Training Log Archive: slow-twitch

Urban rogaine. Despite having a sneak preview of the map as series co-ordinator I think I still made a bit of a tactical mess - avoided a control-rich but seemingly distant part of the map as I thought to get in there would mean missing the bonus point window, so ended up instead spending the last 15+ minutes covering some large distances for a measly 5 controls. Realised afterwards that (A) judging by the results plenty of people managed to get at least partway into the area I avoided and still fit in the bonus points; and (B) there were 7 controls in that corner so sacrificing the 5 on offer at the event centre might have been a good tactic. (This will make no sense to anyone yet to experience an OWaikato urban rogaine under current rules)

Blowing hard by the end and a bit of high calf muscle soreness. Probably rest of the week will be just resting and stretching so hopefully that will take care of that.

C • Yep - you messedup 1

Eastside 5km. First time intentionally pushing hard this year, and first time under 25 mins. Might have been a bit quicker but got boxed in more than ever over the first half k (time to stop hiding at the back at the start!) and while I think I was sub 20 just at the 4km mark, couldn't find any extra push for the last bit. Still need to find another minute before I can start thinking about pb's, could be hard work though!

Warm-down. My warm-up consisted of walking from town increasingly faster while keeping an eye out for taxis (none appeared) - I was certain I was going to be late!

A full session (if I remembered everything I'm supposed to be doing)

Warm-up: Up to the start and a bit more while waiting.

Auckland Long champs at Kawakawa Bay. Those of us who were following Paul's log when he was mapping this can't say we weren't warned. I'm scoffing at the quoted 200m climb for my course, I reckon I climbed almost 150m on one leg alone and that was on the optimum route (the kind of leg where a 20 minute split still counts as a 'spike'). Mistakes: First control overran by quite some way, easily 4 minutes lost (the subtle change in direction of the slope I was contouring round was TOO subtle apparently, and I was too high). #5 a couple of minutes lost because I dutifuly ignored the other runners that had suudenly appeared around me, but over-did the doing my own thing when they were probably getting it right. #11 (first on the flats) I managed to make the control I could see as soon as I left the forest fit the one I was supposed to find - too easy, stop navigating! Yes it was too easy because it wasn't mine. Maybe a 30 sec overshoot. And probably generally not as smooth as I should have been through the remaining easy controls much to the probable entertainment of one of the young Smirnovas who I was running with and couldn't seem to gain any ground on.

C • steep 2

Apres O and apres drive home

Before and after the sprint. A nasty twinge during the after but it doesn't seem to have turned into anything. Didn't really do anything before or after the middle - too much talking to people!

'Auckland' Sprint in Thames. For the most part controls weren't highly technical but instead packed so tightly in the school sections that it was hard to put any mental effort into anything other than the here and now. So while it was a pretty clean navigation effort, I was lacking flow, rarely planning ahead, and lots of minor hesitations. The real bits of lost time (both 10 or so seconds) were taking more time than I'd hope to figure how to get into 7, resulting in a bit of unecessary zig zagging out of 6, and doubling back into 12 had a moment where the buildings didn't fit my mental picture. Have no idea if I picked the better routes on the longer legs though. Physically surprisingly quick except when I found the 5 metres of climb en route from 9 to 10. Midfieldish result but very happy to be just over a minute behind Mark L (who it is awesome to see back orienteering!)

Auckland Middle, Maramarua. It can't be easy to set a good course on this map but it's one that I've always enjoyed when they do pull it off. Today was one of the enjoyable ones - apart from having the wrong shoes but it seems that everyone who had the right ones were slipping around all over the show too. Slow start with me spending most of the first leg feeling I'd done my dash for the day, legs had nothing. But seeing Mark who'd started 2 mins before at the first control revitalised me a bit and I think by the 2nd control the legs had warmed back into race mode. Was navigating a bit roughly but mostly getting away with it. 4 I dropped a bit of time off to one side and over-running a bit - should have had either a stronger attack point or bearing up from the creek just below. Other mistakes were minor, and the 2nd time Mark overtook me on the way to 6 helped get the gas on from there to the finish (when the hills and slipping around allowed). Very happy with 3rd behind Mark and Bryce Brighouse (obviously a day for comebacks!), though it's a bit sad I could go from 2 minutes ahead of Mark at 5 to 7 minutes behind at the finish!

A little bit of stretching and exercising after I got back home - don't want to seize up overnight! Although I'd forgotten until checking my starttime just now that I'd entered A short for the long, so there's nothing really riding on it now.

All the exploring done now so we headed out to a couple of the nearer sites to start getting some pitfalls in. So not much walking, but if I could think of an appropriate 'activity' for digging holes in rock piles then I could easily add an hour or 2 for that...

Epic day - up to the summit, down through the Taepiro saddle and across to the apparently rapidly shrinking Te Mimi grassland. Dropped the 15 pitfalls each that we'd been carrying for fun, then went searching for sites, which eventually turned into a bit off a bush bash (keeping in mind the 300+m cliffs hidden somewhere in that bush), before heading back through the always beautiful Te Mimi valley, up to Seismo Hut (the most awesome place in the world) and across the Taepiro to introduce Jennifer to the joys of the track 60 descent. Down in one piece and back along the coast for a nice easy finish to the day.

