Training Log Archive: Gswede

Another tough "middle". My body was about done before starting this. So, it's been a good training camp. The snow was about ankle deep which made running somewhat more difficult and seeing some features tougher.

On the long leg I decided to take the trails since I wasn't moving too quickly in the terrain and some of the downhills were pretty tough (not seeing the rocks underfoot mainly). Unfortunately the trails were essentially invisible also. I tried catching two trails and missed them both and didn't read the features accurately enough to realize I went past them. So I ended up way past my goal. Took a bearing to the nearest trail and kept going.

I had to cut this short since I had a flight to catch. Really beautiful there though.

https://goo.gl/photos/dY7b7Hz271K7LqRE8

A "middle" set in Polebrook by Richi. I had great company for this course: Kswede, KPop, Iansmith, and Peter and Albina Zakrevsky. The mountain laurel was thicker than expected which slowed things down considerably. It also stopped my watch on the way to #6. So I used that wonderful image editing software known as Paint to draw the missing parts.

A few flurries started falling as we started and more snow kept falling until we were running in a few centimeters of snow. Didn't slow things down too much. It did make for some beautiful orienteering though.

https://goo.gl/photos/k9ipg1Vyxsr4Um5w6

Snowy road run with Ian replacing the O-intervals since the roads weren't in good shape.

WOC Long

Not sure what to write about this one. I had hoped to run sub-2 hours, but I didn't manage it today. The blueberries were thicker than I expected and the ice made running down the cliffs treacherous. But overall this was a reminder that I currently don't have the fitness to attack and perform in a WOC long.

Some things to take away from this course:

-Harriman is beautiful. It's everything you'd want in great orienteering terrain (including the hills). This area is such a beneficial resource that the US orienteering community has. Not to be taken for granted.

-I need to smooth my routes. The GPS track shows too much time and distance wasted while moving forward. Assertiveness needed in the woods.

-It was surprising how well I was reading the map. For most of my orienteering life, it's been my navigational ability that's held me back, but today it was physical fitness.

-I'm even more convinced that, whenever I move to back to the states, I'll need to live in this area.

Part 1:
https://goo.gl/photos/2QtZhSYetitQWKdH6

Part 2:
https://goo.gl/photos/DCr14H5dgaPN9BiH9

WOC '93 Short Distance

Absolutely beautiful woods. Really fun orienteering.

I ran 33 minutes, which would have put me in last in the final. :( I got a little screwed up because there was a streamer at #1. I thought that someone may have left streamers out on the rest of the course. At 5, I thought I saw the orange streamer went towards it and realized it was an orange bunch of leaves. Turned around and realized the two boulders were behind me. Not a bad day, but still have to move faster.

https://goo.gl/photos/k8capv8QgN5obSw47

2011 Team Trials middle at Blue Mountain

Decent race. Got screwed up on #2 because I didn't understand how the cliffs were mapped. I found it, checked another cliff, and went back to where I was before. The whole thing cost me two minutes. After that I was able to flow quite well through the course until #13 when I thought I was crossing the trail further down and went in too early. Overall, I was quite happy with how well I was reading the map. Really great map of a tough area.

https://goo.gl/photos/javqprEihjhPrpq97

Easy morning jog with Kswede. I've taken two rest days these past two days to give my ankles and achille's some recovery time. Better to take two rest days now than several weeks later. Plus now I have more time to get life stuff done!

120 pushups, 20 x pedestal, 15 minute plank, 30 pullups, 40 calf raises.

Mt. Penn (kinda long) middle

There are some days that you feel swift and agile in the woods. Today was not one of those days. The stony ground and my sore calves/ankles did not mix well and I wasn't able to move fast at all. Happy with my navigation, except for 1, when I found two ditches earlier on. By 2 I realized I had dropped down too early.

I remembered why AT thru hikers call PA Rocksylvania. The ground was covered with stones which slowed my pace significantly. The green also slowed things down. The weather wasn't great either. About 38°(3°) and rainy. Days like these are great practice for improving focus. Distracting negative thoughts come up constantly and I had the chance to bring my focus back to the task at hand