Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Ill. Fake flu. Fever, shivers, just unfathomably exhausted.

Spent the morning watching Lucy at football on a freezing pitch and never stopped shivering after.

Random Blackrock early finish. Nice. Long run from work on the 7 hills route to Corstorphine hill then to the canal, back to work for my bag and home. Felt gah. Too much chocolate and DC today. A lady that looked a bit punterish joined the canal and instantly overtook me. So I had to sit in, for about 2k when she stopped. TFFT. That bit was 7:40 miling which is fast for me these days.

Work step challenge in May starts Monday. The rules are that your team is 4-6 people and the average step total of your team counts. The winning team gets a meal out, but the real prize is if you average over 10,000 steps a day your team goes into the draw for an extra day's holiday. I could really do with some extra time off this year. My team was not selective, it was just the VAT people. One guy is training for a marathon and running 50miles a week. The rest are your average worker. Not exactly sporty. You get 300 steps for every 1k cycled, and 4,800 for every 1k swum. Trying to work out the optimal steps-maximising training plan.

Warm up and down

The work running club have started organising a regular 5k in the meadows. This was the first one. We started at the unicorn pillar at the West end of the meadows (near the pedestrian crossing) and did two anticlockwise laps, then kept going to just after the pavilion. I gutted myself and did just over 21. I was expecting worse, so I am pleased with that.

Innerlich park with Ray's friends. 8,6,4,3,2,1. Tiring!

Not feeling too perky today. Ray and I took the kids up Haystack from Honister with Fran, James, Emma and the Murphys. Fun, and again spectacular views all around. What a brilliant weekend.

(40th) Birthday fell race in the lakes. Anniversary Waltz. Joined by lots of brave souls. James, Jase, Toni O'D, my mum(!), Jules and Becca, Ray, and trotters. It was hot and sunny. Started out at Stair, then had a 3 mile road run before heading into the hills. Hill runners are odd. They walked pretty much all of the ascent, even when it was not so steep. I sort of thought others were probably more experienced than me, so I walked quite a bit of it, but by the end I was running when others were walking cause I still felt ok. I was passed loads on the descent. It was a cracking race though. You could see for miles in all directions. Quite looking forward to Jura now.

Back to the campsite after for BBQ and party. Thankfully we really lucked out with the weather.

Busy busy busy at work...

Work running club run. Along the canal to meggetland and back via Polworth.

Cycle down to Musselburgh for the sprintelope.

Bonked a bit at Leith, so had to stop for sugar.

Did the short sprintelope as I was split starting with Ray, and my legs were killing, and I was still feeling the sugar low bit, and W40s are allowed to.

P.S. I think the organiser said that Sheila had done (pre-ran) the long. Like I said, she's hard as nails!

C • Sheila 5

Martin's session - first time in probably about 2 years. It doesn't change much though does it? Although my pace has slowed somewhat. 5 x 1k. 5 years ago I was doing all in under 3:30. Now they were all about 4mins ish. The last one was 3:55 though, and I was holding back a bit early on as I wanted to do all 5. I think this will be a one off alas as it doesn't fit with my logistics.

I've changed (again!) to w21e at the British. W40 last weekend didn't really sit well with me. I suspect w21e won't suit either. Oh well!

C • 4 races in 4 days then intervals... 4

Old ladies course. First leg.

Not feeling perky. Still lots of crap in my throat. And not feeling agile at all, so was picking my way at the start through the terrain. The moor was a bit dull. I just stuck with Helen W, getting ahead going to 7 only to stuff it up and get recaught. So just tucked in for the next few then she had a longer last split to me so by the time the gaffle rejoined, she was nowhere to be seen. Didn't know if she was ahead or behind, to find she was behind as I took the glory coming down the run in, to get the shame a few mins after as it turned out I didn't punch number 2, one of the bridge controls. I can't really remember whether I tried to punch the control or not. The guilty shame of the mispuncher :-( I hear Rog did the same though. Bummer!

