Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

I guess I was overdue for a bad week, which this one has been. Back not really functioning at all this morning - knew before I tried to start that it wasn't going to work. Hopefully it's an aberration.

Ended up heading out for an afternoon ride after the (virtual) Yarra Valley AGM, out to Bundoora this time, which doesn't have big hills but has lots of rolling ones; unlike my last ride out to the north, this time the tailwind was early and the headwind was late. Felt reasonable, and handling the hills OK.

It seems to have become an AP thing of late for people to run their distance in years on their birthday (I did this once, on my 30th, with 30 degrees (or close to it) for bonus points), but I suspect when the time comes next July I won't be emulating Sarah Connor (Campbell), who ran 50km for her 50th this weekend.

C • Birthday run 13

Back to Darebin Parklands today (a place I'm progressively learning more about), this time for the permanent course. This is mostly fairly easy technically but still good to get out on some map and some patches of terrain. The most oddball spot was #7, which according to the map is on an "island" of sorts between a side channel and the main creek - except that watercourses sometimes have a life of their own and the side channel is now the main creek (which obviously confused someone later today who reported the control missing).

Didn't feel quite right running this morning, but back mostly reasonable except for a bit of a flare-up climbing the hill on the east side.

Run home from the parklands. Felt better than I had for most of the preceding part of the session.

One thing I definitely haven't missed this year is the culture warriors coming out to play on Anzac Day. Can they stay away next year too?

Actually managed to get through a morning run of sorts for the first time this week, but it wasn't a particularly convincing one - definitely in minimum viable session territory and feeling like a brick more generally. One of those days when it was a bit of a disappointment not to have to stop at most of the road crossings (generally thanks to conveniently timed trains stopping such traffic as there was). Still, it's a start.

Discovered in the process that the dodgy track on the south side of the railway west of Dennis station, home to a few "should I really be here" moments at street events, is now a proper footpath.

The 'check in open' function of the Qantas app doesn't appear to notice when your flights are cancelled, which meant that I was getting not especially wanted reminders this morning that I was supposed to be going to Queensland this morning for NOL races this weekend.

C • Cancelled 6

Back sufficiently unpleasant this morning that I didn't even attempt a run, but did manage to get out for a ride at lunchtime on the La Trobe loop. Felt like I was struggling a bit on the climbs (a northerly wind probably had a bit to do with this), but a reasonable pace. More traffic than usual on the first bit, presumably because people were using Heidelberg Road to avoid the freeway (still closed well into today). Back feels somewhat improved by tonight so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Back continues to be troublesome. Usually if I can get through the warm-up for an intervals session it's OK once I get going, but not so tonight - knew on the first rep that it was going to be a problem. Bit of a setback this week after a decent stretch; perhaps I shouldn't be too greedy (relatively speaking).

Spotted a police helicopter, but I think it reasonable to assume with hindsight that they weren't looking for people sitting on park benches.

Warm-up for this session.

Lunchtime Pilates session. My back had flared up last night (and was uncomfortable going to bed, which is very unusual), which scuttled running this morning although it was somewhat improved. Coped OK with the Pilates though.

Latest historical excavation was Easter 1994. I was involved with setting this one (doing day 3 at Honeysuckle Creek along with John Asker, although on the day itself I fled the country to run a World Cup race in NZ instead). Remember it chiefly because we used the shorter hard-navigation courses to introduce Australian orienteering to what these days would be considered a fairly conventional technical middle-distance course (it seemed a good use of the area, and the older women - which in 1994 meant anything from 45 upwards - had been complaining for years that their courses were too easy and boring). It would be fair to say that some people handled it - Dale Ann Gordon came from 11 minutes down on the last day to win W50 - and some people didn't (a couple of well-known names were over an hour off the pace). Having the W12 leader end up halfway down the mountain wasn't part of the plan, though....

C • John 3

Lunchtime Boulevard loop, having deferred from the morning because of high winds then which had settled by the middle of the day (still a few light showers but nothing to worry about). Took quite a bit of time out of my previous sessions here, which I'd like to attribute to improving bike fitness, but I suspect at least part of the story is that I think I might have had a brake rubbing slightly before fixing the front wheel puncture last week.

The bats were again in the news today: the local MP wants to get rid of them, apparently because some of his constituents think they can transmit viruses (I guess it's progress that they wanted a cull of local bats and not a cull of local Chinese). He's been doing quite a good job this week of demonstrating proof of the saying that it's better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you're a fool than open it and remove all possible doubt (and the Victorian Liberals must be the only political party on the face of the planet who think that governments should still be trying to run a surplus in the current situation).

C • Spreading viruses 2