Training Log Archive: vmeyer

Event: QOC Turkey Run Ridge PWFP
 

Arrived at the park around 9:40 and with Sandy and Amy's help proceeded to set up epunching operation for the day.

What a beautiful day, especially compared to yesterday! The rain was gone, and there was no wind to speak of. Mid 40s at the start, mid 50s when I was leaving the park at 4:30 PM. I could live like this all year long!

I worked the epunch operation until a little after 1 PM when Jon T arrived back from his course. Got ready while he settled in, and then went out on the Brown course.

Sandy and I did Red yesterday, so we had Initially decided on Green for today since it had no overlap with Red. But, since the Red had been so darn boring, we briefly looked at the maps and decided Brown was a better choice for today.

Sandy started early and was back in just over an hour. She was at least 90 minutes up the road to Philadelphia before I would get my crack at the course. Her time of 1:02:26 was tops still when I went out last, and I had grand aspirations of coming in within 15 minutes of that time.



No Garmin - I felt so naked! But, at the same time, it made me aware of the fact that I had to remember where I had gone, if I wanted to post a recap.
S-1: OK, we had been to this one yesterday, and the circle is on the spur, but the clue is Reentrant. Found out that Reentrant was correct and bombed down the road to the trail, brushing some wayfarers aside as they just entered the trail. Apologized, so it must have been OK.
1-2: Pretty straight, though I cheated left through the spur.
2-3: Stayed high on the spur then to the left of the stream.
3-4: Fairly straight but remembered to go up a contour line. Sort of a crap shoot for me and earned the advantage of having others out there at the same time.
4-5: Around the dark green a bit, but straight after that. Maybe 30 meters to the left but felt comfortable where I was and went right to it.
5-6: Lots of big errors on this leg whereas I had the third best time. When I was nailing things on the way to this control, I knew I was potentially having a good day, but I tried not to get ahead of myself. Pretty much straight with the only drift being right and ending up in the reentrant just right of the numeral 6.
6-7: Straight again and being really, really proud when I recognized the little cuts just southwest of the circle at 7. Maybe I can orienteer!!!
7-8: OK, Sandy and I had glanced enough at the map that I said that I would take the trail/road option to 8. After Sandy finished, she said that she had gone straight, so that I had to do the trail/road option for comparison. Straight would have required all of my skills to get from the trail to the road, so trail to road it was. Barely beat Sandy on this leg after she messed up from the road to the control, but I would have been 3+ minutes more if I had tried the cross country option. So, I need to remember that trail/road, even if longer around, is still a viable choice for me. Oh, and I nailed the control from the road in.
8-9: Decided to stay along the stream bed to the trail, but it was crappy enough along there, and I wasn't moving fast enough to suit me, that I eventually headed up to the fire road. Just after that decision, I took a tumble - full body to ground with face plant, forehead ricocheting off of the ground. All I could think of at the time was that I needed to get up and go, because, while I had no idea how long I had been out, I knew it was a good time, and I didn't want to lose to Sandy by being a wuss. NO, I AM NOT AT ALL COMPETITIVE!!
Get up to the fire road at about the trail to the west. Then, I'll blame it on the knock to the forehead...I go in from the fire road thinking I will just see the control. NOT! Sort myself out, kicking myself at the same time, head tingling, sure that I am going to blow this race on the last control!! Again!, Agh!! Calm down, Valerie. And, Whew! There is the control! and into the Finish. Download, having no idea how long I have been out. Get my time, ask to see Sandy's time, 15 seconds to the good. Yeah!
OK, Sandy turned on all of the controls, I got a little help with #4 and had to assist a misplaced runner, so, a draw today, which would be fitting. It could be a fun year - my first in F55 and Sandy's last, or perhaps we will terrorize some of the youngsters in F50 instead.

Brown - Splits

Sandy arrived in Arlington for what has become our traditional January training weekend at Prince William. Last year, I was only up for about 9 miles of cycling while Sandy did a course. This year, I was up for a bit more, sort of.

Sandy navigated us around the Red course for tomorrow's QOC event. I attempted to lead once, but after leading us ~45 degrees astray, I was content to just try to keep up with Sandy.

