Training Log Archive: JanetT

I thought the first mile was as peppy as Tuesday but was mistaken. No jogging today.
15:55/16:00/3:44

Worked every part of our core today. We'll see what's sore tomorrow.

First couple laps a bit slow because my knee was stiff but I got it loosened up slightly. Jogged two laps (~0.07 mi each) near the end of the second mile, with an awkward stride (landing on toe on right side and never straighten the leg) but I've got to start somewhere if this is the new normal.

15:55/15:28/3:44

In Chatham, 5-5-5 (x2) session

Event: EMPO - Mohawk River Lock 7 Park
 

Orange course, nominally 3.3 km Temp in 80s and sunny.

This event was held at the area formerly known as Schenectady Museum Nature Preserve, at some point acquired by the state. It's adjacent to Lock 7 on the Mohawk River so you can watch the boats go up and down if you want, or the people fishing below the lock.

I got out before noon and chose the shorter orange course because I knew 5.5km (green) would take me almost two hours in my current condition. As it was, between familiarity with the park and doing a shorter course, I managed to beat second place by 5 seconds (a girl probably a third my age). :-)

We had a few new people come by including a family from DVOA-land who visit a summer place on Lake George and finally managed to combine their trip there with an EMPO event.

I didn't time the club meeting but it took quite a bit longer than a minute and a half. :-)

Orange - Splits

Event: WCOC Ratlum Mountain
 

WCOC summer sprints, picnic and club meeting at Ratlum Mtn. Very nice weather, in the low 80s, sunny, and still on the dry side humidity-wise.

I teamed up with Glen for the relay and this time he chose to go out in the mass start which, with only 7 teams and two courses, meant there probably wouldn't be more than one person gong on the same leg at the same time. In previous years he had sent me out first, and would wait around and end up going in a mass start because I'm not fast. Today we tagged off in both exchanges; he was first in on the first lap.

To change things up, Charlie had the start triangle across the driveway from the field where finish and download was, and he and Rhonda had scouted out a couple of new-to-me control locations to make things interesting.

Sprint B was first for me, nominally 1.6 km. I'm pretty sure the calculated climb is way wrong; I count no more than about 50m. I overran the big boulder, control 7 before figuring it out. Cut through some woods 11-12 and thought I'd missed the little trail into the clearing but hadn't so I was a bit confused there. Just the right length courses for warm summer days. :-)

Sprint A, 1.7 km and I count 55m climb

Smaller error this time (not on 8 as AP implies, though I didn't take the most efficent route; I just slow down a lot on hills), hooking around into number 5 from the trail to the east because I didn't see the boulder through the dead branches (likely trimmings to make it easier for us to get to controls).

Caught my right toe at one point and straightened my knee more than it likes, but it was a momentary pain; no more painful now than its been. On the way to 7, after Jeff and J-J passed me, I fell and bent my right little finger backwards...it's a bit sore now but I can bend it okay so no major damage.

I was last in one sprint and third from last in the other. Not sure where we ended up overall but we might have beaten one team(?).

Lots of great food and conversation after, and a very short meeting for official business (~1 and a half minutes, to be contrasted with EMPO's meeting tomorrow). ;-)

Thanks again to Rhonda and Charlie for hosting the picnic!

Sprint A - Splits

Sprint B - Splits

Mostly doable stuff, with a few kneeling things I did standing or lying down. I need to remember not to bother with reverse bridges from elbows. I can barely do them with straighter arms, and my shoulder is too tight to do them from elbows. Reverse crunches are hard too (she calls them modified rollovers).

Not too many people on the track today. Knee started getting sore before second mile. I stopped to stretch it some but that didn't help much.
15:45/15:57/3:52

There's a woman who comes to Pilates--who is due to give birth within the month--who jogged some laps while I was walking... Puts me to shame. :-)

In Chatham.

Sad day in class; buddy Ruth died on Monday, age 85. She'd had a fall in April where she hurt her back, but there must have been other stuff going on too. Instructor Jennifer has known her since she was little. Ruth's personality was similar to mine so we got along well (hanging out in the back row). She was an industrious, quiet, and loving person (with an occasional stubborn streak) who I always enjoyed talking to. She was a fixture at this workout center, and will definitely be missed.

Used the big bouncy balls today, though we didn't get to bounce them (one had the opportunity to bounce during bicep curls while sitting on the ball...).

Ribs felt more tender today than they had for the past sessions since I returned to Pilates, but only during the particular exercises; fine otherwise. They just remind me they're there.

Found a place to walk to from the motel in WRJ while Glen is out field-checking at Oak Hill. Thought I'd just walk to the reservoir and look at birds, but there's no water in the reservoir because the earthen dam is unsafe (but okay to walk on).

