A good day for New Things
29. Do a cross-country race with a deep creek crossing
This was the WA Marathon Club's 16km "King of the Mountain" run from Helena Valley to Fred Jacoby Park in Mundaring State Forest. Luckily I didn't learn about the creek crossings until I was on the bus to the start. As it was, when I woke to heavy rain at 6am I only convinced myself to go because sarren was staying over and was expecting me not to be there when she got up, and I'd gone to bed early the night before specifically so I could go.
There were seven creek crossings, the first of which was just under breast height on me and maybe 10-12m across. Aaargh! I was running with someone at that point and just followed her in, which was good as I'm sure I would otherwise have wibbled and dithered much more. I don't even like to get in the water in the summer! Then it was straight up a steep hill with heavy, waterlogged shoes. Each time most of the water worked its way out of my shoes, there would be another creek crossing, but none as deep as the first. At least I didn't have to swim, like some people who got lost did. All the markers washed away in last night's rain.
It was the most scenic run I've ever done and I'm definitely up for more interesting venues. The forest beats running along the river in the city any day. And light rain is actually perfect for running, since you never get that hot uncomfortable feeling (just a milder wet, uncomfortable feeling).
juffles, if you're reading this and have the information handy, would you tell me the altitude difference between Helena Valley primary school and Fred Jacoby Park? I'd heard it was mostly uphill, but there was quite a bit of down, too, and I'd like to know whether I mostly ran up or not. One way or another I was proud of myself for getting out of bed and doing it, and for hardly noticing the 16km amidst my concern about getting in the water!
Then I changed clothes in the car (I'd brought everything except a different pair of shoes!), and went straight to:
30. Play a laser game at Darkzone in Northbridge with sarren, dragonfly8, Bunny and about 25 other people, mostly under 12!
There's just no doubt that it's fun to run around and shoot at people in a maze in the dark, and my enjoyment was significantly enhanced by hearing things like "Red Base is under attack!" at regular intervals. I wondered whether pre-20th century people would have enjoyed it just the same, or whether the phasors and flashing lights and bases are a post-Star Wars kind of experience that's now in our collective consciousness but would seem strange without enough context. I also wondered whether the urge to shoot at things is a basic human characteristic or whether it's mostly cultural. I'm guessing it's pretty primal? But maybe in a few hundred years games like this, and violent video games, will seem as barbaric as what went on in Roman arenas does to us.
It was easy to register a hit on both other people and the bases, and I thought the eight-second downtime when you were hit by someone else was exactly right. In the second game I decided to take a break from running around and just stood with my back to a corner in a fairly central area, and shot everyone not on my team who came into view on either level! It was very satisfying and energy-efficient.
It was however a bit scary to discover how hard it is not to shoot people on your own team. With real weapons, this would be a serious problem!
It was kind of fun to play a game on equal footing with six-year-olds. I was most impressed with three young boys who decided to defend the Yellow Base against all comers in our second game. I managed to shoot them all and take out the base once, but it was hard work! Since attack seems like more fun than defence, I thought they had a very mature and cooperative approach.
This was the WA Marathon Club's 16km "King of the Mountain" run from Helena Valley to Fred Jacoby Park in Mundaring State Forest. Luckily I didn't learn about the creek crossings until I was on the bus to the start. As it was, when I woke to heavy rain at 6am I only convinced myself to go because sarren was staying over and was expecting me not to be there when she got up, and I'd gone to bed early the night before specifically so I could go.
There were seven creek crossings, the first of which was just under breast height on me and maybe 10-12m across. Aaargh! I was running with someone at that point and just followed her in, which was good as I'm sure I would otherwise have wibbled and dithered much more. I don't even like to get in the water in the summer! Then it was straight up a steep hill with heavy, waterlogged shoes. Each time most of the water worked its way out of my shoes, there would be another creek crossing, but none as deep as the first. At least I didn't have to swim, like some people who got lost did. All the markers washed away in last night's rain.
It was the most scenic run I've ever done and I'm definitely up for more interesting venues. The forest beats running along the river in the city any day. And light rain is actually perfect for running, since you never get that hot uncomfortable feeling (just a milder wet, uncomfortable feeling).
juffles, if you're reading this and have the information handy, would you tell me the altitude difference between Helena Valley primary school and Fred Jacoby Park? I'd heard it was mostly uphill, but there was quite a bit of down, too, and I'd like to know whether I mostly ran up or not. One way or another I was proud of myself for getting out of bed and doing it, and for hardly noticing the 16km amidst my concern about getting in the water!
Then I changed clothes in the car (I'd brought everything except a different pair of shoes!), and went straight to:
30. Play a laser game at Darkzone in Northbridge with sarren, dragonfly8, Bunny and about 25 other people, mostly under 12!
There's just no doubt that it's fun to run around and shoot at people in a maze in the dark, and my enjoyment was significantly enhanced by hearing things like "Red Base is under attack!" at regular intervals. I wondered whether pre-20th century people would have enjoyed it just the same, or whether the phasors and flashing lights and bases are a post-Star Wars kind of experience that's now in our collective consciousness but would seem strange without enough context. I also wondered whether the urge to shoot at things is a basic human characteristic or whether it's mostly cultural. I'm guessing it's pretty primal? But maybe in a few hundred years games like this, and violent video games, will seem as barbaric as what went on in Roman arenas does to us.
It was easy to register a hit on both other people and the bases, and I thought the eight-second downtime when you were hit by someone else was exactly right. In the second game I decided to take a break from running around and just stood with my back to a corner in a fairly central area, and shot everyone not on my team who came into view on either level! It was very satisfying and energy-efficient.
It was however a bit scary to discover how hard it is not to shoot people on your own team. With real weapons, this would be a serious problem!
It was kind of fun to play a game on equal footing with six-year-olds. I was most impressed with three young boys who decided to defend the Yellow Base against all comers in our second game. I managed to shoot them all and take out the base once, but it was hard work! Since attack seems like more fun than defence, I thought they had a very mature and cooperative approach.