Training Log Archive: cricketk

My Orienteering Season, by Kirsten Richards, aged not-W35 yet.

I've been thinking that I've been getting steadily worse at Orienteering over the course of this season, but now I go back and look at how I went and on which maps I ran really well, I'm much happier with my progress.

This is the first full season of H level courses for me and I'm actually making the transition OK. I think.

My pace over the ground has improved immensely. To whit - (by the GPS) at start of the season I was doing 13-15min/km and managed 10min/km in Kowen Forest where I only made two mistakes, rarely had to stop to make a decision and thoroughly enjoyed the map. This Sunday just gone, I made an enormous number of mistakes, stopped to think a lot and had trouble understanding the map at all, yet still managed to sustain under 11min/km. At the women's training weekend, on the map-memory exercise I did about 7 minutes/km. It was for less than 1km, but gave me a taste of what it might be like to know where I am and where I'm going all the time. It was very satisfying. I'd like more of it, please!

I'm pretty sure the increased speed is not translating into improved splits. I particularly stuff up the earlier legs, which is where I am still full of energy and bounce and seem to need it knocked out of me before my brain is willing to get involved in this orienteering business.

My tolerance for mistakes has narrowed. What counted as a reasonable level of confusion at the start of the year is now an unreasonable level of confusion. Unfortunately, I'm making it all much worse for myself by not sticking to the plan for each leg. I doubt myself after a moment of confusion and then try to correct something that is actually still on track - and thereby stuff it up monumentally.

The two really clean runs I've had this year were both on open farmland maps. (As were two of my complete disasters.) I need to remember this and not think I've suddenly forgotten how to orienteer in the bush. I haven't yet learned how to orienteer in the bush is closer to the truth.

Things I have learned this year.
1. Pay attention to the contours and not the rocks
2. Vegetation mapping isn't something you can use as a navigation aid (unless it's plantation)
3. Run to the attackpoint (or the catching feature) and don't quibble about every rock and barely discernable knoll along the way.

C • Farm land 4

Strength, stretch, roller.

Enjoyed doing bridges this evening. Weird.

Event: WA Long Distance Championships
 

Better day. But still not a good one.

Never quite got my shit together on the way to 1 and kind of fell over it. Made a stupid, stupid error on the way to 2 (had a plan, threw plan out the window, wandered around the bush cursing).

Overshot 3 after undershooting it. Complete map-reading fail.

Had a freakout on the way to 4 when it looked like what was supposed to come after the control (flattish, open-scattered trees) before the control. Probably the only time in recent history where my anal-retentiveness about double-checking rocks on the map was actually useful.

Did the leg to 5 as planned and surprise, surprise - it worked. Probably the only leg of the day through bush that I actually did well. Also the only leg of the day where I didn't second-guess myself. Even though there was a huge surprise boulder on the ground that wasn't on the map. I actually managed not to be waylaid trying to find it on the map. Bob said it threw him for a bit.

Faffed around at 6 on the rocky clearing on the edge of the circle.

Got confused by "yucky but good visibility" that I was expecting to be "plantation" and muffed my run to 7, after sustaining a pretty decent pace most of the way. Was happy with plan, but failed at the end.

Easy to 8, Easy through the plantation to 9 and finish.

Did nearly 2km less than yesterday, so an improvement, but really wish this was a three-day event (non-cumulative!) so I could have another crack at this map while the learnings are all still fresh in the brain.

Sunday afternoon on the new bits of the proposed commute-route with Rowl. Taking it very easy to allow for chatting and for Rowl to play with gears and brakes on her new road bike.

Long lunch in the spring sunshine at the 7th Ave Tav afterwards. Sadly, no pale ale on tap. But the tea was good.

Course 6 - Splits

Event: WA Middle Distance Championships, Malmalling
 

No explanation and no idea. Just didn't understand the contours and couldn't manage to concentrate on the map for 2 seconds together. I'd like to claim that I'm going too fast for my brain, but I think I mostly just lost contact with the map and then imagined the landscape.

Ran out of time long before I was ready to give up and had to run back to the caravan as a DNF. I think if I'd had another 40 minutes I would have at least been able to finish, but I also think I would have been happy to keep having a go for another couple of hours.

Pride very bruised.

A positive is that I found somebody's little water-bottle thingy about 20m from 1. They'll be pleased to see that in the caravan tomorrow.

Roller and stretch for legs, stretch and strengthen for shoulders.

Soft commute.

BREEZE from the causeway to the office.

BREEZE.

Had a nice man from which to draft for a bit, but couldn't sustain the pace and let him go after about 500m. I could see him pulling away and still signalling for the next couple of km. I don't know if he knew I'd been dropped, or if he just likes to stay in signalling practice.

DID NOT WANT. So didn't.

Mucked around in the warm 25m pool. Did lots of tumble-turn practice and switched around strokes and played dolphin and generally just had fun.

Felt pretty good this evening.

Bit lazy on the stretches and only one set of the ball exercises. Tried the new rotator cuff strengthening. Hmm. Lots and lots and lots of work to do here. Mmmm-ow.

Via physio to be declared healed enough that I don't have to go back until the next injury :-)

I really hate riding through town and have no idea how you guys cope with the evils that are pedestrians and traffic lights on a day-to-day basis. I probably spent nearly 10 minutes in total standing still or nearly so.

Home again. Enjoyed having the wind behind me along the Burswood foreshore.

Same as the last one - already starting to feel much more comfortable.

Untimed 200m at the end with flippers just to enjoy the speed.

Wander about the Maylands Peninsula foreshore prior to going cross-town to collect my bike.

Right knee still a bit tender from Sunday, but overall felt pretty good.

All different things hurt today. *grump*