Training Log Archive: vmeyerIn the 7 days ending Apr 8, 2007:
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Sunday Apr 8, 2007 #
Note
(rest day)
Travel home was painless as well. Here are the pictures from the trip, including one of me at the top of the hill and one of a Rest House.
Saturday Apr 7, 2007 #
Event: Giant's Rib Raid
Orienteering race 5:03:00 [4] *** 27.0 km (11:13 / km)
shoes: Ice Bugs - Red Storm
After resting and reflecting, I decided this race deserved more than a few brief statements, so I stole Bash’s log entry. Well, at least a little bit of it here and there...
Kris and I flew from Washington, DC to Toronto for the weekend to race in the Giant's Rib Raid with Barb (Bash) and Kris (kissy) as the QuantiGHO Queen Bees.
I had never done an official race as a team of more than two people, and in my previous attempts, I was the stronger of the two people. So, it was a bit of a concern for me, knowing that I would have to push hard to keep up with Barb and Kris.
As Bash wrote, the weather was a few degrees below freezing, with blowing snow flurries for part of the day. I dressed perfectly in a short sleeve tight UA shirt and my long sleeve NAOC shirt. Medium weight tights, glove liners, and a head band would be all I would need. I carried my new shell which was breathable and waterproof, and 20% off.
The pre-race gathering started at 7:15, with Kris and I arriving around 7:45 with a slight navigational detour on the way. I am a big believer in getting that out of the way before the race. We signed the waivers and picked up our SI card. Barb already had our maps, and had secured a table to work on. Barb and Kris wrote notes all over about the sequence of events, control descriptions, etc. I reviewed the big picture, and I highlighted the control I was assigned in the Matrix, and that was all.
I tracked down Michael Ball to say hi, and see how he was doing after having the flu just last weekend. We also pressed Caron Shepley, from the Hard Core DVD, into having her picture taken with Kris and I.
After a short pre-race brief, a couple of more trips to the restroom, it was outside to get started.
Map 1
From the staging area, we each had to run a ~300 meter loop to spread the teams out. The order was me, Barb, and Kris. We were the next to the last team to reach the stile over the fence, and we had to wait behind about 30 other people for our turn. From there it was a trail run to the start triangle, and then off to the first control. We took the route choice down the reentrant. The side of the reentrant was littered with rocks and snow, and I had visions of slipping and having the race over before we really started. Safely out of there, we went along the edge of the out-of-bounds (OOB), and through the field below the pond to the first control (14:40/14:40).
From #1, it was down to and along the power line, then the trail across the water to the #2 (8:23/23:03).
Map 2
Next was a 1100 meter run down the road to the start of the Line-O section which I measured to be about 3000 meters. The 1:10 map had the lake, contour lines, vegetation boundaries, a fence, and the railroad tracks, but nothing else too useful. Well, there was a rest house in one of the picnic areas... This was where we encountered one of the other female teams.
After securing the four controls on the line, it was a short run along the water to #3. This was the coldest part of the race to me - with the wind blowing off the water. Ironically, we were asked for out mandatory space blanket here. After showing we each had one, we punched in. So, it was ~7:00 from #2 to the start of the line, ~41:00 on the line, and ~6:30 from the last line-o control to the blanket check and to #3 (54:38/1:17:41).
From #3, we headed up the road to the ski slope and up the escarpment. It was a bit intimidating, but I kept my head down and tried not to get too psyched out. I also tried to eat some of my peanut butter sandwich, but it was so dry, and I was breathing so hard, that I couldn’t. After shaking the female team on the line, they gained on us here, and beat me to the top. Then it was straight to #4, all about the same time (15:50/1:33:31).
Barb and Kris then navigated flawlessly to #5, after Kris directed us straight across the field, instead of around like some of the nearby teams. We cruised into #5 from the north (10:14/1:43:45).
