Training Log Archive: hkleaf

Warm up and a brief cool down for the relay. Pace is an estimate.

WCOC U.S. Relay Champs - Osbornedale State Park, Derby, CT.
8-pt Leg 4 (Red): 5.54k, 270m, 22c. with map exchange after 14 (1:10 000, 5m)
Course Setter: Peter Gagarin
High 70s, sunny, and clear.

We didn't have enough OCIN members to form a club team, but fortunately there were just enough stragglers (Matthew Robbins, Candice Raines, Bob Turbyfill, and I) to get an 8-pt team Yip Yap together. I was to run the 4th leg, so there was a lot of waiting around the spectator area in the morning. I tried to warm up a couple different times, but never succeeded in waking up my legs. They were definitely feeling the effects of yesterday's sprints. I thought all my teammates ran well, though I never really paid close attention to our placing. Shortly after 11a and just before the catch up mass start, Bob came in, tagged me, and off I went.

The 8pt team from NEOC also tagged at the same time, so Dai Bedwell and I started together. Right away, there was a steep climb to #1. When I couldn't run up any part of the hill, I knew this would be a long day. Dai and I caught up with Mark Dominie on our way to #2. There were some deadfalls and rocks as we got close, which slowed us down some. We strayed too far left to #3. When we hit the stonewall/trail intersection, Dai corrected right away and I didn't. I ended up climbing around the boulders E of #3, got to the trail near #4, and dawdled some more before figuring out what I did wrong. By now, Dai was on his way to #5, and Mark too had passed me. I was slow and hesitated to #4, still recovering from my last mistake. Got a preview of #8 on the way to #5. Went boulder hopping again at #5, this time with Mark. Should've really pay closer attention to the compass and map. After that I ran away from Mark and on my own until #16. I did alright through the 1st spectator control. Then a lapse in concentration caused me to go to #13 instead of #11. I just followed the wrong line out of #10. At #16, I picked up a couple of West Point guys (perhaps Andrew Komm and Jonathan Campbell?). We stayed somewhat together till #19. Then I got to the south side of the spectator control and promptly screwed up once again. With another lapse in concentration, I got on the wrong side of the stonewall. But rather than finding the opening to get back on the right track, I decided to plough thru the green. The result - I got bounced back by the thorny thicket, and subsequently got stuck there for a while. When I finally got thru I was so flustered I ran all the way down the slope SE of #20 before recovering my senses. This put a downer to my otherwise ok finish. It would've been fun to be in a sprint finish with the cadets.

After a long drive back, finally arrived home around 2:30a. Overall, this was a great trip! Good companions, fun courses, and exciting spectating. I had my ups and downs, but mostly it was a successful weekend. Really glad to see improvements from last year, and yet still much more room to improve!

Highlight of the weekend was running well and winning the Fundraiser Sprint C. I was happy with the way I responded after a rather poor run in the second sprint knocked me out of the Finals. The low point was blowing up right before the finish of the relay run.

AOWN report: I sadly recorded my first ever roadkill while driving along I-80. Some silly racoon was standing in the middle of the lane, and I couldn't swerve in time to prevent its inevitable flattening. Later, on I-71S from Columbus, we spotted a coyote on the side. Then, a mile from home, a fox(?) darted across the road in front of me, followed shortly by a deer, who just stood frozen on the side. Luckily for me (and for them), one kill a night was quite enough.

8-pt Leg 4 Red - Splits

Event: Sprint Series Final & US Relay Champs
 

Warm up runs for each of the 3 sprints. ~15' for the first 2, but after spectating the exciting Finals, I only had time for a brief warm up before the last sprint.
*pace is estimated.

WCOC Sprint A-Meet and Finals - Cranbury Park, Norwalk, CT.
Sprint A (Course 3): 2.22k, 51m, 15c. (1:4000, 1.5m)
Course Setter: Joe Brautigam
High 70s, overcast, and humid.

Overall a fairly clean run for me, just not very fast nor confident the whole time. Hesitated slightly at the trail junction N of #1, and just like that Brendan (who started 30s behind) had caught up to me by the time I punched. We were mostly together from #2 thru #11, alternating leads. I think somewhere around 5-6, we were briefly joined by Samantha. But I took a bad route (way wide right) to #6, whereas she went left? On the way to #11, Mike S. zoomed past me like he was floating through the rocky terrain! He also quickly darted out of sight, so there was no chance of sticking with him. I ran well the rest of the way, and to my surprise saw Mike S. heading to #15. He must've slowed down a bit or made an error. I tried my hardest to sprint in, but he?s just too fast. My finish time wasn't great, but it was at least good enough to keep me in 6th place, hanging on by a thread.

WCOC Sprint A-Meet and Finals - Cranbury Park, Norwalk, CT.
Sprint B (Course 3): 2.33k, 52m, 13c. (1:4000, 1.5m)
Course Setter: Joe Brautigam
High 70s, light rain, and humid.

