Training Log Archive: Big Jon

5 hours surveying, cold wind blowing.

Easy run to start and back from finish (OK it was a grovel back from the finish)

DNC Muir of Dinnet (south of visitor centre). Probably the best, most varied bit of MoD. Good course from JW, bracken dead but still a bit of an impedance to progress in places. Legs tired and heavy after surveying so tried to avoid too much bracken and the worst of the heather.
Clean run, biggest error finding finish - 50m too far left. A bit worm running (wore a thermal and gloves - took gloves off early on).

C • worm running 5

Deeside Way intervals (from home). Distances not great but did the session and legs/breathing felt better as session developed. Need to gradually build up intervals after long break. 3rd 17 secs better than 2nd and 4th 4 secs poorer than 1st (but 1st is downhill).

Home to west, start usual gate - reached into Grumpy owners land - :-) Usual grovel back up the hill from Dess Burn bridge.

Tough session, lots of strength work. Will be aching tomorrow.

Collecting controls in Braemar (for S's school session) and hanging in Aboyne (for scouts night-O challenge). Legs not feeling great.

Surveying 1.5 hours - before helping at school session. Cold but bright, Lidar base map great!

AUOC 100 event.
5.9km 100 controls, mind burn! 3 loops (with brikke change at end of each and a map change after 2nd loop. First loop - often found myself behind my position, ran harder on this loop than others abut lost much more time, several occasions just had to stand still and work out what was happening. 2nd and 3rd loops much smoother except for one glitch on last loop - hopped a control and couldn't understand the code, sorted it after about 10 seconds.
Great fun - would recommend it to anyone as a lesson in having to plan ahead, check codes and stay in control.

Early morning run to village hall to check heating. Alternately hot and cold pockets of air - very refreshing!

C • So I guess 2

2 hours moving furniture and removing old carpets in brothers flat poor to painters coming in.

rest day

4.5 hours survey. -7c at start... everything on and still cold till had walked up long hill. Lovely sunny day. Saw about a dozen large stags close up -almost tame.

Head torch run round Dess Woods, most of a normal lap, legs felt very heavy and tired on uphills. Cold, crisp frosty night - many stars out, lovely.

Warm-up before night-O

DNC Balmedie.
Same tactic as previous DNCs this season - take it steady and in control. Worked very well for most then miscounted paths and turned up onto dunes too early, ended up doing a big extra loop in terrain, lost ca 1-40. Pleased with O, spot on for most controls but not running very fast. Legs still tender - lower quads and lower hamstrings.

seems like I made far fewer errors than the speed merchants ;-)

6x2+1 with S on Deeside way west of Dinnet. Shuffling along with legs still screaming with DOMS and all sorts of other hamstring aches and groans. Behind her on all but last one. Not sure if its sensible but another day of nothing was too much to bear.

Wonderful DOMs...

3.5 hours surveying. Very cold but bright.

Wee run round Dess Woods with E (after some protracted persuasion). Needless to say he romped away from me skipping along while I lumbered painfully along behind!
Quads particularly tender on descents, pilates could be interesting tomorrow morning.

Stableyard to Mount Keen by Glen Tanar main track. Long steady pace out, ran first third of hill then walked/jogged rest. Got gritty on way back as no food (test to see if I could hack it). 67 to bridge, 39 to top, 23 down to bridge, 61 back to Stableyard.

rest day

Control collecting on Muir of Dinnet. 2 missing (one next to a track, the other in the middle of nowhere...!
Legs struggling in heather.

Bike test at hospital. Better VO2 max that previous, despite 5 week "detraining phase". Not what medics expected but perhaps due to doing a hard run 2 days before previous test? or else just usually tired from too much running and nicely recovered for this one? One to ponder.

C • Another guess 7

Home to DAP and back (gravely-walk back with right thigh causing problems).

DNC Dess Woods. Right thigh very tender after biopsies (but no problems last time), not sure what caused it but felt a bit wobbly on uphills and unconfident on descents, so took carefully.
No real time loss, a couple of hesitations - no2 seemed higher than I had expected, but coming from below anyway. 15 and 16 - struggling to understand paths and a bit hesitant on both legs plus on run-in to finish!

Finished 3rd behind JW and LG.

Walking to start hanging controls at Achtemarack. Approx 30 mins, plus walk back approx 20 mins.

Final research appointment tomorrow, so MRI, muscle biopsy, bike test 2nd biopsy and then I can start training again.

Walk round collecting controls at Plodda about 25 mins

Walk in to Glen Africa area plus hanging controls and back out approx90 mins

Cycling along south of Loch Beinn a'Mheadoin to start of O sessions.

Walk round hanging controls approx 45 mins

Walk round line course approx 30 mins

Walk back to bus approx 40 mins

Hanging controls at Anagach for Maroc talent squad weekend, walking about 30 mins.

rest day.

A bit of walking hanging and collecting controls at after-school club in Aboyne.

2.5hours surveying.

Rest day

Good session with foam rollers.

Day 2 training weekend. Short warm-up exercise south of A93 (beautiful bit of land), then talked to people at Maroc event at Burn O'Vat car park.
Thierry still enthusiastic and shadowing juniors, discussing course etc. What a star.

Training weekend, Cambus and Muir of Dinnet. Helping Thierry sort the training of the juniors (and some adults), very relaxed, confident and coherent in all his introductions and descriptions. And then his talk in the evening was utterly inspirational.

C • Thierry 3

Hanging controls for Thierry weekend. Out for 2.5 hours, Started glorious sunshine and cold air, ended up cold rain, not so nice!

Hanging and collecting controls for after-school club. Pretty dark by end...

Warm up to start, also forgot my brikke so back to car and back up. realised I was a bit tight for time (meeting in Ballater 1 hour later so pressure on...)

DNC 1, Cambs O'May. 4.8km aimed for 10s and got it - just. Concentrated on getting things right technically, stopped to read map when I couldn't see it properly when moving, checked all features I could and it worked. Running - I took it when I could be tried not to get frustrated b the slowness in many places - rocky and brackeny in bits. Lucky in area north of pylons - couldn't make anything fit (old, unrevised bit of map) - seemed to be way to many contours and form lines compared to the ground. After this was very careful in flatter area - linked left and right to check of little hills and spurs. Caught JC at 10 and then took different route, think I was quicker on track. Took straight option to last control when he went round track (I'm not going to catch an M16 on a path these days!). I was 30 secs slower.
Overall pleased - probably best start to DNC for many years - no more than 1 min of errors and a few hesitations.

C • Good effort 2

Rest day, the de-training continues...

C • De-training 2