Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: WCOC Macedonia Brook State Park
 

Green course at WCOC meet at Macedonia SP. Courses set by Joe and Pavi. Quite a rainy day. Phil was nice enough to pick me up on his way down, a very enjoyable visit in the car, which was extra nice because there certainly wasn't much scope for social activity at the meet, given the rain. Before the rain forecast arrived, Phil was planning to come down with Peter and Steve, I was planning to go with Bill. Those other guys elected to stay dry. Not a bad idea. However, Phil and I had fun with the course, and happy to have gone. There has been some discussion of happiness of late in regard primarily to exercise, and this experience was unequivocally a happy one.

Phil was also considerate enough to do a 15 minute warm-up before starting, and since I didn't think a warm-up would do me much good, I headed right out, and so was able to finish a few minutes ahead of him and avoid having him pass me, although I was hearing imaginary footsteps behind me from time to time.

Generally fine navigation, just very slow, particularly on ups and downs and through mt. laurel, which seemed to arrive mostly on the downs. No problems on 1 or 2. For 3 I went along the top of the long hill, thinking I could run up there, but couldn't make my legs move faster than a determined walk. Had my eye on a likely looking boulder, but it turned out it was the next one too far. Luckily, I was right next to the correct one, so only about a 2 meter hook. Then down through laurel to 4, laurel that seemed a lot thicker than the scattered patches I saw on the map. Came to the boulder on the edge of the circle and saw a likely looking spur, but it turned out that was the rocky ground below the cliff, so back up one line. Again, a minor miss. No problem on 5, fairly straight, in good contact all the way. Plan on 6 was to follow the side of the big hill, see the cliffs just N of the control and in from there. Turns out I was lower down on the hill, going along the side of the reentrant and wondering what reentrant that could be, until the light dawned and I scrambled up the 3 lines to the control. Fairly straight to 7, or as straight as I could be in the rocks, seeing the two little patches of rocks just to my left and the cliff ahead of me. Thought about down and around to 8, but went more or less straight through some pretty thick laurel, although not as bad as the laurel near 4. Across the stream, pretty sure I was off to the left, so headed down, past at least one prominent charcoal terrace to the not so prominent one with the control. Thought I would go fairly straight to 9, but it was wicked steep, so back to the stream for a bit to get below the worst of the rocks, and straight from there, through really thick saplings, so slow going and not great visibility. Pressed on on compass, finally seeing a terrace ahead that seemed to match where the contour lines are farther apart on the map, and there was the flag. Out to the road, incurring the only minor injury of the day, barking my shin on a fallen tree branch 10 meters from the road. A very nice course.

One particularly pleasant discovery: my Tony Muffatti glasses worked fine. I did wear a ball cap, but had no issue with rain on them. It seems like it has been a long time since I last orienteered in the rain.

Map and route.

C • social activity 7

green - Splits

Coops sawmill Brown, using O-range. Interesting, but not all that effective. At the start boulder it said I was 25 meters away, so wandered a bit without getting much closer., and then started anyway. Part way until 1 I saw that it thought I hadn’t started yet, so I punched it. Then at 1 I found the feature and the pink ribbon but it still thought I was 25 meters away. Tried going in different directions, but couldn’t get closer, so punched and went on. Turns out the only 2 that actually registered were at #3 and #5. The feature that tells you how far away is helpful, although TMI for serious navigation. When I got to the finish it said I was 26 m away, so I strolled back to my car on the other side of the street and that’s where it decided the finish might be. But good fun and a nice course. Big features and not too difficult navigation.

Coop's Sawmill Brown Map

C • hadn't started yet 12

WS#1 Coop Sawmill Brown - Splits

Went to see the surgeon this morning. He confirmed that there is nothing left of my rotator cuff - completely torn, and said that I probably have a shoulder replacement in my future, but there is no reason to do it now. I have adequate range of motion, quite a bit of weakness, but I am compensating well enough with other muscles not to consider the replacement now. So that's good news, more or less, and basically what I had decided. Things have calmed down enough in the last month that I can do most things with it, just nothing very hard or fast. Pretty sure I've done my last pushup, for example.

C • Rotator cuff problem 3

Cardio Sculpt 1 with Susannah

Flow 1.5 with Leah. Hard. I was sweating.