Training Log Archive: maprunner

My foot is feeling much better, but I still wanted to take it easy today, so that I could orienteer tomorrow.
So, just for fun, I googled "aerobic exercise without legs" and found all sorts of YouTube videos for seated exercises. Tried one of them, and it definitely got the HR up! KIind of fun for a change, and I wish I had thought to do this last month.

How did I do on my 2016 Goals ?

Training: Overall: 248 hours
I did not meet my training goal this year. This is a disappointment since I had increased my training each year for the past 6. But I had an impact injury late in the year, and I fell a bit short of my goal (235 hours).

Orienteering: 386 km.
Another fail. I did orienteer every week but didn’t go far enough (234 km)

Yoga or stretch: every week
I did not reach this goal either, but I was more consistent with yoga/stretching this year. Helped me stay healthy,

Results: I'd like to do well at the NAOC
Mixed results. Had decent runs in the middle and long, but a disaster in the sprint.

Focus: this year, my focus was ”don’t stop!” I want to orienteer faster, and I want to get better at reading the map on the run.
I can move well in sprints (99.07% moving time at Burcham) or easy local terrain (87% at Fleming Park). But in challenging terrain, I averaged only 77%. I definitely have lots of work to do here.

There were some real lows this year (including my dad’s death). But there were some highlights, including orienteering in NZ and Australia, a 5K PR and a 50m PR.

Intended to train today, but the outside of my foot is tender and hurts. Maybe peroneal tendonitis? Decided to take it easy today, with lots of elevation and ibuprofen also.

Used my new headlamp (thanks Mike!) during a short run on west campus. It seems to reach further than my old headlamp; I could see things reflecting quite far away.

Sunny and 8C. Another fun day exploring the Riverfront park, in some new areas. The map is a karttupullautin work-in-progress. I tried harder to be careful and accurate in the flat areas. Pleased with 6 to 7 and the woods section on the way to 12 (though that was a bit of a wander through some rough woods). Didn't run on the levee trail, since there were lots of people with dogs running loose, so I wanted to avoid them.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Unbelievable weather today: 19C and rainy and windy
Mike set us a course at the Riverfront park. I like this place because it is so different from our usual terrain. I tried to keep running (but not fast) but I ran into issues with ice, and lots of grassy, viny things that kept tripping me up. So I ended up walking a lot.

The open space leading to 2 no longer exists, so I followed some deer trails. I went to the edge of the parking lot, which is now ringed with old Christmas trees. That was as close as I could get to the circle

From 3 to 4, you can see where my track turns red. That is where I had to post hole through 1-inch ice up to my knees. Very slow going!

When I got to4, I was greeted with an unusual sight: all the ice on the river had been pushed onto the sandbar. It almost looked like the end of a glacier!



I met Mike right around 5 (he was running the course backward) and he suggested taking the new (unmapped) mowed area to get to 6. And that I should skip 10 because it was too hard to cross the stream.

The flat woods here always cause me problems. I found 6 OK but obviously missed 7. I thought I had gone too far, so I turned back and followed a "linear depression" from 7 to 8 (at least it looked that way to me).

After 9, I thought I would go through the woods, but it was too junky so I backed out to the field, which had lots of deer trails.

Nice fun day!

C • ? 3

Cold and overcast, windy in the open area. Went to Rockhaven, where we had put out some min-markers for a "self-serve" O course over Christmas. I created my own course from the 8 markers and added one more (#6) just because. Plan was to move through the woods, and up and down the hills. I also practiced looking ahead. Problem is that the woods are getting really crappy: lots of underbrush and lots of downed trees. I took it slow today and tried to be clean. But it took a while: I was really confused leaving 1,and took a slow route to 2. Slight error at 5 where I started looking too soon. I also stopped between 6 and 7 to take a picture of the lake:

Mike designed a cool training for us today. A few mini-courses, no markers. At each control location, you had to stop and look to see the feature marked with an X. The goal was to practice looking up and ahead. You couldn't always see the actual feature, but you could often see a dip in the land form or where the item was likely to be.

