Training Log Archive: WIn the 30 days ending Nov 30, 2014:
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Sunday Nov 30, 2014 #
Orienteering 2:15:00 [1] 15.5 km (8:43 / km)
Long, long, long training on some slightly slower forest. Large chunks of the maps were blanked out. Personally I thought that meant we were supposed to just go for it and try to compass our way through a vast blank section. For me, that meant some major thrashing around lost, especially on the second box, because it was really slow and I went way, way off course while trying to stay on my bearing.
Then I found out that everyone used roads to go quasi-around the boxes. I suppose at least I got the most value for my money!
Then I found out that everyone used roads to go quasi-around the boxes. I suppose at least I got the most value for my money!
Saturday Nov 29, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 10.0 km (6:00 / km)
I stupidly forgot my plug-in adapter, so I wasn't able to fully charge my GPS for the weekend, which of course meant I got no tracking at all the entire weekend. Darn.
The morning wasn't orienteering either, but instead an easy run with 10 x 10 second sprints up stairs. I thought the stairs were a good idea, but then I would have maybe liked to just go running more. Since we left at 9, we finished at 10, and then had 4 hours to kill until training #2.
And, since I still stupidly had no plug-in adapter, I couldn't even do homework. That was a wickedly unproductive 4 hours.
The morning wasn't orienteering either, but instead an easy run with 10 x 10 second sprints up stairs. I thought the stairs were a good idea, but then I would have maybe liked to just go running more. Since we left at 9, we finished at 10, and then had 4 hours to kill until training #2.
And, since I still stupidly had no plug-in adapter, I couldn't even do homework. That was a wickedly unproductive 4 hours.
Orienteering 1:00:00 [2] 7.0 km (8:34 / km)
2 x ~3k forest sprint mass starts. Really really nice open forest with lots of visibility, but also a few really big hills. Aside from botching #1 both times, the rest went fairly good, and I wasn't too far behind. I thought I stayed pretty calm and under control despite all the people around, but that may also be reflective of just how easy the navigation was. I mean, it wasn't that easy, but they were distinct big hills, and you could see very far. I suppose at least I know that I can run with those guys, physically, in certain terrain.
Friday Nov 28, 2014 #
Note
First evening of Tera's Peurunka training camp! I didn't get a chance to run in the morning but I was confident we'd do something in the evening. As it turns out, we did about 40 minutes of core. Push-ups, sit-ups, all the usual stuff. Unfortunately, since I don't count core as training, no training for me!!
Thursday Nov 27, 2014 #
Orienteering 1:00:00 [3] 8.5 km (7:04 / km)
Kurko #11. I'm definitely getting better at these things! Just in time for the series to be basically over (I'm going to miss next week's). I still make one giant catastrophic mistake, but for the first half of the race, I was right in the thick of it with Pavel, Lasse, the boys. There were even times when I think I took a slightly more efficient route, noting that both of them were going too far left or too far right. Unfortunately, at 8, the really, really weird one, I thought Lasse was going too far left, but he was busy nailing the control, and I was going to a different control, that was even further left. So I screwed around a while and tried to relocate and whatnot and lost quite a few minutes. At that point I was alone and the time started to bleed away some more. BUT! I won a few legs, and was quite close on some other ones. That's great. These races are so much fun.
Wednesday Nov 26, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 10.5 km (5:43 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
A pleasant morning jog without any classes. Mainly just prepared for my Finnish speaking exam on Thursday. Yikes!
Tuesday Nov 25, 2014 #
Running 40:00 [1] 7.9 km (5:04 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
In between Salibandy matches (update: we sucked), I managed to jump out and go for a juosta. I thought I'd go north and explore the lake to the north of town, see what it would be like for running a loop around it. I actually thought I had started exploring the east edge, but it turns out I was actually just wandering around the southern part. Its a much bigger lake than I anticipated. I think that if I were to run from home and around the lake, it'd be about 25k? Guesstimate? And I'm not clear how much of it would be on trails versus road.
The internet and my sister agree that I probably have Morton's Neuroma, which is I suspect wildly common in runners. Its like walking around and feeling you have a pebble in your shoe. There have been times when I've noticed this pain before but it generally subsides quickly, this time its been a bit more persistent (read: 4-5 days), so we'll see where it goes. All of my road shoes are very much past their lifespan, and I suspect that is part of the problem. Its only another 2.5 weeks until I'm back in Edmonton for a bit, where then Ill stock up on some cushy goodness. Until then, I'll..... ?
