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Attackpoint - performance and training tools for orienteering athletes

Training Log Archive: Rosstopher

In the 30 days ending Apr 30, 2012:

activity # timemileskm+m
  orienteering20 20:48:54 112.31(11:07) 180.74(6:55) 174183 /129c64%
  Trail run7 4:39:03 20.8 33.47 369
  Strength5 3:53:00
  Innebandy5 2:40:00
  Total34 32:00:57 133.11 214.21 211083 /129c64%
  [1-5]32 28:59:17

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Monday Apr 30, 2012 #

Note

Rest day to spend the day admiring the controlled chaos which is Valborg in Uppsala. The duck race was really cool. Uppsala was really really full of people.

We grilled at Bloden and Line introduced us to grilled Halloumi.

Sunday Apr 29, 2012 #

11 AM

orienteering 36:15 [5] 6.18 km (5:52 / km) +18m 5:47 / km

Middle Distance Race Silva League race number 4. I ran in the E2 class, and had a good race apart from a few glaring errors. The 2nd control was especially tricky, I was right on course to hit the flag, but then I checked my compass and veered way off to the left. Talking to others, this was a common problem, perhaps due to some extra vegetation that was influencing runnability.

I ran well after this, but got way off on the 6th, and then when I missed the knoll (too low) I tried to relocate using a hunter's stand... but didn't see it on the map as it was obscured by the north line and course overprinting.

I was pleased at my speed and navigation except for the glaring errors on 2, 6, and 8.

When I finished, Per Forsberg glanced at me from the announcing booth and asked how it went (not over the loudspeaker) but that kinda made me feel cool, even if my most optimistic answer was ganska okej.

Saturday Apr 28, 2012 #

11 AM

orienteering 1:41:05 [5] 15.3 km (6:36 / km) +133m 6:20 / km

Solid long distance race at the Silva League race 3. I ran in the E3 class, and this meant my race wasn't 18K like the elite's, instead it was only 15.3.

I raced well, feeling smooth and in control. My biggest mistake came at control 7 when I started to second guess myself and I thought that the swamp looked too big, so I veered sharply right, and then had to come right back to where I had been headed.

I didn't start to feel exhausted until the car ride home :)

Awesome day and a pretty good race for me.

Friday Apr 27, 2012 #

12 PM

Innebandy 40:00 [3]

Innebandy with the work crowd. Feeling pretty competent for once, though not nearly as good as the real pros playing. The game has become too popular though, so I spend just as much time watching from the sidelines as actually playing. Oh well, it's an awesome thing to do on a Friday afternoon.

I skipped lunch to play though, which meant that by dinner time with Cristina and Melissa, I was pretty ravenous.

Thursday Apr 26, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 1:04:43 [3] 9.18 km (7:03 / km) +115m 6:38 / km

Wednesday Apr 25, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 1:00:04 [5] 9.59 km (6:16 / km) +56m 6:05 / km

Tuesday Apr 24, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 42:05 [5] 6.38 km (6:36 / km) +74m 6:14 / km

Monday Apr 23, 2012 #

5 PM

Trail run (backbanan) 25:17 [5] 4.86 km (5:12 / km) +118m 4:38 / km

At Boris's suggestion, the weekly backbanas have started in preparation for WOC in Lausanne. Sam posted on the training's bank and our advertisement meant that Olle and Johan joined us for the session, just before Rockgympa.

I biked over straight from work, and threw on my shoes as quickly as I could. I set out pretty fast, really pushing the downhills and Olle kept with me. Johan pretty quickly switched from running mode to cheering mode, so it was just Olle and me for the rest of the course. He was super strong on the hills, and he pulled a bit ahead after about 10 minutes, but I was able to recapture that lead on the downhills a short while later. Olle stormed past me on the last climb up the wall, and I hung with him as far as the last woods climb, but he was just too strong for me after that. I still managed a very respectable 25:17 and depending on how the Linné top 20 list gets curated, I'm now only a few seconds away from that vaunted membership (Rob Hart, currently in 19th with 25:15).

Very satisfied.
6 PM

Strength (Rock Gympa) 40:00 [3]

Rock Gympa seemed hard tonight. Lots of hip swiveling and some good explosive jumping exercises. Some fast high knees, just to keep the tradition going :)
7 PM

Innebandy 25:00 [3]

A fast paced, well played game of Innebandy. When Hannah dropped out, and it became 3 on 2, then there was a lot more running :) Pretty exhausted by the end of it.

Sunday Apr 22, 2012 #

11 AM

orienteering 1:14:06 [5] 12.53 km (5:55 / km) +130m 5:37 / km

Stigtomtakavlen. A 6 person relay run by what seems to be Peter Öberg's extended family. It was pretty cool to see the Swedish Superstar putting so much work into making the event run smoothly, though the most amusing part was the little shop that sold locally sourced meats and sausages with a little sign saying that these sausages were Peter's favorite!

