Training Log Archive: MikeS

Can't really put any weight onto my left foot.

Scottish 6 days Day 6. Poor ending to the week. Made a three minute plus mistake at number 3 when I though I'd overshot and turned back, but in fact hadn't gone far enough. Punched the control just behind Mark Bown (my three minute man) and then chased after him.

I then did something strange to the inside of my ankle jumping down a crag on the way to 5, and seemed to jar it quite badly. The uneven ground meant that every time I put my weight on my left foot I got a shooting pain up the inside of the ankle.

Managed to just about keep Mark in sight, and caught him back up when he made a miss on 16. We then lost a couple of minutes on 17 (the crossing point seemed too far up the wall), and I lost him again going downhill to 21 as the downs were really painful, got back with him at 25, but then lost a minute on the last km of the course which was all downhill.

Lost a couple of positions on the day and finished 16th overall. Overall, disappointed with my races (apart from day 4), but my navigation was rusty and my terrain strength poor - neither of which came as a particular surprise to me.

But I enjoyed the social side of it, it was nice not to be at work, and the weather was good.

Scottish 6 days Day 5. Very disappointed with my run today. After pulling back some places and some time yesterday, I went and blew it all again.

It was my very early start day, so I had to go cleanly, as I knew I was going to lose time anyway as the area got faster later on. Started off well, nice and smooth and accurate, but then lost time at 7 when I didn't have a proper attack point. Made another big mistake at 16 losing a good couple of minutes, then missed 17, and was slow through the last few.

Warming up and down.

Scottish 6 days Day 4. Chasing start.

Began the race in 15th place, 20 secs down on Mark Bown, 50 secs down on Rob, and just over 2 mins down on Andy P. I then had a gap of two minutes behind me to Jonny F.

My tactic out the start was to sprint after Mark, and let him lead me into the first control. Unfortunately, he missed it, which meant I also missed it, but I only lost 15 seconds. We then missed number 3, I lost a minute and Mark got ahead, but I managed to catch him up again at 5. Lost another 30 seconds at the start of the long leg to 8 when I ran up the wrong track, and after taking a different route choice, got to 9 just ahead of Mark.

I then struggled to keep up with him through the next few controls, but catching our first glimpse of Andy P ahead of us on the way to number 11 spurred me on. We caught Andy at 15, and I took the lead for the next few legs. Mark made a small miss at 19 and we pulled ahead slightly, and unluckily for him we hit the next couple cleanly, he made another mistake and we lost him.

Andy and I then got a surprise when we were suddenly ahead of Ben Stevens at 24, and knowing that Andy would outsprint me on the run-in I made my move on the way to 28 and tried to pull out a gap before the end, which I just about managed. We got another surprise when Chris Smithard finished behind us, having made a big mistake near the end.

Pulled up four places, and moved up to 11th. Today made me remember why I enjoy orienteering - the combination of the area, the course, the weather, and the head-to-head racing all made it great fun.

Jog to the start with Rob and Andy P.

Morning run from our accommodation, up the hill into the Day 2 area. Did a big loop, taking in Kinnoull Tower, and going back through the start. Someone has forgotten to collect the start kite in!

Scottish 6 days Day 3. The obligatory wet day for the week, and the complete opposite to the last time I was here in May 2008. And this was the first classic race I have completed since the last time I was here!

Went off with the aim of running cleanly and in control for the whole race, and managed that pretty successfully. Only a couple of mistakes that cost over a minute, a few wobbles in the control circle and a dodgy route choice, but overall it was OK. Running pretty comfortably and finished the race still feeling strong, so maybe should have tried to push harder on the easy navigation sections. Stamina OK, but still no speed or confidence through the terrain. Spent an awful lot of time falling over again today.

Bit of running to the start, and back to the car after finishing.

Scottish 6 days Day 2. Middle race in a small area of woodland just outside Perth. It was so close to where we are staying that we just walked up to the assembly area!

Again, I started off poorly, missing the first control by nearly a minute, getting slightly too low on number 2, and not reading the map properly on three and losing another 30 seconds. I also fell over while looking for three and cut my wrist. It wasn't a big fall, but when I looked at my hand it was covered in blood, and blood was running across my palm and dripping off my finger. I wiped it off on my trousers and kept going, but for the next five minutes or so there seemed to be a lot of blood! As always though, when cleaned up it's hardly even a scratch!

Got focussed after number three, and ran the middle section quite well, but still a few hesitations. Speaky caught me 4 minutes at number 13 (out of 15), and I was with him for about 50 metres before he ran away from me down a brashing covered slope while I was being a pansy.

Think I'll end up about 5 minutes down, which I'm happy with. It felt smoother than yesterday, and without the mistakes I could have been much closer, which wasn't the case on Day 1.

Run from the assembly area back to where we are staying.

Event: Scottish Six Days Tay 2009
 

Scottish 6 days Day 1. WRE on Dalrulzion. Only the course distance today as I wasn't allowed to wear my Garmin.

The aim today was to get back into orienteering and running in terrain. So I said to myself at the start that it was really important to get the first control right. I didn't. Over compensated for the slope and ended up too high, relocated pretty quickly but still lost a couple of minutes. Then better through the rest of the first loop in the woods. Quite a lot of hesitations and wobbles, as I just haven't got the confidence in my navigation.

Ran the moorland section well, but then drifted left on the long leg back in the forest. Got caught by Matt Halliday and ran with him for a few controls, before missing number 19 and losing him. Ran with Hector for a few controls after that, caught Matt back up but then lost Hector when we missed on 24. Clean through the last section.

Lost maybe 5 minutes in total, but didn't dump any major amounts of time on any controls. And most importantly, I enjoyed myself. I'm just hoping my terrain running improves as the week goes on - I've got lots of bumps and bruises from continually falling over today!

Jog to the start with Andy P.

Run from our 6 days accommodation near Kinfauns castle over the hill to Perth, to go to the O2 shop. Took a while to locate the shop, as it was hidden in a little shopping centre off the main High Street. Then back again. Just got back before the rain shower.