Training Log Archive: Tim C

O race at Pretoria botanical gardens

#1-#3 fine
#4 bad route.. kept right on the path and then had a very slow route into the control through the green (15secs)
#5 hesitant into it (2secs)
#6-7okay
#8 bit hesitant about the paths midway into the leg (2secs)
#9+10 just slow into controls(3secs)
#11 struggled to identify the thickets and was too far left (5secs)
#12 a couple small hesitations along the leg (3secs)
#13 got pulled off a bit by Nic and overran it (10secs)
#14-16 fine
#17 should've gone around the right (2secs)
#18 hesitant with paths and then cut into the bushes which was super slow. Would've been faster to contour around (10secs)
#19 fine
#20 should've gone left (3secs)
#21-23 fine. Just feeling slow to 21.

So no big mistakes, but still too many small errors and hesitations. Sub 20 should've been possible.

Running feeling okay, legs a bit heavy the 2nd half after a big week, but not as bad as I was expecting.

Control collecting

Evening run with the hound.

Fast 2km, then he was slow for the next 2 and then a nice quick last km around the block.

Greenpark, leslie, n.manor, block, home.

Decent mileage week :)

Men - Splits

Helping at the Polokwane O event and then ran the long course. Pretty straightforward nav, but nice big hill in the middle of the map that made it a bit physical. Also a bit of dodging thorn bushes from 10-11 that was slow going, so pretty surprised with the decent climb adjusted pace.

Over 150 participants of which 90ish% were 1st timers. So that makes over 1000 new people who've done orienteering in SA the past month!! :D

Hike to the gorge in Royal Natal (Not feeling the running thing, so just a fast walk), then some explorations up the gorge towards the tugela falls (2nd highest waterfall in the world-class just under 1000m total drop). It was gorgeous! ;)

Run back from the gorge. Super energetic after an awesome time in the gorge! Nice winding gradual downhill hiking trail (rather slippery though due to it raining)

Feeling a bit lazy this morning and weather report didn't look to great for higher up, so gave up on Mafadi and just kept to the lower berg.

From Monks cowl, down past sterkstpruit falls, up to Makhulumane rock, up the valley to the contour (the indigenous forest and rivers looking absolutely stunning here after all the rain!), then along the contour to hlatikulu nek, blindmans, down keartlands and then down to the rock pools for a swim

Fair bit of walking on anything that wasn't flat or downhill..

"Rest day"

Nice evening outing to the top of Matterhorn. Tigerlining it up and doing a bit of scrambling, then along the main ridgeline, down to the cattle tracks and back along those.

Had a nice chat with some baboons on the cliffs going up (was quite one-sided, they mostly just stared at me like I was crazy). Also saw some mountain reedbuck on the way down (they wwere less inclined to stick around a nd chat though)

Monster!!

Had wanted to go sleep the night on top, but got scared off by yesterday's lighting, so decided a day trip would have to suffice.

From Monks Cowl, up Sphinx, blindmans, contour path, base of ships prow stream, then up ships prow (extremely slow going the 1st flattish 3km through some really crappy veg in the riverbed+on a very overgrown and often non existent path-not helped by me losing the "path" a large number of times), then up the actually pass which was a lot less scrambly then I was expecting, up to champagne castle (3377masl-3rd highest peak in sa+ Only about 80m off the highest), then across to top of grays, down and back on contour path+sphinx.

Good day out! Just a bit longer than I was expecting because of that damn veg... (spent over 1:30 on that 3k ssection, with about 200m climb..)

Unfortunately the clouds were sitting at about 2500m, so pretty much had no view from above there :( though it did make the weather perfect for running/hiking.

Set a course around a rather old (1998)cathedral peak map.

1st half in the "forest" (Long since felled and now covered in brambles), so gave up on that section after a few controls. 2nd half was in the open section and was a lot nicer, but vegetation still rather crappy in sections.

C • Cathedral Peak 4

Up to a nearby waterfall. Some more tetrain running as there didn't seem to be a path.