Street-O @ Kangaroo Flat

This was never going to be anything more than an easy run as I've ended up with a sore lower calf after 2 hilly runs (Sat and Mon). I think that's why, anyway. I didn't notice any discomfort while I was running tonight, but my left hip is achy again when I walk around. Grrr.

Will rest again tomorrow, and make a judgement call on Friday morning. I don't mind giving my body a rest every now and again, as long as it's not habit forming. Oh, and my bathroom scales are currently out of action (dead battery), so I can't track how sinful I'm being. :-)

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
7.6 km	6:11 /km	160 bpm (84%)

Doona Days

I've been enjoying the warmth of the doona for the last 2 mornings, and it's been sooo nice! I know I could get up and walk for an hour, expecially now that the cold snap appears to be over (for the moment), but what I really want to do is run - but if I run fairly hard on Monday nights, should I also run (gently) on Monday and Tuesday mornings? Is that overkill?

My left hip is a bit achy this morning, so I'll rest it until tomorrow night (that's my excuse, anyway). But I've been enjoying the morning runs and don't really want to give them up when I start running 3 nights a week again.

Street-O chez Geoff

For the serious Street-O addict, Geoff is coordinating a series of unofficial Monday runs based from people's homes or a local coffee shop. Tonight was the first of these, on the Surrey Hills map, starting from Geoff's place.

Instead of punch controls, we had to record the last digit of the yellow tag on the light pole at each control circle. This meant carrying a biro, and instead of being able to punch-and-go, we had to stop, peer upwards, strain to read (not wearing glasses), and then get the right number into the right square on the control card. So the stats below are based on MotionBased's Moving Time, rather than total time, as apparently I spent 2¼ minutes standing still.

Fun night - only a dozen of us running around, and there was a warm fluffy breeze floating around (13 degrees). A hilly area, but I shortened my stride and chugged up the hills without too much effort.

Oh, and I ran past one of those speed notification things. I was running along in the dark, minding my own business, when this large yellow smiley face light up in front of me. Wha...? And then it flashed "13" in large numbers, followed by the smiley face again. Lol, hope I wasn't speeding!

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
8.4 km	6:04 /km	161 bpm (85%)

SS#6: You Yangs

Bush orienteering in the You Yangs state forest park. I'd already decided that I was going to walk (after yesterday's effort), but 80% of the terrain was un-runnable anyway with large sections of unpenetrable green stuff. The other 80% was granite rocks, which are fun (ha ha, not) to navigate through at the best of times. Found most of the course pretty straightforward, though, and I was a bit surprised to see the distance that I'd covered.

Found Marta looking lost at control #6, and then again at #7 along with 3 others (we found it eventually), and again at #13 where she convinced me that we were in the right place. Silly girl - me, for listening to her! We found it a bit further along where I thought it would be, and from there to the finish we stayed together, picking up Pam at the second-to-last control.

Nice area, not too cold (except in the exposed areas), and apart from wading through prickly waist-deep greenery it was nice terrain and not too steep.

Too cold to stick around for a picnic lunch though, so headed for the warmth of the Golden Arches on the way home.

Course: 4, 15 controls
Course Length: 4.7 km
Actual Distance: 7.6 km
Time Taken: 2:06


weekly wrap:

Weight	72.1 kgs ▲
Running	49.6 kms

Street-O @ Lillydale Lake

Another gut-busting run around the hills at Lillydale Lake. I set off too fast (not warmed up), which is unusual for me, but chose an efficient route to get around all the controls that I wanted to.

Except for a detour to a high wooden fence that obviously wasn't able to be circumnavigated - which it looked like you could on the map - so I had to go back the way I'd come.

And another "short cut" across some lumpy grass and a clay-filled ditch which turned my shoes yellow. Pete later said that the same clay ditch actually sucked one of his shoes off!

And some deep mud near control #20 which added to the clay and the stones already on my shoes to add extra weight to what I was already trying to lug around!

Back 1¼ minutes late, and there was no way I could have pushed myself to go any faster. I had nothing left.

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
9.7 km	6:07 /km	165 bpm (87%)

that 87% must be pretty close to a record high... so much for learning to run slow, lol.



Nice to see Rudolf turn up this afternoon too, coming in for a perfectly timed finish.

postscript: I didn't lose any placings because of my tardiness (phew!). I was 8 points clear of the next person, and I lost 6 for coming in late, so I'm still ahead.

Friday Drizzle

Drizzly weather when I headed out, but not unpleasant to run in. Comfortable trot to Wandin and back.

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
8.8 km	6:48 /km	152 bpm (80%)

Street-O @ Greensborough

Very hilly, very intricate little map. Didn't take any walking breaks, but slowly trotted up the hills... then down the other side... then up the next hill... and down... and up.

Funny at the start. We'd all been given our maps, and Pete yelled "Go!". And everyone just stood there trying to decipher the map and figure out which way to run. "GO!" yells Pete again... and everyone slowly shuffles off - knowing that this one isn't going to be a high-scoring event.

Back 2 minutes early, deciding not to go for any more controls because I wasn't entirely sure that I knew how to get back into the park for the finish location (railway tracks, bike paths, bridges, and a very wet creek enforced accurate navigation!).

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
6.8 km	6:41 /km	162 bpm (85%)

Ruby Tuesday

Damp, foggy morning (6°C), and I nearly didn't escape from the doona. Did the Victoria Road-Killara Station loop again, at a comfortable pace, ignoring the HRM. At one point, running along the sealed road connecting Victoria Rd and Killara Stn, I realised that I'd come to the top of a hill - AND I HADN'T EVEN NOTICED THAT I WAS RUNNING UPHILL!!

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
8.5 km	6:55 /km	150 bpm (79%)

Got back to my letterbox and Ruby bounded out of her front yard to investigate. No barking! unbelievable!! So I gave her a cuddle. Hmmm, bad move! She then started jumping on me and wanted to follow me around the back of the house, so I stayed on the driveway and waited for Simon to wake up. He really is an idiot. If you were a young, enthusiastic puppy, why would you go home to get yelled at and hit with a piece of hose. Much more fun to stay out. She's turning into a really gorgeous dog too - about 8 months old now.

Monday trundle

Slow one from Seville to Wandin, watching the HR. It had been raining off and on all night, and the temperature was a mild 9 degrees.

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
8.5 km	7:24 /km	139 bpm (73%)

Street-O @ Westgarth

Took a long time to warm up (yes, it was cold), and it felt like I didn't get out of plod mode until the halfway mark. Got back a few minutes early, but there was nothing else I could have added into my loop that would have made the time up, without getting in late again.

Distance	Avg pace	Avg HR
9.3 km	5:57 /km	164 bpm (86%)

weekly stats:

Weight	71.8 kgs
Running	43.7 kms