Training Log Archive: Linear Ice

While I was having fun orienteering, my St. Louis daughter got to compete in a fun horse show..... but they put her on a peewee pony. Am I a bad Mom that I chuckled at this video?

*No animals or riders were hurt during the production of this video.

Beautiful new map and a great course set by Owen Baird.
I liked the subtle features; the numerous marshes made things a lot easier and were fun to navigate through. Course had interesting routes, lots of route choices, and though there were trails, the course avoided them very well.... and the "skip" choices weren't obvious. Fun to see Rich and Chris from CAOC, Swampfox, Vern and to meet some new people (more Manitobans- Steve and Tom)
Top notch international event!

So how did it go for me..... with this perfect set-up? Not perfect.
It took about half of the first loop for me to get into the map.
Next 14 controls or so felt pretty good, not going very fast but lots of "alone" time in the woods and I think this helped cause I felt like I was getting into a rhythm, staying focused. Didn't see too many people for most of the day (being one of the last after botching the early controls), then ran into guerfondler who was a boggy mess, having taken a full frontal splat in knee deep bog muck. We ran the next few controls together.... was a good change of pace to have company, AND to remember that I stop thinking when someone else is around... we probably got each other off track a few times, then helped each other relocate a few times. Fun but not a net gain for either of us. We split for last few controls since I still had a skip; I took 12 on the second loop as did most people I think. By this time I was largely walking.

I do think I had a large portion of the run where things just clicked. Results won't show it, cause there were a number of big misses. But also some good quick relocations and corrections. And some not so good. =(

Fun stuff: I saw a huge porcupine slowly climbing a tree just a few feet from me.... looked something like this

Minnegoat Long - Splits

Event: MNOC - Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
 

Met up with Andrei, Jeff and Jason B for my first ride at Murphy Hanrehan
Good ride; parts I felt very confident and parts a little shaky still. Enjoyed riding with this group... watching them up ahead of me makes me keep going just slightly out of my comfort zone (and they'd wait when they got too far ahead) and Andrei gives lots of good advice along the way and keeps me Pushing up the hills. Good coaching, thanks!

What I noticed I have more trouble with than seems reasonable:
The banked curves
The patio sections downhill.... wanted to brake a little but that only causes a skid
Steeper sections. I really want to brake here too, but braking isn't fun, and generally gets me off-balance. I'm just a little afraid to let it fly sometimes, but when I do...... mostly FUN

What seems to be getting better
Enjoyment. Realizing that the trail makers actually put the trail in place for me to have fun and they are not going to try to kill me by creating a cliff right around a steep turn. (at least where I've been riding)
Not gripping my handlebars like grim death, not putting weight on my arms... but relaxing a bit more and putting my weight back.
Flowing with the trail just a bit more
Looking up ahead more often instead of two feet in front of me.
Working more with my bike instead of against it.
Going between narrow sections seems to be getting easier (trees on both sides). Although yes I slow down here still quite a bit sometimes.

We moved our weekly trail run to 5:30, which works out great since XC training isn't until 6:30.... and at the same place. How lucky is that?

First day of class... a little bit of classroom time and then I headed out with the "Beginner's" group, headed by Coach Bob and Coach Myra.
About 15 people in the class, some brand new, some just with bad habits they want to break, some know classic but want to learn skate.
We practiced balancing on one foot while swinging arms, then taking "ski steps" and balancing, then same thing with more of a "kick" and up the hill. And just did that a buinch with adjustments from our coaches. Lots of standing/listening too. I think the hardest part for me is I want to lift my leading leg like I'm running, instead of "falling" onto it.
Also did some hiking around with our poles.

I loaded Alice in the car and we drove to run some trails at St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park. The other times I've been there I either ran the ~8 miles to the park (on my loooong runs last year) and was not about to run all the trails, or rode my bike, or just drove. And I XC skied at the park last year for about 1 mile (total) before getting too cold and too unfun.

It's kind of a cute little park, forgotten to most people except anyone with an outboard motor.... lots of people putting boats in and out of the water.
I let Alice take a swim at the dock.... some woman informed me, urgently... "She's drinking the water". I let the woman know, in my most patient Jr. Forest Ranger Voice.... that the St. Croix River is one of the cleanest river's in the US - one reason it's a National Scenic Riverway. She still looked mildly horrified, so I lost my composure... and said.. "It's a DOG!" I don't know if that woman has never had a dog, or if she thinks her dog is human.