Training Log Archive: Frostbite

Sourby, Dearncombe, Round Hill. Steady plod, a bit hot but the breeze made it bearable.

Arches, with a fast section through Scotland Wood, 11:57. Feeling a bit sharper. Very hot.

Ridge, Sugarwell, Tunnel How Hill. Started feeling good and quite quick. Struggling a bit by the time I reached Carr Manor and absolutely died up the Donkey Steps. Not quite so hot.

Arches, with a fast Scotland Wood section in 12:14. Very hot, but not too bad in the trees.

Running round Leeds University with YHJS. Joined in the relay at the end and got blown away at the first control, where I was the only person on the wrong side of the hedge.

Hunger Hills. Slow. Very slow at the end.

Arches. Steady out to the ring road, fast for the Scotland Wood section (1.6 mile, 12:15), jogged home. Felt ponderous when trying to run fast but if wasn't that bad.

Thought I had better do some running. Slow to get going, speeded up a bit on the way back. Church Wood, Queenswood, Batcliffe Wood.

Still sore. My throat has recovered.

I tried compression socks (footless ones - probably not called socks) to deal with my swelling legs and they were not swollen over the weekend. I was also on my feet and active much more than at work so they maybe wouldn't have been swollen anyway.

Also I think I am mixing up my scottish persons. Probably not even close, but I was in a state of general confusion by that point.

Jukola leg 7. A long long way.

Starting in the second mass start at 9am with about 1200 other teams. It was a bit hectic out the start and it was impossible to get into any sort of rhythm. Managed to spike the first 3 controls despite people going in all directions, so in spite of feeling a bit out of it I was quite happy with what I was doing. Then I had a brain melt at #4. I saw my control, had gone straight to it, but it was up on a hill and I was looking for a reentrant, so I didn't climb up to it and look at the code. Ran around in circles for a bit looking for a reentrant that wasn't there, then thought I might as well climb up to the control I had first seen and see if I could work out what it was on (or maybe steal a glance at somebody's map). I was a bit surprised to find it was my control. Control description was a spur rather than reentrant but I still can't see how the control position fits with what was on the map.

Then I joined the queue for the rest of the course. Queuing has been very much the theme of the weekend, I reckon I spent close to 3 hours queuing for food at various times. Lost time on #6 when I changed my mind from the direct route to the path route mid-leg, and that was about it until after the spectator control. There was still about 5k to go and I was beginning to get cramp. I took what I assume were energy drinks when I could and they made things worse for about 2 minutes before making them better. Maybe, seemed that way anyway. On the last loop I successfully found a couple of controls one my own in the green and was quite happy at this point to see Interlopers Man going in the opposite direction. He caught me on a track run a bit later, then appeared to cramp up as we went back into the forest. I ran around a few wrong boulders and he got ahead. I passed him when he stopped half way to the next control. We were now within earshot of the finish and I followed a group straight to a completely wrong boulder, nowhere near where we should have been. The man in the lead just sat down and gave up. The rest of us just looked at each other and the map but couldn't work out where we were. Something like 20 of us had piled up (including Ian) before there was a movement that I blindly followed for 50 metres before we found a big hole and everything made sense. The front of the group still went to another wrong control but the back of the group worked it out first. Trundling down the run in I was almost caught again by Interlopers Man but raised a little sprint to hold him off on the line.

Then to download. "Everything OK" she said. Phew. Then "oh no, it's not OK. Please go to the wailing wall" which is what grey call the disqualifications and queries area. They were very nice, it was sort of like a counselling session where they patiently explained that I had punched a wrong control and wouldn't let me leave until I had fully accepted that I had punched a wrong control and signed a disclaimer to say so. They encouraged me to come back next year, to exorcise the experience. (I had punched the wrong open depression at #12, a little before half way, an over 100m from the right depression. I thought I was checking codes, but obviously not very well).

I forgot to mention the dust. The air in the forest was crunchy, it clogged up you eyes and your nose and your throat. I was eating and breathing it for 2.5 hours.

Anyway, I'll give it another go. Maybe next year. If anybody will have me. Sorry team.

C • Next year 6

C • Monday? 3

Bit of a jog round the warm up map.

Actually made it to Seven Arches tonight. Heart working normally, legs ok, just all that extra weight sloshing around made me a bit uncomfortable. Reasonably quick up to the arches, then slowed down for a bit of a jog, then speeded up again in the park.

Set out intending to do Seven Arches at a reasonable pace but keeping up a reasonable pace turned out to be very hard work. Gave up on it after a mile. i took my pulse when I stopped, when I had been pretty much running as hard as I could up a bit of a hill, and it was somewhere between 120 and 130 which was never going to be enough to get me up a hill very quick. Also suffering from fluid retention and rapid weight gain (as I have done a few times previously in the last year). I've tried raising it with the GP and the cardiologist but they aren't very interested.

Jogged home very slowly through the Hollies and down Weetwood Lane.

Not looking great for Jukola, but it could all change again in a couple of days. It has before.

Nicked myself shaving this morning, and because of the Warfarin the blood just doesn't stop. And now I have an enormous spot developing on my nose. Everything is doomed.

C • Dad's Army 5

C • Grow a beard 1

Rombalds Moor. a struggle today. Time for a rest.

Ridge, Sugarwell, Tunnel How Hill

Kirkstall, Newlay, Butcher Hill. A reverse of the usual direction to make life a little more exciting. Took a while to get going but happy to plod along after that.

Going ok until the last 3 minutes. The Donkey Steps killed me.

Weary recovery jog. meanwood and hollies.

Kilnsey South, Short Brown.

Very easy orienteering because of the high visibility, apart from the last couple of controls in a scrubby area of high bracken and low trees. Maybe didn't quite take the best line in a couple of places but no mistakes. 2nd, 7 seconds behind Alistair McKenzie. Ho hum.

Drove Road above Kepwick, Arden, up to the top of Ryedale, Black Hambleton, back along the Drove Road.

Wet.