Training Log Archive: PG

Decided it is time to rest up and tank up.

Goal for the G was 135 by the end of April. The current 133 is a little bogus, but it's nice to be getting back towards the territory where the choice of adjectives is scrawny vs. ripped.

C • loosing weight 14

Quite sore.

C • SNMT 12

Up Wantastiquet Mt across the river from Brattleboro, climb was 1060'. This is getting harder in each time. Up in 25:10, PW/PR, but that is quite bogus as I lost my willpower and stopped three times, better part of a minute each time, before continuing on. Wandered around a bit on top checking things out, then just as I was about to head down a guy arrived, also having run up, 22 minutes for him, so I ran down with him. Nice chat, he runs up a couple times a week, plus rows, plus has another mountain near where he lives that he runs up once or twice a week too. Must have a good motor, plus he's pretty young, 53. Nice big old peace symbol on the back of his old truck.

17:43 coming down, very relaxed.

Add to the list of things that happen when Gail's away....

Got back from Vermont (plus yoga and two stops at the office), first trip up the stairs from the garage was to bring up the groceries. I was beat and in need of nourishment, so the second trip to get wet clothes would have to wait. Of course, lazy as I am, all doors were left open, the garage door, the door between the garage and the stairs, and the door at the top of the stairs right by the kitchen.

And I'm sitting having something to eat and I hear a strange noise, not very loud, from the direction of the stairs. And then a few seconds later, more noise, a little louder. So I get up to have a look, and there's a woodchuck halfway up the stairs, making steady progress!

And then basic animal instincts take over for both of us, fight or flight. I opt for fight, well, not exactly, but I do start yelling at it, and it chooses flight, turns around and runs back down. I'm in hot pursuit, just in time to see it exiting the garage, and then just in time to see it disappear in the bushes by the front door, where despite a bunch more yelling on my part it seems to have settled down. Which would be too bad.

On the other hand, I am very glad it wasn't a skunk.

C • Strange company 1

C • Woodchuck 9

Hot and breezy, not pushing it, which resulted in the pace being just right -- not so fast to be miserable and not so slow as to be worthless. And kept me from having another meal before dinner.

Depleted....

Courses/routes from the weekend --

Saturday morning, M21 semi-final.
Problems: #9, route was shaky, then didn't hook left enough at the last bit and was 30-40 right of the flag. #11, don't know why I had too check out another flag higher up then mine. At least I knew where it was for the afternoon.

Saturday afternoon, M21 final.
Problems: #1, overran it, just too low, went 40-50 meters too far. #16, shaky at the very start, getting the right line out of 15.

Sunday morning, M60.
Problems: #6, route turned out to be slow, not sure if it was inferior or just all the walking/stopping I was doing. #8, 30-45 seconds in the area, could make the cliffs match the map. #12, should have gone straight leaving 11, then took wrong trail for a little bit. #16, off on my line after passing the first marsh.

Overall, nothing big either day.

-------------------------

So, a question -- were any of the control sites questionable? And I don't mean, were they wrong. Everything seemed right, and the map was exceptional.

What I'm referring to is the following from the USOF course setting guidelines (not that anyone reads them): "Vision is a major problem for the older orienteer. Try to keep controls out of areas that have much fine detail on the map. This tends to become a large blur and therefore promotes luck instead of skill."

The courses I ran Saturday were both M21, so this is not a concern. But look at this section of Sunday's M60 course....



I'd say that controls 6, 7, and 11 are really pushing the envelope for folks with eyesight that is not perfect, and may be quite a ways from perfect. Compare to 8, 9, and 10, all also in complicated terrain, but at each of them it is a lot clearer what you are looking for.

I'm not trying to dumb down the orienteering, especially as many of us have been orienteering a long time and like a good challenge. But still....

I always figured one good test was that you ought to be able to write the control description so there was no doubt which feature the control was on. But the clue for 6 is "upper cliff" (but there's one higher), for 7 "upper cliff" (but there's one at the same height), for 8 just "cliff" (and there are 4 in the circle), for 9 just "cliff" (and there are 5 in the circle), and for 11 "middle cliff" (and there are about 10 in the circle).

Just wondering.

C • Control sites 13

Another hot day, and no desire for a run, and not for more than a short bike ride. Route.

