Winter so far

It's been a while since I have posted anything, for several reasons, but primarily because I've been just a bit too busy. It's been a winter of highs and lows so far but I thought I would write a short update on my progress towards next season, as well as some highlights from the back end of last.

In my previous post, the individual season had (largely) come to a close and I was set to race the Hodgson Brothers relays and the British Fell Relays with Dark Peak. Both of these races went well, both personally and more importantly as a club. As a team we have a really strong crop at the moment, made stronger with a number of recent additions, and we were excited to head into these races which had been at the back of everyone's minds for a while. Obviously a number of other clubs, especially the Lakeland based ones, would field strong teams, but we were confident we could give a good showing of ourselves, especially at the British relays which were on home soil.

The Hodgsons were up first. It's a race steeped in history and I was excited to get my first crack at it. We had a couple of unfortunate injuries but still got out a good side. Neil and Pete were stable on what sounded a very fast first leg, before handing over to Oli and Josh who battled the fog and longer leg to hand over to Max and Tom. Their race by all accounts went brilliantly and set myself and Rhys out in 3rd, chasing Ambleside in a close 2nd and with a fair gap to Carl and Mark of Keswick ahead. Coming off the back off the summer, I was feeling good, certainly in the best fell shape I've ever been in, and was ready to race hard with Rhys who I knew wanted a good run. Unfortunately he'd been suffering with a bit of a chesty cold in the build up, but we still climbed well, closing on Ambleside and maintaining the gap to Keswick. It would have been foolish of me to try and lead the leg as Rhys knows these hills as well as anyone, so I settled in for a fun bash across Fairfield over to St. Sunday, sliding down scree and ducking in and out of boulders, happily and blindly following Rhys wherever he went. It was actually, for me, quite a humbling sight to see how he tackled this rougher terrain and it became even clearer to me why he's as good as he is on the hills. Over to St. Sunday, we'd kept the same gap to Ambleside and closed again on the climb to the summit, but were just unable to close the gap on the fast descent as Matt and Gary just pulled away slightly. 3rd was still a good performance for us and we certainly went home happy with our efforts and ready to fight again in a couple of weeks at the British.

The bottom of St. Sunday Crag with Rhys on the Hodgson relays.

Dark Peak's fell relays at Fairholmes will certainly live long in people's memories, if not for the racing (which was excellent), then definitely for the arena. Set with the backdrop of the dam looming above us, it provided the perfect ampitheatre for the gladiatorial efforts we would be putting in that day. Again, we had a couple of late drop outs, but our team was as strong as it could have realistically been. Josh ran well on first, battling hard to set Max and I off in 8th place. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to race with Max, especially as he was to be moving away soon after. There's something which just takes the pressure away completely about racing with a mate, it felt as though we were just on a run out in the Peaks ready to smash seven bells out of each other across the rolling moors. We set off hard, in pursuit of the teams ahead knowing that our main targets were Ambleside, Shettlestone and Keswick. By the top of Lost Lad, we had closed well and our belief in ourselves grew with every step. The terrain is unforgiving, but we were prepared for this and worked hard through the rougher patches. By Wet Stones, we had moved in to 2nd and took an aggressive line across the valley in pursuit of Keswick. We bridged the steep valley at the bottom about 30s~ behind them and this gap held to the finish, despite our best efforts. To say we were delighted is an understatement, being only 30s behind Carl and Mark after an hour of racing was as good a run as we could have hoped for and is a real confidence boost moving in to the senior classes in the next couple of years. Tom and Rhys were stable as expected on the Nav Leg, losing a couple of places but setting Ben out in a strong position chasing the medals. Unfortunately he just missed out but against the calibre of runners on that leg it was a difficult task. Everyone ran incredibly well and we were definitely proud of our 4th place behind some incredibly strong teams.

Top of the first climb with Max on the Fell Relays

Chasing hard with Max off Lost Lad.

Initially, I had planned that this would be where my season ended, but a couple of weeks before I off-handedly volunteered to partner Tom Saville on the Elite Class in the OMM as we were driving back from the Hodgsons. I have wanted to run the OMM for a number of years but because of various reasons and races such as JEC, Euromeeting etc, it just simply hasn't been possible. Having spoken to Oli, we both felt it would be a good end to the season and force me to take a proper rest after, so on paper, it wasn't a bad decision. I was as fit as I could have been for it and was confident that Tom's ability and experience over the long distance challenges would see us through. I've written about the OMM in greater detail on my attackpoint (links below to each day), so I won't go in to excessive detail here but will summarise my experience as best as I can. For me, the OMM holds significant heritage and respect in both the orienteering and fell running communities. I remember growing up when my Dad raced the KIMM and then the OMM and how incredibly brutal and miserable he made it sound and I knew that I couldn't wait to try my hand at it as well. We arrived in Largs in good spirits having weighed our kit during the week before. After panic googling how to make the highest calorie flapjack I could, I felt like we were ready. The first day was a mixed bag. Obviously I have never raced this far before but figured that the overall was still a fair bit less than my usual mileage in normal training, so tried to break it down in to more managable chunks for myself. We went well for the first 4 hours or so, before I hit a horrible rough patch and suffered for the next hour. Thankfully, Sav is an absolute slave-driver and kept ploughing on whilst I moaned and ate and the moaned some more behind him before my soreen kicked in. We finished the day reasonably well, sitting in 3rd place, 20s down on 2nd and a way off Hector and GG in 1st.
The second day went much better. After a night of spooning on foil balloons, being slapped by a wet tent and eating the best two pot noodles I have ever tasted, we were fired up and ready to push as well as we could. Tom perhaps took a little longer to get going today, and we were caught at 3~ by a number of other teams, including Nic Barber who never fails to lift anyones spirits. Having ran with them for a while we took the tactical decision to push on the good running before the road crossing and got a gap. From there, despite obviously hurting after many hours of running, we made good time and came in to finish 3rd. Hector/GG and Ali/Tim had battled together all day and we would have been hard pushed to close any gaps to them, but we were very happy with our efforts. As my first mountain marathon and 2 longest runs ever (previous longest Edale Skyline 2018 [33km~]), I was absolutely delighted. Whilst the OMM is not something I will be rushing back to (I'll come to this next), it was brilliant to get one in. Again, running with a good friend also made it that extra bit fun and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet done one.

