Training Log Archive: Sandy

(I still have no idea how this entry from Oct. 30 get entered for Dec. 30. I put it in as 1 second.)
Green course at HVO dual event. Had trouble interpreting the map in many places and then got tired and stopped reading the map carefully enough and made several mistakes of many minutes each. But it was a gorgeous day and I was out in the woods so I didn't really care.

My allergies are continuing to be a major issue and my eyes are really itchy and the skin around them is all red and dried out. Doctor put me on some medication; we'll see if does any good.

C • Allergies 2

Well this is weird - this entry popped up today from an event in October. It's still on the Oct. 30 date but somehow got copied to today.

The good news is that in the intervening 2 months I've found a solution to my allergies and have cleared up the rash and am taking some medications that have significantly improved all my symptoms including the tearing.

C • Too funny 4

And this is what I really did today!

Very pretty but very icy and living up to its name Shades of Death Trail.

Putting out some streamers for Sunday.

I'm not particularly interested in social media - I've never tweeted except maybe once when j-man set it up for NAOC and told me to post something; I forget to check Facebook for days or even weeks at a time; and I don't use Instagram or any of the other things that are out there. My kids and nieces and nephews roll their eyes at my novice questions about how a lot of that stuff works. But occasionally I venture out of the dark ages and investigate something or someone and so I know there's a whole other world going on that I'm not plugged into.

There's also some criticism of the US Team members - unwarranted in my opinion but there nonetheless - that they don't "do enough". I wonder if some sort of organized twitter/instagram/something similar campaign by the team members could make a difference in how they are perceived by the broader orienteering public. Writing articles for ONA is a bit of work, but regularly posting a tweet or a picture might not take much time at all and be a reasonable gesture. If every training run or competition elicited a tweet or picture from the athletes, and they could be collected somehow, maybe that would be a good alternative.

My brother-in-law works hard to support track and field and now also trail and ultra runners. He was telling me that how many followers someone has directly feeds into the availability of sponsorship dollars.

I have no idea how something like this might work and for all I know it's already out there!

C • Worth investigating 3

C • omg 3

Nice outing in the Wissahickon. Will be nice once that closed trail is opened.

I'm getting tired of hearing that OUSA does nothing for its members. Here are a couple of things I get from my OUSA membership:

- access to maps and events: if OUSA didn't negotiate insurance coverage for events, clubs in my area wouldn't be able to put on any events and get permission to make any maps and I wouldn't be able to orienteer.

- the feeling that I'm part of a national and worldwide organization: I take orienteering a lot more seriously because there is some structure. Without it, it would feel more like a hobby than a sport. Although there are lots of arguments over mapping and event structure and so forth, the fact that there are some standards against which to compare things gives me a feeling that it's not all random and totally at the whim of the local organizers. I love that I can orienteer at DVOA events or QOC events or UNO events or BAOC events or O-Ringen or spectator races at WOC and know that it's the same sport.

- having national teams: I love the fact that I know some of the national team athletes and can follow their training and competitions and vicariously savor their successes. Without a national organization there would not be national teams.

Those are the most important for me and, by themselves, well worth the cost of an OUSA membership. Everything else is gravy.

C • Thank you 2

A very low-key yoga class. So low-key that I was thinking of not logging it, but I made the effort to get to class so in my book it counts.

Up and down my reentrant a few times. Pleasant out.

I go much faster when I go with Sandy. :)

Beautiful day out. Used my hiking poles. My knees have been starting to hurt after about an hour most days when I'm on the trails (they're not as bad when I'm in the woods off-trail) and I've just been trying to ignore it or stop and stretch. Today I tried using my hiking poles and that worked well - they didn't bother me until after the 2 hour mark and even then not as bad as usual. I did have to keep stopping and adjust them though - they're the telescoping kind and they kept collapsing down. I'm not sure if I'm just not strong enough to tighten them all the way anymore or if they've worn out over the years and don't lock as well.

C • Telescoping poles 3

Really pretty in the Wissahickon today with the trees all covered in melting ice. Trails were a bit sloppy but I wore some studded icebugs and had no problems. I also managed to dress just about right - wasn't cold at the start and taking off my hat and mittens kept me comfortable towards the end.

My watch won't upload today. Some days are fine, others it gets cranky. I also forgot to start it until about 15 minutes in so I just rounded everything. Just a stroll through the Wissahickon checking out the "closed" trail. Cold, but I dressed plenty warm.

C • That's inspiring! 4

A somewhat uninspired outing. A little overdressed and forgot to bring something good for wiping my nose. On the plus side my eyes do not seem to be tearing nearly as much now that I'm taking allergy medication.

Good class. Backed off a bit on the warrior poses and my knee was happier.

Mucked around for a while trying to get the goggles to fit right - finally realized the straps on my head were twisted and when I sorted that out they were fine.

The lane I ended up in had the spigot for new water which was cold. So for the last 2 or 3 strokes each lap I got a dose of cold water. Unpleasant when I started, refreshing for most of it.

Lost track of laps so decided to stop when I hit 30 minutes instead of stopping and checking the lap count on my watch; otherwise, I'm sure I would have stopped at 1km.

C • How is 8

Hike in the Wiss. I stopped to stretch a lot to see if it would help my knee any. It did.

C • That helps 3

Was thinking of hiking but ended up cleaning the gutters and doing some other yard chores.

Morning class. Really liked the instructor; she got on my case a bit to back off of things that strained my knee which I needed to hear.

Rough estimate - forgot to start my watch. Hiked over to Chestnut Hill to do a little shopping. There is new - at least to me - store there now called The Fresh Market, which has great food but is fairly pricey. But it makes a great hike through the valley to just buy a few things and their selection is quite good. So, not somewhere I'll shop regularly, but a great addition to the list of hikes that also cross something off the to do list.

C • Fresh Market 2

A very mellow yoga class.

A slightly different route than usual which was very pleasant.

class

A drizzly hike around the meadow loop. Tried to keep my head up a little more and was reasonably successful I think. I had a massage yesterday and the guy was really good at looking for places where my muscles were imbalanced and trying to figure out things for me to work on. It was more muscle therapy than just a "feel-good" massage. Keeping my head up and my neck pulled back was one of the things he thought would help my shoulder issue.

And I have hot water again. Yay!

I'm really surprised that I'm not more sore today given how sore I was last evening. But I'll take it! Especially since my hot water heater died (getting a new one tomorrow) and I couldn't take my normal long soak in the tub.

Picked up control point markers for the Rootstock adventure race. A few were a little tough to retrieve. Some just because there was a bunch of thorny junk in the way or really steep hillsides to get up and down but the one up on top of a big rock tower was a little scary and it took me a while to scope it out and convince myself I could get up and down safely. I also didn't see one at first and thought perhaps I was on the wrong trail so did an extra up and down a hillside only to find it right where I had been looking but just hadn't seen the first time.

Knee really painful by the end.

C • Nice 4

Event: Two Rivers Adventure Race
 

Helped with the Rootstock adventure race. Had fun and it was pretty cool that the last part of it was essentially in my back yard.

To Staples to get some maps printed.

A hike in the Wissahickon after stringing some lights in the yard and cleaning up some of the beds.

My toes kept cramping and I haven't done this for a while so I quit while I still was enjoying it.