Training Log Archive: Gswede

This might have been the most exhausting Freeletics workout so far, but I am starting to feel stronger.

Hiked up and around Glen Onoko Falls. Really beautiful place. Very refreshing to have the mist from the waterfall in the air. I also got downright cold standing underneath one of them.

Did this workout in the shade in the garden, but even so, blegh. Hot out. It'll be nice once the fall crispness starts up.

Final training with Timo. Really fun and always good to learn from him. Got more training ideas for my juniors now. This season is going to be fun.

Did this on an overlook with a truly beautiful view of the Yukon river. Pretty intense.

Warmup followed by
2 sets of
1 minute plank
10 plank switches
10 squats
2 minute plank
20 plank switches
20 squats
3 minute plank
30 plank switches
30 squats

I'm all planked out.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMyCQxLUTG3C9PHk7

Really fun middle. Overall happy with my technical performance except for 7 where I allowed the green to push me to the left of where I thought I was.

Physically I was just feeling done. I was struggling to hold a pace climbing the steep, soft hills. I've been saying it for a while, but I need a break from training and competing. September will be really nice to let my body rest for a while. I've got a few training camps to set up and a few informal trail runs, but it'll be fun. And a big difference from training for myself.

My break would begin today, but I will be training tomorrow with Timo on a map near town. You've got to take advantage of the opportunities to learn when you get them.

COC Middle - C-11 - Splits

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SWc8iu47rWrJJRTaA

A few bobbles at the beginning, but nothing too crazy.

My Achilles started hurting on the way to #7. I didn't see a point to destroy my tendon for a post-season championship. So I just went out to enjoy to the course and enjoy the terrain, which was beautiful!

COC Long - C-11 - Splits

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ppHzVW2LEwPgjuE28

Orienteering with Timo on Lewes Lake. We kept the pace pretty relaxed and ran together, switching off the lead each leg. It was helpful to see his technique, efficiency through the forest, and to pick his brain afterwards.

Really spectacular terrain. Some parts of the map were a little sketchy, but overall it's an amazing place and very well mapped.

We took a jog over to the left of 7 to get some good views in the meadow.

Back to the bodyweight workouts. These seem to help a lot with my agility in the forest. All the burpees and jumps in this workout are good practice for clearing trees on the forest floor.

Not fast enough to beat Damian or Timo. Man, I'm bad at this orienteering stuff ;)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nNKpYZQwrTVGjTVK9

HPP fundraiser. I was allowed one skip, accidentally skipped two. Kinda happy that I did because then I got to race Timo over the last three legs into the finish. Almost got him!

Certainly not my best day so far at this NAOC. Luckily my teammates had given me enough of a lead that I was still able to come in front of the Canadians.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/g5dP7hASYNJfExpR9 (before map flip)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cpiwn3zGsysxSBZ69 (after map flip)

#4 is where I lost most of the time. I executed everything properly until the final section of the leg, which seems to be a trend here that could use some looking into and training. I believe I just lost focus and didn't go far enough left once I ticked off the spur on my right. Once I was at the reentrant up top I found enough depressions up top to thoroughly confuse me. The visibility here is also low enough that immediate relocation is difficult. Eventually I went back to where things made sense and attacked the hill again, this time successfully.

I think I would have done everything the same, but I need to remember that the final attack needs a higher level of focus than most of the leg.

No big problems after that, just a bit of confusion with the trails on the way to #7. I was having trouble estimating distance. I suppose I'm not used to a forest floor that soft and consequently was moving slower. Good thing to keep in mind.

Relay - Senior Men Leg 3 - Splits

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LU3dLBDtjVZsDYTb6

NAOC Middle, 2nd North American. Timo won in 31 minutes.

Spectacular middle terrain. I was running fast and clean for most of the course and then lost the win on #10. Things stopped looking as I expected them to and I got into a depression that I didn't know existed. I thought I could have been south of the control, but wasn't confident enough to start running north. I decided to go back, relocate, and attack again. Lost a lot of time in the process.

I think attacking through 13 followed by the depression would have been better. A bit more distance, but more confidence and better running.

NAOC Middle & WRE - C-11 - Splits

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RViC6iYNb63v7rpV9

NAOC Long. 3rd North American. Timo burned through the course in 70 minutes.

I had two big mistakes on 1 and 2.

For 1 I decided to go straight after seeing how the green slash was mapped on the model map. It was very runnable on the model. It was not here. I should have taken the long way around.

For 2, I read the depression as a hill. I just didn't see the slope tags at 1:15,000 and was careless. I climbed the spur that had a similar orientation and after running for too long I realized something was off.

After that I just tried to maintain a decent pace and being reasonably clean. I knew I could pick up places in the final loop. And that's just what happened. I navigated well through the final section and picked up time and places.

