Discussion: Post-WOC Thoughts

I spent some time on the airplane home from Sweden jotting down some reflections on WOC. After missing out on the middle-distance and long-distance qualifications, I spent a good bit of time thinking about what it might take to being able to qualify consistently at these distances, rather than every qualification being a "long shot". I also spent some time thinking about how I might improve.

1. Qualification to WOC finals:

It is clear that advancing to the sprint/middle/long finals is a major goal for US athletes at WOC. Many people have said that we should be able to qualify for finals, many people think that this is a reasonable and attainable goal. I look at this in one of two ways ... 1) having made a final (sprint this year, middle last year), yes, advancing to the finals is possible, 2) with 18 starts in the qualifiers at WOC this year, we had 1 qualifier ... 1 out of 18, i.e., not very many. Bottom line, for the current crop of US athletes, it takes an exceptional race to make the WOC finals.

The question is, what would it take to change this situation, so that a good race, rather than an exceptional race would suffice? Or equivalently, so that we might have a chance at a decent (i.e., top 30) rather than a bottom-of the-pack (40+) placing in the final. Here's my perspective ...

1) Running speed. When caught up by other athletes at WOC, it is very clear that my normal "in-the-forest" running speed is nowhere near that of the top athletes at WOC. This basically means there is no cushion for me. If I had run the long-qual error-free, I still would not have made the final. With a near-perfect race in the relay, I was 21st. Yes, I was only 5 minutes back, which is great, but there were 20 guys ahead of me! In order to attain qualifying as a reasonable goal (rather than an exceptional goal), I have to be running faster. I think orienteering running can be broken down into ...

* running fitness - This is the sort of thing you can measure with a 10k road race, i.e., how fast can you run. It's obviously very important when on trails, but certainly important in the woods too. A person has to arrive at the start line ready to run, fast, for an extended period of time. To get running fitness up, there are basically two types of training, base work (e.g., long-slow-distance, easy recovery runs) to build endurance and speed work (e.g., intervals, tempo runs) to build speed. I feel like I've worked pretty well on running fitness in the last few years. But, I peaked about 2 years ago, when I PR'ed at Grandma's in 2:37. This year I ran 2:51. Main difference = volume. I am far behind where I was in total hours and total miles. 10 hour weeks 2 years ago became 7 hour weeks this year - the difference shows. When I look at training logs on Attackpoint, there are very few people in the US training the volumes (running) required to be truely elite. One other significant change I made in the past 2 years was to work less on tempo runs (good for marathons) and more on shorter (e.g., 5 min) intervals (better for shorter, hillier orienteering races). The intervals clearly helped my speed (at least at short distances), which I think showed in the sprint.

* forest running - Running in the forest in Sweden was tough, tough, tough. There is no way to be good at running through thigh-high blueberry bushes, knee-deep marshes, up and down cliffs, and through boulder fields without practicing. A streamered route around a WOC course is nothing like a road race, so one's training sure as heck shouldn't be all on roads. It seems obvious when you think about it, but it's something I haven't worked on very much at all. Very little of my training has been off trail, in the woods, and that is clearly a deficiency. It was really tough to keep up the pace in the tough Swedish woods.

* reading on the run - Without thinking at all about actually interpreting the map, it is clear that being able to read something (i.e., anything) while running through the woods is a very difficult skill. This is particularly challenging in the sort of difficult terrain we faced in Sweden. I found myself having lots of difficulty keeping in contact when the going got tough, particularly in the slash during the Middle qual. Enter the slash, stop reading map, lose contact -> 5 minute mistake ... not the sort of thing you want to do in a WOC qual. If reading on the run is such an obviously difficult skill, one should obviously practice it. Outside of racing, I spend very little time reading on the run. This is clearly something sorely lacking in my preparation.

Bottom line, if I want to be fast enough to routinely make a WOC final, I would need to * run more, * run in the woods more, * spend more time training with a map (any map) in my hand.

2) Map reading. Getting around the woods fast is only half the battle, finding those pesky little orange and white flags is the other half. In most cases, providing I was reading the map, I was pretty good at finding the flags in Sweden. But, a 5 minute mistake in the long qual and a 5 minute mistake in the middle qual indicate that if contact is lost (for whatever reason), the consequences are significant. 5-minute mistakes are unacceptable if the goal is qualifying for a WOC final. So, what to think about ...

* reading the map - This went pretty well, except for a few specific things. I found it particularly hard to read some of the more detailed areas on the 1:15,000 maps (particularly in training). I've wondered if I should start using a magnifying lens for such situations. Also, I found it really tough to read the detail in the felled areas. It's hard to see the contours through the green lines. The answer here must be practice, practice, practice.

