Training Log Archive: Lizzie

after a day sitting inside working, i dragged myself out and did the infamous terrain loops from the Lawford's place. good stuff, pine trees made me feel right at home :)

C • Pine trees? 4

A 4th day of completely different terrain. Open vague spur gully today. Started in reverse order, so I was last off with Grace 2mins ahead.
Not too much to say on this one really - was a matter of bearings, noting off stepping stones, and running as fast as feasible. Was slightly off on no.5, coming around the spur too low, but otherwise nothing of note comes to mind.
Was tricked into being too cautious after a couple of the early controls were down depressions and pits - but then the rest were perched on the edge screaming to you as you ran towards them!
Happy to push hard 4 days in a row, really feel the intensity I'm able to keep up during races has improved over the last wee while.

Overall an awesome weekend, my first experience of the Aussie Easter 4days :) Still a little sad to miss out on NZ champs, but this weekend more than made up for it! 4 awesome courses, on awesome maps, with completely different terrain each day, you can't ask for much more!

Day 3 W21E - Splits

Another tough but fun race, on Mt Alexander, used as a WOC85 training map. One big hill covered in areas of granite terrain. Which is what we headed into first up. 1 and 2 I hit cleanly enough, but then was a little too low on the cliff on 3 and overshot, losing 40s or so. I misjudged my height on the climb to 5, looking far too ealry, but the only way I could really go was up - and that's where i found the control!
Into the butterfly loops and I contoured too well 5-6, which took me straight to 7 rather than 6! Not a problem though as the running was better this way, and it gave an easy entry to the control. 7-8 I again got height wrong, losing 1min being too low and misjudging the clear areas. 9-10 I caught up with Hanny who was doing her first 1/3rd of the butterfly. Having just lost time on 3,5,6and 8 I knew she must be ahead of me time wise. So once Lauren and I left Hanny to finish the rest of her butterfly I put the hammer down. Rest of the course was technically easier, so was good to just crank up the speed and effort.
Clean on the rest of the course. Took the higher route choice 16-17, which took me straight back along the route I'd taken 14-15. And gave me a fun downhill as well :)
Surprised with the margin of the win, and really happy with how I picked my race up after the early mistakes.

Day 2 W21E - Splits

Middle distance in gold mining terrain. Not as tricky as perhaps expected, but certainly tricky enough for errors to be costly!
Headed out from the start hard as the first leg had some good attackpoints and catching features. Perhaps i'm too used to twilight events and the running speed possible in them? Didn't seem to do me any harm though :)
Small blip on 3, turning onto the wrong hill in the circle. lost 20s. Happy through to 6, where i read the number for 9 and had to double check! Caught Aislinn around here. Grace joined us on the way to 9 (or 10?) And not long after we caught up Kathryn too.
I lead 3 of us astray on the way to 15. Grace ignored us and got it right, although we were all back together half way to 16. Then picked up Suzanne at 19, lost 5-10s getting my bearing to the final control off, and on into the finish for my 2nd win of the weekend :)
A good fun race.

Day 1 Course 2 - Splits

Event: NZ Orienteering Championships
 

Event: Easter 2013
 

Jogged the long drive out of my legs. Just down the road from the scout camp to the local tennis courts and back.

15WU, 10WD.

Easter prologue sprint.
Classic uni campus with a fair amount of bush. First leg took us through a couple of buildings and straight into the bush. Missed the start of a couple of small paths, but was pretty 50-50. Short leg 1-2 to a ditch, near a weirdly cut index contour, which I read as another ditch. Lost 15s looking in the wrong one as a result.
Smashed through the undergrowth to 5, thanks to Glendale last week toughening me up :) Too high on 7, losing 15s again.
From there it was into the buildings. No real time loss to speak of. Happy with my route choices and reading ahead. Have a dodgily fast looking split 18-19 as a result of my fence hurdling skills ;)
Never felt like I got up to full speed, but a clean enough race had me end up ahead.

Prologue Course 2 - Splits

No time for a jog before driving down to Vic. And too late when i got there.

With Matt and Grace. From our house over to Ainslie. Then a bit of a corridor exercise I'd sketched up. Missed the last couple of controls a bit as it got dark (that's what i'll blame anyway!)

Good shake out for the legs