Training Log Archive: blairtrewinIn the 31 days ending Jan 31, 2013:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday Jan 31, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 1:20:00 [3] 15.0 km (5:20 / km)
Gradually starting to ramp the distance up on these runs but not finding it much easier - not the severe weakness which manifested itself yesterday, but still a struggle, and didn't pick up in the later stages in the way that, say, last Sunday did. Did get to do some renewed exploration of tracks on the east side of the river that I haven't been to for a long time (ignoring the ageing 'closed due to storm damage' signs as I did so).
As you can imagine, it's fairly intense at work at the moment, and will be more so tomorrow when monthly reports come out.
As you can imagine, it's fairly intense at work at the moment, and will be more so tomorrow when monthly reports come out.
Wednesday Jan 30, 2013 #
7 PM
Run ((street-O)) 23:00 [3] * 4.6 km (5:00 / km) +70m 4:39 / km
spiked:8/8c
Thought I'd give going faster a try tonight. Perhaps I should have thought better of this when it was a warmer night than expected, on quite a hilly area (or perhaps I should have made a first attempt at going faster on a shorter course). Whatever the issue, it unravelled pretty quickly - going lactic on the first two-contour hill wasn't a good sign and it didn't get any better. This was very much history repeating itself - I had a similar debacle on a similar occasion when returning from injury in early 2010. That time I ran myself into the ground and didn't recover for days; this time I decided that wasn't a good idea and pulled the pin halfway through. Maybe next week (although the current forecast is somewhat suboptimal).
I'm sure it was coincidence that my route to the event took me past two big billboards for Liberal candidates - surely they can't move that fast? (and if they want to waste money advertising in Chisholm, a seat they would win only in a total wipeout, good luck to them).
I'm sure it was coincidence that my route to the event took me past two big billboards for Liberal candidates - surely they can't move that fast? (and if they want to waste money advertising in Chisholm, a seat they would win only in a total wipeout, good luck to them).
Tuesday Jan 29, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 1:00:00 [3] 11.1 km (5:24 / km)
Around the Yarra tracks from Clifton Hill - first time out here for a while. A bit of an improvement on the equivalent run last week but yesterday was better. Knee stiffness a little bit annoying early in runs but is loosening up reasonably well - certainly none of the pain evident when the injury was developing.
As you can imagine, today was a reasonably busy day at work, collating records broken. (My two favourites - the Burnett catchment's peak 1-day rainfall was 70% above its previous record (no wonder so much of Bundaberg is under water), and Gladstone's 4-day rainfall of 819.8 mm exceeded its previous record for a whole month).
There was an orienteering connection to one of the notable numbers, a daily rainfall of 709 mm at Mount Castle (although Upper Springbrook, with 744, did even better). Mount Castle is at the east end of the much-loved Goomburra Valley map, a steep, hard slog used for the 2000 Australia-NZ Challenge (which I'd wiped myself out of after an unfortunate altercation with a cricket pitch roller in a sprint race the previous day). It was run as a midweek event (between nationals on one weekend and APOC on the next) and, of the 30-odd starters in M21E, exactly seven finished - the six Challenge team members plus somebody from Hong Kong. Craig gets some bonus points for picking the most remote point on the map to DNF from.
And it seems we would have had some extra excitement if we'd repeated last year's Australia Day run this year: guest of honour at the Holdfast Bay ceremony was one T. Abbott (not sure with or without budgie smugglers). We could even have sniggered at his reference to Australia's convict origins, something which is definitely a faux pas in South Australia.
As you can imagine, today was a reasonably busy day at work, collating records broken. (My two favourites - the Burnett catchment's peak 1-day rainfall was 70% above its previous record (no wonder so much of Bundaberg is under water), and Gladstone's 4-day rainfall of 819.8 mm exceeded its previous record for a whole month).
There was an orienteering connection to one of the notable numbers, a daily rainfall of 709 mm at Mount Castle (although Upper Springbrook, with 744, did even better). Mount Castle is at the east end of the much-loved Goomburra Valley map, a steep, hard slog used for the 2000 Australia-NZ Challenge (which I'd wiped myself out of after an unfortunate altercation with a cricket pitch roller in a sprint race the previous day). It was run as a midweek event (between nationals on one weekend and APOC on the next) and, of the 30-odd starters in M21E, exactly seven finished - the six Challenge team members plus somebody from Hong Kong. Craig gets some bonus points for picking the most remote point on the map to DNF from.
And it seems we would have had some extra excitement if we'd repeated last year's Australia Day run this year: guest of honour at the Holdfast Bay ceremony was one T. Abbott (not sure with or without budgie smugglers). We could even have sniggered at his reference to Australia's convict origins, something which is definitely a faux pas in South Australia.
Monday Jan 28, 2013 #
9 AM
Swimming 36:00 [2] 1.0 km (36:00 / km)
Session at Ivanhoe pool before heading out for the day. Felt fairly reasonable but not all that quick, and ended up with some chafing underneath my right arm for no obvious reason.
I then spent the bulk of the day down at Phillip Island, a fairly random choice as a public holiday excursion. I haven't been there since 1982, on a day which I remember best for probably the most spectacular forecast bust in modern Victorian history - a change came through earlier than expected at the end of a heatwave and 40 turned into 18. (That day set a record, which still stands, for the largest maximum temperature change between days in Australia - from 45 to 17 at a site near Yarram). The afternoon on Woolamai beach was relaxing, the traffic getting off the island not quite so.