The internet and my sister agree that I probably have Morton's Neuroma, which is I suspect wildly common in runners. Its like walking around and feeling you have a pebble in your shoe. There have been times when I've noticed this pain before but it generally subsides quickly, this time its been a bit more persistent (read: 4-5 days), so we'll see where it goes. All of my road shoes are very much past their lifespan, and I suspect that is part of the problem. Its only another 2.5 weeks until I'm back in Edmonton for a bit, where then Ill stock up on some cushy goodness. Until then, I'll..... ?
Orienteering 30:00 [0]
Does it count as training if you consumed alcoholic beverages after each loop? Its still technically running.... and still technically a race, in which I TOTALLY CRUSHED Pavel and Hutteri.
No further questions.
No further questions.
Sunday Nov 23, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [1] 13.8 km (5:04 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Ouch, my foot is still sore. Thus, it was unwise to go do a run around the Jyvasjarvi on the bike paths. Sure, they may have been slighly covered in snow, but it was still pavement, and that didn't sit well with my foot. Cut the loop short and gingerly ran home. No second workout today, and probably no running Monday.
Tuesday will also be problematic because of this Salibandy tournament we're playing in. And then Beer O+. Oh dear.
Tuesday will also be problematic because of this Salibandy tournament we're playing in. And then Beer O+. Oh dear.
Saturday Nov 22, 2014 #
Running 1:45:00 [1] 18.9 km (5:33 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Cruised around the Laajavuori looking for more hills to climb. I also wanted to find a mildly interesting way down from the top of the mountain, rather than just turning back around. I found a bit of a single track that sneaks me back down to the top of the other hill, but that's not ideal. I'm sure there's something else around those parts.
Running 50:00 [1] 8.7 km (5:45 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
A little evening shake-out run in the precipitation. It was initially snow, but appeared to turn into freezing rain by the end of this. I could tell because my jacket was essentially frozen solid. You know how when you run and its like, -3, so rain/snow hits your clothes, you warm it up, and it melts, but then flows to the parts that are less warm, and freezes again? Yeah, that.
It looks cool, but is also a tad cold.
It looks cool, but is also a tad cold.
Friday Nov 21, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [1] 12.9 km (5:26 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Another classically nice run around the Laajavuori. If I could go and explore this during the day more often, I'd get more familiar with the single track and not necessarily always run on the main trails. Unfortunately since we have about 4 hours of daylight at the moment. That's not always possible.
Starting to experience some soreness in my foot, right underneath approximately the joint between the third metatarsal and the phalanx. It feels like a lump as if its swollen, but it doesn't really look it. I've had that pain before, so we'll see if goes away. One of the problems could be that my two pairs of shoes are very, very much finished.
Starting to experience some soreness in my foot, right underneath approximately the joint between the third metatarsal and the phalanx. It feels like a lump as if its swollen, but it doesn't really look it. I've had that pain before, so we'll see if goes away. One of the problems could be that my two pairs of shoes are very, very much finished.
Thursday Nov 20, 2014 #
Orienteering 1:00:00 [1] 8.0 km (7:30 / km)
More Kurko! This time the "horse-kurko", don't ask me why. There was a plush horse on a stick being passed around. Finns are weird. There was a pretty lengthy period after the start where I was blindly following the pack because I really, really had no idea where I was. Then I found myself when we got to some rough open and a trail, and promptly got lost again for a little while. But, as the pack followed along a trail, I realized approximately where I was an bravely venture out into the dark across a seemingly featureless flat expanse of Finnish forest on a wing and a prayer.
But, as I ran across it, I began to feel like I knew, on the map, where this vast expanse was, and that I was actually pretty close to where I was going. Fortunately I slowed down and also noticed that there was a tagline on the circle I was looking for and it was actually a depression. So I generally found it!
Then I botched number 2 and 3.
But, thanks to number 1, I was still generally in with some people, and really, really had fun doing 4, 5, 6, 7 where I lead a few people and pretty much nailed them all. Especially in the case of 5-6 where it was tempting to go to the road, but I decided that this was training, and I should go for it. So I went for the bearing and stayed really straight checking off features along the way. Its like I was really orienteering!
The last few controls were tricky but with the people around it wasn't too much of a big deal. Would have been much more difficult and technically productive to be by myself, but then it wouldn't be any fun.
