Training Log Archive: Sandy

Day2 of the US Champs; GreenX. Good day with only some hesitation to #2 and then again at #4. Both times was maybe 30 meters away when I was sure I had gone about the right distance but couldn't match up what I was seeing in the terrain with the map but guessed correctly when I decide which way I must be off and then saw the control. But both times I did not really figure out what I was seeing. Ran maybe 50 meters on the one trail I took and about half the legs on the playing fields. Good enough for 2nd place in F50+.

Both days I drenched my hair, arms, neck and face with DEET and had no problems with mosquitoes or deer flies. I don't think I ever even noticed one flying around me. Unfortunately I did get a bee sting today on my calf. It's pretty sore and swollen although icing it has helped a lot.

Knees on the other hand are great! Guess I'll stick to the mostly walking thing for a while.

It went down to the wire, but won my bet with Valerie that she wouldn't be able to stay out of the download tent. :)

C • Bet! 2

Day 2 - Green X - Splits

Event: 2011 US Classic Championships
 

GreenX course at US Champs. For various convoluted reasons decided to run green at this event. Walked most of the course, running in the very few spots where I ended up on a trail and about half the finish run in for maybe a total of one or two hundred meters. But kept up a decent pace. Took a couple of slow routes - straight to #1 through several marshes that sucked at your shoes, to the right to #3 following the lower set of stone walls instead of just having confidence and going straight. Bobbled #5 a bit getting off my compass initially but correcting at a stone wall and then not going far enough up the reentrant and standing around a bit before going on and eventually getting it. Got lucky on #9, the mismapped clearing and didn't lose time - came out of the veg boundary expecting to have to go left but saw the control to my right. The course was eventually thrown out because a lot of people lost a lot of time if they attacked from more definite features further down the hillside. The clearing was about 100 meters to the east of where it was mapped, clearly outside the circle and nothing else around it. Had fun but wasn't reading the small contour detail particularly well.

Day 1 Green X (Course voided) - Splits

Got up to the US Champs meet hotel and headed out, intending to go do a "model" training on the 2008 map. When we stopped the car to try and figure out where to park the deer flies swarmed the car and eventually decided driving a little way up the dirt road and looking in the woods was all the "training" we could handle.

C • Deerflies at Klondike 3

Day got away from me and by the time I finished some yard work I had no energy for anything except a short core workout. Did about 250 crunches of various types while watching SYTYCD.

Short loop. Was running fine for about 20 minutes and then faded big time and walked most of the meadow section and the whole road home. Guess Sunday took more out of me than one rest day could put back in.

Knees continue to be pretty much back to normal with that new sharp pain only showing up on an occasional step and then going away immediately. I can live with that.

Red course at French Creek East. Nate, one of the DVOA juniors, designed the courses and he did an exceptional job of keeping us in the nicer woods and not having silly legs through the rocks or the green or straight up then down. No real errors although I wasn't paying attention on my way in to #4 so had to take a round about route to make sure I knew where I was. My only other slow legs (comparatively) were when I had to go down through rocks or when there was a long trail and I didn't run. Clem won in 1:12:xx but I beat him on two legs! ;)

It was over 90 and very humid but I didn't feel it until about #14 - just under 1k to go. My legs were a little rubbery on the downhills after that. The bugs on the other hand were horrid - midges were everywhere. At times I was running with a small tree bough waving it around my head. They kept getting in my ears and eyes and nose. It was gross. The few places I was able to jog were okay; I guess their top speed is my walking speed. :)

Red - Splits

Core DVD while watching TDF.

Short loop backwards and via Sandy's house to drop off flyers for the upcoming event at the Water Gap - a "training event" for the North Americans. Temperatures over 100 but it didn't feel too, too awful since I wasn't in the sun that much. I brought along my mp3 player and was listening to a book since I didn't expect to do more than walk but I actually felt like jogging a bit. I don't usually run while listening though so didn't run all that much, just some of the flats and slight uphills.

