Orienteering1:15:30 3.32 mi (22:44 / mi) +200m19:09 / mi
Streamering my o-tervals. Was really flummoxed by map twice - setting #4, there were supposed to be two boulders. There just weren't! Checked this way and that and back again, and really don't think there are two boulders on that little spur... Also unhappy about one other, where I put it on a boulder that was in the right place by the map, but it meant a much bigger boulder (2m high) was unmapped quite nearby... but reattacked a few times, had to be the little thing based on other stuff around... bizarre.
Running5:53 [1] 0.5 mi (11:46 / mi) +14m10:49 / mi
Warm up.
Orienteering56:43 3.48 mi (16:18 / mi) +152m14:21 / mi 19c
Ian's Control Pick - Line-o - Control Pick
The first control pick went ok, do remember one hesitation when a gapping reentrant opened up to my right that I wasn't expecting on the way to 7. Line-o I was a slowpoke, but still made big mistakes twice, so.... hm. Second control pick was sub-fantastic, two big errors, and then I guess I skipped a control, because I found the wrong pit in the same little area. It was just so pit like and so exactly where I expected that I just moved on from there. Hmph.
The first mistake, I just because totally disoriented because there seemed to be stone walls all around me and there weren't any on the map. There was also supposed to be a control where I was, but I didn't see any streamer (turns out, it was just behind a tree). So I was trying to imagine where I could have ended myself up, but then moved a smidge and saw the control. Annoying! The very next control I just majorly goofed, perhaps trying to make up time? Must have started out with a bad bearing by how much I was off.
The last few controls had added pressure as the guys who finished like 10 min earlier were watching and cheering, eep! Keep focus!
Orienteering intervals 28:05 2.46 mi (11:25 / mi) +158m9:31 / mi 17c
Whoa intervals!
This was fun- fast & furious, especially as I'd set them and streamered them so really over-speed intervals for me.
Interval #1 - Neil had already nearly caught me to #1, what?? Then tried some slow-poke sabatoge on the bridge, but mwahaha, then I knew my exact route to #3 and then #4...
Interval #2 - I started last, having witnessed that no one opted for the low route I had decided would be faster, ah well, time to try it out! Think it was a bit faster, although Giacomo apparently just plowed directly through the green, impressed! Then the unhappy boulder, and some green bashing...
Interval #3 - Gorgeous little reentrant to start in, legs starting to feel a bit tired.... Ian later on flew by me, hey there! So I sped on up, had a plan to skirt a hill top and then look right, but en route saw a pink streamer. Ah mine! But nope it wasn't... embarrassing to set the course + streamers and still make a mistake??!?! But unsure when that streamer is from...
Interval #4 - Ok, last one, start on a 'trail'.... and then a hill, but then a bit more down and two controls I didn't actually streamer so had to think more about.
Orienteering race 10:16 1.28 mi (8:01 / mi) +14m7:45 / mi ahr:76 max:76 6c
And, sprint training day! Gotta get them in, get used to running hard, navigating, effectively reading control descriptions.... Joined by brothers Childs, Ian, Giacomo and Izzy + Barb, awesome!
Round 1 was at Fairfield University, rerunning courses from WCOCs meet in the spring (thanks much Rick!). Slightly discouraged upon arrival when campus was under lock down, signs claiming "No parking on campus, Irish Festival parking ->" Hmmm, ok... so we follow those signs to nearby highschool, but that's kinda far away, we drive back to campus, chat with the security chaps, and they seemed fine with us running around, so long as we stayed away from the festival around the track. Phew!
So the festival cramped our style a bit, but other than a few controls, we could actually get to them and was definitely good training!
Sprint #1
Went well, other than a slight over-run of #2. Felt pretty good reading control descriptions, interpreting what they were saying. 4-5-6 were particularly fun, fast paced, make a decision, go!
Running race 2:41 0.08 mi (33:29 / mi) ahr:104 max:113
Orienteering race 10:06 1.5 mi (6:44 / mi) +19m6:29 / mi ahr:172 max:172 9c
Sprint #2
This guy had to be adjusted most significantly due to festival, we did 5-6-7-8-9-10-11-2-3-4.
6->7 was a good leg to test reading ahead, really think the best way is to go back the way you came, which might not be immediately apparent
2->3 was also a leg with different routes, I think the above the wall early route is best, but requires a bit of cutting up through woods (somewhat green) early. I did just miss the control, kinda thought the wall was the building, but Ian came from the opposite direction and punched something behind me, so, revert... (Not good!)