And out for some rogaine practice early in the morning, chasing the little while ball, first round this season. Not a total disaster, have to start someplace, and at least the change was in the right direction (never finished the first hole, birdied the last).

C • Birdies 2

To start with the most important event of the day, it was time to investigate reports of a renegade farming operation in Cambridge, because despite its reputation as a liberal and friendly community, well, the Boston Globe reports --

"But not every community is as welcoming to livestock as it is to the vegetable plot. Despite the growing movement to eat locally produced food, neither Boston nor Cambridge allows homeowners to keep chickens or other farm animals."

Now before I go on, let me say that if in fact this operation is illegal, I don't want to be the one to blow the whistle, the one to get folks in trouble with the law (with possible dire consequences to the animals in question), so I will be very careful only to identify one of the possible perps as my rogaine partner, banking on the assumption that this is not close to enough information for the Cambridge powers that be to track her down.

Anyway, we arrived at the scene, accompanied by another of the possible perps, and checked out the operation. The question was -- were they pets or were they farm animals.

Conclusions:

1. It didn't really look like a farm -- no tractors, no farmers in overalls, no animals with tags in their ears....



2. Farm animals don't get much in the way of grooming. Notice how clean these fellows were, certainly cleaner than any of us. And they all have names, though Dave hadn't yet figured out which was which.



3. It's pretty clear this operation....



isn't a farm. This is what a real farm looks like --



Much relieved, we headed off to enjoy a bit of the rest of Cambridge. A visit to the MIT Museum -- I got in for half price by claiming to be 65, "museum age" works under the same rules as "orienteering age," right? -- a very little bit of pizza, and then a short look around the MIT campus, obviously the home over the years of some very weird and brilliant people. And then beat a hasty retreat to our comfort zone back in western Mass.

Day 2 of the CSU A meet, The Green X course and M60 seemed like it would be about right, though with the warm weather, upper 80s, it would have been a good day for my debut on the Brown course.

Generally uninspired, physically and mentally. Got caught by Bob Lux at #6, he started 2 minutes after me, rather discouraging as, while route to 6 was not good, I hadn't missed at all at any controls. We took different routes to 7, didn't see him there as expected, didn't see him at 8 as expected, didn't see him the whole rest of the way, discovered he is so much into Billygoat preparations that skipping controls just seems to be coming naturally (one Saturday, 2 today when he skipped 7 and 8).

Perhaps the most challenging part of the course was optimizing the time crossing South Border Road, done twice. A control and water stop on each side, your time for those two legs would not be counted up to a max of a minute each way. So the obvious ploy is to punch on the near side as quick as possible, get some water, saunter across, rest a little, drink a little more, plan some routes, and then well-rested, well-hydrated, and well-planned, punch on the far side exactly 60 seconds later.

And how did I do? Like with so many other things, there is a virtue in practice and this was not something I had practiced. On the first time through I was in too much of a hurray and used only 29 seconds. On the second time, determined to do better, I took my time on the far side having a drink and looking at the map before heading off. Except, since I always punch before drinking, I was some 30 yards away when it dawned on me that I hadn't punched. Hustled back. The splits show 61 seconds had passed, so not much of a loss....

Though as I examine my splits, it seems that they subtracted the full 90 seconds (29 plus 61) from my final time. Someone needs to checking their programming.

Hot, thickish, dead tired, but a very, very pleasant weekend.

C • Programming 6

Sunday Green X (raw) - Splits

Sunday Green X - Splits

Event: CSU Pine Hill A-meet
 

CSU A meet, M21, so I had a shorter middle course in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon.

The morning was a bit discouraging. Quite warm (80?), so no zip, and a couple minutes of mistakes, and generally no fighting spirit. Not much to take pleasure in.

Ended up 17th out of 36, about where I belonged.

Afternoon course. Maybe a little warmer. So still no energy, but I actually did a little better. Or maybe others just did worse. 12th this time, about 10 minutes behind. In the morning I was 10 minutes behind on a shorter course.

Still a minute or so of errors, mostly at #1. But despite not much energy I ran a smart race, doling out the effort to get the best result I could. And even ran a couple of small hills on the last long leg when I was about to walk and then just swore at myself and then just ran up without much difficult. You just have to have a little will power, and that's true no matter how old you are or what sort of shape you are in. Could have stood to do that a couple more times, could have made the top ten.

