Training Log Archive: roar

Travel day.
Norrköping -> Katrineholm -> Skövde -> Trollhhättan -> Sarpsborg
and it was way too hot. Hard work and dehydrating. Looking forward to a real bed tonight though.

O-ringen review - mixed
Everything from really bad to really good.
Really suffered physically on day 1 and dealt with it badly, causing mistakes to creep in.
Day 2 was better but I have not been as lost as I was on number 6 in a very long time.
Day 3 and I started so so well, up to 40 mins I was going grand, then my body shutdown, heat problems
Day 4 It all came together and I had an amazing run, doing everything I wanted how I wanted it.
Day 5 injured and couldn't start...

What to take away from that?
Well, that day 4 run was something I was incapable of a year ago, or ever before really. In all of the long distances when I executed well my speed and technique was good enough that I was getting top 10 placings in splits. That's really positive.
After day 3 I was in quite a dark place, thinking things like am I really doing another WOC Long when I can't even get around a 10k course but I looked at all the factors. I had a training week the week before, the heat was intense, I was sleeping really badly on the hard floor and it's clearly not ideal. Still I would have loved to run day 5 in the chasing start and to feel good in the forest. What about the mistakes? For the most part the system works. Staying clean is a mental and confidence thing, remember your decisions. Before the middle distance I read my pre selection race notes and had these thoughts in my head which made a big difference to my mindset.

So, I have another 2 weeks for some final touches. Feeling pretty good about it. Have made a nice plan and looking forward to the big day.

Foot waaay better today but still a little sore doing certain lifting movements. Not worth risking anyway

Apparently have enflamed a tendon in my ankle. Not entirely sure how, seems like a bang from a rock most likely. It was fine until I sat down for lunch and stopped walking around, then it got swollen and sore as soon as I stood up. Got some taping but it's going to be rest tomorrow (which I need anyway) and no indoor-o today :(

Warm up to the start. Warm is maybe an understatement, can you do a hot up? To be fair not as bad as yesterday, especially in the shade. Some solid hills on roads in the sun I didn't run though. Body felt good.

O-Ringen Day 4 - H21 L - Map (GPS is a bit weird in a few places) - 12th today, more like what my form really is.

Started hard and missed the nice path to number 1 that could have saved me a few seconds. I was in a nice head space though and was able to pick my features really well.
Wasn't super happy with how I left 1 and then didn't have the best entrance to 2, climbing the crags late, but got a nice opportunity on the track to plan ahead a bit, as far as 6.
3 was a good split, even though half way on the leg I almost panicked. Everything stopped matching suddenly but I quickly recalled what I had done and there was very little could have gone wrong. Another 15m and saw the control, nice.
Got stuck in some green and rocks on the side of the hill which slowed me down. Nice easy entrance though and got as far as 10 planned.
Feeling a bit tired on 5 and slowed slightly, making sure I got it right. Once back on the flat felt ok.
Was a bit afraid of 6, lots of details but very hard to read and see. Had a hesitation a bit early when I came across a control but it clearly wasn't mine. I used the hills and flat to line up the control and was able to take it pretty well then.
Took a safe option to 7, a bit afraid of the hill on the straight. Read it as bigger than it was. Then I missed it in the circle, over climbing after coming past the big crag, ~ 20s miss.
Legs having a bad time climbing up to 8 but I remembered one of my notes - "Work hard". I knew where the control was, didn't need to read the map, just run, my worst split of the day.
Again was a bit over safe on 9, swooping around a bit too much but it made the control safe and was able to run it well. Some guy punched it just in front of me.
Had a planned line out, other guy and a +1 were taking the same. Was behind them across the marsh and up the hill but they hesitated then and I had full confidence, so dropped in and took it lovely.
Took an agressive straight line. Staying on the track is a little better.
Actually didn't have a plan at all for 12. Looked like maybe right or straight was a thing but then I saw then entry from the left so went with that. Feeling slow on the climbs was where I lost time on this leg but executed pretty well.
Tried to avoid the hashing as much as possible, hit the path at the big rocks and compass onto the rock perfectly. Super happy, 2 min man punched it just in front.
Stuck with him across the open he was moving well. 14 was easy too.
Went for this lovely downhill leg. Other guy went back out the open but I found a lovely path. Only problem was when I came out I didn't know whether to go right or left and hesitated a good 5s before seeing it.
Running
Passing out the 2 min man because I could

To the start. Very very warm. Did the first bit walking with Jakob, Viktor and Erik. Then jogged the later bit. Massively sweaty by the time I got to the start.

