Training Log Archive: Psuba

Event: SLOW Night-O 2016-17 #1: Richmond Park
 

Richmond Night-O, long course.

Wobbly start, OK mid section, bloody huge mistake on the last control.

Didn't push the running but tried to do a decent tempo, wanted to focus more on technique, which worked for the most of the course. Clearly wasn't mentally prepared very well taking off which is why I had overshot the attack points both for controls 1 and 2. I was deliberately choosing not to do the safe but longer routes going around on tracks, but was not successful in adjusting my technique to the night (i.e. wasn't pace counting enough).

Wasn't making any huge mistakes but was losing time over the first 6 controls (except for No. 4) due to smaller corrections I had to do and hesitations.
More or less ran a back-and-forth direct race with a lady from 5 to 10, sometimes me being in front, sometimes she was in front. My smaller mistakes 8-10 allowed her to get a bit of a gap but I messed up 11 so she got completely clear there.

The map was a bit out of date, which did not help but this wasn't causing me more than hesitations until control 11. As I mentioned have messed that up royally though, making a parallel error on the valley but more importantly this was a combination of relying on vegetation (undergrowth edge) as an attack point which I should not have as I knew at this point the map was out of date. I also should have paid more attention to the fact that I was reaching the road before earlier than I originally planned so when I ran as much distance as I felt I should, I wasn't as far as I originally planned. A 4:30 mistake just there alone...

Not too happy therefore as at this speed I really should have been more precise.

Long - Splits

Chatty recovery run in Camberley talking to Frederic.
Strange running through the woods with a single headlamp not orienteering and trying to shine the light on roots etc for both of us!

How time goes much faster when there is company to run with.

Tempo was not something we cared about, but got the legs turning over a bit.

The Stickler aka the Dorset Three Peaks Challenge 2016.

97th out of 505: http://www.dorsetdoddlers.org/thestickler/PAGES%20...

http://www.thestickler.co.uk/

Done this two years ago and fancied another go instead of running today on the same map as yesterday. As this is an off-road race with 3 reasonably tough climbs I figured it would be a good hill training and before next weekend's races.

Knocked off about 6 minutes from my time 2 years ago, and could have done more if I hadn't run hard yesterday as the bottleneck on some of the hills wasn't my HR or oxygen just the tiredness of my legs. This isn't disappointment just a note though, quite happy with the end time.

Two sticking points that I was a bit disapointed about: on the first climb, I ran most of it but on the steepest section about 2/3rd of the way I ended up walking it, and after the long downhill my legs just would not adjust to the sudden climb and again had to change to walking a bit. This last one is something I need to think about because it happened two years ago too - I was descending fast and overtaking people, but hitting the climb people were coming back at me, and switching downhill to uphill is very common in Orienteering.

Jason was about 2m behind and Becca about 10, not aware of other Orienteers although bound to have been a few on this one.

Event: BKO/BADO joint Night event (Greenham Common)
 

My second ever sub-20m 5k.

Knew that I could do it, happy that I did. Controlled the tempo well, got difficult after 3k but stuck with it and it paid off. Now let's make sub-20 as regular as sub-21 is at the moment.

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/bournemouth/results/week...

BADO/BKO Night race, Greenham Common, Brown course.

Quite a fast area and mostly compass bearing, but some tricky bits as well with contour detail.
Mostly ran well, shame for the few error

