Training Log Archive: Charlie

last 45 minutes of Rhonda's morning class, cleverly having another cup of coffee until the crunches were safely out of the way.

perambulating in NYC with Rhonda while we wait for Jessica to get out of work. Folks on the street are dressed strangely to our country eyes.

C • NYC fashion 3

McLean CCW loop from corner of Barndoor Hills Rd. Putting a little effort into it, and a PR, even better than on Obama day, when I was floating on air. Hamstring is getting more and more tender, although it calmed down about 50% after about 25 minutes.

A bit of G creep, after two straight evenings with ice cream.

Went to Boston today, and packed some clothes in case I got back to Westfield in time for the Stanley Park run. I got there just in time, but by then I was much too tired and achy from the ride to be into it, so just drove on by. And then it started raining really hard anyway.

It is getting very beary around here. Dogs chased up another one while we had them out on their morning constitutional. So we changed course and Rhonda did some powerful whistling, and the dogs were recovered.

In the gym with Rhonda, Charles and Raakel. Raakel wants Charles to get exercise. He is not so sure.

Event: WCOC Hoyt Scout Reservation
 

Bummer! Missed the meet today in Redding, as I had it in my head that it was tomorrow.

West Simsbury and West Granby, with Chris.

AOWN. Dogs treed an 8 month old bear cub this morning, around 8 am. Rhonda was pretty excited retrieving her dogs. Where was the cub's mama? Apparently next door foraging, as the neighbor's garbage was picked over, and furniture on their deck tossed around.

Sprint A. Had grander plans, but the day got away from me and I just went out late. A PR for the course, and by quite a bit: 26 seconds. Strong through the middle legs, particularly 9-12, then struggling to hold on for the uphill legs toward the end.

Steve Pelletier, my neighbor who bow hunts here, got two deer today. Such a nice guy, and he was just delighted. Showed up at the door grinning broadly and out of breath. He got them from a tree stand down on the North facing hill near the northern property line. Last year he didn't catch one all season.

Tennis elbow update. Not sure the flexbar is having the desired effect. If the point is to exercise the forearm eccentrically, why not this: holding the affected arm in front of me, bent at the elbow and wrist bent back 90 degrees, I push on the back of my hand with the other hand, resisting as it goes through the range of motion until it is bent about 45 degrees forward. I can control very easily the amount of force, and it seems to fire the muscles in there. Yet to see if it fixes the problem, but it is way more low-tech than even the low-tech flexbar, and seems to hit the problem more directly. I have been doing a set of 5 reps, a couple of times a day, for several days now.

Morning class, lightly attended. I generally arrive a bit late, having another cuppa and reducing my exposure to the part that involves a lot of crunches. Works out ok. I also get pretty antsy in any structured setting for as much as an hour or so.

made up our own workout, as I am enjoined from doing most of the crossfit repertory by various ailments: 4 cycles of run 530 meters, ten back extensions, ten GHD situps, ten 35 pound overhead presses. 2:36, 2:38, 2:36 and 2:32 for the runs. This sort of thing is much more exhilarating than a longer run, and doesn't irritate my hamstrings the way the longer runs do.

with Rhonda from Pleasant Valley. Much discomfort in R hamstring and low back. R was spunky and took off in the last half mile, finishing 45 seconds ahead.

private lesson, followed up by some modest weights to work on shoulder

Brisk hike with Rhonda and the dogs down Doyle Rd and up Ted Wright trail to Lans's fire road, past the tower and home. Spent some time coaxing Hazel out of a pool in the stream. She was determined to stay.

Green X at Ultralong championships in Rochester. A pretty good result - decent navigation, but a lot of trouble keeping any pace, particularly uphill. Only significant bobble was at #5, where I got a line or two high at the end and had to think about it then head downhill. Maybe two minutes. Probably lost some time on 2, where I went down below the green and ran a longer route, and then was very slow and careful approaching the area of the control. Otherwise pretty steady. Saw Walter heading from six to 7 when I was on my way to 5. Saw Charlie Shahbazian several times, near #7, again between 7 and 8, when he passed between 10 and 11, and when he almost caught me at 12. He was much faster, but making mistakes. Caught Dennis on the way to # 8 and ran together to 8. Here is the map from 1 through 7.

From O-maps

And here it is from 8 through 12.

From O-maps

Finished hard, trying to hold Charlie S back in the last two legs.

UltraLong: Green X - Splits

Event: US Sprint & UltraLong champs
 

Sprint champs, green course. A reasonable run, except for two mistakes. Lost 30 seconds at 6 by leaving the trail early and getting on the wrong side of the thicket, and then a serious boom at 12 (where some others lost even more time). Had to go out and relocate.

Green Middle Distance course at Mendon Ponds meet. A disastrous first control. Had a lot of trouble reading the map. Came to a depression but couldn't find it on the map, so bailed out to the upper trail and still didn't know where I was. If I could have seen the map in there, I would have known the control was just past the depression. After that a very clean run. Route around to the right on #8 appears inferior to going left, but otherwise pretty fine.

Sprint: Green - Splits

Middle: Green - Splits

Sprint A in 16:23 and about an hour later Sprint B in 13:31. Both PRs and pretty satisfying.

Loop at McLean Game Refuge with Rhonda. She is getting spunky and pushed the pace, at least for the first three miles or so.

Red course at Pawtuckaway. Much nicer weather, but still lots of deadfall and very slow going for me. Big error at #9, where I was in the right reentrant but didn't see the control and then spent a lot of time wandering before getting rescued by Pat Dunlavey. Lesser errors at 2, 10 and 13. Ran with Phil from 11 to 12, which was a nice visit.

