No JEC

I unfortunately had to pull out of JEC as I came down with the annual freshers' flu a week beforehand. Obviously this was a little bit heartbreaking but I accepted that it was down to some bad luck as well as a few poorly timed sessions ran with an already bad cold. It was nice spectating on Sunday and at least I look forward to [hopefully] being healthy and good to go for the countless weekends of 'casual' racing and winter training coming up.

Searching for fairies with nephew Inis after watching the JEC Long

Back to the weekly training schedule in Edinburgh

Summer => Back to Uni

It's been a while since my last post but nothing much has really happened since then, except some final few weeks of summer enjoyment.

I took a couple of weeks off scheduled training after Tampere, and in this time enjoyed some road biking in Aberdeenshire. I also challenged myself by cycling 100miles to Andrew's house near Forres, which apart from ruining my back, was a great ride - including the 20% Lecht Road.

I ticked off a total of 15 Munros with Andrew in the Ullapool hills (5), Oleg in the Arrochar Alps (4), and finally Jacob in the Mamores (1+5). Some unforgettable views were experienced and I'm happy to say that my hip flexors are finally beginning to tolerate big runs like these. This is especially clear after racing the Mamores Vertical Km last Friday, after an already big week and a bit of a hangover. My legs coped awesomely well, and there's no doubt that this is down to a good handful of very big mountain efforts this last summer. It's nice to start off uni now without any niggles.


Some of the recent views can be seen below:

The Lecht Road (downhill)

Ullapool hills with Andrew

Arrochar Alps with Oleg 

Pentlands with the boys, back to uni

Mamores VK

Mamores with Jacob

View of Ben Nevis

Final 3 munros in the Mamores.

Meanwhile, JEC has suddenly crept up out of nowhere, and I have been put into the situation of training through the races. This was the original plan anyway, and although there's a chance that I won't be in top form speed-wise, I'm feeling stronger than ever and look forward to racing a big international field on home terrain and seeing what happens. I don't think anyone will be more ready for some rough Aberfoyle forests than the British team!

After JEC I look forward to racing some rough XC races, as well as the Pentland Skyline, FRA Relays and potentially some mountain marathon mayhem too! Juggling this with 3rd year Mech Eng and EUOC captain won't be easy but I'm looking forward to being busy for once (it's been a long summer..).

Tampere JWOC '17 Camp and the end of Summer Commitments

After flying back from WUOC it was pretty much straight into a training camp in Tampere, Finland in preparation for JWOC 2017. The team was awesome and it was an extremely valuable week of training in some of the most physically tough and technically difficult forests in Finland. JWOC 2017 is sure to be a good one.

Now I finally have some breathing space and a few weeks of transitional/enjoyable training with a few runs, some cycling and a hill race at the end to look forward to before heading back to uni and building up towards JEC at the end of September. I will likely be quite bored within a few days but at least there's plenty of Olympics and WOC on to keep things entertaining.

WUOC in Hungary

The World University Orienteering Championships 2016 in Miskolc, Hungary, were successful for me before my race had even begun. The selection in itself was the hardest part for me and once this was done, I could simply enjoy the ride. On top of this, I had got to the start line of the Long on Monday the 1st of August healthily and in good shape, as well as witnessing at first hand, one of the GB team's most successful days in orienteering at the Sprint race on Sunday which included Kris's gold medal run. Experiencing something like this is priceless so I can only imagine how he feels about his success.

Another great experience before the races had even begun was waving the team flag on the stage in front of all athletes, managers, organisers and cameras at the opening ceremony. It's fair to say that my heart rate was maxing out higher than it was at any point for the rest of the week!

Eventually though it was time to race, and it was exciting. The terrain was unlike anything I had ever experienced but it suited me well. Typical continental fast, leaf-carpetted, rolling hills, where although one would think route choice would be interesting, was in the end fairly simple - straight unless there's something awful in the way. Things started off poorly, 30s lost to number 1 - arguably the trickiest control of the race, but then got better in better as I found my rhythm and began catching people and forming trains. My gels and drinking went perfectly for the first time ever and by the end I was satisfyingly destroyed. I finished 24th and some minutes down, but I feel like this is all I could give in my current form, and comparing to others in my age category, this was a great run. My summary on the BOF website concludes my thoughts on this race well:


"My aim for today was a clean race with solid plans and to not let myself physically fade by the end due to the racing time being longer than what I'm used to. I'm happy to say that this was largely achieved and any gaps that I can now bridge in the future to the top guys will be mainly on the physical side. I haven't run in much Eastern European areas so it was a new, very enjoyable experience for me, especially as my technical abilities seemed to adapt very well to the new terrain."

