Training Log Archive: ȷames

If there was any doubt as to whether missing days 2+3 was right decision, its now been cleared up. Slept in until 2:45, smashing my previous record of 2 (set with transatlantic jetlag when I was 9).

3 weeks of interrailing followed by a week of tough racing (and camping) takes its toll, and I'm clearly not in a fit state to be racing another full week. Hoping to sort myself out for days 4-6 now, mostly by doing more sleeping and maybe minor training, but nothing excessive and certainly nothing today.

Event: 2017 Scottish 6 Days, Royal Deeside
 

S6D-1 - 4th

Pretty good race. Scrappy through the first section, then maybe a minute error at 4 overshooting without a real plan. Route to 5 was ok but executed slowly, and maybe dropping to the path was better. Think I split the difference between the 2 good routes to 7, contouring around the valley but then dropping too low on the hillside. Suspect the best route was what I did but staying higher, but coming back through 5 would have been good as well. 14.09 on the long leg, a good few minutes down.

Fairly clean end to the race but hesitant in the final control pick segment, expecting a technical challenge that wasn't there.

A decent result but a strange race coming off the back of oringen, wasn't really prepared for Deeside being Deesidey (And British). Very good fun and excited for the later half of the week but first some much needed R+R at home.

Failed in my attempt to run, failed in my attempt to get any kind of enjoyment. Pissed off after sliding and faceplanting within 100m of the start, and hated every moment from then on.

Brain nowhere near the right place so just gave up after missing 4. Need to sort myself out for the Scottish.

Such a good start, then started making stupid errors culminating in the old run from 7 to 9, think 9 is 8, navigate as if 9 was 8... Etc. Recovered eventually on a big road and took the 7 minute split.

So that's oringen over, no real goal for tomorrow, just run and try to get some kind of enjoyment

C • Finish 1

Just so bad. Too proud to path it to 1, didn't believe compass to 3 or 5. Shockingly slow through the terrain all the way through and generally just not up for it.

Surprising then to finish and still be clinging onto a place in the chase. I guess there were no horror errors, but as a race in general it was awful.

Need to recover from a classic 'I hate this sport' moment in time for tomorrow's middle.

Watched the sprint, Alex humiliating the opposition, then himself on the podium. Jealous of the E boys, I want a sprint race :/

Much better, although keeping Garmin charged is still a struggle :/

Lost map contact within 30 seconds of the start. Very lucky to recover it on the optimal (although not my chosen) route. Again plan went out the window to 2, took it very straight and lost a lot of time but hit it clean. 4 was really unlucky, got very close and then bailed out cos of some unmapped green putting me off. After that got the skates on and felt like a proper race into the finish. Frustrating to see how many places are up for grabs with tiny time changes, but doesn't matter much for the chase.

Knee unstable and hurting a bit when I woke up, but jogging it off and one brufen did the trick. Rubbing stopped with a compeed.

C • Unmapped Green 6

Guessing a few numbers as Garmin didn't make it all the way :(

First day of oringen and very mixed results. Fundamentally a really poor run, with brain turning to mush after 2 controls, and legs following suit after 6. That said the 1:15 transition was unproblematic and scandi terrain doesn't feel as alien as it used to. Most importantly the knee kept quiet, although developed some grim rubbing on the ankle from the shoes that I've been wearing without any problems for almost a year.

Apparently this combines to give a top half finish, and only +15 on the winner, which is bad especially considering I'm on the peasants course, but nowhere near as bad as I thought. Now about trying to avoid the mass start, and see what can be done tomorrow.

Event: O-Ringen
 

Forgot Garmin.

Tester/session on a track in Constanta, generally good with only minor hints of the knee bit unstructured but managed a 100/200/300/400 with equal distance rests as well as some other bits and pieces. Run back was proper sketchy with the dogs I was warned about in the hostel.

Nice to know that the track in the rundown stadium of a third tier Romanian football club is still a better surface than anything I have access to at home.

So unsure about oringen (still) but confident enough to start the first day trying to race it, will rest up now cos there's no chance of regaining any fitness in time.

Not sure this was the best first run back in retrospect:
Absolutely shattered after zero sleep on last night's train, new city with slightly mental pedestrian-traffic relations and no-one to run with to keep the pace down.

All good round a nice local park and then out into third-worldy Belgrade, return was fine until 4k when the knee pranged, was then somewhat painful back to the hostel.

Nowhere near as bad as it was, and 4k running as if there was nothing wrong at all, but I was hoping it might have just disappeared... Wishful thinking. Probably more important is whether I can walk tomorrow or if that's recrippled me :/

Bit of a headache trying to work out what to do now. Knee still feels unstable but have run pain-free short distances. Equally want to run all the summer races as planned but with this fitness decline I'm not sure what I'm racing for apart from opportunity to injure.

Relieved to be recovering/ed though.

C • Fitness decline 1

God I hate cross-trainers, but felt so good to 'run' a bit. Two 10-min sessions, increasing the resistance through the run. Knee absolutely fine and then I decided the rower would be a good idea...

Found a gym in Bratislava with non-running friends. Decent variety of leg machines, didn't feel the need to humiliate myself with much else...

A tenuous claim to a session. Mostly stretches for the knee, and a bit of strength stuff too, knee has been improving so maybe oringen isn't a write-off just yet.

Still too early/scary to try any running nonsense. Also it's over 30° outside.

Day after: knee going off even while walking. Bit of a struggle to climb Berlin's many stair-related tourist attractions, pessimistic.

C • vastus medialis oblique (Inside leg) 3

Slow and steady with calum around tempelhof feld in Berlin, seemed like the best thing to do for the knee. Turned out it's still awful, and landed horribly coming into the park so had to walk quite a lot.

Now very worried for oringen etc