Training Log Archive: Mark3

Due to the delays yesterday we didn't get to do the mountain, so we thought we'd get up at 5am and do it before breakfast.

Actually this worked great and our estimated time of 3 hours was pretty much bang on.

Excellent inversion over the whole ocean. Made me keen to do the Denis Rankin round at some point defo.

We went up the path, but on a round I can't see a reason not to cut the corner.

1st(!) M35 and so British Middle Distance champion.

This was very much a doing-less-badly-than others run. But it was dire.

Started early on - found one of the unmapped cycle tracks they had warned us about but I'd forgotten, and found #2 before #1. The advantage of this was that loads of people messed up #2, but I didn't have to navigate at all and so won it trivially (ahead of the 40s too, which was the real competition).

Number 3 was also fine and I was winning the course at this point. Then for some reason I mistook a veg boundary for a massive path, totally ignoring my compass in the process, and spent ages through some horrible green getting back to the actual path. Then lost another 30s in the total with something that looked damn like it deserved a form line to me not being mapped; 3 mins lost total plus the minute on #1. Proceeded to miss number 5 as well (mistook some very long form lines with tiny gaps in them as contours and so got the steepness of the slope totally wrong, +2 mins) and then #6, I knew to be careful now, but again same mistake, read form line as contour (I will have to look at the mapping standards for how big the gaps are supposed to be...) and stopped just above the control not realising. Wandered around lost for a bit, then re-attacked from exactly the same place and hit it bang on. But I'd lost another 5 minutes. So that's 11 after only 6 controls.

https://www.boc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#54&cour...

One more mistake on 9, another 90s, misreading the size and vegetation of the hill. After that though, from 10-23 it was great and I didn't do a lot wrong. But still, 12.5 mins lost is not a good run. I was actually only 11 mins behind the course (M40) winning time - the first two M40s didn't really do much wrong, but noone else had a great day - it was a very tough area.

I'm very pleased with the second half of my run but the first half was terrible and certainly not worthy of a medal. Still - you can only beat the people that turn up!

This concludes my attack of the 2023 England selection races. I think I have an outside chance of being picked as third reserve or something, so maybe that will happen and then some people will be ill or whatever...here's hoping (minor illnesses or accidents only, obvs; nothing permanent).

Actually, doing more orienteering this year has made me remember why I like it so much. I will probably try and mix it in a bit more with the fell races than I have done over the last few years.

1st, even against all the 16s...

Winsplits tells me that I did really well on all the legs apart from a single one where I came last.

I think that's probably fair. It was a really complex sprint, maybe the most complex I've done, but I dealt with it okay I guess. Very confused at the start as the start kite was around a corner (this gets me every time - must learn from that) and I didn't see the best way into the tennis court on one control. But my flow was good.

https://www.boc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#53&cour...

I wasn't sure whether to cross the technically crossable but vertiginous and thick green barrier between 12 and 13, but from RG it looks like noone did.

My big mistake was on #14 where I forgot what I was doing halfway through the leg while climbing under a fence, and started going to the wrong (15) control. I have mentally added climbing under and over things to my list of stuff to be sure I'm concentrating on the map on when I do. I then struggled to find 15 since it happened to be the most difficult control anyway (from the upper level, the circular building looked like a solid building, you couldn't tell that it was actually on stilts and so mapped as canopy, until you were below it).

Through the forest section I was careful and slowish but consequently clean.

Very much not a runners course, but there was basically no challenge on M35 and so I trivially qualified first with a massive lead, which felt somewhat undeserved given I'd lost a whole minute on a single control. But the guy in 2nd lost 2 minutes on a different single control in the forest section, so maybe caution paid off.

Great area for a sprint though and great fun, just very much not what I was expecting.

1st, M35 British Sprint Champion for 2nd year in a row :)

https://www.boc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#52&cour...

A better run than in the qual although it was significantly easier. Looking at RG and winsplits I made one significant (30s) mistake and 2nd didn't make any, but I was far enough ahead for it to be okay. There were some significant route choice legs where I didn't even notice the alternative was viable, which is interesting, but where I picked the slightly worse one I implemented it well.

My mistake was #15, there were three parallel long buildings on a slope with big earthbanks and vegetation between and around them, so it was very hard to tell which gap you were in. I was convinced I was in the correct gap but was actually one out, which messed me right up as I thought I must just have run past the control and went back to look for it. I didn't realise until Strava that I wasn't in the right gap.

Otherwise pretty good - didn't let the map flip confuse me even though there hadn't been any mention of one.

Good event again; good area, well planned. Starts for the final were delayed by 30 mins and then another 30 mins, which meant for a tediously long day as there were like 4 hours between the runs anyway. So we didn't get to do much else today apart from drive to Newcastle and have a pretty nice Italian.

Our bnb was above a live music venue which did not make us happy with needing to get up at 5am.

Recovery jog. Curtailed slightly due to torrential shower!

Amazed to be 39s quicker than last year! Albeit last year was a few days after the Fellsman - but that was itself a big improvement on the year before.

Conditions were quicker this year admittedly - dry underfoot throughout.

I started fast to avoid the queue at the kissing gate. Was leading for the first km at least (tried to hold back and slow the race down, with limited success!) but then passed by all the people who would eventually beat me anyway, plus a few more. Hence still lost a couple of seconds at each gate. Maybe next year I will try and be slightly more conservative on the start and try to make it back later on.

Passed 2.39 marathon Rob W on the hill (as per) and overtook Joe on the walk up Nancy. Made no attempt at all to run same as last year - again, maybe try running next year! As even walking, was still jelly-legged at the summit. Felt good all along the ridge and on the descent and could see Billy H all the way. Overtook a Chorlton (Tom Arthur) on the climb to Oakenbank but he re-passed me with 400m or so to go and I didn't have anything left - finished 2s down.

8th, and scraped into the team as 4th MH behind Simon (1), Allen (3) and Billy (6). Easy team win -> more beer for Emma. Good cake afterwards with money to a good cause (MR). Good to see so many MH out along with so many people I know in other clubs :)

With Joe and Nathanael. Had been keen for something biggish as vague Ramsay training - I was planning on a recce of something or other but N wanted Wainwrights and so Wainwrights we did. I planned a loop which got me 4, and N added a load of neaby summits to get 13-14 or something total.

Fairly nice route actually. Runnable ridge I've not done before off Kidsty to the E down to Haweswater, then joined the Lakeland 50 route before going to off-path very steep way up to Branstree which Em and I had missed in the snow a few months ago.

Back up to (one of the) Harter Fells and Mardale Ill Bell (very close to the other Ill Bell) via the Kentmere route. Then back via HBMR/Joss Naylor route. Tried contouring the Thornthwaite Beacon from the col and it was way faster than going up and over - one to remember in future.

Good day out although Sizergh farm shop and run out of food - don't think they allowed for it being BH Monday. They still had pies and sausage rolls though, so all was not lost.