Tracking my wanderlust need to get out of town once a month

Track my O progress here

Today is a milestone day. It is the beginning of my next Big Goal. This year (2001) my training was geared towards the Oringen and Relays. But exactly one year from today, I hope to be standing on the podium at the awards ceremony at the US O Champs.

My goal for 2002: To win a medal in my age group at the US O Champs.

Why this goal? Partly because it is my last year in F35, partly because it is the only year Kris Harrison and Peggy Dickison are not in my age class, and partly because I can do it. Two years ago, I was 8th in F35; this year I was 5th. I can move up to 3rd at least, if I train. I would like to win, of course, but I think that is a hard goal to set for yourself. I could do my absolute best, but still be beaten by a superior runner/orienteer. I can only improve so much in one year.

What do I need to do? I have been analyzing my O results for the past year, and I can see some real improvement. My navigation and decision making skills are better than ever. However, I tend to make mistakes when I am tired; also, my bad O days are when I'm too tired to go where I know I have to go (ie day one BAOC). So, I must work on improving fitness first.

The plan: An initial plan for the next year: first, improve aerobic baseline. Then, increase woods running speed. Finally, translate faster running into faster orienteering.

The beginning: I took some at-home fitness tests today to get my baseline. Surprisingly, I score well on muscle strength (sit ups, push ups, squats) but I'm dismal on aerobic capacity. I've decided to track several metrics, but I'll share only two on Relative Potency: resting heart rate; and step test results (step up and down for 3 minutes; record HR at end of 3 minutes).

The data: resting HR: 70. Step test HR: 123.

Let the new year begin!


posted by Mary 12:36 PM [edit]