Training Log Archive: Mr Wonderful

Event: Adventure Rage
 

This is why I like orienteering - just so much cool stuff on this course - from saddles lined with boulders/cliffs to marshes that didn't even get your feet wet, to huge terrain, to zero scratches!

I am pretty sure La Baguette was the tiny Canadian woman who destroyed me up the creek I took to my #7. She moves so fast and just flew up the hill, relentlessly forward.

Igor caught me shortly after 6, but I had nothing to chase him with. Any spurts of power to conquer boulders were a huge hit - I took a few breaks esp. on the leg to 7.

Mistakes:

Lazily headed to #6, read cliffs wrong, took wrong spur, which I quickly corrected. In my defense, I wanted a spur with a marsh behind it, and this also had it!

I exactly did my intended route to #7, right up until I hit the bare rock right by it, then I went on a nice scavenger hunt, couldn't place myself, eventually found....JJ? more or less recovering the same way I wanted to try.

Slightly helped on 8 by a USA team looking person, just as I was going to hesitate a bit, he got it.

Otherwise okay, just so beat that I was very sluggish to 10.

At times, I could read the map and terrain with perfect clarity. A few times...no, not so much at all.

Fun day other than the fitness!!

EDIT: Thanks watch for missing half the race. Kudos! Anyone selling a 305 with a good battery?

C • Sounds like a good weekend ... 3

Long - Red X - Splits

Event: North American Orienteering Championships 2016
 

After a glorious morning sleeping without an alarm, we went to the middle. I was 30 minutes ahead of Igor start-time wise, so I headed up.

A bad omen was that I was a little confused by the warmup controls...this cannot be a good sign. Seems like that should have told me: take it easy, concentrate!

tl;dr dumb mistakes @ three c = 20 minutes

Well it started well.

Until #4, where I somehow drifted over to the wrong cliff, then lost three minutes relocating...yeee argh.

Then it went mostly alright (other than wobbling a little) until 11, where I should have taken the high trail, ended up on the low trail, and misread the clearings vs trails vs who knows what....plus five minutes yeee argh.

Then I got my mojo back, and did well until 14. I picked what looked to be a climb-minimized route to #15, and then I executed it terribly. I somehow lost count of which trail was which, then ended up going the wrong way, then went back down the hill, finally relocated using a yellow or white control ARGH and then make a sloppy but effective assault on 15, sloppy in the sense that I more or less got there from that yellow c, but not without shooting a bearing to the start tent and using that to correct in the circle.

Somehow I was super slow to 18, although it didn't feel like it. Then I ran the last few on pure hate and didn't lose any more time to Igor.

I didn't realize it was a no punch finish, so I hesitated for a quarter of a second in the chute, managing to make that the 3rd finish chute I've done imperfectly.

Kind of not pleased, feel dumb, being in last place in M40 and all. I may just go "all out" (whatever that means in my current configuration) to see if I can't lose less than six minutes to my roomie.

C • Strong finish! 2

Middle - Red X - Splits

Sampled the model terrain....very slowly and deliberately.... It was not my finest performance but I think I had the hang of it by the end.

I have now been within 5 m of the master! He was talking to someone near our parking spot.

C • Good luck today! 2

Slowly took in rocky-by-my-standards long model. Boulders that would be signature features on a SMOC map don't even rate inclusion. After a while I started to get the hang of what would make the map and what wouldn't, and got some insight into things I should and shouldn't use to get around (trails were solid and findable...marshes were harder to discern for me).

Woods were quite open, although footing will be a challenge. Hopefully I don't roll anything and wish I'd brought a brace!

I saw the master starting off! Just as I was getting back.

AP thought I was walking. :(((

Dropped car off for oil change, jogged easy home.

That is not a very long bike ride.

No parking on job fair week