Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: 2014 U.S. Corn Maze Champs
 

Warmup + drills. I stopped my GPS erratically.

I have had good Corn Maze O performances; with today's results, I have won all eight individual races I have entered. I don't know exactly why I do comparatively better in Corn Maze relative to other formats, but I really enjoy the races - and this would be true whether I won or not. While the competitive fields have always been very enthusiastic, they haven't always been that deep, and there are many people I would love to race (cough, Tove, cough). Thanks to all the organizers (mostly PG) for putting on challenging and interesting races and to Mike for letting us use his fantastic maze.

Corn Maze classic course. I was officially the last starter in the red group, though I think a few late comers started after me. Overall, it was a very good race, though the maze was tricky enough that I was not clean. However, my mistakes were very small, I kept solidly in contact, and I executed my routes well. Unlike in previous years, I took the "WOC Sprint" approach and studied the maze for about half an hour - planning routes on hypothetical legs, abstracting the maze into regions, and identifying highways and choke points.

I started by sloppily executing #1 - running ahead of my planning. My route to 2 was a poor choice, and I realized it while executing with a small bobble. Things finally started clicking to 3, and I reached my state of zen clarity en route to 4; I was one with the corn. I had small bobbles or hesitation at 6, 8, 14, 15, and 17; the worst of these were perhaps 15s. Apart from 2, I completely missed a better route choice to 8 that Brendan took. I was particularly happy with my execution to 4, 11, and 13. I caught up to Evalin at the go control, and we sprinted into the finish - though I wasn't able to pass her. I initially thought she was Izzy because they look the same.

This maze definitely lent itself to route choice and had regions that were tricky enough to cause serious problems. Given how much time I bled off, I think sub 10 is possible for someone of my fitness with a clean run, but it's so hard to have a perfectly clean run in a corn maze of this complexity.

Corn Maze Champs Sprint. PG announced before the race that while the classic race had a middle feel with short, technical legs, the sprint would resemble a long course - a few route choice legs. The first control was on the (somewhat boring) chessboard, but it was easy to make a mistake on the sharp, fast turns. I saw Kseniya and Izzy leaving as I reached the control. The second control involved flying down the main highway on the map - on which I almost killed some poor WCOCer in a collision. I thought the third control was the hardest, but my execution was very good. On the fourth control, I think I chose a route that was slightly longer than the optimal (right) route, but going left was very easy and I could run at full speed comfortably. I bobbled it slightly on final approach.

This was a great sprint, though less chaotic and frenetic than the legendary 2012 sprint - which was confined to a small, complex area.

A little jogging while Peter briefed everyone.

Corn Maze Night-O. The GPS track of this course is amazing. Peter devised an excellent score-O: 25 equal value controls with the catch that you received a bonus for a control if the previous control had a smaller code. Thus, the maximum score was for taking all controls in ascending order, 31-55.

Peter handed out the maps in a seeded way; competitors could look at their map when they received it, I received mine last, and I had to punch start as soon as mine was in the case. This suited me fine; I found 31 quickly - on the far side of the maze - and blasted down the highway. I took a bad route choice costing 30s to 32, where Ben caught up with me. He burned me pretty badly to 33, but I pulled even to 34, and broke away entirely by 35. I ran alone for the rest of the course, seeing people often.

The two challenges with this course were finding the next control on the map and keeping concentration for 35 minutes. I lost about 30s when I couldn't find 41; I even looked at someone else's map because I feared it had been omitted from mine. I had many small mistakes - 15s route to 36, 10s execution to 37, and at least a minute lost at 49. Much of my execution is a blur.

Classic - Splits

Sprint - Splits

Night - Complete In Order - Splits

Four rest days with ice and some naproxen have dramatically improved the state of my left foot, from limping to almost pain free. I also am breaking out a new pair of Inov-8 Bare Grip 200s, which are similar to the X-talon but have 0-drop. The fit is wonderful; the Men's 11.5 fit like a glove. The upper seems a bit more solid than the X-talon, there is no midsole, and the lugs are more aggressive but made with the same grippy rubber. I think they will be ideal for Corn Maze.

C • Bare grips 3

Tennis with Luc.