Training Log Archive: jennycas

Event: Australian Sprint/Long Distance Championships
 

Canberra Grammar - rather cool to have a star shaped map. Also within walking distance of G&A's so when I realised I'd forgotten my control description holder I ran home to get it, as a warmup.

Did a number of dumb things out on course also, running into the wrong courtyard on both 3 and 4, hesitated just before 9 because of a random sign saying "drop maps here", very nearly ran into the spectator control sooner than I should have because of overrunning a side alleyway into the control beforehand, also lost time a couple of controls before the end because of a bin blocking an access route.

So I lost probably a couple of minutes (at least?) but that just shows that it was a good course in a complex area and I wasn't really in race-focus mode, which is my own fault. Would of course have been ideal to be able to run a bit faster but that would have required proper training. I'd have cheerfully accepted getting under 20 min today; as it was 10 junior girls beat me and that's at least 4 too many. Means Liv & Mel scored Arrows points though.

We went and took lots of photos of tulips afterwards, since it's Floriade time.

W21E - Splits

Course 2 - Splits

This one's for Susanne :)
Up to the trig on Red Hill from Geoff & Alex's once we got to Canberra. I admired the 360-degree views and lost count of the kangaroos.

Red Hands Cave - Campfire Creek loop from the gates of the national park at Glenbrook. Oh dear, I have got so slow :( partly because I am so tentative with my knees on both the ups and the downs, but this was even worse than last Christmas (when I was running from a thunderstorm). Highlight was seeing a lyrebird, who stood on the track and sang in front of me, but he didn't spread his tail, presumably because I don't look or sound like a female lyrebird.

We then spent the day, after the obligatory round of parent-visiting, taking Isaac & Amy up to Katoomba to Scenic World (skyway, cable car and semi-vertical railway are about as extreme as I get when it comes to rides) where it was significantly cooler than down in Penrith, but still somewhat windy.

River loop in Penrith, from caravan park in Emu Plains. Actually rather pleasant although I was feeling middle-aged and frumpy. Knees held out until going down some steps at the end. Don't like the intense feeling of vertigo I get going across the Nepean River on the M4 bridge (my mother in law says the Victoria Bridge makes her claustrophobic with its high sides, but I don't find that one so bad).

C • Middle Aged? 1

We were staying near the little blowhole at Kiama so I went for a very slow, stiff plod south from there along the coast track, which mostly follows the clifftops on the grass behind people's houses and drops to a beach every so often. I was reminded of a run I did around Kaikoura after the WRC in Nov 2010, except there weren't snow-capped mountains behind me. Was rewarded at the end by a couple of decent spurts from the little blowhole; the big one had absolutely nothing yesterday because the wind/waves blew the wrong way.

Nice drive up through Berry/Kangaroo Valley/Fitzroy Falls to ultimately get to Penrith.

Headed south along the coast when we flew into Sydney. Pretty stiff & sore today and so a couple of short walks with Geoff including out to the point at Bundeena, were more than enough. Nice views in lots of places.

Event: SA Middle Distance Champs - Moon Rocks
 

Went out after a couple of hours coordinating the start, and never really got into the map(ping) - which was weird, given that I have no trouble with Paul's mapping on Tanunda Creek. I consistently failed to be able to tell the difference between what was mapped as a normal and a large boulder, but my biggest errors were on 9 (a boulder field below an escarpment of big stuff; even when I triangulated off the nearby trees and watercourse I didn't notice those small rocks were sheltering a control) and 10; an uphill leg looking for a boulder in a line of cliffs - I actually saw the control off to my right but thought that the boulder it was on stuck out too far to be the one which was in the cliffline). Oh well, I guess I frittered away 4-5 min but even without that I just wasn't able to run fast enough to be near the placings. Have never been so exhausted when running as I've been this week and I'm a bit horrified about how unfit I'm going to be for nationals.

Such a springlike afternoon out that I thought I'd procrastinate a little longer on going in to work and finishing off stuff before being away for the next week. Sunburn from this morning (there really were almost no trees) starting to develop nicely :(

2 - Splits