metres. He and Bryan Ackerly then got a break of 50 metres or so on me as I was resolving a difficult route-choice problem, but it proved to be time well spent because we split shortly afterwards and my route was the shorter one (also no bad thing to be a bit behind at the split point, so the opposition doesn't get second thoughts). I ended up with a break of 100 metres on Bryan going towards the last control, but lost nearly all of it because it was misplaced by 40 metres and I overshot it. The gap was about 20 metres leaving the control, which I didn't expect to hold but did. Quite a pleasing run - and perhaps an indicator that I wasn't trying hard enough at lunchtime.
Peter Hobbs (who went the same way as me) also slipped in ahead of Adam, which gives me some hope of winning overall, but as I'm not running next week he's still in the box seat - if he wins next week he'll get a tie at worst, even if I win the last round.
Run 30:00 [3] 6.5 km (4:37 / km)
Jog to/from the Tan.
Tuesday Feb 27, 2007 #
Run intervals ((fartlek)) 38:00 [4] 9.0 km (4:13 / km)
I've felt as if I've been a bit flat for a few days now, possibly fighting off a cold (had a hint of a sore throat over the weekend), and today was the objective evidence - a disappointingly weak and slow session (9.20 fastest loop). Felt a bit better on the second loop but no faster.
Spotted a newspaper poster that I suspect they keep permanently stored in the word processor - 'FOOTY STAR DISGRACE'. We'll know orienteering has made it as a sport when we start seeing "nightclub incidents" amongst our number making the headlines, not that we've had a decent "nightclub incident" since the 1994 World Cup in Ballarat. Since then we've had to settle for the Great Isosport Bust at the 1999 Australian Championships (where the Inspectors Clouseau of the Goulburn police detained a carload of orienteers, thinking their bags of white powder were drugs), or the Wagga Arm Wrestle at QB3 in 1994.
Spotted a newspaper poster that I suspect they keep permanently stored in the word processor - 'FOOTY STAR DISGRACE'. We'll know orienteering has made it as a sport when we start seeing "nightclub incidents" amongst our number making the headlines, not that we've had a decent "nightclub incident" since the 1994 World Cup in Ballarat. Since then we've had to settle for the Great Isosport Bust at the 1999 Australian Championships (where the Inspectors Clouseau of the Goulburn police detained a carload of orienteers, thinking their bags of white powder were drugs), or the Wagga Arm Wrestle at QB3 in 1994.
Note
In the finest tradition of Nordic inter-country sledging, I bring you the following news report (on a heavy snowfall that blocked roads in south-western Norway):
****
Newspaper Aftenposten pointed out that Swedish highway officials managed to keep their roads open through the same storm, while their Norwegian counterparts failed miserably. Officials in Vest-Agder County even had to call out the Red Cross and use snowmobiles to evacuate motorists stranded overnight in their cars on the major highway along the southern coast.
"The situation in Norway is incredible," Roland Andersson of the Swedish highway agency Vägverket told Aftenposten. "With all the oil revenues Norway has, the Norwegians should have managed to cope."
****
Newspaper Aftenposten pointed out that Swedish highway officials managed to keep their roads open through the same storm, while their Norwegian counterparts failed miserably. Officials in Vest-Agder County even had to call out the Red Cross and use snowmobiles to evacuate motorists stranded overnight in their cars on the major highway along the southern coast.
"The situation in Norway is incredible," Roland Andersson of the Swedish highway agency Vägverket told Aftenposten. "With all the oil revenues Norway has, the Norwegians should have managed to cope."
Monday Feb 26, 2007 #
Swimming 31:00 [2] 1.0 km (31:00 / km)
Swimming at Northcote. No-one else in the lane, not quite sure why but it made life a bit easier.
Run 14:00 [2] 2.5 km (5:36 / km)
Got more of a warm-up for Monday night than I counted on, getting a flat on the way to Bruce's place, which left me having to run the last 3k there (with reasonably heavy backpack). Slow but harmless.
