Training Log Archive: IanW

Continuing the survey for the Cambridge map - got a decent amount covered. A must-use control site discovered, not quite sure how to map it though...

still not enough... must make more of an effort.

Various attempts at warm-up throughout the day.

CUOC Sprint-O Round 1. Scott and I had the same gaffle, hit first control at about same time, but in my haste to get out of the crappy bracken dived into the forest rather than out to the path. Scott took a lead which he held to the end. One control later was incorrectly sited, promptly lost a few seconds on the next one after that...

GPS distance - 3.35km

Sprint-O round 2 / semi-final. There are bits of Thetford Forest which have runnable forest with contours in! Albeit not mapped very well in places, with mapped large shallow depressions looking similar to bits of forest with 'nothing' in. Surely Thetford is one place that should be mapped at 2.5m rather than 5m contours? Anyhow...

This round took us into the technical bit of the area, and I was pleasantly surprised. Hesitant and off line into the first couple, where the mapping was dodgy, a bit lucky to #1 as thought had missed the path attack point, turned out I hadn't gone far enough so had dived in early, and the path was a huge ride about 20m further on... After that things got a bit clearer map-wise, though the 'green' to #6 was interesting. Second loop was in the low-vis runnable forest, plans worked for all of the controls and spiked the lot, even if the routes weren't the best at all times...

GPS distance - 3.9km

Sprint-O final - bit of a mix of terrain here, with the 'draw' giving me the 'runners' loop first. Long track run to #1, then too far south to #2, but it's position didn't correspond to that on the map (map wrong I think...). Read 'depression' as 'hill' on way to #5, meaning I incorrectly adjusted the line and ended up a bit too far south. Should have hit a better line to #6, seemed like a BMX track wiggled its way directly there... By now the legs and body were beginning to feel quite tired.

This tiredness didn't help as it was the low-vis technical stuff up next. Biggest mistake of the day on #10, dragged by the planting and got distance guesstimate wrong meaning picked off the wrong clearings (there might have been more than mapped, am not sure) and hit path beyond, back in cautiously and stumbled across it - 1'+ lost there. Then a couple of little wobbles/bananas to 12 and 13 before getting round the last bit without problem. Back to the finish, legs really dead by now, hoping not to see anyone else and avoid the need for a sprint finish.

Came in about 2' up on Scott and gained myself a bottle of port, and potentially at some point a rather heavy paperweight...

GPS distance - 4.45km

Easy-ish run round the alc-O, primarily to see what had been done to the map, so on the drivers drinks. A bit less obvious this year, thought had matched everything up and set off to find nothing, then stumbled across a control on a knoll which was meant to be a thicket. They've swapped green and brown dots? - only that wouldn't be much fun. Oh, hang on, #2 is a knoll... map has been flipped east-west. Might have picked this up with a little more thought at the start.

After that it was fine apart from looking off to the wrong side of a ride for a control, which was quickly remedied...

Attempts at stretching between runs and back in Tabland, bit of massage for the calves which felt quite tight. Must have whacked my quad on something during the day as it has gained a nice bruise and associated soreness.

No noticeable sharp pain at any point during the runs, although R hamstring/glute aching a bit.

... or today

Not enough today...

OUOC Street Score event (45') - controls were CDs on tape tied round lampposts, each with a letter. Rearrange all of the letters (18 of them!) to form a topical anagram (given the date) for some extra points. Took it relatively easily, which the heart rate doesn't agree with at all... Picked up all of the controls bar #24 (locked in a garden) and #19 (in the botanic gardens, Scott was shouted at...) even though the route choices between some of them were poor. #6 by the Radcliffe Camera had a tape but no CD by the time I got there. importantly didn't miss any on the map and have to go running halfway across town to get them...

Good fun event, didn't feel too bad running, calves really quite tight after this though - more stretching needed!

Anagram letters were AAEEFHILMNOOPRSSTU...

Some attempt at stretching after the run.

Brain-not-with-it day - concentration span of the proverbial goldfish. Came home and went to sleep for a couple of hours. Still feeling a bit off... hope it's nothing major.

C • Eradicate the proverbial goldfish 3

Circuits session, a bit more cardiovascular/explosive stuff today, body felt tired and heavy towards the end.

At various points through the day