Training Log Archive: furlong47

My lower back hurts today, so something lower impact

Lesson on Shorty

I remember hating this thing from before, so I'm not sure why I tried it again. I just find it very physically tough, compared to a regular elliptical or even running. As you can see, it was hard for me to get any distance. But on the other hand, it may actually be the closest gym resemblance to climbing hills in orienteering.

Longer but slower -

half a mile walking at 4.0, then running at 5.5
repeat
half a mile walking at 3.5, then running at 5.0
repeat
55:00 for 4 miles
walking last 5 minutes at 3.0

Event: Dirty Bird 15k Trail
 

I used one of the older bikes this time (there are two left of the type that were here when I was a member before, about 10 years ago!) Random hills, level 8. Found it much harder and more resistance than the newer bike, which is what I was looking for. But maybe I just haven't figured out the right settings on the new one.

Interval type stuff again

Cool down to make it an even 3 miles

Yes, missed this one. Went to work, then right to parents' house for dinner, didn't get home until quite late.

A random program on level 3. Some forward, some backward.

Lesson on Shorty

Ran 1.25 @ 5.5 mph
Walked 0.25 @ 4 mph
Ran 1.0 @ 5 mph
Walked 0.25 @ 4 mph
Ran 0.35 @ 5-5.5 mph
5K in 37:00
Then cool down

Event: SVO Rocky Ridge
 

SVO Rocky Ridge - Green

Not my greatest effort ever, and the snow was slowing me down a bit especially toward the end. My big mistake was on 4-5, a leg which was going to the famous cliff by the stream, probably the most used control site of all time at this park. However, early in the leg I somehow did a 180/parallel error and ended up going along the stream in the wrong direction. I discovered this when I passed the weird little building again (which seems to have disappeared from the map) and saw someone coming down the trail where one shouldn't have been. Probably lost 5-10 minutes on that.

Also just a tiny bit of error on 7 when I wanted to get away from a herd of (non-orienteering) people on the trail and plunged into the woods kind of early. I could tell I was crossing the wide re-entrant, but got drawn first to a control 2 contours up from mine. (Some people on other courses actually mispunched here, so at least I didn't do that.)

I have also now reached the most time I have logged for any year on AP, with over a month still to go in the year. (And surpassed my record for miles quite a while ago.)

Green - Splits

Got out around the neighborhood and not time for much else today

I had both barn gear and gym gear with me at work, but the roads were so terrible around here all day that I just went home. The barn 30 minutes away was out of the question. It probably wouldn't have been too hard to get to the gym but I didn't know if it would be open.

A random program on level 2. Some forward, some backward.

First time back at the gym (I think I haven't been a member here for about 8 years). I intended to do 30 minutes but first the treadmill gave me some 5 minute warm-up program which I thought would be part of that. But then it stopped afterward. So I did another 20 minutes of interval type stuff - 4 mph for 1 minute, then 4.5 for 1 minute, continue that pattern up to 6 mph, then the same thing going back down, then back up, etc. Then 10 minutes of the same but lowered everything by 0.5 mph. Well, after that it kicked me into a 5 minute cooldown routine that I didn't ask for, and cancelled after 3.5 minutes because it was really ridiculous (kept lowering until it was like 1 mph and I can't even really walk that slowly).

After that, 15 minutes on the massage chair because I can use them as much as I want for no additional cost.

I halfway rejoined the gym tonight (forgot that they only charge by debiting your checking account, and didn't have that info with me) so by tomorrow I should have slightly more useful things to do on the dark and rainy nights, anyway.

Event: DVOA Fair Hill - Big Elk Chapel
 

DVOA Fair Hill Big Elk Chapel - Green

Didn't run much, wasn't really feeling like it, and my knee (oddly the right one, not the bad left one) was a bit clicky yesterday and this morning. That ended up being okay as I still finished well enough.

A bit of a mistake right out of the start, as I either left the trail too late or drifted very hard to the left. Found another control on the marsh to the east of my first control, but from there was able to double right back to it. OK to 2. To 3, ended up slightly right of it near another dot knoll (I think maybe the one with trails all around it - they were hard to see in the leaves) but looked left and saw it.

