Training Log Archive: bensmith

SART round 4 at Magnuson Park. I had Will, Peteris and Ali C in my heat, so was pretty sure I was going to end up in my usual 6-10 bracket (#stayblueorblueandwhitestripes). But Peteris made a big mistake on the way to 12, and Will made a big mistake by following Peteris. I was unaware of any of this and was just battling Ali. Was very surprised to learn I won the heat. #stayblue

I wasn't totally stoked by the look of this map from the website, but it worked really well for a sprint. Really had to keep in contact of which trail you were on / crossing, or you could really lose time.

SART championship round at Magnuson Park. Had Jourdan, Adam, Ian C and Ben B in my heat. All 4 of them had run faster than me in round 4, so I assumed I was going to finish 5th. But the forking and tricky area meant Adam, Ian and other Ben all made big mistakes. It wasn't until the mid-way point of the second butterfly that I realised I was ahead of them by a wing. I ended up finishing 2nd overall, 2 minutes behind Jourdan. Alas, only the winners of each age group get prizes, so I had nothing to declare when crossing the border.

It was a really fun weekend, and huge thanks to Eric J & co for organising. I was happy with my ability to stay in contact with map, and with the speed of my legs in the first few races. I struggled to push as hard in the later races, but super happy that I managed to #stayblue.

C • Well done! 1

Event: 2019 SART (9/14/19 & 9/15/19)
 

SART time trial at Gas Works. Ran harder than I needed to, but wanted an honest start to the weekend. #stayblue

SART round 1 at Woodland Park. Kai mispunched the time trial, so was seeded abnormally low and was in my heat. So rather than coasting like normal in round 1, we raced hard. Was a fun battle. #stayblue

SART round 2 at Woodland Park. Kai was still in my heat, and we had a reasonably speedy junior as well. Managed to pull away on the uphill stretches fortunately. #stayblue

SART round 3 at Seattle Pacific University. Kai had to pull out injured, but I had Will in my heat now. The brackets worked out favourably for me, so I didn't have to push crazy hard to guarantee a spot in the 1-10 section. This was good as my legs were starting to feel tired from the unnecessary efforts earlier in the day. Made one poor route choice but was otherwise clean. #stayblue

Fun WET at Acadia with lots of artificial walls.

Easy cruise around PSP, as I didn't want to do a speed workout because my quads are still sore from the weekend. Saturday didn't seem like a particularly tough adventure, so I'm surprised at how sore my legs have been. I guess I haven't been doing enough downhill running, and the descent from Lynn Peak ruined me?