Training Log Archive: grilla

An easy run - felt good which was nice for a change & it was a brilliant morning. Went down Grosvenor, along the SW side of the river for a bit (which was all nice & misty) then back up the jungle track.

Pleased to finally get out and do these, but didn't manage to complete the session. It was supposed to be 4 *1km but right hamstring cramped after 3rd so called it quits and had to walk home. (I had the same thing after finishing the run on Sunday & that is why I didn't run yesterday despite it being a perfect day.)
4:25
4:28
4:31
Pretty ordinary times, I blame long grass for half of that, me for half and the GPS for the rest.

Left ankle quite clunky to start with - did a fair bit of calf stretching after the warm up and it helped. Something ended up out of place after twisting it on Saturday evening.

Absolutely no idea how I managed to get up and run today but I did and felt OK apart from tiring at the end. Completely wrong outfit again and ended up running around the streets in a pyjama outfit and ankle braces, dripping with sweat.
Again just a few time losses being scrappy in the bush controls but that was pretty unavoidable. Either GPS is distorted or there is something very funny with the SE part of the map...

Good new and bad news... I'll now have to get into some serious training having discovered a source of unbelievably fantastic muffins and treats locally. Have had a bit if a muffin holiday since moving to Sydney and that's unlikely to last now.

C • Muffins 2

VERY hard work tonight. First time I've finished a night event (ran one in Jorgensen a long time ago and ended up piking after getting freaked out by barking dogs, mad kangaroos and a failing light in the dark). Was glad to have done Wedensday too as I had my light set up a lot better tonight -am eagerly awaiting some brilliant new ones now. Pretty lucky this was open terrain & I really did enjoy it despite being comprehensively beaten and immensely tired afterwards. Really faded towards the end, only time losses were poor route selection and some scrappy entries to the bush controls - needed to take the time to read the map better and should have gone around all the rough open and bush sections. That would have saved a lot of time as rough open equated to chest high grass in most places.

The state of my shoes after was sad and the colour of my legs impressive. Needed a shower before bed.

Probably inappropriately attired - ran in runners and shorts and ankles taped. The tape lasted only 20min before sweat made it fall off and twisted ankle on way to 9. Long pants would have been useful.

Finally a HUGE thanks to Tracy who stepped in to babysit at the last second - saving Eoin a lot of effort in the dark and rain.

Autumn Series event - in the dark at Kiribilli. Made a mistake by changing my intended route on the start line then found out I couldn't get to the 2nd control the way I'd planned. Rather than ditch it I changed my whole plan which wasn't a smart idea. Enjoyable run, found most controls no worries, others required hunting & there was 1 I just couldn't locate. All up I spent close to 8 minutes stopped! Wish I'd stuck with the original plan as that would have been an even nicer run. Quite spectacular around the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park etc. Had a double take when I saw an AFP car parked in a suburban street then realised we were running past Kiribilli House - I wonder what they were thinking of all these strangers running around with head torches?

C • Kiribilli House 9

Mainly pilates stuff. Ankles really cranky after the weekend so am taking it easy on the balance things for a few days.

A "club" event 1/2 an hour from home so not a patch on Nganga. Was feeling VERY tired running - much worse than either of the previous weekends. Quite scrappy too but its a bit hard to be accurate on these maps. I might learn strategies to help minimise time losses, but might not bother as these are usually safe (boring) routes and not as much fun. Made the decision to take the fun tracks rather than road options whenever possible. Did a few little cross country sections too, but it was a bit scratchy.
Nice single tracks to run on. Will be interesting to download the GPS and see how much time was spent sanding still trying to spot control "pots".

According to the GPS I only spent 42 minutes moving...

A very enjoyable run on a superb morning but tired by the end. Ran via Tracy's and Alexa's to farmers' market in North Sydney. Lucky to have such excellent tour guides and saw some very speccy sights. Pleased not to do the Balls Head loop, as I was quickly running out of steam. Lots of steps today. Balls Head will be something to aim for in the future to make it a whopping 2 hours.

The markets were even better than Subi (if a bit further away from home) so there is a positive thing for Sydney. Have some quince jam that impending visitors might like to try. Sadly my blood plum jam didn't survive my butter fingers :(

C • Quince Jam 6

Some pilates things plus some ankle/balancing work too.

Back still too sore for running so I did some pilates instead - at home, all by myself & without paying anyone to tell me what to do. Almost a first I think.

I'm blaming all the driving as I really didn't have any noticeable problems running over the last couple of weeks.

