Training Log Archive: CleverSkyIn the 31 days ending Oct 31, 2020:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday Oct 31, 2020 #
7 AM
Note
I haven't looked yet, but I got a text message saying that the dumpster is gone.
4 PM
hiking (trails) 1:07:31 [1] 5.02 km (13:27 / km) +1m 13:27 / km
shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
Around East Boston Camps with Nancy, a bit of snow on the ground.
6 PM
Note
I finally got around to returning all of the returnable bottles and cans that have been accumulating since I stopped going to the office. I had two huge trash bags full, plus six 12-packs of cans. But since I started spending my time at home, I also switched to buying two-liter bottles, which represent a lot of volume but are still only worth a nickel. So I only got about ten bucks in refunds. (It's not about the money, of course.)
Friday Oct 30, 2020 #
8 AM
Note
It's noad. Still is, actually. The roof is white, so are the deck and the lawn, but I don't expect that there will be enough to have to deal with.
5 PM
running (trails) 44:48 [3] 5.77 km (7:46 / km) +117m 7:03 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 350
WBNW, In The Dim. Rubber socks and spiky shoes and gloves and a headlamp that I never turned on because a bright moon was rising. I measured 4" of snow on my deck at one point, seems there was less than that by the time I was running, because it was landing on a warm surface. Under evergreens in some places it was bare ground. One fall, but the toe felt fine.
Thursday Oct 29, 2020 #
10 PM
pedaling (rollers) 27:25 [3]
Couldn't get up the motivation to go out in the cold dark wet, so I went for a ride on the Motobecane in the garage. I listened to some John Oliver, choosing something on YouTube that was 30 minutes long. It turned out to be a highlight reel that somebody had sloppily cobbled together, a bit unsatisfying. When it seemed to be playing end credits (I couldn't really see the screen on my phone), I tried to look at my watch and managed to fall off the side of the rollers, which I don't remember ever doing before. Fortunately, this turned out to be about as minor an incident as I imagined it would be.
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020 #
8 AM
Note
Annual physical, not much to report, no noticeable change in height, although I believe I'm about 10 pounds lighter than at the previous physical. Got a flu shot while I was there, but the band-aid is about the same color as my skin. No "say ahhh" any more, my mask was on the entire time.
10 PM
hiking (pavement) 1:00:43 [1] 6.12 km (9:55 / km) +89m 9:15 / km
(injured) shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
Neighborhood walk, In The Dark. Plenty of moonlight, though, so I only turned on my headlamp (which wasn't very well charged) on the two occasions when a car went by. Feeling a little off, maybe due to the flu shot, and the toe is still a little sore after enough walking.
Tuesday Oct 27, 2020 #
10 PM
hiking (mixed) 40:39 [1] 3.27 km (12:26 / km) +44m 11:40 / km
(injured) shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
Across the street, In The Dark. I got out fairly late, after a successful session of amateur plumbing (replacing the kitchen faucet), by which point light rain had started. I wanted to see if I could follow the new mountain bike trail at night, which I could, but just barely, and I did lose it a couple of times. Maybe I know where the north end of it is now so that I can try it in the other direction at some point. Surprised on the way there, near the stone wall on the trail in from Gilchrest, by a very large lean-to. It looks like some tree snapped off and got hung up at an angle, and kids used that as the backbone and propped a bunch of other branches up against it. Wasn't there the last time I used that trail.
I also rode my mountain bike down to Seeley earlier in the day to pick up my car, but I can hardly count that, since it's mostly downhill.
I also rode my mountain bike down to Seeley earlier in the day to pick up my car, but I can hardly count that, since it's mostly downhill.
