Training Log Archive: vmeyer

Would have really hated myself if I had let all three weekend days go by without getting out. Not that I totally wasted all of the weekend, what with spending quality time with Roger and pulling weeds. WooHoo!

Thanks to Roger's recently developed snoring issue, I slept poorly, but I was also not able to fall asleep this morning, so I got the earlyish start I had intended. Out of the door by 7:15. Good thing, as it was getting hot, and the Mt. Vernon trail gets super busy, and it is not an easy trail to use - tight corners, lots of casual users, high speed cyclists.

Rode to and across the Wilson Bridge and back. Trip across the bridge is very nice, with viewing areas on the way across and on the Maryland side. Went to where the trail turns to unpaved cinder about 1/2 mile from Nat'l Harbor and then turned around.

There are six (I think) 4" wide metal slits on the bridge. Likely these are parts of the breaks for the draw span. I rode over the first one seated and at speed, and I thought I was lucky that the tire didn't blow. I was more careful on the rest of them.

Some pictures from the cell phone. I would have used my camera, but, well, I left it at home...the new one, that is.

C • nice pictures! 5

Speed mowing to beat any storms and before going out to dinner in Rockville.

Huge non-alcohol hangover this morning. Mostly due to sleeping like crap last night. Had also decided against any sleep aid at 11 PM because I wanted to be able to get to work in the morning. But, I was exhausted, so I emailed in that I would be in later and actually got a couple of hours of sleep.

I am off to the airport to pick up Sarah and Matt who have been vacationing in Spain.

Still have the zip-line stuff to post.

My log is up-to-date.

Flew home today.

Many thanks to my hosts, Peter and Gail, who said, "Sure, come on up" when I invited myself. Reverse applies anytime you find yourself in the WDC area, especially now that Kissy has moved to NJ.

Though, apparently, I have failed to do the required logging in a timely fashion. I believe that was part of the contract. ;)

Therefore, the synopsis has been posted for me on PG's log. Thank you, Peter.

So I suppose there should be a proper review of, well, for lack of a fancy title we'll just go with the mundane, "Life is Always Exciting: A long weekend with Valerie."

-- She arrived Thursday early afternoon, and right away we took care of one of the reasons for the trip, a very little bit of tax consulting.
-- A training session, the traditional up to the power line and back.
-- A late evening trip out to the film house, when we normally would be falling asleep, with popcorn for one of us.
-- A Friday morning trip to the zip lines, her and Gail only, I was too chicken.
-- Another training session, up to the power line (and a little farther) and back.
-- A trip to Vermont, her first ever, for a Thai dinner, also her first ever.
-- A couple hours of training at Norwottuck Saturday morning, followed immediately, and I mean immediately, by a trip to McDonalds for a double cheeseburger (I was driving, and I got my orders), followed by a trip to the supermarket to lay in supplies for dinner (including two boxes of a very rich fudge brownie mix), followed by a trip to the bookstore for something to read, followed by various preparations for dinner, and the arrival of Peter Goodwin, and Alex Jospe, and Ali, and SGB, and Presto, the best behaved dog ever. And a very fine evening....
-- And then the Billygoat, and she makes it around successfully, and then goes to work on the e-punch data for a bit while I go fetch a few controls, and then she loads it all on her computer and we head home, with, of course, a stop at the Northampton McDonalds for another double cheeseburger, where I'm having such a fine time chatting up the girl at the first window where we're paying that when we're done there I'm almost out of the lot before Valerie yells to remind me that it might be a good idea to go back to the second window and actually get the food we've paid for.
-- And then she works until after midnight trying to sort out the data, wonder woman that she is.
-- And then up early this morning to head off to the airport for her flight back to DC.

I was very tired today, I thought from yesterday's Billygoat. Though, on reflection, it may just be from trying to keep up with Valerie. She is amazing, and fabulous.

Event: Billygoat Run at Mt. Tom
 

Tracks Watch was off from 10-12...

Janet and I stood in the back of the crowd hoping to not be mowed over if everyone started our way. I figured that the trail head by the road was going to be a good route choice since running along the road there was prohibited. I guessed correctly, and we ended up on the trail with lots of people sorting themselves out and passing us after starting out in a different direction.

