Tuesday Jul 31 |
 | Orienteering 51:41 [3] 4.6 km (11:14 / km) +175m 9:26 / km | |
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| Decided it would be too risky to do a 5k race with my quad not right and Colorado just a few days away. So I did the Brown course from my 2005 meet at Mt Tom. No misses, but I felt very slow in the terrain, and overall rusty. It didn't help that it was getting dark: sun sets earlier on the east side of the mountain. |
| Road Run 6:30 [2] 0.75 mi (8:39 / mi) | |
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| Gate to the start and back after. |
Monday Jul 30 |
| Trail Run 42:39 [2] 5.0 mi (8:31 / mi) | |
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| Outer loop plus one extra lap around the dirt track, after lifting. Very muggy: DP 70. Relaxed pace because I'm thinking of doing the race tomorrow. |
Sunday Jul 29 |
| Trail/Road Run 54:15 [3] 6.5 mi (8:20 / mi) | |
| weight:142lbs |
| Mill R. loop. 9:00 AM run before going into NYC. Modest pace. Legs felt sluggish, and left quad a bit sore on road segments. Dew point: 68. |
Saturday Jul 28 |
| cycling (time trial) 1:20:58 [3] | |
| weight:142lbs |
| My river loop over the Sunderland bridge, but without the excursion into Montague. So this loop is very flat and fast. 26.3 miles, 3:04/mile (19.5 mph). (Stopped the watch when I hit downtown Noho traffic, a mile from home.) A good effort, inspired by watching Levi's (sligtly faster!) time trial in the morning. Goal was just to be over 19 mph. I had to work hard to stay over 19 going north into a slight headwind; but no problem doing 20 mph coming back south. Steady rain for about 20 minutes on the way out, and wet roads the whole way, but it didn't seem to slow me down. Tried to keep the pace just below that threshold where you start to feel burning in the quads. |
Friday Jul 27 |
| Trail Run 13:28 [2] 1.5 mi (8:59 / mi) | |
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| From Smith fields. Warm and muggy, and I expected this to be an easy, junk mileage day, but by the time I got to the race course ... |
| Trail Run 23:05 [3] 3.0 mi (7:41 / mi) | |
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| I felt really good, and this pace (including 7:45 on the uphill third mile) felt very comfortable. Maybe the hard training over the past month is paying off. Probably it was in part the new shoes: Adidas Adizero, finally a truly light trail shoe. |
| Trail Run 8:11 [2] 0.9 mi (9:05 / mi) | |
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| Cooldown. Deer fly got me in that one spot on my back I can't reach. Damn. |
Thursday Jul 26 |
| Trail Run 47:20 [3] 3.5 mi (13:31 / mi) | |
| weight:141lbs |
| Same Mt Tom route as a about a month ago. Parked at top of Chapin, then up to Reservation Rd to the M-M along the cliffs over the summit and down to 141. Warm, muggy, and foul air. Effort was moderate, but still over 5 minutes faster than last time. Some splits: 18:40 (to DOC trail), 9:48 (ski lift), 10:14 (tower), 8:35 (142). Then ... |
| Road Run 24:56 [3] 3.0 mi (8:18 / mi) | |
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| Road run back. A minute faster than last time. When I got back to car, I marveled at the "carnage" (to use J-J's term) on the hat. A rough count was 98. Because I ran shirtless I felt them more than usual when they made a first pass, but no bites. And I killed a few that got caught in my hair. ("What hair?" you may ask. Shoulder hair, where I'm well endowed.) |
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| C • carnage 2 |
Wednesday Jul 25 |
| Trail Run 51:26 [3] 6.0 mi (8:34 / mi) | |
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| After lifting at Smith, did four laps around fields, then out and back on north side of the Mill River. Midday sun, so a moderate pace; but my legs felt surprisingly good. |
Tuesday Jul 24 |
| Road Run (hills) 14:24 [5] 1.8 mi (7:59 / mi) | |
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| Four Amity Hills in 3:42, 3:38, 3:33, 3:31 - about what I expected. |
| Road Run 33:00 [3] 3.8 mi (8:41 / mi) | |
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| Before, after, and the 3 downhills in between. |
| tennis 40:00 [1] | |
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| Two sets with Adam. |
Monday Jul 23 |
| Trail/Road Run 44:32 [2] 4.6 mi (9:40 / mi) | |
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| Inner loop from home. Slow recovery run (aka junk mileage). |
Sunday Jul 22 |
| cycling 2:12:25 [3] | |
| weight:141lbs |
| Williamsburg-Conway NCC loop. 37.54 miles, 3:31/mile (17.0 mph). A pretty hard effort, about 8 minutes faster than two weeks ago. Hit all the lights (or just kept going anyway), so never stopped the watch. Felt pretty good on the hills - bring on the Alpe d'Huez!
