Training Log Archive: PG

Snowmobile trails in Montague, just about perfect conditions, plus a sunny day, hardley any wind, upper 20s. Now if only the legs hadn't felt rather beat from yesterday.

Stillwater - Bardswell Ferry loop with Phil, about 1/3 paved, 2/3 dirt and snow-covered, relentlessly hilly. One of my favorite loops for a good workout, except it used to be 10-12 minutes shorter. Legs felt pretty good even at the end. Another good week of training.

Snowmobile trails in Conway. Too soft to be much fun, sinking in every step. Was planning on 30 minutes, but cut it short to keep from getting ahead of Spike in the weekly total (some folks have fragile egos...).

Snowmobile trails in Montague. Almost perfect. 15 degrees, bright sunshine, light breeze, trails firming up. Legs felt sluggish at the beginning but after 20 minutes (which happens to coincide with the top of the hill) got better and felt fine the rest of the way.

New shoes are pretty nice.

On second thought, I probably spent only 10 minutes with the weights, not 15.

On snowmobile trails in montague with Phil. Really fine. The kind of day (10 degrees, steady wind out of the north) that running on the roads would have been painful and unpleasant and an hour would have seemed like forever, but the trails were just about perfect. The trees and hills cut the wind, there are no cars to worry about, and soft footing gives a good workout, especially going up the hills.

Separately, amazing how just one day at the gym appears to have added a pound or more of muscle.

From the Body Shop in Greenfield, short loop past Poet's Seat tower and along ridge. About 5" new snow, very heavy going on the ridge but legs felt ok.

Decided I should do a little weight work over the winter. We'll see if it makes a noticeable difference.

Snowmobile trails in Montague. Pretty nice, just sinking in a little. Tired legs today....

Two-silo loop, pretty flat, just a couple short hills in the middle. For the mosr part bare pavement. Good effort.

Can now add wreight to the training log. Was about 144-145 over the holidays, need to be under 140 when the O' season rolls around.

With Phil on back roads in Northampton after the storm ended (we got about a foot of snow, nothing special), mostly snowpack and loose footing. You really noticed the difference when you took a few steps on the occasional bare spot. Included a mile of trail, had been walked on a bunch, but very soft and hard to keep up what must have been a 12-minute pace at best. 18 degrees and strong winds out of the north, but it actually felt rather balmy most of the time. Just a matter of what you're used to.

A good week, trying to get the runs in while I have time. Legs were definitely tired today.

Race course over to the gate and back just before the snow started. 5 degrees, but not much wind fortunately, because even a couple of miles per hour in your face is noticeable. As it was, I had a good coating of ice on my beard and moustache by the time I was done. And legs were pretty tired after a good bit of slipping and rough footing.

Almost turned around at the top of Cranberry Ridge (skipping the down to and back up from the gate), but not sure what I'll get in tomorrow, given that a foot or two is expected. Plus, I gave George a hard time yesterday about complaining about the cold, so I couldn't wimp out myself....

C • A Little Snow 2

Sugar/Gunn loop, with an out-and-back up Muck hill to get up to an hour. Same sort of conditions as yesterday, mix of ice and choppy stuff covered by an inch or two of fluff. Takes a bit of concentration. About 8 degrees but really rather pleasant because running in the woods really cuts most of the wind.

One good thing to do is read AttackPoint, plus the latest on the Team mailing list (currently discussing how large a team to send to Japan) just before I head off. It usually manages to keep my mind occupied all the way up the first long hill.

Snowmobile trails in Montague. Ice covered by an inch or two of new snow, traction not good but not really bad. Also some frozen footprints to deal with left over from my run with Phil last week. Bypassed the one really steep place on the way back (found an alternative route through the cemetery) after barely getting up it on the way out, would have been totally out of control if I'd attempted it.

Sugar/Gunn loop. Mostly hard-packed snow, footing not too bad, some ice, didn't push the pace, especially downhill where I was being careful. About 10-15 degrees, pretty toasty as I think I was dressed for about 0.

Warm-up. Pretty cold morning, about 30 degrees.

The Sprint, first sanctioned sprint ever in the USA. A really good run, and a far more intense physical and mental effort than the first two days. Only 19 minutes, but I felt like I had a full day's worth of orienteering.

Overall, a really enjoyable weekend for several reasons, ranging from the mundane but still important (perfect weather), to the orienteering (beautiful forest, excellent courses), to the social (good interactions between the Team and all the southern schools that had a whole bunch of kids there), to the "big picture" important stuff (time spent with good friends). A big thank you to Vlad for making it happen, and Joey Ciza from Vulcan for the huge effort he put in, and the rest of the gang of six (Boris/registrar, Alexei/day 2 course setter, Eric Weyman/course consultant, and Jan Lien from Norway/WRE advisor) who did most of the work, and also a thank you to all the Team people for pitching in on the weekend.

Sprint - Splits

Warm-up.

Day 2, Red course. Good effort. Started perhaps a little too hard a pace, got pretty tired later in the course. Still getting blown away by the hills.

Red - Splits

Event: US Team Fundraiser 3-day
 

U.S. Team A Meet in Alabama. Ran M21 because it was a World Ranking Event, and I'd never run one of them, so what if I was out of my league. And since it was a middle distance events, it was actually a few hundred meters shorter than the Red course classic distance that I would have run otherwise.

No problems orienteering, but the steep hills took their toll. Did ok, but walked up a lot of hills, and it was hard to be pleased with my effort. Routes/Comments for all days in Alabama.

Warm-up.

M21 WRE - Splits

An unexpected training opportunity -- from gate B3 to gate E17 in the Charlotte airport.

