Training Log Archive: Psuba

Not the best shoe for this (the iRock would have been better) but had to compromise - no time to clean the iRock and dry after Sunday.

Very muddy on most tracks so even when running along them I was zig-zagging and slow trying to read the map. A complex area meant I had to constantly try and be on top of navigation which slowed me down. For most legs the limiting factor on speed was the navigation and not the legs - which means this was a good training exercise for the mind.
Made about 3 errors costing about 5 minutes total, mostly not being precise enough when I needed to, although to #2 it was being bogged down in a supposedly white area that was fully undergrown with brambles then figuring out where I ended up fighting through.

Long - Splits

Legs probably need the rest day - will take this as an easy week considering the Biritish Night Champs and Midlands Champs this weekend.

Event: WIM Regional
 

Turf Hill & Millersford Winter Warmer Regional event, Brown course.

What a waste. Seriously not sure what I can take away from this.

Physically shot after yesterday, so it was tough going even though I binned "race mode" after #3 (see later) and just jogged. Garmin kindly confirmed physical shape by correcting my LTHR down when I finished - thanks, I already knew this was a struggle.

Worse, I have wasted a huge amount of time, mostly due to mistakes I could easily claim to have had to do with the map quality. I normally hesitate because I should develop a technique that minimises the impact of mapping errors, but there were a number of spots where I am not sure what alternatives there would have been.

Times lost:
#1 picking up athe map the wind blew it all over and by the time I was able to read #1 I was down the path 90 deg so wasted some distance. Not a major one (especially compared to what came later), but annoying.
#2 went on a bearing in probably the right direction, but reading the other features I concluded I drifted left as I passed the middle point of both the marsh and the gorse on the other side of the re-entrant, so turned and started to look around relative to these features. Then ran further up to find the control, probably on my initial bearing but I suspect further up the slope than the map seemed to indicate. Cost about 1:30
#3 the mapping of the gorse here was a complete disaster. I thought I was cautious now after #2 and instead of relying on the shape of the gorse as mapped, I was pace counting from a ditch prior. I might have picked up the wrong ditch (or it wasn't mapped correctly, as then started to look for the control too early - but the shape of the gorse looked more or less what I expected. Then I tried to relocate from a ditch N of the control - that did not work either. Finally ran further, almost convinced I was way beyond the control, found a veg boundary (?) and a sole tree (mapped as a bush...), beyond the control, took bearing from there back - and still didn't find the control. Then I looked for a vegetation shaped like it was on the map, which was further N, and I did finally get the control. BUT it wasn't even in the right place relative to the road and the tree. Time wasted: about 9:30
And this is where I am not sure what I could have done to limit the risk here, other than taking a huge detour. Also the vegetation on Google Earth looks similar to what I remember, but neither match what was on the map... From this point on I really didn't care much.
#4 - just ran past the control before adjusting myself coming back, this was my fault as I shouldn't have gone past the spur - 50s
#7 - probably the only interesting control in the whole course navigationally. I did mess up at the beginning running for a while on the ride instead of the track (60 deg error), I corrected it but it meant running over rough instead of the track, so probably lost about 20-30s here. The interesting part was nearer the control with the patches of dark green - no problem there.
#10 - another control where the vegetation did not at all look like on the map. In hindsight I should have just stuck to the path and wait to see the control as I was running past, but even the path was vague and not quite like on the map so I tried to find the semi-open area mapped, at which edge the earth back was the control. In the end I did find it, it was more a marsh but this also cost me about 2 min of looking as I thought I ran past it based on the contours around me (which again weren't clear).
#15 - this was nasty: as I was running on bearing I noticed a tree on my bearing and tried to find it on the map. I couldn't, so concluded that the 3 distinct vegetation features marking the control was the tree and surrounding bushes (as was the case near #3!). Got to the tree, no control. Looked around and finally found the control further back at the edcge of the re-entrant. Looking at the map at home, I can see the tree mapped but almost completely masked by the control circle. Really the circle should have been broken so the tree is visible. Also the bushes with the control are mapped directly on the bearing I took to the tree, but in reality they were further off to the left which is why I did not see them. 1:20 lost
#16 - no mistakes but I swear the shape of the slope was not matching the map
#17 - just drifted right and had to run back for the control - about 20s lost
From here on there were no mistakes, but leg 19-20 I planned to run through the white forest, but had to bail out to the right on the track as the white forest wasn't well runable at all. If I had known that I probably would have been about 1m faster.

So, that is about 17m worth of mistakes, and I am really not sure if I own most of it.
Between those and my tired legs I am not sure what I gained from getting out there today.

Ran this with Ian with the intention to just jog around in anticipation of the hills session later.

ran again from Lulworth cove car park over to Durdle Door and then the hill reps with 1:30s off each.

Durdle door hill rep timings were
4:58
5:02
5:16
5:16
5:20
5:20
5:27 (although I had to stop and walk behind a couple on the steps for a while)

C • Missed you 3

So - it was supposed to be a 14x400m / 2m off session for sub-3:30.

As the rain started to fall I decided to interrupt but as I was running the last in the park, a badly behaving dog, despite its owner shouting at it, was running after me and repeatedly tried to bite my legs. I stopped and turned and then it ran back to the owner. I was quite upset and shouted (as much as I could out of my breath) to the owner (who at this point was far) to teach her dog as it was trying to bite me. Her response was "stop running in the park", which just got me quite upset. I did not even know what to respond to this arrogance and stupidity, I mean - really????

Note the wind effect in the speed as I was running back and forth

Intervals were
1:17 (3:14)
1:23 (3:29)
1:17 (3:13)
1:24 (3:32)
1:36 (4:01) - this last one including the whole biting, shouting and jogging the remaining bit, so was well on course as well.

Chatty run with the group that meet at the local RunnersNeed shop every Wednesday. I though I give it a try - a nice bunch but it looks like the rain scared off most regulars so there were only 6 of us out to do the 5K loop - reduced to 4 by the time we did the hills.

Slippery in places due to the rain but at the tempo we did it wasn't a real problem.

10 min tempo on the hills circuits with the Runners Needs bunch.
It is comparable to the medium hills at Wessex although doing less in time.

Sped up compared to the 5K, but unfortunately as we started with the downhill the upped tempo steps upset my stomach (not really prepared well for a tempo run during the day with my eating choices), so struggled from almost the beginning. Managed to avoid bailing out though even though Will did lap me. I have an inkling he would have anyway, but either way I would not have been able to keep up with him - at least there is a target to aim for now.