Training Log Archive: ebuckley

Shoulder is usable, but definitely not right. Didn't bother with a sling, but I did keep my hand in my pocket whenever I was standing to take the pressure off it. Other than that, everything is fine.

Would have liked to get a ride in, but didn't want to risk a fall that might re-injure the shoulder. Went for a hike with Yaya at Castlewood which was a lot of fun for both of us.

C • Get Well Soon 3

Event: Castlewood 8 Hour
 

Castlewood 8-hour (which turned out to be a lot shorter than 8 hours) with Yvonne. 17F at start, but the first leg was a hilly road run to the punch card pickup, so we had no trouble staying warm once we were underway. Ran easy because Yvonne is coming back from a hamstring inury. We were pretty much at the back of the field and then were the only team to take what seemed to me a rather obvious route through the woods up the big climb and ended up being among the top 20 teams (of 100) at that card pickup. Guess lots of people were just on autopilot and ran the road the whole way.

A pretty decent O course by adventure race standards. All controls at least Orange difficulty and 4-5 advanced. Greensfelder map (1:15). The sun had been up for 10 minutes by the time we started the loop, so there was no need for headlamps. Fairly clean, modest pace so as to not aggrevate Yvonnes hamstring, but I give it a 3 because I was towing her up the hills, and there were a LOT of hills (good thing she's back to her pre-pregnancy weight!)

On punching #7 (which was on the tip of a spur so steep that there you had to hang from a tree limb while punching) I reached back to pull myself up and pulled my right arm out of its socket. Figured that was the end of the race for us, but after a couple minutes I moved it and the shouler went back in (with a rather audible pop). It felt OK, so we decided to continue. Finished the section in 5th place, about 10 minutes behind the lead team.

C • Wow 2

At transition we plotter the remainder of the course. That went fast enough, but then it seemed to take longer than it should have to get going. Just dumb stuff like putting the pack on and then remembering I wanted to take my waterproof pants off, etc. Anyway, I don't think we lost any places, but there were quite a few teams in transition by the time we got out on the bikes.

Bike leg was straightforward, but I couldn't find my clue sheet when we got to the middle control and it wasn't obvious from where i'd drawn the circle. Next team showed up about 5 minutes later and we followed them into the control. No harm done, but pretty embarassing. Again rated a 3 because I was pushing Yvonne on the climbs (we didn't have the two set up because we thought the biking would be all singletrack).

Then we got to the actual singletrack, which was basically just an out-and-back on Al Foster/Stinging Nettle using an aerial photo. Temps were warming, but the trail was still frozen, so it was quick going.

One upstream control which required some map reading, then the big push downstream to the takeout at Castlewood. Yvonne was apologetic for being out of form, but I thought we made good time. Not sure what the winning split was, but Bushwacker only took a couple minutes out of us (catching us right at the end) and they're a decent paddling team.

After unloading the bikes, hauling the boats all the way to the parking lot, and getting through the gear check, we tackled the final bike loop. Straightforward navigation made even more so by the fact that I have the Castlewood trail network completely memorized. Caught Bushwacker a mile from the finish when they had a mechanical.

5th overall - 1st 2-person co-ed. Nice return to racing for Yvonne and a lot of fun for me (even if was only half the workout I was expecting).

Easy morning jog on the powerline. Super frosty! There were real live snowflakes in the air. Not many, mind you, and none of them seemed in any great hurry to hit the ground, but they were real live snowflakes and not ice pellets.

Like clockwork, right after the 3-hour, the weather turns to winter. It would be in time for the Trot even if the Trot was on it's normal weekend, although I hear it's supposed to warm up some in the next few days. Anyway, the millimeter of ice pellets that fell last night almost had me wishing I hadn't sold all those skis. That's a very fine base for these parts. I'm sure the downhillers have their stuff loaded into their cars so they're ready to pounce during the 1 hour between when frozen stuff falls and when it melts.

Anyway, it all melted as soon as the sun came up, so I just went for an easy jog round the hood. Legs felt really soft and I have no idea why.

C • Hidden Valley 1

Morning ride at CC Lake.

Easy evening jog round the hood.

Worst injury from the weekend is a nasty blister on my heel. Legs don't feel too terrible either, but an off day is still cleary indicated.