Training Log Archive: iansmith

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Pawtuckaway training camp this weekend! Alexei Azarov planned the diverse (and ambitious) training schedule, including a line-O, control pick, long leg, middle distance, and long distance courses that were very appreciated.

Thanks to Bob Lux, Phil Bricker, Jeff Saeger, Bill Pullman, Carl Childs, Earl LaVallee, and Giovanni Berlanda for hanging and retrieving streamers. Particular thanks to Ernst Linder who decided to hang some of UNO's controls and e-punches for the middle distance training on Sunday and for picking up streamers.

With the advantage of hindsight, the two things I would have done differently were making better map prints (i.e. from Ed's digital offset people rather than Kinko's) and arranging housing further in advance. The six of us who stayed overnight found comfortable accommodation in a nearby motel, but staying with O-families is preferable on most levels.

There is something to be said for control economy; several of the streamers were visited by a small number of the camp attendees, and perhaps less effort could be expended while still allotting the same amount of quality training. I will reflect on that, as training with streamers is generally preferable to training without (especially for newcomers).

I had a delightful time with considerable training time and good camaraderie. Giacomo and Ethan spurred Becky, Earl and I into going on a hilarious late night McDonald's run on Saturday. The girls working that evening were overwhelmed by Giacomo's passionate pursuit of fries and inquired if we were guys who enjoyed "whipped cream and cherry" (on our milkshakes). It is unclear how much innuendo laced our conversations, but the outing was pleasant, despite my apparent inability to drive. Our group dinner at Louie's Pizza and Italian Grille was satisfying and in good company. Anna, a Latvian orienteer who works in Germany for SportIdent, added to the international flavor of our group.

C • print quality 9

Run to the start of the middle distance course. I walked for a few minutes with Earl and Becky.

On Friday, Ernst volunteered to set out controls and e-punches for the middle distance exercise. It was excellent - the activity had more of a race quality than typical training, and we didn't have to hang streamers for it. I started out orienteering well, but made a three minute mistake attacking control 3 (will post quickroute for subsequent analysis) despite hitting my attackpoint fine.

I had passed Ethan earlier, but Giacomo and he caught up to me at 4. I led out of the control and tried to get away, but bobbled 5 because I wasn't reading my map well enough while simultaneously dodging gnarly vegetation. I navigated well through ten, then lost some time at 11 hesitating because the contours did not match my expectations. I caught sight of Giacomo (who lost me at 5) leaving 11, and caught up to him on the way to 12 when he took a stick to the eye. Fortunately, he was ok, and I took a small lead for the last three controls.

I'm frustrated that my orienteering technique is inconsistent enough to allow a few mistakes for each course. These 1-2 minute errors (or 12-minute, as in North Carolina) are completely unacceptable if I hope to be competitive, even in the US. I think some attackpoint training will be helpful. Quickroute

Particular thanks are due to Ernst for taking the time to set controls!

Most people found they were sated after one exercise - the sunny day was comfortable, with a temperature of 21 C - but Ethan, Giacomo and I set out to run the third exercise. A few people took a subset of the controls, as Alexei's design has some obvious and sensible cuts.

The exercise was a long course - 7.6 km, with 21 controls. After some short legs to get us away from the boat ramp, the later controls had longer legs, ending in a loop and several shorter legs. We were all tired, so we agreed to run two to three controls aggressively and then meet up and pause; the exercise took on the character of O-tervals, though at a lower intensity. Without the pre-arranged pauses, I don't think any of us could have maintained the focus and intensity to get quality training. We did have the satisfaction of running past some boulderers looking hard core with our maps and serious facial expressions.

We often took similar route choices, but on most of the short hops, our routes diverged and we ran alone. I led a few, but was definitely fading by the end. Giacomo and Ethan were running well, and it was edifying and great fun to run with intermittent company. We were all dehydrated, so getting back to the finish and quenching our thirst was delightful. Ethan led and persuaded us to jump into the water at the boat ramp, to the general amusement of onlookers.

A group of us had picked up Saturday's controls after the third exercise on Saturday - Jeff, Carl, Earl, Giovanni, and me - and Ernst picked up the middle distance controls and swept up any straggling orienteers who were still out. Ernst kindly volunteered to pick up the streamers from the long exercise, so we had no further responsibilities.

Quickroute

Event: Pawtuckaway Training Camp
 

After the group arrived at the main entrance to Pawtuckaway, we divided up streamer hanging duties. Jeff Saeger, Bob Lux, Bill Pullman, Phil Bricker and I volunteered; Carl Childs showed up and absolved Andrew and Giacomo of their remote loop. I set fifteen controls in short order, though I did need to spend a few minutes to get into the map before I started navigating well.

C • Training 4

After returning from hanging streamers, I set out on the first exercise of the day: a long line-O through the western area of the map. I felt comfortable and confident for most of the run; I was patient and took care to read the features around me as precisely as possible.

Quickroute. Four major deviations, three of which I knew about. I didn't realize I had missed the line so much on the northeastern most corner of the line-O, at the 90 degree turn from east to south.

After a comparatively short break for lunch (for me), I ran to the start for the second and third exercises. I walked for a bit to chat with Earl LaVallee, who started orienteering in September 2011 and boldly joined us at Pawtuckaway. After attending several local meets in the fall, he told me he realized he was hooked on the sport after watching Ali and I race the final sprint at Cemetery Hill. He went out with Bob Lux to hang streamers, and Bob offered helpful advice and guidance. Earl is attentive, patient, and diligent, and I expect he will do well.

For the second exercise, Alexei devised a devious 6.6 km control pick with three loops. The third loop was in the boulder-rich playground in the northwestern area of the map; the first two loops totaled 3.6 km with 20 controls, and made a great stopping point for those looking for a shorter exercise.

