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Training Log Archive: cfosp1

In the 31 days ending Jan 31, 2015:

activity	#	time	miles		km		+m
XC Skiing Skate	13	14:41:09	119.66	(7:22)	192.58	(4:35)	4077
XC Skiing Classic	9	9:42:57	77.71	(7:30)	125.06	(4:40)	2574
Hiking	10	6:20:58	21.8	(17:29)	35.08	(10:52)	282
Running	5	1:41:51	9.67	(10:32)	15.56	(6:33)	143
XC Skiing Skijor	3	1:19:36	10.89	(7:19)	17.52	(4:33)	307
Strength: Flexibility	1	4:47
Total	36	33:51:18	239.72		385.8		7383
[1-5]	36	33:23:29

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Saturday Jan 31, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Classic 13:12 2.89 km (4:34 / km) +82m 4:00 / km
ahr:143 max:165 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Warm-up lap, reconnaissance and wax testing. OK, not like I could do anything about the course or the wax, with blue klister on top of grip tape. The wax worked actually quite well. Unexpected surprise when I came out of the turn on top of the long hill: three tracks on the long straight downhill. I didn't adjust quickly enough and bailed by applying the butt brakes, right in front of coach Jon Miller, who said "Hi Christian." I said "that's awkward."
Glad I knew what was coming.

XC Skiing Classic 11:00 2.54 km (4:20 / km) +50m 3:57 / km
ahr:152 max:172 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Just keeping moving to avoid getting cold.

XC Skiing Classic 4:43 0.98 km (4:49 / km) +12m 4:32 / km
ahr:133 max:154 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

XC Skiing Classic 55:16 13.82 km (4:00 / km) +412m 3:29 / km
ahr:161 max:176 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Until about 15:00 before the race it looked like it was very thinly attended, but then, everyone showed up. Lots of college racers, etc. First time I had claied a spot by putting down my skis, about 5 rows back from the elites. Glad for it because there was a gaggle of people behind me. Mass start pandemonium and a slowish climb to the top followed by a hair raising descent avoiding fallen skiers. Glad I had recced the course during warm-up, one advantage of doing haster laps. One minor spill during first lap, when I planted pole on top of ski. Another minor spill during lap two or three, avoiding a fallen skier. People were falling throughout the event. Wax turned out to be good, decent kick and glide. A little worried when I felt like I lost track counting laps but checking the GPS distance confirmed that it was my last one. Nice double poling finish. Quite happy with result.

1 PM

Running 10:00 [1] 1.0 km (10:00 / km)

Some light jogging with Mellie before the race. Also to calm her, she was going nuts with all the other waves departing.

2 PM

XC Skiing Skijor 3:58 [4] 1.19 km (3:20 / km) +31m 2:57 / km
shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Well, I guess you just have to pick the right race, like the skijoring short event. I switched Mellie and me to the shortest event because I did not want to go down those killer hills with her. We started from the second wave, Mellie was very frustrated that we had to wait so long so she was out like a rocket. She yanked so hard that I almmost fell; I did aggravate a hip joint injury. We passed four of the six teams from the first wave (starting 30" ahead of us) in the sharp turn at the end of the start/finish straight and the two others in the little steep hill climbing out of the bowl. Clear coasting for the rest of the way, we startled the photographer who wasn't expecting anyone quite yet. Fun fun fun!

Friday Jan 30, 2015 #

Event: City of Lakes Loppet Festival

4 PM

Hiking 35:44 [1] 3.83 km (9:20 / km) +35m 8:55 / km
ahr:95 max:113 shoes: Ecco Hybrid

Getting chillier. The dogs don't seem to mind.

Thursday Jan 29, 2015 #

Note

Rest day, part of pre-loppet taper. Really don't need to taper for these short distance events. I called to see if I can take Mellie on the 1.5 km course for skijoring. Don't want to take her down the big hill, not even one time. They said it would work and even put out word to the skijorers as a group to alert them of that option.
Attended waxing clinic and potluck organized by Endurance United. Good info from Toko wax rep Nick Maki. learned a few new tricks.
Will make the decision on Saturday whether I'll compete on Sunday as well or whether I'll bail and join some friends for a ski on the Birkie trail.

