Training Log Archive: blairtrewinIn the 28 days ending Feb 28, 2019:
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Thursday Feb 28, 2019 #
7 PM
Walking ((street-O)) 1:03:30 [1] * 6.5 km (9:46 / km) +220m 8:21 / km
spiked:14/14c
Foot was worse than I thought (a message I got running for a train this morning) - similar to the start of the month so I certainly can't blame driving this time. Since it was street-O championships night, I thought I'd better put in an appearance with a view to making a decision on warming up whether to run or walk. This was answered pretty quickly.
St. Helena is a hilly area (last encountered at the far end of long runs from my old place). Some good route choice, both in deciding what controls to get and in some cases on the routes in between (there were three viable routes on the leg from 5 to 16, for example - or four if you count not doing that leg at all, the best option if you were on A). Not walking quite as fast as last week - feeling a little unsteady on the foot on the rougher group - but happy with the route planning, and made it in with ten seconds to spare rather than four last week. Numbers a bit down, for which I'll blame the heat.
As someone said today, you would have been rather surprised, say, 30 years ago had you known that the task of averting nuclear war would one day be (largely) in the hands of Imran Khan and Donald Trump.
St. Helena is a hilly area (last encountered at the far end of long runs from my old place). Some good route choice, both in deciding what controls to get and in some cases on the routes in between (there were three viable routes on the leg from 5 to 16, for example - or four if you count not doing that leg at all, the best option if you were on A). Not walking quite as fast as last week - feeling a little unsteady on the foot on the rougher group - but happy with the route planning, and made it in with ten seconds to spare rather than four last week. Numbers a bit down, for which I'll blame the heat.
As someone said today, you would have been rather surprised, say, 30 years ago had you known that the task of averting nuclear war would one day be (largely) in the hands of Imran Khan and Donald Trump.
Wednesday Feb 27, 2019 #
7 AM
Run 40:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:43 / km)
A rather unconvincing run, but loosened up eventually after the first 10 minutes to sort of shuffle around, so at least it was something to put on the board. At least it was a nice morning for it, with cool air along the floor of the Darebin Creek valley (the last morning for a while when this is going to be the case). A bit of right ankle soreness in the last few minutes, which removed the temptation to try to push it out for a bit longer.
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Gave it a go but didn't show any signs of warming up inside a few minutes (in fact things were getting worse rather than better). Mind a bit elsewhere too - I've got some major IPCC work due this week which is a bit all-consuming in the mental sense, although I feel my head's more above water than below it at the moment.
It would be fair to say that a certain amount of schadenfreude was on display in my social media feeds today. Soon-to-be-former Cardinal Pell wasn't getting a lot of sympathy in the office either - it hasn't been forgotten that for a while he was one of News Limited's large stable of climate sceptic commentators (one wonders why). Our former CEO famously laid into something he'd written during a Senate Committee hearing about 10 years back.
It would be fair to say that a certain amount of schadenfreude was on display in my social media feeds today. Soon-to-be-former Cardinal Pell wasn't getting a lot of sympathy in the office either - it hasn't been forgotten that for a while he was one of News Limited's large stable of climate sceptic commentators (one wonders why). Our former CEO famously laid into something he'd written during a Senate Committee hearing about 10 years back.
Monday Feb 25, 2019 #
7 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
Took me a while to get going properly (and spent time working through a variation of one of the exercises), but eventually felt like I was getting somewhere. At least I didn't blow up the way I did after last week's event, which I take to be a positive.
8 AM
Swimming 38:00 [2] 1.0 km (38:00 / km)
Then on to the pool. Spent more time than I probably should have wondering what the reaction would be at work to our latest outing on Sky News After Dark (the answer was pretty much nothing). Swimming nothing to get too excited about, but did seem to loosen me up and finished off OK.
In time, Sky News After Dark will probably be getting excited about what I was doing this afternoon too, but not for a year or two.
In time, Sky News After Dark will probably be getting excited about what I was doing this afternoon too, but not for a year or two.
