Training Log Archive: RosstopherIn the 30 days ending Nov 30, 2011:
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Wednesday Nov 30, 2011 #
Note
Hurray for my big sister. I just listened in, via Skype, to her PhD thesis defense. She did great. She's going to be an awesome professor one day soon. First stop though is a Post Doc in Boston.... have to her and her husband Rob to join CSU at least as social members :)
C • like 1
6 PM
orienteering 2:07:18 [4] 15.23 km (8:21 / km) +88m 8:07 / km
Tuesday Nov 29, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 1:24:29 [3] 20.31 km (4:10 / km) +162m 4:00 / km
Saturday Nov 26, 2011 #
1 PM
orienteering 38:00 [5] 2.13 km (17:48 / km) +29m 16:40 / km
Friday Nov 25, 2011 #
Note
Wander.Lost Yul-related yumminess, like yulecider, sigtuna vinterlager, eggnog and lussekatter.
Thursday Nov 24, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 12:44 [2] 2.34 km (5:27 / km) +13m 5:18 / km
Warmup from KG up to Flogsta where our training started. A smallish group, but nice to see some people back from training breaks/injuries.
Road run 37:07 [5] 9.83 km (3:47 / km) +115m 3:34 / km
This was supposed to be quickdistance, whatever that means. Elisa, who was in charge tonight, described it such that the goal was to run hard for 25 minutes or longer. The course was about 3.3 k and we would run 2 or 3 laps. I checked with Lutas to see about how fast we should aim to run, and he said that 36 minutes would be a good time for the 10k course.
For the first lap I was working really hard to keep up with Mats, Lutas, and Daniel... I was holding the map though, so they were staying close enough so that I could shout directions. We went through the lap in 12 minutes, but it felt super hard to maintain and Mats and Lutas started to make a pretty big gap on Daniel and me.
Going through the second lap, Mats cheered us on and told us to pick it up, and so we tried, and I think succeeded in doing the last lap in about 12 minutes again. Daniel was really nice and rabbited me through the last 8 minutes of the workout. Felt pretty happy with the effort given how heavy my legs were feeling at the start of the workout.
For the first lap I was working really hard to keep up with Mats, Lutas, and Daniel... I was holding the map though, so they were staying close enough so that I could shout directions. We went through the lap in 12 minutes, but it felt super hard to maintain and Mats and Lutas started to make a pretty big gap on Daniel and me.
Going through the second lap, Mats cheered us on and told us to pick it up, and so we tried, and I think succeeded in doing the last lap in about 12 minutes again. Daniel was really nice and rabbited me through the last 8 minutes of the workout. Felt pretty happy with the effort given how heavy my legs were feeling at the start of the workout.
Road run 10:55 [2] 1.84 km (5:56 / km) +14m 5:43 / km
And chatting back to the clubhouse for a shower and then home for dinner.
Tomorrow is lab cleaning day, which means that I need to be at the Rudbeck by 8:30am.... I know it doesn't sound early, but it will take a special effort I think :) And then after work we fly to Oslo for Norwegian Thanksgiving (observed) and hanging out with the cool American crowd there.
Tomorrow is lab cleaning day, which means that I need to be at the Rudbeck by 8:30am.... I know it doesn't sound early, but it will take a special effort I think :) And then after work we fly to Oslo for Norwegian Thanksgiving (observed) and hanging out with the cool American crowd there.
Wednesday Nov 23, 2011 #
Note
Sam updated our blog, Wander.Lost. This goes through our time at the Gala, chatting with people and playing musical chairs, and describes Sam's experience running Vinterrejset, probably one of the most fun races we've run.
6 PM
Trail run 4:51 [2] 0.94 km (5:11 / km) +3m 5:06 / km
As is nearly always the case, late to practice. Only a short warmup before heading out on the Wednesday Night competition.
orienteering 1:50:04 [3] 7.82 km (14:05 / km) +63m 13:32 / km
Tonight's course was 28 controls, 7k and on a contour only map! I was super excited :) There is a random start draw, but I usually get put near the beginning of the draw so that I have more time in the forest.
So I was set off onto the course and I took a few steps into the woods before I noticed that it was awfully dark. I decided to turn on the high beam on my headlamp and then realized that the lamp was completely out of battery ( I guess it didn't get plugged in fully) and then I was stuck with either going home dejected and despondent or running the course with my backup light.
I chose to use my backup Petzel Zipka and do the course. Sam sometimes cannot tell if I'm awake and reading in bed when I use this light, that's about the level of brightness it can supply.
So I am really proud that I found them all. It was challenging and I was forced to go very slowly especially when there was any amount of vegetation in the way. I was pretty successful in reading the contours, though this could have been partially due to the slower speed.
So I was set off onto the course and I took a few steps into the woods before I noticed that it was awfully dark. I decided to turn on the high beam on my headlamp and then realized that the lamp was completely out of battery ( I guess it didn't get plugged in fully) and then I was stuck with either going home dejected and despondent or running the course with my backup light.
I chose to use my backup Petzel Zipka and do the course. Sam sometimes cannot tell if I'm awake and reading in bed when I use this light, that's about the level of brightness it can supply.
