Training Log Archive: Mark3In the 31 days ending May 31, 2015:
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Sunday May 31, 2015 #
Running race (Bristol 10k 2015) 37:49 [5] 10.17 km (3:43 / km) +23m 3:41 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Not bad.
Probably started a bit quick; did a lot of overtaking the masses going on the pavements and stuff at the start, which was maybe a bit unnecessary. Then going pretty well at PB pace to round about 7k where got pretty bad stitch and had to slow down a bit. Would have slowed down anyway I guess since it was up the hill, but this made it pretty painful. But then from around 8.5k onward it went away a bit so was able to pick up the pace again.
3:35
3:40
3:41
3:44
3:45
3:43
3:48
3:51
3:48
3:42
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move64196632
I timed this as 7 seconds slower than last year, and it was better conditions, but against that I've run quite a lot this week and didn't feel great, so maybe a slight improvement there.
Probably started a bit quick; did a lot of overtaking the masses going on the pavements and stuff at the start, which was maybe a bit unnecessary. Then going pretty well at PB pace to round about 7k where got pretty bad stitch and had to slow down a bit. Would have slowed down anyway I guess since it was up the hill, but this made it pretty painful. But then from around 8.5k onward it went away a bit so was able to pick up the pace again.
3:35
3:40
3:41
3:44
3:45
3:43
3:48
3:51
3:48
3:42
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move64196632
I timed this as 7 seconds slower than last year, and it was better conditions, but against that I've run quite a lot this week and didn't feel great, so maybe a slight improvement there.
Saturday May 30, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BKO Urban Great Hollands) 48:07 [5] 10.98 km (4:23 / km) +91m 4:12 / km
ahr:152 max:170 shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move64083978#navig...
Really good event.
http://www.emit-uk.com/sites/default/files/results...
2nd to Tom (unsurprisingly)...
lost 10s to #1 thinking a canopy was a building, but got into the map after that and was joint first by 8.
Then losing maybe 10s per 400m to Tom on speed for next 10 controls; 1 min down by 17, then took a gamble on the long easy route to 18 which didn't pay off; 30s down on Tom who went straight. Then pretty good to the finish, some small hesitations but nothing major.
Generally the plan was to take it steady and stay in contact with the map the whole time, which I did really well - definite positive. Concentrated all the way until the end, but maybe had too much left; won last three splits and could probably have run a bit harder on the long legs.
Really good event.
http://www.emit-uk.com/sites/default/files/results...
2nd to Tom (unsurprisingly)...
lost 10s to #1 thinking a canopy was a building, but got into the map after that and was joint first by 8.
Then losing maybe 10s per 400m to Tom on speed for next 10 controls; 1 min down by 17, then took a gamble on the long easy route to 18 which didn't pay off; 30s down on Tom who went straight. Then pretty good to the finish, some small hesitations but nothing major.
Generally the plan was to take it steady and stay in contact with the map the whole time, which I did really well - definite positive. Concentrated all the way until the end, but maybe had too much left; won last three splits and could probably have run a bit harder on the long legs.
Friday May 29, 2015 #
Note
(rest day)
Deserved.
Thursday May 28, 2015 #
Orienteering race (NGOC Lydney urban) 35:06 [5] 7.74 km (4:32 / km) +70m 4:20 / km
ahr:146 max:163 shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Day 6 of races...planned at the beginning to not run that hard, but that plan fell apart as soon as I punched the start.could feel the previous days though.did consider not coming, but wanted to run on Richards map
which was good; no complaints; thanks Richard
Made a sub optimal choice or two but nothing major. Tom is just impossible to beat at urban, he made several pretty big mistakes and was still 20s faster! About 10s per control just on running speed I reckon.
Got a new optical HR monitor that you don't need a chest strap for.works well.much more comfortable.
which was good; no complaints; thanks Richard
Made a sub optimal choice or two but nothing major. Tom is just impossible to beat at urban, he made several pretty big mistakes and was still 20s faster! About 10s per control just on running speed I reckon.
Got a new optical HR monitor that you don't need a chest strap for.works well.much more comfortable.
Wednesday May 27, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BOK Urban Horfield) 34:15 [5] 7.9 km (4:20 / km) +101m 4:04 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Running pretty well.
Bad route to 5, but not significantly so.
