Training Log Archive: gavinwm

Went slowly - walked mainly - because of the leg. Ran the flats a little, but there weren't many. Accuracy was suspect. Warm but not hot (maybe 80 degrees). Terrain was rough and hard underfoot, with long grass. I don't like long grass because I can't see where I'm putting my feet, which slows me down considerably. Knees also don't feel good at the half-bent position, although maybe it's not the knees. Getting old, I guess.

Went to the BAOC AGM. Nick is now el-Presidente-dictator-for-life. Cool.

The meet started well. 90 kids, 45 in the morning, 45 in the afternoon. Some of these Waldorf kids are really good, with a fine attitude. Teams of four to six, mixed between schools. Four schools in attendance.

Best scores were 218, 218 and 206. 22 controls, each worth its number in points. 80 minute course, about 5.5 km, score o, and about 80 m climb. Nine teams in the morning, all done at noon. 8 teams in the afternoon, all done at 2 pm.

One morning team had a young boy on it who said he had seen a snake and been bitten by it on control number 1. I asked to see the bite - no skin broken. He said he thought it was a mole snake. A girl on his team had asked if there were snakes, and I had said no - I hadn't seen any. Within 5 minutes this team is shrieking and blowing whistles and this boy is saying he was bit, but he likes and knows snakes. I told him again to stay away from them. I also advised them to stay on the trails if they are afraid. Then off they went again. Sure enough, a few minutes later they're back, reporting three more snakes sighted and one handled. Soon afterwards, another three "snakes" sighted. My conclusion: active imaginations, and a need for attention, some bravado, and maybe a desire to scare the girls. It's disconcerting, since safety is so important, and I hate the false alarm mentality.

Big drama at the end. The first afternoon team came in - boys - missing one guy. Apparently, he was a good runner and had said he knew what he was doing, so he said he would run ahead on his own. Which he did. But he didn't come back.

I had emphasised safety when I addressed the kids. And the main safety point was to stick together. Each team had one whistle, one map, one compass, one clue sheet, so splitting up would really compromise safety. Even so, after the morning event, some of the kids had switched teams and split up, so I redoubled emphasis in the afternoon, and said again that they MUST stick together.

So, naturally, Connor didn't listen, went off on his own, and got lost. He definitely had the punch card clue sheet, and I don't know if he had the compass and map, or the whistle.

His teammates backtracked to try to find him, but couldn't. Others went off yelling for him, to no avail. Tried the bullhorn. Nothing.

So, at about 2:30 I set off to search for him. Others went to the parking lot in case he had gone there (one of his teammates said he thought he had followed the sewage truck). His teammates said he had left them near the end, which jived with the sewage truck since it was at the end. Despite all the info from the team, I was suspicious that they were witholding something - like they were embarrassed, maybe. My basic suspicion was that they had not seen him since somewhere near the beginning. However, I decided to run the course backwards on the assumption that I would find him near the end.

At the pond, a curious looking helicopter wandered overhead. Seemed to take a long look at me, and then moved on.

For some reason, all the jets in the bay area decided to fly overhead one after the other, so it was actually difficult to hear things - like any response to my calls. Frustrating.

Heard Janet calling near the end of my flat loop, so hustled over to meet her to find out if she had any news from the parking lot. Nope. Told her my plan was to continue going backwards through the course, which meant that the remaining part was the high loop. There's a turn on the high loop which, if Connor had missed it, would put him in a housing development. So I was going to head over there as well. But troubling thing was that all turns were well marked on both sides with orienteering bags, so why would he have missed a turn?

Well, we hustled up the trail. It started to drizzle a bit, but conditions were ok - about 70 degrees. Got near the steep part, heard a truck honk at us. It was the Briones Rangers come to find us. They told us he had been found. By the Helicopter!!!! They said they would have liked to talk to Connor and paddle the guy for disobeying the safety rules. Also said that Connor had a helicopter ride, so he's probably feeling cool. I doubt it. Embarrassed yes. Anyway, I hope the kid learns the lesson.