As it was, got a scalp (Zhyk). :-) When he didn't come in for quite a while I figured he was hurt, and you don't get a scalp for beating someone who is injured on the course. But I gather he just ran out of gas.

So a positive feeling for the afternoon.

Saturday Blue Semi - Splits

Saturday Blue Final - Splits

An easy outing on North Sugarloaf, just across the river. Haven't been there for probably 20 years. Hiked up, but instead of taking the direct route, I turned left after a little bit to explore a trail I remember seeing there. And then turned off it onto a new trail, I assume a mountain bike trail because it very gently snaked its way up the hillside. At some point it seemed like it wasn't going any highed, so I picked up the old trail the rest of the way to the top. Then ran out to the south point, and then back the siredt way to the car.

Route. The first part is just a rough approximation. This was one time it would have been useful to have a GPS, I suppose.

So, 2 blue courses tomorrow (but green on Sunday), and then 3 next week in California. The goal is somewhere, somehow, to get a scalp.

C • Soloist 1

The third and final day of the Western Mass 3-Day and it was, well, different.

First were the crowds, as participation tripled with the addition of Barb and JJ to the starting field. Second was the course, long-distance today, 12 km. Third was the format, mass start. Fourth was the time of day, start at 7 am.

And so how did it go? The course had just two controls, the first a trail/stream junction several kilometers north of the start/finish, and the second a trail junction just a few hundred meters south. The cynic might say, given that the Mid-State Trail runs right through both control points and the start/finish, that this was in fact just a glorified trail run. But I am reminded of a certain feature on the Silvermine map in NY, I can't remember for sure, it's either a "trail, slow running" or "trail, difficult to run." Whichever, that glorified rock field pretending to be a trail is still quicker than what we had today, which if mapped according to IOF standards would have had many many sections of trail with vertical green stripes overlaid, good visibility, lousy running. Because there was no sign of any trail maintenance since the wicked ice storm early this winter, and as Jim Henderson surmised, the woods were a mess.

Lots of downed branches, usually stuff you could step over or around without too much trouble. Hard to find/follow the trail in places. Just generally slow going.



But it actually seemed to suit everyone just fine. A mix of run and walk and bob and weave, and before you knew it we were at the first control (59:26), just happened to be right about an hour. And then back the same way, a little quicker (54:24) since we got lost less and were moving just a little faster, then a little to the south to pick up the second control (2:59) and then the final mad sprint back to the finish (3:18), where, as it turned out, no one could make a decisive move. The official results show we finished in a dead heat.

And then Barb was off to work, and JJ was off to work, and I was off to home (via Dunkin Donuts) with plans for a nap front and center.

A fine way to wrap up a fine event!

Note: Had my rogaine pack on, 6 pounds.

C • Thanks again! 1

After some serious number crunching, the final results are in. It may not have been clear in the meet invitation, but the scoring this year is the same system used for the Scottish 6-Day -- the winner of each race gets 1000 points, with all other runners scaled lower, and then the worst two results for each runner are thrown out.

Which gives us --

1. Barb Bryant, 1000 points
1. JJ Cote, 1000 points
1. PG, 1000 points

A three-way tie for first, so fine.

C • Too funny! 1

Day 2 of the Western Mass. 3-Day, and a fine day it was. Moved the start up to 1 pm, got out and done just before the rain settled in. The other last-minute change was to go with a chase start, which is normally saved for the last day but just a better fit for today. (And, something I've never heard of happening in a chase, there was absolutely no change in the standings as a result of the day's race.)

I had a good run, when I left I still had the lead. The map was made in 1978 for the 1979 Team Trials. The were a few updates in 1982, and since then nothing. But it is still quite decent, especially where I was today. The only bogus point was #1, where a bunch of young white pines have appeared, pretty much obscuring the stone wall. But the rest is nice open woods, mostly with a clean forest floor, a few spots of knee-high stuff, but no laurel, no brambles. There had been some logging in a few spots but they had done a good job with the slash and it was perfectly runnable. Overall quite wonderful running.

The goal again was just to keep running, done, though there was a little O' tossed in this time and that was fun. I put a little tape on the ankle and it behaved itself. On the other hand, it seems like the faucet was back to wide open. Oh, well, not the worst thing.

