Training Log Archive: DWildfogel

UC Berkeley. Sprint San Francisco, Day 3 (but first day for me). Jog from Barrows Hall to the start with the warm up map with Marie-Josee. Continue jogging and striding to try to get my knees loosened up. Certainly not feeling very spry.

UC Berkeley. Sprint San Francisco, Day 3 (but first day for me). Qualifier (an NRE). Start at 9:28:30, a minute behind Tapio, :30 behind Vicki Woolworth and :30 ahead of Marie-Josee.

Very disappointing run. Route choice errors on the first three legs, though no major time loss. Probably started off a little too fast, partly because Tapio and Marie-Josee ran by me early, but still felt very slow and struggled on uphills and stairs. Still, was having a decent run until I got to #16 and the control wasn't there.

Turned right ankle on the way to #4, but after several seconds was able to run normally.

1. Guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the people in front of me, because though the start triangle was in sight, I was surprised when I turned over the map and saw that a left turn was required. Dove into the woods, figuring I couldn't miss the out of bounds area by the creek. Passed Vicki on the way there (after bashing through some fight).

Very glad I'd worn my trail shoes for these first two legs!

2. Knew I was going to have to cross the creek, so did that before looking at the map again. Rough compass - wha! another creek! Should have planned the beginning of this route much more carefully. Lost at least 10 secs, maybe 20. Rest of the leg was fine, tiring a bit up the hill, slowing a little in the control circle to see where exactly the control should be.

3. Without hesitation, ran to the stairs and proceeded easily to the control. But later I saw that I should have taken one of the little trails up the hill, rather than go all the way to the stairs. Lost 5 - 10 seconds. Also, going up the stairs made my legs rubbery.

4. Quite surprised that Tapio (who'd started a minute ahead of me) passed me early in this leg. Then I turned my ankle, though ran it off after a few steps. There was a possible route through the buildings instead of going out to the street, but it looked like you might not be able to go through, so I planned to avoid it. But Tapio, ahead of me, turned that way, so I followed. After I'd taken a couple of steps in that direction, saw him turn back, so I did too, and saw Marie-Josee heading along the route I originally planned. Tapio passed me again before I got to the courtyard with the control.

5. Tapio and MJ were running much faster than me; straightforward leg anyway, made even easier with them out front. By the time that I got to the control, they were out of sight.

6. Same stairs as going to #3, tired me out again. Rest of the leg was straight forward.

7. Again straight forward, though staying in contact with the map was important.

8. Missed the best route. Knew the control would be under the ramp, but didn't see that one had to go well around to the side to get there until I was almost at the ramp. Immediately went around to the left. Should have left #7 going E along the building and then come in to #8 from the S side.

9. Planned to run up the grassy slope, but it looked steep when I got there, so ran around, costing several seconds. At the end, thought the fence was mapped as uncrossable (it wasn't), so went around instead of just reaching over. Lost about 10 secs altogether.

10. Didn't notice the route around the N side of the building, partly because i never figured out that the control was up a level from the S side. I actually don't remember going up (or down) stairs, but I did punch a control - though at the download, it showed I hadn't punched 10. Very strange. Just before I turned the corner from the S to the E side of the building and headed up the short flight of broad stairs, I saw several people coming down those stairs, and I guess that made me be in hurry up mode to catch up, and I must not have paid enough attention.

11. Couldn't tell if you could come in from the N (I think you can) so went around the S side of the building. Passed Erin, who was hanging controls for the Final.

12. Dog legged out, then straight to it.

13. Good job of seeing that the control was on the upper level, so able to go right to it.

14, 15. Very detailed map reading, but proceeded carefully and reasonably quickly without any trouble.

16. More detailed map reading to begin the leg, then an easy run to near the circle. I was looking at the end of the building on the left as a guide of when to turn into the woods (part of which should have been mapped as light green). I suspect that this is why I didn't see the misplaced control. Anyway, suddenly noticed that I was too close to the stairs, so turned right immediately, and saw the pipes bridging the creek to my right - but no control, and several other people looking for it. Yikes. Madly ran around, even dangerously crossing the pipe to see if maybe the flag was at the other end. Decided I was certainly in the correct place (I was) and that the flag must be missing (it was actually misplaced, on another "pipe" - mapped as a wall - considerable W of the circle, and close enough to the road that most people saw it and many didn't even notice it was in the wrong place) and so I just headed for the next control, but quite mad.

