Training Log Archive: JanetT

What Glen said. :-)

Dinner was fine (too much delicious food), with 2 of my 3 siblings there with spouses (and one nephew, a freshman at college), one son, my mom, Glen's mom, and another widow who lives near Mom and who was our next door neighbor (with family) when I was in elementary school. She and mom hit it off very well then, and keep each other company often now. Seemed odd without my dad there....

Estimated time on my feet and walking around kitchen preparing various vegetables for tomorrow's feasting. Will try to not overindulge (much).

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Conowingo dam crossing the Susquehanna, along Route 1 in Maryland, is a great place to look for eagles in the colder months. We went there today and saw more than a dozen bald eagles, mostly just sitting, along with a couple dozen roosting great blue herons, and a number of turkey vultures, ravens(?), and water birds. Bring binoculars!

In other news, Fox News tells me that the proposed agreement between Iran and the western nations is "appeasement" and the whole subject is designed to distract people from the Obamacare "debacle." I should be outraged, just like the folks on TV.

Event: DVOA Mount Penn - Antietam
 

Event: EMPO - Peebles Island State Park
 

M--Th we were in the DC area. For posterity, we ate lunches at California Grille near the National Geographic Museum, Hill Country Barbecue and Clyde's near the Verizon Center. Dinners were at a pizza place in Alexandria, the Blackfinn, and La Tasca Tapas Restaurant. Museums/places we visited were the aforementioned NG Museum, American Art Museum, Archives, Natural History, Capitol; Glen went to the American History Museum while I visited the Renwick Gallery and the exhibits we missed at the Museum of American Art. We also saw the new WWII Memorial on the Mall, and the White House (from a distance). There was one protest group near the White House (anti-government), and another near the Capitol (something to do with fire safety); on different days. DC is an interesting city.

At Cape Henlopen, DE, on the beach around the point at the N end of the cape from the northern-most parking area. Not accessible from March through September because of nesting Piping Plovers, but we didn't see any there, though we did see a number of horseshoe crab shells on the bay-side of the beach. Distance estimated.

Interesting sightings: a piece of white milk glass sea glass (from a vase or other container, slightly tumbled), two shark carcasses (small long sharks, perhaps dogfish sharks), wind-shaped sand features, and dunes.

Breezy, overcast and only in the upper 40s. Gorgeous sunset! Pictures of some of these things are posted here.

On the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach (2 mi total), and a couple blocks up Rehoboth Ave and back, followed by a relatively light dinner at Dogfish Head's restaurant.

A bit different atmosphere/vibe than in the summer, though it was a warm day, almost 60F. Santa's house and various lights are up, ready for Santa to come visit next week.

Brown X at Hay Creek, near French Creek. Nominally 4.6 km, 150m. It was cool and breezy at the parking area but warmer in the woods, near 60F

Favored the knee on the way to start and on the course, only jogging when I was on a trail that didn't have rocks on it. Good to 1, following the ditch/old trail most of the way until I could see the spur to hop over; there was a man lying in the woods behind some downed branches who was probably trying to hunt, but with three or four folks in the area when I was there I wondered why he hadn't given up. Unless he was taking pictures but it didn't look like it.

Tentative to 2 but found it okay, then left the trail headed towards 3 but a bit lower than needed. Saw a flag to my right, down the hill, but was pretty sure it wasn't mine, but as I got even with it thought it might be a depression so I checked the code anyway---nope, definitely not mine. Headed back up the hill, crossed right over the platform near the edge of the circle, and in. Probably lost at least 5 minutes.

Mary Jo punched not far behind, and then got to 4 ahead of me (I attacked from the depression next to the trail), and I never saw her again. PG flew past at the trail junction and headed on down the ditch while I tried to stay parallel to it in the woods since I thought the ditch had more stuff to climb over. No problem finding 5. Contoured to the trail and managed to find the intermittent trail towards 6 though there wasn't an obvious junction, which I followed to the edge of the steep slope. Stopped long enough to figure out how to pick my way down through the rocks and down the hill, and spotted the flag halfway down. 7 was a piece of cake, between a trail and stream. Saw the long trail route around to 8 as the obvious route for runners but knowing I wasn't running, I decided to take the more direct route up and over, keeping the green slash to my right. No problem finding it, and probably more interesting than trying to jog and not get more hurt on the trail.

To 9 I angled a bit off the straight line figuring the reentrant beyond the control would catch me if I wasn't precise, but at the right distance I spotted the flag 30m to my left, then in. Happy to finish with no further damage and the knee feeling okay though not super happy about running.

And I managed to stay in 2nd behind Mary Jo (Linda ran F21 this weekend) who was about 30 minutes ahead overall.