Happy with everything else until lost concentration near the end, tried to get out of dead end after 18, +30s, then struggled with location of 19, ran past the bush it was inside,+30s.
I think Matt W was only 30s ahead, no results yet so not sure about Tom...
Good in general though, just need to keep concentrating right until the end.
Bad route to 5, but not significantly so.
Happy with everything else until lost concentration near the end, tried to get out of dead end after 18, +30s, then struggled with location of 19, ran past the bush it was inside,+30s.
I think Matt W was only 30s ahead, no results yet so not sure about Tom...
Good in general though, just need to keep concentrating right until the end.
C • Tom 2
Tuesday May 26, 2015 #
Running race (Aztec West 5k) 18:09 [5] 5.0 km (3:38 / km) +24m 3:33 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
No excuses; not windy, no corners. Disappointed. 4th km too slow.
3:33
3:35
3:37
3:44
3:33
3:33
3:35
3:37
3:44
3:33
Monday May 25, 2015 #
Orienteering race (SINS Day 3) 42:36 [5] 6.82 km (6:15 / km) +304m 5:06 / km
Perfect!*
Really enjoyed this; it seemed easy; I took the short legs very carefully and so lost time on each one, but it was worth losing seconds to avoid the risk of losing minutes.
Lucky on #9, didn't see anything I expected to see. Bearing was spot on but over 300m that's definitely more luck than judgement.
Small miss on 12, but I knew I was close and I was; 1 boulder too high.
Tentative on 22 as couldn't match conical heap, think Richard is right to suggest this is spur-type-wiggle on map, but that's a dreadful way of mapping it.
Nothing else major.
There was plenty of discussion about #2 since I hit it and everyone else (big names and small alike) missed it. Looking at GPS, my conclusion is actually that 2 and 3 are both fine but 1 is in the wrong place; this was hard to spot at the time since it's so close to the path. So actually my bearing on 2 must have been well off for me to actually hit the control -> super lucky. BUT I'm not often lucky, so I'm going to take it!
Winsplits showing massive dominance:
http://obasen.orientering.se/winsplits/online/en/d...
Overall victory in M21S: http://sins.org.uk/Results2015/SINS2015_Overall.ht...
(which obviously you would expect from the British Champion; I was just playing with them the first 2 days...)
Glad to have this day after the first 2 minor disaster events, really enjoyed it. I believe this is only the 2nd time ever I have beaten Clive - and the first time he ran off the map...
*well not actually, as Richard et al were quick to point out at the finish, but a pretty damn good race for me compared to the previous two days
Really enjoyed this; it seemed easy; I took the short legs very carefully and so lost time on each one, but it was worth losing seconds to avoid the risk of losing minutes.
Lucky on #9, didn't see anything I expected to see. Bearing was spot on but over 300m that's definitely more luck than judgement.
Small miss on 12, but I knew I was close and I was; 1 boulder too high.
Tentative on 22 as couldn't match conical heap, think Richard is right to suggest this is spur-type-wiggle on map, but that's a dreadful way of mapping it.
Nothing else major.
There was plenty of discussion about #2 since I hit it and everyone else (big names and small alike) missed it. Looking at GPS, my conclusion is actually that 2 and 3 are both fine but 1 is in the wrong place; this was hard to spot at the time since it's so close to the path. So actually my bearing on 2 must have been well off for me to actually hit the control -> super lucky. BUT I'm not often lucky, so I'm going to take it!
Winsplits showing massive dominance:
http://obasen.orientering.se/winsplits/online/en/d...
Overall victory in M21S: http://sins.org.uk/Results2015/SINS2015_Overall.ht...
(which obviously you would expect from the British Champion; I was just playing with them the first 2 days...)
Glad to have this day after the first 2 minor disaster events, really enjoyed it. I believe this is only the 2nd time ever I have beaten Clive - and the first time he ran off the map...
*well not actually, as Richard et al were quick to point out at the finish, but a pretty damn good race for me compared to the previous two days
Sunday May 24, 2015 #
Orienteering race (SINS Day 2) 56:14 [5] 8.13 km (6:55 / km) +336m 5:44 / km
Mistake on #1; rubbish, missed PJ then took bearing from ? and ended up at ? (inevitable). Relocated from earthbank. +1min
Pretty pleased with all legs from there to 13, then threw away 4 mins at 13 by ignoring massive gully to my left and thinking I was too low when actually too high. Rest of course good.
http://www.hoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#24&cours...
