Training Log Archive: bbrooke

Walk to the start.

Up until the moment I cleared and checked, I was still debating if I should downgrade from Full Possum to Half Possum (due to having covid very recently, which impacted my training and fitness level...as well as my constant-coughing level).

But I kind of ran out of time to make any changes with the registration team, and I didn't want to flake out after *flying* to the event, so I stuck with the full.

Sharon & I had different versions of the butterfly loop, but she came into the final loop control (9) while I was there taking off layers (there was a convenient picnic table at that control). I was working hard from that point to get ahead of her, and I finally pulled away after 11.

Also, the married couple that was registered got different maps and had to split up, so I benefitted from competing against an individual woman having to navigate on her own (rather than a woman getting pulled along by the husband's nav skills, which is sometimes the case). I also benefitted from Cristina and other fast women not being there. :-P

Overall --

* Stupid route choice to 2 (should have gone straight through -- obviously).

* Overshot the turnoff to 8 and had to hook a hard-left into it.

* Lost A LOT of time getting lost and fighting through green to get to 17 (which should have been dead-easy).

* Should have stayed low along the powerline & trail rather than getting so high into the steep, rocky, green area, on the way to 20.

* And then, near the end when I guess I was fading mentally, I *totally* lost contact with the map on my way from 24 to 26 (I wanted to skip 25). I had planned to go to the road south of 22 but veered too far southwest (and then northwest? WTF?!), and I ended up on the trail near 25. Sigh... So I picked up 25 and skipped 26 instead, which probably wasn't much of a benefit.

I thought for sure Sharon would've passed me while I was making that huge bumbling mistake...but I was happy to learn when I downloaded that I was the first female finisher for the Full Possum. Hooray! There was no fanfare since the organizers were packing up by the time I finally finished, but Mary was nice enough to take a picture of me with my possum prize. ;-)

Then I ate Ethiopian leftovers in my car with the heat on full blast, showered at the very nice Lenexa rec center nearby, got a chai at Starbucks, drove to the airport, and napped in my prepaid-until-8pm rental car in the cell phone lot for about 90 minutes before my 9pm flight (which was delayed until 9:30 pm...). The MCI airport kinda sucks -- all the shops & food options close at 7pm.

Overall, a very fun weekend.

C • you 9

Possum Trot A - Splits

Event: Possum Trot XXII Weekend (Sat Sprint, Sunday Goat)
 

Long sprint at the KU Daisy Hill map.

I wasn't pushing too hard, since I didn't feel at all prepared (fitness- & endurance-wise) for tomorrow's event, and I didn't want to use up what little fitness & endurance I had! I was doing great until a brain lapse on my way to the last control -- where I lost five places in the results. :-\

Cold but very fun (with a warm and luxurious student union to hang out in before and after).

Post-run pic with the Jayhawk, by Gøril:

Unofficial walk / jog of the Short sprint course.

Dinner: Ethiopian at Elsa's in Overland Park. Really good...

Long - Splits

Easy neighborhood run. The amount of coughing was manageable during and right after (probably since it wasn't cold -- 50ish).

I finally got a decent night of sleep last night after taking the cough syrup + codeine I had in my basement... (The coughing seems to be much worse when I'm laying down.) It would've been a full eight hours if I hadn't had to get up early to give a work presentation at 7am...