Training Log Archive: WIn the 31 days ending May 31, 2014:
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Saturday May 31, 2014 #
Running intervals 1:25:00 [3] 16.1 km (5:17 / km) +133m 5:04 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Some fairly sub-maximal intervals, 24 x 1 minute. They were to be at about 5k pace, but I toned it down quite a bit and they weren't really that pace. I was happy to go with the group because it was a big one, but I wanted to run fairly well at Sunday's intervals. Unfortunately this run was all on pavement so like it or not, make legs were quite sore, also compounded by the 7 hours at the shop and then a fairly fun indoor soccer game. We lost, but I played much better! Particularly my shooting, which was mostly on target. The ball was way too light though. (you're probably wondering, that's a thing? Well, yes, yes it is. South Africa WC ball, for instance, was way too light, 2006 WC ball, for example, really good).
Friday May 30, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 12.1 km (4:58 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Cruised around Hawrelak park on a Saturday evening. Really nothing special, though still felt fairly good, and surprisingly good on an empty stomach. If I had more self-control I'd probably run more on an empty stomach instead of a gross full one. Yet, I don't. And I accept it!
Thursday May 29, 2014 #
Running 45:00 [1] 9.11 km (4:56 / km) +85m 4:43 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Traffic, traffic, everywhere. Its next to impossible to get to the east part of the city thanks to construction everywhere. Although I left for the shop with ample time to get in at least an hour, it took me quite some time to physically get there and my time dropped to about 45 minutes + some drills at the nearby park. It was also cold and raining, so I wore a light jacket. And... the sun came out. Upside, I'm sure I lost plenty of sweat weight. Although it did feel like it flowed all directly back into my eyes, so maybe not.
Wednesday May 28, 2014 #
Orienteering 1:15:00 [1] 14.32 km (5:14 / km) +106m 5:03 / km
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
So.... it rained a little. A little heavy. But, it was orienteering Wednesday. I was expecting the worst and hoping for anything even slightly better than the worst, and got, the worst.
See, because the Corporate Challenge being moved to Goldbar, they couldn't re-use the courses for the Wednesday night as they would've. So, instead, we used the courses from two years ago. My biggest concern about this is not necessarily the sheer laziness, but the fact that a certain someone offered to do an officials clinic no less than two weeks ago, and was repeatedly rebuffed. A certain other someone has repeatedly offered to help mentor new Wednesday volunteers and is generally rebuffed. As a whole, why should these courses of this quality still be happening? If we don't "need" officials clinics, or there doesn't "need" to be mentors, why do I keep facing this? I suppose the same could be asked about many aspects of our club.
It really wouldn't have bothered me if they tried and failed, I don't even mind that half the controls were in the wrong place. But that would have been so much more preferable than taking the lazy way out and wasting our most interesting park. I mean, come on, its like we've just given up trying.
But, whatever, I got a run in, it was mildly brisk, and its still training. I've got some courses planned by Toni in the same park and at 1:10000 that once it stops raining I'll get out and do.
See, because the Corporate Challenge being moved to Goldbar, they couldn't re-use the courses for the Wednesday night as they would've. So, instead, we used the courses from two years ago. My biggest concern about this is not necessarily the sheer laziness, but the fact that a certain someone offered to do an officials clinic no less than two weeks ago, and was repeatedly rebuffed. A certain other someone has repeatedly offered to help mentor new Wednesday volunteers and is generally rebuffed. As a whole, why should these courses of this quality still be happening? If we don't "need" officials clinics, or there doesn't "need" to be mentors, why do I keep facing this? I suppose the same could be asked about many aspects of our club.
It really wouldn't have bothered me if they tried and failed, I don't even mind that half the controls were in the wrong place. But that would have been so much more preferable than taking the lazy way out and wasting our most interesting park. I mean, come on, its like we've just given up trying.
But, whatever, I got a run in, it was mildly brisk, and its still training. I've got some courses planned by Toni in the same park and at 1:10000 that once it stops raining I'll get out and do.
Tuesday May 27, 2014 #
Running intervals 1:05:00 [4] 10.3 km (6:19 / km) +55m 6:09 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well, not long now! Starting to do some workouts with new coach, some shorter speed work intervals. He says that 3 of these before going to Italy will make me super fit, so, let's roll with it!
2 x 2 minutes, 4 x 1 minute, 4 x 30 seconds. Probably repeatedly went a little overboard with the first one of each set, but they still felt progressively better though kind of tiring. Ran the 2 minuters at about 3000m pace (3:05-3:09), ran the 1 minuters at 2:45 pace, and the 30 seconders at about 2:30 pace. Yet still my heart rate really didn't much eclipse about 160. Each lub of my heart might must be so enourmous since its going so slow that I feel reasonably certain one day it might burst. Maybe it goes so slow because its clogged with so much Wine Gum residue. Those things are just way too tasty. I blame my father.
