Training Log Archive: falconIn the 10 days ending Aug 23, 2010:
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Sunday Aug 22, 2010 #
Orienteering race 1:41:14 [4]
COC Long Distance
Officially MP'd for missing #3. I'm pretty sure I went to all the controls, including #3 but I have no way of proving it. I had a very short window to make my flight home and so didn't hang around to see if others had the same problem. As it was, I beat the gate closure for my flight by only two minutes.
My right leg was pretty swollen before the start but I decided to run anyway since the warm-up felt okay and this was the last race of the season. Could feel the fluid in the thigh jigging with every step.
I didn't have a stellar run and so I don't feel like complaining about SI for my 3rd control. I made lots of mistakes, mostly from lack of concentration. I took a big faceplant out of the start triangle on some unmapped fencing and got a bit shaken. Then a big miss at #4, and at #5, etc. Was I pushing too hard early on and therefore mispunched at #3? Who knows?
At any rate, from there I was just trying to make my flight home. There were times I really felt that I was fighting the map and the compass. In the Barrens, everything looks the same and the water features varied immensely on the ground vs. the way they were mapped; you never really knew if you were looking at a pond, uncrossable marsh or what. The hill shapes were hard to map accurately and I don't know if I really figured out which cliffs were there or not. A single moment's lapse in concentration could be punishing. (A little Farley Mowat anyone?)
I take the result as my fault and I would really look forward to another crack at this terrain to see if it's me or the map. (It's probably just me on this day.)
Don't know who won but my hat's off if they ran 90 minute range.
Officially MP'd for missing #3. I'm pretty sure I went to all the controls, including #3 but I have no way of proving it. I had a very short window to make my flight home and so didn't hang around to see if others had the same problem. As it was, I beat the gate closure for my flight by only two minutes.
My right leg was pretty swollen before the start but I decided to run anyway since the warm-up felt okay and this was the last race of the season. Could feel the fluid in the thigh jigging with every step.
I didn't have a stellar run and so I don't feel like complaining about SI for my 3rd control. I made lots of mistakes, mostly from lack of concentration. I took a big faceplant out of the start triangle on some unmapped fencing and got a bit shaken. Then a big miss at #4, and at #5, etc. Was I pushing too hard early on and therefore mispunched at #3? Who knows?
At any rate, from there I was just trying to make my flight home. There were times I really felt that I was fighting the map and the compass. In the Barrens, everything looks the same and the water features varied immensely on the ground vs. the way they were mapped; you never really knew if you were looking at a pond, uncrossable marsh or what. The hill shapes were hard to map accurately and I don't know if I really figured out which cliffs were there or not. A single moment's lapse in concentration could be punishing. (A little Farley Mowat anyone?)
I take the result as my fault and I would really look forward to another crack at this terrain to see if it's me or the map. (It's probably just me on this day.)
Don't know who won but my hat's off if they ran 90 minute range.
Saturday Aug 21, 2010 #
Orienteering race 15:22 [5]
I make no bones about not being a sprint fan, but as sprints go, this one was pretty good. It made good use of a fairly straight forward area and used the building shapes well. Most routes around the buildings were 50-50s though and you just had to pick and go. Perhaps a couple fewer controls and some longer legs would have opened up more routes. (?a recurring theme) All in all, a big thanks to Adrian for making the courses as good as they were.
I ran 'okay' and made a couple of small misses including a hook at #3 and couldn't see the flag at #16. Other than that, no real problems. I'm just not that fast.
The real issue for me was getting stung twice on the right leg just after the 4th control, while passing through the rough open by #16. I have had serious reactions to wasps in the past and this was a bit distracting for a while but I thankfully didn't have a serious reaction and finished the race.
The problem was the swelling in the leg after the stings. By the end of the banquet, it was quite painful to stand or sit with the leg flexed past 90 degrees, even though I had enough Benadryl in my system to give me a good dry mouth and a slight tremor.
I ran 'okay' and made a couple of small misses including a hook at #3 and couldn't see the flag at #16. Other than that, no real problems. I'm just not that fast.
The real issue for me was getting stung twice on the right leg just after the 4th control, while passing through the rough open by #16. I have had serious reactions to wasps in the past and this was a bit distracting for a while but I thankfully didn't have a serious reaction and finished the race.
The problem was the swelling in the leg after the stings. By the end of the banquet, it was quite painful to stand or sit with the leg flexed past 90 degrees, even though I had enough Benadryl in my system to give me a good dry mouth and a slight tremor.
Friday Aug 20, 2010 #
Orienteering race 35:16 [5]
COC middle distance
First the good:
I ran the fastest time on the course despite not feeling like I had a particularly good run. Some sections went okay but I missed the flow for a good part in the middle of the race and for some of the last loop.
It was a picturesque setting on a horse farm with a great arena and spectator control. The weather was awesome and the BBQ was great!
The terrain was nice with good features and a dense trail network.
On the other hand...
I was disappointed in the print quality and what I would call 'lazy' cartography with cliffs and contour lines not lining up. The print quality kept you from reading the 'cut line / ride' symbol easily on the run. This wouldn't normally be a problem except Ottawa in August is pretty green and the cut trails were recently mown freeways. I also feel that the M21E course had about 4 or 5 controls too many. It could be more interesting, with the same direction changes and distance with less hassle. As it was, it felt a bit like a 5k control picking exercise.
First the good:
I ran the fastest time on the course despite not feeling like I had a particularly good run. Some sections went okay but I missed the flow for a good part in the middle of the race and for some of the last loop.
It was a picturesque setting on a horse farm with a great arena and spectator control. The weather was awesome and the BBQ was great!
The terrain was nice with good features and a dense trail network.
On the other hand...
I was disappointed in the print quality and what I would call 'lazy' cartography with cliffs and contour lines not lining up. The print quality kept you from reading the 'cut line / ride' symbol easily on the run. This wouldn't normally be a problem except Ottawa in August is pretty green and the cut trails were recently mown freeways. I also feel that the M21E course had about 4 or 5 controls too many. It could be more interesting, with the same direction changes and distance with less hassle. As it was, it felt a bit like a 5k control picking exercise.