NAOC Long & WRE - C-11 - Splits

Event: NAOC 2018
 

Does anyone have experience with TrainingPeaks to create and manage training plans?

Restarted the coach for Freeletics. Now it's focused on strength and endurance, not just endurance.

The workout today included 5 sets of 10 clapping pushups. Uffffff.

Leg by leg run through of the long course

S-1: Not much to this leg, just stuck to my compass and recognized the marsh and small hill in front of 1.

1-2: Decided to go around since I preferred the entry from the left. I was also unsure of how runnable a marsh with solid blue lines would be. There was no marsh like this on any of the training maps. So it was completely new to me. Bingo? Perhaps I should have risked it, but I was also concerned about throwing myself into a swamp and getting stuck, losing a minute or two and lots of energy pulling myself out.

I also stopped at the intersection of the ride and the reentrant as I hadn't seen the ride on the map. I considered the possibility of having overran the control, but the reentrant was so clear in the terrain that overrunning it didn't make sense.

2-3: Stuck to my compass until I crossed the dirt road and could see the field on my left. Was able to judge the entry into the point from there.

3-4: This is where I began to question how aggressive I should be in the forest here. I maintained a solid, comfortably hard pace, but also messed up the entry, stopping about 40 meters early as I hadn't seen a boulder but was entering some green. Now I see that there was a very small patch of green that I hadn't noticed.

4-5: Stuck high to avoid climbing up and down reentrants. There also tended to be branches in the bottoms of the reentrants, so I figured a bit of distance to avoid that was worth it. I also recognized that this was the trickiest control up to this point (a small marsh in thick green in a small reentrant) so I opted for a safer attackpoint from the trail and hilltop.

5-6: Exited in the right direction, cross the stream, compass to the trail intersection, then compass to the small hill south of 6. Saw the video crew before the control.

6-7: Once again, being uncertain about the runnability of the marsh, I opted to go around. This was a mistake. It seems that the runnability was fine. Still frustrated by this as I had no way to prepare for this. In my experience, solid blue lined marshes can't be crossed. And in my training camp in Latvia, I would have liked the chance to test running in marshes like this. But there weren't any on the training maps.

7-8: This is where my conservative routes really started to hurt me. I decided to avoid the green based on previous bad experiences with it on other maps. But it seems it wasn't too bad here. I was also too high on my entry to the control.

8-9: I saw the left route choice along the river, but wasn't sure I wanted to do that much forest running early in the course. So I decided on the road. But since my Achilles limited my top-end speed, I ended up not running as fast as I should have on this leg. I exited the leg with the Hungarian Aron Bako, but didn't like the route choice he was making so I went right. I lost time going with him for a bit.

9-10: Worked my way through the reentrant over and under trees as fast as possible.

10-11: Once again, concerned about pushing hard through the forest this early. And as others had apparently gained time on me by going straight through the swamp from 7-8, I thought the swamp east of 11 wouldn't be that bad. But it was pretty crappy. One of those swamps you could go chest-deep into. Messed up on the entry into 11.

11-12: I was tempted by the trail around, but this time it seemed like it was too far. Plus the open field was mostly decent running. The trail going into 12 had been recently widened with some machine.

12-13: I saw the route around to the right through the spectator passage, but again it seemed like too far around to make it worth it. But these hills are steep and the ups and downs took a lot of speed out of my legs. Matt Ogden caught me going into 13.

13-14: Had Ogden in front of me and was surprised at how slow he was running. Saw the Lithuanian Vilius Aleniunas also, he was also running surprisingly slow. Realized that my strategy of going around had at least gotten me to the final loop in better shape than these two.

14-15: Field to trail, trail through forest to reentrant.

15-16: I knew I wanted to hit the reentrant southwest of 16. So the only question was how to get there fastest.

16-17: After my last experience in a marsh on the way to 11, I said no thank you to going straight. Caught Aleniunas here.

17-18: Aleniunas took a really strange bearing out of this control and I was about to go with him, but I was still thinking clearly enough to realize he was going the wrong way. Beat him to 18.

18-19: Left hamstring started to cramp a bit here. Avoided the green to not go over any more trees.

19-20: I really liked the entry off the fence northwest of 20. And I knew I could run decently through the field, but I did get stuck in a bit of green in the ravine north of the field.

20-21: Climb up the super steep hill, run across the kinda steep hillside, go into the really obvious reentrant.

21-22: Hamstrings continued to cramp. The last thing I wanted was to be on one of those hillsides and hit the wall with countless trees to climb over. So I went for the trail and tried to hold a solid pace.

22-23: I really liked the trail leading into 23 since it was only one contour below 23. Climbing up to the field to go back down was not very appealing at this stage. Saw Will Critchley punch just before me.

