Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: NEOC Heart and Troll Revival A-Meet
 

Green X 1 at Mt Tom A-meet. An early start so I could get back in time for the State Championships cross country meet. A fair number of mistakes in the first half of the course, but better in the second half. Nice to be out before the crowd.

C • How did the guys do in the ... 3

Canton did well at state cross country meet. Girls were third in class S and boys second in class SS (2nd smallest school size of 6). Brian had second in 16:45, fighting off a strong challenge from the kid from Weston and Erik was 11th in about 17:54, feeling the ill effects of two weeks off more than the ankle, which was well taped. I think about 200 kids in the race.

Green X Day 1 - Splits

a little warm-up on the spinning bike with Rhonda and some of the girls (Sue and Marge).

A struggle to get out there this morning, because I picked our friend Isabel up at the airport last night and didn't get home until 11:45. I think the girls had been at it about 15 minutes by the time I got there.

30 reps each of the 8 exercises I've been doing. Not mixing it up too much with this because I am reluctant to make myself too sore the day before an o meet. 30 reps is energizing, gets the blood flowing. 50 is way more work and leaves me trembling, so I'll save that for another day.

Had a little time after dropping Erik off for his first run with the team. He was well taped up. Parked near the transfer station and ran along the woods road toward Nepaug, then got up on a false trail that was some kind of an old driveway, and it ended, so off through some nice woods, then onto some sidehill, still mostly ok, then sidehill through laurel - not so ok, then finally onto a trail, and some more up and down, before turning back and hitting the woods road and back.

Rhonda's morning class. Takes care of y for the day.

I had some time while Erik was at PT and went for a run on the northern parts of the Brainard map. I used to run there most days back in the 80s, and a fair amount in the 90s, as well as lots of course setting, but once I started I realized I haven't been there in quite a while. Started out along the dikes on the NE side, and found a trail off to the right I hadn't seen before, blazed and well worn in. It went up the mountain to the W, roughly parallel to the road, crossing the main park road near the Newton Brainard memorial. I should note that the MDC people were always a bit perplexed by why we called the map Brainard. Mr. Brainard donated 212 acres to MDC in 1961, but it is all in the northern part, away from the MDC's main operations, and it is a relatively small part of the whole.

Short of the western ridge line, a trail heads south, but very twisty and curly, so after a bit I bushwacked over to the old ridge line trail, and thence south. Trail was in pretty good shape. It went through a period of being full of giant mudholes when the mt biking community maxed out about 15 years ago.

And then it was time to head back. Picked up Finger Rock Rd N of Kilkenny rocks and back via Finger Rock (which seemed to have a new trail heading up) and down to the main park road and back.

Next time I will dig out an old map and plot where these trails go. The newer 1:10000 version won't work, as it only covers the southern part.

C • Blue Trail 3

spinning bike, with Rhonda. Rhonda had set the temperature all the way up in the gym, reportedly inadvertently, so it was really hot.

30 reps each of the 8 exercises I often do 50. The advantage of 30 (in addition to being way easier) is I can do 7 of the 8 in unbroken sets. At 50 reps I can only do 3 unbroken.

Down Stagecoach Rd to the farm and back through the farm's woods road with Rhonda and Hazel, cutting across at the top of the field. Rhonda was inclined to walk up the hill, and I tried to run it, falling further and further behind her. Just an experiment, which means I could also walk it faster than I could run it.

Event: WCOC Sessions Woods
 

Thought folks might like to see what Mr. Zack has been up to. The video was a school project with his friends Drew and Sam. Zack is in it starting at about 1:25:

C • Congrats to Zach and friends 3

Sessions Woods Red course. Probably my best general navigation in a really long time. One small bobble at #2, where Jim had two control circles, and I hadn't picked up that the southern one was the one to go for, so I hung around the cliff for a bit before deciding to go S to the pit. Also lost my SI stick between 2 and 3 and spent about a minute or so looking for it before deciding just to go on and punch on the map. And not the best route to #6. Trail to the corner and then across the small marsh and stream would have been fine, but instead I went NW to the top of the marsh and then N along the hill top. Otherwise fine.

Looking for my SI stick after the race. Didn't really expect to find it.

Setting out controls and then running a sweep operation for the O-meet at Ratlum this afternoon. approximately 110 people in attendance, and a perfect record of getting them all back again. This was for the Land Trust's trailblazers club.

Red Course - Splits