I then spent the bulk of the day down at Phillip Island, a fairly random choice as a public holiday excursion. I haven't been there since 1982, on a day which I remember best for probably the most spectacular forecast bust in modern Victorian history - a change came through earlier than expected at the end of a heatwave and 40 turned into 18. (That day set a record, which still stands, for the largest maximum temperature change between days in Australia - from 45 to 17 at a site near Yarram). The afternoon on Woolamai beach was relaxing, the traffic getting off the island not quite so.
7 PM
Run 47:20 [3] 9.67 km (4:54 / km)
There's a series running in the outer south-eastern suburbs at the moment and I decided to drop in on the way home to see where some of the ASC participation money is going. Narre Warren South is definitely unexplored territory for me - the only time I've ever ventured into the wedge between the Princes and South Gippsland Highways was a couple of years back cutting across from CSIRO Aspendale on the way to Warragul.
This was quite a pleasing night - the first time since returning to training which has felt like a normal run. Didn't get off to a great start when the first control was misplaced, but settled nicely after that. Got a nice tow from Tim Jackson through most of the first half (before he headed off his own way - he was running B). Tired a little later on; it probably helped that there were no hills of any significance. Must have got the route right as I was nearly 1km shorter than Andrew Hester and 300m shorter than Ian Davies and Rachel Johnson, but at the moment I'm not running fast enough for that to matter.
This was quite a pleasing night - the first time since returning to training which has felt like a normal run. Didn't get off to a great start when the first control was misplaced, but settled nicely after that. Got a nice tow from Tim Jackson through most of the first half (before he headed off his own way - he was running B). Tired a little later on; it probably helped that there were no hills of any significance. Must have got the route right as I was nearly 1km shorter than Andrew Hester and 300m shorter than Ian Davies and Rachel Johnson, but at the moment I'm not running fast enough for that to matter.
Sunday Jan 27, 2013 #
10 AM
Run 1:23:00 [3] 16.0 km (5:11 / km)
Added another increment to the 'longest done this year' mark but otherwise there wasn't a great deal to be said about this run, which was an indifferent one throughout. Achilles a bit touchy in the second half - seems like it's time to start getting calf massages again. While it wasn't an issue on the run itself, knee stiffened a bit post-run, although not in the same way as it was feeling during December.
Friday Jan 25, 2013 #
7 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
A fairly standard session at Ivanhoe, where the water seemed to be cooler than normal (no bad thing) on a morning which was a lot warmer than normal.
Excitement of the morning was a demo in front of our office - apparently the cleaners are aggrieved (probably with some justification) over the deal they're getting from the building managers.
I was interested to see today that there is a place called Struck Oil, Queensland. Some googling in the hope of finding out how much oil they actually struck there (the answer seems to be none in any meaningful quantity - the Struck Oil Mine was a gold mine) turned up some odd links - it has its own postcode so it turns up on websites offering information on what aged care facilities exist in Struck Oil (you'll be shocked to hear the answer is none). Perhaps it should be called Struck Water instead, because the reason I know of its existence is the 569 millimetres of rain which fell there in the 24 hours to 9 this morning.
Excitement of the morning was a demo in front of our office - apparently the cleaners are aggrieved (probably with some justification) over the deal they're getting from the building managers.
I was interested to see today that there is a place called Struck Oil, Queensland. Some googling in the hope of finding out how much oil they actually struck there (the answer seems to be none in any meaningful quantity - the Struck Oil Mine was a gold mine) turned up some odd links - it has its own postcode so it turns up on websites offering information on what aged care facilities exist in Struck Oil (you'll be shocked to hear the answer is none). Perhaps it should be called Struck Water instead, because the reason I know of its existence is the 569 millimetres of rain which fell there in the 24 hours to 9 this morning.
9 AM
Run 55:00 [3] 10.0 km (5:30 / km)
Down on the Peninsula for the day - I had thought a few weeks ago that the imminent opening of the new freeway meant that I would never have to go to Frankston again, but last night I got the train there and was picked up. Headed out to the back beach and turned left. Not very awake early on and hard work in the soft sand (softer than usual given the lack of rain in recent weeks), but the second half was closer to normality than probably anything else I've done since returning from injury.
Left and/or green causes are often accused of having rent-a-crowds at their demos, but evidently the other side takes this idea literally - if you're in New York next Wednesday and want to earn $20, you can do so by turning up to a demo being staged outside the British consulate against wind power in the UK. Why a demo against wind power in the UK would be staged in New York is anyone's guess.
Left and/or green causes are often accused of having rent-a-crowds at their demos, but evidently the other side takes this idea literally - if you're in New York next Wednesday and want to earn $20, you can do so by turning up to a demo being staged outside the British consulate against wind power in the UK. Why a demo against wind power in the UK would be staged in New York is anyone's guess.
Thursday Jan 24, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 1:10:00 [3] 13.1 km (5:21 / km)
Felt a bit better than Tuesday and not quite as slow, but still not where I would want to be and still weak uphill (that goes without saying at the moment). Gradually stretching the distance out a bit though, and did feel better in the last 20 minutes than in the earlier parts of the run - perhaps waking up does count for something.
My parents are in town this week and we went over to Point Cook for dinner with some old family friends. Evidently educational standards in those parts leave a bit to be desired because the sign outside the local primary school started 'Parents wishing to enrol there children for 2013...'.
My parents are in town this week and we went over to Point Cook for dinner with some old family friends. Evidently educational standards in those parts leave a bit to be desired because the sign outside the local primary school started 'Parents wishing to enrol there children for 2013...'.
