Training Log Archive: LilIn the 7 days ending Jun 18, 2012:
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Saturday Jun 16, 2012 #
Event: Jukola 2012
12 PM
orienteering 58:45 [3] 3.35 mi (17:32 / mi) +138m 15:33 / mi
shoes: VJ irock
Well, this went well...
Venla mass start was terrifying! 1200 teams, and for some reason we had number 368, so pretty far forward. The run out to the start kite was over a kilometre, so I concentrated on trying to run steady and stay on my feet more than anything. Lots of people obviously came past me - but amusingly when we reached the far end of an open field near the end of the taped route, I thought I was probably quite near the back now, turned round to have a look, and just saw a sea of hundreds of women stretching behind me as far as the eye could see! At the start kite we headed into the forest, and almost immediately I got a sharp branch pinging back into my eye. Was a bit worried for a bit as couldn't see too well and thought I might have split my lens or something, but it soon sorted itself out. Unlike me! I should absolutely have stopped and made sure I was in touch with the map, but it is SO HARD to stop with all these people running up behind and around you. So of course I ended up at the wrong first control. And then, inexplicably, I just ran off in completely the wrong direction, into an empty bit of forest. For ages. When I eventually came to my senses a little, I came back into the very vaguely right area, and found number 2. But then I STILL couldn't find number 1, even though it wasn't far away. I have very little explanation for this abysmal performance. I think probably the long run out just doesn't suit me at all, and the branch in the eye probably didn't help. And once I had gone wrong, I think I just panicked really quickly, because I couldn't believe I had done the same thing as two years ago. Such a dunce!
Anyway, after forty horrific minutes I still hadn't found the damn control, and the forest was completely deserted. I was so worried at the thought that I had dragged the others out to Finland and gone on and on about how great it was and how different from UK orienteering running in these huge packs, and now I was going to be sending them out on their own, so it would be just like a normal orienteering course and they wouldn't get the full Venla experience. So I decided to cut across to a much later control and just run the end bit. Which I did, and ended up coming in just slightly earlier than I could have been expected to had I had a really clean run.
Luckily the others were really cool about it, so we still had a fab time. The others all had great runs - Josie and Louise in particular - and hopefully they enjoyed getting to run while the race was still going on around them!!
So gutted and disappointed with myself, but at the same time we had such a fabulous weekend so I suppose that's the main thing.
For amusement I have uploaded my gps track to routegadget (very pleased with myself for working out how to do this I must say!) and it looks pretty much as I suspected. In fact it's amazing how, while I was out there, I was running around in such a random manner, yet when I looked at the map afterwards I was fairly quickly fairly certain where I had been. Silly silly girl.
Afterwards one thing that really brought home the quantum difference between Jukola and even the very biggest UK event... It turned out my eye wasn't too happy at all, so I trundled off to first aid, where after taking my details they directed me to 'the eye doctor in room 1'!! And actually v reassuring to have had it looked at properly, because (a) he took some stuff out that was stuck in it, and (b) he assured me that it was going to be ok - which is reassuring three days later when it is still massively sore and the white of the eye is almost entirely bloody all over! Nice.
Venla mass start was terrifying! 1200 teams, and for some reason we had number 368, so pretty far forward. The run out to the start kite was over a kilometre, so I concentrated on trying to run steady and stay on my feet more than anything. Lots of people obviously came past me - but amusingly when we reached the far end of an open field near the end of the taped route, I thought I was probably quite near the back now, turned round to have a look, and just saw a sea of hundreds of women stretching behind me as far as the eye could see! At the start kite we headed into the forest, and almost immediately I got a sharp branch pinging back into my eye. Was a bit worried for a bit as couldn't see too well and thought I might have split my lens or something, but it soon sorted itself out. Unlike me! I should absolutely have stopped and made sure I was in touch with the map, but it is SO HARD to stop with all these people running up behind and around you. So of course I ended up at the wrong first control. And then, inexplicably, I just ran off in completely the wrong direction, into an empty bit of forest. For ages. When I eventually came to my senses a little, I came back into the very vaguely right area, and found number 2. But then I STILL couldn't find number 1, even though it wasn't far away. I have very little explanation for this abysmal performance. I think probably the long run out just doesn't suit me at all, and the branch in the eye probably didn't help. And once I had gone wrong, I think I just panicked really quickly, because I couldn't believe I had done the same thing as two years ago. Such a dunce!
Anyway, after forty horrific minutes I still hadn't found the damn control, and the forest was completely deserted. I was so worried at the thought that I had dragged the others out to Finland and gone on and on about how great it was and how different from UK orienteering running in these huge packs, and now I was going to be sending them out on their own, so it would be just like a normal orienteering course and they wouldn't get the full Venla experience. So I decided to cut across to a much later control and just run the end bit. Which I did, and ended up coming in just slightly earlier than I could have been expected to had I had a really clean run.
Luckily the others were really cool about it, so we still had a fab time. The others all had great runs - Josie and Louise in particular - and hopefully they enjoyed getting to run while the race was still going on around them!!
So gutted and disappointed with myself, but at the same time we had such a fabulous weekend so I suppose that's the main thing.
For amusement I have uploaded my gps track to routegadget (very pleased with myself for working out how to do this I must say!) and it looks pretty much as I suspected. In fact it's amazing how, while I was out there, I was running around in such a random manner, yet when I looked at the map afterwards I was fairly quickly fairly certain where I had been. Silly silly girl.
Afterwards one thing that really brought home the quantum difference between Jukola and even the very biggest UK event... It turned out my eye wasn't too happy at all, so I trundled off to first aid, where after taking my details they directed me to 'the eye doctor in room 1'!! And actually v reassuring to have had it looked at properly, because (a) he took some stuff out that was stuck in it, and (b) he assured me that it was going to be ok - which is reassuring three days later when it is still massively sore and the white of the eye is almost entirely bloody all over! Nice.
Thursday Jun 14, 2012 #
Note
Had intended to run today but no time, plus feel slightly on verge of potential cold, plus pouring with rain. So rest instead. Determined to fight off any lurgi! Have had 3 or 4 nights of uninterrupted sleep in own bed, first for months (D recovering from fever) so would be weird time to get ill...
Tuesday Jun 12, 2012 #
8 PM
Running 36:58 3.18 mi (11:37 / mi) +3m 11:35 / mi
ahr:152 max:164 shoes: VJ irock
Pootle on meadow. Extremely soggy underfoot. Beautiful sunset.