TRAINING LEAD-UP
Sunday, Nov 23:
I finally had a free day to go out and do some MTB training. "Training" is too strong of a word, though... I'm just trying to get more acclimated to biking, to gain confidence and more ease with it. I did the concourses at Airline Park... it's a cool spot that I had heard about before but never visited. It's close to where I live, which is great. I eventually found the entrance to their "Kitty Hawk" green trail and rode that 2x, before riding out to see Big Pete the troll again. I finished with another loop on "Kitty Hawk". I covered 8 miles in 1:36:03.
I still had some daylight afterwards, so I went out to Pharr Yarns Family Trail and rucked 5 miles in 1:35:22.
18A "Upper Body Prep" in 24:32, then "Pull-ups" in 36:31 with my lower-end rep count and even then, it wasn't always pretty, but that's OK, since I haven't done this one in a while. Afterwards, I did 75x 4-ct flutter kicks with a 30#R as a finisher.
Tuesday, Nov 25:
My mom and I went out to the USNWC to check out this year's Winter Lights Trail. It was pretty much like what it's been for the past 2 years... obstacle course-based, instead of nature-themed or balloon-themed. I much preferred the nature-themed ones, and at least the balloons were something unique.
At least the bridge part is still fun. The holiday store is fun to browse through, too.
Wednesday, Nov 26:
I did HDT 35.1.3 (legs) in 49:17 with less weight than last time (unintentionally, since I didn't realize at the time that I had done this one before), but I'm OK with that, since I wanted today to be an easier day.
I added in a 1 mi ruck with a 30# rucker plus a 60# sandbag in MACV1s afterwards, since I wanted some cardio.
Thursday, Nov 27:
I did a 10.6 mile trail run at Latta Nature Preserve in Brooks Mazamas in 2:59:27 (16:56/mi) with 149bpm average HR... high given the HR for some reason, despite hte cool temps. I went by feel this time instead of being glued to my watch and trying to average at 125-130bpm.
When we were at USNWC, we found out that they had some Highland Cows who were visiting. They would be put away at night, so we didn't get to see them then. After an unsuccessful attempt at going to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving Dinner (the line was very long), we stopped by the USNWC to try seeing the cows again. This time, we were successful.
ASHEVILLE TROLL TRIP
While most of Dambo's trolls are permanent installations (at least until they naturally deteriorate to the point where they must be decommissioned), there are a few traveling exhibits. One of them happened to be in Asheville, just as permanent ones in NC were coming online. These traveling ones would only be here until Feb 2026, and I have very few weekends where I don't have events, so I had to take the first opportunity to see them. I planned another impromptu trip with my mom.
We drove out on Friday so that we could see the trolls at the NC Arboretum first thing Saturday morning, before the noon crowds got there.
Friday, Nov 28:
We started with a hike at Catawba Falls, which I had previously visited with Kevin. We took it easy, but it was still quite a bit of walking. The walk to the lower falls isn't bad, but after the stairs and a little bit of continued uphill, the walk down can be a lot. I used a 30# rucker v2 and wore MACV2 8"s. We did these 4.5 miles in 2:21:56.
Afterwards, on our way towards Asheville, after eating breakfast sandwiches my mom had made at home, we stopped by the Folk Art Center, which my mom hadn't seen in years.
We checked in at our hotel and then went out to get Cava for dinner.
Saturday, Nov 29:
The day of the troll hunt had arrived! This traveling exhibit is called "Trolls - A Field Study". It's clever because it's not about us hunting trolls and studying them... it's about the trolls finding and studying humans. There are 12 of them.
I had visited the arboretum once before, coming across it somewhat by accident, on foot during a run. You only have to pay for parking to get in, so if you get in through the trails in the back, you can go for free. At the visitor center, you can either get a little paper map or scan a QR code to be more environmentally friendly.
Wilde - “pose while I draw you for my book of strange beasts”.
After picking up our map, the Visitor Center rep recommended that we go upstairs to start our loop around the troll trail.
