Training Log Archive: Tundra/Desert

Ran to Rancho to meet Pierre Tardif's group. Overslept. This entry is for home to Rancho 2. Had 2.5 L of G*de mix to start out, in a pack.

Rancho 2VWU3MHJ7, Chamise Trail to Windmill Pasture crossroads (via the shortcut). Of course I missed Pierre and Co., being 20 minutes late, despite hauling a* up the hill. I didn't know where they went, either, so I embarked on my own agenda of visiting parts of Rancho previously unexplored.

The remained of the run: Pasture crossroads to Hidden Villa (Grapevine and Ewing Hill Trails), Black Mtn. Trail up to a secret shortcut at 2285', a trespass through the chaparral by Kaiser quarry down to PG&E trail (that segment was about 2.4 km), Rancho 54V2, home.

T%h*e_b#u$s!

A one-hour score-O at Stanford in the afternoon. I moved surprisingly well; added some pace in the end as needed. Still was one control short (got 25/26). I slowed down a lot for route planning, however, in several places; what I ended up with was suboptimal but not by much. Got trapped 3 times, one was in the courtyard of a women's dorm (the girls screamed).

A night score-O at Stanford (all different controls from the day). I debated agonizingly for an hour and a half before deciding to go for it. Had no compass or light (by desire). About 3 barely-missed pits into the course, I decided to go for the 50-min option and not for the 70-min one, and thus avoid the non-campus-building terrain; most people went for the 70-min. Rex Winterbottom was doing the same no-light thing, and I was on his heels most of the time until finally passing him a few controls before the finish. The run was: punch (crayon, rather); accelerate to the nearest streetlight; look at the map and try to figure out where the *&^ circles are—no time to study the leg, just figure out the general direction; accelerate to "there" using the most-lit way; try to grasp the shadows on the map while passing streetlights (skip this step if Rex is visible); stop in the vicinity of the bag and find a streetlight; go punch. I was close to getting all of the 20 allocated for the 50-min event—got 18 and was 1 point/min overtime. Still won.
Had one spectacular trap, shaking the locked doors of what obviously was a passage through the building, and mapped as such. Alas, I was told later that in that particular case gray color was one level above street, not one below as on most of the rest of the map. They should use a different color for above/below ground.

The orienteering was entertaining enough that it kept the mind away from how tired I was.

Feeling tired and *d up this morning. Two more days of this.
Actually, as far as overall feeling goes, I'm quite surprised to feel close to they way I did when I was 19 than what I felt last season just starting training. Getting really old may be a bit in the future (although rogaining sure brings that closer to home).

Baylands ×2; 26'01 25'14.

Bus stop (they moved it a bit).

Baylands ×3 (24'31 23'14 23'29). Tendon felt great. Maybe I should switch to flatter stuff.

Los Altos Hills. Some tendon feelings.

Home, Rancho 2VWUTS6RPUWV2, home. Completely dark until S.

Vdot = 55.

Home to El Camino, #22. Barely made it. I hate the pack.

Warming up before the race (barely), then making way around baby strollers to the 6:30/mile line behind the start, then 1'30 of quasi-stretching.

Run to the Far Side 5K in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Splits were 5'50, 5'53, 6'08 (est.)—I blew the final push. I started to feel like I was slowing down a lot after the 2.5 mi mark, but it was just other people speeding up. I could not see the finish line, and there was no 3 mi mark, so I sort of cruised until about 100 m to the finish. Gun to starting line was about 4 seconds. Some elbows (mostly giving, not taking). In a crowd the whole way. One peloton disruption—had to work to regain the draft. It was amazing how inefficient some people just in front of me were; they must have really good aerobic capacity to do "well" despite a completely screwed-up stride. 68th/4441, 15th age div.