Training Log Archive: AliC

Blue @ Pawtuckaway

Only one mistake instead of two, for more controls than yesterday - felt a bit better about navigation in general and the one mistake was saved from being bigger (again, probably 2 min?). Will still be good to go over map and see where I might have found more time!

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And splits are up, so should write some things! Overall, a pretty steady race, AP splits analysis says 1:21 lost on #6, which I knew I had a mistake to. I had fewer mistakes and the race was the same distance with less climb, so I was surprised to be about the same min/k as Saturday's race. Maybe just not recovered so didn't have the oomph to go faster? I still felt like I was being aggressive out there, but maybe also I had more mental game for the NRE? Kinda still wonder.

1 - hadn't seen anyone else start, so definitely had to navigate from the start. Pretty easy using the edge of lake and given super-high visibility/runnability here.
2 - Bearing, looking for hill, again pretty easy given vis. Someone asked me if I'd found it very close to the control, not sure they were on my course.
3 - Up the stream, firmly located correct reentrant from the trail close to control, then just more up.
4 - Down, crossed at gap between pond and marsh.
5 - Don't really remember, tbh
6 - Still a little confused by my mistake here. Somehow ended up further right of the line than I expected, and was trying to make the marsh to the NW into the marsh I was looking for, but it just wasn't. When it really wouldn't be, I did go ahead and attack as if it were the NW marsh it actually was and found the control no problem, but I don't know how I ended up there - felt like I crossed the trail heading up, then started heading down. Must have been bad compass work?
7 - Hesitation in the circle here - mini reentrant slightly too early made me stop.
8 - Run up hill. Took my gel here, I think?
9 - A little right of the line, came down by cliff, but really can't mess it up.
10 - Time to use good compass work.
11 - Trail run! Only split of the course I won, but must have been some mistakes by others... Came in on reentrant between the two spurs, might have been faster to stay until second spur?
12 - Nice pond running took me in.
13 - Had my only significant run in with the yellow not yellow here... taught me to for sure keep out of it on future stuff. Saw #15 on the way.
14 - Came in off the little twin marshes through their reentrant.
15 - Used the trail, then helped because I'd been their before and knew the mini-marsh under the line.
16 - And baaaack. Kinda annoyed, but it seemed like the best route was back the way I came around the left side of the yellow not yellow. Wonder how Adrian did this to win the split...
17 - Simple most of the way given giant marsh, but was a little left of correct boulder in circle for a smidge.
Finish - and in.

Short white with Sylvia. Unfortunately, I didn't notice she didn't have socks on to start with, so she started to get blisters and we had to convert her shoes to slides part way through. But spirit still good, still having fun checking control codes!

We're working on at each control her orienting the map to go to the next number and then I talk through what we should see.

Canoe-O with Sylvia and Martin! We got 4 controls in about 40 minutes (maybe 30 min of paddling time? we took awhile to get down to and back up from canoe...) while Tom packed up the tent (much easier without the kids around). But the real victory is we didn't tip over the canoe. =)

Blue - Splits

Event: UNO: Pawtuckaway 1-Day NRE
 

UNO Camping weekend NRE

Wow, such great terrain! It's been awhile since I've been to Pawtuckaway and so happy to be back! Definitely challenged by the terrain/course and had two mistakes (~2 min each, maybe?) Was so hot, definitely regretted not bringing a gel towards the end.

I'm sure recent trail running has helped my speed through the forest, it's nice to feel better about that.

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Splits show mistakes on the two controls I knew I messed up - surprised #2 was nearly 4 minutes though. Ouch. And there was a moment I almost saved it, in a big reentrant I had to choose to go left and check things out or right and compass was kinda telling me right, but I liked the look of left more. Argh. And later mistake on #12, when I "found myself" on a reentrant about 40m too far because there was a night control in it.

To learn from #2 - heading downhill at the "right" angle can fail if the hill bends... use compass, use compass, use compass!

To learn from #12 - gotta stay aware of distance, even at the end when brain is faltering...

Short white course with Sylvia!

