Training Log Archive: BorisGr

Decided to join Jan, Johan, and Micke and re-run some of the night-O courses from Åland. Did Kat's short course and a bit more, starting at dusk. Orienteered fine, but felt really bad. My optimism from yesterday seems premature. The glute pain is back in force with no sign of improvement.

C • :-( 4

Warm-up

Måsenstafetten.
This was the last day of the Varsity Match trip, so Kat and I took the bus down to Nyköping with the gang, made sure they were all set with their teams, and then went off to run our legs for Linné. I had no great expectations for myself, being exhausted (fell asleep by 8pm the night before) and out of shape. I ran the 2nd leg for Linné's 4th team. Björn ran well on the first leg, coming in 26th. I went off, feeling slow and tired, and had my best technical race in a long time. I did make one mistake, 1.5 minutes three controls from the finish, but other than that, the race was just about perfect, even if not particularly fast. The best time on my course was Ulf's 46:20). Don't think I could have done much better given the state I was in. Quite pleased. It's amazing how easy it is for motivation to come back after having been virtually non-existent for the last three weeks. The goal now is to get in shape by Tiomila.

Putting out flags and SIs for the relay on what felt like the first relay spring day of the year. The relay went really well too, with the guest team of three Linné girls (Mari, Lina B, and Åsa) taking the gold. Everyone seemed to have fun, and the spectating and cheering opportunities worked out as well as had been planned. I think some of the Oxford girls felt a bit better about being passed by Lina on the second leg after she anchored the winning team in Måsenstafetten a day later.
In the afternoon we got most of the gang out on the Högbergsparken map from DxDeluxe 2006 ( http://www.dxdeluxe.se/2006/autumn/maps/qual.png ). This was also a fun experience.
Overall, it felt like the Varsity Match was a success, and worth the work Rob and I put in. We got lots of help from lots of people when we needed it, and the OUOC/CUOC/JOK/DrongO bunch were all really friendly and appreciative, making the whole experience a pleasure for me. Now it's time to get back to real life.

C • Thanks again... 3

Putting out SI units plus other random running around during the actual VM.
The day itself went great - no misplaced controls, good weather, good courses, and good competition. Oxford took home both the men's and women's trophies, and we even got three articles in the local paper. Here's one: http://www2.unt.se/avd/1,,MC=6-AV_ID=738045,00.htm...
The banquet in the evening was really fun too, including me and Jon Marsden picking up 52 pizzas in front of the shocked Swedes waiting to get in their orders at the pizza place. We had to drive with the windows down since the pizzas made the car windows completely steam up!
Left the banquet early to program relay courses and arrange maps and teams. Home at 3.

Hanging streamers for the Varsity Match relay. Then spent the whole day at Rob's office working on getting everything else set. Stressful, but also kinda fun.

Technique training on Lunsen with the Varsity Match crowd. Shadowed Kat for a few controls first, and then ran off on my own. Orienteered pretty well, but the running was tough, especially in the softer marshes. The snow definitely made things harder.

Warm-up for the night-O.

Wednesday night-O winter conclusion on Åland. A tough middle course set by Tomas that consisted of two loops. I mostly ran ok (by my night standards), but got very tired on the second loop and started tripping over stuff. Felt the first twinges of an oncoming cramp towards the end, and barely managed to get away from Simon and Andreas on the last couple of controls. Very tough night.

Event: 2008 Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Match
 

Hanging controls and building the last couple of stands for the Varsity Match. The Brits have arrived and have taken over the clubhouse!