Training Log Archive: Ralph

Note
slept:5.0

Run 30:00 [2] 6.9 km (4:21 / km)
slept:6.5 shoes: AG2B

Run 30:00 [2] 6.0 km (5:00 / km)
slept:9.0 weight:72.6kg shoes: S1

Run 30:00 [2] 6.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: S1

Gym 45:00 [1]
slept:8.0 weight:72.2kg

Run 44:44 [2] 8.2 km (5:27 / km)
ahr:126 max:142 shoes: AG1B

Run 19:23 [2] 3.9 km (4:58 / km)
ahr:129 max:147 slept:9.0 weight:72.2kg shoes: AG1B

O - Training 54:30 *** 8.3 km (6:34 / km)
ahr:165 max:177 25c shoes: J7B

Today I was pretty good. I did feel a bit "one speed fits all" but it was hot and I had been at work. But everything felt good and controlled.

Run 11:37 [2] 2.2 km (5:17 / km)
shoes: S1

Warm up /down 9:20 [2] 0.9 km (10:22 / km)
shoes: J7B

Run 29:13 [2] 6.9 km (4:14 / km)
ahr:137 max:153 slept:7.0 weight:72.2kg shoes: Mizuno Wave S (Lumo Green)

Run 14:58 [2] 3.1 km (4:50 / km)
ahr:133 max:153 slept:9.0 weight:71.7kg shoes: S1

Run 8:00 [2] 1.5 km (5:20 / km)
ahr:125 max:149 shoes: VJ Bold 2018

Warm up /down 25:00 [2] 2.5 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: VJ Bold 2018

O - Race 36:29 [5] *** 6.4 km (5:42 / km)
ahr:177 max:187 24c shoes: VJ Bold 2018

O Festivalen Middle

A good technical race, definitely one of the best I have run this year. No real time loss, just maybe a bit off unnecessary faff in the middle and a couple of not quite exactly when I wanted. A bit disappointed to be quite so far off today (2.48) but I did maybe have a few dodgy routes and steep/green/stony is still not quite my thing. But yes, it was good, I am in a good place.

Run 14:44 [2] 2.0 km (7:22 / km)
ahr:121 max:139 shoes: S1

Run 1:46:19 [2] 21.0 km (5:04 / km)
slept:10.0 weight:72.8kg shoes: AG1B

Gym 30:00 [1]
slept:8.5 weight:72.5kg

Run 44:14 [2] 8.2 km (5:24 / km)
ahr:125 max:144 shoes: S1

Run 45:41 [2] 10.0 km (4:34 / km)
ahr:135 max:151 slept:8.5 weight:72kg shoes: Mizuno Wave S (Lumo Green)

Run 34:35 [2] 6.9 km (5:01 / km)
ahr:131 max:148 shoes: Mizuno Wave S (Lumo Green)

Note
slept:9.0 weight:72.4kg

Run 1:05:40

Gym 30:00 [1]
slept:9.0 weight:72.5kg

O - Training 1:00:49 [2] *** 7.4 km (8:13 / km)
ahr:136 max:158 20c shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Note
slept:10.5 weight:73.8kg (rest day)

Run 24:30 [2] 3.8 km (6:27 / km)
shoes: VJ Bold 2018

Run 24:40 [2] 4.3 km (5:44 / km)
slept:8.5

O - Night 1:04:21 [5] *** 12.5 km (5:09 / km)
ahr:177 max:187 19c shoes: VJ Bold 2018

Jukola first leg, it went to plan.

--

Jukola Leg 1

According to science, you shouldn’t do interviews immediately before engaging in competition as it puts unnecessary mental strain on you. I was already a little bit stressed beforehand because I had slightly misjudged how long it would take to change shoes mid warm up, and then had some GPS related faff, so the added stress of “Hi Ralph, can we have a quick word with you?” on the way into the start area was not ideal. I then made the claim that I was not going to get lost, which was of course was the plan, but I could then picture my GPS running around and around the depressions playing the Benny Hill Theme and my interview claim. “Well if we are leading on the last leg I am pretty sure that we’ll win” also came to mind. My sense of unfairness decreased significantly when I was stood on the start line with 3 minutes to go and Otto Simosas was getting interviewed by YLE next to me.

After starting fairly fast on the last two Jukola first leg outings I decided to keep it a little more relaxed this year and was aiming for a top 10 – top 20 kind of position. However, mid-way down the runway I found myself working pretty hard and struggling to be inside the top 50. Fortunately, a lot of these people dropped back by the first track junction and so I was able to settle into my goal position going through the first felled area. I managed to resist the urge to shout abuse “Don’t you know who I am” at the idiots who kept cutting me up.

I ran on my own for the next section before joining up with the pack as we meandered our way towards the first control. I missed my intended route into number I was worried I had lost quite a bit of time so was relieved to come in just behind Carl (Bækkelaget). A simple control next and then a trickier control and I realised then on my way to 4 that I was still up with the leaders. Found the next couple fine and was into the open still with the leaders.

A couple of longer difficult controls next and I didn’t run particularly well, failed to execute my own route plan but was good enough to keep controlled and in contact with the map. Into the next block of open I was still up with the leaders. Kris came up behind me midway through the open, which was fairly horrendous (the open, not Kris), and we both then decided to go around to the next control, which I think we might have gained a few seconds on but nothing more.

