Training Log Archive: the kempster

Event: Hudson Highlander 2007
 

Female elite was bumped down to course 6 so this long course felt a bit shorter than usual, but it was fantastic woods and a really fun course anyways. Ran really well and was uber concentrated until control 7 where a bunch of people were wandering around and I lost track of where I was on my map. Mixed up to two rock walls and so didn't go far enough down the hill and it took a few minutes for me to figure out what I had done and then I still went too far and had to climb back up the hill to the depression. Getting to 12 was complete luck since I had no attack point let alone route to get there and ended up doing a rough compass bearing through one of the most technical parts of the map. Kinda guessed where I was off of a depression that looked like it had a swamp in the bottom, and then figured that the control was just over the next hill, and thankfully it was. Not sure if my route choice to 15, which was the long leg was the best, but it seemed alright. Went right through the swamp which wasn't too bad, got tangled up here and there, but it didn't slow me down too much. Stumbled out of the swamp right where I wanted it to, and then it was just a trail run with a few short cuts to the control. Finished the course off well although I cut through the woods which turned out to be dark green instead of white, so running the trail around was probably faster.

C • great 3

Long Course 6 - Splits

Event: Ontario Champs
 

What a long drive!!! Holy macaroni, I slept the whole way, so it seemed pretty short to me, but we drove from 4:15am to 11:22am!! We literally got to the meet site 3min before my dad had to start. Thankfully, I had a little bit more time to get ready but we were definitely cutting it close. Started out alright despite being stung by something which was unpleasant, but the stinging was gone by the 3 control. Managed to get into the map pretty quickly, although I never really fully got the 1:7500 scale. Spiked 1, but hesitated on the way to 2 because of parallel streams. Was alright on 3, but again, had some trouble within the circle trying to find the control. 4, 5, and 6 were all short legs which went fine, but then at 7 things get a little foggy. It started out fine, running along the trail until it ended, but then after that, I just can't figure out where I went. Even now, I can't quite figure out the hills and depressions, but I came out onto a trail and didn't realize which one it was until I got to the junction. Fortunately this junction was about 100m from the control, so this accidental route was probably better than the one I had planned, I just wish I knew how I got there! The rest of the controls were fine except for 13 where I just got a little muddled on top of the hill and probably wasted a whole minute, but other than that, it felt like a pretty good race. Not that fast though, since there were raspberry bushes everywhere minus the yummy berries!

Really great sprint course which I really enjoyed, and ran really well which makes it even better! Hit all the controls right on and flowed really well. Managed to read ahead on the trail/road runs so nothing came as a surprise and I only had a few questionable route choices that I might've lost a few seconds on.

warm up for both races

Middle Course 7 - Splits

Sprint 4 - Splits

Went down to Hampton Park to work on the jump in the sand pit. It turns out that somebody else had made it a lot bigger and put a hole with a plank over top on the other side. Took it slow the first two times, but then after that just tried to land it right. Only had one scary land where my front wheel landing crooked, and I did a bit of swerving which was kinda scary. My right foot got unclipped which I think saved me cause I was able to put my foot down and slow the bike down. The sand pit is at the top of a ridge, and so after the jump, I cruised down the rest of the hill and then booted it back up in a big loop. To make myself go faster for more of a workout, I imagined that a dog was chasing me, and that seemed to work pretty well. :P Must've down the jump atleast 50 times, so I've gone it down pat now!

Much more arm strength this time with the straight bar and other weights. Had to do the push-ups on my fists instead of the normal palms down since my wrist is still a little bit sore.

Pirates Invitational

C • Good job! 1

Pretty disappointing race is all I can say. Didn't have it in me to push it very hard and so the two girls who I beat last week, came 1st and 2nd today. Much more climb on this course, and it was really hot, and the wind was against us a lot of the way. Played leapfrog with 2 other runners, but by the end, one ended up in 4th, me in 5th, and the other girl in 6th. Our main two coaches couldn't come, and the other teacher that was there didn't do a single thing except tell us when our races were! Aren't coaches supposed to run around the course cheering you on and telling you to run harder?!? All he did was sit in his lawn chair and chat with the other parents. So much for team spirit...geepers!

Booked it all the way to Gatineau to meet my dad at the DQ since it would've been silly for him to drive back home when he was already in the Gats, and then to fight his way back through the traffic over the bridge. Had a blast speeding past all of the cars lined up on Island Park but then got a little confused on the bike path on the Quebec Side since I only glanced at the map and then found a whole network of trails once I got there. Managed to come out right at the Gatineau entrance way and was even early to boot!

Did pretty much the same loop as Sunday, except didn't dilly dally around in the sand pit checking out control sites. Slugged all the way up to Pink Lake, and then kept going up to Mackenzie King. Holy macaroni, the legs were burning for sure!!! Sweet ride down though, except for the part where my dad got a flat tire and had to repair it in 3 spots! It seems as if his whole bike has decided to break down all at once. He needs a new seat, new derailer, new front wheel, and now a new tube for his back wheel!! He might as well just go and buy a new bike! It might be cheaper! :P Picked up a few controls from the meet today on the way back...note: running through the woods with mtb shoes is not very easy and biking with control stands is also rather challenging! Came out of this ride unscathed, although it came close to disaster once! Was rocketing down a gravel hill, and I had to slam on the back brake to make it around the corner (gravel and corners are never a good mix!!). Bike actually almost went horizontal on the hill and it would've been major road rash but I managed to pull out of it ok. I think that it's because I'm so light, I just bounce outta control all the way down the hill and all I can do is try to keep the handle bars straight! Tried leaning back more and it seemed to help a little bit, but it's still quite an adventure every time I go down a hill!