Training Log Archive: TomNIn the 31 days ending Mar 31, 2012:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday Mar 31, 2012 #
2 PM
Orienteering race 39:02 [4] *** 3.8 km (10:16 / km) +130m 8:46 / km
21c shoes: Icebug olx
This race was a lot of fun. Addie and I didn't enter the morning sprint, and spent the time visiting the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, a huge complex of greenouses with different climate zones -- desert, tropics, palms, bonsai, orchids -- and a fantastically diverse collection of plants from around the world, growing in suitable habitats.
I didn't expect much from this event, since I'm not too good at short legs in complex terrain, but it went pretty well. I had a problem counting trails on the way to #8, and wobbled a bit before finding the right one and getting to the attack point. From 8 through 11, the legs were really high-class, rough orienteering through overgrown fields and fine control picking in the green. I got directly into the circle each time but had a little trouble finding the controls. After that, I took an awkward approach to 14 up the hill from the stream junction, had some fun trail hopping to 15 and 16, and stayed in the clear from 17 through the finish.
I kept up the speed on the longer legs, and suffered only minor errors on the rest. I finished with a great time, second on Green, sandwiched between two USMA cadets and well ahead of the 50+ field. A 19-minute combined lead in M60. Addie made a couple of mistakes on Brown and slipped into second in ISVF, down about 4 minutes.
I didn't expect much from this event, since I'm not too good at short legs in complex terrain, but it went pretty well. I had a problem counting trails on the way to #8, and wobbled a bit before finding the right one and getting to the attack point. From 8 through 11, the legs were really high-class, rough orienteering through overgrown fields and fine control picking in the green. I got directly into the circle each time but had a little trouble finding the controls. After that, I took an awkward approach to 14 up the hill from the stream junction, had some fun trail hopping to 15 and 16, and stayed in the clear from 17 through the finish.
I kept up the speed on the longer legs, and suffered only minor errors on the rest. I finished with a great time, second on Green, sandwiched between two USMA cadets and well ahead of the 50+ field. A 19-minute combined lead in M60. Addie made a couple of mistakes on Brown and slipped into second in ISVF, down about 4 minutes.
Friday Mar 30, 2012 #
4 PM
Orienteering race 51:00 [4] *** 4.2 km (12:09 / km) +210m 9:43 / km
18c shoes: Icebug olx
Flying Pig M60+ Day 1. I had asked for a late start and got it (3:59 p.m.) but the flight from D.C. was uneventful, and Addie and I arrived at about 2:30, with ample parking and surprisingly warm conditions, probably high 70s. I listened to Vlad announcing the times at the road crossing, and it was apparent that anything in the 16 minute range was fast.
A good warm-up and off, and I felt great. I had been running in the heat for a few weeks and was well-acclimatized, and I took the first leg up the steep trail at a run, coming down into the reentrant, and then up again, still running, to the trail to attack #2. I think #2 was the hardest control on the course, and I was lucky to see it, uphill from my position. I had forgotten to start my watch (as usual) but I crossed the road at around 17 minutes, so I knew things were going well. The usual loss of consciousness around #9 slowed me down, and I was terribly sloppy at #10, overrunning the control on the lower trail and backtracking on the upper trail to the ditches. I took #11 slowly, and after that everything was o.k. Vlad called out my first place time as I came in, very gratifying. Addie came in just after me, first place in ISVF. Wow.
A good warm-up and off, and I felt great. I had been running in the heat for a few weeks and was well-acclimatized, and I took the first leg up the steep trail at a run, coming down into the reentrant, and then up again, still running, to the trail to attack #2. I think #2 was the hardest control on the course, and I was lucky to see it, uphill from my position. I had forgotten to start my watch (as usual) but I crossed the road at around 17 minutes, so I knew things were going well. The usual loss of consciousness around #9 slowed me down, and I was terribly sloppy at #10, overrunning the control on the lower trail and backtracking on the upper trail to the ditches. I took #11 slowly, and after that everything was o.k. Vlad called out my first place time as I came in, very gratifying. Addie came in just after me, first place in ISVF. Wow.
