Training Log Archive: piutepro

The Billygoat at Thacher State Park near cow tipping chicken painting owl howling Vorheesville, NY (well this can be only understood by the crew who played Mafia under the story telling direction by Ross Smith).
I don't really warm up, the reasons being of laziness and sleepiness. Still reach the group of leaders after passing about five million other runners in a field of about 80. I am slow in the fissures and my group messes up control #2, going too far west, so I lose contact to the leaders.
It is always a tricky decision at which point to switch from running in the line of runners without reading much to real navigating. Waited too long this time. The group climbs too much on the way to #3. Finally I take responsibility for my navigating and this helps. Move along with Alan Young. After 7 I move ahead, catch up with John G. and Joe M. I skip 12 and move to 13, now on my own. I have 13 clean, find Steve O shortly before the control. On the way to 15 Andy Hall reappears. He skipped before, so I know he has to do all controls. We move well, until we bungle #19 big time, committing a parallel error, both thinking we are left of the control and moving right instead of left. Lose 2 - 3 minutes there. We keep moving. At 23 we are suddenly surrounded by John G., Peter P. and Steve O. I can't take this. So I shift gear and sprint down the road to #24. This works surprisingly well and I don't have to deal with them in the finish. Try to outsprint Andy, but he punches before me and well, he is faster anyway.
Nice course, excellent weather and a fun race.

Warm up. No warm down, which is not smart. Things start to ache in the evening. I know that I should yet still I don't always do. Punished with stiffness headache in evening.

Do a warm down and stretching in the evening. At least something to rebuild. Even better rebuilding is the mini sweet surge of an excellent icecream at the new Beacon Creamery on the west end of Main Street. The headache melts away and sheer relaxation sets in. Which leads to tiredness and long deep deep sleep.

Billygoat Sprint 1. Not terribly sprintish since I run in the cold rain and sloshing mud. Good course. Drift on the way to #6, keep a tad left, see a bag, which is... #4. Have to sprint down trail to #6. Happens. Try to run out the rest, but don't have much speed plus problems with the wipers on my reading glasses.

Billygoat Sprint 2. I run with the contact lenses only, no glasses. I can read the map! A great experience. It is much easier, since I can glance down and use the peripheral vision instead ouf looking down, which I have to do with the reading glasses.
Find a better flow through the course. I mud along the mud and am flapped by big fresh green beech leaves. The hardest thing is getting out of the sticky soaked wet clothes after the race.

Run to start, warm up and run back. More utility running than a real warm up.

Stretching and breathing at the overnight camp at Camp Pinnacle. Last tune up before tomorrow's long jog in the woods. I want to sleep early and a lot. No Attackpoint or work to keep me busy all night. Heavy rain outside, a flood coming down. Hope this ends soon.

Easy run to run in weird cool weather. Still not much energy, so the short run is enough. Hope to put in another good long night of sleep. Since the Billygoat sprints are in the afternoon, I can sleep late and drive up at noon.

Getting ready for the sprint. Activate the high energy fuel cells in my body. Top secret non toxic re-energizing exercises.

Map run on a loop on Moneyhole Mountain. Go fast without map reading, then relocate as fast as I can and keep moving. The woods are all green and lush now.

The run in the woods left me relaxed and loose. So I relax the relaxed body.

To river, around the island. Mystery car is not there today. Great glowing sunset over the water, fiery colors splash on the water.

Do all kind of exercises and stretches just for the fun of it until I am all aligned and relaxed. Try to build up the energy for the Billygoat. Probably I got to start somewhat slowly. All the energy-sucking low sleep high nerve-end burning intra-mural cross cranial troubles take their tribute.

Down to river, the weird unknown vehicle (WUV) is parked at the entrance to the peninsula again. Don't know what it means. But I turn around anyway and run the asphalt loop, named after the winter days when I could not run the trails and had to find a paved snow free zone to run. Snow? Much less likely now. To imagine snow has something fictional and weird.

Realign bones after cutting all the grass in the yard. I cut the grass short hoping I don't have to cut so soon again. Find several Columbines ready to flower. A surprise. Last year is was a cranky little plantlings. Now it is vigorous and the number one to flower in the wild flower patch. Inspect the strawberries. They are growing with a youthful vigor. If I can keep woodchucks, birds and deer away, there might be good stuff growing.

Easy run, try to get build up energy and extra back-up reservoirs of energy for the Billygoat. Run at the island, the weird unknown vehicle is not there anymore.

I take time for a thorough stretching and warm down. Do it until all feels ligned up and relaxed. Have great energy. Which later that night triggered events that hopefully will turn things to the better.