Training Log Archive: paul

Oceania Relays @ Glenlean. NZ M45 team.
Major taping job required on blister city, could hardly walk.
They shoved me in as first runner in the mass start so was expecting a royal battle I didn't know how I would fair. As long as I didn't do anything dumb we should be ok with Pete and ACW so that was my basic plan of attack, plus try and be fast.
We was jumping around like bulls at the gate waiting for the mass start then finally the show was on the road. Started confidently and accurately finding myself pretty much leading even the M18's up to c3, but the pace was taking a toll and their faster, younger legs got the better of me. Well some of them anyway. by c4 a couple of my grade got on my tail, an ozzie and a european of some sort. A longish uphill c9 midway through the course my right calf stared complaining so I couldn't keep up to my max speed, gradually getting worse the poor thing . We all started swapping the lead so many times, me losing it on every hill of any sort.
Not good racing on a calf injury but I could face the prospects of pulling out now. So I just hung on expecting to get third for the leg, however to the last control I was sharp as a tack with my nav,, the other guys were drifting a little and I could see them wanting to come back with me as I led them in towards most controls, eventually the ozzie went off to a slightly longer split, I had a longer on earlier, and the other fella followed me. Dug deep and came in for the first place for the first leg, and satisfied with my snooker of the other two guys. Turned out the European mp'ed as he had the same spilt as the Ozzie, who I managed to suck off course. (whoops not quite the correct description). Another Ocker was also very close in behind.

Then realised my calf was buggered.
Pete and Al came though sweet for the win, so just as well as one more loss would have cost the kiwis dearly.
But I feel like a sacrificial lamb as I knackered my achilles badly in the relays two years ago as well. All for the team.
At least it was enjoyable and felt like I had a proper race and faster at long last.

Oceania Long @ Ngatawhai (Te Wharau) NZ M45 team.
Some serious foot bandaging for the blisters required again. Looking forward to what I thought might have been some really nice forest... but meh.
Just wasn't up for this physical slog. Not the kind of race you can survive without hill training and being strong and fully fit.
Right from the start the hard ground killed my feet as I'd never ran on my innov8 280's on anything but sandunes before. Was just slow and careful not to make errors at the start and this was confirmed as Eddie starting 2mins behind me caught me at c4 which surprised and freaked me out . Made a few errors along the way, c6 couldn't get through the fight so went back around, then lost the cut track across the stream, long one to c8 got almost there quite well then go sucked in by a parallel feature not mapped at all, c10 was going to choose the road route, (which was the fastest) but changed course after starting, ended badly as got stuck in some really shitty reentrants before the control. Lost 4 mins here alone.
Stink run, didn't enjoy the course or the map. Surely we have better down there as it looks like it on google earth. Just saying.

Camped out at some doc site near Carterton with Eddie Wymer and his family for the night so we went for a short tiki tour. Showed them the kiwi way by jumping in the beautiful but brass monkey river to clean up. Eddie was brave but the others preferred their solar waterbag. Went numb pretty quick so that was all good.
Treated our ozzie friends to some lamb chops cooked on a bush fire, needed more. What a lovely friendly family.

Slept finally.

WC Sprint Finals day followed by Oceania Sprint.
OK a bit out there but I was feeling shit from lack of sleep and my legs were dead and lifeless so decided to wake them up. Weny for an easy run from the freyberg pools around the waterfront to Parliament, was going to do some of the wc sprint but didn't realise it was so far away, so just returned actually starting to feel good and strongish again.

Followed the run with a short aqua jog session to stretch and relax. Pool sucked but it was so good for me I think, we'll see...

Only got to see some of the WC Sprint as I arrived quite late after searching far and wide for blimm'n parking, plus I really didn't want to sit around half the day before a sprint race.

Oceania Sprint @ Middle Earth (Huh - I thought that was in woodhill?), NZ M45 team.
Hesitated at the triangle cos my friggin map was upside down - omg!!! Settled down quickly and went well up to c3 (sitting in 2nd place) with c2 fastest split. c3 destroyed a good run, trying to take a totally uneccessary shortcut to save a few seconds go me on a different unmapped small track in the bush than I should have. Ended up climbing above the quarry, while realising the error it took ages to smash my way through some blackberries. To make matters worse there weren't even any juicey ripe friut to pick. Lost a whopping 2:20 , 31st for the leg. :( :( I think that deserved two sads. Determined not to fuck up again I was pretty careful from there and tried to run hard out where I was sure. Got in the zone mostly but did make a couple of slower choices in hindsight. c12 got me as I thought the circle was on the close side of a bilding, went there and could see it though the doors on the other side. Cruel. Lost 22 sex. Got a couple more fastest splits.
However err I couldn't believe my stupidity as I mp'ed the spectator tree by punching the other spectater tree 50 metres away. All I saw was the bunchof trees and thought I knew where it was from seeing it before the race, so was planning ahead. The only control I never checked. What a noob.
It was a bum day for the kiwi M45 team as Pete did exactly the same mp as me would you believe.
Only redeeming feeling for me was that take those couple of things away and I was fast enough for a good result and did actually feel ok. But still it really was embarrassing and dissapointing.

Shoe chioce wasn't great in the bush as I went for a few uncool skates

A rest day for us but word cup sprint qual around parliament buildings. Great spectating and surprised at the intricate map I walked around afterwards. Day dissapeared somewhere and so I didn't get a run in, plenty of walking tho. Couldn't sleep from coughing all night depite drugs and whathaveyou. Was going to go out for a 2am jog but it was way to windy to be enjoyable anyway. Might have got a couple of hours sleep?

