Training Log Archive: iansmith

On the Sycamore Scramble:

Short term Preparation: While my training over the past month has been... adequate, during the week, I failed to effectively prepare for the meet. I was distracted - by the US Ski-O champs, by a busy work schedule, and by lack of sleep. I averaged about 5 hours of sleep this week, and I developed a cold during the week. I did have a restful Friday, the day before the races.

The Middle Distance: I warmed up well and felt good the morning of the race. My clothing was sufficient - tights, a short sleeved polypro shirt, and my CSU shirt. My mental readiness and concentration that morning were excellent. I started the race well, with good flow, planning, execution, and an aggressive pace. However, the physical demands of the terrain - the fast speed and climb - caught up to me, and I started making mistakes, including :30 errors at 3, 6 and 9, a 2:00 error at 11, and a 1:00 error at 13.

Had I executed my plans cleanly, I think I would have run sub 37, which is excellent for me. Even with the errors, I'm pleased with the race because of the promise I showed, but I must work on my fitness, my mental acuity during a race, and my navigation. I finished 10:20 behind Will and 5:45 behind Ken. I cooled down for about 20 minutes running with Ken back from the remote finish.

The Sprint Distance: My sprint, which I expected to be my best distance, was a categorical disaster. During the four hour interval between my middle and sprint, I ate the provided lunch, stretched a bit, and assisted in the setup of the extreme String-O WUOC team fundraiser. I ran the string-O twice; the demand from the warmup and the string-O may have adversely affected my sprint - I had already run one race and over an hour that morning. According to the analysis, I was slow - suggesting fatigue, and extremely error-prone, with :45 on control 2, 0:20 on 5, 2:00 on control 6, :30 on 9, and :20 on 10. Four minutes of errors and sluggishness on a sprint is inexcusable, and easily my worst recent result. I rolled my ankle twice during the race and once cooling down, though none were severe.

The Classic Distance: To my surprise, despite fatigue and a disappointing Saturday, I had an acceptable classic race, marred only by sluggishness. I slept poorly on Sunday, with a sore throat. That morning, I contemplated removing the coming race from my rankings, because I did not expect to perform well. However, because my present objective is not to optimize my ranking (as for Team Trials), but to grow as an orienteer, I elected to keep it. I felt reasonably good during my warmup, though I had many reservations about the 1:15k scale, since I have not extensively used that scale. My lack of practice with this scale did contribute to some hesitation on the course - notably at controls 3 and 7, my only notable error was a 2:00 error at control 11, where I drifted too high along a spur. I felt tired throughout the run, in particular after control 12, but I pushed on, finishing 20 minutes behind Will and 13 behind Ken. Had I not felt so fatigued and sick, I think I could have run 3-5 minutes faster, even with my error.

Current Status: It is clear that I am stronger now than I was in the fall; despite fatigue and illness, I had a classic performance consistent with my results from October at the US Champs. My physical quality on the middle distance course was excellent, and the race could have been stellar, save for my errors. I clearly struggle with multiple races in a single day; even at the ROC meet in September 2009, my second race (Middle Distance) was weaker than my first on Saturday (Sprint).

My flow was better this meet than it has been in the past, much of which I attribute to the mental conditioning from Catching Features. My navigation requires much attention, especially under race pressure.

Final Review and to do: This meet can be a clarion call; it was not the result I expected, though it may be the result I needed. My progress is undeniable, and my obstacles are evident. I will use this moment to motivate and inspire the work to become an elite orienteer.

Some lessons:
1. Prepare for a race, both in the months leading up to it and on the day. Every decision in the time leading up to a major race must be made in the context of optimizing race performance, both mentally and physically.
2. Train to run multiple sessions - multiple races - per day.
3. Improve my fitness; I lack the stamina necessary to compete.
4. Take care of my body; illness and fatigue are unacceptable initial conditions for a race.
5. Train hard, race hard.

C • Right on! 2

Warmup before the classic course.

Sycamore Scramble classic course. General observation: it was an approximately clean race (one error, 2 minutes), but I was tired and sluggish.

Blue Classic - Splits

Event: Sycamore Scramble
 

Sycamore Scramble Middle distance race.

Twenty minute warmup before the Middle Distance race, and twenty minute cool down with Ken from the finish back to the event headquarters. Time and distance are a guess.

Warmup before the sprint.

Sycamore Scramble Sprint; a disastrous race.

Long Sprint - Splits

Blue Middle - Splits

Model event for the Sycamore Scramble; I made an error at control 3 that cost about two minutes relative to Brendan. I was pushing as if to simulate race conditions, but I was moving a bit slower than I would have.

I felt good throughout the run, and noted both the abundance of linear features and the relative absence of point features like boulders and cliffs, making location along linear features challenging.

I ran on the 1:15k model map to try to calibrate, and I noted that my sense of distance was very inaccurate. The 1:15 map was also harder to read than the 1:10.

Warmup before the model event with Brendan.

Picking up controls from the model event; Lori and I each picked up four controls.

I'm reluctant to consider this training, since I was just biking around on some errands. I have slept very poorly for the past two days, and the Olympics and the Ski-O champs have only worsened my state. This does not bode well for the NC A-meet.

C • True 1

I woke very early to set streamers for the Cat Rock Park training. Conditions were clear and cold, with a temperature of -4 C; the forest was blanketed in 10-15 cm of snow. I originally planned to set reflective streamer, but I only had about 2m; to be consistent, I used my plentiful yellow CAUTION tape despite its inferior reflective qualities. Because of the snow, I ran to the controls significantly out of order so my footprints wouldn't denote an optimal route. This was largely superfluous, since the first runners would lay tracks.

The forest was surreal at night, with a stillness I have only observed in winter. Snow clung to vegetation, impeding visibility, and the wintry landscape was starkly beautiful. The sun rose while I was setting, and the transformation from night to day was similarly spectacular.

I ended up revising several of my control locations because the vegetation was impassable in some cases, and finding the controls at night would require fortunate circumstances rather than skillful effort.

I did not get much sleep, but I was very glad to finally get some time on a map, even if I was setting and revising.

C • you are an animal 2

To and from quintet rehearsal. I vastly underestimated the magnitude of some of the hills in Lexington.

While I was feeling stiff from the US Ski-O Champs, I reasoned that an easy run might improve my recovery. Pain alone was also an insufficient reason to break with my training. Once I started moving, I felt better. I ran in tights, long sleeve polypro, short sleeve polypro, and gloves. I felt overdressed; the temperature was 3 C.

NC A-meet in five days!