Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Jamie stevenson trophy. Green course.

So the kids ran and then it was the mums and dad's turn to race around the green. Jogged up to the start. I gave been wearing my icebugs for the last year or so. I like them but have sore feet, and I think it's a problem with the dobbs so I ran in my orocs instead. I felt v sprightly. I had forgotten how light these shoes are. Unfortunately I'd forgotten how to orienteer too.

Kinnoull hill has lots of badly mapped paths and high veg inbetween. So you rely on the paths, but they are not quite right. At least that's what the adults decided. We were all wandering around afterwards, wondering what went wrong with our technique, how we got it so badly wrong. The kids seemed to have no problems. Maybe they are used to having to use paths more.

So Rog nearly caught me on the run in, having done 30 and made loads of mistakes. Danny Stanny did 31, Jake Chapman 33, someone else was inbetween, I beat Grace Molloy by 1secs (TFFT!!!) Colin beat me by 30 secs, but I got Fraser by 6 mins and the usually v competitive Dave R got so confused by the paths he took 45. Conclusion - to adults, little paths are a very foreign concept.

I stopped to help a kid find the number 5 on the orange. Then the same kid was having problems at 6 and Fraser stopped to help him. Except Fraser couldn't make the paths fit and so had no idea where they were, so spent 5mins trying to relocate with a poor little lost kid in tow. Great!

C • paths 1

Run to work to get my bike, via corstorphine hill.

Took the morning off work as I have been struggling with tiredness. Tidied the house which made me feel much better (the underlying stress of living in a messy environment us certainly draining). Then took the kids to Aberdour in the afternoon, and after some strenuous tennis with Laurence I was going to go running, but fell asleep for 1.5 hours on my parent's sofa instead. Probably for the best as my feet have been aching a fair bit recently, and the sleep did me lots of good.

Tired and grumpy. Just like the rest of the Ward family.

Home from work over the pentlands. HW, Currie, straight on up the hill to the col, then left over the tops to Allermuir and home via Braidburn valley park. So tired. So hot. So glad to be home.

So tired that I decided mid afternoon to ask to take tomorrow and Monday off, and got permission to do so - which is why I work where I do.

Ray is doing some orienteering for both work and the kids school this week. I said I thought this was great, but said at the outset I had no time free so could not help him out whatsoever. Cue the last two nights him getting stressed and insist I help him with purple pen and condes, neither of which I have used before. Actuaries with a level of perfectionisim that borders on OCD should not be allowed to use such software. How thick should the control circles be Claire? Should I try to put the descriptions on the left for all courses? Does it matter that some courses have descriptions on the left of themap while some have descriptions on the right of the map? I don't care - LET ME GO TO BED!!! Late late night! (Thanks Graeme and Murray for your help).

Nice morning for a cycle, and early enough not to be busy.

Lunchtime jog. Hot.

Nice morning for it. Possible redundancies at work. This could be a great thing for me. 1 in 6 chance...

C • redundancy 6

Intervals. From work, along the canal. 6 x 4min with 1 min rec. Legs felt stiff but were turning over quite nicely.

Then hopped on the bike to cycle home. Pretty tired, there was some competitive fun with other cyclists. They got away mainly cause they were a bit more prepared to risk ploughing into people walking on the tow paths and their dogs than I was. Sunny day = loads of people = mega irritating on the canal. So I came off at Meggetland, and saw one of the competitive cyclists toiling up Colinton Road. Put in a spurt, and blasted past him with the air of practiced nonchalance honed by many years of cycle commuting. By holy corner I was seriously worried that I had popped my quads. I am such a silly girl sometimes. Fun fun fun!

Gawd, I feel so old and tired and achey today. Insomnia last night.

Home from work, via run and become to look at running rucksacks then via princes street gardens hoping to get up to the esplanade but it is shut already for tattoo seating. I know the tattoo is good for the tourists and local economy etc, but it shuts off one of the best places in Edinburgh for months, and every night when it is on we get woken by the fireworks at the end of the show. Moan, moan, moan. I am turning into such a grumpy old woman...

Heels sore today.

Trying to plan training, but I am a bit too whacked to imagine doing any. I really struggle with the way I go away, spend a week at races high on adrenaline, then have a post adrenaline slump at the same time as physical tiredness catching up on me, plus the house needs a bit of 'work' (tidying), plus the kids are hyper to see me, plus 600 emails at work. Early night needed!