Orienteering14:18*** 1.94 mi (7:22 / mi) +37m6:58 / mi ahr:146 max:165 14c
Sprint #3
We could actually do all of this one, woo!
Was attempting to chase down Giacomo on this one, but definitely that didn't work. =)
1- I missed the entrance to the walled area, boo! Was just invisible behind some cars, unsure why I didn't really detect the wall, looking further ahead for it?
2 - Hm, which boulder is which? Some serious looking back and forth from map to terrain, finally found a boulder pair that was definitely the right one.
4 - Some issues figuring out what W side of wall actually meant given the wall configuration in the circle... W of which bit?
7 - I kept flat? Lazy? Ethan went high, reports fairly equal.
8 - Nearly went by wee trail...
9 - Difficult! earlier pools were a bit confusing- shouldn't they be colored blue?
10 - Read CD, SW edge of open, yep, that makes sense...
13 - Argh! Bad, bad, bad! Didn't see the opening in the gap between buildings, went around, boo!! And I really looked at it, just pushing too hard to read properly...
Running1:49 [0] 0.17 mi (10:50 / mi) +10m9:08 / mi
Orienteering race 5:04 0.68 mi (7:27 / mi) +6m7:15 / mi 10c
And to SUNY Purchase, Neil joined us up bearing maps from his recent HVO meet there - a 1k sprint, a 1.5k sprint and a 3k sprint.
1k Sprint:
1 - Oh my gosh! Sooo confused at the beginning, I had the distinct sense I wanted to go through the building, for some reason.... after a bit, figured things out...
4 - Construction zone, panic, should I actually go to the control? Then to 5 went the long way around to avoid what looked like more construction...
8 - A choice at least, went left, not big either way, but think left is better.
To finish- um, whoops! Ended up on the wrong side of a 'crossable' wall, except, did not manage to cross it, on a first attempt- got part way up, then rejected (by gravity), and hands couldn't get a purchase because it was slippy marble... pretty pathetic.
Orienteering race 7:06 1.07 mi (6:38 / mi) +19m6:17 / mi 8c
Sprint #4
Pretty smooth, slight hesitation at a construction sign at one point, otherwise, trying to chase down Ethan, but not quite, maybe slightly reduced gap?
Orienteering race 17:40 2.39 mi (7:24 / mi) +10m7:18 / mi 17c
Sprint #6
After hanging out at a table chatting for a bit, we motivated for our last sprint. This one was 3k, and trickiest too, needed to read ahead and figure out what level stuff was on, particularly the way to 4, 15 and 16, and I didn't see the high route from 2->3.
A good run, I think, felt the flow, did read correctly, was judiciously reading the CDs. Nice to end on, but legs were a bit hard to motivate at times...
More gym rat times... yellow-footed elliptical, floater, normal elliptical.
A first TED talk on creating a culture where doctors can learn from each other's mistakes, instead of just super-fear of malpractice/admitting one makes mistakes. Then one on disrupting tumor growth by an electric field that doesn't allow cells to split (proteins that make the spindle fibers are quite charged or polar, thus messed up by magnetic field), sounded pretty neat. Kind of a medical day!
10 min on yellow-footed swingy elliptical, 40 min on standard elliptical, taking the 'hills' on the cross-country program hard, 10 min on floaty. Nothing so interesting in gym world today...
Listened to 2 TED talks, first on the detriment of having too much choice, the second on an attempted swim from Cuba to Florida. Involving box jellyfish. Sounded painful!!
Hm, seem to have lost Garmin band... boo no HR info!
6 PM
Crosstrainer50:00
And, opted for the gym membership... mixed it up with 20 min elliptical, 15 min floater-thingy (not sure what to call it, but it has the instruction "Keep up the floating pace!" scrolling across once in awhile...), 15 more min elliptical.
Rowing5:00 [2]
And a brief spell on the erg to top it all off. Between two guys with pretty terrible rowing technique, esp guy on the left, hands up-and-over knees on each recovery.
Also entertaining were the guys at the punching bags (hm, punching bags + ergs corner - noise quarantine?). There was one guy just totally going crazy at it, who had specifically brought girlfriend with to witness. =) Amused.
Running39:42 [1] 4.21 mi (9:26 / mi) +81m8:54 / mi
Just a jog. Aimed for something different, did a tour around Amherst colllege. Ah! That's where they hid the view. I mean, I guess I kinda realized Amherst is on a hilltop, it's a steep hill up the street I live on and also on the other side of the town green, but Amherst college is at the tippy-top and has awesome views of Norwottuck -> Seven Sisters range, who knew?
Achilles sore, particularly the left. Wonder if it got that much more work not being Active Ankled...