Training Log Archive: jfredrickson

Easy warmup for the long distance race. Legs feeling mostly recovered and the blisters weren't really bothering me so I was pretty much set. Considered dropping down to Red for today but decided to suck it up and do the 14k Blue since everything seemed to be fine with my body.

An awesome long course on the Pakim Pond and 4 Mile Circle maps. I started out well feeling really good and focused. Made a few small errors early on but was right on top of it and caught them all quickly enough to avoid losing any serious time. Lost focus at the map switch as I tried to stop and pull out the top half of the control description from my holder, but they were both sweated through so I had to pull them both out, separate them and then try to get the wet one back in. Then really lost focus on the long legs through the blueberries. I got way off my bearing on the first long leg and lost time just because I ran so much extra distance in the blueberries, but didn't really spend any time lost because I just hit a trail and new where was right away. I was running to a junction of two trails ahead of me and just got sloppy because I figured I would hit either one of the trails no matter what. I didn't realize how much time I would lose from not being accurate and spending more time in the blueberries.

On 15 I again made a compass mistake that took me around the wrong side of the little lake and then I missed the control when I was attacking it and had to go back out and attack it again.

And then it all fell completely apart on 16. I never saw the trail between 15 and 16 so even when I felt I had run far enough I couldn't stop to look around because I still hadn't seen the trail. I decided to keep pushing on until I hit the next trail. For some reason my first reaction was that it was the trail between the two controls so I crossed the trail and continued running. Then my senses hit me and I realized it was definitely the trail way past 16 and that I had gone way too far. I ran back to the trail and cut back in the way I had come. This was pretty stupid though since I had just come through that area and hadn't seen the control or any features to tell me that I had been in the right area. I should have cut out to the trail junction so that I knew where I was. I ended up wasting quite a bit more time even after hitting the right area because I was still a ways off from the control because I hadn't attacked accurately. I ended up stumbling onto the control after 10 minutes on a leg that took most people a minute and a half.

After that I was pretty solid but didn't have the strength to really push it hard. It was pretty frustrating to make such a big mistake. I guess I just got sloppy in an area where you can't afford to get sloppy. So much for discipline.

Blue - Splits

Event: BATONA 500
 

Brisk warm-up jog with plenty of jumping and stretching to make sure things were alright with the hamstring. It kept popping like two strings pulled taught against each other, but didn't seem to be causing any pain or discomfort.

A fast, long middle course through tons of blueberries. Started out fast and feeling great. Started slowing down towards the end as the blueberries were really wearing me out. Made about 4 minutes of mistakes so it was definitely not a clean run, but most of the time lost was to isolated mistakes and otherwise I felt like my technique was really there today. Of course it wasn't a good race but it still felt good to be moving through the woods fast. And the hamstring didn't bother me a bit.

My main goal for the race was to focus on my compass bearing since that is something I need to work on and the terrain was very subtle so accurate bearings was quite important. I had one mistake that I could have avoided if I had been more disciplined with relying on my compass, but it was really due to the fact that I was reading the terrain wrong and was so confident in doing so that I didn't try to back it up with my compass as I was attacking the control. I had used my compass perfectly to get me to the control area, but got carried off the end of a hill past the control because I didn't quite read the terrain right. If I had stayed disciplined with my compass right into the control I could have avoided that mistake. Other than that though I was pretty happy with how well I mainted focus on my bearings today.

Fast warm-up for the sprint. Had developed nasty blisters on my toes during the middle so I wasn't sure I should do the sprint but I decided to try at least one of them. It was really tough to get moving again after resting after the middle but once I got moving it felt good. Feeling quite tired from the middle though.

A fast wooded sprint near the finish. Basically no contours on the map, but lots of detailed vegetation that was actually quite useful for navigation. Started out fast but blew right by the second control losing about 10 seconds. Got real sloppy on 9 and attacked it with no real attackpoint. Knew as I was going in that I didn't know where I was attacking so I went about the appropriate distance and started looking around me in the thick woods. Spotted it off to the left after about 5 seconds of looking so probably lost about 20 seconds total.

Otherwise not a bad sprint but not exactly speedy. Legs too tired from the morning's race.

Blisters were bad enough that I decided not to do the second sprint because I didn't want to risk not being able to run tomorrow. Besides my legs were tired enough.

Day 1 Blue - Splits

Sprint B - Splits

Class all day and then driving down to NY to get ready for the Batona meet.

Went for a longer run on the treadmill today. Put it on the hill interval setting on level 10 to keep it interesting. It started out with an easy warmup then did 5 sessions of alternating minutes between 4.5 incline, 1.5, 5.5, 1.5, 6.5, 1.5, 7.5, 1.5, repeat, and finally finished with a cooldown. The alternating inclines kept it interesting enough to make lasting through an hour not all that tough. Legs felt great and it was especially nice to dig in on the steeper inclines. Kept it at 8 min pace though to make sure I didn't push too hard. Overall a very nice workout and no signs of any pain or tightness from the hamstring. I am really starting to think this thing is cured. I'll wait until after the weekend before making it official though...

Nice easy run on the treadmill. Feeling great.

Started out fairly easy but then decided to push it up a bit and get the adrenaline running for real. Had it on level 10 and started rotating at about 115-120 rpm. Managed to get my HR up to 170 towards the end which is higher than I have ever seen it on a bike. I guess biking can actually be a good workout. Doesn't put any stress on my legs so it's good stuff.

C • bike 1

Eased off for the last twenty minutes to let my legs cool-down. Don't want to overdo it just yet.

Nice easy jog on the treadmill just to stretch the legs out after biking and make sure I don't get sore. Really happy that everything feels so good.

Hadn't been planning on doing any biking today but all the treadmills were full when I got there so I hopped on the bike for a little bit. Put it on level 10 and pushed the intensity since it didn't seem to put any pressure on my hamstring. It felt great to be pushing a little bit harder again.

Nice easy jog on the treadmill at 7.5 mpg (8 min pace) on 2 incline. Legs felt great and really wanted to go faster. It's hard to do all this slow running without doing enough distance to tire out the legs. They are really dying to go hard. Didn't notice my hamstring once, so things are looking good. Maybe I can try a longer run tomorrow.

C • Good! 4

Started off with an easy bike ride on the stationary bike in the gym. Hamstring felt a little tight last night, but didn't bother me on the bike.

Went for an easy half-hour run on the treadmill after the bike ride. Put it on 2 incline and 7.5 mph (8 min/mile pace). It's amazing how dead the legs can feel after biking, but they felt great after a few minutes. Hamstring didn't bother me a bit.