Training Log Archive: KatIn the 31 days ending Mar 31, 2008:
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Monday Mar 31, 2008 #
Note
(rest day)
Things I need to do now:
- make the next two weeks very easy to allow my body to recover
- practice reading control circles (In the past, I've always focused on just getting to the control circle (or attackpoint), but never given much thought about what I would do once I was there. This must be fixed!)
- develop some type of routine for checking control descriptions and visualizing the details in the circle.
- make the next two weeks very easy to allow my body to recover
- practice reading control circles (In the past, I've always focused on just getting to the control circle (or attackpoint), but never given much thought about what I would do once I was there. This must be fixed!)
- develop some type of routine for checking control descriptions and visualizing the details in the circle.
Sunday Mar 30, 2008 #
Running 4:00 [2] 0.42 mi (9:30 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
This was all the warm-up I could manage - still feeling dead.
Orienteering 1:27:17
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
EVENT: Måsenstafetten 2008
TEAM: Linne's 3rd team: Kat, Becka, Elin
COURSE: 5.88 km, 12 controls
MAP: Buskhyttan, 1:10,000, 4m contours
TERRAIN: Very technical, with short, steep hills. Absolutely gorgeous woods, but very difficult!
MY RUN: Disaster. In retrospect, it would have been best for me to not have run today, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to orienteer in this amazing terrain. So, despite my tiredness, swollen left knee, and empty head, I was excited to go out on the first leg. But already to the first control I wound up with the wrong group of girls and spent some time relocating to get to my control. The hills seemed much bigger than I thought they would be and I kept stopping early (a combination of moving slower than usual and having orienteered at 1:1250 scale yesterday). I made an amazing mistake on #7. It was a long leg, and I left the trail one junction too early, making a parallel error. I then went on to relocate for about half an hour before realizing what had happened and going to the control. It's pretty funny, actually. My split for this control was 38:45. Sofie's was 6:50. I have not felt so utterly and completely lost in a long time. To my credit, I stayed positive and kept trying to relocate despite the overwhelming desire to lie down and go to sleep.
RESULTS: 72nd/73 women on the first leg. Quickroute. (All those loops in the middle of the map are actually part of my route to #7.)
TEAM: Linne's 3rd team: Kat, Becka, Elin
COURSE: 5.88 km, 12 controls
MAP: Buskhyttan, 1:10,000, 4m contours
TERRAIN: Very technical, with short, steep hills. Absolutely gorgeous woods, but very difficult!
MY RUN: Disaster. In retrospect, it would have been best for me to not have run today, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to orienteer in this amazing terrain. So, despite my tiredness, swollen left knee, and empty head, I was excited to go out on the first leg. But already to the first control I wound up with the wrong group of girls and spent some time relocating to get to my control. The hills seemed much bigger than I thought they would be and I kept stopping early (a combination of moving slower than usual and having orienteered at 1:1250 scale yesterday). I made an amazing mistake on #7. It was a long leg, and I left the trail one junction too early, making a parallel error. I then went on to relocate for about half an hour before realizing what had happened and going to the control. It's pretty funny, actually. My split for this control was 38:45. Sofie's was 6:50. I have not felt so utterly and completely lost in a long time. To my credit, I stayed positive and kept trying to relocate despite the overwhelming desire to lie down and go to sleep.
RESULTS: 72nd/73 women on the first leg. Quickroute. (All those loops in the middle of the map are actually part of my route to #7.)
Saturday Mar 29, 2008 #
Orienteering 33:05 [2] 4.14 km (7:59 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Jogged the second leg of the Varsity Match relay around Norby. Fun stuff!
Note
Walked around part of the DX Deluxe course in the afternoon. Thought about jogging, but was too tired. Absolutely shattered after the last few days of helping out with the Varsity Match and racing full-out on Friday. Whatever strength I had managed to recover by then was used up in those 69 minutes...
Friday Mar 28, 2008 #
Running 8:53 [2] 0.87 mi (10:13 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Warming up along the big trail and then jogging to the start.
Orienteering 1:09:24 6.73 km (10:19 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
EVENT: Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Match 2008
COURSE: Women's A, 6.73 km, 17 controls
MAP: Norra Lunsen, 1:10,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Gorgeous, typical Lunsen. Technically difficult, and this time covered in snow to make things physically challenging as well.