Weather was a bit icky with a light mist most of the day, but at least it wasn't freezing.

Moving time ~2 hours, course = 7.1 KM, 215 m climb, 11 controls.



Quite a boring course, perhaps more so from trailing behind, but it was good exercise, and I felt really positive after we were done.

AND, Sandy spotted this huge rootstock.



Is it bigger than this one from 2008?! May require some in depth analysis because of the different shapes...

Fleshed out the weekend and added the EX2 race timing schedule for 2013 to my upcoming events.

21 events
9 Yes
6 No
6 "Only if Tyler isn't available"

NJROTC National Championship - Day 2

Again arrived at 6:30 AM, and with the tent already up, as well as the tables and cables left out from yesterday, Amy and I were able to get set up quickly.

Then, I went off to tackle putting out radios for Day 2. This was with no advance scouting, as I attempted to do for yesterday's event. And, if you haven't figured out by now, I need to get better at this thinking on the fly - 2:26 on my feet, but FR reports only 1:21 of moving time.



Suggestion was for a repeater on #3 and #5, with my goal being to reach #6 and 7, the water controls, and the controls which would indicate that someone had crossed over the NW road.

1 - Go control
2a. Repeater on right side of road
2b. Yagi on left side of road attached to maintenance yard fence
3. Repeater on spur
4. Repeater on spur
5. Repeater on hilltop
6 & 7. Repeater and control

This woods on this side were denser than the ones yesterday, but I was hopeful that I could get this to work.

All the things that happen when you rush pretty much happened.

Had Amy drive me to the road with the yagi, pole and stands. Was walking in to put up the yagi when I realized I had forgotten the antenna wire. Called Amy and she came back with that.

Put up a repeater across from 2 to relay the signal from the GO control. Then it was off to 3.

That craziness was because I was running back and forth in the vicinity of 3 trying to figure out why I couldn't get a signal from 2. Started the trip back to the road and fell hard going downhill with stands, repeater, compass in hand. Get up and shake it off, and get back to 2b, then 2a to discover that I had not put an antenna on 2a.

Call back to the Finish and other Peggy brings out an antenna while I head back to 3. But, first she goes to the other maintenance yard by #7, and she calls me from there confused. I direct her back to right place, and plant my repeater at 3 and head to 4. At this point, I am just hoping that fixing 2a will do the trick, but I can't wait to find out.

At 4, I get a signal on the bottom of the circle (this is the repeater Jon forgot to pick up later), and head off to 5. Also get signal from 5, punch it and call in to Amy. Apparently, a fuzzy Max (Peggy and Nadim's 8 year old son) is capably manning the O-Lynx computer by this point.

They report that my punch from #5 (124) has shown up, so I push on to #6, though not in the most direct way. For some reason, I decide not to leave the 124 control there, even though 5 is that control location. Punches from there would have least told me if the work up to 5 was good or not.

Anyway, after getting to #6, I see no lights from #6, so I try moving back towards 5 to see if I can pick up a signal. Seeing nothing, and knowing that it is now getting close to 10 AM, and since I didn't set up the live results display before I left, I abandon the project. I take the control and repeater with me, and head out to get a ride back to the barn.

Rush in and set up the results displays and then the upload of the results to the internet, change my clothes, and sulk for a wee bit.

Later on, I see that a couple of punches did come in from #6 while I was off exploring my options. So, the other Peggy and I go back out and put out #6 and #7. The control at #6 sends about a dozen more punches, while nothing is ever received from #7.

So, I guess this is a partial success.

C • Behind the scenes 1

Event: 2013 NJROTC National Orienteering Championship
 

Got cold waiting for the controls to come in, so I headed out on the Red trail to stretch my legs a bit, and at the same time, if I could help carry some stuff in the last part for Jon, that would be a bonus. Met up with him at the bottom of the hill, thankfully before I climbed up the next hill, and I carried back the backpack and water control debris.