Going to 4 there was superfence to contend with and I had trouble finding a place to break out of the woods into the field. Ended up going far left to the trail, down into the field (which is where the temporary stabling was for October) and all the way to the South, where I then had to drop and roll under the gate as there were no gaps for a person to squeeze through.

No problems for 4-8, Svetlana caught me in here and we were back and forth through the next few controls before she got away after 9.

Long leg 8-9 I went left. Right looked more open but also more hilly and I didn't even really give much consideration to a middle route due to the lack of trails between the fields. I intended to use the straighter trail through the green to the road but ended up on the one that meandered a bit more, although they both came out in the same place. Then crossed the road, stayed high along the west edge of the field, took trail into the woods and across the stream then went down the far side to the control.

The last few controls were fine too, except I ran into somebody in this section who was talking a lot, basically giving a running commentary and yelling out to others where controls were which was really bothering me. This perhaps made me hustle a bit more, although I didn't really lose the person until the very end coming across the field.

Green - Splits

Event: SVO Lancaster County Central Park
 

Hanging controls

Picking up controls

The laziest.

Lesson on Shorty

I think I deserved two days off :)

Not feeling motivated this week, and after work is now plunged into darkness by the time change. Considering rejoining a gym for the winter, but will probably wait until next month.

Event: DVOA French Creek State Park North
 

D&L Half Marathon

So, I signed up for this back in January imagining that by November I would have lost a bunch of weight and spent the entire year training. Well, life happened and those other things didn't. But I have covered this much distance in orienteering/rogaine events before and figured I could walk the whole time if necessary.

It was actually not as hard as I thought it would be. I ran more than I thought I would. Given my physical condition, I set my goal at 3 hours and I did beat that. Despite being advertised as net downhill, it almost never felt like it was going downhill. But there was only one large hill and it was within the first 2 miles.

The first 5K was around 33:51 which is about the time I've been doing those in lately. And surprising because I walked up the entire big hill. So probably going out too fast, but I felt good and was moving ok.

Within the 4th mile or so, the 2:30 pacing group passed me and I was able to hang with them for a while before dropping off.

The first 10K was around 1:10:48 which is a PR (ok, if you want to get picky, all of my previous 10K were on trails, but I was also a lot younger and skinnier).

I was halfway through well under 1:30 which I thought was good, knowing I would slow down toward the end.

I started to have left hip pain around mile 7 and right hip in mile 8. After about 9 miles my hips gave up and I walked most of the rest. At this point I figured I would need to walk 15 minute miles to finish under my goal with some leeway. So I would keep in mind what time I needed to reach each marker. Amazingly, I was still moving well under 15 minute miles and hitting each mile early.

I managed to run it in the last 0.1. At finish my Garmin read 2:49:53 and that matches my chip time, which came in an email almost immediately after finishing. Which is also a PR because I've never done this distance in a running race.

Aside from the hip thing, I got a few blisters (one of which I think popped in the last mile, as it felt like my toe had exploded, but didn't look too scary once I finally took my shoes off at home). I used the same foot protocol as for the last rogaine - vasaline, sock, baby powder, sock, shoes. I probably could have done without the baby powder as we didn't go through any water aside from a few puddles.

My hands and wrists also swelled fairly significantly, which always happens when I run or walk long distance (it doesn't happen in something like a 5K or a typical orienteering course, but might if I spend all day walking around an amusement park, and of course in longer races.) At one point I had to loosen my Garmin strap. This went down pretty fast after finishing.

They had a free beer or wine for us, plus lunch, then a shuttle bus back to the beginning to get the cars.

Food/meds - naproxen and calcium/magnesium/zinc in the morning for past 2 weeks (and today), oatmeal and fruit cup for breakfast (at some crazy hour like 4 AM) with orange juice, had water and a gel about 30 min before starting (they had other food but I thought it was too close to eat more). I drank a cup of Gatorade at each of the 6 hydration stations. After finish, the beer and food, then back at the car acetaminophen and Tums.

Results - this is only the runners. They had separate results for walkers (not allowed to run at all, but some were super fast race walking) and some of them did finish before me and obviously many after as well.

Overall - 452/549
Females - 256/333
F 35-39 - 43/47

C • Great job!! 3

Lesson on Shorty