Training Log Archive: leepback

Event: Newcastle Park Tour 7 - Event 2 - Boomerang Park, Raymond Terrace
 

Boomerang Park Raymond Terrace

New map and first time park setter.
Enjoyed immensly although still strugggling with the actual running part. Beat Mapgirl (and JL) which was my main aim. Maps must be pretty heavy as when she puts one in her hand she cannot beat me even though it appears she might be running better than me at the moment.

Liked the nav challenge in the treed section. Hard to read it when it comes up so quick and it is a compromise to either slow down and read it all or just head in roughly the right direcion. I got unstuck once for maybe 30 seconds and another couple of ten second delays.

Long - Splits

After 3 runs in the previous day (for me) and a couple of horrendous drives, we decided to wimp out and not contest the score section this morning.

As it turned out it was much better weather but it still would have been very damp conditions out in the forest.

Thanks CCN for a great event.

Note: time just a guess - will fix later.

Wet conditions so down to about 160 runners. LeepBax and I hoping to be the only pram were once again disappointed by the fact that one other turned up pushing us into second placed pram. Mapgirl ran a 15 or so second PB which was nearly overwritten by my much slower time when I accidentally used her barcode to register my time. Thanks to the officials on the day for fixing it as she would have killed me if her PB didn't count.

Our time was subject to a few factors. The wet conditions meant that the gravel sections were soft and they grabbed relentlessly at the pram tyres hampering progress. Similarly the headwind pushed the pram back into your hands but at least going with it meant that I didn't really have to push at all. I also tried not to overdo it as I had two more runs to do that day, the relay nad night sections of the O'Shea 2day.

Due to all this I thought we went fairly ordinary so I was surprised to find this was our third best time out of 8 outings here. Perhaps we are getting a little better. BobG also ran a PB which like mapgirl was impressive under the conditions.

O'Shea Relay @ Dooralong

Trip down was very slow, no faster than 75kmh on the freeway due to extremely heavy rain and even some water over the road north of Jiliby. Weather was fairly ordinary at start of event to say the least. I was off first but had trouble locating our starting point on the map (start had been moved due to wet weater) so was last to head of and had trouble making anything fit at all. I went a slightly different way to most due to my misreading the start and ended up havig to cross some unmarked fences which apparently had been built that week. Cost me a bit of time so I got further behind. Perhap I should not have run the 5km earleir this morning as i was tired by the first control and slipping over due to the wetness and slope of the area. I then went down to my waist in a small watercourse and hit my arm causing my shoulder to jar. It bloody hurt so I was having a bad day already.

Eventually I did go past a few but most of them I never saw so I guess they were way off course. Caugth GregB and we sort of went around the second half together. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between tracks and watercourses as everything had flowing water.

My time was ordinary so we didn't have a great start to the O'Shea. My partner, ShaneJ, didn't have his best day either.

O'Shea Night leg @ Dooralong.

If today's challenging elements had nothhing on tonights. We spent the duration between the two events sitting on the verandah of the disused function centre of the lodge watching sheeting rain blow across the fields due to the now strong winds that had developed.

Others arriving back after heading to Wyong for some dinner had told us there was considerably more water over the road so we were starting to be a bit concerned that we might not get out of here (the Peugeot is fairly low to the ground).

We started 3rd in the long pairs due to it being a reverse chasing start and we haing such a bad relay result. I was determined to navigate OK and not get so worried about any sort of faster speed. Lost a bit of time in those damned fences (couldn't see the gate) but Nav overall fairly good especially considering the minimum lux my two cheap torches were emitting.

The water on tracks and lying around had increased throughout the afternoon. Water flowed everywhere but fortunately it seemed to be shallow. I came to one section of track with a lot of water flowing over it about 2/3 the way round my course. I was cautious but it only ended up being shin deep. Our course dictated that we would return here and so about 6 minutes later I was coming from the oppostie direction and knoing how deep it was just ran through. Hhm, it seemes to be knee deep now. Later on others would find it chest deep and have to utilisse the wire of the adjacent fenceline to get across. Very scary especially in the darkness.

Wind and rain was accompanied by some sheet lightening and thunder and overall it was very bleak, but in a wierd way it was fun to be out there. My partner had decided it was a bit extreme and seeing he had the longer course and only one of our times would count he sensibly pulled the plug.

Wettest night event I've ever contested. Most of us will remember this event for a long time to come.