Training Log Archive: jennycas

After a meeting at FMC: up through the Uni & Bellevue Heights then down through Eden Hills & Sheps. Guess I'll get used to this sort of route in future, just as I did when I lived on Sturt Rd 20 years ago. Was a bit startled to realise this afternoon that while Repat hospital may be closing in December, many units/wards will be moving offsite as early as October - which is only 4 months away...guess I'd better make a start on decluttering my office (and saving 15 years' worth of orienteering documents from my computer to an external hard drive).

We started up above the uni on a hill covered with rocks and native pines and I got through the hilltop controls pretty cleanly then was very slow on the steep descent down the hillside into the uni (made slower by the fact that at my moment of hesitation trying to work out if the marked fence crossing point was actually a gate, I had a moment of bodily contact with Bruce whose trajectory was at right angles to mine - oops!).

I'd expected my legs to be tired after yesterday but in fact they weren't too bad although obviously I've lost fitness since NZ, so I was able to run hard through the uni section and didn't mind that the course was a bit too long. Only mistakes were in not correctly reading the trap controls on the bridge and on the broad stairs.

On the way back to Melbourne we drove past The Rock, scene of the first Aust Schools' Champs I ever attended - in 1987 - and later stopped to walk to the top of the granite boulders at Mad Dan Morgan's Lookout. He sounds like a really nasty piece of work even as 1800s bushrangers go, but the smallish patch of granite outcrops could make a nice little microsprint: http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/t...

C • Broad stairs 3

Day 3 2 - Splits

I had been a bit worried about how a longer race would go with not having run anything much over an hour lately, but at least this was not going to be particularly tough terrain (not when compared to St Helens granite), and in fact it turned out to be quite pleasant with really only 2 big hills. Also 2 really long legs, on the first of which I was proud of myself for seeing the wide left track option, but then I ballsed up the control circle just after Bridget hooned past me. Bun passed me on the track on the other long leg, having put her foot down on the accelerator...! Although I would have been happy with more legs in the vague flat stuff the last loop up & down the hill wasn't too bad either, and it was an absolutely glorious day to be out in the winter sunshine.

Day 2 Course 3 - Splits

Event: 2017 Australian 3 Days
 

This was a nice area of granite hills with some patches of native pine, not far from the outskirts of Wagga, but I didn't do justice to Briohny's course setting - partly because of being very stiff after the 5-hour drive from Melbourne and also due to being a bit distracted by thoughts of the OA meetings to come. Plus I struggled to bring the map into focus, often wishing that I could just push aside the black dots in order to read the contours underneath. Veered too far left on the long leg to 2 and Lucy had caught me already, then we were not far apart through the next few rocky short legs, then I came unstuck on the danger downhill leg to 11 where I came around the hillside to the narrow spur, passing a flat rock-slab area at the end of the leg and thinking I was on line to the control but then not finding it and thinking I was too far downhill already and going back up until I could find something I identified, instead of just checking out that rock a little further downhill which other people were running to...think I was getting the vague-and-hungries because I hadn't had lunch yet. So that was about 5 min lost there (and Anna F came through me here) plus I was a bit scrappy on a few controls towards the end, and a bit grumpy with my result because a clean run would have been at least 8 min faster.

Day1 Course 3 - Splits

Wasn't really enthused about the concept of running but thought I'd better go along to be sociable. Up the southern park boundary, back along Long Gully with B&S, Zara/Callum, Angus, Lauren.

Got dark very quickly when I was putting out tapes/reflectors at Shepherd's Hill for Robin's training, so it's a good thing I had my headlamp...once everyone had headed off to do the sprintervals I trotted around after them to collect the tags, playing "spot the ringtail possum". Don't mind being by myself in Shep's at night, but I prefer Belair. Also I am wondering whether the way my feet land when running after dark is contributing to hamstring tightness.