Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: US Team Trials for WOC '11
 

Blue - Splits

My right leg causes unacceptable discomfort when I run on it, but I missed an early morning orthopedist appointment yesterday. I will set more time aside in the weeks ahead for general fitness stuff, like biking, kayaking, and swimming, but I'm really frustrated that I can't run right now. I went for a walk around Fresh Pond this evening to clear my head. The leg felt ok. I will reschedule my orthopedist appointment for sometime next week. I suppose I should be glad that the discomfort isn't directly related to the break in the left leg?

Note: The last day to submit your candidacy and be on the ballot for the NEOC Board is today, Friday May 27. If you are interested, send an e-mail with your candidacy and a bio (3-6 sentences) about who you are and why you are running to Peter Frykman, workmoor -at- yahoo. Anyone can be nominated from the floor on the day of the AGM, but we have to close the ballot two weeks in advance to mail out proxy ballots to anyone who doesn't receive the e-mail letter.

The NEOC Board elections are at the Annual General Meeting on June 12, which will be held at Horn Pond in Woburn, MA. The Board has nine members, as per the bylaws, with two year terms. There are six seats up for election this year.

Terms end in 2012: Barb Bryant, Ian Smith, Peter Frykman
Board members running for reelection: Pete Lane, Joanne Sankus, Jim Paschetto
Board members not running for reelection: Samantha Saeger (moving to Sweden), Dan Westerberg (moved to Tennessee), Jason Tong

Peter Frykman has headed up the nominations committee, whose main charge is to find qualified and enthusiastic candidates. The committee consists of three people, including exactly one board member. The other two members were Bob Dangel and (I forget whom - will update). Peter worked hard drumming up candidates, spending lots of time talking to people at meets, and I think the search was well publicized. I apologize if we as a board didn't publicize the search sufficiently; this is my small belated effort.

The three candidates whom the nominations committee found are Andy McIlvaine, Bob Dangel, and Jim Crawford. At present, there are six candidates for six seats. I would be delighted if there were more candidates, but from what I know of the candidates, they would make excellent and enthusiastic members.

Yesterday, in a 4-3 vote (2 board members absent), the board voted to present all candidates equally on the ballot without a slate of candidates. In response to the elections last year, Peter Frykman, Barb Bryant, and I drafted an elections proposal to better codify the elections process. Most of the time, a club like NEOC shouldn't need such a document, because elections are generally smooth and happy. The vote on the proposal was split 3-3 over the issue of whether the nominating committee should put forward a slate - or preferred subset - of candidates. I don't think we passed the rest of the proposal (though I'm not sure why).

I am adamantly opposed to a slate because I believe it undermines the democratic process. It is my opinion that the membership should select the board members among ALL eligible candidates. In 2010, an extreme case emerged in which the names of those not on the slate were omitted from the ballot entirely (including mine and a returning Board member).

I will post a summary of my goals for the year and what we as Board accomplished this year in the coming weeks.

C • Summary 1

Charles River Canoe and Kayak wasn't open when I cruised over to go kayaking, so I went for a quick bike ride instead. Discomfort in my right leg below the knee; I have scheduled an orthopedist appointment for Thursday.

Event: NEOC: Hale Reservation
 

I set out on an easy, 45 minute run this evening. I twinged something in my outer right calf on Monday, and it is still hurting. I ran very gingerly and intermittently, just trying to apply some light stress to my body. My present condition is frustrating.

Atrocious. Jess and I went bowling, and I bowled two games simultaneously to her one (ideally so she would be less bored). I record these games sequentially even though the two pairs of games were happening in parallel. Apparently the number of pins I was hitting on the first ball was typical - 7.02 vs my average of 7.1 (though that was buoyed by the series of 9-shots in the last two games), but I could not convert on numerous spare opportunities. I kept missing to the right for whatever reason. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant outing, and much fun was had.

