Training Log Archive: cedarcreek

Event: 2011 OUSA Convention
 

80m ARDF set by Dick Arnett. Dick actually set two short courses, one 80m, the other 2m. Brian and I started on different courses, and that had the interesting benefit of letting us each pick up the transmitters on our second course (with negative effect to our times).

Hot.

2m ARDF, with 10 minutes of standing-around time disassembling the controls. Didn't get them all---Marji got MO5.

Slower because of the heat.

I got pretty scratched up and I went through some poison ivy (not much). I usually don't notice the poison ivy, but many of the scratches got inflamed and red, even though I had a shower within an hour. I thought I might have thorn tips stuck in my skin, but I couldn't detect any. I put on some windex (yeah, MBFGW, busted), but that didn't seem to help. I tried some 1% Hydrocortisone cream. That seemed to burn for about 5 minutes, but then it seemed to kick in. Weird. Still red, but the swelling is gone.

I bought a Dahon Classic folding bike off craigslist. This was sort of a quick checkout ride. It needs a good going-over, but today I learned specifically that it needs the front and rear fenders tightened, the rear wheel moved back to tighten the chain, and the 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hub shifting adjusted. It seems to only have 2 gears and the middle shift position results in a neutral effect, like it's disconnected. I read about this Friday, but I need to go find that link again now that I know mine is afflicted.

Video of folding (not the best, but shows the bike). Mine's red. And at least 2 people have called it a clown bike. It wants to wheelie, except the stupid bumper drags so you can't. (And I actually bought 2 of them, but the other might be spoken for...)

I've really wanted a folding bike, and I thought this would be a good way to try it out to see if I use it enough to justify spending real money on a nice one. It takes about as long to assemble as taking a bike off the roof and attaching the tire, so it's not bad. Gearing seems a little high, but it might be the adjustment, and if not that, then there are some cog-changing possibilities. It's great on the flat.

GPS track only shows about half the ride---I hit the wrong button. Twice.

2 hours of mapping trails at Keehner. Much easier than the other map I'm working on which is from a poor basemap. It's much easier when you can locate yourself on the map and just add short segments of new stuff. Having all these solid fixes from the existing map makes it so much easier.

Lots of new trails. Original map is from 1999, so...yeah. Vegetation wasn't as bad as I thought in most places.

10 lengths of the pool. I started off feeling better than before, but ended pretty spent. I'm definitely improving both in fitness and in technique. I had less recovery than last time, so I was still having trouble maintaining form.

Event: OCIN FAST-O - Miami Univ Western Campus
 

Course 3 at Miami University Western Campus, set by Mike Minium.

I loved loved loved this sprint. Out of 17 controls, there were only (by my count) 2 legs that weren't especially awesome. This is the sort of course that could cause someone to become addicted to orienteering. My only regret is that my fitness didn't allow me to run it at sick fast speeds. (At the speed I was going, it was a little too easy to stay in contact. I'm really interested in the thoughts of the faster runners.) I was very impressed by the number of interesting legs and how even the shorter control picking legs at the end required attention.

One leg I'll mention only because it was so unexpected for me was the run from 17 to the finish---As I crossed to 16, I picked up the "stone" feature, a sculpture that was also a bench, and then as I ran to 17 my plan for 17 to the finish was to aim for the right side of that bench. But when I punched at 17 and lined up toward the finish, there was a crest between 17 and that bench and it wasn't visible. I glanced down a few times at the map, but wasn't able to pick up a feature that would align me perfectly toward the control. As I got to where I could see over the crest, I had drifted a few degrees left. I wouldn't call it a boom, but it for sure wasn't a spike. The control wasn't hidden at all, but it was occluded from view in a manner that you couldn't easily detect by looking at the map. I love that.

Looking at the results, I was 3rd fastest on 9, the knoll next to the major trail. {Edit: I was off by one---the hazards of trying to remember the course without having the map in your hand. It wasn't the knoll it was the reentrant. I was 3rd on this leg because I generated splits for 2 people by halving a big number. I'm guessing I was really 5th. So...Nevermind.}

Other than that one leg, I was mostly just slow and slower.

OCIN_MUWC_Jul_2011_Course 3 - Splits