Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Day off, apart from some glutes stuff. Had two high caffeine clif shots on the way around yesterday. I was still buzzing at midnight. I am trying out sleeping medication before woc though, so I took some temazepan, and slept like a baby until 7 when Lucy woke me. It's magic stuff - shame it is not a long term solution (highly addictive and your body becomes immune to its effects after a while).

Morning jog. Strange tightness in my calf has me stressing. Wtf now! Jog to see if I can run it off, and whether it is worthwhile dragging everyone to England for the day. The jog was a bit inconclusive. The tightness didn't ease off, but then again the rest of me felt great. Hmm. Don't want to totally wreck myself with Norway next weekend, but I really want to win the long. Dilemma...

British long. W21e. 9.5k 350m

I think we elites are supposed to be cool about these things and say 'yeah, it's no big deal, that's just where I am on my talent development pathway - winning' but after a shitty year of injuries and getting frustrated by this sport for a number of reasons, wow that run today was cool! It felt slow from 4 onwards, but it wasn't. Navigated really well, apart from blips at 13 (totally missed the ride) 14 (was on line, just couldn't see it) and 19 (I thought Kirsten strain was navigating, and anyway, there was an extra ride). I thought it was going to be slower as i have been changing my focus on races the last few weeks and that can always feel a little unnatural and clunky - but things are definitely moving in the right direction. DOMA tomorrow maybe.

Jogged the run in (calf was really cramping here) until Ray started yelling 'sprint - you can get the M40's'. And I managed, by 20secs. Fun fun fun!

Start to 1 contoured. Could see the path below after a bit and decided I was too low. Went up, saw the crags and boulder and thicket and in.

2 - out on a bearing. Noticed the ride and big reentrant and in. Saw Hollie going in. To three down the hill after Hollie, up the track. In off the white on a bearing and met Hollie there when she hesitated. To 4 down through the white, which was shitty. Down a ride through the green and over to the clearing when it arrived. Got there first by a bit (5secs) and put in an effort to try to pull clear. Out on a rough bearing, cutting up to the track on the right when it was getting closer. Around the tracks and cutting up, reading the map closely here to plan 6 and 7. In to 5 on a bearing off the path bend. To 6 down the ride, over the track and stream, through the trees to the open. Low vis in the deep heather, and very slow going. Bit of a hesitation near the circle trying to find rock detail in the heather. Passed Rachael coming out. Long dull trek to 7. Got tried of the heather which was thick just before and after the fence crossing, so I hackked it to the path before the drinks point. Bearing. Left of the rock pillar, saw the smalls spur above and down.

8 saw the spur and knoll just left if the line and saw where the crag would be. 9 saw the outcrop miles off, just had to pick a good line through the terrain. Checked out the veg in the circle - rhodi. To 10, on a bearing, saw the rhodi's near the control. Stopped a re-ent to early, but corrected quickly. 11 bearing re-ent and in. Needed to read the descriptions! 12 contouring and climbing and up after the crag.

13 picked my way up the paths, along the track catching Charlotte. Wanted to go up the ride to it, but totally didn't see it so corrected using the crags and in. 14 was on a perfect line but didn't see it. Didn't read the gullies right. Beared right at the end. 15 - bearing, off path bend, saw crag above the control, but still checked out the M50 control as I couldn't see any other rock on the map nearby (I thought their crag was a path).

16 bearing, judged off ride. Good. 17 - bearing. Knoll on the top of the hill near the control made it easy. 18 was easy. 19 went down a ride that was after the first ride. Way to early. With a pack of others, who realised we were too far right and corrected. Tired here, and on to 20 and to the finish.




http://www.scottish-orienteering.org/doma/show_map... doma, but its better on routegadget.

C • Not cool 1

Insomnia

Achillies sore all night. It was ok in the morning. Then calf felt tight all afternoon. Feel great apart from everything below the knee on my right leg. Frustrating.

No noticable niggles.

Currie, up the hill I did yesterday, Harlaw, Balerno, Currie and back. Nice to get out but it is not the same as running. Back running tomorrow if I get the time. I think the niggles have calmed down now, which is just as well as my hip didin't really like the cycling.

Weak! I'm so weak! My name is Claire and I am an addict. I was totally going to not run, and cycle home, but got itchy feet so ran home instead. It was really nice. Legs felt crap, in fact whole body felt crap, but I was going as fast as I have ever done and into a decent headwind so good. Calf not good, but I just remembered what Dr Andrew Murray said back in March - it's just pain, I'm not going to pull anything. Icing Achilles and eating properly straight after.

Lots of geeking done tonight. I'm not sure what effect it will have on my orienteering this weekend, but the post-geeking catching features was much more successful than usual. This is good. Laurence keeps starting a catching features race, running into oblivion, and then wants me to help him out.

I'm not injured, just niggly, and I don't want to be niggly, I want to be training and racing hard, so a few days of cross training would probably do me good. Better than trying to train on, and just getting more niggly and not being able to train and race the way I want to. With the british and the world cups on the horizon, it the sensible thing to do.

I really, really HATE not running though!

The cycle home was in horrible weather. It's times like this when it is good being a mum. It motivates you cycle home hard regardless to see their lovely faces sooner!

Lunchtime training.

Cycled up to Currie and did cycle reps of 4 x the hill that goes from the water of Leith to the Pentlands path. Its about 1k with 100m climb. Hardly Mont Ventoux, but fine for a joe jogger cyclist like me. 5:27, 4:59, 4:56, 4:57. The first one felt a bit easy, so I pushed the others more. Dying like Tommy Simpson by the end. 12.5 miles. Fun for some variety, but I couldn't do this long term. 12.5 miles

I'm still not really getting enough sleep to be recovering properly from running and preventing injury, so this was an easy day. No cycling as I had a meeting in town.

Another bad night

Ray had the bank holiday so I met him after work at silvan house at corstorphine and we ran home via 7 hills route. His chat was good. "This is where graeme ackland got away from me (up craiglockhart, the river crossing at the hermitage), this is where I caught him again", etc. I think graeme beat him by 5 mins in the end the first year Ray did it.

Feeling really exhausted.