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move63407008
Pretty pleased with all legs from there to 13, then threw away 4 mins at 13 by ignoring massive gully to my left and thinking I was too low when actually too high. Rest of course good.
http://www.hoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#24&cours...
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move63407008
Saturday May 23, 2015 #
Orienteering race (SINS Day 1) 1:01:47 [5] +327m
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move63298424
Good fun 2nd half; frustrating 1st half.
Main issue #2, lost 5mins(!); changed plan halfway (arrgh stop doing this) due to vegetation and then AP not really good enough...but retrospectively, control wasn't in the right place according to GPS - which we all know is infallible, and therefore I'm in the clear; phew!
Some extremely questionable veg boundaries cost me time, (8 and 11), but actually there should have been enough other information available to be okay.
From 12 onward, pretty happy with running speed and navigation.
http://www.hoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2
Good fun 2nd half; frustrating 1st half.
Main issue #2, lost 5mins(!); changed plan halfway (arrgh stop doing this) due to vegetation and then AP not really good enough...but retrospectively, control wasn't in the right place according to GPS - which we all know is infallible, and therefore I'm in the clear; phew!
Some extremely questionable veg boundaries cost me time, (8 and 11), but actually there should have been enough other information available to be okay.
From 12 onward, pretty happy with running speed and navigation.
http://www.hoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2
Friday May 22, 2015 #
Note
(rest day)
Thursday May 21, 2015 #
Running (Friends 3k TT) 26:02 [5] 6.13 km (4:15 / km) +49m 4:05 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara 4
10:57, much better than last time.
Wednesday May 20, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BOK urban harbourside) 44:21 [5] 8.61 km (5:09 / km) +148m 4:45 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Mistakes on the majority of controls and have to say didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to - for me, the proportion of really complicated controls was too high. Of 24 legs, I'd say a massive 13 of them had some kind of non-standard uncrossable feature to deal with, meant it was hard to get any kind of flow. Massive advantage to anyone who knew the area.
The mapper did well, but I think orienteering needs to come up with a standard way of mapping 2 running levels which can be used consistently across the whole area and across all areas.
The challenge was good fun I guess, but didn't really seem like orienteering as we know it.
The mapper did well, but I think orienteering needs to come up with a standard way of mapping 2 running levels which can be used consistently across the whole area and across all areas.
The challenge was good fun I guess, but didn't really seem like orienteering as we know it.
Tuesday May 19, 2015 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Dreams are weird.
I woke up at 4am, having dreamt that Clive was interviewing me for a job working at Twinings (the tea company).
He said that I had an impressive CV. When I admitted I didn't know anything about tea, he said that that was okay, since it was very similar to With-Profits life insurance business.
I woke up at 4am, having dreamt that Clive was interviewing me for a job working at Twinings (the tea company).
He said that I had an impressive CV. When I admitted I didn't know anything about tea, he said that that was okay, since it was very similar to With-Profits life insurance business.
Monday May 18, 2015 #
Running race (Hogweed Trot 10k) 38:58 [5] 10.0 km (3:54 / km) +89m 3:44 / km
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Windy. And felt much hillier than it was!
Retrospectively, perhaps 4 days in a row was a bit much.
Retrospectively, perhaps 4 days in a row was a bit much.
Sunday May 17, 2015 #
Orienteering race (Westonbirt BOK) 1:02:00 [5] 12.0 km (5:10 / km) +115m 4:56 / km
(injured)
One undergrowth related issue which put me off going straight for all future legs, meaning I ran quite a long way.otherwise ok.
Clive clearly knows in advance where the brambles are going to be and then plans routes accordingly!
Clive clearly knows in advance where the brambles are going to be and then plans routes accordingly!
Saturday May 16, 2015 #
Orienteering race (NGOC League Cleeve Hill) 49:12 [5] 8.51 km (5:47 / km) +356m 4:47 / km
(injured)
Good fun.
Picked good route to #5, round the top, but failed to match the green properly - 30s. Slight miss on #8 as looking for a spur rather than a re-entrant (oops).