Plans for Day 3 are not quite finalized, but it looks like it may be just north of Rt. 2 between Gardner and Fitchburg, very early mass start (just after dawn), quite a long course with very few controls, just the USGS map. I'll post an update later.

Day 2 course and splits.

C • Oh Deer! 4

It is going to be hot this weekend.

OK, so the meeting place for Day 3 (Thursday) is here, mass start at 7 am so you might want to arrive by 6:55. Expected winning time is 2 hours. If you are interested, let me know and I will send further details.

C • Forest Conditions 8

Went to see Sin Nombre, very much enjoyed it, partly just for the look at a different culture.

Seemed like hard work.

So here's the tentative plan for day 2 of the Western Mass. 3-Day in case anyone wants to join me. Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, meet/start at 2 pm, Quabbin Hill map. Meeting place is here. Here's part of the map.

A course, obvious features (stone wall ends, for example), but no actual controls. maybe 5 km, who knows. Point is get in some woods running. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll bring another map.

Bad weather may cancel. Time may change a little (but no earlier than 1 or later than 3). Map is old and assumed to be inaccurate.

My maps/routes from the weekend, M-60, Green-Y --

Saturday middle distance
Sunday long

Just a small thing, but one route Sunday done just right -- 8 to 9, stayed up top, past the little bumps, then just waited for the little dip and did a left hook, dropped right on the control. Good running and easy navigation. Got to remember that.

C • 8 to 9 5

The Storm King Museum was wonderful. Lots of space, big sculptures, some excellent, some awful, just my opinion. Rolling land, some open, also bits of forest....



Of course, most of works had an orienteering connection, though they perhaps aren't aware of it. For example, the coolest stone wall I have ever seen. Saw it first from quite a distance, thought it was just a well-made wall, didn't realize it was "art" until I got a little closer....



And think of the possibilities for a culvert crawl....



And then a group of 7 boulders, largest about 1.5 meters high, smallest about 0.5. How would you map it? Yes, I know, in Kansas you'd map all seven, with at least 3 and maybe all 7 as large boulders....

Day 1 of the Western Mass. 3-Day. Yes, I know it was originally scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, but when an event isn't sanctioned (on purpose) and the field is by invitation only, then you can make last-minute changes in order to take into consideration the most important thing in organizing a big event -- the weather.

Meaning, the forecast is for showers tomorrow, so Day 1 was moved up to today.

Just one course, didn't seem like more were necessary given the size of the field. It did have a butterfly loop, but again, given the size of the field, it was only a one-winged butterfly, and a very narrow wing at that. And that turned out to be sufficient to prevent any packs from forming.

And my run? Well, that's the key word, run. Ran every step, that was the plan, so what if the pace was slow and the route searched out the gentler inclines. Breathing hard on all the ups. Mission accomplished, and a clear win to boot.

Only downside was slightly tweaking my right ankle. Felt like what I was doing to it a couple of years ago, could be a nuisance. But still, excellent to get out.

Day 1 course.

Keeping with the high quality of the event, e-punching was used. Splits --
6:10, 6:00 (passing by the S/F), 11:05, 8:41 (passing by the S/F again), 5:46, 5:37.

C • Results? 5

Training - Splits

Yesterday's middle Red course (F21), quite different from my Green course.

Totally better than yesterday. A little cooler (the weather) than yesterday, more energy, traces of some long-forgotten fighting spirit, a little more mental intensity. Yesterday there was no way I could say it was fun. Today it was hard work, and that by definition is fun.

Time was just good enough to sneak ahead of the usual suspects among the old men, just a fellow from Hungary (I think) in M50 who was well ahead of me, but I can deal with that.

Still a long ways to go, but it was oh so nice, for example, to actually run up the gradual incline to the 3rd from last control. Time to start thinking about a summer trip? Maybe, but first need to make plans for the Western Mass 3-Day, Tuesday to Thursday this week, sites still to be determined. Time to get in some sorely needed woods running.

I'll post the map later.

And a culture stop on the way home, been meaning to go there for years, the Storm King Art Center, a wonderful collection of outdoor sculptures spread over some 500 acres of rolling hills. Absolutely worth a visit.

C • Storm King Art Center 2

Is this the start of something? Another very cute female orienteer asked me to take my shirt off so she could check me out.

C • "Another very cute" 2

Classic: Green Y - Splits

Event: West Point A-Meet
 

Blah.