Wednesday Jan 28, 2015 #

6 AM

XC Skiing Classic 52:21 13.37 km (3:55 / km) +266m 3:34 / km
ahr:149 max:173 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Another good morning workout at Hyland. Had the classic track to myself for most of the time. Very light use early and then groups started coming. A little competition (friendly on my part, not so sure about the other guy) when I caught up with a skate skier who did not seem to like being passed by a strider. Oh well, I let him get away when I turned off to head for work. Good speed, conditions were great!

4 PM

Hiking 39:55 [1] 3.53 km (11:18 / km) +25m 10:55 / km
shoes: Asolo FSN 95

Quick hike with the pooches.

Tuesday Jan 27, 2015 #

4 PM

Hiking 46:54 [1] 3.91 km (12:00 / km) +28m 11:35 / km
shoes: Asolo FSN 95

The usual hike with the dogs, then a quick walk around the block with Roux, working on heeling. Very pleased, that dog is so trainable. 1/4 of the block was teaching him the idea, the other 3/4 he heeled 90%. Very promising. During our walk, he also seemed to understand the NO command while off leash, though there were no squirrels or rabbits about.

Monday Jan 26, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Classic 51:03 12.57 km (4:04 / km) +238m 3:43 / km
ahr:148 max:168 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Classic training laps. Perfect conditions for the Rex Grip Tape Cold. Good kick and a decent glide. I like those early morning workouts! Very thankful for man-made loops this winter.
As I'm logging this, I am so glad I went today. with another couple days like this, even the snow-making areas will start to suffer ...

Sunday Jan 25, 2015 #

Note

Well, the outlook for the City of Lakes Loppet is rather dismal. Another above freezing week ahead, little or no snow in the forecast. What had been announced as a 5-10 cm snow event for last night came down as freezing rain with just a dusting of snow on top.
I walked towards the start area for the TC Champs with a guy who introduced himself as Craig Rudd, the man in charge of the course for the Loppet. Not a happy camper at this point. He laid out the four options for me, in order of preference:
1. The full Loppet (wouldn't it be nice ... We'd need a miracle)
2. A few laps at TW with a shoveled direct connection to the lakes (that would be a lot of snow to be carted in and a lot of shoveling)
3. A lakes-only course (City of Lakes Vasaloppet? I was also told by another source that they can't bring big grooming equipment on the lakes because of the snow conditions)
4. Hamster laps at Theo Wirth (Maybe I should try to switch to the 35 km fatty event. With the lack of snow I should be able to pull this off with my MTB)
Especially bummed out because I had signed up for the challenge event, i..e. classic and skate.

C • pretty much a wash this year.... 1

7 AM

XC Skiing Skate 12:30 3.2 km (3:54 / km) +78m 3:29 / km
ahr:151 max:166 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Icy course but good coverage and clean snow. Was a little nervous about the downhills but they were very doable.

XC Skiing Skate 31:22 8.97 km (3:30 / km) +256m 3:04 / km
ahr:161 max:171 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Three fast 3 km laps on the icy course, fast. As usual the better skiers close to my speed would pass me on the downhills and be passed by me back uphill. Unfortunately, it was evident that the downhills won out over the uphills. Need to work on my downhill technique. Had a couple close calls, the first one when I almost had a collision with Robin in the hairpin at the bottom of the big downhill. Fortunately no witnesses for the other ones. but very happy with my time. Still getting faster, so I am happy. I was able to toss in a few V2 passages, happy about that, too. Besides Robin, I saw club mates Jim C and Andy U. Good to hear shouts of encouragement from the course officials, the event was organized by my club, Endurance United.