The mini relay was somewhat trickily planned, and was still very much ongoing when I got back, which was good news for me as I didn't want to miss the action, but bad news for the juniors. It was quite a bit trickier than a yellow, and the team had some difficulties. Laurence is determined though, and has a habit of sorting himself out eventually, so after a 16min mistake on one control he managed to make it to the finish, and due to the multitude of mispunched teams they came 6th and in the Easter eggs. The sorrow of a big mistake was instantly forgotten. Chocolate solves all sorts of problems.

Jk day 2. W40L

This was slightly more fun than yesterday. You could get into the course more, even if we did go over the same ground twice. A big mistake at 2 cost me 2 mins, a smaller one at 4 was at least 20secs. 11 must have been 45secs, 14 10secs, and getting caught in the shite halfway to 17 cost me 30. Too many mistakes to beat Rollins.

Bit of confusion at the start. I was a punching start, and there was a separate lane for punching starts. So the lady gave me a start time after looking at her start list and asking if anyone particular was around that I shouldn't be near. Sarah had already gone and I presumed she was checking to see that no one on my course was around me, so I said no. The punching starts were at 30secintervals to the main start and we were in a seperate lane with the start official handing us our maps individually. As I was about to punch to start I looked over at the map boxes and realised there was a m16 poised to start the same course 30secs after me. That boy is on my course I told the starter, who looked nonplussed, so I started anyway. With my mistake at number 2 I was caught and had company the whole way around. V tiresome for me indeed, and quite possibly for him too. I should have just not started, and waited but when you have two secs to decide you can't make a considered decision. Trying to out run him at the start didn't help my early focus. He must have thought I was nuts though. I did a lot of crazy straight routes through total shite. I got away from him going to 5 though, so he didn't join me in my worst moment (breaststroke in an eggy bog) but popped up going into 5 as I was coming out - sigh!

Lozza moved up from 6th to 2nd with a good run today. I an v excited for him, even if he has beaten me on the run in by 1 second every day so far...

Jk day 2. W40.

I understand why I came second today - I dropped lots of time, but I don't really understand much else about today. I didn't understand a lot of the mapping - the large open bit, then the marshy foresty bit, and then the end bit, well all of if really. It wasn't talking my language at all. I struggled to make anything fit. Most of all I don't really understand why such an area was chosen - is that good orienteering around here? Who knows. And I still don't understand why I am running W40. Or why I am running at all.

Jk sprint. W40.

Meh! Still feeling shite. Burning up on the way there. Tired, tired, tired. So tired infact that when Lozza and I got to the start (300m jog from assembly) and he said he had forgotten his compass, I just lent him mine as I couldn't be arsed to jog back and get his, even though we had open starts.

But once you start, it's hard to go easy. So I went around, determined not to fall for any of the traps, feeling dire. I even nearly walked when the course got a bit easy after 10. Sarah fell for one of the tricks, so I beat her because of that otherwise it would have been v close. After us two there was a fair gap. I think my chances of beating her tomorrow in her home terrain are slim, very slim. Blah, blah, blah. Can't quite bring myself to care. Still trying to work out if it is more pointless to run W21e when unfit or run W40 when it doesn't feel right.

C • W40 2

Headache, fever, cough, runny nose - sinusitis is a persistent Sodding illness. Dropped down to w40 at the weekend but even that might prove ambitious. Hmm.

Great news for juniors at the weekend though - prizes for top 6 in m/w16 and under. How exciting. Such good work JK team! Kids love winning anything (Laurence was thrilled with the Belgian comic book he won at the sylvester 5 day this year - in Flemish), and if Laurence comes close to winning chocolate, Lucy will start training like a nutter for JK 2018.

