Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Belgian 5 day 3

Nice forest. Dressed appropriately. Going well, orienteering how Nick says, apart from three points where I was getting cocky, and then when I ended up missing the control slightly (within 20m each time) I panicked and totally failed to relocate. Lessons for tomorrow. All fastest splits apart from the mistakes, where I was 3:50, 25secs and 2:42 down. Ouch!

Note: think I got v slight frostbite yesterday, as the tips of two toes have been throbbing ever since. No big blistering though, and no where near the damage I did when I was living in Sweden.

Belgian 5 day 2.

Cold. So cold. We were in a bit of a hurry this morning, when we got up late and realised there had been a big snow dump. Packed in a rush and forgot gloves. Mistake. Big, big mistake. My hands froze on the run to the start through ankle deep slush. The forest was much wetter. First start. Snow everywhere, and falling on me continually. Cold. So cold. By about half way I couldn't manipulate the map to take a bearing, even with a thumb compass. Emit punching was virtually impossible by the end, and the last few my hands were like claws, so it was really hard to unfold the map. Blood everywhere for some reason too. I finished the course. It was not a nice forest, and I was so hypothermic at the end, I didn't stop shivering for 90 mins after, and my hands and feet didn't defrost for a further 90mins. Hot choc, waffles and pancakes and I recovered. Ray seems to have damaged a rib, so took one look and thought nah. He didn't miss much.

So how did I do? The kites were pretty hard to see in the snow, so often I was next to it and didn't see it. Processes going ok, but by the end I was just running in the general direction, as it my hands were too cold and bloody to do much else.

2hours of soft play after. 5ft adults are not designed to do soft play. Ouch! Crawling down tubes when your limbs are too long to flex much is tough. Making it all better with beer.

Warm up / down. Neither of which had the desired effect.

Belgian 5 day 1. WRE middle.

Lots of short legs, and a couple of longer ones. Pushing too hard at the start, I ended up 90degrees wrong on the long leg. Corrected but still dropped 30 secs. Scrappy around the first butterfly, smoother on the second. Had caught Mieke 2 mins, then dropped a min by pushing to get ahead and misinterpreting some veg, dropping 1 min at 18. Moving fast enough but stressing so dropping time. Poor. 2nd.

Was pretty stressed as Ray slipped in the ice and cut himself pretty badly just before I set off. So fast warm up and warn down.

Short on time today sadly do no time for paarlauf. Round Wallington instead. Some off road at the end. Nice. I felt v stiff.

An off road run with Ray round some bridle ways from his parent's house. Rare to run with Ray, like 10 days ago when we ran around Edinburgh we were both putting in stupidly fast (for me) bits. The overall run was a bit stupidly fast considering it was mostly muddy forest trails and fields, we have a 'road race' tomorrow and a WRE the next day. It was good to get out though. Something about Ray's parents house sends me to sleep every time. The double glazing / heating on full / windows all locked combination; the fact that the kids aren't constantly needing my attention; the lack of jobs for me to do. I think my mind takes advantage of the fact that I have let my guard down, and reminds me that I am totally exhausted. Today I had to have a half hour kick about with Lucy in the garden before I felt awake enough to run.

Nice road run with an empty rucksack, stopping at tesco on the way home to fill up with stocking fillers. I think lucy might regret putting 'healthy food' on her letter to Santa.

As I was roaming around tesco in my shorts and thermal, a skin headed cockney thug gave me a big hug and said 'lovely legs darling!'. It was a bit shocking, but as the bloke looked a bit like a baddie from a vinnie jones film, I smiled and pretended to take it as a compliment.

My eye was sore, and I was feeling drained from the cold, so I went to bed early. Very early.

Running with Ray at Farthing Down. Felt fairly gah due to the painkillers I am taking for my eye.