Training Log Archive: tonyf

Looked forward for quite a while to running on the Moreau plateau. So I was not surprised at the difficulty when I turned over the map. But it was not a good day for us glasses wearers; running speed was slow because of the terrain and my glasses fogged early and often in spite of my best anti-fog. However, I can not blame my big mistake on poor visibility. No significant difficulties until # 9, a compass line through relatively bland terrain. I'm sure I crossed the upper part of the reentrant barely north of the line, but then soon came to a control on a two-line marsh. But I could not fins such an obvious feature anywhere near my control. I thought I might be north becasue there was no evidence of the hill or big marsh to the south. I wandered in a loop looking for something that matched up and ended up back at the little marsh. Too stupid to realize that all the runners coming to it were coming from the east, i.e. the start. I bailed south toward the marsh and in about 100 m came across a control that looked suspiciously like mine. It even had the right code on it. Lost about 8 minutes, practically the slowest runner on that leg. Fortunately walk again was 11 seconds behind me so I slipped into an undeserved third M70.

And then, just after finishing, I was walking down the trail with Eileen and Mary-Jo when a pointed rock crashed me instantly flat into the rocky little stream. Compass - not broken, dibber - not broken, no blood, no scrapes, a dent in the mud where my shoulder hit - amazingly I seemed to be all right instead of needing evacuation. Not until a few hours later did my wrist swell and start to ache and become rather useless. I iced and took some Tylenol (no NSAIDs for 48 hours) and wrapped it in a handkerchief and tape. Just a little sprain I hoped.

TrailO started with Kristin and Bridget, but they left early for awards. I jogged the rest, carrying umbrella, pausing briefly at each control and almost guessing at the right choice. No idea how I did.

Middle Brown Y - Splits

Event: 2013 U.S. Individual Championships/Team Trials
 

Sprint Champs. Did not warm up much, maybe 5 min, but felt good; running up the road hill a couple of times got my heart going. Evidently had a good route choice on # 3 up road and behind the buildings - 3rd fastest on course. But lost 50 sec on #6 - through the field SE of power line, then across road to buildings, where I punched a building control before realizing it was not mine. Took road around from #7 to #8. Lost a few seconds at #10 going to the control behind the right-hand building first. All good enough for first M70 by 11 seconds; thanks to walk for having bigger errors.

Sprint Brown - Splits

Dropped Suzanne in Durham, then on to Kristin's.

BIrded my usual Village loop before breakfast. Not much for birds (apparently migration has been exceedingly slow in the northeast the past few days. Eight days of clear skies caused by a persistent omega loop in the jet stream is not helping the birds northward. SO best "bird" was a short-tailed shrew scurrying furiously around somebody's front lawn.

Birch Bend with Suzanne after breakfast. She is improving slowly.

13 control, 2.9 km course on my Tin Mountain map (which may or may not some day be used for an O event). First 6 at 1:5000, rest at 1:10000. The woods are pretty thick and slow and I was off trail much of the time - ticks, black flies, a mouthful of cobweb and beech bud scales, shin scrapes, torn shorts, and a bloody area on left arm - made for fine O run. Started straight from 8 to 10, then wandered way left on a long leg from 10 to 11 - not promising for this weekend. No problem with coughing or breathing so I guess this weekend is a go.

C • What a sport 1

Yet another unintentional "rest" day. This time spent trying not to let a bit of sore throat and cough develop into Suzanne's bronchitis, and telling Kristin I may get too sick to go west this weekend. Too hot to walk.

Mt Tom trail in Fryeburg - new for me. Easy run, with binoculars bouncing so I could bird on top. Nashville and Blackburnian warblers on the way down.

Birding along road at the Mt Tom parking. Lots of new species for this year, including a very early olive-sided flycatcher.

Unexpected rest. Doctors and drugs for Suzanne who apparently has pneumonia. And then an afternoon concert, so no time to run.

Correction - it turns out to be bronchitis, not pneumonia. But it still makes for some wicked bad coughing jags.