Wednesday Jan 23, 2013 #
7 PM
Run ((street-O)) 59:40 [3] * 11.43 km (5:13 / km) +185m 4:50 / km
spiked:19/20c
Street-O at Lilydale Heights - a score event which at normal speed means getting 20 controls in the most optimal way. I still don't feel up to racing so getting the lot wasn't quite as sure a thing for me, although the conditions were a good deal better than the last time we were out this way (during the January 2011 floods, on an evening when Melbourne was doing an excellent impersonation of Darwin in the wet season). Felt like a bit of a struggle, particularly up the hills, but did find some extra pace for the last 10 minutes once it became apparent that I was going to be touch and go to get all the controls inside the time limit (made it by 15 seconds). Route seemed shorter than anyone else's but of course I was a long way down on running speed tonight.
It was a bit alarming to approach the second control and see a couple of CFA trucks and the police in attendance. I was wondering if someone had reported the control as a suspicious package, but in fact they were cleaning up the remnants of a fire in the tanbark under the playground swings (obviously some people are getting bored at the tail end of school holidays).
This is an area where I've previously taken note of street names (last time they marked, probably by accident, that week's passing of Gerry Rafferty by having a control in Baker Street). One section had a lot of Melbourne Cup winners (including, somewhat cleverly, Piping Lane), and there was a control in a Blair Street. I don't think there are any Trewin street names in Melbourne, although there is one in Ballarat (a shameless piece of brown-nosing by the local council to induce my grandfather's company to build a factory there) and another on the edge of Daylesford.
It was a bit alarming to approach the second control and see a couple of CFA trucks and the police in attendance. I was wondering if someone had reported the control as a suspicious package, but in fact they were cleaning up the remnants of a fire in the tanbark under the playground swings (obviously some people are getting bored at the tail end of school holidays).
This is an area where I've previously taken note of street names (last time they marked, probably by accident, that week's passing of Gerry Rafferty by having a control in Baker Street). One section had a lot of Melbourne Cup winners (including, somewhat cleverly, Piping Lane), and there was a control in a Blair Street. I don't think there are any Trewin street names in Melbourne, although there is one in Ballarat (a shameless piece of brown-nosing by the local council to induce my grandfather's company to build a factory there) and another on the edge of Daylesford.
Tuesday Jan 22, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 1:01:00 [3] 11.1 km (5:30 / km)
Once again down to the river, then up past the Viewbank weather station via a track I hadn't been on before (mainly because I didn't know it went anywhere before seeing a runner emerge from it on Sunday). Felt sluggish without being horrible, but very slow even allowing for being in early-morning mode and a larger than usual quota of single-track. Started to come good in the last 10 minutes and stronger than I expected on the final climb.
Monday Jan 21, 2013 #
8 AM
Swimming 34:00 [2] 1.0 km (34:00 / km)
Had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night (probably through screwing up my body clock the previous night) and consequently watched more than I'd planned to of the Djokovic-Wawrinka epic. Thought I might pay for it today but it doesn't seem to have happened (yet). A fairly standard swim in the morning, apart from a couple of surges early on to get myself clear of someone who was going at a similar average speed to me but more unevenly.
1 PM
Run 46:00 [3] 9.0 km (5:07 / km)
Return to a reasonably common mode of performance, lunchtime around the Tan (more or less). A reasonably nondescript run although traffic made it seem slower than it was. Knee took a bit longer to loosen up than on some recent runs (probably through starting on concrete) but did so eventually. As I expected, the Tan was pretty dusty after a largely rainless month.
A sunny (though mild) summer day brought a lot of street performers out on Southbank and a lot of people to watch them. Evidently not all the performers were officially sanctioned because on the way back I saw the fire-thrower in deep and meaningful conversation with two of Victoria's finest.
A sunny (though mild) summer day brought a lot of street performers out on Southbank and a lot of people to watch them. Evidently not all the performers were officially sanctioned because on the way back I saw the fire-thrower in deep and meaningful conversation with two of Victoria's finest.
Sunday Jan 20, 2013 #
9 AM
Run 1:14:00 [3] 15.0 km (4:56 / km)
I'm not sure if it's the normal practice for some of the real business of IOF meetings to be done on the pre-meeting run (I suspect not given the current composition of IOF Council, although Havard Tveite lifts the orienteering standard level considerably if the Map Commission's also there). It would have been a chilly affair had such been the case: the temperature in Helsinki this morning was -29.
It certainly wasn't -29 in Melbourne this morning as I headed out (and there was a hint of Gippsland bushfire smoke in the air), my body clock somewhat mucked up by the aforementioned IOF meetings (I proceeded to spend significant parts of the afternoon semi-asleep in front of the cricket or tennis). This was the longest run I've tried so far. Didn't exactly feel full of energy and still a long way short of where I would want to be on a not-excessively-warm Sunday - 2 1/2 hours would certainly have been a serious challenge today - but making progress, slowly. Do seem to be a little bit ahead of where I was at the same stage in 2010.
Those who followed the discussion on Prue's log will know about the world record set at Summernats in Canberra for the largest simultaneous burnout (and the bushfire-like smoke cloud which it created). It turns out that this exercise was sponsored by the National Tobacco Campaign under the slogan "burn rubber, not tobacco", although you'd have to wonder which smoke cloud was more carcinogenic.
