Training Log Archive: mindsweeperIn the 7 days ending Oct 31, 2011:
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Sunday Oct 30, 2011 #
12 PM
Note
slept:8.5
Some of you might have noticed that my training log has been blank for several months. This is not because I haven't been training, but because I have been too busy/lazy to update it. But I thought it would be a pity not to talk a little bit about my experience from the championship relay race.
I was very happy to be asked to join the CSU2 team, for three reasons:
1) I thought the team was strong enough to win.
2) I thought I would be able to do my part to ensure the victory.
3) I was eager to get my first ever OUSA gold medal.
It should also be said that when I was flying to Saint Louis, I did not know which CSU team I would be on. I think the middle distance results gave a good indication of how the strongest team should be composed, and I hope everyone thought the team selection was sound and fair.
It was pretty clear that DVOA and CSU3 would be our strongest competition. Clem and Wyatt had the fastest running speed in Saturday's middle distance results, and only a somewhat tricky control #13 kept Wyatt from winning by a solid margin.
Despite this I felt very confident that it was possible for me to finish in front of Wyatt. Based on the middle distance results and running with him for a portion of the Pine Hill race I knew that our running speeds were not radically different. I also knew that despite him being a strong navigator, visibility would be good and I should be able to catch up if mistakes put me behind. Finally I knew that I have a pretty strong sprint. (Note that I have consistently lost to Maricel in sprint duels - he's a machine!)
I was grateful that Ali sent me out with a lead, but I was not confident that I would be able to maintain it for long, neither was I trying to. Working hard to maintain a 20 second lead against someone who has a similar running speed is a losing strategy. And sure enough, I missed the second control to the right, not seeing the bag even as I was standing on the ridge just 15m away. #3 and #4 were uneventful, but when running to #5 I failed to notice the dark green between the trail and the control, and stayed on the trail while Wyatt dropped down through the medium green gap. Fortunately I found a way through that wasn't too obnoxious, but Wyatt was now 40m or so ahead.
Wyatt went a it too far to the left and I gained on him as he had to turn north on the trail for a bit before being able to cross over to the little island. I don't remember how I managed to pass him, but I somehow came into #6 first. Unfortunately the control didn't beep the first time I punched, and I had to wait for Wyatt until I could try again. This was the same control that Alex' punch didn't register and had to be confirmed by reading the unit afterwards.
Wyatt then went along the shoreline to the second spectator control, whereas I cut straight through some vegetation in an effort to get ahead. He gained a second or two at most. Leaving #7 I went too far north and found myself standing on top of a bank with very deep water between me and the mainland. Cursing myself I turned right and tried to find my way through the medium green back the way we had come. Luckily for me Wyatt was being sloppy with his compass reading and went quite a bit too far south, and I was not too far behind him into #8. I don't remember who punched first, but I know we were more or less even at #9 and #10, and I think he punched just ahead of me at the third spectator control.
On the way to #12 it was my turn to do a poor job with the compass. I thought Wyatt was going too far to the right again, and I saw a control in his line but I didn't think it was ours. Unfortunately it was, and he got there first. The 13th leg was long, but there were some good features en route . There was a big open marsh to the right of the line, and also two rootstocks on the left a little over 100m before our control. I tried to go in as straight a line as I could, using these features to correct myself if needed. Wyatt curved left a bit around some slightly longer grass close to the open marsh, but I don't think he gained much by it.
After we punched #13 I noticed that we had to cross a bridge that was left of the line. I aimed towards the bridge rather than the control, and I felt Wyatt drift to the right. By the time I got to the bridge he was at least 30m behind, maybe more. I missed #14 ever so slightly to the right, and I think Wyatt saw me heading into it. I decided to leave the control through the woods both because it looked faster than going back to the road, but also in case Wyatt hadn't seen me duck into the control. He went back via the road but ended up losing a bit of time on it.
All in all I was pretty happy with this development, but it was not my primary strategy to try to get away from Wyatt. Instead I saw an opportunity to make him work hard to catch up with me so that I would have more juice at the end of the race. Unfortunately I made a silly mistake coming into 16 where I stopped short of the control, because I found another unmapped knoll. I should have noticed how close to the trail I was supposed to go, but this mistake allowed Wyatt to catch up again. I believe this is where the 8-point runners joined us.
Running towards #17 I again tried to go in a straight route and conserve energy. I tried using the highway pylons as a way to aim, and if anything ended up just a tad too far to the east. I was impressed and a bit intimidated that Maricel and Mark were not just keeping up with us, but even forging ahead at times. Even though I knew CSU2/DVOA had a significant lead earlier in the relay, I didn't know that these two runners represented 8-point teams, so at some point it struck my mind that in the worst case scenario I could get 4th instead of 1st.
