Training Log Archive: IanW

Event: 40th November Classic
 

M21L at the 40th November Classic. Complete contrast to yesterday, both map and run. Might have started off a little fast, was feeling tired in the legs towards #6, that might have been an uphill/heather thing. Then started to move a bit more smoothly again, the nice runnable slight downhills no doubt helped, until into/out of 18 there was an evil uphill marsh/heather combo which really killed the legs and calves started to ache. Battled to the finish pretty knackered, but under the target of 90 mins.

Technically pretty good, worst thing was hesitation in vague/"detailed" areas, need to pace in some cases to get a better estimation of distance in rough terrain.
- Went one path too early towards #2, and was very unsure at many points on the way there, then hit the thickets by the spur perfectly but misread the control number and started to go away before realising it had to be mine. Lost at least a minute on this leg through route choice and hesitation.
- To #5, knew had to go along ditch but for some reason crossed it and had to cross back, ~15 seconds lost.
- Caught Timmeo on way to #11, and then Chris E appeared behind me, having started 6 mins in front. With them round the trickier bit from #11 to #17, looking for metre-high steep banks in heather/gorse/bracken isn't the easiest of things - really hesitant to 15 when it was bang in front behind a load of bracken, and then probably ~15 secs lost to #16 when saw the girls control on a 'knoll' before ours (Ali - they were pretty close!).
- Pulled away from Timmeo and Chris on the long leg to #18, took a different route choice (past #10) which I knew was runnable for at least 2/3 of the way.
- Only other real error was exiting #20 slightly wrong, adding a bit of distance; no idea how much I lost there.

So all in all a pretty clean run, without mistakes and hesitation might just have managed to break 80, but would have been a good effort to do so. Quoted climb seems a bit high, prob. nearer 260m.

Looking at the map afterwards, picked up all the thin dark yellow rides that in some cases I took, and in others hit and didn't see a path on the map so was confused. Would have made the running a bit easier in some parts. Maybe should have taken that new magnifier out!

C • Yellow rides 1

M21L - Splits

Course A at the re-run of the Original November Classic from 1968. Set up as it were 1968. It had to be done...

Black and white, photocopied, 1:25000 map. Pin punches and cards. Copy up your map (out of race time, what's all that about?) Written control descriptions - "the" feature means it's on the map, "a" feature means it's not, but in that circle. Option of taking a current 1:15000 map with you - why would you want to do that? - spoils the fun!

Only usable details on the map were streams, paths (both of which sometimes didn't exist), land boundaries and contours (extremely generalised). It was just about possible to tell which bits were forested and which open, but you didn't stand a chance of identifying the boundaries... Essentially an over-simplified O-map, where you didn't have the choice of what/how to simplify. Which meant you had to use an entirely different orienteering technique. And you started off expecting to make mistakes, given the accuracy of the map and what you were expected to find.

Control-by-control:

#1 - Up the path, to the junction, compass across to "a stream"
#2 - Rough compass across to stream, aiming off way low, along stream to "a stream junction"
#3 - Set compass, along stream, onto path, cut across to foot of spur. Very hesitant, climb onto spur, no control. Go further up, control "On the spur" in the forested bit.
#4 - Compass across the open, crossed the path, there's a spur at the right sort of distance - look for "A niche" - nothing. Problem was had mistaken a path that wasn't mapped for one that was, and inverted the contours - should have been in a big reentrant. Went back towards 3 then, twigged the contours. Simple control, really stupid mistake. But I wasn't alone in making it... 10+ minutes.
#5 - Uphill out of 4 in wrong direction. Overcompensated, found an area of steep banks/depressions and then a re-entrant, no control. Back towards #4, back bearing from a distance, went again and found load of gorse in the way. Dropped down, control "In the re-entrant". 5+ minutes. Have by now learnt that if there is a re-entrant marked on a 1:25000 map it's going to be pretty big in reality!!
#6 - Relatively simple - compass east across 2 streams. Reached some open next to a house, couldn't see house on the map, turned into the woodland to find control "in the re-entrant", very very marshy...
#7 - up over the hill then hope/keep the eyes open - "The pulpit" was the description. Missed the flag, too far down the hill, saw the road, turned round to see the flag ~100m behind. 2 mins.
#8 - out to the road (through holly), through more holly towards a path junction. But, as to discover, not the junction I was after. East out into the open, find one of the numerous unmapped streams but confuse it for the mapped one which could well be extended and unmapped. Back into the wood, notice am close-ish to road. "The marsh - E edge" is in a re-entrant - none around here but should be obvious - run south and bingo! 2+ mins.
#9 - rough compass across, get towards road, along path to crossroads - in to "The stream bend". Best spike of the day, running at a decent pace all the way. Also only control I didn't remember to take a split at...
#10 - out south on compass, cross stream - know where I am relative to bend. Next control - "The depression, SW side" is on/just over the top of the hill, back in the woodland. Across a path, onto the next, onto hill top - many small depressions/earthbanks, no control. Go slightly back on myself and down the hill, find some really gorgeous open runnable forest but no flag. Hit path again, back in along the top of the hill, about 50-100m further on than before is the flag. 3+ minutes.
#11 - compass out, hit high wall bounding a property, along path to junction, north into re-entrant. Relatively simple one!
#12 - East out, until hit path. Plan was up path until hill starts, then contour along. Far too much holly along path, find a gap through, drop too far trying to avoid grot, then back along road boundary to flag. Hesitant too.
#13 - Up the hill! - start looking too early, then cross continuation of path used to #12 and realise is further on. Control appears on "a depression".
#14 - compass out through the holly, get out and up "On the Ridge". Along the ridge to flag.
#15 - out to road, along road to opposite a track, compass into control. Unmapped stream to negotiate first, then not sure which way I'll need to go (having not aimed off much) when hit next one. But flag bang in front "On the stream" as come across final ridge.
#16 - Aimed to go east-ish to stream and follow it down to footbridge. Really hesitant, and then when hit stream wasn't like any of the others mapped so went further. Then tried due south, hit streamers to finish, back along to control. 3+ mins

Spiked #1,2,6,9,11,14,15. Mistakes - #4,5,7,8,10,16 - 25+ minutes lost so probably at least half an hour. Most of which was probably avoidable had I not been trying to go so straight, and got the distance judgement a bit better. Overly hesitant - #3,12,13.

Things that were missed most from a standard O-map: vegetation type (for knowing whether the control is in open/forest), all streams and paths, and detailed contours.

Ultimately a bit of fun, and a nice run in the New Forest! And Duncan Archer showing that even a photocopied OS map isn't enough to stop him, taking 69 minutes for this course!!

Florence Park Mini-League. Ran the map fragment/memory course first, only had to go back once briefly to confirm control location. (~11 mins, 1.6k)

Then ran round the standard course people had done first up, collecting in the controls (~6 mins, 1k)

Didn't feel too great... probably Roving Meal and lack of sleep related.

Blues committee meeting meant circuits experience was reduced to spectating, discussion of night-O training and a little stretching. Actual meeting was pretty standard and finished in under an hour so the tedium wasn't too bad...