It certainly wasn't -29 in Melbourne this morning as I headed out (and there was a hint of Gippsland bushfire smoke in the air), my body clock somewhat mucked up by the aforementioned IOF meetings (I proceeded to spend significant parts of the afternoon semi-asleep in front of the cricket or tennis). This was the longest run I've tried so far. Didn't exactly feel full of energy and still a long way short of where I would want to be on a not-excessively-warm Sunday - 2 1/2 hours would certainly have been a serious challenge today - but making progress, slowly. Do seem to be a little bit ahead of where I was at the same stage in 2010.
Those who followed the discussion on Prue's log will know about the world record set at Summernats in Canberra for the largest simultaneous burnout (and the bushfire-like smoke cloud which it created). It turns out that this exercise was sponsored by the National Tobacco Campaign under the slogan "burn rubber, not tobacco", although you'd have to wonder which smoke cloud was more carcinogenic.
Saturday Jan 19, 2013 #
8 AM
Run 44:00 [3] 9.0 km (4:53 / km)
Up at 5am for an IOF Foot Commission hookup (we go round again at 10pm tonight; I'm in for a rather sleep-deprived weekend). Went for a run after the hookup was over, a somewhat warmer exercise than it would have been for any of the people at the IOF meeting themselves who chose to do likewise (it got down to -29 in Helsinki overnight).
This started to get closer to a normal run, even if it was at the poor end of normal; some creaking muscles but not the rapid fatigue and weakness of Wednesday and Thursday (and on a hillier course too). Perhaps an indication of starting to turn the corner.
The speculated piece in the Australian ended up being watered down (assuming the rumours about its intended contents were correct) - ended up as just a fairly standard piece of News Limited Flannery-bashing and didn't mention us at all.
This started to get closer to a normal run, even if it was at the poor end of normal; some creaking muscles but not the rapid fatigue and weakness of Wednesday and Thursday (and on a hillier course too). Perhaps an indication of starting to turn the corner.
The speculated piece in the Australian ended up being watered down (assuming the rumours about its intended contents were correct) - ended up as just a fairly standard piece of News Limited Flannery-bashing and didn't mention us at all.
5 PM
Cycling 1:16:00 [3] 28.0 km (2:43 / km)
Keeping some riding in the mix to keep the volume up while I'm still not doing proper long runs on the weekends; headed out at the end of the day, on the sort of evening when summer becomes once again something to be enjoyed rather than endured (although, with no meaningful rain for a month and none in the forecast, there's starting to be a lot of crunchy brown grass out there). Struggling to get much energy for this, although improved in the second half, and seemed to get more than my share of red lights.
I didn't see the Lance Armstrong interview (and wasn't surprised by the reported contents). This morning was the first time I've discussed such things with my next-door neighbour, who was a promising American cyclist a couple of years behind Lance (and a contemporary of Tyler Hamilton). In the end he saw what it was going to take to get to the very top level, decided he didn't want to go there, and effectively retired at 22.
I didn't see the Lance Armstrong interview (and wasn't surprised by the reported contents). This morning was the first time I've discussed such things with my next-door neighbour, who was a promising American cyclist a couple of years behind Lance (and a contemporary of Tyler Hamilton). In the end he saw what it was going to take to get to the very top level, decided he didn't want to go there, and effectively retired at 22.
Friday Jan 18, 2013 #
7 AM
Swimming 35:00 [2] 1.0 km (35:00 / km)
Swim at Fitzroy. Felt smooth but not at quite the pace that I've managed in some recent swims. More busy than usual this morning, although definitely not as busy as it would have been 12 hours earlier (or 800 kilometres northeast).
My quads felt as if they'd run about twice as far in the preceding two days as they actually had. Normally they would have run about twice as far.
Didn't get quite as much of what I'd planned to get done at work as I'd anticipated - got sidetracked by other things (i.e. hitting F5 on the current Sydney and Canberra observations pages every 10 minutes). Didn't do much media - mostly handled out of NSW.
Rumour has it that a certain well-known national newspaper is planning to run a hit piece tomorrow about us allegedly exaggerating extreme events to push the government's climate change agenda, or something like that. I really hope they go ahead with this - they'll come out looking ridiculous if they do.
My quads felt as if they'd run about twice as far in the preceding two days as they actually had. Normally they would have run about twice as far.
Didn't get quite as much of what I'd planned to get done at work as I'd anticipated - got sidetracked by other things (i.e. hitting F5 on the current Sydney and Canberra observations pages every 10 minutes). Didn't do much media - mostly handled out of NSW.
Rumour has it that a certain well-known national newspaper is planning to run a hit piece tomorrow about us allegedly exaggerating extreme events to push the government's climate change agenda, or something like that. I really hope they go ahead with this - they'll come out looking ridiculous if they do.
Thursday Jan 17, 2013 #
8 AM
Run 57:00 [3] 11.2 km (5:05 / km)
Sometime I'll be back to breaking the 2-hour mark on Thursday mornings, but for the time being this was plenty, in the admittedly not-very-inspiring surrounds of Fishermens Bend (where I'd taken my car to get serviced). Felt sluggish throughout and distinctly tired in the second half - much as I normally would in the last 20 minutes of a not-very-good Thursday run in normal times. I keep telling myself that the first couple of weeks after a long layoff are always ugly and that this should feel much better in two weeks' time. Once again, no issues with the knee - a bit of lower back tightness early but that eased quickly.
I can't even blame the weather, as it started quite cool before starting its march towards 41 later in the morning.
I can't even blame the weather, as it started quite cool before starting its march towards 41 later in the morning.
