Training Log Archive: LilFlip

Middle distance race of the Alberta Championships this morning. Pretty laid-back meet; so laid-back that you started at whatever time you wanted to (2-min intervals between runners on the same course; no official start list). Oddly, Elite men AND women ran course 6. Realized on the way to the 1st control that I had an empty control description holder - I had forgotten to grab one at the start; also looked down at my feet and noted that I hadn't taped my laces either (the tape was still on my thighs, and would stay there for the remainder of the race...). Okay, so I wasn't quite on the ball today... but I had a decently clean race, with a few hesitations here-and-there, especially at the beginning while getting used to the map. Lost a bit of time on #2 (ran too far, passed it to the North), #3 (ran past it to the East, hit the trail, had to go back) and #5 (started looking too soon in an early re-entrant). Also lost time in a lot of the control circles (30-60 sec each), where I knew I was in the right area, just needed to be a little more aggressive.

We also had one control that had been placed on a rootstock, but it was apparently not the correct one; a new tree had fallen in the woods, and that was where the control had been placed (about 10m from the correct one, so I hear... I was confused by all the rootstocks mapped in the area so I attacked from a different direction and found the control without too much trouble). But I guess some people (??) lost a significant amount of time on that one (it affected courses 4, 5, 6), and the organizers agreed that it was wrong... technically the course should have been thrown out, but they admitted their mistakes and the results stay as posted. I ended up in 2nd place, about 1:30 behind M-C ("Barbie"); I definitely made more than that in errors (plus had to stop and tie my left shoe once!). Dammit. Overall, though, I was sufficiently pleased with my race.

Middle Distance Results here:
http://www.obasen.nu/winsplits/online/en/show_even...

C • Good stuff! 2

Warm-up for Middle Distance.

Started developing a massive headache a couple hours after the Middle, likely due to the heat (it was at least 26C)... I had hydrated well between races (drank 1L of gatorade plus a bunch of water, and was pissing clear), but it didn't seem to help. And the race... What a gong show! I might as well have put my map in my pocket to run this race, since that's about how much attention I paid to it... Idiot. The Sprint was in a campground area, IN USE (several people out camping this weekend, which added to the mayhem). Don't know if I'm alone in this thinking, but I find campgrounds AMAZINGLY confusing and frustrating (I much prefer the terrain of last week's Sprint at COCs, on ski trails and such). Started the race fast and clean, then started getting really lazy with the navigation... My problems began at #6, which I overshot (and was probably on the wrong stream). Then going to #8 I went in the wrong direction, came out on a trail, thought I was somewhere I wasn't, and continued running... found a junction, a building, and a fence that I couldn't locate on the map... until I unfolded it and realized I had practically run off the map!! Doh. By then I had probably lost a good 5+ minutes, plus more lost time to dumb route choices, so there was no way of making that up in such a short course!! To make matters worse, I punched the last control and, for some reason, thought I was done, so I started walking... only to realize some meters down the road that I still had to punch the finish control!! Don't know where my head was this afternoon (probably stuffed far up my ass) - I had even forgotten to start my watch... but made damn sure the laces were taped and I had a control description! ;) When I left for home, I was in about 4th or 5th place, and not everyone had finished yet. This was not my race to win... Hoping to be able to get everything right for the Long tomorrow!!

Sprint Distance Results here:
http://www.obasen.nu/winsplits/online/en/show_even...

Warm-up for the Sprint... wasn't feeling great with the headache and the heat, and probably should have conserved my energy instead of making the head throb with each step. Too late now!