Training Log Archive: ColmM

Nice run with Jack McL, I was hungover.
Quit my job

C • Love it 2

IMRA Tibradden - 3rd

Started at a steady pace with the front group of 3 others - Luke McMullan, Barry Cronin & Harry. This was fine for approximately 2-3mins until it started to get a bit steeper and all of a sudden it felt like a repeat of this race in 2016, when I went with the leader, got dropped early, and got passed on the climb to tibradden by the next pack of 6/7 people.
I dropped of the other 3 a bit and could hear the breathing catching up with me, but I’m a bit fitter now so I generally kept it at bay and stayed in 4th. Up over tibradden, could be worse. Not full of beans after the weekend, but managing along alright, and despite not feeling amazing Harry seemed to be coming back a small bit as we ran towards Fairy Castle.
He was still a decent bit in front at Fairy Castle, but I gained back a decent chunk back down and around to the Wicklow Way on some trickier stuff.
Back along the Wicklow Way & through some rockiness he wasn’t far ahead but I didn’t feel I was gaining. Back up towards tibradden the climb made him feel a little closer, and as it started to flatten I could see he was tiring so I pushed on and got the gap pretty small. He just about missed a turn but I shouted and he got it back, but it was enough for me to get on his shoulder. Coming off tibradden I was breathing right down his neck, he was moving well, but as it went on I looked to be going a little better, but was caught behind on some racing lines still. We came up to two boulders & I hopped one and some hesitancy from Harry was enough for me to get in front.

From there I kept pushing and was pretty confident. Then the descent got steeper, and while it didn’t feel perfect, I knew it was going solid and was probably too much for him to close back.
Onto the fire road I saw Barry coming back from a wrong turn so pushed on to get close in the last km or so, but never close enough.
Happy enough, Luke & Barry still too strong, but solid mostly.

Ran this in 2015 in 48-low. Nice confirmation of what I’ve been fairly certain of. Definitely in better shape than previous years, even if I was not in my best shape then in 2015.

Also got a woc middle spot in 2015 one month after that race, with a much worse technical & physical performance than I produced at the weekend. All points now proven really.
Granted looks like it was 300-400m longer preciously because of start / finish, though it also stuck to the boardwalk instead of hitting tibradden summit (minor difference).

Happy with the race, certainly considering it felt like there might be more.

C • Mullet point 2

Both ankles still a little swollen, probably grand to run on, but I don’t have much need to train right now, so it seems pretty easy to have a rest day, and I’d like to give tibradden imra on home turf a good bash so.

Wrote up on the test races + some thoughts on next plans, but they’re a bit up in the air so.

O-intervals on kirkebydagen.
Really quite tired today for whatever reason so was a bit off the pace and also had a huge mistake on #8.
All in all very enjoyable though.

Woc Middle Test race - 4th Irish

This was arguably the most important race of the season, the only argument being that WOC middle would be more important assuming this went well.
I was pretty nervous / anxious about it, and probably more on the anxious side than the excited side.
I’d struggled with sleep too the last few days while here in Norway, but also not too worried about it because I’m not someone who traditionally needs a the best sleep, though obviously some good sleep would have been nice.

Warming up I didn’t have much concept of how I felt, legs were tingly, but mostly still anxious. To the start, number on, gps on, saw a few people start, last few strides and off.

