Training Log Archive: bl

Event: UNO Nottingcook meet
 

4pm and only me and the wind in the pines remain. I’d say it was a good day. Many appreciative people. A few mistakes: hand drew the yellow master map, circling the wrong tower! Alar R ran a 8.1k blue w/o a lick of water on a warm day because the water stop location could have been better communicated (omitted on MM) but it was indeed hard to run by w/o seeing. Alar cut a corner running inside in the little room left between the intersection & bog water. Lots of help from Beth & Jim Arsenault at registration/S/F (who also brought a much appreciated canopy) and Ken Walker who picked up W/Y controls.

Most used course was blue with maybe 10 which was most appreciated since a few controls were pretty far from anywhere. Brendan S & Ali C were the first two finishers. Sad/unfortunate moment when an adult male (evidently came for an O class?) whom I spotted about to enter the woods, ie, dead wrong direction. Went to help, asked if he had a compass (he pulled out a smart phone for compass). I think I indicated (because I was more than willing to instruct) I’d give him pointers but he blurted words to the effect that this was the worst meet he’d come to because, I guess, no instruction. He left unhappy :( - it was strange behavior, I thought. There was the Williams family...mom did yellow with girls, dad did orange, then mom did orange, finishing as shadows lengthened. They were the second to last group to finish, she quite cheery inspite of fact that she spent 30’ looking for the proper flag but had not gotten an orange code correction from her husband. The last two to end the day (we were waiting) were 2 young AR’s who had fun, were out OT and skipped the final red control.There were 2 male ARs who proposed doing the blue, did not know to connect the circles (20), did not complete the course but did enjoy themselves. Nancy Duprey completed blue! There was Claudio, the first to arrive who did yellow and then orange and it was apparent he was quite pleased to do orange which was a bit of an adventure at Nottingcook. There was a young man & wife from Budapest living in Nashua & keen to return to O. He’d been top-ranked as a youngster. It was a pleasant surprise to see Dave Dunham there, too. And then it was just me and the wind in the pines again (and alot of stuff to organize) not to mention 40 scattered flags in the woods at a later date.

The weather was fine. At 10 am, rain looked imminent but it cleared and became a sunny, warm day. Rained is needed though.

Blue

Wood’s Edge


More to life than O

C • Williams family 2

3 flags by Great Hill. Gorgeous morning. Sambo's woods so clean, Swiss-like.

9 controls, left work early. Used Beth's bike to get to start. Put out one unnecessary flag:( as in waste of time/energy. Gorgeous day & place to spend time tho worn out & not finished. W/Y later.

W/Y with Beth & Z&M after dinner. Changed an orange as well, better too easy than too hard. Both of us encountered the Saltmashes along our respective routes. Used Beth's bike, a bit inconsiderate on Z&M huffing & puffing along. 4 closeby flags left for am. Finally reached a rest point as the setting sun recorded that fact.

Event: CSU Park-O 1: Danehy Park
 

Put out 5 controls, chilly, perfect April am. Started thinking 'far away sooner than later' but got concerned re controls possibly disappearing fm that area so picked supposedly secure cp's. No leaves which is nice.

DP/CP, mostly the latter and the former was beyond call of duty. 2 plus hours, 17c. Walked a blue leg in reverse - had not gone that way streamering. Swath of undiscovered logging, muck, destruction. White & green on map changed for rough yellow for a bit, maybe 200m diagonal. Need to add as rough guess - running of the leg will call for some creativity. Encountered two low lifes exiting Woodhill-Hooksett. Truck was so mud-splattered, couldn't begin to tell color. Too much to do, too little time to do it.

Good visibility in this part of forest


How lovely a green, how uncabbage this cabbage

Luti loop, CCW, get in the swing of things.

What an uphill battle with computer screens, print efforts etc. Wasn't like this last October. Driven to distraction, the entire day a deliberate examination of insanity thru technology...

DP/rendezvous at BBSP. Met Ernst & Alar in lower parking lot - they were there for trng. I picked up UNO meet equip. Black flies were rampant, dogs insistent. Short walk 'admiring' the wall of white pine on either side of trail.

For so far incomprehensible reasons, OCAD application, while it is open, will not actually produce a screen - a double-clicked-on desktop file just flashes back, signaling the ap is open but...o frustration. Lucky to have an old PC w/ OCAD 10 aboard for wiggle room.

C • west point 3

Walk in Boston, undoing kinks. 3 mi guess.

Drove to Boston with Beth, mainly for the marathon but a splendid spring day it was...as good as it gets. Hot for the race but otherwise fine. Cast of thousands, runners and great spectator crowd. Made ourselves a spot about 25m from the finish line. Watched there and then behind the finish for the walking wounded portion for a white but left before the legions of runners with the more interesting 'stories' had arrived. Commons & Boston Public Garden, lunch at Faneuil Hall market area & home.



Hot dog


Finish perspective

to be aVIP...bleachers across the way in shade of BPL

Team Hoyt (power half out of sight)


Fine spring day

C • marathon spectating 2

Middle - DNF, made it to 10 cp's. problems exceeded my tolerance. Fine 1-4, 5 acceptable (tho' wondered if it really was on correct feature, 2m bldr, went by, did not see flag, came back to my flag by smaller feature, things not quite right there?). 6-7 ok. 8 mediocre, bad recovery (thrown by tiny pc of SVT that I read as two small rock faces - "why am I seeing trail?"). 9 awful, mucked for 10 by the hard-to-keep-track-of intermittent stream & 11 was my undoing. Subsequently, was on the road opposite #18 and was looking at an appreciable curve to the right which I was not appreciating on map (thinking me, the map, the credibility?). Had trouble relating various bare rock I was seeing to what was mapped. More green than mapped, lots of grabby vines. Glad I had full cover as did not need blood distraction. Fought off temptation to see all cp's, enough was enough. Went to Piedmont Park in Atlanta after for a change of pace.

No injuries to speak of. Hamstring was making noise (but never got hoarse).

C • Tiny piece of SVT 9

Green training - Splits