Training Log Archive: dlevine

Would have done the usual 25:00, but the belt was slipping and the mileage wouldn't add up. I really wanted 7 miles towards the Ironman goal, so I kept going until I hit that mark.

Would have done the full workout, but two different guys kept sitting at one station (Chest Press) and basically napping, so I skipped out.

Odd to swim at dinner time, but I overslept after working too late Wednesday night on a report.

Got to the pool and discovered I had no goggles. Swam anyway, but despite working hard I had no improvement in time (probably due to non-straight-line swimming and "missing" my turns). For good measure, couldn't stop the stopwatch because I had switched mode. Probably cost me the five seconds difference from yesterday.

First class of the new session after almost a month off...

First time in the pool in over a month. A bit stiff from yesterday and a lot rusty from the layoff...

Event: ROC - Rattlesnake Hill
 

ROC - Red Course at Rattlesnake Hill

S->1: Was feeling tight and had little confidence after my debacle at the Ultra-Long here last fall so I headed up the road to the trail rather than angling up the hill through the light green. Figured it would be better to see the light green woods on a downhill. Got near the bend on the trail and angled in through the pines. Aimed left and came out high, as intended, but somehow forgot that this was my plan so I started looking for the control. The flat area confused me, but I didn't think about it enough. Eventually I realized that I was at the indentation of white woods into the pines and I then ran downstream right to it. 16:22

1->2: More or less on the line. Right past the corner of the park boundary and across three deep streams. Climbed out of the last one looking for the reentrant. Saw a reentrant that was clear, but not at the right angle (or so I thought), but the flag was right there, next to the pit. 8:16

2->3: More or less straight to it with care taken to avoid briers at each side of each "strip clearing". In the last case, I went N to where I thought the green was the most passable. That led me right to it. 6:16

3->4: Straight to the trail/road junction, down the road past the stream and cutting in at the clearing. Down hill between clearing and stream, past cairns to trail. Trail to flag. 7:18

4->5: West to field where I realized that it was raining pretty hard. Cut in to trail. Trail most of the way, but I cut across the last stream early to go up the spur the whole way. There was a pretty big deer path up the spur. At one point it began to deviate from the height of the land and I realized that was dangerous. Turned left to ascend the spur and the flag was in sight. Near miss! 10:12

5->6: Back to trail via streamers. Tried to follow trail to park boundary, but didn't see the boundary. At the time I thought was correct, I took a bearing and went across some nice woods. Spiked it, albeit slowly. 7:48

6->7: Southwest past the two rootstocks NW of the pines and then veered further right for some reason. Crossed a stream that was parallel to the leg direction and realized I was very far right. Took spur to the "big" stream and then continued on my bearing across each of the next two streams. Crossing the latter, I saw the control just a bit upstream (and on top of the small hill) 10:52

7->8: Plan was to just head south to the road. Got screwed up in all the swampy stuff and took 6:16 to get to the water stop. Drank (to my own surprise) then went to the road towards the control. After the road left the clearing, I angled in as soon as the woods looked clear. This was an amazingly simple control. 10:25

8->9: Last fall, this hill was late in the course and steep and I was in a fog (oxygen debt?) when I got up it, so I was not happy to see it now. Went up any way I could as fast as I could (which was pretty slow). Hit the road and took it to about 30 meters past the culvert and then angled in. Saw the flag from a distance and never did see what the man-made object was. 10:50

9-10: Up to field, then to road. Meant to run road all the way, but couldn't resist angling across the last field. This was a mistake. Once I got to the road, there was a path of controls and streamers the whole way. The last field had a nice herd path through the wet grasses. 9:00

10->F: During the whole downhill at this point I was reminded that I am not as young as I used to be (or at least that my knees aren't). :43


Not a great run, but other than the first control, and the beginning of the 6-7 leg, I was completely in control.

Red - Splits