Training Log Archive: bbrooke

Event: RMOC Manitou Park
 

Course #1 of 2 -- Red.

The forecast was for a high of 48°F and an 80% chance of thunderstorms, which I was dreading. (Cool rain is OK for running but miserable for standing still at the registration table...)

It turned out to be OK -- no rain, just some intermittent flurries.

On the course, I planned to move very carefully, knowing how technical this area is, and how hard it can be to relocate. I overshot #2 and veered way off-route on my way to the Finish control, but otherwise I was pretty happy with this -- just the usual "hooks and bananas".

We had 78 starts, which was great considering the bad weather forecast and the driving distance. Our new Kiwi club member (female) beat all the guys on both Red and Green. Wow!

C • Kiwi Peat 2

Course #2 of 2 -- Brown.

Since the Red course was kinda short, I decided to also do Brown.

I started off doing pretty well, on track to finish in about 30 minutes.

But apparently I skipped #4 (which I didn't know until I downloaded). I remember worrying that it was taking way longer than I expected to get to #5 -- and that's obviously b/c I was going from #3 to #5 instead of #4 to #5. Eyeroll.

And then the wheels REALLY came off on my way to #8. I saw a fence a short distance away and thought I had overshot the control, so I turned back. But, it turns out that the black Xs just east of the control are actually two short segments of fence and I think that's what I saw, not the actual fence farther to the south (and my tracks seem to confirm this). Lots of wandering ensued. And I'm not sure why I was so far left of the line in the first place...

#9 -- just wow. I can't remember wandering this much, for this long, in several years. I kept seeing the start, the finish control, and the registration tent in the distance, but I still couldn't manage to relocate well. #8 & 9 took me almost 30 minutes.

Ultimately, the Brown course took me longer than the Red course. OMG.

Post-mortem: On top of being tired from just finishing Red, I think I started this course with the mindset that it would be short & easy -- so I stopped concentrating.

I'm posting my tracks for the entertainment value.

C • The real irony 3

Brown - Splits

Red - Splits

Every time I think about heading out for a walk...it starts raining again.

C • Maybe 2

Walked one lap around the arboretum.

LoCO FIT. No workout tonight, just a casual four-mile group run. Usually we do this as the last run of the season just before the Bolder Boulder (which would be next week), but Erin switched it up for some reason. Works for me, since I have two races this weekend and I'm not running the Bolder Boulder.

Also, walked to & from our rec center meet-up spot.

I have managed to postpone eating a cupcake ALL DAY, even though I know there are two of them in my fridge. Torturous.

Manitou meet prep:

- Sent out final reminder email to RMOC list.
- Sent map counts & files to Galen, John & Doug.
- Fixed OE2010 Class list (I forgot about having Brown but no White).
- Finalized OE2010 Class & Entry files for John; tested import process.
- Created & printed start cards.
- Assembled Air Academy's packet.
- Sent handrail & catching feature tips to Air Academy coach.
- Sent a list of volunteer candidate contact info to Will.
- Miscellaneous email follow-ups.

AND NOW I CAN HAVE A CUPCAKE!

C • ENJOY YOUR CUPCAKES 2

Late-night neighborhood walk -- feeling over-full after Mexican dinner at The Rio in Boulder with some friends.

They brought me the BEST BELATED-BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES EVER! So thoughtful.

I had one, Dave had one, and Cynthia & Darcy split one. And then I had another one when I got home. ;-)

C • Happy birthday! 11

LoCO FIT workout at Davidson Mesa.

- Ran a half mile to warm up.

- The workout was supposed to be a five-mile progression run, but I felt like dog-crap. (Heat? Lack of sleep? Dehydrated? Spicy food for lunch? All of the above?)

So I did the first three miles (9:34, 9:17, 9:03), walked about a tenth of mile, and then reset my starting pace and did the last two miles (9:13. 8:35).

- Walked about a mile with the others to cool down.

I haven't been doing enough long runs lately to feel prepared for the Lincoln Mountain 6-hour race coming up on June 8th.

I think my plan (for every lap, not just the later laps when I'm tired) will be to walk the steep uphill segment from 0.5 to 1.5, and run the rest.

Goal will be four laps (16 miles).

Stretch goal -- five laps (20 miles).

Manitou meet:
- Created OE2010 Class file.
- Created start card template with WOD logo.
- Emailed a few people with questions about their pre-regstration.
- Uploaded Galen's course notes to Google Drive; sent edit link to Galen; added view link to meet details page.
- Added Galen's course lengths to the meet details page.
- Added USFS parking requirements to the meet details page.
- Uploaded Galen's Manitou pics to Flickr.
- Drafted & sent reminder email to RMOC list.

General:
- Data entry & email confirmation for one new membership.
- Converted Galen's porta-potty reference list to a Google Sheet.
- Some email follow-ups about schedule, permits, etc.

- More BCLP-related email follow-ups.

- Drafted RMOC email update with embedded photos & links (BCLP results; details for next meet; member news; training videos & Gswede training subscription service; and jerseys). This takes forever -- way longer than it should -- b/c I'm still doing the raw HTML coding (haven't found an email client that gives me full control of the layout & formatting)...and I still found a typo right after I finally sent the email. DOH!

- Tried to figure out how to reset Sverre's MySQL / PHPMyAdmin password. Still puzzled. Gave up and submitted a ticket to ICDSoft support.

- And, most time consuming of all, drafted a detailed overview of the entire process of how I use OE2010 for results, splits, and other post-meet stuff (QA, member DB updates, Excel macro, etc.). I've spent MANY hours fine-tuning my process over many years, so I'm feeling highly agitated about the sudden & unexplained switch to MeOS.

C • Switch 14

Walked to & from the post office to send off the City of Lakewood waivers from yesterday's meet. Saw three rabbits...heard one owl.

Still feeling very worked up and frustrated about the epunch software situation and how it's going to add work to my already overflowing list of RMOC tasks and take away from my limited free time -- so I ended up crying on this walk, since it was dark and no one could see me. Maybe I'm overreacting.

C • Oh, time to reach out and g... 4