Training Log Archive: ebuckley

2x20:00T 55:00R. Actual tempo was Bostwick@20:57 (800' vertical) and Stone Quarry/King@22:28 (900').

Improved version of the IC loop (through the apartments rather Rt96). Snow is pretty much gone.

6x4:12i ~R on the steep part of the Rim Trail (lower trailhead to the dirt road junction). A braver man might have blasted back down the trail but, having no studs in my shoes, I took the dirt road back down which was plenty sketchy enough.

IC Loop, mostly running in the snow on the grass and shoulder as the actual road surface was mighty slick.

More easy miles on South Hill.

Easy jog round Erie.

In Ithaca. Gorge trail, up Sandbank, Bear around Treman Lake, and cutting back through the resort.

UI Campus.

Erie PA. Further than intended; was really just trying to loosen up from the car. Problem with planning a route on a phone is that it's difficult to assess the scale.

Around Champaign and UI campus.

2 School Barefoot Loop. Nothin but shorts and a T on Christmas. So fine!

Castlewood to Glencoe and back. Staying closest to the river both ways. Probably pushing it to call this "advanced" technically, but it was singletrack for a good bit of it. Was a bit worried about trail conditions as GORC was reporting terrible goop yesterday. Not a problem today. A few puddles and snot spots, but easy to get over or around.

Yes, really, 3AM. Woke at 2 and didn't feel like I was going to get back to sleep, so I poked around the house a while and then decided I might as well get some miles in. The storm beat me to work by about a mile, but the heavy stuff didn't arrive until after I was inside. Would have been a less than fun run in if I had departed at my usual time.

In to work via bus.

Home from work.

Easy jog round the hood. Maiden voyage for this cycle's marathon shoe. I think Asics has made another play in the "let's report the shoe is 0.1 ounces lighter by making a size 8 smaller" game. Both these and the Gel-Excites that I just bought are a tad tighter than any other size-13 asics I've ever worn. I think they'll be OK, but I am hoping they stretch just a bit.

Change of Heart@74:17. Stayed on the gas for another 15 minutes to make it a half-marathon worth of M-pace. Then took the short way home cuz I was gettin tired.

Easy jog round the hood.

Castlewood flood plain trails plus one trip over the ridge after meeting up with David, Jeff, Emily, and Erl. Weird bumping into friends 2 days in a row after a whole fall of solitary running.

Lewis trail at a rather relaxed pace plus to and from the mound. Had my light so I wasn't worried, but I was very pleased with the timing: got to the road just in time to see the last sliver of the sun drop below the horizon. By chance met Emily and Erl at the end so we all hiked up the mound together to watch the sun set a second time. Then Yvonne came out of her office to say hi. So fine!

In other news, grades were released today. At least I didn't kill my running career for nothing.

C • Good job! 1

In to work via bus.

2x Butterfly@12:25 3:00R on the way home from work. Legs are still a bit soft so I only did two.

Easy jog round the hood. Still some soreness, but should be able to resume training tomorrow.

I suppose I should get back to running one of these days. Legs are still mighty sore.

Probably could have slid a run in there somewhere and it probably would have helped relieve some of the stiffness from Saturday. But, I didn't.

One thing's for sure, Saturday's performance wasn't for lack of effort. My legs are super trashed. Feels more like what I'd expect after a marathon than a 1-hour race. So, at least I won't have to torture myself over where I could have come up with 20 seconds for the AG win. It wasn't there.

Algorithms final went OK. We'll have to wait for grades to come out to be sure.

C • Consistent with what you'd ... 2

Study day. Final in the hard class tomorrow.

Event: Pere Marquette Trail Run
 

Pre-run. Usually try to get up to top of the ridge just as the sun is rising. As it was overcast, I had breakfast first and did it in full light.

Warmup.

Pere Marquette. #16 for me. Times were off across the board this year because of the warm, humid conditions. Took it out right at 1-hour pace and held that to the base of climb 3. Had a feeling I was overcooking, though, and I was right. Dreadful ascents on 3 and 4; losing over 30 seconds on each. 17th overall 2nd in age group.

That's the objective stuff. Now, for the rest. I'll preface with two disclaimers: 1) I wouldn't post this anywhere but here. I'm assuming that people who read my training log as opposed to more sanitized race reports want to know how I really feel about this stuff. 2) If you think I'm an arrogant ass and should get over myself, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO STOP READING. Don't bother responding that I'm a jerk; I already know that. Don't bother trying to cheer me up, either. This isn't about being bummed.

From the outside looking in; this was an OK result. Objectively, the worst of the last 10 years, but not by a lot. Lots of people congratulated me after the run and I sucked it up and said "thanks" while every fiber of my soul was screaming, "I'm better than this!"

I did that for two reasons. First and foremost, I really do try not to be an arrogant ass when dealing directly with people. I just don't always succeed. Not many people congratulate me out of consolation; it's usually sincere. And if I respond with a bunch of qualifiers, I'm basically telling them that their standards are too low, which is a very shitty way to respond to a friendly gesture.

More to the point, I'm not better than this. I was, but I'm not anymore. And this, of course, is the real rub. If it was just an off day, well, that happens. But it wasn't. The descent has begun. There's no surprise in this. It was a conscious decision made over a year ago. I don't regret returning to school and I accept this as the consequence. But, that doesn't make it hurt any less.

I'm hoping that this transition period is the worst of it. That once I am no longer competitive at all, I'll just embrace the activity for what it is and enjoy it. Empirical evidence doesn't support such optimism. My high water mark in orienteering was 2007, when I scored a couple national titles and, while I still needed to ascend another rung to actually make the US Team, I was at least considered one of the people who might get there. However, by the end of that year, I knew that I couldn't continue to devote that much time to it and decided to back off and just run well locally; with maybe some decent results nationally within my age group.

That's exactly what happened, but I never embraced the lower standard. With Yaya losing interest, I simply could not find the motivation to continue and basically quit the sport.

I've dabbled in bike racing since my pro days, but again, haven't really found it particularly rewarding (though I still very much enjoy riding).

All this was going to be brought about by age, anyway. Grad school has only accelerated the process. But whether by design of default, it still leaves me completely adrift. A very large part of me is dying. And I can't pretend that doesn't matter to me.

C • Reflections 7

Trail Run - Splits

Quick jog to check out the trail conditions for tomorrow. If it doesn't rain, they will be fine. The 60-degree dew point, on the other hand, may be a problem.

Probably too heavy and out of shape to run well at PM, but might as well give it the best chance by taking a full rest day. Plus, I have a final exam tonight.

Fartlek round the hood; roughly 5x3:00T.

In to work via bus.

Home via tracks plus a bit extra.

Into work via bus.

Home from work via Hog's Hollow.

Final seedings for PM came out today. I did get the top seed (14) in 50+, but the field is as stout as I've ever seen. It would only be a mildly off day that would knock me out of the top 3 altogether. Winning will require coming up with a pretty big run.

Castlewood ridge trails with a couple tempo intervals near the end including Love Loop@10:56 which is a bit slow, but will have to do.

Duck in the woods.

Easy jog round Chesterfield Central Park before heading to "This is Your Day" with the Terrain Trail Runners.

Got the official invite from The Woodlands today. I'm in the elite field. I better figure something out on the training front.

In to work.

Home.

Two sets, upper and lower, moderately heavy.

In to work via Olive Bus.

After about an hour at my desk I got up to get coffee only to find I couldn't walk. Managed to loosen up the hip enough during the day to jog easy to catch the bus back home. Running did make it feel better.