Training Log Archive: vmeyer

Event: 2013 Oceania Carnival & WC Races
 

On the road to the event site early. I don't remember the time each day, but it was usually between 5 and 6 AM. I really enjoyed the quiet time at the event site each day before the crowd showed up.

Once on site each day, the trailer was unloaded, the master radio was set up and Phillip would go put the radio controls out, while the rest of us would get the computers and monitors set up. Then the tweaking would begin.

Not many pictures from the first day. The 1st and 4th are courtesy of P. Herries.











Terrain description: generally fast open mature pine forest on flat to rolling sand dunes. There are some large open clearings plus some areas of marshes which can vary in runnability.

I started out poorly, not in tune with the map scale, and drifting to the right. Found 2 before 1, then navigated well from 2 to 1 and back to 2 again. Drifted to the right going to 4, so purposely adjusted when going from 9-10. Happy to quickly recognize where I was on the trail between 9 and 10, and was fairly clean the rest of the way. Really pleased with this effort, considering the few advanced events I have done in the last year. Also glad that I went with W55 and not W50.



Race stats: 4.9 km, 45 m climb, 14 controls
Garmin distance: 3.91 miles with 11 m climb
Place 21/27
Time 1:15:43
Time lost: 6:42 minutes
Time per km: 15:27

A long day after breaking down the live results setup and moving it to the site for the next day. However, so happy to be traveling with such a fine group of people.

From here, we drove to the Welcome Inn Motel in Levin.

C • Woohoo! 13

Event 1 C 7b - Splits

Second, and last day in Napier, not that I spent much time in the Marineland Motel or Napier...but, the little I spent at the motel was very nice.

Today, the run/walk started from the motel in the opposite direction from yesterday, sometime after 6 AM. I didn't sleep as well last night as I had the night before, so an earlier start was no problem. Seriously, I just looked at the map of my route. I really need to be a little more aware of where I am! I had no idea that I was so close to the Napier Airport until I viewed the route later.



Struggled a bit more today. Had to change the walk to longer. Moving time was 60 minutes, 4.2 miles, with lots of time for picture breaks.

Because, today, I remembered my camera. However, it would not power on...a bit into the "run" I decided to check it again and discovered that the battery wasn't locked in, so I fixed that, and I was in business.

Some pictures of the bigger water (Hawke's Bay/Port of Napier?), as well as some of the pretty little gardens along the way, which were mostly made from materials reclaimed from the beach.











And, then a twofer - a New Zealand Christmas Bush and a bathroom (those who know me well, know why this has been noted here).





And, the bathroom building from the front:



And, a final look at the fine view...



Jane picked me up a bit before 9, and we headed back to load up the trailer and head off to the first event.

Tim resting with a "V" - a horrible tasting equivalent of Red Bull. The monitor stand is on the right side of the trailer, the main piece behind the white tables, and the legs sticking out next to the table. Would fit in the O'Mobile easy.



Callum, Tim and Phillip:



Phillip: pleased that it is all coming together after many months/years of hard work?



After the trailer was loaded, we all hit the road. The estimated time of departure was 11 AM, and I would not have been shocked if we had departed a couple of hours later then that, based on how long it takes me to load up. Glad I didn't place a bet...we were on the road just a minute or two after 11. First we drove into Hastings proper to purchase a color printer to replace the dead one on hand. After what seemed like forever, in this small business about the quarter of the smallest Best Buy, the employee found the requested item, and then Phillip and I were back on the road.

Route 2 South to Woodville, then over to Palmeston North, and then Fielding where the event center was. Hit the Subway on the way. Sorry, Roger. Picked up my packet and a southern hemisphere compass for NZ$95.

Then it was off to the meet site to set up for tomorrow. Setup included putting up the monitor stand and the antenna.







Off to the hotel in Fielding for one night after that.

Slept fairly well last night but was up before the sun.