On the wrong path just before #11; should have used contours more and paths (indistinct) less - 60s. Otherwise pretty good. Had to be careful of my ankle on the non-flat bits (ie everywhere) so spent more time looking at the ground and less time looking at the map than I'd have liked.
With no injuries or mistakes I think I'd have been up there with Andy Monro, but Paul Murrin is in a class of his own.
Picked good route to #5, round the top, but failed to match the green properly - 30s. Slight miss on #8 as looking for a spur rather than a re-entrant (oops).
On the wrong path just before #11; should have used contours more and paths (indistinct) less - 60s. Otherwise pretty good. Had to be careful of my ankle on the non-flat bits (ie everywhere) so spent more time looking at the ground and less time looking at the map than I'd have liked.
With no injuries or mistakes I think I'd have been up there with Andy Monro, but Paul Murrin is in a class of his own.
C • GPS 2
Friday May 15, 2015 #
Running race (GWR Towpath 10k) 37:28 [5] 10.0 km (3:45 / km) +52m 3:39 / km
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
PB?!
Not sure how this happened.
Not sure how this happened.
Thursday May 14, 2015 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Keeping up with the press up challenge. Still on week 3, day 1 which is
12,17,13,13,17
with 60s between each. Successfully done
12,17,13,13,12
which is the furthest I've got to date. Not bad from a starting point of 8. I think its working as well, I have noticed my arms get less tired when I'm running.
Also bought a Theraband which is helping with my knee I think.
12,17,13,13,17
with 60s between each. Successfully done
12,17,13,13,12
which is the furthest I've got to date. Not bad from a starting point of 8. I think its working as well, I have noticed my arms get less tired when I'm running.
Also bought a Theraband which is helping with my knee I think.
Wednesday May 13, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BOK Urban Warmley) 34:51 [5] 7.61 km (4:35 / km) +83m 4:21 / km
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Main thing - none of my injuries are worse after this event than they were before. Hurrah!
Not a great route to #1, probably should have thought about this for longer. Then lost a lot of time on #2 going up the spur and looking around the brambles for a bit rather than going straight to the control at the base. Silly mistake on #5 refolding map at a bad time. Ludicrous miss on 9, missing the cut through and still taking the super-long road route. This is the same choice issue that I had at the sprints, so clearly need to work more on that.
Lost more time on 14 failing to find the cut through the green and then navigating pretty much to 15 instead. 15 too tentative since thought culvert would be more obvious.
Finished off with some good running legs, but still beaten by Tom on all of them - in fact I only beat him on #3 and the run in. Lost to Matt and Clive on most of them as well, by a few seconds on each where by both had clean legs. Need more speedwork!
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move62255470
Gained some valuable insights after middle champs discussion with Mark:
(1) the plan I come up with usually isn't too bad, but if looks hard to implement at the time (eg there is a tree in the way of where I want to go, or I don't find a path junc, or something) I tend to change it and come up with another plan. This second plan is invariably worse and not well thought through and doesn't have an attack point. This is when I get lost.
(2) I seem to focus on only one feature type and ignore the rest - so if I get it into my head that my AP is on a path, I tend to ignore all non-path features (ie I simplify them to nothingness) (even when navigating to the initial path). This is not necessarily a good idea because often they would help, especially when they are linear. I look for features that lead me into controls, but not that lead me out of them in the right place . Definitely lots to consider in my next event - thanks Mark!
Not a great route to #1, probably should have thought about this for longer. Then lost a lot of time on #2 going up the spur and looking around the brambles for a bit rather than going straight to the control at the base. Silly mistake on #5 refolding map at a bad time. Ludicrous miss on 9, missing the cut through and still taking the super-long road route. This is the same choice issue that I had at the sprints, so clearly need to work more on that.
Lost more time on 14 failing to find the cut through the green and then navigating pretty much to 15 instead. 15 too tentative since thought culvert would be more obvious.
Finished off with some good running legs, but still beaten by Tom on all of them - in fact I only beat him on #3 and the run in. Lost to Matt and Clive on most of them as well, by a few seconds on each where by both had clean legs. Need more speedwork!
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move62255470
Gained some valuable insights after middle champs discussion with Mark:
(1) the plan I come up with usually isn't too bad, but if looks hard to implement at the time (eg there is a tree in the way of where I want to go, or I don't find a path junc, or something) I tend to change it and come up with another plan. This second plan is invariably worse and not well thought through and doesn't have an attack point. This is when I get lost.