MY RUN: At a glance, it was terrible. I lost 12+ minutes out on the course. But when I looked at exactly where and why this happened, this made sense. I lost time on #1 because I made a type of parallel error because the yellow marsh I saw in reality was covered by the pink line on the map. Then on #2 (the long leg), I navigated just fine to the rock, but then spent several minutes trying to relocate before reading my control descriptions and realizing that the control was not on the rock, but on top of the hill next to it. A similar thing happened with #10, when I thought the center of the circle was on the tip of a big marsh, but actually it was on a small marsh on top of a nearby hill. Again, I navigated just fine to the big marsh and was then confused when I did not see the control. The most annoying was losing 1:35 on the last control (an obvious hill) because the flag had been knocked down to the ground and I couldn't see it. There were streamers leading from there to the finish, so I knew I was in the right place, but this didn't help me see the flag any quicker!!!
So, even though I lost tons of time, at least I know that the big losses were because of things like not seeing the map properly or not reading the control descriptions rather than because of faulty navigation. Lesson learned - in the future, I must be extra careful in the control circle.
RESULTS: 3rd on Women's A. Helen was 1st (59:24), Anne second (65:00). Oxford won easily. Results here
COURSE: Women's A, 6.73 km, 17 controls
MAP: Norra Lunsen, 1:10,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Gorgeous, typical Lunsen. Technically difficult, and this time covered in snow to make things physically challenging as well.
MY RUN: At a glance, it was terrible. I lost 12+ minutes out on the course. But when I looked at exactly where and why this happened, this made sense. I lost time on #1 because I made a type of parallel error because the yellow marsh I saw in reality was covered by the pink line on the map. Then on #2 (the long leg), I navigated just fine to the rock, but then spent several minutes trying to relocate before reading my control descriptions and realizing that the control was not on the rock, but on top of the hill next to it. A similar thing happened with #10, when I thought the center of the circle was on the tip of a big marsh, but actually it was on a small marsh on top of a nearby hill. Again, I navigated just fine to the big marsh and was then confused when I did not see the control. The most annoying was losing 1:35 on the last control (an obvious hill) because the flag had been knocked down to the ground and I couldn't see it. There were streamers leading from there to the finish, so I knew I was in the right place, but this didn't help me see the flag any quicker!!!
So, even though I lost tons of time, at least I know that the big losses were because of things like not seeing the map properly or not reading the control descriptions rather than because of faulty navigation. Lesson learned - in the future, I must be extra careful in the control circle.
RESULTS: 3rd on Women's A. Helen was 1st (59:24), Anne second (65:00). Oxford won easily. Results here
Thursday Mar 27, 2008 #
Running 28:32 [3] 3.26 mi (8:45 / mi)
shoes: Nike Pegasus
Easy run with Csaba (once around the Norby lit track, then off to circuits). Quads felt better and knees weren't hurting so much, which is great. Still not feeling 100%, but hopefully if I keep allowing my body to recover in between trainings, I'll begin to feel fast and strong again in a couple of weeks.
Strength Training (circuits) 35:00 [1]
OK Linne circuits, with all of the leg exercises substituted with crunches.
Stretching 5:00 [0]
Running 3:00 [2] 0.33 mi (9:00 / mi)
shoes: Nike Pegasus
Running home.
Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 #
Orienteering 33:00 3.3 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Short course on Lunsen, again from Plantskolan. Boris shadowed me for the first three controls, then I did the remaining five on my own. In general, I was completely in control of the navigation. I made only one mistake and (partly thanks to Boris) fixed it before it became anything big. The snow made running difficult at times, especially in the marshes. Tiring!
Stretching 6:00 [0]
Orienteering 45:00 4.5 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Wednesday night-O on Åland. I was doing really well through the 7th control (not fast because there was lots of snow, but technically ok). Then half-way to #8 I realized that I'd lost my compass. So I tried going back to find it, failed, then tried to continue the course, but this leg happened to cut across a field which happened to have man-made stuff on it that wasn't mapped, so I was confused and decided to just go to the finish. Then Måns volunteered to go back out with me to search for my compass and together we retraced my steps from #7 (where I last remember looking at it) to the field. Amazingly, we found it! So now I know to put a string on my compass as well as my SI...