C • Still a sorry state? 2

ACT Long Distance at Glenbrook. Really didn't feel like starting today as I had a very late start and it was going to be a long drive home. Glad I did though as it is a great area. Ran OK too which was pleasing although I faded at the end. First time loss was 11 where I headed off course and had to climb an extra hill to correct. I did identify the problem reasonably quickly though and made right choice to correct, but still annoying. From the spectator up and down and up and down the mountain I really struggled. Lost a bit of time on 16 and 17 -at 16 had trouble reading the contours on top of the hill, 17 couldn't read the detail in the circle - I think these were just tired errors.
Overall felt like I am remembering how to orienteer again - it is easy in such lovely terrain though :)

C • Fancy a 35km run in August? 7

ACT Middle Distance at Buckenderra. A thoroughly enjoyable course! Thought I started OK but a bit slow (had nothing to get me up the hills today). Lost 5 minutes on 14 and then around 45sec on 17.
14 was a ridiculous mistake - I didn't bother with an attackpoint as from the description I figured I'd just see the control - as if you would use that location for a control if it was that easy! Was most likely rushing a bit too having figured out that I'd probably put some time into Jenny when I saw her at the cross over from 12 (crazy stuff!). Got my come-uppance when Jenny got to 14 just after me. Went different ways to 16 but met up half way through. Different ways to 17 too, I should have kept my eye on her then as I pulled up too early for the control having approached from above. Sloppy at the end - Anna & Aislinn came past and was too busy trying to keep up with them instead of reading my map. Made some dumb executions there.

Sprint at Buckenderra. Should have suited me (apart from the hills) but had major problems. Lost around 90sec on #4 (thought I had to go down a level but really needed to go up. Took a timid way to 5 as compensation and lost a bit more time, wrong route choice to 7 and ended up banging my head in the pine tree hedge (had a headache for 2 days afterwards), couldn't read the map properly to 8. Was just slow from there to the finish. Very impressed at Jo finishing as I was heading out onto the last loop (she'd started a minute in front).
Very tired legs today.

Wobble board, balance board (front/back plus sideways), hops, trampoline, landing
Last session - its definitely been a miracle cure. Now need to continue exercises on BOTH legs. Tried the other leg a few times today to rest but found it was even weaker than the one we were working on.

Obviously the intense training camp (AKA Easter) might be paying off as I got a good result today. Felt very tired and kept stumbling and tripping over things, but seemed to go OK on a course and in terrain that suited me. Only small mistakes, quite a few hesitations (biggest mistake was the first control and that wasn't entirely my fault).

Made an even better fool of myself than yesterday by tripping over the fence on the way to the start triangle, in front of ready photographers and hordes of spectators. After picking myself up & finding my map I ran off in completely the wrong direction - no idea where I was or where I was going. Finally sorted things out and settled down once I managed to find the first control.

Hadn't intended to run today but felt obliged after yesterday's debacle. Reasonably happy with the time (would like faster but you can't just hope that you will be faster without working for it). I lost 2 min on the first longer leg (to 5) then 3-4 minutes on the big one to 9. Other than that just a few slow patches. Was definitely getting tired and slow on the final loop but actually managed to focus my mind on the job & not blow it there.

Forgot to mention I made a fool of myself at the spectator control trying to find a control in a gully at the end of the tapes rather than running to the one I could see up on the spur... Fortunately I managed to ignore the fact that everyone was watching me do this.

Fun course today & a bit strange having MTBO'd here a few years ago.

Yet another tale of woe in an area that I want to like & do well in. Scrappy on the first few, but didn't realise just how scrappy until seeing the splits. Starting to get it together from 4 onwards but I didn't see the flag at 6. Should have had a better look but had lost confidence so took a tour of the region before returning, this time going over the cliff instead of under & found it. Back on track but had lost momentum. A bit of time lost on 8 & 10. Was too unfit for the hill to 11, misread 12, lost a bit on 13 (way too high) before another problem at 14. I think I relaxed too much on an "easy" leg and completely lost track. Took another 2 goes to make sense of things and get it right. OK from there but again stopped thinking to 21 and followed the crowd of sheep who didn't know where my control was...
I thought this easter was going to be bad, but hoped for a bit better brain performance than this!

Event: Orienteering Easter twenty10 Carnival
 

Easter Prologue - good fun course in the intricate buildings. Reading detail was tough & I had a few hesitations - primarily in the spot where there was someone to tell you where to go (doh) and I did that twice (to 7 and 20)! Also was one car park too low for 9, got confused on the taped route to 11 then biggest of all ran straight from 17 to 19. Luckily I worked that one out and went back for 18 (lost about 75 secs there). Annoying to see the girl who had been with me punching 21 as I was still going back to 19.

C • I got confused by Grant too! 4

Very tired and sluggish legs today, didn't notice too much in the race luckily.
Foot/ankle too sore to warm down so I didn't bother.