Training Log Archive: iansmith

Easy out-and-back to test the logger. I put it in my light Switzerland backpack and sinched it high up on my shoulders. I turned around at Russell and Mass Ave and returned by the same route. My knees were painful at first - the left is particularly swollen from the boulder collision at control 4 - but everything loosened up into the run. Track is extremely spotty; I might try an armband. Another reminder to get 305 repaired.

C • No traverse track? 1

1 min of tuck ups, kayakers, plank, and oblique crunches. Knees were uncooperative on the oblique crunches.

Event: NEOC: Blue Hills Traverse
 

2012 Blue Hills Traverse. In summary, the race was mine to lose, and I lost it - blowing a four minute lead at one control, and finishing third, 15s behind Andrew and Ethan.

I have been looking forward to racing the Traverse since I volunteered to design the 2010 Traverse when I had a broken leg. I had a vague idea of who would be coming, and while they would be formidable, I started the race with the aspiration of winning it. We had a 30 minute delay when it turned out the maps hadn't made the drive to the mass start. I ran out of the mass start hard: the first leg was 250m, Jeff said there were only two punches, and I didn't want to get stuck behind the crowd. I was in the lead to 1, and I held it through control 5. I saw Andrew and Ethan intermittently - from 2-3 and marching over the hill to 6. I missed 6 by about 50m to the left, hit the trail, and doubled back, but Team Childs beat me by 10-15s. We took different routes to 7 which converged, but they missed a trail junction, and they were out of sight when I punched. They took a creative route to 8, hit an unmapped trail, lost two minutes, and fell out of sight.

In the middle section, while I was fairly sure I was ahead of the Children, I unsuccessfully tried to convince myself that I needed to chase them down to secure the victory I desperately sought. I saw Giovanni going to 11 as I marched to 13, but was otherwise alone. I ran alone until control 19, where after a 4 minute error, the Munchkins and I met at the control from opposite directions - they from above, I from below. We punched seconds apart, and I found myself in the situation I had dreaded - fighting it out against the Kiddos in the last 1.5 km - a navigationally trivial 1.5 km. I busted downhill to 20, but lost 10s running the wrong way at the trail junction. They punched 20 ahead of me; the last trail run up the hill was a brutal death slog. I stayed on the trail longer, and reached the paved road first, but I couldn't keep los Niños from inching past me. They reached the last control with a comfortable 15s lead, and I watched powerlessly, with despair in the final sprint as they reached the finish.

The course was well suited to runners; there was much trail running. I must reflect about what I could have done differently and what I should learn from this experience. I think I began the race too frantically; in scrambling over rocks around 3-4, I bashed both of my knees against boulders. I need to practice attacking controls on hillsides from above and in vague, low visibility areas. Physically, I need to practice pacing myself over long distances, running efficiently, running through rocky garbage, and going up hills. I also need to spend more time reading maps.

C • You seem disappointed. But ... 20

Logger doesn't appear to have been effective in my pocket behind a Gu.

I grabbed some rec course controls after the awards to get a little jog in before returning home. The control pickup also provided reflection and some penance. Both knees were a bit stiff and swollen from boulder collisions, feet were hurting from rocks and O-roc(k)s, but I felt otherwise ok.

Traverse - Splits

On October 25, the NEOC A-meet Planning Group (APG) met for the first time. The group currently consists of 7 A-meet proponents in the club, all of whom were at the North American Champs the weekend before. The objective of the group is to plan NEOC's A-meet calendar for the next 1-5 years, including directing resources and mapping efforts to sustain them. The immediate results from the meeting were:

1. A discussion of what criteria to use in event location, event type, frequency, and how much of the club's resources to commit to A-meets. Sustainability is emphasized, with the expectation that as the largest club in the region, NEOC should be driving much of the A-meet activity in New England.


2. Townsend State Forest, based chiefly on map considerations, was selected for a Spring 2014 meet (probably 2x classic). Boxford and Harold Parker are slated for 2015 or 2016.


3. The possibility of a joint SSMM A-meet with CSU for September 2013 is discussed; it is adopted pending suitable map availability.


4. The APG will guide major map updates, with priority shifted to those at the top of the A-meet queue. Mapper resources are discussed.

Oct 25 Notes. The next meeting is scheduled for January, and feedback is welcome.

Tempoish run in a bouncy route between Highland Ave and Broadway. This run has more hills than my typical route.

Ghettotrack.

Easy run around Cambridgeville. The air was a frigid 2 C, with 20 kph wind.

Ghettotrack.