Training Log Archive: OJIn the 31 days ending Aug 31, 2009:
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Monday Aug 31, 2009 #
Orienteering race 45:00 [5] 7.0 km (6:26 / km)
White Rose score relay in a team with my parents. We had a pretty good strategy worked out, but my dad had the hardest job and I should probably have taken on a bit more. Finished about 5 mins down on Jenny's SYO team, not bad.
Running 5:00 [2] 1.0 km (5:00 / km)
Half-hearted warm up, my legs were really tired today.
Sunday Aug 30, 2009 #
Orienteering race 56:10 [5] 11.0 km (5:06 / km)
White Rose day 2. Really tired this morning, but a much more interesting area with huge depressions in big areas of flat forest. Somehow I managed a mistake-free run, even though the map left a lot to be desired. With a good map this would actually be a great bit of terrain.
Running 20:00 [2] 4.0 km (5:00 / km)
To the start and a very limited bit of warming down.
Saturday Aug 29, 2009 #
Orienteering race 1:00:58 [5] 10.0 km (6:06 / km)
White Rose day 1, lots of steep climbs and quite a bit of path running in between the nicer bits of terrain. Ran pretty well except for one big mistake in a vague, white/semi open area, where I couldn't make much sense of the map. Not nearly as bad as I had feared...but then I love this kind of thing.
Running race 4:27 [5] 1.2 km (3:42 / km)
White Rose hill race, jogged down to the bottom and then blasted it up a steep path and along a gently uphill forest road before another steep section at the end. I had to try hard to fend off all the EBOR youngsters who wanted a scalp, in the end I was only 2 seconds up on a speedy Chris Smithard.
Orienteering 31:01 [4] 6.0 km (5:10 / km)
White Rose night race, a 30 min score event with 30 controls. A mass start with 100 people in a very small area with the controls all on or near the paths, so it was a real blast. Went out to get all of them, but managed to miss one out by mistake and still get back a bit late. Lots of fun, but I could still feel my chips from Scarborough.
Running 50:00 [2] 8.0 km (6:15 / km)
Warm up and down jogging for the day.
Thursday Aug 27, 2009 #
Running race 40:00 [5] 10.0 km (4:00 / km) vdot: 51.9
Pilsley fell race. Wow, this was horrible. Really not up for a hard race, but put myself through plenty of pain nonetheless. Miscalculated the distance left at the end and came to a near standstill on the last climb back to the village, where Bryn sailed past me having closed a pretty big gap. My own fault for trying to hang on to B8N0 at the start I guess...just dead after.
Running 20:00 [2] 3.0 km (6:40 / km)
A bit of warm up, but almost no warm down as my body and guts were not in good shape.
Wednesday Aug 26, 2009 #
Climbing 1:00:00 [1]
Session at the Works with a big crowd. All good until Gareth crocked himself right at the end.
Running 15:00 [2] 3.0 km (5:00 / km)
Quick downhill run home from Gareth's house.
Tuesday Aug 25, 2009 #
Running 25:00 [2] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
HFW. It has only rained for 20 minutes in Sheffield today, all of it heavy, all of it during my run.
Monday Aug 24, 2009 #
Note
(rest day)
Long day travelling home from WOC, didn't even consider going running.
Note
Well this was a disappointing end to the season for me from a results point of view. Things took a surprising turn for the worse just before the test races, when I thought I was coming into the best shape of the year, and I didn't manage to turn it around before WOC.
BUT...I am feeling strangely positive about what happened. I enjoyed WOC this year more than I have done for a long time in spite of my less than perfect races. It was a great team to be a part of, the atmosphere was good, and the motivation was really there. I am really fired up for next year, maybe my last shot at WOC, and I want to be up there challenging GG for the podium in the long distance!
But first, a short rest. Then the tough training starts to get in shape to keep up with Rob around the OMM elite course.
