Training Log Archive: Spike

Fort Leavenworth Adventure "Gobbler Orienteer" event. The course was a score course. Fun.

The course didn't get into the woods much.

My legs got tired after about 53 minutes. I think running in the deep grass yesterday got me a little worn out.

Nice running conditions.

The turnout was a little lower than normal. I guess the holiday had something to do with that. Two of the Leavenworth regulars mentioned planning to go to the next PTOC event. It'd be cool if we started getting more cross-over from Ft Lev.

Callahan was way ahead of me (maybe 70 minutes?).

5

I jogged around and picked up 7 controls from the course Mary set at Clinton State Park. It was fun.

Clinton State Park has some junky woods. I took routes that took me through some of that junk, but I just walked through when it got rough. I didn't push at all.

I seemed to be having some trouble reading some detail on the map. Maybe the rain. Maybe the map scale and printing. Maybe my eyes.

Light rain for some of the last 15-20 minutes.

3

Mix of single track on the Branch Trail and bike paths. Just over 40 minutes of single track.

When I left a light rain was falling. I checked the weather service and the temp was 33F with "unknown precipitation." I was a little worried there could be some icy spots.

I got the clothing almost perfect. I wore a long sleeve shirt + old REI primaloft jacket + old TNF softshell jacket. On my legs I had fleece lined cycling tights. A light hat was just right. My only problem was that my toes got a little cold after I'd been out an hour.

I biked the single track. The ground was a little wet. I decided to bike until I got tired/bored, the bike started leaving ruts in the trail, or the trail got slippery. The trail got a little slippery and that was when I finished.

The trail has had a little use since I last rode. That was good to see. It looked like someone had used a leave blower to clear some of the leaves from the trail. Someone has also marked parts of the trail with orange flags.

I didn't see anyone else out biking.

1

Went for a walk in the cold rain at Baker Wetlands. The rain was steady, but not heavy. It was nice to be out and moving around.

A foggy headlamp jog on trails on West Campus. The fog was nice. It felt exotic. I took it easy and shuffled along at a slow pace.

1

I ran/shuffled on the trails from Clinton overlook. My lack of trail running showed - I stumbled and was slow in the rocky areas.

Sunny and warm-ish. Lots of people out. I only saw two MTB riders and one runner, but I saw a bunch of hikers.

I'd planned a longer run. But I got going a bit late as I spent a bunch of time this morning drinking coffee and working on my class. Then I cut the run a bit short so I wouldn't be late to help Pam hang a painting at her new house.

1

I planned to go with Mary to Clinton. She planned to leave at 9:45. About 9:35 she said it was time to get ready to go. I looked at the clock in the living room which was almost an hour off (battery apparently running low). I was not close to being able to leave in 10 minutes. So Mary went off to Clinton without me. I got my act together and went over to West Campus.

I ran on the trails most of the time. Someone has done some trail work - cutting back some vegetation that was starting to grow over parts of the trail. That was nice. The West Campus trails don't get much use - an occasional jogger, dog walkers, commuteres, KU ROTC and deer.

1

I rode to the Branch Trail and did a few loops of the single track. I hope the trail gets more use. More use will smooth things out. It is a bit bumpy. The trail isn't technical, but the frequent sharp turns make it slow (for me). Fun.

1

Short shuffle around the neighborhood. I almost did nothing, but I'm thinking it is time to start being less lazy.

1

A short headlamp jog on West Campus.

I was sleepy when I got home. I probably could have just gone to sleep. But a little run seemed like the responsible thing to do. It also seemed like it'd help me stay awake until Mary gets home.

1

Headlamp run on West Campus. My right ankle was fine. My left foot was good, but a little sore if I stepped on something uneven. My left knee was completely normal.

It looked like it should be cold. The wind was blowing and rain fell. But the temp was warm. I was overdressed.

I had an interesting day at work with a bunch of hush-hush cyber-security stuff.

1

My left foot feels a bit sore, but much better than yesterday.

