Training Log Archive: RosstopherIn the 7 days ending May 10, 2009:
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Sunday May 10, 2009 #
Road run 1:25:59 [3] 10.7 km (8:02 / km)
Not the epic win I had in mind, but a fun Billygoat nonetheless. The meet was great, and I happily left with a much fonder impression of the forests of Bow NH than I previously held from the Boulder Dash.
I had a pretty good run actually, I had a weird issue with my right contact lense and I ended up just pulling it out completely on the starting line. So my right eye was blurry for the course. It was only noticeable at first, when I was still adjusting. Luckily I could really depend on others to get me to the control points at the beginning. I looked quickly and saw that skipping one would be a waste and then charged out of the gate after Erik and Clem. I was sorta just keeping with them for the first two controls. On 3, I went a little bit straighter and got a slight edge on them, went straightish to 4 as well ( decided it was still too early for me to skip), and Nate was with me here, we plowed through some pretty dense white woods, but came out on the trail very nicely and that meant the control was quite easy. 5 was the fork and I went right, but didn't execute very well. It was best to stay low by the swamp and then run the trail all the way, but I cut right up the hill and up and over to the trail. It was a bit of a slog through those woods, but Sergei was with me, so I thought I was in pretty good position. 6, just push through the swamp and then up the hill. I guess people had some difficulty here, but for me it went smoothly, and I started feeling like it was going to be a good race. I saw that 7 would be a logical skip, but I felt good still and decided to horde my skip until later ( I glanced over the rest and saw that 20 was on a hilltop, so I might skip that). As I came across to 8 I saw Hilly and then Sam going into the control, and tore out to the trail to the right on the way to 9. got to the flag with Andy Hall and Joe Brautigam, and did the next couple pretty well ( if not exactly on a straight line) little short controls. 12, was funny to me because I was expecting the terrain to drop and really the rocks were in a saddle not on a spur like I had imagined... I slowed down trying to make sense of this stuff and then Erik Nystrom caught up again. We were running sorta together on the next long one, well he slowly passed me and then really got away from me in the cleared area. We saw Alexei and Sergei here, and I was with them but stopped to rehang the flag at 13 ( trying to get good karma). 14 was the drink spot and I was in 6th position when I went through and I still had my skip.... I was feeling good. feeling good is not the same as being smart. I was most of the way to 15, before I realized that I should have skipped it. I found a nice ride though and I think I got ahead of Sergei and Alexei on this point. 16, -19 I was moving really well and just cruising but then I made the choice to go to 20 afterall. It was a stupid control to skip, because I wasn't going to save any climb really. I had to go right past it anyway, to get to 21. So I went off, but I got pushed right by the hillside ( happened to a few people, or more than a few) and got really confused. I didn't figure it out, and started to panic, I knew that I didn't have much time left in the race, so in my panic I chose to just cut my losses and skip. I didn't really know where I was though, so trying to get to 21 was tricky. I ended up getting really far right, and taking the trail around, which was slow, but at least I didn't get lost in the circle. 22, 23, and then finish.
I was 5 minutes or so back on the winners, but I think there were places in the race where I was a real contender. Erik was just 20 or 30 seconds ahead at 14, and he won, so I could have done a lot better in the end section of the race. I will post splits later, I have them written on the back of my map somewhere.