Skipped #5 which was the right choice in the moment, since I just didn't think I could struggle up that rocky, steep slope at the time.

We took pretty conservative, clean routes and probably only lost a few minutes to #13.

Once I realized that we wouldn't make the 3:30, I decided to sit down and cool off in the creek at 19. I almost fell in, and that felt so good that I found a little pool on the way out and indulged myself.

I was sort of dreading running into the finish since I knew that the awards ceremony was going on at the finish. It turned out pretty cool with Peter giving us a little love on the way in. These is also a good picture on the NEOC site which I would like to get a copy of.

Honestly, a finish under 3:30 hours would have been nice, but it would have also been reaching a bit on my fitness level. I was surprised that I actually felt really good, and not at all fatigued, but also moving about as fast as I could move. I was especially slow on the downhills, rocky or otherwise. The bottoms of my feet were trashed, though no blisters. Wore knee socks and two other pairs, so my heels didn't slid around in the shoes.

I enjoyed doing the event with Janet. She did an excellent job of navigating.

Afterward, I tried to help with the results, but by then the T-shirts had been awarded, so I just got all of the data I thought I would need and fooled around with it later that night.

Will I try again for a sub 3:30 finish and a T-shirt? I really don't think so. I am very content with this race. But, hey, you never know about next year.

Sorry, no pictures, since, well, I lost my camera. ;)

C • no pictures... 2

C • Well done 7

OK, the funniest part of the weekend comes next.

So, Peter and I leave the park, and I believe we are both on an up note, satisfied with ourselves and all. I requested another stop at McD's for my double cheeseburger and fries. The stop is made, and Peter is making conversation with the girl in the drive-thru payment window. Gets the change, and then he takes off! Without my food from the next window! The look on my face was probably priceless. I would have taken a picture, but, well, you know by now. ;) I yelled for him to stop, and he backs up to the window. Whew! No cars behind us. Can you imagine explaining that accident to Gail!?

Well, I am still laughing about it.

Billygoat - Splits

After the streamer hanging, it was off to McD's for a double cheeseburger, and some excellent fries loaded with extra salt. Then to the grocery store for supplies for dinner and brownies. Next stop was the bookstore for a book of a little higher standard then I usually read. I picked Handling Sin by Michael Malone.

Gail broke out a foam roller, which I had never seen or heard of really, and showed me how to use it for my hip. Used it twice in the afternoon, and my hip pain was gone, even the soreness. I was getting shooting pains last night during the ride to Vermont and at dinner.

Prepared the brownies which were quality tested before dinner, oh, a couple of times, by an unnamed party.

Made the goat cheese pasta dish for dinner. Prepping the ingredients myself made me really appreciate the fact that Roger usually does that for me, which also explains why I am very deliberate chopping stuff up, especially given my unease with a freshly sharpened knife.

Nice mix of people at dinner: Peter, Gail, Peter Goodwin, SGB, Ali C, Alex J, Presto the dog, and me.

No pictures, since I lost my camera earlier today.

Following behind Peter putting out streamers for the very small training event. I was pretty sure that this wasn't a good idea as a taper for tomorrow, but how many opportunities does one have to walk behind a walking PG and have him tick off things as you go along?!

There were lots of mountain bike trails not on the map, and some areas were a bit scruffy, but since I was just following along trying to keep track, I was pretty confident that I knew where I was most of the time.

Tracks

I also took the opportunity to try out a baseplate compass. I had never used one, having gone from no compass to a thumb compass. It was odd, and I think I will work on mastering the thumb compass since that feels more natural to me. When I switched back to my thumb compass, I left the zipper open on my hydration pack, and somewhere between three and five, I lost my camera (Canon SD1200 IS). Happy about two things - it was not my iphone, which I was also carrying, and I had downloaded all of the pictures the night before.

At the last control, Peter realized that the streamer for the previous control was hung on the wrong feature, a cliff and not the little knoll, so I offered to go back and move it. On the way back to the finish, by myself now, I was going up a steep, narrow, confining trail and not really paying attention to surroundings. I nearly wet my pants when a huge thundering noise comes at me and about two feet over my head. At first I thought it was a hawk, then it landed in the bushes to my right and started acting like it was hurt. I recognized that I had heard about this type behavior from a bird protecting it's young by drawing the predator off, and Peter and the internet confirmed that it was a Ruffed Grouse. I would have taken a picture, but, well, I had lost my camera, and I forgot about using the iphone camera.