Good times. Only 4 minutes back.
Night-o is still awesome.
But, as I ran across it, I began to feel like I knew, on the map, where this vast expanse was, and that I was actually pretty close to where I was going. Fortunately I slowed down and also noticed that there was a tagline on the circle I was looking for and it was actually a depression. So I generally found it!
Then I botched number 2 and 3.
But, thanks to number 1, I was still generally in with some people, and really, really had fun doing 4, 5, 6, 7 where I lead a few people and pretty much nailed them all. Especially in the case of 5-6 where it was tempting to go to the road, but I decided that this was training, and I should go for it. So I went for the bearing and stayed really straight checking off features along the way. Its like I was really orienteering!
The last few controls were tricky but with the people around it wasn't too much of a big deal. Would have been much more difficult and technically productive to be by myself, but then it wouldn't be any fun.
Good times. Only 4 minutes back.
Night-o is still awesome.
Wednesday Nov 19, 2014 #
Running 35:00 [1] 6.1 km (5:44 / km)
Man, I really regret taking Monday off. I should have looked forward and realized my schedule for Wednesday was going to be from 8 to 7. It was tough to drag myself out and even go for a 35 minuter given I hadn't eaten lunch and was not feeling the running love. That was dumb, now I'm way behind on volume this week.
Since it looks like I won't be getting a ride to Kurko yet again this week, I guess that gives me an opportunity to do a nice evening jaunt. .... Yay?
I was flipping around the internet today and found the "uncyclopedia" entry on Finnish, which is mostly hilarious, but my favorite line is the first paragraph,where it says
"Finnish, I think, was invented by an ancient king who commanded the people in his dominion to speak like him upon the penalty of death. The monarch's name I shall give as Toivo I, or Toivo the Stutterer. It was Toivo's lingual philosophy that 'why use one letter when two or three would do.'"
Since it looks like I won't be getting a ride to Kurko yet again this week, I guess that gives me an opportunity to do a nice evening jaunt. .... Yay?
I was flipping around the internet today and found the "uncyclopedia" entry on Finnish, which is mostly hilarious, but my favorite line is the first paragraph,where it says
"Finnish, I think, was invented by an ancient king who commanded the people in his dominion to speak like him upon the penalty of death. The monarch's name I shall give as Toivo I, or Toivo the Stutterer. It was Toivo's lingual philosophy that 'why use one letter when two or three would do.'"
Tuesday Nov 18, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 11.2 km (5:21 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
I got to run in the daylight! Exciting!
With this newfound ability to see things, I decided to pop on a trail that I had seen but hadn't tried before. Its not very long, but jazzes up my route around the Soidenlampi a bit. Add it to my extra bit around through Myllyjarvi and its a very pleasant hour run. May be a bit too rocky in the dark, though. I found some extra singletrack on the way home too which spit me out in some amazing, amazing forest just behind Keltinmaki. It looked so good!
With this newfound ability to see things, I decided to pop on a trail that I had seen but hadn't tried before. Its not very long, but jazzes up my route around the Soidenlampi a bit. Add it to my extra bit around through Myllyjarvi and its a very pleasant hour run. May be a bit too rocky in the dark, though. I found some extra singletrack on the way home too which spit me out in some amazing, amazing forest just behind Keltinmaki. It looked so good!
Sunday Nov 16, 2014 #
Running 1:30:00 [1] 17.4 km (5:10 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Another delightful exploratory run over at the Laajavuori. I went over to the backside and all the way down to the turn off towards Palokka. In due time I might try to go do an around the lake run, but only once I've fully got my bearings over then. Then I went backwards around the 10k loop, and ten did an extra bit along what I initially thought was a ski trail, but I'm now thinking is some sort of horse race track. Its wide, but very soft, and has what looks like jumps. Its weird, but I think its some sort of long-distance race course. Glad to have mapped out more of the Laajavuori trails in my head.
Running 35:00 [1] 6.1 km (5:44 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Another shakeout run! In addition to my anticipation for a not broken GPS/HR monitor, I'm also looking forward to getting a hold of some new road shoes. Both my Brooks and Pearl Izumis are ready to be retired. Though, I may keep the Pearl's for the gym. Still, I can feel that they're pretty much done. But what to go with next? WHAT NEXT???
