Training Log Archive: skdewitt

Green Sprint - Splits

US Long Champs, Fishtrap Lake, Sprague WA

Open fields and marshes, few trees or green areas. Tough running though due to small rocks and long grasses. No significant mistakes, just lots of hesitations to check my location and because it was difficult to move and read the map carefully. Slow going to 13 because I didn't recognize the trail as I came across it (didn't seem like it was going the right way for some reason) so ran south on it to the big bend to relocate and then came into 13, which turned out to be a pretty good way to approach it. Slow coming out of 16 because I thought the line of cliffs was a trail. Then kept hesitating because I couldn't make out the distinct swamps. Saw smoke confiidently passing through the swampy area so I went across as well.

Very interesting terrain and fun course. The results presentation was so painfully slow though that we left shortly after it began. Organizers have to appreciate that participants don't enjoy sitting around in the heat waiting for them to get organized. They called us over and then made us wait for about 20 minutes before they were able to start announcing yesterday's results. Once they finally started listing names, they tried stopped to look for each person and just generally went really slow. It was really unbelievable.

C • US champ 3

Green X Long - Splits

Event: US Sprint/Middle/Long Championships
 

US Middle Distance Champs at Moses Lake, WA

Two significant mistakes plus some bobbles and generally slow plodding. Made an error I often make and wasn't careful about getting into the map going to 1 and had no plan for getting there. Lost about 4 minutes as I wondered around trying to figure out what trail I was on and then heading off in the wrong direction from the large sandy area which should have been an easy attack point to my control (and was, the 2nd time I went at it). Lost about 7 minutes to 13. Went across the top of the pointy reentrant, across the low area and then up a ridge. From there, nothing looked quite right so wondered around and tried to figure things out for some time. Finally realized I had come up the ridge to the west of the one I had intended.

Fun course and interesting terrain though.

Moses Lake, WA, model event for Middle distance

Fun terrain, lots of sagebrush, few trees. The areas of vegetation helped with navigation. My one attempt to use a compass bearing, to the knolls at 205, left me way off to the left. Only one mosquito encounter in a wet area. Not sure if it was th 100% deat I applied or that they had already fed on previous orienteers.

Green X Middle - Splits

Hiking in the Sunny Lakes/Dry Falls state park after visiting the Dry Falls tourist center. Cool place with lots of good info on th Scablands and its formation.

Run to Steve and Laura's to water plant.