Training Log Archive: matzah ball

nice ' i like to run' run thru local parks and cemeteries. felt strong, lethargy dispelled somewhat by pre-run snack of raisins, chocolate, chocolate soy milk and cliff bar, lighter weight running shoes, and warmup on basement steps so cold air shock wouldn't put a damper on things.

stretch and flex

half hearted a.m. stretch

local errands hauling trailer most of the time. took me a while to find the right clothes for the temps.

up to nursing home into n wind, along watson road - more climb, less distance, back same way

flex drill

too exhausted to make the cx race, but after eating and sleeping all day, managed enough energy to run over to friends. 16 out, 3 hours later 17 back. Running feels a little forced and out of tune. Time to rev it up again. About time too - gained 3-4 pounds over the last several weeks.

Sigh. So after two weeks my upper respiratory infection seems to have subsided. Felt it coming in the train trip out, and dissipating on the train trip back.

am yoga salutes, then running drills. It happened again - I was all warmed up to run at the next stop and then we were delayed. Hard to get going again.

But I did since this was going to be the only opportunity. Minneapolis/St. Paul. Looks like they are building a new train station downtown just east of the glorified Amshack? And why does their riverfront have dozens of excursion and paddle boats and other signs of life while ours had so little?

stretch and flex after run. Then several strength and ab sessions during the course of the day. I wonder what people thought of this solitary runner on the platforms and the guy doing the abs on the floor by his seat. I had a zippy reply ready 'i want to be like jack lalanne' - but nobody asked. My hope as always is to inspire somebody to quit smoking, exercise more, etc. Besides, absolutely neccesary to keep from going STIR CRAZY on the train for two days.

salutes, leg swings, etc.

warmup drills in the observation car which thankfully was almost empty this early in the am. then running on the train platform in Whitefish, Montana.

cooldown - strength drills, pushups, planks, pullups on the observation car stair wall - got to find your niche on the train.

Two a days! Hah. Running on the train platform in Havre, Montana. Did you know that northern Montana is about 600 miles long. And the scenery at Glacier Park is spectacular.

Then had 3 microwaved potatoes I had packed from Grants pass. Happy thanksgiving! Pretty pathetic trip timing - but then everything else was out of sync. Plenty to be thankful for though. Read Abe Lincolns original thanksgiving proclamation in the paper. all about how we as a country should be as thankful and reverential to God as we are as individuals. The public realm sure has changed, but the private one may not have changed at all.

Sister and hubby left 4am in the morning, so I had a day to myself. Rode up to pass at near 5000'. Less snow than the other day, but still parked bike when road snowed over. Had this been an all day outing over the mountains, I would have pushed on.

30 paces run, 30 paces hike - all uphill on this lonely wind and rain swept road in the snowy, misty pine covered mountains.

got to the edge of the USGS quadrangle and could see the roads winding through the mountains on the other side and beyond. Continuing would have entailed going down considerably and then coming back up the other way, beyond my limit for the day, so turned around and ran back downhill. Some leg muscles were not accustomed to this mode of running , so I tried to stay in the thicker snow to ease the downhill shock.

Not including the 15 minutes of 'gripmaster' on the initial steepest downhills. I remember thinking, ' if these brakes lost what stopping power they currently have (not enough!), that would be very very bad.' Then I looked down at the front brakes and saw that they were worn paper thin! The rear brakes saw a lot more action from that point on.

Would this be a great place to live from a training standpoint? Pretty great bike climbs or trail runs in solitary (though I understand that changes in the summer) mountain terrain are 20 to 30 minute rides away, and lead to virtually unlimited mileage in wilderness. So it may sound like nit-picking to wonder if the same approach trade routes would get old, or if the fact that the not terribly interesting city of Grants Pass is 45 minutes away by bike over busy two lane highways would get to be annoying. Those seem to be the trade-offs in the area. Assuming car use, I could see how one could be tempted to drive more and more to get further and further away, since the southern oregon/northern california region is so full of wonderful places. And then central califronia and northern washington are so tempting - and 7 hour drives away. So it doesn't quite seem settled as a place that would be its own destination.

still sick - really put a major crimp in this trip

up, up to snow line (near sitters new house in grants pass, oregon)
then down -gripmaster for a few minutes then mellow ring

hike up blm road until snow depth and bear tracks got annoying, got a good look at the snow covered mountains and pine forests

downhill from high point of hike

still sick but felt like i had to get out. felt pretty horrible tho

sick

sick

woke up at 3 am and broke camp by the light of the moon. then pedaled mostly uphill, pulling over when the occasional pickup roared by. still dark when i got to nevada city, much better this way. then got on a bus, and it was so seductively easy to keep transferring - i ended up in sacramento 80 miles and $6.50 later! Glad to follow the path of least resistance.

