Training Log Archive: murraystraining

SOL on Lossie. Just the Blue for me to get a middle/WOC relay length course. The shorter distance meant I could push full pace all the way which was good fun. Time loss on:
#1 (did a 90 degree error out the start kite but quickly corrected)
#2 (unmapped path just before the control)
#3 (didn't have a good picture of the site so overshot slightly)
#7 (tried to go straight and just hit it - didn't work. Should have aimed off and simplified on the ridge).
Better after that.

SEDS training in Beachen Wood, Grantown. Tough wee forest. Trying to orienteer without compass (as my replacement baseplate hasn't arrived yet and I don't want to get back in the habit of thumb compass again).

Super elite special sprint course at Dufftown urban race.

Morgonjogg up to Fairmilehead to drop off a birthday card. Happy 91st Grannie!

FNHR: Two Drumochter Munros on the way north. Gael Charn, a fairly uninteresting lump with nice views to the west and A' Mharconaich which was more interesting in shape and also had an eagle* getting mobbed by a merlin* near the summit.

*we think.

3x1km off 2 mins, chasing Hector. 2:43, 2:46,2:48. Very happy with this.

4x sprintervals in old town. Head to head with Jegor and Hector - fast and furious.

Usual delay in logging following time away. I’ll hopefully get caught up later but in the mean time here is a quick summary of the races in Finland:
Sprint Qualification
A fairly straightforward course around a school and park/residential area. The organisers had added some extra fences but they generally felt pretty ‘natural’ so not too annoying. I had a decent run with only one notable time loss on the last long leg (19) – I didn’t see the route to the right avoiding the wiggles. This was a bit silly as I knew from 2 how wiggly the route I took was – should have looked for ways to avoid this.

Sprint Final
The organisers used 800m of extra fences to turn a fairly dull town into an orienteering maze. Streets were blocked or forced you to detour and routes were hard to find. I didn’t cope well, taking too long to find any route and then taking the first route I saw without a second look to see if it was the best possible. This was then compounded by losing my position in the middle of the long leg and faffing around, letting Gustav past. About the only good thing to take from this race is that in the second half when I was chasing Gustav I ran a good number of fastest splits while still in control so the speed was there.

Sprint Relay
Another day, another maze. After a good think about the techniques I should have used yesterday I felt much more in control. Tess sent me off in a decent position (8th) with plenty people around. I opted for the left route to the first control but miss-read the map and ended up going through the subway which meant I lost touch with Jerker and Tue. After that it went well and I felt in control all the way. I took a smart route on 17 back into the park to get the edge on William Lind and give me the honour of leading the chase pack home. Lots of learning points from this race which I won’t be sharing here!

Jukola – first leg
First leg 2009 – torch failure (while making a big mistake), no spare.
First leg 2013 – torch failure, got home using small spare but unable to move up the pack to contest the win.
First leg 2014 – compass/orienteering/physical failure. Fell over on the second rocky hill on the epic long leg to the first control, popping the bezel out of my compass. I only noticed 50m later and I didn’t fancy fighting my way back to look for it. I can do this without a compass, right? I never felt like I was at the front of the race so there was always a line of runners to give me direction so I could focus on map reading which worked quite well. At #4 I saw Hoddy who didn’t have a spare either but at #7 I managed to get one off Ralph. I promptly got really lazy with my navigation and went to the wrong gaffle at 8, losing 1 min. 9-11 were fine but again on 12 I ended up on the wrong gaffle despite hearing all the warning bells. Already by this point I think I’d fallen over more times on this course than in any other race I’ve done, the terrain was so heavy in places and I’m just not used to picking my feet up. The physicality of the race started to catch up with me and by the scrambles out of the spectator control my legs were screaming at me to stop, in a way I’ve never felt before. I tried the Jens Voigt ‘Shut Up Legs!’ technique which helped a bit but in the end I had to cruise it in. 36th, 4 minutes behind Carl and 2 behind Ralph, who I’d been with at halfway – the mistakes on 8 & 12 creating the gap.

One of those runs where the miles just rolled by - benefitting from a day off after Jukola? Cramond via Barnton Avenue, River Almond. Back via the gas works.

10x400 off a minute at Dalkeith track. Tessa pacing for the final 100. 4x100 strides to finish.
63, 65, 63, 63, 64, 64, 64, 63, 65, 65.