Sunday Feb 24, 2019 #
10 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 47:00 [3] *** 5.1 km (9:13 / km) +200m 7:42 / km
spiked:10/12c
Little Forest. Had entered course 1 but given that it was only my second run back I had no great expectations, thinking that 45 minutes would be a good distance (probably should have switched to course 2 but that would have mucked the organisers around for no good reason). It's a nice area, with some good subtle gully spur, some very open forest and bits of regrowth (which the map hasn't completely caught up with).
In the first few controls I was far from certain that I'd get to 45 minutes, but a stop to work out where I was when I came across too high at 4 (probably dropping a minute or so) seemed to do me good, as I was running not too badly thereafter, except on the steeper hills. Got a reminder that I haven't done much intense stuff lately on the very steep climb into 12 (not runnable, but one of those ones where you have to throw yourself at the hill to avoid slipping backwards) - think it's the first time I've had a (small) mid-course spew. I'd already decided 12 was going to be the end of the day's proceedings for me.
Came up OK afterwards (unlike last week), so hopefully this is another bit of progress. Hoping to be up to doing something properly in two weeks time (will have more confidence about this if I actually start getting through runs over an hour in training).
In the first few controls I was far from certain that I'd get to 45 minutes, but a stop to work out where I was when I came across too high at 4 (probably dropping a minute or so) seemed to do me good, as I was running not too badly thereafter, except on the steeper hills. Got a reminder that I haven't done much intense stuff lately on the very steep climb into 12 (not runnable, but one of those ones where you have to throw yourself at the hill to avoid slipping backwards) - think it's the first time I've had a (small) mid-course spew. I'd already decided 12 was going to be the end of the day's proceedings for me.
Came up OK afterwards (unlike last week), so hopefully this is another bit of progress. Hoping to be up to doing something properly in two weeks time (will have more confidence about this if I actually start getting through runs over an hour in training).
Saturday Feb 23, 2019 #
8 AM
Run 30:00 [3] 5.1 km (5:53 / km)
Finally got out and did something, making use of the last cool morning for a while. A bit of a grinding start, but eventually felt as if I was moving at least moderately freely - certainly better than in any of the last few days of my last running stint. Will have to wait and see how it handles 8.8km tomorrow, but at least it's a start.
Friday Feb 22, 2019 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Was hoping to get out for a run this morning but wasn't too confident the way I felt last night, and so it proved. Did come through the day somewhat better than yesterday so hoping to give things a go tomorrow. (Might have helped that the mode I was in today was read one paper, stand up, read another paper, rinse and repeat 30 times or so).
I recall it being said after the first Gulf War that the Iraqi army had found a new way of slowing down the advance of their opposition - by inflicting more prisoners on them than the Americans could handle. I'm starting to wonder if the same logic applies to this week's broad offering of political scandals.
I recall it being said after the first Gulf War that the Iraqi army had found a new way of slowing down the advance of their opposition - by inflicting more prisoners on them than the Americans could handle. I'm starting to wonder if the same logic applies to this week's broad offering of political scandals.
Thursday Feb 21, 2019 #
8 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
Session at Fitzroy. Didn't feel too bad this morning but back pretty ordinary by evening (spent too long sitting after getting onto a bit of a roll writing something).
With an IPCC draft deadline at the end of next week I'm fairly heavily stretched at the moment, which meant that I didn't appreciate it when I got an e-mail from an admin person at work saying with respect to some paperwork I'd lodged 6 months ago which hadn't been processed that now the form had changed, they wouldn't accept the old form (which was perfectly valid at the time I submitted it) and I had to go through the whole process again.
With an IPCC draft deadline at the end of next week I'm fairly heavily stretched at the moment, which meant that I didn't appreciate it when I got an e-mail from an admin person at work saying with respect to some paperwork I'd lodged 6 months ago which hadn't been processed that now the form had changed, they wouldn't accept the old form (which was perfectly valid at the time I submitted it) and I had to go through the whole process again.
