Training Log Archive: maprunner

Flew home from Boise today. Early flights meant we got home about 2:30 pm. Mike and I went out for an easy bike ride to enjoy the beautiful weather. My calf hurts a bit, so I have been using lots of compression and ice. Bike riding didn't hurt it, but I think I will give it a complete day off tomorrow to be safe.

US Champs, Middle, Stanley flats

Beautiful scenery, but a long walk to the start. My goal today was clean navigation. I decided to walk the whole race since it was nearly impossible to run through all the deadfall, and I would just have more mistakes if I did try too hard. I was pretty good at keeping to this plan. It helped when I figured out that the logs didn't break when you stepped on them, so you could hop from one to the other.

On my way to 6, I pulled my calf muscle again. Wow, it hurt. I briefly considered stopping the race, but I was already at the furthest point. And as I continued, the pain went away. But my mind was distracted for a bit. I went too far down the hill on the way to 7, but I figured it out quickly. Joined a few other folks wandering around nearby , but decided quickly that I needed to relocate at the pond.

After that, the course went well until the penultimate control. I got cocky that it had been going well, and I caught a guy who had been ahead of my at 7. Thought I had to go left to get to the control and I spent too long wandering before I admitted that I had to go back.

As I finished, I thought that it had gone OK, and that I was glad I had recovered reasonably soon after my mistakes. I was a bit mad at myself for the mistake at 12, but overall, I was happy with my run. Not great, but much better than I had done all year.

I spoke to Mike and he looked at my time and said he thought I might have beaten Peggy. I said, No way. I have only beaten Peggy once in 25 years. But when I compared times with her, it was true. I had beaten her by 39 seconds! Woo hoo, I must admit, this made me very happy!

Then, as others in our class finished, it became clear that I was going to win F50! This was a very good feeling. I know it wasn't the best run, and that others had worse days, but a win is a win.

http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...

Mike and I left early and had a leisurely drive down to Boise, stopping at some hot springs along the way. We had a very delicious meal in town (at Fork) and I celebrated with a glass of Champagne.

C • Congrats! 4

Green Middle - Splits

US long Champs at Stanley Trap Creek. I had dropped down to Brown, so I decided to take it easy and enjoy the woods. I enjoyed the contour features, but not the deadfall. It was tough going. Courses were decent, but all the long legs had huge parallel features that made them too easy. I cut the course short, going from 4 to 8.
The best part was the map reminded me of a lot of the terrain you see in Catching Features, so it felt familiar.
http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...

After the race, Mike and I drove up 75 to see the valley at Galena Overlook. Beautiful scenery. Followed by a lovely dinner with the Ahmed family and Paul and Ted.

Brown long - Splits

Event: 2017 Gold Rush Meet and USA SML Championships
 

US Champs sprint, Boise State University. Yeah, I finally had a clean race! And my calf was not an issue. Slight time loss on 10 due to imperfect execution, but otherwise a good race.

It was hard to see #1 but after that I settled in. Had fun with 4, since it was a control location I had predicted on my walk yesterday. Did not think about pace, only navigation. Until 12, when I looked ahead and saw that the rest was easy and I had no excuse not to run hard. Did not try hard in the finish chute, didn't want to hurt my calf. But it's too bad, it was a perfect setup for me!
http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...

Green-Orange sprint - Splits

Walking around the Boise State campus, without a map, before the embargo started. Went a little too far, and my leg got tired. But I was really glad I went. I had never done this kind of reconnaissance before, it was fun.

Easy day at the trainer.

I had self-diagnosed a mild soleus muscle strain. When I told my trainer about it, several others joined the conversation and offered advice. Lisa, another trainer, offered to help me with it after my session. She felt around. confirmed soleus and that it was minor, suggested lots more ice and compression (I had iced it several times already today, plus constant ibuprofen). She also gave me an ace bandage and an ankle wrap, said to use both all weekend. So, we'll see. It is definitely minor, I don't feel any pain just standing around or sitting. So I'll try the sprint on Friday, and see how the rest of the weekend goes.

My mood has not improved. Very mad at myself.

I'll get over it soon enough.

Ad Astra track series. It was really hot, but I wanted to warm up more than usual today. The instructor does a short warm up, which is not long enough for older bodies. As I was finishing my warm-up, I decided to do some in-and-out short sprints. I felt a slight twinge in my left calf, like it had tightened up or something. I did a few stretches, and some more jogging, but it would not go away. Finally my brain accepted that I had done a really, really stupid thing, and pulled a muscle. I stopped right then, came home, ice, ibuprofen, pressure, and elevation. And cursed and cried and gnashed my teeth a great deal. It doesn't hurt much, but still, the timing sucks. And it was completely avoidable if I had just thought about it for a minute. I am not in a good mood.