2 x 2 minutes, 4 x 1 minute, 4 x 30 seconds. Probably repeatedly went a little overboard with the first one of each set, but they still felt progressively better though kind of tiring. Ran the 2 minuters at about 3000m pace (3:05-3:09), ran the 1 minuters at 2:45 pace, and the 30 seconders at about 2:30 pace. Yet still my heart rate really didn't much eclipse about 160. Each lub of my heart might must be so enourmous since its going so slow that I feel reasonably certain one day it might burst. Maybe it goes so slow because its clogged with so much Wine Gum residue. Those things are just way too tasty. I blame my father.
Monday May 26, 2014 #
Note
I can justify being yet again being screwed over by people making plans by saying that I'm pleased to get my body clock back to taking Mondays off, instead of Fridays. That, I'm okay with.
Sunday May 25, 2014 #
Running 1:30:00 [1] 17.0 km (5:18 / km) +98m 5:09 / km
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
Got right back on the horse with a nice though not long-run run. I had to volunteer at the corporate challenge this morning, so I didn't get to do it when the weather was real nice, instead doing it when the weather was real not nice. Actually, after the first 45 of rain, it sunned up quite nicely and everything was hunky dory. Ran into Jack out in Whitemud and did a quick detour to run with him for a few minutes. The legs felt kind of tired by the end, but really not phased.
Then I got to spend several hours looking for accommodation for the team training camp in Italy. Which is a totally not awesome project.
Then I got to spend several hours looking for accommodation for the team training camp in Italy. Which is a totally not awesome project.
Saturday May 24, 2014 #
Running intervals 55:00 [3] 9.6 km (5:44 / km) +80m 5:30 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
A morning jaunt out to join Patrick for his 12 minute quasi-time trial. Its not like a Time Trial, just a smooth run out for 6 minutes, and run back for 6 minutes. Don't ask me why, but, whatever. It allowed me to do something brisk and still get to the shop on time and showered et al. Cruised pleasantly at about 3:40 pace which, oops... I forgot to do a lap at the end. So in 12 minutes I ran approximately <.UNDEFINED.>.
A valiant effort.
A valiant effort.
Note
So turns out that didn't learn me. Shoulda gone for another run. I'm about tired of this.
Friday May 23, 2014 #
Note
I had plans. People flaked out. Should gone training instead. That'll learn me.
Thursday May 22, 2014 #
Running 35:00 [1] 6.6 km (5:18 / km) +58m 5:05 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi Streak (circa 2009
My usual Thursday post-office pre-shop workout was cut massively short by staying late to work So this was a very hustle-y run, which is a bit of a mis-nomer because its not like if I hurried running I'd come back and have extra time to run faster! But, that's the mindset I had.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 #
Running intervals 1:45:00 [4] 17.0 km (6:11 / km) +122m 5:58 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well, if I wasn't tired before, I'm definitely tired now. Its a nice coincidence when Frank's XC is pretty close to orienteering, as was the case tonight. I could run the race, and then jog over to rundle and do an imminently dull course over there.
First was Frank's race, where Francois went out really, really fast. Faster than I knew I could manage, and I pretty much packed that in after about 800m. He just slowly pulled away, and actually for the first 2.5 I had another guy on my tail, until I hustled on the downhill to the creek bridge and then promptly gapped him. I definitely felt tired tonight, so this did not feel amazing, and Francois eventually put almost a minute over me, more if he hadn't taken the scenic route. I'm probably okay with these being over for the spring.
Then, I headed over to Rundle for Wednesday night.... "training"? Rundle is a tough map to work with, no doubt, since there's just not much there. And perhaps it was a valiant effort, I'm not sure. Either way it was a far slower effort than the XC race, 'cause I was tired! Tough to maintain the usual easy run 5:00/k pace, moreso on the jog back to the car at Goldbar.
Next week's orienteering is at Terwilligar which will be good because its more technical but OH WAIT they were going to use my corporate challenge courses but will now save those next year. So instead of helping the new-ish planner come up with some long courses, we're going to just use old courses. I wonder if this person was given the opportunity to try designing some courses with some mentorship. Gee whiz, if only someone who was too busy to plan their own meet would have offered to help people like this. Oh right, they did.
