Training Log Archive: Charlie

At the Y, with Rhonda. I expect to be the slowest guy there, and I am not disappointed in that, but the guy next to me was pretty good, lapping me every lap! But pretty good nonetheless, and seems like it is good for me.

Day 2 Brown X at USChamps, Quantico. Alas, spoiled a really good run with one lapse that led to losing contact and somehow unable to recover. It will be interesting to see the track. It seemed to me that I was doing as well as I could on 1-5 and 7-9, but lost about 15 minutes thrashing around on 6. So 4th on the day, 2nd overall. All I could think about while I was thrashing around lost was Soupbone’s travails of the day before.

Map and Route

A day later, a bit sad about spoiling what was otherwise my best run in 5 years.

1. Certainly on alert for this first one, crossing a flat area to a small ditch, through some marshy stuff and a lot of branches in the face. Careful, careful on compass, crossed the NS ditch before it and then saw it right in front of me, perhaps a bit further than expected, but very welcome.
2. A little more confident, but the same sort of thing, a long bland area but expecting the hill in between, careful on compass. Saw what I thought was the reentrant going up the hill (and it was), across the top, still on careful compass, saw quite a few folks going all sorts of directions, including Phil H-T, but I was sure by now, down the gully to the lower ditch. Soike.
3. The long leg - decided to go straight, or as straight as I could, and more or less did just that. Got a little right of the line after crossing the second stream, because I was just N of the gully junction and went over the hilltop beyond that. Still a little right crossing the last stream and up the hill, fading a bit right to save a tiny bit of climb, then contouring side hill, adross the reentrant and up and over the spur, hitting it right on.
4. On compass, could see the large group of rootstocks and then the flag.
5. Also easy, on compass, checking off the rootstock before the stream, then heading up the L side of the reentrant opposite, seeing the little raised area that held the pit and right in.
6. Plan was to go more or less straight and hit the N draining gully about in the middle, etc. Again had a loose shoelace and stopped to tie it. This almost never happens, but maybe a combination of the footing and cold hands not doing a good job of tying it in the first place. Maybe should have continued on with it untied, but hated to try that with so much left. Anyway, seems that I lost focus in the 20 seconds or so I spent tying, and missed the gully high, to the right and kept going. When I hit the stream and still hadn't seen the gully, I foolishly thought I was still W of it, and so tried to make things fit, while trying to correct a bit to the east. Except I was already too far east. Eventually wandered far enough that I came to a trail junction, and there really weren't too many places it could have been, but still I wasn't sure, milled around for a bit, figured I'd go W a bit and then north, but got into a big area of rootstocks and couldn't find anyplace that had them on the map (there wasn't). So eventually determined that I would just head N until I got to someplace I liked or hit the powerline. Further than I thought. But finally I could see the land sloping down and enough light beyond that it looked like the power line was coming up, and the land looked about right and yep, there it was.
7. Definitely tired by now, so maybe a bit slower, on compass looking for the hill before the control. I was a bit left of where I thought I was, but didn't have much trouble finding it.
8. Passed Evan C, went by the N facing sharp spur and figured it would be right past it, and it was, if a few meters further than I was expecting it.
9. All of a sudden several people, including Wyatt, who punched at a control between 8 and 9 and led me into the finish, where he showed me a clean pair of heels, no surprise.

C • Ouch 6

Day 2 - Brown X - Splits

Event: QOC Quinquagenary @ Quantico National Meet
 

Day 1 Brown x at Quantico. 1st in M-70 when I left. Felt reasonably good during the race. Before the start I was feeling a bit unsettled, like I had forgotten something, then thought I needed to turn on the Garmin to pick up satellites, but it wasn’t on my wrist. Instead it was back in my room at our rental house. So no track. A good incentive to just go straight.

Map but no route

1. And I did go straight to 1, from the triangle on compass, across the last reentrant just left of the small marshy clearing and saw that the subtle reentrant would take me up to the flag on the spur. Spike.

