Training Log Archive: Mess Engineer

10:35 am - 12:10 pm
Continued pushing over paperbarks in downhill downhill (150 m from my block) Neighbours.
Also use of mattock to dig some out.

Then progressively threw them over downhill neighbours fence.
Then went in downhill neighbours and dragged them 75 m over to my boundary fence. Then cut into 2 m lengths ready for loading into poly trailer to haul down to fire pit for another burn off next weekend.

Pile only about 1/4 to 1/3 of previous one for downhill neighbours as nowhere near as much regrowth.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

Another 2 hrs of playing with Boomerang Park map.
rockman provided updated basemap after yesterdays review and had spent similar time overnight.

We both spent large quantities of time coming up with every concievable combination of sequencing the controls to try and make course as readable as possible but also with some decent flow.

So after all this any complaints on the day of the event will not be well received. For a mental break need to get back outside for some gardening therapy!

2 pm - 4:30 pm
Downhill downhill Neighbours continued.

Before shot ... lots of scrubby grass

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

After shot ... after multiple brushcuttings, raking hay, then final whippersnip to clear up and final rake.
Partner helped with some raking.
Still have to do the OTHER side of the fenceline as well!

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

In far distance of the fenceline is a mammoth shrub of lantana which I haven't tackled yet. So only about 60 m along his 75 m rear boundary. Also got to dig out the paperbark stump at the front of the shot.

Raked it all into a big pile of grass taller than me. Will either let this rot or work out some other way to dispose of. Will be annoying to carry over two sets of fencelines if have to take to my fire pit.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

8:05 am - 8:40 am
Walking the fence boundary track with a 2.4 m piece of wood on the wheelbarrow and pulling out very small seedlings within this distance of fence.

8:40 am - 9:20 am
Continuing yesterdays unfinished whippersnipping.

Distance a guess.

2 hrs walking around Boomerang Park with rockman discussing my selected control sites for Park-O in 2 weeks.

Some extra map detail to be included at a few of the controls to make navigation easier.
Some changes to some controls and the sequence between controls.
Council had taken a tractor through some of the previously semi-cleared areas so it was now more open than last week!

Mosquitos were prolific and didn't care at all about the protective sprays that rockman and I applied!

Went over to downhill downhill Neighbour (who I hadn't talked to in 2 weeks since my proposal to clear his back boundary) and asked again about my request to do clearing of the back boundary.
He had looked at what I had done on downhill Neighbours and therefore agreed for me to do the same.

7:30 pm - 8:00 pm
I went down for a "look" which turned into a working bee in the fading daylight pushing over paperbarks using brute force and body weight.

I found in a hollow stump an orange fuzzy creature. After taking lots of flash photos it decided to rapidly exit the stump and run up a tree. After googling orange phascogale (a protected creature supposedly in our area) and orange possum it looks like it is a juvenile possum as (a) it was pretty skinny almost like a weasel (b) phascogales have fuzzy tails.

From Wallalong Wildlife 2

From Wallalong Wildlife 2

From Wallalong Wildlife 2

From Wallalong Wildlife 2

Instructor added a new weird looking exercise to the mix.
Get in pushup position with toes on a weight disc on the wooden floor.
Then use hands to drag your 'paralysed' back end across the room.
Worked abs and arms incredibly hard.
I was almost wrecked half way through the return leg.

4:20 pm - 6:00 pm
Under 2 weeks since last mowed and grass growing madly but I didn't want to leave it to get as thick as last time which previously meant I had to slow the mower.

Raced around all lawn areas tonight prior to the potential rain making the ground / grass wet.
Since ground dry I could drive around at top speed and not worry about the turn radius too much without digging up ruts. Zero turn mowers turning circle allows great donuts!

Hour meter finally clocked up 20 hrs after more than 1 year.

6:45 pm - 7:30 pm.
Whippersnipping around trees / council strip / spoon drains after dinner.
Ran out of daylight .... more tomorrow depending on rain.

Also going to meet up with rockman to 'vet' my Boomerang Park event at Raymond Terrace.

Went to work prior to 6 am so I could leave early and get this last burn done prior to potential rain on the weekend.

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Loading all the piles onto Fire Pit. It was all on (but as a total mess overhanging the sides as many of them were about 3 m long) within 30 minutes.

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Waiting for it to burn down sufficiently so I could get the long overhanging front and back ends (once the middle bit burnt away) and chuck them back into the central inferno. Hot and sweaty and kept having to swap which side of my body faced the fire so I got toasted evenly.

Break for drink.

4:05 pm - 5:05 pm
Went into downhill Neighbours to fill the last 2 large poly trailers of cleared trees, haul them back and burn them off.

Break for dinner.

5:35 pm - 6:05 pm
One last wheelbarrow of rakings from downhill Neighbour to completely finish off backlog and tidy up.

So all the 'evidence' of clearing downhill and uphill neighbours is now up in smoke (unless I start on downhill downhill neighbours too).