Day 1: https://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_11224/period-1/enddate-2019-10-26
Day 2: https://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_11224/period-1/enddate-2019-10-27

OMM 2019 podium (5 orienteers!)

Following the OMM, my plan was to have a 2 week break before building into next season. Unfortunately, as has so often happened, I rushed back too soon, with the fatigue from the OMM being somewhat delayed and tricking myself in to thinking I was fine. Whilst I did feel ok, it became clear that my body just wasn't recovering as it normally would after such a massive stimulus which meant I was just running myself further and further in to a hole. This is not to say that I was doing anything exceptionally difficult, but even the little I was doing with some short jogs, climbing, bike rides, was too much for my depleted systems.
During the first day of the OMM I had taken a bad fall and bashed my shin. This was a little painful, but also meant I had been running awkwardly over terrain for a day and a half which had worn my hip flexor to a point of fair discomfort. I did acknowledge this and after some stern words from a number of sane voices (Mary, Jenny J, my Dad to name but a few) I took some actual rest which seemed to have corrected me to an extent. Then, the first run back where I felt actually normal at the Nottingham University orienteering event, on warming up my hamstring pinged which was a little disconcerting. Proceeding to then race an 11k urban-o course was perhaps not the best response and this led to a further month and a half of limited running due to this discomfort. This really took until Christmas to fix itself, and even now I can occasionally feel the odd bit of tightness.

Still managed to get a fun weekend of hiking in up in Snowdonia despite injury.

It's safe to say that in the 2 months following the OMM when I was dealing with these niggling injuries, I was a real arse to be around, which does so often happen when running and racing takes up such a big part of your life. I'm hoping that this episode, which could certainly have been a lot worse, serves as a reminder for me in the future to not be so pig-headed when it comes to training and injuries. Looking back, the extended break this gave me from real training is actually something of a benefit. Sure, I'm not as fast as I have been at this time of year before but then the races I am targetting come in the spring and summer, so worrying about my current shape is unecessary. I have been buiding back up to fitness over the last month or so and there is certainly a high level of fitness carried over from last season, which if anything, was probably maintained rather than damaged from more limited training. I feel as though I'm in a good place to push on from at the moment and I'm relishing the chance to get racing again when the season comes around in a couple of months.
This season will see a definite focus on orienteering after something of a hiatus last year. Whilst I raced at the JK and British etc., I had no fixed goals and was happy to focus on improving my fitness moving in to the senior ranks and enjoyed racing in the hills. I will definitely still race on the fells this year, and intend to get a full English championships score in if possible, but my real focus is on the maps. Being back in Sheffield is a great situation to be in to prepare properly for orienteering competitions, as well as a number of training camps and warm up races lined up, so I'm excited to get racing again soon.

It's been a busy year so far with Masters studies as well, but that's far less interesting to talk about here. That is pretty much a summary of what's been happening the last 3 months or so, I'll try and be a little more regular with updates as the season progresses. I'd like to say a big thanks to Norman Walsh for continuing to support me in to the next season, and everyone else who helps me out in numerous ways with running and orienteering!

Walsh's after the Ramsley Moor orienteering event last weekend.

2018-19 Season

What a year. This time 12 months ago I was living in Melbourne (Aus) coaching and training with the orienteers out there. It was an amazing opportunity which I've discussed in a number of other posts and one which I won't ever forget. Upon returning to the UK, I took up a position as Team Member at the YHA Keswick and absolutely loved being based in such an incredible location for 6 months. In September I returned to Sheffield to begin studying for a masters in Cultural Heritage Management and I'm currently looking forward to a good winter of mud, hills and little orange and white flags.

Whilst there's still a couple of races left this season, I wanted to jot down some thoughts on the past 6 months or so of racing. With this being my second senior year of orienteering and my final year of being an u23 on the fells, I was torn as to what to target. For orienteering, there was only really WOC or World Cup rounds to go for and as I'm not in any British squads, I felt these would be difficult to achieve. Sure I would race for them and give it my best, but I just didn't think I was really in the frame, especially as I'd been away for so long. So my attention drifted towards the mountains (as it often does!) and I set my sights on the u23 English fell running title. It's not to say that I wasn't enjoying or competing in orienteering, but looking back now I think a year away from stressing about selections and orienteering has done wonders for both my physical and mental state.

Whilst in Australia I felt very positive about the season to come, especially in terms of the orienteering opportunities, however my injury (plantar fascitis in both feet) spanning from January to March sowed the seeds of doubt in my mind about my ability to perform in the big races. Despite cross-training obsessively, keeping on top of my diet, re/prehab, sleep and everything else, the fact that I wasn't out running was really playing on my mind and massively undermined my confidence in my ability. In hindsight, this doubt may have been somewhat msiguided as if I instead focused on the positives or my technical ability then perhaps I could still perform well. It's easy to say now, but at the time I was just low on self-belief. Further, in the last week of my stay there, my grandmother unexpectedly succumbed to a sudden illness and died. She had supported me in absolutely everything I'd ever done and was always wanting to hear about anything that I was doing. To have not been able to see her before she died is something that still weighs heavily on me now and undoubtedly has had a profound impact on me during the last 6 months.