NJROTC National Championship - Day 1 of 2
330+ high school students competing

My responsibilities for the event were:
1. Print maps and arrange for maps to be stuffed and sealed into map cases by someone else. Did not get these printed in time to hand them off, so Amy assisted me with the stuffing and sealing. Map printing process hampered by the fact that I had to reprint all of the Day 1 maps after discovering I spelled the name of the park and host school incorrectly. Agh! The maps came out well though and were worth the extra drama/trauma to get them done.
2. Coordinate two sets of controls (bags and boxes), pin punches, and stands to the two course setters (Peggy and Dave). Thankfully, they didn't go crazy and only used 31-33 controls each day. Process was helped by the fact that QOC's new set up controls arrived the week before, so I was able to use those instead of having to make two round trips to borrow and return the other set.
3. Coordinate getting loaner SI-cards to meet director. No problem getting them to him and only need to get seven more back from him.
4. Setup and run the OE software used to download the finishers and provide live results. Created the event and imported the competitors around 10 PM the night before. Good thing I have the OE process down cold.
5. Network to the OE computer to a computer running the O-Lynx software and to another computer running the four projectors displaying the live results from O-Lynx. Good thing I have this process pretty much mastered as well. :)
6. Use OE to upload current results to the web. I used my website, iphone personal hotspot and uploaded results every 5 minutes starting at 10 AM. Worked great!

A couple of things I didn't have to do that I normally do:
1. Provide and print the start lists. This was fine with me, since I was not allowed to...
2. ...make changes to competitors names for race day substitutions. Schools, even traveling from afar, tend to juggle people around, and the edict that no name changes would be accepted after Thursday was supposed to teach the coaches that they needed to get it right the first time or three. However, having competitors in with the wrong names irked me then and still does now. I hate that the results are incorrect since that reflects on me, and I did not like standing at the results display and having Johnnie's mom try to figure out what name Johnnie was really running under. Next time, my "contract" includes the option to correct names in the computer on race day.
3. Set up my tent since a Army tent was being provided for me. Supposedly a warming tent. Well, I was there at 6:30 AM trying to get set up, and no tent. I think the tent got put up by 8. So, everything was behind schedule, and it turns out that there was no warming of the tent involved. The tent also was like a coffin, dark and a low ceiling and dry rotted, and it was put up so poorly that the side post started to blow away on Sunday, the windy day. My tent from now on.
4. Provide the equipment to display the live results. The MD provided four projectors, and I used my three vga convertors and one direct vga connected to one computer to project the O-Lynx results on bedsheets which were hung up in the barn.

This turned out really well, and with the addition of the Start Time (the purple numbers), it was a very useful tool even before the event started.
And, as always, people loved the updated results.

C • name change 2

I worked really hard on getting the radio controls into three controls in the middle of the advanced courses (Orange, Brown, and Green) for Day 1, evidenced by three 70 mile round trips to the park in the week before the event.

I had planned to go out and turn on the radio controls myself, but running behind meant that the vetting team (just Peggy and Nadim to 33 control locations) had to turn on the radios instead. Circumstances meant that they were also running behind, flustered and rushed, so, the radio didn't get turned on at 125 (#11 on the map below).

Around 10 AM, I noticed that while punches from 127 (#8) were rolling in, there was no coverage from 125 (#11) or 130 (#10). I was extremely disappointed that my efforts to figure out the right location for the repeaters had failed. I decided to ask Peggy if she would walk out to the locations and check that the repeaters were on. She commented that she was pretty sure she hadn't touched 125 (#11), and she got out of her warm car and walked out there and turned on 125, and recheck 130 and the repeater at #9. Thank you, Peggy!!

The punches started rolling in from 125, and while 130 from heard from, there were only intermittent punches for about an hour and then nothing. I am guessing that the steep sides of the reentrant had a lot to do with it. Sadly, that was the one for the Orange course, and it would have been helpful to have gotten more data from that point.

This was a great learning experience for me, satisfying, and frustrating at the same time.

After stuffing and sealing the competition maps last night and this morning with Amy, we headed off to the park, arriving a bit after 10 AM to haul out water for Day 1 of the NJROTC National Orienteering Championships being held at PATuxent River Park, Maryland.

I took 6 gallons to 113, and Amy took 4 to 108. It felt like it took me forever to get there, and I was starting to worry that I had messed up, but eventually I made it in 23 minutes (.7 miles). Ran back as hard as I could in 13:49 (.7 miles, though more on trail).