(2) I seem to focus on only one feature type and ignore the rest - so if I get it into my head that my AP is on a path, I tend to ignore all non-path features (ie I simplify them to nothingness) (even when navigating to the initial path). This is not necessarily a good idea because often they would help, especially when they are linear. I look for features that lead me into controls, but not that lead me out of them in the right place . Definitely lots to consider in my next event - thanks Mark!
Tuesday May 12, 2015 #
Running race (self transcendence 2m) 11:44 [5] 2.0 mi (5:52 / mi) +44m 5:29 / mi
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Thought this was really bad but actually only 6s down on last year.
Ankle is going to need some pretty hardcore taping for warmly tonight.
Ankle is going to need some pretty hardcore taping for warmly tonight.
Monday May 11, 2015 #
Running long (Recovery jog) 1:00:00 [3] 12.45 km (4:49 / km)
(injured) shoes: Saucony Kinvara 4
Intervals out of the question
Went for a short ankle-testing jog which got a bit long when it turned out my ankle taping technique is pretty good (had lots of practice over the years I guess).plenty of icing yesterday seems to have prevented swelling, so that's good.should be ok for Wednesday.
Went for a short ankle-testing jog which got a bit long when it turned out my ankle taping technique is pretty good (had lots of practice over the years I guess).plenty of icing yesterday seems to have prevented swelling, so that's good.should be ok for Wednesday.
Sunday May 10, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BOC Middle Distance) 1:03:36 [5] 8.69 km (7:19 / km) +242m 6:25 / km
(injured)
Rubbish; really really bad.
(1) orienteering really badly. Can't cope with areas like this - need to talk to someone who can and find out how to do it. Made mistakes on pretty much every leg. Didn't enjoy it at all. Horrible area.
(2) twisted ankle at 11; tried to run it off but that didn't work. hobbled round rest of course. currently on ice. this is not an excuse for my terrible run; it was going to be terrible anyway.
(3)knee started to hurt again. after being fine yesterday! so annoying.
The only good thing that happened was that after I got to the end they told me I'd mispunched (we've decided to coin this "miswaved" for Emitag). Hardly surprising since there were loads of controls and I didn't check any codes after number 11. The guy was like "If you want to query it, see that man over there..." - I did not want to query it. Never been relieved to MP before.
Wish I'd have driven back to Bristol after the sprint and not have bothered! Made me seriously consider being a solely urban/sprint orienteer and giving up this forest nonsense...or maybe just avoiding areas like this!
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61875544
(1) orienteering really badly. Can't cope with areas like this - need to talk to someone who can and find out how to do it. Made mistakes on pretty much every leg. Didn't enjoy it at all. Horrible area.
(2) twisted ankle at 11; tried to run it off but that didn't work. hobbled round rest of course. currently on ice. this is not an excuse for my terrible run; it was going to be terrible anyway.
(3)knee started to hurt again. after being fine yesterday! so annoying.
The only good thing that happened was that after I got to the end they told me I'd mispunched (we've decided to coin this "miswaved" for Emitag). Hardly surprising since there were loads of controls and I didn't check any codes after number 11. The guy was like "If you want to query it, see that man over there..." - I did not want to query it. Never been relieved to MP before.
Wish I'd have driven back to Bristol after the sprint and not have bothered! Made me seriously consider being a solely urban/sprint orienteer and giving up this forest nonsense...or maybe just avoiding areas like this!
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61875544
Saturday May 9, 2015 #
12 PM
Orienteering race (BOC Sprint Heat) 17:24 [5] 3.93 km (4:26 / km) +37m 4:14 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Good. Mistake on 17, confusion between olive green OOB, hedge green OOB and that shade of green you're allowed to cross. +30s going back around.
Apart from that, speed was ok, knee didn't hurt, good fun. Happy days. Nowhere near A final as expected but pretty high up B.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61750210
Apart from that, speed was ok, knee didn't hurt, good fun. Happy days. Nowhere near A final as expected but pretty high up B.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61750210
2 PM
Orienteering race (BOC Sprint B Final) 16:42 [5] 3.65 km (4:35 / km) +28m 4:24 / km
shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Mostly good, marred by one silly mistake...
