Training Log Archive: syd

Planned routes on a middle map. Legs feel mostly recovered.

4x4 min hard

Felt like spring! Started raining after we turned around.

All new routes from the competition this past weekend! Finished a couple hard ones.

Control pickup. It rained on and off all day and luckily I got out between rain showers. Woods were quite wet. Calves were tight when I started but they loosened up as I went along. Other than that I felt pretty good.

Picked up 7 flags. 6/7 were ones we hadn't been to during the race and the one that overlapped I approached from the opposite direction.

C • wet day for control flags too ... 3

Event: Raccoongaine
 

Racoongaine 2018

Topo the Mountain with Kevin

Our third year at Racoongaine - we raced as a team to continue the tradition! Since we are now local we arrived early to help with check-in. After handing out maps, our volunteer duties were complete and we could start to plan. We only had 45 min before the pre-race meeting, which made it a little hectic. Since we had opted to go around the lake in previous years, I was already leaning toward a route that took us to the N section of the map. When we added up points and saw that the N section was slightly higher, that sealed the deal. We decided on a CCW route that hit most of the points in the north section. Since this course is never clearable, we skipped a few low points controls that involved more climb/green than they were worth. We then planned to head S of the lake and go as far E as time permitted before looping back to the finish.

The race started at 10 a.m. and we headed to our first control behind Mark and Tom. I was the navigator and Kevin had the stick. After sliding down a steep hillside we had to cross a stream. Mark and Tom both scooted across a downed log and I suggested following (forgetting that Kevin isn’t great at balancing). Kevin was half way across when I looked down and realized how deep the water was – at least 4 or 5 feet. And when I looked back up I saw Kevin slowly toppling off the log….oh no. He broke through the thin layer of ice on the water and was fully submerged before he rocketed out onto the far bank. At this point I was convinced we were going to need to go back to the start so he could change (it was only 28 degrees out!), but he said he was fine. So on we went. Wet feet were no longer a concern, so that was a plus. All this and we hadn’t even gotten to our first control!

Hit our first CP and then ran along the frozen marsh next to the stream up to our second. I asked Kevin if he was warm enough about a million times. After this we had a long trail/road run with short detours to grab controls. This was lucky, as it allowed us to pick up the pace and for Kevin to stay warm. By the time we got up to the far N part of the map he was starting to dry out and was totally fine. I have no idea how – if I had been the one in the water there’s no way I would have been able to continue on in soaking wet clothes.

At 147 we got our first taste of PA green. So many thorns. We were one CP behind schedule at this point, but our original plan was quite optimistic, so I was happy with how it was going. We worked our way back S, picking up points along the way. Lots of off trail travel through this section. About half way back we started to see teams heading in the opposite direction. At 141 we were starting to get sick of bashing through thorns and Kevin suggested taking the road around to 126. Yes, please!

A segment of trail running with short detours for CPs to finish out the N section and then we were headed S away from the S/F in the opposite direction. Kevin was just commenting how good my navigation had been when I bobbled 143. For some reason, I read the CP as being in a small reentrant off the big one, so that’s where we went. It was in the big one, only lost a few minutes. At this point we had fallen pretty far behind where we needed to be for our original plan so we started to consider which points to drop. We still had enough time for a short loop, so we decided to just cut the S loop short. We headed to 131 and then we had a lot of road/trail running in between CPs on the way back to the finish. I was getting very nervous about time here, but Kevin thought we were fine. Usually it’s the opposite :) We zoomed along and picked up 146, 123, 122, 116 and 106. This was a mother control and my second bobble. The clue was knoll, so we followed some footsteps up the hill. Never a good idea. We climbed a lot more than necessary before I saw the ‘knoll’ we needed down below.

All that was left at this point was a road run back to the finish with a detour up a hill for 132. We ended up having time for all the 10 pointers near the finish. I was thinking of W4J when we took the powerline down to 103 :) And then up to 101. It was so nice! That hill was also a lot smaller than I remembered. Cruised into the finish with almost 10 minutes to spare.

Great race. Kevin was fantastic. Maybe he should always do a polar plunge pre-race. I was worried my legs would be feeling last weekend, but they were fine. I was running low on energy around 4.5 hours, but I ate a few snacks and perked back up. The hills didn’t seem nearly as big as they did in the past. Living in a hilly area is paying off! There were still a few inches of snow on the N facing slopes, but it didn't slow us down much. Fun day out in the woods.

First place OA!! 32/50 CPs.

C • Looks like a great event! 3

Another easy run. There were a few snowy sections, but the trail was mostly bare.

Trot around South Park. Legs felt pretty good.

Easy spin on the trainer. Planned on going for a run, but then we got 6 inches of snow yesterday/today...ugh.

