Training Log Archive: GD44

MDC Run - from Ty Nant. Ran with a new potential new member Ffion Davies and the senior Dallimores.

RTW

Ride home from Cardiff Bay to Whitchurch via Pont Ebbw.

Bike: Cannondale Commuter

Rtw

Work to Newport to Whitchurch on the commuter.

Drove back to West Wales to sympathise with my grandmother as her hubby passed away. Came back to Cardiff and bought second hand full susser off Jon Dallimore.

MDC - Neuadd Skyline

I ran with Alan Stone.

Tongwynlais 4.2mile loop. Legs tired from weekend.

SWEMBO Summer Sleepover Day 2 - Wareham Forest

3hr event

Decided to go anti-clockwise as I thought there would be more bail out options should I run out of time. As it turned out, I cleared the course with about 15mins to spare.

S>3: OK. Stopped one junction too soon to look for rhododendron but knew I was too short so carried on after short look. Caught up with Sion James.
3>17: OK
17>21: Two route options. In hindsight I should have taken the other one to reduce descent/ascent. Overshot the CP and lost 1 minute. Sion was behind me yet got there and departed before I dibbed.
21>16: OK but could easily have shot past it.
16>23: OK - long road section
23>19: Caught up Sion soon after 23 and rode the road like a ITT holding onto the map board stand to stay aero!
19>18: Stopped for 90s to study map and decide next steps.
18>15: Not quite on the the track I had intended as I took a firebreak which was actually a gravel track and ended up in a different place that I intended. However I had overhead power lines to help me re-orientate. Lost 1 minute as I was looking in a different ditch/track crossing to the one they put it on.
15>20: OK but I stopped again soon after 20 to decide on whether I should go for 8 or not. Decided not to which was a good call. Stopped for 90s.
20>14: Took a perfectly legitimate bridleway which not many others did as it was shorter. However it was very overgrown and I ended up faceplanting in deep mud after the ground swallowed my front tyre and the forks! Map was plastered with very dark mud.
14>5: Struggled to find the CP as it was difficult to find at the track junction. Lost 1 minute.
5>6: OK
6>22: Wronf route choice into this as I descended and had to hike-a-bike up a steep sandy steppy climb. Alternative route around the top was far better. Probably lost 60s.
22>10: Went back a different way to the approach but struggled to find the track back down to the valley. Ended up running/hiking across fallen trees. Probably lost 1-2minutes.
10>4: OK
4>11: Stopped to look too early. Description was bridge and I stopped at a handrail next to a pond.
11>9: Ifor dibbed in at 11 just before me so I stuck on his tail from here. It helped me maintain speed and determination!
9>7: I headed off after dibbing CP9 before Ifor but he soon passed me.
7>8: Followed Ifor to the path junction but I found the CP before him. I changed my map and then followed him.
8>2: OK keeping up with Ifor.
2>13: Ditto
13>12: Ditto
12>1: Ifor dived into the Finish as he had finished but I had an in/out to 1.
1>Finish: OK

Happy to clear the course!

Finished 3rd overall on the day behind Ifor (2h:33m) and Tom Davies (2h34s). Ian Cartwright cleared too but in a slower time than me and so did Sion James but he came back a minute late.

I finished 3rd overall over two days, moving up from 5th yesterday as John Owens (3rd yesterday) didn't clear today. Sion and I finished on exactly the same score over two days but I had the faster time over two days.

Got two trophies:

3rd overall over two days
M40 winner over two days.

Event: Summer Sleepover '18
 

SWEMBO Summer Sleepover Day 1 - Purbeck

Bad day at the office but still managed 5th on the day.

Before starting I intended to go west first to get the bigger climbs out of the way but I changed my mind when I got the map. After looking at the map for 3 mins I intended to do S>2>16>20> however I turned right onto the A351 but thought I was on the yellow road 1km further north. Doh! I cycled 1.1km east on the wrong road (but not knowing it at the time) and found a public footpath on the ground which I though was a bridleway on the map. I sucked it up as a mistake on my part i.e. correct road but misread the legend. So I turned back the other way and went over a railway. WTF! I then realised I was on the wrong road. Done 1.2km unnecessarily and lost 5 mins. Lost another 2mins at rail bridge trying to work out what to do next. Aaarrghh!

S>10: OK
10>22: Bigger climb than I expected after #10 and stunning views on approach to #22 (top escarpment next to coast)
22>26: Another lovely ride along top of escarpment. A few route options after 26.
26>14: Lost a 750ml water bottle somewhere near the start of this leg on rocky descent. Steep climb up to CP from road!
14>21: Fast road section
21>9: Overgrown ORPA around side of farm and some tracks turned out to be tarmac roads which made me a little concerned but it was OK.
9>17: Steep climb up to 17. Joined a 100k ultra running route. Poor sods on such a hot day!
17>15: Ridgeway ride - nice
15>7: Description for 7 said gatepost so i went searching for gates and found plenty. problem was there were no CP on the gateposts. I went to the next gate to make sure and doubled back. Then found CP on a fencepost! Aarrghhh. Lost at least 3 minutes, possibly four due to uncertainty.
7>23: Description was gorsebush and there were loads of them! I was fuming as I was going back and for trying to find the CP. I then realised it was on a parallel track to the road I was on. Soon found it but lost 5 mins.
23>5: OK
5>25: Long road section but the description was fencepost and there were loads of them. Lost a little just slowing down to check all fence posts!
25>6: OK
6>3: Sand!
3>19: I almost flew past this CP.
19>12: Two route options into this but probably six and half-a-dozen so OK
12>8: I took the wrong track off the top and soon realised it as the bearing was 90 deg off. So I climbed back up and then descended another to find that went to the wrong place too when I found a sign saying 'Private path - no entry'. Lost 4 mins overall.

