Training Log Archive: Thraws

Event: FVO Regional Event, World Ranking Event & Scottish O League 1
 

This was unlike any orienteering I've ever experienced before. The combination of technical and physical difficulty was intense and the 2D map was only an approximation of the 3D terrain. It was great fun though and the area was really lovely. When it came to simply getting around, I think my hill walking experience was more valuable than any gained orienteering as every step was either up or down hill. Our climb was stated as 250 metres but it was at least double that. On the way to 1 I saw KM, who'd started five minutes before me, and our paths crossed many more times after that too. As soon as I was up the first hill and among the hillocks I knew this was going to be really tricky. The flag was tucked in right under the knoll and I only saw it when KM punched. I took a rough bearing and headed for the break in the ramparts ahead. I came out by the large marsh, headed right for the smaller one and looked up for the hill to keep left of. I couldn't see how to get to 3 and ended up contouring above big drops on a sort of ledge I'd seen people on during the walk to the start. I saw the stream junction with relief miles below and headed down then up a combination of valleys opposite. When a flag on a crag came into view I prayed it was mine, and it was. As I followed another stream down a big hill I passed KM heading up to the control, so my route choice had been good. Four looked more straightforward and I attempted to link clearings, but I got two veg boundary corners muddled up and wandered into the green too far left. I came out by a hill in the open as expected but no flag. KM joined me and we both ran to the next hill leftwards and I think I must have realised what I'd done then as I headed back past the first hill to the right one. Then it was steeply downhill to a large open area full of people and a snap decision to run round for 5. EC passed me just before the control and helped me get it cleanly. Six was just past the stream, but I got a little cragfast on the steep slope to 7 and the road and lost a little time (but at least I didn't die).
Eight looked tough, but halfway through the 50 metre climb I realised people might have gone round the road, which would be much quicker. Once I was through the bogs at the top the approach to the flag was lovely and runnable and the control easy to see. KM was punching, having taken the tarmac. He led the way to the left of the crags for the route to 9, but if I'd been on my own I think I'd have gone back and up the big bowl near 13. His route to 9 made it one of the most difficult controls (the foot of a middle spur in waist-deep heather) I've ever had to find. Luckily we had lots of company, but I was convinced we were on the wrong slope. I led the way to 10 and was good to 11, but lost confidence when I found a boulder and headed down instead of up in horrible heather. I ran through two saddles to 12 and was with KM again on the way to 13 when he was brought up atop a huge cliff. He chose to go up higher through deep heather, but I doubled back down almost to 8 and then back up the marshes to the hill. As KM finished ahead he must have found and come down the big bowl. It was downhill all the way to 14 and then paths to 15, 16, and the finish.
It doesn't seem right to talk in terms of mistakes on what was such a challenging course as just getting round was an achievement, but without navigational errors I might have saved eight minutes, and I might have saved three minutes by using the road. If I looked up I had a fantastic view of Ben Venue, though, and the sun was fairly warm throughout, so this was definitely a race to savour. It's given me a completely different understanding of what orienteering actually is, though. This was like doing the cryptic crossword instead of the quick one.

Event: FVO Middle Distance Race
 

I was one of the first starters and hoped I'd be able to concentrate properly, but the area used was quite small and the total number of controls was probably not that many, so that in fact there were people running everywhere. And as there were only about four courses a lot of them were going the same way. Two was the long route choice leg and in haste I tried to do it with the compass and work out which hills were which as I went. The ruined walls and running water were the biggest help and I soon had the right ridge but I was a bit low. I was with a small group to 3, 4 and 5 but went round rather than over to 6. On the second visit to 4/7/10 I ended up on the hill to the left so was with the group again to 8. They went too far left at 9 and I was good to 11 but then missed the path through the fence and sort of fell apart after that. I was tired going up the hill and had no real plan to 13, then went up the wrong valley to 14 and lost a further two minutes or more. The stream junction helped with 15 and the marsh with 16, but I got distracted by runners on the long leg to 2 on my way to 17 and ended up 200 metres to the left and relocated on my number 14. A four minute miss in a middle race is a disaster but didn't cost too many places as my hesitant running meant I was a long way down the results. The rest was OK and the race was a good challenge but the result was disappointing. I'm glad I did the longer men's open as I wouldn't have done well in the vets race either.

This went a lot better than last time, and that can only be due to the training effect of that session. I planned to start more steadily, and thought I had, but the first split was exactly 4 mins again. I was overtaking people this time, and always feeling I had a bit more in reserve. Splits for the other laps were 4.15, 4.15 and 4.20. Sub-15 is impossible for me now, but I think I could get very near 16 mins with the right training/conditioning (although I'm not sure the old bod could take it).