Training Log Archive: hkleafIn the 7 days ending May 22, 2006:
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Monday May 22, 2006 #
Note
(rest day)
Legs actually felt pretty good today, considering the amount of running I did over the weekend. My arms (triceps) though are sore for some unknown reasons.
Sunday May 21, 2006 #
Orienteering race (A-Meet Classic) 2:55:25 [4] ***** 13.5 km (13:00 / km) +330m 11:35 / km
17c slept:7.0 shoes: Silva O' Spikes (Rubber)
US Team Trials / SLOC A-Meet - Hawn State Park, Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
M21+ Blue.
The storm mostly skirted south of the park, so we lucked out there. The overcast sky left the temperature nice and cool for us, but the rain yesterday afternoon had the ground and underbrush plenty moist already, so I still ended up pretty soaked.
Anyway, the wetness wasn't the bad part at all. The real bad part was my performance. I had a disastrous day similar to my GNC Day 1 experience. I didn't get as lost here as I had in Pine Mountain, but I made mistakes and lost map contacts enough times to pushed me to a DNF finish. I went from 10 to 15, skipping the loop of 11-14, because mentally I was beat up and I would've finished OVT anyway even if I got to all the controls.
Aside from the DNF, I was most disappointed in my inability to focus on the goal of the day - run slow enough to stay in map contact constantly. It's a task easier said than done, which was made even harder by the number of fast runners out there. On several occasions, I was tempted to keep pace with them, only to have it backfire on me as I got over my optimal o' speed. My brain just couldn't process all that map info at the faster pace, which in turn caused those mistakes.
Oh well, lessons learned. First, slow down! Second, concentrate extra hard when there're others around on the course.
M21+ Blue.
The storm mostly skirted south of the park, so we lucked out there. The overcast sky left the temperature nice and cool for us, but the rain yesterday afternoon had the ground and underbrush plenty moist already, so I still ended up pretty soaked.
Anyway, the wetness wasn't the bad part at all. The real bad part was my performance. I had a disastrous day similar to my GNC Day 1 experience. I didn't get as lost here as I had in Pine Mountain, but I made mistakes and lost map contacts enough times to pushed me to a DNF finish. I went from 10 to 15, skipping the loop of 11-14, because mentally I was beat up and I would've finished OVT anyway even if I got to all the controls.
Aside from the DNF, I was most disappointed in my inability to focus on the goal of the day - run slow enough to stay in map contact constantly. It's a task easier said than done, which was made even harder by the number of fast runners out there. On several occasions, I was tempted to keep pace with them, only to have it backfire on me as I got over my optimal o' speed. My brain just couldn't process all that map info at the faster pace, which in turn caused those mistakes.
Oh well, lessons learned. First, slow down! Second, concentrate extra hard when there're others around on the course.
Running warm up/down (Road/Grass) 10:00 [1] 2.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: Silva O' Spikes (Rubber)
Left shin felt a little better today. I think all the stretching and massaging the last couple days (plus ice last night) has really helped.
Stretching warm up/down 10:00 [1]
Before and after race.
Note
Even though performance wise it was a disappointing weekend, I still had a lot of fun out there. It's always nice to have a chance to compete against the elites, to see where I stand.
This was still just my 3rd A-Meet overall, so just adding experience on Blue was a positive. Although now it's painfully obvious I'm not quite ready to compete at that level yet. So for the next A-Meet, I am considering doing the Short/Middle course in Blue while stepping down a level to Red for the Long course. I think a shorter distance may help reduce my mental fatique during the race, thus translating to better results. One way or another, I need to experience some success in order to learn what it is to orienteer cleanly.
This was still just my 3rd A-Meet overall, so just adding experience on Blue was a positive. Although now it's painfully obvious I'm not quite ready to compete at that level yet. So for the next A-Meet, I am considering doing the Short/Middle course in Blue while stepping down a level to Red for the Long course. I think a shorter distance may help reduce my mental fatique during the race, thus translating to better results. One way or another, I need to experience some success in order to learn what it is to orienteer cleanly.
Saturday May 20, 2006 #
Orienteering race (A-Meet Middle) 1:09:20 [4] **** 5.67 km (12:14 / km) +115m 11:06 / km
17c shoes: Silva O' Spikes (Rubber)
US Team Trials / SLOC A-Meet - S-F Scout Ranch (West), Farmington, Mo.
M21+ Blue.
Another nice day (weather) again. A bit cooler since we started early. I was one of the earlier starters since I had a slower Sprints among the M21s yesterday.
It was another mediocre day (performance) for me. Having run the model event yesterday certainly helped in picking out features on the map, but I had trouble on the lone long leg (4 to 5) differentiating the series of small valleys about 200m from the control. Luckily, I missed it to the east, saw 6 and was able to relocate myself. The next few controls (7, 8, 9) were more mistakes, perhaps the result of running too fast/poor route choices.
The map was good and the terrain was fun to run in. The winning time was around 33:00! It's a bit disappointing to see that I'm running at about 50% of the elites. I'm still struggling at finding my optimal o' speed. I want to be able to compete with the best, but obviously I'm not there yet. Hopefully I can put in more training on my navigation this summer to get better.
M21+ Blue.