Saturday Nov 15, 2014 #
Orienteering 2:05:00 [1] 16.9 km (7:24 / km)
Finally, orienteering in the A) light, B) at the Laajavuori. A nice set of orienteering intervals I tried to do at easy pace. Honestly, day orienteering seems wildly easy when comparing it to the dark!
My mindfulness course I've been taking has helped a little with brushing off mistakes, but I still find myself fairly distracted. Distracted by all kinds of things that are highly irrelevant to orienteering. This is nothing too, but I'm more annoyed by them now. Even with them, I thought I performed well, but felt hurried and made mistakes once I caught up to a group with Pavel and Teemu and a few other guys and we were starting in intervals. My personal expectations gets higher and my fuse gets shorter when I'm around other people.
Also, my feet got quite wet and its about time I find some sort of socks to deal with getting super cold while O+'ing. Any advice?
My mindfulness course I've been taking has helped a little with brushing off mistakes, but I still find myself fairly distracted. Distracted by all kinds of things that are highly irrelevant to orienteering. This is nothing too, but I'm more annoyed by them now. Even with them, I thought I performed well, but felt hurried and made mistakes once I caught up to a group with Pavel and Teemu and a few other guys and we were starting in intervals. My personal expectations gets higher and my fuse gets shorter when I'm around other people.
Also, my feet got quite wet and its about time I find some sort of socks to deal with getting super cold while O+'ing. Any advice?
Running 35:00 [3] 6.1 km (5:44 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
A little light evening shakeout run. These are sometimes awful awful tough to get inspired to do On the other hand, once I've gone and done it, I feel much better about it all!
Friday Nov 14, 2014 #
Running 45:00 [1] 9.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I didn't have too much time for a long run today, because, stop the presses, I went to a social occasion. That doesn't sound like me at all!
Hyvä yö for a jog, though. Light drizzle, absolutely deserted. If it were Canada I'd occasionally worry about being eaten by a bear, but, ha ha, this is Europe, there isn't any wildlife! I'm in the clear!
Hyvä yö for a jog, though. Light drizzle, absolutely deserted. If it were Canada I'd occasionally worry about being eaten by a bear, but, ha ha, this is Europe, there isn't any wildlife! I'm in the clear!
Thursday Nov 13, 2014 #
Running 1:15:00 [3] 14.0 km (5:21 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
On one hand, I'll be happy when it snows so I can't start skiing, on the other hand, I'll be sad because a lot of my favorite routes around the Laajavuori will not be for running anymore, and I'm really liking them. I tried out a different combination of loops for variety and extra climb.
You know, at first I gave Strava a bad rap for thinking I did ridiculous amounts of climb in a workout (609 meters? Hell no?). And I thought that Garmin Connect was more accurate. However, I've since noticed that on the long climb up to the top of the Laajavuori, Garmin measures it mostly as downhill....
So, now I don't know who to believe at all. However, I have just discovered that almost the entire length of my preferred running loop in Laajavuori is used for the Neste Oil Rally Finland Shakedown. Maybe I'll time trial it and see if I can beat their time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDgoCvc5eGI
You know, at first I gave Strava a bad rap for thinking I did ridiculous amounts of climb in a workout (609 meters? Hell no?). And I thought that Garmin Connect was more accurate. However, I've since noticed that on the long climb up to the top of the Laajavuori, Garmin measures it mostly as downhill....
So, now I don't know who to believe at all. However, I have just discovered that almost the entire length of my preferred running loop in Laajavuori is used for the Neste Oil Rally Finland Shakedown. Maybe I'll time trial it and see if I can beat their time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDgoCvc5eGI
Wednesday Nov 12, 2014 #
Running 50:00 [3] 10.7 km (4:40 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Running in daylight! What a novel change! I'm not quite sure what they're doing, but there's a lot of logging going on around my usual trails. Its not like they're taking down entire cutblocks or anything, its just that at random times I'll discover a new giant pile of logs. Where did they come from? Why are they cutting them down? Do you think it would be okay if I took a bunch of branches so that I could make my apartment smell nice?
I think I'll do that last one anyway.
I think I'll do that last one anyway.
Tuesday Nov 11, 2014 #
Orienteering 1:05:00 [1] 6.7 km (9:42 / km)
Well, its finally time to get back to orienteering. And, what the hell, let's make it a ludicrously difficult night training. Pavel's girlfriend set it on some of the terrain that I think Finn's generally think is "crap". Its just so, so rocky. And not like a cool kind of rocky. Moss covered, lots of holes, weird shapes, its SO hard to move through it effectively, and when I ran in similar terrain at the long champs, I came out with two smashed shins and one purple toenail (projected fall off date: 2017).
