Training Log Archive: barb

time is a guess - can´t even remember from yesterday, but it was pretty bad. in retrospecct, there was some slightly distracting interaction with other people at the start so the value of this run is getting me to develop a strategy around people distraction.

also suffered from very little warmup - about 40 min walking before the start.

walkl up mountain behind folgaria with dave

Said goodbye to DeWitts & Walkers - looking forward to some future adventure together...

Had a really delicious and fun dinner with Katia´s family Alessio, Daria, Giuseppe, Ilaria, Federico, and Giovanni´s father Renato. We had at least three desserts (cake, then rum-soaked fruit, then ice cream - and all of that followed the cheese course). Plenty of vino and some espresso, and talking late into the night from our outdoor dining table with a view (Katia´s house) so a very solid ABCD.

Here is Giuseppe making polenta on his wood stove:




And other photos of the evening:


Renato and Dave.


Yum.


Alessio, Daria, Dave, me, Renato, Federico, and Ilaria.

Walk toward the start. Felt great. Not having wine last night was a good idea. Also had some coffee this morning at breakfast. Felt quite perky. Lovely walk, same as yesterday afternoon but backwards. There are rabbits in the town park along with all the other animals. I spoke with an older lady when I passed her house in Perpruneri. ... past beehives, wild rhubarb, the woodcutter's cart. Mostly open meadow the first half, and wooded the second half. Fortunately, Daniela, Luca and Alessandro picked me up just before I was to enter the O map. I thought it would be OK to take this trail because yesterday's courses did not come near it, and it is mostly steep and green and on the edge of the map. However, it was good that I did not take it because at the very end it passed near the controls near the finish. I met Daniela (also W45) a few days ago; we were neck and neck going into today's race. She visited the US and ran on some HVO maps in May 2003 when it was unseasonably cold.

It's recorded as 1.06.something, but they started me a minute late (big rush getting to the start; went on the late line; they pushed me through), so really 1.05.something.

Felt pretty good about this run most of the way, and then messed up two controls near the end pretty badly. In retrospect, the messups happened right after a kid tried talking to me in Italian and then English, and I was using most of my brain cycles trying to understand him and communicate back. Also took a pretty significant fall just after talking with him. Bummer.

Here is the amazing Andrea, who did a phenomenal job organizing the meet:



Just found out that Andrea is the brother of Sabrina, who is the girlfriend of Francesco, who is the brother of Giovanni! (We met them all.)

Route. Lots of steep uphill on the way back. Took a break to eat a snack on a bench with a great view of nearly my whole walk to that point. And mountains in the background, and small Italian hill towns with steeples. Went real slow especially on the uphills - guess I was tired.

JWOC 2009 is going to be in the Dolomites (near where I am now) which is pretty cool - and there will be an associated 5-day meet there for the rest of us! http://www.jwoc2009.it/

The flies haven't bothered me on my hikes now that I stay off the roads. But on Day 2 there were some in the woods while I was orienteering. At one point, the buzzing suddenly got more intense and deeper, and I looked to my right, and saw a ton of bees exiting a hole in the ground, all mad. I shouted, "WAAAAAAAAH!", really loud, I guess that is what I do when I am startled by a swarm of angry bees. No consonants (like, say, F or K). And I ran really fast. No stings. Should look to see what my time was on that leg relative to everyone else. After that, I was startled by every fresh cowpie buzzing with flies. And slightly nervous passing the row of beehives on my hike to and from the events on Days 3 and 4.





Lyn Walker says she once was following George through the woods and he jumped over a log housing some yellowjackets and she got stung quite a lot and they followed her for quite a ways. Don't want to be #2 around a hive.

It is so fun traveling with the Walkers and the DeWitts!! Not that that has anything to do with being in or around a hive.

To the pickup point (didn't walk all the way to the event center in order to avoid going on the map).
Then home to Folgaria after orienteering.
I was pretty tired today. I feel a little down in the mornings.
I tried not having caffeine yesterday (the coffee is so GOOD it is hard to resist), but still felt low this a.m.
So today I am going to skip the vino at dinner, and see how that affects the mood domani.
I can think of at least four other issues that could be responsible, but they're all more psychological. Like still being in mourning over the loss of the SF training log.
But otherwise, it is lovely here. Scenery on the hikes is amazing. Hung out with Dave in town this afternoon and played gin rummy while people watching.
I like hiking on my own. There are very very few other people on the trails; I have them to myself for the most part - quite a contrast to the crowds at the O meet. I start each morning by walking past the enclosed park housing duck and geese and hens and a rooster and peacocks and peahens and goats - many with babies. The peacock screams follow me all the way to the church around a few bends and up a hill. Then through meadows to the "biotopo", and along the golf course to the high point, the pass. Some of the trails on the map are easy to find and some are just not. I do a little off-trail correction each time I try a new route. It is good rogaine practice because it is a 1:25000 map.