Wednesday Feb 20, 2019 #
7 PM
Walking ((street-O)) 1:03:45 [1] *** 6.9 km (9:14 / km)
spiked:12/13c
Felt somewhat better today and went out to street-O at Canterbury at least contemplating going for a run of sorts if the warm-up felt OK. It didn't, so instead I had my first venture into power walkers for some years. This gets a bit of a bagging from some people out there, but it does provide a chance to do some low-level exercise and think about route choice at the same time - unlike running street-O score events, there is no chance of getting the lot.
Key decision point for me was deciding after the first eight controls whether to be ambitious and go for a couple of further-flung high-scoring controls, or come in more directly but with the risk of finishing 5-10 minutes early with nothing else gettable. I chose the former, and there's nothing like an impending deadline to get the competitive juices going - especially when I made a bit of a mess of the passage under Canterbury station and had 90 seconds to get from one end of the carpark to the other. Made it with a couple of seconds to spare. (Another street-O regular, who shall remain nameless, was in a similarly tight position and got there with a technique which I think might well have got him the dreaded red disc on an Olympic course).
Felt pretty tight even walking, particularly in the first half, so I think I made the right decision.
Key decision point for me was deciding after the first eight controls whether to be ambitious and go for a couple of further-flung high-scoring controls, or come in more directly but with the risk of finishing 5-10 minutes early with nothing else gettable. I chose the former, and there's nothing like an impending deadline to get the competitive juices going - especially when I made a bit of a mess of the passage under Canterbury station and had 90 seconds to get from one end of the carpark to the other. Made it with a couple of seconds to spare. (Another street-O regular, who shall remain nameless, was in a similarly tight position and got there with a technique which I think might well have got him the dreaded red disc on an Olympic course).
Felt pretty tight even walking, particularly in the first half, so I think I made the right decision.
Tuesday Feb 19, 2019 #
7 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
Back felt a bit better than last night but still not great. Was wondering how it would respond to this session but it mostly worked out OK, with just a couple of exercises a bit awkward. Did seem to loosen up a bit during the session (at least that's what the instructor thought).
8 AM
Swimming 38:00 [2] 1.0 km (38:00 / km)
Then took to the pool. Thought it would be a more difficult session than it turned out to be, but still not great.
Back came up badly again in the afternoon. At least this gave the physio (who I was booked in to see anyway) something to look at, and work on - perhaps the one positive of the last couple of days is that bringing this issue to a head might make it easier to look properly at trying to identify and fix it.
Back came up badly again in the afternoon. At least this gave the physio (who I was booked in to see anyway) something to look at, and work on - perhaps the one positive of the last couple of days is that bringing this issue to a head might make it easier to look properly at trying to identify and fix it.
Monday Feb 18, 2019 #
Note
(rest day)
In Sydney for work for the day - and yet another abortive visit to the ocean baths at Coogee. This time it was an unusually high tide combined with a large swell sending big waves right into the pool - it was open but I suspected I'd find it pretty heavy going. Had hoped then to get something in at the end of the day at the UNSW pool, but the meeting went on too long to get that in before going to the airport.
Back was pretty horrible sitting down this afternoon (which is unusual). Hopefully this isn't a portent for tomorrow.
Back was pretty horrible sitting down this afternoon (which is unusual). Hopefully this isn't a portent for tomorrow.
Sunday Feb 17, 2019 #
8 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 45:00 [3] *** 5.5 km (8:11 / km) +200m 6:55 / km
spiked:17/19c
Body still letting me down - at a level where I can run but not particularly comfortably. Realised fairly early on that I was going to be limited, at best, up hills but decided I'd try and press on and see if things loosened up on the mostly downhill/flat terrain in the later part of the first loop. This turned out not to be the case and I finished up at the end of the first loop. That was still enough to do most of the fun bits, particularly the butterfly loops in the granite at the far end. Made a couple of mistakes here (probably a minute at 7, 30 seconds and 11), largely through not working out properly how much was mapped on the 1:2000 enlargement.
