Training Log Archive: PG

Much too close to the eye for comfort, but not nearly as bad this time as when I did the full Cyclops treatment seven years ago.

Routes and a few comments from last weekend's courses (click on maps for larger version) --

Night-O (Brown course)

#2. Took a short trail detour because I was worried that going straight would be hard to know if I was right or left if I missed.
#4. Thought about going around to the left, might well have been better.
#5. Seems like a lot of extra distance, but I was moving a lot faster on the roads and fields so I think it was better.
#7. Quite confused when I got to the last field, just uncertain, probably an extra 30 seconds trying to be sure.
#10. Scary point, felt like I was too low and I was.
#11. Thought I was being careful with the direction, but I wasn't.

But overall, for night-O, good for me, ran quite a bit and no big errors.



Relay (Yellow course)

#6. Route shown is a little off. Ran road along fence, then along yellow and last bit through thicker woods. Never saw that the trail went right to it, should have hopped on it up top.
#10. Through the tunnel and along the trail would have been much quicker.

Overall OK, main thing was not to do anything stupid, like mispunch or skip a control or take them in the wrong order, all easy to do. I was quite careful to be sure I was getting them all in the correct order.



Ultralong (Green course)

#1. Shaky start. Didn't really know where I was. Route shown is a little off, got to the trail before the bends, saw the reentrant to my right and finally knew where I was. And then ran right past my reentrant, following a couple others to the red control further along.
#3. Not sure about route, I crossed reentrant partway and another before the control, maybe around to the right was better both times?
#4. Way off. But there is no good way to attack, so plan was to just head over and if I didn't happen to see it, then relocate on the various detail near or beyond the point. Way to the right, so when I hit a nice reentrent misidentified it and went east, very lucky to hit the trail. Control was then easy, in the back door.
#6. Scary control. Trying to go due south and see if I could identify anything. Thought I saw the patch of yellow, never saw the blue, but did see a fence post along a line of trees heading SE and figured that was the fence just before the control. Looked like a little thicker vegetation NE of the "fence." Lucky, but also good at picking up what clues there were.
#7. Another scary one. Had the feeling I was too far left at the end, so trying to correct to the right, did it just enough to see the control ahead of me.
#8. Sloppy on compass again leaving 7. And then the last bit, I think it was better to go around the whole reentrant, though it never occurred to me at the time.
#10. Not bad, missed all but one reentrant. It looks minimal, but it was nasty.
#11. Should have gone around to the left. Lots of greenbrier in the vertical green area, got my face there.
#12. Better compass, both leaving 11 to the trail, and approaching 12.
#13. Just trying to get to the road, nasty at the end.

Overall, better after #4. Some questionable routes and bearing, but reading the terrain well and avoiding any big misses. Very glad to be done.

Stopped in Holyoke on the way home for a loop around the Mountain Street reservoir. Felt like a struggle, but legs were at least able to do it without any pain.