Training Log Archive: iansmith

Warmup jog to the start. I was one of the last starters. I didn't push too hard - just enough to wake up, as I wanted to be as fresh as possible.

Today's run was steady - unspectacular, but with far fewer disasters than the rest of the field on a tough day. My fitness isn't where I want it to be, but my results have been a safe bet - consistent but unremarkable. I finished third US after many better orienteers were trashed by today's minefield, and I'm delighted to have counted for NAOC scoring. Still, finishing eighteen minutes behind Randerson (to say nothing of the Euros) is pathetic.

The 1:15 scale never caused me serious problems; it was very clear and intuitive to me. I bobbled 1 by 30s when I missed right trying to get around the marsh. I executed 2 well - a little slow on my final approach, but always solid. I made a 90s error drifting off my compass at 5, and completely blew six minutes at 6, in an essentially identical leg as control 8 from yesterday. I made an idiotic 40s mistake on the spectator control when the paths leading away from 8 didn't make sense, and I came through in 46 minutes, which I knew to be 3 minutes behind Ross and 15 behind the Euros.

The second half of the course was dramatically different - more distinct; smaller, clearer features; and many more trails. I started to get tired about halfway through the second half, and it took concentration to push. At this point, I didn't my result was going to be any good. I was clean on 11-13, and executed 14 particularly well. I was a little uncertain after punching through the marsh on 15, and I lost maybe 30s confusing a stream bed for a trail while running to 16. Apparently I was fairly clean and consistent on 11-22; I hesitated a little on the trail to 23, but was just slow and tired. I was quite surprised to run into Patrick Goeres, who started 6 minutes before me, leaving 23.

There are a few lessons to be gleaned from this race. Especially in tricky areas, clean execution can be more decisive than absolute speed. Controls 2 and 6 were the decisive controls on this course. On 2, while I wasn't overly quick, I was solid, and finished 25% back of the fastest North American. If I had avoided a mistake on 6 and run sub 1:40, it would have been an excellent run for me. Second, my fitness was lacking. The first half of the race was more technique than speed, but the second half was very much speed. I lost six minutes to Ross after control 10 despite only about a minute of error. Third, and perhaps most importantly, even if you feel like your race isn't going well, it's important to be able to mentally recover and race hard. I thought I was having a bad race through 10 - and if 2 and 6 hadn't been so murderous, I would have been much lower, but excluding Robbie, I was only a few minutes behind the top North Americans.

Long - Course 10 - Splits

Warmup jog to the start. I arrived at the start with about twelve minutes before my callup.

Jog around on the model map next to the start triangle. I took five controls to get my mind working and get a feel for the terrain. It was subtle.

NAOC Middle Distance race. My goals were straightforward: take the first control cleanly (unlike US Champs middle and long last week), get into a rhythm, and navigate precisely. I nailed the first two controls which felt excellent. The wheels slipped off a bit on controls 4 and 5, where I lost 20s and two minutes respectively, the latter by completely misinterpreting the vegetation on the map. I recovered for 6 and 7, but massively blew up on the hardest leg on the course, control 8, for a loss of about four minutes. I tried to mentally reset at 8, and I was clean but slow for the rest of the course.

On a very difficult day for everyone in tricky, vague terrain, clean navigation trumped speed. Brian May and Jeff Teutsch were not particularly fast, but they executed very well. I really need to work on my mindset for middle distances to be able to cope with legs like 8. I knew as I started that leg that it would be very difficult, but I still flailed and wandered. There were easily two dozen North Americans who had the capability to win that race, and technique dramatically trumped physicality on this particular course.

Middle - Course 10 - Splits

Event: NAOC2014 (North American Champs/Ottawa O-Fest)