Training Log Archive: Sandy

TNT
A combination of walking and running with Sandy on the drive.

I bought a scanner a few weeks back - I may try to scan my routes later this week when I get some time.

I hate stink bugs. There is a very noisy one buzzing around the room. They're bad enough when I find them dead or half-dead in the corners of the rooms and have to pick them up and dispose of them, but this one is very loud and really annoying.

Why don't you ever see baby-size stink bugs?

Did a little bit of stretching last night and a lot of icing last night and this morning and my knees are pretty good. Very happy with that! Wonder if the new knee brace is significantly better for my knee - I know it does fit a lot better so perhaps it does give better support.

NAOC Long Distance
Another great map and great course. I loved the course which made great use of the terrain. Another slow and careful outing, nothing great but good routes and no big errors. A few small bobbles - almost went by #3 a little high but saw the root stock out of the corner of my eye and went back and then later was heading straight for 12 but got distracted by other people nearby and probably lost a minute before giving myself a stern talking to and getting back into it and going right to the control. I started to really get tired at about 60 minutes and wished I had brought a GU or something with me. But I resorted to my tried and true method of talking to myself to keep me focused and while I think I slowed down a bit it seemed to help. Took some chances and cut through a few swampy areas - guess I was judicious in my choices of which ones to try as I didn't get stuck in the muck as others did. Again, not much running anywhere but slow and steady was good enough for 2nd in F50.

C • Nice weekend! 3

NAOC Middle Distance
What a fantastic course. I had a blast. I didn't go particularly fast but I didn't lose too much time anywhere either. A fast walk with an occasional jog here and there was it but I was in contact the whole time. It was tough to read the map because of the rain and a few times I wasn't sure whether the stacked contours were going to be up or down but I figured it would be pretty obvious when I got there and I was able to read things when it was important. I lost a few seconds on 8 when I was a little right but knew I had come across the wide flat depression on the right side so looked left and saw the flag. (The contours there are weirdly drawn - I thought it was my eyes but even now with a magnifier it doesn't make sense.) I lost a minute or so on 11 when I came down the hillside near the green and checked out the unmapped 5m rootstock to my right carefully before going over to the 1m one a bit to the left. I only just noticed that the clue sheet says 1.1m so I guess it's my own fault. But that's it. And it paid off as everyone else in F50 had several large errors. I certainly was not expecting a great result, but I won F50 by 7 seconds. Having lost by 8 seconds at the last NAOC and by 9 seconds in a US Champs several years ago I'll take it! :)

Event: North American Championships
 

NAOC Sprint #1.
Told Valerie on the drive up that I didn't want my sprints to count for rankings purposes. I didn't want any reason to try to go too fast. I know I'm woefully out of condition and I figured if I was going to last the weekend I needed to pace myself. So the intent was to keep jogging the whole course if I possibly could but not try to sprint anywhere. And I was pretty happy with a clean run and managing to keep a good jog most of the time. I took good routes to all controls ( except maybe #7 where I went around instead of through the green) and was rewarded by catching back up to some speedier people a few times by cutting through instead of going around - Walter Seigenthaler took off from 3 right in front of me but went east then north on the trails and I wasn't but a few steps behind him at 4 by taking the ride and Charlie DeWeese punched right ahead of me at 8 and took the road around while I went through the mismapped white/yellow finger of woods and popped out on the road right as he was going by on the way to 9. Any I was under 10 min/km which I know is ridiculously slow for a sprint but it's way fast for me! So quite pleased.

NAOC Sprint #2
Another solid, reasonably clean run and under 10 min/km again. Was careful to pay attention and see which way people were going out of the start and as I took off could hear people commenting that I seemed to know where to go. Could probably have found a better line out of 3 but forced my way through the crappy woods. Couldn't decide on the best way to go to 6 and went around but in early and then tried to go straight out and got pushed right of the line so probably lost some time on 5-6-7 but nothing really significant. Wasn't too sure what 11 was going to look like going in and there was no elephant trail when I got there so no help but just pushed my way through pine trees till I could see a flag. Took the left route to 14 cutting through the green towards the end but I wonder if turning around and going right is better. It took me almost a minute to get to the finish from 16.

I ended up 3rd in F50.

Solo tnt, but I got out early before it was dark. Walked down to the drive and ran two miles almost getting under 10min pace. What a difference from a few days ago! And it didn't feel particularly hard.

Walk down to the drive then - after running two miles on the drive - up the very steep hill by Bells Mills Rd and then back around on the roads going past Sandy and Karl's on the way home. I may try to do something like this more often - walking up that hill is an excellent workout.

pilates class; not too challenging although I did step it up a bit and try to hold tension in lots of muscles to isolate just the one that was being worked. It's one of those things that doesn't come naturally and that you don't have to do to do the exercise so it's easy to not do it unless you consciously think about it.

