Training Log Archive: Spike

I came very close to not running at all. I didn't feel especially motivated and was tired (didn't sleep well last night). But I got myself out the door and jogged a bit.

I spent about 2 minutes watching a coyote on West Campus. The coyote seemed to be hunting in a grassy area. It would walk slowly then stop, stare for a few seconds, and then pounce. As best I could tell, it was hunting but without success.

1

Article about the local grass velodrome:

https://actionimagesphotography.com/the-world-famo...

C • velodrome 3

We'd planned a trip to do some exploring. But that was before we saw the forecast. We changed our plan and did a hike at Baker Wetlands for a couple of hours. The roads were ok but there was a mix of rain, sleet and some freezing rain while we walked. It was nice to be out at a popular area for a couple of hours without meeting anyone else.

2.5 hours of mapping by the river. There are some very nice woods in this little area. I need a good name for the map.

Also, I found a bike in a tree in the woods.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJW-6FAgQrO/?igshid=9v...

C • bike 10

When I was running yesterday I wondered why I'd ended the map where I did. The terrain further downstream looked ok. I decided that I'd map another few hundred meters of the forest downstream.

I'm pretty sure the reason I stopped the map where I did was convenience. To add another couple hundred meters of map, I need to use four different 5x5 Km lidar tiles.

I'm downloading those tiles and will generate a little base map.

Running with a break for 90 minutes of field checking. I'm working on a little map of the area of West Campus that is west of Ulrik's Hill. The area is mostly open fields on a hillside. Tree lines and clumps of trees break up the fields. The woods are trash - really junky with lots of bush honeysuckle. I'm mapping the woods as all green and not drawing any details in the woods.

1

Mary and I went down to the riverfront park (aka the old city dump). She ran a course on the KP + a little O' map. I just jogged around looking at things and running in the woods.

Running meant slowly jogging with occasional stops to look at something or rest a bit.

I saw more people out there than I ever have. I jogged around on the sand bar and spotted 9 other people on the sand bar. That's 4.5x more than I've ever seen before. I guess the warm weather (60F, sun and little wind) brought people out.

I didn't have much luck looking for bones on the sand bar. I found a bit of a rib and a bit of something else (maybe the end of a leg bone). Running - even slowly - on the sand is tiring.

Fun...but not so nice how tired my legs felt.

2

Jogged on West Campus. I felt a bit out of it for the first 20 minutes. Then I felt fine.

I shuffled around on the grassy hillside west of Ulrik's Hill. It occurs to me that I ought to crank out a quick map (KP + a few additions) of that part of West Campus. It isn't especially interesting or useful, but no reason it shouldn't be mapped.

I also put a little Xmas 2020 UsynligO course up. If you're around Lawrence and want a short and easy sprint course on a new map, check it out. It starts at the sand volleyball court on the west side of the Holcom Rec Center.

1

Shuffling around. I'd planned to run more, but just wasn't feeling like it.

Shuffled through a draft course on the new Holcom map. I noticed a couple of things that needed to be tweaked. When I got home I fixed them.

I'll set up an UsynligO course on the new map and send it out today or tomorrow - a small Christmas course for orienteers in Lawrence.

1

Taking a few days vacation...so no more work until next Wednesday.

I went for a short walk at the end of the day. It was windy (22 mph with gusts to 37) and chilly (30F). It felt like winter. It should feel like winter. That was nice.

Ugh. The days are getting longer. I did almost 30 minutes of my run before I needed to turn on my headlamp.

It was warm today. I was a bit overdressed. It isn't right for December to be this warm.

End of rant.

1

MTB on pavement and some gravel.

I felt like a change of pace from my usual route. I spent some time on the Lawrence Loop and some time on roads near the Baker Wetlands. Fun.

I got the layers and gloves just right.

1

35 minutes of orienteering TV coverage from 1968:

https://youtu.be/KjyA7TD3h8g

The original broadcast was 3.5 hours and live. That must have been a chore to watch.

The race was south of Linköping in Östergötland. I don't think I ever ran in that forest (my memory is that there weren't maps there when I was in Linköping. But I ran in some nearby terrain. It was fun and tough, if I remember right.

You can find the original maps here:

https://o-zeugs.blogspot.com/2013/09/woc-1968.html...

Jogging on West Campus. I spent some time on the fields west of Ulrik's Hill. I saw someone biking on a bit of a tractor path through the fields.

Nice day and kept the pace and effort slow and easy until the last 3 minutes. The last 3 minutes was slow but not easy.

1

The usual jog on West Campus. I got going as quickly as possible after work. That meant I only needed my headlamp the last 15-20 minutes.

My legs felt good. That's unusual, but nice.

Home in time to watch the KU basketball game.

1

I had some trouble sleeping last night. I'm a bit worn out and sleepy. So no exercise (it wouldn't have been much anyways).

That leaves even more time to make dinner....black bean burgers.

C • Great minds... 2

It was suggested that the drone I found might have a name/address/number in the battery compartment. Or maybe a SD card with some video on it. So tonight I decided to go back and check.

I couldn't find it. Either it wasn't where I thought or someone found it. Both seem unlikely. It was off the main trail and not very visible unless you looked for it. The main trail gets little traffic. Maybe it was more visible than I realized. Or maybe I'm wrong about where it was.