Obviously disappointing not to feel up to doing the full distance, but at least for a first outing the terrain this gives me something that I might be able to build on. Next week will be a further test (unusual to have so many opportunities so early in the season).
It was a good event as always, and some pretty fierce competition at the front end.
Obviously disappointing not to feel up to doing the full distance, but at least for a first outing the terrain this gives me something that I might be able to build on. Next week will be a further test (unusual to have so many opportunities so early in the season).
It was a good event as always, and some pretty fierce competition at the front end.
Saturday Feb 16, 2019 #
7 PM
Run race ((orienteering)) 22:08 [3] *** 3.3 km (6:42 / km)
spiked:23/23c
About the best that can be said for this is that I got round, pretty unconvincingly (in a physical sense). Quite an interesting sprint area navigationally, making good use of a small campus, and the course had a reasonable amount of route choice - as evidenced by the fact that I was sort of in proximity to Jenny from #4 through to #14 and we took different routes on almost every leg (usually without a lot of difference between them). I think we ended up propping up the results list on A, unless there were some late finishers who were even slower.
The Australian did run something this morning (lead story on the front page, no less), but it could have been a lot worse - created a vibe of something dodgy but very little specific (and the specific is easily demonstrated to be wrong, which means we won't have to spend a week crunching numbers demonstrating why it's wrong). It's slightly surreal that being attacked - albeit not by name - on the front page of a national newspaper almost feels routine.
The Australian did run something this morning (lead story on the front page, no less), but it could have been a lot worse - created a vibe of something dodgy but very little specific (and the specific is easily demonstrated to be wrong, which means we won't have to spend a week crunching numbers demonstrating why it's wrong). It's slightly surreal that being attacked - albeit not by name - on the front page of a national newspaper almost feels routine.
Friday Feb 15, 2019 #
6 PM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
Woke up very stiff this morning (just to remind me that there are reasons not to keep pushing through on days when things are playing up). Still not great in the afternoon but took to the water after the end of the workshop sessions, which did seem to loosen me up, eventually. Northcote pool not as crowded as I thought it might be on a Friday evening (albeit a relatively cool one). Might be in for some unwelcome press attention over the next few days, and spent a greater proportion of this session than was healthy thinking about it.
Thursday Feb 14, 2019 #
6 AM
Run 31:00 [3] 5.0 km (6:12 / km)
Was hoping to do something longer today and had the 5.15 wake-up accordingly, but it didn't work out, with back iffy and also feeling a bit sniffly - worked out within 10 minutes or so that this was not a day to push boundaries and it was time to think 'minimum viable session'. Might give it another go tomorrow (when the workshop start time is also later).
Wednesday Feb 13, 2019 #
7 AM
Run 40:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:43 / km)
Still a bit iffy in the first 15 minutes today but pushed through it. Felt rather slow and sluggish, particularly early - think I might be fighting off a cold.
This was a fairly early start, but not early enough - I've got a workshop at Monash in the remainder of this week and thought that a 7.45 departure should give me a reasonable amount of time to get there for a 9.00 start (Google said 55 minutes). It took 25 minutes just to get onto the Chandler Highway bridge, then going south on Middleborough Road took forever too. By 9.05 - with my own talk due to start at 9.15 - I was still 3km away, at which point I decided to ditch the car and use the bike that I still had in the back of the car. Walked in the door at 9.14.55...
This was a fairly early start, but not early enough - I've got a workshop at Monash in the remainder of this week and thought that a 7.45 departure should give me a reasonable amount of time to get there for a 9.00 start (Google said 55 minutes). It took 25 minutes just to get onto the Chandler Highway bridge, then going south on Middleborough Road took forever too. By 9.05 - with my own talk due to start at 9.15 - I was still 3km away, at which point I decided to ditch the car and use the bike that I still had in the back of the car. Walked in the door at 9.14.55...
