Training Log Archive: iansmith

My back was improved today, though still ginger. I decided it would be best to move around with some light activity, so I walked around downtown San Francisco. I had a burrito at Uno Dos tacos, spent a while catching up on email at Philz coffee, and checked out a few parks. It was a good day, and my back improved.

Today was very difficult. I slept fitfully, and moved to the floor because my bed was too soft. Upon waking, it was apparent that I could not run - bending down to tie my shoes was agonizing. It appeared that I had strained a muscle in my back, and the other muscles nearby were compensatorily tight to avoid damage to the injured guy. Getting out of a car was difficult, and I spent the relay walking gingerly to try to relax my back. I found some solace lying down face up in the shade on the track. I was devastated to be unable to support my relay teammates, Michael Laraia and Jeremy Colgan, but getting into the woods was out of the question.

Joe was kind enough to give me a ride to Sacramento, and the five hour transit from Tahoe to my hotel in San Francisco, most of which was seated, required tremendous focus and dedication. Upon arriving at the hotel, I was in enough pain that I purchased acetominophen and ibuprofen, took a dose of each, and passed out into blissful unconsciousness.

Well, shit.

C • F 3

C9 - Splits

Easy warmup jog along the dirt road near the arena.

US Nationals middle distance, Little Truckee Summit, Truckee CA. Certainly the most unusual feature of today's race was the terrible air quality from smoke from fires north of us - with an AQI between 150 and 200. The air quality in Truckee was over 400 on Friday night (PM2.5), and the race was very nearly cancelled. Ultimately, the organizers decided to postpone the starts, as the wind was blowing the smoke away from Truckee. Still, I noticed that my throat was uncomfortable after running, and I wore an N95 mask all the time except when I was running both for the smoke and minimizing pandemic exposure.

My disappointment in my performance is substantial but unsurprising. In the past year, I have done 117 km of running and about 6000 km of cycling. Even that latter number is underwhelming, as it amounts to just 20 of my longest trips. I was hurting today from the altitude (1950m), the smoke, and the complete lack of training. I think my overall fitness is ok albeit unremarkable, but the muscles used for running in terrain are not well conditioned. I avoided colossal errors, though I did have several mistakes - I executed 1 quite poorly, was very slow on 8 and 9 (though I didn't make an error), chose a sluggish route to 13 for no apparent reason, and suffering mightily on the climb up to 17.

To finish 50% back of the winner at the US champs is disenheartening. This is a clarion call that I need to maintain at least passable shape - running even 40 km per week would make a huge different in my ability to weather these challenges and actually enjoy myself rather than simply suffering.

My X-talon 190s were the O-shoes that were most ready for this trip, though I do have a brand new pair of X-talon 212s stashed in my closet. The 190s offer good traction, but they hurt my feet. There are some tears in the uppers, and the fine dirt particles in the terrain meant that I was often taking dirt baths. I also developed a couple blisters, notably on the inside of the right ball of my foot.

C9 - Splits

Event: 2021 Orienteering USA Nationals
 

I have been in San Francisco for the past few days to see friends, tour the city, and attend the virtual Bioconductor 2021 bioinformatics conference. I decided to fly out a few days earlier than the US Champs to relax and change my scenery. I stayed at a hotel in the Financial District of San Francisco, which was surreally a ghost town - with so many workers operating remotely, the apparent traffic in the business sectors of the city seemed reduced. Every time I visit the Bay area, I am reminded of the bizarre dichotomies and the contradictions of great wealth with poverty. The region is also vast, rich with interesting hills and topography, and distinctive with its microclimates and local diversity.

This morning, I took a train from San Francisco to Sacramento to make it to the US Champs sprint (for which I am woefully unprepared). Getting up at 4 AM was mitigated by my jet lag and stubborn resistant to adopting a normal circadian rhythm. However, the Bay at night was beautiful, and riding on the train through the towns between Berkeley and Sacramento was a great way to take in the California vista. There were so many hills that beckoned, so much interesting terrain to experience. Another time, perhaps.

Warmup for the US championship spring at Sierra college in Rocklin CA. I felt sluggish.

Cool down jog partly with Will, Greg, and AJ.

US championship sprint course. My navigation was generally fine, but I was ponderously slow. Control 3 had a long run on a straight path through some buildings, and while I tried to open up my pace, my legs were uncooperative. I can remember what it was like to be fast (for me), and it's frustrating to be so betrayed by my body. This is the consequence of not training. I apparently didn't rent an SI air, so I was manually punching everything - which might have added 20-30s to my time.

The course made good use of the terrain and was generally uneventful for me. The 3000 scale was a bit perplexing and seemed unnecessary. The finish punches were clearly not synced, as I beat Greg by six seconds in a very short finish chute. As I think it was the finish punches and not the go control that was unsynced, I believe some finish times are incorrect by 7-8 seconds, which is a very substantial timing error in a sprint.

It was excellent to be orienteering again and to see so many familiar faces. I met Joe Barrett.

Sprint 7 - Splits

Running along the bay near Oracle Park in San Francisco. Some delays due to traffic. I forgot my ANT stick, so the GPS tracks will have to wait. It was 14C and misty this morning.

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/08/1003...

Burrito count: 2

Tacorea, La Taqueria