Training Log Archive: kissy

Today was better than yesterday, but still not free of errors. It was the first and third controls that did me in today, with the general consensus among my fellow travelers being that there was something a little funky with the map in the area of Control #3. After realizing I was already down by 6 minutes, I decided this would just be a woods running training and changed my attitude towards the day. Of course, this meant that I hit every control after that pretty much right on. My legs felt good except for on the steepest of slopes, and we went through some absolutely beautiful stretches of woods about 2/3's of the way through the course. A nice sunny day didn't hurt matters either.

All in all, a very enjoyable event. I am a bit hesitant about attending the Interscholastics only because that's a lot of teenagers in a very small area! But everyone there was very well-behaved and it was actually quite heartwarming to see so many kids outside, really enjoying orienteering. Thanks to COK for a great meet, and especially many thanks for all of their help in organizing the Team Sprint on Friday. We raised approximately $400 or so for the Junior Team. I'll be sending a more detailed report (and results) shortly.

Event: Blue Ridge Classic and Interscholastics
 

I had a pretty good race going today until I hit number 9. It was just a short little leg, up and over a ridge to a longish rocky spur on the other side. Unfortunately, the end of the spur came after a small saddle, which was largely obscured by greenery, so I kept looking for the control on the "false" end of the spur. I also didn't take Mr. Taxman's age-old advice of looking all ways while orienteering, for if I had, I would have seen the extension of the spur once I broke out of the green. As it was, it was a 10 minute, very frustrating error. Another bobble on 11, and I figured I was done for the day. However, it appears other people were equally frustrated, as I ended up 5th on the Red course for the day.

One minor comment on the logistics of this meet. There was a normal sized start window, with most runners on the Yellow - Green courses. There were very few Red and Blue runners, but the meet organizers still bunched all of those runners together in the start sequence. The only other woman on Red started 2 minutes ahead of me on Saturday, and we saw each other much of the way. It seems like we could have been spread out a little more than that.

Today was the Team benefit Sprint race at the NC A-meet. It went very well, although we did have one runner from LaPorte who gave us a scare by not coming back for a VERY long time. He was eventually found, though, and brought back home. I must give profuse thanks to Valerie and the ever-patient Roger. Valerie is truly a life-saver, with her portable finish line and results station. I went out after to gather some of the controls, with 'slithr collecting the majority of them (after setting out the e-punches in the morning for all of the controls). An indispensible member of the team.

'Slithr (or 'Cash or 'CBay or whatever his name is today) and I visited Kings Mountain National Military Park for the afternoon. And, after an unsuccessful search for a letterbox earlier in the day (and a distinct air of neutrality on the part of 'Slithr), he was let off the hook for any further letterboxing explorations. So, I was on my own as I jogged around the battlefield trail, stopping at all of the informational signs. I also found my letterbox along the way. A very enjoyable outing.

Decided a little more running was in order, so we switched venues to Kings Mountain State Park. Again, I went off on a letterboxing expedition on my own, and added some general trail running afterwards. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, although a little more humid than even I am used to.

Spent the day looking for various flora and fauna, most notably finding venus flytraps in the wild. Went for a little jog around Carolina Sandhills NWR while on the prowl for red-cockaded woodpeckers. Didn't see any on my run, but saw one from the car on the way to Rock Hill. Very exciting.

C • Norway? 2