Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: NEOC: Prospect Hill
 

Setting controls with bgallup and mgb for the meet. Magnus divided the controls such that I wasn't setting any green controls, so I didn't visit any of the sites before the race. Traveling through the woods was still informative, of course. I stopped my Garmin when I came upon a downed tree, and didn't restart it until the first control.

Magnus was the most organized event director I have observed so far; we were completely ready by 9:15. I was very impressed with his thoroughness, and it was delightful to have a totally relaxed morning as all concerns had been addressed well in advance.

As I had planned to go to the Blue Hills today, after I finished setting, I changed and went through an abbreviated pre-race routine before setting out on my course. I warmed up for a few minutes, but my muscles felt good after the course setting, downed tree removal, and hauling water to the water control. I taped my laces, procured and checked all my equipment, and loaded my description holder. Unfortunately, I left my contacts on my dresser at home, so I was forced to run in glasses.

Magnus set a tough course, on which serious consideration had to be spent on route before trying to execute. I chose poorly on 1 and 4, and messed up 5 and 9 on my own. I wasn't overly happy with my race, though the result was acceptable.

1) I began the race with a "hero" (i.e. bad) route choice, charging straight up the hill. I considered the road briefly, but I realized my error about thirty seconds into the leg, at which point the best alternative was to keep going. On my rerun, I was about 25s faster, and it probably could have been 35s had I not messed up again.
2) I took an ok route, though I didn't see Dancho's flatter route to the right. I lost a little time fighting through the vegetation, but spiked the control cleanly.
3) Straight. Some of my best compass work, as evidenced in the track. I was a little low, but the wide reentrant caught me.
4) Bad route choice: I executed my plan to stay low and bust up the hill at the end, but the running in the low-lying area was bad. I think high to the right, primarily on the trail, is best; on my rerun, I saved 30s despite fatigue.
5) Possibly exacerbated by instantaneous fatigue from charging up the hill just before 4, I really screwed up on this control by drifting too low. I lost at least 2:30 from confusion. Even on my rerun, Ali crushed me by 20s.
6) After considering straight and the road to the right, I decided to run left along the shelf below the green. I popped out by the trail, and ran in cleanly.
7) Down the hill and into the control. Won the split! Ironically, on the rerun, I lost 45s.
8) Decided to run left and attack the hill from the SW. Apparently this was slower than using the little trail to go straight.
9) I drifted low coming out of eight, but I attacked too low on the hill, and lost time in my confusion. The track suggests I lost about thirty seconds, so I was still crushed decisively by Ali. Not sure how.
10) Driven by my folly, I charged into ten, but was still tentative. I killed it on the rerun by 15s.
11) Meh. Tied Ali on the finish split.

Quickroute

I decided to rerun the green course because I made many mistakes out on the course, I wanted to have a clean race, and I tend to do poorly when there are multiple races in one day. Two separate high intensity efforts is good practice for A-meets and the Western MA sprint championships. When Ali makes mistakes, she tends to repeat the leg until she gets it right; the benefit of this practice is apparent, though the foreknowledge of the terrain diminishes the benefit.

I was tired, and I couldn't push as hard on flat-out-running as I had when I was fresh. I modified my routes on 1 and 4, and changed my attack to correct for 5 (still lost the split). A line of people - mostly boy scouts - ahead of me in the finish chute spurred me to kick in the afterburners to acceptable effect. Definitely want to look good for the kiddies.

In a sad twist, I messed up 2 and 7, when I had executed both well on the first run. On 2, I got caught in vegetation early on the leg, overshot the control by about 30-40 meters, and lost 14 seconds to my first run. On 7, I ran in too confidently, ran above the cliff that had the control, and took about 45 seconds to rectify my mistake. I think 30 minutes was possible on today's course, but I lacked the cleanliness and oomph to make it a reality.

The rerun soundtrack was Coldplay's Speed of Sound followed by "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. Dunno.

C • take 2! 4

Motivated. HR data is spurious, probably caused by the strap flopping around as I blasted down a hill.

10-minute core, because I like pain.
Tuckups, kayakers, plank, situps, flutter kicks, oblique bicycle, 2x single leg bridge, cherry pickers and leg lifts. Finished with 2x side plank (no SJJs) and supermans. Tuckups are demanding; I really struggled with the kayakers.

My legs were noticeably fatigued from the weekend, e.g. during the leg lifts.

Green - Splits

Green - Splits

Event: NEOC: Breakheart
 

BSO tonight with Ali and Brendan; we ran into Keith. Program was Von Weber's Overture from Der Freischutz, Barber's Piano Concerto, and Tchaik 6. Tchaik... le sigh.

Setting controls for the Breakheart meet. I slowed to thoroughly check two of the eight controls.

Setting controls.

Hauling water out to the water control. I double-checked the location when I arrived.