BUT...I am feeling strangely positive about what happened. I enjoyed WOC this year more than I have done for a long time in spite of my less than perfect races. It was a great team to be a part of, the atmosphere was good, and the motivation was really there. I am really fired up for next year, maybe my last shot at WOC, and I want to be up there challenging GG for the podium in the long distance!
But first, a short rest. Then the tough training starts to get in shape to keep up with Rob around the OMM elite course.
Sunday Aug 23, 2009 #
Orienteering 30:50 [5] 6.0 km (5:08 / km)
The most important race of the day, the open 3 course of the WOC spectator races. Full of confidence after yesterday's dominance, I laid my pride on the line again in a 3-way beer stake with Speaky and Craney. But today I crumbled and got lost twice on the easiest course in the world, leaving Craney to cover himself in glory.
Followed by a day of cheering capped off by GG's fantastic result.
Followed by a day of cheering capped off by GG's fantastic result.
Running 10:00 [2] 1.0 km (10:00 / km)
Bit of warm up, no warm down.
Orienteering race 5:00 [4] 1.0 km (5:00 / km)
One lap of the beer relay, superbly organised by the US team. Ran a mini mass start with Marc and Matt S, which ended in a 3-way draw after a nail-biting sprint finish. I take my hat off to the guys who ran all three laps.
Followed by an evening of dancing in the loudest, sweatiest nightclub in Miskolc. Great!
Followed by an evening of dancing in the loudest, sweatiest nightclub in Miskolc. Great!
Saturday Aug 22, 2009 #
Orienteering 2:20 [4] ***** 0.5 km (4:40 / km)
spiked:9/12c
Microsprint qualifying round in the WOC village. Missed a bit here and there but mostly ran in control. Ran a much faster time than Craney and Gareth, but still finished a massive 2 seconds down in the hardest heat. Time will tell whether I make it through to the final.
Phew, made it through in 2= and Craney and Gareth were through as well. Oystein Kvaal missed out by a place though. Only an 8 second qualifying margin in my heat, not much room for messing around!
Phew, made it through in 2= and Craney and Gareth were through as well. Oystein Kvaal missed out by a place though. Only an 8 second qualifying margin in my heat, not much room for messing around!
C • cool 7
Orienteering 2:18 [4] ***** 0.5 km (4:36 / km)
spiked:10/11c
Microsprint final around a different part of the park. Had to wait behind a building for our start, so no idea what to expect. Except that we had already spotted a control in the middle of a deep fountain, and we could hear the cheers every time a runner took the plunge. Ran pretty well and only lost a couple of seconds here and there, but got a bit flustered after the splash down and lost 3-4 seconds on the next short leg. 4th place, 8 seconds down on the fastest, 5 seconds down on Hertner, but a crucial 4 seconds ahead of Craney. Comfortable. Almost too much excitement for one afternoon.
Running 30:00 [2] 4.0 km (7:30 / km)
Warm up and warm down playing mindgames with Candyman and Craney. Their gamesmanship was like water off a duck's back.
Friday Aug 21, 2009 #
Note
(rest day)
Baked in the sun all day at the relay cheering on our boys and girls. The day was marred by Martin Johansson's injury, and the audio-visual presentation was terrible with no functioning radio controls and poor tv presentation. Looked like a tough day in the forest as well.
Thursday Aug 20, 2009 #
Orienteering 20:00 [3] 3.0 km (6:40 / km)
Went for a run around the WOC sprint area soon after the race had finished. Made it into the zoo through the gap in the fence, but by the time I had to come out it had been rebuilt, so I had to take a big detour over a hill to exit through the main entrance. Fun course, and good to see what it was like.
Running 10:00 [2] 2.0 km (5:00 / km)
Bit of jogging before and after.