Wyatt left #19 towards the bridge, and to be honest I didn't even see the route choice. (When Maricel and Mark left in a different direction than us, I thought they were going to a different control.) Even if I had noticed, I would have stayed with Wyatt. Why take the risk of losing on a route choice decision when the whole strategy was to win in a sprint duel? On a similar note I was not tempted to try to pass Wyatt and punch ahead of him at the spectator control. In fact, I was starting to get intimidated by his speed. Leaving #20 I realized he was speeding up even more, and I had to concentrate to try to stay with him. I noticed the possible straight route through the slash to #21, but did not want to risk it.
As we ran towads #21 a few thoughts went through my head. First of all I felt like I was running slightly above my anaerobic threshold, and I thought that if Wyatt was saving himself for the finish I was screwed. But I also noticed that there was a slight head wind, and I tried to tuck in behind him in order to benefit from the drag.
As we left the paved path just before #21 I realized two things:
1) Wyatt swung slightly to the right as a way to optimize his route based on the contours.
2) I wanted to punch #21 ahead of him, because it would ensure a head start in the final sprint.
So 40m before the control I abruptly picked up my pace. I punched ahead as planned and immediately started sprinting towards the finish. Of course everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs at this point so it was very easy to give 100%. I managed to glance behind me every 10 seconds or so, and after the third or fourth glance I started getting confident that I would be able to stay in front. But I also felt my legs getting heavy with lactic acid, so I still worked hard to keep my speed up until the very end. Just 15-20 m before the finish I felt like it was safe to celebrate, so I lifted my arms, happy and excited that I had been able to perform my anchor duties.
After crossing the finish line, someone (PG?) reminded me that I still needed to punch the finish punch. As I turned around and saw Wyatt run the last few meters towards the finish, I instinctively felt like I should try to punch before him, despite knowing that crossing the line first is what mattered.
Wyatt and the rest of the DVOA team were quick to graciously congratulate us, despite there still being some uncertainty about Alex punching the first spectator control. I was confident that she had been there (I believe I saw her across the lake) and that there wouldn't be a problem. I knew from personal experience that the unit was slow, and I had the same thing happen to me at the Rocky Mountain festival the previous year.
Thanks to DVOA for putting up such a good fight - they have certainly dominated US relays for several years, and will be a force to contend with for many years to come.
And thanks to my teammates for doing exactly what they needed to to help us win this race, despite the strong competition. Go CSU!
I was very happy to be asked to join the CSU2 team, for three reasons:
1) I thought the team was strong enough to win.
2) I thought I would be able to do my part to ensure the victory.
3) I was eager to get my first ever OUSA gold medal.
It should also be said that when I was flying to Saint Louis, I did not know which CSU team I would be on. I think the middle distance results gave a good indication of how the strongest team should be composed, and I hope everyone thought the team selection was sound and fair.
It was pretty clear that DVOA and CSU3 would be our strongest competition. Clem and Wyatt had the fastest running speed in Saturday's middle distance results, and only a somewhat tricky control #13 kept Wyatt from winning by a solid margin.
Despite this I felt very confident that it was possible for me to finish in front of Wyatt. Based on the middle distance results and running with him for a portion of the Pine Hill race I knew that our running speeds were not radically different. I also knew that despite him being a strong navigator, visibility would be good and I should be able to catch up if mistakes put me behind. Finally I knew that I have a pretty strong sprint. (Note that I have consistently lost to Maricel in sprint duels - he's a machine!)
I was grateful that Ali sent me out with a lead, but I was not confident that I would be able to maintain it for long, neither was I trying to. Working hard to maintain a 20 second lead against someone who has a similar running speed is a losing strategy. And sure enough, I missed the second control to the right, not seeing the bag even as I was standing on the ridge just 15m away. #3 and #4 were uneventful, but when running to #5 I failed to notice the dark green between the trail and the control, and stayed on the trail while Wyatt dropped down through the medium green gap. Fortunately I found a way through that wasn't too obnoxious, but Wyatt was now 40m or so ahead.
Wyatt went a it too far to the left and I gained on him as he had to turn north on the trail for a bit before being able to cross over to the little island. I don't remember how I managed to pass him, but I somehow came into #6 first. Unfortunately the control didn't beep the first time I punched, and I had to wait for Wyatt until I could try again. This was the same control that Alex' punch didn't register and had to be confirmed by reading the unit afterwards.
