Training Log Archive: TomNIn the 30 days ending Apr 30, 2018:
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Sunday Apr 29, 2018 #
Orienteering 50:46 [3] 3.8 km (13:22 / km) +190m 10:41 / km
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
Mt. Tom Day 2. Finally a good run, and I felt like I did about the best I could. A few things could have been improved, and the little things add up.
On #1, I planned to go around the pond but found myself climbing up the stairs to the top of the escarpment. It was easy reading the terrain from there, but a couple extra contours and some distance added.
On #4, I got off the trail and up onto the spur a little early, came down into the reentrant and went for a different control, which turned out to be on a boulder rather than a cliff. Ran straight to the cliff after that.
I overran #6, saw the stream and came back, saw the boulder control just to the N, then finally hit the right one in the reentrant.
From 9 to 10 I ran on the trail all the way, around the drainage, across the small road, through the green and downhill right along the cliff edge. The control was just 10m off the trail bend. I thought for sure it was the best route, but it turns out going up to the road was faster. I still can't believe it.
Anyway, a fun course and I could hardly be happier with my performance, in the rain, no glasses, magnifier useless. Loving it.
On #1, I planned to go around the pond but found myself climbing up the stairs to the top of the escarpment. It was easy reading the terrain from there, but a couple extra contours and some distance added.
On #4, I got off the trail and up onto the spur a little early, came down into the reentrant and went for a different control, which turned out to be on a boulder rather than a cliff. Ran straight to the cliff after that.
I overran #6, saw the stream and came back, saw the boulder control just to the N, then finally hit the right one in the reentrant.
From 9 to 10 I ran on the trail all the way, around the drainage, across the small road, through the green and downhill right along the cliff edge. The control was just 10m off the trail bend. I thought for sure it was the best route, but it turns out going up to the road was faster. I still can't believe it.
Anyway, a fun course and I could hardly be happier with my performance, in the rain, no glasses, magnifier useless. Loving it.
Saturday Apr 28, 2018 #
Orienteering race 54:04 [5] 3.9 km (13:52 / km) +185m 11:12 / km
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
Mt. Tom Day 1. One bad control marred an otherwise fine run. It was #5, the first control in the technical area, and I saw it coming but still didn't prepare a good attack. Came in welll short, hit a trail, wasn't sure which one, finally got relocated and had no trouble with the approach from the trail. Lost about 10 min, and came in 7 min behind Glen T and a couple min behind David Hunter.
Thursday Apr 26, 2018 #
Road running 35:07 [4] 4.0 mi (8:47 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Morning run, bright sun and cool, on its way up to 70 later on. 10x (30s fast, 1min easy). My legs felt heavy today and not at all fast, but I wanted to do this set of strides because this is my last run before the Spring 2-Mile next Wednesday, other than orienteering this weekend.
Wednesday Apr 25, 2018 #
Road running 36:00 [3] 4.0 mi (9:00 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Easy run in the morning. Mid-50s and a little bit of drizzle.
Monday Apr 23, 2018 #
Field work 5:00:00 [3] 14.0 km (21:26 / km)
shoes: Roclite 280-2015
Setting out controls for the QOC Rosaryville meet this weekend. I can't attend, because I'm going to the Jr. Nationals at Mt. Tom.
I met Craig Shelden in the parking lot at 10 a.m., divvied up the controls, and went out with 32 controls in 4 bags. I had made course setting maps last week, and intended to go out on whatever day this week looked best. That turned out to be today. The next two days have rain in the forecast, and although Thursday looks good it didn't leave much margin.
Because this meet has regular plus MTBO courses, it uses more controls than usual. Amy Louden was kind enough to pack up some spare flags and epunches, and Don Fish delivered them to my door after Saturday's meet at Granite. I improvised some number tags for the spare flags, and Craig and I put the controls out in the woods, at least the ones that aren't right on the well-traveled biking, hiking, and horseback-riding trails.
It was a fine day, and it was very enjoyable to be out in the woods where someone else (Russ Damtoft, who couldn't be here to do it himself) had already flagged the locations. The flags were perfectly placed, and I hope the vegetation doesn't explode in the next 6 days, because as it is, even the light green is totally runnable.
I met Craig Shelden in the parking lot at 10 a.m., divvied up the controls, and went out with 32 controls in 4 bags. I had made course setting maps last week, and intended to go out on whatever day this week looked best. That turned out to be today. The next two days have rain in the forecast, and although Thursday looks good it didn't leave much margin.
Because this meet has regular plus MTBO courses, it uses more controls than usual. Amy Louden was kind enough to pack up some spare flags and epunches, and Don Fish delivered them to my door after Saturday's meet at Granite. I improvised some number tags for the spare flags, and Craig and I put the controls out in the woods, at least the ones that aren't right on the well-traveled biking, hiking, and horseback-riding trails.
It was a fine day, and it was very enjoyable to be out in the woods where someone else (Russ Damtoft, who couldn't be here to do it himself) had already flagged the locations. The flags were perfectly placed, and I hope the vegetation doesn't explode in the next 6 days, because as it is, even the light green is totally runnable.
