Training Log Archive: Old Daniel

Ran on Purdown, which was very, very wet and will need to be abandoned for a while. Had to do a non standard route but did take in 3 hills - very slow. Strange weather, strong wind, sunshine and hail.

Needed a catch up day

A couple of days sightseeing (Faro) and travel.
Frankly glad to have a couple of days without running quite battered and bruised

Warm up

POM 4 Middle race at Paiol Sines 52/125 winner 33.50
Basically same area as 3 and similar race. A bit cooler but still no pace in running - had to hunt for 6 (45 secs) - went up wrong re-entrant to 8 but not a mistake and a couple of wobbles later - but running speed just below par

Ran to start

POM Day 3 middle race at Paiol Sines. 47/126 winner 29.20
Nice but not particularly difficult middle. lots of changes of direction etc, Missed 1 (30secs) and wrong re-entrant at 16 (1 min) otherwise pretty good. Tried hard but hot day and running hard work

Legs very heavy in warm up but better in race. So glad I started

POM Urban Sprint at Sines 77 started mp
Quite a lot of traffic and people all quite distracting. Missed a little at 1 and 2 nobody else did. But then did quite well in old town and around the castle. Actually mp at 15 in the road works (along with others) but actually going quite well towards the end.

Just jogged to the start as warm up.
Ribs quite uncomfortable but overall better than expected and quite keen to start

POM Day 2 Long Race at Santo Andre. (52/128) winner 51.16
Quite a warm day running a bit of a struggle but ok- a good interesting varied race in an area not dissimilar to many of the UK army areas. Technically ok, banana at 2, lost 90 secs hunting for a middlemost re-entrant at 7 (silly) and then a bit off at both 8 and 9. Got messy as I seemed to tire badly towards end losing direction on legs 16 and 17. Did not spot 19 was much harder and had to go out and relocate (2.30?)
Running not as awkward as particularly sleeping

POM Day 1 Urban Middle distance race around Santiago Do Cacem. A good varied race with route choice but no particular traps. A big climb up to the castle and lots of climb. A bit of a hesitation/ odd route at 11 (30secs) but otherwise all good till penultimate control 24, where lost concentration, missed turn, got map a bit the wrong way around and 90 secs and a good number of places lost

Went to the night Sprint there was the usual organised chaos and as first starter I set off to warm up find the start which was close and then the assembly which was not. Approaching the start, perhaps running quite quickly I tripped on a curb and crashed. Luckily I think my head missed the curb (and I suspect most of the impact was actually taken by ribs). Helen was a star administering first aid and summoning the start team who called the Bomberios who in turn were actually first class. The medic did all the classic head injury routine established that the reason I could not see properly was actually because my eye was filled with liquid, my nose was just bleeding not broken. Bleeding was stopped, stereo strips and plasters expertly applied , they were really very good. I was quite shaken up and for the rest of the vacation quite sore and finding it difficult to sleep. Mostly I felt like a complete chump but as I decided it was probably best not to run I can now add failed to get to the start to my list of mistakes

C • Oh no 1

POM model race at quite easy technically with large and clear re-entrants in open cork woodlands -but a surprising amount of underfoot vegetation. Glorious warm sunny day

Along cliff top and beaches ar Potra Cova to loosen up

Two days sight seeing -one in Madrid, one in Toledo

Winner 50.49.Matacimera - Navaluenga me 23rd (1.15.08)
Planned in long style with some good route choice legs, felt quite hot and seemed slow at the start. Did not nail either 1 or short 2 despite hitting APs a bit disappointing but did 3 longer legs ok -not a great choice to 9 as initial
steep down hill was really rock climbing but all had APs found controls ok, then badly fouled up fairly simple 10 -looking far too long on wrong rocks including going out and wrongly relocating (6mins?) Grrrrr!-then ok to finish

Middle Race at Valle Iruelas -WOW!
Winner 29.14 me 17th 43.07
First part was in very runnable if complex forest and was quite clean to 10 then into the green -went in carefully but still started to look too early -needed a more positive plan and lost 3 mins. Took very safe but slow route along top of ridge nailed control, lost another 3 mins on leader but no positions. Then clean to the finish. Sneaked in front of Mark - a very unusual occurance

Sprint at Navaluenga ,27th (13.39) winner 10.52 Navaluenga. Quite flat old village/small town with alleys etc. no mistakes, may not have optimum route to 1 but although working hard, speed left a little to de desired.

