Training Log Archive: J Anderson

Thank goodness I finished off the weekend on a good note! This was a good race!
Teamed up with Mom for the 2 person advanced course relay. I was leg 1 runner. I know this area fairly well now from a spring event and training with Rob so that definitely helped. Sure looks different in the fall though!
Made 1 little parallel error and hesitated all the way to a stand-still twice during the race but overall pleased with how it went.
Ended up first female in the individual times and 4th overall individual.
As for relay team results... we had good fun! I would team up with my mother anytime! She's an accurate orienteer and we run the same pace. And no, I'm not writing nice things only because I know she reads my log, I truly mean them. Hi Mom.

Eric and Jeff representin'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10...

I don't want to talk about this race right now. Hahaha! More to come later. :)
UPDATE:
Ok ok the gory details, as promised:
First off, it took me roughly 3 weeks to decide whether or not I wanted to run this. The morning of, I still wasn't even sure! Decided to suck it up and just do it. Bought a gel 15 minutes before the race, stuffed it in my pocket, did some warm-up stuff that I doubt helped in any way, cleared and checked an excessive amount, tried not to cry and tried to focus on the upcoming test...all like a real elite racer, right?
Started off well, then got pulled too far east by other runners in the area. Head was not in it yet! Control 2 was amazingly easy- it was only 100 or so meters away but still! Took 3 slow and steady.
Then it started to get sloppy...
Had the perfect route in mind for control 4 but veered too far north and started following the wrong lake. Turned around quick enough and found it easily after that. Off to 5 and I had a lot of thinking to do. These long legs are tough! Never experienced that before! Doubted myself the entire way until I was sure I was lost. As it turns out I was exactly where I wanted to be, roughly 200m from the control, on the other side of a perfectly crossable dam. Had some gel with water.
6 I took the easy way: up to the road and back in a couple hundred m later. 7 and 8 were straightforward and simple. Slow and steady still the theme of the day. Then it happened......
I was perfectly on course for #9. Every map feature made sense to me and I was following my bearing without trouble. No pond, no control. Relocated to a high point. Back in. Nothing. Relocated again on the other side of where I thought it should have been. Again nothing. This went on for a good half hour... Decided to head dead south and hit the trail, then relocate from there. When I think of it now and look at my map, I realize I must have been exhausted. I had assumed that the trail was this elephant track that followed the high open areas. In reality I would have had to descend a steep hill to the trail, but that never happened. Continued on make-believe-elephant-track-trail until I decided to give up on 9 and search for 10.
Met up with a girl on my course. She said she was looking for 11. 11? I was sure I was in the area of 10 still! When I looked at my map again I realized exactly where I was. Found 11, then 12. Then it all got blurry again. Straight bearing to 13 and couldn't find the trail.
Enough was enough, I was going on 2 and a half hours. Bailed north, out to the highway and ran back to the finish, dehydrated and upset.
I still have half of my gel. I'll use the rest next time...

C • felt the same way 5

Event: Ontario Orienteering Championships
 

This was my first experience on F21E. I'm very glad I chose to run this category this weekend. It's about time! No more Open5!
Middle distance run and I was very nervous to start. I put it out of my mind while working at the registration desk in the morning but once it came down to it I was panicked. Need to get some tips on pre-race. :)
The plan: go S-L-O-W and find each one without losing contact with the map. If hesitating, slow down and relocate back to 100% confidence.
Sure enough I shat the bed on control 1. Took me 5:44 (really now!). I thought my confidence was gone until control 2 popped up surprisingly easily. The rest of the race went really, really well accuracy-wise. I hit every control no problem. The last control (17) was a longer leg and took me 10 mins. After I realized I was stopped, staring at the map and not really making a decision I thought I may as well just GO and figure it out along the way. I was exhausted- mostly mentally I think.
http://www.ottawaofest.ca/results/oof2011-Results-...

Sprint in the afternoon and I was feeling quite good after my success in the middle distance.
Started off fast (trying to ignore the photographers heckling me!) and continued through the first 10 controls at a fast-ish pace for me.
First half of the race was significantly better than the second (last bit was in the woods). Finished just 5.67 minutes behind Molly, which is an accomplishment if I do say so myself!
Third Ontario and 7/9 overall.
http://www.ottawaofest.ca/results/oof2011-Results-...

Bike to work and back.

Bike to the Arboretum for Adventurers training.

Warm-up, borden ball, run, "beep" test run, ultimate, striding with poles, hills, balance and strength, and rolling down the hill (of course!).
Did more standing around than usual but ran enough to keep warm.
Biked home.

Not feeling quite 100% but it was great to do lots of little bits of exercise today.
Purchased new Inov-8's and excited to use them! Will have to wait until after this weekend's events though...

Was late for work, had to bike quickly!