Run 53:00 [3] 8.0 km (6:38 / km) +220m 5:49 / km
Did most of the Yarra Bend terrain loop. Bruce was keen on intervals but I wasn't (I'm doing speedwork tomorrow and then racing twice on Wednesday, which will be a tough enough combination as it is). Dion was the only other one keen on that so I joined Jasmine, Ilka and Nicola on a steady run. Was prepared to do the lot but saw Bruce and Dion and they said they weren't doing the outer loop so I bailed too (in any case the light was starting to run out). Run was pleasant enough without pushing myself too hard, although the humidity is starting to make a comeback; this week doesn't look much easier than last week. The end of summer can't come soon enough. (At least we're not in Marble Bar, which looks like it's about to score Australia's first-ever 45+ average monthly maximum temperature - the coolest day so far this month has been 42.6).
Sunday Feb 25, 2007 #
Run race 1:27:22 [4] *** 14.7 km (5:57 / km)
spiked:27/30c
A multi-loop race on Kangaroo Gully. Jim told me beforehand not to take notice of the 15k distance on the description sheet because there's been a mix-up with the descriptions and the map scales and it was only 10k. Turned out there was a double mix-up and it was almost 15k after all. I don't think most of the field were ready for this, especially its younger members.
The first 40% of the course, where all the splitting was, had its frenetic moments, not least after the mass start with the combination of map detail and sun glare (it was an 8 a.m. start). I had a relatively short early split and saw Troy from time to time, and David Brownridge for a lot of the first half. Troy moved away and David dropped back; then I was together with Liggo for a bit around halfway before we split on a long route choice, never to rejoin. He got the break on me there (and caught Bruce), and from there I was on my own, doing what I do a lot of - grinding out the second half of long-distance races, once it became clear that this was a genuine long-distance race. In the end Troy did 82, Bruce and Liggo 84, I was 87 and David 96. Felt a bit flat at times, but pulled through for a solid, if unspectacular result. Navigated OK in my first bush race since October, with one 30-seconder and a couple of minor hesitations.
Kangaroo Gully has lots of interesting mining and a few other traditional near-urban features, such as piles of building rubble and abandoned shopping trolleys. Didn't see any dumped cars or marijuana plots (the latter are probably all casualties of the drought anyway).
The first 40% of the course, where all the splitting was, had its frenetic moments, not least after the mass start with the combination of map detail and sun glare (it was an 8 a.m. start). I had a relatively short early split and saw Troy from time to time, and David Brownridge for a lot of the first half. Troy moved away and David dropped back; then I was together with Liggo for a bit around halfway before we split on a long route choice, never to rejoin. He got the break on me there (and caught Bruce), and from there I was on my own, doing what I do a lot of - grinding out the second half of long-distance races, once it became clear that this was a genuine long-distance race. In the end Troy did 82, Bruce and Liggo 84, I was 87 and David 96. Felt a bit flat at times, but pulled through for a solid, if unspectacular result. Navigated OK in my first bush race since October, with one 30-seconder and a couple of minor hesitations.
Kangaroo Gully has lots of interesting mining and a few other traditional near-urban features, such as piles of building rubble and abandoned shopping trolleys. Didn't see any dumped cars or marijuana plots (the latter are probably all casualties of the drought anyway).
Saturday Feb 24, 2007 #
Run ((terrain)) 36:00 [4] **** 5.0 km (7:12 / km) +240m 5:48 / km
spiked:16/18c
A nice training session on Mount Korong, largely using control points from last year's Middle Champs (but in different orders). I was coming from Swan Hill so it suited me to go to Korong en route, but I had a bit more company than I expected - Troy, Morten and the two Keelys. We ran stretches of three controls (in different start orders) before regathering. All of us butchered the second control but it was pretty good after that, and felt fairly strong too, if a little below fully flat out.
