Training Log Archive: HWW

Event: HH 'Ace of Herts' Level B South East League Event
 

HH Burham Beeches and Egypt Wood Level B event: Black, 13.0km, 27 controls, 225m climb
Massively balls up at the start and generally didn't find form until around half way. While I did have a few decent legs early on these were few and far between until leaving 13, which I'd made a massive hash of.
PaulC caught me floundering near 1 - I think his words were "what the fuck are you doing?" - and 2 was little better.

On route to 7 I was broadly on track and aware of my location until crossing the main SE/NW stream and then seemingly loosing all track of where I was. By 12 the leg lengths were reducing, giving me less opportunity to make massive errors but I still managed one to 13, initially following someone but then realising that they probably weren't the best guide. Having picked it up to 14, I caught FR Black Sheep on leg 16 and managed to move away, passing Chris Wroe not long after. Slight contraction lapse to 20 and 21 probably cost me around 30 secs on both.

Black - Splits

Event: English National Cross Country Championships
 

Pre-Nationals warm up around most of the course / lap.

English National Cross Country Championships 2013, Herrington Park, Sunderland
Probably one of the most physical races I've done in a long time. By the time of the senior men's race, almost every patch had been turned to churned mud as the two thousand-odd runners from earlier races had sought to pick their way through the remaining firm spots.

I felt I had a fairly steady start, not too fast, but found myself being passed over much of the 1st of three laps. I held things a bit on the 2nd, making up ground on a Tipton guy and, for a time being near to Serpentine's Jonathan Poole. This seemed to continue going into the 3rd, and I was almost shocked to catch Ryan McKinley of Highgate around 1/3rd of the way through the final lap. However, despite generally overtaking on the climbs and descents, I lost ground in the 3rd, Ryan and fellow Highgate runner Henry Dodwell passing me near the top of the 2nd hill.

I ultimately finished in 146th, 52 places down on last year so somewhat disappointed, especially given that there were over 600 fewer finishers compared to last year's race at Parliament Hill. Hmm, need to think why I didn't do better....

Legs 'n core
I'd meant to do a fuller session but found lunges in particular quite painful, specifically around my left big toe joint. Possibly due to a recent stubbing during orienteering or my feet not taking too well to reasonable milage in the Mizuno Universes (hope this isn't it or I ought to get some new road shoes in time for London).
Warm up squats, forward lunges and Bosu 1 leg balance: 1 x 10 reps of 1st 2, 1 x 1min per leg of balance
Swing throughs / reverse lunges: 1 x 20 / 15
Woodchop: 4 x 16.25kg (10 reps)
Forward lunges: 2 x 14kg (10 reps)
Swiss ball jack-knife: 1 x 10, 2 x 6 (1 leg alternating)
Forward ball roll: 2 x 8 reps

Run to work: the Stratford High Street, Bow Roundabout, Mile End / Whitechapel Road option.

Cycle from More London to Finsbury Park for street orienteering, complete with lots of map check stops.

North London Street Orienteering League 2012/13, Finsbury Park
A generally satisfying run around a well planned score course / event. A few lapses early on, particularly when I tried to run through a park only to find the gates locked. Annoyingly I missjudged timing near the end, turning back rather than heading up to 37, only to return to the start / pub with 3.5 minutes to spare. Pleasing to see fellow second-claim Serpie Andy Greenleaf taking part too; I'd forgotten that I'd mentioned this event to him at a house warming party on Saturday night. Ended up with the same score but I got back slightly earlier.

Cycle home to Leytonstone from Finsbury Park

Run to work: the Orient, Ruckholt Road, Victoria Park, Cambridge Heath Rd, Whitechapel Road option.

Run into work, the Stratford High Street, Bow Roundabout, Whitechapel Road option. Can't really call this a 3 effort run - felt good so ran fast

City Runners Run along the River.
First time running on Tuesday night in months so decided to go for a burn out and see how fast I could go. PB, I think.

Cycle to work, via Fitness First, London Bridge.

Kettlebells class