Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Everything hurts today!

Booked the Sylvester 5 day though :) Waffles, beer and some pleasantly mediocre orienteering here we come! If anyone with kids wants to join us, we'd highly recommend staying at Molenheide.

C • yup a dee doo dah! 2

Woke in the night by Lucy, had to get out of bed and the pain in my foot was so bad I couldn't get back to sleep cause I was thinking that running today was not going to happen. Woke up to a different foot though. Much less sore.

I was entered on blue, but changed to short brown on the planners reccomendation. No regrets there. It was most fun. Lovely forest, great course. Too long for me, but all of it was so lovely - which bits would I wanted to have missed out on? None of it!

My nav was quite crap. Number 5 in particular I couldn't make sense of the contours. They didn't make sense coming out either, so I ended up comically offline to 6. Half hearted in the tough 9 and 10 dropped me lots of time, as did a 5 minute mistake at 12. Jase caught me at 12, and I was a bit gutted because although I had seen a few people around and about, I had been having a lovely lonesome run at that point, and I was too exhausted for a head to head sprinting session against Jase. I imagine he felt just the same way! I was seriously contemplating taking 5 mins out at 14 just to chill we could have our own forests to ourselves again, but there was always the worry of Nick beating me. Happily Jase didn't over take, and though I caught Neil Conway and some other bloke near the end, I didn't feel that my fun was compromised.

Spending time in such a special forest though - what's not to like?

The EGM approved the levy. Shame. I think the only thing that will 'fix' BOF is if there is a money shortage so bad that those with a financial / C.V. interest in the sport flounce off. Then I would be quite happy to pay whatever levy it takes to ensure the performance team is properly staffed and funded, sports development is run by clubs who tailor their approach in the way best meets their surroundings, and regional squads are supported, the national federation provides a forum for sharing ideas about how to run good events / training / mapping / volunteering / planning / organising / socialising etc...

I still hope it happens, but today's vote just moves it further into the horizon.

C • I tend to agree... 2

Blue middle distance, Culbin

Laurence's v first relay - at the inter areas. It says a lot about the atmosphere of today that Laurence had a control not register, and so the team mispunched, but still had probably the happiest day ever of his 9 year old life.

So my run was very much irrelevant, but I did the blue. Ran it harder than I would have perhaps chosen to, but I knew that Nick had done ~40 and my garmin kept pushing me on. I am so unfit, my achillies is not happy, and my pf bloody well hated the occasional pebbles on the paths - the result was better than I deserved, which is always pleasing. At one stage I thought I had torn my pf though, it was so sore.

Some slight misses. Stopped early on 1 as it seemed quite far, number 9 I was stood next to and didn't see it. I was a bit confused as to what to do, as I knew I was at the feature. 7 I was a bit offline the one near the mast I missed, and the last one in the green I got a bit confused and panicked as time was ticking closer to Nicks...

Beat him by 2 mins. TFFT! For an unfit oldie he can shift.

To the start, then did the yellow with Lucy (there was no white) as a warm down.

Got a cold. Off work.

Injured too btw. Slight left Achilles twinge at the gym on Tuesday when lifting weights, it felt odd after, fine yesterday, but definitely stiff this morning. This is not the Achilles that I had the problems with in 2013, but the other one. Time to get some calf stretches done. I know I can't face another Achilles problem!

To work, to the McK's, home.

It was a tiresome day at work. I had a cold, and nearly went home mid afternoon as I felt so shit. Loads of meetings though, so I drank an awful lot of caffeine and dug in. The last meeting (4pm-6pm) involved drinking wine, so after 4 glasses of wine and a heck of a lot of caffeine I turned up at trotettes, my cold the least of my worries. Had some fun around the Braids and Mortonhall at a steady pace. Managed not to end up in any bushes. I twisted both ankles pretty severely, but happily felt no pain. We bumped into Tessa, so even more chat as we went through Hermitage home.

Dalry and back.

For the first day in ages I can walk without limping. Time for the gym.

Spent the morning at the nets at Brockholes (google it). It costs a lot, and the kids love it, but you are on them from 2 hours and it is totally knackering. I was trying to work out how to describe it, and the nearest I can get is that it is like trying to move on the final descent of the carnethy 5 - for 2 hours. All over exhaustion. A survey of parents would doubtless say 30mins for 1/4 of the price would be perfect.

Then swimming late afternoon, and afterwards a run. From Langdale spa place where I left Ray in the pool with the kids, then chapel stile, up to Silver Howe, along to stickle tarn, and back by the new dungeon Ghyll to the cottage. I was pretty tired the whole way but it was lovely - very clear and you could see all of the tops. I was going to touch the tarn then turn around and run back down the ridge, but it was getting dark and I had a compass and torch but forgot the map, so safely first. Calf / foot still f'ed, but when there is such good running on the doorstep you have to make the most of it.

Cycled to the new dungeon Ghyll, then up to stickle tarn and Harrison stickle with the kids and Ray. I then left the others and jogged on to take in pike of stickle. I sort of missed the path coming down and bumped down some crags, grazing my bot Hoddy-style. Ouch!

