Training Log Archive: Kat

Biking to and from the OK Linne clubhouse in the snow.

We had to get up early but didn't quite succeed so we were already pressed for time when we finally left the house. The plan was for me (carrying my big backpack) to ride on the back of Boris' bike, since that would presumably be faster than me riding on his piece of trash myself. But alas, it had snowed the night before and we were out early enough that the snow hadn't been plowed yet. Even though Boris tried to ride on the road, where a few cars had passed, his bike still had little traction (especially with me on the back of it). Honestly, I wasn't sure who was having a more difficult time of it - him trying to keep the bike from falling, or me trying to keep from falling off. The bike could not go straight but was veering from side to side. And I was wearing some type of O-pants with slippery fabric so that I was honestly afraid of just sliding off the back of the bike. Finally, after we fell in the snow together, we decided to try separate bikes. So I stood in the snow holding Boris' bike while he ran back to the house (no more than 100 meters behind, despite all of that struggling) to get the trashy one. Then, we half-walked, half-biked to the club-house. Murderous thoughts about the trashy bike continued the whole way.

This is probably one of the most pathetic training entries I have yet recorded on attackpoint.

After so much effort of getting to the clubhouse, Boris and I were happy to discover that we weren't the only ones who were late because of the snow and thus the other orienteers had not left yet for the training session. So we drove about 40 minutes out in the club car to some nice snow-filled woods. The plan was to do a long (about two-hour) course, running slowly and in groups. What actually happened was that Boris and I were the last ones to leave the cars because most of the Swedes had gotten there a bit earlier and were quicker to change.

Following Boris around through the forest isn't easy, especially when there's snow on the ground. Now, some tall people (such as Boris) don't believe this, but it is true that taller people have an advantage over shorter people in running through the woods with stuff on the ground (be it snow or bushes, such as heather). So while Boris ran around relatively easily in the snow, I felt like I was constantly jumping over things...It definitely felt like work!

Even before we started running, I was already somewhat unenthusiastic about it because the groups had gone and it's much easier running in a pack. And I had felt a bit carsick on the drive over and because of the rushed changing process, didn't really have time to get over it. So I wasn't feeling so good dragging myself through the woods. What I should have done, in retrospect, was to just tell Boris to go ahead and try to catch up to the others, while I went at my own pace. I would have been lonely, perhaps, but I also would have done some actual orienteering and maybe even had a chance to recover enough that I could actually enjoy running through the snow. But I kept telling myself I'd warm up to it and be ok if I just kept pushing, so I did.

The final straw came when, after running on a road for a few hundred meters, we had to dart back into the woods and cross a stream. I have not yet figured out the water features in Sweden and how to react to them, so I tried running across the stream and felt my right foot fall through. I have two nice bruises on my right leg now. [The neoprene socks really help, by the way. Despite being dunked in freezing water, my foot felt just fine.]

So, anyway, after I fell through the water, Boris rushed over to see if I was ok. I said I wasn't feeling good at all and he ran back with me, slowly, to the cars along the road. He helped me get my O-shoes off (no easy feat since the shoelaces were absolutely frozen) and gave me some tea. Then he left to do some more loops, while I stayed in the car.

I had the key to the car and figured I could turn it on and warm it up a bit since I was cold. But each time I started the car, it moved forward. [I found out later that the reason the car kept moving was because it is a manual and therefore parked in first gear. I couldn't have known this, of course, because I am used to automatics.] So I gave up on that and just sat there looking over the map and drinking tea till Boris came back.

C • Yes!! I'm not the only one who... 3

Boris has an exam today so it is a rest, recovery, and recreational day for both of us =)

Running to and from Stadsskogen, setting a course for Boris, and then running the course Boris set for me.

Since we didn't have too much time to set courses and run them, I picked locations for controls that I knew I could find reasonably quickly, so I couldn't make Boris' course as evil as I wanted to.

Although I had a lot of fun setting controls, I didn't have as much fun finding the ones Boris set out for me. I had a bad fall and hurt my arm going to the second control. Then, since I had gotten back from setting conrols early (really, I should stop saying controls - they were pieces of toilet paper), my fingers were freezing. And after doing about half of Boris' course, my concentration was gone as well. Since Boris had class in the afternoon, I had to be at the finish at a certain time. So I didn't have time to finish the course =( But I will try to run it again, perhaps some time next week.

Biking to and from school with Boris. Now that Boris has a new, pretty, nice bike, I get to ride his old piece of trash. Grrr. I hate the damn thing!

The other day, I saw two kids throw a bike off of a cliff. It wasn't a very high cliff, but it was of reasonable height and I wondered why they would do such a thing. Well, perhaps one of these days I will go to that same cliff and throw Boris' old bike off of it. It will bring me immeasurable satisfaction.

C • Trash it 6

Another rest day. My blister is annoying enough that I didn't think I could run with it comfortably today. Also, I have been doing a lot more running these past couple of weeks than I normally do. Even though I don't feel tired and only slightly sore, it's probably a good thing if I take 1 or 2 days off from running each week for now.

Doing part of a night-O. Since this is Sweden, night-orienteering is extremely difficult here so I did the same thing I did last wednesday, which was to do only part of the course. The entire short course was 6.7 km and about 11 controls, and I did a bit more than half of it (6 controls). Even though I did get lost a few times and had to attack some controls multiple times from different angles, I was quite happy with my run overall. This time, I didn't feel lonely at all in the woods - none of the light panic I felt yesterday when I found myself on my own. And I did manage to keep track of the major features and go in the right direction - I tried to look at my compass as often as I could. Then, right when I was in the area of #6, I saw Boris, who was looking for a control close to mine. We found his, then found mine, then headed back in together. I actually felt like doing more controls because I was having fun, but decided to go back too since I got a bad blister on my right foot. Unfortunately, the neoprene socks I have are a bit too big for me, even though I got the smallest size available.

C • neoprine socks 3

Running to and from the Linne Clubhouse with Boris. We really have to stop running on hard ground wearing spikes...

I did about 3.8 km of a line-O with a group of orienteers, but then had to stop to tie my shoe. Even though I did this as fast as I could, they were gone and I was left by myself with no idea where I was. I ended up running by myself in the woods for over an hour and I probably did about 12.5 km total (although that is an estimate). It was lonely, wet, and somewhat scary. I was extremely glad to finally see the clubhouse again, and also very glad to see Boris waiting for me =) He gave me gingerbread cookies too. Good Boris.

Easyish run in Stadsskogen with Boris. Shins hurt and calves tight after the long race yesterday.

Gympa!

C • Gympa 2