Successful to 12. Then 13, saw that there was a choice and picked the easy route since thought they were equidistant. Retrospectively, the (slightly) more complex route was 20s shorter, so bad choice. Maybe need to spend a bit more time on planning legs like this because made this exact judgement at Gloucester as well; thinking choices were equal where actually not. But not that annoying when compared with major mistake on 16...tearing downhill through wood, unable to read map at same time and then clearly not thinking straight - trivial control site but focussed on wrong building and ended up in parade ground; couldn't work out what had gone wrong for ages ("this is all concrete, but I was expecting grass - why would they map concrete as yellow? there are meant to be trees; but there are no trees-what is going on??") then so annoyed, went to wrong control on parallel feature first. Even more annoyed after that. Just a concentration lapse but very frustrating, especially since heat went so well. +60s and dropped from 13th ->24th place.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61769372
Note to self - tried various Emitag positions and one which works best is upside down in the palm.
Successful to 12. Then 13, saw that there was a choice and picked the easy route since thought they were equidistant. Retrospectively, the (slightly) more complex route was 20s shorter, so bad choice. Maybe need to spend a bit more time on planning legs like this because made this exact judgement at Gloucester as well; thinking choices were equal where actually not. But not that annoying when compared with major mistake on 16...tearing downhill through wood, unable to read map at same time and then clearly not thinking straight - trivial control site but focussed on wrong building and ended up in parade ground; couldn't work out what had gone wrong for ages ("this is all concrete, but I was expecting grass - why would they map concrete as yellow? there are meant to be trees; but there are no trees-what is going on??") then so annoyed, went to wrong control on parallel feature first. Even more annoyed after that. Just a concentration lapse but very frustrating, especially since heat went so well. +60s and dropped from 13th ->24th place.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61769372
Note to self - tried various Emitag positions and one which works best is upside down in the palm.
Friday May 8, 2015 #
Note
(rest day)
Thursday May 7, 2015 #
Running race (Wrington Woodland TACH) 40:22 [5] 9.56 km (4:13 / km) +232m 3:46 / km
(injured) shoes: X-Talon 190 (orange)[9.5]
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61588082
9th/111(ish)
Good fun race, slow slightly uphill start through Goblin Coombe for about 3k; more or less with the leading pack, then Southville pulled away at the front. Unfortunately the two main downhills were road-based so lost places on those, got some back on the uphills but not enough...found the climbs quite hard.
2 mins down on Matt Burns at the front; not too shabby.
9th/111(ish)
Good fun race, slow slightly uphill start through Goblin Coombe for about 3k; more or less with the leading pack, then Southville pulled away at the front. Unfortunately the two main downhills were road-based so lost places on those, got some back on the uphills but not enough...found the climbs quite hard.
2 mins down on Matt Burns at the front; not too shabby.
Wednesday May 6, 2015 #
Orienteering race (BOK Urban Bristol Uni) 39:51 [5] 8.5 km (4:41 / km) +127m 4:22 / km
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
2nd.
Doing pretty well until 6 where the possie of student spectators put me off and I exited the control towards an uncrossable wall and had to go back around - +30s
Absolutely smashed 6-7 which I knew would be down past the finish; unfortunately neglected to even glance at 8 so had no idea of exit direction or anything, consequently route to 8 was poor and involved climbing over an (unmapped) gate...not really planners fault as I bet he didn't expect anyone to take my route! +30s
Bit gormless on 9 not checking control description to see it was atop something. +30s
Lost a bit of of time on 10 thinking could get through somewhere couldn't, but not too much.
That was a good sprint-style section of the course, but I actually think most of my losses were due to 1:5k rather than 1:4k which would be usual for a sprint. Roll on saturday!
String of consistently quick legs until 21-22 - bit upset here about lack of line break; wasn't clear if you could get through somewhere and I went to check - and you couldn't. Don't think this was really my fault. +1m
So lost 2:30, and 1 min down on Tom, so victory was clearly there for the taking!
