Training Log Archive: TomN

Flying Pig Day 3, Big Bone Lick, M60 Green. OK, I went into this with the wrong attitude. Take it slow, don't screw up, so of course I screwed up mightily on the way to #9, mistaking a deer trail for the first trail down from the crest of the hill, then traversing 150m on the wrong trail until a sign told me I was headed toward the bison. Oh, shit. Backtrack to the narrows, cross the creek, and, competence finally restored, spike the control in a bunch of parallel ditches. Executed perfectly on #10, finding the first deep reentrant high up and heading down the middle of the spur, past the control in the pit to the huge tree visible from high up. A careful attack point to #12 from midway on the path around the bison, then a compass bearing to #13, stopping in the ditch to look at the map, then crossing over to find the reentrant just after it. From 15 to 16 I stayed outside the fence, attacking from the corner. Another howler ensued when I couldn't fnd the go control and lost a couple of minutes running around in the parking areas. Given this mess it wasn't surprising that I didn't finish first. Bill Cheatum had a good run and got me by 2 seconds in M60. I was only sixth on Green and deserved that or worse.

Overall a great event. There was a lot of diversity in maps, terrain, and individual legs. The courses were well designed, controls were placed as mapped. The starts and finishes operated smoothly, and Vlad's enthusiastic announcing was a huge enhancement to the meet. I led the pack in M50, M55, and M60, and Addie took gold in high school varsity. Unfortunately, we had to leave to make a 2:30 flight, or we would have stayed for the awards and another lap around the playlist.

Middle Sunday 5 Green - Splits

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