So I am really proud that I found them all. It was challenging and I was forced to go very slowly especially when there was any amount of vegetation in the way. I was pretty successful in reading the contours, though this could have been partially due to the slower speed.
Trail run 6:45 [2] 1.33 km (5:05 / km) +27m 4:37 / km
Running from the finish back to the clubhouse. Took me long enough to finish that the clubhouse was already empty by the time I got back. A quick trip back to the lab to change antibody staining on my (mouse) retinas, and then home to have dinner with Sam. Since Boris is not around, she could make an excellent fish recipe without any fear of repercussion. :)
Tuesday Nov 22, 2011 #
6 PM
Trail run 8:01 [2] 1.35 km (5:56 / km) +15m 5:37 / km
Tuesdays are long runs on Nåsten during the winter months. Today was Bana E, and like every Tisdagbana, it starts in a field just south of the clubhouse. So this is the warmup over to the start.
orienteering 1:43:25 [3] 14.64 km (7:04 / km) +180m 6:39 / km
Bana E has a lot of trails and rides to follow, which I thought would make it a little faster, but the rides were quite junky and hard to follow, so I quickly got bogged down and lost the lead group. Partly I felt bad because one of the guys I was running with had headlamp issues and I didn't want him to have to suffer in the dark alone. We made it out to the next big trail and he split off with the group heading on to do the 10k version, but I convinced Oskar to join me to head north on the 18.8k path.
Another long junky ride to follow, and the whole way was cold and marshy so my feet were turning into feetsicles a bit. Made it back to the valley, where the course turned back into the woods, but then I thought that Oskar's idea of just heading back to the sauna and the soup seemed reasonable. So we ended up doing our own 14.6k loop. I was very glad to have Oskar as company.
Another long junky ride to follow, and the whole way was cold and marshy so my feet were turning into feetsicles a bit. Made it back to the valley, where the course turned back into the woods, but then I thought that Oskar's idea of just heading back to the sauna and the soup seemed reasonable. So we ended up doing our own 14.6k loop. I was very glad to have Oskar as company.
Monday Nov 21, 2011 #
6 PM
Strength (Rock Gympa) 49:30 [3]
I was trying to decided which was harder, Snyggmagnus gympa or Rock gympa. Tonight, Rock gympa pulled ahead in that contest,as we now do two laps of the 24 minute routine.
The lunges and jumping really start to build up.
A lot more people tonight, which is great to see. Of course, it makes hopping from side to side more dangerous :)
The lunges and jumping really start to build up.
A lot more people tonight, which is great to see. Of course, it makes hopping from side to side more dangerous :)
7 PM
Innebandy 15:00 [2]
Some innebandy after strength. More people playing tonight which meant that I got to run around less. I wonder if Sam would be okay with me stacking all of our furniture out on the balcony and turning the living room into a bandy practice room?
Tried to get some healthy betting going on, and I chose a team and everytime they scored I did 5 pushups. Albin joined me for one round of this, but then I was on my own. I always backed Sam's team... and sadly for her, I didn't do that many pushups :)
Tried to get some healthy betting going on, and I chose a team and everytime they scored I did 5 pushups. Albin joined me for one round of this, but then I was on my own. I always backed Sam's team... and sadly for her, I didn't do that many pushups :)
Sunday Nov 20, 2011 #
11 AM
orienteering 2:29:27 [5] 19.98 km (7:29 / km) +116m 7:16 / km
Vinterresjet. A really fun event. I guess I could call it a race, but it's really more of a spectacle. It's mass start, and mass confusion. The maps are peppered with hints about how to find the controls, but those hints are sometimes Swedish text, wrapping around the edges of the map.
My plan, going into this race, was to not get too hung up on knowing what was going on, to do an awful lot of following the lead if someone looked like they knew what they were doing, and to run hard.
I got a lot of help from other racers that translated stuff for me when I looked lost and when I said things like " I have no idea what I'm doing right now."
Some triumphs and some failures when it came to the tricks. I got caught hard by the mirror flipped control on the first map, I ran to where there was a control and a sign that said something like "Are you sure you're in the right spot?" I didn't realize the mirror flip until I had finished the whole course, basically... I just followed the first person that yelled "Ah!" and he lead me right to the flag.
I triumphed, though, on the swiveled control on map two, because I noticed the little patch of field, and realized that I couldn't follow my compass but instead had to go to where the field really was.
I also triumphed on the quiz about mushrooms section of the course. I hadn't read the information sheet in our packet, but I knew enough biology and enough Swedish to answer the questions correctly and thus I visited all the proper controls.
Perhaps the biggest time loss for me was making a Swedish translation mistake though. There was a section after control 20 that had been blanked out, except for a few narrow corridors that traced through the empty zone. There was a warning in the empty zone that I mistakenly read as "you are not allowed to run in the empty areas" but what was really a warning about not running in the "private areas" [a one letter difference from tom to tomt]. I ran a long way around to avoid that, but I should have just run straight through the blind zone.