This evening's activity was a trip into Vermont for dinner at a Thai restaurant - both on my first list. Perfectly timed the photo of the Welcome sign, so that Peter wasn't forced to go around again. The discussion on the way there was the fact that I thought that I hadn't been in many states, but it seems that I have hit around 30+ in some fashion or another.

After dinner, we drove through Brattleboro proper looking for an ice cream shop, but sadly there weren't any. We also drove through the Brattleboro Retreat.

Would do Vermont again, but probably not Thai food. It was OK, but I like other stuff better.

The Vermont picture is the last one taken with my orange camera since I lost it the next day. I have had about 10 digital cameras, though I have never lost any before. I have just never bonded with different things on each camera. But this one I liked a lot, so I will probably replace it with the same model.

BTW, I got a soft serve once we got back to Sunderland. Peter was saving himself.

Mountain Top Zipline tour at Berkshire East with Gail. Had an excellent time! Thanks go to J-J PG for making the suggestion, even if
he was unable to come up and play because of his fear of heights.

Each tour time takes a maximum of 10 people, but I had figured that a large group would be a little tedious since it meant waiting while each person is clipped, zipped, unclipped, etc. So, I picked the 10 AM slot, which until the day before was going to be just Gail and myself. Two more were added for a total of four, which turned out to be a nice number.

We got our gear and headed to the lift to the top.





Damien was one of our two guides.



Generally, he would hook up and zip to the other end, and then Erin would hook each of us up on the other end. We took terms going first, and I was last the first time. I was slightly apprehensive, but it turns out I loved launching myself into the air with the only slightly scary part just after that before I knew for sure that it would hold me.

We ran into this group of employees. Gail plays golf with the sister of the guy in black (Tony). Our guides referred to them as the old guys. Um, hello?! ;)



I was usually spinning, and coming in backwards and fast.



Up close and personal.



Gail was generally straight and nailed all of her landings.



Gail and I wait for Zip #6.



When we got to the 7th platform, I looked up and saw that #6 looked to be just a walk back up the hill from the bottom of 7 which we landed on the ground. From the radio chatter, I figured out that maybe the guy handling the lift was off doing a duty with a group doing the advanced zip-line, and we were speeding right alone in our little group. So, I asked it we couldn't walk up and redo #6 and #7, and they said we could. That was so cool!

Here I am landing #7.



And, the beautiful view going back down the chair lift.



Yup, it was an excellent adventure at just the correct adventure level for me. And, I took pictures.

C • Cool GPS track! :-) 2

C • suggestion 4

Stopped in Shelburne Falls area after the zip-line adventure.

Pretty little towns with the Bridge of Flowers running over the Deerfield River, as well as the Potholes.

Mostly walking up the trail, and then mostly running back. Slowed a little in the last .3 miles for while I pulled off the streamers Peter put out for me yesterday.

I went up past the power line to where there is a ruin of a sugar shack.

Hot again. Over 80 degrees. Hope it cools off a little for Sunday.

Working on doing some things for the "first" time on this mini-retreat/vacation. I go to all of these events, but I never do anything, try anything new, or actually go anywhere beside the airport, hotel, and event site.

Tonight was my first independent film. I see about one movie per year, and they run to chick flicks, or other sophisticated movies, like Babe, Pig in the City.

Went to see Exit through the Gift Shop at the local art house with Peter and Gail. I enjoyed it immensely, though the hour (9:20 when it started), was a little late for me.

Yes, I had a medium popcorn, which I was unable to do justice to thanks to the great meal cooked by Gail. Peter cleaned up afterward, so my relaxing vacation was on.

C • Just to be clear, when it's... 2

Flew into Hartford, CT and drove to the Gail and Peter's.

A session with the taxman, so that after 30 years of doing my own taxes, I will be able to hand them off to someone I trust more then me next year.

Wanted to do a little something after slacking off the last three days, so Peter marked the hard part of the route from the house to the fire road, and then I mostly walked up the hill.

Ran a mile back down in 930, then jogged in the rest of the way.

Very warm.

