Training Log Archive: fell

slow, killed my self at the start with a 300m+ over the first 2.5km.
B+G to the bike track up to the power station the round the contour track to the first spur track.
Stumbled up to the summit then down the road to the massive downhill firetrail then round the woodlands trail to Little Black Mountain Loop, and back through Black Mountain Labs.

C • Thats a great climb! 7

woke up at 8pm. looks like training is off the cards.

C • VIC 1

Set a course.
ran out there. took it easy. ankle still sore.

C • stuff 2

on model map

Race against Mortie, Leon, and Bryan.

Mortie beat me. will get splits sometime.
made a movie, unfortunately my memory card is stuffed and says the files aren't on it even though the memory shows 250mb of occupied space. how do I fix this?

C • movie 6

mass start downhill training course with splits.
ran with Simon, Mortie, Leon, and Bryan.
ankles pretty sore very slow.

Different downhill training course, without splits and starting at one minute intervals.
passed everyone except Simon.
Slow and steady. one mistake. too cautious.

Did a head on against Mortie, I pulled the shorter course though.
Stuffed my right ankle pretty bad when Jim was following/lecturing me.
hobbled round the rest of the course.
Simon not happy with my entry to one of the control circles. picky.
sat out of the last exercise.
Scabbed dinner off the south australians again.

EASTER

I went in to Easter intending to take it easy if I was going to run at all, as the physio had recommended that I didn't do any hard runs.
I had the mind set that i wouldn't be capable of any good results as I had been out of exercise for the last few weeks, and I had assumed everyone else would be training hard for Dubbo.
So my aim was to see how I went on the first few days running slow and steady and not making any mistakes.

Prologue (World's end north) 8th
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/wor...

I went out easily for this one, got a bit flustered by the first control; running out of the finish chute and almost turning back on myself, then looking blindly for a boulder (a 40cm cairn) on a boulderless hill. I went out way to high around the hillside on two and didn't know how to define a watercourse in this terrain.
Kieran caught me.
I thought that he was running about the same speed as I would be if I was fit, so we stuck together till 12 where I spiked the control and he disappeared.
I decided I must have dropped him, finished the rest of the course uneventfully. Kieran had beaten me in.
I had finished 8th. Was happy with result considering the big mistake and the lack of fitness. previous to this my best in a national sprint was 6th a few years ago.

day 2 (Twigham) 4th
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/twi...
I went in to this with much the same mindset as the day before.
First three checkpoints were piss. but I was weary of shifty course setting and slowed down adequately for number 4. spike it, and then headed down the hill a little too fast, I knew where I entered the erosion gully, but I climbed out of it in the wrong direction and spend about a minute checking all the reentrants until I saw Max S running down the gully and realised where I was. picked up the checkpoint. spiked 6, 7, hit a gully early at 8 eben though I had been taking it carefully because of the vague leg.
The course setter seems to have a pattern going. punched 8 at the same time as Max S and Oscar P (both started before me). Led them through 9, and then ran off a bit to enthusiastically toward 10, luckily noticed my error heading up the wrong spur and slowed down, where Max and Oscar ran past me and kept on going up the spur before I turned in the right direction. the rest of the course was uneventful. saw mum at number 11. couldn't handle a sprint finish.
came in 4th which was a bit unbelievable.
I think everyone was a bit too stressed out with whole selectoin trial business and were making mistakes.

Day 2 (Twigham) 14th
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/twi...
Didn't know how I'd handle the long, but I was feeling quite fit. must have been Steve's bolognaise the night before.
Took the first checkpoint very slowly, then headed up the wrong erosion gully to 2. feeling quite silly at this point.
Spiked three but took a pit stop on the way. spiked 4, 5, 6. Was feeling really fit at this stage, decided that the more dirrect approach over the hills was the faster option for the long leg (and it proved to be). headed out and ticked off my features as they passed.
I made things look correct even though they were slightly off.
I thought I had crossed the clearing at the end of the track where the fencelines cross, but really I was about 45' off, and it went from there until I hit a track and couldn't find it anywhere on the map, it was too used to be new. It was heading south so I decided to take it.
I hit the fenceline and realised what had happened. I then tried to make up time and lost contact with the map where I hit a large watercourse and couldn't work out where I was on the map (should have just folled the fenceline). After wasting a lot og time I got back on track. Ran much too far up the hill to 8. Spiked 9. Then completely lost it on 10. must have ran straight past the control. spent about 10 minutes wandering around the hillside. Bryan finally led me into the control. We ran (with Liam Parton) through 11. Led them into 12 and 13 where we dropped Liam. hit 14. then staggered up the cliff to the finish.
finished 14th with a pretty shocking run.
I guess I had pressured myself a bit too much after the success of day 1.