Monday Oct 26, 2020 #
11 PM
hiking (pavement) 30:15 [1] 2.88 km (10:30 / km) +37m 9:53 / km
(injured) shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
Back from Seeley, In The Dark. Rainy day, misty evening, good thing I don't have a streak or... oh, wait, yes I do. But mostly I needed to drop my car off for service. The kind of night when mostly what the headlamp shows you is a zillion water droplets. Toe still bothersome.
hiking 30:15 [3] 2.88 km (10:30 / km) +40m 9:49 / km
Sunday Oct 25, 2020 #
4 PM
hiking (trails) 1:20:38 [3] 6.28 km (12:50 / km) +30m 12:32 / km
(injured) shoes: Nike Initiator
On the Oakham/Rutland line (partially on the rail trail) with Nancy. Signs said "Closed To All Users". Men vi läser inte engelska.
Saturday Oct 24, 2020 #
11 AM
schlepping (junk) 4:00:00 [2]
(injured)
I'm counting this one as exercise. Moved the pile of junk into the dumpster. Hard work. I moved 20-25 cubic yards of stuff, mostly scrap wood. I was thinking that I was close to done when I was down to a bunch of trash bags, but I had forgotten that those trash bags were full of shingles, very heavy. But I'm just about done, certainly done with the big stuff, but there are still a few bags in the garage to toss in there, and I need to do some raking. Pics to follow.
Friday Oct 23, 2020 #
7 PM
Note
Little bit: tossing a few more boards into the dumpster.
8 PM
hiking (pavement) 51:06 [1] 4.82 km (10:36 / km) +27m 10:19 / km
(injured) shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
Just a little stroll downtown and back, In The Dark, trying to go easy on the toe that I smashed yesterday.
Thursday Oct 22, 2020 #
5 PM
running (trails) 1:13:40 [3] 9.99 km (7:22 / km) +173m 6:47 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
WBW, sort of a perimeter loop, Into The Dark. Took shortcuts on some switchbacks going up. No need for the headlamp when I started, but I wore it anyway. Somewhere up around Damon Pond I turned it on, and eventually it became pretty useful. I had a somewhat longer loop in mind, but I underestimated the distance. 10K is enough. Caught my right big toe on obstacles twice, hard enough to put me on my hands and knees.
I saw more vehicles parked by the road than usual, most of them pickup trucks. Mountain bikers? But then I saw two guys sitting at the picnic table in the middle of the group camping area in distinctive clothing, so I checked when I got home: yep, bowhunting season opened this week.
I saw more vehicles parked by the road than usual, most of them pickup trucks. Mountain bikers? But then I saw two guys sitting at the picnic table in the middle of the group camping area in distinctive clothing, so I checked when I got home: yep, bowhunting season opened this week.
7 PM
Note
Little Bit: It's The Maw vs. The Heap:
The time has come, and the 30-yard dumpster was delivered this morning.I had measured the pile and decided that I needed 30 yards, but then when it arrived, it looked awfully big. But then I started putting stuff in it, and the pile started looking big again. I hope it all fits. I'm pretty good at this kind of real-life Tetris. Tonight I just moved in the 6x6 pieces, because they're the only things that are too heavy for me to lift, and having them in there is a morale boost. I put buckets in the driveway to indicate where they should put the dumpster, and they managed to put it a foot or two too close to the house. Still workable, but it's a little harder to get past the rear gate when it's open than I'd like. I've got a week to get this thing loaded up.
The time has come, and the 30-yard dumpster was delivered this morning.I had measured the pile and decided that I needed 30 yards, but then when it arrived, it looked awfully big. But then I started putting stuff in it, and the pile started looking big again. I hope it all fits. I'm pretty good at this kind of real-life Tetris. Tonight I just moved in the 6x6 pieces, because they're the only things that are too heavy for me to lift, and having them in there is a morale boost. I put buckets in the driveway to indicate where they should put the dumpster, and they managed to put it a foot or two too close to the house. Still workable, but it's a little harder to get past the rear gate when it's open than I'd like. I've got a week to get this thing loaded up.
