Training Log Archive: Brodie Nank

Easy cruise along the great ocean road. Unfortunately broke a spoke coming back so now will have to get that fixed.

Extended warm down as I searched along the beach for Laura and her fam, then gave up went back to the house and then got bored so tried looking again.

Threshold run.

Changing the way I train slightly. I used to use pace to measure how hard I was going but I have decided to change to heart rate. Hopefully this will stop me from pushing too hard and getting injured, although it will take a bit of getting used to. The aim today was to stay below 174 (approx. 85% of my HR reserve) and although I went a little too hard in some spots I felt like I did ok.

Didn't recover very well after the threshold run due to being locked out and therefore didn't drink enough water and get food close enough after running. Due to this I was feeling pretty crappy all arvo so I decided to do only one set of core.

Easy cruise around the pines in Frankston. Nice day to be out running.

A few things reflecting on world cup:

1. Number one was that seniors is a whole different playing field, the competition is on another level completely. I struggled to keep motivated in such a strong field when I was so far behind the winner even though I hadn't had that bad a run. The main thing I took away from the whole competition was that there is a long road ahead and that it is time to go back to basics and work on building a strong base for the many years ahead.

2. I had various feelings about the sprint races. Felt slow in the qual, didn't have enough up the hills. The 35 sec rookie mistake luckily didn't put me out of the final and gave me a crack to redeem myself. The final was better but again didn't feel fast at all. Also made a few errors, losing time particularly around the new fenced off area. Also got caught out by not reading my control description, when I assumed the control would be at the top.

2. The middle was not my day. In terrain that wasn't that much different to usual Australian granite I just didn't do well. Mistake on 1 trying to rush and then a big mistake on 2 where I lost my direction. Managed an alright middle section, helped by Thor and Matt running through me. The last loop in the green was slow, I could have done a lot faster. I really need to work on keeping my bearings in low visibility areas (and in general), paying attention and looking up.

3. The long was a highlight for me. It was in classic St Helens terrain which I know and love and there is just something I love about the challenge of a long distance. The 3.5km long leg was pretty awesome. Had a pretty good run, again stuff to work on but overall I was happy with how I did. Lost a bit of time on 1 and 2 adjusting to the scale, made a few route choice errors on the way to 3 and should have taken a different route to 7 instead of sticking on the Russian. Second half of the course was quite good, apart from a small mistake on 15 where I was about 100m from the control. Quite happy with this result.

So after world cup I came up with a little plan for the year, considering my aims for the next few years (World Unis next year and WOC in 2017):
>Build endurance and strength for the years to come with a focus on consistent training without injury.
>Attend all the NOL races to get as much orienteering racing experience as possible.
>Go to NZ for the QBIII weekend and hopefully run for Aus in the Aus vs NZ testmatch.
>Try out for WOC, focusing on the long distance but travel to Europe regardless of selection and compete in various races (spectator races for WOC, nighthawk, Danish champs).

Have taken it pretty easy after world cup and the Hobart shorts. Had a week on the Murray river so only did a two runs and a bit of core, not only due to the calls of relaxation but also due to a sore shoulder after the 5th Hobart short where I think I strained my AC joint and a bout of a nasty cough.

Rest day tomorrow after a few easy days. Planning on getting back into some training in the rest of this week and then onto the following week.

Shoulder starting to feel better. Slightly faster run, trying to focus on keeping my cadence up around 90.

Nice little Australia Day run in the Grampions up to McKenzie falls and then an extra loop. Was a delightful run and shoulder hurt less.

Exploration run in the hills above where we parked. Some pretty cool limestone cliffs and erosion gullies.

Morning Cruise at Nildotte while the others got some stuff from the shop. Shoulder has not been feeling great and was not close to 100% today.

Leg strength