Training Log Archive: barb

Had trouble finding #3 (195), shallow reentrant, and hidden behind one of the downed trees. Lost a few minutes. Lost more minutes 11-12 when I decided I would try to cross the stream in the little place where the black lines stopped, but I couldn't see the bottom so I wimped out and went around.

C • 4th leg 3

Same problem at #13 (226) - shallow reentrant and control hidden behind a downed tree. Had to relocate from the road. I should not have discounted the downed-tree symbols so much. I should have read the contours better. I should have spent less time afterward imagining Vlad setting the controls there, cackling with evil Rasputin-like laughter. Because in fact, I'm very grateful to Vlad for making this weekend happen, and the course was so fine.

11-12: spent a bunch of time before this leg deciding what to do here (straight, road or river). The short climb to 11 was enough to convince me to take the path along the river, which turned out to be lovely to run on and quite scenic. After all, I figured, I'm not in this to win, and I've got the time. And I thought it would be pretty safe navigationally, come in along the creek, and it was.

Didn't meet my goal of twice the winner's time, but I'm happy about maintaining 15 min/km.

Abcdef. Decided against counting the two - what are they called - shot bloks? shock blobs? - as transgressive sugar. Because I was eating them while navigating on the first three controls, so I used them for good, not evil. Would not do this again though, two at once; kind of awkward to talk to the starting guy.

And the A is for a glass of cabernet sauvignon, accompanying a remarkably tasty linguini with veggies & salad ordered from room service, all of which I decided I "deserved" after the weekend's orienteering.

Today I learned from Kurt Vonnegut that Abraham Lincoln had this to say about James Polk (who, as president, waged war on Mexico, which had never attacked us):

Trusting to escape scrutiny, by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of military glory -- that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood -- that serpent's eye, that charms to destroy -- he plunged into war.

Funny how stuff from the "old days" sometimes seems to so be relevant now. And boy, that Lincoln liked his em dashes, eh? Vonnegut says not to use semicolons, because they are "transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing"; however, he apparently has no problem with em dashes.

Eric, are you out there? What's the name of the AP person whose blog you recommended?

C • shot bloks 7

Sunday: Green - Splits

Sunday: Blue M21 - Splits

Sunday: Green - Splits

Walked to the event site from the hotel. Nice warm-up. Took it easy. Stuck to the woods except a couple stretches on the side of the highway.

BOK Umstead A meet.
Lovely terrain, gorgeous day, fun courses.
2nd column is time for the same leg on the second run. Slowed down significantly.
4:36
5:20
4:32
1:52
4:41
10:05
2:25 2:38
3:59 4:00
6:41 7:43
6:51
4:03
2:45 2:55
0:31 0:37

C • Go Barb! 5

Wore the Sarvas, thinking I'd try them out for use in longer events, but they're a no go. They're fine for running on frozen stuff, but too loose for hills. I wonder if I could get a tighter-fitting Sarva. Need the length in the toes though.
2:06
6:15
7:18
6:58
10:27
6:54
3:47
1:15
5:52
17:06
11:01
2:38
4:00
7:43
3:30
6:40
2:11
2:44
5:41
2:55
0:37

C • Toulouse 2

Red M - Splits

Saturday: Green - Splits

Event: BOK/US Team Umstead 007
 

Work - Arlington - Harvard Square - work - home.

I looked at this as an opportunity to test the gear. It's wild outside, lots of rain and wind, and cold.

New panier with built-in fluorescent yellow raincover: aces!
Winter pants over long undies got soaked but I'm warm.
Merrells went about 20 min before getting completely soaked.
Couldn't find my 2nd water-resistant mitten so went with the black fleece gloves, which got soaked but were better than nothing.
Raincoat passed the test.
Bike gears seem to get slightly loose, reminiscent of how your joints behave when you're pregnant.
Brakes were fine.

Sounds like the Swiss army could use a little more night-O training.

Airport yoga.
aBcdef. Plane was late.

My airplane reading was interesting.

There was another surprising name-sighting of someone whom I know personally, and who I'd never imagine would show up in the pages of in Runner's World. Last month it was singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. This time it is Christof Koch, the Caltech professor from whom I took a course on neural modeling in Wood's Hole. The end-of-course party was very wild; I remember stopping by the lighthouse on the way back from the liquor store to admire the moon and drink some Jack Daniels (not the running coach) with the other course professor, and everyone heading to the beach and skinny dipping - the water glowed green fluorescent when you moved through it - and Christof himself behaving, well, I won't get into that, and, well, you get the idea. That was a very very long time ago.

And then I opened the New Yorker, and there was a hugely long and luscious article all about Greta, a.k.a. Spider Woman (both the name of the article and my own nickname for her), ex-girlfriend of my Tucson evolutionary structural biologist friend Matt!!! She's famous! It talked about her going into L.A. basements in search of brown recluse spiders, which she milks for their venom. Then she analyzes the constituents of the venom, and figures out the evolutionary history of the proteins, and develops antidotes, and generally qualifies as one of my scientific heroines. The article got a little bit into her life (raised by creationist parents, married & was the good conservative christian housewife until she went on a three-month spider-behavior-logging trip into the jungle and when she came home her husband told her he was in love with another woman, and she's grateful because that ultimately allowed her to go off and become, well, Spider Woman), and I began to wonder if I was going to see mention of Matt himself, but no. It's a really interesting article; I recommend it, although it doesn't seem to be available online (yet?).

C • spider woman 5

work commute

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Work commute.

With David, to get groceries. Clutching at straws here, but at least the walk home was with a heavy pack.

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Mostly took it easy; powered up a couple of hills because of scary traffic.

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New teacher at work.

Pretty good pace, work to school

To work and back, then from school to Porter Square with Izzy, then from Central Square home with David. Total about 40 minutes but logging it as 10 b/c it was only walking.

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Day 23.
Cumulative (with weekly allowances subtracted): D