Training Log Archive: Swampfox

Drew up a course for the west part of Twin Boulders, and then tweaked it to accentuate the available slopes a bit more. It ended up being about 6.7 kms, which I ran both forwards and backwards.

While I was warming up, I ran into a guy parked at the end of the spur road in the part of the map I was on, who was out with his dog--a German Shorthaired Pointer, or something like that. That dog could run.

I said hello to the guy and we chatted a little bit, and in the course of that he related that more than once his dog, which was very friendly--had run off so far out of sight that it had ended being picked up by other people who thought the dog was lost, and who called him and returned the dog. It made me think he was lucky, because it seemed like a really nice dog, and maybe not everyone would be so quick to return such a dog.

At any rate, I said bye, and continued warming up, heading generally back towards my truck. And then the dog came running by, at approximately the speed of a bullet, and went far ahead, past my truck, then turning onto the main dirt road there, and vanishing out of sight. It was almost amazing to see. I wondered if it would really return on its on.

As it happened, it didn't. I warmed up for another 10 minutes or so, and then really headed back to my truck, which was 500m or so away, and about then a van turned off the main dirt road, and stopped by my truck and a guy got out and looked at me and motioned something with his arms. I had a feeling that maybe he had a dog in his van.

Sure enough, he had picked up the pointer. I told him he could find its owner (who probably was exhausted by then from whistling for his dog) at the end of the road, and that was that.

Besides just wanting to get in an O' run, I was also out to check the forest and how things generally looked in that area, as a possible location for the next One Cowboy Relay. There are a fair number of beetle trees down in the one critical area I would want to use, but they've been down for a while and I knew about them, and mostly I wanted to check that things haven't become worse. And it looked okay, so there's a good chance this is where it will end up going.

For a change of pace, I headed over to the school section late in the day, and ran trails until past dark, with illumination from the (nearly?) full moon.

The mountain bikers have been very active this year and last there, and have built a bunch of trail. It's impressive to see how much can be squeezed in, in just one square mile. It brings to mind the fact that some pretty long courses can also be squeezed in fairly small areas, as long as all the terrain is usable. And then the course setter needs to have some amount of imagination, because the all too typical "let's trace out a circle" style thing won't do it.

Plan A was to go for a long run in the NW section of the national forest and do some exploring. But as I was driving up, it was hard not to notice it was windy. For one, the alert sign on the interstate was turned on and warning of 40+ mph wind, and for another it was obvious that the vehicles headed west were struggling to get down the hill. That made me think about how it was still pretty chilly from yesterday's storm passing through, and how most of the area I would be running through was open and exposed, and that made me think that maybe a Plan B would be in order.

It did not take long to come up with a Plan B, which was a long run in a mostly forested area along south facing slopes at Happy Jack. With a Plan B in hand, I compared the two alternatives, and it was clear which one was the winner.

Just about the whole run was in snow, though it was only an inch or so. Pace was "lagom", given the hilly nature of the area I ran through and sections of forest that were like giant lincoln log playgrounds. By the end of the run it had become effectively pretty cold, given the torrent of wind I had in my face.

Animal sightings? None. I think they must have all been down at the Cowboy Saloon.

It's not unusual to see big temperature changes occasionally in these high, windy parts, but even for here, the change from yesterday when I was running to this morning (11F as I write) stands out--60 degrees colder!

C • 93 — 46 2

Somehow--and I can't quite put my finger on it--when I look outside today, it doesn't look the same anymore.

First snow of the season just started, at about 8:25 PM. Time to start thinking about waxing skis. (emphasis on "thinking", not actually doing)

It's dropped from about 71F this afternoon to 29F, so far.

Sometimes timing is everything, and, with an eye on the forecast calling for "a change in climate", timing dictate that I would go back to back with quality efforts, and that today's effort would come earlier in the day and not later.

And so it was that I was out on site before the solar noon. Things were looking good--sunny and warm, over the 70F mark, perfect Indian Summer conditions:



Even the bitterbrush (lower right corner) was looking pretty good.

I got started with a quick warmup and headed headed for the start of the course I had planned--12.7 kms of sage and bitterbrush and all the cheat grass you could ever hope for.

But at the start I stared at my map for a moment and then asked a fateful question: Is this really what a normal person would do? Of course not. So I went back to my truck, got out my scissors, and made some adjustments to the the course and ended up with this instead:



I made my way around from 1 thru 4, and then I hit the trail and really picked up the pace to a slow jog as I headed for the Finish. Very efficient training, it hardly took any time at all.

Well, not really. I did the whole course, but everything east of the above map tidbit is highly classified and can not be revealed. It was my first run--actually, the first anyone's run on the new Sugar Hill mapping I've just finished--and it's always super cool to go running for the first time on new mapping, getting to check it out and see how it stands up. I was pretty happy with it, though I did see it would help to darken up the "rough open" yellow a little bit, to help make the tiny areas of white (forest) stand out better.

I made sure to include a control on the actual Sugar Hill itself. That was the highlight of the run.

Ah, what the heck, everyone's going to end up seeing the map eventually, so here it is, the full version of the totally excellent Sugar Hill map!



(much enlarged in this image)

Not sure what to call this workout. Not strictly an interval session, but not fartlek either. Maybe semi-structured intervals, with one big climb to start things off and a (much) smaller climb to end each interval, and concluding with a long piece at threshold. I figured I must have got a decent piece of work in because after dinner, I was immediately sleepy and ready for a nap--much as happens after a regular race.

For the first half of the time I was out on the trails, I had it to myself--a little surprising, since it was so nice out. But then I was out early, too. Gradually folks started showing up, and by the time I got back to the parking lot, it was almost completely full.

At one point I was closing in on a group of mountain bikers on an uphill section, and I decided to see what would happen if I ran in the "Lundanes" breathing style. I mean, you really need to let folks know in advance if you're going to pass them from behind, because otherwise sometimes they get really startled.

But from the horrified looks on their faces when I passed them, I guess the Lundanes Method isn't the way to go.

C • Breathing Style 8

Wrapped up the last little bit of another complete section of land, out at Sugar Hill, for a total now of 43 complete sections mapped.

There's enough new map now at Sugar Hill for whatever we will need for Laramie Daze next year, so I'm not planning on doing any more mapping this season. With longer shadows, shorter days, cooler temps, and bigger winds day by day this time of year, it's easier to retain enthusiasm for mapping by setting things aside until next year--though who knows what I might end up doing on any one of those few really nice (mild/warm) days we will have before winter sets in. There's not so much left to do to take the map all the way down to North Branch of the North Fork of Crow Creek--but it will keep until next spring.