Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: WCOC Wooster Mountain
 

UNO Blue course. Analysis to come.

Blue - Splits

BSO - Debussy Nocturnes, Ibert Flute Concerto (Galway) and Brahms 1.

I didn't bike to work today because of morning rain.

Partly motivated by my uncharged mp3 player, I elected to do a hills workout today. After a pleasant warmup, I did six loops up Lowell St and down Craigie St. The absolute fastest I have ever run this hill was 1:30, and I believe 1:45 is a good target for hill intervals.

My original plan was to do 8 repeats, but I decided that my workout was successful, and I am concerned about increasing my training too rapidly. I wore running tights and a t-shirt; the temperature was 7 C and lightly breezy. I felt very good throughout the workout, and my ankle was strong and without pain or discomfort.

Splits were: up/down
2:04/2:25
1:53/3:19 (changed route down)
1:56/3:27
1:47/3:43
1:50/4:09
1:46/3:04

Contemplated that human behavior, much like robot swarms and possibly insect groups, is best described by the sum behavior of a large collection of individuals. While organization exists, like countries, cities, families, and so on, efforts to control, restrict or adjust the behavior of the group is very difficult. This is obvious with concerns like economics and environmentalism, but something as simple as reproduction is a nontrivial concern. Not unlike a virus, we could reproduce beyond our ability to sustain our population. While the world can support a fairly substantial population, many density problems exist - consider the volume of resources flowing in and out of major cities. It's a fascinating problem, particularly given that even given knowledge of the bounds of our support infrastructure, the collective might not make the optimal global decisions.

Commute.

Late night run; Eliot to Weeks footbridge river loop. Conditions were clear and 8 C. I comfortably ran in tights, a t-shirt and gloves (which I removed part of the way through the run). I listened to the Wheel of Time as I ran. I maintained about 3/2 breathing during the run, and felt strong throughout. My arches are a bit tight, but I experienced no discomfort. I was not conscious of my left ankle at any time.

Some stretching afterward - calves, hamstrings and adductors. I did not expect to break 5 minutes/km, though I'm quite pleased to find I did.

2215

Commute.

My left ankle is still a bit uncomfortable. I gingerly ran on it for the Blue Hills Traverse, in that I was able to run at full speed, but I tensed my muscles more bracing for bizarre impacts each time I landed. The ankle is still somewhat swollen relative to my right ankle, but I plan to resume running. I must build up my base before winter.

I would very much like to have a motivational countdown, but I am not sure to what. The Team Trials is tempting, but even if I had a spectacular winter, my probability of making the team is very small. The first A-meet of the year (either the North Carolina meet in February or the Georgia Navigator cup) is similarly tempting, but both of those events will be in the middle of my winter training seasons.

While I won't make the team this year, I do hope that my future training goals include peaking at Team Trials and for WOC.

T-179 days

Late night run; Davis - Harvard - Inman loop. I subscribed to audible.com to give me something to do while I train (and so decrease the energy barrier); I'm currently listening to the twelfth Wheel of Time book. Hopefully this will encourage me to train more frequently.

My ankle felt fairly good throughout the run, though I was ginger. Breathing was 2/3 for the last 2/3 of the run. Conditions were clear and 2 C; I ran in running tights, a t-shirt, gloves, and a windbreaker. I took off the windbreaker halfway through.

Question for my readers:
What books do you recommend for listening while training? Specifically, I'm looking for books that don't require tremendous concentration (no Rudin Principles of Mathematical Analysis or Quantum Field theory books) but that you enjoy.

C • Authors 19

Commute.