Rock rings

Event: Nain Rouge Gaine
 

Nain Rouge Gain 2018

Back in Michigan! Maps were handed out at check-in and I had almost 2 hours to plan. I decided on a CW route which left a few low point value controls near the finish that I could drop if necessary. Based on the straight line distance it looked like I wouldn’t have a problem clearing, but there were 5 unaccounted for bonus controls. At the race briefing we were told that the Nain Rouge (Todd) would be out roaming the course. If we ran into him we would have to serve a 2 min penalty or do 20 push-ups. Unless we had beads to ward him off! I was very confused about the location of said beads, but I figured it didn’t really matter.

The race started at 10 a.m. and I took off with a big group to my first control. I knew I didn’t have the speed to match Tim/Tom, so my plan was to minimize distance by going as straight as possible wherever it made sense. And that makes the navigation more fun :) Small bobble on my fourth control. In my haste to lose a couple of people I drifted on my bearing and had to pause to figure out where I was. It didn’t take long to figure out. After that I didn’t see anyone for a while. Hit my first bonus control after 41 where I found beads! I thought they were going to be at 34?

Finished up the first section and then I had a long road run to the far W part of the map. There were quite a few unmapped roads that had me worried, but I was able to keep track of where I was and there was even a park sign when I finally got to where I was headed. Whew! Received the location of NR4 at 56, which involved plotting a bearing over 1500 m. Not easy with a thumb compass… Double checked my plot and found a feature near my line that matched the clue. Good enough. And it was even on the way. Continued on with my original plan and decided to get NR4 after 47. However, when I got to 47, I got the location of NR5. And it was all the way back where I had just been… Bummer. I was ahead of my time estimates, so opted to go back for it. A long trail run back to NR5, then to NR4 (plotted it correctly!) and then I was back on my planned route.

Headed back to the E section of the map, picking up a few controls along the way. Small mistake on 43. I cut in too early, hoping to confuse the person who was behind me on the road, but I also confused myself… Corrected off the field and didn’t lose too much time. Saw the Nain Rouge on the way to 34, but I was able to ward him off with my beads! Decided to cross the swamp after 34 to get a break from running. It was quite thick, but also frozen so not too bad. Good route choice. No idea how I didn’t see the bonus flag on my way to 73, but it wasn’t really out of the way to grab it after. Crossed the stream after 62. I remembered it being very deep, but it was only up to my knees.

I was on the home stretch after 71. I ran out of water, but I only had about an hour left so I wasn’t worried. I just ate some snow. My legs were quite tired, but I was able to keep up a trot on the roads/trails. Brain started getting foggy on the last few controls, probably due to the lack of water. Only mistake was a poor exit from 33 to the finish.

Great ‘first’ race by Steve and Angel! I really enjoyed the course (minus the absurd distance between 2 of the mother-daughter controls). I miss MI terrain. Very happy with my performance. Legs felt great for the first five hours and I only had a few minor navigation errors. Cleared the course with time to spare. 2nd OA and 1st female.

C • Wow! 3

C • confusing others 1

C • As consolation, NR4/5 conce... 1

'Long Sprint' (3.9 km)

NEOOC was hosting an o-meet that was on our way to MI, so we decided to stop. They were out of the long maps by the time we arrived, but they had extra blank maps that we copied the course on. A first for orienteering! My plan was to put in a mid-level effort since I wanted to save my legs for Sunday. It took me a few controls to get my head in the right place, I didn't have any mistakes, but a lot of hesitation on 2. Lots of thorns from 3 to 4. Things went well after that. Cruised along enjoying the map. I wasn't confident on 10, so I slowed down on the approach, but I was in the right place. Ended up tying for first, I should've sprinted to the finish!

Long Sprint - Splits

Finished a V3-5 and made good progress on a couple of V4-6s.

It keeps snowing :( Motivation to exercise outside in the cold is running pretty low.

C • Cold 1

On the trail after work. Hopefully the last week of weird hours!

Trail run at South Park. It was very muddy. Kevin twisted his ankle, so we cut it short.

It was much nicer out than I was expecting.

Lots of new routes :)

Long run on the Montour trail. Planned routes on a middle and a sprint map. I should've brought a snack.

Trail run at South Park, minus the buffalo hill.

Plan was to orienteer in Buffalo after visiting my brother. Got to the park and the snow was almost to my knees, so that didn't last long. Met Kevin for a run in snow free Pittsburgh instead.

Warmup to the track.

Speedwork on the gravel track at South Park. It was crazy windy. 2x400, 2x800, 2x400 with half rest between.

Cooldown back to the car.

Finished a new V3-5. I keep going when they are setting new sections and then I don’t get to work on the new routes...I need better timing.