Training Log Archive: TomN

The 80th running of the NASA Intracenter Run. The 10k was last week, 2-mile today. Originally scheduled for 2 weeks ago, but postponed due to rain. Rain again today, coming down hard the whole race. It looked like about 150 runners, despite the weather. The road surface was a little slippery, but the temperature was around 60 and felt fine.

Not a great time, actually my worst ever (that's a recurring theme these days) but it felt like a good effort. Perfectly even splits at 7:16. Seeing that split at the first mile kind of sapped my motivation a bit, although I'm sure beating 14:30 will become an important goal in the future.

In the spring of 2013 I ran this in 13:56. I think that's going to stand as my best time for over 60.

Warm up/cool down. In the rain.

Kentucky O Adventures Day 3 Middle Green. My run was just about perfect, can't really think of anything I could have done better. Pushed pretty hard, good map contact all the way.

On 1 I was super conservative, aiming off on the low side, but it was impossible to miss. Through the campground to 3, didn't immediately see the pit. 4 to 5 was a nice route choice leg, I went along the creek, then up the reentrant pointed right at the control. 7 I saw from down below in the creek. 10 to 11 I went past 4 and through the campground all the way to the trail at the end, another tough route choice.

First in M60 by quite a bit, I think 3rd overall on Green. Fun event, thanks OLOU & OCIN.

C • Good route to 3 2

KYOA_TLSP_Sunday_Middle_Green - Splits

Kentucky O Adventures Day 2 Long Green. The navigation today was pretty straightforward, but the physical challenge was tough. Lots of step ridges, one after another. I ran well, but took extra time in a couple of places. From 1 to 2 I went up to the trail, but initially mistook the little bend halfway for the attack point. 9 to 10 a little slow coming down the ridge, didn't see a fence and worried about being too low. Leaving 12, l climbed way up the first spur and down the other side before climbing the right one. It was a straight line, but an extra 4 contours. Would have saved a lot of time going around.

I finished second in M60 by just a hair. Six seconds faster would have clinched the medal, but now it goes to another day.

KYOA_TLSP_Saturday_Long_Green - Splits

Event: Kentucky Orienteering Games
 

Kentucky O Adventures, Day 1 Green Middle. A good run, stayed in contact and kept up the speed. A few things could have been better. On 4, rather than go straight through the ugly woods, I tried to stay low, but didn't get low enough, so I ended up running through more of the ugly woods. On 6, I took a careful bearing and went slowly, but felt stupid when it was easily visible from the trail. 9 to 10, maybe there was no good way to get down off the spur, but I got tangled up in all kinds of thorny crap that seemed to go on forever.

Not complaining though, second on Green, first in my age group. A great start to the weekend.

KYOA_BBL_Friday_Middle_5 Green - Splits

The 80th running of the NASA Intracenter Competition (used to be "Intercenter" but, believe it or not, they couldn't get their computer systems to agree on a data sharing format). 10k today, 2-mile next Wednesday.

The course is 4-3/4 laps around Greenbelt Lake, which means a short split on the first lap followed by 4 full laps. It's on a wide, hard-packed trail mostly through woods. I ran a good, comfortable race, and I'm pretty happy with the time. I knew by the second lap that I was going to squeak in under 47 minutes. I think all my full laps were right around 9:50, even splits. A guy passed me on the second lap, I passed one person on the 4th lap and one on the last lap, and other than that ran alone the whole way. Lovely day, clear and mid-60s at noon.

QOC Oregon Ridge Red. The first few controls were in the thick woods around the Nature Center. I left a few minutes on the table, not the best routes and a little thrashing inside the circle. Then generally counterclockwise up the hill, and the only problem I had was on #6, I knew I was on the right spur, but I was too far right, ran past it, and had to come back down. Three minutes lost. Those 3 minutes would have moved me up several places.

I had the fastest split on 9-10 overall including Blue, which shared the leg. Can't think why, I just went straight, and knew where I was when I went over the saddle just before the control. I saw the feature early, but I thought I was just as accurate on 7-8-9-11 as I was on 10. A couple years ago I would have been doing this in 8-9 min per k. Good training this season, but I'm just unable to generate the running speed I used to have.

Good course by Ted, who had to deal with the newly logged areas as well as the new rootstocks, and generally sparse features.

