Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: West Point National Meet
 

Middle distance Brown course at West Point. Back is pretty sore, certainly more of a struggle than last month in California. Started slowly to 1. Somehow it seemed farther than I was expecting, so I was just looking around a lot on the way, but saw the big rootstock in front of the control. Then 2 was a pretty nice leg, pretty straight, coming between the two knolls just above it and straight in. Fine to 3, except I didn't look far enough around the cliff to see the control, so reluctantly went down and checked the next cliff, mapped as bare rock on the edge of the circle, and then doubled back for it. Then down to the intersection at the water stop and S on the trail thinking I would go off the boulder 50M south, but no boulder there, and now that I look at it the symbol is a building, but no building there either. No harm done, because the spot was obvious. Wormed my way between the green and somewhat reluctantly crossed the stream. Up to my waist! And hard to get out on the steep bank on the other side. It wasn't until I was on the way to 5 that I saw there was a bridge a bit farther up. Anyway, once I was across, pretty easy to find #4, and there were a few folks there, anyway. Then I got a bit off to the right on the way to 5, near the stream, and past the bridge, but no troublefinding the control, going up the little streamlet ditch to it. Started back toward the bridge, but found a place to cross the stream on rocks, and headed uphill. Eventually I came out on the E/W trail, but a bit confused, and it seemed like climbing up on the N side of the stream was helpful, so it ended up a bit of a circuitous route. I saw a 4 meter boulder across the stream and thought that it would have to be on the map, but then I saw that the clue was 4 M boulder, so all set. The last few were trivial.

Brown Middle Map.

The walk back from the finish was pretty painful, basically as long as the walk to the start plus half the course, and over rocky sidehill much of it. Joe was apparently clever enough to figure out a way to get across the swamp on a beaver dam. Very tiring, and perhaps not optimal course planning.

C • perhaps not optimal course ... 4

Brown Sprint at West Point. Easier than the morning, but still sore and hobbled. Maybe lost a bit of time here and there, including going almost to 3 on the way from 6 to 7, and getting past 14 and then cutting back in to it, but the only real error was 15, where I drifted below the lower big cliff and had to think about it a while before I climbed up, maybe a minute or a minute and a half lost there. Just for perspective, I saw 8 right away leaving 7, more or less ran to it as fast as I could. Andis passed me, probably doing the leg in half the time it took me or maybe even less.

Brown Sprint Map.

Middle - Brown - Splits

Sprint - Brown - Splits