Training Log Archive: TheInvisibleLog

Guess who has timed his first head cold of the season with an approaching 30 degree weekend and Oz Champs.

Australian Champs M60 Petticoat Gully.
In many ways an experience similar to yesterday. Good terrain. Good map. Good course. Good weather. But unlike yesterday, smart orienteering. I followed my lesson from yesterday. In a nutshell- assume I am stupid and unable to navigate and take the safe option every time, even if its longer. Interestingly, by assuming I am incompetent I ended up looking passably competent! Peruse the QR map below on the following legs to get the method-
A-1 A little off on first leg so lost 30 seconds.
1-2 Track option. Spiked.
2-3 Use erosion as a hand rail. Spiked.
3-4 Use erosion as hand rail for first half of leg, then slow down on a tight bearing. Spike
4-5 Use deep gully as hand rail and clearing as attack point. Spike.
5-6 Take the wide track option to cross the gully. Looks a long way out, but I lost no time to those young and more elite who went direct. Followed in from the clearing. Little messy in circle. Started to wonder if I would finish as foot issues were playing up.
6-7 Erosion gully as hand rail then slow on bearing. Spike.
7-8 Track option till bend then in from there. Spike
8-9 Out of the mining, then back in again later. Messy near control. People everywhere.
9-10 Track option which included an almost backward exit from control Followed track till the water station behind the control and came in backwards. Looks well out of the way, but I dropped the pack which formed at control 9. Some went direct. Some took the track half way. My way was simple and as a result, quick. Spike.
10-11 Back along the track I had come into 10, then off to control. Spike.
11-12 No choice but direct through mining. Slow and used major embankments and cliffs as collecting features. Had misinterpreted the terrain around the control but it made no difference. Spike.
12-13. The fence crossings didn't seem to line up with the map but it made no difference. Spike.
13-14 Had scouted this one out spectating whilst waiting for Julie. Gunned it and had fastest split at time of my finish. Spike.
Finish chute. Couldn't quite catch Ken Post.
Three minor errors. Lost maube a minute in total. Satisfied with navigation. Getting used to magnifier. Pity about fitness and sore foot. Can't have everything.

Event: 2015 Australian Orienteering Carnival
 

Victorian Middle Distance Championship at Creswick Diggings. Good terrain. Good map. Good course. Good event. Good weather.
Poor orienteering execution. Not sure if buying a new compass with magnifier was a great idea on the first morning of the National carnival. Weeks before might have been better. I think I will use this log for some critical self-analysis in the hope I learn a lesson or two for the rest of the carnival.

S-1 Planned to follow the wide route on the road. Everyone else went straight and I turned into a sheep. Road would have been quicker. Count as a fail.
1-2. Learnt from the previous control and took western road. Clearly faster. Count as spike.
2-3 Aimed off a little and came in along the embankment. Spike
3-4 Straight only option. Picked an attackpoint and used it. Spike.
4-5. Went straight. Might have been better to head a little to the left and follow the embankment. Ended up in the correct area, but those around me went west. I was looking at the correct feature, but turned into a sheep. Lost 4 minutes. Fail 2.
5-6 Straight. Learnt that a stroight route through the detail requires me to keep in contact with said detail, so this time I did. Spike.
6-7 Straight. A short gimmer as I saw the control where i expected whilst still 50 metres away., Flattering spike
7-8 By now I was not too proud to take the hand rail option and it worked. Spike.
8-9 Confused by the clearing of all things. Misread the end of the cliff and came out too late. Didn't know where I was on the track and ran until I did. And then I knew I had gone too far. Had some trouble with using magnifier on this leg when trying to read the bigger picture. Fail 3
9-10 Took the collecting feature son offer on the straight line. Saw the thicket and the rest was easy if fun. Spike.
10-11 Straight line using the thicket to guide me in to the control. Spike
11-12 easy now. Red line with fence on the right to guide and another fence as a catching feature. Spike.
12-13 Easy along the fence. Easy spike.
13-F Finish chute.
Three muffed controls. For six or seven minutes. In a race won in under 30 minutes, thats quite a bit of time.
Lessons to remember.
1. Tracks justify going some way out of line to avoid slow mining terrain. And they offer good attack points.
2. Use the gorse for gross navigation. Its the most obvious feature in the terrain.
3. When you have to red line through detail, make every effort to keep in contact unless there is an unmissable collecting feature.

Reast day, so I walked over 20 kilometres playing golf and then mapping. Not sure my foot saw this as a rest day.

I enjoyed re-running this course without the pressure of organising the event. I think I better understand why so many enjoyed the event. It was mostly in mining terrain, but there were big features to use as attack points, so few would have had serious navigational issues. The area is reasonably open and the course was mostly downhill. In other words a course to flatter your navigation and sense of fitness. The way to an orienteers heart looks like ... flattery.

Hill descents and warm up.

Six honeysuckle hills. Stopped before planned completion due to pf pain. Not sensible to aggravate with Oz Champs carnival starting in a few days.

Just about the most pleased I have ever been to finish a run. Slowing to a crawl as peaking for Oz Champs carnival. 8-(

Korong Spur- Just the most enjoyable orienteering map in Victoria. Not too hilly (if the setter is sensible), not too green, lots of navigational challenge, most scenic assembly area in the State. And today, perfect weather.

Dead legs.

Trip into Edeowie Gorge. Probably started too late, but tried to make up for lost time by fast walking. Julie kept pushing the pace and one of the kilometer splits inwards was 8 minutes range. Slow running almost.

Climbed Acacia Ridge before driving south. The walk up was nondescript, but the view from the top was the reason. Worth it.

After a retreat from the drive into Loch Ness (flat tyre) we revised the target from Bunyip Chasm to Bararranna Gorge. Turned out to be a superior destination anyway. Magical place.

Weetootla Circuit. Worthwhile trip except for the waystop at the boring Grindel Huts. The site of a spring with flowing water was a real surprise.
Garmin ran out of power half way.

Italowie Gorge and McKinley Creek.
Our first taste of the Gammon Ranges. Impressed.

Very last work break running in the Wellsford Forest. Enjoyed the Whirakee. Might be a while before I come back to this track.