With a few hours to kill before the sprint race we then went on to Bridgewater and spent some time in the river, something that was interrupted when the local policeman turned up in pursuit of Bryan. There's obviously a severe shortage of crime in Bridgewater, because it turned out that they'd received a complaint (grossly exaggerated - I was behind them and there was very little untoward at all) that Bryan had been "hooning" on a dirt track in town and had spent the next 90 minutes combing the streets for the offending vehicle. I think the end result was a caution and an introduction to small-town syndrome.
With a few hours to kill before the sprint race we then went on to Bridgewater and spent some time in the river, something that was interrupted when the local policeman turned up in pursuit of Bryan. There's obviously a severe shortage of crime in Bridgewater, because it turned out that they'd received a complaint (grossly exaggerated - I was behind them and there was very little untoward at all) that Bryan had been "hooning" on a dirt track in town and had spent the next 90 minutes combing the streets for the offending vehicle. I think the end result was a caution and an introduction to small-town syndrome.
Run race 18:53 [5] *** 3.6 km (5:15 / km) +30m 5:02 / km
spiked:15/16c
A pretty disappointing sprint effort on the urban bush of Spring Gully. Got off to a less-than-brilliant start when I dropped my control card in the first 2 metres and didn't get a lot better from there - only got into a running rhythm in the last 5 minutes. Hit the controls well with one minor hesitation but a couple of iffy routes. Expected Troy to be sub-16 and he was, but Leon and Toph impressed as well.
Friday Feb 23, 2007 #
Note
Up in Mildura for work today. Had planned to go for a swim but got to the pool entrance and discovered that my gear was back in Melbourne. Not to worry.
Turned out that at the meeting I was sitting next to Tash's uncle (I guess it would be hard to move in wheat-farming circles in that part of the world without running into a Rowe somewhere). Swapped plenty of memories of the wedding in between talks. The country doesn't look quite as barren as I'd expected (mind you, the only other time I've done the Ballarat-Donald-Mildura road was going to the wedding in February 1998, which was a drought summer too), and most of the locals managed to salvage a crop of some kind out of 2006 which is better than I thought they might have done.
Turned out that at the meeting I was sitting next to Tash's uncle (I guess it would be hard to move in wheat-farming circles in that part of the world without running into a Rowe somewhere). Swapped plenty of memories of the wedding in between talks. The country doesn't look quite as barren as I'd expected (mind you, the only other time I've done the Ballarat-Donald-Mildura road was going to the wedding in February 1998, which was a drought summer too), and most of the locals managed to salvage a crop of some kind out of 2006 which is better than I thought they might have done.
Thursday Feb 22, 2007 #
Run 2:03:00 [3] 27.0 km (4:33 / km)
Never felt particularly inspired today, just grinding out the kilometres. Started from work rather than home today which meant a few interruptions towards the end courtesy of inner-city traffic - reminds me of the old days in Albert Park. Very humid again.
The emergency services seemed busy this morning - score for the morning was two (alleged) malefactors in earnest conversation with the local constabulary outside the Bureau building as I was starting, the Police Commissioner having a deep and meaningful session with a Channel 9 camera in front of HQ, a Highway patrol car in hot pursuit of someone down Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, and an ambulance leaving the scene of what I presume was a car-versus-pedestrian outside Jeff's Shed.
The emergency services seemed busy this morning - score for the morning was two (alleged) malefactors in earnest conversation with the local constabulary outside the Bureau building as I was starting, the Police Commissioner having a deep and meaningful session with a Channel 9 camera in front of HQ, a Highway patrol car in hot pursuit of someone down Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, and an ambulance leaving the scene of what I presume was a car-versus-pedestrian outside Jeff's Shed.
Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 #
Run 1:04:00 [3] 14.0 km (4:34 / km)
Started slowly with tightness (particularly on left hip) persisting longer than usual, but gradually built up and a very good last 20 minutes. A bit longer than planned, which might have had an impact later in the day.
