Training Log Archive: Craig

NOL Ultra Long at Nerrina.
Deliberately started out really slowly and made no attempt to stay with anyone as I knew I would struggle later if I went out too hard and I felt I needed to take my time remembering how to navigate in goldmining.

Got 1 cleanly enough just ahead of Simon Rouse and could see Jim not too far ahead. Passed Jim on the way to 2 and didn't see him again. Saw Reuben ahead after 2 and trailed him through 3 and 4 along with a few juniors and Simon Rouse. Simon was moving a little quicker and got ahead a bit but stayed on the track a bit longer on the way to 5 I think and I didn't see him again. I followed the same line as Reuben into 5 and closed up a bit. I could hear someone else behind but didn't know who it was until I looked back leaving 5 and saw it was tRicky.

I was undecided on the route from 6-7 but when Reuben went left I decided to go right and tRicky followed me. Saw an Arrows top leaving 7 as we came in but it was John N and I didn't see Reuben after this. At the time I thought it might have been a split but he must have lost time here. Just tRicky on my tail until 11 where he disappeared as I headed through the steep green gullies on my own. Starting to feel pretty tired by this stage and getting worried about the fact I still had two loops to go.

Took my time through the map change having a gel and a good drink and saw tRicky coming in as I was leaving. Long leg out of the start this time with an easy road option to the left. I decided to stay on the road as long as possible to save the legs for the last loop and was quite relieved to see this loop was shorter as well. Saw tRicky behind as I was leaving the next 3 or 4 controls but didn't see him again after that. Got through this loop quite comfortably and was feeling a lot better about starting the last loop than I expected to when I finished the first.

Came out on a track just behind Brodie in the middle of the first longer leg of the last loop and figured he must be on a later section about 20 minutes ahead of me. I was a little surprised to find he wasn't going any faster up the steep hill than I was but I suspect he picked up pace off the top a lot better than me. Saw Ian a little further back as I was leaving the track, he was looking pretty tired too. Got around the Northern loop reasonably well, but having to walk for quite a while to recover after any steep pinches.

Crossed paths with Tash a couple of times and Wayne once before seeing Bruce coming down the hill as I went up where I had seen Brodie and Ian earlier. Guessed Bruce was about 5 minutes ahead and probably out of reach but caught a glimpse of David Brownridge ahead at the next couple of controls and thought I might be some chance of catching him if he was really suffering. Took the gamble of the straighter option from 77-78? hoping to close the gap but I think it was slower and David went the same way anyway. Didn't see him again after that and I was quite happy to just plug away at my own pace through the last few without feeling under pressure. Turns out David had the short option at the end and nearly caught Bruce anyway.

Finished feeling tired but not totally shattered in 8th place, 25 minutes off the lead and 23 minutes ahead of tRicky in 9th. Quite satisfied with my effort. Don't remember making any real mistakes, happy enough with my route choices and handled the distance about as well as I could have hoped. Really enjoyed the weekend, might even consider doing it again.

Event: Victorian Ultra Long Weekend (NOL Round 4)
 

NOL sprint heat at Damascus College.
Course was mostly in the bush for the first half, then around the buildings in the second half. I didn't really want to run hard so didn't do much warm up and was a bit tentative on the first downhill. Lost a bit of time on 4 with a bad route into the control around the East of the green. Rest was all ok but losing a lot of time on the climbs. Seemed to go better in the second half probably because it was flatter and I had been taking it pretty easy so wasn't tiring. Still felt I ran a bit harder than I really wanted to. Mild regret about not bothering to race Bruce into the finish (started 3min after me) when I found tRicky had beaten me by 3 seconds.

NOL Sprint Final at Ballarat Grammar.
Flat campus map with some more complex route choices. I don't think I made great choices but probably lost more time through hesitations wondering if I had read the gaps correctly. Particularly in and out of 4 I had a lot of little stops to check that I hadn't misread the map. Tried not to push too hard, particularly around corners as it was a bit slippery after some light rain, but again probably went a little harder than I intended. I think I should try to race properly or not enter in future (if I have a future).

C • If you have a future 8

Steady run around the river at fcp.

C • Fcp 2

Easy run in KP.

Steady run around KP with 10x100 on Rosalie at the end. Not feeling too bad.