Training Log Archive: Mr Wonderful

And that is about all I think I can ever do before dear daughter's practice.

Usually I overdress and roast - today, not so much. Still a bit chilly two hours later. Brrr!

I originally intended to use more of the Lakeland trail, but that thing was just not rolling for me so I braved light morning traffic on M36.

Quite a climb from Chelsea to Stockbridge.

Hey, my Garmin said 62.2 when I pulled in. So I'm counting it for a metric century, even if AP has rounded down.

Night O scouting with Ed.

Every last one of them seems entirely too easy. Granted, I did it in the middle of the afternoon. I think there will be quite a learning experience; hopefully participants give a good debrief on the pros and cons of various control sites. I expect some will turn out harder than anticipated. Live and learn.

I was unable to find one feature, but the green stripes are pretty green and I had no desire to muck through them. Nor do I want to send my participants into that mess, so I relocated to a less scratchy area.

Swamp crossability is spectacular. Other than one misstep by a green X, my feet stayed bone dry.

Either the roads don't roll as well east of 23, or I switch fuel sources or something after about 45 minutes. Or both!

Very nice morning, just a bit of a breeze in some directions.

One skunk spotted, but he or she was well off the road so no worries.

I wrote down directions for this. The first half was straightforward but a few zig zags west of 23. Not as much pavement as Tuesday.

I am ready for a nap!

Jumping jacks for warmup, then poor man's clean and jerk, pushups, box squats, curls, bench row, decline bench sit ups

Dear wife seemed to be humming along, so I didn't comment on pace and just rode it out.

1 mile paved @ 3.9 mph
3 miles dirt @ 5.7 mph
1 mile paved @ 3.8 mph

Getting in Rage shape has another bonus - a short little six hour race now requires no recovery. Just another training day! I did not expect to say that six years ago.

C • Yeah, just look at your log. 3

This route was to be a dirt road tour de force, but it turns out a decent chunk of Joy is paved west of Webster Church, plus I forgot that Huron River Drive is also paved.

I did inadvertently save the tough rolling hills of Walsh for the end, and they did a good job of trying my will.

A great morning - just a very, very faint drizzle until the rain started to pick up with about 1.5 miles to go. Also, no skunks.

Bike doesn't squeak, so I guess the lesson is: really crank on things to tighten 'em down.

pushups, situps, curls, rinse, repeat

knee feels slightly off, but I did bounce it off a log tripping en route to #13 Saturday. Hopefully that's all it is.

Noticed a lack of speed yesterday. Plus dear wife wants to do a 10k in 9 weeks about 90 seconds per mile faster than we currently run. So we experimented with a faster closing 1/2 mile.

1 mile paved @ 3.6 mph
2.5 mile mostly dirt @ 5.4 mph
0.5 mile half and half @ 6.1 mph
1 mile paved @ 3.9 mph

Event: SMOC Yankee Springs
 

I did not plan to escort my wife on a run this weekend, but I did so. I should've grabbed a jacket - normally when I head out into sub 40° weather I am being pretty active, but the trike was too efficient at 5 mph so I was freezing and struggled to get warm afterwards, until I jumped in the car to head to Yankee Springs - heated seats warmed me up.

I forgot to start my watch until the 3rd control. I need to ingrain that better!

1 - missed a bit east so probably lost a minute once I realized the terrain didn't match up (creek helped)

2 - awesome creek jump - worth the drive right there.

4 - was on track anyway, but saw Lew leaving which was a minor assist

5 - too many route choices to 5, I chose one to the west and then ended up on the trail to the east - whoops. Minor help by seeing the guy from the Traverse City who was exiting the depression

6 - wisely checked up a little crossing the final trail, and was happy with the terrain

7 - took the trail around for a solid attack, and followed the reentrants up. had to walk a bit - I need more hill training

8 - not quite sure how I did that one yet. I thought I hit the trail which was faint, but it must've been a game trail. I checked the terrain and decided to scout the depression, which was the right one, got lucky there

10 - ended up following the large ravine to the east, but recognized it and popped up the ridge just in time

11 - nice long leg. I am happy with my route, little meandering but okay I think

12 - wasn't sure how to avoid climb, so I gave up elevation and cut up later

13 - overwhelmed by choice, I lost time exiting 12 as I changed my mind a couple times

Didn't have much speed heading to the finish, not sure how it will fare in the ranking

I am very satisfied with that run, no matter how the placing worked out. I jogged almost the entire thing slow and steady, checked up early to verify when needed, and had no truly awful mistakes, just a few near misses. A good start to the season and nice redemption from the spring meet.

Terrific course by Mike - he used almost all nice woods, just fantastic terrain.

C • Practice makes progress! 1

Red - Splits