Jenny
and I made the tough decision to miss the GB Team's latest camp in Japan at
the start of June due to work and training commitments back home. Because of
this we have been finding opportunities to prepare for the unique challenges
of Japan back home in Yorkshire. Although it is impossible to replicate the
technical challenge of Japan's intricate interlocking spurs and gullys, we can
certainly find ways to 
train
for the physical demands. In Sheffield this has meant spending plenty of time
at Hope Woodlands, one of the steepest orienteering maps in the country but
we have also travelled further afield to Barnscliffe of White Rose fame.We also took part in a British squad training camp, which was based in Macclesfield, taking in the ultra-tough and slow terrain of Hawksmoor and Macclesfield Forest.
Before
all this, I spent some in St Petersburg on a research trip, where I managed
to squeeze in some orienteering on Victory Day. The terrain there is not very
Japan-like, but it is very nice - flat, open forest with a wealth of morraine
detail. On this day I was no match for the speed of Dmitri Svetkov, who won
the 5km course in less than 25 minutes. You can find out more about the orienteering
scene in St Petersburg on their great website.
Tomorrow we leave for Finland where Jenny will run first leg for Vasteras SOK in the Venla and I will run first leg for Espoon Suunta. Then it is on to Lithuania for a week of training ahead of the WOC selection races, which will take place at the Lithuanian Championships. Watch out for the results here.