Looked at the Bof website for the first time in ages today. Intruiged by the bit in the enews thing about coaches not acting responsibly on social media. My imagination has hit overdrive. Who's been posting what on social media? Beer racing? Juniors they'd like to snog? Best places to buy class A drugs? Get your EPO here? Hacking IOF computers to sneak a peek at the woc courses?

The sport England funding cuts are kicking in too. That people are losing their jobs through this is terrible. Sport England funding has shaped the way that we approach performance and development (and treat athletes, esp juniors) though. It will be interesting to see how/if the reduction in sport England changes the decision-making processes within Performance orienteering.

C • Class As 1

Acklandtastic run with Graeme and James in the Peatlands. Nice. Felt iller this morning though. I think I have a touch of sinusitis. Hmm. Might try to change to W40 at the JK...

Oh god. Early morning jaunt along the coastal path. Just so painful early morning when my knees are too sore. I wanted to check out some of the roads so headed up the hill after 2 miles. Getting on the road was good. No irritating national trust steps, a reasonable gradient, so some 8min miling dispite the early hour. Nice.

Nice little run from Boddinick ferry to Polperro via the coastal path. For those not on Strava, polperro is in Cornwall, and the Coastal path around here is bloody brutal. over 1,200ft of climb on this run. OMG the steep bits were brutal. last day here, which was a shame as the paths are excellent, but my cold this week has seriously curtailed my fun. Still done lots of long walks with the kids, which they seem to have enjoyed. Weird.

Are INT going to the CSC final, cause the Wards have had a fun week and would be up for a return visit in October?

So the whole family is ill now, with Lucy's cold having spread to everyone, and Laurence having got the little shit on the train's vomiting bug. Laurence is putting brave face on it though, and Lucy has confessed to a love of cliff top walks - that's how ill she is.

We had a great day out at the lost garden of Heligan, which was fun, then came back via Fowey and I was just so tired but was kicked out the car for the run back.

The start of the run was confusing as the farmer clearly didn't want to advertise the rights of way through his land and I was map memorying. I eventually made it to the South West coastal path turned left and back to Polperro. It was so brutally steep. over 1000ft of climb, and lots of little annoying steps. Felt ok running after feeling shite all day. Good training for Sierre Zinal which I rashly entered today, along with the slightly less alarming 7 hills of Edinburgh.

Oh dear, I think the kids have made me ill. They have colds - sneeze-tastic all yesterday and today. I'll reserve judgement until tomorrow though.

We got the sleeper to London last night, so practically no sleep had by anyone as the kids were so excited. Then we got the train to Cornwall from paddington. The train was rammed. Every carriage apart from one was fully reserved, and the unreserved one was chock full too. First stop Exeter, so it was a long way in cramped conditions. Luckily we had reserved seats. Unluckily we had reserved them next to a 5 year old called Lawrence and his mum and sister. Lawrence's mum spent the first half of the journey feeding him boiled eggs. Leading to lots of "my god who farted?" accusations before we realised. Then Lawrence vomited the boiled eggs everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Jeez! Hit the window big time, all over his mum and sister, dripping off the seats, and we were one row back trying not to gag. So horrific. Two hours later we finally managed to extract ourselves at Liskeard, with the stench of vomit ingrained in our hair, clothes and the back of our throats. So I am feeling queasy now, but maybe it was just sitting next to so much vomit for two hours.

P.s. Still managed a Cornish pasty with Cornish ice cream chaser in Looe though.
P.p.s. After he had vomited Lawrence's mum announced that she just had to go and wash the sick off her hands then he could have some lunch!
P.p.p.s. And then he unsurprisingly vomited the lunch.
P.p.p.p.s. I'd have felt sorry for the mum (and indeed I gave her all the wet wipes I had in the hope she's get rid of the vomit smell) but if she can't even spell Laurence correctly...
P.p.p.p.p.s. I fed my kids the much less healthy-for-them / smug-for-mummy creme eggs, and my kids kept them down nicely. Chocolate. Nice and easy on the stomach.