Training Log Archive: iansmith

Heeheehee:
xkcd. Please note that you are obligated to sing along. I'm looking at you, feet.

C • I'm not sure whether it's g... 2

Running! Gimpy Foot felt ok - no discomfort or pain, though it did feel awkward. The plan was ten minutes, but I overran slightly. Followed up with 25 tuckups for kicks and my usual stretching regimen - calves, quads, hamstrings, and adductors/groin. I enjoyed wearing my running shoes again.

After driving back to Boston with Alex and Ed, I decided the evening was too magnificent to not get a training session in. I skipped the long this morning because I thought it prudent to avoid excessive stress on my foot. So, I went for a bike ride on the Esplanade. While there were a few other people enjoying the dying rays of the sun, the paths were largely clear, and I was able to push hard for all but a few moments. The evening was cool - about 10 C, with clear, brilliant skies.

I reflected during the ride; the wind whipping by precludes the use of audiobooks with my ordinary headphones, and at such speeds, even lacking cars, the Esplanade requires attentiveness to avoid collision. Flying down the bike path was delightful and cathartic.

Without a particular agenda for my musings, I eventually onto the nature of fear. It doesn't seem fit the utility model I use to think about decisions and happiness; perhaps the model needs revision. For an event with some probability that decreases utility, the appropriate response to prefer other outcomes. Perhaps fear is a magnification of that - instances with especially strong aversion. I wonder if the perceived magnitude of the loss of utility or the probability of the event guides factors into the magnitude of the fear. There are many irrational fears where presumably there exist flaws in perception - for example, fear of spiders. However, I don't think that the fear an event induces is merely some function of probability and loss of utility; I think it is easier to characterize as an emotional response to that preference function. I do not know under what criteria fear exists.

For all but sociopaths, their utility functions have a component that depends on the utility of others; they do not act merely in self-interest, but also consider the interest of those around them. An obvious practical example is two married people - it is preferable in the relationship if they each share in the others' interests if only because of the other person's preference. I encountered data this weekend which makes me wonder to what extent my appreciation of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me was influenced by that of my peers. Indifference to the preferences of others leads to psychopathy; total dependence on that of others leads to loss of individuality and spinelessness.

I stopped mid ride at a pullup bar on the Esplanade and attempted my maximum given the guidelines of the competition: I managed 12. I'm a bit disappointed, but perhaps I would fare better if not in the middle of a bike ride.

C • 12 ain't bad 1

Event: 33rd West Point A Meet
 

West Point Middle Distance race. A decent race, but revealing in its flaws. I was only partly successful in not running aggressively, but I was slower and more relaxed than I would have been with a healthy foot. I was intimately attuned to sensations from Gimpy Foot, and I was very careful during motions like uphills which inclined my foot upward with lots of force on the toes.

I was clean though cautious and somewhat hesitant through the first eleven controls apart from a bobble at 9 where I struggled to localize the control among vegetation on an elongated knoll. I really messed up 12 - Eddie caught up to me after crossing the stream, and my attack was poor. I passed right over it, but I had difficulty matching up the features around me. My stamina started to wane near the end, and I was slow on the remaining controls. I bobbled 13 - I didn't parse the terrain well and overshot, but was otherwise clean. I really hesitated running into 17.

After the race, while my foot was somewhat discomforted - perhaps from lack of use, I didn't seem to sustain any damage. Earlier in the week, I requested these races not contribute to my ranking, so I erred on the side of discretion and sat out the sprint and long.

Wyatt loaned me the Boot of Asclepius, which has cured both him and Sam of their plantar fasciitis.

Warmup to the start. My focus was scattered, and I wasn't in a race mindset. Part of that was lack of preparedness, but part was trying to will myself to run the course gingerly and not injure my foot. I forgot to tape my laces, and I lacked a control description holder as all mine had deteriorated.

When I ran into Magnus at the start (who did not know that I was running), he greeted me with a smirk and a disapproving shake of his head.

Blue Middle - Splits

Cruising about Cambridge. I have been biking to work this week, but my commute is of an intensity lower than my minimum for logging. This was an explicit workout, though I did have to stop for traffic lights.

In more exciting news, I have acquired a kite.

C • I love kites! 5

I am feeling pretty good in the aftermath of the canoe race; the soreness in my shoulders, arms, back, and core peaked on Monday. There is one spot on my left shoulder where it still feels like I was punched hard; I suppose I could have strained something while fighting the wind. Hopefully it won't interfere with the West Point pullup showdown.

My foot continues its convalescence, and I will resume biking as training until I am comfortable running again. I sometimes revisit that haunting possibility - that maybe I will not achieve my goals, that my pattern of breaking and falling short will continue until my potential is wasted away. I cannot discount that possibility, but I will not be swayed from my quest. An orienteering career, or indeed any pursuit, cannot be adequately summarized by its peak accolade. I will recover and set my sights on the next challenge. I imagine that at the end, the journey will have more than justified the apparent sacrifice, though this is a speculative estimation of my utility function.

I recently revisited my 2011 Blue Hills Traverse course for kicks; while I think it's one of my best courses, it almost killed everyone because it was too long. I'm sure it couldn't compete with Jeff Schapiro's Billygoat (especially since there was the Short 10.7 km option), but I was a bit overzealous. I look forward to the 2012 race!

C • Break the pattern? 4

C • the pullup comp is at WP? nuts! 3

C • Sacrifice? 3