Training Log Archive: barb

Event: North American Rogaine Championships
 

First day of the North American Rogaine Championships in Allegany (Allegheny?) State Park in New York. This was the third time I partnered with Adam Rudner. I very much enjoy rogaining with Adam. We communicated well and avoided the problems we've had at night previously, which was a major goal.

It was perfect weather: cool, and no rain.



I took this photo at a water stop. Two water stops had no water, which is dangerous and unfair. The first water stop had plenty of water jugs - but an animal had clawed into every jug and emptied it. The second one did not have enough water put out for all the competitors, and it was all gone. We got help from another team who gave us some decontamination chemicals.


Here is Jeff Saeger offering me a fig newton before the event, which I knew was an auspicious sign.

Bike fartleks (with some bike yoga during the slow bits) with Dave across bridge to JP Licks, 11:15 pm - 12:15 am. Incidentally, obtained additional evidence that K has an ice cream addiction. When we asked her to save the kids if the house went up in flames, and explained our mission, she rattled off 10 ice cream shops within biking distance, with their closing hours and relative quality of ice cream. And she's been here only 3 months. The other evidence was that the closest thing to a complaint I heard from her during the Pennsylvania rogaine was "I have been daydreaming of ice cream."

Along the river, I approached two attractive pony-tailed young women just rising from a bench and hugging each other, all friendly and happy. As I rode past, I overheard just this: "I'll get you the map." I have no idea what skog nymphs are, but I imagine them to be exactly like these two.

C • Ice cream?! 3

Meant to go just for 10 minutes, but I don't know the streets and got myself onto one that led away and away until it thought I'd put in enough time. Saw, smelled and suckled on sweet honeysuckle.

That's the Representative from Delaware (there's not more than one, is there?) showing us the secret sign for getting into the orienteering supply cabinet in the Hart Congressional Office Building. He's holding a NASA prototype of a PSF10-OS space control; it's got a solar cell in the middle but otherwise has the same basic electronic design as the PSF8.

Arlington VA neighborhood

Elias Zerhouni (NIH director) talked to us over lunch. He's got some good mojo. Motivating for tomorrow's Capitol Hill meetings...



He immigrated from Algeria. And I just watched "The Battle of Algiers." Coincidence? You decide.

I am told that if I didn't have a CIA/FBI file before renting that movie from Netflix, then I do now.

I found it a tough film to watch - all the horrible things people do to each other. Very Iraq. I really liked the ululation, though.

Ran to work and back, getting ready for my trip to DC this afternoon.

Residential streets in Arlington VA.

Found out that Tuesday I'm meeting with staffers of not only John Dingell & Ed Markey, but also Maria Cantwell. Am supposed to be advocating for biomedical research, but perhaps I should shift gears and ask for some kind of special status for orienteering so that local officials are required to allow it to happen irrespective of National Park Service funding levels, or of maniacs on the loose.