Training Log Archive: jtorranc

US Relay Champs first leg for four point teams - ran as part of an unofficial team with Sergei Preobrazhensky, Dylan Thies and Eric Bone. Always fun to do a mass start and I clearly still need to work on not letting them make me error prone. I punched the first control first but overshot 2 slightly to the left and found myself in the middle of the lead pack. So I made a solitary but very good decision to take a low route around the the right to a trail heading towards 3, getting ahead of everyone even though I overshot the control and had to come back up two or three contours, having somehow convinced myself the slope wasn't continously downhill and that the control would be on a cliff in a reentrant after I turned uphill again rather than on a cliff on the downhill side of a small spur midslope. Forbore to fully explain what I was doing to the hiker who asked me if I was lost on the short leg to 4. Got caught up by Michael Sandstrom in the first two thirds of the long run to five, then conspired with him to get trapped on the opposite side of the large area of thick vegetation from the control - I initially thought what I've concluded was the medium green area was in fact the zone of green slash just downslope so my plan was to thread between that and the solid green. Ended up going largely through and then all the way around the end of the first patch of solid green to thread between it and the next patch and arrive at the control just behind a small pack led by Greg Balter. Took the next two controls to run through them and then started the uphill leg to 8 just behind Michael. We pulled away from the pack on the climb but I was worried about making another error and letting them catch us again, particularly if neither Michael nor I navigated carefully, so I aimed off somewhat left of Michael's course to be sure I'd be north of the control when I reached the flattening of the slope at the level of the control. Which worked and I got there just ahead of Michael with no one else in evidence. Took off up to the top of the hill and over with Michael presumably just behind, not that I was looking back. We came out of the woods and through the spectator control within a step or two of each other and stayed almost that close throughout the last loop of variegated rough open, woods and thickets, which was rather tricky at that speed racing someone head to head. Finished, I think, only a couple of steps ahead of him. Too bad about our error on 5 - I'll have to look at splits but I think it might have been of approximately the right size to have made it a tight battle between HVO and CSU for second among the four point teams.

Cycling home from work after Nadim and Peggy dropped me off.

4pt Leg 1 Green - Splits

Event: Sprint Series Final & US Relay Champs
 

Sprint Series Finals Sprint A - first just ahead of John Frederickson with quite a good race. I think my largest error in execution was 10 seconds at most - aiming off rather further than necessary towards a stream and then standing still momentarily when I hit a place that looked like where the control ought to be twenty meters or so before the actual control.

Sprint Series Finals Sprint B - I'll have to check the splits but it felt like a disastrous first control followed by a good remainder of the race. Became conscious partway to 1 that I was left of my intended rough compass course and hadn't noticed my primary expected collecting feature so had to slow down once I dropped down the steeper slope into the vicinity of the control and figure out where I was. Got caught by Mikell from 30 seconds back and Greg Balter starting a minute behind was apparently also in sight when I punched 1. Buckled down to minimise the damage over the rest of the course and managed to avoid any other significant errors. Didn't manage to run completely away from Mikell. Impressive race from Ross. From Eric too given that he ran very early through empty woods with no slower runners giving away control locations.

Sprint Series Finals Final - first in an exciting and competitive final. Tailed Ross through the first loop then passed him running to the spectator controls. Started second loop in company with John and stayed just about even through it. Aimed off somewhat excessively to the left on the first control of the third loop to the north of the start/finish and then did rather a big S curve approach into the second control for enough time lost that John was just heading off on the final loop as I came into view of the spectators. PG announced the gap as 19 seconds and I think Wyatt, Ross and Eric may all have been within that interval behind me. It was very close in any case. I may have closed a bit on John getting to the first control in the loop but he was out of sight as I emerged to plunge into the woods myself to start the long leg to the south. With the green slash athwart a direct attack on the next control and the risks of meandering and getting confused trying to go straight through even open woods, I stuck to the trails south then west then south again to get onto the trail heading straight west to the control circle, fortunately (since I hadn't managed to read ahead and plan every turn of this) without any wrong turns or time standing still. Got on the trail heading towards the control and saw John emerge from the woods onto the trail just behind me. Got to the control and saw Eric coming in from the woods to it as I exited. Booked it to the trail heading north along the road to the junction near the depression than fairly straight to the next control (through the woods to the next trail that went through a gap in the stone wall then around the large patch of green and towards the field visible just the other side of the reentrant with the control in it. Emerged into the field with no one in sight ahead of me and, it became clear over the next hundred meters, no one close on my tail either - Eric and John would have been very close behind if they hadn't made nav errors following a route somewhat to the right of mine on the attack towards the control circle. Ran the last two controls and in and then watched the fight for the next four positions.

C • Congrats on your victory!!! 3

Sprint A Course 3 (R/B) - Splits

Sprint B Course 3 (R/B) - Splits

Sprint C - Splits

Cycling to work.

C • Congrats on your sprint finals! 2

Work commute. PCRM work party cancelled so took in earlier screening of Summer Palace at the AFI Silver than I'd planned on the way home.

Cycling to work. Home by way of the aquatic center.

Flutterkicking.

Pool running - light training desired leading up to the weekend races but nothing but cycling seemed like a bad idea.

Cycling to work and home again. Will have to do something beyond cycling this evening and/or tomorrow, despite an easy week being the plan leading up to this weekend, but I've got a lot of things other than exercise to get done these next few evenings.

Abdominal exercises.

One-legged squats.

Cycling to work and back.