Training Log Archive: nmulder

Event: Gauteng Short Course Brescia House
 

Event: 13. Swiss Billygoat Run
 

Short warmup to decide what clothing to wear. Then the warm-up to the start (1.2km and 150m uphill). Then the warm down from the finish back to the event centre (1.2km and 150 uphill!).

My first Billygoat race and my first race in snow.

Conditions were very tough. We had temperatures around about -8'C, and snow averaging 15-20cm deep in the forest and a bit deeper in the meadows. Thankfully the organisers cut out the first 6-control loop (incl. the forked control option), bringing the distances down from 12km to roughly 10km. Only 22 entrants on the Big Billygoat, so definitely the smallest Swiss event ever.

Mass start. Got off to a fair start, falling into a single line of orienteers so that only the lead orienteer had to break the snow. Found it tricky with hidden debris under the snow but got used to it pretty quickly. A couple of places where there were deep pockets of nothing under some drifts, leaving me thigh-deep.

The trick to running in the snow is to always follow the footsteps of the orienteers ahead of you and to stay on the paths as much as possible. I had settled in behind a loose group of 4-5 runners after 2 controls, but after 5 controls I broke both rules by deciding to take my own route choice. It was longer, had more climb and had very deep snow drifts. I figure I lost 7-10 minutes or so.

This dropped me from about 8th to 11th. I managed to recatch 1 person before entering a complex sequence of controls just before the finish. Billy Goats allow you to leave 1 control out, and I chose one of these (#16).

So a disappointing route choice, but otherwise I had a fair run. I was slow in the snow, but felt like I could run well on the roads, feeling relatively strong on the uphills. At temps like this I also felt like I could run forever.

Map with GPS route (GPS started late):

From Orienteering Maps

The weather stopped overnight and today had bright blue conditions. Superb snow, but a bit busy on the slopes. Temp at the car park was -16'C at 9am. By the time I left at 3pm it had warmed up in the sun to -6'C. Still lots of fun. Quads are taking strain though after 4 days of skiing.

Took my GPS receiver onto the slopes. Clocked 79km in just over 5hrs, with a max speed of 65km/hr down one descent.

Been snowing now for 2 days. Today I was skiing in a blizzard most of the time. At least I had a new pair of skiing goggles now, so I was quite comfortable in it. Bloody cold. Toes didn't like it.

Rest day. Went instead to the Fasnacht festival / carnival which started in Luzern today. 2nd time I've been here and once again absolutely brilliant.

Terrible weather. Cut the day short to only 2 hrs due to very foggy conditions. Couldn't see more than 10m in places, which is not great given that almost all pistes are graded red.

Lots of skiiing at Hoch-Ybrig. Brilliant sunny day with temps in the negatives. The skis I bought last year are working brill, just need to get some proper goggles to keep out the sun and wind.

Have arrived in SUI for a good holiday.