I started out enthusiastically and with good flow, but I grew tired near the end of the exercise and started making mistakes. The bobbles were small, but counterproductive to the goal of smooth flow, reading ahead, and careful execution.

Quickroute

Alexei's third exercise was an 8 km, 10-control course with long legs. After two or three hours of activity, few people had any enthusiasm for the last exercise. Giacomo set out to complete it in order, Giovanni ran only the last four controls, and I ran controls 6 to 1 backwards to pick up remote streamers.

I started slowing almost immediately and had difficulty concentrating. I found my stamina utterly depleted by control 4 (split 3 on the track) and walked in picking up streamers from the control picking exercise. I was dehydrated by the end - the temperature was around 20 C, and I suspect the exercise didn't do much to help me as I lacked the strength to concentrate.

Alexei strategically placed the start and finish for the two exercises at the same location, so people could leave jackets and water to take a break between them. I left a liter of water and a Clif bar (which both Ethan and Jeff had coveted) for after the long exercise, but I found myself reluctant to trudge an extra kilometer to retrieve them, and I figured I could get them on Sunday. It turned out that Giacomo, who was similarly wasted after completing the long exercise, arrived at the finish to find that everyone else had retrieved their gear and left, and only his jacket and my foodstuffs remained. He didn't know they were mine, figured that some nice orienteers had left him some food and water, and happily consumed them.

"11 PM" interval workout. I wasn't able to make it to the CSU indoor track workout this evening, so I did the workout on my own at Danehy Park. Terry chose two 4.8 km workouts - one for those training for half marathon distance, and one for the 5-10 km distance. I chose the former because I think I'm weaker on longer distance events. The workout was 1600, 1200, 1200, and 800m at 10 km pace with 200m rest. My predicted 10 km pace is about 3:45/km - approximately the mean of threshold and VO2 max paces.

It was cool: 4 C, with a mild breeze. I ran in SL + tights, and was comfortably warm. A 3:45 km is a 90s 400, and I probably ran faster than I should have.
1600: 5:56
1200: 4:25
1200: 4:19
800: 2:48

I finished Game Change and unequivocally recommend it.

Registered for the Pig; plane tickets acquired. Posted quickroutes from the classic champs; they tell a sad tale.

Easy run. I continued Game Change.

The NEOC Executive committee - Pete, Joanne, Jim, Andy, and me met tonight to discuss activities during the Spring. I don't lack for ideas on the Events side, so my main objective was to inform the others rather than solicit input, but I did learn some useful information. There is much work to be done.

I don't usually add content to my log that's not directly related to my training, but three nuggets which have caught my attention today:

1. Classic good, bad, or crazy
   
2. Sublime Star Trek soundtrack, esp the strings around 2:20. "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."
   
3. It's been a Death and Transfiguration sort of week. Also, Part 2.

During my Christmas break in 2006, my 14-year old dog Brownie died quietly and peacefully, presumably from some organ failure. As I recall, my mom had taken her to the vet when she started slowing down, and while I don't remember the particular diagnostics they ran, it was concluded that there was nothing that could be done for her. One evening, even as she tried to faithfully to follow my brother and I around the house, she stumbled to a halt under a chair in our dining room, and her breathing became labored. I don't know how long we sat with her - perhaps an hour, covered her with her favorite blanket, caressed her, spoke soothing words, and reassured her that she was a good dog. I locked eyes with her, powerless to resist the inexorable march of time and decay. She seemed to understand her impending end. After a while, she shuddered a few times, struggled to breathe, and died. I was overwhelmed.


Brownie was the second pet to die in my arms - the first was my cat, Spot, whom we euthanized after she had pancreatic failure. Both experiences were tremendously poignant; they were reminders of my own frailty and the finiteness of our existence. Death and Transfiguration seems oddly appropriate. Perhaps it is unwise to dwell on such matters, but it is informative and a useful perspective to take time and reflect. And remember.

Hill workout; I ran over to Lowell St, then did six hill intervals before finishing up with a burrito. It occurs to me that I might have been running faster than is optimal for training. This workout was faster than I have historically run Lowell. My recoveries were unacceptably long, however.

Splits: 1:49, 1:38, 1:35, 1:37, 1:37, 1:30

I continued Game Change which continues to be compelling and informative.

Easy run around the river. I'm surprised my heart rate was so low; my perceived intensity was higher - in the neighborhood of 160 - 165, with 3/3 and 3/2 breathing. I am listening to the audiobook Game Change, which has been riveting so far. It's interesting to note how different reality is from the artificial appearance of political campaigns.

In exciting news, the Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D that I ordered a few weeks ago has finally arrived. I should have it learned in a few years.

Clem introduced me to Swampfox at BOK; while we have debated the most contentious issues of the day on attackpoint, we had never explicitly met in person. After much negotiation, we reached consensus on the merits of both pizza and burritos, and in the spirit of good will and human dignity, the Asheboro NC Accords were verbally ratified. Let the resolution of the holy war serve as a lesson to all strife: the key to peace and the advancement of the human spirit is empathy and mutual respect. Through our discussion, we came to see that pizza is little more than a topologically rearranged burrito (despite its obvious cracker properties) and vice versa.

It is with great regret that I was unable to patronize the Asheboro "Sir Pizza" establishment; when Neil and I drove over on Sunday afternoon, we discovered it did not open until 4 PM, far too late for our airport plans.

C • properties 1

Eight minute core workout: tuckups, oblique crunches, kayakers, plank, supermans, alternating side supermans (lifting an arm and opposite leg), side plank (30s each), and tuckups (again).