Training Log Archive: iansmithIn the 28 days ending Feb 28, 2013:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday Feb 28, 2013 #
Note
(sick) (rest day)
A disappointing finish to February, though I do think that taking the time to rest was the prudent course. Counting my bout with the flu in January, I have had eleven sick days in the first 59 days of the year. I need to take better care of my body; to that end, I set the same distance and control goals for March as for February - 300 km/200 controls of running and O.
Tuesday Feb 26, 2013 #
Note
(sick) (rest day)
Yay go Kikkan and Jess: Gold at the World Champs Team Sprint
I woke feeling very tired today and with a sore throat. After some consultation with my guru, I suspect that my recovery has been insufficient for the amount of training I have been doing. I'm hopeful that deliberately increasing my sleep and backing off a bit will restore my vitality. I took the day off from work to rest.
I woke feeling very tired today and with a sore throat. After some consultation with my guru, I suspect that my recovery has been insufficient for the amount of training I have been doing. I'm hopeful that deliberately increasing my sleep and backing off a bit will restore my vitality. I took the day off from work to rest.
Monday Feb 25, 2013 #
9 PM
Running 44:34 7.06 km (6:19 / km) +96m 5:55 / km
ahr:132 max:147 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
I felt a bit tired after a tough weekend, so after starting my laundry, I sauntered around Somerville. I considered taking the day off entirely, but I decided a short recovery run would be better and would maintain my rhythm. I think the past seven days constitute my most substantial running mileage week.
With 43 kilometers to go in three days, it looks unlikely that I will achieve February's 300 run+O km, but I'm ok with that. I don't intend to kill myself to attain the goal, because the goal is secondary to a good training regimen and optimizing my performance. I really surrendered my objective in the second week of February. With three open training weekends in March, I think 350 km is attainable, especially if the snow melts enough that I can O faster than 11 min/km.
With 43 kilometers to go in three days, it looks unlikely that I will achieve February's 300 run+O km, but I'm ok with that. I don't intend to kill myself to attain the goal, because the goal is secondary to a good training regimen and optimizing my performance. I really surrendered my objective in the second week of February. With three open training weekends in March, I think 350 km is attainable, especially if the snow melts enough that I can O faster than 11 min/km.
Sunday Feb 24, 2013 #
Note
The intellicast snow cover website is a useful tool for planning trainings. I have tried to keep my weekends relatively free and am contemplating weekends in WCOCland, Harriman and NAOCland.
Also, it appears there is no onsite housing at West Point this year. Aw.
Also, it appears there is no onsite housing at West Point this year. Aw.
2 PM
Running 2:06:20 24.04 km (5:15 / km) +81m 5:10 / km
ahr:150 max:161 shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Long run along the Charles during a gentle but constant wintry mix from Winter Storm Q. While the temperature was a mild 0-1 C, I prudently chose to dress more heavily - SLS top, SL tights, gloves, and a buff. As I was soaked by my return, my attire significantly increased my comfort. My goal was two hours at 5:15 - 5:30/km pace, and I felt good but magnificently drained by the end.
February mileage is approaching my goal, though I must buckle down and crank out 50 km in the next four days. I've thoroughly trashed my 165 km of run+O from Feb 2012, but I'm still at a pitiful amortized 1 hour/day. Baby steps.
I listened to Neptune's Inferno, an audiobook about the Battle of Guadalcanal in late 1942.
February mileage is approaching my goal, though I must buckle down and crank out 50 km in the next four days. I've thoroughly trashed my 165 km of run+O from Feb 2012, but I'm still at a pitiful amortized 1 hour/day. Baby steps.
I listened to Neptune's Inferno, an audiobook about the Battle of Guadalcanal in late 1942.
C • Long 3
Saturday Feb 23, 2013 #
2 PM
Running 6:17 1.08 km (5:51 / km)
ahr:141 max:152 shoes: 201110 Inov-8 Oroc 280
The last section of road to the Boatramp at Pawtuckaway wasn't plowed, and my faithful GTI has shown very little aptitude for negotiating snow, so I ran from le car das auto to the start of the first exercise. I encountered a snowmobile, and stopped briefly to change the displayed pace units to metric.