First was Frank's race, where Francois went out really, really fast. Faster than I knew I could manage, and I pretty much packed that in after about 800m. He just slowly pulled away, and actually for the first 2.5 I had another guy on my tail, until I hustled on the downhill to the creek bridge and then promptly gapped him. I definitely felt tired tonight, so this did not feel amazing, and Francois eventually put almost a minute over me, more if he hadn't taken the scenic route. I'm probably okay with these being over for the spring.
Then, I headed over to Rundle for Wednesday night.... "training"? Rundle is a tough map to work with, no doubt, since there's just not much there. And perhaps it was a valiant effort, I'm not sure. Either way it was a far slower effort than the XC race, 'cause I was tired! Tough to maintain the usual easy run 5:00/k pace, moreso on the jog back to the car at Goldbar.
Next week's orienteering is at Terwilligar which will be good because its more technical but OH WAIT they were going to use my corporate challenge courses but will now save those next year. So instead of helping the new-ish planner come up with some long courses, we're going to just use old courses. I wonder if this person was given the opportunity to try designing some courses with some mentorship. Gee whiz, if only someone who was too busy to plan their own meet would have offered to help people like this. Oh right, they did.
Tuesday May 20, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [1] 14.1 km (4:58 / km) +130m 4:45 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
A pleasant shuffle on a really nice evening, hit some single track, some faster flat paved stuff, a little bit of everything. The legs definitely feel tired. No, actually it felt more like the lungs today, well, though, its like, the legs felt fatigued faster, so my heart felt like it needed to work harder sooner. Yeah, clear as mud, right?
Monday May 19, 2014 #
Cycling 1:20:00 [1] 30.3 km (2:38 / km)
Well, it certainly felt like it took an eternity to get home, and although I initially wasn't going to do anything, I jumped on the bike and did a ride with Patrick and Maryann around the river valley, that seemed about right, though possibly a tad slow. Whatever.
Sunday May 18, 2014 #
Orienteering race 1:15:00 [4] 12.5 km (6:00 / km) +274m 5:24 / km
Time for a long-ish long! And 1:15000 no less! This was much better. Both print quality and navigation quality. I would still argue that there is something wonky about this map beyond the vegetation needing updating, but the terrain itself is still way awesome. I felt fairly brisk right from the beginning, but needed a few controls to figure out the scale again. I also was strangely having difficulty with my compass again (that's strange? really?), especially notable on 6 when I just got confused with the direction I was going relatively to where I was trying to go. I was fortunate that the re-entrant I was looking for was pretty obvious when I got there.
Pleased that I gained a solid chunk of time on the long leg, too. I arguably could have saved time if I was a bit more decisive, but I think I made a strong overall decision at first and that allowed me to change my mind partway across and choose a straighter route. I was feeling fit so I thought I could absorb the extra climb without much trouble. I'm a little annoyed, though, after nailing that number 9, I KNEW number 10 was going to be tricky, but decided to go with a "compass and wing it" approach, and no less than two minutes later completely lost contact with where I was, and regretted it. I even said, "slow down, this will be tricky", but didn't.
I've often felt the best way for me to manifest my thoughts into action is to say them out loud and until the thought without the sound is effective enough. This has been effective in the case of "FOCUS", but clearly should also apply to other things as well.
How does one compress "this leg looks tricky so I should slow down and make a great plan" into one word?
Pleased that I gained a solid chunk of time on the long leg, too. I arguably could have saved time if I was a bit more decisive, but I think I made a strong overall decision at first and that allowed me to change my mind partway across and choose a straighter route. I was feeling fit so I thought I could absorb the extra climb without much trouble. I'm a little annoyed, though, after nailing that number 9, I KNEW number 10 was going to be tricky, but decided to go with a "compass and wing it" approach, and no less than two minutes later completely lost contact with where I was, and regretted it. I even said, "slow down, this will be tricky", but didn't.
I've often felt the best way for me to manifest my thoughts into action is to say them out loud and until the thought without the sound is effective enough. This has been effective in the case of "FOCUS", but clearly should also apply to other things as well.
How does one compress "this leg looks tricky so I should slow down and make a great plan" into one word?
Saturday May 17, 2014 #
Orienteering race 1:10:00 [4] 11.5 km (6:05 / km) +185m 5:38 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
First up is the sprint at Sage Stomp! Headed out for a nice long warm up around a road that goes way under the university. My legs were pretty unhappy from all the long driving but a half hour jog really mopped things up nicely. Then came the sprint!
I actually didn't expect it to be too difficult, but it was fairly tricky! The first tricky part was the ambiguity of the olive green. I've conditioned myself to assume that everything that is, will be, or once was, decorative garden of some kind is probably out of bounds. So, in several places I slammed hard on the brakes on the assumption I was about to disqualify myself, only to realize I wasn't. No doubt that's tough for a mapper of university campuses to keep on top of those sort of things.
