Training Log Archive: Kat

Warm-up, with breaks, on the FLAT parking lot! No climbing hills to the start today.

EVENT: Bükkfennsík Cup Middle Distance
COURSE: 5.1 km, 250m climb, 21 controls
MAP: Tamás-kut, 1:10,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Some very steep and green hillside to the north, a rocky detailed hill in the southwest, and white, "rolling" hillside in the center of the map. Lots of point features.
MY RUN: Had lots of trouble in the beginning of the course - very short legs up and down a steep hill through the green are not my speciality (yet). I lost a minute on #5 and at least 7 minutes on #6. I had a few other misses, but these were relatively minor. I was also very pleased with my execution of #12. Some other girl (maybe a Swiss?) passed me shortly after #11, clearly running a bit faster, but I took a straighter line to the control and was quicker to recognize features near the circle, so I punched before she did. I love it when that happens. :)
RESULTS: 73/81 finishers.

Jog to the start with Sandra, walking the steep part towards the end.

EVENT: Hungarian Long Distance Championships, Final B1
COURSE: 9.5 km, 380m climb, 14 controls
MAP: Szelce-Puszta, 1:15,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Lots of steep depressions of various sizes, but also some very runnable white areas that were almost flat. Green was nasty (lots of thorns), yellow was very obvious. Few rock features.
MY RUN: Another 10-minute mistake today, again on #3!! I executed the first half of the leg well, but then didn't drop down enough to avoid the nasty green and got stuck in it. I was supposed to descend about 40m diagonally down and I guess I still have trouble understanding just how big of a drop this is! So instead I contoured through the dark green. Once I got out, I was disoriented because, just like yesterday, there were several huge holes in a row and I did not know which one I was in. So frustrating to make that type of mistake! But this is what this training camp is for - to see the terrain, test different route choices, explore the dark green, etc. Making mistakes is just part of the process. And I felt really good physically today! I still struggled desperately on the really steep parts, but otherwise I was feeling strong and I flew down the hills!
RESULTS: 27/34 finishers. Congratulations to Csaba Gösswein for finishing in 2nd place overall and 1st Hungarian!!!! Certainly a contender for a WOC medal next summer.

Jogging to the start and then around, with breaks.

EVENT: Hungarian Long Distance Championships Day 1 (Quali Race)
COURSE: 6.9 km, 360m climb, 11 controls
MAP: Vörös-Tó, 1:15,000, 5m contours
TERRAIN: Karst terrain with big depressions, various shades of green scattered around the map, and a bit of open area to the west. White forest very runnable, trails very hard to see (because of leaves), stony ground really difficult to get through without falling or twisting an ankle.
MY RUN: This was a learning experience. I spiked the first two controls and was still together with the Finland girl I started with halfway to #3, but then the low visibility in the green made me worry about drifting off the line and I wound up going straight through a huge depression instead of around it. I got completely confused on #4, probably lost 8-10 minutes. Basically, it is tough to go through the green on a compass bearing, come out to a line of depressions, and know for sure which one you hit! I finished the course without any more big mistakes, but some more small ones. A really tough course physically, as well. Steep!!!
RESULTS: 21/28 finishers.
ANALYSIS: Things to remember:
1. Do not be afraid of the light green.
2. Do not confuse depressions with hills.
3. Avoid stony areas.
4. Try to use trails, but do not be totally dependent on them since they may be hard to see - use other features as well.
5. Try to avoid running along sides of depressions when possible - steep and slippery.

Hungary Training Camp: Day 2
Morning: Middle-distance training on Valint-kereszt

I am really impressed with the way the Hungarians have organized this training camp. Today, for instance, we had start times, SI punching, and even loose control descriptions! We started in pairs and the courses were forked, meant to simulate the WOC qualification race. I got to start with Marianne Andersen. :)

First course: 3.35 km, 10 controls
This course was reasonably technical (for Hungarian technical), with several big depressions. Map here: http://my.opera.com/borisgr/albums/showpic.dml?alb...

I made a micro-route choice error to #4 because the way out of the depression looked steep, so I decided to go around, but looking at the map, this is actually quite stupid. I just have to get used to the fact that two contour lines close together mean the terrain will be steep and not be intimidated.

I made a big mistake on #9. I didn't look at the map closely enough and thought that the control was on the north side of the spur. I actually saw the control on my way up, but I decided it wasn't mine and kept climbing...Stupid. But I suppose this mistake is made sooner or later when there are both hills and depressions!

The way from the finish back to the start included a 90-meter climb...

Second course: 3.54 km, 10 controls

We started the second course exactly one hour after the first one. This course was steeper than the first and went through more junky, green forest. Map with my routes here:

http://my.opera.com/borisgr/albums/showpic.dml?alb...

I was a bit confused on the way to 5 - the trails are hidden by leaves now and hence kind of hard to see. Then I was really afraid of missing #6, so I practically walked the leg, even though it was all downhill through the green. Fortunately, I sensed that I was too far to the west and looked to the east when the terrain flattened out a bit and saw it.

Lots of nettles and branches on the ground on the way to #7.

I took what I thought was the obvious route to #9, but Boris and Csaba both think going relatively straight was slightly better.

Heading back to the start, this time 100m climb.

Running to the start of the sprint and then running for about a minute every 1-2 minutes to keep warm while waiting for my start time.

Sprint, 2.25 km, 85m climb

In the afternoon, we did a sprint training. Once again, we had start times and SI punching. It seemed like a real race, except that many people were taking it easy, me included. There were enough short legs and tricky controls that it was quite technical even at a slow pace!

WOC2009 Training Camp: Oct 22-26

Hungary Training Camp: Day 1
Route-Choice training on Bukkszentkereszt. Since we arrived in Miskolc in the afternoon, I only had time to do about half of the course before it got dark and we had to go to dinner.

I did controls 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9. Map is here: http://my.opera.com/borisgr/albums/showpic.dml?alb...

Some thoughts:
- trails can look very different than expected (e.g. some trails are almost indistinct due to leaves in forest, although this is probably not relevant to WOC). Also, a trail that seems to run along the side of a hill is not necessarily flat, it can go up and down a few contours, which could affect route choice.
- White forest is extremely open and visibility is excellent
- Brown X is charcoal burning place, not easy to spot in the forest. Just go on compass bearing off definite attackpoint and look for the flag!
- there are so few contour features in the terrain that every little bump and depression is noticeable, but not necessarily big enough to be mapped.
- gullies were very steep on this map and the earthbanks quite high
- Black circles are piles of rocks, sometimes very difficult to see.

Overall, the following are important:
- accurate compass bearings, especially when going diagonally up or down a hill
- distinct attackpoints, even if you need to go out of the way to hit or spot them
- a good sense of how much you have climbed or dropped
- ability to recognize point features (brown X, black circle, etc.)

Night-O training in north Lunsen with Boris. Much smoother than last time, but still need to work on some things. In some ways, it's tougher to navigate together than alone!

I am giving my knees a break, because the left one was bothering me yesterday and I don't want to worry about it during the training camp!