Orienteering (Secret Ninja Training) 52:39 4.66 km (11:18 / km) +107m 10:09 / km
ahr:150 max:169 15c shoes: 201110 Inov-8 Oroc 280
First solo Pawtuckaway trip of the year - and deplorably late. With winter storm Q impending, I abbreviated my weekend training plans to a single trip. I had originally planned to make the trip up to Nottingcook, but the files Bob sent me were from a newer OCAD version.
Conditions were unsurprisingly poor; while the temperature was a pleasant 2 C, I postholed 15-30 cm each step. The snow did make Pawtuckaway's rocky terrain more ankle friendly, but it also made getting around slow and laborious. Perhaps today's outing was slow snowrienteering.
The contour only exercise was good; I did get confused in a few places and need to analyze my quickroute. I spent some of my time thinking about how much of the map should be visible from my position in the vein of simplifying. Pawtuckaway's fine contour detail was tricky.
Quickroute. Apparently stopped short on 1.
Conditions were unsurprisingly poor; while the temperature was a pleasant 2 C, I postholed 15-30 cm each step. The snow did make Pawtuckaway's rocky terrain more ankle friendly, but it also made getting around slow and laborious. Perhaps today's outing was slow snowrienteering.
The contour only exercise was good; I did get confused in a few places and need to analyze my quickroute. I spent some of my time thinking about how much of the map should be visible from my position in the vein of simplifying. Pawtuckaway's fine contour detail was tricky.
Quickroute. Apparently stopped short on 1.
Orienteering 28:28 2.67 km (10:40 / km) +72m 9:24 / km
ahr:154 max:168 17c shoes: 201110 Inov-8 Oroc 280
The second exercise was a control pick from a training camp at Pawtuckaway in 2010. I was moving well, but still not particularly fast. It seemed that the limiting factor was my leg strength, not so much my stamina. I skipped control 8 because it would have doglegged me through a particularly nasty and deep section of snow that I had run on my way to 7. Snow started falling in earnest, so out of concern that my car might get stuck and not wanting to overdo it in tough conditions, I bailed rather than run the third exercise I had brought.
Quickroute.
Quickroute.
Running 24:11 3.03 km (7:59 / km) +48m 7:23 / km
ahr:143 max:158 shoes: 201110 Inov-8 Oroc 280
Run back. My speed improved considerably once I got to the packed trail. Wearing the Orocs gave me solid traction even on the icy trail.
Friday Feb 22, 2013 #
10 PM
Running 8:00 [1] 1.53 km (5:14 / km) +2m 5:12 / km
shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Warmup and run to the start (in this case, control 23, as the start/finish was further away).
Orienteering 1:03:37 [1] 12.79 km (4:58 / km) +24m 4:56 / km
26c shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
It is both liberal and inconsistent to call this orienteering, but it was running with a map on a novel course. I ran Lori's Cambridge street-O from Wednesday. It was late, but 10 PM on a Friday night isn't quite the same as 11 PM on another weekday; there was some residual car and pedestrian traffic.
It was a great exercise, particularly with the variety of longer legs and control picking sections. There was enough snow on the ground and in banks along the roads to be an impediment. My goal was to run comfortably hard - slower than threshold, but more aggressively than easy.
At one point in Harvard yard, I left the salted walkways to cut across a snowy lawn. A couple in formal attire came out of a hall and heard me crunching my way towards them; they asked what I was doing and kindly remarked that I "looked fast." Perhaps they were just startled by my awesome snow crunching skills.
It was a great exercise, particularly with the variety of longer legs and control picking sections. There was enough snow on the ground and in banks along the roads to be an impediment. My goal was to run comfortably hard - slower than threshold, but more aggressively than easy.
At one point in Harvard yard, I left the salted walkways to cut across a snowy lawn. A couple in formal attire came out of a hall and heard me crunching my way towards them; they asked what I was doing and kindly remarked that I "looked fast." Perhaps they were just startled by my awesome snow crunching skills.
Running 7:39 [1] 1.34 km (5:43 / km) +1m 5:42 / km
shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Thursday Feb 21, 2013 #
Note
A zombie (or infected) groupie cascade next to a tractor trailer load of groupie clown cars is a beautiful thing. +1 star to biggins.
Also, this is what a real training February looks like; similarly, a noteworthy March. A diligent student doesn't forget his HR monitor strap.
Also, this is what a real training February looks like; similarly, a noteworthy March. A diligent student doesn't forget his HR monitor strap.