Day 3 (World's End) 6th
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/wor...
Went out at a moderate pace. was very good visibility so could afford to run a bit faster. Spiked 1, 2, 3. where I caught Josh R. caught Valentin G. at 4, he led me into 5. Feeling a bit too confident I decided to take a direct approach to 6. Must have slipped my thumb forward on the map, because I misread which spur I was on and ended up a bit wide of where I intended to be picked up where I was and headed uphill (when I figure out O track, I will post my route). I finally hit the main spur that the checkpoint was on, only to find that there was no track on it. this was a bit confusing but I knew I was in the right place. so took it cautiously into the circle where I met Josh and Valentin again.
Spiked 7, came round a bit low on the hill to 8, then came round a bit high into 9 (finally a drinks control!). ran through the dry creek bed to 10. ran round the hillside to 11 (feeling a bit weary). Spiked 12, took it slowly into 13, worried I would take the wrong gully. came out a bit right of 14 but didn';t waster anytime. almost over ran 15 thinking it was a gully early, but I ran low enough to see the number on it. hit 16. a bit slow to 17.
finished 6th. Was happy with this result considering the big mistake I had made.

ASC galaxy sprint (Nuriootpa) 3rd
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/nur...
Went out easily, ran with Tracey Bluett for the first few. pushing each other. Caught the guy in front of me at 7. Passed him at 11. Enjoyed the spectators through 12-15. made a little error at 15 had to run around a building. but I knew where I was the whole time.
The rest was uneventful. caught Geoff S. at 22. finished strongly.
rode the wave of disqualifications (L-train) into 3rd place. Which was a pity. because Leon would have still won even if he hadn't crossed the creek.

Australian Middle Distance (Pewsey Vale) 7th
(have lost map)
Was going to take this one slow and steady but the downhill gully through a clearing to the fist control was too much, and I headed out hard through the first two. Lost a bit of time on two, as I headed down the wrong side of the spur without thinking.
Wasn't thinking when I left the control circle to three and lost a bit of time running up the hill, even though it was a safer route.
Tristan caught me a bit later on. ran through the spectator together. then I headed off to checkpoint 15, whilst the went the right was to 10. I found 15 no torubles, then I realised what I had done. headed over a rocky spur where I proceded to roll my right ankle. was very slow round the rest of the course. a pack of Bryan, Seb, and Geoff, caught me as I was running in to 15. Bryan and Seb ran straight past it. Geoff saw me punch and follwed me into the finish. Bryan lost the two minutes he had caught on Geoff trying to find number 15 and got beaten out of the placings by 10 seconds. ripped off.
Finished 7th. not a big field though.
would have liked it to be a lot longer.

Badge event (Ngaralta country) 7th
see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/nga...
and
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/robbo97/nga...
Took it slowly through 1 and 2. spiked 3, headed up the spur to 4. used the small clearing as my attackpoint in the green. spent a bit of time trying to make sure it was the right clearing before heading blindly through the scrub. Spiked 5, 6, 7.
Caught the 4 minutes on Michael Roberts at 7. Spiked 8, 9, 10, 11. Michael sitting about 3m behind me the whole time. was very frustrated at this point and ran blindly over the knoll to 12 where I lost a lot of time trying to relocate off clearings. finally found the checkpoint and dropped Michael. Spiked 13. Headed toward 14 cautiously as I think this was our hardest leg. hit the track bend, and them got too confident and abandoned my plan. lost a lot of time running blindly around, relocating off patches of bare dirt I could see down the hill which I thought were the track. eventually gave up and headed down to the real track, where I saw mortie and Seb appear. relocated and found the checkpoint. Michale had caught up. Spiked 15 and slow in the circle to 16. almost dropped him at 17 but ran to 21 first. picked up 17. Led him through 18, 19, and 20. (did he do any navigating?). Rolled my ankle really badly crossing a paddock to 21 and heard a crack. quite sore. decided to walk the rest of the course. Almost beat MR to 21 walking. hobbled it in.
finished 7th.
Very disappointed because I had given in mentally and made stupid mistakes. even though I was feeling really good running. very dissppointed that stuffed my good ankle.
Will put up O track when I figure it out.

C • i stole your map rob it looked... 1

Event: Australian Easter Orienteering Carnival