I started with Regborn, so ignored him as he was inevitably going to go off too fast for me. I read #1 but was probably still a bit too rushed as I think I saw the ride through the middle, but didnt want to zig-zag too much and opted for a right-hand routechoice up through the semi-open, and coming down straight to the end of the hill just before the control. Executed it rather poorly by cutting up too early and going through the green and over a crag and being more straight. I didn’t get through it too badly, but certainly 20sec worse than the obvious left route on the rides. Still I came into it a little hesitant but quite well, so it wasn’t the worst start.
#2 didn’t seem too bad so I tried to plan a little ahead and stuck to my line, read it alright and saw mark (2mins) coming out of it which made it nice and easy. Went right to #3, and back round left before straightening up. I’d read this as a hill in the start box but forgot coming in and searched the re-entrant which was maybe 10-15sec, with no longer any sign of mark (now behind me).
Got a grand line to #4, and had decided on right to #5 through the open and then light green. This route was fine, I wasn’t pushing hard and didn’t feel aggressive through the green, ended up slightly right but got it okay. This was a little bit of a theme.
I hadn’t taken a chance to plan ahead for #6 and wasn’t sure but opted for the open down to the left. I think right to the rides might have been better but this first part wasn’t too bad. However I then decided to stay a bit on the left line, and was probably just rushing things a little and not reading the map enough to make sound decisions, as the re-entrant through the middle had to be nicer. I knew where I was but zig-zagged wide of the control and lost approx. 1min on it, despite coming in very cleanly.
#7 was easy enough and I tried to move a little better, got it fine, and saw the Lidingö runner (2mins after me) in his way to #8. My line was a little left but I realized and as I came into #8 I saw him hitting it and was nearly with him now.
Took the same route to #9 and got it cleanly but I wasn’t pushing and the pace was a little relaxed. I was tucked in behind him on a nice line to #10 at a similar pace, small miss in the circle (10sec) & passed josh (4mins) here, which was another slight boost. Then I split on a slightly higher line to #11 looking for better running and punched at the same time.
I went slightly around to #12 and another hesitancy but got it okay (5sec), and ran off toward #13 with him just behind.
Nice line to 13 and the hut made it very easy early on, tiny bit low but hit it fine, and could see Shea not far ahead now (6mins).
He looked on a good line towards the track and I was keen on that left route so kept on the compass and closed the gap down the hill. Came up just behind him and took a different line to punch #14 just behind Shea & Lindingö fellow.
Down to the spectator I knew it hadn’t been ideal, but it had been alright so I still had a chance at a spot, and I went for the road route while the other two went straight to #16. Felt a little risky to split, but the road looked safer, and despite feeling slow climbing off the road, I got into it well, and saw the others a little behind.
Not much to go from here, got #17 cleanly, up & over to #18, but sloppy coming in and stopped wide losing 15sec maybe.
From here I made sure to push hard into the finish, if there was a chance of me making the team I didn’t want to lose it on the last two, which could have proved important as I passed Paul on this section.

Overall, it was just a bit sloppy. The mistakes probably add up to ~2mins. You don’t expect to have an ideal race, but I had been having some really good orienteering on the camp last month, and whether it was the anxiety or not, I was less precise today, and also never quite got pushing as hard or orienteering as aggressively as I’d like or as I know possible from the recent trainings.

In the end I was 1’20” down on roar in 3rd Irish and have to settle for no woc this year. Pretty disappointing because I invested quite a lot into making woc this year, but the guys orienteered much better than me today.

I dislike test races like this a lot, for what reason I don’t know, but I do find them much more anxious etc and don’t have a great record at them. I’m pretty sure I would find woc itself or similar big races much less intimidating because I don’t mind as much where I come, I just want to put down a strong performance, where as in the test races, I don’t seem to care as much about the performance, I just want to get the result that gets me there. How silly. This feels similar with some other national races where I am result-focused rather than performance-focused.

All that said, I don’t think this was the worst race, and as hyped up, it was a strong Irish field, probably the strongest in years. Any other year I’ve done woc test races a performance like this would have easily got me into the team (aside from maybe 2014 & 2016 when we had 1 spot - and even then I would have got relay). That probably played a factor as I was relying a little on other people not being as fit or not performing as well as they did, because traditionally this would have been the case. This may have allowed me to get comfortable in my sloppyish / steadyish orienteering, I’m not sure, but I certainly wasn’t really pushing for a good performance.

Well, lots to think about for future, and a long time to think about them as it’s 2 years till the next forest woc.

What I’ll aim for now, I’m not entirely sure. I’m still very fit by my own standards. I don’t have any races coming up immediately, but I have a few bits and pieces lined up over the next couple months:
- warriors run (24/08)
- reeks Skyline maybe? (07/09) / possibly SHI
- mournes (21/09)

I might go do woc spectator races, and I may also try find some road or track stuff to do to see what I can run while the chance is there.

Sad warm down. Went to do a jog down the road in the rain, but didn’t really have the motivation so went and sulked in some forest for a little bit.

Football - 3.24km, 12:25/km.

Around some o-intervals on Olåasen, ankle holding up surprisingly alright. Really happy with it. Moved a little quicker through the forest and felt good