Training Log Archive: Ari-o

It took me 50 minutes to bike to Cat Rock from Cambridge. It took the Bermans 50 minutes to drive; but with the traffic I think it would have taken me longer. This is all well and good, but it was a pretty shitty/awesome ride. I had fun and all, and didn't die, but here's what happened:

1. On Putnam, some asshole doctor (or a guy in scrubs driving a Mercedes) in a Benz honked at me, passed me, cut in front of me, and then hit a red light. I gave him a piece of my mind. Should have gotten his license plate and called around to hospitals to have his boss remind him that the Hippocratic Oath involves "doing no harm."
2. It took me 5 or 6 minutes to bike out of Cambridge. It would have taken 30 minutes in a car.
3. Then there was just traffic everywhere. The only straight-ish way to get to Cat Rock is via Route 20 and 117. Last year I biked from work out Comm Ave and it was 5 miles further, but didn't take that long.
4. So traffic. I hit every. Single. Light. At one point I missed a light, then went 50 feet and missed another. Lots of time standing around.
5. Last year I had a sea breeze pushing me west and averaged nearly 17 mph. This year, I was going in to a 30 mph headwind and averaged less than 13.

But enough bellyaching, I got to ride bikes! I probably should/could have taken the train, but whatever (I did that on the way back after pretty much bonking a mile in to the ride. I just went back to the station and paid the T my money. Also it was going to be dark and I'd forgotten a headlamp.)

So I felt pretty good about this Park-O! Last year I was 158% of the winner (Brendan) on this course, and 121% of Ed; this year I was 141% (Brendan again) and 105%. I made a lot of small errors, but had no major blunders. Last year I wandered around the woods for a while looking for the second control. Not this time!

Also cool were e-punching. I missed last week's event that was pushed to Tuesday so this was my first real e-punching Park-o. It's so much fun to have splits data. So much!

Anyhow, after riding bikes, I made didn't really warm up as much as just running in to the woods to take a pee. I changed to a non-sweaty shirt (good thinking) and then was off running. Well, I stopped to stop and clear and start my Strava.

Let's talk controls:

1- I took the path but was a little unsure of the control, so slowed down.
2- Spiked easily, right on the trail and not much route choice. Woods were somewhat slow going, and the trails are good, fast running. Although I may have missed a route choice going up the trail.
3- Didn't spike. I took the trail to the wall and then around a bit because of dense woods. I found the control but not straightly.
4- I found the control very well navigationally, but flubbed the route choice, going around to the right rather than north through the woods, which I somehow read as being longer than they were.
5- I navigated very well, but slowly. Spike?
6- Lost a lot of time navigating. Need to get better at this.
7- Good choice, overran a bit but navigated well based on features.
8- Second fastest time on this one! I scampered up and then took the right side of the ridge which was more open, then ran straight to the control. Still lost a ton of time to Brendan, but to no one else!
9- Lost some time with hesitating at the trail.
10- Lost some time here with a bad attack point and then a bad route off the attack point but it did point me at the control side of the feature.
11- Spiked this. Plotted a route, ran uphill. Legs felt a little heavy. But followed the wall right to the control.
12- Good to spike the last control, too. I went right down the ski slope, then cut back across to the reentrant. A longer route, but didn't lose any time.

Then to the finish. Apparently there was a ton of poison ivy, but I didn't see it. We'll see how my immunity holds up this time (I've only once gotten it, and a tiny patch when my mom and sister were itching all over, and that was poison oak out west). I was wearing pants, thank allah.

Then I went to bike home, biked a mile and a half, realized it was getting dark, biking through Waltham sucks, and the train was 8 minutes away. And took the train.

Advanced - Splits

Took a nap, did some gardening, then Hey look it's time to go running or something. Kind of breezy but felt okay; didn't go fast, though.

So I didn't eat lunch, and then gobbled M&Ms and had to run to the grocery store to get pizza fixins. (Pizza was delicious once we got the oven hot enough; the first was wicked burnt, though.) Didn't feel that good for the first mile, and then saw a guy in a red and blue striped polo and said "well that must be Brendan" and it was. Stopped to chat for a minute and then ran on to Whole Foods.

Moral of the story: I need to be better about remembering to eat lunch. Lunch is good for me!

Running with a giant foam board is interesting.

Looping around and around and around the tower at Prospect Park. But not up it, too many people.

30x10 of wall jumps. The wall was a wee bit high for wall jumping, but worked for me with longer legs. I alternated two-footed jumps and one-footed jump-ups. Good times! But my back was a little bit sore afterwards. Boo.

East cool down post NP

Wicked strong wind for a slow, stretch-the-legs-and-check-out-infrastructure ride. There's a contraflow cycletrack in Lexington and it's pretty cool. (Long story short: bike path construction mitigation transportation nerdiness.)

Decided to run from JP to Cambridge and it was so nice I kind of just kept running. I visited both November Project sites, running up Summit Ave and doing five sections of the Harvard Stadium. Then on to the closed-for-Sunday Memorial Drive and home. Not a bad run at all! It's nice when it's 70 and the dew point is crashing down through the 40s. I think this weather is forecast to hold for the next few days. Long runs ftw! And getting excited about Cat Rock on Thursday although it might be muggier.

Oh, and no back pain. But I'm still going to stretch. I did leave my bike helmet at my parents and now have to borrow one to Hubway back, but this is not the end of the world.

Also, discovered what would be a fantastic Park-o—the area between Jamaica Pond and Brookline Village called Olmsted Park. A good amount of terrain, a lot of small features, and tons and tons of confusing trails. Everything you'd want in a Park-o. Plus parking, T accessibility and close to the city. Oh, Ed, want to map this with me?

C • Maps 2

Nice run to Market Basket, which is amazing. So much kale! But … don't eat lots of ice cream before a run, it makes digestion be happy and fun!

November Project today was hills! Three, six or nine up the main climb on Summit. This gave me a good excuse to try something new: I did five main climbs and one run down Beacon Street to run up the Summit Path stairs. Verdict: the stairs are harder than the hill. But the recovery is longer.

Felt pretty good running up the hill the last time, and if I didn't have a job I would have done more. But I do, and we took a wicked cool tour of the Central Artery (like, we went inside it, which is ridonk) and now it's hot and muggy and I'm glad I'm not running. What's that, you say? 70 in July will be cold. Well for now it is hot. I am ignoring you.