Training Log Archive: Gswede

Wissahickon Wanderings

15 minute warmup followed by an attempt at the three Strava segments up Mt. Minsi. I was able to take all 3 pretty solidly. Great workout.

I felt really strong at the start. I haven't felt that in the legs for a little while now, but I was able to drive really well through this. It did start to sting once I got to the steep sections though.

Este muerto está muy vivo.

A downhill course to work on moving through terrain after doing hard work uphill. It worked. I was very tired. This will be a good training exercise for Norway and other soft terrain: a hard uphill effort of 10-20 minutes followed by a normal course.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qaEudP7AbE1x7t426

After going over the gps, it really drives home the point of how being physically tired can significantly affect your navigation. I started to drag a lot around 11 and that's where I got sloppy. 100% focus all the way through, Greg.

Control Count: 247

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XWEzw1629UxtEhWr8

Since it was warmer out today, I decided to explore one of the higher elevation maps. Higher elevation being an oxygen-depriving 500-600m ;) But the vegetation does in fact change significantly as you climb in this area.

My first parking location went well, but when I got to the creek I realized that I had forgotten about all the overnight rain. What looked like a tranquil creek previously was not very crossable. I wasn't in the mood to risk crossing a creek with rapids that intense. So I went back to the car and actually found a better parking spot.

Pretty similar to Hickory Run again: dense beech forest, although much more pleasant than Hickory Run in most parts. Ground was quite soft for this area, although I'm sure that part of this is due to the overnight rain.


Control Count: 236

The Poconos certainly aren't Norway, but all this terrain running is beating me up quite a bit. Attempted a long run today, but was just too tired to hold a decent pace, especially on the hills.

I was able to check out the micro sprint map of Glen Park. Absolutely perfect place for a truly physical and technical micro. But 2.5m contours doesn't get across how steep the terrain is. I'll have to rework it. Really looking forward to using that area for micro intervals.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tB7jVFpg93LFRAhq6

Control Count: 225

Absolutely beautiful forest. Extremely fun.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TGbE4WjvZ7hmbiFB9

I let Ian start before me so there was at least a bit of pressure on him to stay ahead and a bit on me to catch him.

Caught him at 4 and told him to stick with me and watch how I orienteered.

Then I let him lead a few legs and gave him some feedback, until I stopped focusing on the way to 8 and lost contact completely. Ugh. Yes, maintaining focus doesn't just happen, Greg.

The forest was really open, runnable, and fun. But it wasn't too open, which I really like. It felt much more pure that way. Natural. There were sections of dense saplings, rocky ground, and other obstacles. But that just makes it more interesting.

Once I can get more people out here, this will be a really good area for some one-man relays to work on high-pressure situations.

Control Count: 221

Jog followed by Achilles exercises

Two courses at Hickory Run.

First was a course through the mountain laurel made by my Spanish friend Richi. He's never been to Hickory Run or had any encounters with mountain laurel. There's a plant around Madrid that's similar, but not quite as bad. So I think he underestimated how difficult some of these controls would be. I was thinking of skipping some, but I figured that shying away from a challenge isn't a good habit. Even if that challenge involves lots of crappy fighting through mountain laurel.

Course 1: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CftR6ExXkP9NGLL96

Second course was a micro to feel some speed since I knew I wasn't going to be moving too fast on the first one. Pretty good overall, but I really do need to get back to wearing protective glasses here. I lost contact on my way to 6 because of all the branches hitting my eyes and then struggled to get back into the map.

Course 2: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FkPfVj5Tr5MNEBCm9
(Fixed the link)

Control Count: 202

Pretty intense leg and core workout from Freeletics

Legs were feeling pretty beat up, so I stuck to the levee today.

But, I also checked out a new micro sprint map I've been working on. Contours are great, vegetation good, and trails decent. With a few hours of field work I can probably get it to shine.

Map: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tvkzytBoAH7VL1Dt5

Interesting to see where the GPS lost a stronger signal. I did go to 12, definitely did. I remember it.

I wasn't sure of whether to count this for the control challenge. I've decided to, since I'll likely do more of these. But we're only going to count a quarter. Otherwise it would be too easy to get to 800 ;)

So again, that's half for control picks and a quarter for micro-sprints. Woo! Micro-sprints!

Control Count: 179