I worked on class this evening.

Possum Trot XX. Fun.

I was ready at the start and got moving quick. In fact, I was briefly in the lead. Maybe three steps. Then suddenly Simon flew past me. Small bit of trivia - I've been in the lead of every Possum Trot (but never won) for at least a little bit. In recent years that has always been about getting the first few steps out of the start triangle.

I looked at the map on my way to 1 and spotted the possibility to skip 2. I didn't, but I saw a few people heading off towards 3. Instead I just got in the group and flowed along towards 2. I followed Sandy a bit and she lead me right into some thorns.

I ran with Cristina a bit. We went back and forth a bit. I was behind her when she fell into the icy water on the way to 5.

I wore an Active Ankle on my right ankle. Around 5 it seemed like the shoe was a bit loose. I stopped and tightened the laces. That turned out to be a mistake. On the way to 6 the Active Ankle dug into my ankle bone. I stopped and tried to shift it around. That didn't work. At the 7th control I stopped and removed the Active Ankle and dumped it at the water stop at 8. The slower running and then stopping cost me about 1:50 to Cristina. I never caught back up, but I spotted her in the woods ahead of me a few times.

I saw Minto, Thomas G., Dean, and Callahan a few times over the next few K. But it didn't feel like a group - it seemed like we were all a bit spread out. I also saw Scott N. a bit later.

On the way to 14 I had a fall. My left foot got caught in something and I fell down. As I fell, I twisted my foot. It was kind of strange. Without putting my foot on the ground, I twisted it - almost like a turned ankle. A day later it was swollen and black-and-blue, but not the spot it would normally be for a turned ankle.

From 14 to the finish, I was running/moving slower. My foot hurt a bit. But it was also just being slow and not in good shape.

Controls 11 through 18 were in some fun terrain. Good visibility with plenty of contour details to spot. I orienteered reasonably well, but slow, except for a little confusion around 15. I didn't really lose any time at 15, but the area didn't look the way I expected it to look.

I was surprised to see Ian H. at 19. He ran off and I couldn't keep up with him.

I skipped 21. I think that was a good decision.

Going to the last control I took a chance. Bryan N. was ahead and running better than me. He took the route to the last control that I would have taken. I figured my only chance to beat him was to take a chance. I did. It didn't work. Before I took that chance, I looked back and didn't see anyone coming. In retrospect, I should have just taken the better route. Tired = bad decision.

Shifman has said this is his last Trot as course setter. I don't know if that means this was the last Trot or if someone else will step in.

5

Full Possum - Splits

Event: The Possum Trot XX - Weekend
 

Putting out the controls for the Pre-Possum.

When I set courses, I usually put out tapes and test each leg several times. But Knob Noster is a long drive from home. And the day I'd planned to set tapes and test routes, I didn't make it because the roads were sketchy. I'd been to the park once a few weeks earlier and tested some ideas. The leaves were mostly out when I did that. What that meant is I set the course without the normal effort and hung the markers without tapes.

Fortunately, the control features were all pretty distinct and it wasn't too much work to get the markers hung. But it is definitely not a good practice.

You can see the courses on Brooke's log:

https://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_1679/...

My plan for the Pre-Possum was that the courses should be straightforward, but somewhat interesting. I wanted the times to be reasonable so people don't over do it the day before the main race. From looking at the results, I was glad to see reasonable times.

I tried to make the "long" course interesting by adding some direction changes, a bit of tempo change (e.g. the possibility to run trails to 8 and 9), and a few legs that could push you into a parallel error (3, 5, 7 and 10). Oh, and I wanted to keep people out of the less pleasant and more thorny areas.

I was amused that Simon made a big boom to 10 (about 4 minutes lost on a course he ran in 18 minutes).

