Training Log Archive: GlenT

Went 1-2 versus Soupbone for the weekend, bringing the Flying Pig lifetime total to 14-13. I'm still in the lead but if the trend of the last two years continues, that could change (as long as neither of us breaks). For what it's worth, on total time for the weekend, I was ahead by 49 seconds. Lifetime I'm up by about 18 minutes, but 15 min of that is from one race. Looks like a pretty even match.

Flying Pig Day 3. Green "middle" distance course at Mounds State Recreation Area. Similar terrain to yesterday with the footing improving as it dries out but still with plenty of sharp vegetation. No stream crossings or lake wading options today since we were mostly on the top or sides of a large peninsula. Course was good technically but again suffered from "give 'em their money's worth" syndrome so winning times on Green, Red and Blue were well beyond those specified in the Rules for middle distance.

A sloppy run, partly due to both brain and body being tired from two previous days. Lost time on 4 by trying to find the feature in the nearby circle for control 11. Fortunately, I overshot 11, saw the obvious spur just before 4, and easily found 4 when I looked at the right circle on my map. Lost about 3 minutes on control 8 by stopping short and then going up to the trail to relocate. Overshot 13 for a minute lost and then was just sloppy the rest of the way in rather than focusing and pushing the pace. Six or so minutes faster was doable. 7th on Green, 4th in M60. SL 4.9km, 180m climb.

Weather was quite nice with temperatures in the low 50's and mostly sunny.

To the Sunday Start from Parking.

OCIN_FP2014_Mounds_Sunday_Middle_8 Green - Splits

Green Long Course, Flying Pig Day 2. Mounds and Garr Hill map (Mounds State Recreation Area in Indiana to the west of Oxford OH. Another day of steepness but with somewhat better footing than yesterday. Green is undermapped by a shade or two (we were warned) and much of it is of the sharp variety, so quite a bit of blood letting today. Very good course with a few good route choice legs. Maybe a bit long. SL distance 7.4km.

Had a decent run today except for one control. On control 12 I ignored my brain telling me to take the road to keep it simple. Instead I headed into the woods, counting reentrants. Unfortunately I went one spur too far and probably lost about 4 minutes relocating. On control 10 I took the straighter, more physical route along the lake, which may not have been optimal. 7th on Green, 3rd in M60 (<2 min out of 1st).

Weather ideal: 40's at the start, mostly sunny and warming into the mid-50's for hanging around afterwards.

OCIN_FP2014_Mounds_Saturday_Long_8 Green - Splits

Event: OCIN Flying Pig XVIII / US Interscholastic Champs
 

Green course at Flying Pig Day 1 on Bear Creek Scout Reservation map. Map was at 1:7500, contrary to what the meet notes said (and probably not what was sanctioned) with 6 meter contours. Courses were quite physical (240m of climb in 4.4 km), exacerbated by the recent heavy rains which made the steep slopes very slick and raised the major stream bisecting the terrain to about 2 feet deep rather than 2 inches. The Green course crossed the stream three times (although more circuitous routes could have avoided two of those). One of the places I crossed it was almost hip deep. Brrrr. Air temperature was in the low to mid 40's with a breeze.

A less than stellar orienteering performance on my part. Climbed the wrong reentrant and crossed a fence to go off the map on number 5 (3-4 min lost). Overran 12 a bit and didn't execute well on 4 and 14. Went brain dead near the end and chased bags on both 16 and 18. Probably could've been under 50 minutes overall.

Course was well designed for technical challenge and variety of legs, but was too long by probably about 40%. Winning times for the advanced courses were about 45 min. While the recent rains were a contributing factor, only the higher water levels in the streams should be considered unusual. In the spring, steep slopes in southern Ohio/Indiana should be expected to be muddy and slippery and therefore accounted for in course design.

Note: Inadvertently stopped FR between controls 1 and 3.

C • 1:7500 4

From parking to registration/finish area and back as a warm-up. A little odd that we could run through the competition area, but I guess it was a logistics thing.

OCIN_FP2014_Bear_Creek_Friday_Middle_8 - Green - Splits

A short jogeroo.

A thorough search of the OUSA, IRS and AARP websites turned up no evidence of a rule restricting outdoor exercise for certain groups based on the weather, so I bundled up and steeled myself for a run in the 53 degree air. Despite the harsh conditions, I was able to complete the run as planned. Fortunately, some clouds had moved in, reducing the risk of sunburn which existed earlier in the day.

C • I hadn't realized that ther... 4

~3600m total. Last minute was cool-down.

22 min plus 3 min cool-down.