Training Log Archive: BillD

The Winter Series at Tarrywile, Green.

Not bad at all, considering I haven't been out for even a walk longer than 2.km in months and still nursing (well, PT'ing) the right hip and foot. Cold day but no thoughts of that after the second control. Clear, good visibility, ground frozen with crunchy footsteps in the once muddy footpaths.

Navigation: no huge problems because I was mostly walking and not pushing for pace. Went astray on #5 and #6 at the top of the mountain where I was not relating mapped knolls/cliffs/boulder fields to reality very well. Coming down the mountain to #8 I misread stonewalls on the map as trails to get me through the dark green and had to backtrack when I saw the error.

Strength: no hurting going uphill or level, but the right glute and right foot started complaining soon after #7 when the downhill started. By the time I got out to the road on the way to #9 I was hobbling badly. That hurt stayed with me all the way back to Finish and the car in the lower lot.

Despite the hurt, it was an enjoyable experience. Nice course, nice day. And I think I'm making progress on the rehab.

My route.

C • Well done! 2

Green WS#1 - Splits

The focus now shifts from strengthening (still a good ways to go yet) to hip flexibility. A new set of exercises: the 90:90 hip flexibility variety.

Stratton Brook. Walk to covered bridge, jog around the lake, walk back to car. First job in a loooong time. Felt OK. Right groin and hip were sore but let's say relatively quiet. Right foot anterior also sore but no problem with the left. Pleased that the jolting of the jog was not a source of aggravation for the hip, suggests my problem is not necessarily in a joint.

Town Forest again in good but colder weather (32F). A slightly longer walk, less buttock squeezing but sought to push off balls of feet as instructed. Resulted in sore feet (anterior) and painful right outside anterior near the end of the hike. Groin hurting near end of hike, need to ask therapist tomorrow to put a name on that area.

At the Y without enough time to do floor exercises and swim, so splashed 500yards and took reward in the jacuzzi.

I am using the Control for Orienteers app on my Apple watch for tracking. While this non-cellular watch is symbiotic with the user's iPhone, you don't have to carry the iPhone to record tracks. The app will give the file to the iPhone automatically when again in range.

The app's features are less numerous than the GPS Tracks app but the interface is hugely more appropriate for use in a race: swipe from elapsed time page back to button page, which after Start simply shows one button for Stop and another button for Mark Control. After Mark Control (face confirms that's Control #[ ]) face flips back to the elapsed time page and protects against accidental button pushing. Upon Stop, it immediately saves with date-time and mnemonic like "Tuesday morning walk" for a track name (can edit in the iPhone).

Developer has not yet installed a setting to choose km in place of mi, but not a big deal. The app on the iPhone can instantly share its file with GPS Tracks and I can read the metrics there. It will also upload to my Dropbox from whence I can upload to AP.

There's no point in using my Garmin watch anymore. The lap button doesn't work most of the time. My second Garmin watch with same problem.

Connect Garmin and Garmin Training Center refuse to ingest the GPX file from the Control for Orienteers app - doesn't meet Garmin's specs. Others who use non-Garmin trackers have had same complaint.

I've concluded that Garmin sucks.

Just realized that I am now in M75. Yikes. Not that that makes me more competitive, but with a shorter list of competitors, maybe I won't have to turn the page over to find my name.

Warm day: should hike. Windy; find sheltered trail. Still on PT: keep it short and concentrate on form. Thus to Town Forest.

Very nice but right hip muscles started complaining after about 900m.