Training Log Archive: Bertbennett

Went to do tuesday speed session but when I started running my problematic left calf was really complaining quite a lot. I'm not sure if it's a muscular or skeletal issue. I remember the same pain back at Easter. It seems to go away if I train every day but if I rest it gets way worse.

So I'm in two minds here but I kinda want to take this week off and see what happens to it. I've got the iTrail on sunday so I've got a few days with no running to see what.

C • Have you considered 3

Punched 9, thought it was 8. Went off in direction I thought 9 was. Couldn't relocate after 15 minutes. Ran back.

Took a map and went out again. 1st 7 controls easy. My technique seems to work fine for the controls that weren't in those sheets of bare rock. Then made exactly the same mistake I made the first time on the way to 8, heading almost to 9 and I spent probably 10 minutes trying to figure out what I'd done.

Control 11 I lost concentration at some point on another tricky control and fluffed that one up too. Once you lose contact on the bare rocks you're basically hoping against hope that you find something that looks different enough to relocate on. After 11 it was all smooth. Normal granite seems fine... just can't handle the cascades. I needed to get out finish this course.. glad to see the ass end of cascades after it completely destroyed me.

Tried to navigate by reading contours. Need to practice reading black dots and grey splodges better. Anyone got any tips? I need some...

This course made me question my entire orienteering style. Nothing really made sense to me yesterday. I was constantly having to relocate. I prefer to navigate by building a sort of 3d image of the terrain in my head using the contours, but yesterday it seemed that using the contours was just really difficult. Better technique was to hop from bare rock to bare rock using compass. I'll try this style in the middle.

Tried to simplify the rock by looking for clumps/patterns but often it just seems like a jumble with no discernable pattern. Having an orienteering existential crisis now..

Model map jog with Alvin. Alternating controls. Actually one of the most enjoyable areas I've ever run on. However I looked at the amiens map again tonight and there's some pretty stark differences between the model area and Amiens. People are saying the rock was mapped poorly but honestly I didn't mind it at all. If you're confident enough in your nav small differences in what boulders are left off the map shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Took the str8 compass out today. The magnifyer was f#$k@n awesome in the detail. Not sure how I'd have read anything without it today.

Legs felt a little dead after yesterday, even though it was only 7km. I think the heat and my lack of warm down/food afterwards contributed.

Aus schools relay champs. Junior boys 1st in Aus with a great last leg by Alvin. That kid is going places. Still 3 years in junior boys and already on the honour team. Senior girls 3rd after an MP by tassie.

Supervising disco. Amongst the cringiest 2 hours of my life.

MP'd on the senior boys course on the shortest control! But physically I felt pretty alright out there. Technically a little bit messy but mostly pretty clean. I think the control I missed would have added all of 30 seconds to my time -_- Didn't even see the control on my map! Woulda won the "race the kids" but alas...

C • Don't 7