Training Log Archive: RichT

Out from Brinkworth with Howard & Grev. Loop through some pretty sodden footpaths very slow.
Then 2 x 1min efforts up a slope with 5min rest. Easy jog back home.
How the mighty have fallen :¬).

Browns Folly - easy jogging with Grev.

Croeso2012 - Aberystwyth.
Urban race around town and campus. Wanted to get away so blagged an early start. Okish but no real attack just going through the motions - foot sore. Some navigation errors, again problems where index contours cut uncrossable fences.

Away by 11 and drove 4hours to Bath to get to Guy Woods' 50th lunch.

Croeso2012 - Llynoedd Teifi 2.
Sorted it out ok today. Good run but just not quick enough.
No real navigation errors and still 14mins down on leader.

Croeso2012 - Llynoedd Teifi 1.
Started off ok and recognised that there was a monster 2km leg between #6 & #7. So decided to take some time to look at it whilst running briefly along road away from #5. Sorted leg #7 but unfortunately managed to put thumb back on wrong stream/road and made parallel error of around 5mins. Very frustrating.

Walked down to beach from Caravan Park.

Croeso2012 - Hafod. Horrible greenish forest and second out at 10.03 two minutes behind Chris Wright!
Only one 30second hesitation at #7 until I caught Chris between #12 & #13 when I was faffing about looking for a path I'd found and discounted. Saw Chris turned and fell onto shale and gashed knee (again) and binned 2minutes at control. Hobbling a bit and struggling to read map detail through last third of course and then binned another minute two controls from the end.
Very hot day - 27degrees.

Croeso2012 - Foel Goch. Faster area and not as complicated. One 2minute miss at #6 and one 30second hesitation but no great power going uphill.

Croeso2012 - Gwanas.
Pretty near perfect run. Foot not too painful and navigation very clean.
Nice warm day for start of week.

Walk around Fairfield Horseshoe with Lyns. Pretty nice day.
Actually out for 5+hours but some sitting down watching the view.
Feeding a raven just off Fairfield summit.

Usual loop - Birkrigg, Gleaston, Dendron, Dalton, Urswick.
Was riding with a shadow for part of the time - there must have been some sun!

Foot problem diagnosed as tendon/nerve trauma.
Needs lots of massage, icing.
Complete day off today.

First time in pool since Marie-Clare worked on my left shoulder.
4 x 2 x br. Then 4 x cr + br recovery.
Was trying to work out why it felt so easy and twigged that first time with full use of shoulder :¬).
Then 4 x 2 x br, cr+br, 2 x br, cr + br which I think makes 30 lengths - not a lot but feeling tired.

Sorted out Will n Angus with HRM for 3k time trial. Then out on usual loop out around Coniston, passing Torver on way out, Brantwood on way back. Overcast and working hard into headwind to beat next big storm front into getting home. Dismal Summer. Right foot aching during second hour.

Drove over to Broughton Beck with Angus & Will. Explore footpaths out towards Lowick Common. Pouring with rain - after 20mins or so I let them do a longer loop as right foot beginning to ache.

Started walking through a field full of cows and a bull not to spook them and never got going.
Fed up with rain and foot.

Walk around Gill Banks, Flan Fell & The Hoad with Katie. Hoad was open so we climbed to the top!

Started off easy on standard loop reverse to Urswick, Dalton, Dendron, Gleaston. Only after half way did legs begin to wake up and climbs get easier. Right foot still clicking away and giving discomfort :(.

Stir crazy indoors so thought i'd risk the right foot and run a short loop.

Trying to stride out down Ropewalk to Glaxo & back up Lonsdale Road to Railway bridge. Felt incredibly lumpy, fat, slow, waddling, etc. Gonna take a while to get used to road running again.

Slow jog back home.

Easy cycle in the afternoon sun out along coast road. Turn in through Scales, Dendron, Dalton edge, Lindal, Loppergarth, Pennington & back. Easyish throughout, feeling right foot and no zip.

Drove UVHS minibus to The Helm evening event.
Went for a jog over the top of the hill but right foot still very sore.