Middle distance M-60 (Green-Y). Just not with it. Felt like I'd forgotten how to orienteer, plus not moving well either. (At some point, if you're not orienteering well, is it better to be going slowly, limit the errors?)

Embarrassingly bad route to #1, painfully slow to 2, 3 was ok, stopped for what felt like about 30 seconds a third of the way to 4 to figure out where I might be. 5 was ok, visited another control first before 6, 7 was ok. On a beeline to 8 until I looked up at the road and realized there was an uncrossable fence right in front of me. Very slow over to 9. But then the rest was great!

Intensity level of "2" is probably being charitable. Both physically and mentally.

Here's the map for the M21/F21 sprint.

Took me a while to get into the frame of mind to be at an A meet, both the orienteering and the social. Felt quite out of it. But at least the social improved as the day went on and I had quite a fine time.

Still hungry. That's good. 137 was the goal for this weekend, 135 for the first of May. I can tell it's having an effect because Lyn Walker came up to me and asked me to take my shirt off so she could check me out. :-)

Middle: Green Y - Splits

A nice late afternoon outing from the gate to the top of Toby via the power line, 6:15 running over to the start of the climb, 15:34 up, mostly walking, little sections of running, and then running back down the jeep road, 22:20. 3 PRs!

Not the kind of thing I would normally do the day before West Point, but times have changed, so why not. Plus we are blowing off the sprint, requires getting up too early and Gail would pass on it anyway, so we'll take a leisurely drive down in the morning and just do the middle in the afternoon. Seems much more civilized. Plus I will avoid getting lousy ranking points in the sprint.... :-)

Independence day, more or less, still had to stop at the office for some loose ends, ditto tomorrow, but spent much of the day pretty much vegetating. Felt great!

And then a late afternoon ride to Northampton to retrieve the Subaru. Keeping in the fine spirit of the day, had a gentle tailwind all the way. :-)

Haven't done the final numbers, but it was a good "year" at the office, business was up about 10% despite no advertising and the usual attrition of the base from people dying or moving away. Nothing like good word of mouth. And now, having crammed 6 months of work into 3 months, I get to spread 1 month (actually probably more like 2 weeks) of work over the next 9 months. Excellent. And even opened a bottle of champagne last night, thanks to my good friend Dave who stopped by with it.

Now it's time for some orienteering and rogaining and rogaine practice (ie. golf, though my ribs may object for a little while) and who knows what other adventures I can dream up. While I still can.

A late evening stroll up South Sugarloaf, clear, no wind, no moon, just to get reminded of being out at night again. Would be nice to have the same conditions in Arizona in a month.

Hanging in there well on the diet, though it is much easier to avoid eating after dinner when dinner doesn't end until 10 than when dinner is over by 7. But it is much easier to stick with it if you see results. So far, so good. There are certain targets for my running, don't know if I will make them, but the weight has to come off first.

And only then will it be time to see if any serious orienteering this summer makes sense. All the stuff this spring is just for fun, especially the rogaine, thoughts of which kept me going through the winter. 30 days.

Got a good night sleep, almost no stress at work today, and so my running....

sucked. No zip, not that I was trying to run hard, but just didn't have it. Managed the usual loop, but the plan had been to do an extra 20 minutes. That wasn't going to happen.

On the other hand, I was nicely entertained by parts of interviews with John Mellancamp and Seymour Hersch (who I met once), the former just fun, the latter very interesting.

On the occasion of my 64.5th birthday, time to repeat an item from 6 months ago. As far as I can tell, and I'll venture out on a limb here, the answer is yes. It certainly is true going the other direction.

C • 0.5th Birthdays? 4

Yoga class, hard on the ribs.

Seems like I'm in for 4-6 weeks recuperation. Not so bad I can't do things, just annoying.

"13 hills" loop. Quite unexpectedly had company, Glenn Cafferty, normally a much better runner (2:40 marathoner) but suffering from hip problems, so he was happy to run at my pace. Nice time, chatting all the way, mostly about stuff he is working on, environmental economics. The time went by pretty quickly, managed to keep talking on all but a couple of uphills, and a PR without too much perceived effort. A little more progress.

