Training Log Archive: IndyBass

Event: OCIN New Year's Orienteering Festival
 

Green course at Miami University Natural Areas (OCIN).

I opted for the "scenic route" today, so I took 44 to Liberty, then 27 down to Oxford. It was a nice drive, actually, with a trip time of 1:48 from Franklin.

I felt better, physically, on the course today than I've felt for a while now. For example, when a course is beating me up, I'll typically need to use trails (if I encounter them) to recover. But today, I was able to use the trails to make up time, jogging almost non-stop.

But this course had a lot less climb than the recent handful of courses I've run, which has a lot to do with my pacing as well. I've got a long way to go in the "hill strength" department. Still, I'm very pleased that 9 of the 16 legs are better than my current "goal pace" of 15 min/Km.

Overall, I'm much more ENcouraged than DIScouraged, which is a good way to end the year. :)

I felt some twinging in my right knee early on in the course, and then some sharp pains in my right ankle later on. These didn't last long, but definitely got my attention. There was also one mild ankle turn, but no injury.

It was nice to finally get to one of the properties around Oxford. I really dig small, funky college towns like Oxford. I had visited Oxford only one time before, for a concert years ago, in my pre-orienteering years. It's got a great vibe there. I wish Franklin was more like Oxford. There's Franklin College here, but the "big city" is just up the road, so I guess there's never been a need for Franklin to develop the kind of youth-oriented businesses that you see in a more isolated college town. Too bad.

Plus I had a very nice chat with Gerald before I left, who had some constructive training comments, which are always appreciated.

Green - Splits

Very short jog on the 'mill, just to keep things moving. Legs are still pretty trashed from the workout on Tuesday (which I probably hit harder than I needed to).

HRav/overall = 127
HRmx/overall = 162

Wow. So, I guess I found out what muscle group gets worked more by an uphill sprint than a level jog: that muscle group that lifts the knees (as in climbing stairs and such). They are completely shot today. That pesky left heel was sore this morning, too. Urg.

Eight sprints up the hill at Province Park in Franklin, along with recovery walks and warm-up/cool-down. Distance and climb to be measured later.

Time/climb (sec) = 31.5/22.9/??.?/17.9/17.4/17.8/18.1/39.9

This was my attempt to try a shorter, but more intense workout to compliment the longer stuff that I'm trying to do with the 'mill and with the trail loops.

I wasn't sure if today was going to be a good day to go, because I'm a bit under the weather (and had a terrible night's sleep), but around 4pm, I decided to head down to Province Park and try sprinting the hill a few times.

The first and last climbs were easy jogs, but the climbs in between increased in intensity until about #5, which was quite literally all I could muster, speed-wise.

The legs definitely feel like they've been worked in a different way than they do on long trail jogs and such. It'll be interesting to see how this workout develops.

A rest day today, hanging out with the family on Christmas. The kids are very excited.

I realized that I had a AOWN moment on the Mann Hill loop the last time that I should have logged:

Turns out that a great number of crows (maybe 100-200?) hang out in that cultivated field at the north end of SWWway Park, no doubt nibbling on the harvest leftovers. The trail I run skirts the south edge of the field.

As the crows begin to notice me, they take flight. But, as crows don't seem to do anything quickly, this whole operation takes on an odd, slow-motion elegance.

And they don't all notice me at once. They notice me in a slow wave, from west to east, as I jog along the field edge.

A small group of crows is fairly unremarkable, but seeing a whole field of them take flight in a leisurely wave, to then assume random holding patterns in the air while waiting for my departure, was pretty cool.

I hope all of you have a great holiday!

I did an extra mile on the treadmill today.

HRav/mile = 152/158/162/167
HRav/overall = 149