Alicante

Wednesday 27th June

Immy and I got up early to meet Alberto for a final training in El Escorial.  Thankfully he offered to drive with us halfway up the mountainside to the map as it was enough climb to run halfway and running all the way to the startpoint would have been enough training by itself.  So I got to drive thorugh San Lorenzo for the first time and see the massive monastery that is famous there.  Solid rock bricks about 5 stories high with round stones along the streets.  A pretty watered garden out the back with pruned hedges and flowers looked refreshing.

The forest tracks were amazing for running with one going around the hill face perfect for interval trainings (just what they need on Pirongia).  Compass and simplification were important on the El Escorial Norte map for keeping the right height, and choosing the right rock pile while not falling over on the rough ground.  The green stripe was fine to run through, thankfully not prickly today, but some head high sticky shrubs developed on the lower part of the map reducing visibility and making for good confidence training.  On the second downhill course here I had to cross through a paddock and over a rock wall passing past a big cow with horns and a bell.  Scary, it was a matter of "if I dont look at her, she wont notice me", right (-: The course was largely successful, cliffs here are huge similar to Australia.  I got put off a bit on leg 1-2 where tracks were vague.   

Final training in El Escorial

El Escorial map

 After training we tidied up and Silvia delivered us to the train station, where we took a 3hr train ride to Alicante.  Scattered stunted pines on broad spurs and steeper dry gullies filled with broadleaves were the scenery from El Escorial to Madrid.  It looks perfect for running, despite the heat.  We were glad to be in the clean and airconditioned train for the afternoon.  We changed trains at Madrid Atocha station amid masses of people and a long queue for tickets.  We had hoped to meet other team mates here before leaving but they just missed it and got the train 2hrs later.  From Madrid the train quickly left the towering apartments of the city and headed straight (literally no bends on this track) for the Mediterranean coastline.  The citys seems reasonably compact with apartment lifestyle the norm.  On the other side of Madrid were plenty more crop fields growing wheat, grapes and some other leafy stout tree on red dusty dirt and patches of white soil (unsure what that was- salt or fertiliser?could also see it flying in on the plane).  In the countryside houses were scarce despite the cropfields and those that there were looked very typically Spanish with orange/white walls.  It was cool that there were also patches of forest remaining, mostly open and runnable.  It must take forever for the trees to grow in this climate. Xylem water tension limitation to height growth- Mike? (-:  Even with all this vast crop land it was suprising to us to come through towns built with apartment housing.  They dont seem to spread out as much as NZer's.  Each small town also has a cool castle on its nearest hilltop.


As more hills developed in the distance, we sensed Alicante nearing and palm and banana trees popped up.  We must be in the tropics (-:  But it was still dry and hot, next to no rain last winter has made it extra tough.

Alicante is a bustling city, I was amazed by the giant fig trees outside the train station.  Our hostel was in the old part of town, a huge apartment room for five of us.  Out for dinner in the streets. Local tapas-tried 8 between us so lots of variety- special spicy sausage, crushed dried capsicum, garlic mix, sardines with potatoes- potato crisps, beef stew-the best deal, vege mix. Then off to find churros!  Wow so full after that, crunchy doughnut sticks and a cup of melted choc to go with it! 

It was also the night of the Semifianl of Euro cup, Spain vs Portugal so the city came alive.  The streets were packed with fans of all ages, and every bar had a screen on the street.  We wandered between a few then choose to move to the one without such a screen delay.  A close game with no scoring so it went to penalty shooting, both teams scored two then Spain scored an extra and won.  Happy Spaniards (-:

So to celebrate, everyone went down to the beach to watch fireworks, The festival of Fire in Alicante is holding fireworks on the beach for five nights in a row.  Cricky it was crazy, for 20mins plus, boom boom bang, colourful fireworks over the ocean.  Then at the end there were some scary strings of crackers very closeby along the streets!  Spain knows how to party.

Gene and the Aussie team are also in this hostel so it was cool to catch up.