From #5, it was off to the aid station where I picked up some Smarties. These are like big M&Ms, but they were somewhat frozen. I choked down a few, but couldn’t finish the rest. From the AS, we switched from the contour/vegetation (1:10) only map to the photo map (1:15).
Map 3
Another flawless route across the fields and through the woods, and skirting the OOB which was a firing range (21:21/2:05:06). It is interesting that this split is so long, because it was here that I looked at my watch for the first time. I think it was soon after this leg that I asked Barb to break out the tow rope after turning it down a little earlier.
I have to admit that coming from an orienteering background, and with my other long events being 50K ultra runs, I could not imagine ever agreeing to being towed. But I was having a hard time mentally dealing with lagging behind so much, so I gave it a try on the road from 6 - about 1400 meter run. It did help me to keep up, or it pulled my teammates back to me, but whatever it did, I was feeling better.
Into 6 A-C which we could take in any order. We did C, B, A with the fun being on the way to A - trying to not get too wet through a very wide, wet marshy area which was partially iced over. We ran into a lot of teams between B and A. Barb had lost her compass at C, and was able to borrow another from a friend at B. Reports from teams who caught us after coming from C was that the compass had been hung with the control for pickup later. We spent about 20 minutes off of the road and in this section.
From 6A, we ran the Bruce Trail up the Nassagaweya Walker’s Line to Campbell Avenue to the next AS. Kris’ calf was cramping. Barb mooched some antacids from another friend, though I don’t think it did Kris much good, so she soldiered on dreading the next cramping episode. This road run was about 3200 meters, and I was towed again which helped.
At this AS, I tried these orange ring things - also not very tasty to me at that point. From here, it was a slog up a 500 meter muddy trail to a right turn into #7. Barb had asked earlier how to attack #8, and I was thinking that she was planning ahead, but she had maybe overlooked #7. We didn’t waste anytime though, and headed into #7 (1:19:30/3:24:36).
MicrObe Map
From #7, we went into the MicrObe section for controls 8 & 9. There were 8 controls on a 1:10 map with the only detail being the trails, and the feature, as well as a couple of cliffs and a marsh. At two of the 8 controls was the electronic control. You had to do them in order, and could move onto #10 when you found the two controls you needed. We did this pretty well, with maybe one small error. Lots of people in this area. The controls were in C (12:01/3:36:37) & G (10:31/3:47:08), I think. D was a pit which was about 10-15 feet deep. It was a pretty impressive hole!
From #9, we went back onto Map 1. We hit the trail and tried to skirt around the west side of the marsh, but we ended up encountering a fast moving stream made from snow melt. I am afraid that my sense of adventure abandoned me here as I dreaded getting my feet wet, so I tried to keep moving along this thing trying to find a dry way over. Kris was cramping again at this point, and water didn’t seem like a good idea to either of us. But there was no dry crossing in sight, so Barb took us in hand and we waded across and into #10 (15:21/4:02:29).
Excellent navigation got us over the next bodies of water without getting any wetter - though what is wetter than wet? Wet up to your waist? :) Anyway, into #11 easily (15:40/4:18:09).
At this point, we headed to the Matrix - four controls to get by any or all of us (11 A-D). I got the easiest, closest one (11B). Kris and Barb swapped maps and Barb headed for the farthest two (11A & C), and Kris got the last one (11D). Kris had to get me to the big trail and head me in the right direction, and I managed to bobble the control which was in sight of the trail. From here I headed to #12 and waited - about 3 minutes for Kris and 5 minutes for Barb. I broke out my jacket while I waited. I think that was a pretty well executed plan (23:59/4:42:08).
It was off to 13 & 14 which were a crevasse and a cliff. I think this was the only place where we lost any real time navigating. I think a 2 minute error looking for the best way into the crevasse after having been told that the best way in was from the end you approached from. But, who is really remembering that stuff 5 hours later. Anyway, we found #13 (8:40/4:50:48) and #14 (2:07/4:52:55), and then took a final trip across the stone to the trail, up the hill, over the stile, to the last control #15 (9:12/5:02:07). With the finish in sight, I was totally spent (0:59/5:03:06).