Rock n roll Gran

Upon returning and moving up to the Lakes, my passion for fell running and being in the mountains was let loose. I was now able to be on exceptional terrain within minutes of my front door. I had some trouble settling, no time spent at home for 6 months which was now extended, driving long distances to see friends and get to races (generally straight after a long shift) and feeling a little cut-off from my familiar life. This lasted for roughly a month and a half where I felt unsettled and generally uncertain about what I was supposed to be doing. However once I was settled, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Lakes.

Lakeland landscape, what I got to run in whenever I fancied!

A tired looking run at the JK middle

After arriving home, I had less than a month to prepare for the big orienteering races of the spring, which also acted as selection races for pretty much everything this year. As I mentioned before, I was quesitoning my physical ability a lot at this time and this, coupled with not yet feeling at home in the Lakes, which meant that my performances were massively below the level I expected from myself. At the JK I blew the sprint by panicking and trying to overrun, which was a similar story to the middle, and in the Long I just never quite had the belief in myself to attack the course over that time. TioMila a couple of weeks later was a similar story, which was made worse by the fact that it was my first race for my new Scandinavian club (IFK Lidingö) and I felt I had let down my new club mates. This feeling of letting people down pervaded my orienteering at the time, I felt that I had let down those in Australia who had helped me, my family and people who had supported me and myself. The British champs saw an improvement, however this may have been because I felt that the chance of selection had gone and this allowed me to run more freely and enjoy the course for what it was, a theme which featured heavily in my orienteering later in the season and led to some improved results.

Not all bad, bronze in the JK relay with Matt and Will!

Despite this pretty dark month for myself over this time, I had at least recognised that I was now back in the swing of running after the spring orienteering season had finished, which allowed just a nugget of confidence in my ability to begin sprouting as I tried to hit the fells with purpose. I was also incredibly fortunate at this time to begin representing the footwear company Norman Walsh, who agreed to support me in my fell running and orienteering ventures and whose shoes I have used for the majority of the season. The first test came at the Inter-counties where I managed to come in 14th (2nd u23 behind Tim), which I ran whilst still feeling down on myself about my running. After this result though, I decided to just back myself and recognised that really I could only ever do as well as I could at the time, regardless of what had come before or would come after. I find this so much easier to do on the fells where to me really the race is against yourself and the mountain and you realise that everyone is pushing their limit and all you have to do is keep working. Certainly this year I have found my mental resilience has improved hugely, I think largely as a result of treating hills with this attitude.

The first climb at Black Fell

After the inter-counties, the races came thick and fast, largely on the local scene in the Lakes. As much as I was targetting the u23 champs, I also felt incredibly priveliged to be able to compete in some of the races that I'd read and heard about from afar, such as Latrigg, Loughrigg, Blencathra to name but a few. A consistency in training and relatively regular racing meant that come the first English Champs race at Black Fell, I was ready to just apply this new mindset and give it as good a go as I could.
Despite being nervous, I found that just trusting myself and my training, meaning I was able to run much more within myself for the race and equalled my best champs result, coming in 4th (1st u23). Whilst the u23 points were valuable, this really siginified to me that I was able to compete and marked something of a turning point in my season.

Scottish 6 Days

I did maintain some orienteering for the rest of the year. I really only ran 5 notable competitions thrhoughout the rest of the season though. The first being Jukola where again I felt disappointed with my run however enjoyed the team atmosphere. From then though I had a brilliant weekend in Belgium racing ASOM which reignited my passion for sprint orienteering. However the two big orienteering season highlights for me were the Scottish 6 Days and the British Sprints and Middles in August and September. I have raced the 6 days as long as I can remember and relished the chance to compete in the senior class. Whilst perhaps the field wasn't as strong as other years, it still meant a lot to me to come 2nd overall, with some good individual performances and a couple of stage wins. The results felt secondary though as I was just happy to find some consistency in my orienteering at a good level. This attitude of focusing on my own race flowed in to the Sprints and Middles where I picked up my best senior performances to date, coming 6th (5th Brit in the Sprint) and 5th in the middle, both in very competitve fields. To be in the mix or very close to the top guys was a big boost looking forward.

British Sprints run-in

The close of the season though was the last 2 English champs fell races that I needed to count in the u23 champs, the Grisedale Horseshoe and the Ilam Fell Race. I was a little nervous before Grisedale as it was a real brute of a course, but I just tried to run my own race and despite descending poorly, finished with another good 8th (1st u23). The championship came down to Ilam between myself and Max Wainright (a great friend and teammate) where if he beat me we drew but if I beat him I just nicked it. It literally came down to a sprint as we drew level with a mile to go but I was just able to pull away on the flatter running towards the end to take the title! (Admittedly he had run for England the day before with a great run in Wales). I was absolutely delighted to win the title and Ilam was also my best ever champs race with 3rd place overall! It felt good to realise my season aim after so much hard work and disappointment earlier in the year.

The first climb of Ilam, on my way to the English title.

In summary then a really polarized year. Initially I felt massive disappointment and almost a bit lost after poor performances in the orienteering races that mattered the most, but I absolutely loved the rest of the season racing in some fantastic terrain with some great people. Really I think my main take away from this season is that whilst I've enjoyed arguably my best season to date generally, I've remembered why I enjoyed competing in these two sports. Regardless of the selections or titles or any of that superficial stuff, the fundamental joy of smashing around a claggy hillside in the howling wind or spiking a control through intricate terrain is difficult to put in to words. However it's definitely something I want to remind myself of in future if I find myself drifting towards the negative mindset I had at the start of the year and something I want to make a staple of my running efforts as I move forward in to the coming seasons. I feel the best I ever have running and really, for now, I'm not interested in arbitrary things like my 5k time anymore. Despite running lower mileage than in 2018, I'm performing better and this slight reduction has allowed me to maintain a much better consistency which is far more important to me now. No longer worrying about distance or paces has also taken the pressure away to a large degree and allows me to run and race much more in the moment and gives me a better belief in my overall approach rather than obsessing about minute and often incosequential details.