Thursday 28 June

Got up early to go and find some training.  Nothing much is organised so we found our way to the Uni, decipered Spanish to get maps and drove to El Molar which is past Santa Pola near El Marina town.  It was cool to drive back through the actual middle and relay area too.  So we had lunch under "shade" of tree/ aircon of car trying too cool down in midday 30plus degrees as we put off going training. Going on these maps we had been studying for so long made the running was so fun.  It feels real now, and we are able to handle it.  We know what it is like, small scattered trees, ignore the green blotch mapping too hard too read and unnecessary detail to me.  Cliffs are much smaller than in Madrid only 0.5m here.  Well mapped area and fast running despite looking green.     

El Molar training

Stopped at the beach for a swim on the way home, super salty and flat sea, and still warm from the sun but refreshing.  (-:  Paella for dinner this evening, tasty Spanish meal.

Friday 29 June

    

Leaving accom at 6am to get out to training map for long distance terrain (San Pascual Ibi) before heat of the day and to get beck in time for hostel breakfast.  Aircon in room  now which is much appreciated and makes for better sleep but traded for lesser space, but its only one night or so.  Lack of good directions from the event so we tried to find it on google then headed off, but there was confusion in the control circle and we drove round the villages for 45min plus including to the end of a road which we decided was wrong when it turned into gravel.  Looking for a road with a curve here, three hills a plateau and orchards on the flats is not enough description obviously (-:  A call to the camp organiser saved our day and breakfast, we rolled up to the map perfectly.  50mins training was all we had time for and I actually think this was good as we were not tempted to run for longer which would just tire us- quality is more important than quantity.  We got a good feeling for the terrain in this session.  Banks are climbable 50cm and useful to run along the tops as they are smoother than the rocky ground elsewhere.  Green is fine to go through just low vis, and watch your head, my hat was good at blocking trees.  Black circles are huge 5m diam rock water tanks.  Pits are not very big and caves are spooky.

Thanks to some skilled driving we made it back in time to eat all the breakfast food the hostel had on offer.  Then rest the rest of the day while the others in the team arrived. We all moved down the road to a larger hostel then reunited and had lunch together.  Plenty of seafood paella to go around.  After siesta in the aircon rooms we jogged to Monte Tossal Castle for sprint training.  This was the most technical area ever, with tight corners and walls to run around.  the steps were accompanied by childrens play slides only once could I utilise these (-:  In the slope to the north the green was patches of caccti!! Watch out for that! 

Monte Tossal training

Cooling off in the Mediterranean after training

Hot and dry in beautiful El Escorial

Hola!

It has been a great trip so far. Super hot here in La Escorial at midday.  Caught bus from Madrid yesterday to El Escorial, amazing unusual place to me.  Dry rolling hills with scattered pines and gullies with denser trees.  Arrived to meet the other girls near the bus stop.  Walked five mins to Albertos apartment, amazing to see people I recognize again.  Swimming pool out the front is amazing even at 8pm it was where everyone hangs out to cool off (=  Then we had dinner together at 9.30 Alberto made a Spanish omlette and shared the prize of his last orienteering race, a salted leg of ham-yum!  Imogene, Georgia and I are staying in a beautiful new apartment 5min walk down the road.  The town is at the foot of a steep mountain.

 Went for run at 9am this morning in forest, orienteering.  Open scattered pines with big rock clusters.  One technical map then a faster broad hills course on open forest with small erosion ditches.  Slippery ground and crackly because it is all so dry.  Seems like a desert here.  Lavender is growing wild on the ground!  Cows wander freely with big horns but they are friendly we hear.  Navigation went well.  I took it slowly to start with, and got the first controls bang on.  Feeling confident now.  Orienteering is orienteering as long as you are adaptable.  Grey rock was not flat and easy running like in Finland or Australia, but rather rough and broken so it was better just to go direct.  Rock pillars were huge 10m tall and cliffs best to avoid.  Black squares were ruined square rock walls.  The rock wall fences seem so solid they would have been difficult to build.  Legs feeling normal again which is great.  No pain in shins orienteering today but used the ice pro just incase and because I didn´t want to waste the water which is so precious in Spain.