Very fun day, and a cool chance to run with lots of people in various places around the course. It's really nice to see a small group of dedicated juniors put on such an amazing show. 90 starters, entry was free for juniors this year, and about 3$ for adults ( they had a grant to help offset costs this year). Between the 5 of them, they made a sprint map, creatively mangled everything in OCAD, had a cool arena, food, awards, and great atmosphere. Check out their website.
My plan, going into this race, was to not get too hung up on knowing what was going on, to do an awful lot of following the lead if someone looked like they knew what they were doing, and to run hard.
I got a lot of help from other racers that translated stuff for me when I looked lost and when I said things like " I have no idea what I'm doing right now."
Some triumphs and some failures when it came to the tricks. I got caught hard by the mirror flipped control on the first map, I ran to where there was a control and a sign that said something like "Are you sure you're in the right spot?" I didn't realize the mirror flip until I had finished the whole course, basically... I just followed the first person that yelled "Ah!" and he lead me right to the flag.
I triumphed, though, on the swiveled control on map two, because I noticed the little patch of field, and realized that I couldn't follow my compass but instead had to go to where the field really was.
I also triumphed on the quiz about mushrooms section of the course. I hadn't read the information sheet in our packet, but I knew enough biology and enough Swedish to answer the questions correctly and thus I visited all the proper controls.
Perhaps the biggest time loss for me was making a Swedish translation mistake though. There was a section after control 20 that had been blanked out, except for a few narrow corridors that traced through the empty zone. There was a warning in the empty zone that I mistakenly read as "you are not allowed to run in the empty areas" but what was really a warning about not running in the "private areas" [a one letter difference from tom to tomt]. I ran a long way around to avoid that, but I should have just run straight through the blind zone.
Very fun day, and a cool chance to run with lots of people in various places around the course. It's really nice to see a small group of dedicated juniors put on such an amazing show. 90 starters, entry was free for juniors this year, and about 3$ for adults ( they had a grant to help offset costs this year). Between the 5 of them, they made a sprint map, creatively mangled everything in OCAD, had a cool arena, food, awards, and great atmosphere. Check out their website.
5 PM
Strength 1:00:00 [3]
It feels weird going to gympa on my own, but everyone else was either traveling or tired out from the weekend. So I biked down to get my strength on. I'm doing better and better.
Afterward, watched the first half of Olle's bandy game. I would have watched more but I was really hungry and 90 minutes is a long time in the cold when you have only a vague notion of the rules and whatnot. Olle did have at least one really good play, when he skated fast out of the goal on a corner kick (??) type play and intercepted the ball before the other team could get the shot off. My take on bandy is that it's easier to follow than hockey, but that all these sports are probably more fun to watch if you've played the game before.
Afterward, watched the first half of Olle's bandy game. I would have watched more but I was really hungry and 90 minutes is a long time in the cold when you have only a vague notion of the rules and whatnot. Olle did have at least one really good play, when he skated fast out of the goal on a corner kick (??) type play and intercepted the ball before the other team could get the shot off. My take on bandy is that it's easier to follow than hockey, but that all these sports are probably more fun to watch if you've played the game before.
Saturday Nov 19, 2011 #
1 PM
Trail run 1:26:54 [2] 15.43 km (5:38 / km) +111m 5:26 / km
The boys arranged for a game of paintball at a nearby course, and so I joined with a certain amount of trepidation. I love all kinds of social events, but I'm pretty bad at shooting type activities. We played about 5 games of 12 or so minutes, and in that hour of action I think I got hit approximately 40 thousand times. Proving at least two things a) I am not good at paintball and b) paintballs hurt.
I was also playing very differently than everyone else, as I did not use nearly as many paintballs. we all started with 500, and I had probably 100 or so that I gave to other people or had left at the end. I knew that I couldn't hit things too far away so all my time was spent trying to get closer.
I don't think I'll make a point of playing again, as the pain part certainly overrides the competition aspects for me. I would, however, gladly play again if I could get Jordan to play on my team or some of the other cadets. I bet their quite impressive to watch on such a course.
Anyway, the GPS and the exercise came afterward, when 6 of us ran back from the paintball course to the clubhouse, following along trails and some roads but also a long section of powerlines/marshes. Nice easy relaxed pace and good company. A good warm up for the Linné Gala in the evening.
I was also playing very differently than everyone else, as I did not use nearly as many paintballs. we all started with 500, and I had probably 100 or so that I gave to other people or had left at the end. I knew that I couldn't hit things too far away so all my time was spent trying to get closer.
I don't think I'll make a point of playing again, as the pain part certainly overrides the competition aspects for me. I would, however, gladly play again if I could get Jordan to play on my team or some of the other cadets. I bet their quite impressive to watch on such a course.
Anyway, the GPS and the exercise came afterward, when 6 of us ran back from the paintball course to the clubhouse, following along trails and some roads but also a long section of powerlines/marshes. Nice easy relaxed pace and good company. A good warm up for the Linné Gala in the evening.
Friday Nov 18, 2011 #
Note
I wrote a blog post!
I did indeed write a blog post, but Sam is the one links the blog to AP and facebook. She's pretty awesome like that.
I did indeed write a blog post, but Sam is the one links the blog to AP and facebook. She's pretty awesome like that.
