Training Log Archive: SandyIn the 7 days ending Mar 19, 2017:
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Sunday Mar 19, 2017 #
Note
Not too sore today. Stairs last night were not fun on my knee but they're fine today. The one not so good spot is my right hip, in the back. Don't think it's anything major but I'm definitely taking it easy for a few days.
Valerie probably did an O course today. She was a champ yesterday keeping me going when all I wanted to do was sit down and stay put.
Valerie probably did an O course today. She was a champ yesterday keeping me going when all I wanted to do was sit down and stay put.
Saturday Mar 18, 2017 #
adventure race 1:00:00 [3]
The rest of the time for the Crooked Compass AR with Valerie. We had an adventure that's for sure. Won our category. Oh, wait, we were the only ones in our category. :)
More later; Valerie took lots of pictures. I'm beat.
More later; Valerie took lots of pictures. I'm beat.
Note
Not sure what would be interesting to report...
Got the maps, made a plan, revised the plan when Brent and Abby said they really hoped many of us would do the mandatory five controls (F1 though F5) in order. So our new plan was to do F1 thru F5 picking up any reasonably easy looking controls on the way. Took a conservative route out of the start down the road, not wanting to dive right in with a climb up the hill in the snow. By the time we got to where we needed to cut off the road to B1, there were footprints and a pretty good trail right to the control. That would be the story for the first half of the day at least. Followed some footprints to B2 even though it looked like maybe only one team of three but they were going where we thought we should be going and sure enough came through the stuff right at the control. Down along the stream and around to B4 knowing to keep going when many people were stopping and looking too early. We were in a crowd here but after this we quickly found ourselves on our own only running into other people here and there until near the end. We made our own way to B5 staying north of the stream for a lot longer than most other teams, were a little confused after fighting our way across the stream but quickly figured it out and set off for where the control had to be. From B5 we backtracked along the beaten track that everyone else had made cutting across the stream earlier and in an easier place than we found. Made our way to the road, debated using the trails or just going down the hill, but when we saw footprints headed down the hill just followed those to I. From there we dropped down to F1. I think we would have been fine navigationally without the footprints, but the made the going a little easier and a little drier I think. Our original plan was just to go F2 and then the tunnel But R wasn't that far out of the way and then Q was an easy short trek up the old interstate. At this point we decided to pick off two close by controls not realizing that H was going to be a doozy. We should have headed right into the woods but futzed around looking for a trail until finally deciding to head in. Again, not hard to figure out where we were but we got stuck in the middle of a swamp and had to cross a knee deep stream. We hunted up and down the stream for a bit until Valerie just sucked it up and crossed. I'm standing there thinking oh, crap, I need to get wet and then I'm going to be cold and miserable and and and and then I just crossed the damn creek too. Cold! Got the control and headed to the next one and then back to a wide trail that took us to F2. My feet never dried out but I was pleased with how quickly my pants did and I really wasn't that cold. F3 was sneaky - clue was "tunnel entrance" and it was close to the old interstate tunnel that we knew we needed to go thru, but there was a small little viaduct type tunnel off to the side that was the real control. Figured that out pretty quickly, got the control and then headed through the tunnel.
The old tunnel was pretty cool but it was long and it was chilly inside and it was hard pavement and about half way through, my knees and hips started to complain a bit. Valerie kept me entertained singing about Pepper and we finally reached the other end. F4 was up a really steep side hill that was slippery and scary but I put my head down and climbed up and got that one and then we snuck behind the tunnel facade to head to F5.
At this point we were feeling okay; tired but still in the game. But the going to F5 was tough. We were following the stream, but there was a lot of deadfall and then the bank got really steep. Crossing to the other side didn't seem like a good idea as we weren't anxious to get wet again. I think this is where it became clear to me that while adventure trekking can be fun it's just a totally different mindset from orienteering. No way would crossing that stream be part of an orienteering course.
So we decided to head up the hill. We were confident we knew where we were and that we had a long way to go to get to F5, but there were lots of rocks up the hillside and the clue was on some rocks, so a bunch of people were headed up thinking the flag was there. We knew it wasn't, but figured maybe we would be able to contour over from there anyway. Well that took us a really long time. While we're not total couch potatoes, our fitness isn't what it once was, and that climb, slipping in the snow, crawling on all fours at times since it was so steep, just took it out of us. When we finally got to the rocks and started contouring around it seemed like it would take us forever. I had suggested climbing up to the turnpike and contouring up there when we first started the leg but that seemed really daunting. But since we had gone 90% of the way up by this time Valerie said we really ought to just go all the way. It turned out to be a good idea and when we finally got up to the turnpike we were able to walk along the edge on a nice flat pebbly surface that was very refreshing. Made our way to the spur where the flag was, and found our way down to the control.