Another nice day (weather) again. A bit cooler since we started early. I was one of the earlier starters since I had a slower Sprints among the M21s yesterday.
It was another mediocre day (performance) for me. Having run the model event yesterday certainly helped in picking out features on the map, but I had trouble on the lone long leg (4 to 5) differentiating the series of small valleys about 200m from the control. Luckily, I missed it to the east, saw 6 and was able to relocate myself. The next few controls (7, 8, 9) were more mistakes, perhaps the result of running too fast/poor route choices.
The map was good and the terrain was fun to run in. The winning time was around 33:00! It's a bit disappointing to see that I'm running at about 50% of the elites. I'm still struggling at finding my optimal o' speed. I want to be able to compete with the best, but obviously I'm not there yet. Hopefully I can put in more training on my navigation this summer to get better.
Running warm up/down (Gravel) 15:00 [2] 1.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
slept:8.5 shoes: Silva O' Spikes (Rubber)
Warm up/Cool down run around the parking area. Distance is an estimation. Left shin was again bothersome at the beginning, but once warmed up and stretched properly, it felt fine for the race.
Stretching warm up/down 10:00 [1]
Before and after race.
Note
Would've love to re-run the course today after finishing. That would serve as instant feedback and extra training. But since I was riding with Mike, and we still have the 13.6k long course Sunday, I spent the afternoon laying around and relaxing at the motel.
Friday May 19, 2006 #
Event: US Team Trials
Orienteering race (A-Meet Sprints) 19:16 [5] **** 2.62 km (7:21 / km) +75m 6:26 / km
17c shoes: Asics Gel Cumulus VII
US Team Trials / SLOC A-Meet - UMSL, St. Louis, MO.
M21+ Blue - though everybody ran the same course.
It was warm, with temperature approaching 90F at the start. The sun was also out the entire time, which makes it even harder to sprint around. After a solid week of cool soggy weather in Cincinnati, it's a bit hard to adjust to the conditions today.
Oerall not a great run. Had some minor mistakes (poor route choices/hesitations) at 2, 3, 5, and 15. Plus a huge error leaving 7 (poor map reading). All told, they probably cost me ~2 minutes, which in a sprint race is a lot. No doubt I could still improve on my speed a bit (I would've been smoked by 3 minutes even with a clean run!), but more so on minimizing my navigation mistakes.
Despite my mediocre result, I still had a fun time out there. It was my first urban sprint o' experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely would love it if we have some in Cincy in the future.
M21+ Blue - though everybody ran the same course.
It was warm, with temperature approaching 90F at the start. The sun was also out the entire time, which makes it even harder to sprint around. After a solid week of cool soggy weather in Cincinnati, it's a bit hard to adjust to the conditions today.
Oerall not a great run. Had some minor mistakes (poor route choices/hesitations) at 2, 3, 5, and 15. Plus a huge error leaving 7 (poor map reading). All told, they probably cost me ~2 minutes, which in a sprint race is a lot. No doubt I could still improve on my speed a bit (I would've been smoked by 3 minutes even with a clean run!), but more so on minimizing my navigation mistakes.
Despite my mediocre result, I still had a fun time out there. It was my first urban sprint o' experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely would love it if we have some in Cincy in the future.
Running warm up/down (Mixed Road/Grass) 15:00 [1] 1.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
shoes: Asics Gel Cumulus VII
Warm up/Cool down run around spectator area. Distance is an estimation. My left shin was bothering me a bit in pre-race warm up. Not sure if I'm dealing with a possible shin splint or just the lingering effects of the marathon still. It did get better after warming up, and I didn't feel any particular discomfort during the race.
Stretching warm up/down 10:00 [1]
Before and after race.
Orienteering (Model Event) 51:25 [3] *** 3.18 km (16:10 / km) +55m 14:53 / km
9c shoes: Silva O' Spikes (Rubber)
US Team Trials / SLOC A-Meet - S-F Scout Ranch, Farmington, Mo.
My first experience having a pre-race run in a model area. It was fun getting some extra training in. I only ran portions of a couple legs at race speed, the rest was at a slow jog/walk so that I can take in more of the terrain while cross-referencing the mapped features. The distance and climb listed are from the actually mapped course, but I certainly did much more than that exploring other areas on the map.
Even though it was after 6pm, it was still really warm out there. I was just happy to be free of tics when I got back from the course!
My first experience having a pre-race run in a model area. It was fun getting some extra training in. I only ran portions of a couple legs at race speed, the rest was at a slow jog/walk so that I can take in more of the terrain while cross-referencing the mapped features. The distance and climb listed are from the actually mapped course, but I certainly did much more than that exploring other areas on the map.
Even though it was after 6pm, it was still really warm out there. I was just happy to be free of tics when I got back from the course!
Thursday May 18, 2006 #
Note
It's probably not the best idea to go into a big race without running/training at all the whole week. But since I'm still fighting this cold, I figure resting and saving my energy is the smarter choice here.
Of the 2 prior A-Meets that I competed, I never fair well running the Blue courses. I'll try to do better this time, with the focus on keeping better map contact (i.e. finding my optimal o' speed).
Of the 2 prior A-Meets that I competed, I never fair well running the Blue courses. I'll try to do better this time, with the focus on keeping better map contact (i.e. finding my optimal o' speed).