Training Log Archive: rcro

Legs feeling yesterday and cold a lot worse today - so not jogging over to Blaise to watch Gwent League. Instead staying at home doing more catch up with Bishops Cleeve map. Lovely warm day when out walking this morning.

Suppose for me at the moment, not getting the volume of training isn't too bad if the quality is getting much better.

5k green at Bathampton. GPS kept getting paused so lost 5 mins or so.

Pretty standard BOK Saturday - dodgy map, areas that were pretty crappy and, of course, having to surrender the map at the finish because BOK is too miserly to print enough. Think next time will follow the Burley lead of expecting a discount for not being able to keep the map. At least controls didn't seem misplaced this time.

Early on in the course was fine, just slow going with being very wet, slippery and rocky. Into the open, map bore little resemblance to ground - seems to have been updated as the 2013 version looks much more like reality than today's.

Number 8 didn't feel right but was visible. 11 control wasn't right in relation to contours (and contours didn't seem right either...). Trusting map regarding undergrowth leaving control was mistake - quite thick just to north.

Leg 15 was very dodgy. From map just a simple descent down 2 contours in about 50m. Wrong - was a descent of 4 contours in less than 10m and then 30-40m of flat. Tried to find a route down several times and gave up - almost having to run back to start to get round (+3 mins). Don't really believe that to be a safe leg given the steepness (vertical) and the incorrect mapping.

Then had more trouble just before the end as kept going straight-ish along path, expecting control to be on right. Turns out that I'd, according to map, I'd taken little side path that goes off at 90 degrees. Map no help at all - relocated from start.

Never been a massive fan of this place - struggling for motivation to go back for WNL.

https://www.strava.com/activities/251510084

Firstly, let it be said that Bathampton is by far the nicest BOK area this side of the Bridge, the map is brilliant in every way - and we should continue to host races on it week in week out until I stop winning...

Odds and Evens course.

S-16-10-2-12-4-8-28-26-6-14-24-22-18-30-29-21-25-27-5-15-11-9-F. 460 points less 1 penalty.

Did the field well - but lots of lights well off the map to the south. From 2 went the very safe path way round the slope as couldn't find route through the crags. Then proceeded to mess up 12 as missed a path junction and was well too high, and then nothing fitted...

Found the flatter route up to 4 (easier to see from below than from above!), and took in 8 to justify the height. Alarm bells going off immediately as left path for 28 - really nothing to go on, but did still find it. Getting out after was tough, finding a gap in jungle and then sliding under the bottle strand of barbed wire, fancying my chances against the ground lying brambles more.

Coming out from 26 really not convinced the map bears any resemblance to the ground. But as it was dark, was going to be fund regardless and wiggled through the green blobs and ended up roughly on the right level.

Got to 22 at 32 minutes - so knew I should really think about turning around. But lots of points are far end, enough to allow for 15 min delay so went right on to the end, with Matt W for company. Big mess on 29 - despite contouring well was far too low. Mistake meant that I turned around to go back at 39:01 - so would have to work hard on way back. Matt then went up whilst I went back to 21 then up. Didn't spot 19 on the map until after I finished - 45s detour for 20 points would have given me another 12 or so points.

Long dead run to get to 27, then getting stuck coming out. Hadn't banked on 11 being there for run back so bagged another 20 points on expected. Small miss on the tree in the field coming back might just have caused the 4s delay.

Impressed with timing given how far behind I was. Had a good plan and stuck with it and looks to have paid off tonight (expecting 1072 WNL points so should have 5,985 from top 6 - might well be good enough for top 2 overall. Given I'm using this season for building up fitness rather than getting good results, only races I care about are fell races and WNL so looking pretty good for me.

https://www.strava.com/activities/251748983

Thanks to Ifor for stepping in to organise this (second WNL he's organised so far in 2015!), and well done for making sure enough maps were printed (more than for Green at day event).

Westbury Harriers. Elmlea loop.

Quite pleased with session tonight as one that can be taken quite easily. Not that I did... Had to show the faster runners where the efforts were on first lap so chose to do so from the front with the first sprint given everyone quite a surprise as I left them behind by some distance.

Didn't quite last and as I started using the recoveries more for getting breathing back in line the cold would get to me and make the next effort harder rather than easier - and so ended up taking longer recoveries. Still, times were pretty good and an improvement on November. Of course, the others all saved themselves for the last effort - I thought I was quicker too in trying to keep up, but about 1s down per effort on my first.

Good group - working well with each other. Made it feel much easier.

https://www.strava.com/activities/250849839/overvi...

Westbury Group 2. Different route to usual - lap of Southmead.

Hamstrings not feeling good after day sat at work and found it hard going - but do appreciate that we were running a fair bit faster tonight than all the previous runs this year.

Very surprised by the good segment placings (e.g. 3rd overall up Pen Park Road) as didn't think it was quite that quick. Maybe I am actually fitter than I feel.

https://www.strava.com/activities/249622608/overvi...