XC Skiing Skate 45:16 11.02 km (4:06 / km) +187m 3:47 / km
ahr:139 max:162 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Drove to Hyland for my cooldown ski. Ran into Tom H and did a couple of shortened laps for a nice cooldown and chat. Conditions were very similar to Theo Wirth, hard and icy.

2 PM

Hiking 38:29 [1] 3.51 km (10:58 / km) +26m 10:34 / km
shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

The usual hike with two happy dogs.

Saturday Jan 24, 2015 #

8 AM

Hiking 50:21 4.93 km (10:13 / km) +45m 9:46 / km
ahr:94 max:123 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

Rest day. A little longer hike at a brisk pace except for a few obligatory photo stops. Beautiful morning, but does not bode well for snow.

Friday Jan 23, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Classic 57:11 13.45 km (4:15 / km) +253m 3:53 / km
ahr:142 max:161 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Made it three mornings in a row, about an hour each time. Good workouts all. Beautiful morning sky the reward today.

4 PM

Hiking 37:42 [1] 3.56 km (10:35 / km) +29m 10:11 / km
shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

Beautiful evening hike with the dogs under sunshine.

Thursday Jan 22, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Skate 58:33 16.73 km (3:30 / km) +331m 3:11 / km
ahr:154 max:175 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Marathon pace workout on on fast snow. Did four laps, all minus the wall. Worked on transitions and on including V2 where appropriate. Finally feeling like that V2 is not unattainable.

Two deer, a spike buck and another one with a nice rack crossed just steps away from me at a fairly leisurely pace at the beginning of Frogtown Loop. Not leisurely enough for me to whip out the camera ...

C • I showed at 7:45am or so...... 2

4 PM

Hiking 41:51 [1] 3.64 km (11:30 / km) +27m 11:05 / km
shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

Taking the two beasties out again. Fun fun fun! Roux gave me a hard time in the morning when he took off after a rabbit half a block down. Took me a good 20 minutes of pursuit in slippers and pajamas, through alleys and backyards until I was able to get that little vagrant. Need to work on the COME command.

Wednesday Jan 21, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Classic 1:00:23 14.11 km (4:17 / km) +276m 3:54 / km
ahr:142 max:165 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Classic '13

Great early morning ski! Tracks were nicely set and rock solid and Rex grip tape cold was working perfectly. Two curtailed laps and one including the wall. Bummed out that it looks like a no go for the full loppet because of lack of snow :(

Tuesday Jan 20, 2015 #

4 PM

Hiking 37:04 [1] 3.39 km (10:56 / km) +29m 10:29 / km
ahr:95 max:117 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

Rest day. Fast walk with Mellie and Roux. Those two are a joy to be with, especially when they are off leash!

Monday Jan 19, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Skate 1:05:01 13.99 km (4:39 / km) +385m 4:05 / km
ahr:145 max:160 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Good ski on the outside loop again, plus Alpen downhill, beginner and Cliff Hanger. Much cooler weather than the rest of the weekend, made the snow quite a bit faster. Half was groomed, half was not. I wasn't expecting grooming, so this was a nice surprise. Saw three classic skiers with their three very well behaved dogs, twice, once on way down, then on way up again. Looked like they were doing the Powderhorn loop. Nice way to conclude an active weekend!

10 AM

XC Skiing Skijor 33:56 7.6 km (4:28 / km) +111m 4:10 / km
ahr:130 max:164 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Two laps with Mellie, one with the dog-in-training, Roux. Great fun! Roux will be a super fast dog. A little skittish about poles yet, I think he must have been hit with a switch.

XC Skiing Skate 5:24 [1] 0.42 km (12:51 / km)
ahr:104 max:117 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Skied to say good bye to Liz

Sunday Jan 18, 2015 #

8 AM

XC Skiing Skate 34:32 7.98 km (4:20 / km) +168m 3:55 / km
ahr:141 max:153 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Quick shakeout ski with attention to V2 technique and pristine corduroy. Chatted with the owner of the Wolverine cabins. Beautiful!

