Training Log Archive: PG

NAOC sprint. Ended up tied for first in M65 with Jeff Saeger. Which seemed to me like just the perfect outcome. I got him by a couple of minutes in the Middle, he got me by a couple in the Long, and a tie in the sprint feels like we both won.

I had a good run, but still one mistake, 20 or 30 seconds. Still satisfied. Was a long sprint course, best time on the course (in M55) was 18:37. But you knew going in that it would be long, and you adjust.

Overall, a great long weekend. I spent more time than expected helping with team stuff, which was all fun, and certainly way more time on the BK and FC Cup competitions -- dealing with any issues that came up, and trying to make sure the scoring was done right. So a good bit busier than expected, but that was fun too. And nice to see the team do well. This is the one time when there really is the sense of a "team" and the vibes were excellent.

I was standing in the parking lot Monday afternoon, where the relay courses came out of the woods, and someone asked me how things looked. I said it depended on who came out of the woods first. And then out came Sam, no one else near, and I noticed she was taking a moment to check the code, good for her.

And then the same someone said that that was it, and I said, Not yet. But then not much later, out came Alison trailed by the Canadian (Kerstin), but Alison was moving with a sense of urgency and was clearly going to take second. And then right away Hannah and Izzy, wrapping up 4th and 5th, and first for the juniors, and in just a minute that really was it.

A fine day, ended as it should with all the focus on the young and the fast. They are fun to watch.

C • Team leadership 3

Sprint - Course 3 - Splits

Another not very satisfying run. Botched the first control and a little bit the third. Orienteering otherwise was not bad, but just couldn't read the map very well, had to stop, and stop, and stop. And still not seeing it well. Night and day difference from the maps last weekend. Don't know how much a 7,500 scale might have helped, but it sure wouldn't have hurt.

Bunch of falls too, several of them left their marks.

Long - Course 6 - Splits

NAOC middle, M65. Not a good run. Lacking in confidence among other things, such as not thinking clearly. Had a decent amount of fighting spirit, but never got comfortable with the terrain, and so always felt like I wasn't making good progress. No really bad splits, but a lot of mediocre ones.

Will need to give some thought as to proper tactics for tomorrow, since it is in the same terrain.

Great to see all our team show up for this, it is priority #1. Now they just need to do some good orienteering. A lot of mistakes out there today. By my count the BK Cup is 107.5 to 96.5 in favor of Canada, the FC Cup 108 to 98 in favor of the USA. Three more events to go. Hope they bring their A games.

C • Cup thoughts 1

Middle - Course 6b - Splits

Event: NAOC2014 (North American Champs/Ottawa O-Fest)
 

Easy run around the sprint model.

The map may be 1:4,000, but there are still places I can't read it. Like the area of the control right outside my motel room, really small symbols packed together. I would have sworn the map was significantly wrong. Sometimes the sprint maps are the worst, and more and more stuff gets packed in. And what really matters, can I get through someplace or is it a trap, gets almost impossible to tell on the run.

C • Sprint maps 1

Here's the map from Sunday, the middle course (Brown Y, M70). Nice course.

Real nice run with Phil, exploring a bit on the north slopes of Norwottuck, trying to find, and then follow, what at times were phantom trails. Lots of hills, but all at a mellow pace in recognition of Phil's advanced age….

Need to get the bikers out to clean up their trails a bit, though in this area there aren't many bike trails to start with.

At the Amherst College track, by myself, warm-up. Quite windy and a little on the warm side.

400s with slower (but not slow) 200s between. I'd been thinking, using the general goal of making the workout "comfortably hard", that 8 repeats with times about 1:45 and 1:05, which would be about 7:35 pace for the 3 miles, although I wasn't sure I wanted to do quite that much.

Started out about right, 1:47.1 and 1:02.4, but then the next one was quicker, 1:42.0 and 1:02.3, and as it continued, I was definitely erring on the side of too hard and not too comfortable. Third was 1:41.5 and 1:01.3, and by then I had decided four would be enough -- was I channeling Phil? -- and the fourth one was 1:40.1 and 58.1, the last 200 a little quicker because I knew there was no 400 to follow.

And that seemed like enough to get some benefit and not so much as to do any harm.

I've always like doing intervals where the recovery is neither long nor very slow. One of my favorites a long time ago was 4x1600 with 200 in between and then a final 800, added up to 8K, or roughly 5 miles. And done with a total time of no more than a minute off my PR for the distance. I suppose one of these weeks I should try that one again, even if I'll be close to 40 minutes rather than the close to 30 back then.

And then a slow lap around the playing fields.

Late afternoon run on old woods roads in Deerfield. Really fine. Started out with a nice steady climb and it felt so easy…. :-)

Checked out a few more places I hadn't been before. Slowly completing a trail map of the area.