Training Log: bl

With Beth and W - fine spring day for a change. Boston marathon day but no energy to drive to the area after the weekend. Also very sore but no specific issues.

Walk to start from shuttle drop off.

Sunday brown X, 3.6k, 15c, 80m. Dry, decent morning. Was accurate but slow.

On 3, I was thinking the rock face was on a spur on the opposite side from the approach, looked to my right and there was the flag about 20' away.

On #6, got to what appeared to be the end of the mapped indistinct trail, crossed it and entered the green but no knoll. Foundered around for maybe 1.5' then circled the knoll that was large but seemingly indistinct. I was on sw side, worked my way around to the ne side - the terrain dropped off a lot. I'm certainly worrying, look up about a contour, see a flag, phew.

#7, had some trouble sorting the cliffs - lost close to a minute that shouldn't have been - good visibility in the area.

To #10 and #11 were pretty awful with rockiness. It was more about not falling/getting injured than anything else. #10 was particularly easy to see from a distance and there was a line of people climbing to it. Managed not to fall in that section, got to the road. The rest were easy.

Again, pretty far down in the rest. AP shows not much time lost but moving slowly. That I still wear the burden of the back surgery experience from 2020 is my thought.

Good to go to WP again - not since 2019. Was entered last year but didn't make it. WP attendance goes back to 1977. I think maybe too rocky/hilly to have appeal now - and too far to drive. Drove there with Ernst which was fun. Was in Highland Falls but didn't get on the campus. Actually, the meet experience was centered in Central Valley/western West Point which was a first.

Down using 9D and the Bear Mt. bridge. Back, 9W to 84 to lovely Taconic SP and then Mass Pike. Sunday traffic as we got east was tolerable. Home tired around 6:15.

Brown X - Splits

Event: West Point 44th NRE
 

Walk to the start. That there was a shuttle was not effectively made known.

West Point Saturday Brown X, 3.6k, 10c
Blustery gray day with sone light showers toward end of course. Actually felt pretty good about his except for the first point where I lost way too much time but had plenty of company in that regard. Didn’t lose much time on the rest of the flags yet was much more behind time-wise than I expected or cared to see. Numbers 1 and 7 were bears with regard to climbing.

On 1, I turned over the map, the 1/75 made it look easy - go to end of indistinct trail and O from there, bingo. But not like that at all. Mostly the indistinct rail was generally not to be found and rock features weren’t matching up. Spent quite a bit of time near the point it seems but not seeing it. Had Dean S, Jeff Seger and Charlie D and a few unfamiliar faces all painfully puzzling as was I. Found a new 'slant' with Dean which set him toward it and then someone acutely dipped down to punch at the point.
The rest were ok. The climb to 7 was crappy. 5, 6 and most of 7, I was in the presence of some 5 chatterboxes, neophytes at O, having fun, being distracting too. The thorn bushes on the way to #9 were serious but I could find passages.

Didn’t fall, did’t get feet wet til the final 400 m. A shoelace broke prior to starting (halfway to the start) and my compass was nowhere to be found < 50m into the course! Fortunately, I had put a spare compass in my O suit pocket just that morning. I liked the compass, bought last year. It was easy to adjust and read. What happened is still a mystery two days later.

Brown-X - Splits

Cold, rain but we made the best of it, being April, not December. W met an another dog and I, the dog's owner.

O walk - place looked deserted. Was very surprised to see the gate open exiting parking. Drove to group camping. Took the path north of Burnham Marsh and then into the woods. Lots of forest debris on the ground...spring cleaning seems in order, on the paths anyway.