Model Event, did not go particularly well
Probably need to be more disciplined but sorting out contour detail and rocky detail in rocky areas is difficult.
Bright sunny warm day in spectacular mountain scenery followed by visit to a Spanish walled town -Avila - super

Maximus orienteering meeting -prologue
Just one course, but a loop race so lots of gaffles, (8 runners per minute and some of the 220 entered were not elite).....but not to number just one so just run as hard as possible up the hill over the rocks, and crags, and brashings into the dark unknown, 300m where have the lights gone, 500m second wave crashed past ….ah top of the hill a boulder 3m but which??…..plenty of choice
Difficult to sort on the map where to go next, even harder on the ground, Rocks, Crags, re-entrants, rocks, brashings rocks. lights, runners.....just fantastic.....really being careful and overall not too bad - missed 11, ironically ran down wrong path (of 3 on the map) -realised quire early but 5 mins to recover and quite pleased with that, could have been much, much worse, then another 3 at a switch control that I had been to....looking for wrong feature, annoying.
Alice beat me and Mark did 47 mins.....but I did pretty well and was pleased.... what an introduction just WOW

A plod around Frome valley, got stopped by a group of professional dog walkers with twenty four dogs.....no problem with Dogs but these pro dog walkers that meet up and chat are becoming a bit of an issue, also stopped to check ankle ok and replace sock/ retie shoe four times before happy so not best training ever but at least was out. (And did not feel over dressed in a Helly with a WATERPROOF in bum bag)

C • Pro dog walkers in Stoke park 1

It was a bright sunny and quite mild but still windy day post storm, so decided to run in Ashton Court. I was delayed by a few things that just did not go right (but I did get the fence panel back up probably on a temp. basis) so when I arrived there were a few drops of rain, so put my ageing waterproof running cag on. Quite soon the rain turned into a squall with a deluge of rain and quite soon that turned into a blttz of machine gun fired hailstones and before I could reach any shelter in the wood, I was soaked to the bone and very cold. Rain very definitely stopped play and I retreated to the car and its heater.....by which time it was blue sky.
This was before I drove across Bristol to Go Outdoors bought a Pretzl, drove home to find the battery was missing, got slowed in the traffic getting the replacement battery and then stuck altogether by the M'way Horlicks.

I did not stop at the shop that sells lottery tickets

Big storm today so did not run, but did visit the Fosters for a long, long chat about permission issues with Forest England.
She is taking the lead on this one and I am very grateful

Plod around Purdown and Frome Valley, very good for clearing the head, good for planning what to say in another e-mail, but as training.....
Good to be out of the house

Did not run today. I could feel ankle

Standard warm up

MLS at Mytchett - a top area to orienteer on , this one described itself as Congo Stream. I was really focused at hoping to do well. However I was very messy, ran straight to 1 but actually it was the nearby 4 which was quite a surprise, then too far right to, way off on route to 3 seeing 26 and then 4 via 1.
All in a small bit of wood and others also had trouble. Was cautious through the next few, which allowed me go get into the race. No real mistakes but did collect a few bananas as the race went on. Lost time at 12 , not beating myself up about this as many of the pits are probably not in quite the right place and hard to see. In retrospect plodding along a bit slower than recently and min/km quite long -not surprising that a couple of guys who were around pulled away.
Alice beat me by 1 min. The difference being that I did not see the path under the red line and took a circuitous route

Blaise not usual route ankle a bit sore after yesterday

Decided not to run today - the bad news is that I cannot stand on one leg so (Irish!) ankle must be a bit knackered. Good news is that I can stand on the other one which is quite handy for such activities as well standing up etc,

Warm up

BOK Gallopen at Stock Hill -always a tricky area and without doubt care is needed.
Ups - disaster struck today.....
Clean through short legs 1-3, and then next onto a path run which allowed some pre-planning. Could not make head or tail of veg changes, on E-W path so went in a bit late and straight into adjacent no. 5, code checked but seemed ok as had next two in my head. From pre-planning I knew I needed to use line of planting but instead of doing this from 6, I did it from 5 and headed vaguely towards 7 but suddenly started to realise what was going on???? Had to retrace around the controls properly. Not good for morale. But actually not navigating too badly until on the way to 108 and in retrospect must have misread the paths, went through 107 thought this confirmed I was too far west and navigated east to a pit, no control, perhaps correction was wrong. Area is however diffuse and what is on the map and particularly paths not easy to interpret, tried several times and failed. Realised I must have made a parallel error mistaking small and big paths and needed to go to the adjacent block - no joy but I did find a control ….I wonder - back to back maps..... there it was 104 I know where I am, Hurray! carefully retraced steps through now familiar forest ticked of features and there it was 'plain as a pikestaff' 108. I am pretty sure I was initially within yards but did not have the confidence to believe in myself. Leg took 16.46. (At one time I could cover 5 km and get my breath back in that time not 500m !)
I was now in a bit of a plod, concentrate, navigate and went through the next 18 controls ok, except my saviour 104 where I went along a parallel set of holes.
So dead last when I finished and disappointed to have messed up with completely self inflicted wounds on what was a well planned and technically challenging course.....what day is the beginners coaching???

C • You have to.... 2

Warm up

NGOC Event at Cranham, using part of the normal wood but extending south to some new woods and fields beside CW.
Stuffed up no 2 taking route to west of line but no clear attackoint from path, went in too early, forest is scrappy and map depicts numerous bumps. (I always find this area difficult and stuff up particularly at night) - thought I had relocated and turned wrong way so 2+mins lost. Rest pretty much ok but probably most would have thought easy - but Cranham does have plenty of hills. I think I interpreted the map correctly but some e.g. purple lines to clarify which fences were crossable in the fields might have been a good idea.