Training Log Archive: cedarcreek

3 hours of chainsawing brush, trimming trees, and dragging the limbs to the curb. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, but the place looks a lot better. I still have to dig the brush roots out of the ground, but I need to buy an axe for the roots. My old axe disappeared somehow. (I've actually had trouble finding one I like...)

Easy skate around the 'hood while Katie ran. I did one very fast 500m or so. I'll be up early to give a 7am presentation for which my charts are not yet completed. It's almost 11pm, so...I'm off to do charts.

Since I have two blisters, one on each heel, from the Mt. Airy Splits (which I haven't logged yet since I haven't completed the results yet), I thought I'd rollerblade while Katie ran. It was really easy to keep up with her, so I did a fast km when she finished. I so love to rollerblade. I have no idea why I don't rollerblade and cycle more. Well, I guess I do know---It's because I want to focus on running for orienteering. I should probably rethink that, because running is definitely punishing to my joints, while skating and cycling are so low impact. I'd probably be a lot stronger aerobically if I cross-trained.

Event: OCIN Mt. Airy Sprints
 

Event: ICO Dubois Ridge (Yellowwood State Forest)
 

Mt Airy Sprints set by hkleaf. There was a trail run, and we were hoping to get some runners to try orienteering. The turnout was a real disappointment, although we did get a few takers plus some regulars and a few people who haven't run a course in years.

I found that it is very difficult to run a sprint course on a 1:10,000 map! The hardest thing was not the scale-brain thing---It was the short legs. With a normal sprint map, all but the very shortest legs have a line that you can use to get yourself pointed straight at the next control. On a 1:10000, a leg that is 100m long has almost touching circles---and in a bland area it is really easy to get off line. I lost 2 minutes on Short 8.

I thought the course was a little hard for beginners, but it was so fun for me. A lot of the controls were in little sinkholes, and you had to really be careful approaching them or you'd miss the control. I thought the mix of hard/easy placements was about right---I think I tend to more easier placements, but it's not often I have sinkholes like Mt. Airy.

I tried the Icebug MR2 low-tops I bought on clearance in Saskatoon last summer. They're borderline tight, and I tried tying the laces using the heel-lock technique (for no particular reason other than that I just learned it). I don't think I like the heel-lock. I like my heels just imperceptibly loose. I hope it was the tying of the laces and not the tightness of the shoes. I really liked grip of the Icebugs. (I have another pair I got on clearance that have a high-top snow collar. I wore them several times last winter. Very nice, but the studs are a bit loose.)

DNF'd the second Sprint---At the third control, I had 2 nickel-sized blisters, one on each heel. I wanted to heal quickly, so I decided to throw in the towel. It's a little wimpy, but I made the right decision, especially for a local event.