Knee and eye both ok.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61470199
Doing pretty well until 6 where the possie of student spectators put me off and I exited the control towards an uncrossable wall and had to go back around - +30s
Absolutely smashed 6-7 which I knew would be down past the finish; unfortunately neglected to even glance at 8 so had no idea of exit direction or anything, consequently route to 8 was poor and involved climbing over an (unmapped) gate...not really planners fault as I bet he didn't expect anyone to take my route! +30s
Bit gormless on 9 not checking control description to see it was atop something. +30s
Lost a bit of of time on 10 thinking could get through somewhere couldn't, but not too much.
That was a good sprint-style section of the course, but I actually think most of my losses were due to 1:5k rather than 1:4k which would be usual for a sprint. Roll on saturday!
String of consistently quick legs until 21-22 - bit upset here about lack of line break; wasn't clear if you could get through somewhere and I went to check - and you couldn't. Don't think this was really my fault. +1m
So lost 2:30, and 1 min down on Tom, so victory was clearly there for the taking!
Knee and eye both ok.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61470199
Tuesday May 5, 2015 #
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Walked down to see how much of that road they've built.
0%.
0%.
Monday May 4, 2015 #
Note
(injured)
Exciting early-morning trip to Bristol Eye Hospital A&E.
Note - Bank Holiday Monday 5 mins after they open is an excellent time to visit A&E.
Have scratched my cornea, probably in those dense woods on sat. Every time I blinked it's been catching on my eyelid, basically gradually making it worse. Did not get a lot of sleep (I guess REM sleep not going to happen in this situation).
Got some ointment (note - not drops. Ointment. Like cream. For the eye. This is exactly as unpleasant to apply as it sounds).
Can't drive at the moment as can't see properly after putting ointment in.
Ointment hurts for approx. 2 hours after application.
Need to apply ointment every 2 hours.
Sigh.
Hopefully will be better by Wednesday - have to go back to eye place if not better in 36 hours.
Looking at Routegadget, looks like interesting courses at Headless Hill so disappointed to miss it; on the plus side gives knee more time to recover for Wednesday.
Note - Bank Holiday Monday 5 mins after they open is an excellent time to visit A&E.
Have scratched my cornea, probably in those dense woods on sat. Every time I blinked it's been catching on my eyelid, basically gradually making it worse. Did not get a lot of sleep (I guess REM sleep not going to happen in this situation).
Got some ointment (note - not drops. Ointment. Like cream. For the eye. This is exactly as unpleasant to apply as it sounds).
Can't drive at the moment as can't see properly after putting ointment in.
Ointment hurts for approx. 2 hours after application.
Need to apply ointment every 2 hours.
Sigh.
Hopefully will be better by Wednesday - have to go back to eye place if not better in 36 hours.
Looking at Routegadget, looks like interesting courses at Headless Hill so disappointed to miss it; on the plus side gives knee more time to recover for Wednesday.
Sunday May 3, 2015 #
Orienteering race (Gloucester City Race) 47:00 [5] 10.84 km (4:20 / km) +56m 4:14 / km
(injured) shoes: Saucony Virrata 2
Suffering with some eye irritation; assumed this way hayfever...
Had been really looking forward to this - I like urban. Knee hurt from yesterday so I liberally smothered it in ibuprofen gel.
Doing pretty good until 5; I'd decided that it was 50:50 which way round I went but decided on W since it meant I'd get to see #9. Retrospectively, it was quite a bit further that way, plus I'd totally forgotten about having seen 9 before by the time I actually got there, so bad choice.
Small loss on 8 (multilevel), just jogging making sure I was reading the map correctly.
Bad route coming out of 12; bit tentative coming in due to pavement-washing-man making it very slippery, consequently hadn't planned route out and added some extra distance and corners.
Bad route out of 16; missed out on running through Fred West's house. 18 I was a bit tempted to go all the way round the road to the E, would have been much further but very easy. Decided on all the extra corners instead. There is an unmarked gap in the low wall in the N corner of the car park I ran through, FYI Richard :)
Mistake to 22, south route is much better. Annoyed I didn't see this one.
Didn't like OOB marking on 26; too similar to wall. NB - black vertical lines are not on OOB key. Could easily have been lots of N-S walls. Anyway. Should have been purple, and touching actual wall to be clear.
I thought building work near finish 31-32 could have been on map corrections map in start lane.
Otherwise fine, and really enjoyed it. I thought it was well planned and kept the concentration up the whole way round, apart from having the long road legs near the end to plan the last bit.
