Training Log Archive: RLShadow

Bayview Y.

Walk to start.

Brown X. Terrible outing. Struggled through the first 5 controls, then bagged it. Probably one of my worst orienteering outtings ever. Started out not great but not terrible -- going to #1, I started out in the woods but quickly realized that the road was just a few meters away, so I went on the road. The problem was I didn't know when to head into the woods to find the spur, since there was no real attack point along the road. I headed in a little too late, and wound up going up the hill just south of the correct one. When I didn't find the control, I pretty quickly made my way to the correct one and there it was.

That was the highlight of my orienteering today! A modest error on the short first leg.

Going to #2, it was a major effort to work my way downhill to the rail-trail. When I got there, I couldn't find a solid attack point, so I soft-of figured out where I might be, and headed downhill in the general direction of the control. Not a real good strategy. I not only didn't find it, I couldn't get the contours to make sense to figure out what I might be. So, climb back up to the rail trail, and find a real attack point. This time, I managed to find the control.

I should point out that the vegetation mapping on this map was really poor. Most of the area I covered today was mapped as white, but I'd say no more than 5% of it was actually white. Most was what I would call light green with some medium green thrown in. Not only did this make the travel very slow and difficult, but it also made it tough to see very far ahead to navigate. Between the vegetation and the steepness of the terrain, I had major problems.

Then going to #3, I tried but could not get a good sense of where I was as I tried to go more or less straight line. So when I thought that MAYBE I had good far enough and couldn't find it and couldn't get anything to make sense, I again bailed out to the rail trail (long though climb), found and attack point, and then eventually found the control.

Then #4 -- well same story, except this time I immediately bailed out to the trail, found an AP, and found the control, with a modest amount of difficulty. #5 was very close to #4, so I found that using a compass bearing.

By that time I had been out on the course for a very long time, and had not even finished the controls on the first side of the map. I was worn out mentally and physically, and very frustrated with the unmapped thickness of the vegetation and the relentless steepness of the hillside. So I bailed out. Didn't feel real good about it but I just didn't have the stamina to continue.

A fair number of people on this course DNF'd -- 7 out of 27. But also a lot of people had very good times, so it's obvious that it was my problem and not the map's or course's problem.

Then to really add injury to insult, while I was walking back to the start on the rail trail, I wasn't paying attention apparently, and I tripped on a root, and wend down very hard, landing on my upper right arm and shoulder. My arm was scraped pretty badly and bleeding profusely, enough that I went to the ambulance to get cleaned up and bandaged. I was actually more worried about my shoulder but didn't mention it to them, because I figured they knew what to do with a scraped up and bleeding arm, but maybe not what to do with a possible orthopedic injury.

It was rather embarrassing to fall this hard on a very level trail with no vegetation, rather than in some of the thick hilly terrain I had covered while attempting to do the course.

Fortunately, by Monday morning the shoulder felt a bit better, and by Monday evening, quite a bit better.

Day2 Brown Z - Splits

Event: OUSA 2023 Masters Nationals
 

Day1 Brown Z - Splits

Fellows Rd park. Fairly light turnout. Played 2 competitive games, then 2 games with a couple who was just learning the game.

Run from home, with Petey.

Webster Park.

Creek St starting point; with Petey and trailsnail.

HR monitor went totally bonkers about a third of the way into the run.