Training Log Archive: iansmith

Registered for the US Classic Champs. I found BOS-RDU flights for $165.

Chopin Preludes No. 20 and 4; Nocturne in E flat; Pathetique I, II, and III; Pictures.

I had a rare, powerful migraine for most of the morning and early afternoon, which curtailed my plan to go to the Boston Museum of Art. I took naproxen, drank water, ate a little food, and did my best to remove all sensory stimuli - I blindfolded myself to keep my eyes dark and reclined into dreamless sleep.

That seemed to help. After a two hour piano session at the Bermans' (which I had intended as one hour) and a relaxed evening, I set out on a late night run. I was not overly enthusiastic about the prospect, but I wanted to take only one rest day this week. Conditions were breezy, clear and cold, with a temperature of -2 C. I ran in a compression top, long sleeves, short sleeves, gloves, tights, shorts, and a balaclava; I was comfortable. I focused on keeping a quick cadence, and I clocked at 180 when I measured it against my watch. I continued Into the Silence, which is still largely uninteresting. The author describes the geographical layout of the 1921 expedition's path to Everest in painstaking detail, when a simple map would suffice. That's impractical for an audiobook, but the relative position of myriad locations is soporific. I experienced some lingering digestive distress, but only while I was running. Perhaps Chanukkah fare sits poorly with my Gentile stomach.

On an unrelated note, I appear to be allergic to almonds. That is, I ate a few handfuls of almonds, and my body went to Defcon 2. The symptoms were classic oral allergy syndrome - itchiness, redness and inflammation of the throat, some blisters and swelling in the throat - accompanied by digestive distress and intermittent chest pain. This appears to have been slightly more severe than the peach incident of August 2010, but as I live quite near a hospital, I wasn't overly concerned. I drank copious fluids, brushed my teeth, ate a tortilla, and took the antihistamine fexofenadine (which is all I had lying around). While I wasn't comfortable, if circumstances grew severe, I was prepared to summon aid. In lieu of an epipen, I considered watching scary movies.

Perhaps I should acquire an epipen, but I feel like if I give in to fear (and physiology), the peaches/almonds win.

C • fear 8

C • a late night run... 1

Chopin prelude No. 20; Nocturne in E flat; Beethoven Pathetique Sonata, mvts 1 and 2; Pictures at an Exhibition, I. Promenade; Revolutionary etude (briefly; no sheet music)

Pictures is difficult, but so glorious. The challenge for me presently is just remembering the sequence of chords; once I know the piece, I can start playing music.

As I have orienteering plans for Saturday, I rotated my long run to the Thursday quality workout slot. After an evening of ecstasy playing the Bermans' piano, a relaxing night and pleasant conversation, I set out on a gentle run. The night was drizzly, with a temperature of 7 C and moist ground. I ran in tights, short sleeves, and gloves, and while I was comfortable, I was thoroughly drenched by the end of the run. I had originally planned only to run to the Harvard Bridge, but I was feeling strong and so lengthened my route. I continued Into the Silence, which has thus far been the most boring climbing book I have read. I ran almost entirely on dirt paths paralleling the esplanade, with intermittent bouts on pavement. I had some digestive distress near the end, possibly from my old culinary nemesis - cream cheese. The initial heart rate data is clearly spurious.

My legs are remarkably puny and weak; I shall undertake a strength training regimen to remedy this.

It seems that the generation of the early twentieth century was done a tremendous disservice by its political and military leadership. World War I was marked by overwhelming incompetence in all areas of command that started the war, led to gratuitous and senseless slaughter and carnage, and sowed the seeds of the next war through Versailles. Frankly, wtf.

20x jumpies. Baby steps.

I fell asleep quite early last night - perhaps recovering from the Chicago expedition, so I got up early this morning for a cruise interval workout. Threshold workouts are a low priority now - in the Daniels' Running program, they are the last stage of training prior to competition, after base, reps, and VO2 max intervals. However, variety is the spice of life, and I want to include some threshold training throughout my regimen.

My prescribed threshold pace, according to my latest time trial, is 3:54/km, with a Vdot of 55.6. I set about running 5x1 km, with 2-3 minutes of rest. My pace lagged near the end, which I think indicates that I was going too fast. It turns out that the objective of a threshold run is to maintain a high level of blood lactate, so the appropriate rest for cruise intervals is short - at most 1 minute. A better target at my current fitness is 4:00/km with 1 minute rest. Conditions today were overcast and unseasonably warm, with a temperature of 6 C. I ran in compression short sleeves, long sleeves, tights, and gloves.

Intervals: 3:53, 3:45, 3:55, 3:59, 4:07

C • This is confusing 8

50 oblique crunches, 50 tuckups, 50 kayakers, 25 supermans

Easy run around Cambridge with some urgency because of the CSU Park-O meeting at 7 PM. I continued Into the Silence, and stopped by Lowell st for a single hill repeat interval. I haven't done hill repeats in weeks, and I will to incorporate them into my regimen with greater frequency in the future.

I suppose hill intervals stress a different set of running muscles. The recovery period is too long for them to be VO2 max intervals; I suppose for sufficiently long hill runs, lactate might accumulate. Short repetitions with full recovery seem to stress running muscles - the 200m and 400m reps train muscles that establish good running form. At least, that is my understanding of hill repeats. I guess in a simpler sense, you run up hills so you can get better at running up hills.

Conditions were cool: 6 C, with a strong breeze. I ran in tights, long sleeves and gloves.

C • single hill repeat? 1