Training Log Archive: BorisGr

Warm-up, cool-down, a couple of running drills.

Having felt very good running intervals the last couple of weeks, I decided to run another 5km time trial on the track before the snow came again to see if I have gotten any faster. My PR was 17:21, which I ran on October 24th. I really hoped to try and break it this time, with a "dream goal" of breaking 17 minutes. It was nice and chilly (-2C), and I think it was the first time I'd ever run on a track covered in frost. A bit tough mentally to get myself to do this, even once I got there. Somehow, it seems so easy to think up excuses not to run, especially when no one is around to make you feel guilty. Eventually, though, I got myself to start running, but none of that feeling of speed and lightness from interval sessions ever came. I struggled to breathe well, and my legs felt pretty heavy. After one lap, I thought I'd never finish, as I was in pain and already a second off the target pace. As the laps went along, I was still feeling bad, but nothing seemed to be getting worse. With a lap and a half to go, I realized I had a shot, and tried to pick it up. The last 200 meters was not a pretty sight, as I was wheezing and making all sorts of horrid noises, and running as fast as I could. When I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, I was really glad to see a number under 17 minutes on it!
It's so much easier to be happy after a running race than after an orienteering race - when running, if you hit the time you aim for, you are happy. In orienteering, there are always things you could have done better, and you can never be completely happy. In some ways, running seems like such a more straightforward sport.

82.0
80.9
81.6
82.4 (5:27 mile)
82.9
82.5
83.1
82.1 (5:30 mile)
82.7
82.1
82.6
80.5 (5:28 mile)
34.0

C • Great job! 14

A bit of a warm-up for the night-O.

Wednesday Night-O at Vedyxa. Ran the middle course, given that I am trying to take this week with a bit less volume than last. Started out by missing the first control a bit, then finding, but looking at the number on the SI unit (31) and not on the flag (91). Confused, I circled around for a while and returned to the same place, perhaps 3 minutes later. Decided this was the right one, punched, and went on. Then remembered that the right codes were only on the flags themselves. Oh well. Orienteered quite well after that, pretty fast and with some confidence. Probably helped that the terrain was mostly nice, and the map made sense.
Results: http://www.oklinne.nu/onsdagsnatt/results.php?id=4...
Route Gadget: http://www.oklinne.nu/routegadget/cgi-bin/reitti.c...

5km - Splits

Tuesday night course Ö, designed by Kat and myself! Fun to run, though I was mostly just hanging around the pack and not doing too much precise navigation. Plus, I smacked my head on a tree branch pretty hard at one point and had to run hard to catch up. Was at the back of the pack the rest of the way. Spent the rest of the evening sitting in a training group meeting, planning training for the rest of the winter. The schedule is set. Looks good.

A run around the neighborhood, plus some loops on the lit track in Stadsskogen. Didn't have time for anything else, as I had to go to a course-setting clinic at the clubhouse. I have to get a Swedish course-setting certification before setting courses for Linné's fall event. The clinic was actually pretty fun, with meaningful discussions, especially about the easier courses, which I have less experience with.

C • Any Pearls of Wisdom? 2

Long run on trails and dirt roads with Kat. Went from Blodan past Kung Björn's hill and then all the way south through Nåsten towards Stabby and onto Hammarskog. A loop around Hammarskog and then back through the Lurbo riding center and along Hågadalen past the clubhouse and home. Very muddy the entire time.

Warm-up

We drove down to Sigtuna for a training that a few other clubs (Tisaren, Halden, Pan-Kristianstad) were running as part of their Tiomila training weekend. We ran on the map that I think is geographically closest to the Tiomila 2008 map. Nice terrain, with mostly very runnable forest and pockets of hilltop detail that were intricate, but still mostly readable on the run. The seven Linné runners doing the forked long course started as a mini mass start and were off. I ran intermittently with some of the guys, but was by myself for large stretches of the course. Spotted Andrew about a minute ahead of me with a few controls left, but couldn't do much about it, as he had a shorter gaffling in the end to make up for the longer one he had in the beginning.
My legs felt tired pretty much the entire way, but I was happy with my orienteering and flow through terrain, so that was a big positive. About 3 minutes total lost for the course. Ulf had the fastest time of us, ~73 minutes.

Felt dead when we got home from the morning's training and barely dragged myself out the door. Once in the gym, though, felt a bit livelier and worked pretty hard. Downright fresh and peppy by the time I finished the workout. Weird how that happens sometimes.

Sort of a rest day, I guess, as we spent the whole day moving our stuff over to the new apartment in Blodstensvägen, the orienteering ghetto!! No time for training, but I was totally exhausted by the end of the day. Luckily, Andrew cooked a nice dinner in the new place for Patrick, Mari, Kat, and myself.

C • Living in Sweden 5

Warm-up, cool-down, jogging between intervals.

Linné intervals. It's hard to believe that a pair of running shoes can make such a difference, but I really feel like I am flying when I wear Rob's old Mizunos. I felt great during intervals tonight and was actually excited about the start of each interval, so I could start out steady and then gradually accelerate to a nice cruising speed. We did 9-6-3-3-2-2-1-1-1-.5-.5-.5-.5, which is one of my favorite workouts that the club does. Also, this was the first time Kat came along to Linné intervals, and this also happened to be her birthday.

C • shoes 1

Secret Russian Running Drills.

Circuits with the club after intervals. Fun, as usual.