Training Log Archive: Lizzie

Was meant to meet Iliana at 4pm for the first of 'Project Iliana and Lizzie's road to WOC' interval trainings. We were meant to begin this project after NM Sprint...but yeah...
No better today either. I was at the door putting my shoes on, when my neighbour (and landlord) showed up and asked if I could help with assisting his wife down the stairs and to the car. She's at least 85 and not in good health. And their stairs are the narrowest, tightest turning staircase you've ever seen.
Anyway, 10mins later they were in the car and I was off!

...Did not find Iliana. Even with my best no-warm-up tempo effort to get to our meeting point :( Continued the tempo to Venås where we were to run hill reps. but she wasn't there either. Did the classic o-gang bird call to try find her. But either Bulgarian birds sound different, or she wasn't in hearing. Or most likely both.

Obviously this project is jinxed. So I think we'll cheat and say that our head to head race on Sunday was the official first session of the project!

Ran a short hill interval session by myself. 8 reps on an about 3min cycle. First four hills had times of 1.14, 1.15, 1.14, 1.13. Then my watch died. So I'll just go ahead and assume the second four were about the same.

Hot.

Jogs downhill and warmdown.

Got home to find missed calls from Iliana. I must have missed her by about 2mins at our meeting point. I feel shit for leaving her hanging, but on the other hand, I feel my excuse is fairly solid. Not much different I could have done there...

She did not hear my bird call. And Bulgarian birds do not sound like my bird call.

C • Bulgarian birds 2

Gränsjakten Long

Chasing start based off yesterday's results. However Miri didn't start, so I headed off 2nd, 15s behind Line and with Iliana another minute and a bit behind.
Line and I scrapped around at #1, and then faffed 1min on #3, where Iliana slipped by without us seeing her. We were too low (or actually correct height) in the re-entrant and missed the flag, which was tucked up in the top (where it shouldn't have been...). Anyhow, on we continued and I first glimpsed Iliana ahead on the long road to #4. Also dropped Line somewhere here. The rest of the course was playing cat and mouse with Iliana. We kept taking different routes up until the 10th control, but she kept popping out between 5-30m ahead of me. From there I was right on her tail, and took the lead down toward #12...which was on a rock like 5-10m from a track junction...I was surprised then, to see there was a control right in the middle of the track jn, which I was very wary of. And sure enough, not the right #. Our control was right where it should be, tucked behind the rock a few steps away. Obviously the distance rule doesn't count if one control is on a 1:10000 map and the other is on 1:15000??

Anyway, I got my control, and yelled at Iliana to make sure she got the right one. Which was just as well, as I glanced over my shoulder as I shouted, just as she was punching the track jn! Glad the hesitation she took meant we didn't have to sprint off in the finish chute ;)

I saw someone ahead of Iliana going out of #5, so have to admit I assumed there was another girl ahead of us both for the whole rest of the course. But apparently not. So I added a bit more weight to the theory that while I can't win individual races in Norway, I can if I just hop over the border ;)

Gränsjakten mellom
Nice terrain and nice weather, an enjoyable middle distance down in Stromstad. Was hitting the controls well and going quite smoothly for the most part. only thing sitting at the back of my mind was that Sunday was meant to be twice as long, and I was tiring in the terrain already!
Nice clean race aside from getting the wrong route choice 5-6. I wanted to avoid the green (correct choice), so went back out to the small track, at which point I realised I could have dropped straight down the hill to a larger track...so I was running 2.5sides of a square rather than 1.5. Oh well. Otherwise, only blip was having fun searching all over the ruin at the penultimate control, rather than read my description.
Ended up 3rd 1min behind Miri, who made the same two mistakes as me, so I can't pin the time difference onthem! :)

Foot is remarkably OK following all the ice and rest yesterday. I was obviously just being a wimp.
Went for a spin around Høiåsmarka, which always gives a ridiculous looking km rate thanks to all the rooty single tracks. But it's boring to stay on the gravel paths ;)
Having said that, I've given up on taking anything other than lysløpa on the 2nd half up to høiås. Anything other track and I'm slower than if I ran. Caught Thomas up as he was running up lysløpa. Got the added entertainment of watching a not-quite-so-in-shape guy trying to chase him up one of the climbs. It was an impressive, but short lasted effort!
Stopped for a chat at the top, then looped home on single tracks.

Token, but better than nothing

Jog out to the start. HR more normal today, jogging along at 140

Headed out to do the EM (but now VM) Middle training course out at Skolleborg with Karoline.
Pretty heavy and tough going with the veg, but beautiful terrain. A lot of hiking on the uphills, but was moving steadily at my nice slow pace.
A number of the controls involved hitting the feature and then having a treasure hunt for the tape, as they were often tied to the bottom half of the undergrowth, which is much taller and greener than when the tapes were hung in April! I took the time to rehang a couple of them, as they were bordering on ridiculous (and I assume Magne and Thomas have already run the course, so they won't complain that they are now hung too high ;)
Enjoyed the training, but wish I'd cut out at #15. I was picking my way through thinned green stripes to 17 when I innocuously hit the top of my foot on the end of a stick. Was OK finishing the training, but I must have hit it directly on the bone to my 2nd littlest toe. Painful and stiff after.

After some umming and erring, and consulting Dr. Brother back in NZ, I took up Kine's offer of a lift to ER to get an x-ray of my foot. Just to be safe.

Unfortunately, it turns out Halden ER is only open certain hours during the summer. Classic Norway.
Weighed up the effort involved in getting in today to see my Dr for a referral up to Kalnes (plus the hours involved driving up and then waiting for an x-ray at Kalnes) vs the chance that anything was actually broken.
Decided this was a sign that my foot was OK, and opted to go home and RICE things out.

Kept Kine company for her intervals at the fortress. She was planning 3 x 15min, which I'm dubious about calling intervals, more like masochistic torture, especially given the temperature. I didn't have any intention on joining for all 3 though, especially at the speed Kine set off at!

Stuck with her for 1.5 ints, then succumbed to the delights of the ice cold tapwater in the fortress rest-rooms. Joined for the last hill of the 2nd loop, by the end of which my legs were 100% lead. So jogged around while Kine did her 3rd int.

Another day with an achey chest and higher than normal HR. Both I've been told is nothing to worry about,. The former is post-op adjusting still, and the latter is either the same, or my immune system is working on something. Either way, I'm keen and want to get out and enjoy training, but my body just isn't playing game yet. Have to patient.
Efforts were: 2.85km; 13.40, and 1.4km; 6.17, and a 1.17 bonus hill.