Training Log Archive: maprunner

PTOC event at Burr Oak Woods. Long Course. Windy, snowing, -1C. Haven't had winter temps in a while, had to find all my cold weather gear. Nice new map (contours were 2.5 meters, not 5 m)

Pretty good start, no issues through 3. (Mike and I got to 2 at the same time.) The 4th control was slightly misplaced, Tom Hanley and I had to search a bit to find it. Straight up to 5, then across the spur to 6. Had some difficulty here, hard to follow my compass, and I started to drift down the spur instead of going straight across.

OK through 10 (was 7 also misplaced? Or the circle drawn incorrectly?). I picked a slow route to 11, but I saw the control as I was approaching. However, when I got right down into the creek bed, I lost track of the marker (cleverly hidden behind a downed tree). Stood there a moment or two trying to find the marker. Had the same problem at 12, marker "disappeared" right when I got there !

On my way to 13, I hit my shin on a broken off stump. Man, that hurt! Stopped to curse, scream, moan and wail. Gene came by right at that point, asked if I was OK. We moved on together to hunt for the marker, which was slightly hidden. He went on the straight route to 14, while I decide to help my shin and avoid the woods, and went out of my way to the trail. I got to 14 just as Gene was leaving, so that was a good route choice for me.

I was really tired by now, happy to be running in towards the finish. Mike was waiting to cheer me on at the Go control, and he also took some nice pictures. The run into the finish was quite beautiful (see Spike's log for photo).



So, I tried to vocalize my race today. This was hard! Hard to remember to keep doing it. Hard to talk out loud during the few times I was running fast. Hard to not vocalize everything (My hands are cold; damn my hat got caught on a branch again; ooh, the snow is coming down harder now; there's Mike). Hard to vocalize when other folks were around. I had no problem vocalizing after I hit my shin!!

However, overall, it helped me focus (most of the time, see exceptions above :) It also made me stop, on the way to 7, when the trail junctions didn't match what I was expecting. I think I will get better with practice.

But I also discovered that I sometimes notice something without a conscious thought. As I was going across the spur to 6, I suddenly knew I was not going the way I wanted. I couldn't articulate (and I didn't) but I made the correction any way. It was instinctive. I will need to practice noticing these "thoughts" and vocalizing them.

Tough arm work tonight

I took a vacation day today, so I was able to get out into the woods. I decided to focus on moving through the woods, pushing through the crap, since I was so slow at that this weekend. I walked to a few locations from Fritz's overlook course and various other parts of the woods. Legs were tired from the weekend.

Day 2 Texas. Much better day mentally (for the most part) and I finally bonded with my new compass. A few goofs: got pulled off line by other controls twice, at 2 and 16.

Then, the big mistake. Chiori caught up with a 10 (she started 4 minutes behind me). I got distracted. I got to the trail that I planned to take to 11, but some how, I convinced myself that I was about to head the wrong way. And then I did head the wrong way, for a long time, a classic 180. Lots of warning bells were going off but nothing stopped me until I hit a road. A road??? WTF? Figured it out and headed back the way I had just come.

So disappointed with my races this weekend. Physically weak pushing through the woods, mentally weak the whole time.

It's been years since I had a clean run at an A meet. I need to figure this out...

C • seeing other people 8

D2 Green A - Splits