Training Log Archive: cedarcreek

Green Course at Camp Friedlander starting from the Lower Craig area. A very neat course---1:10000 scale but a very sprint-like course. Clue sheet says 4.9km, 160m (probably way more climb than actual).

Point 1 (33) was trail east end, but it was set at the west end. As I approached, I was expecting to see it, but as I was running, I checked the clue (upside down), and I thought, "It must be west-end". But as I ran across the field to 2, I thought, "No, that's east end---that thing was in the wrong spot!" Later I heard there was some discussion about it being too visible to competitors, so they may have changed it from the correct location. No biggie for Green runners (because I ran right to the trail by reading the vegetation boundary), but maybe a problem for Yellow runners.

Point 2 was a flood plain next to a stream, and I always dread these locations because there's often stinging nettles (shudder) or briars or honeysuckle, and---amazingly---it was none of that. It was this lush 2 inch high leafy plant mixed with these tiny daisy-like flowers with yellow centers (instead of brown or black). It was so lush and spongy and cool and so open (a little downfall---no big whoop). It was 150m of orienteering heaven---I stayed in it longer than I needed to on the way to 3.

For 3 I saw the left-hand trail, but it looked steep, and easy navigation, so I chose the riskier but less steep right hand route. It was probably a mistake, but Gerald passed me on the climb, so it looked good to him too. It was mushy and slippery, with some downfall blocking the steep steep stream bed.

One leg that really surprised me was 5-6, but not for the reason you might think. It was really cool because the best route went right back between 3 and 4, but the line connecting 5 and 6 completely missed 3 and 4.

For 8-9, I initially thought Mike was giving us a better route around the north side of the lake, but I finally concluded south was a whole lot better. As I crossed the dam, I saw Gerald run down the face of the dam, and I was thinking---Wow, that looks fun.

8-9 was a lot more interesting than I anticipated, and I was a little too aggressive clipping the shallow ends of one gully, and backtracked a little to avoid maybe 2 steep contour lines. Nice leg.

11-12 was the longest leg. I cut though the woods to the lake, then ran down the face of the dam---which turned out to be scarier than I expected.

After 12, it should have been a hard run through the last few easy legs to the finish, but I was toast. I walked a little on the way to the go control so I could run it all the way in sight of the finish.

I really thought it was a neat course. 1 (33) was the only issue, and it cost me a total of about 5 seconds. I was a little troubled by all the doglegs, but for this kind of course loading (very few competitors), and for this map, which is pretty difficult to set on, it really made the courses interesting. Go figure.

My body seems like it's just falling apart sometimes. The hills today (lots of "front pointing") flared up my Plantar Fasciitis.

For the first time ever in my life, I had some carpal tunnel symptoms (starting Wednesday). I woke up with a sore hand (spare me jokes---the guys at work already used them all). It seemed like muscle soreness, and I couldn't figure out what I did to cause it. It was sore right on the carpal tunnel area. Later, in a meeting on Wednesday (same as Tuesday), I was sitting in this high-tech chair, and I squeezed the squishy armrests, and about let out a yelp. Apparently, squeezing squishy armrests can inflame carpal tunnel. {Edit---Just to be clear, I think squeezing the armrests on Tuesday is what caused the whole thing.)

Blades of Glory (1). This is a conditional 1. It's a one if you like Will Farrell movies. If you think they're stupid, you won't like this one. I like Will Farrell movies, and I liked this one.

Event: OCIN Stanbery Park
 

Stanbery Park, Cincinnati. Brown course. Our current map at Stanbery isn't very good. Vladimir Z. is re-mapping it, but it won't be completed until after his next visit this fall. Greg Sack was the setter, and I thought he made good use of the map to set some reasonably interesting legs.

Control 8 on Brown was placed in a very complex area of the terrain, and the problem with that is the map doesn't show the complexity. It was placed significantly out of the circle (we believe), and a lot of people wasted time here. I had heard about it, so I was just going to make a pass up the hillside and then back down to the trail and not spend time looking. I basically stumbled on it at 13 minutes (for the leg), and that was the best time I heard anyone quote.

It was quite difficult orienteering because as bad as the contours were, they were the only reliable way I found to navigate. Sometimes it meant interpreting tiny squiggles and making big decisions based on dodgy data. I'm really looking forward to that new map.

The one complaint I mentioned (nicely I hope) to the course setter was that his control locations used vague locations like reentrant or spur or stream when the feature in question was very long or very broad. I only use a description like "reentrant" when the feature is, I don't know---maybe smaller than a circle, but still small enough to see the whole thing when you're standing there. I attempt to use a control description that defines as much as possible a specific point. I try to reread the IOF Control Description guide before a big course setting task, although I didn't this year. (I'd class that as a big mistake.)

Obviously, defining a "point" isn't possible with many control descriptions. Reentrant upper part, for example. Ditch SE-end ought to be much more point-like than "upper part".

One thing I've noticed by looking at maps and then going out to the actual place is that there are certain control descriptions that are more likely to be usable than others. Reentrant or Stream junctions are almost always there, although you sometimes can't detect if there are several in the circle. My usual process is to pick a likely spot on the map, but to not write the control description until I actually visit that area on the ground.

Brown - Splits

Ran with Katie. This is actually my second running workout since I hurt my ribs, but I have to download my Garmin Forerunner to remember when I did the first one.

It was pretty slow---My legs were heavy, and sore from Sunday. Katie got a side stitch, so we cut it short and walked a lot on the way back. I let her try out my Nike foot pod iPod nano plug in thingie.

Except for the radiator hose leak that kept me from the Louisville Sprints, I had a good weekend.

2 movies:

Shooter (1). What can I say? I read the book, Point of Impact (by Stephen Hunter), and I had to see it. The book was a lot better, but the movie actually surprised me. Let's just say the movie reflects the dominant political feelings in the country right now. And while I believe that "sniper" is an honorable military occupation, seeing it in a movie like this kind of gives me the creeps.

The Lives of Others (German---Das Leben der anderen) (1). Wow. What a movie. It's been said that the movie is just spot on in its portrayal of East Germany circa 1984. It's about a Stasi Captain who investigates a writer. It is movies like this that make me mad about NSA wiretapping, FBI abuse of National Security Letters, the Patriot Act in general, and the current apparent suspension of Habeas Corpus. "Wake up and smell the coffee, people. It's a fool's paradise. They're just leading us down the primrose path..."