Training Log Archive: iansmith

A smattering of my favorite pictures from West Point (full album here - http://iamsinht.com/is/albums/20120505_WestPoint/ )

Happy dog in final launch preparations
We have liftoff
Wheeeeeeeee
Alisaurus Rex
Practicing kicking butt
Rocket legs
Profiles in fuzzy courage
Smug Swede Stretches
Self-satisfied cyclist
Battle face
Luck o' the Irish
Haha nice bib
Incredulity of youth
Birds of a feather
This shot wasn't staged at all
Will people ever realize my last name doesn't end in "s"?
Little Hall in the chute and in the zone

C • Photos 2

Warm up and run over to MIT. GimpyFoot at first felt somewhat uncomfortable, but the various tissues seemed to loosen up as I ran along. I considered aborting the track workout, but when I arrived at MIT, it felt good enough.

First track workout since the rise of GimpyFoot! I joined the CSU crew at the MIT track on a drizzly day for 12x400 at alternating 5k, 3k pace. Only five were in attendance: Giacomo, Terry, SGB, Patrick, and me. I had planned to run 8, but I missed the first two due to tardiness and felt like staying with the group. My target times based on my recent running time trials were 87 for 5k pace and 84 for 3k pace, and I deliberately backed off to try to hit those. Doing so took great restraint, especially with Giacomo blasting 79/72s. He ran 65s for the last 400.

Splits: 84, 81; 87, 83, 88, 83; 85, 82, 87, 77

C • MIT Track 2

Run around Briggs' field; I chatted with Giacomo about NEOC meets and our summer plans.

Run home; I was motivated to hurry home, and pushed into tempo pace. As my glasses were obscured by drizzle, and I lacked a light, I was wary of bad footing. However, I stopped for a bit at traffic lights and still ran comfortably under 5:00/km. GimpyFoot felt ok.

It turns out Ali may be the single greatest motivation among the M21s in the US. On an entirely unrelated note, I need to resume track workouts.

Miscellaneous items:
So much adorableness.
Kid has skillz.
The Buckliball.

My vitals when I donated platelets this evening were rhr = 52, BP 140/50, Hemoglobin = 15.0. I think the hemoglobin measurement is grams per deciliter; my PR is 15.4, and they won't let you donate if the reading is below 12.5. The blood pressure reading is odd; I usually hover around 120/70. My diastolic blood pressure was surprisingly low.

C • buckliball 1

C • Skillz: like 3

Biked home at moderate intensity after donating platelets. I stopped by the grocery store to procure yogurt, olive oil, and garlic.

Event: NEOC: Breakheart Reservation - US Team Fundraiser
 

I ran the Red course at NEOC's Breakheart meet, set by Alex Jospe, and a US Team fundraiser. I helped out a bit in the morning - procured refreshments, brought registration equipment, and worked the meet for about an hour.

I ran aggressively; I wanted to win every split and to have a clean race, though I didn't set out a specific objective for this course. Trail options were plentiful, and I was not quite as effective taking them as I should have been. I took a dumb route to 2 (and realized it even as I began it); I should have run to the trail on the right. On the way to 3, I drifted farther to the north than I planned because of an aversion to climb; I meant to run south of the marsh halfway through the leg. I hesitated near the circle at 5, though I was pretty confident of my location. I checked the wrong boulder at 12 at first, and initially thought I was on a different road on my way to 13. Overall, I was precise and clean, and I kept the intensity reasonably high. I felt sluggish running on the trails; I didn't have the spring in my step that I'm used to. I managed to win the course, though some of the usual suspects were absent, organizing, or running different courses.

I glanced at my watch after 12 and realized sub 50 was attainable, so I kicked into a high gear for 14, 15, and the finish. I startled a few innocent bystanders when I busted out of a swamp onto the road at full speed.

Note: I am very sad to hear of Daniel Hubmann's Achilles tear at the EOCs; he is a titan, and it is devastating to see them fall.

Quickroute

C • Impressed 2

C • On the other hand... 6

I ran for about five minutes before the race to wake up the feet and warmup, and for about ten minutes afterward to cool down. I only recorded part of the cool down.

Control pickup of six controls.

Red - Splits

Event: 3000m Time Trial
 

Warmup with Ali and Alex. I biked over, so my muscles were somewhat alert. Apparently we were going pretty fast.

Ali's usual drills, which were a complete novelty for me. I felt a bit tired after finishing them, but it was a good warmup. As I recall, the drills were: butt kicks, high knee running, bounding, galloping, karaokes, and running backwards. Probably some others in there.

Running a lap of easy + strides. I was a bit too fast on the straight aways.

I ran with Ali for the first kilometer of her 3k, rested for the second, then ran (too far, it turns out) in front of her to give her a rabbit for the end. She was flying - through 1600m in 5:17. I did a bit of cheering for Alex and Ali, particularly when I was resting. Running on the track was fun, and GimpyFoot seems more or less unperturbed by the stresses of the day. Ali was running about 3:20/km, which is considerably faster than I typically run (usually 3:35-3:40 for intervals). I feel like I could run a sub 5:20 mile, but a 10-flat 3k is probably a bit out of reach. The summer will be a good opportunity for some time trials once I resume regular training.

