Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: WCOC Mashamoquet State Park
 

Some pre-o limbering, before getting in the car to stiffen up again on the way to Mashamoquet.

Red course at Mashamoquet Brook SP. Nice course by Rich N. Hot day. I think some folks opted for Green, might have been smart. My back was pretty tied up after about 7 controls.

Trail for a bit, then straightish to 1, noting the promised big unmapped stonewall on the way. A little high on the way to 2, mostly to get around a big deadfall, then saw the flag off to my left where I was generally looking for it. On compass from the field corner to 3, moving a little right to get around some laurel. Over the wall and R of the not very convincing marsh, could see the tree and the flag from a distance. A couple of green runners coming in from another direction.

Tried to thread my way through the laurel on the way to 5, got hung up a few times, popped out on the trail and looked for the low spot, and across, in good contact all the way in. Headed south for 6 to the big rocks and tried to angle toward the control, but got sucked way too far uphill, had to hunt a bit, finally found the big cliff, but no control. So where would it be if not here? Tried the next one down and voila!

Down the ridge line toward 7, getting tired, thinking I'd gone a long way, looked in a few reentrants on the way, finally got there. 8 was pretty easy, although the area wasn't much field-checked. Looking for the big cliff and reentrant, found it, and then not too far beyond it. Heading more or less along the bottom of the slope toward 9, above the marsh, headed up and doing fine, but came to another marsh and thought for a bit that it was the one just S of the control, so hunted in mt laurel for a bit until I confirmed it was not. Then up hill to the bag, easy, but a slow climb up there with a very sore back.

Heading to 10. Second time going through the laurel across, this time finding a clearer path. Then N along the trail, cutting off when it started to get steeper, above the big cliff, but then not heading down close enough to the marsh, checking a bunch of tiny re-entrants before realizing I needed to be lower.

Followed the stream to 11, trail for a while, cutting the corner to 12, although 12 was pretty hidden. Started to go down the steep hill, decided I wasn't in that much of a hurry and went around, but got confused about what was a stream and what was a pond, so lost a bit on 13.

Map and route - click on map for doma view.



Pretty nice crowd developing around the finish by the time I left, but I had to get home. Nice visit with J-J. Always fun to see him.

C • My recollection is that the... 6

About to head off for bed, heavily dosed on vitamin I. Back is extremely tight and sore after today's o-course. Maybe there won't be too many more red courses.

RED - Splits

Too many parties this weekend. Was trying to get myself out for a bike ride, but not much zip, a little gentle laurel wrangling instead.

Part of the limber series, some of the PT exercises.

Maybe the beginning of a calisthenics program. 7 pullups on the rings, 10 pushups. See if I can keep it up.

Rhonda's morning class.

More or less the same ride as yesterday, but this time with Rhonda. I have a long way to go. Getting a little easier on my butt, but the back was complaining a bit, and the left triceps is not up to it yet. Maybe some pushups would help.

Good session of PT. Lots of stretching, massage, etc. Many different exercises. Can't tell yet how much good it is doing. Brian the PT guy thinks that the root cause of this is stiffness and arthritis in the spine, and that the soft tissue aspects of it are more fixable.

Rhonda and I went over to Central Connecticut State Univ today to check out the Italian program. Had a nice chat with a couple of professors, and will plan to take some courses in the fall. Turns out that attendance is free for CT residents over 62. Pretty good deal, it seems. Professors chatted me up in Italian, seem happy to have me in their advanced classes. Rhonda is thinking about taking a beginner's class and an English class, so we could ride over there together on class days.

With my friend Mike from Pleasant Valley, out to Rte 8 then back down the other side of the river. Cindy met us, but she was going a lot further so we parted company at Rte 8.

Rhonda's morning class, well attended.

Woken up in the night for the second night in a row by the chattering and carrying on of porcupines. They have been eating the bark off some young chestnut trees next to the deck. I think porcupines are pretty cool, but I am not that enthusiastic about them setting up housekeeping next to the house. Particularly because the dog doesn't have much sense about whether to chase an animal that is full of spines.

C • housekeeping 10

I've generally been doing these most days, but not necessarily doing the whole set. Today I did.

Nice day, by myself. Part way up Sandy Brook Rd. Had thought about going further, but my back was complaining by the time I got to the 9 mile mark, so turned back there. A long way to go.

Out and about with Rhonda, ran into our friends Cindy and Mike in our travels

Had a very nice, if brief, conversation with Katia after the day 2 race yesterday and before we headed out to Kent. Katia had some books to recommend to me and some other tips for my quest to learn Italian. She also confirmed my suspicion that anyone in Italy who orienteers would know Giovanni.

Just me and Rhonda this morning, out in the gym, abbreviated class.

Posted the weekend's maps.

Saturday after the race I couldn't get my contact lens out, probably too dehydrated. Pinched at it several times, and then it came off the center of my eye and I couldn't track it down. Sunday I had to do something, so I put in another one. Seems to work ok, but on the way home I had left it in to use at Pond Mtn, and suddenly it flipped off the center, and I couldn't find that one either. Dug at it off and on, getting my eye more irritated. In the morning I went in to see the eye doc, Dr. Dan. Nice guy, and more or less a neighbor. He got me under all his bright lights and fancy magnification, peered and poked for 10 or so minutes, said maybe it had just come out. I said I didn't think so, because it sure felt like something was in there. So then he put some dye in my eye, looked around again, and eventually found it lurking way up under my upper eyelid. And then it took another 10 minutes or so more to coax it out. Finally it was at the edge and I could grab it with my fingers. He offered to look for the other one, but I told him not to bother. In my hand I had both of them, writhing together like a couple of snakes in heat. Interesting. He pronounced it the most well-hidden contact lens he has come across. I assume that at some point lens 1 drifted close enough to lens 2 and grabbed it. Lucky it didn't happen when I was on the course.

C • autocorrect 5

Not a lot of time, but good to get out on this absolutely perfect day, one lap around the river from Pleasant Valley with Rhonda.