Wednesday Jan 16, 2013 #
7 PM
Run ((street-O)) 48:30 [3] * 9.54 km (5:05 / km) +120m 4:47 / km
spiked:18/18c
Street-O comeback at Glen Iris. The good news is that the knee was fine on its longest non-terrain test so far, the bad news is that fitness-wise it was a real struggle - not as slow as I'd feared but didn't feel like I had much more in me, particularly on the small climbs which felt like mountains in the second half. The first couple of weeks of a comeback are always tough and this is no exception; in the absence of proper training I revert quickly to my natural state, which is probably indicated by my placing halfway down the field in the Year 7 school cross-country. Didn't miss anything and seemed to get a good route (and was disappointed to pass up the 'children's maze' control), but at the speed I was going I'd want to get the route choice right.
Tuesday Jan 15, 2013 #
7 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
Slowly building my way back into running training with the plan of running 5 days this week, today not being one of them. Instead headed for the familiar grounds of Fitzroy. Working pretty well; sun glare a significant nuisance today.
For those who remember the 2004 Kazakhstan trip, it may be of interest that a place just down the track from the mountain lake we spent a couple of days at managed to get down to -59 in late December; I knew it had the potential to get seriously cold, but perhaps not quite that cold.
I've also had a chance to reflect a bit on the results in New Zealand in general. The World Cup results were probably about as expected (Fel making the biggest advance), and while it was disappointing to go so close in the Challenge and not break through for a long-awaited away win, we got closer than I think most expected. I was quite pleased with the junior performances in particular; we didn't win many classes, but after the first couple of days we weren't getting blown away either, contrary to what might have been expected from the results of the last Australian Schools.
For those who remember the 2004 Kazakhstan trip, it may be of interest that a place just down the track from the mountain lake we spent a couple of days at managed to get down to -59 in late December; I knew it had the potential to get seriously cold, but perhaps not quite that cold.
I've also had a chance to reflect a bit on the results in New Zealand in general. The World Cup results were probably about as expected (Fel making the biggest advance), and while it was disappointing to go so close in the Challenge and not break through for a long-awaited away win, we got closer than I think most expected. I was quite pleased with the junior performances in particular; we didn't win many classes, but after the first couple of days we weren't getting blown away either, contrary to what might have been expected from the results of the last Australian Schools.
Monday Jan 14, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 32:00 [3] 5.1 km (6:16 / km) +160m 5:25 / km
Early-morning trip up Bluff Hill in Napier with Jenny before starting the drive to Wellington. Did this sooner after getting up (and with less in my stomach) than usual and thought I might suffer for it, but not too bad. Grinding up the steep climb but felt a bit stronger than in most of this week;s races. Knee also stood up to the steep descent on asphalt coming off the hill, which is pleasing.
Now at Wellington Airport about to head home.
Now at Wellington Airport about to head home.
Sunday Jan 13, 2013 #
12 PM
Run race ((orienteering)) 56:47 [4] *** 4.8 km (11:50 / km) +400m 8:21 / km
spiked:15/17c
The public race was a bit incidental to the day but it still looked like a fun (if physically tough) area to get out on, in a mass start race on a hot day - 33 degrees or so. I started out by taking a wide road route choice on the long first leg, not worth it as it turned out (although I didn't help myself by butchering two fence crossings). Reasonably steady then for the first half, although bailed out of one slope crossing which I didn't think I could manage safely, which cost me a minute or so (and generally didn't do a great job of really steep downhills). The long 10-11 was the killer though - I'd misread felled area as white (the printing wasn't great) and the small track I was counting on was overgrown, so instead of a few hundred metres on a nice shady track it was a long slog through long grass and felled stuff. I think the damage this did was mental as much as physical; in any case, I hit the wall at this point (perhaps not surprising given a lack of hot-weather practice) and walked and jogged in. Small miss at 14.
I knew I wasn't fit leading into this week and today further demonstrated it, although considering that it wasn't that long since I didn't expect to be running this side of March, I'll take the one good result I got.
I knew I wasn't fit leading into this week and today further demonstrated it, although considering that it wasn't that long since I didn't expect to be running this side of March, I'll take the one good result I got.
Saturday Jan 12, 2013 #
8 AM
Swimming 35:00 [2] 1.0 km (35:00 / km)
As noted yesterday I'd taken the decision some days ago that I wasn't up to racing four days in a row at my current level of fitness (or lack thereof) and that if I was going to miss a day this was the one to sit out. Nothing that happened today gave me any indication that my assessment was wrong - not that it didn't look an interesting area and course, but a full-blown long distance on a hot day (which is what it turned into) isn't what I would have needed at this point in time.
Instead I took to the water earlyish in the morning in the Napier seaside baths, a decent enough session although a bit more pricey than I'm used to (it's a swim/spa/sauna/gym complex and you pay for the lot whether you use them or not). Not pushing as hard as I have in some recent swims.
It may have been warm here (low 30s inland away from the seabreeze) but it was a lot hotter back home; had it been a working day we would have spent a lot of it speculating on whether we'd see a number on the Bureau website with a '5' in front of it. As it turned out we didn't quite make it, peaking at 49.6 at Moomba. In one sense I'm not too upset about this outcome - I have 49.6 in the office sweep.
Instead I took to the water earlyish in the morning in the Napier seaside baths, a decent enough session although a bit more pricey than I'm used to (it's a swim/spa/sauna/gym complex and you pay for the lot whether you use them or not). Not pushing as hard as I have in some recent swims.
