Training Log Archive: jtorranc

Event: QOC Prince William Forest Park
 

Event: QOC Mason Neck
 

QOC Mason Neck Twisted Score-O - was committed to be at the event in order to pick up the VA controls and some other equipment needed next weekend so ran the score-O despite still feeling very poorly. Didn't try to run very hard. Started off assuming that I probably could nevertheless clean the course if I didn't make any big mistakes, which turned out to be just barely true. Going around in a big counter-clockwise loop, I hit my second dot knoll/bonus control, six or seven controls in, so the mystery of which controls were more valuable didn't last long. Still, it wasn't a bad twist - could certainly have affected my decisions if it had become clear I was running late at any point.

Wanted to get in an easy run just to get my blood flowing and stretch things out so started one despite not feeling great. This turned out to be a mistake as my not feeling great was the onset of a nasty cold

Jogging to and from interval workout plus jogging laps between repetitions.

Descending ladder workout - 1600m, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200

Cycling home after returning rental car in North Bethesda. Longest ride I've done in snow in many years.

Had to go out for a Rock Creek Park trail run in the new snow - to the park police station and back keeping close to the creek on the west outgoing, east returning, plus a loop up onto the western ridge.

Went back to Prince William and finished streamering the rest of the controls, including vetting the beginner night-O course. A certain amount of OCAD work left to do and rather more in Condes but feeling in good shape for Happyland in two weeks.

Rest day other than walking to the Kennedy Center and back. Did not have the enthusiasm to actually go to the By George 5K in the morning - wonder if they went ahead with it what with the cold and an inch or slightly more of new snow overnight.

To North Bethesda early in the morning to pick up rental car for the weekend - I wish someplace closer to home offered the particular weekend deal I'm taking advantage of this weekend but such is life. Fingers and toes were getting chilled by the end of this ride, as sweat accumulated.

Tromping around in the woods in Prince William Forest Park. Streamered/vetted the new night-O courses plus a brand new intermediate map walk course and four of the controls for the daylight races that happened to be in the same part of the park. Will have to go out again on Saturday and/or Sunday to finish streamering all the other Sunday control locations.

Grocery shopping trip to TPSS and back.

RCP again, out to the park police station and back testing two of the GPS watches that somehow failed to record tracks at Little Bennett. Based on their performance today, either any problems they have are intermittent or the difficulties can be ascribed to user error. Which said, I really do need to type up some instructions to set out with the loaner GPS watches and, for that matter, the thumb compasses.

Wasn't feeling like Crawlers workout when I woke this morning. Possibly Tuesday's aren't the best day to do long runs. Although I plan on doing a 5K on Saturday morning so an interval workout this morning might not have been the best idea in any case - not at all sure I would feel fully recovered by the weekend if I had gone.

Long outing in Rock Creek Park, wearing slightly less in the way of gloves than would have been advisable. Or maybe my hands would have been fine as they were if I'd had another layer on my arms. A pleasant run despite not having great manual dexterity by the time I got home.

Warmup/cooldown.

Silly walks and uphill sprints.

Event: QOC Little Bennett
 

QOC Bumble at Little Bennett - the Blue/all the windows option in close to snow-free woods, though with some pretty muddy trails in low-lying areas. First, a few minutes ahead of Kevin, though he had missed a control in the third window (more or less due to being sucked along in my wake and forgetting that he'd intended to take last the control that I took first) Took the first window non-optimally and exited just behind Kevin, just ahead of Chris. Partly to separate from Kevin, headed for the nearest control since he was clearly going for the next one to the west first. Think my sequence was okay on paper but the green on the way to the NE corner of the window was horribly thorny and I got forced out to the track heading north to it. Apparently Kevin got to the NE corner enough before I did that I didn't see him but I managed to get to the start of the next window before him, still without seeing him, though he was keeping me in sight from behind for much of the rest of the course. Route choice through windows pretty straightforward from then on.

Dave O. said he thought taking the track all the way to the NE corner in the second window and turning right around from the ones Kevin and I did first before heading diagonally to get the last two controls in the NW was best. I'm a little dubious that that doesn't involve too much extra climb but I'd have to look at the map and think it over some more.

Warmup/cooldown.

Silly walks in the dark just to have some exercise in the day and hopefully not feel sluggish at Little Bennett in the morning.

Got myself out the door thinking I'd go longer than this but my body was still saying 10 minutes in that it was okay with what was going on but not eager to go faster or do it for terribly long. So made this a relatively easy stretching of the legs.

Rock Creek about as high with snowmelt as I can ever remember seeing it within DC. In Montgomery County I remember a couple of occasions when it flooded Beach Drive, which presumably involved higher water than currently, unless there's local flooding in MoCo right now that I haven't heard about.

Warmup/cooldown/getting to and from Cardozo High track jog.

4x1200m interval workout, with the objective to do the first 1200 at 10K pace, speeding up to 5K pace by the last one. Didn't quite work out that way - shouldn't have relied on Zach and Charlie's pace judgement on the second 1200, which they did way faster than Zach, at least, intended.

Highest turnout I've seen yet at a Crawlers workout - maybe sign of the spring racing season approaching.

Slightly longer run in Rock Creek Park than on Saturday - went north on the Western Ridge trail instead of alongside the creek, adding both distance and climb. Snow largely gone except that the Valley Trail and the surrounding slopes sheltered from the morning sun still have pretty solid snow cover a few inches deep.