At this point we had a little over two hours to get back to the finish. It looked pretty straightforward and we would be able to follow a lot of people that had congregated at the control and there was a good trail network back to the finish. But all of a sudden we just felt exhausted. We could go all the way back down and then up again on the other side and hope that we didn't mess up and got back in time. Or we could just slog our way around along the turnpike and then the road with not much climb knowing that we could that in the time that was left. We hemmed and hawed and really hated giving up like that, but I think in the end it was the right choice to go around.
Got the maps, made a plan, revised the plan when Brent and Abby said they really hoped many of us would do the mandatory five controls (F1 though F5) in order. So our new plan was to do F1 thru F5 picking up any reasonably easy looking controls on the way. Took a conservative route out of the start down the road, not wanting to dive right in with a climb up the hill in the snow. By the time we got to where we needed to cut off the road to B1, there were footprints and a pretty good trail right to the control. That would be the story for the first half of the day at least. Followed some footprints to B2 even though it looked like maybe only one team of three but they were going where we thought we should be going and sure enough came through the stuff right at the control. Down along the stream and around to B4 knowing to keep going when many people were stopping and looking too early. We were in a crowd here but after this we quickly found ourselves on our own only running into other people here and there until near the end. We made our own way to B5 staying north of the stream for a lot longer than most other teams, were a little confused after fighting our way across the stream but quickly figured it out and set off for where the control had to be. From B5 we backtracked along the beaten track that everyone else had made cutting across the stream earlier and in an easier place than we found. Made our way to the road, debated using the trails or just going down the hill, but when we saw footprints headed down the hill just followed those to I. From there we dropped down to F1. I think we would have been fine navigationally without the footprints, but the made the going a little easier and a little drier I think. Our original plan was just to go F2 and then the tunnel But R wasn't that far out of the way and then Q was an easy short trek up the old interstate. At this point we decided to pick off two close by controls not realizing that H was going to be a doozy. We should have headed right into the woods but futzed around looking for a trail until finally deciding to head in. Again, not hard to figure out where we were but we got stuck in the middle of a swamp and had to cross a knee deep stream. We hunted up and down the stream for a bit until Valerie just sucked it up and crossed. I'm standing there thinking oh, crap, I need to get wet and then I'm going to be cold and miserable and and and and then I just crossed the damn creek too. Cold! Got the control and headed to the next one and then back to a wide trail that took us to F2. My feet never dried out but I was pleased with how quickly my pants did and I really wasn't that cold. F3 was sneaky - clue was "tunnel entrance" and it was close to the old interstate tunnel that we knew we needed to go thru, but there was a small little viaduct type tunnel off to the side that was the real control. Figured that out pretty quickly, got the control and then headed through the tunnel.
The old tunnel was pretty cool but it was long and it was chilly inside and it was hard pavement and about half way through, my knees and hips started to complain a bit. Valerie kept me entertained singing about Pepper and we finally reached the other end. F4 was up a really steep side hill that was slippery and scary but I put my head down and climbed up and got that one and then we snuck behind the tunnel facade to head to F5.
At this point we were feeling okay; tired but still in the game. But the going to F5 was tough. We were following the stream, but there was a lot of deadfall and then the bank got really steep. Crossing to the other side didn't seem like a good idea as we weren't anxious to get wet again. I think this is where it became clear to me that while adventure trekking can be fun it's just a totally different mindset from orienteering. No way would crossing that stream be part of an orienteering course.
So we decided to head up the hill. We were confident we knew where we were and that we had a long way to go to get to F5, but there were lots of rocks up the hillside and the clue was on some rocks, so a bunch of people were headed up thinking the flag was there. We knew it wasn't, but figured maybe we would be able to contour over from there anyway. Well that took us a really long time. While we're not total couch potatoes, our fitness isn't what it once was, and that climb, slipping in the snow, crawling on all fours at times since it was so steep, just took it out of us. When we finally got to the rocks and started contouring around it seemed like it would take us forever. I had suggested climbing up to the turnpike and contouring up there when we first started the leg but that seemed really daunting. But since we had gone 90% of the way up by this time Valerie said we really ought to just go all the way. It turned out to be a good idea and when we finally got up to the turnpike we were able to walk along the edge on a nice flat pebbly surface that was very refreshing. Made our way to the spur where the flag was, and found our way down to the control.
At this point we had a little over two hours to get back to the finish. It looked pretty straightforward and we would be able to follow a lot of people that had congregated at the control and there was a good trail network back to the finish. But all of a sudden we just felt exhausted. We could go all the way back down and then up again on the other side and hope that we didn't mess up and got back in time. Or we could just slog our way around along the turnpike and then the road with not much climb knowing that we could that in the time that was left. We hemmed and hawed and really hated giving up like that, but I think in the end it was the right choice to go around.