I started to warm up for my race, but Jeff stopped me to discuss Traverse details, and I didn't finish.

NEOC Breakheart Red Course, set by Lori and Stephen. I ran aggressively, and won, though as I set several of the controls, the race wasn't entirely objective. I'm curious to see whether the splits are biased towards the sites I had already visited. It's fair to say that Giacomo effectively won the race, but I'm happy with my performance.

This morning, I set controls 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23, though I had no idea they would be on my course, and didn't study the legs. I won 7 of the 8 controls I set; Giacomo crushed me on the last control.

1) Down the trail
2) Back to the trail and in, a little wobbly on the attack, distracted by another boulder
3) Compass fail; didn't read my map clearly enough. 0:30 lost.
4) After the mistake, I was filled with resolve and ran hard into an easy control.
5) Used the stone wall as a handrail after the road, cleanly in
6) The hillside and reentrant had difficult footing, after punching down to the road, I used the stone wall as a handrail. Passed a few people going up into the control.
7) Around to the left to dodge some of the green. I startled two people walking a course at the flag.
8) Bit of a dubious route choice; I didn't want to climb, so I ran around on the right. The footing was ok, but it was a slog, and probably lost 0:30 to route choice. I did have the benefit of a great attackpoint - up the reentrant and over the hill. Didn't stop to drink.
9) In and out.
10) The woods were great here; I descended two trails and dragged myself up the reentrant. The control was visible from the road, but the climb was tiring.
11) Followed the line of cliffs on the hill to the left, ran over the bare rock, and was momentarily confused by lots of little cliffy gnolls. Took a second to decipher the map inside the circle.
12) Upset by sluggishness, I charged down the hill to the road without much regard for my direction, as I knew the road would be fast and easy into the flag. The descent in the circle was awkward, as the flag was nestled among some rocks. Ran past some civilians on the road.
13) Clean, but maybe getting tired.
14) I hesitated leaving 13 regarding what route to take, and chose poorly. I didn't really know where I was as I descended the hillside, and popped out further north than expected. 0:30 lost; I should have stuck to the trails.
15) I went straight, which was difficult in the thick vegetation. I was counting on the trails serving as collecting features, as negotiating the green required lots of microroute choice. I didn't notice the route to the left along the hill, which I think is best. The control was visible from far off, just tricky getting past the swamp.
16) Busted out to the road and kicked it up. I passed Dean as we left the road to run into the flag.
17) I decided to ignore the trails and charge over the little hill, but I didn't watch my compass closely enough and drifted right. Easy fix, but some time lost (0:10?).
18) Getting around the hills was a little tricky, but the route was very safe across the green-briar strewn bridge. I passed two older people walking to the same control.
19) Blasted down the trail, attacked via the line of big boulders. Clean.
20) I decided to go straight, and saw the cliff high and slightly to my left.
21) Busted down to the road and ran around. Passed a few people.
22) I was a little sluggish getting over the first hill, but once I hit the trail over the large hill, I started kicking and flew past a few people. The descent was steeper than I expected, and my quads burned trying to control my fall.
23) My legs were smoked, and I unsteadily hauled myself down the trail. Crossing the marsh was probably better, and I should have attacked the control north of the cliff rather than south.
F) Nemesis'd.


Quickroute

Running around Blue Hills East making last revisions to control sites. HR spike is spurious. My legs feel so much better in the Orocs than in my decrepit X-talons.

Red - Splits

My right calf felt unpleasant today - possibly from traipsing about the Blue Hills in disintegrating O shoes, so I took a rest day instead of going out on a run. The volume from the coming weekend will be high enough, and almost all in terrain.

I am weary. Even as the busiest month of the O-season has ended, I find my fatigue unceasing. The weekend looks to be restful and will have two races with few responsibility, two days to finish the Traverse revisions, a concert, and dinner with a friend. I have few responsibilities left to discharge before the fall NEOC season ends. If I can get the spring schedule completed and meet with the various committees quickly, I might be able to take December off entirely from organizational responsibilities. Sometimes after so much communication and logistics, I find solitude welcoming. I'm still working on balancing my life in a sustainable way, but even as I tire, life goes on.

I had dinner with a friend tonight and explained my worldview - an atheistic mix of modified utilitarianism and absurdism. I think she though it bleak, and I can sympathize with that interpretation, though I think it realistic.

My next major project will be to coordinate a series of training camps among the northeastern clubs into a coherent schedule. CSU and DVOA regularly have training camps, and the US team has intermittently been to Harriman. My proposal is to get a number of clubs - tentatively DVOA, HVO, EMPO, WCOC, CSU, and NEOC - to each take charge for organizing one training camp open to the public during the year. DVOA already has its Hickory Run camp. I envision primarily using three day weekends outside of the busiest A-meet calendar, with two or three exercises each day. I want to minimize the energy barrier for attendance and for organization - attendees can help with control pickup, all exercises can be advanced level, and hopefully basic housing can be arranged. It's still considerable work, so persuading the clubs to organize may be difficult. But even if there were only four weekend training camps presented as a series, it would be a big step in the right direction.