I ate some snacks, drank plenty of fluids, and made sure my legs stayed loose in-between sprints. Knowing that I was still in 6th place made me extra nervous. I stuck with my pre-race routines and tried to calm myself as best I can. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to help me run a good race. I started running down the trail instead of straight thru the woods. I corrected myself and got to #1 just fine, but probably lost some precious seconds there. I saw Mike S., who started 30s ahead, coming from further right. I assumed he's made a similar mistake as me. We were kind of together to #2, but then I made a mistake at #3 hitting the bare rock S of the control. I was on my own until #8, where I stopped one reentrant too early searching for the control. This is when Samantha caught up to me. We then traded leads, took slightly different lines, but ended up running together till the finish. Going to #13, I saw Mike S. once again. He drifted right as if he's heading to the finish. This allowed me to catch up and punch #13 first. With both Mike and Samantha hot on my tail, I mustered all my strength and sprinted as fast as I could to barely hold off the two of them. At least my disappointing run ended on a positive note. :) It took a while to compile the results and final standings. Mikkel and Alexei both had great runs, so I know right away that I wouldn't hold onto the 6th spot. I believe I ended up 9th overall. A bit disheartening, but I've already made some improvements from last year. Plus, there's always next year!

WCOC Sprint A-Meet and Finals - Cranbury Park, Norwalk, CT.
Sprint C (Variation 6): 3.15k, 33m, 21c. with map exchange after 16 (1:4000, 1.5m)
Course Setter: Joe Brautigam
High 70s, overcast, and humid.

I ate and drank some more, still trying to stay loose. The rain had stopped by now. Watching the Finals races got me excited again. Joe designed a nice course with great spectating throughout. PG's commentating was icing on the cake. I got in a brief warmup just before the fundraiser sprint. It's an exhilarating sensation to be standing at the mass start line waiting for the signal! I decided to go easy out of the chute to take a good look at the map, so that I'd know which way to turn immediately after punching #1. I had the southern loop first. There was a small pack of 5-6 running together, including Greg Balter, Nate Lyons, and myself. (It's interesting that we'd end up all finishing in the top 5-6 later!) I think we were first to come back to the spectator control. The eastern loop was next. This was the easiest of the 3, so I was able to run it in a fast pace. Nate and I were together up front the whole time, until he tripped and fell just before #10. He was fine and got up quickly. I never once looked back, so I didn?t know how many, if any, were with us at this point. The third loop was to the north. I continued at a high speed with Nate in hot pursuit. We punched #14 together. Then he went right around the building while I took the left route. I got there maybe a second faster, but nothing more. We were still 1st and 2nd at the map exchange. The last loop had two long legs, offering more route choices and also chances to screw up. Nate took the lead out of #17. We both went around to the right for the trail, but we split up as soon as we got on the trail. He went left at the junction by #4. I went right and followed S all the way around to #18. Before I got there though, I saw a pack of runners (Greg, Maricel, and Alexei) darting across the trail in front of me. Nate was just slightly behind at this point. They must've taken a much better route from #17. I caught up to them and we all got to #18 together. Luckily, I punched first and got out of there quickly. I started heading up the trail N. The others ran on the trail briefly, then cut into the woods for a more direct route. It was then that I made up my mind to take the trail N all the way to the parking lot, then turn E on the trail to #19. This was the simplest route, with minimal navigation required. I decided I was too tired to think on the run, so I'd just run the trail as hard as I could, hoping for the best. Long and behold, I got to the area S of #19, looked to my right, and there were the guys still making their way thru the woods! I hesitated a bit as the control was obscured by the vegetation. But once I found it, I blasted up the field to the last 2 controls. I heard John F. and others cheering, yelling something. I know someone?s right on my heels, just don't know whom. As I punched #21, I finally saw my pursuer (Maricel), and noted that I had a few seconds of precious breathing room. The run down to the finish was probably the most intense I've felt in an O-race. It was bittersweet to claim a small victory after missing out on the Finals. A great way to end the day!

Sprint A Course 3 (R/B) - Splits

Sprint B Course 3 (R/B) - Splits

Sprint C - Splits

Was planning on doing the Sharon Woods sprints from '05 before meeting cedarcreek and hitting the road this morning, but body wasn't up for it. I probably haven't given it proper rest from last weekend. Since we have a long drive ahead, I decided to bag the run and call this a rest day.

High 80s, clear - Sprint training at McFarlan. Re-ran cedarcreek's training courses from last year in reverse. Some slight mistakes, at the same controls again. Will definitely need to concentrate better this weekend. The woods aren't bad, extremely dry, and I was covered with burs from the waist down!
*time includes trail run to and from the car.

Sprint training at Burnet. Re-ran the Pig sprint in reverse. Legs were pretty tired, so did this at a slow to moderate pace only. Again had a couple minor mistakes.

Went over to the UC track where the group was doing speedwork. They were just about finished, so I waited a bit and had a cool down jog with everyone.

Mid 80s, clear - Easy practice at French using some of the controls from the June sprint. Concentration was better today, though my familiarity with the park made things quite easy. Had to abort earlier than planned due to darkness (~8pm). Will have to remember to bring my headlamp next time.

Level 12, Sport Training, 434c.

High 80s, clear - Group run out-n-back from Spot to Celestial. On the way back, I picked up Dave, Stephen, Craig, and Mike, who were doing a tempo run. We did a loop around the Playhouse and Mirror Lake before heading back to the Spot. Legs felt kinda tired still. I may have to limit my amount running the next few days to let them recover a bit.

Tempo portion of the run. Pretty clear sign my legs aren't up to snuff. HR was there but the pace wasn't. It's much warmer than Saturday though.

Afterwards.

Scheduled rest day. Legs feeling better. L-ankle is slightly sore but not swollen.