Training Log Archive: Psuba

First outing in the Agravic. Probably not so much for the road running but will probably be a good replacement for the Haglofs for trails.

Event: Southampton - Wessex Night League
 

WSX Night League, Romsey - 1 hr score.

2nd/53 - http://race-results.info/2018/20180201wnlr/?page=c...

Another 19 second loss to Dan - very similar to last time!

Exciting but also frustrating. Especially since - again - there were 2 main mistakes that could have resulted in a reverse result and more points for me in the League than him! It's tight at the top. Ah well.

Decent strategy overall. Mistakes:
1:30 lost around 144. I was in the circle but the map doesn't really show that complicated section well (it wasn't a standard Orienteering map so it was a slight guesswork). I ended up hunting around then just bailing out to the road junction and attack the control from the other side.
20s hesitation at 143 - I wasn't planning ahead detailed enough and didn't realise that the railway line would be cutting off any direct routes to 138, so I had to figure out what the best route is - as there were two options in totally different directions, I stayed put until I figured out which one is the best.
50s at 135. The map again wasn't quite clear/correct here, there was an extra path running next to the houses which lead me through the "woods" and then I ended up skirting around the houses where there is also no path on the map, finally getting to the control from behind. This was basically just an almost full loop that was unnecessary - my expectation was that any path I found there would lead me into the control directly as per the map.

So that's 2:40 of which I will graciously blame 2:20 on the map :)

Felt OK from a running perspective, and average speed now starts to get to the ranges I was running in urban races before the injury last year.

To WSX Tuesday training

WU+Med hills+CD

Initially wanted to do 3 reps like last week, but I forgot my bike lock keys (I did carry the lock!!!), which meant I asked Jason to lock my bike together with his. I didn't want to inconvenience him so did only 1 rep with the group before heading back together.

Quite rainy and not very warm either, but Gavin, Becca, Becca, Ian, Kay, Julie, Jason, Andy, Dale all turned up.

Splits for the 4-4-4 reps (short/med/short):
32s/34/34/33
1:11s/11/11/12
32s/33/33/34

Not bad times compared to earlier similar sessions.

Back from training, with Andy

Got out of the door VERY late - work+waiting for delivery + various other things and by the time I got out I messed up the cycle of nutrition etc, ran out of glucose very early. After about 2km the symptoms of blood sugar hit me - I was lightheaded, spinning, could jog but if anything happened e.g. if I tripped I probably would have just toppled over. So I started to walk a bit, drank some water, cursed myself for not bringing any emergency food as this was supposed to be an easy HR control jog etc.

I was hoping it would pass but as I got to Boscombe and walked quite a bit I decided there is no point continuing, especially as it started to be very cold (close to freezing) and headed straight back. Jogged back, even lower HR than I expected.

Ah well.

Event: BKO Concorde Chase and SCOA Championships (Star Posts)
 

Concorde Chase, Black course.
9th/24

Well that's not what my tired legs were looking for after yesterday - however probably a very good winter training, which was the plan. Physically anyway.
I really was on and off navigationally during the course, never really got the flow. Difficult without sufficient practice, so good to have done this, but I need more, probably slower pace events too.

I thought I ran relatively OK (though not so much in hindsight, probably had a good attitude of forgetting my mistakes during) as I caught up Paul G at #16. We both made a mistake at 19 but I made a smaller one so was ahead, then had different route choices - mine was poorer so he was ahead at 20 again. He made a mistake to 21 and I was ahead again, but then made a small error to 22 and Paul C came steaming bringing Paul G with him. Frankly, I thought I lasted ahead longer than I thought I would. Kept with him for about 2 controls but then out of 24 I made a classic 90 deg error and they both were gone. I did see Paul G briefly ahead exiting 26 but never caught him up again.

Errors were:
#4 hesitated at the gully before the control, I wasn't sure if that was the earthbank as I initially read the gully as a contour on the map. 20s
#8 small directional error into the control, 10s
#9 misread the contours and oversimplified the map as I thought the path I was coming up to was the one beyond the control - in fact it was the one I needed to still cross. So faffed about at the hillside before realising my mistake. 1:10
#10 ran up the wrong reentrant and had to correct on the road beyond the control. Basically both a bad route choice and execution :( at least 1:40
#12, the long leg. OK plan and execution most of the way except for the penultimate junction where I deviated from my plan to run through the rough open and instead cut across the white forest earlier - but that meant running around the green beyond at an acute angle on the road, so probably lost about 30-45s
#13 - wrong route choice, ran up high and then struggled through the bracken to get down to the control. Mind you, mapped as white forest... certainly didn't feel like it. Probably around 45s
#17 - slight directional error, 10s
#19 - not sure the map is correct in this area, I think the control was further away from the path beyond than mapped. Anyway guessed correctly that I was too far to the right but still had been delayed by about 20s
#20 Bad route choice. It didn't help that the path beyond #19 was further from the control than mapped (clearly visible from the GPS track) so as I went through that marsh it took much longer and going out on a compass bearing towards #20 would have been much faster, but I also missed the path N of the marsh in the middle of the leg so I elected to run further out S on the bigger road. This was a much larger detour than should have been so lost about 1:30 altogether on this leg.
#21 wasn't paying attention and missed running up a path that was parallel to the forbidden cycle track and instead climbed the hill in the bracken (not mapped). Cost me about 30s
#22 I had a decent plan but it looks like the map wasn't quite good enough for me to do that and should have instead hedge my bets. On the map it looks like the NW edge of the green from 21 to 22 is just the right line towards 22. So my plan was to follow the same direction after I crossed the road - which, from the look of my GPS track is what I have done. However I bounced back from the road E of 22 - I should have used the patches of vegetation to guide me to the control. Annoying, lost about 20s
#25 A major error, out of 24 I think I had a bit of oxygen debt - onto the first track and I made a 90deg error, I thought I was one track further along and so ran right - basically opposite to where #25 was. By the time I caught myself at the next junction and worked out what happened I lost about 1:30
#28 - Another one of those where I forgot I needed to cross a path before coming to the control, and seeing a similar depression to where #28 was earlier I faffed about in there. Lost about 30s
#29 this climb was where I started to properly feel my legs giving up so had to walk it :( No mistake so can't assign seconds but I did lose them!
#30 I think the map wasn't 100% around this control as well, it was further to E than mapped. Lots of people swirling around trying to find it. I got to it based on the path shape near it (leading lots of people into it) but still lost about 45s
#34 A directional error - pulled too low out of #33 so rounded the med green bits instead of going to the left of them, losing about 20s.

Got to clean up my navigation if I want to be competitive! Physical shape starting to come back after the winter months, still some way to go though.

C • Tired 2

Parkrun + Z1 long run along the promenade.

Not a very nice weather, drizzling rain and wind, picking up quite a bit towards the end.

Sticking to this training plan of slower runs starting to test my patience but I'll stick with it for a few months hoping that it will pay off - I understand the science behind it and how it works for lots of people, but it is frustrating to see my times being much longer on these long runs than they were last year.