C • OK 15
6 PM
Running 20:00 [1] 3.96 km (5:03 / km) +13m 4:58 / km
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Run to track workout. My legs initially felt a bit stiff, which is surprising given that yesterday was a de facto rest day.
Running 36:23 7.0 km (5:12 / km)
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
CSU Indoor track workout at BU; I forgot my heart rate monitor, so the data is fabricated. Fearless leader Terry was absent, and there was much more segmentation of the group into workouts. I showed up just as drills were ending, and picked up the information from my usual interval buddies. Apparently people training for marathons were doing 2-3 mile repeats, people running the Amherst 10 mile were doing 4x600, 4x400, and others were doing 4x800, 4x400. I did the third option, but I may have been the only one running it. Stephen, Tom and Kevin all ran 4x600 but conveniently forgot about the 4x400 and cooled down for half an hour.
I ran alone for all but the first workout; I was aiming to run 82s 400s, but missed a bit on the slow side. I increased my effort for the 400s, aiming to run sub 80s. I have felt very slow in my quality workouts, and I think a little overspeed from time to time might add some spring to my step. I focused on fast cadence for the 400s, and I plan to add a few nx400m workouts before team trials.
800s: 2:48, 2:49, 2:48, 2:50
400s: 1:16, 1:16, 1:19, 1:13
I ran alone for all but the first workout; I was aiming to run 82s 400s, but missed a bit on the slow side. I increased my effort for the 400s, aiming to run sub 80s. I have felt very slow in my quality workouts, and I think a little overspeed from time to time might add some spring to my step. I focused on fast cadence for the 400s, and I plan to add a few nx400m workouts before team trials.
800s: 2:48, 2:49, 2:48, 2:50
400s: 1:16, 1:16, 1:19, 1:13
Running 20:46 [1] 3.66 km (5:40 / km)
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Run back after intervals. Conditions were cold.
Wednesday Feb 20, 2013 #
9 AM
Running 15:19 [1] 2.84 km (5:24 / km) +1m 5:23 / km
shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Morning commute. I had hoped to run the CSU street-O, but a meeting ran late and I had a skype date. Lori sent me the map, and I will run it later (probably Friday).
Tuesday Feb 19, 2013 #
9 AM
Running 21:03 [1] 3.4 km (6:11 / km) +1m 6:11 / km
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
11 PM
Running 1:02:32 [1] 12.62 km (4:57 / km) +83m 4:48 / km
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
I seem to have tweaked something in my butt over the weekend - possibly from overdoing the drills. The discomfort is just below my waist, at the top of my right glute. It feels like a very mild strain; running was basically unaffected. It has improved since yesterday.
There's something incredibly satisfying about watching a cow with dynamite strapped to its body suicidally charge into a legion of gold groupies. Also, fully automatic pitchfork monkies = happiness.
There's something incredibly satisfying about watching a cow with dynamite strapped to its body suicidally charge into a legion of gold groupies. Also, fully automatic pitchfork monkies = happiness.
Monday Feb 18, 2013 #
Note
(rest day)
Sunday Feb 17, 2013 #
10 AM
Running 20:17 4.03 km (5:02 / km) +10m 4:59 / km
ahr:151 max:160 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Run to wildwood; conditions were a chill -8 C.
Strength training (Drills) 7:36
ahr:155 max:167 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Ankle drills; these felt considerably more laborious than the general running drills from Friday. I was a bit tired from three hard days, so my discomfort may have been due to fatigue.
Running 59:42 11.33 km (5:16 / km) +40m 5:11 / km
ahr:155 max:174 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
We started out doing 2x15 min threshold, but I didn't have it in me. I ran one fifteen minute set at a comfortably fast clip - 5:00/km on rolling, windy trails - then ran the second fifteen alone with a map at easy pace. We ran home at easy pace; I felt tired and took a nap.
Saturday Feb 16, 2013 #
12 PM
Cross Country Skiing (Skate ) 1:23:07 15.09 km (5:30 / km) +3m 5:30 / km
ahr:132 max:155
Ali and I migrated up to the Michigan analog of Weston to go cross country skiing; the man-made loop had adequate snow, but the rest of the facility was bare. During our skiing, snow started falling heavily, and about 3 cm had fallen by the end. The rental ski boots hurt my feet; in particular, my arches were uncomfortable, so I decided to stop after 80 minutes. I listened to an audiobook, but my headphones were occasionally pushed out of my ears by balaclava motion.
