Training Log Archive: JanetT

Event: Troll Cup and Junior National Champs
 

Troll Cup day 1, Brown Y course, 1:10000, 5m
3.5 km / 175m climb nominal; course by Phil Bricker
Sunny and low to mid 60s

Route Gadget

1 - Sandy F started a couple minutes ahead of me and I didn't want to go exactly as she had out of start so I jogged up the trail a bit before heading east; it was flatter there anyway. My plan was to hit the rocky spur and find the long cliffline. I seemed to cross more wet areas than were mapped so I hesitated some but kept on my way and found the l o n g cliff and the reentrant at the end (flag was just over the top of the rise from the direction I approached). Maybe lost a bit of time hesitating (but not the 2+ AP says).

2 - straight on the line to the third trail, hitting it just E of the bend, then down it past the light green. Saw Sandy a bit ahead of me

3 - tried to take a different to her toward 3 but kept drifting toward the trail (where I wanted to go anyway, and where I was able to jog past Sandy). Took off at the bend and angled uphill slightly, crossing the stream before the control just above the cliffs.

4 - S L O G to a pretty obvious reentrant that had the cliff. No mistakes, just slow

5 - didn't like the looks of the rocks in the reentrant so angled SW a bit so that I wasn't going straight up another steep climb. Went toward the non rocky part of the cliffline and found somewhere to gently descend then turned into the wide reentrant and headed for the first bouldery thing I saw. No mistakes, just a slow climber. Between these two legs we climbed 80m in about 400m straight line...ugh.

6 - more north than northeast to cut out some of the climb and hit the trail near green swamp so attacked from there, knowing I was looking for a cliff near the water/marsh

7 - exited north and stayed on the east side of marshy area, not seeing the trail (on the map) where it went under the line. Looped around the uncrossable marsh and had some really nice open woods to run through to the stream, crossed the stream, and contoured to the dot knoll, where I could see someone drinking water, from some distance away

8 - out to the building and the road (along which we were parked) then turned left and cut in near the pavilion to run across the field. Passed Allmuth here (whose following I had to deal with at the Oct 2008 meet) and continued along the narrow hill to the control.

9 - skirted around the N end of the marsh and saw a cliff, with what looked to be a flag but as I got closer it was an old metal trim course marker, so I didn't get closer to check it out. If I had I might have noticed the cliff above it but all I saw was a large log and no cliff, so I climbed to the trail and searched farther south just a bit before heading back toward the trail junctions, then found it. Must have been hidden from my view by the log. About 3 minutes lost here, my big mistake.

I'm a good 12 minutes behind Linda K in F65. Was surprised to see Janet F and Mary Jo both MPed (Janet punched the wrong cliff at 6, MJ the wrong one at 9).

Chase start tomorrow puts me at 5 minutes behind the next faster Brown Y runner, and 4 minutes ahead of my follower, so I get to start without too much pressure. Karen M smoked the course in about 46 minutes; I'll start 6th, 18 minutes after Karen.

BrownY1 Day 1 - Splits

At the library (earlier class, so we could hit the road after lunch). Upper body...including some chaturangas and plenty of planks and down dogs. Wrist and shoulder not as sore as I would expect.

Jogging with some walking at Jacobsburg State Park. Went on few more trails I hadn't visited before (always fun). Most trails were fairly wide and smooth but a few were narrower with some roots and rocks exposed. Gorgeous spring day, sunny and low to mid 60s.

I managed to catch a toe and fall...at the farthest point from the car (highest point on the route, about 20 minutes in). No damage to me but when I was almost back to the car I noticed I no longer had my water bottle. Again!! Argh. Good thing I have a backup for this weekend. We may return next week to look for it.

West Hopewell to the Curly Horse development, taking a different route than I've done before.

Mercy threw some really hard stuff at us today, like half moon, and the one you do where you start in a deep lunge then try to rest your forearms on the floor. I couldn't get there but another class member could (maybe more than one...I couldn't see Trish).

To start of West Point National Meet day 2
Sunny with temps in the low 50s on the walk/jog to start

Brown course on Rockhouse Mountain map, finishing on Lake Welch beach., designed by cadet Brigitte Bordelon
4.0, 90 m climb, on a 1:7500 map

Did not attend day 1 due to other plans, so went into the race fresh (not tired out from day 1). I wobbled a bit on the route from 8-9, losing a little bit of time (3-4minutes, maybe? getting off my intended line and being pushed around by laurel) but the last quarter of the leg was easy navigation once I hit the trail.

Still, I was only a couple minutes behind Mary Jo (and Karen M in a different age group) and ahead of Linda K. Except for the 8-9 leg I had no troubles (people around at most controls too, except 2, 10 and 11). Lots of folks headed E-W through the start area, before I started, implied there would be a likely route choice going that way.

I swung south around the green rather than plunging right in, then angled NE. Sue H-T had gotten there just ahead of me. 2 on my own, 3 pretty straight (Thayer R was there), 4 straight, aiming straight from the rockiness at the edge of the broad hilltop contour line. I could see where the hill got less steep at the level of the control, and Sandy F and Phil H-T punching confirmed I was headed right. Parade of Sandy, Phil, me from there through 6, when we spread out a bit and I inched ahead; David H passed us somewhere 6-7. 7 was visible from a distance once I got over the smaller hill to the south. Short leg to 8/water control where I caught up to Lex and Candice.

Originally thought to go north of marsh and head up reentrant point to our 2, but thought instead I'd punch S through the laurel to the ridgeline. Too much blueberry slowed me down and I wasn't really following a bearing so I left some time out there but eventually corrected and rejoined the planned route a short ways past 1 (where I could see Sandy again, taking the better line). Then it was punch out to the main trail, and it was almost a yellow course from there on in. On the final run in I stayed on the concrete as long as possible, figuring the sand/beach would take more strength/energy, cutting down to the chute at the last staircase before the finish punches.

Temps got up to low 60s so it was a beautiful morning to hang around and catch up with friends I hadn't talked to for awhile.


Linda ended up 1st F65 with a good run yesterday, followed by Mary Jo and Judy K. Janet F had a lot of difficulty with our number 1(!)...

Stopped to retie shoe (laces pulled loose by blueberry undergrowth) twice -- after punching 4, and a few minutes after leaving 8.

Route on RouteGadget

Day 2 - Lake Welch - Brown - Splits