Out and climbed through Croftlands, then up Birkrigg, Gleaston, Dendron, edge Dalton, Urswick. Rain on way out but managed to ride all of the hills in the saddle, including Dendron! Still coughing.

Returned from Germany with dregs of the cold, and right foot still sore/bruised. Taking arnica.
Gentle cycle out to Bardsea on coast road, then up to Birkrigg and back into Ulverston.

To cap a perfect week, FlyBe decide that I haven't pre-booked my bag, and because of that will only give me 20kgs minimum when its 22kg (and std pre-book seems to be 23kgs). End up paying an extra £50.

Very glad to eventually reach home.

WMOC H50D Final.
Started ok to #1, slightly off into #2 but nailed #3. Then away and down the slope and found a non-marked marsh with a "which foot to pull out first" decision. Shitted up to below the knee. Struggle up next hill and then make a mess of downhill bearing. End up running back up slope to a control on boulder but its not my number. Faff around and eventually back down slope to find control #4. Away into boulders section and scrappy through #5 & #6 and then back up slope to #7. Looks familiar when I get there and realise its the one I visited when looking for #4.

Pretty pissed off but manage to get to #8 ok, but then crossing valley bottom fall into stream. Decide that as I'm in the Z final and faced with a big climb up a slope I really can't be arsed and walk in to #8 & #9 & #10 and then jog run-in.

Crap, crap, crap.

Walk around Wienegerud and Goslar on rest day, eating at Ice Cream cafes.

WMOC Long Qualifier 2.
Start list shows I was the very last starter in my heat - and it was very warm and humid.
Slow on long run out to first control, but gradually improved from 47th to 24th by #10. Then heat and humidity and cold began to take their toll and gradually drifted out to 34th. Running in across dam I hit the red zone and heart started to race so I had to ease off to avoid collapse. Rinsing out headband at end.
Not happy.

WMOC Long Qualifier 1
What a disaster - mispunch.
Started slow and flaky through #1 & #2, ok to #3. Then chose long path route uphill to avoid all of broken ground - right choice but hard work. Then into boulder country size of houses - really broken ground. Tried to keep steady and gradually made way through #5 to #13 with only 30 secs loss at #9 and #11. Position rose from 34th to 20th.

Then out of boulders across track thinking I was at western edge of marsh (when I was at eastern) so wrong approach through green woods to clearing. Realised I'd missed but took a while to calm down and let compass settle - pushed on through green to find stream and relocate by cross-path. Then back down stream to find boulder and then head back in for clearing. Saw a group of people around a control, rushed in and punched and away. Wrong clearing - my control was another 75meters further back into the green.

Pushed on to #15 not realising my error, and then fast towards #16. I was directly on line but misread the ground back to map, and ran within 50meteres of the control without looking that way. Probably spent 3mins or so faffing around and relocating whilst realising I was very tired in the heat. Then completed the rest while telling myself to hold it together.

Gobsmacked to be told I'd mispunched - first time in probably 10years.

Meant to be going to Long Model event, but managed to reset my watch to Timezone 2 in the night which was 3 hours earlier. So when I went down to meet coach at 9.15am it was actually 12.15pm! Cold had meant a series of broken nights sleep which culminated in entering a time warp!

Spent the afternoon walking in the woods around Zellerfeld trying to look at the undergrowth. Just wore open sandals and succeeded in rubbing raw patches around top of big toes - duh. Needed plasters before LQ1.

WMOC Sprint Final - Goslar Old Town H50 B Final.
Started well through first five. Then felt I didn't take best routes through 6,7,8 but ok through rest until back of castle at 14.
Debating whether it was possible to get around north side of castle and was I looking at an index contour or wall? Went for it and was faced by wall! Bugger! Dropped 20seconds and 5 or 6 places. Backtracked and up zig-zag path and around front for final controls.
Finished 34th of 79.

WMOC Sprint Qualifier - Bad Hartzburg.
Thrown by very short first control (touching start triangle on map) and then long run to #2. Jogging around first few controls and only increased pace about half way around.
Surprised to be as high as 33rd of 60.
Coughing well.