Aside from that, I felt like I didn't spend enough time planning, and in some cases, I only planned about half of the leg. This was especially evident on 13 where going to the right of the building was probably faster, but all I was doing was planning the first half of the leg, with complete disregard for the second. I need to make sure I read the whole leg, and ideally, backwards from the destination, so that my entrance direction to the next control is correct.
So, things to work on, for sure. Brain too distracted by irrelevant things. However, I felt fit! That was good. Didn't blow my brains out cardiovascularly, just smooth and snappy.
I actually didn't expect it to be too difficult, but it was fairly tricky! The first tricky part was the ambiguity of the olive green. I've conditioned myself to assume that everything that is, will be, or once was, decorative garden of some kind is probably out of bounds. So, in several places I slammed hard on the brakes on the assumption I was about to disqualify myself, only to realize I wasn't. No doubt that's tough for a mapper of university campuses to keep on top of those sort of things.
Aside from that, I felt like I didn't spend enough time planning, and in some cases, I only planned about half of the leg. This was especially evident on 13 where going to the right of the building was probably faster, but all I was doing was planning the first half of the leg, with complete disregard for the second. I need to make sure I read the whole leg, and ideally, backwards from the destination, so that my entrance direction to the next control is correct.
So, things to work on, for sure. Brain too distracted by irrelevant things. However, I felt fit! That was good. Didn't blow my brains out cardiovascularly, just smooth and snappy.
Orienteering race 55:00 [4] 7.5 km (7:20 / km)
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
Sage Stomp middle! Yikes!
So, right out front, yes, the printing was not... great. Tough to read, no doubt, but we all had the same map, so, whatever. I was actually relatively pleased with the first 7 or so. I don't think my plans were any good, but I lucked out somehow. I missed 7 though, as I was too low, meaning I didn't identify what height I was at when I left 6 relative to 7. I've been trying to use the index contours more to stay on top of that, because sidehilling is definitely one of my weaknesses.
Alas, then it all went to heck on number 9. I crossed the fence, and didn't really align my map very well or take a bearing, so instead of going straight up the hill in front of my face, I followed the trail and went up the wrong hill. It was silly because my initial plan was to follow a different trail to try and "save climb", which was pointless because there was no climb saving by doing that. I think I wanted to make the climb more gentle, but this is a middle, and that's just a waste of time. It was a dumb idea and not worth it on a middle, I don't think.
OH YEAH, and then I skipped 12. Finished. Sat down. Chatted with Gra-eme, who passingly mentioned making a mistake at 12. It occurred to me I didn't go to 12. So, I went back and got it. And thus explains my 11 minute error on number 12.
Upside, winning split to 13 (the second time)! SCORE!
So, right out front, yes, the printing was not... great. Tough to read, no doubt, but we all had the same map, so, whatever. I was actually relatively pleased with the first 7 or so. I don't think my plans were any good, but I lucked out somehow. I missed 7 though, as I was too low, meaning I didn't identify what height I was at when I left 6 relative to 7. I've been trying to use the index contours more to stay on top of that, because sidehilling is definitely one of my weaknesses.
Alas, then it all went to heck on number 9. I crossed the fence, and didn't really align my map very well or take a bearing, so instead of going straight up the hill in front of my face, I followed the trail and went up the wrong hill. It was silly because my initial plan was to follow a different trail to try and "save climb", which was pointless because there was no climb saving by doing that. I think I wanted to make the climb more gentle, but this is a middle, and that's just a waste of time. It was a dumb idea and not worth it on a middle, I don't think.
OH YEAH, and then I skipped 12. Finished. Sat down. Chatted with Gra-eme, who passingly mentioned making a mistake at 12. It occurred to me I didn't go to 12. So, I went back and got it. And thus explains my 11 minute error on number 12.
Upside, winning split to 13 (the second time)! SCORE!
Friday May 16, 2014 #
Running 40:00 [1] 8.08 km (4:57 / km) +16m 4:54 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Halfway through the long-travel that is the drive to Kamloops for the weekend, and a nice brisk run through downtown Canmore. It was actually quite chilly, but not so much to make anything more than shorts and a t-shirt a necessity. Unfortunately, this loop used to take 45 minutes. Even with an extra jigger, only 40. Doh! Stopped by the park for drills and some strides afterwards too. Drills! Fun!
Wednesday May 14, 2014 #
Running 1:20:00 [4] 14.0 km (5:43 / km) +58m 5:36 / km
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
*phew* another exhausting double-down day. Sort of.
