Training Log Archive: iansmith

Downhill skiing at Sunday River resort in Maine; total time was about 8 hours. Building on my experience from yesterday, I started skiing blue trails first with Ed Su on a snowboard, then with Katia and Giovanni. I reacted to slopes that previously would have terrified me by reminding myself to keep my weight forward, to transfer my weight to the downhill ski, and to relax and focus. That mantra was reassuring, and I quite comfortably descended some thrilling blue trails.

A definition I used is that I am in a state of controlled skiing if at any point I can comfortably come to a stop in a single turn without falling or resorting to any unorthodox motions. In that sense, I was always under control, though I was skiing somewhat aggressively for my skill level. It was exhilarating, though I was careful to not exceed my ability to maintain control.

Ed Su and I left the condo and got on our first lift at about 8:20. I skied through lunch, stopped for some hot chocolate with Katia and Giovanni at 2, and returned to the Italymobile at 4:15.

My favorite and most adventurous trails were the blue trails Risky Business, Lazy River, Cascade, Upper Sunday Punch, Excalibur, and the magnificent Rogue Angel.

Goals for week 24 January: 32 km running, 6 hours activity
Actual week: 24 km running, 6 hours activity (the 6 hrs is a stretch)
Weight as measured on 30 January: 188.8 lbs.

Downhill skiing at Sunday river as a part of the trip Lori organized. In attendance were Lori, Stephen, Ross, Dean, Ed(die) "The Yeti" Despard, Giovanni, Katia, Toby, Chris, Laura, Ben, Ed Su, and myself. The skiing was glorious, though for the first half of the day, I was mortally terrified for my life. I was on the slopes from about 9 to 6:30, with an hour break for lunch.

I spent most of the day with Stephen and Lori, who were of similar skill level. The contrast between our approaches was amusing - Stephen was aggressive and fell somewhat frequently, Lori was very conservative and always in control, and my strategy was somewhere between the two. We rode a number of greens, including the green+ or blue- Lollapalooza (which Katia referred to as "Lolla-business"). We took a lesson at 1 with Ben and seemed to improve. I had a much better understanding of the mechanics of edge turning, and stopped snow plowing almost entirely. Ross started the day with us, but he was far too skilled for our merry band, and amiably wandered about with other elements of our expedition.

As our lift tickets expired at 4, Stephen, Ed Su and I purchased night lift tickets (4 - 8 PM) for $5 and set about skiing down the small set of lighted trails, all of which were on north peak. We skied Broadway and Dream Maker a number of times, which was thrilling and good practice. Saturday was extremely crowded, but the night population was perhaps 1/10 of the day crowd. Dream Maker, a challenging green, which was hazardous by day - populated by many of varying skill levels, was blissful at night. It is true that a few bold individuals would blast down Dream Maker at high speeds at night, but I kept my trajectory very predictable and trusted that they would avoid me. Stephen and I ran the lower part of the blue trail escapade before retiring.

I wore two pairs of running tights as my bottoms on Saturday; apparently tight pants are a social faux pas at ski resorts; for Sunday, I replaced the outermost tights with some wind pants from a running suit.

My left leg is still a bit perturbed from yesterday's workout. I may confine more of my running to outside instead of a treadmill. I am hoping that the discomfort is from muscle soreness; it's not near the fracture site, so if it is a bone injury, it's in an entirely different location on my tibia. My right calf is sore, too, so it's not totally implausible.

Has anyone used the site o-training.net? It looks like an impressive collection of training articles and exercises.

Late night run after work. My peak speed was 5 min/km, but treadmills seem harder than running outside. My left leg felt shaky afterward, notably in the lower section near my ankle.

A mix of core work and some rehabilitation exercises.

My Training Goals for the full year 2011

Running plan until 31 May:
As of today, the team trials are in 123 days, or about 18 weeks. I mean to be as competitive as I can be by the time of the trials, if only to prepare myself for 2012. My plan to regain my fitness and restart my training regimen over that interval is as follows. My weeks start on Monday.

Running distance is an upper bound (I'm allowed to back off if sick or worried about injury); total time is a goal. I'm allowed to exceed total time in low-impact sports, like skiing, biking and swimming. The running focus denotes the primary quality workout for that period; the secondary and tertiary workouts that week will vary.

Week	Running (mi)	Running (km)	Total Time	Running Focus	Notes
03-Jan	13	21
10-Jan	7	11	3.25		Stomach Flu
17-Jan	15	24	4.25
24-Jan	20	32	6	Easy
31-Jan	23	37	8	Easy
07-Feb	26	42	10	Easy
14-Feb	23	37	10	Easy
21-Feb	26	42	10	Easy
28-Feb	29	46	10	Reps
07-Mar	32	51	10	Reps
14-Mar	32	51	10	Reps	NB Half
21-Mar	32	51	10	Reps
28-Mar	28	45	8	Intervals
04-Apr	30	48	8	Intervals
11-Apr	32	51	8	Intervals
18-Apr	34	54	8	Intervals
25-Apr	36	58	8	Intervals
02-May	32	51	10	Threshold
09-May	32	51	10	Threshold
16-May	32	51	10	Threshold
23-May	20	32	10	Threshold	Team Trials
30-May	35	56	10
Total	589	942	181.5

The same period in 2010. While this program is more aggressive that I have pursued in the past, my 2010 activities were disorganized and unfocused. Had I continued my January 2010 effort, I would have run 550 miles in the same period in 2010, compared to my target of 589 this year.

This program is somewhat risky; I essentially have no base at this time. The "total training time" field is important, because the balance of my training will be orienteering and low impact activities like biking, skiing, and swimming. Between now and 28 March, my goal is to improve my fitness as much as possible without inviting injury. I don't have an excuse not to go to the pool and swim laps or take my bike out on the Minuteman or the Esplanade when it is warmer.

C • glad that you're aware that... 5

After failing to train yesterday due to exceedingly cold conditions (avg temp -15 C), the CSU A-meet planning meeting, and the combined influence of Ross, Boris, Ed, and Alex, I decided to do some low intensity training in my office gym. I warmed up for ten minutes on a bike, did some quick strengthening exercises, and ran on a treadmill for 25 minutes. The treadmill was exhausting; even cruising at a leisurely 7 mph was difficult. I distracted myself by counting my stride rate - several measurements of a minute in length yielded 160-170 range.

C • Wow 4

25x two-legged calf raises, +18 kg
25x squats, +18 kg

There's an interesting problem with the gpx track that likely exists because I started my garmin before it had acquired satellites. I think the distance is wrong - probably closer to 10 km. This event was CSU training set by Giovanni. He set a one-man relay street-O race. I felt reasonably good and ran well, though I was very tired by the end. I ran into Magnus for the first time at a CSU training session. Dinner, company, and conversation were excellent.

C • close to 10k 2

Morning strength, a hodgepodge of strength exercises.
25x two-legged squats
10x one-legged squats, each side
25x calf-raises
25, 20, 25 pushups