Sorry girls...
Friday, 20. June 2008, 21:04:11
One week ago I was on my way to Venla, really looking forward to it, knowing my shape was good and preparations had been solid. Then the big blow. Running out in 12th position and coming in 57th position was not one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.. Sorry girls!! You were all running so well and I messed it up!
I have done a lot of analyzing afterwards, but I still not know what went wrong. Too little sleep, too little food, too much work?? I don't know. What I know is that what could go wrong during the race went wrong. I did mistakes: 2 times about 2' and then 3-4' on the hill in front of the finish area. And if that wasn't enough the speed would just not come. The legs weren't heavy, they were just not able to run fast. Maybe I also opened a bit too fast, because in the end I had absolutely nothing more to give. Strange feeling when you are used to get stronger the longer the race goes on. In the run-in I had to close the eyes most of the time, since the ground was turning in all directions when I had them open.. After a coke, a shower, sauna and some food I fell into bed and slept through from 20h-05h... Obviously the body needed it. And I wasn't very unhappy that I did not have to run the men's relay, as originally planned...
It could have been a very good placement for VSOK this year and I am really sorry that I messed it up! But I am also very thankful for having such a great club. You were all just lovely, caring about me instead of biting my head off. Thanks!!
The last week has been pretty stressfull, not exactly the best way to regenerate. Coming home very late Monday evening, working my ass of Tuesday and Wednesday and leaving for WOC-preparations Thursday morning 06:00. But, WOC-preparations can also be used for regenerations, which is what I have done.
Yesterday we started with a sprint-training in Graz, starting on the top of the Schlossberg, continuing through the inner city of Graz and finishing in the city park(map will come). It was a really nice sprint and the leg 1-2 made big problems for the most of us. My race was okay, except for a mistake from 7-8. I ran into another courtyard than planned and it took some time to get myself onto the map again. Actually this would have been a good routechoice. But, the "8" was printed just over a little grey area and then I did not see that I could have run through there, which is why I went all the way back to the street. I lost 1.5' here...
After travelling to Lienz after lunch (if you have a look at a map over Austria, you will see that Vienna is up north and Lienz very much in the south, so all in all it was a looong drive), we had a butterfly training at Tristacher see. This area was used for the first time last autumn and I have some very good memories from that weekend; winning a silver medal at the middle champ and a gold in the team champ. The forrest has some very tricky areas; lots of rocks and stones, many of them nicely hidden in the green. The first round we ran in pairs, doing structuring and memorizing. Second and third loop was then alone and in the most tricky areas, which meant very low speed, many times even walking, and high focus all the time. The legs were a bit tired from the sprint, but at least my head worked more or less as it should. Enjoying delicious Kaiserschmarren and almost 10h of sleep made me feel fit again for the first time since last week.
Today we have had only one session; relay starts. I took it easy all the time, mostly because I hit my knee yesterday and it still felt sensitive. Mistakes were only of the minor kind and on the last loop orienteering started to make fun again, since it was finally possible to run, not only to walk or climb over stones and fallen trees;)
Tomorrow we have the Austrian team champ at Köstenberg in Velden and on Sunday it's Austria Cup (middle distance). The forrest is said to be very scandinavian, so I hope for great fun! But first I'll watch the end of the match Croatia-Turkey (quarter-final EURO) and cross my thumbs that Croatia wins!
I have done a lot of analyzing afterwards, but I still not know what went wrong. Too little sleep, too little food, too much work?? I don't know. What I know is that what could go wrong during the race went wrong. I did mistakes: 2 times about 2' and then 3-4' on the hill in front of the finish area. And if that wasn't enough the speed would just not come. The legs weren't heavy, they were just not able to run fast. Maybe I also opened a bit too fast, because in the end I had absolutely nothing more to give. Strange feeling when you are used to get stronger the longer the race goes on. In the run-in I had to close the eyes most of the time, since the ground was turning in all directions when I had them open.. After a coke, a shower, sauna and some food I fell into bed and slept through from 20h-05h... Obviously the body needed it. And I wasn't very unhappy that I did not have to run the men's relay, as originally planned...
It could have been a very good placement for VSOK this year and I am really sorry that I messed it up! But I am also very thankful for having such a great club. You were all just lovely, caring about me instead of biting my head off. Thanks!!
The last week has been pretty stressfull, not exactly the best way to regenerate. Coming home very late Monday evening, working my ass of Tuesday and Wednesday and leaving for WOC-preparations Thursday morning 06:00. But, WOC-preparations can also be used for regenerations, which is what I have done.
Yesterday we started with a sprint-training in Graz, starting on the top of the Schlossberg, continuing through the inner city of Graz and finishing in the city park(map will come). It was a really nice sprint and the leg 1-2 made big problems for the most of us. My race was okay, except for a mistake from 7-8. I ran into another courtyard than planned and it took some time to get myself onto the map again. Actually this would have been a good routechoice. But, the "8" was printed just over a little grey area and then I did not see that I could have run through there, which is why I went all the way back to the street. I lost 1.5' here...
After travelling to Lienz after lunch (if you have a look at a map over Austria, you will see that Vienna is up north and Lienz very much in the south, so all in all it was a looong drive), we had a butterfly training at Tristacher see. This area was used for the first time last autumn and I have some very good memories from that weekend; winning a silver medal at the middle champ and a gold in the team champ. The forrest has some very tricky areas; lots of rocks and stones, many of them nicely hidden in the green. The first round we ran in pairs, doing structuring and memorizing. Second and third loop was then alone and in the most tricky areas, which meant very low speed, many times even walking, and high focus all the time. The legs were a bit tired from the sprint, but at least my head worked more or less as it should. Enjoying delicious Kaiserschmarren and almost 10h of sleep made me feel fit again for the first time since last week.
Today we have had only one session; relay starts. I took it easy all the time, mostly because I hit my knee yesterday and it still felt sensitive. Mistakes were only of the minor kind and on the last loop orienteering started to make fun again, since it was finally possible to run, not only to walk or climb over stones and fallen trees;)
Tomorrow we have the Austrian team champ at Köstenberg in Velden and on Sunday it's Austria Cup (middle distance). The forrest is said to be very scandinavian, so I hope for great fun! But first I'll watch the end of the match Croatia-Turkey (quarter-final EURO) and cross my thumbs that Croatia wins!
. And the view down on Vienna when you get back to the top of the wineyards ist just tremendous, especially in the evening! At the latest, every hard hill pays off when I get to this point! 
WIDGETIZE