Knob Noster is next to the Whiteman Air Force Base.* While I was putting out controls a B2 stealth bomber took off. They make a lot of noise. The sound is impressive, but I didn't catch a glimpse of the plane taking off. A couple of hours later a B2 flew right over the start/finish area. That was cool. They are amazing to look at (and depressing to think about them being used to drop bombs on people). Wikipedia has a lot of info about the B2s:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-2_Spirit

2

*Mary's dad spent some time at Whiteman (maybe before it was named Whiteman AFB?). I don't know what he was doing there.

Very short run. I wanted to make sure my active ankle felt ok. It does. I will probably wear it Sunday.

1

I got all set to go out and put out tapes for the Pre-Possum. I got on warm gear and loaded the car. Then I checked the local traffic web page and the Mo and Ks pages. The roads are sketchy. I decided to stay off the roads. That'll make for a little extra stress putting out markers on the morning of the Pre-Possum. I think that's the best decision.

I shuffled around on West Campus. Temp was mid 20s but there was a heavy wind. Some snow made for a few slick spots.

The wind...for Veteran's Day they put a dozen or so flags around Pioneer Cemetery. I looped the cemetery today and noticed that two of the flags had fallen down. I figured I should put them back up and jogged over to the flags. Turns out the poles had snapped in half.

1

MTB on roads, bike paths and single track.

I headed out to Clinton Overlook to find Mary, Blair and Sandy. I found Mary and Blair, but missed Sandy. She snuck through when I wasn't looking and hopped on her bike.

I went with Blair across the dam and then biked the road below the dam and back to town on the Lawrence Loop. But I also explored some new single track along the LL. The Connect Church and Kansas Trails Council built a mile (actually slightly longer) of single track just off the Kasold-31st Street bend. It was fun. The trail is new and needs some more use to smooth it out a bit. It'll be the closest single track to our house, so that's nice.

Mary had a little adventure supporting Sandy's day (Sandy did 50K as a mix of trail run/orienteering and biking). She'll probably write it up on her log.

1

To/from class at the Union. Plus some extra. Cold-ish when I left home (a bit before 8 a.m.) and warm when I came home (3:45). Mary said the temp reached 20C today.

Class went well. The guest speakers were great. This was the last class session of the semester. There are still a couple of assignments left.

1

Slow and easy shuffling around West Campus.

1

Like yesterday but a little less slow. I did a headlamp run on West Campus. Ankle feels ok. Still some swelling and black-and-blue discoloration, but things are otherwise almost normal.

1

I went for a super-easy run. I took a bunch of short walk breaks. I made an effort to run smoothly and not favor my right ankle. That seemed to work out well.

During the day there were several times when I walked without even thinking or noticing my ankle. Progress.

1

Ankle better. Not normal. I might give a slow shuffle a try tomorrow. Tonight I'll watch KU bball.

C • KU Ball 5

I took a couple of walks. I walked at lunch and I walked at Baker Wetlands on the way home from work.

My ankle feels better but not normal.

Very easy to move around a bit without stressing my ankle.

1

Event: Hobbs State Park
 

Hobbs long course.

On the way to the 2nd control I turned my right ankle. I must have stepped on one of those tennis ball sized rocks that are scattered around in the forest. I thought about quitting. But when I stood up my ankle felt uncomfortable but not really unstable. I walked slowly to 2. Then I walked to 3. I decided I'd keep walking as long as it felt uncomfortable but not unstable. I made it around the entire course. I jogged a little bit on the trails to 14 and 17.

I've no idea how my ankle will recovery. There's some swelling, but it doesn't feel too bad and it doesn't seem to be unstable. I can stand on one leg, so that seems good. I'll probably wear an active ankle when I run the Possum Trot in a couple of weeks.

be-the-map did a nice job with organizing the event. A few locals attended and seemed enthusiastic. It'd be fantastic to see a club start up in north west Arkansas. be-the-map has also made a campus sprint map of NWACC.

We had a nice meal with JJ and Nancy before driving home. JJ's working on Swedish and is impressively good. He's better at Talk Four but maybe his Swedish will pass that soon.

5

C • Tala fyra 7

Advanced - Splits