Started off with another Frank Macnamara XC race, wherein seemingly the entire Edmonton Triathlon Academy showed up. A whole lot of SUPER SERIOUS looking guys decked out in their gear. I know one of them is legit, the rest, I have no idea.
But, they're also triathletes, so I'm pretty sure of their MO.
Start, LETS GO REALLY FAST. This is not remarkably concerning because I know from experience they'll all tank in about a K. The one legit guy didn't, and Francois went with him at a pace I just knew today I wasn't hanging on to. It didn't get significantly better for me, though I went in waves of feeling good and feeling really not good. The legs were okay, but the lungs really felt they were feeling the last two weeks of races and the 5 Peaks last weekend. Or, at least, this sounds like a plausible excuse.
Halfway through another triathlete blazed by me like a man on a mission, but that also didn't last long, and I was at least pleased at that point, despite my labouring feeling, I felt as though I was relaxed and smooth. I really try to remind myself (out loud, of course) to relax. Relax the shoulders, the back, the hamstrings. It usually works.
Then, after a 10 minute warm-up, we jumped in the car and hustled out to Blackfoot for orienteering. At first I tried to do the course map memory, but that was not really working out very well. Nor was running very fast. Yikes. Very tired. I did try to use very few map looks, but my brain didn't seem to be in it, and though I could navigate normally, that really didn't feel like much of a challenge is its a very large pasture and the legs were quite long.
All in all, though, a nice day. I'm looking forward this weekend.
Don't care about outcome, just practicing good habits.
Started off with another Frank Macnamara XC race, wherein seemingly the entire Edmonton Triathlon Academy showed up. A whole lot of SUPER SERIOUS looking guys decked out in their gear. I know one of them is legit, the rest, I have no idea.
But, they're also triathletes, so I'm pretty sure of their MO.
Start, LETS GO REALLY FAST. This is not remarkably concerning because I know from experience they'll all tank in about a K. The one legit guy didn't, and Francois went with him at a pace I just knew today I wasn't hanging on to. It didn't get significantly better for me, though I went in waves of feeling good and feeling really not good. The legs were okay, but the lungs really felt they were feeling the last two weeks of races and the 5 Peaks last weekend. Or, at least, this sounds like a plausible excuse.
Halfway through another triathlete blazed by me like a man on a mission, but that also didn't last long, and I was at least pleased at that point, despite my labouring feeling, I felt as though I was relaxed and smooth. I really try to remind myself (out loud, of course) to relax. Relax the shoulders, the back, the hamstrings. It usually works.
Then, after a 10 minute warm-up, we jumped in the car and hustled out to Blackfoot for orienteering. At first I tried to do the course map memory, but that was not really working out very well. Nor was running very fast. Yikes. Very tired. I did try to use very few map looks, but my brain didn't seem to be in it, and though I could navigate normally, that really didn't feel like much of a challenge is its a very large pasture and the legs were quite long.
All in all, though, a nice day. I'm looking forward this weekend.
Don't care about outcome, just practicing good habits.
Monday May 12, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 12.6 km (4:46 / km) +140m 4:31 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
*phew* legs tired. But, again, it was such a nice evening, I couldn't stop. I decided to scope out a single-track on the west side of whitemud I rarely go on, which lead me to a fairly open trail that climbed straight out of the valley in a really nice gentle slope and it was all going really well until I came upon an AAAGGGHGHHHHHHGHHHH.
An off-leash dog.
Whitemud is that last refuge from dogs. Its a wildlife corridor, so neither bikes nor off-leash dogs are allowed. But they always find a way. One way or another. Its a shame I was logo'd to the gills.
An off-leash dog.
Whitemud is that last refuge from dogs. Its a wildlife corridor, so neither bikes nor off-leash dogs are allowed. But they always find a way. One way or another. Its a shame I was logo'd to the gills.
Sunday May 11, 2014 #
Running 1:35:00 [1] 19.1 km (4:58 / km) +192m 4:44 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
A nice cruise-y run on a super nice day. I went out to wander around Laurier to see if any of the people who said they'd take down some flags from my Wednesday event actually did. And.... they didn't. So, pulled down a few ribbons on my way by and took a roundabout route through the park. Although my legs were a little tired from yesterday, they still seemed fine and if I wasn't running out of time I think another 20 minutes would have been nice. I did think, though, I was fatigued enough that the last 3-4k I really need to focus on technique to continue driving forward at pace.
I also spent some time going from my current run technique to simulating a heel strike. I know that everything sort of drops down and back, but I was having trouble putting what happens into words. What exactly am I doing different? This seems like something I should know so I can tell other people (you know, working in the field and all). I need to set-up a camera on the treadmill at the shop from the side and look from there. That could be interesting.
