Training Log Archive: Anvil

More thoughts on the weekend:
Inverness was fantastic. Quiet, green, sunny (I know that one was lucky), people and traffic free, mountain and ocean nearby - everything London isn't and makes me appreciate what I've left behind back home. Added bonus that it was in Macbeth country - saw signs for Cawdor castle (my Grade 10 English teacher would be so proud)
Emit still sucks and is not conducive to control flow if you want to punch the back up. Felt lika a massive numpty doing a ridiculous corkscrew manouvre in front of all the spectators at the final relay control.
Instead of sooking about the vegetation, get over it - everyone else has the same map.
Similar to above, instead of nitpicking and complaining, be thankful I'm running on a new quality area instead of a Launceston paddock map or in Buckland for the 20th time. (Complaining about emit doesn't count)
Go for more runs on Pittwater when I'm home.
http://www.boc2008.routegadget.co.uk/boc/reitti.cg...

C • launceston paddock map 2

Easy recovery run, just cause I can.
HR jumped up right at the beginning, after the weekend I guess it was preemptively thinking, 'what's this bastard gonna make me do today'. Took 10 mins for it to settle.

Event: British Relays
 

Brit Relay Champs up at Culbin West.
That was more like it! 2nd leg runner in SLOW's A team. Out 1st leg runner Raplh came back only a couple minutes off the pace. Headed out in 7th place with a group of other, but I head no idea who was on my course and the splits were pretty significant. Decided not to worry about anyone else and just put my head down and go for it. Pretty good in the first section, a slight wobble on #3 running to a similar shaped knoll just to the south of the one I wanted. Caught back up to 2 blokes who got the slip on me at #7 but never saw them again in the subsequent splits in the low vis green. No real time losses for the rest of the course except I was far too hesitant in the circle stopping and checking the detail before heading in. I was spot on for each one and it cost my result from being a good one, to a great one (for me).
Felt really good running - I think I'm more suited to courses of this length at the moment. I enjoy them a lot more too. I wasn't really tired at the end so I think if I can sort out my navigational confidence, I'll be able to post some more credible times.
Again great forest, even faster in places than yesterday and I felt it was mapped much better. Sections reminded me of 5 Mile Beach (before it was bulldozed) and when the sun came out and you were in a thick bunch of pines, the smell made me feel like I was running through Pittwater in the summer.
Ended up 12th overall I think out of about 30, so pretty pleasing result.
Great finish to the mens relay as well, with close sprint finishes for 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th.

Event: British Long Champs
 

Brit Long Champs up at Culbin East.
Probably started a little harder than I should. First 4 controls were fairly complex dunes and wasn't prepared for the 2.5m contours and lost about a minute on each. Got a good flow after that and started using my head and trying to only pick up the big features until getting into the circle and reading the detail. The occasional stumble here and there meant my time was adding up faster than I would have liked, but there were no major errors. Pace slowed quite a lot on the way to #23 and I was bleeding time on each leg, walking up even the most gradual slopesand being maxi sloppy in the circle. Not impressed with #29, on a single knoll on the top of a hill. Finished off with some control picking in complex stuff in super low vis light green - was OK in here except for one it a spot that was mapped as green but was blantantly white.
I have to admit, I never felt totally confident with the map, I'm not sure if it was me or the mapping. The vegetation was sometimes spot on and other times just a rough indication - I don't mind either, just keep in consistant. Similarly, the entire area was criss crossed with thin strips of open cleared areas, some of which were mapped, some not.
All in all, it was a good event - but my little issues with the map stopped in being a great event. It was well organised, the forest in general was amazing to run in, so much so that you never needed to take a wider track option and it was your ability to ready the map in the detail that dictated your speed. I don't think the area was quite the gods gift to orienteering the organisers were making it out to be, but it was still well worth the trip north and I wouldn't hesitate to head up there again for a major event. Now I just need to work on my endurance in the terrain after 90 minutes.....

C • Terrain 2

Really tight hamstrings today and sore in the shoulders as well? Weird.
Bludging at work till my flight!

Evening score event in Hyde Park.
I haven't been to Hyde Park yet, since this event was advertised I purposely didn't go there so this would be my first experience there. Absolute cracker evening, sun & blue skies, a little cool - but far be it from me to complain about minor things like that ;).

When they announced there would be points for aollecting the controls and getting home early I decided to try for them all. Biggest dilemma in the route was when to get #14 - it wasn't far from the finish so I could have saved it for the end, but decided to do fit in early cause it would be shorter. Was the wrong decision as I was too slow for the plum 30 pointer just outside the park. Still, 4th place out of about 100 isn't too bad.
Went out too hard and slowed down a lot towards the end.

Got a few woots from onlookers when athletically jumping the multitudes of fences around the park. Got a disapproving glance when I trod on a daffodill from some woman walking a rat dog. It was in my way (the flower not the dog - though treading on that thing wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world)

Still light when I got home so decided I should go out and do something. Still struggling to find a loop that doesn't have multitides of lights, but starting to realise that pretty much an impossibility.

Trying something new, so did 4x1km terrain intervals up at Wimbledon Common. Had to resort to tracks and walking in some places cause it was too thick with blackberries/brambles/holly in places. Really nice open forest in other places. I think if I do it again I'll work out a loop which has a combination of hills, soft ground and undergrowth to keep me lifting my feet but not so thick that my HR drops.
Still, not too shabby.
Splits were: 4:10, 4:48, 4:50, 4:26. Significant climb on the middle 2.

To/From the Common