Training Log Archive: Charlie

pretty sore from city running yesterday. Rhonda and I were up and out by 6, walking around looking for a Starbucks. One on every corner, but all closed until 7. Eventually met up with Jess at Bloom's, a favorite breakfast spot. Then hung out with Jess until noon, drove home in surprisingly thick traffic.

just a little fooling around in the gym while Rhonda and her mom were out there. pullups, ring dips, a couple of band assisted muscle ups.

tough night - woke up at 2 and couldn't get back to sleep.

This session was a 2K warmup followed by a 2K ranking piece. Not as fast as last month. Mostly my legs were tired.

7:50.1 for the ranked piece. 2nd out of 3 so far. When I started I had my eye on 7:38, which would have matched the first guy on the list. but after about a minute and a half I couldn't hold the pace.
splits
1:55.3
1:57.2
1:58.7
1:58.2

C • Impressive nevertheless 2

we drove into NYC (Rhonda, her mom and I) to visit Jess, and for the ladies to go to a show (Sister Act). We got to our hotel around 115, and shortly after the girls all went to lunch and I went for a jog, meeting up with my cousin Matt in Central Park. We meandered around, and I wasn't fully paying attention. This is an estimate. After a bit we bounced out around 86th street and got a couple of bottles of beer from a deli and drank them out of paper bags, as apparently open drinking of beer from a bottle is pretty antisocial in those parts. Then we strolled down the street to pick up Matt's son Jake at school, where we met his teacher, Miss Cohen, who appeared to be about 17.

Jake's school yard, like I suppose many urban schools, is paved, and it thrust me back instantly to my formative years as St Catherine of Siena in St Albans, Queens, NY. Lunchtime was a perilous time for a little kid as St Catherine's. We were released into a concrete yard surrounded by chain link fence. The big kids marauded, and I recall more than once having a big kid throw my thermos on the ground and hearing the broken glass in the milk. So I was pretty glad to move on from Jake's school. After a bit, we parted company.

C • I remember seeing my first ... 8

Again, pretty much an estimate of where I went in the park.

Then lolled about the room for a bit nursing my sore hamstring and got ready to go for dinner with Rhonda, Mimi, Jess, and Matt and Jake, who showed up a bit later after Jake's basketball practice. Very nice. I had the grilled sardines.

C • yikes! 2

In town at the gym: some miscellaneous stuff, then the main workout was with kettlebells. I didn't have a very big one, 16 kg, so not as tough as it could have been, but I've been doing a lot of squats this week and I am getting a bit tired from them.

4 rounds of:

10 KB swings
10 squats with KB racked in right hand
10 swings
10 squats with KB racked on left
2 gym lengths walking with KB racked (L/R)
rest 30 seconds

finished that in 8:35. When everybody was done, 1 minute for max swings (I got 36). Then some stretching, etc.

C • I am waiting to read that C... 2

Not feeling particularly energetic, and perhaps a shorter workout would have been preferable. Left forearm feeling some strain now that I am done with it. No intention of putting up a really big number, but gradually picked up speed.

7112, 2:06.5 average pace

Splits by 6 minute groups

1368 2:11.5
1392 2:09.3
1429 2:05.9
1449 2:04.2
1476 2:01.9

Good for first place (of 3) who have posted so far in my age group. As it turns out once again, I should check PRs before I start. This was only 20 m behind my fastest time from the just ended season.

I think I need to stick to shorter pieces until I can strengthen this left hand. Not that my right hand is all that strong. I mowed some grass yesterday and I was feeling some fatigue from holding the operator presence lever.

front squats and push presses. But I lost interest after a bit, so didn't get as far as I planned.

Got registered for WMOC today, got my ticket, too. Flying Hartford-Philadelphia-Frankfurt-Prague out, Zagreb-Vienna-Dulles-Hartford back.

Went for a walk this morning with some folks from DEP on a couple of the Land Trust properties where we are trying to establish warm season grasses in a couple of reclaimed fields. An interesting enough activity. So then, since I was there, a couple of laps of the Mary Conklin Sanctuary trail. Pushed a little harder on the longish uphill section near the end on the second loop, so the time was a little better for that loop. I haven't done this in a few years. Seems to me I did this in sub 14s in the past.

Some warmups, then the chosen workout was 21-15-9 alternating burpees and overhead squats. As I don't have the flexibility to keep the weight overhead very well as I squat, I can't handle much weight. Just used a practice bar - 15 lbs. Plenty hard enough. Breathing like a draft horse the whole time. 10:19 for that segment.

Morning dog walk with Sassy, who has not been getting to do this as much lately. Finished up with a set of 13 pullups on the rings on the way back in. Having the rings handy has been pretty favorable, and I am getting back in this habit again. Somehow it didn't seem like as good an idea during the winter.

just warming up a bit, nice and easy

Out in our gym - some warming up exercises, then the main workout was ring rows, bench presses and squats. The recommended regime was feet on a bench even with the rings, 155 lb BP, 225 lb back squat, 15 reps per round, 5 rounds. The weights were preposterous, of course, so I endeavored 85 lbs for BP and squats, and figured 3 rounds of 10 would be just fine. Actually made it through 4 rounds of the ring rows and BPs and 3 of the squats. Could have done 5 of the RRs and at least 5 of the BPs, but I was pretty done for squats. 14 minutes for what I did.

West Pt Green Y long course. Generally a pretty satisfactory outing. Reading the map well, not fast, but kept moving. Only one big mistake of about two minutes on #9, where I had intended to bounce off the boundary to make it easy to find the boulders, but ran right across the basically invisible boundary line, finding it in a more visible area on the way back. Started two minutes behind Meg Parson and 1 minute behind Phil who was on Green X. Saw them both scampering down the hill from 1-2 while I was being much more gingerly. Caught up to Meg at 2 and took a straighter route toward 3. Met up with Phil again at 4 and ran part of the way to 5 going S of the marshes, but I took a longer route to run the trail, and the trail wasn't good. Saw Meg and then Phil well ahead as I was climbing up to 5. Then ok, left of the marsh to 7, then lost 45 seconds stopping to get a rock out of my shoe. Straightish route to 8. I had thought I might take the path along the base of the hill, but it was covered in barberry and I went the straight line, which was much better, finishing up right of the marsh. 9, a disaster, 10 very slow going up the hill and not taking a straight enough line. Saw Phil leaving 10, probably 2 minutes ahead. Contoured to 11 until I hit the trail up the slot, then down the reentrant right into it. Ethan passed me after the control and I chased him until he jumped down a cliff, but still I was pretty quick getting there. Hadn't seen Phil lately, but it turns out he finished about 15 seconds in front of me.

My route.

Rode home with J-J, and after a bit of rest we went on a nice stroll down to look at the ponds. Not much going on at the small pond, but the beavers have fortified their new territory at the Little Down Marsh, and J-J couldn't resist doing a little dismantling. Here he is with his assistant:



And here he is scampering away after releasing some water:

C • Study period begins. 5

C • I don't know what you will ... 3

Long Green Y - Splits