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.