Training Log Archive: W

Okay, more sad sack-ing, the WOC long.

I'll be honest, I was pretty much aware I had no hope in this race. I wanted to be close, but I'm not even remotely fit enough.

I took it probably excessively cautiously for the first 4-5 controls, sticking almost exclusively to trails to get as close as possible before going in to hit the control. In several cases this mean a somewhat silly way around. But, after the model of very thick and hard to pass green, whenever I saw some slash or some green, I was really wary and went around. This proved to be a mistake, because the woods were much nicer here than on the miserable model map.

As I went through the controls I started to ramp things up a bit. There were some legs that no trail route was possible, but I nailed going straight quite well, such as on 10-11 or 16-17. I missed some quite retrospectively obvious straight routes, but again, the fact is I was never in it. I would bounce around between 15 and 30th place splits, but that's not even remotely good enough. Perhaps I could have attacked some controls more, perhaps I just didn't push the pace through the woods as I was trying to be cautious and certain about my route choice. I also think that because of all the trails, I really ignored the fundamentals, like using my compass and keeping my map on my current location, I was frequently having to relocate my eyes to the map, though I was pleased with my reading ahead and anticipating what I expected to see so that I could continue without hesitation.

However, overall, those are again just seconds, and I need 8 minutes. Things have to change, and they have to get faster. My quest for being a real orienteer will have to continue next year.

Well, I haven't been looking forward to this, but, here it is. Given how last year's sprint went, there was really only one criterion that would change the sprint from "tragic" to "satisfactory".

As we walked around the qualification area a few days before the race, I was really really worried. The multi-level "Diagonale" could really cause some problems due to the levels and the stairs and the underpasses and whatnot. I spent the few days fretting over 3D images on google earth trying to have a really good idea of where the stairs are and where the traps are.

At the start of the race I was my standard stoic self. I got to start with Jerker Lysell, is really quick so I wanted to go out calm but had a good gauge of how I was doing.

Then I turned over my map.

What resulted was one of the easiest university sprints I've ever experienced. This was actually worse than discovering a really hard race, because it meant I had to run my balls off to have a shot. No mistakes were going to be made. Even then I felt the need to not go too too crazy. I made mostly good choices the entire, partly because they were all 50/50 anyway. I took a turn too early on the way to 9, and perhaps I should have gone south instead of north. As I look at it, perhaps on 10 to 11 I could have taken a slightly more wind-y route that would've shaved some time as well.

But, the fact is, I was never in it. In the splits I hovered between 19 and 21 the entire time. By 5 minutes into the race I was in 20th place but only 15 seconds back. That's less than one second per place. Last year I was 1:19 back and was 13th place. The qualifying window was 1:32. This year, I was 1:07 back and was 20th. The qualifying window was 42 seconds.

Needless to say this result had me nothing short of furious. I most definitely did not feel that I had a good, clean run.

I think this is unequivocal evidence that the biggest, most important thing I can do to improve my performance is simple: Run Faster.

Next season starts August 1.

Final training run around the map that also included the model area. Did it at a brisk pace, still focusing on planning ahead and being aware of the challenges to come. Fun little area with a whole bunch of ruined passable walls, great for working on changing direction and keeping everything together. Too many walls to focus on, instead navigated off the trees, of which there were far fewer. Mostly park with a few route choices and some trickier stuff trying to figure out which building to go through/past/etc.

Unfortunately, totally not relevant for the challenges to come....

Sprin-tervals at the Lausanne Cite map. This was a fun map, totally urban, staircases, climbing, the works. We all got busted at 4 where it was difficult to tell whether it was at the bottom, or way way up at the top of the bridge! It wasn't helped by the fact that the overprinting was bad and the control circles were several mm further north than where they were supposed to be. In some controls that meant they were inside a building. Nice work Switzerland.

Felt some okay speed, doing some of the legs I tried to do quite fast, really worked on planning ahead and having a route charted out before reaching the control. Good training for more technical sprints, which was my downfall in Spain, now, if only that was at all useful.....

More training for long, this time at the site of the long model, though with a bigger map that was not quite the same as the long model. As I said before, the woods are steadily getting worse and worse, perpetually got stuck in ugly green, ugly yellow or even white which turned out to be ugly. All these signs point to being a heck of a lot of trail running being the key to do doing well in the long. Or, so I thought....

Long training at the Grand Jorat. No monster mistakes, but the usual hesitations and inefficiencies. On 1:15000 I often get pretty close, but can't read the final detail unless I fully stop and figure out what I'm looking for. I suppose I'm better off finding that obvious attackpoint, compass-ing in, and using my description to know what it is. Then again, I didn't have one.

Still, nice to get out there, good running, but mildly scrappy forest, its steadily going downhill in quality since yesterday.

C • Magnifier 2

Headed to the Nyon map to do some speed-tervals on a sprint map. Worked on figure out the first few controls with a flying start. Its a nerve-wracking proposition, I found myself flipping over the map on the move and having a bit of trouble getting my bearings quickly. Perhaps a little slower start is better. Though, I tried that at WUOC and it made me overthink my route to number 1. I think I need to spot a route, and as long as its mildly okay, just go with it. No changing minds, no humming and hawing. I rarely spotted the best route, unfortunately, but the decisiveness was better than pissing around.

Middle training at Mt. Bally. First o-training in Switzerland.

Firstly, on Switzerland. I'm not impressed. Accommodation is ludicrously expensive and it looks like a repurposed prison. Everything costs extra. The people are generally kind of grumpy. I accepted that things were expensive in Switzerland, but I also expected a certain standard that goes along with it. Apparently not. I want Spain back.

Anyway, middle training. The first four controls were lovely, excatly what I'd expect from Switzerland as a hotshot home of orienteering. And then, it got a bit greener, and a bit more green, and cliffier, and clearcut-ier, and by the last few controls we were back to scrapping through woods. It was like France all over again but with less rocks. *Sigh* And such a promising start.