Splits: 33:41 (3:31/m) (North St., Williamsburg), 37:19 (4:00) (116), 40:01 (3:16) (N. Farms), 21:22 (3:05). |
Saturday Jul 21 |
| Trail Run 2:06:44 [3] 10.0 mi (12:41 / mi) | |
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| From the Notch visitor center to Harris Rd and back. This is much more runnable than the 7 sisters, but still there's plenty of climb, and rocky segments. For most of this route, the M-M and Frost are together, but they split where the M-M goes to the summit of Norwottuck while the Frost stays along the northside of the mountain. I did the M-M out and the Frost back. Sportstrack says the distance was 9.97 miles; AMC guidebook says 10.5. Nice summer weather: warm, but low humidity, and great views from the summits. I ran at a modest but respectable pace. My endurance seems to be OK, but my speed on the trails, especially downhill, leaves something to be desired. Weight was 138 when I got home, lowest I've seen on the scale in a long time. Since I left the house at about 143, and took in 2 pounds of liquid on the way to the start and four pounds from the camelbak during the run, I estimate I lost about 11 pounds of sweat in 2 hours! The FDF score was 22-1. The 1 is generous, something bit me on my arm but I don't think it was a deer fly. Splits: 25:17 (Frost/M-M junction), 31:11 (Long Mtn summit), 9:53 (Harris Rd., 1:06:21); 13:39, 29:59, 16:45 (1:00:23). |
Friday Jul 20 |
| Trail/Road Run 54:59 [3] 6.25 mi (8:47 / mi) | |
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| Outer loop from home, plus some extra (and lifting at the gym). |
Thursday Jul 19 |
| Trail Run 23:10 [4] 3.1 mi (7:29 / mi) | |
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| Noho xc course. Seems the only way I can get myself to do a good workout (on my own) is to pick a route I know well and set a time goal. Goal was to be under 23:00, which I didn't quite do, but still a good effort in extremely humid weather (dewpoint 72). 7:25, 7:16, 7:42, 47. |
| Trail/Road Run 25:11 [2] 2.8 mi (8:59 / mi) | |
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| Warm-up, cool-down, after lifting at the gym. |
Wednesday Jul 18 |
| Road Run (junk) 45:37 [3] 5.0 mi (9:07 / mi) | |
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| Plan was to do the stretch of the M-M from Rattlesnake Knob to Harris Rd., coming in by the Cliffside trail. Parked at Harris Rd, prepared the hat, tried to move the car to a better spot, but the car wouldn't move. At first I thought I was stuck in mud, then that the clutch was blown (since I could smell it from my failed attempts to get the car to move). Gave up and called for a tow. Turns out the brakes somehow locked up and the brake pedal was stuck. Tow guy unstuck it, but I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to drive without having it checked out. So the car now sits at Dana automotive. I've really liked my Passatt, but as it nears 100,000, it's showing its age.
