Training Log Archive: kissy

I went to the doctor today and I have the beginnings of osteoarthritis in the knee, probably instigated by the trauma of an ACL tear (at an O-meet at Oak Mountain) and subsequent not-so-well-done arthroscopic surgery back in the 1980s. I'm going to try medication (Voltaren) first to see if that helps. As I said to Gail tonight, "Getting older is a bitch."

And an update on my vision story. I thought I had undergone a miracle last Sunday when I could suddenly see much, much better out of my left eye. So good, in fact, that I thought I might still have a contact lens in there. After a few days of my eyesight being so much improved, I finally went to the eye doctor to figure out what was going on. It turns out that even my minimal wearing of contacts further irritated my cornea, to the point that my eyeball has swollen, changing the curvature, and giving me a temporary improvement in sight. I asked my doctor if I couldn't just irritate both eyes to the point where they stayed swollen and I would have perfect sight without any corrective devices!! Her reply was, "I forbid you to wear contacts at all until further notice...at least 4 months."

The moral of these stories? I'm not going to see any more doctors!

C • no doctors 7

C • Swollen eyes 1

Something easy on the knee today. I found the name of an orthopedic doctor on my insurance plan today, but I was still hassled by an interested party because "finding the name is not the same as making an appointment!" So, tomorrow comes the appointment making.

C • Making the call 2

After an unexpected drive to Wilmington, NC yesterday and home again today, I decided to unwind with some time on the trainer.

After a T-day blending of the Beecroft and Platt families, I decided a nice hike in PWF was in order. Plus, my knee was still quite tender, so a run was out of the question. Sadly, though, the hike made my knee even worse, so I think a visit to the local MD is in order. :-( But, it was a spectacular autumn afternoon, with crisp temps and intermittently blue skies, so, in spite of the pain, I had a great time.

Some pre-feasting preparation.

C • prep 6

Since my knee is still healing, I thought a mountain bike ride was in order. I rode on the fire roads in PWF, and it was very much fun. It was unseasonably warm and even had a few clouds of gnats still hanging around.

C • Dig out your swim cap...? 6

QOC local event at Pohick Bay. Setting out the water controls. My knee really hurt this morning, and I was advised not to do anything that would aggravate it even more. Plus, I ended up helping during the entire event. It was a beautiful day.

C • Run 1

Ran on the South Valley Trail from the campground to the bridge that was on the way to Day 1 start and back. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for running and for leaf peeping. My knee is still sore, starting out okay, but then getting worse as the run went on. Not sure what it is.

A little workout on the trainer after a busy day running errands before a week of travel. Life is never dull!

C • Today, Attackpoint says you... 3

I ran through my sister's neighborhood while my car was having the oil changed. It was cold and damp and grey. All of my leg muscles felt stiff...hamstrings, quads and calves. Not sure what that was about. Maybe they aren't ready for the cold yet.

I took the day off today, so I headed back to Prince William for a trail run on parts of the new map. I was also checking on a possibly forgotten e-punch box but it wasn't there. It was a beautiful, crisp afternoon and the leaves were even more brilliant than this past weekend. It was sunny and bright and colorful, but it didn't really help to improve my mood. I had taken the day off to bring Tanner to his dad's in North Carolina, where he's going to live now. :-(

C • You never know how things w... 6

A little de-stressing.

Day 2 of US Champs. Green Y. What a great day. I felt like I was flying through the woods; they were so much more open than yesterday. I hit every control cleanly except for #6 (I was too high up the reentrant, looked around for a bit, and then dropped down to find it) and #12 (I drifted too far to the right, realized there was no ditch there, and had to cross over back to the left). I have to say again how wonderful it was to be back in PWF park again.

I beat Peggy today, but not by enough, and ended up second for the Champs. At first, I was disappointed, but after looking at the splits some more, I've accepted that I put together two solid runs (and didn't blow up, which I've been doing lately), and was right there with Peggy...with a pretty substantial break back to 3rd place. So, I'm happy with the weekend.

C • Letterboxing 3

C • Congrats 9

C • Eyes 3

Day 2 Green Y - Splits

Day 1 of US Champs, Green Y. I consider this a solid run. The woods were thickish, with many patches of impenetrable green. It was a day for paying attention to the broader topography, and trying not to get too wrapped up in matching every single map detail to the terrain. The biggest problem was that I lost my contact on the way to #5, after all of my experimenting with my eyewear! After that, things were a litte fuzzy, and I had the most trouble with #6, where I contoured down the side of the ridge too high above the control and I passed right by it.

Day 1 Green Y - Splits

Event: US Champs
 

Sprint Model. I visited all of the controls in the model, getting used to the scale. It seemed to affect me more here on the model than on the real sprint. The woods here were pretty trashy, much more than what we saw in the sprint.

Classic Model. Went to some of the controls in this model. Again, trashy woods. Hopefully the woods tomorrow will be nicer, a la the Sprint Model vs. the Sprint. It was very nice to be back in Prince William Park!!

U.S. Sprint Champs. I was one of the later starters (with the super 13:07 crew of Ross Smith, Tim Good and Karen Strat!), so I knew what the top times were in my category. I was quite nervous, so of course I blew the first control. I went too far to the right out of the field, down by my #12 control, hit the woods and finally figured out what I had done. Lost about 1 minute there. I hesitated a little on #3 for some reason...couldn't immediately figure out the big gully, the ditch and the trail. Weird. After that, things went fine and I was running hard, harder than I have in a long time. Dry heaved at #9, so I knew I was giving it my all. But, my all wasn't enough to beat Peggy today. I came in second by about 1-1/2 minutes. It was a very fun race, though.

Sprint Green - Splits