My car is getting serviced today. My usual practice on such days is to bring my bike in the car and ride from the workshop, and I've often seen other people doing the same thing. This obviously gave someone ideas because I noticed today they now offer free loan bicycles for customers while their car is being serviced.
My car is getting serviced today. My usual practice on such days is to bring my bike in the car and ride from the workshop, and I've often seen other people doing the same thing. This obviously gave someone ideas because I noticed today they now offer free loan bicycles for customers while their car is being serviced.
Run race ((time trial)) 18:07 [5] 5.0 km (3:37 / km)
5k time trial on the Tan. Faster than last time but still rather disappointing - given some of the runs I've had in training in the last couple of weeks I was looking for a sub-18 at the very least. Didn't push hard enough through the uphill middle sections but finished off OK. Once again very humid - if this is sounding repetitive it's because the weather is equally repetitive.
(Some interesting local seabreeze effects today - it was about 5 degrees hotter at the Tan than it was at the Bureau's building in Docklands. I thought I might have been imagining things when it felt much hotter going there, but then it also felt much cooler coming back).
(Some interesting local seabreeze effects today - it was about 5 degrees hotter at the Tan than it was at the Bureau's building in Docklands. I thought I might have been imagining things when it felt much hotter going there, but then it also felt much cooler coming back).
C • Why? 2
Run 30:00 [2] 6.5 km (4:37 / km)
Going to/from the Tan for the time trial.
Tuesday Feb 20, 2007 #
Run intervals ((fartlek)) 37:00 [4] 9.0 km (4:07 / km)
Not quite as good as last week (fastest loop 9.05) but still a pretty solid effort. Hints of back tightness at one point but that eased up. Very humid again.
Finally got the Orienteering Australia accounts finished and off to the auditors this morning - nice to have that out of the way.
Finally got the Orienteering Australia accounts finished and off to the auditors this morning - nice to have that out of the way.
Monday Feb 19, 2007 #
Swimming 30:00 [2] 1.0 km (30:00 / km)
Back at Fitzroy. Cooler today both in and out of the water, although still not exactly cold. A fairly routine session.
Definitely a big spectator sporting weekend for me, with two premierships to get excited about (the Canberra Capitals and the Melbourne Victory). We won't mention a certain other sporting competition in New Zealand (or for that matter the FA Cup).
Definitely a big spectator sporting weekend for me, with two premierships to get excited about (the Canberra Capitals and the Melbourne Victory). We won't mention a certain other sporting competition in New Zealand (or for that matter the FA Cup).
Run 40:00 [3] 8.0 km (5:00 / km)
A fairly slow MFR Monday night run from Suse's place, initially exploring the inside of the Botanic Gardens then around the Tan. Quite pleasant.
Sunday Feb 18, 2007 #
Run ((terrain)) 1:02:00 [3] 9.0 km (6:53 / km)
Headed out with Bruce at Macedon before the VOA meeting. Sluggish early as expected after a pretty hard day yesterday, but loosened well and a good solid run. Both of us lost concentration a bit at the end and drifted into unexpected territory, which at least provided some relocation practice (I'm definitely looking forward to doing some actual orienteering again next weekend). Another hot day, but still reasonably pleasant while we were out there.
Saturday Feb 17, 2007 #
Run 2:15:00 [3] 30.0 km (4:30 / km)
At this time of year 38-degree days at least come with the hope that this might be just about the last serious heat of the summer (definitely no promises though). Got out early enough to miss the worst of it; there was high cloud around and it stayed around the mid-20s.
Did a long one on Saturday rather than Sunday this weekend (will be going into the terrain at Macedon tomorrow before the VOA meeting), out to Eltham as far as the path along the river from Griffiths Park. Hilly for the first 60% then quite flat. Uncertain start, good middle then faded a bit at the end, still better than I thought it would be given how exhausted I was at the end of yesterday. (I think I underestimate how much the bike commutes - 50 minutes each way - take out on a hot day).