I also spent some time going from my current run technique to simulating a heel strike. I know that everything sort of drops down and back, but I was having trouble putting what happens into words. What exactly am I doing different? This seems like something I should know so I can tell other people (you know, working in the field and all). I need to set-up a camera on the treadmill at the shop from the side and look from there. That could be interesting.
Saturday May 10, 2014 #
Running 1:30:00 [4] 18.0 km (5:00 / km) +186m 4:45 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Everytime I run a 5 Peaks race, I think, "Gee, this was not the greatest $57 I've ever spent".
Terwilligar is certainly a great place for a trail race. There's tons of single track, and some really fun and technical stuff at the top of the river valley. If you cut out some of the silly field stuff, THIS is where you could do a 5k terrain run. Its clearly a trail, so you can blast, but its off-camber, its twisty, rooty, rolling, really good.
For me, this is just a re-hashing of Frank's XC. Francois materializes at the start line, and I hang on as long as I can. I kept him in touch for the first 5k, and he continued to stay in sight until about 9.5 when we entered the trees for the second time. Once I climbed out of the river valley to begin the fun singletrack I encountered it.
The lineup.
See, they didn't start the sport runners soon enough after the enduro runners, so this was the point where we started catching them. I came around the corner to the start of the singletrack, saw literally a line-up of 30 people (half of them in costume), and BAM, tripped on a root. So now they're all looking at me, bleeding from my hand, as I now proceed to go straight to the front of the line, wait for one lady to slide down on her butt down this steep pitch, and then pass a continuous stream of people for the entire length of this 1.2k section. First time through I took 5:50, second time through 7:07. And its not like its restful, you're still working hard, because you slow down, pass, and then accelerate to the next person to pass again, in addition to saying "on your left" and "thank you", many, many times.
And its not like the passing ended then, it took another 3k of mixed double and single-track before the pack thinned out quite a bit. I realize Francois had to deal with all these people too, but its a disappointment because we just didn't get to race 2/3 of the second lap. I'm pleased with how I hung in there the first lap, but that second lap is just a bummer. Results also took two days to sort out, because many people (including myself) where not considered to have registered at all.
And that, is why 5 Peaks races are not worth $57.
Terwilligar is certainly a great place for a trail race. There's tons of single track, and some really fun and technical stuff at the top of the river valley. If you cut out some of the silly field stuff, THIS is where you could do a 5k terrain run. Its clearly a trail, so you can blast, but its off-camber, its twisty, rooty, rolling, really good.
For me, this is just a re-hashing of Frank's XC. Francois materializes at the start line, and I hang on as long as I can. I kept him in touch for the first 5k, and he continued to stay in sight until about 9.5 when we entered the trees for the second time. Once I climbed out of the river valley to begin the fun singletrack I encountered it.
The lineup.
See, they didn't start the sport runners soon enough after the enduro runners, so this was the point where we started catching them. I came around the corner to the start of the singletrack, saw literally a line-up of 30 people (half of them in costume), and BAM, tripped on a root. So now they're all looking at me, bleeding from my hand, as I now proceed to go straight to the front of the line, wait for one lady to slide down on her butt down this steep pitch, and then pass a continuous stream of people for the entire length of this 1.2k section. First time through I took 5:50, second time through 7:07. And its not like its restful, you're still working hard, because you slow down, pass, and then accelerate to the next person to pass again, in addition to saying "on your left" and "thank you", many, many times.
And its not like the passing ended then, it took another 3k of mixed double and single-track before the pack thinned out quite a bit. I realize Francois had to deal with all these people too, but its a disappointment because we just didn't get to race 2/3 of the second lap. I'm pleased with how I hung in there the first lap, but that second lap is just a bummer. Results also took two days to sort out, because many people (including myself) where not considered to have registered at all.
And that, is why 5 Peaks races are not worth $57.
Friday May 9, 2014 #
Running 50:00 [1] 9.8 km (5:06 / km) +82m 4:54 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
The classic "wait for someone who expressed interest in a run and then find out they're bailing" situation. Argh. I could have gone about 2 hours earlier and gotten in something longer, but for the 37th time this year, I fell victim to THIS again. I'm cool with running alone, those runs are focused and productive, but occasionally I'd like a social life beyond World of Warcraft totally going out and being cool and whatnot. 5 Peaks tomorrow!
Thursday May 8, 2014 #
Running 1:10:00 [1] 15.4 km (4:33 / km) +161m 4:19 / km
shoes: Pearl Izumi N1
Got out in a full and complete new kit today c/o PearlIzumi. The N1 shoes, Fly shorts, In-R-Cool shirt, and even the socks. A nice brisk run up Mill Creek and back, and the last few k I had to hustle a bit to get back in time!