Tuesday Feb 12, 2019 #
8 AM
Swimming 39:00 [2] 1.0 km (39:00 / km)
Thought this morning might not work out when I felt pretty tight last night, and so it proved. Plan B was to head for the water - the plan being a pool running session, but I'd forgotten the flotation belt so it was swimming again. This was a listless and sleepy session and won't be one I remember with any great fondness, but at least it got done.
I was preparing for some OMG-it's-snowing-in-summer media (something which happens on the peaks a couple of times every summer, although more often in December and January than February), but that didn't happen. Not much of the snow seems to have happened either (by the time it got cold enough the system had more or less run out of moisture). We missed out on the dust that southern NSW, and Canberra, got to enjoy.
I was preparing for some OMG-it's-snowing-in-summer media (something which happens on the peaks a couple of times every summer, although more often in December and January than February), but that didn't happen. Not much of the snow seems to have happened either (by the time it got cold enough the system had more or less run out of moisture). We missed out on the dust that southern NSW, and Canberra, got to enjoy.
Monday Feb 11, 2019 #
7 AM
Pilates 45:00 [3]
Early Monday pilates - back to what I think of as the routine even though it hasn't been followed too much lately. A few variations on the usual program which seemed to work me a bit harder (which was presumably the idea). Felt OK once doing it, having felt not quite right when I got up (probably better it was this session than a run).
7 PM
Swimming 36:00 [2] 1.0 km (36:00 / km)
Evening session at Fitzroy, having decided that I didn't have quite enough time after pilates to squeeze it in before work and still get in at a respectable time. For the first couple of laps, felt as non-functional in the water as I did last time, but got going quite well after that - having to pull out a burst of extra pace to pass people is sometimes worthwhile to get oneself going in such circumstances.
Earworm of the day was "We're going up and the Town are going down" (to the tune of 'Yellow Submarine').
Earworm of the day was "We're going up and the Town are going down" (to the tune of 'Yellow Submarine').
Sunday Feb 10, 2019 #
8 AM
Run 1:03:00 [3] 11.0 km (5:44 / km)
Another step forward, actually going beyond the hour mark for the first time in a while. Didn't feel quite as energetic as yesterday; not too bad on the injury front after a few early wobbles, although Achilles was intermittently awkward in the last 20 minutes. Better at the end without a sense that a second hour would have been particularly easy; had thoughts of going out past 70 had it been a good day, but reasonably happy to settle for what I did.
Dropped in on the Darebin velodrome on the way back (discovering in the process that a new Bunnings is sprouting on Darebin Road) to see how Liz Randall was going in her bid for a W75 one-hour world record. She was well ahead of pace at that stage and still was at the finish line; over 36km (which I think is several kilometres beyond the previous mark - drug test results pending). I think I'd do well to get close to that now, and will certainly be pleased with how life has treated me if I'm up to anything remotely like that come 2046.
Dropped in on the Darebin velodrome on the way back (discovering in the process that a new Bunnings is sprouting on Darebin Road) to see how Liz Randall was going in her bid for a W75 one-hour world record. She was well ahead of pace at that stage and still was at the finish line; over 36km (which I think is several kilometres beyond the previous mark - drug test results pending). I think I'd do well to get close to that now, and will certainly be pleased with how life has treated me if I'm up to anything remotely like that come 2046.
Saturday Feb 9, 2019 #
10 AM
Run 48:00 [3] 8.2 km (5:51 / km)
A perfectly routine Saturday morning run, which made it anything but routine by the standards of recent months. Felt like I was actually fit enough to do this and minor Achilles soreness was the only issue. Headed out after the heaviest of the rain and enjoyed myself in the cool post-frontal air, even if the rain had scared most other people away from Yarra Bend.
I headed down the street three times this morning - the first to get a paper, the second to run, the third to do food shopping. The first time there was a car parked across the road with its lights on. When I started my run it was still there with its lights off and I was wondering whether the owner had turned them off or if it had run out of battery. That question was answered on my third trip when an RACV van was just pulling up next to it. (Coming back, I caught up with one of the neighbours with an overflowing library bag who said she had a problem that a lot of parents wouldn't mind having - her kids read too many books).