1 - turned around to check a veg boundary too early, I should not have done as I was purposly aiming to the left of my target so I should have known it is further down. Not enough confidence I guess. 50s
2 - ran past the control and had to turn back. Quite stupid of me as I should have pace counted that would have gave it away, I thought that depression was too early (probably felt too early relative to last weeks 1:15000 map?) 1m30s
3 - spot on
4 - chose to go through the roads and concrete so I could run fast although not as straight. The plan worked but I have to wait and see the other splits to compare it if was a good plan or not.
5 - fast run, no problems
6 - slight hesitation just before the control, maybe 5s
7 - slightly off-direction but corrected
8 - spot on
9 - veered right, didn't read the map very well at first but realised the lay of the land once I saw the area and corrected, probably lost about 20s
10 - Decided to go straight which was probably not the best choice through the undergrowth, plus stopped early at a control that was in the depression next to mine to figure out the map. It would have been a better entry from the road, so wasn't a very good plan to run straight. Probably lost at least 30s.
11 - Directional mistake, was trying to run around the marshes but they were indistinct so should have kept on running on bearing. Put myself into place quite quickly but still lost about 30s going roundabout
12 - fast and as planned, trying to shake the train behind
13 - fast but a parallel mistake, tried to use the earthbank to guide me, unfortunately chose the wrong earthbank! Definitely a mistake, although the plan was quite good. Easy to correct but still lost 1 min
14 - no problems
15 - ran fast and hit the control spot on on bearing, shaken the train at this point from my back
16 - tripped over whilst running through the rough, which is probably quite common for the fast guys... not so much for me. Carries on anyway, shaken it off by the time I got to the control. Chose to run on the trail even though it was slightly longer, but it gave me the ability to run faster so I am happy with that plan.
17 - For some reason veered to the right as I got close to the control, the vegetation wasn't quite mapped right and I thought I saw the hedge end that I was expecting to have the control. In the end it wasn't yet where I needed to be so lost about 30s

No problems with the rest of the controls.

So about 5:15 lost all together which is annoying as otherwise I felt I was running well and was about 4m behind the winner in 2nd place.
Good points: I could correct relatively quickly each time I made a mistake. Never followed anyone throughout the course. Some of the legs I used good plans for navigation. Most of the compass bearing was actually quite accurate. Ran fast in places.

Morning easy recovery jog in Bushy Park

Event: SAX KNC
 

Kent Night Cup, Trosley Park.

Well another one that didn't quite go to plan. Not a tragedy considering these are midweek events that I consider training rather than serious events, but it starts to slightly annoy that there is a limited amount of positive feedback in terms of results (though results for this are not yet published, it can't be good).

Having never been here before and reading the name of the location (i.e. "Park"), turned up in my usual trail shoes and went to the extent of putting on a long (but thin) running pants. I started to be suspicious when I saw the local contingent at the registration all in agressive O-shoes, O-pants and "heavy armory" gaiters. Suspicion turned slight worry when, at the mass start announcements the planner noted some of the score features (dumbell controls can be taken in that order to earn extra points) with a side note of "since everyone know this terrain so well by now"... So, mental translation: the extra preparedness can't be conicidental. And it wasn't.

Blackberries.

Undergrowth.

Steep hillside.

I wasn't well prepared for any of these. So, naturally slowed down and got stuck in the undergrowth, slipped going down on hillsides and not getting good traction climbing, it wasn't going to be a fantastic result. Tried to somewhat compensate with picking routes, but in a lot of places it wasn't possible and sometimes I just chose to go direct because how else do I practice keeping a bearing in the forest and in the dark?

What also did not help that I forgot initially to plan according to the instructions - take 100s first, 111 to switch over, 90s second - or vie versa. I planned as "take anything over 100 first, 90s second". So I went to 111 somewhere in the middle of the 100s - I realised it later so got to it again before I switched over to 90s, but a.) it was extra distance and time, b.) this was the route to collect 100s was no longer the optimal order and c.) it may affect the calculation (not sure if they will invalidate all my 100s after 111 or not as the results are not yet published).

I have also made a few actual mistakes, although none catastrophic. I was coping with the climb OK, and ran OK mostly though. Ended up being over time of course.

Update - 8th/38, but 2nd most points with the time deduction. Most points collected of anyone... So, the extra time spent on 111 and getting stuck in undergrowth the few times would have brought it back to 1st...
http://www.saxons-oc.org/results-archive/2016/2016...