Training Log Archive: Mr Wonderful

Event: SMOC Highland Recreation Area
 

Isolated point that I probably could have done yesterday...visible from road but only if you were looking.

Meet notes:

At least with this facility, I should have applied earlier. While the 1-9 worked out better, a few other things suffered.

Despite my previous meets having a sum total of ~5 white course participants, today had more whitish type demand and with the venue change...and then loss of the eastern 1/3rd to construction, I lost some good white level stuff. I should have moved the start to the circle lot immediately south, which had better white loops. But since I was already behind on the permitting, I was trying to minimize change. Hopefully I didn't permanently deter a few whitish customers who had their hands full with the yellower points.

I should probably detail the registration process better for the next mass start - as, please check in by XX:XX, meet for briefing 5 minutes before. But with the small group and thankfully noting the time on the finish box after they left, it should be close enough.

Only 1.5 flag placements had any complaints.



Mary said it was not in the right one, no big deal, and then walked away. Wha?? When I streamered it, I walked to the two small erosion gullies approaching from the south, then went to the big one. Waller checked it, no complaints. When I dropped the flag I walked to it from the east, big one, two little ones. The only weird thing was the gps track shows my position as farther east than the circle, but this is a non lidar map and maybe a wee warped....also I see in setting the one on the peninsula the Garmin is showing considerable drift. (why?) So I figured map = master no worries. It would have been interesting to get more detail on her assessment.

The only one that I know was incorrectly clue sheeted was one where the triangle trail junction is not a triangle anymore, but it would be hard to screw up if you were there.

Someone asked about #10 red. It was certainly in the circle per gps, and hung high and in an open spot of that reentrant. And was vetted. So hopefully there abouts. I tried to be very fussy about where I was sitting relative to the ends of the spur and hill nearby.

#10 was too obvious of a skip. For any future goat events, I'll try to start planning earlier and make them less obvious, perhaps with outside paper course consultation.

And it turns out the biggest downside to a goat with a 53 minute winning time is that many of the finest control picker uppers are very understandably not always available to wait around 2.5 hours for the last score o person to trickle in. :) Rick and Dennis were superstars and picked up 18! of the 24. Awesome!!

C • Nice! Mass start at a local... 12

The yellow type points

Last two points near base camp + road sign

Take down of the GO and a game-cammed score point near the start.

Successful pickup. Rick graciously covered the two most remote points. I headed out for the NW cluster, with an eye to find the dropped compass- success! Right where the lady guessed.

I forgot my brace today, but I was okay running around a bit. Maybe it is recovering!

Whoops, too busy makin' courses to grab the new Purple Pen...which lets you drop in an image. Nuts! I would have used that for the north arrow and distance between line markers. And SMOC logos. Etc. Should be fun in the future anyway.

I thought I could set faster. But I fuss quite a bit with the final control tie up. Very nice out there today!

A bottom of heal blister? Wha? I've done this or nearly so before barefoot. Hopefully I keep my feet dry again setting or else it better not pop.

Possible unintentional rest day - sick. :( Hopefully it blows over soon.

C • Sometimes unintentional res... 1

Intentional rest day

Furious lawn care to at least clean up the front to avoid a lynch mob.

Surprise, I left late. I dropped the hammer. Perhaps too hard, as I suffered the rest of the night. But when I was hammering...the speed...it felt like flying.

Hopefully my legs stand up to Friday, tempo, Saturday, long scout, Sunday, race + pickup, and then this energy-sapping Badlands jog. I was last to finish!

Cooling down to transition back to bikes.

Cooper wanted a hard ride, and I hadn't yet realized I had misjudged time, so I chased him around Blue, then I got massive chain suck/stuck, so I told him to press on, finally caught him again before the split, but realized the time and he continued on to do Green while I bailed at Riverbend and headed for home, beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

Event: SMOC Chilson
 

Fastest on Red by weight.

1 - minor bobble leaving the start and then trying to get around the swamp, then it felt like I should follow the swamp more but I shouldn't have.
2 - Biggest oops. In hindsight, going up then turning left at the depression and following the dot ditch reentrant in would be better. Now sure why I drift so far east other than the running was easy. Then I passed by the circle, and someone thought the trail was a ride, then saw the swamp and "aw hell no" so I very slowly followed that black dot line back to the hill.
3 - pushed around a little by downed trees, then could not figure out which reentrant was which. Used the pine circle to check the right reentrant finally.
4. My favorite leg. That level of busyness suits me - enough to have something to work with, not so much you can't keep it together
5. Maybe on line was better, but I was on the ridge and saw the trail, so I used that and then all of the kids punching it to help.
6. Considered straight, but after #2 went with a solid trail based approach. Fun leg.
7. Exit imperfect, but fun to chase Wyatt and Barbra down the ridge/spur, then misjudged which trail, but figured it out. Didn't see 9, whoops.
8. Had been drifting right, so when I was at the bottom of the e marsh, I elected to check to my left to find the flag Mark had lowered.
9. Old familiar grounds, fun bit off the trail, nice woods
10. Slow mostly on bearing
11. Slow mostly on bearing
12. Impression was that I saw the flag too early, but I checked the code and let 'er rip
13. Initial impression was that trail was obvious, but I deferred climb and went north, hopped the fence, then ran over the hill (channeling Thierry's full speed no mistakes), short cut the swamp
F - Finishing kick through green stripe? Then I tripped when I busted out of the woods, but I had furious speed on the grass. Fast enough? Garmin claims I neared 14 mph (4:20 pace), have to see AP's take.

C • I too wondered about an alt... 5

Still screwed up #3 on pickup! Same mistake too, missing north not finding the right reentrant, and then using the pine to adjust. The orange point on the hill was good fun, such nice woods there.

Brace prevent rolls, but makes my ankle roll inward a bit, which doesn't feel that great, maybe I can adjust it a little.

C • Brace 1

With daughter on trike w/ dog #2 in basket. I used bungies to secure her feet, but I think clipless (with low or no float) may be better. Also, shorter cranks.