Sunday Apr 22, 2018 #
Orienteering race 1:32:38 [3] 5.6 km (16:33 / km) +100m 15:11 / km
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
OK, let's get this out front: I didn't like this course. I did not perform well, and I'm not trying to excuse it (there's a 2-day history here) but still.
First, what was up with #2? I see that 18 of the 36 people on Green also lost significant time on this leg. Hmm. For my part, I got way off course -- I mean 250 meters off, and I have no idea how that happened. Got way off again relocating, going from a mapped feature 250m to the north.
The long run to #5 went through mountain laurel and rocky ground to a trail, then your choice of mountain laurel to a bingo in the green. There were 2 unmapped boulders just north of the 2 mapped boulders. I inspected 3 of the 4.
From 8 to 9, maybe there were options, but the road was all X'd off, and I was afraid of hitting it at the wrong place, so I went 300m through the swamp. Not anyone's favorite route choice, but basically the only one. Then it was nothing but roads to the beach, where everything that was wet got full of sand.
First, what was up with #2? I see that 18 of the 36 people on Green also lost significant time on this leg. Hmm. For my part, I got way off course -- I mean 250 meters off, and I have no idea how that happened. Got way off again relocating, going from a mapped feature 250m to the north.
The long run to #5 went through mountain laurel and rocky ground to a trail, then your choice of mountain laurel to a bingo in the green. There were 2 unmapped boulders just north of the 2 mapped boulders. I inspected 3 of the 4.
From 8 to 9, maybe there were options, but the road was all X'd off, and I was afraid of hitting it at the wrong place, so I went 300m through the swamp. Not anyone's favorite route choice, but basically the only one. Then it was nothing but roads to the beach, where everything that was wet got full of sand.
Saturday Apr 21, 2018 #
Orienteering race 1:27:32 [5] 5.3 km (16:31 / km) +100m 15:06 / km
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
The first 3 controls went really well, and I had visions of brilliance, but it was only an illusion. A good plan on #4 fell apart when I misinterpreted a small swamp I came to. I thought it was the one just north of the control, so I went south and ran off the map. Took a long time and a lot of climbing to get back on. Also lost time on #10 when I doubted my position and backtracked to get back on the route.
Other than that, a good run in classic West Point terrain.
Other than that, a good run in classic West Point terrain.
Wednesday Apr 18, 2018 #
Road running 49:35 [3] 5.5 mi (9:01 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
GSFC perimeter road at noon. Around 50F when I started. Got up into the high 60s by late afternoon. The pace turned out faster than I thought. It was supposed to be slow.
Tuesday Apr 17, 2018 #
Road running 43:43 [3] 4.7 mi (9:18 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Morning run. Unexpectedly chilly, with a breeze coming up.
Monday Apr 16, 2018 #
Orienteering 2:07:20 [1] 4.8 km (26:32 / km)
shoes: IceBug Olx 4
I took Jasmine and Justin Pham, the children of a college friend of Florence's, out on the Orange course. They had both done "orienteering" before, with their respective scouting groups, but I wasn't sure how well the skills would transfer. A perceptive question from Justin when I handed him the map: "What's the declination here?" Great, we got started with map orientation.
Given the Mason Neck terrain and Jon T.'s recent map updates, rootstock was the feature O' the day. We used them as waypoints and destinations, and for relocation purposes when we didn't execute the plan from 3 to 4 correctly. My fault, I should have stuck to the bottom of the reentrant, which was the safe approach, but I tried to hit the control on a parallel route up a couple of contours and we missed it completely.
For the most part I let them lead, and kept up a running commentary, a lot of which was clearly absorbed (particularly when it involved rootstocks). If we'd been a little faster we would have avoided the rain, but we were mostly prepared for it and carried on without complaint. Pretty cold by the finish, which forced the only actual running of the day.
Given the Mason Neck terrain and Jon T.'s recent map updates, rootstock was the feature O' the day. We used them as waypoints and destinations, and for relocation purposes when we didn't execute the plan from 3 to 4 correctly. My fault, I should have stuck to the bottom of the reentrant, which was the safe approach, but I tried to hit the control on a parallel route up a couple of contours and we missed it completely.
For the most part I let them lead, and kept up a running commentary, a lot of which was clearly absorbed (particularly when it involved rootstocks). If we'd been a little faster we would have avoided the rain, but we were mostly prepared for it and carried on without complaint. Pretty cold by the finish, which forced the only actual running of the day.
Saturday Apr 14, 2018 #
Orienteering race 1:33:00 [4] 6.9 km (13:29 / km) +200m 11:46 / km
shoes: IceBug Olx 4
SVO Oregon Ridge. Started late, and it was hot. The course was pretty physical, but there was no run in my legs. I could run downhill, but walked a lot of the flats. This seemed to be a problem with everyone, across the board. Too hot too early in the season, none of the cooling systems are working yet.
I made 2 errors, and both involved doing a lot more climb than was necessary, which seems like excessive punishment. I guess I just set my gears to climb, and kept on climbing like some mindless robot until I came to something totally unexpected, like the top of the ski slope (#1) or the powerline cut (#5).