Wednesday Oct 21, 2020 #
9 PM
pedaling (town bike) 34:01 [2] 12.64 km (2:42 / km) +108m 2:35 / km
Around the lake, In The Dark. I wasn't feeling all that great, but I came up with the idea of a relatively subdued bike ride. Headlamp on the helmet, but since I was going to be on Rte. 13 for a bit, I wanted a good taillight as well. I took one of my other headlamps, added a quick red filter made from two layers of the lid from a package of lunchmeat, held on with some packing tape. Put it in strobe mode, hooked it to the underside of my seat, and I think it was pretty effective. Not much traffic out, so I couldn't tell if I was getting a wide berth, but I think I'm going to rig this up in a more permanent way. It was warm out, and I was somewhat overdressed in jeans and a light jacket.
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020 #
5 PM
running (woods) 1:11:23 [3] 8.81 km (8:06 / km) +94m 7:42 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
Across the street, In The... Dark. Yeah, by the time I got out there, it was basically dark. And the trails would have been hard to follow even in the light with all the leaves that are down. Nice temperature.
Monday Oct 19, 2020 #
5 PM
pedaling (unicycle) 36:22 [2] 4.82 km (7:33 / km) +29m 7:20 / km
To Town Hall and the post office, In The Dim. It was really only dim for the last little bit, but I had on a headlamp in strobe mode the whole time, and made sure to wear a jacket with reflective piping. A fair amount of time spent mounting, I didn't really have it tonight. This started out with the challenging NW-bound descent (hopped off once on the way down) and then a bit of a climb (which went fine, but I had to get off at the corner because there was a car coming up from behind where I needed to make a left-hand turn). I walked it from Town Hall down to the post office, then tried riding back up, but the pavement was crummy.
This was to drop off a couple of things I needed to mail, and more importantly, to drop off my ballot in the collection box (unlike in Texas, we have one per town). Because unicycling to the voting place is the sort of thing one does.
This was to drop off a couple of things I needed to mail, and more importantly, to drop off my ballot in the collection box (unlike in Texas, we have one per town). Because unicycling to the voting place is the sort of thing one does.
Sunday Oct 18, 2020 #
5 PM
hiking (trails) 1:12:06 [1] 5.04 km (14:18 / km) +39m 13:45 / km
shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
Wellfleet, west from White Crest Beach, with George Wright, after some unproductive attempts at flying. Fascinating area, lots of interesting large depressions, but the vegetation between the trails ranges from unpleasant to impassible. We did this with no map, just using the setting sun and the roaring surf as references. It would be fun to go back and check this place out some more.
Beautiful day to be at the beach, and there was some additional exercise involved in carrying my glider back up off the beach three times.
Beautiful day to be at the beach, and there was some additional exercise involved in carrying my glider back up off the beach three times.
Saturday Oct 17, 2020 #
4 PM
hiking (trails) 55:04 [1] 3.84 km (14:20 / km) +27m 13:51 / km
shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
Sherburne Nature Center In Tyngsborough, with Nancy.
Friday Oct 16, 2020 #
7 AM
running (mixed) 41:55 [3] 7.17 km (5:51 / km) +118m 5:24 / km
shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
The forecast for today is pretty wet, so I figured if I didn't want to get drenched, a morning run was in order. 60 F, so very comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. Teasing precipitation until about halfway around, then drizzle until I was almost back to Northfield, and actual rain for the last bit.
Thursday Oct 15, 2020 #
5 PM
running (woods) 42:35 [4] 5.76 km (7:24 / km) +108m 6:46 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
CW this time, and pretty close to a tie with the last time I did it CCW a month ago. But the comparison isn't quite fair, because I haven't been doing the timing right. What I've been doing is starting the watch when I leave the car, and stopping it when I hit pavement. But the parking lot is closer to the south trailhead than the north trailhead, so when I go CW, I'm adding about 30 seconds of extra pavement running. Maybe later tonight I'll go back and use the GPS tracks to correct them all (I did). That will make this a PR, very slightly, I think (it didn't). Hard to account for the difference in climb.
