Training Log Archive: slow-twitch

Naseby day 2 (mass start, two loops) If I could give this 6 stars I would because this was way more technical than the first race. Of the boys on course 2 I was a bit behind Paul, quite a bit more ahead of John and the others didn't figure. Would like to say how I rated amongst the elite girls but don't really have any idea yet. Was fun running amongst them though, especially on loop 1. Mistakes all small, no more than 1.5 mins each, but I'm still a little annoyed by a "process error" costing me time on 9 reading the wrong description, and going a bit vague on 2-3 on the 2nd loop, which was nearly identical to 3-4 on the first loop which I'd nailed. More details, and hopefully exact time to come!

C • chasing girls 1

I remember warming up, not so sure about warming down...? But no more racing tomorrow so who cares!

First time ever in Naseby. No debate that it's one of the hardest maps in the country but pleased with how I handled it, and to get the win in M21A, just a couple of minutes ahead of the only other runner (John) not to come completely unstuck in the first few controls. A good 20 or so minutes down on the elite women and schoolie winners though (although I did beat the 4th aussie senior boy)

Took first 5 very slowly, only #4 not going to plan as I ended up in the semi-open area that I was going to only skirt if see at all, but that still gave a good if not better approach to the control so little time lost. Really only way I could gain time in this section (maybe 5+ mins) is if I'd had the confidence that I was where I thought I was and gone a fair bit faster. Took the track route to 6 (this is where the speed starts to lift to "4") and wasn't caught up on the mis-mapped track like others were by using the terrain to tell me when to jump off rather than a bend. Careful again around the loops, only losing noticeable time at 8 getting to the circle no probs but struggling to figure what was going on inside it - stopped too soon too. Saw John at my last pivot visit, a loop behind which I thought meant we were close so the gas stayed on. Found the rough open section just as tricky as anything in the forest, meaning I expected John on my shoulder any second, especially when I bobbed 1-2 mins visiting re-entrants on the edge of the circle for 19 rather than the one in the middle. Final stage fast and accurate until I left 21 without checking my direction (atl 30 deg out!) so ended up getting the final control off the track into the event centre, but that won't have wasted much time & was always plan B.

Later in the day bumped into Colm who I'd seen a bit of through the loops section of the course. Pleased he was impressed enough to find out who I was and how I'd done. Less pleased when he asked if I was running M45.

Reasonable warm up beforehand, and having cunningly left my wallet in the tent on a day when visiting my new friend at the coffee van was an after-race priority, had incentive to do a decent warm down jog for the first time in a few days. (I like races where when someone asks where you're staying you can show them on the map!)

Useful warmup to the start and back and forth a few times. Can't remember warming down. Probably because the ankle was starting to hurt a little and the heat was beginning to hit by the time I finished, so never got round to it.

Happy about this one even though not perfect. Would have liked to go under the hour (and thought I was right on that when I finished) but didn't quite happen. Goal was originally to be close to or under 50 mins, but once I saw the course length+4% climb thought that unlikely (that 50 was based on a 30 or nearby winning time, so with flying Simon Uppill taking 37.5 mins, an hour's prob equivalent). And according to the calculators at the IOF this was a better result than the last NZ champs MD which was my previous "benchmark". When you're overtaken by the same person 3 times (hi deMon! ;-)), you know you're having a good day navigation wise.

Three controls just bobbed a little (< 1 min each) time (8, 9, 18) just not quite spiking, lost a little (maybe up to a minute) drifting off line 21-22 (meant to go past #1 on the way but lined up the wrong cluster of rocks - was behind Blair who did the same but I think I would have made the mistake anyway). 4 & 10 were the big ones, but less than 2 mins lost on each. Think I got too distracted having my sweatband stolen by a shrub on the way out of 3 and that (in combination of getting used to 1:10000 at running spead instead of Craigieburn speed) resulted in going too far up the gulley that was going to lead me into 4 and took a bit too long to figure that one out. 10, I've just realised now I don't think I saw the small rockface in the circle so visited every medium sized one in the vicinity wondering why there was no flag on any of them. The other thing I'd change is that I'd slowed down a bit for the 3 forest controls and didn't speed up again coming out to 19 when I had no reason to be unconfident.

Winsplits says I lost time on 13 but that was just me dealing with vertigo heading straight up to it while the pack passing me at the time - except for the Jagermeister - way over-ran it.

Introducing Paul to my secret beech forest in the high country valley I used to live and work in. Ran/explored through the forest from Base Hut to not quite the road end. Got up to a good run at times, but also plenty of stops for photos, spotting good control features or looking for birds. Paul was mostly following and reckons I look like a pretty useful terrain runner. Obviously not as useful as the big names though.

