Training Log Archive: iansmith

Warmup - jog to the start, then running in circles to loosen up. I did a few drills; I arrived at the start about fifteen minutes before my call up.

Cool down.

Blue - Splits

Event: 2014 US Classic Championships
 

Warmup jog; I already felt the thin air. I arrived about fifteen minutes before my start and ran a few drills and some additional loops near the start that are not on the track.

US Classic Champs Day 1, Badger Gulch, Colorado.

Cool down.

Blue - Splits

Easy run around Garden of the Gods chatting with Boris about life, love, and orienteering.

Model event at Round Mountain. I ran into Boris, Alli, Marc, Sandra, and Matti among others.

The terrain is very fast, but very subtle. The contour features are typically at most one or two contours. The vegetation boundaries are highly subjective, though I think they were in general well mapped - it's just hard to make a well defined boundary between rough open and white woods.

It was also challenging to deal with the elevation. A very fun outing.

After the model, I drove to Alma, CO to hike my first 14er. The plan was to drive six miles on Route 8 to Kite Lake, hike Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln, and Mt. Bross, and return. I made a 30 minute error when I drove past route 8 and had to double back, and "Route 8" turned out to be an unpaved, heavily potholed, rocky death road. I was terrified my rental Versa's suspension would be unable to handle it.

I started my hike quite late - at about 5:30. I reached the Col at 45 minutes, and summited Mt. Democrat - my first 14er - at trip time of 1:15, after my GPS died. I tried to push as hard as possible without redlining, and I only walked or jogged. I returned to the Col at about 1:40 after taking pictures for ten minutes on the summit; at this point, I should have descended - especially since I had forgotten my flashlight. While acknowledging that my actions were stupid, I decided to ascend to Mt. Cameron with a turnaround time of 2:15 - about 7:45. I reached the top at exactly 2:15, snapped a few pictures, and promptly turned around. I hit the Col again at 2:35, and reached my car by 3:15 as total darkness descended.

I hiked minimally - shorts and a t-shirt, a fleece, 1L of water, some trail mix, my camera, sunscreen, and a small tripod. I saw a marmot and some pikas. On my descent on the road of hell, I saw a moose and came across a truck that had lost a wheel. I gave four self described hippies (who may have consumed some marijuana and alcohol) a two mile ride.

Hiking with posse in Stawamus Chief provincial park. We ascended the first peak (600ish meters), then made two abortive attempts on peak 2 from opposite directions before our turn-around time came. Presto seemed to enjoy himself. The views of Howe Sound from the summit of peak 1 were excellent. My legs were a little tired, but I had no real difficulties today. Actual time was probably about 4 hours (8:30 to 1:30 with some stops).

Running from the top of the lift to the start. I did a few drills and stretched my calves before starting.

Canadian Champs Long course, WRE. Note that control 19 was a very steep descent through a river gorge; up to five minutes off the clock could be spent on this leg. I spent about 4:50.

Long M21E - Splits