Wednesday Mar 28, 2012 #
9 AM
Road running 38:00 [3] 4.2 mi (9:03 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Gardiner Ave - Forest Glen loop. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5374812
Monday Mar 26, 2012 #
8 AM
Core strength 20:00 [1]
Saturday Mar 24, 2012 #
9 AM
Core strength 20:00 [1]
rhr:37
8 PM
Orienteering race 1:48:53 [3] 5.5 km (19:48 / km)
rhr:37 shoes: Inov8 Roclite 295
QOC Little Bennett Night-O, Short Advanced.
Friday Mar 23, 2012 #
12 PM
Trail Running 48:00 [3] 5.2 mi (9:14 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Greenbelt Park perimeter trail.
Saw a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea) in the woods along the stream near Good Luck Road. A first for me. The woods didn't look very green there, so it may be another week before its favored plants come out, which are in the wild mustard family.
Saw a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea) in the woods along the stream near Good Luck Road. A first for me. The woods didn't look very green there, so it may be another week before its favored plants come out, which are in the wild mustard family.
Thursday Mar 22, 2012 #
12 PM
Road running 38:00 [3] 4.2 mi (9:03 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
GSFC perimeter road, without loops.
Wednesday Mar 21, 2012 #
8 AM
Speed work 40:00 [4] 4.0 mi (10:00 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Speed work in the morning at Einstein HS track, after the 1.5 mile dog walk from 7:30 to a little after 8. Funny, there was an atavistic reaction entering the track, with strong feelings of distress. The last time I was there was probably September of last year. Some combination of the visual environment and the smell. It's interesting how smell is wired directly into the brain with no conscious intervention.
Anyway, it was the usual 3x1000: 4:04. 4:09, 4:03. I'll put the second interval time down to a failure of will. Just couldn't force the pace with one more to go. Last one felt fine though, picked up the pace on the last 400 because I was feeling good, otherwise even pace.
Anyway, it was the usual 3x1000: 4:04. 4:09, 4:03. I'll put the second interval time down to a failure of will. Just couldn't force the pace with one more to go. Last one felt fine though, picked up the pace on the last 400 because I was feeling good, otherwise even pace.
Monday Mar 19, 2012 #
5 PM
Road running 40:00 [3] 4.3 mi (9:18 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
GSFC perimeter road.
Saturday Mar 17, 2012 #
Orienteering race 1:21:00 [4] *** 5.0 km (16:12 / km)
10c shoes: Inov8 X-Talon
Score-O on new map at Occoquan. I spent way too much time looking for the misplaced control at 109, too stupid to cut and run, and ended up overtime. Other than that, the less said the better. Addie beat me in this event. There had to be a first time.
Friday Mar 16, 2012 #
Core strength 20:00 [1]
Thursday Mar 15, 2012 #
12 PM
Speed work 52:00 [4]
rhr:39 shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Intervals at DuVal HS. 3x1000 in 4:04, 4:07, 4:05, 4-min rest between, 15-min jog there and back.
A bunch of soccer players came out for practice as I was starting, and during my second interval they were basically all over the track, forcing me wide on the turns. Then a couple of guys decided to run with me on the third interval. I told them what we were doing and how far, and they were game. This had a couple of effects on my time. Normally, kids think it's fun to step in front of me "accidentally" as I'm going by, but when the guys were with me we got some respect. Plus, of course, I had to pick up the pace to show them what the old guy could do. They dropped out after 600 m (I think their coach was giving them the high sign), but one kid caught up to me afterwards and asked me about my training. This was all pretty positive, and I hope I see them again one week.
Butterflies on this run: many Pierids in the grass.
A bunch of soccer players came out for practice as I was starting, and during my second interval they were basically all over the track, forcing me wide on the turns. Then a couple of guys decided to run with me on the third interval. I told them what we were doing and how far, and they were game. This had a couple of effects on my time. Normally, kids think it's fun to step in front of me "accidentally" as I'm going by, but when the guys were with me we got some respect. Plus, of course, I had to pick up the pace to show them what the old guy could do. They dropped out after 600 m (I think their coach was giving them the high sign), but one kid caught up to me afterwards and asked me about my training. This was all pretty positive, and I hope I see them again one week.
Butterflies on this run: many Pierids in the grass.
Wednesday Mar 14, 2012 #
Road running 38:00 [3] 4.0 mi (9:30 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
GSFC perimeter road, shortened at the end.
