Training Log Archive: ParkSchool

Event: Billygoat Run at Mt. Tom
 

2010 Billygoat. My best Billygoat performance to date, but I am kicking myself because a needless 4+ minute error on #2 prevented me from fulfilling both of my outstanding major orienteering goals. I started well enough by avoiding the rush (apparently led by J-J) to head N out of the starting field, but I did fail to avail myself of the better trail option which ran S of my more direct approach. Still I was in good company with Tim and Ben Parson, PG and Alex Jospe among others at the first flag. I then made the ill-fated decision to try to hold on the Parsons at the expense of maintaining contact with the map. This decision would not have been so bad if I had had the patience/wisdom to simply follow PG when my first plan proved impractical, but I forged ahead when PG stumbled and then convinced myself that I recognized a small knoll only 200 m S of the flag. My confidence was further boosted as I saw Ross running up the same reentrant I was. Sadly for both of us, he was also in the process of blowing his chance at glory. In the calm aftermath of the race, it is apparent that I misread the facing of the cliff line S of #2 and should not have been running up any reentrant with the expectation of seeing the flag. In any case, I ultimately relocated with the help of Jeff Saeger on the wall between #2 and #5. From there, I had a very solid race, making up time on both PG and Alex, but sadly not enough to catch them. I felt very good about my navigation and route choices in general, although in retrospect there were I few legs I should have done differently. I became confused leaving # 6 and failed to navigate N to the road as I had planned. I wound up making the very steep and rugged descent along the straight line path before navigating very adroitly across the two broad forked reentrants. Still, I lost over a minute to those who executed the approach I had intended. I also lost a surprising amount of time on #21 where I descended slightly inefficiently down the reentrant to the L of the line before milling around briefly trying to identify the less than prominent thicket. It felt like a 30 second error, but the split analysis suggests closer to 1:15. The only other choices I would have changed were my decision to skip #14 instead of #15 (probably worth 45 seconds), to climb straight from the road bend to #10 rather than run around (maybe only 5-10 seconds lost, but at the cost of a lot of energy), and my decision to descend the ski slope instead of the trail to the L on the way to #19 (maybe worth another 45 seconds). Towards the end, I was clearly losing some time just related to running speed as my splits from #22 to the finish were 30 seconds slower than PG and the Olafsen mother/daughter pair that finished just behind me even though I executed the route without hesitation and at full remaining effort.

Billygoat Gruff. Technically, this was a race, but I certainly did not have much left in the tank, so I just jogged around as best I could. If I were in a more competitive frame of mind, I would have forged across the marsh from #4 to #5 and then gone straight to the R fork at #6 and skipped #7. However, I decided that my tolerance for possible frustration should the marsh prove unpleasant was very low, so I opted instead to skip #5. My navigation was fine, although I did hesitate unnecessisarily at #8 to check near the larger boulders W of the flag as again I did not wish to risk the frustration of climbing back up the reentrant should I have miscalculated my position when I hit the stream.

I thought the course was well constructed, and it would have made for a fine challenge if the original plan for a two-part Billygoat had been kept in place. Still, count me firmly among those who would not enjoy such a significant change from the current format.

C • skipping 5 1

Billygoat - Splits

Gruff - Splits

Caryl Short. Got out early to give myself maximum recovery time (while still getting dogs out for adequate exercise) before Billygoat. Conditioning feels good and I have guarded hopes for getting my initials on a 2011 control, although I anticipate it will require a nearly flawless performance as a review of the start list reveals 25 runners whom I should not expect to beat even with an exceptional run. Beating PG may be possible as well, although I suspect that my excellent knowledge of the map does not exceed his.

Needham Town Forest. Comfortable run prior to Billygoat.

Needham Town Forest. This was intended as my last hard run before the Billygoat, but heat again a problem and I was forced to wait a total of 3:31 for Fonzie. Did a little trail maintenance as well once it was clear that the overall time would not reflect the effort. Nevertheless, covered the last "mile" in 6:42, which was quite encouraging.

Caryl Short. A much more constrained effort after the PR yesterday, but still a fine result.

Caryl Short. Weather much cooler with light drizzle, so prospects for a good time were greatly enhanced. Felt strong heading up the long uphill, and when I reached halfway point at just over 13:00, I made the decision to make an assault on the PR. A new standard was duly established with splits 13:04/8:46/3:43.

Needham Town Forest. Again having to wait for Fonzie in the heat (1:15).