GPS Tracking

The following day was amazing, in short. The sprint relay team was always going to be a favourite, even more so after the sprint race, but no one could have imagined the shear dominance that happened on the day. Felt very very proud simply watching and inspired to run well in the next two days.

On the day of the middle things were different. I think the massive amounts of energy spent on the Long and cheering at the Sprint Relay caught up with me and I felt a bit lazy. Thankfully though it was just a middle and shouldn't have effected me much. After a jog around the WU map I was laughing. The terrain was grotty as hell and it was a roasting hot day. This was going to be fun.


An aggressive start hit me hard and I began losing time in the middle of the course. It was pure torture, every small lapse in concentration, tiny hesitation and micro-route choice error was losing me time. However this is good, and it really shows the kind of speed and perfection is needed to do well at senior level - totally different to what JWOC has been in the past for me. I was eventually caught by my 2min Fin and we raced round the last section together very quickly and cleanly, gaining me back some places but also dignity in my race. I finished 32nd, not too bothered and satisfied with the experience.


My summary was as follows:

"My aggressive approach to today's Middle race was always going to be risky, and unsurprisingly by half way round I was beginning to fumble around having gone a few miles into the red zone. However, although my mistakes from today total a time loss that's much larger than my recent norm, I am very satisfied with the sections of my race that went well, especially during a head-to-head with a Finland competitor for the second half of the course. I was punished harshly for every hesitation and poor micro-routechoice, but that's what I came here for and I feel I have gained some valuable experience from these championships so far."

The pressure was somewhat off on the day of the Relay, as I was running 2nd leg for the 2nd team. However when Johnny came in ahead of the first team, suddenly things got exciting and I headed out with many other top teams to race against. I lugged round a rather long gaffle and lost some time towards the end but largely kept our position to set Aidan off with a few people to battle against. Eventually the first team overtook again but I don't think many people were proud with their runs today. The banquet made up for an average day in the woods, and the next day we travelled home to Britain.

Certainly an interesting taste of senior competition and I feel motivated to fix not only my larger time losses, both physically and technically, but the tiny ones that eventually stack up to change my results dramatically. There's lots to focus on in my final junior internationals later this year and next year.

The most chilled out international I will ever run in

My current location is Aberdeen Airport where my 11:05 flight has been moved to 16:30, and although my [slightly forced] relaxed mentality with the obscene delay is only so because my connecting flight isn't until tomorrow morning, my mood reflects how I hope my attitude will be towards the upcoming big races next week. In only 5 days I will be running my first senior international race for Great Britain at the World Uni Champs 2016 in Miskolc, Hungary and yet I have had more stress in the lead up to a midwinter Parkrun where my biggest competition is a local runner who is aiming to break 18minutes.

This somewhat unusual pre-competition mentality stems from the fact that this wasn't even an annual goal of mine pre-BUCS back in February simply because no-one, including myself, ever expected me to be given a ticket to the competition starting in a few days time. And even once BUCS went so well and the selections came out, my focus remained on JWOC. With a gap of 2 weeks between internationals and such a stronger, older, and more experienced international field at WUOC, it simply wasn't wise for me to put my full focus on both, and so WUOC will remain an experience-orientated international for me, where any good result will be a bonus and a bad run, should one occur, be less disastrous than normal. Of course I'm not going to take the piss and run the races in my boxers; I'm still putting my full focus and effort into every race, but clearly the pressure is off and it's a chance for me to try out some different approaches. It's a nice feeling, and, most likely, one that will never be repeated.

My goal for the next few day now is to decide my exact approach for both individual races next week (I'm excluding the relay because, clearly, my race strategy and performance will effect other people's results directly, and not just my own). There are so many variations of physical aggression, technical risk taking and preparation levels that it will be a tough decision. But more likely than not I will be taking a relaxed and safe approach to the Long, which is set to be a bit of a survival expedition in the Hungarian heat and steep slopes, and perhaps a more aggressive version of my JWOC Middle strategy for the Middle race on Wednesday.

So for the final few days before Monday's Long, after some praying that I actually get to Heathrow tonight, I'll be getting used to the Hungarian terrain and heat, as well as making some exciting decisions on a very rare opportunity to race an international stress-free and as I see fit.

