Training Log Archive: jfredrickson

A fast warmup run to Elm Park with T-Mac to run intervals. We ran a bit of a detour route to get in some extra mileage. Felt tired from the weekend, but not too bad.

We ran seven 3/4-mile repeats at Elm Park. We started with an easy one and alternated with hard ones. I felt quite tired, but invigorated at the same time. I was somehow able to push it out to the front on all of the intervals. It felt really good although my head did start to hurt during the rest periods. It feels fine when I run though so I can't quite figure it out.

Anyway, here are my splits (rest periods are in parenthesis):

1.) 4:30 (4:02)
2.) 3:58 (4:17)
3.) 4:16 (3:30)
4.) 4:03 (4:11)
5.) 4:12 (3:43)
6.) 4:01 (4:10)
7.) 4:!6

Easy cool down run back to the Dolan to pick up my jacket and then back to my dorm. Feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Warm-up for the Classic.

Classic race on the Lime Hollow map in Cortland, NY. Started out really solid but made a really bad mistake in a swamp going to number 4 that cost me a good 3 minutes because it took so long to get through the swamp before I was able to realize I had made a mistake. A couple other awful controls rounded out a nearly 10-min mistake race. The funny thing is that I was actually feeling pretty solid physically for the first time in a while and I was even Orienteering pretty well for most of the race. But I just couldn't hold my concentration consistently enough to avoid the big mistakes. It's been a while since I have had a race with this many big mistakes. I hope it's not a sign that my technique is lacking practice.

Duca had a nice run winning it in close to 71 minutes. PG also had an impressive run at 83 minutes, taking down quite a few of the younger guys. It's kind of scary how fast he can be on a tough course like this.

The course, map and terrain were all quite nice, although I did get a bit sick of all the swamps but they were definitely hard to avoid on a long course in such a small area. I am starting to really like Central NY terrain as long as I can stay out of the fields.

Wasn't able to do a cool-down run because I had a pretty nasty headache as I finished that stuck around for a while.

Classic - Blue - Splits

Event: CNYO A meet
 

Wasn't able to leave until 9 last night, so I got to the event area at 2am and just crashed in the back of my car. Not the best race preparation, but what can you do...

C • NAOC Accomodations 7

Brisk warmup for the sprint. Did everything I could to get pumped up and actually started to feel pretty good.

Morning sprint race at the CNYO A-Meet. Starts were seeded based on the rolling rankings, so I had the last start. I didn't catch anybody though, so it didn't help.

I felt great starting out, but wasn't really able to last the whole distance and felt fairly weak towards the end. I didn't feel all there technically though and made some stupid mistakes just from not being on top of what I was doing.

Made an especially stupid and embarrassing mistake on the spectator control just before the end. Before I started I had seen people punching a control on a trail just above my control, and had just assumed that that was the control I was looking for after glancing at my map. When I got there I saw it had the wrong code and quickly realized what I had done after another glance at my map.

PG chewed me out pretty good about that mistake after my race. He says that it is an important part of race preparation to get as much information about your course as you can see from the spectator area. The funny thing is that I had done that, but had assumed that I would have the same spectator control as everyone else and hadn't actually waited for someone who I knew to be on my course to go through it. If I had done that I would have noticed that we had a slightly different control. I'll definitely take this lesson to heart though.

Anyway, I somehow managed to pull out the win, only 4 seconds ahead of Ross and Greg Balter. Not particularly satisfying though.

Cool-down jog with Ross and Will Hawkins.

Warm-up for the Middle Distance race in the afternoon. Took some effort to get pumped up. Spent some quality time checking out the start and finish areas, getting as much information as allowed. The first control was visible from the spectator area, so I pretty much had my route to the first control planned before I started.

Started last again because the start order was based on the Sprint results. Felt great coming out of the start because I had spent so much time watching people on the first leg. Spiked the first control right on and had time to get a good look ahead. Probably picked up the speed too much though because I made a stupid mistake on the second control cutting off the trail way too early, but I was able to realize it quickly enough that I only lost about 15 seconds.

Caught Ross and Balter at number 4. Ross took off at full speed so I just settled in behind him for the next couple of controls. Lost him going to 8 when I got stuck in some nasty bushes, but caught back up to him on the way to 10. Then I made a really stupid mistake at 10. As we were approaching the control I saw one way down the hill from us and for some reason it just clicked in my head that this was my chance to get away from Ross since he wasn't going towards the control. Instead of realizing that it obviously wasn't my control I just took off for it. By the time I got down to it, read the control code, relocated and climbed back up the hill to my control, Ross was long gone and Balter had caught me up again. I ran the next two just ahead of Balter until I got very confused with the fields on the way to 12. I somehow got really disoriented in the fields, but fortunately Balter took the lead and so I just settled in behind him until I could figure out what was going on. When we hit 12 Ross was just leaving it, so from there it was a nice race to catch Ross up again and fight it out with him for the rest of the course.

I felt really out of control for most of the course and my technique was awful. My head just wasn't in the game. I guess everyone else had even more trouble then me though because I somehow came out on top, just a couple of seconds ahead of Will Hawkins. Definitely a weird day...

It is kind of frustrating to be feeling so out of it technically after feeling so confident for the past month or so. Hopefully it is just because I had basically no preparation leading up to this race. Spending the week in bed and then driving all night and sleeping in my car the night before the race certainly didn't put me in the right mental frameset.

While it is good to try to get to as many races as possible, I wonder if it can ever be bad to race when you aren't able to prepare properly for it. Can such an experience be detrimental, or will it help me to bounce back from this sickness? We'll see...

C • I actually had a good run tech... 2

Easy cool down run. Feeling pretty tired.

Sprint - Strong Lungs - Splits

Middle - Blue - Splits

Feeling much better today. Won't have time to run though as I have class all day and then I have to drive to Central NY for the CNYO A-Meet. Pretty crappy preparation for this meet, but what can you do when you get sick. Better this than NAOC. At least I will be able to run. I just hope all this time off won't cause me to peak too early. Hopefully I can come off the weekend into a strong training week and hold off that peak for another 2 weeks.

C • No worries... 2

Slept all day again. Got up around 2 and felt pretty decent so I decided to go to practice today. But when I tried running I felt a nasty pressure in the back of my upper neck / lower head which sent a shooting pain up and over the back of my head. I guess this is just the after-effects of all the pressure that has built up from being so stuffed up. I assume it is best to just take it easy and let it clear up. Hopefully I'll be ready to run hard on Saturday....

C • meningitis? 3

Ugh, another awful day. Felt mostly recovered from the usual stuffiness and exhaustion, but now it is just replaced by a dull ache in the back of my neck and head. Hopefully this is just the last stage of whatever my body is fighting. I decided not to push it though so that my body has the strength to finally kick it. Hopefully I will be able to run tomorrow.

Felt absolutely awful when I woke up this morning so I decided to spend the day in bed. I have no idea how I slept so long, but I guess I needed it.