Training Log Archive: jennycas

Here beginneth this week's terrain boot-camp; part 1: erosion-scrambling.

This was fun, and justified running elites - a middle distance course which was over 80% in the complex gold mining erosion detail stuff, which I managed to read pretty well with no major errors although I probably still frittered away a couple of minutes on route choices where I went a bit too wide, not always intentionally. Given how slowly I was actually running, as evidenced by a finish split of 50 sec when everyone else was in the 30s, I'm quite surprised to be not much more than 10 min behind the winners, which used to be my goal when I was younger and fitter. Really enjoyed focusing on the detailed stuff and am especially proud of having spotted the route through the 'tunnel' while the girls who'd caught up to me were milling around going "where did she go?" although I don't think you can technically use as a control description something which isn't on the map (the creek went underground through a small spur, so the map just showed a watercourse end on either side of the spur but the control description was something they'd made up, I think - unless it's in the proposed new control description set?).

Lovely terrain, but I'm not looking forward to travelling the road to/from Hill End twice more...

C • Comparing routes x2 3

Middle Dist Champs Course 3 - Splits

Event: Australian Orienteering Carnival 2017
 

Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. A fun campus with lots of little buildings and the possibility of going the wrong way around them, even at the very slow plodding pace with which I was afflicted from the get-(stop-and-)go. First really short leg was fine, compass wouldn't settle for the next couple of controls and I was all over the place; Liv ran past me on the way to 3. After that it was mostly ok apart from the heat and my unfitness, but I was annoyed at the 'passable wall' on the way to 15 which had 8-foot high mesh behind making it impassable. Guess this is a similar result to about how I was running at the 5-Days last December; certainly there wouldn't have been anywhere to hide if I was in 40s this weekend, either. And at least my not hiring a SI Air card made no difference to my placing because I was so far behind.

Aus Sprint Champs Course 2 - Splits

Made hard work of trainline-steps loop with Zara/Callum & Nick. Hopefully it's just that knees & hips are still tight post-rogaine. The next time we do this run will be in daylight!

New goggles hated me. Also it's a long time since the end of May. But the water was pleasant.

5 x Montefiore Hill (a bit less worse than 2 weeks ago although legs still lactic from last night's massage) + warmup/down. I am starting further up the hill than in previous years and have the horrible feeling that I'm going into Aust Champs week less fit than ever before; am sure that's not completely true, but I have neither terrain strength nor sprint speed. Surely I can work on both of these in the next 3 days...

After AOTKM I drove to Seacliff and went for a run up to Marino lighthouse (winter is back and the waves were crashing on the rocks) and meandered back down via some small bushland reserves. Feeling just about ready to start training for nationals and a little bit horrified to realise that they are only 5 days away - oops.