A recovery week in Tuscany

After JWOC I got exactly what I needed, a week of chilling with the family in Italy where my hardest decision to make was whether to eat pizza or pasta for dinner that evening. I also remained healthy after the somewhat stressful JWOC week (and night) paired with a whole load of travelling. Training in this block was in the form of relaxed, pre-breakfast adventures in some thick jungles around the village in the hills where we were staying, and although a few got out of hand and extended a bit, I was feeling fit.

On the final day me and Oleg pushed the 'recovery' a little bit harder and hit a colossal scramble up one of the highest and steepest runs I've ever been on. At times the path up the 30% average gradient (for 1400m of climb) was no more than an indistinct rabbit trod but in a way this was good, as it meant there was a reduced risk of overusing my achilles and hip flexors which haven't been strengthened in a while. The views from the top were stunning and it was a great way to end a very nice week in a very nice part of the world.

JWOC 2016

Although this report is a bit late, I feel it's still important that I write down some thoughts on my main competition this year, the Junior World Championships in the middle of the Alps in Scuol, Switzerland. I ran four races there, starting with the Long distance on the 11th July, followed by a rest day, and then the Middle Qualifier, Final and Relay on the consecutive days after. This schedule was well suited to me, and I felt prepared heading out to Switzerland with the team, 5 days before the first race.

Clearly the climate was going to be different, and by expecting the worst, I felt more prepared. The initial travel+pollen+dry heat shock hit me hard and for the first few days I felt pretty rough. However a good nights sleep surprisingly cleared everything up and I soon I was feeling the most prepared I've ever been for an international competition. This, coupled with a really strong technical training on the middle model map, was giving me some good motivation, whilst at the same time I managed to get myself mentally relaxed about all the races which is where my best results usually sprout from. It seems that there was very little going wrong and no reason for me to not achieve some solid results. That is, until I began warming up for the long.

After some good Middle training

Monday - Long Distance

GPS

Results

Late start time, GPS, tough/hilly terrain, perfect preparation, everything was on my side. I made it to pre-start without incident and apart from a classic pair of nervous, pre-race lethargic legs, everything seemed fine. At -5 I finished my drills and did my final stride up to -3, and suddenly, I was feeling crap. I thought nothing of it and ran of the start line with continued confidence but soon I was tripping up over my own feet, ridiculously tired, and feeling like I had already raced a long distance that morning. So I took my foot off the gas and expected to soon feel better but things just got worse. I was technically average and since the first part was due to be the trickiest, I thought nothing of it, but by 5mins in I was dying of thirst and was already considering a dropout at the run through, 25mins in. I took a safe routechoice on the first long leg to number 7 but panicked in the circle and stumbled through spectator after wasting a minute, and on what felt like my final joules of energy.

I felt better with a kick of energy drink and cheering crowds but soon I was descending down the harsh hill on a crappy RC to number 10 and was eventually reduced to a walk, going down a hill. I walked/stumbled the next few controls and could barely move my legs by the next drinks control, where I spent a good 30s drinking and nearly knocking the table over from leaning against it. I have never felt so unfit. The only reason I wasn't dropping out was the fact that no one, especially Audun or Emil starting 4 and 2mins behind, was overtaking me and I had the weird instinct that everybody else was struggling too.

In the final third, things picked up again and although I was letting my laziness take over on routechoices, I was actually running and pushing again. I cruised into the finish expecting to be outwith the top 100 but I was sat in 42nd. That adds to my consistent JWOC Long results of 45th and 45th, and concludes yet again a poor long distance race. I guess the only positive to get from it is that although my placing is consistent, I feel like I lost more and more time year on year (if that makes sense).

Running, a rare moment in the Long race

I blamed preparations, my coaches blamed the altitude; whatever it was, it was time to forget about it. After a horrific drive home where I was inches from being sick, I chilled out and set my eyes in the Middle - a much lower alpine and shorter race which was more about being clean, something that I have managed fairly well in recent weeks.

Wednesday - Middle Qualifier

GPS

Results

Things changed for the better by the time I got to the start line on the Middle day. On Tuesday I got out early doors to a misty Scuol for some drills and strides. I felt strong and dropped a 13s 100m as my final stride; feeling very bouncy indeed. I opted for the middle start block, which although nearly came back to smack me in the face in the sense that I was first start of the middle block, in the end acted as the contrary by filling me with confidence that I was comfortable and in control.