3 PM
Orienteering 1:17:03 7.04 km (10:56 / km) +174m 9:44 / km
ahr:142 max:185 15c shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Quickroute.
Today's was an interesting O-outing because I had neither O-shoes nor a compass. I ran in my Inov-8 Road X 255s, which have very smooth soles. There was about 4-6 cm of snow on the ground, and I really struggled with traction. The snow was packed on trails, so they were particularly slippery. The map has very intricate contour detail and not much else that's useful for navigation. I intended to concentrate on simplification, but I had to read almost everything anyway.
There were some places where I could look for highly visible features - the big trihill saddle near 2, the hill just to the left of 4, the spur left of 6, the reentrant left of the line to 7, the spur/saddle leading into 11, and the cloverleaf reentrant by 13. There were a few other places where I misjudged - for instance, the hill behind 14 is barely higher than the control and poorly visible on the run from 13. Control 3 looked very different than I expected, but the depression just before it and the hill/depression just south of it were unambiguous. I had Ali's footprints in the circle as confirmation on a handful of controls.
Today's was an interesting O-outing because I had neither O-shoes nor a compass. I ran in my Inov-8 Road X 255s, which have very smooth soles. There was about 4-6 cm of snow on the ground, and I really struggled with traction. The snow was packed on trails, so they were particularly slippery. The map has very intricate contour detail and not much else that's useful for navigation. I intended to concentrate on simplification, but I had to read almost everything anyway.
There were some places where I could look for highly visible features - the big trihill saddle near 2, the hill just to the left of 4, the spur left of 6, the reentrant left of the line to 7, the spur/saddle leading into 11, and the cloverleaf reentrant by 13. There were a few other places where I misjudged - for instance, the hill behind 14 is barely higher than the control and poorly visible on the run from 13. Control 3 looked very different than I expected, but the depression just before it and the hill/depression just south of it were unambiguous. I had Ali's footprints in the circle as confirmation on a handful of controls.
Friday Feb 15, 2013 #
Note
I forgot my ANT stick in Boston, so I won't be able to download tracks until I return.
In the early afternoon, I went for an easy 40-minute run around the streets of Ottawa Hills with a map that the gas company had mailed to Ali to indicate where pipes would be replaced in the coming months. I felt ok, though a bit sluggish. I encountered a pit bull mix while running on the bike path that chased me and barked for a dozen meters. When I stopped, faced him, and pointed at him, he backed off, and I continued on my merry way. I was glad not to have a more substantial confrontation.
A few hours later, I went running with Ali in Wildwood; we warmed up, ran some drills (high knees, butt kicks, galloping, grapevine, explosive skips, and running backwards), then did 3x{3min, 2min, 1min} intervals with 1 minute rest and 3 minutes between sets. I was a bit smoked by the end and was falling behind Ali. Overall, it was a good day.
In the early afternoon, I went for an easy 40-minute run around the streets of Ottawa Hills with a map that the gas company had mailed to Ali to indicate where pipes would be replaced in the coming months. I felt ok, though a bit sluggish. I encountered a pit bull mix while running on the bike path that chased me and barked for a dozen meters. When I stopped, faced him, and pointed at him, he backed off, and I continued on my merry way. I was glad not to have a more substantial confrontation.
A few hours later, I went running with Ali in Wildwood; we warmed up, ran some drills (high knees, butt kicks, galloping, grapevine, explosive skips, and running backwards), then did 3x{3min, 2min, 1min} intervals with 1 minute rest and 3 minutes between sets. I was a bit smoked by the end and was falling behind Ali. Overall, it was a good day.
2 PM
Running 40:32 7.97 km (5:05 / km) +24m 5:01 / km
ahr:160 max:169 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Easyish cruise around Ottawa Hills.
4 PM
Running 15:05 2.69 km (5:37 / km) +14m 5:28 / km
ahr:158 max:170 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Warmup with Ali.
Strength training (Drills) 10:25
ahr:162 max:173 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Three sets of high knees, butt kicks, galloping, grape vines, explosive skips, and running backwards.
Running 45:12 8.54 km (5:18 / km) +14m 5:15 / km
ahr:167 max:185 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
After warmup and drills, we set about running intervals of 3x{3 min, 2 min, 1 min} with one minute rests between intervals and three minutes between sets. The regime was above threshold and approach VO2 max range. I felt tired by the end, and Ali outstripped me by at least fifty meters on the last 3 min.