Somewhere in that last hour, I realized I was starving and was able to eat my sandwich. Before that, I had two GUs and one bag of sports beans. I drank about 15 oz each of water and gatorade - not enough. I had to use my inhaler to try to help my breathing coming out of #6.
I was sure glad to be done. This was so hard - both from an individual point of view, as well from the team perspective - with me being my harshest critic (edit: my only critic). Barb and Kris were great. Would I do it again? Sure, with a bit more training.
Kris and I flew from Washington, DC to Toronto for the weekend to race in the Giant's Rib Raid with Barb (Bash) and Kris (kissy) as the QuantiGHO Queen Bees.
I had never done an official race as a team of more than two people, and in my previous attempts, I was the stronger of the two people. So, it was a bit of a concern for me, knowing that I would have to push hard to keep up with Barb and Kris.
As Bash wrote, the weather was a few degrees below freezing, with blowing snow flurries for part of the day. I dressed perfectly in a short sleeve tight UA shirt and my long sleeve NAOC shirt. Medium weight tights, glove liners, and a head band would be all I would need. I carried my new shell which was breathable and waterproof, and 20% off.
The pre-race gathering started at 7:15, with Kris and I arriving around 7:45 with a slight navigational detour on the way. I am a big believer in getting that out of the way before the race. We signed the waivers and picked up our SI card. Barb already had our maps, and had secured a table to work on. Barb and Kris wrote notes all over about the sequence of events, control descriptions, etc. I reviewed the big picture, and I highlighted the control I was assigned in the Matrix, and that was all.
I tracked down Michael Ball to say hi, and see how he was doing after having the flu just last weekend. We also pressed Caron Shepley, from the Hard Core DVD, into having her picture taken with Kris and I.
After a short pre-race brief, a couple of more trips to the restroom, it was outside to get started.
Map 1
From the staging area, we each had to run a ~300 meter loop to spread the teams out. The order was me, Barb, and Kris. We were the next to the last team to reach the stile over the fence, and we had to wait behind about 30 other people for our turn. From there it was a trail run to the start triangle, and then off to the first control. We took the route choice down the reentrant. The side of the reentrant was littered with rocks and snow, and I had visions of slipping and having the race over before we really started. Safely out of there, we went along the edge of the out-of-bounds (OOB), and through the field below the pond to the first control (14:40/14:40).
From #1, it was down to and along the power line, then the trail across the water to the #2 (8:23/23:03).
Map 2
Next was a 1100 meter run down the road to the start of the Line-O section which I measured to be about 3000 meters. The 1:10 map had the lake, contour lines, vegetation boundaries, a fence, and the railroad tracks, but nothing else too useful. Well, there was a rest house in one of the picnic areas... This was where we encountered one of the other female teams.
After securing the four controls on the line, it was a short run along the water to #3. This was the coldest part of the race to me - with the wind blowing off the water. Ironically, we were asked for out mandatory space blanket here. After showing we each had one, we punched in. So, it was ~7:00 from #2 to the start of the line, ~41:00 on the line, and ~6:30 from the last line-o control to the blanket check and to #3 (54:38/1:17:41).
From #3, we headed up the road to the ski slope and up the escarpment. It was a bit intimidating, but I kept my head down and tried not to get too psyched out. I also tried to eat some of my peanut butter sandwich, but it was so dry, and I was breathing so hard, that I couldn’t. After shaking the female team on the line, they gained on us here, and beat me to the top. Then it was straight to #4, all about the same time (15:50/1:33:31).
Barb and Kris then navigated flawlessly to #5, after Kris directed us straight across the field, instead of around like some of the nearby teams. We cruised into #5 from the north (10:14/1:43:45).
