Training Log Archive: z-man

US Champs - Day 2. Not happy with my previous race I was all charged up right from the start. Long leg to 1. No real route choices so I head into the woods cutting corner to the trail. Get off to the flat hill on the right and use my compass to check on my direction. Notice that I drift to the right and correct to catch the foot of the hill. Go over and down to spike the bag. To 2. Sprint down the hill, get across the re-entrant and climb up the ridge of little hills. See the option to go all the way to the left along the marsh as an obvious choice, get smacked by a branch, forget to go left. Press on on my compass, hesitate, bail out to the marsh behind the bag and come back for it after seeing where I was. To 3. Back to the marsh and follow the white patch to the corner. Climb over the hill expecting to see a depression and spot the bag to the left. Take my bearing to 4, see that I need to cross a re-entrant and then another one with the marsh. Get there and climb to the hill behind it. Retake my bearing once again expecting to hit a marsh just above the one I needed. Get around it and proceed down already seeing "my" hill where I have no problem spiking the bag. To 5. Jump across a stream and run in the rough direction later correcting with the compass. Climb up something while not being sure of the exact spot and begin to slow down. Then see the oval marsh and it is easy from there. Climb up and over to the top of the hill to 6. A bumpy ride up there, but nowhere else to go. Get to the first downhill and take my bearing. Get further down and can't really make sense of anything. See the slope ahead to the big marsh and decide that I ran far enough and also kind of see something resembling a spur that the bag should be on. Follow it and get the bag. Across the marsh to 7. Get to the trail and decide to run just past it into the white woods. Things get slow as I ran along the marsh and almost miss the crossing. Get to the hills and see the trail just in front thinking that I need to take it to 8. Get over the hill and run into depression to the bag. To 8. Out of the depression looking out for the trail. Never see it and press on through the woods on my compass. Eventually hit the trail and take it around and across the big marsh. Here follow the side of the hill until the stream and begin to climb up towards the marsh's edge. Stay close to it looking ahead. Hit a smaller marsh perpendicular to my direction and see a big rock pile in in it. See something like this on the map and continue on. Get across a patch of dry land into the next marsh, thinking that this is it, but find nothing. Somewhat confused decide to run to the big marsh to relocate, but end up running higher into the next marsh. See a stone wall and find exactly where I was. Run back still not believing how I got there in the first place. To 9. figured that needed to get around the lake and that the leftmost route was shorter, so take that. On my compass, hitting the trail and a stone wall. Then again on bearing to the edge of the lake. Retake my bearing and count the marshy re-entrances waiting for the hill. Once on top, head into the green and spot another stone wall that ended in the marsh. Know exactly where I am, see the hill ahead, run around and to the bag. Long leg to 10. Take my bearing aiming just to the right of the off-bonds area, and pound the ferns and then the hill just ahead. Get across a pair of stone walls and eventually to road. Stay on it for a good distance past the uphill and then jump into the woods sliding downhill while checking my direction with the compass. Eventually get to the big marsh's edge and begin a bumpy ride along the hill side. After a while, spot the clearing and the open water just ahead and to the right and make it over the marsh to the dry land. See a big re-entrant with a trail on the top and press forward. Get to the top and spot the trail. Stay on it trying to pin point my exact spot. See the first stream just ahead and then the second. Turn to the left and jump to the bag. Out to 11 on my bearing around the marsh to the road. Then run along the stone wall and take my bearing just past it. Crash through the marsh just ahead and spot something resembling a saddle. Run up and see nothing. Immediately figure out that I am in the re-entrant just to the right. No problem on 12. To 13. Take my bearing and run along the hillside. Get across of couple of re-entrances and to the marsh just before my bag. Sprint to the next marsh and find the bag there. To 14. Turn to the right and run past deep re-entrance just to the left. Take my bearing and get across the stream and to the top right between the two hills. See the stone wall to the right, and run across the flats on my compass while looking a spur just ahead. See it and spike the bag behind a little dot knoll. Follow the stream to 15, then correct with my compass to avoid the out of bounds area. Decide to go around the green on the left and do just that. Run past two small hills, and recheck with my compass confirming the direction. Spot a bag on the root stock just ahead, know it is not mine, but also confirm my exact location again. Get over the next hill and down. Don't see anything. Then spot the small marsh to the right and turn left where I find the bag a bit lower than where I expected it to be. To 16, on my compass ignoring everything till the stream. Get across near two root stocks and begin to climb up. Spot the bag from the distance and already look ahead at the next leg. Simple here. Just follow the hill side till the flat area and then to the road and across the marsh. Climb up over a little hill see a bag and admire the pretty location. Looking at my compass climb over the next hill and down to the bag. Out to 17, rushing through ferns while looking at my compass waiting for the road. Get across, see the next stone wall and get confused. Slow down thinking that it is still too early but can't make sense of the stone wall, come back, see the houses (oh crap) and press on along the wall to the bag. Then out to the field and to the finish happy to be done. William is right there telling me that I got him by a comfortable margin. I smile still not quite believing him...
Excellent course by Erin, for whom this probably was the first real experience in course setting.