4 PM
Trail run 27:13 [2] 4.93 km (5:31 / km) +40m 5:18 / km
Not really feeling so awake, but motivated to get in a run before gympa tonight. I had lots of free time all afternoon in lab, but right when I was about to head out the door I got caught up with looking at some beautiful retinas.
Thus my run was shorter than I wanted, and I also got to gympa a few minutes late. I'm good at being late to things... lots of practice.
The forest was beautiful tonight, and since my headphones officially died today, I enjoyed them in relative quiet. I ran underneath the watertower in the center of the park, and could hear traffic sounds being reflected in an echo-y cool way.
Thus my run was shorter than I wanted, and I also got to gympa a few minutes late. I'm good at being late to things... lots of practice.
The forest was beautiful tonight, and since my headphones officially died today, I enjoyed them in relative quiet. I ran underneath the watertower in the center of the park, and could hear traffic sounds being reflected in an echo-y cool way.
5 PM
Strength 1:00:00 [4]
SnyggMagnus Gympa. A hard session tonight, my triceps are quite achy now. I'm learning the choreography a bit better though, and I'm good about staying back and out of the way of others during the parts that require balance and coordination :)
Thursday Nov 17, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 10:28 [2] 1.9 km (5:31 / km) +17m 5:16 / km
Warm up before intervals. There is a thick layer, really thick layer, of frost on all the roads tonight, and running around was quite slippery. I wonder if the cold weather was keeping the numbers down tonight... still a big group, but not so many as we've had other intervals sessions.
Road run 56:21 12.38 km (4:33 / km) +63m 4:26 / km
A ladder session 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1, with 90 seconds jogging rest between most of the intervals and 3 minutes between the two 5 minute intervals. The loop we ran tonight was a bit different, but still covered familiar territory for me - south of the Stadskoggen, then past the math building, and the BMC, then north of the Stadskoggen and back along Norbyvägen.
Henrik was leading the group tonight, running the fastest and also making a point of jogging all the way back to the slowest section of the group during the rest so as to keep everyone together. A nice team feeling when everyone starts all the intervals together.
A short cooldown after the session, then shower, sauna, and home to a dinner already prepared by Sam. Also got roped into testing christmas themed foodstuffs.... life is pretty good.
Henrik was leading the group tonight, running the fastest and also making a point of jogging all the way back to the slowest section of the group during the rest so as to keep everyone together. A nice team feeling when everyone starts all the intervals together.
A short cooldown after the session, then shower, sauna, and home to a dinner already prepared by Sam. Also got roped into testing christmas themed foodstuffs.... life is pretty good.
Wednesday Nov 16, 2011 #
6 PM
orienteering 1:37:21 [4] 12.63 km (7:43 / km) +54m 7:33 / km
Hammerskog. Night orienteering club training. Really cold tonight, so I made sure to wear enough clothing. Course was 10k, and my last night-o outing was less than perfect, so I was hoping for a faster time and some redemption.
Started out with very conservative routes, and started going more straight along the line on the way down south to 5. I got momentarily lost on the way to 8, and on the way to 9, but in both cases I was able to relocate fairly painlessly. The northern section of the map was quite junky, and I got really bogged down in the woods going to 13 and 14. Saw a light at 14, and it turned out to be Johan, but really mostly was alone in the woods. Only 3 finished the long course tonight, so that's a podium finish :)
Very happy with my progress thus far.
Started out with very conservative routes, and started going more straight along the line on the way down south to 5. I got momentarily lost on the way to 8, and on the way to 9, but in both cases I was able to relocate fairly painlessly. The northern section of the map was quite junky, and I got really bogged down in the woods going to 13 and 14. Saw a light at 14, and it turned out to be Johan, but really mostly was alone in the woods. Only 3 finished the long course tonight, so that's a podium finish :)
Very happy with my progress thus far.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 1:23:32 [4] 21.23 km (3:56 / km) +186m 3:46 / km
Half Marathon day. Feeling really sleepy as I headed over to KG, but as usual the training woke me up and had me feeling quite alive at the end.
At the start, the group headed out at a slower pace but Inga really wanted to run faster tonight, and quite soon she pulled ahead of the pack. Lutas went along with her, but the rest of the group hung back. I decided that I should catch up and run at the faster pace, and that made for a great outing... glad that I didn't stick with feeling sleepy and slow.
We ran into trouble with the construction around the shopping center, and to get around the obstruction we ran the long way around to the south... which meant that we ended up reeling the rest of the group in again over the next couple of k.
I was enjoying the pace and the group and was really surprised when at 10k Inga and Lutas just stopped. I need to learn more Swedish so that I can understand when people are chatting beforehand :) I kept going and was by myself for 10-15 minutes before Henrik ran forward to join me and pace me through the rest of the course. I really needed the help too, starting at about 18 k, I was starting to fade. Chasing down Loefaas was a nice motivation, and resulted in my fastest time for one of these half-marathons so far.
Afterward, lots of hanging out in the clubhouse. A shower and a sauna go a long way towards curing anything that ails you. Also cool to have fika waiting in the clubhouse and people sitting around talking, doing homework, having club meetings, etc. Makes for a good atmosphere.
