Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Event: Paddy Pallin 6 hour Rogaine
 

Paddy Pallin rogaine with Jenny, at Catherine Hill Bay at the north end of the Central Coast on a rather miserable day - rained almost throughout and quite heavy in the second half, turning more than a few sections of tracks into lakes. Bit of a mix of terrain - very thick coastal heath and banksia where tracks were the only realistic option, coastal headlands and rock platforms, some reasonably open forest in the southern part, and bushfire regrowth closer to the start.

This ended up being somewhat below par - certainly well below the level of our performance in the Otways last year. Jenny had a bad patch around 1.30-2.00, to the extent where I was getting quite worried about her, especially as she'd made several uncharacteristic navigation errors in a short time. Turned out some food was enough to make the difference, but we still weren't doing much running except on level and downhill tracks, and didn't really come good until the last 40 minutes. (My hamstring was giving enough not-quite-right hints that I wasn't that upset - I'm not convinced it would have got through pushing things hard for six hours). One navigational issue of consequence, at 72 (perhaps 5 minutes or so). Ended up 3rd in mixed veterans (and 23rd overall), which was about what we deserved.

Seemed to pull up more or less OK, although tomorrow will be more of a test. Lots of wet gear to put through the wash when I get home.

C • Just held off... 1

Sydney sandstone offers a bit more potential for running adventure than Melbourne does. Went with Jenny on a loop on both sides of the river from Tracy's, with the rain adding a few points to the degree of difficulty. Not especially pushed as a run, but glad that the hamstring held up OK - didn't feel quite right on the flatter sections but not something to get in the way.

Then it was off for a day talking about orienteering on a day which was better for talking about orienteering than actually doing it.

Not taking any chances with the hamstring so went for a swim at Northcote. Bit of a nothing session. Hamstring itself felt a bit awkward during the swim (and otherwise during the morning) but somewhat better as the day went on - hopefully it will be OK for Sunday (as long as it isn't water-soluble).

South Wharf intervals, having gone into work early to make sure I didn't get caught out by any train delays (with a fixed commitment at 9). Rather sharp northerly crosswind during those few weeks a year when northerlies are cold. Pretty slow through the early reps but put in a few faster ones at the end.

Bad news: left hamstring twinge appeared on the last rep. It's still a bit tight tonight (although not as bad as the equivalent one before the SA weekend), so I'll be careful with it between now and the Paddy Pallin on Sunday.

Warm-up and down. The former was definitely needed (Achilles mostly), although I definitely didn't feel as weak as I have on earlier days this week.

Had something more or less long in mind this morning, but felt somewhat out of sorts and back wasn't great so took to the pool instead. Ended up a reasonably routine session but without a lot of energy. (Felt a bit livelier in the evening).

I came across the full list of Victorian Senate candidates today. This also lists their stated occupations, some of which made for quite a good match - you probably wouldn't be too surprised that the lead candidate of the Mature Australia Party is retired, or that one of the candidates for the Arts Party is an actor ("general store owner" also seems a good fit for the Australian Country Party). The only candidate describing themselves as "home duties" is running for the Australian Christians, and carrying on the fine tradition of Ben Chifley, someone who calls themselves a "locomotive driver" is bearing the standard for the Socialist Equality Party. (In fact, by the time he started to get seriously involved in politics, Ben Chifley would probably have been more accurately described as a union official than as a locomotive driver, but we won't spoil the story too much).

A pretty flat effort - didn't really get going and feeling rather weak at times (perhaps a continuation of how I was going yesterday). Pushing on at the moment - it's going to be a bit of a rearranged week because work commitments mean a long one on Thursday isn't really feasible.

C • You don't want a long one on Thursday 1

QB3 sprint. Felt much as I did last Monday - clearly coming up on the third day after a long race on the second is a bit of a problem for me at the moment (even if yesterday was a fair bit shorter than the previous weekend). Today was a fair bit shorter than last Monday, though, and although I wasn't exactly enjoying my running, I did get through it this time (albeit with a fairly dismal placing).

Didn't get off to the best of starts when I realised I'd forgotten to clear my stick and had to dash back from the start line (punching start fortunately). Only glitch otherwise was a few seconds in a dead end on the way to 9, although I would have done better to take a few more stair-avoiding route choices, I think. Needed all the strength I had today for the king-of-the-mountain 14 (and a bit of agility to avoid the swooping birds around 7 and 8).

Most of the others (including those I might have hoped to stay in front of) seemed to be in the 16s (though Andrew Barnett was just over 15). Not sure what Josh was doing but he stopped me from coming last.

Hopefully this was a successful weekend in building the profile of the sport in this part of the world. The local club (with a certain amount of outside support) did a great job of making things happen. Would be a nice spot for a Christmas 5-Days, although accommodation might be a problem at that time of year.

Saw my first bit of political advertising for the weekend on a campus noticeboard - a flyer for the Health Australia Party. (Just in case you might be tempted to vote for them, they're anti-vaxers with a bit of homeopathy thrown in). Looks like Rob Oakeshott's last-minute nomination might have caught a complacent local National campaign by surprise - I'll be surprised if he wins (the redistribution has cut his old territory in half and he has no history at the Coffs Harbour end of Cowper), but he's at least a bit of a wildcard.

War by other means - the Russian state news service's take on the weekend's altercations in Marseille:

“Two hundred and fifty Russian fans repulsed an attack by several thousand English and forced them to flee. English fans started the fight by attacking our fans, but 250 Russians from different corners of our country did not flinch and repulsed the attack of the heavily drunken islanders.”

(General consensus seems to be that it was the Russians, in conjunction with the local ultras, who started it, although the English weren't exactly unwilling to engage).

Hard 1 Day 3 - Splits