Training Log Archive: davelevine

Event: QOC Little Bennett Day-O
 

Blue (22 controls, 9.8 km, 280 m)

Actual Distance Traveled: 12.4 km
Actual Climb: 342 m

It was very cold today. The temperature was in the low to mid teens when I got up this morning and probaby didn't get much above 20. Factor in the wind and it probably felt like it was in the single digits. I bundled up enough. I wore two buffs plus a ball cap on my head. I wore long underwear bottoms plus my usual orienteering pants. Up top I had on two layers of t-shirts, one long and one short sleeve under a windbreaker. With the exception of my fingers which were covered by gloves but not warm enough gloves, I stayed warm once I got moving.

I didn't have any serious mishaps or make any monumentally stupid decisions. I used my compass a fair amount but there were also times when I ignored the compass in favor of following trails or distinct terrain features like streams or ridge lines.

I followed other people more than I usually do. Ideally I wouldn't have but at times it was hard not to, especially considering how slow I move. There was one person in particular who I kept running into. I first saw him when I was going from 4 to 5 and last saw him just after getting to 15. We didn't always take the same route but we often ran into one another at the controls. On some of the shorter legs it was impossible not to follow him if he was just ahead of me.

I had one big spill which probably left a bruise on my left knee. I was traveling from 15 to 16 at the time. I was cutting through the woods. I was trying to step over a fallen tree trunk, something I did successfully numerous times today, when I tripped and fell face first over the tree trunk. My water bottles went flying. My glasses stayed on my face. No one else was around to help me or see it happen. It took me a minute or two to collect myself and my gear and get moving again.

I wasn't sure going in if Blue was the right course for me today, in large part because I haven't been orienteering lately quite as much I have in prior seasons. I was also concerned because my right ankle was feeling a bit weak in the last couple days. I think my boots provided enough ankle support to get me through the course and my ankle doesn't feel any worse than it did before this morning when I got up.

I was a bit surprised that the course didn't use more of the park than it did.

There were a few long legs but there were also a few very short ones. I don't understand the purpose of including legs as short as those in a course like this.

On the whole it was a success. I finished the course successfully and enjoyed myself even if it was freezing cold.

Blue - Splits

BP: 99 / 69

Home to Takoma Metro

Metro to Office

Office to Metro

Takoma Metro to Home

BP: 103 / 66

Home to Takoma Metro

Metro to Office

Office to Metro

Takoma Metro to Home

BP: 101 / 69

Home to Takoma Metro

Metro to Office

Office to Metro

Takoma Metro to Home

BP: 108 / 74

Metro to Office

Office to Metro

Takoma Metro to Home