Training Log Archive: Ari-o

Falling down the Ammy, fastest time I think, 46 minutes to the parking lot. Dry. Steep.

And then, orienteering.

Eventually.

At first I wound up bumbling around the woods for a while, remembering how to orienteer. I'd left my compass in Boston, but Becky lent me one, which was very helpful.

Found 1 okay, then got sidetracked finding 2 and wound up way down a trail, logging hadn't helped. Good attack once on the trail. The for 3 I handrailed off what I thought was a lake but was instead a marsh and got way out of whack, wound up on the main trail well south of 4, then followed a stream up to find the control. Which meant my attack to 4 was fine.

5 was where I kind of remembered how to orienteer. I got there following features in the woods, although at the end just bashed down to a valley and up the other side, but found the control. 6 was similar, although with a very vague attack off of a trail and poor orienteering at the end. 7 I found by pretty much dumb luck; as I was going off to get caught by the trail I saw it. 8 was easy.

9 was a long leg across flatter, less-featured terrain, but I ran it well in a pretty straight line and while the marshes at the end weren't perfect, wound up right at the control. 10 was sub-optimal but I never really lost contact, but did wind up at the stream beyond just a bit above. 11 was nearby but hidden, and 12 was through some green (and there were a few other rocks that could have been mapped on that shelf). 13 was a short leg, and 14 would have been better if the trail along a ridge had been on the map. Lost 90 seconds on that out-and-back. 15 was fine, 16 was in a vague reentrant, then finish.

Orienteering is fun! Just a bit (a lot) rusty, and maybe after two days of hills my legs are tired.

Quote of the day from a passing trail runner:

"Oh, orienteering. That would explain the person covered in blood stumbling out of the woods.":

My sister was running a marathon to BQ and I went to watch the end of the race. As she was on her last lap (of 10) I went back to pace her. Jogged out, turned around, then ran with her, giving her splits off my phone. Got to the finish all sweaty, even at her just-below-8 marathon pace. Turns out she was laying down a 7 even for her last mile, 7:10s for the last 5k, and major negative splits (1:45-1:40) on her way to a 3:25.

So that's why I was gasping for air at the end!

Then in the evening, up the Ammy! Beo and I in 2013 had a cranberry sauce eating contest on Saturday evenings and wanted to reprise it. Turns out cranberry sauce delivers sugar straight to your brain stem, it's intense!

But the run was good too. No more croo parkiing because reasons, so I parked down at the WMNF parking. Not about to run the trail from there, so straight up the road I went. Went in to L3 up the road, then back a bit on the lower part of the Ammy because it's not in great shape and I don't really trust my shoes (note to self, order new shoes). But then from Gem Pool it's really easy to threshold, and dripping with sweat I arrived at the hut in under an hour, 51 minutes from the Cog Base, good for 2nd or 3rd overall on Strava (although the segments seems to miss some runs). PR by about 2 minutes. It was 38˚ so I sat outside cooling down for about 10 minutes. And then ate cranberry sauce.

Went pretty hard up the hills today.

Back to NP Hills! I sprinted the first down and was less than 10 seconds of my fastest. HR to L3, some of it at sub-4 pace. My legs are now wrecked.

But the uphills felt pretty good, so I moved on them, then ran the little hills. Made my vert for the day, anyway. Now a weekend coming up, what to do, what to do.

C • Pawtuckaway! 2

Biking to work meeting, see people on the street who look familiar, and Cristina and I realize as I go by that "oh, yes, we both live here now" as I roll past. Which we do.

So, hey Cristina!

C • hey, Ari! 1

Warm day at NP. 45 sections, slowing way down once I got hot, even with ice water. And some push ups and things in between. Felt pretty good, though, only a bit of cramping after.

It's hot here. Seems like a good day for a day off.

Up early enough for a pre-drive bike ride. Legs were toasted, could not push any hills, so it was pretty cruise-y. Visited a camp a Chi friend worked at, took some pictures, awkwardly rode by the two staff there.