17. Flustered, I didn't see the best route, down the stairs. Instead, ran along the road to the next set of stairs, down through the courtyard, right past the Finish and on to the control.

18. Trivial.

Afterwards, ran around talking to people trying to find out what happened. Finally went out there with Matej and several others, and we found the control in the aforementioned incorrect place.

No one protested (as it was in no one's interest to do so), so the decision was made to make #16 "optional" so that anyone who missed it still had a valid finish. Of course, the results were skewed, but as they only determined the start order for the Final, it didn't have an impact on the results.

[Orienteering Sprint Race]

Cool down (while trying to cool off regarding the missing [actually, misplaced] control).

UC Berkeley. Sprint San Francisco, Day 3 (but first day for me).

B-Final. Start at 1:04.

Glad I wore Speedcross shoes for the Qual. They were of no particular value for this race, but they caused no harm, either, so they are the right choice.

Had given it my all in the morning Qual (and my result got messed up by misplaced #16, leaving me frustrated), ad warming up for this, it seemed I had nothing left. Also, turned my ankle again while warming up. But it turned out to be a very complex course, and fast thinking was more important than fast running, so it was fun and I did very well.

Bobbled the first two because I couldn’t see the trails next to buildings on the map. After that, the only problem was #14 (those little stairways are pretty hard for me to see).

Part of the fun was lots of back and forth with several people, including Daniel Sebo and, later, Sue Kuestner.

Start times of people I saw during the race:

1258 Sue Kuestner
100 Steve Haas
101 Chuck Spalding
102 Katie Petersen
103 Davy Williams
104 me
105 Daniel Sebo

1. Couldn’t really see whether the trail where the control was continued alongside the building (not even with my glasses and magnifier), but hoped that it did, so ran there, hesitated just a bit trying to see it on the map and decided to take it even though I wasn’t sure. Can see now that there were other trails along side buildings that I couldn’t see. Only lost a couple of seconds.

2. Left to the N, but again had trouble seeing the trails on the map. Started to go around to the W, but decided that was stupid so just ran up between the next two buildings out to the main road. Now I realize that I should have just gone back to the main road on the trail I’d come in to #1 on! LOST 20 - 25 seconds.

3. No trouble getting into the SE part of the control circle, but hard to figure out where the control was given that there are multiple trail bends in the circle. A qualifier like “SW” or “lower” would have helped. No bag at the bend near the stairway that was very near the center of the circle, so peered over the wall and saw it down below. Couldn’t tell whether I could get through by going S (you could, and that might have been just a tad faster), so went W down the stairs and then E to the bag. While approaching the bag, saw Daniel peer over the wall above just as I had. Wonder if anyone considered leaving #2 going W and then coming at #3 from the bottom. If it had been clear that the bag was on the lower level, that might have been a better route.

4. Very interesting leg. First had to figure out on which side of the wall the bag was to make a good route plan. Running W on the S side of the building with the tunnel through it, kept looking for some short cut through that clump of buildings but never saw one. Turns out there was one on the E side, but my eyes couldn’t make out the tiny stair case. Would have been only marginally better anyway. Daniel passed me as I was running N towards the water fountain. By then I’d figured out the exact approach to the control. Tired legs from the morning race definitely affected me going up the stairs. Daniel hesitated a bit as he neared the control but I knew exactly where it would be. Punched in a few seconds behind him (9 seconds to be exact).

5. Had already figured out the route to #5: take the stairway WNW of #4 down and go S. Surprised when Daniel turned left instead of a quick right before the stairway, but stuck with my plan. He got to the control ahead of me. Thought I might have closed the gap by a second or two, but the splits show I lost a second, which probably means the routes were about the same.

6. Had a hard timing seeing the details in the circle, but figured Daniel’s eyes are a lot better than mine so just followed him to the bag.

7.Figured to take the same stairway I’d taken to get up to #4 and then continue all the way to the street and turn right. That’s exactly what Daniel did in front of me, but I tired a bit on the stairway up to the street and then even more so on the hill up to the control, so I lost ground to him.

