MNOC Valentines Day Orienteering Meet

After Clark and I competed in the Lake Elmo meet, I was asked if I would set the next meet for the club.  I took the class on setting/vetting last spring, but the opportunity to exercise those skills hadn't materialized.  This small venue with only one course would be the perfect opportunity to gain the insight that was the motivation for going to the course in the first place.  While orienteering during an event, I find that I am taking in as much information as possible to assist my navigating to a control.  This is probably about 25% of the information digested by the elites and I am searching for methods to increase my awareness.  Having the opportunity to analyze each control at a snails pace provides unique insights into both the map details and terrain features.  Finding the exact location on the ground that you placed a control circle on a map is a lot different than running to the approximate area, sighting the control and never taking in the exact features of the area.  Unless the control was poorly placed, the orienteer is mentally moving out of the area as soon as they arrive.  I was determined not to get feedback on poor control placement.  What did I notice?  Seasonal conditions can change your control location.  The north side of a boulder doesn't work well if the boulder is covered in snow...  A better appreciation for white, light green and dark green forests.  

I was happy that the team chose to come out and participate.  Chris, Clark and Will ran the full 90 minute Score-O.  Paula and Chris' wife Emily assisted with registration and organization.  They even got on the map for 30 minutes and collected 5 controls while the rest of the club huffed and puffed through the 18" of snow.  Chris' take on the event follows:

On Valentine’s Day I ran in my first score-O.  Prior to this race, my experience with orienteering has been from adventure races and non-competitive activities.  I went into the race with low expectations and appreciated the opportunity to work on my fast-pace navigation skills.

The race was 90 minutes and set at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake.  I actually grew up in WBL and went to elementary school across the street from Tamarack.  I don’t think that being familiar with Tamarack gave me any sort of advantage but I’m sure it made me a little more comfortable going into the race. Between the location and the fact that Pete set the course, I had a comfortable entry into MNOC events.

The snow on the course was fairly deep and made for a drastic difference between speed on trail and speed off trail.  We were given two maps of the course.  Each map had a different set of CPs but were similar in number of CPs and the area they covered; we could start on either map and switch them out whenever we wanted during the race.  I didn’t put too much thought into which map I used first.

I really don’t have too much to say about the race itself.  I felt good about my navigation; I always knew where I was and never had to spend extra time looking for a CP.  I was able to run most of the time except some of the times I was off-trail.  This course was pretty manageable with just the map but I did use my compass a few times to attack distant points or confirm my location.  The only thing I question is the route I choose.  I managed to get 22 CPs while 5 or 6 others found up to 27 CPs. I doubt that the difference has much to do with running speed but rather, the route taken.  In talking with other racers (who each got 27) I noticed that they ran a much more direct loop than my zig-zag pattern.  

Finally, a few quick notes about my gear.  My Icebreaker gear rocked, of course.  I got to use my new Moscow thumb compass and I loved it.  The needle is fast when turning and stable even when running.  I ran the race in my snowshoes and was one of the few who did.  They were really helpful off-trail but may have slowed me down overall.  If I hadn’t been wearing them I probably would have changed my route a bit.

Overall, I had a great day and got some great experience.

POCAR 2010

Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Racing traveled to Southern Indiana for the 2nd year in a row to participate in the Purdue Outing Club's Annual Adventure Race, POCAR.  Held in the Hoosier National Forest, the same rugged terrain as the previous year, we knew we were in for a good, hard race.  We were excited for our first event of 2010 and also to have our new Icebreaker clothing to keep us warm.  Icebreaker makes the best, in my opinion, merino wool athletic wear on the market.  The best looking also.  With unpredictable weather, we were thrilled to be prepared for any condition.

For the purpose of this narrative, we have relabeled the control points, CP's, numerically in the order we visited them.  Teams were given the option of visiting the controls on their current leg in any order.  The controls were named, b-28, u4, etc.  It seems easier for you to follow if we just label them numerically.  We had some GPS data logger issue early in the event, which sorted itself out on the way to CP2.  The random path around the start and CP1 doesn't depict our course, the rest is accurate though.

The competition starts with a portion of the teams gaining entry to the race HQ to begin plotting the control locations.  Teams are assigned one of three start times and given 25 minutes to get their work done.  Then it is off to the races.  We decided to take a safe attack point to the first control CP1, getting our feet wet, and headed up the main road.  We found our attack point and dove in to the woods.  We came in to the spur a little too far west, subjecting us to a climb that wasn't necessary.  So much for taking a safe attack point.

CP2 was in a location that we had difficulty with the prior year.  An area with multiple reentrants, we jumped too soon and ended up too far east this time.  Deja' vu?  We hoped, because we got things on track after this area in 2009.

Mass starts to an adventure race always create a train of teams.  Why search for a control when you can follow a team?  Although we didn't exactly put on a stellar navigation display to the first two controls, we are an experienced team with some competence.  We don't like to follow, because the team you are following is often more likely to get you lost than to the control you are looking for.  This is especially true early on, before the lead teams distance themselves.  As we meandered towards CP3, we picked up the pace, hoping to shed a few teams in the area.

TMMAR finishes 2nd in POCAR

Friends and followers, we will have a real blog post coming in the near future that details our POCAR experience.  For now, I will leave you with some rough stats and a video, produced by the Purdue student newspaper, with TMMAR featured in two separate spots.