In a textbook case of slamming the stable door with the horse halfway down the Flemington straight, as soon as I crossed into Nillumbik Shire there were council workers out felling trees anywhere near any picnic area or piece of playground equipment (this follows an incident last weekend when a tree fell in high winds in Eltham and narrowly missed a playground).
Translation of the day, from the Portugal O Meeting website (courtesy of Cassie): The POM2007 is nearer and nearer ... This competition will be going to
dispose of a record number of athletes in Portugal, around 1,500.
Did a long one on Saturday rather than Sunday this weekend (will be going into the terrain at Macedon tomorrow before the VOA meeting), out to Eltham as far as the path along the river from Griffiths Park. Hilly for the first 60% then quite flat. Uncertain start, good middle then faded a bit at the end, still better than I thought it would be given how exhausted I was at the end of yesterday. (I think I underestimate how much the bike commutes - 50 minutes each way - take out on a hot day).
In a textbook case of slamming the stable door with the horse halfway down the Flemington straight, as soon as I crossed into Nillumbik Shire there were council workers out felling trees anywhere near any picnic area or piece of playground equipment (this follows an incident last weekend when a tree fell in high winds in Eltham and narrowly missed a playground).
Translation of the day, from the Portugal O Meeting website (courtesy of Cassie): The POM2007 is nearer and nearer ... This competition will be going to
dispose of a record number of athletes in Portugal, around 1,500.
Friday Feb 16, 2007 #
Swimming 30:00 [2] 1.0 km (30:00 / km)
Went to Kew this time - a convenient location on the way to my regular Friday massage in Richmond. This is the only thing to recommend the facility, which I remembered not-so-fondly for congestion and unfriendly natives, and not a lot has changed. 32-degree water indoors is a bit stifling for my liking too.
Took the opportunity to mention Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, in the monthly briefing I give at the Bureau on Australian and global climate. (It hasn't been below -22 yet this winter when its average January minimum is around -25 - a symptom of an exceptionally warm January in most of the former USSR, which in turn has meant that January was the world's warmest on record by a substantial margin).
Took the opportunity to mention Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, in the monthly briefing I give at the Bureau on Australian and global climate. (It hasn't been below -22 yet this winter when its average January minimum is around -25 - a symptom of an exceptionally warm January in most of the former USSR, which in turn has meant that January was the world's warmest on record by a substantial margin).
Thursday Feb 15, 2007 #
Run 1:59:00 [3] 26.0 km (4:35 / km)
Thought this would be a hard morning's work after yesterday and it was. A bit of a struggle most of the way, although a few good stretches in the middle. Thought it might have been in danger of falling apart completely after a weak effort on a steep climb around the 85-minute mark (the same hill where I started hitting the wall on 7 January), but came through that and finished quite strongly.
There was a hint of impending autumn in that the first 20 minutes were in the dark, and that there was a hint of mist around early, but the humidity was enough to be a reminder that summer is still alive and well - you know it's humid when drips start falling off your gear in mid-run. Weight afterwards was 69kg which is starting to get into the fluid-loss danger zone (my normal at present is around 72) - the water cooler at work will be getting fairly regular visits for the rest of the day.
There was a hint of impending autumn in that the first 20 minutes were in the dark, and that there was a hint of mist around early, but the humidity was enough to be a reminder that summer is still alive and well - you know it's humid when drips start falling off your gear in mid-run. Weight afterwards was 69kg which is starting to get into the fluid-loss danger zone (my normal at present is around 72) - the water cooler at work will be getting fairly regular visits for the rest of the day.
Note
One for the 'wish you were here department': Onslow on the northwest coast of WA was 36.6 degrees at midnight last night (quite hot enough) - then jumped to 42.2 just before 1 a.m. as a result of downdrafts associated with a nearby thunderstorm. And we complain when we get a night in the high 20s.