The relay started on Saturday night when Carl set out on the first night leg for my team, and I crawled into bed at about the same time. We had to get up quite early in the morning, so I only saw the results while eating breakfast the next day. Carl, Pontus, and Simon did all the hard night-time work, and then Mattias Millinger was 4th, taking it easy on a post-injured leg and I was 5th. A last minute cancellation meant that we didn't have a 6th runner lined up, but Inga was interested in doing our last 9k as a second race, and so we could get an official time.

I set out onto the 11k course just moments after the three top teams sent out their 6th leg runners. There were lots of people in the forest, but I didn't have many people running in the same order as me.

I had a very good race for me, with only a few small hesitations. I had a serious mistake on the 22nd, but recovered pretty well and was certainly quite pleased with the effort when I crossed the line. Inga had missed me in the spectator loop, and so she wasn't waiting in the changeover zone when I came through, but Sam went to get her and we tagged off without too much time lost. We beat the mass start, which was quite cool.

Splits

Saturday Apr 21, 2012 #

9 AM

Trail run 1:45:00 [3] 17.0 km (6:11 / km) +93m 6:01 / km

Friday Apr 20, 2012 #

12 PM

Innebandy 40:00 [2]

5 PM

Strength 1:00:00 [3]

Thursday Apr 19, 2012 #

Note

6 PM

Trail run 27:25 [2] 3.4 km (8:04 / km) +52m 7:30 / km

orienteering 25:51 [5] 5.06 km (5:06 / km) +78m 4:44 / km

Trail run 23:52 [2] 3.43 km (6:58 / km) +40m 6:35 / km

Wednesday Apr 18, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 1:27:10 [5] 14.05 km (6:12 / km) +45m 6:06 / km

Tuesday Apr 17, 2012 #

6 PM

Trail run 11:48 [2] 2.16 km (5:27 / km) +31m 5:05 / km

orienteering 49:42 [3] 6.01 km (8:16 / km) +36m 8:02 / km

Monday Apr 16, 2012 #

6 PM

Strength 40:00 [3]

Much like Sally Brown struggling with "New Math," tonight OK Linné had another attempt at the new Rockgympa. A full crowd tonight and a more streamlined set of hurdle drills to work on. The drill where you duck low and weave in and out of a line of people seemed to be the most challenging for most of us, really forcing a good hip flexibility. Also the explosive drop jumps are really fun. For these, we stand on a bench, and then in one smooth motion drop off the edge of the bench, landing on our heels as we simultaneously push off from the balls of our feet to jump vertically up and over a limbo stick. We're only doing a few so far, I bet it would be easy to get injured trying to do too many too soon.

I had a little high-knee show down with David tonight in the last session :) I was foolish to challenge him, as he is unstoppably fast on that drill. 40 seconds of our speediest high-knee bouncing makes for a tough session.
7 PM

Innebandy 25:00 [3]

Some intense innebandy tonight. People were feeling pigg tonight for sure, and there was a lot of rough housing and joyful playing around in the gym. 4 on 4 became 3 on 3, and then 2 on 3... and Christopher and I ran ourselves ragged trying to keep up :) fun times.

Sunday Apr 15, 2012 #

11 AM

orienteering 48:52 [5] 5.3 km (9:13 / km)

Middle Distance WRE. I got a chance to run in the Men's Elite class which was really fun, if a bit undeserved. Spots were awarded a bit differently than normal, and having WRE points from running WOC qualifiers last summer got me a slot in the much better category.

I started out well, mostly in control and running at a good speed for me, but my race came off the rails at control 14, when I really ran hard out of the control and down the wrong spur.

This error threw off my game, and I spent the rest of the race running hard but not thinking clearly, probably a reaction to trying to catch Robbie Anderson, who started 2 minutes after me and passed me on my mistake at 14.

So, a few more mistakes and a fun sprint down the finish chute (didn't quite catch up to Robbie again, but it was close), where a temporary power outage resulted in the inflatable finish arch deflating and hitting me on the head as I crossed the line :)

A fun day, good weather, great terrain, challenging course (set by a friend of USA orienteering, Anders Björklund) and I am satisfied. 3 seconds faster would have been nice, as I would have liked to beat Erik, even if he did seem to be jogging the end of the course.

Splits

A massive 45% behind the leader and 870 WRE points.
8 PM

Trail run 19:59 [3] 2.5 km (8:00 / km) +30m 7:33 / km

After the agonizingly long van ride back to Uppsala, we were discussing going for a jog as a positive way to erase the cramped driving feeling. So I quickly changed and ran into the lab to check on some samples that I couldn't remember putting back into the fridge on Friday. Everything was as it should be, so I turned around and came home. Chill night, but good to stretch the legs.

