Training Log Archive: jtorranc

Pig Short - it must have been a good race physically because I had errors I estimate in the 30 to 45 second range on controls 1, 4 and 6 and I spent far too long running through green on the way to 10 (probably 10 - I think and hope I accidentally left my maps in Tim Good's car last night) when I could have headed to a trail. Not that I'll get too down on myself - my flow felt pretty good otherwise and I must have been doing most things well in addition to running to come third.

C • maps 2

Blue - Splits

Event: Flying Pig IX (US Team Trials)
 

Pig Sprint - a good race except for a questionable route choice to 11. If I'd noticed how little vegetation there was to punch through on the way to the control on the south side of the dining hall, I would have done so and then taken the trail directly there. As it was, having gone north to the open, I thought it made sense to stay in the open and avoid dropping into and climbing out of the reentrant the trail crossed. That may not have cost me much, although what I thought I was saving my legs for in a sprint race is a bit obscure in retrospect, but I have only my map reading skills to blame for missing that an almost totally direct route was the best option.

Sprint - Splits

The usual 8x100 meter strides, bum kicks, A's, B's and bounding. Actually a little less bounding than usual since I felt a bit tired by the end when I would have done the second set. Not quite two days now to rest up for the Pig Sprint.

Just booked a flight to Seattle to get to Sage Stomp for $203 - significantly lower than Travelocity or Expedia showed for less conveniently timed flights and less than half what Air Canada would charge to get me to Vancouver. I feared Orbitz was going to pull its trick of saying the fare they had displayed wasn't actually available but their web site behaved. And I won't have to go through US Customs in Toronto on the return leg - a big advantage considering Air Canada made me late for my connection coming back from the BCOCs last fall and I was forced to pass back through Canadian customs to get to Air Canada ticketing then line up and spend almost two hours getting through US Customs a second time.

Commute and errand running. I'm pleased to note that my knees survived the GHO training weekend in apparently good shape. I'll do some running on tomorrow to remind my body what that is and then it's off to Cincinnati.

Commute home - can feel the weekend but nowhere near as much as the preceding one. Just as well since my calves were still a little bit sore at the beginning of the GHO Easter Training.

Another night of 24 then early to bed - I'm probably being overly critical now in thinking it should have occurred to them that Habib Marwan was asking to exchange hostages purely as a distraction. Arguably he's established a pattern of each attack providing cover under which preparations for the next attack go unnoticed but that would be a little harder to see without 167 hours between shows plus it would be really inconvenient for the writers to have to deal with ALL the good guys being virtually infallible geniuses.

Training at Hilton Falls West, site of the GLOF 2003 O-Cross. If anything, the snow was slightly deeper than it had been elsewhere all weekend. The pace was consequently slow and there were elephant tracks galore on most legs but this really gave me a chance to practice reading the 2.5 meter contours and anticipating confirmation of what they told me from the visible cliffs and boulders. Very useful, I think, though I'll have to wait until the North Americans to find out how much I've improved since 2003 when it comes to doing this at speed with visibility more constrained by vegetation.

Thanks be unto Sudden, Hammer, Etoile and GHO in general for an excellent weekend of training and bumping shoulders with orienteers and adventure racers - even if I did miss the apparent beginning of an international Trivial Pursuit rivalry.