Training Log Archive: JanetT

Distance estimated, time too. :-)

Course vetting and control marker placing with Glen and two Grafton Lakes State Park employees, on a new permanent course at Grafton.

We scouted/vetted the controls first (1 hour 15 min), then met with the two park naturalists and walked on the "easier" loop (advanced beginner). There are two loops of 5 controls each (the second loop being intermediate level controls), but if you were in the area, you could make it a score-o and choose different legs. Markers are 4" square plastic things from Ed Hicks/Orienteering Unlimited, nailed into large trees.

It was a good afternoon because we taught the naturalists about looking for the "best" route, not just blindly following a compass bearing, to go from point to point, especially on the beginner courses.

AOWN: Saw an intriguing blue-colored beetle, about 1" long, on the sidewalk near the parking lot. I can't figure out if it's one of these.

SNL's take on the B1den/P@lin debate. Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill is the best part, though Tina Fey did a good job too (I missed this last weekend; changed letters to avoid showing up in Google).

Has anyone else noted the repub ticket's resemblance to Rocky and Bullwinkle? (Note: this isn't my idea, I read it on a blog of an 82 year old free-thinking woman.)

C • SNL 3

Warming up for intervals; watched CNN and "Millionaire"... (I was bored).

I have 87 miles on these shoes already--I've only worn them at the Y.

Intervals at the track, 5 x 345m fast, with 230m recovery. First one was a little fast -- 1:53 / 2:20 / 2:01 / 2:00 / 1:59 (recoveries 1:45 to 2:00).

Followed by 3 cooldown laps, some including sidesteps (for knee strengthening) and high knee stepping.

Spent an hour (after grass cutting on the tractor) wrangling bittersweet vines that are in/approaching trees near the house (as opposed to those along the tree line, harder to deal with because of other thick vegetation, like wild rose). I suppose I could log a few minutes of strength training (pulling on vines, dragging the vines to the brushpile from which they may sprout again), but I won't.

In Chatham. Used the low step again and didn't feel much in the way of twinges. I'm still being careful with any knee moves, particularly anything that doesn't have the knee directly over the ankle (side squats, for example).

Walked trails at the Greenport Conservation Area in Hudson, NY (after first training session for literacy volunteers). Started out on one trail, but noticed on the trail map that they had added a new one in the opposite direction since the last time I was there, so I turned around and explored there.

This park is on the highlands overlooking the Hudson River, a lot of steep hill/reentrants (even steeper than SW Ohio terrain, if you've been there) and old fields (once farmed, now rough open). Someone from there once wanted us to map it for orienteering but was unwilling to provide any good map resources, so we never pursued it. It's small enough that it's not worth spending A-meet mapping dollars on.

Anyway, it was a nice day for a walk (sunny and cool, mid-50's) and I enjoyed visiting the new area.

Forerunner counts distance I covered as 15.11 km (Garmin Training Center); SportTracks lists it as 17.82. Actual distance covered was probably somewhere in between but closer to the higher number as I took a lot of out and around trail routes.

Class in Chatham, mostly to get myself up and moving, and for the stretching at the end. Took it easy and low key; didn't raise my arms much (partly because I feel on my right side again and jarred the shoulder, again, and it's stiff and sore).

Exercising may suffer a little this week; I'm doing literacy tutor training this Tuesday and next which messes up my schedule. :-) I'll see if I can throw in a hike tomorrow in a park near where the class will be.

OGPS'ed my Lowlander maps (part 1 and part 2), including my creative route to control 7, at least the last half of it. My first inclination had been to do route marked A (purple); when I found myself farther down the trail, my plan was to do B (blue). Actual execution is marked in red. And I hate rocky ground! I'm not sure exactly what was going through my mind while I was descending along all those rocks.

What's good, though, is that when I did stop myself and realized where I was, I steadily climbed up that hillside and nailed the control.

C • Timing and track 1

Event: Hudson Highlander
 

Just wanted to add a note before I forget; I'll add my Lowlander report later.

I get Google alerts on the subject "orienteering" and a Utah newspaper announced upcoming events with the following "explanation" of orienteering: "Orienteering is a sport involving navigation and speed as participants use maps full of colors, symbols and topographic lines to find six control sites as quickly as possible. Advanced racers might use a compass, be skilled at reading contour lines or be extremely physically fit." (Or all three?) Yeah---that's it. :P

Lowlander version of the Highlander on Surebridge (Good Spring and Surebridge Mines maps at 1:10000), which was the first 15 controls plus a road run (approx. 11.7 km straight line, including road run from control 15). I couldn't find no. 13 after attacking twice, and was near 5 hours. Website says limit was 6 hours (cutoff advertised as 3 pm) but Paul B. had said 5 hours at the aid station. I was getting tired anyway, so I bailed after my second attempt at 13 and walked in. No prizes for any Lowlanders except the fastest man/woman anyway, so my reward was just getting around as far as I did.

Walked most of the way, treating this event as a combo Billygoat/Rogaine. I am in AWE of the world-class men who did this course in 1993 (fastest in about 87 minutes!), and Will Hawkins who got through that part of the Highlander this year in just over 2 hours. Lemme see...at 2 hours I hadn't quite reached number 7. :-)

Good contact with the map, except on the two controls where I lost it, 9 and 13, and # 5 where I was a little high (but not far off). Thank you Eric S who saved me on the way to 9.