Training Log Archive: iansmith

Easy ride on the usual loop. I forgot to charge my watch, and it promptly died shortly after I started. The air was finally cool. I felt tired and a bit sluggish - the weekend was busy, but it was excellent to get out.

As my posse had elected to do a summer 3k time trial and evening traffic at my local track was very high, I set out early this morning hoping to find few people. Even at around 7 AM, there were ten or so people using the track - and the Beltline Trail was quite busy with obnoxious morning people.

After warming up with an easy run to the track, I ran 2x400m bouts with a target pace of 96s/400 (lol). My 3k PR is 10:31, and as I've only run ~240 km this year, I did not have high hopes. I chose to aim for 12:00 pace because Boris was in that neighborhood; I used to be able to do 4:00/km pace for threshold runs.

It turns out that I am no longer able to do this. Even with a generous 1:00/km OUSA Board bonus, I'm still slow of my PR. My legs just would not turn over fast enough, and my perceived effort maxed out at full gas with a pitiful pace. VO2 max is like 3 ml/(kg min). Conditions were not ideal - I had to dodge a few walkers for maybe a 5-10s total penalty, and I doubt I'm at my physical best at 6 AM. It was fairly cool, heating to maybe 22-23 C by the time I was done.

I hope to improve by the October or November time trial; with this time, there is a ton of room for improvement.

C • Even pace? 1

Well, shit. At least there's a lot of room for improvement for the Fall.

Easy evening ride. I haven't been riding the past couple days because a combination of rest, a heat wave in Toronto, and work escalation. I spent a lot of time waiting at traffic lights, but it was nice to get out for a bit, even in the 30 C heat.

My legs felt heavy and ponderous, but I set out to run a 3k time trial because that's what my squad elected to do, largely at my instigation. I had and continue to have very low expectations; my fitness is poor, and I have eschewed running in favor of biking lately. Still, it is good to collect data, and I hope to be a faster runner by the end of the summer.

However, when I arrived at my local (cinder?) track at Memorial Park, I discovered there were about 30-35 people ambling around the track, mostly walking. This included a number of kids lazily weaving on bikes or on foot. Even if there were no pandemic, it would have been difficult to do a time trial while dodging so many scrubs, but it would have been impossible to do a time trial and socially distance. Why people decided walking repeatedly in a boring oval was a good idea eludes me.

After some consideration, I decided just to go for a very easy jaunt around the neighborhood and return home.

And now, some introspection: I'm pleased with how the first half of 2020 has ended. I have newfound enthusiasm for epic bike rides, and while my speed is not impressive, biking has been liberating and helpful both mentally and physically. Bike maintenance will be more critical, especially as local bike shops are overwhelmed by the rise in pandemic bike demand. I have now completed four rides over 100 km in the past two months, all without incident; my body is clearly able to handle these expeditions. I have grand plans for the second half of 2020, and there are few things more motivating to me than grand plans. Consistency will be key, and I am satisfied with how June 2020 ended despite being initially hamstrung by a broken spoke.

With the benefit of hindsight, my decline really began in 2015. In 2012-2014, I was averaging 250 hours of running and orienteering with a hodgepodge of other activities. 2015 and 2016 fell to about 200 hours of running and O, but things fell apart when I moved to Toronto for graduate school; my total training has been at 150 hours or lower for the past three years. The main cause is surely my own life management; it isn't as though Toronto doesn't have places to run or bike. I do really miss the Boston orienteering community; having 25+ nearby orienteering meets per year, a community of friends, and interesting terrain was the cornerstone of my athletic activity. I may become more active with the Toronto orienteering scene, but my time commitment with OUSA has been extensive since I joined the Board in September 2016. I don't really aspire to be an administrator, but I want to do the job well. I probably will wrap up this chapter of my O-administration in the next two or three years. I need to invest the time to properly finish off several open projects; the time difference between a completed project that will have a lasting impact and an incomplete work product soon to be forgotten can be quite small. I have also taken up recreational squash during graduate school, which has been a social and physical joy.

I envision becoming a two-sport athlete, with running and orienteering in the fall through spring, and biking in the spring through fall. While I don't think it makes much sense for me to be on the US National O team again, as I don't bring anything particularly exceptional to the table, I hope to be active with organizing and participating in training camps and races. I also have plenty of personal goals - a sub 3 hour marathon, fun bike projects, maybe some bikepacking, epic mountain runs, and running my beloved Middlesex Fells Skyline trail again. Hopefully I will go back to New Hampshire some day to finish the 48 4000ers, and go to Canmore for a complete traverse of Rundle.

For the second half of 2020, I want to train 180 hours of running, orienteering, and biking, complete a 300 km bike trip, and run a sub 20 5k.