And.... it was raining. And dark.
I recently read a study about task and ability attribution, and, now that I write this four days later, the conclusion of that study that ability attribution during negative performances goes down over time, actually feels like its ringing true.
At the time I was quite disappointed, but now that I think about it more, maybe it wasn't quite, quite so bad. I never really found number 1 (there were no flags), and although the long leg from 2-3 was wobbly, I went fairly straight, though I also never found the feature. 4 was likely a disaster, I think I was way too high. But then 6 was miraculously not a problem. 8 was a triumphant masterclass of skluck (skill/luck), and then the last few were also okay, although I once again find myself drifting a lot on my compass, especially in this rough terrain where its quite difficult to stay on the line. I'm told Timo is very good with the compass. Time to track him down!
And.... it was raining. And dark.
I recently read a study about task and ability attribution, and, now that I write this four days later, the conclusion of that study that ability attribution during negative performances goes down over time, actually feels like its ringing true.
At the time I was quite disappointed, but now that I think about it more, maybe it wasn't quite, quite so bad. I never really found number 1 (there were no flags), and although the long leg from 2-3 was wobbly, I went fairly straight, though I also never found the feature. 4 was likely a disaster, I think I was way too high. But then 6 was miraculously not a problem. 8 was a triumphant masterclass of skluck (skill/luck), and then the last few were also okay, although I once again find myself drifting a lot on my compass, especially in this rough terrain where its quite difficult to stay on the line. I'm told Timo is very good with the compass. Time to track him down!
Monday Nov 10, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [3] 13.3 km (5:16 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I decided to try and go make some sort of figure 8 route around the Laajavuori that would include a bunch of climb. So, I went around the base, up the 6km loop, then jumped on the long hill to the top, came back down, and then back up the hill of the 6km loop again. So there was basically three lengthy hills (lengthy being a relative term, of course). Still, it was good, and I'm going to miss being able to run on theses trails once winter eventually comes and OH WAIT! Then I can ski on them instead! Huzzah!
Sunday Nov 9, 2014 #
Running 1:15:00 [1] 13.77 km (5:27 / km) +76m 5:18 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Although I felt a bit better, I didn't chance going out for a long run, and went for a regular run. This was sort of an amalgamation of two single track loops, which made for a fairly pleasant technical run. A little bit wet, as the snow is slowly melting again.
My Garmin has started half-swallowing workouts. When I download the data on Garmin Connect, it'll [mostly] have the information, but the track itself will have stopped recording after about 15 minutes. Thankfully the distance and time isn't gone, which I suppose is small victories. 33 days until Polar V800.
My Garmin has started half-swallowing workouts. When I download the data on Garmin Connect, it'll [mostly] have the information, but the track itself will have stopped recording after about 15 minutes. Thankfully the distance and time isn't gone, which I suppose is small victories. 33 days until Polar V800.
Running 45:00 [1] 8.3 km (5:25 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Despite the surprisingly heavy ride, I resolved and persevered and went out for an evening jog as well, just for good measure. Headed down to the lake and around the Agora and then up past the hospital. Not exactly the most scenic route around, but its approximately the right distance.
Saturday Nov 8, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [1] 13.0 km (5:23 / km) +104m 5:11 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I'm not sure if it was the insanely hot sauna that felt like it was leaving second degree burns on all my orifii, but I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. Rather than not train at all (for goodness sakes, its the WEEKEND), I went out for a slightly slower and not as long jog as I might have otherwise. I had to make quite a few stops due to the numerous cups of tea I drank beforehand, but, overall, once I got going, I felt fine. We'll see how I feel afterwards. Time for more tea.
Friday Nov 7, 2014 #
Note
Today was my club's annual "meeting". More like year-end party, but, they stuck with meeting, so whatever. Lasse was organizing a little training session beforehand, but unfortunately my ride didn't get here in time so I missed out. That was going to be my training for the day. Darn.
But, the good news, was that during the meeting, I made an impassioned speech (where I criticized their lack of women in the club), and they decided to let me "officially" join and not make me walk home in the dark and snow (and hopefully eventually get a pair of those classy white o+ trousers).Then there was Sauna, jumping into an incredibly cold lake, being mildly surprised at some Finn's inability to hold their liquor, made another speech composed entirely of hockey cliche's, and didn't practice any Finnish, except for learning more swears.