Six more gallons, this time to 127. I disdained the Blue trail to take a more direct route to the bridge crossing. Total fail since I went about 45 degrees in right instead of left. I blame it in the knapsack I was carrying on my front. Truth be told, I should have just followed Amy down the Blue trail.

Sort myself, after sitting down and contemplating just where I might really be, because it is really stupid to wander around with six gallons of water! Contemplating was a failure because I wasn't as far west as I had hoped I was, and I realized this when I hit the bridge about 8 minutes after I should have.

Navigated fine to the control, dumping another gallon off at 113 after reading Peggy's email and seeing that 113 was due another gallon. Put the other five at 127 (33:46 - .97 miles) and then headed back to the car (15:08 - .9 miles).

Expected to see Amy back at the car by now (she had taken off with 3 gallons to 122 when I went off to 127), and I was a bit concerned, but since I was going to 122 next, I loaded up with four gallons and headed off.

Hoped two things: 1) she wasn't hurt, and 2) I would see her and she could drive the van back to the barn, and I would head back a different way. This back and forth stuff was getting boring.

I was relieved to see that there was water at the control when I got there (19:46 - .86 miles). Despite the fact that we both claimed to have stayed on the trail, we did not see each other, and I got back to the car about 15 minutes after she did (14:16 .86 miles - my butt was dragging!!).

Tweaking some of the repeaters for tomorrow. Hard to believe that Garmin Connect claims an hour of stoppage time.



Today, I mounted the Yagi on a better pole, so it did not tilt or wiggle around like yesterday.



Then, I was able to the repeater down the trail to the position between 3 & 4, moved the repeater at 4 South, just outside of the circle, and then I went into 8, 9, 10, 11


to see if I had coverage there without having to use the repeater at 7.

There wasn't coverage in that circle, so I turned them all off, revisited 7 on the way out to make sure it was still in place for tomorrow,

and then headed back in turning off the repeaters on the way.

What a beautiful day to be in the woods!



About 55 F when I left the park. I may even gotten a bit sunburned. Though my feet did not like being in the Ice Bugs two days in a row. With the sliding around that I was doing, I have a few hot spots this evening, and the left foot PF has flared up a bit. However, I will take that any day over not being able to be out in the woods!

C • radio locations 14

2:40 out but just 1:25 moving time. Another stab at getting the radio controls out to where I want them. Better results today after correcting a misunderstanding to the suggestions I was initially given.



Repeater at 1 (GO control)
Yagi at 2
Repeater at 3 and just North of the circle at 4.
Water was way too high, so I went around on the Red trail, though the controls at 5 & 6 and put the next repeater at 7.



Repeaters/controls at 8 & 10 with the second Master at 9.
Then over to 11 for the final repeater/control.

Managed to stay mostly dry/clean as I tackled a location in the marsh, but the water is pretty high in general, and there will be lots of wet feet this weekend.

A bit of a set back when, near the end of printing the maps for Day 1, I realized that I had spelled Patuxent incorrectly in the maps I had printed - 300 of them already. Two sides! Printer acting sluggish, so I needed to print through the night to get the reprint done in time. So, I had to keep getting up and checking it. Agh! Sort of like sheeps - I know how to spell Patuxent, but we always use the Pax River shortcut, and that stuck - Paxtuxent, spelled incorrectly twice on all of the maps. Not acceptable.

So, it was a later start then planned, but getting out was worth it since it was a lovely day to be out in the woods, clear skies and with temps right around 40 to start.

Even got to use the new Men's room at the park, after using the new Women's room last weekend.

C • Spelling 5

C • International Exposure 8

The only thing I did in my jeans today was work.

Knocked out the core dvd. Forgot to bring shorts to work. Jeans were hot to do core in.

Around the paved loop at work. Jeans were hot to walk in.

Event: QOC Occoquan
 

Garmin - 5.3 miles and 233 m climb

When I was driving into the park, I was reminded how beautiful the drive in after exiting the highway is. So scenic.

Went out early on Red on the updated map. There were 22 controls printed on a two sided map. Loved this because when I found a control, I just looked to see if it was any of mine and relocated from there. Of course, I found controls which weren't mine as well, but mostly they were somewhere on my course.