In Dubai, Greta and I were able to use the gym between flights which was very nice.  The cycle bike and cross trainer were something we recognized well despite being in foreign lands.  Also the shower was refreshing.  A worthwhile break in the flight which seems to get longer every time we come over.  No delays.  Flying into Mallorca was an eye-opener, the landscape was very dry and looked similar to the middle distance map we will run on at UWOC- broad hills with scattered trees and then steep cliffed erosion gullies more than 15m deep.

The night in Zurich worked well.  Didnt see much of the city though.  Public transport worked amazing, trains trams and buses all flow together.  Legs still felt funny.

Staying indoors for the afternoon as it is still hot.  Catching train to Alicante tomorow.  Glad we got here early to adapt to the heat as much as we can.
Adios, Angela

The UWOC sprint race will be held within the Santa Barbara castle of Alicante.  Starting at the top and racing down into the village houses with their flowerpots, then finish along the famous sandy beach.  I wonder if we will have to run in the sand for long??
More info on Alicante city here http://www.alicante-spotlight.com/photos/alicante01/44.htm

Swiss images

Challenges of 2012

Thought I would get back onto this blog page as I am setting off on another adventure.  As a way to record what Im up to.   

Next week I am heading off to Europe for this years World University Orienteering Championships in Alicante, Spain (http://sd.ua.es/en/orienteering-championship/)and the World Orienteering Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland (http://www.woc2012.ch/).  It will be exciting to race where the atmosphere is so high.
In Alicante I will race the Sprint, middle, and relay.  The sprint is in the city and willl take in small alleyways and possibly Monte Tossal which is a castle like maze.  The middle. relay and long will be on technical, open, scattered shrubby terrain.  Compass bearings will be useful I expect.

I have a map database here: It is where I upload my routes from races and trainings.
http://www.numberoneaucklanddoma.com/maps/index.php?user=Angela

In preparation this year, I have been doing lots of aqua jogging.  This is because I suffered a shin stress injury.  The pain developed over summer is slow to heal.  The best way to recover shin stress injuries is by not running, not a pleasing recommendation when I have races to train for.  So aqua jogging and biking have kept me fit. Two hours solid aqua jogging last week was a mental effort.  These sessions including lots of intervals have taught me mental strenght and how to listen to my body responding to training.  Sports phsycology coaching through the Hillary Scholarship has been a new experience and I plan to use these techniques to make stronger race decisions with focus, and in particular avoid distractions during spectator legs.

Over the summer, I competed at Sprint the Bay.  Awesome unique courses once again make this a highlight event.  I was in the yellow jersy going into the final stage and planned to keep it but accidentally ran past a simple control during our map change and thus lost the lead.  Well, next years Sprint tthe Bay should be bigger with international competitors likely as the race follows on from the World Cup and Oceania series.  http://www.oceania2013.co.nz/  http://www.sprintthebay.org/

NZ National Championships held by NW Orienteering Club were another highlight lead up event.  The middle distance map Middle Earth is now one of my favourite NZ maps.  Such tricky detail to simplify, all on a hillslope so you have to keep an eye on height also.

And more recently Queens Birthday weekend events were held at the start of June in Waitarere forest.  The loops race on Monday was the best.  A mass start loops style race made
 for close head to head racing and put pressure on everyone.  Just what we need before heading off to Europe.

On the local scene, I have arranged evening club training sessions to talk about orienteering techniques and do paper exercises.  Now, I am of to Kairangi for the final event before I fly out.  Plenty of mud, and chillyness likely. (-:

Back in NZ

Now that I am back in New Zealand, I figure it is time to update and record how it all went. I can get more out of my racing by analysing it now for future improvements. I did make notes while I was away but I didnt get to a computer to type them up. So I'll put up a few thoughts over the next few weeks.
I am also thinking more about doing serious "paper" technical exercises. It would be great if us NZers could make a few each then circulate a few each week to share ideas on. Let me know if you want to join in. (-:

Angela at the Junior World Orienteering Championships 2011 slideshow

Here is a short video of my time at JWOC 2011 in Poland. It was the time-of-my-life. Open fast terrain, technical well organised races and an awesome team to share it with. Thank you to those who donated photos.