Training Log Archive: mintore

Event: SLOC - Gateway Grunt & Runt IV
 

Checking control sites and all the remaining sections of the Yellowwood map except one little nasty bit.

Beautiful valleys, a nice stream with some shelved rocks. Saw a flicker, a mess of vultures, a turkey close up and heard an owl. I am feeling better about the state of this project. It is amazing that on such a great spring-like day, only one pair of hikers was seen during the entire day.

Event: OCIN / TROL Miami Whitewater
 

First, my thanks to Mike for setting easily the best course of the fall-winter season (only the Dec A meet might compete)! Dave had noted the course quality in a post yesterday so I was excited to run at Miami Whitewater having only very vague memories of running there when I was just window shopping the sport of orienteering.

My first impression of the map gave way to the question: How do you fold it when the leg goes all the way across an 10x17" page? If you fold it normally, you spend most of a leg focused where you are (which is certainly top priority) without getting a chance to plan ahead. I still don't know. The course legs were really, really long-normal-normal-still pretty long and then 13 controls that varied in character in convoluted terrain with some pretty spectacular hiding places. In a word, fantastic!!!

Leg one was over 2 km that started out fine until the four fifths point when I mucked it up. A leg that should have been 25 min became 43 and the next two legs were both very tentatively run. I had trended too south before the beaver pond, go back on line then overshot N of the control to the ride. It was at this point that I realized how poor a concept I had for what was a dotted ditch versus a re-entrant with an intermittent stream versus a reentrant that just had some leaves lying in the bottom. This made my recovery from a mistake the entry to a new mistake which begot a string of deflating errors. Finally, when I stopped and said: this must be the hillside, if I go further I will certainly have overrun the depression, I looked up there was a depression filled with happy orange.

I had a good run on the second longest leg #4 and started to shake out the bugaboos but it took through six to get mostly running and thinking clearly. The leg to six led to my loudest swearing of the season. After returning from twisting and turning though tall briers and brambles, stopping periodically to unattach my hair (sometimes from the briars, sometimes my head), I implored Mike to add some green bars to the open forest marked on the map. My biggest remaining mistake was trending too north to the go hitting the wrong stream. It was a beautiful day to run, no gloves, no hat, no extra layers, yipee! I really wish I had managed to put together a run I would like to remember.

On an associated note, Attackpoint claims I lost somewhere around 8 min and had a speed of 87. I wondered if this could happen, as most of the time I am in pretty good agreement with my estimation of lost time. Today, I ran so unevenly on so many legs, Attackpoint could only register it as slow running (it wasn't fast given work eating my training, but Garmin shows my pace at 10:29 per k over 12.7 km). Clearly, the right run will subvert the algorithm.

OCIN_MWW_Feb_2013_Red - Splits

MVOC_Valentine_Hunt_2013_Purple - Splits

Event: OCIN / TROL #8 Veteran's Park / Diamond Oaks
 

Green course. Mike put together a nice curvy route through the newly mapped gullies of Diamond Oaks and braved the cold to run the starts. Many thanks! Loads of partially developed trails required keeping very close track of each zig and zag to avoid disaster. Went very slow at the beginning and picked it up later in the race. Only drawbacks were the density of honeysuckle on smaller trails and running next to Harrison Ave on one leg (frighteningly close and fast-moving traffic). About 10 degrees with the wind chill; it was cold unless you were moving.

Orange course. Faster more lucid navigation led to better running. Didn't eat enough in the past two days so I was bonking for the last few controls.

OCIN_Diamond_Oaks_Feb_2012_3 Orange - Splits

OCIN_Diamond_Oaks_Feb_2012_5 Green - Splits

Event: Cabin Fever 6 hr Rogaine
 

Another attack at Yellowwood.