Training Log Archive: Spike

I thought it would be fun to finish the 31 day challenge with the West Campus course that Jagge set for me. You can see the map and Jagge's instructions at the link below:

http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=spi...

I changed the start location and read the map for 1 and 2 in the stretch before I crossed the road. Otherwise, I generally followed the instruction (except I never took splits).

You can't tell from the map, but several of the yellow areas were not fast - they were waist to chest deep grass and brush. Those areas are around controls 4, 11, 14 and 15. Actually, 11 isn't really that bad.

From my track, I missed a couple of the controls. I didn't go far enough on 2. did a pretty good job of going to the center of the circle. I didn't really hit 4 (somewhat influenced by the crappy vegetation). I was slightly off at 6 and 8. I didn't go into the junky vegetation to get 14. I didn't go all the way to 16 - that was a mix of fighting in junky vegetation and not having a very clear idea of where the circle was located (it is pretty vague).

The exercise was fun. I especially like having the circles on no feature. That encourages you to navigate by big features and relationships. It is also a nice way to use a familiar map (though I don't really feel like I have trouble using familiar maps).

I screwed up one of the segments. When I was leaving 8 and planning, I only planned 9 and 10. I didn't even think about planning the next leg. I had time, but I just didn't realize that I was supposed to plan to 11. When I got to 10, I looked at the map and realized what I'd done. So, I walked a bit and decided that the best thing to do was just take a quick glance at 11 and then get going. So that's what I did. I didn't feel like I took a long enough look, but the track looks like I did a good job at control 11.

It is very wierd to run with a map, but to not look at it. I used to do a lot of "map memory" courses where I'd look at a leg, plan it, then put away the map and run. But, I don't really do that anymore and I rarely plan ahead, so I'm used to looking at the map.

3

31st of 31.

The 31 day challenge is over.

C • vegetation? 5

Warming up and jogging home.

Map hike at Ernie Miller Park.

I haven't orienteered there since it was a black and white map. Back then the woods were junky - typical Kansas forest. Now the woods are moslty solid green from bush honeysuckle. I guess it won't be long before "typical Kansas" forest is dense green.

I basically stuck to trails and did a bunch of map reading.

I think most of the map is still what Jane and Lou Betros created. It has a lot of the sort of features Jane always mapped (like very low rock outcrops and very small ditches). Her maps were consistent and the features were accurately drawn, they were just small. She also mapped some odd stuff (like a special symbol for rows of Osage Orange trees that were old hedge rows that are now surrounded by forest). Those maps are "old fashioned" but she really did a lot to develop the sport around here.

30th of 31.

1

On West Campus.

A downhill sprint course on West Campus. Fun. I started up by the Pioneer Cemetery and finished by the old gravel road. I felt ok - legs were strangely tired. My mind seemed to be working well.

I'd thought it would be light enough to read the map without a lamp. But as I was leaving the house I grabbed my little Petzl headlamp and carried it. That turned out to be a good idea. It was dark enough that I needed the lamp to read the map the entire time.

29th of 31.

2

DIdn't sleep well last night. Also, Mary has a bit of a cold. Another day off, this time focused on getting plenty of sleep, was called for.

Long day -> day off. I began with a 7 a.m. work meeting. I also went to the KU basketball game. By the time I was home and had some food, it was later than I like.

I needed a day off. My left hip got sore last night, sore enough that it woke me up a few times. I needed a day off, but didn't take one. Sometimes you need to be stupid. But, I did make it a short and easy run.

I stopped at Sunflower Nature Park on the way home and ran a long-ish sprint course. I'd never run at SNP in the winter. It felt different. The woods are still junky and you won't go through them, but the park looks different. Snow, too.

28th of 31.

3

When I read Martin Regborn's blog post about a straight orienteering leg, I didn't give it much thought. But sometime yesterday I started wondering how long a leg I could put together at Clinton. I wasn't sure if I could manage a leg that was straight and didn't cross the lake or go through private property.

This morning, I plotted a 5k leg that looked reasonable (no private land and could be completed without swimming). I think I could stretch the leg a bit more, but I'll save that for some time in the future.

Regborn's corridor was 100 meters, but I stretched mine to about 150 meters.

The conditions were fairly tough. There was about an inch of snow on the ground and a strong wind was blowing from the north (steady 20 mph, I'd guess). The temp ranged from 14F at the start to 16F when I was done.

The snow was a chore. It wasn't deep, but it was slippery. Every step involved a bit of slipping. The hills (up or down) were slippery. The snow covered rocks.

Of course, the woods are mostly junky. I hadn't expected the fields to be as rough as they were. When you run a regular course you can pick up bits of deer trails to get through the open areas, but if you're trying to stick to a specific line, then the deer trails don't help.

I did a fair amount of walking and didn't really push the effort at all. I was a bit suprised to see the heart rate as high as it was.

http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=spi...

Note that at one point I got just barely off the corridor. Actually, the lake line on the map shows one spot where the corridor just barely requires going over the lake line. I figured it'd be a bit low (since it usually is...note that the KP map shows yellow), but the lake is higher than usual and the lake bank line is pretty much spot on. I probably could have run on the ice, but I didn't really think that was a good idea. The ice looked fine along the shore, but most of the lake is open water. And, I'd taken one step and gone through the ice on a little stream.

27th of 31.

5

Also, you can see Regborn's version (29.51 km) here:

https://martinregborn.com/2017/11/20/sagan-om-lang...