At the start, the group headed out at a slower pace but Inga really wanted to run faster tonight, and quite soon she pulled ahead of the pack. Lutas went along with her, but the rest of the group hung back. I decided that I should catch up and run at the faster pace, and that made for a great outing... glad that I didn't stick with feeling sleepy and slow.
We ran into trouble with the construction around the shopping center, and to get around the obstruction we ran the long way around to the south... which meant that we ended up reeling the rest of the group in again over the next couple of k.
I was enjoying the pace and the group and was really surprised when at 10k Inga and Lutas just stopped. I need to learn more Swedish so that I can understand when people are chatting beforehand :) I kept going and was by myself for 10-15 minutes before Henrik ran forward to join me and pace me through the rest of the course. I really needed the help too, starting at about 18 k, I was starting to fade. Chasing down Loefaas was a nice motivation, and resulted in my fastest time for one of these half-marathons so far.
Afterward, lots of hanging out in the clubhouse. A shower and a sauna go a long way towards curing anything that ails you. Also cool to have fika waiting in the clubhouse and people sitting around talking, doing homework, having club meetings, etc. Makes for a good atmosphere.
Monday Nov 14, 2011 #
Note
Just a note to post that I too have counted my number of controls visited, starting the day after WOC, though I do not have a goal for how many I'd like to visit before next summer. I just like to be involved in all the fun stuff that everyone else is doing. :)
So I've gotten 721 so far. I'm not counting Hittaut points, because I never did any of them with any real navigational intensity.
So I've gotten 721 so far. I'm not counting Hittaut points, because I never did any of them with any real navigational intensity.
5 PM
Trail run 38:24 [2] 6.63 km (5:48 / km) +29m 5:40 / km
With Boris, around the lit track in stadskoggen before strength tonight. I will be sad when he goes back to the US.
Strength 24:00 [3]
New and Improved Rockgympa, led by Henrik. I can't tell which part is the hardest... the jumping up and down on one leg or the deep lunges. Possibly the planks at the end. Because of the various gympas, I now associate a lot of music with specific moves or exercises...
7 PM
Innebandy 30:00 [3]
Playing with the club after Rockgympa. Sweating a lot, and feeling like I'm getting the hang of this ball and stick thing. Fun times.
Sunday Nov 13, 2011 #
9 AM
Trail run 6:00 [2] 0.67 km (8:54 / km) +1m 8:50 / km
orienteering 1:20:57 [2] 11.25 km (7:12 / km) +99m 6:54 / km
5 PM
Strength 1:00:00 [3]
Snyggmagnus Gympa with Lisa, Mari, and Sam. Getting the hang of this coordinated exercising thing.
Saturday Nov 12, 2011 #
10 AM
orienteering 1:45:14 [4] 12.85 km (8:11 / km) +78m 7:57 / km
Friday Nov 11, 2011 #
11 AM
Track race 9:45 [5] 3.1 km (3:09 / km) +2m 3:08 / km
5 PM
Strength 1:00:00 [3]
Snyggmagnus Gympa with Rasa, Mari and Sam. It's harder to follow along with the group if the person in front of you is also confused and uncoordinated.
Thursday Nov 10, 2011 #
5 PM
Trail run 10:52 [2] 0.92 km (11:47 / km) +1m 11:43 / km
orienteering 44:17 [5] 9.74 km (4:33 / km) +73m 4:23 / km
Trail run 6:16 [2] 1.06 km (5:53 / km) +11m 5:36 / km
Wednesday Nov 9, 2011 #
5 PM
Trail run 6:33 [2] 0.38 km (17:03 / km)
Trail run 7:05 [2] 1.14 km (6:14 / km) +30m 5:30 / km
orienteering 1:28:00 [4] 8.82 km (9:58 / km) +65m 9:37 / km
Quickroute
Night-O training on Nasten (I don't know how to do funny Swedish letters on this computer). Johan took off linear features, which I think was only trails, but maybe a few swamps too. I was running well in the beginning, but then missed 12 by a bit, but spent awhile trying to relocate in the dark. The end was also tricky because there are so many trails and lit ski paths in that area. It's hard to ignore them and concentrate on the contours.
Then when I got home Sam had dinner ready and we watched West Wing. She cooks, she cleans, she does my quickroute and posts it on my DOMA and log. How fantastic :)
Night-O training on Nasten (I don't know how to do funny Swedish letters on this computer). Johan took off linear features, which I think was only trails, but maybe a few swamps too. I was running well in the beginning, but then missed 12 by a bit, but spent awhile trying to relocate in the dark. The end was also tricky because there are so many trails and lit ski paths in that area. It's hard to ignore them and concentrate on the contours.
Then when I got home Sam had dinner ready and we watched West Wing. She cooks, she cleans, she does my quickroute and posts it on my DOMA and log. How fantastic :)
Trail run 5:19 [2] 1.04 km (5:07 / km) +12m 4:50 / km
Monday Nov 7, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 7:00 [2] 1.1 km (6:21 / km)
Strength 24:00 [5] 0.36 km (1:05:56 / km)
Sunday Nov 6, 2011 #
10 AM
orienteering 1:07:52 [5] 10.89 km (6:14 / km) +13m 6:12 / km
25c
Quickroute
Special club training on Lunsen. Mass start forked course with SI controls. The SI controls were a nice touch and perhaps only put out because we had visiting royalty in the form of Annika Bilstam and Thierry Gueorgiou (both incredibly well-decorated racers. Each of them won their respective Long Distance final at WOC, for example.)
