Training Log Archive: Mess Engineer

Spent a lot of last night limping.
Left leg as badly locked up as injured right.

Reduced overnight but still a problem.
Left calf swollen to be 2 cm larger than right.
Spent entire morning slothing watching downloaded TV and using microwave on a heat pack every 30 minutes to try and free it up.

Any exercise regime or success I have seems to always be one step forward and then one step backward.
I want to be able to attend running training on Monday!

Light drizzle throughout.
Smashed last weeks personal best by 50 seconds!!
Start was a lot cleaner today as moved closer up to start line and I actually heard the start announced.
First kilometre was my fastest EVER RECORDED at any point in my life by a HUGE margin.
Combination of recent training, new shoes, and willingness to push to the point of wanting to give (or throw) up.
Last 2 km more of a struggle after first 2 km speed.
iPhone Splits 4:01, 4:28, 4:38, 4:54, 4:50.

C • Well done you! 3

Same routine

My first attendance at one of these.
Paid for a 22 season pass so better make the most of it.
Park Run, then this, then Orienteering Events the next day is going to be a physical challenge!

Very heavy rain compared to Park Run this morning.
Wearing ankle braces and Salomons as it was pouring and I didn't want to slip.
Really struggled after 2 km facing the hills and with lack of energy after Park Run.

Mick Kavur (from Orienteering a few years back) overtook me at this point and then flogged me by 2 minutes.
Left lower leg cramped really badly after 2 km.
So much so that when I drove back to Wests Mayfield to have a hot shower afterwards I could barely walk.
Hot water and stretching will hopefully relieve it.
Rest day required tomorrow!

8:15 am - 9:15 am
Collecting this weeks fallen stick harvest.
Plus pulling out yet another dead tree.

9:15 am - 10:45 am
Unblocking drain running under driveway prior to upcoming storm.
Dug a full wheelbarrow worth of dirt out of the exit side trench.
Made up a ram rod using a leftover welded metal disk (from a flying fox left by the prior owner) to push / pull all the sludge from within the 6 metre+ lengths of pipe.
Pipes are not straight, has a joint in middle, and fall is wrong so not ideal but this is less work than digging up the drive and replacing it.
This worked better than by previous approach of a garden trowel taped to a piece of conduit.
If clean it out more often than annually won't be so difficult.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

10:45 am - 11:30 am
Burning off Fire Pit (now out of Permit Season) and collecting more sticks within sight of Fire Pit.

12:10 pm - 1:15 pm

Several years back put in stakes around natural wattle seedlings so I wouldn't mow over them.
95% of the seedlings died.
Stakes have 'rusted' into the ground so hard to remove.
Progressively pulling them out.
Some by hand but others with my fencing strainer being used to grip the stake and the mattock for leverage.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

Still got about 3 times this number of stakes to pull out.

Majority of time raking leaves and twigs in this area as once the stakes gone intend to whippersnip or mow to restore it.

C • safety boots 2

4:10 pm - 5:05 pm
Moving 5 large poly trailers of raked leaves to dump by downhill neighbours fence line.

5:05 pm - 5:35 pm
Whippersnipping grass in this area to allow 2nd round of raking.
Hours and hours still to go.

Repeat of other day. 10 mins on abs machines then 15 min in class room solo.

Haven't tried this since ankle injury.
Answer is cannot handle all the jumping and rapid changes in direction when sprinting.
So bailed before more injury. Not happy Jan.

New shoes very lightweight and comfortable.
Darby Street to Carrington Park Run and back.
Slow due to having to wait at lights to cross roads.

New key all sorted!

Walk and talk

First 10 mins abs on machines.
Then solo push ups, sit ups, biceps and triceps in the weights class room for something different.

For the first time in more than a year spoilt myself with a new pair of street runners.
I had forgotten what spongy cushioning felt like!
Bought from Pure Performance in Newcastle since I have been to four of their runs.
"Saucony Hurricanes".
Can no longer run on the street in Salomons as rear chewed out so destroying my heels (I will continue to try to use these in bush in short term).

C • That settles it! 2

From Orienteering

Apparently "shoe bling" is the "latest thing"?
Shop puts a shiny tag in your shoe to give you a 5% discount if you buy another pair.
And they customise the "bling" to your running club.

At 43 my first ever "real" running training session.
Hill intervals at Barr Beach.

4 x (90 second up hill then jog back down).
No recovery in between intervals.
Then about 2 minute recovery.

Followed by another 4 x (90 second run up hill then jog back down).

Bucketed down into the second set so was hard running uphill as could barely see.
Not happy that brand new shoes got soaked 5 km into their first outing.

I didn't keep stopping iPhone so time is total.
The elevation display for the run looks pretty funny spiking up and down.
We did about 0.9 km warm-up and cool-down afterwards so probably 4.7 km of this is the hill part.

Session was good and I will continue to attend.

I am going to work out what I can turn this 43 year old body into ... both in running and in weight training (even though these are to some extent mutually exclusive).

Returned to car after Interval training cold and soaked.
Just wanted to drive home.

Car key had got wet in pocket.
So electronic buttons wouldn't unlock door.
No big deal ... just unlock it manually and the alarm will go off ... and then I just put key in ignition ... turn it ... and cancel alarm.
Done this repeatedly before.
Today the answer was "NO".

Alarm wouldn't stop. Engine immobilised. Great!
Read manual. Tried a range of things.
Every time I opened door or tried engine alarm would go off. Great!
Spare key 40 km away at home. Great!

Rang NRMA. Took 45 minutes for them to arrive.
They can't fix it. Need to tow me home. Great!
Another 45 minutes for tow truck. Great!

9:30 pm by time I got home.

Only positive is a month ago when my Roadside Assist came up for renewal, because I am doing so many km on explorations and State Events, I spent the extra $80 to upgrade to premium.
So that saved me $215 in towing costs or $130 for a taxi.

With spare key eventually managed to get it to start, reset immobilizer, and drive the 5 m remaining into my garage.
Both keys 12 years old, buttons stuffed, and batteries almost totally flat.
So new key to be purchased on way to work tomorrow!

C • Drama!!! 1