I had a pretty good run actually, I had a weird issue with my right contact lense and I ended up just pulling it out completely on the starting line. So my right eye was blurry for the course. It was only noticeable at first, when I was still adjusting. Luckily I could really depend on others to get me to the control points at the beginning. I looked quickly and saw that skipping one would be a waste and then charged out of the gate after Erik and Clem. I was sorta just keeping with them for the first two controls. On 3, I went a little bit straighter and got a slight edge on them, went straightish to 4 as well ( decided it was still too early for me to skip), and Nate was with me here, we plowed through some pretty dense white woods, but came out on the trail very nicely and that meant the control was quite easy. 5 was the fork and I went right, but didn't execute very well. It was best to stay low by the swamp and then run the trail all the way, but I cut right up the hill and up and over to the trail. It was a bit of a slog through those woods, but Sergei was with me, so I thought I was in pretty good position. 6, just push through the swamp and then up the hill. I guess people had some difficulty here, but for me it went smoothly, and I started feeling like it was going to be a good race. I saw that 7 would be a logical skip, but I felt good still and decided to horde my skip until later ( I glanced over the rest and saw that 20 was on a hilltop, so I might skip that). As I came across to 8 I saw Hilly and then Sam going into the control, and tore out to the trail to the right on the way to 9. got to the flag with Andy Hall and Joe Brautigam, and did the next couple pretty well ( if not exactly on a straight line) little short controls. 12, was funny to me because I was expecting the terrain to drop and really the rocks were in a saddle not on a spur like I had imagined... I slowed down trying to make sense of this stuff and then Erik Nystrom caught up again. We were running sorta together on the next long one, well he slowly passed me and then really got away from me in the cleared area. We saw Alexei and Sergei here, and I was with them but stopped to rehang the flag at 13 ( trying to get good karma). 14 was the drink spot and I was in 6th position when I went through and I still had my skip.... I was feeling good. feeling good is not the same as being smart. I was most of the way to 15, before I realized that I should have skipped it. I found a nice ride though and I think I got ahead of Sergei and Alexei on this point. 16, -19 I was moving really well and just cruising but then I made the choice to go to 20 afterall. It was a stupid control to skip, because I wasn't going to save any climb really. I had to go right past it anyway, to get to 21. So I went off, but I got pushed right by the hillside ( happened to a few people, or more than a few) and got really confused. I didn't figure it out, and started to panic, I knew that I didn't have much time left in the race, so in my panic I chose to just cut my losses and skip. I didn't really know where I was though, so trying to get to 21 was tricky. I ended up getting really far right, and taking the trail around, which was slow, but at least I didn't get lost in the circle. 22, 23, and then finish.
I was 5 minutes or so back on the winners, but I think there were places in the race where I was a real contender. Erik was just 20 or 30 seconds ahead at 14, and he won, so I could have done a lot better in the end section of the race. I will post splits later, I have them written on the back of my map somewhere.
C • Erik 1
Saturday May 9, 2009 #
Note
no running today. we cleaned house, watched TV, did errands, and had a special pre-billygoat dinner at Brendan's.
Friday May 8, 2009 #
Road run 1:04:00 [3] 8.0 mi (8:00 / mi)
running to and from work. on Wednesday I noticed a whole gaggle of goslings wandering around behind their parents in the chestnut hill plaza parking lot. This morning I only counted two.... that's not good.
on the way home I was going to add some laps of the reservoir, but I stopped to pick up some groceries, and then my backpack was awkward and heavy and I wasn't feeling like adding on anymore.
on the way home I was going to add some laps of the reservoir, but I stopped to pick up some groceries, and then my backpack was awkward and heavy and I wasn't feeling like adding on anymore.
Thursday May 7, 2009 #
Road run 56:00 [3] 7.0 mi (8:00 / mi)
Running to work and then after work I ran over to the Berman's for a CSU a-meet wrap-up meeting. A really nice day for running. I got a little spaced as I was running over to cambridge... I started heading on my normal route home instead of cutting over to the BU bridge. Not sure where my brain was, but it was easy to correct and I saw some beautiful neighborhoods as I was running my correctional course.
A-meet meeting was long, but cathartic. We managed to put on a good meet with a strange blend of good luck and long nights the week before ( from a core group of workers). Without having Larry and Sara Mae able to devote themselves completely to the meet we would have been sunk for sure. At the meeting we discussed all the ways we got lucky and how we should improve next time. Our sophomore effort is going to be really awesome ( but we think we might need a bit of a break before next time).
Also, if anyone wants to buy a great 16 ounce (beer) glass commemorating the meet let me know. We bought more than we needed for the prizes and for volunteers. We're selling them at a reasonable price (3$) so you can get a whole set.
A-meet meeting was long, but cathartic. We managed to put on a good meet with a strange blend of good luck and long nights the week before ( from a core group of workers). Without having Larry and Sara Mae able to devote themselves completely to the meet we would have been sunk for sure. At the meeting we discussed all the ways we got lucky and how we should improve next time. Our sophomore effort is going to be really awesome ( but we think we might need a bit of a break before next time).
Also, if anyone wants to buy a great 16 ounce (beer) glass commemorating the meet let me know. We bought more than we needed for the prizes and for volunteers. We're selling them at a reasonable price (3$) so you can get a whole set.
