Training Log Archive: kensrIn the 31 days ending Mar 31, 2009:
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Tuesday Mar 31, 2009 #
Road Running (Cummings Rd +) 33:00 [2] 2.6 mi (12:42 / mi)
Slow mosey with Casey, enjoying mud season down Cummings Rd.
Sunday Mar 29, 2009 #
O - competition race (Patapsco St Pk) 1:01:00 [5] 5.7 km (10:42 / km)
Day 2 classic. A couple mistakes, wandering around the well head/springs, and a search/180 for the hilltop pit. Lost a few minutes on these.
Pretty happy given the early part of the running season. Will crank up the miles in April. Hit thunderstorms on most of the drive home, so skiing is basically shot.
Pretty happy given the early part of the running season. Will crank up the miles in April. Hit thunderstorms on most of the drive home, so skiing is basically shot.
Saturday Mar 28, 2009 #
O - competition race (QOC Patapsco A) 41:53 [5] 4.1 km (10:13 / km)
Nice to be back in Quantico-land ridge and reentrant terrain. Technically easy map with course running thru open woods and reentrants. Near McKeldin, but on fields and woods owned by the Sisters of Bon Secours. Nice area.
Ran hard, did okay considering my running season has just started. No serious mistakes. Bobbled #7 too low and had to climb a few contours. At the end, lost focus going to #12 and looked way too soon. Each cost 30 seconds.
Ran hard, did okay considering my running season has just started. No serious mistakes. Bobbled #7 too low and had to climb a few contours. At the end, lost focus going to #12 and looked way too soon. Each cost 30 seconds.
Thursday Mar 26, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Prospect) 1:33:00 18.9 km (4:55 / km)
Had to be in Bennington after lunch, so went down early and skied Prospect. Surface solid granular with some tilling. Better snow cover here than at Craftsbury.
First half hour skied with a friend from work at a slow stop and go pace. Then broke off for a hard, fast half hour. Warmed up by 11:00 for the last third and the snow slowed considerably. Got back to the car and found the bottoms of the skis were fouled with gummy build-up, probably from pine sap. Had really made the skis drag. Looks like time for a hot wax scrape job.
First half hour skied with a friend from work at a slow stop and go pace. Then broke off for a hard, fast half hour. Warmed up by 11:00 for the last third and the snow slowed considerably. Got back to the car and found the bottoms of the skis were fouled with gummy build-up, probably from pine sap. Had really made the skis drag. Looks like time for a hot wax scrape job.
Wednesday Mar 25, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Craftsbury) 2:15:00 [3] 21.3 km (6:20 / km)
Good spring cover on Ruthies and Race Loop. Spotty on Ruthies Extension. Unfortunately couldn't get there until mid afternoon, so snow was soft and slow.
Monday Mar 23, 2009 #
Road Running warm up/down (Cummings Rd + Rte 11 hill) 44:00 [2] 4.1 mi (10:44 / mi)
Warm up on Cummings with Casey. Then recovery runs down rte 11 hill.
Road Running hills (Rte 11 hills) 9:12 [4] 1.0 mi (9:12 / mi)
1/2 mile x 2. Planned for another, but got blowing dust in my contacts. Bitter cold and windy. 4.41/4.31
Sunday Mar 22, 2009 #
Road Running (Chester via PO) 55:12 [3] 6.05 mi (9:07 / mi)
Saturday Mar 21, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Prospect) 3:10:00 [3] 37.5 km (5:04 / km)
Out on the trails by 10 AM. Combed granular. Good surface, nice bite and fast. Did about 18 km and broke for lunch. Then two more laps around the outside trails and once up over the top. Everything well groomed. Afternoon was warmer and the snow softened and slowed, but was still good. Very nice day.
Used my new Salomon s-labs. Felt it was time to get back in a skate boot instead of using the combi skiathlons. Noticed better kick off the skate and edging on the snowplow descents (Greg take note). More stability on my older double side-cut skis, too. So everything is just fine, except my big toe went numb.
Used my new Salomon s-labs. Felt it was time to get back in a skate boot instead of using the combi skiathlons. Noticed better kick off the skate and edging on the snowplow descents (Greg take note). More stability on my older double side-cut skis, too. So everything is just fine, except my big toe went numb.
Friday Mar 20, 2009 #
Skate Ski 1:36 [3] 0.18 km (8:53 / km)
Got new boots and wanted to try them just at it got dark. However, the surface had already refrozen and was chunky. So called it after a quarter lap.
Thursday Mar 19, 2009 #
Road Running (Cummings Rd +) 30:00 [2] 2.5 mi (12:00 / mi)
Jello mud on Cummings Rd. Nice ruts and a surface that quakes as you run down it. Not a place for cars with low clearance.