It may have been warm here (low 30s inland away from the seabreeze) but it was a lot hotter back home; had it been a working day we would have spent a lot of it speculating on whether we'd see a number on the Bureau website with a '5' in front of it. As it turned out we didn't quite make it, peaking at 49.6 at Moomba. In one sense I'm not too upset about this outcome - I have 49.6 in the office sweep.
Friday Jan 11, 2013 #
11 AM
Run race ((orienteering)) 45:37 [4] *** 5.9 km (7:44 / km) +325m 6:04 / km
spiked:17/18c
Oceania Relays. Better than yesterday only in that I didn't make any navigation mistakes, albeit on a fairly simple course (my only time loss was 30 seconds or so on a route choice). Again lacking any sort of hill strength and not all that fast elsewhere, either (and no-one was surprised that the climb was double that advertised).
Went out a couple of minutes ahead of the NZ team but close to a couple of other teams; edged away from those in the first half of the course but dropped behind them later on (Eric went through them on the last leg). The gap to NZ widened a fair bit though - I think Rolf made a fairly big mistake. Good to get the result we needed, although no real thanks to me.
The four Challenge races are now completed. Two weeks ago I would have considered getting to the start line a success, so I can't be too upset, but the last two days have indicated that some hard work is ahead to get competitive again before the start of the Australian season. I'm not hugely surprised by this - the first two or three weeks after a major layoff are always hard going and I've never before tried to do that sort of comeback in a race period. There are still two carnival events to come, but I'll sit out tomorrow - four races in four days is a bit much at this stage.
And we couldn't quite manage to win a Challenge on NZ soil for the first time since 1994, but we did manage to draw one.
Went out a couple of minutes ahead of the NZ team but close to a couple of other teams; edged away from those in the first half of the course but dropped behind them later on (Eric went through them on the last leg). The gap to NZ widened a fair bit though - I think Rolf made a fairly big mistake. Good to get the result we needed, although no real thanks to me.
The four Challenge races are now completed. Two weeks ago I would have considered getting to the start line a success, so I can't be too upset, but the last two days have indicated that some hard work is ahead to get competitive again before the start of the Australian season. I'm not hugely surprised by this - the first two or three weeks after a major layoff are always hard going and I've never before tried to do that sort of comeback in a race period. There are still two carnival events to come, but I'll sit out tomorrow - four races in four days is a bit much at this stage.
And we couldn't quite manage to win a Challenge on NZ soil for the first time since 1994, but we did manage to draw one.
Thursday Jan 10, 2013 #
11 AM
Run race ((orienteering)) 1:21:38 [4] *** 7.4 km (11:02 / km) +435m 8:32 / km
spiked:14/17c
Had a feeling today would find my lack of preparation out and so it proved. No strength whatsoever on the many hills (the majority of which I had to walk), and not a lot of speed away from the hills either. As expected for an Oceania long distance in NZ, it was a very physical course (although not the epic that M21E was), with numerous gullies/ravines which were very slow to cross and sometimes called for a bit of scrambling. (The lowlight in that respect was the almost-cliff I pulled myself up using tree roots on the way into the second-last - something I had to do 1 3/4 times because on my first attempt I lost my SI stick 3/4 of the way up).
One annoying mistake, at 7 where I didn't see the flag in the gully, saw an Australian junior (Mary?) a couple of contours higher and thought she was at the control, and headed up there when I'd been almost in the right place to begin with. Dropped a minute or so there; this area had quite enough necessary climb without doing any of the unnecessary variety.
It was frustrating not to be able to make a useful contribution to the team, especially as we lost the class by 50 seconds (although I was several minutes away from being a scoring runner) and had we won it it would have squared the Challenge.
One annoying mistake, at 7 where I didn't see the flag in the gully, saw an Australian junior (Mary?) a couple of contours higher and thought she was at the control, and headed up there when I'd been almost in the right place to begin with. Dropped a minute or so there; this area had quite enough necessary climb without doing any of the unnecessary variety.
It was frustrating not to be able to make a useful contribution to the team, especially as we lost the class by 50 seconds (although I was several minutes away from being a scoring runner) and had we won it it would have squared the Challenge.
Wednesday Jan 9, 2013 #
9 AM
Pool running 45:00 [3] 0.7 km (1:04:17 / km)
An event-free day in Wellington. Still a bit sparing in how much running I'm doing - the races will be enough this week - so took to the pool instead, thinking of a few heatwave-analysis ideas while I'm at it. Quite a few people doing the same thing (although not as many as the number of familiar faces that I spotted at Te Papa, the superb national museum, later in the day).
Tuesday Jan 8, 2013 #
2 PM
Run race ((orienteering)) 17:02 [4] *** 1.9 km (8:58 / km) +80m 7:24 / km
spiked:14/16c
Oceania Sprint Championships. A bit closer to expectations than Sunday was - lacking strength and speed and generally feeling below par, although avoided any major disaster (and did my main job, which was to beat the members of the NZ team). Ended up 4th (3rd Oceania) in M40, but blown away by the M18s on the same course.
The first three were in the forest on the side of Mount Victoria, with an uphill first which was an early strength test. Got through these OK. Lost a little time on 5, the first major 'you can't get there from here' leg, when I started on an option with no good way out before realising the error of my ways and turning around after a few seconds; also started down a dead end at 10. Maybe 20-30 seconds combined. Nice area and well-used, although (perhaps inevitably) it wasn't quite as epic as the World Cup courses.
