Training Archive: CristinaIn the 7 days ending 2008-02-03:
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| M | T | W | H | F | S | S | |||||||
Sunday Feb 3 | ||
| Orienteering 1:09:00 [3] 6.3 km (10:57 / km) | |
| shoes: Integrators (orange) | ||
| The chase based on Saturday's middle. This kicked my butt. Much trickier than Saturday, lots and lots of up and down the gullies. Fun, but I was pretty beat after the previous two events. And I got sucked into some marsh up to my waist. Anyone who thinks that O wouldn't be interesting on TV needs to follow me around and catch moments like that. | ||
Saturday Feb 2 | ||
| Event: Waitangi Summer Carnival | ||
| Orienteering race 30:41 [4] 4.1 km (7:29 / km) | |
| shoes: Integrators (orange) | ||
| First day of O. This was a middle distance on some very fast and open gully terrain in Taupo (Airport map). I had the first start of the W21E set but didn't run too fast like at Anza-Borrego. Pretty good run, though there were a few times that I wished I could run faster (or at all, uphill), and a few small bobbles, but it wasn't super tricky. Finished something like 19th of 22. But, I had the fastest female finish split of the day (from trying to hold something off, which I did) and therefore won some head thing. Free stuff! Cool! Anyway, this was a lot of fun and I ran pretty well. | ||
| Orienteering (night) 1:15:00 [3] 5 km (15:00 / km) +210m 12:24 / km | |
| shoes: Asics B&Y | ||
| Katoa Po relay. I ran leg 5 of a 5-man team for the Auckland club. Even for night-o, this was pretty ugly. Ooh, almost out of net time, more later. | ||
Friday Feb 1 | ||
| Note | |
| Spent the day in Rotorua. Not really long enough to see or do a lot, but we did catch Whakarewarewa for some pretty sweet geothermal action and we went zorbing. (Yes, we're dorks.) Pretty sweet to see pockets of bubbling mud around town and what not. There are some times when I wish my camera was able to record smell, but this was not one of those days. | ||
Thursday Jan 31 | ||
| Hiking 5:00:00 [3] | |
| shoes: Asics B&Y | ||
| Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 3.
Hiked back to Whakapapa. This was planned to be the shortest day, and it was a good thing, too, because seabass wasn't feeling well. She felt better the slower she moved and best when not moving, which made for a long hike. I took a side trip to Lower Tama Lake for a quick lookie, but otherwise this day was a bit less spectacular than the rest, mostly because it was misty and cloudy and we had no views. It was cool because of the mist, but not quite the same. I also discovered that I had a very high energy level, even managing to run a bit with my (probably way too heavy) pack. A sweet end to the hike. My feet were a little beat up after this, a few blisters on each foot and about 6-8 hot spots on each, too. Not a big deal because I didn't even realize I had most of them and it didn't seem to really hurt. I was worried that they'd hurt in O shoes but that turned out not to be an issue. | ||
| C • days out of order? 3 | ||
Wednesday Jan 30 | ||
| Hiking 6:30:00 [3] | |
| shoes: Asics B&Y | ||
| Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 2.
Hiked back up to the crater area and past Blue Lake and the Emerald Lakes again (no complaints) and then down to the Oturere Valley for yet another type of landscape. This was a desert environment with lots of lava flow remnants. The sandy ground was a mixture of black from the basalt and white from (I think) conglomerate beds/stream deposits. It wasn't like a solution, it was like a mixture, if that makes sense to anyone but me. Much less busy today. We only passed one couple going the other way, just after the steep descent into the valley. We exchanged info and headed onwards. We lunched at the Oturere hut, where we bumped into a group that we'd talked to the night before at Ketetahi. They'd done the circuit a few times and, once again, shared some info. Then we headed out to Waihohonu Hut. The next bit was very dry and sparsely vegetated. It was also hot. And we saw no one. It was neat for a few hours... Then there was the weirdest vegetation boundary, where it went from almost totally empty scrub to beech forest with no transition. Just kapow! It was nice to be in the trees. One last ridge crossing (biggest of the day) and we were at the hut. This time we were in a beautiful forested location with a running stream just down the way and almost no company. It was very calming. Talked for a while with the hut warden, an Aussie named Krista. She asked a lot of questions about orienteering and thinks she should try it (a convert?). Most interesting, in the small world department, she spent all of last year studying abroad in Uppsala. (And no, she never did go orienteering in all that time, though she remembered those people running around in funny suits.) She knew someone there named Boris who she thought was American, but she didn't seem to know him well. We couldn't determine if it was THE Boris, though it seems doubtful since my statement of "he's really hairy" didn't seem to set off any lightbulbs. Awesome day (again). Pics: http://www.boojums.org/cristina/fotos/NZ1/NZ1.html | ||
| C • NZ Pictures 6 | ||
Tuesday Jan 29 | ||
| Hiking 7:00:00 [3] | |
| shoes: Asics B&Y | ||
| Tongariro Northern Circuit Day 1.
We started at the Mangatepopo trailhead with hordes of day hikers doing the Tongariro Crossing, which is reputedly the best single day hike in NZ. All the company meant that time flew by (and so did the people, what with their skimpy backpacks!). We started up the Mangatepopo valley and then headed up to the crater area via the Devils Staircase, a nice steep set of big rocks. Once we were up there it was non-stop phenomenal views. For the entire rest of the day I felt like I was in some National Geographic panoramic-film helicopter or something, checking out some fancy volcanic field. It was pretty cool, and the weather was great so we always had views of the various peaks and cones. Ended the day at the Ketetahi Hut. Some people had recommended going on to the next hut rather than this one (which requires backtracking the next morning, mostly uphill), but I'm glad we went there. The view down to the hut of the valley below and Lake Taupo in the distance was delightful. The hut was super crowded, though, and on the way down I could see a tent set up and worried that it was already all full and we'd have to actually *use* the tent I'd been dragging around. The hut did fill up, but not until well after we arrived. Turns out I never did have to pull it out, and most people don't bother carrying one. Wish I'd known! Awesome day! | ||
Monday Jan 28 | ||
| Note | |
| Spent the morning at the Auckland Botanic Gardens and then drove down to Tongariro National Park, where we'll spend most of the rest of the week. Tomorrow we're off to do the Tongariro Northern Circuit. We'll be back Thursday, or maybe Friday. Possibly Wednesday. | ||
| C • Sun screen 2 | ||