The morrow comes, and new challenges await.

C • Training Camp Coordination 4

I took a few pictures of the moon last night with my 70-300mm L F4-5.6 lens. Greg's howitzer could get in closer (of course) with that extra 100m focal length. Most of the shots came out overexposed, but you can make out some of the details and impact craters on the lunar surface. I need to both get a remote shutter and learn more about my camera.

A link to a 100% crop of the moon:

Link to original.

C • less exposure 5

C • Lunacy! 1

My body is weary after all the running about in the Blue Hills. Last year, my leg was three months recovered from fracturing, and so I mostly walked while setting the Traverse. This year, I can (ostensibly) run, and the hours of punishment have worn me down. I decided to take a rest day; while my legs are a little tired, my core is aching. My feet also hurt from getting poked and prodded by rocks.

Stuff I apparently need to make my apartment more civilized:
- Bathmat
- Carpet for the living room
- Coffee Table
- Microwave
- A second pot for cooking stuff
- Salt and pepper
- Window blinds
- Supersoaker

C • As opposed to the first pot 19

I have removed about a dozen ticks from my person in the past two days, most of which were crawling around on my tights, and none of which had bitten into my flesh. Most of them then died gruesome deaths.

Every moment I spend on I-93 is unspeakable torture and a clear violation of my basic human rights.

C • Amen 3

Tired.

I acquired two pairs of X-talons in the spring of 2010 (my second and third pairs) - size 11.5 and 12. While I was incapacitated with my broken tibia from August - October 2010, I would gaze fondly upon them and imagine running in the woods again.

The two pairs have essentially withered, after about 300 km each. I discarded one pair after Pawtuckaway as it had lost enough structural integrity and gained enough holes that ubiquitous New England rocks would occasionally stab through and poke my feet. It turns out that I threw away one size 12 shoe and one size 11.5 shoe.

I have used the remaining pair of shoes for running about in the Blue Hills, but the inner part of the right shoe has disintegrated, and I have developed a mighty callous by the ball of my foot to compensate. I have a pair of Orocs that I use for racing, and a new pair of X-talons waits in my closet for the winter.

From a letter from OUSA requesting donations:

"Finally, on the field of competition, our national teams have carried our country's flag proudly. We have competed in four world championships, highlighted by Ali Crocker's sixth place finish in the World Ski Orienteering Championships. The best finish by any American ever at this event."

This bothers me for two reasons: first, that Ali finished in eighth on the Ski-O long, and second that OUSA has done absolutely nothing specifically to support any of the national teams. This point has been raised, but receiving a letter lauding the "exciting year for Orienteering USA" is particularly insulting.

The national teams are a conspicuous component of orienteering in the United States, and publicizing their achievements has many uses. However, to implicitly associate their successes with the national federation and its strategic plan when the teams have been hung out to dry by the federation is frustrating. I would like to see OUSA direct at least a token amount of the general operating budget to the US Teams. Even two or three thousand dollars would send a message that while this is a rebuilding year, the board is committed to supporting the teams and is willing to contribute and not simply take credit for others' achievements. I know PG and Eddie, among others, have made points to this effect.

I'm not sure if this letter went to all the membership or just to donors.

References:
2011 OUSA Budget Proposal (couldn't find the passed version)
2011 OUSA Budget Memo - page 2-3 explicitly addresses the US Team finances

C • Hmm 27

C • Proud of Ali 2

Brooksisms:
"You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you have to be uncommon."
"Great moments are born from great opportunities."

Perhaps somewhat less motivational:
"You guys are getting bent over and they're not using Vaseline."

Running around Blue Hills East. I spent some of the time wandering around the map, checking out features and some of the time vetting control sites. I was rather tired at the end, probably exacerbated by insufficient lunch in my haste to get out before the sun set. I continued until it was too dark to see.

During the Pawtuckaway training camp, I had the fourth movement of Mahler 9 stuck in my head. I don't remember what was playing during the Needham, but there was a soundtrack. Today had a hodgepodge of classical music, some of which I was unable to identify; Alpine Symphony, Strauss' Don Juan, and the second movement of Rach Piano No. 2 featured prominently.

C • 2nd movement Rach 2 2

10-minute abs:
Tuckups, kayakers, plank, situps, flutter kicks, oblique crunches, two minutes of single leg bridge, cherry pickers, and leg lifts. I finished up with 2x side plank, an additional minute of plank, and two minutes of supermans. I did the extra supermans because my back felt weak after crouching through Pawtuckaway's branches.

My body is tired after all the activity this weekend, so I took a rest day. The legs feel good.

C • Almost identical workout 6