Tonight, perhaps a film in Amherst. Tomorrow, the zip-line.

Peter in a position in the dining room which would become familiar:

Overnight in Flintstone, MD. Good thing, since I was so bleary at 9:30 PM last night after the race, that I felt impaired driving the five miles to my cabin from the race site. Props to the cabin property owner, June, who delivered my room key to the race site earlier in the day, since I wasn't going to make it there at a reasonable hour. Granted, they don't live on site, so it was in her best interest as well, but I just needed to let her know I was going to run late, and she did the personal service thing. She also doesn't clean the cabins until 12:30-1 on Sundays, so I was able to arrange a late check-out.

I felt uncomfortable leaving the race equipment in the car at the trail parking lot, so I left it in the cabin, rode, drove back, loaded up, showered and then hit the road. It added about an hour of driving time to the day, but it added much peace of mind.

Plan was to get up early and drive to Hancock, MD and do the full Western Maryland Rail Trail. Got a little later start then I had intended, and also got a little lost in Hancock... :)

Beautiful morning with temps in the mid-50s. Sun stayed tucked behind the clouds most of the day, and I did get a little chilly - mostly my toes. Wore a very light long sleeve short and a vest. Tried to discard the vest after 10 mile, but I needed it. An UA long sleeve might have been a better choice.

Started at ~7:45, and rode the ~10 miles towards the start, back to Hancock, and then ~12 miles to the other end, and back again. It seemed like the wind was constant, and I considered stopped when I got to the car after ~20 miles, but the part of the trail I had completed is not the nicer part (runs along busy I70), so I knew I would have to go the other way as well to feel like I got my "money's worth.". Glad I did.

Felt like I should have been a little faster since I did 3:36 last July. I may have not had the front wheel on like it should have been, so there may have been a little bit of drag there. Or, perhaps, I will also be a slow rider, and that is OK, really!

Saw only about a dozen people the whole time. Trail was much more crowded when I stopped on the way home to use the port-a-john at the estern end. :)

Race Timing: EX2 9 Hrs CM - Rocky Gap

Before race timing duties at Rocky Gap.

One loop of the lake in each direction. First loop 1:00:00, second loop 1:03:12. Wore my 310s the first loop, and changed to asics for the second loop.

Was not super speedy, but I was enjoying myself until I took a very hard fall about 3 miles into the second loop. Good thing it wasn't on the pavement. That would have been really nasty. My right bre**t took a direct hit with all of my weight landing on the front of it. Curled up into a ball and whimpered for a little bit, then brushed myself off and continued on. It was very painful, and I was pretty rattled.

Bruising on the right thigh as well, just above the knee. So, I think I was fortunate that it was only the fleshy parts of me which made contact.

Got out of bed late after a restless night. Driving in at 8:30 vs 7 is more of a pain since I would encounter traffic associated with 8 different schools, so biking in was actually more appealing despite the gloomy skies. I also didn't want to go all week without biking at least once into work.

Thermometer said 54, and the forecast high said 88, so I figured shorts would be OK, especially for the ride home. I was smart enough to wear a long sleeve shirt under my sleeveless shirt, since it turned out to be a bit raw out. And, it seems like today's high is actually 66, not 88, not that I am complaining about that!

Almost a perfect ride in with just about 30 seconds of stoppage time, included in the total time. I was going so fast, that I decided to blow through the stop signs on DeWitt, instead of almost stopping at each of them (all four way stops, and hardly ever any cars on the street). Luckily, I recognized the police car coming towards me and stopped at the next stop sign. Back to law abiding citizen after that.

Speedy, for me, ride home helped by the lack of headwind experienced on every other ride home from the new location.

Also able to power halfway up the hill before going into survival mode. I look forward to the day I feel good all the way up the hill. That day will come.

Did not want to post another goose egg, so despite the nap after work, the humid conditions, the threat of severe storms, and the general lack of motivation, I went for a run, and then a walk. Yeah me!

C • Rankings 2

Tracks

A little disappointed how poorly I navigated to #1. Also, I managed to bump off of several out of bounds areas on the west side of the map, which made me pretty anxious. Recovered and was pleased again with doing fairly well to most of the controls except poor route choice from 6-7 and navigational error to 12.

Actual distance covered was 5.64 miles.

