Training Log Archive: PG

Event: Flying Pig X (OCIN)
 

Flying Pig, first day (middle distance), M45. Same map as used for the 3rd day of the Team Trials last year. Hillsides are still steep and muddy, though a good bit of the course was on more gentle terrain.

3 mistakes, all easily avoidable, not sure what I was doing, total maybe 2-3 minutes. Ran ok, didn't really push it. Problems seemed to start when I got near the home for abandoned pigs, don't know why. Need to get my head straight for tomorrow, get rid of the "I don't like this terrain" thoughts.

Met Max for the first time. Didn't seem to scare him, like I often do with little kids. And he kept coming back for more of my Cliff Bar.

I'll post routes when I get back.

C • FOOD!! 10

Out to the start.

C • Abandoned Pig Houses 5

Red Middle Distance - Splits

Day off today with the Pig starting tommorow. So I went over to the golf course and hit a few golf balls for the first time in 6 months. Didn't whiff a single time, though there were a couple of close calls.

Will has bailed on our relay team (citing academic obligations and something to do with his PhD dissertation, talk about having your priorities screwed up...), but I think we have recruited mindsweeper for a non-official CSU 8-point team with Suzzane, Gail, and me. Suprising/sad that CSU can't even get a single official team there. Need to get our act together.

C • sad! 2

13 hills loop. Relaxed pace for the first half, a little more energetic on the way back. Another perfect day, trails in excellent shape, clearly not very useful preparation for the mud and thorns this weekend. Or the NEOC meet next weekend. But just right for Northern Nipmuck the weekend after that.

Still feeling the effects of the race/cake, plus various warnings from SF about the effect of a change in the G on international economic conditions, have combined to make me feel unduly stressed, since I now feel obligated to not post the daily reading until after the market closes for the day. By which point, I have trouble remembering not only what the morning reading of the G was, but also just what sort of workout I did at my usual 1 pm outing and what clever/amusing thoughts may have occupied my mind and kept it off the discomforts at hand.

But I will try.

I do remember that I added a little extra onto the end of my 13 hill loop, making it the 16 hill loop ("hill" is defined quite loosely, though it does always indicate movement in an upward direction), and that quite early in the loop where I cross Mountain Road there was all sorts of excitement -- a couple of fire engines, an ambuance, a couple of police cars, traffic halted. I correctly surmised that it had nothing to do with me (if I'd already posted the day's upward break-out of the G , then I might have been concerned that they were just keeping an eye on me in case of sudden terminal cake induced obesity). A little further along I came upon the rescue operation, perhaps 10 people escorting a stretcher with someone presumably strapped on, though I couldn't see for sure. But no signs of blood, no screaming, for all I know it was a case of acute pison ivy. Or maybe just a drill in case the terrorists come to Greenfield and start mugging people in the woods.

The only other item of interest is that last night on the way home I killed a cat. Seriously. Just down the street. It darted out and before I could hit the brakes I had hit it. Right by the Williams Farm. The light was on in their house, so I went and knocked on their door, and they opened up, an old couple, very fine people, I've known them for 20 years, and I told them I'd killed one of their cats. And they said they had about 20 "barn cats" and it happens from time to time and there was nothing to be done and don't worry about it. But I still felt like crap.

C • Terorist Attack on Tower foiled! 1

Easy run on the 13 hills loop. A few sore muscles, but nothing too bad.

Westfield Half Marathon. Fantastic run.

Had run the race four times before, best in 82:45 in 1996 (age 51), worst in 94:34 the last time I tried it in 2002. So the goals for today were beat 94, then maybe beat 7 minute pace (about 91:45), then maybe maybe beat 90. And also in the back of my mind was seeing how close I could come to Balter's time of 86+ in Brooklyn a week ago.

The legs felt good warming up. And they continued to feel good, one of those days that a slight incline feels flat and a flat feels downhill. 6:41 for the flat first mile felt comfortable, then the next 3 miles were uphill and I was astounded to be under 7 minute pace. Wasn't sure if I'b blown it by going to fast, and by miles 8 and 9 I was getting a bit leg heavy, counting down the miles slower than I wished and doing the math in my head to see how much I could slow down and still break 90. Mile 11 started with a modest up, but I got up it ok and then it was like the legs got a second windand I felt good all the way in. Got within a minute of Greg, I thought as I finished, only to find out later that he'd run 87:10 and I was only 20 seconds off. Excellent. (Note: this is all preparation for our grudge match, over a course and distance yet to be determined, when he turns 50. If I can keep my weight down to 1 G, I think I can take him.)

Splits: 6:41, 6:55 (up), 7:13 (up), 6:48 (up), 6:28 (down), 6:25 (down), 6:32, 6:31, 6:47, 6:51, 6:36, 6:35, 6:30, 38. 5 miles: 34:05, 10 miles: 67:11, last 5k: 20:19.

Legs will be trashed for a couple of days, and I might have used up my good legs for a while, but so what.

C • Congrats! 8

Warm-up

Drove down to Litchfield after the race to see my mother, taking along a cake I made the night before. It seems like a pre-race intake of the extra frosting didn't hurt. Now we'll have to see if the 3 pieces I put away at her house speed or hinder recovery.