Training Log Archive: KFish

As of Python yesterday, I hit 1000 foot travel miles in a year, for the first time ever. Hard to believe, seeing as there is still 3 months left in the year!

yoga

Event: NE Ohio Python Rogaine
 

After last year at Python we decided that races over 70F we should split up and go separate, because I just cannot keep up with Syd in the heat. This race was moved up a few weeks, compared to last year, so it was inevitable that it would be a hot one, and it was, topping out at around 81F.

We left at 6am and arrived at 8:20, plenty of time to get our gear prepped for 9 am map hand out. 1 hour to plan, I chose clockwise and syd chose counter clockwise, so we werent likely to see much of each other.

Things started out pretty good, I was slow jogging roads and walking in the woods, and I was more or less alone from the start. Nav was a little sloppy approaching circles, but nothing that was too difficult to overcome. I had a few low points early on: heading to 59 I walked through an extremely tenacious spider web, looked down and had one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen crawling on me, YUCK!. Then on the way to 71 I got stung by a bee in my calf. The pain wasn't terrible, but I did panic a little - I do'nt think I am allergic, but the last time I got stung during a race, things went downhill quickly (That was 6 or 7 stings + heat + benadryl that knocked me out). I lost focus and took a round about way to 71. It was also getting pretty hot around this point. The woods between 71 and 61 were absolute garbage, and I ended up in a wall of thorns at one point.

As I finished the SE corner I saw a water stop availability after 72, so I started drinking judiciously. Then when I got there there was huge event (HS cross country maybe?) going on, and no way I was going to get to the water. It was a long ways to the next water stop. At this point I was over half an hour behind my time estimates, and low on water, so I skipped some 30 pointers to get back on track. I continued running the roads and hopping off for points on the way towards Szalay Farms. I got there around the 5 hour mark and stopped at the store to pick up some cold water, which was great. Then I did the corn maze and headed north. At this point my stomach wasn't feeling great, and I was still recovering water-wise, so I took it easy and walked. My tights were also coated with burs that were really starting to chafe on my legs.

Water + increased snacks + slightly flatter helped me perk up as I did the W side of the map without any real problems. It got really dark when I was at 53, and I thought the storms were going to hit, but a little while later the sun poked out again. It did cool down a little, which I was grateful for. I stopped again for water at 46 and put on my headlamp.

I did 76-56-83 (gps lost satellites for a time here) and then as I headed into Peninsula I evaluated my options. The N route was more points, but also a lot more distance. I think I could have done it, but I chickened out and took the S route for less points. After 57 I intended to get 105-104 and finish, but when I ended up at 58 (my first point) I said screw it and just headed back to the finish. I left some time and a few points on the table, but my legs (skin) was really bothering me with the burs. They went in the trash as irrecoverable.

Overall I am pretty happy with how I did. Not my best performance, but a solid effort especially considering the heat. I did a decent job staying up on snacks, and finally found some snacks that work for me in the heat (primarily pretzels and peanut butter crackers). I don't think I could have kept up with the pace syd set, so it was the right choice to go separate. I do miss racing as partners tho - looking forward to dogman (and hopefully some cooler temps).

6th overall, strong crowd! 49/70 controls. Another excellent addition of Python, thanks the NEOOC for their efforts!

C • direct route from 71 to 61 2

yoga

easy run, beautiful fall day

~20 min strength
~25 min yoga.

Both were pretty arm intensive, I’m pooped.