Training Log Archive: maprunner

Event: Flying Pig X (OCIN)
 

Day One at Flying Pig, middle distance

I walked around the middle distance course, trying to get used to the Cinicinnati terrain again. I also tried to move smoothly through the course, without stopping. I succeeded, for the most part. One slight eroor going up the wrong ridge, but I relocated quickly. I even managed to get up and down the steep hills without panicking.

A decent day.

Mike and I designed sprint courses for each other, and met after work at Bonner Park. As an added "bonus", he gave me a second map (of a different park) with a course. As I ran each leg at Bonner (which is Park O) I was supposed to memorize the next leg on the second map. When I returned to the car, I drew the second course on a fresh map. It was fun, and kept my mind on orienteering. I didn't aplog at all !!!

A bit of bouncing while watching the DVD of "Good Night and Good Luck".

Up and down the hills at Wyandotte Lake today, including some steep scary ones. Shold be good practice for Ohio and West Point.

weight = 0.955 M

Moving around and exploring the new PTOC map at the Heartland Center. Very cool to have an O map less than 10 minutes from home, even if it is a small area (similar to Tall Oaks). The map is very good, especially the contours. Mike is going to set up a TRIM course here, and we will have access to the map to "maintain" the TRIM course.

Moving around at SMP after work. I felt pretty good. A rare outing without a map, so I had some time to aplog (such as "Should I mention again that the deer were live?" "Do you spell aplog with one P or two?")

Did see the same group of deer over and over; and a guy riding a road bike on the dirt trail.

Day Two at Sid Richardson. Not enough sleep, not enough food, and didn't pay attention to my usual routine. I was treating this like a local meet, instead of a two day event. So I went out on the course without Gatorade or food. Can you say BONK!

Hit the wall at 90 minutes, but continued any way. Wandered around in the wrong part of the map, and even added ~2K extra as I tried to bail out to the (incorrect) road. Obviously my brain was not functioning; I'm not fit enough to do two days back-to-back without carrying fuel.

Still enjoyed the weekend as a whole. Texas was my 30th O state; I had not added a new state in awhile.

Thanks Tom and Lisa, for the food, entertainment and good company.

Day one at Sid Richardson camp in Texas. I had long heard of the wonders of this map; I thought it was time to experience it in person. I don't know why Mike complains about the TX heat; it was 50s and raining all weekend.

Good courses, decent map in places, vegetation was pretty good. I felt OK physically; even managed to jog on the road (walked the rest of the course, as usual). However, I was sloppy in the circle, and did not attack with confidence. Need to practice more map reading.

Enjoyed the visit with Tom and Lisa very much; especially the Peep jousting and snappy Viking dialog.

Control picking course at Kill Creek. My legs were tired from yesterday, and I also felt "off" mentally. I walked the whole way.

But I made it back to the car just before the hail storm (see Mike's blog for photos).

weight = 0.962 M

Orienteering practice at Weston Bend. My goal today was to keep moving:

- while reading the map
- up and down the hills without stopping
- faster in the woods, as the vegetation allowed
- through the thorns and heat, to prepare for TX (!)
- in the woods, not trails or fields
- for 90 minutes, to burn off the Peeps

After a full day of interviewing for my former boss's job (including lunch with the company president) I was tempted to buy some Peeps on the way home. But instead, I calmed my nerves by going out to a BBQ restaurant with Mike.

Moving through the woods at SMP again. This time I chased some live deer around, as I took a random path back and forth.

It's so nice to be in the woods in the warmer weather. Too bad it will all be over (locally) by the end of the month.

C • Chasing live deer 3

PTOC score O today. This was more of a fitness day for me (long, slow, fat burning), instead of a serious O event. I had vetted many of the controls (for the rogaine, also offered today; the score O was a last minute addition). I felt pretty good even at the end. I had expected to be wiped, but only my quads were a bit tired. But that's probably because I walked the whole way; I knew I couldn't push the pace and survive three hours. It was still a lot of fun; I loved being out in the woods for 3 hours, despite the rain.

It was easy orienteering, so I let my mind wander a lot. I had plenty of time to think about my Attackpoint entry. Lisa suggested that we invent a word to describe this: thinking about your AP log after you made an mistake on a course, or during a training run. JJ, do you have any suggestions??

C • Words 5