broke camp by the reservoir at dawn. rode downhill enough for my hands to hurt from braking, then climbed steadily up the dirt road though large pines. some near race effort involved, could tell by my breathing. finally got to the top of the ridge. Rode for quite some time along the ridge, thinking DeLorme calls this a main road? Miles of fresh bear tracks in the snow, and the only vehicle tracks looking to be a week old - but Iguessthis is what i cam for. broad pine valleys and jagged peaks.

Then came to a sign that said 'allegheny 13'??? never heard of it, but it was 13 miles to somewhere, which was reassuring given the amount of bear tracks. (I noticed quite a lot of the place names near here were named after animals, like, 'bear creek', 'bear valley', 'wolf creek' etc.) I chose the road at that intersection that looked more direct, had more vehicle tracks, and was in the sun...but the next hour and a half was spent pushing and rolling the bike through slushy unrideable snow.

Then finally, pavement! but the difficulties were not over, since there were many icy snowy stretches, and quite a bit of up and down. the a stop sign, and the intersection of pleistocene and ridge, band i gave out a warwhoop and understood why people completing an ultra or iron man often do so in tears. finally, at 2 pm, i saw the first car.

the next hour and a half, i think i turned the pedals two or three times. what an amazing descent.(not logging) still national forest for the oct parts, but with houses popping up. after reaching the main highway, decided to keep going to see how far i could get. after one big climb, refilled with organic burritos while a customer played stairway to heaven on his guitar. definitely california.

but the highway was narrow, traffic was heinous and fast, i was getting tired, it was uphill and it was getting dark. in desperation i pulled of the side of the road into sort of a highway maintenance pullout, and pitched my tent. very unpleasant falling asleep to the constant roar of pickups just a few feet from my ear, but i felt i had no option at that point. probably a result of not thinking straight.

hike a bike, often harder than it sounds

after i packed aup camp for the night, and got down the road a ways, realized i forgot my helmet. ran back to get it.

nice riding on paved road, then 2 mile climb up muddy slushy dirt road, at which point i turned back, deciding this was not the road for me. back to main road, which shortly after became very snow filled and icy, making for some challenging riding. not really sure about the time but who cares anyway.

after Mass, got off main highway asap. had gotten cold on train, want feeling very well

pushing bike up a long snowy hill that I became convinced was not my route and turned back

more yoga on train

strength, salute flex on train, some running on platform to warm up

nice maintenance run in wilmore park

stretch and flex drill, getting 'tired' of doing these, but I know they are the minimum essential stuff i need to keep from getting injured

am stretch

meeting @ benton park

draggin up to the nursing home, and some errands on the way

rode to shrewsbury station, got off at FP station, rode north on Skinker - blasting with south wind at my back. Where the heck is st. charles rock road - oh wait a second, they call it MLK here. Back, against the wind, and several hills. Enough of a race warmup.

Guessing on time. I was in C race, got 9th, felt good to get top ten. Jeff Sona was 4th, and Dave Frei did very well in the B race - 10th! Got my usual slow start, and passed a lot of people. Just before the race my shifting was horrible, I was ready to go home, in desperation i twisted the cable adjuster...and it worked! I kept thinking about that during the race, and how fortutnate i was to be racing at all. Beth, I thought I heard you cheering but when I looked for you i didnt see you?

brick run around park after race and to cheer B race on - nice extended park areas.

Rode home with my pack w/ race wheels strapped to it. Slow but it hurt so it gets the intensity 3.

wilmore park, with some strides at the end.

some yoga to try to unwind my back/ribs/shoulder inersection which I apparently racked up sleeping on rocks and lugging heavy packs.

and the usual post run drills.

nursing home, rei/tj loop - back with heavy pack

printers

am stretch

drop off some vegetables i picked last night, then lab for blood test - to see if b12 is ok.

C • Bubba Cyclocross 5

cemetery hills - it was cold, rainy windy and dark. In other words, great!
Legs had a little spring about halfway thru - i was beginning to get worried.

C • Tough guys like bad weather 2

the usual flex drills

starting to understand prolonged recovery needed after an AR or ultra. (which the last two weekends were, in a way)

legs still sore on any uphill at all.

errands - legs still tired along with the rest of me.