Training Log Archive: bbrooke

Event: RMOC Camp Tahosa
 

We were short-handed on volunteers and there wasn't anyone to take over at registration (I think because most people were taking longer than usual on their courses), so I didn't get started until 2:30 pm. (Starts technically close at 2:00 pm and courses close at 4:00 pm...)

Given my limited time and how tough Doug reported the terrain to be (he set all 34 controls yesterday and this morning), I decided to do Brown instead of Red.

I probably could have finished if I hadn't spent 34 minutes looking for #1... After that, all I could muster was a slow, defeated trudge, and I skipped a few controls in order to get back by 4:00 pm.

I'm now 0-for-2 at Camp Tahosa.

Doug seemed somewhat exhausted after all the course setting work, so I agreed to my most disliked volunteer task: control pickup. :-P

But it was only a few controls -- four easy ones and a fifth one that was a little more difficult to get to (steep rocks, thick forest).

This was a really long day -- I arrived at noon and left at 6:30 pm. At least the weather & scenery were nice.

Camp Tahosa follow-up work:

- Membership renwals -- data entry & email confirmations.
- Data entry for volunteer list.
- QA'd names & results in OE2010.
- Uploaded overall results to RMOC database.
- Uploaded splits to Attackpoint; sent splits to JP for RG2.
- Sent out two entry fee invoices via PayPal.
- Completed the meet report & mailed checks to Sverre.
- Posted photos & results link to RMOC's Facebook page.

Brown - Splits

Golden Hell Week #5 of 5 -- Chimney Gulch / Lookout Mountain.

After almost aborting the Mt. Galbraith run last night, I spent all day feeling excited about doing this one and finishing the virtual race.

I started work earlier than usual this morning so I could leave at 3pm and have plenty of daylight.

Then, at 2:30 pm, I got a 3pm meeting request from my manager titled "update" -- and one of my three co-workers was not on the meeting request. Uh oh... Sure enough, she had been laid off, very unexpectedly, just before our meeting.* That really sucked and put a big damper on my mood.

But I went anyway... It was a beautiful afternoon and I finished just as it was getting dark (no headlamp needed this time).

I spent the entire last hour of the run thinking about what I would have for dinner from the food truck at Mountain Toad (where all the Hell Week routes start & finish). I walked up to the window to order and...they were OUT OF FOOD. (Well, out of everything except chicken tacos, and I'm a vegetarian.) So lame. I was so hungry and disappointed that I literally almost cried. :-P

(*If anyone wants to hire a super-smart Rice grad with a BA in economics, a masters degree in public health, and SAS programming experience...let me know so I can give you her contact info!)

Heading up the Lookout Mountain trail:

Prep work for tomorrow's RMOC meet at Camp Tahosa:

- Bought snacks & water.
- Sent out final reminder / update email.
- Data entry for annual waivers.
- Updated August membership expirations.
- Sent reminders about September membership expirations.
- Miscellaneous email follow-ups -- meet equipment coordination, course notes, pre-registration discrepancies, etc.
- Created OE2010 files for Classes & Entries.
- Created start cards.
- Loaded car (table, water, etc.).

Golden Hell Week #4 of 5 -- Nightbird Gulch / Mt. Galbraith.

When I got to the loop section of the trail, dusk was settling in and I seriously considered bailing (and DNF'ing), since this is the rockiest of the five trails and I knew it would be dark (and dangerous) on my way down.

But then I took off my sunglasses and realized it wasn't quite as dark yet as I thought. :-P

I still had to do the last 1.5 miles of the trail in the total dark, but I didn't kill myself; I just had one trip / slide very near the end that resulted in a skinned knee -- which I'll take any day over a sprained ankle.

One more to go -- Lookout Mountain (slightly shorter than Mt. Galbraith, but with more elevation gain...).

Looking towards Golden from the front side of Mt. Galbraith:

C • illusion 16

Golden Hell Week #2 of 5 -- North Table Mountain / Lichen Peak.

Run / walk combo with perfect weather conditions (overcast & 70°F).

Golden Hell Week #3 of 5 -- South Table Mountain / Castle Rock.

It was totally dark as I neared the top, but my Petzl headlamp rocks.

I enjoyed the beer-brewing smells wafting over from the Coors plant...

I have completed three of the five routes for Golden Hell Week, but only 42% of the total mileage and 46% of the total climb. I have the two hardest ones left: Lookout Mountain and Mount Galbraith. Ay caramba...

Golden Hell Week #1 of 5 -- Apex.

I got a really late start after work, so it was totally dark by the time I got to the top. My headlamp worked great on the way back down, but I had to keep pushing away thoughts of bears and mountain lions...

After dodging zillions of mountain bikers on the way up, I had the trail to myself on the way down -- clear sky, big moon, and pleasant creek, frog & cricket noises.

Event: Golden Hell Week
 

Too much work to get caught up on... Annoying, but it finances all my o-trips. :-P

Also -- in addition to the yellow jacket stings, I have some small patches of poison oak reaction on my arms.

Warming up.

OUSA Nationals Day 3 -- Sprint at Cabrillo College.

Hey, wow, I can handle this terrain! :-P

I had a really hard time seeing the start triangle and the first few control circles on this map -- and immediately running into a dark corridor didn't help my crappy eyes.

I over-ran #1 by a bit as a result, but then I didn't make any significant mistakes except for #15 -- for some reason I thought I was looking for a thicket instead of a clearing, so I lost some time there.

And -- yay! -- I was not DFL in my age group today. #5 of 7 AG, #32 of 76 overall.

Brunch of quiche & coffee afterwards at a nearby café.

Sprint Relay at Cabrillo College.

The "RMOC Mountain Goats" team consisted of Sverre, me, and John.

I got off to a better start than in the morning race.

My first route-choice error was taking the sidewalk from #3 to the bridge control -- I had to aggressively bushwhack to get back up to the bridge level.

I made one nav blunder, from #14 to #15, missing my intended corridor and going the long way around an extra building.

From #18 to #19, I was heading towards the gate in the east-west fence. Marie-Josée was just ahead of me and nice enough to yell out that it was closed.

Lastly, I tripped and fell in the finish chute -- doh!

Both Sprints today were really fun (of course, it's always more fun when I don't have terrible results). ;-)

Sprint 2 - Splits