Training Log Archive: ginger

Event: QOC Mason Neck
 

Well, this could have gone better. I think I have the same initial reaction every time I come to Mason Neck- "what a shame, they've forgotten to finish the map". And then I remember that, no, the map quite accurately depicts the rather featureless woods. Knowing that I've struggled in the past with this map, and with the temps soaring into the high 80s (along with a course set by Sid) I decided to do brown and really focus on my compass work and pacing. And I managed to do that in short bursts, unfortunately I didn't even manage to pull together a single clean leg. The subtlety of the contours really destroyed me again today- I'd pick a nice compass bearing, then tell myself that all I had to do was follow a very shallow spur (or reentrant, or whatever) for 2-300 meters. And then I'd take off, run about 50 meters or so, check my compass again, and realize I'd drifted off about 20-40 degrees! Missed #4 completely, and ended up bouncing off the trail to re-attack. 5 was even worse, kept checking my compass and trying to keep track of the subtle terrain, but somehow I completely missed the fairly large and distinctive clearing I was planning to use as an attack point (I'd found it no problem on the way to 3). Eventually bailed out to the road, and was getting pretty hungry/hot/thirsty so went on to 6 rather than re-attacking again. Lots of time lost, but on the bright side, I actually did better than I have in the past at Mason Neck, and at least I was jogging most of the course (now I just need to get better at jogging in the right direction!) All in all, a rather rude awakening following how confident I felt last week at West Point, but some good areas to focus on in coming weeks.
Biggest area for improvement- getting distracted is deadly, especially in bland terrain. Last week I could afford to be lazy and simplify (to a certain extent), knowing that I'd be able to re-cage at crucial moments. Today even a brief lapse in concentration meant that re-locating without completely bailing out to the road or trail was nearly impossible.

Brown - Splits

Event: USA & Canada - WOC/JWOC Team Trials OUSA National 3 day meet
 

Woo! First real ride in about a year, and a perfect day for it! Lots of other people out taking advantage of the beautiful weather on the base loop.