The shoes, they were odd. They weren't remarkably springy, nor cushy, but they were very, very comfortable, and as advertised, they felt "smooth". The landing toe off felt quite fluid, and really quite noticeable on the climbs, as the flexed really nicely easily. Not super flexible, but flexible enough. I'm not really sure where to place them in my "quiver". If I were to run a half-marathon, I think these would be a considerable choice if I were worried about my calves.
The shorts? Well, let's just say they're "good value", and leave it at that. The shirt was slightly better than average. Better than Gore, not remotely as light as a Craft or Asics, but fits significantly better than an Asics. Craft Elite Run shirts are really still the pinnacle of running shirts (which is why they don't make them anymore, natch).
The shoes, they were odd. They weren't remarkably springy, nor cushy, but they were very, very comfortable, and as advertised, they felt "smooth". The landing toe off felt quite fluid, and really quite noticeable on the climbs, as the flexed really nicely easily. Not super flexible, but flexible enough. I'm not really sure where to place them in my "quiver". If I were to run a half-marathon, I think these would be a considerable choice if I were worried about my calves.
The shorts? Well, let's just say they're "good value", and leave it at that. The shirt was slightly better than average. Better than Gore, not remotely as light as a Craft or Asics, but fits significantly better than an Asics. Craft Elite Run shirts are really still the pinnacle of running shirts (which is why they don't make them anymore, natch).
Wednesday May 7, 2014 #
Running 50:00 [4] 11.0 km (4:33 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Frank's XC race, round 3! I don't know how Francois does it, I get so close to thinking, "Oh, hey, he's not here!" and then all of sudden he's standing at the start line. Where does he come from? Is it some sort of teleportation?
Certainly, he seems to teleport up the hills. I now can, with a certain amount of excess effort, hang on to him for the flats, but then a climb comes and he just keeps his speed a bit more and pulls away. This time, after the climb, we went back down the way we came, and he really made no more ground. On the flat, I didn't gain, but didn't lose either. In the end, I was behind him the same 16 seconds as last week, but the course was 1.5k longer. So I'd consider that a win! We were also both about 1:30 ahead of Brian in third, whom I used to tangle with last year. I know he's not had as much time to train, but I do feel head an shoulders better than last year. And, Francois PB'd at the 10 miler in April, so I know he's in a bit better shape.
Running fast is awesome! If only I'd known this years ago and gotten off my ass and started trainingharder smarter.
I skipped out on the orienteering after for an NB PK, which was a good choice because Hermitage is a boring map, and after wards I saw the map and discovered all of the courses were exactly the same as last year. Now that's just embarrassing.
Certainly, he seems to teleport up the hills. I now can, with a certain amount of excess effort, hang on to him for the flats, but then a climb comes and he just keeps his speed a bit more and pulls away. This time, after the climb, we went back down the way we came, and he really made no more ground. On the flat, I didn't gain, but didn't lose either. In the end, I was behind him the same 16 seconds as last week, but the course was 1.5k longer. So I'd consider that a win! We were also both about 1:30 ahead of Brian in third, whom I used to tangle with last year. I know he's not had as much time to train, but I do feel head an shoulders better than last year. And, Francois PB'd at the 10 miler in April, so I know he's in a bit better shape.
Running fast is awesome! If only I'd known this years ago and gotten off my ass and started training
I skipped out on the orienteering after for an NB PK, which was a good choice because Hermitage is a boring map, and after wards I saw the map and discovered all of the courses were exactly the same as last year. Now that's just embarrassing.
Tuesday May 6, 2014 #
Running 1:05:00 [3] 10.7 km (6:04 / km) +94m 5:49 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Got to Goldbar early before kids program to do a loop around the trails. I'm reminded that these trails are quite nice to run as well as ski. If I didn't feel like I've been on them far, far too many times, I might be inclined to run here more often. Also, the locals consider the entire park to be an off-leash area, even though none of it is. So there's that.
Then picked up some controls and did a little bit of hanging. I wouldn't usually log this as training, but it wasn't too much extra time, so, heck, Ima going to break the rules. JUST THIS ONCE.
All the cool kids seem to do it anyway.
Then picked up some controls and did a little bit of hanging. I wouldn't usually log this as training, but it wasn't too much extra time, so, heck, Ima going to break the rules. JUST THIS ONCE.
All the cool kids seem to do it anyway.
Monday May 5, 2014 #
Note
(rest day)
Monday I did a quick test run of one of the Corporate Challenge courses. But, it only took 17 minutes of not very fast running so, yeah.... I'm not going to log this.
