Training Log Archive: BorisGr

I left work around lunchtime on Thursday and headed to Dulles to catch my flight, first to Frankfurt, then on to Goteborg. It felt nice to be getting onto an international flight without any luggage.

I spent most of the flight editing content for the OUSA newsletter, which I was woefully behind on, and re-reading Langa Nattens Folk, a book about the history of Tiomila.

I arrived at Landvetter Airport in Goteborg at 930am on Friday, and was greeted by a Tiomila volunteer holding a sign with my name. As we drove to the arena, she told me that she started orienteering when her kids got interested in it, and was currently attending IFK Goteborg's intensive beginner course. Despite being new to the sport, she committed her whole weekend (plus Friday) to volunteering for Tiomila and spending a long, cold night handing out GPS trackers to competitors.

When we got to the arena, it was 3C and raining hard. Welcome to Sweden. I had no responsibilities until later in the evening, and so I headed to a "hostel" and went straight to bed. The hostel was a converted farmhouse with a big room containing a bunch of bunk beds. Its main advantage was that it was located immediately adjacent to the arena, so I could easily walk back and forth.

I slept for a couple of hours and then headed up to the arena to meet up with the production crew, headed by Peter Lofas. He gave me a quick tour of the production booth and handed me a map with one of the women's legs.

I went back to the farmhouse, had some sandwiches (the farmhouse was stocked with food for volunteers running the TV broadcast), Skyped with the family, and headed out into the woods.

As soon as I was in the forest, the rain and cold were distant memories. I had the Tiomila forest, with all the controls, all to myself! I had a blast, enjoying every step of orienteering along the way and picturing the crowds that would be racing here the following day. Really glad I got out on a course!

Once I was back and showered, I heard from Greg Ahlswede, and he came by to hang out for a while. We had a nice chat about US orienteering, opportunities for growth, and the work with training camps and centers that he is hoping to do once he is back in the US. Undoubtedly, US orienteering's future is noticeably brighter with Greg being an active part of the community on the home front.

After Greg left, I went up to the arena for Studio Tiomila, the Swedish-language program hosted by Per Forsberg and broadcast for free over Facebook Live. The plan was for Per to introduce me and Mark at the end of the hour-long show. Well, the show ended up taking two hours, but I did get to chat with Thierry for a while as we sat in the studio waiting for our turn. It was fun to see Per in action. He is truly impressive with his knowledge of orienteering, his quick recall, and his ability to never be lost for words.

Once we were introduced, Per put us on the spot by asking for our picks for the relay. Luckily, Mark saved the day by jumping in and saying that anything can happen.

Before heading to our hotel with the Finnish commentator Antti, we took a look at our broadcast booths and requested additional computers, ethernet cables, access to full GPS tracking, a webcam, and printed start lists. All of that would eventually appear by morning.

Event: 10Mila
 

Tiomila Women's leg 2 course on the Partille map by myself in the rain. Sublime.

On my way to Göteborg for 10mila 2017!!

C • Lykke Til! 1

C • Great job! 5

West Point National Meet Day 2

This time Alli and I asked for split starts. We didn't get them initially, but I just asked for a late start time at the arena when I showed up, and the cadets were happy to accommodate me.

Inara and I walked Alli to the start on this beautiful Sunday morning in Harriman, and then hung around the finish while Alli raced and I slowly got ready. At one point, Inara was unhappy unless she was being held, but luckily Nadia stepped in and played with her a bit while I taped my ankles. I was changed and ready just as Alli was running down the finish chute, so our transition was very smooth.

I got to the start with loads of time left, so I asked for a slightly earlier start time, which ended up being just 2 minutes after Wyatt, who was running Red after feeling bad on Blue the day before. That gave me some great motivation to open my race running hard.

The early part of the race suited me, with a number of short, technical legs, and I ran well for the first six controls, just losing 15-20 seconds on route choice to #2. Going into 5 I spotted Wyatt ahead and raced hard to 6 to catch up. We took somewhat different lines going to 7, as I stayed higher and closer to the massive green blob. My route wasn't great, as the white passage through the mountain laurel shown on the map didn't exist, but I relocated quickly after emerging from the green and hit 7 about 45 seconds in front of Wyatt.

I was clean on 8, but hesitated on 9, and Wyatt caught up here. We were together through the section of short legs on the hilltop and remained together for most of the rest of the course. Our pace on the trail run on the long leg to 12 was a bit leisurely, and Peter Z took a minute out of us here. Going into 14 I felt pretty good, and so I picked up the speed to 15. That gave me a bit of a gap, which I maintained all the way to the finish, despite notable slow splits on the road run to 17 and the finish chute, which AP shows as my only mistake of the day!

All in all, a very good race, good for a win on Red. Great map, great terrain, fun course, and beautiful weather. My back held up through the weekend, though was quite sore for a few days afterwards.

And the highlight: getting cheered my wife and daughter as I ambled down the finish chute on Lake Welch Beach!

Sunday - Red - Splits

Event: West Point National Meet
 

Event: World Masters Orienteering Championships 2017
 

West Point National Meet Day 1

I ran M35 on the Red course, thinking that I might actually be able to handle this distance over two days of racing.

This was our first two-day event with Inara, so everything was a bit experimental. We got up early, left home at 5am, picked up Kenny on the way, and made it to West Point with just enough time to get ready, bring Inara in her stroller over to Hannah and Kevin (thank you guys!!!) to watch over while we raced, and to make our (intentionally late) start times.

Once the race started, full focus was back on orienteering. I think this will be a useful skill for me to work on: being able to turn on my focus and concentration instantly after worrying about things other than orienteering (mainly, baby care logistics) leading up to the start.

It took me a bit of time to get into the map and the rocky footing, and I was slow and a bit sloppy on the first loop of the course, including running just above #3, losing a minute. I then lost some time on 9, which I am pretty sure was misplaced, and a bit more on 11, which was definitely misplaced.

I then settled into a pretty good rhythm for the rest of the course, even winning the long leg to 15. My route choice on the second long leg, to 19, was sub-optimal, as I climbed to the top of the big hill instead of contouring, and that cost about 30 seconds. I also got stuck in the brambles on the way to the last control, costing me first place on Red in a very tight battle with Sergei G and a speedy AJ.

We then had a really nice lunch with the goats (great to see z-man again!) and hung out at the hotel with the Walkers.

Saturday - Red - Splits

Lunchtime at the work gym. Listened to the Freakonomics podcast for the first time. I like it, but it doesn't make the time go by as quickly as either quiz shows (WWDTM/AMA) or Hardcore History.

C • Freakonomics 8