Training Log: Gswede

SMOC's Livelox: https://www.livelox.com/Viewer/GNC-2019-Day-2-Blue...

Pretty good overall. A mistake on 17 when I lost focus because I started thinking about emails I had to send and people I had to call. When orienteering, think about orienteering, Greg.

Achilles started hurting a bit.

Control Count: 538

Event: Georgia Navigator Cup 2019
 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sNgEyjHUSc977HvW7

Day 1 of the Georgia Navigator Cup.

Remembering how to be precise when looking for flags in a race scenario.

Really fun day.

Control Challenge: 520

Just got an invitation to compete at Ecuador's Military Games. Apparently it's all expenses paid for me and any teammates who would want to come.

Unfortunately it's the weekend before our Team Trials and I don't think I can make a trip down to Ecuador without adding too much stress to my life a week before them. I'll keep looking at my options.

Preflight shakeout on the Wissahickon trails.

Peter's final day out here. So I took him on a run up Mount Minsi to see if I could finally break him ;) Looks like he was able to hold out until the end. Although he admitted he was close to throwing in the towel.

The plan for this was for a hard workout, but not necessarily going after my records. So I was very happy to see that I was only 3 seconds off of my record of 16:30, and the effort this time round was significantly easier than when I set that record. So that's progress.

Event: WCOC/HVO Winter Series
 

Some images from Richard Lake (the interval session with Peter)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/arJR4EPBiXwnWjGX9

Really good feedback today. I felt physically strong, really strong. I was holding to about 85-90% of race pace today. Technically I felt in control the whole time despite the fast(er) pace. This isn't the most technical map, but the physicality and stands of dense pine make it a lot trickier in some spots.

I did have an error on 12 though. Not sure what's happened, but there are several very dense stands of beech growing between 11 and 12 now. That pushed me off my bearing and I found what could have been interpreted as a cliff.

10 pistol squats on each leg before I started.

Really happy I moved out here.

Control Count: 504

Only 20 minutes of strength workout today. And Peter wasn't as tortured... darn.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JdVvTvNrrtEcbHm5A

Disaster on 1. I knew that removing the trails and overlaying a maze would make this more difficult, but I didn't expect it to be quite that difficult. I lost contact on the way to 1 and finally got solidly back into the map when I was northwest of the point.

After adjusting to how difficult this would be, I was able to manage the technical challenge better. Except for 5! I was really confident about that one too. I'll have to check out that area later.

Again, I got to a stream that looked like it needed me to go waist deep to cross it. In summer I would have dived right in without thinking about it... buuuuut the ice in the creek convinced me that it might not be the best time of year to get soaked.

Control Count: 488

So, looking at the analysis, it went pretty well.

I don't like my route to #1. There was too much extra distance there. I could have been more efficient. I suppose I let the hill push me off the line, but if I had climbed it then I would have been at the same level as 1. Need to keep that in mind.

I overran 2, but I think if there had a flag I would have been able to correct. That area was quite vague when looking downhill at it. It's a tricky one, not many visible features or clear Attackpoints. The woods were open, but there enough trees down to make it difficult to stay on a bearing. I suppose I should be more assertive with my compass in those instances.

Really happy with how I handled 9. The visibility in that area was really low because of all the hemlock (very healthy hemlock at that!) But I was able to hit the clearing north of the small hill about 2/3s of the way to the control and then hit the shelf after that. I didn't adjust the GPS properly so it looks like I just missed 9, but I was there. Sure of that.

This terrain deserves lots of repeat visits. Reeeaaaaaalllly nice. Except for the area of squiggly GPS track between 6 and 7. There were more thorns than I would ever want in that area.

One foil balloon today.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LNtVroAUAsWLNy5v8

Control Count: 480