Training Log Archive: O-ing

Event: Sydney Sprint Series 2016 Race #1 - Lindfield
 

Crimson Hill (UTS Lindfield). Ran OK, not sure about wearing the studs as most was on paving. No major mistakes, but had to look twice at the cliff gap for number 5 (-10 secs).
Route choice an issue - good course with lots of choices and I think I got about half of them wrong.

Definitely should have warmed up in Kayanos.

Long - Splits

Terry Hills with Cath.

Kiwarrak Forest, Taree. Great smooth flowing single track.

2015 Review
Thought I'd start the review with the Big Pink Rankings - currently on 92. However there appears to be a glitch in at least some of the races e.g. Day 4 of the Xmas 5 Days where the winner of Men B (Ted van G) got less points than 8 of the people he beat (including me). EDIT: Undy fixed the results - but it didn't score for me, so finished the year at 92. [AP Ranking 182nd at 68.5].

Training - quite similar to last year with a bit more cycling (3,500km) and a bit more run+O (555km). That's 5 years of increases now since the 2010 low point: need to try and do a bit more running training this year if possible.

Injuries – one longterm issue - Posterior vitreous detachment after vitreous degeneration in the right eye. Hasn’t improved since February, but stable. Just means a floating bubble moving across my vision in that eye; annoying but not debilitating. The left knee has niggled all year and blew up again in the 5 Days, like last year.
Two colds this year – one horrendous; probably the flu.

Competition: Exactly the same as last year in the Aus Champs: Sprint 3rd to Warren/Geoff, Long 3rd to Warren/Rob and Middle 4th to all 3). Did win the NSW Sprint Distance as they didn't show. NSW Long was a missed opportunity – one dumb mistake meant a close second to Rob. Butchered the middle and gave it away to Ian P; managed third behind Grant. Best run of the year was second in the Oceania Long; less than 3 minutes behind Warren. 3rd in both Oceania Sprint and Middle (9 minutes behind Warren in that one!) and at Easter. Part of the winning Aus v NZ M55 relay team (and part of the second placed NSW team at Aus Champs). Interesting that the results suggest the Long is my best distance; shading Sprint but hopeless at the Middle.

So major event (Aus+Oceania) results were - 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4: all up ranked 3rd for the year behind Warren and Geoff.

Another State League overall win – only 6 wins from 11 starts though (7/8 last year). One of those losses involved running off the map at the Bigfoot event in Falnash.
Also again contributed to BigFoot's Metro League, Div 1 but only second place this year.

A much better year in MTB: fluked wins in the Aus Sprint and Middle, with second places in the NSW Sprint and Middle. 5th in the NSW Long and 9th in the Aus Long speak to issues with technical/mechanical riding. Ranked second for the year in M50.

Managed to complete and win Sydney Summer Series: however the website has lost all its results unfortunately so details not available. Haven’t started the Series in 2015/2016 as the left knee has basically niggled all year after the Summer Series race at Pyrmont (Dec 14).

And finally pretty happy with third in Mens B at the Xmas 5 Days - best in the B since I won it in 1996.

C • Ranking Machine 2

C • Ranking madness 2

Mt Brown. This one needs RouteGadget.
OK Routegadget basically confirms the flag at 3 was at least 2 contours lower than the centre of the circle' but the map has substantial issues as well.
Saw Lee Coady leaving 1, unfortunately not early enough to see where he came from so dropped a couple of minutes there. I knew all i had to do was finish within sight of Lee, who started a minute ahead of me, to overtake him for second place. Saw Lee again at 3, and knew he had come from down the hill - but refused to go down that far. 5 minutes later I found it and set off again to see if I could catch him. The quest ended at 5 where my rough compass was 30 degrees off and I ended up at the dam. Could not understand how I could possibly have done that and was wondering if they had built a new one when Ted Van G ran past. Was bamboozled by this stage and Ted looked like he knew where he was going, so followed him. He didn't and I had actually been on track. Another 7 minutes binned there: the race was over for me, so jogged/walked home.

