Training Log Archive: O-ing

"Five Peaks" pedal power ride (not a race). Started with ~100 at Stromlo on the "Short" version. Stuck behind about 40 people on the bike track from the start. Got past most and a group of 4 came through, so stuck with them up Stromlo. Near the top a "Bahrain-Merida" came past and I went with him, reaching the top in 2nd and 3rd.
Downhill (saw GM) and the B-M guy was skittish on corners (apparently last year he hit a kangaroo coming down Mt Ainslie), so went past. Got a fair gap but he reeled me in as we went up the side of Narrabundah Hill. Rode together and we caught the leader stopped at the lights on Cotter Road. I jumped on his wheel, but B-M didn't.
Towed to the bottom of Red Hill where "MAAP'" surged away. No check on Red Hill (they were delayed).
Caught MAAP on Russell Av but he got away again as soon as we started Mt Pleasant. That gap had grown to ~10 minutes on Mt Ainslie and I had a similar gap to B-M.
Missed the arrows in Civic, but found my own way through ANU. Similar gaps on Black Mountain and Arboretum, the latter seeming a gratuitous addition.
Struggled on the unclassified climbs to Cook and back across to Stromlo.

Event: Australian Middle Distance Championships
 

Foxes Lair, Middle, M60, 2nd. Yet another opportunity thrown away near the end with a numbskull thrashing about in green, looking behind boulders. This was not orienteering, this was incompetence on a very high level. No plan, no picture, just run and hope - how do I let myself go like this at crucial points?

OK, so after yesterday's thrashing, the body still felt good, nothing in the achilles, legs felt ready to go, so I went flat out where I could. The warning signs were there when I fluffed #1 - bad direction 20 degrees off to the left landed me in the wrong clump of detail. GPS shows I was heading roughly OK but veered off left halfway. Stopped, read the map and saw a track among the boulders I hadn't picked up before which gave away the flag. 20 seconds binned, but lots of people had issues here included TH (1 second slower).

Fastest to 2 and 3 and when Jeff fluffed 4 I had the lead, which I kept till 9 even with a really stupid overshoot at 6 (-15 seconds) and a stupid veering off at the circle at 8 (-15 seconds).

Then 10. Stopped way too early (100m!!) after the Start valley and found myself back in the clump of rocks near 1 that I had looked in before (-20 seconds).

So did I panic?? It looks like it. I swung south but didn't go far enough and went into the green way too early (actually the control was on the other side of the green, I could have just run around it). There were a lot of boulders in there that I looked behind. I was in there for 2 minutes, which included about 15 seconds searching for a dropped SI stick. 69th out of 71 on this leg. Probably lost ~1:30 and the race - fastest back from that point but lost to TimH by 1:15.

C7 - Splits

Event: Australian Sprint Championships
 

Narrogin HS, Sprint, M60, 2nd. Sluggish, not flowing well. Just one fastest split before the run-in and lost the split count 2-13 to Tim H, so was never really in it. Two significant errors as well - good course setting caught me out at 12: needed to turn sharp left (to the top of the stairs) but I went around (to the bottom) even though I had specifically looked for whether stairs were top or bottom at the pre-start (-10 seconds). Worse was the penultimate control - just ran past it to the next doorway (-20 seconds). Probably chose the wrong route there too (-15 seconds). So was never going to close the gap to Tim (1:11).

C7 - Splits

Event: Wandoo Wander
 

Bluff Knoll. Hard.

Middleton Beach

C • Double the normal distance 2

Castle Rock in the Porongorups.

Green Pool, Denmark. Not as cold as Canberra.

Event: Australian 3 Days Championship - Day 3
 

Umuna, Easter Day 3; M60, 1st. Legs/Achilles felt fine so went flat out where I could. Had a huge buffer of 13 minutes, so could afford to stuff up mightily. Mostly ok but scrappy at 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 13 and a real mistake at 11 where I completely lost direction and followed the easy course tapes in hope.

M60A - Splits