Training Log Archive: Focus

JK relay.
The GEN team had three goals and we executed them really really well. Two controls by the way were sprintO around buildings, two controls were useless curragh like controls. Irish planners.

I'm impressed with the Quins performances on leg 1 and 2. I had a few mistakes at the beginning, maybe 3mins overall. But I got it together after that. I was tired, like everyone. A sprint finish wasn't on the cards so i jogged in. Today i was looking to train ignoring distractions for tiomila preparation. I thought it was good to have that goal than to go out and just do my best. I did it well going head to head with Darren alot but seeing as i kept looking for him i don't think i nailed it. Big sprint from him at the end so glad i was just a little ahead of him into the last control. Fairly nackered today at the start flag.

C • wasted sprint 2

JK long.
Legs are even better than the first two days!
So i did alright today. Four minutes behind Nick without a single day of endurance base running! I had 9 weeks off during that period where i cycled to and from work. So yes i'm happy things aren't so sucky in the long distance department. But yes of course i was 11 and a half mins down on Hector Hains so there is more work to do. But that's for next winter. Today i didn't care about the WOC spot for long. I wanted to race good in the unofficial IOC long race. I beat Magic by four seconds today. And Nick beat me overall with day 2 and day 3 combined by one second. I didn't have any goal for the overall, i had a goal just for each individual race. And i'm mostly happy except for a shit sprint result. I can accept my mistakes, that's the sport, but i just hate how my damn ear plugs didn't do their job.
Alot of controls in the beginning of the course were dead easy, a disgrace at best. Irish planners. It's a controllers job to help the planner not do these kind of shit things, in case any twat is wondering.

JK middle
I had a good nights sleep. The legs felt better today than yesterday which was great.
Course was fine, a standard middle. They did give us one useless control beside a field and then the next leg across the field. This gave us plenty of chance to plan ahead and yet they had plenty of room to make a 100% rock hard middle. Irish planners.
The race started with a 20-30second parallel mistake at the first. But i realised it very early and nipped it in the bud. Was quite pleased actually. Didn't have too many mistakes really. I was going nuclear meltdown Japan style on the last quarter but managed to keep myself together barely. I had to stop dead some times to get my shit together.
Now i'm selected to run the middle distance at WOC.

Event: JK 2011
 

I slept on the floor in stansted last night. I've done this before with the same good matress of mine and sleeping bag but this time maybe my ear plugs weren't good enough. Too much broken sleep and not enough deep sleep. I should have gotten the hotel i was thinking about for the 6-7 hours sleep instead of 5-6 broken hours. Biggest mistake this weekend. But if the ear plugs did work i would have been fine because my matress and bag are good. And i had a blow up pillow. I had a good idea just didn't know the ear plugs would be bad. Or maybe i chose the wrong spot to sleep in.

JK sprint.
My legs were trash today from the bad sleep last night. Funny thing was that i didn't really start using them until half way because my face was in the map too much. Great course, could have done with leaving 2 to 4 controls out. I'd like more sprints like this, lots of bulidings, traps and gaps. This course wasn't about choosing routes it was about finding routes. I had 14 mistakes out of 28 controls. Picking the wrong route on 2 or 3 legs i would regard as a mistake since the right route is obvious once you find it.

Even with 14 mistakes i don't think it was a disaster race. I knew on the run that everyone would be having trouble. Or maybe i know that i ran shit but understand that i at least set myself up nicely for the sprint selection spot.

Too many mistakes to disect with a lame blog post in staccato sentences. Mistake of the day was leaving the second last control thinking i was leaving the third last. That gingerness cost me.

Right knee was good before run last night. Before bed stiffened up. This morning was stiff but not like yesterday. Got some other niggles here and there. The weeks taper will sort it all out.

Did a 3.6km course. The others were doing a pair gaffling course. Legs still trying to recover from sprint SM. I think the body won't feel recovered and rested until friday. Shit for confidance. But it'll be alright on the day.
I bought some new red Inov8s for half their price tonight off a clubmate who only wore them once. They're great for sprints and for open mountain but not good for scandi forests because you feel the rock and tree branches too much.