Excellent courses and organization by DVOA, and Valerie did her magic again at the finish/results.

Uploaded track, which seems to include the bus ride back to parking at Daniel Boone school. I've adjusted the time and distance but am not sure of total climb.

C • Man in the woods 8

Hay Creek - Day 2 Brown X - Splits

Event: DVOA Fall Orienteering Festival
 

Jogged from porta-johns to finish to report a need for paper there, then back to the car. Time to pick up my compass, epunch, water bottle, etc and head to start.

Got to start (saying hi to my brother as I checked in) just a few minutes before I was called; had to push through mingling kids to clear and check my e-punch.

Brown X, nominally 4.3 km / 100m. Gorgeous sunny day with temps in the upper 50s.

Remembered from notes that the first control was common to all courses and punched okay there, then headed off into the woods to 2. Tried to stay headed mostly north but drifted more to the right than I planned. Hit the trail before control approximately where the ditch heads off it; it was a bit green there, so carefully cross trail and see a bag to my left. I thought I wasn't quite to mine but it looked like a charcoal platform so checked code and sure enough it was. Straight to 3 via the platform on the other brown course.

Caught up to Judy K who was headed to the right around the water tower so I went left and followed the stony ground for a while hoping to note either pair of boulders but never did so angled off to hit the big trail and go in from ther. Then whoomph---down on the ground. I think I caught a toe on a rock or stick and my right knee went into another rock or stick and hurt like the dickens. Flashback to 2009 when I got (what I think was) a bone bruise on the top of my tibia which took forever to get better. Ever step was now painful, especially when jogging, but I got up and slowly kept plugging. Made it to the trail, turned the correct way, and used the charcoal platform next to it to head in to the circle ditch. Saw Mary Jo coming in as I was headed to 5.

No problems to 5 and 6 (162 and 155, also on Green X), then another long leg across the broad spur to 7. Rather than try to follow the line and climb 3 extra contours, I contoured around heading SW. Actually saw the bag at 4 from a distance as I headed more S hoping to hit the intermittent trail or creek and head in, but vegetation pushed me around a bit. Saw a flag & water--not mine...is it the platform in the index contour? Took a bearing, saw a flag and water from a distance and checked it though it turned out to be a stone pile not a platform, but it being the only stone pile in the area I quickly headed to the control. Charlie, who I'd passed on the way to the first flag I checked, arrived just after me.

Better to 8, straight to it, then tried to use the spur to head me correctly to 9. Alex J and others headed in the same direction helped. East to the trail, which I followed up to the big depression, the bearing up the hill, behind a bunch of green course folks headed the same way. Didn't see/couldn't make sense of the trails but spotted a flag--on a depression--mine. Found the wide "path" that led to the Go control and then in.

Emergency crew was working on someone's ankle but I managed to snag an ice pack to put on my knee for a while. It sure hurts to bend the knee, as there's a half-ping pong ball-size lump in the dimple on the inside of the knee. Turns out there's another bruise on my other knee, a bit lower and not as painful, so I iced that too. We'll see about tomorrow. I seem to be able to walk okay but running may be too uncomfortable to consider, and steps/steep climbs/descents would be almost impossible.

C • Oh no! 6

French Creek - Day 1 BrownX - Splits

Mostly body-weight exercises, then some bicep curls, flys, and upright rows at the end with weights. Bicep curls were performed standing on one foot to throw the balance off and work abs as well.

After, just a few adductors and pulldowns, as we get to pick up the new car this afternoon.

Focus was "legs and abs"... Wait, isn't that what I did yesterday in Pilates? Felt it in some muscles. Jen said that "I bring her joy" when I post her exercise schedule on the community bulletin board at the post office. :-) (She occasionally passes through our 'burg--really a hamlet, not even a full ham...).

Using rings (a.k.a. "circles" to some instructors). No need for adductor machine afterwards. Lunges, roll ups, and teasers were some of the fun moves.

Hill interval program on the elliptical, moving up to level 4 which alternates resistance of 25 and 30 after the warmup. MHR around 132, per the machine.

Pull downs (10) after.

Active section: 20 min of floor aerobics then 10 min of alternating step and weights. Right hip extra tight (from orienteering yesterday, most likely).

Event: WCOC - Ansonia Nature Center
 

Sideswiped a deer (pretty sure) on the Taconic on the way home from Ansonia. We stopped after, and saw at least one bit of hair stuck on a window frame and a smear on the window, but no noticeable damage. Good, because that would likely lower our trade in value.

C • Oh Deer! 4

(Added FR track)
Green course at Ansonia, 5.1 km SL. Gorgeous when we started, about 55F and sunny. We'd driven down in gray clouds that spit some rain, and by the time we were done our courses they had made it to Ansonia.

