Training Log Archive: JanetT

Event: UNO Boulder Dash 2-Day Classic A-Meet
 

Event: Ontario Orienteering Championships
 

Warm up jog from start to portapotties and back (start about 300m past).... Gorgeous day! Sunny and upper 60s or low 70s by start time.

Middle course 5 on Hidden Meadows/Spreckley's Trails map west of Ottawa. Same map as middle course at COCs in Aug. 2010. I had a few small errors here and there, maybe a few minutes' worth.

EDIT: FR = 3.6 km

To 1, should have taken the trail around, which would have been faster. Straight was shorter, but I got pushed right and keyed off another control on a cliff before finding mine. Smaller trails were hard to see in the terrain. ~45s

After 5, should have headed straight out to the trail instead of angling and missing it by a little bit. ~1m

10-11, crossed the stream on a trail and then crossed the fenceline, when running farther up the trail would have been safer. Drifted a bit right. ~45s

Results

Second of the women on the course (a minute back); 1st F55-64; 6th overall (course 5). Fastest was Peter Jones, UK, at just under 30 minutes.

Sprint course 2, closer in to Kanata west of Ontario (Beaverbrook map, 1:4000, 2m contours). Warmer than this morning; in the upper 70s. We found some shade to hang out in between races and were joined by Ali and Alex, then Hammer, Hans F, and some other young folk. Fun to listen to them; not much to add except when talking about interesting control locations and recalling some memorable ones on J-J's 200-control course at Pawtuckaway a few years ago. ;-)

Nice sprint course, part parkland and part woods/hills; not as many buildings as at last year's sprint.

Happy with my time; maybe could have been 1:00-1:30 faster or so. (ADDED:) Off-line to #5; saw #6 through the woods (they were only 40m apart), stopped to read the map and then realized the flag I saw off to my right was actually the one I wanted first. On the way to 1, wanted to go through a thin strip of white woods along the tennis court, near the beeline; turns out some of the white wasn't so passable and had to pick my way over rocks and around vegetation. May have been faster to just run around the whole blob, but I'm still not convinced.

FR = 2.227 km (and 2m climb, but the map shows more than that!)

Course 5 Middle - Splits

Course 2 Sprint - Splits

Ottawa! Staying close to downtown; traffic was pretty horrendous so we decided to walk to Byward Market area to find some dinner. Had Mexican at Ahora on Dalhousie, where we'd eaten with my brother and sister-in-law last time up this way (2010?)--good food and good reviews. Maybe someplace different tomorrow. Time/distance are estimates and include both to and from dinner. Think we'll drive and park tomorrow.

Using exercise balls. I like how I can do a roll-up with my feet up on the ball, with ease. I remember when I started taking this class and couldn't roll up with my feet flat on the ground.

Hips are tight, particularly the right one. Needs more stretching.

Hill interval program, set at 40 minutes. At 35, however, the inside of my left knee started to complain, so I stopped to listen. :-)

8@68.75lb pulldowns.

Just weights today. Good lower ab workout today. Quads are almost back to normal and aren't sore today.

"Weight loss" program on the elliptical, level 3. Will get back to "hills" on Thursday.

Also, 10 @ 68.75 lb pulldowns, and 2 x 12 RDLs @ 18 lbs for back and shoulders (which don't like planks from Pilates, especially side ones)

A little movement, a little stretching (with some extra quad stretches thrown in, as they seem to be the most sore, but not overly so). Shoulders a little achy, probably from my fall on the trail run.

Event: Hudson Highlander XVI
 

Lowlander, at the Hudson Highlander starting at Lake Welch Beach, Harriman. 12.8 km / 260m climb advertised.

FR reports: 14.685 km, 408 m climb

Lowlander consisted of the first and last orienteering loops of the HH, with a trail run of about 3 km (or so I heard) between them. First loop was on Jackie Jones and included a "scramble" section, where you were to visit any 4 of 7 controls scattered over about 10 km^2. HH had a longer trail run; I ran into Glen at the map exchange where he was headed out on a fairly long O loop on Rockhouse Mtn.

I knew coming into the map exchange that the last loop wasn't very long as my FR already was saying about 10 km, and it was advertised as 12.8. No problem with the 1:4000 scale; was slow on the climbs, but able to keep jogging the levels and downhills.

Was finished in time to see the HH leaders, Will and Boris, cross the parking lot and finish. Lots of great warm and delicious food provided; I'm sure I ate too much.