Saturday Apr 14, 2012 #

10 AM

orienteering 1:42:56 [5] 13.05 km (7:53 / km) +288m 7:06 / km

Long Distance. I ran in the Elite 2 course (E1 is the elite, the rest of the field is split randomly into E2 and E3.) After a slightly shaky start (missed 1 and 2, each by a little), I had a pretty good run. Really enjoyed the forest and the challenge presented by the steep hills.

After the race, I was discussing route choice with my clubmates and they told me that my route to 16 was probably the worst of the various options. I guess I just got used to going straight, and it can be hard to know when going around is worthwhile.

Splits

20% behind the leader, in the less competitive E2 class

Friday Apr 13, 2012 #

Note

Travel day to the Silva League opener at Göteborg. This race series is a big deal for the elite categories and so, for me, it's also a chance to compare myself to the best in Sweden.

A long drive to the hostel. The west coast is rainy, cold, and far away :)

Thursday Apr 12, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 1:40:00 intensity: (30:00 @2) + (30:00 @3) + (40:00 @5) 12.0 km (8:20 / km) +44m 8:11 / km
spiked:16/26c

Orienteering Intervals on a really beautiful evening. Felt quite warm and the tiredness I was feeling going into the training evaporated as soon as I started running.

We split into groups of 4 tonight based on mother's mother's first name, alphabetically, and that had me running with Fredrik, Joel and a newcomer who's name I have forgotten. ( Lelah, got me in 11th out of 12 guys)

After the first interval, the new guy broke off and did his own thing, and for the rest of the intervals the three of us were fairly evenly matched, which made for a super fun training.

At the end there was a 3k technical loop that I did at a relaxed pace, though the last few controls on the slope of the valley were quite physically demanding and I was getting a bit tired.

Garmin ran out of batteries partway through. The only time my 305 charges is when I update my AP log, and I haven't been doing that enough recently.

Wednesday Apr 11, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 56:48 [5] 8.68 km (6:32 / km) +101m 6:11 / km
spiked:6/13c

Wednesday night orienteering course at Hagby. Interval starts on an unforked course.

I started well, taking a very secure route to the first and getting into a nice flow in the wide open woods. Lost quite a lot of time on the 4th control when I hit a set of cliffs that aren't on the map which stopped me much earlier. I was hesitant to move on because the cliffs looked like those in the control circle and the field below me matched up too. I did eventually climb up and realize that I hadn't gone far enough along the hill. Then fairly good orienteering until the last control where I had a hard time reading the contours.

Tuesday Apr 10, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering (Hills) 40:34 [4] 4.61 km (8:48 / km) +157m 7:31 / km

A blah cold rainy day. Hill Intervals with some of the guys, running up and down the slope in Nåsten at the edge of the valley. I should have brought my compass, as it wasn't always easy to climb the right hill while doing these intervals.

Legs didn't feel so very strong on these, and the slippery conditions were even more encouragement to not push as hard. I did the first 4 climbs, but then got very lost on the 5th, and it took a long time to recover and make my way back to the valley below. I skipped the next two to catch back up to the group and we ran the last short one together as a pack.

Weather was gross and legs were tired, so one loop was enough tonight for me, and I jogged home with Johan and the Henriks. Very nice to be back home only an hour after getting to the clubhouse, record time I think :)

In the evening, Sam and I watched the Hunger Games, which we both thought was excellent.

Monday Apr 9, 2012 #

12 PM

orienteering 35:45 [5] 6.0 km (5:58 / km)
spiked:12/13c

Kolmårdskavlen, on the OK Linné team 4. The relay was 5 legs, 8k, 8k, 6k, 6k, and then a final 8k. I ran 4th, on a team of Ulrik, Björn, Olle, and Daniel, and I had a very good race. Only lost a few seconds on a couple of controls, and my legs felt good. Our team ended up 64th, and my run gained us 11 more spots. Very satisfying way to end the long weekend!
6 PM

Strength 45:00 [3]

We arrived home from our race in Kolmården just in time to go to club strength training. It was an updated version of Rockgympa, with 8 minutes of our normal exercises, followed by some crazy hurdle drills, hip stretching, core work and explosive jumping, capped off with the last 16 minutes of our normal exercises. I think Sam took some fun video on her iPhone of the various exercises like the wheel barrow pushups.

Guest star Patrick Higgins was in attendance, and afterwards we had a cheese heavy dinner back at Bloden with our normal household plus Mari, Patrick and Mats.