As for me, I had forgotten one of my basic safety items, which is a walkie talke radio. I had my first aid kit, my S&R plan, my cell phone and its walkie talkie, emergency kit and so on. But the cell doesn't work reliably down low in Briones, so a regular WT is better. Normally I bring them, but this time I missed. I always bring them - even to BAOC meets. This is the only time I missed - so of course, this is the only time I needed them. Murphy is such a prick!

Well, I didn't get to speak to anyone afterwards. Hopefully all is well. I suppose someone must have alerted the rangers at the parking lot - Friday is a normal work day for them. The rangers said the helicopter picked Connor up waaay up on top of the ridge. Which is exactly where Janet and I were headed. If I had chosen to search forwards instead of backwards, I guess I would have found him (assuming he was on top of the ridge). I wish his teammates had been more frank about when he had run off... if they had, I'd have searched forwards (clockwise) and high instead of backwards and low. In retrospect, I wonder if backwards is better than forwards for S&R??

For future safety reviews, emphasise that the controls are all fairly close to each other (obvious from the map, but still worth reiterating). So if you don't find one within say 10 minutes, just go BACK!! If you feel lost, stay at a control! If you can't find the last one, stay where you are so that you are within earshot. But most important of all, stay with your team.

How can we ensure that kids stay with their teams???

Briones grass is incredibly long. The vegetation in general has changed more this season than the past four combined.

I left work early to catch the 2:35 flight. Which was 30 minutes late. ANd they checked my bag. And Oakland ground crew decided to goof off and keep hundreds of people waiting for their bags. SO now 60 minutes late. Then Nina was stuck in traffic, so now 75 minutes late.

Then went to James Wilson's house to get pencils whistles and compasses. Stuck in traffic in the tunnel again, and then in Orinda. So FINALLY got to start setting the courses at 6:15 pm, 90 minutes late.

Did two loops - bottom loop then high loop. Bottom loop was thick grass, overgrown trails. I thought maybe the course should be changed because of the lack of distinctness in the valley, but decided instead to make a map correction to show a new jeep track, and warn the kids. Saw the most awesome Jack Rabbit near the pond. He must have been three or four feet long. Hopped away from me over the high grass (sometimes four feet high). Brown coloring, long sticking-up ears, nice and healthy looking.

Started the high loop after sunset, at 8:15 pm. Got really dark for the last four controls, but they were easy ones, so it was ok. although I did mix up two of the numbers. Then walked down to Gabiatti's house where Nina picked me up. Dangerous walking on the steep slopes with no flashlight and very rough underfoot from all the rain and cows and so forth.

Briones after dark is way interesting. Lots of Owl sounds. Lots of very nice views of Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Mount Diablo. Very different at night.

On top of the ridge, the going was rough but not too bad, because the floodlights from a sports field somewhere in Pleasant Hill were - amazingly - enough to illuminate the trails. Incredible, because the fied was miles and miles away - at least 6 miles. But in the forest and lower down, it was pitch black. Had to rely entirely on memory to find my way to the trailhead at Springhill Rd (Gabiatti's).

Startled a lot of deer on the way. They go crashing away through the forest, I hope they can see enough to not get hurt. Sounds like their technique is to jump high and land on all fours - crash thump silence crash thump silence.

Lost big. Batted just 250. Home once. Caught one, dropped one, lots of action. This game was for first place - both undefeateds. 10 pm game. 2-2 sfter 1. 5-7 after 2. Then the blowout. Ended at 8-25 or so. Aaargh.

Leg seems to be improving a bit.

Beautiful sunset

Midday session. Chased by kid. Spoke to Marshall, he said it's ok but there's a tournament so watch for balls. Decided to cut it short, and come back later.

Second session. Sunset was beautiful. Went to the far holes (15 and 16), beautiful view of Reno valley.

There's a bird that tweets the whole time, when it's dark. I think it has a nest on the ground so it tries to lead enemies away from its young. Can't remember the type of bird. Seems to be able to fly at night.