Training Log Archive: hkleaf

Event: WMOC 2015
 

pm Sprint training @Edinburgh City Center (castle)
4.2km, 13c (1:5000)

After arriving in Edinburgh airport on a delayed flight, it took us a while to get the rental car. We drove straight into town to meet up with the rest of the team at Edinburgh Castle for some sprint training. As it was cold and rainy, plus we hadn't eat any lunch yet, Iris and I only did partial map walk.

Dinner in Edinburgh before returning to Stirling Court Hotel at University of Stirling. Terrible lead-driving meant finding the hotel on our own in the dark.

"Rest day" in the sense that we didn't have any race or training today. Spent our last day in Goteborg as a tourist. After returning the rental car, we walked and toured around the city, and also went to the Universeum and Liseberg. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate and it was rainy and cold all day.

O-Ringen Stage 5
warm up to start

O-Ringen Stage 5 @Boras
H21E2: 12.2km, 27c (ISOM 1:15000, 5m)

Last day of racing. Because we were so far back from the leaders, Siu Tung, Aby and I all did not make the chasing start. Based on our total time from the 4 stages, we started near the back at 30sec intervals.
Big mistake on long leg to #2 due to perhaps too aggressive of a route choice. Needed to be more sure of my location on trail before descending and crossing powerline. Alternatively should've taken the trail route to the right with less climb and safer attack point. On the long leg to #4, couldn't find the tracks to the marsh, then missed the indistinct trail through the green, resulting in slower and longer route. Again inefficient route on long leg to #8. Ran 450m longer (4:40) than Siu Tung's route here by being insecure and running around on the road out of #7. Had a slight mistake to #12 trying to avoid the steeper climb, but ended up to far left. At #14, had some trouble spotting the control around the green, but didn't lose too much time there. Another slight miss to the left at #17 but quickly make the correction. Then big problem at #20, spending ~6min inside the circle searching for a bingo-ish control inside dark green. This is where I caught back up with Aby as he also had trouble finding the control. The two of us ran the rest of the way together. I made a mistake to #24 when my legs didn't follow my own verbal instruction to follow the reentrant up to the control. Aby on the other hand stopped too early searching for the control a #25 to let me catch back up again.
Running into the football stadium in Boras for the Finish had to be one of the coolest things I've experienced. Too bad I was overtime again and couldn't finish the O-Ringen week on a good note. Still, it was an eye-opening and extremely valuable experience. Coming over together with a big group, sharing 2 rental houses, focusing only on training and racing, was just awesome. :)

O-Ringen Day 4
warm up to start

O-Ringen Day 4 (Middle) @Kransmossen
H21E2: 5.0km, 20c (ISOM 1:10000, 5m)

After a solid day yesterday, today was the complete opposite. Perhaps my mind wasn't quite ready for the switch in map scale (15000 to 10000)? Or my mental barrier with middle distance races still haunts me? Anyway, 4 consecutive mistakes to begin the race isn't what I had expected. Had a slight bobble at #1, where I ran to the wrong knoll (terrain not agreeing with my mind). At #2, overran the control slightly as I read the map/description too late. Not very good concentration here. #3 was really just a silly mistake - I got scared off by the creek crossing along the red line. It just looked quite wide and deep, so I detoured all the way around on the trail! Missed #4 on a bearing issue crossing the marsh. Settled down briefly after that until I caught Iris at #8. We headed off in similar direction to my #9. Looking at the gps track now, it seems my route was fine except that I barely missed the control by contouring a bit too low. Or maybe I just plainly missed seeing the control. In retrospect, I think my plan was not solid enough. My map contact for this leg was a bit loose, and I didn't have a solid attack point. It took a while of wandering east of the control before I found my way back to the flag. Losing my confidence by now, my pace had slowed and I became unsure of myself getting to #10. Another case of careless map reading led to an error at #11, running to the wrong control to the south. Then came the big blunder at #15, where I had problem with my compass (seems it was malfunctioning). I made a 180-degree error running to the control, and couldn't make sense of the map with the out-of-bounds tape. Think I probably had a wrong visualization of the terrain here, which compounded my problems. I then concluded my race with yet another big mistake at the end (#19), where in my haste to find the control, I read the map, terrain, and compass carelessly, losing >5mins here.
Overall, a disappointing performance after such promising progress the previous 2 days.

O-Ringen Stage 3
warm up to start

O-Ringen Stage 3 @Kransmossen
H21E2: 12.1km, 22c (ISOM 1:15000, 5m)

A much better day as confidence grew, and also the benefit of having some runners around me for parts of the course. The biggest mistake came on the short leg at #11, where it seems I contoured too high and missed the control. Saw Siu Tung and couple other runners there, which helped me find the flag after losing 4-5mins searching. Although I technically didn't make a mistake on the long legs to #10 & #15, my route choice decision still isn't optimal and have much room for improvement.
So surprised and happy to complete the course with a solid time (for me).

Rest day. Also rainy day. Cancelled plans to go watch MTB-O which was very near our rental houses. We went to the town of Boras for lunch and a bit of sight-seeing. Luckily, the rain stopped just in time in the late afternoon as we gather to spectate the Elite Sprint. Would've loved to be running in the sprint myself, but with the various leg injuries I'm dealing with, it was better to rest up for the competitions ahead.
Speaking of injuries, it seems the icing, stretching, massaging, and ultra-sounding the last couple days have helped a bit. The pain has subsided significantly during the after the race yesterday, which was puzzling yet encouraging.

O-Ringen Day 2
warm up to start

O-Ringen Day 2 @Givarp
H21E2: 12.3km, 19c (ISOM 1:15000, 5m)

Started off with a slight mistake to #1, but quickly relocated and find myself. Terrible exit angle resulting in longer route to #2, but generally under control. Took the road options to #3 & #5 which sped things up a bit. Terrible exit angle again after #8. Think I was indecisive with my long leg route choice, and was distracted by the thicker looking vegetation in front of me. It ended up being a much longer route, but I was in contact with the map the whole time and in control of the navigation. Just need to improve on my route choice selection for long legs. Things went rather smoothly until #16. I was already 85% on this leg when I went around the hill and followed the wrong ridge down west of the control. This was in the area where there're a lot of cairn symbols on the map, but I just couldn't pick them out in the terrain. Tried without success to relocate myself for a while. Then decided I needed to head back up the hill to get a better vantage point. That's when I start to figure out what I've done. Still proceeded to overshoot the control to the north due to poor map reading.
After that, had to really push the pace in the final section of the course in order to avoid OT. Though i was a bit slow in my final approach to #17, I found the control cleanly. Had to sprint in when I checked my watch at the Go-control and realize I had less than 2min to spare. It was a joyful moment to know that I completed the course without the time limit. :)