Training Log Archive: PG

NA Champs sprint (M65), 1.9 km, 30m climb. The map.

Last day of what has been a superb event, The organizers have done it just right.

Ran well enough to win my class. Excellent.

But much more excellent was seeing the team win the BK cup. And all through the event, and in the two years leading up to it, there has been a good team spirit about this, and watching them get the job done was very very fun.

Course was easy, as almost all sprints are, but of course easy to make mistakes too if you are running hard. Though this one was (because of the terrain) pretty straightforward, most of the routes were straight with just slight adjustments a couple of times to simplify the orienteering.

Don't think I missed anything. Visibility was good, even through the green areas, so if you kept your head up you could often see the flags from a good distance.

That's not to say it was a run without a little drama. Though the drama was just before the start, and yet another sign that I am losing my marbles.

I have seen people freak out just before the start, they forgot their compass or something else, or a shoe is falling apart, or something, and panic ensues. (I will resist naming names....)

I don't think it has ever happened to me. Until today.

My start was 10:03, call-up 10:00. About 9:56 I am getting my compass and e-punch and control description holder out of my bag, perhaps 20 meters from the start, yup there's the compass, the control description holder, but where's the e-punch. Damn. Dump out the little ditty bag, not there. Dump out the main bag, not there. Shit, and I know they are not changing start times if you are late.

Panic. Call-up in 2 minutes. Go to the person at the call-up line. Do you have any extra e-punches? She sends me to registration.

To registration, do you have any extra e-punches? She sends me to the computer operation at the finish.

At this point the panic is definitely not easing.

To the finish area. I spot Alar. Do you have any extra e-punches, I start in a couple minutes?

And he looks in one box, nope, then a second, there they are, he hands me one, I run off.

It's just after 10. For some reason I detour by my bag, and there on the grass, about a yard from my bag, is my own e-punch. Grab it, leave the rental one, at the start just in time.

I am such an idiot. Is this the direction my life is going? It seems so.

My route.

C • thinking 6

C • scalp 1

Sprint - Course 3 - Splits

North Americans, long distance. The map (if you want to see the whole thing), and the section with my course (maybe a little sharper image?), 4.6 km, 175m.

Another fine terrain/course/map. It continues to be a first-class event.

My run was, quite simply a struggle, except for when the course went downhill and then things were OK. :-)

But the running in general was a struggle, and my heels hurt, especially the left one, the soreness getting up into the Achilles too, and my orienteering was as scattered as yesterday, perhaps a bit more so. I should add that I won my class by about 5 minutes, so the above may sound like a bunch of foolish complaining, but the run was in fact a struggle and I am in fact competing against a bunch of very old men.

One thing that is strange is my start times -- I was next to last starter in my class yesterday, and today and tomorrow I am dead last. I don't think I asked for late starts. But it is quite fine, though perhaps a bit of an unfair advantage. I like having an idea of what time others have run, and then there are always some tracks. Courses usually get faster as the day goes on.

Good to 1. Missed 2 to the left, 20-30 seconds. OK to 3, walking some. Good to 4. Missed 5 to the right, quite confused (my mind doing another disappearing act), 2 minutes(?). Good to 6, walking a lot. Good most of the way to 7, bad at the end, too high, 1 minute(?). Didn't see 8, right in front of me, 15 seconds. OK to 9. Good to 10 and 11.

So 37 would have been good in my current condition, perhaps 34-35 if I was running like last year.

But that ain't going to happen. We'll see if I can manage the sprint tomorrow, then no running for perhaps quite a while. Very glad I didn't make an European plans for the summer.

My routes.

Long - Course 5 - Splits

Event: North American Orienteering Championships
 

Whoops. Ran into Mike Waddington at dinner, we were talking about the day, he said he thought the winning time for all courses for the older folks was supposed to be 25 minutes, not the 30-35 I had just assumed. And so my course was about right.

Went and checked the COF website. 25 minutes it is for the older classes. As I said, whoops....

C • older classes 5

So should we start a pool?

How many days of the NA Champs will the results be posted for (if any) before the results are posted for the US Trail-O champs (which were on Wednesday)?

NA Champs, middle distance. Here's the map with the M65 course. Longer courses made use of the nice terrain in the SW corner and the two bigger hills on the east side.

M65 course was fine, certainly fun, also certainly too short. I won't say too easy, though they kept us out of some nice terrain south of 2 and 3, since I screwed it up even as it was. But a course that is done in 24 minutes, and should have been done in 20-21 minutes, is too short, plain and simple. And the last part, from 7 to the finish, was pretty trivial (though I have to say, it being downhill, that it was fun to actually feel like I was moving).

An interesting psychological aspect to the run. Out of shape and feeble as I have been feeling these days, I still expected to win the class, though of course you never know. I had almost the last start. A bunch of times were up, the best 35, I figured under 30 would do it. The course was only 2.7, 95m climb, so no reason under 30 should not be possible. So I guess I was optimistic.

