Training Log Archive: cedarcreekIn the 7 days ending May 11, 2007:
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Thursday May 10, 2007 #
Note
One of the absolute high points of the TT weekend was seeing a pair of Sandhill Cranes in flight after the Friday sprint. I didn't know what they were, but when I saw them, I knew they were way bigger than Canada Geese, and I knew they weren't Great Blue Herons (no curvy neck), and the hair on my neck stood up. I heard them call, but, again, didn't know what they were until someone told me. Wow.
Saturday May 5, 2007 #
Orienteering race 1:18:17 [5] *** 4.89 km (16:01 / km) +190m 13:24 / km
shoes: Adidas Tri-Star Cleats ($35)
Team Trials Middle Red Course. Fabulous course. I had a few bobbles; the biggest maybe 2 minutes. I felt very consistent, and I felt a lot faster than the Sprint. Dragged a little at the end.
It's hard to explain just how fun the terrain was. This is orienteering as it was meant to be. A few times I felt like the legs required too much compass, but looking back now, I think the course is extremely well balanced, with a wide variety of different skills and a lot of tempo change.
I hope SMOC plans to have annual A-Meets. These maps are great.
Quality issues: Wow. This is a tough one---The event was very good.
I liked the Sprint, although legs 3 and 5 were extremely trivial---I'm not sure how to feel about this. I think trivial legs are an essential part of a sprint course, but I didn't like that these were so long, and at a part of the course where later starters could use the people ahead to follow.
Speaking to the early competitors, it was clear that the last part of each sprint used the same controls, and the elephant tracks I used made the last few legs trivial. I think they should have used different last sections to create multiple elephant tracks (of lesser size) and made us as least think a little.
I also though having Red and Blue the same sprint made Red too long or maybe Blue too short, although Sam really pushed the women's time downward.
One thing I noticed for the Middle was that the distance from the last line to the maps was a little too long. I even ran a little, and I had less than 10 seconds to write my data on the map and go.
One thing I'm still mulling over is not the small spacing between the controls, but the fact that reasonable approaches to my control took me past another really close control. I noticed this during Tiomila this year, and then it happened to me. I noticed it before I punched, but my brain shut off and I took off in exactly the wrong direction. Again at 10, I found another control on the way to mine. I think it's unfair, and that having reasonable approaches clear of other controls is a step in the direction of fairness.
I don't understand why the Team requires their own start window. One of the high points of any event for me is seeing our best orienteers in the woods. This makes the Team Trials less of a must-attend-event to me. If the Team is serious about making the course sterile, then they should set the courses so that spectators can see things. (Sunday might have had spectator controls---I wasn't there Sunday.) I think the Team should allow some non-Trials competitors to start and finish early so they can be on the course taking photos during the event---within limits and in places agreeable to the setter and WRE advisor (if applicable).
I'd like to know if the results indicate the presence of trains, and if they do, for the Team to ask or require some sort of butterfly in the courses (except the sprint). My thought is---If WOCs use them, we should too.
It's hard to explain just how fun the terrain was. This is orienteering as it was meant to be. A few times I felt like the legs required too much compass, but looking back now, I think the course is extremely well balanced, with a wide variety of different skills and a lot of tempo change.
I hope SMOC plans to have annual A-Meets. These maps are great.
Quality issues: Wow. This is a tough one---The event was very good.
I liked the Sprint, although legs 3 and 5 were extremely trivial---I'm not sure how to feel about this. I think trivial legs are an essential part of a sprint course, but I didn't like that these were so long, and at a part of the course where later starters could use the people ahead to follow.
Speaking to the early competitors, it was clear that the last part of each sprint used the same controls, and the elephant tracks I used made the last few legs trivial. I think they should have used different last sections to create multiple elephant tracks (of lesser size) and made us as least think a little.
I also though having Red and Blue the same sprint made Red too long or maybe Blue too short, although Sam really pushed the women's time downward.
One thing I noticed for the Middle was that the distance from the last line to the maps was a little too long. I even ran a little, and I had less than 10 seconds to write my data on the map and go.
One thing I'm still mulling over is not the small spacing between the controls, but the fact that reasonable approaches to my control took me past another really close control. I noticed this during Tiomila this year, and then it happened to me. I noticed it before I punched, but my brain shut off and I took off in exactly the wrong direction. Again at 10, I found another control on the way to mine. I think it's unfair, and that having reasonable approaches clear of other controls is a step in the direction of fairness.
I don't understand why the Team requires their own start window. One of the high points of any event for me is seeing our best orienteers in the woods. This makes the Team Trials less of a must-attend-event to me. If the Team is serious about making the course sterile, then they should set the courses so that spectators can see things. (Sunday might have had spectator controls---I wasn't there Sunday.) I think the Team should allow some non-Trials competitors to start and finish early so they can be on the course taking photos during the event---within limits and in places agreeable to the setter and WRE advisor (if applicable).
I'd like to know if the results indicate the presence of trains, and if they do, for the Team to ask or require some sort of butterfly in the courses (except the sprint). My thought is---If WOCs use them, we should too.