Because Ansonia has so many nice details it wasn't really great practice for French Creek, but so be it...it was still fun. Especially since I could keep jogging in the first half (no huge hills thrown at me). Saw very few people out there...Glen (who passed me a bit before our shared #2), Craig W., who passed me (and helped as I was off to the right) on the way to 3, and Albina Z, who caught up in the last section from 7-12 (13-18 on Blue). A bunch of scouts on the trail near 11, too, but probably not on my course.

Well down the results, though there was a cluster of Army cadets at around 68 minutes. About 11 minutes behind Craig; Pavlina finished around 51 minutes, if I recall correctly.

Green - Splits

Event: BAOC: Pacheco State Park A-meet
 

MB "balloon" ccw. Low 40s and overcast.

Rest day. Negotiated a price on a new car to replace the Pilot. It will get twice the mpgs (mspg?). I'll miss my big baby, though.

C • What did you get? 11

Using weights for some exercises (flys, chest presses, triceps, bridges, side leg lifts, etc).

Hill intervals. Highest HR noted (measured by the machine) was 140. 1.26 mi plus 0.1 mi cool down.

and Pulldowns (10 @ 68.75#)

A continuous motion class (alternating between aerobics and step for 20 minutes or so), plus the usual warmup, abs/core, and cool down/stretch.

Ansel Adams photos at the National Archives (Corinne P works there).

Bands again (by special request of someone who hadn't been there in a while).

A half mile before Pilates as I got there early enough, and 1.5 after (with new-Y-member Glen as my pacer for the first mile of it).

PT: Adductors @80#, pulldowns (10 reps), and leg presses (@90 & 85#)

Sore quads and hamstrings and calves. Otherwise, the class went well, and stretching was great. :-)

"Fall Back 5 Mile" run at Saratoga Spa State Park. Temp was about 38F with a breeze out in the open, and cloudy to start. Started and finished near the Hall of Springs/Administration Building, and wound all around and through the park including the flat southern portion (that isn't on our O map because it's flat and featureless, basically). Some hills, but not too many (one with a staircase, which I walked, two steps at a time because they were shallower than standard), and not too much in the way of mud or roots, and virtually no rocks.

I was in a 'pack' at the very back, following a fellow until he missed a turn, then leading for the last 1.5 mi or so (until the two ladies running together just behind me surged past in the last stretch).

Trail was marked with small yellow diamond-shaped markers that said "five mile trail"; good thing I figured that out early on and could correct when the fellow I was behind missed the turn. A bit hard to follow in a few places as they were farther apart than I could see without glasses.

Results that I saw (they had times and bib numbers linked properly, but not sorted correctly with names/age groups) had me listed at 131/134. Four in my age group.

Because the results were so befuddled, they gave prizes to top 3 M/F, and then raffled the rest of the draw prizes. Top male and female were within 1.5 minutes of each other, with the winning man a shade under 31 minutes. Glen and I both had our numbers called, so that was nice. :-) (Original plan was prize to top in each 10-year group after the top 3, then raffle the rest.)

10 miles in one weekend. Haven't done that in a long time.

Jogging around the fields prior to race, trying to warm up my sore muscles from Saturday's O. :-) Did a little stretching after, while waiting around at the starting line.

Event: EMPO - Five Rivers Environmental Education Center
 

Green course (longest offered) at Five Rivers*, EMPO local meet. Temp in upper 50s to around 60 by the time I finished, but then it got cooler as a front came in with some showers as we were leaving.

Frank (fpb) did his best to take us to different locations at this often-used area, without going back and forth across the map too much. Some map expansion added a new area in the northeast portion. SL 5.9 km per the map, but my FR measured over 8 km, so maybe it was a bit longer. No significant climb except into and out of the stream beds.

I did have significant trouble on number 4 (partly my fault, and partly because I think it was placed wrong...but we'll see on that), and a short detour on the wrong trail to 15, but otherwise tried to stay close to beelines, so maybe the SL distance was understated.

Saw Brenan (bct) at 4, and had a bit of help going in to the bags after seeing him exit 5 and 7, and approaching from different angles on 11. He ran away from me after 12, though. :-)

*This is where I did my very first orienteering courses 23 years ago, so I have fond memories of the place even though it's a relatively easy map (compared to, say, Moreau, or Bear Brook in NH).

Green - Splits

Event: (Cancelled) Harriman Relay and Club Festival
 

Ophthalmologist appt this am, follow up to previous visits. No changes, which is great.

Eyes are dilated, so it's hard to see to do much and (now that the clouds have moved off) much too bright to enjoy the warm moist breeze outside. :(