Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Wicked Hard Night-O, Pawtuckaway, 7.0 km, 9th. It being nighttime, I'm using a slightly generous definition of "spike". Not feeling particularly great, and therefore not running very much. Early on I was with a diffuse crowd, at least close enough to see headlamps from time to time. #5 was interesting, I was aiming for the NW branch of Mymeeba Pond, but drifted left and never saw it, but instead blundered into the control. Missed the pond going to #6 as well, but found the marsh and after a brief discussion in French with a couple of guys, attacked easily. Those guys (I think were around for the next coupe of controls, then on the way to #8 another guy and I took the trail around to the right and (I assume) got ahead of those guys for good. The guy I was with got ahead on the road run to #10, and then I was on my own instead of leading a pack. #11 was my one bad control, hitting the Woronoco Trail south of the cleared area, going to the Fundy intersection to verify my location, then back up the trail and stumbling needlessly through the logged slash on the way to the control. Trail to #12, then clean navigation to #13 where I was surprised to catch up with three or four people including Alar and Ernst, but they were leaving as I was arriving, so I lost them. Clean on my own from there on in. Last one back on the WHNO, but there were others who didn't get them all.

Rattlesnake Hill. I've run in here a number of times, but this was the first time I tried it on the bike. It's a pretty nice place for me, as there's a lot that's rideable without being boring, and although there are spots here and there where I needed to get off, they generally weren't that bad. This is also a good choice with the sun setting earlier since it's close to work and I can get there before I lose the light. Didn't have a map with me, and although I often knew where I was, that wasn't always the case, particularly at the end. I had no idea that I crossed my path, and it was a pleasant surprise when I recognized that I was just about back at the car.

CMOUSA Champs Sprint, Mike's Maze "Cornstock", 8th. Navigated pretty well (I'm getting accustomed to the corn maze stuff) considering that I had gotten myself frazzled dealing with the results computer (nobody's fault but mine) and went into this with no warmup or a chance to clear my head. The usual fun time nonetheless. No compass (left it at home).
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CMOUSA Champs Classic, Mike's Maze "Cornstock", DSQ. Even more frazzled for this one, and I was the last starter. Unlike a few people, I did punch at the first control (at the map pickup). Navigation again went quite well, just a few hesitations. One route choice error on #11, going all the way to the W corner of the maze instead of the shorter more complicated route through Jimi's hair. Then a more serious error on #13: I just missed it completely and went to #14. Wouldn't have cost me much time if I had gotten it, since I ran almost past it, so I probably would have been in 9th place.
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CMOUSA Champs, Mike's Maze "Peace Sign", 11th place with Sue Worthington. Even more frazzled for this one (thought I had lost the Classic results, though they mysteriously showed up again later), and I was just going to skip this, but I got things stabilized and wandered over to the other maze to at least see what was going on. I didn;t know if they had an even or odd number of people, so I asked if anybody was looking for a partner, and Sue said she was. Great! We exchanged phone numbers, had zero time to discuss strategy, and went off as the last starters. She went into the maze first, and the first two controls went well, but then we had some misunderstandings on the third one and she had to relocate to the previous control a couple of times. Then my turn, the first one went great (I don't remember how she got me there), then on the way to my second one things got mixed up, and I lost track of where I was. She told me I needed to be in the SW part of the maze, so I just went there on my own and found her first control, but of course she didn't know where that was. She gave me the interesting direction of telling me to turn right (how did she know what direction I was facing?) and somehow got me to my second control, which wasn't far. Then I mysteriously got myself to the entrance, and it was easy for her to direct me to the last control from there. What a hoot this was!
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CMOUSA Champs Night, Mike's Maze "Cornstock", 16th. Even though I bought new batteries for my headlamps last week and made sure they were charged up, they didn't do me much good since they were sitting in a box on my kitchen table. I found a small flashlight in my car, and when Steve Richardson learned of my plight he offered me his small headlamp, and with those two lights I was fine in the maze. I got three skips, and was also a "Pariah" for having missed a control on the Classic, so after punching Start, I had to go to the back of the start line. SA says I lost minor time on two controls, and I have no idea, so I'll believe it. If I'd had time to do more careful analysis, I might have skipped something like 5, 11, and 20, but instead I just lopped off the 17-18-19 trio to save myself another trip to the SW end of the maze (getting there and back would have been time-consuming, but getting between those controls would have been quick and easy).
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