Stinking hot day on Saturday. If I hadn’t said that I’d help out at the event, I may well have stayed home huddling under the air conditioner.
But at 5 o’clock, still 35 degrees, I loaded up the van and drove into Bendigo. My “helping out” was on Rego, so I stood around in the shade for an hour, collecting money and catching up with people.
I started my run at 7pm, not much cooler, but a breeze had started to waft around the area making it a bit more pleasant. Still bloody hot work. The first two controls were up a gentle, but insidious hill and I wasn’t travelling very well. Some walking may have been done. I started to come good after that and got around the rest of the course without too much effort. Although some more walking may have been done up some more less-than-gentle hills.
Map: Koolamurt Scout Camp
Course: B, 13 controls
Course distance: 2.4 km
Distance covered: 2.7 km
Time taken: 25 minutes
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/152587367
Finished in the top ¼ of the field. The Sprite missed a control and the Elf never showed up. One to me in Women’s Sledge.
Back at the van, the Sprite had left a note to the effect that if I wanted a shower and food, to come back to their place. Oh yesssss. I invited myself to some floor space as well – I had been planning on camping out at Mandurang, but I’d never turn down shower and food and a bed without lumps in it!
The food ended up being a Turkish restaurant in town, which I hadn’t been to before. We walked in, which was fine. Sat down and ate, which was pretty fine too. But as we stepped outside into the still-very-warm night, my lower back started to ache a bit. I’m blaming the air conditioning. The walk back helped a bit, despite the hills.
Up early this morning to do a bit more Rego at the event, before a mass start at 8 o’clock.
Two loops. It started well enough. Managed to get everything cleanly up to control #7. Some walking may have been done. Nothing subtle or gentle about today’s hills. No.7 was a pit on a spur. I was heading straight for it, but got distracted by a few people running down the gully instead. Followed them down. Got sucked in. Arrgh. Pits don’t live in gullies; they live on spurs. Found it after a small amount of faffing; one more control and back to the map changeover.
The second loop didn’t go nearly as well. I rolled my ankle on the way to the second control, and walked part of the leg to make sure that I could still run on it. Ran/shuffled/walked (dem hills, you know) around to the top of the map, where it all went a bit pear-shaped.
I was heading for control #6, which by horrible coincidence was the same pit as control #7 on the first loop.
I thought I had it right (obviously), but looking at the GPS trace afterwards, I drifted off way too far north. But I found my spur and headed down it, only to find a dam where there shouldn’t have been. Obvious in hindsight, of course, but when I went back to the forest road, I didn’t know whether I was north or south of where I should have been. I ran north for a while, changed my mind and headed south, looking for small tracks either off to the left or right which would help relocate me. I saw a wire fence, and headed in. Too far south, and I missed it again.
By this time, I’d been out for an hour and I was hot and bothered and totally over it. I kept going down the hill, hit a track, and followed it back to the Finish. DNF.
Map: Mandurang
Course: B, 8 + 9 controls
Course distance: 2.8 + 3.1 km
Distance covered: 7.1 km
Time taken: 1:13 DNF
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/152587385
Jim had gone to some effort to put a large dam by the Start/Finish area, so I made good use of it. Stripped off shoes and socks and waded in. Floated around until I’d cooled off. The rolled ankle, which had been behaving itself up until now, was very very sore as I tried to get out of the water. Climbing up a squelchy slippery slope, it was Not Happy. I managed to hobble back to the van and get changed, but it’s been mildly sore ever since. May have to have a rest day tomorrow (damn!).
Both the Elf and I DNF’d, so the Sprite wins this round.
Love the comment: “some walking may have been done”