A spectator control (took a gel) and then a small, difficult to find correctly but fairly easy not to lose lots of time on, control. I got confused going into the green and missed a little bit having to come back in from behind. This put me what felt like a long way off the lead, so I was quite happy to then find myself totally alone on a routechoice and able to run at my own pace. Caught back up to where I was before my mistake and into the next open area I was again able to see the leaders.

Thankfully there was then another forked control so again I was able to run at my own pace and pushed to catch up IFK (who had been leading the majority of the race). I was then expecting the pace to really crank up as we approached the spectator control and the final few minutes of running. However, it stayed pretty sedate (which I thought was maybe a smart decision of the big teams, to just get in with the group and not shed time stupidly so close to the finish). Finally, Kris cranked the speed from the second last and I went with him. He was first to the finish line, and I was first to the map handover, we can call it a draw for the leg win.

Epilogue

It wasn’t as hard as expected because there was basically no forking at all. 4 forked sections on first leg (1 double control) compared to 5 last year (2 doubles) and 5 the year before that (3 doubles). The killer being the huge long unforked section between 4 and 11 which kept the teams far more together than expected. Also no typical Jukola forking into green.

We finished in 5th place. We avoided any Jukola ending mistakes (+3 minutes) but made too many in the 1-3 zone to be up and fighting for the win. I wonder if I should have tried to be more aggressive, rather than being content to sit in mid pack, but I am only wondering that because of where we finished.

Map

Run 30:00 [2] 4.0 km (7:30 / km)
shoes: VJ Bold 2018

Warm up /down 10:00 [3] 0.2 km (50:00 / km)
shoes: VJ Bold 2018

Run 23:01 [2] 4.1 km (5:37 / km)
slept:7.5

Run 20:47 [2] 4.5 km (4:37 / km)

Note
slept:7.5 weight:72.8kg

O - Night 1:01:50 [2] *** 7.4 km (8:21 / km)
11c slept:7.0 weight:72.8kg shoes: Ivar's iRocks

Note
slept:9.5 weight:72.8kg

Run 1:07:37 [2] 11.7 km (5:47 / km)
ahr:122 max:145 shoes: AG2B

O - Training 39:30 *** 5.1 km (7:45 / km)
ahr:162 max:175 24c slept:8.0 weight:72.4kg shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Run 25:00 [2] 3.3 km (7:35 / km)
shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Gym 35:00 [1]
slept:8.0 weight:71.6kg

O - Training 1:02:01 [2] *** 8.6 km (7:13 / km)
ahr:140 max:154 17c slept:8.5 weight:72.6kg shoes: Inov8 225

Run 4:51 [2] 0.9 km (5:23 / km)
shoes: Inov8 225

O - Training 42:46 [5] *** 9.2 km (4:39 / km)
ahr:175 max:181 16c shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Run 30:30 [2] 5.2 km (5:52 / km)
shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Warm up /down 7:45 [2] 0.4 km (19:22 / km)
shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

O - Training 51:03 [2] *** 5.8 km (8:48 / km)
ahr:135 max:153 39c slept:10.5 weight:72kg shoes: Inov8 225

Run 34:17 [2] 6.4 km (5:21 / km)
ahr:128 max:148 shoes: Inov8 225

Run 19:20 [2] 3.9 km (4:57 / km)
slept:7.5 weight:73.6kg shoes: S1

O - Training 47:42 [2] 5.2 km (9:10 / km)
ahr:131 max:152 shoes: Inov8 225

Run 39:33 [2] 7.1 km (5:34 / km)
shoes: Inov8 225

Note
slept:6.5 weight:72.7kg

Note
slept:8.5 weight:73.2kg

O - Night 1:00:00 *** 10.0 km (6:00 / km)
ahr:139 max:174 14c shoes: VJ Sarva 2018

Run 23:02 [2] 4.9 km (4:42 / km)
ahr:131 max:151 slept:8.25 weight:73.2kg shoes: AG2B

O - Training 42:00 *** 5.0 km (8:24 / km)
ahr:163 max:175 15c shoes: J7B

Run 20:00 [2] 3.0 km (6:40 / km)
shoes: J7B

Warm up /down 5:00 [2] 0.5 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: J7B

Gym 40:00 [1]
slept:8.5 weight:72.8kg

Run 1:01:42 [2] 11.1 km (5:34 / km)
ahr:130 max:146 shoes: AG1B

Run 2:03:15 24.0 km (5:08 / km)
ahr:140 max:156 slept:8.5 weight:72.3kg shoes: Mizuno Wave S (Blue 2 Bays)

Run 15:43 [2] 3.2 km (4:55 / km)
ahr:125 max:146 slept:8.5 weight:72.6kg shoes: S1

Run 24:03 [2] 4.4 km (5:28 / km)
shoes: AG1B

Warm up /down 12:22 [2] 0.5 km (24:44 / km)
shoes: J7B

O - Race 42:32 [5] *** 7.7 km (5:31 / km)
ahr:166 max:176 12c shoes: J7B

Run 1:19:30 [2] 15.3 km (5:12 / km)
ahr:139 max:158 slept:8.25 weight:72.6kg shoes: AG1B