And now I really need a nap, got about 3 hours of sleep last night, got to bed late after watching a bit of taped TV from Sunday, the Masters and Paris-Roubaix, and then woke up not too much later with the knife-in-the-back feeling that seems to come with rib jobs -- at some point it seems to start hurting more in the back than up front where I bounced off the rock. I guess the muscles are straining to protect things and are registering their objections.

Two other PRs in the last 24 hours -- a young woman, 20, struggling to find her way, who walked in with 12, count 'em, 12, w2s. Broke the record by at least 3. And add to that the fact that her income for the year was about 5K. Do the Republicans know that people like this exist?

And for another kid, a W2 for $7.50. Never seen one that small. One hour of work? And another W2 for $15. Two hours of work?

And lots of very weird clients.

The G is right on the glide path, though it will get tougher now. Very good to escape Ratlum Mountain without a bump up.

3 days to go. Many clients in distress (financial, emotional, relationship, job security, maybe all of the above?).

Easy effort, stayed on the treadmill in case the legs acted up, but they were ok. :-)

10 minutes before to loosen up, 5 after, 5%.

A little tired, a little sore (except for the ribs, which hurt more than ever, especially at even the slightest hint of a sneeze or a cough), so took the day off.

Had a very pleasant visit chez Charlie and Rhonda, delicious food as always (including two strawberry pies by Gail), plus fun to meet father Per and brother Oskar of their exchange student Erik. Oskar is quite the musician, plus as long as he is around I fear that, due to the competition, Erik's reputation as an amazing chick magnet will be tarnished, not that second place is all that bad. Gail and Rhonda were drooling....

Northern Nipmuck trail race, 16 miles, out and back, reasonably hilly and rocky. Cool and gray to start, mid 40s, started to rain after about two hours and the temperature dropped (39F back at the car when I was leaving). For the first hour I'd been thinking I had too much on -- shorts and a long-sleeve synthetic top -- as I was sweating quite a bit, but towards the end I was feeling chilly, especially the hands. Got back to the car, changed, warmed up, went to get some food, they offered chicken soup, it was delicious but by the second spoonful both hands were shaking so hard I could hardly manage, so I beat a retreat to the warm car and things improved greatly.

Saw my old ultrarunning/rogaining partner Fred Pilon. That was real nice, it's been a while. A bit of a chat beforehand, and a longer one afterwards. Good to catch up.

Oh, and the race. I'd run it before, I think always between 2:35 and 2:45, but this time my expectations were much lower, maybe in the 3:10-3:20 range with a worst case 3:30, on account of both advancing age and not have run more than an hour for many months. Realistically, I didn't know how I'd manage. I set very tentative goals for the 4 segments of 45, 50, 50, and 50 -- 1 and 4 are a little shorter, though 4 is a bit uphill and by then the legs are usually toast.

Gail asked me afterwards if I raced or loafed. I's say I raced, though carefully, more just trying to monitor my energy output so that I would last the full distance. Walked lots and lots of uphills and didn't charge the downhills.

Splits were 39:55, 48:29, 50:15, and 43:50. 3:02:30 total, delighted.

Best part as usual was the last 3/4 mile or so, all downhill, some good footing and some rocky. I got to the top with three guys right on my tail, but I knew I would dust them -- they had been stronger going up but slower going down, especially when it was rocky -- and I did. Was by myself pretty quickly, really cruising, felt great, about a 1/4 mile to go I spot a guy maybe 100 yards ahead, don't think much about it but I am moving really well, diagonally downhill, a little rocky. And before long he's only 50 yards ahead, and then I see there are two of them, and then there's the last little pitch, 50 yards of rocks, and they're tentative and I'm going full speed and I'm by them 20 yards before the finish.

I guess you never lose the competitive feeling. But given how slowly I'm usually moving these days, it was a rare and, I will admit, totally enjoyable moment.

Just correcting my history for Northern Nipmuck --

2001 - 2:37:54 (age 56)
2004 - 2:35:47 (age 59)
2005 - 2:35:54 (age 60)
2006 - 2:37:15 (age 61)

So my spread over the previous four tries was pretty narrow. And today was a PW by 25 minutes. And, of course, also a PR!

C • Nice! 11

Just a very pleasant short outing with a visiting JJ, have in mind to go to Northern Nipmuck tomorrow if the weather is not too bad, so no reason to do more today.