With Casey, who loved the mud.
With Casey, who loved the mud.
Road Running hills (Rte 11 hills) 9:54 [4] 1.0 mi (9:54 / mi)
From Bigelow's driveway to rock near top of hill.
1/2 mile x 2 - 5.12, 4.42
Near term goal will be 4 min = 8/mi pace; also to increase reps.
1/2 mile x 2 - 5.12, 4.42
Near term goal will be 4 min = 8/mi pace; also to increase reps.
Road Running warm up/down 16:00 [2] 1.5 mi (10:40 / mi)
Return down the hill, recovery.
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 13:00 [3] 2.0 km (6:30 / km)
Didn't freeze last night, so snow was soft. One lap and decided to let it be. Rained yesterday and have some scratchy spots. Generally getting thin.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 1:10:00 [3] 8.6 km (8:08 / km)
Loose granular and slow. Picked up the ski-o controls as I think we're done with that course for now. Have some bare patches along the edges of the fields, but still skiing everything.
Road Running (Chester via PO) 1:03:00 [2] 6.0 mi (10:30 / mi)
Hit the road after the run. Really felt tired. Probably too soon after Sat long race. But a nice sunny afternoon. Sap running strong this week.
Monday Mar 16, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 26:00 [3] 4.2 km (6:11 / km)
Down to Manchester to clean up some of the basement. Back late afternoon. Enough time for a quick ski before meeting to go over taxes. Warm and slushy, but with temps well below freezing at night, the snowpack seems to be hanging in there.
Sunday Mar 15, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 30:00 [2] 4.0 km (7:30 / km)
Waxed the newly acquired Revolutions and tried them out. Felt noticeably short at first (no surprise), but then handled okay in the solid corn snow. Went up to the end of the logging road to rescue the Bombi, which had stalled crossing a bump in the trail. Just had to leave it and ski back later to get it restarted.
The short skis were definitely fun off the trail. Lots of maneuverability between the trees in the open forest.
The short skis were definitely fun off the trail. Lots of maneuverability between the trees in the open forest.
Skate Ski tempo (Ski-O Sprint) 25:18 [4] 3.4 km (7:26 / km)
Another run on the ski-o from February. The snow had warmed in the hot sun and was too soft for the short skis, so switched to regular length.
Temp pushing into the 50's. Snow slow loose corn. On the plus side, it was solid so I could straight line everything. Route was 1/2 km shorter and 6 min faster than last time.
Temp pushing into the 50's. Snow slow loose corn. On the plus side, it was solid so I could straight line everything. Route was 1/2 km shorter and 6 min faster than last time.
Skate Ski 44:00 [3] 3.5 km (12:34 / km)
Around the outside perimeter of the fields -- down past the beaver pond. Then up to the end of the logging road. Couple passes on the upper trail loop.
Just skiing in a t-shirt and enjoying the early spring weather.
Just skiing in a t-shirt and enjoying the early spring weather.
Saturday Mar 14, 2009 #
Event: Yosemite Nordic 24
Skate Ski warm up/down 5:00 [1] 1.0 km (5:00 / km)
Skate Ski race (Bretton Woods Classic) 3:58:00 [4] 50.7 km (4:42 / km)
Classic. Arrived last night at the Mt Washington Hotel and could see the lights reflecting off frozen crust of the surrounding snow. Not a good sign. But awoke this morning to find they had done a great job pulverizing the granular and setting a bomb-proof track.
Really a first class event. Small field, maybe 100 in the 50 km race and 40 in the 25 km, which started separately 10 min after us. Flat to rolling course, only a few short hills. Frozen track, but green and blue klister with VR40 blue on top worked well.
Lost some kick on the second lap, but found if I focused on weight shift and good technique, I could ski up the moderate hills. The steep ones everyone herringboned. Probably 70% of the course I double poled or kick-dp'd.
Did fine on the dp and k-dp, but lost ground on all the striding sections. Need better technique and more practice. Guess you can't expect to do too well if I haven't used classic all season.
Finish was at the nordic center, which is the golf club house in summer. So we had showers right after the race -- very nice.
So a good venue, good race organization. Please to stay under 4 hours for 50+ km classsic. Nice food afterwards. An excellent variation on the goodie raffle: they had prepicked the winning bib numbers and posted them on the wall. You checked your number and then found out what you had won. No dragging it out calling number after number. Great system!
Perfectly clear day, bright spring sun. Views of Mt Washington thru much of the race. Will plan on this one again next year.
Really a first class event. Small field, maybe 100 in the 50 km race and 40 in the 25 km, which started separately 10 min after us. Flat to rolling course, only a few short hills. Frozen track, but green and blue klister with VR40 blue on top worked well.