By the time I reached the first control I already felt quite exhausted, but it was a nice cool day and that made things a lot better, and I kept putting out a good effort. The first few controls popped up right in front of me, just as they should, and part way to 5 I looked at my watch, a little less than 10 minutes. A look at the rest of the course, I was about half done, damn ought to be about 20 minutes. That should do the trick.

And then something happened on the way to 6, stopped paying attention, got up on the high ground just north of the control, but thought I was already in the vicinity of the control, surprised not to see it. Looked around a little, couldn't place myself. Then the usual semi-panic, decided to go back to the last known point, did that, tried again, this time saw what was happening and got the control OK. Maybe 3-4 minutes gone. Not really pissed, still thought I had it in the bag. Little did I know.

7 was straightforward, the rest were easy, and fast, and I got moving and that felt good, so I was going as quick as I could. On the way over to 10 I heard my name yelled a couple of times, that always picks you up a little, so I made good time coming in. And luckily so, turned out John Harbuck had 24:45, I was 25 seconds to the good, lucky I had hustled the last 5 minutes in from 7.

You're out there on your own in O', you never know how you've done until you finish, got to remember that. Very glad I wasn't a little casual and 30 seconds slower.

And nice to run quickly at times, even though the feet sure hurt now.

My route.

Middle - Course 5 - Splits

In Cranbrook, BC. Took an easy walk around some of the model controls. Quite nice. Looked especially nice for mountain biking.

C • And the map and photos.... 1

Actually this happened on Sunday, post wedding full-day tour of Yosemite....

Started out with a lengthy drive over to Glacier Point, wonderful panoramic views of the park....



Next the actual "training" -- an assault on Sentinel Dome (route).



I must point out that of all the peaks climbed during the weekend by various folks attending the wedding, I belief we can claim the highest, a little over 8K, certainly higher then the assault that Ross and Alex and others made on North Dome that took them 9 hours. Our round trip time was about 45 minutes, including 15 minutes or so hanging out at the summit. Though I suppose they did start a little lower.

It was actually pretty cool. Neither of us was interested in anything strenuous, but the dome was there and wanted to be done. Found a spot as close as I could on the road, figured we could bushwhack over, and lo and behold there was an old road going right where we wanted. Not that the bushwhacking would have been hard, the terrain was quite lovely, just waiting for an O' map to be made....







Back to the car, headed for the Mariposa sequoia grove, but first a stop to cool off....





Looked fine, but was it ever cold (notice that Gail has only one foot in). Brought back memories of a day in Alaska 17 years ago, a stream coming right out of a snow field, I offered something tasty (a Snickers bar?) to anyone who could stand in it for a minute, a prize claimed easily by Jim Baker, despite the fact that I took 3 or 4 minutes to count off supposedly one minute. The man has no pain sensors.

And then off again, but soon a quick stop to check out a bear....



And then finally to the sequoia grove, and the trees were really quite something (this is just an average size one)....



And of course the root stock (see yesterday's post) was superb, couldn't help but think of Valerie and her tiny little specimen.

And then on the way back to the car I thought it might be a good idea to see if there were any interesting birds to be seen, and no more than a minute later I heard a little noise and looked up and there was a female black-backed three-toed woodpecker, fabulous.

By now it was getting to be late afternoon, time to check out the main Yosemite valley, the light was now perfect...



including a short walk to Bridal Veil Falls....



and some more looking around, and then the drive back to Evergreen Lodge where we were staying, just outside the park. One last pleasant surprise, the park fee had been $20, covered 7 days for both of us, but there had also been a sign mentioning a deal for those 62 and older. So I asked on the way out. Yup, $10, and this gave you a *lifetime* pass good to any national park or other facility, plus anyone traveling with you. So I got one of those, plus a refund of $10. :-)

Such a fine day, a side-benefit of the wedding. Glad we had the chance.

C • Some more handsome people 2

Ok, lets take care of one item, the largest root-stock competition. Here's our latest submission, from the Mariposa sequoia grove at Yosemite. I do believe it trumps any other submissions to date --

C • Biggest Rootstock 6

I must say I was surprised to return to civilization on Monday evening and not be able to find any results from the SML champs. I had thought that with a new logo and a new ED we might do better with things like this (I believe many folks consider it the most important O' event of the year), but maybe I just need to be more patient.

In the meantime, let's at least publish the results of the event I went to -- Boris and Kat did actually get married....

C • Looking good.... 7

So, Monday evening and a very long time without contact with the rest of the world (i.e. AP). The backlog of imagined posts is quite lengthy, though there is no guarantee they will be written --

-- A report on the wedding, with some photos of O' folks in real clothes, including a shot of the possible women's WOC relay team this year looking absolutely fabulous.

-- A couple of bits of legitimate training, one a run, the other an O' sprint.

-- A magnificent day in Yosemite, including significant mountain climbing, white-water video trying to match the epic Jim Baker feat 17 years ago in Alaska, and a new root-stock record by far (just think of one word, sequoia).

-- And some other stuff.

But will it get written? Other things need doing, like plans for when we get to Calgary tomorrow. So just a little preview for now --



Oh, yes, Balter was looking fabulous too.

C • Balter 5