Training Log Archive: gg

Tiomila

My alarm went off at 1.45am and it felt like I hadn't slept at all. I had a small bowl of cereal then drove to the race. My teammates had been running well and after 4th leg, long night, we were right at the front. 5th and 6th went well also, and I went out in 9th place, around 3 minutes behind the lead and with 6 teams in close range. As Fredrik changed to me, I knew he had lost time on the leaders, and he said to me that he had missed nothing, so I knew as our legs were gaffled together, in theory he had a longer forking so mine must be shorter and I had a real chance to take a lot of places and time back. I ran really fast to the first control, and I had the back of Södertälje in sight. To the second I took a different route choice, and I think I lost around 20 seconds, and then I was running alone in the forest. I had already chosen my route to the 3rd and I set off on the quite long leg. Around half way my lamp went out.

Shit.

After about 30-45 seconds (which seemed like hours) standing still playing with it, I decided I had to do something else. I took my reserve lamp (a tiny LED lamp powered by a single AAA battery, and tried to carry on. I could see my map, my feet, and not a lot else. I knew I had to carry on, that even if I lost time I had to finish and minimise the damage, and hopefully get a new lamp at the spectator control. I could imagine my team mates and everybody else watching the GPS tracking and wondering what was happening. I was in quite a panic, but I managed to calm myself down, and orienteer the best I could in the circumstances. There were also a few teams from leg 6 around that I could use. I spiked the 3-6th controls (albeit slowly), but the 7th was really hard. I took quite a wide route, and at one point thought I was completely lost. Luckily I was right where I thought, and managed to come across the control. I missed the next, easiest control though! Through the spectator control no new lamp was forthcoming, but the speaker said I had lost more than five minutes, but actually gained a place! No idea how that happened, and how nobody else had caught me! Two teams did catch me to the next control, and I ran like anything to stay with them and use their lights. Then we had a crossing point past the assembly, and Hedman was waiting there with a new lamp for me.

After what seemed like minutes, I had it strapped on (sort of sideways under my arm), and I had my old lamp shoved down my pants, and I had thrown away the reserve lamp. Then I ran the hardest I could to catch the other guys up again (Soes and Andersson from Pan K and Denseln). I could see their lamps in the distance and I absolutely pasted myself to catch them, which I did. I then tried to run away on the last loop, use all my pent up frustration to run fast, but I had a longer gaffle at one point nd they were back with me, so we finished together. In the finish I had dropped 8.30 on the leaders, and almost 10 minutes on the best leg time, but I had gained a place!
The worst thing was that the next team ahead was more than 6 minutes in front.

I can't remember feeling so distraught after a race - feeling so helpless in a situation as I did in the forest. All the team were very understanding, but I had lost a lot of time, and thrown what was really a fantastic platform for a great result away. Jonn Are and Klaus ran fantastically well on legs 8 and 9 to take us up to 6th place, setting Emil off less than 3 minutes behind 5th. He however was still feeling the effects of a brief illness last week, and was not at his best, physically or mentally. Despite being very critical of his own performance, he still by no means disgraced himself or the team, only being overtaken by Wingstedt and Stevenson, giving the team a pretty damned respectable 8th place (new pb for me).

So, disappointing, frustrating, could have been so good, but still ended up with a good result. Without technical problems, and if Emil had started in a different group, who knows what could have happened. So is orienteering.

Bring on Jukola - but not a night leg!

Long drive back to Stockholm....

C • the dark 4

Event: Tiomila 2009
 

Really easy jog with Jonn Are, then stretching in the sun

Watched the women's Tio race in the afternoon, then an early night

Long warm up, some on the warm up map, jogging after. Feeling good

Elitserien sprint race with an impressively and slightly scary looking start list. Really nice course with lots of fast decision making and route choices. Many changes of direction and really good contrasting steep detaiked woodland, flat fast woodland, open and urban terrain. I ran really well, although I missed a couple of route choices early on, after the 6th control I was as fast as anyone to the finish and ended up 4th, 18 seconds after Kramov.

I put this down as one of my best results ever, won a few splits and was consistently splitting well throughout. Almost caught Haldin in the end.

Results here

Beautiful steady run round a training course in the dunes south of åhus. Spent a while stretching and relaxing in the sun

usual

Sprint training in Tyringe with some runners from other clubs. Nice training and some good route choices. Lost my map somewhere....

After the sprint, drove a few km to do a middle training directly. Was pretty tired and had sugar rush from too many Godis between the trainings.

Night race near Tiomila. Ran pretty good except for one 2 minute mistake where map seemed dubious. About 2.30 down on some good guys. Nice race though

Headed across to åhus for the week until Jukola, staying with some Swiss runners and Jack and Klaus.

Went climbing in Kjuge Kull, more like messing around in the sun :)

Night training in a Tio relevant map, Uddarp, near Kristianstad. Easy

Elitserien middle final, chasing start based on yesterdays results, so 40 guys starting a straight middle distance in 3.20. Bit of a joke, really high pace, but there are so many fit guys who can just follow over that distance. Felt like just running in a line. I tried to mix it up, took different route choices wherever possible which was tactically very bad but felt like the thing to do. Took places on some, lost on others, on balance was about average. Would have had a better result putting map away and running through the field, but would have felt shit about it afterwards. Lost loads of places on the last loop doing my own thing and finding my route was badly mapped and hence not a good route. Frustrating. Nicer course than yesterday.

Frustrated by the race so went for a run along the road. Got a bit dehydrated and wasnt wearing socks which was a mistake