Training Log Archive: Thraws

Starting from the SDW car park on the Cocking road, walked over the middle part of the Charlton Forest map. I was using the JK 88 version and noticing things that were actually mapped on the BOC 94 edition, but I never really checked that one! Area was, if anything, even better than the eastern bit, lush runnable open with some first-class depressions for control sites. Bit like Friston. Was quite interesting to compare the unchanged nature of the beech slopes with the constantly changing character of the more managed coniferous woodland at the western end of the map. Sun was out and was actually providing gentle warmth even if the cold was still aggressive.

I'd been looking forward to a run, but the cold was enervating. It sapped the strength from my legs and drained my enthusiasm for the event. It wasn't too cold while you were running but the changing in the icy wind in the car park before and after just made me wonder why I was here. So when I messed up 1 it almost felt inevitable, though this was just the first of several pits that gave me trouble. Some of them were near other similar controls that everyone else was heading to, so sometimes I was put off by other runners. That's what happened at 4. I went straight to 6 and relocated well on the rides but messed up my attack and ran down the wrong gully at the wong angle. I'd now wasted about seven minutes. 7 was the first of five long route-choice legs that were well planned but I had little appetite for. I did the two controls in the tricky gullies OK but was passed by a very fast RB between 8 and 9. So I was a bit surprised to see him crouching over his map near 11 about three yards from the control. I think the sight of me reassured him he was in the right place. He left me behind on the long run to 12 but then passed me again at 13 so he must have messed up again. He had a worse line than me at 14 (and 17) and missed 16 slightly so we were together for a while, but independent, then he got right away. Which was a shame because I couldn't find the pit at 19. It seemed much further round the hill than the map suggested, but the point of the V was in exactly the right place. The problem here, as elsewhere, was the position of the circle, the centre of which wasn't over the bottom of the feature, so if like me you used it together with the contours to find the pit you could be a frustrating 20 or 30 metres out. That's my excuse for losing around 12 minutes on the course, anyway. Legs and everything just felt exhausted at the end. And my eyes felt funny so I found it hard to see where I was going, especially running downhill. I'll blame the cold.