That pretty much sums up my 2018-19 season from an individual perspective. I plan to write a follow up post about the fell relays and Hodgson's which have just gone and then another post after those two. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me through last season and I hope that I am able to progress further in the years to come.

Orienteering Results 2019:                                                     Fell Running results 2019:

JK Sprint: 21st                                                                         Loughrigg: 4th
JK Middle: 19th                                                                       Lord's Seat: 3rd
JK Long: 17th                                                                          Inter-counties: 14th (2nd u23)
JK Relay: Bronze                                                                    Latrigg: 2nd
TioMila: Leg 1: 92nd (team 136)                                            Hutton Roof: DNF
British MSR: team 11th (3rd fastest day leg)                          Blencathra: 3rd
British Long: 11th                                                                    Langstrath: 4th
British Relay: 4th                                                                     Black Fell (EC): 4th (1st u23)
Jukola: Leg 6: 101st (Team 80th)                                            Skiddaw: DNF
ASOM WRE: 9th                                                                    Coniston Country Fair: 1st
Scottish 6 Days: 2nd overall (2x1st place, 2nd WRE).           Rydal Round: 2nd
British Sprints: 6th (5th Brit)                                                  Ambleside Sports: 5th
British Middles: 5th                                                                 Steel Fell: 2nd
                                                                                                 Grasmere Guides: 5th
                                                                                                 Longshaw Sheepdog Trials: 1st, CR
                                                                                                 Grisedale Horseshoe (EC): 8th (1st u23)
                                                                                                 Ilam: 3rd (1st u23)

A busy few months

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this and it’s not really for a lack of interest. These past few months have been incredibly busy, with numerous races, training trips and major life changes, all of which have had a large impact on my running. This isn’t going to be a massively long post, nothing in too much detail and hopefully nothing too boring, it isn’t really the time or place. It’s more of an update on what’s been happening, where I’m at, and the direction things are heading.

Since my last post about the Adelaide 3 Days, a lot has happened, but I’ll try and pick up where I left off. That weekend for me was full of frustrations, primarily caused by a persistent injury that I’d developed from overdoing it and overreaching, Plantar Fasciitis. Sparked by a track race in January, it took a long and arduous effort to work my way through this one, with close to a 3 month lay off from running. I tried everything I could find. Icing, rolling, massaging, orthotics, stretching, strength exercises, different shoes, softer ground, compression, pharmaceuticals, taping and realistically, non of these were the quick fix I wanted. I was largely glued to an exercise bike on the Key’s balcony or tethered to the side of their neighbours pool, relentlessly grinding out hour after hour of cross training in the hopes that this would maintain some semblance of fitness. I do also have to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped me out through this, I can be an arse when I’m injured, I know, but everyone was incredibly supportive. Not being able to run, for me, is torture. Over the last year’s, running has developed in to not just something I enjoy, but something a bit deeper, something that gives me a purpose and a sense of identity. This may be a little dangerous, and lead to overindulgence and stretching myself a little thin at times, but this is something to work on over time. It was annoying to miss races, especially the Melbourne Uni 5000 with the guys, but by the time the end of March rolled around I was just getting back on my feet and relishing the chance to get home and stuck in to some races.

Me and Joe at Milford Sounds (NZ)

I can’t move past leaving Australia without attempting to summarise what a fantastic opportunity and experience it was. Joe and I are incredibly grateful to the Orienteering Victoria, and wider Australian Orienteering community, for making us feel so welcome and for giving us the opportunity to be out there doing something that we love. The people we met are fantastic, a special thank you has to go out to the Jaffe’s, Louw’s, Dalheim’s and Key’s for everything they did for us, going above and beyond anything we could have expected and making us feel at home as far away as we could be from it. We had some amazing opportunities, opportunities we probably would never have gotten had we not decided to pursue this venture and I think we both left with a love for that wonderful country. I’d also like to thank Warren and Tash especially for agreeing to host me out there, their generosity and support during my time with them was unbelievable and I feel privileged to have been allowed to be a part of their family life for a short while.

The Key's (and an excited Fredo!)

Arriving back from Australia, for myself was both extremely busy and conflicting. Whilst it was great to get home and see my family and Mary, it was also an extremely sad time. A few days before I flew home, I found out that my grandmother had passed away after a freak and sudden illness. She had been ill for a little over a week and being the amazing and strong woman that she was, I never thought it was really anything more serious than a bit of a turn. On the morning mum told me over the phone, I felt like my world had been turned upside down. I didn’t know what to think and was stunned and numb, unable to comprehend. Being away with the Dalheim’s and Joe at Arapiles, they were amazingly understanding and caring, but I honestly felt broken. My grandmother had always, throughout my life and in every endeavour, been my staunchest supporter, be it in school, football, cross country, orienteering, or anything else, she was always there with words of encouragement. Even now I feel as though I don’t believe it, like it’s all some cruel joke and any second she’ll call me or walk through the door. I never got to say goodbye and therefore by writing this I hope that in some small way it is a way of showing what she meant to me. It’s an oft used expression, but she genuinely was a rock. One of the most dependable and kind people I have had the privilege of knowing. I couldn’t wait to tell her everything I had been doing, show her the pictures of the amazing places and stories of my adventures, I had even resisted sending her some pictures to wait to show her in person, but I’ll now never get the chance. For me, this is the most painful part. Losing the chance to spend time and talk with her, which I now feel as though I took for granted and should have cherished those times more. She was and still remains, a huge source of inspiration and I am determined to try and make her proud of whatever I now do, trying to channel the anger and sadness that I am feeling. When I began writing, I didn’t know I was going to divulge all of this, but I think I needed to. Many people won’t understand how much of an impact this had on me, but that’s ok. I am proud to have called her my grandmother and hope that I can continue to try and do as well as I can for her.

