Oreinteering with the whole family!

We had a great time out at Detweiler Park, north of Peoria on Saturday.  All six of us did the White, beginners, course.  Tammy and I used the O-event to teach the kids planning and organization skills.  We transferred our points to our map, planned our route, and took off.  Each one of our TEAM had the responsibility of finding one of the 7 points. It turned out that one of the most technically difficult points were inadvertently placed onto the "White-Beginner" course.  We looked for it and could not find it.  We decided to let it go, and continue the course. I believe that all of us, from  Mom and Dad down to little Nathan (6yrs old) all learned something about ourselves and team-work.

Lessons learned from 1st "O" event

Here are some lessons we learned from our 1st orienteering event.

•  Keep the punch card and map separate, not in the same water proof bag. 
•  When you first get your punch card, fill in the actual CP numbers for each of the points on the card. That way you don't have to look back at the descriptions every time or get the points confused.
•  As you approach the check point (CP), the navigator can look ahead on the map and determine which direction to leave the CP.  This way, we are not standing at the CP letting everyone else know where the point is and gets us moving in the right direction.
•  Use straight line routes as much as possible.

Brick Workouts

Last night I rode about 12 miles in one hour and immediately followed this up with a fast hike with a 40 lb pack and trekking poles for about 30 minutes. (I forgot to look at my pedometer to see how far I hiked.)  I believe in the endurance racing world they call this a brick workout.  It is when you train in one discipline and switch to another in the same training session.  So for me last night it was Bike + Hike.  I had little to no pain in my right foot from the (PF), which is good sign.  My doctor told me to take Aleve instead of Ibuprofen.  He said that this would be more effect in helping my (PF).   Tammy and I are planning a fall training of three disciplines for an extended time period, say 3-4 hours. Perhaps Canoeing + Hike + Bike. This is only in the planning stages at the moment.

Comlara "O-event" with IRVOC

Tammy and I attended the orienteering  event at Comlara Park, North of Bloomington, IL. We are new members of the Illinois River Valley Orienteering Club. This was our first actual event. It was a lot of fun working as a team and moving from point to point as we planned our route. We did the Yellow Course, which was 15 control points (CP)s.  Our total time was 1hr, 27 min. We were trying to complete the course in 1hr, 30 min. We did it!  We had to run the last point to finish on time. I image we will get faster as we learn to read and interpret the map as we see the features on the ground.  Living the dream!  Curt

Oreinteering Event this Saturday!

Tammy and I are attending our first "O" event. (O is for orienteering for those new to the lingo.) The image to your left of this blog is the standard symbol for a control point on a O-course.  Our whole family is now members of the IRVOC, which stands for Illinois River Valley Orienteering Club. We are looking forward to learning together the in and outs of land navigation.  It really looks like a lot of fun.  Living the dream! Curt

Possible Running Alternative

I am suffering from plantar fasciitis (PF). I have not run any distance at all since mid-July in order to facilitate the healing process.  I have increased my weight training,and biking (which does not seem to bother it). I tried for the first time last night a 15 min hike with rucksack and trekking poles to see if this bothered my PF. It didn't seem to harm it much. I will attempt it again later this week and see how I feel.  Living the dream.  curt

International Control Descriptions

I found a great site for learning the IOF symbols. (www.fortnet.org/icd/index.html) They include the newer symbols for 2010 along with those that have revised usages. If you complete all 9 pages of review, you can take a map skills quiz as well. The quiz reviews the shades on an O-map.  Enjoy.  Living the dream.  Curt

Map Shades?

These color shades are new for me coming from a military map background.  Learning to navigate around and through these shades and features, or better yet, learning to look at the map and look around you and see the map and ground features as one picture will take some time.  Much work to be done.   Curt

Biking on Call!

Tam & I rode last night after work.  I have been riding more often and have a longer endurance then Tam. I pushed her out about 20 minutes, and so we rode only 40 minutes altogether. I rode an additional 20 minutes to make a 1 hour ride.  I go a phone call from my daughter, who likes to call frequently.  I ignored her call when I thought she was calling me for the third time.  I turned out to be my boss, trying to call me in for a sewer back up...oops.  So as soon as I pulled into the house, I got dressed and drove into work.  It was a long night.  Living the dream!  Curt.

Climbing Training

Saturday we spent the day with the kids at Upper Limits. Other than being a little expensive for a family of six, we had a great time.  I went through the "belay class" and belayed the family the entire day.  All the kids did a great job climbing.  I was impressed.  It brought back memories of my climbing days down in the rock quarry below Lisbon, Ohio. We are looking forward to doing some more training out at Upper Limits in the future.
Living the dream!  AR  Curt

Saturday Morning Bike Training

Tam & I do a long ride on Saturday mornings.  Long, that is about 60 minutes.  I know, that may not be long for most, but it is what we can do together as a team. We ride out south of town for 30 minutes (or there abouts) and then ride back.  We spin (high cadence) on the way out, then on the way back we push it for speed. We break at the half way point to stretch and refuel. Tammy commented that she really likes being outdoors together, it reminds her of when we were married with out kids.  How do we leave our kids to ride?  Fortunately, we now have a child that is thirteen, and can watch the rest of the kids. We tell our oldest daughter that we will be riding early in the morning, so if or when the kids get up and we are not around, you know were we are.  I carry my cell phone in a fanny-pack while riding, so they can reach us at anytime. We want to share logistics like this to help others plan workouts.  It can be done!  You can do this even with kids!  Curt (4 Kids Later)

Adventure Racing Team?

Yes!  Tammy and I (Curt) have started training for adventure racing, and have created our own TEAM.  I attended my first sprint event in June of this year (2010).  I had a great time, but realized quickly that I was grossly out of shape.  Tammy and I have been doing our own thing (exercise program) for years.  Now that we have 4 kids, finding time to work out is difficult, and finding time for each other is just as difficult.  So, we decided to train together for a common goal. Tammy and I have always liked hiking, canoeing, and bike riding so Adventure Racing seems to be a good fit for both of us. I will give updates on our training, what we are doing, and how we work it out as a family of six. We want to be an encouragement and example for over-forty parents with kids who may think that Adventure Racing is not possible for them.  Living the Dream!  Curt.