The jog was fine. I took it easy. It took almost 20 minutes before my hands felt warm. Warmer gloves would have been nice.

1

MTB on pavement, levee and river trail. That's the order of riding, but the actual breakdown of time (most to least) is single track river trail (~50 percent), pavement (~40 percent) and levee (~10 percent).

Temp was 35F with a light wind and some sun. I got the clothing almost perfect. My toes got a little cold the last half hour. Lobster gloves were perfect.

My legs got tired climbing the hill to the top of Mt Oread on the way home.

1

I did bunch of grading today. I've got one paper left. I'm torn between grading it after dinner or waiting till tomorrow. Probably best to wait to tomorrow. My brain could use a rest.

C • Tomorrow 4

I shuffled around on West Campus. I decided to do some exploring. I followed a few deer trails, tried to find some of the old overgrown trails, and jogged around in the fields and tree lines on the other side of the creek and west of Ulrik's Hill.

I managed to get myself stuck in some really junky woods a couple of time.

The two highlights of the run:

1. I found a lost drone. It looked like it had been in the woods for quite a while. I did a quick check of the Craiglist for Lawrence lost-and-found and didn't see anyone reporting a lost drone. It looked like well made (probably expensive).

2. I watched a coyote (and the coyote watched me) near Ulrik's Hill. I wonder how many coyotes spend time on West Campus.

2

C • Drone 3

Mary and I were both off work today. We drove up to the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. It was a good day - felt different and almost like a real vacation.

We saw a lot of Bald Eagles and swans. I can't tell swans apart, but there are both Trumpeter Swans and Tundra Swans at the refuge today. The latest official count was December 7 and lists 1588 Trumpeter Swans, 11 Tundra Swans and 388 Bald Eagles. We walked a short trail that was littered with bits of dead birds. I guess those are leftovers after eagles eat a meal. It was a good visit.

Headlamp run on the trails on West Campus. I got out the door soon enough that I didn't need the lamp for the first 20 minutes.

Warm today. Not uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be this warm in December. I ran in a short sleeve t-shirt.

1

My brother doing another demo:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIlKZ81JISQ/?utm_sour...

C • Things I like 3

Enough to break a sweat. That was easy today given temps in the mid/upper 60s.

I shuffled around at Holcom with my in-progress sprint map. I spotted a couple of things that need changes or additions.

When I got home I filled a yard waste cart. Next up...cook dinner.

1

A headlamp run on West Campus. Nice night.

I watched the KU basketball game just before I ran. It was an exciting game, but also nerve wracking. KU allowed 2500 fans to attend. To me that seems nuts.

1

My body felt tired and a bit beat up/sore. The weather was nice (upper 40s, sunny and a light north wind). I figured a bike ride would be nice.

I biked on roads, the levee and the river trail. I biked the race loop. I figured that'd keep me out about 90 minutes and that was enough.

1

I did about an hour of field checking at Holcom. I've finished everything except the little area around the old stone barn. But that's maybe 10 minutes of work (including walking over there from home).

I've over mapped the individual trees. That's ok for a little sprint map.

I still have plenty of drafting at the computer.

One reason I mapped Holcom was to practice using OOM on my new tablet. I like using it. I stick with the scribble template rather than trying to actually draft in the field. I thought about trying that for some features (like point features), but adding point features at home is so quick that it doesn't seem worth the trouble of switching back and forth between scribbling and drafting when I'm field checking.

I don't think drafting linear or area features in the field is a good idea. I'm sure some people do, but I think you need to be at the computer to get the linear features to look good and readable. I learned a lot about readable drafting from about 30 minutes watching Ulrik draw contours (and using the resulting map). I don't think I could draw things as cleanly as Ulrik if I wasn't at the desktop at home.

Note: info about the old stone barn: https://guardiansofgroverbarn.com/

PTOC at Lake Jacomo East. Mike Shifman set the courses. Fun and tough.

My navigation was ok. I had a control or two where I was a little uncertain as I approached. More O' technique or races would get rid of that little rusty feeling. I lost a couple of minutes on one control. Overall, my mind was working ok for navigating.

I struggled to move well. Some of that is the rough forest - thorns, some stony areas, some thick woods, etc. But most of it was just not being in good shape to run in the terrain. And some of it was that my mind was racing. I had no push to get through the crap or up hills.

I had a strange fall going downhill out of the first control. I managed to land in a way that hurt both of my upper arms (between elbow and shoulders). It was pretty uncomfortable - just swinging my arms to try to jog. I walked for a couple of minutes and then my arms felt better and I was ok the rest of the course.

On the same leg (1-2) the sole of my old O' shoes started to come off at the front of the foot. When I got home those shoes went straight into the trash.

Fun to see folks and chat a bit (masked and distanced).

5

Slow warm up.

I shuffled around on West Campus for a bit. We're heading off to the east side of KC for some orienteering tomorrow. Running in the woods is going to be tough.

1

A headlamp jog on West Campus. Nice to be out in the dark. It was warmer than I realized and I was a little over dressed.

1

I felt sleepy and unconcentrated all morning. I decided to skip a run. By mid afternoon I felt good. But, I had the self discipline to not run.