Training Log Archive: iansmith

Congratulations to the 2010 US WOC Team, especially well deserved first-timers Ali Crocker and Nikolai Nachev!!

As per the latest OUSA Rankings update, I'm now an 80 point runner! Woohoo! My ranking improved from 76.79 in April to 80.85 because of some solid runs at West Point and WCOC and dropping some lowish scores from April and May 2009. Also noteworthy is Brendan's 89 point ranking, up 11 points from one year ago.

My results have been buoyed by 4 80+ point runs (of 8) in 2010:
- BOK Middle (81.43)
- West Point Middle (89.59)
- WCOC Middle (84.42)
- WCOC Long (80.82).

It greatly amuses me that my best results are on middle distance courses, and that only on the sprint distance have I failed to break 80 points. I think this is because the two sprint courses I have run in the past 8 months have followed middle distance races on the same day; I do systematically worse on the second race of the day compared to the field.

I still have a very long way to go; heuristically, my speed is only 80% of that of an orienteer like Ross or Patrick. Nevertheless, I'm very encouraged. If I can average 85 point runs at the Fall A-meets, I will be an 85 point runner at the end of the year.

C • Also... 1

I went for a morning run along the same route I did yesterday (my standard, 30 minute run) - and finished 3.5 minutes faster (speed was 12.5% faster). I suppose I was running at a harder intensity, but it didn't feel particularly difficult - I held to 4/4 breathing for most of the run. I suppose this sense of freshness and speed comes from taking an entire week off.

I went for an early afternoon run before my performance at a nursing home with my chamber group from the Harvard Medical School chamber society. I'm playing the Brahms Horn trio with Andrew Noll and Reid Merryman, both of whom are students at HMS. Naturally, my thoughts are at the Team Trials with those who are competing.

I finished The Name of the Wind, and I was chagrined to find that the subsequent two books in the trilogy have not yet been published. I do recommend it for anyone who enjoys well written fantasy not unlike The Wheel of Time or the Harry Potter series. It's much less frustrating than the former and darker and more mature than the latter.

Anyway, I purchased an audiobook that Amazon recommended to those who liked Name... called The Blade Itself. Unfortunately, the book on audible was by a different author, and the book was not of the genre I expected. So, a disappointing flop.

I have many thoughts and observations about the human condition. We have such a fascinating existence with this strange axiomatic set of physical phenomena and properties, social contracts, complex behaviors and evolution in time, and so on. Seeing the many residents of the nursing home was a bit disheartening, though my fate will not be the same as theirs. I will take much better care of my mind and body and take whatever precautions I can to have a full, meaningful life as unencumbered by limitations as possible. I mused that behind each of those often expressionless faces was a lifetime of experiences, memories, joys, sorrows. Obvious legacy and remembrance is not the best measure of the impact of a life, but I was overwhelmed to consider the collective lives of the people before me, the people whom I would touch ever so briefly before drifting away to my own fate. I cannot help but be moved and remember those who have come before me. Similarly, I hope to encourage and enrich the lives of those whom I affect now, and nurture those who will come after.

What a fascinating existence we have.

C • Your presence was missed at the TT. 3

Event: CSU Park-O: Franklin Park
 

I have rested the past three days - largely because my right calf has been intermittently hurting. It feels much better now, and I am taking a rest break for some perspective. I am attending the US ARDF Championships in ten days, and the competition should not be too intense. I'm a bit wary about the 2m band, which I haven't used at all since the previous US championships in June of 2009.

Tonight, after waiting more than a year, I finally cooked the bag of red kidney beans I own. The result was edible if unremarkable; I should have soaked the beans overnight for a better result. Nevertheless, I consider this a culinary step in the right direction.

I'm somewhat surprised that my bag of kidney beans did not have any cooking warnings, since apparently kidney bean poisoning from Phytohaemagglutinin is a serious concern.

C • beans alone a bit dull.... 4