LIFE AND TRAINING LEAD-UP
Tuesday, Mar 1:
Went to Legion Brewing with my sister after work. My first time there. We wanted / I wanted to try something new. My faces look funny. Maybe I was tired from Sea to Sea.
Wednesday, Mar 2:
SRT "ROD" 30 min mostly BW AMRAP, which was good for testing the waters and have active recovery. Followed it up with the 9/14/2021 RuckWOD in 17 min with a 30#R and 40#SB.
Thursday, Mar 3:
Beer and bocce at home...
Friday, Mar 4:
Sugar Creek Brewing...
Checked out the CLT Rail Trail Lights exhibit for this year...
Sycamore Brewing with their nice outdoor area...
KINGS MOUNTAIN NATIONAL MILITARY PARK O-MEET
I've rucked here a few times before, so I know some basics about the area. When I walk there, I imagine what it was like there a couple hundred years ago, when men were fighting for their independence on that very ground.
We started at an amphitheater, and on the bench, I made my route plan.
I started on a trail and pace counted to a turn-off point, and then turned off trail to end at a creek where CP1 could be found at a "cliff".
I didn't have to cross the water, and found a side path along the bank of the water, that led me to the main battlefield loop. Inside the loop, we weren't allowed to go, since that's sacred historic land, but the paved path of the loop was fair game, so I ran along it for 150m before finding my turn off point. It shows up as a trail on the map. If you were just walking by it, you wouldn't have realized that it was an official trail, though. I had never noticed any side trails like that in my previous visits, or else I might've ventured down them. I soon went left along an intersecting trail. I found myself crossing a little stream, before catching myself a few yards later, realizing that my route did not have me crossing a stream. Instead, I needed to hug my original side of the stream until I got to another trail, and take that trail for a short distance before turning off again to grab CP2. Overall, this movement went pretty nicely, according to plan.
The next leg was pretty straightforward because there was a path that you could take, without adding a ton of extra distance, and it would make for faster movement with less navigation risk. When I hit a road, which ended up being dirt road, I could restart my pace count to know when to turn off. There were actually a couple of route choices that different teams took. I took the path and then turned off to drop down in elevation onto the point. I saw other teams somewhat follow the natural slope of the land towards the point. I was also running this, or slow jogging it, so I couldn't really use speed as a comparison on how well one technique worked vs the other. One nice thing about winter orienteering is that you can see a lot farther than you can in the summer, when vegetation blocks your views.
I was excited about my success thus far, but then as I got back to the top of the ridge where the trail was, I realized that I hadn't started shooting my azimuth from the CP, so I had to descend back down to CP3 to start walking the bearing from there. I hit a road, and then continued on to the point, which was slightly more to the right than I expected, but it was close. Looking back, I hadn't measured the distances, either, but the road was a clear backstop, and the point wasn't too far beyond that.
For the next point, there was a straight line between you, a road intersection, and CP5. It was therefore a quick run to the intersection, and then you could just keep going to find the next point. Another pretty quick and successful grab!
The next point didn't have nearby paths like the others did, but there were opportunities to do some terrain association, in addition to shooting as azimuth. I'd first pass a little hill to my right, followed by a bigger hill to my left.
The journey to the next point was interesting. I unintentionally did not follow the plan that I had drawn. I used some incorrect number (I think it was the bearing for the next leg) and followed that bearing, and I soon realized that I was not where I had intended to go. This happened because a couple of legs on the map looked very similar, so I got confused about which leg I was on... something that had been an issue for me at my first O-meet as well. Ideally, I'd mark off each point on the map as I find it.
Now, I was on some trail, and had to figure out where I had ended up. I saw some people, and I was on a trail, so it wasn't scary. I just had to figure it out. Terrain association came in handy, because I recognized a hill in the physical world that had to be a certain hill that I saw on the map, and knew where I was now. I had ended up buschwhacking instead of taking the trail like I had originally planned on doing. It was more direct, I suppose, but I lost time pulling out the protractor and figuring out where I was. It was a silly mistake, but I was proud of myself for recovering from it.
