Training Log Archive: Nielsen

For this race I decided to start off slower and cleaner since Sats. race started off very poorly. It worked pretty well up until C3 were I got pushed all around by the sea of thorn bushes. I ended up way to the left and had to traverse across, counting gullies until I thought I was in the right spot. I got to the right area but then failed to notice how high on the bank the circle was. Because of this I over ran the control and then eventually got confused as to which set of gullies I was in between. After relocating and realizing that the control circle was not down near the water I found it rather quickly. Needless to say, I lost a great deal of time on this one. The rest of the course went pretty smooth. I forced myself to take it slow and be more cautious of thorn bushes. I think un-runable fields of thorn bushes in the woods should be marked in Blood Red on the map rather than green. Oh and additionally I lost my SportIdent e-punch somewhere between C14 and C15.

On a brighter note I ran the 12K (which was more like 18K with my route choices) at a pace of 12mins per K, which is a 2 min improvement over Sat.

My adventure to C1 is too embarrasing to describe so I wont. C2 was basically a disaster taking more than 16mins ( over ran the control all the way to the river...yup. I'm still amazed I was able to relocate and find the control ). Pretty smooth but slow to C9 were I ended up heading to far right and over running. Then ok until C15 where I decided pricker bushes made for a much better route choice than the trail.

Pretty rough day for me. I think I was moving at around 14mins per kilometer. Not so hot. I tried my best not to get too discouraged.

warm up before race

Ran to try and catch Erin's start after my race. I missed her by 4 min. Then ran back the finish to catch that.

Blue - Splits

Event: Flying Pig IX (US Team Trials)
 

Yes, a "4". Fact is I simply can't navigate well enough to run at a "5" level.

The sprint was fun. I spen 27 secs on the first control because I couldn't find the start triangle. However I think this had more to do with inexperience rather than thin, miss-colored lines. I also started off very slowly, nervous and slightly disoriented until C3. Then I started gaining some confidence and got more of a feel for things. I was as smooth as I can be on most controls after C3, hesitating a bit at the begining of C9 (trying to find best route choice) and making a really silly decision on C10 (bush wacked rather than just following trail in - ended up over running). On C11 I ran the path out around the large area of trees (to the North) and then headed back South, accross the field to the back of the building. Another poor route choice but my split actually didn't suffer quite so much do to it being all open running.

Like I said, it was fun. If orienteering ever becomes a sport that I can be competetive in, I don't think Sprints will be my race. I'd like to think I've got above average leg speed but I think the longer the race the more enjoyment I would have.

Sprint - Splits

yup!

Run in Concord on road and trails. Wet and snowy on the trails but still fun to get off the roads. I wore shorts and was warm enough. Spring might actually be coming.