Start to 10 on one side, and 10-Finish on the other side.

Biggest error was navigating poorly out of 12, perhaps I was worn out from the 17th trip up and down the hill, but I let my concentration lapse, and was lost. Happily, I found 11, and then I navigated to 13 via 15.

Also lost time from 16 to 17 since the OOB area had this big ass building and retaining wall in it, and I was totally confused thinking it was the building on the other side of the road.



A beautiful day in the woods, and apart from some minor prickly stuff at the beginning, the woods were beautiful as well.

A second day in the Ice Bugs, and my feet held up pretty well. I need to adjust the ankle brace straps to be shorter but otherwise, my feet are better then they have been in a long time.

Red - Splits

As I was lying in bed, struggling through another night of insomnia, and the wind was roaring through the trees at 20-30 mph, I was thinking that this was a really dumb idea to be putting out controls today. Roger expressed the same opinion, but, by then, I was mentally prepared to go. And, as we all know, IT IS ALWAYS BETTER IN THE WOODS!! And, it was.

Met Peggy at Patuxent River Park to put out control bags and control boxes for Day 1 of the NJROTC Orienteering Championship next Saturday. I was running late, but Peggy was running a few minutes later, so as far as she knows, I was on time, tapping my foot, waiting for her. ;-)

I had 14 controls in a ~5 km loop, and I also wanted to see if I could get some radio controls out about halfway into each course. I gathered all of my stuff, 14 control units and bags, master radio, 8 repeaters and stands, and walked into the barn area (the road into the area was locked at that point).

I went to set up the master radio, only to find out that it was dead - the power button was left on. What to do? go and put out the control units and bag the radio testing, or what?

Remembered that I had a USB to AC (or is it DC) thingee for my iphone, so I walked back to the car, and tested that it would power the master station. By now, the road into the barn area was open, so I drove in and parked. Set up the master station by using the power at the barn, and then ventured off to set out the repeaters and visit the 14 control locations.




Down the Orange trail just past where the other Orange trail crosses, I put a repeater. Then another one directly west, and a third one west again once I crossed the marsh. Headed off to 125 only to totally botch that up and eventually ended up at 127. Whew! At least I knew where I was now. Really had no signal from the radios at this point, but I left a repeater at 127, 130, 125, and at the indistinct trail north between 130 and 127. Optimism...

Went onto hang 113, 107, 105, 108, 126, 122, 112 (scouted only - will hang on Friday), 119, 123, 109, 121.

Then I went back to collect the repeaters at 127, 130, and 125, but I failed this loop again. Agh! Getting tired, and suffering because I had no water with me, sitting on a log, and the phone rings. It is Amy who had come out to do a course but had not met with success.

I told her that I had no idea where I was and asked her to collect the master station and the three repeaters while I sorted myself out. Sitting down must have helped because I was able to navigate to the repeater in the middle of no where, as well as to the control that had been flummoxing me. Picked up the other three repeaters and headed in towards the blue rail to the road and called Amy and asked her to pick me up, which she did. What a good friend! I was pooped and running on empty after almost four hours in the woods.

And, speaking of woods, it WAS way better in the woods! I had to shed layers almost right away. I wish my magic knapsack had 3 less shirts in it and at least one more water bottle in it (or one water bottle, period!).

Anyway, babbling - enjoyed my time in the woods. It was a very good day.

~3:45 total time, 2:15 moving time.

C • better in the woods 5

"Lunchtime" workout on the paved ~.25 mile loop at work. Either that or the treadmill when I got home, and I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. In the low 40s, and I wore a loose long sleeve, long tights with short tights underneath. Perfect combination, since I could push the sleeves up easily enough.

Miles with 400-800 walk in between:
951 (400)
948 (800)
942 (800)
948 - felt like this one was really hard, and I almost stopped with 1.5 laps to go, but then I thought about it like it was the end of a race, and I really wanted to beat that person ahead of me, so I kept on going. More tired than suffering, so it was good for me. Lungs felt pretty darn good throughout!

Interesting how you can see the little dips when going into the wind or up the little tiny incline on each side.

The walking bits.

