Training Log Archive: cmorse

Easy Sunday: Nevers Park - Link

C • I saw you've taken on OUSA'... 7

Easy Sunday Morning social run with the Striders. Chilly, but a nice rolling, non-technical loop in South Windsor. Many of the others had run Colchester half yesterday, so a recovery day all around. And then coffee/treats at the Birdhouse after..

And a quick walk before dark to finish out the week..

Event: QOC Seneca Creek
 

A bumbling we shall go...

Good race. 7th place. Energy waning toward the end, not unexpectedly.

First control and last control, 27th if doing all 5 windows were mandatory. Beyond that, there were five designated windows, or blocks of controls each block containing 5 controls. You could choose to do 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 windows as a handicap to the race. Since I normally run green, three windows would have been equivalent to my A-category.

But having driven all the way to DC to run this thing, I opted to run the whole shebang, nominally 12.9km with 230m climb.

You could run the windows in any order, and the controls within each window could be done in any order, but once you started a window, you had to get all the controls in that window before moving on. So some advanced strategy was called for.

In addition, once control in each window had a time bonus - if you were first to that control and claimed the lanyard with the prize, you got 2-3 minutes taken off your time, but you could only claim on bonus.

Start > #1 - started at the back, fully intending not to get sucked up in a race to the first mandatory control. Took the time to look at the entire map and come up with a strategy. This leg was about 500m along a paved road (non public) so at the back of a long train of folks on this.

#1 > D - Opted to head west to the furthest window first (A-E) and decided to try and go for a time bonus, although since I didn't go out hard, there were a lot of people well out in front of me at this point. Looked at the 5 controls in that group, decided the bonus probably wasn't on either of the two furthest ones, and guessed (correctly!) that it would be found on control D, somewhat in the middle. Picked up the pace, running hard on trails and white woods where I could, then up the powerline cut. Pretty much spiked the control, but some really fast guy came from the opposite direction and snagged the bonus about 30m before I got there. Damn. And he'd probably already been to at least one other control I'm guessing. Might of been the eventual winner, but don't know/recognize him.

Making the call to try for a bonus meant I wasn't set up ideally to do this window, but too the controls in the order D > E > A >B > C without any problems and moving along quite well. Saw quite a few others coming the other direction, doing the group in different order.

Contoured over, crossed the powerline cut and into the next window (F-J). G > I > J > H > F

Headed to G, no problem, looked at the map and the top of the hill between me and I was dark green, so opted to swing wide R to the power line to avoid the crap, but coming into I noticed that although there was some fallen material on the ground, it certainly wasn't green - the visibility was great, the running was moderately good with only some diversions around deadfall that wasn't hoppable. Would have been faster to go straight through the "green".

Into the green, a little bit of briers, but visibility good and able to negotiate a fairly clean line through there, then mostly straigh to rootstock at I. Likewise a straightline from J > H, into the open and into a nice clear spot in otherwise impenetrable briar thicket. Shape matched, but no flag. Could have backed out and tried relocating from edge of clearing, but no - I opted to force my way through the briars - bad idea, lots of blood taken, though it was beneath my tights and not visible until after, but I could feel it. Finally found the right clearing a bit further north after a lot of briar fighting. The clearing I initially hit (perfectly open) was mapped with green cross hatch so it didn't register as the wrong clearing. Lesson learned.

And then a fast run down the hill to the north to get control F which I had passed enroute to the first window but could not punch due to the rules of the game.

And onto the center window (K>O where control #1 was) doing them in the order N > O > K > L > M

All pretty clean, slightly off in the low visibility green on O, but a quick correction, a little off on K in low visibility floodplain, flag in a pit but happened to see the punch rising above the terrain so corrected somewhat quickly. Rest were fine.

A bit of a decision making hesitation (coupled with increasing fatigue) probably cost me a couple minutes next. Headed up the hill from M to the trail headed for P in the next window (P > T) but then second guessed myself as to whether to dive into that window or head to the northeast section. Evaluated a couple different options (pretty much standing still) before deciding to head to northeast and leave P>T for last.

Did the northeast section in U > V > W > X > Y order. No real navigation difficulties, but some thicker vegetation and hills and getting physically tired meant I walked most hills and slow jogging the good stuff. But clean through here.

And then in to the final section (P>T). As I was heading there, no really obvious pattern came to the fore so I opted to head for control T first. Then a hesitation as I couldn't decide to do the rest T > R > Q > P > S then run through the open land near the finish to the final mandatory control 27, but in the end decided the woods looked great headed T > S and the hills no so steep that I had to walk them completely (walked parts), then back to R - no regrets though T > R > S might have saved some distance but using the powerline corner going S > R made the navigation trivial and the woods were very runnable, so happy enough. Quick run down to Q and then a straight shot from there to P, then the mandatory #27 and in to the finish in a bit over 2 hours.

I think if I hadn't had those route planning hesitations, second-guesses, and if I had planned an efficient loop for the first window rather than trying to score a bonus, then perhaps I could have been around 2 hours. But very happy with my result and feeling reasonably strong through the whole course even though it was about twice my usual orienteering distance...

And then an hour or so catching up with friends, then Steve, JJ & I hit the road for the long haul back to New England.

Thanks to QOC for hosting this and to J-J for tossing it out there. Glad I went...

Not feeling any compulsions to get out and run. Save it for tomorrow..

Moving more pellets into the basement, only half a ton plus had help, so this was pretty quick and painless..

Walk to the lake w/ Anna & Jackson. Easily a couple thousand Canada Geese making use of open water. Probably some ducks in the mix too, but too far distant to make out what kind of birds were on the backside. The nearest group of geese was probably 400m out...

Had to say goodbye to Oscar today. Going to miss that gray furball...

C • Sad to hear that. That's a ... 3

Didn't feel up to running tonight, but sucked it up and into the preciptating dark I went. Small group tonight, kept it real easy. HR is a total farce so moved 28 minutes of level 5 to level 2

Too nice out. So snuck out for a walk...

Still nice out when I got home, so popped on the new 3/4 tights from Alpkit and zipped down the road. Hard for 5km, then backed off the final 1000m back to the house.

Tights are a bit snug, but seem ok. Sort of feel like compression tights but aren't. And a hell of a lot cheaper than tights available stateside, even with the shipping from Sweden.