Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: WCOC Ansonia Nature Center meet
 

Back to back summer sprint courses again. This time in sunshine. Pretty good consistent effort. Still a bobble at course 1 # 8, but otherwise moving right along.

Both of this summer's sprint courses, back to back. Did the longer and more difficult one first, because it was nearly dark, and the other one was safer and more on trails. Still got busted late when I couldn't see on the last hillside and had to bail out and skip one control that wasn't showing up.

RHINO is on. Looks like December 4 is most likely. More to follow.

Longer of this summer's sprint courses. Mind wandering, missed a couple. Good to get outside, anyway.

Green Y course at Baldwin Hill. Out pretty early, but saw Gary Gallagher a couple of times near 3 and near 4, and Jeff Schapiro, once when I went to his control by mistake at #5 and once when he was at my control by mistake at #8. In better control than yesterday, mostly, although I over ran 3 and 4 and fishhooked back to them, and then got sucked off by a flag on a boulder near 5 before I realized I was supposed to be looking for a reentrant and fishhooked back to that. Major loss on 6 where I was a trifle high and kept wandering for a while relocating off things that didn't seem to help.

Hard to keep a straight line in the deadfall, and my track shows some wandering. Particularly wandered on the first half of the way to #5, and was very misinformed about where I was until I hit the stone wall on the hill half way. I thought I had gone around the other side of the big marsh and that I had bumped into the smaller one beyond.

my route

Green-Y Sunday - Splits

Event: Fall Foliage Festival
 

Fall Foliage preliminary sprint - Green Y. Forgot the Garmin in my car, so no track. 90 degree error out of the start led to about a 4 minute loss on #1. Then lost some more on #5, 6 and 7. Pretty ugly. Did not make the A final

B final. Again some poor results. particular stinkers were #1 and #9. Both times looking for invisible gray smears on green and wasting mega time particularly on 9 patrolling back and forth before bailing out and coming in from another direction. Also had a minute + loss on 4 and 10 and stopped short and had to think about it on 3 and 11.

Route

Green_qualY - Splits

Green_finalY - Splits

Event: U.S. Corn Maze Championships
 

Rhonda's morning class. There was a rumor that Danielle was going to take over and give a Zumba class, but then she figured out how long it was going to take to get home today and they left at 4:30. Pretty tough when you don't have time to stick around for 5:30 class.

US Corn Maze championships, Sunderland MA. A reasonably good run, except for going to 18 instead of 10. Turned out not to be that good a way to get to 10. Beautiful night and really fun. Excellent map. One of the most precise I've been on.

Route map 1

Route map 2

US Corn Maze Sprint championships. Another map error, heading to 4 from 2 and getting most of the way there before realizing I hadn't visited 3. Otherwise totally a fine time. Route to #1 was tricky enough that I spent about 30 seconds puzzling it out before I started running. Devious.

Route

Classic - Splits

Sprint - Splits

From Hillcrest parking area out and back on Tunxis trail to Indian Council Rocks, with Rhonda, Sassy and our niece Danielle and her husband Joe. They drove up from Virginia to visit for a few days.

Rhonda's morning class, lightly attended

Down to Cherry Brook Farm with Rhonda and Sassy and back up the hill. Not quite the walk to the start on Sunday, but pretty strenuous. Especially trying to keep up with Rhonda.

Day 2 US Champs. Couldn't seem to stay in contact on the long legs, leading to much aimless wandering. Nice day, beautiful woods. Just couldn't relocate. My route.

Walk to the start. Pretty hard work!

Day 2 Green X - Splits

Event: US Two-day Classic O Championships
 

US Champs Day 1 Green X at Moreau SP. Very nice woods. Mostly ok, if slow. A couple that weren't my best work. Sucked off by Red #2 on my way to #3, and then lost and wandering on the way to #11. Otherwise very pleasant. My route.

Day 1 Green X - Splits

Goodbye, noble Hazel.

A very sad time, as we had to let go of Hazel yesterday. She had been slowing down and we found a week or so ago that she had pretty extensive cancer. She continued to enjoy life for a while, but went downhill pretty fast in the last day or so.

Hazel was very well known and well loved in the community.

C • :-( 5

C • The best dog ever 2

Sprint 1 at US Champs, Saratoga Spa State Park. Kind of rainy. Kind of stiff and sore.

Sprint 2, feeling a little more tired and sore. Ran it on my own before the mass start. Didn't see any upside in mass starting. This way I got to see the finish of the finals.

Same route at McLean GR as Sunday. No Zack to chase me today, though, and a little bit tougher to force myself up the hills.

Went to Zack's cross country meet. He was named co-athlete of the week at his school this week.

C • Doodle Funk 3

same sprint course. GPS track is getting shorter and shorter. Oh, I get it. a bunch of straight lines in there. Something happened to the GPS track.

shorter course again. This time I made it to all the controls, and had to do a hook on one I ran by when I wasn't thinking, but somehow the distance came up shorter. Interesting.

At McLean, incorporating a stretch of the yellow trail and the blue trail. Zack passed me near the end, running a different configuration but finishing on the same trail. He was flying. Reasonably good run for me, but tired and slow on the uphills.

Event: 2010 Golden Leaf Orienteering Fest
 

shorter one of the summer Ratlum sprint courses. Had the nagging sensation that there was another control in there, and figured out eventually that I had missed the first one. Hadn't run this in a while, and haven't looked at the map since the picnic.

A surprise visit! Our erstwhile exchange student Francesca was in town and surprised us. She is living in LA now with her boyfriend Jeff, whom she met at Canton High when she was living with us in 2001-2. Pretty amazing.

Tunxis trail loop. Beautiful weather, surprised I was slower than a week or so ago, when it was hot and I had to walk some.

latter part of Rhonda's morning class.