Catching up on some random things from the NZ trip. Here is the "Good"

Besides the usual accolades about the scenery, and the people, or whatever, here is a varied list of other good things about the trip, in no particular order.

1. Shoes: Salomon Speedcross 3 Very Purple - size 10
I needed a pair of shoes with traction but without metal studs, and these seemed to fit the bill. Little did I know that the Very Purple color would be considered to be SO **bright**, but I guess it is, since the color has been much talked about, both here and abroad. After getting past the color, the grip was admired as well.

I wore them a half dozen times in December, so I knew I could stand them for the trip, and, indeed, they turned out to be the perfect shoe for the varied New Zealand terrain. I had taken my Ice Bugs but never took them out of the bag.

I should note that the Speedcross does not serve me as well on the steeper, leaf covered hills behind my house, so I still need the Ice Bugs for most of the local orienteering maps.

2. PSB Ankle brace - size L
After dealing with ankle issues for the last year, including nine months of physical therapy and four weeks in a cast, I knew that I had to be diligent about wearing ankle support while orienteering.

I have had pair of the PSB ankle braces for a couple of years now, but they were a medium. I was always getting a blister, or was in pain, where the hard plastic piece curved around the side of my foot, but I figured that was just me being a princess. And, despite the discomfort, they were 100% better than anything else I had tried, and I have tried at least six different models.

The PSB pair I had was getting pretty beat up, so I ordered a new pair and decided on a size larger, since I was between sizes and hoped maybe that would solve the discomfort issue. Though I thought I allowed enough time to get them before I left, with the holiday season, and shipment from the UK (VIVOMED), it didn't seem that I would get them in time. So, I was so excited when the package arrived the day before I departed.

And, the moment I put the larger size on, I knew they were perfect! So, I immediately packed the new pair and left the old pair at home. I wore them for almost every event, and they saw action on all types of terrain, including hillsides, rutted tracks, and a couple of muddy swamps as well. I taped my usual blister spots for the first couple of events, but then stopped after that, because there was no irritation anywhere from the braces or from my shoes, for a change. Yeah!

3. The Ankle
Well, actually both ankles were a concern, especially the right ankle, but there were no issues! Of course, wearing the braces was the key. I had a couple of times when I went partially over, so I was always relieved when I was upright again with no pain.

4. The Rest of the Body
When I decided to go to New Zealand, I said that I would either be whipped into shape during the trip, or it would kill me. OK, “kill me” was a bit dramatic, so perhaps something like “I would have to sink or swim” would have been a better phrase. And, swim I did! Along with the orienteering, helping with the event each day went a long way towards toning me up, especially the upper body. I felt pretty fit by the end of the trip - worn out, but fitter. I did have to slack off a couple of days when my back objected to all of the bending and lifting, but otherwise, things got easier to do as the days passed.

Another thing I noticed, that despite the rural nature of the events, I had little trouble with my asthma and allergies. I used the inhaler before I went out on a course, but I didn’t need it in between at all, and this was on the reduced dosage of Advair.

5. The Orienteering
Ok, my navigation wasn’t always good, and sometimes it was downright bad, but it was loads of fun. The varied terrain, the opportunity to run with the sheep :), no ticks or other bugs to worry about, the excellent courses, the lack of complaints from the other competitors - just excellent events put on by all of the New Zealand clubs. Thank you Red Kiwi Orienteers, Wellington Orienteering Club, Hawkes Bay Orienteering Club, and Sprint the Bay! It was a blast!

6. Being part of the Live Results Team
Since I am not very good with idle time, I loved knowing that I had something to do each day that was usually helpful. I learned a ton of stuff along the way, about O-Lynx, about working with others, and about myself. Could they have done without me! Absolutely! Especially the few times I messed up, but I think I still managed to contribute something.

Surprisingly, I did not miss the OE side of things at all, though it helped that I got an event backup after each event, so I could pore over the splits as usual.

7. Losing weight
Losing seven pounds was a pleasant surprise, for sure. I felt like I was always eating or being fed a meal. I think there was only one day when I realized that I hadn’t eaten enough, but otherwise there was always food to be had, either brought along in the cooler or bought from a vendor or cooked at the motel or at the homestead.

