Training Log Archive: TyrTom

Nice jog to the start together with Peo Bengtsson and Hans Andersson. Its always interesting to talk to a couple of true orienteering profiles.

Last day of the WOC Festival. H50. Much better run today and terrain that was very nice. Same as the WOC middle final. Still made one 5 minute error, just couldn't figure out up and down on the map. Also one smaller but sloppy error towards the end of the course.

Note 1: Spectating the relays was exciting and another 2 medals for the team, but couldn't really enjoy the day as much as I had liked watching our investment in TV production get ruined by a producer who had no idea what was going on. He had all the tools to make a very exciting production but was more interested in showing hikers, bikini-clad girls and control maintenance.

Note 2: Enjoyed a beer and some conversation with another orienteering profile (j-man) at the end of the day. Very nice!!

C • Swedish tv 1

WOC festival day 5. Started with the long jog to the start which didn't feel too good. Quite dizzy before starting from too little sleep and general tiredness. Once I got going had a 2-3 minute error on no 1, then into probably the worst area of the week. 12-24 inches of slash piled on top of karst rock made for really slow going for the next kilometer. Then a 5 minute mistake on no 5, still haven't figured out how I eventually stumbled onto the control. Then the terrain got a little nicer and I navigated a little better and I decided it as a nice day and life was good again......

Note: Another incredible day for the Swedish team with Helena Janssons gold and Peter Öbergs silver.

IOF VIP/Media race at Le Revard. Needed to do this to clear my head of all sorts of thoughts related to our unsuccessful bid for WOC 2015 and of Grandma. The navigation actually went surprisingly well considering the amount of non-navigational thinking that was going on. Nice multi-tasking exercise. Physically I suffered though, and lots of lactic acid build up in my thighs and calves afterwards. Could it be the elevation?

Lots of memories of Grandma Pearl Hollowell along the way:
How Grandpa always called her Kid,
Catching fireflies and listening to the corn grow on a warm summer evening in the field surrounding their house in Ohio,
The amazing washing machine at the cottage at Pymatuming, where I was allowed to operate the wringer,
The cookie jar which was always full of oatmeal and raisin cookies,
How she could make the most amazing apple and cherry and rhubarb pies without a recipe, the recipe in her fingers,
Patient hours of playing crazy-8s and canasta with us grandkids,
Her face lighting up every time I was able to visit her, unfortunately less and less frequently, up until this final 98th year. I will miss you but I have lots of warm memories, thanks.

WOC Festival day 3. A very bad effort, 2 x 10 min mistakes, first one due to being overconfident in my own capabilities instead of taking the slightly longer but safer route, the second due to not following my plan. In both cases once I was lost, I was really gone. Actually never too far from the controls but lots of mindless wandering. Doesn't work here.

WOC Festival day 2. Had a very good start with good splits on no 1-3. Then a couple of 4-5 minute mistakes to bring me back to the reality of this terrain. OK but slower after that and the ultimate disgrace of a mis-punch. But at least I made it interesting.

Control no 10, hit the trail I was aiming off of perfectly and thought I was skipping across the one reentrant to the next one just as I should have. Kind of strange though that there should be streamer tapes into the control, but sharing a control with the 12 years-old crowd isn't that uncommon. At the control 2 young guys are yelling to their buddy further up the hill "quatre-vingt-dix-sept, quatre-vingt-dix-sept" obviously the control code. So as I'm approaching the control my brain goes into overdrive trying to remember the numbering system I learned in that high-school french class so many years ago. Quatre-vingt-dix-sept, OK that's eh .... 97. So when I punch I am very proud to see a nice 97 printed on the punch unit. The only problem was that the clue sheet on my arm said 72 :-) , and I completely forgot to look at it.

Event: WOC 2011 + O'Festival Savoie Grand Revard
 

Svealandsmästerskapen H50. I hope it is soon forgotten..........