Arriving back, I was also to start a new job at the Youth Hostel in Keswick…the morning after I landed. After a groggy drive up to Borrowdale for 3 days of training, it was then back home to sort my things before moving up here properly. It still feels surreal to be able to live, work and train in a place I’ve almost fantasised about for a large part of my life. I’m looking forward to racing and training as much as possible during my time here, as much as work and racing will allow. But the weeks after I landed, and really until now have been manic and exhausting. The weekend after I arrived was my grandma’s funeral, following that was the JK, then TioMila, then the British Championships, finishing up with the UK Inter-counties fell champs after that. These races, coupled with working, training, other races, trying to get back fit and the vast amount of travelling between each meant that looking back, I can see just how thinly spread I was. I knew this was to be the case, therefore I am not trying to make excuses for my performances, but I think on some subconscious level I was never really going to be at the races this year. As I said at the start, I won’t go in to too much detail but each weekend, generally can be summed up by the following. Generally, I had accepted to myself that I wasn’t fit enough due to only just getting back running and not racing. This in itself was self-defeating and led to perhaps a lack of aggression to really go after races. My technique felt a little rusty, but there were definitely aspects which shone through from my time in Aus, and I felt more confident in my technique. A focus on not being so fit led to trying to overrun everything, costly mistakes in the circles then followed. Everything brought together ultimately also led to a loss of mojo though really. I was doing too much, trying to cram everything in and making each race my WOC final, when really, I should have just been enjoying it. Inter-counties went better, primarily because I was more relaxed and happier to see old faces and get back in the hills, it felt like a break!

Since last summer, I have done little but orienteer for a year, so I think it was a little inevitable that there would be some burnout as a result of this. I don’t ever like admitting these sorts of things to myself, but the warning signs were there and in future I need to be significantly better at allowing myself to take notice of these. The first couple of years of senior are extremely tough. Whilst for many it is a chance to enjoy a more relaxed approach, for me this year I felt I had a point to prove and overdid myself in trying to do so. I don’t know why or where this came from but there is plenty of time to develop into a strong senior in the next couple of years and I felt as though I tried to rush this. I think this will be my main take-away from this season, trying to enjoy the process more and focus less on the results, which should follow naturally from racing better.

A busy period of racing

Unfortunately, my domestic performances this Spring were less than what I had expected of myself, however this has given me some time to re-evaluate what I want to target this year. The orienteering World Cup rounds later in the year continue to be a goal and I have some fun races such as ASOM, Jukola and the Scottish 6 Days to look forward to try and produce some better results. It is also my last year as an U23 on the fells, so the English Fell Champs have emerged as something of a more natural goal, especially given my location in the Lakes.

Since this manic and stressful period, both physically and emotionally, I have definitely turned a corner in terms of both running and my general well-being. It’s hard to admit it when things aren’t really clicking but a bit of time away from serious competition and the confines of competitive sport has done a world of good. I’m beginning to find some good shape physically again now, have a number of fun and challenging races lined up in the coming months, I’m really excited to have joined IFK Lidingö and also feel incredibly lucky and grateful to be supported by Norman Walsh too! So hopefully the summer will be filled with fun races, plenty of hills and some more positive results. It’s been good to get all of this out and provide a bit of an update of where I’m at, posts may not be massively scheduled but check back next time to see what’s been going on!

Hopefully looking forward to a happier time in the coming months.

Sprint Adelaide and the controversy of Cross Training

It's been a couple of weeks since Orienteering South Australia held their sprint orienteering weekend. The format for the event promised excellent sprint-o in various forms including a night race, knock-out competition and traditional sprint orienteering. I'd planned to use this weekend as a good opportunity for some competitive sprint racing prior to the European season, commencing at the JK in a couple of months time, however sadly my continuing heel niggle would prevent these plans from becoming a reality.

The drive over to Adelaide took roughly 10 hours so I was glad for the company of Max and Joe who made it markedly more bearable. We stayed the weekend at Angus Haines's place in the Adelaide Hills which provided a more luxurious base than normal for orienteering weekends and allowed us a sneaky glimpse at the area for the impending Australian Beer Relay championships.

On the Friday we arrived, the weekend commenced with a night sprint at Belair Golf Course, a surprisingly tricky and vague area, made yet more difficult by the darkness. Having not night orienteered for a significant amount of time, I was looking forward to the chance to get back in to the swing of things, especially with my intention of running TioMila and Jukola competitively when I get back. Alas, the first problem of the weekend cropped up early on as after a small mistake to number 1, I tripped and fell, smashing my compass in the process on the way to number 2! What followed was around 15 minutes of desperately tricky night-o without a compass for direction. The results though were actually surprisingly impressive with only a few mistakes which were ultimately costly alongside the slower pace but nowhere near as disastrous as it could have been. So after a warm down and a bit of food, it was time to hit the hay before the next race the day after.

Friday night's course

The following day saw us assemble bright and early for the Australian Orienteering squad's 3km time-trial which would be used to contribute to their selections for the year. It also counted for the overall weekend. I had initially planned not to run this as it would aggravate my niggle which was a little tender following the night race but my competitive spirit won over and I found myself on the start-line alongside everyone else. As it turns out, this was definitely a mistake as was I off the pace I'm capable of running as I ran cautiously trying to minimise pain (which didn't work). A lonely run out for 3rd spot was really a waste of the limited time I could afford to run that weekend.

The next race was a really enjoyable evening sprint around the local school to where we were staying. Olly had recently done the map updates and course-setting and promised a fun and technical race, we weren't disappointed. Unfortunately for me, my heel hadn't improved from the morning and so I was distracted and tried to avoid pain throughout leading to numerous mistakes, without the ability to run aggressively to try and compensate. I finished very despondent and actually quite upset that I'd been so foolish as to aggravate and potentially worsen the injury I've been managing well for a number of weeks. After some difficult conversations with various people I took the sensible decision to cut my weekend short at this point.

