Training Log Archive: Bash

Canadian Orienteering Champs - Classic Day 2.

It was bound to happen eventually - I really messed up two of my first three controls. I was depending too much on trails that were often hard to see, and got muddled and uncertain about whether I would ever get relocated. I suppose the good news is that I got angry at myself but didn't get flustered. I eventually figured out where I had ended up and maneuvered back to the elusive controls. It was interesting later when I asked Hammer to show me the routes he would have chosen. In the other races, most of our route choices were reasonably similar. But on these controls... not so much. A good learning experience - and a reminder of the importance of choosing good attack points.

Other than spending almost 18 minutes on two controls in a 14-control race that our age group winner completed in 47 minutes, I suppose things went OK. The end of the course was rather boring, with 7 consecutive controls just northeast of Pipeline Rd. The 1 km leg east from #3 to #4 (almost identical to a leg on the M-Elite course) was really interesting though.

Final result in the 2-day Classic: 9th overall, 5th Canadian. Achieved my goal of top 50% in every race, but wish I had been sharper today. Next time!

Canadian Orienteering Champs - Classic Day 1.

Reviewing the detailed results from yesterday, I noticed that I didn't win any of the splits - and, in fact, rarely came close. So it wasn't that I went particularly quickly on any of the controls - I just didn't screw up anywhere (for a change). So... that put the pressure back on. "Yeah, I should do OK in this field - UNLESS, of course, I should happen to screw up. Even once." Luckily, my goal coming into this weekend was just to be in the top 50% in every race, so I tried to stay calm.

Today was a challenging and interesting course - although still quite short at only 4.3 km. I have a habit of finishing races without being particularly tired, so today's goal was to push myself harder in the middle of the race. It worked pretty well, except for the place where I got my Camelbak stuck on a barbed-wire fence as I tried to roll underneath it. (For this reason, the Camelbak stayed in the car on Day 2 - and 24 hours later, I still have the dehydration headache to prove it.) I couldn't reach back to untangle myself and, seeing a sympathetic-looking M70 racer, I asked if he could please detach me from the fence. He didn't quite step on my face as he hurdled over it, but neither did he speak nor stop to help. Realizing that I couldn't depend on the kindness of fellow orienteers, I ripped my pack and continued on.

About 500 m from the finish line, with a couple of easy controls left, I made a Fatal Glance At My Watch. Wow, was I ever doing great. With another late starting time, I knew what some of the finish times had been. Awesome! And then I lost my mind. Several of us were together and I was heading roughly east into a re-entrant. We all stopped and scratched our heads. I hit a trail that was supposed to be my backstop, got sucked into a different system of re-entrants, and actually ended up back at the previous control after a well-meaning gentleman told me that the re-entrant was just behind him. (Not his fault - I was so messed up by then that I was willing to believe anything.) After the shock of realizing that I had punched the same control twice, I took advantage of the fact that I had been relocated. In the end, it took me 7:53 to go 125 m, which really took the wind out of my sails. Finished 9th of 26 overall and 5th Canadian, which actually was fine. It would be rare for me to run two consecutive races without one serious error, although I do wish it had happened on a control that had at least some measure of complexity. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to whinge about ambiguous mapping or incorrect control placement (neither of which was the case), rather than my own general silliness!

Canadian Orienteering Champs - Short Distance event.

I don't have much experience running in my new age group - or, frankly, in any age group - and was disappointed to see that this race was only going to be 2.4 km. I prefer longer races where my endurance might come into play (since I don't have speed) and there is more time for my mistakes to be absorbed. This race sounded like a sprint to me - darn!

It was a day of ups and downs...
UP: Nice, cool weather with a touch of light rain. Such a relief after Ontario's ridiculous summer weather.
DOWN: Start time of 2:50 p.m. after the delay. Hammer and Griz had time to return to the hotel and shower before I even started.
UP: Ted said hello at the start line. ("Wow, Ted knows my name? Cool.")
DOWN: Newbie confusion... Didn't realize that start triangles aren't always at the start line (although it was clearly stated in the event notes). That only threw me off a little bit. What REALLY threw me off is that I was physically unable to see the start triangle on the map. Looking at the map now, I can't imagine how I missed the line from Control 1 back to the beginning. Obviously, there was a bit too much adrenaline flowing, and a lot of A Meet inexperience showing. I stood still and contemplated either returning to the start and throwing in the towel, or just slitting my wrists with my new $100 compass and getting it all over with. Next I ran a few tentative steps in a couple of different directions, then settled on the correct direction, since I knew where I was relative to the road and a large field. Somehow that improved my vision. I was able to see the start triangle as soon as I settled down and started doing the right thing. Go figure.
UP: Very strange, but today it felt like most of the controls had magnets on them, drawing me over to them. Maybe this is what people mean when they talk about "flow", which has thus far eluded me. After the bad start, I only wasted a few seconds here and there, but no major errors. Compared to the model event, the running was faster and I didn't constantly feel like I was going to turn my ankle on a fallen tree.
DOWN: Arrived at the finish chute to see Hammer animatedly discussing his map with someone, rather than taking the promised finish line photo. Instead, I now have a lovely action shot of me downloading my SportIdent. (I should hasten to add that he did pay more attention over the next 2 days, so all is forgiven.)
UP: The reason that Hammer wasn't looking was that I finished 10 minutes ahead of my predicted time! :-) I ended up 3rd of 26 women in my category - the second eligible Canadian - and received a silver medal, which I still can't really believe. Yahooooo!!! :-))))

