Training Log Archive: PG

Weekly update for L&F --

Starting weight: 144 (mid-December)
Jan. 1: 142
Jan. 8: 139
Jan. 15: 137
Jan. 22: 136
Jan. 29: 136.5
Feb 5: 136
Feb 12: 134
Feb. 19: 134
Feb. 26: 133
March 5: 133
March 12: 132.5
March 19: 133
March 26: 134
April 2: 135
April 9: 135
April 16: 131.5
April 23: 132.5
April 30: 132.5
May 6: 134.5

Mood: Not been hungry much recently, for better and worse. But anything sub-135 is still a lot better than in the 140-145 range.

Out and back on Pocumtuck ridge, 25:41 up to the towers, 22:21 back. Legs still a little weary, GI track on the mend. But good to get out, especially since I was really pissed, went to the dentist for cleaning and now need to go at least three times more for repairs.

Note that there is an O' event Wednesday evening on a new map Phil has made in Northampton. More info here and here.

Event: WCOC Five Ponds
 

WCOC meet at Five Ponds in Litchfield. Couldn't pass this up since I was going to be in Litchfield anyway, though I wasn't sure how much I'd do.

I managed to get somewhat re-hydrated by the time I started, and legs were surprisingly not at all sore, but I think I must have been a little weary, which translated means slow, as I was way behind Becky. Though part of that was due to a couple of bad controls, and part to taking a while to get going physically. But I surprised myself by running quite a bit. Also crashing quite a bit, must have had half a dozen hard landings, plus a few other more gentle falls, there goes another minute or more right there.

But glad I went, haven't been in the SE section of the map for a long long time (maybe not since the 1985 Billygoat?). And there are some beautiful woods there.

Thanks to Jim and Rich for doing this, a local meet with no White or Yellow course (that's a rarity, I think), so could park a different place. I often wondered about the need to offer beginner courses at every meet, though I suppose it's heresy to say so.

Course (Green course): part 1, part 2

My route: part 1, part 2

C • heresy 1

Picking up a few controls, all at a walk. Feeling quite tired and a little queasy.
Fortunately was followed pretty quickly by a food stop in town.

Nice outing, carpooled with Ali so entertained the whole time.

Easy day tomorrow, then the 5K Tuesday in Northampton, will see if I can stay within a minute of Alex, unlikely, and impossible if she wears her headcam. And there will be a visiting dignitary, Carl Fey.

And then Wednesday evening is the debut for Phil's new sprint map on the outskirts of Northampton. Anyone else interested?

My route.

620/1000

C • Thanks, Peter. 2

Green - Splits

Event: Wapack & back Trail Race
 

Wapack end-to-end trail race. Suffered a bit.

Legs were pretty good, had some energy. No cramping, no soreness. No blisters. Only two falls, neither a bad one. But in retrospect I was badly dehydrated, and my GI system started complaining when I wasn't much more than half done. Couldn't decide for a while which end things might want to get out, or perhaps both. Finally had a pit stop in the woods with about an hour to go, helped a little, but I'm still feeling queesy four hours after finishing.

And the dehydration? Started at about 135 pounds I'd guess. Finished at 126-127. That's not good. I should have known better. It was a warmish day and I wasn't drinking much. Live and learn.

Time was OK, I'd figured I should be something under five hours, and I was, but given how I was moving the last hour or two, 20 minutes or more faster was certainly possible. Oh well.

Distance and climb -- who knows? The course had been wheeled some time ago, 21.5 miles, and since then there had been one change that I think added some distance (anywhere from a quarter to a half a mile), and the 305 says 20.5. Something is bogus.

Course was nice enough, but very very rocky in some places, especially on some downhills. There was a concurrent 50-miler going on, out and back plus an extra seven miles, looked like the winning time was going to be over ten hours, which is really slow. It's not a fast course.

C • orienteering? 3

Short and easy run on the upper part of Earl's trails. Discovered one short section I hadn't seen before, linking them to section on the south side of the O' map.

FA interview with Jams Levine, conductor at the Met. A good example of how an interview of something I know nothing about can be fascinating. The one exception (and the proof of my lack of awareness) -- a discussion of some particular chord and then some particular note, and then after the playing of the piece I had no clue as to what part of it they were referring to.

Still, another interview that I could have gladly listened to a lot longer.

Trail race tomorrow, lots of hills. I think under 5 hours is a reasonable goal.

Short outing at Northfield Mountain. I was thinking of doing the whole outer loop, but my legs were tired and that seemed like a pretty stupid idea. Still got a bit of uphill anyway.

Plus a round of golf, just my third of the year. Need to get out more often than once every week or so, not that it would make my game any better, just that otherwise the season will be over and I won't have played much.

Entertainment (while running, not playing golf, though maybe I should try the latter too) was This American Life about proms. Not a part of my upbringing.

Signed up for the Shamrock Oringen, will be first time orienteering in Ireland. :-)

Just a short trip, a week, but may have to take the clubs along too.

C • Shamrock 3

Mill River to Juggler Meadow and back, a little faster the last few minutes. Mid-50s, raining, the kind of day I normally have trouble getting out the door, but somehow it happened pretty easily. And the running conditions were quite pleasant. Perhaps I need to change my attitude about running in the rain.

The next couple of days will be easy, then a trail race (21.5 miles, 6,000' climb) on Saturday, then O' at Five Ponds on Sunday. The last one may be at a very slow pace.

Also the weekly update for L&F --

Starting weight: 144 (mid-December)
Jan. 1: 142
Jan. 8: 139
Jan. 15: 137
Jan. 22: 136
Jan. 29: 136.5
Feb 5: 136
Feb 12: 134
Feb. 19: 134
Feb. 26: 133
March 5: 133
March 12: 132.5
March 19: 133
March 26: 134
April 2: 135
April 9: 135
April 16: 131.5
April 23: 132.5
April 30: 132.5

Mood: L&F isn't over, just late with this week's numbers. Nice to see that it's been useful to a few others besides myself. And, as far as I know, no impressionable young women were harmed in the process.

I need to keep at it for another month and a half (Mt Washington). Though this week so far would indicate that I am not keeping at it very seriously.

From the Notch out to the end of the roller-coaster and back. Most of route, went another few hundred meters east beyond where the o" map covers. Quite a few hills.

Last did this in 2006, a couple of times then, both in 66 minutes, so the deterioration continues.... :-)

A few sore places from yesterday's fall, but they disappeared as soon as I got going.

Two interesting Fresh Air interviews, the first about Obama's foreign policy, the guy wrote an article in the current New Yorker which I happen to be reading, the second about Bernie Madoff. In both cases nice to get a little exercise and learn a little something at the same time.

I also got what has become a more often event than I would wish, namely confirmation that blind faith in the accuracy of the 305 is not a good thing. 3.09 miles out, 2.74 miles back along exactly the same route. That's a non-trivial difference.

Does it matter which wrist the watch is on (and therefore which way the watch is facing, and therefore how well it picks up the satellites)? If I look at the track, it seems that there is up to 50 meters of difference between the out and the back. That seems like a lot. Is is worse because for the western half of the run I was mostly on a north slope?

I certainly can't imagine using the GPS track for any accurate mapping.

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Control count --

Was 560 prior to last weekend. Add 14 and 14 and 12. So now an even 600 out of 1000.

C • Control count 15