Heathfield school course

What followed for me the next few days was a frustrating but ultimately accepted spectator role for the rest of the races. The knock-out sprint was excellent, really good planning on some quality areas which produced some exciting performances and close racing. The same can be said for the Monday race, making the best use of what wasn't the most technical area to still produce a technical challenge for the competitors. The rest of my own weekend consisted of waking up at sunrise (6am~) and tethering myself to the side of Angus's pool for a few hours of aqua-jogging. This was as mind-numbingly boring as it sounds but is unfortunately necessary. However I couldn't resist throwing caution to the wind a little and competing in the Australian Beer Relay championships on the Sunday evening, which myself and Joe duly won, a testament to our time in ShUOC! Again, the drive home was long and boring but for myself I felt fairly resigned to the fact that I would be unable to run for the coming few weeks which was both frustrating but also a calming thought as I'd stopped fighting against the injury I was managing and was instead taking proactive steps to fix it. So the next couple of weeks will be very cross-training heavy with any tough sessions being on the bike and in the pool as I look to gradually increase the strength in my heel and build running back in.

Australian Beer Relay champions!

For me, cross-training is synonymous with the word injury. The only times in the last few years that I cross trained for longer than a 30 minute spin on a rest day is when I've been forced to through injury. However, the time I've spent reading, researching and actually doing cross-training the last few weeks has softened my die-hard runner view of it. Whilst I don't disagree that in order to be a good runner, one needs to run, I am more open to the suggestion that cross-training could replace or supplement some of the mileage I run. The strain on the body is massively more prevalent in running yet often the desired effects are not muscular but at cardiovascular or aerobic. Therefore why could easy/junk miles not be replaced with elliptical/cycling or aqua-jogging/swimming work? The benefits would be the same generally speaking, an increased aerobic endurance capacity without the damaging effects on the muscle fibres and tissues that result from running. I'm obviously looking to get back to running myself and increase my volume to a level which resembles my pre-injury state, however I definitely think I will be increasing the amount of cross-training I do. This will likely be to supplement or even just in addition to the specific running work I do, but I think there are massive untapped benefits to be had from this.

Feels when trawling through articles, podcasts, forums online!

To a lot of runners this may sound sacrilegious but I think this results from an unwillingness of a lot of runners to adapt their training plans which they see as the only option for them to improve. Runners are often stubborn and a bit pig-headed, running through injuries or fatigue under the assumption that any deviation from what's written on their piece of paper will result in negative results on race day. This is probably influenced by things like social media, Strava, Instagram where athletes are exposed and feel they are under examination by their peers or coaches and as such need to replicate what others do or what they feel is expected of them in order to maintain their perceived status. I've listened to a lot of podcasts recently and read many articles which generally all boil down to committing to your own development. This has taken me way too long to appreciate and I would be the first to admit that I've been worried about what others think of my training/racing which has resulted in me psyching myself out or running myself in to the ground for some misguided sense of status. I've been really focusing the last couple of months of changing this attitude. The first step for me was deciding the parameters of why I'm training and who for. I drag my arse out of bed every day, put in 2 to 3 hours of training a day generally and then repeat, but why? The answer is because I want to be the best I possibly can be at a sport that I love, therefore I'm willing to do this. This made me realise that essentially I don't have to care about what anyone else thinks of my training or racing other than those that matter, such as coaches and selectors. This has been a massive weight off my shoulders and has allowed me to become more focused and confident in my own belief and abilities, which will pay dividends in the future. This self-belief and a trust in my own process and training is something that I have been missing in the last couple of years. Previously I have been guilty of chasing stats or maybe mimicking elements of others training because I perceived them to be better. Despite my current injury, I'm actually confident that this coming season will be my best yet, with a more focused approach and a clear idea of what I want to do. This better approach will allow me to better concentrate on my own process which should hopefully deliver results.

Cross training buddies make it a lot easier!

This post has been interesting to write from my point of view and actually getting these thoughts down on paper(screen). I'd be interested to hear anyone else's views on the matters I've raised and if anyone has any other opinions on cross-training/self-commitment. For now, it's back to the spinner for me to fix this pesky niggle then full steam ahead to the exciting season ahead! Check back next time to see how it's all progressing.

Cathedral's Challenge, Christmas and the New Year

It's been a hectic month or two since I last posted so I thought it was about time I did. The last period of racing and training has been a quieter one as the calendar down under dries up to an extent, but this has been a good chance to reset, rest the body up a bit and recharge the batteries to go again now that the New Year has rolled around.

Before this easier period could begin though, there was the small matter of the Cathedral's Challenge to get out of the way first. Having won the Bright 4 Peaks, I was kindly rewarded with another brutal mountain race as a prize. I hadn't heard of the race before, with no one I'd spoken to hearing of it and non of the other scholars running it in the past, so it was an exciting new challenge to head out to the hills and do it. The race consists of a figure of 8 loop up and along the Cathedral Ranges mountain, with a 10k race for the first half and another loop north for those completing the 21k. Happily I was racing the 21k which nicely coincided with my Sunday long run! However, as this race wasn't a major fixture for me in the calendar, I decided not to ease up training for it and go in with the intention of just seeing how it went. I was a little wary though as the winning times for the race in the past were up towards 3 hours! Which over that distance seemed ludicrously long from my point of view.

