Training Log Archive: maprunner

Event: Rocky Mountain Orienteering Festival
 

Green course at RMOC, Saylor Park. Temps in the 80s, 9300 ft. I was one of the last starters. Overall, I'd give my self a B- for navigation.

Nervous at the start, and headed off 90 degrees. Told myself to look at the map, which helped me settle a bit. Adrenaline was still high on this leg, so I foolishly checked out a control that I knew wasn't mine.

After 1, I settled into a rhthym. I would stand at each control, take a drink and plan my route to the next leg. I don't usually stop to do this, but I felt I needed to be extra careful.

Still made mistakes on 3, 4 and 8, but I relocated well, and quickly.

Walked most of the course; only ran down hills. The slow navigation meant I finished in the middle of the pack, but I avoided the huge errors that plagued a lot of other folks today.

Was pleasantly surprised by my fitness. I'm definitely getter stronger. I think that also helped me avoid any brain-dead moments.

map and route

Western States Day 1 Green - Splits

Heading up to Colorado today. Looked at my notes from 2007--forgot that I was dealing with runner's knee at the time. Still no excuse; I had a bad day at Saylor Park. I'm a bit concerned this time around. Not for any physical reason; just because I haven't raced for more than2 months. (Well, I forgot that the altitude will also be a factor....)

And this is the relays, which I don't really enjoy (the pressure) but I do (the club camaraderie, which is high for this event). And this year, RMOC is making the 8 pt teams run a Green, two orange and a red course. Where is my yellow course????

Plan:
1. read the map
2. do not think about the running
3. read the map
4. stop and count to 10 before relocating
5. read the map

C • more tips 1

C • Go Pink Chex! 3

On the trails at Clinton tonight. I was supposed to start running 1 mile 1 minute faster 1 time a week, but I forgot to set my my virtual runner. But I decided to run a little faster in the beginning, especially when it was downhill. Felt pretty good. I eventually slowed down to my usual slogging pace, probably way sooner than one mile.

Heat index of 105 sent me straight to the basement.
Pushed on the arm weights a little bit. Haven't felt "rubbery" for a while, so I think I've been slacking.

Last fencing class tonight. Lots of sparring, so I'm logging this as slightly harder training than usual. Also had one-on-one instruction with the coach, which was very helpful.

This wasn't supposed to be HTFU training, but it was. Started a leisurely bike ride with Mike. Caught a few sprinkles on the way out, but that was OK. Temps were great. On the return trip, however, the lightening started in the distance. I asked Mike if we should take shelter or get home. He said we should push towards home.

So now I'm riding hard, uphill, into a headwind. Just as we reached the top of Kasold, the skies opened up and rain came pelting down. I couldn't see if I looked up, so I just looked at my handle bars. The wind was blowing hard, so the rain felt like pellets. Ah, such fun. Glad to be on the bike path, and very close to home.

Still, my day wasn't as bad as Lance's, so I can't complain.