Another very fine day at work, learning among other things that a boa constrictor over 8' long is best handled by at least two people.

Only downside was that my ladies have replenished the supply of chocolate under the front counter and as the afternoon/evening goes on it is impossible to resist.

13 hills loop, PR for the year! Still a crappy time if I look back a ways, but why do that?

Seems like I've run every day for the last month. Not by plan, it's just happened. But when the legs aren't hurting, it seems silly not to be out doing something.

Ribs seem to be hurting more every day. I sure hope that's a trend that reverses itself pretty quickly.

Getting plans made for after Independence Day (April 16). West Point (still need to get a room), CSU (need to enter tonight, maybe the Iron Horse trip?), California/Team Trials (still need a couple nights reservations), Arizona/rogaine (plans are getting there). So what should come next? A little O' in Ireland (Shamrock O'Ringen), just an idea, we've never been to Ireland.

Life is short, got to keep moving....

Trails north of Route 2 in Gill, longer hills. Ribs seemed sorer than ever. But still got a good workout in. Route.

A frustrating morning, making no progress at all. Including one woman who just came in to sign and pay, and somehow got let into my office, and just liked to talk. And talk and talk. And I was giving all sorts of visual and verbal clues to discourage her, and they had no effect at all. So after about 10 minutes, during which I was telling myself to relax and be mellow, I finally said excuse me and walked out long enough to ask one of my ladies to call me in 30 seconds. Which she did, and then I said I had to go take care of someone else, and the old bag in front of me signed and paid and wandered off, totally clueless.

I continue to get a greater appreciation for the variety of humanity, in both its good and its bad aspects.

Upper body was suffering a bit, passed on the headstands.

Didn't really have a plan, but after a while I decided a little faster running would be useful, so ended up doing a couple of miles at 6:58 pace with a half mile in between. Pace for the slower stuff was about 8:30.

Ribs are quite sore, except when running. :-)

Cold rain outside and the ribs hurt (but not terrible), so I took a couple of Tylenol and set the treadmill at 5%, the uphill allowing for less pounding that would transmit to the ribs. 3 x 1 mile at 10-minute pace, 5 minutes before and between and after.

Thr running segments actually felt a bit like yesterday, the same sense of getting too tired to carry on for too long. In this case I had a goal for each section of 10 minutes, so that kept me going, but it was a struggle. Shouldn't be.

But good to get something done.

9 days to go.

Had a guy today, self-employed painter. How's business? Not much this winter, not much lined up for this spring/summer, though he assumes things will materialize. And his wife is a teacher and they have a little money in the bank (even if the retirement accounts have tanked).

Concerned? Not really, he really preferred not working most of the winter, didn't want to work 12 months a year as long as there was enough money to pay the bills. Time was more valuable than more money.

Interesting. There certainly are many folks (law, Wall Street, medicine, high tech) where working many many hours and making huge amounts of money are what it is all about, and taking the winter off would be severely frowned upon. Are they happier?

Event: WCOC Paugussett
 

WCOC local meet at Paugusset. Red course, 8.2 km. 11:12 min/km. Found the points ok, but lots and lots and lots of walking. And as if to send me a message that that was a good thing to be doing, at one point while running down a slope I caught a foot on something, then I was momentarily horizontal maybe 2-3' off the ground, and then there was a sharp rock waiting to administer a rib job, right by the left nipple. I don't think it's as bad as other rib jobs I've done, they were a little lower down where there was not much but skin for protection. For this one there was a least a little muscle/flab, plus I think I got my hands down to break the fall, just not quite enough. Will find out in 24 hours how much of a pain it is going to be. For the time being, might as well be optimistic. (Photo, in the usual questionable taste, of course.)

Really nice day, nice trip down with Gail, very nice course, nice forest, saw a few friends, life is good. Even though there was a clear message from today that it's time to start getting in some woods running.

Note -- I was thinking at some point on the drive that I have reached the point in life that, not knowing how birthdays I have left to celebrate, I should start celebrating half-birthdays. So I have a half-birthday coming up in 10 days, a very appropriate day for someone in my business. Will definitely be celebrating.

Today's map.

Red course - Splits

Same as last Saturday, but ice was all gone. 22:56 up, 6:21 to the start of the PLPC, running, then 16:35 up, running little bits and pieces. And then 22:36 down the jeep road.

