Training Log Archive: simmo

Low key hard course at North Ledge CATI event. Actual distance 6.01km, Ben Corry (M21) ran 47 minutes, but no other results available due to self-timing. Missed 2 controls on dubious boulders, lost about 20 secs and 45 secs.

Reabold hills, rain threatening but only hit a light shower for a couple of minutes. Lovely rainbow over City Beach.

Bridges run, still sore shoulder; pretty cold evening.

Kings Park run, but only the short loop. Had quite a hard fall on Sunday, giving the ground a true AFL hip and shoulder (Mick Malthouse would have been proud of me). Didn't feel too much at the time, but by Sunday night my shoulder was very stiff, and today I have large bruises. Must have also given my back a jolt, as that's sore too. Anyway, decided to have an easy run tonight.

Badge event at Beraking, gps distance 6.0km. Very uninspiring course in a very green area - lots of prickly moses, will be picking the little thorns out for the next 4 weeks.

1, 2, ok. 3 was in the wrong place, on a boulder field about 5m from where described. Someone complained but didn't take it further. I had no problem with the flag, but the control shouldn't have been used because of all the young pines and other green that have grown since the area was mapped. Also a new track 150m before the control made me very nervous, so approached it very slowly. Probably lost 1-2 minutes stopping and checking where I was, but other people lost much more due to the bad placement.

4 was a cliff on the side of a spur - whole area was very thick, and the cliff seemed a bit lower down than mapped. A real bingo - I was with 4-5 others hunting around, when one found it, we all did. Cost me 3-4 minutes.

6 was also a small boulder in the green, but I should still have got it first time instead of wasting 2 minutes looking in the wrong places.

Leg to 7 had a very steep climb through green, from the top of the climb it was an Easy course leg (except you wouldn't send Easy course people through steep, rocky, green).

8 was another Easy grade control, but a disaster for me - control was on one of a line of cliffs just after a watercourse. I actually came out at the right one, but didn't see the flag and went away, fought through some very difficult rubbish, looked at the map for a while, then fought my way back again. 5 minutes!

8-9 was a ridiculous 40m of climb up through thick green. 10 was ok, on 11 I made a stupid route choice and had to deviate around the control and come in from behind, thanks to unmapped fight South and East of the control. An extra 50m or so on tracks to come in from the North-West would have saved me 1 minute. But one look at the unmapped green should have been enough for the controller to say 'no way - don't use it'.

Despite all the time loss, I still came 3rd, within a minute of 1st. Guess everyone was having problems.

Bridges & Southern half of Heirisson. Started an hour earlier so it was still very light on the Island. There seems to be only one mob of 6 kangaroos, got quite close and didn't see any heads sticking out of pouches, so if there are any joeys, there still very small. Of the six, I could see that two were males, but couldn't see the other 4 clearly enough - maybe they're all males?

The last two weeks have been chaotic, therefore not much running, but have been doing orienteering control setting for the School Champs, and checking tapes for th 5/7 event at JFNP.

Bridges/Heirisson, including the Northern loop of the Island. Longest I've run for quite a while. Kangaroos were just inside the fence when I came through the gate. Only 5 or 6, I don't think they are breeding that well, but maybe the lush grass on the Island now will help.

Usual Kings Park run, didn't try to push it and slow time as a result.

H4 race at Ngangaguringguring. Actual distance 4.7, went a little wide (purposely) on a couple of legs, and managed to run all the hills.

Hills at Reabold. After last night's dismal effort I felt surprisingly fresh this morning, perhaps the cold temperature had something to do with it.

Around the bridges - felt a bit queasy as I got onto the Causeway, so skipped the Heirisson Island loop. Very slow.

Usual Kings Park run - by myself.

Down to Freo, across to Canning Bridge, back along the river by the Kwinana Freeway.

Autumn Classic Day 2 and OY race - nice, clean run, actual distance on gps 6.1km, so routes were basically straight. Skirted slower, rocky areas a couple of times. Won the course and the AC badge for the 2 days, probably 2nd in OY, but I think I got one back on Craig, so now we're level pegging.