Lost some kick on the second lap, but found if I focused on weight shift and good technique, I could ski up the moderate hills. The steep ones everyone herringboned. Probably 70% of the course I double poled or kick-dp'd.
Did fine on the dp and k-dp, but lost ground on all the striding sections. Need better technique and more practice. Guess you can't expect to do too well if I haven't used classic all season.
Finish was at the nordic center, which is the golf club house in summer. So we had showers right after the race -- very nice.
So a good venue, good race organization. Please to stay under 4 hours for 50+ km classsic. Nice food afterwards. An excellent variation on the goodie raffle: they had prepicked the winning bib numbers and posted them on the wall. You checked your number and then found out what you had won. No dragging it out calling number after number. Great system!
Perfectly clear day, bright spring sun. Views of Mt Washington thru much of the race. Will plan on this one again next year.
Note
Got my Fischer 147's today. Man, are they short. Bottoms okay, not great. Will give them a try tomorrow.
Friday Mar 13, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 24:00 [1] 3.0 km (8:00 / km)
Light workout to stretch.
Note
Bretton Woods 50 km classic
Thursday Mar 12, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 40:00 [1] 5.3 km (7:33 / km)
Classic. Slop froze up solid overnight. Icy where I skied yesterday, frozen granular elsewhere. Skiable, but not great.
Groomed afterwards and chopped it up surprisingly well. Would be fine for skating, but have one more day of classic practice, so dragged a track. Not too well defined. Will see how it is tomorrow, then will wipe it out and skate next week.
Groomed afterwards and chopped it up surprisingly well. Would be fine for skating, but have one more day of classic practice, so dragged a track. Not too well defined. Will see how it is tomorrow, then will wipe it out and skate next week.
Wednesday Mar 11, 2009 #
Road Running (Chester via PO) 59:30 [2] 6.15 mi (9:41 / mi)
Rain last night and still warm in the 40's, so decided to let the water drain out of the snow and freeze up overnight. Took it easy, as last time I had shin splints for a couple days.
Note
Signs of Spring: on my way back to the driveway, I saw our beaver doing circles in the pond by the road. Maybe he woke up when the snow melt started flooding his lodge.
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 20:00 [4] 3.0 km (6:40 / km)
Classic. Came back and did 10 pickup laps around the field by the house. Working on getting a strong kick up the hills, recovery on the downgrades. Wax ok, but snow saturated and glazed. Will freeze rock hard tonight.
Tuesday Mar 10, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 1:44:00 [2] 12.0 km (8:40 / km)
Classic. Warmer today. Groomed with Bombi and clumped up the snow as anticipated. However, left a classic track down the middle that was much improved. The snow was wet and glazed pretty quickly once I started to ski. Supposed to rain a bunch tonight, so wasn't too concerned about how I treated the track.
Started with VR55 and 70. No kick with those, so put VR75 on one and thickened the VR70 on the other. Kick worked much better, but very slow with not much glide. Mostly trying to remember how to shift weight and get decent timing on the kick.
Started with VR55 and 70. No kick with those, so put VR75 on one and thickened the VR70 on the other. Kick worked much better, but very slow with not much glide. Mostly trying to remember how to shift weight and get decent timing on the kick.
Monday Mar 9, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 1:19:00 [3] 10.6 km (7:27 / km)
Classic. New wet snow 5" like cement. Tried to groom classic with the snowmobile, but it bogged down, so I dropped the groomer and just made the long loop with the sled. Then I went back with the groomer and packed and set track in the fields. Had trouble on the turns and skipped setting track in the Pines. Could have used the Bombi, but was afraid the wet snow would suck up into the treads and trash the track. Maybe tomorrow when things dry out and chill down.
Skiing was mostly good, but slow on a pretty trashy/no track. Used VR50 on one ski and VR55 on the other. Kick was fine and whatever I had on back in December for glide did just great. Both the kick zones iced up towards the end when the temp dropped below freezing.
Skiing was mostly good, but slow on a pretty trashy/no track. Used VR50 on one ski and VR55 on the other. Kick was fine and whatever I had on back in December for glide did just great. Both the kick zones iced up towards the end when the temp dropped below freezing.
Sunday Mar 8, 2009 #
Cross Training 2:00:00 [1]
With G and Lynn scraping and painting in Manchester. They had already made a big head start on Sat and I had a chance to bolster the effort. Still needs finish coat, but looks much better.
