Training Log Archive: jtorranc

QOC Chase/my annual beer drinking incident. Peggy set three loops like last year but with Stumble style windows instead of last year's forking. Lead pack did a mass parallel error to end up on the wrong spur looking for the second control in the first window. I think that strung us out a little bit but one control later I chose to do the remaining four controls in a different order than just about everyone else and lost everyone but Dan Quinn. I lost him on the way back towards the beer when he just kept going past the one control we had to pick up on the way back. Made it out of the beer and a hundred meters away to see Ted, Nadim, Dave and Marek heading in, all in contact though strung out over perhaps 100 meters. Didn't run quite as hard on the second loop but didn't make any stupid errors either. Then totally messed up the first control on the third loop and got passed by Nadim and caught by Ted. The remaining four controls were trivially easy so I just had to outrun Nadim by enough to ensure I'd have time to drink the last beer. The beer was affecting him and I'd just had a nice rest while stumbling around within 20 meters of the first control of the loop so it was a manageable challenge.

BTW, my knee felt great again at the end of the race. Either being warmed up helps or endorphins help or, in this case, the alcohol was having an anasthetic effect. It's feeling pretty tolerable still the next morning. Ought to bode well for my surviving Navstock and making it through the Canadians more of less functional.

Picking up four controls - Peggy had enough volunteers she turned one or two away and still was parcelling them out in very small lots.

Long - Splits

Ran a beginner level O clinic for Greenbelt Park as part of their very lightly attended rescheduled celebration of National Trails Day - first time I've ever set a course for a single person. Though I think there's a pretty good chance he'll come to a future QOC event and there's some solace to be taken in that, on top of the value of some goodwill with the park rangers. This was walking from the College Park metro through the park from the south to Sweetgum, setting up and taking down the course and walking back. Lovely sunny day.

Ran to work. Almost all on pavement. If I lack the willpower to run and cycle on the same day often enough, that leaves trading some cycling for some running. Not terribly difficult to manage the logistics of bringing extra clothes and food on Monday so I only had a feather light backpack to carry,

Return run home, sans backpack. Down into Rock Creek Park, a few of miles largely on grass and dead flat dirt trails following the creek, then onto the Valley Trail as far as its exit from the park at Upshur St. A couple of miles on pavement to get home from there. This was probably a little too much too close to the long run on Sunday - I had zero spring in my step by the end of it. May have to leave running commutes until Wednesday when I do a long run on Sunday or resign myself to running one direction and Metro the other.