Training Log Archive: iansmith

I went on a late night run (3 AM), with the objective of 50 minutes of moderate intensity running. I brought a headlamp and the West Point Long course map from 2008 (on which I met my Leipzig and DNF'd); I was inspired by Gerald's similar exercises.

The West Point map is non-trivial to navigate; I have concluded that the contours are the most reliable features for navigation, but they are often difficult to interpret. Last year, I had just come off a 16 minute/km middle distance course; I am better prepared physically and navigationally, though I need work in both areas. My goal is 10 min/km on the long, though I would be content with 12 min/km. I will go well armed with GU.

The work for the CSU A-meet and my job this week have coupled to completely wear me down. I don't expect to get much sleep tonight and Friday night as I struggle to finish the volunteer schedule and start list before West Point. It is unfortunate; the demands of my current circumstances (exacerbated by my sluggishness to execute them) have stoked my fury at a certain director. I hope to be judicious in all that I say and do in the next few weeks.

Event: CSU Hammond Pond Park-O
 

My old, destroyed pair of trail runners is the same model and color as my new pair; I accidentally grabbed my old pair this morning. As a result, I orienteered in my sneakers (running shoes).

I had a clean run, with no major errors; I had about 15 seconds of hesitation at 7, a dumb route choice at 1, and a moment of confusion microrienteering at 12. I was slow. Ross started a minute behind me, and we punched together at control 3 (which I blame on my crappy route choice at 1). He made an error, so I beat him to 4, but he caught up at 5. I might have lost ten seconds to traffic, but he was unquestionably faster. I saw him leaving 7, and that was it. I didn't really warm up for this one, which probably contributed to my sluggishness, but I am nonetheless disappointed in my running speed. I think Ross finished in just under 18 minutes; Clem was slightly over 18 minutes.

Lessons for future sprints: concentrate and focus before you start, warmup physically, bring correct shoes, and run fast.

Vadim set up five radio transmitters for ARDF so those who were interested could try it. The controls were about one hundred meters apart and each transmitted for one minute. I had never tried radio orienteering, but it was very interesting. I had no real difficulty navigating while I was far from the control, but near it I struggled. Each transmitter was a small black box - flags weren't up, so visibility was a problem. Vadim also suggested holding my arms out with the receiver when I get close to triangulate.

I hope to try it more in the future; it was fun.

C • ARDF 6

I ran about with Ross picking up controls. We had pleasant conversation. Apparently he sometimes sings to himself as he's running if he's running well and in a good mood. It suits him; my conversation with myself while I contemplate route choice options is peculiar.

Advanced Course - Splits

Afternoon run. Conditions were sunny, 4 C, with winds at 35 kph. I ran in running tights, a sweatshirt, and a hat; breathing was 3/3 most of the time.

100 pushups in sets of 25, with up to ten minutes rest between sets. The time is an approximation, though I usually do pushups at approximately 1 Hz. I seldom log these small sets of strength activities, like crunches, pushups, calf raises, and so on, but this seemed sufficiently novel to warrant comment. Keith, a friend of mine, recently challenged his friend to complete 1000 pushups first; I know only that their times were on the order of days. I do not know how quickly I could do 1000 pushups - perhaps 3 days?

With Dasha, Clem, Ross, and Brendan, I helped Clem move his furniture from one apartment to another within the same building. Dasha was moving all the little stuff at the time; the rest of us moved a small set of heavy items, including a bed, sofa, loveseat, dressers, and so on. In general, the task was not strenuous - we had an elevator and sufficient manpower; the difficulty was moving the furniture delicately so as to damage neither the walls nor the furniture. Some of the larger items - e.g. the sofa - required manipulating the furniture in nontrivial orientations to overcome geometric constraints, like door frames.

The experience was pleasant socially, though it lacked the physical rigor of many other moving experiences I have had. Clem lacks my fault of overpacking cardboard boxes with books - moving 100 lbs of books in an 18" cube is a particularly poignant memory I have of my past moves.

Late road run. Ran in a t-shirt and running tights; conditions were clear, 10' C.