Training Log Archive: Ricka

Three sets of 3 laps on indoor track to get ready for campus sprint - good pace, 3rd set felt better than first.

Sprint on PEI U campus -- 6th of 16 -- just behind Gord. Transitions through control were smooth and planned ahead well [thus, best places were on shortest legs]. One error and lost bit of time on two route choices. Pushed hard -- no energy left at end.
10-11: planned route, halfway forgot to l=turn left -- when at end of building, "How did I get here?" but did relocate quickly -- -45s
1-2 and 8-9: chose slightly longer way around each building -- about -15s each.

Sprint C3 - Splits

After mid-trip laundry morning, long slow walk around hot Charlottetown including Victoria Park.

Two hikes at Fundy NP (Dickson's Falls & Matt's Head) then off to Charlottetown PEI for an evening outdoor conference. Near record highs of 31-33C; very pleasant evenings.

Hiked Copper Mine Trail at Fundy NP -- more climb than expected - legs tired. Also short hikes to Mary's Point (saw about 50 semipalmated sand pipers but ranger said we'd just missed flock of 3000 on the beach) and at Cape Enrage - great fog and winds!

Great fun running tidal flats at Hopewell Rocks [tides average 45 feet -- too late to rent kayaks to roam area later in day]-- but disastrous sprint! Aiming for #5, hit #6, totally bombed correction -- checked #7 on way back to #4, then #5 was obvious. Turned map over for 7-12 -- two more mistakes coming in (forgot if I'd punched #10). Basically, I was "in the zone" until the mistake and could not regain focus on a sprint. Then explored flats for a while -- amazing formations.
Made 5 minutes of errors on today's 1.3K sprint after only 3 minutes yesterday on technical woods Middle Course yesterday!
Chose to skip afternoon course -- can't handle 3 (short) courses in two days!

Strong race on incredibly technical Middle Course at COC Champs in New Brunswick. 30 minutes on model map was great help trying to adjust to steepness of 5m contours on 1:7500 map -- easy to under-estimate vertical and over-estimate horizontal. Lots of big knolls; also lots of sink holes due to collapsing land into old white gypsum mine. Somewhat familiar to Kettle Moraine terrain of SE WI. As in WI, I found it hard to find flatter routes between hills and sinkholes.

Made 4 errors but kept mistakes small -- only 3 minutes of errors -- 6th of 17 in M65.
#4: chose direct over trail route -- good execution and expected marsh to be "above" trail but not 20 feet up -- stayed close, hit on 3rd try.
#5: Could hold line 100m to road and field -- sink holes and hills too big and had not bothered to read the map -- looked too easy -- pushed right to trail - good recovery.
#6: Aggressive, read trails well, but missed a junction (too hard to see on bare rock?) -- hit large trail and bounced back. Also lost 20s when I hit a small hill on downslope in field, rolled nicely but landed butt first in larger hole -- with 2 legs, 2 arms up, it was hard to get up! Quite a scene for 2 walking orienteers just ahead of me.
Course became easier for me when we entered flat maze of ponds and marshes -- maintained focus! Lots of big errors made in both terrains - quite the terrain for COC middle!
Near record high temps over 30C

C • nice job Dad! 1

Arrived early enough to spend 30 very useful minutes on model map -- but mosquitoes were horrible -- much worse than in event on adjoining map -- weird.

Middle 6 - Splits

Hiked trail along lake at Keji... NP in Nova Scotia -- hemlock, spruce forest.

Late night hike along Keji Lake after arriving at Keji.. NP in Nova Scotia -- good place to view lots of stars and a few Perseid meteorites -- then a pleasant dip in lake.