Training Log Archive: levitin

Many thoughtful exercises had been prepared by the ROC folks, but I was just too tired to try them. Also, too late in the day; they were starting to collect some of the flags from the woods.

Dusk-to-dark score-O, mass start. The orienteering was not as horrid as I had feared. I made a couple of route choice errors b/c I couldn't read the map properly. Exiting the control field and heading for the finish house, I chose a poor route, b/c I didn't have a clear sense of how tight I was for time.

Interesting note: while running trails and in the woods, I picked up my feet and didn't trip. As I was running hard for the finish house, going across an open field with well-mown grass, I stumbled on a gentle knollside because the ground rose to meet my feet higher than I expected.

Sprint at Mendon Park. My legs were just too trashed to run very hard, and it was still hot and muggy. I don't think I was as soaked as I was on Sat and Sunday, but I also wasn't working as hard either.

Made a couple of errors even on the large-scale map. From 4 to 5, I must have misread the depressions' contours b/c I ended up at 6 (a few contours lower, and perhaps 20 degrees off the line from 4 to 5). Later, running along the trail from 9 to 10, I jumped off at a bend (possibly not mapped?) ended up at the road, and then relocated maybe 20m further down the road, where I attacked again and hit the flag straight on. I guess I was not estimating distance accurately.

Mendon TDS #1 Sprint A - Splits

Event: 2011 OUSA Convention
 

Happy Valley WMA Red, Day 2. I was achey upon waking up, somewhat late to the start after a harried morning. Unbeknownst to me, (probably even before I started around 11:00 race time) 2 controls had been picked up Saturday, and replaced in a rush Sunday, but after competitors had been affected. I drained 30-40 oz of fluid from my Camelbak in addition to drinking at the water stop. When I ran dry between control 5 and 6, I decided to tough it out until control 7, a water stop. Upon reaching 7, following sloppy orienteering and clueless, incompetent relocation, I found no water, and no evidence that there had been water. I decided to throw in the towel. Unfortunately, #7 was at the far west of the map, with the start/finish in the northeast. There was no easy way to bail out of the course. Walking (mostly) in, I went by and punched #8. Aborting from #8 required orienteering across a rocky, marshy stream network. I was in a sad situation as I reencountered the start triangle with the volunteers collecting the early controls, who happily for me, had cold gatorade. Thanks to them, I had no lasting ill effects of the hot day.

Imagine my surprise when I checked in at the finish to discover the course had been voided.

Hurried warmup run from assembly area to the start triangle, where I was late for my (almost last, if not the very last) start. I forgot to clear and check, and so I had to run *back* from the start device to the clear and check stands. I'm glad I didn't inconvenience anyone too much.

The walk-in from control 8 to the start after giving up. Included some side-hilling near the rocky streamside, picking my way carefully across the orienteer-eating marsh, and through the waist-high grass.

To top it off, somewhere along here, my forerunner said "Battery Low" so I turned it off.

Event: 2011 US Classic Championships
 

Event: Canal Cities Orienteering Festival
 

CNYO Happy Valley Red. Tough Day, Tough conditions. I liked the map OK, didn't orienteer particularly consistently.

Overwrote my forerunner track (I think) at the beginning of Day 2 b/c I didn't know how to save the session on the device.

1.1M w/u; 400 recoveries between intervals

4x100 strides to get the blood flowing. 6x800m at 10K pace. Splits were

3:30.5 @ 156
3:31.9 @ 159
3:26.6 @ 163
3:28.2 @ 164
3:26.5 @ 168
3:26.1 @ 167
average: 3:28 @ 163

New toy, Garmin 305. Not sure I pushed all the right buttons at the right time, but it was fun.