Training Log Archive: TomN

This race was a lot of fun. Addie and I didn't enter the morning sprint, and spent the time visiting the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, a huge complex of greenouses with different climate zones -- desert, tropics, palms, bonsai, orchids -- and a fantastically diverse collection of plants from around the world, growing in suitable habitats.

I didn't expect much from this event, since I'm not too good at short legs in complex terrain, but it went pretty well. I had a problem counting trails on the way to #8, and wobbled a bit before finding the right one and getting to the attack point. From 8 through 11, the legs were really high-class, rough orienteering through overgrown fields and fine control picking in the green. I got directly into the circle each time but had a little trouble finding the controls. After that, I took an awkward approach to 14 up the hill from the stream junction, had some fun trail hopping to 15 and 16, and stayed in the clear from 17 through the finish.

I kept up the speed on the longer legs, and suffered only minor errors on the rest. I finished with a great time, second on Green, sandwiched between two USMA cadets and well ahead of the 50+ field. A 19-minute combined lead in M60. Addie made a couple of mistakes on Brown and slipped into second in ISVF, down about 4 minutes.

Middle - Saturday5 Green - Splits

Flying Pig M60+ Day 1. I had asked for a late start and got it (3:59 p.m.) but the flight from D.C. was uneventful, and Addie and I arrived at about 2:30, with ample parking and surprisingly warm conditions, probably high 70s. I listened to Vlad announcing the times at the road crossing, and it was apparent that anything in the 16 minute range was fast.

A good warm-up and off, and I felt great. I had been running in the heat for a few weeks and was well-acclimatized, and I took the first leg up the steep trail at a run, coming down into the reentrant, and then up again, still running, to the trail to attack #2. I think #2 was the hardest control on the course, and I was lucky to see it, uphill from my position. I had forgotten to start my watch (as usual) but I crossed the road at around 17 minutes, so I knew things were going well. The usual loss of consciousness around #9 slowed me down, and I was terribly sloppy at #10, overrunning the control on the lower trail and backtracking on the upper trail to the ditches. I took #11 slowly, and after that everything was o.k. Vlad called out my first place time as I came in, very gratifying. Addie came in just after me, first place in ISVF. Wow.

5 Green - Splits

Gardiner Ave - Forest Glen loop. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5374812

QOC Little Bennett Red. Fast course, not much technical difficulty, but enjoyable. A lot of new rootstocks for control placements.

Red - Splits