Event: Pawtuckaway Camping Weekend
 

Red course at Lake Pawtuckaway. Early part was on Big Island. I always have trouble there, and always think: this time will be different. Not yet. Generally OK until #6. Thought I had a safe route, but came off edge of marsh and couldn't find it. Maybe the wrong marsh? Probably. Wandered around a bit, then couldn't find the marsh again to see if it was a different one, so headed SE looking for something I could relocate from. Finally found a large boulder that was a control on another course, and only about 150 M SE of #6, so walked carefully back, checked off some more marshes, and off the corner again. No luck. Found a couple of other guys wandering there and wandered some more. Then got the bright idea of heading toward the big hill with #7 and backtracking. Saw a bunch of folks there, including Phil and Peter Goodwin, and came down the spur to the bump at the end. Nothing. Now I'm really pretty distressed and thinking, where else can I go if it's not here. But then my eye caught a streamer, and below the streamer a flag. Off to #7, where I lost patience about 20 M too soon and climbed a line or two, then saw PG below me and realized the cliff was down there, so down again and in from the other side. Up and over the ridge and down the reentrant looking for the knoll and the flag at a water hole beyond. Never saw the knoll, and certainly not the flag. Made it down to the green, and so turned back, seeing the flag tucked around the corner. A good route to #9, but overran it in a maze of little knolls, and saw Adam C-B coming straight in. The rest uneventful. Very wet.

C • Very wet 5

Wicked Hard Night O. Score-O with 14 controls, and I got 11. Route was 2-1-3-5-7-10-13-11-8-9-12 and in, meaning the skips were 4, 6 and 14. Most of the rain over, but lots of deadfall and I walked almost all of it. Fell in with Phil and Peter Goodwin at the start. Over the wall and into the wet reentrant and through the slot. I was a little uncertain at the top and went to the hill just west, but Peter found #2 on the correct hill and I caught back up. Behind Phil running and walking NE down to the trail, then heading up from the trail Jct E of control. Again, Peter found it. Then NNE to the trail and we split up, with Phil going up to the "safer" route to #3 by the stone wall and Peter and I heading more or less straight. He was leading, and I would have liked to be higher to pick up the slot and the big boulder, but we overshot and started milling around. Phil showed up, and finally we saw Barb and Dave and they found it. Then Peter went to #4 and Phil and I headed to 5, picking up B&D again on the way. Pretty successful route past the wall jct and between the marshes, across knoll and up the hill. Got passed by a big crowd coming from 6 right at the end, including PG and Fapos, among others.

Then to #7, Phil and I bearing off left to find the marshes and getting caught up in a lot of green before heading south across the stream and working our way back past the green and in. Barb and Dave there ahead of us.

Aimed for the wall north of the marsh but missed it low and crossed the stream near the wider spot. Then I knew where I was from other years and headed up hill passing the wall end and keeping the hill on my right heading right to it. Good leg, and Phil and I were ahead of Barb and Dave again. Easy leg to 13. Over the hill and down around marsh, up on ridge with cliffs on either side and reading knolls all the way.

To #11, out to the trail and in from trail corner. Got a little off to the right, but not much lost time.

A bit right of line to 8, going to the marsh, then PG passed and was motoring along with his big Tesla X lighting up the surroundings. First time I could see more than six feet away. Followed him to 8 and most of the way to 9, with Phil behind.

Heading south from 9 I thought about running away from Phil and decided that was not cool and I would stick with him. However, when we left 12, I got my face caught by a hemlock branch and it pulled my lamp off, and Phil cheerfully scampered away by 5 seconds.

With Chris out from Pleasant Valley to Hogback Rd up to the Colebrook dam and back. Late in the day. Getting cool.

I haven't been doing this, and it was pretty hard. Fortunately, it gets better quickly if I keep at it, which I may, now that it is getting toward the end of summer.

Sprint A. A new PR by 21s, which was quite satisfying.

C • You are getting to be quite... 7

Rhonda's morning class, which included 7 high school kids today!

C • 7 High school kids? 2

From Riverton up Sandy Brook Rd and N to South Sandisfield, back by New Hartford Rd. With Rhonda, Chris and Rhonda's friend Marge and her husband, Bob. Bob turned out to be a real rocket.

Event: WCOC Sessions Woods
 

Memory sprint at Sessions woods. A snippet of map posted at each control to memorize for the next leg. Very good fun. If I had realized what it would be like, I would have preferred not to have my contact in. With so little of the time devoted to map reading, the awkwardness of running with one contact was more pronounced. Very nice course and a lot of fun. Only one miss of consequence, at #9 where I was a bit low and had to circle around to find it. Otherwise very clean.

Red course at Sessions woods. Pretty good run, with no real booms and good energy. Running a bit over the summer seems to have helped.

C • Nice run, beat me by a hand... 3

Red Course - Splits

Memory Sprint - Splits

Morning jaunt up to the Colebrook Store from Pleasant Valley with Rhonda and Chris. I had no idea that Chris would be as into cycling as he is, or that he would be such a rocket. He definitely pushes me.

Sprint B again, bearing down a little on #8 and #12, but pretty dead after that. A PR by 25 seconds, and perhaps about as good as I can do with this course.

C • Is there a nice beaten path... 2

Sprint B. Running a pretty good pace until lost it on the way to #12 and dropped about 15 seconds, just going slow. Otherwise a good run.

from Pleasant Valley with Chris out to Rte 8 then back Robertsville Rd and along the other side of the river by Steve Buyak's house and up to rte 20.