Wednesday Feb 13, 2013 #
9 PM
Running 1:34:53 18.34 km (5:10 / km) +110m 5:01 / km
ahr:151 max:177 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Today's run was a curious hodgepodge of easy, long, and threshold. I set out to run for about 90 minutes, but made a halfhearted effort at some threshold running twice for a total of about eighteen minutes. I felt light and quick on my feet - probably a side effect of the rest day, and didn't struggle much with traction despite some ice and the smooth soles of my 255s. I felt a bit tired by the end when my pace started to creep into the 5:30/km range. My recovery clif bar was extra delicious.
To any US team folks: I have a Men's Small O21e US uniform top that is a bit snug; a medium would probably fit very well. I have only tried it on a few times, but it's otherwise new. Would anyone be interested in trading a medium for it?
To any US team folks: I have a Men's Small O21e US uniform top that is a bit snug; a medium would probably fit very well. I have only tried it on a few times, but it's otherwise new. Would anyone be interested in trading a medium for it?
Tuesday Feb 12, 2013 #
Note
(rest day)
Unplanned rest day; the first three days of this week (counting Sunday) were an unexpected workmageddon.
Monday Feb 11, 2013 #
9 AM
Running 31:08 5.25 km (5:56 / km) +1m 5:55 / km
ahr:152 max:165 shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Morning commute. There were numerous slow drifts and pedestrian obstacles. Very rough day at work. My obliques in particular are sore from Saturday; I guess that means I was doing it correctly.
Sunday Feb 10, 2013 #
11 PM
Running 1:03:37 10.83 km (5:52 / km) +44m 5:45 / km
ahr:146 max:166 shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Easy run home through Cambridge and Somerville. The footing was awful but delightfully challenging; snow piles over a meter tall lined many streets. While some sidewalks had been shoveled, many were still icy, and I took care not to slip. I scaled a few snow piles where it was convenient, and managed to only fall once.
I did not meet my goal this past week, with only 62 km of distance. On the plus side, I managed to get a midweek orienteering session, but I only had five other runs. The snowstorm probably curtailed my training a bit - with a good Saturday, I could have eked out another 13 km. Still, I think I need a bit more variance - some shorter days, some longer (approaching 2 hour) days. Hopefully, this week will be better.
I did not meet my goal this past week, with only 62 km of distance. On the plus side, I managed to get a midweek orienteering session, but I only had five other runs. The snowstorm probably curtailed my training a bit - with a good Saturday, I could have eked out another 13 km. Still, I think I need a bit more variance - some shorter days, some longer (approaching 2 hour) days. Hopefully, this week will be better.
Saturday Feb 9, 2013 #
Map Exercises (Catching Features) 3 [1]
Strength training 17:00 [1]
(rest day)
The usual set of 15 exercises. I should probably warm up before doing these, though with only body weight, they're not so severe.
Tuckups, kayakers, plank, leg lifts, bicycles; double calf raises, lunges, squats, single calf raises (x2), dead lifts; oblique crunches, 2x side plank, superman, wall sits.
Tuckups, kayakers, plank, leg lifts, bicycles; double calf raises, lunges, squats, single calf raises (x2), dead lifts; oblique crunches, 2x side plank, superman, wall sits.
Friday Feb 8, 2013 #
3 PM
Running 1:30:30 15.76 km (5:45 / km) +88m 5:35 / km
ahr:146 max:156 shoes: 201104 Mizuno Waverider 14
Easy run through the early part of "Winter Storm Nemo." About 2-5 cm were on the ground and winds of 50 kph, with the sidewalks a bit worse due to all the plowing. Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency, and the state roads were closed at 4 PM. The Presto Posse expedition to Sunday River was cancelled out of transportation concerns. NOAA projects an accumulation of 50-75cm of snow over the next 24 hours. I saw several dogs playing in a park while their people watched; the dogs included a Husky and a Malamute.
I decided to run for longer than is typical for my street outings, since I may not get any running training tomorrow. The layer of snow made running a bit more physical, and I focused on faster cadence with short strides. I overdressed a bit - despite the inclement conditions, the temperature was only 0 C.
In good news, my mileage in the first 8 days of this month is more than half of my run and O mileage in Feb 2012. Let's go, 2012 Ian; it's on. My legs feel very good. A priority now is getting lots of sleep to aid recovery, and I will add a bit more cross training.