Wednesday Feb 14, 2007 #
Run 1:06:00 [3] 14.0 km (4:43 / km)
Started in Clifton Hill, headed through Yarra Bend out to Kew and back across the Studley boathouse bridge (sounds vaguely similar in places to Bruce, although I didn't see any balloons so we must have been out at different times). Not one of my great runs - feeling a bit flat and uninspired. Didn't see any snakes this time.
Run race ((street-O)) 48:00 [4] * 11.9 km (4:02 / km)
spiked:19/20c
Not one of my finest street-O performances - felt weak from the start and didn't get much better, although did fight it out to the end. Not sure whether to blame this on the heat (central Melbourne's sea breeze didn't get to Nunawading, so it was 32 rather than 24) or spending the afternoon dealing with paparazzi (well, actually, a paparazzo to be precise).
It was a score event, but Mulluana is too small to keep us occupied for 60 minutes so it was simply a case of getting all 20 controls as quickly as possible - which spoils it a bit. Got the route choice right in the sense that it was probably the shortest one, but Adam and Bryan had the tactical advantage because they'd got an extra control early (one I ended up getting last) and were therefore chasing me with a control in hand. Neither ever quite caught me on the ground, but Bryan was close enough to go through me when he was able to go directly home from 12. Got Adam by 10 metres (we were coming from opposite directions so it wasn't really a head-to-head sprint), a result which has a fair chance of being critical in the overall pointscore. I've never won a series title outright - the closest I got was in 2003-04 when Tony Bird won a sprint finish from the last control in the final race to tie overall - so it would be a nice one to get on the board. Despite how bad I felt, the pace wasn't disgraceful, which I guess is a good sign.
It was a score event, but Mulluana is too small to keep us occupied for 60 minutes so it was simply a case of getting all 20 controls as quickly as possible - which spoils it a bit. Got the route choice right in the sense that it was probably the shortest one, but Adam and Bryan had the tactical advantage because they'd got an extra control early (one I ended up getting last) and were therefore chasing me with a control in hand. Neither ever quite caught me on the ground, but Bryan was close enough to go through me when he was able to go directly home from 12. Got Adam by 10 metres (we were coming from opposite directions so it wasn't really a head-to-head sprint), a result which has a fair chance of being critical in the overall pointscore. I've never won a series title outright - the closest I got was in 2003-04 when Tony Bird won a sprint finish from the last control in the final race to tie overall - so it would be a nice one to get on the board. Despite how bad I felt, the pace wasn't disgraceful, which I guess is a good sign.
Tuesday Feb 13, 2007 #
Run intervals ((fartlek)) 37:00 [4] 9.0 km (4:07 / km)
Some tangible evidence that the hard summer is paying off; a week after finishing the base training phase I pulled out my fastest time for my fartlek loop since at least 2001 (8.53). Didn't even feel as if I was going that fast; a very encouraging sign at this stage of the season.
Monday Feb 12, 2007 #
Swimming 31:00 [2] 1.0 km (31:00 / km)
Felt good but even slower than usual. Discovered an occupational hazard of outdoor pools in the early morning at this time of year - sun glare.
Run 51:00 [2] 9.5 km (5:22 / km)
Slow even by the standards of MFR Monday nights, and didn't feel all that brilliant. Rather warm which is something we'll need to get used to this week (I think the 38s forecast for the weekend are a little overdone, but only a little).
We spent much of the time on the small tracks on the east side of the Yarra at Studley Park. Got to see some of the local wildlife in the form of a tiger snake - first snake I've seen in years. (I've only ever seen one in competition). Jasmine survived despite being in the perilous number 3 position - the general rule is reputed to be that number 1 wakes up the snake, number 2 treads on it and number 3 gets bitten, although it's not exactly common, given that only two people have been bitten in the entire history of Australian orienteering (neither significantly injured) and the average annual number of snakebite deaths in Australia is roughly 1.
