Training Log Archive: iansmith

Red long course. I was moving at my top cross country speed, i.e. very slowly, though the experience was pleasant. My technique also had improved significantly over Saturday's event. The advantage of moving slowly is that you get to log more hours of training.

Red Long Distance - Splits

Blue middle distance at the US Ski-O champs. Good fun; Mike, the owner of the facility where the event was held, graciously loaned me some poles when it turned out those I had rented from REI were so short that they were the correct size for Lori.

Blue Middle Distance - Splits

Event: U.S. Ski Orienteering Championships
 

Commute with loaded backpack.

Cold and windy, with some snow on the ground from earlier in the day. I don't recall any falling snow during the run.

Two street-O sections sandwiched around a Tufts Sprint course, from the CSU training set by Brendan. I arrived quite late, grabbed a map from Brendan's mailbox, and set to try to catch some people. I ran into Alex and Lori at the start of the Tufts sprint; Alex started after I did. I caught up to Lori at control 6, then led her the rest of the way. However, I wasn't going fast enough to shake her entirely, which was disappointing.

Revealing time comparison:
Street-O A:
Ian - 1507
Brendan - 1324

Street-O B:
Ian - 1324
Brendan - 1247

Tufts Sprint:
Brendan - 1718
Ian - 1831
Lori - 1944

I don't think I was pushing as hard as I would during a race, despite Thierry's advice to treat trainings like races. I also found an unmapped section of road on the first sprint which caused me some distress and may have cost as much as thirty seconds. Nevertheless, I was quite a bit slower than Brendan, and not particularly faster than Lori on the sprint. Ross's total time was about 41 minutes, 2 minutes ahead of Brendan.

Street-o/Tufts - Splits

Commute.

I went on a comparatively early run in my new Asics trail runners. I have worn them about for the past two days to break them in, but my feet still felt a bit stiff.

Conditions were windy, though not that cold (-2 C), so I ran a variation of the Franklin St. route to and around MIT, then back. I overdressed in tights, short and long sleeves, a windbreaker, and gloves. I continued The Guns of August (currently listening to the adventures of the Goeben), as I have finished Into Thin Air. I held to a steady 4/4 breathing, though with some congestion, my respiration is impaired.

Of late, when reflecting on training and competition, I have had the following songs involuntarily in my head:
Olympic Theme
Summon the Heroes
The Theme from Crimson Tide
And, improbably, Remember the Name