Swimming and cycling with the kids. Another fairly wet day. Ray used up all the running by deciding to run up silver howe on to stickle tarn and down and back. He took no map, as I said it was easy. Keep Langdale on your left, Grasmere on your right. He got so disorientated though.

Lucy and I cycled to the old dungeon Ghyll pub and went in to warm up. I've never got beyond the new dungeon Ghyll before but this was absolutely class. Beautifully unpretentious, tea was in a plain mug, milk was uht, and brownies were wrapped in cling film and lobbed infront of you. It was the finest brownie I have ever tasted though. Gold-medal worthy. Such an unexpected joy. We cycled back singing Oliver! songs loudly - happy days!

Ran from the Langdale spa place where we had been swimming up Lingmoor. Great views. I had Ray's Harvey's map from when he did the Saunders a few years ago. He was whining that weekend that the map was inadequate when it came to rock. I thought he was just navigating badly, but boy is the rock under mapped! I tried to get down a gentle ridge, and it was unmapped 5m crags everywhere. I eventually made it down an exceptionally steep, hairy and scary scree slope. Glad to have survived it.

Went to the cinema to see Swallows and Amazons in the evening. On the way home we had James (sit down), happy Mondays (step on), wonderstuff (size of a cow, EMF (unbelievable) and sultans of ping (teenage punks from planet sex). Straight back to the mid-nineties and many, many fun lakes trips!

We're staying in Chapel stile for the October holidays. Such an amazing part of the world. So many happy memories! Lucy and I walked over to Grasmere, while the boys went biking. Met them there, cafe, then I ran back to get the van. Legs are shot, foot is f'ed, but I loved it. Happy heart! Even Lucy didn't seem to mind the walk - wow.

Fra relays. Hbt had 5 really good runners, and then umm, no one. Captain Sarah O'Neill spelled it out to me a few weeks ago at trotettes. Well there was her, who was uncharacteristically super unfit; and the one of the mummies that gave birth in the last few months, and err, me.

It was 4.2k and 300m climb. Straight up and back, rough and tussocky, so it suited me ok. I tried to start off hard, but am out of shape so there was a lot of trying to get past people later on, but that is always satisfying. I think I was back 5th girl, 2 mins down. I'll take that. Jill and Claire were solid in leg 2, Megan and Briony's were awesome on leg 3 really nailing the nav leg leaving Georgia loads of time to take the victory. Nice! Very happy brown masses.

A little jogette with Hollie. She was doing a warm down, like every pro should, and I was just going along for the chat.

Dalry gym

To Dalry and back

Dalry and back. My foot is getting really quite sore again :-(

Gym. Arms today. Ouch tomorrow.

Treadmill at the commie. It's a sad state of affairs when you can time your 'training run' based on what's on telly. I must plan better next time. My foot was ok during, but not now.

I read the Bof egm thingy today. I don't really mind paying more membership if I thought that it was well run. How about they agree to scrap 'focus' just to pretend to understand the sport a bit. I think we could all do without knowing the 6 months old jk results / have mike Hamilton tell us how grateful we should be that some bloke from british fencing (or wherever) has agreed to be a NED for our pitiful sport / have someone try to justify/explain explorer - sorry Xplorer - again. The kids (who just glance at the pictures briefly) tell me I was in the last one. I was winning something. Jeez - that's how out of date it was!

And parents in sport week - British orienteering interview Hector. What's that all about? The goal for the vast majority of kids (and what parents want for their kids) is to have fun and learn skills and get active. Why not ask parents and family groups at local events how they could be more supported? What have the elites got to do with it? Odd. And this week they are promoting mental health in sport. After reading the bit in compass sport written by Julie Emmerson's parents about JWOC, well I don't think the juniors are treated in a way that promotes good mental health. I am glad that the juniors themselves seem to get lots of support from each other. I
really must remind myself that next time I am bored that the bof website is never a relaxing read.

Improvement today. Did my annual 5 mins of gardening, and lots of Lego with L2.

Back online. I've been doing a 30min circuits class every Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime at Dalry gym over the last few weeks. Limited running though. I think I will try to build up some treadmill miles. Lozza is doing his first inter area at the culbin weekend so I will probably go up to that, but running something short. Apart from that, no FWTN for me as Ray has booked up Thursdays. Hope to make FVO night o instead though.

No exercise today a fake flu, for the first time in ages. Pass another duvet...

Shirking from home. Stopping off at the Commie for some treadmill before getting Lozza from afterschool club.

To work and to and from Dalry gym

Dalry circuits. Burpees, etc, quite a cardio session.

Megan and I were hosting trotettes. I led the run. Braids and blackford v slow. Quite a lot of drinking and chatting after, as Megan was in need.

Dalry and back.

Dalry circuits session. Arms only. FFS - excruciating.

Up Ben Ledi with the kids and the Kruuks. Lovely day and not too much whingeing considering.