Training Log Archive: Ollie

I've now put up my GPS trace on Routegadget for my race at Ashtead last Sunday. Look out for my headless chicken act between 2 and 3 (you may also see me stumble before No. 2. The blood coming from my hand distracted me - well that's my excuse for the ensuing craziness.)

During lunchtime - busier than rush-hour.

This year:

I ran in 48 competitive orienteering races, running 349km and climbing 7800m. I took 49 hours to do this. My average pace was 8.4 mins/km. Target for the year was 50 hours of races - just about there.

I visited 946 controls. Maybe next year I'll aim for 1000.

C • goal achieved? 2

MVOC District Event at Ashtead and Epsom Commons. Cold and clear, but very muddy underfoot - and the forest was pretty scraggly. Finished 8th out of 28 (results.) Made a few mistakes including one stupid one near the beginning that cost me 5 minutes. On speed alone though I would never have caught the leaders on this race - it was a real runner's course. Leg 5 to 6 was over 2km with two obvious and very different route choices along paths.

Ran with GPS again - track is here. You can see my trip and fall just before 2, followed by my complete nightmare between 2 and 3, when I got confused by a ride and thought I was a lot further north than I was. I had to relocate in the end, by running down the track towards the start until I made contact again.

My approach to 5 was poor - I went straight, which meant a tough, long fight through some pretty unpleasant undergrowth - I have the scratches to prove it. On leaving 6, you can me slowing right down and even stopping, while I try and plan the best way to 7 - at least 2km. On leaving 7, I swung too far to the right, resulting in a long swing back.

The latter part of the race was better - although I made a navigational error on the approach to 9 and overshot it. My exit from 10 was brave and painful.

Mistake analysis:
3: Poor map reading.
5: Poor route choice.
7: Hesitation (early)
8: Poor navigation
9: Poor navigation

Routegadget is such a great tool for reliving those mistakes and realising where I went wrong, how much by, and why. As such, I should hopefully learn from my mistakes.

Around the park at Ashtead, after the race.

My (four month old) bike's started playing up - it creaks oddly every time I pedal and the chain is jumping a bit. Grrr.

Strong headwind the whole way in - tough going.

Really wet and windy. Should have got the tube.

Much nicer going back - all lights green - and a stupid white van man provided an incentive to race.

Tired from the previous day.

Regional Event at Hindleap Warren in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex. I ran M21S as I'd had a bit of a large night the night before. I ran a similar course on this map a couple of years ago.

After a poor start, I ran well, and finished second, again, out of ten runners in M21S, beating Paul N by a few seconds. The winner was around two minutes faster than me. Looking at all the classes on Course 3, I was 3rd out of 58 finishers - Winner 56:07, 2nd - 56:14, me - 58:13, 4th - 58:14. Results.

Although it was sunny and clear, the ground was extremely wet, following last night's vicious storm that only blew out as I was travelling to the event. As the start assistant said, "The streams are raging torrents, and the paths are streams". The pits were flooded too, which made approaching them exciting.

Mistake analysis to follow - Poor to 1, tooled at 10, 13 and 23.

A couple of observations: 24 controls is a lot for a 7.4km course, but I seem to do better on courses which have many short legs - it doesn't feel so much like a cross-country race - so I'm not complaining.

And the 3.5 hours of sleep is not a typo - I at a housewarming the night before, got back to my place at 3am, and then the storm kept me awake until at least 5am. It was a pretty violent storm - I was a little late to the event as trees had come down on the railway track to East Grinstead - the first train of the day had hit a tree. I was on the second train of the day...

I ran with GPS again - if the track is good, I'll post it up. I made more mistakes this time than at Epping so it should be an educational viewing for me.

Some pictures of GPS tracks from today's race.

From home to London Bridge (10m) then from East Grinstead station, an unintentional magical mystery tour through its suburbs. Eventually hit the railway cyclepath I was looking for and headed to Forest Row and the event (40m). Coming back, followed the cycle path and then road (assumingly called Beeching Row) back to East Grinstead station (30m), and then from London Bridge, via Tower Bridge, back home (20m).