Oceania Middle @ Manga Pirau. NZ45 team.
despite feeling sick I was looking forward to some real techno stuff and promissed to myself that there were to be no errors. Had to do some seroius taping of the feet in order just to walk as the sand caused some horredous blisters on my soft as babies feet yesterday. Went like the clapers to c1 via the coastal beach route. Still only got 4th split (3 seconds down)!
c2/c3 tricky so took care costing 30 secs wtf. c4/c5 fairly straight foward so went as flat out as the body could muster so surprised that it was only good enough for 8th and 5th splits!
c6 should have been sweet via path out to outer dunes but I decided to go the shortest possible route possible, on the line. Unfortunately it bought me to the control site riddled with ups'ndowns of which I couldn't be sure of so I darted around in hope for 1:18 before finding it. All good to c8 where I was now sitting in 5th. From here the shit started hitting the fan for some reason...
c9 easy but indecisive of route so changed mind after starting, which seemed to make me lose focus and got mixed up in the red zone losing 1:23 (30th split time). c10 looked tricky and awesome, followed deep gullies through the dunes to the right area but then couldn't pick the right reentrant. Mapping style due to simplifying wouldn't have helped but it was in the right spot. 32nd split dropping 1:10 to 10th. c11 another hard one, One of the European runners had passed me and I could see him going straight, over the complex dunes, so I decided to catch him to gain time. Bad move as he failed miserably and I really struggled to relocate after not knowing where we were. Another 2:35 lost Ahhhh. c12 a repeat excercise along the detailed dune ridge offered straight but too complex, out to the beach and careful into control or inland and slower to bigger features, Having got bamboozelled I took the easiest and longest inland, but I also managed to get confused because of the very strange and stupid decision to not show every Index contour. ??? Lost another 1:45.
Race looking shit now but still quite a few tight controls left through the Macrocarpa trees so kept pushing hard while trying to be clean. Didn't quite go to plan with c15 as it was a tough route choice running around the tree edges up and down some scrubby steep dunes. Angry about my choice as there was an easier and flatter one, although most did the same as me as far as I know... so pulled finger with the next going like a pro and got fastest split. Now why can't I do that all the time. Got wind of some competition for fastest finish split so went stupidly hard , only to be frustratingly blocked by traffic, but still won it. Yes.

Lucky I didn't give in as ended fastest kiwi team member for a nz middle win. Finished in 5th after all that, due to the carnage and a mostly fast paced effort.

Woke to more of the same blurh. Bugger off thing there is orienteering to be had.

Oceania Day 2 @ Osgiliath Wood.
Not much sleep, feeling well below average but nevertheless got to the strartline warmed up and ready but reluctant. First half of the course was in the faster flater pines where I mainly kept some good tight nav. Got some flow on and some pace even though the ground was very soft to run on. by c5 I was in the lead which was no easy thing with a number of fast guys entered. Some smallish misses and hesitations dropped me back to 4th such was the closeness. Managed to refocus as I went into the Macrocarpa and coast... so I thought. Lost 2.5 mins on c16, damn I executed it well using the long clearing and distinct trees at speed in the low vis Macro forest but then wrecked it by fluffing the open dune entry direction a bit but thought I had it perfect. All the remaining controls had very difficult nav issues, so apart from the following couple of mistakes that I shouldn't have made, I felt under contol and reasonable quick. However c18 was in a u depression in the dunes. I knew I was in the correct area but both Paul D and myself just couldn't find it. Eventually did and it was in a depression that I looked at from the other side several times.. but was under a bush. Lost 2.5 mins. Then while planning a longer leg ahead I missed a short easy one out at the beach and didn't realise until I has smashed and struggled uphill though lots of shitty scrub, of which I then had to return. dropped to 7th losing 4.25 mins. Nailed the next couple even thogh I was getting very tired by then. Won the Fin sprint haha.

Great area and never ran there before. 6th

Event: 2013 Oceania Carnival & WC Races
 

Sitting in Palmy Hospital waiting... Can't cope with this headache sore eyes real bad throat thing any longer. Need to see if I have a nasty infection of some kind. Cnt sleep well. After hours so nowhere else to turn.
Ok, a bit despirate I know, but a couple of yrs ago I got an infection into the lungs and carried on running which wasn't a good idea, took at least 6mnths to fix, didn't want a repeat.

It appears to be viral so apart from feeling terrible it shld be ok, so no antibiotics.

Oceania Day 1. Long dist @ Fusilier.
Still alive surprisingly but a bit shattered.
Eased into it and was impressed with the cool and tricky terrain in the first block, just kept it in control. Managed to hold a good compass on long c5 so starting to get comfortable. Long c6 also great but lost 40sec purely on running speed!
Then came c7, tricky shortish in green lines, took it really easy but somehow lost contact, running around thinking I new wheqe I was when I didnt, struggled for so long to relocate. Ameteur. Lost 5 mins.
regrouped and then disaster struck again at c11. What a tardy mistake,basically entering a forest block near a drinks control as confirmation, mixing it up with another drinks control 200m up the road that I never saw on the map. Convinced it was correct as I could sort of make the terrain fit and some others appeared to be hunting for the same control. V Silly. Figured it out after going back out to the road several times and doing the same error over and over. Lost 10:40!!!.
Tried to hit the reset button after that and at least pretent I could orienteer but wasn't that sharp near the circle on a couple more controls.