Training Log Archive: ebuckley

Warmup - 13 minutes before the bus ride then another 11 at the start area.

Day 2 Blue at Fair Hill/Mason-Dixon (1:10). Another good run. Felt like my pacing was OK, but when I picked it up at the end, I was surprised by how much was left in the tank. Probably could have pushed harder early on. Spent a lot more time reading the map today. The course seemed more technical, though I don't know that it was. No significant errors, though my eyesight cost me a minute or so at 8. I could have used a maginfier there as I didn't see the little ditch on the map, even when I stopped to look closely. Finished 10th to take 8th for both days.

Happy to put together a solid weekend. Speed in the terrain is a real concern. I'm losing time even on legs that are run perfectly.

Jogged back to the event center. I also cleaned up and changed in less time than it took mama and Baby-O to get back on the bus. I don't know why they just didn't have everybody walk.

Blue - Day 2 - Splits

Warmup.

Blue course at Fair Hill/Little Egypt (1:10). Fun course. Lots of hard running (no surprise there). A bit sloppy in traffic. I wasn't so much distracted by other runners' routes but I just didn't read the map as well when others were around. Something like 5 minutes total error, which is a lot for this park. Not sure how my routes were - I'll have to wait for splits to be posted.

Update: Looks like my boom at 9 wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. I only lost 1:45 to the fast split. I was thinking it was more like a 3-4 minute error. Other than that, all the legs look OK, just slightly slower. I guess I'll move this one into the "good" column (although that means accepting that "good" is still a fair piece off the winning time on Blue). Finished 11/28.

Warmup for sprint.

Sprint at Fair Hill/Sawmill Rd (1:5). Fun little sprint. All woods navigation except for the last couple minutes. Too bad it doesn't count for much because it's probably the best sprint I've run. Good focus and very accurate. Held back on the effort since I'd like to have some legs for tomorrow. Don't know that I could have stayed in contact if I was going any faster anyway.

Update: FInished 6/101. Something to be said for staying clean rather than running all out.

Day 1: Blue - Splits

Sprint - Splits

Event: DVOA A-Meet (Interscholastics)
 

Model event at Fair Hill (1:10) plus a little extra jogging around. Woods are fast fast fast, even by St. Louis standards. I tried out the medium green and found it to be quite runnable. The thorns are nasty, but easily avoided.

Another dismal session on Hammond Hill (1:15). I'm not sure what it is about Dominie's maps that I have so much trouble staying in contact, but I just make a mess of them. I think I need to do a solid week of technical work on these maps and come to terms with them. Oh, well, not this trip - we head to DVOA tomorrow.

Early morning run in Ithaca. Original plan was to run up Buttermilk Falls and pick up the Finger Lakes Trail. When I got to Buttermilk, it was still dark, so I ran out to Treman Park instead. It was light enough there, but the trails were closed due to ice. I figured if Treman was closed, Buttermilk certainly would be also, so I ran the railroad tracks to Blakeslee Hill and ran up that. Then I cut over to Buttermilk and found that the rim trail was open. I took that back down. Looking down on the gorge trail, I noted that the closures were not a case of overzealous rangers; the gorge trail was impassible without crampons. Finished up by running in on the old quarry railroad grade.

Off-road component of the above run.

Family day in Ithaca, and a good one at that.

Early morning run in Horseheads, NY. Unusually low levels of motivation for this one. The fact that the first few miles were along a busy road populated by strip malls and car dealerships didn't improve matters. Then I got to Harris Hill which, aside from being a pretty stiff effort, brought back some pleasant memories from High School because it's where I learned to fly gliders. Went up past the soaring field and then back into town via a road that took five miles to lose the altitude I gained in just over one. That made for a nice fast finish and by the end of the run I was glad I got out.

C • Anna in N.Y., too! 9