Training Log Archive: Arnold

Real orienteering!

There is a prize if you can find the best route from 7 to 8

C • 7-8 5

YES!!! Finally managed to pull out a decent performance. Mass start race, started a bit slow (well everyone else too fast) but a decent route choice got me back to running with my old pals Finki and Phil for all of the second half. Pace was quite high but felt comfortable-ish all the way, and I was leading a good part of it

Thought I had both of them at the end but Phil had really good speed and beat me by 5s. But I don’t care.

Will post map later because finally it was REAL ORIENTEERING. A big map of runnable (but steep) forest, 19 controls on 11k with one mega route choice.

The contrast to the JK long control pick mud slog on a mini map could not be greater (to be fair the 15C sunshine helped too.)

Got my JK exam results (ranking points) back on Thursday and they were predictably poor - only the 5th, 8th and 10th best scores of the season (middle was best).

But I’ve made peace with the results - partly I was unlucky in terrain selection (sprint too fast - hadn’t done any intervals: middle/long too slow - hadn’t done enough rough running). And partly I hadn’t done enough orienteering training / wasn’t hungry enough for orienteering. So when normally I’d gain minutes on navigation this time I lost them, particularly on the long.

I do need to sort my neck and shoulders out though.

Still pumped for running as well and am looking forward to Richmond Half in early May.

C • Exam Results 2

Still quite hard work (but sunny and dry for a change). Rather apprehensive about Sunday now, but then I have 2 months for some good training.

Morning run in Richmond Park. Slower than I thought, but it was really really muddy