Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: Ontario Orienteering Champs
 

Ontario orienteering champs middle distance at Manitou Scout Camp, Milton ON. About 5-10 cm of snow had fallen from a lake effect storm that pulverized southern Buffalo this week, and there was light powder on the ground. The snow directly slowed running pace a little, but the biggest effect was compromising footing in the woods. The ground was a mix of small rocks, dead leaves, and branches, and the snow made it hard to see what the footing would be before you planted. The woods also had some spiky saplings or short bushes - that you could easily see through, but were painful and dense enough that passage was slow. There were few places in the woods where I felt like I could open up and run at full speed, though there were some trails and open fields. Still, the course made good use of the park, and it was very satisfying to get into the woods.

I was planning to stay for the sprint in the afternoon, but Aidan injured his knee near the end of the Middle, and we decided to pack it in and head home.

Warmup and cooldown.

Morning run. I am frustrated by plodding along at 6:00/km, so I decided to try to speed things up to what once was my casual pace, 5:00/km. I picked three stretches of about 1.5 km, then tried to run at 5:00/km. I guess this workout was loosely like cruise intervals, but I think the limiting factor was mechanical rather than lactic acid. I'm also not used to breathing cold air at effort.