Training Log Archive: Wyatt

NAOC Middle Distance Champs

Had looked at maps a bit, and talked a bit ('awful', people said), but was not prepared to navigate cleanly in this terrain.

First few were okay, but then got really thrown off by some possibly unmapped distinct vegetation enroute to a veg. attackpoint, and swirled around quite a bit - -3min., and caught by Ross & Will C. At which point I (stupidly) went into chase-them mode - which was fun for 2 controls, and 5 minutes, until I lost them en-route on the hardest leg. Then they came back toward me a minute later, apparently searching, and the next several minutes went on for an eternity - guess & checking several locations - while watching probably 8-12 other national team suits doing the same thing...

Recovered at a lake I thought was a field, on the map when I through I was off...

Jogged it in as cleanly as I could after that 9 minute loss, as training for the Long.

Warm-up enforced by walk to start - and some more there in the woods on the warm-up map (thx!), and then even some cooldown in the parking lot after seeing Kseniya & Greg doing that.. :)

Middle - Course 10 - Splits

Event: NAOC2014 (North American Champs/Ottawa O-Fest)
 

The usual set, in the evening. Not much was hurting before - though some weakness in the R-leg, esp. hip flexor 1-2 weeks ago - suggests I shouldn't forget this routine...

R-IT is a bit sore after- but that's tolerable and better than the general knee achiness, and hip-flexor issues that sometimes arise.

Which reminds me, the L-IT was pretty pinchy during the Sat. run and after - apparently I did the sleep funny thing on Fri. night that resets the hip bone resting points in the rare opposite position. I wonder if I'll ever learn to reset that on demand, to shift the IT pain around... ;)

Event: DVOA Rodney Scout Reservation
 

Decent warm-up, though in pieces, walking kids toward their start, and actually 10 sec. late to my start given my over-parenting...

And a slow but several minute cooldown after a long finish chute battle with Nik (that I lost) left my hamstrings tweaky.

US Champs Middle Distance - again 6th US.

Nik Duca caught me early (2 min) but I hadn't fully realized he was on my course, so didn't use him as we went back forth after that.

Overall, I'm again a bit disappointed with my speed vs. the leaders - even after Nik caught me...

Best and worst

#12 - 89.2 - To road, along road, and stayed on a bit longer than most, judging distance from paved road to cut up at a bit sharper than 45 degree angle - nice straight shot in, knowing I couldn't miss it given the field behind it. Was slowly passing some reasonably fast older guy as some incentive apparently.

#8 - 87.4 - Contouring out, and realizing I needed to climb up the spur, and the various traffic in the area - incl. Nik just ahead at that point, helped confirm.

#18 - 86.3 - Took the spur-on-line down - good gentle use of climb - and recognized the need to bank right at the trail junction before cutting out cleanly to the field. Trying (successfully) to hold off Nik (right behind me) on this one.

... now the worst....

#4 - 62.5 - Drifted a bit right around vegetation, and, post-creek was looking wide left/right and saw it way below me. Given the vagueness of the terrain en-route, should've either followed the bearing better, or better tracked how far right of bearing I'd gone, such that I could correct after the creek.

#6 - 65.2 - Contoured/dropped a bit, seeing creek bend and thinking I was on track to firmly relocate at #2 - which I didn't see - and then the attempt to drift/climb toward never spotted the ponds, eventually, slowly, correcting left/up enough - much more than expected to a eventual spur. Should've better held to bearing on way out - contouring out w/drift downhill was quite wasteful and set up a low/confused traverse. On the line, the first stream bends, followed by the steep edge above 2 would've kept me on track.

Middle Blue - Splits