Training Log Archive: Charlie

Sprint in Nicosia city center. Very nice. Not super-complex, but some route choice problems and a little tricky in spots. My foot was quite sore from yesterday, but I worked on it a lot and it was good enough to go. Ended up 9th out of 22, so not so bad, and only 3.5 min out of first.

Click on map for DOMA version.

i


Nominal distance was 2.9k, but not much opportunity to take straight routes. A few little bobbles, nothing major. The OOB marked along the north of the map is the border with Turkish Northern Cyprus. It is pretty fortified, no chance of going off the map there. 1 and 2 were fine. For 3 I started down into a parking garage right before the underground mall and had to back out. Seemed ok at first because I had gone through a parking garage to 1. 4 and 5 were fine. Going to 6 I planned on cutting through the irregular shaped parking area just N of the line, but then realized too late that the "exit" was blocked by an impassable wall and impassable fence. Fortunately I could escape to the N,,so not much lost. I went CCW from 6 to 7. Maybe CW was better, but not much and not worth stopping to think about. Lack of fitness took a toll on the long legs to 8 and to 11. Took the interior route to 9 and had to do more map reading than going around on the street, and then turned the wrong way out of 9 and had to retrace, but just several steps. Getting tired by 12 and missed a turn, had to read the map and back up. That was probably the worst single error, maybe 20 seconds. Then ok to 13 and ran hard from there.

C • I had no idea 7

Model map and jog to the start. This was the first time actually trying to run in terrain, but really I was more just walking.

Forest race at Sia Mathiatis, Cyprus.

Day 1 in Cyprus, south of Nicosia half an hour or so:



finished 15th out of about 24 in M-65. Foot bothered me a fair amount, but got better every day after that. This was nominally 3.6k, but I did a lot of around routes, as it was hilly and a bit treacherous on the sidehills, should have worn spikes. Terrain like Arizona, or like some places in California. Trees are small and far apart, a fair amount of cactus, a lot of rock, very easy to slip. My navigation was mostly just fine, but I wasn't moving very fast. After a very scary downhill descent from #2, I started getting a little reluctant to take straight lines, so did some extra distance. The long way around from 8 to 9 really wasn't justified. First M65 was 44. Not out of reach if I could have been actually running.

Over 200 runners, 17 countries represented. However, most of the folks are Scandinavian, and most are older. Last year this meet drew a fair number of elites, but this year there are none. M21 and F21 are mostly locals, and not many of them.

Among others, I met a nice Danish fellow, Arne Grondahl, who asked after George Walker. At the finish they had fresh oranges, just off the tree. Wonderful.

Foot and back both quite sore by the end. Very tired with jet lag. It was a long bus ride and I slept a lot of it off and on. After the race we stopped for a winery tour, and then in the village of Lefkara for a bit of sightseeing.

C • Sightseeing 1

Event: Mediterranean Open Championships
 

Long travel day. All the connections went very well. I had 3 hours to spare in Athens, not enough time to actually go anywhere, but easy enough to go outside the airport and walk around, sit on a bench. Then on to Larnaca. At passport control I was behind a bunch of wiry-looking older folks with Norwegian passports, and sure enough I had met up with the group. We traveled by bus into Nicosia. I met my Danish roommate Max and we went out for a walk around the old town. Some tired-looking parts, but a nice long pedestrian mall with restaurants, an old wall around the city, and some interesting old churches and mosques. Then I repaired back for a nap before dinner. 200 for dinner at the hotel, mostly Swedes and Norwegians. I saw one Brit across the room whom I recognized from past WMOCs. On the 5th floor. There's an elevator, but it seemed better to go up the 103 stairs. A little exercise is good.

C • Glad you arrived safely! 3

Shoveling 3" of heavy icy snow from the walkway. Zack had done a nice job plowing sometime in the night, salving some of my anxiety about the travel logistics. Had thought there might be exercise this morning, but out of time for it now.

Woo, this was hard. Back is feeling the effects of clearing ice and slush off the driveway.

With Rhonda, Zack and Sassy. A brisk pace, mostly, with many stops to get around the dog who chews the ice out of her pads on the trail. 2-3" of fluffy new stuff this morning.

I was mostly able to plow it this morning, but the 4WD kept kicking out, so it is now back at the shop. We got the driveway sanded today in anticipation of getting an oil truck up here tomorrow. The supply was getting a bit thin.

C • 1

C • We got the driveway sanded 9

C • Buon viaggio domani, mercoledì! 2

Zack's loop, with a bunch of friends and neighbors, in some light snow, and with a couple of dogs.