Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: WCOC / US Team A-Meet/WRE
 

WCOC at Ansonia Nature Center, CT. This was my worst day navigating in a long while. Given my history in CT, my expectations were not high to begin with. Getting to the start line just in time to get called up didn't help me get into the right frame of mind either. My problems began near the end of the first leg. My GPS track shows that I just missed the control on my left within 10-20m. I just hadn't been able to pick-up on which rocks I was seeing--the terrain is so different from what I'm used to running in with unmapped boulders over a meter tall. I didn't panic as I passed the control but I wasn't careful enough either. I thought I was returning the way I came but my GPS track shows that I headed off by about 90 degrees. Since I turned during this, I had been thinking that I was above the control on the hill but in reality, I had gotten lower. I hunted rocks for a short while and decided to head back toward the start triangle. Along the way, I camp upon some hemlocks and since I'd just crossed a stream, I incorrectly thought I was at the ones which were mapped. I went off rock hopping again and since I could see a road, I eventually found myself part-way between #2 and #3. I came straight to the control after that but it was a long climb and there were more reentrants along the way than I'd originally seen on the map as I started. I hit #2 with no problems, then misread #3--I got too low. I hit a few controls okay after that but with the rain, being out longer than others and not being in such good shape, my legs were rather slow, I made one other awful error going to #8. It started with a parallel error rounding a hill and running along a stone wall. I mistook my position to be on a different stone wall further down the leg. I climbed early and soon realized what I'd done. However, as I continued up the hill, I lost track of my position. I incorrectly located myself at a field but eventually found #9. Good, I thought. I just had a short run to #8 from there. However I ran 180 degrees off and found myself further away. There were some other small problems on other controls but perhaps a worse development from this race was pain on my right heel. I'm not sure if it's connected to the arch and achilles aches that kept me from training much of March and April or if it's bruises from the rocky terrain--my O'shoes are worn out. Since I've been having some arch pain on the same foot leading up to it, I think it's related.

Red Y Day 1: Middle - Splits