Training Log Archive: Sandy

TNT - started to hike with Bob and Sandy and about 10 minutes out, boom, ankle gave way and down I went. It's as if it just buckled on me. I turned around and went home and iced and wrapped it. It's a little tender but no swelling as yet. This was not in the plan.

C • Oh no!!! 2

core work plus some yoga

Putting out stakes at Adams Creek while Clem vetted. He got to all the controls; I got to half. :) But we finished within a few minutes of each other so that was good. I was surprised I covered what I covered in 2 hours - I would have guessed it would have taken me closer to 3 before we started and I had to spend some time at many controls finding a place where the stake would go in.

C • Looking forward to Sunday 2

Core work plus some stretching. Shoulders are sore, I assume from carrying the bag of stakes and pounding them in.

Only just realized that the rogaine is at a rather high altitude. Somehow though I don't think "polepole" is going to cut it.

Garmin turned off (must have hit a button with a branch or something - it was on my camelbak) an hour before I finished.

Placing stakes at Gould Run for the local event next weekend. A handful of spots were tough - had to make lots of attempts before finding a spot that wasn't rock 2 inches down. Managed to get them all out which was the goal, but I wasn't sure if I could do them all. Tired at the end but not ridiculously so.

Knee hurts in the usual way which is really good news - I know how to cope with that. It's been all the newish kind of pains that have me worried. I'm starting to think it might be the new icebugs - seems that's the only thing that is common to the most recent bad episodes. So I will not wear those for a while and see.

Feel like I have ticks crawling all over me; found 2 so far.

C • Zowie . . . 2

TNT - walking the Penncrest fields with Dasha. Knee started to hurt funny by the end. Grrr...

core work and some stretching

Knee really tight again today which seems strange since it was fine yesterday. Wore my brace all day; hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Realized I had the afternoon free and that it stays light late enough that I could head up to the Water Gap at noon (a 2+ hour drive) and still have enough time to finish all the streamering. Spent a good bit of time at the first control I visited trying to decide on exactly where I wanted it. Eventually came back to the first spot I had planned on, streamered it and then headed off to the next one. About 500 meters later realized I had left my hiking pole at the first control. Debated going back for it but decided I could swing by on my way back to the car with it being much less out of the way and that I should suck it up and go on without it. Then spent another long while on two more controls since I had remembered a little wrong what the area had looked like from an earlier visit and I wasn't happy with them. Finally settled on that but wondered if I would get everything else done since I had spent way more time on the first 4 (out of 14) controls than expected. But everything else went fine - only a few very minor adjustments. And then went and retrieved my hiking pole which was exactly where I assumed I had left it. Realized as I was almost to the car that I had skipped the last control by deciding to bushwhack to where I left my pole instead of using the more roundabout trail, but it's on a trail on an obvious feature that I've visited a few times so no big deal.

So, the SVO Stumble is now streamered. Should probably find someone to vet it. Am hoping to get stakes in before the rogaine since after the rogaine I will probably not want to be on my feet for a while and I'll be much busier once school starts.

C • vet 2

Bummer - I seem to have erased my garmin data from today.

Streamering at Adams Creek for the SVO Stumble. Took it easy since I wasn't sure how my knee would hold up; it's been really bad for a few days but seemed better yesterday so took a chance. It was okay but started to get bad after about 3 hours so decided to head in after about 1/2 the controls but covering about 2/3 the terrain. This evening it hurts, but not nearly as bad as it's been.

Will now need to make another trip to the Water Gap, but the next trip will be to put stakes out for the Gould Run event on Aug. 3rd.

core workout

I have been thinking about what I would list as my 2 or 3 most important goals or initiatives if I were to wade into the discussion around the OUSA strategic plan. As I pondered the things that would excite me and might cause me to donate either time or money, I realized that they were all related to competition. I think my list would be something like:

1. Find a way to make the Junior Team Coach position permanent and find a way to create a second paid position of Team Administrator to handle all the work of making training camps and summer trips and other things happen. This might mean finding an external donor, reallocating internal resources, or coming up with some new way to generate funds for this.

2. Host a Major event. This could be a major international Foot-O event like a World Cup, JWOC, MWOC or something. It could be another Ski-O World Cup. It could even be NAOC 2016. The idea though would be to develop a model whereby OUSA and not just the local club is doing some of the heavy lifting of organizing things.

Someone else's list might lean less toward competition and more toward larger involvement and their list might have something about O in schools or creating a Street Scramble series in 20 cities and getting TV coverage of a finale or any number of other things. But a short list with clearly defined goals would sure make it easier to say yes, this is something I want to support.

C • Like 1

Hike with Sandy.

Knee really, really tight. Not sure what's going on - iced already and will ice again later tonight.

core work

Last walk on the beach. Went barefoot (since I knew I wasn't going for too long) and gave my calves a good stretch.

Knee okay today but really felt Sunday's outing yesterday so decided to just do something short today. Delicate balance between training hard enough to be ready for the rogaine and not so hard as to injure myself. I think I am erring on the side of not being injured and I think that is the better choice.

Good core workout plus some yoga.

Just a bit of yoga to stretch out my calves which are definitely tight. I assume it's the sand.

Went a little further down the beach today.

I'm starting to panic a bit about being in condition for the WRC.

core work and stretching

Now I remember why I don't go north on the beach - there's a section marked as private that you're not supposed to cross.

Meant to go the other direction but in fact didn't. Much sunnier today - kind of overcast yesterday - but went late enough that the sun wasn't really that hot. Tougher going though as the sand was much less packed down.

Walking in the sand = hiking.

I am having so much trouble sleeping. I'm pretty sure it's the steroids and thank goodness I start decreasing the dose today. I also need to stretch a bit more; I have not been being good about that. Yoga class was bothering my knees so I stopped going but it also means not so much stretching. So plan for today: half hour of yoga on my own where I can just do things that don't hurt my knees.

C • bummer 1

Not the 30 minutes I had planned but at least I did some.

More weeding and mulching. Not logging it but it's a good work out for keeping limber.

And some more targeted core work and stretching.

Hike with Sandy in the Wissahickon. More big trees down.

And scrubbed down with Tecnu and washed all my clothes and my knee brace. Here's hoping the poison ivy doesn't get any worse. The steroids are working well with most of the swelling gone down and not much itching left either.

First loop at Adams Creek. Saw some more awesome terrain but unfortunately lots of new rootstocks as well. Also noticed lots more poison ivy.

And the second loop. I was all geared up for two 3+ hours loops but even doing more than I originally planned it took far less time than I expected. Must have been really out of it last weekend. Heat might have made a difference - it was really, pleasant today in the 70's.

Hill repeats with Sandy. Really pushed the last one and broke 4 minutes. Was breathing hard the whole way up though. Curious that most of the ups are measured as shorter than the downs so that even though they took less time the pace is slower.

Worst case of poison ivy I've had in a few years. Just went to an urgent care facility where the doctor didn't hesitate in giving me a prescription for a 10-day steroid course. Hopefully it will kick in fast - it has in the past so I'm hopeful.

C • Sorry 3

TNT - walking the fields with Sandy until the thunderstorms hit. The wind was howling and the sand from the ball fields was stinging. Forgot to stop the watch when we got but to the car but did 5 minutes or so of ab and arm workout in the morning so it's all good.