Taks was next, looking for humans.
Taks - “Real treasure’s not gold. Just look about and you’ll discover much more exciting things!”
We found Valle after that, taking a nap. Their feet are very cute.
Valle - “Snoore…UH! I was having a relaxing dream about dung beetles. Close your eyes and try out nature with your other senses.”
Bignut had a clever trap.
Bignut - “Little huuuuuman, come heeeeerre. I want to catch you just for a minute so you can look around and marvel at nature.”
Lilnut was also catching humans. I liked how animated he seemed.
Lilnut - “Can I catch you in my net? I won’t eat you - I only catch and release (like you should too if you find an interesting insect).”
Boge caught one and was carefully inspecting it.
Boge - “Come here little human! I’m collecting interesting things about nature.”
Kirse played with another one.
Kirse - “Look around, clever human! What could you copy from nature’s design? A leaf roof, a spider bridge, or a shell shield?”
Poppy was puzzled by how attached the humans were to the little metal devices.
Poppy - “I thought these pocket stars would be delicious as you humans love them so much, but they’re all bitter and crunchy…” 
Hasse likes to explore the world of humans from different angles.
Hasse - “You look good this way up. Try sneaking up on nature from new angles. Look upside down. Roll down a hill. Make friends with a bug.”
Birch compared the humans' height to those of other creatures, with his measuring stick.
Birch - “Nature is bigger and smaller than I thought.”
Larke explores the objects that humans use.
Larke - “ just pretend I’m not here and I’ll watch while you turn trash into treasure! Shhhhh… I stay still so I don’t scare off anyone feeding the earth with compost magic.”
Anja uses rocks by the pond to count people.
Anya - “ I’m finding out so much crazy stuff about human folk!”
We did one quick loop around, to get ahead of the crowds and to have a little more alone time with each troll.
After that, we did a second loop, to take more time appreciating all the little details on the trolls and at the arboretum itself.
The troll map did present an interesting navigation challenge. I did go the long way around to see Poppy on my first go-around. The road to Hasse was made a little more challenging by some trail closures, but I went in the general direction that I wanted to go and found him.
After our second loop, we looked around at the greenhouse, before deciding to call it a weekend and go back home. We had done a lot already. We briefly considered going to a brewery but when it's cold out, that's less tempting.
The Troll Trip was a success!
When I got back home, I still had some time to squeeze in a bike ride, so I went back out to Airline Bike Park and saw my 13th troll for the day, Big Pete (again). When I sent my mom the photo, she thought that it was a re-send of a previous pic. She later realized that I had gone out again and said I was crazy, haha.
I rode some of the concourse as a warmup, then I did Kitty Hawk 2x, then I saw Pete, then I rode Kitty Hawk 2 more times before the sun set. I was out for 1:22:11.
Sunday, Nov 30:
Later, I did Glute and Pec PT v2 in 24:41, followed by HDT 30.6.2 (arms) in 43:30.
USPSA DECEMBER BLACKSTONE FIRST MONDAY MATCH
My last USPSA match had been in August. I hadn't signed up for another one since I was focused on other things, like prepping for the HH. When you're in the habit of doing something, it's easy to stick with it, but when you get out of the habit, it can be a little tougher to restart.
In the scheme of things, USPSA is pretty low key and easy to fit in, because it's on a weekday evening. Still, though, the mental aspect of having another thing to plan for can add up. I did have a heavy event schedule during the fall.
Stage 2: <Virginia Count>
- Start seated facing downrange, gun unloaded, all mags on the belt
- On the beep, shoot
> 2 turtles with 2 shots each from the left box
> 2 turtles with 2 shots each from the right box
> 4 turtles with 2 shots each from the middle box
> 2 turtles with 2 shots each from the front box, behind the barrels
Learnings/Outcomes: 6/8 Div, 23/30 Overall
- 13A, 7C in 24.90 = 3.4538% HF
- I remembered to chamber initially, which is good.