From #5, it was off to the aid station where I picked up some Smarties. These are like big M&Ms, but they were somewhat frozen. I choked down a few, but couldn’t finish the rest. From the AS, we switched from the contour/vegetation (1:10) only map to the photo map (1:15).
Map 3
Another flawless route across the fields and through the woods, and skirting the OOB which was a firing range (21:21/2:05:06). It is interesting that this split is so long, because it was here that I looked at my watch for the first time. I think it was soon after this leg that I asked Barb to break out the tow rope after turning it down a little earlier.
I have to admit that coming from an orienteering background, and with my other long events being 50K ultra runs, I could not imagine ever agreeing to being towed. But I was having a hard time mentally dealing with lagging behind so much, so I gave it a try on the road from 6 - about 1400 meter run. It did help me to keep up, or it pulled my teammates back to me, but whatever it did, I was feeling better.
Into 6 A-C which we could take in any order. We did C, B, A with the fun being on the way to A - trying to not get too wet through a very wide, wet marshy area which was partially iced over. We ran into a lot of teams between B and A. Barb had lost her compass at C, and was able to borrow another from a friend at B. Reports from teams who caught us after coming from C was that the compass had been hung with the control for pickup later. We spent about 20 minutes off of the road and in this section.
From 6A, we ran the Bruce Trail up the Nassagaweya Walker’s Line to Campbell Avenue to the next AS. Kris’ calf was cramping. Barb mooched some antacids from another friend, though I don’t think it did Kris much good, so she soldiered on dreading the next cramping episode. This road run was about 3200 meters, and I was towed again which helped.
At this AS, I tried these orange ring things - also not very tasty to me at that point. From here, it was a slog up a 500 meter muddy trail to a right turn into #7. Barb had asked earlier how to attack #8, and I was thinking that she was planning ahead, but she had maybe overlooked #7. We didn’t waste anytime though, and headed into #7 (1:19:30/3:24:36).
MicrObe Map
From #7, we went into the MicrObe section for controls 8 & 9. There were 8 controls on a 1:10 map with the only detail being the trails, and the feature, as well as a couple of cliffs and a marsh. At two of the 8 controls was the electronic control. You had to do them in order, and could move onto #10 when you found the two controls you needed. We did this pretty well, with maybe one small error. Lots of people in this area. The controls were in C (12:01/3:36:37) & G (10:31/3:47:08), I think. D was a pit which was about 10-15 feet deep. It was a pretty impressive hole!
From #9, we went back onto Map 1. We hit the trail and tried to skirt around the west side of the marsh, but we ended up encountering a fast moving stream made from snow melt. I am afraid that my sense of adventure abandoned me here as I dreaded getting my feet wet, so I tried to keep moving along this thing trying to find a dry way over. Kris was cramping again at this point, and water didn’t seem like a good idea to either of us. But there was no dry crossing in sight, so Barb took us in hand and we waded across and into #10 (15:21/4:02:29).
Excellent navigation got us over the next bodies of water without getting any wetter - though what is wetter than wet? Wet up to your waist? :) Anyway, into #11 easily (15:40/4:18:09).
At this point, we headed to the Matrix - four controls to get by any or all of us (11 A-D). I got the easiest, closest one (11B). Kris and Barb swapped maps and Barb headed for the farthest two (11A & C), and Kris got the last one (11D). Kris had to get me to the big trail and head me in the right direction, and I managed to bobble the control which was in sight of the trail. From here I headed to #12 and waited - about 3 minutes for Kris and 5 minutes for Barb. I broke out my jacket while I waited. I think that was a pretty well executed plan (23:59/4:42:08).
It was off to 13 & 14 which were a crevasse and a cliff. I think this was the only place where we lost any real time navigating. I think a 2 minute error looking for the best way into the crevasse after having been told that the best way in was from the end you approached from. But, who is really remembering that stuff 5 hours later. Anyway, we found #13 (8:40/4:50:48) and #14 (2:07/4:52:55), and then took a final trip across the stone to the trail, up the hill, over the stile, to the last control #15 (9:12/5:02:07). With the finish in sight, I was totally spent (0:59/5:03:06).