We spent much of the time on the small tracks on the east side of the Yarra at Studley Park. Got to see some of the local wildlife in the form of a tiger snake - first snake I've seen in years. (I've only ever seen one in competition). Jasmine survived despite being in the perilous number 3 position - the general rule is reputed to be that number 1 wakes up the snake, number 2 treads on it and number 3 gets bitten, although it's not exactly common, given that only two people have been bitten in the entire history of Australian orienteering (neither significantly injured) and the average annual number of snakebite deaths in Australia is roughly 1.
C • Who 12
Sunday Feb 11, 2007 #
Run ((terrain)) 1:43:00 [3] 17.0 km (6:04 / km)
Had planned to go bush but couldn't find any other takers, so instead did two loops of the Yarra Bend terrain loop with Bruce, not at a particularly fast pace. Picked up a couple of stray dogs on the way and a couple of stray people (Warren and Liggo, who both stayed with us for sections). A steady run but lacked power on the steepest hills, and a bit of muscle tiredness later on - even though this is a lot shorter than anything I've done on a Sunday since November, the demands of terrain are somewhat different and take a bit of getting used to. Very humid - both of us were soaked at the end.
Saturday Feb 10, 2007 #
Run hills 1:06:00 [3] 14.0 km (4:43 / km)
Sluggish start but then set about the hills of Eaglemont and did quite nicely, handling most of the climbs well and finishing off with the long climb up Brown Street.
Retired the old shoes today - picked them up for 50 euros in a 50% off everything sale in Austria when WMOC was on and got just about as much wear out of them as any pair I've had. In the end it was the top that fell apart rather than the bottom.
Retired the old shoes today - picked them up for 50 euros in a 50% off everything sale in Austria when WMOC was on and got just about as much wear out of them as any pair I've had. In the end it was the top that fell apart rather than the bottom.
Friday Feb 9, 2007 #
Swimming 25:00 [2] 0.8 km (31:15 / km)
Always seem to be slow at Richmond for some reason. Never really got going today.
Thursday Feb 8, 2007 #
Run 2:02:00 [3] 26.0 km (4:42 / km)
Never felt especially comfortable on this run but kept plugging away and finished solidly. Went down to Hallett Cove and return. The coastline turns to cliffs south of Seacliff, but from a distance it looks like it's level on the top. It isn't - the coastal path is beautiful, but it goes up and down a lot of side gullies with plenty of steps, continually descending to sea level and climbing back to 40-50 metres - hard work. Came back higher up and on more level ground.
Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 #
Run 1:01:00 [3] 13.0 km (4:42 / km)
This was the day of the big milestone - the 100,000km mark came up in mid-run, in the inspiring surrounds of a path next to the dry drain which is what the Torrens turns into near the coast. Went out with Andy again, fairly comfortable pace but felt a bit iffy in the stomach (probably conference over-eating syndrome as usual).
C • 100,000k 17
Run intervals 42:00 [4] 9.0 km (4:40 / km)
An afetrnoon run with 2 sets of 20 seconds on/20 seconds off embedded in it. Squeezed this in between the end of conference sessions and the dinner and felt a bit ordinary, particularly in the stomach (over-indulgence on the afternoon teas again). Went up to Henley Beach and back; there was a stiff southerly wind which made coming back hard work, but my time coming back was similar, suggesting that the warm-up was as slow as it felt.
The beach was readily available for washing the sweat off before the dinner. It was, however, slightly disconcerting, just before going in, to spot the monument to someone eaten by a shark there a couple of years ago. No hazards this time apart from the jet-skiers who were safely far offshore.
The beach was readily available for washing the sweat off before the dinner. It was, however, slightly disconcerting, just before going in, to spot the monument to someone eaten by a shark there a couple of years ago. No hazards this time apart from the jet-skiers who were safely far offshore.
Tuesday Feb 6, 2007 #
Run intervals ((fartlek)) 43:00 [4] 10.0 km (4:18 / km)
Fartlek session with Andy - the Mona session which is the first time I've done it (2x90, 4x60, 4x30, 4x15 with jog recovery in between). Felt quite good but Andy has more speed than me because he was 5 metres in front of me on every sprint regardless of how long it was. Went south along the coast towards Brighton and a couple of reps were on the sand, which was a challenge.