2. Started well, a bit left of line to save climb, then along the line down the spur and across the stream, up the reentrant onto the round hill r of the line, past the pole at the black x, then to the reentrant with the gully looking for the trail with the markers, figuring I’d go on compass from there, but never saw the trail and drifted along the reentrant before giving up on it. I was too far left and ended up banging into the heavily streamered fence beyond. Then I was freaked out because I thought streamers meant the OB another 150 m further, but calmed down and turned around and it was just behind me. Lost about 1:00 or 1:30.

3: on compass, mostly down but climbing 5e last hill before the stream to make sure I was on the trail. Then trail to the elaborate bend, where I saw Rhonda and promptly got ensnared in some particularly aggressive smilax. Seemed like about 30seconds unwinding it from my shirt. Kept drifting right for a bit, but imposed some compass discipline and got back on track.

4. Straight along the line, across the stream, up to the trail. A few steps left on trail, then up hill and angling across the small stream. Got confused by the tiny marsh symbol at the foot of the spur near the control and thought it was a slope tag, and therefore not a spur but a reentrant, with the result that I was drifting left looking for a reentrant,not finding one I slowed down to contemplate, then saw the flag odd to my right, checking the code carefully. Maybe 45 seconds.

5. Good leg. Just right of line, hitting the stream near the black X, then left to the small streamlet coming from the east, then left of that on compass, and could see the flag before I got there.

6. Not a very disciplined approach. Aimed left to arrive at the trail junction, S from there on trail past 3 more markers to the sharp bend, then thought I would go right of the small hill and count reentrants. And I did, more or less, but there were some extra small reentrants, and then I saw a flag, so went up and checked it, before continuing on with a sense of dread. First deeper reentrant, and Phil H-T showed up, my shoe was untied, and pressed on to the second and the flag. Whew! But probably squandered another minute or so,

7. Several misadventures on this one. First an attempt to retie the shoe, not all that successful with cold fingers. By the time I finished, Phil H-T was almost out of sight. Then SW to the trail, angled up to the N-S trail, but climbed a line too high. Not so bad, but just a lack of attention. Approached the stream and was stopped by a young kid asking for help. Inclined to blow him off, but then I thought, gee, he’s just a kid, maybe 11 years old. Don’t be a nasty old man. So I stopped and showed him where we were. Across the stream on the bridge, turn right through the clearing and then on compass from the next bend, checking off the rootstock just NE of the circle, then checking the map again when I came to the first gully, yeah, there are two of them. And in.

8. On compass, maybe getting a bit tired. Crossed the two streams with the pointy spur in between, and Alex came whisking by. Aimed off left a bit, and maybe a little more than I expected, because I hit the road right by the trail junction, but that was fine, a yellow control from there. Across to the trail, right to the narrow spur, across the spur at an angle and down the reentrant to the control, easily visible from a distance.

9. Seemed easy, across the stream, keep it in sight on my right, follow the compass right in.

10. Worst control of the race. Just turned my brain off. Kept trying to go south, but each time I looked I was going west, even bad enough I wasn’t deterred by the top of the ridge or the stream. Lucky I got there at all. Eventually ran into the building due west of 9, and struggled in from there, just right of the small building N of the control. Seemed like about 1:30 squandered there.

C • Way to go! 4

Day 1 - Brown X - Splits

Spirited, but not pushing it. Maintained 22spm as the pace quickened. Gradual speeding up from 2:19 in the first 600 to 2:08.9 in the last. Kind of stiff this am, so warmed up a bit first on the mat. When I say a bit, 20 min or so.

In the gym with Eric. Usual stuff, stretching rolling, core, deadlifts, goblet squats, rowing.

Evening stretch yoga with the neighbors. As inflexible as I am, it appears that Tom is worse off than I am.

Spread the last of the woodchips we got yesterday. I passed a house down Wright Rd a bit where Bristol's was taking down a tree and chipping it into a big dump truck. Stopped and asked for the chips, told him where to put them, and when I returned from voting they were already in place. Spread half of them yesterday, the rest today. A total of six manure spreader loads. 3 yesterday, 3 today.

C • Nice 3

in the gym with Eric. Rolling, stretching, core, deadlifts, goblet squats, TRX rowing.

Out strolling with the dog, came upon 3 pileated woodpeckers flitting about the yard. Nice sighting as they checked out various trees, and then they were gone.

Stretchy yoga session with neighbors Tom and Jackie in the gym. Very beneficial.