Training Log Archive: PG

My routes at the Highlander --

Map 1 (Jackie Jones), for controls 4-7 you could choose which 4 of 7 (A-G) you wanted to go to. Smaller version.

Map 2 (the trail run), nasty going SW along the lake, and no streamers from 11 to 12 (and the mapping of the intersection right after 11 was way off), but very flat overall, especially for Harriman.

Map 3 (Rockhouse), and a smaller version. This one seemed to take forever. King of the Mountain leg was 18 to 19.

For history buffs, according to JJ much of this course was what Steve Hale ran astoundingly fast to get the silver medal in the relay (and almost the gold) for Great Britain at WOC 93.

Map 4 (Lake Welch Beach), map used for sprint at Team Trials in 2010. I'd figured we only had about 3 more km to do, was expecting a loop loop back out on Rockhouse, so this was a pleasant surprise for the weary legs. On the other hand, my mind was not so weary that it couldn't tell that the map really sucked. Maybe not so noticeable at sprint speed, but at end-of-Highlander speed it was pretty obvious. Not that it really mattered for what we were doing.

C • WOC 93 relay 25

Event: Hudson Highlander XVI
 

Highlander. Quite good run. Just one bad control, maybe 2 minutes at most. And the legs had a little life, at least for the first couple of hours. Things were hurting a bit as time went on, but still running in bits and pieces right up to the end. It helped a lot that it was cooler than it's been recently, probably in the low 60s at most.

Despite supposedly being fully charged, Garmin died after about an hour and a half. So I'll get to mark my routes the old fashioned way. Will not be hard, knew where I was just about all the time.

Haven't seen any results or splits yet, but this was certainly a whole lot better than last year. And I seem to have survived to O' another day. :-)

Nice trip down and back with Phil. Plus I seem to have taken custody of the bottle of wine that Hannah won, since she can't take it back to West Point. Plan is to open it up in a couple of weeks when there will be CSU (and others) training here on Saturday and a NEOC local meet at Norwottuck on Sunday. And, of course, this being the CSU-Amherst section, a good party in between.

C • Wine 10

C • Scramble 16

Highlander - Splits

OK, time for a quiz just to see if you have been paying attention. The quiz relates to a couple of things that are part of OUSA's strategic plan. Just two questions so it won't take you long.

!. It is now possible to renew your membership online (and also to make a donation at the same time, such as to the teams). This is a good thing because by making it as easy as possible to renew (and donate), more people should do it.

Based on the most recent numbers, what percent of membership renewals are now occurring online?

(a) 10%
(b) 25%
(c) 50%
(d) 75%
(e) no figures available, no one is keeping track.

2. One important part of the plan is to increase the number of starts at local club events. Historically, local club starts have only been reported annually when club dues are paid. More recently, starts for the 16 most active clubs are being calculated quarterly. For the first six months of 2011 compared to the first six months of 2010, local club starts are:

(a) down 20%
(b) down 10%
(c) flat
(d) up 10%
(e) no figures available, we're still just getting the annual numbers.

Let's see who knows what the correct answers are....

C • Pessimistic 18

Over to the track in Litchfield for another of my short and not too stressful sessions. Not sure exactly what good they do me, but I just think that if I don't try to run a little faster sometimes, then my running will get even worse.

Or maybe just working on my sprint for the end of the Highlander....

8x200, 200 jog.

46,2, 45.2, 43.9, 44.4, 44.8, 43.7, 43.2, 41.7. Average recovery about 1:04.

Under the "life is short, eat dessert first" general category, booked tickets for Istanbul. The pricing remains a mystery. Looked up the flights, there's a nice non-stop JFK-IST, $835 round-trip. Talked to Gail, were we ready to pull the trigger? Looked at the 5-Days web site, still possible to enter? Yes on both counts.

Back to purchase the tickets, too much time had expired, had to start over. Now the price was $785, $50 less than 30 minutes earlier. That's on Turkish Airlines. The flight is operated by them under a code-sharing agreement with USAir, and if you buy your tickets via USAir (exactly the same flights), it's $1700+ round-trip. WTF?

Needless to say, the Turks got our business.

C • Nice! 3

I believe there is a phrase about football players that is not intended as a compliment -- he's short but he's slow. Today's run was of a similar nature, also not a compliment. Just a struggle. Stopped after 15 minutes for a while, then decided I eventually had to get back to my car, so finished it up the shortest way possible. Not pretty.

I can blame it on the warm and humid weather. Well, I hope I can, and it's not just totally me.