Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Was feeling a bit apprehensive about this beforehand because my back was feeling a bit stiff walking down to the shops early in the morning, but it turned out to be basically OK and the run ended up as a reasonable one. Certainly worked well mentally as a long run, in the sense of going past the hour mark and it seeming only a staging post (notwithstanding being in the middle of some big hills at the time). Took a gel at 18k, something I haven't usually been in the habit of doing on training runs (got to make some use of all the ones I didn't use last weekend), which may or may not have had something to do with how the last part went - on the one hand feeling a bit tired and sore in various places, on the other hand picking up a bit in actual performance and seeming to have a bit left in the legs. A sunny morning with a bit of warmth in the air; similar to the conditions I'm expecting next week in SA (and WA could be reasonably warm, too), and with four long races in the next five weeks (SA, WA, Australian, North American) it's good to get this one under my belt.

Ticked off the most distant place yet on my list - Angela Close, St. Helena, in almost the furthest corner of the municipality (just down from the Glen Katherine school). Fortunately the next one after that (Angus Close) was 200 metres down the road, and Anley Mews, Montmorency was on the way back. (Could have got one more if I'd felt like another 15-20 minutes but I didn't).

Bendigo Saturday event at Mandurang. Felt a bit sluggish and listless at times, especially in the first half, but got around (and as with last week it was good to get out into the bush after a challenging week). Lost 30 seconds at 2 after not seeing the flag on the far side of a tree and 15 at the last through not noticing there were two parallel watercourses, but otherwise a decent technical run (albeit on a course at the lower end of the difficulty spectrum). Craig caught me fairly early on; I more or less stayed in touch with him when it was hilly but he was much faster on the flat and downhill.

Later start than usual after a late-night teleconference last night. Sluggish start, improved a bit later but this was definitely a run which felt like it was doing the bare minimum.

Lip still a bit swollen. Might be putting in my Movember bid a couple of months early because it will probably be a few days before I'm shaving there.

So ends another challenging week (although it didn't get to me personally quite as much as it did last week). Still fairly all-consuming; it took until nearly 5 this afternoon before I got started on what I was really supposed to be doing at work today. Suspect we might be dealing with this for a while yet as our opponents probably won't be satisfied with anything less than a Royal Commission. (Whilst there would be a certain badge-of-honour aspect in a Royal Commission being called into one's activities, it certainly wouldn't be a pleasant experience).

C • Talk to Prue about the experience 4

Came out of this morning looking rather the worse for wear after sorting things out with Graham Lloyd behind the News Corp dunnies doing a faceplant on a Hawthorn footpath after stumbling on something innocuous (so innocuous that I couldn't work out what I'd tripped over). Having ascertained (with the assistance of a passer-by) that there wasn't too much blood coming out of my lip, I pressed on to complete the rest of the planned run.

The fall, which came about 8k in, actually did a pretty reasonable job of waking me up and the run became significantly better from that point - seem to be on a little bit of an upswing (despite last Sunday). Quite a few traffic interruptions through the middle of the run through Hawthorn, before a clear stretch along the river. Didn't really tire much, and didn't feel as tired through the rest of the day as I often do on Thursdays (even noting that this one was at the shorter end of a normal Thursday).

I now have one swollen lip which looks uglier than it feels. Should hopefully settle down before too much longer.

C • Hmmm... 2

I left home to the news that a certain section of the media was once again on the case, and that this time they'd gone much more personal than had been the case for the last week and a half. There isn't really a lot that can be done about a campaign like this other than wait for it to burn itself out and hope that there is still something standing when that happens.

The run itself was in an unusual location - I was doing a talk to Rotary in Berwick this evening (probably wouldn't have chosen the day of being mauled in the Oz as optimal to do a talk to a fairly conservatively-inclined group, but it worked out OK), and decided the best way to do this was to park near the Monash-Toorak interchange (also next to the main bike path) and ride from there. My run was also done from there, along the bike track initially, then up into Ashburton (the end of the shops no longer being marked by a picture of Jeff Kennett smirking into a telephone, as they once were). Was unsurprisingly in a foul mood at the beginning, but started to enjoy myself fairly quickly, and this had become quite a good session by the end.

First run since the weekend, not great but not the back issues of Sunday. Started out on the flat and left any hill-climbing to the second half, by which time I was warmed up (more or less).

Crime featured as large in the newspapers of 1909 as it does now (those who have been following my media tribulations will know why I was taking an interest in January 1909 newspapers). The seriousness with which some offences was taken was a bit different, though; a seaman and a ship's Chinese cook appeared before the Sydney Water Police Court on charges of importing opium into Australia and were fined 50 and 30 pounds respectively. (That's probably several thousand in today's money, but still a substantial improvement on the 5-10 years in Long Bay that a similar offence would attract these days).

Decided the pool would be more back-friendly than running (although it improved significantly overnight, not unexpected given this injury's history), and unusually for me went in the evening, quite a wet one - I'd made good use of the radar to get most of the ride from work done in between lines of showers but it was a different story once actually in the water. Quite a good session.

Excitement of the session came in the form of three police who entered the pool area. Last time this happened they were just in search of a loo but this time they seemed to have other business, spending quite a time in deep and meaningful conversation with someone on the far side. I briefly had visions of that person being hauled away in handcuffs and bathers, which would be a reasonably humiliating way to be arrested (albeit not quite on the scale of Captain Melville of Kooyoora fame, who was caught with his pants down in a Geelong house of ill repute), but the constabulary departed without him.

Meanwhile, a horse in similar condition to the one my money was attached to in last year's Cup continues to be flogged.

The You Learn Something New Every Day department - I wasn't previously aware that we sold any weapons to the Russians, but apparently whatever it was we were selling them we're going to stop doing it. Presumably the next move will be a vodka embargo.