Training Log Archive: W

Sunday morning got off to a slow start (apparently that's how they roll in this country), so we didn't get to any training until probably 11:30 or so. But, then we did a nice sessions of intervals with a bunch of short loops. It was what I assume is more traditional Finnish terrain, which I'm finding tough but is growing on me a little. Everything looks the same. Although I had some troubles at some point, I also nailed some other things, I just wasn't moving very fast.

Focus was still not quite where I wanted it to be, and I still lose a bit too much time faffing about right within the circles. Next weekend is another race down near Turku, and one of the things I'm really going to think about is performance within the circle. Knowing what I'm looking for well ahead of time.

Travelled down to Yläne for Kevätyö, ("spring night") which is, *gasp* another night relay. Having done tons of night orienteering last fall, I felt less nervous than I might have otherwise, but still quite concerned given this is a relay and I really didn't want to let the boys down.

I let the boys down at #2. There was a long relatively easy leg to number 1. Then 2-3 were quite a bit more difficult. I knew it was going to be a tough leg, but I seemed to try to be aggressive anyway, which was dumb. I wanted to go over the top of the hill and then find myself on a flat area which would make it easy to follow down the small re-entrant into the control. But, the forest all of a sudden got quite a bit thicker and that stopped me from seeing what I wanted to see and I bounced off track, going well above the control, and then subsequently doubling back too low. I found it eventually, but lost quite a bit of time and place. Although there was still people around I wasn't running very fast and making small mistakes left and right.

I had mildly forgotten that feeling of embarrassment I have while running for this team since I'm so many places behind them. I get bothered by my own performance but its all compounded when I feel like I let the team down.

I think I did some things well but also did quite a few things poorly, the mental focus was just not there. As crazy as it sounds, step 1 for that issue may be to stop listening to music so much.

I'm still sort of searching for what specific things I can do differently this summer to make myself tangibly get better while here. Unfortunately the boys in the car were not too enthusiastic about brainstorming, so I'm still working on it. More terrain running will be a good start.

C • Specificity 2

A spin ympärillä Jyvasjarvi to see how the legs feel. They're still kind of tired, but unfortunately I don't really have time to dilly-dally what with Kevätyo this weekend. A night relay. A relay. At night. Yikes. I'm going second on our 4th team (out of 4), so with luck there will be people around that can help out. I certainly did more night orienteering last fall than I ever have before, so I feel more comfortable with it, but by no means does that make me an expert, and I've almost never been on this more traditional super fast kind of flat bare rock Finnish terrain.

So.... I really don't have any idea what to expect.

C • when in doubt 1

I popped out for an evening jog and tried to run all single track trails. They're still a little snow covered, but some are almost entirely clear. It was actually a little bit of everything. Some points were lovely forest, some were crazy icy slippery, and a few times I fell over in the deep snow. Guess I can't complain about variety, at least.

A couple of epic travel days, a Finnish speaking trainwreck (nee, "exam"), and I'm back in Finland and trying to loosen up with some jogs again. I had hoped all the snow would have been gone when I got here, but alas, that is not the case. There is certainly less snow, but the sun and the heat is not even remotely as powerful here as it is back home. I would very much like some decisive heat injections into the weather.

Relay action! My feet were definitely worse for wear, but I'm thankful that this terrain was really not at all rugged and pleasantly soft. Technically quite easy, but that meant running needed to be pretty high speed, and I simply didn't have that.

So, instead. Here's a conundrum. At one point, I was chasing one British fellow and another quite elite runner. When I arrived at my next control, they were looking around confused. There was a control in the middle of the marsh, I was pretty sure it was mine. BUT, from a distance, I saw that the number on the stand was NOT the number of the control I was looking for. So, I corrected a little, thinking I had made a mistake. I tried to relocate, and several other runners (not necessarily the elite runners), arrived, and wandered around a little confused. At one point I saw the "other" elite runner start running away with a purpose, meaning he clearly found the control we were all looking for.

Every time I relocated I ended up concluding that this control HAD to be the right control, but the stand clearly said it wasn't. It was around then that one person shouted and said that it WAS the control we were looking for. The box had the correct number, but the stand was wrong. Everyone around then said something in frustration, and punched and continued on.

If it were me, I feel like if I had been wandering around with others, and knowing we were all in the right place but there was a bit of a mistake by the organizers, I would tell everyone around. It seems like the sportsmanlike thing to do. But one of the elite runners clearly figured it out and said nothing. I suppose there could be arguments for both sides.

Which one is right?

Either way I feel a little silly for A) not checking the box itself, and B) not being confident enough to realize that this was clearly the right place. I know other people didn't notice the problem because the approached the control in a way that they couldn't see the number on the stand, so it wasn't a problem at all.

C • sportsmanlike 4

Polished off this mini-training camp with a trip up Old Man of Conistan, a fairly simply though occasionally steep "mountain" just across Lake Windermere. I was surprised of just how crowded it was, but it was a very easy light jog, and a really nice day. We then continued along the ridgeline and the bounded down a grassy slope and back to the parking lot ("car park").

Given the delightful weather it was a great way to polish off my last day in the UK and yet another reminder why it was crazy to leave this country back in 2011. I miss it. Lots.

Well, most of it. Almost all of it. A good portion of it. I think I'd have to live in very specific places if I moved back. Which is not out of the question, I suppose.