Training Log Archive: PG

Decided to go to the 5-mile race in Hatfield, since that was on today only and the Tully trail could be done anytime. Not very optimistic when I headed off as it has been a while since I'd run something similar. So the mind was thinking, better at least get under 40 minutes, ought to be able to do 37:30 (7:30 pace), but felt like that was going to be hard. Just not thinking positive thoughts. And I was also wondering if I would be able to hurt, i.e. have the willpower to push and stay in an uncomfortable zone for 35-40 minutes. Been a while since I'd done that, was afraid I'd forgotten how.

At least I planned a decent warm-up. Back out to the 4-mile mark a little bit of a round-about way, then from there to the finish, at a pace that felt like I was straining a bit, and the watch showed 7:50 for the mile. That was not encouraging. Then 10 minutes to pee and stretch a little and get set to go.

Hatfield 5 Mile. A very pleasant surprise. Perfect day for running, low 40s, sunny, light breeze from the north. Shorts and a long-sleeve shirt, just right. Maybe 80-100 runners, old-fashioned race.

Started and felt pretty good, certainly better than during the warm-up, very surprised to do the first mile, totally flat, in 6:52. Still, my pessimistic state of mind did the math and figured 4 more miles at 7:30 pace and I'd beat 37 and that wasn't so bad. Although the last time I ran the race, 3 years ago, I did 33:25. Then a couple of little uphills, not much, but I seemed to cruise up them pretty well, mile 2 in 7:10. Another nice surprise. And I was slowly passing people, and not getting passed by anyone.

Mile 3, totally flat, seemed like it was getting to be harder work, and the split indicated that I was going slower too, 7:07, but still, 21:09 for 3 miles, pretty good. And I was really working on my breathing, every time I seemed to be breathing too hard I'd remind myself to breathe with my belly and not my chest and that felt much better. And still passing a couple of people.

Mile 4, flat then a little down then a little up then a little down. Was slowly passing a guy I knew, pushing a little more, then ran the little up perhaps too hard, really had to concentrate after it on breathing and relaxation and form to keep the momentum going when the body was sending out signals to slow down. But the the split was 6:32. WTF? Was #3 too late? Who knows. But 4 miles in 27:41 and under 35 was possible.

Mile 5, a little down and then flat, no one close in front or behind, the guy in front was 120 meters ahead at one corner (paced it to keep my mind on something else than how I was feeling), still 120 at the last corner. And before long it was done, 6:40 for the last mile and 34:21. And It's a pretty accurate 5 miles.

So very pleased. I thought the slowdown from 3 years ago would be a lot more. And I haven't forgotten how to hurt. Though to keep things in perspective, it wasn't too many years ago that I ran a marathon at a pace about 5 seconds a mile faster. The only way I was going another 21 miles today was in a car.

Won a 5-pound bag of potatoes and a case of PowerAde for my efforts, first really old guy. :-)

The course.

C • Nice! 4

A little cooldown across the fields plus some stretching.

Event: Nottingcook Forest
 

A little warm-up.

UNO local meet at Nottingcook Forest, site of an A meet last fall and the Billygoat next spring. Last fall lots of people had not so clean runs -- the forest is not so easy for orienteering, a combination of a reasonably complicated topography and varied vegetation. It's not really thick, it's not really nasty, it just isn't all that fast and the visibility isn't all that good. And it keeps changing, little bits quite open, little bits thick, always changing. So there's a continual conflict between wanting to run a straight line and wanting to find the best running. And the result is that it is easy to make mistakes.

I had a decent run, one bad control, a couple of minutes, and maybe another minute total on a couple of others. Wasn't moving great, legs a little less than fresh, but still would have taken a clean run to be 10 minutes per km. Which was about what I was doing last fall. As I said, not a fast forest.

My routes and a few comments --

Note: Master maps and pin punching today, but an interesting forest (i.e. if you can't have everything, a good forest easily beats high tech).

3. Too far left leaving 2, and then couldn't convince myself to go look where the control was until I'd spent quite a while circling a very small area. 3:20 for a leg less than 100 meters. :-(
8. The "crossable" marsh looked totally unappealing (deep water, green slime...).
9. Past the edge of the knoll, southwest, after a bit saw the control way back to my right. There was no clear end of the marsh. I actually stopped for a moment after I punched to check the bearing back to the knoll and it was due east. So something was a little fishy, but no big deal.
10. Quite thick in the last 100 meters, also lots of rock, all sorts of boulders almost big enough to be mapped. Getting confused, saw the cliff, found it on the map and was ok. Lost maybe 45 seconds.
11. Caught up to a guy in a red hat, punched together, never saw him again.
12. Moving much better, visions of a guy in a red hat beating me to the control.
14. Trouble reading the map as I started down the last steep hill. I remember thinking, just go down a couple lines from the bottom and figure it out. Got lucky, spotted the control right ahead of me when I couldn't have said exactly where I was.
15. Little teeny knoll just before the last up told me right where I was.
16. Moving really good, passed Hans Bengtsson, patron saint of NEOC, sort of knew where I was all the time, back in control at the end and spiked it. And then in.

Thanks to Bob Lux and the UNO folks for a nice day in the woods.

