Training Log Archive: OJ

Tankersley local event. It always feels great to run orienteering the day after an xc race, and although I could feel a bit of fatigue in my legs I really enjoyed this. Nice twisty-turny course and the undergrowth was really low after all the cold weather. Beaten by Mr Baker who sneakily hid in the bushes until I started and then set off a minute later. We spent a bit of the course together and I managed to get a small gap, but Rob ran well to pull some back at the end. Interesting exercise to run together in the forest after trailing far behind him in the xc yesterday. This felt relatively so much more comfortable to me!

Shortish warm up and then a tough long warm down (55 mins home from the event) with Rob. Got the dizziness at about half way but it got easier after that. Jenny's parsnip and apple soup and endless cups of tea sorted me out afterwards.

Yorkshire xc champs at Rotherham. A frosty frozen course involving a few smallish hills and a few slippery bends. All very convoluted with loads of laps of varying lengths, basically a big zig-zag route around a big field. The highlight of the course for me was a ditch which we crossed on each lap, and I am proud to say that a marshal remarked that mine was the best jump. That was also the highlight of my performance, which was mediocre, but I hung in there at least and some consolation is that I contributed to the team's overall third place. Great runs from Andy T, Rob B and Dave S really helped us along and Speaky ran well to get 13th. I was somewhere just inside the top 50...

Lots of warm up and a lap of warm down. It was hard to take any layers off today and I went for the soft option of thermal and gloves.

Decent pace up to Loxley Common and played around on some of the smaller, rocky tracks. Need to set up some kind of interval loop to practice technical running up here. Felt a bit fatigued from yesterday evening but not too bad, hopefully I will have some energy for tomorrow...

C • where were you this morning? 6

Home from work to dump my bag, then up Rivelin on trails. Did the usual 4.5km hard back down on the roads from Rivelin post office, flat out until the fire station for 14.28. Ran at a good pace, but it was too dark to run really confidently, I need a light to do this session next time.

Into work, felt like hard work running up to the summit of Crookes with a heavy bag. Feeling it after last night's session.

Climbing at t'works with a big crowd. Worked our way around a new brown circuit, all of which were on my technical/physical limit, managed most of them after a few attempts but there were quite a few that elluded me.

Wussed out of track for 2 reasons: 1. This was my first hard session since getting sick and I was scared of pushing it too hard, 2. I thought it would be too icy for a decent session down at Woodbourne Rd. I know, I'm soft.

Headed down to Hillsborough Park instead and ran strides and drills then an extended session of death intervals: 800, 1600, 800, 1600 (ish) around a figure 8 with the longer reps comprising a double lap. Ran off 0, 4, 11, 15 and did 2.31, 5.10, 2.31, 5.10. Really felt it in my lungs and the times were pretty slow, but it was dark, frozen and about -20.

HFW, out to the park, and then back via Sheffield Wednesday. Pretty stuffed.

Back to the ROG sessions at S10, joined today by Kim as well who offered some good advice on our (lack of) technique. Felt good to get some exercise after a long day on a teaching course.

Got in a full set on the weights, it's great when it's not so packed with students. Saw JR and RE on the mats on the way out and Kathy in the spinning class. Orienteering types everywhere, shame we don't get points for that.

Bit of a warm up and a run home with a heavy rucksack today. Rob put forward a training theory involving the constant wearing of leg and arm weights in the run up to a big race. That way even drinking a cup of tea could count as training and I would be at the top of the AP training ranking in no time. Might be worth a try?