Training Log Archive: piutepro

Have to wake out of hibernation, spring rust, almost no races this, not much speed work and to an unknown map. Kind of clumsy. It takes some time to find rhythm on this map. Stick to the (winding) trails too much, go around too much. Towards the end I wake up and begin to compete. 6 min. of slow downs at the control and one rushed route choice costing me time. Plus I don't run with full speed as I could and should here.

Decide that training between two red A-meet days is always a good choice, so I run the sprint. Nice course, I read most legs ahead. Use trail option to #6, going straight would be faster. Drift somewhat while going to #8, but realize it and correct back to control. Fun sprint in the warm sunny afternoon.

Warming up or at least pretending too. More is better.

I am stiff from racing and standing around without a good warm down. Go back to the one room gym and stretch, breathe and relax until I feel in good shape. Think throug a strategy for tomorrow. Go straight whenever possible, use the speed in the open areas. Ignore the trails. Read the map while crossing the grassland and be ready when entering the woods.

Red - Day1 - Splits

Run to river, island and back at noon. Something easy before driving to DVOA land.

Stretching in the motel 'gym', basically one motel room magically reconfigured with one bike and one treadmill. I only need space and a good floor. Driving the day before is easier, don't like to sit for four hours in the traffic before running the A-meet.

I take it easy and spend the run relaxing my sore muscles. Watch my form. No speed, no pushing, just easy.

Return, recovery, relax. Maybe hill intervals should be called hell intervals, when you ask my lower legs muscles. Got to bring them back for the trip to DVOA land.

Test running a stealth version of red day one (day 1 plus more test legs) at Surebridge. Perfect weather, sunny hills, no snow, the marshes still crusty with ice, a few deep mud passages. Most of it great running.

Go at race speed, clock out two or three times to adjust the streamer, rewrite the number which is nibbled off or they not to be named control improvements.

I figure out the average speed on the course, with the mix of fast open woods, places with fallen or burned trees and rock/cliffs areas. This is the first time I have normal running conditions to test the course. I am faster than expected.

It is great navigating, but there is relentless concentration required. Towards the end I winged it a few times and promptly lost contact for a moment.

I am going to do the stats, averaging the time for each kind of surface. This makes estimating the winning time easier and I can adjust the course length.

Warm up jog to the start (3:54, for those who need to know). Spend some time vetting the white course after finishing red, as a cool down.

Find tense spots from yesterday's hill run in my lower leg. Didn't bother me in the woods. Work through the little stiff hang-ups, until they melt away.

Warm. Run along the river, up to the incline. Do the first hill/stair intervals of the season. Good boost in my energy. And somewhat a shock, too.

2 x 5. The stairs at the incline, about 30 meters climb, between 35 and 55 seconds for one climb. Start the first series flying up the stairs, it is fun, almost flat. 2 minutes break, not full recovery. And another series and my legs deflate. Take the pace back. I am not used to that. I really get to threshold and am exhausted. Is fun.

This is needed and good to catch my breath. I can still walk the stairs. Excellent. Energy comes back, with a vengeance. Cool.

Along the river and onto the trail. Splash. Outch. Imagine Goretex shoes, dry feet while crossing the snow melt on the island. Need imaginary Gore-tex again at the end of loop. Dry feet, almost. The trail is not ready for me. The tundra melts. At home I realize, that the imaginary Gore-tex left my shoes soaked with water and mud. Like in those "wow these shoes can take a real beating" shoe ads. Except there they don't show how the crusty shoes feel on the next day, when they are still wet and half moldy, clay-filled and sandblasting my feet from the inside.
Start to feel good and strong. The snow sabbatical turned out to be a slight tapering off and time to recover. Now I work on speed, go faster. Maybe even some intervals. Who knows. My coach keeps his mouth shut. He never tells me ahead of time. I start to think he has no plan. He likes to surprise me. He likes variations. He likes it when I like the running. It almost feels I am my own coach. Which I am.

Some of the usual, to keep me happy.

The river and road loop. The water on the river is absolute still. No more ice, just lingering lazy relaxed water. Doesn't look like a river, is like a lake. The Hudson lake.

Running gets better in the second half. The road allows speed, so I do it.

It got cold again, need time to warm up and a hot shower before stretching. The warm weather makes running easier. The speed changes the tense areas somewhat. Have to watch how my feet respond to the universal world cover, the asphalt.
I am very glad to be back at the river. Running along residential roads and local roads and car roads and city roads is poor. Lame. Even the few weird houses or dogs or people lose their fascination over time. The river and the hills are different from hours to hours, from day to day.