This was a pretty solid effort. At times the trail felt very rocky, surely due in part to the fact that I was wearing spikes. At this point the trail is getting very hard to see because of the fallen leaves. I had a few spots where I lost it by a step or two but almost instantly corrected. More serious was the spot about 30 minutes in where I lost it completely near the stone wall, relocated when I hit the trail beyond the switchback, and got myself back where I belonged. It didn't feel like much time lost, but the GPS track says it was about 45 seconds.
The two splits were the places where there were fallen limbs across the trail that would have necessitated a dismount had I been on a bike. I think there were more of the last time, so somebody must have cleaned them up. I also grabbed a few small branches and tossed them off the trail.
This was a pretty solid effort. At times the trail felt very rocky, surely due in part to the fact that I was wearing spikes. At this point the trail is getting very hard to see because of the fallen leaves. I had a few spots where I lost it by a step or two but almost instantly corrected. More serious was the spot about 30 minutes in where I lost it completely near the stone wall, relocated when I hit the trail beyond the switchback, and got myself back where I belonged. It didn't feel like much time lost, but the GPS track says it was about 45 seconds.
The two splits were the places where there were fallen limbs across the trail that would have necessitated a dismount had I been on a bike. I think there were more of the last time, so somebody must have cleaned them up. I also grabbed a few small branches and tossed them off the trail.
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020 #
5 PM
pedaling (recumbent) 55:00 [3] 19.4 km (2:50 / km) +212m 2:41 / km
A loop out to Pearl Hill. I wore a headlamp and kept it strobe mode the whole time -- it wasn't dark enough for it to be useful to see in front of me, but I figured I should be more visible. Working on my wariness of hills, I tackled Lunenburg Rd coming up out of West Townsend. I dropped down to the big cog with the middle ring, but didn't have to resort to the small ring, and it wasn't any trouble. If I do try some hill where I need the real stump-puller gears, it might be a challenge to keep the bike upright at such low speeds. Still in shorts and short sleeves, which was cool at the start but fine later on.
I got a third set of pedals today (Speedplay Frogs), used ones from ebay since the company has probably stopped making them, so now the Incubus, the recumbent, and the Mamacita are all equipped and I don't need to swap pedals between bikes any more.
I got a third set of pedals today (Speedplay Frogs), used ones from ebay since the company has probably stopped making them, so now the Incubus, the recumbent, and the Mamacita are all equipped and I don't need to swap pedals between bikes any more.
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020 #
11 PM
hiking (pavement) 1:06:45 [1] 6.49 km (10:17 / km) +47m 9:56 / km
shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
Around the neighborhood, In The Dark. I got started before midnight (by maybe five minutes), so it counts. Couldn't get motivated to go out any earlier in the rain, but by the time I went out the sky had cleared. I had my headlamp turned on for a few minutes at the beginning, but then I switched it off, and I could see well enough. I spent most of the time looking up at the stars anyway. I saw no sign of living people other than the receding taillights of one car when I was coming back up Valley Road. AOWN: near the end, I spotted a couple of mushrooms near a mailbox that were glowing from underneath the caps. I'd heard of bioluminescent mushrooms like this, but I had never seen any. However, when I turned on my headlamp to get a better view, I saw that they had solar cells on top.
Monday Oct 12, 2020 #
7 PM
running (trails) 38:00 [3] 4.86 km (7:49 / km) +72m 7:17 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
Robbs Hill, In The Dark. I intended to grab the basemap, but it wasn't where I thought I had put it, so I just went out without it. The idea was to do some kind of a loop, and there are maps at some of the junctions out there, but I did an unspectacular job of picking a loop, and pretty soon I was out of the area that had trail maps. I was seeing the lights of houses in directions that I didn't expect, so I knew I wasn't going the right way. Finally some of the lights up ahead turned out to be reflectors on the poles of a big power line ride. The only one I could think of was down near Shirley Depot, and sure enough, that's where I was. I had also inadvertently grabbed the watch with the least amount of charge, and right about the time I hit pavement, the watch ran out of juice. AOWN: saw a dark shape up ahead of me, which I correctly guessed was a porcupine, and I watched him skedaddle up a tree.