* relating the map to the terrain - Reading the map alone doesn't get you to the control. Constant evaluation of the terrain and matching to the map is required. I tend to navigate both proactively and reactively, i.e., I look at the map and try to anticipate what features I should see, but I also look for features in the terrain and try to find them on the map. This worked reasonably well in Sweden, but often times I had a hard time matching contour features that seemed obvious in the terrain to features on the map.

* special techniques - Orienteering is incredibly technical and there are all sorts of special techniques that are required. For example, how fast can you go when rough orienteering and how much do you need to slow down in the control circle? Is it better to try and run smoothly, always reading the map, or is it better to run faster and stop to read when required? What features are most useful for navigation in a given terrain? What to do when the visibility drops to zero? To prepare specifically for WOC requires training specifically in WOC-type terrain. I spent 1 week in Sweden prior to the start of WOC. This was invaluable for me in preparation for WOC week. But, another week (a few months before the start of WOC) would have added greatly to my preparation. In the weeks/months before WOC, I had little idea of what lay in store for me in Sweden. With an early-summer training camp (one in which I could train hard physically as well as technically), I think I could have been much better prepared when WOC came around.

* error recovery/avoidance - I had two big mistakes at WOC. The first was in the long qual whan I failed to i) be absolutely certain of my position when entering a green area, ii) maintain a precise compass bearing through the green and iii) locate myself when exiting the far side. Clearly in the absence of i and ii, iii was out of the question. The second was a failure to maintain contact when entering a felled area in the middle qual. I let the terrain push me way off course, and did nothing to adjust my approach. I should have focused and forced myself to do it right, slowing down as much as needed to find the control correctly. Error avoidance is key - recognizing that contact is being lost, that things don't look right, and recovering early and quickly.

It is clear that orienteering well requires training on maps, in terrain, and lots of it. With the exception of the week leading up to WOC (and course setting work at Telemark), I have spent relatively little time training on maps in the last few years, i.e., not enough.

2. Training Camps

It seems clear to me that world-class orienteers spend a lot more time training on maps than we do here in the US (myself in particular). Because we typically have few people to train with locally and a limited number of maps to train on, it seems like training camps should be an important part of our orienteering activities. When I think about US Team activities, training camps seem to be sorely lacking. We devote an enormous amount of energy toward selecting and sending teams to WOC, but very little energy in preparing them to do well when they arrive.

I think we should start thinking about having at least 1 national training camp of some form or another each year. In addition, I think it would be invaluable if we started to think about having some training get-togethers regionally as well. These can be pretty informal, but the key thing is to get people together to work seriously on training for international competition. This could be easily be done in places like Boston, New York, etc. A weekend training camp could draw athletes from the local area, but also folks from around the country depending on availability of cheap fares and timing.

People frequently travel to race, but less so for training camps. It seems to me there are a bunch of advantages to be gained from a training camp, as opposed to a race: i) the possibility to be out in the forest for longer periods of time, ii) the chance to go slowly to practice detailed orienteering skills, iii) the chance to change orienteering techniques without risking a race (e.g., focusing on pace counting, trying a different compass, running through the green, aiming off, etc., etc.), iv) the chance to push the envelope (i.e., discovering where the edge is and how to approach it without going over), v) the chance to run with other people in the woods.

Regarding this last point (i.e., running with other people in the woods), some of the most eye-opening experiences I have had in the woods are those in which I have run with other people rather than running alone. So much benefit can be gained by running with other people, for example, learning how others run through or around marshes, how fast do others run while still reading the map, how often do they look at the map, do they go straight or around the green, over or around the hill. When running head-to-head (in relays, mass-start races, training), one gets the chance to really see how one's competitors do it, to see, in real time, time gained or lost.

3. The future

I've been thinking more about the Japanese WOC next year and how the team should approach it. I think a Japanese WOC could be a real opportunity for the team. Though the terrain (at least the maps I've seen) doesn't really jump out at me as being particularly interesting, I think WOC in Japan may offer very good opportunity for results. Because Japan is a long way from Europe, I think some of the advantage that European teams have at a European WOC will be negated. The number of teams traveling to Japan in advance of the WOC may be small. This means that we should be able to prepare at least as well as many competitors who will have no Japan experience before WOC. Also, I think the number of competitors may be low in Japan because it is so far away from Europe. That means fewer competitors vying for a set number of qualifying positions ... i.e., hopefully more US runners into the finals! I really think we should view a Japanese WOC as an opportunity. One thing seems fairly certain, orienteering in Japan will be less technical than it was in Sweden. That means physical fitness and running speed will play a big role in the results. That means lots of running training is in store ... get out there!

I think you hit it right on Brian. I asked Ted de St. Croix how he trained leading up to his 10th place finish at WOC in Australia. Sounds like the steps he took follow your running speed recommendations. He said that he greatly increased his training hours. He started training with a coach and topped ranked runners (running fitness). He did a lot of running in Gatineau Park (forest running). I'm not sure when he did his stint in Sweden, but I'm sure that is where he got his incredible map reading ability. Nobody outreads Ted!