Monday Feb 5, 2007 #
Run 41:00 [3] 9.0 km (4:33 / km)
Predictably stiff at the start but loosened up quickly and some very nice patches in the middle, before settling to a relatively mundane finish. Hot again.
Sunday Feb 4, 2007 #
Run 3:00:00 [3] 40.3 km (4:28 / km)
It's something of a tradition of mine to do my longest run of the year on the first Sunday in February, marking the end of the major base-training phase. It lapsed for a few years because I was either injured or ill on the relevant day, but has made a comeback in the last couple of years.
A major incentive to get out of bed very early was provided by the forecast 40 degrees (ended up getting to 41.something). Headed out the door at 6.15, for a loop which ended up being Glenelg-Flinders Uni-Blackwood-Belair, then down onto the flats and back to Glenelg. A very solid run for the most part, particularly on the big climb up through Flinders. Faded away somewhat after 2.30 - not at all surprising as it was over 30 degrees by then - and definitely on automatic pilot for the last 20 minutes or so. Still a very good run to get under my belt, particularly on a difficult day.
One thing I discovered is that Adelaide doesn't have anywhere near as many public taps or bubblers as Melbourne does (now I know why Simon Uppill got into the habit of running with a water bottle) - only went past one in the first 20-odd km. In the later stages I decided my best chance of finding water was at the local schools and detoured via a couple.
Quite a decent pace too, a bit faster than most of my recent long runs. All in all one to be pleased with.
A major incentive to get out of bed very early was provided by the forecast 40 degrees (ended up getting to 41.something). Headed out the door at 6.15, for a loop which ended up being Glenelg-Flinders Uni-Blackwood-Belair, then down onto the flats and back to Glenelg. A very solid run for the most part, particularly on the big climb up through Flinders. Faded away somewhat after 2.30 - not at all surprising as it was over 30 degrees by then - and definitely on automatic pilot for the last 20 minutes or so. Still a very good run to get under my belt, particularly on a difficult day.
One thing I discovered is that Adelaide doesn't have anywhere near as many public taps or bubblers as Melbourne does (now I know why Simon Uppill got into the habit of running with a water bottle) - only went past one in the first 20-odd km. In the later stages I decided my best chance of finding water was at the local schools and detoured via a couple.
Quite a decent pace too, a bit faster than most of my recent long runs. All in all one to be pleased with.
Friday Feb 2, 2007 #
Run 1:01:00 [3] 13.0 km (4:42 / km)
A strange sort of run. Had the feeling most of the way of running into a strong wind (on a day that was actually calm) - wasn't stiff and didn't feel weak, but just wasn't going all that strongly. Fiddling with my usual order of things because I'll be on a train all day tomorrow.
Off to Adelaide for a few days for a conference - updates may be a bit sporadic depending on how good my net access is there.
Off to Adelaide for a few days for a conference - updates may be a bit sporadic depending on how good my net access is there.
Swimming 29:00 [2] 1.0 km (29:00 / km)
Fitzroy Pool. Definitely more crowded than I'm used to - evening rather than morning and the tail end of a 34-degree day.
Thursday Feb 1, 2007 #
Run 2:11:00 [3] 29.0 km (4:31 / km)
Another pretty good run in what's turning into a good spell - an out-and-back (essentially) which took me to the north side of the Yarra at Eltham (first time I've been there, probably because it's hard to fit into a loop). Reasonably hilly for the first two-thirds then a flat finish back along the river. Tired a bit at end, but the distance seemed almost routine at times. A cool morning helped - it certainly won't be this easy in Adelaide on Sunday with the temperature likely to reach the high 30s. Shoulder bruising from yesterday's fall a minor nuisance on the steeper downhills.