Training Log Archive: Carolyn

Event: PPRR Fall Series #3
 

6mi race in Ute Valley Park. Twisty, rocky, hilly trails. I wish it were 20 degrees cooler. I was overheating and not sweating = dehydrated before I started. Got clobbered on the uphills, clawed my way back on the flats and downhills, no surprises there. Still recovering from major sleep deprivation and stress from last week. Considering that, I'd say I had a pretty good race. Got stuck behind 2 people going slower than I wanted to be going on the last mile of single track. I think I was 16th woman, so better day than 2nd race, worse than 1st race.

Looks like the woman who was beating me by 40sec for the 20-24 series result wasn't there... I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping for a good race. 1/7 F20-24, 17/145 F, 133/358 OA. Series after 3/4 10/99F, 1/4F20-24. Age group result is very safe. I have a reasonable shot at passing 1 more woman but there are 3 within 30 sec behind me so I need to be running a bit scared in #4. Maybe I'll try actually training for the next race and see if I can have a good result there. I hope it snows again like last year. I love racing in the snow.

Best costumes: Elmo, followed by a Banana, chased by a Gorilla... Kind of wish I had gotten a costume.

Bike to and from 3rd Fall Series Race

Done with 2nd part of CPA exam (unless I fail it....)

Look what I figured out how to do :-)

From Orienteering Routes

Speedy neighborhood loop for stress relief. I really hope that's a slower pace than my current road 10k fitness, but realistically its probably pretty close to current 10k race pace... Wish it were a minute/mile faster again. Pie in the sky goal- turkey trot 5k under 20 (done that once in '03 and once in '07 both xc but neither at altitude) but a more realistic challenge goal is under 21. A recent best would be anywhere under 22...

Core with foam roller. Multitasking.

Event: RMOC Chatfield State Park
 

Reasonably successful red course 8.9km straight line distance in 1:45:00. Runners course, navigation wasn't bad (otherwise I would be doing the green). One ridiculously stupid mistake, a bobble at the finish, and the rest was decent. Nothing else major (for me, which is a pretty big caveat).

I did a good job of spending very little time stopped/walking. I am really bad at moving through fight and my run speed is slower relative to others on rough ground vs roads/trails. Lesson learned, I will stop right away when I know I am off track... Maybe I should carry some water since I was feeling pretty dehydrated by the end and I believe that that contributed to me getting sloppier as the race went on.

Start - 1: Good

1-2: Good. Went through thicker weeds coming out of 1 than I did going in.

2-3: Good

3-4: Got tangled up in some fight in sight of the control and was having trouble moving at all. I probably looked really silly. I did get a strange look from a guy who smartly went around the fight in which I was flailing about...

4-5: Decent, I should have cut the corner a bit more starting off. (but it was prickly!)

5-6: Through the creek to the powerline to the trail. Got a little stuck in the fight. I don't think that was avoidable, but I did see a guy out there barreling through it much faster than I could.

6-7: Majorly stupid Stupid STUPID mistake. I was doing so well until then too. Missed a trail intersection under some powerlines. Didn't stop 200m later when I saw a building that shouldn't have been there. Didn't stop 500m after that when I saw a trail intersection that was the wrong shape. Didn't stop when I noticed that the ground was too flat and I wasn't going uphill. Didn't stop when I saw fight to my right instead of a fence. Eventually turned and noticed that I was completely on the wrong side of the lake about 1km after the trail intersection that I should have turned at. I could see the knoll that the control was behind on the other side and thought about swimming. Total ~1.2km mistake- time lost was about 10 minutes (plus lots of fast running energy). Much of the recovery was through marshy fight when the correct route would have been mostly on trail. Why didn't I stop when I saw the building that shouldn't have been there?

7-8: Coming out of 7, the trail fizzled out into fight and I wasted time figuring out where to go to get through it. Turns out the first way I checked was the best and I went back to it after wasting a minute peering around for thinner brush for a minute or two. Then I should have cut corners rather than following trail. Saw 8 across a reentrant filled with rusty trash and I went around it rather than through it.

8-9: Nothing terrible, just should have cut some corners. I should stop being so dependent on the trails.

9-10: Good. Long run on rough ground. I could see where it was going to be from over 500m out just slow going.

10-11 Just plain slow. No excuses, was getting tired of running through rough open land especially after the long slog to 10. Once I got close, just like from 8-9 I zig zagged on trails until I got to the creek before crossing it when I could have been a bit more direct.

11-finish. Ooops! Was just getting tired and a little disoriented and turned the wrong way on a trail that I didn't really need after 11. I got to a point where I could actually see the lot where the finish was, but then I turned away from it because of some silly notion that I couldn't get across the little bit of water. Then I got really confused and walked. Hit the road to the finish 500m north of the finish instead of a lot closer... Lost 4min or so.

Red - Splits

After work jog around Ute Valley. Its amazing how many times I do this same or a similar loop (in both directions) and find new trails accidentally. It was really hard to get out the door and I never really felt very good out there... I've felt a little feverish/extra-fatigued/headachey on and off for a whole week now and it needs to stop.

