Training Log Archive: bradc

Time to make up for yesterday. Following in JonX's footsteps, I headed to the uni track to put in 2 sets of 6 x 400m, going off every 2 mins, with a 2 min rest between sets.

Times: 79, 78, 78, 77, 78, 78; then 78, 79, 78, 79, 79, 78.

Chuffed that I managed to stay under 80s/lap for the entire session, that target kept me going from about #8 onwards. I felt as if I was struggling come #9, scraped through #10, just about keeled over on #11, but by jaysus was going to get #12 in sub-80 if it killed me. It didn't, but I nearly barfed. Must have been a quality session.

Track is so much more fun in the sun, although so much less fun on yer tod. Once again I had support from the stalls (the Falkirk football shed next to the track). Next week I'll charge for tickets.

C • Top effort! 4

Some laps at a jog, then drills, before the session, and then a couple of more laps and some sprints to warm down. Stretched out my rather tight left calf thereafter. Don't want to do a Rosco (tough luck, amigo).

WEE, Laigh Hills. When was the last time I did two sessions in one day? Well, this was hardly a session, my legs were utterly dead. It sort of felt like I'd had a proper session down the pub all afternoon. Shuffle shuffle! I occasionally broke into a jog but that was about it. Which was a shame, because Rog had managed to conjure up some decent route choices from a very limited map. Optimum run distance was at least a km longer than the direct line. It was also a shame to be going so slowly because it was a proper minging night, and there's nothing more perversely pleasing than running hard in the pouring rain.

Being proper old school I had brought map bags with me, which meant that I finished the course with a still-readable map rather than the interesting papier mache objects that most squelched home with, hee hee...

Not allowed to go to intervals.

C • Shame 1

Someone woke up in a Deep Blue Funk today, and it was me. Severely loaded under the weight of responsibility and the prospect of two full months of frantically trying to rescue a work project that is already so late that it is starting to decompose, when all I want to do is go climb mountains, head off on the motorbike, sail around Scotland... anyway, I was a right grumpy git, and the only answer was to abuse my lunch break 1 hour window with a nice long cycle.

I pumped up the tyres to 115psi and within 10 minutes was regretting it. Gods, the roads around Dunblane are cr*p. By the time I'd cycled along the back road to Ruskie, my teeth had all jarred out. Then I hit the Aberfoyle/Thornhill road. Dear. God. An obstacle course of craters, gravel, cars whose suspension had collapsed and, of course, lovely Autumn muck all over the "road". By the time I got home, I think that three of my lower discs had compacted into one.

Ah. Great to be back out on the bike. I hear that Lance Armstrong is ditching his zimmer and signing up to do Le Tour again next year. Well, if he thinks he's going to win, he'll have to beat ME first hahahahahaha!!

C • I can tell you've got loads... 3

Event: SOL 4
 

SOL4, Loch Vaa, M35L. Ah, Loch Vaa. Scene of many a high high and low low. You can work out for yourself which were have occurred most frequently in my personal history of orienteering there.

Mindful of the fact that it is always my wont here to run myself into complete loss of map contact without any hope of relocation before sunset - and given the fact that I have been navigating in a very Quixotic manner of late (or, at least, in the manner of his chosen form of transport) - I set off at the sort of pace that even I could navigate at. After 30 seconds of that, I decided to risk actually moving forward. I was sloooooooow. But I was also pretty accurate and stayed in near constant map contact. Sure, I was slow through the controls, and hesitated in the circles, but I only made a couple of 90s fluffs and was pretty happy when I finished. I wasn't surprised to be 15 mins down in 5th place. Sadly, due to the dearth of M35 runners, 5th place also equated to dead last, which was a tad disheartening. OK, so I could have run a lot faster and, in retrospect, I could have run just a bit faster and still been able to navigate well, but for once I was trying to walk before I could run. Och well. Good craic in the tea shop afterwards to finish off what was a very convival weekend.

C • Comments on your route 2

Event: 11-Person Relay
 

11-person relay, Loch Vaa. I was bumped to run Jack B's leg 3 Orange for the first team at the last minute, courtesy of some ludicrous pedantry that saw a last-minute decision to make juniors who had trained on the area over the summer non-competitive for this family fun event. Obviously the juniors shouldn't have been allowed to take part in this important family fun event because they would have a HUGE advantage over everyone else who has also probably run here a gazillion times in the past. Nice one, Mr Jobsworth.

Whoops, danger of me morphing into Forest Grump!

N-E-way... my Orange was very pleasant, very easy, and very short. Not exactly a challenge. It's a shame that the weather was a bit dour, as it dampened the general sunny socialising that would have made up for the decidedly brief amount of exercise. I did have a nice 30s or so to chat to the changeover marshal whilst waiting for Euan to turn up, though! He did rather make up for it by absolutely killing everyone else on the Green.

Top cakes on sale in memory of Eric Langmuir, who was Mr Mountaincraft and a personal hero.

Easy jog around Trevor's famous patented FVO Polmaise multi-terrain time trial course with the posse of eager triallists, putting out the controls and mini-kites to mark the route. Not that that stopped SOME people getting lost... tsk tsk, call themselves orienteers... :-P. Actually, it's more likely that it just shows the effect of oxygen debt!

Trevor's fantabulous multi-terrain time trial at Polmaise. What a jolly wheeze. Great idea, Trevor! The course was:

1) Fast flat on track
2) steady gradient ascent on track
3) short steep ascent on track
4) shallow descent through terrain
5) shallow ascent through terrain
6) fast descent on rutted muddy path
7) flattish terrain
8) fast descent on difficult muddy paths to start.

Mindful that I had two laps to do I set off at a pace that I thought I could maintain, only to be caught up by Roger and Ross (who'd started about 15 and 30s behind me) by #1! Nor could I see JonX who'd started 20s ahead of me. Oh dear. Are they going too fast, or am I going too slow? Well - I've run enough races over the years to be good at pace judgement by now, so stick to the plan.

I went steadily uphill, really got into the terrain and loved the descents on the paths. I hadn't felt that fluid at the start - nothing like as swift as I felt last night - but was going OK. My pace judgement was pretty good, as on the second lap I put in very similar splits and didn't fade at all; slightly slower on the initial flat bit but as good uphill and very similar on the descents, despite being a little held up by Stalker who was moving v swiftly and thus hard to get past! Had a slight ankle tweak just near the bottom which slowed me down slightly but there was no pain afterwards so it's OK.

Pretty happy with my time, on track with where I expected to be. Roll on a decent winter and let's see the times come down.

Postscript - analysing the splits, whilst I am still well off the pace on the flat and the uphills, I can hold my own well on the downhills, even through terrain. Need to work on strength!