Training Log Archive: Kat

Crunches, push-ups, dips, stretching, jumps, and other random things. It felt good to be moving again after the long plane ride.

Running with Aleksey on that good old Hudson Highway path. We went out around 7PM, when it was already dark and right after it had snowed. Unfortunately, though, although the snowflakes looked quite big when falling, they turned to slush almost immediately so I came home with wet feet. Aleksey and I talked about brain neuron speed and artificial intelligence the whole way, which helped take my mind off a slight knee pain, probably caused by running on the pavement.

I got home (to Sweden) from Malta today and am spending the day unpacking, doing laundry, and then packing again since tomorrow I leave for NYC!

C • Happy New Year! 2

Running around the northwestern side of Gozo with Boris. Although standing around on that island requires at least a light jacket, we got really warm while running. I stripped down to shorts and sports bra. It felt cool to run along the high cliffs (on the edge of the island) and stop every once in a while to take pictures of the sea and of the salt pans. Very pretty!

The entire way was either on rocky paths or pavement, so my knees were hurting a bit towards the end of the run. But getting out and running outside in sunny weather was definitely worth it!

Taking a walk around Malta around the cliffs there, to the temples, and then to the Blue Grotto (a big natural arch in the cliffs which looks really awesome). We estimate that we probably walked about 12-14 km in total and of course this actually took us more than 2 hours. It was a fun and tiring day.

Ran around on snowy trails in Nasten with Boris. He would stop every few minutes and make me tell him where we were, so I had to keep in contact with the map most of the time.

This was probably one of the most enjoyable runs I've gone on here in Sweden. Although I initially felt like I had no energy (since I hadn't eaten much for breakfast), I had a Gu. I'm not sure if this actually worked or if was just a placebo effect or if I just got settled into running and felt better after a while, but after about 15 minutes of running in the woods, I felt more energetic. And it was all good from then on. Nice temperature (around 0 degrees), not too many marshes, and nice easy pace.

C • Typical Boris. Sure, he makes ... 1

Biking to and from town to the travel agency.
Biking to clubhouse, biking to restaurant in town, and then biking home. Today I borrowed Karin's bike. I really liked it last time I rode on it, but was a bit less enthusiastic this time because of the snow. Her bike has thin wheels with virtually no traction, so the bike can't really break well in the snow and can't tolerate any uneveness in the ground well at all. I fell once or twice and caused Boris to fall once as well (when I breaked suddenly and he was behind me.)

Wednesday night-O! I did over half of it, and this time was constantly keeping in contact with other people (Allison, Sophie, even saw Boris a few times) as well as reasonably contact with the map. Then, at number 6, I got a little (perhaps a lot) lost and realized I might not be able to finish the course within the time limit of 80 minutes, so when I saw Allison again and she said she was heading in, I went with her.

I am getting more comfortable with running in Swedish terrain and also with running in the dark/snow/through green. That is good. And after spending these several weeks in Sweden, I have a lot of pretty bruises! I just got a new one today on my left upper leg. I ran straight into some bit of branch. That was painful, but then my legs went numb from the cold snow sticking to my tights and it stopped hurting =)

Running to the clubhouse, doing the 14.5 km course, and running back home. The course was a long line-O, but ended up including a lot of road and trail bits, so there wasn't much orienteering. I wasn't even sure if I should go out today since I'm sick and have slept badly the last two nights because of that, but I decided to go anyway.

Boris and I ran to the clubhouse faster than my easy pace to warm up, and also because we were a bit late leaving the house (as always). Then we started the course. I was going to try to stay with Lina, Sophie, Becka, or some of the other girls, but even though Boris and I waited a bit by the edge of the woods, there were a lot of men and no other women in sight (we think they may have gone out earlier). So I ended up running with a big pack of men until the turn-off point when the faster guys headed one way (to do the 19km course) and about 6 of us headed another way (for the 14.5 km version). From then on, we slowed down a bit.

While running the first part with all of the guys, we ran along the backbana. First we went down a relatively steep and snowy hill (with rocks under the snow). After that scary downhill, we then went all the way up. I was breathless. I used to be good at uphills! ...and then I went to England...

