Training Log Archive: OJ

Long day travelling home from WOC, didn't even consider going running.

Well this was a disappointing end to the season for me from a results point of view. Things took a surprising turn for the worse just before the test races, when I thought I was coming into the best shape of the year, and I didn't manage to turn it around before WOC.

BUT...I am feeling strangely positive about what happened. I enjoyed WOC this year more than I have done for a long time in spite of my less than perfect races. It was a great team to be a part of, the atmosphere was good, and the motivation was really there. I am really fired up for next year, maybe my last shot at WOC, and I want to be up there challenging GG for the podium in the long distance!

But first, a short rest. Then the tough training starts to get in shape to keep up with Rob around the OMM elite course.

C • Last WOC ? 2

The most important race of the day, the open 3 course of the WOC spectator races. Full of confidence after yesterday's dominance, I laid my pride on the line again in a 3-way beer stake with Speaky and Craney. But today I crumbled and got lost twice on the easiest course in the world, leaving Craney to cover himself in glory.

Followed by a day of cheering capped off by GG's fantastic result.

Bit of warm up, no warm down.

One lap of the beer relay, superbly organised by the US team. Ran a mini mass start with Marc and Matt S, which ended in a 3-way draw after a nail-biting sprint finish. I take my hat off to the guys who ran all three laps.

Followed by an evening of dancing in the loudest, sweatiest nightclub in Miskolc. Great!

Microsprint qualifying round in the WOC village. Missed a bit here and there but mostly ran in control. Ran a much faster time than Craney and Gareth, but still finished a massive 2 seconds down in the hardest heat. Time will tell whether I make it through to the final.

Phew, made it through in 2= and Craney and Gareth were through as well. Oystein Kvaal missed out by a place though. Only an 8 second qualifying margin in my heat, not much room for messing around!

C • cool 7

Microsprint final around a different part of the park. Had to wait behind a building for our start, so no idea what to expect. Except that we had already spotted a control in the middle of a deep fountain, and we could hear the cheers every time a runner took the plunge. Ran pretty well and only lost a couple of seconds here and there, but got a bit flustered after the splash down and lost 3-4 seconds on the next short leg. 4th place, 8 seconds down on the fastest, 5 seconds down on Hertner, but a crucial 4 seconds ahead of Craney. Comfortable. Almost too much excitement for one afternoon.

Warm up and warm down playing mindgames with Candyman and Craney. Their gamesmanship was like water off a duck's back.

Baked in the sun all day at the relay cheering on our boys and girls. The day was marred by Martin Johansson's injury, and the audio-visual presentation was terrible with no functioning radio controls and poor tv presentation. Looked like a tough day in the forest as well.

Went for a run around the WOC sprint area soon after the race had finished. Made it into the zoo through the gap in the fence, but by the time I had to come out it had been rebuilt, so I had to take a big detour over a hill to exit through the main entrance. Fun course, and good to see what it was like.

Bit of jogging before and after.

WOC middle, not a good performance. Started well, full of purpose and hit the controls well through the tricky first section. Then I came unstuck in the more straightforward middle section when I drifted off line on a green slope - I relocated pretty fast but compounded the mistake by missing in the circle once I had corrected. After that the hills started to fight back and I lost my calm and composure to make a couple of other smaller misses in the last part. Finished 34th much too far behind, frustrating after some good races in previous WOC middle distances.

I wasn't good enough today, and I need to put some hard work in if I want to get to the right place by next summer. I needed a perfect race, running on the edge, to get the result I was after, and perfect races are hard to come by (especially at WOC). I need to be fitter and more confident if I want to crack into the next level - just trying harder isn't going to bridge the gap.

Having said all that, I loved the race today, the atmosphere and the challenge. I'm hungry for more!

C • Well done 2

Warm up and a jog after from the hotel.

Event: WOC 2009
 

WOC middle model, a couple of short hard sections and plenty of easy jogging looking around at the terrain. A lot rougher than the qualifier, which is fine by me.

Nice cruise with Craney and Gareth out to the sprint model and back, after a bit of spectating at the long qual. A bit nerve-wracking watching GG narrowly scrape through to the final...

C • is that u being sarcastic :p 1