Training Log Archive: anniemac

Today's woodland trail led us to an overlook out to a grassy marshland. Guess who was there ?? The wild ponies!! Some were rusty red with creamy manes, some were dark brown and shaggy. They were very mellow, just grazing and looking fat and happy. We also saw the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel which looked like a plumper, cuter grey squirrel. More egrets, herons, and snow geese. After the run we came back and took a hot tub which felt great and I realize I should do more often for my muscles and back. I highly recommend the Refuge Inn if you ever get the chance to come down here.

Walk around same loop and beach trail to explore instead of running by everything.

On the beach, Chincoteague Island Nat'l Wildlife Refuge. This place is really really beautiful. Perfect weather, saw lots of birds (great egrets) but no wild ponies yet. Doing woodland trails tomorrow.

C • Neat! 4

Walk jog mix. Sooo boring.

C • take a 6

nice long suburban adventure - wearing shoes i don't normally wear. old salomons that are a little warmer. that was my reasoning, and now i can barely walk - have my feet gotten bigger? my toes got crushed and i have a black and blue toenail now. uh oh! :)

C • Hey . . . . 7

shorter intervals after 1 mile warmup run - 25 paces walk/ 25 paces run. makes for a spiky chart!

C • I know that route 5

Elliptical warmup

Haven't done this in a while! Hard to get much done in an hour when you factor in driving and changing.

C • at work 2

lunchtime jog - was going to go to gym but too nice out ! (therefore did not have my watch. used an app on my fone instead.) something easy on my back, but keeping things warmed up and moving seems to be good.

Event: DVOA White Clay Deer Dash
 

White Clay Creek - Green

I saw a deer at the deer dash! She was in a field I should NOT have been in on the way to #2 - where I got on the wrong trail headed over the creek and eventually ended up by the buildings and road. The field had to be crossed to get there and was full of waist high dark brownish red saplings with huge pointy thorns - I've never seen this plant before. I tried to follow the deer paths to get out, but my legs got pricked nonetheless. oops!

Saw my bro - we shared 34 and 35 and while it seemed like I beat him to 35 (I even made an annoying little sister noise when I got there - "ha-ha!") he actually beat me by 15 seconds or so. Still that was fun! He went through the green and I went around. He was looking fast and a little crazy out there.

4 to 5, I kept saying to myself, Ok Clem, where are those sublime woods you promised me?? :)

5 to 6 I had some hesitation, thinking that I didn't want to be in the green anymore, so I bailed to the road and went around and that cost me some time.

7 to 8 was a similar leg to the April course, I just tried to run as much as possible along to the road and then up the path along the creek. Helpful to remember when to look for trail from the road, and the trail split from lower to upper trail. Here were those nice woods!!!!

10 to 11 I made a pretty big mistake here (sometimes when I see the finish line I get goofy,) and got on the wrong trail headed to the field. Corrected but cost me some time.

The uphill to number 12 was hard! But then, a perfect place for the run-in.

It was a good combination of physical and mental today, which I had in varying degrees of success. Having the event center full of smiling happy people, music, and visiting members of other clubs was really special. A great way to end the season on a high note!

And, happy for my sister Urs who completed her first Orange course (we shared some legs out there and I'm so proud she did it!) She said, it "felt hard, but not so hard I wanted to give up." Just hard enough to keep her coming back for more.

Green - Splits

Event: QOC Patapsco Granite
 

got a membership at a gym near work! this was just an initial checking out of the place. super conveniently located and totally bare bones. nothin' fancy - $10/month!

C • Zowie . . . 1

Something is tweaked in my back - not the normal sciatica stuff, though. (Though that's been flaring up a little too lately.) Staying home from work today to rest it so it doesn't get worse by driving and sitting in the office chair all day. I think sitting is really the worst.

C • be careful 2

core dvd! haven't done this in so long and it hurt! didn't do as many reps and avoided a few of the back taxing ones. got to get back to this regularly.

Pet peeve of day: the overuse of the word "like." You know, um, you like, sound like a twit when you, um, like, say that word like, like so much. Um, like OMG!

C • Don't forget to say it in a... 2

C • way 2

now we have two ladies with competing perfumes at work. it's horrible and i'm surrounded by it. what are they thinking?? the whole entire office reeks.

help...

C • ugh 8

C • Very nice . . . 7

Just went back and read the last two years of my AP log (well, not all of it.) It's really cool to have it to look back on and remember. 2013 was a hard year with the back injury and losing my job at Merion because of that injury, and 2014 has been very difficult with the divorce and transitioning to yet another job.

I cut way back on my workouts this year and started eating chicken again, and I've gained a few pounds, which I don't really care too much about as long as I feel healthy. Highlights of the year included beating my previous year's time at the radnor steeplechase and doing my first 10 mile trail race, as well as some good O meets (and my sister Ursula starting to orienteer!) Big pride about my Pops winning at NAOC and my bro doing the Megatransect. As always, you guys inspire me!

All that said, I'm really looking forward to a fresh start in 2015 (F45!) and I'm hoping that my life won't always be full of so much drama the way it has been the last few years. If I can get the right balance (I'm always saying that) I'm hoping I can achieve more of my goals - getting better at O and attending a few A meets here and there without re-injuring anything. Maybe get to something international too - Scottish 6 day would be amazing! I want to figure out a way I can have more of a social life, too. I'm still not completely disentangled from my ex, but almost. So, that will be helpful too, and maybe someday I'll actually do something with the room he kept all his stuff in. (Obviously way too much information for AP but I don't care.) I miss all my O peeps and want to make more of an effort to see everyone again - White Clay Creek next weekend will be a great place to start!

So, that's what I did on my rainy afternoon instead of working out :)))

C • F45 1

not feeling too peppy today...

sciatica flaring a little bit... wah. also, i gained some weight. time to start paying attention to that again, i guess!

felt good, my walking is getting faster and so is my running! didn't mind the rain even though i was dreading it. maybe my weight gain is muscle? :)