Good to get a second opinion on how much fun and games could be had in there. Paul and I will now be making investments in the Lotteries Commision with the long term goal of putting on a race and revealing the secret forest to all and sundry.

Of course the idea of not resting on a rest day is to keep the legs stretched and the muscles warmed up and un-stiffened. Which stop-start running through the forest dodging obstacles didn't really achieve. So rather than taking a different transect through the forest back to base hut we popped out on to the road to wind the pace up. Paul did this more enthusiastically than birdman did, partly because he's a far more effective road runner and partly because birdman had more inside knowledge of exactly how far we were from where the car was parked. Teehee!

(I'm guessing how much time each segment of today's adventures took, but total time was 70 mins)

Reasonable warm up before race, barely managed a minute or two afterwards before the one foot before the other concept became a bit too much for tired mind and body to cope with

...and if the relay was an epic, I'm not sure what words that leaves to describe this. An uninspiring looking piece of terrain until you pick up the map and see just how much vegetation, contour and bare earth detail is going on. I suppose I can take this as a day I met my less ambitious goals (which were top 3 in oceania M35, and first kiwi) but as I still had faint hopes of the title itself (until the aussie guy starting 4 minutes behind came cruising past on the way to 5 when I'd only lost a minute or so in mistakes) the way things panned out was a bit disapointing in the end. A number of controls lost little bits of time just being a bit high or low - which with the low veg, this map doesn't easily forgive, but that would only add up to 5 minutes or so and still have me in 2nd. It's the 22 minutes total lost at 9, 12, and 15 that piss me off. 9 had a good route choice planned around a major spur, leading to a good AP, but somehow climbed up into some nasty veg that not only ate a lot of time and energy but also completely altered the approach into the control. Which obviously I didn't handle well. To 12 went up and over a flattish spur to drop down onto the control but kept curving round and ended up back near 9. Which wasn't so bad until I mucked up the relocating and ended up at another control which I spent 5 minutes standing by managing to fit everything around me except one digit of the code to where I should have been (of course Casser was here topping up the water supply so he got plenty of entertainment) until finally realising it was my 22nd control and therefore I knew exactly where I was. A whole string of mistakes after that including a big one at 15 which is one of those inexplicable "being perfectly on line then suddenly not" ones.

Out for over 80 hot, contour and scrub filled minutes at this stage, things were getting a bit tough physically and I wasn't too far off calling it quits. But got my 2nd wind first from hearing a lot of Australian accented swearing emanating from a big patch of green I passed from 16 to 17, then being caught by Laurent from NC just as I started on the last loop. Man that guy can run. But somehow stayed with, or at least near him (helped by him overunning 24 just when I was losing contact with him) until I completely died on the 10(!) metre climb up to the last control.

Warmed up way before needing to when Ellmo had a 'mare after looking good on the first trip through the spectator area. Hopefully was still useful. Then trying to warm down after finally struggling in myself - a bit too long after as things panned out.

Not one of the great ones. Got a little cooked waiting to start and fully cooked out on the course. Brilliant start, taking a fully cautious approach to 1, then spent 5 minutes relocating back to it but the rest of the first loop went smoothly. A couple of minutes lost at 10 out in the dunes, somehow failing to realise I should be in the last dunes before the beach. Northernmost loop (12 to 17) went very slow just because I got to the point of wanting to finish without doing too much damage for tomorrow, but this was also where I lost focus and started making mistake after mistake. Finally got my head back into it on the last loop. Probably about 23, 24 minutes lost in total though some of this could be more physical than mental. My love hate relationship with Canterbury's random sand dunes continues....

C • Congrats 1

C • sounds like fun 2

Warming up and down before and after the race. Not that getting or keeping warm were problems.

Target was to at least equal, preferably improve on my usual 50% over the winning time in sprints. With bigfella Jamie taking the oceania title at 16:14 I call this race a success! (may be my pb km rate too) Was a bit slow getting into it (which was probably a good thing) but got the legs wound up on the long leg to 4 and pretty happy with speed from then on (though died for a bit after taking Casser on when he caught me on the spectator leg). A few controls that I'm not sure I took the best route, or got a bit flustered for a few seconds on the route choice thing (a hard course to look ahead on, part of my definition of a good sprint race) but the worst moments were drifting a bit wide to 5 (up to 20 secs?) and exiting 13 in a slightly silly way that took a bit of extra distance to get back on track (another 20?) Not even distracted by the large group of bikinis sunbathing en route between 12 and 13.

You've got to love sprint orienteering late on a summer's afternoon....