I headed down the street three times this morning - the first to get a paper, the second to run, the third to do food shopping. The first time there was a car parked across the road with its lights on. When I started my run it was still there with its lights off and I was wondering whether the owner had turned them off or if it had run out of battery. That question was answered on my third trip when an RACV van was just pulling up next to it. (Coming back, I caught up with one of the neighbours with an overflowing library bag who said she had a problem that a lot of parents wouldn't mind having - her kids read too many books).
Friday Feb 8, 2019 #
7 AM
Run 30:00 [3] 5.0 km (6:00 / km)
Mission successfully accomplished today - no sign of foot soreness either during or after the run (and no sign of anything either when the physio poked around during our regular session this evening, apart from a bit of shin swelling). Felt rather sluggish through the early stages, as is normal these days, but got moving reasonably well in the 5-10 minutes. Hopefully that continues as this looks a good weekend to get things done.
Thursday Feb 7, 2019 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Had a go this morning - no pain before the start but still felt a little awkward running on it, so didn't think it was quite ready. Also a bit sleepy after a late-night teleconference last night.
Crunching a lot of numbers at the moment (and talking about them a bit as well). Today's favourite is that the number of months which have been more than 2 degrees above average over Australia since September 2013 (9) is the same as the number of such months which occurred between January 1910 and August 2013.
Crunching a lot of numbers at the moment (and talking about them a bit as well). Today's favourite is that the number of months which have been more than 2 degrees above average over Australia since September 2013 (9) is the same as the number of such months which occurred between January 1910 and August 2013.
Wednesday Feb 6, 2019 #
8 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
Back to Fitzroy for the first time in a while - apart from my absences, it's been tricky to get to in recent weeks because of building work - and linking up with some old company (who know me well enough to know that it's usually not good news if they see me there on a Wednesday). A reasonable session, and the foot does seem to be continuing to improve; will have a go at running on it tomorrow.
Tuesday Feb 5, 2019 #
7 AM
Swimming 40:00 [2] 1.0 km (40:00 / km)
The slowest swim I can remember doing, for no particularly obvious reason (but at least good to do some proper exercise after yesterday). This moved me onto the next stage...
8 AM
Pilates 35:00 [3]
Wasn't quite sure about this given the foot, but in fact it responded better than I expected and I only gave one out of my usual set of exercises a miss. (The foot's improvement continued through the day and it's almost tempting to try running tomorrow, but I'm going to give it at least one more day).
Your usual pre-election public service announcement: anyone who appears in the media claiming to be an ordinary swinging voter who is outraged about a party's policy on something is almost certainly actively involved in a different party. Today's exhibit was one Jon Gaul, who appeared in the Australian to claim that Labor's policy on franking credit refunds was going to send him and families like him into penury (or something like it). It didn't take much sleuthing in Twitter-land to reveal that Mr. Gaul, among other things, is president of the local Liberal branch, was part of the Liberal federal campaign team for every election from 1972 to the late 2000s, and was one of Peter Reith's advisers in the run-up to the 1998 waterfront dispute. (I imagine that Media Watch will run something next week suggesting that the Australian might have cared to disclose one or more of these facts to their readers, which in turn will spark a ferocious News Corp counter-attack on the ABC).
Your usual pre-election public service announcement: anyone who appears in the media claiming to be an ordinary swinging voter who is outraged about a party's policy on something is almost certainly actively involved in a different party. Today's exhibit was one Jon Gaul, who appeared in the Australian to claim that Labor's policy on franking credit refunds was going to send him and families like him into penury (or something like it). It didn't take much sleuthing in Twitter-land to reveal that Mr. Gaul, among other things, is president of the local Liberal branch, was part of the Liberal federal campaign team for every election from 1972 to the late 2000s, and was one of Peter Reith's advisers in the run-up to the 1998 waterfront dispute. (I imagine that Media Watch will run something next week suggesting that the Australian might have cared to disclose one or more of these facts to their readers, which in turn will spark a ferocious News Corp counter-attack on the ABC).