11 AM

XC Skiing Skate 1:04:45 13.42 km (4:49 / km) +315m 4:19 / km
ahr:143 max:157 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Did the outside loop plus Cliff Hanger. Slow snow, since I skied this morning, the corduroy had been covered by a good 2-3 cm of fresh snow. Took a break at the warming house and had some water. Hard part of starting on top of the ski hill is that the warming house and parking lot are at the midpoint instead at at beginning and end. That means the big climb is on the way back home.

XC Skiing Skate 38:12 4.68 km (8:10 / km) +172m 6:54 / km
ahr:129 max:164 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

The dreaded 00:15 on, 00:15 off, up the downhill slope right behind our place. Since the lift was out of service, there were a good 5 cm of snow on top of the piste.
15:00 warm-up (figure eights at the bottom of the slope)
3 x 4:00; 00:15 L5 00:15 rest, 4:00 rest in between
Pretty good workout. thanks to the steep slope.

Saturday Jan 17, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Skijor 41:42 8.73 km (4:47 / km) +165m 4:22 / km
ahr:135 max:161 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Oh the Mellster was so happy when I picked her up at the kennel this morning. We had a couple of nice loops on the begiiner trail at Wolverine, on pristine corduroy. Tried to make it to Linda's place but the snow was to soft and the tamped down trail too narrow for my skate skis. Very nice. Mellie seemed to be satisfied with her accomodations at Bluffview Kennel, she walked right back into her compartment. Roux was aghast that I dit not take him along as well.

11 AM

XC Skiing Classic 1:11:40 14.37 km (4:59 / km) +250m 4:35 / km
ahr:139 max:156

Did River Trail, Sulo's Coyote Canyon, Hautanen and Cherry.

XC Skiing Skate 1:10:21 16.91 km (4:10 / km) +285m 3:50 / km
ahr:153 max:166 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Did River Trail, Memory Lane, Bachelors, Sulo's, Coyote Canyon, Hautanen.Highlands and Blueberry. Very nice and strenuous.

Thursday Jan 15, 2015 #

12 PM

XC Skiing Skate 40:52 10.71 km (3:49 / km) +193m 3:30 / km
ahr:150 max:167 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Another quick lunch time ski. Certainly felt spring-like today, around the freezing point. Snow felt slow and soapy and I was trying hard to be slow as well, to keep that HR down, with limited success: AHR just barely in Zone 2.

C • can you imagine how slow I ... 3

Wednesday Jan 14, 2015 #

11 AM

XC Skiing Skate 40:00 11.01 km (3:38 / km) +207m 3:19 / km
ahr:153 max:171 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Quick lunchtime ski. Tough to do anything at Hyland without shooting that HR through the roof. This was supposed to be an easy recovery ski but my average was at ANT. But it was great to ski in almost spring like temps. Quite busy, too, not so much the trail, but the front parking was full. One of the few times I did not see any acquaintances.

4 PM

Hiking 39:29 3.57 km (11:04 / km) +32m 10:35 / km
ahr:101 max:130 shoes: Salomon Speedcross 3

No jogging with Roux before he's one. Afraid to damage growth plates. We can have fun without jogging. Tried out a harness on him, I have a feeling he's a natural puller. Some good off-leash time along the tracks.

Tuesday Jan 13, 2015 #

6 PM

XC Skiing Classic 1:18:43 11.12 km (7:05 / km) +322m 6:11 / km
ahr:137 max:175 shoes: Rossignol Max Classic

Nice classic intervals at Battle Creek West. Good turnout on this milder evening, necessitating only two layers.
No classic tracks made the skiing kind of squirrely but Margie said that it's a good exercise to wokr on keeping skis straight.
Warmup
Alternately one lap on top of ridge and one including the big hills. with a short breather between the intervals. Three each.
Recovery lap.
6 x double-pole pick-ups for start sim
Another recovery lap.
We need snow.

