Sunday, December 07, 2003

The Trot...the good, the bad, the ugly

posted by Michael Eglinski

I ran The Possum Trot today. Take a look a the first part of the course and the second.

The Good

While I wouldn't say I ran strong, I didn't run too terribly either. Comparing splits with Nadim showed me that I managed to hold a reasonable pace until the last 2 km or so. I've got a long way to go before I'd say I was in good form, but I'm stronger than I was a couple of months ago.

I was strong enough at the end. I caught Eric Buckley (who's recovering from a broken foot) with less than 2 km to go. I didn't have much left, but I had enough to keep jogging and not let Eric by. On the trail to 25 I was hurting. If Eric had passed me, I might have just let him go. While I've got chances to improve my fitness a lot, I have to be glad I didn't give up and let Eric beat me.

The event was a lot of fun. The Trot is always one of the year's highlights.

The Bad

I blew the decision on which controls to skip. I skipped 9 and 12. The best options were either 3 and 4 (Mikell Platt's choice) or 11 and 12 (the course setter, Mike Shifman's favorite).

Skipping 9 was almost a spur of the moment decision. It wasn't a good decision.

I navigated passively -- running and reading the features I'd come to (as opposed to knowing where I was going). I can't be satisfied with how I orienteered.

The Ugly

Running down the hill between 18 and 19 I put my right foot in a hole and "tweaked" my right knee. I finished, but not with out some difficulty. The knee feels a little unstable and sore. I suppose it is a light strain of a ligament.