Training Log Archive: furlong47

Event: Hickory Hop: DVOA Hickory Run Mini Rogaine
 

Hickory Hop ROGAINE - 6 Hour Solo

Longer events are not my forte, and Hickory Run is not my most successful of parks, so I went into this with the plan that I would have fun and not worry about winning. I knew this map was green, but I forgot just how green. So my plan pretty much consisted of staying in the nicest woods, which meant basically going around the outside edge of the map.

On Map A - 51, 31, 53, 61, 37, 43, 71, 57, 79, 41, 77, 35, 75, 63

There were no major issues with most of these. Lots of people around for the first three controls. With Hugh III from 61 to 37 and lost him on way to 43. Ate two sandwiches on the long slog up the trail corridor between the out of bounds areas from 71 to 57. Ran into Chris Hand at the trail junction there and were together through 57-79-41 and then I pulled away on the trail. Made very lame attempt at 45, but didn't have a solid attack point (just pace counting along the trail) and was spooked by entering the head-high veg alone. So there were long periods of trail here with no controls. Stopped in the bathroom on the way through the yellow campground. Did get a little messed up in the flattish area around 75, so wasted some time there. Saw Ed Scott, thought he was leaving the control, but when I found it determined he had been heading there. Cut out from 63 to the camp store and back to the start/finish to switch maps.

Punched finish, then punched 80 right away so as not to forget. Changed socks and changed shoes from O-shoes into trail runners as I was starting to get rubs. Ate and drank while looking at Map B, for which I didn't really have much of a concrete plan. Headed back out at about 3:50 in, still without a real plan.

On Map B - 80, 44, 60, 52, 40

At this point my feet were feeling better but the rest of me was really getting weary. I headed in the same general way as the morning, getting 44-60-52. I exited 52 to the Southern trail, which didn't really make any sense, and thought about heading out toward 66 and 32. But it looked awfully far and I didn't want to get all the way out there and be exhausted. I made a pointless loop of the trails down past the park office while trying to formulate a plan, but my brain was pretty toasted, and at this point I was just wandering and wasting energy. I passed back through the campground and popped in to get 40, since it was so close to the easy 63. Considered going after 56, but remembered the trouble I'd had with 75 in the morning. I knew I was going to be finishing way early, but at that point I decided to pack it in.

Event: DVOA Hickory Run Sand Spring Lake Night-O
 

Event: DVOA Hickory Run Sand Spring Lake
 

Went over to the picnic not intending to run the relay. (Not a big relay fan and truthfully, the format with three long-ish courses did not excite me. If I have to do them I prefer short, quick, and fun.) I also wanted to save my bruised ankle for Sunday. However, the parking lot was full of people looking for free agents. So, I declared that any team could have me as long as I could run the Yellow leg. And so it was done.

Decided to just tear it up. It could have been even faster. I had trouble seeing the left trail out of 2 and went down the right trail briefly, thinking the junction was further back in the woods. On the somewhat non-Yellowish middle section of the course, drawn to the side by seeing a flag near 7 (the reentrant not even halfway far enough, duh) and lost some time on 8 by getting into the depressions too close to the parking lot.

C • you ROCK 4

Hickory Run Sand Spring Lake - Intermediate Night-O

Briefly entertained an invitation from Steve and Sharon to walk the Advanced with them - decided against it as I didn't want to do that much distance. Later when I saw what the Advanced map looked like, I was glad I stuck with my original plan.

#2 was the only dumb-brained control, really. Should have just attacked it from the field to the East, but was still getting into night mode. Instead I went around on trails to the West side of it, expecting to see the reflector from the trail. Missed it and saw the road. Went back up and cut in too early. Kept seeing a reflection which turned out to be a road sign through the trees. Oops. Went more North and there it was. Also didn't really have a plan from 3 to 4. Went straight and happened to drift left, but saw and heard people on the road and realized I was too close. Looked right and saw the reflector.

Relay - Yellow - Splits

Lesson on Petie. A bad, bad night in which he clobbered my face with his neck, I just about came off in the ring, then did come off on the trail while cooling down. He refused to step over a tiny log, then proceded to basically back right out from under me. I thought I was going to smash my face into the log but somehow avoided that and took it with my elbow instead. Then he dragged me back about three feet through the mud because I was not about to let go of the reins and have to go catch a horse up in the woods in the dark.

You never fall off while doing something cool like jumping 4 feet.