Running 20:00 [2] 2.0 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
A bit of running before the start and later running around trying to find my compass.
Tuesday Mar 25, 2008 #
Map-hiking 2:00:00 [1]
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Went out on Lunsen (Plantskolan) and hung out controls for the OUOC-CUOC training tomorrow. Since my legs still feel very tired (and because I think map-hiking is very good training), I decided to walk instead of run. So I drew controls for myself in between the ones I had to hang (26 short legs in total). The snow in the woods was enough to slow me down, but the weather was reasonably warm today, so there is hope of some of it melting by Friday. About half of the marshes were frozen over, but few were solid enough to walk on without breaking.
Monday Mar 24, 2008 #
Note
Comments about last weekend: Overall, it was a very disappointing trip. It took about 8 hours to drive down there to the south of Sweden, and I was expecting warm, nice weather and some fun technical races. Instead, it snowed non-stop for the first three days, so that there was first wet slush on the ground, and later ice. The event centers became huge mud fields, impossible to cross without getting your socks wet. The relay courses were good, but the weather was so bad that day that it was quite depressing to be outside. The qualification sprint race was nothing more than a runner's course. The middle distance was very well-planned and would have been extremely fun, again had it not been for the snow in the woods.
So for the last four days, I have been cold most of the time and unhappy half of the time. I have not had a warm shower since last Wednedsay and, perhaps the worst of all, I missed out on the chance to run well at the JK in favour of this weekend! Of course, when I made my decision, I could not have guessed that a storm would come, but I cannot help regretting it a bit anyway. But what's done is done. Time to recover and start thinking ahead.
So for the last four days, I have been cold most of the time and unhappy half of the time. I have not had a warm shower since last Wednedsay and, perhaps the worst of all, I missed out on the chance to run well at the JK in favour of this weekend! Of course, when I made my decision, I could not have guessed that a storm would come, but I cannot help regretting it a bit anyway. But what's done is done. Time to recover and start thinking ahead.
C • Cold 2
Strength Training 30:00 [1]
Core, push-ups, dips, and some stretching.
Sunday Mar 23, 2008 #
Running 5:00 [1] 0.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Some jogging and hopping about before the start.
Orienteering 57:14 4.4 km (13:00 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
EVENT: Elitserien middle distance
COURSE: D21E 2, 4.4 km, 14 controls
MAP: Brunnsskogen, 1:10,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Lots of small (several contours) steep hills, rocky underfoot, very technical.
MY RUN: Bad. I was very tired after the last several days, so today I wanted to just run a clean race and finish, no matter how slowly. But the snow made things much more difficult and I do not have much experience with this type of running, so I made a 4+ minute mistake already to the first control. The snow threw off my sense of distance, direction, and size judgment. Small hills looked even flatter, trails were sometimes difficult to spot, and moving forward through the woods took effort. I did my best throughout the first half of the course, but eventually just became so frustrated with the snow, the controls, and with my own tiredness that I more or less gave up. I finished the course, but I was not having fun....So disappointing!
RESULTS: Winner of my course (Cecilia Bratt) ran 39:33. Quickroute.
COURSE: D21E 2, 4.4 km, 14 controls
MAP: Brunnsskogen, 1:10,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Lots of small (several contours) steep hills, rocky underfoot, very technical.
MY RUN: Bad. I was very tired after the last several days, so today I wanted to just run a clean race and finish, no matter how slowly. But the snow made things much more difficult and I do not have much experience with this type of running, so I made a 4+ minute mistake already to the first control. The snow threw off my sense of distance, direction, and size judgment. Small hills looked even flatter, trails were sometimes difficult to spot, and moving forward through the woods took effort. I did my best throughout the first half of the course, but eventually just became so frustrated with the snow, the controls, and with my own tiredness that I more or less gave up. I finished the course, but I was not having fun....So disappointing!
RESULTS: Winner of my course (Cecilia Bratt) ran 39:33. Quickroute.
Saturday Mar 22, 2008 #
Running 10:00 [2] 1.0 mi (10:00 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Warm-up before the sprint. Legs feeling dead again.
