Training Log Archive: tonyf

Route on Route Gadget.

Things started a little badly as I ran much too far on the trail before heading off to #2. Could not really identify features so did not cut in until past the small marsh and immediately climbed a rocky steep knoll. I relocated through the two contour reentrant and was fortunate to spike the control, losing only a minute. For # 3 I headed SW to the trail, picking up the old skid track, then S on the trail past lots of people walking to the start. Off where the trail turned SE left me a long climb up to the big cliff, thence over a knoll to the pond below. After #4 south to the trail bend, then trail to due east of the control. I was not sure I properly checked off on the trail so uncertain about the attack. It was lucky that Dennis W. left the trail with me. I headed for the south edge of the flat area and then saw a clearing a bit left. A close look at the map and I finally saw the yellow with green stripes. So Dennis and I danced through the slash together. Then downhill to the marsh/pond. Dennis debated crossing it and then turned left. I went right to the beaver dam, then straight to control # 6. Drifted north on the way to # 7 and crossed the reentrant/stream without seeing the side reentrant. Climbed up the hill expecting to find trail, which I did, so through the saddle - lost over a minute with extra climb and distance. All the rest was pretty clean. So altogether, no problem spiking all the controls, but a little time lost on poor route execution. I'm very happy with a 7 minute win in M70 and a third behind Peter and Bob on the course. In retrospect, this has to be one of the best runs of my career.

Jogged most of the way up the hill to the start. Felt good.

Oh! I almost forget to mention my wrist. I took my spare T2 Active Ankle, put it on my wrist, and taped it a bit more, with the foot plastic in my palm. Found I would have to adjust my arm angle to get my thumb compass pointing straight. It worked! And probably prevented more damage the two times I fell uphill going to #3. After the race I got some ice and a wrap from the EMT, and drove the whole way to Boston.

Long Brown Y - Splits

Looked forward for quite a while to running on the Moreau plateau. So I was not surprised at the difficulty when I turned over the map. But it was not a good day for us glasses wearers; running speed was slow because of the terrain and my glasses fogged early and often in spite of my best anti-fog. However, I can not blame my big mistake on poor visibility. No significant difficulties until # 9, a compass line through relatively bland terrain. I'm sure I crossed the upper part of the reentrant barely north of the line, but then soon came to a control on a two-line marsh. But I could not fins such an obvious feature anywhere near my control. I thought I might be north becasue there was no evidence of the hill or big marsh to the south. I wandered in a loop looking for something that matched up and ended up back at the little marsh. Too stupid to realize that all the runners coming to it were coming from the east, i.e. the start. I bailed south toward the marsh and in about 100 m came across a control that looked suspiciously like mine. It even had the right code on it. Lost about 8 minutes, practically the slowest runner on that leg. Fortunately walk again was 11 seconds behind me so I slipped into an undeserved third M70.

And then, just after finishing, I was walking down the trail with Eileen and Mary-Jo when a pointed rock crashed me instantly flat into the rocky little stream. Compass - not broken, dibber - not broken, no blood, no scrapes, a dent in the mud where my shoulder hit - amazingly I seemed to be all right instead of needing evacuation. Not until a few hours later did my wrist swell and start to ache and become rather useless. I iced and took some Tylenol (no NSAIDs for 48 hours) and wrapped it in a handkerchief and tape. Just a little sprain I hoped.

TrailO started with Kristin and Bridget, but they left early for awards. I jogged the rest, carrying umbrella, pausing briefly at each control and almost guessing at the right choice. No idea how I did.

Middle Brown Y - Splits

Event: 2013 U.S. Individual Championships/Team Trials
 

Sprint Champs. Did not warm up much, maybe 5 min, but felt good; running up the road hill a couple of times got my heart going. Evidently had a good route choice on # 3 up road and behind the buildings - 3rd fastest on course. But lost 50 sec on #6 - through the field SE of power line, then across road to buildings, where I punched a building control before realizing it was not mine. Took road around from #7 to #8. Lost a few seconds at #10 going to the control behind the right-hand building first. All good enough for first M70 by 11 seconds; thanks to walk for having bigger errors.

Sprint Brown - Splits

Dropped Suzanne in Durham, then on to Kristin's.

BIrded my usual Village loop before breakfast. Not much for birds (apparently migration has been exceedingly slow in the northeast the past few days. Eight days of clear skies caused by a persistent omega loop in the jet stream is not helping the birds northward. SO best "bird" was a short-tailed shrew scurrying furiously around somebody's front lawn.

Birch Bend with Suzanne after breakfast. She is improving slowly.

13 control, 2.9 km course on my Tin Mountain map (which may or may not some day be used for an O event). First 6 at 1:5000, rest at 1:10000. The woods are pretty thick and slow and I was off trail much of the time - ticks, black flies, a mouthful of cobweb and beech bud scales, shin scrapes, torn shorts, and a bloody area on left arm - made for fine O run. Started straight from 8 to 10, then wandered way left on a long leg from 10 to 11 - not promising for this weekend. No problem with coughing or breathing so I guess this weekend is a go.

C • What a sport 1

Yet another unintentional "rest" day. This time spent trying not to let a bit of sore throat and cough develop into Suzanne's bronchitis, and telling Kristin I may get too sick to go west this weekend. Too hot to walk.

Mt Tom trail in Fryeburg - new for me. Easy run, with binoculars bouncing so I could bird on top. Nashville and Blackburnian warblers on the way down.

Birding along road at the Mt Tom parking. Lots of new species for this year, including a very early olive-sided flycatcher.