One thing to note. He said that after this period he developed chronic fatigue syndrome thus ending his ability to train at all for a couple of years. This is a multi-year project. It can't be done all at once.

Thanks Brian, and congrats again on your results. Would you mind if I sent much or all of what you wrote to an Irish newsgroup?

One quibble: I am not convinced orienteering in Japan will be less technical - there will be less micro-detail, but I would expect knowing one's position to within 10 metres will not be as easy as it is in Sweden and this will lead to large errors. My first international experience was in "easy" terrain in Belgium - a Finn succeeded in making a five(seven?) minute error on one control.

Next point is on Running Style:
Those watching WOC on the big screen noticed that TG looked like he wasn't pushing at all. I think this is because his arms were floppy/relaxed. After all the terrain running in Sweden, my upper body is relaxed runnning on trails here, but I have never had that in TERRAIN. This should be a goal, perhaps attainable by lots of terrain running coupled with a little gym work??

Brian, the team lacks leadership. Could you take onto this role? I understand it is an enormous responsibility but think, on the other hand, you are the only one who have respect and trust of other team members.

Your observations are very valuable and all team members should take them into account while building own training process. Personally I think that 10 hour training per week is a minimum for any WOC hopeful. But, please, remember that you can not jump from 5-6 hours per week to 10-12 hours per week even in one year - you risk injuring yourself or developing chronic fatigue. Build it gradually under your coach supervision. There are number of coaches available in this country who can help you (Stanislav, Alexei, others?).

Speaking about training camp, it makes sense to organize one on the relevant terrain in conjunction with Flying Pig and team trials next spring. May be couple-three days before or after the trials. What the team think about it?

The US Orienteering Team is led by its Executive Steering Committee, of which Brian is a member.

Sergey, as Vlad rightly points out, the team does have leadership, the ESC. I am involved.

The volunteers (Ken, Peter, Bruce) and athletes (Sandra, Boris, Karen, myself) on the ESC work hard to try and do the best they can for US orienteering and their efforts should be appreciated. A few years ago, I chose to begin running for the US instead of Canada. The positive leadership of the ESC was a factor in my making that choice.

I am not about to say the ESC is perfect, because there is always room for improvement. The one thing that is missing right now is a person (or persons) heading up training/coaching activities. The ESC has a tendancy to focus on a lot of administrative things (e.g., finances, selection criteria). In addition to these things (which are necessary), we need to increase the amount of time spent actually trying to develop world-class orienteers. This is no mystery in the ESC, we recognize the problem and will be thinking about how to make improvements.

If we want to move forward, the way is fairly clear:
1) More people focusing on being competitive orienteers.
2) Better training (volume and quality) by those people.
This needs to happen at the club level and at the team level.

Final comment. Negativity will get us nowhere. People who are positive about the sport will help it grow, people who are positive about results will inspire those around them to become better. As we look to the future, we need to be positive about where we are and where we can go, not negative about where we aren't.

too wrote some things down post-WOC (sent them to the Canadian list) and agree with most of Brian's points. Staying motivated is essential and I have found this a lot easier now that we have a good training group here in Hamilton.

One thing about WOC qual races was the large number of very good racers criss crossing on different courses. The courses split and merged and you didn't know who was on your course. The atmosphere was more like that of the 2nd of 3rd leg of a relay. It strikes me that having more O-Cross mass start races (with forking) or training sessions could go a long way to improve our relay and qualification race mental focus as well. The Canadian Team used to have a one week training camp in Bear Mtn/Harriman parks every year. We need to have more camps like Brian has stated. GHO is willing to host a camp in March. The weekend before the US Team Trials is Easter - that is an option.

Brian,

By leadership I ment real leadership. ESC is buried in administrative issues. Unfortunately, the team did not have active coaching for long long time. The team also does not have long term development plan on raising elite competitors. Can ESC appoint a coach who can steer the team in the right direction, ask and guide team members to train properly, and establish short and long term team goals? Looks to me that the team is missing big time in this respect. As an example, Canadian Team has Ted de St. Croix who plays similar role. Can Brian May be such man for the team?

If I recall correctly, the Canadian Team had (or still has?) a policy of team members sending their training plans to some official every few months for review. The impression that I got from talking to some Canadian team members this summer was that this was purely a formality and could not be considered coaching in even the loosest sense of the word. The reality is that we are very much in a situation where athletes coach themselves or, at best, by someone from afar, and places like attackpoint serve as the best forums for the sharing of ideas and monitoring training.
As for goals, the US Team has a list of short and long-term goals that were worked out by the ESC over the course of the last year or so. These will be discussed at the upcoming team meeting at Telemark.