Training Log Archive: RLShadow

Setting out controls for the Webster sprint and training exercises. A bit of confusion/issues which led to running a bit closer to deadline than we would have liked, but we got them all out, on time, and correctly, thanks to help from Stina, Linda, Rob S., and Bob B.

Mass start drill #1. I think I had map A1. While the orienteering was pretty easy, thus it wasn't that hard to not be too distracted by orienteers all over the place going in every which direction, I still thought the drill was useful. Hopefully when the navigation is a little tougher, I'll be less flustered from having people around me, having shown it's possible to stay focused in a pretty big crowd of people.

Plus it seemed like decent general Sprint training -- it was short enough that I could actually run pretty hard (note that in my case, running hard doesn't mean running all that fast) for the whole course, and could read the map and navigate on the run due to the fairly easy part of the park we were in.

Also, the head to head nature of the drill encouraged me to push myself a lot harder than when I'm running on my own. I was going back and forth a bit with Soupbone (a few years younger than I am, from Wisconsin), and knowing he was right behind me the last couple of controls gave me motivation to push pretty hard.

Mass start drill #2. Really feeling the effects of having run hard in the previous drill. Wound up, again, on the same course as Soupbone, but this time, he was ahead of me all the way and I could tell I wasn't going to catch him. He beat me by around 15 seconds. There was a long run in across the field from the footbridge, and I absolutely had no kick left in me.

Mass Start drill #3. Felt slower still. But still good practice.