Training Log Archive: David_Waller

Nice impromptu FAST-O course at Bicentennial Park set by Mike Minium. Nice course, but my head was never really in it. True to form, I botched the first control. Although I ran directly to the correct feature in pretty good time, and stood probably about 15 feet above the control, I didn't see it -- perhaps it was occluded by the green. So I decided that possibly I had come to the wrong gully, and spent a couple of minutes going back and forth to another gully. Pretty frustrating.

I really was not accustomed to the fairly thick vegetation, which obscured a lot of the relief and made compass checks more important. I probably didn't consult my compass enough, and even when I did I made some pretty bad drift errors. I tried to aim right of #5, but ended up left. I veered so far right on #8 that I completely lost track of where I was. So I gave up, jogged in, mp'ed, and will hope for a better performance next time around.

Got to re-visit my mistake at #8 and figured out what I did on my earlier run: bad compass work had led me to the wrong area of pits and depressions.

Field checking with Ian Shields for BOK's Score-O at Schenck Forest next weekend. Great weather, and great company, and a pretty interesting (though somewhat small) map. The terrain and vegetation is extremely varied, with pretty good samples of all types of features, all types of vegetation, and an unusual amount of distinct vegetation boundaries. It would be an excellent venue for a night-time event.

I'll have to miss the event next week because I'll be back in OH. So this is a nice example of a meet that spreads-out the set-up duties: we have a different course designer (Vladimir), course setter (Ian), vetter (me), and registrar (Harold).