Training Log Archive: jennycas

Since I had to go up the hill to collect controls/flags/units, not to mention map bags & heat sealer (that's going to make for a scintillating evening), I joined Fern for an enjoyable conversational run in the park on a lovely sunny afternoon with a tinge of green finally showing through on the grass. I'd venture to suggest that the hills haven't gone away over summer, although my legs' reticence to run up them could have been partly due to this morning's Killer Massage.

Since I had to leave work early anyway to pick up maps from the printer's, figured it could be fun to go to sprint training, which was advertised as "meet 4.45 for warmup so we can do this in daylight" but of course that's not quite how it panned out; although running was fine, reading the map detail was not so easy and with small group mass starts on short course sections, it was occasionally the-blind-leading-the-blind although at least we all know the uni campuses fairly well and are aware of some of the traps. Ben asked me afterwards whether I'd noticed my eyesight having worsened since COVID, because he reckoned he's finding it harder to focus, and I had to admit that things do seem a bit blurrier for me also but I'd thought that's just due to too much screen time. Anyway, partway through the sequence of 4 short sprints we picked up Zara who'd come later, and at the end I ran with her around the two courses which she hadn't done yet and tested out some different route choices from those which I'd taken earlier.

Decided I needed a break from spending my mornings and evenings sitting at the computer scrutinising Purple Pen (can't wait for schools' champs to be over) and joined the others at Nth Adl; only 5 of us as it turned out. Coach Lauren had us doing fartlek (sprint long side, jog short side) around a soccer pitch and I managed 10 laps although recoveries got slower & slower. And then we did a bonus 5 min effort around the track, in which I just managed to crack 1km. And then I went up to Tyson's to do more schools' champs stuff such as the start draw - we are both just holding out for Monday afternoon!

So, it occurred to me on Friday afternoon that G & I could potentially stay overnight in the Barossa and dine at https://1918.com.au/ and we did indeed have a lovely dinner.

Of course, with only 24hrs' notice, accommodation was at a premium, but it turned out that rooms above the Tanunda Hotel (and with a weird little ancient laminex plastic ensuite cabin of claustrophobia built into one corner of the room) were only $90. Woke up this morning and looked out the window, couldn't see the hills because of fog. But by the time we'd breakfasted and I'd bought some dodgy ankle tape at the chemist's, it wasn't too bad back up the range although very windy.

So I quite enjoyed trotting around/picking off the remaining 21 control sites even though the going is always slower in the southern section and it will definitely be good to get the contours and vegetation re-done with new LIDAR before Easter 2024. G waited patiently with a book to read, and we came home in enough time for me to head up to Tyson's for schools' champs meeting which segued into heading to the Belair Hotel for Evalin's farewell dinner, and that was my weekend done.