Back in the UK

I'm home now. It was a great year and I definitely recommend exchanges.

I have my results, averaged 80% over the year which I am very pleased with. The second term was harder but I am still happy with the individual module marks.

I visited Warwick last week to sort out my options for next year. I'm going to have to do a 3rd year module as well as the normal load which is a bit of a pain but I should manage.

Most likely this will be the last proper post. I might add some links if I continue a training diary elsewhere or to the website I have to make for my Exchange Report module.
EDIT - Exchange Report, Training Diary

If anyone actually read this at all, thanks! Hope it was interesting.

If anyone wants to follow my training and racing this will now be on Attack Point
http://www.attackpoint.org/weeklyactivity.jsp/user_4350

Montreal

I'm in Montreal at the moment, in Quebec (French Canada). It's a pretty nice city, been here 4 days now with some guys from Waterloo.

The trip was mainly about the nightlife but we did sample some culture and see some sights.

Olympic Stadium

climbing Mont-Royal

view from Mont Royal

One more night here, on my own since the others left today, then I'm in Toronto for a night before heading home!

Photos

US Middle and Relay Champs

I travelled to Rochester in the USA this weekend for the US Middle and Relay Champs. It wasn't that far, 4 hours drive and is on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

The areas were really nice. Not much on the ground so were fast and had big contour features to navigate by and still detail for fine navigation at the control sites. I was a bit shaky in the middle, taking 48 mins for 5.3 km. Lots of misses. I think I am just a little out of practice. Hopefully the summer evening events can fix that.


There was also a sprint race in the afternoon but I took it easy, wanted to save myself for the relay, and make sure I got it right.



The Relay was much better. My team came 2nd (not counting the non-comp team of two who actually won and each ran two legs - they are both Canadian national team runners), just missing out on winning the USA/Canada Challenge Cup by 90 seconds.
At the US Relays a handicap system is used and each team must have at least 4 points for the premier relay (eg. in our team, M40 (1 point) W40 (3 points) and 2x M21 (no points).
My run, on 3rd leg, was pretty clean but I did mess up by about 2:30 mins at one control by following the wrong re-entrant, stupid. Enjoyed it though.

Maps from Rochester Orienteering Club

Results at http://roc.us.orienteering.org/2008-A-meet/A-meet.main%20page.htm

My exams finished last Wednesday. One was really good, two were decent and one was bad.
Montreal on Thursday.

End of Term

It has been a while since my last post, I have been really busy with projects and lab work leading up to the end of term. Last day of classes was today. I still have a couple of assignments to get done this week and two exams this week!

Couple more exams next week then I have a trip to the US Middle Distance and Relay Champs near Rochester in New York state. After that I am going to Montreal for 4 or 5 days, then I come home.

I did manage to make it to a Sum 41 gig a couple of weeks ago which was fun, and it was the Warrior Sports Banquet, a couple of track/XC socials as well which have been good. The snow has also pretty much melted and it is getting warm. Just need a t-shirt and top now.

It has been a fun term but I will be glad to be back.

Spring!

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring and it seemed like it too. I was woken to birds tweeting for the first time in ages and the snow has begun to melt.

Stars Thomass

Today I ran in my own club's Thomass Race in the Huron Natural Area in south Kitchener. Getting there was orienteering in itself, map memory from Google maps and bus timetable route maps, but when I did get there (after a bus ride and about 3.5 km of running) the course was pretty fun.


A local outdoors shop was sponsoring the race and was offering free use of snow shoes for the course. Since it snowed loads yesterday I thought I'd try them. They certainly helped in the places where I was breaking my own trail but a lot of the course was on paths and they had been deliberately trodden down by the control hangers. I think it was worth trying them, if they had been smaller and lighter they would have been better for running in.


Not sure where I finished, or my time actually, but it will appear at www.orienteering.on.ca and stars.kw.net. I was pretty high up though, most people who beat me benefited from a handicap.

A took a friend from the XC team who wanted to give it a go. I took him out in a Waterloo Park (the XC team training area before the snow) yesterday to give him an idea of what he was doing and today, at his first orienteering event, he won! I must be a good coach. Being a novice his handicap helped as well. He's going to come along to the race next weekend as well.

I am rubbish at shot put

The Track & Field Team had their annual Shot-Put Competition for Non-Shot-Putters yesterday, and I came last, I expected to.

I was happy I managed to throw over 5m though!