Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Got an early night but woke at 2 and couldn't get back to sleep again until 5. The relay was ok. It was just a relay.

Relay thoughts:

Number 2 seemed to have been just whacked half way down a slope. I don't have my map so I don't know what the description was meant to be. I know the planner was clearly looking for 3 control sites so he could do three gaffles, but there is nothing wrong with confusing people by having 2/3rds of the pack go to the same control, and 1/3rd go to a different one.
Number 15 (the one after the spectator) seemed to be on a road bend. The veg boundaries were dodgily mapped there, and they were the only other thing on the map. V confusing. I wouldn't have used this site.
Some of the dotted black line veg boundaries in the white forest at 6/7/9/10 seemed really v tenuous. Otherwise much fun, and good planning.

I feel pretty gutted about yesterday now. I don't want to do orienteering if it makes me feel like this. I hate the horrible thoughts and feelings. I hate that I let it get to me. I'm tired tho. Maybe if I get a good nights sleep it would be better. Just now I have to put a smile on my face for the kids, and find some energy for cooking dinner, bath time, bedtime stories, then catching up on all of the overtime I needed to work this weekend but couldn't as my wifi wouldn't connect.

3 good things:

1. Saw my friends Ivan, Sian and Bob for the first time in AGES.
2. After MUCH stress we made the flight home.
3. Had a nice cheering-up burger.

token effort.

Boc long. Disqualified. Not a lot to say about the course.

The course wasa bit predictable. 3 I really struggled to work out where the control was going to be. There seemed to be four or 5 reentrants in the middle of the circle. A red dot was needed here. I would have been able to navigate to the feature had I known where the feature was. Dropped about 1:30. Then lots of wibbly misses. Until the first long leg in new beechenhurst where I got a bit better. Nick pointed out before that the terrain notes said there were lots of unmapped ditches, so to ignore them all, at take a good bearing to the middle of the circle. This was good advice, and I didn't let the extra features distract me. Lost my head to the 2nd last control, and dropped 2:30. Ouch! Anyway aims were met - commit from the start and don't let others distract you.

The result is the result. I punched it, jess saw me punch it and spoke to the organisers but to no avail. Pretty crushing :-(

1. I retained my composure in the face of a v tactless download volunteer (she told me it was important to wait for the beep. Thanks).
2. A good planning session with Nick.
3. I got out of the race what I was aiming for (note to self: remember next time to add 'register a valid finish time' in my goals next time)

Warm up

Out to see the control at number 20, check the SI box didn't have any obstructions etc. V tired and down, so walked back, via a nice sit down in the wood to regain my thoughts.

Bad night sleep. I need to have a few nights of 10 hours sleep to get me back on track. Maybe after the weekend. Morning run from work with drills.

3 good things, to remind myself it wasn't a totally shite weekend:

1. Nice morning run
2. No major problems with injuries just now.
3. I'm sure I'll think of a 3rd...

Worked through lunch so grabbed the opportunity to snatch a run later. Pentlands, off road in the sunshine. Lovely. In trainers that were previously clean, but not anymore!

Cycle from Aberdour to work. I fell into it gratefully, however the shower was very dissatisfactory. Cold. Limp.

I came up with more ways to measure endurance effort / endurance training consistency on the ride in:

Falling gratefully into bed and fast asleep at the end of the day.
Ability to eat lots of cake and not get fat (she says hopefully, after fruit salad, bread and butter pudding and birthday cake last night...).
How many days new trainers still look new for.
How willing you are to sit and listen to other people say how well their training is going.
How greasy your hair looks (how often do normal people shower? Who knows? You shower when you are covered in sweat and mud).
How many clean sports bras you have in your drawer.
How often you have to de-clog the shower / washing machine.

I was thinking a lot about Tessa when we were having fun in the Pentlands on Monday night. I bet she can add loads to the list above. I am v chuffed to be in a position to be able to get out and train just now. We can't take these things for granted. Train hard folks!

C • Nice things 2

Work to home. Tired. Sunny weather brings lots of glakit folk out onto the canal towpath. Grr.

Sprint training. An old fwtn course on southside / old town. I did it with Ray, alternative leg map memory. Fun. Ray is way faster than me when he does map memory. Unfortunately when he always gives in to temptation to check and hesitates in races. Hard to keep up with him today. If was relentlessly hilly, and mixed surface and we ran hard from home to the start for a bit of banter, and then we had to push it home after as Ray 'didn't want slow pace mucking up his strava stats'. Whatever that means. I am pooped!

Headwind, I hate you. Legs tired after last night's running fun.

To Aberdour to see the kids, and Mum for her birthday.

I don't really think of cycle commute as proper training. It is just a means of getting from home to work. Aberdour is about 20 miles away though, and with my non-superfast bike, and my roundabout but off main roads route, it takes time, and by the time I got there I was too whacked for running. I fell gratefully into the v hot powerful shower, and decided that maybe a more valid way of measuring an endurance effort, esp on a cold-ish day, is how satisfying the shower afterwards feels rather than miles or minutes.

Just pulled out of 10mila and a Sweden trip in 10 days time. Tough decision to make, but I need some headspace, and I think it is for the best overall. Probably. Possibly. It feels right, so fuck it! I still haven't decided if BSBM is going to happen. It would be fun, but tiring.

Hot date with Ray. Flotterstone, turn house, carnethy, scald law, the kips and back. Then the pub for dinner. Kids are at my folks for the holidays. It's lovely to get to run with ray. How romantic! And I think I used to run this when I lived in Roslin in 1:50, so I'll count that as a pb.