Training Log Archive: O Joy

Short run just before we left for the November Classic weekend in Salisbury and Southampton to test out my ankle sprain. I felt the few days off but am happy with my pace. The ankle was fine on the flat pavement running.

Event: Cambridge City Race
 

Walk from Cambridge train station to city race assembly on Jesus Green.

Amazing city race in the urban parks, colleges, and busy shopping streets of Cambridge with very intricate legs right through the courtyards of St. Johns and Pembrooke Colleges. The race was a lot of fun and I felt like I had some flow until I ran around a corner onto a side street and, distracted by a line of grads in caps and grounds and family taking pictures, went over on my ankle on a curb, fell, and scraped up my knee. I partially recovered sitting on a window sill with family members asking if they could help. Once I felt like I could at least walk, I went on to C11 and then needed to sit on a wall again where I considered dnf'ing and walking back to the assembly. I gave myself one more control to make the decision and mostly got my head together and my feet under me along the way to C12 and decided to continue the course. I managed to slowly run for most of the rest of the course but probably lost at least 5 minutes which would have put me up 3-4 places in the standing. Regardless, the race was really fun and challenging.

C • Also, 1

Walk back to the train station via central Cambridge. Aidan got to navigate to some of the city centre controls that he didn't get to go to on the M16 course which stayed mostly in parks.

I made a typical biochemist's pilgrimage to The Eagle pub where Watson and Crick drank pints as they were discussing the structure of DNA - a testament to the benefit of uninhibited thinking. Now I have a picture of the pub to use when I talk about Watson, Crick, and Franklin and the structure of DNA in my biochemistry lecture course.

Pleasant before dinner run, this time just on streets as it was already dark and the two headlamps went to see the ponies.

Event: NOR Club Championships
 

Walking from the train station to the event and back, control pick-up, and to the West Runton beach and back to the train station.

Norfolk Orienteering Club Championships. I ran the light green "women's course" and was rained on for 4 or 5 controls. Most of the controls were fine and there was a lot of trail running in between so I felt reasonably fast. The biggest problem was C5 - C6 when it was raining fairly hard and, since I had decided to leave my visor at home, my glasses fogged up and had great big raindrops on them as I somehow found myself descending a steep slope through fairly high bracken and missing the trail I was aiming for. I should have just doglegged out of C5 up the cleared spur back to the trail that would take me easily to C6. Overall, I had fun and enjoyed the terrain - some of which again felt like home. Who said Norfolk is flat? ; )

We added an adventure to the day by taking the train to West Runton and then walking 1.2 mile up Sandy Lane to the Roman Camp, which was never really a Roman camp; apparently, the Victorian era horse cab drivers tried to drum up business by naming the beacon hill "Roman Camp" as there where some kind of earth works which are much newer than when the Romans were here. After the meet, we walked to the beach before we caught the train back to Norwich.

Norwich parkrun #4. Faster on loops 1 and 2 but then lost time on the third loop.

Before dinner run on a beautiful dry and warm evening with Aidan for the first mile or so then we went to see the ponies and did the Broad loop in the opposite directions. We started at 6:30 pm so it was really too dark to be running on the rougher trails without a light. I felt like I was picking my way along to avoid tripping or going over on my ankle. We need to get away from work earlier. Running on the paved trails and sidewalks was enjoyable tonight.

Before dinner run around the Broad on a clear dry evening. The moon was up and bright by the end around 6:30 pm.

The becoming regular Saturday morning park run at Eaton Park. It was cooler this morning and a bit damp but the rain stayed away and the sky was clearing by the end of the run.

Before dinner run on a cool, drizzly, windy evening. Aidan says running when it is drizzling is good training for bad weather :\ .

Mellow run in Eaton Park on a pleasant evening.

A "Single Dumpling" of Norfolk Orienteering at Sheringham Park. My course didn't start out very smoothly as I struggled to read the contours to control 1. The terrain was much more like home with moraines left by the glaciers but the amount of bracken and rhododendron in some places seemed to cause problems. Throughout I had very little energy, physically or mentally, and ended up leaving the second to last control as I wasn't reading the contours and the break in the earth wall wasn't marked on the map. Overall, a disappointing day.

Norwich parkrun #2. Fewer people out this morning, probably because the sun stayed in.

Before dinner run around the UEA Broad - felt pretty good.

Feeling light on my feet for my before dinner run to see the ponies on a dry, cool evening.