The next point was actually kind of challenging on the face of it, because coming from the direction of CP7, CP8 was somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Looking back, one strategy would've been to go past CP8 and hit a backstop and approach from an attack point from there. My strategy, however, was to use vegetation association and bearings. Vegetation association is somewhat required anyways because you want easier travel, and travel that's less likely to throw obstacles in your way, that would end up throwing off your bearings. It worked out nicely for me, though, and I was excited to find it pretty easily.
From there, I just had to go a bit further to hit trail, and then I could follow the trail back to the start. I covered about 5K. It was my best placement yet! It's hard to know if I'm getting better, or if it was an easier course.
GUN RUN NIGHT MATCH @ VODTAC
It was another Orienteering + GunRun Night Match Double-header for me. SB wasn't able to come this time.
I drove out to VODTAC. I wasn't running last this time, so I didn't have quite as much time between the 6:30pm safety brief and my 8:54 run time, but it was enough for me to rush out to Black Mountain Bistro, whose service wasn't great because they seem to have forgotten about me and didn't take my order until I went back to the hostess to ask again, and rush back. Running on a full stomach, particularly with fish, may not work for everyone, but I can manage. Going out was appealing because when it's cold, the idea of warm food is nice, although I ate outside, and there wasn't a heating element near me. Again, not the best dining experience there, despite the good rating that this restaurant had.
Stage 1:
At stage 1, we had a CQB-ish setup again, but everyone used rifle this time, instead of having a choice (I would've chosen rifle, anyways). Hit cardboard targets, 2 hits each. Don't shoot the good guys. I tend to go a little slow on this, because I'm not absolutely sure in the light if I hit, without taking a moment to look closely while on the clock. I passed, though, along with 42/47 participants.
Stage 2:
We ran back out the entrance of the facility, and around a garage and onto a trail, where the next stage was. We used rifle to shoot 3 hits at a time on two targets, going near target, far, near, far. I had light issues the whole time. I was using my Estonia Reference LMT with a ModLite. I had hoped that even after the issues at Night Rifle, that me screwing the light head on even tighter would help, but it didn't. I had to try to jiggle the light back to working condition throughout the stage. I would've fared been better if this had been a no light stage, since I wouldn't have to rely on my terrible light. I passed just in the nick of time with 84/90 seconds, though, along with 42/47 participants.
Stage 3:
This was quite involved and left little room for error. It was pistol only. Shot 2 each on 2 circles, then turn to the right and shoot 2 shoots at a diamond. Then, run up to the diamond and shoot 2 each on circles that were further down. Carry the dummy back, and shoot the diamond again but off-hand. Then, carry the dummy back. I ran out of time. Only 15/47 passed this stage.
Stage 4:
This was another challenging stage, the long distance stage. Take rifle shots on 2 targets with 2 hits each at about 75m. Run up to the two targets, and shoot at 3 more targets even farther away (100m), 2 hits each. I had rifle light issues and timed out while I was working on the second one.
If I had gotten those 3 targets, I would've still had to run closer and shoot at those three with pistol, 2 hits each. There was some smoke from the gun, but it wasn't really an issue, especially in comparison to the light issues. Only 3/47 passed.
Stage 5:
We ran along the side of a hill, same trail as last time's, back to the main range bay area.
This was again similar to the last stage from last time. It was all pistol. Go around the berm, and make 2 hits each on circle targets. Run left and stop, and make 2 hits on a target. Run further, and shoot 2 hits each at 2 more targets. 46/47 passed. It was easier than the course of fire that we had to do last time, for sure.
These events sure are fun! I need to figure out my light, though. I ended up contacting Modlite, and they sent me replacement parts, but they actually seemed to be more jiggly than the originals. I'm giving up on Modlite for now.
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