Jane had pointed out that there was a trail around the marshy area near the motel, so I headed out there a little after 7 for a run, walk, or whatever combination of the two felt right. I set the watch for 2 run/1 walk and did that for 25 minutes, and then I switched to 1 run/2 walk for a bit, and walked the last part.

Time = 55:50. Distance = 4.41 miles.



There were a number of swimmers doing laps in the water by the 4 mile mark, and then later they were running on the trail as I was returning. Triathlon is big in the area.

Surprised at how hot the sun felt near the end, and it brought home to me Jane's cautioning on the strength of the sun in the area.

Content to go back to the Herries' homestead afterward to implement my sunburn prevention plan - working on the radio control/results stuff indoors for the rest of the day.

So, I built the first seven events in the O-Lynx software. Also, I was privileged to see the monitor (TV) stand setup in action for the first time. The monitor stand would be a talking point many times over the next two weeks. It goes up with no tools assembly, with dowels to hold it together.



After another excellent day, and a home cooked tea in my belly, I returned to my hotel in Napier.

It was sort of strange to miss New Year's Eve. Since crossing the International Dateline happened during the night, there wasn't a celebration of any kind.

After landing in Auckland early, clearing customs easily, and making my way to the local terminal, I had ~4 hours to wait and worry about getting on a plane of this size:



I shouldn't have worried. The plane felt really solid, and it was a pleasure to be able to see the country so clearly from above.





After landing, we were greeted outside by the flight attendant wearing these glasses. She didn't want her picture taken in the goofy glasses, but I did. Happy New Year!!



I was a bit scattered leading up to this trip, and I dropped the ball when it came to confirming how I was getting from the airport to my hotel in Napier. I figured, if nothing else, I would get a taxi, which turns out may not have even been possible because of the holiday. But, no worries. I was greeted by Jane, holding an orienteering flag at the gate and driven to my hotel. Jane also provided this awesome fruit basket! The cherries were huge and so delicious, as was the rest of the fruit. Thank you, Jane!



After showering, Jane drove me to her home in Hastings, and I met the rest of the family - Phillip, and their children, Catherine and Callum. I hung out there the rest of the day and was fed an excellent dinner (tea). A run to the grocery store for a supply of diet coke was taken care of as well.

5:32 PM Washington, Dulles to Los Angeles
10:00 PM Los Angeles to Auckland (paid $50 more on 11/26 for an aisle seat. WooHoo!!)
11:40 AM Auckland to Napier arriving January 1.

C • Have a fun time in NZ 6

Started the long trip to New Zealand today!

The decision to go to New Zealand was made pretty quickly, especially for a heavy thinker like myself. At the end of October, I decided that I could exercise without pain for the first time in over a year, and though I wasn't going to be in great shape, I wanted to go to New Zealand for the Oceania Carnival and Sprint the Bay.

Not wanting to drive myself around New Zealand, as the events were over a good part of the north island, I emailed Phillip and asked if there was room for me to travel with the O-Lynx crew. I had met Phillip online about a year ago after purchasing the O-Lynx radio controls and results display software he created. We used O-Lynx fairly successfully at the North American Orienteering Championships in October 2012, and this would be the same technology used at the New Zealand events for the Live Results.

I was grateful that Phillip and his wife, Jane, were able to accommodate me, with the extra bonus of having the housing arrangements made as well.

So, with the travel details out of the way, I just needed to get through getting the office sorted (trained a temporary employee) and the holiday season. The time flew by, and departure day was upon me.

Extremely nervous about how I would handle the long flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, but it turned out the flight from Dullas to LA was more stressful since the plane was changed, and I ended up in an inside seat. Also, there wasn't much time between the two flights, so I had to hustle to get between the domestic and international terminals, clearing security and getting to the gate just in time. Whew!

For the flight to Auckland, I had the two seats in my row to myself, but I was unable to get much sleep during the ~12 hour flight - only about 2x15 minutes. I watched 3 movies and multiple episodes of the Big Bang Theory to fill in the time.

Also, took in the view...