I knew I was definitely in the right club when the part of the meeting came up where they had the yearly discussion if the club should do any ski-o, and the one guy in favour of that idea had his mouth taped shut, stuffed in a sleeping bag, and locked in another room.
These guys are all right.
But, the good news, was that during the meeting, I made an impassioned speech (where I criticized their lack of women in the club), and they decided to let me "officially" join and not make me walk home in the dark and snow (and hopefully eventually get a pair of those classy white o+ trousers).Then there was Sauna, jumping into an incredibly cold lake, being mildly surprised at some Finn's inability to hold their liquor, made another speech composed entirely of hockey cliche's, and didn't practice any Finnish, except for learning more swears.
I knew I was definitely in the right club when the part of the meeting came up where they had the yearly discussion if the club should do any ski-o, and the one guy in favour of that idea had his mouth taped shut, stuffed in a sleeping bag, and locked in another room.
These guys are all right.
Thursday Nov 6, 2014 #
Running 1:20:00 [1] 15.05 km (5:19 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
I'm really quite averse to doing out and back runs. I suppose what I really don't like is having to make the conscious decision to now give up and turn around. If I can keep going, I feel more inclined to keep going. So, rather than confront that problem head on and getting over it, I roll with avoidance coping.
Thus, I've been on a constant struggle to find a nice appropriate 1:20-1:30-ish running loop. I'm pleased to say that I think I've generally found it! It involves running over to the Killeri, then running the 6km loop around the laajavuori, but then taking the trail up to the top, back down, continuing on the loop, then heading back home a slightly different way. Its almost entirely on [albeit hard-packed] trail, and has a climb up a fairly large ski hill in it. Its nice. Its dark. Occasionally scenic.
AND NOW I HAVE A STRAVA SEGMENT CR. THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS. Its the famous "Pyssymiehenkatu Climb", Pyssy apparently means "gun", and mies is man (I knew that one!), so it might mean "Gunman Road" Climb. Which might make sense because I've been told there was a biathlon range once, and it was relatively close to there. Or its also possible that I suck at Finnish.
Thus, I've been on a constant struggle to find a nice appropriate 1:20-1:30-ish running loop. I'm pleased to say that I think I've generally found it! It involves running over to the Killeri, then running the 6km loop around the laajavuori, but then taking the trail up to the top, back down, continuing on the loop, then heading back home a slightly different way. Its almost entirely on [albeit hard-packed] trail, and has a climb up a fairly large ski hill in it. Its nice. Its dark. Occasionally scenic.
AND NOW I HAVE A STRAVA SEGMENT CR. THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS. Its the famous "Pyssymiehenkatu Climb", Pyssy apparently means "gun", and mies is man (I knew that one!), so it might mean "Gunman Road" Climb. Which might make sense because I've been told there was a biathlon range once, and it was relatively close to there. Or its also possible that I suck at Finnish.
Wednesday Nov 5, 2014 #
Running 1:05:00 [1] 12.0 km (5:25 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I think both of my pairs of road shoes are on their last legs. Granted, my Pearls never felt all that cushy, but even less so now. Most definitely these Brooks I'm running in feel kind of toast. They were okay, in fact they were great, but that was 75% because they were also free. I'm not sure I'll get them again. I think that the Pearls could be a solid racing pair, though, they're not much heavier than my Adidas Boosts, but more comfortable, and very smooth.
But, I digress.
I went out on one of my usual loops, and since it was light out, I decided to venture out on a different way. The end of this loop is just a bland downhill sidewalk run, so I decided to jump on this vague path on the powerline cutline to see if I could trail it back. That..... didn't work. The trail rapidly petered out so I bushwhacked on road shoes for about a kilometer until I got back to the ski trail, and got full on soaked. Better that I did this in the day than in the dark, but, that route was definitely, definitely sub-optimal. Back to the drawing board!
I've been told multiple times that Rdio is good, and without my beloved Songza, it turns out that, in reality, Rdio is GOOD! And available in Finland.
But, I digress.
I went out on one of my usual loops, and since it was light out, I decided to venture out on a different way. The end of this loop is just a bland downhill sidewalk run, so I decided to jump on this vague path on the powerline cutline to see if I could trail it back. That..... didn't work. The trail rapidly petered out so I bushwhacked on road shoes for about a kilometer until I got back to the ski trail, and got full on soaked. Better that I did this in the day than in the dark, but, that route was definitely, definitely sub-optimal. Back to the drawing board!