I raced pretty well today, keeping up with a largish pack through most of the first third of the course, before making a mistake and falling behind. Then I was mostly clean on the rest of them, and running well alone. Saw some people, but was not distracted overmuch.
A beautiful day, a fun race. Didn't see much of Thierry and the leaders, just when they came through the shared pivot control while lapping me :) Getting the hang of Lunsen, and realizing why it is so popular.
Special club training on Lunsen. Mass start forked course with SI controls. The SI controls were a nice touch and perhaps only put out because we had visiting royalty in the form of Annika Bilstam and Thierry Gueorgiou (both incredibly well-decorated racers. Each of them won their respective Long Distance final at WOC, for example.)
I raced pretty well today, keeping up with a largish pack through most of the first third of the course, before making a mistake and falling behind. Then I was mostly clean on the rest of them, and running well alone. Saw some people, but was not distracted overmuch.
A beautiful day, a fun race. Didn't see much of Thierry and the leaders, just when they came through the shared pivot control while lapping me :) Getting the hang of Lunsen, and realizing why it is so popular.
orienteering 20:38 [2] 2.26 km (9:09 / km) +4m 9:04 / km
I enjoyed the woods and training so much that I wanted to go out some more. Asked Jan if there were any controls that I could pick up, and was told that I could run and grab the last 4. Ran those 4 backwards, checking to make sure no one was still finishing up the course, and then forwards again actually taking the units.
5 PM
Strength (Gympa) 59:47 [3]
Rasa convinced us all to go, and we called Mari too, and then piled into the car to go to gympa. The Friday and Sunday classes are special because the instructor is really great.
Gympa is fun. There were about 150 people ( my guess) at the class and just as soon as the music started, everyone there started the choreographed warm-up routine. It was eerily like being stuck in a flash-mob :) I won't try to describe it anymore, but it was a cool way to exercise in a really big group.
The routines were really dynamic, well synced to the beat of the music and very well directed. My arms hurt (too sore to make whip cream in my nalgene for apple pie later), and I assume that my everything will be sore tomorrow as well. At about 48 minutes we switched to cool down exercises and stretching.
Gympa is fun. There were about 150 people ( my guess) at the class and just as soon as the music started, everyone there started the choreographed warm-up routine. It was eerily like being stuck in a flash-mob :) I won't try to describe it anymore, but it was a cool way to exercise in a really big group.
The routines were really dynamic, well synced to the beat of the music and very well directed. My arms hurt (too sore to make whip cream in my nalgene for apple pie later), and I assume that my everything will be sore tomorrow as well. At about 48 minutes we switched to cool down exercises and stretching.
Saturday Nov 5, 2011 #
5 PM
orienteering 1:06:58 [5] 8.92 km (7:30 / km) +72m 7:13 / km
Rodhenloppet. A pairs night race, with different categories for different pairings. I teamed up with Rasa Ptasekaite (Lithuanian National team runner, Linné clubmate, and Alex will remember her as the woman that offered to drive her back down to Aix-les-Bains this summer) and we ran the Mixed Long category.
Our strategy was to have fun, and to each work together for the orienteering. She didn't want to just be running to keep up. She needn't have worried, as I was hard pressed to hang on to her as we booked in out of the start and across a large clear-cut area with hordes of other teams. The first 4 controls were just me following along as she spiked each flag, and my main contribution was shouting out the control numbers as we neared the flags.
I got to have my moment of navigation on the 5th when Rasa was pulled too far left leaving the 4th and was momentarily confused, I had been following along and trying to delicately suggest that we needed to go farther right, but was not sure enough to really override her instincts that had been doing so well. After we realized that we were not where we'd like to be, I took over and got us to the flag with only a minute lost. The next problem came on the long leg, when we got into one marsh thinking we were in another. I kept saying that we needed to go more east, and Rasa finally responded sharply that east means nothing to her and that I should tell her right or left :) I guess it's just Sam and I that talk outloud using cardinal directions.
Once we emerged from our marsh, and broke into the big clear cut area again, we could easily see our mistake and get back on our line, but we lost another several minutes doing that, and Rasa was getting a bit tired I think.
The last few controls had two places where the road was a viable option and we took them both. On the road, and at this point in the race, I was much faster and my job was to distract Rasa from how hard the running felt.
One more serious bobble ( got too tired to think, running on the road) and then into the finish. We were 8th place for mixed teams. A good result, only 8 minutes back on the winners. We were aiming for 60 minutes, just based on the course length, and with a clean run I think we would have been there. Importantly we beat Johan and Elisa, who I was gunning for since they are our friends from across the street.
I would totally run on a team with Rasa again, and I think we'd know better how to work with each other to avoid mistakes.