Orienteering 19:45 [4] 2.81 km (7:02 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
EVENT: Elitserien Sprint
COURSE: Qualification race C, 2.5 km, 11 controls
MAP: Ronneby Brunnspark, 1:5,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Mostly suburban areas and parkland (covered in snow), with one control in the woods on top of a steep big hill.
MY RUN: Mostly ok. I hesitated to the first control, where I was a bit confused (around 45" lost) and did not take the best route choice up the big hill to #5 (another 45" lost), but otherwise I had a very clean run. This was rather easy to do, as the rest of the course offered absolutely no technical challenges. Quite disappointing, actually, as I very rarely get to run sprints and I had high hopes of this one being fun.
RESULTS: 23/23 in my heat, with Emma Engstrand winning in 15:01. Results here.
COURSE: Qualification race C, 2.5 km, 11 controls
MAP: Ronneby Brunnspark, 1:5,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Mostly suburban areas and parkland (covered in snow), with one control in the woods on top of a steep big hill.
MY RUN: Mostly ok. I hesitated to the first control, where I was a bit confused (around 45" lost) and did not take the best route choice up the big hill to #5 (another 45" lost), but otherwise I had a very clean run. This was rather easy to do, as the rest of the course offered absolutely no technical challenges. Quite disappointing, actually, as I very rarely get to run sprints and I had high hopes of this one being fun.
RESULTS: 23/23 in my heat, with Emma Engstrand winning in 15:01. Results here.
Friday Mar 21, 2008 #
Running 15:00 1.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Warming up and hopping/jogging in place before my leg of the relay.
Orienteering 36:04 [4] 3.8 km (9:29 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
EVENT: 4-Dam Stafett
TEAM: OK Linne's 1st team: Sofie, Sara, Kat, Inga
COURSE: Leg 3, 3.8 km, 9 controls
MAP: Bubbetorp, 1:10,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Lots of small steep hills, cliffs and rocks. And today everything was covered in snow as well, which made things even tougher.
WEATHER: Absolutely appalling. Cold and windy, with wet snow coming down diagonally and slushy mud everywhere.
MY RUN: I started off carefully because I knew the terrain was going to be tricky and I wanted to run as cleanly as possible. It was a long way to the start triangle (450 meters of snowy trail, partly uphill), so by the time I got there I had the first control planned out and had taken a look at the course overall. I was doing quite well throughout the first two-thirds of the course, even passing a couple of slightly faster girls to the radio control by taking a slightly better route. But then I made a huge mistake on #6 (lost 4 minutes!). The controls were quite well-hidden today and with this one, I did not have an attackpoint, so although I knew I was very close, I did not see it. So I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure things out, before finally spotting a big boulder and relocating right away. Then I struggled with the big cliffs and the green to #7 and finished the course as best as I could, feeling quite disappointed. Apparently I ran to other people's expectations, because I finished right about when Boris and Ulrik were expecting me to, but I was not satisfied myself.
RESULTS: 19th on my leg out of about 32, although I was 8th before my big mistake. Quickroute.
TEAM: OK Linne's 1st team: Sofie, Sara, Kat, Inga
COURSE: Leg 3, 3.8 km, 9 controls
MAP: Bubbetorp, 1:10,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Lots of small steep hills, cliffs and rocks. And today everything was covered in snow as well, which made things even tougher.
WEATHER: Absolutely appalling. Cold and windy, with wet snow coming down diagonally and slushy mud everywhere.
MY RUN: I started off carefully because I knew the terrain was going to be tricky and I wanted to run as cleanly as possible. It was a long way to the start triangle (450 meters of snowy trail, partly uphill), so by the time I got there I had the first control planned out and had taken a look at the course overall. I was doing quite well throughout the first two-thirds of the course, even passing a couple of slightly faster girls to the radio control by taking a slightly better route. But then I made a huge mistake on #6 (lost 4 minutes!). The controls were quite well-hidden today and with this one, I did not have an attackpoint, so although I knew I was very close, I did not see it. So I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure things out, before finally spotting a big boulder and relocating right away. Then I struggled with the big cliffs and the green to #7 and finished the course as best as I could, feeling quite disappointed. Apparently I ran to other people's expectations, because I finished right about when Boris and Ulrik were expecting me to, but I was not satisfied myself.
