Training Log Archive: Swampfox

We had a smidge of snow overnight in town.

Got out on the bike again in the early afternoon--colder and some wind, and less sun than yesterday, but was dressed okay so it wasn't bad at all.

Then went running at Happy Jack, where there was an inch+ of new snow. I started below the ski trails and as I was running up to them, I wondered if there was any chance this new snow had alarmed the groomers into action. But no; maybe some other day. I ran longer than yesterday, and again kept to a very easy pace, finishing up just as dusk was going over to nightfall.

The day was nice enough for some biking, and I made that the main effort because something with my right hip is sore.

I actually noticed something on Thursday, but it was so mild and insignificant that if I thought about it at all, it was just a passing thought that I must have bumped into a tree or a bush or something.

But on Friday after I got home from O', I noticed some pain as soon as I got out of my truck and started to walk, and it was stronger later in the evening. That was when I first probed the area, expecting to find a bruise or skin deep sore spot, and realized instead it was deeper down.

Not at all familiar with hip pain or even the hip structure and associated soft tissues, but after doing a little studying, it seems most likely to be some kind of anterior hip pain, and soft tissue related--not the joint.

I tried some easy running on snow trails, partly because I wanted to run and partly to see if the pain would get worse or not, and planning to stop if I started to feel pain. I ran very easy, and went for about an hour without noticing anything more than occasional mild discomfort. And better in the evening than it was last night. Will continue to monitor and take it easy as indicated.

When I woke up they were saying it was Christmas, and so I looked outside to see for myself. Couldn't see any definite signs of Christmas, but there was definitely sunshine. So I drank some strong coffee, put on some bright pink flash pants, and hit the road and drove until I found a good place to stop.

This looked like a good place to me:



This pretty well typifies what December has been like: more snow on the ground than up in the skies, but not a whole lot of snow on the ground. It wouldn't even qualify as fast grass.

So I put aside my skis, and pulled out some O' shoes, a compass, and a Christmas map (see, I did find a sign of Christmas after all):



I was happy to see the course didn't go into the white SE corner. It might look like it's wonderful open forest, but local rumor has it that it is in fact covered in impenetrable bamboo grove with stiltgrass in all the interstices. It always sounded bad enough to me that I've avoided it.

12.8 kms, some of the legs went where they went because there was something I wanted to check out. The jeep trail leading to #31 has been fenced off and plowed under. I didn't see any sub-morons. I assume they were all gathered at Walmart, maskless and crammed together at the doors, wondering why the doors were locked.

It was really beautiful out, mild (40s) and with winds that gradually picked up the whole time--typical for winter afternoons in these parts.

C • Straight Ahead 11

Precip amount for the year here now down to 48% of normal. Dry.

C • And we are forecast to get ... 10

And upturn in the temps and a back-off in the wind tempted me into a foray on the bike over into west Laramie. Not bad riding at all--just had to keep my eyes out for ice patches on the streets on the north sides of any thicker trees or taller buildings or parked cars. Registered a win by staying upright the whole time. ; )

Followed that up with a nice run on the trails up top. There was some definite wind with feeling over at the east overlook, but nothing remotely like it would have been yesterday. Out for 2+ hours, and my legs felt really good and light from start to finish.

Went up top to go running in the late afternoon, reached the parking lot, parked, and sat there watching the rocketing wind blowing old snow past. I knew the temps were somewhere around 10F. The wind was gusting somewhere around 50+ mph. The trees were all violently shaking back and forth. It looked like the conditions warranted expedition style winter clothing; I had ordinary winter running gear on.

I thought to myself: "What are we doing here, how smart is this?" Made the call to forget about running, and went back home and hit the trainer instead, and watched the WOC 2015 Women's Relay.

A rare example of some commonsense on my part, probably happens about once every year or two.

C • Rare example 6

The day was forecast to be sunny and mild. Maybe the forecast included some wind, but if I did, I missed that part of it. However, I didn't miss it when I went out biking to run some errands. It was much windier than I expected, windy enough that when I was riding cross wind, there was no way I was going to take a hand off the handlebars to signal a turn--that would have been disastrous. Even turning itself was questionable.

I had initially planned to do some orienteering, but after seeing what the wind was like in town, I scotched that--totally the right call. I ran trails in the forest instead.

Then, when running, the sun was overswept by a thick blanketing layer of clouds and it started snowing. It didn't snow long, but while it did, it stung like it always does when it's headed for you horizontally. Neither the snow nor the clouds were forecast.

The snow resumed about the time I was finishing up running, and by then it was dark. The snow + warm roads + dropping temps made for iced up roads that were trending quickly towards bad. But the drive home itself wasn't bad. I was surprised--all the traffic going down the canyon was going slowly in observance of the conditions, and at uniform speed. Often there is some percentage of idiots who will drive much faster than everyone else, endangering themselves and anyone nearby.

By the time I reached the bottom of the canyon, the interstate was closed along a very wide stretch west of Laramie. No doubt due to wrecks. Later the interstate was closed between Laramie and Cheyenne.

Still later in the night the winds went up to a low roar level. I expect to see blown down trees up top.

Mild temps (eventually 40+F) plus lots of sun meant that most N-S streets were clear and dry or nearly so by mid-day, so I got out on my bike for a quick tour of southeast Laramie and checked out some of the newest construction. Then I changed over and headed up top to run.

A school bus was in the parking lot, and no doubt it was the high school ski team, even though my path never crossed theirs. But then I was running on the bike trails, and they were no doubt seeking out the best bits of skiable snow. Still no sign of grooming activity.

I had planned things time-wise so that hopefully I would be at the southern overlook off the HQs trail by around dusk, to catch sight of the conjunction. If the clouds would permit...which they did. Actually the skies were nearly totally clear. I was at my appointed spot at almost exactly 5 pm, and Jupiter came into sight about a minute later--or at least that's when I first caught sight of it. Somehow it resonated with me in a way most things like this don't as much, and I liked this even better than the recent eclipse. Though visually, the way the thin crescent moon and the two planets lined up almost perfectly vertically a few nights ago was visually perfect.

With grooming not getting underway yet, and no signs of snow in the forecast for the next 7 days, it looks like it could be a while yet before I'll be skiing.

C • But... 4