Somewhere in that last hour, I realized I was starving and was able to eat my sandwich. Before that, I had two GUs and one bag of sports beans. I drank about 15 oz each of water and gatorade - not enough. I had to use my inhaler to try to help my breathing coming out of #6.
I was sure glad to be done. This was so hard - both from an individual point of view, as well from the team perspective - with me being my harshest critic (edit: my only critic). Barb and Kris were great. Would I do it again? Sure, with a bit more training.
Friday Apr 6, 2007 #
Note
slept:7.0 weight:181lbs
Kris and I are off to Toronto this morning. See you soon Barb.
Added 4/9: Our flight to Toronto was painless, and since it was a national holiday, there were few cars on the road. We went directly to the McMichael Gallery and toured the first floor. This all Canadian art gallery was excellent.
After meeting Bash and 'Bent for lunch, we were off to the Waddingtons. Jim and Sue took us to see a couple of the nearby falls. We got to meet their third teammate Jean at dinner.
Added 4/9: Our flight to Toronto was painless, and since it was a national holiday, there were few cars on the road. We went directly to the McMichael Gallery and toured the first floor. This all Canadian art gallery was excellent.
After meeting Bash and 'Bent for lunch, we were off to the Waddingtons. Jim and Sue took us to see a couple of the nearby falls. We got to meet their third teammate Jean at dinner.
Thursday Apr 5, 2007 #
Misc (THE DVD) 40:00 [3]
About 3 hours of yard work this morning in chilly conditions, followed by the DVD this evening in the basement. :)
Wednesday Apr 4, 2007 #
Running (W&OD) 1:03:20 [3] 6.6 mi (9:36 / mi)
shoes: Saucony - Big Blue 1
Yesterday's planned run executed a day later.
Hadn't made my mind up on which pack to use for Saturday, so I took my two bottle pack out for a spin. Besides the water, I added a can of diced tomatos to weigh it down, and off I went.
Overcast, with a threat of rain, and temps near 60 - perfect for a run in shorts/short sleeves. Into the wind going out, and slightly up, but it didn't feel like a struggle. Coming back was one of those days when I felt like I was a runner.
Messed up the splits outbound, but the last two halves were 453 and 454.
Return trip: 438 434 435 423 421 439 - 27:10 = 9:04 per mile.
Pack worked well.
Hadn't made my mind up on which pack to use for Saturday, so I took my two bottle pack out for a spin. Besides the water, I added a can of diced tomatos to weigh it down, and off I went.
Overcast, with a threat of rain, and temps near 60 - perfect for a run in shorts/short sleeves. Into the wind going out, and slightly up, but it didn't feel like a struggle. Coming back was one of those days when I felt like I was a runner.
Messed up the splits outbound, but the last two halves were 453 and 454.
Return trip: 438 434 435 423 421 439 - 27:10 = 9:04 per mile.
Pack worked well.
Walking (Walk back home) 10:00 [1] 0.6 mi (16:40 / mi)
shoes: Saucony - Big Blue 1
Tuesday Apr 3, 2007 #
Misc (THE DVD) 40:00 [2]
slept:9.0 weight:178lbs
A couple of hours of yard work followed by the DVD. That was yesterday's plan executed a day late.
Trail Run (Carderock) 16:30 [2] 1.5 mi (11:00 / mi)
shoes: Ice Bugs - Red Storm
Met Sarah at 12:30 for a run. She hung in there for a while, but then the hard 10 mile Cherry Blossom race on Sunday caught up with her.
Walking (Carderock) 52:30 [1] 3.5 mi (15:00 / mi)
shoes: Ice Bugs - Red Storm
So, we walked fast and chatted the rest of the way. Lots of people out enjoying the 80 F day on the C&O canal. I enjoyed my time with Sarah. My legs felt good.