Training Log Archive: JanetT

Event: WCOC Ansonia Nature Center--NRE
 

Brown national ranking course, middle distance, at Ansonia Nature Center in CT. Beautiful woods here, as always, save for some small sections of barberry near wetlands, mostly avoidable. 2.5 km, 1:7500 map upper 30s and sunny.

No problems finding the controls when I was close, but on routes in between on the longer legs (2 and 4) I was sometimes unsure where I was.

Leaving #1 I followed the stone wall for a ways and then crossed the water at what I hoped was the narrowest point of barberry, and shortly thereafter hit a trail which I took toward the left. What I hadn't realized is that there was a trail S of the fenced area that made a turn; I could and did jog a bit. When I hit the junction (I was expecting a Y) there was a control nearby and I realized it was on a feature ENE of where I expected to be, and then I knew exactly where I was and continued along to the correct Y jct before turning in the direction of the control. A bit of extra distance and uncertainty en route.

Leaving 3 I intended to head mostly due north reading the features and while I went where I intended, the mapped green wasn't as prominent as I expected so I wasn't quite sure where I crossed it, but ended up south of the feature-covered hill hoping that's where I actually was. Sure enough, after passing east of the hill I turned NW and found the boulder. Hesitant travel but otherwise okay on this leg.

The rest was pretty straightforward and fun. On the trail between #7 and 8, I saw two fellows pulling something behind them; turned out to be a cart with a (presumably dead) deer in it... it's bow hunting season.

I think a map correction needs to be made S of #1 (outside the circle) where there's a narrow line crossing a reentrant...it's not a trail and not a cliff, but there *is* a short (20m?) stone wall in the terrain that crosses that reentrant and continues to the next, S of the mapped cliff. (Also--this didn't affect me--there's an odd hockey-stick-shaped line west of Brown #7...what is that?)

#5th on Brown when we left, a couple minutes behind Charlie. Don't plan to do the chase start tomorrow, and maybe will do a longer course at Mountain Lakes just to enjoy those woods.

C • hockey stick 5

Brown - Splits

Focus: shoulders

Fun ride at Nockamixon, temp around 58-60F and partly sunny.

Second time I've ridden my bike there, and first time since the leaves fell off the trees!

Started out taking the "road" (more of a ride, with grass and mud) NW from parking up to the Hammer Trail loop, and then inland on that one to see the carved stump (with a Green Man face), looping through the learning/playground section just beyond the stump, and then back on upper Cold Spot to the turn near parking.

Then a partial loop on Haycock Run, continuing onto the lakeside part of Eastern Woods as far as Jaywalk (crossing the Sidewalk, but doing some walking there where it crosses a stream), to the junction where Glen was resting; and then back the way I came, doing a loop of Haycock Run again before heading back to the car.

I could tell my quads were stronger than the last time I was here, getting me farther up short steeps (though I still had to hop off the bike in a few places, and at one climb I dropped the bike but stayed upright) and across many of the stream crossings (some muddy).

When I rode Hammer Trail before, leaves were on all the trees, but now the woods are wide open and you could see a *long* way...totally different experience!

Skipped yoga today because of the head cold that started Friday night. Sat night my throat was very sore, and Sun/Mon is the runny nose stage. Maybe this will be a short-lived one!

Event: SVO Mid Atlantic Championships & NRE at Pine Grove Furnace State Park
 

Mid Atlantics and NRE, so a Brown course; 3.8 km / 85m climb on a 1:10000 map at Pine Grove Furnace west of Carlisle, PA.

Kris Beecroft and Oriana Riley were closer to 50 minutes; I think I was about 10th on the course last I looked.

There were some tricky legs across bland terrain but I managed okay with just a couple where I was slightly off and corrected. Proud of my 5-6 leg where I contoured, angling uphill just a bit from 5 and crossing the big reentrant a contour below the charcoal platform (with a flag), then contouring again to the trail. I wasn't sure exactly where on the arc I was but paced in, figuring I could check up and down the hill at the correct pace in and -- miracle of miracles -- cam right to the flagged charcoal platform 30 m before the depression!! Then It was just careful pacing to the feature, which seemed more a pit than a cup depression (since it was big enough to put the flag down in it).

Watching folks head out later, I was one of very few who noticed a second bridge out of the start in the direction I wanted to go; I didn't double back to the obvious one.

Mid Atlantic Champs Relay, second (yellow) leg on a 9-pt team with Oriana R and Brad Colbeck. Maps were 1:5000 with 5m contours; course was 2.0 km and 25m climb (most of that was on the leg to #2).

Saw which way people were headed out of the tag zone so didn't have to look at my map until I was running across the field.

Hesitated a bit on the trail to #2 when I saw some fence remnants, but then Peggy passed me.... Angled from the wide trail over toward #3, but should have scanned along the trail for the dot knoll instead of plunging into the woods (and being too far right and having to loop back around). This let Gary S (who I'd seen coming up the hill to 2 as I headed down past that junction) to catch up, but after punching he took the long way around to stay on trails towards 4, while I cut the corner again and widened the gap again.

Had people ahead to the last three; #7 code 80 was lying on the ground when I got there as it had been for the couple of people ahead of me. Then I tagged Brad before the mass start (if there was one).

Didn't remember to start my watch until I reached control #1; I've adjusted the time/distance, but the track won't be right.

Brown - Splits

Relay Leg 2 - Splits