Training Log Archive: fell

Event: Victorian Long Championships
 

I was disappointed with this run. I finished third, but I was a good 15 minutes down.
Apart from the lack of fitness, I made poor route choice decisions on all the major route choice legs, and I lost alot of time on two short easy checkpoints.
Ironically, I felt like I was running quite well whilst i Was out there.
Unfortunately I've lost my splits, so will have to wait till they are poublished for further analysis.

The checkpoints were all fairly easy to find, it was just getting to them that was the issue.


the first major leg, not so much route choice, but this is where the field split.
I headed up the hill early, because I wanted to get the hill over with, but mainly because I wanted to avoid running through the two gullies toward the start of the leg.


after experiencing running along the edge of the pine forest (dark green), and the monster bracken, I made the hasty decision of following the ridge in order to avoid all this, plus the slow rocky hillsides and fallen timber.
This was a bad idea as it lead to a few problems: attackpoint? extra climb, and extra distance.

it would have been much faster just to have follwed the pine forest round to the bottom of the bracken and headed in.
Most people who took my route ended up running along the ridge all the way to the clearer gully to the north of the checkpoint and following the line of rocks in.
I had decided to travel across the bare rock and then down through the rocky ground and contoured to the boulder (good visibility), but it became apparent that this wasn't possible halfway along the grey. so I decided to climb down, except I ended up sliding about 5m down a face; a few grazes and a badly jarred finger later I was off and onto the control.


I thought great! head north and follow around the base of the huge cliffs, then pick my way through the larger features to the checkpoint.
I misjudged the depth of the bracken (stripey green) 30m in I was choking on spores and in over my head, luckily I swam over to a boulder and boulder hopped my way through the thicket. wasted alot of time here, once out of the bracken I hid the checkpoint right on due to a certain pensioner who lead me in.


I have no idea what went on here. I lost over 5 mins on this leg, I somehow found my self at the base of the sharp cliffs in the gully north east of the checkpoint. frustrating.

I then lost another 4mins or so in the control circle of checkpoint 18 just searching. bingo control, a small boulder amongst dubious rocky ground.
Bryan had caught his 14minutes on me by this stage, ran around the easy remainder of the course with him.

need more map reading practice on the run.

C • Great Log 5

Event: Victorian Middle Championships
 

Vic middle distance!!
ran M21.
I wasn't concentrating throughtout most of the race, it was lucky that the first checkpoint was so easy. The bingo control at no.2 knocked me back into place.
The run down:


1 - 2 4:37 (+2:20)
I quickly glanced at the map and thought "downhill!", unfortunately as I wasn't concentrating at all at this point, I ran the wrong direction, corrected myself badly by running over a hill. after crossing that track a second time, I pretty much spiked it into the control circle, I knew exactly where I was because of the other features but couldn't find the checkpoint. Eventually Dave Colls caught up to me and after a bit of bashing around in the bracken he found it at the bottom of a hidden pit.

2-3 2:28 (+50sec)
slow running, crossed wide so as to avoid a double crossing. didn't prove worthwhile as Dave went the straight line and beat me by about 50m

3-4 3:43 (+1:00)
slow running, no navigational problems, hesitated a bit coming into the control, don't think I should have lost 1 min here though.


red indicates where I was running with others

4-5 2:10 (+20sec)
spiked this one, was back on track.

5-6 2:12 (+1:00)
overconfident form the last leg, wasn't reading my map. took me a while to figure out where I was before heading up onto the spur.
Ev and Dave caught me here.

6-7 1:38
Ev was trying to pick up lost time, and blasted out of control 6, an easy leg through open forest, meant I just had to follow him. Was 1 second down on the official fastest split.

7-8 1:56 (+20sec)
we hit the erosion gully way to high, Ev was about 50m out in front of me and dave, we saw him mispunch but neither of us was courageous enough to shout out. seem to have lost a lot of time here correcting ourselves, but the pace must have made up for it.

8-9 1:09
Lost Ev here. spiked.

9-10 37sec
Dave tryed to drop me here, lead me into the checkpoint.

10-11 1:01
Dropped Dave here. spiked.

11-12 2:48
Spiked

12:13 2:54 (1:00)
Hit too low, Dave caught up again.

We ran through the rest of the course uneventfully.


points:
-need to start training program.
-concentrate
-Run when I should.

tapering for the races you see.

C • wow !! gosh !! WAT THE HELL!!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!!! 1

same as yesterday, slower, with students.

millgrove to Acheron Way via O'shannasy aqueduct, up acheron way to no.18 management track, down single track to Wood's Point road, then back along centenary trail.
new bike holding up well

will take this route again tomorrow with students.

got a new bike.

it is a mix of a few old rigs from work.

Went out to field work a little bit, discovered some nice little tracks running along the river.
rode up MacKenzie King Dr. (site of 2005 gangland murder)
then went to check out a vacant block, it seemed pretty big so I decided I should check out how deep it was, found a little single track leading out the back of it. WOW! 500m of winding downhill single track, many forks and splits.
disappointed that I only found it this late in the year, especially as it is less than a km from work...

so much single track, so little time.

got applause at work for riding into that part of town and making it back. I must say there was a suspiciously high amount of cheap make-up, and 12 year olds sinking tinnies.

C • !!!!! 4