Knee was fine in the race but gave a few twinges going to the start through the streets - this is the first time I've run on hard surfaces with it for any length of time so will need to watch this.
The first three were in the forest on the side of Mount Victoria, with an uphill first which was an early strength test. Got through these OK. Lost a little time on 5, the first major 'you can't get there from here' leg, when I started on an option with no good way out before realising the error of my ways and turning around after a few seconds; also started down a dead end at 10. Maybe 20-30 seconds combined. Nice area and well-used, although (perhaps inevitably) it wasn't quite as epic as the World Cup courses.
Knee was fine in the race but gave a few twinges going to the start through the streets - this is the first time I've run on hard surfaces with it for any length of time so will need to watch this.
Monday Jan 7, 2013 #
9 AM
Swimming 34:00 [3] 1.0 km (34:00 / km)
Swim at the Oriental Bay pool - a fairly routine session before the World Cup sprint qualifier. Ended up being a slightly longer stay than I'd planned on because I hadn't worked out that the clutch on the car has two stages and it has to be pressed beyond the first apparent stop before the car would start.
Sunday Jan 6, 2013 #
2 PM
Run race ((orienteering)) 35:02 [4] * 3.5 km (10:01 / km) +110m 8:39 / km
spiked:14/18c
10 days ago, I didn't expect to be starting today, and even yesterday I wasn't confident that I'd be able to do anything more than jog. I certainly didn't expect to emerge from the day as Oceania champion (and second in the race behind Mikko - although results from other classes on the course put my time in a bit more perspective). It was an area for brains rather than brawn, which was as well because I still didn't have a lot of brawn on offer - not much strength up the (many) dunes, but none of the muscular issues from my previous two runs (and no knee problems either).
Avoiding technical disaster was the order of the day today. Missed probably 2-3 minutes all up in small increments, the worst being about a minute at 11 - through others suffered much more badly there (judging by the number of places I gained there), most notably Ecmo whom I saw two-thirds of the way to 12 looking for 11. Didn't feel that fluent finishing through the forest patches but kept it together OK. We did enough to beat New Zealand in our class; not overall, although it was close enough (13-7, with three of NZ's wins being by less than a minute) to give us some hope for the remaining three races - would be a good one to win as no Challenge has been won by a visiting team since we won the relay in 1994.
(A Challenge quirk: Phil Wood and I have lined up against each other as juniors (M16, 1987), elites and now as masters. Not sure if any other pair has done this?).
A highly technical area where low speed was a plus was something which suited me very well today. The remaining days will be tougher, although I should pick up a bit of extra fitness with every run.
Avoiding technical disaster was the order of the day today. Missed probably 2-3 minutes all up in small increments, the worst being about a minute at 11 - through others suffered much more badly there (judging by the number of places I gained there), most notably Ecmo whom I saw two-thirds of the way to 12 looking for 11. Didn't feel that fluent finishing through the forest patches but kept it together OK. We did enough to beat New Zealand in our class; not overall, although it was close enough (13-7, with three of NZ's wins being by less than a minute) to give us some hope for the remaining three races - would be a good one to win as no Challenge has been won by a visiting team since we won the relay in 1994.
(A Challenge quirk: Phil Wood and I have lined up against each other as juniors (M16, 1987), elites and now as masters. Not sure if any other pair has done this?).
A highly technical area where low speed was a plus was something which suited me very well today. The remaining days will be tougher, although I should pick up a bit of extra fitness with every run.
Saturday Jan 5, 2013 #
9 AM
Run ((orienteering)) 33:00 [3] *** 3.7 km (8:55 / km) +70m 8:09 / km
spiked:8/12c
First foray into the terrain, going out early (before a commentary stint) with the plan of staying out for 30-40 minutes and doing a reasonable selection of controls in both the high-visibility and low-visibility parts of the terrain. The good news is that the knee gave no trouble whatsoever. The not-so-good news is that muscle tightness elsewhere was quite restrictive (today more lower back than groin) - this is something I'll just have to work through. Not exactly ready to race tomorrow but I think it will be a good day not to be trying to go too hard. Not always entirely confident with my navigation, but no errors larger than 15 seconds or so. Not aggressive in the least in the macrocarpa but still ended up with a red patch on my forehead (which I didn't notice but others noticed it for me).
Friday Jan 4, 2013 #
6 PM
Pool running 40:00 [3] 0.6 km (1:06:40 / km)
Made it into New Zealand but my orienteering shoes didn't (too much Rowdy Flat grass seed - get them back on the way out). After a quick shoe-purchasing expedition I headed to the waterfront pool at Oriental Bay. On a day as nice as this it's a pity that a pool in such a location is indoors, but as most Wellington days aren't as nice as this I'm not surprised it is.
I'd planned to swim but they had pool running belts available, so I decided to do that instead. Felt as if I had quite a bit of energy, perhaps surprisingly after sleeping badly last night. Quads are pretty sore though - hopefully these will warm up OK over the weekend.
I'd planned to swim but they had pool running belts available, so I decided to do that instead. Felt as if I had quite a bit of energy, perhaps surprisingly after sleeping badly last night. Quads are pretty sore though - hopefully these will warm up OK over the weekend.
