Training Log Archive: Kat

Running to the start. Heartrate seemed very high for some reason.

EVENT: Uppsala Möte (middle distance)
COURSE: D21E, 4.22 km, 16 controls
MAP: Ekdalen, 1:10,000, 2.5 m contours
TERRAIN: Technical Uppland terrain, mostly white forest, but a few green areas. Some hills looked yellow, but were not mapped as such, and some huge rocks went unmapped as well.
MY RUN: Today, I knew I had to do my best, so unlike the previous times, where I started off thinking about taking it easy and not pushing myself, this time I was very aggressive both in my running and in my navigating. I made plenty of mistakes, some big (~5 minutes) and some small, but I really did do the best that I could. I was very focused the whole time, and when something threw me off (like the "white" hills that looked yellow), I tried to correct as quickly as possible. Physically, I felt really slow warming up, but ok in the forest.
RESULTS: 28/39 in D21E. Winsplits. Could have been 10th with a clean run. Quickroute.

Run to the start with Boris and Shep.

Training on southern Lunsen (the really cool technical part) with Boris. Usually, I am really excited to be on Lunsen, but today I had trouble concentrating and really caring about the map. So after doing half of the planned training, I decided to run back on trails.

Running back to the parking lot on trails. I felt a lot better doing this than orienteering, free from thinking! This was a good mix of trails - the first part was typical small forest trail, the middle section was indistinct trail/ride which was very rough and marshy at times, and the last part was a wide dirt/gravel path. I fell in a deep marsh once and got my hands wet, then couldn't tie my shoelaces a few minutes later because they were numb. I think I was too optimistic in not wearing gloves, but it was such beautiful weather!

Feeling really tired again, but got lots of work done today. The rest of the club is out pre-running courses on Ekdalen, which Boris and I were meant to do yesterday, but it never happened because someone very rudely took the club car and neglected to tell us. Waste of my time biking back and forth from the clubhouse, but that's the type of luck I've been having this last month. At least it is sunny today.

1. I have been on/off depressed the last seven weeks (for various reasons), but I hope that from now on things will start to improve. I am feeling somewhat better physically and my motivation is back. But the biggest change (hopefully) will be the improvement in the weather these next couple of weeks. I am a lot happier when the sun is out.

2. I've discovered Matt Carpenter's website. He has some interesting writings there, in particular about heartrate monitors, his first Leadville 100, and his altitude marathons in Tibet. Definitely worth a look!

3. A couple of weeks ago, I was seriously considering the possibility of living in Oahu, Hawaii for six weeks and running on the "trails" they have there. But the more I thought about it, the less appealing this idea became. The trails seem to be short, steep (some have ropes to aid in the climb!), and muddy. Then there's the humidity, heat, and jellyfish. Hmm. Perhaps it's better to just go to Colorado for my running vacations.

C • motivation 3

Running around Nåsten with Boris. We visited my favorite huge rock, which I managed to climb, although I scraped off a lot of its moss in the process. Tired in the beginning/end but felt ok in the middle.

Night training on Sigtuna with Boris. Time includes course (straight-line 7.0 km) and the run from the finish back to the car (a few minutes). Boris and I went rather slowly and did not make any big mistakes, just small zigs due to difficulty in keeping direction through the trees. Good technical training!

Running at the gym, first at around 7-8%, then at 9% for about 15 minutes. Did one minute at 12 km/hr, which felt fast but not quite interval pace. Would have stayed on longer, but it's really hot in the gym, so I couldn't take any more.

The usual, plus hamstrings (4x10, at around 10 kg.)