Training Log Archive: Kseniya

Was not feeling it today either, body not cooperating.

Event: WCOC - MTBO Huntington State Park
 

An old course on Lewis Morris map, which was a very bad idea. should have gone to CT instead.. Nothing went well today, map outdated, area just way too green, the thorny kind, raspberry and barberry, and the most annoying little prickly things that stick to your clothing. I didn't mind those things stuck to me at first, but damn did they irritate/scraped my skin that it burned like crazy. Mind and body also not in the game, left foot and ankle throbbing, too soon to orienteer on it I'm afraid. The only solace was the majestic beauty of the fall-colored leaves. Conclusion is that Lewis Morris, like a fine painting, is enjoyed best from few meters away, i.e. from the trail.

On side note, there are some nice open forest hills here that would be good for forest intervals and hill work-outs. Should plan this for the future.

Eagle Rock trail run, fartlek style, haven't done one of these in a while so was great fun. I especially tried to speed up when I wasn't comfortable, on some downhills for ex. Average intensity would be around 3.

Visited my friend, Compass, who is now buried here :(

Ankle and knee are feeling surprisingly OK. It seems I sprained the ankle higher than previous injuries on the same ankle, which makes sense because the reason for this roll is that I purposely did not tie my shoe laces tight so the shoe was loose, and on that uneven terrain an ankle roll would be expected. The reason for the loose tying of the shoe is b/c I've been getting severe arch pains, esp. on the left foot when orienteering. It doesn't seem like plantar fasciitis, maybe the shoes.. The good thing is that the ankle itself is fine, as it should be, strength and balance exercises do indeed work.
Today I went over to the chilly track, warmed up a mile, stretched well, then ran a mile at a tempo or maybe slightly lower pace, 8:39, which is slow, but for the beginning of my training season, I don't mind. Cooled down a mile and ran home in the dark.

It hasn't really sunk in yet that I actually won the US champs, seems unreal.

Reflections on this weekend's O races:
I'm no good at post-race analysis of my own performance besides the immediate general feeling of how well I did in comparison to my "ideal" self. As part of my training goals I will be trying to work on this part, both in a qualitative and quantitative fashion.
For now just some meaninglessly meaningful meandering:
Based on my splits the major thing that stands out is the consistency. Slow and steady. No major mistakes, no getting lost (opposite of how I feel in my life right now).
My style of orienteering is based on intuition and trusting my inner compass. Up to this year the trust part was always lacking confidence. My typical mistakes in the past were almost always due to doubt, not inability. This weekend reinforced the changes I've been going through and the payoff in constantly working on oneself. Even in areas where I didn't know where I was I trusted that I was on the right track. Oh.. the analogies to life again. The uncertainty of life journey is bringing certainty to my orienteering. If that's a start, I'll take it!
I was able to take risks (Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанское!), especially on the second day. The first day I just took it real slow, read more details than was necessary and was very safe. Second time around I decided to try a different strategy, one I have not really employed in the past. I'm still unsure whether it was successful or not but I am glad I tried it. In the detailed section of the map I just took a general bearing towards a prominent feature and tried to locate and attack once I was there. This was new to me because I'm so used to always knowing where I am (control freak much?) and so naturally I hesitated in certain spots, but overall it seemed to work. Will need to practice this approach in training.
I would say the biggest success to me out of these races was the ability to focus on the map throughout pretty much the whole time, something I definitely have had difficulties with in the past. If my mind drifted (only once did a song get stuck in my head and it was Miley Cirus so it was easy to snap out of) I would bring it back consciously and without serious effort. It certainly helped that the map required 100% focus. It is much easier to drift when the course and the terrain are easier.
Hopefully, this 'focused-go-slow-yet-take-risks-in-the-face-of-uncertainty" orienteering approach will feed back into my life.. it probably already has.

C • bearing towards a prominent feature and attack once there... 2