Training Log Archive: simmo

Around the river including Mt Henry - cool morning.

Event: Australian Middle Distance Championships
 

Aust. Middle Champs at Foxes Lair, GPS 5.0kms. Don't think my mind was up to this after yesterday. Ran down the watercourse from the start, then veered too far left at the bottom and into the wrong group of rocks. Panicking a little with Hoopy only 2 mins behind, I knew what I'd done, but couldn't resist checking out several boulders in this wrong location. Hoopy appeared just as I found the control, but he was looking too far to the East. 2 mins and a bit lost. Wasn't clean into 2 and 3 either, losing close to a minute on these. Hit 4 ok, but then disaster, running to 5 I crossed a road but then started looking before crossing a second road. Found a control after a minute or two, and thought I'd identified the feature (actually could have identified it as my no. 9 if I'd checked the code against my descriptions, but failed to do that), and kept searching. After another minute I realised that I needed to be on the other side of a road, saw it in the distance and ran over and crossed it. Unfortunately I hadn't looked at my compass or registerd the fact that a powerline should have been on the other side. More fruitless searching brought me to another control whose code I should have checked (I would have found that it was my no. 8). Eventually decided to do what I should have done in the first place - run to a road and relocate. Found that I was 400m N of the control, so ran up the road, along the powerline and in - 10.5 mins slower than the fastest and 63/64 on the leg.

The next few controls were ok (had been to two of them already), but I hadn't finished yet. At 11, I searched the wrong rocks again - probably the same ones I had been in at 1 because it was quite close, 2.5 mins lost, then I face-planted on the way out of the control. 7 short legs left, didn't lose any significant time, but wasn't fast.

C11 - Splits

Event: Australian Sprint Championships
 

Event: Wandoo Wander
 

Easy ride to Bassendean, a bit of a loosener after 3 races in 3 days. Cold morning, but nice for riding. River was like a mill pond.

Event: Australian 3 Days Championship - Day 3
 

Day 3 at Umuna. GPS 3.56km. Started 2mins behind Terry, didn't really expect to see him, especially when I made a meal of 2. Took the right line, but was concentrating on finding a patch of green before the control and failed to identify a knoll on the route. Then I got sidetracked by the wrong patch of green and went too low - 2 mins + down. Pretty average on the next 3 legs, taking it steady and carefully rather than trying to make up the lost time.

Surprised to see Terry at 5, where he had lost 4 mins. Led him through 5-8, then got away a bit to 9, though he probably was never far behind on the long leg to 10. Took a good line, but just dropped a bit too soon down to the first group of rocks. Terry soon joined me and we corrected quickly but probably lost a minute. The two leaders after day 2 lost 9 and 13 mins respectively on this leg, so we did pretty well really.

Terry went left up the slope, but I decided the fastest running to 11 was low in the paddock below the rock, and I gained half a minute, which Terry couldn't make up.

5th on the day, 2 mins down, and 5th overall.

M70A - Splits

Event: Australian 3 Days Championship - Day 2
 

Day 2 at Hill Park Dale. GPS 5.29kms. Up hill to the triangle, and then more up hill to 1. With Hoopy 2 mins behind, took a safe route around the rocks to 1, worried that he would be able to watch me all the way. Scooted out and around the rocky hill then downhill to the fence as fast as I could, with a Swiss guy ahead. Crossed the fence then decided to run below the rock and past the dam as it looked faster and safer, while Swiss guy headed into the rocks. I got the fastest split on this leg, while Hoopy made a 2 min error. Beat Swiss guy into 3, but then couldn't convince myself that I had to go back up hill to 4. Wandered along the contour and eventually realised I had gone out to the big spur at the far NW corner of the map. Corrected my direction - but not enough and subsequently got caught up in green and forced low. Finally spotted the control way above and climbed slowly up just in time to punch ahead of Swiss guy, but saw Hoopy about 50m behind. Lost 5 mins over the fastest on the leg.

