Training Log Archive: Jay-T

Lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to Josh. Some aches - in addition to back playing up a bit.

Event: MV Southern Championships & Interland (UKOL)
 

Southern Champs White Downs

The short version:

Bit of a strange one. Not really in the right frame of mind for this at all.
Struggled to adapt to the scale and far too indecisive over route choice (e.g. #6).
Stubborn behaviour at #8 and #11 where, because the map didn't exactly conform with my interpretation, I went to visit some of the surrounding features (despite knowing where I was really...) Quite a bit of bonus distance as a result.

100mins would have been reasonable.

The long version:

Started steady; minor wobbles of [10] or so on #1 (veg boundary?), #2 (went to earthwall) and #3 (must have been on unmapped path as it came to an abrupt end). #4 was ok!
#5 Too easily pushed off line to the south for marginally better running [20]
#6 Wanted to go straight but belatedly changed my mind to use the path as I hadn't been into any green yet so couldn't gauge the runnability. Put off initially by ruined fence next to path which I hadn't seen, then path was hard to see / follow, so ended up dropping off it anyway. Came onto spur to the northeast, knew that's where I must be as I hadn't seen the paths, but stubbornly had a quick search anyway, only giving up when I found #7... [4mins]
#7 was therefore my best leg of the day...
#8 Too busy wondering why the massive swathe of brambles wasn't on the map. Stopped in about the right place, just below the control, but then obvious green vegetation (also unmapped) made me think that I might have overshot. Headed north up the hill to eventually bounce off the path / tower and came back in [3mins]
#9 No plan for the leg. Belatedly decided to cut across from the pond path, then again past the tower, but here poor direction meant I had to fight through the mid green. At least I found the control ok from there [1min]
#10 Took a bearing up the hill and came out on the path / veg boundary corner - simples. However, going one further and following the white strip along the edge of the green did not work as it did not exist - had to retrace steps slightly [30]
#11 Hadn't planned ahead; didn't see best route back out to the west. Took a crap route to begin with to skirt the dark green, but wasn't going to use the forest road having missed the best way out to it (stubborn instance number one). Subsequently didn't bother with a bearing from the path junction - going for a heads up orienteering approach to bounce off the wall / pond. Didn't see them (way too high), then also passed through the re-entrant without acknowledging it (noticed, but thought it was too shallow - distance judgement again not helping...) Hit the path to the east and so knew where I was, but then went on an inexplicable adventure to the south (stubborn instance number two) - strange thing to do, but it felt right at the time??? [10mins]
#12-#16 Pulled myself together a bit; trying to actually use map and compass... Nice depression at #14...
#17 Wondering to myself why the first block between the forest road and ride was marked as solid green when it had more defined extraction lanes than the subsequent block... instead of noticing that I had drifted east. To be fair, the 'ride' was a massive track - have no idea why it wasn't marked as such [40]
#19 Saw Matthew Rooke ahead here (re-caught after he had already caught and passed me 8mins...) Blundered around too high and another foreign guy (SN) got past. [20]
#20 Followed SN. MR had disappeared.
#21 Cut the corner to gain a bit of ground on SN.
#22 SN headed east to big path - I took small path. Got ahead as a result, but then panicked upon reaching the small paths. Saw him coming the other way and assumed he'd got it, but ended up to the east. Cut back through the green which was very slow, compounding the error [2mins 30s]
#23 Planned to use path through #29, avoiding some climb. Couldn't even follow the right path though... Bumbled in eventually, with MR having overtaken me again... [2mins]
#24-F Managed to overhaul MR again and just about managed to avoid further errors (#27 seemed to be out of the green...)

Positives to be taken in that physically I was ok (maybe should have put a bit more effort in?) Another chance next week anyway!

http://www.mvoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#37&cour...

Event: Southern Champs Weekend Short Event / Championships & Interland (UKOL)
 

The Nower 'Forest Sprint'

Not the best day. Woke up late, then immediately had a fairly serious nosebleed so 45mins late leaving (having already left it pretty tight as I knew that I haven't had enough sleep lately).

Got to event before my start time, but with insufficient time to get ready, so just headed over 20mins or so late - fortunately I was able to slot in without any problems.

Attacked the hill at the start and hit the first three controls well. Slight hesitation on #4, but already flagging slightly up the hill to #5.
Shorter route to #6, but turned in too early (should have used path junction), and so bounced off the bigger path anyway [20]
Read detail to #7 but somehow overshot slightly [10]
Roundabout route to #8; should have gone through #15 / #16 [20]
#9 Missed cut through green [10]
Ok through the next section.
#15 Poor direction - too far west before spotting flag [10]
#17 mp on similar (but sufficiently distinct) control on veg boundary to NW
#18 Lost about [60] here being too far west initially as a result of the above.

So ~20mins without the mp - would have been a respectable time (1s behind eventual fourth placed finisher at #16), even before looking at general error time loss...

http://www.mvoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#36&cour...

Needed to get out; took the easy option along the canal again...

Badminton cancelled. Should have gone for a run but couldn't be bothered. Hamstring complained as a result and suffered accordingly.

Orch.