Training Log Archive: JanetT

At White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. :-) On the nature trail; the only trail brochures were in Spanish so I did my best at translating along with some help from another woman who knew Spanish.

I was in Las Cruces, NM, for a gathering of quilters/friends who have reunited periodically for the past 11 years from all over the country plus Canada (there are members of our group in Australia and England, too, but none of those could make it this year). The trip was my birthday present this year. We had a great time!

Updated time, distance, and description on 6/03.

C • quilt gathering! 2

Trail run at Hand Hollow - West, parking in the lot on Gale Hill Rd.

Down Green-Red-Green, then up Green-Blue-Green. Down was 1.76 mi, up was 1.73! I didn't realize the lengths were so balanced.

Beautiful day, low 60's and very clear (low humidity). Didn't see any other people despite there being another vehicle in the parking lot.

Turns out the trails up and down weren't so balanced; I took a little detour on the way back up (on something that looked like a trail, which ended at a nice, fairly large one-contour depression with a stonepile in it, and two rectangular pits in front...very odd. Of course, my mind wondered how it would all be mapped...).

The way I went down was probably 0.05 to 0.10 longer.

After a negligible walk to the start (at the end of the parking lot, and we were near the start end), turned in another decent race, with the exception of a brain-freeze at control 4 which for some reason I thought was a contour below where it was. Spent ~2:30 wandering in the rocks below (including looking at one likely boulder cluster) before I realized all those people a contour above me were punching at my control -- d'oh! (Error estimate based on comparing my 3:51 split with Valerie's 1:11.)

2nd F50 behind Anne Daltveit who was 5 minutes faster, so an error-free run would have me in the same position. 16th overall on Green Y, no mistakes would have put me ~12th. Ran more of the gentle uphill climbs than I have in the past, so that's an improvement over this time last year.

Happy with my performance this weekend. It's nice to have a pretty-good A-meet weekend every once in awhile. Now to get in gear for the US Champs.

AOWN note -- While passing through Mountaintop Campus (between 2 and 3) I heard a funny squeak and turned, expecting a spooked rabbit or squirrel, and saw a fawn crossing my path, no mommy in sight! I slowed a step or two to watchh it before continuing on my way; the fawn was headed in the direction I had seen another runner, but I knew it could fend for itself. Heard later than others had seen a fawn in that area too -- probably the same one, getting spooked multiple times.

Didn't see the Bethlehem Star closeup while on the course; if I had taken the higher trail route between 7 and 8 I might have seen the cleared area below it, but I decided on the more gradual climb taking the lower (northern) trail below the big building. I've been in the area enough to have seen it lit up at night, however. :-)

Forerunner showed 5.96 k covered distance for the 5.5 k "long" course. I didn't wear it the other days.

Green Y Long - Splits

Walk to Start at Hickory Run State Park, along a creek for the most part--nice, and pleasant conditions waiting for my start time (no blackflies swarming like last weekend in Canada :-) ).

Started at the same time as Meg Parson ("the redhead start time").

Solid effort once I realized all the light green wasn't so bad. I'm glad Sandy didn't send us into or through the thick dark green (laurel and rhododendron). Good use of the area.

Minor (for me) bobbles in/near the circle on 2, 3, 8 and 11, maybe could have been 1:30 to 2 minutes faster? 1st F50 for the day. 8th/37 overall on Green Y (very happy about that!), 14-15 minutes behind Kristin Hall who's very speedy, but only 7:30 min behind second place.

Fell on the way down the hill to the water control and narrowly avoided impaling myself; landed in the soft area between a stump and a stick. Feeling extra aches two days later, probably from the fall.

Didn't see any bears, but heard at least one had been in the vicinity earlier in the day who was "encouraged" to relocate for a few hours.

GreenY Middle - Splits