O-ringen Day 3 H21 L - Livelox - 75th

I got too hot today. Had a sit down and walked bits. Before that I was good.

Started pretty well, miss on number 2, weirdly quick to 3. In general reasonably happy with the orienteering (not perfect no) and moving ok up to number 12. Got in a bit of a group and was working ok with them. Too high on 12 though and then leaving it had not looked at the route options at all. Tried to just stay in the group and then bam suddenly the body stopped. At this point I was 36th. Took a dextro but it didn't help a lot. Route to 13 was unsurprisingly not the best, either path is better. Was really not going many places then on 14. At one point got down a cliff and just had to sit down. Sat at the side of a path for like a minute. Got to 14 and said I'd give it another go. Back in the game for 3 controls and then my brain was a total mush and made a complete mess of 18. Basically walked the rest.

A grim experience. Two things, got caught up in the running against people. I still need to plan the routes, on top of that, the other choices had water which would have been a life saver. Number 2, work hard. Yeah I was in a bad way and was thinking about races other than this one but still need to work and push the body. I did give up a bit today.

Nice rest day. Watched the sprint in the park then went for some food in town before a nice walk along the river back to the accom.

With Ellie and Gina to the indoor orienteering. Hot out. Nice easy rest day run really.

Indoor-o no.1 - 4th

Very very fun. Crazy intense with just almost constant map reading. Missed some routes, particularly 3 & 7 but mostly ok. A minute would be hard to find.

Went again because we could and it was only a like "come and try it" day. Took it more relaxed and made some wild errors, getting confused which floor I was on. Still top fun. I really do enjoy the old huge scale orienteering.

To the start. Much more road today and then large stone gravel was less pleasant. Warmer but not outrageous.

O-ringen day 3 - H21 L - LiveLox - 84th

Plan was to start slow and build into it. Went well for a bit, getting 1,2,3 quite cleanly and calmly but then just got the exit from 3 all wrong. It never really got better, overcorrecting back to the line when I should go around. Then in the circle not having the confidence to just go the way I needed to. 5 was easy and then made a huge mess of 6. 6 mins is just massive. Did a parallel error with the hills but couldn't make sense of it. Did see 9 on the way past but didn't check the code just said no way that's 9. Quite pissed when I did eventually work it out. Was mostly better after that but still not great physically. Did some weird things on 9 and maybe not the best route to 10 but I needed a reset opportunity. Got going a bit 10->14 but tired again after that though oing was good. Miss on 19, reading it as being lower wasn't great.

To work on, fixing it when things go wrong. Take the time to look at what the best option from where I actually am is.

Track laps

Warm up the start with Kate after quite a long wait in the arena for my last start of the week. Not overly hot today but warm for sure. Nice to catch up a bit and felt ready to race.

O-Ringen Day 1 - H21 L - Map - 63rd

Started great, felt good and really in control. Got the right route to 3 and worked along the path. Then there was a hill up the control and my legs were feeling heavy. Seemed a bit early but nothing to worry about. 4 was grand, took it nicely and in 11th. 5 started ok but I could feel my legs were getting heavy. Caught a guy coming into it. Since I was feeling a bit tired took a slightly safer choice to 6. Executed the entrance badly though and dropped 30s. Tried to stay with the guy I'd caught then but he seemed to be going quicker through this rougher part and I was having a hard time. Up the small hill to 7 he got a little gap. Could still see him most of the way to 8 and another guy came by. Wanted to not climb for 9 but realised this was not right, then tried to fix it but didn't enough and binned 2 mins. Got in with another guy for 10 and was moving ok. He disappeared in the green towards the end, I spiked it but didn't see the control so wandered around for 30s or so. Really executed 11 quite badly then, going too far left and getting in all the rocky ground. too much thinking about the past. 12 I hit a rock under the circle and it took me another 30s to work that out. The last bit was ok though, back into the easier running terrain and I felt like I was moving again (although clearly not as well as the first few). Just tried to work through it, and keep clean. Mostly did that, concentrating and noting when things were going well, picking the features. 16 got weird though and I missed it with another 30s. Took it a bit easy down to the last control to save myself for the run-in competition but came 3rd in my heat of 4 still.

Started too hard but dealt badly with the consequences of that. Then mistakes crept in as I was too focused on trying to push the running.

Cool down around the arena wondering why I suffered so much