Training Log Archive: Becks

Could anyone send me the map file from the long race this weekend? I didn't manage to pick up my map.

Had a fun meal in Nashville last night after an excellent trip to Natural Bridge State Park (well worth the diversion), then flew back this morning. Pretty shattered, was going to spend the afternoon gardening, but after trudging round Trader Joe's decided I just needed a rest.

C • Maps 2

Warm up for the middle. Legs were tired, but all over body not exhausted, which was good. A plus on Georgia a couple of years ago.

Despite fatigue was running better than I was worried I might, to the extent that I finally made a racing mistake today. Decided to go out to the path to number 6, but then came back into the woods without a real attackpoint and really messed up. Think I was actually probably pretty close when I first went in, but then went in the wrong direction, thought I'd relocated on a depression, still couldn't find it, bailed to the track, ran to number 7, and then back to the control. I swear there was an extra depression on that slope! Interested to see the Quickroute and see how far away I was.

Nothing that major after that - perhaps a couple of sub optimal routes. Felt pretty bad before the final loop physically, but then managed to finish the death loop of hills at a decent pace.

I was therefore pretty disappointed to still be at the back of the pack. I guess without that mistake I'd have been in there.

So, still a lot to work on. There's no doubt I'm moving in the right direction, but there's still a long way to go. Part of it fitness and part of it just attitude to racing - I definitely have to get my head back in the game too.

Really enjoyed seeing the juniors perform well, and congratulations to the team! I'll be cheering for you all in Scotland!

Middle - 7 Green J 10 F-21 - Splits

Warm up for the long. Not feeling excited.

Hmmm. I found the first half of this course pretty dull. I was not running well at the start, getting held back by the vegetation and thorns especially around 4 and 5, and probably being overly cautious with route choice and attack points in the valleys. Got very tired by the end when it got a bit more interesting, and it was a real struggle to push hard through the completely empty forest. Not sure I always took the fastest route choice, but I think I generally took the right ones for me, because I was super slow up the hills and they took a lot out of me. So I tended to run longer and flatter instead.

Overall, probably an improvement from the last long race I ran, but still some way to go. Was at the back of the leading pack and a long long distance back from Ali. There's no doubt that things are improving, but I was still a bit disappointed with this race. I think I thought I was a bit further than that.

I walked more of a warm down up the hill, but this was the jogging part.

Long - 10 F-21 11 M-20 - Splits

Event: Flying Pig XIX - U.S. Individual Champs - Sprint-Middle-Long
 

Sprint race at Moorhead University. This was fun! I picked up the wrong map and descriptions and had to go with just the right map. This meant folding and refolding to check descriptions, and lost me a small amount of time across the whole course. No big errors, perhaps some sub optimal routes, but ran strong the whole way and way pleasantly surprised.

Sprint - 7 Green J 10 F-21 - Splits

I should have run this morning but we are staying in a really lovely B & B and I was enjoying being asleep, so I stayed there. Then we had a really fun day taking two tours of Mammoth Cave. The Historic one was alright but the Domes and Dripstones one was really excellent - a crazy descent down lots of stairs through a vertical shaft, and then some great stalactites and mites at the end. Two real characters of tour guides too. Really fun!

Well, so much for my early nights and long sleeps this week! Will have to rectify that on the way!

Flew into Nashville where it was WARM, wandered around a bit (it's like Country Music Blackpool) on the strip downtown and the replica parthenon (yup, that's a thing), then drove to our B & B in Glasgow, KY. Gorgeous restored house from the 1800s with very friendly owners. We struck gold in this very random little town. Ate at "A Taste Of Texas" where I was served a baked potato with about 6 tablespoons of butter on it as a side. It was epic, not quite in the right way.

Was going to train when we arrived but meh. No real motivation to do that!

C • hang on 6

Switched my longer tempo intervals with my short wind ups this week. Was going to do my second strength workout today but glad I didn't, because the three hours of gardening I had to do before going away this week was hardcore. Very stiff now. The cats loved being outside properly for the first time this spring!