Training Log Archive: Ralph

Here we go

Checking out Ratnieki.

There is a music festival going on in Ratnieki so I had to go and park in a different location, and consequently run a different course. On the way into the forest around some fields I was waved back to the car by a Latvian woman.
"Something Latvian"
"English?"
"No..."
"Deutsch?"
"Ein bisschen"
Hmmmm, "Is everything ok?"
"Why are you running on the field?"
"I am running to the forest"
"Why are you going to the forest?"
"I am going running in the forest"
"Why?"
(Why indeed), "I like running in the forest"
"Why are you here, running in the forest?"
(Oh dear, being forced to drop the O word) "I am doing orienteering"
"Why are you doing orienteering in the forest?"
"Well my parents introduced me to the orienteering cult at an impressionable young age and I have now got quite good at it and so I was able to make the British team for the World Championships which the International Orienteering Federation have allowed Latvia to host"
"..."
(Maybe she didn't understand my mix of Norwegian/Swedish/German/English) "It is the World Championships"
"Where are you from?"
"Great Britain"
"No, where did you come from today?"
"Sigulda"
"So why are you not running in the forest there?"
"Well I'm not allowed to run in the forest in Sigulda because it would be unfair as I would gain an advantage, and the forest here in Ratnieki has been determined by the organisers and many other teams as a forest that is similar in characteristics to the forest in Sigulda both in terms of the vegetation and the technical challenges so therefore I am using it as a short refamiliarisation training today before I go and run fast tomorrow"
"..."
"It is a similar forest"
"I own this field"
"Entschuldigen sie bitte, I am so sorry"
"It is ok, just you, and just today can run here"
"Ok great"

Why wasn't my orienteering great today, because I was thinking of what to write on my attackpoint log. Top focus as usual.

C • Enjoyable read anyhow 5