A very good class. I can tell all my muscles are getting stronger and I'm learning how to isolate and use them which is really cool. Not sure how much it helps orienteering but it sure makes me feel just overall in better health.

C • Balance 3

2 miles on the drive at just a bit under 11 min/mi pace; was way over 11 min pace but picked it up for the last half mile which I did in under 5 to bring the total under 22. Just happy to get out and do something after a pretty bad week.

75 minute class but mostly very gentle stretches. A ten minute core workout and 10 minutes of poses that were a little more intense but I barely broke a sweat.

It was a relaxing class and all I really wanted was some forced stretching so okay. I just lacked all motivation this week to do anything on my own.

Mowing the lawn this evening was a lot of work - it's been quite a while so it was very long, and although it was plenty sunny and warm today it had chilled enough this evening that the grass was wet making for lots of stops to unclog the opening where the grass is supposed to spray nicely out. At least there were lots of huge clumps of wet grass clippings to mulch the flower beds!

TNT - Dasha, Clem, Bob, Sandy, Karl and me. Nice crowd to start up Tuesday nights again. Sandy and I did a short trail run - a bit over 26 minutes - then ran over to her house - maybe 4 mins - so Dasha and Clem could see it. Walked back to my house afterwards for dinner and cake to celebrate Sandy's birthday and their new house. Not much of a workout but better than nothing and certainly good company for the evening.

C • Thanks! 2

Embarrassed to say I made a really stupid error early on in the course near places where I had set controls in the spring. I kept drifting left, and I kept correcting, but then I drifted way left and didn't correct and ended up at the wrong swampy area. Knew where I was and helped a kid who was lost and then went back to my control but things didn't look right and I second guessed myself and finally just went out to the power line to relocate. Really, really dumb. On the next control I drifted way left again but corrected when I recognized a control location from the spring - could not figure out how I had ended up way over there. Finally remembered that my old thumb compass that I was using since I lost my new one has about a 30 degree difference in how you have to hold your wrist from the one I've been using recently. And then I was fine on the rest of the course. I was thinking that I was really moving and feeling really speedy and then I realized the first half of the course was all downhill. I was walking a whole lot more on the second half back up the hill!!

Worked epunch most of the morning and then after I finished. I was beat when I got home. But it was a really fun weekend. It was really nice that a lot of really good orienteers were there and it's great that the cadets came.

Event: DVOA Training Weekend - Hickory Run
 

Took a group of 14 down to where I had streamers and had them do little 2 control courses and come back to where I was. Some did all 4 loops, others only one or two. Should have had a little more structure; perhaps I'll use a couple of Tom Hollowell's ideas in the future.

Walked the beginning of the Red Y course from the team trials with a group explaining the features I would use to navigate. It's a little unfair since I'm so comfortable in that area after setting the courses but they claimed they got something out of it. Then walked around for a bit and then picked up my streamers from the morning (some people went and continued that exercise in the afternoon on their own).

Too tired to do the night-o.

Hanging streamers for the training on Saturday.

Managed to lose my compass. :(

TNT trail run with Dasha, Harvey and Eric. Wonderful company and marvelous dinner afterwards with Clem and Kolya also there.

Walked the end bit as it was getting pretty dark and my ankle started to bother me.

Walked over to Sandy and Karl's new house (yippee - they're just a couple of blocks away now) and Sandy and I walked in the Wissahickon while Karl went running.

Sandy gave me a tour before hand; perfect house for TNT's!

Pilates class. Compared to the core dvd and yoga class, this was pretty easy. Although I suppose I could always try to hold more tension in more muscles like I think you're supposed to do.

C • yoga 2

Yoga class. Can see some small improvements in certain things.

Lots of yard work clearing out stuff that's died and cutting back things that have gotten scraggly. Did about half the yard, not sure when I'll get to the other half...

Woohoo! I actually ran today. Short hill loop. I had to make a deal with myself that if I didn't stop on any of the trails, I could walk from the crosswalk.

Despite some lingering swelling and tenderness to the touch, my ankle felt fine for running and my bad knee felt fine. But still something going on behind the kneecap on my good knee.

Level II yoga class. Arms pretty worthless this evening. Can hold a headstand for a good bit again though and am getting close to a backbend. And I even think my knees bent further than usual at times which is really good news.

C • Headstand 1

For those who don't want to look through all the photos although they're well worth looking at.


And a close up.

C • pic 6

Will Smith posted some photos from Hopewell Rocks - see his link under the COC Photo discussion. You can seem me all nice and clean going by on my way out (#167), oops I skipped a control and had to turn around right away (#170), and then pass by again (#176), and then the return trip covered in mud: #190 and #191.

C • Mud 1