Sunday Jan 11, 2015 #

10 AM

XC Skiing Skate 1:25:11 13.05 km (6:32 / km) +277m 5:54 / km
ahr:127 max:163 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Showing Dayton and Heather my playground.

XC Skiing Classic 1:07:15 11.67 km (5:46 / km) +148m 5:25 / km
ahr:124 max:146 shoes: Rossignol Max Classic

Left dayton behind for some mor skate skiing and did a classic loop with Heather. Never don Beartracks before, very nice!

Saturday Jan 10, 2015 #

Event: Sisu Ski Fest -- Point to Point Ski Marathon

10 AM

XC Skiing Skate race 2:20:21 30.62 km (4:35 / km) +542m 4:13 / km
ahr:159 max:182 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11

Drove up the afternoon before with my friends Heather and Dayton. We were actually all disappointed that the event had been shortened to 31k but we were glad it wasn't canceled.
We made Ironwood easily, took the shuttle to ABR and finished getting ready. Because of the cold, Heather had made the decision to switch to classic a couple days before the race. We saw her off with the women elites, she had a great finish as fourth woman overall and first in her age group.
I got going with freestyle wave one. Big difference from last year, when I was leading wave 3, this year I was in the middle tier of the pack. Wax felt decent and the cold did not bother me, if anything, I felt a little overdressed. The Toko windbreaker over-mitts were working great, warm hands, even without handwarmers. But I did feel my legs tiring, I kept passing slower skiers from my wave and hung on to some who were about my speed. Somehow, Peltonen Passout did not seem as scary anymore nor did the other steeper downhills. Maybe the slower snow? For long stretches it seemed I was skiing by myself, nobody in front, nobody behind. As I was coming by the ABR trailhead for the second time, I saw one of the 21k waves taking off. All of the sudden, the trail was populated again. classic skiers from the 42k race and many classic and freestyle skiers from the 21k were mixed in. I passed and was being passed a lot now, until the field stretched out again after the long straight on the old railroad grade. I did notice that a paramedic gave me a close and scrutinizing look when she handed me a cup of HEAT. What was that about, I wondered. I pushed on, again being often alone. Eventually, I caught up to a skier whom I had followed before. He had much better technique than me and I had written him off as someone I could pass. I had caught up to him in the hills only for him to pull away on the flats or downhills. Apparently he could not stomach the undulating terrain close to town and he stepped out of my way to let me pass in one of the short hills. I finished a couple minutes ahead of him.
In terms of pace, this was a slower race than last year. In terms of placement, I finished slightly ahead of last year, both overall and in my age group. Percent back from leader looked not as good, 38% last year, 455 this year. But I won't complain, it was a hard event.

One funny thing at the finish line: A paramedic made a beeline for me, cup of HEAT in hand, asking me if I was OK and scrutinizing my face. I said I was feeling just fine and he agreed that I looked just fine. Apparently the paramedic who had looked me over earlier had called ahead and told their colleagues to check me over. The paramedic was followed by several photographers who asked if they could take my picture, That's when I realized that I was sporting a massive icycle on my stubble.
beardcycle

I went for my bag, a shower and a sauna at Lahti's and then for the great pasty feed at Memorial Hall and felt like a human being again rather quickly.

C • it might be easier if you f... 2

C • I was glad to be striding r... 2

C • that looks like the beginni... 2

Thursday Jan 8, 2015 #

5 PM

Running 22:51 3.68 km (6:13 / km) +52m 5:48 / km
ahr:140 max:153 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 30

Quick run con los perros. They had been adequately cooled down while I shoveled sidewalk and driveway and were very well behaved. Snow was blowing around, beautiful and invigorating. Not looking forward to finish waxing my skis.

Wednesday Jan 7, 2015 #

Note

Taper before first significant ski race of season. I just hope it will happen, the organizers have already cut 2 km off the marathon distance because of the predicted cold. They will make the go/no go decision on Friday at noon. We're going to go up to ski anyway.

