Training Log Archive: PG

Very interesting winners of Nobel Prize in Medicine. (Well, their work is interesting, not sure about the winners themselves.) Subject is "internal GPS". I have always felt like I have one, can make it hard to understand what it's like if you don't have one.

Went partway up the trail to Jones Brook lodge in the Adirondacks. Nice trail, beautiful woods, but the legs were tired from the first step, so I turned around earlier than I wished. Was feeling tired at the end of the morning golf in Lake Placid, so I guess this was not unexpected. Regardless, good to get out.

C • Johns Brook Trail 2

Middle champs at Letchworth East, 2.9 km.

Another good run but not as good as yesterday, though the course was more difficult so perhaps that was to be expected. Legs also not as good, really dragging last half of the course.

Major challenge (and motivation?) came from being a bit of a jerk at the start. When it was time to take my map, I asked if it was necessary to put my name on the back. The starter looked at his start list, and then said, "Not unless you're planning on doing the course in 20 minutes."

"Nope, 25." said rather cockily.

The plan had been to get under 30. Now I was on the hook for 25. So a number of times I was checking my watch, doing a little figuring, and thinking, nope, ain't going to make it. Which turned out to be the case.

But it was still a fine day of O', and wrapped another first-class event hosted by the Rochester folks. Many thanks to all of them.

Middle Brown Y - Splits

Long champs at Letchworth East, Brown (M70), 4.2 km. Another good run, no mistakes, always under control, and pretty good speed.

Highlights --

1. A good conversation with Glenn at the start, limited of course to 45 seconds or so, but the gist of which was that I was impressed by him at the Board meeting the evening before. Seemed more assertive and more sure of himself. Which was a good thing.
2. On the slight uphill on the first part of the leg from 7 to 8, I was running along quite nicely, legs felt good and I felt good, and I said to myself, This is why you train.

C • rout to 4 11

Long Brown Y - Splits

Event: 2014 US Nationals
 

Sprint Champs, Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY, M70 (brown course).

Fine day, nicely organized by ROC. Map and course were fine, ditto set-up and logistics. Not very demanding terrain, but as with any orienteering, you take what is given you and try to do the best you can.

Good run, can't say I missed anything other than not seeing things on the map, just bad eyesight these days. But just running to the center of the circle takes care of most of those problems, and as an extra bonus, it eliminates the need to check the control codes. Which, I probably shouldn't admit, I did not check most of the time. But no harm done. And I didn't skip any controls, or take them in the wrong order, so overall a clear success.

And there was the added bonus of venturing onto a golf course and not missing a single shot. :-)

Sprint Brown - Splits

Catching up on maps from the last couple of weekends. First is the MTBO from Huntington on Sept 21. I did the easy course because I figured if I did the advanced one, the odds of some serious damage to myself on the rocky single-track trails was way too high.

The easy one was pretty easy, and I was only off the bike to punch and for about 30 meters leaving #5 (the first bit was too rocky and rooty for my skills). Major accomplishment was punching at both the start and the finish (which were on posts, the others weren't) without getting off. :-)

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And then the score O from last Saturday at Westmoreland. The deal there was 90 minutes, 22 controls shown on the map plus 4 more someplace along the line, 2 of them in the northern half of the line and two in the southern half.

Good run, mostly. Didn't know if I could get them all, but figured I'd try. Headed for the southern part first. Didn't check out the northern part of the southern line, the plan was I'd do it on the way back if I didn't see the two controls where I was going. Got lucky, there they were.

By the time I started the northern line I still felt like I had plenty of time. But I guess I slowed down (it was a warm day), and by the time I climbed the really steep hill up to #127, I was doubtful, figured 113 would be skipped. And then I botched 116, too low at first, and then, well, I couldn't read the map well enough to tell it was up on top in the west-facing reentrant.

At that point 126 was definitely out. Thought I could get the last three on the way in, but there were a lot of downed trees on the way to the last couple. I figured I needed to be at the last one with three minutes to spare, think I had only 2.5, and a lot more junk leaving it. Just made it in time (seven seconds), but only after a very serious effort.

Click on the map for a larger image. North lines are supposed to be 250 meters apart. Map was supposed to be 1:10, was printed at 1:11, symbol sizes seem to be way too small. Certainly were for my eyes.

But you deal with it, just change your tactics. And it's a great place to orienteer -- interesting topography, some wonderful open and runnable woods, and almost none of the blueberry crap that's over on the west side of the Hudson.

More trails north and east of Eaglebrook, starting from Woolman Hill. A bit more hills than I had planned, but a fine outing (as are most outings where you go someplace new).

Same area as yesterday, just woods roads this time as everything was wet. Ran the old road that used to go across the ridge and down to the ferry across the Connecticut, plus checked a couple of side roads and one other place that I thought might be a trail but wasn't.

Both roads went to "camps" in rather bad repair, but still probably in use as places to smoke and drink and cavort without worrying about the authorities. No one around on a gloomy midweek afternoon, which suited me just fine.

Had too much on so sweated a bunch more than necessary. Not that that is a bad thing.

Really fine trail run.

Went over to Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, figured I would do a modest track workout, but do the warm-up on the trails nearby. Got about 20 yards into the woods on a jeep path and there was a bike trail branching off. Couldn't resist it….

So spent just about an hour, 80-90% on lovely singletrack, and all that time not at all knowing where I was, just keeping track of intersections so I could find my way back if it came to that. I really was "lost". No sun at all, so no help there on direction, and I got off right near the beginning, had in mind that I was heading roughly east from my car, not north as it turned out was what I was doing. Didn't have a map, of course, nor had I looked at the topo map in advance, because I wasn't planning on such a run. But in a way it made the whole thing more fun.

Got home, downloaded the GPS, ah, that's where I went. Turns out I had been on a part of the trail once before, just had no idea.

In the old days I would have carried the USGS, mapped the trail in my head as I ran along, so I would have had a sense of where I was and also, after the fact, knew pretty much where I'd been. Now with the GPS, the latter is taken care of (where I've been), but not the former (where I am), at least with my stone age GPS. Though I think there is a function that will point you back to where you started.

Might want to learn about that for any future similar runs. :-)

Route (for those who don't pay for the blue globe).