I had a ball this weekend. WCOC put on a grade A event, down to having lunch for me each day, homemade by the meet director. Some very nice touches throughout the weekend.

I stayed with the DeWitts (thank you!), as did Sandy, George, Lyn, Jim H (Friday night), Mary, and Lex and Pete camped out in the driveway on Saturday night. Joe B stopped by on Friday, and PG & Gail on Saturday.

Green Day 2: Long - Splits

Event: WCOC / US Team A-Meet/WRE
 

Tracks

Really enjoyed this course, and I was very proud of my effort on a technical course, well, except for 3-4. I was careful out of the start, and patting myself on the back after getting the first three, and having a good plan to 4.

Then the thunder started, followed soon after by the rain, and I literally couldn't see a thing, not even the trail I was on. Initially, I hit the big trail and took a right, and then a left onto the smaller trail. At the point I turned right again, I got very confused by what I saw on the ground as a trail intersection. I see now that it is an indistinct trail coming in, but this totally blew my confidence, and I went off to flirt with the out of bounds area, and with quitting, before I sorted myself out. It helped that I was able to wipe my glasses off on my underwear :) and see a little something.

Actual distance covered was 3 miles.

Green Y Day 1: Middle - Splits

A run before hitting the road to CT.
Ran down to the drive, ran another 1+ mile, walked a tiny bit, ran back to the bottom of the big hill, walked to Sandy's. Feeling very proud that I got another run in. Legs may be toast tomorrow, but I am looking at the bigger picture.

Sandy's trail loop. Sandy hurt her ankle about 5 minutes into the run, so I was granted a reprieve from having to run up the hills. Loved those downhills.

C • downhills 1

Left the house at 6:45 after switching my light to my new bike.
Inaugural ride to work on this bike - a PR! WooHoo! I even had the laptop with me! ;)

Ride home. Strong winds like last week. Better time. Is it me getting better, or is it the better bike?

The seed heads indicated that I needed to get the lawn mowed before leaving town on Thursday morning.

It seems that May has turned into a busy month, but in a good way. I am away from home the next three weekends, and though some timing duties will be involved, I am allowing some time to do something fun at each place as well, or at least the option is there.

Two mile run, about .4 walk, 1 mile run, walk, then ran down the hill again so I could walk back up it to kill some time.

Humid!

Compared to yesterday, when I was up and ready to go by 7:30, today I was sluggish, and possibly hung-over from too much wine (though only 3/4 of a bottle) and exercise yesterday.

Luckily, I had dug out a map last night from an old training I had set in GFVA, so, I didn't have to think too hard when I did get out of bed at 8:45.

Tracks

Got to the parking lot outside of the park and hit the trails about 10 AM. I was due at a baby shower at ~1, so I was allowing myself just 90 minutes or so. I started at #12, and realized I had missed 13 to the left when I was in the next reentrant over, but I had no time to fiddle, so I went on. I also recognized where I was when I missed #6, and then skipped 8-11 on purpose and headed to the car, hitting 9 & almost 11 totally by accident, so I am not sure I am able to claim those as spiked, or semi-spiked controls, since I was basically just bombing downhill to the car. I didn't take the trail going right into the parking lot, since it was marked as closed at the road.

It felt like a mid-summer Washington, DC day with high humidity, and temps in the low 80s. The water plants were totally leafed out making the streams difficult to see, and the gnats and spiderwebs were numerous.

I taped my heels, and that prevented any blisters, but I need thicker socks with these shoes since my heel was slipping around and making it difficult to run, at the few times I wanted to run.

I did take a couple of falls today - one after getting a stick twisted between my legs, and the other a full roll down the hill to the car. Nice bruises on my left shin, and a little bit of wrenching feeling to the right hip/lower back.

In terms of fitness, I was not regretting that I skipped WP this weekend as I was climbing from 4-5.

Event: USMA West Point A-Meet 2010
 

A beautiful morning for a ride on the new bike. Lots of people out at 7:45.

I like the bike, though I think I may switch to the saddle I had put on my other bike. But, my arms and hands did not hurt like they did on the other bike.

Temps started at 60, and the long sleeve shirt, though very light weight, only lasted 20 minutes.



The irises are very beautiful again this year.