Training Log Archive: JanetTIn the 1 days ending May 26, 2013:
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Sunday May 26, 2013 #
10 AM
Orienteering race (Rogaine) 5:51:43 [3] *** 18.62 km (18:53 / km) +326m 17:22 / km
spiked:22/25c shoes: Trail NB 704 8.5D
More later, when I download my FR track. For now, I did most of my planned route to try to maximize points, and finished 2nd/12 female solo entrants (behind Kseniya, who was 5th overall) with 1513 points. 18th/44 overall in the 6-hour solo competition. Prizes were packages of cookies and brownies--yummmm!! Thanks to DVOA, especially Sandy F who designed the course and Sandy A who helped put out the controls!
EDIT: (warning -- long involved write-up)
Added FR Track and updated distance covered (per my watch). Haven't measured straight line yet. One good thing (for me) about this map is that there wasn't much elevation gain/loss so no steep climbs to worry about (326 m over 18+ km is pretty negligible). :-)
I thought the distance to get out to the far end of the map would take more out of me than navigating through the green to find higher point controls, so my strategy was to climb to the South ("top" of the mapped area) and work my way down the hill. I got as far west as #79 and weaving my way down the hill and finishing closer to the stream before heading back in. Finished the A loop around 1:30 (3 and half hours in) and took a few minutes drinking Gookinade and changing to a short sleeved shirt before heading out again. Because I was over 3 hours I knew I couldn't go as far on the second loop.
First loop: 63 - 75 - 65 - 45 - 77 - 41 - 59 - 73 - 33 - 69 - 67 - (49) - 73 - 31 - 53 - 51. I missed 65 to the west and went against the stream of people coming out from it heading to 45, so that helped. Took the trail from 77 to 41. Added 33 to my original plan, since it looked easy. Saw an unmapped hunter's stand on the way out to the trail headed to 67, but never any of the mapped stands or racks. :-) On the way to 67, I didn't have a definite attack off the trail and I wandered a bit in the area before finding the right features to lead me in. Then I tried for 49 but missed and bailed out to the N-S trail and all the way around (due to low confidence in the woods) to 73; back out to the trail south of 31 to find the definite attackpoint of the depression. People ahead of me to 53 helped. Down the not-quite-clear powerline trail to 51 while eating a PB sandwich, and back to the transition-to-map-B (we had to punch a finish box before starting with #80 which was nearby for loop B).
Second loop: I headed south again for another clockwise loop. 80 - 42 - 74 - 56 - 68 - 76 - 78 - 54 - 44 - 60 - finish. On 68 I hit the east end of the rocky ground and thought I'd be able to see the marsh when I got through it but it was not as noticeable as I'd anticipated and took a bit of looking around. Then SW to the giant blobs of black to find 76, a boulder. Neat boulder-field effect which was pretty identifiable; I did some rock hopping until they got even bigger and I had to climb down from one. The alternative though was wading through head-high mountain laurel to get to where I needed to be. When I finally found the flag I wasn't sure where the boulder was. :-)
Went through the white woods on the way to 78 and when I neared it I ran in to Glen who'd been looking around and ready to bail, but I figured I hadn't gone far enough yet (almost there) so we looked some more and Glen spotted the flag. Yay. Straight to 54, then out to the trail. Glen already had 44 and 60 so headed east to get one more before finishing, while I picked up those too and jogged most of the trail/road back in, though I would have had enough time walking the whole thing. As I approached the finish punch, Glen was also approaching from a different angle (I was closer) and Dan Barker called out that he was coming so I raced in and punched ahead! (Hah- the competitive kick. Good thing I was closer. Glen had run me down in the chute once before at a meet.)
My favorite little story (no rattlesnake sightings, like some had!) was when I was going along the trail in to the transition on the first loop, I spotted a small blue plastic rectangle and picked it up (litter!), then turned it over and realized it was a safety whistle from Empire Orienteering Club. Okay, there were 4 EMPO members at this event (wwk and oeo2oo, besides Glen and me) and it likely belonged to one of the other three since mine was still secure. I took it back and dropped it with my bag at the transition before heading out on loop B.
After we were done and hanging out at the finish (we had to return to pavilion to download), Glen mentioned that he'd lost his whistle out on the course; he'd looked down after falling and noticed his whistle's string just hanging and no whistle to be seen. I motioned to the one near my bag and said, "Did it look like this one?" Sure enough. :-) If he'd lost it in the woods it would have been gone forever.