Sunday Apr 8, 2012 #

2 PM

Trail run 8:12 [2] 0.11 km (1:11:56 / km) +5m 59:00 / km

I don't usually time my warm up, but I think this was jogging to and from the arena and the start line. Beautiful weather and a joyous mood. Trevligt!

orienteering 42:41 [5] 6.25 km (6:49 / km) +76m 6:26 / km
spiked:12/17c

Middle Distance race at Kolmårdensdubbeln. The woods were amazing to run in, especially compared to yesterday. Fast, clean, and in control on the first 3, then up the wrong hill on 4. Got back into the flow until running right past control 11, looked up but didn't see the flag in the reentrant and lost a lot of time. Flustered on the way to 12, plus having a tough time reading the contours meant that I hemorrhaged a lot of time on that one too. Bobbled 14 too, all in all, that section of the map was much harder than the rest of the course. Finished strong, and still pleased with things for the most part. Back of the pack of Elite-2 but at least something positive to build on.

Splits

Saturday Apr 7, 2012 #

11 AM

orienteering 1:57:38 [0] 16.1 km (7:18 / km) +186m 6:55 / km
spiked:11/18c

A tough long distance race in Finspång. The weather was cold, snowy, and miserable. The forest was thick, with a dense layer of logging slash everywhere. I did not race well.

I started well, cruising nicely to the first and most of the way to the second, but then did something inexplicable and got super turned around and ended up on the wrong hill. I lost a bunch of time, but my race was overall poor enough that Winsplits doesn't show it as an error. Struggled to keep a compass bearing the whole time, and had lots of trouble in the circle (including not recognizing the radio control and running past it).

I was pleased with my routes to things, just really devastated by how badly I executed those routes especially within the circle. Mood was dark, which did not help performance either.

Not my day, probably best not to dwell on it.

Splits

Friday Apr 6, 2012 #

3 PM

orienteering 1:04:02 [0] 7.85 km (8:09 / km) +73m 7:48 / km
spiked:5/14c

Miserable weather - snowy, cold - for a training course set near our accommodation in Finspång, on the Hagstuna V map. The map and training was considered to be Tiomila relevant because the map was drawn by a group of club members as opposed to by a professional mapper.

I had a hard time with how subtle the form-line contour features were, and thus missed several controls because of missing the hills I was unable to see in the terrain. I was not having much success on the course, and Lina had given me an hour time-limit before I had to get back to the car. Struggling to find control 14 and wandering through poorly mapped dense green full of unmapped boulders cemented my feelings for this map and this training in general :)

Nice to head back home and hang out for the rest of the day.

Thursday Apr 5, 2012 #

9 PM

orienteering 49:35 [5] 8.81 km (5:38 / km) +102m 5:19 / km
spiked:10/15c

Svartnatta relay. Two night legs, about 8k each. I ran on the Linné 8th team with Ulrik.

I ran pretty well, especially considering how much trouble I sometimes have at night, and am very pleased with my performance.

Lost a minute on the 3rd when I misread the vegetation boundary and cut in too early and then lost some more time on 11 and 13, getting lost in the bland open terrain leading up to the controls.

Still, running hard and in control, so a good night. Ended up 80th spot.

Splits

Wednesday Apr 4, 2012 #

6 PM

orienteering 49:02 [5] 7.79 km (6:18 / km) +29m 6:11 / km
spiked:11/13c

Wednesday night orienteering has now become Wednesday day orienteering again :) Hurray! Sam set the courses tonight and the theme was Tiomila training, which just meant a forked course with some long legs.

I ran pretty well and enjoyed the woods, some troubles near the beginning, but then a lot smoother and more controlled after missing on the third. Saw a lot of Johan in the forest, but I think I was running a bit wider on the lines than him, trying to keep on the more solid ground when I could.

Tuesday Apr 3, 2012 #

6 PM

Trail run 57:30 intensity: (34:00 @3) + (23:30 @5)

Interval workout. Accidentally left my garmin at home for this one so no track to show. Warm up from the clubhouse to the start, and then a loop of the course. The course was right in our backyard really, but I had never run on these trails before, so it was a fun exploration for me. Intervals of 5 x 30", 2 x 4', 5 x 30", 2 x 4', 5 x 30". The track was quite narrow, so passing other runners was more difficult, and we just ended up running mostly in single file, chasing down Henrik. I was running mostly with Olle and Johan, but on the last interval the whole group turned into crazy sprinters and there was a mad dash down the hill :) Then Rasa convinced me to join on a short cool down loop with her, Henrik and Ivana.

A little too cold tonight, waiting for summer!

Monday Apr 2, 2012 #

6 PM

Strength (Rock Gympa) 48:00 [3]

Rock gympa with a much smaller crowd tonight. Someone had to stand in the middle to model the exercises, so that was me tonight. Feeling strong, the Swiss camp has left me pretty energized.
7 PM

Innebandy 30:00 [3]

Innebandy tonight was a tough match up of Olle and me versus Boris, Jakob, and Sam. Having Olle on my team was not enough to balance the power of 3 on 2 and so I did an awful lot of running tonight :) fun fun!

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