Got back to my house before dark, and made myself head out the door. Clement Street loop backwards, with Veterans Field cutoff. Very low energy, and feeling all my ailments. Maybe not having eaten in 12 hours (since 8:00 AM) contributed. |
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| C • 100000?! 3 |
Tuesday Jul 17 |
| cycling 1:02:04 [3] | |
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| Was supposed to be the Westhampton-Haydenville loop, but heading up to Haydenville along the river from Leeds the pavement suddenly ended and it was gravel as far as the eye could see. So just headed back from there. Too bad: I was on pace to equal or better my PR for the loop. My quads felt sore for the first 20 minutes, but got better after that. Forerunner: 19.11 miles, 3:14/mile. Splits: 21:38 (3:35) to Loudville Rd., 16:37 (3:21) to Sylvester, 23:48 (2:56). |
Monday Jul 16 |
| Trail Run 48:21 [2] 5.5 mi (8:47 / mi) | |
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| After lifting, a slow recovery run on a mix of trails, dirt track, and road. |
Sunday Jul 15 |
| Trail Run 57:49 [4] 5.5 mi (10:30 / mi) | |
| weight:142lbs |
| Soapstone Assault. A really nice, low-key race, about 25 runners. Distance is about 5.5 miles with 1800' of climb, according to the race director (no forerunner). The course consisted of six climbs to the top on the five different trails and the dirt road; five descents (only five because it finished at the top, on top of the tower); and the connecting trail (and a bit of road) that runs around the base of the mountain, counterclockwise. It was a handicapped start, based on age and gender. So Peter got to start 5 minutes ahead of me. (I'm the one who needed the handicap! He was about 3 minutes faster on the course, basically by running all the downhills about 30 seconds faster than me. He was easily the first finisher.) Clint started about 5 minutes behind me. He gained about a minute and a half of it back, but never threatened. I started with another 53, Bruce M., who I left behind on the second climb, and two females including Deb who left me in the dust on the first downhill. I never got passed and finished third beind Peter and Deb (probably fifth in terms of course time.) My legs and energy were good, in spite of the warm, humid conditions. I never maxed out on the ups, and ran conservatively on the downs. Not nearly as bad for my hip as racing 5k's, or running at the track. FDF's got some revenge today: I was hatless.
Splits (around, up, down, etc.): 1:46, 4:34, 2:55; 3:55, 5:08, 3:07; 1:32, 4:59, 3:15; 1:31, 3:58, 2:50; 6:37, 2:57, 1:42; 1:32, 5:24. |
| Trail Run 20:15 [3] 2.2 mi (9:12 / mi) | |
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| As a warm-up, I did the loop around the base with Clint and Peter. Really useful to have Clint show us all the turns so that I didn't have to worry too much about it during the race. |
| Trail Run 3:00 [2] 0.3 mi (10:00 / mi) | |
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| After, back to the car. |
Saturday Jul 14 |
| Trail Run 38:47 [2] 4.0 mi (9:42 / mi) | |
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| Outer loop after lifting at the gym. Very relaxed pace. Saving it for tomorrow's interval workout. Planning on working hard on the six assents, then real easy on the descents to protect my hip. |
Friday Jul 13 |
| cycling 2:11:11 [3] | |
| weight:142lbs |
| 40.19 miles; 3:15/mile = 18.4 mph. Same river route as the 4th of July, but without the flat tire or the stop at PG's. (When I passed his driveway, I thought about trying to sneak into his garage to sabotage his new pump; but I figured I'd need Gail as a co-conspirator.) This is a dead flat route along the Connecticut River except for a 300 foot climb in Montague. I put in a good sustained effort, but my back and hip were getting sore by the end. |
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| C • So are you measuring distance ... 3 |
Thursday Jul 12 |
| Track 15:36 [5] 2.5 mi (6:14 / mi) | |
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| Eaglebrook track, now with about 20 people! Not good for my hip. And had to cut out on one of the 800's due to intestinal distress.