Wednesday Aug 19, 2009 #
Orienteering race 44:01 [5] 8.0 km (5:30 / km)
WOC middle, not a good performance. Started well, full of purpose and hit the controls well through the tricky first section. Then I came unstuck in the more straightforward middle section when I drifted off line on a green slope - I relocated pretty fast but compounded the mistake by missing in the circle once I had corrected. After that the hills started to fight back and I lost my calm and composure to make a couple of other smaller misses in the last part. Finished 34th much too far behind, frustrating after some good races in previous WOC middle distances.
I wasn't good enough today, and I need to put some hard work in if I want to get to the right place by next summer. I needed a perfect race, running on the edge, to get the result I was after, and perfect races are hard to come by (especially at WOC). I need to be fitter and more confident if I want to crack into the next level - just trying harder isn't going to bridge the gap.
Having said all that, I loved the race today, the atmosphere and the challenge. I'm hungry for more!
I wasn't good enough today, and I need to put some hard work in if I want to get to the right place by next summer. I needed a perfect race, running on the edge, to get the result I was after, and perfect races are hard to come by (especially at WOC). I need to be fitter and more confident if I want to crack into the next level - just trying harder isn't going to bridge the gap.
Having said all that, I loved the race today, the atmosphere and the challenge. I'm hungry for more!
Running 40:00 [2] 6.0 km (6:40 / km)
Warm up and a jog after from the hotel.
Tuesday Aug 18, 2009 #
Event: WOC 2009
Orienteering 35:00 [3] 5.0 km (7:00 / km)
WOC middle model, a couple of short hard sections and plenty of easy jogging looking around at the terrain. A lot rougher than the qualifier, which is fine by me.
Monday Aug 17, 2009 #
Running 35:00 [2] 7.0 km (5:00 / km)
Nice cruise with Craney and Gareth out to the sprint model and back, after a bit of spectating at the long qual. A bit nerve-wracking watching GG narrowly scrape through to the final...
Sunday Aug 16, 2009 #
Orienteering race 30:24 [5] 6.0 km (5:04 / km)
WOC middle qualifier, a nervous day. Fast and technically straightforward terrain, but plenty of opportunity to miss on the featureless slopes. I took some safe routes and probably over-map read, but I didn't want to take any risks today. Still managed to make a couple of mistakes though, and I ended up a long way down on the fastest times, which meant a long, uncomfortable wait for the final results. Made it through in 13th, not as comfortable as I would have liked, but I'm not complaining! Qualifiers are never much fun.
Running 30:00 [2] 5.0 km (6:00 / km)
Good warm up and a long haul uphill to the start through nine minutes of long start boxes. Warmdown around the field with Damien.
Saturday Aug 15, 2009 #
Orienteering 30:00 5.0 km (6:00 / km)
Easy running around the WOC middle model with a few bursts of race pace effort. Nice terrain, very fast but easy to lose time with a lapse of concentration.
Friday Aug 14, 2009 #
Note
(rest day)
Travelling out to Hungary, nice smooth journey apart from Barry's mates, who were getting warmed up for a Budapest stag do on the plane.
Thursday Aug 13, 2009 #
Running 28:00 5.0 km (5:36 / km)
Out to Hillsborough Park for a couple of laps of the death circuit. Put in some good times, 2.14 and 2.16, but I couldn't run them that quick as part of a longer session. Feeling pretty perky today.
Running Drills 10:00 [3] 1.0 km (10:00 / km)
Running drills, strides and sprints to warm up.
Wednesday Aug 12, 2009 #
Running 20:00 [2] 4.0 km (5:00 / km)
Pointless really, but good to keep the legs moving.
Climbing 45:00 [1]
Bit shorter than normal at the works, didn't want to risk pushing it this week. Ticked a couple of routes that I had been working on and found a few more to try next time. Nice big group of us down there tonight, but we should have been outside really...
Tuesday Aug 11, 2009 #
Running 54:05 13.0 km (4:10 / km)
Down Rivelin session, ran up on the trails at a decent pace and then flat out on the road on the way back in 14.05. Started a bit further back at the 40mph limit sign this time, so a bit faster overall than a couple of months ago. Started very hard and it got painful after about 3km, suffered badly for the last five mins. Sat in a cold bath drinking sports drink and looking at embargoed area maps to recover.
