Training Log Archive: CathW

Summer training :)
Recovery run from Milford Common.
Let the grown ups pretend to do a hill session behind Sister Doras, then took Alex, Gemma, Mike, Stuart & Kelvin up onto the top of the Satnall Hills for fun running in terrain - trains over logs, through depressions, under branches & across snow patches & marshes.
Gentle running but good fun & just what my legs needed.



Training plan for the next 5 weeks sorted. Bring it on :)

Middle on a mixed AdHoc with John Methven & Suze. John had a storming run, so I felt I had to go for it. I knew Kelvin had stormed around his medium first leg, & tried as hard as I could to stuff him. Didn't manage that, but didn't let myself down, either.
Number 1 was gratuitous, & it started off as a yellow course before getting a little more interesting.
A good speed session on very tired legs!!



The positives from the weekend were that I could keep going at a reasonable speed - on the legs where I didn't balls-up, my pace was good, and that on Hambleden I felt good right to the end. The map for BOC is nowhere near as bitty/messy, and the sprint race was better than I could have imagined for the majority, it was a runners course, & I've never been a runner! Bring on the next month or so!!

Started confident of doing myself justice, and that there were mistakes that everyone would be making - it was a really "bitty" area - and aimed to keep as clean as possible. Never felt comfortable with the area/map, was missing lots of features and felt quite hesitant.
3 major time losses:
6-7, started off on a bearing, & when I hit the double path I was just completely confused - I thought I had crossed that path already 7 never even considered that I may be on it, zig-zagged on the paths for a bit until I worked out where I was, and then pulled myself together & finished off the leg OK, but nowhere near optimum
9-10, got pulled right in the holly & relocated myself onto the wrong path before sorting myself out
15-16, tired & was distracted by another runner leaving my 15. She looked competent, and I just kind of plodded after her, not realising how far off I was. Took longer than it should to pull it together once I got over the hill.
13th today, 9th overall, 6 minutes off a top 5 that I would have got with a cleaner run today.

Hambleden long race
Don't think I could have run this one much better/luckier - was lucky with 3, no real plan but tripped over it. Told myself I was lucky and needed to plan ahead better and promptly headed down the hill as I had planned to from 4-5. Caught myself before it became a disaster, & in fact, it was a pretty good route choice in the end! After that ran clean 7 in control, just overshooting 13 slightly.
5th, but only about 90 seconds off third. I'll take that :)

Event: JK 2013
 

Ran hard from the start, in control, planning ahead and was feeling good and really couldn't go any faster, and then the penultimate control appeared - I could see a control on a thicket just before the finish ahead of me & maxed out on heart rate getting there, but it wasn't mine :( Moment of panic before I sorted myself and had a very minor wobble on the last, feeling all flustered.
If you'd said I'd be third before I started, I'd have taken it, but having a 4 second lead 2 controls from home & then blowing it is a little frustrating.
Still, I've never been a runner, so maybe training is working....