Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Victorian State Series at Porcupine Ridge - not a type of event I've done a lot of in recent times (except in conjunction with major events). Medium distance race but a little bit tougher than I was expecting; we were using the northeast corner of the map because of recent burning off on the western side we normally use, and this is a bit rougher than most central Victorian gully-spur, with a fair bit of fallen timber and regrowth (as well as the hills).

This was a steady run, with the closest I came to a miss being coming into the rocks at 6 a contour too low. A bit stronger uphill than I have been (a good day for this to happen), but never felt fast at any stage - not that the terrain gave a lot of opportunities to really stretch out.

In the middle of the bunch this time rather than off its back (Reuben 60, Toph 62, Jim 63, Bruce and Bryan 64), although I'm under no illusions as to what last week's field would have done here - the only question would have been whether Jules's time would have started with a 4 or a 5.

Weekends at home have been somewhat rare of late and this was an equally rare Saturday morning run from home - not sure how long it is since I've done what used to be the usual routine of run post-Saturday paper (followed by trip to the Preston Market).

This run felt better than most of my recent ones. It threatened to catch alight a few times but never did (going uphill was usually enough to take a bit of the gloss off) and the pace was still pretty slow, especially in the first half.

Headed out through Springthorpe and feared the worst when I saw three ambulances parked outside the guest house there - until I saw several ambos sitting calmly in the building's cafe.

First pool running session for a bit, at Fitzroy, enjoying the steam rising up off the water early (although it wasn't that cold). Seemed to be moving a bit faster in the water than I usually do, for no obvious reason. Not sure whether to call this a good sign or not.

I thought today might have been a busier media day for me than it turned out to be (which is just well because I don't actually know an enormous amount about volcanoes other than the obvious, although sometimes public communication is about stating the obvious in a convincing-sounding manner). Hopefully it settles down fairly soon, although Icelandic volcanoes have kept going for months on occasions in the past.

A comment spotted on the Pollbludger blog:

"If I wanted to vote for a cyclist I'd vote for Cadel Evans. He's a better cyclist and has released as many policies as Tony Abbott has".

Lunchtime on the Tan and a definite sign of progress, 34 seconds faster than last time (although running in a race probably accounts for 15-20 seconds of that). Still some way to go but it's good to be heading in the right direction.

The start was a bit faster than usual and I fell out the back even faster than usual, but had settled into a reasonable rhythm by 500m and felt stronger up the hill than I have in recent weeks. A bit of a flat spot in the middle but then got into a nice bunch after 2k and was in amongst it for the rest of the way, before dropping off at the very end.

Km splits 3.41, 3.54, 3.44, 3.42. The uphill kilometre is a bit closer to the others than it has been - a 13-second differential compared to 16 last time (at my best 8-9 is typical). Thought the finish might have been a bit quicker given that I was in a bunch that was working well, but can't be too upset with this run at this stage. Another 34 seconds and we'll really be starting to get somewhere.

Going to/from the Tan, via a slightly different route to usual.

I'm not sure this morning is the first time I've seen a cyclist talk on a mobile phone while riding with no hands, but it's certainly the first time I've seen two different cyclists doing it in the space of five minutes.

C • even better 3

Those camping at Buckenderra last weekend may consider themselves fortunate the event wasn't a few days later; it fell to -5.7 at Cooma Airport this morning (although I think in last night's conditions Buckenderra probably wouldn't be quite as cold as Cooma Airport).

C • So did it snow in the mountains Sunday night? 5

Another inner-suburban run, with the chief geographical highlight this time being to check out the new Rushall footbridge (which has taken about as many weeks to build as the Darebin bridge is taking years). I thought the sealed path leading south from it on the west bank might go all the way through, but it doesn't, necessitating a little bit of scrambling - all adding to the fun.

My calves responded strongly to the needlework yesterday and were very tight when I started, but loosened up quickly. Not an especially brilliant run though.

A somewhat reshuffled week today from the usual, with a long(ish) session from Clifton Hill before a physio appointment. For the first half and a bit this was as uninspired as the midweek runs of last week (and even slower), although not quite as week uphill. Hit a nicer rhythm later on and the last half-hour was pretty nice, though quads started to tire in the last 10 minutes.

Did the masochism double this morning - back-to-back appointments at the physio and dentist.

Not the best night's sleep, thanks to a strategically placed scratch on my shoulder (presumably acquired through altercating with some vegetation yesterday, although I don't recall the injurious incident) which hurt whenever I rolled over on it - something which happened quite often.

Autumn has come to Melbourne - the 123-day run of consecutive 20-degree days (a record by more than six weeks) ended yesterday - and Fitzroy pool was accordingly emptier (of people) than it's been for a while. Nice once in and a better swim than some I've had lately. Seemed to loosen me up a bit which is good.

MFR Monday night from the Goddard residence in Carlton, up and around Royal Park (with a bonus loop at the end when the others decided 35 minutes was enough). Felt very sluggish early, just in case I was under the delusion that this morning's swim had accelerated my recovery, but got going a bit better later on; never what you'd call an especially vigorous sessions though.

Made an early exit after dinner (and admiring Dion's wedding photos) to join an international teleconference to plot the destruction of the global capitalist economy (actually, to organise a workshop on improving global temperature data sets). One of the consequences of living in Australia is that these are going to be at odd times, although 10.00 is civilised compared to what one of my colleagues has to put up with (fortunately we don't have anyone on the west coast of North America and the central US participant is a morning person, which may or may not have something to do with his being a very enthusiastic runner - more than once at conferences we've compared notes on the best local haunts). The time zones are easier in the northern summer too.