Gloomy, about to rain, enjoyed an interview with Richard Price, so stopped at the library on the way home and took out Clockers, although I have two others to finish before it.

Signed up for West Point (green), need to sign up for the CSU meet (blue, so I get to run twice on Saturday?) and the Team Trials.

Before and after.

Raining outside, so back to the treadmill (it's also a lot closer than going to the track). A couple of miles to warm up, then 3 x half-mile with a quarter-mile between, then a final mile. Slow stuff at 8:35 pace, half miles in 3:20. Pulse during the last one was 166-168, though it's very unreliable -- you have to grab a bar with both hands and hold on for 10-15 seconds to get a reading. Sometimes it's totally bogus, I assume it's not picking up all the heart beats, or other times double counting, which I learned pretty quickly to just disregard. But this felt right for the effort, which was hard.

A couple of dietary lapses yesterday. Couldn't resist a couple of nice rich cookies that appeared at my desk, nor could I resist a small steak for dinner, first beef in 9 months. Both were delicious.

Before and after, 5%.

13 hills loop again. Beautiful day, put out less effort than a couple of days ago and was delighted to be only a little bit slower. Must have been when of those few days when the legs are good. Such a pleasure.

And then listened to a few minutes of Obama's press conference from London while I was changing. He is so cool.

The only thing needed now to make the afternoon perfect is a nap, but that isn't going to happen.

A couple of days ago I was checking my training log from March/April of last year, and I was reminded of a few of my tax clients, and in several cases it seemed like their stories deserved an update. Because some things have changed. But because thinking and doing are two separate matters, I haven't yet gotten around to the updates.

Though, in honor of Barb's birthday, I am spurred to give an update to a story that, if I am reading between the lines in her log for today correctly (scroll down to the WBZ guy), is the memorable one she is referring to.

So here's last year's entry on my guy.

And the update ---

So far, no sight of him around the office, nor any whiff of him nearby. But that doesn't mean that there is no news, because in fact there was a recent sighting. One of my ladies was out with a couple of her girlfriends a couple of weeks ago and they stop to get something to eat at a very basic fish retaurant, definitely not fancy. And they sit down, and right away she's aware of an odor, and it's a very peculiar and foul odor, and maybe something clicks deep in her subconscious that recognizes this odor, or maybe it's not until a few minutes later when the guy at the counter gets up to leave, that she recognizes the odor, because she certainly recognizes the guy. And it's the same guy, just as fat, and smelling just as bad.

And the moment he's out the door the fan is turned on and the air freshener is sprayed and the countertop and chair are all wiped down with disinfectant.

And the whole thing, even hearing it second hand, is really awful. Except we can laugh about it because he hasn't come back here, and if he does, neither he nor his papers are getting in the door.

Apologies if I have misinterpreted Barb's situation.

Footnote -- I cannot imagine that if we put my guy and her guy in a contest, that my guy wouldn't win.

Easy run on the treadmill as it was a little damp outside and I've gotten spoiled.

Plus before and after, 5%.

Regarding the above note, I've learned I had the right guy. But Barb still thinks her guy is the top dog, so to speak, basing her case, it seems, on her guy's ability to stand out, aromatically, in a car full of chickens.

I will admit that that is a strong argument.

But, let's be clear about one thing and that is our relative experience in judging such aromas, and here I have to doubt that her usual work haunt is some pricy office suite in Cambridge give her much exposure to the wide world of odors, so then when she is confronted with one that is perhaps a touch ripe, it seems like pretty much the end of the world.

Whereas I am exposed to some impressive smells, fornunately not daily but certainly more often than I might wish. Why just yesterday, I had a client who admitted, even very nicely apologized for, having come right from the barnyard. He is a pipefitter (I wonder if anyone here knows the difference between a plumber and a pipefitter), has a sugaring business on the side, and has animals on the side of that, including five oxen, a couple of which were just recently acquired, he was telling me fondly. Nice guy, good solid aroma, nothing to make you gag or run away or even take much notice, unless perhaps you were from the city.

So I have experience with this stuff, and it takes something special to make me really notice. And my guy is special. I'm not sure what the jargon is for describing such aromas, but this guy's is, well, it's not just strong, it's not just overpowering , it's not just sickening, it's not just, well, I don't know what, but I do know that it tops anything Cambridge can offer.