Training Log Archive: maprunner

Got up very early to see the kids off to school, then I went back to bed for another hour.

Mike had drawn a new O map of the Taconic Hereford area but then left the map at home. He still wanted to check it out, see the trails and the vegetation, so we went for a short hike. Some parts of the woods are very nice.

Back to the house to eat lunch, play with the dogs, finish laundry and pack. Then we drove back to the Albany airport with a stop at the Martin Van Buren national historical site along the way.

Thoughts on West Point races (edited 5/1/19)
1. I like 1:7500 maps
2. I like being the youngest age class on the course.
3. I had 2 good races and one decent race (despite my mistakes). My efforts to work on navigation and reduce errors are paying off.
4.It will be weird to see my ranking points on Brown after years of being a mid-range Green runner. At least the AP system is consistent across courses and I can use those values to keep me honest.
5. On the other hand, I'll have to accept the fact that this is my youngest (and presumably best) year on Brown and it will all be downhill from here.
6. I have not yet accepted the fact that I will be on Brown for the rest of my life.
7. I loved visiting family this weekend, but that meant we rushed off after each race and I didn't get to socialize as much as I would like. Saw many of you in passing for only a minute or two; wish it could have been longer.
8. I am not in shape for three races in one weekend, especially if it is hilly. Need to work on endurance.

C • Notes on Brown 5

West Point, Long

A cold rainy day, ugh! I was not prepared with the right clothes, and once again I wore my light weight running jacket (which was perfect).

As I warmed up, I could tell that my legs were tired and that running was not going to be an option today. My goal was to be clean and keep moving at a brisk pace.

While I waited to start, I looked at the clue sheet and saw that the first control was a water stop, so I knew it was going to be a long leg. I saw most people heading up the road after the start, but one girl (F18?) headed right into the woods. When I saw our first leg, I decided right away to take it straight. I never looked, and therefore never saw, the road option. Given my tired legs, the straight route was the correct decision for me. I caught up with a group of folks looking for the control, but I reminded myself to keep going to the very big cliff on the edge of a noticeable marsh. I led everyone into the marker, and had to push past people to leave :)

My concentration and map reading was good for the next two controls, and I stopped for a few seconds to choose the route to 4. I was executing well and had a plan for when to leave the trail to attack 4. But I messed it up, and my brain function just disappeared. I noticed pretty quickly that I wasn't right and I slowed down and tried to figure it out, but I never did bail back to the trail (as I should have). Instead I just wandered a bit (slowly!) until I saw a huge boulder down the hill, and then my brain recognized it on the map as our 6th control. Somehow in all this wandering I never figured out that I needed to be up on the hill to find 4. But now I ran back up the hill and found it. AP says I lost time to 5 but this must have been just slow walking through the crappy vegetation (which I kept reminding myself was the same for us all!)

I thought it would be a breeze to find 6 since I had already seen it but once again my brain wasn't there. I stopped and hesitated, thought I should have seen it already, questioned myself, backed up, looked around, saw a stream of people heading down the hill and decided it would be best to follow them. I think my body was tired after two races the day before and my concentration was shot today.

I took the intermittent trail to 7 which was a good choice.

I felt OK going to 8, just a bit slower and hesitant than I would like. I knew I was right across from the major hill and cliff, and I was crossing a stream (or two or three). I suddenly felt lost, and I stopped dead in the middle of a stream to figure it out. I must have stood there for a full minute before I convinced myself I was on track and I just had to get through the dark green that I had wandered into.

After that I settled down and finished the course with out any mishaps (probably because it was pretty easy to follow the streams).

I had seen the last control and finish set up as I walked to the start, so as I approached I tried to decide if I would sprint it or not. I decided I wanted to salvage my bad day, so I climbed the hill, stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath, then punched and sprinted for all I was worth to the finish. Fastest woman, a fact that only I would notice or care about, but I'll take the made-up minor victory.



