Training Log Archive: AliC

Packing up and roadtrip to Boise, ID to visit Tom's aunt. Sylvia did well except for the last hour and a half, which were pretty rough.

A bit pressed for time but got in a decent interval session around the canyon trails. 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 with about half rest. Felt pretty good.

Learned (finally) about git and GitHub this afternoon in a session a colleague had for her summer students. Version control, here I come! (But seriously, will make collaborating with students way way easier!)

C • github 2

Partial Pilates.

Flight back went ok, we again got an extra seat. (Now thinking for sure can't be luck, but that Delta is being nice to these parents with a lap infant. Or being nice to the poor passenger that would otherwise be sharing our triplet of seats.)

Biked into work and went to baby swimming class for recovery, neither worthy of logging. Tomorrow starts training for WOC! Totally keen to be faster and to be more prepped technically for the challenges. I really didn't think about going to Latvia before this weekend, so time to try to learn what the terrain is supposed to be about. Hoping I can get in some training on our road trip next week (Boise, Denver, maybe should try a detour to Laramie on the way home...).

C • Latvia 10

Team Trials Long @ Mt. Lakes

7 th on Red, first team trialer, 3rd woman to Emma W. and Rachel R.

Really enjoyed it, kinda wished afterwards I'd pushed harder as I wasn't too exhausted at the finish. Still, did what needed to be done and just absorbed more really awesome orienteering!!

Relatively clean except very early on (1 and 3). But there were a bunch of route choices out there and comparing with Tori, we had pretty comparable times - so unsure if I made the right or wrong choices for how fast I was running/navigating through the terrain on those.

1 - Like many on Red, I had problems here. Came very close, distracted by Pavlina and the men's control. Their control was in a big reentrant, no rocks. Ours was in a mini reentrant between two rocky spurs. Really shouldn't have had to go check out their control...
2 - Straight, guided by rock walls.
3 - Oof, somehow pushed *way* left of where I intended, came across trail below big cliff. Didn't process cliff was on a form line until now.
5 - Hesitated a bit in the earlier shallower reentrant just N on same contour.
7- Ooh, big route choice! I went left: trail to road, then dumped off road towards marsh and the trail that goes along E side of Spruce lake. But I left the trail while it was still high and ran through flat woods to the next road, by the tetris-shaped building. Then went up transient stream bed, used marsh as a for-sure point but then still was hesitant approaching circle because *everything* was a dot knoll.
9 - Scary leg, down hill to a fairly along cliff. Tried pace counting, just so I didn't stop to early to look. Worked, but what worked more was seeing Wyatt who did find it before me.
10 - Helps now to see many of the contours are just form lines - I was suprised by flatness and should have realized while out there!
11 - Not really sure what to do with this leg. I went a bit left of straight (not particularly intentionally, stuff just seemed to keep pushing me that way). Don't think there is any amazing option I missed, but would have been a good one to just fight through with less worrying about exactly where I was, get out to yellow ride and then was easy from there to control. Finding the cairns I located didn't help...
13 - Should have gone straigher, enjoyed the trail for too long, had to veer to come into the control how I wanted to.
14 - Whoops! Map fold meant I totally missed the left road route!! I totally would have taken it if I'd seen, but I guess at least I did well executing the forest route!
16 - This one I did see the road route, decided it was too far. But think Tori came out slightly ahead having chosen road. Good to know, happy I kept moving decently well through the woods.

All in all, happy with the run, but do need just more practice/training and to start pushing the speed in the woods more. I'll let the ankle swelling go down, then hopefully do exactly that!!


I'd say I'm getting over the rustyness, but my mode has been staying in very good contact with the map, not simplyfying. That's worked ok this weekend, but I'll need much more speed for WOC, so need to channel how I've orienteered in the past more!

C • Nav 2

Pretty chill warmup, because long.

Red Long - Splits

Well, cool! Had a pretty clean race to win both TT and F21, although AJ Riley snuck in ahead on M20, so didn't win the course.

I'm expecting #7 to be my biggest mistake, kinda wandered off-route. But there were many features to save yourself by on this map, so did that. Generally I wasn't that confident with bearings. On today's feature-full map that didn't hurt me much, but need to work on.

Right ankle crunched at some point in the course, so now icing it and ibuprofen-ing. Hoping it feels better for tomorrow, these woods are fun to orienteer in!!

WOC TT - Middle Red - Splits

Event: Westchester County Challenge
 

Gentle warm-up. So nice to see people I haven't seen in a long time!! Tom took Sylvia to the finish to make friends. Tom's parents and sister and brother-in-law all came to spectate. Not the awesomest, but think they saw me twice from the distance before finishing at least!

Well, cool! Pleased to run decently fast and pleased I remembered how to sprint orienteer.

1 - Didn't even see the woods route. Not sure if it would be worth it to Red's first control, looks like it was to Blue's.
2 - Took right route. Wasn't terribly yellow along fence, but not slow either, so ok.
3 - Left route. Small error, didn't take stairs, which saved distance.
4 - Left route.
5 - Left route and took stairs this time, but now looking I kinda like right more.
6 - Right route. But eep! Construction! Saw the Blue control first, remembering the instructions that the control was supposed to be inside was outside and marked on the map. But it wasn't the right number. So looked up, saw the actual fence and control I was looking for and continued on to them. Think this confused most runners on Red.
7 - Right route. Feeling like I'd like to be running faster.
8 - Right route. Now maybe like left better. At least would have been more fully in the shade.
9 - Fine.
10 - Right route.
11 - Happy to run under the shade canopy!
12 - 1st small mistake: almost ran down hill the wrong direction (E instead of NE). 2nd small mistake, came out into the open quad when I meant to run N between the two rows of dorms.
13 - Fine, flipped map on way there to see what was up next.
14 - Fine, definitely feeling more tired!
15 - Choose left. Now like right more.
16 - Left route, still more shade-running under canopy.
17 - Fence helped not stop to early to check things out.
18 - Fine.