Game 1: 35 6- 5- 7- 72 8/ -1 X X 9/9 = 114
Game 2: 8- X 7- 13 8- 6/ 61 6- 81 8- = 90
Game 3: 7- 7- 9- 9/ 9/ 7/ -9 72 63 8/9 = 115
Game 4: 9/ 53 9/ 9- 7- 71 9- 6/ 61 81 = 107

Strike rate: 3/42 = 7.1%
Spare rate: 10/37 = 27.0%
First-ball pins: 7.02
1-pin spares: 5/8 = 62.5%

Evening river loop jaunt. At times, it is easy (and frustrating) to forget that I am not as strong as I once was, but when I engage in activity, my new found limitations quickly surface.

Event: Billygoat Run
 

After rehearsal today, I bowled eight games. While my strike rate was about average, I had an excellent spare rate, and an above average first ball pins. After a long (involuntary) hiatus from bowling, I am pleased with my results today. I was better than usual about hitting the head pin, though I had an unacceptably high rate of brooklyn, despite starting my approach nine boards to the right. I am very disappointed with my 1-pin spare rate; my 3-pin spare rate (spares after a 7-pin first ball) was almost as good - 11/21.

Game 1: 72 8/ 9/ 6- X 9/ 63 7/ 9- 9- = 132
Game 2: 8- 7/ 7/ 8- 7/ 9/ 8/ 9/ 17 9- = 135
Game 3: 71 71 X X 3- 8/ 6- X 9- 8/4 = 119
Game 4: 8/ X 72 8- 7/ 72 7/ 25 8- 7/6 = 125
Game 5: X X 9- 72 8/ 81 7/ X 9/ 8/4 = 165
Game 6: 7/ 8- 9- 71 X X 81 8/ 9/ 71 = 143
Game 7: 9- 72 X 7/ 72 9/ 9/ 9/ 52 XX8 = 152
Game 8: 3/ 9- 61 9/ 3/ 7/ -7 7- 53 XX9 = 126

Statistics (2011 average in parentheses)

Average Score:	137 (127)
Strike percentage:	15/87 = 17.2% (18.5)
Spare conversion:	31/67 = 46.3% (34.4)
First-ball pins:	7.62 (7.10)
One-pin spares:	10/18 = 56%
Marks/game:	5.75 (4.8)

The ride actually takes longer than 20 minutes, particularly counting traffic stops, but as time is a more important metric for my training log than speed, it seems best to accurately report distance but rescale the time (as done in the reference feet 2010, e.g.)

After a long, moderately productive day, I set out with my repaired bike to cruise the Minuteman trail. I had been on it earlier this week to get to rehearsal, but that trip had been marred by a sense of urgency and lots of cargo. I set out on this chill evening with bike shorts, two shirts, gloves, and an mp3 player in case I got a flat and had a long boring walk. In addition to my usual fore and aft bike lights, I brought my headlamp.

The Minuteman is an excellent trail, and it is frequented by active people during the day - runners, roller bladers, cyclists, and people walking. The trail replaced an old rail line and is perhaps four meters wide. On busy Saturdays, dodging among the pedestrians is tricky and slows you down considerably.

At night, however, the trail is virtually empty. I encountered no more than ten people, including some dog walkers, four cyclists, an occasional pedestrian, and one seemingly crazy person. My lights were powerful enough to illuminate the trail far ahead. One other obstacle the Minuteman unfortunately offers is occasional road crossings; my gps track indicates crossings as short dips in my speed, as I was not foolhardy enough to take any crossings at full speed.

Overall, the trip was relaxing and pleasant. I am not displeased by my overall speed, though I have a long way to go before I reach the level of biking insanity set by CSU Truckee.

C • A lot of people find it's e... 2

Event: CSU Park-O: Pine Banks
 

The penultimate difficult day in a difficult week.

I had the crank arm on my bike tightened and greased, which has resulted in considerably improved performance. My bike no longer makes unpleasant noises with each revolution of the crank, and the application of power is much more efficient.