After a 4am start and a bleary eyed drive north to the race, I arrived to a scene not dissimilar to turning up to a fell race at home. Weary campers and race officials bimbled around the car park setting up the race and a pre-race briefing full of joke warnings about the toughness of the course made me feel right at home and ready to go. The race started at a fairly sedate pace as I took up the lead with Ash who I'd raced each day at Bright and another young Brit who'd emigrated to Aus 2 years prior. Soon however it was just me and Nick Dennis (the other Brit), who began out slow wind up the steep climb to the technical ridge top. And how technical it was! Before the race we'd been warned about how treacherous and tricky it was but that didn't quite prepare us for what was in store! As we climbed on to the ridge proper, we were greeted by a gnarled garden of jagged rocks and twisting ferns, more representative of a lost jungle than a walking track with only the odd dorito shaped symbol indicating that some other humans had been there before. As we wound our way along the ridge, I felt I had the advantage over Nick on the technical sections, feeling pretty light and breezy, I guess from the years of terrain munching in orienteering so I decided to press this advantage along to gain a slight gap before the first descent, minus a couple of slightly wrong turns! The descent is where I decided to really try and make it stick though and I managed to do so well, flinging myself down the sharp twisting track to reach the car park again with a near 2 minute lead.

Beginning the traverse

A quick stop to replenish the water and get some food on board and it was off down the meandering river track to the other end of the ridge for the second climb. This is where it all went wrong...
Despite carefully studying the race map before and keeping a careful eye out for the pink streamers marking the course, I still managed to take a wrong turn! The sign with the big red X saying not to go that was was also marked with a pink streamer. Unfortunately, the sign itself was obscured by some overgrown ferns so I ended up taking in another 3-4min climb and subsequently lost the lead which I didn't realise until the next aid station.

The Cathedral Range ridge

I knew Nick couldn't have been more than 1:30~ ahead so I decided to put a big shift in on the steep ascent to bridge the gap and the press on once the ridge got more technical again. The first part of this plan worked tremendously, closing him down around 2/3rd's of the way up and moving past well with the intention of pressing on. However I'd underestimated how much the heat had risen throughout the day and suddenly once we hit the more open ridge-line I hit a huge wall of fatigue. I was still moving, but my previous fleet-footed approach to the technical rocky sections had become something of a stumble. Mentally I felt like I was still fighting but bodily I was a bit done in. This continued and I carried on digging myself in to a whole from which I wouldn't be coming back. Despite easing massively, taking on food and water, it quickly became clear that my race was pretty much done. This was really frustrating as I felt I was in good shape for this one and the course suited me but all that was left was to consolidate my 2nd place and continue ploughing my way to the finish. As I said, I wasn't bothered about this race but to have capitulated at the last section was a bit of a kick in the teeth after taking the wrong turn earlier on. This was however somewhat made up for by the spectacular views and a few cups of tea at the finish. A fun one to do, but way more brutal than expected.

From here it was time to turn my attention to orienteering, which the Australian Junior Development camp in Ballarat before Christmas suited perfectly. More excitingly, Mary had flown out and arrived just before this which was a welcome change from the sometimes chore-like routine of training. After a quick dash down the Great Ocean Road, we arrived in Ballarat for some quality days of coaching and training with the best juniors down under. It was a great time and so encouraging to see so many juniors who were clearly keen to be there and improve their orienteering abilities.

The actual Christmas and New Years period were a lot quieter for me, with less opportunities for training due to other commitments and also travelling to New Zealand! At the time, I actually found this very frustrating, having been so used to being on my own clock and time for the last 4 months and deciding when I could train and what suited me, it was annoying to snatch pieces of training when possible as other events and appointments came up. Training wasn't bad, but it was a very much ticking over phase whereas I would have liked to have sunk my teeth in to a nice consistent block. However the large amounts of hiking in NZ will have been a worthy replacement for the relentless grind.

Downtime over Christmas

Some of the landscapes

New Zealand is a pretty spectacular place, gorgeous views seem to appear around every corner. Admittedly, whilst I could appreciate the beauty of places like Mt. Cook and Milford Sound I wasn't quite as blown away by the home of hobbits and orcs as perhaps I felt I would be. Yes the landscape is quite stunning, but for me it was no more impressive than the Lakes in the summer or the Alps. The 10 days we spent there were great, made better by my sister coming out to visit too and I was glad we were able to pack in quite as much as we did though. I just wouldn't rush back in a hurry as I feel a lot of other places in the world are just as impressive.

The beginning of January was also a great period. Having both Mary and Harriet here in Melbourne was a welcome change of pace with more touristing and cuisine hunting than I had done so far, including a day at the Australian Open (seeing Murray) which was a particular highlight! In terms of training, I managed to transition fairly well back in to a normal routine and feel more settled in my running and progression than I was over the Christmas period. I decided to run a low key 1500m race last week as a bit of a tester and for some fun as I'd never ran it before. The race itself was good, but I was boxed in early and was unable to position myself to go when the leaders did so my time of 4:10 I don't think reflects where I'm actually at right now, perhaps something around 4:05 would be more realistic but I enjoyed it. Frustratingly though, an annoying Plantar niggle which had been present for maybe a month before decided to flare up and rear it's ugly head the next morning leading to the last week of frustrating but weirdly enjoyable cross training in an attempt to rest it and get back running.

With 2 months left now in Australia, the number of races begins to pick up. It all starts this weekend in Adelaide for some sprint competitions, then a low-key 5000m next week before more orienteering and various running events in the calendar too. I'm really looking forward to this block, I've been a bit bored of plodding and going through the motions, I so much prefer racing so can't wait to be back at it. I've also managed to join a Scandinavian club for the next season (IFK Lidingö) so I am really looking forward to racing the big relays and some Scandi races for them. This has been a very brief post but a fair summary of the last couple of months. Check back next time for more insight in to my running and orienteering life!

Cross training partners make it so much easier!