So yeah, only small mistakes. Perhaps some non-optimal route choices, but all of the route choices to me seemed like fairly close calls.

C • She's back! 9

WOC TT - Sprint Red - Splits

Travel day. Met with my student 9-10am, then to the airport! Sylvia planed well, but we were spoiled with an extra seat in our row, so she got to play and sit and squirm in her own space.

Pre-pilates canyon lap, while reading a sprint training course @ SUNY Purchase that we did at Camp Neil in 2012.

Pilates with Mary. Just 4 of us today, nice and calm. I am soooo inflexible.

After 1st nap, over to Reed to check in with my summer research student #1 who is totally rocking it and thus hard to keep up with! She's coding in R, which is kinda new to me, but we're going to get to the bottom of this statistics issue, gosh darn it!

Not enough time to fully de-bug what was going on, but gave some ideas, then ran over to the gym to join the crew.

C • R 10

And a longer run with the noon runners. Ueli, Aaron and Todd today. Ueli and I ran the longer bike path as opposed to the shorter trail option due to stroller. But that was good because we were running faster anyways.

Sylvia asleep upon return, so she got to continue nap in the garage. I got in a shower *and* lunch before she woke up, which was pretty awesome.

Later had baby swimming class. Main missions of the class seem better comprehended by the older babies (blowing bubbles, only jumping in when a parent says ok, hand-over-handing on side of pool), but at least Sylvia seems to like the water and is having fun! She walked around on her own in the water, holding onto a floaty.

Last pilates class with Vicki. Very sad. It has been great to take her Pilates, and earlier, Zumba, classes at Reed for the past few years. So spoiled that fitness classes come to *us* at lunch. Hopefully we can find another good instructor (for the summer have the student's Pilates instructor, but she becomes booked again when they come back.)

A bit tired from racing yesterday, but went out for a tour with a map of SUNY Purchase to have a look while running. That skill is definitely rusty... Feel like I'm cramming for team trials.

Woo, orienteering!! Hamilton Island. And Ueli was close to me last meet, so time to try to really race. Came out 8 min ahead of him, but only because he made mistakes, so gotta keep pushing the speed!! Orienteering is highly visible, so easy, didn't have to use my compass much, but should have tried using it more just for practice - will need it next weekend!

Sylvia went around with Tom on an intermediate course. He blames her for a poor route choice... =)

2nd annual cemetery ride between division and college-wide grade reviews. What is a grade review? When the entire faculty get together and decide which students have had such academically terrible semesters that we don't ask them back. So not the happiest meetings and it's good to have a breather between them.

Wow, have been *so* sore the past few days. Like unable to walk down stairs sore. Finally getting better, but muscles still hurt to the touch.

So, pilates. Only cramped once on bridges. Also, I'm *very* inflexible.

Holy moly, legs are still so sore. Went to store with Sylvia jogging, couldn't motivate standing the pain on the way back, so walked. Jeez...

Smith Rock Ascent, 15 miler

Woo! Made my goal of coming in the top 3 by finishing 2nd woman. Ran it in 2:17 compared to 2:14 (2015) and 2:09 (2016). So not too far off actually-in-shape-Ali. Had no idea what to expect on the starting line since I haven't done a running race in a year and a half.

Ran conservatively which turns out was a pretty good pace - kept not far off the original pace on the way back. The final (short) climb is always soul-destroying, but this time I got an adrenaline boost by needing to jump over a snake to cross the bridge. Then was in a pack of 4 guys - one got me, I stayed ahead of the two others.

Tom hiked the 4 mile course with Sylvia because childcare plans fell through. She was pretty grumpy upon my return, so got to nurse her as my cool down...

Other Reed professors did the 50k (Kyle) or the 15 mile (Andrew, Jim). Good little contingent, but means we missed the annual reach-the-beach bike ride. =(

C • Snake 3

And my day with Sylvia, so a stroller jog it was! Thought she was going to nap from the start, but she held out until almost home. Snuck in a shower while she was still asleep in stroller. (Yes, stroller was in the house.)

C • in the house vs. outside 5

Again quick before something, squeaked in two 10 min tempos around Reed. Felt pretty good!

Pre-pilates intervals around the canyon and sports fields.

1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 minutes with half as much rest.

Felt pretty good, gotta get back used to pushing harder, should feel more exhausted at the end! =)

Really good Pilates session, we're back in the dance studio instead of the mat room now that the students are gone for the summer - it just has a much nicer vibe!

Lower abs are getting stronger. Slow battle.

My final for intro physics is 6pm-9pm tonight, which inconveniently straddles baby bedtime. Ah well, good luck Tom! =) Hope it doesn't lead to a terrible night's sleep though...

Yeah orienteering! Preview of Old Maid Flat. Really great to be running in nice open woods. Tom and Sylvia puttered around while I did the course.

Final long run before next weekend's race. Eep! Not yet feeling in shape for a tough 15 mile trail races, but at least I've gotten in some longer runs the past few weekends... here goes!!

Almost there. One more thesis ('Modeling the Solar Dynamo with Finite Difference Approximations') to go!

Sylvia also started to get a tooth, probably explains some cranky times these past few days!