Training Log Archive: Whitesheep

9x400m + 2x200m with 60/30s recoveries and an extra 2 mins after 3/6/9 400s
Felt like hard work all the way but good to get back on it after jk
Times 72-78 depending on wind, slope, dogs, passers by, and then 35/34

So many good things about the JK. OK we got lucky with the weather, but the organisation was great and the parking/arenas worked really well. I was pleasantly surprised by the areas. Thought Minley in particular was just perfect for a JK relay, not too physical, nice open arena, enough tricky bits to catch people out for going to fast, some open sections for fast pack/train running. Windmill Hill was also a really good middle distance area. I'm not sure there was a huge amount of meaningful route choice to be had on Cold Ash but it was lovely runnable terrain and the planning did give you a really long leg to think about.

But then I make it four missed punches in four days (one sprint, one middle, two on the relay). Two of those were on busy units where I went through as a group, but the other two were just me on my own. That is about one in every thirty controls; for comparison I don't remember ever missing a punch with SI or SI air.

It's not fair on the organisers for that to tarnish things, so will remember this as a great JK and hope for more SI/less Emit in the future.

JK relay - 1st on men's short
Great fun. Got near the front for the run-out and quickly worked out there were a few faster than me but not by too much. So planned to be steady and careful, and push hard when I needed to to keep the leader in sight.
No errors to speak of though I remember being pleased to see #3 and #7 pop up just as I was getting a bit uncertain of the veg.
Not exactly sure where I finished as there were a few different classes, but definitely in contention. Alex and then James had really good runs to bring us home first, both keeping their heads while chopping and changing the lead with some faster runners.

Then had an awkward finale with emit. At download the units weren't working properly so I didn't get a proper printout - just a basic download and then waved through with no indication of any problem. An hour and a half later I saw we were DSQ - turns out my download was missing #5. Went to the download tent to ask for the unit and the backup unit to be reread - no chance as they were both by now in a pile of thousands of other units. Given the issues they'd been having they reinstated us.

I think that is a fair decision and one that I'm confident isn't wrong. #5 was a common control, I can clearly remember going to it, and my GPS shows me going to it. After what happened on the sprint day I was careful to check for a flashing light at each control and so am as sure as I can be that if the main card didn't register my backup did. It is a shame there was no chance to check that. Also had a problem going through the spectator control in a group, but this time saw no flashing light on either unit and went back to re-punch.