Event: Canadian Orienteering Championships 2005
 

Canadian Orienteering Champs - Model Event. It is SO awesome to be in B.C. surrounded by beautiful scenery and, even more importantly, enjoying temperatures 10-15 degrees lower than home. It's ironic that I'd thought that one of my biggest training challenges would be preparing for the heat at my two events in B.C. this summer. If it stays like this, the Ontarians at this event will be very, very happy. In fact, we might stay. (Just kidding, Bent.)

The terrain is more challenging than I had imagined - although today's course was nearly flat, which I definitely hadn't imagined. The difficulty came from the fallen or falling trees, often tangled together and obscured by other vegetation on the ground. I didn't want to run too much in the forest for fear of turning an ankle, since I have two expensive team races happening in the next three weeks. My strategy was unsuccessful - I managed to turn my ankle anyway - OW. I ignored it, carried on, and ended up with a sore knee. Go figure.

Got a demo of a silly walk from Jon T. It's very John Cleese-like and fun. Returned to find Hammer and Griz waiting by the rental car, looking fresh in clean clothes. We all started at the same time and I think the course took them, oh, maybe 20 minutes or so. Ah well, good thing I left my ego at home.

Wildlife Report: 1 deer, 0 grizzlies, 0 cougars. Just the way I like it.

Flew to Vancouver with Hammer. The Minister met us at the airport in a white convertible and we rode like royalty to the Tree Hugger Condo in downtown Vancouver. We took a fun walk along the sea wall, then followed up with an awesome Mexican dinner. Later in the evening, we got back in the convertible, turned up the tunes and went to pick up Griz, who at first looked like he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be seen with us. Great hospitality from The Minister - looking forward to our Tree Huggers Go West party in two weeks when we return for the North Am Rogaine Champs.

With forecast high temperatures of 34C for the next four days, I would rather have done my taxes this morning than go biking. But, well, it's not tax time, darn it, and the mercury had dipped to an icy 28C, so my excuses were running thin. I headed out the door with a feeling of doom combined with a sense of obligation to my adventure racing team to ride my bike more than once in July, given that our most important race of the season is just ten days away.

To avoid injury before tomorrow's flight to the Canadian O Champs, I'd planned to ride on gravel roads and the rail trail, but it quickly became apparent that I would have to ride in the shade or else my feelings of doom might come to fruition. So I went into Palgrave Conservation Area to do some single and double track in the forest. Then a funny thing happened... I started to have fun! I was going just fast enough to feel a bit of a breeze, the forest was filled with amazing smells, and I glimpsed a couple of deer. No need for boring energy bars - I could stop and pick succulent wild raspberries along the trail. And maybe this is a bit Pollyanna-ish of me (if you read yesterday's diatribe on my orienteering skills, you may doubt that I'm so inclined), but I thought I felt stronger from my two weeks of leg weights. When I reached my planned turn-around point, I was enjoying it so much that I decided to take an extra loop.

By the time I left the forest for the ride home, it was too hot for humans. The honeymoon was definitely over. I got home and turned on the radio to hear a doctor talking about how particulates from air pollution enter our red blood cells and cause heart disease. So... given the smog advisory for this afternoon and the rest of the week, I'm glad to be flying to a somewhat cooler place.

Weight machine - upper body strength workout while watching the most interesting Tour stage to date.

Just checked the results for yesterday's O race and - woo hoo! - I was the top Canadian-born woman in my age group, possibly in the entire event. (I didn't do a passport check.) Yes, sometimes I really need to grasp at straws to feel even remotely successful at orienteering. Sigh... On a positive note, it has helped my AR navigation a lot, which is why I originally got into the sport. Also, the good orienteers need people like me to keep racing so they have someone to beat.

I've been negligent about biking lately, but when the temperature crept above 33C in the morning, I just wanted to go somewhere to hibernate and wait for autumn. Today was Ontario's 34th smog alert day of 2005 - yikes! In honour of the occasion, I spent some time working on our town's smog response strategy today.

As a compromise, BulletDog and I went for a relatively short trail run with two dog swims along the route. For the first time, I started thinking that triathlon might be a good sport for me. Wouldn't it be great to have to go swimming on steamy days like this?

I'm excited to see that it's cool enough in Williams Lake that I will need to pack a sweater for the evenings. Yahoo!

Weight machine - lower body exercises that I didn't do yesterday. No Tour de France to fend off boredom today, but at least the basement is the coolest room in the house.