C • Via Ferrata 3

Not sure of the seconds. This was a horrible race. I made at least 6 errors. So I'm psyched that I was still sub-15 minutes per k, which used to be hard for me to do.
On the way to 1, I chose a bad route, ran into some cliffs and dawdled figuring out how to get around them. Then I missed the control and took a little while to figure out where it was.
On the way to 2, I stopped one trail too early.
To 5, I turned in too early at the field and got really confused - many minutes lost.
To 7 I chose a bad route and got stuck by some fortress remains.
To 13 I went way off to the left following people, and hesitated a lot while recovering.
To 14 I made a 180 error when I hit a trail.
Bleah.
I had one of the first starts so for a brief moment I was 2nd, and they actually announced it, which was rather hilarious given the total suckiness of the run.

Pictures from the hike to the start of Day 3:



Near Day 5 finish (though I didn't realize it yet!). It's early: 7 am.




Note golf course on left.


Here is where I waited a few minutes for the rest of the group to pick me up so I could avoid walking on Day 3 map.


If you look carefully in the round mirror (you can click on the photo to enlarge), you can see...


... me taking the picture!

Really really cool hike in the Dolomites with Dave and Katia's family (Mom Daria, Dad Giuseppe, and brother Alessio). It was raining pretty hard when we started, but stopped when we got to the first refugio. It was still foggy, but that cleared up when we got to the top (refugio Alberto, around 2600 m). Amazing views with fog here and there below us and sometimes socking us in again. Then clear for the hike back down to the first refugio where we got hot drinks and while we were inside, it started *snowing*!!!

Dave and I were a bit wimpy about going further, because of the weather, our lack of good clothing and just being cautious about not getting too tired...

Photos (click each photo for bigger view):


It was raining when we started. Everyone was pretty happy anyway.


First part of our hike - we are heading to the rifugio that is a little bump on a hill in the middle of the photo.


From that rifugio, we headed up into the steep gap.


The sun came out.


There was a great view from the top.


Fields and towns far below.


Looking back the way we came, to the upper rifugio (Alberto)


And the view down from Alberto to the lower rifugio.


Starting to look stormy again.


So we stop in the rifugio for some hot drinks - and it starts to snow outside!

C • Hey, another fine run. I don't... 1

1 hr to pickup location on way to event.
1/2 hr or so to start
2 hrs hike back to Folgaria.
More to say but there is a Q for computer.

Sights on the hike to and from the event:





This trail is on Day 5 map. Would like to post map smidgen if I get around to it. Many of the pictures are on one of the O maps, and all are on 1:50k and 1:25k maps, natch.


There are lots of ski slopes and lifts - and new building of roads and clearing of ski slopes - which is kind of sad given that winter seems to visit the area with an awfully light touch these days. But the cows don't mind.


The gang picked me up part way along my route so that I would not have to walk through the competition area, nor along the Road of the Flies.




On the walk home, I came across a lovely picnic area with a fountain made of hollowed out logs of various sizes to make channels - reminiscent of the Oregon hot springs plumbing.


Sometimes there were signs on the trails, and sometimes there weren't. Mountain biking is big around here.


Typical house; this one is in Tezzeli, halfway up the biggest hillside.


View from above Tezzeli. (Click to enlarge.) That red car is the one I want. My route to Days 3 and 4 goes down into that valley, along a stream, and then around the big spur coming in on the right. Part of the competition area for those days is visible in the photo; it's the darker hill on the right middle distance.

Event: Trento 5-Day
 

approximate time. To event from hotel. took a longer path to avoid possibility of walking in out of bounds area, so was on the road for a while. flies were bothersome. Not biting but flying around, buzzing and sometimes bumping into me. I thought a lot about marketing products like the blue tape hat. how about "ByeFly" for a company name? Eventually I found a stick and put my hat on it and that made things a lot better.

not sure if i got the seconds right. pretty clean run, for me. Some hestitations. Finished 13th out of 46, above the fold!

C • Yeah! 2

At the food tent after the races.




The park near our hotel has a bunch of animals.

Folgaria - Francolini - Rifugio Stella d'Italia - Coe, then on the example O map. Dave, Lyn and George drove, walked on the map, and then we all drove home together after having vin and panini on the terrazzo.

My face is having one of those allergic reactions, I think to the sun. Not just sunburn, and sunblock doesn't prevent it. Very red and uncomfortable; looks similar to a bad burn. Last time this happened I was determined to see a doctor but by the time i could, it was better.

The DeWitts arrived this evening. Katia's parents found us at the hotel and we made plans for a hike in the Dolomites for Wednesday.

C • Face 4