Victorian Sprint Champs and perceived pressure

Last Saturday saw the culmination of the Sprint in to Spring series as well as the Victorian Sprint championships the following day. This provided a great opportunity to put in to apply the technical and physical training which I'd done over the last couple of months in a competitive environment. A strong field had turned out, with most of the Victorian's as well as a couple of other out of starters so it was a chance to add some pressure to proceedings as well.

Saturday was set up as a double header sprint day, with a race in both the morning and afternoon so a good simulation for major races like the British Sprint champs or international races featuring a qualifier and a final. The day was cold and drizzly, more reminiscent of a British Autumn than the beginnings of Australian Summer, however this was no bad thing and it was nice to race without the sun beating down as it had been for the previous week. This weekend also marked the end of two fairly tough weeks working at a school in Keilor which had left me feeling fairly drained throughout the week but this didn't seem to be a factor warming up, so I was looking forward to getting stuck in to what looked like a promising area from the old map.

Crossing the bridge to number 3

The course started in a fast and furious manner, with a number of short easy legs moving around to the bridge. This was nice as it allowed some time to settle in to the map and plan some of the trickier legs later in the course. The running and technicality of the course were good generally throughout, with a number of 50/50 route choices around the irregular buildings and some legs which required some more careful planning so as not to be caught out by some potential traps such as on 11. The finish back around the assembly area opened up again to provide a fast finish to the course. Generally I was pleased with how I ran this course, I tried to be more disciplined than the previous week and ensure I kept contact throughout the course which went well. There were a few minor hesitations and I felt as though I wasn't attacking the course with the aggression that I'd like come the spring races next year but it was a more positive technical performance than the previous race. Running wise, I again felt good, not spectacular, but with enough oomph in the legs to utilise the easier running sections. Overall, a pretty good start to the day.

Race 1 map

After a warm down and spot of lunch at a cafe in the nearby town with a big crowd (including a heavenly caramel slice!), it was soon time for the next race. A number of the other guys who had been competitive in the morning decided to opt for a chasing start style exercise however as I still needed a race to count in the series, I started at the head of this, so had the added pressure of them chasing me down. This was good though, I didn't want to be involved in the chasing start as I felt it was better for my own benefit to race these as though they were two separate races but having them following on what was going to be a fairly open and fast area pressured my technique. Again, the course started with a fairly easy leg, allowing time to get contact with the map and

Afternoon race map

planning ahead for a bit of a cushion. I was unsure on the best route for 2, but opted to play it safe early in the course. Flowing in to the buildings, the running was fast and the number of 50/50s meant navigation was relatively limited, yet this was good by the planner as it meant the potential for switching off in to the woodland section next. I managed to focus fairly well, hitting the tricky 9 cleanly, yet had perhaps not left enough time to plan ahead and so took an unnecessarily cautious route to 11 instead of crossing the Creek. I definitely noticed some tiredness here, perhaps from the earlier race but I think more from the busy period of training/racing recently, which I will go in to more detail later. The rest of the course passed without incident barring number 16 which I attempted to take straight only for the route to be blocked leading to some time-loss. Positively, I also managed to stay 5-10s ahead of the other guys to take my second win of the day and seal the overall victory for the series which was some nice feedback on how training etc is going. Yet I'm still not totally happy with how I am orienteering at the minute.

Part 2

Part 1

Sunday followed with the main event of the weekend, the Victorian Sprint Championships. The area was billed in the details as "The best sprint map in Victoria"so it promised to be a good race. Unfortunately, today was the day that I let myself down in terms of preparation and execution. Whilst the race wasn't a major focus for me, it did provide an opportunity to put in to practice what i would want to do on the big day. I've always struggled with perceived pressure to be honest, it's been a major factor in me not fulfilling potential in the past, either from focusing too much on what others are doing or doubting whether what I've done is enough to run well. This was the biggest factor in today I think as I was too bothered about what others may think of my performance rather than the performance itself. I wasn't nervous on the start line, but I wasn't focused either and this led to the erratic approach I had in the race. Straight out of the blocks, I took a sub-optimal route to 1, not taking the time on the easy running section to carefully plan my approach but rushing and running generally in the right direction. This panicked and rushed approach continued to number 2 and 3, both of which resulted in a lot of lost time, perhaps 30s already! I settled a little after this and flowed better through to number 9 but I never felt on top of what I was doing and felt rushed and out of control in my orienteering. I think planning ahead is perhaps the most important skill in sprint orienteering as it allows the continuous flow and control throughout a course, therefore without it today I scuppered myself. After the map flip, I attempted to regain some composure but honestly just never felt like I ever really navigated. My most stupid mistake came on number 15, where I ran to the wrong courtyard convinced I had it right. From there to the finish I improved but not enough and I finished a disappointing 3rd place in a race I really should have won today.

Not convinced I was actually reading my map here

What happened last week is something I've wanted to address for a while and is something I'm still struggling to find a remedy for. Now partly, the lack of focus and lazy approach to navigation can be somewhat attributed to the massively busy race schedule over the last weeks, with 10 races in 22(?) days since Bright. This is too much and will have caused mental and physical fatigue. Yet I think the problem goes somewhat deeper in that I feel as though when it comes to bigger races, I struggle to trust that I've done enough or to back myself, seeing other runners as better and questioning my own technique. I've always gotten my best results when I don't care about the racing and I just go out and enjoy the process and experience, however when I put this perceived pressure on myself to race well, I begin to lose focus on my own race and think more about the ramifications, how others are racing and how my own performance will be perceived by other people. Training and racing has been going better than it ever has been, hitting consistent mileage, winning races and posting PBs, so I don't understand why I continue to struggle with this. It's something I really want to work on during my time out here in Australia as I think it's holding me back from fulfilling my potential in orienteering.

For now, racing will quieten down, with a long mountain race at the Cathedral Challenge next weekend then a longer break where I plan to relax over Christmas a bit and enjoy training consistently to build up that confidence ahead of next season. Check back next time for the next instalment.