Training Log Archive: TomN

Event: UNO Boulder Dash
 

Boulder Dash Green, Day 1. Not high expectations for this race, given my past difficulties with rocky New England maps. But things worked out o.k. No problems with #1. (Yeah, it was streamered.) Solid approach to #2, then I was stopped by the stone wall. No matter how many times I looked at the map, I could not see a stone wall on it. I insisted afterwards that it wasn't mapped. When Phil B. showed it to me, I figured it was left off of just my map. But no, it was there of course, but I had a cognitive failure, it was invisible, just like the famous selective attention problem.

Controls 2, 3, 4, and 5 went very well. I'm particularly happy with my approach on 4, staying low to spot the spur, then up to the huge boulder just below the control. But another control-finding problem on 6, I was in contact all the way in, but then floundered around for a long time looking in various reentrants.

From 7 to 8 I ran straight north and followed the trail to the bend, attacking from there. Still missed, not high enough on the slope. A little luck on 11, didn't know exactly where I crossed the swamp but kind of blundered into the control on the other side. Going to 12, I followed the stone wall to the end then out to the trail and approached from the NNW. Good map reading on the attack, but would have been better going straight in from the stone wall.

I feel like 14 was a psychological breakthrough for me. Everywhere else I found linear features to lead me in, but on this one there was no choice: read the rock and contour detail. Well, o.k., there was a swamp about 2/3 of the way, which was basically my attack point. It all hung together, and it may not have been fast, but it was solid. Man, that felt really good.

Saturday - Day 1 - Green - Splits

Around the pond end-to-end and back. Fabulous day, sunny and warm (after the morning chill came off). The lake is quiet. Maybe only a dozen cabins are occupied, mostly year-rounders. The loons are practicing take-off maneuvers. There are some other fishing birds, cormorants I guess. The fish appear to be plentiful. Lots of fall color, maybe not at its peak yet. Speaking of which, the Maine Fall Foliage Website has a picture of Howard Pond on its front page. It's a view over the water to the hillside rising right up in back of our cabin (from a previous year). Our cabin is in the shadows on the right-hand side of the picture.

Kensington MD to Hanover ME in 11.5 hours. Drive was non-stressful, weather was pleasant. Stopped for a 20-min nap in a park-n-ride off I-84 in CT.

Drumm loop. Cool in the morning, but on its way to a great day.