Our strategy was to have fun, and to each work together for the orienteering. She didn't want to just be running to keep up. She needn't have worried, as I was hard pressed to hang on to her as we booked in out of the start and across a large clear-cut area with hordes of other teams. The first 4 controls were just me following along as she spiked each flag, and my main contribution was shouting out the control numbers as we neared the flags.
I got to have my moment of navigation on the 5th when Rasa was pulled too far left leaving the 4th and was momentarily confused, I had been following along and trying to delicately suggest that we needed to go farther right, but was not sure enough to really override her instincts that had been doing so well. After we realized that we were not where we'd like to be, I took over and got us to the flag with only a minute lost. The next problem came on the long leg, when we got into one marsh thinking we were in another. I kept saying that we needed to go more east, and Rasa finally responded sharply that east means nothing to her and that I should tell her right or left :) I guess it's just Sam and I that talk outloud using cardinal directions.
Once we emerged from our marsh, and broke into the big clear cut area again, we could easily see our mistake and get back on our line, but we lost another several minutes doing that, and Rasa was getting a bit tired I think.
The last few controls had two places where the road was a viable option and we took them both. On the road, and at this point in the race, I was much faster and my job was to distract Rasa from how hard the running felt.
One more serious bobble ( got too tired to think, running on the road) and then into the finish. We were 8th place for mixed teams. A good result, only 8 minutes back on the winners. We were aiming for 60 minutes, just based on the course length, and with a clean run I think we would have been there. Importantly we beat Johan and Elisa, who I was gunning for since they are our friends from across the street.
I would totally run on a team with Rasa again, and I think we'd know better how to work with each other to avoid mistakes.
Friday Nov 4, 2011 #
5 PM
Trail run (Partial Backbanan) 22:00 4.15 km (5:18 / km) +102m 4:43 / km
Today I borrowed a headlamp from Elin so that I would have a brighter light for the night race on Saturday. My training plan had been to run backbanan while it was still light outside, but it took me too long to prepare some slides at work to make that deadline, and also since I had a new headlamp to test I thought it would be okay.
I also wanted to break in my new Inov8 280s, freshly shipped from Boston, and a trip or two around the loop seemed like a great way to end a busy Friday.
Things were great, the shoes felt nice, the conditions were good ( though there are still a lot of trees down on the first climb) and I came through the half in 12:49 or so but very soon after I was plunged into sudden darkness. First I though the battery had gotten loose, but fiddling with the wires didn't make a difference. So I decided that the battery just hadn't really been charged when I headed out.
There was enough cloud cover and light pollution to keep to the big trails and get back to my bag and my bike, and a light training before a very full weekend was probably for the best.
Dinner with Sam, Boris, and Rasa after.
I also wanted to break in my new Inov8 280s, freshly shipped from Boston, and a trip or two around the loop seemed like a great way to end a busy Friday.
Things were great, the shoes felt nice, the conditions were good ( though there are still a lot of trees down on the first climb) and I came through the half in 12:49 or so but very soon after I was plunged into sudden darkness. First I though the battery had gotten loose, but fiddling with the wires didn't make a difference. So I decided that the battery just hadn't really been charged when I headed out.
There was enough cloud cover and light pollution to keep to the big trails and get back to my bag and my bike, and a light training before a very full weekend was probably for the best.
Dinner with Sam, Boris, and Rasa after.
Thursday Nov 3, 2011 #
6 PM
Road run 20:00 [2] 0.88 km (22:45 / km) +17m 20:45 / km
Warming up and cooling down. Jogging from the school over to the start of the sprint and then after finishing the sprint, headed back to pick up a couple of controls with Boris.
Nice warm evening, legs needed some coaxing on the way over to the sprint, but as usual I felt much better after tonight's trainings.
Nice warm evening, legs needed some coaxing on the way over to the sprint, but as usual I felt much better after tonight's trainings.
orienteering 33:38 [5] 7.8 km (4:19 / km) +47m 4:11 / km
Night Sprint. 2 controls in the Stadskoggen and then a bunch in the neighborhoods around here. The first couple of controls were a little sloppy but then there were lots of long road runs. If I had been running a little faster it would have been trickier, but as it was I had plenty of time to plan my next control and was able to keep good flow and not get tricked my the courtyards and tricky street network.
Boris caught me several times during the race, but then he accidentally skipped a control and I didn't catch up again until the last control. I wanted to beat him to the finish but he had a decent lead and I thought the best strategy might be to go the long way around and run really fast, so that he wouldn't hear me coming and thus not get an extra kick. He still beat me to the finish, but not by very much :)
Boris caught me several times during the race, but then he accidentally skipped a control and I didn't catch up again until the last control. I wanted to beat him to the finish but he had a decent lead and I thought the best strategy might be to go the long way around and run really fast, so that he wouldn't hear me coming and thus not get an extra kick. He still beat me to the finish, but not by very much :)
7 PM
Strength 24:00 [3]
Circuits with the club, well with the hardcore part of the club that stuck around after the night sprint. Lots of exercises specifically designed to make me look foolish.
16 stations, 45 seconds of exercise, 15 rest, 45 seconds continuing the exercise, 15 seconds of switching to next station. Very good music during the session, lots of 80s power ballad type rock.
I can do 45 seconds of pushups, but I cannot do 2 x 45 seconds of pushups.
