Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Tasmanian Series event at Sandstone Valleys, in (I think) a different part of the map to my only previous outing there at the 2005 Schools; long cliff lines provided the odd control feature and added rather more to the route choice options by making various straight lines non-viable.

Didn't warm up as well as I should have and was punished with a very slow climb up the hill out of the start triangle, the beginning of a first leg which wasn't much under 2k (4 was also very long, but with a good wide track option). Plodding through the early stages so it wasn't a massive surprise when Brodie caught me 4 minutes coming out of 3. Perhaps more surprisingly, we were in quite a good scrap through the middle half of the course from there; I still wasn't running very fast (although better once the terrain flattened out - the south end was very enjoyable running) but he was making more mistakes. We were still together at 8, but then he stopped making mistakes and I started making them (45 seconds at 9, 30 seconds at 10) and he got away. Still not running too well physically, but had some fun on the way. (Not sure if the indifferent running today was related to sleeping abysmally last night, which in turn was probably related to going to bed too soon after the football, although I was also dwelling on the OA audit becoming a lot more complicated than it should be).

Hadn't realised so many Tasmanian orienteering people were at CSIRO - quite a few of them mentioned that they'd been to my talk on Thursday. In general the post-event was a day when it was hard to move 20 metres without finding someone to talk to, although quite a bit of the conversation involved various Tasmanian juniors who support either Essendon or Richmond, and dissecting last night's game. (If I ever become self-important enough in my OA role to no longer be interested in talking to M16s about either their performance on the course or the performance of their football team, it will be about time for someone to encourage me to resign).

C • Dreamtime 1

C • Well put, Blair. 1

Test-running at St. Helens. I could tell you more but I'd have to kill you.

Rest day from formal training: spent the day checking controls at St. Helens for the Australian Long Championships (I'm the IOF Event Adviser for this). Should be good fun, and the green strips along the creeks are (mostly) penetrable (although you will get your feet wet, and possibly more than your feet). More legible than I'd feared for a 1:15000 digital print in the mining detail (and the 1:15000 championship maps will be offset-printed which should be better still).

Saw an ad this afternoon: "Biddy lost 18 kilos and 43 centimetres in four months". I'm assuming it's a different one.

C • Woo hoo im thin! 4

A few people asked me at yesterday's meeting whether I was going to run up Mount Wellington. I have done this (when here for a conference in 1996), but it was a 3.20 epic then and would be longer now. Instead I retraced some other 1996 steps (I must have been a glutton for punishment in 1996) and went up Mount Nelson instead. I've done this twice; the first time was one of the great training runs of my career, and the second one was pretty good too. It's not a particularly steep climb, but is a long one (a pretty continuous 6k at a pretty consistent 5-6% - I bet plenty of cyclists are seen here on weekends).

Today didn't quite live up to the levels of 1996 but was still better than anything else this week. feeling stronger on the climbs than on much shorter ones previously. The long descent was demanding on the muscles, and the final loop through the upper part of Sandy Bay and on into Battery Point, including some short but very sharp climbs, was hard work at times. Great view from the ridgeline of Mount Wellington catching the first of the rising sun.

Towards the end my path took me past the Errol Flynn Park. I gather its naming was a matter of some controversy, thanks to Errol's somewhat scandalous private life (from which the expression "in like Flynn" was derived).

Off to St. Helens tonight.

C • You'll be amused that 'in l... 1

In Hobart, from the central city. Decided this morning was the morning to go east, not sure if this was a great idea because getting across the bridge is a bit of a pain - the paths are narrow and whatever the signs say, the bike riders expect you to get out of their way (a more sensible idea would be for one side to be bikes only and the other side to be pedestrians only). Ended up having just enough distance for a circuit of the Rosny peninsula at the far end. Still feeling rather weak and clogged up, though improved a bit in the last 20 minutes. A nice morning to be out.

I presume the sign 'Do not cross if a large ship is approaching the bridge' is a legacy of 1975. One would hope that no future captain would be so incompetent, but I guess you can't be sure.

On the way back a few people were holding up big yellow placards next to the main road. I'm always interested in what a demo might be about so went to have a look, but they turned out to be advertising an employment agency. ('Sign with Max Employment and you too can get to stand in the cold holding a silly sign!').

C • Try Knocklofty 4

Second session at the end of the day in Hobart, heading north this time as far as Lenah Valley. It's always a bit of a question mark in a place like Hobart as to whether a straight line on the map is going to be vertical on the ground. This one wasn't too ferocious, although I was a bit surprised to discover how far I'd climbed when I got to the top of the last major hill. Surprised how slow this was, although I think part of that might have been the Garmin struggling in the inner city (unless I suddenly dropped to 7 min/km downhill in decent light), and another part was probably being in the dark, street lighting in suburban Hobart back streets being fairly minimal.

There was a bit of traffic at the start but it dwindled quickly by the end. A lot of Hobart looks like it could still be in the 1960s, which is part of its charm, but that extends to a central city which is stone dead after 7pm.

Spotted while stretching at the start was a car with a parking ticket. Not that many years ago, Hobart parking fines were $9 which made it cheaper to park illegally than legally (these days they're a still-underwhelming $25). Also spotted was a Danish consular vehicle. Hobart would normally seem an out-of-the-way place to have a Danish consul but I'm guessing their principal function is to keep the press pack under control whenever Princess Mary's in town.

It wasn't happening for me today - must still be recovering from the weekend's efforts, never getting into it and feeling weak and sluggish. Would be more concerned if this wasn't coming off such a hard weekend. Got deluged by a heavy passing shower in the last few minutes (but not enough to make my shoes overly wet, a good thing prior to travelling).

Heading to Tasmania tonight - initially in Hobart for a couple of days for work, then Event Adviser work up at St. Helens.

Swim at Richmond. The water is hotter in the showers and less hot in the pool than it was the last time I was there, both of which I view as positive developments. (Easier to park than the last couple of times at Richmond, too; must have been the builders' RDO). Felt vaguely promising at times but gradually drifted out of it; not as stiff as I'd feared, though.

Something I neglected to mention from the weekend was Murray's discovery, more or less by accident, of the best way to get rid of grass seeds from socks which have been in Queensland bush; hang them in a bird cage.

C • good investment! 8

Obviously no-one else felt like coming up after the weekend's races - not entirely surprising - so it was just Amy and myself for a session from her new place in Richmond. Out along the river, back past the MCG, and through the crowd making their way to Rod Laver Arena (I guessed from the audience demographic that it wasn't One Direction; it turned out to be Prince). Not as sore as I'd feared but not an awful lot of energy. A bit of tightness in my left knee.