Training Log Archive: Charlie

Great day for a ride. Almost bit off too much. I will need to get my back adapted to this activity, as it was pretty darned sore the last 3 miles. We leave for Croatia in 5 weeks. Time to buckle down.

West Point Day 2 at Lake Welch. Pretty good run for me these days. Only one noteworthy mistake at #4 where I was a line too high and went by it, then when I knew I was too far I looked back and saw it. That was a hard enough control that it seems like everybody missed it, so AP didn't even notice the error. I was feeling pretty smug at the finish, thinking I had a good time, but Rick Worner beat me by about 30 or 40 seconds. Still enough for first M-70 for the two days, so successful orienteering.
1. Very slow through laurel and blueberry, but reading the hills on top and the green patches along the side and came right to it.
2, Easy, down to the marsh and along it, across to the hill.
3. Also easy. Could see the rocky spur before the reentrant from a distance.
4. Left of the big rocky outcrop and angled down. Saw a change in the slope and I thought it would be just above that, but didn't see it until I had gone by and looked back and down a line. About a 1 minute loss.
5. Uneventful, on compass and reading countours.
6. ditto.
7. More or less the same, looking for the dot knoll and the one I went to didn't have a flag, so stopped to scratch my head a bit and saw it a line further up the hill. So maybe dropped 30 seconds or so.
8. On compass to the marsh, R side through the laurel.
9. Went a little right to get away from laurel, then a long slog. Really amazed how long it took me to get back to the area of #2, but then felt better from there and no problem. Through the start, down to the larger trail across the top of the marsh, then along the trail to the junction, down the smaller trail for a bit then along the ridge that more or less pointed to it. A little panic when I got to the pit but didn't see the flag, but it was behind a tree.
10. Under the tunnel, then on compass, noting the cleared area to my right. Right to it, but no box. Looked around on the ground in case it had fallen, but maybe it just hadn't been put out. I was one of the earlier starters.
11. More or less straight.
12. Didn't see the fence on the map until I banged into it on the ground, then cut in too soon, maybe at the first opening. So maybe 20 seconds.
F.
Map and route.

C • Nice going! 2

Pretty wiped out after a lot of traffic on the way home. Sat on 684 for an hour between the rest stop and 84 before I gave up and went up 22, then cut over to Sherman and New Milford, then Litchfield and Torrington and home. That turned out to be not at all a bad way to get home, once I decided to do it.

Day 2 - Lake Welch - Brown - Splits

Event: West Point 39th National Meet
 

Brown course at Lake Frederick. Generally a pretty good excursion. Biggest error involved some thrashing around looking for #1. Maybe 3 minutes worth. Then maybe another minute on #5 when I went to the right knoll, but didnt see the flag tucked in below it until I had gone by and checked the next knoll over. Nothing there, so looked back and saw it. 1st of 5 in M70 a few minutes ahead of Rick Worner.

1. Didn't see the road under the edge of the triangle, and couldn't figure out why I was climbing a hill, then got to the area and realized it was more complicated than I thought, bailed out to the reentrant to the W and then back in. Lost about 3 minutes and felt pretty foolish.

2. On compass, through the big rocks and starting up the hill. Thought maybe I needed to go up one more line, but then saw the flag down the cliff to my L.

3. Probably should have run the road, and people who did were faster, but just stayed between the marshes and the bottom of the steep hill, checking off features along the way. Not particularly difficult, just long.

4. Pretty easy, just counting spurs and reentrants, right to it.

5. Mostly ok, R of the line looking for the big rock on my left and then in once I saw it. Saw what I thought was the right dot knoll, but didn't see the flag past it. Didn't check the compass to note that I was looking at the NE part of the knoll, and the flag was tucked in a little alcove around the corner, so proceeded on to one more knoll before looking back and seeing it. About a minute.

6. Should have been easy and thought I should see the flag in the reentrant from a distance, and eventually I did, but I guess it was behind a tree when I was first looking for it, so just a little tentative.

7. No real problem, just climbing over cliffs, and there were a lot of them, certainly more than show up on the map.

8. Easy, down the spur, then cut over one spur to the L. Helped that I could see the flag.

9. This was a little further than I expected, but basically fine. Saw Nellie on the way, who apparently was looking for #3, and then saw Geoman leaving the control and caught him up shortly after.

10. Road to powerline, then cut across the rough open. Lucky to see it as it was tucked in a bit and the stone wall certainly wasn't obvious.

11. Out to the road, somehow missed the R fork so a little extra distance, then wondering where the flag was going to be because I could see the trail junction the whole way in, but not the flag off to the left until I got there.

F. Seemed long!

After trying a few things, finally got the Map and route to load on DOMA.

Day 1 - Lake Frederick - Brown - Splits

A few dog loops and other walks, trying to help Sassy bounce back from having a cyst removed yesterday. She is not as lively as usual. And one final walk with R&S and our house guest, Geoman. Most pleasant. Off to WP tomorrow, at least me and Geoman, as Rhonda has elected to stay home with her doggy.

Usual gym workout with Eric, rolling, stretching, deadlifts, squats, bands, planks, supermans. Added bird dips, which I have done from time to time on my own, but not with Eric in quite a while. They were really painful back when I was struggling with back spasms two years ago, but they are ok now. Also did a set of ring dips and a set of pullups first, just to see what they were like. Hard. The extra bag of sugar doesn't help either.

including 5 10-stroke pickups at increasing speed, the last at 1:46.

Another cold day. Thought I might do a couple of dog loops, but one turned out to be enough.

Better day today in the gym. Usual aches and pins, but improved as the hour went on. DLs, squats, dumbbell rowing, various band work, etc.