Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Not up to running straight off the plane these days. Not a bad flight as these things go - feared the worst when someone who looked like Lasith Malinga (and was definitely built like a fast bowler) sat next to me on the Adelaide-Dubai leg, but we managed to stay out of each other's way and I got a reasonably long block of sleep. Only issue was the #firstworldproblem of the lounge in Dubai being too crowded to get a shower in the hour or so I had there (this after a bus ride from the plane to the terminal which was so long I was half-expecting to see a "Welcome To Oman" sign).

Route choices between Dubai and Geneva are a pretty good indication of the current state of Middle Eastern politics. For years they'd tracked through western Iran (or less commonly Saudi Arabia), staying clear of war zones in Iraq and Syria. More recently they've started giving Iran a wid(ish) berth and going through Iraq instead, and today we stayed a little further away from Iran than usual, probably not unrelated to the current tensions there. If the US is stupid enough to launch a proper war against Iran, though, I wonder if Dubai itself might be too close for comfort.

(There is a history in Australian orienteering of people getting caught out by their planned flights going through war zones; Grant had to find another way home after JWOC 1991, having booked on JAT Yugoslav Airlines just in time for the civil war to break out).

Geneva itself was at its best this afternoon. I've previously remarked that it can be a dead place on Sunday, but not on a pleasantly mild June weekend with the sun shining (this after 100mm of rain in the last 8 days). There were people out everywhere, half-block queues for gelato places, and even the demonstrators (who I think are in favour of more democracy in Algeria) seemed in a good mood.

Got back to Melbourne (briefly) late last night - it was definitely the conference flight, but I still didn't expect to find myself sitting next to the person I sit next to at work (this wasn't pre-arranged), with someone else I know well in front of me, who was one of the three people I dropped off on the way home. (All three live in Coburg or Preston, suburbs much hated by airport taxi drivers - many of whom aren't shy of making their displeasure known to their passengers by all accounts - because they're just outside the radius of short-trip destinations which allow drivers to skip the queue when they return to the airport).

Back had been OK in Darwin (or maybe I just didn't notice it in amongst other issues) but wasn't good today, so I took to the Northcote pool instead - last time I'll be doing this for a bit. Felt like I was working pretty well in the water. It's a lot quieter here in the middle of the day than it is on a Saturday morning.

Next move: my next stint in Geneva. In the process of flying out this evening, something which involves a slightly creative route choice (presumably the Melbourne-Dubai leg was very full judging by its price, so I'm going via Adelaide instead). So far so good.

I suppose it counts as progress that it took me a bit over 30 minutes to run into a brick wall today rather than 25 like it did yesterday. Maybe if I stayed around for another week I'd acclimatise to a decent level, but I won't be (that said, I suspect my next destination will be almost as humid in the second half of next week).

Checked out Mindil Beach (surprisingly little litter after last night's market), and a nice patch of tropical suburbia in Stuart Park (certainly nicer than the semi-industrial strip along the highway itself).

Heading home this evening, briefly.

C • Snakes 10

Promising, if not brilliant, for the first 25 minutes - certainly improved on yesterday - but clearly ran out of fluid at that point on another humid morning, because I hit the wall hard and abruptly. Ended up walking for a few minutes, which was enough to cool myself down enough to run the last part - but obviously not pleased not to be able to get through what should have been a straightforward 45 minutes. At least this will be good acclimatisation for the next stop in the northern summer.

First attempt to take on Darwin's rather unseasonable humidity, and it wasn't pretty. About the most positive thing to be said for this run was that my back wasn't giving trouble, but it was a real struggle and one of those days where I was more than happy to make stops to read signs at attractions, admire a very low tide (and the resultant expansion to Mindil Beach) and so on.

Without any talks of my own to do today, I spent plenty of time following other people's (as well as pulling out my Hug A Climate Scientist Day T-shirt for the occasion). As usual at these conferences, the ratio of (ideas I'd like to pursue further):(ideas I'll have time to do anything about) is probably at least 5:1 if not beyond.

C • Ratios 2

Early morning (earlier than might otherwise have been the case because I had to go and pick up my poster before the conference sessions started) in a hotel pool which wasn't really well-suited to lap swimming, but I managed to complete something resembling a session without feeling too dizzy. As might be expected in Darwin, the water was warm.

Got my first talk out of the way, with its slightly quirky title (inspired by seeing bleached drought-affected grass outside the Helsingor castle last July, a photo which was my opening slide): "Something rotten in the (climatic) state of Denmark: global climate in 2018". I'm next up on Friday, this time talking about dense local observation networks in Bendigo.

C • Dense 9

Tadpole Bay, a map almost entirely yellow and green, with some limestone but not the features of yesterday, a patch of sand dunes, and some flat areas. Felt very ordinary at the start - back troublesome on the first hill - but thought there would be enough to be worth exploring a bit at least, and hope that things settled down, which they did on the downhill through 6 (though I still walked the climb to 9). Dropped maybe 30 seconds on 3 and a minute on 4, a vague control, but navigation decent thereafter. Don't think the route choice along the top of the coastal cliffs to 8 was optimal, but it was scenic. Went wide to 11 which seemed to work, got the dune controls well, and thought I'd nailed the potentially troublesome 14 as well - which I had (the place that it was supposed to be), but no flag in sight. Dropped about 3-4 minutes there in collective searching, before playing out the last part of a hare-and-tortoise game with Ethan (who'd caught me at 9 but lost time going straight to 11) and Remi, decided in unusual fashion when they both veered off going from the last control to the finish - not quite as good a finish chute scalp as Martin Dent in similar circumstances this time last year, but I'll take it :-).

Pretty disappointing performance today but enjoyed the experience, once I got moving. Think an easier day will be in order tomorrow, particularly as I attempt to adjust to an unusually humid dry-season Darwin.