Training Log Archive: Charlie

Red Middle course at Team Trials.

Map and route.

Not a great start. Crossed the stream and climbed up a bit, but then was having trouble seeing the detail on the map and stopped for a while to try to figure it out, realized I hadn't gone far enough, so lost about a minute.

On the way to 2 crossed the stream, and was north of the biggest rocks, looking downhill for the reentrant, but didn't see a flag and ended up wandering on as far as the trail before turning back. As I was approaching I saw Craig, who had started two minutes behind. He punched in maybe 30 or so seconds ahead of me. Figure I lost between 2:30 and 3:00 on the leg.

To 3 I went south of the big rock features, very satisfactory, then continued south of the rocky spur, and watched Craig miss to the right and keep going, so I got back ahead of him here.

Hustled downhill toward 4, but then it didn't look like I was expecting it to, and I wandered back and forth a bit. I saw a patch of laurel off to the W, and started heading back, then thought I really should be looking for the reentrant with the marsh in it, and then found it. I saw Karl Ahlswede near the control, but it turns out he was taking a right route from 9 to 10. So another 2 minutes gone.

Then I settled down, not fast, but finding reasonably secure routes. Quite straight to 5, under the cliffs after 100 M, then up teh small reentrant and over the hill. As I was still about 50M away, I saw Jeff leaving the area and heading toward 6.

South of the marsh toward 6, crossing the little white island N of the control area and up the small reentrant and in.

Over the top and dwon the slot to the ENE, across the stream to the slot that led right up to the control at 7. Picked up the trail and followed it to the marsh before the big hill and into 8 from there. Dropped quckly down to the marsh and followed it under rocks and around the cliffs to 9. The bag was a little further from the cliff than I thought, but easy enough.

David Hunter went by as I went left along the marsh. When I got past the big cliff halfway, I thought I had come to the end of the marshy stuff, so thought I needed to go E, but I saw Janet and David more or less stopped, but seeming to be going on further N. Made me nervous, but I was thinking I needed to head east, and started going up. After a while I reaslized I ws still too far S, so I went up one of the steep reentrants. Eventually figured out I was one to far over to the East and up and over and right into the bag, punching in behind Janet, David and Laura Carluccio.

Pretty straight line to 11 behind Laura, who seemed very steady. She pulled away by then and on my own to 12, where I saw Mike Lyons coming back to it.

Carl Childs passed me on the way up the hill toward 13, grunting and struggling, but still stronger than I was. I got a little better line, saw the smaller cliff right on the line below the bigger cliffs, and we got there together, both checking the boulder on the edge of the circle first.

With Carl down toward 14, It didn't look right to me and very hesitant.

I had taken the trouble to read the clue, so knew I had to go right around the big rock at 15, and then in.

Middle Red - Splits

Team trials, special green course for feeble onlookers not up to the mega red and blue long courses. 1:15000 map, just to make it more interesting. Peter was working the start, and looking forward to my reaction when I found out it was 1:15000. I think I disappointed him by not expressing enough distress. "Would it help?" I asked.

Despite developing a plan and thinking I was doing more or less the right thing, I did lose contact on the way to 1, but eventually came to the top of a substantial cliff.not all that far north of the control. Seemed likely that I was in fact where I thought I was, so skedaddled down and punched in. I lost some time, but just hesitating and studying the map. Don't think I wandered much.

Karen M passed me on the way to 2. She was walking and I thought I was jogging, but I certainly couldn't keep up. 2 was easy enough, just get to the trail and then head S keeping the marsh on my left. Past the marsh on the other side, heading up to the EW trail and crossing it, angling up to the trail up the big hill. Somehow I got ahead of Karen and we arrived together at what seemed to be the right place to leave the trail. So many little knolls with cliffs on them! I think we were just one bump north of it, but she and Mitch C started exploring further north, and I hung with them for a while until I just went back where I started and found the little bump with the flag, losing about 6 or so minutes in the process. Then 4 was easy, except I kept getting pushed R by the terrain, finally crossing the marsh at the narrow point just N of 6. From there I could just go up the spur and hit it right on, aware of the marsh through the trees on the right.

Map and route.

More later.

C • exploring at #3 2

Long Green - Splits

Event: Senior Team USA Trials
 

Red Sprint at Team Trials. Apparently DSQd. There is a tiny strip of green just before the finish on the map, and there is a hedge on the ground, but with about a 3 foot wide gap in it. Not that I was really looking at the map, but rather chasing Steve Richardson to the finish. He apparently jumped the hedge somewhere left of where I went through and was DSQd. I didn't realize until later that I had also crossed the green.

Generally things were pretty small for me to read on the map, and not really possible in most places without coming to a complete stop. Only one real error other than the DSQ, leaving 16 and planning to go around the S of the building, I went around the building further south as well and was running along S, when I wanted to have gone E and then N. Had to stop and figure out where I was, so that was worth about 2 minutes.

To add insult, my Garmin track got garbled and downloads only a race from 2 months ago.

The map.

C • Wait, what?!? 14

Sprint Red - Splits

working out with Eric. My back is less painful than it has been since the February incident, although I still feel pretty vulnerable.

With Rhonda, from PV. Felt a little stress in the R quad, so good we kept it short. The back is feeling pretty good, though.

C • So the reason to return on ... 2

Feeling a bit subdued and logy after the shot yesterday, but this wasn't so bad, and overall easier at the somewhat slower pace. I was being extra careful of the back, not pushing the pace at all.

C • shot 1

stretching and strengthening with Eric. A long road.

Splits: 2:12.5, 2:11.9, 2:09.2, 2:04.4

This feels so hard. It is difficult to picture stretching this out to 5K, which seems to be my preferred winter distance.

Second spinal injection this afternoon. This is generally a pretty easy procedure to undergo, doesn't hurt, only takes a few minutes. When I got up to go, however, my first steps were a bit unsure, so I got stashed in the waiting room to sit for 10 minutes or so. Now that I am home, I feel a bit tired and woozy, not so different from when I had the last one about 5 or 6 weeks ago. This one was lower, at the L4-L5 level, and more toward the mid-line.

Fastest time since I started up again after my back episode began around 1 February. Felt hard. Breathing hard at the end.

Splits 2:13.4, 2:07.7, 2:06.6, 2:02.5

C • Leading the way... 2