So after several downhills and uphills, I felt absolutely low on energy. By this point, I had done almost 1 hour running total and I desperately wished there were drinks or gu or some type of snack around. But alas, this was just wishful thinking, and I forced those good thoughts out of my mind and kept running. The last 3 km of the course was more trails/light woods running. By that point I was dragging my feet through the snow and wishing for the end. So it was tiring. I should eat more before embarking on such runs.

Surprisingly, I think that if the course was more like the previous Tuesday night (mostly woods, mostly flat, no roads), I would have had an easier time of it. This is partly because it's slower going through Swedish woods and also because then map-reading is more important and even the faster guys have to slow down. I definitely felt that the first half of today's run was quite brisk for me, whereas the beginning of last week's run was just fine and I felt like I could keep going comfortably at that pace for a long time.

Everything hurts now from running with spikes on so many trails/roads. Especially the bottoms of my feet. Good thing I have Boris to massage those for me =)

C • 2 hr workout while sick 2

Setting a 5K course for Boris at Stadsskogen.

Perhaps one of the reasons I feel especially slow running through snow is because I have to wear more layers. I like feeling sleek, so I normally put on tight-fitting clothes and wear as little extra as possible. But since it's cold out there, I went out today in one of Boris' jackets (which is huge on me, of course). And two pairs of pants. And extra gloves in the pockets. This type of attire definitely takes some getting used to. On the way to the park, I was definitely aware of all of the layers and felt somewhat weighed down (even though the jacket is quite light). But it turned out to be a good thing that I was so overdressed because although I did a fair share of running, I also did a lot of standing and walking around. The map of Stadsskogen is ok for the most part, but there are areas which don't seem to match with reality so well. Hopefully Boris will be able to find my "controls." I upgraded from toilet paper to squares of white paper with an orange X on each side. [On the other hand, perhaps this is regression since our house has run out of toilet paper, and given that there is white snow everywhere, the toilet paper would have been more visible than the white paper.]

I tried to resist it, but the cold has caught up with me. I will try to dress warmly and take it relatively easy this week. I hate being sick!!

Biking to and from the OK Linne clubhouse in the snow.

We had to get up early but didn't quite succeed so we were already pressed for time when we finally left the house. The plan was for me (carrying my big backpack) to ride on the back of Boris' bike, since that would presumably be faster than me riding on his piece of trash myself. But alas, it had snowed the night before and we were out early enough that the snow hadn't been plowed yet. Even though Boris tried to ride on the road, where a few cars had passed, his bike still had little traction (especially with me on the back of it). Honestly, I wasn't sure who was having a more difficult time of it - him trying to keep the bike from falling, or me trying to keep from falling off. The bike could not go straight but was veering from side to side. And I was wearing some type of O-pants with slippery fabric so that I was honestly afraid of just sliding off the back of the bike. Finally, after we fell in the snow together, we decided to try separate bikes. So I stood in the snow holding Boris' bike while he ran back to the house (no more than 100 meters behind, despite all of that struggling) to get the trashy one. Then, we half-walked, half-biked to the club-house. Murderous thoughts about the trashy bike continued the whole way.

This is probably one of the most pathetic training entries I have yet recorded on attackpoint.

After so much effort of getting to the clubhouse, Boris and I were happy to discover that we weren't the only ones who were late because of the snow and thus the other orienteers had not left yet for the training session. So we drove about 40 minutes out in the club car to some nice snow-filled woods. The plan was to do a long (about two-hour) course, running slowly and in groups. What actually happened was that Boris and I were the last ones to leave the cars because most of the Swedes had gotten there a bit earlier and were quicker to change.

Following Boris around through the forest isn't easy, especially when there's snow on the ground. Now, some tall people (such as Boris) don't believe this, but it is true that taller people have an advantage over shorter people in running through the woods with stuff on the ground (be it snow or bushes, such as heather). So while Boris ran around relatively easily in the snow, I felt like I was constantly jumping over things...It definitely felt like work!

Even before we started running, I was already somewhat unenthusiastic about it because the groups had gone and it's much easier running in a pack. And I had felt a bit carsick on the drive over and because of the rushed changing process, didn't really have time to get over it. So I wasn't feeling so good dragging myself through the woods. What I should have done, in retrospect, was to just tell Boris to go ahead and try to catch up to the others, while I went at my own pace. I would have been lonely, perhaps, but I also would have done some actual orienteering and maybe even had a chance to recover enough that I could actually enjoy running through the snow. But I kept telling myself I'd warm up to it and be ok if I just kept pushing, so I did.