23-24: Legs don't fail me now!

24-F: Does it really have to be uphill?

More in-depth analysis to come. For now I'll just post the map and a short description.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qfka1pZD4m73tnC96

This wasn't a good long for me, but it wasn't a bad one either. I was perhaps a bit too conservative at the beginning, aiming to avoid hills, forest running, and green as much as possible. The forest was much more runnable than the training maps and I should have adjusted to be more aggressive. However, I was still concerned about hitting the wall after the spectator passage. So I shot for a medium-hard pace and routes where I could run fast but not get as tired.

In hindsight, I likely could have taken straighter routes and come out fine. A significant problem is still my Achilles tendon and heel. It began to hurt midway through and I was a bit apprehensive about running up and down the hills the whole way. I've got to take time to let it rest. I've been pushing that off for too long.

For now, I've just got to make it through NAOC with solid performances and then I can give my body a break.

In terrain with the warm up map

Barefoot jog around the field to activate the body and loosen up my Achilles.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K7rodu6qFivEKoAU7

Long "model" feeling really confident.

Barefoot jog on the fields around the house

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ET267X9o2iyACERj6

WOC Relay!

Anton didn't run as well as we were hoping so I started a good bit back, which is fine. We've certainly experienced that before. I was far enough back off the people in front of me that it seemed best to be cautious about pushing myself physically trying to catch them.

Since it seemed that many people were making large mistakes out there, I decided to aim to execute as clean a race as possible hoping that the minutes would disappear through their mistakes and my clean race. I did manage to close the gap a good bit, but only moved up one spot all told.

Based on my experience at other large relays, Jukola, Tiomila, etc., I knew that it's a whole different story when you're in a pack. The speed is just at another level, but I took my focus away from that and aimed it at a clean execution. In that goal, I succeeded.

Overall, I'm content with how I ran. The heat (31C/88F) was brutal and it was tough to strike a balance between running quickly and keeping your head on your shoulders.

The good news is that the terrain did not feel particularly technically challenging, just challenging to move through at "race pace." All the fallen trees and other obstacles covering the ground make it very difficult to maintain map contact and run fast. As in most races, the technical difficulty seems to increase exponentially to how fast you run. But here, take away the visible features and throw in some low-viz vegetation, and you've got a cocktail to bring down anyone who dares to run too fast. This is where I feel that Pennsylania's bland hillsides and thick vegetation have prepared me well. Others may feel that they're lacking details to work off of, I feel quite comfortable with finding a marsh on a hillside. It's easier than finding a charcoal platform ;)

So, it looks like everything's ready for a stellar race in the long. The hay is in the barn. Just gotta go do it.

Barefoot morning jog

Relay model with Eric to simulate having someone else in the forest with me and on the same course. I felt really strong. Technically I was really on point except for one control that I lost about 15 seconds on because I was too low. Good news for tomorrow though.

However, based on the research I've done and Ali's experience in the middle yesterday, I expect the terrain to have much more deciduous vegetation than coniferous, which was the most common in the model. In my experience, this generally means lower visibility, but decent runnability.

I'm also quite optimistic because it reminds me quite a bit of the terrain I've been training in to prepare for this. So, we're well prepared, reasonably healthy, and rested. The only thing left to do is get out there and run. I can't wait.

Feeling quite good.

After dinner

The middle model to practice running in the flat areas. Wow. I felt really strong for this, both physically and technically. I didn't push all that hard, but still ended up running decently fast. I walked away with a good bit of confidence in the bag.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6TxDNGH6RwTZmf6k7

I had a bit of a transport leg in there which certainly helped my overall pace, but I was moving pretty well in the forest at any rate.

We decided to do an indoor race since we had such a long day before the sprint relay. But it ended up being much more than any of us had anticipated.

The course setter went way overboard. The winning time was supposed to be 15 minutes. And when I left I was winning with 59 minutes.

I certainly appreciated the technical challenge, but they forced the participants to climb too many stairs.

Looking forward to another rest day tomorrow.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5gjqKJ2kBjQWvibd7

Event: WOC 2018 - Latvia
 

Running around the only decent chunk of grass near the hotel that wasn't embargoed. Included 10x20/40 to feel some speed in my legs. That was nice.

Freeletics new PR on the Demeter workout. First time I did the workout three weeks ago it took me 11:56. This time I did it in 10:21. I'd say that's progress.

Easy bike around town on one of the public bikes.

Final secret training. Pushed hard, still ran slow.

Freeletics interval and Styx. A new PR on Styx. From 9:56 to 9:08.

Run around Sigulda with Violeta. Still pretty freaking warm out. Brought the hydration vest to fit it properly while running. Feels pretty comfortable.