RESULTS: 19th on my leg out of about 32, although I was 8th before my big mistake. Quickroute.
Thursday Mar 20, 2008 #
Note
(rest day)
Travel to Blekinge.
Wednesday Mar 19, 2008 #
Running 7:00 [2] 0.78 mi (9:00 / mi)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Warm-up and jogging back to the car after.
Orienteering 48:27 [3] 3.85 km (12:35 / km)
shoes: Green VJ Integrators
Linne Wednesday night-O on Ramstalund. I did the short course, since I am trying to take it relatively easy before the four days of races coming up soon. The course was simple enough, but the woods were total crap and I made a silly mistake on #4. I spiked it, but didn't think it was my control because the reflector was hung on a rock and Frida (who was on my course) looked confused when she found it, so I started trying to relocate without even checking the control code. Spent around 10 minutes running around before coming back to the same spot. Grr. Quickroute here.
Tuesday Mar 18, 2008 #
Running 45:29 [2] 5.25 mi (8:40 / mi)
shoes: Nike Pegasus
Easy run with Boris around the Norby lit track. Nice wet snow falling during the second half. Legs still tired, but managed better than on Sunday. Knees and ankles were swollen afterward, but didn't have time to ice until much later in the evening.
Monday Mar 17, 2008 #
Cross-Training 10:00 [2]
Step machine, mostly level 7-8.
Strength Training (gym) 35:00 [2]
Sunday Mar 16, 2008 #
Running 10:00 [2] 1.15 mi (8:40 / mi)
shoes: VJ Integrators
Run to the clubhouse and then to the start.
Orienteering 30:00 3.0 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: VJ Integrators
Did the first five controls from the NC Sport Cup. Nåsten has turned into one big muddy marsh.
Running 27:00 [2] 3.38 km (8:00 / km)
shoes: VJ Integrators
Running back to the clubhouse, mostly on small trails. Legs so tired!!!!
Note
1. I feel healthy again, albeit very tired.
2. I have races every weekend from now on, so my training is going to be rather cyclic: race, then do easy stuff to recover, then race again. So during the next month I will not be building strength or speed, but instead will be getting lots of good navigation practice. My navigation in Sweden is not good enough yet to sacrifice races in favour of proper physical training.
3. I experimented with putting arch supports into my O-shoes today. Positives: my feet felt a lot more comfortable - my arches and heels did not hurt at all. Negatives: my ankles felt significantly more vulnerable because my feet were higher up in the shoes and also because they were in the neutral position instead of slightly pronated, as they usually are. Perhaps the combination of arch supports and some type of ankle support is ideal? This is what quite a few of the elite Swedish orienteers seem to do.
4. Yesterday, I experimented with Quickroute for the first time, using my race on Sigtuna. Check out my Garmin route here.
2. I have races every weekend from now on, so my training is going to be rather cyclic: race, then do easy stuff to recover, then race again. So during the next month I will not be building strength or speed, but instead will be getting lots of good navigation practice. My navigation in Sweden is not good enough yet to sacrifice races in favour of proper physical training.
3. I experimented with putting arch supports into my O-shoes today. Positives: my feet felt a lot more comfortable - my arches and heels did not hurt at all. Negatives: my ankles felt significantly more vulnerable because my feet were higher up in the shoes and also because they were in the neutral position instead of slightly pronated, as they usually are. Perhaps the combination of arch supports and some type of ankle support is ideal? This is what quite a few of the elite Swedish orienteers seem to do.
4. Yesterday, I experimented with Quickroute for the first time, using my race on Sigtuna. Check out my Garmin route here.
C • cool 1
Saturday Mar 15, 2008 #
Orienteering 1:28:11 8.2 km (10:45 / km)
shoes: VJ Integrators
Tiomila training race on Sigtuna. My orienteering was, overall, surprisingly good given my long absence from Swedish forests. And although my legs are still tired from last weekend, they have recovered enough that I was able to move at a good pace most of the time. Cool!
Ways I know I've been away from Swedish orienteering too long:
1. My heels and ankles hurt constantly and I was very unsteady on my feet. (Running over rocky terrain takes a bit of getting used to.)
2. I was lost to the first control despite having a good plan. (Interpreting vague contours also takes some getting used to.)