Usain Bolt on training. I suspect sprints are somewhat different than longer races; how much can you hurt in 10s?
I decided to run for longer than is typical for my street outings, since I may not get any running training tomorrow. The layer of snow made running a bit more physical, and I focused on faster cadence with short strides. I overdressed a bit - despite the inclement conditions, the temperature was only 0 C.
In good news, my mileage in the first 8 days of this month is more than half of my run and O mileage in Feb 2012. Let's go, 2012 Ian; it's on. My legs feel very good. A priority now is getting lots of sleep to aid recovery, and I will add a bit more cross training.
Usain Bolt on training. I suspect sprints are somewhat different than longer races; how much can you hurt in 10s?
Thursday Feb 7, 2013 #
6 PM
Running 20:10 3.77 km (5:21 / km) +13m 5:15 / km
ahr:139 max:154 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Run to the BU track.
Running intervals 36:05 7.4 km (4:53 / km)
ahr:160 max:180 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
CSU track intervals. I showed up at the end of the warmup, and joined the group for 2x200m strides. We then ran 2x400, 2x800, 2x1200, and 800. I deliberately slowed my pace somewhat relative to what I have been running; my plan was to run 84s on the 400s and 87-88s/400 on the 800s and 1200s. It was hard letting Tom, Terry and John pull away at the start of each interval.
I think this was a good decision, though it may have been a little too slow. I felt a little tired after each interval, but I immediately transitioned into jogging on the 200m breaks without walking, and even a few hours after the workout, I felt fantastic. My heart rate only got up to 174 during the first three intervals, so maybe I should have started stronger.
400s: 84, 84; 800s: 3:01, 2:57; 1200s: 4:30, 4:30; 800: 3:00
I think this was a good decision, though it may have been a little too slow. I felt a little tired after each interval, but I immediately transitioned into jogging on the 200m breaks without walking, and even a few hours after the workout, I felt fantastic. My heart rate only got up to 174 during the first three intervals, so maybe I should have started stronger.
400s: 84, 84; 800s: 3:01, 2:57; 1200s: 4:30, 4:30; 800: 3:00
Running warm up/down 7:33 1.0 km (7:33 / km)
ahr:143 max:152 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Easy cool down km. I chatted a bit with Kevin, who is a shade faster than I am and ran his first sub 5:00 mile in December. He hurt something on the outside of his hip (sciatic nerve + something else) during a 10k in January and rested for three weeks. We stuck together for most of the workout today.
Running 20:54 3.92 km (5:20 / km)
ahr:153 max:163 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Run back to work.
Wednesday Feb 6, 2013 #
Note
Registered for team trials. I decided not to sign up for the cruise on Saturday, partly to rest and concentrate on the race for tomorrow (it's hard to leave a boat early) and partly to subscribe to the Daddy-O school of pre-race food. If lots of my peeps are doing the cruise, I will join the merry posse.
7 AM
Orienteering 1:40:00 9.0 km (11:07 / km) +233m 9:50 / km
ahr:142 max:170 24c shoes: 201206 Inov-8 X-talon 212
My objective for this morning's training at Breakheart was to read all the map detail on a course and to slow down enough to do that. I suppose it was similar to a line-O - I had routes in my mind when I designed the course. The woods were great for the exercise; a few cm of snow were on the ground, the terrain was a bit sluggish, and the vegetation was passable in most places.
The cradle for my Garmin had been misaligned last night, so it didn't charge and died partway through the exercise. The 8.7 km course was taking longer than I expected, so I bailed after 24. I had a major blowup at 4; after taking the cliff-reentrant halfway through the leg, I misread the rise on the far side of the stream and misidentified rock features as the cliff I was looking for. I figured I had messed up, but decided to move on to 5; I then noticed the Big Boulder much further to my left than it should have been coming from 4 and reattacked.
The woods on 8-9 and 9-10 were trash; I really had to fight to push through. Route choice wasn't my objective; I wanted to go straight. In contrast, 14-15 was beautiful.
Quickroute.
The cradle for my Garmin had been misaligned last night, so it didn't charge and died partway through the exercise. The 8.7 km course was taking longer than I expected, so I bailed after 24. I had a major blowup at 4; after taking the cliff-reentrant halfway through the leg, I misread the rise on the far side of the stream and misidentified rock features as the cliff I was looking for. I figured I had messed up, but decided to move on to 5; I then noticed the Big Boulder much further to my left than it should have been coming from 4 and reattacked.