McLean. Probably the fastest time this year. Somehow the HH loosened up my hamstring a touch, although it is still tender. Pretty amazing.

C • amazing 4

Event: Hudson Highlander
 

Hudson Highlander

Map 1, Pole Brook (my route). In a pack pretty much all of this map. Putting my energy into hanging on, which was not trivial, and doing enough navigating to know where I was (particularly useful if I got dropped). Reading ahead to the circle, and making up ground when we got close by going right to the bag on #s 1-7 and 9. Three lapses: 1. On the way to 4 I was behind PG, who backed out of a laurel thicket and headed right to what turned out to be an even bigger laurel thicket. So I followed him (thinking at the time I could do much better by paying attention).
2. On the way to 7 mindlessly following Peggy and Nadim off to the left into an area boxed by marshes before looking at my map and correcting.
3. Following PG again down below # 8 and back up.
Then out to the road after 9 and watched my group disappear up the road, including the aforementioned PG, Peggy and Nadim, J-J, Phil and Katia.

Map 2, Sebago and trail run (my route). Took an extra cookie at the aid station and Peggy and Nadim got out in front of me. The rest of my group was gone. coach passed me at #11 and I saw him passing P&N, and then I was alone. I suppose I was waiting for a big crowd to come by, but maybe most folks were already gone. Trail walk was very painful, particularly feet, hamstring, low back. Alan Young passed just before the mid-point flag. Apparently he had started 1/2 hour late. Kenny and somebody else also passed the midpoint just before I got there, apparently on a route to 17. Eventually got to the top of the ridge and had a bit of trouble finding the trail, but heard runners coming back toward 13, and ran into Clint, kadley, Katia, coach, Rick D., many others. kadley advised me to turn left at the end of the ridge, but I didn't quite understand that and ended up losing the trail and floundering around in the marsh, before climbing back up to see P&N and Phil before finally getting to the end of the trail. Then back along the trail, which was getting really painful. Took the red dot all the way down the far end of the ridge thinking I would pick up the trail jct NNE of the control and work my way down the valley, but not paying enough attention, or maybe the trail isn't there any more and I got another 150 M along trail before I figured it out, so ended up approaching from the top. OK, but really slow. 14 was fine, and easy to read. Trail a lot of the way to 15, then up and over, stopping along the way to relieve some discomfort. 16 straight and easy. Remembered seeing Kenny's route to 17 earlier and thought about going E between the marshes to the trail, but it looked awfully green, so I headed N instead, picking up the EW trail just W of the power line, then along the linear marsh and just up until I got there. Stopped to drink and Glen showed up. Along the line past the two cairns into waist-deep blueberry and saw Glen making much better time off to my left near the cliffs, so I worked my way over there where it was only knee-deep. Trail N to below the big climb, then contouring in the general direction of #12, where Paul was picking up the aid station and I stayed to drink and chat for a while. Up the trail to the bend W of control and straight in, then straightish to 19, seeing Glen up ahead. Caught up to Glen and passed him, going a bit too far N and ending up in the big field, then not getting through the camp that great. Eventually crossed the power line at the bend, where the bridge and the rec control were. From there straightish route to control, while Glen went up the rocky reentrant around the green and I didn't see him again. Road to 21, a little unsure as I climbed back up, but the spur was obvious. Hadn't noticed it was supposed to be southern cliff and had a little anxiety when it wasn't on the northern one, but ok.

Map 3 Sebago (my route). All alone now. Reading fine into the circle on 22 but got sucked off to the right and downhill on another rock, feeling foolish but recovering ere too long. Passed 20 on my way to 23, and a little wobbly getting through the camp again. Navigating ok once I got on the hillside, except it was a little further than I thought and I was getting anxious until I got there. Then, between the stream and the cliffs, then across the bigger stream and I could see where I needed to go. As I got closer some cadets popped out of the reentrant on their way to 25. Generally south and not deciding until I got there between up and over and around to the right. Ended up following the trail back out to the road, which was not too smart. I would have saved a lot of time by cutting the corner. Took the road and caught up to the cadets who were just leaving it below the cliffs NW of the control. Across the top, them running, me walking, until they got dragged off right by another rock. I saw the small clearing and went directly to the rock behind it, hearing them exclaim when they looked back and saw me punch. Walking and climbing on an angle. Could hear cadets behind me. Thought I found it when I saw the big rock, but then read the clue and pressed on to the bare rock. As I punched cadets were right behind, and I saw Phil about 150 M ahead. Delightful! Hustled after Phil, leaving cadets behind. I had thought about going around on the road and attacking from the SSE, but Phil was heading up the spur, so I followed and passed him, giving him warm greetings. Eventually drifted a bit right and low, getting into the rocky reentrant maybe 50M low and to the right, so had to climb again. Saw a lowlander guy there, and then first Phil and then the cadets climbing up as I was heading down. Saw the spur developing from the road and right up to 28, watching the lowlander guy disappear off to the left. Hugged the cliffs and headed for the three way power line junction, then around the right side of the marsh on the mapped trail, which turned out to be a pipeline overgrown by laurel. Quite a slog. Got a bit further NE than the edge, and consequently a little too far E when I got to the cliffs. A little nervous as I kept heading left and down until I got to the right one, but no real problem. Can I get in by 6 hours? Doubtful but maybe. Hustling and contouring, hitting first the powerline and then the road. Encountered a rottweiler with a little too much interest in me, but no problem with the control, and 3 minutes left to get in. Hustle, hustle. Downhill finish probably made me look like I had more energy than I really did. Very satisfying to be under 6:00.

Very fun course. Thanks to the organizers.

Highlander - Splits

Event: Boggs Mountain A-Meet and Family Weekend