The home cooked meals were healthy and tasty! Loads of fruit and veggies of some sort were always available. I appreciated those meals the most, since I know how hard it was to squeeze in home cooking when so much other stuff was getting done.

8. The Shed!!
Enough said.

All walking, some with incline, in 10 minute hunks:
Warmup at 3.5-4 mph
At 4 mph with 5/10 incline level
At 4.5 with no incline
At 4 mph with 5/10
At 4 mph with 7.5/10
At 4.5-4.1 to cool down

Shins muscles a little tight the first 20 minutes, but then they were fine.

Since I could take a deep breath again without my abs screaming from doing this last week, it was back to core work. Felt a little harder in parts, like the regular situps. Also, the rolling planks were modified. Otherwise, a good effort.

Today, my at home plan was to get the electronic equipment sorted out for the event in two weeks. Partly successful - at least the O-Lynx is sorted and charged, and the new QOC controls have been unpacked. They are just more BSF-7s, but they are so shiny new looking. :)

So, I had decided that I would wait until about 3, and then go out for a bike ride. The most snow we got today was a slight dusting, and since it had reached 37 F, I guessed correctly that the bike trails would be clean and dry.

Still kind of shocked that I left the house. I guess this is a good sign. Felt like I struggled the whole way out though.

And, then the fun part - the return trip. Fun, fun, fun, as long as I ignored my painful thumbs. Was pretty sure that I was going to have to take the walk of shame up the hill, but I took the first third after a "running" start, and then a short break, and then up the rest of the way.

But, dang, it was cold, and the little wind there was blew right in my face! I wanted to turn around within seconds, but I decided this would be a good exercise in HTFU. Well, with four light layers on the top, and good bike pants, most parts were fine, though I really needed more on the hands. And, I thought my toes were fine, but taking a shower before they had thawed out was very painful.

Event: QOC Wheaton Regional Park
 

Garmin distance 5.02 miles with 201 m climb.

Wheaton Regional Park - Ah, a return to orienteering, in the cold, at one of my least favorite parks. At least registration and results were in the Party Room at the Train Station. Considering that it was 18 F when I left the house, I was happy that we were going to be inside today, despite knowing that I wouldn't be able to hear myself think at some point.

With the addition of a light pair of gloves, I was perfectly dressed in long sleeve, short sleeve, tights and headband for the 20 F that greeted me at 9:45 AM.



Today's format was a mass start at noon for the advanced classes, but I was happy to go out early and work the epunch shift during the mass start. Based on your normal course, you were supposed to do from 0 to 5 of the windows, taking the controls within the windows in any order. I guess I could have done 0, since I am Brown W now, which meant that I didn't have to do any of the windows, but just traveling between the windows didn't look like much fun. Or, I could have done 2 as a Green W. But, after turning over the map, I decided to see how much of it I could do, though I immediately eliminated the second window. It just didn't look too appealing to me.



The path out of the Start.


The miniature train tracks.


The trails were in good shape with just a light dusting of snow.


The woods were a bit scruffy in places, but very runnable in general, especially for Wheaton.


A huge rootstock coming out of 21.


With a bit of whimsy stuck in it

Considered doing a gratuitous culvert crawl just before 27 but thought better of it.




This was a fun course, especially for Wheaton. I felt fit, and the only real error was losing concentration a bit and turning left instead of right when going from 7 to 14. After this error, I kept running into the same guy with his little dog as I looped around the next window. It was pretty amusing but getting old, so I was glad to shake him after M.

Enjoyed my stint at the computer, especially after a large number of people exited the building for the mass start. :) Thanks go out to Sam L. for going to the office supply store for more printer paper, as I left the resupply at home by the front door.

Later, I was awarded the style points award from David (course setter) and Heidi (meet director), supposedly for making the whole windows think happen. I think this was just their way of saying that they missed me last month. I guess I better get those results done before I eat the rest of the candy.


Then we tried to arrange a Fab 50 portrait after noticing we were all in red. It didn't go so well at first, as the lineup toppled over.


A pretty good one,


and, then it started going downhill again after that.


Thanks to everyone for a fine event at Wheaton. It may have to move up a bit on my list after today.

It was a good day. ;-)