Training Log Archive: BorisGr

Warmup

Ali Crocker set fabulous courses on the varied terrain of the upper part of the Dutchman Flats map. We hiked up with Alli and Mary Beth, while Darrell corralled Inara on the way up. It was hugely helpful to have grandparents help out!

The race itself was a lot of fun. The terrain had several distinct sections - some continental-type big hillsides, then crazy basalt flats with a lot of intricate contour and rock detail and low visibility, then something that had the topography of Irish fells, but without the heavy bracken, and then fast downhill orienteering that rewarded high speed and precision compass.

I had a good run (no mistakes per AP, though there were certainly a few hesitations). I caught Brian May from 3 minutes back at #10 and then had a fun head-to-head battle with him the rest of the way. He got ahead on the steep climb to 13, but made a mistake to 15, so I was surprised to finish just ahead. Really enjoyable orienteering!

Long Day 3 Upper Dutchman - Splits

Warmup

Deschutes Daze dog bones race. I'd never done this format before, and wasn't sure what to expect. It ended up being really fun, and a great format for simulating head-to-head relay style racing.

The format involves pairs of controls (1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc). You have to visit both 1's before visiting any 2's, but you can choose the order in which to visit the 1's. And so on. So you are constantly trying to read ahead and figure out the most sensible sequence of controls to visit.

We had a strong field at this race, with about 10 people who could run with the lead pack (Jourdan H, AJ, Will, Ali, Adam Woods, Brian May, Wyatt, Joe Barrett, Sergei F, and me). Off the start the pace was fast, and I found myself together with Ali, just behind Will and Jourdan, who were flying. We ran well for the first couple of controls. Then it looked to me like Ali was heading too far left on the way to the first #3, so I veered to the right, confidently heading to the control. Just before getting to it, I realized that I hadn't been to the second #2, which is where Ali was correctly heading. Probably a minute lost here, enough to lose contact with the pack. Grrrr. I picked up Wyatt after my mistake and chased him for the next several controls. Heading to the second #5, I got a bit ahead on a better line. We took different routes through the 6-7 jumble, and I emerged on my own. Almost had contact with the leaders at 8, but took a risk and tried a different sequence through 8-9-10, which did not gain me any time. Ended up 7th, ahead of Wyatt, Will, and Sergei from the list above, about 3 minutes behind a blazing fast Jourdan.

Event: Deschutes Daze 2019
 

Warmup

Deschutes Daze. Day 1 at Dutchman Flats.

I went out early so that Alli and I could trade off, so I was alone the whole way. I really enjoyed the terrain - I'd tried to run here once before, but the were six feet of snow on the ground that time.

I felt slow and sloppy, especially in the circle, but it sounds like most people had trouble in the circle. The course setting was ok, but had too much trail running for my liking, given how lovely the woods were. AJ got me by two minutes. Not sure who else was faster. Really nice to be out here.

Lower Dutchman, Long Witch - Splits

Easy elliptical shakeout before heading to Dulles.

Stretching

Elliptical intervals, 3x(3'-2'-1').

Stretching, especially the tight left quad.

Long peloton ride in the afternoon. Sweaty as usual.