Training Log Archive: JanetT

Had a good race going for the first five controls, and knew where I was. Nice to see those flags appear as expected. But I flubbed the execution of the long leg royally, leaving the trail (not the trail I thought I was on either...my first mistake) and following my bearing but not hitting the hill I expected to, and I did not do a good job relocating. Once I *finally* found 6 the rest were easy (navigationally). Think I could have done 45-48 minutes.

FR track, when I get back to the computer, will tell the sad tale. SL 2.3 km(!!!).

Added FR track. It shows I traveled 2.6 km on leg 6. Very sad story of extreme brain-deadedness.... Map to follow.

Middle Course 5 - Splits

Event: 2013 Nationals (Hamilton, CANADA)
 

Training event on Sulphur Springs map. Should have done better on the first two controls I visited (I went to 7 of the 10 offered) but missed the first off to the right (saved by a trail), and looped way around the reentrant on the side of a spur to the second one. Should have stayed low and attacked it by climbing up the spur...those reentrants are pretty steep. But good information gathered. LOTS of sticky seeds out there!

UPDATED with FR track.

Course 2 sprint at McMaster University--started and finished on the running track. Passed by a zillion people on the home stretch, but at least I wasn't hobbling. Fun. 10th on the course; I was 7th in F55-64 when we left.

SL 2.12 km but actual distance was longer because we had to run around buildings, and I don't know if that's taken into account. Virtually no climb (except stairs?).

Added FR track.

Sprint Course 2 - Splits

MB balloon with extension, clockwise (so I didn't bail on the extra 0.6 mi because of the looming hill. Climb is more gradual the clockwise direction). Gorgeous day, around 60 and sunny, so I had to get out. Even more so because tomorrow will be a rest (travel) day.

No tools. Had to modify a number of "upper body" exercises that involved the shoulders more than mine like. (So bench press with weights instead of push-ups; overhead triceps instead of dips; etc.). Also, none of the burpees-like moves (without the standing up part) because I'd taken my shoes off (and they protect my right foot for down dogs, planks, etc), and it would take too long to gingerly move into position. :-)

15:13 / 15:31

Plus pulldowns (shoulder PT)

In Chatham. Legs were tired for some reason, so did stepping on the lowest step with no risers (about 4" high).

Event: NEOC: Baldwin Hill
 

Brown course at Baldwin Hill (Ashburnham, MA), straight line 3.0 km. Green was 5.2, and if the conditions were the same as yesterday I might have taken the bait. But it was showery and low 50s and I thought about an hour (therefore Brown) would be enough of that. I would have been a bit closer to an hour without bobbles, but it was slow going (lots of wet downed branches and logs as well as rocky ground plus occasional patches of laurel...) and I made some mistakes. Glad to be done and get into dry clothes.

Thanks to Ian Smith for the courses, and other NEOC volunteers for sitting out in the cold breeze. Ian cleverly made the advanced courses more challenging by removing the stone walls (but the ruined stone walls, a different symbol, still appeared on our maps). This was mentioned before we went out so I knew to ignore them.

Delayed starting because I checked in right after Trisha U., who was also on Brown, but who dawdled and kept looking at the map before actually starting. So I ran around in the grass a bit, getting my shoes nice and wet. Finally she was off. It was an approximate 500 m leg, and about halfway there I noticed her checking out one of the unmapped stone walls, while I kept going to the trail and the mapped stone wall corner, my attackpoint. She was just behind me to 2, and faster up the hill (6 contours) to 3, ahead to 4, and I saw her off to my right to 5 (#120, reentrant; also on other courses) but I then proceeded to go too low and get into the rocky reentrant, and never saw her again. I had to climb back up to the proper reentrant, then head back down the slope (7 contours) on the way to 6. Finally, some more open running, at least for a few minutes. Neglected to properly identify where I was on the trail between 6 and 7 and checked out some other boulders too low before returning to the trail to use the bend as an attackpoint. Better this time. Fine on 8, a hill whose flag I could actually see from a distance, then proceeded to get to the proper reentrant for 9 but didn't see the flag near the humongous boulder! Perplexed. So I went around the other side of the megarock, and then saw the flag, which had been blocked from my view by a smaller rock... Grr.

Route to 11 wasn't optimal so I lost time there too, but didn't have any trouble finding the control. Then back down another hill, through laurel and across the stream (on both crossings I managed to find good stepping stones) and back to finish. Good practice, I guess, dealing with adverse conditions and poor visibility. Saw Marty H-T on my climb up to 3; I think he was surprised to see me there. :-)

Brown - Splits