Training Log Archive: Anvil

Easy run around Epsom Common to stretch the legs after yesterday.
Fairly tight for the first five minutes, but came good after that - didn't really feel like I'd raced at all.
Still can't find the 'Roman Diggings' that all the info signs talk about at the Common entrances no matter how many piddly little tracks through blackberries and brambles I dick around on. Starting to suspect they're overgrown with bracken.
Wore my new Craft top I picked up half price yesterday. Performed very nicely - I'm converted. I'm in awe of the variety or stuff you can buy for just a regional event here - way more than what you'd be able to get at an Aus Champs or Easter.

Event: LOK Holmbury Hill Regional Event
 

First race of this distance where I've felt good the whole way. Had a plan to try and take it steady and keep a constant pace the whole way, so of course as soon as I turned the map over I bolted off down the hill and it wasn't till I started running up out of 8 that I realised and steadied off a bit.
Not an overly taxing course, lots of tracks to keep you say and a lot of really well mapped rhododendrun thickets to keep you on line in the forest, which was pretty vague in places. Apart from some hesitancy in the circle and getting dragged off by another runner at #2 there were no major mistakes.
Forest was excellent, generally nice and easy to run through - in typical Brit fashion, everyone just tells you how bad it'll be in the summer once the bracken starts to grow again!
Looking forward to JK as the middle distance day is on an adjacent map which has a lot more technical earthworks.

To/From Gomshall station to the assembly area via the pub on the way home.
Why is the start always uphill?

More work, less time. Not happy Jan.

Night street event in North London. Picked a fairly conservative route due the debacles of the last couple, however I didn't notice the scale was a lot larger (1:7500) than previous so the loop was far too small - by the time I hit #9 I was about 75% through after 25 minutes! So reasessed the loop and got all the longer running ones in the south-east corner. Ended up getting 26/30 of the controls - if I'd planned properly to begin with I reckon I would have had a good chance of getting them all.
Fastest pace yet for a street event, considering I wasted considerable time (at least +1 minute) at 6 of the controls, I'm pretty happy with how my speeds improving. My km splits for the second half were faster than the first half, where at the first couple of events I did late last year I began to fade after about 40 mins - very good!
Great area, the northeastern corner where most of the controls were located was a maze of narrow streets and narrower alleyways with some tricky entrances - heaps of fun.

Unplanned rest day due to work becoming very hectic - it's not going to improve next month either.

Another speed session with the Windmilers. Went with the hard group, a little worries I'd be at the back, but I sat nicely in the middle.
6x400m reps with 150m recovery in a downhill loop (recovery uphill!) with a bit of a rest, then 5 more reps but in reverse so you had a gradual uphill.
Felt good again - love having a group so I don't blast myself.

Warm up along quite a decent hill to the start, then all the spazzy running drills before getting down to the real stuff. Cold, very cold.