Training Log Archive: Magic

BUCS Relay, Frith Hill. With a decent map and planning that kept you off the tracks as much as possible I enjoyed this much more. Very fast though and not all that much going on to keep you occupied (apart from not being able to see the negative features again - lost maybe 20 secondson these overall). Ran with Danger and Shminty who both put in good solid runs to put me out in a comfortable gap between the EUOC first and third teams. Was never going to catch Mr Scotia so settled into a comfortable pace and concentrated on being clean, which I pretty much was. Happy with second and my fifth BUSA meddle out of six races (and probably my last :( ).

Thanks for OUOC for putting on an enjoyable weekend of hard running and congratulations to them for finishing second overall (although not for pushing ShUOC down to third) and to Edinburgh on a convincing win. Also many congratulations to the most intellectual team of all for covering our bus in lard. That took real brains.

C • A bus covered in lard... fa... 1

Quite a bit of running in circles to warm up and a pretty poor attempt at a warm down.

Event: BUCS Championships 2009
 

BUCS Long, Esher Common. Happy with the result, especially as it was about my least favourite type orienteering: fast, technically easy, lots of track running, no hills, controls hidden in pits and a really shockingly bad map. Course made the best of the area though and there were some nice bits of forest (just a shame that the contours, vegetation and paths couldn't be relied on to be accurate). Technically quite clean (not hard in an area like this) and lost less than 30 seconds to mistakes that were my fault, but about another minute due to bad mapping (especially on the penultimate control - how was the inaccuracy of the felling boundary here not noticed???) and a further minute due to controls being hidden in impossible to see pits. Scotia was in a league of his own but it was nice to be towards the top of the chasing group this year rather than at the back of it last year.

Rather interesting and basic accommodation in the National Shooting Centre (which was full of rednecks in caravans with fags hanging out of their mouths), a dinner than was worse than the map served by some staff who gave up queuing when god was giving out good manners (is it really that unreasonable to wish for water with dinner when you've been running hard???). However some cracking performances by ShUOC saw the most important trophy of the weekend returned to its rightful home and to those that really deserve it; the boat race.

C • Quality Effort 1

A fairly good warm up and then an easy warm down with camel.

iROC mapping, 9.00 hours. Long but very successful day; finished the lower part of the valley and got up into the quarry. Some interesting bits up there and some very big slag heaps (50m!).

iROC mapping, 7.30 hours. Very fiddly area along the river and around assembly; took ages to get into the rhythm of it - some nice bits of wood and plenty of mud!

Shadowed cfd around Eccy Woods. Nice time of year to be out as the brambles were virtually non existent and the visibility was mega due to lack of leaves/vegetation. Ran steady but not fast and tried to give cfd a few pointers. Issues were much the same as with a novice, things just happened faster; visualisation, reading ahead, direction checking, simplification. Everything was there and working just fine, it just needs a bit of oil to get it operating more smoothly.

Dash down to Kaye Place to meet for hills as running a little late and then an extended warm up thanks to the presence of Mr Tett, jog back via Crookes to warm down.

Roslin Road set: 20 minutes without rest (100m with 15m climb). Kept rocking along at a good steady tempo without slowing that much for the descent, managed about 24/25 efforts. Didn't feel great but happy with the effort, which is more than can be said for the weather which was right horrid.

Normal, normal.

Good session tonight, felt a bit more lively than usual and actually tried hard on a few exercises; got to 75 on bench hops and set a new PB of 25 raised leg press-ups and 38 normal ones. This session is just getting too easy...

C • too easy?! 5

Ran after circuits rather than before as I was still a little full from a late lunch. Did the normal loop in reverse, having Tim T for company for the first part. Legs were full on bounce and the hill was positively easy - hope they stay like this for the week. (Includes run down to circuits.)