8 PM
running (mixed) 32:00 [3] 5.09 km (6:17 / km)
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
And back, In The Dark. I noted the time on my watch when I hit the road and when I finished. I had hopes of saving myself a little by coming back via Griffin's Private Road, which I had seen on maps, but which was rather prominently festooned with No Trespassing signs, so I doubled back to the Ronchetti trailhead and went back that way. I was less put off by the conservation land's "Open Sunrise to Sunset" signs. Lunenburg has no such daylight-only restriction, thanks to my efforts.
Sunday Oct 11, 2020 #
4 PM
paddling (kayak) 47:49 [2] 3.6 km (13:17 / km)
WIth Nancy on Winnepesaukee from the Giggeys' place. I think this was the first time this year that the kayaks left my living room, by other paddling excursion were with the coracle. We were both feeling out of shape for this, though Nancy later determined that her biggest problem was that the PFD was too snug because she was wearing several warm layers under it.
Saturday Oct 10, 2020 #
11 PM
hiking (pavement) 1:04:21 [1] 6.36 km (10:07 / km) +80m 9:31 / km
shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
A lap around the outside of Sewall Woods, In The Dark, at the end of the day after all the other stuff was done. I think I finished after midnight. Had the headlamp turned on maybe half of the time. Pretty nice out, good stars.
Friday Oct 9, 2020 #
12 PM
hiking (pavement) 21:00 [1] 2.2 km (9:33 / km) +45m 8:39 / km
shoes: Oboz Sawtooth II
From the rental house down to the drugstore and back. AP guessed this was orienteering (that's a bif of a surprise). In addition, later on there was about another 2.3 km, probably about 30 minutes, in a suit and corresponding shoes, doing two round trips from the house to the Wolfeboro Inn for the wedding (and oops! I forgot my mask).
Rachel is married, so now things have reached their final state, wherein Nancy and all her kids have different last names.
Rachel is married, so now things have reached their final state, wherein Nancy and all her kids have different last names.
Thursday Oct 8, 2020 #
10 PM
orienteering (night) 1:02:35 [1] ** 4.66 km (13:26 / km) +84m 12:20 / km
spiked:6/8c shoes: Nike Flex Experience RN 4
Sewall Woods, In The Dark. After the rehearsal dinner, I went out with a headlamp and a map and looked for some of the permanent controls. I found 6, and there was one other where I was in the right spot but couldn't find a maker, and another that I may have gone past but didn't see the feature (maybe I was off by one trail bend, I was kind of skeptical about the trail mapping in that area). AP guessed this was hiking.
Wednesday Oct 7, 2020 #
4 PM
Note
I was just getting dressed to go out for a run, when I saw a few drops of rain on the window. And then seconds later it was pouring and blowing really really hard. And then the lights went out. Maybe the nearest cell tower went off line, too, because I had a really weak signal and couldn't look at the weather radar. I was able to text with Nancy, who said that there wasn't much behind it. The rain let up pretty quickly and it was then just breezy, so I got in the car to go for a run anyway. This wasn't in the same league as the storm that hit Groton in the spring, but there were a few trees uprooted or broken off (the street around the corner was blocked), a lot of small branches down, as well as what seemed to be every pine cone. I even saw a wire that was on the ground and burning. Looks like power came back on after about an hour.
Had things gone a little differently this year, I might well have been out in the woods hanging controls for this weekend's A-meet when that microburst hit.
Had things gone a little differently this year, I might well have been out in the woods hanging controls for this weekend's A-meet when that microburst hit.
5 PM
running (trails) 1:20:26 [3] 9.59 km (8:23 / km) +123m 7:53 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
Willard Brook, In The Dim. I wore a headlamp, but only turned it on for the last few minutes. I had a plan in mind, but after a couple of minutes I decided to do something completely different. I found a trail that had somehow hitherto escaped my notice, and went up to check out the most important section of the map, which I was glad to find had not been destroyed by the storm. On the way back, in light that was at the limits of my vision, I made the next to last turn, then failed to find the last turn, and figured I must have turned the wrong way at the junction. So I went back, but going the other direction was clearly no good, so I turned on the light and found the trail. Except it quickly became obvious that it wasn't the trail I wanted, and though it would get me to where I need to go, it would take too long. So I went back, and it turned out that I had been going the right way the first time, but I had given up about 20 meters too soon.
