Training Log Archive: syd

Very easy spin on the trainer. Just wanted to get the legs moving.

Event: Winter Wildcat 10 hr Rogaine
 

Winter Wildcat 10 h Rogaine
Topo the Mountain with Kevin
30/30 CPs, 4th OA / 1st Coed

We arrived at the start area around 6:45 am and finished preparing our packs while waiting to get maps. Maps were handed out at 7 am and we had an hour to plan. We decided on a route fairly quickly. The plan was to do a CW loop, heading S first so we could knock out the biggest climb early in the race. It looked like we would be able to clear with some time to spare.

Waited until the last minute to get out of the car so we didn’t have to spend long standing around in the cold. It was probably 30F at the start. Mark gave a short race briefing and at 8 am everyone took off. A majority of teams headed off in the same direction as we did, but most stopped to get 74. It looked tough to attack from the road, especially in a crowd, and we were going to go right by it at the end anyway. By the time we made it to our first control there were only a couple of teams still around. After that we were on our own, seeing a surprising number of teams in the woods throughout the day, but rarely anyone that was heading in the same direction.

The morning went by quickly. It felt colder than I was expecting, but with all the climb I was warm enough in my long sleeve and light jacket. There were trails on the map, but they were hit or miss. Some didn’t exist and many were in poor shape with lots of blow down. Made for more interesting navigation in my opinion :) Travel wasn’t overly fast with the amount of climb and the steepness of many of the descents, but we had expected that and planned conservatively, so we were on track with our time estimates through the morning.

Hit our first road section after 93. Trotted N, stopping off to get points as we went along. Saw a number of teams headed the other direction and passed a few headed the same way. Only real bobble of the whole race was on 21 - the lowest point value CP… Went slightly too far past the reentrant we needed and had to backtrack.

By now it was mid-afternoon and we were ahead of our time estimates after moving well along the road section. The sun was out and it had turned into a pleasant day, probably low-40s. After 92 we had a long downhill bushwhack to 62. The woods we had been in the rest of the day were nice, lots of sticks to trip on, but very open. The woods on that one hill were terrible. Dense saplings that required weaving and ducking to get through. Only part of the day that passed by slowly. When we finally reached the bottom, the woods cleared out again. Whew. Made good time through 42. The climb seemed pretty minor after what we had already done.

Had another short road section and then one final climb to get a few more CPs. We forded a stream and started bushwhacking up the mountain. The sun was shining and the woods were beautiful. We used to do a lot of hiking and always wondered how people made it up mountains before trails. And here we were with a map just hiking up a mountain, no trails in sight. It was awesome. My calves were burning and my legs didn’t want to move any faster than a trudge, but I was having so much fun. Highlight of the race for me.

Made it up the mountain, grabbed the last few points and headed back down. Finished with plenty of time to spare.

Fun race. Course layout provided some interesting route choice options and all of the CPs were placed well. Felt good throughout. I didn’t feel like I was moving overly fast on the uphills, but I trudged along and my legs always recovered quickly once we reached the top. Kevin did great, he was crushing the hills. Big thank you to TanZ Navigation for putting on the race!

C • Great job! 4

In the rain. So warm out!

Nice to run on gravel instead of snow. 3 mile tempo in the middle. Splits: 7:57, 7:55, 7:49.

A bunch of V2-4, a couple new V3-5, and almost a V4-6. Next time.