Training Log Archive: smittyo

I haven't had a lot of chance to post this week. Been busy with Federation business, couldn't find a hookup, etc. I'll start today with NAOC and probably get around to posting my US champs stories tomorrow.

I usually prefer to start earlier, but today I had a late start that worked out well for me. With the field so large, I was able to see quite a few of the results before I ran, so I had some idea of what time I was trying to beat. While it was clear that I couldn't hope to match the very top competition in my age class, my closest typical competition had run 1:11ish. This seemed a little tough for me, based on my usual pace, but I kept it in mind.

I had a nice, clean run. Was pretty efficient as well, taking advantage of climbs to plan future routes and really understand the map. Did a nice job of really using attackpoints in my planning to avoid big mistakes. In some cases I didn't actually go all the way to the attackpoint if I was really sure of myself, but it did mean that I always knew where I was and had a quick bailout to stay on course if I got confused. Around #10 I started to believe that I might actually be able to beat that 1:11, so while I started pushing a little, I was also very careful to 11. It seems this is where a lot of others had trouble. It was probably the most difficult route choice problem on the course. I went pretty straight, deciding that the climb was a more sure route and the around route seemed too long to really be faster. Pushed in harder after 11 and was very happy to beat that target time. While I didn't earn a NAOC medal - second US after Peggy makes me pretty happy.

Long - Course 6 - Splits

Event: North American Orienteering Championships
 

Wish I had made it to the Model Event. I ended up blowing #1 while getting into the map. Once again my tendency to not measure and pace everything took it's toll. I just didn't go far enough to see the hill and got confused by some subtle unmapped detail. I decided that I must have made a mistake and went up the hill to the left. Once I was on it I managed to relocate and then finally got to the control. Lost at least 3 or 4 minutes on this one.

After that things went much better. I still had a few minor bobbles and hesitations along my routes, but basically stayed on course and hit everything well. I really loved the map, terrain, and course - a perfect combination of technical, but runnable terrain to make a great middle experience.

Karin Didisse managed to edge me by just 3 seconds, but we were both a ways down the results list. There are many strong Canadians and others here - it is a very deep field.

Middle - Course 6 - Splits

A combination score-O / sprint event with a mass start and handicapping system. We got to Cranbrook in the afternoon and had to decide betwen this or the model event. It wasn't entirely clear if the model was even still open, and I opted for the fun event (paid for it at the Middle, though).

A few controls in I was feeling my legs up a hill and reminded myself that this was a training run - tomorrow is the championships. So I pulled back and took it easier. Sue Kuestner and I were duking it out at the final few controls and she managed to beat me through the chute. Like daughter, like mother.

Long sprint - Splits

Trail-O Championships. Missed two including the very first timed control. It's difficult when the first control is timed and you haven't gotten your head into the map yet. This really was a fairly simple control, but I understand lots of people missed it. Many protests, including one that I filed but later decided I probably shouldn't win (Remember - it can't be a Z because of an error in the control description!). Two protests were upheld, one involving an equipment malfunction (good), the other because the map wasn't perfect (should have stood, I think). Anyway it didn't change my final result which ended up being 17 out of 19 and fourth place behind Eric B., Steve B., and Joe B. Maybe I should change my last name to "Burand"?

"Wedding O" at the Convention. This was in honor of my nuptials, so I went in style and wore my wedding dress. Harvey came with me and we just sort of half jogged the course. The rules were to only punch three controls - the ones that you thought represented the most expensive gifts. We just punched whichever gifts we actually wanted. Surprisingly, we still only punched three items and two of them were among the most expensive. Harvey and Clare picked - Google Stock, Espresso Machine, Knife set. A nice, fun event.

US Sprint Championships at Camp Sekani, WA. This was a very strange course. When they said the sprint was at a camp, I figured it would be through developed camp areas for sprint type challenge. Instead it was a combination of biking trail network and complex rocky outcrops. A lot of people got lost in the rocks and I managed to stay in contact, which made for a nice result. The only control I really lost time on was the knoll just before the finish. I went straight to another smaller, visible knoll that wasn't far enough and then got confused and spent a few seconds checking the area around before realizing I had to go further. I was surprised that the knoll I needed was not visible from the area of the little concrete cliff. Due to the difficulties many had in the rocks, I managed to snag another GOLD medal today! Very surprising, since sprint usually favors the runners more.

Green Sprint - Splits

US Long Distance Championships at Fishtrap Lake, WA. This terrain was quite rocky and had a lot of fairly high grass making it difficult to run safely. It was also high visibility and a nice, long course likely to favor running ability. After my nice results yesterday, I made a conscious decision early in the course today not to push it. I just moved at a pace that felt comfortable and safe and didn't expect to have stellar results. Technically, it was a pretty good day. I lost some time at number 5 because I wasn't clear on what the circle was around and didn't look at the description carefully enough. Wandered around looking between every set of rocks I could find. Once I noticed that one of the boulders of interest was only 1 m high, I found the correct spot quickly. According to my split analysis I also lost significant time at number 11. This seems to be poor route choice. I swung left to get pretty close to the lake. It was farther out of the way than necessary and probably slower running. I also was unsuccessful in executing my intended route to number 17. I planned to go to the North side of the marsh and above the little areas of green. The marshes were not nearly as easy to discern as it seemed and I got pulled further south by other's routes. Ended up going south around the marsh instead once I figured out what I had done. As expected, my results were quite a bit farther down the list today due to my slow pace.

Green X Long - Splits