Training Log Archive: DWildfogel

Mt. Pinos 2-Day B-meet. Brown 3.8 km, 150m climb, 11c. Very warm, and I haven't had much sleep the past several days, so tried to really take my time and be accurate. Did very well for the first 9 controls, but didn't concentrate in the control circle on #10, got too far downhill and then had to climb back up, a 3:20 error. GPS track shows I passed within 3m of the bag! Only other error, 1 - 1.5 mins, was on #3, where I think the control was hung too far up a reentrant. I had been in the correct reentrant, but not seeing the flag, checked the two reentrants further N before coming back and seeing Dan Greene coming the reentrant I'd first been in, so went higher up and there it was.

The green (fight) on the Brown maps (but not the other courses) was so washed out that it looked yellow to me, causing me a good deal of consternation in a couple of place (thinking I'd be seeing rough open but seeing somewhat gnarly forest instead), but no significant time loss.

Hannu Harma had the second fastest time, 61 minutes. Hannu hadn't orienteered since Mt. Pinos last year, was wearing a large knee brace, and said he really couldn't run.

Note: Results posted a week later:
1. me 50:07
2. Hannu 1:01:17
3. Sue Dekany 1:11:12
4. Evan Custer 1:12:09
5. Leslie 1:15:23
6. George 1:26:24
12 total

1. Down the trail I'd walked up to get to the start. Hesitated at the junction to make sure I got on the correct trail. Up to the terrace, compass in from the bend. A bit puzzled as to why I wasn't seeing rough open (this was the faded green color mentioned above). See Dan Greene (on Greene) coming in from my right, and in glancing over, see the bag 30m to my right.

2. Bear right to avoid elevation loss. Have to go a little further right to avoid some vegetation. Contour below the open patch, then climb up the reentrant and get to the control just ahead of Dan.

3. A little to the right to hit the knoll across the first reentrant, then angle up to the highest rock on the spur below the red line. Contour from there through the side reentrants and then into the main reentrant, then climb due W to the road. Find myself just N of the trail bend and thus, presumably, at the foot of the reentrant I want to be in. But I was expecting a rough open area and instead ahead of me there are pretty thick woods, with low visibility (it's the faded-green-looking-like-yellow problem again). Can't see any reentrants, but after hesitating maybe 10 secs, plunge ahead and find myself at the bottom of one. Pace count up, but no sign of a bag. Go to the right and check the next two reentrants, but there's nothing, so head back (a little higher), see Dan coming up the original one I was in, so head up that one and find the bag another 60m up (higher than the circle indicates, in my opinion, though the Garmin track makes it look like I may have abandoned the correct reentrant too soon). Lost about 1:15.

4. Angle down to the flat area, expecting to see a clearing but finding none. Get on the indistinct trail heading N and take it all the way up to the boulder cluster (foolishly checking the code on a bag there). Then compass bearing NE up the hill and nail it.

5. Just S of the rocks on the other side of the hill, then to the rocky spur on the other side of the road. Contour around the spur, go between the patches of green and see what looks like the right small hill, but don't see a boulder. Proceed nevertheless and soon see a small boulder obscured by bushes. Executed this leg accurately, but hesitated a few times so probably lost :30.

6. Stay right of the first two patches of bushes, then down the narrow passageway just W of the circle, turn left and there's the control.

7. On a bearing towards the trail, arrive just S of the veg patch, as intended. But the way ahead looks gnarly and I can see it's less obstructed on the spur to the N, so go up the trail to beyond the E veg patch then follow a bearing, see the open area and nail it. 11 secs behind Hannu on this one, maybe because of my detour on the trail.

8. Bearing down into the reentrant, see the veg patch ahead, so adjust to the left and come to the dot knoll. (Victoria Stevens was just ahead of me here, but she seemed to be going somewhere else after the knoll - she was.) Around the S side of the veg patch, across the trail in the flat area, hesitating a little to make sure everything looks correct. Identify the linear clearing ahead and see the saddle; charge up that, bear right as I get to the other side, nail it. Even though my 407 split was well ahead of the second place 612, feel like I should've been quicker across the flat part.

9. Pretty straight. Up through the boulder field down through the reentrant junction, past the small rocks on the other side, contour a little, see the lower part of the ditch ahead to the left, nail it.

10. SSW to the big trail, down the trail nearly to the saddle, cut left towards the lower trail. Unmapped thick vegetation, had to work my way around to the right. Landed on the lower trail right at the junction I wanted. Took the little connector trail to the t-junction and turned left (this trail was paved, but didn't let that bother me), took that until it ended and went around the left side of the big rocks. Overconfident, just randomly looking behind rocks, then more rocks and so on, not noticing that I was turning much too far right, but noticing I was getting much too close to the bottom. Frustrated, finally stopped, looked back uphill, started trudging up and soon saw the bag. I must've gone right by it but was looking left instead of right. Lost more than 3 mins (I was 2:17 behind Leslie).

11. Straight. Along the lower edge of the rocks, down, through the little parking area, onto the little trail, onto the road. Contour from just past the road junction. Would've nailed it anyway, but it didn't hurt that Victoria was 30m ahead of me at this point.

C • Brown Results 4

Warm up: uphill walk (a little jogging) to the start.

The usual weekly accumulation of morning stretching. To help my quads continued with only a very small amount of core exercises and even cut back on pushups towards the end of the week.

Lake Ranch Reservoir. Managed to be out during the only hour that it was raining - well, drizzling. Rather muggy. Running got delayed until 3pm due to a busy morning.

Legs felt better than they have recently. Just took it easy, keeping L company.

-------------- 506(545)1051(510)1602(452)2054
4054(439)3615(601)3014(434)2540(456)

Cool down

Got back real late from celebrating Rachel's b'day in SF last night, then sleeping was difficult because it was so hot (had been over 100 degrees in Los Gatos). Busy schedule on Tuesdays anyway, so good time for a rest day.

Front of house. Out very early to beat the heat; already 78 degrees but at least there's a breeze. On my own, so try to push the pace a bit. Quads and hamstrings feel it, but manage to get up to a "normal" easy distance pace. However, decide not to do the last loop, feeling like I may already be straining my legs, so don't want to over do it.

621, 548, 538, 528, 525

Cool down

Did go for a casual after dinner walk on Skyline, about a mile. Quite warm out.