Legs were tired after the last 2 days. And I got tired out there today. Taking a few weeks off of regular training really set me back. Bummer.

I pretended I was a federal government worker and left the office early for some "exercise leave" before the long weekend. Which meant I had time to play in the daylight on an empty campus. Ran four short courses on the Spooner map. I pushed the pace on each of them with short rests in between. Felt pretty good, until #4, where my brain was a bit fuzzy at the start.



Then I came home and danced around a bit to get in a full hour today.

I really didn't want to do this. I was in a bad mood and I didn't feel like going out in the cold (only -2C or so). But I have been getting fat and lazy this winter and it needs to stop. So out I went, for a short jaunt around Holcom. I was dressed well, except for my face. It was really cold running into the wind.

I made the outing a hunt for coyote tracks (since I saw a coyote there the other day). I'm pretty sure I found some tracks, but I wasn't able to follow them all the way into some wooded area. I wonder where the coyote lives?

C • coyote 1

-25c meant it was time to exercise indoors. Trained early in the morning so I could join Sandy for a trip to Ikea. Then a nice evening at Gene and Dee's annual Christmas pot luck.

A weird day. I woke up feeling really lethargic and heavy. I got out of bed just to cancel the orienteering training we had planned for today (too cold, icy and snowy for driving) Then crawled back into bed for a few more hours. After that, I felt fine.

But not motivated to run around in the cold snow. So I went to the gym (had the place to myself) and used the equipment while listening to podcasts.

Night run on west campus (with MIke's headlamp since mine died). Main reason for running tonight was to get acclimated to winter conditions. It was -4C and a bit windy. My legs felt fine but my arms and hands were cold almost the whole time. Probably a mix of not enough clothes and not enough effort :)

Lots of arm work. Needed some spotting on the last reps. Arms are rubbery now.

Spent the last two days in a hotel ballroom for a work meeting. Felt good to move the body a bit tonight.

PTOC score O event. Except I forgot to put it on my calendar, and I made lunch plans with The Girls for the same time. So I asked if I could run early, which I could because the markers were put out on Saturday. And I happened to have the Start and Finish boxes in my house, so I brought them with me!

I started out OK but quickly ran into trouble. I just could not seem to stay on direction today. Lots of confusion, especially on the way to 15, 16 and 22. Also, slowed down a lot on pace. Just couldn't push through the thick woods and thorns, and I'm out of running shape.

Had to hustle in after 17 to meet the 1-hour time limit.

Got back just as everyone was setting up registration and the finish. Chatted for a few minutes, changed out of my wet clothes (so nice to have a bathroom for this!) and drove off to lunch.

Putting out mini markers for the Christmas self-serve course at Rockhaven.
Knee is feeling good, now I just have to get back into running shape.
Woods are getting really junky out there.

Felt good to do this again.

Tough session tonight. Amazing how quickly my quad muscles have turned to mush.

Knee was a little stiff this morning after yesterday's run. But not too bad.
I think my final test for when I am healed is when I can comfortably kneel on my right knee.

Time to get off the couch and move again.
First, a fun day at work. We went to "Main Event" for a team building/reward day. Bowled, played air hockey and pool. And two rounds of laser tag, which was lots of fun.
Then, a short outing on west campus to check out the new construction sites. Jogged 3 minutes, walked 2 minutes. Ribs are completely better, cold is mostly gone, and the knee has just a few twinges when I run. Progress!

Fun hashtag today on Twitter: #2006vs2016.
I checked: I weigh exactly the same. I lost a lot of weight in 2006, and I'm happy to have kept it off.
In 2006 I did 170 hours of training; so far I'm at 216 hours for 2016
I like this comparision!

C • #2006vs2016 2

It's scary how quickly one can get used to lying on the couch and not exercising.....

Nice visit with Swampfox tonight. He brought cookies from kissy, too (thanks!)

C • You're welcome 6

Ugh, cold is worse. Had to leave work early, went home and crawled into bed.