Training Log Archive: TomN

QOC Lake Accotink. This was a THOMASS-style course with a handicap based on age and gender. For the "Brown" variation I was supposed to skip 9 controls, which meant I had to punch 13 controls. I was able to count as far as 5, but then repeatedly lost count while I was counting paces. Then when I thought I had done 8, I was pretty sure one of them I'd been to twice, so it was probably 7. I did one more, then crossed into the well-demarcated section just short of the top, which held 6 controls, to make exactly 13. When I got the last one, I counted again and came up one short, so I went out of my way to pick up one more. There were 3 mandatory legs on the way back, the first 2 of which were long and tricky.

So it turned out I hadn't been to any controls twice (except on the mandatory legs) so the total was 16, meaning I only skipped 6. That was three more than necessary for Brown, but one short for Red. So I guess I finished Green, with one extra control.

Anyway, aside from counting issues, it was nicer being in the woods than in the open, because the rain was mostly not reaching the ground. The dim light made it hard to read the map, and the leafy undergrowth made it hard to see the terrain. Plus I always have trouble navigating in this place, for reasons I don't understand.

Actually, I remember one of the early club events I attended, probably more than 20 years ago, at Lake Accotink, in which I failed to find one of the controls and gave up after a half-hour, absolutely certain that it wasn't there, and I was shocked to discover on returning that everyone else had punched it. I asked someone about it, probably Peggy, and she said, oh yeah, it was in the wrong reentrant, but I just went into the next one over and saw it right away. The mysteries of orienteering just got deeper.

C • ah, for the days of punch c... 2

THOMASS - Splits

Jogged from home to the race in downtown Kensington. Easy pace plus 4 strides, timed so I got to the start 5 min before the lineup. But after we all lined up there was a delay of more than 10 min to clear some problem out on the course. Standing still for all that time was not good.

Kensington 8k. First place 60-69. I've been running this race for decades, but I never even got close to placing until I turned 60. This time I was hoping I'd get under 38 minutes, but winning my 10-year age group today was pretty nice. And a $25 gift card from my favorite running store, RnJ Sports. Need some new shoes.

M60-69
1 Tom Nolan      1220   00:38:13
2 Brian Ruberry   1253   00:39:10
3 Joel Goldberg   1112   00:40:04

Warmer today, and full sun in the morning. I adjusted the time to reflect the 3 minutes I spent talking to a dog-park friend I hadn't seen much since Jasmine died. The Kensington 8k is on Saturday, and I'm thinking about taking the next 2 days off.

I saw a tiny window in the weather radar and took it. It started to pour just after I got back.