The final straw came when, after running on a road for a few hundred meters, we had to dart back into the woods and cross a stream. I have not yet figured out the water features in Sweden and how to react to them, so I tried running across the stream and felt my right foot fall through. I have two nice bruises on my right leg now. [The neoprene socks really help, by the way. Despite being dunked in freezing water, my foot felt just fine.]

So, anyway, after I fell through the water, Boris rushed over to see if I was ok. I said I wasn't feeling good at all and he ran back with me, slowly, to the cars along the road. He helped me get my O-shoes off (no easy feat since the shoelaces were absolutely frozen) and gave me some tea. Then he left to do some more loops, while I stayed in the car.

I had the key to the car and figured I could turn it on and warm it up a bit since I was cold. But each time I started the car, it moved forward. [I found out later that the reason the car kept moving was because it is a manual and therefore parked in first gear. I couldn't have known this, of course, because I am used to automatics.] So I gave up on that and just sat there looking over the map and drinking tea till Boris came back.

C • Yes!! I'm not the only one who... 3

Boris has an exam today so it is a rest, recovery, and recreational day for both of us =)

Running to and from Stadsskogen, setting a course for Boris, and then running the course Boris set for me.

Since we didn't have too much time to set courses and run them, I picked locations for controls that I knew I could find reasonably quickly, so I couldn't make Boris' course as evil as I wanted to.

Although I had a lot of fun setting controls, I didn't have as much fun finding the ones Boris set out for me. I had a bad fall and hurt my arm going to the second control. Then, since I had gotten back from setting conrols early (really, I should stop saying controls - they were pieces of toilet paper), my fingers were freezing. And after doing about half of Boris' course, my concentration was gone as well. Since Boris had class in the afternoon, I had to be at the finish at a certain time. So I didn't have time to finish the course =( But I will try to run it again, perhaps some time next week.

Biking to and from school with Boris. Now that Boris has a new, pretty, nice bike, I get to ride his old piece of trash. Grrr. I hate the damn thing!

The other day, I saw two kids throw a bike off of a cliff. It wasn't a very high cliff, but it was of reasonable height and I wondered why they would do such a thing. Well, perhaps one of these days I will go to that same cliff and throw Boris' old bike off of it. It will bring me immeasurable satisfaction.

C • Trash it 6

Another rest day. My blister is annoying enough that I didn't think I could run with it comfortably today. Also, I have been doing a lot more running these past couple of weeks than I normally do. Even though I don't feel tired and only slightly sore, it's probably a good thing if I take 1 or 2 days off from running each week for now.

Doing part of a night-O. Since this is Sweden, night-orienteering is extremely difficult here so I did the same thing I did last wednesday, which was to do only part of the course. The entire short course was 6.7 km and about 11 controls, and I did a bit more than half of it (6 controls). Even though I did get lost a few times and had to attack some controls multiple times from different angles, I was quite happy with my run overall. This time, I didn't feel lonely at all in the woods - none of the light panic I felt yesterday when I found myself on my own. And I did manage to keep track of the major features and go in the right direction - I tried to look at my compass as often as I could. Then, right when I was in the area of #6, I saw Boris, who was looking for a control close to mine. We found his, then found mine, then headed back in together. I actually felt like doing more controls because I was having fun, but decided to go back too since I got a bad blister on my right foot. Unfortunately, the neoprene socks I have are a bit too big for me, even though I got the smallest size available.

C • neoprine socks 3

Running to and from the Linne Clubhouse with Boris. We really have to stop running on hard ground wearing spikes...

I did about 3.8 km of a line-O with a group of orienteers, but then had to stop to tie my shoe. Even though I did this as fast as I could, they were gone and I was left by myself with no idea where I was. I ended up running by myself in the woods for over an hour and I probably did about 12.5 km total (although that is an estimate). It was lonely, wet, and somewhat scary. I was extremely glad to finally see the clubhouse again, and also very glad to see Boris waiting for me =) He gave me gingerbread cookies too. Good Boris.

Easyish run in Stadsskogen with Boris. Shins hurt and calves tight after the long race yesterday.