16 stations, 45 seconds of exercise, 15 rest, 45 seconds continuing the exercise, 15 seconds of switching to next station. Very good music during the session, lots of 80s power ballad type rock.
I can do 45 seconds of pushups, but I cannot do 2 x 45 seconds of pushups.
8 PM
Innebandy 20:00 [4]
Innebandy is floor hockey. I have great enthusiasm for this kind of thing, but the kind of skill and coordination it takes to be, you know, successful seems to escape me. I ran a lot, and was on the losing team in every single game :)
Great fun.
Great fun.
Wednesday Nov 2, 2011 #
4 PM
Trail run 41:09 [2] 7.93 km (5:11 / km) +71m 4:58 / km
At about 4pm my co-workers asked me if I wanted to go running with them. I knew I had club training at 5pm, but I really like to say yes when people ask me to do fun things. So I said yes, changed my samples over to blocking buffer and changed myself over to running clothes.
The LCW running group consists of Oriol, Lothar, Christian and sometimes Jimmy and they usually run on Wednesdays. I was invited along but warned that they were probably slower than me.
They ran at a pretty quick clip, actually, and we headed over to the Stadskoggen to do laps of the lighted path. At about 30 minutes I turned north to meet the crew at the castle, and they continued on with their normal run. I hope that I will be able to tag along with them some more, as it's a fun tradition to be a part of and it may be a way for me to get closer to the group as a whole.
The LCW running group consists of Oriol, Lothar, Christian and sometimes Jimmy and they usually run on Wednesdays. I was invited along but warned that they were probably slower than me.
They ran at a pretty quick clip, actually, and we headed over to the Stadskoggen to do laps of the lighted path. At about 30 minutes I turned north to meet the crew at the castle, and they continued on with their normal run. I hope that I will be able to tag along with them some more, as it's a fun tradition to be a part of and it may be a way for me to get closer to the group as a whole.
Road run 1:28:32 [4] 21.19 km (4:11 / km) +140m 4:03 / km
Half Marathon Training is back this week, with a faster group and a fairly gentle course which lead to some hard work on my part. Loefaas, Olle and Jan were not struggling as much as I was, but I think that Niklas and Fredrik were pushing themselves too.
Running 40 minutes as a warmup didn't make this run easier :) but it was a good mental toughness training, as I had to dig pretty deep to not get dropped. It became a challenge at about 12 k, and once we got back to the city and Henrik and Niklas split off to go home (~19 k), I got left in the dust. The big incentive to stay with the pack was not getting lost (no map tonight), and once I got almost back to the castle I wasn't so worried about the navigation and Jan and Olle were eager to have a good time.
After picking on Olle and Niklas for problems with their underwear, I was chagrined to find that I had some unhappy chafing to contend with for the last couple of kilometers. Irony certainly can rub you the wrong way at times...
Running 40 minutes as a warmup didn't make this run easier :) but it was a good mental toughness training, as I had to dig pretty deep to not get dropped. It became a challenge at about 12 k, and once we got back to the city and Henrik and Niklas split off to go home (~19 k), I got left in the dust. The big incentive to stay with the pack was not getting lost (no map tonight), and once I got almost back to the castle I wasn't so worried about the navigation and Jan and Olle were eager to have a good time.
After picking on Olle and Niklas for problems with their underwear, I was chagrined to find that I had some unhappy chafing to contend with for the last couple of kilometers. Irony certainly can rub you the wrong way at times...
Tuesday Nov 1, 2011 #
6 PM
Trail run 1:35:33 [3] 17.43 km (5:29 / km) +324m 5:01 / km
A long staining protocol at work meant that I was in a hurry heading over to the clubhouse for training tonight. I biked to KG and changed in just enough time to join the large pack heading over to the backbanan hill. The plan tonight was group long-slow distance (I think, I was pretty much just following along) and the route was the 13.2 k Bjorn's backbana that is almost entirely on trails and meant more for MBTO training ( again, I think, could be making it all up).
I ran off the back of the fastest group, close to Hannah, Johan and Erik. The map was pretty hard to follow along with, and my headlamp battery has pretty much decided that it no longer needs to keep a charge, so the trail was also hard to follow at times as well. Thus keeping up with the group was important. We did the loop in about an hour and I have to say that compared to Janne's backbanan, this one felt pretty easy at the gentler pace.
After recovering a bit at the finish, I jogged backward along the course to pick up Boris, Sam and Jakob and we ran back towards home together. A good training and a fun evening. Super warm out still, so the gloves spent most of the night in the waistband and not on the hands.
I ran off the back of the fastest group, close to Hannah, Johan and Erik. The map was pretty hard to follow along with, and my headlamp battery has pretty much decided that it no longer needs to keep a charge, so the trail was also hard to follow at times as well. Thus keeping up with the group was important. We did the loop in about an hour and I have to say that compared to Janne's backbanan, this one felt pretty easy at the gentler pace.
After recovering a bit at the finish, I jogged backward along the course to pick up Boris, Sam and Jakob and we ran back towards home together. A good training and a fun evening. Super warm out still, so the gloves spent most of the night in the waistband and not on the hands.