Monday Feb 4, 2019 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Foot probably a bit worse this morning if anything (although improved a bit later in the day). Still feels like it might be a bit away from being runnable.
Things I haven't seen before: a tree fallen (mostly) across the Hume, thanks to an overnight thunderstorm (another overnight thunderstorm, or perhaps the same one, woke me up at 4.30 in Albury). The job of chopping it up was just about finished by the time I got there, but we still had to take to the emergency lane to get past.
Things I haven't seen before: a tree fallen (mostly) across the Hume, thanks to an overnight thunderstorm (another overnight thunderstorm, or perhaps the same one, woke me up at 4.30 in Albury). The job of chopping it up was just about finished by the time I got there, but we still had to take to the emergency lane to get past.
Sunday Feb 3, 2019 #
8 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
Foot a bit improved today but still somewhat uncomfortable to walk on, so headed for the water instead down at CISAC. Seemed to cope OK with this, though was going round and round in circles a lot (only the 25-metre part was open). Water seemed cool for an indoor pool but I didn't check the numbers.
That set the scene for another day at Manuka, this time with Rob (fairly low-intensity cricket but some lovely shots at times; am I the only person who thinks that the style, and the frailities, of Usman Khawaja have a lot in common with David Gower?), before hitting the road as far as Albury, with an impressive light show for a backdrop much of the way.
That set the scene for another day at Manuka, this time with Rob (fairly low-intensity cricket but some lovely shots at times; am I the only person who thinks that the style, and the frailities, of Usman Khawaja have a lot in common with David Gower?), before hitting the road as far as Albury, with an impressive light show for a backdrop much of the way.
Saturday Feb 2, 2019 #
7 AM
Run 40:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:43 / km)
Did a run first thing in Gundagai before moving on to Canberra for the cricket. Almost a false start - my right foot was quite painful early and I was about to pack it in, stopped for a bit, restarted and it was fine again within a minute or two. (It's pulled up sore afterwards, though, so will need to watch it). Once that was out of the way, a struggle for the first 10 minutes, but after that picked up to be better than I've felt in other runs this week (an admittedly low bar to clear). Headed across the river flats and the (low) bridge to South Gundagai and back, a route I don't think I've followed since the Hume went that way up until the late 1970s. (The semi-ruined state of the Prince Alfred Bridge, a rather narrow timber structure the best part of a kilometre long, makes it hard to believe that the Hume crossed it recently enough to be within my memory).
Spent the rest of the day at the cricket (predictably bumping into a school acquaintance I hadn't seen for 30 years within the first five minutes of the lunch interval) - a fairly slow day for the most part but still a good occasion.
Spent the rest of the day at the cricket (predictably bumping into a school acquaintance I hadn't seen for 30 years within the first five minutes of the lunch interval) - a fairly slow day for the most part but still a good occasion.
Friday Feb 1, 2019 #
7 AM
Pilates 40:00 [3]
Bit of a change of plans this morning because a waitlisted pilates booking came through (as it turned out nobody originally booked for the class turned up...). Seemed OK. I don't always feel as if progress is obvious but the instructor says he's noticed some (or maybe he was just trying to make me feel good). A bit sleepy.
8 AM
Run 31:00 [3] 5.0 km (6:12 / km)
So the run became a post-pilates session. Not really any injury concerns, but horribly sluggish - suspect I may not be 100% well (had a bit of a runny nose this morning). The relatively small climb past the old Kensington saleyards was as much as I could handle today.
On the road to Gundagai tonight (en route to the Canberra Test). Not the easiest of road trips I've done with two major accidents to negotiate; took about 1 1/2 hours to get as far as Wallan.
On the road to Gundagai tonight (en route to the Canberra Test). Not the easiest of road trips I've done with two major accidents to negotiate; took about 1 1/2 hours to get as far as Wallan.