I've been told multiple times that Rdio is good, and without my beloved Songza, it turns out that, in reality, Rdio is GOOD! And available in Finland.
Tuesday Nov 4, 2014 #
Running 40:00 [1] 7.9 km (5:04 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well, I anticipated this run to be longer, but, it actually turned out to be fairly short. Explored some single track along the power line, then went out to some single track I've done before in the light for a bit of training to be more confident and efficient through rough terrain, with an activity I call "Brisk singletrack in the wet and dark", a spin-off of the classic high school volleyball team game "Ball in the crotch in the dark".
Same level of physical risk, far less volleyballs to the crotch.
Same level of physical risk, far less volleyballs to the crotch.
Sunday Nov 2, 2014 #
Running 1:55:00 [1] 21.54 km (5:20 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Well, today was.... less nice. It quasi-snowed over night, so it was pretty wet and rainy. But, I dressed pretty well so that I wasn't too hot or too cold, so it made for a nice run. Ran into some guy o+-ing, he said he recognized me, and that made me nervous about whether I'd met him before, so I was too embarrassed to ask his name. Now I spent 10 minutes chit-chatting with some local orienteer and I don't know who he is. Smooth move, me.
First 1/2 was on nice forest roads, then ended up back on the pavement for a second half around Jyväsjärvi, and then back home. It would be a good loop if I could find a bit more trail, it was too much road for me feet, I think. It didn't help that I had my firmest shoes on, but actually I'm quite surprised at how bad my calves don't feel, give they were 4mm drop shoes. Nice.
Each day I run with my Garmin I count down the days until I get home for Christmas and a new non-Alzheimers watch is waiting for me. This thing can't even last two hours running GPS and HR before resetting and losing the workout. Bring on the Polar V800! Staff discounts for the voitto!
First 1/2 was on nice forest roads, then ended up back on the pavement for a second half around Jyväsjärvi, and then back home. It would be a good loop if I could find a bit more trail, it was too much road for me feet, I think. It didn't help that I had my firmest shoes on, but actually I'm quite surprised at how bad my calves don't feel, give they were 4mm drop shoes. Nice.
Each day I run with my Garmin I count down the days until I get home for Christmas and a new non-Alzheimers watch is waiting for me. This thing can't even last two hours running GPS and HR before resetting and losing the workout. Bring on the Polar V800! Staff discounts for the voitto!
Saturday Nov 1, 2014 #
Running 1:40:00 [1] 19.65 km (5:05 / km) +225m 4:49 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
FINALLY, an amazing fall day. Woke up to -4 and frosty sunshine. These are my favorite fall days. Sure, its a little cold, but then you get into a sunny bit of the trail and you warm up real good.
Went over to Laajavouri to do a good thorough exploration. Got on the Lenkki 10 trail (I think), which was the one I intended to, which took me on a meandering loop behind the hill past some lakes (Lummelampi ja Myllyjärvi (really? another one?)) and then along a power line, over to the base of the ski hill. Then I took the inner loop back around past the Vuorilampi (literally - "mountain lake"), then up to the top, back down, then around the ski trails and home.
I didn't look at my watch at all and just kept running until I was trending back home. At that fairly brisk pace it took about 1:40, though unfortunately I was hoping for 2. I think if I crossed the road at one point and checked out the lake that would make it longer, or if I could find a more meander-y route back down from the top of the ski hill. Either way, great day to be out. I'm hoping to do about the same on Sunday but in a different direction.
Went over to Laajavouri to do a good thorough exploration. Got on the Lenkki 10 trail (I think), which was the one I intended to, which took me on a meandering loop behind the hill past some lakes (Lummelampi ja Myllyjärvi (really? another one?)) and then along a power line, over to the base of the ski hill. Then I took the inner loop back around past the Vuorilampi (literally - "mountain lake"), then up to the top, back down, then around the ski trails and home.
I didn't look at my watch at all and just kept running until I was trending back home. At that fairly brisk pace it took about 1:40, though unfortunately I was hoping for 2. I think if I crossed the road at one point and checked out the lake that would make it longer, or if I could find a more meander-y route back down from the top of the ski hill. Either way, great day to be out. I'm hoping to do about the same on Sunday but in a different direction.