Training Log Archive: BigWillyStyle

Event: CascadeOC Ultimate Orienteer #2: Long
 

7:41/km

Willvision
Highlights:
Found Graembo @ 41:00; chatted off and on for a bit
Nice fall @ 43:45

Well now, I've done a fair bit of orienteering in my day but this was a unique experience. Conditions were pretty miserable - colder and wetter than Saturday, with a heavy overcast, a light snow falling all day, and thick fog along the clifftops which cut visibility down considerably.

Despite a bobble on 2 I was smashing until about halfway to 9, whereupon I gradually and inexplicably veered wayyyy off my bearing to the south. I think I was having too much fun running fast down the gradual grade and stopped orienteering :/ AP thinks I only lost 91s but that's cuz almost everyone lost time; it was definitely at least four minutes. Had small time losses at 10 and 13, did some bonus climbing at 15 for ~90s loss, and about 30s hesitation on 18. Total time lost probably ~8:00.

It was nice to drop down out of the fog to 11, only to discover that I'm now RUNNING IN SAND. Like, deep sand, on-a-beach sand. The only escape from the sand was to slog through 15 and climb all the way back up, then I felt like 17 onward was some of the more difficult orienteering I've done, given the uneven footing, snow/mud slowing everything down, intricacy of the rock detail, cold, and dense fog. There were definitely times when I was groping along with little to no map contact, just trying to survive till the end. Super fun!

C • if there is no route gadget entry, it might mean you did not run 8

C • Congratulations 8

Open Men - Splits

Event: CascadeOC Ultimate Orienteer #1: Middle
 

6:51/km

Winsplits, RG

Ultimate-O #1 - Middle @ Frenchman Coulee. Graembo and I had remarkably similar speed and were within a few seconds on most splits. He got me by 1:38 overall due to me losing ~1:00 on 9 (hit the wrong rock outcropping) and ~30s on 19 (flag was a bit hidden from my angle). Also hooked 13 for ~15s loss.

Super fun course! Pretty unique conditions, with footing varying from a non-uniform scattering of crusty snow on the ground ranging from none to a few inches, to places where the snow had melted, leaving quicksand-like mud which sucked the energy from every step, to various manifestations of rock. Microroutes important!

Open Men - Splits