Back to Clinton Corners, for a nice afternoon visiting with the kids and Annette. Stephen made a delicious dinner, I had a couple of glasses of prosecco, and all was right with the world.

C • Camp Shea course 2

Long - Brown - Splits

Event: 40th Annual West Point National Meet
 

West Point, middle

My first time running brown as part of my age class. Woo hoo, 1:7500 map!
I felt good on the course, managed to stay focused and keep moving. I saw the road route from 5 to 6, but straight is usually quicker for me. Turns out it is quicker if the woods are OK; it is not quicker if it is steep ground covered with rocks. Lesson learned.

I thought I was climbing a bit too high to 7, but then I hit it straight on , while Linda had to climb up to it.

Only mistake was not trusting the map to the finish. I looked closely and thought I saw a mapped gap in the fence, but then I didn't see it right away in the real world, so I backtracked and ran around.

I was with Linda Kohn for part of the course, and caught up with Sharon. Both of them helped motivate me to keep moving at a brisk walk in the woods. I only ran a bit to the first control and on the roads near the end. I felt good physically and mentally and was very happy to see that I finished third on the course (and in the age class).

We had 5 hours to kill between events. It was too windy and wet to stay around and socialize. Mike and I went to Highland Falls and ate lunch at Andy's. The we took a drive through Harriman along Seven Lakes Drive. We parked and Mike went for a short hike while I took a nap. Then back on base for the sprint.

West Point, Sprint

I was looking forward to this since I knew we would mostly be on campus with lots of walls and stairs: fun navigation challenges. I did a nice long warm-up around the baseball field. I needed it because it was windy and rainy. I debated what to wear, but was glad I wore my running jacket in the end. (Like bbrooke, I under-packed. Did not bring any long-sleeved shirts with me, but I did have a few jackets.)

The map was huge! When I turned it over at the start, I saw the start triangle and #1. But then I folded it up and promptly lost my place! I stood there for too many seconds as I panicked and kept moving the map to find the start triangle. Finally found it and took off.

First few controls went well. I hesitated after 4, checking to see if I could get around the building, then decided I had to head up the stairs to 5.

Crossing The Plain, I was tempted to push the pace but I told myself to slow down and not overdo it and get brain dead.

I caught up to Linda Kohn around 10 and we were together (with several other folks) in the fun section for 11-14. I liked that section of the course a lot!

Almost got trapped going to 16 but I figured it out. But then I was too confident going to the center of the circle at 17, instead of reading the description. I thought it was inside, so I ran into the garage. That area was a loading dock with a dumpster on it, so I went all the way behind the dumpster in case they were hiding the control back there. Lost more than a minute on this one!

Before the start, I had heard a rumor that the finish was "indoors" but I didn't really know what that meant. As I approached the finish, I double checked the map to see that the finish circle was actually inside the building. I ran up the stairs and punched the last control, then turned... and smiled!!! It was a gym with an indoor track, and the finish line was down the straight away! Woo hoo! I took off in full sprint mode, high up on my toes and pumping my arms as much as possible. I had a big grin on my face the whole way! This was great.

Despite my mistake, I finished second on the brown course. I was really happy.



Mike and I left right after the race, to get back and visit the family. We tried to eat at our usual haunt (Fireside BBQ) but it was jammed, so we ended up at a Mexican restaurant in Millbrook instead. A nice evening with the family.

C • Finish split - tied for first. 5

Middle - BrownX - Splits

Sprint - Brown - Splits

Up early to get to the airport for a 6:40 AM flight. Flew to Albany and drove to Clinton Corners to visit Stephen, Annette and the kids. Made it there just as the kids were getting home from school. Nice relaxing evening with dinner at home.

A short ride at lunchtime to get me out of the house.

An easy set tonight since it is a competition weekend:
12X elevated heel squats, body weight
12X TRX row
20X walking lunges, body weight
10X inclined push-up

C • elevated heel 6

easy shuffle around Holcom