EDIT: FR is downloaded; here is my blow-by-blow description for anyone interested. :-) Maps on PG's log (except for the LL trail run, which headed NE from 9 to the road bend then headed NW up the same trail they traveled)

1 - Fairly straight, trying to keep up with Francis H. as we left the parking lot. Crossed through campground near the bathroom building but was reading the other section of camping roads and was confused that trails weren't matching up so hesitated there, but then just kept heading E. After crossing rocky ground and approaching the laurel, I could see the reentrant below the cliff forming and saw someone headed perpendicular to my line of travel so knew I was close. Sandy was coming in as I left.
2 - I headed towards the trail because I thought it was a safer route; contoured over to what I thought was a cliff control but when I read the clue realized I had to climb up on top. Saw Sandy here again.
3 - Dropped down towards the trail but looped left around a patch of green (wasn't checking my compass). Sandy arrived shortly ahead of me and headed off up Rt 106. Her compass skills are better than mine. :-)
4 - (D) Sandy's route west on 106 made me rethink my scramble order. Sharon was just behind and saw me headed up 106 too, and decided that was a good way; she passed me and caught up to Sandy. Both of them left the road and headed up the trail 40-50 m ahead of me. I had been thinking of going taking the other road towards the tower on Jackie Jones Mtn to visit C-D-E-G on the scramble section, but think D-C-E-G got rid of the steeper climb between C and D and didn't look much longer. Easy approach up the reentrant and over the spur.
5 - (C) I was able to check off features on the approach to the cliff-line to drop right down to C. Surprised to see Sandy coming in from the west as I thought she was farther ahead; she had taken a different route down the cliffs. We did the next one together as neither of us was running in the woods at this point.
6 - (E) From C west on big trail to the rocky ground near gentle right bend, trying to find the narrowest section of laurel to bash through. Slow getting through, but we hit the smaller trail near the contour-and-formline spur NNW of the cliff, and headed straight in.
7 - (G) Bashed back out to the trail, and I was able to jog, so was on my own from there on in for the most part. Attacked G from the minor trail bend to loop around the laurel; crossed some stony ground and saw a small pond which resembled the one NW of the control but quickly realized it was the rocky ground S of the control and up a contour, so kept going past the big cliffs.
8 - Back out to the big trail; used the line of cliffs headed S as a handrail. Used compass (a bit better than early in the race!) and stayed above laurel but below the crest of the hill.
9 - Mostly straight, slowed by laurel and rocks; I found the line of cliffs ESE of 9 and headed off towards the road from there.
10 - Part I of the trail run, along the road NE of the basketball court to a trail junction with funny tape markings but I quickly realized the HH runners were coming from the other direction and we would both head up the same trail. Saw that the map's contour interval was 30 m, but the 1:25000 scale didn't really register and the trail seemed MUCH longer than it probably was. There was a medium size tree across the trail not far before St. John's Rd and I stepped across it just fine but then managed to trip on the branch just past it and went sprawling on the trail. A fellow (I think on the Highlander) passed me here, asking if I was okay (just fine, thanks). He punched at the road crossing a bit before me.
11 - Crossed the road and saw the same fellow, plus 3 cadets, wandering back and forth looking for streamers and the proper trail, which wasn't really well mapped on this map. Eventually saw them head down a trail which stayed between the road and Lake Welch, and I followed it until I thought I saw a streamer near the cemetery and headed up that way. That wasn't on the trail run (there were in fact no streamers on this section), but I knew where my ultimate goal was so just kept heading NE to the map exchange. (Thanks, Judy!) On the way across here I saw a young woman wearing a dark pink shirt crossing my path right to left, who I later determined was probably headed to 29 on the "sprint."
12 (HH27) - Easy run to the end of the cliff
13 (HH28) - Up the path and through the clearing; crossed the road and looped a bit around the blueberries.
14 (HH29) - Stayed in the woods, up to the water tower, then wasn't sure of distance and laurel, so headed to the hill S of boulder to attack. Got my feet wet for the first time.
15 (HH30) - Back through the puddle, around the cliff and briars, and straight past the building. Saw another pretty distinct (but unmapped) tree near the lake but checked the proper one first.
16 (HH31) - Slogged back up the hill to the water tower and then E on the trail past the debris pile and large boulder. Tried to cross the laurel at the narrowest point (SW of 31) but I think I got pushed left and was in it a bit longer than planned. Eventually hit blueberries and knew I needed to stay in the blueberries and not re-enter the laurel; headed east and found the boulder. Saw the pink-shirt woman again here; she apparently had trouble with this control. It was probably faster to head out to the road edge and come in from the W, but for some reason I was thinking J-J's admonition to stay off Lake Welch Road meant to stay away from the road and shoulder.
17 (HH32) - Again thinking I couldn't run along the road edge , I headed E to the path, and ran along it to the tunnel/underpass, then found the trail that E and path SE towards the parking lot before crossing the rough open to the fence. Knew I had to come back out the same way, having looked at the fence on the map on the way in. Woman in pink punched behind me, then seemed to head E along the fence, so she had a bit of catching up to do.
18 (HH33) - She caught me partway across the parking lot and flew into the last control and to the finish.

Fun course, and I wasn't too exhausted.

Lowlander - Splits