Tuesday Oct 6, 2020 #
5 PM
pedaling (recumbent) 1:05:54 [3] 24.73 km (2:40 / km) +233m 2:33 / km
Around town before I lost the light. I had a headlamp in the bag, but didn't pull it out -- from now on at that time of day I should have lights all ready to go. I've been shying away from steep climbs, but there were a couple of moderately steep climbs that went fine, and I didn't even have to dig very deep into my bag of gear ratios. I get a pretty good amount of satisfaction from riding this bike.
Monday Oct 5, 2020 #
11 AM
Note
COVID-19 negative, at least accoring to the rapid test. So I'm cleared for attending the wedding, just have to be a hermit for the next few days.
11 PM
running (woods) 40:00 [3] 5.0 km (8:00 / km) +96m 7:18 / km
shoes: Inov-8 Oroc 280 #1 (blue)
WBSW, In The Dark. After a slightly complicated day that featured a pretty nasty headache, I finally felt okay enough to get out pretty late. Definitely headlamp all the way; there was a pretty good moon, but it didn't get through the tree canopy very much. This outing was a fine example of why I call it woods running instead of trail running. Yeah, it was all on stuff that's considered trails, but a lot of them are so faint that almost anybody following me would swear that I was just zigzagging randomly through the woods (and I bet it would take quite a bit of skill to keep up). And somebody would need to be quite familiar with the trails to take over the lead; it's often nearly impossible to tell that you're on a trail, especially now with some leaves down. Finished up a few minutes before midnight.
The round numbers for time and distance are not estimates, they're straight off the GPS watch. Too bad there wasn't another 4 meters of climb.
The round numbers for time and distance are not estimates, they're straight off the GPS watch. Too bad there wasn't another 4 meters of climb.
Sunday Oct 4, 2020 #
9 PM
hiking (pavement) 43:24 [1] 4.06 km (10:42 / km) +48m 10:06 / km
shoes: Nike Initiator
Mass Ave/Sunnyhill/West/Leominster Rd loop, In The Dark. Most of the time with the headlamp off, except on Mass Ave after the sidewalk ended. Finished up just as the first raindrops started to fall.
Saturday Oct 3, 2020 #
6 PM
hiking (woods) 37:18 [1] 2.59 km (14:23 / km)
shoes: Merrill Bare Access XTR
Townsend Hill, with Nancy, In The Dim. A good piece of this was on something that started out looking like an old cart path, then got less and less so, and finally we were just walking though the woods with almost no light (I had one but didn't turn it on). Quite pleased with myself that I was able to return by the exact same route.
Friday Oct 2, 2020 #
7 PM
hiking (pavement) 1:01:36 [3] 5.67 km (10:52 / km) +43m 10:28 / km
shoes: Merrill Bare Access XTR
Just a walk around the neighborhood, In The Dark. Carried a flashlight, but only turned it on when cars were going by, which wasn't so often other than on Northfield. Moon coming up.
Thursday Oct 1, 2020 #
5 PM
running (trails) 26:44 [3] 2.52 km (10:38 / km) +224m 7:21 / km
shoes: Merrill Bare Access XTR
Mt Watatic, NW side, including checking out a field, and up mostly on the old overgrown ski trails. The road doesn't really go as far the maps show, it turns into a No ATVs trail. Hung out at the top (with a number of other people) to watch the sunset/moonrise (shine on, shine on...).
7 PM
running (trails) 46:28 [3] 5.01 km (9:17 / km) +71m 8:40 / km
shoes: Merrill Bare Access XTR
And then back down via a longer route, In The Dark. Mostly on trails that I was familiar with, but I did go for one diversion on old unmapped cart paths, using the rising moon as a compass.