Saturday Mar 7, 2009 #
Skate Ski warm up/down 11:00 [2] 2.0 km (5:30 / km)
Skate Ski race (Rangeley Loppet) 3:19:58 [4] 50.5 km (3:58 / km)
Two loop course, interesting layout with winding trails. Weather warmer than forecast. Was to drop to mid 20's overnight and warm to mid 30's, but never got below mid 30's. Meant my HF7 (plus magic dust) was too cold. Not bad for the first lap, but really dragged on the 2nd. Made worse by the scheduled late start for the race at 9:45.
Splits
17.15
19.14
18.15
22.32
17.32 first lap 1.34.05
18.31
21.15
21.41
24.55
19.28 second lap 1.45.52
After the first lap, I figured I had a good shot at breaking 3 hours if I hammered around the second time. However, the first 5 km is mostly downhill and it was clear when that split was 1 min slower than the first time around that the wax was going to be a problem. Actually hit a few sections where the skis grabbed and I almost went on my face.
Still, a good race and shows I'm making progress.
Next weekend will be the 50 km at Bretton Woods. That's classic and I'm going to have to look around just to find those skis.
Splits
17.15
19.14
18.15
22.32
17.32 first lap 1.34.05
18.31
21.15
21.41
24.55
19.28 second lap 1.45.52
After the first lap, I figured I had a good shot at breaking 3 hours if I hammered around the second time. However, the first 5 km is mostly downhill and it was clear when that split was 1 min slower than the first time around that the wax was going to be a problem. Actually hit a few sections where the skis grabbed and I almost went on my face.
Still, a good race and shows I'm making progress.
Next weekend will be the 50 km at Bretton Woods. That's classic and I'm going to have to look around just to find those skis.
Thursday Mar 5, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 52:00 [3] 10.1 km (5:09 / km)
Quick ski at lunch time. Beautiful sunny day. Nice snow conditions; hard packed powder thru the fields, Pines and lower logging road.
Skate Ski (Viking XC) 54:00 [3] 9.1 km (5:56 / km)
Late afternoon with Tom D. They hadn't groomed since the storm Sunday night and had an inch or so of loose snow on top of rough frozen granular from the thaw. I had the same conditions Monday and groomed it into a really good surface. Found it annoying as I know the conditions could be a lot better with a little bit of attention.
Snow much warmer than when I skied at noon, so the wax was way off and slow. Once the sun dropped down and it sped up some.
Snow much warmer than when I skied at noon, so the wax was way off and slow. Once the sun dropped down and it sped up some.
Note
Picked up a pair of Fisher Revolutions on eBay today. 147 cm. Look out Greg, I've got your shorties way beat! Now some seriously narrow trails are in order
Wednesday Mar 4, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 1:15:00 [3] 15.4 km (4:52 / km)
Snow better today, grooming keeps breaking up the granular pieces and mixes in the powder. Good surface all the way thru the Pines, although that still needs the most work.
Tuesday Mar 3, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 52:00 [3] 10.2 mi (5:06 / mi)
Quick groom with the snowmobile, need to hit the trails later on the Bombi. Smoothed out yesterday's lumps and skiing was better.
Monday Mar 2, 2009 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 1:10:00 [3] 11.0 km (6:22 / km)
2" very light new snow; most of the big storm went up over NH. Didn't bother to groom. The rough stuff underneath the new snow bumped up thru. Maybe hit it with the groomer tomorrow.
C • ski 4
Sunday Mar 1, 2009 #
Skate Ski race (Saratoga Biathlon) 1:23:30 [4] 13.0 km (6:25 / km)
3 map course on the biathlon trails. Had rained and frozen Friday night. Some were broken up and groomed okay, others were pretty hard.
Made a huge mistake heading to #2 and lost 15 min to Aims who caught up to me at the control. Think I gradually pulled away from him until I missed a turn going to #10 and had to get to it via #11, which cost me 5 min. The first error was due to haste and sloppy navigation, the second was initiated by a dubiously mapped trail junction.
So nav was rotten, skiing the hills went really easy. Legs felt strong. Feel good for the Rangeley marathon this Saturday. Then the classic one at Bretton Woods the following week. Not sure I'm in tune for a classic race -- haven't been on those skis since December. As long as it's lots of double poling, I'll be okay.
Made a huge mistake heading to #2 and lost 15 min to Aims who caught up to me at the control. Think I gradually pulled away from him until I missed a turn going to #10 and had to get to it via #11, which cost me 5 min. The first error was due to haste and sloppy navigation, the second was initiated by a dubiously mapped trail junction.
So nav was rotten, skiing the hills went really easy. Legs felt strong. Feel good for the Rangeley marathon this Saturday. Then the classic one at Bretton Woods the following week. Not sure I'm in tune for a classic race -- haven't been on those skis since December. As long as it's lots of double poling, I'll be okay.
Skate Ski warm up/down 16:00 [3] 2.5 km (6:24 / km)