Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Purple thistle day 2 medium.

Decided on waking I was not going to run, but it is hard not to when there is a course planned and controls hung and you rarely get that opportunity.

After Lucy's histrionics yesterday it was only fair to take Laurence out alone do he didn't have to wait the whole time. Ray ran first, then I went out and Laurence and ray went out and we left (a rather put out) Lucy at the download tent. Thanks Strain family and James T. She always stops crying and cheers up as soon as I have gone.

Anyway, skipped the lengthy queue to start as I felt guilty for dumping her so wanted to be back quick. Got the map, pegged it off down a track. This must be the path on the map. Not a lot made sense, but I could see the green trees so found the control easily enough. Turned out I had run down the ride. I only realised as Ray was wondering afterwards why Dixie (who set off after me) ran off down the ride at the start. Then I looked at the map, and realised. 2 and 3 fine. 4 was a seriously odd bit of terrain, but I found it after a small miss. 5 - 8 were ok, but I was taking it easy as I was ill. 9 up the hill, trying to make the map fit. I should have just taken a bearing, as the map was somewhat unreliable. I ran over the stream without seeing it at all too. Relocated off the kids control. It was on the ride. It must be a ride / something crossing but what? Then I realised this must be the stream.

Bit of a wobble on 13 but fine. I need to concentrate more on my confidence going into controls. Ok running considering I felt so shit.

http://www.purple-thistle.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#5
http://obasen.orientering.se/winsplits/online/en/d...

Purple thistle. Day 1. Mighty.

I took the kids around the baby thistle first (disqualify me if you like, but carrying Lucy uphill to the start for half a mile easily outweighed any advantage). Punching start, and I got Lucy to punch first as Laurence was going to do all the navigating, so he should definitely get the faster time. After punching first, she then decided she didn't want to punch first, and had a grade 1 strop. Compass, map, dibber chucked away, foot stamping, yelling. Not even I have done that before. She continued like this for the rest of the course, so I was glad to set off to the start alone later in the day.

I got 1 ok, but missed two by doing a parallel error. I was feeling shocking in the terrain. It was v rough, and my shoes just didn't fit properly - my foot was rolling around too much, and I should have had dobbs as it was slippy as there was lichen in the heather. 1-7 I spent a lot of time feeling exhausted, face down in bogs. The navigation was ok though, 8 too, though I stopped for a major lace re-tieing so it looked like I missed it. I missed 9 by getting confused by extraction lanes, and 11 I got caught in green forest, that was exceptionally wet. The branches were so low and the marsh so deep i got a bit panicked that i was going to drown. claustrophobia. deep breaths! Missed 12 a bit, missed 13 a lot. I was so tired I was sauntering by now and was going to quit but the last bit looked nice. I treated it as training and did it slowly and it was nice. I was so tired though, and sweating buckets.

I wasn't surprised to get a cold later on in the evening. In fact it is nice to have a reason for feeling that dire!

http://www.purple-thistle.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#4

http://obasen.orientering.se/winsplits/online/en/d...

C • "Not even I have done that before" 3

Cycle home.

Cycle to work. Nice.

Run home. Felt good, not least because I was under time pressure to get home in time to go to a show at the festival. Achilles only started aching at the top of Morrison street, so slowed. Then met the glorious Alex McEwan in the meadows and had to stop for a 10min chat, so really sprinted the rest if the way home.

Achilles achey in the morning when sat at work. I took some ibuprofen and it wasn't so bad on this slow, flat-ish run around the industrial estate, up to the canal and back via suntrap. So ridiculously tired, I knew I had to do the run at lunchtime, as I will be too exhausted later. I need to concentrate more on getting early nights or I'll end up ill.

C • Liberton. 2

Jogging around slowly, around the meadows. Catching up with first Crabster, Ali McN and Megan, then Graeme and the Eadeses. Home via Hector's. good. After a day at home doing crappy stuff, it was a relief to get out of the house. No cycle commute. I had to take an impropmtu day off work.

Nice morning for it. Legs felt great. Achilles has not been stiff in the morning at all yet, so that is a good thing. Hope to get running later, but so much on right now...