But I found a trail network that had several short loops ... in the woods! Nice on this warm day. The park is Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge Park. There's a monument but it doesn't mention the source of the name of Hurricane Hill, just thanks the people who donated the land for the park to the town. Backtracked on one because there was a sign missing, but that didn't amount to much.

Trail map

A little investigation implies the name is attributable to the 1938 "Long Island Express" hurricane that was still category 1 when it hit Vermont.

Event: Harris Center
 

At Harris Center in NH, site of last fall's Classic Champs. Green was 5.5 km and on this warm day I knew I wasn't up for it. Temps were near 80 at start close to noon. Nominal distance was 3.0 km.

Time edited because I didn't stop my watch right away.

I managed to finish 4th of 9 starters (6 finishers), probably because I walked the entire course and stayed in contact. I was just a bit off, but in the circle on 6 and 9. Every time I even thought about running I'd trip over debris in the woods...legs aren't in proper woods running shape, and I'm afraid of falling on my knee anyway. I did manage to trip near the end when there was a wire near the ground across a trail; likely a fence wire remnant. No barbs so it just surprised me.

Saw Phil B fall one of his 10 times as we both neared a control but he got up okay. :-/

Brown - Splits

You may or may not have seen the news story about the middle school graduate in Illinois who impersonated political leaders in his speech.

I just watched/listened to the whole thing, and was surprised when "cross-country orienteering" got a shout-out in his gym class memories. :-) (at about 8 minutes in, near the end).

Worth a listen...he does a great job.

C • Comedy 2

About 2.6 mi. After-dinner walk to burn off a few calories and to visit a road I'd not been on in years which leads to the Kinderhook Creek. For awhile the road had a "private drive" sign on it when someone lived at the end near the creek, but the house is not occupied at the moment.

More upper body than yesterday. Standing warmup with warriors, so got into things earlier than usual.

We did pliés with lat pulldowns, but when she changed that to side lunges, my knee became very unhappy. I stopped doing the side moves and just bent my legs but knee didn't loosen up by end of class so I skipped doing any walking. I'd go out later but it's gonna be a hot one today so we'll see.

All aerobics (plus abs and stretching) today. Boy did I feel my glutes/outer thighs, tight from yesterday.

Nice tribute to our boys' band teacher. He deserves recognition!

Lots of hip focus today, enough that I felt the burn in my left abductor when we were doing side-lying exercises. Also had a bit of cramping in right hamstring when doing a one legged shoulder bridge so had to stop to stretch before continuing.

Because I had errands to run afterwards I opted for just a quick mile after Pilates, trying to keep the cadence up (sneaking in the mile before my knee caught on and started hurting; a second mile would have been slower).

0.1 mi cool down, 1:52

5-5-5 (aerobics-step-weights) x 2, except I did the stepping without a step. Knee got tired/creaky by the end but held up okay. Certainly not as painful/tight/swollen as last week after the trials middle.

After the t-storms, and as the temps started to recover from 50s this morning. About 62 when I left, 66 when I got back, and humid.

As is typical in this neck of the woods in the "summer," I was stopped for directions to someplace. :-) One of them was headed the wrong way, which is also typical (I think she had been given directions but had missed a turn).

Lots of birds calling, squirrels grazing, and one tractor-trailer being lifted/towed back onto the highway after going off the roadway beyond the shoulder with the tail end still on the highway.

Event: Boston Sprint Camp 2016
 

I'm one of four or five members of this class with knee issues (depending on who shows up on a given day). I've inquired which doctors they've gone to and am considering calling one of them. Knee still tight and sore.

On a more positive note, I was able to roll up into teaser position a few times which is more than I could do last week (due to rib tightness/didn't want to push it...probably scar tissue that's getting slowly stretched back into more normal shape).

Gorgeous outside despite the wind, which really wasn't as bad as I expected. Low 60s and mostly sunny. Lots of birds chirping but none I could identify from their call. Saw a flicker and a robin.

Speaking of robins, there are four young ones in the nest outside the front door (in a yew, so nice cover), which are getting bigger every day. Will probably be out of the nest before too long, to mom's relief.

Knee was better enough that I stayed for the abs and stretching today. Still more swollen than it was before the weekend. I'll keep icing when I can.

Ribs are almost back to normal but I still feel a weird sensation when I first lie down on my back. Not pain so much as tightness(?).

Knee still sore and won't bend but not as bad as after the race Sunday. A setback, though.

In Chatham. I didn't stay for the abs r stretching as I didn't want to get down on the floor and have to get back up again. Knee pain this morning is less noticeable this afternoon but I'm still being careful as there's some swelling that wasn't there before Sunday. Ice and Aleve are helping keep it tolerable.