8 AM
adventure race 6:14:37 [3] 10.49 mi (35:43 / mi) +326m 32:34 / mi
The charge in the watch only lasted this long. But the rest of the outing was just a long slog back along the turnpike and then the road. We had had it with slipping and sliding in all the snow, were tired and starting to get some aches and pains and decided that climbing up and down another few hillsides was a recipe for injury.
Thursday Mar 16, 2017 #
strength & stretching 40:00 [3]
A somewhat easy session with the personal trainer today. I asked her to back it off a bit as I didn't want to go into Saturday's race already sore.
My arms are still feeling Monday's workout, although shoveling may have added to that.
Followed by 10 minutes of stretching.
My arms are still feeling Monday's workout, although shoveling may have added to that.
Followed by 10 minutes of stretching.
Wednesday Mar 15, 2017 #
Note
I love my car! For what ever reason I did not dig out my car yesterday or clean off the snow. Overnight everything froze solid and it stayed in the teens and low 20's all day so nothing was melting. What didn't get shoveled yesterday isn't getting shoveled, at least not for a while until it warms up a good bit. Getting the snow off my car amounted to sliding my hand under the top 2-3" of ice and sweeping away the soft snow right next to the car, then pounding on the top of the ice to break it up into chunks and then tossing the chunks (some a couple square feet) to the side. And then I crossed my fingers, started the car and rocked it back and forth a few times to break the hold on the wheels and then gently drove forward. It was a champ and just climbed up and over the 6-8" lip of frozen snow in the front of the car and over the stuff the plow had pushed to the sides and into the one plowed lane in the middle of the road. When I came home, it drove up and over the plowed stuff and back into the spot where it was. That was a relief as there was no way I was going to be able to shovel anything.
4 PM
hiking 1:09:04 [3] 2.92 mi (23:39 / mi) +82m 21:45 / mi
In preparation for the Crooked Compass I dug out my snow shoes and did a quick loop around the meadow. It wasn't too bad since the snow is very hard so I mostly just stayed on top. It probably would have been just fine in my o-shoes by themselves but I wanted to test the o-shoe/snowshoe combination. It worked well. Not sure what I'll end up doing Saturday.
9 PM
Yoga/Pilates 10:00 [3]
Trying to turn this into a habit.
Tuesday Mar 14, 2017 #
strength & stretching 20:00 [3]
a gazillion squats
Well, probably only several hundred. We have 6 inches of heavy slushy ice instead of the 18" of fluffy powder predicted. It was all I could do to lift a few inches at a time to clear the walkway and sidewalk. Not sure if we're getting more or not.
Well, probably only several hundred. We have 6 inches of heavy slushy ice instead of the 18" of fluffy powder predicted. It was all I could do to lift a few inches at a time to clear the walkway and sidewalk. Not sure if we're getting more or not.
Monday Mar 13, 2017 #
2 PM
strength & stretching 35:00 [3]
Went to Kelly's fitness studio for my personal training session today since we are on spring break. I wanted to see if it was any more convenient to get there than to meet her at the gym at school. It's about the same, but she has a few extra things at the studio so perhaps if I continue this over the summer, I'll go there. Am also thinking of upping to 45 minutes once a week.
Did a bunch of stuff with a bosu. But the killer one today was on the barre (table edge would work just as well). First, I did squats up on my toes but holding on for support - these weren't too bad once I got started and worked out the balance. Then I did push-offs on the bar - so leaning on the bar and doing push-ups but pushing up and off the bar each time. These were hard but fine. The killer was then following these with little pulse push-ups - so not all the way to straight arms just little pushes. Did 4 sets of 15 of each of these. First set okay. Second set the pulse things were hard. Third set I had to really gut it out to finish them. And then the fourth set I had to do 5, rest, do 5, rest and then finish. Would not have guessed they'd be so tough.
Lots of other good, fun stuff. Sweating a lot by the time I was done. Which felt good given how cold it's been.
Followed with 5 minutes of stretching.
Did a bunch of stuff with a bosu. But the killer one today was on the barre (table edge would work just as well). First, I did squats up on my toes but holding on for support - these weren't too bad once I got started and worked out the balance. Then I did push-offs on the bar - so leaning on the bar and doing push-ups but pushing up and off the bar each time. These were hard but fine. The killer was then following these with little pulse push-ups - so not all the way to straight arms just little pushes. Did 4 sets of 15 of each of these. First set okay. Second set the pulse things were hard. Third set I had to really gut it out to finish them. And then the fourth set I had to do 5, rest, do 5, rest and then finish. Would not have guessed they'd be so tough.
Lots of other good, fun stuff. Sweating a lot by the time I was done. Which felt good given how cold it's been.
Followed with 5 minutes of stretching.
8 PM
Yoga/Pilates 10:00 [3]
Turned on a little space heater in my small back bedroom which warmed it up well and did some yoga to really stretch out my hips and butt. Feeling sore after the weekend and the training session and this was definitely needed. Perhaps I can get myself into a routine of doing this before bed.