Thursday Jan 3, 2013 #
7 AM
Run 30:00 [3] 5.7 km (5:16 / km)
No-one said comebacks were easy. Like the last time I came back from a layoff of this sort of magnitude, I had quite severe groin tightness, which eased a little bit through the run but was never great. (Hopefully history will repeat itself - last time the tightness disappeared within a few days). The good news was that the knee caused no trouble at all, just a couple of slight twinges up and down hills. Muscle soreness/stiffness during the day was much as I'd expect if I'd done my usual Thursday 2 hours, not 30 slow minutes on the Yarra Flats. Still, you have to start somewhere.
41 in Melbourne tomorrow (and 44 in Bendigo). Did I mention I was happy to be going to NZ?
41 in Melbourne tomorrow (and 44 in Bendigo). Did I mention I was happy to be going to NZ?
Wednesday Jan 2, 2013 #
7 AM
Cycling 1:15:00 [3] 28.0 km (2:41 / km)
To work via the Yarra Boulevard. Again a bit lethargic this morning, and carrying more than I sometimes do which my back didn't like very much. The good news, though, is that the physio is pleased with the knee and doesn't seem to have any qualms about my running in NZ.
Today was as full-on as the first working day of the year always is - I thought I'd do well to get out of the office by 8pm (achieved, but with only one minute to spare). The annual climate statement comes out first thing tomorrow, and the impending heatwave (or existing heatwave if you're in WA) will get a fair bit of media attention too.
Today was as full-on as the first working day of the year always is - I thought I'd do well to get out of the office by 8pm (achieved, but with only one minute to spare). The annual climate statement comes out first thing tomorrow, and the impending heatwave (or existing heatwave if you're in WA) will get a fair bit of media attention too.
Tuesday Jan 1, 2013 #
10 AM
Lame walk-jog to fix lame injury 18:00 [2] 2.5 km (7:12 / km)
The first tentative return to running, in the form of 2 minutes on/2 minutes off in the Yarra Bend parklands, and quite an encouraging one it was - just a bit of mild discomfort in the knee, but nothing that would have caused me any alarm if it felt that way in the middle of normal training rather than at the end of a long layoff. Unsurprisingly, didn't feel particularly fit - I'm reasonably confident that I'll make the starting line in NZ now, not so confident that I'll be able to produce much in the way of performances once I get there. Still, more positives than negatives out of this - it's good to be back.
My destination last night ended up being the trig point near Royal Talbot on the Yarra Boulevard. I thought there was an outside chance I might find current or former orienteers there since it was a regular Monday night destination in the days when more Monday night runs started in Kew than is currently the case, and indeed this happened - up there were Carolyn Jackson along with Tim and Bill. The way the fireworks were set up (with displays off the top of all the city buildings) it was probably a better spot to watch from than the CBD was. The first part of the day, after a slightly later than usual wake-up, was then spent marking New Year's Day in the traditional Norwegian style - watching the ski-jumping on Eurosport.
And an item of interest (at least to me) from the British New Year's Honours; the other party in my 1989 "swap deal" between Southampton OC and Northside Navigators/Bushflyers is now Sir Ian Diamond.
My destination last night ended up being the trig point near Royal Talbot on the Yarra Boulevard. I thought there was an outside chance I might find current or former orienteers there since it was a regular Monday night destination in the days when more Monday night runs started in Kew than is currently the case, and indeed this happened - up there were Carolyn Jackson along with Tim and Bill. The way the fireworks were set up (with displays off the top of all the city buildings) it was probably a better spot to watch from than the CBD was. The first part of the day, after a slightly later than usual wake-up, was then spent marking New Year's Day in the traditional Norwegian style - watching the ski-jumping on Eurosport.
And an item of interest (at least to me) from the British New Year's Honours; the other party in my 1989 "swap deal" between Southampton OC and Northside Navigators/Bushflyers is now Sir Ian Diamond.
5 PM
Swimming 32:00 [3] 1.0 km (32:00 / km)
The plan was to move on directly from the "run" to a swim and then move on to work, but this was scuttled because the Fitzroy pool didn't open until noon instead of its usual public-holiday 8am. Instead I went on the way home. Didn't feel as aggressive in the water as last time, but clearly the previously mentioned discovery that I have two arms is continuing to serve me well and I wasn't much slower than last time, despite feeling a little lethargic in a few muscles (mainly those which have been gainlessly unemployed for the last five weeks).
If you're wondering why work was part of the equation today, we start crunching the 2012 annual numbers as soon as the 9am observations come in from WA about lunchtime. Most of this is automated but I'm keeping an eye out for data quality issues - at the end of 2010 a lot of flood-affected Queensland stations didn't report in the last week of the month and showed up in the analysis as spurious zeroes, which if not spotted would have made the difference between Queensland having or not having its hottest year on record. Nothing as dramatic as that this year, and only a few minor issues which had a minimal effect on the analysis. The year's numbers are pretty unexciting too - temperatures slightly above normal and rainfall within 10% of normal in every state except SA, with a warm dry finish to the year cancelling out the cool wet start.
If you're wondering why work was part of the equation today, we start crunching the 2012 annual numbers as soon as the 9am observations come in from WA about lunchtime. Most of this is automated but I'm keeping an eye out for data quality issues - at the end of 2010 a lot of flood-affected Queensland stations didn't report in the last week of the month and showed up in the analysis as spurious zeroes, which if not spotted would have made the difference between Queensland having or not having its hottest year on record. Nothing as dramatic as that this year, and only a few minor issues which had a minimal effect on the analysis. The year's numbers are pretty unexciting too - temperatures slightly above normal and rainfall within 10% of normal in every state except SA, with a warm dry finish to the year cancelling out the cool wet start.