Knees seem almost back to normal. A couple days off was probably a good idea.

one set of 40 pushups, minute rest, one set of 20.

Could not sleep last night at all. Finally got about two hours but had to get up early to get to jury duty. Lucked out once again and was not called to a panel and was actually let go fairly early. And I guess if I had to be tired, having it be on a day where I sat on a bus to get downtown, sat in a large auditorium reading and then sat on bus to get home was probably a good thing.

C • jury duty 2

TNT - A mix of running and walking. Felt pretty good but trying to take it easy on my knee. Very healthy dinner afterwards with lots of vegetables from the Ahlswede garden again.

Core DVD

8 sets of 10 pushups.

I'm getting really excited about going to spectate at WOC. I browse some of the logs of Team USA occasionally and it's really inspiring how much training, and specifically O training, some of the athletes are doing. I can't wait to cheer them on in France.

C • Sounds like it'll be a great time! 1

Random trails in the Wissahickon; kept up a pretty good pace.

Knee started to lock up about 20 minutes from the end. :(

Did 20 pushups this morning intending to do 3 or 4 sets of 20, but as usual, got distracted and didn't any more. This evening I decided to do as many as I could in 1 minute. Got to 36 without stopping, took a rest but saw there were only about 10 seconds to go, and could not start again.

Picking berries at SCEE with Sandy. Unfortunately we were about a week too late for raspberries and a week too early for blackberries.

Same loop as yesterday; thought I was going the same speed but apparently not.

Morning hike before getting my hair cut and then catching the last bit of the tdf excitement before heading in to the office.

I have decided to go to the St. Louis event and I have done it essentially for free by using frequent flyer miles. First, I was able to get flights that are actually convenient and next I was able to get a hotel and car with miles from a credit card that I have canceled and was going to lose the miles if I didn't use them. Now to make sure there is a DVOA relay team there!

C • Now we have to work on gett... 6

TNT - hike with Sandy and Jim for part of it. I was still getting sharp pains at the top of my shin so didn't want to run.

Lots of fresh vegetables from the Ahlswede garden for dinner. I bought a watermelon and then totally forgot to bring it out.

4 sets of 20 pushups

Event: DVOA Gould Run
 

Short hill loop. Still walking the steep hill in the middle (about a 3 minute break) and only ran about half the hill home on the pavement (made myself do 100 paces out of about 180).

Iced my knee when I was done but still having the sharp pain at the very top of the shin. It seems to be directly related to running since I didn't get it after either of the long orienteering outings this weekend.

Helped Valerie at an Xterra race out in western Maryland this morning then a long drive home. Really pretty out there.

Another course at PWF made out of the permanent controls. I wasn't focusing particularly well and was very sloppy to the first four controls. Never did find the post at the second control but was sure I was in the right spot so moved on. Settled down after that and hit everything else relatively cleanly.

Spider webs were still bad!

Feet a little sore this evening.

Set a course using permanent controls at PWF. Didn't run much but kept a good pace. Sweated buckets and took down spider web after spider web. A few times I had to hunt around for the marker as the location was a bit vague and I didn't have control descriptions. No real errors although higher or lower in reentrants than I meant to be a few times, once by quite a bit.

The woods at PWF are wonderful even in the middle of the summer.

3 sets of 20 pushups, 20 squats.

C • really? 2

TNT - knee still painful from Sunday so decided to not try to run. Sandy hiked with me.

TNT Media special edition to welcome home Dasha. Ran the trails in Tyler Arboretum with Sandy and Dasha. Stopped to pick raspberries on the way back. Ate way too much at the magnificent dinner afterwards.

C • And yet . . . 1

3 sets of 20 pushups, in fairly quick succession. The last set was hard so I didn't do the fourth one I had been thinking about.

C • Have you seen this? 1

Several hours of yard work. Not really training but lots of sweat involved.

Trail loop with Sandy. Jogged most of it except the one steep hill and then from the crosswalk home.

3 sets of 25 pushups. Several hours between the first two and the third. Got distracted and just forget to do the third set so did it right before bed.