Tuesday Jan 6, 2015 #

5 PM

Hiking 13:29 [1] 1.21 km (11:09 / km) +6m 10:52 / km
ahr:90 max:108

Dogs needed some fresh air. Walked through campus. Roux wants to greet every passer-by.

XC Skiing Skate 1:27:28 13.99 km (6:15 / km) +368m 5:32 / km
ahr:133 max:178 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

First time in 7 weeks with the group. The snow was very thin but good enough for some kick in the rear end intervals. Two types, hill focused and transitions focused, four of each. Very good workout.
Warm-up
8 x 4:30 at L4/Race Pace, every other time a hill loop and a ridge loop with need for lots of transitions.
Cool-down.
Did OK keeping up with Kitty and Jim.
Not too cold, but the wind had a bite.
Fun to see our young ones (8-12 year olds) skiing too! Tough little guys and gals!

Monday Jan 5, 2015 #

3 PM

Running 24:15 3.65 km (6:39 / km) +33m 6:21 / km
ahr:129 max:148 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 30

Blowing off some steam with the two wild beasts. They were antsy and wild inside the house. Nothing like a nice jog in temps near 20 below to cool those tempers. Trying a different lead, still tying in Mellie via the Release N Run. Worked pretty well. Mellie does not like that Roux is faster than she is and I can certainly feel the difference of having a faster dog. Fun to see them sprint across an open field!
Per BP's request:
Fighting in the yard

Playing in the yard

Pulling the master

C • Action shot..... 3

Sunday Jan 4, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Skate 9:47 2.07 km (4:44 / km) +59m 4:08 / km
ahr:154 max:200 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

A quick lap to warm up before Como Champs, which had been moved to Elm Creek man-made loop due to lack of snow in Como Park. (The HR can't be right.)

XC Skiing Skate 18:54 4.26 km (4:26 / km) +70m 4:06 / km
ahr:144 max:162 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Skied one loop with Kitty, then for a second one Julie and Amy joined us. Nice. Pandemonium in the chalet, which was super full because of a HS ski event taking place after ours. But very civilized. Kitty got chilled during our cooldown and had a hard time warming up, even after changing. Made me feel glad that I skied a little overdressed.

XC Skiing Skate 32:40 9.55 km (3:25 / km) +184m 3:07 / km
ahr:171 max:208 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010

Four loops on Elm Creek man-made trail. Considering the low temps it went quite well. These short races are always studded with faster skiers, all I can hope for is not to be rounded by too many of them. I was rounded by five including by Jon Miller, one of our coaches.
Had I nice opportunity for a finish. A woman, whom I had passed during the last lap attacked on the last downhill. I am not so good on the flats and downhill, but on the uphills my brawn glosses over the lack of brain. So I could pass her back on the short but steep uphill before the chalet and hold her off.

Saturday Jan 3, 2015 #

8 AM

Running 23:35 3.75 km (6:17 / km) +32m 6:02 / km
ahr:134 max:146 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 Trail WR

Took the dogs out for a jog. Testing various ways to run with two dogs. Today, I put the hand loop of Mellie's Release N Run leash around the regular leash I put on Roux. That way Mellie had the choice to lead or to fall back a little. Worked pretty well.

Friday Jan 2, 2015 #

8 AM

Running 21:10 3.48 km (6:05 / km) +26m 5:52 / km
ahr:137 max:150 shoes: Nike Air Pegasus+ 30

First run with Mellie AND Roux. A whole different level of energy running with one spirited and one very spirited dog.

Strength: Flexibility 4:47 [1]
ahr:82 max:89

Thursday Jan 1, 2015 #

7 AM

XC Skiing Classic 1:00:10 14.17 km (4:15 / km) +265m 3:53 / km
ahr:89 max:178 shoes: Rossignol Max Classic

First workout of the season was a good one. Same as yesterday, except classic, one lap less. Super conditions, saw Julie and her friends. Great effort, fast ski.

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