Monday Aug 10, 2009 #
Running 35:00 [3] 7.0 km (5:00 / km)
Brisk run around the Loxley valley route, feeling pretty dead today.
Note
(rest day)
Sunday Aug 9, 2009 #
Orienteering 1:05:00 [4] 8.0 km (8:08 / km)
Another course on part of Ostmarka, this time a Bekkelagets session, which was a hilly course in some tough forest with loads of open rock slopes, really nice. Then back home to Sheffield, tiring weekend, but lots of fun.
Running 5:00 [2] 1.0 km (5:00 / km)
Saturday Aug 8, 2009 #
Running 25:00 [2] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
After the morning wedding ceremony we had a few hours off, so I squeezed in a quickie up to a lake and another dip, before the afternoon and evening festivities. It was a really great day, with lots of exciting Vietnamese traditions and exotic food.
Friday Aug 7, 2009 #
Orienteering 50:00 [4] 6.0 km (8:20 / km)
Flew out to Oslo for Dan and Elizabeth's wedding, and had a bit of spare time, so we hit part of Ostmarka for 5xorienteering intervals. Nice forest, but really hilly so a pretty tough session. I bumped into a mystery orienteer on the way round, who I didn't recognise, but I ran through three controls in a row with him. It was all a bit spooky considering that I had planned the course myself about two hours earlier.
Running 20:00 [2] 3.0 km (6:40 / km)
To the start and back followed by a nice dip in a lake.
Thursday Aug 6, 2009 #
Running 50:00 [3] 10.0 km (5:00 / km)
Decent pace up to Loxley Common and zigzagging around on the small trails. Legs feel a bit sore in places but not too bad.
Circuits 15:00 [2]
Evening circuit session.
Wednesday Aug 5, 2009 #
Running 55:00 10.0 km (5:30 / km)
From work to Hilsborough park at lunchtime for a death intervals session. Still a bit tired from Monday, so thought about sacking it off, but felt OK once I got going. 2.23, 2.21, 2.20, 2.20, 2.19. A fete was going on and there was a tent in the way and loads of people about, so could probably have been a touch faster, but not bad anyway. Got some support from a bunch of kids and some tuts from dog walkers.
Tuesday Aug 4, 2009 #
Running 25:00 [2] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
IW, feeling very tired.
Climbing 1:00:00 [1]
Climbing at the works with Jen and Phil. Thought I would be rubbish after a few weeks off, but actually climbed OK and polished off a few routes I had crashed on last time. Got tired pretty fast though.
Monday Aug 3, 2009 #
Running 1:15:00 14.0 km (5:21 / km)
Rivelin hills, feeling surprisingly perky after yesterday's travel home. A bit muddy underfoot, but pretty good conditions. Got horrible runner's gut after so I must have been trying. Equaled my PB on the first one, and got a new session PB on the third, but overall this is the best I have run this session for a while. I kind of needed a sign that my shape is improving and this was it.
Sunday Aug 2, 2009 #
Running 25:00 [2] 4.0 km (6:15 / km)
Another pre-breakfast run, with Jen around the streets of Mestre. Not very exciting. Then spent the rest of the day traveling home.
Saturday Aug 1, 2009 #
Running 50:00 10.0 km (5:00 / km)
Another early morning session, but still baking hot. Ran out to a triangle of wider streets near the biennale and did 5x a lap off 4.30. Must have been getting on for 1km, and it only had two bridges in it, which is pretty good going for any bit of street in Venice. 3.06 (novelty, seemed easy), 3.08 (quite hard actually), 3.10 (novelty wearing off), 3.03 (light at the end of the tunnel), 3.01 (glad that's over). Took me about half an hour to stop sweating in an air conditioned room after a cold shower.