Training Log Archive: Jon X

Jukola! Leg one!
Mass start amazing as ever, watch great footage here: https://vimeo.com/130648481
Course 13.8km with 365m. Hector was first back in 82mins, good work!
Leg one course and map including the gaffling http://www.tulospalvelu.fi/gps/2015jviesti1//map
A far from amazing 817th of 1737 on my leg.

Race summary:

Start-#13:
62mins and in 472nd at #13, not much time missed. But leaving 11 stabbed a stick into my leg, it snapped and was left sticking out of my shin. Pulled it out but unsurprisingly it hurt for a while....
#13-#18:
Disastrous section, huge 12+ min parallel error on the long leg to 14, other errors, took 54mins for this section that should have taken 34mins. Down to a lowly 856th.
#18-finish:
Final 15mins, knackered but steady enough, up to 808th at the final control but toiling on the run-in so back to 817th in the finish.

Leg cleaned up and patched up okay in the medical centre afterwards, still lots of swelling and tenderness today (Tuesday) though.

Team fought hard after Trevor had some problems on leg two which dropped us down outside the top 1400, couldn't quite prevent Steve Clelland on leg six being in the mass start but he got us back in the top 1000, and the big Finn on last leg managed to maintain that (even though he had already run long night!).

Jukola never disappoints!
Takers for an FVO team next year at Lappeenranta a couple of hours north from Helsinki?


Rather more detailed version:
(passed the time after missed connection on way home meant an extra night in Stockholm...)

Running for Nope in Team 314 which put me in row 16 of 80-something rows, good to be far forward as it was pretty narrow on the 700m or so to the start kite. Fallers right ahead in the first 50m - one had fallen and brought down several others, they were struggling to get up as people kept running into them and trampling them. Glad to avoid that particular bit of the mass start experience!

Not fit enough to go crazy hard or fast off the start but still working pretty hard on the long leg to #1, well in control though and confident enough to take my own line on approach to the circle. Hit the first tv control at #3 happy enough and in 518th. The first 3.4km in 22mins and nearly 6mins down!

The next bit looks v tricky but again in decent control down into #4 and on the right hand route to #5. Not as certain on the final approach downhill to the flag but compass and the lights ahead between them get me there safely.

#6 is easy (up to 489th) and the next bit is trickier although (it turns out) common. Gradually overtaken by a few people through here, stop for a drink on the road before #10 and in 510th at #10.

Control 11....run out over a nice bare rock hill and it is all one single line of lights ahead. Lots of lights. All going fast downhill. But the whole line is going left surely? Too far left? Surely? I want to go the right of some green. Isn't this going left of it? And the hill is so open I can see there is no-one at all further right? I am in the line but can't leave it any later to decide....take the scary plunge and head off to the right all by myself....alone I am more cautious than I might be but surely this is the green, round the top of it and down into the low visibility stuff, still all alone so still nervous, push through the trees...and THERE IT IS! One to savour :)

To #12 is lots of bashing through green. Out on the compass and ouch that hurt, banged my leg. Still running but look down and there is a bit of wood still sticking out of my leg. No wonder it hurts. Pull it out. Now it hurts a lot more! Run on thinking it feels pretty bad, can see it is bleeding a lot. Not exactly ideal for this section bashing through green and jumping ditches. Pleased to get out of the green but a bit protective of my leg along the slope to #12 (still not many people about) and through the rocks then green to #13. TV control again here, reached in 472nd (62mins, leader 47min).
Still only a little more than halfway (7.7km) and we are at pretty much full distance for a standard M45L race, I am not used to these long courses!

Long leg 13-14, slightly right through the green, on the path briefly then up the edge of the semi-open over the first hill. Second hill, marsh, cross path, up onto next hill, turn left and run 200-300m SW along the ridge, should be obvious from there. Except at the end of the ridge it is not obvious. There should be a narrow flat marshy bit then another bare rock hill. But there just seems to be a big green marsh. Stop. Look. Really don't get it. There are more and more people running up the ridge. And stopping. And looking. Have we gone too far? Not sure. Need to cross the marsh, maybe this is right after all. There must be 150-200 lost people here on the ridge now, all shouting the control number and looking around hopeful for someone who has a clue. No-one seems to! Head down into the marsh as though to cross it. So do lots of others. Meet Ludo for SLOW. He has no idea where we are either, thinks as I do that we could perhaps be beyond the control to the west. Not convinced though. Head back to the same ridge as before. Lots of people still running up it and stopping. Suddenly I know where we are. It is good to know at last but the knowledge is horrifying, one hill and ridge short of the control, was supposed to leave this whole ridge to my left and not see it at all, a massive parallel error. At last I go to the right hill and once there the flag is as obvious as I thought it would be. It is just that I should have been on this hill more than 10mins ago. Down to 725th at 9.4km.

There is a road option to #15 but my line off the hill leaves me going straight, maybe up to a minute slower. Struggling in the marshes and realise I am pretty tired now. I have a plan for the tricky #16 but execute it badly and get lost in the rocky stuff. Another 4mins lost. I now see a much safer way to attack it... But at least we are nearly back after #16, the rest looks fairly straightforward. Which means I rush #17, then just before the flag think I have misread the map and I need to cross the marsh, then pinball around the gaffles until I turn my brain back on and actually navigate back to the control pretty much where I was before. A needless 3mins more lost. The next one is another TV control and my wanderings have me down in 856th here. The section 13-17 is 3.8km and took the leaders around 25mins, so should take me maybe 33/34mins. It took 54mins!

Okay from 18-21 and the dead run to last control and finish. Felt like people were passing me as I toiled along but it seems finding them okay was enough to pick up from 856th through to 808th at the final control. Then lost 9 places to 817th on the run in!

Then to the medical centre to get my leg sorted. Nice warm indoor facility and v grateful for the treatment, not too happy they said it meant I wasn't to go in the sauna though!

Massively disappointing finish position after doing what I planned for the first hour, running in control and not getting carried away. You have to do it for the whole race though. Top 500 would be good for me I think and is very doable - but not with mistakes like that! Ludo found #14 several minutes before me (was behind at #13) and pushed on to a solid finish position in under 2hours. Running a decent, even if not perfect, section from #13-#18 would have been a position in the low 400s or better, which I would have been very happy with. Mostly down to the fiasco at #14 of course, but even just without the totally ridiculous time loss at 17, I would have been about 700th as that was less than 3mins ahead.
Certainly should have broken two hours though so I know I can do much better.....must need another visit soon.....

C • #11 3

C • FVO team 3

Event: Jukola 2015
 

Easy jog to arena to watch the conclusion of Venla, then round the training map. Just jogging pace but still a bit of trouble finding a couple of them. Hmmm...

Travel to Turku. Arrival a bit late for any training.

Token.

FVO evening event at Falkirk Wheel.
Hot sunny evening, lots of vegetation, unusual terrain and decent orienteering. Fun!
Ran round pretty steadily. Tried out my baseplate but struggling with it a bit - thumb compass for the mass start on Saturday night I think.
Physio first thing and achilles not too bad, took a while to warm up but manageable.

From home via Kippen roundabout to Top of the World and back.
Into the wind on the way out and on the climb which was a good excuse to ride steady state rather than go for it - just as well as my legs not feeling too lively...

Missed all of Pilates this week. Worked decently hard in circuits though.

Streets of BofA. Achilles sorer than expected....