Butterflies along today's run: Cabbage White (Pieris rapae); 4xClouded Sulphur (Colias philodice); an azure, probably Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta), because the Spring Azure (C. ladon) is, paradoxically, not out yet; a duskywing, probably Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis), because others have reported seeing it recently, and an actual ID would have required catching it and knowing what to look for.
Appointment this morning with a new cardiologist, because my old cardiologist abruptly retired, and this was the guy he referred me to. I liked him immediately. Medical records evidently not transferred yet. He promptly ordered an echocardiogram, which showed a minor amount of mitral valve leakage and an otherwise young-looking heart. Green light.
Butterflies along today's run: Cabbage White (Pieris rapae); 4xClouded Sulphur (Colias philodice); an azure, probably Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta), because the Spring Azure (C. ladon) is, paradoxically, not out yet; a duskywing, probably Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis), because others have reported seeing it recently, and an actual ID would have required catching it and knowing what to look for.
Appointment this morning with a new cardiologist, because my old cardiologist abruptly retired, and this was the guy he referred me to. I liked him immediately. Medical records evidently not transferred yet. He promptly ordered an echocardiogram, which showed a minor amount of mitral valve leakage and an otherwise young-looking heart. Green light.
Tuesday Mar 13, 2012 #
12 PM
Trail Running 50:00 [3] 5.2 mi (9:37 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Greenbelt Park perimeter trail. Time is a guess because I forgot to start my watch. My legs were feeling fine until I started to run, and then it became obvious that the past weekend's activities were still lurking in there.
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) flying up in the branches of an oak tree. These overwinter as adults, and it's not uncommon to see them on warm days at the end of winter. In woodland areas in the spring you can attract them to a feeder with rotten fruit.
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) flying up in the branches of an oak tree. These overwinter as adults, and it's not uncommon to see them on warm days at the end of winter. In woodland areas in the spring you can attract them to a feeder with rotten fruit.
Sunday Mar 11, 2012 #
10 AM
Orienteering race 52:55 [5] *** 5.9 km (8:58 / km) +198m 7:41 / km
14c shoes: Icebug olx
U.S. Classic Champs, Day 2, BOK Birkhead Wilderness, M60. Another fine day, in the adjacent section of the same woods, similar terrain, fine woods, and pretty easy control placements. I was a little slow on #1 (went straight over the three ridges) and bobbled #2 (straight up the ditch south to the trail, hmmm, don't see a trail, wing it for a while towards the big reentrant, don't see that either, back to the trail, there it is and there's the reentrant and life is good). Istvan Nagy caught me at the control, having been somehow rescheduled to 2 minutes after my start time. I was unhappy about that, but if I had executed correctly I would still have been ahead of him, so who's to blame? We traded controls, I got 3, he got 4 and 5, I got 6, then I ran hard over the hill to 7 and never saw him again. On the way down the spur to #8 I caught Walter Siegenthaler, who was in 3rd after yesterday, and dropped him on the big hill up to 9. Something tells me hill climbs are my friend. No. 12 was a nice leg, a mess of complex reentrants, which I counted carefully, and having drifted low I climbed straight up the hill and spotted the control a couple of contours farther up. Small errors on #13 (suckered into the wrong control down the spur a ways) and 14 (missed the trail, tripped over a wire fence and hit the ground flat, got up, bashed west, and finally saw the trail and field). Great run and a lot of fun, first in M60 by a couple of minutes, and managed to slip into 3rd place overall for a medal.
Saturday Mar 10, 2012 #
12 PM
Orienteering race 59:33 [5] *** 5.8 km (10:16 / km) +138m 9:11 / km
16c shoes: Icebug olx
U.S. Classic Champs, Day 1, BOK Birkhead Wilderness, M60. I evidently missed my start time by a minute (I was there 3 minutes early, but found that my start time had been given to peggyd, who had also missed her start time, so there was some kind of chain reaction happening). For what it's worth, I thought that although the start was undermanned, the guy at the call-up line was good-humored and reasonable, and was doing his job just fine under the circumstances.
