Training Log Archive: PG

Event: WCOC Trout Brook Valley
 

Time to test the calf, and it seemed OK for this very modest effort. In-town loop. Really nice out, just after sunset, full moon up. But the best part was not having to stop partway and walk home.

Doing my usual energetic walks, which I'm pretty sure are very good for sore legs.

It seems like I have no particular O' or running related goals at the moment. Certainly nothing for the fall as it is too late to get back in shape even if everything went well.

As far as next year, who knows. Obviously some collection of meets in this country, always fun, nothing momentous. Maybe think about another trip to Switzerland (of all places...) for the World Masters, combine it with something else. Guess I will have to look at schedules, but that will probably wait for a few months. And at this point I have neither a great interest in, nor a partner for, the rogaine champs in New Zealand.

Actually, what I would like would be to very slowly build up the training over the next couple of months, while avoiding any of the self-inflicted damage of the last couple of months, so that this winter I can train regularly, so that next spring I can be fit again, so that next summer I can be really fit. One can always dream....

And in the immediate future, chase the little white ball as the weather allows, because right now it's a lot of fun. And fun is good.

I don't know, maybe I was running a little too quick, though it didn't feel stressful, but my calf started twinging again. Stopped. Pissed. Not real sore, but enough that it's a definite step backwards, and indicates no O' this weekend. Had been planning on going down to Trout Brook Valley for Joe's event. As I said, rather pissed.

But my golf is getting better and better. That may seem like little concern to most rational folks, but I have had in the back of my mind that it is one thing I could keep doing in my sunset years, well past the time when O' has been packed away. But I was playing very little up to this month, and playing badly, and not enjoying it, and thinking, hmm, maybe golf isn't going to be a lifetime sport. But October has been different, completely different. Played a bunch, much better too, and definitely enjoying every time out.

I wonder if people orienteered more than whatever the average is even for very active orienteers -- maybe once a week? -- then maybe they might get a good bit better? And enjoy it a lot more?

Anyway, very zippy today, 2:20 to get around. Helps if you're not having to look in the woods.

C • frequency 6

C • so 2

A couple more things I want to add to my story from a couple days ago about running Sunderland's finances.

The first is one of those things that you walk away from with the message -- hopefully I've learned something from that stupidity and I won't ever do it again.

There was no such thing as a year when we had enough money, so we were always looking for ways to economize. And one of the committee members most eager to economize (i.e. cut) was this woman, maybe in her 60s, very conservative, totally lacking in empathy (or any other redeeming features as far I was concerned). But difficult as she was, you still had to listen to her, because there were lots of other people in town who shared her views, though usually not a majority.

As we were discussing wages, and what sort of cost-of-living increase to give (usually 2 or 3 percent), she suggested that we not give any increase at all to all the people who worked part-time for the town, on the theory that they had other income and weren't relying just on their town job to make ends meet. I don't remember the total savings from this, but it was probably about a thousand bucks. Neither trivial nor huge.

I went along with it. To my regret. Because when we published the budget, and the justification for this particular item, well, it just sounded mean. And it pissed off a bunch of people, like all the "volunteer" firemen, who got paid minimum wage when they were called out, hardly anything, but an essential and respected group in town, because the message that we were sending, even if was not intended, were that these people weren't important.

By the time town meeting came, we had reversed ourselves, but the damage was done. Took a while to repair it.

The second item was something that happened at town meeting a year later. We had worked our way through most of the agenda, and certainly through all the contentious items. As sometimes happens when the hour gets late, people would look at the time, look at the number of items left, do a little figuring, and there would be an unspoken consensus that if we moved things along, didn't talk too much, then we could finish that night and not have to come back the next night,

So this time it was getting close to midnight, we had been in hurry-up mode for a while, and there were only three items, and three votes, left. All three related to the same issue, that somehow we had made a deal with the state to sell to the state two little islands in the middle of the Connecticut River that belonged to the town. The state was going to assume liability for anything that happened on the islands (their main use was as an illegal campsite), the state was also going to take care of any maintenance or clean-up issues, and finally, the best part, the state was going to pay us $5,000 for the privilege. A very sweet deal.

For some reason we had to have three votes, different aspects of the deal, and each vote had to get a 2/3 majority to pass.

So the first issue is on the table. I gave a short explanation of the situation -- you had to be an idiot not to vote for it -- answered a question or two, no more discussion, the moderator called for a vote, let's try a voice vote, he said. He called for the Ayes, sounded like everyone (we were down to the hard-core, maybe 30 or 40 people). He called for the Nays, one lone voice, the pain-in-the-ass woman on my committee. Well, it was clearly more than 2/3, but on a voice vote the only way you can be sure is if it is unanimous. So it looked like there would have to be a standing vote.

But the moderator had just been to moderator school and he had learned a little about how to be a power moderator. And he banged his gavel, and with a trace of a smile on his face he said, I declare it unanimous. And banged his gavel again, and called for the next item on the agenda. And the woman was sputtering and turning quite red in the face. And a few others who had caught on were smiling.

Second issue. No more discussion needed. Call for the Ayes, almost everyone. Call for the Nays, the woman again, louder. I declare it unanimous, says the moderator, down came the gavel again.

Third issue. Just like the second. More people are laughing. She is furious. And then the final vote, to adjourn, and all but one of us is walking out in a very good mood.

She never came to a town meeting again.

Normally I would be troubled by the way she was treated. Normally I might have regrets. But in this case she really deserved it, she was just being her usual difficult self, nothing useful to offer.

As I think back on these two matters, of course it is easy to find parallels with USOF. The first is a classic case of not thinking through an issue, not thinking of the message that will be perceived even if it is not the message that was intended to be sent. I believe the phrase in politics is having a tin ear.

And the second, well, there are times when you just need to get things done, when it is obvious what needs to be done. And then you need more people who look for ways to move forward, and fewer people who look for ways to slow down.

I've still got more to say about last weekend, but that will wait a little longer....

Did a lot of walking today. Met up with Peter Goodwin at a spot roughly halfway between us, west of Manchester, for a round. Off before dawn, on the course before 9, beautiful day, no one in front of us. Done by noon, smiles all around.

And then since it was such a nice day, and life is short, stopped at another course on the way home. More smiles.

Actually did a little training, on the treadmill, partly because it was raining but mainly so I could stop if things complained too much. Ended up doing the 3 miles I had planned. 9:20, 8:27, 7:49.

Ribs have gotten much sorer over the last couple of days. Quite strange -- actually managed to get out a play a little golf, swinging seemed OK, but walking felt like I had a knife stuck in my back a lot of the time. Running today was reasonably tolerable, though I'm sure some ibuprofen helped.

Mainly out of my own curiosity, but also maybe for the benefit of George and Hannah (and other troubled orienteers), I figure that on Sunday I checked my compass carefully at least 63 times. And I used 42 different handrails. In just 5.4 km. The actual number of compass uses was almost certainly higher.

As a result the orienteering was quite easy. :-)

C • Compass peeks 4