Training Log Archive: bl

After NHH, at SPS, crust sampling which was very good. Covered front fields a few times. Skating over mostly untracked fields is a high. Forgot 305.

From SPS parking, Luti route - much the same as yesterday but CW. Knot in left calf made me wonder. Handy ice compress at the end for placebo, at very least.

Heretical moment.

Weights at Y

Fro NHH parking after work - like old days. Raw spring day. The run was like baby steps, and first one is biggest. Maybe 100m ice & snow. Reading about the David McGillivray's Boston marathon inspired, esp last few sentences.

With dogs - all the supportive snow disappeared. Back as far as the Sandbox, all very slushy. Got very warm today inspite of wintry-appearing start on first day of spring.



Powerline spring

Cold has finally disappeared. One of the memorable ones. Still recall one from Feb., '82.

@ Waterville with George. Skied Livermore Rd. Made it to top on skate skis which was a first. Classic called for klister. Hi 30s, gray. Waterville valley, beyond the condos, is really quite nice, being White Mt. NF. A bunch of time just standing/talking. 68mi ea way.

A Rubicon crossed. Bought an external hard drive some 5 years ago to save/keep safe data. Formatting/PC/Mac interface complications, prevented its being utilized - long-delayed opportunities passed - til now. Not sure what’s changed (had a techie friend format the HD for a Mac laptop 6 mo ago - maybe contagion at work). When I connected the USB to the desktop & requested iPhoto export all photos (3903!), it went to work.

Nothing worse than losing photos (many of which are meaningful) because ‘technofusion’ left someone like me putting it off until something went seriously kaput, ie, too late. Now 3.9k photos are one step safer from oblivion. Harmless hoarding. I have a hard drive from a several-years dead laptop with perhaps a thousand photos awaiting reincarnation.

Beth & I recall a German tourist c. 1986 in Cuzco, Peru who disdained photography (in such a place!). He maintained he pictured everything in his mind. I don't buy that - he must have had one heck of a mind. Might he remember something like this young girl? A pics worth blah-blah words. It rings true with me & perhaps with those who wished they'd captured the moment they missed.

SloGo around White Park. Less snow than at home - looks like early spring vs Bow which looks more like winter.

At SPS around 4p, temp 40. Was curious as to what I'd find. Crust in shade, soft on packed in sun. Back soccer field offered good conditions considering.

Walked all over the back this am with dogs. M must have seen a moose with her barking & hair raised on back. They remain elusive in spite of plenty of evidence.

TRT at 2:50p, groomed with soft surface in sun, crusty in shade. Not good enough for open-field crust skiing. Can walk on the crust surface in woods all around the house. It's interesting & nice to be a foot taller.

Tired day - Beth up at 0315 for 6a flt to FL & did not get back to real sleep. Finally, though, had her drive herself, leave car in long term pkng for the 4 days away.

Bad day --- fingers on both hands were numb by first point. Had decent gloves with 2 chemical hand warmers in each (put in about an hour before) but fingers were still too cold with way too far to go. Was annoyed/frustrated/distracted/not having a good time so I bagged it - couldn’t use poles effectively etc. Didn’t help that e-punch had come off gloved forefinger a few minutes before start (tho I’d considered that in past 30’) & had to remove gloves to fiddle to get it back in place. Wind chill etc on a morning such as it was is a good test of preparedness & I was an amateur. Practice makes perfect & ski racers see a lot of the kind of windy cold there was this am. It was fine in woods but there was no way the fingers were going to warm up. Recall a super cold UNO ski O at Bretton woods years ago w/ cold fingers (old cold damage/sensitivity) but stuck that one out. A “must go” am such as this was is not what I see much of - usually skiing is a choice as to where & when unless a race-type effort. Had good down mitts but no plan for the punch with them. Will make some accommodation. It’s possible to be comfortable, even in windchill cold.

Visit to SM trails around 3p for dogs who were shortchanged past 2 days. Conditions were great Fri pm but now ice, crust, a few places of bare ground under trees. Nice enough 20F though.

West Point not a month away & I've done less running in the past 2-3 months than in years past. Not possible to play catchup but time to head in that direction.