Training Log Archive: rickyp

Jog to the start, warm up and drills

Aguiar da Beira Orienteering Meeting - Long ME 14.4km

Quickroute 2D Rerun for your amusement

They say once you go elite, you should never go back, but maybe today was the day i should have dropped down. Still...at least i finished unlike the 44 others.

This was the toughest course I have ever done. I was out for 25 mins more than the JK 2015 at Bigland and I would like to think I have improved in the two years since. This was almost 4 hours of non-stop getting stuck on top of rocks, getting stuck in green or being lost. The map was very black/grey and the areas which weren't were normally impenetrable fight.

Was tempted to retire at the spectator loop at around 3 hours with 7 controls to go but ploughed on. Still managed to have faster min/km than Mum and Dad.

Comparing my routes to the top runners i often picked the same route choices, they were just running much faster over the terrain (i don't know how) and more importantly not getting lost.

Time losses:
#1 Miss attacking from above through the rocks
#2 Paths seemed too far away so tried to go straight. Ignored the crossing point (Stupid) and got stuck in green. Bailed to the path but attacking from below the cliffs was really hard.
#3 Picked a solid route choice eventually but execution left a lot to be desired.
#4 Small miss too low
#6 Wasn't concentrating and ended up too low. Rightly bailed and went higher as if i carried on i could have got in serious trouble in the crags.
#7 Got stuck in green on the way and nearing the control
#8 Missed it going to far. Thought i had counted the reentrants but was also hoping the guy ahead would find it.
#13 Don't know what happened, thought i was following a bearing NE to the path but when i next looked at my compass i wasn't on it at all. Nothing made sense so bailed East to the path.
#16 Almost spiked it but couldn't see control at crag so lost confidence and went wandering...it was hidden behind a boulder
#24 Again almost spiked it but it was marked as a knoll so didn't check behind the massive boulder until i saw a train of runners coming from it.

Hopefully any map from now on will seem much easier

Here's me clearly lacking in energy at the end:

Jog to the start, warm up and drills

Aguiar da Beira Orienteering Meeting - Middle ME 6.7km

Snow overnight meant the rocks were in no better condition than yesterday and with no dobs i was picking very slow, careful lines over the rocks.

After slight misses on #1 and #6 i wasn't doing too badly but i lost a ton of time on 15 not going far enough through the green and picked a dire route choice on the hardest leg to 16 and consequently got very lost. After this just crawled up the hill to the finish losing more time.

Sprint next...this can't possibly go as badly

Warm up and drills

Aguiar da Beira Orienteering Meeting - Sprint ME 4.2km optimal

I had done a lot of geeking for this event but i hadn't forecasted the degree to which the organisers attempted to make the course more technically difficult by adding many uncrossable fences. The route choices were generally 50:50 so didn't waste time picking one.

Only time loss was 10s on #11 when i didn't know what feature i was looking for and just headed into the clump of rock and walls expecting to see it. Should have known it was the bush which was obvious from a long way away.

I've caught and passed my 1 min man ☺

Model Event on Aguiar da Beira Norte.

Set off in the snow...yes that's right, snow. Four days ago it was 17°C and now it was snowing. This made the rocks lethal and the problem was there was a hell of a lot of them. You can just about make out the snow here.


There were only 12 controls out on quite a small area so decided to do long legs using the controls round the outside on the 1:15000 snippet then finish up with the middle controls on the 1:10000.

Took longer than I wanted to get used to the map and be able to navigate over the terrain without stopping and relocating but got there in the end. Feel a bit more ready now.

C • Snow! 2

Had hoped to go for a run today but got to the new hotel too late. Did a lot of scrambling up rocks in and around hill top castles to make up for it.

Tourismo...although the town we're staying in is a bit of a hole.

POM Day 4 @ Entre-Ribeiras e Coutadas - ME Middle 16.9km

Quickroute 2D Rerun

Was a but nervous after yesterday's shoddy run but this soon turned into 17km Mass start fun in the rocks.

Everybody who had either missed a day, was seriously slow, or just a prat like me was in the mass start. Did minimal navigation to the first two controls including a 2km leg but everyone ahead must have had a different butterfly loop to 3 so I was on my own. The train had derailed on the long leg to 12 after the first set of loops and i waited a minute to check a guy could at least stand after he stacked it off a slippery 8ft rock. I therefore stayed on the path. Was bonking at the end with a lack of real motivation but the super elites who began over 30 mins after me were beginning to force through and so i picked up the pace to stick with them on the last long leg.

Only a few time losses:
#13: 1:20 Hardest point on the course and had no real attackpoint
#15: 1:40 Was trying to catch a train and forgot to take bearing. Didn't come out where i expected and had to relocate

C • quickroute 2

POM Day 3 @ Entre-Ribeiras e Coutadas - ME Middle 6.8km

My worst run so far and i saved it for the most important day when it was WRE and i couldn't wear GPS. I would like to think I could blame it on the small snake slithering around in the start lane that freaked me out but probably not. Was never that far away on any control but I wasn't spiking them so there was no flow. Legs weren't really in the mood either. Time for a steam and jacuzzi to maximise my recovery.