12 August 2011 - A Night Training Session

With less than two weeks until the big day, what a fantastic way to finish a wet week at work - a snappy 17km walk on a Friday night!  After a few weeks of focusing on endurance it was time to clear the cobwebs and try for some pace - it also helped that the threat of more rain was very strong!  Having pre-located a car at Balmoral Beach earlier in the day we had a very good reason to walk even if the weather didn't look too promising.

Tony, Ian and AJ started out from Valley Road Forestville and walked down the hill to the Roseville Bridge just after 5:00pm.  It was quite a sight watching the peakhour traffic heading home as we headed off on our little adventure.  With all the rain during the week, the track was damp with the occasional large puddles but still in good condition.  We decided to put our heads down and see how well we would hold up after a week at work.  the challenge of the damp and cold soon disappeared as we worked up a sweat climbing around Bantry Bay and on across the Natural Bridge and up the hill to Ararat Reserve.  After a very satisfying 1:30hrs we arrived at the oval feeling very warm and only slightly damp.  A snappy muesli bar and a couple of jelly snakes later we were ready to push on to Balmoral.

Our second sector for the evening is much flatter than the first, and we were able to keep up a very reasonable walking pace - as the leg progressed we even entertained ideas of being at Balmoral in time for fish and chips - alas it was not to be.  The walk along the top of Seaforth and down the Gallipoli Steps afforded some great views of the city lights (see Tony's photo opposite - maybe a tripod next time?) before we crossed over the Spit Bridge and started the last part of the trek.  Despite the damp trail Tony managed to keep his feet dry right up until we got to Balmoral Beach when he misjudged a wave which caught him a bit quicker than expected.  We walked past Bathers Pavilion and show all the people inside nice and warm eating their dinner and we must have looked a scary sight.  We had left the car at Balmoral Oval due to the track being closed further on and we arrived at the car at just after 8:20pm.  It was a significantly quicker time than we expected and we felt well satisfied.

THE WALKERS:  AJ, Ian, Tony R
THE STATS:
Just Before Cp7 – Cp8
Start Time: 5:05pm
Duration: 1:39:18
Finish Time: 6:44pm
Distance: 8.18km
Average Pace: 12:09 min/km
Average Speed: 4.9 km/h

Cp8 - Balmoral Beach Oval
Start Time: 6:46pm
Duration: 1:37:06
Finish Time: 8:23pm
Distance: 9.20km
Average Pace: 10:34 min/km
Average Speed: 5.7 km/h

Total Time: 3:16:24
Total Distance: 17.37km