3. I made a parallel error near #8 and despite walking and trying my best to fix it once I'd realized my mistake, it was another several minutes before I found the control. (Being able to relate the simple-looking map to the rocky and bumpy-looking terrain is tough, and becomes even harder when you have lost some of your confidence.)
Ways I know I've been away from Swedish orienteering too long:
1. My heels and ankles hurt constantly and I was very unsteady on my feet. (Running over rocky terrain takes a bit of getting used to.)
2. I was lost to the first control despite having a good plan. (Interpreting vague contours also takes some getting used to.)
3. I made a parallel error near #8 and despite walking and trying my best to fix it once I'd realized my mistake, it was another several minutes before I found the control. (Being able to relate the simple-looking map to the rocky and bumpy-looking terrain is tough, and becomes even harder when you have lost some of your confidence.)
Friday Mar 14, 2008 #
Note
I am confirmed for Pikes Peak Ascent this summer! 13.32 miles, 7,750 feet up from start to finish (~14,050 feet). It's going to be awesome.
C • cool 11
Biking 25:00 [1]
Some biking during the day to lunch and then to the clubhouse and home. I wouldn't normally put this down as training, but since my legs are still trashed from last Sunday, this felt like just the right amount of effort.
Thursday Mar 13, 2008 #
Running 20:00 [2] 2.29 mi (8:45 / mi)
shoes: Nike Pegasus
Some easy jogging before circuits, to see how my legs feel. Muscles are still very sore and shins, knees, hips feel stiff. Good to be out, though.
Strength Training (circuits) 36:00 [1]
Linne circuits. I substituted the leg exercises with core and pushups. Fun to see everyone again!
Stretching 6:00 [0]
Wednesday Mar 12, 2008 #
Note
(sick) (rest day)
The outsides of my quads still hurt, but walking is completely fine now. so I'll try doing some easy training tomorrow. My throat hurts again, so I think it is very likely that I am now sick with another cold, having not completely recovered yet from the previous one. I feel like it's been a long while (three weeks) since I've felt completely healthy, but I remain optimistic for the future. I have not missed out on anything thus far due to injury/illness and hopefully if I am careful, I will be training regularly again soon.
Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 #
Note
(rest day)
Still hurts to walk - my poor quads! This is further reinforcement of my good intentions to avoid steep downhill races. They just aren't worth the pain or length of recovery time. I am very keen on doing long distance races in the future, but I'll have to be careful to choose ones that are mostly uphill and/or flat!
But, fortunately this is not the worst time to be recovering. I've got plenty of work to keep me busy and after a week of being ill and a long day of traveling yesterday (because my flight was delayed by five hours), I need the rest.
But, fortunately this is not the worst time to be recovering. I've got plenty of work to keep me busy and after a week of being ill and a long day of traveling yesterday (because my flight was delayed by five hours), I need the rest.
Monday Mar 10, 2008 #
Note
(sick) (rest day)
Flight to Sweden today!
Sunday Mar 9, 2008 #
Running 4:55 [2] 0.55 mi (9:00 / mi)
shoes: Brooks 07
A bit of running before the start, but not much. (And even these five minutes were broken up into two parts, with a break in between.)
Running 1:48:31 13.1 mi (8:17 / mi) +300m 7:44 / mi
ahr:168 max:178 shoes: Brooks 07
Leith Hill Half Marathon. Reasonably hilly, mostly on dirt trail, but a few hundred meters on pavement as well. Some of the tracks had turned into big puddles, but overall footing was ok. There was also a few hundred meters of sandy track (for horses maybe?).
Very well-organized race and everybody seemed to have fun. We were all very supportive of each other. I must have said "well done" at least twenty times during the run, but I also heard lots of encouragement myself.
Overall, I raced well. As expected, I passed lots of people on the downhills, but was not strong enough on the uphills. Although I was the first woman after the first 15-20 minutes, once we hit the long uphill section (steady uphill for several miles), several women passed me and I couldn't do anything about it. My quads are just not strong enough yet! But, on the upside, it gave me great satisfaction to beat a girl who was running side by side with me in the last several hundred meters, because it was a downhill finish. And goal of finishing in under 2.5 hours achieved! :)
My quads are really, *really* sore now. I tried to not kill myself out there (walked a few steep parts that I could have run, for instance), but I still think I'm going to need a very easy week to allow my muscles to recover.