4:46 (1200), 3:05 (800), 1:28 (400), 4:50 (1200), 1:27 (400) |
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| C • rest? 2 |
| Track 12:50 [3] 1.5 mi (8:33 / mi) | |
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| 2 laps before, 4 after. Not enough warm-up or stretching. |
Wednesday Jul 11 |
| machines (Elliptical l13) 30:00 [3] | |
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| After lots of lifting. Easy day, enjoying the air conditioned gym. |
Tuesday Jul 10 |
| Road Run 45:16 [3] 5.6 mi (8:04 / mi) | |
| weight:142lbs |
| Clement Street loop. 91 degrees in Noho when I started at 7:30 PM; dewpoint 72. Legs felt better today than yesterday. Good heat training! I'm still sweating an hour after stopping and taking a cool shower. |
Monday Jul 9 |
| dirt 15:27 [4] 2.25 mi (6:51 / mi) | |
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| 91 degrees and humid. Alternated easy and hard(er) laps around the 3/4 dirt track (well, maybe .72 miles). The three hard(er) ones, with heavy trail shoes on, were 5:09, 5:10, 5:08 which about what I wanted. Tired legs were as much of a challenge as the heat. |
| dirt 25:30 [2] 2.75 mi (9:16 / mi) | |
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| Easy pace before after and between. Stopped for water in the middle of every slow lap. |
Sunday Jul 8 |
| cycling 2:20:13 [3] | |
| weight:141lbs |
| After purchasing a CO2 pump and a new spare tube, I did the Noho cycling club's Thursday route. Starting from my house, it was 37.6 miles, 3:43 per mile. This is a hilly ride! My house is at 120 ft. I took it conservatively heading to the high point on N. Poland (1243 ft.) at about 15 miles, then a bit harder climbing out of Conway (660 ft.) through the notch near the reservoir (838 ft.), then pretty hard the last 10 mostly downhill miles. Legs felt OK once I got going. It was 88 in Noho, but felt cooler in the hilltowns, and I even got a brief shower. |
Saturday Jul 7 |
| Trail Run 1:55:33 [2] 10.5 mi (10:59 / mi) | |
| weight:142lbs |
| From Amethyst Brook parking, the Frost to the M-M to the fire tower on top of Mt Lincoln and back. Low 80's, moderate humidity, easy pace both up and down. Sweated about 10 pounds of liquid, 5 of which I put back during the run. This is one of my favorite trail runs in the valley: the footing is good throughout with long stretches on pine needles, and the 1200' or so of total climb is all runnable (if you're so inclined!) except for one stretch up a power line leaving N. Valley Road. I first did this over a dozen years ago with Fred Pilon, and I've done it four or five times since, including a winter run with Peter on snow. But I had sworn off doing it in the summer because of FDF's. Not a problem today. Score was 52-0, my highest count to date. 1:03:14 up, 52:19 down. |
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| C • 52 - 0 ! 11 |
| Orienteering 30:00 [1] | |
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| Mt Tom with Adam. He wanted to learn pace counting, so we estimated his count for road, trail, off-trail and then he found some features using it. And he was mightily impressed at how well it worked! |
Friday Jul 6 |
| Trail Run 48:47 [2] 5.3 mi (9:12 / mi) | |
| weight:143lbs |
| 5k course from Smith, after lifting. Only 72 degrees, but muggy enough that I was drenched in sweat throughout. Plan was to go as slow as I needed to go to feel totally relaxed, and not bother my hip - which was pretty slow. When I took up running 24 years ago, people would say they saw me "jogging", and I used to reply (though I quickly gave up) that, actually, I was running, not jogging, which is different. Today was jogging. Ditto for all my recent level 2 "runs". |
Thursday Jul 5 |
| Road Run 27:52 [3] 3.8 mi (7:19 / mi) | |
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| Child's Park loop. Came home after lifting to wait for the rain let up. Plan was to do a modest tempo run to make up for not being able to get to the Thursday track workout; but tired legs, tight hip, and very muggy weather made this more than a minute slower than I wanted. |
Wednesday Jul 4 |
| cycling 2:15:00 [3] | |
| weight:142lbs |
| Skipped the local "4 on the 4th" road race: couldn't bring myself to pay $25. I wanted to do something longer on the bike, but not hilly, and it turns out the Noho cycling clubs Wed. route was just right. With the to and from my house to the start, the ride was 40 miles, and only one hill about halfway in Montague, climbing to the top of Taylor Hill Rd. The first half was fine, crusining north with a slight tailwind, I reached the bookmill averaging over 19 mph, and then powered up to the top to the hill. But by the time I got down the hill and back to the river, it was clear I had a problem ...