Joined a bit of a train from 4-6 (must have been on other courses too), but got away up hill (again!) to 7. Fast away towards 8, but went astray on the last 1/3 of the leg, and saw Hoopy run in just in front. Lost 2.5 mins on the leg. He gained 30 secs to 9, but I got them back at 10, then promptly took a big fall trying to negotiate my way down a steep rock surface. 30 seconds later I did a face-plant, so a bit groggy after those two. Still, picked a fast route down a paddock, avoiding what looked like a mass of green and black on the direct route to 11. Despite having a good attack point, I couldn't find the prominent cliff - turns out I was standing above it but though it was the wrong one. Then Hoopy and Swiss guy turned up and we eventually found it. Another 4 mins lost.

From there to the finish was too easy. 8th on the day, but a solid 12 mins down.

M70A - Splits

Event: Australian 3 Days Championship - Day 1
 

Day 1 of Easter at Scotch College. GPS 2.16kms.

Thought I must have picked up a junior course for 1 and 2, lost a few seconds to 2 from surprise that it was just as easy as 1. 3 was tougher though; I didn't see the shortest route and went around the double switchback ramp, but at least it was safe. To 4 I took another safe route to the left. At 6 and 7 I lost a few more seconds as I couldn't believe how easy, and was thinking there must be a trap. Caught Steve F here after he'd made an error. From 7-8 I dashed out to the road and ran along the footpath before cutting back in to the grassy area with trees, finding 8 before Steve who had gone around to the right. Got the fastest split to 9, and a bit of a gap over Steve going through the tunnel, but then lost it as I ran past 10 without seeing it. Steve passed me here, but I caught him again running down the passage towards 12 and 11 (11 on the far side of a building), and watched him punch 12 then run off towards 13! I carried on around the building to 11, where I caught my 1-minute man Greg C. Back to 12 with Greg, then we went different ways to 13 but came together again at 14. Different ways to 15, but I ran the fastest split to 16 and just beat him to it. I gained up to 12 seconds through to 21, but I was tiring and felt like the breathing might seize up so eased up a bit into the finish.

4th place, 40 seconds down. 2 main rivals (incl Steve F) mp'd, so they were out of the 3 days.

M70A - Splits

Event: Good Friday Sprint Relay
 

Event: Good Friday Open Sprint Relay/Family Teams
 

Open Sprint Relay at UWA. One mistake at no. 2 where I hesitated, thinking I need to go back around, but then went the other way for 30 metres. Realised and corrected quickly, but lots of people had passed me. Made up some ground on the longish leg from 3, but was worried about not pushing too hard in case the breathing stopped. Saw lots of people take an illegal route between 6 and 7 - it should either have been taped off or not mapped as garden. I gained a few more places back in the greenhouse maze, and more still by taking the road route on the long leg from 15-16. A steady run with good nav, but well down on the fast guys. May have got first OF though.

Hyde Park run, max HR was in the first minute of the run, which I guess tells me that a warm-up is important.

Around the river, including Mt Henry. Wet and windy, and forgot my bottle. When I stopped for a drink at a water fountain, I succeeded in getting a chain ring tattoo.

Event: NavDash 2 John XXIII
 

Short course at John XXIII NavDash, one small error at 1, more a case of looking around the corner to confirm that I needed to go up a level, maybe lost 15 secs. One route choice error from 6-7; backing out of 6 was easier nav and shorter distance, though you couldn't really tell either from the map. Took the win over Liam (Yay!).

Long course at John XXIII, listed this one as 'training' because I took it very easy. Did the same route choice in reverse from 2-3 as 6-7 on the Short, but this time I knew where to go, so the nav was easier. No errors, just slow.

Hard Short - Splits

Around the river.

Around the river, including Mt Henry.

Two rivers ride, very pleasant morning without too much wind.

Bassendean ride.

Event: Bush 1 Peterdine
 

H3 course at Peterdine, GPS distance 7.25 shows I wandered a lot. Very rusty in my first bush outing for 6 months, and most of the time I could not get into the outdated rock mapping. Went way to the right past 1, too far left at 2, and way left and low at 3. Left again at 4, by a very long way, but took a safe route to 5 and spiked it. But then at 6 I was out by a long way - lots more rock on the ground than the map was showing. At 7 I drifted left on the leg again, and relocated 250m wide of the control. From there I did reasonably well, although the map seemed wrong at 8 and 11.

H3 - Splits

Around the river.

At Yokine Reserve, little bit of rain about, and very windy.

Two rivers ride, easy pace.

Around the river including Mt Henry.

Bassendean ride, light winds a pleasant change.