Gympa!

C • Gympa 2

Stora Vandan - the Big Agony. I did D21, which was 12.6km, but did not quite feel like a Billygoat, since the first half was through fairly easy woods with lots of trails and there were only two hills. I followed the fast Swedish (and Finnish) chicks for most of the first loop and then ended up running with Becka for the rest of the race. Other differences from the Billygoat were that this time I knew which direction we were going in, I recognized major features along the way and I knew the feature we were looking for. It was fun. There was food afterwards.

Another day of eating ginger cookies and doing probability =)

About an hour running on trails/roads and the rest in the woods (Nasten) picking up controls from Wednesday's night-O. Swedish woods are confusing at all times of day, but it was better with some sun...

See Greg, I rest when I need it. =)

C • Rest 2

To and from MIC with Boris, on Karin's bike. This was the first time in years I have actually not hated being on a bike...

Running to and from Kung Bjorn's Hill.

Doing the short course at a night-O near Kung Bjorn's Hill. I didn't actually do the entire course, but cut off in the middle (so I did the first three and the last three controls). It was dark, cold, and the swamps seemed never-ending. At one point, I was standing in a marsh, knee-deep in cold water, trying to read the map and feeling myself sinking. The sad thing is, no matter which way I would turn, there was more marsh to be crossed! There's just no getting around it...

I couldn't feel my feet at all after I sank into the marshes, so running after that wasn't particularly pleasant. I was completely by myself for the second and third control, and running south across the map. Afterward, I followed a Swedish dude and then Becka for the rest of the course. That was actually the highlight of the night - fun to run reasonably fast through Swedish crap.

Running to the clubhouse and to the start.

Doing the short (7 km) course and prologue run at the OK Linne winter premier event.

This was my first time doing Gympa with Boris, about 10 other orienteers, and over 100 other Swedes. It was hot and I spent the first twenty minutes trying hard not to laugh at the funny moves and music, but it was a lot of fun and it was tiring in a way. An hour of jumping around in a hot room with so many other people definitely made me sweaty!

Running with Boris - two loops around Stadsskogen. The lit path was icy in the middle, so we had to run on the sides of it and try not to slip and fall. My knees were bothering me after doing exercises during the gympa session that I don't normally do and I felt low on energy, but the slow run wasn't tiring and it was nice to be out in the cool night air - the temperature was just perfect.

I spent about ten minutes sitting at home debating whether or not to go. Today is the last day of term, all colleges are having Christmas bops (parties), and yesterday many swimmers went to the Sports Fed Ball. So basically, I wasn't sure if anyone else was going to show up. Then, it was also raining and quite windy and I have a lot of packing to do. I finally decided to go, then realized I had forgotten my umbrella and had to run back for it. So I ended up being 5 minutes late to swim practice, but at least I made it.

400 swim choice
8x25 build (4 free, 4 No. 1)
200 easy swim
4x { 75 free hard, rest, 125 free easy)
pull - 200, 150, 100, 50 free
2x {50 drill, 100 (25 swim, 50 drill, 25 swim), 200 swim, 50 drill, 100 swim, 2x50 max effort}
200 easy

Total: 3,500 meters (I did 3,250)

Biking to and from the medics' pantomime. The event itself was great fun, but the biking wasn't. Just like the last time I biked here in England, I was once again borrowing a bike that had the seat raised a bit too high for me and once again it was dark, cold, and raining. So it was trouble to bike on flat ground because I had to point my feet to get the pedal all the way down, but it was even worse when towards the end of the journey, we had to go up a steep and long uphill. My lower back started to hurt then. Then, at the top of the bloody hill, a car honked at me, even though I was right next to the pavement, where I was allowed to be, and I tried to turn onto the pavement and ended up falling. I didn't get hurt, but I got a bit more wet and dirty and that didn't improve my mood. Then, on the way downhill after the panto, I almost crashed into one of the others in my group because I couldn't brake. Grrr.

Ever since I learned how to ride a bike when I was small, I have never owned my own bike and only occasionally borrowed my brother's. I won't go as far as to say I don't like biking (since i'll have no choice but to do so in Sweden and negative thoughts aren't helpful), but I will say that biking has been somewhat less than a pleasant experience for me this year...