- I remembered to reload only towards the end of my run to the middle box
- I chose to go to the left box first, since the middle box's opening was to the right, so I wanted to end on the back right before running up
- I pushed the speed on shooting from the middle box, maybe a bit too much
- I thought through my pre-stage process ahead of the match, which is good
- I reviewed the A-zones for the turtles, too
- I wasn't nervous, despite it having been a few months since my last USPSA match
- I. used my new Wilder Tactical minimalist belt for the first time, and it was good
Stage 1: <Comstock>
- Start loaded and holstered with feet on XX's
- Shoot
> 2 IPSC on left corner of left box
> 3 (or 1) IPSC from right corner of left box
> 4 (or 6) IPSC from right box
Learnings/Outcomes: 4/8 Div, 20/30 Overall
- 16A, 2C in 18.50 = 4.6486% HF
- Within an array, my strategy was to go left->right since that equated to far->near, and I'd rather throttle up than down
- Others went R->L on the shooting positions for the most part, but I went L->R because it's easier for me to run that way while keeping my weapon pointed downrange
- Others shot more targets from the right box, but I chose to lean a little to get t hem from the middle... the lean wasn't too bad, and it made the targets closer.
- I was fine with my strategy and stuck with the same positions in stage 3 as well.
Stage 3: <Comstock>
- Start loaded and holstered, facing uprange, with feet on XX's
- Shoot
> 2 IPSC 2X from left corner of the left box
> 3 (or 1) IPSCs and 1 head shot from the right corner of the left box
> 4 (or 6) IPSCs from the right box
Learnings/Outcomes: 6/8 Div, 23/30 Overall
- 15A, 5C in 23.59 = 3.8152% HF
- I had been setting up my pistol mag holder bungee to make it the right tightness between my turns shooting and accidentally left the bungees on before this stage, so it took me some extra steps to reload my mag, but from the video, it doesn't look like I really lost any time, but "d'oh!"
- Took my time on the head shot
- Ended up shooting the close target first from the left corner of the left box after drawing, since I could get to it immediately and maximize shooting time... it looked good on video, and I still throttled appropriately, it sounded like
- I ended up going R->L on the right box too, for some reason... maybe it felt like it saved time to start shooting sooner, but who knows what's best.
- I went first for my squad, but it was fine, since we had just done this stage's twin
- I noticed that a pro-looking shooter kind of had a 45 degree forward bend on their upper body the whole time during his stage
- This was my first time encountering a black painted target... it means that shooting the black part doesn't count as a no-shoot... it's like it's not even there.
Stage 4: <Comstock>
- Start loaded and holstered, hands above shoulders, facing uprange
- On the beep, shoot
> 2 turtles 2x each from the left box
> 2 turtles with 2 shots each from the right box
> 4 turtles with 2 shots each from the middle box
> 4 turtles with 2 shots each from the front box, behind the barrels
Learnings/Outcomes: 5/8 Div, 21/30 Overall
- 22A, 2C in 26.48 = 4.3807% HF
- Felt pretty good
- Point shooting works at 2 feet
- Remembered to reload at the right time this time
Overall: 5/8Div, 23/30 Overall
- I'm glad I felt good and comfortable despite having a break from USPSA... glad to get back into it, too... it's fun!
- I remembered to review the stage process ahead of time, checking shooting areas, looking for upside-down targets, counting targets and reloads, planning for shooting positions in the boxes, deciding on target sequences within arrays, throttling appropriately, deciding where to change mags, determining when I need to load and chamber, and starting with bent knees
- I experimented with shooting small targets first vs last
- On video, my muzzle rise looked decent with the ported CZP10C
- I felt like I was looking at my sights every time except for during the array of 4 at 2 feet, which is good
- I felt like I had OK footwork... I intentionally stepped on wood for the corner leaning spot
- I experimented with drawing and shooting on approach for closer targets
- I didn't end up shooting extras with Comstock stages today... I only briefly considered it once, but my chance was long gone movement-wise by the time I noticed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment