Training Log Archive: Jon X

Event: Scottish Orienteering Relay Championships
 

Scottish Relay Championships, Men Open.
Leg one for FVO2 with Tom and Rosco.
Back in 5th on leg 1, team finished 6th (of 8!)

High-intensity fun race today!

Mass start for all handicap courses and men/women open all as one - steep climb off the start. Open early on which gave me a chance to watch the leading three men's teams disappear into the distance with Daniel for FVO1 in hot pursuit.

The longer handicap courses have the same first leg as the open and we soon settled into a close race between the first four from M45L yesterday - me, Ben, Dave R and Andy D. Dave was travelling quickest but made an error at #12 which let me sneak past. Last few conmtrols largely uphill and worked hard - thought I had a small-but-safe gap over the rest at the last control but was too complacent on the uphill run-in - Dave appeared out of nowhere to nip past 10m before the changeover!

FVO men were a tantalising second less than 30secs behind SHUOC - FVO women were third with both a W45 and W50 in the team!

Event: Scottish Orienteering Championships
 

Scottish Championships 2013, M45L, 4th place.

Hmm.
Got there not that long before my start and despite uphill km to the start didn’t feel that well warmed up round the first bit (although splits say actually moving okay).
Caught an ailing Graeme at #4 and somehow thought that meant I should increase speed and reduce use of compass and map……entirely predictable outcome of nearly two mins shelled at each of #5 and #7.
Got running better after the long leg and passed Graeme again on the uphill leg to #10.

A bit uncertain on the short downhill leg to #13 where the hill before it seemed the wrong shape, but dropped into a flag in a re-entrant as needed. Except not as needed – number 123 when I wanted 200.
Check code on descriptions….no, definitely 200 is what I need.
Okay, I guess I was only 90% sure it was the right place, must be one spur over…..off to the next spur, another re-entrant, another flag, another wrong code.
A little bit of calm looking about me and now I am sure the first flag was right – must have the wrong code on it….head back there and now I approach from the wrong direction I can see it has number 200?!
Get there and sure enough the number on the SI box (the only number visible from correct direction of approach) is 123.
Utter a few expletives, punch and carry on, less than impressed…..

A bit distracted and hesitant over the next couple as I wonder whether the course will be void and whether I should protest, but then put it out of my mind and run the rest fine.
Finished in 71mins with about 6mins lost and well down on Dave Robertson (66mins) and Andy Dale (68mins).
Not to mention the final two min time loss also putting me behind four of the M50Ls, not good!

Afterwards I spoke to the planner (as had a number of others) but the event officials did not want to make a decision so I put in a protest.
This was for the principle about acceptable standards for a Championship event – I wasn’t bothered about any impact on my position (I had already blown that at #5 and #7) and wouldn’t have bothered for a lesser event– but for the Scottish Champs the organisation should be better than that.

I see from the splits that most people seem to have worked it out without major time loss – unlike me with almost exactly two mins lost.
Although I also see that M50L (same course) was won by 6 seconds with the winner taking 1:08 for the leg and second taking 1:20, don’t know whether the code had any effect there.
And I also see that some poor soul on one of the other courses took over 10mins on 2min leg to that control.

In any case the jury on Sunday decided not to uphold the protest…..
..….as far as I can make out this was on the grounds that the code on the trestle was correct and it is the competitor’s responsibility to look at that in preference to any other number the event may choose to display elsewhere on the control unit as a whole….

Am taking it as an interesting controller’s conundrum – I guess there is no perfectly satisfactory answer once something like that happens.
The event had reserved the right to remove legs from courses if necessary – but equally doing so would have had a significant impact as it would have changed the overall winner of M50L.
It would be easy to say that I should have known I was in the right place and punched regardless of seeing the wrong code – but equally had I mispunched then the message would be that the controls have codes on them so that you know whether you are in the right place or not…..

In the end I probably view the code problem as just one of several sloppy aspects (e.g. check out the variations between different people’s run-in splits….) where a championship race/event should do better. And that was a shame as it is a decent area, the sun shone, most aspects were very well set up, and - expletives at 13 aside - I did really enjoy my course and day at the event. Ho hum.

C • don't the rules say 23

C • river, do not cross 15

To work

Post work with some of the RideLondon posse.
Started off well with a comedy clipped-in fall right next to the post 5pm queue of cars waiting to exit the site....
Pretty easy pace particularly for the first half - pushed a bit up and over mini braes just to liven things up a bit!

FVO evening event at Tulliallan.
Set off wanting to run fairly hard but aware of the danger of running this with the mindset of 'after planning here I know where everything is'. Obviously not aware enough of it, as that was exactly why I dropped time at 5 and 6 and on the route to 7!

Had set off a couple of minutes ahead of Tessa but she passed and was gone through that section. Caught up again at #9 and behind for the next few but struggling to keep up tbh. Decided in advance to go whichever way she didn't on the long leg - sounds like I got luckier cutting through brashing and felling on the southern route than she did on the northern route so I ended up marginally ahead at the finish. Good to have someone around though - made me sort myself out to run at a decent speed and start orienteering properly!

Good course from Steve N with some good routechoice - disappointing amount of forestry work going on though :(

Decided on this event rather than the Knock of Crieff hil race - a bit of a shame to miss Will's fine victory there though - congrats!

C • Congrats 2

Into work.