Training Log Archive: BigWillyStyle

WCOC Long. RG, splits. Another instance of a good start and spectacular implosion. Going really well through 7; did the long leg passably (but should've headed for the trail earlier), only time loss was ~30s on 4, again well ahead of Adam and Forest, and only 1.5min behind Steven - then disaster on the short, simple, foolproof <2min leg to 8. The flag was in some stupid hole in light green and I just could not find that damn thing to save my life. After finally getting it 8min later I took off for 9 in a steaming blind rage, which didn't go well either if you can believe it. 10 was bad too and by that time I'd been thrown completely out of the zone I'd been in for the first 45min, my confidence was shot and I was ready to murder the next living thing that crossed my path. But I decided to finish the course since it seemed like the thing to do. And I created some truly epic GPS tracks for 8, 9, and 10.

Don't recall ever having a race take such a wild swing from so good to so bad so quickly. I felt like Shawn Bradley in Space Jam when the aliens take their basketball skill away. One minute I was attacking, imposing my will on the terrain and I daresay navigating with panache; the next minute (or 30) nothing made sense, I couldn't orienteer my way into or out of a paper bag and the terrain was actively mocking my puny inadequacy. An interesting experience.

C • Just like... 3

WCOC Sprint. Basically treated this as the model event - since clearly it was not a "sprint" - and was more apprehensive about finding out what the terrain would really be like than interested in racing. Happily, it turned out to be more humane and runnable than the model.

Main takeaways: The green can be useful as a handrail or a waypoint in the case where a hard green/yellow edge exists - but stay out of it if possible. When unavoidable, get out as quick as you can, because you will not be able to see or read anything and if you want to have any hope of punching out near the place you're aiming for your only option is to have faith in your own ability to stay accurate on your direction while battling through all manner of crap.

The contours are tough to read at speed, except for the largest depressions and hills. The absolute toughest are the areas consisting of a vaguely green/yellow mix plus a mishmash of one-countour topography, such as on the first half of the 4-5 leg on Course 5 here. Even at a slow walk it's hellishly difficult to keep map contact in these areas, and really your best bet is (again) to push through it and plan/hope you come out at some identifiable feature.

Everything really does look the same. Most every depression and hilltop is the same shape and size of flattish kidney-looking thing, and there are quite literally zero stark features, whether linear, round, or point. No trails, no cliffs, no ponds, no creeks, no boulders, nothing man-made. And few reentrants or spurs in the usual sense, i.e. larger than one or two 2.5m contours with maybe a form line thrown in just for fun. Relocating is extraordinarily difficult; a 1-2min mistake anywhere else is a 5min mistake here.

WCOC Middle. RG. Splits.

Was having a very good race early on and at 8 was well ahead of Adam and Forest and 30s in front of Steven AKA The Wheat King - but things turned ugly fast. I had caught up to Adam near 2 and was leading him for most of 2-8, then he happened to jump ahead on the way to 9 whereupon I got lazy, stopped reading closely, and we veered way right. I relocated quicker than he did but still lost ~2min. Now alone, I hit 10 fine and then planned to take a bearing toward 11 and hit somewhere along the elongated hill near the control. Turns out I missed it just to the east, continued off the north edge of the map, and that was that. Ugh.

Event: 2017 Western Canadian Orienteering Championships
 

WCOC model event, just exploring a bit. We came away pretty afeared of the terrain - lots of slow, thick green with poison ivy eeeeverywhere.

The coolest thing that's happened recently is a few weeks ago (at Newcastle Island) I was reunited with my first O-friend Leif Anderson, whom I hadn't seen in many years and who moved to GVOC-land in December. We used to battle it out in WIOL, an Interscholastics, even a JWOC - though he almost always outclassed me. Leif was one of the best orienteers I've ever known and possibly could have even rivaled Bonesaw for "WIOL alumnus GOAT" had he not decided to pursue other things. Still remember how cool it was to witness his 30th place in the JWOC 2005 Middle, which as far as I know was the best American placing ever until, like, yesterday. He also continues to be one of the best people I've met in orienteering - and there are a lot of great people in orienteering.

I was wildly entertained by this game Big W showed me a while back; my understanding is that a Finn once watched an American baseball game and thought it was boring as hell, so he went home and invented his own version where everyone runs around like lunatics and cheers constantly for inscrutable reasons.

C • Its quite obvious 3