To brunch at Brendan's after the time trial. It turns out I took the optimal route.

Piano at the Bermans'; worked chiefly on Chopin Nocturne No. 1 and Pathetique.

Didn't have Garmin running during the entire warmup, but did a little sprinting and some easy running around Fresh Pond. I had biked over, so the muscles were already responsive.

2012 CSU Park-O #5 at Fresh Pond, set by Lori. Lori designed a three course motala, and the race was a mass start. Attendance, apparently buoyed by the NEOC training camp last Saturday, was high - perhaps 30 total. I was feeling good and started hard, breaking away from others on my loop Judging by the heart rate graph, I kept a high intensity the entire race, and managed to pull off a win.

C • Shoes? 5

Ran out to grab eight controls. I caught up to Michael Commons, who was chugging around the third loop, and stopped for a bit to let him do his thing without risking distracting him with conversation.

Motala - Splits

Tonight was my last NEOC Board meeting for this term in office. I will be staying on as Vice President of Events for the present - and it is that office, not serving on the board, that consumes the majority of my NEOC energies. Barb Bryant is also not running for reelection, and Bill Pullman is moving.

Summary:
- NEOC is doing ok financially. Perhaps incentivized by the "members run free" arrangement and the low number of meets you need to attend to break even on membership fees, we have over 500 members this year, up from around 400 last.

- NEOC's spring schedule is very ambitious, and includes 20 events: 1 ski-O, 2 Canoe-Os, 1 Scout-O, 2 A-meet races, 1 training day, and 13 local meets. The fall schedule is similarly ambitious with 20 events planned: 1 MTB-O, 5 sprints, 1 Scout-O, 1 Night-O, 11 local meets and the Traverse. I'm looking for meet directors, so please let me know if you are interested in directing an event.

- The Western MA A-meet is going well, though volunteers are needed from Boston for routine activities like manning starts, organizing parking, and picking up controls. Contact me if you're interested in helping out! All the credit for WeMa 5-Day goes to the Amherst crew. It looks like the meet will raise in excess of $6k for the Ski-O team.

- After extensive deliberation, it was my recommendation to the board that the club not proceed with an A-meet at Big River in Rhode Island in Spring 2013. The Board accepted my recommendation and did not overrule.

- Jim Paschetto headed up the Nominating Committee to recruit candidates for the board, and has found five: Tim Parson, Aims Coney, Mika Latva-Kokko, Jeff Saeger, and Peter Frykman (incumbent). One other candidate had expressed interest but withdrew for personal reasons. Elections are on June 10, at the AGM at the Blue Hills (following a meet). The board currently consists of:

Up for election in 2012: Peter Frykman, Barb Bryant (not running), Ian Smith (not running), vacant, vacant
2013: Pete Lane, Joanne Sankus, Jim Paschetto, Jim Crawford, Andy McIlvaine, Bill Pullman

We ended up with eleven seats after Spring 2011, when Sam and Dan left the board halfway through their terms. What the board should have done was appointed those two seats, but we apparently added two. According to state law, you have to elect half the board each year (or floor(num_board/2), ceil(num_board/2), I guess), so apparently we can't just will away the two vacancies. There is a very pedantic conversation about this that ensued about which I have very little interest, but I think the plan is to shrink back to 9 sometime next year. The net result is that the board will have ten members after this election, with one vacancy in Bill Pullman's seat. By a set of motions passed at the March meeting, the Nominating Committee will not recommend a slate of candidates (though right now there are 5 candidates for 5 seats). It is too late to announce candidacy for the board and have your bio included on the ballot and notice to the members, but nominations from the floor are accepted at the AGM if you are interested in running.

- The 40th anniversary dinner is in planning stages with Hans Bengsston and Ian Smith; probably to be held in September or October.

- The Board granted travel stipends to Sam Saeger and Meg Parson for WOC and JWOC respectively, and smaller stipends to Ali Crocker, Alex Jospe, and Ross Smith, all of whom are CSU primary and on the WOC team, in recognition for all they do for NEOC. The very subtle distinction between a NEOC primary and another club primary was discussed.

After the NEOC Board meeting and following activities, I set out on an easy run to retrieve my bike. GimpyFoot felt pretty good, and I ran faster than I have since my plantar fascia injury. I decided that I run because I don't believe in the no-win scenario, though some variants are fascinating. I suppose my statement is equivalent to the claim that the no-win scenario is not encountered except under the most contrived circumstances, and it is always possible to redefine the utility function in such a way as to avoid that trap. Perhaps an easier alternative is to reprogram the Klingon battlecruisers to fear me personally.

After probability theory, I must study von Clausewitz. It turns out the audibles for On War are abridged, but it's free on Kindle. Woot.

For kicks, 50 tuckups. My form deteriorated.