This carried on to the warm up with Harrison and Meg. The terrain was good, the weather was Scottish (misty wet and cold) and I knew exactly what I was doing by the time I got to the start line. I was last to the start kite out of my start group, and I found myself cruising the first section, which in turn eventually put me in 2nd position on my heat. However I then became overconfident and pushed on, which, paired with a slightly different terrain for the middle section, caused me to make 2x 60s losses. I panicked, but knew I would still be fine, and cruised the last section before entering the arena with a warm welcome from Per Forsberg confirming my qualification. Finished, and felt like I could have run the race twice more. By far my favourite event of the year; if only I had felt so good for the long...

Thursday - Middle Final

GPS

Results

I knew what I had to change from my last two years of poor JWOC Middle Final experiences: instead of just saying I had to race the final like the qualifier, this time I actually had to do it. So I did. 

I was noticeably more tired warming up than I was for the qualifier, but perhaps this was just nerves as by the time I started I felt great. I headed out with an incorrect picture for number 1 but this was easily adjusted. I quickly picked up on the planner's aim of control number 2, to throw unsuspecting fast starters off. I slowed down and picked off every feature I could find, only to find my 4 minute man messing about and my theory on the planner's logic confirmed. I carried on cleanly up the first beastly climb and soon decided a safe option to the crucial number 5 leg. I lost time but who knows what could have happened had I been more aggressive at this stage. 

The second big climb arrived and I felt poor. I assumed I had lost a tonne of time up to number 8 but was in fact one of the top few splits on this leg, even after hammering it straight with some extra climb thrown in. I got to the circle to see my strong 2min man exiting and knew it was time to push on. I raced with Fiona to number 10, only just managing to overtake her, and was soon jumping down a 3m crag to make sure she didn't overtake me back. I checked out the rest of the course at this stage and was surprised to see such a small last loop, perhaps I was taking things too easy. Another safe route to 13 cost me up to 30s but my frenchman was in site and I was ready to push the last section. 

Entering the run through, I ignored the commentator who was focussing on the last few finishers of the women's race and focussed on the frenchman ahead. I got to the second last control cleanly and decided that this was the end of the navigation for the race. So I put my map away and hit the last bit hard..... only to miss the last control by 10s and lose perhaps 1 or 2 places... Ah well, a 16th spot in the end, and finished so comfortably that within an hour of finishing my race I felt like I hadn't race at all. Moral of the story - slow and steady comes 16th in the race, next year try pushing it a bit more - like a certain welsh legend who smashed the GB women's forest best to come 4th, well done Meg!

Wondering where the last control is

Friday - Relay

GPS

Confidence was filling the team on Friday, and with a handful of good anchor legs so far this year it's fair to say I was feeling fairly confident too. The area was as British as Switzerland could get in my opinion, the weather remained Scottish and by the first radio control we were in the lead. But then Brutus fumbled, and although this would normally be taken as a negative I took it as a positive; I would rather be chasing people down than being chased, especially with the strong turnout for last leg. Dane eventually handed over to me in a pack a few minutes down on podium and I headed out with a relaxed mindset, knowing that positions would sort themselves out and all I could really do to help was a clean race, something that would certainly be achievable in this simplified terrain.

So I set off in a strong pack of Latvia, Norway and Hungary, but was soon pushed back with a long gaffle to 1. I sat at the back of a rather spread out train on the grind up to 3 but then began to catch on the tricky slope controls. I had energy to think whilst Hungary didn't so I said my goodbyes and fixed my eyes on the Latvian who was flying ahead. However I simply didn't have the strength today and he began pulling away quite early on, and by spectator I was simply trying to keep ahead of Sweden 2 and (unknowingly) the strong, catching, Austrian anchor. 

I continued onto the last loop fairly relaxed, but Austria was on my tail and had he not followed me through a dodgy route post-spectator I may have lost out on another place. I also may have gained a place had I taken the better route as NZ was dying badly ahead. But what difference would it have made? We came 9th country in the end, consistent with recent years. Had I been more of a superman like Norway I could have scraped the podium but simply didn't have that in me today, especially after the harsh number 1. There's work to be done before next year, not just for me but the whole mens team's approach. Big things ahead, even more so for the GB women (5th today!).

And so ends a very average JWOC experience. I feel like the 6 months of nearly untainted preparation hasn't yet been justified but at least I came out the other side with a result to be proud of in the notoriously physiologically, as well as technically, difficult Middle Final. And even though theren't aren't other results to be particularly proud of, my strong preparation in itself is something to take as a good result. Hopefully bigger and better things to come, especially if this optimum training regime continues on.