RESULTS: Results here. I was 8th female, about five minutes back of the winner. 58th overall, out of 230 finishers, about 25 minutes back of the overall (male) winner.
Very well-organized race and everybody seemed to have fun. We were all very supportive of each other. I must have said "well done" at least twenty times during the run, but I also heard lots of encouragement myself.
Overall, I raced well. As expected, I passed lots of people on the downhills, but was not strong enough on the uphills. Although I was the first woman after the first 15-20 minutes, once we hit the long uphill section (steady uphill for several miles), several women passed me and I couldn't do anything about it. My quads are just not strong enough yet! But, on the upside, it gave me great satisfaction to beat a girl who was running side by side with me in the last several hundred meters, because it was a downhill finish. And goal of finishing in under 2.5 hours achieved! :)
My quads are really, *really* sore now. I tried to not kill myself out there (walked a few steep parts that I could have run, for instance), but I still think I'm going to need a very easy week to allow my muscles to recover.
RESULTS: Results here. I was 8th female, about five minutes back of the winner. 58th overall, out of 230 finishers, about 25 minutes back of the overall (male) winner.
Saturday Mar 8, 2008 #
Note
(sick) (rest day)
Definitely recovering, at least.
Friday Mar 7, 2008 #
Running 21:35 [3] 2.67 mi (8:05 / mi)
ahr:145 shoes: Brooks 07
Run to South Park and one of my usual out-and-back loops. The pace was surprisingly good, but it felt like effort - felt slightly weak, achey, wooden legs, etc. Got plenty of sunshine, though.
Running 3:07 [3] 0.31 mi (10:03 / mi)
ahr:150
A few running drills, to see if I could get myself to feel faster and better. Worked somewhat.
Running 5:37 [3] 0.71 mi (7:54 / mi)
ahr:154 shoes: Brooks 07
Run home.
Stretching 5:00 [0]
Note
(sick)
Still sick, but definitely recovering. And last night I managed to sleep on my back for the first time since I fell last Thursday, which is good. Now all I have to do is eats lots of food, stretch, and hope that on Sunday I'll feel much better.
Thursday Mar 6, 2008 #
Note
(sick)
This is the fifth day of me being sick and it's getting to the point where I become annoyed and frustrated. Not because I can't train, but because the constant symptoms make it hard to enjoy anything. I haven't had a good night's sleep since last week and it's hard to concentrate on my work.
Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 #
Running 31:02 [3] 3.88 mi (8:00 / mi)
ahr:150 max:162 shoes: Orange Asics
Three easy-ish laps around Christ Church meadow while cheering on runners doing Teddy Hall Relays. Felt better than yesterday, but legs were kind of heavy.
Jumping 5:00 [2]
Jumping, with several mini-sprints. Since the weather was nice, I did this out on the lawn today, where there is a slight incline. Even just 20 seconds of fast jumping produces burning calves. Definitely good cross-training when there are no hills readily available!
Stretching 5:00 [0]
Tuesday Mar 4, 2008 #
Running 30:30 [2] 3.39 mi (9:00 / mi)
shoes: Brooks 07
Easy run around Christ Church meadow. I can just about run normally now - only some slight stiffness in my back!
Stretching 5:00 [0]
Note
(sick)
Slight sore throat and really annoying headache. Argh.
Monday Mar 3, 2008 #
Note
(injured) (sick) (rest day)
Planned rest day, but would have taken one even if it wasn't planned. On top of everything else, I seem to have caught Anne's cold...
C • :( 6
Sunday Mar 2, 2008 #
Running 8:00 [2] 0.66 mi (12:07 / mi)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Run to the start with Chris Wroe and Benjamin. (Includes some terrain running because we got off-track.)
Orienteering 1:06:08 [4] 6.7 km (9:52 / km)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
EVENT: OUOC Varsity Selection Race
COURSE: Women's, 6.7km, 16 controls
MAP: Merthyr Mawr, 1:10,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Technical, grassed sand dunes with some (wet) marshes and frequent blocks of trees (significantly fewer on the map than in reality). Some areas of the dunes were covered by brambles, others were completely open sand. So runnability varied, but was in general quite good.