North end - would have been an easy day even without the boat rides there and back. Just a bit of bush bashing in the kanuka and a bit of digging in the rocks to get the first set of pitfalls in to add to the physical fun and games. As far as relocating the survey sites goes, who needs a Garmin when you've got a Gorman!

Fieldwork, Kapiti Island, 20th-23rd

Kapiti for a few days refinding lizard survey sites from my Masters work mumble years ago - After negotiating the enhanced biosecurity procedures and H&S briefing, got the legs straight into action with a nice little jaunt halfway up the hill then down again, followed by a fun little explore through the coastal forest terrace where there used to be a track to make life easy...

Mt Vic - it's been long enough away that I actually had to navigate properly, and was probably the better for it. Despite struggling to read the map (5 m contours at 1:7500 would be fine on most maps, but gets a bit messy here) was basically spot on to 6, then overshot 7 despite chosing a route to avoid the risk of that, had trouble picking my way through some minor tracks to 8, missed the slightly bingo 9, then after spiking 10 and thinking that put my mind back in the game, muffed the exit and had to double back as the next best route choice was not worth persisting with. Dragged my way through the last few with no further damage...

In Stokes Valley for a brief appearance, so a classic SV run. Out to the valley entrance warming up, then up up up the Kingsley Heights hill on to the Pylon Road for more up up up, the down the Horoeka track which spits me out handily across the road from Dad's house. It became apparent on the uphill part that I have been away from Wellington far too long (or I'm getting old, but the former theory makes more sense) as it eventually degraded into a 'run 2 minutes minimum, walk 1 minute maximum' session. But the downhill through the bush was very much more fun, although footing was watched very carefully in mind of what happened last time I was running around in these hills.

Urban rogaine, Maeroa. Great turn-out, we basically ran out of maps. So I teamed up with Sarah (a regular at these events over the last couple of years) who turned up just as the last map was being sold. While I'd already figured out a general plan, I let her do the navigating. Spent the first few controls reminding her about orienting the map every time it's looked at, but after she worked that rust out, was doing pretty well, and I just needed to keep monitoring the plan against time remaining and throwing in the odd question when it seemed we were about to head in a way that didn't fit with my map memory. Pace was good, I knew we'd be a good match on that aspect, although the final rush back to minimise penalty points (yes..., we were late) started to get hard work.

Legs better than yesterday but not perfect. Running felt fine though, apart from the odd interesting ping in various parts of all the calf muscles during and after.

I should be doing a 5 k right now but apparently both calfs object to Sunday's treatment.. Have been getting progressively tighter over course of last 2 days despite plenty of little stretch sessions. After finally deciding I really should bail on the run, did a full on set of stretches and exercises. Not pleasant but don't think it made anything worse. Making up a new activity code may help me be more diligent about this kind of thing!

2 hour rogaine at Te Miro, but I should only be doing an hour-ish at most so turned up late very much on purpose. Very physical and had to take care with the ground conditions but was going ok. Found the 1:20 000 and generalised mapping tricky to get into, but that's what I should have expected. Only real nave error was when I perfectly spiked a nice stream junction downstream of the one mapped and flagged! Picked up most of the eastern end of the map which was basically all I'd initially planned on but there were 2-3 controls I was looking at adding which wouldn't have blown out my personal time limit - they turned out to be on the other side of an unmapped deer fence that I had a bit of a dizzy spell trying to get over so got a bit grumpy and called it quits. Must have de-grumped successfully now as I haven't used my 'adventure race' training session label that I save for courses I want to be scathing about! ;-)

C • Te Miro 5

From home, over to Porritt Park for an almost lap then to Hillary Park in Chedworth, then round about the same in return, as there weren't links through to places I thought there might be and I wasn't really up for further exploration. Not a great run: Too much hard work for the speed I was travelling, and too slow for how tough I was finding it. I guess I deserve that after all but falling off the wagon for a week or so.

As close as I'll probably ever get to an all clear from the physio - will probably schedule in a catch up with them sometime between now and Tasmania, but otherwise back to action! And it would have been a great day for a lunchtime run, but having expected all sorts of nasty deep tissue prodding I hadn't brought the appropriate gear with me...

Eastside #2. Still not going after a fast time but wanted to quicker than last week, - tick, even though by race time I was feeling less than 100%. Given that most of the way round I very much felt there was nothing in the lungs (a bit snotty) and nothing in the legs (just generally blah) - and I'm sure there was a headwind in both directions! - I'm feeling reasonably satisfied with 25 mins. Definitely satisfied that I managed to not slip down to a walk at any point ...sooo close at times though. If I hadn't missed noting the 4km mark I probably would have realised that <25 was on, and pushed a bit harder from there, but it's 50/50 as to whether I would have made it happen or just blown up trying.

Don't think my rushing round getting ready just in time counts as a warm up, but I made sure to do a proper warm-down after.

A suspicion today that the cold that's been lurking around for ages might have finally got me, but that's only the 20th or so time in the last few months I've thought that, so....?

C • so.... 1