Training Log Archive: Magic

Walk around Lake Bled with Faye and Deirdre, took a few extra hills in a rowed to the island, out quite a bit longer but there was a lot of stopping and not a lot of effort required.

OO Cup, Day 5. Wild and wet and no contours today, had a late start and a clean run which gave me my best result of the week - doing well on the easy days, what's happening??? Ended up somewhere around 16th for the week.

OO Cup, Day 4. WRE event, high start with some big downs. Not so hot today so ran better but was well tired on the hills at the end. Also navigated better. Nice area.

OO Cup, Day 3. Nice small detailed area with loads of holes. Made a right hash of two of them but I seam to be having problems with my compass sticking - need to get it checked. lost about 7 minutes in all!

OO Cup, Day 2. High open plateaux and very hot, not to my liking, oing easy as well. All I could do to keep running.

Event: OO Cup 5-Days
 

OO Cup, Day 1. Great area, extremly detailed and rocky, made one bad route choice and a few wiggles but otherwise clean. However felt dead and flat, due I think to a bit of altitude and the hot weather.

Collected car and headed to some caves with Deirdre, Kieran and faye before making our way up to the event centre in the evening for the OO cup.

Spent all day walking arounf Ljubjana with Kieran and faye, great wee city.

Mad long day travelling to Slovenia, left at 6am and got to Ljubjana at 2 the following morning. Not always a lot of fun but hey, it's holiday!

On holiday tomorrow so taking it easy today.

Usual short Rivelin circuit, wet and cold so took a while to warm up but moved quite nicely once I did, surprised as I thought that I'd have been more tired from the long run on Thursday.
Had to try really hard to gather enough motoviation to get out, but glad that I eventually made it.

My good half wanted to go out but the evil half ended up winning (besides it was raining) and spent the evening feeling annoyed at myself but not enough so I actually did anything.

Redmires along the conduit to Stanedge, Burbage and back down Porter Brook. Some new bits, but quite a bit longer than I was expecting. Stated off warm and sunny, then got windy, a little wet and eventually just a bit cool. Good fun though.
The Porter is in third place for sure in the valleys ranking, good access to the moors but to much tarmac lower down.

C • Spelling 2

New route up Loxley (as MikeS was talking about many new paths there) and up and over Stannington to Rivelin. Have been frightened of there being a massive hill but it was grand, as long as I didn't try and push. Only second trip up Loxley, reckon that it many rank second in Sheffield vallies after Rivelin (which is a clear leader), Porter Brook a close third?
Not very quick today but then I have just done the first propper two weeks training in about three months.

C • Glad to be of service 4

Rivelin dam clockwise. Did a bit of bramble bashing and explored a few new paths - some nice crags along the north side of Rivelin. Not feeling the most motoviated, so took it easy. Enjoyed, but not hard work.

Ran out of time for a run - went to Harlow Carr gardens with JY which were very nice, but not home until 10 after a loooong supermarket trip - how do girls take so long to shop, even when its food???

C • Grocery shopping... 2

Run in the rain with Boyzone, Aishy and Jonny. Bit of an effort to get out but eventually made it, usual Rivelin circuit but at a relaxed pace aside from the hill up from the stables - Boyzone has too much base speed for me...

Event: planetFea Ultra Sprint at Cliffhanger, Graves Park
 

planetFear ultraSprint. Sheffield. Four rounds of intense orienteering on a 1:1,000 map. Two heats, semi-final and final. Four went through from the first heat, same again in the second, leaving 8 remaining people for the two semis, the first two of each semi making the A final. phew. The terrain consisted of an open field with losts of fences and a steep section of woodland with lots of paths and bushes.
Courses were between 600 and 800 metres and had between 14 and 33 controls, with butterfly loops in the semis and finals.
Heat 1a: 3.28 1st
Heat 2b: 6.50 2nd
Semi D: 4.49 1st
Final B: 4.58 2nd
Started well, started in group with RobB, Nails and Craney and got back second behind a very quick and smooth Craney. Second heat was a nightmare, seamed to switch off, thankfully (aside from Craney who won my heat), everyone else seamed to have problems as well. Semis went well, much harder with the butterfly loops (trying to work out which order and direction to run the loops in), had a good run and got into the lead and the end of the last butterfly following a small mistake by Craney which was enough to let both me and MikeS slip through and knock him out. Final was fun, we all got through the first butterfly together and the second pretty much as well. Lost contact at the end of this and the other three confused me when they left the control in the wrong direction. By the time I'd worked it out I was 3-4 seconds off the pace and hadn't worked out the next butterfly. Got the next control to see robB cursing as he'd stated the wrong loop, got back into the fences in the field to see MikeS way ahead and Nails behind him, saw Nails rushing madly backwards but didn't know what he was up to. Got to the finish to see MikeS on his own and Nails re-running the last butterfly!
Great fun and very technicially challenging. Physcially easy as there was so little time spent running, most of it was keepin on eye on the map and the terrain - 60 controls in a 100m2 means that they are everywhere.

C • Cool! 2

Fulwood lower road and back along the hig road. Wet and orrible, happy that I managed to make enough effort to go out. Still feeling flat but getting better. One run (especially not a race) shouldn't make me tired three days later!

Anti clock into Rivelin. Quads felt like they were missing, no energy at all but did feel better once warmed up. Cloudy but muggy and a little damp, not a bad day to be out but nothing to recomend it either.

No time (for real today), Car MOT, Fayes got her house, Had to sort allotment out for dissertation and then paint a room in Faye's house. Home at 10 and starving!

C • Rest day...? 2

Long slowish run at a decent enough pace - driven out, round Redmires, up to Stanage and back home along the top of Rivelin. Felt pretty good but wouldn't have been happy if I'd tried to go any faster. Was only plannning on 90 minutes, sowas tired for last 15.

Rivelin dam clockwise. Fairly slow, enough energy but no oomph. Cracking afternoon, happy to be out, aside from face planting on a rough track - someone needs to cut the bracken back...

Rivelin with Shane. Didn't feel good at the start and we took it very easy. Shane lead the last bit and upped the pace, especially up the last hill. Legs now tired because of this!

Went to check the black route out in Wharncliffe with Shane. Very bitty, some nice singletrack (but very slippery) but also some quite long sections on roads - sure a better loop can be found in the area. Had to cut it short as Shane lost a crank! Pace very easy but tried hard on a few hills near the end.

No excuse, just didn't go out.

Last day getting wet in the hills (5.30hrs), harder work today - a lot more time spent plodding across bogs and tussocks.

More Harvey mapping and more wet showers (5.30hrs).

Updating Harvey Pentland map (3.30hrs). Tired from weekend so thankful that I had no big hills to climb.

WOC selection races and UK cup final. Middle. Carse Wood, Inverness. Good area and course but just had no strenght left after yesterday. Made a hash or a control near the start and didn't have the oomp to get going again. Some dodgy parts of the map but most of the time lose was due to tirdness. Ended up well down, very dissapointing.