Training Log Archive: BorisGr

To/from gym

Gym. Strength. As usual. Ankle large and sore from crunching it at the Traverse. Hand large and sore from being attacked by an angry bee while tutoring last night.

Event: Blue Hills Traverse
 

Warm-up

Blue Hills Traverse. organized by Jeff, course set by Ross.
After a fun evening of Boggle with the CSU crowd and a morning spent massaging my bruised (or plantar fasciitis-ed) foot, I was ready to take a third crack at the Traverse, which I had never finished before. Looking around at the starting line, I figured I could win if my body held up and if I managed to hold off the young speedsters Nate and Carl, the Swede Henrik Wiklund, and a few others like Peter Grollmann, Ernst, Dancho, Andis, Samantha and Mr.Balter himself.

Start-1: Listening to Jeff's warning at the start about the map being sketchy in parts, I figured I should just drop down to the road using the trail going south from the "field" (actually, parking lot) we were starting from. Instead, I did not understand the map at all and ended up leading a large pack nearly off the map and nearly 180 degrees away from the control. I realized where we were when I saw a line of houses below me and corrected, angry and cursing, to get out on the road. Then came the long slog on the road. Nate passed me and got away instantly, and I was left alone to pass people first walking, then shuffling, then even some jogging, eventually catching up to PG, who was surely amused to see me come by. Found #1 ok, though Nate disappeared far up the hill, overshooting the control. I was about 2:30 behind the leaders here, though I had no idea who was ahead of me and how far.

1-2: Went straight, which is a bad route. Then misinterpreted the map again when attacking the control from the trail junction and ran around trying to relocated. Ali, Erin, and Balter appeared. Finally found the control after convincing myself that I had stopped short. Another 2:30 lost, now 5 minutes behind the lead.

2-3: Hesitated at first, but then dropped down to the indistinct trail with Ali and Erin, and saw Marie well ahead of me. Gradually caught her, then was again confused by the mapping around the stone wall bend, and finally went up the right hill with Ernst now joining us.

3-4: Happy to be done with this map and onto the newer Blue Hills West.

4-5: Some nice woods here and an easy control, so I picked it up again, trying to get away. Saw Kristoffer as I came into 5.

5-6: Ran hard on the trails to 6 and was happy to see the tail end of the next pack on their way to 7 as I was turning towards 6 at the last trail junction. Figured I was about 2 minutes back of this pack which included Peter Grollmann (PG2), Andis, Henrik, Carl, Dancho, and a few more I didn't recognize.

6-7: Clean and fast, but saw no sign of anyone ahead of me.

7-8: Rushed leaving 7 and ended up cutting down to the road down a stony reentrant instead of the nice trail. Lost 30 seconds here - angry at myself. Ate a gu on the road and dropped down to the beautiful piece of woods around 8.

8-9: Trail to the road, then up the dirt/gravel road along the stream. At the very bottom of the hil, I saw one of the guys from the pack ahead of me walking up near the top, and that gave me encouragement. Ran hard up the hill, and was happy to see PG2, Henrik, and Dancho leaving 9 after taking some refreshments as I was coming in. The gap down to less than a minute.

9-10: Decide to go left and attack the control from the bottom, as I figure it's much easier. Along the way am surprised to pass Phil Bricker. Push hard again on the climb towards 10, and punch the control with PG2 and Dancho.

10-11: Follow PG2 through the green just to catch my breath, then take a better line down the hill towards 11 and get there first, with Andis and Carl coming in just ahead of me from a different direction.

11-12: We all slog up the muddy trail, with Andis and Carl just ahead of me, PG2 just behind. At the top, Carl goes left on the Skyline trail, Andis goes right on the big trail, I decide to go straight down the hill through the white forest. I run fast down the hill and come out to the trail alone, with no sign of Carl or Andis. PG2 appears soon, and from here on, it's just me and Peter.

12-13: I thought I pulled away a bit leaving 12, but Peter catches up on the trails and takes a better line towards the control, punching first.

13-14: He is very fast down the hill from 13, getting away from me, but I am more precise attacking 14, and so I am ahead.

14-15: We are both tired here and walk/jog up the small hill to the trail junction. Again, I am just ahead.

15-16: I take a slightly meandering route along the hillside here, and Peter runs straighter and catches up again.

16-17: I consider the left route for a second, but decide right must be better at this point (less climb), so I do that. Peter is with me, maybe 5-10 meters behind the whole time. I can tell that he is tired, so I assume he will make a move by trying a different route coming into 17. I choose to stay on the big trail until the last junction, and then cut up through the woods towards the water tower. Peter leaves the trail earlier, but has to climb through the woods longer. No sign of Peter when I see the control on top of the cliff.

17-18: Some hesitation as I hit the ski slope and see Jeff taking pictures. I see on the map that the cliff is facing away from the ski slope, so I dive into the stony woods in order to be able to see it. I am lucky enough to see it just ahead of me, crunch my ankle on a rock, and punch.

18-F: Limp down the ski slope to the finish. I am surprised to learn that I am first, as I assumed that Henrik Wiklund had stayed ahead of me and that Sam was also ahead, since I never saw her.

I had a good time, especially once we got onto the West map. I really do not think the East map is suitable for orienteering and should be remade from scratch. The course was fun, and Judy's chicken noodle soup at the finish really hit the spot. Thanks to NEOC and Ross for their hard work on the Traverse!

QuickRoute: http://www.dxdeluxe.se/linnekartparmen/show_map.ph...

C • haha. No Sam had some major... 3

Traverse - Splits

Started going for a morning run, but turned back because of a really painful bruise on the inside of my right foot. I think I got it during the long run on Wednesday. Hope it feels better by tomorrow.

A short ride on Kat's bike in the living room. Gotta get my own bike.

Some flexibility exercises at home.

To the gym and back

Felt pretty bad most of the day, so skipped running intervals. Instead, tried to do rowing intervals at the gym. Managed just 6x2 minutes with 1 minute rest. Not very impressive, but sweated a lot anyway.

Arm strength plus calves after the cross-training. Really not feeling motivated today.

C • Even unmotivated you still ... 1

Running to West Rock through the ghetto and then at West Rock on the red trail with Mike and Marie. A lot of fun, nice night, nice pace, good company.

Tour of East Rock on a ridiculously warm November day. Short sleeves and shorts in November - this sure ain't Uppsala!

C • request 3