Wednesday May 6, 2009 #
Road run 32:00 [3] 4.0 mi (8:00 / mi)
woke up this morning not feeling quite invigorated, per se, but certainly more alive than earlier this week. got up at the second alarm and had time to do my pushups and crunches before running to work. Taking time off from the pushups really has been noticeable, I get to the point of muscle fatigue way quicker now than before.
The run was nice except for the sensation of a tupperware full of watermelon poking into my back ( this was the actual cause too, for anyone who is curious. It's not just a very descriptive metaphorical pain). was sort of planning on running home too, but ended up sticking around work later than intended on the computer, so I jumped on the shuttle to make it home quicker
The run was nice except for the sensation of a tupperware full of watermelon poking into my back ( this was the actual cause too, for anyone who is curious. It's not just a very descriptive metaphorical pain). was sort of planning on running home too, but ended up sticking around work later than intended on the computer, so I jumped on the shuttle to make it home quicker
Tuesday May 5, 2009 #
Road run 25:00 [3] 3.5 mi (7:09 / mi)
hard time getting up in the morning. I would like to blame jet-lag but maybe I'm just lazy. I took the shuttle to work and then after work I ran from the Joslin down the emerald necklace to the arboretum for the CSU park-o courtesy of Pia. The run down was nice and drizzly so I was already wet and chilly when i arrived at the park. would have gotten lost on my way except for bumping into Ian who led me to the right location.
orienteering 17:58 [3] 2.83 km (6:21 / km)
CSU park-o at Peter's Hill. It was a bit soggy but Peter's Hill is just so much fun for doing Park-o. I started out a little shaky, and had trouble finding control #1, just getting into the scale was a bit hard I think. The second control was right up and over the hill, and I'm not sure I had the best route, but I worked as hard as I could but felt limited by some very slippy sneakers on the hill. from 5-6 I ran through an out of bounds area before I even noticed what was going on.... which is a clear indication that I don't read ahead enough in sprints. I knew that the next control was to the east, but I didn't see the purple slash covering the area right next to control 5. Pia said that it wasn't really out of bounds, she had noticed piles of mulch and didn't want people to get stuck. still, I should be reading my map better. control #10 was down a steep slope and my shoes couldn't get enough grip so I slid all the way down and had to work my way back again. so, all in all, it wasn't a perfect race but I think it was a pretty good effort for a Tuesday night. Somehow my official time is off by a minute.
1) 54
2)2:08
3)38
4)37
5)1:57
6)1:12
7)56
8)32
9)32
10)1:01
11)55
12)1:15
13)1:17
14)1:06
15)44
16)1:58
F) 22
T)17:58
1) 54
2)2:08
3)38
4)37
5)1:57
6)1:12
7)56
8)32
9)32
10)1:01
11)55
12)1:15
13)1:17
14)1:06
15)44
16)1:58
F) 22
T)17:58
Trail run 18:51 [3] 2.83 km (6:40 / km)
Sam was going back out on the course for more training. She ran it backwards this time for a different course. I followed behind, and we both did this mostly by memory. I only deviated from her course when I thought that she was going too far out of the way. I had a couple of places where my memory route was better than hers, but she had a really nice route from 2-1 that put me to shame. I was hard pressed to keep up with her on the up hills and down hills... she's been working hard and it shows. sam was disappointed that she wasn't faster than this on the second time, but I think she just has high expectations.
Trail run 20:00 [3]
Clem, Brendan and Ian were running hill reps up Peter's hill after the park-o. after Sam and I got back from our second loop we went over to cheer them on. Then we ran up a couple ourselves. The other guys did 8 reps, but Sam and I did two. about 1:00 the first time up and about 57 the second time. Then we split up the controls and went to go pick them up. Sam and Jeff were kind of thinking about running the course 3 times, but it was a bit chilly and we were tired so it was twice and then split up for control pickup.
Monday May 4, 2009 #
Note
wow, working today was a bit of a challenge. kept myself to easy tasks that I couldn't really mess up. turned out okay, but felt very spaced all day.
landed at 7:20 am, got to work about 8:40 am after a ~5 hour red-eye. Running wasn't very appealing by the time I got home.... just eating some dinner with Sam and pretty early bedtime.
landed at 7:20 am, got to work about 8:40 am after a ~5 hour red-eye. Running wasn't very appealing by the time I got home.... just eating some dinner with Sam and pretty early bedtime.