Discussion: Writing on maps

After an event do you mark your route on your map? If so, doesn't this make it difficult to use the map for study at a later date? Your eye will always be drawn to your old route. One could make a color photocopy of the map and draw routes on that so the original map is clean - but maybe this is overkill and I might become lazy and not do it at all. Any thoughts on the all important issue?

Drawing your route is one of the best ways to criticize your run. Everyone I know does it, so even if you don't want to get better, do it because of peer pressure.

It's an interesting question though..I agree that it is important to think about one's route afterwards and to compare it to others, and drawing the route on the map seems to help by visualising.

On the other hand I also agree there is a lot of "it's just the way it is" thinking in Orienteering, with the routes but especially with writing one's split times on the map. I always do it but I don't think I have ever looked at my splits again afterwards, so what's the point?

With regard to the routes though a good compromise is to try and obtain (buy, steal) another clean copy of the map + course afterwards in case of a really cool course that you might actually want to use again for study later.

One thing that I have found to be really helpful is taking splits with a HR monitor. If your HR monitor takes an average HR for each split than you can compare your HR on legs previous to making a mistake. I have found time and time again that I make mistakes when I start to push too hard and my HR gets too high. By analyzing your training you can find the Zone the you best perform in and then you can try to stay in that Zone when you race. I have found this to be a great discipline that really helps to minimize careless errors that come when you are tired.

A very good observation John, but I tend to think that you have to train yourself to run clean even when you run close to your critical speed and just know when to slow down where it's necessary (experience.) However, your speed should rise once your tehnique gets to a higher level until you reach optimization of both.

You are completely right Sergei. There is no one thing you can do to have a good run. It is a combination of a lot of things. Technique is what I train for most of the time, but what I mentioned above is a great way to analyze a race.

I guess these days you could scan the map, and draw your route on it electronically. Then you could save all your runs for the year on a CD and put them on your bookshelf.

I don't find that being distracted by the old route is much of a problem. More often, I look at the map and ask myself, "Why the heck did I go THAT way?".