Event: DVOA Rogaine Pocono Environmental Education Center
 

AOWN on the drive to Kent, CT: two snapping turtles (one large which I steered around, one small and in the other lane) and some young turkeys (quail-sized) that I had to come to a stop for before momma came to steer them right. :-) Heard lots of birds in the woods, too, but didn't ID any.

Red middle course at team trials. Nominal 4.8km/230m

Overcast and low 60s most of the time; it rained hard before we got up and then tapered off a bit before stopping for awhile, starting up again as we were changing and getting ready to leave, so absolutely fine timing!

I started ~40 minutes earlier than originally scheduled, taking Glen's spot as he also started earlier. Otherwise I think I would have been finishing up when it started raining again.

Fell once (leaving the area of #9) and tweaked my right knee somehow (twisting a bit, maybe) though I didn't land on it. Hurt to stand on and I wasn't sure I would finish but I headed off in the direction of 10--and towards the arena--and by the time I got to the climb it was feeling okay enough as long as I didn't straighten my leg too much. It hurt enough on the ride home that I asked Glen to drive so I could keep it still (I'm the usual driver when we travel together as I have a tendency towards motion sickness). Vit-I and ice application are underway.

Tony Muffati started two minutes behind me and reached #1 just before I did; I was a bit left of the line but had just spotted the flag as he came in to punch. To 2 I stayed above the rocks it apparently a bit too high as I was close enough to the AT to hear two hikers wondering about the map David Hunter (and whoever he was running with at the time) was carrying. I circled back in the direction David had come from to get 2.

I should probably have stayed below the bare rock to 3 because I could have attacked off the same trail bend, but I saw the trail as easier footing and angled up to it from 2 (so I climbed then instead of later in the leg. Spiked 3.

Down the spur to 4 noting the saddle just before it. Spiked. Almost turned left because I had seen the direction change from 5-6 but then remembered I had to continue on the line and get 5 first. I was crossing about at the straight line from 8-9 when Sergei (Gnatiouk or Fedorov) asked, "Where 85?!?" I was headed for 82 and I said, "What?" and continued on my way. Way to interrupt someone's concentration even if I was going slow. Still, I had no trouble with the saddle, seeing the form line hill before it. Spike.

To 6 I wasn't sure about the left route around the marsh and crossing another one near the end of the leg so I headed north to hit the AT again and took that, angling in from the small hill and charcoal platform to the SW...I probably added several unneeded contours to get over the hill going that way but I was sure of my navigation, had a trail, and found a nice path through the lighter green (mountain laurel, in bloom). Spike.

I went left of the rocks to 7 and miscounted rocky spurs so was too far west but corrected when other details didn't look right.

Spiked 8 and 9. To 9 I dropped farther down the hill than intended but figured out what I did when I was below instead of above the rockiness by the marshy area.

To 10 (after recovering somewhat from my fall) I went left/west of the green spur following the stream to the bend. Climbed between the big cliff and the rockiness under the line (where it was cut) so I'd be in the right reentrant...spiked it which was very satisfying because it was such a climb, for me especially as I haven't been able to train properly this year. I led with my right foot sideways rather than straight ahead to ease the pressure on my knee. Saw Charlie coming in from the right as I punched but he soon left me in his dust. ;-)

Slow and steady, on the line, to 12 and 13, both of which I also spiked, then zig-zagged a bit down the hill to 14 as I couldn't run anyway. Then down to the trail and to the giant boulder, and in to the finish.

Glad I went, glad it's over, and I wish I knew what was going on in my knee (whether it's "just" inflammation of the pes anserine bursa, or something else). Ouch.

Found out at the finish I wasn't last, as Peggy said she had a frustrating time with 10 and 11. That's the only time that will happen, I'm sure. ;-)

Middle Red - Splits

Event: EMPO - Tawasentha Town Park
 

Managed to only fall once (over a mapped fence which was really barbed wire lying on the ground) on the way to the first control, and landed on the not-so-injured (left) knee. Hurray for small blessings! Then stabbed my upper left thigh with an old tree branch but it broke off after I hit it, so again, not as bad as it might have been.

Just another day in the woods. Will scrub with Technu later because of lots of poison ivy in the woods; and check for ticks.

Nominal stats 4.6 km, 245m climb (overstated according to my watch). Good training for tomorrow. :-) I managed to totally ignore the go control. The SI download took awhile (rebooting computer, etc), so by the time that happened and Phil could see I was missing the punch almost 10 minutes had passed so I didn't bother to get it (down a hill and back up to finish).

Except for some exhausting steep climbs this was a fun course in a familiar park

Orange - Splits

Event: Senior Team USA Trials
 

Survived another class. Learned I'm not yet ready for the weights I was using before.

15:26/15:58/3:54