Orienteering1:00:00 [2] 6.0 km (10:00 / km) shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Running a course with Aleksey, incorporating most of the controls from the WCOC score-O. We stopped at each control so that he could plan the next leg and tell me what features he expected to see along the way. We alternated between doing slow legs and somewhat faster ones - first he would lead, with me guiding him, then I would lead and tell him what I was looking for and occasionally stop to point out certain features. It worked out great. Aleksey did really well considering that he's only orienteered a handful of times. I would have enjoyed running a few fast legs on my own, because the woods were lovely, but that's ok. I'll have plenty of opportunities to orienteer in September.
Orienteering48:18 4.83 km (10:00 / km) shoes: Orange Asics
Running a course in Forest Park set by Greg. This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. There were flags out, the course was printed, and it felt like real orienteering! I got really lost on a few of the first controls, a combination of the somewhat sketchy trails and my own foolishness. I was also distracted a couple of times by gay men in various states of undress and activity. This reminds me that I need to work on keeping my focus, even when there are exposed men lying around on logs. Anyway, the second half of the course went much better, since the trail network wasn't so dense there and there weren't so many distractions. Also, the humidity seemed lower today so I actually felt pretty comfortable while running.
Running (trail) 1:52:00 15.0 km (7:28 / km) shoes: Orange Asics
Harriman training, day 4. Kseniya and I did a long trail run on the Hogencamp map. Excellent physical training (hills, rocks, etc.) and decent navigation practice as well, since we lost the trail a few times. Kseniya is in really good shape! With good runs, I bet she could beat just about anybody at the US Champs.
Orienteering1:08:15 [3] 6.82 km (10:00 / km) shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Harriman training, day 3. Long distance practice on Rockhouse with Kseniya. This time I was much better prepared. I taped up my feet, wore thicker socks, and made sure that I was hydrated and feeling good before we started. The beginning went well and I was orienteering decently, but I made a huge mistake on the long leg to #5. It was a vague gradual hillside with green patches and I got confused while trying to avoid the green and wound up searching about four hundred meters away from the control. Eventually I figured out what had happened and went in the right direction. I was pretty tired after this, but I managed to get the next few cleanly. Feet were sore by the end, but not as bad as yesterday.
Running27:00 [2] 3.0 km (9:00 / km) shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Running to the start/from the finish. It actually took us almost half an hour to get to the start, since the parking lot was not on the same map as the course and we spent some time relocating in the green, but I'm putting it down as less time because walking through green, tough as it is, does not really qualify as physical training.
Orienteering50:00 3.6 km (13:53 / km) shoes: Orange Adidas O-shoes 07
Harriman training, day 2. Ran part of the men's middle distance course from WOC 1993, Pole Brook Mountain. It feels like the woods have gotten greener since 1993, because looking at the map I was expecting mostly white woods, but in reality my impression was that Kseniya and I spent most of our time battling through green. Perhaps it is because the blueberry bushes occasionally come up to my waist?
Just an hour and a half before running I was throwing up and battling painful stomach aches. I did not feel nauseous out in the woods, but I was feeling very weak and extremely dehydrated. I was ok for the first part of the course, but by the last few controls I was feeling pretty bad. It was nice to get back to the car and drink some water!!! Good training, anyway. Just need to eat a good meal tonight and get some sleep.
Running5:00 [2] 0.83 km (6:00 / km) shoes: Orange Asics
Running on the trail along the lake, to the start of the course.
Orienteering54:00 [3] 4.08 km (13:14 / km) shoes: Orange Asics
Harriman training, day 1. Middle-distance practice on the Hogencamp Mountain map. Kseniya and I took it easy and we took turns leading, switching for each leg. Very good technical practice and I was happy not to get completely lost! In fact, although we slowed down at each control to make sure we were in the right spot (no streamers), we were moving fairly quickly the rest of the time. I noticed that I zigzagged a lot through the terrain today - definitely something to work on next time. Hopefully in a few more days orienteering will feel natural again. I almost forgot my compass when I was packing today because I hadn't done it in so long!
Running7:00 [2] 1.17 km (6:00 / km) shoes: Orange Asics
Jogging back to the car after the last control, on trails. Right before we got to the parking lot, I hit my big toe really hard on a rock. There is a dark purple bruise there now. :(