8. Daniel hesitated a bit leaving 7, but I had the whole route planned long before I punched, so made up a little ground. Running along the street, saw several people coming the other way, including Davy Williams and Sarah Petersen. Got into the control nook just as Daniel was leaving, heading back up the stairs. 7 seconds behind at this point.

9. Had already figured out what looked to me like a more direct route to #9 than going around on the streets like all the others I just saw, namely, going up that same stairway to #4 again. When I was about 50m from the control, saw Daniel and others coming down the stairway from the street. Got to the corner where the control was supposed to be, but there was a planter box there and the control was actually a couple of meters S of where it was supposed to be, and I’d taken a step past it before I realized that, enabling Daniel to punch right ahead of me. Clearly the route I took was faster than going around on the streets.

10. S down the stairway. First thought was to go around the S side of the building on the right, but then noticed there might be a passageway - and then remembered that I’d gone through that in a previous event, going the other way (home court advantage!). Daniel, slightly in front, headed that way, confirming that it was good.

11. Recognized that I’d been through the paths where #11 was in this morning’s race, not that that mattered much because it looked like a pretty straight forward leg. Daniel turned up one path too soon, so I got to the control ahead of him.

12. Did not see until well after the race that there was a good route around the W side of the building (though, I think, not quite as good as going back around the right side). Doglegged out, turned left up the broad stairs. Strangely, I don’t remember the rest of the leg at all. And I don’t remember the first part of the next leg either, until I got back to those same stairs. Also, #10 from the morning Qual was in that same little area, and I don’t remember the part near that control either. Very strange.

13. Anyway, at the broad stairs (and with Sue Kuestner standing there), sighted the stairway just to the right of #13 and hustled across the field in that direction. Tired on the long stairway; Sue passed me and got to the control first. Perhaps I would have been better off aiming to the left of 13, so I wouldn’t have had a climb at the end.

14. Could tell that the control was on an upper level, but couldn’t see how to get up there. Couldn’t see the features clearly enough on the left side to see if the stairway went up to the next level, but didn’t have a better idea so thought I’d give it a try. Passed Sue as I turned the corner to head N, but then could see that there was no way up. Realized that one could get to the upper level from the E side, and just then Daniel passed me heading for the N side of the building, so figured I’d go around that side. But when I turned the corner, to my surprise, there was a stairway leading up. According to the splits, Sue got to 14 before I did, though I don’t remember her passing me.

15. Had worked this one out in advance, so bolted past Daniel (and, it seems, Sue). On the run S, was catching up to Katie P and Brian Gaston. They both (illegally) took an unmapped trail through some forbidden green, and I looked back at Daniel who was surprised by that, too. We went around the little patch.

16. Run E on the N side of the creek to the second bridge. Could see Chuck S up ahead, well past that turn off. Daniel turned at the same place I intended to turn, but once across the bridge he made the first left and I was heading for the next left. (His route looks fine, but he got behind for some reason.) Home court advantage again: I remembered this courtyard from the past. As I approached the ramp, could see Steve Haas already running through the courtyard. Took the stairs rather than the ramp because I didn’t want to have to go over the chain.

17. Had this one figured out well in advance, so quickly doglegged out, and saw a bunch of people coming in, including Daniel, Sue and Katie. Running hard now and with great confidence. Turning the corner of the building right before 17, saw Steve off to the left; ran hard so I could punch in before him.

18. No hesitation, knowing I’d see it once I got to the end of the building.

Really fun, especially after #8.

[Orienteering Sprint Race]

Cool down

Slept for 1.5 hours mid-morning; recovering from crazed meet director activities.

Afternoon: got our tree with Rachel and Gerrett.

Event: BAOC: Sprint San Francisco
 

The usual weekly accumulation of morning exercises. Tapered off towards the end of the week.

Spent a good part of the week in Crazed Meet Director mode :(

Jeep trail next door. Just wanting to warm, test my knees. Legs felt pretty good, knees not so great, but probably could run a race - but will be able to generate any speed?

Splits are for 2 laps at a time (0.4 mi.): 503, 425

Jogged half a lap slowly to loosen up, and another half lap at the end for a cool down.

Jeep trail next door. Trying to get a little exercise without aggravating my sore knees

444, 435, 214

At home. Physical therapy exercises for glutes. Trying to help my knees.

Got pretty sore the next day, so didn't do more the rest of the week.