The weather couldn't have been better; sunny and about 60 for the high. This was after two days of rain and 40s at home so a welcome respite. And now this week it's going to be in the 80s. Lawn tractor will need a workout again.
EDIT: (warning -- long involved write-up)
Added FR Track and updated distance covered (per my watch). Haven't measured straight line yet. One good thing (for me) about this map is that there wasn't much elevation gain/loss so no steep climbs to worry about (326 m over 18+ km is pretty negligible). :-)
I thought the distance to get out to the far end of the map would take more out of me than navigating through the green to find higher point controls, so my strategy was to climb to the South ("top" of the mapped area) and work my way down the hill. I got as far west as #79 and weaving my way down the hill and finishing closer to the stream before heading back in. Finished the A loop around 1:30 (3 and half hours in) and took a few minutes drinking Gookinade and changing to a short sleeved shirt before heading out again. Because I was over 3 hours I knew I couldn't go as far on the second loop.
First loop: 63 - 75 - 65 - 45 - 77 - 41 - 59 - 73 - 33 - 69 - 67 - (49) - 73 - 31 - 53 - 51. I missed 65 to the west and went against the stream of people coming out from it heading to 45, so that helped. Took the trail from 77 to 41. Added 33 to my original plan, since it looked easy. Saw an unmapped hunter's stand on the way out to the trail headed to 67, but never any of the mapped stands or racks. :-) On the way to 67, I didn't have a definite attack off the trail and I wandered a bit in the area before finding the right features to lead me in. Then I tried for 49 but missed and bailed out to the N-S trail and all the way around (due to low confidence in the woods) to 73; back out to the trail south of 31 to find the definite attackpoint of the depression. People ahead of me to 53 helped. Down the not-quite-clear powerline trail to 51 while eating a PB sandwich, and back to the transition-to-map-B (we had to punch a finish box before starting with #80 which was nearby for loop B).
Second loop: I headed south again for another clockwise loop. 80 - 42 - 74 - 56 - 68 - 76 - 78 - 54 - 44 - 60 - finish. On 68 I hit the east end of the rocky ground and thought I'd be able to see the marsh when I got through it but it was not as noticeable as I'd anticipated and took a bit of looking around. Then SW to the giant blobs of black to find 76, a boulder. Neat boulder-field effect which was pretty identifiable; I did some rock hopping until they got even bigger and I had to climb down from one. The alternative though was wading through head-high mountain laurel to get to where I needed to be. When I finally found the flag I wasn't sure where the boulder was. :-)
Went through the white woods on the way to 78 and when I neared it I ran in to Glen who'd been looking around and ready to bail, but I figured I hadn't gone far enough yet (almost there) so we looked some more and Glen spotted the flag. Yay. Straight to 54, then out to the trail. Glen already had 44 and 60 so headed east to get one more before finishing, while I picked up those too and jogged most of the trail/road back in, though I would have had enough time walking the whole thing. As I approached the finish punch, Glen was also approaching from a different angle (I was closer) and Dan Barker called out that he was coming so I raced in and punched ahead! (Hah- the competitive kick. Good thing I was closer. Glen had run me down in the chute once before at a meet.)
My favorite little story (no rattlesnake sightings, like some had!) was when I was going along the trail in to the transition on the first loop, I spotted a small blue plastic rectangle and picked it up (litter!), then turned it over and realized it was a safety whistle from Empire Orienteering Club. Okay, there were 4 EMPO members at this event (wwk and oeo2oo, besides Glen and me) and it likely belonged to one of the other three since mine was still secure. I took it back and dropped it with my bag at the transition before heading out on loop B.
After we were done and hanging out at the finish (we had to return to pavilion to download), Glen mentioned that he'd lost his whistle out on the course; he'd looked down after falling and noticed his whistle's string just hanging and no whistle to be seen. I motioned to the one near my bag and said, "Did it look like this one?" Sure enough. :-) If he'd lost it in the woods it would have been gone forever.
The weather couldn't have been better; sunny and about 60 for the high. This was after two days of rain and 40s at home so a welcome respite. And now this week it's going to be in the 80s. Lawn tractor will need a workout again.