Training Log Archive: Sandy

Picking up 4 controls this morning. I mean really? 4 controls? Could I have asked for better helpers?

Sam Kolins got the other 8 - after winning yesterday. At least he knew where they were since he had been to them all!

Event: DVOA Rogaine Pocono Environmental Education Center
 

Given the forecast a few days out, we had unexpectedly great weather! Slight misty rain much of the day but only one short-lived downpour and no thunderstorms. And everyone got back in time. Whew! And everyone seemed to have a good time. Double whew!!

Tom and Clem went out to pickup controls and got hit with about half an hour of really heavy rain and thunder, but between them got all but 12 controls in!! So what was looking like a long day tomorrow will be a piece of cake. Can't say enough about how lucky I feel to have such good friends.

And Valerie and Amy handled registration and results and the sprint starts on Saturday. PEEC did all the food and it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

C • Weather gods 8

C • Great event! 2

Event: DVOA Pocono Environmental Education Center
 

Putting out the sprint controls.

The sprints turned out to be such a good idea - thanks, Valerie!!

We made a good chunk of money for the US Team (haven't done the accounting yet but will in the next few days) and a lot of people seemed to have a lot of fun. There were no grand expectations and everyone that did the sprints was just interested in having a good time.

What was really good was that a few total beginners did the sprints as a warm up for the rogaine on Sunday. I have to believe that having gone out on the easier sprint maps made a huge difference to how they handled the rogaine. They all reported having a great time at the rogaine so a total success!

I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't hurt more than I do after 3 tough days in the woods. My leg/hip injury is better with only a bit of tightness left that stretching should fix and my shoulder is also quite a bit better and similarly will probably be back to normal with some stretching. I think the shoulder improvement is a result of hiking all day instead of working at the computer all day. I thought that carrying all the controls in a back-pack might aggravate it but that doesn't seem to have happened. And once the rogaine is over, only one more week of serious work stuff and then just odds and ends for another couple weeks. And then I'll have all the time I need to stretch and do the preventative exercises and hike and read and relax and ...

C • Good luck 1

A bunch of controls near PEEC where there's a decent trail network so went pretty fast.

And since the first loop didn't take as long as I thought it would, I decided to just get the rest of the controls out so did another loop.

All 50 controls are now out in the woods. Now I get to worry for the next 48 hours to see if the weather will be so bad that we have to cancel the event. Rain is one thing; severe thunderstorms another.

I really don't know what's going to happen. At what point do I say that it's just too dangerous? And then all the work putting out the controls and making the course and printing the maps is for nothing. Not to mention the financial hosing. Not fun.

C • I'll be there one way or the other! 3

A longer but easier loop since I was able to use the trail network, sparse as it is. And while the trails are very indistinct in places, they exist and are easy to follow once you're on them.

Haven't seen much poison ivy until today - it seemed to be everywhere on a couple of legs. Yuck. Full body wash with Technu afterwards - fingers crossed I don't get a rash.

C • wow 2

Putting out the first bunch of controls. And I managed to screw it up - got all the flags in the correct spots but put out a wrong epunch at a control early in the loop. When I got to the (very far away) control that needed that epunch I realized my error but there was no way I was going to be able to return and still finish the loop. I opted to put the epunch that should have gone at the early control at the control I was at, so while the flag numbers are correct the numbers on the epunch units don't match the flags. I may have time later in the week to go fix it or maybe not.

It was hot but not ridiculous - maybe low to mid 80s. I drank a liter of water and had another 1/2 liter with me so was able to stay hydrated. But it was the longest loop I've done all spring and I was carrying 18 controls to start so very tired by the end. The key will be how I feel tomorrow. I have two more loops about the same the length and one loop about half as long to get out all the controls. Hopefully a good night's sleep will have me able to repeat tomorrow.

C • Very impressive . . . 1