It was nice to be back in these woods, though. The course avoided most of the newly logged areas, but the bits I went through weren't too brambly at this point. And the rest of it was very pleasant to plod through.
I made 2 errors, and both involved doing a lot more climb than was necessary, which seems like excessive punishment. I guess I just set my gears to climb, and kept on climbing like some mindless robot until I came to something totally unexpected, like the top of the ski slope (#1) or the powerline cut (#5).
It was nice to be back in these woods, though. The course avoided most of the newly logged areas, but the bits I went through weren't too brambly at this point. And the rest of it was very pleasant to plod through.
Friday Apr 13, 2018 #
Road running 41:32 [3] 4.5 mi (9:14 / mi)
Goddard perimeter road at noon. I expected many butterflies, but only 2 appeared: a cabbage white and a summer azure. The spring and summer azures are 2 different species, and I can't really tell them apart, but around here, paradoxically, the summer azures emerge before the spring azures.
Wednesday Apr 11, 2018 #
Road running 53:18 [3] 5.6 mi (9:31 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Neighborhood run at midday.
Tuesday Apr 10, 2018 #
Road running 36:07 [3] 3.9 mi (9:16 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Morning run. In the 30s when I started, but warming up fast.
Sunday Apr 8, 2018 #
Orienteering race 30:43 [5] 4.3 km (7:09 / km)
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
Flying Pig Day 3. More open-area orienteering. Maybe a little more complex than yesterday, but there were still long lines of sight that simplified the navigation. I blundered on #1, failing to notice the left turn on the path leaving the start. Briefly considered going cross-country, but it was ugly and I backtracked to the junction. 2 minutes lost. After that I ran well, choosing good routes with only a few hesitations. On 6 I ran along the fence and attacked from the building in the middle. I could see the control flag from about 10m away, a little to the right of my bearing, and had a top split. I thought I made a good choice on 9, going straight through the green, but it turns out my route was a little slow.
Despite the 2 minutes lost, I was 5th on Green and first in M60 today. I won silver overall in M60, kind of unexpected, and first in "M65 Green" (Glen, Charlie, Steve, and me). They were a good group to be with. Running speed was the only thing I had going for me, but it was that kind of meet.
Despite the 2 minutes lost, I was 5th on Green and first in M60 today. I won silver overall in M60, kind of unexpected, and first in "M65 Green" (Glen, Charlie, Steve, and me). They were a good group to be with. Running speed was the only thing I had going for me, but it was that kind of meet.
Saturday Apr 7, 2018 #
Orienteering race 47:11 [5] 6.4 km (7:22 / km)
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
Flying Pig Day 2. Golf course orienteering! Probably not everyone would call it orienteering, but it suited my skill set just fine. A little time lost going to #3, when I didn't read the vegetation well and went wide to the left. Stood for a few seconds by #12 before peeking into the huge depression. From 17 to 18 I went around the south end of the pond. I hear there was at least one swimmer. Pretty clean run.
Friday Apr 6, 2018 #
Orienteering race 36:15 [5] 3.5 km (10:21 / km)
shoes: Spirit OLX (last)
Flying Pig Day 1 Green. Addie couldn't make it due to other commitments, so Florence and I drove in today, starting just before 7 and checking in to the hotel at 2:30. A short drive to Pyramid Hill, which we had visited the last time we were here.
I knew the running would take care of itself and all I had to do was navigate carefully. So I came out of #1 onto the road and took off at speed, without regard to which road or which direction. A while later, after two head-scratching stops, I finally figured out where I was and made my way to #2. About 5 min lost.
After that everything went great, and I had a lot of fun.
Taking to Florence afterwards, I realized that I was totally wrong about the special symbols. I thought the Os were sculptures, but they were actually lamp posts. The X's were the sculptures. Ow.
I knew the running would take care of itself and all I had to do was navigate carefully. So I came out of #1 onto the road and took off at speed, without regard to which road or which direction. A while later, after two head-scratching stops, I finally figured out where I was and made my way to #2. About 5 min lost.
After that everything went great, and I had a lot of fun.
Taking to Florence afterwards, I realized that I was totally wrong about the special symbols. I thought the Os were sculptures, but they were actually lamp posts. The X's were the sculptures. Ow.
Wednesday Apr 4, 2018 #
Road running 34:25 [3] 3.9 mi (8:50 / mi)
shoes: Adrenaline 17 Gray
Morning run in the warm period before the cold front. I did about 10x 30s on, 1min off. Keeping the same cadence, and the offs were at normal easy pace. It felt great.
Sunday Apr 1, 2018 #
Orienteering 39:07 [3] 3.6 mi (10:52 / mi)
shoes: IceBug Olx 4
Corridor training at Great Falls. Corridor was 5k, 70m width. This is the third time I tried one of these, and by far the best performance. I was able to run for the most part, stopping to read the map. No issues with map contact. I made one mistake, going off at 90 degrees, but figured it out pretty quickly.