C • routes 5

Gail wasn't in when I finished, so I went right back out just to run a bit more. Nice trail loop, plus I spotted her on her way to the next to last control.

Map is hard to read on the run, even when on trails. I can pick out some stuff, but not very well. The eyes are fading. I suppose I should be doing exercises for them too. Eye-yoga?

C • Eye yoga 2

So October was a really good month for training, 46 hours and doing something every day. And enjoying it a lot. In the back of the mind is a goal of 365 hours for the year, at 319 now, most will need to be in November. Got to keep at it if I want to take any more scalps. And taking a scalp is so much fun.... :-)

Yesterday: 2/6 (yc), need improvement.

Tomorrow: No orienteering, drove enough today. Plan is either a 18.4-mile trail run (distance according to the guide book, not the website) or a local 5-mile road race. Haven't decided which, and doing both is out of the question.

C • Your a beast! 5

C • Tully trail 2

Red course - Splits

Same as Wednesday but the other way around. Much more pleasant, just a gentle breeze from the west and about 60F. Didn't get done much before sunset, which is getting earlier and earlier and is going to jump an hour earlier on Sunday. Hiss, boo.

Also got out for a round of rogaine practice for the first time in a month, played with Gail, very pleasant. And certainly appropriate, as I have a rogaine scheduled for two weeks from now so it's time to sharpen my skills.

Though first a little O' tomorrow up in UNO land, site of the 2009 Billygoat.

Yesterday 2/6 (yl), still packing in the calories. Preparation for the rogaine? I wish that was the case. It's more just a lack of willpower.

13 hills loop in Greenfield, progressively harder effort as the run went on, legs felt decent. Time was a little better than expected.

Just before I started the guy who runs the gym said, "Enjoy your workout." Normally what I really enjoy is when the workout is over and the good feeling from having done it, as opposed to a good feeling while doing it. But this time I must have reminded myself half a dozen times to enjoy the workout, and maybe I did a little more than usual.

And then the usual routine. Managed it with no falls, ditto for the trail run, pretty good.

Yesterday: (ye), no "g" again as gluttony is out of control.

C • 'g' 12

Awesome progress on the cross-training plan, no that's not exercise related cross-training, but life skills cross-training in anticipation of one of us croaking. Gail just let on that she took some photos of a couple of bowls we have and uploaded them on her computer and reformatted them and e-mailed them off to a friend who is a potter and is going to make a couple more like them. And this is a week after just one short session on how to do this, which I was pretty sure she'd forgotten. Brilliant.

Not a great day for a fair-weather biker, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. 39F, gusty winds out of the west, but dry anyway, I think not far up in the hills there was a little snow. 3 long-sleeve shirts, tights, thinner black gloves. Was a little chilly at times but not bad. But not all that pleasant, except perhaps the last couple of miles when I had a nice tailwind. Route.

Legs felt dead, which was why I passed on a run.

Yesterday 2/6 (yc), a joint trip to the surgeon guarantees some conversation.

The usual 7:15 am class, haven't missed one yet since I started, though time was tight today. Mainly, it keeps me doing the stuff on a daily basis between classes.

The Tuesday evening Mt. Toby group, Donna, Rob, Dave and me this time, a good turnout considering the weather, rain, 40F, windy.

Strange run. Legs felt good to start, up the first couple of hills without difficulty. Lights were needed after about 10 minutes, at which point the rain really started to come down, but I was cruising along pretty well, had to wait a couple of times for the others to catch up, I just felt comfortable on the rough ground even if I couldn't see so well. So the pace was on the slow side, hit the start of the long climb up South Mountain in 50 minutes instead of the usual 45-46 (daytime).

And then my legs said, Not so fast. And all the way up the 15-minute climb was a struggle to keep up. And the rolling terrain over to the S curves it was a struggle to hold back. And then a struggle to keep up on the last steep climb. And then a struggle to hold back on the long descent. It seems I like going down a lot better than going up (a fact confirmed clearly by my splits at Mt Tom over the weekend).

So the overall time was 10-12 minutes slower than usual, partly the dark, partly the rain, partly Dave was just being very cautious and we weren't going to leave him behind. Still a fine workout, excellent character builder. Getting a little cold at the end, especially both thumbs, my clothing is certainly not the best.

No falls. :-)

Yesterday: 3/6 (yge), need to get back on track with organizing, no "o" for a while.

And between the yoga class and the evening run, over to the Boston area with Gail to check out a surgeon at the Lahey clinic. Very impressed, made an appointment for December 15, plus pre-op stuff for December 4, but before then I have to check out another guy, my first choice, the appointment with him is not for another 3 weeks. And if I feel good about him, and he will have me, then these appointments will get cancelled and different ones with the second guy will have to be made. So nothing is set in stone yet, but it is getting there.

Bit of a long day, but it has to be done.

Too nice an afternoon not to go out, especially with rain, and maybe even a little snow, in the forecast for the next couple of days. Leverett loop counter-clockwise. Relaxed pace the first 30 minutes, then worked a little harder.

Yesterday: 1/6 (y), certainly not getting any g's, too much chocolate and other sinful things.

A little bit tired from the weekend's exertions but not bad, and not really sore from the hills and the falls, all a pleasant surprise.