Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Set myself today to do the longest run since September and succeeded. Felt a bit tight all over beforehand and wasn't sure how I'd react once running. It wasn't the most comfortable runs, especially uphill, but lasted the distance and again had no issues with the calf. Will hope to ramp the distance up progressively further over the next couple of weeks - the aim is to be back up into the two-hour range on Christmas morning (or maybe Christmas Eve if it's looking like it will be too hard for find a two-hour window on Christmas Day - given that I'll have small people in the house this year).

Good to get out into the Yarra parklands again, but otherwise there wasn't a lot to be said for this run (other than remaining uninjured) - felt rather sleepy and sluggish throughout. Out a bit earlier than is sometimes the case on a Saturday thanks to other plans for the day.

At Northcote in amongst the showers (including a spectacular double rainbow to start with) - the car park suggested that there were lots of people there but almost all of them were presumably indoors. A decent enough session before a somewhat overindulgent day incorporating the work Christmas party among other things.

The aforementioned party was accompanied (as you'd expect) by lots of warnings from the work health and safety people about responsible consumption of alcohol and the like. Obviously not every organisation holding a party today was so diligent, as walking back to the office I found myself in the midst of a group from somewhere else who had clearly been engaged in the irresponsible consumption of alcohol. One of their number, a loud and aggressive drunk with a sideline in making sexually suggestive comments to passing female pedestrians, has an excellent chance of going home in the back of a divvy van.

The annual soccer tournament after returning from Canberra. We definitely missed our usual goalkeeper (who was at the same conference as me but stayed on the for the last day) - last year we didn't concede a goal, this year we let in 13 in three games (including the first game against Monash, where we led 3-1, trailed 3-4, equalised at 4-4 and lost 5-4). We were also weakened a bit by lending a few players to CSIRO, after Larry Marshall had given out a few too many free transfers to interstate and overseas during the off-season. Melbourne won.

As for my own performance: didn't get on the scoresheet this year (at either end), with a tally of one assist and a couple of goalline clearances. Calf started to feel a bit iffy after sprinting in the last game so dropped back to full-back, which included trying to defend a 3-on-1 (you won't be surprised to hear that I didn't manage it, although at least they had to use all three of their attackers before scoring the goal).

Summer twilight at Red Hill, rather more epic than I was expecting. I knew when the assembly area was at the place I think of as the Carousel (although it probably hasn't had that name for 20+ years) that there were going to be some steep bits, and that there would be a reasonable number of thistles and grass seeds. This one had a lot in the steep stuff - more often across than up and down, but still slow - and several scary downhill legs to small point features in nothing much.

A lot of people struck a lot of trouble (some of the controls were hung very low). I didn't fare too badly by those standards, probably 45 seconds at 11 and smaller misses at 7, 10 and drifting wide on 18. Unsurprisingly, I didn't have my terrain legs (it was my first time running in the terrain for a couple of months) and lacked confidence in the rougher ground underfoot, and also didn't have much for the hills, although the final climb was a bit better. 28 years is definitely more than enough to lose a home-ground advantage (not that home-ground advantage would ever have helped much with the hills).

Today's bit of celebrity-spotting was when I arrived at the conference today and just about the first person I saw was Dave Warner, someone whose only discernible connection with the Australian Statistical Conference is that he generates lots of statistics. (The team were staying in the hotel where the conference was). I congratulated him on the result last night but didn't get round to asking him whether he had any good deals on OLED TVs.

C • Warner 8

Another step up, earlier in the day than I've been used to venturing out of late because that suited my companions for the day (Grant and Jim). Headed down to Gossan Hill - seemed to pass pretty quickly. We weren't moving all that fast although there were enough hills to make a bit of a difference. Again responding pretty well on the injury front (and when you're in good company it's easy to forget about imagining bits of soreness which aren't quite there in reality).

That set the scene for a long but enjoyable day - the statistics conference all day, followed by the cricket 10 minutes' walk away at Manuka (first time I've been to a game there since about 1992). The traditional rain on an international cricket day in Canberra was present again this time, but it cleared out soon enough that the start was only delayed by 15 minutes.

At CISAC, heading out during the changeover between Cassie getting back from her run (don't think you'd have anticipated 25 years ago that there would be a time that she was heading out for runs before I'd even got up, but I've become a less extreme morning person and she's become more of one) and Jim heading out.

The pool was in 25-metre mode this morning (first time I've seen it like that). Felt like I was floundering for a lot of it and kept misjudging the turns, but sort of got into it a bit later on. I was being outpaced by a 60-something woman in the next lane, carrying a fair bit of weight and doing breaststroke, but I'm long since past being embarrassed by comparing myself with other people swimming. (Cassie tells me that swimming in Norway is good for one's ego in this respect).

CISAC has replaced its digital clock, so you no longer have to guess which parts of the numbers aren't working this week.