Day 2 - Blue - Splits

Event: 2011 US Classic Championships
 

US Classic Champs - Day 1. Arrived at the event completely rested and ready to battle. Poured a cup of water on my head right before the start and off I went. First control, easy, just off trail over a little hill into the boundary corner. Second bag, just followed the green boundary along on the left before hitting the marshy lowland. Somewhere on the leg wondered why it was taking that long and decide to check the scale for I didn't remember seeing it in the notes (oh, 1:15k). After dropping down to a marshy area, decide to check the elevation as well, for the the drop was so subtle that I almost overran my feature (oh, 2.5m, I see). To #3, working with my compass ignoring everything in between till reaching the stream crossing point that I was aiming for. Then again on my compass while looking out for the foot of the hill that I needed to climb up to the control. Hit a small trail, ran up a bit on it, and then again on my bearing. In the distance spotted the yellow opening behind the bag and a pair of root stocks/trunks. Checked them out, nothing. Ran up closer to the corner of the clearing, took my bearing and hit the same root stocks again (hmmm..). Then ran a bit down and forward where I spotted another pair of root stocks with the control sitting behind the second one. On to #4. Decided to use the long hilltop and then past the water pool as my route. After crossing the road and running alongside the marsh, I knew I needed to cross a small marshy area and run up over the hill to the control. Thus, following my mental picture, crossed a small marshy area and started running up. Stop! The hill is bigger, what's with direction? Ah, how the hell? Down into the marsh I go and then no problem from there. To #5, on my bearing again, rushing to catch the edge of the clearing. Do just that. Then retake my bearing, after 100m or so begin to wonder why there were no stone piles that I was supposed to see on the right. Hesitate, but continue on remembering the scale and looking at my compass expecting to hit a spur. Something look-a-like materializes just ahead, run up it and spot the rock-pile just to the right. To #6, back to the clearing and across to the while woods. Everything is subtle so back to working with my compass, spotted the green boundary just to the left confirming my direction. Across the road over the hilltop (remembers thinking: doing good, need to run through the saddle after crossing the marsh). Kind of never see the saddle, but continue on with my compass. Spot a drop in the terrain just ahead, look down see a marshy clearance. Run down an around thinking that it is the bigger one of the two. Get on top of the hill, nothing. Hmm... wrong marshes? Ran ahead and an up the hill to confirm the location. Yep that's the stream, marshy clearing just down and ahead. Come back down, oh! you beep... beep... $#*(&#@!!! Must've been like 5m away from it on my fist pass and missed it. To #7 up the hill, legs starting to complain, (to myself, this is no Harriman, to legs, shut up!). On my bearing, till the stone wall, over the top to the edge of the clearing (ok, tricky stuff ahead, stick with the compass and count the re-entrances) get across of all that, up to the top (what a gorgeous patch of woods, I could do 3min/km here). To the stone wall and it is easy from there. Sprinting downhill along the stream towards #8, up the hill on my compass. Get up, can't tell anything on the map, but go on. Started to hesitate and slowed down. See someone to the left decidedly running towards lower spot ahead of him. Marsh? Take the turn, get close, nothing. (Crap. how many times do I have to tell myself not to do this again?) Back to my line, see another depression just ahead and spot the bag. Eating my GU, forgetting to plan. Take off downhill, see a trail run option to the left but am already too far down so just press on. Ran along a skinny marsh, still no plan..., just moving along. Spot a hill, (ok, must be just around it). Get there, nothing, (crap not again). See two marshes further down, oh need to come back. Another 1.5min lost and not having fun anymore. Decide to go left of the marsh. Cruising along, see the marshy patch, jump across and begin to run up. Eh? Where is the big hill. Look at the compass, what is it? I don't even.... 180... was I in coma? Got really mad at this point and started to pound up the hill feeling a rush of energy. By looking at this leg again at the finish, I realize that I could've ran all around the hill on the left from where I was and not having to climb at all. Oh well... Get to #10 with no problem after checking a large root stock just a bit higher in the wast re-entrant. After climbing up and crossing the road on the way to #11 I spot Brendan's back and rush down to close the gap. To #12, feeling good getting into flow, through the fern forest in the marsh, while religiously following my compass. Hit the dry land, spot the hills ahead, contour around into another marsh, through some flats and up the spur. Spot the rock pile and correct to the right and down to the control. Off to #13, picking up speed, looking at my compass and glancing to the right following the hillside. Then the marsh, see a snaking dry land, get across it and rush to the trail. Off the clearing into the marsh, running along the hillside waiting for flatter part to start. Go up and streak across the flattish area to the bag avoiding the temptation to check a saddle just to the left. To #14 working with my compass across the marsh waiting for the dry land. Spot a stone wall just to the right and see the distinct green boundary just ahead. Crashing through while almost getting my left ear pierced twice by dead branches. Then to #15, while glancing at my compass and spotting the stone wall. Then some more crashing through the green and spiking the last bag.

Right after finishing, my first impression was that I totally blew it, instantly remembering Greg's words, "You lose it on the first day, and you win it on the second!" Thus, I thought that I failed the first part by trying to win it on the first day instead of running a smarter race. It turned out that I wasn't the only one having issues out there today, so I was happy to be where I was, almost 6 min back from William, considering the circumstances.

Day 1 Blue - Splits

Was trying to nap on my way to work on the bus this morning but thoughts of upcoming US Champs kept creeping in. So I formulated a few goals for myself for the weekend. 1) To not wreck myself before the WOC by being more cautious of the stuff under feet. 2) Keep William (considering his dominance in '07-'09) and other speedsters from recapturing/capturing the top spot by doing what I do best. 3) Get more sleep, at least in the few days that are still left, in order to accomplish goals 1 and 2.

C • sounds reasonable!! 4

Did my usual set of strength exercises plus additional stuff for hips and ankles.

A tempo run on trail at Eagle Rock before the rain.

To and from the park.