Training Log Archive: TomN

A good run, Pine St-Railroad Ave-Swazey Pkwy-Gilman Ln-Exeter Trails-Drinkwater Rd-High St. The trail section was forested and packed snow, fine running in 40 deg, soft but not sloppy. I reallly have no idea where the trail went, but it ended up on Drinkwater Rd. I started out heading S, but when it crossed into Kensington I turned around (how about that, Kensington MD to Kensington NH!) and headed back N to High St. and home. Turns out the S route would have added another 4 miles. But 8 is enough, or so they say.

Flying Pig Middle Green. I felt better on this run than the previous two, but the results still weren't great. Two legs with 4 minutes lost on each one. But even if I hadn't missed those so badly, I don't think my pace wasn't good enough for a medal.

I couldn't find the deep pit on #3. Actually, I really don't know how to navigate this leg reliably. I had an idea I'd cross the rock band and spot the control, but that didn't work. Then I went back and forth below the rock band, and that didn't work either. Finally located the bend on the SE end of the spur, pace counted back up towards the control, and finally saw it, higher up than I had been before.

Something similar on #9, which I expected to be easy. Diagonal down from #8 to the trail bend, contour along in the white just above the veg. boundary, then drop down into the ditch. Only it wasn't there. Went way too far SE, saw the little rock pile, came back but a little too high, missed it again, got all the way to the other little ditch with a different control in it, then finally ran to the right one. Ugh.

From there to the finish I ran along with Bill Lankton, who was keeping up a pace too fast for me to get by, and my only really good opportunity, 15-16, I got a little too high on the hill and ended up losing some time.

Again, some fine terrain, less technical than I had feared, maybe a little nicer than yesterday (by which I really mean, fewer thorns). Fun weekend.

Middle - 8 Green M - Splits

Flying Pig Long Green. I enjoyed the course and ran it pretty well, except for one 20 minute mistake on #6. I can see clearly what happened. It was an epic parallel error.

Coming down the hill from 5, I was trying to locate myself on the trail before crossing over the ditch, and I went west, almost to the trail bend. The location effort totally failed, and I went straight up the nearest bulge on the other side, thinking it was the next one to the SE. Hit the trail at the top, went SE, attacked from the trail bend (all matching up reasonably well with the next one over), then proceeded down the side of the big valley, counting little reentrants as I crossed them. Found a single rock and thought it was the start of the rock band. Up to that point it was 1 kilometer of "perfect" fit between the real track and the imagined track, so it took me a long time to believe I was that far off. Finally bailed out down to the trail to the south, quickly relocated and punched. But easily 15 minutes lost looking for the cliffs on the wrong spur.

Evidently I chose good routes on the next 2 controls, high on 7 and low on 8, because despite thinking black thoughts I ran those legs fast, 3rd and 4th overall.

Great area for a long course, and a good time of year too, because I wouldn't have wanted to run through all that greenbrier after it started to grow. It's really nice to see all these new Kentucky maps.

Long - 8 Green M - Splits

Flying Pig Sprint Green. Oh great, a long difficult sprint. Doing o.k. until 6, which I couldn't read to save my life. Saw a control that might have been right, fortunately checked the code, looked around and saw where I was supposed to be. I still don't know what to make of the low stone wall surrounding the canal. I crossed it twice. Don't see it on the map.

Still pretty well focused, looking ahead, seeing the right routes, until after punching 12 I inexplicably ran out 90 degrees off. Ran an appropriate distance but things didn't match up with what 13 was supposed to look like. Completely unable to recognize my surroundings on the map, but I could still see the building where 12 had been, aligned the map to that, and saw where I was supposed to go.

From there on, it seemed like every control was a struggle. Standing still after every punch, turning the map around and around, no sense of direction at all, no flow. Not a recipe for success in a sprint.

Sprint - 8 Green M - Splits

A nice run on a fine day, sunny and 40 at noon. Shorts weather. I ran out Railroad St., back along the river, then across on String Bridge and out Gilman Lane through the athletic fields. Across the river again on the old stone bridge and back past the track to the gym.

A quickie loop around the town during a break between meetings. It's been fine weather, sunny days and cool temps. Today it was in the mid-30s by the afternoon.

Slow run out along the river and back. Cold, cold, cold heading west against the wind, but fine going back. Should have worn my buff.

Arrived in Exeter on Thursday afternoon, spent Friday acquiring furniture and stuff mostly from Goodwill. It's a one-bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of an old Victorian in a very nice location half a block from the famous library, windows on 3 sides, but pretty tiny.

A light snowfall last night and early this morning, then sunny and quite mild in the afternoon, I put on shoes and dashed out. Ran past the house I lived in 50 years ago, then out along the iced-over river and back. I had discovered the first night that the apartment had housed cats, and that's a real problem. I travel with an inhaler, which got me through the night, and with the help of some over-the-counter stuff the asthma seems to be under control, and didn't bother me at all at jogging pace.

Drumm Ave loop. Temp. in mid-50s at 10 a.m., and it sure felt fine to run. I stretched it out on the gradual downhills, increasing stride and turnover. Again, good feelings.

Around the Goddard perimeter road. Lovely day, somewhere in the high 40s at noon when I ran, on the way to 60 later this afternoon.

QOC Wheaton Red. Florence was directing and we got there early, set up numerous tent canopies acquired yesterday against the predicted all-day rain, put out signs, checked in with course setter Mihai, and got the first starts off on time.

I went out probably around 11. It was raining at the beginning, tapering off during the run. Wet in the woods, but I stopped noticing after the first couple of controls. A fast course, with easy control picking and a lot of trail running. The mistake I most often heard from others was not staying on the trail enough and trying to go straight through the woods. The woods were dense, full of little whippy branches and a few prickers.

I kept up a good pace but lost time due mostly to inattention, sometimes to drifting off course. From 1 to 2 I got started down the trail next to the lake, but forgot what I was doing and rounded the corner towards 3, then had to backtrack. From 9 to 10 I crossed the southern bridge but thought I was at the northern one, losing some time figuring it out. Leaving 10 I went towards 6 instead of 11. All little stuff, but added up to 5-6 minutes lost that could easily have been avoided.

Picked up the 4 controls that didn't really fit into any of the other zones. One water stop, which I drove around to, salvaging 2 unopened bottles and a bag of cups.

Red - Splits

A run around the neighborhood. Spent the morning rounding up tents for the meet tomorrow, given the forecast of 100% chance of rain. The afternoon will be devoted to various medical appointments (daughter's, not mine).

Around the GSFC perimeter road. Dirt road was soft, but not really wet. Good footing. And a nice day, 50s, a little breeze.

Hey, a road run, after a long time. A conspiracy of illness, bad weather, and muscle soreness has finally been broken up.

Picking up controls. I really bottomed out in the blood-sugar department during this effort. I had eaten a little bit after finishing the Green course, but it either wasn't enough or wasn't timed right. Felt fine after some hot cocoa on getting back with the controls.

QOC Patapsco-Glen Artney Green. Hey, we finally got a good day for this, after having to postpone it twice due to winter crud. I really enjoyed being out in the snow and the sun this afternoon. It reminded me of spring skiing. It was pretty hard going in some places, post-holing and breaking trail where no one had been, wading through slop near the controls.

I had a pretty good run, but couldn't get up any speed. With one major mistake, punching the wrong control at #1. The right control was about 30m away, but I didn't check the code.

Green - Splits