Nev had better do this sub-20 or we can all openly internet shame him.
Nev had better do this sub-20 or we can all openly internet shame him.
Sunday May 4, 2014 #
Orienteering 55:00 [2] 7.6 km (7:14 / km)
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
O+! Meghan designed an o-terval session to be had at Queen Elizabeth Park instead of going to the "map-that-shall-not-be-named". I had thought that maybe the homeless camps wouldn't quite be out yet, but, no. Homeless camps, everywhere. Seriously everywhere. Its getting out of hand. Meanwhile, my navigation was questionable at best, but this map is quite tough as its very thick and scratchy and fairly detailed. Add to that no controls or flags, and its pretty darn tough.
But seriously, it was a lot of homeless camps. Honestly, if all I had in my life was this tent to live in, I'd still want my area to be vaguely free of gross debris.
One had a bird feeder though. That was weird.
But seriously, it was a lot of homeless camps. Honestly, if all I had in my life was this tent to live in, I'd still want my area to be vaguely free of gross debris.
One had a bird feeder though. That was weird.
Running 1:00:00 [1] 11.6 km (5:10 / km) +84m 5:00 / km
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
Well, eventually it stopped snowing and actually turned out to be a mildly nice evening, so I went out for another little spin through Hawrelak and the University. I wore my new marathon club jacket which, I swear, is "sunny orange". Definitely not pink. I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to pink, but it says so right on the label. Sunny Orange.
Saturday May 3, 2014 #
Running hills 1:20:00 [4] 13.5 km (5:56 / km) +288m 5:21 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Hills! And more hills! 2014 edition of Steep, steeper, steepest. Mad props to Nevin for actually showing up and doing the workout with me. No one else has had the balls to join in. I actually felt pretty good, which made me think maybe I could have fun faster. Although I've done this workout several times now, I don't seem to have many of the splits, although I have vague recollections of doing the laps (there are three of them) in about 11:00, 11:20, and 11:40.
Its hard to necessarily compare because I can't entirely remember the speed at which I go back down the stairs, but thanks to Strava and some segments that other people made, I can get some sense of my speed on the uphills. In particular, the "whitemud park uphill" segment, which is part one, I did in 3:48, 3:54, and 3:55, which in my previous time last year, was 4:13, 4:14, and 4:16, which just about the same HR. So, that's very promising! It suggests to me that my full lap times of 10:39, 10:50, and 10:42 are probably not just because of going downhill faster.
And that's a good thing.
Its hard to necessarily compare because I can't entirely remember the speed at which I go back down the stairs, but thanks to Strava and some segments that other people made, I can get some sense of my speed on the uphills. In particular, the "whitemud park uphill" segment, which is part one, I did in 3:48, 3:54, and 3:55, which in my previous time last year, was 4:13, 4:14, and 4:16, which just about the same HR. So, that's very promising! It suggests to me that my full lap times of 10:39, 10:50, and 10:42 are probably not just because of going downhill faster.
And that's a good thing.
Running 55:00 [1] 9.56 km (5:45 / km) +64m 5:34 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
A mighty pleasant evening run on the trails to Hawrelak and back. Considering my morning effort, the legs felt fine just fine. The trails are almost entirely dry and presumably will stay dry.
SPOILER ALERT: IT SNOWS.
SPOILER ALERT: IT SNOWS.
Friday May 2, 2014 #
Running 35:00 [1] 6.91 km (5:04 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
An easy run in the morning. Although I intended to go for another one in the evening, well, sometimes things happen. I'm not going to live and die by every missed day.
Thursday May 1, 2014 #
Running 55:00 [1] 11.0 km (5:00 / km) +112m 4:45 / km
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
Oops, I got to the shop a little late and this run wasn't quite as long as I might've liked. No matter, still a really nice evening, and got to wear the new club kit. Why is it, being 6'3" and 185 pounds, that I now fit into a medium t-shirt? The Asics large is just all-around too baggy. What is wrong with the world? Seriously. And these pants I ordered from Salomon? 32 waist, way too short. They're like capris. But 34 waists basically fall down. I must be anorexic or something. Nope, wait, according to BMI, I'm almost overweight. So many mixed signals! What's a guy to do! Train my balls off, and then gorge on chocolate. That sounds about right.
But, I also found out I'm now on the shop marathon team! What does this mean? Well, absolutely nothing. But I got the jacket that says "Fast Trax Marathon Team" on it. How many marathons are in my immediate future? Approximately zero.
But, I also found out I'm now on the shop marathon team! What does this mean? Well, absolutely nothing. But I got the jacket that says "Fast Trax Marathon Team" on it. How many marathons are in my immediate future? Approximately zero.