Wyatt then went along the shoreline to the second spectator control, whereas I cut straight through some vegetation in an effort to get ahead. He gained a second or two at most. Leaving #7 I went too far north and found myself standing on top of a bank with very deep water between me and the mainland. Cursing myself I turned right and tried to find my way through the medium green back the way we had come. Luckily for me Wyatt was being sloppy with his compass reading and went quite a bit too far south, and I was not too far behind him into #8. I don't remember who punched first, but I know we were more or less even at #9 and #10, and I think he punched just ahead of me at the third spectator control.
On the way to #12 it was my turn to do a poor job with the compass. I thought Wyatt was going too far to the right again, and I saw a control in his line but I didn't think it was ours. Unfortunately it was, and he got there first. The 13th leg was long, but there were some good features en route . There was a big open marsh to the right of the line, and also two rootstocks on the left a little over 100m before our control. I tried to go in as straight a line as I could, using these features to correct myself if needed. Wyatt curved left a bit around some slightly longer grass close to the open marsh, but I don't think he gained much by it.
After we punched #13 I noticed that we had to cross a bridge that was left of the line. I aimed towards the bridge rather than the control, and I felt Wyatt drift to the right. By the time I got to the bridge he was at least 30m behind, maybe more. I missed #14 ever so slightly to the right, and I think Wyatt saw me heading into it. I decided to leave the control through the woods both because it looked faster than going back to the road, but also in case Wyatt hadn't seen me duck into the control. He went back via the road but ended up losing a bit of time on it.
All in all I was pretty happy with this development, but it was not my primary strategy to try to get away from Wyatt. Instead I saw an opportunity to make him work hard to catch up with me so that I would have more juice at the end of the race. Unfortunately I made a silly mistake coming into 16 where I stopped short of the control, because I found another unmapped knoll. I should have noticed how close to the trail I was supposed to go, but this mistake allowed Wyatt to catch up again. I believe this is where the 8-point runners joined us.
Running towards #17 I again tried to go in a straight route and conserve energy. I tried using the highway pylons as a way to aim, and if anything ended up just a tad too far to the east. I was impressed and a bit intimidated that Maricel and Mark were not just keeping up with us, but even forging ahead at times. Even though I knew CSU2/DVOA had a significant lead earlier in the relay, I didn't know that these two runners represented 8-point teams, so at some point it struck my mind that in the worst case scenario I could get 4th instead of 1st.
Wyatt left #19 towards the bridge, and to be honest I didn't even see the route choice. (When Maricel and Mark left in a different direction than us, I thought they were going to a different control.) Even if I had noticed, I would have stayed with Wyatt. Why take the risk of losing on a route choice decision when the whole strategy was to win in a sprint duel? On a similar note I was not tempted to try to pass Wyatt and punch ahead of him at the spectator control. In fact, I was starting to get intimidated by his speed. Leaving #20 I realized he was speeding up even more, and I had to concentrate to try to stay with him. I noticed the possible straight route through the slash to #21, but did not want to risk it.
As we ran towads #21 a few thoughts went through my head. First of all I felt like I was running slightly above my anaerobic threshold, and I thought that if Wyatt was saving himself for the finish I was screwed. But I also noticed that there was a slight head wind, and I tried to tuck in behind him in order to benefit from the drag.
As we left the paved path just before #21 I realized two things:
1) Wyatt swung slightly to the right as a way to optimize his route based on the contours.
2) I wanted to punch #21 ahead of him, because it would ensure a head start in the final sprint.
So 40m before the control I abruptly picked up my pace. I punched ahead as planned and immediately started sprinting towards the finish. Of course everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs at this point so it was very easy to give 100%. I managed to glance behind me every 10 seconds or so, and after the third or fourth glance I started getting confident that I would be able to stay in front. But I also felt my legs getting heavy with lactic acid, so I still worked hard to keep my speed up until the very end. Just 15-20 m before the finish I felt like it was safe to celebrate, so I lifted my arms, happy and excited that I had been able to perform my anchor duties.
After crossing the finish line, someone (PG?) reminded me that I still needed to punch the finish punch. As I turned around and saw Wyatt run the last few meters towards the finish, I instinctively felt like I should try to punch before him, despite knowing that crossing the line first is what mattered.
Wyatt and the rest of the DVOA team were quick to graciously congratulate us, despite there still being some uncertainty about Alex punching the first spectator control. I was confident that she had been there (I believe I saw her across the lake) and that there wouldn't be a problem. I knew from personal experience that the unit was slow, and I had the same thing happen to me at the Rocky Mountain festival the previous year.
Thanks to DVOA for putting up such a good fight - they have certainly dominated US relays for several years, and will be a force to contend with for many years to come.
And thanks to my teammates for doing exactly what they needed to to help us win this race, despite the strong competition. Go CSU!