Definitely a "bad behavior" day. Fortunately, I was rescued by the kindness of friends, and a stranger. The bad behavior in my case was laziness. Instead of changing my tube with the "slow leak" at my house, I just put a spare tube in my pouch and took off. By the time I crossed back into Sunderland, about 25 miles into the ride, it was clear my rear tire was more or less flat. I went another mile or so, then stopped and figured I'd first try to pump the tire back up and continue. But I was in for a surprise. The pump on my bike had a Shrader valve, not Presta. (And I've been riding with that pump on my bike for a couple years!). But luck was with me: just then Dick and his wife, who I run with on Thursday at the track, rode by and pumped my tire up to a rideable, but still semi-flat level, with a CO2 cartridge. I was less than 2 miles from the Gagarin's house which was right on the route (more luck), so I pulled out my cell and called Gail. (Peter was off doing something outlandish, like the seven sisters race course.) Dropped by, and pumped my tire back to 100 psi and took off. Seemed OK, didn't hear any hissing. Surely it would hold the dozen or so miles to Northampton! Bad behavior #2. I got about five miles, to the Hadley line, before it was flat again. Pulled over, about ready to call Margi (an ignominious defeat!), when a cyclist on his way home to Chicopee rode by. I flagged him down, and he was very willing to help. He had one of those little, half pumps (Presta!). He assisted as I removed the old tube, put in the new one, and with an exhausting effort pumped it up to maybe 80 psi. As punishment for the bad behavior, I got rain and a severe headwind all the way back. |
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| C • So was there any thought to ch... 6 |
Tuesday Jul 3 |
| Trail Run race 21:08 [5] 3.1 mi (6:48 / mi) vdot: 46.6 | |
| weight:144lbs |
| Northampton 5k race. I hadn't done any fast running in two weeks, so with the perfect weather (78, low humidity), it seemed time to test the hip. I figured I'd be between 21:00 and 21:30 (predicting 21:20). The good news is I felt great: plenty of energy in the legs, holding back a bit because I felt the tightness in my butt the whole way (but no damage, I think). Had the same split profile I usually do: 6:37. 6:40, 7:07, 43. Passed a couple people over the last two miles without getting passed, but couldn't catch the first M50 Ned James who was 8 seconds ahead. |
| Road Run 25:00 [2] 3.0 mi (8:20 / mi) | |
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| Home to the race and back after. |
Monday Jul 2 |
| Orienteering 1:11:28 [2] 4.6 mi (15:31 / mi) | |
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| Orienteering at Mt Tom? In the middle of the summer?? With the blue hat comes freedom, but also responsibility. I no longer have any excuse not to train in the woods through the summer. The blue hat collected 34 FDF's (and about an equal number of twigs), and I was never bothered by them, not even a little. The hat brushed up against branches, but it was secure enough, and never dislodged. Thanks to PG for pushing to actually do this instead of just talking about it.
The course? I pulled out an old Tony M. 18 point course from 2000, a year I couldn't run (because I was in DC), but I had picked up the advanced controls when I got back. So I had never done the whole course, and only vaguely remembered what I had done. Pace was easy, with some very slow routes. Distance is Forerunner; point-to-point was 5.5 k. |
Sunday Jul 1 |
| tennis 1:00:00 [1] | |
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| With Adam. Not very aerobic, just tiring. |
| Trail/Road Run 40:55 [3] 4.9 mi (8:20 / mi) | |
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| After finishing tennis midday, every time I thought about doing more exercise I had to lie down. But finally, around 7:00, I got up the energy to put on some running shoes and head out the door. Jog to the Smith fields, four laps around the dirt outer track at an 8 minute pace, then jog back. Very tired from the last two days of running. |