The woods on 8-9 and 9-10 were trash; I really had to fight to push through. Route choice wasn't my objective; I wanted to go straight. In contrast, 14-15 was beautiful.
Quickroute.
Tuesday Feb 5, 2013 #
8 AM
Running 15:00 [1] 3.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Morning commute. I didn't leave enough time for a longer run, so I just traveled directly. I forgot to start my watch (ugh, mornings), so time is a guess.
Monday Feb 4, 2013 #
Map Exercises (Catching Features) 1 [1]
Morning course to wake up; my performance was not terrible (33% back) but had some sluggish control picking - especially through vegetation - and suboptimal route choice around contour features. CF course setters sometimes put controls on features in the middle of dark green, which in New England would be impassable. I guess taking a shot from the edge of the green is sort of like night-O; you can't see very far. Matt Ogden (or someone purporting to be him) finished fourth or fifth.
8 PM
Running 39:22 [1] 7.24 km (5:26 / km) +32m 5:19 / km
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Easy run home.
Sunday Feb 3, 2013 #
5 PM
Running 1:17:41 13.83 km (5:37 / km) +32m 5:33 / km
ahr:143 max:154 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Easy run around Boston. I had planned to either go to Nottingcook or Breakheart for some O-training, but I was tired from yesterday's effort. I'm going skiing next weekend, and Nottingcook will likely have to wait until Feb 23-24. A light snow fell on Boston, with about a cm of snow covering the ground. Traction was reduced, and my Road X 255s have smooth soles. I ran at a comfortable pace, avoided slipping, and was unconcerned with hitting the usual 5 min/km.
While it seems there are many different schools of thought in running, conventional wisdom dictates that the distribution of training intensities be pyramidal - with perhaps 10% of volume at vVO2 max, 15-20% at threshold, and the rest in the aerobic regime. What should the distribution be for orienteering training? Perhaps the total volume should maintain the pyramidal distribution. I suppose ideally, I would spend all my time running in the woods, but this isn't practical; any running excursion already has a 20-30 minute overhead for stretching, showering, and logging. Orienteering has the added travel cost.
This week was successful; I hit my 75 km training goal. I took two rest days, but one is certainly allowed, and the other was to rest before my race. The week's lesson is that I need to race less and train more, especially in the woods.
While it seems there are many different schools of thought in running, conventional wisdom dictates that the distribution of training intensities be pyramidal - with perhaps 10% of volume at vVO2 max, 15-20% at threshold, and the rest in the aerobic regime. What should the distribution be for orienteering training? Perhaps the total volume should maintain the pyramidal distribution. I suppose ideally, I would spend all my time running in the woods, but this isn't practical; any running excursion already has a 20-30 minute overhead for stretching, showering, and logging. Orienteering has the added travel cost.
This week was successful; I hit my 75 km training goal. I took two rest days, but one is certainly allowed, and the other was to rest before my race. The week's lesson is that I need to race less and train more, especially in the woods.
Saturday Feb 2, 2013 #
8 AM
Running warm up/down 7:04 [1] 1.17 km (6:02 / km)
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Warmup with bgallup before the fudgcicle 5k. It was cold and in Tewksbury.
Running race 19:55 5.0 km (3:59 / km) +8m 3:57 / km
ahr:177 max:183 shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Second 5k road race; my result was very disappointing; I had hoped to at least run under 19 minutes. Conditions weren't great - the temperature was 18 F, but otherwise clear. I wore SLS shirts, LS tights, gloves, and a balaclava. The 5k was a fun, minimalist event; the recommended donation entry fee was $1.
I maneuvered to the front of the group before the race after a brief warmup with Ben, and quickly settled into fourth in the first minute behind blue tights guy. I felt ok out of the start but was wary of going out too fast. I only looked at my watch once in the first kilometer, and passed through the first mile in a sluggish 6:20. I kicked a little at the end, but I didn't have a good sense of when was the right time to do whatever on the course. I saw only the first and third mile marker.
So, not good. I'm pretty sure Philippe Adamski can tap dance a 5k in less than 19. I suppose I will hope this race isn't reflective of my true fitness and try again in March.
