Training Log Archive: TomN

Event: West Point National Meet
 

West Point Middle Green Y. I enjoyed this run, nice woods, good map, mostly straightforward navigation. On the first three controls I made little errors approaching the controls, which, on 2 and 3, were fairly costly because of having to run back uphill. The rest of the way went well, and I kept up good speed, to finish second in M60 and 9th on the course.

West Point Sprint Green. This was a continuation of my terrible performance on sprints. I don't know why I bother with them. Things fell apart on #4, when I crossed through the woods by the pond and came into the obstacle course without knowing where I was. I lost minutes on each control in this area, in too much of a hurry to actually figure anything out. Then a good sequence after leaving the obstacle course, until I mispunched at 18, punching a control hung on a picnic table about 20 meters away instead. I see now that the picnic table was not a man-made object, but a stand for a control described as a paved area.

Middle - Green Y - Splits

Sprint - Green - Splits

Core plus leg exercises. My legs are still feeling pretty battered from a hard week and a long O-course. I notice that muscle soreness has been appearing 2 days or more after the actual overuse event, which seems like a long time. Nothing at all in the intervening day. Maybe it's part of aging, along with a longer recovery time in general.

Morning run, high 50s and sunny.

Core strength plus some leg exercises.

QOC Gunston Hall Blue. Brand new map! (Who can resist?) Tom Strat did a great job on this map. I found it accurate and easy to read. One might quibble with some of the symbols, but it doesn't detract from the overall effect.

I ran Blue, longer than usual, because I wanted the extra length for training, and the idea was to keep a steady pace throughout. No significant navigational issues. For some reason I got too far west on #5, even though the control was only 100m from the attackpoint. I lost focus 13-14 with all the criss-crossing and navigated towards 7 for a while, then recovered badly. Terrible split on #17, but I don't think the map accurately reflected the difficulties. I tried to thread the needle around the south end of the green, but it extended well down the slope and made any attempt from the south side useless. After that, comparing splits with Vido, I seem to have held up well in the steeper section at the end, and that was certainly the goal.

Fun course, and the map now opens up the possibility of a megacourse, combining Mason Neck, Gunston, Pohick, and Meadowoood.

Yes, Valerie, there were butterflies, easy enough to ID even on the run. Zebra Swallowtails, whose host plant, Pawpaw, grows all along the edge of the Potomac, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, more ecumenical, flapping their big yellow wings through the forested and grassy areas. Both first-of-year for me.

Blue - Splits