Training Log Archive: JanetT

Hiked trails at Saguaro National Park (east) outside of Tucson, in the 'bajadas' of the Rincon Mountains, among the many types of cactus in addition to saguaros. (Go to the NPS website for neat photos of the flora and fauna of the park.)

Birds: hawk (possibly a young red-tailed), cactus wren, gila woodpecker, and phainopepla, which looks like a black cardinal with a fluffy crest. I looked, but did not see any roadrunners. :-( No snakes, either.

Learned that there used to be a lot more saguaros here before the 1930s when there was a hard freeze that killed many of them. There was another hard freeze in the '60s, and scientists have determined that a freeze lasting longer than 20 hours (or thereabouts) can cause damage to young, old, or infirm saguaros. We saw a number of them with drooping arms, and a few remnants of dead 'trees,' some of which have a scarecrow-y type look. There was an article in today's local paper about the recent freezing weather possibly affecting some saguaros. And they do a census every 10 years!

The interior structure is amazing, with a woody framework surrounding an absorbent core and covered by the accordion shaped flesh that can expand and contract depending on water levels. (learn more)

Way cool. And actually, it was a lovely day to hike in the desert, sunny but temps in the low 60s so comfortable in long sleeves (good to keep the sun off too).

I forgot and left my FR on one-second recording...

Hallockville snowshoe race (3.8 mi), West Hawley, MA

Much more fun running in the desert than a snowshoe race with temps in the teens. ;-)

Decided on the red course today, as I was feeling okay after yesterday. Much nicer orienteering challenges. Missed #1 by a bit as I was headed for the wrong vegetation object and had to curve around the top of a reentrant. Other not-quite-optimum routes but all other controls were where I looked for them. A different course setter today on a slightly different area (though same parking and finish) offered more challenge (and more climb!).

Nice weather too, mid 40s and cloudy (no sunscreen!) made the uphills that much more pleasant.

EDIT: added FR track; FR measured 7.88 km covered distance.

Afterward we drove through the canyon part of Box Canyon to the west which would be quite impressive with water rushing through it. Then did the tour at the Titan II missile museum where the last remaining (unused) Titan II missile sits in its silo. Cover is permanently half-open (glass cover) so that the Russians can 'see' that it couldn't be launched. Saw the control room where they never had to 'turn the keys' (simulated a launch, though, with a couple of volunteers). Quite interesting.

Followed by too much Mexican food for dinner. ;-)

C • Desert trip 2

Event: Box Canyon 2-Day Classic B Meet
 

FR distance is ~5.3 km, advertised was 3.9 km with 185 m climb

Green course at TSN O-Club meet on Box Canyon map. Thought a lot of the legs were a bit orange-ish but managed to mess up the two that were advanced difficulty. :-) Probably lost about 6-8 minutes total on the two (numbers 7 and 8). First one was from not reading the description (and looking for the wrong feature); second was from missing which tree the control flag was hung from (I had figured out by this point that the controls were often disguised inside trees -- usually mesquite -- near the circled feature but this one was on a shrub instead) and going a bit too far.

Otherwise I did well, and the course was fun (not brutal). And I was even able to jog some. Hamstring/glute is not nearly as achy as it was but still requires careful stretching.

Terrain reminded me of Laramie except for higher grass (no sage but you had to watch out for some poke-y cacti). Weather was gorgeous, low 60s and breezy, despite the forecast for rain and wind. We had wind, but only a few showers after we left the meet site.

Afterward we visited a Nature Conservancy riparian preserve near Patagonia and saw a few new (to me) birds -- black phoebe and black vulture plus some kind of hawk we really didn't identify. And there was a cute little western screech owl sleeping in a tree right where the preserve "keepers" said it would be.

Back to Tucson by way of Nogales; we stayed out of Mexico. :-)

Spent most of the day at the Arizona Desert Museum--learned more about desert flora and fauna. A very nice setup; it's been here for over 50 years in one configuration or another. The map was excellent.

Saw plenty of (enclosed) snakes and spiders; javelinas; sleepy foxes, wolves, and bobcats. And just a few cactuses ;-) .

On National Trail, South Mountain State Park near Phoenix, AZ, while Glen ran. Parked at Buena Vista parking area.

Saw a hummingbird and a rabbit (not sure if it was a jackrabbit--I think they're bigger than this one).

Post-hike/run walk was from parking out to a lookout north of the parking area. Track is just from the walk back, as I forgot to turn it on earlier.

No tools used (just body weight). Nothing that stressed my hamstring/glute but I was careful stretching anyway.

Treadmill, taking it easy. I even set the incline to minus 0.5% for a little bit, and kept it under 4 mph. Started to fatigue the muscle around 20 minutes.
:-(