I maneuvered to the front of the group before the race after a brief warmup with Ben, and quickly settled into fourth in the first minute behind blue tights guy. I felt ok out of the start but was wary of going out too fast. I only looked at my watch once in the first kilometer, and passed through the first mile in a sluggish 6:20. I kicked a little at the end, but I didn't have a good sense of when was the right time to do whatever on the course. I saw only the first and third mile marker.
So, not good. I'm pretty sure Philippe Adamski can tap dance a 5k in less than 19. I suppose I will hope this race isn't reflective of my true fitness and try again in March.
C • Adamski 14
Running warm up/down 23:16 [1] 3.14 km (7:25 / km)
shoes: 201210 Inov-8 Road X 255
Cool down with "backup Dan" around the parking lot. We chatted and tittered about the latest and greatest in northeastern O-land.
11 AM
Running warm up/down 10:00 [1] 2.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: 201206 Inov-8 X-talon 212
I drove to Waltham to pick up Anna from the T and Andrew from the commuter rail, then we moseyed over to the Fells to run some old CSU 2009 A-meet courses. I had been dormant for a few hours, so we warmed up and discussed various topics like jetpacking.
Orienteering 37:18 5.49 km (6:48 / km) +103m 6:13 / km
ahr:165 max:180 10c shoes: 201206 Inov-8 X-talon 212
CSU Blue qualifier rerun. I was not successful turning on my O-brain and immediately (and non-chalantly) overran the first control. Bear Hill is trickier in places than I gave it credit, and the trails immediately confused me. It's also very hard to interpret subtle 2.5m contours. Three minutes lost. I refocused, and did ok on control 2 (split 3). I'm not sure if I was on the right bare rock at 3 and spent about a minute looking around before continuing. I totally misread the contours at 6, losing about a minute. The trails around 9 and 10 were just as confusing as last time, and I accidentally skipped the last two controls.
Orienteering 57:19 7.12 km (8:03 / km) +154m 7:16 / km
ahr:157 max:217 17c shoes: 201206 Inov-8 X-talon 212
CSU Blue Final from the 2009 A-meet. After the first disappointment, I rested for about ten minutes, then set out again. Anna did a tempo workout by following me for the first few controls. I felt ok through 5, though I wasn't all that confident about which cliff was which at 5. I massively erred at 6, spending over three minutes on an 80m leg, and I'm pretty sure I never actually got there. After that, I decided to relax a bit and take the course more as an exercise. I focused on having a good plan, reading ahead, and executing cleanly.
I messed up the second visit to the water control, and spent a bit of time stopped and trying to decipher the terrain. I also slowed (and took a bad route) to 14, and stopped in the circle for about a minute to read stuff. I visited all the controls this time.
It was a mistake to try to run three hard races. Learning to orienteer is like learning to play a musical instrument. When you have a challenging piece to learn, you don't start by playing it at full speed. You work up to it, and spend at least half of your practice time working on specific techniques - in brass land, that consists of long tones, etudes, articulation exercises, and all the other mundane stuff that is never performed. Similarly, orienteering training should consist of lots of focused techniques that are never specifically raced - contour-O, window-O, compass training, line-O, attackpoint exercise, route choice, armchair exercises, simplification, and so on. Just racing all the time is like trying to perfect a musical piece by playing it over and over again without actually practicing.
As should be unsurprising, my legs felt tired by the end of the day.
I messed up the second visit to the water control, and spent a bit of time stopped and trying to decipher the terrain. I also slowed (and took a bad route) to 14, and stopped in the circle for about a minute to read stuff. I visited all the controls this time.
It was a mistake to try to run three hard races. Learning to orienteer is like learning to play a musical instrument. When you have a challenging piece to learn, you don't start by playing it at full speed. You work up to it, and spend at least half of your practice time working on specific techniques - in brass land, that consists of long tones, etudes, articulation exercises, and all the other mundane stuff that is never performed. Similarly, orienteering training should consist of lots of focused techniques that are never specifically raced - contour-O, window-O, compass training, line-O, attackpoint exercise, route choice, armchair exercises, simplification, and so on. Just racing all the time is like trying to perfect a musical piece by playing it over and over again without actually practicing.
As should be unsurprising, my legs felt tired by the end of the day.
Strength training 6:12 [1]
ahr:125 max:144 shoes: 201206 Inov-8 X-talon 212
Some core with Anna and Andrew.