Training Log Archive: IanW

Event: MV National Event, White Down
 

MV National at White Downs. Decided/had to take it easy after the events of yesterday, navigation was fairly good except for one point just stood there absolutely confused, and a significant drift on the compass on one other (which Barrable also did). Couple of route choices that could have been good if the map had been up to scratch...

Forest was quite strange in places - really open but quite a lot of crap on the floor, made for more difficult running. Was feeling empty after the second road crossing with about 2k to go, but calves didn't cramp up today which is a good thing. Shin felt a little sore at times but not too bad, have covered a half marathon this weekend...

Sometimes when I "picnic" a control, part of the problem is that I can navigate far too much on "feel" in these southern areas, and ignore the basic techniques (map, compass). As an example, I will quite often get to an attackpoint and drift into the forest roughly in the right direction and keep the eyes open. I think that was part of my problem at the Chasing Sprint, as I was trying to do that in the more technical bits where you just couldn't. Need to find a way to get myself into good habits...

Event: JOK Chasing Sprint
 

Today was the day for stupid mistakes...

Chasing Sprint Prologue. Rubbish really, silly route choices, poor attackpoints, wrong paths, lost about 6 minutes or so.

Ended up with 2 guys less than 10 secs ahead at the chase start, and Helen's little brother just under a minute away

Chasing Sprint Chase. First 8 controls were fantastic, 9 second man was passed to #2, Helen's brother to #4 and the guy just ahead pretty much stayed with me. Then everything went Per-shaped, as it had done earlier. Confused the location of a knoll with a control from earlier when I was bang on line, missed a small reentrant on a 50m attack (must have been <10m off) and another 2 mins gone. Then just got the route choices wrong, should have gone for others which would have simplified things more. Around 4mins30 lost time-wise on the chase. And Helen's brother got me by 7 seconds across the fast XC style bit right at the end - grrrr...

Went down to the Cycle Workshop to see if new bike had been sorted. It hadn't... Ian not cheered by that.

Various cycling around Oxford, bit windier today made it slow-going in parts, and an almost-completed acquisition of new bike from the Cycle Workshop...

From Greater Leys to home - quite a few bits downhill - didn't seem to be too much of an effort and got lucky with the roadworks

To Greater Leys, for lift to emit demo. The software has so many options and such a confusing interface it looks like it was written by a 5 year old to work on top of M$ software. Well, at least the latter bit is true...

Not so lucky with the roadworks this time, one decent effort up a bit of a hill

C • Emit options 2

Woke up to find calves quite tight and sore and various other parts aching. So thought a short recovery run might do me some good and ease up the muscles a bit. Couple of loops round each of Botley Park and Ferry Hinksey Park, with a short walk between so didn't have to run on tarmac. Had a bit of a stretch midway through as well.