Training Log Archive: fletch

Beep test.
Only ran with one half of the class, coz I was sore from the soccer match on Tuesday.

One of my year 9s got to 13.10, so from there I didn't have to keep going too far to get past 14.5, which I think was my previous best. Kept going to 15.1, thinking I'd be able to get at least half way through the level, but got no drive out of the turn and couldn't be bothered working to get back on top of it. Had in the back of my mind that I had to be capable of supervising students for another 10 minutes too.

S'pose for all my lack of recent 'form' I'm still not too unfit. Might have something to work with when the motivation comes back.

I'd never normally log a staff vs students soccer match as training, but when you have a staff team with no subs and not many people fit enough to run, it can make for a tiring match.

Started on the right wing, trying to help a bit in cover defence and get forward occasionally. By the end of the match, this had extended to covering the entire right half of the pitch and running like mad for the desperate long ball from the keeper every time he got his hands on the ball (which was increasingly often as the game wore on).

Thought the staff were in with a sniff when we got it back to 2-2 at the start of the second half, but about 5 minutes later we collectively ran out of puff and the kids deserved their 4-2 win.

With a lot of ankle tape as well as braces, managed to get through without doing myself too much damage.

Warm up restricted to the jog to the start. Seeing as I expected to be good for about 15 minutes based on the previous day, I didn't see much benefit in doing anything more.

Started conservatively and pretty cleanly. Happy with my route to 2, clean through 3 and ran steadily across the long leg to 4. Took the 'safer' track option to 5, but I think the previous track run caught up with my brain and I was a little hesitant leaving the track and into the control. Clean and safe through to the drinks stop at about 9, but then, after seeing Ivan (who had been on my tail since before 4), I made a series of small errors from 10-13, not helped by having lost much of the rock detail in the circle on 12.

Was executing 13 fine, but lost track of how far I'd come across the side of the hill and was just committing to heading into the control when Henry came bolting down the hill (+10 min). Bugger. Through 13, then the map change and across to 15 with Henry clear, but in sight. I committed to a serious lift in effort here, knowing that I had run the first half conservatively, was still feeling OK (much better than yesterday) and could definitely crack Ivan on the long leg. Kept track of where I was well, but having Henry in front helped me pick cleaner lines, and when he hesitated on the knoll just before the control, I was right back on his heels. Didn't last though, as he dropped me heading to 17 and I was a little scrappy heading into the control circle.

Clean, but back to my solo plod pace from 18-22, then had a brain fade heading to 23, Thought I knew where I was crossing the track, but may not have, and went for a random wander before fortunately relocating off 24 and bolting back. Clean to the finish, aware that I hadn't seen Craig, but also aware that I had probably lost my chance at 23. He duly came through the finish just after me, but then kept running - still had the short last loop to do, and I snuck into 3rd.

Happy enough with my run. Would have been really happy with 5 minutes quicker and Henry got me by 17, Tomas by 14. Says a lot for where my running was at for the weekend. Slightly disappointing given how my running was going through to June, but it has been pretty hit and miss ever since,

M21A - Splits

Event: WA State Middle/Long Distance Championship Ngangaguringguring
 

Did most of a proper warm-up. Felt pretty good on the flat, and thought I may have shaken the cold (or the effects of it may have been masked by the sudafed at least) but that illusion was shattered when I turned uphill. Oh well.

Was a bit right on #1, but picked it quickly, dropping about 30 sec. OK to 2, hesitant but clean to 3, but rolled my ankle coming into it. Worst I've ever managed to do it with the braces on, but figured I''d try to run it off, and it wasn't much of a hindrance for the rest of the course. Should have gone straight to 5, but didn't feel up to it physically and totally lost track of where I was approaching the control, getting nearly to 7 before coming in from the far side. Off line again to 6 and hesitant working my way across to the right rock. Lost about a minute each on these two. 8 was a disaster. Looked like the easiest control on the course, but just didn't see it in the vegetation and didn't back myself enough to head into the thicker stuff to look when I couldn't see the feature. Dropped another 2.5 min after relocating on a cliff on the edge of the circle 3 times.
Had a quick check of the rest of the course here, hoping I was nearly done, as i felt physically spent. No dice.
OK through to 14, then managed to not climb enough from my attack point, head 150m down the spur before turning around and trudging back up. OK to 15, but had just about resigned myself to walking the rest of the course when Henry came through (8 min). A bit scrappy on several controls on the way through to the finish, but at least I was moving faster.

Pretty terrible run, but at least there was nothing huge. Probably could have been 6 min quicker all up. Contemplated whether it was even worth coming out again for Sunday until I compared splits with Craig and found out that we were moving at similar speed for most of the course, even when I felt bad.

M21A - Splits

Short. easy jog to put out tapes for a compass exercise for SSWA juniors. Only 1 showed up, so he just did intervals around the school oval. I wonder how many tapes will still be there when I get to pick them up after school today.

My revenge will be making the Quinns kids get up on stage at Friday assembly to get their state team kit that they were meant to get this morning...

Took yesterday off work so that I have an outside chance of feeling healthy by the weekend.

Didn't warm up, hoping this would encourage me to ease into it, but started with a track run and went too hard early. Calves sore from the start but didn't really get any worse.
Main focus for today was to use compass more and was oretty gappy with how I kept my head up and ran pretty straight.
Two bad errors. #5 i was sloppy near the control and didn't read my descriptions, so checked out the adjacent boulder a couple of times, before finally heading right over to a large rock to relocate (which I had identified several minutes earlier). Straight to it from there.
Also mafe a hash of #16 in the last 150 metres and was put off by a creek on the ground that was a gully on the map. Amazing what a bit of rain will do.

A couple if other little wobbles in the circle but best I've felt nav-wise in the bush for a long time.

C • Water 1

Expert1 - Splits

Aborted attempt at an intervals session and simplification map drawing.

Had been moving around OK at school the last couple of days, so was hopeful of running OK this evening, but right calf was sore during the warm up and got worse rather than better during my first two jogged intervals. I stopped and had a really good stretch instead, then decided to try running again.

First rep was a significant improvement, but after a short break, I only made it about 75m into the second one before something grabbed and I called it a night.

Frustrating.

This close to States and with training a shambles in any case, I may leave it till Sunday to maximise my chances of making it through a course. Better do some stretching in the meantime.

Hmmm. Not the smartest thing I have ever done.

Left my car at work on Friday afternoon and got a work colleague to take it home while I went straight to Geraldton. Left me with the small problem of getting to work today.

Choices were:
1) 20 plus minute walk to train station, train ride, then 45 minute walk / hope to jag a bus at the other end.
2) Pump up bike tires, find lights, get redbacks out of bike shoes that have been on the front verandah for a year, find warm kit etc and ride
3) Pack change of clothes and run to work.

3 didn't sound much harder than 2, so 5am alarm and off I went.

A bit late starting, and very glad to find the toilets at Beldon Park for an emergency evacuation. Got through it OK, but quads had really had enough by about 20km and right calf was sore and causing achilles grumpiness by the same point. Probably not a smart way to ease back into things after a couple of effectively non-running weeks.

Oh well, will see how I recover.

Plans for running through the second half of last week and into the weekend have been derailed by work craziness, general apathy and tiredness and spending the weekend in Geraldton to see a man about a job.

Still undecided about everything.