Training Log Archive: slow-twitch

Auckland Long Champs routegadget- Epic! Ankle had started to feel a bit soft by the end of yesterday's efforts so wasn't too pleased to be starting straight into cattle-pug-city. So I think it was watching my feet that caused me to loose track of the features I was counting off and the general distance to #1 and almost end up on the edge of the map instead. Not brilliant generally for the first few controls but once in the forest started to enjoy myself and get a bit more focussed on the navigation. Never seemed to get quite spot on in the control circle but in relative terms this wouldn't add up to all that much time loss. A little annoyed I could have gone a bit less hard-core on my long leg route choice and probably been just as quick (though I think the general principle of avoiding the temptation of the farmland and just getting on to that ridge and climb climb climb was the right one), but even more annoyed just how much I let things fall apart on 11 -12. Hopefully soon there'll be some routegadget to post links to, for all 3 races.

Attempted warm-down, kinda worked, I was walking normally for a few minutes afterwards!

Event: Auckland Champs
 

Auckland Middle Distance Champs routegadget- first real orienteering since limping out of the last race at QB weekend, I was honestly expecting to be navigating like an i-phone. So very pleasantly surprised to spike the first 3 controls and it didn't really go downhill very much from there. Lucky at #6 to see someone else punching it when my distance estimation was well out, and a little time lost at 7 figuring out exactly what was happening in the circle (still got there before any of the other 4 people who were already in the circle when I arrived). Only real nav-related complaints were that I didn't really need to pick my way carefully feature by feature into #4, could've just barelled in on a bearing I'm sure, and in general was never really looking ahead through the course like I do when I'm truly in orienteering-mode (eg hadn't even seen that the next leg had a big route-choice problem by the time I punched 4, let alone started weighing up options). Did see the classic branching spur trap for #8 well in advance when I'm not sure some people saw it at all. Physically not quick by any stretch of the imagination but pretty much kept the same smooth pace up all the way through. 5th, 12 mins behind paul (who was just as clean but somewhat faster obviously) and ahead of both messers Greenwood and Robertson which I don't think has ever happened and is very unlikely to happen again.

5ish minutes warmdown after the MD and similar warmup before the sprint

Auckland Sprint Champs. No route gadget - it won't let me visit all the controls!) The theory I'd developed during the middle, that doing no technical training whatsoever does wonders for orienteering, fell over pretty quickly during the sprint. During the most "sprinty" part of the course I just had no awareness of what was coming up next especially over the first few legs, and even when you're completely aware of where you are, in a sprint race that awareness of where you're going to be becomes so much more important. Still, not too much trouble, lost 20 seconds or so at #2 ducking into an alcove in the first building thinking it was the gap before the 2nd, had a wonky exit direction out of #6 but probably going fast indirectly wasn't much slower than picking my way carefully to #7 would have been, and got confused between the big and mini-train tracks long enough to pull me a little off my planned route to #8 but corrected what could have been a big disaster before it got too nasty. Getting into the grazed area slowed me down trying to look after my ankle, but the only leg that was truly affected by this was to #10 (the 3rd time John R overtook me!). I will admit my routechoice to 11 was made by the smoother footing, but I reckon it worked well anyway. Physically was pushing hard the whole way but struggling with it, definitely not the speed I used to get from that level of effort.

C • JR 1