Out to control pickup

Control pickup. Assigned 9 controls, but counts as 11, because I dropped two stakes and only realized at the next control, turns out they were all the way back at the previous one...

Did this walking b/c very worn out from the mornings race and it was still hot, but did it without my compass for nav training. Was good - there's a lot of info out there that still lets you go the right way.

Vampire-O with Sylvia. Never done it as part of camping weekend before and it was a blast! And Sylvia ran more of it than her short white course earlier in the day, I think because she was scared of vampires... =)

C • Vampire-O 2

Red - Splits

Core round 2 for the week!

Bah! Having only one car for our multi-generational household at the moment meant my roller skiing didn't get car time today. =( But Tom has his NH license and mom brought Martin to a friends house with a really awesome train set.

Warmup

1-2-3-4-5 min intervals with half as much rest, on the gravel roads

4-3-2-1 min intervals with half as much rest, on the trails

Cool down.

Saw 3 orange newts and *so* much interesting fungus on this run.

First half of trail run in the new Roclites. Feet kinda hurt. Hopefully it's just needing to break them in more. This was the more technical section of trail, including the bit along the lake. Gorgeous as ever! Heard a loon's call quite a bit while close to the lake!

C • Roclites 5

Second ~half, in my old Ascics. Feet felt so much comfier, glad I went back to switch shoes...

Plan for rest of the week:
W: 1h25 trail run
Th: Intervals, half gravel road, half trail
Fri: rollerski, 45 min easy; Core
Sat: Camping weekend NRE, Red, hopefully also WHNO, but depends on how being a parent is going
Sun: Camping weekend Blue, probably then also going out with Sylvia on Short White
Mon: Rest day, core only

Core on an other wise rest day. But legs don't actually feel *that* bad. Nice to be in good enough shape that racing three days in a row didn't totally destroy me.

Details to come, but had a blast at Eastern Canadian Orienteering Champs! Entered M21E for all three races and really looking forward to analyzing where I did well and less well.

Biggest takeaway: need more practice at 1:15. Orienteered very timidly and I think some it was more difficult orienteering than the middle, but a good portion of the being timid came from not reading easily at 1:15...

Warmup around the camping field

ECOC Long RouteGadget

1) So hesitant at the 1:15, gotta get my confidence back at this scale. Just running in the right direction, then used the field and a bend in the stream to lead me in.
2) On bearing, looking for the steep slope, didn't see the nook of cliffs I hoped to see along it, but when I came up on top, it was clear I was a little left of the line (once I stopped and saw the tag on the contour), so adjusted.
3) On bearing, looking for marsh to the left after low, used trails close in, but had to really slow down to make sense of them - maybe need a magnifier again.
4) The really long leg. Really lost some time here. I was intimidated by it. I didn't feel comfy letting go of utmost contact with the map, was trying to stay quite close to the line. Saw #14 about 2/5 of the way through, then got a bit more out of contact in the junky next bit. When I was heading up the reentrant to the NE close in, realized I really needed to go up the hill, so bent right and sent myself to the control. I think rougher bearing, faster running and finding oneself on the hill before the control is the way to do this.
5-9) Kinda picked it up, slope of my splits graph versus winner shallowed and theses all went pretty well - shorter and mostly pretty easy controls (distinct features to use on the way in)
10-13) Not quite as good - still easy controls, as mostly right off trails, but looks like I was losing a bit more time, maybe just needed to run harder!
14) Blandish running most o fate way, but on a good bearing and the slope close in was a give-away, especially micro reentrant just right of the line.
15) Looks like others had a mistake here. I didn't do anything fancy, ran on a bearing, cross the stream, found the hill right under the line half way through, kept going.
16) Bearing, couldn't go too wrong because obvious slope.
17) Kinda went through the marsh, wasn't too terrible.
18) Used the trail just left of the line, which seemed good. Surprised Eric didn't.
19) Bearing, then just right of hill to slope.
20) Following white course streamers.

So yeah, just need to get used to 1:15, planning on using bigger features to speed things up for super-long leg and not focus on every last thing out of fear...

White course with Sylvia - 20 controls on it! Legs were tired for sure.