Training Log Archive: slow-twitch

Taupo club event on some random farm between Atiamuri and Tokoroa (was hoping for forest but never mind). Could've been a pretty good course with a couple of really neat route choice legs but too many times that the high density of rickety electric fences killed good routes or dragged me off them. Was hoping to practice some good smooth orienteering habits before next week but the fences and lumpy dairy farm ground kind of broke the rhythmn a bit too much. Did have almost every leg planned to the point of having an exit strategy for each control by the time I got to it, which was one thing I wanted to focus on, so one positive. Lost time on 2 controls where either the mapping or circle placement had not enough in common with reality, and 2 others were my fault - not much lost on 6 looking too high for it, and drifted off route to 8 (about a minute loss?). But otherwise just not going fast enough for my liking.

The people you meet at Taupo club events! Walked (and ran bits at kiddy pace) round the white(ish) course with DeMon's bro and nephs. While I don't have much of a frame of reference for the navigational abilities of 4 yr olds, was very impressed that Marco got us around pretty much the whole course with plenty of prompting but not a whole heap of correcting. And if you ever need a water-trough pointed out, Taine's your 2 yr old. Good to shoot the breeze with the Pimster too, especially as we'd changed jobs and locations at about the same time and must have both managed to send our new details to each other's old work emails.

Having had a run of shitty work days (the highlight being the day I recieved multiple electrocutions from plain wire fences because there was a short in just the wrong place in Wharekiri's electric fence network) followed by shitty late afternoon weather, I've been a bit lazy this week. So finally got out again today. Limited to half an hour partly because by the time I got round to it it was nearly time to go and pick up Student Sarah from her day of scaring birds in the name of science, and partly because I was mostly running like someone who had been a bit lazy this week. Did what seems to have become my usual loop with a little but not much added.

Have just discovered the army has invaded the neighbourhood. If it's not just a weekend excercise there could be some interesting encounters on the job next week.

One of the usual terrain loops out behind the house, though generally taking the soft option of a farm track where it was available, because I was really really tired, and clouds were beginning to look very dark and threatening. Then had to run round the house paddock a couple of times to clock up the 30 minutes that I wanted =) For the level of tiredness, the running went reasonably well once I got started. Saw a clutch of paradise ducklings - cute!