The minor snafu at the start didn't bother me at all. The forest was beautiful, fast running and good visibility. I ticked off controls pretty fast, and by #8 I knew I had a great run going. Disaster struck at #9. Running hard, I punched a control that looked right and continued on, but the next leg didn't look right at all. When I came to an unmapped reentrant, it occurred to me that I might have punched the wrong control. So back to #9, sure enough, wrong code, and given what I had just seen I had a pretty good idea where the right one was. At least 6 minutes lost. Then at #11, still mentally out of it, I ran the wrong way out of the control with the map upside down. Damn it, what an idiot. Another 2 minutes lost. OK, back the way I came, and everything else went fine, good running to the finish.
Ended up in 4th place, a couple minutes out of 3rd, but obviously I had first within my grasp and blew it. Disappointing result.
The minor snafu at the start didn't bother me at all. The forest was beautiful, fast running and good visibility. I ticked off controls pretty fast, and by #8 I knew I had a great run going. Disaster struck at #9. Running hard, I punched a control that looked right and continued on, but the next leg didn't look right at all. When I came to an unmapped reentrant, it occurred to me that I might have punched the wrong control. So back to #9, sure enough, wrong code, and given what I had just seen I had a pretty good idea where the right one was. At least 6 minutes lost. Then at #11, still mentally out of it, I ran the wrong way out of the control with the map upside down. Damn it, what an idiot. Another 2 minutes lost. OK, back the way I came, and everything else went fine, good running to the finish.
Ended up in 4th place, a couple minutes out of 3rd, but obviously I had first within my grasp and blew it. Disappointing result.
Friday Mar 9, 2012 #
8 AM
Core strength 30:00 [1]
Thursday Mar 8, 2012 #
12 PM
Road running 30:00 [2] 3.2 mi (9:22 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Slow jog out and back on the perimeter road. Too nice a day to squander, not running tomorrow.
Wednesday Mar 7, 2012 #
11 AM
Speed work 55:00 [4] 5.0 mi (11:00 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Intervals at DuVal HS track. 3x1000 in 4:06. 4:07, 4:07 with a 4 min jog between. Pace was a little fast for VDOT 46, just right for 47, but it felt good so I stuck with it. Plus a 15 minute jog there and back and a couple of strides before starting the intervals.
First of season Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) flying to a dandelion.
First of season Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) flying to a dandelion.
Tuesday Mar 6, 2012 #
8 AM
Road running 30:00 [3] 3.2 mi (9:22 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
Drumm loop, short version. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5332529
Monday Mar 5, 2012 #
9 AM
Core strength 20:00 [1]
Saturday Mar 3, 2012 #
12 PM
Orienteering race 1:10:15 [4] *** 7.6 km (9:15 / km) +210m 8:07 / km
12c shoes: Icebug olx
QOC Patuxent Red. The day turned out to be much nicer than predicted. Rain had stopped by 10 a.m., sunny by mid-afternoon. I started out the wrong way to the first control and got confused on the trails. When Ted passed me on the trail I figured I was a minute down, but I got it together at that point, crossed the marsh, ran along the trail on the other side, and hit the control dead on. Everything else went fine. I made good conservative choices staying in touch with the reentrant systems (ok, maybe my route to 3 wasn't so good, but other than that...), and kept up the pace on the long legs. I got suckered into the wrong control across the field at the end, lost another minute there. Nice course in great orienteering terrain.
Friday Mar 2, 2012 #
12 PM
Road running 44:00 [3] 4.7 mi (9:22 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
GSFC perimeter road.
Thursday Mar 1, 2012 #
12 PM
Road running 43:00 [3] 4.7 mi (9:09 / mi)
shoes: Brooks Adrenaline
GSFC perimeter road. Guessed the time, slower than last time. Gorgeous day, 60+ and sunny with a little light breeze. Got back in and found an unfamiliar coating on my skin -- sweat!
Looked at new shoes on the internet. The latest version of the Adrenaline looks to be fine. Different, maybe lighter, but fine. What should I do with the $10 Pacers card from last Saturday's race? I have an idea that even at $10 off Pacers can't beat RnJ's regular price. It's time to go and see.
Looked at new shoes on the internet. The latest version of the Adrenaline looks to be fine. Different, maybe lighter, but fine. What should I do with the $10 Pacers card from last Saturday's race? I have an idea that even at $10 off Pacers can't beat RnJ's regular price. It's time to go and see.