Our flight from Hartford was late and just as we reached the gate they announced that all connections were OK except for Birmingham. As I was getting off the plane it was 12:10, our Birmingham flight was scheduled to leave at 12:14, and the gate was as far away as possible. But we had to try. I took off to see if I could hold the plane, while Gail waited for Rhonda DeWeese who was further back in the plane, and they would come as fast they they could.

Never has a short run seemed like such hard work. Perhaps it was the lack of an adequate warm-up, perhaps it was the bags I was carrying (checking bags on USAir these days in just an invitation to have them spend the weekend in Philadelphia), perhaps it was the heavy jacket I was wearing. Whatever the reason, when I got to E17 I was exhausted. The good news was the plane was still there. The bad news was the ramp gate was shut. The only person there was the USAir agent finishing up her paperwork.

"Is that the plane to Birmingham?"
"Yes, but it's closed."
"I have to get on that plane."
"You can't, it's closed."
"No, I have to get on theat plane!!"
"No, it's closed."
"No, I have to get on that plane!!!!"
"No, it;s closed."
Time for a quick change in tactics. "Call the pilot, see if I can get on."
With some reluctance she does that, mumbles a few words, and then a moment later she opens the door and disappears down the ramp. Progress?
She is back pretty quick. "OK, where's your ticket." She takes their part. "OK, go ahead, get on."

At that point it's time to tell her about Gail. "Oh, and my wife's coming too, she's right behind me."
"How far?"
"Can't be more than a minute or two, she's going as fast as she can." An obvious grimace from the agent. I keep talking about how she'll be right here, and I can't get on the plane without her, and another minute or two passes, but still no sign of Gail and Rhonda, and the agent is getting really impatient. (As it turned out, the bouncy flight from Hartford had caused Rhonda a good bit of distress and the first thing she did on setting foot in gate B13 was throw up...).

Time for more delaying tactics. "Oh, and there's a third person with my wife, too, Rhonda DeWeese."
"What!!"
"Yeah, do you have her on the list?" Got to keep the agent busy. She checks the computer. "Yeah, but where are they?" Which is exactly what I'm wondering, not knowing about Rhonda's condition. Are they lost?
But still no sign of them. And I am still out of breath and sweating profusely.

More delaying. "Actually there are 4 of us."
"What????"
"Yeah, but the fourth one should already be on the plane. Can you check to see if he is? His name's Cote."
She's getting really fed up with this whole process, but her training in customer service is ingrained deeply enough that she just can't shut the ramp door and tell the plane to leave, much as she may want too. A few more seconds pass while she's checks if JJ is on the plane. He is. And then down the concourse I spot Gail and Rhonda coming.

We get high-fives from JJ as we get on, scowls from everyone else, and a bit of sarcasm from the flight attendent as she welcomes the "late-arriving" passengers. The flight to Birmingham is even bumpier, but we are glad to be on it, even if Rhonda does throw up three more times....

Walking around the practice course at Oak Mt. State Park in Birmingham.

Snowmobile trails in Montague with Phil. The trype of run that you call "good training", meaning it was pretty miserable. We're in the middle of a brief thaw. Never knew how much you would sink in, anything from an inch or two to six inches or so. Spent the whole time nervous about how my calf muscle would manage (it survived ok, I think) and trying to stay as relaxed as possible (while feeling like it was an interval workout every time we went up the slightest hill), also struggling to keep up to Phil. But, good training!

Snowmobile trails in Montague, pretty firm so pretty nice running, though my shoes weren't getting much traction. Time for a new pair anyway, the holes in the uppers are getting bigger and the water comes in pretty quickly whenever I land in a puddle. Actually it's been time for a new pair for about three months now....

Amherst 10 Mile course, trying to keep up to Bob, Phil, and Maddie. Felt like a race effort for a slow time, but in places the footing wasn't great. Part bare pavement, part snowpack with not so good traction. Left calf acting up a bit, and I expect my hamstrings will be a little sore.

Over to the start of the course and back.

Near Willis Hill in Montague. Trails a little soft but better than I expected. Tried off-trail a couple of times and it ranged from awful (6-8" snow with a breakable crust) out in the open to merely bad (slightly less crust) in the pines.

Some woods dancing with Phil at Mt. Tom, probably about 40 minutes off-trail. A couple inches of wet snow made it a bit slippery, and gorgeous at the same time. Good fun even though I went down about 10 times, shoes have pretty bad traction in the snow.

On Mt. Toby, up to the saddle just south of the hairpin via Gunn, Sugar, Link, back down by the S curves and the power line. Feeling tired right from the start, a little better after I took one shirt off. Could have done without the long pants too. 48 degrees, muddy and frost holes in places.

At one point I ran off to the side of the trail for 50 yards or so to avoid a wet section. Nice woods, no underbrush, but the difference really struck me -- the softness of forest floor compared to a trail. Even when there is no underbrush, it still takes more effort, especially going uphill. Have to train for it.

Up to the power line and back. 52 degrees, wearing shorts!

With Charlie in Barkhamsted, CT, on the way home. Relaxed pace, good conversation, very pretty woods in places. And a few hills....

Orienteering birthday (age 61)

At Five Ponds in Litchfield. Seemed silly to stay on the trails all the time, given that there was no snow. A little over 30 minutes off trail in about three chunks, with a stretch on the trails in between to recuperate a bit. Good training!

Did a reverse line-O -- ran without a map, when I got home a day later tried to recreate where I'd been. Think I got it pretty good, though a couple of places I wasn't sure which side of a knoll I'd been. Strange how I can remember all that, while so many other things just pass right through my mind without leaving a trace....