Training Log Archive: iansmith

Foot felt a little better.

Left PF was acting up; it appeared for the first time two weeks ago at the Canadian Champs.

Orienteering on a no-trails map at Long Pond. CSU training set by Alex. I arrived at about 6:45, and the arriving twilight was exacerbated by a cloudburst that turned into a downpour by the end. Apparently, I was the most stubborn, as everyone else was out of the woods by the time I returned. I ran into Dancho ski bounding on a trail.

C • Stubborn 1

This weekend brings my O-palooza adventure to a close. It was an excellent expedition - I caught up with friends in three different locales, ran six races, played a handful of 7 Wonders and Dice Game games, and generally enjoyed myself.

The Classic Champs was bittersweet. The terrain was novel for me, and it was liberating to be able to run at nearly full speed for the duration of the races, but it was frustrating to be unable to run faster. The orienteering was physically demanding, but technically straightforward, and the fields were close both days - with most competitors in M21 separated by less than 10% of the winning times. Excluding our visiting Swiss, I finished fourth in the champs, an agonizing 21 seconds behind Graham Baird (though Matt Scott likely would have beaten me, too). My races were consistently unremarkable - I finished 6th and 7th on the two days, 5.1% and 8.2% back of the winning American respectively. Kudos to Swampfox for a decisive performance; there were no prisoners taken.

Canada was more varied, with a solid but slow Middle Distance carrying the day against abler competition, a disastrous but photogenic sprint, and a satisfying but sluggish Long.

Fortunately, a skilled cameraman captured this evidence of an international incident, a flagrant and unprovoked attack on a poor innocent US guy.

One day, I hope I am as fantastic as z-man and KPop.

C • You're getting there. 4