Training Log Archive: PG

Made it around the Billygoat, walked the whole thing. Wrapped up the hamstring pretty tight, took 1200 mg vitamin I. It held up for quite a while, just a dull ache, but getting sharper pains the last 20 or 30 minutes. Glad it wasn't any longer, or hilly at the end.

Going slowly gave me the opportunity to witness some truly awful orienteering. Not mine, with one exception. The primary culprits were Jeremy and Jeff (last names withheld to protect the guilty), though to be fair, compared to Jeremy, Jeff was not so bad.

My own truly awful moment? Got hit in the forehead by a branch. Knocked my hat off, set it flying. Also my glasses. A few immediate cuss words, then down on my hands and knees looking for my glasses, which are not so easy to find when you don't have them on in the first place.

And while I'm looking, I'm thinking, first, well, they are sort of old, I've had them quite a few years, I guess having to get a new pair wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. And then second, hmm, I'm going to have a problem driving home. And then third, wait, I've got my contacts with me, I can put them on to drive home. And then fourth, you idiot, I've got my contact on, my glasses are back in the car, what are you doing looking for them out here.

And I picked up my hat and moseyed on, just amazed at my stupidity. Time wasted, maybe only a minute. But a bad omen for the future.

Other than that, spiked all the controls, no wasted time anywhere. A perfect walk?

C • OMG! 7

C • "Vitamins" 1

And then back to Litchfield. I am trying to keep a positive attitude, but I feel like I'm losing the battle. Feeling some resentment for being stuck as the primary family member, and no one else doing anything of significance. Not an emotional place I want to be, not one that is in any way useful. So I need to fight it off.

That said, maybe a short tale will serve to vent a bit....

My sister, who is a fair bit worse than useless in family matters, at some point a month or two ago made one of her rare visits, the point of which was to register that she had been here, not that she actually talks to my mom (that's a whole separate issue), and on this visit she brought a chocolate cake that she had bought at Stop and Shop. A nice gesture, though hardly a major investment (either financially or emotionally).

So the cake got delivered, and my sister called me up in Sunderland to report her good deed.

And then when I was back in Litchfield the next weekend my sister called again. The usual conversation with my mom --

Hi (my sister)
Hi (my mom)
How are you?
Fine.
Good to talk to you, bye.
Bye dear.

About 15 seconds, plus or minus a couple.

And then the phone back to me --

She sounded pretty good (my sister reporting on my mom, based on the 15 seconds)
Yup, she's doing OK (me)
More importantly, how was the cake?

Is there a single word that describes the emotions of anger and amazement and laughter and disgust all at the same time?

The next day I was back at work, a client who is very old and failing, but I have taken care of her for maybe 6 or 8 years and she really quite loves me. Loves her annual visits, I am very good at cheering her up. This time it was almost the reverse, it was me who needed cheering up.

Her daughter, also a client, also loves me, now comes with her.

So I told them about my mom, and about my sister, and about my sister's latest. And we had a good laugh. And I certainly felt much better by the time they left.

A week later, the daughter, also wonderful, comes in for her appointment. First words out of her mouth -- "More importantly, how was the cake?"

Laughter is so good for the soul, just have to keep remembering that.

C • family 8

Billygoat - Splits

Event: Billygoat XXXIV and 2nd Annual Speedy Goat fund raiser
 

Speedy Goat. First course. Took it easy, mix of walking and running. Leg felt OK, heel a little sore but hamstring OK.

Second course. Should have stopped after one.

Doing fine, running mostly but comfortably and carefully, and then hamstring twinged and that was that. Walked in. Not looking forward to tomorrow. Pretty unhappy.

The venue, Peebles Island just north of Albany, was very nice. A lot of nice woods, also trails, also some thicker stuff mostly avoidable, and we only saw about half the island. An unexpected pleasure.

Speedy Goat A - Splits

Speedy Goat B - Splits

89-6-1-8. Howling winds, at least on the holes that were a little bit elevated. Made it interesting. And reminded a couple times that 8's are generally not a good number.

Checking points at Mt. Tom for event 5. Feeling incredibly fragile, tripping on stuff, fell once and lost a bunch of skin on my left hand. And this is all just walking. Somewhat discouraging, although at least I can still find the points, just can't get there....

86-5-0-7, lost my driver, found my wedge (not physically, rather the ability to hit them properly), every day some clubs are lost, some are found, usually different ones, and also very rarely are all either lost or all found on any one day. Does such a thing happen in O' -- e.g. one day you can find the reentrants but not the boulders, and the next day it's the opposite?

C • Sounds to me... 5

Another windy day, out of the west mostly. Cave Hill Road, nice hill on the way down, I'd give it a 38, Alex certainly a 45.

Got the OK from Earl, that's the Earl of ET, to have a water stop right behind his house. That will make it pretty easy to get the water and table there. Excellent. Of course the other one will be more of a problem.

83-4-0-7

C • 45 hill 2

One of my regular 4-mile or so walks this morning, i.e. a round of golf, this time at my local course in Greenfield. A bunch of OFs get together early every weekday. Very windy and cold, and at one point a squall came through and it was sleeting for a couple of minutes. There were 10 of us guys that started, only 5 finished. It's a tough sport. :-)

86-3-0-7 (numbers are score, rounds for the years far, birdies, birdies for the year so far, with the goal for the second one maybe 75 and for the last one maybe 50?).

Heel was a little sore but hamstring better. Actually jogged a little bit yesterday evening while I was enter the early stages of panic at ET, and seems like it did no harm.

Finally got out just before dinner after spending more time than intended thinking about event 1 courses. Very windy out of the south, so I took a route that someone not training seriously would take -- i.e. to minimize the headwinds. I assume anyone training seriously would want to maximize the headwinds.

In this case it was just a matter of which way around a short loop. I went north along the river, with the wind, more open fields so more wind. And then back on rolling hills and more woods, both of which give protection.

Plus I wasn't really putting out.... :-)

Plus stopped a mile from home to buy a bunch of asparagus. Wasn't sure about carry them, but they fit quite nicely and securely in my back pocket.

And earlier, stopped for a very fast round of golf on the way home. Perfect conditions, windy, gloomy, threatening to rain, so almost no one there, but not actually raining. Many good shots including just missing a hole in one, ball stopped 8" behind the cup. And the shot was solid as can be, on the stick all the way. 74, but a shortish course.

And then the bike ride, and then out to see how the gang would manage at ET. And to take notes. And to realize that Gail should carry a cell phone, if only to cut my stress level.

Whately - South Deerfield loop, quite windy out of the south, getting blown around a bit. Pretty slow when going into it.