Red - Splits

End-to-end around the pond, with a side run up Woodsman's Peak. Short, but extremely steep.

Around the pond. Back and forth, because the road doesn't go across the inlet brook.

Boulder Dash Green, Day 2. I'm much happier with my navigation today, and I felt good all the way, except for one control, see below. But I guess I paid the price in the form of slow pace. I was surprised by the time, I thought I was faster.

I had no problems at all on the first 6 controls, spiking each time. I felt like I was synthesizing the rock and contour detail, which I've never been able to do before, sort of like walking and chewing gum at the same time. I thought about the long leg for quite a while, and decided to take the trail all the way around to the N of the control, crossing north over the logged area and picking up the trail across the marsh near #10, and passing by 9 and 8. The attack in to #7 from the north was fine. The only problem was I lost the trail about a half-dozen times getting there, losing tens of seconds each time backtracking to the last blaze.

After that, there were issues. I wanted to take the trail back to 8, but couldn't find it. Went back to #7 and tried again, slower this time, and picked up the trail this time. It happened again from 8 to 9, couldn't find the trail at all, gave up and crossed the stream (should have gone right there in the first place) and the control was easy from there. And then I found the trail just fine on the way to 10 but wasn't paying enough attention and went back and forth on the trail for a while looking for a solid attack point.

I must have had a total burn-out on #11. Not careful about where I crossed the marsh, couldn't relocate on the other side, ran in circles for a while looking for identifiable features, and finally found a cluster of them, but they were other green runners. I shamelessly followed them to the control. Then I hared off to finish way ahead of the pack. I can still run fast, even if I can't navigate for squat.

C • trail/stone walls 1

Sunday - Day 2 - Green - Splits

Event: UNO Boulder Dash
 

Boulder Dash Green, Day 1. Not high expectations for this race, given my past difficulties with rocky New England maps. But things worked out o.k. No problems with #1. (Yeah, it was streamered.) Solid approach to #2, then I was stopped by the stone wall. No matter how many times I looked at the map, I could not see a stone wall on it. I insisted afterwards that it wasn't mapped. When Phil B. showed it to me, I figured it was left off of just my map. But no, it was there of course, but I had a cognitive failure, it was invisible, just like the famous selective attention problem.

Controls 2, 3, 4, and 5 went very well. I'm particularly happy with my approach on 4, staying low to spot the spur, then up to the huge boulder just below the control. But another control-finding problem on 6, I was in contact all the way in, but then floundered around for a long time looking in various reentrants.

From 7 to 8 I ran straight north and followed the trail to the bend, attacking from there. Still missed, not high enough on the slope. A little luck on 11, didn't know exactly where I crossed the swamp but kind of blundered into the control on the other side. Going to 12, I followed the stone wall to the end then out to the trail and approached from the NNW. Good map reading on the attack, but would have been better going straight in from the stone wall.

I feel like 14 was a psychological breakthrough for me. Everywhere else I found linear features to lead me in, but on this one there was no choice: read the rock and contour detail. Well, o.k., there was a swamp about 2/3 of the way, which was basically my attack point. It all hung together, and it may not have been fast, but it was solid. Man, that felt really good.

Saturday - Day 1 - Green - Splits

Around the pond end-to-end and back. Fabulous day, sunny and warm (after the morning chill came off). The lake is quiet. Maybe only a dozen cabins are occupied, mostly year-rounders. The loons are practicing take-off maneuvers. There are some other fishing birds, cormorants I guess. The fish appear to be plentiful. Lots of fall color, maybe not at its peak yet. Speaking of which, the Maine Fall Foliage Website has a picture of Howard Pond on its front page. It's a view over the water to the hillside rising right up in back of our cabin (from a previous year). Our cabin is in the shadows on the right-hand side of the picture.

Kensington MD to Hanover ME in 11.5 hours. Drive was non-stressful, weather was pleasant. Stopped for a 20-min nap in a park-n-ride off I-84 in CT.

Drumm loop. Cool in the morning, but on its way to a great day.

Barker St. to Forest Glen, across the tracks to Linden Lane, through the seminary and down to Rock Creek, under the Beltway, up Old Spring Road, across the tracks at the train station and home via McComas Park. 50 degrees and drizzly. Comfortable in shorts, tech shirt and thin long-sleeve pullover.