Ran out of water at this point 75 mins to go. I should have stopped in Studland to fill in at the public toilets like Ifor did. Had a very dry mouth from here to the finish!

8>24: Went through village of Studland Ok but went down a tarmac road thinking it led to the path. Turned out a track on the map was tarmac on the ground. Lost 90s on this error. Many people struggled to find #24 but I was lucky as the first little path I saw off the main path had the CP in it. Some people failed to find it altogether.
24>11: Two route options here but I decided to take the road option and it enabled me to change my strategy should I want to. Big climb in/out to top of ridge.
11>13: F*c*ing nightmare! I was in two minds as to whether I should go for this or drop it too. I went too far on a bridleway and missed the turn-off. I got totally disorientated but manage to re-orientate myself when I came across a track jct. I managed to get back on track and head towards the CP but it wasn't on a vegetation boundary as described. I went past it and headed back into the woodland where it was. Lost 11 minutes by missing the turn off and 2 minutes by overshooting the CP. Lost 13 mins in total on this leg.
13>18: It was now a case of trying to get back to HQ on the fastest route possible with only 25 minutes left. Big climb up to CP18 but with a welcome shelter through woods on the ascent.
18>2: Managed to find a massive pile of cow shit to go through which splattered my clean bike and my clean-yet-sweaty body. Found CP OK.
2>F: Longer than I anticipated and glad to be less than 3 mins over the 4.5hrs.

Collected 530 from possible 590 with 3pt penalty for being late. Final score = 527.

In summary I lost 32 mins. I would have cleared the course or come very close to it had I not. Oh well - great day out.

RTW

Ride home from work via Flats, Newport and St Mellons.

Warmup up River Taff

Down River Taff

Warm up

4 x 30s intervals with 30s active rest

Cool down

Up River Taff

Warm up

6 x 30s intervals with 30s active rest

Cool down

Down River Taff

Warm up

5 x 30s intervals with 30s intervals

Cool down

RTW

Ride home from work via Flats, Newport and St Mellons

Up River Ely

Down River Ely

RTW

Ride home via Flats, Newport and St Mellons

Whitchurch>Tongwynlais>Morganstown>Radyr>Whitchurch

Castell Coch loop

Felt strong today and surprised to get under 1hr considering I was 64 mins a few days ago. Found myself running on my forefoot instead of my normal heel strike too. Perhaps it's the squatting and leg bridges at the gym having an effect?

Started out with strength work today and ended with stretches.

Mountain climbers - 2 x 60
Press ups - 20, 15
Pull ups - 5
Single leg bridges - 3 x 30s hold each side

Barbell squats (30kg) - 3 x10
Random squats - front and diagonals
Back lunges
Farmers walk (2x20kg) - 2 x 10
Sideways walk with bungee - 2 x 10

Bicep curls (10kg) - 3 x 8
Shoulder press (2x10kg) - 3 x 10
Dumbbell flys on ball whilst doing bridge - 3 x 10
Triceps pull downs (20kg) - 3 x 15


Lower body stretches

Event: Long Score Event 6 MTBO Score
 

BM MBO - Llandefalle

3rd overall. Not a faultless display but a steady one by me with no major time losses. I was a little hesitant in places as I was still forming a route strategy on the fly.

S>10: Went too far west looking at wrong junction. Lost 1 minute
10>09: OK but noted that others went direct across the moor to it - tut tut.
9>8: OK
After 8: This is where I dawdled and lost about 4 minutes to Mike Holloway's split due to route option decisions. I made the right call.
8>4: OK fast road
4>3: OK to highest point on course
3>24: indistinct trod as bridleway which was very overgrown on moor.
24>18: OK
18>17: Decided to stick to woodland track for shade and not the long road around. Turned out to be OK and rideable. In/out to 17
17>13: OK
13>7: OK
7>5: OK
5>25: A little hesitant on whether I should go for 11 or not. So I decided to go to 25 and decided there.
25>6: Decided not to drop to Lower Chapel to collect 11 (10 pointer) and went back up the same way to collect 6. I should have done 5>6>12
6>14: OK
14>15: A little hesitant as there were two route options. Other one (gravel roads) was probably faster than the grassy more direct one that I took.
15>16: Lost about 30s as was hesitant at track crossing and I wasn't sure which one it was.
16>19: OK. Passed Mark Morgan going in opposite direction.
19>20: Lost a little time as went E instead of NE. Realised my error and went back instead of running the risk of being accused of not stick to PROWs.
20>22: Decided to leave 21 and go direct to 22. Logic was that I could potentially get 21 from another direction later if I had time.
22>21 (incomplete): attacked 21 from the other direction (as did Miek Holloway) but I decided to can it after ascending the hill about 200m horizontal. Good shout but in hindsight I should have got it from other direction.
22>23: OK
23>25: Stopped too early but negligible time lost
25>2: I expected this to be fast but it was very up and down with some short sections of hike a bike. Good thing I dropped 21
2>1: Loved this bit! Fast road section then technical bit towards the end.
1>F: OK

Lower body stretches

Core
Mountain climbers
Planks - front and side

Upper body strength
Bicep curls
Tricep pull downs
Pull ups 4
Flys

Lower body strength
Barbell squats
Farmers walk
Sideways walk with bungee
Single leg bridges (3s holds)

MDC Tuesday Night Run - St Brides (MArtin & Kay)

Beautiful sunny evening including a run along the coast. Some took a dip in the sea but not me!

AGM afterwards which was held outside. Matt O'Keefe voted in as new Club Male Captain and Christine Farr ruled in as Club Secretary.

Moving time - 58:15 (Strava)
Elapsed time - 1:01:56

The normal 'go to' Castell Coch loop.