Training Log Archive: ebuckley

Finished up in Sikeston at noon and decided to hit Hawn on the way back. Got there to find the place engulfed in flames. I was worried I wouldn't be able to run since I had only brought the competition map from Day 1 of the Al Smith meet and figured they were probably burning the west side of the park. Oddly, they were burning the east side. As anybody who ran team trials knows, the west side is where all the nasty undergrowth is. Oh well, at least I got to run.

C • Time to harden the frog up; th... 3

Day 1 Blue course from Al Smith meet (2004) at Hawn (1:15). OK run, but felt a little ragged. I think it's been too long since I've done a true advanced course.

Blue Day 1 - Splits

Includes 2@12:40 on the Sikeston HS track (which is a really nice track - maybe the nicest thing I've found in this town so far). Was planning on doing 2 of these, but the first one felt tougher than tempo intervals should feel so I concluded I must still have some junk in my legs from last weekend.

Easy jog round Sikeston (actually, I'm staying in the even smaller town of Miner). Probably didn't need another easy day, but I didn't need a hard one either and I've got a ton of work to do tonight. I'll do a real run tomorrow.

Easy jog round Sikeston.

An easy day is clearly in order.

Had Baby-O with me, so I didn't get much chance for a warmup. Was pleasantly surprised that my legs weren't too stiff.

SLOC Christmas Party Score-O. 1-hour score. Seemed dumb to come in so early, but the remaining 4 controls were waaaay out there. I might have had time to get one of them, but didn't realize I was coming in quite so early (kept waiting for yesterday's effort to catch up to me). David set a stern early pace and then we split. We came back together around half way and he had a lot less spring in his step. When I started pulling away, he switched his control order and not for the better. Ended up beating him by around 4 minutes. Rudy put in a very strong effort to finish 3rd with 17 controls.

C • The difference between 17 and ... 4

If I was really off form and looking for some self-validation, I might note that I beat a certain 17-year-old girl today. In a true moment of weakness, I might even post that I've beat her the last three times we've raced. I don't know of any middle aged men who would stoop to such a level, but if I did, they would probably have a cool knickname like Spike.

Meanwhile, the death match has become something of a joke. Frei has just gone in the tank this fall! I hope he gets back on form soon - I need the push.

Score - Splits

Staying at the lodge was a good idea. Nice to just roll out of bed and be right at the race venue. In past years it's always been an early start to get up there.

Easy jog for about 20 minutes in road shoes, then changed to my O-shoes and ran up one of the trails a ways and back down hard to test the footing. Dicey in spots, but generally OK.

Close, but no cigar, once again at Pere Marquette. My fourth time between 60 and 61. Maybe next year for breaking the hour. On the up side, 13th overall is my best placing to date and I won my age group.

First few splits were right on target, then lost some time on the relatively flat section following the second climb. Got to the road crossing at 26:33 which was only 20 seconds slower than hoped, but from there the trail was much deeper in snow and it wasn't the hard crusty stuff either. That set me back another 15 seconds by the base of the third climb. Held the pace over the last two climbs, but wasn't able to pull any time back.

Despite missing the hour yet again, I'm pretty happy with this one.

Trail Run - Splits