Glad my map was printed by BML - comparing with my friends' course 2 map afterwards which wasn't, there is a major difference in quality. eg, on my map, there is a double pavement just after #20 at the edge of the carpark. On his map, these pavement lines have blended together forming what looks extremely like an uncrossable wall, even with a magnifier. Would suggest "proper" printing is necessary for urban events where this matters; not so much of an issue for forest.
Had been really looking forward to this - I like urban. Knee hurt from yesterday so I liberally smothered it in ibuprofen gel.
Doing pretty good until 5; I'd decided that it was 50:50 which way round I went but decided on W since it meant I'd get to see #9. Retrospectively, it was quite a bit further that way, plus I'd totally forgotten about having seen 9 before by the time I actually got there, so bad choice.
Small loss on 8 (multilevel), just jogging making sure I was reading the map correctly.
Bad route coming out of 12; bit tentative coming in due to pavement-washing-man making it very slippery, consequently hadn't planned route out and added some extra distance and corners.
Bad route out of 16; missed out on running through Fred West's house. 18 I was a bit tempted to go all the way round the road to the E, would have been much further but very easy. Decided on all the extra corners instead. There is an unmarked gap in the low wall in the N corner of the car park I ran through, FYI Richard :)
Mistake to 22, south route is much better. Annoyed I didn't see this one.
Didn't like OOB marking on 26; too similar to wall. NB - black vertical lines are not on OOB key. Could easily have been lots of N-S walls. Anyway. Should have been purple, and touching actual wall to be clear.
I thought building work near finish 31-32 could have been on map corrections map in start lane.
Otherwise fine, and really enjoyed it. I thought it was well planned and kept the concentration up the whole way round, apart from having the long road legs near the end to plan the last bit.
Glad my map was printed by BML - comparing with my friends' course 2 map afterwards which wasn't, there is a major difference in quality. eg, on my map, there is a double pavement just after #20 at the edge of the carpark. On his map, these pavement lines have blended together forming what looks extremely like an uncrossable wall, even with a magnifier. Would suggest "proper" printing is necessary for urban events where this matters; not so much of an issue for forest.
Saturday May 2, 2015 #
Orienteering race (NGOC Middle Distance) 46:35 [5] 6.48 km (7:11 / km) +276m 5:56 / km
(injured)
Not entirely disastrous, but lots of small misses
http://www.ngoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#69&cour...
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61021978
Fairly good until 11, then failed to implement plan of using fence as attack point, "surely it can't be necessary to go all the way to that", FAIL. Ended up to N of control and confused; +1min.
14 - this one not my fault I think; massive spur on ground is extremely minor squiggle in contour on map - another 1.5min. Everyone I talked to afterwards agreed about this. With hindsight - control was so high up, should just have come to the top and found it from above.
17 - should have gone from the ride rather than going straight. Was very likely somewhere in this dense stuff that caused injury #2 and has resulted in me typing this barely being able to keep my eye open as I squint at the screen...+1min
21 - just too high, +30s
4 mins lost; not actually bad over an event with that many controls I don't think.
http://www.ngoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#69&cour...
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61021978
Fairly good until 11, then failed to implement plan of using fence as attack point, "surely it can't be necessary to go all the way to that", FAIL. Ended up to N of control and confused; +1min.
14 - this one not my fault I think; massive spur on ground is extremely minor squiggle in contour on map - another 1.5min. Everyone I talked to afterwards agreed about this. With hindsight - control was so high up, should just have come to the top and found it from above.
17 - should have gone from the ride rather than going straight. Was very likely somewhere in this dense stuff that caused injury #2 and has resulted in me typing this barely being able to keep my eye open as I squint at the screen...+1min
21 - just too high, +30s
4 mins lost; not actually bad over an event with that many controls I don't think.
Friday May 1, 2015 #
Running 36:43 [3] 8.13 km (4:31 / km) +45m 4:24 / km
ahr:143 max:162 (injured) shoes: Saucony Kinvara 4
Supposed to be a 10 minute jog to make sure I was going to be alright for the weekend, but got a little bit carried away
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move60922453
Nothing seemed to fall off, so I'm taking that as a good sign.
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move60922453
Nothing seemed to fall off, so I'm taking that as a good sign.