Incline, 34:23 from the first step off the cog train lot, new PR!!

Event: PPRR Fall Series #2
 

Fall Series #2

Not really my day today. Was up sick Friday night (very nearly called in sick to work that day but couldn't because of the tax deadline). Felt kind of weak, was overheating, and didn't feel like I was recovering on the downhills. Walked up way too many of the steep uphills and had trouble getting around people on narrow technical downhills. 5mi (4.66 according to my garmin but it was a twisty course so it was probably a bit longer), 43:54. I did pass someone on the rope climb though. 4/13 F20-24, 19/121 Female (the back of the pack that I am usually just in front of), 131/361 overall. That's a good bit worse than 2 weeks ago. Maybe I should actually train... but I don't really have time since I'm taking my 2nd part of the CPA exam on 10/27.

Event: RMOC Kelly Dahl
 

Kelly Dahl Green Course.

Not my best, but not totally horrendous. About as expected since this wasn't an open course with lots of trails. Significant navigational mistakes at 4 and 9. Significant route choice error at 6. Other smaller navigational and route choice errors on all the rest. I spent way too much time stopped and walking.

Start - 1: No mistakes, just took my sweet time...

1-2: Headed south towards the trail thinking that I was aiming off so I'd be west of a trail intersection- apparently I hit the trail east of that intersection because when I turned east, the trail ended. Backtracked to the trail intersection, and took that trail to another, then bearing off bend in trail.
*Better route choice would have been to go straight from the first trail intersection.

2-3: Followed power line to trail that went around hill. Noted a pit next to the trail. Didn't see the trail intersection that I thought would be obvious but noticed the trail narrowed significantly, so I must have taken the correct fork anyways. Panicked briefly, but then found it on a bearing from the next trail intersection.

3-4: Had a bit of a tough time getting started with this one. Back to the trail, found a trail intersection, wasn't sure which one it was... After standing around for a while dithering, I went down the trail until I saw a pile of rocks on the right. Worked my way to a gully. Took a bearing from the intersection of two gullies and it took me right to it. Way to much time standing around thinking.

4-5: Across a spur then across a dry marsh. Was about 200m out of the way to the east, but this allowed me to notice a shallow reentrant which aimed me to the control. Too much stop/walk time here.
*Better route would have been a straight shot. There was a trail with a notable bend right behind the control, so I should have run straight for it and then if I missed, I would have hit the trail and it wouldn't have been too hard to figure out where along the trail I was.

5-6: Trail to another trail, to a fence, to a fence corner, then bearing on in. I should have gone a more direct route. I went over 1km out of the way to run on trails and fences.

6-7: Went with a plan to run to the fence and take a bearing from the fence corner. Never saw the fence. Found a pile of rocks on top of a spur before the fence, realized where I was and walked to the control from there.

7-8: Went straight to it.

8-9: Whoops, went to the wrong pile of rocks a few times and got distracted by a control that I knew wasn't mine before I even checked it. Wasted a lot of time here.

9-10: Dodge people and rocks and went straight to it. I get nervous about falling running downing hill in rough areas.

10-Finish: Like 9-10.

I think I'm getting better at figuring out where I am when I go off course. Haven't made a mistake over 10min (and very few over 5) for 3 races now. I would like to stop depending on trails to much- I go waaaaayyyy out of my way to find and stay on them. If I am not on a trail, fence, powerline, distinct spur or reentrant, etc, then I'm usually walking...

White course @ Kelly Dahl to train friend...

Green - Splits

Incline 35:55 from first step of cog way lot. Started off way too fast to get away from the whiny boys...

Event: PPRR Fall Series #1
 

PPRR Fall Series 1! 31:29 (compare to last year 34:39- course was pretty much the same). Averaged a 7:30/mi pace out of the creek and 11:15/mi pace inside the creek = average 8:45. Felt good considering the unexpected trip up the incline yesterday, but did feel it in my legs in the creek. I was in the top 5 women to the creek, then about a hundred people passed me (lost count after 35...), then wet heavy slog to the finish. 130/393 overall, 13/172 women, 2/8 in 20-24 (was pretty close, hopefully I can catch up for the final series result).

I should be able to improve on that placing in the other races since I'm so bad at creek slogging. People I usually beat in a 5k beat me by ~1:30. Seems reasonable based on the speed at which Tom blew by me in the creek. I love the Fall Series, it makes me happy :-) I can't wait for the rope climb in 2 weeks!

Nielson Challenge 2M, 13:39. Kind of slow compared to recent best 13:13 (but still faster than last month). I negative split it for once, so I met my goal for today. 6:53, 6:46. Used it as a pre-race for Fall Series tomorrow...

Wasn't planning on anything else after the 2mi race this morning, but then Tom and his friend came knocking on my door and asked if I wanted to do the incline with them. I just couldn't say no. 38:30 from the first step off the cog train lot.