Training Log Archive: PG

Event: WCOC - Stratton Brook SP
 

So today is the first time orienteering with my 305. It would be nice to display the route on the O map, using Quick Routes I'd guess.

But that would mean downloading QR and figuring out how to do it.

And before that I'd have to install Windows on my Mac (I have a copy, just never installed it).

And before that I'd have to install Parallels on my Mac (I have a copy, just never installed it).

What are the odds of getting that done this weekend? Slim? Or none?

Of course if I did it, than I could see what OCAD was all about. And Catching Features too. I'm not sure all that is a good thing. :-)

WCOC meet at Stratton Brook in Simsbury, CT, produced by George and Lyn. Perfect day for hanging out, a little warm for running (low70s) but not bad.

Down to the pond and back to warm up. Heels still sore, added heel cushions today, perhaps that will help. Did decide to skip the Northern Nipmuck trail race (16 miles), partly because of the warmth, but mainly because I figured it wouldn't do good things to the heels. Not that the orienteering did, but NN would have been a lot worse.

Nice vibes, visits with several friends. Got an update from Charlie and JJ on the latest activities of the Grievance Committee, whose motto is (and rightly so) "Get a Life," a phrase that should be remembered whenever folks in our sport, present party included, launch off into some strenuous argument about something that, really, is pretty unimportant.

Also helped George out just a little processing people at the start/finish. There has to be an easier way to get the e-punch info on the computer, plus backup hard copy. Do folks just dispense with the backup and hope the computer doesn't fail? I would think that you should be able to just stick your e-punch in one of the boxes and it would read your name and club and age and gender and year of birth, and whatever, like an ATM card, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

And if it did, I'm sure we would have folks complaining about privacy.... :-)

C • Stored e-punch info 7

First sprint, the Fox.

Not so bad. A little bobble coming into #6, otherwise OK. Nice course and woods.

Second sprint, the Hounds. Anyone who did them in the other order did them wrong, because the fox always goes out before the hounds, not after them.

Just on problem, a little loop before #10, the map needs a little adjusting, and since it didn't make sense, I took a little extra time to be sure.

My 305 route at the end is totally bogus. Assuming that my 305 is not significantly less accurate than other 305s, then I feel sorry for folks who assume, when they're not sure where they've gone, that their 305's track is the gospel. It ain't. Just like the speed readings, the heart rate readings, and the elevation reading. Fine a lot of the time, bogus at other times.

The 305 is nice entertainment. It's not reliable high tech.

C • 305 track is gospel 5

And then the score O course, 30 controls, the 22 that were used for the sprints and 8 new ones. Half were colored red, half were green, and the rule was you had to alternate colors. That added quite a bit of spice!

OK run, getting a little tired, not sure if I had the best route for the last bunch of controls but it wasn't too bad.

Except I never saw the two controls in the NE corner, so I only got 28 of them. Oh, well, it's just practice.

Went off and got a little something to eat, then back to the park, hung around a bit, then sauntered out to fetch 8 controls, main accomplishment was not losing any e-boxes in the process.

Nice day.

Fox - Splits

Hounds - Splits

It was so nice out this afternoon, and I'm pretty much caught up on work, and I happened not to have any appointments this evening, so it seemed like it was time leave work early -- from a religious perspective, it would have been virtually sinful not to leave work early -- and try to remember what it feels like to swing a golf club. And it wasn't so bad.

Nice discovery* in Northampton this evening -- wrapped up a nice day with a trip to the movies, very fine flick, The Ghostwriter, by Roman Polanski, who must have done this before visiting Switzerland.

The only other flick of his that I've seen is Chinatown, wonderful, and this had a similar feel, a similar pacing, though also totally different. Didn't look at my watch the whole time, or even think of looking, and a bit surprised when it ended.

* George keyed me onto this, time to start using USOF's new slogan even if it hasn't yet been approved, though it surely will be. It does mean saying farewell to AOWN, may it (and the IOF) RIP.

C • Chinatown 4

"Hour loop" (aka "13 hills") on the ridge, warm day, supposed to be even warmer by the weekend. Not so bad, ran harder the second half, legs not so bad but heels still sorer than I wish. Need to get the ice out.

Trails are in fine shape, just a few wet spots, not much considering the recent rains. Though we missed the heavy rains they got further east.

Entertainment: First the end of yesterday's TAL about Noriega. And then a Fresh Air with a guy who writes about religion, and we grew up being a true believer and is now an agnostic.

A couple of things stick in my mind. First was a comment about about a sizeable number of people nowadays think the end is near, and in fact loking back all the way to the time of Jesus it has seemd like a sizeable number of people of each generation have thought the end is near. And so far the one thing you can say is they have all been wrong. And so why give any credence to the current crop of true believers?

And second, he basically lost his faith when he realized he couldn't reconcile his belief in an all-powerful and benevolent god with all the suffering he could observe in the world.

Of course on the latter point, as far as I'm concerned, he's preaching to the converted.

C • radio 10

On the ridge, easy pace, legs felt better after a while. The 305 seemed to be having an off day, might have something to do with not having cleared the memory all month. So now I've done that and it already looks happier.

This American Life, story about a girl who is a pen pal with Norriega. Quite enchanting.

Started out thinking I would run uphill at a slow pace, but after about 5 minutes of that I decided it was putting a little too much pressure on my heels. So I switched to flat at a slow pace. And then very gradually increased the pace, but no faster than about 8:40. Seemed about right.

Fresh Air again, this time about the Supremes, the interviewee was Jeffrey Toobin. He's more to Terry's liking, so she seemed more relaxed. Reasonably interesting.

And got me thinking about how many poeple, both left and right, seem to get all their news from sources that they agree with, Fox News and NPR being two obvious examples. And I don't think that's a good thing. Sure it's nice and comfortable and feels good. But you stop thinking. And forget that your side, whatever it is, isn't automatically right and the other side, whatever it is, isn't automatically wrong.

C • what's next for the eternally curious PG? 21

Legs and heels still sore, so just a half hour on the tradmill, mostly at 10%. Enough to get me sweating.

Fresh Air with Karl Rove. Interesting from the point of view of seeing how a good political mind works (meaning his), not that I agree with him. Terri seemed outmatched.

Which reminds me, I wondering a few days ago who was having a worse month, the Pope or the Republicans. I'm glad I'm no fan of either.

C • T. Gross 6

Legs very sore from yesterday (not used to running steep downhills relatively hard), so a day, or a few days, off.

Meanwhile, a few photos from the half-marathon in New Bedford a week ago. In order of finish, Ross, then Ian (by a nose,) then Samantha, then me. More photos are here, just put in the last name.