MY RUN: This was a very difficult course because the terrain was highly technical and there were just small training kites with SI lying on the ground at each control. Thus, it occasionally took me fifteen seconds just to find the flag once I was at the right feature! And of course the terrain felt quite physical because of the frequent brambles, constant ups and downs, and sandy areas. I made one big (stupid) mistake to #3, which cost me about 5 minutes, but other than that my orienteering went quite well (if hesitations to find the flag at almost every single control are allowed). All in all, it was a very good technical training and a beautiful place to orienteer! I was really happy that I could run today.
RESULTS: Technically, I mispunched (because the men's and women's controls were gaffled, with the flags very near each other), but since this type of situation would never come up in a normal race (even a relay race), I'm not too bothered. My time was good enough for 2nd place, about four minutes behind Helen. She's good with this type of terrain!
COURSE: Women's, 6.7km, 16 controls
MAP: Merthyr Mawr, 1:10,000, 2.5m contours
TERRAIN: Technical, grassed sand dunes with some (wet) marshes and frequent blocks of trees (significantly fewer on the map than in reality). Some areas of the dunes were covered by brambles, others were completely open sand. So runnability varied, but was in general quite good.
MY RUN: This was a very difficult course because the terrain was highly technical and there were just small training kites with SI lying on the ground at each control. Thus, it occasionally took me fifteen seconds just to find the flag once I was at the right feature! And of course the terrain felt quite physical because of the frequent brambles, constant ups and downs, and sandy areas. I made one big (stupid) mistake to #3, which cost me about 5 minutes, but other than that my orienteering went quite well (if hesitations to find the flag at almost every single control are allowed). All in all, it was a very good technical training and a beautiful place to orienteer! I was really happy that I could run today.
RESULTS: Technically, I mispunched (because the men's and women's controls were gaffled, with the flags very near each other), but since this type of situation would never come up in a normal race (even a relay race), I'm not too bothered. My time was good enough for 2nd place, about four minutes behind Helen. She's good with this type of terrain!
Note
(injured)
My tailbone is still not healed, but there's hope for the future, and specifically for next weekend. I think I was able to run this weekend because the sandy ground was really soft, but I'll have to take it easy now in Oxford and not do anything too jarring. At least my plans will not be altered all that much, because this coming week was always intended to be easy.
Saturday Mar 1, 2008 #
Running 23:47 [2] 2.58 mi (9:13 / mi)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Easy jog (with some breaks to walk) along the beach, followed by a rest and then jog to the start.
Orienteering 34:00 [4] 3.7 km (9:11 / km)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
EVENT: Welsh Short Open Championships
COURSE: 3.7 km, 17 controls
MAP: Oxwich Burrows, 1:7500, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Technical, steep grassed sand-dunes.
MY RUN: Reasonably good through the first 12 controls, but then fell apart a bit at the end and lost a few minutes on the last few. Tailbone hurt and the pain got worse towards the end, but it felt tolerable and did not distract me too much. I just had to avoid jumping or sprinting and be extra careful when running downhill. The course was really fun and more tiring than I expected (lots of short, steep climbs).
RESULTS: Here. 38th/117 overall, 4th woman.
NOTE: According to Garmin, I ran 4.62 km.
COURSE: 3.7 km, 17 controls
MAP: Oxwich Burrows, 1:7500, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Technical, steep grassed sand-dunes.
MY RUN: Reasonably good through the first 12 controls, but then fell apart a bit at the end and lost a few minutes on the last few. Tailbone hurt and the pain got worse towards the end, but it felt tolerable and did not distract me too much. I just had to avoid jumping or sprinting and be extra careful when running downhill. The course was really fun and more tiring than I expected (lots of short, steep climbs).
RESULTS: Here. 38th/117 overall, 4th woman.
NOTE: According to Garmin, I ran 4.62 km.
Orienteering 9:51 [1] 0.67 km (14:42 / km)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
After finishing, I did controls #12-17 again, very slowly (lots of walking and looking around) so that I understand where I went wrong. Everything made sense this time!
Running 6:22 [2] 0.66 mi (9:39 / mi)
shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Run back to the parking lot.