C • Looks like ... 8

Kooringle, Day 4, Men B, 2nd (by 53s to Ted VanG).
Slow to number 1, trying to be careful in the vague terrain, but still lost two minutes. More time binned at 2 (-1.5), was looking too early. Was very surprised to see Mike Burton ahead on the way into 3 (he had stuffed no. 1 and got back past me at 2). I got 3 ahead of Mike and then stuffed 4 (-1.5), looking too high. So, 5 minutes lost so far and in 10th place.
Mike had nailed 4 and got back past me again, so I was 200m down on the way to 5. Ran hard to get back in touch and then Mike drifted right near 5, so got it first. Led to 6 and 7. Was careful with 8 but came in to the green found a likely boulder and didn't know whether to go up or down. Mike caught up and went down - it was up (-30s).
So still ahead to 9 and 10, but now the wheels fell off. Couldn't read the map near 11 so had to follow Lee to it (-30s). Followed Mike and Lee to 12 as well and stupidly kept going after them to 13 in completely the wrong direction. They recovered faster: I lost a minute and the win.
7 minutes in mistakes is not great but ran pretty well.

Shadowing Aoife on the VE - she ran all the way, and got no help, except for I guided her the correct way out of the start triangle - she was convinced that the VE/E arrows were pointing up the other track.

Armidale Forest Park. Left knee niggle is now getting painful at times. Nice flowing tracks in the pine forest.

Oakview, Day 3, Mens B, 2nd (by 38 secs to Lee).
Running a lot slower today, the fadeout has begun. Took no. 1 carefully, Cath faster. Cath takes 1.5 minutes on me for no. 2, I'm struggling up hills. Cath extends her lead to 3, although I went straight to it.
Chose south around the hill on the long leg to 4. Came to a high gate, thought I saw a way around to the left, but no good. So opened the gate. As I went to close it, Geoff Lawford is running up the track, so held it open; then another runner, so waited for him too and closed it behind (Spent 47 seconds here!!).
Took a shortcut off the track later, but that was not a good idea (-1min).
Had a reasonable plan to 5, but completely misread the map near the circle and was looking in the wrong place (-2 mins) Not helped by Peter Annetts looking 100m further away on the wrong ridge to the south.
Found a nice way contouring to 6 and got back ahead of Cath on splits.
7 was much lower than I thought and Ted Van G got back ahead of me (having made a hamse of 6). Ted went left, but I thought the ridge would have a better AP to 8, so stuck on it. But couldn't read the contours and at 8 Ted had 200m.
Reasonable effort down the hill and up to 9 chasing Ted (but Ted had got stuck crossing the creek further right so now was behind me).
Smooth through 10, 11, 12 but stuffed the last (13, -37 seconds) not reading the map properly again.

Blue Hole, Armidale. Mens B, 4th. Poor start again, really struggled to place those 3 boulders on the map, and got the wrong one (-20 secs). Better to 2 but stuffed up getting across the creek to 3. I think it would have been better to go straight and ignore the bridge. Lee Coady got ahead of me here, probably by doing that.
Got back ahead of Lee by 6 but then didn't consider the crital Gorge/No Gorge route choice carefully enough to 7. However, I probably would have gone straight anyway. That wasn't a good idea. Followed the "track" down and veered right to cross the crossable creek and head up the steep slope in the white. Got to a sharp drop into a torrent with cliffs on the other side. Had I seen a viable exit I would have jumped in but I didn't. So turned back and boulder hopped to the streamers (-1 min) and around to the left. Very difficult climb out, which robbed me of uphill power for the rest of the course. 7 minutes in all to get the 100m from one side of the gorge to the other. Jo Allison took 8 minutes to do the whole 800m leg by going around.
Had to use the description to find 8. Contours really bamboozled me at 9 but saw Lee dip in for the flag. Got back ahead of Lee again at 11 by going straight. Lee's track was quicker to 13, but he didn't get into the circle quick enough so I was still ahead. Stuffed up 14 (-30secs, on the same slope as 1, couldn't place the boulders correctly and was way off to the right).
To 15 was essentially the same as to 3, so knew the way this time and gained a lot of time back on Lee. Went the other side of the boulder on approach to 16 to Lee, but it didn't pay off. Went the other side of the boulder out of 17 to Lee, and it paid off, got back in touch. Lee was stronger up the hill to 19 but I pulled out a sprint down to 19 and we punched together (two punches). In the sprint to the finish there was a picnic table on the right, Lee on the left and going right, so I had to give him a gentle shove to avoid having to jump on to it.

Blue Hole, VE shadowing Aoife. She zipped off from the start and I was a long way back. Gave her an "oi" when she ran off the track to get a bush control before number 1. I had the description sheet, so not entirely her fault. She maintained a substantial lead until the marked route. She stopped at the no.9 track junction and asked me which way to go when I caught up. I was aware that she was on a good time and didn't want to help her to win, so I just said "seriously?". At which she took off the right way. She lost more time at the no.11 where the direct track to the finish wasn't at all obvious (I had missed it in my race). I knew she wasn't going to win by this time, so I pointed out the finish flag.