Stats:

• MN 1-2 Finish  (Good friends and fellow AR Junkies joined us at POCAR this year.  Congrats to the Rainbow Unicorns!!)
• Approximately 40 miles of trekking/orienteering
• 7500' of elevation gain
• 50 Teams
• TMMAR earns the unofficial "Best Dressed" category for their new Icebreaker kit.

MNOC Lake Elmo Score-O

The mind numbing exercise that occurs on trainers and treadmills takes it’s toll on us all during the winter.  It’s always great to pry yourself from the warm confines of your home to get back outside and enjoy Mother Nature.  So Pete and I participated in the MNOC Score-O at Lake Elmo.  Pete and I needed some time to work together as a team to prepare for POCAR.

It was a cold day with a temp of 10.0 °F at the start of the race.  Pete and I both navigated the course together.  We bounced ideas off each other very well thru out the race.  We ran the whole course, most of the time thru shin deep snow. 

Our nav was good for the whole course to hit each point.  We could have made a few better route choices.  For example early in the race we choose to take a short cut by running across a lake.  It was a great choice.  The wind had blown much of the snow off the lake making it a very easy run and saved a lot of energy and time.  Later in the race we made the same choice to run across a lake but this time the lake was in a much deeper valley and so was the snow.  The wind didn’t blow any snow off the lake.  It was almost knee deep in spots.   It cost us at least 5 minutes.

We came in with 8 minutes to spare.  With the extra five (making 13 minutes) we might have been able to eek out another point.  Shoulda woulda coulda.  Can’t hang your hat on that!  Pete and I came fourth with 20 points in 1:22.  It felt great to get out and see some great vistas, exercise, and share good times with friends.

-- Clark

Team Midwest Mountaineering: Now appearing in Icebreaker GT!

Those of you that know me well, know that I am obsessive about my Icebreaker apparel.  I was introduced to the clothing while in New Zealand, getting my first exposure to Adventure Racing almost three years ago.  Seagate Technology sent me there as part of a corporate team building exercise.  I left New Zealand with a new passion for life, a higher level of commitment and respect for my employer and co-workers, a new sport, and a handful of awesome wool shirts from Icebreaker, courtesy of Seagate.  My unfortunate travelling companion Darsi had to listen to me prattle on about AR and Icebreaker for two weeks as we toured the incredible landscape that is New Zealand.

Since I returned, I have continued to grow my collection of Merino Wool Icebreakers to include a coat, hats, socks, baselayers and of course more shirts.  It really is cool in the heat and warm in the cold.  I exercise, lounge, and even sleep in Icebreaker clothing.  I have friends making special stops on their New Zealand vacations to take pictures with me in mind.  Thanks Tara!

A chance meeting in the Icebreaker section at Midwest Mountaineering, while shopping for a new team jersey leads us to this announcement.  Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Racing will now be wearing Icebreaker GT clothing.  We are very excited for our new kit and the chance to give Icebreaker some feedback as we run, bike, kayak, rappel, bushwhack and scramble our way through the 2010 season.

TMMAR Commits to the Fat Otter Raid!

Team Fat Otter is putting on a Raid this spring and Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Race is going to attend.  Forms are sent in, check is cut, just need to train and prep.  What is a RAID?  Good question.  My research didn't reveal anything definitive, but my intuition tells me it is the international term for an expedition length adventure race.  Although not used much here, it is pervasive enough that equipment manufacturers place the Raid word in some of their product names, such as the Salomon Raid Revo.

We visited Wisconsin for another event last summer, the Sweaty Otter, also put on by Fat Otter racing.  This event is as close as an event this length has ever been to home, Black River Falls Wisconsin.

The details:
20-23 May, 2010
4 Person (Pete, Will, Chris and Paula W.)
Teams are allowed 2 totes for gear, all other items must be carried.  No support crew is allowed.

We have always wanted to do a race longer than 24 hours.  They are difficult just to get to the starting line.  Logistics, team commits, expense and travel all create issues.  Thank you Team Fat Otter, for putting on an expedition style race so close to home.  We are pumped!

POCAR Prep

Team Midwest Mountaineering has been busy training in this harsh Minnesota winter.  Cold weather and snow has made training difficult, but we have still managed some 3 hour outdoor runs, weight training, yoga, XC skiing and other cross training activities.  Why?  POCAR.  The Purdue Outing Club has been organizing an Adventure Race for a number of years.  They host a collegiate and an open division with team sizes between four and six members.  Not wanting to go small on the only event they host, they go for multi-day, allowing 48 hours for teams to complete the course.  Your prize, a patch for finishing.  It doesn't seem like much, but not many earn the patch.

48 hours is enough time to see large temperature and weather swings.  You have to be prepared for anything that can happen.  Last year, the Midwest Mountaineering finished in twenty hours.  Trekking up and down hills, for 40 miles, most of it in the dark.  We can't plan on 20 hours this year.  You don't know what the combination of course and weather will bring.  Train for the worse case scenario.  Pack for the worse case scenario.  Mentally prep for the worse case scenario.

Last year was not without issues.  Forty miles on frozen ground is hard on the feet.  William went with borrowed shoes and still bemoans that decision.  We opted not to carry trekking poles, but will probably carry them this year.  Paula opted not to whine, even though the bottom of her feet earned her the right too.  The right to whine, not to quit.  Last year was a victory for Team Midwest Mountaineering.  Not because we were the fastest or best prepared, but because we were persistent.  We kept going when the front runners bailed.

More to come when we return.  Wish us luck.  Post a comment!