Training Log Archive: Leon

A lovely trot through the gloaming out to Burley and back.
Spring, almost, but not quite, in the air.

Event: MDOC Night Street League (9)
 

MDOC Street League Final, Sale West
11th on handicap, 1st gross

Set off on the clear to follow loop in the NE so could plan ahead for the tricky estate on the W side. Then noticed the pleathora, i.e. 9/10ths, of the 4x and 5x codes in the south section of the map. So realised I had to get down there as quickly and efficently as possible whilst not missing any controls. This I managed despite running down a couple of dead ends in the estate itself. Swept round the south side and got a couple of bonuses in having picked up the pace last 15 mins. Thought despite my minor panic route had worked well.

It was only when the results came out I remembered that all controls were worth 10 for this one!!!

Which was a shame as I thought it was an interesting planning concept in fact, could have caught a few people out. Worked out even better for me as given my performance in the complex bit if I hadn't have had to miss a few in there would have done worse.

Event: Winter Blues LampO #5
 

CLARO Knaresborough streets, 1st.
Kept pace around 6:20-6:30
Misread map to first one, as did many others.
Map was then wrong so ran down a dead end
Then made a big mistake trying to cut through an alley, went down 2 dead ends instead of correct path.
So had to speed up a bit at the end.

Track - 10 x 600 (200)

Very, very windy
Another session where the second half was a lot better than the first.
Small signs of progress.

Rothwell clockwise, very slow to begin with but wound it up and last three miles <6/00 feeling very comfortable, easier day yesterday must have helped.

Event: BNC weekend event (UKOL)
 

Decided an easy day was required so just into Guiseley and back. Windy. Legs ok after a mile, mind elsewhere.

Event: British Night Championships (UKOL)
 

Hilly, muddy run post wedding round Ashdown forest with Greenleaf Cole and Bareham. Wet again. Quite enjoyable, didn't do the full run with tonight in mind.

British Night Champs - M21L, 8th

Some of this was quite good, though local knowledge helped somewhat. Certainly improvment on what would previously have been possible.

Big mistakes were:
#7 - local knowledge didn't really help there as road is mapped incorrectly as turning SE at end when in reality the main branch continues NE to the railway. I didn't spot this and so my planned right turn off the road was actually me staying on the road. Stopped when I realised i wasn't where I thought and took me an age to relocate, v. frustrating.
#14 - went off in the wrong direction, got confused as to whether v. wet path was in fact stream. Lots of people milling about confused and I was actually first to find control after which they all piled in (4 mins)
#15 - old school mistake of going all round control not seeing it, relocating, repeat, head somewhere else in some confused attempt I was somewhere else before reverting to looking where it actually was. (4 mins)

#17 - got my east and west stupidly confused after finding feature easily, but was control circle correct? (1.5 mins)
#28 - tired decision to stick to paths, backfired (1.5 mins)

Probably a decent run behind the mistakes, most of which should have cost time but not as much as they did.

Thought the course was good, kept me on my toes and didn't seem as long as it was, some grumbling from the other courses I see, so makes a change for the longest course to be the best...!

Control collecting.