Event: NEOC: Hale Reservation/Powissett Peak
 

Event: NEOC: Estabrook Woods
 

Red course at Estabrook. I forgot to start my watch until after control 4, so the time and distance have been revised to reflect the course data. Despite allergies and poor preparation, I had a solid albeit slow race.

Jess and I went to the Boston ballet performance of Bella Figura (with other works) yesterday, and I slept fitfully, with congestion and general sinus discomfort from allergies. I woke at 10:30 and abandoned my plan to replace my flat tire and bike to Estabrook in lieu of a Zipcar expedient. A highlight of the trip: as I was running to the start, a pair of F-18s blasted by overhead at low altitude - at most a few thousand feet. They were fantastically loud.

After picking up a new kit from Ali (thanks Ali!), my Amherst nemesis inquired what my training objective was for the course. My original plan had been to wake up, drive to Estabrook, find some controls, socialize and go home, but these hard core types compelled me to concentrate on something else. Since I am so fond of control picking, I decided to focus on having good flow around controls, having a plan for the next leg as I approached a control, and exiting well. I execute that reasonably well today, though as I got tired, it became more difficult. Having an objective was helpful.

I developed a stitch in my side on the way to 10 that slowed me down somewhat. My allergies this year have been much more acute than in the past. Today, I renewed my membership in the Orienteers with Alergies club by sprouting hives on the outer edges of my forearms after the race. The reaction wasn't bad, barely itched, and subsided shortly after a shower, but my immune system clearly needs to get it together.

Quick Route

C • Post QR! 2

C • F-18s 1

Red - Splits

Event: Cat Rock Park-o
 

Short and easy jaunt home. I felt wonderful, though disappointed to miss the Park-O tonight and to not have trained yesterday. Naturally, I followed the run with a burrito.

I felt sluggish and weak. I haven't been sleeping much this week, and I am still weary from my West Point experience. Given all this and my untrained state, I contented myself with a very easy jaunt around Fresh Pond. It might have been optimal to run even more slowly. A few months of gentle runs will undoubtedly reap considerable physiological benefits.

I ran into Audun thrice, who fortuitously was running anti-clockwise.

It was on the third race of the A-meet that my shortcomings were most obvious. I realized beforehand that I was not ready for a 12 km race through West Point terrain, but I decided, partly out of pride, that I had nothing to lose from the longer race. I felt groggy and sluggish the morning of the race, and Jeff and I arrived at the parking area over an hour before my start. I wandered around a bit taking pictures, and unwisely decided to walk the 1.8 km up to the start. This wasn't a problem physically, but it did leave me with less time to ready myself than was optimal. Jeff Teutsch, who started 4 minutes after me, ran to the start with me, and I arrived about a minute before my name was called. I took a Gu twenty minutes before my race and brought one with me in reserve.

My running speed was sluggish throughout the race. I made a number of small errors - I left 3 in the wrong direction, resulting in a costly sidehill traverse to get back on the line, I climbed too high at 4, I overshot 5 by about 50 meters, and apparently I hesitated at 7. On the way to 10, I started planning my route to 12 and was so focused that I ran right past the control. It took me some time to reconstruct the events, and I lost about 5 minutes. At 18, I left the ridge too early and wandered for a few minutes before reacquiring.

At control 14, I realized that my body was depleted, and I felt myself start to hit the wall. It was 2008 all over again, though I am in better shape and have much more experience than I did then. I had taken my Gu at 6, so I decided to walk as fast as I could for the remaining controls. Attackpoint graciously considers controls 15-19 errors; I started running (slowly) again to 20, then battled to hold off Jeremy Colgan on the long trudge up the road to 21. I was completely spent; I had nothing left at the end. I am happy that I won my private battle with the course against the temptation to quit, but my race was a failure, and the fault lies with my miserable conditioning.

Long Blue - Splits