Will leave fire to burn down and continue to monitor prior to bed.

Run Newcastle twice before and never got a percentage high enough to remotely drop the 72.6% I needed to get in my Top 10 for this year.

Very hilly course and since I had done the rogaine on the weekend I decided there was no point to push hard. Result was probably lowest km of any event this season.

In the 2 minutes thinking time seeing the course layout the 50 points of controls were really centralised (????) and nothing like the previous two runs (which were spread all over the map) so thought :

(a) macey is going to clear this with ease

(b) I could pretty much get everything excluding the eastern strip of 3B, 2K, 3E and 3G (11 points). Maybe skip 1N so 12 points for a total of 38. But couldn't decide whether to head south or north first. So not ready when 2 minutes were up!

(Routegadget Link)
Route
Screwed up the start so a quick 180 degree turn to 1K!
1K 3C 1M 2D
Had problems finding the sign so down and up the hill again!
2E 1P 1Q 2H 2J
OMG less than 15 minutes in ... I have to add more or I am going to be back way early.
3E 3G
Revert to plan.
3D 2G 1L 1J 1H 1E 1C 1B
Drop 2A
1D
Only included 1D as I thought I would have to drop the 2 x 2 pointers
1G
Oh well I will try for 1 x 2 pointer.
2B
Didn't want to risk the slight climb by adding 2C so turned back to the finish.

for 21 controls (1 x 12, 2 x 6, 3 x 4) and 36 Points.

So by adding the additional (much longer 2km return) length 3E and 3G (6 points) I had to drop 3A, 1A, 2A, 2C (8 points). So should have stuck to the original plan. But I didn't really care as even then it still wouldn't have been in Top 10 and for some reason I really enjoyed the run out to 3E and 3G anyway.

Also by adding this ... and comparing to most other peoples routegadget solutions ... I must claim the prize for the most inefficient route of the day!

As expected macey cleared the course with 5 minutes to spare so got 50 points + 5 bonus = 55. And 36/55 - 65.5% so not remotely in Top 10.

Helped briefly at the finish desk to clear the backlog of score marking.

Got the normal toblerone for attending every event this year ... and it was eaten before the ceremony was even over!

Thus endeth the season.

C • Self assessment 1

And ended up 27th for the season.
So for the first time in 5 seasons I have gone backwards.

This year my speed has improved but my route selection has been abysmal.

C • Big influx 5

Legs reminding me of Sunday ... but only mildly ... far from the agony of first 30 km run in 2009.

Routegadget
Wallarah 6 hr Rogaine Team 61 (Colin Bailey and David Messenger)

http://www.garingal.com.au/cgi-bin/gadget3/reitti....

The speed difference between 1st hr and last hr is pretty sad.

4:40 pm - 6:40 pm
Filled up 5 polytrailers from stockpile down the back from prior clearing in downhill neighbours.
Had to throw branches over the fence into trailer ... then tie down ... then walk and wheel it 300 m return to the Fire Pit.
4th trailer tipped over sideways which was a total pain.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

May go to work early, and then leave early, on Thursday to fit in an afternoon burn off as the weekend looks like a write-off with all rain.
Although the photo looks identical to last weekend ... its a new pile.

From Wallalong Fire Pit

Always amazed at paperbark trees. They are so weak and break so easily but they are designed to recover from almost any disaster. They can break through 95% of the trunk and fall over .... and then regrow back from the tiniest sliver of bark eventually sealing back the wound (leaving crazy 120 degree sharp bends in the branch). In the photo below this was from the bottom of the pulled out pile of trees ... so it has been totally OUT OF THE GROUND for more than 1 month .... and its still madly sprouting clinging onto life.

From Wallalong Gardening Part 4

And after the weekend I seem to be developing the start of a sniffle ... so hopefully it will hold off one more day for the final Street-O of the season.

Looking at results from yesterday we came 25th of 132 teams.

Available Points
20 x 7 = 140
30 x 7 = 210
40 x 9 = 360
50 x 10 = 500
60 x 8 = 480
70 x 6 = 420
80 x 3 = 240
90 x 3 = 270
100 x 3 = 300
56 in total for 2920

We got
20 x 5 = 100 (71.4% of available)
30 x 4 = 120 (57.1% of available)
40 x 4 = 160 (44.4% of available)
50 x 6 = 300 (60.0% of available)
60 x 6 = 360 (75.0% of available)
70 x 4 = 280 (66.7% of available)
80 x 0 = 0 (0.0% of available)
90 x 1 = 90 (33.3% of available)
100 x 2 = 200 (66.7% of available)

So we got 32/56 or 57.1% of the available points and 1610/2920 = 55.1% of the available score.

Detour when driving home.
Around Boomerang Park checking Park-O potential control placement.
Will move some around to make easier to locate.
Mozzies were totally unbelievable ... people will need to bathe completely in aerogard before competing.