Training Log Archive: AliC

Day 2 of Petrified Forest Rogaine

Same terrain, but very different race than yesterday because other people were around. The majority of the time I was trailing Ian and Andy was behind, especially for the first half. Then Ian went off a complicated way to 81, and I corrected to my planned route. Saw Ian and Andy descending into the badlands as I was heading out.

But then I totally messed up the next control by being 10 deg off on my bearing counter-clockwise and too high. Bah! So back into the trailing Ian pattern for a few more controls.

And then, we choose a different order of controls - I had planned an order that let me have about a 600m road run towards the end and that was better. After that, we met up again and did about 3 controls together, but after that, he had to get one more final one and I was on my way in. So that move put me ahead , but only by 8 min, not the full 9 min I would have needed to pull ahead from yesterday's 2nd place.

So fun to be out there racing though, felt way more competitive and under pressure (in a good way) than yesterday!

Collecting controls at some speed because had to make it back for awards at 2pm. Happy to have gotten around my full loop before then and not have to head back out. (Bad blister on left heel.)

This was an awesome event. Major thanks to Ron Birks for pretty much doing everything from permissions, to advertisement, to mapping, to the majority of course setting. And then the set of others who set out controls and manned radio stations to make it all happen. So, so neat, really hope it can happen again!!

Day 1 of Petrified Forrest Rogaine

Wow! I'd never ever seen so much petrified wood and then I was running all amongst it. I went clockwise around the course, which took me through a very tree-filled section first. First control was on a petrified tree, actually!

Really neat badlands style terrain. Just a few low-lying cacti. Steep slopes of badlands material can be impassable, good to know!

My two time losses were in tough badlands sections where it's hard to make heads or tails of much, although the second mistake was really just being stuck in a valley I couldn't get out of [too steep walls!]. Should have stayed to the ridge tops.

Came in second to Ian from Alaska, clearing the course!

C • Nice 3

Picking up controls at a leisurely pace. Took a few photos!

Looking for Tom who had dropped a radio in the middle of the desert and had to try to find it, hence late. But he found it!!

Errand ride. Laundry->UPS->laundry->REI->laundry. Cappuccino from Macy's with final laundry stop, because hey, the clothes still had 15 minutes worth of drying...

Morning hill workout - 5x up the FUTS Observatory Mesa hill. Was slow/day dreamy for the first few, put it more reasonable times for the last 2! Felt good, came up with an idea for how to describe something going on in a paper: "PDR-maintaining UV radiation".

Core! Have not been doing enough of this!

Observatory Mesa loop with Tom, doing 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 with half rest. No track workout this eve because parents Crocker are arriving in town!!

Very barky dogs at one point (off-leash). Owner apologized profusely, accepted apology. Glad they only menaced and didn't bite.

Morning run via Post office for stamps, then to Buffalo park, then to grocery on way home to buy cereal. Wanted a kinda longish run in before the upcoming 2 x 4h rogaine weekend...